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Nico’s scarfing down a burrito with Will Solace when the thought hits him—oh shit, I want to marry this man.
Right there, at ten in the night, on an impromptu trip to Jason and Leo’s Eatery, when the two are hardly coherent, hardly conscious of how hard they’re gripping each other through their woollen gloves—matching ones, a set Will got them for Christmas, with a grumpy Santa on pair and a grinning Grinch on the other. At first, Nico’s convinced it’s something in the fucking ginormous burrito that’s making him think of it, but no. Completely unprecedented, the entire terrifying and yet not-unpleasant thought floods his mind—every corner is swimming (or perhaps drowning?) in the idea of Will Solace, his husband.
Will’s got this light in his eyes, this shifting nature to them—not the kind that makes him look untrustworthy, no, the kind that makes you want to stare into them forever trying to memorise every fleck of green in between the blue. He looks down at Nico, and his smile (oh gods, his smile) reaches his eyes, and then it turns into a laugh as he reaches his thumb and wipes off some sauce from Nico’s face. And oh gods, it’s clear to Nico, so fucking clear that this is the man he’s going to marry. The man he’s going to spend the rest of his life with.
The moment is burned into the back of his mind. It follows him everyone—he sees it in his reflection against Will’s coffee mug, in bathroom mirrors just out of doctor’s appointments, in Will’s own smile when he lays down to sleep at night. It’s here with him now—in a jeweller's store, where he’s completely and utterly lost.
“You have got to help me,” Nico mumbles to Annabeth, who, as usual, has this I-know-what-I’m-doing demeanour to her.
“That’s what I’m here for,” Annabeth smiles. She turns around, smiles at a jeweller. “Hi! Can we have some help here?”
“Yes, of course, what can I do for you?” The guy says. He’s in his mid-fifties for sure, with a greying beard and kind eyes, shining behind thick spectacles.
“We’re looking for a wedding ring for a man,” Annabeth says.
“Ah wonderful! We have several options. Would you like to see our silver or gold options?” the man asks.
Annabeth stares at Nico who stares back at Annabeth. Nico turns red. “Honestly, I haven’t the slightest clue what Will would want.”
“This isn’t just about what Will would want,” Annabeth corrects gently. “This is about the two of you together. As boyfriends now, as fiancés soon and as husbands after that.”
“True,” Nico bites his lip.
“If you’re struggling between silver and gold, may I suggest tantalum? It’s a blue grey metal that many—typically men—reach for, and it’s quite affordable. Let me show you some options.”
The man leads them over to a section with metal that’s almost black, and Nico nods. “Seems good.”
The man must notice Nico’s nerves because he adds. “Marriage is exciting but stressful, isn’t it?”
Nico lets out a small, forced laugh. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
“More than anything, though, it’s important what marriage is really about. Not weddings or rings or a certificate or even a special day—it’s about celebrating love. And that’s something that should always be celebrated.” the man says, and his voice is honey. “My husband and I are celebrating twenty seven years of marriage tomorrow.”
Nico can’t help himself when he smiles. “That’s amazing, congratulations. And you’re right—it’s love, above anything.” Even still, there’s a pit in his chest, something deep inside telling him that it has to be perfect.
After about an hour of back and forth-ing, fumbling over ring sizes and then designs, Nico, much to Annabeth’s relief, manages to settle on matching wedding bands—Tantalum with one teeny-tiny clear stone in the middle. It’s simple but Nico quite likes it and thinks Will would look marvellous in it. So Nico purchases the ring, the velvet box with it and exits the store.
“Good luck on your engagement!” The man calls after him. “Remember what it’s all about in the end: love!”
“Listen to that guy,” Annabeth elbows him, flashing her own wedding band in his face. “He knows what he’s talking about.”
But Nico still feels something swirling in his chest. He loves the message but can’t quite stomach it; it’s what he gets for growing up so fucking anxious all the time, always on high alert but it’s just plain annoying now. Whatever it is, he can’t shake the feeling that something’s about to go insanely wrong.
— —
“What’s your proposal plan?” Piper asks. She taps her nail against her laptop, which is balancing on one knee on her lap. Nico gets a bit lost in the sight of it—those hot pink nails with the swirls are gorgeous.
“Oh uh, I was just going to ask him?” Nico says, but his confidence is leaving him already. It’s hard to blame him, being surrounded by the formidable Annabeth, Piper, and Reyna—and they’re equally formidable partners—can send anyone into a state of panic.
The group exchange eyes with each other, then collectively stare at Nico. Nico gulps. Did he do something wrong?
“Do you think that’s what Will would want?” Shel slowly asks. “I mean, he might, don’t get me wrong, but just as well—a proposal is special. You get, like, one chance at it. Do you think that maybe Will would appreciate something…bigger scale?”
“Bigger scale?” Nico repeats mindlessly.
“Yeah!” Percy jumps in. “For my proposal, I rented out this aquarium—”
“That Poseidon paid for,” Annabeth interrupts,
“—and proposed to Annabeth there. Flowers, dim lights, a photographer, the works.” Percy smiles, pride etched on his features. “I mean, not to brag or anything. That being said, the wedding was pretty low-key, but my point still stands.”
“Even if you don’t want to drop a shitload of cash, there’s ways around it.” Reyna chimes in. “We could help out, of course. Flowers, we can ask Grover’s gardening skills. Photography we can get Rachel to—”
“Or, you know, abuse my dad’s connection,” Piper reminds them, with a small smile.
“That too,” Reyna grins. “The whole thing doesn’t have to be a whole lot of money, but it does have to be unforgettable. You know?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess.” Nico shrinks on the spot.
