A/N: Hey Cupcakes!
As promised, here the next chapter.. :3
Thank you so much for all the wonderful feedback so far, and I apologize in advance for this chapter.
Make sure to check the Trigger Warnings before you begin reading.
Also: Special thanks again to my wonderful beta-reader and friend, who is and will always be the best ;)
Wish you all the best,
-Tári
Trigger Warnings:
- Angst
- Aftermath of Arguments (Doubts, Regrets, Fears, Disappointment, Anger, Resentment, Guilt, Avoidance, Loss)
- Bit of Transphobia
- Mention of suicide/intent of suicide
- Relationship angst in general
- Battles (Graphic Depiction of Violence, Fighting and Injuries)
- Possible MC Death
- Lots. Of. Angst.
Seriously, this doesn't sound too bad, but it kinda is, I just don't know how to warn of what's to come.
At any rate, read at your own risk, or shoot me a message to write you a watered down summary.
On the bright side, there's new Fanart though. It always helps me to look at pretty art to recover from all the angst, so maybe it will help you, too. Links are in the Chapter Notes at the end of the AO3 version of this.
Chapter 06: The Consequences Of Our Actions
When Percy woke up in the morning, his muscles ached and his neck felt like it would break any moment, and Will was still curled up in his lap and fast asleep, clinging to him as if he was scared Percy would leave him, too.
He wouldn't.
Percy turned his head this way and that as he glanced around the medic tent, partly glad he had managed to coax Will into it at some point last night, but also regretting that he hadn't managed to get him back to their actual tent.
He wondered how Nico and Jason were faring.
It was strange to realize they hadn't come looking for them, but at the same time, Percy couldn't say he was surprised.
He gazed down at his boyfriend, his wonderful, but also horrible boyfriend.
Oh Will.
Percy sighed and stroked over his back slowly, trying not to think of last night, though his mind wandered there, anyways.
Why?
Why had Will not told them?
How long had he known?
Percy guessed it didn't matter anymore now, but a part of him still wanted to know.
A part of him wanted to understand.
Understand why Will hadn't said anything, why he had just accepted his death like that, why he hadn't even tried to fight it until the last possible moment.
But they had told him, right?
They had told him that they loved him, they had told him how important he was to them, how much he meant to them, how much they wanted and needed him in their lives, with them.
Had he forgotten that? Had he not believed them? Did he not realize how much he meant to them?
How could he possibly know he'd die and just…accept it? Work towards it, even?
Percy didn't understand.
But it didn't matter.
What mattered, what really, truly mattered, was that Will had told them last night, before they had split up, before it had been too late, before they had lost him forever.
He should have told them right away, should have not kept that to himself, same as he shouldn't have kept so many other things to himself, but at least he had told them at all, and now they knew, and they wouldn't let it happen, and they could keep him with them.
That was Percy's way of thinking, anyways.
Of course he was hurt.
Of course the thought of Will dying, of knowing he would have died, and of Will dying because of Percy, made Percy sick and his heart ache and his head spin, but Will had told them, and he might have done so late, very late, but at least he hadn't let it happen, no matter if he had intended to let it happen before.
Will stirred slightly, a frown appearing on his face as his hands started moving all over Percy, either enjoying the feel of his skin or taking in his values, and Percy wasn't surprised when they started glowing a moment later, followed by the pain in his body subsiding – at least the physical pain from his sore muscles.
"Good morning, sun-bug." He whispered quietly, and Will opened one still-puffy eye to look up at him as he remained with his face at his shoulder, his blue eyes dulled and full of guilt and pain.
He didn't return the greeting, instead sniffling again.
Percy wrapped his arms back around him properly to keep him close, wishing Jason and Nico were with him right now so they could let Will know it was good that he had told them.
But neither of them were here, so all Percy could do was hold Will tightly and try to comfort him as best as he could.
What a horrible start into the day.
...
"You do know he thinks that you hate him, right?" Percy asked quietly, and Nico turned his head away, pushing around the food on his plate without actually eating anything.
"I don't care." He snapped back sharply, though he very much cared.
Will.
Gods, never had he wanted to rattle somebody so badly.
Rattle and shake him and get a brain into that pretty, but stupid head!
How could somebody be so smart, yet so groundbreakingly stupid?!
Nico had never felt so angry before.
He had also never felt so hurt before.
Jason was silent next to him, same as he had been for the majority of last night.
While Nico had yelled and vented and screamed and cried and cursed Will to hell and back, Jason had just sat on the bed and suffered in silence, letting him get it out of his system until Nico had slumped into his arms and sobbed until he had apparently passed out at some point.
"He thinks you're going to break up with him." Percy said quietly, and Nico already opened his mouth to tell him damn right he would, but then he couldn't make himself say it, because that wasn't what he wanted.
He wanted Will to grow a brain, that was what he wanted.
He wanted Will to understand!
He wanted him to actually realize what he had done, what he had been willing to do, what this would have meant to them, because how dare he just do this to them?!
And Nico had asked him! He had asked him what was bothering him, even though Jason had told him not to push Will!
But he had pushed Will, yet Will had dared to brush him off, had told him it was nothing, and that everything would be fine!
Lies!
Will had lied!
Straight-out fucking lied, to him, to his face, he had just looked at him and lied.
And Nico had trusted him.
Nico had trusted him, and he had trusted Will to trust them, and Will had known he would die, and he hadn't said a single thing.
He had carried that knowledge around with him all this time, and it was just so sick, so wrong, Nico couldn't deal with this!
All this time.
Will had known all this time.
A field. A pit.
Nico remembered that.
Nico had been so stupid.
Nico should have known.
He had seen that place, in Will's dream, and it hadn't made sense to him, but he hadn't asked Will about it, and he hadn't comprehended.
How had he not realized?
Why had Will not told him?
Why had Will just…just…
Nico shoved his plate away and got up.
"I don't care." He repeated, spat it at Percy, and he felt a stab of guilt when Percy flinched back, though Nico still stomped off, anyways.
Away from Percy, away from breakfast, away from people, away from everything.
Where even was Will?
Then again, what did he care?
Will clearly didn't care how much they cared about him, since he had been one fucking step away from dying, but hey, no big deal!
He stormed into their tent, just daring Will to be in there – but he wasn't, yet Nico wasn't happy or relieved about it.
In fact, it only made him even more angry and hurt.
Why was he not here?!
Was this not their tent?!
Did he not want to 'talk this out' with him? Apologize for his fucked up actions and the even more fucked up reasoning?
He hadn't told them because he had realized what he would have fucking done to them with that.
He had told them because he had seen the apparently impossible, namely that they would be fucking upset, and Nico was so fucking done with him!
The tent opened behind him, and he whirled around to be ready to snap at Will, but it wasn't Will, it was Jason.
It wasn't Will.
Where was Will?
So, what, first he was ready to die, lying to them and acting as if everything was just peachy, then he finally came out to them, and now he didn't even show up anymore to see how much he had hurt them and to understand what he had done?!
Coward.
Will was a coward.
Nico felt the tears pricking in his eyes and rubbed at them furiously, before stomping over to their closet and ripping it open, tempted to tear out Will's clothes and throw them out, but instead, he merely grabbed one of Jason's sweaters and pulled it over his head.
