Love, Dreams, Impending End of the World and other minor problems

by mel-chan1003

Nico still can't believe it. Of all the people in the world, he's dating none other than Percy Jackson. It's a dream come true. But of course, things can't always be rosy. The long awaited sequel to the Advent Calendar. Will turn into Jason/Nico/Percy/Will, but will stay Percico for a long time. M/M (M/M/M/M lol); don't like don't read. Rated M for a reason! You've been warned!

10. Chapter 10: Will gets lost

A/N: Hello Cupcakes ;D
As a little update, the bird is doing great. At this rate, she'll be able to 'move out' by the end of next week, and live a normal bird's life ;D

This is going to be a longer chapter, I don't know how that happened, actually ;o
I thought it would be the smallest chapter yet, but suddenly, things escalated..

Hope you enjoy it ;)

-Tári

---

Chapter 10: Will gets lost, small confessions and hey, let's move this water fountain

The next days passed in a blur of laughter, games, half-serious battles over the dumbest things and the most fun Jason had had in forever.

Or ever, really.

The only time that might have come close was the time around Christmas.

Or maybe his day with Nico where they had mostly lounging around in his cabin playing games.

This was an entirely different way of fun, though.

They were rarely indoors, and if, then the four of them were huddled together on the bed watching films they had already watched way too many times or playing a quick game of Mythomagic before dropping onto the mattress 'dead and exhausted' from the day.

The rest of the time, they were out and about, taking the most impossible pictures, racing each other through camp and forest, terrifying a good 80% of the campers by almost destroying the climbing wall (mostly Percy's fault), playing utterly stupid kid's games, terrorizing Leo with their newfound wish for a ship (which he refused to help with, that mean little imp) and generally doing nothing productive whatsoever.

Jason loved it.

Half his team had come back three days after his arrival, the rest had followed over the course of the two days after that and he had seized the first chance he had had to apologize to them, but most of them had only waved it off with an 'It all worked out in the end. It's ok', anyways (though he knew they were still pissed).

Waking up the day after Nico's birthday to find himself still in their bed with all three of them with him had been the best thing in the world and Jason couldn't imagine how horrid his life must have been before that very moment.

He had been the first to wake (probably because of his travelling) and had at first been disorientated and surprised by the warmth surrounding him (again, probably because of his travelling. There wasn't really any warmth and comfort in a lonely, small sleeping bag).

It had taken him a moment, but once he had realized it was Nico snuggled up against his chest, arms tightly wrapped around him and their legs entangled, with Will and Percy right behind…he had never felt happier.

He had also never wanted to move again.

For the first time in way too long, Jason had felt utterly at peace, utterly at home.

He had watched them sleep, had stroked across Nico's sleeping face, traced lines down the side of Will's neck and twirled Percy's hair around his finger, soaking in as much as he could for almost an entire hour before Will had finally stirred, due to the rising of the sun outside.

It had been odd to see Nico and Percy reacting almost instantly at the merest sound and movement Will had made, but at least they had stayed asleep.

Jason had watched Will waking up, from the fluttering of his eyelids to the way he had snuggled back into Percy's embrace with a small, content smile, his face disappearing at the back of Nico's neck for the longest time, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as if he tried to stay asleep for as long as possible.

He probably had.

Jason couldn't blame him.

He knew he would have liked to stay asleep like that forever, too.

But once Will had opened his eyes and noticed Jason was awake, that moment of utter peace had been over.

Jason still remembered that look of mortified shock on Will's face, not to mention the blush that adorned his face no minute after, before he had suddenly bounded, rolling over Percy and making a dash for the bathroom door with a mumbled 'Morning. I'm first'.

That had of course instantly woken Percy and Nico, but not in the way Jason had expected.

Instead of a pained outcry or annoyed remarks, both guys had bolted upright in bed instantly, instinctively grabbing for the by then empty space between them where Will had been only moments ago, wide awake and expressions tight and urgent.

It had taken them a long moment to figure out it hadn't been one of Will's nightmares that had made him move and that everything was ok.

Jason was still somewhat amazed by that, though - especially by their almost instant reactions and alertness, given their rather deep sleep.

He was also amazed that nobody had been mad at Will.

Instead, both boys had blown out a relieved breath, smiling at each other and sharing a quick good morning kiss before Nico had flopped back into bed and fallen asleep again right away, while Percy had used the time to talk in hushed voices with Jason, telling him this was the first quiet night they had had with Will in forever (Percy had also said he hoped this was a sign the nightmares were going away and that it might have been Jason's absence that brought them, after all, but Jason highly doubted that).

Then Will had been back and the three had stayed in bed with Nico (though Will had taken his place behind Percy this time and had avoided Jason's eyes) until the Italian had been more willing to get up, which hadn't been for another two hours, but they had had lots to talk about, anyways.

The next few nights had passed similarly, with them snuggling together in the evening, Will in the middle and Jason behind Percy three out of five nights, though he hadn't really minded too much.

As a matter of fact, by the sixth day, Jason was starting to believe they had exaggerated on the nightmares as it was, or that they at least were exaggerating with their surprise and elation since Will really didn't seem to get them anymore.

Well, as it turned out, he was wrong, and they had cheered too soon.

Jason woke up with a start at feeling Nico shift out of his embrace.

Confused, he opened his eyes, just to find Nico and Percy wide awake, talking in hushed voices and trying to keep Will calm, who – as Jason only now noticed – was thrashing around wildly in his sleep, face taut and beaded with sweat.

"What's going on?" He asked urgently, sitting up himself as Nico hissed something else towards Percy, expression urgent, but Percy only shook his head in reply before turning to Jason.

"Nightmare."

It was only one word, but the way Percy said it sounded so crushed and defeated Jason couldn't believe they were talking about the same thing.

Nightmares were bad dreams, things that bugged you from whatever had been going on in your life that you couldn't cope with (or something along those lines, anyways).

For demigods, nightmares could sometimes be something different, visions, outer-body experiences, messages from gods, etc. – but that hadn't happened to any of them ever since Gaea.

Nothing of the sort had happened to any of the campers, neither here nor at Camp Jupiter, same as neither the Apollo kids (Will excluded at any rate since he didn't possess any gift of any prophecy whatsoever) nor Rachel Elizabeth Dare had had any visions or the like whatsoever anymore ever since Gaea.

So it didn't make sense why Percy would say it as if it tore him apart from the inside.

That was before Jason took a closer look at Will, though.

Will was pale, much too pale for his usually healthy skin-tone, his body rigid and burning hot, sweat pouring down his body as if he was running a marathon in his sleep.

His expression was pained and scared and urgent, even with his eyes scrunched shut, and Jason cringed at the small cries leaving his mouth, as if he was being hurt.

He looked at the other two for equally surprised expressions to his own, but they only looked bitter and angry, though he doubted either of those emotions were directed at Will, but more at the situation itself.

It didn't take him long to realize they had been through this exact same thing too many times to find it surprising.

They reacted when Will let out another, slightly louder cry, thrashing around wildly and almost tearing apart the sheets.

Moving fluidly, as if they had done this a thousand times already, Percy bent down and wrapped Will tightly in his arms, forcing his arms to his sides to stop them from thrashing, and he held him so close Jason was sure it must hurt, whispering small words of comfort into the blonde's ears with his eyes firmly closed and his expression tense.

Nico however got up and hurried off to the bathroom, coming back a moment later with a wet cloth, which they placed on Will's forehead.

Jason watched, unsure how to help, but when Will let out another strangled cry of pain, his body moved on its own, moving forward and wrapping his arms around Will from behind.

"Shhh…" He heard himself trying to soothe the blonde slightly, hands moving over Will's sweat-covered front.

Will was burning hot.

Nico took back the cloth, which now seemed almost dry, and left for the bathroom once more, leaving Percy and Jason alone with Will again.

He noticed how reluctant Percy seemed to even as much as let Jason this close, tugging Will even harder against himself, expression tense.

"Percy?" He asked cautiously, moving after Will, but finding Percy tugging him away once more.

Percy looked conflicted, almost angry for a moment, but then he hesitantly let go of Will, at least enough to put his arms around Jason instead of the blonde, and Jason copied the movement without another word.

Heat rolled off the son of Apollo in waves, burning his skin, but he didn't care, too held up by the pained noises Will made.

This was horrible.

What was this?
Was Will in actual pain?

How was this possible?

"Shouldn't we try wake him?" He asked quietly, but Percy only shook his head, his mouth a thin line.

"Doesn't work. Plus, if he wakes up, he'll feel bad the entire day for 'being a bother'. It's better like this."

Better.

Better with Will sounding as if he was being tortured in his sleep.

Better with Will trembling as if he was facing his worst fears.

For a moment, Jason wanted to argue, wanted to wake Will, wanted to stop all of this.

But then he realized that Percy and Nico must have felt the same way, must have gone through the same thoughts, and must have tried enough times to know what they were talking about.

So he reluctantly let it drop, instead wrapping his leg around Will's as the boy started flailing around again.

Nico came running back, putting the cloth back on Will's forehead and using a second one to wipe the sweat off his face slightly.

"It hasn't been this bad before." The Italian whispered, expression sad and pained, while Percy's looked straight out miserable.

"And I had hoped it was over. That he got better." He mumbled, putting his face at the side of Will's neck, ignoring the scorching heat – or maybe he simply didn't care about it anymore.

Jason pressed tighter against Will's back, trying to maybe cool him down a bit with his own body temperature.

At least Will wasn't thrashing anymore.

He wasn't moving much anymore at all, truth be told, his breath coming out in uneven, way too shallow pants, the rest of his body motionless next to the trembling.

Was he getting better?

Was it over?

Nico hurried back towards them with the re-dampened cloth, but Jason couldn't even remember him leaving.

He pinched Percy's side as the boy didn't give any indication he was going to move, and earned himself a way too intense death glare in return, but at least he moved slightly to let Nico clean Will's face, brushing the by now wet hair aside and dabbing the sweat away.

Then he moved down Will's neck and the blond flinched so hard both Jason and Percy reacted instantly, whispering soothing words and pulling him close, while Nico pulled back as if stung, watching them helplessly.

"He's still so hot. Why is he so hot? He has never been this hot before."

So Will wasn't usually burning up?

In other words, his nightmares had taken a break for some days, only to come back much worse.

Why though?

Jason had known it wasn't because of his return (though he completely wouldn't have minded), but he couldn't see what else had been different, what else could have been the reason for those considerably few days of peace.

He tugged Will closer against him, earning himself another small glare from Percy, but Will leaned against him on his own accord, shivering slightly and whimpering under his breath, clawing into Percy's shoulder, though Percy didn't even as much as flinch.

"How long does this usually last?" Jason asked hesitantly, but both Nico and Percy only shrugged helplessly.

"Differs. Sometimes he just thrashes around a bit and settles down again, sometimes he's going on for an hour or two. Always roughly around this time, though. Weird." Nico said with a glance at the alarm clock on his bedside table.

Jason tried to check the time as well, but without his glasses he couldn't see anything but a red blur where the digits were.

"Percy, switch with me. I'm cooler than you. Maybe that'll do the trick." Nico decided after another moment of silence and Jason felt Percy stiffen slightly, expression turning conflicted again.

What was his problem?

"He already settled down a bit. Let's give it another minute." Percy muttered and Jason felt his grip on Will tightening slightly.

It was almost as if Percy didn't want to let go of him.

But why?

Percy wasn't this possessive when it came to cuddling up to Nico at night, that much was for sure (given that Will and Jason were allowed to do so without problems).

Nico blew out an irritated breath. "Percy. Move. Now. I'm as worried as you are about him, but he needs to cool down."

Percy's expression tensed, but he obediently let go and pulled back.

The moment he was out of the bed, Will turned around and hid his face in Jason's chest, fingernails clawing into his skin, but he couldn't even feel the pain, too distracted by the pained expression on the boy's face.

Percy made a small noise and moved, but Nico held him back and climbed in the bed instead, wrapping his arms around Will and Jason.

Will shivered slightly at the change of body temperature, but then he visibly relaxed a bit.

Jason started rubbing circles across Will's back, since Nico gave a bit more space than Percy had, and Nico imitated the movement on Will's side and front.

Will whimpered, but slowly seemed to calm down, his breathing evening out somewhat.

Percy watched for a moment longer, then spun on his heels and left for the bathroom in long, quick strides.

Jason looked after him with a frown.

"He's very protective whenever Will is having nightmares. Don't mind him." Nico explained quietly.

Jason glanced at Nico, taking in his tired, somewhat exhausted expression.

"And you're ok with that?"

Nico frowned at him for a moment. "Of course. I'm as worried as he is, after all. Plus, we all know Percy has this savior-complex."

Jason only nodded slightly, looking down at Will again, who looked utterly exhausted now that his face wasn't scrunched up in pain anymore.

He wasn't sure what to think of all this.

He also wasn't sure what to make of Percy's behavior.

If he didn't know better, he'd say Percy was being more than just protective of Will, but he didn't wish to elaborate that with Nico, given that those two were dating.

Percy came back with a small bowl of water.

"Is he settled down now?" He asked, his voice cool and indifferent.

Jason inwardly sighed, his assumptions confirmed by Percy's change of behavior.

Could it be that Percy was jealous?

He pulled back slightly from Will, but the blonde instantly followed, his face nuzzling against his chest, tickling him slightly.

Percy's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say a word, instead setting the bowl down next to Nico, who had his eyes fixed on Will, expression worried.

"Careful, guys, I'm going to rinse him off now." Percy announced quietly, and Jason tried to pull back again as to give him space to work with.

He held his hand out over the water and the next moment, it began doing as he wished, moving out of the bowl on its own.

Nico pulled back slightly as well, looking around at his boyfriend quietly, watching him work as Percy sat down next to him, one hand placed on Nico's hip, the other now moving over Will's face, not touching, but directing the water where it had to go.

The blonde flinched when the water made its first contact with his skin, but then relaxed, his body finally going completely still.

Jason watched in amazement with how much care and concentration Percy began cleaning Will, making sure not to drown him or get water in his ears or eyes, even though they were shut.

Will didn't really seem to mind, even turning his head towards Percy slightly, as if sensing his presence, his help, him.

It was enough to make Percy smile softly, confirming Jason's rising suspicion of those two once more.

Well, if that wasn't a surprising development.

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word, instead glancing towards Nico.

Nothing would come out of it.

Percy loved Nico too much and Will would never accept that turn of events.

Also, Will was still head over heels in love with Nico, so it was a double no.

Nope, nothing would come out of it.

Jason sighed inwardly, wondering faintly why it always had to be Percy to get everything.

He had a father who actually showed how much he cared for him and who could talk to him normally, even joke around occasionally, and who wasn't disliked by pretty much everyone.

Everybody loved him, no matter at which Camp, and he was generally accepted and celebrated as a hero everywhere, instead of constantly having issues with Roman/Greek differences, always managing to win everybody over almost effortlessly.

He could stay and go wherever he wanted, not needing to keep any promises.

He had Nico's love, had Nico, could give him everything Jason would die to give him.

And now he even had Will's definite attention, affection, maybe even love already.

Why was that?

Jason looked up at Percy, studying his complexion, the dark, wavy hair and the perfect face, his sea-green eyes that practically seemed to gleam in the dark, and those nicely shaped lips, currently still forming another small, soft smile.

That and his character…

Their eyes met for a moment, and Jason sighed in defeat.

Alright, he knew why.

But it still wasn't fair.

Not that Jason had any right to complain.

He had brought everything upon himself, and he knew he'd do it again if he had the choice.

Doing the right thing was simply what he had to do, but that didn't mean he had to like it unconditionally.

"There we go. That's better." Percy stated quietly, looking pleased with himself and his work as he put the now empty bowl next to the bedside table on the ground, slipping into bed behind Nico.

Jason looked back down at Will, glad to see him looking somewhat better again with all the sweat gone and his expression relaxed.

"So, you think it's over now?" He asked hesitantly, finding his hand brushing out a strand of now dry blond hair out of Will's face.

"I hope so. Guess this answers the question whether we're going to share a tent or have separate ones once we go to the Underworld." Percy stated, putting an arm over them and looking tired.

True, they had talked about that earlier.

Will was always quiet during those conversations, looking distant and distracted.

Jason vaguely wondered whether Will even wanted to come along.

He hadn't said a word about it yet.

