Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except plot and OC's.

Dummy Alert: idk if any of you noticed, but I accidentally typed Micheal instead of Mitchell for Silena's brother. it was definitely meant to be Mitchell. I think I even had Will talk about Michael. Ugh. I dumb. Anyways, sorry.

Nico had expected to come back to an overtly happy Will Solace. He expected to get some energetic sex, or at the least give some generous head to his blonde angel. Instead, he came back to Piper cursing Nico for 'speaking to somebody as stuck up and demeaning as Jason.' Then, Clarisse came to him saying she'd been accepted to the early program at the police academy and would be leaving them tomorrow. And what he thought would be the worst news of the night came from his blonde angel/devil. Will had left him a voicemail saying that he was granted special permission to accompany his mom to the rehab center and spend the day with her before she'd be shut out from the world. His voice sounded too eager for Nico to be horribly angry, but it did make him feel a little perturbed. It was so unlike Will to make such an impulsive decision, but he supposed it'd never affected anyone more than just himself. Now it affected Nico greatly, and it was annoying. He wanted Will there.

Nico called him, but Will didn't answer. He wanted to call again, but Thalia came trudging up to him, looking as pissed as ever. "Hey, some shit hacked all your cameras. We need new ones."

Zoë followed behind with the rest of the cameras. "And it wouldn't hurt to buy a package deal and get laser tripwire."

Nico groaned, rubbing his forehead. This wasn't some street kid pulling a prank. He had no doubt it was Thanatos or Hades. Something had to be done, but he had no idea where they were or how to get to them. And the money this would cost would hurt.

"Great," he sighed. "Look, talk to Grover. I want the best security we can get around here. It doesn't sound like the police are going to do anything about my father."

"Yeah. Not like they had him right in front of him or anything," Thalia dropped the cameras at his feet with attitude. He felt his throat tighten. Zoë nodded her head toward him and followed behind Thalia, taking her hand with a firm grip, which would have made Nico curious if not for Thalia continuing to run her mouth with the worst news he could have received as she turned backwards and flipped him off at the same time. "By the way, fuck up, turn on the news. The Half-Blood Killer is back in action."

Nico's blood ran cold. He couldn't feel his feet, and for a moment he feared he'd topple over in the middle of the field. Thalia ran off, but Connor, Travis, Silena, and Piper all stared at him from the picnic table. One of them, probably Silena, asked if he was okay. But he wasn't.

His mind flashed to Will. It flashed to the pain written on his face as he recalled the events of his father's death. It flashed to the image of the only man who'd genuinely cared for his safety. It flashed to the image of blood baths and dead, pale faces. Nico knew it all too well. It flashed to the desperation he felt searching in vain for Luke and the crushing hope he felt when he knew it was a body he was truly looking for.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to mourn the news for long because two new cars pulled up to the picnic table, and he was on the clock again. He barely had time to shoot Will a warning text, to which he never responded.

During a lull late that night, Nico pulled up the news, intending to search for the update on the serial killer. He didn't have to. It was plastered on every local headline.

"Half-Blood Killer strikes again on a family of four. Police are positive it is the same killer; the signatures are exactly the same. After such a long lull, he stopped at nothing to get what he desired, even sending a local policeman to the hospital. Officials say he's thankfully now stable. If they weren't dedicated to catching this killer, then the police certainly are now."

Nico swallowed deeply. There were three phone calls from Will and two texts. He glanced up with frustration. Another car pulled up, and Collin looked at him expectantly.

"No," Nico growled. "Tell him we're closing early today. Damnit, did Clarisse already leave?"

Collin nodded before hopping off the table and turning the car away. With an exhausted sigh, Nico grabbed his sword from inside and headed to the two cars. The first had Piper in it, and he knocked loudly before throwing open the doors. He came face to face with her boobs, to which he winced and looked away. It happened often, however, so it wasn't that much of a shock.

"Leave. Police are coming." Nico huffed, grabbing Piper and her clothes and tugging her out of the car. It was the best way to get any customers out without them asking for a refund. He couldn't remember the last time they used this, but he knew it worked, and as expected, his tires were squealing as he raced out of the area.

Nico did the same to Travis, who was much more excited to be leaving early than Piper. "I might even get Miranda to go out tonight," Travis smirked. "She'll say it's just to get a meal out of me, but…what works, works!"

Piper had other feelings. "I need the money if I want to get into college. And I have literally nowhere to go tonight. Leo and Calypso are disgustingly loud."

Nico frowned. "Look, I have to take care of something, but you can stay in my room tonight. And Piper? Not paying for your dorm in college cuts out a shit ton of money. Get over at least half of your pride!"

