AN: Just a quick note: I'm a British person living in Britain. Therefore, I know next to nothing about America. I've been to NY once before, but I was only really there for a day. So this is just a warning that some things that I've written about could possibly never really happen or they're factually incorrect etc.

I tried my best to research some stuff, like what the American equivalent of the British RSPCA is. That one was simple enough. And I looked up that phone numbers in the US do have area codes like we do in the UK. But aside from that I didn't look up much else. The rest of it just spawned from my head.

This is my first fic that I've ever written so I hope it doesn't totally suck or anything :/

As with most things in life, it caught Will, completely off guard.

After a long day of classes, he was ready to just go home and collapse on his bed (even though it was only around 5 in the afternoon) and pass out for a few hours… only to wake up to repeat all of this the next day. And the day after that and the day after that… You get the idea. Such is the busy life of a med student.

But here he was, sluggishly dragging his exhausted body down the street toward his apartment when he saw it. Well really, he didn't so much as see it as hear it. A soft meow emanating from the small alley way spurned his curiosity. Surely it was just somebody's cat who'd just taken a stroll outside in the wider world, but in all of Will's life, he'd never heard a more helpless and defeated mew.

As he slowly scoured the alley with his eyes, a tiny kitten sat near the wall caught his attention. Tentatively, Will walked towards the creature, careful not to scare it. It didn't look more than a few weeks old. When he reached the kitten, it shied away from him ever so slightly, ducking its head in fear. Will noticed that the little one didn't have a collar or a name tag of any kind around it anywhere.

Must be a stray, he thought, poor thing, some people just don't appreciate the beauty of life… He felt dismayed that someone out there would just leave such an adorable little kitten out in the cold to fend for itself. Who knows what could have happened if Will hadn't stumbled across it?

Gently, he got closer to the kitten to pick it up. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the little one was a boy. He had exceedingly soft, stripy, ginger hair covering the entirely of his body. His large blue eyes shone through the darkening light of the alley. Another soft meow escaped his lips as he yawned and snuggled closer into Will's chest.

Gingerly, Will stood, still cradling the little ball of fur. He simply couldn't even begin to contemplate just leaving the kitten alone on the streets. Time to find you a new, caring, home lil' one.

The moment Will got back to his apartment, he lay the sleeping kitten down onto his bed. He stared at the kitten's sleeping form with deep affection, and sorrow for how he was just left in that alleyway. Shaking his head to bring him out of his reverie, Will pulled out his laptop to look up a number for an animal shelter or other animal rescue agency.

It didn't take long for him to find the number for the ASPCA. He glanced at the clock; it was barely 5:30, still early. He could make the call now, the sooner the better.

As much as Will would have loved to keep the little ginger beauty, with his tight budget and large mound of student debt, he couldn't afford to become responsible for the well-being of another living creature – not when his own well-being was lately finding itself being given less of a priority in order to get through med school. Will always found an acute sense of irony in the fact that he'd become a bit less conscientious about his health in order to become a person who implored others to be a bit more wary of theirs.

Quickly, Will dialled the number displayed on his laptop and waited. The dialling tone rang out for a few seconds before someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Oh! Um, hi. Is this the ASPCA? I found a cute little kitten on my way home and it was so adorable, but it looked abandoned there in an alleyway. So I thought I'd give you guys a call to get the little one into a shelter or a better home or something? The little guy didn't have a collar or tag or anything. How someone could be so heartless to just leave this little guy out on his own is completely beyond me. I would have thought that anyone would just take one look at him and fall in love instantly. When I saw him… His little eyes just looked up at me and my heart just melted and… oh sorry, I'm rambling…"

Will had a tendency to ramble and speak without thinking a bit, it was one of his more endearing qualities, or so he liked to think. Unfortunately, he did find it got him into some pretty awkward situations because of it.

"Erm… Sorry, I think you got the wrong number… This isn't the ASPCA." The guy on the other end thankfully didn't sound too annoyed.

