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Nico’s about to die.
He’s survived countless monster attacks, three wars (and that’s not counting mortal ones), and two treks through the darkest reaches of the Underworld, but this is gonna be what finally kills him.
Will bends over his desk, furiously scribbling notes on a patient chart. Nico can see his muscles and tendons flexing in his arm as his hand moves rapidly across the page, but there’s nothing unique about that. What is different and what has struck Nico with his inescapable demise is Will’s hair.
On a normal day, it floats around his head in messy waves and loose curls, brushing across his forehead and tempting Nico to bury his hands in it.
But not today.
Today it is pulled back into two ponytails on either side of the crown of his head, the longer pieces that often fall into his eyes woven into two small braids, one on each side of his face. The short pieces of his bangs are loose, still curling towards his eyebrows. The braids are tied with bright green elastics, and little blue butterfly clips secure the ponytails to his scalp.
“Wh-” Nico has to pause and clear his throat. What the hell? “What’s going on here?”
“Just finishing up my last chart, then we can head to dinner, Death Boy.” Will doesn’t even glance up, which Nico is grateful for. His face feels weirdly hot.
“No, I-” Nico half-sits against the desk, careful not to knock over the haphazard stacks of paper that surround his boyfriend’s workspace. Wrapping one arm around his middle, he reaches out and lightly grazes the wing of a butterfly clip. “I mean with this. What- who-?”
Nico trails off, not sure what exactly he’s trying to ask.
“Oh, my hair? Dana from Aphrodite was in here earlier after a bad run on the climbing wall. I had her confined to bed as the nectar worked on her burns, but she could hardly sit still. I offered to let her play with my hair while she waited. I got to sit and chart for a while; she got to heal without complication and practice her braiding. A win for everyone. I haven’t gotten a chance to take it down. Plus, I kinda like the way it keeps my hair secure and out of my eyes. How do you think it looks?”
Will finally looks up to make eye contact with Nico and-
Oh .
Somehow his freckles seem more prominent, the one Nico always aims for when he kisses Will on the cheek calling out to him like a siren. The little braids frame his face; the green bands pulling out the tiny streaks of green in his eyes. Wispy curls fall across his forehead, seeming to defy gravity in their lightness.
Nico reaches out and tugs on a braid, smiling softly.
“It’s… alright.”
Will brings a hand to his chest, falling back slightly, affronted.
“Just alright? Dana assured me it was one of her masterpieces! That her hairstyling had people swooning left and right! All 5-star reviews! I’ll have to let her know that this one was a failure. She’ll be crushed.”
Nico snorts, fondness overtaking him. He leans forward, laughing, chasing Will’s drama, cradling freckled cheeks in his hands. He gently turns Will’s head back and forth in his hands, squinting, humming thoughtfully.
“I guess you’re right. Though masterpiece doesn’t feel like a strong enough word here. The artist seems to have tried to improve upon an already masterful piece, something already considered a paragon of beauty. I’m not sure one can survive looking upon something so pretty.”
Will splutters, laughing too, his cheeks blooming red.
“S-stop it!”
But Nico can no longer resist the siren call. He leans in to press his lips against that one freckle on a now heat-flooded cheek, one hand lifting to tug again on a braid. He feels Will smile under his lips.