Through the Ice ― Nico di Angelo & Will Solace

―vi. beware of vegas hotels

TWELVE HOURS ALONE WITH NICO DI ANGELO was not what Isaac's daydreams made it out to be. Technically, that wasn't Nico's fault—Isaac's daydreams were, admittedly, very far-fetched and would never see the light of day if he could help it—but Isaac couldn't help but want to die a little as the boredom of the too-long train ride wore on him. 

While most Roman demigods were spared the dyslexia most Greek demigods seemed to be born with, he had not been spared the ADHD. Most of the time, it worked in Isaac's favor—he was quick on his feet and could switch between tasks relatively seamlessly. Sure, he tended to hyperfixate an annoying amount—he still couldn't start reading a book if he didn't have a few hours blocked out to finish it in one go, and he'd missed quite a few events growing up trying to complete Lego sets in one session—but even that could be helpful. 

The restlessness, though—yeah, that was a problem at the moment. 

Well, no, the real problem was the fact that Nico passed out at the seven-hour mark of the ride and was currently using Isaac's shoulder as a freaking pillow. Isaac couldn't move without waking him up—and if he woke him up, they'd both be awkward about it, and Isaac would have to pretend his heart wasn't racing like gods-damned unicorns galloping to their feeding trough and his face wasn't burning like he'd spent twelve solid hours underneath the sun without SPF. 

Isaac spent a solid hour uncomfortably still, stifling the urge to bounce his leg or tap his foot or move in any way that might jostle the son of Hades snoozing away on his shoulder. Then he spent another half-hour pretending to sleep in case Nico woke up. Then—well, he actually did fall asleep. 

The next thing Isaac knew, he was being shaken awake. As he opened his eyes, coming back to his senses, he felt the train slow down. A glance out of the window told him they were coming into the Las Vegas station. 

Isaac groaned, rubbing his eyes roughly. "Finally," he mumbled. 

"Yeah, you're telling me," Nico said. His hair was flat from laying on Isaac's shoulder, but he looked alert and wide-awake, so Isaac figured he'd been awake for a little bit. "I'd almost risk Zeus's wrath if it meant I didn't have to spend another twelve hours on a train." 

"That's what you get for being a son of Hades," Isaac mumbled, reaching for his water bottle. After a long sip, he wiped his mouth and said, "Did Will say where he was meeting us?" 

"He just said at the station," Nico said. He glanced out of the window. "Not sure where he'd park the chariot, though." 

"Thank the gods for the Mist," Isaac said. He shoved his water bottle back into his bag as a voice over the intercom announced that they were pulling into the Las Vegas station.

Isaac's legs felt like bendy straws as he stood up, stretching so hard his joints popped audibly. He groaned with relief.

"Is that even healthy?" Nico asked, looking through the outer pockets of his bag for something. "I don't think teenagers' bones are supposed to make those sounds." 

Isaac just rolled his eyes, pulling his shirt back down where it had ridden up. He and Nico followed the rest of the passengers off of the train and onto the platform, neither sure where to look for Nico's boyfriend.

Nico's boyfriend. Yeah, Isaac had really thought he'd have more time to get used to that before he saw Will in person again. 

He opened his mouth to suggest they head to the parking lot to see if Will (and his handy flying chariot) was out there when a voice called, "Nico! Isaac!" 

A meandering family of four moved out of the way, revealing the son of Apollo as he waved frantically at them, grinning. 

"Will," Nico greeted, sounding happier than Isaac thought he'd ever heard him.