Nico was supposed to be in the infirmary starting today. 10 minutes. 20 minutes. 30 minutes. Will sighed. He couldn't blame the boy for wanting to be left alone after the battle, because honestly, so did Will. But there were patients to be taken care of, wounds to heal, and bandages to cut. At the moment, Will was wrapping a very dazed Connor Stoll's arm in a sling, when he noticed a familiar face walking towards him.
"Hey Will, have you seen Nico anywhere?" Lou Ellen asked, blushing slightly.
Will turned around sulking, "No. I haven't been able to find him the whole day. What if he's not resting? What if he's shadow traveling? And wha-"
"Will! Calm down okay, Nico is not stupid, and I bet you anything that he'll be here-"
"WHEN? TOMORROW? NEXT YEAR?" Will retaliated, earning a baffled expression from Lou Ellen.
"Shtu-fukup Lil ur so loud," Came the muffled interjection of Travis Stoll, who was smothered among the pillows.
Lou Ellen raised an eyebrow at him. "We need to get you out of the infirmary. Now."
Will crossed his arms. "Fine, but have you ever delivered a baby?"
"Come on, Will," She grasped his arm, "We're leaving."
It was a long day, the sun was agonizingly hot on Will's neck, and he'd somehow managed to ditch Lou Ellen along the way. He was determined to find Nico and do whatever it took to bring him to the infirmary. He finally reached Cabin 13 and peered through the dark windows. The son of Hades was indeed in his coffin, surrounded by papers with scruffy sketches on them. Transfixed, Will bumped his forehead on the glass in an attempt to see Nico in HD. Cursing silently, he bolted out of view and started to power walk in the direction of the Hecate Cabin, but it was too late.
"Will?" Nico peeped out from behind his door, his eyes wrinkling from the harsh sunlight.
Will turned around awkwardly and strode back to the doorway. "Uh, yeah?"
"Were you watching me through the window?" Nico asked, evidently uncomfortable.
"Uh, no." Will stammered, "I was just going to ask you why you didn't come to the infirmary today. I thought we had an agreement."
Will silently hoped that Nico didn't notice the not so subtle change of subject. Nico sighed and gestured for Will to come inside. Closing the door behind him, Will eyed the cabin. Man this place was depressing. They both sat down on the surprisingly comfortable vintage couch in the middle of the room as Will bounced on the seat. Nico stared at him in bewilderment. Will looked content and murmured unintelligibly the way an old man would when he saw something he liked.
"What?" Will noticed that Nico was staring at him.
"What?"
"You-" Will started.
"No, you were just sayi-"
"Oh." He scratched the back of his neck absently as Nico looked at him expectantly. "Oh, I do that sometimes…" Will said sheepishly, inwardly scolding himself for being a hot mess.
An uncomfortable silence crept up on them as Nico shifted self-consciously. "I-I didn't want to come," He averted his eyes.
"What do you mean you didn't want to come? You promised me three days in the infirmary, Nico." Will looked at him with upset puppy eyes.
"I know, I know, it's just that I don't want to be around people," Nico continued as Will shot him a dubious look, "And I'm pretty sure no one wants to be around me either…"
"Nico, quit feeling sorry for yourself, okay? Why do you think everyone hates you? You pretty much saved everyone's asses, and the least you could do is give yourself a break." Will was still unimpressed.
"Okay." Nico groaned as he got up. Will wore a pained expression as he studied Nico.
"Hey, what's this?" Will shuffled over to Nico's bed where all the papers were spread out.
Nico's eyes widened in apprehension, "Oh, um those are not-"
"Are these redecoration plans?" Will had an inexplicable bubbliness about him. It was strange yet comforting to know that the son of Hades wanted to decorate his room like a normal kid. There was just something so endearing about that.
"Uh, yeah." Nico looked somewhat disconcerted as he took the papers from Will, his fingers brushing the back of the blonde's hand ever so slightly. "There's not much to do when you're confined to bed rest." Nico shoved the sheets into the bedside drawer.
Will smiled at him, "Okay, as soon as you get out of the infirmary, I promise to help you with your cabin. This place looks like a cemetery. My buddy Jake can help make the new furniture." Will certainly did feel like he was coming on to Nico a little too strong, but all he wanted to do was help.
"Really? Thanks, Will." Nico ran his hand through his hair and flushed slightly.
"No problem Death Breath." He smirked.
"Seriously though, my breath doesn't smell like death." Nico scowled, "You don't even know what my breath smells like."
"I guess I'll have to find out then," Will grinned as he inched closer to him, then blanched, realizing what he implied. He watched the younger boy march out of the cabin blushing furiously at a loss for words.