Will wakes up to the sound of drawers opening and closing.

Geez, Annabeth, he thinks, stubbornly keeping his eyes shut.

Then he feels firm hands on his ribs, violently rocking his body back and forth.

Oh no, she wouldn't. She would never. She knows better than to-

"Will, wake up, babe," Nico says.

Oh.

Oh.

Will pops one eye open. He can't help but smile. "Now that's a sight I wouldn't mind waking up to more often."

It's true; Nico's bicep is right in Will's level of sight. Last night's events hit him like an eighteen-wheeler. Complete bliss. That's all he can say about it. Well, actually, he can say a lot more.

This has to happen again, but Will can't be dramatic and just ask. He has to play it cool.

"I'm not kicking you out, but I did want to let you know that I have to go to the bachelor party. I could probably score you an invite if you want," Nico says.

Will rolls over onto his back. "Nah, that's alright. I might explore the area. Do you know if New Rome has a-"

"Take a right when you go outside and keep walking until you pass the bar where we played cornhole. You should also see a volleyball court on your way. Take another right at the Jupiter statue; if you've passed the swimming pool, you've gone too far."

"After all this time, you know me so well," Will smiles.

"You need caffeinated after sex, and nothing hits quite like an iced vanilla latte from Starbucks. It's been a while, but I still know you," Nico says. He fastens his belt in a buckle shaped like a skull and retrieves his aviator jacket from the closet. It actually fits him now. It looks good, but Will does feel slight nostalgia for when it was massive on him. That jacket is the one piece of clothing Will would absolutely never steal from Nico, no matter how tempting.

"Thanks a lot," Will says. Then he tests the waters: "So like, theoretically, what sort of feelings would you be having if I broke up with Bill?"

Nico laughs. "I'd say that they'd depend on a lot of things. I can't leave my campers in New York, but I could be convinced to do some more shadow traveling. I'm getting stronger, you know." He winks and flexes his biceps.

Will buries his face in the blankets. "Agh! You!"

"Agh! Me!" Nico mocks. "I'm going to decorate a church- sorry- a 'venue', and then I'm playing minigolf with a bunch of bozos. Enjoy your coffee. Do it for both of us."

"Will do!" Will says in a voice muffled by last night's soiled sheets.

The door creaks when Nico opens it.

"Wait!" Will calls, sitting up in bed.

"Yes?"

"Are we still on for tonight? You know, for the plan?"

Nico smirks. "The plan to get Percy and Annabeth back together again by having sex in your room?"

"Uh, yeah, that one," Will says.

"Hmm... yeah, I think so," Nico says. "I don't see any ulterior motives. Meet you there."

"Awesome."

Nico shuts the door and Will is left alone to his thoughts.

What does he think right now?

There sure is a lot going on. It's not like Will to engage in drama. He's a relatively low-drama kind of guy. He always avoided it back at Camp Half-Blood when he first got together with Nico, and at college when the other students in his anatomy class played pranks on him, and even when he first moved in with Annabeth.

He knew that the other campers were jealous of his amazing first boyfriend; there weren't many half-bloods who didn't want to date Nico, and those who weren't into guys wanted to be him. Will never cared. It's okay to feel jealous once in a while, and he knew they'd get over it quickly (they did).

And the other UCLA students were envious as well. They saw how much easier memorizing bones and muscles came to Will. It probably didn't seem fair to them that he could go to fraternity parties on weekdays and not face any repercussions. It's his enhanced healing that makes him less susceptible to hangovers, but the other students didn't know that was the reason why they were jealous.

And then there's Annabeth. Will was surprised when Annabeth offered to be his roommate, to say the least. After that time she wrecked his chariot when they were teenagers, things between them had always been a little tense. No sugar coating it, she was a major bitch when they put the down payment on their rental apartment. First Will was watching Grey's Anatomy too loud, and then he would lock the doors while Annabeth was out late doing gods know what, and then he brewed all the coffee they had, and couldn't go to the store when he'd realized because he was busy studying for his calculus final. Couldn't Annabeth go to Trader Joe's?

"Well, you know what, Annabeth?" he'd said one night when she came home early in the morning, disheveled and drunk. "You're lazy and washed up, so quit picking on me, for Jesus's sake! You don't even have a fucking job! Who pays for the coffee? I do! Who pays for the cable? I do! Who pays the rent? I do! And I'm drowning in student debt just trying to pay for college!"

Giving her a taste of her own medicine had felt so good at the time. That good feeling lasted all of ten seconds because then she started crying, like, ugly crying.

It was like she dumped a lifetime of trauma onto him. They didn't even know each other that well, just through word of mouth, and from the chariot incident.

And then she surprised him (she's always been one for surprises): She came out to him.

Yup, the pieces of the puzzle were all coming together. The rumors weren't true. Annabeth hadn't cheated on Percy or vice versa, and she wasn't pining after Luke (gods no).

She broke up with Percy because she needed to figure out her sexuality.

She hadn't always known, she said. The whole thing came crashing down on her one time on the Argo II when Piper had been using her charmspeak.

Will's a hugger and a crier and turns out, Annabeth is too, so that's exactly what they did together. Then they got drunk and watched The Princess Bride. What an awful movie. Love isn't real, they'd decided.

It's all fake. "It's a sham set up by the government," Annabeth often jokes.

From that evening on it's been unspoken: Annabeth and Will are ride-or-die best friends. Anything she needs, he's there. Anything he needs, well, she tells him what he really needs.

The next morning, Annabeth got her alcohol certification and a brand new job at Hooters. Will didn't like that idea at first. Those kinds of bars can be hostile for women, so he made a point to stop in for a basket of wings during Annabeth's first couple of shifts, not that she needed to be taken care of. She's tough, but men are pigs.

Eventually, Will's confidence in Annabeth's new job grew and he actually came to look forward to hearing her funny work stories. Plus, the leftovers she brought back were always delicious- still are. Who knew such a misogynistic establishment could make such good wings?

That's just one thing they bonded over. The garlic parm wings from Hooters are to die for, they both like dancing, and they share the same sense of humor. They're a good fit, Will and Annabeth.

And here he is, probably the first person she's opened up to since Percy, about to betray her trust.

Is this really in her best interest? Will knows tons of nice people who work at the hospital.

But Annabeth isn't into the hot doctor type. Will is.

What even is Annabeth's type? They'd talked about it plenty of times before; Will's always more than happy to talk about the cute guys from the hospital or people he meets at the bar, and Annabeth tells him about the weird things her one-night-stands are into (he wouldn't recommend bringing up the milkman). It never really hit Will before that she hasn't claimed a type. Sometimes she says things like "Oh, motorcycles are hot", but she always means for her. It's always about how she can be hotter, not about what she's looking for in a partner.

Will knows she's brought home surfers from the beach club on several occasions. Those are always the nicest people. They leave early in the morning, wetsuit in hand, at the same time Will's getting ready for his shift at the hospital. They always greet him kindly and even tell him to drive safely.

Will would like to see more beach babes going in and out of Annabeth's room, and who better than the literal son of Poseidon?

Woah. That's a deep thought. Maybe... No. There's no way. Annabeth wouldn't. Or would she? Does this mean...

Well. Will's gotta go through with this plan now, doesn't he? Now it just seems like he owes it to Annabeth, even if it means they won't be living together for much longer. That might be a good thing though. She'll be taken care of if he gets back together with Nico.

He reaches over and knocks his fist against the wooden nightstand. Better safe than sorry.

He groans and throws the covers off. Time to get up. Time to get some much-needed coffee.