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thebhorror · 4 months

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i'd be home with you

for @moodyjazzyblues as part of @rrversesummerbang's 2023 gift exchange

summary: “I missed you too,” Nico admitted, his voice muffled from pressing his face into Will’s chest. He knew that they eventually would have to get out of bed, but between Will’s comforting scent and his warm arms and the pattering of rain, Nico was quickly lulled back to sleep. Waking up could wait. They had decades more of time together to get around to doing so.

or, Nico and Will leave camp to live in a cottage of their own in the forest

read on ao3

As Nico neared adult age (something that was equal parts exciting and terrifying) he realized that demigods who made it to adulthood usually had one of two fates. They either went on to go to school and live in New Rome, or they died. It was a sad and morose, but true fact. New Rome was one of the only safe places for demigods, so it made sense that when they chose not to go to New Rome, they met their early demise. It seemed unfair that those were seemingly the only two options.

As more and more of their peers got older, Nico and Will watched everyone go down one of those paths. They visited their friends on their birthdays, spending good portions of the summer celebrating and hanging out with their friends who decided to retire and live a quiet life in New Rome. They watched as people lived a life that was mostly safe, and rarely ever dangerous. It was as close to domestic bliss as demigods seemed to get.

Nico and Will remembered their friends long gone on solemn days, their memory kept alive through pictures and stories they came across every so often. Once in a while, a statue would be erected in their honor, and no matter how artists tried to capture the life that was present in their friends when they were breathing, it was just never the same. It never filled the hole, never filled the void left by the ones who died.

And so, choosing death or New Rome was what most everyone they knew did as they grew up. But, Nico and Will weren’t like everyone else. They never were, so of course they chose neither of the popular choices for adulthood. Instead of either dying young or moving across the country, Nico and Will built a cottage in the woods of upstate New York for the two of them to live in. And it was one of the best decisions they had ever made.

The rain from outside poured down in sheets, loud enough to wake Nico up as it pounded on the roof of their home. But, he didn’t mind that much, not with Will’s warm arms wrapped around him, squeezing him in close. He enjoyed the near silence, the only noise coming from the soothing rain and Will’s quiet breathing. He liked how quiet their home was, how secluded and safe he felt in it. Nico smiled as he soaked in Will’s warmth. He knew that on a day like this, the cold would chill him to the bone, and that as long as he stayed in bed with Will, he wouldn’t be frozen.

Soon though, as he always did, Will stirred awake. He tightened his grasp around Nico and Nico felt him press a soft kiss to his forehead. “Good morning,” Will said, his voice low and raspy with sleep. Nico leaned up to look up at Will’s face from where his head was nestled on Will’s chest. He pressed a kiss to his boyfriend’s jaw line.

“Good morning,” Nico replied, settling back down and leaning in close to Will. He buried his face in Will’s soft sleep shirt, wanting nothing more than to be tangled with Will and never leave his side, as impractical as that was.

“I missed you,” Will said, as if he hadn’t been sleeping soundly without a trace of distress mere moments before. Despite the fact that Nico rolled his eyes when Will said that, his heart couldn’t help but feel warmed and melted at the fact that Will liked - no, loved- him like that. He seemed to never get used to it, never truly believing that anyone like Will could love someone like Nico. It seemed impossible, too good to be true and yet here he and Will were, eight years after they started dating, and they still woke up tangled in each other’s arms. It was a dream come true, and Nico knew that for the rest of his life, he and Will would always be together.

“I missed you too,” Nico admitted, his voice muffled from pressing his face into Will’s chest. He knew that they eventually would have to get up, but between Will’s comforting scent and his warm arms and the pattering of rain, Nico was quickly lulled back to sleep. Waking up could wait. They had decades more of time together to get around to doing so.

Leaving the demigod world had been a surprisingly easy choice. As they rapidly approached eighteen, Nico and Will knew that they couldn’t stay at Camp Half-Blood for forever. No one did. And no matter how many times either of them joked about staying as staff members, joining the small staff of Chiron, Mr. D, Argus, and the Harpies, none of the staff jumped on their (partly joking, but mostly serious) offer. In fact, Chiron seemed kind of disappointed whenever they brought it up, like he expected more from them. So, staying at camp indefinitely (potentially for the rest of their lives) was not an option.

