A/N: Since this scene never happened...

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Jason was way too excited about Nico's existence.

It had only been a week since the Romans left for Camp Jupiter, but it felt like so much longer. Nico missed Reyna and his sister, but he was almost constantly distracted by Jason's insistence on waking him up at 6 AM, taking a walk through the beach, and then sitting through breakfast together (alternating between the Zeus and Hades tables), teaming up for Capture the Flag and suffering (in Nico's case, anyway) through sing-a-long after sing-a-long, while Jason grinned excitedly at him and sang (off key) at the top of his lungs.

It was rather disconcerting. Not to mention he still wasn't used to the glasses.

And then, of course, there were the times when Jason ran off with Piper and left Nico to his own devices. Those were when things got interesting. Nico had kept his promise to Will Solace and spent the required three days in the infirmary. It had been unbearably boring, sitting in bed for three days straight when there wasn't even anything wrong with him, but Will had kept him updated (and had fed him meals, which was nice but kind of unnecessary) and Jason had stopped by at least three times a day with his and Piper's latest installment of "The Adventures of Leo Valdez, the Totally Not Dead Hero of Olympus."

Nico still felt bad about Leo. But those stories were really funny.

After three days of being under the Apollo kids' care, Nico had been released, with a warning to avoid the Underworld stuff and another gross pack of magic gum (just in case). Nico had obeyed the doctor's orders, more or less. Will didn't need to know that shadows were how Nico always showed up whenever Will wanted to talk to him.

Not that he waited for Will to need him, of course, it was just... Well he... Okay, maybe he waited a little bit.

Nico had spent years trying to hide from Percy Jackson because even just the sound of his name filled Nico with hatred and love.

Will was like that. Except without the hatred part.

For example, at the moment, Nico was sitting at the Zeus table in the dining pavilion, stabbing his pancakes (which he'd subconsciously made blue) and trying to look over Jason's head so he could see the Apollo table.

"Nico," Jason said, for what Nico had the feeling was not the first time, reaching across the table to snap his fingers in front of Nico's face.

Nico dragged his gaze away from the back of Will's head and glared at Jason. "What?"

Jason frowned. "Are you okay? You seem kinda distracted."

"I'm fine," Nico assured him, risking one more glance across the pavilion, then- seeing that Will wasn't looking his way- turning his attention to his breakfast. "What were you saying?" he asked.

Jason grinned. "Piper and I found this really great restaurant in Manhattan that serves vegetarian steak, and Chiron said we could go out to dinner tomorrow night. We were wondering if you wanted to come with us."

Nico wrinkled his nose. "Jason, are you asking me on a date? A really gross sounding date?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "No, of course not! We're just... I mean, we're not..." He faltered. Nico sighed as Jason turned around and shouted, "Hey Piper! We're not asking Nico on a date, right?!"

"No, no, of course we're not!" Piper called back from the Aphrodite table. "It's more like... Like, we're going on a date, and then he's just coming with us. You know, like Leo used to do!"

Jason turned back to Nico, grinning. "There, you see? You're like Leo."

Nico sighed and put his head in his hands. He was glad Jason and Piper were moving on, but it was really not helpful to know that he was practically just their replacement for Leo.

Jason launched back into a speech on the exact chemical makeup of the vegetarian steak. When Nico looked up, Will was smirking at him from across the pavilion. Nico smiled sheepishly and raised a hand in a wave.

Will watched him for a moment or two, then jerked his head to the side, gesturing to an empty spot next to him, raising an eyebrow in question. Nico's eyes lit up and he nodded excitedly, already getting up.

"Hey, Jason, great story but I gotta go," he said quickly, interrupting the son of Jupiter mid-sentence.

He wasn't sure whether to be glad or annoyed that Jason didn't protest.

As soon as Nico slid onto the bench next to Will, the Apollo kids greeted him excitedly, patting him on the back, asking him how life had been going, all genuinely friendly.

Nico didn't understand why it had taken two wars for him to be accepted, but he was grateful nonetheless.

"So... You're not actually going on a date with Jason and Piper, right?" Will asked softly once his siblings had stopped paying attention to them.

Nico glanced over at the Aphrodite table, where Jason had joined Piper and was currently trying to eat her face. "Gods, I hope not."

Will laughed, grinning at him. Nico smiled back, but Will's face fell when his gaze landed on the empty plate that had appeared in front of Nico. He frowned in concern. "You're not eating?"

