Archive of Our Own ^beta

Urgh.

6:00 am

The digital clock read. Nico groaned in frustration. Why were these demigods so obsessed over a game? It didn't start till 3 hours later! All he wanted to do was to sleep some more. The frequency of his nightmares went down in the last couple of months (thanks to a particular blonde), and he was slowly trying to get himself to sleep for 7 hours a day. Now he's only slept 5 and it'll be impossible to continue sleeping through the chaos outside. Nico groaned again and slowly sat up, waiting for the sleep haze to leave him. He put on a t-shirt lying on the chair beside the bed and walked over to the door to see what was going on outside.

Cool air rushed in when he stepped out of the door, ruffling his already ruffled hair and caressing his skin. Nico scrunched his face, displeased at the amplified sounds on opening the door. Nico looked around at the campers. Some of them were sharpening their weapons, some sparring, some making traps, collecting armor. The fuss they made out of a Capture the Flag, Gods, he would rather sleep. Just as he was about to go back in, a bright head came into peripheral vision. He turned to look at Will walking towards his cabin. His hair flopped around his face and he was rubbing his eyes with the back of his palm, mid-yawn. The sight of him made Nico go warm all over. His irritation was replaced by affection.

Will grinned his 1000 Watt grin on looking at Nico. Nico couldn't help smile back. Will came to him first thing in the morning every day and wished him goodnight the last thing of the day. Nico found that gesture endearing. Will knew so well how to be around him, he never asked him to talk about his thoughts and nightmares, nor did he touch Nico until Nico came and touched him, he didn't keep talking when they were together to keep a conversation going. In the beginning, he just kept him company, sitting silently around him, fiddling with the things within his reach, and talked only when needed. Nico tried to shoo him away, but he didn't budge. He got a little scared and left when Nico threatened to set a skeleton army after him, but the next day he came back again. Nothing Nico did could shake Will off him, so he eventually got used to his company.

Nico knew he was touch deprived and desperately needed affection, but after the two wars, he was broken so much that he couldn't help the anxiety that welled in him for the smallest things. Will could never understand how that felt, but Nico could tell that he was making efforts to be Nico's friend. Nico appreciated it deeply, but the walls he built in himself were too high to be broken down within just a year, and he never showed his gratitude out. He hoped Will could tell he was grateful.

The day Nico decided to stay back in Camp Half-Blood, he decided that he would make use of his new life. He slowly started associating good things with stuff that reminded him of bad things. Most of them included Will. He was scared that he would be broken permanently if Will ever left him, but the son of Apollo was so stubborn and selfless, a considerable part of Nico was able to trust him despite the fear.

His crush on Will grew slowly, each day Will came and sat beside him, the more he liked him. It was months and months till he was comfortable to hug Will. It was the day they started dating. Nico expected him to have expectations, but he was surprised to see that Will was surprised when Nico tentatively hug him. The wide smile on his face wouldn't go away. Looking at Will was like looking at the sun, blonde hair, blue eyes, tan, freckles, the widest smile, the cheeriest personality... he was walking summer.

Nico's smile widened as Will got closer, and he shyly stretched his arm out for the blonde to take. Will looked surprised for a second before smiling even wider and eagerly taking his hand. Nico felt flattered by his enthusiasm.

"Up already, Neeks?", Nico loved that nickname, especially when Will uses it.

"Yeah, all this noise".

"I woke up that's way too. Let's go in?".

They walked in, hands still holding. Nico went to lie down on his bed, with Will beside him. Will made sure to keep a gap between them. Nico was glad he never pushed him, but he feels alright and wouldn't mind Will's touch, in fact, he wanted Will to touch him. There were moments where Will would look intensely at him, only to blink and look away a second later. Lately, Nico caught himself staring at Will many times. He wanted to be intimate with Will, the bright son of Apollo who deserved to receive a lot more affection than Nico was giving. He wondered how Will's lips would feel against his. He wanted to get lost in Will's embrace, like a shield against the world.

Nico tentatively put his hand over Will's and interlocked their fingers. Will smiled at him and curled his fingers around Nico's. They lay there in silence, Will oblivious to the battle inside Nico. Should he kiss him? Maybe he should wait. Does Will want to kiss him? Would it get awkward if he kissed him? Because Nico, for the love of Gods, had no idea how to kiss.

Will, with his free hand, reached over for the blanket at the end of the bed and pulled it over both of them, laying on his side facing Nico. The Italian was still building up the courage to kiss him, he was still nervous. He felt Will should get to be in a normal relationship. He didn't want his anxiety to get in the way. Nico pushed all self-deprecating thoughts aside, he deserved a normal relationship too, he'd been through enough misery to last a lifetime.

Nico pulled his hand away from Will's and slowly shifted to rest his back against the blonde's chest. He reached over and pulled Will's arm over his waist. Will was frozen for a few seconds, and then he nuzzled his face into Nico's hair and pulled the boy snug against his chest. He could feel Will’s grin. Always so bright and so beautiful and so genuine.

Nico felt unbelievably warm. He could feel tingles everywhere he could feel Will. This felt good. He liked being surrounded by Will.

"Thank you", the blonde whispered into Nico's hair.

"Why are you thanking me?".

"For telling me in your way that you care about me, and you're making efforts to make me happy". Nico smiled. He was glad Will understood.

"You deserve to have a normal relationship".

"I want any relationship that involves being with you".