Their next thought was to try living amongst mortals. That was quickly dismissed, as both Nico and Will had spent far too long entrenched in mythos to exist in the normal world. They discussed, briefly, Will attending a mortal college and eventually going to med school, but quickly decided that that idea was not for him. “How the hell am I supposed to go back to normal life and go to school with a bunch of normal young adults and relearn all the things I’ve been doing since I was ten?” Will asked when Nico suggested it.

It made Nico laugh when he really thought about it, because Will was right. He would both be far too advanced compared to his peers who would not have the same experience he did, while also behind them at the same time. Will couldn’t use his powers fairly and discreetly to help with healing like he did at camp, and Nico knew that trying to treat without that would be a struggle for his boyfriend. Not to mention the fact that living in the mortal world full of technology would be incredibly unsafe for them.

New Rome wasn’t for them either when they entertained that idea. It had its perks. It was a safe place for them, it was close to their friends and Nico’s only living family. They could go to school, get jobs, and build a family together. It was everything they never let themselves even imagine having, because it just seemed too good to be true. Theoretically it was perfect.

But, Will felt apprehensive about the whole thing, unsure of moving across the country, not quite positive he wanted to go to school and get a job. His opinion was that they had saved the world, saved people. Why did they have to continue to contribute? Why couldn’t they have some time just to themselves, time to relax and retire peacefully?

And, as often as Nico had gone to Camp Jupiter and New Rome as an ambassador and then later as a friend, it never felt like his home. Nico felt like an outsider almost every place he went, but the feeling was especially strong when he was with the Romans. Nico wasn’t sure if the feeling would ever go away, and he didn’t want them to uproot their lives, only for him to feel miserable and unwanted. It wouldn’t be healthy for him. It was a unanimous decision for them to not choose New Rome as their final destination, much to Hazel’s dismay, who had practically begged the two of them to move there.

It was Will who had been the one to suggest that he and Nico think about building themselves a cottage in the woods. The idea had been a sudden one, one that surprised Nico.

“It sounds like a horror movie plot. Has this been a long con, Solace? Was this relationship all a ploy to kill me in the woods?” Nico asked, not sure if Will was serious about his suggestion. How could he be sure, when Will had never mentioned anything like this before?

Will rolled his eyes, but still responded to Nico. “Yes, Nico. That’s exactly what all of this has been. You’ve figured out my evil plot- oh no!” He sighed before continuing on. “No. Of course not, dummy. It’s just-” Will trailed off, seemingly having a difficult time trying to figure out what to say. “It’s just that we’re having a hard time figuring out where to go. We don’t exactly fit in anywhere. So, why not make our own place away from everyone else? We can visit people when we want to, or stay away from everyone but ultimately, we’re not tied to any one world. We can do whatever we want.”

Nico pondered what Will said for a moment, before leaning forward toward his boyfriend. “Freedom sounds… nice. I’m intrigued. Go on.” Will eagerly shared his idea with Nico, who, with every word Will spoke, became more and more interested in the idea. As crazy and potentially unattainable as it sounded, it would be so nice. Nico quickly warmed up to the idea, and could not envision any other future for them. That was it. This was what they were supposed to do.

Nico was the one who usually cooked. He wasn’t good at it, but honestly neither was Will, who was far too worried about getting the measurements right and was prone to over cooking and over seasoning things. As a result, most of the responsibilities of keeping them fed fell on Nico by default.

Making breakfast, however, was Will’s forte. For whatever reason, he could make a perfectly cooked omelet and delicious pancakes and roasted potatoes. His waffles were to die for, and Nico swore when he ate his french toast that if he hadn’t known Will’s dad was Apollo, Nico would have thought that his boyfriend’s dad was the god of breakfast. Nico got their coffees ready while Will cracked eggs into a pan, scrambling them to fluffy, delicious perfection. “I don’t know how you do it,” Nico said from where he observed Will’s cooking from over his shoulder.

“I have to be good at something so you keep me around,” Will joked, which made Nico roll his eyes.

“I would keep you around even if you weren’t good at anything,” Nico said, pressing his forehead to Will’s back. He pressed a kiss in the middle of his back and wrapped his arms around Will’s waist. He knew that Will wouldn’t let him hang onto him for long, especially while cooking, so he enjoyed it while it lasted.