"It isn't? Oh jeez, sorry. I guess I should have dialled the number a bit more carefully. I'm so sorry." Will felt his face flush a horrid shade of magenta, as he became suddenly grateful that the other person couldn't see his face. It was just his luck to end up calling the wrong person and proceed to bombard them with his own brand of mindless drivel.

"It's uh fine? I guess…?"

It was probably meant to be a statement, but it came out as a question. Will supposed that the guy just felt a bit awkward and he couldn't blame him to be honest. How else are you supposed to act when some stranger calls you thinking it's the ASPCA?

"I just interrupted your evening to ramble to you about stray kittens. Man, I'm so so so sorry." He hoped the sincerity in his voice carried through the line. He really didn't think he could apologise enough, which sounds ridiculous considering all he did was call a wrong number.

"Hey, I said it's fine so don't – y'know – beat yourself up about it."

Now that Will's initial embarrassment was beginning to fade a bit, he took the opportunity to listen to the guy on the other end of the line. Will didn't think he'd ever heard such a mellifluous voice. It was deep but not gruff; instead it was mellow and smooth. Will imagined that he was starting to blush again considering the areas his mind had wandered to while fantasising about the kinds of thing that that beautiful voice could be whispering to him, and how just the sound of it brought him joy. He could only wish to meet the person whose voice was like music to his ears.

"Uh, hello? Are you still there?"

"Oh erm yeah, I'm still here. Sorry, I just zoned out a little there… It's been a long day." Will responded sheepishly as he tried to move away from his previous train of thought. "Thanks for not holding this against me or anything. That's pretty cool of you. Most people probably would have already hung up on me."

"I guess I'm not most people." Will could feel the smirk radiating through his phone at him. He tried very hard not to imagine the lips of this mysterious stranger as they pulled themselves upwards. "Anyway, I should be going… I've got a paper to complete for tomorrow so –"

"Wait!" Will had spoken without thinking. He didn't really know what he wanted to do; he just didn't want to hang up and never know who this euphonic voice belonged to. "Before you hang up, I was, uh, wondering if maybe you'd like to go get some coffee with me sometime..."

"Erm."

"I mean, you can totally say no. Like, I'm just some guy who called you by mistake. And heck, you don't even know who I am but I just thought I'd ask… you sound like a nice guy."

"…"

"I was just thinking that maybe we could get coffee at this small shop, Café Grumpy? I think that's what it's called. It's near the Grand Central Terminal. I've heard it's not that bad." Will didn't think he'd felt this nervous in a long time. Normally, he would say that he's a pretty confident person, he didn't really find social interactions very unnerving and talking to people wasn't too hard. But there was something about this guy that made him want to run away and hide. Not out of fear but more like a form of anxiety.

"…"

The sudden silence was suddenly becoming increasingly unnerving. He shouldn't have asked. He was a total stranger to this guy. For all he knew, the guy could be in his mid-forties and he's probably definitely not into Will like that. Really, Will just assumed they were the same age. He said he had a paper to complete right? That just screamed college student to him, so maybe they were the same age? Even then, it didn't mean that the other guy would even like him, even as a friend. Yeah, he'd probably just find him irritating with his incessant rambling.

The guy wasn't even responding to him anymore. Clearly, he was just thinking of a nice way to turn him down.

"Say something? Please?" He hoped the desperation wasn't too obvious in his voice.

"Oh um, sorry. You just caught me off guard."

"I didn't mean to, sorry. Again. Seems like I'm doing a lot of apologising, huh?" Will laughed nervously as he struggled to find a quick end to this awkward and uncomfortable conversation. "Anyway, now that I think about it, I don't even know if we're both in the same part of New York. It was kind of stupid of me to just assume. Like, you sound like you're a college student too, but you could be on the other side of the city to me. So you can just forget it, it's fine. Really."

