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Trapped in a supply closet, Nico di Angelo was currently wishing he was dead. His first mistake was ever opening the door to his Cabin that morning in the first place. Actually, his first first mistake was whatever the fuck he did to piss Eros off, because Nico was ninety percent sure this was Eros's fault.
Jason Grace was in love with him. And that was only the beginning.
It started early in the morning, and Nico had been woken up by someone knocking on his door. He thought it would be Will Solace, the stupidly attractive Head Medic, so he answered. Instead it was Jason (who was really just normal levels of attractive, unlike Will), whose eyes widened and mouth fell open when he saw Nico. If this was an animated movie, Nico was sure Jason's eyes would have little pink hearts in them.
"You're the most beautiful man I've ever seen in my life," Jason said, sounding breathless.
Nico narrowed his eyes. "Jason, get out of my cabin." If this was some sort of prank, Nico really didn’t appreciate it.
Jason stepped forward. "Your voice is like a song that I want to hear over and over again. Nico, please, let me prove my love to you. I would do anything. I would throw myself off the tallest cliff just to be worthy of you."
What the fuck? Nico's eyes darted towards where his Stygian iron sword hung on his wall, wondering if this was some monster only pretending to be Jason.
"You can prove your love for me by getting out of my Cabin," Nico said, feeling uneasy. This didn’t feel like a prank, and that was the worrying part, because there was no way Jason Grace was actually in love with him.
Jason stepped forward again, and Nico stepped backwards, grateful for the dim lighting and the numerous shadows he could disappear into. Who said he couldn't run from his problems? It's what he was best at.
"You don't want me here?" Jason asked, blue eyes beginning to water.
Nico blanched. Weird curse or not, a desperate, heartbroken son of the Big Three was never a good thing. "No, it's just, um, you said you wanted to prove your love for me?"
Jason nodded frantically. "I would do anything for you, Nico. I love you more than life itself."
Nico wasn't sure how much of a statement that actually was, because Nico, for one, was very much not loving his life. He liked Jason a lot, but not like that . He wanted Jason as a brother, not as whatever this was.
"I, um, what I really want are some strawberries from the strawberry field," Nico said.
Jason beamed. "I can do that! Only the best strawberries for the love of my life!"
As soon as Jason left, Nico took a deep breath. This was going to suck. He had no idea what happened to Jason, but he should get out of his cabin while he still could and hope this whole thing blew over quickly. There was really only one person at camp Nico wanted to fall in love with him, and it sure as hell wasn't Jason.
He opened his cabin door, stepping outside after making sure Jason was long gone.
"Hey, Nico," purred Drew Tanaka.
Nico spun around, already scared. Drew Tanaka was looking up at him, leaning on the side of his cabin like she’d been waiting for him, batting her eyelashes.
"Hi Drew," Nico said, mouth going dry. Fuck. This was not happening. Jason was bad enough, but Drew too? At least Jason was the right gender...
"Are you doing anything later today?" Drew asked, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
“Unfortunately, yes, sorry,” he replied, trying to sound apologetic. He really didn’t want anyone to start crying over him.
“Aw,” Drew pouted. “Are you sure you can’t cancel?” She touched his arm, and he pulled away by instinct.
“I can’t, sorry,” he said shortly.
He turned around, only to see Clovis, the son of Hypnos, staring at him with a blush on his cheeks.
“Hey Nico,” Clovis said, looking starstruck. “You look nice today. I was just going to take a nap, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?”
Nico’s mouth was officially no longer working. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another camper walking towards him.
Fuck. It wasn’t just Jason who was in love with him. Looking between Drew and Clovis, he weighed his options. They were both looking at him with the same lovestruck expressions that Jason had.
Running. Running sounded like a good idea.
Before any other campers could mob Nico, he sprinted back inside his cabin, shutting the door tightly and resisting the urge to barricade the door with a chair or something. He paced the cabin, trying to wrap his brain around what just happened.
Apparently Jason was in love with him. And so was Drew, and so was Clovis, and Nico had a sinking feeling that the entirety of Camp Half-Blood was in love with him. What was he supposed to do now, except hide in his cabin for the rest of the day?
Could this day get any worse?
A knock sounded at the door. Nico froze, and he was regretting not barricading it while he had the chance.
“Nico? I know you’re in there. I want to talk.”
Fuck. That was Percy Jackson’s voice. The same kind of voice he used whenever he talked to Annabeth, his girlfriend. This day had officially gotten worse.
