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Usually, the Camp Half-Blood big house was closed off after 8pm, as per curfew. But tonight, laughter and voices filled the dusty rooms.
The Senior Campers had received permission from Chiron and Mr. D to host a game night. One night where they didn’t have to watch over younger siblings or worry about monsters, or the fact that demigods hardly ever survived to adulthood. One night where the cabin walls didn’t echo with the memory of everyone they’d lost.
One night where they could just be teenagers.
They started out with 3 rules for the Senior Campers Annual Game Night.
- No killing, maiming, or using weapons of any kind on anyone
- The use of magical items to peek at others cards is NOT allowed
- what happens at game night, stays at game night.
And in hindsight, they should have added a 4th rule at the beginning.
Because currently, the group of Senior Campers had played 3 team games and Nico di Angelo and Will Solace had won all of them. And Annabeth Chase was fuming.
The group honestly should've seen it coming, though no one had. Nico di Angelo was a wicked strategist, good at playing the long game, on top of that, he had the pattern recognition of someone who had to notice the little things to be able to survive.
But Nico lacked one crucial thing, one thing that was his downfall every time.
He has absolutely no clue, at any time, what anyone else is thinking. The guy couldn't read modern day social cues or facial expressions if his life depended on it.
That's where Will picked up the baton.
Will Solace, after years of serving in Camp Half-Blood’s infirmary had developed 3 skills: the ability to read people like a pro, the emotional intelligence of a head councilor that deals with emotionally challenged kids for a living, and, excellent instincts when it comes to problem solving.
So yeah, Nico’s strategy combines with Will’s people skills?
It's a wonder the group hadn't seen it coming.
Annabeth was seriously reconsidering her life choices.
…
“Date, Aliens, Death, Boom”
Will beamed as Nico read off the exact words they needed to string together to beat the other teams.
An uproar of protests came from all around the room
The group's current game of choice was Codenames, and so far, Will and Nico were in the lead. Much to everyone's disdain.
The teams were Annabeth and Percy, Cecil and Lou Ellen, Travis and Katie, Connor with Nyssa, Piper and Jason, Clarisse and Chris, Butch with Sherman, and Miranda with Clovis. And of course Nico and Will.
Travis Stoll groaned from his place on the beanbag next to Katie Garnder, throwing his head in his hands. Katie patted his head with a monotone there there.
“How.. How have you two managed to get every. single. one. right?!” he exclaimed.
“They HAVE to be cheating, Annabeth and Percy aren't even this coordinated!” Lou Ellen shouted from her place next to Cecil across the table
Piper was floored, her jaw wide, as she turned to Nico and yelled out,
“Your code word was ‘Independence Day’! ‘Flag’ and ‘Country’ were right there!”
Piper sat next to Jason, who had never heard of Codenames but was a quick learner. Still they were no match for Nico and Will.
Nico shrugged, clearly not enjoying the attention that was thrust upon him and Will, even if it did result from a win.
“Well, yeah, but he was obviously talking about the movie,” He stated
“There were at least 4 different ways you could've connected that! How did you get the movie?” Annabeth cried
Annabeth was at a loss. She hadn't even thought of that.
Percy, as per usual, found the whole situation hilarious. “Nico, I didn't think you knew anything about modern movies.” He laughed while throwing his arm around Annabeth’s shoulders from where they were sitting on the swept, brown paneled floor against a dark green couch.
He turned his head to press a quick kiss to the side of Annabeth's head. Annabeth sighed, arms crossed and mumbling something about how this was statistically impossible.
Nico shrugged his shoulders once again, his eyes flicking over to where Will sat across from him at the coffee table, shuffling cards for their next game while talking with Miranda, who was playing solo this round as Clovis had fallen asleep a while ago.
“Will’s put himself in charge of making sure i’m educated” He had brought his hands up to mime quotations around the word ‘educated’, while quietly laughing. Percy chuckled again while Annabeth scowled.
“Whatever, let's just move on.”
