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!

34. Chapter 34: Haircuts

A/N: Hey there, Cupcakes :D

Sorry for the delay, I'm having troubles with my hand and had to focus to get through work, so I ended up not managing much else.

Buuuut I hope you'll enjoy the chapter :D
(Best enjoy the peace while it lasts, because...well, you'll see next chapter...Q_Q)

Wish you guys all the best~
-Tári

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Chapter 34: Haircuts, Babies, and Will comes to a decision

When Will opened his eyes groggily, it was utterly dark around him and he was…being carried?

Confused, he turned his head, realizing it had been resting against the side of somebody's head.

Nico's head?

Nico was carrying him?

Why?

Even more confused, he found himself frowning at the Italian for the longest moment, his mind needing unusually long to catch up.

Then he realized the buzzing he was hearing wasn't actually buzzing, but Percy and Jason having some sort of 'hushed' conversation behind them, which more resembled hissing than anything else.

"I can't believe my own boyfriend beat me at Rock-Paper-Scissors."

"Percy, stop whining, or you'll wake him up. Seriously, you're such a kid sometimes."

"Oh, don't even try to pretend you weren't more than a little disappointed when you lost against me right away."

What…were they even talking about?

Will realized dimly they must have arrived at Camp Half-Blood.

He could even make out some of the other cabins as they were making straight for the Hades cabin.

To be honest, he couldn't even remember falling asleep.

Sleeping in that bus with all those obnoxiously loud and hyper kids around hadn't seemed very possible back when he had been awake and sane, that much was certain.

Oh well, he merely hoped he hadn't had any sort of nightmare, even if he couldn't remember anything of the like right now.

"Was not. You're the only sore loser here, Percy. I don't particularly care who carries him, as long as he gets to the cabin in one piece."

"Oooh, how selfless. Then why, pray tell, did you not just agree on letting me carry him to the cabin in the first place?" Percy hissed back, and Will could hear Jason utter a loud sigh.

Then Nico huffed and slowed, turning his head slowly to look over his shoulder.

"Would you two stop it? We're almost there, anyways. I won, so I get to carry him."

Will's eyebrows shot up the tiniest bit – as much as they could in his still groggy, half-asleep state.

Well.

Was it just him, or was Nico getting the teensiest bit more dominant and straight-forward lately?

Nice.

Especially in this case.

"Yes, dear." Percy instantly said with a small sigh, apparently giving in.

"He started it." Jason grumbled, and Will huffed amused to himself.

Those two were so similar, in a way.

Nico turned his head, and Will wasn't sure, but he thought Nico was looking at him, though he'd have had to open his eyes further than that fraction of an inch to really tell.

He waited for Nico to say something, or let him down, or anything along those lines, anyways, but then Nico merely let out a small sound like a chuckle.

Or maybe it was just another exasperated huff.

Will waited until the Italian was looking forwards again, then he moved his face back to the side of his neck, the warmth practically drawing him in like moths to the light.

If Nico noticed, he didn't point it out.

Not even when Will let out a soft, content sigh, feeling himself drifting off again.

It dawned on him then, that he should have probably said something.

Nico was carrying him, after all, when Will should have been perfectly capable of walking.

Didn't that just show he was being weak and dependent on others again?

Will couldn't even make himself think further about it.

Instead, he simply decided he didn't care.

These were his guys.

They wouldn't judge him for it.

They'd always be there for him, and always catch him, and keep him safe.

No matter whether he was strong or weak.

They probably wouldn't even think of him as weak, because they were too kind to be mean.

Will hummed, and faintly noticed how all talking came to a stop, though it might have also been because he was quickly falling asleep again.

It didn't really matter.

He was safe.

.

When Will next woke up, he was even more confused than the last time, but this time at least he wasn't feeling groggy.

Though that might also be because he was sitting bolt upright in bed, beaded in sweat and panting heavily, while Percy was dabbing a wet cloth against his forehead, Nico was stroking over his arm and thigh, and Jason…where was Jason?

