Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns everything in this story, and sadly I am not Rick Riordan. I only own Aztia Redse and Jack Willows.
"Oi! Will!"
"Huh?" The son of Apollo woke with a start.
His half-sister, Jack, dangled a bow in front of his face. "You want a turn with this or no?" She had evidently been standing there for a while.
"Oh – right, uh, yeah! Thanks," Will rushed. Jack cocked an eyebrow at him, a silent message – What kind of an answer was that? Get your act together. But she stayed silent and handed him the bow and quiver.
As Will nocked his first arrow, he let out a silent sigh of relief. He had been lost in his own little world , staring at none other than the infamous Nico di Angelo. Will was taking notes – on this gloomy day, Nico lay in the grass amongst the strawberries. Will was trying his best to figure out if the boy was asleep or not. So far, he had come to one conclusion: ?
Will fired a few times, failing to hit the bull's eye but always hitting the target itself. That was progress.
He glanced at Nico. No progress in that realm – Nico had not moved.
Will had a sudden thought. Glancing around, he noticed the range was empty – the lousy weather must have turned everyone off. Even Jack was nowhere in sight.
Will quietly moved a few feet to the right, preparing to shoot a target that he knew was unexplainably hollow.
He drew, nocked, aimed, and shot – and what did you know? He hit the bull's eye.
The target resonated with a resounding thunk. It was a curious noise – any demigod with much sense would have turned around to make sure no monster was approaching. But the son of Hades did not move.
Will had his answer. Setting down his bow and arrows, he padded over to where Nico lay in the fields. The boy's eyes were closed, and his chest moved rhythmically. He was truly asleep.
Will sat down next to him as quietly as he could, just relaxing with no prying eyes to bother. He picked a few strawberries, devouring the sweetness with the sudden realization that he was hungry.
Lunch. Of course – it hadn't been the overcast sky that had turned people away, it was lunchtime! Will's watch told him it was 12:43, when everyone would be in the middle of a collective munching.
Having picked all the strawberries within reach, Will lay back to enjoy the sweet taste that coated his mouth.
He shook himself awake what seemed like moments later. Oh, damn me! No, I fell asleep!
But, glancing at the pale boy beside him, he realized that Nico was still slumbering. Will was struck with a vivid image – one of Nico reaching over and gently taking Will's hand in his own.
A dream, of course, and only that. Looking down at their hands, nothing was intertwined.
He gently laid himself back down on the grass. He would not fall asleep this time.
He was reminded of another time he laid with someone he loved. Aztia Redse, daughter of Hecate, had snuggled into his shoulder and sighed.
"Azzie?"
"Hmmm. Yeah, Willie?"
Will repositioned himself so that he could see her, and she him. "Aztia. I think we should . . . um . . . break up."
Aztia, who had been smiling with her eyes closed, popped up. "Willie?"
"I just . . . there's someone else. I'm really sorry, Azzie, it just didn't feel right."
Aztia nodded, but Will could see tears streaming down her cheeks. Suddenly he felt horrible, a twisting sensation in his gut. "Oh Azzie," he said quietly, pulling the girl into his arms. She was cold – he knew her body magically drained of heat when her mood changed dramatically. "Aztia, I'm so sorry. It just wasn't right," he said, finally, releasing her. She was really crying now, but she stood up and nodded again.
"I get it, Will. I just . . . didn't see it coming, that's all." She wiped her face.
Will smiled a little, standing to look Aztia in the eye. "I'm gonna miss you, A."
She blinked. "Me too." Then she turned and slowly clopped away to the Hecate cabin. Will watched her the whole way.
Will was brought back to the present by a squirrel running nearby his head. Seeing Nico showing signs of life – maybe waking up – he scurried back to the archery range where others were just returning from lunch and hurried to pick up his bow.
Aztia Redse marched into the Apollo cabin with a look of purpose in her grey-purple eyes. There were mutterings from the campers as a path was cleared for her straight to Will's bed, where he sat chatting with his sister Jack. Jack's eyes widened into saucers when she saw the tall daughter of Hecate approaching. "Will." She whispered. "Azzie – I mean Aztia, she's here." With that, she turned around and buried her face in a book.
Aztia approached Will. "Azzie!"
"Will, come with me." She offered a hand.
Will nodded. She wasn't the kind of crazy person to use evil magic on him just because of a break-up.
Will had always liked the stables. That is, he had always liked the horses – especially his favorite, Daisy. But Aztia had taken him to the little place behind the stables. This was their place – when they had been friends, they had come here to talk, then later to kiss. Now Aztia sat, and gestured for Will to do the same.
He did. He felt a little uncomfortable.
"Will," Aztia began. "I feel like I should tell you something. I haven't lied, per se . . . but I haven't exactly told you the whole truth." She breathed deeply. "The thing is, Will . . . I'm not straight."
Will gasped. "Oh my god. Azzie! But then why were you dating me?"
