Will's hands slowly raised in surrender. His (gorgeous) eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and his Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped.
"Hey dude," Will laughed nervously. "Do you mind not trying to skewer me when you wake up? 'Cuz that's kinda awkward between friends."
Nico slowly sheathed his sword and glared at him. "What in the Hades was that for?!"
Will shrugged. "Don't blame me. You're the one who's hard to wake up."
"It's not my fault I've been drained of my powers! It's gonna take a while to be fully recovered!"
Will stared at him incredulously. "Dude, it is your fault! You shouldn't have done your Underworld-y magic so much! If you had listened to me-"
"What?!" Cracks formed under Nico's feet. He was already agitated from being woken up by an unearthly whistle. Will's stubbornness was pushing him over the edge. "So I'm just supposed to sit around and not help my friends in the middle of a battle? The only advantage I have in battle is my Underworld-y stuff!"
"Nico, you're a lot stronger than you think. You're a child of the Big Three! You have amazing power that does not involve summoning the dead!"
With each retort, the demigods stepped closer and closer together. They were only inches apart, both sets of eyes burning with rage.
Nico growled. "Shut up, Solace."
"Why don't you make me."
The tension suddenly turned in a totally different direction. Nico could feel his ears burning with a different kind of passion. He was embarrassed and felt awkward, but he couldn't step away. Will's pull was too strong. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears. His breathing matched Will's deep, steady chest falls.
For a moment, everything was still. Then, Will grabbed Nico's hand and pulled him towards the door.
"Come on, di Angelo," he growled. "We're going to dinner."
Nico yanked his hand away. "I can walk myself," he shot back.
Will rolled his eyes. "I doubt it."
Now it was Nico's turn to grab Will's hand as he turned away. He whirled him around to face him. His grip on Will's arm tightened as he gritted his teeth and pulled him closer. His eyes only reached Will's chin, but Nico knew from experience that a boy in black with a black stygian sword strapped at his waist could be intimidating.
"What was that, Solace?"
"What does it matter to you, di Angelo? I'm trying to care about you and you just keep pushing me away. Obviously you can't take care of yourself. So maybe I shouldn't bother either."
Nico froze. Will's words stung his soul deeply. He was used to degrading comments about how creepy he was and the like, but this was different. Will cared about Nico. Somehow, that made his statement hit home. Or five home runs.
Nico's grip loosened. "Fine," he said calmly. He released Will and pushed him away just hard enough to make him stumble. Nico's heart sent a quick feeling of regret and pain, but those were feelings he had experience in stashing away.
"Thank you for single-handedly showing me that coming back to camp was a mistake. I'll be leaving now." Nico pushed past Will and stomped towards the doors, leaving a trial of cracks in the floor behind him.
"Just how long are you expecting to stay hidden?" Will called after him.
"Forever!" Nico yelled back. His rage was brimming dangerously high. Gods, he shouldn't have been so stupid. Will and him couldn't have worked out. He was just kidding himself, riding some kind of high that he didn't have a right to be on.
