Ten | Omniscient  
   

    The eggs clinked softly when Piper reached into the nest, and she flinched before putting them into her burlap sack. She had been surprised at first; they were so delicately painted, each covered with intricate pastel patterns. The campers had put a surprising amount of work into them. Maybe it was because the eggs were purely a volunteer effort, but Piper liked to think the childish activity reminded them of home. Once she had gotten all she could take from the fake nest, she handed it down to a concerned looking Will. Luckily the 'egg nest' hadn't been stashed too far off the ground, she could easily reach his outstretched hands from her perch in the tree.

    "Careful," she warned him, "we lose points for broken ones."

    "Got it," he nodded, stashing them in his cream colored satchel. Then he turned to run. Will did exactly as they planned, heading towards the thicker part of the woods. Annabeth said they were less likely to get caught on their way to the drop off if they did that. Less likely to be seen.

    Will agreed with her mostly, though if Nico hadn't familiarized him with this area so much he might have been slightly nervous. The woods were thick indeed.

    But he was determined. With the satchel secured in his grip, Will kept a steady pace. He was coming close to the border, he knew. The landmarks told him he was only a few meters from the creek.

    Will put on a burst of speed, narrowing his eyebrows. He hadn't run into anyone at all. This was going to be a breeze. Will was fairly confident, now. Though it's possible he grew too confident. The blond haired boy didn't even notice a patch of shadows growing behind him as he ran. He didn't notice anything until it was too late and Nico had stolen the eggs.

    Nico sprinted past him. Grabbing them had been rediculously easy. In less than two seconds he had seized Will's stupid man purse and was halfway into the shadows again. But Will had reacted quickly. A sudden glow covered Nico's chest, expanding to fill most of his ribcage. The shadows dissapeared, creating an arrogant smirk across Will's lips. Nico, still at a half run, turned his head to yell at his boyfriend.

    "WILL!" His voice was sharp with aggravation.

    But Will was almost on him. Nico had no choice but to keep running. Will's smirk grew.

    "You might be faster if you'd eaten breakfast this morning!" he teased.

    "Shove it, Will!" Nico replied irritably.

    "Where's your armor?" Will noticed.

    "I said SHOVE IT." They were practically on top of the water. Almost there. Nico burst forward, doing his best to lose Will behind him. A splash met his ears, and in a few strides his entire lower half was soaked. But from the sound of it, Will wasn't far behind. Nico pulled from what energy he had behind and lurched forwards... right onto his stomach. Crap, he thought. Fuck fuck grab it, grab it. The eggs! They were on the shoreline, only inches from his hand. He scrambled forwards, elbows digging into the dirt. Then all of the sudden, his elbows were leaving a small trench in the wet waterbed. Will had pulled him back by his torso, eyes set on the prize.

    But Nico's still-glowing back averted Will's eyes, if only for a second or two. It would have been less, much less than a second, if he hadn't happened to notice the eager curve of Nico's back. Or how the gentle arc corresponded so beautifully with the pale scars left behind from earlier battles. Or how Nico's shirt had lifted up to reveal all of this very clearly to him.

    Something impulsive ran through Will's mind. Something very, very off-task. Nico started struggling forward again, then suddenly stopped. His cheeks flushed. The warm familiar touch of Will's kisses had met his cold, exposed skin. Then Will's arms wrapped tighter around the boy's torso, wanting him closer. Nico glanced back at him, shocked, and possibly a tiny bit shy.

            ***

    Leo tapped his foot impatiently. As far as he knew, Italians were supposed to be efficient. Hell, his mother was snappy when it came to time management, wasn't she? And Spanish was basically the same as Italian as far as he was concerned. (In that particular moment.) Where was that boy? Their team's collection was pretty damned stark, thanks to death breath.

    Right when Leo was ready to throw a raging fit, a shroud of darkness bloomed out in front of him. Despite the unsettling entrance, Leo wanted to sigh in relief. Then he caught himself. Nico sauntered out of his shadows casually. He had parted from his shirt, which had now been replaced with a set of loose fitting armor and his usual pair of black converse. Nico's hair was completely messed, and his translucent skin was covered in small reddish-purplish marks, which in any other circumstance, Leo would have recognized as hickeys. Even paired with the Ghost King's new flower-blessed headband, he mistook them as strange bruises. That is until he searched for the eggs Nico was supposed to bring, and instead saw a pair of blue jeans. Blue jeans that were definitely too big for him.

    Leo's eyebrow practically performed a circus routine. "Dude, where are the eggs?" he asked, hands completing the exhasperrated pose on him that clearly said, 'what the fuck.'

    Nico somehow managed his blank stare to be cheeky. "What eggs?"

    All credit for this idea goes to @crossroadart-seabear on tumblr, or @crossroadart_c_pettigrew on twitter! Thank you all for your love and support! 😘