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live by the precept "the early bird gets the worm". He was more of a "early bird gets eaten first" type of guy.

So when Will Solace somehow tiptoed into the Hades cabin and dumped a bucket of ice-cold water on him while he was asleep, Nico unleashed the depths of Tartarus in return. Not literally, but he did get close to strangling his boyfriend by the neck, nearly suffocating Will.

"N-n-nico, please," he managed to get out, choking on his own words.

"Oh," Nico said after he realized what he was doing, immediately letting go. "Uh... sorry about that."

"You. Better. Be." Will was wheezing, inhaling short breaths between each word, but he would be alright.

The son of Hades sighed out in relief. "Wow, I really need to work on my reflexes. They're getting to be way too violent."

"Right you are," Will grunted, though his face softened into its normal sunny glow. "You've fought in too many battles, that must be why."

"I guess so," Nico replied, and he knew it was true.

Since Will had now composed himself from the traumatizing experience, Nico thought it was the perfect time to get angry once again.

"DON'T YOU DARE POUR FREEZING COLD WATER ON ME EVER AGAIN!!"

"You think I wanted to do that?! Maybe if you weren't such a coma-sleeper I wouldn't have had to be so extreme."

"Well, just some advice Sunny Guy. If you wake me up in way that disrupts my sleeping, you're asking for a death wish. So yeah, don't wake me ."

"Not even if there is McDonald's for breakfast in the dining hall? I didn't think I'd live to see you reject those chicken nuggets. Oh, and the french fries and-"

"OKAY OKAY. I get the point. Gods, stop mocking me. I just wish you had a better way of waking me up instead of almost drowning me with ice."

"Aw, you know... you're pretty cute when you grumble."

"Aw, you know... I don't like being called ."

"Ha! Since when do I never listen to you, Death Boy. But since you did ask for something more pleasant to wake up to, how about this-"

Before Nico could even react, Will leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Good morning, sunshine," he grinned, beaming at Nico's reddening face.

Even though they were finally dating, Nico still was hesitant towards any sign of affection from Will. Being the son of a death god, he just wasn't used to it, but he was growing to like it.

That didn't keep Nico from chasing Will outside his cabin, however. Strangely enough, Will suddenly halted to a stop and turned around, waiting for Nico to catch up.

They had somehow ended up in the middle of the camp's strawberry fields, on a vacant stretch of grass. Will beckoned Nico to stand next to him. He then pointed towards the sky, at the very thing that caused him to daringly wake Nico up, the thing that almost cost him his life.

Nico already noticed the rainbow flag billowing above the Big House before Will even acknowledged it. In harmony, the two demigods both smiled at the rare sight.

"Did you really think I dumped a bucket of ice-cold water on you for no reason?" Will laughed teasingly.

All playful anger he previously felt vanished within him. "Well it's true, anything you to do to me is always for my benefit."

"But why is the flag being raised? There had to be something that happened right?" Nico still was astounded.

"Apparently news travels slow from the mortal world to here," Will excitedly spoke. "But Chiron somehow found out from his fellow Party Ponies the huge announcement."

"GAY MARRIAGE IS LEGAL IN ALL 50 STATES NICO!!" Will's teeth were shining with his mouth opened wide into a grin.

Nico blinked a few times. Had he heard wrong? He must be dreaming. Maybe he wasn't awake yet; Will wasn't even the type of person to dump water on him anyway. Will was too sweet, too kind, too gentle for th-

Nico's thoughts were interrupted by Will's shouts of glee. "HEY NICO! DID YOU HEAR ME BEFORE? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?! IT MEANS-"

"We can get married," Nico blurted out, finishing Will's sentence. He pinched his arm for good measure.

"I KNOW RIGHT ISN'T THIS GREAT? I MEAN, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT OUR FUTURE TOGETHER WILL BE BUT I HOPE WE GET THE CHANCE TO-"

"," Nico repeated, a little more loudly.

"WE ALSO CAN MOVE IN TOGETHER AND HAVE A NICE FAMILY AND DO FAMILY STUFF LIKE MOVIE NIGHTS AND GOING CAMPING AND COOKING BREAKFAST TOGETHER AND-"

"" Nico was now yelling, his happiness emanating from within his bones.

"YES WE CAN NICO AND OH MY GODS NICO ARE YOU TO ME?!"

"YES WE- I MEAN NO. WAIT NO I MEAN YES BUT NOT NOW BUT MAYBE LATER ON IN LIFE? OH GODS WHAT AM I SAYING BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I-"

For once, Nico allowed Will to kiss him, this time returning the action. Above them, the multicolored flag swayed steadily back and forth, the wind strong enough to keep it that way.

From this moment on, Camp Half-Blood lives on in a more colorful light, a better and improved version of its old self, carrying on the message that love always wins.

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