A/N: Did I ever tell you guys how much I love and adore your comments?
They always make my day :)
Thanks so much to you all and everybody who reads this story!
-Tári
Chapter 11: Panic Attacks, running away and nice bathroom talks
"Alright, Nico. Are you ready?" Will asked and Nico took a deep breath, nodding.
They were standing in the arena, the place seeming a lot bigger without all the other campers around (Percy and Jason were keeping an eye on those – poor guys. The kids were rather demanding these days in what they wanted those two to show them).
It was time.
He was going to use his powers again.
Or at least, that was the plan.
Nico had been the one pushing it, asking over and over again and being annoyed with Will for prohibiting him from using his powers, but now…now he actually felt pretty uneasy.
It wasn't as if he was scared, but…ok, maybe he was a bit scared.
The last time he had used his powers, he had felt the darkness taking over, had felt himself becoming the darkness.
Becoming nothing.
Of course, it was stupid to think of that now.
He had been utterly out-powered and at his limit back then - even past his limit.
Now, he was well-rested, better fed than ever and had no rush in the world.
Everything was going to be fine.
Will looked at him quizzically, standing a few feet away to give him some space to work with, just in case.
It shouldn't be a big deal, though.
"Remember to start with something small. Concentrate on your center and get a feel of your powers again. Then gently dip into them and just…take it slow…"
Nico nodded again, closing his eyes and trying to focus, his heart beating a hundred miles an hour.
For a long moment, he felt nothing whatsoever.
Then, all of a sudden, there was darkness.
Darkness everywhere.
Darkness around him, darkness inside him, darkness taking him over, pulling him in, working its way through his every pore and-…
Nico panicked, pulling out of his concentration and away, away from the pull, away from the darkness, stumbling backwards blindly and falling, which sent another jolt of fear through him, Tartarus jumping to the front of his mind until he hit the ground, solid ground.
"Nico!" Will's voice cut through him like a knife, making his head shoot up to look at the blonde wide-eyed and in terror as he was in front of him in a heartbeat, cupping his face and scanning over his face quickly.
"Nico, breathe! It's ok, you're safe, you're here, you're all here. Breathe, Nico. Breathe! Come on."
Nico didn't understand.
He was breathing.
He could feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest, could hear the shallow pants escaping his lips as his body turned numb.
He was hyperventilating.
That would explain the sudden dizziness that started settling over him.
"Nico, look at me. Oi! Oh, wait, wait."
For a moment, Will's hands disappeared from his face and he instantly missed the warmth, his vision becoming blurry, his mind disorientated and confused, suddenly a hundred times worse than a moment ago.
No, come back! Don't leave me here alone!
He couldn't be alone.
Not again.
He whimpered, trying to suck in a deep breath, but it didn't work, it only made him more dizzy and he could feel his chest beginning to ache horribly.
"Nico? Here, look at this. Do you see this?" Will's voice was back and Nico instantly searched for the blonde, finding him in front of him again as if he had never left.
Will would never leave him behind.
He tried concentrating on whatever Will was holding up.
It was…some kind of…watch?
A pocket watch?
Oh, true, Nico had given him a pocket watch for Christmas.
He hadn't known Will was actually carrying it around with him (probably in his Medic Pouch, thinking about it).
Nico tried to nod, but his body didn't listen, his breathing worsening.
"Blink twice if you can hear and see me and if you can see this watch."
Blinking seemed to work.
He blinked twice.
Will gave a small nod and held up the watch in front of Nico's face, so close he could see the second hand on it tick-tocking by in circles.
"Do you see the second hand?"
Nico blinked twice again.
"Concentrate on the second hand now. Every time it gets to a big line, you breathe in, and when it gets to the smaller big line, you breathe out. Can you do that?"
Nico's vision blurred, something dark tugging at the corner of his eyes, sending him into another panic attack all over again, his hands shooting out to grab the front of Will's shirt, trying desperately to hold onto something, to keep himself grounded.
He couldn't disappear now!
He couldn't fade!
The shadows were a part of him, but he was meant to control them!
He had to be able to control them!
He couldn't let them control him, take him away from here, not now!
Please!
"Nico, focus!"
Nico felt a tingling sensation starting to spread from his now white knuckles up his arms, and only now noticed he couldn't feel his legs.
No!
He heard the blood rushing in his ears, drowning out any other sound as Will still hovered over him, and Nico tried to concentrate on him, he really did, but his vision was too blurry, black and white dots fighting for dominance, a small, panicked whimper escaping his lips.
Nico struggled with himself, trying to get a grip on himself, his mind a whirr of memories.
Memories of Gaea, of fading, of his time in the jar, all by himself and cold and alone, of Tartarus, of the pain, the darkness, the misery…
He should have listened to Will.
.
Will cursed under his breath, first himself, then all the gods in existence, because this was definitely all their fault!
Nico was a trembling mess, still hyperventilating, eyes unfocused and full of right-out terror, his chest rising and falling rapidly, his entire body shaking.
He was having a panic attack.
And a really bad one to boot.
Will wasn't sure what had caused it, whether it was the feel of the shadows that had triggered some bad memories inside Nico, or whether his power itself had scared him, but he didn't care, either.
What he did care about was that Nico had to snap out of it.
He tried to get to him, tried with soothing words to get his attention back, knowing better than to shout and shake him, though he certainly felt like it.
But Nico didn't seem to be able to hear him, his hands clutching Will's shirt so hard his knuckles were a ghostly white, almost blue.
Another scared whimper escaped Nico's lips, eyes wide and unseeing.
Ok, that settled it.
Still cradling Nico in his arms, he leaned forward, concentrating hard on his own center of power, somewhere in his gut.
Usually, he had to sing to access it for healing, but this was something he could do without that, and probably the only thing that would actually help, even though it demanded more of his own power than Apollo's healing magic.
It didn't matter, he had the whole day to recover.
Taking a deep breath, he bent over Nico and pressed his lips onto his, feeling Nico's breath hitching in shock.
Perfect, that way he might have to hiccup, which was a good way to get some real air into his lungs as well.
But first things first.
Channeling his powers, he felt the nasty tingling sensation in his gut, spreading through his body to his lips, warmth seeping into Nico's parted once, making him gasp, his hands pulling on Will's shirt, but where he was going with that, Will didn't know.
Maybe he was trying to push him away but confusion made him pull instead.
Will put a hand to the side of Nico's neck, keeping him there just in case he was going to bolt, resuming breathing his energy into Nico, trying to chase the darkness away that seemed to smother him.
Was it his imagination or was Nico calming slightly?
He moved his hand down towards his chest, placing it over his heart, measuring his heartbeat.
Still way too fast, but there was more confusion and disbelief in Nico now than fear and terror, so he guessed it was an improvement.
Will inwardly breathed out a sigh in relief.
He seemed to be coming back to himself, thank the gods.
When Nico's grip on his shirt started loosening hesitantly, Will decided it was time to pull back, no matter how nice Nico's lips felt beneath his (though he was more than tempted to give him a small peck at the very least – of course he didn't. He'd never take advantage of Nico like that, after all).
