I'm so sorry it took this long to update! I really thought I would have this finished like a week ago! I had most of it in my brain, I mean, the idea, but it was much harder to write it down than I first thought it would be. And them vacations were over and I had to write it meanwhile attending to school and homeworks and... well, it was just complicated, but I can finally say I have it finished!
I finished this yesterday, but it was like ten minutes ago that I finished rereading it and corecting.
Please enjoy!
Chapter 2
If Only . . .
It had been three days since the son of Apollo had said . . . Well, said that. Three whole days, and they surely hadn't been Nico's greatest.
He was currently in his cabin, his gaze fixed upon the black wood from the roof, as he was laying completely awake on his bed.
The bags under his eyes were now more noticeable than ever since he had slept much less than what he usually did, which dropped that amount dangerously, due to the fact that he hadn't much of sleep to lose in the first place.
And someone might be asking, well hadn't he got some sort of magical pills that were supposed to make him sleep more? Yes, the thing was that the transparent container was laying over the ebony bureau that stood next to his bed, empty, the pills that it had held long-gone.
True to tell, they had worked, for the first two days. The thing was that he was far too nervous to sleep, and the he had practically consumed half of the medicine during the first night, knowing he would be completely unable to sleep if he did otherwise. He'd done the same the next day, and by the third day, he had no more pills left, which was the logical explanation as to why was he so sleep depraved.
The other reason to his insomnia run by the name of William Solace and he certainly liked that reason better. No, wait; he didn't like him. He meant that the one that he thought was responsible for his sleep loss was him, not "like" in a romantic way. But he didn't dislike him either . . .
Well, he did.
The son of Apollo was the reason to his insomnia and to why his heart was racing at the simple thought of him. And he did dislike that.
But he liked him, liked his graceful manners, his confident smile, the way the right side of his lower lip seemed to rise more than the left, the soothing tone of his voice his . . . Him, plain and simple.
But he didn't like him. He did, just not in the romantic sense of the words just like–Argh.
And then people asked why he didn't sleep enough.
He hadn't been able to keep the son of Apollo of his mind. Or maybe it was the words that he had so fondly said. Or maybe he was just not trying hard enough. Or maybe a part of him simply didn't even want to keep the son of Apollo from his mind.
He grunted scornfully.
No, that was most certainly not it. He wanted to keep him off mind, and of his thoughts, and of his musings and most importantly of his feelings.
No, wait. His feelings weren't involved yet. No, wait again. That made it sound as if there was a chance for him to fall into the son of Apollo, and there was not.
No, wait again. There was.
No, no, no, there was not! There couldn't be. He couldn't allow them to be. He just . . . no . . .
He'd been thinking hard –like really, really hard– on what Will had said. Oh, and last-minute news, he'd started calling him by his first name instead of the last, as the son of Apollo had so nicely requested.
Either way, the words that the son of Apollo had said had been repeating themselves in his mind, even as he tried as hard as he could to stop them from doing so.
I like you.
He grunted, yet again as he turned in the cold bed, pulling the black comforter up to cover his face, same that was currently bright-red colored.
For not making the story endlessly long –like the three previous nights– he'd tried to familiarize himself with those simple yet so complex three words.
I like you.
It had taken around half a day to even consider that as a possibility, leave accepting it alone, and though the simple thought was still weird and strange, if not as distant as the beginning, it was a different kind of strange, one that made his heart start racing, one that placed a pinkish color in his oh, so pallid features.
Could it . . . Could it be that he actually . . ?
To honor the truth, the son of Apollo had said that he meant his words, and a part of him couldn't help but believe them, even as another part of him insisted in that it was dangerous and nonsense to consider that possibility and continued to scream that something like that was completely impossible, and a tiny –really tiny– part of him still said, still screamed that it –the son of Apollo liking him, he liking the son of Apollo back, both, homosexuality plain and simple– was wrong.
And that was something that got him thinking too,
He had long ago assumed and even learnt to accept the fact that he was wrong, but Will Solace, son of Apollo, leader from Cabin 7, and wrong just didn't belong in the same sentence.
He was wrong, he knew, but to consider that the oh, so perfect son of Apollo was wrenched and twisted in the exact same way that he was . . . Well . . . it had him thinking that maybe, just maybe . . . Maybe it wasn't so wrong after all.
But then again, logically thinking, it was simply wrong, it was unnatural, plain and simple, that was why there were two sexes, to complement each other; that was why a relationship between two people of the same gender wouldn't get too far.
And yet, if it was all that wrong and wrenched, all that insane and unnatural, why was it that it didn't feel wrong? Why was it that the only small, tiny glimpse of joy and calmness that he felt in his life was when the son of Apollo was near him or when he so much as thought about him, about his kind smile and smooth voice?
