Imagine our world. Now imagine Italy. Imagine standing in the middle of the Colosseum, in the center of the ruins. Now go back five hundred years. Change the shape of all the continents but keep the idea of Rome, but add in magic and dragons (and chimeras and jiangshi and nine-tailed foxes and sphinxes).

What the image should be now is a suave and dark haired Italian wizard with a rose in his teeth (all Mediterranean men suffer from the same insufferable stereotype), commanding a huge flaming dragon for the adoring masses (who are also throwing him roses because that's what adoring masses do).

Instead, the dragon wasn't flaming and there weren't any adoring masses. There were some milling masses, and even more masses walking with a sense of purpose because they have shit to do, and soon. And there isn't a single Italian wizard. There are several Venetian Sub-overseers, one Florentian Super-overseer, a lot of handymen from the Germanic tribes, many Egyptian tourists, many more Nubian tourists, a Hittite tour guide trying to stop a war from breaking out between the Egyptians and the Nubians, and a blond medic tending to a dragon that isn't quite flaming but rather oozing. She was crying, her tears are steaming. Her nose is snotting.

The dragon was not in good shape, and that meant that Will Solace, temporary resident healer, was about to be in an even worse shape if what his father said was true. Which might not be true. But his father was unpredictable. But not unfair to his children. But unpredictable with a twisted sense of humor.

"Oh, Will." His dad's head popped into Will's tiny unit filled with unpacked furniture and books on magical healing. "I have a quick and easy task for you. The dragon performing at the Colosseum tonight is sick. Just fix her up real quick. Thanks! If she isn't good to go by 8 o'clock we'll have to send you out with the gladiators! Just kidding! Or am I? Nah. Or yeah?" He winked, and flitted off.

Before Will could speak, his dad rushed in again.

"Oh by the way, welcome to Venice!"

Out. In.

"Oh wait this is Rome! Haha, you know how your old dad gets mixed up sometimes."

"Uh-"

"Proud of you! See you!"

And that's the story of how Will Solace found himself performing healing magic on a dragon, less than five hours after he had moved to Rome. He thought that with his father in the city, it'd make the place seem less intimidating and more homelike. Because his father was obviously such an epitome of a family guy, of course. The dragon snot on his shirt disagreed.

"Having trouble?" a voice behind him asked.

"Huh?" He turned around. A short boy with eyes that held the mischievous gleam of a madman stood in front of him. "Oh yeah, I'm trying to stem Bessie's symptoms here, but I have to figure out what's actually wrong if she's to perform at her best tonight."

"I like dragons." Well, that was an answer to a question he never asked. "Especially Bessie, because she's mine. I named her after my cow, I used to have a personal cow but then she got old so we ate her. We, as in my family, and I should probably stop talking now because Mother says that I talk too much sometimes and it'd frighten people off, but I like your hair!"

"Wait, this is your cow- I mean, dragon?" Wait, this means that the freckled and stunted boy in front of him was-

"Yes! I'm Nico di Angelo, what's your name?"

"You're the dragon trainer! I'm Will Solace," he held his hand out to shake. Nico's hand was soft but cold, but his lips were warmer. Will knew the temperature of Nico's lips because the boy walked into a hug and gave a light kiss on Will's cheek. He should have known. Italians. "My father asked me to fix Bessie up before her appearance today. Everyone wants to see Bessie."

Nico's face turned grim, a stark contrast from his look of frank cheerfulness earlier. "I bet they do. Anyway, I don't think Bessie can stand right now, much less fight later. Why don't I just lead her back inside and you can take the rest of the day off?"

"Oh no, I can't have you do that, mister," Will wagged a finger at the boy. "I'm under strict orders to stay next to the dragon until she's cured."

Nico hummed and climbed on Bessie's before grabbing Will and tugging him atop the dragon's back as well. "Bess, let's go!"

The dragon unfurled her huge crystalline wings and flapped them. Decorations flew away in the gust, several Egyptians lost papers and started to blame the Nubians, the Hittite tour guide thought about quitting for the 10th time that day, while the sub-overseers gawked and the Super-overseer rushed to where the dragon took off into the setting sun.