"Jason?" He heard his own voice ask as soon as he realized he couldn't spot the blonde, his voice shaky and scared, but both Percy and Nico instantly motioned towards the bathroom, whispering reassurances and looking at him worriedly.

Will felt relief flooding through him and let himself fall against Percy like a log, feeling an ache spreading through his body he hadn't noticed before.

Though, the more he became aware of it, the more he realized it was much worse than just a simple 'ache'.

It was more like a sort of burning, as if there was fire in his veins, spreading through his body rapidly and trying to tear everything down in its wake.

Percy kept dabbing at his forehead, then his cheeks and neck, and Will instinctively flinched back.

"Shh, it's just us. Do you remember what happened?" Percy asked, and funnily enough he could talk quietly just fine right then and there, without any hissing like earlier.

Though Will wasn't sure why he realized that, of all things, but not how Jason came back from the bathroom with a glass of water for him.

He kind of only noticed that when Jason's face was suddenly in front of his own, and the glass of water only made sense when it was pressing against his lips.

Sadly, the moment he decided it was a good idea to drink, was also the moment he decided it would be a great idea to start talking.

Needless to say, he promptly choked.

Jason pulled the glass back and far out of his reach instantly, while Nico and Percy went to adjust his position and pat his back ever so cautiously.

"Careful. First drink, then talk. You screamed quite a bit, so I'm pretty sure your throat is burning up right now." Nico said softly, and now that he said it, Will noticed his throat did feel rather dry.

Well, more than just 'rather dry'.

It felt as if he had swallowed sandpaper.

Lots of sandpaper.

But he was far more concerned about that burning sensation still inside him.

He nodded numbly, and felt Percy brushing a few strands of hair out of his face, while Jason came back closer with the glass of water.

Drinking worked a lot better when one didn't try to inhale the water by accident.

So, he had had another nightmare, huh?

Well, he guessed it made sense.

Just his luck that it would happen the moment they got back.

And Nico had mentioned screaming?

Oh gods, hopefully he hadn't woken anybody.

Well, anybody but Percy, Nico and Jason.

Which was already horrible enough, really.

"I'll get you another one." Jason said quietly, and Will nodded again, watching him go with an odd feeling in his stomach, as if he wanted to yell after him to stay.

But there was no reason for that?

Maybe it had to do with the dream/nightmare?

Will frowned, trying to remember anything, but the flashes of color and blurry images didn't make any sense.

As always, it was right there, but he still couldn't grasp it.

Percy dabbed the cloth against his face again, and Will looked up at him tiredly, noticing he was still mostly leaning against him, though nobody seemed particularly aware of that, nor bothered in any way.

Percy gazed back at him, looking concerned and wide-awake.

Will should probably apologize for waking them up and interrupting their undoubtedly nice dreams.

He felt a pain shoot through his jaw the moment he opened his mouth to speak, so he only groaned instead.

How had he even managed to get Jason's name out?

This was torture.

Nico muttered something next to him, and Percy gave a small nod, before Will felt them moving him, further towards the middle of the bed than the side, allowing them to get closer to him on his left and right.

"Is this okay? It's not painful or anything, right?" Nico asked softly, and Will shook his head, feeling nothing but exhaustion coursing through him right now, the pain only ever so slowly lessening.

"Here you go…" Jason said quietly, suddenly appearing in front of him again, but Will's reaction time was so slow he didn't even jump, instead staring at Jason unseeing for the longest moment, before reaching out for the glass somewhat, allowing Jason to bring it back to his lips and help him drink.

Why were things like this?

It struck Will as immensely unfair.

Why did he have to get these nightmares?

Why did he have to go through this and force the guys to go through it, too?

Why did he have to be rendered useless by these nightmares?

Couldn't they be just like any other damned bad dream that just made you jump and wake up and curse the movie you just had to watch even though you knew it wouldn't be good for you?

Couldn't they just not happen at all?