Why was it that he felt his heart racing and his face heating at the simple thought of the son of Apollo, even when he knew it was just not right? Why was it that he had stopped caring about what the others might think and he only wanted to stay with what he himself thought of the matter? And why, oh why was it that he could find nothing wrong with it, with any of it?
If anything, Will's presence, Will's silent promise of support and love only made everything seem better, fine, no matter how hard he tried to deny that to himself or to prove himself wrong or to find a good reason to continue telling himself those things, same that only made him feel worthless and impotent and that currently seemed like white lies, like plain bullshit.
He distantly heard the vague sound of the alarm clock that was neatly placed next to his bead.
A part of him wondered why did he even bothered to keep that useless thing if he was already awake –more like not-even-asleep– when it sounded. Honestly, he could go perfectly fine without it, seeing as he didn't need to sleep either.
Fine, that much wasn't true.
He had been alright for then, but he was aware that it would only take around two days more for him to start having hallucinations or even to simply pass out. He groaned, pulsing the "off" button on the clock absentmindedly.
He knew he would find himself unable to sleep unless he could stop those thoughts from entering his mind.
He was also aware that there was only one way in which he would be able to get back whatever little sleep he usually had. That way was getting his mind, with those little voices that never really seemed to let him alone to shut up. And there was only one way to achieve that.
Well, more accurately there were two: he could either get more somniferous –which he was certainly not doing because that would necessarily include facing the same person that was haunting his thoughts and stopping him from being at ease at the moment– or he could simply get things straight, pull his shit together and plainly go to talk with the son of Apollo.
He sarcastically noted the nonsense line that his thoughts were following, seeing as he had just assured his first option was discarded due to the fact that it included speaking to the exact same person he was certain he didn't want to talk to, and then his second brilliant idea was to simply go and talk to the son of Apollo straightforwardly.
Fine, he thought bitterly, there was only one way to go out of his little vicious circle, and it was the one that he didn't want to face: to talk with the leader from Cabin 7.
With that settled, there was something else bothering.
In the remote –very remote, in fact– case that he actually went up to the son of Apollo to "talk" to him, what in Hades –wait, better to keep his father out of this–, what in Hera's name would he say?
How about him confidently walking up to him and plainly saying that he still believed that even the possibility of them in a romantic relationship was revolting and completely out of sight?
He unwittingly grunted in response to the thought. He was not certain about whether he liked Will or not, but he sure as Hell did not like that idea.
But then again, there was that tiny voice telling him that if he was contemplating the possibility of something between the son of Apollo and him he should first come across a fact that quite frankly wasn't his chosen.
He was gay.
If he were to be honest with himself, that was the main –real– reason for his incapacity to get to sleep, and blaming it on the member of Cabin 7 was just his coward way to get the blame out of himself.
He was not ready to accept that, he was not ready to accept that thought completely, and to accept that his heart went pounding at the simple thought of the son of Apollo, to face that a part of him was wanting to just go to him and unceremoniously blurt out an 'I do too' to the blonde boy, to accept that he might just like Will back in some degree would mean that he was fully taking the first statement in as a fact.
He was gay.
Dead point. No more running away, no more hiding from it, no more denying. He was, he was a complete homosexual and he might just like the son of Apollo back.
He took a shaky intake of breathe. He felt as if his heart were being held by a gigantic hand that enabled him to breathe freely.
No more denying, he was a homosexual.
The thought seemed to put everything around him to silence, even the voices –that were actually his own– and that wanted to continue screaming about how wrong he was stopped; with that much of silence, the atmosphere around him almost seemed tenser, heavier, which only made breathing even harder to him.
Right then, the well-known sound of sea shell was heard through the camp. They were calling for breakfast.
He groaned in response. He didn't want to get up and stand outside. He was not even hungry and he hadn't slept; he was certainly not his best mood for socializing.
A growl from his stomach dared him to repeat the statement about him not being hungry and he refrained himself from grunting again. He was in fact hungry; the night before he hadn't stopped to eat dinner, and he was seriously considering to repeat his modus operandi currently, but it seemed that his body was not very pleased with the idea.
It was truth that he avoided going out of his cabin when he stayed at the camp on a regular basis, but during the last three days he'd avoided it more than ever, going as far as to jump meals and activities in favor of staying inside, shielded from everyone and ruminating over what had happened.
As sociable as he was, no-one had missed him. Chiron had knocked once at the door, just to confirm he wasn't sick or had left the camp without warning. Percy had come the day before, asking what was wrong, but he had left too after the reluctance from the son of Hades to open the door, but Nico was sure he would be back that day unless something else enabled him to do so.
