Nico slept for an entire day. He woke up around 1 am of his second day in the infirmary. His was all bandaged up and he was still wearing Will's sweat pants and tee shirt. They smelled like sunshine and grass and the outdoors. It was an oddly soothing scent for Nico to wake up enveloped in.
He was slightly disoriented as he looked around. He was surprised to see Will sound asleep in a chair next to the bed. His head was resting on the foot of Nico's bed. His hair was sticking up in little tufts around his head and Nico was pretty sure he was drooling. He had to hold back a smile.
Nico sat up and looked around the room. He examined his arms where the werewolf scratches used to be. There were only faint scars now. Ever so cautiously, Nico got out of bed and stretched again. He walked to the window and peered out at the cabins. The lights were off so he knew it had to be after curfew.
So what was Will doing here? He should be asleep in his cabin. Nico couldn't help but feel a little rush of excitement at the thought of Will breaking curfew to practically sleep in Nico's bed.
"Hey," Will's voice mumbled causing Nico to jump and whirl around.
"Hey," He finaly managed, "What are you doing here? How long have I been asleep?"
"Well, it's one o'clock on the second day… well night… well morning… I don't know… of your infirmary rest." Will said. His voice was slightly rough from sleep and Nico couldn't help but find it alluring.
"Jeez… Still… Why are you here? It's after curfew." Nico breathed, "Shouldn't you be in your cabin?"
Nico had to try really hard not to think about how cute Will looked when he was tired. What was he thinking? His brain was obviously riddled with exhaustion still. Will Solace was obnoxious and DEFINITELY not Nico's type.
"I-I didn't want you to wake up all al-alone," Will said as he yawned. His wavy blonde hair was definitely messed up. There was a huge cowlick on the side of his head. Nico had to suppress another smile. Will stretched in his chair and then stood up.
Nico didn't respond to Will's answer for a long time because frankly it confused him. Finally, he managed "You… Slept in a chair at my bedside so I wouldn't wake up alone?"
"Of course! If I hadn't been here when you woke up, you could've been disoriented or worried or scared… Especially after your nightmares. I know you don't want to talk about them, but I wanted to be here in case you had another one." Will said peering into Nico's eyes earnestly.
"I don't understand," Nico said blankly, his mind was reeling. Why would Will care so much?
"What don't you understand?" Will asked, furrowing his eyebrows. When he did that he kind of squinted his eyes but his blue eyes were still startlingly bright.
"Why you would do that. Surely it wasn't comfortable… Wait… Did you sleep here last night too?" Nico asked, taking a step towards Will. He looked into the other boy's face, but he was unsure what he was looking for.
"Yeah… And it wasn't comfortable but I care about you, Death Boy," Will said smiling awkwardly. He kind of tilted his head to the side when he grinned like that and ran a hand through his hair. He reminded Nico of a golden retriever. Nico felt those skeletal butterflies acting up again.
"I'm your doctor after all!" Will said quickly when the silence became too awkward. Was his face red? More importantly, was Nico's?
"Right…" Nico mumbled, staring at his bare feet. He suddenly reaiized they were withing a few inches of each other. Will really was so tall. He was quite a good deal taller than Nico. The way he was peering down at him made the skeletal butterflies in his stomach do somersaults.
Then Nico's stomach growled despite himself. He hastily turned away and walked a few steps away from Will under the premise of fixing the blanket on the bed. With his back turned Nico could think clearly because he wasn't staring into Will's overly enthusiastic, caring face.
"Oh jeez! I bet you're starving!" Will cried, looking at Nico with concern, "Get back in bed, doctor's orders, and I'll bring you some food. I have some chicken noodle soup in here somewhere!" Will hurried out of the room and Nico wondered if he felt uncomfortable by the previous moment of closeness. After a moment, Nico followed after Will instead of getting back in bed.
There was a small kitchen in the infirmary and Nico found Will pulling out a can of what looked like Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup from a cabinet. He didn't say anything as Nico walked in and sat on the counter beside the stove.
"You know, I'm not actually sick. I don't need chicken noodle soup. Also, there are probably so many preservatives in that stuff that it'll negate any positive effects the soup may have," Nico said, swinging his feet as he sat on the counter.
"You most definitely are sick, Death Boy. You were almost devoured into nothingness a few days ago!" Will said, pointing a spoon at Nico's face, "And this is a very healthy soup. Entirely organic and enriched with lots of vitamins, thank you."
"Danger like that just comes with the territory of being a Hades kid." Nico replied, ignoring the last comment about the soup.
"Well, I think that's possibly the stupidest thing you've ever said," Will replied, turning to face Nico, he seemed unusually angry about this, "You shouldn't make excuses for almost dying."
"Solace. I saved your butt by using my underworld magic. I don't understand why it makes you so angry. It isn't even your business anyway!" Nico exclaimed, "I didn't have a choice! Would you rather I let the camp get destroyed? What is your problem with my Underworld magic? And what's so wrong with me not wanting attention? I say it isn't a big deal and make excuses because it isn't! It's not like anyone would miss me if something happened anyway."
"For the love of all the Gods Nico!" Will yelled, exasperated, "Of course you saved my butt! You saved all our butts, yet you constantly put yourself in needless danger and don't take care of yourself! If you tried to keep yourself healthy then you wouldn't be practically dead, but no! You don't even care about yourself or your health! Of course I care about you! I'm a doctor and I can see and appreciate everything you do in a way that you can't! And lots of people would miss you!"