“Really? You want to keep me around?” Will asked with a laugh. “Wow, keep talking like that and I might get the idea that you like like me or something,” Will teased.

“I guess you could say that,” Nico replied, his voice muffled from where his face was pressed to Will’s back. “That I like you or something. It’s not like we have been together for almost ten years or anything.”

“Definitely not. Now move back. I gotta get these eggs off of the stove or else they’ll burn.” Nico sighed dramatically but did as Will asked, because Will really did make the best eggs and it would be a shame to let them go to waste.

They ate breakfast together in a companionable silence, talking only to ask the other to pass the homemade grape jam or to mention something small and trivial. Nico had put one of his legs on Will’s lap during the meal wanting to be as close to Will as possible. By the end of it, Will was gripping his ankle with his free hand, rubbing his thumb up and down it, his touch warm and familiar. As nice as it was to sit there quietly, enjoying each other’s company, Nico knew that soon they would have to really start their day. He and Will were not in a rush to do anything anymore, but they still did have things they wanted to do.

They no longer did things out of obligation, but rather did them by choice, and it was maybe one of the best changes to come from their new life.

“Thank you for breakfast,” Nico said quietly, breaking the silence between them.

Will shrugged, but still shot a smile in Nico’s direction. Even though it was the smallest of thank yous, Will still grinned like he won the lottery, like Nico’s praise was worth everything to him. “It was nothing.”

“I still appreciate it,” Nico said. He leaned forward and kissed Will, before moving his leg off of him and standing. “I’ll do the dishes,” he offered, knowing that Will hated doing the dishes. And, as much as Nico also hated doing them, he felt like being nice. He was feeling extra sappy and in love, so he was going to do something nice for Will, even if it was a simple, mundane gesture of affection.

“I knew there was a reason I loved you,” Will teased. Nico rolled his eyes in response but washed the dishes nonetheless. He would wash the dishes every day if it made Will happy. Will deserved that much and more.

It wasn’t a project they could have undertaken alone. Neither of them had any experience with building or architecture, so while they started dreaming of their home almost immediately after Will suggested it, it took some time for the cottage to be built. Eventually, they shared their idea with some Athena and Hephaestus campers. Within a year, their home was completed, better than they had anticipated it looking, like a dream come true.

It was a small home, nestled deep in the woods. The forest around it was so thick it was nearly impossible to find their location, even if you knew the way. It consisted of one bedroom, one bathroom, a living room, a kitchen, and a dining room. Despite their best efforts to keep the space as open and clean as possible, their home quickly became filled with knick knacks- souvenirs from their friends’ travels, books, animal skulls that Nico found in the woods near their home, candles, small pots of flowers. Every so often, they discussed expanding their home, but found they didn’t want to. They liked the coziness and it was their perfect house, the one they envisioned and planned together. Living anywhere else, even in a modified version of the house, would feel wrong. They didn’t want to change a thing about it and instead vowed to collect less and get rid of more (which they never did).

Nico’s favorite part of it was the window seat on the second floor by their bedroom. He could spend hours sitting there, looking out into the woods. For Will, his favorite part was the living room, and specifically the fireplace. It wasn’t always cold where they had built their home, but he loved starting a fire during the colder, wetter days. Winters were long and hard and dark, and so their days more often than not ended with them curled up on the couch under blankets, with the fire crackling happily. Nico had to admit the fireplace was pretty nice (and that he didn’t mind watching Will chop wood for the fire, only to make sure that he was safe, and not for any other reason).

They loved their little home and all it had to offer them. Nico was unsure a few times throughout the building process, but looking back on the decision, it had been the right one. They were exactly where they were supposed to be. He couldn’t picture them anywhere else. Nothing else would have been right for them.

The rain had, by some miracle, subsided once breakfast was over, though it was still dark and gloomy outside. Nico opted to stay inside, catching up on some reading he was doing for some mythological creature Hazel wanted a second opinion on, while Will went outside.

