A/N: This one shot takes place exactly after the last one. Enjoy!

We finally let go of each other’s hands.

“You’re so cold, little bro.” said Percy, a bit of worry laced in his voice.


“Don’t worry, Percy. It’s nothing a little sun won’t cure.”
~

“I swear that if I come out of this alive I will kill you, Solace!”

“Oh shut up, and keep climbing, di Angelo.”

Where was Will taking me? I had no idea. We were supposed to be training, but we were climbing one of the Camp’s highest hills instead; odd. Also, I had no idea why he was carrying an old fashioned basket with him. Crazy Apollo boy.

I knew from the beginning that Will was crazy. I confirmed it when he let out that guttural whistle that left everyone clasping at their ears. I also knew another thing: I was hopelessly falling for him.

Will and I were opposites, but I guess you could say that the saying is true; opposites do attract. Seeing him being so selfless while helping the wounded made me admire him. Also, he took care of me right after Gaia’s defeat, which ensured my well-being while making sure I didn’t disappear into shadows.

That’s what caused me to slowly fall in love with him… He was so different from everyone I knew… I knew he meant his words when he called me a friend… I knew he was genuinely worried when he made me stay at the infirmary for three days…

My crush on Will was growing so fast it actually scared me, because that was how my thing for Percy started. First, it was a mere crush, but then it evolved into a much deeper feeling.
What really had me terrified was he finding out about my feelings towards him. Hazel assured me that Will also preferred men but I could’t be sure of that… What if he is heterosexual and then gets away from me because he knows I’m crushing hard on him? What if he’s indeed gay, yet simply doesn’t love me back? I stood at a crossroads that had way too many paths that lead to different outcomes, and I didn’t dare to explore any of them.

My thought process was interrupted when Will shrieked with victory.

“Here we are!”

“Gods, Solace! Your howl is as horrendous as your whistle! And… where exactly are we?” I inquired.

“At the top of this hill, of course!” He replied simply, with a triumphant grin plastered on his face.

I felt the urge to hug him and strangle him at the same time. He looked so cute! But I wasn’t really fond of unnecessary physical activity and I didn’t see the point of climbing this hill.

I turned around. “I’m out of here, Solace. I am not fond of aimlessly spending my precious time.”

“Wait!” he screamed and tried to catch me by my arm, but since I was a little bit sweaty, his hand fell in mine.

As soon as our hands touched, a jolt of electricity surged though my body; making me feel dizzy. I took my hand off his as soon as I could; I wasn’t fond of getting electrocuted.

“Don’t be so surly, Nico.” He reproached at me, he then changed his tone to a cheerful one. “I thought we’d take a day off. I prepared a picnic for both of us, and we both know you could use a little sun bathing.” He explained simply as he unfolded the blanket and prepared the picnic.

I stood there, stunned, simply looking at him. I couldn’t believe that I was having a date-I mean a picnic, with Will.

“So what are you waiting for? Sit down and let’s start eating. You really could use some more muscle mass.”

“Are you calling scrawny, Solace?” I asked, trying to sound bitter as I seated beside him.

“Of course not, Nico. You’re a rather healthy and handsome young man.” Gosh, I was probably laughing like an idiot at his doctor-like compliment. “But please, do me a favor.”

“What?”

“Stop calling me by my last name… I prefer Will.”

I pondered between acting like I was annoyed by his request just to put on an act or playing it cool. Of course I wanted to call him Will! I only tried to mask my emotions because I didn’t want to lose his friendship… However, I decided to walk down this path of the crossroads; it was just a small risk, after all.

“Okay… Will.”

“Perfect, so let’s eat. I prepared my specialty: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!”
P & J sandwiches weren’t exactly my favorite meal, but these tasted wonderful! Maybe it was because Will had done them and I was biased to like them because of my feelings toward him. We ate a dozen of the sandwiches, only to then start to munch on the apple pie Will baked. By the time we were finished, we were so full we couldn’t even stand up.

“I am so full, I’m afraid I’ll explode!” said Will, while he lay on the blanket, looking directly at the sky.

“I think we should probably go back, Will.”

“Nah. You don’t even like wall climbing, Nico. Lie down beside me and let’s watch the clouds!”

I wondered how such a childish suggestion sounded so appealing when Will said it. Maybe I was just as crazy as Will. I obliged.

“Look! A drakon!” Will offered, while vigorously pointing at a cloud.

“It looks more like a severely damaged water hose to me.” I replied.

“Okay, Mr. Simple. Search for another cloud and tell me what you see.”

I scanned the sky for another cloud that looked like an animal or object, but all the clouds looked like clouds to me.

“The one just above the water hose resembles a horse who suffers from famine.” I offered.
Will chuckled. His laughter sounded like a hundred bells that were being shook at sound. It was probably the best sound I’ve ever heard in my entire life.

“It looks like a happy unicorn to me.” He said. “Let’s do something else, you suck at this game.” He teased me, while sitting up. “Truth or dare?” he queried.

“I hate that game Will! I don’t want to play it; it’s foolish.”

“Oh, come on, Nico! I promise to behave. Now, truth or dare?”

Stupid Will Solace for making me do things that I’d never do if I was in my complete senses. Liking someone truly sucks.

“Dare.” I replied, trying to sound as defiant as I could.

“I dare you to…” Will pondered his options. “I dare you to do a back flip.”
Of course I couldn’t do the back flip, but I couldn’t just admit that in front of Will’s face, so I stood up ready to work my magic.