"Like who?" Nico asked fiercely, "Name one person who would miss me!"
"Jason Grace would miss you," Will snapped.
"He doesn't count. He only cares about me because he feels bad for me." Nico grumbled, "That's the only reason anyone cares about me."
"Fine. Me. Okay? I would miss you!" Will cried, waving his arms in the air in a dramatic gesture, "And you're wrong about the others. They don't like you because they feel sorry for you. They like you because they see you for who you are. But you can't accept that. What is with you and your inability to accept the fact that you might just be likable! Now for the love, shut the Hades up and you're going to eat all of this gods dammed soup when it's ready because it is late at night and I haven't slept in two days!"
Nico leapt off the table, his temper flaring.
"It isn't MY fault that you haven't slept in so long! Trust me, I know what it's like to not be able to sleep! It's easy for you to say that plenty of people like me! You don't even know what it's like to be hated. You don't know what it's like for people to flinch when you are near them. You don't see people look at you in disgust. You're everyone's golden boy! A son of Apollo. Everyone swoons over you and you are too dense to notice! You have no idea what I feel! So do not tell me everyone likes me! Don't lie to me, Solace! I'm out of here. You can actually get back to your beauty sleep, you stupid-
Will threw his spoon on the ground and yelled out in frustration then stormed right up into Nico's space. His face was about half an inch from Nico's and he had his finger pointed at Nico in a very stereotypical angry mom way.
"You know what? You don't know me! Life isn't as perfect for me as you'd think! And I do know what I'm talking about when it comes to people liking you! Lots of people want to be your friend, but you don't let them! That's why people are uncomfortable around you! Because you never let yourself be anything but distant around them! You are a complete stubborn, obstinate, stupid… stupid…. Stupid stupid face!" Will yelled, unable to come up with a better insult.
Nico couldn't help it. He started to laugh. It was just a little chuckle but it seemed to infuriate Will even more. He was kind of cute when he was angry. Will took a deep breath and stepped away from Nico, then he exploded (figuratively of course).
"Are you serious!?" Will yelled, "I've been trying to get you to laugh for so long and you choose to laugh NOW? You with your 'Oh look at me! Nobody likes me! I'm all alone! I'm so dense that I don't realize that lots of people want to be my friends but I just never let them because I can't wrap my mind around the fact that people may really like me and enjoy hanging out with me!'. For Pete's sake, di Angelo! It is late and I am exhausted and you are standing there laughing at me after being a stubborn ass for the past two days! You are sick! You are going to get back in bed and eat this freaking organic super healthy chicken noodle soup that WILL help you because I said so! Doctor's orders! And if that isn't enough to make you then do it because I'm not a night time person and I've stayed up all night for the past two nights using all the magic I can to make sure your nightmares don't come back so you can actually get some rest for once!"
Will was practically seething with his anger. It wasn't exactly intimidating though. It actually just made Nico feel bad. Nico stopped laughing and looked at him.
"You stayed up all night to keep my nightmares away?" He asked quietly.
"Yes!" Will cried. If Nico hadn't been so surprised, he would have laughed again. When Will gets angry or flustered he gesticulates everything with his hands. It was all very overdramatic and quite amusing, but Nico was still… what was the word… touched?
"But… Why? You didn't have to," Nico started but Will cut him off.
"I know I didn't have to! I wanted to! I want you to actually get some rest for once!" Will exclaimed,
"Thank you, Will. Really." Nico said, looking into Will's face. The anger seemed to drain out of him before Nico's eyes. He gave a slight nod.
"Now sit back down and let me finish fixing you some soup. Please." The last word sounded a bit like an exhausted and exasperated parent, but Nico obeyed anyway. He sat back down on the counter and didn't say anything.
He watched with mixed emotions as Will pulled out a pot and brought the soup to a boil. Will hummed as he worked. It was amazing how his anger just disappeared within a few seconds… If only Nico's could do that. Nico could have sworn it was "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles that Will was humming. Then it changed to a song Nico didn't know.
"What are you humming, Solace?" Nico asked, leaning his head against the cabinets behind him.
"Hmmm?" Will asked absentmindedly. He glanced up from the steaming pot he was stirring and looked at Nico out of the corner of his eye.
"The song you're humming. What is it?" Nico asked again as Will smiled really big. Nico had the sudden urge to reach out and touch Will's face. He restrained himself, though.
"Oh… It's a song called When the Day Met the Night… It's by Panic! at the Disco." Will said, then turned his attention back to the soup.
"I've listened to them but I haven't heard that song before," Nico mused.
"Well, no offense, but it's probably not your style so that doesn't surprise me," Will said, pouring the finished soup into a bowl.
"Excuse you?" Nico asked, "I listen to punk bands like Panic all the time."
"Emo bands, Death Boy. You listen to emo bands. And this album wouldn't be on your radar. It was a different album for the band. Very Beatles-ey." Will said, "Now eat this. And get back in bed right now."
Will ushered Nico back to bed and Nico hated to admit it, but he realized he kind of liked being cared for. Not to mention that chicken noodle soup was the best he had ever tasted. He fell asleep talking to Will Solace about bands and whether or not they were emo enough for Nico.
Nico had never really had a friend besides Bianca. That is only if sisters count as friends. It was nice, this feeling Nico had. Having someone he could talk to and maybe even laugh with was nice. It was nice to have someone who cared about him and what he thought and felt.
Maybe, just maybe, Will had meant what he said about actually wanting to be Nico's friend because he liked him and not because he felt bad for him.