Young and Old, Back and Bold

Chapter 23

Dominic woke up to find Nico fretting about the room, his robes thrown on and..."Did you iron your robes?"

Nico jumped in surprise before looking to Dominic. "Hm?"

"Your robes." Dominic pointed to them. "Where'd the wrinkles go?"

"I had Hermione use a spell." Nico spread his arms. "Do they look good?"

Dominic nodded. "Yeah, I guess. But you don't look...normal."

"I tried brushing my hair." Nico brought a hand to the curly strands. "Does it look stupid?"

"I would make it messy again," Dominic admitted. "You don't want to look preppy."

Nico quickly messed his hair up. "How are you feeling? Okay?"

Dominic shrugged. "It's probably my last day at Hogwarts, so not great. But you shouldn't worry about that. Will's coming."

Nico put his tie on before grabbing his shoes. "You're staying. I'll make sure of it."

"How?"

"Just relax." Nico smiled. "Today's a good day. I can feel it."

"That's good..." Dominic looked down. "...for you..."

Nico didn't seem to hear as he grabbed his bag. "Come on, get your stuff. Let's get down to breakfast."

"I still need to get dressed." Dominic gestured to his robes. "Head down, I'll meet you there."

Nico kept on messing with his hair. "Alright, don't take too long." He walked out of the room with his thoughts on Will, with his thoughts on Dominic, with his thoughts on demigods and wizards alike.

Had the gods wanted him to live in two worlds? Had that been their goal all along? He could hardly make up his mind.

How could you decide the intentions of someone you've never met?

He loved his place in the wizarding world. He loved his family, loved his friends. He loved Hogwarts and what he was learning. Yet deep down, somewhere he couldn't understand, he loved being a demigod. He loved Will.

Yet why was it so hard to accept the fact that he didn't want to go back to wherever the demigods came from?

Guilt. Maybe that was it. Maybe he knew what it took to bring those demigods there. Maybe he saw what he meant to them. He didn't want to disappoint them. But was he still the boy they were looking for? None of them knew for sure.

Nico got to the Great Hall when the feeling of excitement completely hit him. Today was the day. It was finally time to see the true love of his life. He missed him, missed him more than anything. Will was the only thing pulling him toward the demigod world.

Nico had never run towards someone before. He had never felt the need to close the distance so quickly. Yet there he was, jogging toward the boy. Will...he stood by Percy at the Gryffindor table, getting ready to sit down.

"Will..." Nico stopped beside him. He was a couple feet shorter, maybe not even reaching Will's shoulders. "Will..."

Will looked down at Nico as pain leaked into his blue eyes. His hands shook as he pulled Nico into a hug. "You're alive..."

Nico buried his head in Will's chest, felt himself calm at the warmness of it. He stood in silence, stood in utter peace as he finally found the other part to himself, to his soul. Only with Will did he believe in soulmates. Only with Will...

He wasn't aware that he was crying until he felt how wet Will's shirt had become. When had the tears stopped? He could never remember.

At some point, he led Will to his bed, and there they laid in each other's arms. No kissing, no physical interactions. Just peace. They laid cuddled into each other, buried beneath blankets. They laid with no thought of what was to come except that they would be together.

It was around lunchtime when Will spoke. The room was empty, silent. "So, you remember me?"

Nico didn't bother to look up, his eyes shut and his head leaning into Will's neck. "I remember your face and your name. I can feel how much I love you. That's...that's it."

Will moved his fingers to Nico's hair, playing with the stands. "Your hair is the same. And your eyes. But you-you're different."

Nico's grip on Will's shirt tightened. "Do you not like how I've changed?"

"I'll always love you, Nico," Will promised. "I always will." He paused, took a deep breath. "You're happy now, you know. You're carefree. And that's amazing. But your age..."

"Annabeth said she'll try to get me back to normal," Nico replied desperately. "And she might be able to."

"But if she doesn't?" Will asked. "What then?"

"I...I don't know." Nico felt another tear slip out. "But I need you."

"I've been thinking a lot about this, Nico. Ever since Percy told me." Will wet his lips. "Let me ask you this, Nico. Do you plan on continuing your wizarding education passed this year?"

Nico nodded. "Course. I love Hogwarts."

Will's hand stopped, falling still on Nico's head. "Then you should stay the age you are."

"Huh?" Nico picked his head up to face Will. "What do you mean?"

"You can't suddenly age eight years and come back and expect to fit in with your class," Will explained. "It just won't work. So after you graduate, we'll figure it out then."

"Will..."

"You know I'm right." Will smiled though he was crying. "We'll get your memories back and we'll train you and you'll stay here. Then, after you're done with school, we'll focus on the age problem. You...you're a wizard, Nico. You always have been even if you never realized it. Nico di Angelo...he was a wizard. You, you're a wizard. You have to train for it."

Nico shook as sobs racked his body. "But I need you!"

Will's eyes broke. "I need you, too, Nico."

Nico laid his head on Will's chest as he let himself cry, his grip never loosening. Will, his Will...his Will...

"I love you," Nico choked out. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Will wiped at his own face. "I love you, too."

"What if things had been different?" Nico asked. "If the gods hadn't done this to me. Would we have been together?"

Will nodded. "We were meant to be, Nico. We both knew it. In that world...we were together."

Nico closed his eyes as tight as he could, tried to convince himself that he was dreaming. "We were good together?"

"The best."

"I made you happy?"

"More than anything else."

"Will you wait for me?"

Will hesitated, felt his smile falter. "It depends on where we both are at that time. I'm a demigod, Nico. I might not even be alive."

Nico shook some more but didn't pull away. His voice broke, taking with it any composer the boys had left. "Okay."

Will looked up at the ceiling, the cold air hitting his raw eyes. "Just know that I love you. Just know that."