Aztia looked at him a little incredulously. "Will."
"Yes."
"I'm not straight. I'm bisexual."
"Oh."
"Uh-huh."
There was silence for a moment.
"In that case, I think I should tell you something."
Aztia cocked her head. "I'm listening."
Will took a deep breath. "I'm gay, Azzie. That's why I broke up with you. I'm gay."
Aztia's eyes widened. "Oh wow, Will. Well . . . that wasn't something I expected."
Will smiled. "Yeah, guess it never is."
Aztia smiled back. It felt good to be talking to her again.
"But," a look of confusion crossed her face, "you said you were leaving me for someone else, right? Or was that just a lie?"
Will shook his head. "Actually, no. It's, um . . . it's Nico di Angelo."
Aztia nodded understandingly. "He is cute, isn't he?" Will blushed.
"Um, yeah. I think so."
Aztia giggled. "Will, it's good that we broke up."
"Oh yeah? Was I that bad?"
She smiled. "No, no, of course not! But . . . I had been denying it to myself – I have a crush, too. And not on you."
"Now that's something I didn't expect," Will said. He felt a bit cheated, though he couldn't really place why.
"Yeah. Um, you know your friend? Sister, I guess? Jack."
"Jack?" Will laughed to himself.
Aztia blushed. "Um . . . yeah."
"Well," Will sat up a little straighter, "Jack is pretty great. And that's really cool, Azzie."
There were a few moments of comfortable silence. Suddenly, Aztia began to laugh. Will, not knowing why, started to laugh too. Suddenly it was a whole laughter fest that went on for a few minutes.
"I'm really glad we did this. Thank you, Azzie," Will said fondly.
Aztia smiled, proud. "Well. You're welcome, Will – and best of luck with di Angelo." She stood and offered him a hand.
"Thanks. And you with Jack."
Will had dozed off in the woods. It was a dark day, and when the sun wasn't shining, the children of Apollo tended to run low on energy.
He was just stretching and yawning – that had been a good nap! – when he noted a presence just to the left of him.
IT WAS HIM.
None other than Nico-di-freaking-Angelo lay beside him. Will resisted the compulsion to hyperventilate.
And Nico was asleep.
Will almost laughed. The boy could sleep through anything. He had a reputation for napping in strange places around camp, like the noisy fencing range and the roof of the dining pavilion.
Suddenly, Will had a thought.
A ridiculous thought, of course.
But . . . a thought nonetheless.
Would Nico sleep through a kiss?
No. It wasn't worth a try. That was . . . wasn't that assault? That was very bad. No.
Will lay down. He could not go back to sleep.
Suddenly, though, the son of Hades was moving. He was sort of – inching closer to Will, until all at once their sides were pressed together.
Will nestled into the grass. Maybe with a warm presence like that next to him, he could sleep a little.
It had been a long day at the archery range, after which Will had to tend to a bunch of sword-fighting injuries in the infirmary. In short, he was exhausted, and he wanted to catch 40 winks before dinner. The Apollo cabin being hectic, he had found peace on the outskirts of the eastern woods. He leaned against a giant oak, reading, and had just begun to doze off . . .
"Eh-em."
Will's eyes shot open. Oh gods!
Standing in front of him was the son of Hades himself, black jeans and all. "Oh! Uh - hi, Nico!" Will tried his best to smile casually while hiding that he was doing a happy-dance inside.
The corner of Nico's mouth quirked up. "Solace," he nodded. "May I?"
Realizing he wanted to sit, Will blushed and moved over. "Of course." He couldn't seem to stop smiling.
Nico sat. "What are you reading?"
"Oh." Will had nearly forgotten about the book in his lap. "Um - the Hobbit. It's sort of a popular thing, with mortals."
Nico nodded knowingly. Of course - Will had forgotten that Nico had spent decades cooped up with hundreds of people from all different time periods.
A little strand of dark hair fell into his face, and Will resisted the urge to brush it back.
"Yeah, I think I've heard of it," he said.
Will just smiled. Again. How did he carry on this conversation?
"Hey - Will? Why did you fall asleep next to me that day in the fields?"
Will felt his face turn the color of a tomato. Shit, he thought. So that was why Nico was over here. "Um - I . . . I dunno? I guess I sort of dozed off?"
Nico laughed. "Right next to me? What a coincidence?"
"Well - hey, why were you sleeping next to me? In the woods?"
"I asked you first."
"I won't answer if you won't!"
There was a pause.
Suddenly both boys collapsed in a fit of laughter, gasping for breath. Once Nico had caught his, he said quietly, "Maybe they were both just . . . coincidences."
Will blinked. How had he never noticed the intensity of Nico's gaze?
"Yeah. Maybe so."
A few hours later, gossip raced through the camp as there was a rumored sighting of two boys - a tall blonde, and a short dark-haired one - running out of the woods, hand-in-hand.