*Nico walked over to the infirmary, away from Percy and towards a new future.*
Nico di Angelo walled quickly towards the infirmary and Will, the boy who seriously confused him. On one hand, he was lanky and lazy and kind of rude. On the other hand, Will was intriguing, caring and not without appeal.
"You thought you could escape me that easily?" The blonde asked, leaning slightly towards him. He also shot Percy a look that confused Nico more. Was that jealousy? A small flicker of envy? Nope, it must be his mind playing tricks on him. Almost fading completely into the shadows could do that to a guy.
"Na. I was just waiting for you to invite me in."
"Sure you were. Oh well. You'll sleep here for three days, Doctor's orders." Will led Nico through a large door and into an even larger room.
Having spent most of his time at Camp being shunned, Nico wasn't very familiar with the Infirmary. It was a much bigger version of Cabin 13, with a taller ceiling and large, curtained windows. Hospital beds were arranged in a haphazard mass wherever the occupant wanted and surrounding each were pale washed-out blue curtains. In the centre of the room was a huge marble column stretching from floor to ceiling, with white sinks attached to it at waist height, and gold-looking taps. An oak door labelled 'Healers Only' was in the corner, which led to what Nico assumed were more supplies. Despite the tall ceiling, the Cabin was ridiculously warm, like a proper hospital wing.
"A lot to take in, but you get used to it." Said Will, gesturing grandly around. He led Nico towards a vacant bed by a huge window spanning the corner of the Cabin, with views of the Dining Hall and Half-Blood Hill. The sun was just setting, painting the sky pink and orange and yellow. Normally, Nico hated sunset. It reminded him that tomorrow would be another day, just as painful and boring as today. But today, the sunset was different. It signified a change in Nico, one that he was glad had happened.
He followed Will to his bed in the corner.
% % %
Dreams were always different for demi-gods. They often saw visions of others across the world, glimpses of the future and horrible memories from the past. Tonight, Nico was walking around Camp Half-Blood, aimlessly passing cabins of sleeping demi-gods and heading nowhere. He passed Cabin 7, and walked inside curiously. Musical instruments and bows and arrows were strewn around at random, as well as various shelves of healing potions and gods knew what.
Snoring lightly in a corner was Will, all long limbs and blonde hair. As Nico got nearer, he noticed the way that Will was constantly shifting in his sleep, as if he had a never-ending energy supply he needed to use up. He could hear the heavy breathing of the other boy, and knew this meant vivid dreams. Nico stepped closer to Will, sparked with curiosity. He took in the form of the sleeping boy, and took another step.
And another.
One more step and Nico was right next to the boy, launching himself into Will Solace's dreamscape.
The first thing he saw was himself, gazing off into the distance. Then he saw dream-Will talking to dream-him. They were discussing medicine, and Will's skills as a Healer. Nico remembered this conversation, the day after they had defeated Gaea. The two boys kept talking, but Nico soon lost interest in the conversation. Instead he focused on the way that dream-Will was constantly looking at dream-him, always admiring his eyes and hair and the sharp edges of his cheek bones and jaw.
In fact, dream-Will appeared to be completely lost in Nico, and had also switched off from the conversation. Nico was sensing interest and intrigue, and something a little like the fluttering feeling that he used to feel for Percy. Not a crush, not really, but something closely resembling that. He hastily left the dream, hoping that Will hadn't felt his presence in it, and left Cabin 7. For what felt like years, Nico wandered Camp trying to discern Will's dream and the emotions he'd felt there.
Was it possible that Will Solace had feelings for him? Why didn't this shock him? Nico searched deep inside himself for the surge of self-loathing that should have followed these thoughts. Nothing. Liking Will, or being liked by Will, didn't seem like such a bad thing in the end.
Nico felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Will standing in front of him. Before he could begin to ask his questions, Will said:
"Wake up Nico, its fricking 10:30 you lazy ass child of the Underworld!"
Nico woke up. And saw Will standing over him, shaking him violently.
"Mmmhmmgh!" It felt like six am to Nico, who opened his eyes to blinding sunlight and Will Solace still shaking him.
"Mmmhmmgh is right Lazy! You slept for at least twelve hours!"
"I though the whole point of being in the bloody Infirmary was to sleep?"
"Nope. It was to spend some quality time with yours truly!" With a wink, cheeky grin and point at himself, Will left and came back carrying a tray with pancakes and strawberries.
"Breakfast is served."