This couldn't exactly be considered a kiss, anyways.
He was breathing his energy into Nico, his light.
It was more along the lines of CPR if anything.
Still, he couldn't deny it felt nice.
And it would certainly make up for the drowsiness he was going to feel all day.
Opening his eyes, he found Nico staring up at him in a mixture of shock and confusion, breath still coming out in pants, but much more controlled.
The moment he pulled back more, Nico even managed to draw a deep breath, and Will could almost hear his lungs screaming their thanks.
"Better?"
Oh, he didn't like how weak his voice sounded. He really didn't like it.
He also didn't like the shaking of his hands and the dizziness that settled over him like a veil, numbing the edges of his mind, yet not strong enough to be of importance yet.
Will kind of wished he could train this sort of power, but then again, he had nobody to train with, no known way of training, and wouldn't know what to use it for, anyways.
So, yeah, there was that.
This was only the second time he had used it, so he was glad he was still standing.
Nico nodded slightly, still looking utterly confused, clenching and unclenching his hands on Will's shirt.
"Good. Yes, flex your fingers. Maybe stretch your legs a bit, too, to get the blood flowing again. Does it hurt anywhere? Chest, head, swallowing?"
Nico shook his head slowly, looking down at his hands and swallowing, looking almost guilty.
Will put his hand to the side of his face, tilting his head slightly to look into his eyes.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
He'd have to get him a glass of water or something. And some food.
Yeah, something sweet.
Chocolate, maybe.
Chocolate was always good.
Yeah, that would probably give him a bit of energy and get him back on his legs.
Will should probably have some, too.
Nico hesitated, his gaze locked on Will's shirt where he was still holding onto it.
He slowly let go, moving his hand to his heart and face, as if making sure he was still there.
"Did I…did I fade?" He asked hesitantly, a note of fear in his voice.
Will had the strongest urge to pull him into a hug.
"No." He replied calmly, watching Nico's shoulders relax slightly.
Then Nico bit his lip.
"I just…I felt…I thought I was. I remembered how it felt and then…I don't know…" His breath hitched and Will put his hand on his shoulder quickly, squeezing slightly to give him something to ground himself.
"You had a panic attack. But it's ok now, I've got you."
Nico was trembling again, so Will tugged him closer slowly, shifting until he was cradling the Italian in his arms again, keeping him close.
"Shh, it's ok, love. They can't get to you."
"I am the Ghost King…I'm supposed to control the shadows…" Nico whispered barely audibly, turning his face into Will's chest and clutching his shirt, soaking in the warmth and comfort Will gave him.
"And you will. You're strong, Nico. Just give your body and mind the time to heal."
"But what if I…what if I can't use them anymore? My powers, I mean?"
Will hesitated.
Nico was one of the strongest demigods he knew.
The chances that he truly wouldn't be able to get through this and control his powers again were already fairly slim, given Nico's persistence, willpower and inner strength.
But even if, he doubted Nico would have any problems whatsoever to stand his ground, neither against monsters nor cocky campers.
"You have gone through so, so much, through so many horrible things, Nico, so it's only understandable you'd have to recover from all of that at some point. Start over. This is not the end of the line, Nico. After all you've gone through…I don't know of even one other person who could have done what you've done and prevailed, the way you did. You are strong, Nico. I'm certain you'll get through this and master your powers once more when the time is right. Not having them now…that doesn't make you any less of the Ghost King you've been before. You're still the same fearsome, dark angel as ever."
Nico smiled at that.
It was a small and fleeting smile, but it was a start.
"Can we…can we stay here a little longer?"
Oh, Will could stay here all day.
"Sure. For however long you want, Nico."
He felt Nico relaxing against him some more and smiled, moving his hand to stroke through his hair gently.
"That…earlier…how did you do that?" Nico asked after a while, eyes closed, his breathing and heart rate back to a healthy speed.
"Hm?" What did he mean?
"I couldn't see anything, no matter how much I tried to focus and it felt like everything was going black. Like I was dying. But then you…I don't know what you did, but I felt warmth and…light…"
"Oh, that. I gave you some of my energy. See, I'm a healer, so I heavily rely on prayers and hymns to my dad, who will then channel his godly power and all that to help us, yeah? But we also have a sort of strength of our own. Like you or…I don't know…Percy. The difference is that my power is useless and I can't control it like you guys can, because it's more a sense of…gods, how do I explain that…" He gazed off into the distance, wondering how to explain this mess if he himself barely understood it.
"When Percy dips into his power, he can control water, yeah? So, his power is pretty much something outside himself. Me, I can only control myself and what's inside. I can't do fancy stuff like moving objects or…or changing the weather or something. The only thing I can do is channel my energy and pass it to somebody else, like…like a blood transfusion. Ok, wait, that's a bad example. But I can't really think of a better way to explain it right now."
"So…I have your energy now…? And that's what felt so warm?"
"Well, my energy is similar to…erm…light. I mean, it kind of makes sense, given my dad and all, I suppose. So I tried to pour as much of it into you to drive the shadows away."
"But doesn't that harm you? Don't you need it yourself?"
Ah. Typical of Nico to ask the bad questions.
"Nah, I'm good. Don't worry, I've done this before, so I know my limit."
"You've…given your energy to somebody before?" Nico asked taken aback, looking into space with an odd expression.
"Yeah. Once. In the battle against Kronos. She was a good friend of mine, and got wounded by one of the bad guys. I…" Swallowing the lump in his throat away, he lowered his head. "She didn't make it. I didn't have enough to keep her alive."
He stopped, wondering why he had even said this much.
It was one of the things he had never talked about, not even to Cecil or Lou Ellen.
Another person on his endless list of people he couldn't save because he had been too weak.
If he had just managed to give her a little more, just a tiny little bit…she might have lived…
Nico stiffened in his arms, moving to look up at him with those beautiful, warm, brown eyes, reminding him faintly of Hot Chocolate.
Oh, true, he did want to get Nico something to drink and some chocolate.
" I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Nico said softly, his expression rueful.
Will quickly shook his head, putting on a smile. "Don't worry, it's ok. It's not a secret or anything, anyways."
It might have been if he hadn't collapsed on top of her, passing out from using up too much of his power and waking up two hours later, having to be taken care of by his siblings as well, instead of healing the wounded campers like he should have.
Yes, his selfish way of thinking had not only harmed him and prolonged her death, it might have also cost other campers their lives.
Nobody ever openly blamed him for it, but they didn't have to.
He blamed himself enough for that.
Another reason he never talked about this.
"How about I get you something to drink?"
"Will…" Nico started, looking at him with a somber expression and Will knew he was going to say something else about her.
"What would you like? Water? Juice? Hot chocolate?" He asked loudly, pulling back from Nico and signaling him he was going to get up now.
Instead of staying on the ground, Nico stood up as well, still looking at him ruefully, pursing his lips.
