Author's notes: I have this headcanon that at some point during House of Hades, Will prayed to Cupid about Nico, which is why the son of Aphrodite took an interest in Nico and shot him an arrow too. The arrow wasn't an arrow that would attract him to Will, it was actually something that would help him let go of his feelings for Percy. The ritual below is something I made up because my research about old love rituals came up 'kapoot'.

Time Frame: The cut after the dream is a time skip, it's already after the war with Gaea.

IMPORTANT: ADVANCE HAPPY BIRTHDAY (or just Happy Birthday!) I Am Shibuya's Composer! *birthday dances* I hope it's your birthday, otherwise I just made a complete fool of myself XD

Bailci thanks for being my email pal and giving me an opinion about this story!


Loving You 'Til It Hurts
To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves."
― Federico García Lorca, Blood Wedding and Yerma

By LDJE


"Hey Lacy, Mitchell…" Will greeted the two children of Aphrodite who were huddled away from everyone, with a bowl of fire that smelled of incense and a hint of potpourri.

"Oh, hey Will." Lacy greeted, "You finished talking with the Oracle?"

"Does Rachel have any insight on the upcoming war with Gaea yet?" Mitchell asked seriously.

The head counselor of Apollo's cabin shook his head, "No word from dad, she's getting agitated." He sighed. "We all are." He took in a deep breath, "But let's not think about that right now. Chiron assembled all of us for the campfire tonight to have fun." He reminded them. "You guys seem up to something, what's that?"

He pointed at the bowl of fire.

Lacy giggled, "Oh this, well it's actually sacrificial fire for our brother, Cupid."

Will raised an eyebrow at those words, "Cupid? The Cupid?"

"Yeah," Mitchell nodded, "Even if a war's coming, love is still our number one priority."

"Okay…" Will said with a slightly uncertain smile, "So what does it do?" He kneeled down beside him.

"It's supposed to grant you luck in love." The daughter of Aphrodite commented, "Creating the perfect fire for Cupid is really hard, there's the whole moon cycle to take into account and then the ingredients and then the right temperature, which is really weird cause it's fire-"

"Anyway, this is really rare fire magic. Not even Hecate's children can duplicate it." Mitchell said, "It's a direct line to Cupid, so if you have a wish for your love life, you write it down in a piece of paper and throw it here."

"But the fire's limited to only three pieces of paper. Mitch and I already put in ours." Lacy giggled, eyes reflecting the fire. "I heard Silena used one before she and Beckendorf got together and a week later they were a happy couple!"

"That seems interesting," Will smiled politely but his blue eyes were tracking the flames with interest. The fire was brighter than any he'd ever seen before. It could even be compared to Hestia's hearth.

Noticing his interested glance, Mitchell and Lacy exchanged looks.

"Hey, Will, you wanna give it a try?"

The son of Apollo blinked in surprise, "What?"

"I mean, Lace and I are already finished with it which makes that two, so that means you can put one more wish through." Mitchell offered.

"But-"

"Oh come on," Lacy playfully nudged the flushed son of Apollo on the arm, "You're working really hard in making sure that the infirmary's stock up for the upcoming war and we've seen you working your butt off in archery. Consider this as a thank you for future injuries you'd be healing for us."

"I'd rather we don't use any of those supplies." Will said but then at the pleading looks of the two, he sighed, "Guys, I'm sure someone else is willing to use this," He gestured to the other oblivious campers, "Love and I- we don't really mix so well."

"Nonsense!" Lacy said placing the bowl of fire in a surprised Will's hands. "We won't take 'no' for an answer." She said already getting up.

Mitchell did the same, winking at the son of Apollo, "Come now, William, everyone needs a little love in their life." He said before grabbing Lacy and running away from the still stunned head counselor of the Apollo Cabin.

Will stayed there for a few seconds before sighing and looking down at the bowl of magic fire. "Well," He said as he got up and headed to his own cabin. "It won't hurt to try."


The son of Apollo entered his cabin, bending down to pick up some of the discarded clothes one of his siblings left lying on the ground. Most of the campers were still outside, soaking up on the cloudless night and (possibly) their last moment of peace.

