Fire and Ice (A Leo Valdez fanfic) [2017]

Chapter 3: Nico 💀

NICO WATCHED HAZEL AND FRANK walk outside together, hand in hand. They sat next to each other on Half Blood Hill. He sighed. He wished he had someone like that. Someone to actually love him.

No, not Percy. Percy was a good guy, and good to have as a friend, but Nico didn't think of him as a person to like. Not in that way. (Not anymore.) The only guy he actually wanted to feel like that toward him... who he felt like that toward... was Will Solace.

Will. He was strong, and nice, and caring, and cute. Sure, Nico was supposed to be all dark and scary, the Ghost King and all, but he had feelings. To be specific, he had feelings for Will.

He hadn't told anyone. Not even Hazel.

Will was a son of Apollo. The god of the sun, music, poetry, and healing. In short, the exact opposite of Nico.

So why would Will like Nico?

He wouldn't. That was the obvious answer.

Nico turned up the volume on his MP3 player and flopped down on his bed. He was listening to an Imagine Dragons soundtrack, and the song playing was On Top of the World.

If you love somebody

Better tell them while they're here 'cause

they just might run away from you

You'll never know quite when, well--

then again, it just depends on

how long of time is left for you.

I've had the highest mountains,

I've had the deepest rivers,

I've had it all but life keeps moving...

Nico was singing along loudly when he realized there was someone at the door. He pulled out the headphones, the music still playing, and found himself face-to-face with Will Solace.

"Hi, Nico," Will said awkwardly, his cheeks red. "Um, what's up?"

Nico's face grew hot. Why was he here? Why was he blushing? But most importantly... "Did... did you hear me singing?"

"Yeah," Will admitted. "You're not bad. Can I come in?"

"Uh, sure." He opened the door all the way. Will stood uncomfortably by the door. Nico sat on the bed and patted the spot next to him. "Um, you can sit here, if you want. You know, if it's not, well..." He trailed off, realizing that he was rambling. Will smirked at Nico's discomfort and took the seat next to him.

"So, um, how is it going in the infirmary?" Nico asked, trying to ignore Will's hand on the bed beside him, inches from his own. It was a stupid question, but he wasn't sure how to make conversation.

"Not super interesting. Basically just taking care of campers who got hurt, like new demigods who got hurt in capture the flag, Hephaestus kids who got hurt by a malfunctioning machine-- that happens a lot lately-- stuff like that."

"What do you think of Frank Zhang?" Nico asked.

Will seemed surprised by the question. "He's a good guy, and he's the best shot with a bow and arrow I've ever seen, apart from children of Apollo. As far as archery goes, he's pretty amazing-- I mean ama-Zhang."

Nico grimaced. "Are you serious? Hazel says that all the time."

Will grinned. "Well, then, I Apollo-gize."

"Oh, gods!" Nico groaned.

"All right, all right. I'll stop, Death Breath."

"Don't you dare call me that."

"Or?"

"Or I'll bury you alive and send you to Hades the hard way."

Will raised his eyebrows. "You wouldn't."

"No, I wouldn't. You're too..." Nico forced himself to stop before he said "awesome" or "cute" or something equally embarrassing.

Will was quiet for a long time. Finally he said, "Nico, I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"I like you."

"Me too," Nico said without thinking, before realizing the meaning of Will's words.

"No. Like, I like like you. I-- I want to--" For once Will was the one stuttering. He put his face in his hands. "Gods, I'm terrible at this."

Nico grinned so widely, the smile had difficulty fitting on his face. "Will, I think the word you're looking for is love."

Will stared at him. "You-- you..."

"Yeah."

"So you're--"

"You sound like Percy."

"But you feel the... you know, the same way?"

"Yes."

Will was smiling, his cheeks bright red. "Nico, I... I don't know how to--"

"Will?" Nico said. "Shut up." Without thinking, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against Will's. A spark shot between them, ignited by the connection of their lips. Nico could feel Will's surprise, could feel him drawing back. He pulled away immediately, shocked at his own actions. "I-- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have--"

Will kissed him. And it felt good. It felt great. He wanted to stay there, forever.

"I love you," Nico said quietly in Will's ear.

"Me too." Will pressed his lips against Nico's.

The door opened and Hazel Levesque burst in. "Nico! Come quick, it's-- EWW! Guys, take a room!"

Nico and Will broke apart, breathing hard. Will's face was bright red, and Nico was sure his was the same. "Get a room," Nico corrected. 

"Technically, we had a room before," Will pointed out. He was smiling. Gods, his smile was so cute.

Hazel grinned widely. "I'm so happy for you, big brother!" She hugged Nico. "And that also means that Percy owes Jason five drachma."

"Excuse me?" Nico said incredulously. "They bet on us getting together?"

"Yeah! So did a bunch of Aphrodite kids. They even have a ship name for you! Solangelo!"

"Sol--what?" Nico and Will said together.

"Solangelo. Solace and di Angelo."

Nico and Will looked at each other and shrugged. "Solangelo it is," Will said.

Hazel facepalmed herself. "Oh, I forgot! I had a reason to come in here. Guess who's back?"

Nico shrugged.

"Leo!"

"What?" Nico gasped. "That's impossible. I felt him die."

"Well, tell him that. Come on!" She dragged him by the hand, Will running behind them.

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And this, my friends, is why I don't write love scenes. It was fun to write, though. I love the idea of Nico getting involved with modern music, as well as the idea of Hazel trying to use modern slang and failing.