Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—the Percy Jackson universe or any of its characters. All credit goes to rightful owner, Mr. Rick Riordan.

Tristan Hemsworth, Deborah McMann, and Nigel summers are mine though.

Will woke 30 seconds before the alarm went off. Nico lay next to him, eyes wide open, fiddling with the sheets. Something in the way his lids kept drooping cued Will in on the fact Nico had probably been awake much longer than him. Nico might in fact, not have slept at all. Will wouldn't blame him if that was the case.

For the past year, they had gone through only five of the required eleven steps toward their future. Today, they took the sixth step. All the paperwork, and workshops, and interviews, and evaluation, leading up to this first moment.

Their caseworker had found a boy in an orphanage she thought would match well with the pair, and today, Will and Nico was going to visit him for the first time. Although nothing was guaranteed on the first visit, beyond testing out their chemistry, Will's stomach kept doing somersaults and tying knots around itself.

They had seen a picture of him, of course. A small, white, eight-year-old, described as short for his age, with wild, curly, brown hair, and amber eyes. He had a crooked smile on his picture, although his eyes didn't seem all in it. There was a sadness in them. He was high energy, and low attention span. The orphanage suspected it was just his age, because he didn't seem to have that many issues beyond his energy levels. And the dyslexia.

Will turned off the alarm just as it went off and looked down at Nico who kept tugging on the sheet with a frown on his face and a crease in his forehead.

"What are you thinking about?" Will asked him.

He looked up, his eyes slightly bloodshot, the crease and frown lessening. "High energy, low attention, and dyslexia."

Will nodded. They'd discussed this once the caseworker had gone home for the day. She thought he was a good fit, because Nico and Will knew all about dyslexia. They also knew all about high energy and low attention. And gods. They knew a lot about gods.

"It could be a coincidence," Will muttered, half a smile on his face, not really believing it himself.

"If he's a demigod, we have to do everything right so we can get him out." Nico sat up, rubbing his tired eyes. "Being eight hopefully means no monsters have picked up on his scent yet, but his time is short if he is a demigod. We need to pass this visitation."

Will leaned back and sighed. "And if we don't pass?"

"I don't know." Nico scooted closer to Will and held him in his arms. "But we have to help him as much as we can. Four years at most, and his scent will become more visible."

Will sighed, a lump forming in his throat. "What if there are others? If he's not the only orphaned demigod? You know how unlucky we can get with our mortal parents because of monsters and enemies."

"We'll spread the word to have people help us pick them up. Obviously we can't try for all of them."

Will sighed and wrapped his arms around Nico. "We could keep him here in the off-season," he suggested.

"We could." Nico agreed, kissing the top of his head. "We'll ask him what he thinks, too. Fighting skills are so crucial to demigods. I know they learn a lot during the summer, but if he's very powerful, maybe year-around would be best for him."

Will groaned and buried his face in Nico's collarbones. "Why did he have to potentially be a demigod?"

Nico stroked his hair. "It doesn't matter why. Our paths are crossing today. We have to get him out. It has to be him for us."

"Remember the pamphlet, Darling. Never set your mind on just one child."

"The pamphlet doesn't know about demigods."

Will chuckled half-heartedly. "No it doesn't." He untangled from Nico and kissed his temple. "It's best we keep it that way, for the sake of all mortals."

Nico let out a hum, and Will got up to shower and get dressed. This flurry of emotions was so strange. The excitement that made him nauseous and had him trembling. The fear that had his breath stuck in his chest and throat. The sadness that the boy might not want to stay with them once he learnt what he was that had everything falling to his feet.

He went through the motions. Breakfast, and coffee, and brushing his teeth. He honestly couldn't tell whose nerves were frayed more, his or Nico's. At this point, they were practically having a fidgeting contest, and Nico had knocked down two mugs from twitching too much. Lucky, only one of the mugs chipped. When their caseworker came, Will suppressed the urge to mean-mug her because she looked much too awake for his liking, and that was saying much since he was a bit of a morning person himself. He had never been this exhausted at 10 am.