"My dad's going to kill me!" Will screamed as he buried his head into Nico di Angelo's back. He was riding on a now-runaway dragon with a crazy person. Said crazy person will probably kill him once they landed- in fact, why even wait until they land? Di Angelo will probably push him off Bessie's back anytime soon. Poor, sweet Bessie, who currently didn't seem to be exhibiting any signs of distress. Poor, sweet, darling Bessie, who did not deserve to have a trainer as crazy as Nico di Angelo, who would yank her away from living the celebrity life of a fighter dragon.

After circling halfway around the city, Nico landed Bessie on the outskirts of the city, far away from the Colosseum.

"Here's your stop. Bessie's all cured now, so it's time for me to go!"

"What? Where are you going? What about the show? You can't just leave!" Will practically yelled, and his voice started to become shriller and shriller. "Also, you lied about your dragon being sick. Not cool. I was so worried because nothing was working on her!"

"I'm going off adventuring. Duh. I don't want Bessie to injure herself right before our journey just because some stupid nobles want to see dragon fighting. Casted a tiny spell on her." He caressed his dragon's neck gently, and for a moment Will thought he almost looked handsome. "Anyway, you're a healer, right? Any chance you'll come with me on the best adventure of our lives?"

"Um, no? I actually have my own shop set up recently so I can't go gallivanting off whenever I like."

Nico shrugged, and just like that, the insane boy was back.

"Really? Goodbye then." He tapped Bessie's neck lightly, and the dragon once again reared up and flew into the air.

The next time he saw Nico di Angelo, Will Solace was splinting Cecil's broken foot.

"Can't you just do your mojo on me and let me heal?" Cecil complained, wiggling his toes before wincing at the pain.

"I did do that, actually," Will said, "too bad you were injured by a curse, otherwise you'd be able to walk in an hour and run in two. I'd say give yourself two weeks of rest on that foot, and come back then so I can take the splint off." He placed a final stability spell on the splint so that it wouldn't fall off and would absorb any blow that might happen to it.

"Nice job," a voice behind him said. It seemed unfamiliar, but Will thought that he'd heard it before. When he turned around, it was a much taller and lankier Nico di Angelo who greeted him. A year ago, the boy had been a short and stubby looking kid. Now he's almost as tall as Will, had greasier hair tied back into a ponytail, and a huge zit on his chin, as well as a smattering of other smaller pimples on his face. Puberty was doing a number on the boy, obviously.

"Nico?" He waved Cecil off and told him to go home before turning back to Nico. "What are you doing back in the city?" Not that Nico shouldn't be in the city. For some reason, his abrupt flight from the Colosseum didn't land him in any trouble with lord Hades, who commissioned the fight in the first place. The lord was a lot more gracious than he seemed, though Will had to go through a nerve wracking interrogation.

"You know me?" Nico looked genuinely surprised, his eyebrows scrunching up together in a mask of confusion. Will was offended that he didn't remember him. To be fair, Will wasn't anyone memorable, but he thought that Nico had a responsibility to remember him after what he put Will through.

"Um, yes. You almost gave me a heart attack last year and I was left in the city to answer to a lot of angry officials."

"Oh, was that only a year ago? It feels so much longer than that." Nico dropped down on the seat Cecil had vacated. His eyes flickered over Will's face and figure and when he opened his mouth it was almost as if he was going to launch another word barrage. Probably about how Bessie's doing and if he's eaten his dragon, too. Will really hoped that Nico didn't eat the dragon. Dragons are not edible. But Nico didn't say anything about Bessie, or about how he liked Will's hair.

"I'm just here for a general checkup, I had a nasty run in with a curse tree a week ago and, there were some other stuff like a cool poisonous swamp, a hag who tried to eat me but couldn't - but trapped a bit of my magic - and my joints are hurting, sometimes when I run and fight. Do you think the hag's cursing me to age quicker?"

"Adventurers," Will scoffed. "You guys either think you're dying all the time or you never look after yourself. You, mister," he poked a finger at Nico, "sound like a rare combination of both."

Nico rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, a hag possessing your magic is bad news, I have to break that connection first." He threaded his fingers through Nico's hair and started to hum. He let his magic travel from his mind into his fingers, establishing a connection with Nico's own magic, and searched for a foreign feeling among the tangles of his own and Nico's. And… There! That nonhuman tingle. He whistled, and it snapped, breaking off the connection between Nico and the hag.