"Let's go together. I don't think I should try this again anytime soon, so there's no point in making Percy and Jason wait. I guess you were right, after all."
Now it was Will's turn to purse his lips, noting the bitterness in Nico's voice.
He had known it was too soon, but he'd have rather been wrong a hundred times than have Nico go through this to agree with him.
"I'm sorry. I was thinking you weren't ready yet, but I didn't know you'd get a panic attack. If I had known, I probably wouldn't have let you try."
"No, it's ok. I think I wouldn't have believed you if you hadn't let me try. And then we would have kept arguing until I would have done it in secret, anyways, and then who knows what might have happened."
Well!
"Good to know how much you value my word if you can admit to doing stuff behind my back so easily." He said pointedly, ruffling through Nico's hair and making him squirm and laugh.
"Stop it. Well, I'm not saying I'd have done it right away, but at some point I'd have probably thought you're just scared of me and my powers and that's why you wouldn't let me try. So of course I'd try to manage on my own."
The impudence!
Could anybody believe this kid?
"Well, then let's be glad I'm not scared of you and that you didn't have to practice in secret."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Before I forget, I want you to eat some chocolate or something. Chocolate is always good. Remember Harry Potter? Even there they know chocolate is good."
Nico chuckled.
"Whatever you say, oh so great and almighty doctor that you are."
Will grinned triumphantly, puffing out his chest and wriggling his eyebrows.
"Damn right I'm a doctor. And a hot one, too. About time you realize that."
Nico rolled his eyes, sending him a pointed look.
"Of course. I'll tell Percy you're doing that eyebrow thing again."
Will stuck out his bottom lip.
Yesterday, Percy had finally said something about Will's quite obvious flirting attempts with Nico.
Of course – since this was Percy we were talking about – things hadn't gone as one might expect.
It had started normally enough with Percy scowling at him and telling him to knock it off, Nico was his boyfriend.
Will had winked at him and shrugged, not exactly surprised, but not caring, either, since hey, it wasn't as if they didn't know he was only joking.
But then, Percy had suddenly looked cocky and stated HE could flirt so much better, and that Will was doing it wrong, anyways.
Yeah. Because any boyfriend finding another guy hitting on his partner was so going to kick him in the side playfully and give him advice on how to improve.
Percy. Telling Will. How to improve.
Well, he had also tried making Will 'practice' on Jason, but Jason had sent Percy such a murderous look that Percy had instantly backtracked.
He had still talked for almost an entire hour about Will's apparent 'flirting behavior', pointing out he was always wriggling his eyebrows suggestively at Nico, and that if he got a dollar for each time he did it, he'd be rich enough to buy them the pirate ship they wanted.
And that's why, ever since then, Nico was constantly teasing him about telling Percy he had done it again, so Percy could send Will a smug, knowing look and tease him relentlessly about it.
"You're so mean! Why would you sell out your friend like that, Neeks? Don't you love me anymore?"
Touchy topic, he forgot.
Nico sent him an alarmed glance and hurriedly looked away, putting on a quick smile to cover up for his paling skin.
"Oh shush. I was only joking. Come on, let's hurry up so we can free Jason and Percy."
"Free them? What are they, princesses in a tower? Hey, wait, that sounds like a fun idea, actually…" Will mused, trying to picture them as stereotypical damsels in distress.
Nico sent him an incredulous look. "You're impossible. I'll definitely tell Percy about that."
"Aw, but don't you think he'd look nice in a dress like that?" Will teased, only to find Nico blushing.
Oh? Interesting.
"I am not answering that." Nico retorted with burning ears as they left the arena.
"Oh? Do I need to tell a certain somebody to get a dress ready for Valentine's Day?" Will asked, wriggling his eyebrows, while Nico's eyes widened and his cheeks turned scarlet.
"W-What the…Will! Don't be stupid! Also, I highly doubt he would like that. At all."
"Oh, I don't know. I think he'd do anything for you, to be honest. But hey, now I'm curious, did you plan anything for Valentine's Day yet?"
Of course, he wasn't just asking because he was curious.
Valentine's Day was in three days, and Jason, Percy and Will had only finally settled on a destination last night.
Even though the original idea had been another theme park, like the one Percy had picked for the Advent Calendar, they had had to scratch that due to the booming prices and the distance, since they'd have to get there early in the morning and come back very late at night in order to have something of the day there.
And since Percy, Jason and Nico were going to leave the day after…yeah, it was understandable.
So, instead, they had settled on a fairly cheap indoor water park – Percy's idea, of course.
Last night, they had finally been able to decide on one of the way too many possibilities, and Will was not surprised in the slightest that their choice had the most water slides.
Percy was such a child sometimes.
But the price was affordable, the place was open, it wasn't too far away - it was pretty much perfect.
Well, they'd probably out-power themselves there the same way they'd have done in a theme park, and Will still wasn't sure whether he really wanted to go into any water with Percy close by, but other than that, it sounded like fun (he had never been in a water park before, so it was bound to be quite an experience).
Now the only problem was that none of them had the faintest clue if Nico had anything planned for Valentine's Day himself (and if so, what).
Nico glanced away, looking flustered.
"Not…not really. I'm not good with such things. I was just thinking of…oh, I don't know."
Nico was so adorable sometimes (scratch that, all the time!).
Will had no clue how Percy could resist ravishing him all day long.
He would so do it.
"Well, you can always give him your virginity." He offered with a noncommittal shrug, wondering how Percy would react if Nico indeed did make the first move.
"Will!" Nico exclaimed aghast, his only just receding blush turning darker again.
"What?" Will asked, looking around him as they finally reached the dining pavilion, but the place was pretty much deserted.
He wondered vaguely whether all the campers were seriously with Jason and Percy right now.
If so, he kind of did feel bad for those two.
Those kids could definitely be the substitute for the big, evil dragon that would guard the helpless princesses – but Will doubted anyone would save them in that case.
He knew he'd rather face a dragon than the crazy kids in this camp.
"You can't just…that's…" Nico stammered, then shook his head, going through his hair with his fingers.
It was odd seeing him without his ponytail, but lately he seemed to be too lazy to pull it back in the morning.
Lazy butt.
"You wouldn't want to?"
"That's…not the point…" Nico muttered, now looking anywhere but at Will.
He was just as bad as Percy.
Yep, those two made a perfect couple, it was heart-wrenching.
He felt kind of bad for Jason for having to stick around with them with no way out or away once they went on their way, so he'd have to endure them even more than Will had had to up to now, given that he could have at least left for his cabin or something.
Will could almost feel the sexual tension between those two now, and that was when they still had some time in the shower together in the mornings/evenings.
He would hate to see how they were going to be once they were so close but couldn't even as much as touch.
There was no way those two could do anything with Jason right next to them, after all, since they had decided to share a tent and sleeping bag for whatever reason.
Yeah, it kind of sucked.
Will really kind of wished he had been invited, too.
He'd like to sleep in a sleeping bag with them.
Then again, with his nightmares, he'd probably knock them out or something, so maybe it was better that he was staying here.