"Good morning," she sang, a brilliant smile on her face.

"Good morning," Will tried for a smile, while Nico gave a grumpy harrumph. He looked close to passing out. Bags under his blood-shot eyes, tousled hair. "Would you like some coffee, Deborah?"

"No thank you, Will." Deborah looked at her silver wrist-watch. "We should get going soon. The two of you seem like you haven't slept well. Nerves?"

"Oh yes," Will breath, rolling on his feet. "I hardy slept at all, and I think Nico actually didn't sleep."

Nico harrumphed again and downed the rest of his coffee. Deborah gave a hearty laugh. "I can tell. Don't worry, Nico, I will make sure to talk fondly of you when we come. First impressions are important, after all." She looked around. "Well. Shall we? We wouldn't want to be late for our first face-to-face."

"Most certainly not," Will agreed, elbowing Nico lightly.

"You chauffeuring is probably a good idea," Nico told Deborah.

Deborah gave him one of her brilliant smiles, and lead them out the doorway. Both Nico and Will almost forgot the keys for their flat, so Nico rushed back in before they got locked out, and then they went down to Deborah's car. A light-silver Toyota Corolla. It always looked newly washed when she came in it, and inside it smelled like lemon-lime.

Will and Nico went in the back, Nico behind the shot-gun seat because he was so used to the window seating, and Will in the middle next to him. They buckled in, while Deborah chatted away about what they should remember. Smiling and being pleasant. Being open and not be disappointed if the first conversation felt awkward and stilted. Will nodded along while Nico did something between a hum and a grunt every now and again.

The orphanage wasn't that far away from their flat. They could probably have walked there in an hour or so if they wanted. But, as Deborah said so often, first impressions are important. It was probably the reason Deborah had taken her nice-looking company car, rather than her private car. Will liked her private car better, because it mirrored her personality nicely.

They left the car, Will and Nico both straightening their backs, Deborah smiling. Will's stomach was abut to explode, his heart throbbing violently in his chest. He saw Nico swallow next to him, and mimicked the gesture. Nico laced his fingers into Will's, Deborah turned and smiled at them, then went briskly ahead. Nico tugged at Will's hand, his face one of worry and uncertainty. Will gave him a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand, and the tenseness in Nico's shoulders disappeared. They went ahead into the building, following the smiling Deborah.

There was a bustle of kids inside, doing a bunch of activities, and a handful of caretakers overseeing them. One caretaker was breaking up a fight in the corner, while another caretaker walked over to them with long steps and swinging arms. His smile looked so forced it almost hurt Will to look at him.

"Hello," he greeted, his face looking like it would tear open at any moment. "I'm Nigel Summers." He shook their hands.

"Deborah McMann."

"Will Solace."

"Nico di Angelo."

"All right." Nigel clapped his hands together. "I'll find him for you so we can go into the Cosy Room together."

"The Cosy Room?" Nico raised an eyebrow, and Will wanted to chat him, but decided against it.

"It sounds better than Interview Room," Nigel explained with his too-wide-smile plastered on his lips. "The kids agree."

Nico hummed and nodded, while Will tried to just look polite. Deborah, however, was all aboard, talking excitedly with Nigel as they wound their way through the crowd of children until they reached their match. His hair seemed unruly compared to all the other kids'. His clothes also seemed more ruffled, and he was arguing with one of the other kids.

"Tristan," Nigel sounded like he had to strain himself to seem cheerful. "Louis. What seems to be the problem this time?"

The other boy, Louis, immediately started firing accusation. "Tristan took my card."

"Your card?" Tristan shot back. "That was my card. It was in my starter deck."

"It was in mine."

"My name is literally written on it," Tristan spat, showing the card which, in fact, had his name on it.

"Now boys. It's good to share—"

"Of course I share," Tristan complained. "I'm the only one with cards in this place. Louis is just mad I won't let him have any when they're mine. He can get some for his own allowance."

"Let's discuss this another time," Nigel said. His veins looked like they would pop any moment. "Take your cards and come with me to the Cosy Room, Tristan. Your couple is here."