But he had been all for the idea of them all travelling together before, back when they had first discussed it ages ago.

It didn't make any sense.

"I'll have to check whether I have a big enough tent then or ask Leo for help. Unless you two are telling me you have one?"

"Uh, no. I've never gone camping before, unless you count my time as a runaway as that. But back then I didn't even have a tent, so yeah…" Nico muttered, twirling Will's hair in his fingers absent-mindedly.

Percy stiffened at the mention of Nico's past, guilt hushing over his face, but his reply was calm.

"I don't have one, either. I have a big sleeping bag, though, in case we need one."

"Well, I'd hope we do. I don't want to sleep on the floor." Nico deadpanned, earning him a gentle pinch from Percy, before he kissed the side of his neck.

"Smartass. You could sleep on me."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "And where do Will and I sleep? On top of Nico?"

"Hey, nobody tops my Nico."

"Percy!" Nico exclaimed and Jason could see him blush even in the darkness.

Jason only shook his head slightly, tugging Will closer to his chest.

"Yeah, I think I prefer the sleeping bag. Less conflict."

"Alright, then I can show you later." Percy mumbled against the side of Nico's neck and it took Jason a moment to realize he was talking to him and not the Italian.

"Sure."

"So you two are going to check on the sleeping bag and ask Leo about the tent? That's good. I'm taking Will to Clovis." Nico announced, hands playing with Will's hair again as he snuggled back into Percy's chest.

"Clovis?" Jason asked surprised, trying to place the name.

It sounded so familiar…

"You mean that Hypnos kid? Why?" Percy asked equally surprised.

Nico frowned at them both.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I am sick and tired of seeing Will hurting like this. I want Clovis to take a look at him. Maybe he can figure out what to make of those nightmares. If not, maybe he can at least help him find some other way to sleep and rest."

Jason remembered now.

Back when he had first come here, they had brought him to the Hypnos cabin in hopes of getting his memories back.

It might not have been of much help in the end, but Nico was right.

If anybody could help, it was Clovis.

"Alright, then you take him there." He said, the same moment Percy asked "Are you sure we shouldn't come with for that?"

Nico sighed.

"I think it will already be difficult enough to convince him of me coming along, Percy. You know his nightmares are a touchy subject to him. I think it's better if I go alone with him. Clovis and I get along well, so I have an additional excuse to hang around."

"You do?" Percy asked taken aback, eyeing his boyfriend oddly, as if this was news to him.

"Well, yeah. I stumble into his dreams every now and then. Not advisable, by the way."

"Oh, true, I forgot you can do that. Want to visit my dreams by times?" Percy offered suggestively, wriggling his eyebrows, and Jason shook his head amused as he watched Nico throw him an exasperated glance.

"You're such a pervert, Percy."

"I didn't even do anything!" Percy defended himself with an upset expression, but Jason caught the way Nico blushed slightly and smirked.

"Something tells me a certain someone is yearning for some more affection, Percy."

Nico froze, glaring daggers at Jason as his blush deepened, while Percy halted, looking down at his boyfriend surprised.

Then a teasing grin made its way onto his lips.

"Oh really? Nico, is there something you want to tell me?" He asked, his voice a lot lower than a moment ago.

Jason rolled his eyes amused and buried his face in Will's hair, glad to hear his breathing completely evened out again.

"Nothing that I want Jason to hear, no."

Jason could barely suppress an amused snort.

How considerate.

He felt them shifting and opened one eye, watching unimpressed how Percy started kissing the side of Nico's neck, grinning at him with a dangerous gleam in his eyes before tugging on his skin with his teeth slightly, the intent obvious.

Then his eyes hushed over to Jason and his expression became apologetic as he pulled back slightly with a small sigh.

So this was what Will meant whenever he rolled his eyes and affectionately called Percy a considerate fool.

Yep, Jason could completely relate.

He squeezed Percy's side slightly to catch his attention and made a show of closing his eyes and yawning, hiding his face fully in Will's hair.

"Well, night, guys."

Percy gave his side a small, appreciative squeeze as well, then pulled his hand back and Jason smiled to himself.

"Good night, Jason." Both boys said obediently, before shifting again and Jason could hear what sounded like the exchange of some more or less innocent pecks.

Those two were so obvious about everything, it was both amusing and hurtful.

He tugged Will closer, glad he wouldn't wake up for another few hours, then tried his best to fall back asleep himself, before those two really did take it further than they should with Will and Jason here as well.

Good thing Jason was used to irregular sleeping hours from his travelling and could practically fall asleep anywhere and anytime on command.

When Will woke up and found himself squished against Jason's front, he knew he had had his nightmare again.

It was disturbing, knowing he must have thrashed around and terrorized his friends, yet not knowing he had done so.

Jason's body was still so nice and cool, though.

How could anybody be cool when snuggling up to somebody else?

Things like that didn't happen in real life - in real life, people were gross and sweaty when they tried to cuddle all night, not to mention annoyed and uncomfortable.

But with them, somehow, it always worked out just fine.

Then again, temperatures outside (and in the Hades cabin) were still fairly low, so that might be a supporting factor as well.

He faintly hoped Nico's cabin was cool during the summer months as well.

Will found himself snuggling against Jason's chest slightly, then tensed up, remembering that first morning after Jason's return all too well.

Damn, he had completely let his guard down, snuggling against Nico and Percy, relishing in the comfort their embrace had given him – only to find Jason watching him curiously.

How could he have let that happen?

What did Jason think of him now?

He was bound to have noticed something!

Wait, what could he have noticed? There was nothing to notice!

Will felt a sense of panic rising inside him but pushed it down, instead deciding to act utterly asleep, just in case Jason was already awake again.

Making a show of moving ever so slowly and as inconspicuous as possible, he managed to turn himself in a way he could at least glance up at Jason (why was he pressed against his chest, anyways).

For one horrid moment, he thought Jason would really be awake and watch him as he had done back then.

But Jason wasn't.

He was still sleeping, lips slightly parted, his blond hair a mess, expression relaxed and calm.

It was actually…kind of cute, really.

Will suddenly found his hands on Jason's face, caressing his cheek slightly, then brushing out some wild strands of hair (Jason's hair really had grown quite a bit, he hadn't even really noticed up until now).

Jason had an adorable sleeping face.

How had Will never noticed that?

His fingers slid down to Jason's lips, touching the small scar absent-mindedly, wondering if he had ever actually watched Jason sleep before.

Thinking about it, he had always kind of been out of sight, either because Will had been behind him or because Percy and Nico had shielded him from view.

Jason stirred slightly, frowning in his sleep and turning his face slightly towards his finger.

For one fleeting moment, Will thought Jason would wake up, but instead of flinching back (or moving in general), Will found himself frozen in shock, unable to even as much as move an inch.

But Jason didn't wake up.

Instead, he did the most bizarre thing Will had ever witnessed in his entire life: He kissed Will's finger.

Just. Like. That.

Just turning his head towards it and actually KISSING it, not just his lips brushing against it fleetingly or any of the sort, actually, seriously, kissing it.

Will stared at him in disbelief, pulling his hand back as if it had been burnt.

Well, it certainly felt hot enough now to qualify (thanks a lot, Jason).

He felt someone shifting behind him and felt Percy's arms wrap around him from behind Nico, but whether that was coincidentally or because Percy felt something was wrong, he couldn't tell.

Nico came closer as well, rubbing circles on his back as if to soothe him, and Will found himself relaxing against them again with a sigh.

Gods, what was he even doing?

This was stupid.

Why had he even had his hand in Jason's face?

Jason had probably assumed it was Nico, or maybe he was having some sort of nice dream with Nico right now.

Will eyed the blonde warily, as if a screen would pop up and show him the guy's dreams.

Not that he wanted to know.

No, it was already bad enough imagining what Percy and Nico were doing (or watching them get intimate, which was even worse), he really didn't want to imagine what Jason would do with…ok, damn, he was imagining.

Thanks a lot, sleeping-Jason-that-just-had-to-kiss-that-finger.

Will sighed again, shifting to turn around, but that caused Jason to frown and growl, making Will freeze instantly.

Jason growling sounded remarkably…no, Will was not going to go there.

Arms moved, and he felt Jason bat Percy's and Nico's hands away from around Will, wrapping his own arms around him tightly instead and pulling him closer with a sharp tug.

Will let out a surprised huff before finding himself pressed against Jason's chest once more, his face burying itself in Will's hair, hands running over his back, up and down in soothing strokes, before settling down somewhere around his lower back, keeping him close.

He could feel his face heating and contemplated pulling back, out of this embrace, out of Jason's arms, but then stopped himself.

Jason was sleeping right now.

The other two were as well, based on their even and regular breathing.

Nobody knew of this, and if, then they didn't know Will was awake.

Will might as well be in deep sleep and have no clue what was happening right now.

Nobody could blame him for not moving, nobody could say he was the one pushing himself onto anybody, since it was obvious Jason was keeping him in this deadlock, not the other way around.

All in all, there was no real reason for Will to move.

He could actually…just stay like this for a while and enjoy it.

Wait, was he really enjoying this?

Will stiffened, suddenly all too aware of the blush on his face, the fast beating of his heart and the way is breath hitched slightly.

He was also way too aware of the way Jason held him, the feeling of his strong arms protectively wrapped around him, the even beating of his heart, the wonderfully cool skin he was getting pressed against.

Yes, yes he did like this.

Damn yes, he wanted this.

And at any rate, why would he risk Jason waking up? Or the other two?

If he had had nightmares again, it was only fair to let them sleep for as long as possible.

Why would Will risk taking that from them?

Right, there was no reason whatsoever.

So Will smiled to himself, making himself comfortable in Jason's embrace, feeling Nico and Percy move closer behind him again, apparently having waited long enough for Jason to settle down again to touch him.

Their arms wrapped around him, a soothing warmth engulfing him from behind.

Mmh, yes, he loved this.

Closing his eyes again, he found himself drifting back off into sleep in no time, a content smile on his face, hands over Jason's heart.

"Nico, I really don't think this is a good idea." Will muttered urgently and Nico rolled his eyes.

As expected, Will was NOT very willing to go to Clovis.

"Will, at least let him take a look at you, ok?"

"I just don't see the point. I'm fine. I'm a doctor, I know what I'm saying."

"Will, you are not a doctor, you are a healer. That's a big difference, especially since you seem to be pretty self-destructive." Nico stated drily, walking towards the Hypnos cabin anyways, trusting Will to keep following him.

Will did, huffing indignantly as he walked a step behind him, looking utterly insulted.

"Excuse you, I am NOT self-destruct-…how would you even-…why…Nico! I am taking splendid care of myself!" He insisted, a scowl on his face, his expression still offended.

Nico only looked at him exasperated.

"Good! That means you will come along and let a Hypnos kid take a look at you to see whether there is any way of you getting a good and healthy amount of sleep. That's what every other person would do if they took splendid care of themselves, right? That's what you'd want me to do if it was me having a sleeping disorder or nightmares, right?"

That shut him up.

Nico almost felt bad, but he was too worried for Will's welfare to care right now.

They made their way quickly past the other cabins, ending up in front of Cabin 15 without exchanging another word.

Once Nico knocked on the door however, Will made a frustrated sound and tried once more.

"But I can't even remember the nightmare, Nico. If I don't remember it, and don't know what's causing it, how could-…"

"Will, you know very well that the Hypnos kids have the ability to see your dreams, sometimes even your memories and all. That means there's a chance they'll be able to figure out both what the nightmares are about, and maybe even what's causing them, all in one go. The only justifiable reason I can see that would excuse anybody from coming here in your position, is if they have a hell lot to hide they don't want anybody to know."

He hadn't meant to reassure Will with those words, but he hadn't meant to make him blanch like that, either.

What was wrong with the blonde?

"Will?"

Will averted his gaze, looking conflicted, almost scared.

What…?

What had he said?

He had only stated the obvious.

Everybody knew what Hypnos kids could do, and Will even more so, given that he had been at Camp much longer than Nico had been and knew the other campers better than Nico probably ever would.

Will had told him himself that he knew Clovis, that they might not exactly be friends, but that they got along well together, had told him of a few conversations they had shared and how he actually liked the Hypnos kid quite a bit, mostly because he used to help him lull some people in the infirmary to sleep.

So what was his problem now?

Rethinking his words once more, he frowned.

"Wait, you don't actually have any secre-…"

"Hey guys, what's up?" Clovis asked lazily from the door and Nico flinched, noticing Will do the same even though he had had perfect view of the door, unlike Nico, who had turned his back to it in order to look at Will better.

Will didn't actually HAVE any secrets, right?

Then again…he did work in an infirmary…didn't they have those oaths that they weren't allowed to speak of anything private about their patients or something?

Maybe that was the issue.

If so, Nico couldn't care less.

He would probably not even know who Will was talking about, and he highly doubted Clovis would give a damn, either.

"Hey Clovis, we were wondering, if…" He started, but Clovis' sigh interrupted him.

"Nightmares? Yeah, I noticed. You were completely out of reach last night, Solace. Where were you? Couldn't sense you anywhere at Camp. I mean, I've noticed before, but you were never THAT far gone before, so I figured you'd be fine. Want to come in?" Clovis asked, stepping aside to let them in with a yawn.

Will and Nico shared a surprised glance.

Out of reach? Gone? What?

Will's face turned conflicted again, almost miserable, as he stepped forward and into the cabin, eyes shying away from Nico.

"Oh, you coming too, Nico? Well, alright, if that's fine by Will." Clovis said with a note of surprise as Nico wanted to enter as well.

He hesitated. "I…I don't know. Will?"

Maybe he WOULD feel better if Nico wasn't around?

Will glanced over his shoulder at him, eyes uncertain for a moment.

But then he only shrugged. "Sure…I don't mind…" He mumbled, though it didn't sound very convincing.

Clovis on the other hand didn't seem to care, shrugging and pulling Nico inside, even though Nico was fairly sure he had told him before he didn't like physical contact.

Then again, he snuggled up to his boyfriend and his two best friends at night, so he guessed he shouldn't be that much of a hypocrite.

"Alright then, let's sit you down and have a look. With your permission, of course." He said, motioning for Will to sit on one of the beds while looking wistfully at a different one that Nico knew was his own.

But Nico didn't really care about Clovis right now, his eyes were on Will.

Will was pale, sitting down but fidgeting, his foot tapping against the ground, his eyes anywhere but on Nico.

"Are you sure you don't want me gone?" He asked hesitantly, but Will only shook his head.

"No, it's ok. I'm just…I don't know what the nightmares are about, so I don't really know…" His voice trailed off, but Nico thought he understood.

Clovis let out a small, impatient huff, throwing them both exasperated glances as if asking them whether they were finally done now and they could proceed.

Then he yawned once more.

"So, are you ready, then? I'll put you to sleep and then make you relive your nightmare – or at least one of them. Nico won't see that, anyways. Only you and I, if we're lucky."

Will nodded quietly, still looking uncertain, his gaze fixated on a spot faraway.

"Alright, let's do this, then."

Nico watched apprehensively as Clovis stepped towards Will, ordering him to close his eyes before holding a hand out over his face.

For a long moment, Nico thought nothing was happening.

Then he realized that neither of them was moving whatsoever and stepped up to them, realizing they must be sleeping…well, doing their sleeping-thing, at any rate.

He wasn't exactly 'worried', but he was…concerned.

Of course, he trusted Clovis. He also trusted Will, even though his fidgeting made Nico slightly uneasy, but he still trusted him nevertheless.

It was just that he wasn't sure whether this had really been a good idea after all.

Maybe they should have consulted Chiron first.

That's what everyone else would have probably done ages ago, anyways.

Have a camper that can't sleep properly as the only one in the entire Camp?

Go to Chiron and tell him, best if you bring Mr. D into the mix as well, that's a god for you, they'd be able to patch you up in no time.

Yeah, why exactly hadn't they done that?

Then again, Will had brushed them off over and over again and they were his best friends, so Nico was fairly certain even if he had mentioned this as possibility, Will wouldn't have gone to either Chiron, nor Mr. D.

He'd have probably brushed it off as some small issue not worth mentioning.

Nico sighed, watching some water drip down from on top of the fireplace.

He knew better than to get closer to that, of course.

Having been bathed in the River Lethe once before already, he wasn't keen on repeating the procedure at any given point in his life again.