Will sat down on the edge of his bed, nimbly throwing the clothes in a nearby laundry basket before placing the sacred fire on the edge of the bed observing it with interest.

Guess, I can't let it go to waste. He thought as he took out a piece of paper and a pen from somewhere. Being the children of the god of Literature entitled them to endless supplies of writing materials. He tapped his pen on his leg, eyes wistful as he thought about what to write. He knew he'd had to do this fast, since Lacy and Mitchell never did specify how long the fire would last, and also he didn't want any of siblings finding him there, writing a note to Cupid, of all people. Despite being the counselor, he was not immune to the teasing and love songs of his siblings.

Idly, his mind always helplessly wondered towards a certain son of Hades. With how Nico was now, he'd probably scoff at the mention of Cupid or cringe at the so-called god of Love. He may even laugh at Will for trying out such a sill ritual, asking a god of all people for a better love life.

He was so distracted with the thought that he realized he'd written something without thinking. He looked down at what he wrote and sighed, cheeks flushing before crossing it out immediately. He flipped to the back of the piece of paper and shook his head.

"That's stupid," He chastised himself. "Don't write anything stupid." He grumbled as he began to write, instead, about one of his siblings finally getting a chance with one of the campers from Nyx's cabin. It was silly in some camper's eyes, what with Nyx's children being all darkness and night while the children of Apollo were all about sunshine and bright lights. But Will would like to think that when it came to liking someone it didn't matter who your godly parent were, or if the person you liked was your total opposite, or broody, or disappeared and went to the Underworld a lot-

"Anyway…" Will said out loud, cutting off wherever his thoughts were going. "That's done." He folded his paper and chucked into the flames with only slight hesitation. The fire flared for a second, turning blue before abruptly going out. The son of Apollo peered into the bowl, looking at the ashes left in the wake of the flames.

He sighed again and felt a tinge of regret when he saw a small unburned part of the paper, flipped over at him.

It was a part of NIco di Angelo's name he'd crossed out.


Will woke up wearily, eyes fluttering open and looking to the side in confusion. The sun has yet to filter through the golden blinds of the Apollo cabin and the cabin counselor sat up automatically, running a hand through is hair as he yawned. What a weird dream, he thought. Or memory, more like it. He shook his head at his mind's strange thoughts.

He got up and decided to get something to drink before waking his siblings up for another typical Camp Day.

The war with Gaea had finally been won, camp Half-Blood had found new allies in camp Jupiter, Leo came back after a month of being MIA, most of the campers were healing up nicely, the Apollo cabin was having a back-and-forth medicinal information exchange with their Roman friends, Capture the Flag was finally back on, and, best of all, Nico finally decided to stay.

But-

Will placed his half-empty glass on the side tables, pinching the bridge of his nose at the sudden headache.

Of course there was always a but.

He ran his hand through his disheveled hair and looked at their schedule of activities today. To his surprise, it was a rare day off at camp, they had no archery, literature, or canoe lessons or medical meetings and/or seminars that morning. And in the afternoon, they only had rock-climbing and hand-to-hand combat. He looked around at his siblings who were all, miraculously, still asleep and decided. with no trouble, to let them sleep in.

He smiled at them fondly before heading to the bathroom to take a shower, intent on grabbing his bow and arrows after for a little shooting practice.

He needed to clear his head for awhile.


Will lost track of time in the archery field.

All he knew was that the sun was high up in the sky, filtering through the rustling leaves of trees and hitting the ground in beautiful patterns. Noises of bustling campers were starting all around him, cabin doors being opened, a pig squealing somewhere in the direction of Hecate's cabin, and loud laughter came from the Hermes' cabin.

Will let out a puff of breath, shoulders burning pleasantly at his morning exercise. He wiped at his mouth with his front shirt, looking at his target dummies, all of which had at last five arrows sticking out of their hands and legs, but totally missing their vital organs. He didn't know if it was because he didn't want to permanently damage anyone whenever he shot, or if he just lacked accuracy.

"Not bad, Solace." Someone called behind him and as always, when that voice permeates his hearing Will froze, his shoulders tensed and his heart thumped like crazy. He took a deep breath and turned to give the son of Hades a small smile.

