X. WILL

WILL DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

Nico had said that he was fine with Will destroying his shirt, but then the younger boy had a stricken look on his face, and Will couldn't tell what he was thinking. "So, um, do you want to get some lunch or something?" Oh, yeah. Great work, Solace. Bribe him with food.

"Sure." Nico moved to his feet before sending Will a pointed look. "Coming?" He stretched his arms above his head, and the light blue hospital-shirt inched up. Good gods. "Will?"

With a horrified thought, Will realized he was staring. He stumbled to his feet, trying to keep his face from blushing too red. "Just sit on the bed. There are a few plates here from last night. I'll just grab two from the kitchen."

Nico nodded absentmindedly, perching himself on the cot bed and playing with the bedsheets. The sunlight rested on his face, and Will had to flee the room before he did something stupid. Like kiss Nico. Will shook his head to get that image out of his mind. Not the time for it.

He passed Austin on the way to the kitchen. The brown-haired demigod stopped him with a touch on his arm, jerking his chin towards the room Will just left. "All good?"

Will stretched and nodded. "Yeah. Just a nightmare. The shadows came to him unconsciously. Must be a child of Hades thing." Austin had been with him when they had seen the shadows around the window. Will had recognized which room it was right away. "Oh, and I talked to Chiron about your idea, and he approved it as long as there's no more than five children and at least two trained demigods."

Austin fist-pumped the air, letting out a whoop. "Great! I'll let the kids know. Anything else?"

"Just one more thing. He also wants you to check in before you leave and when you come back. No more than three hours out or he'll start sending the cavalry after you."

"Understood." Austin grinned. "See you around, then. I have to start planning it out."

Will waved him off and continued on his way. Victoria was on kitchen duty when he walked in, wiping the dishes with a cloth. She glanced around and shot him a friendly smile. "How many?"

Will held up two fingers. "Two."

"Think you can make do with one?" she asked, setting down the cloth and opening a cupboard. "I'm not sure how many more are taking lunch here, and I'd prefer it if we don't have to make another run for more plates. I can give you a disposable one, though, and plastic forks."

Will shrugged. "Fine by me." He took the offered utensils and plates. "Thanks, Vic."

"No problem."

At first glance, Nico didn't seem to have moved from when Will left him. However, on closer inspection, Will could make out the tendrils of shadows wrapped around Nico's fingers. "What did I tell you about using your Underworldly powers?"

Nico rolled his eyes, blowing the shadows at him and grinning when they turned into moths that Will tried to swat away. "It's fine, doesn't take too much energy unless I do it on a larger scale. I can't stop it as much as you can stop waking and sleeping with the sun."

Will shot him a glare as the shadows returned to Nico. They bunched together to shift into a cat with its head and tail held high in distain. "Hrmpf. I don't think they like me."

Nico grinned and waved the shadows to their respective corners. "What did you expect? You're a child of Apollo, which basically screams light. If you haven't noticed, too much light does make shadows disappear."

"A little of it makes them appear," Will shot back, handing him the magical plate. "So, what do you want? Just think, then scrape it on this plate, cos we only have one."

As if on cue, pancakes appeared on the plate. Will raised a brow as Nico began moving it to the paper plate. The dark-haired boy glanced up. "What? I already told you I had a craving."

"Didn't know it would last this long."

"Shut up."

Will grinned good-naturedly, taking the plate from Nico when the son of Hades was finished. Bacon and eggs popped up, Nico taking his turn to raise a brow at the sight. "What?" Will defended this time.

Nico shrugged, pointing his fork at the ensemble. "Bacon. Fried. Isn't that supposed to be unhealthy or something?"

"And?"

Nico stared at him incredulously. "And? Well, you're a healer, aren't you? Don't you preach about eating healthy and all that?" He shoved a pancake into his mouth, syrup dripping down.

"I resent that," Will stated haughtily before deflating. "Besides, have you ever met a demigod? We don't follow orders well. Or even suggestions, really. Not to mention we probably burn off all that unhealthy foods in a single training session anyway."

"True that," Nico agreed, seemingly abandoning the conversation to focus on his food.

Will watched him for a second or two longer, taking the opportunity to stare unabashedly while the other demigod chowed down pancakes as if it was his last meal. It was … nice – just sitting there with Nico in a comfortable silence. Will could grow used to this.

Blue eyes watched as Nico grimaced at the syrup on his chin before wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. A smile threatened his lips as he handed Nico a napkin silently, the son of Hades snatching it grumpily, and muttering something along the lines of, 'he couldn't have handed me this earlier'.

Oh yeah, Will could definitely grow used to this.