We'll meet again
Based off of the song Goodbye (lullaby) by Avril Lavigne
And naturally I don't own the rights to the song or the recognized characters or settings in the story, just the plot.
Will is forced to have to leave camp for Nico and their friend's safety but he can't leave without saying goodbye to Nico before sneaking away in the middle of the night.
This turned out longer than I expected.
Chapter 1 Goodbye lullaby
Will was all alone in the infirmary that night, there wasn't much else left to do so he had sent his siblings back to cabin 7 to get some rest while he finished what was left, it wasn't much really, just organization and inventory checks so he could do it himself.
Granted the infirmary hadn't been quite so busy since the war had ended and the Romans had departed, but a camp full of half-bloods was bound to have a few injuries here and there, though after the last kid had left after having their arm mended after breaking it in the last capture the flag game from two nights back, the infirmary had been pretty quiet. As he sat there looking through the inventory list he heard someone enter the room and looked up to see Nico standing in the doorway.
"Hey Nico, why are you here so late?" Of course he was glad to see the son of Hades but it was still a complete surprise to see him here right now. Nico shrugged but didn't really meet his eyes.
"I just came by to see what you were still doing here, everyone else has already gone back to their cabins for the night and I was going back to mine when I saw the light on here and came to check on you." Before Will could even ask how Nico had known that it would be him that was left here so late, he only now realized that his quick task had well exceeded his original time frame and had waved 'quick' bye bye about forty minutes ago, Nico answered the unasked question with an accompanied eye roll. "Come on Solace, who else do you think would still be here this late with everyone else in bed?"
Good point Will thought.
"I was just finishing up and I guess I let the time get away from me." Will said as he set the list down on the desk he was sitting at and ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I was spacing out, but hopefully I can get this finished soon." Nico wrapped his arms around himself because of the cool evening air.
"I could stay and help you if you want, it's already this late, there's no reason for you to have to stay here all night." Will picked up his camp sweater he had with him and handed it over to Nico, despite it still being just the beginning of fall, the air got pretty cool at night but still Nico walked around without something to cover his arms.
"Here, put this on." Will said as he passed the sweater over, Nico took it and didn't even protest before putting it on and Will couldn't help the way his heart sped up when he saw Nico wearing it. "As for your offer, I guess I could use the company. But let me know if you want to leave so that you can go back to your cabin for the night." Nico nodded then sat down on the edge of the nearest bed.
"So what do you need help with?" He asked as he placed his hands inside the pocket of the sweater.
"Hmm well, all I really need is to finish with the inventory list so I suppose you could read it to me as I check what we have." Will said as he held the list out for Nico to take, and when he did Will went over to the supply cabinet and started looking through it as Nico read from the list.
"Bandages?" Nico read with a small yawn.
"Fifty in stock." Will answered as he checked the boxes in the cabinet.
"Gauze?" Nico asked as he read the next item, another small yawn escaped.
"Two boxes." Will replied, he waited for Nico to read the next item on the list but when he turned around he saw the son of Hades slumped over on the bed he had been sitting on before, fast asleep. He always seemed so peaceful when he slept, at least when he wasn't plagued with horrible nightmares. Will couldn't help wanting to run his fingers through Nico's hair, the dark curls were kind of long but they suited him and framed his face nicely.
When Will reached his hand out to Nico he jerked back a bit when he felt something, not the small jolt that he usually felt when he made any kind of contacted with him but something cold, and he could swear that he saw something moving near the sleeping boy and it made his heart race in panic. Will didn't know what to do so he just acted without thinking; he threw himself over Nico to cover him from whatever was there in the room with them. Suddenly he felt like something had hit him and he was knocked away from the bed where Nico lay and landed on the floor painfully. He closed his eyes for a moment trying to figure out what had just happened and what damage he had sustained being flung to the floor like that.
"What the heck was that?" He asked as he pushed himself up from the floor, his head hurt though he wasn't sure why since he didn't think he had hit it on anything. He blinked to focus his eyes as he looked around but there was no one else in the room but Nico who was still asleep on the bed. Will let out a relieved sigh when he saw that Nico was alright, but when he went to stand up he felt dizzy for a moment and nearly fell over again. "What?" He didn't understand what was wrong but suddenly his head erupted with pain so bad he felt like he was going to pass out. He sat on the floor holding his head and trying to breathe through the pain. Out of nowhere he thought he heard a voice but his head hurt so much that he couldn't tell where it was coming from.
"Well that was unexpected." Will opened his eyes but saw no one.
"Who said that?" He tried to blink away the pain as he tried once more to stand, this time leaning against the desk he had been sitting at earlier.
"You sure messed things up didn't you?" He looked around once more but still he couldn't see a trace of anyone in the room but him and Nico.
"Where are you?" He asked both concerned and confused, hearing voices could not be a good thing. "What are you and why are you here?" Will asked not really sure what he could do against the disembodied Voice.
"Me? I'm what you would call an Eidolon. I had some business with the son of Hades there, but then you got in my way."