Nico did the first thing he could think of. He shadow-traveled out of his cabin and into a safe place. And that’s how he found himself locked in an infirmary supply closet, dreading ever waking up that morning.
In all honesty, the infirmary supply closet wasn’t a bad place to hide, he thought. It smelled of antiseptic and it was very dark, but at least no one would be looking for him here. Obviously, he blamed Will Solace for making him associate the Infirmary with safety, but that was less Will’s fault and more Nico’s gayness’s fault.
His mind jumped to wondering how his day would’ve gone if it had been Will Solace had knocked on his door that morning, Will who looked up at him with puppy-dog blue eyes, Will who professed his undying love…
Something unpleasant twisted in Nico’s gut. No, he didn’t like the thought of that at all. Eros would probably love to see Nico have his happiness dangled right in front of him only to be taken away at the last second because of course the only way Will would ever return his feelings was if Will was enchanted to do so.
Nico was pretty sure that running into Will while this spell or whatever was still in effect would be way, way worse than his encounter with Jason. Because, really, what could be worse than your crush only having fake feelings for you?
The closet door opened. Nico tensed, ready to shadow travel again.
“Nico?” Will asked.
Nico shut his eyes. This was great. Absolutely perfect. What were the chances that he could just open a giant crack in the floor and fall straight into the River Lethe?
“Solace, if you say that you’re in love with me, I will kill you.”
Nico, bravely, opened his eyes, preparing himself for the worst.
Will blinked at him. “...what?”
Nico frowned. Will looked…normal. Just totally normal. No puppy dog eyes, no sudden confessions. “You’re not…suddenly in love with me, are you?”
“Is everything okay?” Will asked instead. “Why are you hiding in the supply closet?”
Did the enchantment end already? Nico didn’t think he was that lucky, but he couldn’t think of any other reason why Will was acting so…himself.
He stepped out of the supply closet. The infirmary hallway was empty. Nico looked Will up and down, looking for any signs that Will was about to fall completely head over heels for him.
“I guess so,” Nico said, and he faintly wondered if he had dreamed it all.
“Hey, Will, Nico..”
Nico sighed in relief as Kayla entered the room, looking relatively normal. Maybe this was some weird fever dream, thank the gods.
“Uh, Will, Austin said he needed more bandages,” Kayla said.
Will took one last, confused look at Nico, then headed out of the room. Nico cringed. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do. He wasn’t sure if he even could explain it, besides some very well-planned prank.
Kayla looked at Nico, a smirk playing on her lips. “You’re here again, huh? Visiting anyone special?”
Nico’s cheeks flared up bright red, and he stammered. “What? No, Will and I are just friends.” If Nico didn’t know that before, the whole closet thing proved it.
Kayla laughed, and it sounded slightly higher pitched than it normally was, and Nico’s brain went into panic mode. He wasn’t as safe as he thought, was he?
“That’s good, because I wasn’t talking about him,” Kayla said, and she leaned closer towards Nico.
Nico backed away quickly, running into a counter. “Um, I–”
Kayla giggled. “You’re adorable.” She stepped forward.
Fuck. Nico looked for the door where Will disappeared to, and silently cursed Kayla for sending Will away. Actually, that was probably her whole plan: getting Nico all by himself so she could flirt or whatever.
Nico swallowed. He needed to get out of camp, preferably with someone who had already proven to not want to kiss Nico, he thought sullenly. Of course his faith rested in the fate of the fact that his crush didn’t like him back in the slightest.
He moved towards the door, walking quickly away from Kayla.
“Look, you’re a very nice person, but–”
Kayla’s face fell. “It kinda sounds like you’re rejecting me, Nico,” she said, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.
He was almost at the door. He really just needed to make a break for it at this point, if he was just going to keep saying all the wrong things.
The door opened behind him, and Nico turned around, almost grinning; he’d never been happier to hear the familiar sounds of Will’s flip-flops on the tile floor of the infirmary.
He grabbed Will’s hand, ignoring Will’s undignified squeak of protest, lunged for the nearest shadow, and shadow-traveled the both of them out of camp.
They appeared in the forest outside of Camp, and as soon as they landed, Will half-fell into Nico, and Nico realized the extent of what he’d actually done. Will was going to think he was a crazy person. But at least Will wasn’t going to be in love with him.
Great. Well, requited crushes had never been Nico’s luck anyway.
“Okay,” Will said, voice frazzled. “What the hell?”