Instead, he looked back at Will and waited…and waited…and waited.

Then the blonde suddenly dropped sideways onto the bed, utterly knocked out.

Nico flinched, but he wasn't worried yet.

No, he started worrying (and regretting coming here) the moment Clovis suddenly dropped sideways like a log as well.

"Guys?" He asked uncertainly, rushing forward to check on the blond kid on the floor, but not daring to touch him (it had a nasty side effect of either making people drowsy or making them fall asleep instantly).

So, instead, he hurriedly went to Will, touching his shoulder gently.

"Will? By the gods, guys, wake up. What's going on?" He asked urgently when he felt the boy burning again.

Clovis groaned from the floor, suddenly snapping awake.

"Nico, wake him up!" He called, the panic in his usually drowsy voice cutting through Nico like a knife, and he bent over Will, shaking him.

"Will!"

They shouldn't have come here.

He shouldn't have forced Will to come here.

Gods damn it, he hadn't meant for anything bad to happen!

He had just wanted to help!

Nico shook him, turning him over and cupping his face, calling his name.

Clovis got himself off the floor, putting his hands over Will, but nothing happened.

For once, Clovis didn't start sleeping again randomly, his face alert for the first time since Nico knew him.

But none of that mattered right now.

All that mattered was lying beneath him, still knocked out cold, his skin…oh gods, was his skin GLOWING?!

"Clovis, what in the name of Hades happened?!" He shot at the blonde next to him, still shaking Will, pinching his arms and slapping his face, while Clovis still had his hands over his face, face full of concentration.

He didn't answer Nico, but Nico hadn't expected anything, anyways.

Nico kept calling Will's name, panic rising in his chest as Will seemed to be practically burning up, his skin smoking hot, burning his palms, but he couldn't make himself let go.

In a last futile attempt, he crashed his body onto Will's, ignoring the searing pain surging through him as he scorched his skin.

Wrapping his arms tightly around him, he held onto Will, eyes scrunched up and lips tightly pressed together.

What if…no, he couldn't think like that.

"I think I got him." Clovis suddenly muttered and Nico's eyes shot open.

"Stay like that. I think I got him. Pulling him back now."

He glanced at Clovis from the side, but the boy had his head bowed downwards, so Nico couldn't see his face.

Looking back at Will, he pressed his face into the side of his neck.

Please, please let this work.

Let Clovis get him back, from wherever he was.

And Nico was never ever going to suggest anything stupid like this again.

What had he been thinking?
This was all his fault.

A groan escaped Will's lips, then his lungs filled with air again and Nico shot up, cupping Will's face and looking down at him with wide eyes.

"Will!"

Will groaned again, his face scrunched up in apparent pain.

Then he opened his eyes to look up at Nico, disorientated and confused, but at least he was alive and his body temperature was quickly receding, turning back to normal.

"Ugh, we're never doing that again." Will muttered weakly, hands finding Nico's cheeks, cupping his face the same way Nico was cupping his.

Nico breathed out in relief, dropping back down on top of Will, causing him to groan out in pain once more, but he ignored it in favor of feeling his beating heart against his own, his now comparably cool skin against his own, soothing the burns he had.

Thank the gods he was ok.

"Nico?" Will asked hesitantly, arms gently moving to his side, stroking over his lower back.

"Hey, you ok?"

How ironic that Will was asking him that.

It should be the other way around.

Nico shook his head, hiding his face at the side of Will's neck.

"Clovis said he lost you. You were gone, Will. Gone. Your body…you were burning up…what the hell happened, Will?" He asked, his voice a mere whisper, cracking at the end as he pushed his arms beneath Will and around him, holding him as close as possible, needing to feel that he was ok.

Will didn't say anything, maybe in shock, maybe because he didn't exactly know what to say.

At first, Nico just waited, but Will didn't speak, his silence stretching on for so long Nico pulled back, worried all over again.

"Will?"

"I'm here. I'm here. Just…thinking. I…I don't remember. I know I knew just a moment ago, but the moment I tried to grasp it…it was gone." Will muttered with a frown, pulling his arms back to rub the sides of his head in either frustration or concentration (or maybe both).

Nico put his hand against his cheek, still sitting on top of Will, though the blonde didn't seem to mind whatsoever.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought you here. I just…I thought…"

But Will shook his head quickly. "No, it's ok. I know you meant well. I…I don't remember what happened, but I think I know it was a good thing. Like, it was good that I came here. I don't know. Clovis?"

As Will said his name, they both looked around to the boy standing next to them at the bed, but Clovis had fallen asleep.

"Hey, Clovis." Nico said, snipping his finger in front of his face.

"Yes, grandma, I'll take out the tra-…what? I'm awake, I'm awake. Where were we? Oh yeah, you were gone, Will. We almost lost you." Clovis stated unimpressed, as if he had just talked about the weather, not Will's life.

It was enough to set Nico's blood boiling, but he bit back his remark, since it was kind of his fault they were here in the first place.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Don't you?"

"No."

Clovis frowned at him for a long moment, then his eyes hushed over to Nico.

"Well, in the beginning, there was only personal stuff, issues you need to deal with yourself that you currently keep pushing aside. Then, everything changed and we left Camp. It was…strange. I've been to several places before, but that one was new. I don't know, man. Maybe you don't remember for a reason. Whenever we dream and don't remember, there's a good reason."

"But what happened at that place? What was I doing?"

"You? Nothing."

"Then what else was happening? Was there somebody else?"

Clovis looked at them for a long moment.

Then his eyes glazed over, signaling them he was once again asleep.

"Hey. Clovis." Nico repeated, snipping in front of his face again and Clovis flinched.

"Bananas! What?"

"Will asked whether there was anybody else there." Nico stated sourly, pushing down the urge to wince at the stinging in his hands and chest, feeling the burns more and more.

"Oh, no, just monkeys and- oh wait, you mean your dream. Right. Let me think…"

Will and Nico exchanged an unimpressed glance.

"Yeah, there were. But they don't want me to tell. They say you have to figure it out yourself."

"Who is 'they'?" Will and Nico asked instantly, shooting each other another glance.

But Clovis only shrugged. "Sorry, can't say."

Both Will and Nico groaned in annoyance.

Great. They had almost lost Will, but it had all been for nothing.

Just great.

"But I can tell you this…" Clovis started, then suddenly fell back asleep, snoring loudly.

Nico growled and snipped in front of his face, now seriously pissed off.

"Clovis!"

"I'll clean my room later! Oh, you guys are still here?"

"Obviously. You just said you have something you CAN tell us." Nico said, not even trying to hide his irritation, but Clovis didn't seem to either notice or care.

Will frowned at him, but said nothing, his hands on Nico's side, expression clouded and distant.

Nico snipped in front of his face as well.

"Oi, listen to what he has to say."

"Oh, it's nothing to do with the dream. Well, it does, but nothing about it. As I said, you have to figure it out by yourself, but there are two things. One: You have to get rid of all those personal problems, they are holding you back. Sit down and clear your head and stop pushing everything aside. Percy is right, stop living in denial. Second-…"

Will's face turned bright red. "W-What?! How would you know that? What have you seen?"
Nico looked down at him in confusion.

What? He remembered Percy saying that, but what was the big deal?

And what did this have to do with anything, anyways?

Clovis waved off with a small laugh. "You mean what haven't I seen? Don't worry, I don't care about your love life, Solace. I don't judge. Anyways, as I was saying, second-…"

Will's incoherent sputtering interrupted Clovis again, but this time Nico clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up. You heard him, he doesn't care. Clovis, as you were saying?"

Clovis only let out an exasperated sigh, which irritated Nico only further, given that Clovis was the one that kept falling asleep.

"Second, I can show you a way to find the rest you need. You still have to sleep the normal way, and the nightmares will not stop until you have figured it out yourself, but there is a way for you to get rest, so you will not…" Clovis dozed off again.

Nico was utterly tempted to rattle him.

Instead, he clucked his tongue, unwilling to remove his hand from Will's mouth yet.

Clovis' nose twitched and he opened an annoyed eye.

"…have to go through the nightmares the entire night. Right now, you are on a sort of middle ground. The nightmares will worsen, but as long as you're with your guys, they'll be able to protect you from harm. What I can show you is a way you will find rest, but you can't use it to skip your nightmares, or even your boys won't be able to protect you anymore. Do you understand that?"

Nico frowned at Clovis, trying to make sense of his words.

He wasn't exactly surprised Clovis knew they were sleeping together, since he was bound to catch their dreams coming from the same cabin every night, but his statement still threw Nico off for some reason.

How were they 'protecting' Will?

And what were they protecting him from?

They never actually managed to wake him up, and all they really did was maybe clean him up a bit and keep him close, cooling his body and trying to soothe him in any way possible.

None of that was protecting him from is nightmares, though.

Will nodded beneath him, a hesitant and reluctant nod, eyes on Clovis.

"It will also make you vulnerable to outside intruders. You can't dream in this state, as it is between the second and third state of sleeping, just between light sleep and actual sleep. You will have a dreamless rest for as long as your body requires, but you will still have to go through your nightmare. Can you promise me that? I need you to promise that, else I can't show you."

Nico looked back at Will and pulled his hand back reluctantly to allow him to speak.

Will was gazing up at him distractedly again.

"Well?"

"Hm? What? Oh, yeah, I swear. I think I know what you're talking about. So, I have to sleep, but once the nightmare is over, I can do that rest-thing, yeah?"

Clovis blew out a small breath as if irritated, but then nodded. "Yeah, sounds about right."

"Alright. Show me, then."

Nico half expected Clovis to tell him to get up.

He definitely expected Clovis to tell Nico to get lost.

But instead, Clovis only held out his hand over Will's face again and Will obediently closed his eyes.

Nico stayed on top of him, his hand finding Will's on his side and holding onto it, ignoring the stinging in his fingers to feel the warmth of his hand and the even pulse.

Everything was ok now.

Even though Nico had no idea whatsoever what had happened and what was going on now, everything was ok.

And this visit might not have been for nothing, either, if Will could find a way to get some decent rest again.

"Ok, that's it. Now, get lost, you two. I need my sleep." Clovis stated with a yawn a moment later and Will opened his eyes.

"That's it? Did he show you?" Nico asked, surprised by the speed.

He knew time was sketchy when it came to dreams, but this had been extremely quick.

"Yeah, I know what I have to do. I've actually done it before. Every time I slept in."

"Guess you're a natural. Now, seriously, get out. I want to get back to my camels." Clovis grumbled, trudging over to his bed before flopping flat down on it, instantly snoring again.

Nico and Will exchanged a long look, and at last Nico climbed off the blonde.

"Aw, I liked you on top." Will teased with a wink and Nico made a face.

"Ha-ha. I thought you don't bottom?" He teased right back, raising a pointed eyebrow.

Will opened his mouth, then halted, a blush spreading on his face that made all his adorable freckles stand out even more.

Then he cleared his throat and grinned at Nico. "For you, I'd make an exception."

Damn it, and he had just been proud he hadn't blushed.

So much about that.

His face felt hot and he turned away hurriedly, walking towards the door.

"Don't let Percy hear that, he'll get jealous."

"About what? That I'd let you top? Or that I wouldn't let him top?"

"By the gods, take your perverted conversations out of my cabin, you're giving me nightmares!" Clovis called over indignantly, making them both flinch and blush a dark shade of red as they hurried towards the door for real now.

"Sorry! We were only joking!"

"Out!"

They let the door fall shut behind them and threw each other rueful glances.

"Hopefully he'll forget that before I see him next." Nico mumbled awkwardly, inwardly cursing himself for playing along with Will in the first place.

He had never done that before!

Why had he talked back, he should have just dropped it and left!

Will looked off into the distance.

"Yeah, well, I rather hope he won't meet Percy anytime soon. I don't want him to skin me alive for making a move on you again."

Nico frowned, looking around at him as they started making their way towards the Hades cabin.

"Nah, he wouldn't. We were just joking."

For some reason, that didn't seem to cheer Will up, though, if the miserable glance and low sigh stood for anything.

"Yeah…joking…listen, Nico…" He started, making a grab for Nico's hand.

Sadly, Nico hadn't been expecting it, wincing back at the touch instinctively.

Will froze.

"Nico…"

Oh shit.

"Ah, it's nothing. Let's hurry, in case they are back already…" He started, turning away and trying to run off, but Will grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him back with surprising strength.

"What the…Nico! Why didn't you say anything?" Will exclaimed horrified as he turned Nico's hand to look at the dark red, stinging skin.

"It's nothing, really."

"Did this…Nico, this happened because of me, didn't it?"

"No! Well, as I said, your body was kind of burning up, but…"

"Nico, these are second-degree burns!" Will cried out, fingers tracing over a few of the blisters that had built by now, the touch light enough not to actually hurt, but still firm enough to be felt.

Nico looked around him at the other Campers around them that started looking around at Will's loud exclamations.

"Will, listen…"
"No. We're going to the infirmary. Now."

And with that, Will started storming off, hand firmly clasped around Nico's wrist, pulling him after him.

"But what about Percy and Jason?"

"They will have to wait. These need treating. I knew I felt some sort of pain coming off you. Gods, I thought something was off, but I guessed it was just me being confused, because – again – you didn't say anything! We should have treated this right away. Do you have any other injuries anywhere else?"

His entire body, but he was fairly sure he shouldn't say that.

"Maybe some minor burns." He mumbled vaguely, wondering how he was going to get out of this.

Maybe he was lucky and would just need to eat some ambrosia/nectar to have all of this heal.

"Where?" Will asked, glancing at him from over his shoulder with an expression that couldn't be fooled.

Nico pressed his lips firmly together.

"Maybe my…arms."

Why was it that his skin was burnt, but his clothes were still intact, anyways?

It made no sense.

Not that he was complaining at not having the fabric imprinted on his skin or anything.

It was just weird, that was all.

Will sighed theatrically, throwing his other arm up in apparent desperation.

"You are impossible."

"Sorry…" Nico mumbled, though he didn't mean this.

Will glanced back over his shoulder, expression knowing and apologetic.

"It's ok. I'm the one who burnt up, so it should be me apologizing. I think…I think it was partly my fault that I got lost. I can't vouch for it, of course, but I think it's because of…because of the things I've been pushing away. So it wasn't your fault. I was basically pushing myself away."

"What is it that's bothering you so much, Will? Is there anything I can do? Clovis made it sound as if it was something really serious." Nico tried cautiously, not trying to pry, but trying to understand all the same.

Will's hand tensed slightly on his wrist, but he wasn't looking back anymore.

"No, I'll have to get over it myself."

Nico had expected as much, but it still stung to think Will didn't trust him enough to confide in him.

But that was his choice.

Nico had to respect that.

"Alright. But I'm right here if you need me, ok?"

Will glanced back again, an amused smile on his lips that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"What, you'll be right here, in the middle of Camp? That's sweet, but you can wait in your bed, as well. I'll make sure to make your wait worthwhile." He said with a suggestive wink and Nico felt his ears burning once more.

"Will!"

The blonde laughed, making a peace-sign with his other hand.

"Just joking, Neeks. Come on, the faster we're in the infirmary, the faster I can check you out."

"I swear, if you don't drop your suggestions…" Nico grumbled under his breath, but was glad all the same that Will's mood seemed to improve somewhat again, given his cheerful whistling.

That dork.

"Hey, now that I think of it, what are you going to do for Valentine's day?" Jason asked thoughtfully as they made their way back from Leo's towards Nico's cabin, the tent all wrapped up over Percy's shoulder.

Percy sent him a despairing look.

"I have no idea. I was thinking of asking my mom for some more candy, but I kind of want to do something, rather than give presents. He kind of already got tons of those and look at how overwhelmed he is with those. Seriously, he's going to be the death of me one day. How can a single person have such a morbid childhood that they are that surprised about receiving birthday gifts?"

He knew the answer, of course, same as Jason, but still.

"What sort of 'do something' do you mean? The sort that will have Will and me running from the cabin with hands over our ears or the 'taking him out for dinner'-sort?"

Percy sent him a sour look.

Even though Jason was usually much more tactful than Will (and he certainly said things much nicer than Will did, who was usually rather blunt and straight-forward), Percy still found his ears burning at Jason's words, his insides jittery.