He wasn't even inside it properly when he slammed the closet shut and let his head fall against it with a muffled thud.
Will was a freaking idiot.
This was not okay, okay?
He couldn't just…how could he have just…didn't he know how much they loved him?
How much Nico loved him?
Death was always just a step away for them, but to consciously…to knowingly work towards his own end? When he so well knew how much it would hurt them?
Nico didn't understand.
"I'll go and explain our change of plans to the rest of the team." Jason told him quietly and tugged the sweater down cruelly, forcing Nico's head back out into the open and urging him to face the messed up world around him once more.
"He joked about it, Jason. All these times he talked about dying and said stuff like 'What are you gonna do once I'm not there anymore, huh?'. He wasn't joking. He knew. He knew all this time." He whispered instead of replying, and he should be angry, but really, he just felt…hollow.
"I know." Jason said quietly behind him, and Nico turned around and reached out with his arms.
Jason was there in an instance, hugging him, holding him, allowing them both to weep without their tears being seen.
Will was the worst.
...
"I can't tell you what you want to hear, Jason." Will said, and he sounded tired and exhausted, sitting at the edge of their makeshift camp and keeping watch for any monsters or mortals.
Jason wasn't surprised he knew it was him coming closer, not anybody else, same as he wasn't surprised about Will's blunt statement.
"What is it you think I want to hear?" He asked with a level voice as he pushed himself to keep going and close the distance so he could sit down next to Will.
He wasn't sure what to think or what to do, but he knew he had to at least attempt to talk it out.
If talking things out actually did anything.
Jason wasn't sure anymore.
Jason wasn't sure about anything anymore.
"You want me to tell you that I'm sorry and that I wouldn't do it again. That, if I had another vision that showed me dying, I'd go to you and tell you about it immediately, so you can prevent it from happening. But that's not me, Jason. That's not what I'd do." Will said, and his words were as cruel as they were true, and Jason swallowed as he tried to push down the bile in his throat and the ache in his chest at the images Will was putting back into his head.
"Why not?" He asked, instead of all the other things he wanted to say, because the other things weren't nice and wouldn't get them anywhere, but this was something he had to know.
"Where there is death, there will always be death. If I don't die, somebody else will, in my place. I have now prevented this reality from happening, but there will be consequences for it, Jason. I don't know what that will be, but I know I'll accept it as it is, as long as it means you'll live."
That was his only concern, wasn't it?
"Have you asked us whether that's what we want?" He asked carefully, instead, and Will shifted next to him, though he made sure not to touch Jason.
Jason gazed at him a moment longer, taking in his reddened eyes and his disheveled state, as well as the fact he was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.
Then he looked away, off into the distance, and opened his mouth again.
"I still remember this one time we talked. And you looked at me and complained about Percy being the way he always is, and how you would expect him to do this thing, but he'd do something else entirely. How you never knew what to expect. Do you remember what I told you?" He asked, though that conversation felt like it had happened years ago.
"You told me not to expect things. Jason, I didn't expect you to be okay with it. With anything. I knew you'd be hurt and I knew you'd probably mourn me, but…"
Probably.
"Will, you just decided that it was fine for you to die, as long as we live. You expected us to simply accept it as it is, just as you did, and to move on. You said it yourself." Jason cut in, and felt his chest ache in pain at the memory of Will's words.
"That's what people do! They move on! It was just me, Jason, it wasn't supposed to tear you three apart the way it had!" Will exclaimed agitatedly, and Jason had to bite his tongue not to snap at him.
He had to stay calm.
If he stayed calm, Will was more likely to listen, and he was more likely to understand.
Plus, if he stayed calm, he would be able to think better and not say anything stupid that would do more harm than good.
"So, if any of us died, you would simply move on, too?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.
'That's different.'
"That's different!"
Jason would have smiled if it wasn't so sad.
"It's not. We love you just as much as you love us, Will. When are you going to get that into your thick skull?"
"There are other healers. Other guys. You could have found somebody different if you really wanted to." Will insisted, and that had to be the dumbest thing he had ever said.
Jason felt positively offended, but he forced himself to take a deep breath and first think over his reply a few times.
"Technically speaking, there are more fighters than healers at Camp, which means it would be a lot easier to replace one of us than you." He then replied casually, and Will jumped up next to him, looking incredulous, hurt, and offended.
"NO!" He yelled, loud enough that the entire group must have heard, but nobody came to check on them, and Jason looked for any sign of monsters having heard, but there was nothing, so he merely looked up at Will with a serious expression.
"Exactly. That's how we feel right now, Will. You say you don't mind dying, as long as it means we live, but maybe we don't want to live without you? Nobody can predict the future, Will, and I know full well we might not all make it, and that there's a chance we die before we get to go to New Rome and live a happy, peaceful life. But, you know what the difference is, between that, and what you decided?" Jason asked, and Will looked like he wanted to leave, but then he didn't, instead sitting back down and fiddling with his hands, though Jason knew he was listening.
"Choice. We might die in battle, but it's our choice to join the battle and to fight for what's important to us. We might die, but it was our choices that led up to that. In your case, you didn't give us that choice. You just decided this was the best solution, because you thought it would keep us alive. I understand that part, Will. If I was faced with the choice of saving one of you by dying in your place, I'd choose that any day, because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just let you die like that. So I get that."
"Then why are we even having this argument?" Will cut in, looking ready to fight, but Jason wasn't interested in fighting.
"Because I think you should have told us. Have you ever thought that you might have had that vision so you could change your fate? That the sole reason for that vision was that you prevented it from happening?"
"Jason, do you not understand? I wouldn't have changed it, if I hadn't been forced to see you die. Do you have any idea what happens when people mess with fate? It gets worse. They think they've gotten out of the bad stuff, and bam, something even worse happens. I wasn't going to stop my own death, just to have you all face the consequences for it. Forget it." Will argued, and Jason shook his head, wondering why he wouldn't understand.
"We would have faced any consequences willingly, if only it meant you stayed with us, Will. With all your expectations, how did you not expect that? The whole point of what I'm trying to say, is that we are supposed to be boyfriends, Will. All four of us. And that relationship is a choice, and I clearly remember us saying that we want to be there for one another, that we want to go through the good and the bad times together, Will. Together. How does running off to die by yourself relate to that in any sort of way?"
"That's marriage you're talking about, Jason! We're not married! If you haven't noticed, four guys can'teven get married!" Will hissed agitatedly, but all Jason did was turn away from him, pluck a blade of grass, turn back to Will and grab his hand to tie the thing around his finger.
Will instantly fell silent, staring at him as if he had grown a second head.
"Same thing. Makes no difference. Here you go. Ring. We're married now. Fuck society. So, now, what part of we'll go through everything together do you not understand?" Jason asked and looked Will in the eyes, his hand still clasped in his own.
He hadn't noticed how much he had missed the feel of Will's warm skin, though he tried not to think of it, and tried not to let it distract him off his task.
"You're crazy."
"Don't make me tie grass around our boyfriends' fingers, Will. I will do it." Jason warned, and Will opened and closed his mouth with no words coming out.
"That's not how it works. That's not…"
"As I said. Fuck society. We had a deal, Will. We said we'd go through everything together. You signed the Ipod-contract. You agreed. We kept reminding you not to try carry all your burdens by yourself. This is what we were referring to, Will. You can't just decide for us." He reasoned, but Will still stared at him, so Jason guessed he had to resort to different means.