It wasn't really fine. Will felt like an idiot for even thinking that asking out a stranger would be a good idea. Evidently, he wasn't as good with people as he thought he was. He just had to go and open his stupid mouth again. It'd all just be so much better if he had just let the guy go and then he could have saved himself the embarrassment and this call wouldn't have gotten so awkward.

"No! I mean – It's – You –" He heard a slow sigh come through the line. Will steeled himself for the rejection which was about to follow.

But it didn't come.

"What I'm trying to say is… I think I'd really like to take you up on your offer. I'm not really too far away from that part of the city, so I guess I could meet you there?"

"You mean that? Okay, yeah I'll meet you there. How's about meeting this Saturday at noon? We could do lunch, if you're up for it, that is."

Will couldn't believe it. He wasn't being rejected. In fact, the guy said he would really like to meet him. He was almost tempted to look outside the window to see if pigs were flying because he, Will Solace, had just gotten himself a date with a presumably totally attractive stranger.

"Yeah sure, that sounds fine to me. I'll, um, see you there then."

"Yeah, I'll see you there! So I suppose I'll let you get onto finishing that paper of yours then. Bye!"

"Er bye then."

A soft click was heard and then the call was ended.

Will couldn't help but notice the confusion, and awkwardness (?), in the other man's voice towards the end of their conversation. Apparently, he had been just as blindsided by Will's proposition as Will had been. Only natural though, considering they were both strangers and it was all rather sudden.

But that was all by the by. Will had a date with a guy with the voice of an angel and he couldn't wait.

Nico had no idea why he agreed to go on a date with the stranger that accidentally called him. It wasn't really the kind of thing he'd usually do. But the moment he'd heard the guy rambling and sounding so apologetic, he just stopped thinking logically. Even over the phone, Nico could hear the uncertainty and fear of rejection that laced his words as he asked him out. And the thing is Nico wasn't completely adverse to human interaction – no matter what Hazel would have everyone believe. So he agreed to go out on Saturday with a complete stranger.

Oh gods, what had he done?

He groaned loudly as his head hit the desk with a thunk. Perhaps he should just call the guy and cancel; he didn't have to go meet up with the guy. Besides, they didn't know each other, Nico would never have to look at the guy and feel guilty over cancelling on him. Because Nico wouldn't feel guilty. Absolutely not. Not in a million years.

And with that thought, Nico slammed his head on the desk once more.

"Nico? Are you alright over there, you look a little… agitated. As far as I know, that desk has never done you any harm, so what's up with you?" With the unexpected phone call, Nico had completely forgotten that Hazel had planned to visit him for a few days.

These days, Nico rarely saw Hazel what with Nico's classes and his work load. Not to mention the fact that she spent more than half the time in California with her boyfriend Frank.

It was a shame he couldn't see her more often; he loved his sister and missed her playful nature whenever she left after a visit. He'd never admit it to her though. On the rare occasions they did see each other again, they'd usually spend their time just talking and catching up with each other's lives. She wasn't just his sister; she was also one of his closest friends. He could tell her anything.

"I'm fine. Just tired that's all." As comfortable as he was with his sister, at the moment, he really just wanted to forget all about his apparent lack of good judgment.

"Sure you are…" Her tone of utter disbelief was not lost on him. "Come on Nico, I know there's something up. Don't try to hide it, bottling up won't do you any good." Damn her perceptive nature. In Nico's opinion, it was both a gift and a curse. Currently, he'd call it a curse.

There was no point trying to hide it from her – he really should have worked that one out from the start. Of course, in the end, he told her all about the dorky guy who had mistakenly called him. He told her everything he said and all about how he'd been asked out by the same guy and proceeded to, for no reason that he could fathom, accept the offer.

"And so you decided it be a good idea to slam your head on your desk?"

"Hazel, I can't go out with him. I don't even know him. I don't have a clue why I agreed to this whole deal. For all I know, he could be some sort of serial killer or mass murderer with an agenda to kill young men by the name of Nico Di Angelo."