"Ha-ha. You know what, I think I'll have to think on that, though. It'll be our last day at Camp before we go on that trip, so I know I won't be able to get my hands on him for quite a while. Kind of doubt his dad would be very happy if I try anything in the Underworld, you know." He mused, then regretted his big mouth, given that Jason wasn't exactly over Nico yet.

Damn, with Will he had usually only slipped up like that if Will had teased him first.

With Jason, it was more an issue of knowing Jason was the guy they always went to for serious talks, so Percy liked to forget he couldn't talk about everything with him anymore.

But when he looked around, Jason seemed fairly unperturbed.

"You poor thing. I feel so bad for you." He stated drily instead, a nonplussed expression on his face.

"Thanks for your condolences." Percy grumbled sourly.

Jason only shrugged. "I wouldn't know what to tell you. You have all you need to take it further, and as far as I can tell, he's more than willing."

"He…he is?" Percy asked with a jolt, halting in his steps.

Jason frowned at him. "You can't tell?"

He…couldn't.

He knew Nico's moods, could guess his thoughts on good days and generally picked up on whatever bothered him, but once it came to anything sexual, Percy was at a loss.

What was ok, what wasn't, it was all still a big question mark.

He knew Nico's good spots, knew what he liked and he did always seem willing to take it as far as Percy would take it, but Percy had no idea whether that was because Nico really wanted that, or because he wanted Percy to be happy.

There had been a few times where they had almost gone all the way, though.

It had happened kind of spontaneously, with them just playing around as they usually did in bed, and Percy had found himself wanting, wanting so badly, wanting Nico so badly, and Nico's movements against him had shown he would have been utterly ok with it, too.

But in the end, Percy had reigned back, instead redirecting them to hands and mouths.

Nico had never complained.

What if, instead of taking things too fast, Percy was taking them too slow?

"Stop."

"What?" Percy asked, looking up.

"Stop it. I can see the gears working in your head, can practically hear you asking yourself whether you're doing something wrong. Stop it." Jason said quietly, but firmly.

Percy made a face.

"No, don't give me that face. Percy, it's time you get a grip on yourself. You can't keep pushing yourself back forever just because you're scared. He won't leave you, Percy. Nico loves you more than anything in the world. He'd wait for you forever, if you so wanted him to, but he'd also let you take things further this very night if you asked him. He loves you, and he wants you, and he is as insecure as you, but he needs you to take the lead. He needs you to show him it's alright to take things further. No, don't give me that look. You're his boyfriend. I'm not going to say a word to him. I wouldn't even say a word to you if I didn't know I had to in order to save your sorry butt from yourself."

Percy looked down, partly ashamed, partly embarrassed by this conversation alone.

Jason was such a mother hen, though.

Percy was immensely grateful.

"I just don't want to screw things up."

"You won't. Just be yourself, Percy."

"Will said that, too."

Jason looked surprised for a moment, then his expression became slightly guarded.

"You talked to Will about this?"

Now it was Percy's turn to hesitate.

"Well, there was this one time I went to him in the early morning because of…because of a birthday gift for Nico. And…well, after a lot of fail acting and mortification at its finest, I might or might not have had a minor breakdown and wallowed in self-pity a bit."

Jason surprisingly didn't look surprised at that at all, though he did frown slightly.

"Alright. What did Will say?"

"Well, same as you did, really. I shouldn't worry, Nico loves me, I should be myself and that I've changed, and that he says the 'me' I have become deserves Nico."

Jason looked at him quietly for a moment, as if contemplating something.

"Well, there you have it. Exactly. So, why don't you listen to him?"

Percy huffed exasperated, throwing his arms up, which made him almost hit himself in the face with the tent.

"It's not that easy! I can't exactly walk up to Nico and tell him 'hey, let's have sex tonight'!"

"Why not?" Jason shot back, expression still utterly unimpressed.

Could anybody believe this guy?

"Well, for one, you guys are there, so there's that. Plus, I'm sorry to be old-fashioned, but I don't want his first time to be in the shower."

"So? Then tell us to leave. Percy, you two are dating. You shouldn't even bother about either Will or me. And you definitely shouldn't hold back because of us. Didn't we have this conversation before?"

Percy threw his arms up again, this time making sure not to get the tent in his face.

"It's not that easy, alright? I don't want to…I don't want to hurt you guys. I just want us all to be happy somehow, gods damn it!" He exclaimed, hearing thundering in the distance.

Well, maybe he shouldn't curse at the gods while being out here in the open (in a cabin, he couldn't hear any indication of a reply, at least).

Jason raised his eyebrows.

"So this is what he meant."

"Who? Who meant what? What did who say?" Percy asked confused, but Jason didn't elaborate, instead sighing loudly.

"Percy, you are hopeless. Have I ever told you that? Anyways, to be frank, I don't care. I love Nico, I know you know that, I know he doesn't, even though I've made it clear, but that doesn't matter. I love him, and he loves you, and you make him happy, so I'm happy. Get it? And I'm sure Will feels the same way…with a slight alteration, maybe, but that doesn't change the complete picture."

"What alteration? What's with Will?" Percy asked, his insides instantly a swirl of worry and confusion.

Was there something he should know about?

Jason gazed at him quietly for a long moment, then shook his head.

"No." Was all he said, and Percy felt even more confused.

He was about to ask, but Jason didn't let him.

"Alright, let's turn this around. Imagine I was the one dating Nico. You love him, but he is dating me. Just picture it."

"It hurts."

"Yeah, it does. But look at him. It might hurt, but then you see him happy and content, growing more confident with himself and the people around him, allowing physical contact, letting himself go, being much more open with his emotions. You see him laughing and smiling a lot more, see him making jokes he would have never made before. Suddenly, he's not the blushing, awkward guy anymore that you can't even lean against without him flinching away. Instead, he's laughing and joking with you, being more comfortable with you within weeks than in all the time you've spent with him before. And all of that is because he's with me."

Percy looked down.

"It still hurts."

"Yeah, but you're also happy for him. You see those changes, and you know that it's right, Percy. You see that he's in good hands, that he is happy where he is and if you really love him, you know it's ok. It won't stop hurting, but watching him so happy and content with himself and the world more than makes up for it."

But Percy didn't want it to hurt.

He wanted them to be as happy as he was with Nico.

What did he have to do for them all to achieve that?

He already did it all.

He let them stick around, let them snuggle up to Nico.

He let them closer than he should, closer than he had at first been comfortable with.

Yet he knew it still hurt.

What was it that he had to do?

"Maybe we should all go out together on Valentine's day." He mumbled thoughtfully, gazing off into the distance as he thought of things they could do together.

When he looked back at Jason, he saw him staring at him in disbelief.

"What?"

Jason only shook his head. "You…just…you know what? Forget everything I've just said. You're hopeless. Utterly hopeless. Were you even listening? Probably not." He rambled and Percy had to admit this was the most agitated he had ever seen the blonde.

"What? Why? I was just thinking it'd be nice. Also, that way you can also give him something for Valentine's day. Not a good idea?"

Jason buried his face in his hands, a loud, defeated sigh escaping his lips.

What was his problem?

Had Percy said something stupid?

He rethought his sentences, but they seemed utterly fine.

"No, no. Splendid idea. I can't wait to hear what Will thinks of it. Gods, I feel so bad for him." Jason stated with a serious expression.

Percy felt the irritation inside him rising.

"Hey, what's your problem with Will?"

Oops, that sounded harsher than he had intended.

Jason's eyes shot up to his. "Nothing. I have no problem with him. I simply feel bad knowing he had to put up with you like this all this time. No wonder he's…never mind."

"He's what? Grace, you're starting to annoy me." Percy's insides were one big jumble.

What was with Will?

Did Jason know something he didn't?

Was it something important?

Did Percy do something wrong?

"Good, then you know how we feel when you pity us."

What?!

"I don't pity you!"

"You pity us when you kiss Nico, then look guilty because you forgot we were there and only just notice again. Else you would simply keep kissing him, knowing we can look away. Instead, you pull back like a beaten dog."

"I do not! I'm simply trying to be considerate!"

Jason blew out a long breath, but didn't say anything else, just looking off into the distance thoughtfully.

"So what's with Solace?" Percy asked again, not wanting to let this drop.

"Nothing. He's a cool guy, isn't he?" Jason asked, his voice calm and neutral once more, as if they hadn't just almost fought.

Percy frowned, trying to make sense of that sudden change of heart.

"He's…yeah, I guess? Why?"

Jason only shrugged, beginning to move again, so Percy followed, still frowning at Jason and mulling it over.

Then it suddenly clicked.

"Wait, you're not thinking of making a move on him, right?" He asked, his heart suddenly beating so fast and loud he could hear his blood rushing in his ears.

Jason turned around, expression nonchalant.

"And what if I do?"

Percy had never ever attacked a friend before, had never even thought of doing so and had never had any reason to, either.

Jason hadn't said anything that should have set him off like this, but the next moment, he had the blonde shoved against the next tree, holding him by the scruff of his neck.

"Cut it out! Don't you dare use him as a push-over or some shit, just because you can't have Nico!" He hissed, needing all his willpower not to draw his sword.

Jason however didn't seem surprised in the slightest.

In fact, his lips twitched. "What makes you think I'd use him as a push-over? Weren't you the one rooting for us to fall for each other mere weeks ago?"

Percy flinched back.

"I was joking! He's still head over heels into Nico, and I know you are, too. Leave him alone. He deserves better than that."

"Yeah, what does he deserve, then? Watching you and Nico all happy and lovey-dovey until the day he dies?"

Percy growled and pushed him harder against the tree, even though he knew deep inside that Jason was right.

He let go of him, not actually wanting to hurt him, since he cared about Jason too much for that, but that didn't mean he wasn't reluctant about it.

Trying to collect himself again, he took a deep breath and worked on keeping his voice steady.

"So, you're saying you are crushing on Will?"

"Maybe."

Percy hadn't expected an answer at all.

Hearing this answer, however, stunned him even more.

"What?"

"I said 'maybe'." Jason repeated quietly, not breaking eye contact.

Percy found himself stumbling back.

"You…no. Since when?"

Jason seemed to consider that for a moment, looking thoughtful

"Since Christmas? I don't know, he's always been interesting." He finally replied with a small shrug.

"You're lying."

Percy's mouth felt like sandpaper, his insides a jumble.

"Have I ever lied to you?" Jason asked quietly, looking down and picking up the tent Percy had dropped when he had shoved Jason against the tree.

How would Percy know?

His insides were in utter turmoil.

Jason liked Will?

Will Solace?

His Will?

But Jason had never before shown any interest in him!

Was he making fun of Percy?
Was he trying to get to him somehow?

But why would he?

Jason wasn't the type to do something like that.

Jason was considerate, kind, selfless.

Even if what Percy said had somehow upset him, Jason wasn't the sort to go for the kill, to pay back, take revenge or whatever.

But then again, all he was saying was that he might like Will.

That wasn't exactly anything that should hurt Percy.

But why tell him that?

Even if he wasn't making fun, even if he was dead serious right now, why would he tell Percy?

If he wanted his blessing or some rubbish, he could forget it.

Over his dead body.

Alright, he might have thought those two might make a nice couple, and it certainly would solve the issue with Nico, but…but…

But Will didn't like Jason!

Hah!

Wait…oh.

Maybe that's why Jason told him?

To show him he not only loved one guy he couldn't have, but also started having feelings for another one he couldn't have?

But that didn't make sense, either.

What was Percy supposed to do about that?

"I didn't know." Was all he was capable of pressing out.

Jason shrugged. "I never said anything."

Percy eyed him quietly for another moment, then sighed, kicking at some dirt on the ground.

"Sorry for snapping at you. I just…"

"Don't worry. I'm not holding it against you. In fact, I'm impressed. Therefore that you two have only just gotten around being friends, you're pretty protective of him, challenging me the moment you think I could do him harm, even though you know me longer than him and know I could have defended myself."

It was true, Jason could have easily attacked back.

Damn, what had Percy thought, rushing at him like that?

And why had Jason not even been surprised?

He didn't even seem surprised now.

Nor perturbed, for that matter.

If anything, he seemed amused, his hands in his pockets, the tent dangling from his arm.

"Why are you telling me this, anyways?" He finally managed to ask, though it took him a while.

Jason shrugged, looking away. "Just thought you should know. That's all."

"Why?"

Jason's eyes moved back to his slowly, a dangerous gleam in them that Percy had never seen before.

"Because it means I'll protect him as well."

If Percy didn't know better, he'd think this was a threat.

Maybe it was.

He didn't know better, after all.

But it didn't make sense.

Jason apparently didn't wish to elaborate, turning his back on Percy.

"Come on, let's get back to the cabin. Maybe they're already back."

"Will this change anything?" Percy asked, hurrying after him.

Jason shrugged. "Not really. It's not like I've actually settled on anything, and he's not interested, anyways."

"But I thought you liked Nico." Percy blurted, since it still didn't exactly make sense to him.

Jason threw him an amused glance.

"Yeah, I love Nico. But I also like Will. I wouldn't say it's 'love' yet, but I can't deny I'm interested in him."

Percy couldn't believe his ears.

He also couldn't believe this entire conversation, nor how openly Jason was talking about this.

"So…huh? I don't get it. You're…you like them both?"

"Percy, there's such a thing as liking more than one person at the same time." Jason stated with a roll of his eyes.

Percy made a face, thinking of Nico.

"I know that." He muttered quietly, looking away.

How could he not?

Nico loved all three of them, after all.

He might think Percy didn't notice, but Percy could pick it up from the glances Nico threw at Will every now and then, could tell by the way his eyes lit up when he saw Jason.

It wasn't even the cuddling in the evening, that could still happen without any such feelings from Nico's side, but those small things, like lingering touches, wistful glances…thinking about it hurt, so Percy generally tried to redirect his thoughts.

Jason glanced at him from the side.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm ok. Just remembering something. Anyways, what are you going to do now?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

Then why had he told him in the first place?

Jason seriously didn't make sense by times.

"I wouldn't make a move on him unless I know I'm serious. Given that you just almost skinned me alive for showing as much as an interest in him, I believe it's for my own good as well to wait first."

Percy pursed his lips, regretting his outburst once more.

He really had no clue what had gotten into him.

He had just…snapped.

Just like that.

"And when will you know that?"

Jason threw him an amused glance again.

"I don't know. There's a lot of things I don't know about him, yet. If you've noticed, he talks a lot, but rarely about himself."

Percy had noticed, but he had no clue what this had to do with anything.

Frowning, he stared off into space as they walked, trying to somehow connect the dots.

Jason watched him struggle for a while, then sighed.

"I'm demisexual, Percy. I only feel sexual attraction towards people I actually know, people I actually have some sort of…bond with, I guess you could say."

Ah. That's how it all connected.

And suddenly a lot more made sense.

Percy looked around at him surprised. "That's why you waited forever with Piper!"

Of course.

They had all wondered why he had waited so long, had all wondered how he could resist such a pretty, smart and obviously interested girl for as long as he had.

Jason nodded, an appreciative expression on his face.

"You catch on quite fast for being so slow on the uptake. But yeah, that's why I waited. In the end, we didn't work out, but that's ok. She's happy, I'm happy…"

"You're happy?" Percy blurted before he could contain himself.

Jason rolled his eyes, tilting his head in his direction.

"You let me snuggle up to both of them. Of course I'm happy."

Wait…

"So that's why you were so nonchalant about him molesting you."

Percy clearly remembered that Iris Message, with Will mortified beneath the blankets (that adorable dork) and Jason just shrugging the whole 'he-might-or-might-not-try-to-get-into-my-pants'-matter off as if it was no big deal.

That finally got a satisfying reaction out of Jason, a blush spreading across his cheeks as he looked into the distance.

His response was fairly neutral, though.

"As I said, he never actually did anything, so I saw no reason to stop him."

Percy decided to keep his mouth shut for once, looking off into the distance himself.

So Jason liked Will.

That was a twist of events if he had ever seen one.

His insides churned, but he pushed it down.

He should be happy, he guessed.

If Jason concentrated on Will, he might get over Nico.

And maybe Will would get over Nico too and those two would be a couple.

He guessed that was something to look forward to.

Why was he feeling so down then, though?

Why was he feeling more hurt than happy for them?

They deserved to be happy.

And those two were so supportive of Percy as well, it was only fair he would cheer for them.

