"Where are you taking me?" Nico laughed as Will dragged him by his hand into the waiting subway doors.

"You'll see," Will said with an all too familiar mischievous gleam in his vibrant blue eyes. Will was surprised that Chiron was letting him take Nico out tonight, considering how dangerous it could be for demigods to leave camp, especially with all the new monster sightings around the greater New York area. But it was Nico's fifteenth birthday, and the son of Hades was so rarely happy that Chiron had bent the rules for the happy couple just this once, and allowed them the night out in the Big Apple.

January in New York was probably one of the busiest, what with all of the tourists beginning to filter out from their holiday in the city, so there were no open seats on the subway once Nico and Will boarded. They grabbed one of the sleek metal poles, one of the ones at the back of the train where it isn't as crowded and held on tight. Every time the train would screech to a bumpy halt, or tumbled its riders around, Will's hand would slide down the pole onto Nico's much smaller one. He claimed it was the fault of the train, although Nico had a hard time believing that. Nico was ashamed to admit that he enjoyed the warmth of the older demigod's hand, even though he would die before saying it out loud. The ride was abnormally long and the train gradually emptied, finally leaving two seats side by side for Nico and Will. Nico didn't know what time it was, for even wearing a watch was dangerous for a demigod with his aura, buut he was sure it was getting late. Nico had just begun to nod off on Will's strong shoulder, Will wrapping an arm around Nico, when the conductor's loud voice came crackling over the loudspeaker.

"Next stop, Little Italy. Next stop, Little Italy." Nico sat up and stared at Will in shock.

"Is that where we're going? Little Italy?" Will groaned.

"I wanted it to be a surprise, but yeah. I couldn't take you to the real Italy, so I figured this was the next best thing. You haven't been in touch with your past for so long, I thought you might like to reconnect." Nico was quiet for a few minutes, turning his head slightly to the side so that Will would not see the tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. Will was chewing his nails, an old habit he thought he had broken, in anticipation for Nico's response.

"Thank you, Will," Nico said, suddenly breaking the nervous silence. "No one has ever done something this thoughtful." Nico had tried for years to block everyone who loved him out of his life and never show his emotions. No one had noticed when Nico had started skipping meals, or when he had cried into his pillow at night, quietly mourning his loss of his mom and Bianca. But somehow, in the time Nico and Will had been together, Will had slipped through the cracks in the wall that Nico had put up around his soul. And he wasn't mad, not like the times he had gotten mad when Percy or Jason had tried to help. This time he was okay.

They found a small Italian resteraunt shrouded in stars. They sat outside in the frigid night air on the patio covered in fairy lights, the chilly January wind dancing around their table. But the tiny fire kept them warm, just like the tiny fire in each of the boy's hearts.

They both ordered spaghetti, and Nico laughed as Will attempted to twirl the noodles on the tines of his fork as easily as Nico had managed to do.

"That's not how you do it," he chuckled as he guided Will's wrist in the perfect motion to twirl your spaghetti so that not even a single noodle fell off the oval of angel hair.

"I had no idea there was a right and a wrong way to twirl spaghetti," Will mused as he put the buttery food in his mouth.

"There is a right and a wrong way to eat everything."

They found a tiny cannoli stand in the older part of the neighborhood, where the glass was broken and the tops of the buildings were crumbling like a day old muffin. But even so, the cream was sweet and the pastry was the melt in your mouth kind, the kind that made you believe that it was actually made with love, and made you think of home and better days. So, Nico thought as they boarded the subway that would take them back to Long Island, he wrapped in one of Will's sweatshirts that he had "accidentally" stolen from the Apollo cabin while Will had been in the infirmary, it had been a good day. Much better, anyway, than most of his other days. But the empousa had other plans.

Nico had been hoping for a nice, quiet night, one that a regular teen might have, but the Fates had other plans. Nico knew that next to the empousa, he and Will had a slim chance of survival, let alone winning the fight. Nico drew his sword and Will grabbed his bow and quiver, notching one of his sonic arrows and aiming it at the biggest empousa, who was foaming a little at her mouth. They stood back to back, which was Nico's favorite way to fight. It was always nice to know that someone had your back.

