Will's POV

They watched as Percy's car puttered off into the distance, spitting up dirt as it rounded a bend and disappeared from their sight. "I can't believe I'm doing this," Nico whispered, his eyes focused on the spot that Percy's car had vanished from, bringing the only life he had ever known down a long road to California. Will looked at Nico out of the corner of his eye, biting his lip and rocking on his feet, clouds of dust rising up from the soles of his feet with every movement.

"It's not too late, you know," he murmured after a few seconds of watching Nico watch his life drive away from him. "You can probably call him and he'll come right back and get you, if you really wanted." He didn't want Nico to leave him, but he also didn't want to watch him throw his life away to live in the middle of nowhere with some guy he had never met. Nico's eyebrows creased as he turned to Will, a look that Will couldn't quite identify on his face.

"Are you crazy?" Will couldn't help but be taken aback by Nico's abruptness. "Obviously I want to stay here. I did some thinking about this, I knew what I was getting myself into." Will could feel himself smiling. "So, what's first?"

"Come on." Will waved his hand for Nico to follow him up the stairs, the porch chair rocking gently in a breeze that was tumbling down from the tops of the badlands. "I should show you the ropes." Will ran his hands up the banister as he led Nico to the top of the stairs, remembrances of the past stirring underneath his fingertips. The house groaned with memories of his childhood, days rocking on the swing in the shade of the porch trying to escape the boiling heat of the summer and nights dancing with sparklers behind the house, watching fireflies pirouette above their heads. Those memories were faded after being shoved in the dusty corners of Will's mind for years on end. But with Nico behind him he could begin to feel new memories being formed, memories that would shine in his mind for years to come.

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"So we always strip the beds right when we get in," Will said, sweeping Nico's sheets off of his bed and dumping them in a heap on the dark blue carpet. "Then we'll vacuum, dust and wipe down the surfaces with a cloth, and do anything else that seems necessary. But you seem like a pretty clean person, so hopefully that won't be necessary. Do you want to get the other bed?" Nico was smiling softly as he tore the bedding off of Percy's bed and chip crumbs went flying. His face went pale as he watched them soar into the air and land in the bumps in the carpet, burying themselves in so that there were only glimpses of tan hidden within the sea of blue.

"Sorry," Nico said hastily. "I didn't think that would happen." Will was staring at him with wide blue eyes and Nico shifted underneath his gaze until he burst out laughing, pulling the rest of the sheets off gently to reveal crushed chips and an empty Lays bag filled with wrinkles. The sound of crinkling plastic filled the room as it landed in the trash can, joining an empty bottle of coke that sat atop a heaping mountain of trash.

"Percy's not the cleanest person," Will observed as he stared into the trash can with a mixture of awe and shock on his face. "I didn't think one person could eat so many snack cakes in one night."

"He's an interesting person to spend a week in a car with," Nico said. "There's trash everywhere." He picked up the trash can, pushing down the mass of plastic so it wouldn't fall onto the already dirty carpet. "This stuff goes in the trashcan behind the house, right?" Will grinned.

"Half an hour in and you're already employee of the month," he laughed. "I think that you're going to be a great addition to the team."

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"You did a good job with that room," Will said as they rocked on the swinging chair watching the sun set over the badlands. "And these scrambled eggs you made- the best I've ever had. You're a natural bed and breakfast-er. Are you sure you haven't done this before?" Nico was blushing, scraping the last of the eggs into his mouth.

"It's not the hardest thing in the world," he said, his deep brown eyes staring at Will. "It's just scrambled eggs, and cleaning a room. I'm not that good."

"I think you're amazing," Will protested. "If I could make scrambled eggs like this, I wouldn't make anything else. I think we need to celebrate your first amazing day working here."

"And how exactly would we do that?" Will gestured out to the badlands, looking like nothing more than heaping lumps in the quickly setting darkness.

