Will had come back that night. And he had brought back s'mores with him.

Nico thought back on that night as he lay in bed, trying to fall asleep but failing due to eating too much right before going to bed. Will had warned him but he'd flipped him off and done it anyway. Now he was laying the price as he listened to Will's soft breathing coming from the couch.

"It's midnight, Solace. Where the fuck have you been?" Nico climbed out of the car, in which he'd been waiting for Will in since seven. He'd been parked around the corner so his family didn't see it and when he saw Will coming around the corner, he'd parked in the driveway. "I've been waiting five hours!" Two of those hours he'd napped. Then texted Hazel to make sure Will wasn't home yet. He hadn't been.

"You waited for me?" When before, his eyes had been dull, now they had a spark of hope. For what, Nico wasn't sure.

He looked away, angrily muttering, "Couldn't arrive home without you, could I?" But he was lying, he was actually doing what Hazel had said but his lips wouldn't form the words I'm sorry.

Will seemed to realize his intentions and a small smile appeared on his lips. "I'm sorry too. I've noticed that people make you uncomfortable, especially ones you don't really know. I should have let you have your space."

Nico was taken aback. When did he have time to put that together? Because of his surprise, he said the first words to come to mind, "But I do know you."

Will shook his head, "I don't think helping someone out a couple times during our freshman year of college four years ago counts as knowing someone."

Nico hadn't known what to say. Will was right.

"But anyway. I brought stuff for s'mores." He held up a plastic bag. "They were supposed to be a "sorry" surprise for dinner but I got lost on the way back."

Nico scowled and headed for the front door at last, "Dumbass, why didn't you call me?"

"My phone died, and besides. I thought you were still angry with me."

Nico shook his head and unlocked the door, Will followed him inside before locking it again behind him. "Its hard to stay mad when Hazel comes to me with words of wisdom."

Will laughed as they made their way in the kitchen and he started taking things out from his bag. "What did she say?"

"You don't need to fucking know. Just be happy I'm not mad at you anymore."

Will smiled, "I am."

Nico didn't know how to reply to that so he clapped his hands and said, "So let's make these fucking s'mores."

"Now? I was just going to put these away for tomorrow."

"You mean today but no better time than the present, Solace."

Will grinned, "You're right."

So they set to make the s'mores.

When they were done, Will burned himself and exclaimed, "Fudge on a stick!"

Nico had looked at him and replied, "Watch your fucking language."

"You're not serious right now."

That had been a month ago.

While Nico didn't want to admit it, their relationship had actually progressed. Nico wasn't so hesitant in calling Will his friend now. Sure, Nico could still be rude and he was sarcastic but he didn't really know how to act. Hazel had special treatment, she was his sister. Reyna and Jason were his best friends, so they could fuck around and act sarcastic together but Will...he wasn't sure. They were married for fuck's sake and they'd slept together. Nico was fairly certain that wasn't what you did with friends when you first met them. And that made the whole situation a whole lot awkward for him. Will might have been good at acting like it didn't happen, or maybe he'd come to terms with it but Nico hadn't. So he wasn't one hundred percent sure how to go about his newfound friendship with Will.

Before they got drunk, got married and had sex, the last time Nico and Will had spoken was their freshman year in college. Even then, it wasn't much. Will had ended up in the seat next to Nico and if he saw him struggling or just plainly not paying attention, he'd go out of his way to help him. Even if Nico was stubborn and insisted he could manage without his help. 

Back then he had thought they'd have the potential to be friends but Nico had a knack for distancing himself from people. A though saying he already annoyed  three people enough and didn't need a fourth to let down had stopped him from getting closer to Will. 

After that year, Will had tried saying hi to him if he saw him but Nico always ignored him. That same thought always popped up when he saw him. What was weird was that Will didn't stop trying. For three years he put up with Nico ignoring him for what must have seemed to Will, for no reason. Then they graduated and the universe pushed them back together when Nico was drunk. That had literally been the only situation Nico would have been put in if he was to talk to him again. And he did. Now they were living together and Hades thought they were genuinely in love. And he supported them. Nico couldn't believe it.

Then out of nowhere, he started crying. Or maybe it wasn't out of nowhere because he knew why. He cried because of his dead sister, Bianca, who he had always felt supported him more than any other. He cried because after her death, Hades had practically abandoned him and supported Nico even less than he had after his mother's death. He cried because now his father was dying and that was when he had decided he would have contact with his son again and support him. Twelve years after his mother's death and ten after his sister's.

"Nico?" Will's whisper interrupted Nico's thoughts for a second and his crying faltered. "Are you crying?"

Nico didn't answer and tried to quiet his crying further but Will had already heard.

Without a second moment of hesitation, Will climbed into bed with Nico and pulled him into his arms. Nico let him. He wasn't a fan of touch but at that moment, he didn't care. He suddenly craved all the love he'd lost due to his mother's, sister's death and father's detachment. 

Will rubbed small circles into his back, he didn't seem to care that Nico was soaking his shirt. "Can I ask why you're crying?"

Nico buried his face in Will's chest and tried to calm his crying in order to answer. He was feeling vulnerable and ten years of keeping most things inside must have caught up to him because he told him what he had been thinking.

Will tugged him closer when he was done, "Oh darling. I'm so so sorry. But it's okay. It's all going to be okay. You're father's trying. Hazel, Reyna and Jason are there for you. I'm here for you. If you ever need me, I'm here."

Nico took in a ragged breath, "But every time, I think everything will work out, another thing gets thrown into the mix and it goes to shit."

Will shook his head, "You just have to keep going, you'll get to a point in your life when everything is better. I saw this quote, "Happiness isn't a feeling, it's a place" and I took it to mean that you have to walk to it. Y'know what I mean? Like it's not just going to happen. You have to get there. Think of it as a car ride. You're on the road and maybe you run out of gas and you'll use a back up gallon you had or maybe have to call the tow truck. Maybe you'll have to wait three hours for it to get there but it does and you're on your way again. Things happen but time keeps going. Things happening aren't always bad. So you have to stay on the road to your happiness. Maybe you aren't sure which way you're heading, you haven't found the place you want to drive to, like your happiness, but you'll get there, you'll find it. You'll stop by a restaurant to refuel and you'll see one of those crane machine things, you'll try it out and you'll pull out a toy bear and that's your happiness. But you've gotta keep driving. If you don't, you're stuck in the same place and time goes ahead without you."

Nico hadn't noticed but as Will talked and he listened, he'd calmed down. He understood what Will said and he dared to believe it.

Will pulled away a little and looked at him, he wiped his cheeks gently. "You aren't crying anymore."

Nico looked down. In the dark, he couldn't really make out whose limbs were whose. "Thank you."

Will pulled him back against his chest. "Anytime."

That night, Nico was finally able to sleep. He slept amazingly well in Will's embrace.

A/N
Thank Dan for my literal overuse of the word literally

Shoot guys, I forgot to post it yesterday! But here it is! Sorry!