Fortunately enough, William Solace had kept himself away from his cabin, and even if a part of Nico yelled he should have been the first one knocking at his door, most of him was fairly happy with having the son of Apollo at some distance, which was the first reason as to why he hadn't left his cabin in those three horrid days.
Another growl from his stomach reminded him that it had been enough of the leader from Cabin 7 and that his number one worry should be getting his lazy ass out of bed and get breakfast.
He made a throaty sound of distaste as he slowly raised himself from his bed. The night before he hadn't even bothered to change his clothes, which meant he was still wearing his dark jeans and his black t-shirt with a motif of skulls.
Around ten minutes after he had decided to actually go eat something –same that he wasn't very sure about what they had been inverted in since he hadn't even bothered to make his bed or even comb his hair, which was hanging lazily around him as he ignored his wrinkled shirt– he was standing outside of his cabin, awkwardly walking down the path that followed to the dining pavilion, his small frame disappearing rapidly into the crowd of loud teenagers.
As usual, no-one bothered him, most of the campers plainly ignoring him and drawing themselves to a prudent distance from the son of Hades, who did just as much, his gaze fixed upon his black Converse tennis shoes.
He managed to make it to de dining pavilion without any inconvenient, inwardly thanking the gods for being so much of an antisocial so that nobody had interrupted his thoughts.
True to say, there was only one person in the whole camp who he was deliberately avoiding.
He didn't even dared to rise his gaze to the table from Cabin 7, hoping, really hoping to just slip by unnoticed to Will and to practically everyone else.
The meal lapsed pretty normally –he'd managed to get the nymphs to trust him enough to not kill them, and now the girl only trembled slightly under his gaze–, with the noisy teenagers screaming from one corner to the other and from one table to the surrounding ones. Everything around him were screams and loud laughter.
He didn't mind it too much, seeing as he had wanted something to distract himself from his own thoughts, and the scrambled eggs –which he was playing with rather than eating– wouldn't have been that much of a distraction.
That was until breakfast was over. He heard footsteps behind him, but didn't pay much attention to them, thinking it was Percy; he didn't even bother to wait until the newcomer introduced himself.
"I'm just fine, Percy" he grunted rather scornfully, not turning to dawn on how it was not the son of Poseidon.
"Not him" a cheerful, well-known voice said.
He almost choked himself as his eyes widened slightly. Not the camper form Cabin 3. It was the one and only person he did not want to see.
"Solace" he stated as he slowly, almost reluctantly, turned around to face him.
The blonde boy smiled at him cheerily, walked up to the table and rested his right arm confidently on the wooden piece of furniture, so that he was standing right in front of Nico, looking down at him –whose piercing gaze he was trying hardly to ignore–, the difference of heights between both of them accentuated by how Nico was still sitting in the bench and Will was standing up.
"We need to talk" he finally said, noting yet again how Nico was not the greatest speaker in Camp Half-Blood. Refrain
He squinted at him, his dark eyes piercing him, as if the son of Hades was deciding how was the best way to kill him and hide his body. Will refrained a shudder.
"I have nothing to talk to with you" he finally said, blinking that slightly terrifying look from his eyes.
"Yes you do" Will insisted. "You can at least say something like–"
"No, I don't" Nico repeated, his voice sounding a little strangled, as if he were breathing hardly.
To say that Will was just as nervous was an understatement. Of course he was nervous, nervous and confused and maybe even a little scared, but after waiting for three days to get an answer or some kind of sign from the son of Hades he had realized that if he waited for Nico to make the first move he would be most likely waiting forever. And that was not very appealing.
"You know you do" he asserted, refraining a tired sigh. "If only you could–"
"Stop it, Solace" Nico commanded sternly, sending a few glances to the other tables, in which the demigods had stopped minding their own business and were currently looking at them, puzzled by the behavior of both campers. "People are starting to stare."
"Let them" he responded simply, waving his left hand in a gesture that almost said 'They are not important'. "But answer me".
"There's nothing to answer" Nico hissed back, breaking eye contact for the first time. "You didn't ask anything."
"No, I didn't, but when someone says something like what I told you most people usually answer something like–"
"I'm not most people, Solace" he cut him off rather violently.
No, he sure was not most people; most people didn't look half as attractive as he did, even when he was completely oblivious to that fact.
Will sighed tiredly.
"Nico . . ." he started, but suddenly, the demigod he was talking to jumped up, almost causing the bench he'd been sitting in to fall to the ground and turned around, leaving him behind rapidly due to his exaggerated strides.
