Archive of Our Own

Nico stared at the skirt in front of him and suddenly felt a bit of apprehension. This… plan of his had sounded good when he had first thought of it but now that the time came, he suddenly couldn’t help but worry he was perhaps in over his head.

It wouldn’t be the first time wearing a skirt (although, if he were to be honest: that was a bit of a lie: it would be the first time he’s worn a skirt  but he had worn chitons — both shorter and longer ones — particularly when attending to his Underworld duties). Therefore, notionally, putting on a skirt now ought not to feel that different. 

Except… it was different.

Wearing a chiton was not overly bizarre. He wore togas for senatorial matters in Camp Jupiter. Even if those ones were worn over his actual clothes, putting on a chiton wherever he had to deal with the ongoings of the Palace was not that dissimilar. It had felt slightly awkward at first to wear something so akin to a tunic or a dress while strolling around the Underworld (and on occasion above ground) but it wasn’t overly so. It was just a uniform, after all, simple as that. (Indeed, even the elaborate ones that more strongly resembled a peplos and seemed to have been made out of some strange combination of soul cloth, genuine shadows, as well as Stygian ice and -iron. How Hades or Gorgyra or whoever else had managed to make it give off the effect of starlight, Nico had no idea, but the facts remained that the peplos chiton¹ had been given to Nico for diplomatic / court ordeals. Therefore it counted as a uniform.)

But a skirt was different. A skirt was certainly not at all a uniform or required clothing or anything like that. Nor was it really something a boy could wear without garnering strange looks. Not that Nico cared about judgemental gazes anymore or that Will would mind. But it was the principle of the matter.

(In fact, Will had enjoyed Nico’s peplos chiton very much. The first time he had seen Nico in it, the two of them had managed to nearly invent an actual zombie apocalypse. Nico had unearthed so many undead, purely accidentally, that Hades had ended up sectioning off a chunk of the training grounds just for Nico to…ahem… enjoy marital life in peace without disrupting the kingdom.)

Still, even Will had never seen Nico in a skirt. The only one to have done so was Piper and that, much like the Albania incident with Reyna, was best left undiscussed. 

Which perhaps begot the question as to how Nico ended up bringing a skirt to his and Will’s week-long ranch ‘vacation’. And the answer to that query was, yet again: Piper.

Now that she and Nico were friends — a situation that managed to come about from the fact that they had both loved Jason which would have been perhaps a tad bit weird had Nico’s other notable friendship not been Reyna, aka another person who had loved Jason — they hung out a reasonable amount of time. Often (mostly) over IMs but on occasion in-person too (somebody had to run the DnD campaign after all, and like most things in life nobody wanted to do: the task fell on Nico’s shoulders). And some of those in-person hang-outs involved strange places like the mall… or Piper’s house… or even Shel’s house. And Piper had become particularly dedicated to catching up on experiences she felt she had gotten cheated out of (and by extension: Nico had been cheated out of because they were both on the Argo II together). And one of those things happened to be shopping with friends. Except that neither of them had many friends that weren't (demi)gods… or were alive… or were not secluding themselves from the world like they were trying to achieve Enlightenment regardless of who may or may not be dying in their stead. He was not bitter. He promised Bianca he would not be bitter. He would honor his sister’s wishes and hopes.

Regardless, it turned out to be quite fortuitous that Piper’s newly acquired hobby was shopping, particularly so once it became apparent that the results of Nico and Will’s marriage were…surprisingly long-lasting. Primarily they were now such that everytime Nico felt the warm pooling of arousal, his body would bloom shadows out of his scars and leak stardust down his cheeks. And as unapologetic as Nico was for his love towards Will and as much as they were both shameless about their enjoyment of one another… the whole ordeal of everybody being privy to his intimate feelings was… not ideal. Thus leading Nico to the decision to wear makeup in order for it to be not quite so glaring a difference when his ordinarily bone-white skin began to tinge deep cosmic purple; as if it were a tender bruise spilling ink instead of an infatuated pale blush. However, makeup felt uncomfortable and stifling. He certainly did not have the patience nor tolerance for anything beyond eyeliner and nail polish, much as he had tried. Fortunately, those were enough to at least allow him some leeway.

Tangent aside: the point was that Nico’s first attempt with getting makeup onto himself had been nothing short of disastrous. He had managed to poke his eye with the tiny brush multiple times — enough to give himself a case of conjunctivitis severe enough to have been at risk of permanently going blind — and as for the nail polish… most of that had ended up on his cuticles instead, meaning it had irritated him enough to peel it off as soon as it had dried. Moreover, the small amounts of it that had been successfully painted onto the actual nail, had clumped together into ooze-reminiscent blobs from when he had accidentally moved too quickly, unaware that he had been supposed to wait for it to dry.

Piper had been extraordinarily helpful. Nico had inadvertently mentioned his conundrum offhandedly in one of their Movie Mondays and Piper, who had been ranting about how the seer vampire lady was a much better fit for the human protagonist and how Bella should have just left her boyfriend’s melodramatic ass back in Italy to get shanked by the Vampire Mafia (Nico had not actually been listening too closely as he was still a bit preoccupied with the scene of said vampire boyfriend getting choke-pinned to the ground hard enough to make his face (and the marble) crack, sue him), before stopping abruptly.

And thus began their shopping sessions. Each one consisted of her having to drag him around the entire time. At the very least, he did indeed manage to learn how to do his makeup without assistance. (She had been ecstatic over that too, especially considering how she couldn’t really grow long manicured nails anymore now that she was dating Shel. A problem that Nico very clearly did not share. For equally obvious reasons.)

Naturally, as was typical of demigodly outings, the situation had quickly gotten out of hand, especially once she had realized that she could hand off her previous clothes — the ones that didn’t fit her anymore on account of her bust size increasing courtesy of getting claimed by Aphrodite and growing into her own powers — for Nico to try on. (“Come on, Nico, please, I’ll be giving them away anyway and I know you wouldn’t go shopping without me. What if you find something that looks great on you? You’d practically be helping me out here, do you know how many creeps there are that would try to obtain them for perverted reasons? You’re practically rescuing me!”) And Nico had folded like a house of Mythomagic cards under her persuasions because he had little to no ability to refuse anybody asking him anything sincerely. Especially not crying girls.

So he tried on the clothes, with only token amounts of despondent grumbling, and…well… he had found them surprisingly comfortable. The few that fit him anyway. At the time of their purchase, Piper had been going through a bit of a pick-me phase (he was still not completely sure what that descriptor meant), but she had nevertheless still been the daughter of a (by-then) famous actor. Hence why most of the clothes were actually surprisingly sensible and extremely high-quality. Thus, despite the fact that Nico had managed to avoid buying anything ‘unseemly’ from the mall shops, he still managed to acquire half a wardrobe-worth of garments and accessories and other such nicknacks (including some genuine good quality eyeliner and nail polish too. Never let it be said that Piper was not dedicated to whatever she put her mind to.)

That exact situation reoccurred multiple times. In fact, Nico had a strong suspicion that Piper now deliberately went out of her way to buy him clothes when he wasn’t with her just so she could guilt-trip him into taking them. Some of these garments were, most definitely, not something the Piper of a couple years ago would have worn.

An observation that most certainly applied to this skirt as well. Asymmetrical and pleated — although thankfully all in dark colors — and full of belts and metal chains, the skirt was noticeably striking. It was not overly short either, even if the right-hand side hemline cut off a tad higher than the left one in order to showcase the…belt garter. (Not the garter belt. The belt that served as a garter. Even after all this time in the modern era, Nico was still learning new things.)²

Why had he believed Piper when she had claimed it was something other than a freshly-bought brand new skirt again? (Not that it mattered, he supposed. She would have found a way to persuade him into taking it regardless.)

However, just because he had been tricked into taking the skirt home, that did not then have to mean that he should have brought it up to the ranch. Indeed, for that particular occurrence he had no one to blame but himself.

When he had last spoken to Eurytion, the topic of ‘vacations’ had come up. Now, it was important to note that Nico did not actually make a habit of talking to the son of Ares with any regularity (they had met at a… particularly tumultuous time of Nico’s life, one that he didn’t much care to reminisce about). But the matter of Menoetes and Geryon’s relationship had reminded him and well… Eurytion had been kind to Nico. It was only fair that Nico would repay his dues. Thus, he had shadow-travelled to the Triple G Ranch and had a perfectly pleasant conversation with the rancher.

And here were Will and Nico now: assisting with the tending of the Triple G Ranch while Eurytion himself was away (along with Orthus). For the whole week. The kids Puffs were being babysat by Persephone (Nico was not overly worried about that. The two of them were largely okay now and she genuinely did adore the little ones. Nico had definitely still instructed multiple of the servants to watch over and alert him the second something appeared suspicious however) so he and Will genuinely had the whole place for themselves.

Unfortunately, looking after a monster ranch was an arduous task, especially considering how the only animals Nico could actually approach were Apollo’s Sun Cattle. Even though they still preferred Will, they were the only monster-animal that did not dislike Nico or flinch away from him as if he was covered in gore and brandishing a knife. Thus, most of the actual animal-handling was left to his radiant boyfriend while Nico busied himself with the administrative work such as scheduling, keeping tally for Eurytion’s records etc. 

And while he did also cook for them (Will’s culinary abilities seemed to be limited to baking and barbecuing as they had disastrously found out on the first night when the kitchen had nearly blown up), he couldn’t help but feel like…it still was not quite enough. And having anything resembling the feeling of ‘not enough’ in regards to Will was painful to the utmost degree.

Which is how the current plan of putting on the skirt came to be. Because as embarrassing as it was, he knew that Will liked it best when Nico could just be pushed down and fucked with as little in the way as possible. And while Nico could just shadow-travel out of clothes in the span of a second, there was something…distinctly feral that appeared in his boyfriend whenever they had sex with clothes on. It was why Will had enjoyed Nico’s peplos so much.