"One: that can't be true because you never even told him your name -"

"See? How can I meet up with him? We didn't even exchange names! He is literally just some guy off the street that I've never met! Stranger danger, Hazel. I can't do this. There's no way."

"Will you just stop panicking for one moment and listen?" Nico nodded as she let out a long-suffering sigh. Nico had no desire to antagonise his sister. He may make a bad judgment call every now and then but he knew that angering his sister was just the same as signing his own death warrant.

"Good. Now, where was I? Oh that's right, second reason he couldn't possibly be a serial killing murderer: Any one calling the ASPCA rambling about cute stray kittens cannot be a serial killer or mass murderer. Don't give me that look, you know I'm right." Nico hadn't even realised that his face had adopted a withering stare that he'd directed at her inadvertently.

He didn't want to believe her, but he knew deep in his head that she was right. The guy just didn't seem like the murdering type. Nico could tell that the guy was probably harmless, and if anything, a caring person – not everyone who comes across a stray kitten on the street instantly think to take it home with them.

"But what if -"

"But nothing. Nico, you need to just calm down and relax. It's fine to be a bit spontaneous from time to time. I think you should go along with it and go on this date you've managed to get yourself. Maybe it'll do you some good; you should really get out more. Some sunlight could work wonders on you."

He gave a resigned sigh as he submitted himself to his inevitable fate. Further argument would be pointless and Nico recognised a lost battle when he saw one. He'd just have to suck it up and deal with the consequences of his actions.

"Fine. I won't back out of it. I'll go on the date." He grumbled. The scowl on his face made it seem like the words truly pained him to say.

"Good! I'm so proud of you Nico. I'm glad you're going to do this." She all but squealed in delight at his acquiescence. She made it sound like he had had a choice – as if she hadn't essentially forced him into going through with the whole plan. "You never know, this guy sounds nice, you might even get along with him. Just be yourself. Not your grumpy self but your real self."

"I really don't know what you mean by my 'real self'."

"Really Nico, you and I both know that on the inside you're not nearly as grumpy as you pretend to be. You're really just a massive softie."

Nico felt his cheeks warm up as he mumbled his reply, "No I'm not…"

"Sure you aren't." Her tone of voice didn't quite put him at ease but he figured it was easier just to let the subject drop. Hazel could be stubborn when she wanted to and she was probably not going to let this go. But he could at least stop this conversation from progressing any further for the moment.

"Anyway… How's Frank doing these days?"

A short laugh escaped her lips as she slowly shook her head.

"Don't think for a second I'm going to let this go, we'll be finishing the conversation eventually."

And with that she launched into her stories of her and Frank and the joys of having such a sweet, kind and caring boyfriend. Nico was truly glad that Hazel had found someone like Frank. He'd always thought she deserved to be happy.

Nico would have like to say that he gave his undivided attention to Hazel, but really, his mind was elsewhere. He couldn't help but think of the dorky and excitable stranger he was to be meeting in a few days' time. The more he thought about it, a small smile fought onto his lips. He hoped Hazel was right. Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as he had initially thought.

The days up to Saturday flew by with alarming pace. One minute Will was on the phone with a stranger with a beautiful voice and then next minute he's getting ready to have lunch with the guy. Just the other day, he still found himself excited about the prospect of this date, but now? He wasn't quite sure he could hold himself together long enough to get out the front door. Usually, Will would consider himself to be a pretty laid-back person, but the prospect of this date had him on the verge of panic.

"ARGGHHHH!" His cry of frustration echoed through his apartment as he slid down the side of his wardrobe, falling with his head in his hands. What on Earth is wrong with me? It wasn't as if he'd never been on a date before, so it was shocking for him that one date with a guy he'd never met could cause him such emotional turmoil.

"Come on Solace, keep it together." Great. Now I'm talking to myself. That's definitely "keeping it together".

He slumped forwards as he closed his eyes and tried to slow his rapid breathing. It's all going to be okay. Nothing is going to go horribly wrong. I'm just going to meet someone I haven't met before. I do that all the time. Meeting strangers is nothing new.

