Blue: My ship became canon so I had to write something for this. And Nico may or may not be OOC.
"What?!" Will yelled hastily back at his father, cabin mate, whatever. He was too surprised to care. First his dad, Apollo, shows up as a mortal. He was Apollo! The god of the Sun, poetry, music, archery, and many other things that were failed to be mentioned. That wasn't even the big surprise. He's shown up as a mortal before. But now the whole camp was in disarray, there was a new and unusually strong daughter of Demeter, and fellow campers were missing. Now was not the time to talk about romance!
However, his stubborn father and siblings, Austin and Kayla, had other plans. It was one thing for his father to pry into his love life. That was his specialty! But, Kayla and Austin decided to throw themselves into the mix. "I said..." started Apollo (Nobody mentioned his mortal name, Lestor) "That you need to confess to Nico." Will ran his hands through his tussled blonde hair. "Why are we talking about this?" he asked impatiently.
"Because we're tired of you moping around." Kayla chimed in. Austin picked up where she left off. "The whole camp has been sulking lately. If we go all gloomy then all is lost. And who better to cheer the camp up then the sunshine kids!" he glanced back at Apollo. "Did I say it right dad?" he asked. "Yep. You did perfectly." Apollo praised.
"You rehearsed that?" Will raised an eyebrow. "You could tell?" Kayla pouted. "Austin would never say anything so stupid." Will reasoned. "Hey I wrote that myself!" Apollo feigned hurt. Will rolled his eyes at his now brown-haired, scrawny, 16-year old father. "That explains it."
"Anyway, we're tired of you staring at Nico. It's about time you two kissed." Kayla giggled. "Kayla!" Will exclaimed. "I'm just saying what everybody is thinking. Even Percy could tell, and he's slow as a snail."
Will sighed. "I won't deny I like him, but what if he doesn't like me. I know he's gay, but that goes down the drain if he doesn't like me!" Kayla, Austin, and Apollo snickered simultaneously. Will looked at them confused. When Apollo kids (and Apollo himself) start acting like the Hermes Cabin something is not right.
Will arched his eyebrows. "Do you know something I don't?" Austin chuckled. "You are oblivious." he stated. Kayla chuckled. "Nico obviously has a crush on you. Why do you think he willingly stayed in the infirmary for 10 days instead of the promised 3." Austin smiled. "Not to mention he chose to sit at the Apollo table in the dining pavilion, and always next to you." Apollo smirked. "You're apparently all he can talk about, according to Meg."
"Meg and Nico are friends?" Will asked curiously. "They've got along ever since Meg kicked Sherman Yang in the crotch, but that's not important!" Apollo huffed. "What is important is that if you and Nico don't get together the camp is going to explode from the tension between you two." Kayla and Austin nodded in agreement.
Will sighed. "Alright. Alright. I'll...think about it." he mumbled. Kayla puted. "You are not going to think about it. You are going to do it!" Apollo nodded. "Besides who else is going to be your partner for this 3-legged death race I keep hearing about?" Will was about to retort that he knew somebody, but, in all honesty, he didn't. Austin and Kayla were likely a duo, and everyone else either ticked him off or was female. He looked down. "Fine you win!" he muttered in defeat.
Austin and Kayla high-fived. "Yes phase one of the solangelo plan complete!" Apollo cheered. Will stared at them. "Really?"
"Yes!" They said in unison. Okay he really needed to get out of there before they became the Hermes Cabin. He sighed as he left (He was doing that a lot lately.) and looked around camp.
Nobody seemed to be out or doing anything. Although Meg was listening intently to Miranda in front of the Demeter Cabin. Will stuck his hands in his pockets. Was he really going to do this? He was very tempted to just hide out and let it blow over.
But that wouldn't be right. WIll wouldn't deny he had a thing for Nico. Okay he had a giant crush on Nico! He was dark, brooding, and silent, but adorable. Nico tried to look threatening, and he could. Will still remembered the Battle of Manhattan, where a 12 year old Nico showed up with his father and an army of undead, all while staring Kronos in the face. 13 year old Will thought that was the coolest thing he's ever seen! (It's still among the top 5.) However, when he didn't have that annoyed expression, his dark hair and eyes, pale face, and lithe frame were absolutely beautiful.
Will and Nico were complete opposites. Will liked One Direction (Blame Kayla), but Nico liked Green Day and Linkin Park. Will liked the bright doctor clothes, yet Nico preferred black and simple. Will was usually happy and well...Nico never really had been until very recently. Will liked to hang out outside, but Nico would stay locked up in the Hades Cabin all day.
Will rubbed a hand over his face. Thinking of Nico wasn't going to help anything. Where would Nico be in the evening after dinner and before the bonfire? Ah of course. His cabin. Where else would he be?
Will crossed across the field towards the Hades Cabin. It's dark walls and green fire were as ominous as ever. "He still hasn't gotten on that renovation project." Will inwardly chuckled. 6-months after the war with Gaea and Nico still had yet to renovate the Hades Cabin. Either he was still recovering (if so Will wanted to hear about it) or Nico was a huge procrastinator.
