Riordianverse Oneshots

The Colour of His Eyes and the Taste of Mint

AU - can't see colour until you kiss your soulmate(s)

When living in Nico's world, everything was grayscale. Of course he was born that way, but as he grew older, even though he was just 15, he started to not care. All of his friends, give or take on who hasn't said anything, have found their soulmates in the past year. His sister Hazel found hers, his best friend and cousin Jason found his, even his other, more idiotic cousin Percy found his, but Nico still hadn't. After last year, after the incident with Eros and how much the older used him, he gave up on ever finding his soul mate. He just walked around, Hazel describing the colours to him through feelings and values.

And then there was Will.

He was the only one out of their friend group, minus Nico, who hadn't said anything about colours. He was this tall, bright eyed guy, a few months older than Nico, and to be perfectly honest, Nico liked him more than just a friend. There was one little problem in that though, he was dating Drew, the school's golden girl bully.

Nico didn't know if Will could see colours, but Drew could so it only made sense to him that the older boy could too. He nodded when their friends were talking about colours, seeming to agree, and he seemed happy with Drew, so Nico just pushed down his emotions and outwardly was happy for Will. He was happy for all his friends, really, even though he was sort of jealous to be honest. He didn't expect to ever see colour, his only crush being in a relationship with his soulmate, or so he thought. Turns out he didn't know Will as much as he believed.

---

It all started with a piece of mint gum.

Nico and Will were left behind as everyone went to the pool, Nico not liking water and Will not feeling comfortable enough to swim. They were lounging in the main room of Percy's house, a safe meeting space for all of them and where they were going to sleep over later. It was just the two of them, Percy's mom, step-dad and little sister joining the rest of their friends at the pool, so the house was encased in a comforting silence as Will played a game on his phone and Nico drew in his sketchbook, though it wasn't only that. He kept on looking up, drawing Will and staring at the older boy for probably way too long. His cheeks were coated in a light pink wash from staring at the older boy as he tried to capture all of his curves and edges. As he was finishing up Will's hair, the boy got a text, to which he groaned. Nico looked up, worried.

"You ok?" he asked, placing down his pencil to look at his crush. Will chuckled, a tone of sadness in his voice before turning to Nico and answering.

"Just Drew," he said, trailing off and sighing. Nico looked at him with concern, scooting closer to Will, watching as he typed back a message quickly. Will stared at his phone, watching as a text popped back up with a heart at the end. Nico watched his face, the pain evident as his thumbs hovered over the keys.

"I really want to break up with her," he whispers under his breath, catching Nico off guard. He moved to place a hand on the older's shoulder, hesitating before doing so. He looked at Will, watching his facial movements as he moved to text her back.

"Why don't you?" Nico asks, moving his hand to Will's shoulder and feeling his binder through his shirt. He rubs Will's shoulder, giving the boy time to answer the obviously hard topic.

"Sh-she's Drew. She'll rake my name through the dirt like how she did with Jason, she'll tell everyone I'm trans. She told me that..." he squeezes his eyes, turning off his phone without returning a text. Nico gently takes the phone out of his hands, placing it behind himself along with his sketchbook still open to his work in progress of Will. Will brings his hands up to his eyes, rubbing them as Nico rubs his shoulder.

"Sometimes it's worth it to make a move, especially if she's making you unhappy," he says softly, bending down to look at Will's face. He nods slightly, rising up and rubbing his eyes of tears. Nico smiles softly, picking up the older's binder and flicking it against his shoulder.

"Also, binder," he says in a stern but teasing tone, making the older of the two smile.

"Yes sir," he says back teasingly, saluting and getting up to go to the washroom. Nico watches as he walks away, following his movements and smiling slightly. He looks down to his hand and blushes, shaking his head and finishing up the sketch of his crush.

A few minutes later Will returns, a baggy hoodie stolen from Piper on and binder in hand, throwing it on the back of the couch and plopping back down beside Nico. He peered over Nico's shoulder, resting his chin on Nico's shoulder and watching him draw.

"Is that me?" Will asks, causing Nico to blush slightly.

"Mhm. Gum?" He responds, moving to change the subject quickly before his blush grows even more. Will smiles and nods, removing his chin as Nico reaches into his pocket to grab a pack of gum. He flips it open to find a single stick left, eyes widening. He looks up to meet Will's eyes, which are mirroring his own. He freezes as Will smirks, taking in the tones and values of the older's eyes as he reaches down and snatches the piece.

Nico watches as he unwraps it and plops it in his mouth, smirking at Nico's expression.

"Mm mint," he says, smiling brightly. Nico continues to stare into his eyes, blushing brightly as Will continues to chew on the gum, their faces a few centimeters apart.

Will's phone buzzes in the background, causing Nico to jump slightly. He moves to grab it for Will, breaking eye contact, only for Will to grab his cheeks and kiss him, the taste of mint and sweet peach filling his mouth.

After a second of shock Nico kisses back, dropping the cardboard package onto his lap and moves his arm around Will's neck, Will's arms moving to the younger's waist. Will's tongue pushed into Nico's mouth, the piece of gum traveling into his mouth. Nico hums slightly into the kiss, pressing into it further as the gum travels to the back of his mouth.

Will breaks the kiss after a minute, placing his forehead on Nic'os and smiling, panting slightly. Nico looks up at him, eyes meeting Will's as he pants as well, but something feels off. He peers into Will's eyes, jaw dropping as he realizes what he's seeing.

The mint gum drops from his mouth as he whispers lightly, not breaking eye contact.

"Your eyes are blue."

---

A short hour later, the twos friend group, plus Percy's family, arrives back at the house to find the two boys snuggled up together on the couch, watching a nature documentary on the TV. The noise of the 12 demigods/mortals caused the two boys to look to their friends, a new sort of light in their eyes.

"Jason, the fuck is that colour?" is the first thing out of Nico's mouth, staring at Jason's caramel brown t-shirt with confusion. The room freezes, looking at the boys with a look of confusion. Hazel squeals in Frank's arms after a second, figuring out what had happened and breaking the silence.

Chaos ensues.

---

After the chaos comes the questions. How the kiss happened ("We had a single piece of gum left," Will responded, popping a bubble with the gum), what about Will and Drew (Will broke up with her. Drew attempted to out Will but he just wore a trans binder the next day) and if they were now dating (yep). The conversation then transferred to Sally and Paul's experiences, Sally having two soulmates, and on to the rest of the teens after that, mainly accidental kisses for the majority.

For the remainder of the night Nico stayed by Will's side, his now boyfriend's arm around his shoulder. He was the happiest he had been in years, ever since his mother had died, but that also may be from the purple mark on his shoulder, hidden from view from their friends. They didn't need to know that though, that was a secret for the two soulmates and only them.


1,403 words