Mark Oshiro

‘My grumpy little ball of darkness,’

To all the Nicos, Wills, Pipers, and everyone in between: this is for you.

May you shine as bright as the sun and the stars.

Nico felt something brush his knuckles. He glanced down and saw that Will was trying to hold his hand. He opened his fingers and let Will slip his in between.

Nico’s heart sank. Will’s grip was very weak.

Nico had to do this. He had to finish what they had started.

The whispers called out to him.

And then Gorgyra did, too.

“Tell me about the two of you,” she said.

“I can’t do this,” he said to Will Solace, the stunningly beautiful son of Apollo, who stood across from him. But it was Austin Lake—one of Will’s half-siblings—Nico chose to focus on. He was pacing behind Will, which only made Nico more nervous.

“Quiet!” said Nico, running his hands through his hair. What if he made the wrong choice? Would Will be disappointed in him?

But studying Will’s face, Nico saw only anticipation. The good kind. Will was ready for whatever Nico would say, and no matter how this ended, Will would still think just as highly of him.

What did I ever do to deserve him? Nico wondered. He asked himself that question a lot.

“I’ve lost all joy, Nico. All of it.”

“Welcome to my world,” Nico joked. He caught Will grimacing—a brief flicker of one, but he still caught it.

“I’m considering all the reasons why you’d give that answer,” he said. “You might be onto something.”

“He’s powerful,” said Nico.

“And decisive,” added Will. “He’d always know exactly where to go for your date. No arguing about that.”

Nico laid his hand over his heart. “Imagine Darth Vader removing his helmet over dinner and then staring longingly into your eyes over the table. Now that is romance.”

Will laughed hard, then flashed that brilliant smile of his.

Why, oh why, did it feel like such a victory to make Will laugh? For a long time, Nico had assumed he himself did not have a heart. He was the son of Hades, after all. Love didn’t find people like him. But then came... Will. Will, who could melt Nico’s iciness with a smile. Anyone could have guessed which god was Will’s father—he radiated energy and light. Sometimes literally, as they had learned in the troglodytes’ caverns earlier that year. Will was Apollo’s son, through and through.

Maybe that whole saying about opposites attracting was true, because Nico didn’t know a single person who was more his opposite. Despite that, they were coming up on a year. A year together. Nico had an actual boyfriend.

On the gravel shoulder, next to a pile of boxes and duffel bags, stood Chiron, the Camp Half-Blood activities director, his equine lower half gleaming white in the afternoon light.

“There you are!” the centaur called out. “Come along, then.”