She scowled, throwing her bra at his face as he turned away. He wasn't even phased. After telling Thalia that they were closing early, he dialed Will's number. Both of his texts were along the lines of 'call me' and 'I need you.' He had a bad feeling. Will practically never needed Nico. It was too alarming to even be weird or annoying to Nico.

Without an answer, Nico hopped on his bike and sped off toward Will's house. He couldn't pinpoint what the problem was, but it worried him that he wasn't answering. For a moment of absolute terror, Nico thought about his father. What if he wanted to get Nico where it hurt? What if Thanatos came to get what he was once refused?

Nearly swerving into an oncoming car, Nico shook his head and focused. He was almost there. Surely Will would be fine. It probably had nothing to do with his father. It was a stupid thought.

He pulled into Will's house and pounded on the door. Nobody answered for too long, so he walked through the unlocked door with aggravation. "Will!"

"In here," Will said in a hoarse voice coming from the kitchen. Relief flooded through Nico's body as he trudged toward the sound of his angel, but it quickly diminished when he saw the scene laid out before him.

Will sat on the kitchen counter with his knees pulled up to his chest, holding his body together tightly with his hands while his head rested on his knees. His eyes were red and his skin was blotchy, but he wasn't crying, not anymore at least. Below him, lying in a dazed heap, was his mother. An empty needle was at her side, and her eyes were crossed as she mumbled nothings. The rest of the kitchen was a mess of pots and food thrown all over the place at random.

"Will," Nico breathed with despair. His carefully stepped toward him.

"She was doing so well," he mumbled sadly. "I took her to get coffee before we headed over there…I shouldn't have taken her, Nico. I – the news was on and…and she saw."

"Saw what?" Nico asked while kicking the needle away from Naomi's face. She was working very hard to say something, but it was completely indecipherable.

"Saw that the Half-Blood Killer is back," Will said with complete devastation. His bleary blue eyes met Nico's, creating a horrible feeling in his whole body. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Nico felt a lump form in his throat. He wasn't good at comforting people, even if he desperately wanted to be.

"If she'd been at the rehab place like she was supposed to be, she wouldn't have seen it until she was mentally stable, Nico, so yeah. It is my fault," Will hissed with venom that hit Nico hard. He clenched his jaw.

Then, he leaned down and picked Naomi up. She weighed nothing, so carrying her to her tiny bedroom wasn't hard. He quickly got rid of anything that could accidentally harm her, though he doubted she'd be moving anytime soon. The worst of it was over.

When Nico turned around, Will was leaning against the door with wet eyes despite his angry glare. Nico sent him an equally annoyed look. "Alright, piss-face, now how can I help you?"

Will rolled his eyes. "Sorry," he said, though he didn't sound particularly apologetic.

"You're not angry with me," Nico shrugged. "Come on. You need sleep."

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Will scoffed in a pouting manner, but when Nico wrapped his arms around the slightly shorter boy's waist, he leaned his head into his shoulder.

"Nah. Piper's staying in my room for the night anyways, and I'd much rather share the bed with my boyfriend."

At the base of the stairs, Will stopped. "You seriously didn't cancel everything just because I asked."

Nico smirked. "And what if I did?"

In a state of awe, Will could only manage to stare at him. Nico had no problem with that as he ran his hands down Will's face and between his golden curls. Finally, Will laughed without amusement. "Then that deserves a reward," he mumbled, biting his lip coyly. Sparks shot through Nico's stomach as Will's eyes finally let go of the anger building within them.

"I wouldn't be opposed," Nico smirked, inching closer to him by the second. "But you don't have to. I'm here for you. I'll always be."

Will nodded, his hands winding around Nico's neck eagerly. "I know. Doesn't mean I'm not really, really into the fact that you dropped everything for me."

Nico chuckled, eyes jumping between Will's. "Only if you feel up to it," he whispered, breath mixing with Will's minty one. Their bodies fell against each other in a warm light, creating an energy that couldn't be held back.

"You have no idea how up to it I am right now," Will said finally before jumping Nico. His legs wrapped around his waist as his lips attacked him without warning. Enjoying the sudden passion from his blonde angel, Nico kissed back just as fast, adoring the feel of his tongue running along those plump lips. Nico's hands gripped Will's ass as he stumbled backwards up the stairs, too addicted to the feel of Will's hands completely groping his whole body to put him down.

He squeezed his biceps, ran his fingers down his abs, kissed every inch of Nico's neck known to man; he was just everywhere. Unstoppable groans of pure pleasure escaped Nico's mouth far too soon to be proud of. He hadn't seen this side of Will before, but it was damn hot. His teeth bit Nico's neck lightly before sucking just above his collar bone. Without warning, Nico moaned loudly and fell backwards on the bed where Will continued to grind his pelvis into Nico.