Tristan gave Nigel the stink-eye and looked at Nico and Will a bit more forlornly. He muttered a quick hi before leading the way to the Cosy Room. Nigel was right behind them until they were inside, then he left them with their caseworker and Tristan.

The Cosy Room actually looked cosy. It was painted a gentle green on one wall, and off-white on the others. The furniture followed that same white and green pattern, and there were a couple of green plants in here. Low trees and succulents.

In the corner there was a green sofa and some green bean bags, and near the middle there was a wooden table surrounded by chairs with green cushions. Tristan immediately went to the table, and Deborah smiled with a little oh.

"I'll just," she pointed at the sofas and went to sit there. "Pretend I'm not here."

Tristan shot her a glance then shrugged while caressing his cards. Will looked at Nico, suppressing a smile by the shimmer in his eyes.

"You play Mythomagic?" Nico asked.

Tristan looked up. He seemed a little weary, like he wasn't sure of what to do, then he shrugged. "A little. But the other kids keep taking my cards that I buy for my own allowance, so I started writing my name on them. The caregivers always believe the other kids if they say I took the cards, just because I'm good at sneaking things away."

Will gave Nico a look. He could tell Nico was thinking hard on which godly parent Tristan had if he were in fact a demigod. Will wondered that as well.

"I started collecting cards when I was six," Nico eventually said. "I played anyone who would want to play me. I kept my cards by getting custom sleeves for them with my name on the back, because I got my hands on all the special packs and limited edition cards. I have tons of rares at home."

This piqued Tristan. "Really?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah. I still play with my brother-in-law. We usually play with the standard cards. No rares or special editions."

"Aw. That sucks." Tristan seemed to loosen up a bit, and Will noticed he had a bandage wound around his left upper arm.

"What happened to your shoulder?" Will asked.

Tristan tugged at his T-shirt, as if to cover up the bandage, and shrugged. "I got attacked by a h…" his eyes shifted, "by a bird. It must have had something on its claws, because it got pretty infected. So I'm on antibiotics to stop me from getting feverish."

"You're running a fever?" Will asked, the doctor in him kicking in.

Tristan shrugged again. He seemed to do that a lot as if he wasn't exactly sure what to do with himself. "Just a bit. I'm on watch at the moment. They're gonna take my temperature again by lunch to see if it climbs. They almost wanted to cancel today because it was really bad when we woke for breakfast. I'm glad it got better, because it would have been sad to cancel. Couples are always so excited to come. You can tell." He looked at the two of them. "You are too. You look tired. I bet you didn't sleep much." He started fiddling with his cards. "I didn't sleep much either. I've never had a gay couple come for me before. I was really curious."

"Well, we were really curious to meet you too," Will said with a smile. "But if you've got a fever you really should be under a cover."

Tristan rolled his eyes and made a gagging sound. "I'm fine."

"And I'm a doctor," Will retaliated. "I work at the children's wing of my hospital. I know about kids like you. They'll insist they're fine until they pass out from exhaustion. They never admit they might need rest."

"It was just a stupid bird." Tristan shrugged, challenging Will with his look.

Nico leaned back with a thoughtful look. He seemed quite amused with Tristan's attitude. "Do you usually talk like this to the couples?"

"They say to be ourselves," Tristan shrugged. "This is me." He seemed to realise something then. He put his cards on the table and looked at the two of them. "I forgot. We're supposed to introduce ourselves properly. I'm Tristan Hemsworth." He shot both his hands forward. "This is much easier and quicker than shaking one hand at a time."

Will laughed and clasped Tristan's right hand. "Will Solace."

"Nico di Angelo." Nico shook Tristan's other hand. Tristan seemed both confused and happy about this.

"You're the first ones to do that. All the others always complained I didn't do it properly." He smiled.

"So. This bird," Nico enquired. "What did it look like?"

Will knew what he was fishing for. He sneaked his right hand below the table and squeezed Nico's thigh. A gesture to make him slow down a bit. It was only their first meeting, and Deborah was still in the room. Even if she was reading some book on her Kindle, she could very well hear them.