"Well, I'd make the best of it, truth be told. Just think about it, it'll be the last day at Camp and it will be Valentine's Day."
Now Nico looked conflicted, sitting down next to Will at their table and staring at the glass in front of him, which promptly filled with water, though he didn't take it.
"Do you…do you think I should- no. No, I can't do that." Nico insisted, shaking his head and grabbing his glass, still looking indecisive.
Will raised an eyebrow.
"Whyever not?"
Nico sipped on his water, either thinking of a reply or acting deaf.
Will was about to give up on the conversation when Nico let out a deep sigh.
"It's just…I don't think I could actually go and plan something like that. I'd die from nerves or something. Plus, when would I do that? I can't exactly grab him and drag him off to my cabin in the middle of the day."
Will eyed him from the side for a long moment.
"Alright, then don't plan to actually have sex. How about you just plan to kiss and make out a little bit? And as to when, you do know I am perfectly fine with sleeping on my own. If you want, I can talk to Jason and we'll disappear discreetly in the evening, so you have some quality time with him."
"I can't believe we're even discussing this." Nico muttered under his breath in disbelief, downing his glass of water and letting it fill up once more.
Yeah, Will neither.
"Well, it's not that big of a deal, really. As I said, you'll just kiss and make out, enjoy your little quality time, and if it leads to more, it does, if it doesn't, then it doesn't. I'll just tell Jason you'd like to spend the night alone with Percy since it's the last one at Camp for a while. He won't mind. In fact, I bet he's half expecting it already. Then again, who wouldn't want to spend a night alone with their boyfriend? I know I would." He wriggled his eyebrows again, then made a face because, damn, he was wriggling his eyebrows again.
And he wasn't even flirting, he was just being…well…suggestive.
Nico chuckled, his cheeks still a faint pink.
"Well…ok, then. I guess that would be a nice idea."
"Then it's a deal." Will smirked, glad to be done with this.
Those two really were perfect for each other.
It was heart-wrenching.
But at the same time, Will felt kind of happy for them both, which was kind of disturbing, but pleasant all the same.
.
"Remember how I said I might want a kid one day?" Jason called over as Percy and he raced through the forest, glancing back over their shoulders in panic every now and then.
"Yeah?" Percy called back, stumbling over one of the tree roots and almost falling, cursing under his breath.
"Well, I just changed my mind!"
Percy laughed, but then had to stop because it interfered with breathing.
And breath was the last thing he had to spare right now.
What had they been thinking, offering to take care of the rest of Camp and be substitutes for the lack of an arena?
He could swear there were not this many people in the arena usually.
The entire Camp seemed to have assembled in front of them, daring them to keep them occupied.
Since they had had no idea whatsoever as to what to do with all of them, Jason had suggested coming up with ideas and voting on them as a group.
Yeah, big mistake.
Percy was never going to forgive him.
He guessed he should be happy Clarisse's idea hadn't fruited, but this one was just as bad.
The rules were simple: Run and don't let anything get you.
'Anything' being both monsters and the entire Camp, which was hot on their trail.
"Your own fault! Couldn't we have sat them down to draw or something?"
Jason snorted, pushing against his side as he tried to direct them towards the right.
They had already considered splitting up, but dismissed the idea, given that then they wouldn't know whether the other one was caught or not, plus they'd risk taking a wrong turn and running into each other, enabling the campers to surround them and pen them in.
So, yeah, no.
"Of course, because you can get an entire camp of demigods to sit down and draw. What world do you live in, Perce?"
"A better one than you, apparently."
"Oh, I bet you do."
They saw a dark shape moving next to them amongst the trees and threw each other a quick glance.
Nodding, both of them did a 90° turn away from whatever or whoever it was and sprinted on, hearing an indignant cry behind them.
"Hurry up, Sparky, or I'll leave you behind." Percy called over his shoulder as Jason lagged behind him, due to the narrowness of the path they were now taking/making.
"Nah, you'd come back for me."
Well, alright, fair enough, Percy probably would.
Jason caught up to him, grinning smugly before passing him up.
Show-off!
"Why would I? You sided with Nico over a game of Truth or Dare!"
"Oh gods, Percy, that was days ago!" Jason exclaimed exasperated, looking back at Percy, but Percy looked away pointedly.
He still did not forget that.
Seriously, he thought he was going to die, and they had not shown mercy for pretty much forever!
After all he had done for them, they had just all three teamed up on him.
How had he deserved that?
"If it's any condolence, I didn't even side with him because of the game. I sided with him because I didn't want to be on the receiving end. It's called self-preservation, Percy. You have to understand that."
"So you just abandoned me to save your own skin? Well, now I'll definitely leave you behind, you faithless potato!"
Jason laughed and Percy pushed his legs to speed up so he could catch up to Jason.
Sadly, Jason had always been the faster one of them.
The only thing Percy ever let him succeed in.
"There they are! Fast, give me ammo!" A voice called behind them and Jason glanced over his shoulder, making a face.
"Uh, you might want to-…"
Percy had no idea what Jason might have wanted to say, because next moment, Percy slipped on some leaves and stumbled forwards, nearly smacking into the ground.
Something whizzed past his head and he heard Jason skidding to a halt in front of him for some reason.
Percy got his body back upright, only to almost collide with him, but then Jason's hand grabbed his and pulled him off towards the left.
"This way."
"Do you even know where we are?" Percy asked dubiously as they started running once more, more outcries behind them, but he didn't look around, didn't want to see (and also didn't want to risk overlooking anything as to not stumble or trip again).
"Of course. We're in the forest."
"You're such a smartass."
"Thanks."
"That wasn't a compliment!"
Jason only chuckled, pulling him after him with a firm grip.
"How much longer will we have to do this?" He asked after a while, feeling his legs starting to ache.
"Until Nico and Will are done." Jason replied without looking back.
Well, yeah, but…
"But how are they supposed to let us know they're done?"
Jason huffed, but didn't immediately reply.
Then he looked back at Percy.
"Want to try make a dash for Camp? If they're done, we should be able to spot them, as the rest of the campers are all inside this forest."
Well, it was an idea, but Percy was fairly certain the others had thought of a way to prevent them from just getting back to Camp that easily.
"Or we could just let them capture us." Jason added as there was loud cracking behind them.
"No way! Do you have any idea what Clarisse is going to do to me if she gets her hands on me?"
"Only a little bit of good-natured torture!" Came her voice unnervingly close behind them.
Oh shit.
"Dash for the camp?" Jason suggested.
"Dash for the camp!" Percy yelled back in reply.
And dash they did.
.
Nico had to admit there were a lot of things he had seen in his life that he thought he wouldn't.
That, of course, ranged from monsters and ghosts, to gods, gay parades, and weird guys carrying cats on top of their heads, to things like having a boyfriend and/or seeing Percy naked (something he could never get bored of, by the way).
However, he wasn't exactly sure where to place this specific sight.
Will and he had been searching the camp for those two, only to notice that it seemed awfully empty.