Surely, Annabeth thought, they wouldn't be as lucky in the next game.
…
She was wrong. She was so, so wrong.
Nico and Will didn't just win the next game. They won every game after as well.
Several strategy and chance games alike later, including poker, Nico and Will had managed to win all but one. (Travis and Katie had managed to snatch a win from poker, try as Nico might, his poker face was no match for that of a Hermes kid)
Though Annabeth was never good at poker, (she was a horrible liar) she never considered herself bad, until she played against Nico and Will
But after losing to, you guessed it, Nico and Will during Pandemic, Annabeth thought faintly that she may never recover emotionally from this.
But Annabeth brushed it off, because the next game they were going to play was Catan. And Annabeth Chase has never. never ever. Not once in her life, lost a game of Settlers of Catan.
…
That was, Annabeth Chase had never lost a game of Catan,
Until now.
Annabeth was fuming
It was clear Nico and Will were going to win it from the beginning,
“How do you have the longest road already!?”
”its only turn three!!”
Still, Annabeth held on to hope, as well as the belief that her win streak was invincible.
She had no such luck.
She was passed the point of anger, watching Nico and Will enjoy the win that should've been hers from the start. She was seriously considering employing the Hermes cabin to make Nico and Will’s cabins unusable for the next few weeks
(To which Percy told Annabeth that it was probably unfair to make the rest of Cabin 7 suffer for Will’s sins. (To which Annabeth let out a string of curses she might regret when she was less angry.) )
She watched as Nico leaned into Will as they quietly discussed some far off topic from their place on the couch. Under a quilted blanket, Nico's knees were drawn up and resting to his side, on top of Will’s thighs. Both of their bodies turned slightly to face the other, giving their full attention to each other. Soft smiles and loving looks were exchanged as Nico took Will’s hand and began rubbing Will’s wrist with his thumb.
They were disgustingly cute for two people who were fast tracking their way to losing several friendships.
That's when the room was beginning to realize their mistake in allowing Nico and Will to be on the same team.
And after needing to stop Clarisse from pulling a sword on Nico, and needing Clovis to calm Sherman and Butch down with his powers (which they checked, is not against the rules). The group came to a unanimous decision.
It was time to split them up.
A 4th rule was added to the Annual Senior Campers Game Nights’ official rule book
- Nico di Angelo and William Solace, are not, under any circumstances, allowed to be on the same team.
…
That was their second mistake of the night.
Splitting them up hadn’t solved anything. It had only made them worse.
The table was littered with cards, a single dim lamp casting shadows across the Big House floor. They’d decided to forgo teams entirely, which meant not everyone could play. A peanut gallery had quickly formed from those who’d lost the ‘not it’ game and been banished to spectating.
It started innocently enough.
To Clarisse’s immense delight, Percy had been the unfortunate victim of a draw twenty-four.
“That’s not even fair! You’re not allowed to stack +4s!” Percy protested, even as he reached for the pile.
“You weren’t protesting when you added yours,” Nyssa shot back from behind her fan of 17 cards. Percy’s glare was softened by the mirth twinkling in his eyes.
“It wasn’t supposed to make it back around to me.”
Laughter erupted.
Unfortunately the light hearted atmosphere among them didn’t last.
Because slowly, the game grew sharper every time a player was eliminated.
There were only four people left now,
Nico.
Will.
Travis.
Miranda.
Nico and Will were competing for first place. With Nico having two cards, Will four.
Travis let out a low whistle, before leaning over to miranda and whispering loud enough for everyone to hear. “this is about to get ugly.”
Nico paid him no mind though. He was settled purely on Will.
(Which is how it usually was, but that was neither here, nor there)
Will’s smile wasn’t playful anymore. (It hadn’t been since Nic had stopped freely giving him the cards he needed when no one was looking)
Nico slowly pulled a card from his hand, holding it between two fingers like he would a sharp blade.
He placed it down.
Reverse.
Will groaned as his turn was skipped. leaning back he mumbled, “You’re unbelievable.”