% % %
Will chatted whilst Nico ate, talking about pancakes and waffles and his preference in breakfast cereals.
"Lucky Charms are definitely one of the best," he said, gesturing with his hands. Nico loved Will's hands. They were lightly scarred but soft and warm. Will also had amazingly long fingers, perfect for archery or playing the piano or healing. And although Will vowed that he sucked at the other two, Nico was sure that if he really wanted too, Will could be just as skilled at the bow and piano as he was at healing. "Although during the day I prefer Cheerio's or Fruit Loops."
"What?" Cereal in the day?
"You know, cereal for snacks, cereal for lunch sometimes, cereal before bed!"
"You eat cereal for lunch. Wow."
Although this was a new concept for Nico, he supposed it wasn't that strange. Not in the whole grand scheme of strange things that he had been through.
Will was studying Nico closely, looking at what he presumed was his mouth. It probably wasn't his chin, so what else was there to look at near the bottom of his face? Just as Nico prepared himself to say something about it, or mention the dream, or both, Will spoke, saving him the embarrassment. "You've got something here."
"Huh?"
"Here. You've got something here." Will leaned forward, right up to the edge of Nico's lips and stroked his thumb against the corner of his mouth. Then he slipped his tongue against the same spot and gave it a big, wet and slightly sexy lick. "There. You had a spot of chocolate sauce. Shame to have wasted it."
Will jumped off of the bed and left, hips swinging as he exited the infirmary.
"Remind me again why I'm here for three days?"
Nico and Will were sitting together by the infirmary windows, wedged together on the windowsill so that their thighs and arms were pushing against each other's. Neither of them had mentioned the face-licking incident, and Nico didn't plan to. Not yet, at least.
"Because you almost faded into nothing. And we can't have you doing that, can we."
"Why? Why do you care about me so much?" No one had really cared if he lived or died since Bianca, apart from Hazel and maybe Jason Grace. And Nico was thankful for the friendship he'd formed with the Son of Jupiter, but Will cared in a different way. He cared for Nico like if something happened to Nico, it would affect him too. He cared for him like Nico had once cared for Percy.
Again Nico waited for the flood of hate to surge up from his core, and again nothing happened.
"I care about you because someone should. You don't care about your life, or you don't seem to. I care about you because you're a bright light in my life, and I like that. I care about you because you're brave and powerful. I care because I want to." Will looked at him with such burning intensity that Nico thought he might melt. Then the look was gone, replaced with his trademark grin when Will said: "And because it's fun to see you squirm."
Nico looked down at his hands, admiring the light scarring from fighting Romans and monsters. Silence fell between them, and not a hugely comfortable one. Will was looking between his own hands and Nico. Nico was staring defiantly at his cracked fingernails.
"I felt you in my dreams you know."
When it became clear to him that Nico wasn't going to say anything, Will continued.
"I'm a healer, a Son of Apollo. I can sense broken things. And whilst your mind and soul are healing, they are both most definitely still broken."
"OK."
"What did you see?"
Nico remained silent.
"They're my dreams. I deserve to know."
Nico didn't know what to say. He went with nothing, hoping to fool Will into thinking he was uninformed on the subject. The demigod clearly wasn't falling for it.
"You don't need to answer. I can read on your face what you saw."
"I – I don't, I mean I – I'm not, I don't." I don't care, I don't feel that way, I don't know what you're talking about. But Nico did know what he was talking about, and lying to Will wasn't going to change that.
"Tell me one thing." Will's gaze was still fixed bravely on Nico. And Nico was definitely dreading the question. What kind of horrible, embarrassing secret would Will want to dredge up from him?
"What thing?"
"Just tell me if you still like Percy."
"I don't – I never – I -"
"You don't have to pretend to me. I've seen the way you look at him. You don't have to be embarrassed in front of me either. God's of Olympus, I'm the poor bastard that's fallen for a guy who's pining for another."
"I'm not," said Nico, before he could stop himself, "I'm not pining for Percy Jackson. He saved my life once, a long time ago, and all I saw was a hero. He'd saved me from death, he was my knight in shining armour. I hated myself for it, every fucking day, but I couldn't help it. But that's it. It was just a crush, a long time ago."
"Ok." Said Will. Nico took refuge in his fingernails again.
"Are you going to say something?" Nico hated himself for having to be the weak one, the one who cracked under the weight of silence. But he did. He had to know more.
"I don't know what to say. You know how I feel. The question is how do you feel?"