Noticing some movement at the edge of the forest, they had decided to go investigate, at the very least.
Now, Nico had seen a lot of things.
And the sight of what seemed to be at least half of the Camp assembled a few feet into the forest wasn't exactly that surprising (it reminded him more of Capture the Flag, actually).
Finding out they had set the other half of the Camp on the loose after Percy and Jason, who apparently had to run for their lives in there, had been surprising, but at the same time hadn't been, since these were bored demigods, after all.
They could practically think of anything, and chances were you wouldn't like anything they'd come up with.
No, the thing that fascinated Nico beyond belief, was the sight of Jason shooting up into the sky like a rocket, a big, screaming lump of something in his arms, looking like the devil himself was hot on his trail.
Given that there was a wide variety of weapons flying after him as people on the ground seemed to either be capable of throwing them that far, or one of the Hecate kids was having one hell of a good time, Nico didn't think even the devil could to a better job than that.
Well, at least they knew where Jason was.
That left the question: Where was his boyfriend?
And that was the moment he realized that the lump Jason was holding princess-style, the lump that was struggling and flailing and either trying to climb on top of Jason or inside him, the lump that was screaming bloody terror…that lump was Nico's boyfriend.
Will seemed to realize a moment before he did, breaking into loud laughter and dropping to the ground, holding his stomach while rolling around.
Nico could only stare.
Will glanced up at him, barely keeping it together, just to start howling with laughter again.
"Oh gods, Nico, you should see your face right now. This is so freaking hilarious! You should have brought your camera! We need this. We need them and your face and put it up on a notice board, or better yet, put it online. This is the best." He pressed out between spurts of laughter, pounding on the ground and burying his face in his hands, trying to compose himself again.
Nico could still only stare at Jason and Percy, ever coming closer, Percy now for some reason halfway in Jason's shirt, arms flailing, with one sticking out of the collar, the other one somewhere behind Jason, pulling his shirt up and down as he writhed around in terror, still screaming bloody murder, his legs tightly wrapped around Jason's midriff.
It was a somewhat comical, yet disturbing sight.
Given Percy's position and thrashing, Jason was doing a pretty good job keeping them alive and in the air, only looking slightly irritated, if anything, his head tilted as far away from Percy's flailing hand as possible.
He needn't have bothered, for the next moment, Percy's head poked out through the collar, and Nico had the distinct feeling Jason was never going to wear that pullover again.
Good thing he had put on a baggy one, though.
He wasn't sure whether they would still be breathing if he had worn something somewhat tighter (bless Jason's horrid sense of clothing, really. He was like a dream dressed like a nightmare. Nico decided not to mention that bit, though).
Then again, maybe Percy wouldn't have had the macabre idea of trying to…co-wear it?
Nico had no idea what his boyfriend was even doing, but for a moment he could have sworn Percy looked as surprised about the development as they were.
But then he started screaming bloody murder again and Jason rolled his eyes almost exhausted, his arms still firmly around Percy, though he really didn't need to hold him, given that Percy was basically gluing himself to him.
And then Percy insisted he wasn't scared of heights.
Yeah, right.
Nico only now noticed that other than Will's laughing, it was awfully quiet around them, all the Campers around him staring into the sky in disbelief as well.
Well, it truly was a show, that much was for certain.
Nico could only shake his head.
Then he heard what sounded like a stampede of elephants - or maybe drakons - coming their way from the forest.
He thought he could hear voices, too, but with Percy's wailing he couldn't decipher anything, his focus too much on his boyfriend.
"Will, get up." He said quietly when he felt the ground tremble beneath his feet.
Will was still chuckling, but too exhausted to laugh anymore, looking up at him quizzically, but getting up nonetheless.
"What's that?" The blonde asked, now noticing the noise and movement as well.
"I'd say…" Nico started, looking up at Jason and Percy, who were now both waving one of their arms each and pointing down in apparent warning (still both inside Jason's sweater, which still looked way too weird).
Nico grabbed Will's arm and moved backwards.
"…that's the rest of the Camp coming back." He finished right when the first people broke out between the trees with war cries, eyes fixed up on the sky as he expected.
The campers that had been waiting around here jumped in surprise, but by then it was already too late.
"Holy…" Will mumbled next to him.
People collided, other people misinterpreted it as some sort of opposition or sneak attack, and suddenly everybody was battling everybody.
Nico didn't have the chance to decide whether or not he wanted to bolt or defend himself, because before he could even put his hand on his sword, a shadow fell over him and he looked up just in time to see Jason apparently trying for a landing.
And apparently on him, because all he could do was stumble backwards and hold out his arms before Jason and Percy crashed into him, knocking him with them to the ground and tearing Will along, since he seemed to have tried to pull him out of the way in time.
"What are you doing?!" He asked, not even because of the collision (that reminded him too much of how Will and Percy had once deliberately run into him for no apparent reason), but because those two just laughed and panted and Percy shifted so oddly on top of him, turning around while still wearing Jason's sweater…together with Jason.
Seriously, it looked even weirder up close.
"Sorry, Nico, I didn't-…" Jason started, but then Percy's head almost smacked into the side of his jaw as Percy seemed to be trying to turn around to face Nico.
"Hey." His now-finally-not-screaming-anymore boyfriend said with a coy smile, his body and hair sweaty and gross and utterly adorable, his breathing coming out in irregular pants.
Nico couldn't keep the smile off his face, even though he had intended to lecture him for his flailing (and ask again what the hell he thought they were doing).
"Hey." He replied instead, nuzzling their noses together with a small smile.
"You finally stopped screaming, I'm glad. I mean, it was interesting, to say the least, but I could have done without. Watching you crawl into Jason would have been utterly sufficient." Will teased next to them, shaking his head and ruffling through Percy's hair, just to then complain about his now wet hand.
Percy made a face and they started bickering, while Nico looked over Percy's shoulder at Jason, who was still squishing Percy down on Nico, but he didn't exactly mind.
"Hey, you alright?"
"Yeah. Do I get an Eskimo kiss as well for saving your boyfriend's butt and putting up with him in the air?"
Nico chuckled. "You'll have to ask Percy about that. Thanks, though. For not dropping him."
"Nah, I was tempted, though. Especially when he started going beneath my shirt."
"It's called self-preservation, Jason! You have to understand that!" Percy insistent, pointedly looking around at him with his ears slightly red.
"Yeah, yeah. Throw my words right back at me. Nico said I can give him an Eskimo kiss if you're ok with it."
Wait, Nico hadn't said that.
Oh, well, maybe he had…in a way…damn.
Percy threw Nico a surprised, questioning glance, though it didn't seem upset per se, but Nico still only shrugged helplessly, not knowing exactly how to deal with the sudden situation in front of him.
Percy studied his face for a moment, then shrugged and turned back to Will, who was abusing the fact Percy didn't have either arm to defend himself with to flick a finger against his forehead and side of his face amused.
Nico blinked and looked back towards Jason, but Jason was already leaning down, rubbing their noses together with a triumphant smile.
