"After you," Nico opens the door to his room for Will. "You can have a seat on the bed. I take it, you know the way?"

"Oh, you're too kind," Will mocks. "No television this time, please."

"What, you mean you don't want to find out what happens to Lady Katherine and her fuzzy lover?"

Will takes a seat. "Tempting, but we have a plan to make, and it has to be good enough to outsmart Annabeth."

Nico flops onto his back and groans. "This is going to be hard."

"Extremely."

Sure, reenacting a romantic comedy isn't the smartest thing Nico and Will have ever done, but it sure isn't the dumbest thing either. Attempting to outsmart a literal genius, however, well... Let's just say Nico was almost twenty years old when he finally came up with a solid strategy to combat Athena's MythoMagic attacks.

"What do you think about playing to her fears? She wouldn't sleep in your room if there was a spider infestation or something, right?" Nico suggests. "Safe to assume she's still an arachnophobe?"

"All of our cleaners are either mint or lemon-scented. I think it's safe to assume that yes, she is," says Will. "But we're not going to scare her. What if she finds out it's us? It took so long for her to open up to me; I can't risk losing her trust."

Will is so incredibly sweet. He's such a good friend to Annabeth. It melts Nico's heart, honestly.

But his feelings are also making this plan incredibly impossible to formulate. "Okay, no risking your relationship with Annabeth. Do you have a better plan?" Nico asks.

Will strokes an invisible beard. "Oh! I know! Reyna has a crush on Annabeth; everyone can see it. If we get Reyna drunk at just the wrong moment, she'll hit on Annabeth-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Nico says. "We can't ruin the wedding. Hazel and Piper worked so hard to plan it, and now that it's so close, people really shouldn't be getting drunk. Reyna has to officiate the wedding; she can't do it hungover. Gods, Hazel would be mortified."

"Okay, that's fair." Will throws his hands up in surrender. "No jeopardizing the wedding."

"Look at you using words like 'jeopardizing,'" Nico teases.

It's hard though. They've got some very different priorities. Is there a way that they can get Percy and Annabeth back together without potentially hurting someone else? Nico wants to help, really, but maybe some relationships are beyond repair.

Still, when they were all kids, the dynamics between the rest of their friends always seemed to depend on Percy and Annabeth being together. They were always a great team, even before they were officially an item.

Oh gods. Does the fate of their friend circle seriously depend on Percy and Annabeth even now? Things are a little weird with them working against each other, but what happened at Jason's memorial brunch was a little more than weird. Nico shudders just thinking about it.

It was crazy. Straight crazy. Sure, Percy and Annabeth might have killed gorgons in the women's bathroom, but what were they even doing in there in the first place?

"Wait," Nico says. "Did Annabeth tell you anything about what happened today? Like in the bathroom? With Percy?"

"Not really," Will says. "She was kind of quiet. Just called Percy some nasty names and hopped in the shower. Good thing too. She smelled."

"Valid." So what's happening?

Nico sits up on the bed. "So the bottom line is that Percy wants to talk to Annabeth and she's kind of closing herself off, am I right about that?"

Will shrugs. "I'd say so. I think there might be more to it than that though. That napkin definitely means something. I think being here is sparking some old feelings."

"Maybe we should just get them to spend some time together," Nico says. "Give her a reason to talk to him."

"That makes sense," says Will. "What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing yet."

Well, Nico does have something on his mind, but it has nothing to do with Percy and Annabeth.

Will is such a sweet guy. He cares about his friends. Nico should be bitter; Will can commit to Annabeth but not a boyfriend? That's probably a red flag.

Why does he have to be so cute though? Nico thought that ex-boyfriends were supposed to look ugly once you broke up with them. Well, he guesses maybe that can be accounted for by him being the one that got dumped in the first place.

Nico stares up at that stupid pendulum. He wants to rip the clock off the wall and snap it over his knee.

"I feel like my brain's going to explode; so many thoughts. Is this what Annabeth feels like all the time?" Will lays back on a pillow right beside Nico. They're close, just inches away.

"Let's talk about something else then," says Nico. "How's your job at the hospital?"

"Well, it's just an internship, but I'm totally loving it. I get to help people all the time. The little kids are the best though." Will continues to talk about his internship. It's so great seeing him so passionate.

Nico can't help but notice that Will doesn't mention his new boyfriend.

"Oh, uh, Bill and I are taking a break right now," Will says when asked. "It's kind of hard to explain..." He does not try to explain.

"That's good," Nico says. Afraid that he might have spoken too bluntly, he adds, "I wouldn't want to be the other man. I mean, as long as you and Bill are okay with this sort of thing."

Will's quick to interject: "Oh, of course! I, uh, yeah! We're good with that. He's sleeping with tons of people. Or, uh, not actually tons of people but... Oh shit. Anyway, what have you been up to?"

Nico swallows. "I'm working towards an online degree. It's not as impressive as your internship though."

Will sits up. "Don't say that. That's awesome. I'm really proud of you. What's your major?"

"Child psychology," Nico replies. "I want to help acclimate new demigods to Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter in a less traumatic way. Have you ever noticed how we kind of just throw people into training and explain things as we go? I mean, we turned out okay, I guess." That's not entirely a lie. Sure, Nico has had some serious mental health issues throughout his childhood and adolescence. He just never realized until now. He did turn out okay. That's for sure.

Nico continues, "But I think there's a lot of demigods who could have been saved by something as little as therapy. Like, I don't know... Silena or Luke. They died heroes, but maybe they didn't have to die like that."

Will doesn't say anything. He gives Nico this look that causes him to wonder if there's something on his face. He licks his lips, just in case there's some jam leftover from brunch.

"I'm sorry. You didn't need to know all of that," Nico says. "I've never told anyone that before."

He still doesn't respond. Before Nico can wonder if he's alright, Will kisses him. It's a quick kiss. Will pulls away immediately, like Nico's lips are a hot stove.

They stare at each other for a moment, the only sound in the room being the gentle sway of the pendulum. Back and forth.

Maybe this is how relationships work. Back and forth. Push and pull. Give and receive.

"Should we talk about those boundaries?" Nico asks, not daring to break eye contact.

"I don't know about you, but I don't think I can keep my hands off of you long enough to establish healthy communication," Will says. "Play it by ear?"

"Poco a poco."

Nico's not entirely sure who initiates the next kiss, but they meet in the middle. It's soft, just like before, but unlike before, the kiss has more to say.

That probably happens when you confess your second deepest desire to your first deepest desire.

Will tugs on the hem of Nico's shirt while he peppers kisses along his freckled jawline. They both groan slightly.

Once Nico's shirt is lost on the floor, he lays down flat on the bed, just like the other night. He arches an eyebrow while Will undresses.

Poco a poco.