"You liked it out there, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"What do you say about pitching a tent," Will suggested. "We hike around in the darkness and when we're too tired to go any further we set it up wherever we happen to stop and just fall asleep in the middle of everything." Nico's eyes widened and a smile spread across his face.

"Are we allowed to do that? Isn't it a national park or something?"

"I have a membership," Will explained, leaping up. "I pledge a little bit of money every year and in return I basically have the run of the place. You in?"

"What should I bring?" Will grinned.

"Basically nothing. A change of clothes if you want it, but we'll be back tomorrow. Underneath the sink is a small cooler, pack whatever food you want. I'll grab everything else." He leapt up off of the swing, shoveling the last bite of egg into his mouth. "On three we pack everything as fast as we can. One-"

"Two-" Nico chimed in, sticking his hand in the middle of the two of them. Will gently settled his hand on top of Nico's, and when he yelled three to the night sky they threw their hands into the air, bounding into the house.

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With the tent and the sleeping bags weighing heavy on his back Will stepped back out onto the porch, night fully settled over the badlands, bright sunlight replaced with the pale glow of the moon waterfalling down from the sky. "Are you ready?" he asked when he found him sitting on the swing, kicking his legs up with the small cooler sitting on his back.

"I've never been more ready in my life," Nico said, standing up and bouncing on his feet. "Lead the way!" They trekked deep into the badlands, the house faded away as they walked until it was a mere speck on a horizon filled with clay and dust. They walked side by side with their arms brushing against each other and their footsteps in tandem with the badlands rising up around them, looming over their heads. Nico was craning his neck to get a good look at the beauty that filled the world, his mouth hanging open as they walked surrounded by quiet with only the bugs that lived in the sand and the cracks in the clay interrupting a silence that was one part eerie and one part beautiful.

"Right or left?" Nico asked as they encountered an end in the path that they had walked so many yards on, a heaping mountain of clay and rock and dirt stopping them from going any further forward. "It's up to you, you know this place better than I ever will." Will gazed around, frowning as he contemplated the decision. To the left lie a small patch of greenery, spiky shrubbery somehow thriving amid miles of sand. To the right the desert stretched on, nothing besides grains of sand as far as the eye could see.

"Up," he said finally, his head tilting so that he could see the small mountain before them, pebbles tumbling down from the top and the spiky, puke green grass bristling in the wind. he began to hike, the ground unsteady underneath his feet and Nico followed, his feet scrambling to bring his body higher, higher, higher into the sky. Soon they were standing at the top, scanning the landscape laid out beneath them. During the daytime it wasn't rare to see people hiking throughout the badlands, looking like ants from above but the darkness seemed to have scared off the people and there was no life as far as the eye could see, only two brave souls at the top of a mountain. "Here," Will decided, shouldering off the tent and watching it stir up dust as it hit the ground. "Let's set up."

"I've never set up a tent before," Nico said nervously, gently placing the cooler next to his feet. 

"This one's easy," Will assured him, pulling the tent out of the bag and spreading out on the flattest part of the ground. "Don't worry, I'll show you. Just hand me those poles." 

Nico passed the poles to him and Will set them up, threading them through the sleeves in the tent. "See, that's not too hard, is it?" Nico shook his head. 

"Good, do that for the other one and we'll be ready in no time."

Soon a tent overlooked the badlands, two sleeping bags spread out inside and the cooler sitting at their feet. "Check this out," Will said, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a small square. He flicked a switch on and it pulsed with light, spilling out of the small square and lighting up the world. "Cool, huh?"

"It's so small," Nico marveled. Will watched as he bit back a yawn, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand. 

"Are you tired?"

"I guess," Nico shrugged. 

"Let's go in," Will said, nodding towards the tent. "It's late." He zipped it up after they had both slipped inside, setting the small square of light in between the two sleeping bags and letting the beams spring from the box, touching the side of the tent. 