For a second or two all Will could do was literally nothing, left behind by the son of Hades, blinking in surprise as he had simply turned his back on him and fled, but after a blink or two he regained his composture and went right behind his not-so-willing-to-listen interlocutor, gripping the boy's left wrist in his right hand.
"Nico!" He called out, vaguely noticing the puzzled stares of the other campers "You can't be avoiding me forever, y'know?"
"Who says I can't?" The younger attacked back, troubled by the attention the son of Apollo was drawing on them and by the fact that he was being touched by him and specially bothered by how the only thing that he could think of were Will's cerulean eyes and how badly he wanted to repeat the infamous scene that had taken place in Cabin 7 three days aback.
"No you can't" Will insisted, as he pulled Nico's arm firmly, forcing him to turn around so he would face him, but his dark locks covered his eyes and his face was turned to the ground.
"I could stay in the Underworld forever and you –or anybody, for the matter– would never find me" the son of Hades stated.
Will refrained a sigh. There was something . . . Something in the younger's voice or in how he was avoiding his eyes that kept telling him that maybe, just maybe there was a slight possibility that his feelings were corresponded.
But, then again, with Nico's character it could have been just a polite way to say he was not interested in him.
There was only one way to disperse that doubt, and it was asking Nico straightforwardly what his feelings about him were.
But apparently 'straightforwardly' was not one of Nico's favorite words.
With his right hand he gripped the son of Hades' chin and forced him to meet gazes with him.
For a second he thought that he'd recognized fear in his dark orbs, as if there were something troubling him, something that terrified him and made him nervous, but it lasted for only a heart-beat before his eyes darkened and hardened with coldness.
"Listen, if there is the slight possibility that–" Will started but he interrupted himself as the fear he had seen came back to those dark eyes. Though he couldn't fully place it he was positive that he had seen it somewhere before. And then he knew–it was the fear of a caged animal.
"No" Nico hissed, as he tried to avoid eye contact.
"Nico–"
"I said no, Solace" he repeated, but there was something in his voice, something in his posture or in the way he tried to hide his gaze that made his words seem faked, as if every one of them had been thought carefully and then placed into the sentence.
Everything could be. Nico was not the greatest when it came to expressing feelings, so it could be that he was just being honest but didn't know how to say that all he really wanted was to get rid of him.
But it could also be, and Will was really hoping that it'd be this one rather than the previous, that he in fact felt something for him but didn't know how to put that into words.
He knew Nico was not the best went it came to social interaction. After everything he'd been through it was not a secret that he had a hard time trusting others and expressing emotions, in the remote case that he tried to explain himself, and a part of the son of Apollo felt guilty for making him endure so much pressure, but he knew that if he were to expect an answer he would have to bite some bullets and press Nico a little, even if he wasn't so sure to be willing to do something like that.
Suddenly, words that he hadn't even planned to say were leaving his mouth.
"Prove it" he murmured, almost too quietly for Nico to hear him.
"What are you–?"
"Prove that you want nothing to do with me and I'll leave" Will completed, placing both of his hands on the younger's shoulders.
"Solace, I–"
"Do it" he commanded, a little too more sternly that he had tried.
He felt his smaller frame stiffen under his touch while he looked at him right in the eye, forcing his own gaze to harden and ignore all the signs that pointed to how scared the son of Hades was and how cruel he was being with the boy.
Nico was biting his lips hardly and his dark eyes shone with fear, scanning through the son of Apollo's features, as if testing what to do next and searching for an escape route.
Yes, Will was still feeling guilty because he was aware that he was the only responsible for that frightened look in the boy's porcelain features, but a part of him couldn't help but notice how it also held doubt.
If Nico were really as uninterested in him as he said he was, he would have sent him flying without hesitance long time ago.
But he hadn't, and it was the same fact that worried him the one that made him had a glimpse of hope that the son of Hades might feel something for him. Most likely something that didn't quite fit in the 'corresponded feelings' but that was a something that could transform in that, and if he had the chance, then he would fight for it.
Nico didn't say anything, staring back at him silently, biting his lower lip furiously, his eyes shining with fear and something that seemed somewhere in between a plea and doubt.
Slowly, as if he wasn't even planning to, Will lent down, taking just a glimpse of those frightened dark eyes before he locked their lips.
He felt Nico tense even further when they first came to contact, and a part of him vaguely wondered how was that even possible. But slowly, after a second or two he felt the son of Hades relax against him.
Will was just starting to hope that Nico would correspond the gesture when a round of surprised and not-so-contained screams startled him.
Nico immediately broke the kiss, stepping back hurriedly and pushing him away, placing both of his hands in Will's chest. Still, Will managed to reach for his right hand and grip it.
Nico sent mortified glances to their surroundings, and then one last one, throbbing with hate, to Will.
