Warnings: Character Death (mentioned), Suicide Attempts (mentioned), Cancer Patients.
Cancer Patient!Nico di Angelo/Nurse!Will Solace

Nico di Angelo was, once again, stuck in the hospital. But instead of being here for a broken bone or attempted suicide, he was here because of his lungs.

He had spent nearly his entire life smoking, even after his group of friends- Leo Valdez, his partner in crime and best friend, Jason Grace, his obnoxious mom friend, Percy Jackson, his hot and sassy friend from youth (as well as past crush, but he got over that. Percy isn't really his type, after all), Annabeth Chase, Percy's best friend and the smartest of all his friends, Frank Zhang, his favorite Asian Canadian (who gave the best hugs), Reyna Ramirez, his other mom friend (who's more likely to rip your throat out then tell you off if you were to hurt Nico, but you didn't hear that from him) as well as Annabeth's girlfriend (or at least one of them. The only ones who knew the identity of the other girl other then Reyna and Annabeth themselves is Percy and Jason, and they refused to tell), as well as Jason's best friend (other then Leo and Percy, the latter of which Jason was dating), Cecil Blake, his fellow fanboy, and Lou Ellen, his angsty but sweet modern witch friend (Nico was shocked when he found out she was a pagan witch, using herbs and sigils to cast minor magic, but he got used to it, encouraged it even, after a while) made him swear he would quit when he was fourteen.

He didn't.

And so here he was, donning an old white and blue hospital gown and hospital pants, laying in an old, too-white hospital bed, surrounded by pillows, in a too-white room with too much lighting, little to no windows, and very little things to entertain him and his rambunctious group of friends.

Leo, Jason, Percy and Frank were the only ones that were currently present, but they still managed to make a huge fuss and disturb the neighboring patients with their loudness.

"Hey, hey. Hey, Neeks." Leo said, chocolate brown eyes wide and bright as he eyed the dark haired, pale skinned boy, "Guess what."

Nico rolled his dark, nearly black eyes at the Latino, whom was seated in one of the three old, battered brown leather chairs that was spread about the room, "What is it, Repair Boy?"

"I'm gay."

Frank Zhang, a buff Asian guy with stark black hair and warm, brown eyes and a kind smile, laughed from where he sat on the floor at his feet, "Yeah, yeah you are, although I thought you were more... Bisexual."

Percy, whom was seated on Jason's lap in one of the other armchairs, let out a small giggle as well, "Yeah, aren't you dating both Frank and Hazel? Isn't Hazel female, her being Nico's baby sister and all?"

Ah, Hazel Levesque. Nico's younger half-sister. She and Nico shared few things in common; their love for family and friends, their general group of friends, the same father, blood, and, their sibling love for each other. How

Hazel had ended up in a threesome with an ADHD Latino elf who worked as a mechanic nearly all day, and a shy, clumsy yet brave and loud Asian Canadian was still unknown to the sassy boy who wears too much guy liner and general black clothing for his own good. Frankly, it amazed Nico. But he `didn't judge her, in fact it only served in making Leo his bestest friend, even more so then Mama Jason and Persassy.

Leo's ears start to burn a bright red, and Jason lightly smacked Percy for embarrassing his best friend, "Dude, making his ears go red is Hazel's and Frank's job, not yours, Perce."

Percy smirked, his sea-green eyes mischevious, before leaning up and kissing Jason's chin, "So what? You gonna punish me?"

Jason growled, his blue eyes seeming to storm, "Oh, yeah. As soon as we get back home, I am going to pin you to the couch and- "

The blonde was cut off as Nico coughed loudly, soon followed by a huge coughing fit, which resulted in him coughing up blood, which made the younger boy nauseous, and soon enough, the four other boys were being escorted out by a handsome brown-haired nurse with light brown skin and kaleidoscope eyes, so that he could help him clean himself up as somebody went and got his doctor.

The nurse smiled at Nico as he helped him clean the vomit off his face, neck, and clothes. "Those boy's family?"

Nico shook his head, "No, although the Asian and Latino elf probably will be brothers in law before long." He said, before noticing his nametag and taking into account what his name was. "Nice name, Mitchell."