Will dropped his hand from Nico's head, grimacing. "How often do you wash your hair? Don't even answer, because the correct answer is 'not often enough.' Aren't you adventurers ever scared of getting lice?" He did a quick check of the boy's hair. Nope, no lice. Still, too greasy.

"Wow. Excuse you, but I happen to be a very clean person-"

"If a person was a pig. But a person isn't a pig, a person is a person and they should wash their hair often."

"I do wash my hair," Nico huffed. "Every other day, in fact. Whenever monsters aren't trying to kill me."

"How often are monsters trying to kill you?"

Nico didn't answer. Just pouted. Ugh. Will hated dealing with the twelve-to-fifteen age group. They haven't even come of age yet but they're already so bratty. At least, he thought Nico was under fifteen.

"How old are you again?"

"I just turned sixteen."

"Really?" He placed a thumb on Nico's forehead. "Breathe."

Nico took a deep breath.

"Now I'm going to help you exhale out all the gunk magic in your system." Will whistled. "Close your eyes and follow my flow."

Another whistle, longer this time, as Nico exhaled and a pool of black smoke poured out of his mouth. Gross, what kind of places has this boy (young man, he reminded himself, smug in the knowledge that as a 19 year old he's still more mature than this brash young man) been to?

He hummed, concentrating on gathering all the junk into a jar. With a plop, he sealed the nasty contents inside.

"Open your mouth," he said, before checking Nico's tongue and tonsils. "You should eat more vegetables," he chided.

Will listened to his deep and even breathing, then focused on the beat of Nico's heart. It was going wild. Either Nico had a heart issue, or he was unduly nervous for some reason.

"Calm down, di Angelo," he said. "I'm not going to gut you."

"Y-yeah." His patient's face was unnaturally flushed. "I think I'm good to go, there's really nothing else-" He abruptly got up and started moving towards the door.

"Wait!" Will grabbed his hand, preventing the walking disaster. "You adventurers always forget-"

"Oh yeah, payment. I'll just..." he said, fumbling with a bag of coins, taking out two gold denarii and placing them on a counter. It was far more than what the examination was worth.

"No, that wasn't what I meant, but thanks for remembering. I'm just going to prescribe some supplements to you so that you won't kill yourself with malnutrition." Will started rummaging behind the medicine counter. "Also wait there so I can get your change."

"Keep the change," Nico said. "I'll just come back for checkups until I've used up the money I paid here."

Will shrugged. "That's fine. Here's your supplements and here," he said, placing a gray stone in Nico's hand as well, "is a charm to remind you to eat. It's very popular in the city right now. And don't worry about the joint pains unless you know you've injured yourself, they're probably just growing pains."

"Oh wow, we really are friends, huh?" Nico grinned excitedly. "I remember you now, you're the healer who tried to fix ol' Bessie." He rummaged in his bag, "I'd feel bad if I just took the charm so here's something I picked up while travelling."

He pressed a small charm into the palm of Will's hand. "It's a charm to ward off powerful demons, but it only works once."

"Demons usually stay away from healers, you know that right?"

Nico grinned. "Yeah, but there might be some who'd just love to eat you up and gobble you into tiny little pieces! It's horrific," he said with relish. "See you!"

The third time Will Solace saw Nico di Angelo, the boy dropped by with a nasty gash on his arm. It was more than nasty. It was rotting, and frankly, if it weren't for a hasty purification job Nico's fellow adventurer had performed, Will would've had to amputate the arm.

"The emergency measures were well done," he told Nico's companion, a tall stern boy who had a head of bullet streak hair and electric blue eyes. "Your magic is pretty good."

"I tend more towards offense, but I practice some healing so I can make sure that we stay safe," the stern boy answered. "It's necessary because this guy takes things way too lightly."

"Jason, come on. I'm the one with a green arm, not you," Nico complained.

"That's why I'm worried," Jason's eyes softened as he placed a hand on Nico's shoulder.