Nico let go of their intertwined hands, trying his hardest not to blush at the contact. “I need your help.”
Will looked up at Nico, looking exasperated. “Next time you need to kidnap me for help, can you at least warn me first? Shadow traveling is not fun.”
“I was panicking!” Nico hissed. “It’s not my fault everyone’s in love with me.”
Will dragged a hand through his hair. “Well, I think that’s a little bit of an exaggeration. Yes, you’ve probably got some admirers, but that’s what happens when you single-handedly save the camp.”
Nico chose to ignore the pride that flared up in his chest at Will’s words. Will didn’t mean them like that . But even if Will was so far out of his reach that not even magic could change it, it was still nice to know that Will thought of him so…positively.
“I woke up this morning and Jason told me my voice was a song he wanted to listen to on repeat . And then there was Drew and Clovis and Percy Jackson was there too and I’m pretty sure I just broke Kayla’s heart and–”
“Oh, you’re serious.”
Will’s lips were turned slightly upwards and his eyes were sparkling with amusement, and maybe it caused Nico’s heart to skip a beat but really it was just annoying.
“Are you laughing at me?” Nico deadpanned.
Apparently that was the last straw for Will’s composure, because he started full-on laughing. Nico continued to glare at him, crossing his arms, waiting for Will to stop.
“It’s not funny, Will,” Nico said. “I’m in life-threatening danger.”
“Oh, is that what kids are calling it these days?” Will asked with an exaggerated wink.
“I don’t want to be mass-flirted with the entire camp.”
Will seemed to sober up at that. "You're right. I've got a friend, Lou Ellen, that knows a thing or two about potions. If anyone can fix this, it'd be her."
"And she'll help us?"
"If nothing else, Death Boy, you can probably flirt your way into getting an antidote."
Nico sighed in relief, deciding to let the nickname slide, smiling for the first time since he'd woken up. "Thanks, Will. I'm lucky I found you and that you're normal about this."
Saying the words sent Nico's nervous mind into a spiral of thoughts that he wisely chose to ignore. There was probably a reasonable explanation for why Will wasn't fawning all over him, that probably had nothing to do with Will secretly hating him (Nico's stomach churned at that) or Will finding him completely unlovable, or anything like that.
Will laughed nervously, rubbing his neck. "I mean, it wasn't really luck, right? That brought you to the Infirmary?"
Nico froze. How would Will know that Nico's instinct brought him there? "I don't know what you're talking about."
Will wasn't meeting Nico's eyes. He seemed…nervous, embarrassed almost.
"I mean…it's kind of obvious," Will said. "Pretty much the whole camp probably knows at this point."
Nico gulped. This was just perfect. First not even magic could get Will to like him back, and now, what? Will was calling him out for his pathetic little crush, ready to reject him?
"Look, Solace, I don't really want to talk about this right now. I'd rather just get this fixed, and get everything back to normal."
Will smiled, but it was tight, and the sinking feeling in Nico's gut told him that normal may not be achievable anymore.
Of course Will doesn't want to be around you anymore now that he knows how you feel about him , the voice in Nico's head sneered. Of course Will would be weirded out by the son of Hades having a crush on him .
"Right, yeah, normal," Will said, kicking at the dirt with his shoe.
That didn't…Nico wasn't sure what Will was saying anymore. Those words didn't sound like someone who was on the verge of rejecting him. It sounded like Will didn't really want to go back to normal. He sounded…well if Nico didn't know any better, he'd say Will sounded disappointed.
"Is everything okay?" Nico asked cautiously.
Will looked up at Nico, startled. "You don't know?"
"Know what?"
"You know…" Will gestured between them vaguely.
Nico just stared at him in confusion. He was pretty sure neither of them had anticipated the sudden turn the conversation had gone in.
Will cleared his throat, and his cheeks were bright pink. "Uh, I guess you don't. Okay, let's go find Lou Ellen so we can get this whole thing cleared up and–"
Before Will could leave the clearing, Nico stopped him, brain going overboard. He'd thought that this was Eros's work, but what if it wasn't? Maybe it was a prank after all.
Nico swallowed. The question he'd been dreading since he figured out what was happening was perched on his tongue, daring to spill out and probably embarrass the shit out of him.
"Will…?" Nico asked tentatively. "Do you know why you're seemingly immune when no one else is?"
"Maybe?" Will said, cheeks still bright pink.
"You didn't…cause this whole thing, did you?"
"No, nothing like that," Will said quickly. "It's just– um, well, I didn't. Um."