"Well," Tristan shot a glance at the sofa, then at the couple. "The others said it looked like a big vulture, or something, but…" He looked through his cards until he found a specific one. He cradled it in his hands, an uncertain look in his eyes. He sighed and tossed the card on the table. It was a harpy. "It looked like this. Although I hope it isn't. It says it can be venomous."

Will's mouth ran dry. "When did you get attacked by this?"

"Yesterday, around seven thirty pm. Me and a couple of the others were just outside playing when it came flying and clawed at me. I jabbed it with my… this," he pulled out a small pocket knife. Celestial bronze. "Must have jabbed it good, because it turned to glitter. It left behind a claw for me though. I'm hiding it in a box."

Will considered Nico who looked at the knife and the card. He caught Will's eyes with alarm, and seemed to really look at Tristan now, his brows furrowing deeper than before. Will didn't like that look. Nico reached down to Will's hand still on his thigh and squeezed.

"Where'd you get this from?" Nico asked, considering the knife.

Tristan looked down, fiddling with his cards. He shrugged and avoided all eye contact. "My dad gave it to me before he died. Said I'd need it."

Will exchanged a glance with Nico. Nico still looked much too worried for Will's liking, and he answered without Will having to ask.

"Three days at the most if he's lucky."

Tristan looked confused, and sad, and lost, and Will wanted to change the subject.

"Do you wanna talk about your dad?" Will prompted.

Tristan's eyes shone with tears and he nodded. "Not yet," he said, contradicting himself.

"That's okay," Will smiled.

Nico rolled his shoulders and stood. "I bet the scar looks kind of cool, though."

Tristan chuckled, then did his signature shrug. "Not really. It's kind of green."

"Gnarly," Nico teased, looking amused at Will. "I bet you Will can tell you how to take really good care of it, if you show it."

Will understood immediately. "They do say I have magical hands, at my workplace."

Tristan laughed, his body less tense. He looked at the card on his table, the couple, and Deborah. Will looked at Deborah, too. She waved cheerfully at him, pointed at her Kindle, and mouthed I'm not here before reading again.

Tristan bit his bottom lip. "Okay. But only because they gave me extra bandages for when they need changing."

He fished around the pockets in his trousers. They had four rather deep pockets, and Tristan pulled out odd trinkets, a skeleton key, a zip-bag of mini chocolate-chip cookies, and a single Mythomagic figurine. It was Apollo.

"Wow," Will said, looking at the pile of oddities Tristan pulled out. "You sure can fit a lot in those pockets, huh?"

Tristan looked forlornly at Will and blushed, then he shrugged. "Most of it is mine." Will gave him a look, and he relented. "Okay. The figurine is mine. The cookies I got from Flora, because she's allergic to chocolate, and the caretakers kind of forgot, and the skeleton key… I can't remember where I got it from, but I have it now." He pulled out a tiny box next. "This is my claw. Always keep it on me or near me. Aha! Bandages!"

Nico picked up the box and looked inside it. Will peeked over his shoulder while taking one of the bandage pieces. Sure enough, it was a harpy talon. Long and sharp and bronze. It shone in the light. Will fiddled around in the first-aid bag he'd prepared from home—you never knew with demigods—and pulled out a few remedies to cleanse the wound with.

Tristan poked at a vile with nectar. "What's this? I've never seen this before."

Will removed his hands with care. "It's a very special medicine that can heal a lot of things, but many people are unfortunately allergic to it, so we can't use it much."

Tristan scrunched his nose. "That sucks. Careful with the layer that touches my skin. It kinda hurts when it comes off."

Will gave a chuckle. "Okay then. Ready?"

Tristan nodded. "Ready."

Will unwrapped the bandage with the utmost care, making a face when he saw Tristan's arm. Tristan didn't hiss or complain. He made a small sound at the back of his throat, and had a few tears stroll down his cheeks, but that was about it. Nico walked over to them and looked. Will's concern grew.