Each and every camper in at least a kilometer radius had stopped their activities and turned to look at them, not even bothering to fake discretion, surprise and disgusted looks in their faces.
It happened all too fast for Will to even realize what was going on. Before he could even say or try to explain himself each and every shadow around them was coming closer, until it had concealed their bodies.
Honestly enough, the only thing that Nico wanted was to disappear. Quite literally. To disappear and never have to look at anyone ever again. Specially not William Solace.
So he did what he best knew how to do: he fled. He summoned the shadows around him and simply fled.
Unfortunately, he failed to remember that the son of Apollo was still gripping his right hand in his much larger ones.
"What the hell are you thinking?" he asked as soon as they materialized in the interiors of Hades' cabin, pulling his wrist free violently from Will's grip.
Will only whistled in response, ignoring the mad tone in Nico's voice. "Now, this is how Cabin 13 looks like from inside" he murmured as he calmly looked around the room, focusing on the vacant beds and black furniture.
"What's wrong with you?" Nico hissed between his clenched teeth, with the son of Apollo either not noting the menacing tone in his voice or deliberately deciding to ignore it.
"Hope nothing" he simply answered, as if he had not just kissed someone –someone the same sex than him, he mentally added– in front of half the camp, that someone being the threatening son of Hades, who had shadow-traveled him to his cabin and could summon an army of skeletons to kill him right then and there, which seemed quite likely currently. "Do I look sick to you?" He continued to tease calmly.
"You just kissed me!" Nico deadpanned, almost screaming as he gestured for the closed window. "In front of the whole camp!"
The whole camp? Really? Curious thing, Will really thought it had been just half of it.
"Yeah" he answered calmly. "And you responded."
"Of course I didn't–" Nico started, his voice dangerously nearing a hysteric tone.
"Well, that can be easily solved" he whispered, interrupting his interlocutor, extending his left hand and reaching for the son of Hades' waist, gently pulling his smaller frame against his own, locking their lips slowly.
It was just that, a simple encounter between their parted lips that Nico either responded nor pulled of immediately, his heart pounding even as he tried to stop it from doing so.
Nevertheless, he was the first one to pull away, breaking their kiss in a slow motion that allowed Will to hope hid reluctance.
"Drop it, Solace" he murmured, attempting to make his voice sound menacing, but failing as he was breathing hardly, trying to catch his breath. "And let me go!" he finally commanded, in something that was half-way an order and half-way a child tantrum; a very mad child's tantrum Will mentally added.
The son of Apollo did as asked, smiling ever so slightly as he pulled away without reluctance, which somewhat surprised the son of Hades, since for some strange reason was expecting him to resist.
"That certainly is being selfish" he said, widening his confident grin under the piercing gaze of Nico.
Nico narrowed his eyes dangerously. "What are you–?"
"Asking me to let you go when you are still clinging to me, Ghost King" Will interrumpted him, as he continued to smile.
"I'm not–" he began to argue, but was cut off suddenly when Will gestured for his arms and his eyes dropped, only to find that the son of Apollo was right. He was clinging to Will, both of his arms tightened around the son of Apollo's waist, unconsciously pulling him closer to his body. His eyes widened slightly as he opened his mouth to retort something but was forced to close it almost immediately as he realized he had nothing to say.
He made a throaty sound akin to a growl as he slowly let his arms fall from Will's waist and to his sides, his hands now transformed into tight fists, his gaze falling miserably to the ground.
"Now, I didn't say I was bothered, did I?" Will teased sweetly, his smile evident in his voice as he ever so gently brushed his fingers over the younger's face, pulling a couple of dark locks behind his ear, bringing his brown eyes to view again; he then let his hand fall to the boy's chin and pulled it up gently, kindly forcing Nico to meet his gaze.
The beautiful dark orbs where shiny with an emotion that he couldn't fully place.
Still, at the back of that, he sure knew what blurred Nico's dark eyes–it was confusion, confusion and fear, like the eyes of a terrified caged animal. He shuddered slightly, forcing himself to look even deeper. Through all that hurt and puzzlement there was something else, something that wasn't all that negative. It was yearning, longing, it was the affection of a child that deserved to be loved and to love back, not judged and pushed apart.
He was overwhelmed by the desire, almost the need to protect that boy, that boy that could summon a complete army of powerful zombies and survive in the Underworld completely alone but that was still so frail-looking and so, so unforgivingly young.
Gods, if only he could pull him to his chest and assure him everything would be alright, if only he could be sure that Nico wouldn't push him away in favor of being left alone again, which was the reason as to why the boy looked so miserable and hurt in the first place.
If only Nico would allow himself to be loved.