His boyfriend had taken one look at the slits for Nico’s limbs, pushed him onto the nearest surface (some desk table Nico had been using to go over some of the Palace reports only a few seconds ago), hiked up all the numerous, but ephemeral, layers of skirts to the side and railed Nico within an inch of his life. His boyfriend’s warm hand had clamped down onto his thighs and ankles like shackles of pure flame as Will ate him out into raw overstimulation before proceeding to fuck him so powerfully and for so long that when Nico’s mind had eventually returned from the throes of indescribable bliss, he had been unable to speak for a good few days from how raw his throat had gotten from moaning and whining.

And, much like how Nico could be made to admit all sorts of things during mind-blowing sex that he would otherwise be too embarrassed to confess, so did Will too have this habit. Despite his boyfriend being driven past the point of intelligible human speech, there had been enough lucidity for Nico to make out some of the words. 

Moreover, insane statements like Will tauntingly describing to him how ‘breedable’ he looked like this, did not particularly leave room for ambiguity. (And if Nico were to claim that his lust hadn’t mounted to unbearable levels at that, well that would simply be a lie.)

Will had apologized afterwards of course, once the ‘post-nut clarity had hit’ (his words, not Nico’s) but Nico hadn’t really been able to stop thinking about it. (Certainly not when their…activities had managed to make whole sections of the ground surrounding the palace churn ominously as a result of their powers going haywire.)

The familiar sensation of skeletal butterflies in his belly took him out of the memory. Unsurprisingly, the reminiscing had left him aroused and needy (everything about Will often did) but it had also helped him stop spiraling and overthinking. And perhaps he would have continued to stress about the skirt otherwise but… it was easy to feel braver about his plan when he had already had first-hand reassurance of how much Will liked having unimpeded access to his body. After all, Nico loved it too.

He hurriedly donned the skirt, before he could lose his nerve, faltering only slightly when he realized that he should have perhaps done so after putting on underwear, on account of the way the belt-garter thing worked. And while it wasn’t like he couldn’t slip into something nice now, that would require undoing part of the skirt — something he was hesitant to do as he didn’t want for the surge of arousal-born confidence to disappear. Moreover… as embarrassing as it was to admit it, even to himself... the idea of Will being able to just start fucking him without anything being in the way…

It made him shudder. He could already see his nails getting painted black with shadows — there was no need to hide his arousal when it was only him and Will, after all, so he hadn’t exactly brought his makeup or polish on this ‘vacation’ — and he had to press his legs together in an effort to not get hard and wet so soon.

A task that became much more difficult with each step he took. The skirt was so short, the feeling of the air passing between his legs made him feel shamefully exposed and his scars were already painting his skin into dark purpling hues; as if the star-filled expanse within him desired to come to the surface.

Much like how his own desire mounted within him.

Even his legs had started to shake. He struggled not to clench his teeth in frustration at himself. He wasn’t ashamed of wanting Will, of loving his wonderful radiant boyfriend with all his heart. But there had been a time not that long ago when the sheer all-encompassing scale of that desire would have been enough to cause younger-Nico to expire on the spot. It was difficult to unlearn certain things — like the shame from needing to wanting to submit to a guy, to lay down obediently underneath him as the other pulled his hair and manhandled him and pinned him down by the neck, making Nico take him until Nico cried with overstimulation, overwhelmed by raw feeling.

Hence how Will ended up finding him standing in the doorway, barefooted and practically glaring at the pair of cowboy boots he had to use in order to get around the ranch land comfortably.

“Howdy, gorgeous.” Will drawled as he made his way up the porch. “What’d that poor pair of boots do to you?”

Nico’s ire disappeared almost immediately at the sound of his boyfriend’s warm voice. His stomach clenched again as he just looked at Will for a while. 

His boyfriend was so unfairly attractive.

Well… in all honesty, Will was always gorgeous. Big and strong with a muscled body, sun-kissed skin the color of burnt bronze and a plethora of freckles that each glowed gently with warm light — the same light that painted his blond curls golden — and brought an even more-otherworldly quality to his beautiful soft lips and gorgeous blue eyes. Looking at Will was like looking at the sun. It always got Nico riled up in the most delicious of ways. 

But now, seeing Will in a place so different from camp — a place like this Texas ranch where Will seemed ridiculously competent in all that he was doing; where his skin turned warmer and his accent stronger; where the light of the sun caught in his golden curls and the audacious buckle of his belt; where those muscles flexed and stretched under the scorching sun…

It made Nico feel hot and heated all over — like he was sugar about to melt all over those big talented hands with their maddening calluses and gorgeous long fingers and-

“Nico, darlin’,” Will’s smile was audible now, his voice much gentler and intimate. “You’re dripping shadows all down your legs.”

“It’s your misconception.” He sassed, despite feeling the way in which the dark colors of bashful lust spread all over his skin.

Will just cocked an eyebrow unimpressed, his gorgeous amazing wonderful lips ticking up into a wide smile. One that resembled a smirk with how taunting an undertone the glint in Will’s eyes had given it. “Oh, my misconception is it?”

He took several strides forwards and tilted Nico’s face upwards, sweeping some of the darkness that had come out of the cracks in the face scars. He gave Nico a light kiss to the lips — like he couldn’t resist — before stepping back and showing him the shadowed glittering stains. “You’re leaking in my hands just from looking at me, and you’re trying to say it’s just my misconception?”

Nico didn’t respond, just blinked at him, deadpan.

“Alright,” his boyfriend huffed out a laugh. “Then I shall leave you to sort it out on-”

Will’s unserious words got cut off by a sudden choke as his eyes widened. The next words out of his mouth came out staggering, all bravado gone from his voice. He even adjusted the brim of his cowboy hat slightly as if it were somehow obstructing his view of Nico.

“You… Are you wearing a skirt?”

Nico rolled his eyes but the corners of his mouth began to twitch with amusement. “Obviously.”

“I thought those were shorts… Let me see.”

He had to bite his lips to not squawk embarrassingly or moan even more shamefully when Will’s strong arms wrapped around his waist and threw him over Will’s shoulder like he didn’t weigh a thing.

“Solace!”

This was such a humiliating position. Of course, Will had carried all sorts of people around like this — it was very convenient after all, particularly for medical emergencies (of which there had been plenty) — and he had carried Nico specifically around like this but… Normally when that happened Nico was unconscious. Or been fucked out of his mind. Having that happen now — having Will’s hands patting down his thighs — when he wasn’t wearing any shoes or even underwear underneath was… incredibly mortifying.

And this new angle made him feel so much more exposed, especially once Will turned around — having already picked up Nico’s cowboy boots along with the pair of clean socks that had been nearby — to make his way towards the porch. 

It was a hot day, there was no actual wind to speak of, and they were the only people around for miles and yet… The skirt was so short, the pleats of it so…flowy, that now, combined with the shameful position, Nico felt so…on display that-

He felt so bare that-

He couldn’t even finish the thought, mind already turning hazy from the feeling of hot air brushing against such sensitive skin. A feeling that became even stronger once Will’s scorching hand gripped powerfully at his thigh. Right where the belt garter was.

“Look how wet you are already~” His boyfriend crooned with a tone of voice so mocking that had Nico not been too busy fantasizing about what that mouth could be doing to him already, he would have glared at the other’s smug look. (Nevermind that he couldn’t see much on account of the position he was still in.) “Go on, then, darling, how ‘bout telling me what exactly you were hoping for hmm?”

Will gave one last firm squeeze to his thigh and then put him down onto the porch railings — Nico’s back leaned comfortably against the column and he nearly melted at Will’s consideration even in the face of the mounting lust — so that the two of them were face to face. From this angle, the sunlight and shadows played over his boyfriend’s face enticingly — his hair and eyes taking on a golden, nearly ethereal glow — and he looked so beautiful. His cowboy hat was crooked, his Western shirt was unbuttoned, and the white tank top Will was wearing underneath was drenched in places from Nico’s sweat and arousal… 

It made his boyfriend look like a painting, like an angel straight from Cabanel’s easel³ that had appeared to Nico just to seduce him and take him away. An offer, a temptation that was irresistible, especially to somebody like Nico who had craved warmth and love and desire and a home his entire life.

Now in the sitting position, Nico’s erection was finally obvious, the angle making it possible for it to tent the fabric slightly, regardless of its small size, in a way that Nico perhaps ought to have felt embarrassed about but…

He couldn’t. Not when Will was gazing down at him with such heat. Not when the star-patterned belt buckle over his boyfriend’s jeans — as ostentatious as it was — could barely hold the fabric together under the sheer size of Will’s own arousal.

“Will…” He murmured, stretching out a hand towards his boyfriend, pawing around at him blindly on account of not wanting to look away from those gorgeous blue eyes. “Come closer.”

And as soon as Will did so, the heady feeling increased tenfold. He could practically feel the sunburn beginning to bloom at his nape. 

With audaciousness stemming from both unbearable need as well as mild irritation, he took the hat off from WIll’s head and put it on himself. “Pass me the boots, please, there’s no way I’m letting my bare feet touch this porch.”

Will smiled but instead of following the request simply knelt down and wrapped one of his hands around Nico’s calf before he dug his fingers into Nico’s sole, eliciting an unmistakable moan from the younger. Subconsciously, Nico’s legs spread almost of their own accord.

“Not wearing anything underneath either?” He could hear Will’s smug grin as the groping continued. “You’re such a slut.”

Immediately, his eyes opened to glare at the other. It wasn’t the words themselves that irritated him. It was how much he liked Will saying them to him.

He didn’t know what expression was on his face, or even what shameful noise his throat had produced, but Will’s entire demeanour shifted to become even more predatory. The way it did when he was seconds away from railing Nico into oblivion. A kind of gluttonous, burning thirst for his hands and teeth and cock to sink into Nico’s body; one that Nico craved just as much.

“You’re so pretty.” Will’s voice was so hoarse it made Nico want to immediately melt into him. “Every bit about you, even this.” The fingers dug into his soles even harder, the appendage so close to Will’s erection that Nico could feel the heat of it even through the layers of clothes in the way. “Almost makes me want to leave them bare like this.”