The 'scratch'—if it could be called that—on Tristan's arm, went along Tristan's entire biceps, taking up most of his upper arm. It wasn't just a scratch, or a gash, either. It had deep talon marks and signs of a struggle both on the biceps and triceps.

"Tristan?" Nico knelt next to him while Will started stocking what he would need to help that kind of gash along. "Did the harp… bird, try to pick you up?"

"Yeah it did," Tristan grunted. "All the others said it just circled me and attacked me, but it definitely tried to pick me up. That's probably how I jabbed it. Hurt like hell."

"Tristan!" Deborah quipped, and Will nearly had a hart attack. "Watch your language, young man."

"Sorry," Tristan muttered.

"It's okay," Nico assured, stepping in front of Will and Tristan to cover up the fact that Will was preparing demigod remedies. "We don't mind a little language."

"But…" Deborah complained.

"It's fine," Nico commanded. Will looked behind him just long enough to see Deborah's eyes go distant.

"Yes, it's fine," she agreed, and read her Kindle book again.

"How long do you need for that?" Nico asked, looking down at Will and the confused Tristan.

"May I?" Will asked Tristan, taking his arm gently before he replied.

"I… sure?" Tristan looked at Nico, then at Will.

Will turned and prodded carefully at Tristan's arm, and apologised every time he let out a hiss. "Five to ten minutes." Will decided at last. "There is a bit of mucus in here, and I think she might have spat on those talons, because there's definitely venom in his blood."

"All right," Nico said, "I'll send a message to look out for monsters and warn us in time."

"Monsters?" Tristan looked between them. "What monsters? Who are you?"

Will held on a little tighter when Tristan tried to pull lose. "Listen carefully, Tristan. Antibiotics won't help these gashes in the long run. It's not strong enough. It can only slow down the effect. You need some different medicine, which I can give you, because you are similar to us. If we had seen you getting attacked, we would have agreed you got attacked by a harpy."

Tristan looked at Deborah, as if he wanted to call for her. "She can't hear or see what we're doing." Nico informed him. "My sister taught me to manipulate the mist, so right now, it just looks like we're having an ordinary bonding time. Please try not to be scared. I know we just met, but you must try to trust us."

Tristan looked doubtful and frightened, so Will gave him his best reassuring smile. "I know it's scary, Tristan. But I'm a healer. I can make this infection go away."

Tristan seemed unsure, but allowed Will to work on his arm regardless. He looked on with great interest as Will buttered it up in a thin layer of nectar and went to work, healing him by humming healing hymns.

The venom in Tristan's system hit Will like a ton of bricks. It was already sneaking around his veins, and because it was his left arm, it was getting dangerously close to his heat. Some of it seemed to have gotten into the blood stream, but the antibiotics had drained it just enough that it wasn't deadly. Tristan should be running a fever much higher than the one he currently had. He sat Tristan down when his reflexes kicked in and had him hissing and huffing. Will shushed him gently between hymns, while Nico kept watch and occasionally gave Will something to drink when he was getting exhausted. Pulling out venom or poison was always a taxing experience. It left him with a headache and made all his muscles feel like jello. The room spun around him, and he must be looking deadly pale, judging from the looks he got from Tristan whose pain lessened as Will's grew.

Will was on the verge of throwing up from exhaustion, his body burning by now, when Nico pulled him back. He wasn't entirely done. Sure, most of the venom had left Tristan's bloodstream, but he still had some in his arm that had the potential to spread.

"You need to rest, Will." Nico decided, giving Will something to drink and a small cube of ambrosia. He wreaked off an even smaller piece for Tristan. "Eat this. It'll help fight off the rest of the venom."

Tristan seemed sceptical. "How did you do that?" he asked Will.

"He told you," Nico muttered. "He's a healer. Now, please, eat the ambrosia."

Tristan still looked unsure, but he took the small piece Nico offered him and ate it. His eyes lit up immediately. "Mm! It tastes like chocolate-chip cookies."

Nico chuckled. "For me it tastes like my favourite strawberry sorbet."

