ELYSIAN, the riordanverse

16

FIVE YEARS - SLIGHT SEXUAL CONTENT

Nico and Will weren't supposed to run into each other. They weren't supposed to find each other in the supermarket.

It wasn't supposed to happen.

The two had cut off all ties five years ago, Nico had moved back to Italy and Will had moved back to Texas. It was as simple as that, but it wasn't that simple at all.

Their fingers brush the smallest bit as they reach for the same cereal box from two different aisles. They feel a shock of electricity and jump back a little.

The cereal box drops to the floor.

Nico picks it up and turns to the man on the other side of the shelf. He can't talk, it's him. It's Will. The boy with the golden hair and azure eyes. The boy who isn't quite a boy anymore, just as much as Nico isn't a teenager anymore.

'Will,' he says simply.

'Nico,' the blue-eyed boy says back.

The two stand there for what seems like eternity, just looking at each other.

Will notices that Nico's let his hair grow a bit and he's sporting a small ponytail.

Nico notices that Will's contacts have been replaced with glasses.

Will sees that the brown-eyed man's style hasn't changed much. Still the same black shirt, aviator jacket and lip ring.

Nico sees that Will still wears the same clothes as always. A colorful button-up shirt and khaki shorts, his sandals completing the look.

And then their eyes find the other's.

Will stares into those eyes he remembers falling in love with and right now, he isn't quite sure if he ever stopped loving those dark brown irises.

Nico stares at those blue eyes, the color of the bright blue sky and he wonders if he ever stopped thinking of Will's eyes when he looked up at the sun.

Will clears his throat as Nico averts his eyes, smoothing out his jacket.

'Uh, hey?' The blond says as Nico smiles with uncertainty and replies, 'Hey.'

They aren't sure what to do. They aren't even sure if they should be doing this. They cut off all ties, they practically said they never wanted to see each other again. Yet here they were trying to make small talk in a supermarket, separated by a metal shelf.

'H-how are you?' The Italian asks, voice quivering the smallest bit.

'Oh, um, I'm good,' Will answers but then mentally slaps himself. He's supposed to ask the same question. 'How about you?'

Nico's reply is the same, 'I'm good.'

'Right...' Will trails off, still not sure what to say.

Nico scratches the back of his neck, are things supposed to be this awkward?

'Um, how are Kayla and Austin? Haven't seen them in a while,' Nico asks thinking back to Will's siblings. They were all inseparable, but after Will and Nico's breakup, the group drifted apart.

'They're good, Austin got his music major,' Will replied. Talking about people other than them was much easier. 'Kayla got her art major too.'

'That's great,' Nico said, smiling. 'I'm happy for them.'

Will nods in acknowledgement and his eye catches the cereal box Nico is holding. 'Um, you can have the cereal. It's cool.'

Nico can't help but smile at the other man's words. It was so Will. Always helping other people out, no matter what. 'You sure? 'Cuz you can have it.'

Will shakes his head, 'No, no... I-I'm sure.'

'Um, ok,' Nico says and then smiles a little as Will smiles back. 'I-I'll be going...'

'Yeah, yeah... um... bye, Nico.' The name rolls of Will's tongue so easily. It's been ages since he's uttered that name but it still sounds so wonderful.

'Bye, Will.'

-

Under the probing lights and the smoke, two bodies bump into each other. The two men look up at each other.

There seems to be something so familiar about those blue eyes. About those brown eyes.

As if the two can remember looking into them saying things that made the other blush and smile. But in their intoxicated state, they can't really place the thought.

So, they do what any other two gay men do at a gay club when they're drunk. They start to dance, their bodies grind against each other. The man with the black hair trails his finger's down to the other man's waist. His hand sneaks under the orange shirt and the one with blond hair runs his fingers through the other's man's luscious hair.

They touch each other lightly, their lips meet. And before they know it, the two are in the blond's apartment and their naked bodies become one in the moonlight.

The blue-eyed man rolls the other over so he was on his stomach, his fingers working the black-haired man wider until he was practically begging to be taken. The blond could feel the flush of his cheeks from the absolute lust radiating from those warm brown eyes which still looked so familiar, before he lost all sense and finally pushed into him. They meld together, the two teasing each other, sinking their teeth into skin, pulling on hair and muttering sweet nothings. Their cries are harmonized, a melody of alcohol and passion entwined together.

Reaching that pinnacle moment of pure ecstasy together, they revel in it for as long as it lasts before collapsing side-by-side onto the bed, panting heavily and buzzing with euphoria. The brown-eyed man moves so he was encompassed in limbs, laying his head on the other man's chest, feeling the drumming heart under his skin.

After a couple of minutes, the buzz wears off and their heartbeats return to normal. And the two fall asleep, still thinking how this is so familiar yet so strange.

-

Nico wakes up.

Will wakes up too.

They look at each other, now understanding why the other looked so familiar. Nico stands up quickly and pulls on his clothes.

Will sits up in the bed and pulls the blanket up to his chest. 'Um, Nico... w-what do we do?' He asks quietly.

The man looks at him and says just as quietly, 'I don't know.'

The blond rubs at his eyes as memories of last night come back to him.

He looks at the man's length, so wonderful. He teases the brown-eyed man, nipping at his waist, leaving a trail of kisses down his v-line. His fingers roam up and down the other man's shaft, earning a series of groans from the man with the leather jacket. Well, the jacket's on the floor now.

His face reddens and he buries his head in his hands.

'Will,' The blue-eyed man looks up. 'What do you want to do?'

'I-um...' Will takes a deep breath and answers, 'I don't know, but I do know I don't want you to leave.'

Nico obliges, he isn't sure why he's doing this. Neither is Will, actually.

But here, in each other's arms... It doesn't quite feel like it's been five years. It doesn't feel like it's been five years at all.

It feels like home.