He smiled at him confidently, his own cerulean orbs shining with fondness.
"I-I think–" Nico started, nervousness shining brightly in his eyes, but was suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone clearing his throat behind them in what couldn't be good humor.
Both jumped startled, Will even let Nico's hand slip from his and they turned, anxiously inspecting the darkness for the one person who had interrupted them.
It didn't take much to find him.
Just behind them, through an Iris-message that showed itself slightly fuzzy in the edges was the one was that most people didn't want to see in their lives. Hades, God of the Underworld and, by the way, Nico's godly parent Will reminded himself.
"That explains why I haven't been introduced to a girlfriend of yours" the god said harshly, after a second or two with them just staring back at each other, looking sternly at both teenagers through the Iris Message. Said demigods were viewing him back, debating about whether to feel confused, scared, both or something else.
Beside him, Will could almost feel Nico trembling, not knowing what to do or what to expect from the Lord of the Dead that was looking at him rather dismissively.
He didn't know Hades and he wasn't quite sure he wanted to meet him at that moment.
His eyes were very similar to Nico's, if only a couple of shades darker, and he absently wondered how that was even possible, still, they were staring at him more hatefully than Nico ever had and he refrained the need to step back and shudder. He politely bowed his head in recognition to Hades, who continued to pierce him with his gaze.
"Fa-father he is not– He isn't–" Nico tried to explain, but there were no words in his brain or mouth left, as if they had just disappeared, replaced by a total blankness of fear and confusion.
"Although I have to say I'm not all that surprised . . ." The god of the Underworld murmured thoughtfully, more to himself than to the teenagers on the other side of the Iris message that were now jumping from a surprised look to a fearful and confused one, finally breaking eye contact and turning his eyes to the floor of his throne room.
Holy gods of Olympus, Nico thought, his father was going to kill him. He wouldn't care Will and him weren't even involved in true, he wouldn't care that he had tried as hard as he could to prevent something like this from happening.
He closed his eyes and turned them to the floor, avoiding the disgusted and disappointed look that he was sure to find in his father's eyes.
"What do you mean you–?" Nico started, his voice almost shaking under the weight of his worst nightmare coming true.
"I mean I should have seen this coming" Hades interrupted, gesturing with both hands widely, almost as if he wanted to point the teenagers but didn't want to do it by using his fingers, deciding to point with his extended palms instead. "You, in a romantic relationship with another guy" he muttered, almost hissing, his voice concealing every possible emotion, from disdain to acceptance.
There it comes, Nico thought. His father would surely dedicate a three-hour-long lecture about how miserable and pathetic he was, about how his sister would have been so much better than him. Yes, he knew. And he would have done anything to bring his sister back. But he couldn't, just like he couldn't change the fact that he was indeed attracted to Will in some level.
Will narrowed his eyes. He wasn't too fond of being enemies with an immortal creature, but Hades was not being the nicest, in his very honest opinion. Still, the gods' voice didn't hide contempt and the glance he was directing him wasn't pregnant with hate. The god's dark eyes were piercing him intently, critically, as if he were evaluating him. Although it could only mean that he was trying to find the best way to get him killed.
"Well?" Hades finally said, breaking the horrible silence that had settled in the room. "Are you or are you not going to introduce him to me?"
"W-what?" Nico whispered, slowly raising his eyes from the ground, but not daring meet his father's, focusing on his dark tunic instead. Hades made a sound akin to a growl that seemed like a 'Don't make me repeat it, boy' and Nico decided against it. "W-William Solace" he murmured, his voice barely audible.
Hades nodded, a deadpan expression in his features. "Son of?" He questioned, his voice hiding no emotion at all, well, maybe impatience.
"Son of–" Nico started, before his voice broke off.
"Son of Apollo" Will cut in. "Cabin 7" this time, Hades' strong gaze went to land on him. He shuddered slightly.
"I know the numbers" the god said sternly to him before turning his eyes to the floor, supporting his head in his right hand, which was neatly placed in the armrest of his black throne, in what almost was a tired manner. "Your sister went for a son of Mars and you go up for a son of Apollo" he muttered, probably speaking to Nico, but so quietly it seemed that he was talking with himself instead. "What am I missing?"
He fell silent for a second, as if considering possibilities or evaluating a situation, and none of the demigods dared to interrupt him.
"Well" Hades said after a while, as he raised his penetrating gaze. "Everything is better than a daughter of Demeter" his voice hardened as he continued talking. "Meanwhile it's not a daughter of Demeter you can engage with whomever you like" he said. "But we do not need to tie another string between Demeter and our family, believe me" he murmured.