The nurse, Mitchell McLean, smiled at him cheekily, "Well, I always seem to have boys and girls alike following me around and practically begging to hear my name, so I guess so. The only problem is, I already have a girlfriend."

Nico nodded, "Well, lucky for you, all those guys are taken, and they'd be the only ones to even consider taking a girl out. Frank is pansexual, Leo and Jason are bisexual, and Percy is… I think he's pan, but honestly with that boy I never know."

Mitchell smiled as he pulled away, throwing away the soiled paper towels before handing him a clean pair of hospital clothes and a towel so he could take a quick shower before the doctor got there, "And you?"

Nico smirked, "Oh, Honey, I may be gay, but you ain't my type." He said in a sassy tone, causing Mitchell to laugh, a nice, warm and calming tinkling sound, like windchimes on a windy summer day.

He accepted the clothing and towel, trying his hardest not to fall over as he shakily climbed to his feet, "Thank you." He said, smiling at him brightly.

He returned the gesture, "No problem, kiddo. Get yourself cleaned up, don't want you looking so unappealing when Doctor Solace get's here." He turned around to leave with his cart, only to notice how his legs were shaking as he struggled to get to the bathroom, "Want me to get one of your gay pals in here to help?"

"Uh, yeah. Leo, please. The Latino elf who can't seem to sit still."

"Ohh, the one who's currently snogging the Asian dude in the corridor, getting all the other guests who are sitting out there all awkward like? Alrighty then."

He left with his cart, and a few moments later, Leo was at his side and helping him into the bathroom, peeling the soiled clothing off Nico, before removing his own, tossing them aside. He then helped him under the spray of warm-ish hospital water, soaking him down and covering his pale, shaky body with soap.

"Humph, you really should stop with slicing up these pretty thighs of yours, Neeks." Leo said with a frown, pointing at the fine, horizontal lines that streaked his thighs, "Those weren't there before, and you know it, so don't bother lying."

Nico pouted down at Leo, who, after all these years, was still shorter, even if Nico was the youngest of all his friends, other then Hazel, of course. "I don't care, the faster I die, the better."

Leo sighed, "Dude, I know you hate life, and I know you feel all alone, especially with the knowledge of how me and Frank plan on proposing to Hazel next June, so she'll be moving in with me and Frank, but… You aren't alone. You have me, okay? And soon, you'll meet your own Frank the giant teddy bear, with a touch of Persassy and Mama Bear Jason, and hopefully loads of sexy Latino elf."

Nico snorted, "You mean hopefully not, right?"

Leo smiled, "Perhaps that would be for the best."

Nico nodded, before his smile dimmed and his eyes hollowed out once again, "I just… Really fucking miss Ethan…."

Ethan Nakamura, Nico's boyfriend of nearly fifteen years, was supposed to marry the youngest di Angelo when he got home from the war that had been raging about the US the year before. But he never did.

Nico was devastated when he had gotten the phone call, the call about how the raven haired Japanese American boy donning a handmade eyepatch over his left eye had been pushed out of the helicopter that had been taking them home by one of his drunk companions, and, with a heartbreaking pain searing Nico's heart as he listened, the man on the phone had said he had fallen to his death, apparently screaming and shouting things about how he had to get home to Nico along the way.

Leo nodded, pulling the Italian close in an awkward embrace, as the two of them were still naked.

The sudden clearing of somebody's throat sounding from the doorway had them flying apart, followed by a huge amount of laughter.

Leo scrambled to get his clothes and yank them on, and Nico merely gently sat himself down, not even caring if his four friends sat and stared at the monstrosity between his legs.

A gasp to his right had him turning to Percy, whom was staring right at the spot between his legs, slapping Jason's arm repeatedly as he pointed with the other hand, "Look! That must be at least ten inches long, why can't yours be that big, Jase? I may have to start fucking Nico instead!"