Also, there was no reason not to cheer for them.

"Are you going to tell Nico?" He asked after some silence as the cabins came into view.

Jason laughed.

"Of course not. The day I tell him is the day I know I have a chance with Will. I still love Nico, Percy. And that might not change even if I do end up loving Will."

Percy thought he understood, but then again he didn't.

What did it mean, loving more than one person?

Wasn't it confusing?

He tried picturing himself still loving Annabeth, but couldn't quite make it happen.

Things were…complicated.

They had been best friends and had kind of just went with the flow.

He had loved her, he really had, but their love had been…different.

By the time they had split up, his feelings for her had been a lot different from how they had been in the beginning, but not because of something bad between them, they simply had changed.

Now, all he really saw her as was his friend, maybe a form of sister, even.

He 'loved' her, but more in an utterly platonic type of way, not romantic (and definitely not sexual).

For a moment, he thought of Will, and wondered how it would feel to love him, the way Nico loved both Jason and Will next to Percy.

His heart started beating so fast he thought it would jump out of his chest, and he pushed the thought aside hurriedly.

Not a good thing to dwell on.

Percy didn't want to think on that.

It only made him remember that fleeting almost-kiss Will and he had shared and DAMN IT he had never wanted to think of that again!

"Are you ok? You look tense." Jason asked next to him and Percy shook himself slightly, as if he could shake those unwanted thoughts off.

"I'm good. I just tried to understand…never mind."

Yeah, he probably shouldn't try to explain that to Jason.

The real issue right now was how Percy was supposed to act now.

Was he supposed to support Jason?
Was he supposed to give Will some hints or at least give them some more opportunities to get to know each other?

Or was he supposed to act like he didn't know a thing?

"Just curious, would you have shoved Will against a tree as well if he had hinted at making a move on me? Without defining he was seriously interested, of course." Jason asked as they were almost at Nico's door.

"Yes." Percy instantly replied, then frowned at himself and the answer.

Would he?

It had come instinctively, same as he had instinctively grabbed Jason and shoved him against that tree.

Was he really that protective of his friends?

And was that a good thing or a bad thing?

He glanced towards Jason out of the corner of his eyes and found the blonde smiling to himself.

It reminded him a bit of Will when he grinned to himself and started whistling a happy tune.

But Will always glowed with that aura of sunshine and light and warmth and life, whereas Jason emitted a sort of calmness, a gentle breeze, maybe.

It made him think of that dumb picture in his mind all over again.

"Hey, this is kind of random, but…erm…" He started, but then hesitated.

Jason looked around questioningly and they stopped in front of the door.

"If…if somebody had to draw me as…as water…would I be a good picture or a bad one?"

Ok, it was official, he was pathetic.

What the hell was that question?

Jason blinked at him, obviously not able to follow him.

He gestured, then rubbed the side of his neck helplessly.

"Alright, don't laugh at me. I have this picture in my head, alright?"

Jason raised an eyebrow, but nodded all the same.

"And Nico would be the safe shore, yeah? A safe place, a safe haven, the heart, the glue, whatever, you get what I mean, right?"

Now Jason frowned, nodding a tad hesitantly.

"And Will is the sun and warmth and just…gives the picture life, yeah?"

Jason stiffened slightly, but nodded, still not saying a word.

"Whereas you are more the…air. Wind. Breeze. Whatever. You…"

Gods, it was difficult to talk about the person with the person in question right in front of you.

"You are this sort of calm. Peace, quiet. Will gives the picture life, but you're the one that gives it that tranquil mood, yeah?" He continued hurriedly, then hesitated as Jason blinked, taken aback.

"I'm…in your picture…" He said slowly, as if he didn't understand.

Percy waved him off. "Of course. So, anyways, you have the hearth, that safe place you can turn to, this middle ground where everybody gets together. Then you have all those warm colors and this joy of life and all that. And you have that tranquil mood, that inner peace sort of thing, yeah? What…what would I be?"

Jason gazed at him quietly for a long moment.

Then his expression turned thoughtful.

"I know I'm water, because I mean, I'm always kind of the water. But I just want to know whether I'm…whether I'm the murky waters, the storm at sea or the merciless waves, destroying the rest of the picture." He ranted on, knowing they must look dumb, standing here in front of Nico's cabin and talking about…a picture.

In Percy's head.

Oh gods, he should have never started that conversation!

Jason considered him a moment longer, then looked away, studying the door with a concentrated expression.

"I think…I think you'd be the murky waters, but not in a sense of dangerous, but mysterious. You are not easy to understand, and at first glance one might think they know you, but the deeper they go, the more they find out that they would have never thought possible. You'd be the waves that try to make their way to shore, but that are scared of going too far, thus pulling back out again, worried you could destroy something if you stayed for too long. Does that make sense?" Jason said at last, though he sounded uncertain and hesitant, as if choosing his words as carefully as possible.

But Percy only breathed out in relief.

He wasn't destroying the picture.

"Not really, but nothing about that picture makes sense, so I gave up on logic three minutes after thinking of it."

That made Jason smile. "Three minutes? Wow, I'm impressed. I don't think I could have lasted one minute with logic involved."

Percy nudged him against the shoulder. "I could only stand three minutes because it took me so long to catch up. You know how slow I can be."

Jason laughed.
A genuine laugh that made Percy smirk and feel warm all over.

Yeah, they were good again, even with his outbreak earlier.

"Well, let's check whether they're home." Percy decided and gave the door a tentative knock.

"I'm sure they'd have heard us chatting if they were back already, to be honest." Jason mused thoughtfully, moving towards the window to look inside.

At the thought of Nico and Will overhearing his ramble about that picture, his heart almost stopped.

He might be able to explain it to Nico somewhat, but Will…

He had kind of told him about that picture before.

And he didn't want Will to know he had meant that.

Never. Ever.

"I can't see anything moving in there. Do you want to wait? I don't think they'd appreciate if we walk into the Hypnos cabin. Nico did have a point with Will's stubbornness, after all."

Percy was only half listening.

"Ah, yeah, right. I don't know, I guess we could go pick up something to eat. My nutrition plan tells me I'm allowed to eat…"

He pulled out the sheet of paper he always carried around in his pocket nowadays.

"Here it is. Rice. With vegetables. Splendid. I think I'm going to die of an overdoses of healthy food soon."

Jason chuckled, glancing at Percy's plan as well.

"That's not too bad. You're getting a fruit salad tonight, after all. Lots of pineapple."

Percy made a face at him.

"You're no one to talk, you know. If I remember correctly, you have to eat fish tonight."

Jason sighed, pulling out his own plan that Will had made him.

"Oh, you're right. Shame. Want to switch?"

"Hell no. I don't like fish."

"Why? Cannibalism much?"

"Hey! I'm not a fish!" Percy called out indignantly, but they made their way to the dining pavilion, anyways.

"Nah, fish are quicker than you, Perce."

"You know what."

"What?"

"You're an idiot."

"Aw, that's the sweetest thing you've ever called me. Is that going to be my pet name?" Jason teased and Percy scowled at him.

"You don't get a pet name, Red Bull."

But that only made Jason laugh even more.

Percy sulked for a moment longer, but then had to join in.

"Alright, hold still." Will said much gentler than intended, but Nico didn't call him out on it, sitting patiently on the bed in the infirmary, looking conflicted, but not uncomfortable.

"Will, really, I'm fine. Can't I just have some ambrosia and be done with it?"

"No. Let me treat you myself."

"But…"

Will frowned at him, effectively making him shut up and look away miserably.

His expression softened.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I really didn't. I had no idea…"

Nico waved off instantly. "Don't worry about it. It doesn't even really hurt anymore."

That had to be a lie.

Will knew how much burns could…burn.

They had a climbing wall with lava, after all.

He rubbed the self-mixed cream onto Nico's demolished hands, careful not to apply too much pressure.

Then he moved towards Nico's arms, treating the exposed, burnt and blistered skin gently.

What had Nico done, anyways? Hug him?

Actually, that could be, now that he thought about it.

And Nico called him self-destructive.

He was only lucky the rest of his body had remained unmarred.

Working his way up Nico's left arm, he followed the traces up until reaching the sleeves of Nico's black t-shirt he was still wearing (Will had managed to make him take off his jacket and sweater once they had come here, after all).

How his clothes had survived, Will had no clue.

But he was glad, anyways.

Nico had been wearing his favorite jacket, after all (that aviator's jacket from Reyna).

He'd have hated for it to get destroyed.

Then again, he would have rather had that destroyed than Nico's skin.

"Can you take off your shirt?" He asked and found Nico tensing instantly.

Huh?

"Do I have to?"

Will frowned, glancing back at the door.

"I locked the door, nobody can come in." He tried cautiously, wondering if Nico hadn't noticed that earlier.

But Nico still didn't remove his shirt, looking away firmly.

Had Will done something?

"Is everything ok?"

Nico made the mistake of looking at him.

He could see the guilt in his dark brown eyes instantly and Nico knew it, too.

Nico couldn't be serious.

"I…don't want you to see." He mumbled, looking down with a defeated expression.

Will thought his heart would stop.

He grabbed for Nico's shirt and tugged it upwards, exposing the skin beneath – and his heart dropped to his knees.

"Nico!"

"I didn't want you to feel bad!" Nico cried out in defense, not meeting Will's half furious, half worried-out-of-his-mind gaze, but he could still see the guilt in his eyes.

"And you let me drag you through Camp! I should have treated you right then and there, or at least, I don't know, carry you here or something! What were you thinking? Were you going to hide these from me and hope nobody would notice?"

"I thought you'd just give me ambrosia and be done with it!"

Yeah, sure.

Because he wanted those burns to scar.

"Why would I do that? I destroyed your skin, I'm going to fix it."

"You don't have to. It wasn't as if you did it on purpose."

"I don't care. Let me fix it. Lay down. And take your pants off, while you're at it."

"What?"

Will gave him a long, pointed glance.

"You heard me. Off with your pants. I'm not going to believe a word of you being alright or whatever without seeing it first."

With that, he turned away from Nico and marched towards the cupboard in the corner of the room, rummaging through the drawers for more of his cream.

Good thing he had been a bored kid when he had invented this stuff, making way too much for others to use up.

When he went back to Nico, Nico had obediently taken his shirt and pants off and was lying on the bed, though he looked anything but comfortable or relaxed.

As expected, there were burns along his thighs as well.

Will let out a long, pained sigh.

What had he done?

Had he really become that hot?

Seriously, that looked as if Will had temporarily turned into the sun or something.

He wouldn't be surprised if Nico had 'only' gotten away with nothing but second-degree burns because Clovis had been able to drag him back fast enough.

Damn, what had Nico been thinking, hurting himself like that?

Then again, he couldn't deny there was a fluttery feeling in his chest at the thought that Nico had really tied to get him back with all he had.

He wasn't angry at Nico for pushing him to go to Clovis - he had known that would be a bad idea, anyways.

And he would never blame him for what had happened, either

No, Will was more mad at himself.

The more he thought about it, the more certain he became that it had been his fault he had gotten 'lost', as they had called it.

And that meant it was his fault he had practically burnt up and turned Nico's skin into a red, puffy, blistery mess.

"Any wishes as to where I start?" He asked, but Nico only shook his head, turning his face away with an unhappy expression.

Will sighed.

"Nico, I didn't mean to shout. I'm sorry. I just…I'm upset. This is pretty much my fault."

"No. It's not. It's my fault. This is why I didn't want you to know. You always feel bad. You have nightmares you can't do anything against, but you feel bad for having them, anyways. You tell us we don't have to bother and try to run away, but you don't see that we don't 'bother' at all, we want to help you. I was the one to push you to go to Clovis, I was the one who decided to push my body onto yours when you were burning up. You didn't make me do that. You didn't make me do anything. And I didn't 'bother'. I did it because I wanted to and because I thought I could help you. I wanted to help you. I didn't want you to be hurting anymore." Nico whispered miserably, closing his eyes while Will began dabbing cream onto his collarbones and downwards, treating him as gently as he could.

"I don't blame you, Nico. I know you meant well. I know it did well, too. Even if we don't know it yet, I feel like I've already taken a small step towards the meaning of all of this. So you didn't do anything wrong. I do see it as my fault that you are injured, but I also know we are both too stubborn to admit defeat, so I'll let it drop for now, though that doesn't mean I don't stand by my word."

"Ok."

With that, they fell into a sort of comfortable silence, in which Will treated his upper body to his hip bones, then his thighs, pushing up Nico's boxer shorts for as far as they would go so he could check the skin beneath there as well.

"Did I burn anything else?" He asked cautiously as he noticed the burns connecting to the upper ones on Nico's left side.

Nico seemed to guess what direction his thoughts were taking, his eyes widening slightly.

"No. No, else I'm good. Trust me, I'd say something otherwise. Really, you don't have to check."

Will's lips twitched.

"Really? Shame. I'd have liked to check that out." He said with a wink, watching Nico's face turn a dark shade of red that spread down to his collarbones, mixing with the red of his burnt skin.

Right. Work to do.

As he touched Nico's right leg right beneath his underwear, the boy flinched.

Will frowned at that. "You do know I'd never do anything that makes you uncomfortable, right? At least not intentionally."

For a moment, he was back in the Big House, in that small room Percy and he had been in to get the cake, Percy's face inches away from his.

The words weren't the same, but they were similar enough to make Will shiver slightly as he remembered the intensity of Percy's gaze.

Nico shook his head. "I know. I just…you're hands are so warm."

"Is that bad?" Will asked uncertainly, glancing over towards the sink, wondering whether he should rinse them off with cold water to cool them down somewhat before continuing.

But Nico shook his head again. "No, it's good. It's nice. Just…unusual."

For a moment, Will wanted to remind him that they spent their nights snuggled up to each other, so Nico should be used to his warmth, but then he remembered that Nico had relatively sensitive inner thighs and decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Ok, then. I'll be careful."

"Thanks."

He felt Nico relax slightly and smiled to himself, putting some more cream onto his hand and cautiously applying it to the puffy skin.

"When I'm done, you'll only have to endure a hymn or two and should be good to go."

"A hymn or two?"

"Yeah, but I can also throw in a few haikus if you wish."
"Please don't." Nico uttered weakly and Will chuckled, dabbing some more cream onto Nico's knee, which looked as if he had rammed it into a bowl full of acid or something.

He guessed Nico had used it to keep himself up somewhat and had placed it either on Will, or very close to his skin – he decided he didn't want to know.

"Ok, anywhere else? If Percy comes after me in a few days because he found another burn somewhere, I'm going to banish you to the infirmary for a week."

Nico send him a pointed look. "No, I think you've got it all covered."

"Sure? Want me to leave you alone for a moment to check?"

The splint moment of hesitation told Will enough and he rolled his eyes, pushing the small jar of cream towards Nico and getting up.

"You're the worst. Don't lie to me."

"I didn't. I do think you've got it all covered." Nico insisted instantly.

Will knew he meant it.

He was just still upset that Nico hadn't told him in the first place how severe his injuries actually were, not to mention how spread out.

He would have probably not said a word if Will hadn't noticed himself.

Great, that would have made for awesome conversation in the evening.

Percy and Jason would have skinned him alive.

One doctor he was.

"Good. I'll be right back. Always wanted to check out the bathroom in this room." He said cheerfully, striding across the room towards a door to the left, leading to the small bathroom.

Nico only sighed behind him, but Will could hear him sitting up.

For a moment, he was tempted to look back, but then he didn't, instead stepping into the small room and closing the door loudly behind him, locking it to show Nico he had absolute privacy.

Or to at least reassure him enough so he knew Will couldn't barge back into the room at any moment.

Yeah, maybe he shouldn't tease Nico so much, it might actually harm his trust in Will or something.

But how was Will supposed to resist?

Nico was simply too adorable.

Will already had trouble with not teasing Percy all the time (the actual reason why they kept bickering, actually – or had kept bickering. Ever since their talk on Nico's birthday, things were running rather smoothly between them, after all), so resisting Nico was like putting a sweet tooth in front of the world's biggest, tastiest and sweetest cake and forbidding them to eat it.

He glanced around the bathroom with a small sigh.

It looked the same way it always did.

Will was glad he was only working here, not actually having to stay in one of the rooms as wounded camper himself.

He didn't like closed spaces much as it was, but when they were as narrow as this bathroom, he despised them even more.