Will’s hand pulled Nico’s ankle until it was completely flush with the former’s lap. It was maddening, Nico felt nearly delirious from the heat pulsating from it with every thump of Will’s heart.

“Maybe I ought to.” Will’s smile turned into an almost feral smirk. “I haven’t fucked your feet before and now I’m kinda feeling like I’ve been missing out.”

Nico was too horny to process the logistics of that but the words sounded nice. For what little he heard of them. 

Nonetheless, he had his own ideas. “Do that later. Right now, I just need my shoes. I’m not , under any circumstances, having my feet touch the floor out here while I blow you.”

He could pinpoint the exact moment the words registered because Will’s hair and freckles immediately lit up, his blue eyes turning radiant. Instead of releasing Nico’s ankle however, he simply stood up, raising the leg higher and higher until Nico was embarrassingly spread out, arousal completely obvious to Will’s gaze.

“Will!”

But Will simply ignored him as he stepped closer and pushed Nico’s leg even more. “That what got you dripping for me?” Even the inside of his throat had lit up now, the words growing slightly discordant as the touch seared into Nico’s skin. “You wanting me to fuck your pretty throat right here? Out in the open? Where everyone can see you moaning for my cock? Can see you begging to take it?”

The words went straight to Nico’s gut. His mouth parted in a loud moan and he would have fallen off the railing if Will hadn’t steadied him with his firm hand. It made him burn with need even more. 

Will cooed at him — equal parts mocking and adoring — and licked up some of the shadows and stardust that had leaked out from Nico’s face scars. The flesh there was so cold, so unbearably tender, that having Will’s warm’s tongue digging into their divots made him feel like it was his soul that was being licked instead.

He was glad to finally feel the cloth of the socks slide over his over-sensitive skin. Even if Will did end up taking his sweet time with the process — both it and the boots — Nico decided to let it go and not complain. Just this once. Will had been so nice to put these on for him, after all, his mouth never once leaving Nico’s face or lips or even neck (except for one impassioned bite at the back on Nico’s knee but he was willing to overlook this one, on account of how much he genuinely needed to get his hands and mouth on Will as soon as possible).

The boots had barely been zipped for half a millisecond when Nico couldn’t bear it any longer. He ignored the wobbliness of his feet, the loud pop of his joints, as he jumped off the railing to kneel in front of his boyfriend. His hands were trembling so much. His whole body thrummed with anticipation as he struggled to undo the belt, mouth watering at the knowledge of what would be filling it very soon.

“Angel,” Will’s hand cupped his cheek, caressing the scars gently, before it moved onto Nico’s chin to tilt his head backwards. “How do you want it?”

And Nico’s eyes dilated. Will was looking at him so gently, holding his face so tenderly despite how painful it would be for an erection of that size to be constrained in such tight jeans. Here Nico was, practically begging and panting with desire to suck him off, and Will still had the presence of mind to ask him how he wanted it.

“I want it.” He sounded delirious even to himself. “I want you.”

And the temperature increased exponentially, Will’s eyes dilating even more, his smile widening, sharpening. His hand gripped Nico’s face more firmly — hard enough to force Nico’s jaw open — but the other carded through Nico’s hair, gently caressing the strands. “Want me to pull on your pretty hair?” The fingers wound several times. “You wanting me to treat you the way you look right now?”

Yes yes yes yes yes yes Nico’s stomach burned with the words he dared not say. He closed his eyes, embarrassed, but Will just tsked and tugged on Nico’s hair, hard.

“Don’t be shy, darling,” Will mock-encouraged. “Weren’t you just drooling for my cock? Why’d’you stop? If the hair pulling's what’s distracting you, I’ll-.”

“Don’t you dare.” Nico growled, glaring up at him through the ephemeral layer of frost coating the more tangible parts of his suddenly-smoke like eyelashes. “If you stop I’ll-”

“You’ll what, darling? Not suck my cock? That’d be just punishing yourself, sweetheart. Look how wet you are already.”

Warm fingers pressed down on his tongue and he felt Will move. All throughout, he gripped Nico’s hair, leading him gently, but firmly, before finally sitting down in a chair nearby, leaving Nico to kneel at his feet.

“Don’t worry, baby, I won’t stop. I’ll give you what you want exactly how you want it.” His eyes shone down on Nico with dark promise.

It helped Nico settle. His hands stopped trembling, the tension slowly leaving his body. Will was so good, he knew what Nico wanted and needed and was so ready to give it to him. Even when Nico wanted to be choked and treated roughly, to be talked down to and made to submit and let go the way life had never allowed him.

“That’s it, darling.” Will murmured as he watched Nico’s fingers undo the belt. “Go on, take it out. Be good.”

The implied praise in that encouragement had him moaning and clenching his legs tightly, stomach already twisting in a familiar way. It took him a second to regain himself before finally freeing Will’s erection from its confines.

Like always, he found himself dazed by it, pupils dilating enough for stardust to begin leaking down his cheeks like smeared mascara. Will’s cock was so gorgeous. Outrageously long and girthy, it had several prominent veins — one of which particularly long and defined but all of which Nico had traced and memorized with his tongue — that all pulsed and radiated with heat that would have been unbearable for everybody but Nico. It was so hot, everytime it entered his body Nico would feel the tender skin of his insides turn red and tender with warmth, almost as if sunburnt. It always drove him mad. Everything always felt so cold to him, all his life he had been impossibly trying to feel any semblance of warmth — doubly so after claiming his legacy — and had been so painfully starved of it. His whole body had felt so tense and high-strung, craving nothing more than to be able to relax, to feel like he was safe… and never once having that.

Yet he had it now. He had Will’s love, the safety he provided. Nico finally had a home, his own soulmate, husband, person he could raise a family with — person he was raising a family with — and somebody who loved him , loved Nico unconditionally and in all the ways he could. How could it be possible for Nico to not desire him all the time, to not want to lay down and let Will take all sorts of liberties with his person? He loved, craved, needed everything Will was willing to offer — that warmth, that love, that desire — and was himself begging to provide.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the feeling of fingers sliding back-and-forth on his tongue.

“You’re dazing off again, love. Is it so pretty that you’re suddenly not wanting it?”

“It is pretty. You are pretty.” He said straightforwardly, allowing himself a second to feel giddy that his bluntness had caught Will off-guard, before leaning forward close enough to be able to taste the beading precum at the tip when he next spoke. “But I do want it.”

It felt even better than it looked. Truthfully, contrary to its radiant heavenly appearance, it didn’t actually taste of much beyond Will’s warm clean skin. But that’s what made it so irresistible. It tasted of warmth, of Will; of Will’s life and health and of Will’s desire. It was so addicting, it felt so good on Nico’s tongue, he never wanted it to stop. There would be times during sex where Will would pull him away — because of oversensitivity from having just come, because of wanting to move on to having it inside Nico’s ass, because of various different reasons — and everytime Nico had to fight himself to not growl in protest. The need for it, for Will, always burned thick in his throat, pooled low in his belly, thumping at his core. He could never get enough.

Will’s hands flexed, fingers tightening in dark hair to move Nico’s head at the pace he wanted. It was what Nico had been craving too. He let his mouth fall slack, tongue lolling out to take as much of Will’s cock as far back into his throat as possible.

His mouth was full of Will’s warmth, he could feel the veins pulsing right onto his tongue, and he didn’t even care how much its girth limited his ability to breathe. He didn’t want to breathe. He wanted his lungs to burn with Will’s taste; burn stronger than when he had been in the jar or all those other times he believed he had been about to die. It burned, it burned so deliciously. Nico wanted it to fill him up completely. Shadows snaked around his limbs, darkness and stardust dripping from every scar, every orifice in his body, as he let Will manhandle him. 

His boyfriend gripped his hair tightly, moving Nico’s face without any effort, to fuck into his mouth. He could feel his own throat distending, his tongue doing its best to taste as much of that cock as possible to the point he had gone cross-eyed.

“You're doing so well, darling,” Will praised, every slurred word going straight between Nico’s legs. “You look so pretty like this, all pliant for me. ‘S what you wanted? Hmm? Me to stuff your pretty mouth with cock? Right here? In broad daylight? Want others to know how needy you get for me?”

Nico moaned. His lungs burned, the sound not managing to fully come out of his throat and instead resonating all across the length crammed into his mouth. It made Will curse out, grip tightening on Nico’s hair more and more, breath becoming more and more ragged.

“Want me to cum in your mouth? Hmm?”

Nico whimpered, hand moving to jerk himself off but Will pinned it down and tsked reprimandingly at him.

“Behave. Or I’ll tie your hands together.”

Liquid fire, the blood of imploding stars, spread through his veins at rapid speed. He couldn't help but look up, eyes blown wide, expression probably humiliatingly wrecked.

It made Will startle too. The realization sunk in and immediately his golden hair coiled with heat, turning a burning white. Afterwards, the pace increased. Soon, it turned nearly frantic.

Will was close. Nico could feel it. He could taste it on his tongue, hear it in his boyfriend’s breathing, see it in Will’s glowing eyes.

Cum in my mouth, he thought desperately, hoping that Will would somehow understand his muffled moans or wide eyes or any of the other signs of how much Nico needed this. Please please please please please-

Somehow, it must have worked. Will cursed out again, thrusts and movements going discordant, and then Nico’s nose was burying into Will’s abs and scorching warmth was filling his lungs. It felt so good. It was so thick, vaguely sweet in a way that reminded Nico of a tropical cocktail —  like that one time he’d tried a Piña Colada — and so much of everything he loved about Will: his warmth, his ability to exude comfort and peace for those who needed, his dedication to being a good healer, a good boyfriend, a good everything. It made Nico’s eyes water, his sinuses burn, as he tried his hardest to drink up as much of it as possible.