Nico was caught by the word 'family' in his father's sentence. Hades never referred to them as such, but his father was acting as if everything that was going on was nothing but a simple setback in his day.
Plus, there was that other thing. Hades didn't seem bothered or disgusted or basically anything that he thought he would be once his little secret stopped being that. It almost looked like if Hades had already known and gotten over that fact long time ago, as if he had been 'expecting it', in his very own words.
He slowly, dared raise his eyes to meet Hades', fearing the disdain that they would hold. But, when they finally met gazes . . . the eyes of his father hid nothing of the sort.
He was staring right back at him, emotionlessly. One might have thought that that was a bad sign in itself, but for Nico it wasn't. He had been expecting disappointment as disdain, and although his father's eyes weren't all that welcoming either, they hid no hate, and that was something that he hadn't even dared to hope.
He was looking at him stoically, as always. That sounded weird, but he didn't mind. His relationship with his father could have not been the greatest, but he was fine with it, and he didn't want to change that.
He had been thinking that if his father ever heard note of anything like what was currently taking place he would put up a fuss and make a disaster over it, but in contrast to that, Hades was calmly sitting in his throne, watching him intently, although he seemed more interested in Will, as if he were inspecting him, pretty much like one did with a menu, as if deciding whether to order or not.
"F-father–" he said roughly, trying to get something out from his dry throat, desperately trying to find an explanation or an excuse. Still, he was interrupted by his father, who raised his hand in a gesture that seemed to be asking for silence.
"You want guys, very well" he said, and for a heart-beat it almost seemed there was something akin to acceptance and comprehension in his voice. "Keep it away from Demeter's and I find no reason for opposing" he finished, nodding seriously.
Nico was almost tempted to ask him whether if he was being serious, but he didn't dare. Instead, he only looked back at his father, expecting a threat or warning, but he got nothing of the sort.
"Fine, then" Hades said. "I was calling to summon you to the Underworld but seeing as you are busy" he murmured stoically, sending a cold glance to the son of Apollo before returning his eyes to his own son. "I may have to call your sister." He fell silent for a second or two before he started talking again. "Is there something else that I don't know and should?" He questioned.
Nico denied by moving his head to the sides, not even able to answer using his voice.
"Very well" Hades said. "If that's so, I'm leaving. Try not to get yourselves killed" he said, sending a last glance to Will before the image became fuzzy and finally disappeared.
Once Hades was gone, both demigods refrained a sigh of relief.
"Did he–?" Nico said with a shaky voice. "Did he just say it was fine?"
"That's what he said" Will responded quietly, sending a worried glance to the son of Hades.
Nico sighed again, but it almost seemed useless, as he wouldn't get the air past his mouth. He shakily sat in the first bed he found, which just happened to be one of the empty ones, his eyes focused on the black floor and shielded by dark strands of hair. He absently noted how the mattress moved under the weight of Will when he slowly sat next to him.
To say he was confused was an understatement.
He'd tortured himself so much with thoughts about what would happen if Hades . . . if he ever knew and . . . and now that his father had not only heard a rumor, but watched him hold hands with Will . . . and his father was not even mad. Sure, he wasn't exactly pleased either but still . . .
Suddenly, the tight knots in which his heart had been tied seemed to undone themselves and all at once the air that he had been missing went back to his lungs, making him almost choke himself when he took a sudden and all-too-violent for his taste intake of breath.
The heavy environment that had been almost palpable seconds ago was now gone, as unexpectedly as it had come, leaving behind a much carefree and calm sensation.
Yes, he was indeed homosexual and surprisingly enough, now that he'd come to accept it to himself, it didn't fell like something wrong, not even as something slightly wrenched or twisted as he'd feared it would be.
Now that he'd finally accepted it and faced the thought, it wasn't even slightly as bothering as it had been as a possibility.
He'd practically killed himself with thoughts that went along the lines of 'I might be gay and it is completely wrong' and in the end, when he'd accepted that it was not just a possibility, but a fact, rather than wrong, twisted and unnatural he felt . . . liberated, at ease.
He was gay, dead period–or was it more accurately to say 'alive period', since he felt much more alive, with his heart even beating a bit faster than it usually did at that moment than he'd felt in a very long time?
His father had even compared a hypothetical relationship between him and Will with Frank's and Hazel's, and as far as he knew, his father approved of his sister's relationship if he had likened both relationships did it mean . . ? Could actually mean that his father . . ?
He slowly looked up from the black wooden floor, finally daring to meet gazes with the son of Apollo. Will was smiling at him tenderly, his beautiful blue eyes shining brightly with fondness.