He enjoyed working in the infirmary, but he was always glad to be able to leave the place in the evening (or whenever he was done).

The thought of having to actually stay here, being locked up in here…no, Will didn't even want to think of that.

He leaned against the door with another sigh, one hand on the handle, telling himself he'd be able to leave any moment now.

"Will?"

He unlocked the room and opened the door slowly, giving Nico enough time to stop him in any way.

"You decent?" He called out when that didn't happen, just to make sure.

"Yeah. You covered everything, as I said. Thanks, though." Nico said with a small smile as Will stuck his head around the corner, noticing off-handedly how red Nico's ears were at the apparent embarrassment.

Will grinned at him, walking over swiftly to flop down at the side of his bed again.

"Alright, then. Ready to hear my breathtaking, awe-inspiring, one-of-a-kind voice?"

Nico's lips twitched, his eyes narrowing with an amused gleam.

"Sure. Bring it on, Doc."

Will blinked, taken aback by the Nico's sudden boldness, both of his words and the way he was looking at Will.

Oh, he sure did like that.

Grinning at him, he leaned forward, knowing he was looking at Nico as if he was going to devour him whole.

Oh, he would.

If Nico was still single, Will certainly would go for it.

"Think you can take it, sunshine?" He gave into temptation, teasing Nico as he put a hand flat on Nico's thigh, his voice close to a purr.

But Nico didn't flinch and didn't blush, meeting his gaze straight-on.

"Oh, you'd be surprised what I can handle. The question is whether you'll be as good as your word implies."

Was this the same Nico he knew?

Will's grin widened and he dared to move another inch closer.

"Is that a dare?"

"What if?"

Oh, this was good.

Nico was way too good at this.

Why was he so good at this?

Will had to remind himself this was nothing but a game, but it didn't help much.

He knew he was reacting to it, and there was nothing he could do against it.

There was simply something about Nico's voice, the change in his tone, the way he stared Will down so persistently, so headstrong.

So confident.

Gods, now he could completely understand what had captivated Percy so badly when Nico had started being so 'dominant'.

Will leaned in slightly, their faces inches apart now, his hand squeezing Nico's thigh next to the burns, making him shiver pleasantly and without pain.

He just wanted to see whether Nico would really not pull back or blush.

At least that's what he told himself.

Nico didn't, his eyes dark and clouded, expression determined, if not daring.

"Does Percy know how good you are at this?" He breathed against his lips, requiring all his willpower he could muster to refrain from crashing their lips together.

"I do hope not. Will you tell him?" Nico whispered back, lips twitching slightly.

"Only if you give me reason to." Will replied slowly, eyes hushing down to Nico's lips and locking onto them, his breath coming out too fast to be normal.

Oh gods, this was getting dangerous.

Way too dangerous.

He had to pull back.

But as he did, he felt Nico's hands on his shirt, keeping him there.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.

He had to move back.

He HAD to move back.

Now, now, now, now, now.

Will forced his gaze back into Nico's eyes and his breath hitched.

Nico wasn't unaffected by this at all.

Will would have brushed the trembling of his hands off as nervousness or uncertainty, but Nico's breath was as irregular as Will's, his pulse fast and rapid.

But the biggest giveaway was his eyes.

They weren't just clouded anymore, they were straight-out dazed, his pupils dilated and the brown of his eyes darker than usual, seeming utterly bottomless.

Will swallowed. Hard.

He knew Nico was gazing at his lips now as well.

Will could kiss him.

Right here.

Right now.

He knew Nico wouldn't stop him.

Knew Nico would even kiss him back.

Oh, so dangerous.

So very, very dangerous.

This was like that one moment on Nico's birthday.

Will should not have come this close.

Why had he given in to temptation like that?

He could kiss Nico right now, could feel his lips against his own, could taste him, could maybe even finally get that French kiss he had been craving for ever since their first kiss, no, even before that.

But at the same time, he couldn't kiss Nico.

If he did, he could destroy everything.

No, he would destroy everything.

Nico loved Percy.

Nico would hate Will if he took advantage of him now.

Nico's hands were still on his shirt, keeping him where he was, and his face was close enough for Will to feel Nico's breath on his skin.

Oh, how badly he wanted to…

His fingers found the corner of Nico's lips, touching them ever so slightly and making Nico half-close his eyes, a small shiver running down his back.

Oh gods, he could completely understand why Percy could barely resist him.

And now he definitely knew what Percy had meant with Nico being 'sex on legs'.

Because - by all the gods - if Nico wasn't the most seductive being on this earth, Will was a stethoscope.

He let his finger brush along Nico's bottom lip.

"I wish…" He breathed, pressing his thumb against Nico's lips and imagining it to be his lips.

Then he forced his body to pull back, though it was hard, so very, very hard.

Nico only held onto him for another moment, then he let him go, though Will could feel the reluctance in his movement.

His other hand wrapped around Nico's wrist, meant as an apologetic, reassuring gesture, but it only intensified his yearning for Nico as he felt the boy's pulse, felt his heart rate, felt the rush of lust and want through his body and the dazed state of his mind.

Oh gods, if Percy knew, Will would be dead.

Wait, no.

If Percy knew, Percy would be dead.

Will doubted he could live with being cheated on.

He didn't deserve it, either.

It was the last push he needed to pull back completely, flashing Nico a small smile.

"Learned my lesson: Don't play with fire if you can't handle the heat. You win."

Nico looked confused for a moment, blinking and pulling back himself with a light frown, but Will knew it would take him a while to get a grip in himself, not to mention Will's words.

Putting his hands on Nico's uninjured shoulders, he motioned for him to lie down again, then went to hold out his hands over Nico's chest where the burns were.

"I'll start now, alright?"

Nico gave a small nod, swallowing and looking away quickly.

Ah, there we go.

His Nico was coming back.

He'd have to think of something to say to reassure him before things got awkward between them.

Well, at least he still had a few minutes for that.

Clearing his throat, he began humming the first hymn quietly, picking up in volume as he felt the necessary power come to him ever so slowly (damn his father for getting into some sort of mess and leaving them behind almost defenseless).

Then he slowly started singing.

He looked down at Nico, eyes fixed on his chest to watch the burns receding ever so slowly (and so he wouldn't have to look into Nico's eyes right now – seriously, he was still working hard on holding back).

Getting louder, he started on the second hymn, watching the skin turn back to its pale, unblemished state beneath his fingers.

Yes, perfect.

He kept singing, eyes travelling down Nico's exposed upper body to his boxer-shorts, though he skipped those neatly, instead checking his thighs for any left-over damage.

But he looked good as new, only his old battle scars visible.

Will risked a glance into Nico's face, only to find him with his eyes closed, seeming utterly relaxed.

A smile sneaked its way onto Will's lips.

At least Nico still trusted him.

Risky, but he was still more than glad and grateful.

It had been his fault for pushing it too far.

He should have never given in to temptation like that.

Will could only hope Nico wasn't going to blame himself for that, and even more so that he wouldn't interpret too much into it and feel guilty because of Percy.

It had all been Will's pushing, after all, and they hadn't done anything.

Though it did show him to really, really, not play with fire anymore.

He kept singing until he was certain there was not even the tiniest ever so slightest burn mark left on Nico's body, then he let his voice trail off and stopped, waiting for Nico to open his eyes again.

"Ok, that should fix you up. If you have any worries or anything hurts, don't hesitate to run to me, alright?" He gave his usual speech that he generally gave everybody he treated.

Nico only nodded slightly, looking…guilty.

"Alright, come on, let's go grab some food and get back to the other two. What have they been up to, anyways?" He tried to hurriedly get the conversation towards their friends, hoping to avoid any awkward conversation.

"Will…"

Ah. So much about his good luck.

"Yes?"

Nico hesitated, sitting up and chewing his bottom lip.

Will was tempted to flick him off for it, but then decided to let it pass for now.

"I'm sorry. That…that shouldn't have happened."

Had Will ever mentioned how much he hated it when Nico looked so troubled and guilty?

"What? Nothing happened, Neeks. You love Percy. I know that. You know that. Everybody knows that. I respect that. Of course, I can't resist teasing you every here and there, but I know not to cross the line. I meant what I said earlier, Nico. I would never want to make you uncomfortable."

"But…" Nico muttered, looking uncomfortable and disturbed, gesturing with his hands.

"I…I don't know what's wrong, Will. I love him, I really do. But I just…I…on my birthday, too. It's like…I just don't understand. How can I love him so much and want to do…want to do everything and anything with him, but I still…still…"

This was taking a bad turn.

Will knew Nico had been interested in him, had felt his heartbeat rising whenever they had accidentally (or not so accidentally…) touched.

When they had had their date, Will had known he could confess to Nico, had even intended on it after their kiss.

But then Nico had bolted and Will hadn't had the courage to follow.
Because he also knew Nico liked Percy and Jason.

It was odd, but because it had always been that way, it had never truly bothered him much until those two had shown an interest in the Italian as well.

Assuming that Jason was the admirer, he had decided not to confess to Nico, instead giving 'Jason' a chance to do his thing.

Knowing Nico loved him had hurt, but he had wanted to give them a chance anyways, since they would deserve each other.

He had cursed himself over and over again for not getting the idea of an Advent calendar or any of the sort himself, but maybe he had hoped Nico would like him just a tiny bit more than Jason.

Of course, in the end, it had turned out to have been Percy to do all of that for Nico, but that had been a different story.

This was about Nico deciding to date Percy and not dating Jason or Will.

This was about Will only truly capable of coping with the fact they were dating and he couldn't touch Nico because Nico had decided to love Percy the most.

If Nico told him now he still liked him, he didn't know what he'd do with himself, how he'd be able to live with himself without trying to have Nico with him.

Before Will knew what he was doing, he had his fingers on Nico's lips.

"Shh. It's alright. It's my fault both of these moments have happened, Nico, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let it go there. Don't blame yourself for it and don't feel bad. Nothing happened. Seriously, I came closer to Percy than you. We shared a potato chip, after all." He chirped and nudged Nico playfully, though the boy still looked troubled and definitely seemed to wish to say more.

"Yeah, I'd say we almost kissed! Just curious, is he a good kisser?"

Nico frowned at him and for a moment Will wanted to bite his tongue off for working faster than his brain, but he might have wanted to define his command of 'say anything that gets him out of that train of thoughts of his' to something more along the lines of 'say something intelligent that gets him out of that train of thoughts of his and lets us have a fun and completely unrelated conversation'.

Yeah, too late.
"I…he's good." Nico mumbled, playing with his skull ring nervously.

That certainly hadn't been Will's brightest idea.

"That's cool, then. Better than Jason?"

Oh great.

What was he even doing? If this was him trying to get the conversation into a different direction, it was not working.

Nico seemed to think the same thing, frowning slightly, his ears turning dark red.

"I…wouldn't know. They are…different. Too different to compare."

Aw, and he'd have liked to rub it in to one of them to be considered the worse kisser.

"Makes sense. Come on, let's get back to them before they start missing us. You still haven't told me what they are up to. I saw them leaving the cabin after us."

Nico got off the bed, hurriedly tugging on his clothes again and not meeting Will's eyes, but Will wanted to give him another moment to collect himself.

"They were going to Percy's cabin to look for a big sleeping bag. You know, for the journey."

Well, that killed the awkwardness inside Will instantly, replacing it with a sense of melancholy and pain.

True, those three would leave soon.

They were still so open about it, it tore him apart a little on the inside every time the topic was brought up.

They'd even share a sleeping bag.

How badly Will wished they had invited him along, how badly he just wanted to go with them.

But they seemed utterly oblivious to him, so he didn't mention it.

If they didn't think of it, then they probably didn't want him around, so there was no way he'd push them to do it out of nicety or some sort.

"Ah, that's nice."

"Yeah, they also said they'd ask Leo for a bigger tent. We assumed you didn't have one since you said you have never left camp. We were discussing it last night after-…while you were sleeping."

So they had talked about that after he had had his nightmare.

Well, at least they had managed to do something worth the time he must have cost them.

"You assumed right. I don't have anything like that. All I have is the equipment for some rubbish picnics." He hadn't meant to sound quite so bitter, but the thought of them all leaving him for indefinite time kind of did that to him.

Nico looked around at him with a frown. "Why would you say that? I think our picnics were perfect."

That was so sweet.

Will managed half a smile, but it was gone the moment Nico looked away again.

He nodded at his siblings in passing, noting once more how empty the infirmary was with close to nobody around, and they left shortly after, making their way to the dining pavilion to grab some food.

"Think Percy and Jason will be back by now, then?" Will asked to kill the silence, though he didn't exactly feel like talking.

"I don't know. If they are, they'd probably either be eating or back at the cabin, I guess."

Made sense.

Will was about to rack his brain for something else to say when he noticed Nico fidgeting again.

"Are you…are you going to tell them?"

About what? That almost kiss? Was he mental?

No, that couldn't be what he was talking about.

Nico must have noticed his lack of comprehension, because he looked around at him hurriedly, eyes panicked. "I mean the burns. Or what happened at the Hypnos cabin in general. I mean…they'll want to know how it went, but…"

Oh, thank the gods.

Just that.

"Yeah, I'm not too keen on telling them I was almost lost somewhere in space, either. How about we tell them what we found out for sure? That it's some sort of trouble with the gods and that we'll have to wait and see – and until then, I'll sleep in two ways until it gets better."

He felt bad at the trouble he was causing them, remembering Clovis telling him to stay with them so they could 'protect' him.

He knew they wouldn't accept an apology, and would much less appreciate it if he mentioned it in any way at any rate, but he still felt bad about it.

This was his issue, it was unfair to drag them into his mess.

Sadly, he knew they wouldn't agree, though he inwardly was glad for it all the same.

"Sounds good. They already worry so much, I don't think they'd let either of us go anywhere anymore if they knew."

Will inwardly agreed.

Percy and Jason would instantly lock Nico up in bed and protect him from anything and everyone – starting with Will.

Then again, maybe they wouldn't.

They never did what they should or what he'd expect, after all

So maybe they'd drag him into bed as well and force him to sleep it out.

He certainly wouldn't mind that option as much as the other one.

Realizing what he was thinking he stopped walking, frowning at himself.

When had he started thinking of what he wasn't expecting?

"Will?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing. I was just lost in thought." Will muttered, flashing Nico a quick smile and continuing on their path.

Suddenly, he was feeling rather cheerful again, though he wasn't sure why.

Well, he wasn't going to question it.

Time to eat.

After arguing at the Poseidon table about what god was the most likely to be behind all this (first choice had been Apollo, of course, but with him disappearing and everything, they figured if it was truly him, he would have probably contacted Will in a different way than terrorizing him in his dreams, which had let to the wildest speculations and no god had been spared from a thorough check-up with what they know about them and what their reasoning could be), they had gone to their favorite hideout (Will's clearing) and kept bickering back and forth there, lastly settling on 'requiring more evidence to have a clear suspect' (Nico had such a good way with words sometimes).

It still wasn't very surprising that they had managed to spend the rest of the day in that clearing, anyways, without giving a damn about the rest of the world, happy in their own little bubble.

Jason had caught Nico and Will exchanging some glances every now and then, mostly when Percy mentioned how glad he was everything had gone over smoothly at the Hypnos cabin, given that Jason had had so much trouble and such, so Jason had the distinct inclination that things hadn't gone over as smoothly as they had said.

But he didn't pry.

Will hated lies, so if they didn't wish to tell them something, they must have good reason for it.

They updated Nico and Will on the tent and sleeping bag, making plans for packing, which Will didn't comment on for whatever reason.

By now Jason was almost certain Will didn't want to come with, but it just didn't make any sense.

He decided to try mentioning it sometime when they were alone, not wanting to call him out and put him into an awkward situation in front of the other two.

Maybe if they were alone, he could figure out what exactly was wrong.

Who knew, maybe there was a way for him to fix whatever issue it was and they'd still go together.

And if not, then he'd have to get the others to see reason, though he was fairly certain both Nico and Percy would throw tantrums.

Yeah, hopefully he'd be able to solve whatever problem Will was having with the journey.

Maybe it was the Underworld.

Jason could imagine it to be horrible for a child of the sun god to go to the Underworld, where there was no sun whatsoever.

