TW: internalized homophobia, homophobia mention

The first chapter is finally redone!! Chapter 2 should be up tomorrow

Nico paced around his cabin, feeling extremely nervous. Today was his first official, out of camp date with Will. They'd spent plenty of time together while Nico was recovering, and had fallen hard for each other. So why was this so nerve-wracking? Maybe because they'd be in public? And what would strangers think? It wasn't very safe to be in a same-sex relationship last time he checked. He remembered what had happened to the nice elderly ladies when they were found out. He bit his lip, maybe it was too dangerous. "I can't do this Hazel. It's too risky. I know Percy said it's better now, but..." He looked up at Hazel, "It's safer at camp. We should just stay here."

Hazel shook her head, "No. I've seen that it's better. Maybe not perfect, but the two of you will be safe walking around together." She got up, pulling Nico into a tight hug. "And if you have any issues, you can just IM me." She smiled brightly, pulling back. "Now go have fun. You deserve it." Nico smiles back and heads out of the cabin.

The walk from his cabin to the Big House was causing him to panic slightly. He couldn't get the nagging feeling out of the back of his head that he was doing something wrong and unnatural. It'd be easy to call it off and just stay at camp where it was safe. He rubbed his hands on his pants before heading through the Big House into the infirmary where Will was organizing medicine."Hey, uh, I think I'm ready. When, when uh, you're done of course. I don't want to rush you, " he stammered out, his face flushing slightly.

Will turned around, smiling brightly, "I'm ready. Kayla said she'd finish when you got here." Nico noticed he was wearing a button-down with little hearts on it as opposed to his normal blinding orange camp shirt. "Lou Ellen's brother is lending me his car, so we don't have to worry about getting transportation." He held his hand out for Nico to take if he wanted. Will was good about boundaries. He seemed to understand better than most that Nico only liked affection if he knew it was coming. And he almost waited for Nico to initiate it.

Nico smiled softly, taking Will's hand. "You can drive?" He was pretty relieved that they could be alone, at least for a little bit. Maybe he could casually mention how terrified he was. He didn't want to worry Will, but maybe he could calm his nerves. But it could put a damper on the mood.

"Yeah, my mama taught me when I turned 16. She said it might be useful." Will laughed nervously as the two got situated it the car. "I don't really get the chance to drive much, seeing Carter is one of the only people here with a car. And he only lets people use it if it's for something super important." He blushed, realizing what he basically implied. "So, uh, I didn't plan anything too crazy, I hope that's ok." He glanced at Nico before back at the road.

"Ok." It was all Nico could manage. He was relieved really. Something that was calmer would be perfect compared to what it was like at camp. "That-that-" he stuttered, before giving up and just nodding. Was it too late to turn back? Probably. "Will?" He managed to get out, "I, uh, are we going to have any...issues with people? Cause you know...we...we're both..." he trailed off, chewing on the inside of his lip.

Will glanced over at Nico, who was trying to wipe away tears forming in his eyes. He pulled off into an abandoned parking lot before holding his hand out for Nico. He remembered that Hazel had reminded him earlier that day that Nico wasn't used to people being as accepting as they are now. "I swear it's not going to be nearly as bad as you think. If we're unlucky, we might run into one or two people that give us weird looks, or a passing comment, but that's it."

Nico took Will's hand with a weak smile, blushing slightly when Will pressed a gentle kiss to his hand. "I-i think I can handle that." He squeezed Will's hand, "I-i think I'm ok."

Will nodded, "Alright. You ready to keep going?" He waited for Nico to nod before he started to drive again.

***

The two drive for a while longer before Will pulls into a parking lot across from a park. "We're here."

"A parking lot?" Nico teases, a small smile on his face.

Will giggles softly, causing Nico to blush, "You've been spending too much time with Percy. His smart-ass attitude is rubbing off on you." He and Nico got out of the car, heading across the lot and across the street to a small cafe. "This is one of my favorite places in the area. Kayla told me about it a bit ago and we tend to hang out and try to find her dates here."

It was cute and warm inside, the lobby was dotted with small clusters of armchairs and couches placed around tables. It smelled of coffee and baked goods and soft music played over the speakers. "It's nice here," Nico said softly, looking over at Will. It wasn't too crowded, Nico noticed, taking a small sigh of relief. He knew what Will had said, that they would be safe, that no one would say anything about them being together, but he was still worried. He nervously took Will's hand remembering the old ladies from a few houses down. They loved to come over and watch him and Bianca when his mama had to go to work.

"Nico?" Will's voice had snapped him back to reality, "You ok?" Nico blinked, looking around slowly, they were at the front of the line, "What do you want?"

They ordered and Will lead Nico to a set of chairs in the back corner. "Sorry about that, just got lost in thought."

Will smiled softly. "It's alright, were you remembering something?"

Nico nodded. "It always happens at the weirdest times."

"Well," Will started to say, sitting up slightly, "actually the brain can sometimes recall things when there's some sort of link between the forgotten memory and what's currently going on." His eyes had lit up like they tend to do when he got excited about something. "The brain is such an interesting thing." He blushed brightly, "Sorry, this really isn't something to be talking about during a date." He took a sip of his coffee, smiling softly at Nico.

"It's alright. I really like seeing you get so excited about stuff, your eyes light up and you have this smile on your face." Nico smiled back at Will. "You know, we've spent so much time trying to figure out my past, I really don't know much about yours."

"That's because there's not much to tell," Will admitted. "I lived with my mom and stepdad til my stepdad went crazy and mama thought it'd be safer to have me at camp. I still went back and visited her in the fall until the Titan war. Now I'm at camp full time." Will shrugged, "Nothing interesting."