"Okay, let me put it into one of your horribly analogies. If you are on your way home and you stop by a pizza place to get us some pizza, then you're allowed to decide what to get for us without consulting us, because we've had so much pizza together by now, you'll know what to get. But if you're shopping for wedding cake, that's something we definitely need to be there for, too, and something you can't just decide for us. It may be your wedding, too, but it's also our wedding, and you can't just decide for us without actually consulting us. Yeah?"
"Where the fuck am I supposed to find a wedding cake?" Will asked dumbly, and Jason cupped his face in order not to grab his shoulders and shake him.
"Will. Focus. From now on, you put everything into perspective, and I don't care how much this disagrees with you. It's an early birthday wish and would make me very, very happy. Whenever you have to face the choice of 'Do I tell them or not', you will ask yourself: Is this pizza or is this wedding cake? If it's pizza, you should still tell us eventually, but as long as it's not life threatening, it doesn't have to be immediately. If it's wedding cake, you go to us right away. Got it?" He asked sternly, trying to put all of his authority into his voice and make Will understand, though he also noticed off-handedly how funny it felt to squish Will's cheeks together, and since his boyfriend was still staring at him incredulously, nobody could blame him for getting carried away a little with that.
"Stop that." Will mumbled, then pulled away from his hands, which was a shame, but Jason guessed he shouldn't do things like that during a serious conversation such as this.
"Got it?" Jason repeated, and Will huffed.
"I guess. Though I stay by what I said. If I get a vision that shows what's going to happen instead, now, and it has me dying, but you living, I'm still going to do it. No matter what you say or do."
"Then I'm not worried in the slightest, because I'll tell Nico and Percy that, and, knowing this, you can rest assured any vision you have with us living after your death will be a lie." Jason retorted, and Will seemed to need a moment to catch the meaning behind Jason's words.
"You're not going to get yourself killed, Jason. Don't say something like that." He breathed, sounding horrorstruck, and finally, they were getting somewhere.
"Why not? You're so keen on it, after all. If you're allowed to throw your life away, why not us? Plus, once you're gone, it's not like you'll be in any position to stop us, right?" He asked nonchalantly, and Will looked ready to be sick.
"Don't. Jason, don't."
"Then don't die." Jason replied, but Will shook his head.
Stubborn fool.
"If it means you'll live-…"
"No."
"Jason!" Will exclaimed, but this time, Jason shook his head.
"We need you alive."
"Your ass needs me alive." Will snapped back, and Jason shrugged.
"That, too."
"Jason!"
Jason shook his head and snatched his hand again, pointing at the grass tied around his ring finger.
"Think of this, Will. This, and the wedding cake. And don't forget. Ever. Again."
"We're not married!" Will exclaimed, but Jason shrugged and got up.
"But I'll marry you one day. You, Percy, and Nico. Provided that you don't throw your life away along the way." He retorted, and Will gaped at him incredulously, apparently speechless once more.
Jason took it that his message was well received, so he leaned down to give his boyfriend a kiss to the side of his head.
"I'll be with Percy and Nico. He's still very upset, but you've hurt us quite a bit, so give him some time, okay?" He said quietly, and Will's expression turned grim again, though he nodded.
"He still loves you, Will. He's just very hurt. He spent half the night crying, and the other half venting. If I were you, I'd go to him." He suggested tentatively, knowing full well Nico yearned to see Will, even if he acted as if he wanted to murder him.
"He doesn't want to see me. But thanks. I guess. For…I don't know. Still being with me." Will mumbled, and Jason sighed and bent down to pluck some more grass.
"Remember our vows, Will. We're in this together. I'm still upset, and I'm not quite sure I can forgive you just like that, but I know your reasoning behind it, and you are smart enough to see ours. As long as you remember the wedding cake from now on, I'm sure we'll be able to work through it. All four of us." Jason said wisely, and Will's head snapped around as he walked away.
"We're not married!"
Of course not.
First, Jason would get them a nice, big house near a lake or the sea or something, and then they would get married.
But, until then, they first had to make it through this alive, and he dearly hoped Will would think twice before throwing his life away from now on, so the four of them could actually see that day.
Satisfied with his talk, and his belief of 'talking it out always helped' renewed and strengthened, he returned to Percy and Nico.
Time to tie grass around their ring fingers, too.
...
Percy walked in silence, knowing he was lagging behind slightly, but since Nico still refused to talk to Will, and Jason had fallen silent, too, it wasn't as if he missed anything, there.
Instead, he eyed the blade of grass around his ring finger, wondering what sort of talk Jason and Will must have had that had led to Jason declaring the four of them married on a whim.
It was an interesting thought, of course, and green looked fabulous on him, without doubt, but he had kind of thought they'd first go to New Rome together, before he would propose to them.
Typical of Jason to try and get there before him.
Percy would have at least gotten them proper rings first.
Not that he was really complaining. Green did look fabulous on him.
"You know what I don't get? If she's a lesbian, and you oh-so-accept that, why are you constantly ogling her like that? Hm?" He heard behind him, and glanced over his shoulder to see the self-declared leader of Reyna's troupe – Jack was his name, if he wasn't mistaken – talk to Ash, who looked as if they had just bitten into a lemon.
Then again, they had eaten an entire lemon just earlier without pulling a face, so Percy guessed that was a bad example to use.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, dude."
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You know, considering you're the one lecturing me that I don't have a chance with her because I'm a guy, it's interesting to see that you think you have chances with her."
"I'm not a guy." Ash replied with a shrug, and Percy knew gender was a touchy subject for Ash, so he decided to slow down a little further to listen in properly, ready to interrupt if necessary.
"Yeah, but not a girl, either. As you said, you're neither. You know, that doesn't mean you don't have a dick, though. I doubt Hannah would be interested in you if you did."
Okay, what the hell?
Percy looked over his shoulder with a disturbed frown, and found Ash looking rather confused.
"What…?"
"You know what I mean. Come on, do you have a dick, or do you not?"
"What's it to you, Jack? If you wanna compare sizes, I can assure you: You're the biggest dick around." Percy cut in smoothly and moved to put an arm around Ash, who looked positively disturbed, though at Percy's words, they huffed out a laugh, and the relief in their eyes was disturbing.
"What? I just wanted to know."
"Yeah, well, that's rude. We don't ask whether you have a dick, do we now, Ash?"
"Heck no. I don't even want to know." Ash immediately spat, and Percy gestured towards them with one hand and looked at Jack as if this explained everything.
"See? We don't care about what you got in your pants, because we don't want to bed you."
"I do not want to bed Ash."
"Good. Also, could you not talk about me when I'm literally walking two people behind you? What the hell is wrong with you?" Hannah put in as she caught up to them, throwing Jack a disgruntled look, though the fact she was out of breath indicated she had seriously hurried up to get here, which indicated she might have tried to save Ash from this conversation, as well.
Aww, they were growing on each other.
Percy was so proud of them.
"What? It's a legitimate question. If they had a dick, it would be my turn to lecture them to leave you alone, after all, right?" Jack reasoned, and Hannah looked so wonderfully disgusted, it was a delight.