He wondered vaguely what effect that would have on Will's powers, but then brushed the thought aside for later, concentrating instead on whatever Percy was trying to do right now.

They were in the Poseidon cabin for 'a quick stop', because of something Percy had thought of.

Jason had wondered what that would be, his guess confirmed when Percy stood in front of his water fountain with a contemplating expression.

"Percy, you can't be serious. What do you think your dad will say if you try take the water fountain out of here?"

"Well, he'll know it's for the greater good, right? It'll be fine." Percy muttered, waving Jason off without looking at him, instead checking the back of the fountain.

And how was he expecting to get that thing to Nico?

"What greater good? What do you plan to do?" Will asked suspiciously, looking from Percy to Nico to Jason for an explanation.

Nico seemed to catch on a moment later, groaning.

"Percy, what about MY dad? I don't think he'll be too happy about that addition to the cabin, either. Why don't we just sleep here?" He asked with a pleading look that would have made Jason agree instantly, but it was lost on Percy because he wasn't looking around.

"Hm? Nah. Your cabin is bigger and all our stuff is already there. Think about it, this way we only have to move one thing."

"But that thing weighs like, what, 500 pounds?" Nico complained and Will's face fell.

"Wait, you want to move THAT? No way." He asked, pointing at the fountain in disbelief.

Percy shot him a small frown, then looked back at the object of his concentration.

"Why would you want to take that thing, anyways?" Will asked and all three of them looked around at him quietly.

True, he had no idea how hot he had gotten last night and how much effort it had taken them to calm him down.

Yeah, Jason dearly hoped the other two wanted to keep it that way, too.

They didn't say anything, but Will seemed to understand, his eyes widening slightly before he turned his head away, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Don't bother. I'm-…"

"No." Percy interrupted him, expression borderline angry.

Not as angry as he had been in the forest when Jason had hinted at being interested in Will (seriously, he had no idea what had gotten into him, but he wasn't sorry about it all the same, so he guessed it didn't really matter), but furious enough to make Will shut up instantly, scowling in defiance but at least keeping quiet.

Nico chewed his bottom lip again, fingers on his skull earring.

"Will, it's not a bother. Percy was just thinking of a way to quickly cool you down in the middle of the night."

Jason looked around at him quickly, wondering whether it was such a good idea to mention that to Will, but then he saw Will flinching back already, expression full of guilt.

"I thought we weren't going to tell them that." Will blurted, the moment Nico shook his head wildly in alarm.

"Tell us what?" Percy asked and both of them winced back as if burnt, sending each other long, pointed glances, Will's guilty and Nico's exasperated.

"Ah…erm…you know…" Nico then started, looking uncomfortable and glancing towards Jason, as if hoping he'd come to his aid.

For a moment, Jason wanted to, his body already preparing to move.

But then he forced himself to still, instead raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Did something happen when Clovis tried to access the nightmare?" He asked calmly, knowing he was right when both Will and Nico looked towards the ground.

"He…might have burnt up a little bit."
"I…might have burnt Nico a little bit."

"Burnt? Nico? Where?" Percy asked, in front of Nico in an instant, cupping his face and looking worried.

So much about calling Jason a mother hen.

He frowned when he found himself standing in front of Will.
Huh? He didn't remember moving?

Will blinked up at him, suspicion in his glance as he apparently tried to figure out whether Jason was going to strangle him or something.

"Are you ok?" He found himself asking instead.

Will nodded slowly. "Yeah, I…didn't notice anything. I don't remember what happened, but when I came back, Nico had second-grade burns and they both said I was lost for some time. Sorry guys. We didn't want to tell you as to not worry you."

"Lost?" Jason asked stupidly, remembering how Clovis and Annabeth had told him he had almost faded back when they had tried to help him with his memories.

What had happened to Will?

What would have happened if they hadn't 'found' him?

He didn't even want to think about it.

"Well, don't. I rather worry than don't know that. And I kept thinking it's odd how everything went so smoothly. It never does for us, does it now? Ok, this settles it. Jason, we are moving this fountain." Percy declared, giving Nico a quick peck on the forehead before turning his attention back to the water fountain that looked heavier the more Jason looked at it.

For a moment, Will looked like he was going to argue, but Jason put his finger on his lips, stopping him before Percy did throw a tantrum.

For some reason, this made Will blush, though he couldn't fathom why.

It wasn't as if he hadn't done this before, and Will had never acted so…flustered…about it.

Then Will pulled back, scowling at him as if he had personally offended him.

Jason blinked at him for a moment longer, then sighed and walked over to Percy, resigning himself to his fate.

"Alright. What am I to do?"

"Oh gods, please let my dad be ok with this." Nico mumbled defeated, coming over as well.

Jason watched Will out of the corner of his eyes, looking conflicted and guilty.

"Jason, you'll help me lift this thing. I'm gonna take the water out, so it shouldn't be all too heavy. Nico, I'll need you to find a place for this in your cabin. Maybe warn your dad, just to be safe."

"Ok." Both Jason and Nico said, Nico disappearing right away, while Will tentatively stepped closer.

"Can I…can I help somehow?" He asked hesitantly, and Jason's insides churned at the uncertainty in Will's voice.

Percy looked over to him, expression tense at first, but instantly softening.

"How about you help hold the doors open? That way we won't have to put this thing down and can move quicker."

Jason threw him an exasperated glance

Ha-ha. That sounded like the most idiotic job there was.

Will seemed to agree, looking down with a slight frown, but he turned around and walked towards the door anyways.

"Hey, have you heard Percy's newest great idea?" He asked in a conversational tone as Percy and he started pushing the fountain away from the wall, looking for the easiest way to hoist it up (as easy as this could get, at least).

Percy shot him a frown, but didn't say anything, instead squatting down and inspecting the lower side of it.

"What?" Will asked miserably from the doorway.

"He wants all of us to do something together on Valentine's Day."

For a long moment, there was silence.

Jason would have loved to turn around to see Will's expression, but Percy was throwing him a half-annoyed, half-exasperated glance and Jason didn't want to give him any reason to assume too much.

Then Percy apparently saw Will's face and scowled.

"You're kidding." Will asked in disbelief and Jason grinned to himself.

"Oh, come on, I thought it was a nice idea! I was just thinking that you'd probably like giving him something, too, but since neither of you want to come out to him, I was thinking this way we can all do something nice together and have a good time." Percy insisted with a huff, looking as if he felt utterly misunderstood and betrayed by them.

"Percy, that's…"

"Don't bother. Prior to that splendid idea, I tried explaining to him how a relationship works. As you see, it didn't stick."

"Jason! Well, fine then, if you don't want to, then I'll take Nico out on my own. Have fun being alone together for an entire day." Percy sulked, then his eyes lit up, looking between Jason and Will.

Oh no.

Maybe Jason shouldn't have said anything, after all.

He sent Percy a warning glare, but could already see him scheming something in that crazy brain of his.

"No, I think it's great. Any ideas as to where you want to go? I'm in for something outside camp." Will said from behind Jason and Jason wasn't sure whether he was relieved or upset.

He settled for relieved.

"Sure? I thought you guys don't want to tag around on our dates."

"Well, they aren't much of a date if you take us with you, but I don't mind coming with, either. How about a park or something? Nico did like that amusement park, after all." Jason suggested, hearing Will chuckle behind him.

"Yeah, he loved that. True, I never got around thanking you for that, Perce. That was a really nice idea. Didn't have that much fun ever since…ah…well, in a long time."

This time, Jason did glance over his shoulder at Will, watching him look outside the opened door at nothing in particular with a thoughtful expression.

As expected, Percy caught him looking, raising a quizzical eyebrow that either said 'So? In love with him yet?' or 'Don't you dare touch him I will tear you apart'.

Yeah, Jason had the impression it was a bit of both.

Smiling to himself, he rolled his eyes and motioned for Percy to start lifting this thing.

"No problem. The idea came to me when I read the advertisement for a new amusement park while looking for something small. The irony of it. Every time I looked for something for the Advent Sundays, I found small things like the earrings and the scarf or settled on the DVD's. Well, anyways, it took a while for me to actually settle on going through with it, and it was one piece of work to get another card last-minute for Jason. It was difficult, trying to plan it and all without knowing how to actually pull through with it. I kept panicking you'd say you can't go, Will. With Jason not there and you unable to go, it would have become obvious it was me. I'm so glad it all worked out, though. It was fun, wasn't it?"

Both Jason and Will looked at Percy for a long moment.

He had never thought of it that way.

Seriously, so much work had went into that calendar.

It had been worth it, though.

Without it, they wouldn't be like this now.

Nothing would be anything like this.

They'd probably still fight for Nico's attention, and Nico would still brush them off, uncomfortable and awkward with the obvious affection they showed for him but that he could neither understand nor accept.

"Yeah, it was. You did a really good job on that. It keeps amazing me every time I think about it." He admitted with a small smile, making Percy look rather proud and pleased.

"I know right? I'd have never expected it to be you, but the calendar was really, really cool. Are you going to do something like that this year, too?" Will asked curiously as Percy and Jason finally made to hoist the fountain up.

Holy Hades, this thing was heavy!

Not that he was surprised, but damn!

Percy groaned from the other side of the fountain, cursing under his breath.

"Will, keep that door open!" He said urgently and began moving, so Jason did his best to follow, trying to coordinate them somehow.

"How much exactly are we lifting?" Jason asked through clenched teeth, his legs struggling beneath him.

This had been a horrible idea.

They made their way out the door with loud huffs and pants, Will making sure they didn't get any body parts stuck anywhere or demolish either door or fountain.

"Shush and carry the thing, Sparky. We can weigh it later." Percy replied, accompanied by a frustrated groan.

Will popped up next to Jason, putting his hands under the fountain as well and helping lifting it up somewhat.

"Come on, Gorgeous, move it. The faster you get to Nico, the faster we can put it down. Jason, make space. I'm helping." He stated with a concentrated expression, but Jason only stared at him.

Gorgeous? Had he just called Percy 'Gorgeous'?

He glanced towards Percy, finding him grinning to himself rather contently, looking at Will with a fondness he usually only showed towards Nico.

Jason's insides churned and he cleared his throat, catching Percy's attention.

The glare he sent him might have been a bit intense, but at least it got his point across.

Sadly, Percy seemed unfazed, only grinning smugly and returning his attention back on the water fountain they were carrying, speeding up as much as he could – which wasn't much.

Therefore that the Campers were usually kind and helpful people, they seemed to have no interest whatsoever to help them with the water fountain, which Jason couldn't even blame them for.

If he saw three people trying to carry a massive water fountain across the place towards a different cabin, he'd speed up into a different direction as well.

Well, ok, he wouldn't, he'd offer help because he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't, but he would walk away if it wasn't for his social streak, for sure.

"Percy, watch out. Stone right behind your right foot."

"Thanks, sun-bug."

Jason made a face.

Those two.

"Your pet names for each other are truly adorable."

It took him a moment to realize it had been him to say that – and it took him another moment to realize he had said it with a rather sour tone.

Both guys looked around at him, Percy instantly raising his eyebrows and looking at Will a tad too obvious, but Will was busy giving Jason a disgruntled glance.

"Stop complaining and carry this damn fountain."

Jason opened his mouth to apologize, not knowing what had went into him, anyways, but Percy cut in before he could.

"Maybe he wants a pet name, too." He said to Will with a serious tone, though his eyes gleamed with glee.

"He's not getting one." Will snapped at him, looking even more annoyed.

That was harsh.

Jason had to admit he might be a tiny bit hurt by that dismissal, though he tried not to let it show.

Percy looked both smug and guilty at the same time, which gave him quite a conflicted, yet funny expression.

"Aw, why not? Jason, I bet if you call him sun-bug, he'll give you a nice pet name, too."

"Forget it. He said it doesn't sum me up." Will immediately cut in, not meeting Jason's gaze, his voice slightly bitter.

Oh. Wait…

Percy's eyebrows shot up and he all but glared at Jason.

"What do you have against sun-bug?"

Oh gods, was he protective of a dumb pet name?

Jason resisted the urge to roll his eyes and sighed.

"As Will said, I don't think it sums him up. He's neither bug nor is he buggy in any way. And while his dad is the god of the sun, it's not the most outstanding thing about him."

Suddenly, he had both their undivided attention.

Percy looked surprised, to say the least, but what really got to Jason was the way Will looked at him absolutely stunned, as if he had expected anything but that.

Then both guys managed to collect themselves and sported casual expressions once more.

"And…what would you say is the most outstanding thing about me, then?" Will asked, the curiosity ever so evident in his voice, though he had his eyes on the fountain he was helping holding up.

Jason pursed his lips, uncertainty flooding through him.

He had already said too much.

Pet names weren't exactly his specialty.

As a matter of fact, he sucked at them.

Percy raised an eyebrow at him, looking almost provoking, as if daring him to come up with something stupid so he could rub it in that his pet name was better, after all.

"Well, the most outstanding thing about you would obviously be your character, given that you are very versatile and have that way about you to make people around you happy. However, I don't think there would be a suitable term to sum that up into a nice pet name, so I'd concentrate on something else that is quite unique and outstanding about you." He explained cautiously, watching Will's expression for an indicator as to whether he understood what Jason was saying and didn't take it as a sort of insult or something.

But if anything, Will only looked confused, his eyes still trained on a spot straight in front of him on the fountain.

"Yeah? And that would be?"

Ok, he was screwed.

Will sounded so curious, almost expectant.

And all Jason had to offer was something so lame.

He wished for once to have some sort of flash of genius or something, but of course no such chance.

Jason swallowed, taking a deep breath.

"Well…Freckles."

Oh shit, it sounded so stupid, too.

Will's head shot up, fixing him with an incredulous expression on his pretty face and Jason had to concentrate hard on not blushing.

"Freckles?" Percy repeated, sounding surprised, then glancing at Will.

"Why? Because I have so many? Thanks for reminding me." Will muttered sourly and Jason's heart sank.

Yep, and that's why he didn't like pet names.

"I'm sorry. I simply find them interesting and they certainly make you unique."

"All they do is making me look stupid." Will said miserably and Jason inwardly cringed.

"That's not true." Both he and Percy said at the same time and Will shot them both exasperated, definitely disbelieving glances.

"Yeah, right."

"I think they suit you really well. Always wanted to count them, actually." Percy said with a small smile and Jason nodded.

"Yeah, they are something really special. You should be proud of them. I like how they seem to glow sometimes when you're genuinely happy."

Will looked between them, this time almost uncertainly, as if he was trying to decide whether they were making fun of him or actually meant it.

His ears were flaming red, a light pink adorning his cheeks, making said freckles stand out a tad more and he caught Percy's lips twitching the same way his own did.

"But there's so many of them. I'd love to see either of you try count them. I don't exactly mind having freckles, but I'd have preferred it greatly if it was only a few, like Nico has. I mean, I'm not even pale, why do I have freckles?"

Percy and Jason shared a telling glance and smiled.

"No idea, but I have to admit, Jason's pet name makes a tad more sense than mine. I'm still going to keep calling you sun-bug, though. The 'sun' isn't because you are son of Apollo, but because you are a lot like the sun, being all warm and bright. And 'bug' not because of any bugs or because I think you're buggy, but because you're cute and I like how it sounds." Percy explained, sending Jason a pointed look as if he was taking offense at Jason criticizing it in the first place.

"I am not cute." Will instantly insisted with a snarl, glaring daggers at Percy again, but Percy only grinned and Jason had the feeling he had said that on purpose to get Will out of his brooding cloud.

Yep, that was Percy for you.

Oblivious as nothing else about his own feelings, but trust him to pick up on anything around him that didn't have to do with him.

"So, yeah, I guess now you know why I don't give people pet names." Jason stated with a sigh, wondering what had made him start this in the first place.

"Why? I think it's fitting." Percy said surprised.

"Well, Will obviously doesn't like it."

"Rubbish, Will loves it." Percy insisted.

"Excuse me? I did not say anything like that." Will instantly shot back, his blush deepening.

"You don't have to, I know you well enough by now to know you're living in denial again."

"I am not."

Living in denial?

"Sure you aren't."

What?

"I couldn't care less what Jason calls me, anyways." Will insisted coolly, not meeting either their gazes.

Percy chuckled.

"There you go, Jason. That's Will's way of saying 'Yes, I love the pet name, please use it'."

"Shut up, Percy." Will mumbled, now scarlet in the face.