"I should change," Nico decided, pulling his pajamas out of his backpack."Where should-" he cut himself off as he stared around the small, cramped tent, biting his lip. 

"We can both turn around," Will said hastily, grabbing his pajamas. "I should change, too." Staring at the wall he hopped into his pajama pants, the thin walls of the tent barely enough to block out the view of the outside world. He could still see the outlines of the badlands stamped against the fabric of the tent, the cries of birds sounding overhead.

"Can I turn back around?" Nico called over to him.

"Yeah, you're all good." Will finished pulling his shirt over his head and when he turned around Nico was already inside of his sleeping bag, his head resting on his balled up shirt. "You were really that tired?" Will asked as he slipped inside of his sleeping bag, the thick fabric like a warm hug. 

"First day of work, I guess," Nico laughed. His hands were tucked underneath the sweatshirt and he was facing Will with a sleepy smile splayed across his face. 

"Did you like it, at least?"

"It was fun," Nico said. "Yeah, I liked it a lot. I like working with you." He inched his sleeping bag closer so that Will could see the flecks of gold hidden behind the deep brown of Nico's eyes.

"So, do you think you're going to stay for a while?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Percy's coming back around this way in a month or so, right? And I know it's early and you have time, but do you think you're going to stay longer?"

"You know what?" Nico grinned. "I think I am. I like you, Will. And I don't think I'll ever find a need to say this again in my life, but I'm glad my car broke down in the middle of nowhere. If it didn't, I never would have met you."

"I like you, too," Will said. They were smiling at each other, twin goofy grins as their conversation carried on in the darkness of the night. They finally fell asleep underneath a glittering sheet of stars with Nico's arm slung across Will's chest.

Percy's POV

"I still can't believe you let him do that."

"Annabeth, he's not a kid," Percy pointed out as they rounded a bend and the bed and breakfast came into view, two people rocking on the swinging chair hanging from the top of the porch. When the car drew closer Percy could see that it was Will and Nico, Nico's arm wrapped around Will's waist as his head rested on Will's chest. When he saw the car he leapt up, saying a quick few words to Will before stepping up to the side of the road and raising a hand in greeting. 

"Hey," he said, leaning into the car and resting his arms on the windowsill. "Listen, I know you're not going to like this-"

"Are you really staying out here?" Annabeth asked, frowning. "Why? There's nothing out here for you. You're not going to get any further in life."

"I have Will," he replied, nodding back at the porch swing. "We're dating, for about three weeks. I love it out here, and I have to stay. I like Will, and I like his friends, I like everything about it here."

"You're dating Will?" Percy grinned. "Good job!" Nico blushed. 

"It's not that big of a deal, but I really like him. I can't leave now. It feels like everything's falling into place."

"What about your stuff?" Annabeth pointed out. "Furniture, clothes?"

"Send my clothes over," Nico requested. "You guys can keep my furniture and everything else, just in case it doesn't work out. But I really hope this works out, guys, I really do."

"Well, I'm happy for you," Percy grinned. 

"As long as you're happy, so am I," Annabeth said. "Good luck out here, Nico." 

"Thanks," Nico said, straightening up. "I'll miss you guys, but Will was talking about a road trip at some point, so I'll see you soon."

"That would be nice," Percy said. "I'm going to miss you, too." They watched as Nico gave them one last wave and bounded back towards the porch swing, nestling into Will and smiling at them. Will waved gently as Percy started the car, the engine smooth as butter. 

"I can't believe he's staying out here," Annabeth said, shaking her head. "He's crazy." 

"Maybe he is," Percy said as the car began to roll, leaving Nico in the middle of nowhere. "But they just might make it." When he glanced into his rearview window they were still on the porch swing, rocking gently back and forth intertwined in each other's arms.

Hi guys, I know that the ending was a little rushed, it's currently two in the morning and I'm exhausted, so I'm sorry about that, but I hope you liked it anyway!

Nina