"How so?"
Oh, he loved this girl.
"Erm, because you're a lesbian, duh?" Jack muttered, looking confused, and Hannah frowned as if she tried to decipher what he was saying.
"Yes? And? There are girls with dicks, too. I'm not not-dating you because you have a dick, dude. I'm not dating you because you are a dick. And because I don't feel romantically nor sexually attracted to men. That's simply all there is. Deal with it, and leave Ash out of it."
"But they're agender! You're not attracted to that, either!" Jack exclaimed agitatedly, and Percy made a face, tempted to trip him up so he would fall on his big mouth, but deciding to give Hannah a chance to speak up for herself.
"I can tell for myself who I'm attracted to, thank you very much. Now, if you excuse me, I have to go talk to Liam and rinse my soul off your soiled words. He is a true gentleman, and you would do well in learning to respect other people's privacy, choices and sexualities, without making everything your business. A good day." She quipped, and then, she disappeared between the people in front of them and towards Liam, who was looking around for monsters in concentration, his bow at the ready, though Percy also caught him glancing towards Sara every here and there with a small smile.
Jack grumbled and wanted to speak, but Ash was quicker as they grabbed hold of Percy's arm, looking at him with utmost excitement and joy in their gaze.
"Did you hear that, Percy?! Did you?! She didn't say she's not attracted to me! Do you know what that means?! Do you?! Percy, what if she actually likes me?!"
Oh dear.
Wasn't this what he had been telling them all this time?
"See? I told you that you could woo her with your poetry skills." He said with conviction, and Ash punched his shoulder playfully.
Ouch. They definitely hit harder than Will ever did.
"Ha-ha. I haven't told her any of my poetry. Gods forbid. She'd think I'm crazy."
"You are crazy, Ash. That's not a bad thing."
"Wait, so you think I should really show her my poetry?" They asked, their excitement seemingly making them reconsider Percy's words with a new perspective.
Percy gave them a long, telling look.
"Yes. Except the one where you describe her hair for, like, ten paragraphs. That's a little much to start out with. But maybe you could show her some of your general poems, see whether she likes them, and work your way up from there?" He suggested, and Ash looked ready to pull out their little notebook and make notes, though they luckily didn't.
"Okay. Got it. You know, I never really thought I'd get anywhere, but, hell, we even talked a few times the past days, Percy. It was amazing. Her voice is so nice. Especially when she's rambling. I still can't place her accent, though. Seriously, are you sure you can't ask her where she's from? I'm worried she'll misinterpret it if I ask." Ash rambled, and Percy was once more amazed by how much a person could change in a matter of seconds because of the person they were interested in.
"I'm positive. Just ask her, yourself. Let her know you're genuinely interested in her as a person. Who knows, maybe she has a question or two for you, too. Now, you at least know she doesn't care what your assigned gender was. You worried about that before, after all." Percy mused, and Ash looked so happy, it was as disconcerting as it was adorable.
"Yeah, but if she had asked, I'd have actually told her. Probably. This is better, though. Much better. Damn, Percy, I could kiss you, I'm so happy."
Eh, maybe better not.
"Kiss Jack, instead." He mumbled and gestured over his shoulder, where Jack was visibly sulking with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
"Eww, no thanks. So, what's up with that grass around your finger? I take it that has a meaning to it? Did I miss something? Last time I checked, you four were fighting and we're traveling together because of that. So, now you're engaged?" They asked curiously, and Percy caught Jack craning his neck to see his finger.
Percy showed it off to both of them.
"Green looks fabulous on me, don't you think?" He said instead of replying, and Ash smirked and snatched his hand to 'inspect' his ring.
"Very fancy. I'm impressed. Yes, definitely your color and style. I mean, personally, I'd have chosen something more durable, but I suppose we can get you something better in the next city we pass."
"We are not going engagement ring shopping. You're supposed to get us back to Camp, not go on your honeymoon or some shit." Jack immediately put in, and Percy wondered whether there would always be a Dylan wherever he went.
If so, he wanted a place far away from others in New Rome, so there would be no neighbors he had to bother with.
"Get lost, Jack." Both he and Ash said at the same time, and they high-fived as Jack huffed and returned to his sulking behind them.
Of course, they wouldn't go ring shopping, and Percy knew they weren't actually engaged, but it was a nice thought, and he liked daydreaming of a time when they would be engaged, and would walk through the city together to look at rings and do all sort of stuff like that.
It was something nice to think about, and there weren't many nice things to think about these days.
First, Nico and Will had to somehow talk things out, though.
First, they had to be okay again, so the four of them would be okay again.
First, they had to get Will to understand how much they loved him.
First, they had to make it through this together, with all four of them alive and well.
First, they had to survive, then they could live.
Percy put his arm around Ash, looking back at the blade of grass around his finger, and he hoped they would all make it through this alive, and that this would be over soon.
"Just so you know, you're only invited to the wedding if you wear something super embarrassing."
"Now, that's just rude. I thought I'd come dressed up as pastor and spray every uninvited person with holy water. Not good?"
"Perfect. But where would the uninvited people come from?"
"Dude, don't ask me such difficult questions. I know I'm divine and all, but I'm no all-knowing god. Yet."
Percy laughed, and it felt so good, he wondered when the last time had been that he had gotten to laugh like this.
It also made him wonder when the last time had been that his guys had gotten to laugh like this.
He should work on that.
But first, Nico and Will had to work things out between them.
Until then, he could give Ash some more superb love advice, and they could keep telling him things that were bound to make his guys laugh.
Percy felt more motivated than he had in a long time.
...
Nico was still upset.
And Will still hadn't shown his face in their tent at all, even though the guys were talking to him and everything was oh-so-peachy.
Nico couldn't believe how quickly both Jason and Percy had apparently let this drop.
Will had practically tried to kill himself, yet Nico seemed to be the only one actually bothered by this?
Not only that, but Jason had apparently declared them married for some weird point he had wanted to make.
Not that Nico really minded, but still.
How did Will nearly killing himself deserve them getting married?!
Jason should tell him to get a grip on himself and stop being so stupid, then they could get married.
Before then, Nico wasn't going to say a single word to that idiotic guy with his idiotic freckles and his idiotic kicked-puppy-face that he had whenever he saw Nico.
Fuck that guy.
If Will didn't want to talk to him, then fine by Nico!
He had given him enough chances the past two days, after all.
He had waited in their tent, but Will apparently thought it beneath him to set foot in there anymore.
He had waited after their meals in case Will wanted to approach him, then, but Will had been one of the first to up and leave.
(Though Nico couldn't quite believe Percy and Jason had let that happen, considering Will had barely eaten anything. Had they not paid attention to that? Not that Nico cared, but Will was their only healer, so he had to eat enough to have enough energy to actually do the healing and such, okay?)
He had even tried slowing down during their travelling on foot, in case Will wanted to talk to him while on the move, but Will had either slowed down, too, to stay behind him, or sped up and rushed past him without a peep, so Nico guessed Will didn't care whether they talked or not.
He was still upset with him.
He would still yell at him and rattle him until he saw reason.
He still missed him so, so much.
Seriously, when would Will finally come to him?
Because Nico would not make the first move.
Will had fucked up. Will had been stupid. So Will had to come to Nico and apologize and make it up to him, not the other way around.
