The Coming of Nico di Angelo

It Turns Out Magical Talking Hats Are a Thing

CHAPTER SUMMARY

The Hogwarts Express pulls into Hogwarts, and the sorting begins.

BEGINNING NOTES

Chapter Rating: Mature
Content Warning: Self-Harm, Mild Cursing
Word Count: 4917

And all the characters are owned by JK Rowling, or Rick Riordan.

____________________NICO____________________

The time on Nico's iPod read 6:15 am. It was still set to the East Coast, meaning that Will would be on his morning jog in the woods. Nico still felt angry at Harry, but his time alone had lessened his temper considerably. Now, all he wanted to do was talk to Will.

Once alone in the train's bathroom, Nico turned the sink as high as it would go. The jet of water created mist in the sink, allowing the window-light to make a rainbow. Nico threw the drachma into the spray, and chanted the incantation. "O Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Will Solace at Camp Half-Blood."

The mist shimmered, and, just as Nico expected, Will appeared alone in the woods. He wore a sweaty, orange, Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and basketball shorts. Jogging clothes.

Noticing the Iris message, Will stopped his workout, smiling his radiant smile. "Neeks! I didn't expect to hear from you so soon!"

Nico's heart fluttered at Will's voice. That didn't seem too son-of-Hades-y, so he tried to cover that reaction up with a roll of his eyes. "Don't call me that, Will. And yeah, neither did I, but I got a second on this train, so I figured why not?"

Will's smile widened. "I'm glad. We kind of left on a weird note, right?"

"Yeah. I've never been good with this sort of thing."

"Then I'll walk you through it." Will's sounded so gentle, so loving... beyond words. Nico could only bask in his good fortune. This boy, this amazing, perfect boy, liked him? Romantically? "I like you, Nico. I like you a lot. Do you like me?"

More than I ever thought possible.

"Yeah, Will. I do."

"Then, do you want to go out with me? I mean, I know you're on a quest, but, when you come back, would you like to go on a date?"

"Sounds perfect."

Will let loose an involuntary smile of his own. "And, in the meantime, do you want to try a long-distance thing? No strings attached, of course, and we don't have to, but--"

"Will!" Nico stopped the Solace-ramble before it could start. "I want strings attached. All the strings attached. I want you as my boyfriend, even if we're in different countries right now."

A laugh left Nico's throat when he saw the way Will's face lit up. He looked like a little kid who just found out he'd won a trip to Disney World. "That's-- wow, cool! Yeah, Nico, sure! Of course!"

The whole thing felt so surreal. Two days ago, this kind of reaction from Will existed in the deepest parts of Nico's imagination. The part he never let see the light of day. Now, that same boy acted like he was the most incredible miracle ever created by the gods. He liked him, he really liked him. Will Solace, the golden boy, liked Nico di Angelo, the weird emo kid. In what universe was that possible?

Still, there was one condition. And he had to make sure Will was fine with it. "Will? Can we keep this relationship thing between us, at least for now? I don't want to advertise things yet--you know how camp gets with couples. All those rumors, all that attention... I've never been in a relationship before, you know? I don't want anyone to ruin it with all that. I'm not saying we have to keep this a secret forever, but is for now all right?"