How do you feel? How did he feel? Now that he was past the self-loathing, Nico could focus on his emotions more clearly. He felt relief; that this conversation between them had finally happened. He felt kindness, and more, to the blonde boy who was sitting in front of him. And he felt sorrow, sorrow for the scared, lonely, hating boy that he had been. Sorrow for the years of torture and pain that he had forced himself to endure.
"Well, I won't force myself to sit here in extreme emotional pain," said Will, with a forced smile upon his face, "so if you excuse me, I'll be leaving now.
He got up, leaving the space next to Nico feeling like a few miles rather than a few centimetres. He dusted his jeans off in a fake comedy gesture, and gave Nico a small, sad smile. He leaned in and kissed him sadly on the cheek.
And then he left.
% % %
Even for a demigod, Nico slept poorly that night. He was constantly haunted by Wills words, how do you feel? I've told you how I feel. He would wake at random points, with the words ringing in his ears like a permanent hearing disorder. Nico dreamt of flames and darkness, his subconscious way of dealing with his memories from Tartarus. When the sunlight began to paint his infirmary bed with gold, he got up and made himself a strong, black coffee from the machine in the corner.
From his position in the windowsill, Nico had a clear view of the infirmary cabin. If Will was coming towards him, he would know. The blonde demigod appeared with his breakfast at about nine-thirty, and squished into the windowsill with Nico. Neither of them began a conversation, and so they sat in silence.
It was a more comfortable silence, Nico thought, than the one they had shared yesterday. It was a silence of mutual understanding, where neither had something to say, and neither wanted to. Nico lost track of how long they sat there, eating strawberries, drinking more coffee and watching Camp Half-Blood go about its daily routine.
At lunchtime, Jason and Piper came with Leo in tow –he'd dropped in (quite literally) with Calypso for a couple of days – with cheese sandwiches and chocolate cake. With Will's permission, they took him to Half-Blood Hill for a picnic and fresh air. Nico sat in a huge black jumper and black ripped jeans, listening to the three other demigods arguing and teasing. After a while, Leo left and Jason and Piper changed the topic of conversation.
"So," said Piper, "how are things between you and Will?"
"Huh?" Even though confusion was a last resort, Nico decided it applied now.
"Daughter of Aphrodite you plonk. How are things between you and Will?"
"I don't know." Nico told them about yesterday, and the flirting. He told them about Will's dream, and even the face licking incident. Nico relayed how Will had kissed his cheek and left, leaving him confused and sad and confused all over again. Piper and Jason were full of the usual just tell him how you feel crap, but Nico knew he couldn't just do that. He had spent too long torturing himself to be able to just tell someone that he loved them. He also knew that if he didn't tell Will, he would ruin another relationship.
After another hour of chit-chat and gossip, Piper and Jason took Nico back to the infirmary and Will. The Son of Apollo was waiting on the porch, hands-on-hips. "About time." He told Jason, giving him a teasing push. They shared a friendly nod, and then Piper and Jason left. Nico turned to face Will.
"Hey." He said, the first real word he had spoken to the blonde boy all day.
"Hey." Will gave him a sad smile and motioned for Nico to follow him. They headed back towards the windowsill near Nico's bed. Will sat down, and Nico squished in next to him. After a minute, Nico leant his head on the taller boy's shoulder. Will let him, and suddenly Nico was sagging against him, leaning fully against his relatively-broad shoulders, arms draped comfortably around Will's waist. Nico lost track of how long they sat there, supporting each other. It could have been seconds, minutes or even hours. He wouldn't have moved if it had been days.
% % %
Nico fell asleep when the sun went down, leaning against Will and holding him close. This time when he dreamt of fire and darkness, he chased them away with light and blonde curls of hair.
Nico slept heavily for a length of time he didn't know, but woke when it was still dark outside. Will was snoring lightly against his ear, one hand holding Nico close, the other clutched in his hair. Although the grip was slightly painful, there was something safe about being held that close, that tightly.
Nico looked to the stars outside, and admired the way they shined so brightly. He imagined himself shining like that, and saw only a small spark. He gazed at the full moon, and imagined pegasi soaring through the dark sky, cloud nymphs dancing in the light of its bright stare. Nico looked back at Will, and smiled. He gathered up a bucket-load of courage, and leaned his lips close to Will's ear.