Will’s pride and joy of his life currently was the garden in their backyard. Will had never expressed any true interest in gardening prior to them moving into their home. He never had time to. Back at camp, his first priority was the infirmary. However, once they were settled into their home, Will began doing research on plants. At first, it was purely for medicinal purposes. There were things Will hadn’t studied or learned about previously due to lack of time, lack of energy. He had always been so busy at camp, working himself to the bone. Now, though, they had all the time in the world.

So, Will dedicated a lot of his free time to learning about plants and their healing properties. Soon, though, that wasn’t enough. Will was always someone who was hungry for more, so simply reading about plants grew old rather quickly. Nico woke up one day to the bed suspiciously cold and empty. He panicked at first, assuming the worst, figuring that Will finally had enough of Nico. To Nico, it seemed inevitable that one day Will would realize that he could do better than Nico, that he would leave in the middle of the night without a trace, leaving Nico all alone like Nico felt he deserved.

Nico got out of bed after feeling the emptiness in the pit of his stomach growing and half heartedly looked around the house for Will, sure that he would find all of Will’s stuff gone and the house empty except for him. He was surprised to see Will’s toothbrush still in the bathroom, and Will’s cup of coffee dirtied on the kitchen table. He just assumed Will forgot some things before he left, but when Nico looked outside the kitchen window, he saw Will outside, shovel in hand.

Nico felt his heart soar when he realized he wasn’t left behind. He opened the window and yelled, “Will! What are you doing?”

“Gardening,” Will replied, like it was obvious, like this wasn’t the first time he had ever expressed interest in truly starting a garden of his own. Nico nodded and accepted it, thrilled that Will was still there and assuming Will would entertain his new interest for a few weeks before getting bored, as he so often did when he cycled between hobbies. But here they were, years later, and Will’s garden was still going strong and growing every day.

Despite the fact that he should be reading, Nico couldn’t help but watch Will lovingly going plant by plant, examining them and picking what was ready to be harvested. Though it was still overcast outside, Will still seemed to shine. In their new, quiet life, far removed from mythos, it was easy to forget that the two of them were demigods, that they still had powers whether they utilized them or not. But, when Will was outside in his element, when he was gardening, he seemed to glow. Of course he could be no one but Apollo’s son.

Will was hard for Nico to look away from, and so he spent most of the afternoon alternating between reading his book and watching his boyfriend working. Whenever Will would look up and see Nico watching he would laugh and wave, which would make Nico blush and look away. Obviously, he loved Will more than he loved anyone or anything else, but it was still embarrassing to be that head over heels for the boy. He liked to pretend he was coy, as if Will didn’t know that he had Nico wrapped around his finger. Affection was easy and natural to him most days, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be noticed like that by Will.

But, as embarrassed as he was that he was so obviously smitten with Will, he and Will had more than earned this life and Nico intended to enjoy every second of it. They deserved to live a serene, peaceful life after everything they had been through. To Nico, who spent years alone, without a home, tired, scared, and unloved, he thought a life with someone he loved was impossible. And yet here he was, with a boyfriend who loved him in a house that they shared. Nico thought he would never make it to adulthood, let alone make it past the age of fourteen, and so if he wanted to stare at his boyfriend while he worked in the garden, then he had more than earned that right.

Right before they had moved into their home, when it was only a few weeks until it was completed, Nico left camp. He hadn’t even planned on doing so, but Nico woke up one morning, when it was still dark out, and felt the need to leave. Energy flowed through his body, a nervous one that he knew he couldn’t shake unless he ran away and took some time to be alone.

Nico thought he had long outgrown the restless feeling he used to get in his bones when he was a teenager. It was a feeling he couldn’t ignore unless he tried to outrun it, a feeling of worry and inadequacy and loneliness. It had been a long time since Nico had been outside of Camp Half-Blood unless he had good reason to be. But, now, for some reason, he felt like he had to get out or he was going to scream.

He wrote Will a note, saying that he would be back, telling him not to worry (even though Will would, he always did) and he shadow traveled far away. Nico had spent the entire day wandering around some small town he ended up in, unsure of where exactly he was. He wasn’t sure why he was there, what he was doing, and how long he wanted to be there for. All he knew was that far away from camp, he felt like he could breathe.