He felt so wired — so full and yet so empty — as he swallowed and whimpered around it. He wondered what he looked like — on his knees on a porch, wearing a rumpled, hiked up skirt and Will’s cowboy hat (how that had managed to stay on with all the excitement he couldn't tell you) — as he greedily swallowed all the cum pouring down his throat. Even when he couldn't keep up, even when he ended up choking on it to the point Will had to pull him back by the hair, even then he kept his tongue on it, needing its taste; needing the sensation of it on his tongue. Even when it was done, when the last bit of it had landed on his face instead, he felt like it hadn't been enough. He licked at Will’s cock, swirled his tongue around the tip of it until his boyfriend was hissing from overstimulation and had to physically wrench him back by the hair.

“Give me a few seconds, sweetheart.” Will sounded winded. “How ‘bout you come up here and I’ll take care of you before we go again, hm?”

With trembling feet, he stood up gradually, ignoring the way all his joints ached to the point of creaking. This happened sometimes. Ever since Tartarus (the first time around) he would get these aches where parts of him would randomly hurt or become inflamed for seemingly no reason. Some days he needed to walk around using his sword as a cane, some - he needed to use an inhaler. Sometimes he felt like his entire body was falling apart, like he had to use his own powers just to keep it from collapsing. And some days he was completely fine.

More often than not however he could go through a day with only a couple of flare-ups, primarily when something agitated him or triggered unpleasant memories. Like insects buzzing around his ears. (He often accidentally killed those, his body — more specifically, his death aura — lashing out on pure instinct, as if it would have been enough to save him in the Mansion of Night. He did try his hardest to not react to bees, knowing they were endangered and useful etc (they also really reminded him of himself and Will, what with the color scheme and all) but sometimes… the flashbacks were too quick to come. It upset him whenever that happened.)

Will’s post-coital expression softened even more as he helped Nico keep his balance; enough to walk over to sit in his lap. He kissed Nico’s face gently, licking it clean as if they were a pair of cats.

“Ew.” Nico said playfully, trying to ignore how rough his voice sounded. “That's so gross.”

In retaliation, Will licked the entirety of the longest face scar, going as far as to even go beyond it to clean the white streaks that had clumped some of Nico’s eyelashes together. 

“You literally had to be pried away from my cock so that you’d stop choking on my cum but I clean your face afterwards and you claim it's gross.”

…Touché, Solace. 

Nevertheless, he rolled his eyes just because he had an image to uphold. Gods, Nico loved him so much. Even now with that smirk that absolutely dripped with arrogance and smug satisfaction, Will looked so attractive. Nico wanted to kiss him, to make him lose control, to see Will’s face twist in feral lust instead.

He gave into that impulse.

He liked sitting in Will’s lap. Not only was it supremely comfortable but it made it easier to indulge, to kiss and lick and suck on each other’s lips and tongue and teeth. It was part of the reason he liked riding his boyfriend so much. Missionary was good too, they often transitioned into it later on in a session (provided they had the time) especially in its ‘mating press’ variant. But riding was still his favorite. Especially once they were both too far gone and Will just clamped down his hands on Nico’s thighs and began to ragdoll him like a fleshlight.

Will’s hand cupped his neck. “You’re spacing out again.” 

His warm thumb traced Nico’s lower lip but the rest of the hand remained firmly around Nico’s neck, exerting just enough pressure to feel familiarly comforting. Not quite restricting the air but teasing enough to still manage to take Nico’s breath away. It was enough to make him pulse with need.

He didn’t respond, choosing instead to kiss Will again. He couldn’t get enough of it. The feeling of their tongues intertwining, of rubbing against each other, the sensation of Will’s warm breath filling him, caressing him, driving him mad. He buried his hands in Will’s curls and pressed his whole body against him, not caring at all that the skirt had hiked even higher up his thigh. He could feel the summer air against his butt, between his legs, and even that couldn’t compare with the sensation of having Will’s hands roaming all over him.

The punched-out noise Will made, upon finding the wet mess on Nico’s abdomen, filled his lungs with so much oxygen, so much addicting heat. It made him feel dizzy.

“You came just from blowing me?”

It wasn’t only that. It was also the skirt, how easy it was for Nico’s body to submit, how willing Will was to remark about it and mock him and adore him and show him off and-

He felt himself blushing and, when he looked up to drag his boyfriend back into a kiss, Will was looking at him with fascinated adoration. Like he could spend his whole life looking at Nico.

Nico’s heart was overflowing with love. He could feel it blooming, growing in his chest as if flowers would come bursting out of his throat.

He felt Will harden, more than he saw it. The girth of it pulsed almost scaldingly between Nico’s wet thighs and he couldn’t help but rock back into it. He tried not to think of the noises he was making or how apparent his raw need for it would be on his face. He wanted Will, wanted him so much. If he could spend his entire life with Will inside him, he would. They both would, he knew.

“I didn’t think you’d be into any form of exhibitionism. I would have adjusted my dirty talking if I’d known.”

He had to swallow a couple of times before gathering the words to respond. “It isn’t quite-... I just like being…” He trailed off, not knowing how to finish.

“Praised?” Will smiled, fingers sliding back to rub at Nico’s entrance. “Enjoyed? Obviously loved?”

Nico rolled his eyes, huffing a strand of long hair away from his face, but still rocked back into the fingers. He wanted them inside. He could already feel the warm laurel-scented lubrication they produced begin to drip down his thighs. “Yes. But I also like when it’s obvious that I love you.”

“That why my talking got you so worked up? Because anybody paying attention would see you losing it from just my words? From servicing me?”

“Servicing?” He pulled a face. “I was getting off on sucking your dick, Solace, not repairing your car.”

“No, you were getting off on being treated like a whore, darling.” Will sucked down on his neck. “Get it right.”

“I was not!”

“Oh but you were.” Will’s fingers slipped into him and began to rub at the walls. “You looked and moaned like one too. That pretty little skirt of yours is not that long, sweetheart, and you were all hot and bothered when I found you. Think I couldn’t see your hole clenching when I spread you? When I order you around and give you instructions?”

Nico shut his eyes and pretended to have gone deaf. The skirt and the whole ‘exposure’ thing was new but the ‘ordering around’ was not. Nico still remembered how hard his stomach had lurched and twisted when he had met Will on the day of Gaia’s awakening. Or the days after. To have that gorgeous, unbearably hot guy, bossing him around and telling him what to do… it had made skeleton butterflies flutter in his stomach, all blood in his body swiftly descending. He had genuinely been a couple of sentences away from just bending over a desk and begging Will to fuck him. Thankfully he had managed to resist the impulse. 

It had allowed both of them to enjoy roleplaying that situation later on.

For some reason, Will’s fingers slowed. Nico did his best to be patient. He was not going to whine and beg already. They had both just orgasmed, it was too early for him to give Solace the smug satisfaction of already reducing him to such a state.

“Did you actually want me to tie you up?” 

And Will had asked this so softly, his fingers languidly rubbing warm laurel-scented lube (or sap or whatever it was) into Nico’s tight walls, that Nico didn't even realize he had answered until long after the words had been exhaled into the summer air. 

Will huffed out in amusement, tone and posture both dripping with boundless adoration, as the fingers sped up. “Alright. Is this more of a control thing? Or restriction?”

“How do you mean?”

Will kissed the corner of his eye and thought for a bit, before responding. “When I choke you, a lot of the appeal for you seems to be about rewiring trauma. But when I degrade you or treat you roughly, it's the same as praising you. You’re happy that I’m taking what I need from your body.”

He found himself blinking. He lifted his head from Will’s shoulder and looked at the other with incredulity. “Are you trying to give me therapy while we’re having sex?”

Will looked at him unimpressed and the fingers curling into Nico’s prostate were an immediate sign of fond exasperation. One that had Nico in tears nearly instantaneously — both over how good it had felt but also of how much the smug look on Will's face irritated him.

“Not my fault sex seems to be the best way to manage you.”

“Manage-” 

His exclamation got cut off by another surge of pleasure. And then another. And another. Everytime he tried to open his mouth to speak, Will’s fingers would rub against his prostate, curl in the exact way he liked and Will knew drove him crazy. He couldn’t stop writhing in WIll’s hands, couldn’t stop gasping and whining against his ear, couldn’t even do anything except slump against his boyfriend more and more, grinding in his lap without any rhythm.

Will huffed out a laugh against Nico’s ear. “Your answer?” His hot tongue darted out and sucked on the lobe, amusement growing at Nico’s resulting desperate movements and sounds. “Hmm?”

But everytime Nico’s mouth opened, a moan would come out instead.

“Will, Will-” He kept trying to speak only to have it come out as needy gasps.

“You like moaning my name, don’t you, baby?” Another lick to Nico’s neck, Will’s sharp teeth alternating between biting and sucking on the tender rapidly-purpling skin. “ Will, Will, Will, ah, ah, ah~ ” He mocked, voice growing more and more high-pitched as he mimicked Nico.

And oh, Nico would absolutely fucking murder him after they were done fucking… assuming he remembered. It was increasingly difficult to think anything concrete. The thoughts just floated aimlessly around his head.

Will cooed at him again, the sensation of warm breath against Nico’s spit-slick flesh erotic enough to make his whole body erupt into pleasured goosebumps. He felt off-kilter and centered simultaneously. He didn’t even have the words to particularly describe it, all he knew was that he wanted Will to enter him already.

The shadows around them condensed, winding around Nico’s ankles and wrists, tugging both his and his boyfriend’s hair simultaneously. Will laughed. His teeth sunk into Nico’s neck again — this time with a lot more force — and Nico could already feel the familiar flesh flowers blooming. Thankfully after that first time where they had given into it (whatever it was), such things, like Nico’s skin curling into petals, happened less often, limited only to when he and Will were alone. When Will seemed to particularly need the reassurance.

It made Nico wonder. The situation right now… What about it could have provoked such a craving? Will didn't seem insecure. He was touching Nico the way he ordinarily did — soft and intense at the same time, impassioned yet unhurried. It was at complete odds with the way he reacted to the blood-colored gladioli⁴ blooming out of Nico’s neck or the way he lapped at the Underworld fruit underneath. 