“Perfect! So I was thinking—” the group jumps into a discussion about venues, ideas and budgets. To be honest, Nico’s exhausted just listening, and the truth is, he feels sort of bad about it. He’s been so out of it during the planning so far and they’ve all had to take over. He’s just never thought about marriage before—there was a time where he didn’t think he’d make it past his teens—and now he wonders if everything he has in mind is…not enough. What if it’s not enough for him and Will together? What if it’s not enough for Will?
“What about clothes?” Nico gulps, silencing the discussion, then reigniting it with renewed excitement.
— —
When Nico gets home, he’s completely exhausted, but he can’t deny that the session was productive. They’d managed to plan out his outfit, date and venue, as well as the exact plan for how it’s going to go: Nico’s going to bring Will out on a park date, in a suit (for some reason), and during the climax of the night, the sky is going to be lit with fireworks from a festival nearby and soft music will start playing—then Nico will get on one knee, deliver his speech and pop the question. Will will be awe-struck, cry through a yes as a photographer catches the perfect moment. So perfect and yet Nico feels sick to his stomach.
“Are you okay?” Will asks when they lie down on bed. Will’s looking at him with this puppy dog sort of expression—eyes wide and concerned and adorable. Nico forces a smile.
“I’m okay, I swear,” Nico promises.
Will squints, pouts. “I don’t believe you one bit, but I’m not going to push it,” he scoots closer to Nico, pulling the cover over them and places a kiss on Nico’s cheek. “I love you always. You know that right?”
“I do,” Nico says softly. “Love you too. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” Will says, flicking the lamps off. “Sleep well.”
Will falls into an easy slumber next to Nico, lightly snoring as he sleeps. Nico’s the opposite: awake and aware with trepidation keeping him up. The velvet box and ring is in the drawer next to his bed and he can’t stop thinking about it. He tries to think about Will’s words, tries to let the I love you relax his brain. It’s torture at first but he manages it, manages to shut his eyes, take a couple deep breaths fall asleep, remembering Will’s constant “As a doctor and your boyfriend, you need to sleep more” tangents.
That lasts for all of four hours.
Nico wakes up, two in the morning. It isn’t the quiet, peaceful rise to consciousness either, no—he jolts up, breathing hard with his eyes and hair wild. He looks over at his boyfriend next to him, sleeping so peacefully and—dammit, all he can think about is how badly he wants Will to be his fiancé, then his husband.
Half asleep, he reaches inside the drawer, shuffles through their old stuff—pictures, postcards, letters—and pulls out the velvet box. He doesn’t even glance at it once, just moves on to Will.
“Will, honey, Will—come on, Will,” he mumbles, gently shaking Will’s arm. Will stirs, groans then opens his eyes.
“Nico? What time is it? What are you doing up?” Will rubs his eyes and—gods, he’s got that raspy quality to his voice, the kind that uses his lower register and the kind that he only gets to hear in the few mornings he’s up before Will is. It's completely adorable and Nico can’t stand it.
“It’s two in the morning and—oh, god, Will.” Nico’s breathing shallowly, breaths hardly reaching his lungs—it’s as if his body’s expelling the atmosphere.
Will sits up immediately, concern evident on his face. “Nico, are you alright, is there something I can help with? You can talk to me, okay?”
“I—” Nico’s eyes are shining. “Will, I love you, I love you so fucking much. It’s so stupid, actually, because I wake up every morning with you and spend every evening with you, every public holiday and every night with you and it’s not enough. I still miss you, I still want you in a way I just can’t explain, except actually I can and it’s love. Will, it’s love, and I love you so much. I’m done waiting, planning fancy things and I just wanna say it Will, I love you so much—Gods, I—Will you marry me?”
Nico shakily pulls out the velvet box, holds up in the moonlight and opens it, revealing the band. Nico’s fucking combusting, and Will? Oh gods, Will.
Will’s in tears, eyes wide, unblinking and hands over his mouth. He’s barely breathing but he’s making these almost-choking noises and his cheeks are tomato red, his hair is a frizzy mess atop his head and Will is losing it. Will is entirely losing it. Nico isn’t too different—there’s stray tears on his face, his heart is speeding in his chest and every fibre of his being is completely consumed in this moment, in Will and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Will, I—I spent the last week planning out how this was going to go. It was supposed to be this whole big affair with fireworks and it was exhausting, and the worst thing ever Will. I can’t believe it really what matters it—”
Will covers Nico’s mouth with his two hands, preventing him from continuing. “Shut up, shut up right now. I’m crying. Good gods, I—you—I love you too, fuck, Nico, I’m so in love with you—and—yes! Yes, yes, yes. Yes, in every universe.”
Nico bites his inner cheek to keep himself from making an ungodly noise. He slips the ring on Will’s finger and Will admires it.
“It’s beautiful,” he says softly, then kisses Nico on the cheek. “I love you. Just so you know, I wouldn’t have had it—this proposal—any other way.”
Nico smiles, leans in and envelopes the two in a kiss on the lips—familiar but magical just the same, and he can feel the two of them smiling into it.
“Me neither.” he says when they pull apart.
“So…do we go to sleep now?” Will says, blinking.
“I guess we do,” Nico is just as confused. “Honestly, I kind of woke up in a daze with this deep need to propose.”
“Happens to the best of us,” Will laughs, intertwining their hands. “Wow. I guess we’re…what? Fiancés now, huh?”
Nico nods. “I suppose so.”
“But I’m still a doctor,” Will clears his throat. “Which means I should probably suggest—”
“Sleep,” Nico rolls his eyes. “Yes, doctor.”
It’s a while until they actually go to sleep, but when they do, it’s with wedding bells and the other in a suit next to an altar on their mind. And Nico, for one, is perfectly fine with that.