"For me it tastes like my mom's cinnamon bread." Will felt a little better. Still tired, but much less dizzy. He rummaged around in his first aid bag. "I'll butter you up with something that keeps the venom from spreading," he informed. "It's a nature reedy that might not smell that pleasant, but it helps. Put it on, wrap it in these bandages, don't wash it off until an hour later. At every meal, eat a piece of ambrosia the size of a small breadcrumb to help your body fight off the venom. Before bed, and after you wake up, spread a thin layer of this Vaseline on the scars. It will help them heal and draw out the venom. When I come see you again… if I come see you again, I will do a second healing session to take out the last venom.

"Always keep your knife close. That's the one thing you must not lose, no matter what. Be on the lookout for other creatures commonly found in Greek mythology. When you see them, come back here, inside, where the scent of the mortals can hide you. Don't stay outside, unless you are with a large group. If you are with a large group, try to get into the middle of it. Mortals can hide your scent well when there are many of them."

"Mortals?" Tristan looked confused.

"Ordinary people," Nico said. "You aren't like them. You're like us. We don't want to tell you too much right now, because telling you will make you aware and it does something to your scent. I don't think anyone really knows how or why that happens. But stay on your toes, and we'll get you out of here to a safe place."

"You don't know that," Tristan muttered. "You're like, my fourth couple already."

"We'll do everything we can," Will assured, finally gaining his bearings. "You won't be safe here for long. Just, please, stay alert and trust your instincts."

"I'll send message to have you guarded," Nico said. "My powers allow for that, so even when you feel alone, you won't be. If they can be trusted, my Father's sign will show above them." He pulled a shadow into his hands and shaped it into the sign of Hades. The letter C with a cross inside it, the bottom of the cross jutting below the lower-curve of the C.

"How'd you do that?" Tristan asked, his eyes lighting up even more.

"We're like you," Nico said. "Will is a healer, so he is good with medicine. I'm connected to the Underworld, so I can manipulate shadows and the dead. Many of your guards will probably take the form of zombies, skeletons, ghosts, and ghouls. Like I said: If my father's sign is above them, do not fret. Even if it isn't, creatures of the dead will know you are protected by me, so they will be reluctant to try anything, lest they face my wrath. Don't worry about the dead things."

Tristan nodded, a smile spreading across his face. He seemed stoked to be part of this. Will wouldn't blame him. Most young demigods found everything cool and awesome when they heard about it for the first time and saw everything. It was hard not to when it felt like you were suddenly the main character of a high fantasy plot. Except fantasy plots tended to have more glamour and less death. At least the books Will had read.

"Time's up," Deborah called, nearly scaring Will out of his skin. She smiled brilliantly at them as they sat on the floor, and Will wondered what Nico had shown her. Whatever it was, she clearly loved it.

They left with her, into the bustle of the crowd, all of Tristan's new medicine remedies in a little plastic bag. He seemed jittery and excited, but also sad. Nigel met them in the common room, his fake-smile stretching out at once.

"Did it go well?" he asked

"Well?" Deborah cheered. "It went fantastic!"

"Really? How good!"

And then they cheered and chatted together, and Will's head hurt, and his stomach felt weird again, because he really didn't want to leave Tristan, but he knew he had to.

"Let's set up more visits." Nigel said, pulling out a massive calendar. Deborah and Nico did the same, and Will was honestly glad Nico remembered the things he forgot. Like the calendar. They made a new appointment already next week, and even though Will was happy it was so soon, it still felt too far away. Anything could happen to a demigod with awareness.

Tristan seemed to hold back tears as he said bye for the day, clutching the bag with his medicine, which Will had explained in great detail to Nigel who was thrilled to hear about the care they already showed for Tristan. Tristan gave both of them a hug, and Will choked back his own tears. They all waved as Deborah drove away, and Nico started immediately fiddling with his skeleton ring. Will didn't blame him. He felt nervous and jittery too, and he knew Nico had been right that morning.

We have to get him out. It has to be him for us.

This might turn into a multi-chapter, to be honest.

Also, yes, there are like 11 steps to adopting in NYC. I counted them.