DID Y'ALL KNOW THAT DIONYSUS IS THE PATRON GOD OF TRANS PPL? WELL YOU DO NOW.
Will always regarded Mr. D as someone to avoid.
Dionysus wasn't the most pleasant god. He was cranky without his alcohol, and was always down to turn someone into a dolphin. Will had heard horror stories about him, and at age eleven, he frankly didn't want to deal with him. Will had bigger worries.
Like right now.
"You're a boy. Your name is William Solace, and you're a boy." He whispered to himself, trying his best to get through the day. It wasn't working though. Will had learned from his older brother Lee that this was called dysphoria, that it was completely normal, but that really didn't help. Everyone would reassure Will that he was a boy, that they would never think of him as anything else, but—what if they were lying?
Will was sitting with Cecil, Lou Ellen, and the rest of his cabin at arts and crafts. Cecil kept putting popsicle sticks in his mouth and shouting like a walrus, while Lou looked on in disgust. Everyone was happy. Will should of been happy. He shouldn't be dwelling on this. He should—
"You are a girl, Winifred Marie Solace, and you always will be!"
The words of his mother echoed through his mind, and he could almost feel the sting on his cheek again. Too late, he realized that he had started to hyperventilate.
Not now. Please.
Everything felt funny, and Will's senses were so muddled he might as well of been underwater. He could vaguely hear people shouting, but it didn't matter. Something touched him, and Will instinctively flinched. It was Mama, it had to be Mama, she was here and she was going to hurt him again and—
"William. Listen. You're at Camp Half-Blood, in arts and crafts."
No no no no no—
"Yes, you are. Your mother isn't here. Breathe. There you go, keep breathing."
Eventually, Will could feel his mind clear, as if there had been a veil over his consciousness and someone had lifted it. Blinking rapidly, Will looked around. He was on the floor, and everyone was looking at him in concern. His cheeks flared up in shame, and the blond hastily wiped the tears from his cheeks.
"I'm fine." He whispered, and he heard a scoff. Only then did he realize that someone was holding him. And that someone was Mr. D.
Will gasped and tried to weasel his way out of the grip, but it held firm.
"If you'll excuse me, Winston and I need to go talk." Mr. D said calmly, and Will gulped nervously. Lee stepped forward, ready to argue, but the god cut him off.
"No, we're leaving. I'll bring him back later."
And with that, they were off.
"Are you going to tell me what happened back there?"
They had walked quietly to the Big House, and Will's stomach had pooled with dread the entire time. He was going to get yelled at, he just knew it. And here it was.
"I was—I'm sorry Mr. D, I just—I felt really weird all morning and then I started getting really bad dysphoria and I couldn't handle it. I'm really sorry I caused a scene, I'm—"
Mr. D held a hand up, and Will snapped his mouth shut. He could feel his eyes fill with tears, and Will closed his eyes and resigned himself to his fate. He wasn't sure what he expected, but a hand on his shoulder wasn't it. Will's eyes snapped open, and he stared at Mr. D with wide eyes.
"Don't apologize for something you can't control, kid. Almost every trans boy and girl deal with dysphoria. The reason I brought you back here is because I wanted to tell you something."
Will nodded slowly.
"You're a boy. You're not pretending," he started, and Will was absolutely floored, "and you know who you are. Whatever your mother told you is a lie, and she can go screw herself. Just because you weren't born with a penis doesn't mean you're any less of a guy. Don't let anyone tell you who you are, alright?"
Will could feel tears spill over his cheeks, and he wrapped his arms around Mr. D tightly.
"Thank you. Thank you so much." He whispered, and if he had looked up, he would've seen a fond smile on Mr. D's face.
"Don't mention it, brat."
As the years went on, Mr. D would casually ask Will questions about how he was doing. They were worded as if he didn't care, he was just bored, but Will eventually understood. Mr. D did care about Will. He cared about all of them.
"Move Willard, I need to get through."
Will laughed a little, and stood up from his place on the steps of the Big House.
"I see right through you, y'know." Will commented, and Mr. D froze.
"Excuse me?"
"It took me awhile to get it, but I do. You care about us, you just pretend not to."
"What makes you think I give a shit about you brats?" Mr. D glared at Will, but Will smiled.
"I still remember that speech you gave me when I was eleven. I wanted you to know that it helped me out a lot. Whenever I start getting down on myself, I remember what you said. And I feel better." Will huffed a laugh as he watched Mr. D's face go through a plethora of different emotions, before finally settling on disinterest.
"That's nice, William, but I have no idea what you're talking about."
Will laughed, and started to walk away.
"You said my name!" He called as he walked towards his boyfriend, and laughed even harder when he heard Mr. D splutter indignantly.
"What was that about?" Nico asked, leveling a glare at Mr. D, "do I need to beat him up? Because I will."
Will snorted and kissed the son of Hades' cheek, causing him to flush slightly.
"I'm good, oh great Ghost King. Just needed to thank him for something." Will ignored the incredulous sound Nico made in favor of taking his hand and walking off to arts and crafts.
Both boys missed the grateful smile on their camp director's face.
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