Second Day

Nico wanted to hate the second day with Will Solace, but he couldn't. And that had absolutely nothing to do with the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, tan son of Apollo. Absolutely nothing to do with Will Solace. Nico let Will take his vitals and temperature without much of a fight. All he remembered of his dream last night was Eros. Eros had visited him. He remembered his flashback and the nightmare afterwards, but not what Eros had said to or shown Nico.

However, he didn't mind being with Will now. There were next to no awkward moments between the two, since Will was no longer fussing about not using his underworld-y powers. They had gotten over the whole 'tried to shadow travel but failed and almost faded' incident as well.

"So, Nico, how're you doing?" Will asked.

"I'm fine, Solace." Nico still put up the wall of security he always had. "Why do you care so much about whether or not I fade? Like I said yesterday, you would all just move on." Nico was actually overjoyed that Will was so interested.

"No, Nico. There are people who love you too much to get over it. Hazel, m-Hades, and others." Will replied.

"Hades doesn't care about me. I'm alone. And I'm fine with that. I lived on my own for years without anyone else. Why are you so nosey!"

"Because Nico I-I just can't see someone else die when I could have saved them." Will sounded like he was covering for a different reason.

"Like who?"

"Michael Yew, Silena Beauregard, Lee Fletcher, Castor, and the list goes on. And I really don't want to add you to the list, too!"

"Oh." Nico was clearly somewhat shocked.

"Now, you need to rest. Last night sapped most of your strength. And this time, try not to have any more nightmares."

Nico relaxed on the infirmary bed.

"How did you know?"

"I saw you shivering. And, you were screaming and yelling in your sleep. You woke up when…" Will trailed off, his cheeks pink.

Nico smiled and tried to fall asleep again. Thankfully, he didn't have any more nightmares. When he woke up, Will was softly tapping his shoulder. He was holding a tray of food.

"First of all, it's time for you to eat. Second, someone is here to see you." Will said.

"Nico!" Hazel hugged the iris-message's mist. "Sooooo… Is there anyone you like?"

"Hazel? Are you being tricked by Piper?" Nico asked.

"Nope! I'm just being a little nosey sister!"

"Uh-huh."

"I'll be in the hall." Will said, stepping outside.

"Okay, so. Who do you like!?" Hazel exclaimed.

"What?" Nico responded.

"Piper told me she was sensing strong feelings coming from you. By the way, that doctor was really cute! Who is he?"

"Oh, that's just Will Solace. He insists that I need to not turn into a puddle of darkness."

Hazel frowned. "Good. And I heard that that almost happened last night. I'm glad Will was there."

"Yeah, me too. If it hadn't been for him, I'd be dead." Nico said grimly.

Hazel then grinned from ear to ear. "You like him, don't you!? I mean, it's obvious! You're not moping, so I assume Will did that, and you're smiling. At the mention of Will Solace, your smile!"

"I do not!" Nico replied, but he was grinning like a fool. "Anyways, how is Frank?"

"Oh, he's trying hard not to overwork himself. Apparently, being a praetor is hard. Reyna is doing pretty good, too. How are things here? Other than your crush on Will Solace, your favorite doctor!"

"Pretty good. Everybody's doing fine. I think Lou Ellen is going to play one of her signature pranks soon. Also, we're all wondering how things are over on the Roman side. How's Ella?"

"Hey guys, hate to interrupt, but Lou Ellen just offered Nico a tour of the Hecate Cabin's magical bunker. Which means, since Nico has to stay in bed, that someone has to wheel him there. He can't walk yet." Will popped his head in.

"Oh, cool! See you around, sis!" Nico exclaimed, waving his hand through the mist. "Well, come on! I want to see that bunker!"

"Oh! Right! Let's go!" Will exclaimed, picking Nico up and putting him in a wheelchair.

-At Cabin 20's magical bunker-

"The weapons are enchanted in the same way that Riptide is for Percy. Now, the animal balls. Remember the pig balls I used on those romans? Well, here they are. There's also dog, cat, goat, horse, mouse, and about a hundred others." Lou explained.

"Cool." Nico replied.

"And, we're done! That's everything! Hope you like it!" Lou Ellen finished.

"It was fun and all, but it's getting late. Nico needs to be back at the infirmary before 9:30." Will said, wheeling Nico out.

When they got to the infirmary, it was already 9:25. Nico and Will wheeled down to Nico's room, and Will picked Nico up again and put him down on the bed.

"You really need to stop doing that!" Nico exclaimed.

"Nope." Will replied.

Nico sighed and relaxed, laying down. This time, he dreamt he was on the Argo II.

-Dream-

Nico looked at the sky. He heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Will. Hazel and Frank sat near a mast. Then, cracks appeared in Nico's vision. He realized he was looking at something. Cracks widened. Nico appeared on the image, and fell through the cracks. He fell and fell, and then a human ladder started forming above him. Will was outstretching his hand. Above him was Leo, then Hazel, then Frank, and then there was Piper and Jason, and at the top were Percy and Annabeth. Nico reached out and grabbed Will's hand.

"Don't let go, Death Angel."

"Percy. There's a spider!" Annabeth cried from the top.

"It's okay, Annabeth, just don't-" Percy was interrupted when Annabeth screamed and let go.

The image shifted. Nico stood in a house. It looked more like a mansion. Everything was golden-yellow, silver-grey, or diamond-blue. Whoever lived there must be rich. Beside him, Will was speaking with a woman. She had rough features- scars on her face, blistered hands, and almost angry green eyes. She hugged Will. She must have been family, but they looked nothing alike. Except for the blonde hair. He looked at his hand. Will was holding Nico's hand, but not for support or help. Just because he wanted to.

The scene changed once more. Now, Will and Nico stood in a park, enjoying a picnic, when a dozen monsters came running out of the trees and the grass. Nico grabbed his stygian iron sword. A bow and a quiver appeared on Will. The monsters ignored Nico. They charged at Will.

The scene changed again, for the last time. It was the same nightmare as the night when Eros had visited him. Once more, he felt warm arms around him.

"Will." Nico mumbled.

-Reality-

"Will." Nico mumbled.

Will smiled shyly. Nico turned around, and saw Will. Nico once again fell asleep watching Will.

"Thank you, Aphrodite." Will thanked the goddess of love. "Thank you."