Nico grinned back at the awed surfer boy, "Well, you'd be pretty fucking sore afterwards, Perce, because one; I don't bottom. For anyone. Two; this thing has been known to practically nearly rip Ethan in half. Three; I like it rough, and I don't go soft unless it's your first time, or if you happen to be of miniscule size or in immense pain just from it being inside."

Percy's eyes go even wider, and Jason has to suppress a groan as Percy's smacking increases, becoming more quick paced and more painful by the second, "Dude! Why don't you say things like that to me in public?"

Jason turned and glared at Nico for a second before turning back to Percy, "Because, Death Breath is probably the only guy here other then Leo with such a dirty mouth and no shame whatsoever."

"Actually," A new, charming voice sounded from behind where Jason and Percy stood. "I know a couple people who are honestly so much worse at times."

Nico realized with a jolt it couldn't have been either of the other two of Nico's friends, due to how Leo and Frank had up and disappeared as soon as Leo had been decent enough to leave the room.

In the deepest, gloomiest, and scariest voice he could muster, he spoke, "Who dares walk into my room without invitation?"

"I dare." A man about a couple decades older then Nico stepped forward, clipboard in hand and a pen placed behind his ear. He had gorgeous baby blue eyes that practically screamed happiness, and a mop of messy golden blonde hair that was cut short, barely brushing the tips of his ears. His skin was tan, and his smile seemed to light up the room like the sun.

"Oh gods." Nico whispered, eyeing the newcomer, whom was obviously Doctor Solace due to the name tag that was clipped to the front of his white doctor's coat, "I'm shook."

Percy stared at Nico for a moment, before bursting into a huge fit of laughter, leaning on Jason to keep himself from falling over, "Dude," He gasped, once again continuously smacking Jason's arm in a non-stop manner, "He's shook." He stage whispered, struggling to keep a straight face, before collapsing against Jason in another huge fit of laughter.

Leo entered the room then, Frank on his left, and a dark skinned, golden eyed girl with curly cinnamon brown hair on his right, Leo's arms linked with theirs.

"What'd I miss?" Leo asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Well, Goth Boy here is still naked and seems to be hyperventilating because of my hotness, and the other two… The stereotypical swim team captain surfer dude here is laughing hysterically because of what the poor Cancer patient said, and the blonde boy seems to be suffering from abu-"

Suddenly, everybody shut up, and Doctor Solace was the only person talking before he noticed and shut his mouth as well.

"He… He's a what?!" Leo, Hazel, and Percy exclaimed loudly. Frank stared at the doctor as if he had two heads, and Jason began tearing up, soon finding himself trying to hold back sobs as he walked over to one of the battered armchairs, sitting down and placing his head in his hands as he cried.

Doctor Solace nodded, frowning deeply, eyebrows furrowed. "Mhm, He's been smoking so much, and for so long I'm surprised it didn't show when he was nearly sixteen. Yet here he is, coughing up blood in a hospital bed at the age of twenty-five. His lung cancer finally showed up, and well… He's too far gone. The most we can do is hope that what little surgeries we can perform and whatever medication we can give him help, and hope he lives."

Hazel started crying then, sobs racking her lithe form as she clung onto Frank whom was tearing up as well. Leo, on the other hand, ran over to Nico- who was now wearing his black boxers and a freshly cleaned hospital gown- and hugged him tightly, sobbing against the taller boy's shoulder.

Nico was shocked. He had always wished for death, especially now that Ethan had joined the mass of people he had lost to the Grim Reaper, but now… Now he wasn't so sure.

He slowly moved to hug Leo back, burying his nose in the smaller boy's curly brown hair. After a few moments of letting Leo cry all over his shoulder, he gently pried himself away, moving back into the room and laying himself down, Leo soon following.

Doctor Solace nodded at Nico respectfully before turning and leaving the room, closing the door behind him as he went.

Nico smiled as the smaller Latino cuddled up to him, "It'll be alright, Drago. We've been through so much worse, I'll make it through this."

Leo snorted against his neck, "Remember the time we all went skydiving, and you, Percy, and Cecil were all freaking out and clinging to Jason and me like we were your lifelines?"