After a few hours of thinking and wandering and agonizing over what was happening, Nico finally parsed what he was really feeling. The entire construction process had been long and overwhelming and hard, but now that they were coming up on the completion of their home, Nico was scared. And, worst of all, Nico felt ridiculous and silly, childish for feeling that way. What did he have to be scared about?

He was committed to Will, and he wanted to be with him for forever, but what if something went wrong? What if they moved into their home and realized one day that they didn’t love each other anymore? What if they made a huge mistake? And, even worse, if that was all the case, then what was next? What would they do? Would Nico just spend the rest of his life alone? Would Will hate him?

All of it was horrifying to entertain, and though he wanted to stay away, wanted to never return so he didn’t have to see his life fall apart, Nico didn’t. He couldn’t. He loved Will too much to stay away, as terrified as he was. As the sun began to set, Nico gathered up the courage to shadow travel back to camp, despite the fact that he was not looking forward to Will’s reaction to what happened.

It was a testament to how much Nico had grown, however, that he went back at all. The Nico of a few years ago would never have done that. He didn’t want to leave Will in the dark. He wanted to talk about what he was feeling so that they could work this out, just like they always did.

Nico arrived back at camp, thrilled to not immediately see anyone. He was happy his return went undetected and went back to his cabin. There, he found Will sitting there, clearly waiting for his return. He looked up as Nico entered but said nothing as Nico slipped off his shoes and gathered his thoughts. Nico judged how he should approach the conversation. He wanted to be with Will, wanted to spend forever with him in their perfect home built specifically for them, but that was scary. Things would be final, and Will leaving him after all that would make him feel so much worse. Why was loving someone, and the prospect of forever, so fucking scary?

Luckily, Will spoke first before Nico had to. “Why?” Will asked and Nico felt his stomach tie up in knots. Nico considered turning around, considered avoiding Will’s question. But when he could bring himself to look into Will’s eyes, the eyes he could look at and always know he was safe, he knew that he was being reckless, that he was throwing everything away because he was scared. And that was stupid.

Why, after all these years, did he still struggle with being loved, being wanted? Why, at the last second, with a commitment of a lifetime together just within his grasp, was he nervous? He knew he still had issues, still had a hard time accepting that he was loveable and worthy and even just plain good, but he did not think that it all ran this deep.

So, instead of shadow traveling away, instead of hiding from Will for the rest of his life, Nico sighed and sat down on the bed next to Will, tears forming in his eyes.

It was a long and hard hour that followed. But at the end of it, despite crying for most of the conversation, Nico felt lighter somehow. He knew that this wouldn’t be the end of this conversation for them, that he had hurt Will, that he was going to have to work on himself for him and Will to really work long term. But, as he laid in his bed with Will’s arms wrapped around him, he couldn’t understand why he had even felt the need to leave earlier that day. This was where he belonged, with Will.

Will was, and would always be, it for him. Will was his person, his best friend, the love of his life, his partner in every sense of the word. There was no one and there would never be anyone who Nico wanted to be with for the rest of his life. And he was excited, at the heart of it all, for their new life together. He loved Will, and though it was scary to be vulnerable, he was more than willing to work through it. Will was worth that and more.

After hours of working in the garden, Will eventually came inside. He deposited one basket full of vegetables on the table, while he put his other basket full of herbs away for him to use later to make various at home remedies. Nico was happy to see chamomile in the mixture. Will used it to make tea leaves, but also it was also helpful for inflammation. Even after all those years, even though it had been five years since Nico last picked up his sword, his joints still ached from the years of wear and tear and misuse. A lot of the things Will grew helped with the pain leftover from saving the world, and Nico was forever grateful for it.

“I’m going to shower but we should start thinking about dinner,” Will said, his eyes bright despite the fact that his forehead was shiny with sweat and he had dirt caked under his fingernails. He leaned into Nico, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him in close. Nico smiled as Will pressed a kiss to the side of Nico’s head.

“I can make soup,” Nico offered, looking at the basket of vegetables Will brought in. “We have mushrooms, leeks, and potatoes. I think there’s some other vegetables that we still have we can use.” Nico thought that soup was always best on a cold, rainy day. Plus, it was easy to make and pretty much impossible to screw up. Between both of their meager attempts at cooking, they had both had enough subpar food to last them a lifetime.