Why did it have to be nightmares, anyways?

Why not…alright, he had no idea what else could happen, instead, but he was pretty sure he'd rather have that than this bullshit.

If this was going to happen every night again, he was going to kill something.

Preferably whoever was behind these dumb nightmares, anyways.

The memory of Hades/Persephone talking about 'godly interferences' flashed through his mind, almost as indistinguishable and blurry as his nightmare, and the thought of revenge was discarded again.

Stupid gods and their immortality.

"Better?" Jason asked, and Will nodded, clearing his throat carefully.

"A lot. Thanks." He replied, his voice still scratchy and weird, but he had other worries right now.

"No problem. Do you remember anything?" Jason asked, though Will knew they all knew the answer to that already.

He tried once more to concentrate on whatever might have happened in his sleep.

It was there, but it just…he couldn't grasp it.

Looking down, he shook his head, half expecting to feel the disappointment surging through Percy and Nico.

But it didn't.

For some reason, that hurt even more.

If they weren't disappointed, that meant they must have not even had an inch of hope he could have remembered.

Did that mean they didn't think he could do it?

"Don't worry, sun-bug. I'm sure it will come to you in time." Percy reassured him, his hand on Will's back, moving up and down in long, soothing strokes.

Hm, when had he stopped with the wet cloth?

Just as he thought it, he felt said wet cloth moving down his left arm, and realized Nico must have taken over.

"Percy's right. We'll figure it all out one day, sole mio." The Italian said softly, and Will frowned slightly at the pet name.

Hadn't he used that before at some point?

But he usually only used Italian with Percy, didn't he?

Ugh, whatever.

That completely did not matter right now.

"I want it to be someday soon." He heard his own voice say, a bit stronger, but still slightly raspy.

Jason's thumb stroked over his cheek, and Will wondered when he had even put his hand there.

Seriously, he should pay more attention.

He gazed at Jason, noticing all those small details like how his hair stood off more on one side than the other, looking all adorable and messy, and how his eyes seemed to be reflecting the light of Nico's jar of fire, as well as the faint, silvery light from the window…and he decided he was now paying too much attention.

This was it, he wanted to go back to bed.

Will made to turn sideways and flop back into bed, but then he realized that going back to sleep meant he'd run the risk of having another nightmare.

Yeah, no.

He stared up at the ceiling, letting out a deep sigh.

Resting it was, then.

He hated that.

It just wasn't the same.

Now that he had had decent sleep again, the thought of not getting any seemed a hundred times worse than before.

Maybe he'd get away with staying awake until sunrise.

It wasn't as if that was all that far away, anyways, at least from what Will could tell.

"We all do. Now, do you want to try sleeping, again?" Jason asked, and Will felt Percy and Nico moving him as if he couldn't do it himself.

Though, in all honesty, he felt almost too exhausted to move, anyways.

This kind of reminded him of his sprint through the Underworld a bit.

Oh well, at least he wasn't out of breath.

Wow, such positivity.

Will huffed to himself, then shook his head at Jason, realizing he hadn't replied yet.

"So you'll try to 'rest' then? Not that you think you'll be staying up the next some hours until sunrise, mister." Nico chided, and Will made a face, causing Percy to snort in apparent amusement, muttering something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like 'Caught in the act'.

Shush, Percy.

"Nico's right. You can try for some more sleep if you want, Will. We're here and ready to wake you if you need us to." Jason offered as he settled down behind Percy, but Will only shook his head again with a sigh.

"It's okay. I'll try the resting thing again. It worked before, after all."

He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice, though he was pretty sure they could still tell, anyways.

There was a collective sigh, then he was being adjusted and nudged around to fit snugly between Percy and Nico, and all their arms tried to find their favorite places to settle down on.

Needless to say, Percy and Jason started batting each other's hands away almost instantly, making Will chuckle weakly before Nico let out a low growl and got them to stop.

Remarkable, how much power that tiny bean had over them.