He gently knocked on the door which was hopefully enough for him to hear. Nico cracked the door open and peered outside. Will caught a glimpse of his hair and eyes. He swallowed a gulp and smiled. "Hi Sunshine." Nico lightly glared at his dreaded nickname. "Did you need something?" Will shrugged. "I just wanted to talk." It was Nico's turn to sigh as he held the door open. "Well come on in."
Will took back that thought about Nico being a procrastinator. There may have been little work on the outside, but the inside was completely different. Giant velvet mattresses were replaced with normal sized twin beds and basic black covers. The heavy blood-red curtains had been replaced by light grey ones, so light was actually able to come in. Will appreciated the fact that it wasn't completely dark, and he was able to see. The once black walls had also been turned into a light gray. The entire room was more inviting than ever. Will figured the second bed was for Hazel whenever she came to visit. Band posters and a radio were scattered around the first bed, and it was easily identified as Nico's.
"I see you've been busy in here." Will mused. Nico nodded. "It was way too dark and tacky in here. Although the outside is still ugly as ever." Will nodded in agreement. "I noticed." Nico stared up at him. "Any specific reason you wanted to talk or did you just end up here?" Will chuckled. "A little bit of both." he mumbled.
Nico sighed as a comforttable silence engulfed them. Whenever they were together they didn't need words. They knew the other was there for them, and that's all they needed. Will sat down on the guest bed as Nico flopped down on his own. Will could see the setting outside. Another difference Will appreciated.
Will didn't remember when he fell asleep. Whether it was the soothing presence of Nico or the now cozy feeling of the cabin, Will felt safe there. When he did wake up he was met with the sight of Nico wide awake. He had his face in his hands and was shaking uncontrollably. Will could hear his muffled sobs and gasps for breath.
He found himself at Nico's side in an instant. All traces of sleep gone as he tried to calm him down. "Nico? Nico what's wrong?" Nico gazed up at him slightly with eyes full of tears. Will could feel his heart shatter for him.
"Was it the nightmares again?" he asked gently as he sat down next to Nico. Nico lightly grabbed Will's sleeve and nodded. Will let out a huge exhale. Back in the infirmary Nico had a series of nightmares, but none of them made Nico cry the way he was now.
Will never really fathomed as to why the camp called Nico "The Boy Who Grew Up Too Fast." The entire camp had grown up too fast! Then Nico suddenly decided to tell his story on the second day of recovery. Will understood then. He always figured Percy had it harder. But Percy didn't lose a mother and sister at age ten. Percy wasn't locked in a jar with only a few pomegranate seeds to live on. Percy most definitely wasn't locked in a Casino for around a hundred years only to come out and find a completely different world. It amazed Will that Nico had gone through so much, and yet he still had his sanity.
Will had made a vow then. He promised he wouldn't let Nico suffer on his watch. But when he looked down at the trembling boy he realized how much he sucked at his job. Nico had been holding in all his feelings. Eight years worth of struggle, pain, and hardship, but he never let it show. He was always locked up inside himself. He was always thinking. Even when he told Will his story he kept a blank expression. Now Nico had reached a breaking point. Whatever had been in his nightmares had pushed him over the edge. He was so strong yet so helpless.
Despite the embarrassing position, Will pulled Nico into his lap and placed a hand on his waist the other on his head. "Shh. It's okay. I'm here. You're safe now." Nico didn't do anything cliche like grab onto Will's shirt, but he did seem to visibly relax. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked hesitantly.
"The voices. T-They won't leave me. I thought they were gone b-but..." Nico stuttered, wringing his hands in his lap. "Sh. Take a deep breathe." Will commanded, his doctoral instincts taking over. Nico had stopped shaking, but he was clearly far away from getting any sleep. "The voices. What did they say to you?" Will muttered while gently stroking though Nico's hair. Nico flinched and Will inwardly cursed himself. "You don't have to say it if you don't want to." he said quickly.
Doctor Will knew he should make Nico talk about it. Regular Will just wanted to hold and protect him. At the moment he was doing half of that. Nico took a deep breathe. "They yell at me. They tell me I'm useless. That you hate me. That everyone does. And I'm tempted to believe it."
Will tightened his grip on Nico. "Nico you know they're lying." Nico nodded. "I know but that doesn't make it any less painful."
"Nico listen to me. You are an amazing person. You've never been useless. Hell, you brought back a 40 foot tall statue of Athena with shadow travel from halfway across the world and you survived. Without you we might not have defeated Gaea. No one hates you either. You just refused to let anyone near you. I've told you this many times. One more thing. I don't hate you. I never could. How can I hate the one I love?" There he said it. He might of made the situation worse, but he had to get through to Nico somehow.
Nico pulled away slightly and stared up at Will with eyes full of shock, sadness, and was that yearning? "Y-You mean that right? You aren't just saying it?" he asked nervously. Will tenderly placed a hand on Nico's cheek. "Of course. I'm not one to lie, right Sunshine?" he chuckled. Nico could feel new tears slide down his cheeks as he tackled Will into a hug. Will felt a smile tug at his lips. "I'll always be here for you. Don't forget that." Nico nodded with a smile of his own. "Of course." Nico smirked as he leaned up to place a kiss on Will's lips.