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, like he was summoning the courage to say something very dramatic. Nico didn't have a very good feeling about this.
In a quick stream of words, like air escaping from a balloon, Will said, "Okay, so here's the thing. I technically lied to you when you burst out of the closet at me and I'm pretty sure you're going to hate me for this but I'm not immune to the love potion thing. Not even a little bit. If you wanted to kiss me, I don't think I could resist you if I tried. Because, you’re… wow, you’re pretty.”
Nico opened his mouth to say something, but his brain couldn't remember what words were.
"You lied? So you are in love with me?" Nico wasn't sure why the prospect felt so…disappointing. He supposed that it had been strangely comforting to know that he and Will were in it together, in a way, as the only two unaffected.
"But you've acted so…normal."
"Yeah, Nico, that's kind of the thing," Will said awkwardly. "I've always sort of maybe been in love with you."
Okay, now the curse was just being cruel. Nico groaned. This had to be Eros's work, because no one else would put this much effort into making Nico feel this shitty. Of course Will would be under the curse. Of course Eros would tease him with the prospect of Will only to yank it out from under his foot like that black-haired girl did with a football in that one comic strip Will insisted on educating Nico on (he probably should've paid more attention, but Will was being distractingly pretty).
"Of course you are," Nico groaned. "Because how else–" he cut himself off. It was bad enough trying to reject people, but Nico didn't think he could stand an enchanted Will Solace who knew Nico lo– liked him back. "Because how else could you seemingly escape the spell or whatever?" he finished lamely.
Will cleared his throat, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but in this clearing with Nico. Nico didn't blame him.
"Speaking of the spell," Will said, and Nico was grateful for the distraction. "Lou Ellen. We should go visit her right now. Get this over with."
It was Nico's idea to shadow-travel directly to the Hecate Cabin instead of trying to brave the whole camp. As he held onto Will's warm, calloused hands, he tried not to think of his fluttering pulse or the words Will had said.
It seemed too good to be true that Will was acting normally because he just liked Nico this entire time. Nico could never be so lucky. He was really beginning to suspect that Will was just…pretending. Nico needed his help, so of course an enamored, lovestruck Will would be the supportive helper that Nico needed instead of another person trying to flirt with him.
Apparently Nico was due for some good luck for once, because the Hecate Cabin was mercifully empty for any potential suitors except for Lou Ellen. Nico could've cried; soon, this only thing would be over, and he could go back to his mournful unrequited pining from afar.
"Hey Lou Ellen," Nico said.
Lou Ellen looked up at Nico with bright, sparkling eyes, and a simpering smile on her face, and Nico's heart sank into his chest. Will's affection was just as fake as hers, he reminded himself sharply.
It was easy enough to convince Lou Ellen to make an antidote, once they explained the situation. Through a flirty voice, she explained that it sounded like a spell had placed on Nico, a pretty common one that was easy to undo.
"Of course, my feelings are totally natural," Lou Ellen was saying, "I've been in love with you forever."
Nico refused to meet Will's eyes, ignoring the guilt that churned in his stomach. He didn't need another reminder that Will wasn't actually in love with him, no matter what he said.
Lou Ellen had eventually agreed to go out and get the ingrediants for the potion, leaving Will and Nico by themselves. Nico shot a wary glance at Will, waiting for him to start flirting or professing his undying love or something.
"You weren't kidding about the whole enchantment thing," Will said conversationally, and Nico wanted to scream.
Why was Will acting so normal? Will claimed he was in love with Nico, sure, but everyone else was being weird. When Will said he thought Nico was pretty, Nico could almost believe it was Will saying those things, and not just the enchantment making him say it.
If he had to suffer through this curse, why couldn't he at least get to experience Will Solace fawning over him, even just once in his life?
It was pure selfishness that made Nico break the silence and ask, "So if you're in love with me, why? What's there to like about me?"
Will looked surprised at the question. "You're a hero, Nico. You've saved so many lives." With a chuckle, he added, "It doesn't hurt that you've got abs."
Nico refused to blush. He didn't even know Will had seen him shirtless before. "Percy's a hero. I'm just the scary son of Hades."
"You're more than that," Will said, and it was so earnest that it almost sounded like actual Will talking, not enchanted Will. "Sure, you're stubborn, and have zero sense of self-preservation, and--"
Nico wrinkled his nose. "I thought you were supposed to be showering me with compliments. You know, since you're apparently in love with me and everything."