Will sat on the floor for a good ten minutes reassuring himself that the apocalypse was not imminent and that one lunch date would not kill him. But what if he doesn't like me? What if he finds me annoying or unbearable?

"Shut up." He growled to himself. It did no good to listen to his own worries and insecurities.

Hesitantly, he pulled himself off the floor and stood in front of his mirror. He took in the sight of his reflection. He wasn't going to lie; he could see that he was a rather good looking person – though perhaps that could be a bit of the arrogance he inherited from his dad. But either way, he wasn't completely unattractive. Hopefully that meant that Angel Voice wouldn't run away at the sight of him.

He shook his head lightly, letting his blond curls bounce up and down on his head. Steeling himself up and drawing up from his slight slouch, he looked into his own eyes and breathed deeply.

"Come on, you're Will freaking Solace and you are going to go on this date, enjoy yourself and you are going to be charming, witty and funny and you are going to super impress your date. Nothing is going to stop you."

Oh but what if –

"No. I'm going to do this and it's going to be great."

And with that he checked his watch, saw that it was time to leave and left his apartment, never looking back once.

Will finally arrived at the coffee shop just a few minutes earlier than noon. He put it down to the nerves making him walk a little faster than usual. All his nervous energy was practically begging to be released.

Seeing as he arrived a little early, he ordered himself a drink and settled down at a small table near the window of the shop. He took a moment to observe his surroundings and noticed that the place was mostly full of young people, like him, though most of them were sitting by themselves on their laptops taking a sip of their coffees sporadically and infrequently. Various pieces of abstract art hung off the walls, except for one of them which was covered by a shelf full of the many, many types of tea and coffee that the place sold.

Just as Will began to take a sip of his drink, a worrying thought occurred to him. He didn't even know his date's name. How on Earth was he supposed to work out who it was he was supposed to be meeting? He'd only make himself look like a fool if he questioned everyone in the shop about whether or not they'd received calls from a random stranger. Literally all he knew about the guy was that when he spoke, it sounded like Angels were singing.

The strong smell of coffee and the sweet smell of freshly baked goods permeated the air as Will took more deep breaths to calm himself.

Just as he was thought he was going to have a full blown panic attack, a pale and skinny looking boy stalked into the shop and approached the barista behind the counter.

"One regular sized latte please."

And then Will thought he was going to go into a panic for a whole other reason entirely. He'd recognise that melodious voice anywhere. Frozen in his seat, he couldn't do anything but stare at the young man who had just walked in. Will had imagined quite a few scenarios over the past few days but none of his imaginations had even come close to what stood before him now.

He was so much more entrancing than anyone Will could have ever imagined.

His clothes clung to his small frame, tantalisingly accentuating every curve. Short and scruffy black hair cascaded across his face. It contrasted with his pale complexion and made him look as if he glowed. He looked about a heat shorter than Will, just short enough that if Will had the chance, he could pull him close and rest his chin atop his raven's nest of hair as their bodies moulded together. And boy did he want to have that chance.

Eventually, the boy grabbed his coffee and turned round, scanning the room. Before he knew what he was doing, Will had stood up and made his way over to the black haired beauty.

"Hey there Angel," Will said with a grin. He hadn't meant to call him that aloud, but referring to him as such in his head had made him slip up. Inwardly, Will cringed at the thought of calling a total stranger "Angel" but it was too late to do anything about it now. Just play it cool Solace. Play it cool. "I'd recognise your voice from anywhere."

Up close, Will could properly see the boy's face. His features were boyish as opposed to sharp and angular. Will thought he looked simply adorable. He stared into his chocolate brown eyes and feared that he could get lost in the depth of them. From where he stood, he noted the small spattering of freckles dotted across the boy's nose and cheeks. How he wished he could get close enough to count them.

"So you're the one who rambled to me about kittens." He noted with a wry grin. Damn, the sound of his voice was even better in person.