Percy and Jason might see that differently, but they apparently also didn't care as much as Nico did whether Will threw his life away or not, so they didn't count right now.
Nico still sulked, though, looking down at his hands unhappily as he sat on their bed, alone.
Percy had taken over the first watch for the night, and Nico made a wild guess that Jason was either with him, Will, or their team to discuss the plans for tomorrow.
They were slowly making progress, though the monster attacks were ridiculous by now.
Nico didn't mind a good challenge, especially since his rage and anger at Will made him a lot better in battle, apparently, but he knew how much of a strain it put on the rest of the team, as well as the troupe from Camp Jupiter, and he knew they wouldn't be able to keep this up forever.
It was a miracle there hadn't been more deaths by now, anyways.
But he guessed they had to thank Will for that.
The others had to thank him, that was. Nico refused to, because Will was an idiot, and the worst, and Nico hated him and loved him at the same time.
Why…why didn't he just come to Nico?
Nico balled his hands to fists and crossed his arms in front of his chest with a huff.
Fuck that guy.
Who needed him, anyways?
…Nico did.
Gods, how he missed him.
He was right there, but still, it felt as if he was miles away, and it had been so long since Nico had last touched him, touched his face, felt his warm skin beneath his fingertips, counted the freckles on his face, got lost in those bright blue eyes, seen his pretty smile…
Nico uncrossed his arms so he could bury his face in his hands, cursing Will to hell and back for doing this to him, to them, to himself, to everyone.
Idiot. He was a freaking idiot!
And Nico was so, so mad at him!
So mad!
But he still missed him.
For gods' sake, he missed him so much, even that made him mad at him.
How dare he not show up?
How could he do this to Nico?!
Didn't he love him?! Didn't he care at all for how Nico felt?!
Maybe he thought he could wait it out.
Maybe he thought Nico would miraculously stop being upset and forgive him and never mention the whole vision-thing again, if only he waited long enough.
Well, then he was mistaken.
Very mistaken!
Nico was going to have his head, one way or another.
Not literally, of course.
Unless maybe in the sense of having Will's head on his lap.
Or cupping his face in his hands.
Or kissing him.
Or holding him, in general.
Nico would like that.
Nico would like all of that.
But he needed Will to actually move his sorry ass to him first, in order to yell at him, get some brain into that pretty head, and get him to understand never to do that, again.
Then, and only then, would Nico be able to forgive him, and they could hold hands again, kiss each other again, he could hold Will, and Will could tell him how much he loved him and they could ravish each other, and everything would be fine again.
Nico sighed deeply, deciding he definitely had to sleep more if he started daydreaming weird things like that.
Then again, now that he was all by himself, and the silence was so loud, he knew sleep was the last thing on his mind, so he didn't even try to lay down.
He didn't want to sleep alone.
Where was Will sleeping, anyways?
What if he wasn't sleeping, at all?
No, that was stupid. Percy and Jason would never let that happen.
Will surely slept in one of the small beds in the infirmary.
…But were those actually all that comfortable? Nico highly doubted it.
What if he didn't actually sleep in them?
Nico remembered him talking about refusing to sleep in the infirmary beds no matter what, because those were meant for patients, and unless he was on his deathbed, he would never consider himself a patient.
(Stubborn, idiotic fool. Yet, Nico still loved him.)
Percy and Jason had also let Will starve himself, because he definitely wasn't eating enough, so who was to say they made sure Will slept properly?
Gods, did nobody care about Will's welfare these days?
Not that Nico cared.
No, until Will came to him and apologized and let Nico yell at him and get him to see reason, Nico did not care what that idiot did.
…Or so Nico told himself, but now that the thought was there, he couldn't shake it off, anymore, and the thought of Will huddled somewhere in some uncomfortable and cold corner had him restless and his body itching to get up and check on him.
No. He would not make the first move.
If Will wanted to be stubborn, so be it, but Nico was in the right, and he was not going to crawl to Will, just because he missed him a tiny bit and was worried about him.
Nico managed to sit still another whole minute, then he jumped up, cursed, and got his jacket.
Whatever.
He needed some Vitamin D pills. For Andrew.
Yeah.
He was fairly certain the boy had complained earlier about something, because Andrew always complained, so Nico needed some supplements for him to soothe his paranoid mind.
Yep. He was just taking care of his team.
It wasn't his fault the supplements were in the medic tent, and if he stumbled over Will, then that wasn't his fault, either.
He had a perfectly sensible reason to be there, after all.
Nico left their tent quickly and felt his heart beating in his throat as he crossed the distance to the medic tent, wondering what he would do if Jason was with Will.
A glance towards the guard post told him Percy had spotted him, but his boyfriend didn't move or say anything, merely looking at him, then looking towards the medic tent as if he knew his destination, then he returned his attention to his task of keeping watch.
Nico still felt like he had been caught, and for a moment, he hesitated, tempted to turn back.
But Percy wasn't looking at him anymore, so he wouldn't even notice if Nico went back, and thus, it didn't make a difference, anymore.
Taking a deep breath, Nico made his way towards the medic tent with all the confidence he didn't have.
He needed supplements. For Andrew. That was all he needed in there.
Nico tugged the zipper open and wasn't surprised to find the interior lit, though his heartbeat still did the impossible and quickened, as if he was doing something forbidden.
If Jason asked him what he was doing here, he had his reason at the ready. His perfectly sensible reason.
If Jason didn't ask him what he was doing here, but looked at him with that smug look on his face, Nico was going to punch him first, and then run back to their tent.
Wait, no, that was a bad idea.
Nico was spared from messing up in that regard, though, because Jason was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, he was met with the sight of Will sitting on the ground with his back against the tent wall, eyes on his crossed legs.
Nico's breath caught in his throat, both at the sight of him, as well as the fact he wasn't looking at Nico.
A part of him wanted to walk over to that cupboard next to Will and see whether he would bother looking up, then.
Another part of him wanted to make straight for Will and get him off the cold floor.
What was he doing?! Was he trying to get sick or something?! If this was another way of him actively trying to kill himself, Nico was going to have no mercy on him. Ever. Again.
Nico steeled himself and began moving towards the cupboard, forcing his feet not to stray off course.
Will drew together slightly, showing he was well aware of Nico's presence and that he was getting closer, though he still didn't look up, and from what Nico could tell, he had his lips tightly pressed together.
So…he really didn't want to talk to Nico, huh?
So, what, was he upset with Nico? For being upset with him?
For not being like Jason and Percy and forgiving him immediately?
Nico felt the resentment rising inside him, wanting nothing more than to lash out at Will and give him a piece of his mind.
But he didn't.
Instead, he made true on his word and opened the first drawer with the supplements, fishing out the first pack he found, before he slammed it shut again.
The sound was a lot louder than initially intended, and Nico watched Will jump out of the corners of his eyes, though he acted as if he couldn't see.
Maybe he should say something.
Something that showed he was still upset and did not care about Will sitting on that cold floor.
'Why aren't you in our tent', for example.
Wait, no, that included 'our', which Will might misinterpret and think meant Nico wasn't upset with him anymore, which he was.
So, no talking.
Better no talking.
Nico hovered in front of the cupboard for a moment, waiting whether Will was going to change his mind and speak.