“That sounds perfect. If you want to wait I can help,” Will offered. Nico shook his head.

“You brought all of these things in. Besides, you made breakfast. I can do something,” Nico replied. He partially wanted to cook for Will because he liked cooking for him and partially because he still felt the need to prove his worth, prove that Will made the right choice for choosing Nico as his forever partner.

“I cracked some eggs in a pan and toasted some bread. It was nothing,” Will argued, but Nico shook his head, not wanting to hear it.

“Not a chance Solace. Now, go shower. You are tracking mud in here,” Nico said, pulling away from Will. “And then I’ll be really annoyed if you dirty our floors.” Will laughed and didn’t argue, instead saluting Nico and turning to take off his dirty shoes and then shower. Nico smiled while he peeled potatoes, listening to Will’s off tune singing in the shower.

When they first moved into their home upon completion, it was a big adjustment. Nico and Will spent the first few weeks waiting for something to happen- for them to be summoned back to camp, for a monster to find them. They fully anticipated anything that could happen and disrupt their life. Will eventually let his guard down after a few weeks though, when the threats proved to be nonexistent. But, for some reason, Nico couldn’t.

When Nico was first getting used to the lifestyle, he spent a lot of time not feeling like it was real. Like he was watching a movie of his life, or experiencing it second hand. He spent a lot of time at the window seat on the second floor, looking out the window, thinking, watching, waiting for everything to dissolve right before his eyes. At first, Will encouraged it. “You need down time. I’m happy you’re just relaxing. I mean, you more than anyone else deserves it.” But, as the weeks went on, as Nico continued to find it difficult to do much more than sit around, Will got concerned.

“You need a hobby,” Will said one day. Nico looked at Will briefly and shrugged before turning back to watch out the window.

“I have hobbies,” Nico responded.

“Staring out the window and moping is not a hobby,” Will pointed out, which made Nico roll his eyes.

“I read and draw and- wait. I am not moping!” Nico retorted. “I am just… watching.”

Will walked toward Nico, his stern expression softening into one much more concerned with every step he took. Somehow, a worried Will was harder to face than a stern one. “Nico, you’re joking, right? You haven’t done those things in a while. Not since we left camp. At first I thought you were just enjoying being here, but now I’m worried.”

Nico frowned, feeling surprised. He knew that he had been acting kind of… weird lately, to put it lightly. But, he hadn’t thought it was that big of a deal. He just couldn’t fully relax, couldn’t let his guard down. Sure, logically he knew they were safe. He did not know why he expected it all to come crashing down. Because, clearly, nothing had happened yet. They had plenty of shields, plenty of wards, a security system of sort in place that kept them hidden away from monsters and humans alike. It was ridiculous to expect that everything would fail and leave them exposed to threats. Maybe because a quiet life away from mythos was an amazing, hard to believe feat, it made Nico feel so on edge. Maybe he felt like this because Nico was just used to feeling uneasy. Whatever the case was, it was clear that old habits were dying hard.

Instead of responding to Will, Nico looked down at his hands, which had begun playing with a loose string on his shirt. Will crouched down when he got close to Nico and grabbed one of Nico’s hands. Rubbing his thumb across the back of Nico’s hand, Will spoke softly to Nico. “You know it’s okay, right? You don’t have to watch out for us. Everything is okay. I’m here and you’re here and that’s all that matters. This is supposed to be fun and exciting and safe.”

“It is,” Nico insisted, feeling guilty, like he wasn’t enjoying their house and living with Will enough. He was enjoying it, and he did not want to give Will the wrong idea. “It is fun. I am just… scared.”

“Me too,” Will admitted. Nico shot Will a look that clearly showed that he didn’t believe him. “It’s a lot, but we’re okay. I promise. We will be there for each other and keep each other safe and everything will be okay.” Nico did his best to believe Will, despite the nagging feeling in his stomach that made him so nauseous, he thought he could potentially throw up at any minute.

In the days that followed, Nico tried his best to enjoy things. He helped make breakfast (which he and Will mostly burned but still ate while laughing with each other) and sat outside while Will worked in his garden. He curled up on the couch with Will later that night, hands clasped tight, while Nico read out loud a book he was currently working his way through. He went to bed every night with Will’s arms tightly wrapped around him, and Nico slowly began to feel more hopeful and safe as time went on.

