ꜱᴘɪᴅᴇʀ ʙɪᴛᴇꜱ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀᴄᴀʙᴇᴛʜ/ꜱᴏʟᴀɴɢᴇʟᴏ ᴘʀᴏᴊᴇᴄᴛ

xxɪɪɪ ɴɪᴄᴏ | ɴɪᴄᴏ ᴅᴏᴇꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ʀᴇᴇɴᴀᴄᴛ ᴀ ʜᴀʟʟᴍᴀʀᴋ ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ

"This was fun. Thanks for coming with me," Nico says to Will in the elevator.

"Thanks for inviting me. I had fun too," says Will.

Nico takes a sip from his iced latte, careful to remember which one he's saving for Will. Their relationship is on the mend, but they're not quite at sharing drinks, Nico guesses.

"I'm sorry we lost touch," Will says. "I wish I stayed on good terms with you."

"I set the tone when I didn't even come to see you off. And I lost Annabeth too because of it," Nico says. He feels bad about that. He was a bad friend back then.

"Eh, she would've done it either way. She needed to get out of there. Annabeth isn't doing anything that she's exceptionally proud of, except maybe making the refrigerator sangria- shoot, we left that in the fridge- but she's figuring it out. She seems happy," says Will.

"Refrigerator sangria?" Nico has got to learn more about this.

"Yeah, she's a bartender so-"

"Annabeth Chase is a bartender?" Che due coglioni!

Will's face reddens. "You can't tell anyone I told you that."

"I won't," says Nico. "But I'm glad you trust me with that. Is she at least at a cool restaurant?"

"Um, depends on your definition of cool." Will steps out of the elevator as the doors open, and Nico follows.

They approach Nico's door about halfway down the hall. He holds both of the coffees and Will holds the Happy Meals by their golden arches.

"Shoot, I still have your keys," Nico realizes. "Is it weird if-? Do you want to just come in and figure this all out? You can stay and eat too if you want."

"Depends," Will says. "Are there puppy pictures involved?"

"Absolutely," Nico says.

Now the two of them are sitting in Nico's bed, legs dangling over the edge, eating cheeseburgers.

"Do you want to watch some television?" Nico asks.

"Sure," Will says.

Nico finds the remote in an otherwise empty drawer and turns on the television. There are only a few options: a football game, a soap opera, the local news, a Spanish cartoon channel, Antique Roadshow, a cartoon Nico doesn't recognize, a biblical game show, and then he's back to the football game. He settles on the game and puts the remote down between the two of them, just so that Will knows that he can change the channel if he wants.

He does not.

They sit in silence and watch the game. The Steelers are kicking the Ravens' butts, but Nico is completely indifferent. He doesn't know either of these teams. This is football americano, not Nico's kind of football.

"Non mi piace," he mutters to himself.

"Where are these teams from again?" Will asks.

Nico swallows a bite of his cheeseburger. "I'm not sure."

"What's a 'down'?" Will asks.

"I also don't know," Nico says. He picks up the remote and changes the channel to the soap opera.

"But, Lady Katherine, how will I ever live without you?" the man on screen asks.

Nico's invested immediately. He loves trash television.

"Lord Daniel! I cannot stay with you, for I love another!" a woman shouts back.

Nico tilts his head back and finishes his coffee. "I feel like this is a period drama, but why are they dressed in scrubs?"