Will didn't.
Fucking idiot.
Nico was so done with him!
Annoyed, he turned around and started walking, though with every step away from Will, the fight left him.
He had come here to check on him, and he had done just that.
Why did it feel as if he was running away, then?
Why did it make him feel even worse than before?
Also, why wasn't Will in one of the small beds?
Why wasn't he in their tent?
Why wasn't he talking to Nico?
Why wasn't he even trying to make up with him?
Did he really…not care…? About Nico? About them?
Nico tried to fight the tears threatening to spill from his eyes, but then jumped when he heard a small sob, first thinking it was he who had let it slip.
It was Will, though.
Will was crying.
Wait, why was he crying?!
Nico wanted to snap at him for crying when it should be Nico crying, but as he turned his head slightly, he found Will looking like a small heap of misery, and any thoughts of snapping at him were replaced be the need to go and comfort.
But he was already at the entrance/exit of the tent.
Going back would look weird.
Plus, why would he comfort Will? It wasn't his fault that Will was an idiot and didn't want to make up with him, so he shouldn't care whether Will cried or not.
Nico balled his hands to fists, crushing the pack of supplements without really noticing.
He cared, though.
He cared, because, even though Will was an idiot, he was still his boyfriend, and Nico still loved him.
He hated him for being so horribly stupid and cruel, but he still loved him, and of course he cared about him, for him, and he definitely cared when Will cried.
Nico battled with himself another moment, then he heard another small sob from Will, and he made his decision.
Reaching out, he tugged on the zipper to the tent exit, and closed it, before turning around and marching over to his stubborn, stupid, horrible boyfriend.
Will had his knees pulled up now and his arms wrapped around them tightly to hide his face, though Nico could very well see how badly his shoulders shook.
Not knowing what to say, Nico sat down next to him, close enough for their shoulders to brush.
Whatever.
He wasn't making the first move.
They were merely…coexisting. Peacefully. For now.
Will stiffened, but didn't pull away, and Nico waited a moment longer, before he dropped his hand in the small space between them, deliberately looking into the opposite direction.
Take it. His mind yelled at Will, though he also wanted to yell countless other, definitely not nice things at him, concerning his choices and his stupidity.
Will stilled, but didn't move to take his hand, though he had to have seen it, right?
…Right?
Just to make sure, Nico tried to move his hand further towards him in a way that wasn't all that noticeable, but that would still force Will to see it.
Still no move.
Oh, come on!
Just as Nico was about to snap at him to just do it, Will ever so reluctantly moved his arm, and Nico held his breath as he watched his hand out of the corners of his eyes, as it slowly – ever so freaking slowly, by the gods, Will, what the fuck – made its way to Nico's, hesitating once more when his fingertips were inches away from Nico's.
Fed up, Nico snatched his hand and squeezed it, staring a point at the faraway wall to death.
Will gasped softly, then he fell silent.
Nico could feel him turning his hand slightly to take hold of Nico's properly.
There was silence around them as they sat there, on the cold floor of the medic tent, Nico still upset, and Will still with tears streaming down his face.
But their hands were linked, and Nico could feel the warmth he had missed so badly, and he could feel Will next to him, their shoulders brushing together and their bodies so close, it made him want to reach out more, to pull Will closer, to feel him the way he hadn't gotten to feel him the past days.
It wasn't perfect.
He still hadn't forgiven Will.
But this was a start.
And it felt good, holding Will again.
It felt good, feeling Will again.
Nico closed his eyes and let himself lean against him further.
It felt good.
...
Jason found them huddled together and fast asleep on the floor of the medic tent, their hands linked and their bodies pressed together, and the first thing he did was sigh in relief, because this meant they would be fine.
The second thing he did was fetch Percy, so the two could move their boyfriends back to their actual tent and put them into bed.
Even though they tried to be as quiet as possible, somehow, their entire team seemed to know, anyways, because suddenly, there was Andrew, looking triumphant and throwing Jason that 'I told you so'-look of his, and then there was Ash pointing finger guns at Percy and grinning crookedly, followed by Hannah and Sara high-fiving and giving them knowing thumb-ups and Liam just looked absolutely relieved when his head popped up from inside his tent as they moved past.
In a way, Jason was surprised the team seemed this invested in their matters, but at the same time, he was pleased to see how much they cared.
They really were a team by now, he was glad.
And he was even more glad Nico and Will seemed to be on better terms again.
The past days had been trying, with Nico refusing to talk to Will, and Will refusing to approach Nico, both of them too stubborn to listen to reason.
Nico had been too prideful and upset with Will to make the first move, and Will had been too scared and convinced Nico didn't want him to approach him to be the one to take the first step.
They were both idiots.
There was nothing else to say about that.
But now, Jason was convinced things would get better.
He put Will down on their bed gently, glad beyond measure once he saw him beneath their blanket once more, because it felt like way too long since Will had last been in here, and this was where he belonged.
With them, under that horribly colorful Christmas blanket that they were using in the middle of summer, just because.
Percy followed suite and put Nico down, and their boyfriend grumbled and frowned in his sleep, before squinting up at them with his beautiful, chocolate-brown eyes that seemed to gleam in the faint light of his jar of fire on their bedside table.
"We carried you to bed, Nico. Go back to sleep. You still have some time until the morning." Jason told him soothingly, and Nico made a small, pleased noise, before he turned around and searched for Will, patting the space next to him blindly until he found their boyfriend and shuffled closer to him to wrap himself around him happily.
Will hummed softly, and Jason and Percy exchanged soft smiles as they watched him snuggle back into Nico's embrace, looking a lot more relaxed than he had the past nights.
They moved to join their boyfriends in bed, placating them with kisses and touches when they started grumbling at the movements of the mattress due to the shift in weight.
This was how it should be. All four of them. Together.
Jason stroked over Percy's side softly and kissed the side of his neck, before his eyes fixed on Will's silhouette, remembering his words.
There'd be consequences, he had said.
Jason still wondered what those might be, but a part of him wanted to never find out.
For now, though, he contented himself with caressing his boyfriends, and both he and Percy laughed quietly when Nico grabbed hold of the blanket and tossed it off the bed without warning.
They'd be fine.
For once, Jason wanted to think that, anyways.
...
"Watch out!" Nico yelled, and Jack screamed in terror, his black hair glistening with blood and sweat as he narrowly dodged the incoming attack and disappeared between a couple of other monsters and from sight to either fight or run away.
Nico didn't really care, busy battling off his own enemies and keeping the upper hand in the battle around him somehow.
So many.
They were surrounded, and they were twenty people, but there were just so many monsters.
Out of nowhere.
In the middle of nowhere.
Their team wasn't going to be able to make it.
But the team would have to make it, or they would all die.
Nico slashed through the monsters, uncaring for their remarks and jests and threats, not falling for their traps and not interested in their words, his eyes constantly roaming his surroundings for the next monsters to strike, for his teammates, for his boyfriends.
The medic tent was up and fiercely protected by Hannah, Liam and Ash, while Will and Andrew were on the inside, patching up their fellow team members as fast as possible, and Nico didn't even want to think of how much of a strain this had to put on Will.
But, so far, it was working.
He could even see a few people leaving the tent again to join the fight once more, which had to mean he was still holding up well enough to heal them properly, and completely.