"Ha! Alright, Percy, if you want to go flying for another round, I'm all for it." Jason declared as he pulled back, looking pretty pleased with himself and the world.
"No way! You just want to get closer to MY Nico."
"Yeah, of course he does. That's what we all want. Can I get an Eskimo kiss, too?"
"No." Percy stated flatly and tried to pull his arms together, but couldn't, since Jason was still on top of them.
"Unfair!" Will wailed and Jason chuckled, pulling himself up the moment Percy wanted to lean down to give Nico a quick peck.
Since they were still connected via the sweater, Percy couldn't, instead getting pulled after Jason, expression first stunned, then indignant.
"Oops, sorry, Percy. I forgot you were still inside my sweater."
Somehow, Nico doubted that, sitting up as Jason pulled Percy and himself upwards.
"Well, at least he's not under your skin." Will remarked drily next to them, pushing himself up to watch them amused.
"You did that on purpose. Nico, come here, I have to kiss you. Purify your soul and all." Percy insisted, trying to lean forward to give Nico a kiss, but Jason was pulling too far back for him to reach him, definitely teasing him on purpose, now.
"Purify his soul from what exactly? Remember who just hauled your sorry butt through the sky and stopped you from trying to climb into my pants as well."
Percy opened his mouth as if to protest, then blushed and sputtered some incoherent lines, while Will snorted and had to clamp a hand over his mouth to stop from laughing out again, his other arm holding his stomach, showing he was most likely refraining from laughing not out of nicety towards Percy, but because his stomach still hurt from earlier.
"You tried to climb into his pants? Percy, why?" Nico asked confused, while Percy kept giving Jason the evil eye, who only gazed at him unimpressed and finally took things upon himself and got rid of the sweater.
Which was to say, he took it off.
So now, there was Jason, standing there with his muscled, bare chest and crossed arms, and there was Percy, who stumbled forwards clumsily as he suddenly didn't have anybody pulling backwards anymore, wearing a baggy, mint green sweater with one arm sticking out of the collar, the other one sticking out beneath, the sleeves left unused.
Will couldn't help it, howling with laughter once more.
"I didn't mean to!"
"Yes you did."
"Not like that! I was just trying to prevent falling to my death."
Nico could only shake his head.
"I was holding you, Percy." Jason insisted, rolling his eyes exasperatedly.
"Yeah, so? You could have dropped me. Zeus could have pulverized me." Percy wailed insistently.
"Percy, my dad knows better than to try pulverizing you while you're in my arms."
Will and Nico shared a glance, Will pursing his lips to reign in his laughter, Nico just sighing.
Then he realized with a jolt where they were and what was actually going on around them still, with the campers battling each other into the ground.
They had realized by now what was going on, but had apparently decided to just go along with it, war cries sounding from all sides, alliances forming and dissolving in the bat of an eye, utter chaos wherever he looked.
"Uh..." He started, but apparently his realization had notified the others of their presence (he had the strong assumption that this was exactly why monsters didn't bother mortals. Mortals were oblivious to them, their minds not even going into that direction, thus the monsters didn't notice them, either. Once there was a mortal that showed a sign of seeing them, the monsters would actually notice them as well. Remarkable), several of them pointing towards them and shouting something at each other.
"Let's go." He called, grabbing for Percy's and Will's hand and trusting Jason to follow as he turned around and ran for it (he was usually the one fastest on the uptake).
"Oi, where do you think you're going? Cowards!" A voice called after them, but they were already out of the forest, racing for the cabins.
.
"You know, I'm glad I don't have to work in the infirmary." Percy muttered relieved as they sat at dinner, watching another camper with a black eye walk past.
"Yeah, I'm just waiting for one of my siblings to come up to me and tell me to help out." Will said miserably, looking at two younger campers with limps that gave him the evil eye, either because they knew he was supposed to take care of the most likely overflowing infirmary or because he was looking at them, he didn't know.
"I thought you liked working there." Jason said, sounding a bit confused as he obediently ate his plate full of vegetables.
So far, Jason was the one that least complained, though he guessed it wasn't fair to compare when he had only just started out with the diet plan, while Percy and Nico were a few more weeks in already.
Then again, Jason was ironically the only one who hadn't promised Will not to complain.
"Oh, I do. I just don't like it when it's spontaneous and I know I'd have a lot more fun with you guys or something."
"Well, if they do come and get you, I'd go and help out, too. That way you'd be done faster and you wouldn't be completely alone- well, I mean, not 'alone' alone, because you'll have your siblings and the patients and all, but I mean…from us…alone…" Nico tried to explain, but then trailed off, stabbing his fruit with an annoyed expression.
Will smiled at him.
See? This was exactly why he loved him.
Nico was such a cutie, and he was always so considerate of others and all.
"I'd help out as well, if I knew what to do." Jason shrugged and Will tried to picture him in scrubs.
Did they even have any for somebody built like Jason?
"Oh, if you went, I'd help out as well, of course. I more meant it as in I wouldn't want to work there right now, alone, treating all those injured, starving demigods that have brought their peril onto themselves." Percy explained hastily, playing around with his fish unenthusiastically.
Will could only sigh with a small smile, looking at the lot of them.
"Thanks guys, I knew you'd have my back. I can almost picture it, too. Nico and I would do all the treating and bandaging, while you'd run around in our pink help-out outfits, bringing us supplies and tripping over your feet."
"Pink help-out outfits?" Jason asked with raised eyebrows, the same moment Percy huffed indignantly. "Tripping over my feet? Unlikely."
Nico chuckled into his cup of green tea, while Will shook his head with a laugh.
He just loved their priorities.
Jason was like 'Oh, yeah, I'll probably trip over my feet, who cares, but wait, why pink help-out outfits?', while Percy was like 'Pfft, who cares about the outfit, I have perfect balance! No tripping for me!'.
Neither of them argued the point that they'd be bringing the supplies though, while Will and Nico would get the real work done.
"Everybody who works out in the infirmary has to wear scrubs, it's an unspoken rule. For any outsiders that don't have any, we have these super big, pink unisex t-shirts that say 'Here to help' on them. They're quite cute, actually. So, yeah, since I doubt we have any scrubs that would fit you, it would be the help-out outfits for you two." He explained amused, wondering if those two would actually be able to pull the look off.
Will had seen a lot of people try and fail, but with these two, he was almost certain they'd look good even in those.
"Really? Did you wear those, too, Nico?" Percy asked surprised, looking over at his boyfriend, absent-mindedly eating his fish (yes! Victory!).
"Nope. Will tried, but…" Nico started, but then only shrugged and returned to his dinner, so Will continued for him.
"He refused to. I actually managed to get him to put it on, but he wouldn't come out the changing room and by the time he did, he had already changed back, insisting that I get him something else to wear or he'll leave. So I lent him one of my scrubs."
"They were so big." Nico muttered under his breath, making Percy and Jason share an amused glance.
True, out of the four of them, Nico was technically the smallest.
"Aw, you looked so cute in them, though. It's almost sad that you have your own now."