Even the sensation of Will’s cock was achingly familiar — throbbing and hot and so wonderfully big — pulsing right against Nico’s rim. 

And yet for some reason, Will didn't move. Just sat there and ate out his wound in a way not that dissimilar to the way he usually ate out Nico’s entrance.

With mounting apprehension Nico realized they’d have to talk. And that he’d have to start it. 

It took him some time before he could — Will’s fingers and mouth and cock and…everything else were all terribly distracting — but the need to comfort his boyfriend was higher.

“What's wrong?”

Will lifted his face from Nico’s neck long enough to smile gently — lips and teeth red with blood and pomegranates — before diving back down. “Nothing’s wrong.”

The warm breath right against the gaping flesh of that wound felt so…

Nico had to swallow thickly and Will immediately noticed. His tongue came to lick at Nico’s bobbing throat.

“You’re terrible at lying, sunshine.”

He didn't often use pet names for Will. It felt a bit too vulnerable and sappy. Too intimate. He didn't like others observing that feeling within either of them, not in that way. He could have sex with Will in public places or within others’ perception — they had had sex like that, more than once, and it was wonderful — but there was always a limit of how much they were willing to share with others. And that deep sense of intimacy between them, the one that always seemed clearly visible whenever Nico called Will something overly affectionate or when Will was open to indulging Nico’s more ‘unpalatable’ kinks by letting himself lose control and forget how to act like a human being…. Those were private. Those were only for the two of them. The vulnerability and insecurity they both felt deep down, the non-physical scars that had been carried since they had understood anything about themselves.

The pet name made Will pause. “Sunshine? You rarely call me that?”

Nico just turned around and glared at him in response. It wasn't a genuine glare, he wasn't angry with Will per se. He was just annoyed at Will’s unwillingness to talk about it. He was aware he was being a hypocrite but that was not the point at this time.

Will just smiled sheepishly and went back to kissing the flesh petals.

And Nico’s temper flared. 

Irritably, he darted out a hand to wrap it around Will’s erection and bring it into himself but as soon as his cold shadow-painted fingers came into contact with the wet tip, Will restricted their movement with a single hand.

“Careful, sweetheart.” His blue eyes pulsed with light. “No matter how much you want to be fucked, right now I can't be considerate of you at all.”

“Who the fuck is asking you to be considerate?”

The hand around Nico’s wrists tightened.

The temperature began to rise, the flowers growing out of Nico’s flesh seemed to become larger, more fragrant, he could even smell the pomegranate seeds ripening. They were fermenting straight into his blood, intoxicating him with saccharine delirium. 

“If I fuck you right now, and believe me it is a struggle not to, I wouldn't be at all gentle to you. I would want to rut you like an animal right where everyone can see you.”

Will jutted out his chin in direction to a patch of grass nearby. It was part of the estate of course, so it was well looked after — there wouldn't be the need to worry about bugs ticks or any animal traces but it was quite prominent. If somebody came over — if Eurytion decided to come back or some random god or monster or whatever else decided to pay attention or visit because they wanted their cockatrice egg to hatch properly or something of the sort — that patch of grass would be the first thing they saw. Of course, there was nobody physically around and the wards on this place were strong enough to keep random monsters or dangers from wandering in uninvited but…

Neither the nature spirits nor nymphs that lived here cared about such things. Nor did gods. Then again it wasn't like being inside the actual house would make any difference. 

But that was not the reasoning behind Will's words. No. What his boyfriend actually wanted was to publicly fuck Nico; to make him cry and beg and moan in…what exactly? Some kind of primal claim?

“You may.” He allowed frankly. I would enjoy it , he didn't add.

“Oh, I ‘may’, now, do I?” Will drawled, voice like heated syrup and eyes glinting. The grip around Nico’s wrists tightened and soon Will’s other hand was burning sunlight straight onto Nico’s neck. “I won't stop, darling. I’ll tie you up and make you ride me ’til your pretty hips can't move anymore and then I’ll plow you into the ground ’til you can't even scream. I’ll eat out your neck and sink my teeth into your flesh and fuck your slutty little hole full of my cum ’til your tummy bulges out.”

Every promise out of Will’s mouth drove him crazier and crazier. His heart was thumping in his ears, his stomach and legs clenching shamefully as Will’s hands tightened and relaxed rhythmically with the pace of the words. Nico wanted him so much. He was dizzy with it.

“And then,” Will’s summer-scented breath caressed Nico’s chapped lips. “When I can't fuck you anymore, when you can't take any of what I give you anymore, I’ll eat out your cunt.”

The words hit him like sunstroke. For a good few seconds he couldn't even breathe from sheer lust. His whole body was trembling, he could feel himself humping Will’s still-clothed leg, not caring at all that he was getting the material of the jeans drenched in his own cum and liquid shadows and starlight and whatever else his body had decided to learn how to produce. He whimpered. His eyes were leaking down his face in dark rivulets, he could even feel his lashes dissolving into smoke and mist, into evaporating frost but… He couldn't care. He couldn't care about any of it at all when Will was-

Will laughed — loud, discordant, positively radiant in its inhumanity — and his tongue dipped into the red folds of Nico’s mourning flowers to lap at the ripe Underworld fruit. When he next spoke, he did that without pulling it out once the whole time. “Want that, honey?”

Nico whined — high pitched and needy, rolling his hips, trying to get the tip of Will's cock inside him but his boyfriend held him firm.

Will tsked at him again and, before Nico could even realize what was happening, both their shirts were gone, their upper bodies completely naked. Nico hoped he hadn't accidentally shadow-traveled the clothes away to somewhere irretrievable. That would be supremely annoying later. However, right now he didn't have the presence of mind to care. Not with the way the sun tattoo blazed on Will’s pectoral; not with the way Will’s hand was sliding all over Nico: pinching his nipples, squeezing his throat, prying open his jaw.

“Verbal answers, darling.” Will’s eyes burned like sin. “Save your nhg~ s and ah~ s for when I’m pinning down your neck.”

The mocking imitations were getting more and more realistic. Will was borderline taunting him, mimicking Nico’s increasingly desperate moans. It was unbelievable. If Nico hadn't been horny out of his mind he would have smothered Will’s face with a pillow. But for now, he could only obey.

“I want that.” He admitted. “I want all you said.”

“Good boy,” Even the praise sounded condescending. “That wasn't so hard now, was it?”

Nico didn't even have the time to sass him back before Will started removing his belt. For a second, Nico was confused. The belt was already unclasped and Will's cock was already out. In fact it was dripping precum all over Nico’s lower back, some of it flowing directly down to his rim. What was the point of removing it from the belt buckles too?

The answer arrived soon enough. Will brought Nico’s arms together and tightened the belt around them. It should have looked ridiculous. The dark leather of the material was so distinct against the ghostly whiteness of Nico’s skin, the belt buckle itself was ostentatious enough to span the width of both of Nico’s wrists. But it didn't feel ridiculous. It made warmth pool in Nico’s belly and hazy fog settle over his mind. It made him crave being eaten alive.

Will entered him in one swift motion and it was so unexpected — so sudden and rough — that Nico’s breath got punched out of his lungs. He fought hard to adjust, the burn of it so tantalising and delicious yet such a strain for his body, but before he could even fully comprehend what was happening, Will was getting up from the chair and walking. Nico’s heart would have flown out of his chest — in fact it was trying to do so even now — had Will not had the foresight to loop Nico’s bound arms behind his own neck so that Nico wouldn't fall. 

Not that Will would drop him. He wouldn't. Will was incredibly strong and reliable and there was no possibility of him letting Nico fall from his grasp, especially not mid-coitus. But Will was also over 2 meters tall⁵, a whole head taller than Nico, perhaps even more. Of course it was scary for Nico to be so high in the air suddenly, especially given how he couldn't even comfortably climb too high a ladder without worrying about sudden electrocution. One of these days, Zeus would fade or otherwise get permanently shanked by somebody and Nico would personally hold the celebration party.

Will smacked his ass, bringing Nico out of his thoughts.

“Don’t get distracted when I’m inside you.” He reprimanded sternly and Nico’s entire spine broke into goosebumps. “Are you being bratty on purpose?”

There didn't seem to be a correct answer for that.

At his silence, Will glowed even brighter and let out a laugh of pure disbelief. “Alright, darling, have it your way.” 

His hands flexed around Nico’s waist. For a brief second Nico was confused as to what his boyfriend was planning. Perhaps he was going to just fuck Nico like this, after all they had definitely done it like that before. Will was strong. He never struggled to lift Nico or to wrangle and manhandle him into all sorts of positions. 

But it didn't happen like this now. No. Instead, in an act of pure betrayal, Will pulled out. 

Nico whined — voice pathetic and loud and venturing towards a sob — as his hips immediately began bucking, desperate to find friction. His hole clenched, empty and needy, around nothing but air and he thought he couldn't possibly feel worse but… He was wrong.

Because then Will’s hands were lifting up Nico’s skirt and adjusting his hips so that all Nico would feel was warm summer air. 

It was humiliating. The heat of the sun against his tender insides — wet with lubricant and Will’s scorching precum — felt like a taunt. Like somebody was dangling something he so desperately wanted and needed right in front of his face but not allowing him to have it.

“You look so pretty like this.” Will’s voice was gentle despite its strangely discordant echoing. “I ought to have you like that more often, don't you think? Given how much you’re liking it and all that.”

He squeezed Nico’s ass and spread it apart even more.

It made Nico cry out. The shadows flickered, the light refracting around them into glittering flecks of indigo and he could feel the craving inside himself fester. He was so hard, his dick was probably the hardest it had ever been, it was producing so much precum he could hear it hissing from where it dripped onto Will’s radiating skin. Even worse: he found himself getting wet somehow too. In ways that shouldn't have been possible. He didn't know if it was some new ‘power’ of the lube or Will’s precum from when it had briefly been inside him but the sensation was unmistakable.

