Will starts to notice the shadow a few days into his stay at Camp Half-Blood. He's 14 years old and he's still pretty new to the whole "the gods are all real" thing. But, if there is one thing he's good at, it's noticing things that others don't. And throughout the past 4 days, he's noticed a shadow with nothing casting it, always the same shape, and always just out of the corner of the eye. He goes to a girl who'd been more or less friendly and tries to describe the strange presence he's noticed, but all Annabeth does is raise her eyebrows and tell him, "All sorts of weird things happen around here. I mean, now that I think about it, I have noticed a shadowy figure or two in my time, but don't worry, whatever it is, I'm sure it's harmless." Will thinks Annabeth meant that to be comforting, though her statement was anything but. He wants to know what it is, exactly. But no matter who he asks, they just brush it off. Camp Half-Blood is supposed to be strange, they tell him. Yet they never manage to assuage his concerns. Will had seen the naiads, he'd stumbled upon dryads in the forest, but he was the son of the god of prophecy, and something about the Shadow just seemed off. Other spirits and such that he'd met had all seemed at peace with their place, their destiny on track, the Shadow, though, seemed almost trapped, disconnected, as if ripped from its future, imprisoned in eternal limbo. It was hard to describe, Will knew from the countless times he'd tried to explain to his counselor, Lee Fletcher, but that didn't mean it wasn't real.

In the coming weeks, Will thinks that the Shadow grows almost comfortable around him, complacent. He starts talking to the Shadow, in the quiet of his empty cabin, about anything and everything. He tells the Shadow about his homesickness and how much he misses his mother, he tells him about the strangeness of going from having no siblings to 7 brothers and sisters. He tells him about the crushes, both the fake one on that Aphrodite girl that he told his brothers about and the real one on one of the Dionysus boys, the one that he'd buried down deep and hidden from his siblings. The Shadow doesn't talk, doesn't judge, but at this point, the Shadow has long since stopped hiding and Will can see him clearly whenever they're alone. Sometimes, he thinks he sees the Shadow moving what must be his mouth, trying desperately to form words but not able to produce any sound.

One day, months after he had first arrived at Camp Half-Blood, he stumbles exhausted into the Apollo cabin, tired from the training exercises they'd done in the arena. He walks in, collapses onto his bed, and immediately searches the room for the Shadow. When he doesn't find him, he calls out, "Hello? Are you there?"

He's not expecting a response, so when a low voice calls out to him softly, "I'm here," he nearly jumps out of his skin.

He turns his head and sees the Shadow, seemingly attempting to form a 3-dimensional figure. It's emerging from the wooden wall, growing, until finally, it settles into a creature made of darkness, a boy his age.

"Hi," he says, "I'm Nico."

Nico the Shadow looks into his eyes and Will could swear that he's peering into his soul. Nico is in all greyscale, as if from one of those old black and white movies his mom used to watch with him on their movie nights. His jeans are black and dark, same as the plain black t-shirt he sports. His hair is messy and his skin, what should have been a nice natural olive tone, is more gray than tan. He doesn't look solid, he's pure shadow. Will thinks that he could reach out to touch him and find nothing but air.

"I'm uh, Will?" He's not exactly sure how one is supposed to react in a situation such as this.

The boy smiles, "Yeah, I know."

"Oh."

Nico bites his lip and sits down next to him on his bed. Somehow, he doesn't slip right through.

"Let me start again," he says, "my name is Nico, I'm the same shadow that you've been talking to all this time. I uh— well, as far as I can tell, and I don't remember much really," here Nico looks down at his hands and wiggles his fingers, "I was a demigod, a long, long time ago. And I think I used my powers a little too much, so much that I just, I don't know, burned out. I just faded from the world. I didn't die, I should've, but I didn't, I turned to shadow instead."

Nico looks up at him and he looks so lost, so alone, Will doesn't know what to do. "So, what happened?" Will asks, "How are you here now and not a shadow, I mean holy Hades, how are you even talking?"

"The first thing I can remember is being nothing, nothing at all. I was here but not, a blank slate almost, I couldn't remember anything, I just kind of existed. But then you started talking to me, and maybe that was it, your humanity, maybe that was what jump started my brain. I started remembering things. I can remember my mother singing lullabies to me when I was younger, I remember my sister's long, silky black hair and the green floppy hat she used to wear. And then, yesterday, I remembered my name, Nico. I don't who I was, or who my father was, but I'm here, I'm real, and I— thanks, Will, just— thanks."

Nico smiles widely, and it looks so out of place on his face that Will wonders how long it's been since he's smiled.

"I'm going to help you, Nico," he decides, "I'll find out what happened to you, and I'm going to make sure that one day, you'll be real and solid, I promise you."

His smile morphs into a frown, Nico looks doubtful. They've come this far, but he doesn't believe that Will can achieve the impossible. That's okay, though, Will can believe enough for the both of them.

"I've got this," he says, and he thinks he really might.

The next day, Will goes to see Chiron. He finds him in wheelchair form with Mr. D, playing another game of pinochle.

"Chiron?" Will calls, "Can I ask you a few questions?"

Chiron turns to him, "Of course, my boy, what is it?"

Will's eyes drift to Dionysus, but he merely summons a can of diet coke and says, "Oh do go on, Walter."

Will sighs and says, "Um, well, I was wondering, was there ever a demigod named Nico? Who, uh, maybe died?"

Will frowns in confusion when Chiron looks at him in surprise, at an obvious loss for words, and Mr. D's eyebrows shoot for the ceiling.

