Chapter 14: Epilogue: Nico's POV

It had been four years since Will and I had started dating openly. There had been a couple of bumps in the road, but we had stuck together and were still going strong.

That night, Will had invited me over to his apartment. As soon as I turned eighteen—Will had been nineteen at the time—we had moved into next door apartments in New Rome. I was a bit nervous; that night was my nineteenth birthday and I couldn't help but be curious as to what Will had planned.

When I knocked, Will opened the door immediately. He looked almost nervous, which was odd, because I had been over several times before. However, I decided not to comment as he led me inside after kissing me briefly on the cheek. I sat on the couch and looked around, absolutely amazed. The living room had been completely emptied, with the exception of the single couch. Candles floated in midair just above Will's head, probably the doing of one of Hecate's kids. The only light in the room came from the small flames, making Will's hair flicker between spun gold and gorgeous sunset orange. The effect was stunning.

"Will, what—?" I was cut off by his soft voice.

"Happy birthday, Nico,"

I smiled shyly. "Thanks, Will,"

He nodded, hesitating for a moment before lowering himself onto one knee. My breath hitched in my throat; was he really doing what I thought he was doing?

"Nico," he faltered, then started again. "Nico, I can't tell you how long I've wanted to do this. We've been together for almost five years now, and helped each other through hell. T took a while, and it might've been hard, but we did it. We made it this far, and I think we can make it longer… for forever." He pulled a small black box out from his pocket and held it out to me. When he opened it, a beautiful, elegant ring glittered in the candlelight.

"I know we might be a bit young, and I know it might be a bit soon, but… Nico di Angelo," he said, a slight blush on his cheeks as he looked up at me, "Will you always be my Death Boy?"

My heart was in my throat. Unable to speak for fear of bursting into happy tears, I simply nodded. A relieved smile spread across his face and he pulled the ring out of its box. He slipped it onto my left ring finger and I instantly flung my arms around his neck.

Nothing could've felt more right than the moment when we kissed.