Something in his posture –maybe his arched brows or the way his back seemed to be slightly hunched under an imaginary weight– made his expression seem as if he were expecting something, an answer, a response, and yet, his eyes shone with patience and affect, and for some reason, his intense gaze didn't make Nico nervous or anxious in the slightest bit. He felt protected, safe, at ease with Will next to him.
The son of Apollo possessed that effect on him, especially right then, with the sunlight that for some strange reason and weirdly enough entered through the closed window lightening his handsome features, smiling at him patiently.
A sudden realization hit him in that moment. He trusted him, he trusted Will enough to see him at his weakest, he trusted him to not hurt him, to even defend him and shield him if necessary and the thought wasn't bothering, that thought didn't seem strange or pathetic, as he'd thought it sounded. Something just seemed to fall in place, like things that were just meant to be–and according to Greeks, destiny did exist.
"Listen" the son of Apollo started, interrupting his musings. "You heard Hades" he said, softly. "Nothing will happen. If you want to, we can try to work this out" he continued, for adding rapidly. "It doesn't have to be right now."
Slowly, almost hesitantly, he extended his right arm and gently stroke Nico's cheek, outlining his high cheekbone.
"If you actually want to try something, and I'm fairly sure that it would work" he continued, smiling at him tenderly, as he placed his extended palm over his cheek steadily, a comprehensive look in his eyes. "If you are not ready right now I-I can wait for you to–"
"I want to" the son of Hades interrupted him suddenly, not even aware of the words forming in his lips until he had already blurted then out; a bright-red flush spreading across his porcelain features as his eyes fell abruptly to the ground and his hands gripped the fabric of his black shirt.
Just like that, the atmosphere tensed up and it was harder for him to breathe again. His heart was indeed beating faster, but it was not out of excitement, it was out of fear. He feared a rejection; he feared that the son of Apollo would laugh at him or . . .
Will chuckled softly, but there was no taunt in his velvety voice; Nico noted with relief how it was something that seemed fondness.
"That certainly is something with a solution" he said softly, as he let his right hand that was neatly placed on the younger's cheek slide down until he reached his shoulder and gently pulled him to his chest.
Nico let him do without reluctance, not even slightly bothered by the nearness of Will's body, if anything, he draw himself closer to the son of Apollo, searching his closeness and the comfort the warmth of his body provided.
He slowly dared to rest his head on his left shoulder and Will sighed contently next to him.
Slowly, almost as if with fear, Nico encircled his waist, and Will rested his chin on his dark locks.
"For a moment I feared you would just push me out of the cabin" he said quietly.
"I thought about doing so" Nico admitted, while a small smile appeared in his features.
"Then I thought Hades would incinerate me" Will added, noting how at the simple mention of his father's name the boy in his arms tensed up.
"He would have incinerated me" Nico specified, shuddering slightly at the thought. He was about to say something else when Will's lips went to land on his, enabling him to even continue thinking.
This time, they went faster than the previous ones. Maybe it was because this time there was no fear hanging and quite palpable in the air.
Will pulled the son of Hades even closer to him, tightening his arms around his slender body as Nico raised his hands to Will's blonde locks.
When they finally separated from each other, they were both breathing hard and, for once, it was not out of fear.
Will smiled at the younger fondly, noting not for the first time how innocent he looked with his cheeks slightly tainted with red.
Slowly, Nico raised his eyes, finding Will's beautiful cerulean orbs and his confident smile; just as slowly, with something that was almost shyness, he allowed himself to return him a slight, but sincere smile.
Looking at his blue eyes, he knew he had nothing to fear, nothing to be scared of.
Yes, many things had happened in those three days. Many things that were quite significant, but he knew right then and there the most significant one was that one, the one moment in which he knew he that not only could he trust Will, but that he did already. And right then, he also found the answer to the unspoken question from the son of Apollo.
When he spoke, there was no more fear, no more doubt in his voice or within himself, he was sure that what he was saying was nothing but the truth.
"I like you too" he whispered quietly, almost shyly as he broke eye contact, hiding his dark orbs behind darks locks.
He heard Will chuckle softly, that laugh that he'd slowly learned to love and that held a calming effect on him as the son of Apollo encircled his waist with his own strong arms and pulled him closer to him.
"I know you do" he said gently as he lent down to land a chaste kiss in the younger's forehead. "I know you do." Nico sighed quietly next to him.
After everything that had happened it was apparently still true that reality is always better than fiction. And it sure had been, as the "if only's" had suddenly became truth and what he had right then was so many times better than his wonderings had ever taken him to.
What do you thin? Please let me know!
By the way, there's going to be another chapter, the third and last. It will be a short one, and I can't promise it for very soon, maybe a couple of weeks, but I really hope to have it sooner, and I specially hope to have you reading it! Love you all!