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Nico was Will's star.
See, most people would have expected him to say that Nico is the moon to his sun. That was great and all, but see, his dad was Apollo, god of the sun. And his sister was Artemis, god of the moon, which made her Will's aunt. Will was okay with being compared to his dad because, hello, that was his dad and that happened to non-demigod children (though it was a little more lethal to a demigod). But comparing Nico to the moon -- especially when the moon was a virgin goddess -- just didn't feel right to Will, no matter how incestuous his family tree was.
Besides, Nico was far more like a star.
For one thing, the moon was a reflection of the sun's light. It didn't give off light of its own, instead just shining the light of the sun down on earth, like a giant magnifying glass. (Except it wasn't going to set everyone on fire. Or, at least, Will hoped it wasn't.) For another, the moon was ever changing. It was always waxing and waning. And sometimes it would disappear completely, unable to shine down on them.
Some people might say that was an apt description of the Son of Hades. Will was inclined to disagree.
Nico was a star. Or, actually, he was more like the whole starry backdrop of the night sky.
You couldn't always see him, but he was always there, in the background, waiting to guide those who needed it. He always shone through the darkness, even though it seemed like the sky couldn't threaten to swallow that small amount of light. Sometimes he would disappear behind cloud cover, but he always came back.
Sometimes, brighter lights would overshadow him, though he always managed to sneak a bit of light through there. But, when you could get away from that, when you could get somewhere those bright lights weren't the center of attention...his brilliance was incomparable.
He was distant, too. Far away from the rest of the world, his true brilliance only seen by a few people. But those few people were then utterly lost in his grip, because nothing else compared to the sight of the night sky unobstructed. (Or, at least, not to Will.)
He could tell a dozen stories, like the constellations in the sky. Not all of them ended happily, but some did. He had lots of tragic memories, but there were happy ones too. And sometimes those stories were lost amidst everything and you might not be able to see the marks, but they were always there, and he never forgot.
That was why Will would always call Nico his Starshine.