"Isn't it a bit too early for you to be up, di Angelo?" He teased lightly, almost easily, earning him an unimpressed frown. Despite his nonchalant smile and seemingly relaxed posture, his heart was beating twice as fast as before. Thankfully, he had long mastered the art of arranging his face to a suitable expression. He'd been working on it since he became head counselor, needing to exude warmth, calm, and reassurance for his siblings and to constantly mask his pain or worry whenever someone mentioned Nico or whenever he caught a rare glimpse of the son of Hades. "Thought you weren't a morning person?"

"Just because I sleep in and can't get up at the crack of dawn, doesn't mean I'm not a morning person." Nico argued and Will forced his eyes to look away at the almost pouting expression, thankful for his tanned skin which hid his blush.

"You sleep in 'till two in the afternoon," Will said casually, "And you're always grumpy if you do wake up before noon. Those are signs of not being a morning person." He said as he took out another arrow, tested the sharpness of its tip, before he notched it in the bow, pulled, and then released. The arrow landed neatly on the dummy's chest, a hair's away from its supposed heart. The son of Apollo thought it ironic that it landed there while he was talking with Nico of all people.

"We can't all be peppy, morning people like the children of Apollo." His dark counterpart grumbled, and despite the fact that he had his back to him, Will knew that Nico just crossed his arms in petulance. "It's unnatural."

"Says the guy who summons skeletons and transports himself using shadows."

"Hey!" Will looked back to see the tips of Nico's ears turning red, "At least I don't need to sing just to heal stuff! It's girly like that movie with that long-haired girl and the guy with a weird nose."

"One, you don't even heal anything; two, I'm the son of Apollo, the god of music and healing so it's a given I heal with music; three, it's humming not singing; and four…" Will raised an incredulous eyebrow at Nico's direction, "You watched Tangled?"

Nico's flush deepened and Will couldn't help but smother his chuckles. "Not the point."

"Of course." Will said raising both hands in mock surrender before turning around to get his arrows and try his target practice again. He caught Nico frowning when he placed the arrows back into the quiver, all except for one, which he notched into his bow as he walked back to take another shot.

"You're not heading out to eat?" Nico asked uncertainly.

Depends, Will wanted to say, Is that an invitation? But before he could voice out these exact words, a certain son of Poseidon came up to them suddenly, slinging a friendly arm around the son of Hades, who jumped at the sudden contact.

"Nico!" Percy said cheerfully, "It's rare for you to be up so early! Is the world ending again?"

"Jackson," Nico said in a surprisingly calm tone. The old Nico Will knew, would be throwing a fit and sending an army of skeletons to chase whoever dared touched him. But then again, this is Percy Jackson. Will turned back to his archery ignoring the pang in his chest, "Get your hands off me or I swear I'll summon a zombie to drag you back into the Underworld." His voice held no real threat in it though. Will would bet that if he was the one who had his arm slung around Nico's shoulder like that, the son of Hades would probably have castrated him by now.

"Been there, done that." Percy waved him off easily, but nonetheless let go of the younger teen at his demand. "Anyway, I'm heading out to meet Annabeth at the dining pavilion. We should go together." He said and then he turned to Will, whose back was turned to them, "Will too, of course."

"I'm fine." Will said as he exhaled and at the same time, he let the arrow go. It whistled through the air and embedded itself into the dummy's heart, making it topple backwards at the sheer force.

Nico blinked in surprise while Percy whistled lowly. "Wow, wish I was that good at archery."

"I'm just average next to my siblings." Will admitted modestly.

"Sure, sure. Well, I'll leave you alone to practice then. Nico, you coming with?" Percy asked the son of Hades who was looking at Will with pursed lips and dark eyes.

"You haven't had breakfast yet." The son of Hades said it like a statement and not a question. Will's lips twitched helplessly.

"No." He admitted.

"Then you should come with us." Nico persisted and when Will met his eyes, he looked to the side. "I mean, you don't get to tell me about eating healthy and eating more when you're skipping breakfast. Lead by example."

"I didn't say I was skipping," Will said defensively but already, he had relaxed his grip on the bow. "I was planning to eat later."