Alright, Will was pretty sure he'd get murdered if Nico heard his thoughts right there, but still.

Then again, he guessed he shouldn't be surprised at all.

Nico had them wrapped around his finger, after all.

Oh well, it wasn't as if they minded.

They preferred it this way, really.

Will closed his eyes, focusing on the task at hand.

"Please don't let me wake them up again." He heard himself mutter instead of just think, and he thought he could feel Percy stiffening behind him for a moment, but nobody said anything, so he hoped it went unnoticed as some sort of incoherent muttering.

Percy sighed behind him, his breath tickling his skin at the back of his neck.

It only occurred to him then that he was pretty much naked but for his boxer shorts.

Had they undressed him?

Thinking about it, they probably had, back when they had put him to bed.

Wow.

And he had just let that happen?

Apparently.

Then again, he was letting Percy and Jason this close from behind him right now, too, so there was that.

Wait…did that mean he was actually getting better?

Now that he really thought of it, he realized it didn't even bother him all that much, just like it had been before…before Elysium.

Did that mean he was finally making some progress?

That things could be 'normal' again?

(Or as normal as they could get?)

Will felt the faintest hint of hope flare up inside him, and he buried his face in Nico's chest, wishing with all his might to be right.

Wouldn't that be something?

Him, getting better again?

That meant he could…maybe…with Jason…?

Will found himself biting his lip, knowing full well he was getting his hopes up way too much and way too quickly now, already.

But still…

He'd have to pay more attention to that.

Maybe he really was going to be fine again, without his stupid quirks nobody should have to worry about.

He really, really, really hoped so.

But now he really had to get started on his resting, or he'd get in trouble with Nico once the Italian noticed he had stayed up until sunrise.

And he wouldn't want that, would he now?

Smiling, and with the hope still happily growing and coursing through him, Will took a deep breath, and concentrated on the things Clovis had taught him to do.

Maybe he really could do it.

Wouldn't that be something?

.

"Noo, I don't want to! I have lived this way for years, what do you mean, you're cutting it off?!" Nico lamented loudly, and Will and Percy had to hold onto each other and keep their heads together to hide their snickers, while Jason sighed loudly and tried to persuade Nico to hold still, so Piper wouldn't cut his head off instead of just his hair.

Seriously, who'd have thought Nico would be the one making the most fuss about this?

Then again, he had also been the one completely against Persephone's make-overs…

Nico let out a high-pitched, very frustrated sound, and Will thought he could hear him stomping on the ground.

Then he let himself fall back into the chair they had put him on.

"Fine. But only the tips."

Percy bit his fist, tears appearing at the corners of his eyes, and Will had to exert all his self-control to not do the same.

Seriously!

"Bossy. Come on, you guys look as if you've been living under a rock for the past years. Plus, you promised me half a year ago I'd get to give you a haircut." Piper chided, and Nico huffed loudly, grumbling something to himself about 'deeply regretting his tries to improve his social skills', which made Will snort out another laugh, though he faintly tried to cover it up with a cough.

Since he could practically feel Nico's glare on him not an instant later though, he was pretty sure the Italian wasn't fooled.

"Nico, if you really don't want to, then you don't have to." Jason said quietly with another sigh, all serious and considerate as usual.

How he could keep himself together was beyond Will, but it surely was admirable.

Meanwhile, Percy seemed to be close to absolutely cracking up, which now got Piper to scowl at them, too.

"Guys, stop your snickering over there, you're next."

Percy and Will gasped.

Wait, what?!

"What? Nah, I'm good, Lou Ellen cut my hair…erm…some time ago. I'm all good." Will quickly put in, while Percy pushed away from him and moved him in front of him like a shield.

"He'll go first! I…I think I'm good for now, but thanks, Piper. I was thinking about letting my hair grow out, you know? See how that works for me…?"

Will glowered over his shoulder at Percy, who had the audacity to look at him and put on a sheepish smile.

Seriously.

Piper sent them unimpressed looks.