Soon, their shirts came off, and then their pants, all at the hands of Will. Nico had been submissive many times before, but this was different. This wasn't sub vs dom. This was one man so massively in love with the other that he physically couldn't contain himself, all in order to give his love the most pleasure possible. Nico's whole body was pulsing with energy and excitement and utter awe for the boy grinding into him.

Will kissed down his chest, stopping at each nipple to flick them with his tongue, enjoying the way it made Nico shudder. His tongue ran teasing lines down Nico's abs, again making Nico fall back with a whimper. He'd never been kissed and touched and teased with such compassion before.

Then, Will pulled down his boxers and didn't hesitate in kissing further. Nico craned his head to watch the blonde work his way to his dick.

"You don't have to, babe," Nico panted even though he was dying for some type of pressure surrounding him. Will grinned upward, eyes locking with his just as he licked from the base up to his head. Without warning, his lips captured half of his member and began moving up and down. Nico fell back to the bed in ecstasy, calling out his name as he saw stars. His hands tangled in his blonde curls, and soon Will and him were meeting with perfect sync. "Gods, Will, I'm going to-,"

He couldn't finish that sentence because Will hummed as he slowly went all the way down, and that did Nico in. Tugging on Will's hair so tight, Nico came in Will's mouth with a loud groan. Will kept moving up and down, licking and swallowing every bit of his cum until Nico collapsed back on the bed, breathless and seeing black dance across his vision.

He was speechless, even as Will came up and lied his head on his chest with a smug grin. Nico eventually found it in him to rub soothing circles along Will's upper, muscular back. "Swear to the gods, that was the best head of my life."

"Well, you practically guided me through everything," Will said, and Nico could hear the blush in his voice.

"No," he panted, eyes blinking rapidly. "No, babe, that was amazing. I – wow. You just – everywhere – so deep – ugh you taking control is so hot."

"Really?"

"Really," Nico whispered, finally shifting his gaze downward into those sparkling blue eyes. "Gods, Will, I'm so fucking in l-,"

A gunshot rang through the house, cutting off all conversation.

"Find Will. My son will be wherever he is."

"Let's take them both. I want the blonde."

The voices were too close. Nico knew he stood no chance of succeeding, but he rolled off the bed silently, pulling Will down with him. They hid under the bed, breaths held and bodies shaking.

"Nico," Will whispered in protest. Nico shook his head.

"Not now. That's my dad and Thanatos…" Nico hissed, eyes locked on the door. He pulled on his underwear, throwing Will's in his face. "If we can reach the window, we'd have to jump, but we might be able to-,"

Suddenly, the door swung open and Nico was pulled out from under the bed by his feet. His pulse was racing as he stared Thanatos in the face. Wasting no time, Nico kicked out his legs and landed a solid punch on the yellow-eyed man's temple. He went down instantly. Will was by Nico's side, but he was hardly moving. Cursing the gods, Nico bolted towards the window.

"Hold it." The chilling, velvety words were accompanied with the click of a bullet sliding into the chamber of a gun. Nico turned around slowly, his heart sinking into stomach. Hades stood there, aiming the gun at Nico casually, as if he did it every day. "Boys, how are you?"

Nico grabbed Will's arm, fingers digging into his skin desperately. They couldn't go out like this. He had so much fight left in him. His body was bursting with angry energy, but he had no weapons.

"Will, I'm impressed. Not crying about your mother? We all know Nico was a blubbering mess about his, as I remember you were about your father," Hades walked closer, kicking away Nico's jeans incase he'd brought a weapon. He hadn't, and he felt like an idiot.

"How did…?" Will's eyes shot between Nico and Hades. "Did you s-shoot my mom?"

Hades shrugged. "She seemed to like the idea of going out in the same way as your dad. Can't resist making someone happy, right, 'Neeks?'"

"Oh my gods," Will choked out, stumbling forward on the bed, to which Nico's heart stopped. Luckily, Hades had been expecting such a reaction. "You're the Half-Blood Killer."

Nico's eyes hardened. He stared at Hades, unsure what to think. Nico never looked at it from that angle. Hades had always been the monster in his room at night. He'd always been the star of his nightmares. It was never a long jump from rapist to killer, not with pedophiles like Hades, but Nico couldn't believe he hadn't spotted signs of it before. Granted, he tried to block out anything to do with Hades, but he still should have noticed.

Frank had been right all along. His family had been a victim of the Half-Blood Killer. All along, Nico's closed-mind had been holding back the entire police force from tracking down the monster. So many deaths were on Nico's hands.