"That is me. Sorry again for that whole ordeal –"

"Like I said, don't worry, it's fine." And Will was hardly one to argue when the statement was enunciated with such a harmonious voice.

"So anyway, rather than standing here in the middle of the floor all afternoon, why don't we go sit down?"

The other boy shrugged as he let Will lead him to the table he'd previously occupied.

"So, Angel –"

"Wait what? What did you call me?" He didn't sound particularly irritated, more like extraordinarily puzzled. Will looked down in embarrassment at being caught out on the inadvertent nickname he'd coined for the boy.

"Angel. I called you Angel. Y'know, because you've got the voice of one. I thought it'd be a pretty suitable nickname, seeing as I don't actually know your real name." A sheepish grin appeared on Will's face as he glanced upwards through his eyelashes to take in the reaction of his date. "I'm Will Solace by the way. In case you were wondering."

Will could see the ears of the boy opposite him beginning to redden as a blush fought its way onto his cheeks. In Will's eyes, this only served to make him look even more beautiful than Will could have possibly imagined.

The boy tucked his chin into his neck in bashfulness as his face grew increasingly redder. What I'd give to make him look like this more… Will thought.

"Nico. Nico Di Angelo. That's uh my name." Nico stuttered back his reply as he slowly lifted his head to look at Will once more.

"Di Angelo huh? Perhaps I should keep calling keep calling you Angel then."

"Don't even think about it. If you ever so much as think about calling me Angel ever again, I will personally hunt you down and kill you in your sleep." Will started at Nico's sudden change from adorably shy to scarily murderous in the blink of an eye. But Will was left undeterred by the threat. Being forced under the unwavering gaze of Nico Di Angelo did wonders to his heart beat. At any moment, he thought it might as well explode out of his chest.

"Well this conversation took a sharp turn down serial killer lane…" His jokey comment seemed to relax Nico back into his previous state of supposed nonchalance. "In any case, I guess I should start thinking of some other nickname to call you by."

"Or you could just call me by my name. It's there for a reason." The dry wit channelled through his voice only served to spurn Will on further.

"But where's the fun in that? I'm sure I'll be able to come up with a good nickname for you soon…"

"If "Angel" is anything to go by, I won't hold my breath." He huffed in return.

"Awwww you don't mean that! Take it back or you'll hurt my feelings!" Will whined playfully as he laughed at Nico's furrowed eyebrows and slight scowl. "Come on, admit it, you think I'm great really."

"Greatly annoying, sure." Nico grumbled the words under his breath but Will could tell there was no bite to his words as once more took in the downwards glance and red-tinged ears of his lunch companion.

"Hey you know I'm just messing with you right? If it makes you feel better, I'll forgo the nicknames for the time being."

"I'd prefer it if you just forgot about them all together…"

"Yeah well, we can't always have everything, Nico." Quipped Will lightly. "But now how's about we actually get to know each other a bit? Like, at the moment, the only thing I know about you is still your name. And as I said before, you sound like a nice guy and I like to think that I'm not wrong."

"Of course you'd like to think that…"

"Hey! I resent that comment." And at that, Will's indignation provoked the first of many full blown grins to grace Nico Di Angelo's face that afternoon.

For the rest of the afternoon, the two boys whiled away their time with their never ending conversations. By the end of it, Will had made Nico blush more times than he could keep count of. It hadn't taken him long to realise that a blushing Nico was his new favourite sight to behold.

Their conversations had covered a plethora of topics. They had talked of themselves and their own lives amongst other things. They laughed like there was no tomorrow. You wouldn't have been able to tell that the pair of them had only just met. They complemented each other perfectly in every way. After just a few hours, they had gone from complete strangers to seeming like they'd known each other for years.