There seemed to be a bit more to the story, but Nico didn't want to push Will. He knew it was hard to talk about the bad things during childhood. "I'm guessing she divorced him?"

Will shook his head, "He had health problems and passed away soon after I left for camp. Mama said it was for the best. She said he wasn't himself anymore. Said that something was wrong with him since I was born."

"Were they already married when you were born?"

"Yeah, but she didn't cheat on him. They had an open relationship, but I just think he was mad that she got pregnant."

"Open relationship?" Nico asked, his head tilting slightly to the side.

"They could go on dates or sleep with anyone they wanted," Will explained, "It's a thing some people do. Mama said it kept their relationship running smoothly because if they needed a night away from each other they could just...go out and not worry about their marriage for a while. She said it'd keep them from fighting."

"Oh. Ok," Nico mumbled, feeling more confused than before, but not wanting to keep bothering Will about it. He'd have to ask about it later.

Will bit his lip, "So, after this, I was thinking we could head over to the park. It's a really nice day outside and some sunlight will be good for you."

Nico laughed softly, "Sounds good. And contrary to popular belief, I do get sunlight, I'm just naturally this pale."

Will raised his eyebrow, "Nico, Sunshine, My Darling Emo, I was at camp when you first arrived. I know for a fact that you aren't naturally this pale. You spent too much time underground and now you need sunlight. Doctor's orders."

Nico flushed bright red at the nicknames, barely managing to mumble out, "Shut up-" before hiding his face in his shirt. He didn't want Will to see him smiling. He had forgotten that they were about the same physical age and that Will had gone to camp pretty young.

"Ah yes, the time I was questioning my sexuality and this very pretty and very excited boy about my age shows up. Sometimes I like to imagine that if I would have been able to talk to you we could have gotten to know each other sooner," Will said with a smile.

Nico looked up at Will again, his face still red, "You thought I was pretty?" When he was younger, once he and Bianca were out of the Lotus Casino and enrolled in that damn school, people just thought he was weird.

Will nodded, his face flushing slightly. "Yeah. And I loved how you were excited about that little card game. I had it in my head that I was going to ask you how to play and we were going to bond over that."

Nico giggled, "I would have instantly been your friend if you would have asked me to teach you about that game. It was my entire life back then." He smiled softly, "I still have some of the cards and figures. I burnt most of them in the labyrinth, but I still kept the really good ones."

Will smiled, "Do you still remember how to play?"

"Kinda? I honestly don't think I was even playing right in the first place," Nico admitted his face flushing again.

Will smiled, "Well, you should teach me how to play when we get back to camp. It's nice to occasionally do things from the good parts of childhood to help yourself focus and calm down. And it looked like a fun game." Will looked at the empty cups on the table, "I'll return these and then we can head to the park."

Nico nodded, and Will headed over to the counter, smiling softly as he chatted with the barista for a minute. Maybe this date was going to be ok. Things were clearly different now, which was really relieving.

***

The walk to the park was short, they basically just had to run across the street and pass by a few neat looking stores that Nico would want to check out later. But for now, he was enjoying his time with Will, nervously grabbing his hand as they walked. Will smiled softly at Nico, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

"Are you having a good time?" Will asked softly, "I wasn't sure if this would be not enough or too much and-"

Nico squeezed Will's hand, "Shush. I'm having a wonderful time. Worrying about everything is my job." The two wandered around the park for a while, just enjoying the warmth and each other's company when Nico noticed something weird.

"Will?"

"Hmm?"

"Is it just me or is it weird that there's no one else here?" A second glance around the park made him more nervous. "Can you feel that? It feels like old pennies and-" Nico pulled Will to the ground as a black tendril seemed to whip right above their heads. "We need to get out of here! Now!" Nico grabs Will's wrist and tries to lead him to the parking lot, but the way is blocked by tall shadow creatures. "This isn't good. I STILL HAVE TIME-" Nico shouted, looking around the now-abandoned park.

"Time for what," Will whispered, wishing he had brought something to defend himself with. "Nico? Time for what?"

Nico didn't answer him, instead, he just drew his sword and made sure Will stood behind him, "Come on out, I know you wouldn't just send your pets here."

A soft chuckle seems to echo around the park as the shadow creatures seemed to move closer to the couple. "He waitsssss for you. It'sss time," they hiss in unison. "He isss ready for you, young prince."

Nico shook his head, "I still have time. Let me talk to him. I know he's here."

"Come with us and he will speak with you." They hissed, moving closer to still.

"I'm not a fucking idiot. I know if I go with you then I won't be able to leave." Nico pointed his sword at the closest shadow figure, "Now back off before I end all of you."

The chuckle echos through the park again and Nico looked around for...someone. He didn't have much of a chance to look around before he heard Will scream.

He whipped around, seeing one of the shadow things restaining Will.

"What a pretty little thing he is young prince. Your living attachments are only going to be your downfall. We will give you more time, but take him in return."

The shadow restraining Will vanished as Nico swung his sword at the one right beside it. He sliced through the shadow creature as the rest attacked.

Was it stupid to engage them? Yes. Did Nico care? No. He wasn't just going to let them take Will and get away without a scratch.

He knew he was overpowered pretty soon into the fight, and knew he didn't have much of a choice besides using his powers. Which he still wasn't technically allowed to use, but fuck it. It'd make the fight easier for him.

And it did. Nico was able to get rid of most of the creatures within a matter of minutes, but it was too much for him. He fell to his knees, his sword clattering to the ground. His body was shaking as his vision faded. He heard footsteps and managed to look up as two blurry figures ran over to him.

They were about 20 feet away before Nico felt the ground spin out from under him as he passed out.