Hades shrugged. "So, what have you done to Thanatos, son? I'm only keeping your boyfriend around for his sake, so you better hope he's not dead."

Then, Hades glanced down at Thanatos and nudged him with his foot. Like a snake, Will's hands shot under the pillow and tossed Nico a knife. Acting on instinct, Nico lunged for Hades. A shot rang out, but he was on a mission. He was rejuvenated; they could escape now. He had a chance to save Will.

Nico stabbed downward, hitting Hades' chest but missing his heart. The gun dropped, but Thanatos was now stirring. He stabbed Hades again in the leg and made a move to leave, but a fire shot through his thigh.

He looked down to see blood gushing out of his thigh. "Shit," he cursed, looking at Will.

"Let's go," Will said shakily as he wrapped an arm around Nico's waist and practically carried him out his room and down the stairs, Nico cursing every two seconds. With each step, it felt like something was stabbing him again. "Put pressure on it. I'll drive."

Nico wanted to protest but couldn't find the strength to speak more than a hissed profanity. They climbed on his bike and Nico talked him through how to start it. His leg was pulsing by now.

Then, he heard the front door reopen. Nico shoved Will out of the way and slammed down on the pedal, starting the engine as he screamed in pain. They jumped on and rode off to the sound of two cars starting hot on their tails.

Will drove better than Nico expected, which was good because he was losing the energy to give any type of direction. Hades and Thanatos stayed close to them, though, and they weren't letting them out easy.

"They're herding us to Half-Blood Hill," Nico panted when he saw Thanatos pull ahead and cut off the turn for a second time.

"I know," Will shouted over the wind. "What do I do?"

Nico leaned his head on Will's back, savoring the feel of his muscled back for as long as he could. Their time felt far too short. "Dunno. We have guns there, so go. Maybe…maybe Thalia will still be around to help."

Even as he said it, he could hear the despair and hopelessness in his voice. Nevertheless, Will sped ahead of the cars, moving around the turns faster than them. "I'm so sorry, Will," Nico whispered. "Your mom and now…gods, what they're going to do to you."

"They won't. We'll stop them," Will said with such certainty Nico almost believed him.

"We have to kill them, you know that, right?" Nico said, feeling his head become dizzy. How much blood had he lost already? Could he even fight?

"Yes."

"I'm so sorry, Will." Nico cried, feeling his whole world slipping away. "I never should have let you stay. I was so fucking selfish and now it could kill you."

They parked as close to the cabin as they could, Will helping Nico at a quick pace inside. "You're not selfish, Nico. I-if we die," he huffed with a scared breathiness, "it was worth it. You're worth it, okay? I stayed because I wanted to. My mom…died years ago with my dad. You're all I have, Nico. You were worth it."

They stumbled inside and slammed the door shut. Will hurriedly locked all the windows, knowing it would do little good. Nico hobbled to their landline since Will's phone was at his house and his cell was MIA. The line was dead – clearly, Hades had been expecting this. He'd cut the lines before even coming to Will's house. Hades had to have been stalking Nico for days now, if not then weeks.

"Fuck," Nico fell against the couch miserably. Will came over and handed Nico a gun – the only gun. There were ten bullets, but it was still only one gun to their two. Will was hurriedly now wrapping Nico's thigh with a piece of cloth. His hands were shaking, either from the previous events or what was to come.

They sat there in silence once he finished, listening as two cars pulled up. Nico let his head fall on his shoulder, breathing so heavy now he thought he'd never have any energy again. "I love you," Nico suddenly blurted.

Will laughed, twining their hands together. It wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting. "You don't have to do that, Nico. We may die tonight, but I want to die with dignity and truth."

Nico shook his head earnestly. "No, Will. You don't get it. I've been so in love with you for so long. I'm just pussy shit. Love is…weak. You're my fucking Achilles heel, and I was the last person to admit it."

Will gave him his million-wat smile that seemed to just make everything okay. "Really?"

"Really, Sunshine."

Will pressed his lips to Nico's cheek. "Love isn't weak, though. It gives you someone to fight for. That's how I know I love you, Death Boy. So much."

And for what felt like eternity, Nico felt safe and happy and perfectly at ease. It was like everything was where it should be. Everyone was doing what they should be.

And then Hades kicked in the door.

A/N: As promised, the next chapter! And wasn't this soooo good? Ahhhh! HADES IS BACK! Ah! And it only gets better from here... 😈😈

Can I see some more love? You're all so great for coming back after a longgg break so willingly. I hope this has made up for it! Let's see SIX reviews pleaseeee?