Will didn't regret that accidently dialling the wrong number for a second. He couldn't. How could he when it was that phone call that lead him to meeting and befriending the miracle that was Nico Di Angelo? No, in the space of a few hours, Nico had weened his way right into Will's heart and Will didn't think he'd ever be able to get him out of there. Not that he wanted to in any case. Granted he had only known him a short while, but Will could already see himself falling for the black haired beauty with the angel voice. It was likely that he already had.

When Will had first asked Nico out on the phone just a few days ago, it had been on a whim. He had done it in the spur of the moment – he'd spoken without thinking (as he so often does). At first, Will thought that it was the sound of his voice that had drawn him towards the other boy, like a Siren calling out to its prey, but now that he'd gotten close, he realised that there was so much more to Nico than his voice and his beauty.

A hard and cold exterior shrouded the inner gentle nature that Nico held. His seemingly aloof disposition made him appear standoffish and antagonistic at times. But only those who stuck with him and stayed around long enough to see past that realised that Nico Di Angelo was an angel inside and out.

In his head, Will likened him to a Crème Egg. A really cute, adorable and kind of grumpy Crème Egg. You see, on the outside, there was the chocolate – something that everyone craved and drooled at – but beyond that, there wasn't much else to chocolate. You could get it anywhere and everywhere. When you eat a Crème Egg, it's the gooey centre that is the important part. That's the part that you can only get a taste of once a year when Easter rolls around. If you just had some patience and waited for a seemingly ordinary chocolate shaped egg to because a Crème Egg, then, that's when you're really in for a treat.

And Nico was the best Crème Egg that Will had ever had in his life.

Sadly for Will, as the day drew to a close, he had no choice but to say goodbye to Nico. Though he dearly hoped it wouldn't be the last goodbye he ever said to him. If he had any say in the matter, it certainly wouldn't be.

As they parted from one another, Will turned to give Nico's retreating form one last glance, committing every detail to memory. A soft smile graced his lips as he turned the corner on his way home.

As Nico walked through the streets on his way home, he took the time to look back on the last few hours during his date with Will.

Will. Even just the thought of his name had Nico struggling to keep the grin off his face. It made him weak at the knees just thinking about him.

When Nico had arrived at that small little coffee shop, he hadn't known what to expect. On top of that, he hadn't really known who to expect. It's not like he had a name or a face to look for. All he could seriously do was sit and hope for the best.

Mentally preparing himself for the afternoon ahead, he approached the barista and ordered himself a drink. He waited by the counter and pretended to investigate the menu behind the barista to avoid looking to awkward and out of place.

Once he'd been handed his latte, he turned to face the room. Quickly, he scanned the room, checking for an empty table at which he could sit to wait for whoever it was he was supposed to be waiting for. He was eyeing a table in the far corner when all of a sudden a boy appeared beside him and greeted him.

"Hey there Angel." He recognised that voice. This was the voice that had asked him out and he knew that he wasn't mistaken.

The boy had a grin on his face bright enough to blind him. It was startling and Nico couldn't tear his eyes away from the person before him. A curly mop of light blond hair sat atop the boy's head in an unruly fashion; it framed his face in such a way that made him look gorgeous, as if he'd just stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine. The boy was tall, a fair bit taller than Nico was, and as he tilted his head upwards to look at the boy, he found himself out of breath at the stunning shade of blue in his eyes. Nico had never seen anything like them before. A whole multitude of shades were swirled together in the irises of the boy in front of him. It felt as if he was drowning under intense gaze of the other boy.

Nico realised that he'd probably been staring, so quickly made a response in order to hide his perhaps-not-so-subtle evaluation of the person in front of him.

The boy apologised, once again, for the slight interruption he experienced the other evening, but Nico couldn't bring himself to care about whether or not his evening had been disturbed. If it meant that he'd met this breath-taking stranger, Nico couldn't care less.

Eventually, he allowed himself to be lead to a table near one of the windows of the establishment.

"So, Angel –"

"Wait what? What did you call me?"

The nickname finally registered in Nico's mind as it occurred to him that this was the second time he was being referred to by it. He was startled by the other boy's strange choice in a nickname, but he took joy in the familiarity that it implied was present between them.