But for how much longer would he be able to do that?
Nico didn't want to find out.
He snarled and attacked the shadows that were trying to get past him, somehow never interested in him, but always interested in where Will was, and he was sick and tired of seeing them, sick and tired of not knowing what they were, and sick and tired because he knew, deep inside, that they had something to do with Kyle.
Either they came from the same place, were related to him, or were his creation, but Nico didn't care about the details, he just wanted them dead and gone, same as he wanted Kyle dead and gone.
Jason landed next to him and lightning bolts struck several monsters around them, the storm around them getting worse the more agitated and worn out Jason became.
"There's just no end to them!" Jason called over, and Nico dreaded what that meant, though he was unwilling to give up just yet.
"Did you manage to find out where they come from? They have to come from somewhere, after all!" He called back and they both slash-stabbed through the next monster together, fighting side by side easily, though the attacks were nothing like their training before.
"No chance. It's as if they appear out of thin air. At this rate, we're not going to be able to hold out, Nico."
Jason's expression was grim as he said it, and Nico knew what he was thinking about.
He risked another glance around, trusting Jason to have his back.
Ash and Liam were fighting valiantly, Liam with the bow, Ash by his side with their sword, and Hannah was in the middle of a whole swarm of monsters, wielding her spear as if she had been born to do just that, but he knew them well enough by now to see the exhaustion in the smallest things, and their moves seemed perfect, but were truly nothing but sloppy compared to their usual skill.
The troupe from Camp Jupiter was holding up well enough, but many of them were scared, and the others were careless, not used to fighting so many monsters at once, and without proper lead by somebody like Jason or Frank or Reyna.
Nico didn't know enough to command them, and Jason was too busy fighting the monsters in the air and trying to get and keep an overview to do any commanding, so they had to rely on Jack for that, but Jack was gods knew where, and the troupe was left to their own devices.
It was chaos.
And there were so many monsters.
But they were twenty people.
Nico wasn't sure he could actually pull off what Jason wanted him to do.
Not even on a good day would Nico be sure he could do this, but after an on-going battle that already had him worn out and exhausted, and thus, weakened?
He spotted Percy, fighting against a whole mob by himself and slashing at the lot in wide arcs and with the craziest moves, but no matter how many monsters disintegrated, there were more coming.
"Get word around for them to get together near the medic tent, Jason. Then, come back to me and cover for me so I can conjure up the shadow portal." He decided, trying to sound confident, though he was more than a little reluctant.
Twenty people.
How was he supposed to transport twenty people?
He hadn't even practiced travelling byhimself ever since the Athena Parthenos, and Will had told him to start out with small things like skeletons and the like, how was Nico just suddenly supposed to get twenty people safely out of here and to a different location in one piece?
Jason disappeared from his side with a grim nod, and Nico forced his doubts down.
He would have to manage.
It would work out.
It had to work out.
Nico fought through the monsters, cutting through them all without differing in kind or breed or whatever, only seeing monsters and killing them without second thought, his mind buzzing as he tried to focus on the task ahead, already trying to call upon his powers.
There were yells and screams all around him, but whether they were out of pain and from falling members, or whether they were war cries and battle screams, he didn't know, and he didn't check, his blade moving through the monsters, and his mind trying to focus on nothing but the powers inside him that he so rarely used anymore.
Then, Jason reappeared at his side, and Nico gave a nod and began moving back, letting Jason take the lead and fighting behind him, rather than by his side, and they began moving towards the medic tent that way.
It was going so well.
Too well.
Nico's jaw clenched, but he kept going, trying to push the ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach down.
"There won't be much time. Everybody has to go through as fast as possible." He told Jason, and Jason told somebody else who had joined their side for a moment, but was gone the next, undoubtedly relating the info to the others.
Percy joined them from the other side, looking dubious.
"Are you sure, Nico?" He asked, and Nico tried to look nothing but confident and certain, though his heart was beating in his throat, and it wasn't because of the battle.
"We'll go last. The wounded first, then the rest of the troupe and our group, then us." Jason stated in front of him, and Nico made an affirmative noise to show he had heard.
He glanced back at Percy, and tried for a reassuring smile.
It would work out.
It had to.
Percy and Jason covered for him, and Nico allowed himself to drop his guard and reach out a hand, his eyes closed as he called forth his powers.
Almost immediately, he felt the telltale tug in the pit of his stomach, and felt the darkness flowing through him, threatening to consume him, but he was its master, and it had to obey him.
When he opened his eyes, there was his portal, and he felt nauseous, but he was still standing.
The moment he wanted to let them know they had to get through there now, he was swept off his feet by a harpy that came out of nowhere, together with more, and Nico hit the ground so hard the breath was knocked out of him.
No.
"Nico!" Will and Jason called, and he heard Percy cursing somewhere behind him.
"Go through the portal!" He hissed back as he sucked in a sharp breath to fill his lungs with air once more, and he tried to get off the ground, but the harpies were faster, and he found himself further thrown away from his portal and the others.
Everything was spinning and whirling and chaos, and then Nico was on his back in the dirt and there was nothing but color and darkness and harpy claws and feathers.
Then, he felt as if somebody was sucking out all his energy, and he knew they had started using his portal.
Jason charged at the harpies, forcing them back and giving Nico a chance to get his bearings and sit up to look into the vague direction where he thought the others were.
Yeah, there they were, rushing into the shadow portal he had created, first Jack and the troupe (cowards), then, with Sara's help and Will's guidance, the wounded, followed by Andrew and Ash, while Hannah and Liam used spear and arrows to keep the other monsters at bay and away from the portal.
Will ushered the last wounded demigod through the portal, then turned to look towards Nico with a concerned look on his face.
Nico motioned for him to go on and get through it, get to safety – but then Jason yelped and Nico's head snapped around, just to be attacked by one of the harpies, claws digging into his shoulders and scratching across his face and chest as he thrashed and tried to strike it with his sword.
"Nico!"
"Get through the portal!" Nico yelled as loudly and insistently as he could, feeling the tug that told him he wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer.
The next time he managed to look, Will was still there, and running away from the portal, but he had a good reason for it.
Drakon.
Where had that come from?!
It didn't matter.
Liam was helping a wounded Hannah through the portal.
A hellhound was bounding after them.
Will was running for his life.
Nico's body was swaying as he pushed himself up.
Jason yelled something behind him.
Percy yelled something towards Will.
Nico was stumbling numbly as he tried to focus, then got shoved into the ground again, but by what, he couldn't tell.
His powers gave out, and the portal closed.
There was a scream, Will's scream.
There was a yell, Percy's yell.
There was Jason, tearing through the monster on top of Nico and pulling him up, his face ashen, and his gaze not on Nico.
Nico's eyes focused, making out the drakon, making out Will, making out Percy.
Will was on the ground.
Percy had his sword halfway through the drakon.
Half of the drakon's fangs were buried inside Percy's shoulder and arm.
More monsters were coming, still.
Nico let out an angry howl of pain and fear, and he let his rage run free.
Not. His. Guys.
...
Will was on the ground, where he had stumbled and fallen to after the drakon had charged at him.
Will was up and running for Percy, who had attacked it to protect him.
Just as he had promised he would.