Miranda sighed and dropped her cards. “I’m out.”
Travis followed shortly after, grinning as he retreated to the couch. “Good luck, Solace.”
Now it was just them.
The room was far from quieter, though Nico and Will couldn’t hear the chatter that came from beyond the couch.
Will leaned forward.
Nico’s eyes snapped up as Will laid down a skip
Nico’s jaw tightened.
“Again?” he muttered.
Will only smiled playfully at him.
The next few turns were brutal.
With every draw two, wild, and reverse, the air just seemed to get a little bit thicker.
Every time Nico gained momentum, Will cut him off.
And every time Will edged close to victory, Nico put a stop to it.
In all honesty? It stopped being funny a couple of minutes ago.
“You’re holding that card on purpose,” Will accused quietly.
Nico’s eyes flashed sharp. “You can’t prove that.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“You’re the one who said you were unbeatable at Uno.”
Will slammed a Draw Four down.
“Uno.”
Nico stared at his hand, he didn’t have a counter card. he pressed his lips together to form a line.
Will laid his last card down. Smiling
“I win, then”
The silence only stayed for half a second, before the room exploded
Will leaned back, smug but breathing a little harder than before. “That’s two wins for me.”
Nico didn’t smile.
“That doesn’t count.”
Will blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I let you win.”
Will’s smile faltered just slightly. “You absolutely did not.”
“I could’ve gone out three turns ago.”
Will rolled his eyes, “Then why didn’t you?”
Nico held his gaze a second too long. But didn’t respond.
Game after game, the couple's competitive streak never seemed to wane. In fact, it only seemed to grow.
As the rest of the group was slowly getting more drowsy and tired as the night wore on, Nico and Will only seemed to get more determined to beat the other in as many games as possible.
Annabeth convinced the group to let them be, for now. After all, they would get tired of the competition eventually, right?
…
Wrong, again. Apparently Annabeth didn't know them as well as she thought.
It was mildly entertaining however.
Annabeth had known Will since they were kids, being some of the youngest at camp, Annabeth and Will were usually grouped together in camp activities. Will was never much of a fighter—he could fight, don't get her wrong, he was trained by Luke Castellan and Lee Fletcher after all—but it was more of a personal preference. Will always was always a healer before he was a fighter, even before being claimed and discovering his healing abilities.
Nevertheless, Will had always had a bit of a competitive streak when he was younger. Though that side of him seemed to hide away in the shadow of responsibility after the titan wars.
But it seemed that Will had finally found someone who could not only bring out his competitive streak, but match it entirely.
The group was down to their last game before they would head back to their cabins.
The air was thick with tension between the couple, they were tied for wins, and both determined to win this one as well.
It was currently Percy’s turn, Nico’s next. Nico's eyes laser focused on his tiles in front of him. He glanced at Will, he was down to 5 and Nico was down to 3. There was a glint in Will's eye that Nico had come to know well.
In his next turn, Will could win. And he knew it.
Unfortunately, Will also knew that Nico’s turn would come before his own, and Nico was going to lay all his tiles down and win before Will could even have a turn.
Nico knew that too.
Nico had seen a new side of Will tonight, one that was different from anything else he'd seen from his boyfriend before.
When Will had come to his cabin after lunch the day before, practically begging Nico to come with him to a game night that the rest of the senior campers were hosting, Nico had been hesitant.
In the past year or so since he decided to remain at Camp Half Blood, his social group was steadily expanding, though he'd never really felt he'd earned his place among the ‘senior campers’ at CHB. After all, he didn't know them as long as Will had.
Still, they welcomed him with open arms. And he was finding there was still so much to learn about Will.
Nico already was very familiar with Will’s stubborn streak, having been subject to it several times. However he should’ve guessed it also would apply to card games.
So when Nico caught a glimpse of a certain look in Will's eye, Nico knew there was no way he was going to win their little competition tonight.
As Percy’s turn ended, Nico stared at his tiles. He laid down 2 of them no problem, he was about to lay down his last one, before he paused.