Nico nodded, chuckling softly, "Yeah, I remember. Percy was clinging to Jason, screaming the entire way down, and Cecil was clinging to me as I latched onto you. Reyna, Lou, and Annabeth made fun of us the entire time afterwards."

"Yeah, that was the day Jason asked me out, I remember how he told me that if I calmed down and just let him help me, he'd take me to dinner and let me force him to sit through a Disney marathon afterwards." Percy piped up from across the room, smiling brightly, even though he was still sniffling silently.

Jason tightened his arms around his boyfriend, "Yeah, and I honestly have to say, Percy's enraged commentary during every scene where the bad guy had the upper hand made it worth it. Especially since the only way to shut him up was to kiss him." He and Percy exchanged smiles, "It was the best first date ever."

Frank grunted from the foot of Nico's bed, Hazel sitting on his lap as she softly cried into his burly chest, "Uh, no. The best first date ever was having Leo make me and Hazel his supreme tacos and cuddling with us on the couch as we watched The Hunger Games."

Nico spoke up then, "Uh, no. Best first date ever is going to a fancy Italian restaurant, and going to the movies afterwards to watch the latest horror movie you've been dying to watch since you first saw the trailer. Another great date is having your boyfriend bring you to fucking Italy because he knows you've always wanted to visit your mother's homeland, guys. We ate at one of the fanciest restaurants he could find. We even went to Athens afterwards, Annabeth was so jealous."

Percy snorted, "I'm surprised she didn't rip you a new one, man. She always wanted to go to Athens."

Nico shrugged, "Reyna held her back."

"Figures."

"Yeah, and your lucky those two have me to balance them out."

Everybody turned to the door, finding themselves staring at a pretty girl with nearly the same skin color as the nurse from earlier, her long, choppy brown hair braided with feathers of multiple colors and kaleidoscope eyes twinkling.

"You are the pretty girl Reyna and Annabeth are dating?" Nico exclaimed, staring at her in shock.

Jason and Percy waved, and the girl waved back. She smiled when she and Leo locked eyes, "Hey, Repair Boy. Miss me?"

Leo jumped off the bed, completely oblivious to the pained groan that escaped Nico's mouth as he fell off the bed due to Leo having pushed him away so he could stand up.

He ran over to the stranger and hugged her tightly, rambling in a mixture of English and Spanish as he did so.

She laughed as she hugged the Latino back, smiling brightly as she nuzzled his cheek. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Oh gods, I missed you so freaking much Piper!" Leo exclaimed, tightening his grip. "I thought I'd never see you again, dude!"

The girl, Piper, laughed once more, "Yeah, me too, but I finally managed to convince dad to allow me to transfer here so I can be with Annabeth and Reyna daily instead of seeing them once a week, so now I live with Mitchell."

Nico stared at Piper for a moment, unable to process how she was the one Annabeth and Reyna were dating, when the door to the room slammed open, and a fuming Reyna stormed into the room, followed by a very disappointed looking Annabeth.

"Nico di Angelo!" Reyna exclaimed, face red with fury, "I told you to quit, and now look at what you've done! Gotten yourself cancer!"

Annabeth frowned as she moved to stand next to Reyna, her arms crossed and grey eyes storming. "You really should've quit years ago, Nico. I have to say, I am very disappointed in you."

Nico glared at Annabeth for a moment, before climbing back onto his bed and burying himself in the mountain of assorted pillows Jason and Leo had brought him. "Fight me." He grumbled, only to have somebody in the room laugh. He looked up, only to see a nearly exact replica of the doctor standing at his bedside, although this boy looked his age.

"Maybe later." He said, eyes twinkling as he moved the pillows around so they wouldn't possibly suffocate Nico. "'Name's Will Solace, I'm Doctor Solace's son. I'm one of the nurses here, and I'm covering Mitchell's shift as he had to go pick up Lacy from her art class."

Piper smacked a hand to her forehead, "I knew I forgot something!"

Annabeth snorted, "How do you manage to forget your little sister?"

"By thinking about seeing my favorite Repair Boy, Wise Girl, and RA-RA."

Reyna turned on Piper, "Do not call me that!" She growled, although she was smiling slightly.