Nico hadn't grown any taller, but he'd shorn off the long stringy hair Will saw three months ago and the huge zit on his chin was gone, replaced by other, smaller pimples. Not that Will was noticing his zits, that wasn't nice. He was just... Looking at Nico's face. The boy - he still thought of Nico as a boy - had a gaunt facial structure that didn't match his olive skin tone nor his surprisingly warm brown eyes. His high cheekbones reminded Will of the delicate mistresses of royalty and nobility, the women whose lives depended on how much their illicit lovers wished to spend on them. Will had a feeling that once Nico passed his awkward puberty phase he would be a sight to behold. Not that Will wanted to behold him or anything. Nico di Angelo is still the annoying adventurer who can't shut up for his life, who always causes him trouble.

"Well, don't worry. Between you and Will here, I don't think it's possible for me to die," he grinned.

This time, Will received a crystal "retrieved from the deepest and darkest caves of the Cold Mountains." It looked like a simple piece of glass, but three days later when Lou Ellen accidentally knocked it down there was no scratch marks on it. He later moved the crystal to the same shelf he kept the demon warding charmstone on.

The week after that, Nico dropped in again, this time without his new partner, Jason.

"We raided a nest of snake monsters," he said, lugging a box . "I heard somewhere that snake bile is useful in medicine so I took out their gallbladders and I figured you could use them."

He shoved the box in Will's hands. "Here."

And he marched away, without even waiting for a thank you from Will, who was stumped before pulling himself together and yelling "Wait!"

Nico stopped. "For what?"

"I have to check you to see if you're okay."

"I'm fine."

"Not until I see it for myself!" Will put the box down and jogged over to Nico to drag the young man into the examination chair. "Snake monsters are poisonous, what if you were affected?"

He sent a pulse of magic through Nico to check if there were any poison in his system.

Nico huffed and blushed, probably from indignity. Well, he'd just have to deal with this. Will took the health of his patients seriously, especially ones who just gave him a box of incredibly rare medicinal ingredients.

"That reminds me," he said, "I have to pay you for the gallbladders."

"Don't," Nico replied. "Just take them as a gift."

"They're a bit too incredible for them to be a simple gift," Will said.

"Well, take it as a friendly bribe then. I'm bribing you to be my friend. As an adventurer it's always better to have as much friends as possible!"

Will laughed this time. "All right, but I'd prefer if instead you just drop by and tell me stories instead of trying to bribe me."

"Deal?"

"Deal."

"And then the sphinx started flying towards us! I didn't even know that sphinxes could fly, but this one did and if I hadn't answered her riddle we would've been toast," Nico concluded his tale.

"Good story, but I'm still not letting you two go without a lecture on safety." Will stared pointedly at Nico's wounds. "And bedrest for the incapacitated patient for at least seven days."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"You heard the healer, partner," Jason said, ruffling Nico's hair. "Let's find an inn to settle down now."

"He can stay here." Will was surprised to hear himself speak. "I have plenty of beds open and it'd be hard to move him around anyway."

Nico grinned, and for some reason Will grinned along with him.

As he tucked Nico in, the young man stopped Will's ministrations and grabbed his bag, fumbling carefully for something. He brought a tiny pouch.

"I met a witch, and she gave me some seeds to plant after I did her a favor. She said it'd bring me luck. I'm always travelling so I can't exactly garden, but if you plant them for me I think we can share the luck."

"Three people sharing luck seems pretty far-stretched."

"Three? Oh, no, Jason was off saving a princess that time so he can't be included, and he can't share because he can't exactly garden either."

Will looked at the pouch. "Why are you giving me all these things? You come in often, stay often, and you're always bringing these amazing gifts that I can't repay you with anything except for free healing services. You must've met a lot of other healers, and unless you do the same thing with them I don't know why this is happening."

"I-I guess." Nico looked stricken. "I never thought about it. I just... You just seemed like someone I want to spend more time with. Is that weird? Am I weirding you out? I promise," he said, sounding a bit more panicked, "there's nothing untoward that I want from you. There's just some people you want to be friends with and I just... Wanted to be yours. A friend." He appeared to be trying to convince himself of something.

Immediately Will was overcome by a wave of guilt. Nico just wanted a friend, and he was kind and generous enough to think of Will and give him souvenirs from his travels and all Will did was doubt him.

"I'm sorry, I was out of line. Of course we're friends, and I'm always happy to make sure that you don't kill yourself in your line of duty."

Nico smiled wanly, but he still seemed burdened by an invisible fear that showed in the way his eyebrows scrunched and the way the color didn't return to his cheeks.