Will saw him hesitate. Raising an eyebrow, he silently asked Nico what he was doing.
They held eye contact for a moment too long. The entire table around them sharing glances. Out of the corner of his eye, Will saw Piper ask Jason what was going on, but he paid them no mind.
Will watched as Nico clutched his last tile harder, he saw Nico’s gaze flick to a spot on the board where he could play it.
Nico sighed and his expression softened into a look Will was struggling to read.
What was Nico doing? And why hadn't he played his tile yet?
Then, Nico placed his tile back into his tray.
“I’m done. Nothing I can do.”
It was Will’s turn now
Will’s chest was pounding as he laid down his last few tiles.
With one last shuddering exhale, he looked once again at the son of Hades. Before he spoke quietly.
“I win.”
The entire room erupted in chaos. The sigh of relief that it was finally over echoed around the room as people stood up and began to clean up the room before heading out for the night.
But Will paid them no mind. He was too busy studying Nico.
They finished cleaning up and they said their goodbyes to the ones who would be traveling back to New Rome in the morning, with a promise to stay in touch. Then Nico and Will began the walk back to the Hades Cabin.
They walked side by side, hands brushing, neither of them speaking. The night hummed around them and for once, the silence felt easy.
Normally, silence at Camp Half-Blood meant danger to Will. But here, walking beside Nico, he'd never felt safer.
It was funny — Will had never thought being in love would rewrite the meaning of every word he thought he understood. Safe. Quiet. Home. Silence.
But he loved it.
Really, he just loved Nico.
“What are you thinking about?”
Will’s head snapped up and he realized they had reached the Hades Cabin porch.
Nico was gazing at him, fondness etched on his face.
Will's breath caught.
He was going to say something borderline sappy and guaranteed to make Nico blush and roll his eyes. Instead, he asked the question that had been weighing on his mind since their last game.
“You let me win, didn't you?”
Nico shrugged. He considered denying it. But then he spoke.
A piece of hair fell into his eyes.
Will reached up and tucked it into place.
“Maybe.”
Will huffed a laugh, amused, “You’re impossible.”
Nico stepped closer, leaning up until they were nearly eye level.
“You’re the one who sulked every time you lost all night”
Will scoffed and crossed his arms. “I was not sulking”
“Sure, sunshine.”
Will pouted.
One of Nico’s hands came up to run his fingers through the son of Apollo’s hair, before ruffling it and making it messy.
He laughed at the annoyed expression on his boyfriend's face.
“Why, though?”
Nico went quiet, hesitating.
“Some things are more important,” he said finally.
“That doesn’t answer my question, Neeks.” Will replied, rolling his eyes and catching the hand that was still in his hair, slotting his fingers between Nico’s.
“Sorry, nightlight.” But Nico didn’t look sorry at all. He leaned the rest of the way towards Will before planting a kiss on his boyfriend's head.
“What things are more important?” Will pouted.
Nico looked at him like it was obvious. Expression softening the way it never did for anyone else.
“Honestly?” The corners of his mouth twitched. Softer now. “I just wanted to see you win.”
Will stared at him. His cheeks fire engine red
Just like that, the competition, the teasing, the tension, the sharp edges, shrank into something small and distant. Smaller than what they had.
Will leaned forward. Resting his forehead against Nico’s.
“You’re insufferable, you know that?”
“It takes one to know one, tesoro” Nico rolled his eyes again. “Besides, we both know I won.”
Nico kissed his forehead once again.
Will, for once, didn’t argue.
Because there, within the safe borders of Camp Half-Blood and under the night sky, with the soothing sound of crickets and distant laughter, Will realized the underlying truth.
It was never about winning.
It was always about this. Them.
Together.
And perhaps, Will thought, despite everything he’d lost.
Despite everything Nico had lost.
They could survive everything else the world could throw at them.
So long as Nico was by his side.
And what’s more, if this peace, this quiet safety, came after?
Then everything was worth it too.