Will solace was excited to be starting his first day at his new job. He needed to start saving money and though his parents had promised to help him when he needed it, he still preferred to make his own way in the world. Sure working part time as a cashier and server on evenings and weekends while finishing high school was nothing special to most people, but to Will it was a chance to do something for himself.

The weather had been beautiful lately, bright and sunny and warm. On the downside though the bugs were out and that meant that Will's most hated creature was among them. Ever since he was a small child Will had been afraid of wasps because some local kids had thought that it would be funny to agitate the insects and disturb their nest, unfortunately for Will he had been the nearest to that nest and was the prime recipient of the wasps wrath. He had swollen up badly where they had bitten him and he had been in a lot of pain. Now if he so much as saw one he would start to panic.

Will was glad to have a job indoors where he wouldn't have to worry so much about those dreaded insects. For now he sat in the staff break room staring at the mark on his wrist. He found it interesting that his seemed to be in the form of a question. You're welcome? It wasn't so odd to have punctuation as part of one's mark but Will wondered what kind of situation would bring about that statement to be asked like that.

The alarm on Will's phone went off signaling that it was time to begin his shift so he turned off his phone and put it away in his locker.

...

"So as you can see, things are pretty slow right now since it's still early in the afternoon but things should be picking once rush hour hits." Percy was telling him as he helped him get settled into his first day of work. "Then things can get a bit crazy but I'm sure you'll do fine."

Percy had been right; he only got a few customers here and there so to pass the time Percy had him go and clean off tables and sweep the floor. Will didn't particularly mind, he kind of just built a rhythm for himself as he hummed while he worked. Everything had been going fine until a large group walked in at once and he needed to get back to taking orders.

"Hi welcome to Sally's, what can I get for you today?" Will said with a friendly smile as he greeted people and took their orders. That hadn't been the problem though, the problem had been when some of the stragglers had decided to stand in the doorway before even making up their minds if they wanted to actually come into the diner or not.

Will had been watching the door nervously almost the entire time sending out silent prayers that one of those things wouldn't grace him with its dreaded presence; he was distracted from his vigilance though when he was called over to another table to refill coffee for a customer. As Will went to go brew another pot he forgot about the door hanging open and instead focused on the way Percy had taught him to make the coffee.

Will's mind came to a screeching halt when he picked up on the sound of buzzing by his ear, his heart beat like a jackrabbit as it hammered away in his chest. With his heart in his throat he glanced around looking for its source and then there it was landing on the counter directly in front of him. Will jumped and jerked his hand away as the wasp drew closer to him and he ended up knocking a container of cutlery off of the counter but he was too freaked out to take much notice of it.

All of the sudden there was someone next to him and they smacked something down on the counter and crushed the bug from hell in one swift motion. Will immediately turned to the person next to him and heard the guy mutter something about annoying bugs. Without thinking Will grabbed those wonderful hands in his own and he said the first thing he could without really thinking.

"I love you." Will said with an intensity that expressed how grateful he was as he grasped the other boy's hands in his own and looked him straight in the eye.

The other boy stared back at him in confusion. "You're welcome?"

Suddenly both boy's eyes widen and they look down at their wrists to see them shimmering with a golden light. They looked back at one another in astonishment.

Now that Will was actually looking, this guy was HOT! He must have worked in the kitchen because clearly he worked there but Will hadn't seen him until now. He had longish ebony hair and large dark eyes that looked like obsidian; he had an olive complexion and stood just a little shorter than Will.

Will didn't know what else to do so he just sort of let their hands drop between them as he tried to come up with an explanation for that sudden statement. "I uh, I'm terrified of wasps and bees, I may well be highly allergic to them and ever since being stung by an entire nest of them I always have a panic attack when they're near me..." he said with a sheepish grin not sure if he should meet the other's eyes now or not, though now that it's been established that this person is his soulmate he's suddenly even more nervous and embarrassed.

...

Nico had just finished his shift and had gone to clock out when he saw a new guy standing by the coffee pot just suddenly freeze like time had stopped or something. Then out of nowhere he jumped and ended up knocking cutlery onto the floor and had a really freaked out look on his face, Nico saw the bug on the counter and grabbed a menu and the next thing he knew he was standing next to the poor guy and smashing the menu down as fast as he could, killing the wasp. "Stupid annoying bugs always finding their way in here..." Nico muttered to himself as he set the menu aside.

Out of nowhere the new guy had grabbed Nico's hands in his own and before Nico could say anything about his no touching policy he was looking into a pair of sky blue eyes and his mind kind of just came to a stop.

"I love you." The blond before him said and Nico, not really being able to think at the moment tries to just say anything in response.

"You're welcome?" It came out as a question because he wasn't really sure how to respond to something like that, but then his brain kicked in again and at that moment both boy's eyes went wide as they glanced down at their wrists and there it was, those same words scrawled on their skin, shimmering with a golden light.

Nico looked back at the blond and looked more closely at him, he had shaggy blond hair, blue eyes that could rival a clear afternoon sky, and freckles dusting his tan face that stood out a little thanks to the blush that had exploded across his cheeks that no doubt matched Nico's own.

"I uh, I'm terrified of wasps and bees, I may well be highly allergic to them and ever since being stung by an entire nest of them I always have a panic attack when they're near me..." he said with a sheepish grin that looked way too adorable on him.

How could this possibly be his soulmate? Nico wondered as he looked at the guy. "It's okay, that's understandable." Nico said and then mentally kicked himself for not being able to come up with something better to say.

"I'm Will, Will Solace, I just started working here today." Will said as he extended a hand out to Nico, apparently also not really sure what to do now.

Nico decided to go along with it though and shook his hand in return. "Nico di Angelo, nice to finally meet you Will." Okay maybe that had been the right route to go after all because the smile that took over Will's face was definitely worth the awkwardness just before.

"Nice to finally meet you too Nico."