With time, things got better, got easier. On his particularly more difficult days, Nico felt scared, felt trapped, felt on edge. But, those days were few and far between as the years went on. It helped, always having Will to help Nico pull himself back when he got too stuck in his own head. Nico had grown to know and recognize and believe that he and Will were more than deserving of the perfect life they had together. And so maybe, a few decades together living a quiet life was exactly their reward, as hard as it was to conceive.

Nico was going to enjoy it, for however long he and Will could have it, even if it killed him.

After they cleaned up from dinner, they spent the night as they usually did. Nico curled up on the couch with his sketchbook, while Will put logs into the fireplace and set them ablaze. Once the fire started going, Will sat down and began going through his notes, taking inventory of the herbs he had picked during the day. Nico alternated between working on a drawing he was doing for Hazel’s birthday and watching what Will was doing. Partly because what Will was doing was interesting, and partly because like when Will was working in the garden earlier, Nico loved to see Will work.

Watching Will work had been one of Nico’s favorite things to do while they were at camp. Hours upon hours were spent watching Will treat campers in the infirmary. Nico had memorized the furrow of Will’s brow when he was concentrating and learned the way he smiled in such a bright, comforting way that it made anyone feel at ease. Nico considered himself a Will connoisseur- he knew more about him than anyone else, and he felt proud of it. It also meant that Nico didn’t understand how someone could watch Will in his element and not immediately fall in love with him.

Though Will’s days of being a combat medic were far behind him, he still gave that same dedication to everything he did. Whether it was tending to his garden, writing down observations in his journal, making at home remedies, or loving Nico, he always seemed to give it everything he had, like it was impossible for him to do anything part way. Will was kind and tender and thorough, an excellent person to love and be loved by.

Even though they had been together for approaching a decade now, Nico never got used to Will, never got sick of him, never stopped loving him as much as he loved him during the early phases of their relationship. He was just as madly in love with Will as he was the first day of their relationship, and he knew he always would be. He loved Will, and Will loved him, and that was all that truly mattered in their lives. Everything else was superfluous.

Everything else could be falling apart, but as long as he had Will, it was all he needed.

“I can feel you staring,” Will said, breaking their comfortable silence. Nico quickly looked away, feeling his cheeks heat up.

“Shut up,” Nico replied, crossing his arms. “I was simply… observing.”

“Observing,” Will repeated, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Just like you were observing earlier today while I was working outside?” Nico rolled his eyes.

“Yes. Observing. I love that… parsley you have,” Nico said, squinting and trying to make out what plant Will was currently journaling about.

“It’s peppermint,” Will replied with a laugh.

“Whatever,” Nico responded, fully going back to his book, pouting. Will scratched a few more words into his notebook, before storing both his journal and plants back into their respective places. He then joined Nico on the couch, who was still pouting, but slightly less so. Will held out his arms in Nico’s direction, and though he was still mock angry at Will, he climbed into his boyfriend’s arms. They spent most of the night like that, enjoying each other’s company. It felt similar to the nights they would spend around the campfire, talking and laughing, sharing stories and jokes until far too late. Now, they were just a bit older and they had a house of their own and lives that were so intertwined it was hard to tell where one began and one ended. Nico never wanted to go back. This was where he was always meant to be.

They went to bed that night, hours later, their limbs a tangled mess. Nico could feel Will’s breath on his head while he held him close. “I love you so much I feel like I can’t handle it sometimes,” Will whispered. Nico hummed in agreement, feeling similarly. “Like, I feel like no one has ever loved each other the way that we love each other.”

“Like what we have is special,” Nico replied, understanding what Will meant. “Like we are soulmates, like we were made for each other and destined to be together forever.”

“Yeah, exactly.” Will was silent for a few moments, before continuing speaking. “I’ll love you until I die and then some,” Will said in the darkness, squeezing Nico tighter and pulling him in closer.

“Death couldn’t stop us,” Nico replied. “I don’t think there is a force strong enough to break us apart. No me without you. And also I love you too.” Nico drifted off to sleep, knowing that he and Will had the rest of their life ahead of them, and then longer. Nothing could ever tear them apart.

#solangelo #fic #pjo

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