ELYSIAN, the riordanverse

08

I ADORE YOU

Will sat inside the Aphrodite Cabin as Lacy and Mitchell stood in front of him groaning.

'Will, sweetie...' Lacy said, her voice sweet before she burst into a multitude of profanities Will would rather not say. 'WHAT THE HELL DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE PRONUNCIATION?'

'I don't know, ok?' Will replied, sighing and burying his face in his hands. He'd been learning Italian from these two so that he could talk to Nico in his native tongue and he just couldn't get half the words right.

Mitchell shook his head, 'Well, at least you know one sentence?' Will sighed again. The only stupid sentence he was actually able to say without sounding like a complete idiot was "Ti adoro, mia luce de sole". Lacy thought it was really cute but she was also frustrated from trying to teach him a language he was no good at.

'Don't remind me, Mitchell. It's been two weeks and that's the only damned thing I can say.' Will said, chuckling a little. The group of three burst into laughter as the conch horn for dinner sounded. Lacy and Mitchell said their goodbyes and ran off as Will got up and sprinted off towards the Hades Cabin.

Gods knew that boy wouldn't go eat dinner unless Will practically dragged him to the Dining Pavilion.

'Nico, come on out. We have to eat dinner, Sunshine.' Will said, knocking on the door of the freakishly black cabin. He heard the other boy groan as Will rolled his eyes. 'Get out of there. You need some air.'

Then after a second, Will's mouth grew into a childish smile as he commented, 'Ooh, that rhymed.' That was when Nico opened the door.

'You're a dork.' The son of Hades deadpanned, running a hand through his hair.

'Why thank you for the compliment, good sir but we must be going.' Will said mockingly, bowing a bit. Nico rolled his eyes and walked out of the cabin as Will followed behind him.

'And stop calling me Sunshine.' Nico said, giving Will a glare.

Will grinned and shook his head, 'No can do, hun.' Nico groaned again but chuckled a little. It was always funny to see Will's southern accent slip through.

As the two took a seat in the Apollo table, Kayla asked Will how his lessons were going. Will averted his eyes from his sister and shook his head vigorously.

'Oh my gods, that bad, huh?' Kayla asked as Austin slid into the seat beside her.

'What's happening here, guys? Hey, Nico.' The son of Hades nodded in acknowledgement of the greeting as Will answered with a dismissive wave of his hand.

'Oh nothing, just talking about my failed language classes with Lacy and Mitch.' Will replied as Austin let out a laugh.

'Any progress, Will?'

'Nope.' Will said, popping the "p". 'I still can't say anything except that one cursed sentence.'

Kayla smiled and asked, 'What was it again?'

'Ti adoro, mia luce de sole.' Will said, sighing.

Nico choked on his food. He had been listening to the siblings talk, not saying anything because he wasn't really one for conversation... But that sentence got his attention.

'Dang it.' Will muttered under his breath. Of course, Nico had heard him. Why was he such an idiot?

'Uh...' Nico said, trailing off. Will clenched his teeth as Kayla and Austin excused themselves. And those two called themselves Will's siblings.

'Did you just say... "I adore you, my sunshine"?' Nico asked as Will's eyes widened.

'Um... yeah?' Will answered as a blush spread to his cheeks.

'Oh.' Nico said simply, turning back to his food. He had to be wrong, there was no way that the "Sunshine" in Will's sentence referred to him. No, it was just wishful thinking.

Will's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, did Nico not get that "luce de sole" was him? Well, seeing by the usual blank expression on his face, Will guessed not.

Now, this was not how he wanted to confess to Nico but it looked like it hadn't worked anyway.

-

Will had to tell Nico. He was planning on doing it sometime but why not now, right? So, as Will and Nico walked back to the Hades Cabin, Will blurted it out again. 'Ti adoro, mia luce de sole.'

'What is up with you saying that?' Nico asked, turning to Will, his black hair tied up in a small ponytail.

'Nico... I meant it to be... for you.' The son of Hades was surprised, to say the least. Well, he wasn't surprised at all actually. Just confused.

So, as Will stood in front of the Hades Cabin, a small gay Italian knitting his eyebrows... The idiot decided to kiss said Italian.

Nico stiffened at the embrace but then returned the kiss with pure ecstasy. As the two broke apart, their lips were still tingling from the kiss... Will whispered, looking at Nico's big brown eyes, 'Ti adoro, mia luce de sole.'

And Nico whispered back, 'Anch'io ti adore, tesoro mio.'

As the two met in a kiss once more, Will couldn't help but think that his stupid Italian lessons payed off and that Nico's slightly chapped lips felt simply wonderful against his.