Will seemed unbearably fascinated too. His long callused fingers traced its path at a tantalising pace, occasionally even stopping to rub it gently into Nico’s trembling thighs. 

“That's new.” He hummed as his fingers entered Nico again. “Feels good though. What's it like for you?”

Arousing. “Soft, I guess.” He mumbled half-heartedly, too lost in the feeling of getting fingered. “Cold. Tingling. Reminds me of shadow-travel. Or the waters of…”

Thankfully the moan bubbling out of his chest cut him off. In such a public place, it would be bad to bring up the waters of Chaos. He would have known that even without the sudden flare of pain around his throat. Thankfully, it subsided quick enough or else Styx might have shown up. And that would have made the next Underworld soirée incredibly awkward.

He let that thought go lest he start drifting off again.

Will huffed out a laugh and kissed his cheek. “Good boy. You gonna behave now?”

Depends , he wanted to say. Are you going to fuck me now?

Instead, he simply nodded, blinking up at Will in the exact way he knew drove his boyfriend crazy. Since Will wanted to play dirty, Nico wouldn't let him off either.

Will smiled at the challenge and gave him a look overflowing with arrogance. It would have made Nico want to bite him if it didn't also render him debilitatingly horny. It wasn't his fault. He had a hot strong boyfriend that could rearrange his guts both literally and figuratively. He was allowed to lust after him.

His body must have agreed because the strange slick increased. He could tell Will was enjoying it, enjoying the embarrassingly loud squelch it produced. 

It couldn't be described as a particularly pleasant sound, at least not to Nico’s ears. Will evidently disagreed. He likely enjoyed how obviously it showcased Nico’s arousal; one that kept growing the more Will just played with his body without any hurry.

“Will,” He whined.

“Mhm?”

“Enough, just… stop.”

Will’s pace faltered slightly but seeing as how Nico made no move to actually use any kind of ‘I genuinely want you to stop’ signal, he went back to his unhurried pacing.

“Will! Caro, amore, please.”

“Oh? Not one but two pet names. And in Italian too, you must be really desperate.”

He grit his teeth. “William!”

“Niccolo,” Will mocked back, curling his fingers against Nico’s prostate in a way that had him seeing stars. “You’ve been mouthing off a lot. Why? Wanting to deepthroat my cock again?”

“I want you to fuck me like you said you would!”

Will’s eyes became half-lidded and his smile widened. Like this, the blinding white of his curls made the glow of his skin appear brighter, hotter. The contours of Will’s body were rapidly becoming indistinct, Nico could even see the tips of his fingers swaying with the heat they were producing. Even his eyes had turned into blazing suns. Their light refracted off the air around them, the blue color barely holding on as the tattoo on Will's chest burned pure white.

Nico had no idea how their boots or the belt or even his own skirt were managing to stay on. Especially considering he ended up having to shadow-travel Will’s pants away purely to avoid them setting off a fire.

It seemed to spur his boyfriend on. Will gripped him firmly, hands burning delicious marks all around Nico’s waist and thighs, and sat down on the patch of grass. He dragged Nico into his lap but refused to enter him.  

Nico’s teeth itched to bite him in retaliation.

Will grinned and the way the sunlight illuminated him, the way his skin burned from within, made him look so inhuman. This wasn't a half-blood anymore. Not in that moment. Will right now was a force of nature. A Celestial being that was looking at Nico and, quite literally, burning with lust.

“How exactly did I say I would fuck you? Hm?” The grin widened.

And Will’s teeth looked so sharp, it made an ache settle low in Nico’s stomach. He didn't need to look at that arrogant expression to know the reason behind it. Nico had gotten even wetter. And Will was perfectly aware as to why. 

“Go on, baby. Tell me what you want. Re-mind- me-.” Every word was punctuated with those fingers thrusting into his body. 

Nico didn't want to repeat something so outrageous; that was too much. Just because he felt no shame over loving did not suddenly mean that he wanted to speak such vulgarity out loud.

But he had to. He had to or otherwise Will would just leave him like this, needy and dripping and empty until the feeling drove Nico mad enough to beg even more shamefully.

As embarrassed as he felt right now, as much as he could feel the dark cosmic blush completely overtaking his face, even parts of his skin, he knew what Will wanted him to do. Will knew what Nico wanted and was enjoying making him ask for it. Nico could tell. The expression on his boyfriend’s radiant face, the manner in which it observed the way the stars and purple nebulae painted the insides of Nico’s knees and elbows, was more than clear.

“I-” The saliva nearly collating Nico’s teeth together made it difficult for him to speak. “I want you to not be gentle with me, to not stop, to… to…”

“To?”

He wanted to grit his teeth in frustration as his embarrassment mounted. “To  r.u.t. me like an, an animal here.”

Will’s mouth latched onto Nico’s nipples. A surge of raw heat cut though Nico like a knife, leaving him so winded that he needed several seconds to realize that Will had been speaking. The feeling of warm breath against that spit-slick nub made him feel like all the neurons in his body had been set aflame.

“Rut you here why?” 

He could feel that smile against his chest and the headiness of it all made him whimper. His hips stuttered, seeking more friction but all it did was make Will bite one of his nipples harshly and pinch the other with his free hand. 

“Behave,” Will growled, teeth tugging and not letting go. “Speak properly or I’ll really leave you needy and gaping. Look how low the Sun is already. We’re on a schedule, sweetheart.”

That really gave Nico a jolt. He looked at the sky and his face scrunched in distress. He didn't want Will to leave him like this but he also knew that Will absolutely would if this took too long. (He’d make up for it later of course but neither of them particularly enjoyed being interrupted or forced to reschedule.) Will’s words were harsh and his tone was most certainly overly gleeful but… Will wanted to do all those things to him as much as Nico did.

It helped him calm down. What did it matter if the words were embarrassing to say? Since Will enjoyed making him say them, Nico could accommodate him and get rewarded for it. 

He leaned forward and buried his face in his boyfriend’s hot skin. “Rut me where everyone can see. I want to ride you until I can't move and I want you to fuck me until I can't scream. Eat out my neck, eat me and fuck me full until my-”

Will surged forward and kissed him hungrily.

There wasn't much talking afterwards. The kiss was frantic and desperate: full of teeth and tongue, of their noses constantly bumping against each other, of saliva dripping from their mouths due to how feral their movements were. It was loud: full of wet sounds, of clinking teeth, of each of them shoving their tongue down the other’s throat. It was pure madness.

Will removed his fingers from Nico’s hole in a swift harsh motion and dragged him onto his cock with even less gentleness. Nico didn't mind. It was what he had been craving after all.

Nico’s hands were still firmly ‘tied’ by the belt and looped behind Will’s neck in a loose hug which gave his boyfriend the freedom to act however he wanted. 

Nico was supposed to be moving, to be riding his boyfriend but all his senses were so overwhelmed, so full of Will’s bites and kisses and touch. 

It was his boyfriend who moved him. He gripped Nico’s waist and just used him to get himself off. His cock was setting Nico’s insides aflame at a rapid pace, pistoning in and out of him with such tempo that Nico couldn't even take a breath. The hat — Will’s hat that Nico had requisitioned — was staying on Nico’s head by pure miracle at this point as Will just bit and kissed every bit of him he could possibly reach. 

The temperature around them increased. The sun began to glare down at them, Nico could feel it burning into his own skin whenever it wasn't Will doing it to him instead, and he nearly sobbed. Strange vines — like plants growing out of the winding shadows Nico had been subconsciously drawing towards them — began to snake around his body. They slithered up the boots, around his knees and thighs and waist and chest. They spread him apart for Will to fuck better; dug into his flesh with cutting heat — one so hot it felt like ice. 

“Will~” He moaned around his boyfriend’s tongue. “Will, non ti fermare, ti prego, più forte^*, ah~”

Will growled and bit his neck in retaliation. He could feel himself bleeding, could see crimson filling Will’s mouth, could feel the shadow-like vines around himself tighten. It made it so difficult to breathe. The light around them pulsed, shadows and darkness and constellations of stars all shifting in time with Nico’s moaning; with the scorching beams of sun.

He kissed Will like he’d go crazy without it and nearly cried when the other pulled away. Nico made a noise of protest — something between an infernal growl and a sob of pure need — and his boyfriend just laughed and licked the dark streaks away from his face. 

“Aww,” Will cooed. “Look at you about to cry from not getting kissed. You really can't help being a needy slut, can you?”

… Count your days, William.

“Don't worry, sweetheart. I wasn't stopping.”

He unlooped Nico’s arms and leaned back, manoeuvring Nico’s legs so that the knees were in the air while Will’s fingers wrapped around each of the ankles. Nico’s embarrassment surged. 

This position… with his feet on the ground and his bound arms having to rest on Will’s muscular torso for support, it made the skirt hike up impossibly high. Even with the ‘garter’ digging into his thigh, there was absolutely nothing left hidden. Not from Will and not from any potential onlookers.

“Go on.” The grip around his ankles tightened and how the leather of the boots didn't start smoking from the heat, neither had any idea. “Ride.”

Nico really wanted to curse him out. His mouth opened, ready to do so, but Will just smacked his bare ass again and shut him up.

He began to move slowly but it didn’t take long to gather momentum. Will felt so good inside him. Nico couldn’t help but ride him faster and harder, panting and driving himself crazy. It felt so good. Will’s cock pulsed so deep inside him, filling him so completely. He couldn’t get enough.

Everything about this was delicious torture. The vines restricting him and choking him, the melting temperature, the feeling of Will burning inside him, bulging Nico’s stomach. He felt like his brain was steaming. Will was looking at him with such a dark filthy gaze — eyes made of smouldering light — that Nico felt like he was going to die from the surges of pleasure washing over him. He was beginning to lose it completely, mind barely tethering onto the edge of consciousness. His hips couldn't stop trembling and his movements were rapidly becoming choppy and stuttered.