“If I successfully do it you’ll have to bake me an apple pie daily, for an entire week.”

“Deal!”

I stood up and tried to gain impulse, and then I was flying through the air in my attempt at doing a back flip. At the moment I started to defy gravity, time seemed to slow down. For a glorious moment I thought that I was going to accomplish the dare, and then things started to go wrong. When my feet touched the ground I lost my footing and fell to the ground, badly scraping my arm.

“OW!” I cried

“Oh my gods! I am so sorry, Nico! Are you alright?” Will rushed towards me and took me into his arms; for one beautiful moment I couldn’t breathe. All I could see was Will’s perfectly chiseled and tanned face. He was blocking the Sun out of my sight, except he was the Sun. My Sun.

“You’ll be okay. That’s nothing a bit of ambrosia and some bandages can’t cure.” He said soothingly while he gently cleaned my wound with gauze and then bandaged it. He gave me a bit of ambrosia and I managed to swallow it.

“I didn’t know you went to all places carrying your doctor equipment.”

“Of course I do, especially when dealing with clumsy people like you.”

“Oh come on, that’s not fair! I was only performing my dare.”

“I know, I know. I’m genuinely sorry about that, by the way. I shouldn’t have risked your health like that.” He said, while looking down, clearly ashamed of his actions.

I fought the urge of taking him into my arms and consoling him. “Hey, don’t be silly this is just a game and now it’s my turn. Truth or dare?”

He smiled shyly. “Truth”

I expected him to say dare, so when he said truth I was incredibly taken aback. I decided that what was happening right now was a once in a lifetime opportunity; so I asked him the one thing I was dying to know about him.

“Whom do you like? And you have to swear on the River Styx that you said the truth.”

His smile fell. He seemed rather tormented by my request and for a moment I contemplated changing my question, but then decided against it… I needed to know!

“I li-like…” His voice was shaky, which was very unlike him. “I like Lou Ellen.”

Lou Ellen? I honestly didn’t expect that answer… Lou was the head counselor to Hecate’s cabin, and although Will and she were friends, I always thought it was only friendship. I was about to buy it, but then I looked at Will and I knew he was lying. Why wasn’t he telling me the truth?

“You swear it on the Styx?”

Will cursed under his breath. “No, I don’t. It’s… It’s not Lou who I like.”

“What? Why would you lie to me? This game is called Truth or Dare for a reason!” I scolded him.

He rose suddenly and starting picking up his things. “It doesn’t matter, Nico. I think it’s time we get back.”

“Oh, none of that! You made me come have a picnic with you, you make me cloud gaze AND play Truth or Dare. I scraped my arm. Tell me the truth. Now.”

Will sighed. “Fair enough. I like… I like…” He stopped. “The thing is… I don’t know if you’d understand, Nico.”
“Oh, please.” I hesitated for a moment. “I’m sure that by this time everyone at Camp knows about my preferences, you included. Am I right?”

“Well, yes, but still. I don’t know…”

“Please, Will. I thought you trusted me.” I pleaded, my voice shaky.

“I do trust you, Nico. I trust you so much I’m going to tell you.” He took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to tell you because… It’s you I like, Nico. You’re my crush.”

I felt my mouth hanging open. I couldn’t believe my ears. Will Solace liked me back.

I couldn’t believe that all these good things were happening to me. I found my little sister. I was able to confess to Percy and the others about my sexuality. I found a best friend in Reyna. People at Camp accepted and respected me the way I was. My father told me that he wanted me to be happy; and with all these revelations, I was positive I could.

For the first time in my life I was going to be able to freely love, free from the chains of shame and rejection.

“What?”

“What you heard… I know it’s hard to take in but… I couldn’t help it. You’re brave, Nico. You’re strong. And we are so different I think that we complement each other.”

The skeletal butterflies that lived in my stomach stirred.

“I choose truth.” I paced until I was just in front of Will. He towered over me, but I couldn’t care less. I was resolute to make my move.

“What…? We are not even playing anym…”

I pressed two of my fingers against his lips. “Shh. The truth is you have a wonderful arrangement of deoxyribonucleic acids, Solace.”

I stood on my tiptoes and kissed Will on the lips.

The skeletal butterflies went absolutely crazy. I wrapped my arms around his neck, while I started to move my lips against his. Our lips seemed to synchronize perfectly. Will wrapped his hands around my waist. Not bad at all for being my first kiss.

The kiss finally ended because we were both gasping for air.

I felt an unusual warmth spreading through my body. The sensation was totally alien to me, yet I was able to identify it: it was the sensation of requited love.

Will’s cheeks were dark red. He looked absolutely adorable.

“You’re a great kisser, di Angelo.”

“You’re not bad yourself, Solace.” I said while smiling. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare.” He replied.

“I dare you to ask me to be your boyfriend.” I said simply.

He kneeled down. “Would you do me the great honor of being my boyfriend?”

“I’d love to, Solace.” I replied grinning.

Will straightened up. He started fangirling. “I never thought… I was so nervous.. I can’t believe you’re now my boyfriend! I am so lucky! Wait til’ I tell Lou Ellen and…”

I shushed him again. “Shut up and kiss me, Solace.”

Will obliged.

Sun bathing was definitely the one thing I needed in order to fully recover.

Notes

My Solangelo feels are going crap-zy. Hope you enjoyed it as such as I did.

More awesome coming up soon!

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Lots of Love, Percabeeeth xx