"Really? You have your own scrubs? I knew you helped out every now and then, but I didn't know you actually had your own outfit." Percy said surprised, looking him up and down with a curious expression and Will just knew he was trying to picture him in scrubs.
Mmh, Nico in scrubs looked nice, he could tell him that much.
"I even have my own locker." Nico said with a definite hint of pride and Will grinned at him.
Hey, they still had three days, maybe he should really offer to help out in the infirmary and drag the guys along.
"Now you've made me curious. If I wasn't quite as clumsy as I was, I'd ask how many times I have to help out until I get my own outfit. Sadly, I don't think you'd want me around more than once." Jason said apologetically, flashing him a quick smile.
Will only raised an unbelieving eyebrow. "Yeah, of course. Trust me, there are quite a few people there that constantly drop things or trip over their own feet, you'd probably fit right in. Percy might be problematic, though."
"Hey! Why me?" Percy instantly complained, pouting.
"You're always so loud. The infirmary is for injured people that need healing. Your volume would do the opposite."
Percy huffed indignantly, looking personally offended. "That is so not true. I'd be great. People would love me."
"I didn't say they wouldn't, but they certainly wouldn't heal."
"Didn't we have this conversation about you trying to pick fights with me all the time and you saying you'd stop it?" Percy asked sulkily, taking apart his fish with his fork and trying to hide it in his mashed potatoes (what a child).
Will sighed loudly. "Yeah, I recall something like that. But you have to forgive me, it's just so tempting. You know I'm only joking, Gorgeous."
Seriously, when had he started calling him that, anyways?
He should really stop that.
Percy didn't even seem to notice, but Will still didn't want him to assume anything.
"Yeah, yeah. Hey, look, I'm done with my fish." He announced, gesturing at his plate while looking away sheepishly.
Will tried hard not to laugh.
Percy was one of the worst liars he had ever met, that much was for certain.
He saw Jason and Nico raise their eyebrows, utterly unconvinced as well.
"Oh really? What about your mashed potatoes?" Will asked innocently.
Percy made a face.
Will rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll look over your plan and take out the fish. But it would be healthy, Percy. It's going to be difficult to replace that. But I guess I rather go through that work than have you burying the fish under the mashed potatoes every time."
Percy blushed slightly and looked away in shame, while Nico and Jason chuckled quietly, patting his shoulder reassuringly for his failed attempt.
"I just really don't like fish."
"Cannibalism." Jason coughed into his cup and Percy sent him a death glare.
"I am not a fish!"
"Not? Could have fooled me, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth teased in passing, winking at them, closely followed by Piper, hands entwined.
"Oh, ha-ha. You want to pick a fight, Wise girl?" Percy called after her, looking disgruntled, while Nico only rolled his eyes in a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
"If I had, I'd have joined that little hunt earlier. Clarisse told me you ran like cowards." Annabeth reminded him and Percy stiffened.
Will turned his head around to frown at her. "Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the whole point of the game was for Jason and Percy to run and not get caught. I'd say they did exactly what they were told to do."
Uh, wait, why was he defending them?
Annabeth chuckled, looking him over curiously and sharing a knowing glance with her girlfriend.
"True, true. But the game was over when you and Nico got there, so technically you could have joined in on the actual battle."
"Yeah, could have, but that implies it's optional. Thus, deciding against joining in would not be cowardice, but a person's free choice and can't be used against them at a later point - unless it was pre-defined that not joining in would be considered cowardice. After all, that could have changed the person's view of the matter. Since this is about a spontaneous event, though, no such rules or statements were made, and thus they were free to decide on their afternoon activities." Nico put in thoughtfully and Piper laughed.
"That's pretty well formulated. I bet you'd make a good lawyer, Nico."
"Yeah, I keep forgetting how smart you are. Percy, you sure are lucky." Annabeth said with a wink and Will rolled his eyes, glancing back at those two just to see Percy putting an arm around Nico and giving him a peck on the cheek.
"I know, right? He's great. Smart, good-looking, splendid personality…" Percy raved, making Nico go bright red in the face.
"Oh shush."
Annabeth and Piper just shared another glance and chuckled, shaking their heads.
"You guys be having a good time, yeah? See you around."
"Yup, see you. Have fun on the trip. Just in case we won't see each other around." Piper chirped and they left for the Athena table.
Will watched them go, then looked back at Percy and Nico, smiling at the sight.
Percy had his arms around Nico from the side, lips at his ear, whispering what probably were some more reasons why he was so lucky to have him, while Nico was bright red in the face, fidgeting and whispering for Percy to stop, though he looked happy all the same.
Glancing towards Jason, he found him watching Will with a curious expression, so Will instantly dropped his smile, putting on his poker face.
He didn't want Jason assuming anything, either.
Not that there was anything to assume.
Wait, hadn't he wanted to work on that little issue of his?
But living in denial was so much easier!
Later. He'd do it later.
Once those three were gone, he'd have all the time in the world to get himself together.
At least it would give him something to do.
.
"He had a panic attack and you didn't tell me?!" Percy exclaimed horrified as he sat on the closed toilet seat in the bathroom, while Jason was leaning against the wall and Will was standing at the sink, washing up a bit after tonight's nightmare.
"Well, you guys didn't ask. And that's not exactly something I want to really talk about. Panic attacks are already horrible enough on their own, he doesn't need your pity or worry. That would only upset him." He said with a shrug, grabbing the towel to rub his face dry.
The nightmare had been a mess as always.
All he knew was that whenever he was going through it, everything seemed to make so much sense, and it filled him with this sense of 'How did I not know this sooner? How did I not guess this?', but as soon as he awoke, it was all gone.
Sometimes snippets of conversations he couldn't understand or comprehend still fluttered through his mind, but nothing really stuck.
It was all so weird.
He was kind of glad he was done for the night, looking forward to catching some actual rest.
Seriously, even with all the drama at the Hypnos cabin, he was kind of glad he had gone there with Nico.
This was much easier to deal with, now.
He still felt bad for having the nightmares, and they still felt horrible, but they were a lot more bearable when one of the guys woke him right after, keeping him close and comforting him, allowing him to either wash up or have Percy do it for him quickly, depending on his sleepiness.
And then he could just drop into this rest-state and rest for the rest of the night in peace.
It wasn't perfect, but it was definitely better than before.
"I know that, but I'd have still liked to know."
"So controlling." Will snorted, flicking some water at Percy, who sent him a pointed look, raising his eyebrows.
"Sure. Whatever you say, sun-bug. Sure you want to start a water fight with me?"
"Hell no. I already don't have a clue how I'll survive the 14th. Oh yeah, Jason, I have to talk to you about that."
"Me?" "Hey, why Jason? what about me?"
"Nope. You have to go, Perce. Move it."
"Bossy." Percy sulked, but got up nevertheless, ruffling through Will's hair before exiting the bathroom, Jason taking his place on the toilet seat.
Will waited until he had closed the door and heard Percy trudging back towards Nico's bed to snuggle up with the sleeping Italian again.