"A What? Wait, I've heard of you… what do you want from Nico?" Will's mind finally clicked as he remembered the story of the spirits that had tried to possess the crew of the Argo II during their mission to the ancient lands. The voice laughed and it creeped Will out.
"To use him to get revenge on his friends of course, then maybe go and sabotage the Underworld, there's a lot of possibilities to possessing the son of Hades don't you think?" There was no way that Will was going to let that happen.
"I thought you guys were banished and couldn't possess the members of the crew from that mission." Will said; he still needed time to figure out what was going on, the more he thought about it the more Nico's sleep seemed unnatural and that really worried him.
"Well that's true but there is a beautiful loophole in that, you see the son of Hades wasn't originally a part of that crew and wasn't present at the time we were banished, though only I managed to make it back before the doors of death were reset so I have to go about this alone. At least I did." Will wasn't sure what it meant by that until he caught sight of his reflection in the glass of the window, his eyes had a faint golden glow to them and his heart almost stopped when he realised what had happened. By shielding Nico he had jumped in the way of the spirit being and it had entered him instead. He struggled to swallow past the lump that had formed in his throat.
"What did you do to Nico?" He knew that it had had something to do with the sleep Nico was experiencing, and probably the unusual cold feeling too.
"I had been clinging to him ever since he headed back from his recent mission to the underworld, it's so easy to blend in with the other souls down there and he never noticed my presence, not fully at least. He seemed to know something was off and was subconsciously fighting me off, I needed to wait for him to fall asleep to try and take full control, but now maybe I can alter my plans a bit."
Will shuddered, he was glad that he had kept Nico safe but now what? How could he stop this thing from hurting Nico or anyone else? Maybe if he got help from Piper or someone, maybe even Nico could get rid of the Eidolon…
"Tsk tsk, don't try anything funny now. I know what you're thinking about and I won't let you do it. If you tried to get help I could just leave you and inhabit someone else and you'd never find me." Will gritted his teeth seeing the truth in those words, but what else could he do? Will looked back at Nico and his heart ached, he knew exactly what he had to do.
"I won't let you hurt anyone." He used all of his effort to block out the Eidolon and force it down so that it couldn't take full control of him, he would keep control for as long as he could so that he could keep everyone safe, no matter how hard things got he wouldn't lose himself. He looked back at his reflection in the window and saw that his eyes were back to their natural blue color with no hint of gold left in them for now. He breathed a sigh of relief but knew he wouldn't have long so he had to hurry.
Will went over to the supply closet and dug out an old backpack and used it to pack up some spare clothes that were kept in the infirmary, he also packed a small first aid kit and some money that was kept there in case of emergencies and a Celestial Bronze dagger. He hated this solution but it was the only way. He had to go right away and get as far away from camp as he could before the Eidolon was back and ready to fight for control, but he couldn't leave without at least saying goodbye to Nico first, what would he think when he woke up and Will wasn't there? But Nico was in some kind of magical sleep so he didn't really know if his words would reach him, but still he needed to say them anyway. So he did the only thing he could think of, he sang a lullaby.
Will approached the bed Nico was laying in and crouched down beside it so that he could see Nico's face as he slept.
Goodbye, goodbye,
Goodbye my love.
His voice cracked a bit from his emotions beginning to overwhelm him but he went on anyway.
I can't hide, can't hide,
Can't hide what has come.
He placed a hand on top of Nico's hand that was still clutching the list of supplies he had been reading to Will.
I have to go, I have to go,
I have to go and leave you alone.
He lifted his other hand to gently touch Nico's cheek.
But always know, always know,
Always know that I love you so,
I love you so, I love you so.
His eyes were starting to fill with tears that threatened to spill over.
Goodbye, brown eyes
Goodbye for now.
He brushed some hair away from Nico's face where it had fallen over his eyes that remained closed.
Goodbye sunshine,
Take care of yourself.
I have to go, I have to go,
I have to go and leave you alone.
He took a deep breath.
But always know, always know,
Always know that I love you so,
I love you so, I love you so.
He still had yet to tell Nico of his true feelings but he couldn't hold back now.
La-lullaby, distract me with your eyes,
La-lullaby, la-lullaby help me sleep tonight,
La-lullaby, la-lullaby, la-lullaby,
He pulled his hands away.
I have to go, I have to go,
I have to go and leave you alone.
But always know, always know,
Always know that I love you so,
I love you so, I love you so,
I love you so, I love you so,
I love you so, I love you so.
He stood up beside the bed and looked down at Nico, tears now running down his face.
Goodbye, brown eyes,
Goodbye my love.
A single tear fell and landed on Nico's cheek, but Will was already turning away, he had to go now, there was no more time left. He could already feel the Eidolon at the edge of his mind so he grabbed the backpack and looked back one last time before leaving. He only hoped that if he ever got the chance to explain himself to his friends that they could understand and that they could forgive him.
So what do you think so far?