Jason off-handedly noticed that Will was not denying it, though.

"Well, if you like the name, then I will use it. If you don't, then just tell me and I'll stop." He said cautiously, glad that they were almost at the Hades cabin, both because he wanted this conversation over and because his arms were starting to tremble with exhaustion.

"Whatever." Will grumbled, his eyes on that spot on the fountain again.

Nico poked his head out of the door as if on cue, pushing it open all the way when he saw them and hurrying over a moment later to help.

"Sorry it took so long, finding a place wasn't easy and I had to yell at my dad that it's for all our safety because he wouldn't open the door anymore. Yeah, he wasn't pleased, apparently."

"He locked you in?" Will asked in disbelief, eyeing the cabin with a tad of apprehension.

Jason could completely relate to that.

Nico only waved off, grabbing hold of the other side of the fountain and helping carrying it into the cabin.

"It's ok, I could have probably left through the window. His issue wasn't me, but the fountain, after all,"

"Well, as long as you're ok. So, where to?" Percy asked and Nico gestured with his shoulder towards the beds.

"Right over there next to the bed. That way it's close enough that we wouldn't have to go far in case something happens."

"Wasn't there a cupboard before?" Percy asked with a frown, trying to look over his shoulder but failing.

"I moved it to next to the wardrobe." Nico explained with a shrug and they maneuvered the water fountain into the corner next to the bed with lots of groaning, complaining, cursing and sweating.

What a way to finish the day.

"Ugh, I'm in for a bath in the lake." Percy groaned, flopping back onto the bed and putting his arm over his face in exhaustion.

"I'm so tired, I swear. I don't even know why, I just am." Nico exclaimed, then chuckled, flopping down on top of him and causing him to groan, though he didn't mind whatsoever, even with them both sweaty and gross.

He moved his arm slightly to look up at Nico gazing down at him fondly, a small smile on his face.

Grinning, he pushed his head up far enough to give him a quick peck on the lips.

"Hey."

Nico rolled his eyes amused, coming down for another peck that turned into a real kiss before long.

"Hey." He breathed against his lips, expression content.

Will and Jason plopped down on the bed to their left and right.

"Hi." "Sup?" Both guys said and Percy chuckled, watching Nico shaking his head amused as he looked around at their best friends.

"So, are we going to abuse my bathroom or are you guys running home for a shower?" Nico asked, pushing himself up slightly to sit on top of Percy instead, which might not be the smartest thing to do after just kissing him so wantonly.

He turned his head to check on the other two, but they didn't exactly seem to care, looking thoughtfully off into space.

"If it's ok I'd like to take a shower here. If my siblings see me, they'll only tease me about being with my lover boys again and I really can't be bothered correcting them right now." Will then grumbled, letting himself fall back onto the mattress as well, putting his arm over his face as Percy had done.

Percy grinned, reaching out to tickle the side of his neck, which made Will snort out a laugh before slapping his hand away.

"Percy!" Will exclaimed, though he looked more amused than angry.

"Sure, I don't mind. You can go first. Jason?" Nico stated with a shrug, pinching Percy's side slightly to get his attention, just to stick his tongue out at him.

Percy put on a scandalized expression, hands immediately reaching for Nico's sides to tickle him as punishment for such impudence.

"I'd prefer to stay here as well. It's already getting dark outside and I already got most of my clothes here. All I'll need is a towel, if that's ok." Jason said next to Percy, while Nico firmly pushed his hands away from his sides after snorting out a very adorable laugh, giving him the evil eye instead.

"Sure. They are in the wardrobe, right side, bottom shelf." He said to Jason, lifting his hands ever so slowly as if to show Percy he was unarmed, which he already knew he was.

Then he suddenly tackled him, tickling him instead.

"Wha- Nico! No!" He wailed indignantly, trying to keep his laughter down for as long as possible as Nico's hands attacked him mercilessly.

"Guys, help me!" He cried out, trying to get away, but Nico kept him pinned down effortlessly, showing off how strong he actually could be if he wanted to.

And damn it if Percy didn't love it.

"Nah, you brought it upon yourself." Will stated unimpressed from his right.

"Why? You seem to be having fun." Jason replied from his left.

Percy whined and tried to glare at them both, but glaring didn't work whatsoever while getting tickled.

"You traitors! I'll remember that!"

"Yeah, so?" "What are you going to do about it?" They both asked nonplussed and he huffed out indignantly, still trying to get away from Nico's way too fast hands.

"Please!"

"What will you give us for our support?" Will asked all business-like and Percy was tempted to throw a pillow at him – if only he had a pillow and the chance to throw it, that was.

Nico pinched his side again, cool fingers slipping beneath his shirt and tickling his bare skin, making him squirm and laugh even harder.

"No! Please! Anything!"

"Anything? Hmm, what do you think, Jason?"

"Guys, don't even think about it." Nico warned them, but Percy wailed again.

"What do you offer us for staying out of it?" Will asked and Percy felt a glimmer of hope inside him.

"What do you want?" Nico countered.

"Nah, that's too easy. Both of you, offer us something. Then we'll decide."

Damn that Apollo kid!

How was Percy supposed to think of anything with Nico sitting on top of him tickling the living hell out of him?

"I…aah…Jason…"

"You can't offer people, Percy. Also, what would I want with Jason? I don't bottom, you forgot?" Will chided amused and Percy groaned out both in frustration and agony, his sides aching from all the laughing already, but Nico only shifted, tickling his stomach instead, which made him gasp before flailing, trying to escape while laughing helplessly.

"Yeah, and what would I want with myself?"
Smartass.

"N-Nico…"

"I just said you can't offer people! Though it would be a tempting offer…" Will muttered suggestively and Percy let go of Nico's arm long enough to smack his hand somewhere in Will's direction, hitting his side.

"Ouch! Hey, that's not getting me to help you, I'm just saying. Nico, what do you have to offer?"

"Oh, that's easy."

Damn, that sounded like he really had a good idea.

No, the guys couldn't leave Percy hanging like this!

"Yeah? What is it? Percy, I think you'll have to hurry if you want to win us over."

"A game of Truth or Dare, your game, your rules."

No way.

For a moment, there was silence.

"Alright, Percy, you lose. Sorry, but that's too good of an offer to let down." Will announced and moved next to him.

No!

"Sorry, Perce." Jason said from the other side.

NO!

"Noo~! Please, anything!"

Of course, nobody had mercy on him.

He felt Nico getting off him, much to his dismay (because he actually liked Nico on top of him, he just didn't like the tickling part) and then felt another set of hands on him, cool hands, which he identified as Jason's.

Wait, where was Will?

"Let's make it worth it." Will declared from somewhere to his…feet.

No way!

Nico laughed. "Sorry, Percy."

Then they attacked and Percy felt like he was going to die from laughter.

"Aw, come on, Percy, are you still upset we sided with Nico?" Will asked as they climbed into bed for the night, all of them finally done with their showers.

Will had ended up going first, then Jason, then Percy and Nico, who had unsurprisingly taken forever again, though this time they seemed to at least have behaved themselves.

Or they had finally learned how to keep their noises down.

Yeah, Will was fairly sure it was the former, though.

Percy hadn't talked to them ever since they had finally let off him, glaring at them while he just laid there, incapable of moving, his chest heaving and his breathing ragged, coming out in shallow, quick pants, his skin beaded with even more sweat than it had been before.

Well, it certainly had been an interesting sight.

Then Will had decided to better leave, since technically he had no reason to just stand there and ogle Percy, so instead, he had taken the quickest shower in existence, just to find Percy still sulking when he had come out.

Apparently, the shower with Nico hadn't changed that, either, though he had been talking to the Italian just fine when they had entered and exited the bathroom (gods knew what they had done in the shower, but based on their swollen lips and pleased faces they had at least kissed the hell out of each other, so everything was good – well, between those two, at least).

Percy pushed his bottom lip out further, nudging him over to Nico's other side and thus between Nico and Jason.

"Go to that other guy that rather wants to play a dumb game instead of saving his best friend in need." He said sulkily, not meeting his gaze.

Nico groaned and rolled his eyes, while Jason merely sighed, putting his arm over Will loosely from behind.

Will tried to ignore the way Jason's body felt behind his, so completely different from Percy and Nico.

He was much more muscled than Percy, yet so much cooler than Nico, it was astounding.

Will felt a pleasant shiver running down his back.

Jason stiffened slightly, pulling his arm back and putting some distance between himself and Will.

Huh? Well, that was a tad obvious.

Will knew he wasn't Nico or anything, but did Jason have to make it quite that plain that he didn't want to snuggle up to him?

"Hey, Percy, come on, I promise I'll go gentle on you whenever we play, alright?"

"Forget it."

"Oh? So you want me to go all out? I'll have to think of some mean questions, then. Dares I have quite a few left I've always wanted to try on somebody…"

"Are you trying to threaten me into forgiving you?" Percy asked with a frown, tugging Nico against his chest and glaring at Will.

"Yeah, pretty much. Everything else is too exhausting. I'm tired, you know? So, forgiveness or a cruel game, which one is it?"

Percy stuck out his tongue at him.

Wow, so mature.

"Bring it on, sun-bug."

"Well, you better keep those Truth's and Dares between the two of you. I'm not doing any too awkward things, I swear." Nico mumbled against Percy's chest and Jason chuckled.

"Me neither."

"Oh, come on, what did you do that was awkward?" Will asked Jason dubiously, thinking of their past games.

"I had to do a neck nibble on him, that must have been awkward for him as well." Nico reminded him, turning his face slightly.

Will could feel both Jason and Percy stiffen at that statement.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that." Percy muttered, nudging Nico's neck with his nose.

"I was ok with it, actually. You did a good job, after all." Jason said with a shrug and Will turned his head towards him.

"True, you did like that. See? You should be grateful I made him do that."

"You also made Percy imitate his favorite sex position and had hoped it would be me he'd have to do it with. I think that evens itself out." Jason retorted unimpressed and Will made a face.

"But it didn't turn out to be you."

"No, instead I had to do it. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was?" Nico said sulkily and Will looked back at him in time to see him glaring at him.

"Aw, I think it was much more embarrassing for Percy."

"Shush, sun-bug. We've talked about this before- oh…hey, I remember. I promised you next time we play it, I'd get Jason to hump you."

Will froze. So did Jason behind him.

"What? Why me?" The blonde asked hesitantly.

"I told you I don't bottom, Percy. Not. Ever." Will stated sourly, but Percy only gave a tired shrug.

"I don't care. You'll do it for the dare or we're going to have to think of something super mean as compensation if you pull back. And Jason, it's going to have to be you because I'm only going to hump Nico and nobody else. Nico, you'll only hump me, right?" He asked sleepily, face rubbing against Nico's neck.

Will watched him unimpressed.

"What..yeah, yeah…whatever…let's go to sleep…been a long day…" Nico mumbled, apparently half asleep already.

"Yeah…Will, come closer so I can put my arm around you." Percy demanded in a similar state.
"Put your arm around yourself." Will sulked, suddenly not looking forward to that round of Truth or Dare whatsoever.

He. Did. Not. Bottom. Ever.

The only person he would ever consider bottoming for might be Nico, and that only because Nico was…special.

No use thinking of this, though.

He knew Percy had his mind made up about that.

Well, he guessed it was partly his own fault for bringing it up in the first place (given that the others were all way too innocent and shy for a real game of Truth or Dare the way he knew it).

Percy grumbled something incoherently, then started moving against Nico, moving him towards Will.

Could anybody believe this guy?

Nico made small noises of complaint, but seemed to have fallen into a light sleep already, so he didn't stop him, either, and all Will could do was moving backwards until he was suddenly pressed against Jason's front again.

Before he could react, however, Percy was already there, pushing Nico's back against his front and wrapping his arms around Will and Jason with a content sigh.

"There we go…Night, Sun-bug….Sparky…Angel…" At the last pet name, Percy placed a kiss to the side of Nico's neck.

Then he started snoring, his body going limp.

"Great. Uh, Jason, could you…move a bit? Just so there's some breathing space between you guys any me."

He didn't want to burn anybody accidentally again, after all.

Jason shifted, but didn't exactly move backwards any.

Will frowned, wondering for a moment if Jason was already asleep as well, but then he felt Jason's arm move past him, flicking Percy's forehead.

"Percy, you're squishing us. Move it."

Will turned his head and found out that Jason must have been moving out of his way when Percy had come closer, trying to avoid touching Will until he had been pressed against the wall.

Well, that was kind of…Will wasn't going to lie, it was kind of hurtful, really.

He wasn't THAT bad to snuggle up to, they had done that before, after all.

Plus, Jason had been the one to hold him in a death grip the other day, not the other way around, so he can't have been that bad.

Percy growled in his sleep, definitely unhappy, but at least he moved back a few inches, pulling Nico and Will with him automatically.

"Better?" Jason asked from behind him and Will nodded quietly.

"We can also switch spaces, if you rather wanted to be behind Nico." He offered after a moment, guessing it wouldn't make much difference whether he'd sleep in their middle or against the wall.

"What? No, I'm good."

Well, if he said so.

Percy grumbled some more in his sleep, hand beginning to move up and down Will's side.

Will rolled his eyes.

This guy.

He felt Jason stiffen behind him slightly, then the blonde came closer ever so slowly, cautiously, as if expecting Will to say something.

For a moment, Will was tempted to turn his head abruptly, just to see whether Jason would freeze/pull back.

But he didn't.

Instead, he acted asleep.

It was the best excuse for letting Percy stroke his side, after all.

Jason seemed to actually hold his breath as he came close enough to have his upper body brush against Will's back, only letting it out once his arm made its way around Will ever so carefully.

What was Jason doing?

First he was avoiding touching him, now he moved closer as if Will had been the one to forbid it and he had to wait for him to sleep or something.

It made no sense.

At least not to Will.

Jason shifted another inch closer and Will could feel his breath against the back of his neck.

A shiver ran down his spine, and he felt Jason stiffen behind him again.

What was his problem?

Nico moved slightly, pulling his head back so he could probably breathe normally again, given that Percy had kind of fallen asleep with his head lying on Nico's, and Will had to shift as to avoid a collision.

The moment he moved, however, Jason instantly recoiled.

Ok, that was it.

"Jason?" He asked as drowsily as he could manage.

"Yes?" Came the immediate reply.

"What are you doing?"

Jason stiffened, inching further away.

"Sorry. Too close?"

Why would he be too close?

Ok, Will had asked for some breathing space, but he had more meant a sort of loose hug sort of space, not the 'I'm sleeping on one side of the bed and you're on the other and don't you dare get any closer' type of space.

Still, he couldn't exactly say that.

What could he say?

What should he say?

"No. Come back here."

Hey, he was supposed to be almost asleep, right?

So he was allowed to say stuff like that.

Percy did it all the time.

No big deal.

Jason chuckled, a sound that made the hairs on Will's neck stand on end, but he ignored that, instead shifting slightly as Jason came closer again, putting his arm around him loosely.

"Better?"

"Yeah." Will mumbled before he could think.

He froze, but Jason only tugged him closer.

"Ok then."

Jason put his face against the back of Will's neck again, his breath tickling his skin.

And he realized that Jason only seemed to freeze whenever he shivered, since that's what happened a moment later.

Oh no, Jason was so not going to pull back again!

"You're so nice and cool." He mumbled, hoping his voice sounded super drowsy so this could never ever be used against him.

Jason took a deep breath.

"Oh. So you like it? I thought it made you uncomfortable. Sorry, I didn't know."

Will inwardly groaned.

THAT was what his problem had been?

Oh gods, somebody save this idiot from himself, please.

But he knew better than to reply, instead humming quietly and trying to actually really fall asleep.

The faster he fell asleep, the faster he'd get over his nightmare and the sooner he could get his actual rest done.

Jason tugged him closer, his arm wrapping around him in earnest now, instead of Nico and Percy as well, but Will didn't mind whatsoever.

He should probably think about that later.

Ew, that reminded him that he still had to sit down and think about all those things he had been pushing away until now.

Yeah, no. Not now.

Snuggling back against Jason's soothing cool body, he sighed contently, slowly drifting off into sleep.

The last thing he heard was a small, low chuckle coming from the blonde behind him, the sound way too close to his ear and reverberating through him, making him think of comfort, peace, and safety.

So nice.