Then he turned towards Jason.
"Nico asks whether it's possible for us to sleep in our own cabins on the 14th. Like, in the evening. I told him I don't see why not, but also ensured I'd ask you about it."
Jason's shoulders slumped slightly. "Oh. That. Alright then. Will you be alright?"
Will made a face. "I am perfectly capable of sleeping on my own, you know? It's nice of you guys to stick around, and I appreciate you waking me once it's over, not to mention that you take care of me during them, but it's not essential. So, yeah, I'll be ok."
Jason looked as if he wanted to say something for a moment, but then he nodded.
"If you say so. I wanted to talk to you as well about something."
"Yeah? What?" Will asked, somewhat surprised.
Jason hadn't given off the impression as if he had wanted to talk to him about pretty much anything, really.
They talked a lot less nowadays, to be honest.
It was quite a shame, really.
Will had really gotten along well with him back when Percy and Nico had started dating, but ever since he was back now, they rarely had a chance to actually…talk.
They sometimes joked around or shared a glance or two, but real conversations…not so much.
Though Will wasn't sure whether that was because of Jason or himself, or maybe because Percy suddenly seemed so eager to either make them talk to each other or constantly interrupting their few conversations (which was odd, even for Percy, but Will had never understood him, anyways).
"Yeah, I wanted to ask…about the trip…"
Oh. That.
Damn, Jason must have noticed something.
Will pursed his lips, trying to cover up his reaction with rubbing the towel in his face again, just to then wonder what towel this actually was.
Hopefully nobody had used this for anything nasty.
With 'nobody' he most definitely meant Percy and Nico after their bathroom fun.
"Yeah? What about it?"
"I was just wondering whether you were really ok with it."
So he had noticed.
"Yeah, I'm cool with it. Why wouldn't I be?" Will replied casually.
He was not going to be the awkward, unwanted person imposing himself onto anybody.
If they didn't want him around, then he wasn't going to force them to invite him along.
"I don't know, you just seemed a tad…distant. Whenever we talk about it, you become rather quiet, so I wanted to make sure everything is good." Jason explained hesitantly, watching his expression intently.
But Will was a splendid actor.
"Well, I didn't have anything productive to say, I guess. Sorry if I worried you. But I'm good. It's no big deal, really."
For a moment, he wanted to add a chuckled 'Just make sure you'll be back soon', but then refrained from it, not wanting to make them feel as if they had to rush anything.
It was nice for Nico to see that his godly part of the family wanted to see him, after all, and he should thoroughly enjoy that.
"Well, ok then. If you say so. But if there's anything that bothers you or if you change your mind, just tell me, yeah? I can talk to the others, it won't be a problem."
Considerate Jason as always.
But that was so not going to happen.
He was not going to force himself onto them. Ever.
"Yeah, thanks. Listen, let's get to bed, ok? Oh gods, I can't believe how normal this is by now. Is it sad that this is normal by now?" He asked, partly wanting a change of topic, partly genuinely wondering.
Jason chuckled, getting up.
"Well, I certainly think it's interesting and I wouldn't have thought we'd ever be at this point, but it only makes me wonder how things are going to turn out in the future."
Will chuckled.
"Well, let's see: Percy managed to get Nico, and he keeps us around. He practically moves into his cabin, and promptly lets us share their bed with them. It's Valentine's day, and he brings us along to their date. I would honestly not be surprised whatsoever if one day Percy came to us, crying about wanting to marry Nico, but finding out he can't have us as minor spouses or something, so we won't feel bad."
Jason gave out a small snort. "Oh gods, don't let him hear that, he'll get ideas. This is Percy we're talking about, after all. Seriously, I explained to him for like twenty minutes that he should just do his boyfriend-thing and push us out of the picture so he can be happy, and what is the first thing he says? 'Hey, Jason, how about we all do something together for Valentine's Day!'. I mean, can you believe it?"
"Yep, yep I can. I absolutely can. Again, this is Percy we're dealing with, Jason. The world's biggest dork. I've stopped trying to make sense of him ages ago."
They stood in front of the bathroom door, kind of enjoying the conversation and not wanting to let it drop, but at the same time knowing they were kind of finished in here and should get back to bed to sleep.
Jason smirked at him and Will noticed those damned extra inches the blonde had on him.
With Percy, it was already frustrating that he was a tiny tad taller than Will, even though it was barely noticeable.
But Jason…why was he so tall? Frustrating.
"Oh really? The last time we talked about him you still seemed fairly keen on trying to figure him out." Jason teased and Will made a face at him.
"Well, I was young and stupid back then, then. Now I've learned my lesson."
"What? Don't try to make sense of people that don't make sense?"
Will grinned.
"Yeah, pretty much."
Sadly, in that moment, he had to yawn, and Jason joined right in, looking tired.
"We should really get to bed."
"Yeah." Will agreed with a small nod and Jason held open the bathroom door for Will to go first.
Oh wow, what a gentleman.
Typical Jason.
"Thanks. It was nice talking to you for once, again. Been a while." He muttered as he trudged over to the bed, pinching Percy's side as he climbed over him to get to Nico's other side, making himself comfortable.
Jason chuckled quietly, following suite and then snuggling closer to him from behind, putting his arm around him as he usually did.
It was odd how they all always put their arms around everybody, but Jason would always put his arm solely around Will.
He wasn't sure whether it was intentional or not, or if he maybe was just doing it out of pity because of his nightmares, sleeping problems, Nico, or whatever, but Will kind of liked it, so he decided not to point it out until necessary.
Obliviousness was such a beautiful thing.
Who could have guessed Will would pick that trait up from Percy?
Percy was definitely bad influence.
"Yeah, I agree. We should talk more often. It's fun." Jason mumbled against the back of his ear and Will closed his eyes, trying to keep himself from shivering pleasantly.
Damn it, why were his ears always so sensitive?
"Definitely. Good night, Jace."
"Good night, Freckles." Jason uttered drowsily, apparently already half asleep.
Will bit his lip at the pet name.
Why 'Freckles'?
What was so special about his freckles, anyways?
Why had Will even permitted that pet name (well, he hadn't, but he hadn't said no and gave him indirect permission).
That didn't mean he liked it, though.
Will hesitated.
Hadn't he decided not to live in denial anymore?
Maybe this would be a good way to start.
Did he like the name?
Instantly, half of him wanted to scream 'Yes!', while the other half of him wanted to scream 'NO!' or 'Who cares!'.
He sighed to himself.
Alright, he might like it, but he didn't want Jason to know, so he wouldn't assume anything.
He didn't want Jason to assume anything, because there was nothing he could assume.
Wow, that was deep.
Will rolled his eyes at himself and snuggled back against Jason once he heard his breath evening out.
He'd just pick up on this inner monologue some other time.
Now, he should really just get to sleep.
Concentrating on what Clovis had taught him, he made himself comfortable, his arms around Nico and Percy, his back against Jason's nice, cool chest.
Then he willed himself into a dreamless sleep.