Then she pointed her scissors at them, and they both made a face, knowing full well they were done for.

"I'll cut both of your hair. Now no more excuses, or I'll do both of you at the same time."

Will pouted, and caught Nico grinning smugly to himself.

Mean.

He glanced towards Jason, faintly hoping for support, but Jason had his face buried in his hands.

Yeah, he guessed it was kind of exhausting to put up with three toddlers, instead of the usual one (Percy).

Meh, that probably meant Will had to behave like an actual adult again.

"Alright, whatever you say." He relented with a shrug, and felt Percy poke his sides from behind, making him flinch.

"Traitor."

Will winked at him and blew him a kiss quickly, before ever so subtly moving over to Jason, who instantly seemed to perk up, studying his face before shooting Percy a dark look.

Hey, he was fine!

He was only coming over here because…erm…

Because Will missed Jason, yep.

…Wait, what? No!

Bad excuse.

Will frowned at himself, discarding the thoughts.

Who needed excuses, anyways?

He stopped next to Jason so their arms brushed together, and Jason replied to the touch with letting the back of his hand brush against Will's, making him want to hum and take his hand.

He didn't, of course.

Piper already looked at them so oddly, he didn't need her reading even more into the whole matter than she undoubtedly already was.

(Not that he had stopped her in any way or attempted to clear up any possible confusion whatsoever.)

(Nor had the other three, for that matter.)

Percy appeared next to him again, trying to abuse Will's shoulder as an armrest.

Will shrugged him off with an unimpressed look.

No matter that fraction of an inch Percy might be taller than him, there was no way he'd let him rub it in like that.

Jason let out a small chuckle next to him, though his face was impassive and serious again the moment Will glanced around.

Piper let out a long sigh and started pushing the chair closer to the big mirror, then she started stroking through Nico's now damp hair with a thoughtful and concentrated expression, as if she was trying to make up her mind as to what to do with it.

"Not too short." Nico reminded her, looking disgruntled, but not all that displeased.

Will knew he was only worried, not utterly against the idea of getting a haircut.

If Nico had really been against it, he wouldn't have come along when Annabeth and Piper had ambushed them right after breakfast.

Will was still a tiny bit disgruntled about the way Piper had reached up and ruffled through Jason's hair five minutes into seeing them, as if it was the most normal thing to do (even if she had then run her hand through Nico's hair and decided she'd give them haircuts, which had brought them here), while Annabeth had bombarded them with questions about their trip, Reyna, and the Underworld.

Of course he hadn't said anything, but he had to admit he had kind of wanted to very subtly tell her to get back to her girlfriend and leave his Jason alone.

Apparently, going on a long-ass trip alone with his guys made him even more unwilling to share them with anybody outside their group than ever.

Plus, Jason wasn't even his boyfriend or anything, so he had no right to get possessive.

At least not yet.

Jason's hand brushed against his again, and he noticed he was worrying his bottom lip , so he hurriedly stopped and put on a grin, winking at the blonde when he caught his gaze.

He'd have probably even said something, but Piper was doing that for him, beginning to tell Nico to sit straight and look forward properly, else she'd put a pot over his head and cut his hair that way.

And there she called Nico bossy.

Will looked around at Annabeth, the only person Piper hadn't chased out the cabin the moment she had ushered the guys in here.

(Though he had no doubt the hissing and rustling and other assortment of noises outside was half of the Aphrodite cabin trying to sneak a peek through the mostly closed curtains of the windows.)

Annabeth was sitting on Piper's bed, watching them with an odd gleam in her eyes that he didn't like, but at least she had stopped asking the weirdest questions about the places they had stopped at during their travels.

Seriously, she had made it sound as if they had had the time to spare to go sightseeing everywhere.

Then again, they probably could have, in all honesty.

Thinking back, it didn't even seem all that bad anymore.

Though he was pretty sure he had thought differently back then.