Three days after Nico and Jason left town, Will received a message via dragon mail. He woke up to a tapping on his window and found Bessie, shrunk to the size of an owl, outside. In her claws she held a letter.

Daer Deer Dear Will,

Jayson Jaosn Jason adn I have arrived vua via shadoe travel to uro our next loaction. Ritwing WRITING is hrda hard wait yuntil I lean new spell.

Love Loev Love Luv,

Nico di Angelo

He folded up the letter and placed it next to the glass crystal on the shelf.

The next time a letter came, he let in Bessie immediately and fed her some coal as he unrolled the paper.

Dear Will,

Jason's off saving another damsel in distress so I'm using this opportunity to dictate a letter to you with a speech to writing spell I found. It took a while but I think I monstered it prettily wellbeing. There's still a few kinky but soon I can stop it from doing weird embarrassing things like tentacle porn. That's not what I meant to say, but obviously the spell is trying to fuck you hard. Sigh.

Anyway we're staying in town where there has been a monster who has been kidnapping the most beautiful people in town. I suggested that Jason dress up and bait the monster and he actually did. That guy is great but he has no sense of humor. Currently I'm trapped in a sex dungeon because the noble of the town has weird tastes in young boys, even though I told him I'm sixteen already. That was a typo I didn't actually say sex dungeon but to be honest I won't be surprised if it's true. I have to get out of this place soon but I just wanted a little time to write to you because that's what friends do.

Anyway Jason needs my fuck help and I'd write to you soon again. Give lots of love to the messenger Bessie because she's adorable. The specialty of this town is a special pink radish so I'm sending one over to you with Bessie. How are my plants doing?

Lovingly,

Nico of the Angels

Dear Will,

Jason and I are off rescuing the son of the local lord because he was a douchebag to faeries and has honestly probably met his end. But we were offered a handsome sum of money so Jason convinced me to take this job.

The son will probably fall in love with Jason, like every other person we rescued did. One day we will probably rescue you but if you fall in love with Jason I will consider you disowned. Just kidding, he's a good man and you're a good man too. I've enclosed a portrait of the landscape here that I commissioned from an artist. You're stuck in that city but it's beautiful out here.

Love,

Nico di Angelo

When Nico arrived at Will's healer shop two summers later, he unloaded a beautiful ermine coat on Will. By that time, the shelf (that Will now secretly labeled The Shelf of Nico's Souvenirs) had five charmstones, three random crystals, one pearl the size of a dilated pupil, a beautiful portrait of a snowy landscape, a crudely hand carved figurine made from precious wood, several bottles of snake bile, the horn of a ram, a broken horn of a unicorn, and an unplayable harp. The seeds that he gave Will were planted in a box on the windowsill. The last time Nico visited the plant was budding, but now, as he draped the coat around Will, they were starting to flower.

Will still couldn't believe the transformation.

Nico was finally taller than Will, and no longer gangly. The adventurous lifestyle bulked him out, and even though he didn't look as buff as Jason, Nico had a sinewy gracefulness that suited his figure well. The pimples that used to cover his face had faded, and he started to grow into the delicate noble features that before had made him look gaunt but now made him look regal. The bumbling boy of sixteen was still somewhere inside, but now his smiles and words started to make Will blush like a teenager.

"How's my favorite healer?" Nico grinned widely.

"Currently being suffocated by the fur of a dead animal," Will replied.

"It put up a good fight, but I finally conquered it," Nico said.

Will paled and looked at the ermine coat in a new, sickly light. "You mean you..."

"He means, he argued with the trader for an hour before getting the price down to buy it." Jason chimed in as he popped out from behind Nico. "It's enchanted to deflect curses."

Will gently stroked the coat. "Why does every item you give me have something to do with defense? You should save it for yourself, you're the adventurer."

"I can take care of myself." Nico heard Jason cluck his tongue in disagreement and huffed, "I really can! You're the one who can't fight or cast an offensive or defensive spell for his life, I'm just making sure that the one who's always saving our lives doesn't go and kick the bucket himself."

"Well, as usual I'm never someone who turns down amazing gifts, so come on in and I'll brew up a dish of rejuvenative broth and you two can have your checkups as soon as possible," Will grinned.

"Awesome! Oh, but I have some bulky things I left over at the inn," Nico suddenly remembered. "Save the checkup for later while I run and get them."