Will caught his boyfriend and lowered him to the ground as the drakon disintegrated, and his mind was nothing but static as he took in Percy's values, felt the poison in his blood, felt the blood seeping from his wounds, felt the severity of the wounds.
Not his arm.
He would lose his arm.
Will had to do something, or Percy would lose it.
It was his left arm – his heart arm.
Will had to do something, or Percy would lose more than his arm.
Will looked into his boyfriend's face with wide eyes full of fear as his hands shook and pressed against his shoulder, and Percy cried out and looked back at him with those beautiful sea-green eyes of his full of pain, yet relief.
"Did it get to you?" Percy pressed out, and it was a foolish thing to ask, considering Percy's wounds, considering Percy's state, considering Percy.
Will shook his head and pressed his hand firmer against Percy's shoulder as his other hand pushed inside his medic pouch, searching for ambrosia, searching for nectar, searching but not finding, because all his stash was used up, and the rest was in the medic tent, and Ash had the medic tent.
Will needed water.
Percy could heal with the help of water.
He needed water.
They needed water.
Will felt a surge of darkness and misery and his head shot up, watching how everything around them turned pitch-black, Nico in the center, looking murderous and full of rage as he snarled and hefted his sword higher, charging at anything daring to come through the thick, black fog.
"That's good, then." Percy whispered, and Will looked back down, his mind spinning with the overload on values and information as he not only felt Percy, but Jason and Nico, too, his body and mind too over-sensitized.
Will's hand started glowing before he even found his words, but he had to heal him, he couldn't lose him, he had to do something.
"Percy, look at me. Don't close your eyes, love. Stay with me. I've got you." He whispered frantically, and Percy gave him a weak smile.
"'s just a scratch. I'll be fine. Just a bit tired."
Will felt the tears pricking in his eyes, but he forced them down and drew a rattling breath, instead, trying to focus on his healing.
"Help." He whispered, barely audibly, as Percy lost consciousness, and he repeated it again, louder, when he looked up to search for Nico and Jason, who were still fighting, but who both looked around.
"Help." He pleaded, and then Nico gave him that look that said 'Tell me what you need', and Will shook his head and pulled his Percy into his arms, trying to heal his shoulder, but getting the poison out of his blood was demanding too much of his attention to do both at the same time.
"Water. We need water, Nico. Please." He whispered again, barely audibly, but somehow, by some miracle, Nico seemed to hear him, and he looked at him with an indecipherable expression for a moment longer, before he nodded and turned back towards the monsters that broke through the darkness with snarls and hisses.
The next moment, Will felt another surge of power and exhaustion that left him reeling and nearly broke off his healing, and the ground broke open at their feet as Nico unleashed the dead, skeletons breaking through the soil to join the battle.
Then, his boyfriends were with him.
Then, Nico grabbed his shoulder firmly, and Jason, and they curled around Percy.
By the time Will realized what Nico intended to do, it was already too late, and his scream of 'Nico, don't, you're too weak!' was lost in the darkness that engulfed them.
.
He felt the drop in power as if it was his own, then they were weightless, then they smacked into the ground, which gave way, because it wasn't ground, and the loud splash and the roaring told Will it was water, it was the sea.
It was the sea, and the water was raging as if fighting its own battle, and they splashed into it, and they drowned in it, and Will couldn't breathe, and he was losing his guys.
Jason's hold on him was desperate, but not enough to beat the strength of the water, and Will could feel him scratching his skin as his fingers began to slip.
Nico clutched them, but the shadow-travel had left him more than exhausted, and his gasp had him swallowing too much water to focus on anything but his desperate need for air.
Percy's values lurched, then improved, but he remained unconscious.
Will only had two arms.
Will couldn't hold on to all three of them.
Will held on to Percy and pushed Nico to where he thought the surface was, and air was running out for him, too, but somehow, he used up all his miracles and made it, and Jason was drawing blood with his hold, but they stayed connected, and Nico broke the surface, first.
The sea was raging.
The sea was raging, and Nico managed one desperate breath, then he was underwater again, and Will struggled to get to the surface, too, but Nico's elbow struck his head by accident, and his last air escaped him.
Jason's hold disappeared from his shoulder, and Will panicked, but then Jason's hands reappeared at his shirt, clutching it and pulling back closer to him, before wrapping his arms around him and Percy and trying to force them both further upwards so they could make it.
There was more struggling.
Nico's hands found his face.
Will's eyes opened, though he could barely see in the dark and the whirls of water and his own fear.
Nico's hands clasped tightly around his and Jason's arms.
Will felt him focusing, and he inhaled mouthfuls of water in a silenced scream.
Nico pulled them out of the sea and into the darkness, conjuring up a shadow portal for the third time today.
...
Nico was moving through the darkness, his lungs on fire, his mind snapping in and out of focus as he struggled to stay conscious.
He felt his powers draining away, but he forced himself to keep going, not wanting to think of what would happen if they got lost now, if he lost them now, if he wasn't strong enough, if he didn't make it.
Places flashed past them, some making sense, some not, and he saw Persephone's garden for a moment, a memory zapping through his mind, of the guys there, and it gave him something to ground himself on and keep himself going, though he could feel them getting off course.
Will's hand found his on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly, and he felt a burst of warmth and sunlight and energy.
He thought he saw his father's worried face.
He thought he felt somebody giving him a nudge.
They broke through the barrier and hit the ground, all three of them gasping for air, while Percy didn't, and Nico pleaded to all the gods he was merely unconscious.
His mind was reeling, his body shaking.
Will was in his face immediately, and Nico realized dimly he couldn't move, realized dimly he couldn't breathe, realized dimly his gaze became more and more unfocused the harder he tried.
"Nico! Nico, no! No, look at me! Stay with me!" Will was yelling, but his voice was far away, and Nico tried to focus, but then he saw his own hands moving up to Will's face so he could cup it, the way he always did when he wanted to reassure Will and reassure himself.
And he saw his own hands appearing and disappearing, there, then gone, and he knew what it meant, and the realization was worse than he would have ever thought possible.
No.
Not now.
Not like this.
Fear filled him, and he pushed himself to grab Will's face, but his fingers were there, then they were gone, and he could feel Will's skin, and then he couldn't, and he looked up at him with wide eyes, and watched wide, fearful eyes looking back.
Beautiful eyes.
Blue eyes.
Will's eyes.
Will's lips were moving, but Nico couldn't hear him anymore, and he tried to speak, himself, but he couldn't hear that, either.
But he had to tell him.
He had to let him know.
They hadn't yet made up, they hadn't yet talked.
Nico hadn't told him for so very long.
Tears dripped onto his face, Will's tears, but then he saw a tear falling that he couldn't feel, and he knew in his heart what it meant.
And he looked up and saw Will glowing, and he was so pretty, and Nico loved him so, so much, same as he loved Jason and Percy, but they knew, because Nico had told them, but he hadn't told Will in so long.
Nico tried to speak again, trying to tell Will of the blue of his eyes and the blonde of his hair, and of how much he adored those freckles on his skin and the smile on his face.
But Will couldn't hear him.
And Nico was fading.
And it was too late.
Nico saw his hands materializing momentarily again, and he pulled Will down as he pushed his body up, pressing his lips against Will's in a last attempt to show him.
Then he fell back and-…