It made him gnash his teeth in frustration, eyes already wet with tears. He needed more. He wanted to be full, wanted it all the time, wanted it deep enough to feel it in his throat.

“Fuck me,” he could barely sob out, dark spots covering his vision. “Will, caro, please please please please…”

Will cursed out loudly and surged forward and suddenly Nico’s back was on the ground and Will was hovering above him — the sun in the sky as his halo — and pinning Nico by the neck. And the need that had been bubbling under Nico’s skin this entire time finally became unbearable.

Will began to thrust at an impossible pace. Nico could feel him so deep, if he looked down he’d even be able to see it from where it bulged his stomach, and the knowledge was enough to make his eyes roll to the back of his head. 

Deeper deeper deeper deeper deeper He needed Will deeper, wanted to taste him on his tongue.

“ Caro, stop, stop, let me move.” He tried to babble. “ Ca- Ah~ ah, ah, ah, ah~”

He dissolved into moans.

“Yeah?” Will’s thrusts became particularly harsh and Nico’s back arched, folding nearly in half. Will’s lips latched onto his already abused nipples and spoke directly against the wet skin. “Move where? Hm? I don’t think you want to move and I don't think you want me to stop either. Weren’t you just moaning at me to fuck you harder?”

And then as if that wasn’t enough, he began to repeat Nico’s words back to him, even going as far as to mimic his high-pitched moans.

Nico’s eyes burned, everything within him too inflamed to deal with any of this nonsense, and bit Will’s throat viciously. Golden blood, like liquid sunlight, flooded his mouth: thick and viscous and scorching. It reminded Nico of the Phlegethon, of its healing properties. It reminded him of Will’s cum flooding his lungs.

Will laughed in disbelief and his Adam’s apple tasted heavenly on Nico’s tongue. The thrusts became even more punishing afterwards. Will’s free hand wound around Nico’s hair and dragged him back onto the ground, pinning him there with the full weight of his torso so that Nico’s lower half was completely in his lap and Nico’s knees - on Will’s shoulders. 

It made Nico sob, his tears nothing but darkness and stardust pooling around him. The belt and the strange vines were digging into every bit of his skin and as a result of the new position he could do nothing but take everything Will had to give him.

“Turn me around.” He begged. “Please, please, please, deeper, deeper, I need you deeper, please, caro, caro~ ”

He moaned mindlessly around Will’s teeth and tongue that had been shoved into his throat again.

“W- what?” Will asked, consciousness returning slightly at Nico’s unexpected words.

But Nico was too far gone to care about it. “Turn me around, turn me around, turn me around, turnmearound turnmearound turnmearoundturnmearoundturnmearound- ”

He kept saying on repeat, arching under his boyfriend’s touch.

Will cursed out loud, pupils dilating even more and heating the air around them to a nearly unbearable degree. He moved off slightly but Nico didn’t let him go too far before kissing him.

“Don’t pull out.” He said in a hoarse voice once they got interrupted by the need for air. “I want to feel you.”

Will’s tongue invaded his throat again before his teeth latched onto Nico’s ear. “Oh, you’ll feel me, alright.” He spoke, rolling his hips sinfully. “You’ll feel me so good, you won’t be able to feel anything else.”

Will pulled him by the hair again and lifted his entire body to rotate him around. Nico’s face was getting smushed in grass, arms outstretched uselessly forward, still bound by the belt and the weird vines, and yet all he could feel was the scorching heat of Will’s cock getting rammed inside him. 

Now that only Nico’s ass remained in the air, Will didn’t need much to keep him pinned. The hand around Nico’s throat was enough as Will pistoned in and out. The sounds were so loud. Nico could even feel his ass getting bruised from the force with which it was getting penetrated and fucked. He loved it.

“Feeling me now?” Will’s chest met Nico’s back and his breath tickled Nico’s ear. “Your moans are so whorish.”

Nico whimpered in response and clenched, lube and slick dripping down his bound thighs. He couldn’t speak. 

Will pulled him up by the hair and Nico moaned even louder, whole body trembling. He sounded like a slut even to his own ears and almost certainly looked like one too. He didn’t care. He loved this, loved feeling Will so deep, why did they so rarely-

Will’s hand wrapped around his throat before the cold goosebumps could even begin setting in. 

This time his touch was gentle as he just leaned down — chest completely flush to Nico’s bony back — and began to kiss every part of Nico he could reach.

“Shh, darling.” He soothed. “I’ve got you, alright? I’ll take care of you. You’re so good, look how deep you’re taking me.”

It was so easy to give into that comfort. Will was so big. From this position, this close, his body blanketed Nico completely as the thrusting continued. 

They were so close together. There wasn't a single bit of space between them. In fact, due to the blurriness of their contours some parts of their bodies almost fused together, the light and darkness intertwining. The cold pinpricks of fear and despair were ebbing away, chased off by the warmth of Will’s body, by the sound of his heartbeat. It made it easy for Nico to fall back into it, to give into that warmth and let it overtake him. Will’s hands were in Nico’s hair, around his neck, in his mouth playing with his tongue and teeth, making room for his loud moans to ring out loudly. 

All the while Will never stopped thrusting, his cock grinding filthily against Nico’s prostate, lips sucking at Nico’s neck or back with nigh ravenous hunger.

“Harder,” Nico begged. “Fuck me harder.”

Will tilted Nico’s head backwards and kissed him again. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I want to feel you. Nothing but you.”

Warmth spread throughout his entire body. He moaned, hands sliding on the ground, making him slump even further down. Will went with him. Their fingers intertwined even as their hips remained the only thing still above ground. Like this, Will’s cock reached even deeper, filling the entirety of Nico’s body with warmth.

It made them both groan.

“Shadow-travel away if it gets too much.” Will said against his nape.

And there were so many things Nico might have said if he could still think. Like You can never be too much or I’ll want you still even then or You can do everything and I would love it, the same way I love you.

Instead he simply moaned in agreement.

Will didn’t need much more encouragement. At first there was still a bit of apprehension but thankfully he realized quickly enough that Nico had been serious. 

Nico liked it like this — base and primal, like Will simply couldn’t resist him. Will’s thrusts were powerful enough to have moved Nico’s whole body had it not been pinned in place. The vines, the searing grip, the belt, the garter, even the leather boots, they all constricted him, held him in place for Will to fuck. Nico’s knees were getting scraped, his upper legs wet with lube and slick and precum, his lungs burning from the lack of air, from the star-filled shadows dripping down his face instead of tears.

He felt like he was getting fucked raw. Every thrust, every grind of Will’s hips filled him completely. All he was aware of was Will’s scent, Will’s taste, Will’s body, Will’s warmth, Will Will Will Will Will WillWillWillWillWill

The name looped in his head like a prayer, bubbling out of his throat amongst moans and gasps and cries. He could hear Will’s groans in his ear, the sting of teeth against his nape, the taste of sun on the tip of his lips. 

He was losing his mind, losing track of time, losing perception of everything but this beautiful man that he loved with all his heart and who loved him back wholeheartedly. The feeling of Will’s cock inside him made him burn with desire, with raw need. It made his whole body tremble.

“Will,” he babbled around the saliva pooling in his mouth. “Will, ti prego! ”

He was close, so so close, he was shaking so much. Every bit of him felt so high-strung, teetering on the edge. All he needed was for Will to not stop, to just-

Will growled — an inhuman, borderline animalistic sound, that echoed and layered musically all around them. His hands slid down the entirety of Nico’s back and gripped his waist firmly, adjusting the angle. And Nico howled. 

The temperature increased, Nico could feel Will’s smile widening from the oppressive heat alone and his trapped legs began to scramble for some kind of purchase or support or anything because suddenly Will was fully bearing down on him.

One of the hands left and smacked Nico’s ass again, making him yelp. Or at least he would have if the sudden surge of pleasure hadn’t cut him off.

“Stay put.” Will ordered harshly.

He gripped Nico’s buttcheek so hard Nico could feel the delicious bite of forming wounds; the tantalizing sensation of beading blood. It made him scramble even harder, wanting more. He didn’t get the chance. The hand moved away from his ass to rest on the small of his back before Will straightened up slightly.

And then both hands tightened right as Will thrust harshly into him. 

Indescribable pleasure burned through him. His eyes opened wide with the shock his body had just experienced and his jaw nearly dislocated with the force of the moan that got wrenched out of him.

“Good boy.” Will praised.

And then proceeded to absolutely dismantle him. He fucked into Nico relentlessly, not giving him even a second to breathe, musch less moan. One scorching hand clamped around the entirety of Nico’s waist and ragdolled him however Will pleased while the other hand pressed down, right at the bottom of Nico’s back above the coccyx. 

Nico’s body felt like it was on fire. This angle, this pace, it was so unrelenting, so insurmountable. It made him feel even fuller, like every cell in his body was getting crammed together to desperately accommodate his boyfriend’s desire. He was so aware of Will’s cock, so aware of every inch of it that rammed mercilessly into him; of every vein that pulsed against his rim and of every drop of scorching hot precum getting ground into his prostate.

He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak, couldn’t see, couldn’t even hear. All he could feel in that moment was Will. All that came out of his mouth was wet, desperate sounding moans that spurned his boyfriend on and on and on.

“Ti prego” He had no idea if he was even managing to speak anything intelligible. “Dai^** dai daidaidaidaidaidaidaidaidaidaidaidai”

He was so close, so close, so close; desperate to spur Will on. His nails were digging into the soil, into his own hands, reaching back to claw at Will’s neck and tug at the coiling curls of pure heat. Will let him. He surged forward, kissing Nico, letting him do whatever he wanted as his own thrusts began to stutter, to become even more uneven.

“Cum on my cock.” Will ordered, the words searing themselves all over Nico’s neck. “Cum for me like the slut you are.”

The heat became suffocating, coiling in his stomach, desperate to fill him up. 

Will made a punched out noise and surged forward, his cock going impossibly even deeper. “Cum and let me fill your pretty cunt.” 