Nico felt happy. Things were looking good. His friends knew, unless they were dense, anyone could see it. Nico didn't mind much, it was time he stopped hating himself for what was natural. It was surprising how he started optimistically looking at things. There was just no more hate left to give himself, the only direction was forgiving himself. Will's presence and personality were a strong influence on him. He watched Will. Before they were dating and after they started dating. He listened to Will's take on things, to how he responded to his sibling's teasing, how he handled something upsetting. The boy’s personality was as bright as he looked. His optimism was so strong, it was infectious. So Nico looked at him and learned from him. He started telling himself that he was going to be okay, he deserved to be happy, he was wanted, everyone didn't hate him. He made it into a mantra, adding lines when needed, he made sure to recite them every day.

Nico was so lost in thoughts that he didn't notice the change in Will's breathing. The demigod was asleep. Nico noticed everything about Will, and the way his breathing calmed to a slow, even pace when he slept. Will breathed faster when he was awake, he takes shorter, quicker breathes while talking to keep talking, he breathes slowly, deeply when he concentrates on something. Nico let himself relax into his boyfriend’s embrace. Boyfriend. He liked referring to Will as his boyfriend. It made him feel normal, like any other teen.

Nico didn't know when he fell asleep, but when he woke up, it was 8:43. He better get ready for the game. He twisted to look at Will, staring at his freckled face for a moment, before pushing his blonde hair out of his face and shaking him awake.

"Will. Will wake up".

He opened his eyes slowly, blinking a few times and looking at his arm curled around Nico before breaking into a huge grin. He looked so adorable with those sleepy eyes and bed hair. Nico smiled as bright as he could at him. Will started giggling, then threw his head back and was laughing.

Nico was confused. "Why are you laughing?", he asked.

Will looked into his eyes, "I'm happy. I'm thrilled. I can't believe I finally got to wake up like this."

Nico's grin returned. "We can wake up like this every day if you want", he said.

"Really?", the blonde asked, his expression incredulous.

"Mhmm".

"I'm coming over every day, then", he settled down, a satisfied expression on his face.

"For now, we need to get up"

Will pouted. Actually pouted. Jutted his lower lip out and puppy dog eyes pouted. Nico almost kissed him, but he started talking again.

"You're right I suppose. But you promise we can cuddle tonight?", Will asked seriously.

Nico laughed at that. Oh, his boyfriend was adorable.

"Yes, we can cuddle tonight. Let’s go"

Nico being the only resident of the Hades cabin, it was up to him which team to join. And he always chooses whichever team the Apollo cabin was on, this time the red team. He and Will put their armor on and were assigned to flag defense.

They walked into the forest to their flag and hid in the bushes around it.

There wasn't much to do till the opposite team reached them. So they sat down on the grass and passed their time. Will pointed out different plants and explained their medicinal value and Nico summoned a dead cat and mouse, and they watched the cat chase the rat around. They were laughing at the cat meowing loudly and scratching its paws at a hole the rat escaped into when they heard distant rustling and murmuring.

Both of them stood up to face the opposite team. After a few seconds, a group of blue team members came into their view headed by Annabeth. Percy was among the group too. All the red team members burst out of their hiding places to face the blue team. Nico and Will joined in. Nico became incredibly skilled with his sword out of his experiences, and he was fending off multiple demigods at once. Will was shooting arrows one at a time, the arrowheads blunt to reduce impact. The blue team clearly expected lesser defense, they were starting to get overwhelmed. Demigods from both sides started to throw rocks at each other, aiming to knock each other out.

Nico had one eye on Will, standing behind him to keep a watch on him. As he was sparring with one of the Hephaestus kids, a rock hit Will on the back of his head. Hand on his head, he swayed a little before crumpling onto the ground.

"Will!", Nico ducked away from the person he was sparring with and went to Will's side.

He could see blood on the side of his head and panicked. He prayed it wasn't a serious wound. Gently lifting Will's head, he cradled it in his lap.

"Will!", he tried to shake him awake.

The blonde groaned loudly, cursing as he reached to his wound.

"Don't worry, it's not that deep. I was surprised", he said.

"Do you want to sit up? Let's go to the infirmary", Nico replied, handing him the water flask he tied to his belt.

"Not required", Will said, sitting up, "I healed it. Son of Apollo, remember? Even the pain is gone", he flashed his 1000 Watt smile again, proud of his ability. Nico’s worry dissipated, a small smile crept into his face.

At that moment, Nico found Will so precious. Maybe it was relief that Will was alright, maybe it was Will's strength, maybe because Will's ability was the complete opposite of his, or maybe because the sun gleamed from above, making his blonde curls seem even brighter, falling around his smiling face like a halo.

"Can I call you 'sunshine'?", Nico asked, blushing at his sentence.

Will just looked surprised and giddy, "Yes! I would love you to call me sunshine!"

He had an urge to kiss Will and at that moment he forgot all the reasons why he was nervous. He leaned forward and placed his lips on Will's still smiling ones. Oh, Sunshine! His boyfriend was too good to be true. Will was frozen for 5 solid seconds before he put his hands on either side of Nico's face and kissed him back. He was so stupid, what was he so nervous about?. Kissing Will was so natural. It was both easy and hard. Easy because it felt right, hard because his brain probably short-circuited.

They pulled away at the sound of hooting and clapping, suddenly remembering that they weren't alone. Nico blushed and looked at Will. He was glowing, his face and smile so bright, Nico probably didn't need the sun anymore. Looking around, he spotted Annabeth beaming at them, Percy gaping like a fish, and the rest of the familiar faces either shocked or smiling.

Nico wanted to get away, he was so embarrassed. He stood up, pulled Will up, and started walking towards his cabin.

The couple spent the rest of the day in cabin 13. Kissing and cuddling. Will went back to his cabin only the next morning.