Nico shrugged. "I'm not really hungry."

Will scowled in that doctor-y, That's unacceptable, kind of way that Nico had gotten uncomfortably used to over the last week. "Well, maybe you're just not eating the right thing." He turned to his own plate and speared some food on his fork. "Here, try this." Carefully holding his free hand under the fork so the food wouldn't fall as he lifted it from the plate, Will offered Nico the fork.

Nico recognized the gesture, of course. He'd gotten very used to this, after three days of Will feeding him all his meals (and more than nine, mind you; Will Solace believed in snacks. And, like, second breakfasts). He just didn't understand why Will was feeding him now.

"Best scrambled egg I've ever had," Will told him, mistaking his hesitation for a different kind of uncertainty. "Try it."

Slowly, carefully, Nico leaned forward and bit the piece of egg off of the fork.

"Good, huh?" Will asked, turning away to continue eating.

Nico nodded, prayed he wasn't blushing, and avoided Will's gaze.

After breakfast, Nico stood from the Apollo table and looked around the pavilion, nodding to Jason as he pulled Piper outside, smiling at Percy and Annabeth who were vigorously scouring the latest New Rome University pamphlet. Then, he turned back to Will.

"You got anywhere to be?" he asked, steeling his nerves.

Will shook his head. "Infirmary later, but I'm free for a couple hours. Why, you got something in mind?"

Nico shrugged. "Nothing in particular. I thought maybe you'd like to take a walk with me?"

Will smiled. "I'd love to."

So that's how they found themselves strolling along the beach, taking the same part Nico took with Jason every morning now.

"Camp's so beautiful," Will observed.

Nico nodded. "I can't believe I ever wanted to leave."

Will grinned at him. "You have no idea how happy I am that you stayed."

Nico felt his face turn red and averted his gaze, shoving his hands deep in his jacket pocket to keep from twisting his skull ring. He didn't want to seem nervous.

"Will-" he began.

"Look, Nico," the son of Apollo interrupted. "I know we didn't really know each other before all this, and we've just started being friends, but... I really like you. I want you to know that."

Nico froze, feeling his heart skip a beat. "What's wrong?" Will asked, frowning.

Nico clenched his fists. "Tell me you're not kidding," he demanded. "Tell me... Tell me you're saying what I think you are."

Will hesitated, studying Nico's face. Then he reached forward and took Nico's hand. "How's this for an answer?"

Nico had never been kissed before, so he wasn't sure what to expect. But he knew he hadn't expected Will's lips to be so soft.

When the son of Apollo pulled away, Nico asked, "So you like boys too, huh?"

Will smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. I realized a couple years ago. About the time you came to Camp Half-Blood, actually."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Gods, you're such a bad liar."

"Okay, okay, you're right," Will laughed. "Uh, let's see, Battle of the Labyrinth. How's that, more believable?"

Nico smirked. "Much."

The continued their boardwalk stroll, hand in hand as they walked along the beach. After a minutes, Nico asked, "Hey, Will? You don't like girls too, right? I heard that was a thing."

"It is for some people," Will confirmed. "But not for me."

Nico nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Cause I wouldn't want to share you."

Will raised an eyebrow. "You could have to share me with other guys."

Nico scoffed. "Nah, I'd just scare them away."

"It's one of your best qualities," Will agreed.

Nico grinned.

When Percy and Annabeth entered Cabin Three, they were both surprised to see Nico di Angelo waiting for them.

"Nico?" Percy asked, frowning in confusion.

Nico stood from the bed, wringing his hands nervously. "Percy... Annabeth... I'm dating Will Solace."

Annabeth squealed. "Nico, that's awesome!"

"I knew Will was gay," Percy muttered. Annabeth hit his arm. "Uh, I mean, congratulations, Nico."

Nico smiled at his best friends, feeling happier than he'd ever felt in his life. He wasn't only accepted, he had a boyfriend now.

Now just came the fun part. Hiding it from Jason.

A/N: Blood of Olympus was beautiful. It just gave me so many feels. And I was so happy with all of it. It was really all I wanted it to be. But I was kinda sad there wasn't a scene like this, so I decided to write it (at midnight, an hour after I finished the book).

Also, Jason's glasses. I have a theory about those things, but I'm still not sure if I like them or not.

Anyway, please review!