"Come with us, demigods." The empousa's sickly sweet voice washed over Nico like honey, but Nico had no desire for the monster like most male demigods did, which usually led to their demise. Being gay did have it's benefits. "Make it easier for both of us, and come peacefully. The beast has sensed your power, and he will shower you with rewards beond compare." Nico paused for a moment, letting his guard down. He knew most Greek mythology, courtesy of Annabeth, but he had never once heard of this "beast".

Nico knew he should've never let his guard down. It had been a rookie move. The first thing  new campers learned from Clarisse in fighting class was "don't let your guard down unless you want to see the sight of your own blood." Maybe if he had been more careful, he would have been able to stop the empousa's claws. They raked across his cheek, and Nico felt the warm, sticky feeling of blood creep to his face. He felt Will's shaking body on his back and Nico's first thought was that Will was hurt. But he soon realized that the Son of Apollo wasn't hurt- he was angry. Angry on Nico's A surge of happiness raced through his body, bypassing any other emotion, and crossing the finish line. Energy coursed through his veins, hand in hand with the happiness. His power returned, and he could tell Will's was doing the same. It was five to two, and the empousa were looking for blood. It was a deadly plan, but Will and Nico attacked.

They were demons, flying through the air. Will shot one down shot one down with a plague arrow (a special gift from his dad), and boils erupted on her face. Nico plunged his sword into the side of one of the other's, and the Stygian Iron absorbed her essence. He stabbed the sword into the ground, and yelled a curse in Ancient Greek. Three skeletal soldiers erupted from the ground, drawing their rusty sword and attacking. Nico fell into Will's strong arms, exhausted from his latest spell of underworld magic. Will held Nico upwright, letting him lean on him.

"No more underworldy stuff, Di Angelo," Will sighed.

"Don't tell me what to do," Nico slurred. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be empousa chow right about now."

"Ah, I could've taken them all single handedly." Will steered Nico away from the plague infected demon. "Stay away from her, I don't want you to get sick."

"Where are we going?" Nico asked, realizing they were walking away from the subway.

"Emerson park. I called someone to come get us.

When they approached the lonely park, Nico spotted a dark shape moving through the starry night. "There he is." Will peered up at the shape, which came coser and closer until Nico could make out the vague shape of Percy Jackson atop his preferred pegasus, Blackjack, who was pulling Apollo's gold chariot behind him. Percy parked the chariot on the soft green grass and grinned at the two boys.

"You coming, lovebirds?" Nico blushed and tried to protest Percy calling them "lovebirds", but he was too exhausted to do much else than climb into the chariot and lean his head on Will's shoulder. Will wrapped his arms around Nico and Nico's last sensation was flying through the heavenly sky, wrapped in Will's warm embrace.

"Do we wake him up?" Percy asked as they landed on Half- Blood Hill. Will glanced at his perfect sleeping face, his opaque hair fluttering in his eyes. When awake, Nico looked like what he was- a troubled kid from the 1940s who had seen too much for his own good. But when asleep, Nico looked more like his surname- Angelo. Angel.

"No," Will decided. "Let him sleep. He needs his energy."

"Your move, man." Percy clapped Will on the back before trotting back to Cabin 3 to get some well deserved sleep. Will waited until Percy was out of sight and when he could no longer see the dark outline of the Son of Poseidon, he picked up Nico bridal style and whisked him off to the Hades Cabin, like something you might see in a cheesy romance movie that Nico would never admit he loved.

Will tucked Nico into his black sheets and gave Nico a quick peck on the forehead. "Love you, Death boy," he whispered to the beautiful moon, twinkling stars and the wide world.

Love you, too, Will," Nico murmured back.

Hey guys! Hope you liked it, and sorry if it was a little cheesy. I'm also really sorry that it took so long to get up, I tend to procrastinate. Anyway, I'm all out of ideas for the moment, so if anyone has any requests I'll get them up ASAP. Leave them in the comments!

Nina.