Nico could've done, he did the least expected one. After the song had ended, there was a pretty awkward silence between both of them. It seemed as of Nico DiAngelo was deciding whether to punch him in the face or not.

Will knew forcing him to listen to music was pretty risky, as simple as it seemed, but this was the son of Hades after all.

Finally, Nico cleared his throat. When Will looked into his dark chocolate brown eyes, he shockingly sensed happiness in them. Before he could even speak Nico gave him a bear hug.

After quite awhile, Nico let go. But it wasn't the uncomfortable or out-of-place kind. It was rather pleasant and felt right at that moment. And they both knew it.

"I have to admit," Nico said. "This song is special. It really touched my heart so thank you. People may not always understand me. But I realized music does."

"I just hope you know that you do have a home here Nico. Don't ever forget that."

"I won't ever doubt that again," Nico

beamed.

"You were right you know. I was angry earlier about... well it's complicated. But it was also because only a week after I was given the "hero treatment" for my role in defeating Kronos, I was forgotten about and treated like an outsider. Being a Hades's kid, our fatal flaw is mainly holding grudges against others. But you and my sister Bianca helped me get over that. I'm ready for a new beginning here at my new home."

Will was ecstatic hearing these words from him.

"Wow I have to say, that was a pretty deep message," Will replied. "I'm really sorry though."

"Huh? Why would you be sorry? You're the one who has been the nicest to me!"

"I mean I guess," Will blushed a little. "But I regret never being there for you last year."

He truly did. Will had only watched Nico longingly from afar, too shy to dare chat with him. What was he supposed to talk to him about? Hey, you're the son of death right? What's it like to raise an entire ghost army that could potentially kill all of us?

However Will had some magical feeling whenever he was close to him, as if something had sparked between them. Was the theory of "opposites attract" really true? he wondered. He also knew Nico had another side to his story. He just didn't know it then. Now Will intended to find out.

"It wasn't your fault," Nico said. "You didn't know me that well anyway."

That only made Will feel more guilty. But he spoke. "This probably sounds too personal, but could you tell me your real story, like your life before this point now?"

Will expected a slap in the face. Or a kick in the gut. But Nico actually smiled. "Let me guess, doctors orders?"

Will grinned. "That's right death boy."

Nico didn't even get mad over the nickname that he despised. He told Will practically everything. Will listened well. He tuned in to the sadness that fell upon Nico like a cloak when his sister died. He learned of the horrors he had faced in the Labyrinth and in Tartarus. His dreams after he returned from hell, reliving the moments he experienced in confinement and torture. There were many more of his nightmares, which were unfortunately his reality.

Nico spoke of the earlier times, while Bianca was still around to protect over him. He felt that he had been a brat for not appreciating what he had then, and childish for obsessing over Mythomagic. Nico reminisced the time when Percy had been kind to him, reassuring him that Bianca would be safe, but broke the promise.

Will realized the massive break in the stone ground was caused by Nico himself, defending Percy from the monsters. Terrified of his own powers, Nico ran away, way beyond the camp boundaries.

While Nico told him this specific part of his journey, Will sensed there was something else besides his new abilities that caused him to leave. He couldn't put his finger on it though, but he noticed when Nico hesitated when speaking of Percy.

I wonder if Nico's hatred toward Percy is still strong, he thought. Probably not as much. He talked with the son of Poseidon yesterday and acted pretty friendly.

Which Will was curious about what went on between the two before. He felt suspicious of their strange meetings, no, that wasn't the word. The word was jealous. But he reluctantly decided to drop the subject for now, not wanting Nico to possibly get enraged.

There was at least a little positivity, however. Will listened to Nico speak of all the good times he had with Bianca before they discovered they were demigods. She used to even play Mythomagic with him just to make him happy. Whenever Nico was sad, she would always know how to get him to laugh. Her most effective method was tickling him.

Nico's favorite memory of her was when they often strolled in the streets of Italy. Their mouths watered over the aroma of freshly-made pasta, but quenched themselves with scoops of gelato instead.

One time when they had their icecream cones, as they were chatting and walking, Nico suddenly tripped over a cobblestone and fell on his face. He had attempted to use the gelato as a shield to protect his face from the ground. "Not the brightest idea," Nico stated, with both of them chuckling. Nico had ended up with the chocolate icecream splattered all over his face, with little bits of waffle cone sticking out of his dark hair.

"Bianca was laughing her head off," Nico told Will. "Literally."

"She bought me a new one. But it was still humiliating. Years later, she always brought the incident up just to prove her point that I was clumsy."

"And that's pretty much the story of my life."

"Wow," Will smiled. He could feel himself glowing with joy. Kids of Apollo seemed to have that effect. And Nico seemed to notice it too.

"That's one heck of a story," Will patted Nico's back. "Thank you."

"Well Sunny Guy, thanks to you, I feel much better now."

"Whoa!" Will mocked a gasp. "You gave me a nickname! We have to celebrate! I didn't know Nico had that humor in him!"

"I had no idea either," Nico grinned.

There was one last thing that had to be done, Will thought. Something that will end this just right.

They were still sitting at the dining pavilion. Not much time had passed, but it felt like a whole lifetime, specifically Nico's lifetime they've been through.

Will took his and Nico's empty goblets and spoke.

"Two glasses of Sunny D, please."

The mysterious magic of the cups listened. The goblets were soon filled with what looked like orange juice. Because it simply was.

"Cheers," Will grinned, raising his glass.

Nico was speechless for awhile. But he too took his cup and smiled wide.

"Cheers."

The goblets clashed, and they both took a sip, gazing at the shining sun. He put his arm around Nico, knowing that he wouldn't mind.

At the moment, everything felt like sunshine to Will. All was golden.