"My place isn't a storage center where you dump everything you can't carry!" Will complained half heartedly. In his mind he already began to plan out how to make more room to fit whatever outlandish item that Nico's bringing again. The young man was already out the door with a roguish wink that made his heart pump a little faster than usual, but then again, that was what's usual when dealing with Nico nowadays.

Will noticed that Jason was standing awkwardly by the checkup table. He'd been good friends with Jason over the past two years even when Nico usually dropped in without his partner at first. When Will began to clear out a room just to store Nico's collected treasures, and occasionally, Nico himself, that's when he also became closer to Jason since Jason visited more often now that Nico stayed over sometimes. Once Will had also offered to let Jason stay, but he was met with vehement but still polite opposition from Jason. Lately, though, Jason had been avoiding eye contact with him and whenever Nico was away, the atmosphere between the two becomes very awkward.

"Um, the flower plant looks very well cared for." Jason tried to start the conversation.

"Plants respond well in a healing environment," Will said. "Nico said it's supposed to bring luck."

"Did he give it to you?"

Will was surprised at the sudden sharpness of Jason's voice. "Maybe? It's technically still his, but he said we could share the luck."

Jason smiled bitterly. "You're a pretty lucky guy."

After an interminably long time where the two men tried to look everywhere but at each other, Nico burst into the door carrying a large knapsack.

"I'm back! Come on, Will, let's go!" He grabbed Will's hand and started running to the storage room. To what was effectively Nico's room.

Nico's hands were calloused and he moved with the impatience of every adventurer that Will knew. They were always a bunch of people who floated around everywhere, never calling just one place their home. They adventured, they fought, they journeyed, they came to Will to get their arms bandaged and their magic decursed and then they moved on. Will knew that Nico loved that kind of life, he knew from the excited letters that Nico sent and he knew from the almost loving way Nico told his stories. Adventurers never stayed in one place for long.

When Nico began to describe how he came to obtain the items in his knapsack, Will noticed that the two of them were still holding hands. He didn't make any move to let go, and neither did Nico.

The day after, Nico and Jason left to go and find a mysterious garden of treasures. As he waved goodbye Will could almost feel the phantom tingle of Nico's hand in his. Adventurers were such a pain.

Frantic knocking. A loud slam as someone kicked down his door. Will woke in confusion and grabbed a bat as he made his way to the commotion, fearful of what could be wrong. Instead of robbers, he came face to face with a sobbing Nico cradling a bloody Jason.

"Please, save him! I- It's my fault, I shouldn't have- Will, please! Please save him!"

With just one glance at Jason, Will cast a stasis spell over the boy so that he could observe the injuries more closely.

"Any magical wounds?"

"I think so, we were inside a deserted garden, there was a huge monster that started attacking us. I- I took something I shouldn't have and Jason distracted the monster to save me. It swallowed him. Its insides must've been corrosive because Jason keeps bleeding and I've been trying but I can't stop it."

"Nico, calm down. Breathe. I'm going to save him, okay?" The first rule of healing is to never promise to save someone. Promise attempts, promise that you'd try your hardest, that you'd try your best, but never promise that you'd definitely heal someone. But the way that Nico was shaking made Will forget all about it, and he looked at Jason with new determination. Jason must not die.

He took in the damage. Jason's skin was corroded away in several large places, and they were bleeding freely before the stasis spell. There was a fang stuck in his shoulder and a large gash on his thigh. His face was clawed up; Will feared that his eyes were beyond saving. He quickly went to work, drawing the corrosive spell out of Jason's body and grafting new skins onto the raw wounds, scattering clotting medicine on the wounds before bandaging them tightly. The fang was tricky to retrieve, and he needed to carve it out and cause even more bleeding. If he hadn't perfected a spell to recirculate lost blood into the system a while back, Jason would have bled to death. In fact, it was a surprise that Jason hadn't already bled to death. The gash on his thigh was the easiest to treat. But his face... Will did his best.

The scars were the least part of Jason's problem, but he left the bandages around the eyes. They wouldn't be able to see anymore.

There was also the problem of the more ugly magic in Jason's system, but as Will washed his hands free of blood he figured that at least the man was still alive.