"I think I really like you," Nico whispered, softly as a purring cat. He turned away with a smile on his face, and gazed into the sky once more. And that might have been that, had it not been for the lazy voice of the curled up tiger:
"Is that so?" Will Solace was grinning wildly at Nico, his face alight with warmth and happiness.
"Yes." Nico whispered, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Will laughed quietly and pulled Nico closer, closer, closer still until every inch of Nico was pushed right up against him. Will kissed him on the lips, not without force, and not without passion. Nico had never been kissed before, but if every kiss felt like this, it was something he would be doing a lot more often.
Will continued to kiss him, and Nico kissed back. The kisses got less playful and more passionate. They grew in force, and Nico loved every second of it. From the back of Will's throat came a sound like a purring lion, and Nico kissed him harder. When Will slipped his tongue into Nico's mouth, it was his turn to moan. In fact, he moaned so loudly that in the bed nearest them, Travis Stoll began to stir.
"Shhh." Will broke their kisses to smirk at Nico, and then recaptured his lips. Their tongues circled each other, swirling and licking. Nico smiled against the other boy's mouth, and let his hand tangle into Will's hair. He rolled the two of them, and slipped his other hand up Will's ruched-up t-shirt.
"Forward." Will was still grinning, and Nico nodded. He completely removed the demigod's top, and stared at what he saw. He'd always thought that Will was lazy and lanky, but the Son of Apollo had some muscles. Nico wrapped himself around him, until he and Will were completely entangled. He ran his hands in admiration across Will's chest, causing the demigod to shiver. A movement in Will's jeans caused Nico to stop.
"It's okay," said Will, nodding encouragingly at him, "it's a normal reaction to kissing like this."
Nico continued to kiss Will, and soon he was reacting in much the same way. He pressed himself harder against the other boy, eliciting a loud groan from Will. He moved slightly, revelling in the feel of the friction.
"Aaaagh. Mmmm." Nico moaned, loving the sounds coming from his own mouth, loving the reason that they were there. Will bucked his hips slightly, and soon Nico's shirt joined Will's on the floor. The two demigods rolled again, pressing themselves together as much as was possible. Will ran his hands down Nico's back, and Nico shivered in pleasure. Then he moaned again, because Will's hands had found his backside, and were groping and rubbing at it through his jeans. Involuntarily, he bucked his hips against the other boy's, and roughly moved against Will, needing to feel the friction.
"Ah shit." Will was cussing as Nico gripped his shoulders, kissing his neck with a sloppy force. Nico used his teeth, which elicited a hip-buck and moan from the other boy. Knowing it would leave a mark made Nico feel even better, and he did it again to the top of Will's back.
After more kissing, Nico felt Will's long fingers feeling for his jeans zip. He let him unzip them, and then helped Will to remove them fully. Lying in the moonlight in just his boxers, Nico felt slightly embarrassed. He started to cover himself with his hands, but Will stopped him.
"You're beautiful." He whispered, gently moving Nico's hands away. "And I want you to know that we can stop at any time."
"No," Nico shook his head. He felt slightly uncomfortable, but he definitely wanted this to continue. Will nodded, and stroked circles against Nico's chest and upper thighs. Nico shivered in sheer pleasure, and bucked his hips more.
"Down boy," laughed Will, and gently palmed Nico through the fabric of his boxers.
"Mmm Gods!" Nico bucked more, until there was a small wet circle where Will had just touched. Will kissed his neck softly and leaned close to Nico's ear. "I really like you too, just so you know." He said quietly, and then slowly removed Nico's boxers. Nico felt himself flush heavily, and tried to cover how swollen he was.
"Don't bother," laughed Will, and in one swift movement, he gripped Nico. Just as he began to move his hand up and down, Nico stopped him. "If – if we're going to do this, then at least let me see – see yours too." He shook with embarrassment as he said it, but the Son of Apollo nodded.
"Wouldn't want to deny you the pleasure," he whispered, winking at him. Nico laughed in relief, and pushed Will's jeans down to his hips. Then Will pulled off his boxers, and Nico stared in delight and shame. His mouth was an 'o' of surprise as he beheld how huge Will Solace was. Another day, Nico would definitely be having that inside of him. He blushed heavily at the thought, but didn't push it away as Will wrapped his hand around Nico and flicked.
"Yeeeesh," Nico whispered, ashamed of how good this was making him feel. Will began to move his hand quicker, his own face screwed in pleasure at the sounds coming out of the Son of Hades. "Aaah, ohhhh," Nico's eyes were shut and his face was contorted in delight. Next to them, Travis Stoll began to stir again, but this time Will ignored him. The Son of Apollo moved his hand faster still, flicking and digging his nails in at random points.