"Eat now."

"Is that an order?"

"Doctor's orders."

"You're not a doctor." Will pointed out with a smile and Nico snorted but his dark eyes were amused. Percy was looking at the two back and forth like they were playing an interesting game of ping pong.

"Neither are you but I let you get away with saying that anyway." He shot back in an unspoken challenge.

"Oh contraire, my online medical degree and PhD would like to rebut that statement." The Apollo head counselor said as he headed to the dummy and took out the arrows to place them back into the quiver, slinging his bow over his shoulder. The small, approving smile on Nico's lips made the uncomfortable churn in his stomach worth it.

"It's probably fake."

"It is, but I'm still a better doctor than half of the 'real doctors' out there." Will said as the son of Hades snorted, deciding not to contest. Nico gestured for Percy to lead the way. The son of Poseidon shot the two a fond smile and a slightly suspicious look. Nico seemed oblivious to the observation from the older teen while Will hid his tension by gripping his bow tightly, a fixed smile on his face. Percy's concentrated look melted away.

The son of Apollo's shoulders slumped from relief. He worried for a second there that his attachment to Nico had been too obvious in their usual banter. Noticing his slumped shoulders, Nico gave him a glance.

"Everything okay?"

Will looked at the dark-haired teen beside him, unspeakable fondness and warmth creeping in his chest accompanied by the now familiar churn in his stomach.

He thought about telling Nico about his dream, about the almost wish he made to Cupid of all people, about chickening out at the last minute and writing something else (would Nico laugh at him? Be surprised?). He thought asking Nico if he still played mythomagic, if they could have a match sometime, despite his rusty skills (would he say yes? Or would he claim that he didn't play it anymore and call it childish?). He thought about telling Nico about being worried about him for years: if he ate enough, if he was okay or lonely, if he ever thought about Camp-Halfblood or him in those few years away (probably not but it was nice to think that maybe he did). He wondered if the Nico of right now thought about camp as home yet.

Will wanted to say all these things (and more) but he bit the inside of his cheek and tucked the unspoken words away in his heart, like he did with everything else that meant something to him.

"I'm fine, just hungry I guess." The medic said instead with an easy shrug and Nico gave him a look that clearly said he didn't believe him but hey, the son of Hades wasn't one to talk. He'd been keeping things to himself almost his whole life, so he can't judge.

So Nico said nothing and for that, Will was more than grateful.


Being around Nico and pretending not to be affected by his presence was harder than he thought. He'd been used to the teen barely showing his face around camp, pining and worrying about him day after day. But to have the son of Hades suddenly here all the time, helping out and even teaching sword fighting, and suddenly, just like that, all he had to do was walk to the Hades cabin and extend an invitation and he'd have Nico for a day.

He'd think he was dreaming but he'd already pinched himself and his raw cheeks were pretty sure he was awake.

If he didn't know any better, he'd think that the Aphrodite's Cupid ritual actually worked, and that the god of Love was on his side for a change. But he dismissed the thought as soon as it came to him, because one, he didn't even wish for this, he almost wished for it but didn't, and as a result his brother was dating the Nyx child he'd been crushing on (which made Will happy and a bit jealous at the same time) and two, this wasn't really any different from before. He was still pining over a hopeless cause and the only difference was that Nico was actually around to pine about.

But Cupid or no Cupid, his oblivious crush was finally spending time in camp, gaining some much needed weight, and was not out there by himself doing gods-know-what. It made Will happy. It was what he'd been praying and waiting for ever since Nico ran away after Bianca's death.

However, in a way, it was difficult for him too. Being in Nico's presence and pretending to look at him as nothing more than a friend; to reach out and pat him on the shoulder or to brush his hand on his elbow or hand without lingering too long. No matter how much he pushed back or ignored his doomed attraction, something in his chest twisted when Nico accidentally stood too close (or not close enough) to him.

Being near him hurt.

And fighting against how he felt was tiring.

But he didn't want to push his feelings to Nico's way. He didn't want to break whatever fragile trust and bond they had between them, the friendship that was barely there, built up by Nico's snark and his bossy orders of constant worry.

Worse of all, he didn't want Nico to run away from him.

