"Well it took you long enough."
Will had rushed in, ran straight to Nico's bed, and collapsed on the chair. He was still struggling to catch his breath when Nico stood over him, arms crossed.
"Sorry, long run," Will panted.
Nico stared at Will's dripping clothes. His clothes were hugging his body, showing off just enough to tell Nico that he was more built than he appeared. "Holy Hades, man. I didn't know you sweat that much."
Will looked down at his clothes in surprise. "Oh... Percy kind of blasted everyone with a funnel of water. Actually, I should probably change before someone slips-"
A mangled scream came from the other end of the infirmary, followed by a solid thud. "Why is there water on the floor?" someone yelled.
"My bad!" Will yelled back. He grinned at Nico. His eyes sparkled under his floppy wet hair. "So, come back to my place? I gotta change but you can wait for me there."
Nico gestured around him. "You mean to say you don't live here?" he teased.
"I know, it's shocking. But you'll get used to the idea." Will held out his arm for Nico to take. "Shall we?"
"Here we are! Cabin sweet cabin."
Nico shielded his eyes. "Ugh, it's so cheery in here. How can you stand it?"
Apollo's cabin practically shouted sunshine, music, and medicine. If you ever had trouble guessing which god had what powers, you could easily tell by the contents of their cabin. Upbeat music filled the air, brightly colored paintings filled with lyrics covered every square inch of the cabin, a small garden with herbs and magic remedies sprouted in a corner, and, oh gods, the sunshine. There was a huge sunroof where the roof should be. Somehow, it was even brighter in here than it was outside.
All the tan skinned, brilliant white teeth smiles, and bright blonde hair that crowded the room probably didn't help, either.
Nico stuffed his hands in his pockets. He was going to have to wait here? He'd almost rather stay in the infirmary for two weeks.
Will practically skipped over to his bunk, humming some off-tune song... was that Madonna?
Dork.
He rummaged through a trunk by his bed and pulled out a bright blue shirt and dark jeans. He flashed that stupid smile of his. "I'll be right back," he promised.
Right before he turned the corner into the bathroom, he pried off his shirt, giving Nico a glimpse of a toned, muscled torso (complete with his very own six pack!). He couldn't tell if he did that on purpose, but he turned away and pretended he didn't notice.
Hades, he was hot. Not just Apollo-sun-god hot. But hotttt.
And he liked Nico. Coolest plot twist ever.
Nico smiled to himself. His cheeks hurt from smiling so much. This was like, the fourth time today that he smiled. That's enough to cause exhaustion. Maybe he should start thinking about zombies and ghosts.
"Why are you smiling?"
A much drier Will stood next to the bed, peering at Nico. He had only a towel wrapped around his waist. Show off.
Nico forced himself to look at Will's face. "No reason. Nice outfit."
Will smirked. "Yeah. I call it the let's-get-Nico-hot-bothered look."
Nico's face flushed deep red. "Whatever, man," he mumbled and turned away.
Will frowned. "Hey, where did everyone go?" he noted.
Nico looked up and glanced around. He hadn't even noticed that everyone else had left. They were the only two demigods left in the cabin.
"Isn't there a rule about not allowing two demigods alone together in a cabin?" Will mused aloud.
Nico gave him a sly half smile. "Yeah, but it only says that no boy and girl demigods can be left alone. Doesn't say anything about two male demigods."
A smile slowly crept onto Will's face. "Well in that case..."
Will leaned in towards Nico, his blue eyes instense and longing. There was something playful hiding behind those eyes. Nico held out a hand to stop him. His hand rested on Will's chest. "I don't like being touched."
Will looked at the hand on his chest. Nico's hand looked even more pale against Will's tanned skin. "Yeah, right. I think some of your barriers are coming down."
Nico quickly pulled his hand back. "They are not! You're probably working some sort of Apollo-hypnotic magic on me or something."
"Okay, one, that's so not a thing, and two, you just don't want to admit how completely irresistible I am."
Nico scoffed and crossed his arms. "And completely modest."
"So you agree!" Will teased gleefully.
Nico looked surprised. "What? No- wait, Solace!"
Will patted Nico's cheeks playfully. "Glad that your feelings are finally coming out, Death Boy."
"You are this close to losing your hand, Solace."
In truth, though he would never admit it, Nico loved this conversation. Will standing before him in nothing but a towel should have been scandalous. Instead, it was playful and innocent. It was the complete embodiment of Will and everything in his essence.
Nico still couldn't understand why Will would pay any attention to a child of Hades. He'd literally seen the depths of hell, fought alongside armies of the dead, talked to his own sister's ghost, and even had a hand in killing people... Will was full of goodness and light and happiness. He wasn't one for fighting; he almost always stayed behind the scenes to help with the wounded.
He had heard that opposites attract. He was starting to believe it.
"Well how 'bout this," Will was saying. "If I get to keep my hand, can I hold yours on the walk to dinner?"
His bright smile was too much for Nico. The playful sparkle in his eyes completely melted him.
He thought back to his new found fear of darkness and shadows. Maybe he craved Will the same way he feared shadows. The light cancels the dark. Light cannot be extinguished by darkness, yet just a single match can make the room light again, and darkness is dispelled.
Nico had found his match.