"Angel. I called you Angel. Y'know, because you've got the voice of one. I thought it'd be a pretty suitable nickname, seeing as I don't actually know your real name." A bright grin once again shone through his face. He had his face towards the ground sheepishly but as he peered up through his eyelashes at Nico, he felt his heart stop. "I'm Will Solace by the way. In case you were wondering."

Nico tried to fight a blush from appearing on his face from the look that Will was giving him. It was a futile effort but he had to try. He could feel the blush getting deeper as he tucked his head into his chest in a poor attempt to hide the red appearing on his pale cheeks.

He lifted his head to look at Will once more as he stammered out his response. "Nico. Nico Di Angelo. That's uh my name."

"Di Angelo huh? Perhaps I should keep calling keep calling you Angel then."

"Don't even think about it. If you ever so much as think about calling me Angel ever again, I will personally hunt you down and kill you in your sleep." Will looked startled at Nico's sudden change in demeanour. He sincerely hoped that he hadn't frightened him too much. That would be just his luck wouldn't it? Only he could find such a devastatingly dazzling boy, only to chase him away with his less-than-welcoming personality.

But Will seemed otherwise unfazed by Nico's attitude as he proceeded to joke and move the conversation on. Will was a great conversationalist; he was quite the contrast from Nico himself in fact. There wasn't a single awkward pause throughout the afternoon as Will deftly filled any gaps which may have appeared in their otherwise smooth conversation.

Nico had never felt more at ease than he was in all the hours that they sat at that same table, drinking their coffee and getting to know one another. He didn't think he'd laughed so much or so hard before in his entire life.

In the space of just a few hours, Will had enraptured and encompassed Nico's entire being in a blanket of sunshine and happiness. And Nico wouldn't have it any other way.

Once he arrived home, he was instantly bombarded by Hazel and her questioning gaze.

"So… How'd it go…? I notice you've been out all day so it must have been good right?" The tell-tale signs of her partially upturned lips gave away the fact that she was trying hard not to smirk at me.

"Yeah, erm, it was good…" The memory of Will's scintillating smile and his melodic laughter wormed its way into his head, and he struggled to give too much away to Hazel as he tried schooling his face into broadcasting less of his obvious drunken euphoria.

"Just good, huh? That sappy look on your face says otherwise." She was fully smirking at him now – not even bothering with hiding her immense satisfaction at once again being proven right. "So… What's his name?" Her voice was almost worryingly too cheerful as she asked her question in a sing-song-y tone.

"Will Solace." He grumbled. He had to struggle very hard to not sing the name back at her.

"Well aren't you glad you listened to me now? You are so giving me all the details about your date with Will later. You're lucky that I actually promised Percy and Annabeth that I would go have dinner with them today, or I'd be forcing you to spill the beans to me right now."

"I feel so privileged…"

She shot him a glare that demonstrated just how much she appreciated his sarcasm at this very moment.

"I'll see you later bro. Love you!" And with that she was gone, leaving Nico alone in his apartment.

Leisurely, he dragged himself into his room, fully prepared to just fall asleep, still feeling the effects of his time with Will.

He shuffled onto his bed as he pulled out his phone. It shone blindingly bright in the darkness of his room as he was notified of an unread text. It was from Will.

Sitting up, he opened the message to read its contents.

I had a great time today; hopefully we can do this again sometime, Angel. ;)

Nico scowled at the nickname that Will blatantly included just to spite him, but he couldn't bring himself to care all that much. Not when Will was asking him out to go on another date.

Yeah, I hope so too

And with that, Nico set his phone down on his bedside table as he lay back on his bed and drifted of the sleep, his dreams full of messy blond mops of hair, bright smiles and musical laughter.

Let me know what you guys thought in the reviews or something. Feedback brings me joy and any issues you find with my story, don't hesitate to let me know. I'm all for constructive criticism.