☯︎𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝔸𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖☯︎

-Team bonding-

   Y'all can thank s18734 for the update.
   ^Also this is Nico's branding that I have so painstakingly illustrated out.

   "Okay, there is literally no possible way that you couldn't at least find the time to call Hazel or I," said Reyna, her arms folded with a dissaproving stare fixed onto one Nico di Angelo.

   "I'm sorry! I assumed that Percy or Jason would have told you as soon as they found out, and if not, I was going to call you first thing in the morning!" He said, offering a gesture that was meant to convey his intentions, but seemed to scream 'please believe me!' more than anything. Needless to say, Reyna was not impressed.

   "And what's this I hear about the Avengers?" Asks Hazel, her hand on her cocked hip and an eyebrow raised. Nico almost can't look at her with how intimidating she is.

   "They live in the place that I'm moving into. After crashing Will and I's date at the park and interrogating us for a few hours, we agreed to join them. Oh, come on, Hazel! You know how boring it is around camp for me. And I could never stay at Camp Jupiter- don't look at me that way, Reyna, you know it's true," says Nico, quickly stomping whatever interruption Reyna was about to make. "They don't trust me. They might not say anything about it to your face, Reyna, but it's obvious, even to an outsider."

   "That still doesn't explain why you're moving," said Hazel, her curls bouncing as she throws a hand in the air to put emphasis on how much she doesn't like it.

   "Because, Haze, I can't just leave Will at home all the time and be off doing missions. It'd be bad for both of us," he says more softly, feeling slightly saddened just from thinking about it. Hazel's eyes softened.

   "I'm not mad at you for moving, Nico, I get why you did it. But why couldn't you tell us about it first?" She asked, moving to touch his shoulder gently.

   "Because I thought you would try to make me stay, or that you'd be upset." He said, not meeting her eyes. At this point, Reyna had moved so she was standing by Nico's side.

   "Nico, we'd never try to make you do something that you didn't want to," She said, conviction strong in her voice. Nico sighed, but accepted it as the truth. He knew better than to argue with Reyna and Hazel.

   After that, they stayed for another 20 or 30 minutes or so, before both of them announced that they should probably be getting back to New Rome. Many hugs, shoulder pats, and reassurances later, the two finally left.

   Once he was sure that they were both gone, Nico collapsed back onto the sofa, exhaling heavily. Will came through the door, his clothes changed and hair damp. He'd showered.

   "So... how'd it go?" He asked, leaning against the arm of the couch. Nico draped his arm across his face, hiding his eyes from Will.

   "Better than expected. Not good, but not bad."

   "Mm."

   They sat in silence for a while. Will reached out and put a hand in Nico's hair, dragging it through his tousled locks slowly. Nico threw his arm off, looking up at Will. They still didn't speak.

   "You know," Will said after about 4 minutes. "They really love you."

   Nico sighed deeply. "Yeah, I know," he said quietly.

   After a moment or two, Will slipped his hands down from Nico's hair to his face. Nico looked up at him for a moment, confused, until Will suddenly pressed his hands together, effectively squishing his cheeks.