Nico ran away from his feelings, his past, from Bianca, from home, from could-be friends, from Percy Jackson and every other demigod, Roman and Greek. He ran away from Will too, after the Octavian debacle and once, when Will was eleven and waited for Nico with a mythomagic deck in his hand.

He didn't want that to happen again or ever, as a matter of fact. So if holding his tongue and stomping on his own heart is all it takes to have Nico around, then by gods that's what he would do.

Of course, it only takes a handful of days for that plan to go spiraling out of control. Demigods, after all, had the worst luck. Will was stupid to think he'd be an exception. Despite his resolve to shove down the unneeded attraction for a certain son of Hades, things went to hell fast on their first Capture the Flag after the war with Gaea.

Being the head healer of the Apollo cabin, it was already given, from the very start, that Will Solace and a handful of Apollo's children would only be half-participating in the games. Despite being on the side of the Ares cabin (along with Hades, Zeus, Aphrodite, and a handful of others), it was understood from the very start that Will Solace's job was to make sure that no one got too critically injured during the fight. Knowing the demigods and taking into account their ADHD, and with this being the first Capture the Flag of the season, things were bound to get bloody and rowdy fast. They had first-aid in small packs strapped to their belts, nectar, and unicorn draught in their water bottles and tumblers, and ambrosia in zip locked bags.

This was a smart move on their part because with all of the Big Three's sons in the fray, it wasn't really all that surprising that things got out of hand fast, only minutes after the shrill whistle that signified the start of Capture the Flag.

"What's the situation? Where is it happening?" Will shouted over to Justin, who was the one in-charge of communication. He was bent over a puddle of water, one of the panicking campers having Iris Messaged them in panic. How did they get a rainbow to form at night was beyond Will, probably something to do with Nyx's children's help or maybe his aunt Artemis had a hand in it. Still, it was convenient to have an IM version night when they could barely stand to be a foot from a regular phone without attracting monsters to them.

"Zephynos' creek." Justin replied and he raised his voice when lightning flashed in the sky, followed quickly by an ominous boom(!) of thunder. Several campers jumped at the sound, and not far, dark clouds began to gather. "Jason, Nico, and Percy are getting out of control, they got hit by some sort of- of-" There was some fast-paced talking with the person on the other end of the IM. "Some sort of ball? One of the Hecate's children's magical, modified sphere things. Anyway, Jake says it's not looking good."

The head counselor of the Apollo cabin swallowed back his automatic worry for a certain son of Hades as he shouldered his first-aid knapsack, "How many are injured?"

"Eight to ten with minor injuries, scratches, sprained ankles… Clarisse with a possible concussion." Justin said gravely, "Apparently, she tried to stop Percy and the others, which was reckless, I mean, Clarisse is good but when the sons of the Big Three get fighting? You usually run the other way."

The ground rumbled at his brother's words, as though to prove his point.

Will pursed his lips, "You know how she is." He turned back to his siblings and yelled, "Everyone got their first-aid packs?" Nods and 'yes' answered him, "Good, we're heading to Zephynos' Creek!" He turned to the Ares bunch, "Evacuate other demigods, tell them to keep away from Zephynos' creek, alright?"

There was another flash of lightning and a boom of thunder than had Ares' children scrambling away to follow instructions.

"Okay guys, let's move out!"

The Apollo cabin scattered into the trees, running towards the creek as fast they could. Just as they did so, the sky rumbled and rain began pouring down in fast torrents. Will looked up at the sky warily.

He hoped they could get to the creek in time, without anybody getting fatally injured in the meantime. Sending a brief prayer to his father, Will trained his sight forward, pale blue eyes steely in determination.


Notes: Cupid doesn't grant all wishes, just those he deemed interesting. Also, the time Will made his 'wish' the seven of the Prophecy were just heading to get Diocletian's scepter, so it was before Nico's infamous confrontation.

Author's notes: Sorry for the late update, exams and business education week and school and life. Next update aim is Forget-Me-Not Black. Thanks for your support and happy birthday todaymakestwohundredandfiftyfive againor should I say I Am Shibuya's Composer! Thank you very much for being you! XD