"Aaahh. Shit. Will!" With next to no experience in this area, Nico came very quickly. He fluttered his eyes shut as he did, whisper-shouting Will's name among a string of curses. Will, who was slightly more experienced in bed, showed Nico how to finish him off. "If you want to, grip here, and pull – God's of Olympus, just like that."
Nico enjoyed the feeling of Will squirming and bucking beneath his hand. He shoved Will's hip back against the bed and watched as the other demigod climaxed into his tightly-closed palm. The sight itself was enough to send Nico over the edge again, and the two boys fell panting against each other.
In the bed next to them, Travis Stoll jolted awake.
% % %
Nico woke to brilliant sunshine. He turned his head to look and felt the brush of hair against his face. Looking down, he saw a very naked Will Solace tangled in the sheets of his infirmary bed. The sun had painted their legs gold, and Nico leant back against the pillows as flashes from the night came back to him.
"You're so beautiful,"
"I think I love you."
"Come for me, please."
Will's hands, touching his body, Will's lips, kissing his own, Will's legs, tangled in his. Travis Stoll waking up.
"What the hell? Gods of Olympus, that better have been a dream."
From underneath him, Nico felt Will waking up. Like the cat that Nico had always assumed he was, Will stretched and yawned in the sunlight, before turning slightly and smiling at him.
"Hey."
"Hey."
Will was smiling uncontrollably, leaning his head back against Nico's when suddenly, he jerked up.
"Oh shit." Will grabbed Nico's hand and yanked him up until they were both sitting. When Nico looked around, he saw the cause of Will's distress. Around the infirmary, healers and patients alike were staring unabashedly at the pair. Travis Stoll was eating porridge as he looked over and met Nico's eyes, shaking his head mournfully.
Will pulled Nico back against him, fell down onto the pillows, and laughed wildly like a hyena.
After breakfast, which was pancakes and strawberries again – "they help build body strength," – Will and Nico exited the infirmary, holding hands. Nico had prepared himself for the horrified stares and weird looks of his fellow campers, so he was shocked and pleasantly surprised at how normally everyone was reacting to him and Will. He said as much to the other boy, and Will laughed. "People don't care." He said to Nico. "They see this," he gestured to their joined hands, "as normal, because that's what it is. Please, Nico, don't hate yourself."
"I don't." Nico told him, and just to prove it, he pushed Will up against the wall of Cabin 7 and kissed him hard in front of half a dozen campers. Their tongues crashed together in a wave of emotions and lust, and Nico loved it. Will's fingers were in his hair, Will's name was on his lips, and Will's hips were pressed up against his, bucking very slightly.
"That's good," Will said against his mouth, "because I intend to do this a lot now." He kissed Nico harder and faster, leaning heavily into the embrace. Much too soon, Nico felt obligated to break the kiss for the benefit of the other demigod's, and did so to Will's dismay. They climbed Half-Blood Hill in the sun, and found Percy and Annabeth locked together, lying in the grass.
Having been dreading seeing the pair after his revelation earlier that week, Nico walked closer to Will for support and a place to hide. He also noticed the Son of Apollo shooting him and Percy wary glances. "It's okay," Nico told Will, gripping his hand tighter, "I meant it when I said I truly don't have feelings for him anymore."
They claimed the spot furthest away from the canoodling couple and watched, hands clasped together, as Camp Half-Blood went about its daily routine once more. Everything appeared normal, but for Nico, nothing would ever be the same again. He turned his head to look at the beautiful boy beside him. "I think I might love you, Will."
"You think? But I'm gorgeous, what's not to love?"
"Mmmhm. I wonder." Nico pulled Will in close, and kissed his cheek, his neck, the corner of his lips. Then he pulled back and gave the demigod a big lick on the side of his face. Will laughed hysterically. He leant his back against Nico's shoulder and roared, smiling adoringly at Nico as he did it. Nico wanted to kiss him badly. He smiled back at Will, and captured the image of the cat-like demigod in his mind, peaceful and happy. And just when Nico thought he might combust from the want to kiss Will Solace, Will grabbed his face with both hands.
"Come here, you." He pulled Nico close, until their noses were touching. And then he kissed him passionately.
And as the bell for lunch clanged loudly across Camp Half-Blood, Nico Di Angelo and Will Solace sat kissing on top of the hill.