Piper smirked as she moved over and slapped Reyna's ass, "I doubt I'll ever stop calling you that, sweetheart."

Annabeth shook her head. "Jeez, please excuse my girlfriends."

Will shook his head, smiling warmly, "No problem."

He left the room after checking Nico's vitals, and Nico had to admit, Will was pretty cute. He burrowed deeper into the mountain of pillows, smiling to himself softly.

The next time Nico saw Will, he was cuddling his favorite stuffed animal, a soft, fluffy black dog that Percy had gotten him when he was thirteen. It was fashioned to look like a mixture between Percy's dog, Mrs. O'Leary, and an ancient Greek monster called a Hellhound. Nico loved it, even named it Shadow.

Will had, once again, covered one of Mitchell's shifts, and had come in to check his vitals like required.

Nico sat up from under his mountain of blankets and pillows and stared at Will, "Oh jeez, not you again!" He said in a jokingly annoyed tone, although his smile stated that he was quite the opposite of annoyed. He and Will had bonded over the last few days, although every time he had encountered the nearly always smiling blonde, he had ended the conversation by saying something rude and having Will reply with something sarcastic or overly happy before leaving.

"Hey, there, Sunshine. Yeah, I know. I don't wanna be here either." Will replied easily, smirking at Nico.

"Don't call me sunshine. I am the night, fear me."

"Yeah, sure you are, Sunshine."

Nico growled, "Fight me!" He shouted, only to begin coughing. He doubled over, clutching Shadow to his stomach as he wheezed.

Will sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing soothing patterns into his back until slowly, the coughing ceased.

When Nico looked up at Will, he was shocked to see Will looking at him with a pure look of genuine concern. "Uh." He said, continuing to stare.

"Hey, s'alright, Neeks." Will said, smiling easily. "You'll get better soon." He got up, quickly checking Nico's vitals before walking to the door, pausing with his hand on the handle. "Oh, and I would fight you, but you'd surely win."

And with that, he walked out, leaving a stunned Nico di Angelo in his wake.

Nico woke up when he felt somebody crash into him, causing him to fall off his bed. "Leo, what the fuck."

Leo, whom was grinning at him from over the side of the bed, laughed. "I'm just so happy right now, Neeks! Don't kill my vibe!"

Nico groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. "And what has gotten you this happy, Leo? You know that I hate it when you do that."

"Hazel said yes! We're getting married, Neeks! You and me and Frank are going to be brothers in law!"

Nico gaped at Leo for a moment before he broke out into a huge grin, "Oh my gods, this is freaking amazing!" Leo laughed once again, and Nico couldn't help how his smile got even bigger at the sight of Leo's joyous expression.

"I know! You can even be the flower boy, Neeks!"

"I'd love to." Nico responded, both boys laughing happily at the thought of Nico being a flower boy.

"I can see it now, dark, depressing you wearing a bright white suit and a pink flower crown, throwing around equally pink flower petals as you skip down the isle!" Leo said, pulling Nico onto the bed and hugging him tightly.

"I'm so happy for you, Drago." Nico whispered, pressing a chaste kiss to Leo's forehead.

"I know! Thanks for introducing me to those two, Neeks! You really are the best." Leo smiled brightly, hugging his best friend close. "Oh, by the way, Will left you a coffee from the gift shop while you were sleeping." Leo said, wiggling his eyebrows mischievously at Nico.

Nico groaned, obviously pleased at this, "I love the gift shop coffee, it's freaking amazing."

"I know, right?"

Nico leaned over Leo and grabbed the coffee, before taking a generous sip, smiling at the burning sensation. "Yes, I love it so muc- what the heck?" Nico was staring at his cup, and Leo smirked. "Is this a joke?"

On the cup, Will had written down a phone number underneath the words "Fight me?" in black permanent marker.

Leo laughed, "Nope. I already programmed it into your phone, and texted him. He texted back, so it isn't. He really likes you, Neeks."

Nico blushed, and put down the coffee. "I really like him, too."

[La Fin]

~Ashton Lanteigne