Will's POV
Nico had started acting weird, he was avoiding me, he scarcely showed up at any group meals, and any time I talked to him he automatically had something important to do. I didn't know what it was but I had to get to the bottom of it.
I knocked on Nico's cabin door, expecting there to be no response, but suddenly the door flew open. He stood in front of me with puffy eyes and messy hair, he tried to shut the door but I stepped in before he could. It slammed shut behind me, leaving Nico and I alone in the cabin.
"Why are you here Solace?"
The discomfort in his voice was unsettling, just a week before he had been friendly to me, to the point where he even high-fived me once.
"I'm worried about you, you don't go to meals, and you've stopped talking to me almost completely. Did I do something?" I asked.
"Its me who did something, now get out!" He yelled.
I backed away from Nico a little bit, not wanting to make him any more uncomfortable.
"Why were you crying Nico?"
He looked away from me and sighed shakily. I cautiously approached him again, gently placing my hands on his shoulders.
"What's wrong Neeks?" I whispered.
"Gods why can't you just leave me alone?" He muttered, more tears forming in his eyes.
"Shhh, please just tell me what's the matter."
Nico tried to hide his face from me, looking down at his shoes and covering his face with his hands.
"I'm a freak."
Those words had more impact on me than they should have, it made me want to cry because he felt that way about himself.
"No you aren't Nico, you aren't a freak."
He tore away from me and glared "oh sure, I'm the son of fucking Hades, I killed someone by turning them into a spirit, and I-I-" he broke down crying.
I took him into my arms, running my arms carefully up and down his back. He shook as he cried into my chest, he felt so small and venerable in my arms.
After he stopped crying I began petting his hair "you what?"
"I'm in love with..." I couldn't hear the last half of his sentence because his head was buried in my shirt.
"Who?"
"You, you idiot!"
My heart rate sped up, he was, what? I was too awestruck to say anything, he was in love with, me?
"I know, it's disgusting and terrible but I am. That's why I've been avoiding you," he said, pushing me away.
I shook my head vigorously, trying to wake myself from the dream "it's not either of those, it's actually great."
Nico stared at me like I was insane "great?"
"Yeah," I muttered, getting closer to him.
"What?"
I was so happy that Nico felt the same, he loved me back.
"Shh, don't talk love, can I kiss you?"
Nico pulled away in shock but nodded after a few seconds. I kissed him slowly, I had been waiting for that since I first met him, I had loved him at first glance.
He seemed to still be in shock for the first few seconds of the kiss, but he eventually kissed me back, lacing his fingers through my hair. I pulled him closer and rested my hands on his back, making him take a sharp breath.
I slowly kissed him deeper for a few fleeting moments, everything was perfect, then he pulled away, gasping.
"Wow," I muttered.
"You? What? I'm sorry we shouldn't have done that."
I felt like I had been slapped in the face, why shouldn't we had done that?
"Why?" I asked.
Nico stepped away from me once again "because, it's not natural, it's disgusting."
I could feel the tears forming in my eyes, how could he think that it was disgusting?
"What do you mean? You said you loved me."
"I love you and that's terrible, guys aren't supposed to love other guys."
"It's fine to be gay Nico, it's perfectly natural and normal. I love you too, how can you say that's disgusting?"
He shrugged "I-I don't know."
Nico seemed more confused than ever, his brow was furrowed, his arms were crossed, and he was biting his lower lip. Meanwhile I had started crying and was standing with my hands at my side, shaking.
"Love is undeniable Nico, it doesn't matter what gender you are, all that matters is if you really care about the person."
"Really? It doesn't seem normal, natural, or I don't know-"
I nodded shakily, I wanted so badly to be with him, I just had to help him accept himself.
"It's normal, there isn't anything wrong with us Neeks, we aren't disgusting, we're just people."
"I'm not, I can't, just-ahh!" He shouted.
I pulled his hand up to my face and kissed it, softly and carefully, as if he were going to break if I kissed him too rough.
"It's okay, I know, it's confusing. Just calm down Nico, I'll help you deal with it as it comes. Just, breathe, in, and out."
Nico breathed slowly, clutching my shirt like it was the last thread of sanity that he had.
I held his hand tightly and breathed with him. We stayed there for five minutes, I held him tight, afraid to let go.
"Thank you Will," he whispered, breaking the fragile silence.
I lifted his chin to mine, gazing into his puffy brown eyes. Instead of the usual cold look or sarcastic gleam, they were soft, needy, and fragile.
My hands traced around his cheeks, wiping the tears from his cheeks.
"Thank you Nico, for telling me. I really do love you, I have for a while," I muttered.
He looked away from me, still conflicted, probably from what people had instilled into his brain about people like us.
"It's okay, don't worry about what other people think, what do you think?"
He paused for a moment, bringing his hands to mine "I think I'm, attracted to you, a lot. It's like what people describe love as, I love you."
He placed his lips on mine, this time leading the kiss. His hands explored my back, gripping on the fabric on my back. He pulled away yet again, scaring me into thinking that he was going to pull away forever, and never come back.
To my surprise he smiled up at me, the worry had left him and now he was a free being.
"Gods Will, how could something that feels so good be thought of as bad?"
I shrugged "some people are just stupid, Death Boy."
"Yeah, I guess they are, Sunshine."