Nico hadn't spared him a single glance after Will finished with Jason; he rushed over to his fellow adventurer's side and hovered, not sure whether to clasp Jason's hand or to perhaps envelope his friend in a hug. A twinge of jealousy tickled at Will, and he bit his lips because really? He's now jealous of an unconscious patient who's been barely brought back from the brink of death? He's ashamed of himself.

"I'm so sorry, Jason, I was stupid," he whispered. "I'm so so sorry."

The next day, as Will came to check on Jason, he found Nico suited up and ready for travel.

"Your partner is still in dire condition, where are you going?"

"To find something. To fix him." Without another word, Nico pushed past Will and melted into the shadows.

So that's why he was using Bessie as a messenger instead of a transport.

Where would Nico even go? Will wanted more than anything to follow him, but he had to look after Jason and there was no way to track Nico down.. The only thing he could do was wait. Like always.

Three days later, Nico came back. He was pale and sickly thin; he looked like he was gone for far more than only three days, but his face betrayed triumph as he raised a vial of a strange elixir and poured it into Jason's mouth without even consulting Will. Immediately, Jason stirred.

"Jason! Can you hear me?"

Jason groaned and his fingers twitched.

"You don't have to talk, Jason. Just relax, I've got you. We'll get through this together." He held Jason's hand with such tenderness Will had to look away. Of course a mere healer couldn't compare with the bond that two adventurers shared.

The days passed and Jason was slowly nursed back to health by a hovering Nico and a cool-headed Will. Unlike the previous times when Jason was injured, Nico didn't talk much this time, only staring at his partner for hours on the end when Jason was in one of his unresponsive states.

Two weeks later, Jason coughed. "N-Nico."

"Jason! Jason, you can talk now!"

"Barely," he smiled. "Enough, though. Turn on the lights?"

Nico hesitated, he had thought that Jason would've already known, but for all he knew Jason spent the past two weeks in a state of delirium and fever and didn't really understand that he was blind.

"Jason, your eyes, they-"

"It's okay," Jason interrupted immediately. Will saw a look of understanding cross the man's face. "It's okay."

"No," Nico answered, "It's really not."

When Jason fell back asleep, Nico started packing again.

"Where are you going this time? He's on his way to recovery, there's nothing you can do."

"There is! There's something I can do, and I'm going to find it and fix him. Take care of Jason for me. I'll come back for him. Tell him I've gone to visit my grandmother." He hesitated, then reached in his pocket and took out a flat, golden disc. "This is for you, to remember me by."

"I think I already have a lot of things to remember you by, but I'll take it."

Nico gave Will a small smile and then took his hand. He gently slipped the disk into Will's palm and closed Will's fingers around it, then he slowly kissed Will's knuckles like they were worth more than all of his treasures combined. HIs lips were warm.

"Wait for me." He disappeared in the shadows.

"You idiot, that's what I've been doing forever," Will muttered, but Nico was gone.

One day turned into two days, turned into two weeks, turned into two months, turned into six months until Jason was finally able to walk without excruciating pain.

Nico still hadn't returned yet.

"I've already asked an old friend of mine to search for him months ago," Jason told Will. "I'm just worried because he's so fucking reckless."

That night, Will's room got colder. The fire dimmed and a chill set into his bones. Out of the shadows two figures appeared. This time, a girl was holding a sleeping Nico. He was bloodless, and his face was pale, so pale. There were healed gashes on his arms that weren't there when Will saw him last time.

"He needs help," she said. "Please save him."

That night, Jason's vision returned. His eyes blurred as tears threatened to escape when he saw the still form of Nico lying on the bed like a corpse.

"You're such a fucking idiot," he ripped his eyes away and stared at his hands. "I'd rather be blind forever then have you risk your life for this. What did you give this time? I know you already gave something the time before. Please don't let it be anything important."

That night, Nico's eyelids slowly fluttered open and he took in the sight of Jason. Healthy Jason. Jason with eyes that can see.

"There was another curse, a subtle one that no one but she could've found out about," he said, "it would've killed you by now. But she kept her promise. You're alive."

"And you're alive too, somehow," Will cut in, "please stop doing reckless things and making us all worry."

"Oh, sorry, I guess?" he looked at Will curiously. "Are you the healer? Thank you for saving me."

That night, Will's entire world collapsed.