"I think you've gotten enough compliments today, Mr. Voice-Like-A-Song. If your ego gets fed any more, you won't be able to fit in the Hades Cabin," Will teased gently.
Nico cringed. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do once this was all over. "Gods, this is going to be awkward."
Will laughed. "Yeah, you're on your own for that part. But I do want to see the look on Kayla's face when she finds out."
"You don't love me, you're just here to laugh at my pain," Nico grumbled, and his eyes flitted straight towards Will's face, awaiting his reaction.
Will's face didn't give anything away. No sudden love confessions, no denying that he loved Nico. Nico wasn't sure which one he wanted, but he was disappointed either way. He couldn't help but hope that, maybe, it wasn't just the spell making Will say all these things, not denying the accusations.
"Maybe your pain shouldn't be so funny, then."
Before Nico could say anything else, Lou Ellen returned, proudly holding a bundle of herbs and looking suspiciously between Will and Nico.
"You're not taken, are you?" Lou Ellen asked, glaring at Will.
Will raised his hands in surrender and took several steps back from Nico placatingly. It sent a pang straight to Nico's heart.
"No, we're just friends," Nico said.
"Good," Lou Ellen sniffed, before plopping her cauldron down and adding the herbs.
Nico was extremely grateful for Lou Ellen's potion skills, because in a matter of minutes-- very long minutes filled with Lou Ellen doing her best to impress Nico with her vast array of potion knowledge while Will snickered in the background-- the murky grey-pink potion was ready to be drank.
Nico held up the vial, shuddering internally. He glanced at Will, a sudden bout of courage rising up in him.
"I'm only going to say this once, because you're hopefully not going to reject me," Nico said, regretting it already but unable to stop himself. "I have a thing for you."
He saw Will's mouth fall open and Lou Ellen's face shift to despair as he shut his eyes and tipped back the vial, letting the thick liquid spill into his mouth. He cringed at the bitter taste. It was worse than cold medicine.
He opened his eyes, then left the Cabin, saying a quick prayer to his father.
No one paid any attention to him. Not Jason, who was still standing in the strawberry field. Not Drew or Clovis (well, Clovis was curled up outside the Hades Cabin, asleep, but still). Not even Percy Jackson, who was talking to Annabeth. Not a single person was looking at him.
Relief crashed through him. He'd never been happier to be ignored.
He turned back around, to where Lou Ellen and Will were, and his excitement died down slightly. Will's mouth was still hanging open, and the full consequences of his confession crashed down on him.
Now Will didn't like him anymore, and he was going to reject Nico. Just...great.
"You know what? I'm going to give you two some time to talk. Go get your man, Solace."
Lou Ellen patted Will on the arm before making a beeline for the door. She shut it tightly behind her, leaving Nico and Will alone in the Hades Cabin.
It was now or never, Nico scolded himself. Time to make things awkward.
Nico took a deep breath. He looked at Will, whose mouth was now closed, but he still looked stunned.
"You should know, I'm not gonna hold you accountable for anything you said under the spell–"
Will cut him off with a deep laugh that set Nico's insides on fire. He hated how Will could affect him so much. Nico wouldn't be surprised if he was really the one under the love potion.
"You can't get rid of me that easily," Will teased. He cleared his throat, that pretty pink blush staining his freckled cheeks again. "I still mean it."
"You do?" Nico asked, feeling his own cheeks up.
Will nodded. With a snort, he said, "According to my siblings, everyone at camp can see the huge crush I have on you."
"Oh," Nico said. He glanced away, trying to steel his nerves. "I do know why I shadow-travelled to the Infirmary. It wasn't just an accident."
He could feel Will's warm, soft gaze on him. He looked back over at Will, and his fears seemed to disappear, and he wasn't sure what he was afraid of anymore.
"You…uh, well, you make me feel…safe."
Will's responding smile was practically blinding, and infectious.
"Good. I'm glad."
"Me too."
"Would you like to go out with me sometime, Nico? On a date, I mean."
"Yeah," Nico said, words tripping over his tongue as soon as the question left Will's mouth. "Yeah, I'd like that a lot."
Will beamed even harder, and Nico wished he had put sunglasses on. He couldn't bring himself to be too annoyed. Will was adorable when he was smiling.
Oh. He could say that now.
"You're adorable, Solace."
Will's cheeks were bright pink again, a sight Nico could never get tired of.
"You're not too bad yourself, di Angelo."
When Will leaned down and pecked Nico on the cheek, it was Nico's turn to blush.