The words rang out into Nico’s head as Will’s hand suddenly pressed on his belly. The heat building, mounting, peaking, coursing within him like pure magma. And it all became too much. He moaned so loud, so powerfully he could feel his throat tearing as shadow-filled tears streamed down his face and his whole body erupted into tremors. He could feel the ground churning, could see the shadows spasming and really hoped he wasn’t accidentally summoning a bunch of undead again but he didn’t care. He couldn’t care. Not when Will was panting erratically into his mouth, not when that cock was fucking him throughout the orgasm, filling him with Will’s scorching cum and fucking it impossibly deeply.

He could feel it flooding him, every bit of him. It bulged his stomach, dripped down his thighs, occupying every inch of space it could find. He almost felt like it was climbing up his trachea, that he could taste its sunlight on the back of his tongue. It drove him insane.

He felt like the entire world was falling apart around them and all he cared about was his boyfriend fucking him full.

For a while all he could see was the starry expanse of Chaos swirling around him, light carding through the constellations in its pools. Light that caressed Nico’s face with tenderness and guided him forward.

When he regained sense of self he found himself spread open and lying sprawled on the ground as Will ate him out. His boyfriend was lapping up the cum and strange slick, licking Nico’s gaping rim at a languid, unhurried pace. It felt heavenly; like a balm to Nico’s oversensitive insides.

He whined pathetically and swayed his butt lazily — perhaps in some form of half-hearted token form of protest — but neither he nor Will really wanted to stop. 

“What are you doing?” He barely had the strength to wheeze out. He couldn’t even lift his face off the grass.

It took a while for Will to be willing to pull back even slightly just to answer him.

“I promised to eat you out afterwards. Now is ‘afterwards’.” Will’s warm breath teased his hole.

Nico didn’t even have the energy to open his eyes, much less roll them.

“I don’t have a cunt.” He said instead.

“Mmm,” Will hummed noncommittally. “Sure felt like it — all wet and soft and tight. Plus… you like it being called this. Especially when you’re getting eaten out that way.”

A whine began to bubble out of him at those words but then Will went back to licking him open and Nico couldn’t exactly think anymore.

They didn’t come out of their hazy trance until the shadows began to tug at them again. With a sigh, they disentangled away from each other… or at least they would have if they hadn’t kept getting distracted.

“I should really go.” Will said in between kisses. “I need to check on those rooster-horses.”

“The hippalektryons.”

“Yeah, those.” Kiss. “And the others.” Another kiss. “And I need clothes for that.” Even more kisses. “And you keep distracting me.”

Nico sighed and pulled back slightly. “You’re probably right.”

And even though that was said, they just went back to kissing.

At some point Will’s hands touched Nico’s face scars… and Nico moaned loud.

Will hummed thoughtfully. “So they do feel different too.”

“My sca -Ah~” His words got interrupted by another moan at the feeling of Will caressing them again.

“Yes, your sca -Ah~” His boyfriend teased, imitating Nico’s moan exactly. “They’ve been filled with gold. Like that art technique Yan was talking about. It looks good on you, makes you look even more angelic.”

And Will was so lucky that Nico got distracted by the new topic… and his boyfriend’s hot body… and how good that touch felt… and just general post-coital bliss. If it weren’t for all these things Nico would definitely be annoyed with him about the way Will had spoken down to him and how much it still made his hole clench with need even now.

“Away with you now,” he huffed instead. “I need to make that soup anyway.”

“What soup?”

“Piper found some recipe for vegan avgolemono⁶ and I have decided to subject you to it.”

“I thought we had some of that pasta leftover.”

“We do, you can have that with the soup.”

“Hmm, do I get to eat you afterwards?”

Nico suddenly found himself getting peppered with kisses. The scars (and their newly acquired golden look apparently) felt so tender that having Will constantly kiss and lick them made him feel…tingly. He couldn’t help but erupt into giggles. Otherwise he would have just gotten horny again and they really did not have the time for that anymore.

“William!” He laughed. “Stop, you already ‘ate me’ extensively.”

“And I want to do it again.”

The next kiss was a bit deeper, the feeling of it so heady that Nico felt himself getting wet again.

Will’s eyes became half-lidded. “So sensitive…” He muttered, tracing the gold with the tip of his finger, making Nico’s spine melt into goosebumps. “We ought to explore that more later.” 

His fingers dug into the tender skin, heat beginning to churn within both of them and Nico forced himself to push him away. Otherwise, they really would get no work done.

“Go tend to the cattle, cowboy.” He grumbled.

“As Your Highness wishes~” Will responded equally amused, taking back his hat from Nico just to tip it old-fashionedly at him.

Nico couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the address. Now that Will had been to the Underworld a number of times (as well as several Death Council meetings) he had begun to pick up on people referring to Nico as ‘Your Highness’ or ‘Young prince’. It seemed to amuse his boyfriend greatly and as a result he would often bring it up at random times. (In fact, on one occasion, Will had dared call him princess, mostly as a joke, and the two of them had ended up having sex in the middle of Camp’s forest. It had been an illuminating experience all around.)

The strange vines had receded at some point, melting back into shadows and light and whatever else they had grown out of, and the state they had left Nico’s body in had his boyfriend wincing. An expression that twisted even more once the belt was removed too. Between the ‘rope’ burns, the lingering bits of cosmic darkness and the dried up flowers and blood, not to mention all the gold stains from where Will had touched him or the shining pools of cum and slick all around them… He really can't have looked too good.

“Does it hurt?” Will’s fingers gently traced the wound marks. “Should I heal you?”

“No need. I'll just shadow-travel and take another bath.”

“Alright. You should put on some light clothes and drink more water too. Don't faint in the bath.”

Nico rolled his eyes but the corners of his lips were twitching up. He couldn't help but kiss his boyfriend again. For a while they just stood there lazily making out as long as they could. 

In the end Nico ended up having to shadow-travel them multiple times just to be able to accommodate the schedule (and procure them clothes). He couldn't wait for evening to come; couldn't wait for when he and Will would be able to properly crawl into bed together.

Although… he should probably check in on the situation in the Underworld at some point.

—— Footnotes ——

1. The two most common garments in Ancient Greece
   1. Chiton was worn by women and men (for men it usually stopped at about knee length) and the difference in social class basically simply dictated the length, colouring, and material (I prefer to envision Nico with Doric style chiton rather than an Ionian one but honestly they both look good. I know the most popular Nico in Ancient Greek clothes depiction has him in an exomis (a type of garment that leaves his right titty bare) but exomis were apparently for infantry or working class people so post-TSATS Nico would definitely not be given something so ‘low’ as a ‘uniform’
   2. A Peplos was an ankle-length (mostly) garment worn primarily by women, with the women of Sparta notably having worn it with thigh slits. In this fic, the peplos Nico is describing is meant to be the fanciest thing imaginable
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2. (Very rough example) visualization of the skirt, since the description is a bit ??? but idk how to describe clothes I’m sorry. This is just an example btw, the material is all wrong ^{[ ▲ ]}
3. The way delicate_sketch drew cowboy Will really made me think of L’ange déchu by Alexander Cabanel (well, that and Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith when he is absolutely losing it but, as hot as Nico thinks Anakin/Darth Vader is, there is no chance he’d think of that instead of The Fallen Angel. Also not to be too ‘the curtains were blue’ over Star Wars but I feel like Anakin = The Fallen Angel by Cabanel was an intentional parallel given that Anakin is also the Chosen One but also undergoing the worst period of his life in that movie). It is a very famous painting depicting Lucifer right after his fall from Heaven. I like associating Nico with the Romanticism movement in general (as those who have read my Jason’s POV chapters or at least footnotes in TCPTTDD already know) and I believe his references would also come (largely) from that, especially in the case of religious (and religious-adjacent) imagery ^{[ ▲ ]}
4. The flowers growing out of Nico’s neck (yes, the ones from Henosis Psyche) are actually Black Star gladioli. Why I chose the Black Star subspecies should be obvious (the name, the fact that they look like blood etc) but the reason I chose gladioli (apparently also called ‘sword lilies’ so yuri solangelo folk do with that what you will, especially if you know the significance of the ‘lily’ in that context) is because the hyacinths that spawned from the blood of Hyacinthus are actually thought to be gladioli since they fit the description better (particularly the ‘petals inscribed with mourning cries AI AI AI’ bit). So yeah the pomegranates are to Will what the gladioli are for Nico and vice versa ^{[ ▲ ]}
5. 2 meters ≈ 6’7” Nico is Italian and thus would use metric units because I said so. (Also as somebody who has learned multiple languages at high levels of proficiency, I am basing this off the fact that certain things, no matter how good you are, are still easier in your native tongue, especially conceptualisations. Nico knows Italian, we know this, so things like counting, units, calculations, etc would just be more likely to be in metric systems in his head.)
   1. As for Will’s height, we don't have a canon measure exactly but we do have a canon height comparison in ToA between them when Will uses Nico as a shelf and since the wiki lists Nico as 167cm ≈ 5’6 (although genuinely nobody seems to know the source on that but look I need to rely on something in this life) when I put him and Will on a height comparison chart, Will’s height ended up being 6’7 up to a potential 6’10 (possibly more depending on how close you think they were standing in that scene or what you consider a comfortable height/angle for your elbow to rest) but yeah. Either way, Will is definitely over 2 meters
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6. Avgolemono is a greek soup with lemon and egg yolk. Vegan lemon orzo soup is The Carrot Underground’s vegan reinterpretation of it. Nico would definitely enjoy the base version more but well I found the recipe and I had been wanting to use it this entire fic but then the plot line changed so you’re getting it now, sorry. Also The Triple G Ranch was stated to be going vegan/vegetarian at the end of BotL when Eurytion took over soooo
   1. To avoid a second footnote: the pasta they are discussing is the Vegan Stuffed Shells with Spinach and Cheese which was the recommended pairing for a full meal
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