"Will," Chiron says carefully, "where did you hear that name?"

"Nowhere, really," he's not sure whether Nico would be okay with him revealing his existence, "I think I just overheard some of the naiads mention that name, and since I never heard about him in any of the stories the older campers have told us, I was um, curious." There, that's realistic, right? Oh, he really hopes Chiron and Mr. D believe him.

Will looks at Chiron but he's not sure what emotion exactly is playing out on his face, Mr. D is just more of the same.

"Nico was…" Chiron starts far too cautiously than he should, making Will suspicious as to what exactly he's hiding about Nico, who he was in life, "Nico was a camper here, yes, many years ago, he was a demigod son of Hades." Will gasped audibly, the shadow powers had thrown him off a bit, yes, but still, he'd never expected Nico to be a son of the god of the underworld. He'd never even heard of Hades having any demigod children, at least not in the last few decades.

Chiron looked at him knowingly, "Yes, Nico di Angelo was a child of the Underworld, though his true parentage was kept secret for a long while. He remains one of the bravest, noblest demigods I've known. In the face of the enemy's sore attempts at corruption, he stayed loyal to us until the end. He fought so hard, and in the final battle, he gave everything he had to defeat our enemy. He lost his life, or at least appeared to. We all believed him dead, but after the battle was over, Hades came to Olympus, desperately searching for his son. Nico, you see, had vanished. To this day, no one knows exactly what happened, but Nico was gone, he'd disappeared from the land of the living, but was nowhere to be found in the land of the dead."

Will stared at Chiron until Mr. D took a particularly loud gulp of diet coke that shook him out of his stupor. "I— I have to go," he said, ignoring whatever Chiron said to him in response and sprinting out of the Big House and into the closest isolated place he could think of— the forest.

Camp Half-Blood's forest was dark and eerie, chock-full of an unknown quantity of monsters, but it served his needs well enough and gave him a good place to think. This was bigger than he'd ever imagined, Will thought. Nico wasn't just anybody, he was a son of the Big Three and a war hero. This was so much bigger than him. Will sighed and decided to do the only thing he could think to do. Chiron hadn't told him when exactly Nico had died, though he had a few ideas. But no matter what, it was a long time ago, and Hades was no doubt missing his son. Well, he thought, if I die, at least I die more or less nobly.

And so, Will bowed his head, closed his eyes, and prayed to Hades, god of the underworld.

When he lifted his head and opened his eyes not a second later, the god Hades was there, towering over him. Immediately, he dropped to a bow.

"Well, demigod," Hades drawls, "what is it? This better be important, not many dare to call me by name."

Hades stands there, pointedly waiting for a response that Will struggles to get out.

"Y—You had a son," Will begins, not sure how else to, "his name was Nico? And he disappeared?"

Hades' hands subtly ball into fists at his sides. "Yes," he says simply, "what of him? And do be careful of what you say, demigod, I'd hate to have to smite you here and now."

"I, well, I think I found him."

Hades drew a sharp breath, gob-smacked at Will's words, "You — you what?!"

Will nods, "I found him," he repeats. "Um, follow me, I guess," he continues before turning to lead the way to the Apollo cabin, where Nico tends to reside quietly. Hades follows behind him without a word, silent, wanting only to finally find his son.

It's early afternoon, and most people are at some activity or another, which Will is eternally grateful for. Still, on the way there they pass a good few campers who all drop what they're doing as soon as they spot them to stare at the odd pair with wide eyes and opens mouths. Hades ignores them easily and Will does his best to do the same, he has a job to do.

Soon enough, they reach the Apollo cabin. He knows that everyone is busy doing archery at the moment, but he still exhales a relieved breath when he can't hear anyone inside. He grabs the handle and holds the door open for Hades. Once they're both inside the seemingly empty cabin, Will calls out.

"Nico?" Will says, "Are you there? Please come out."

Hades glances down at him doubtfully but the next second a form begins to materialize in the darkest corner of the room and Hades' eyes dart over there with unabashed desperate hope.

"Yeah?" Nico says, glancing curiously at Hades, "What is it?"

Hades let's out a soft gasp and when Will risks a glimpse of his reaction, it might be a trick of the light but he thinks he sees a single tear falling from his left eye.

"Nico?" Hades utters his name and Nico looks at him, there's no recognition in his eyes. "Is that really you?"

"Nico," Will says, "this is Lord Hades, your father."

"My… father?" Nico repeats. He looks incredibly confused. And then, without warning, he doubles over and grunts as he holds his head in his hands. "Father… Hades… " Nico says, murmuring to himself. Then he stands up straight and says "Dad!" This time with renewed vigor.

"Nico," Hades smiles, but still seems unsure as to how to proceed.

"Oh go ahead and hug already," Will scoffs.

Hades is hesitant but Nico, contradictory to everything Will knows about him, steps forward and hugs his father. Hades reciprocates easily.

The moment they touch, Will notices, Nico seems to solidify. His skin gains color and any trace of shadow-him is gone. He's become tangible. Somehow, the god of the underworld had healed him.

When they part, Nico gasps, "I remember, I remember everything!"

Nico turns to him, "Will, you did it!"

And oh, gods damn it, Nico standing there, a smile on his face, he just looks so cute and kissable. He can't handle it anymore.

"Nico," he says, throwing all caution to the wind.

"Yeah, Will?"

"Kiss me."

"Okay, Will."

And then they kiss, with Hades raising his eyebrows behind them, and it is all Will had ever imagined and so, so much more.