He definitely knew he wanted to save up some money somehow before the next trip, so they could at least afford a hotel room or something, which would give him the opportunity to shower regularly.

If they managed that, then Will was willing to go anywhere Jason wanted them to.

"Are you sure you just want me to cut off the split ends? An undercut would suit you so well, Nico." Piper tried (again), and Will smirked to himself as he looked back over to Nico, who was glowering at the mirror (and especially Piper), while Piper still moved her hands through his damp hair, now with another deep sigh.

"It would." Annabeth put in from the bed, though she now had her nose buried in a book, apparently done with watching them.

Will looked back towards Nico, but the Italian seemed unfazed.

Then, Will watched him glance towards Percy ever so quickly, and his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes filling with doubt.

To be expected.

"Nah, I'd say just the tips. If you give him an undercut, half the Camp will drool all over him, and we won't have a single quiet moment anymore. Plus, Percy might get jealous. Wouldn't want that now, would we?" Will put in loudly, and Nico's face cleared almost instantly, the doubt lessening again.

Percy opened his mouth next to him, but since Will wasn't sure whether that was to agree with him, or to say something stupid like 'I don't get jealous!' (wouldn't be the first time, after all), he decided to elbow him in the ribs and silence him ever so subtly, unwilling to take any risks.

Piper sighed again.

"If you insist. But if you do end up deciding to change up your style a bit, you know where to find me."

Nico shifted uncomfortably, but then he nodded, and Piper started cutting his hair slowly.

They watched quietly, half expecting Nico to start complaining again, but he didn't, instead moving his skull ring nervously and staring at the giant pile of magazines on the small table next to the mirror.

Will waited another moment, but when he didn't stop fidgeting, he moved forward, grabbing a chair and settling down next to Nico, putting a hand on his thigh.

"Getting all pretty again, huh? Not that you needed it." He said with a wiggle of his eyebrows, and Nico gave him a long look.

Then Piper told him to keep his head straight and he mumbled a 'Sorry, I'm gay', which made both him and Will laugh quietly, while Piper only rolled her eyes and continued on her task.

Percy and Jason started moving somewhere behind Will, but Will tried to focus on Nico, instead, stroking over his thigh gently and thinking of what to say next.

Something provocative that would make Percy take over.

"Bet you're going to look ravishing, no matter if it's an undercut or not." He purred, just as Percy and Jason were pulling chairs over to sit to Nico's other side, and he could see Jason rolling his eyes amused, while Nico blushed ever so faintly.

Percy, of course, scowled.

"Stop trying to charm my boyfriend, sun-bug. Do I have to remind you again that you're trying to get your own?" He asked, nodding towards Jason, who promptly nudged him in the side.

Thanks, Jason.

Will made a face at him.

Then he grinned.

"You're just jealous because I can charm your boyfriend better than you can."

"Lies. Everybody knows I-…"

"We're not starting this again." Both Jason and Nico interrupted, and Will practically gloated, while Percy made a disgruntled face and started drawing patterns on Nico's arm with a pout.

Piper shook her head behind Nico quietly.

"You're a weird bunch, you know that, right?"

"Yep." Will and Jason replied, popping their 'P'-s in unison, while Percy and Nico merely huffed in confirmation and agreement.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then Annabeth started chuckling from where she was on the bed, and Will could see Piper exchanging a telling look with her through the mirror.

He didn't even want to know what they were thinking.

(He already had a wonderful hunch he absolutely wanted to be correct, so he definitely didn't want to know for real.)

"Alright, we'll be cutting Will's hair next. Then Percy's, and then it's Jason's turn." Piper declared, and Will made a face.

Why did Jason have to be last?

And wait, why did he have to be next?

"Oooh, Will, guess you'll be 'made pretty' next, huh?" Percy teased, and Will scowled at him.

"Piper only wants me to go next so she doesn't have to put up with the wires you call hair, so I wouldn't brag about it, Perce." He smart-assed back, and Percy acted aghast.

Thought it might have also been real, it was hard to tell, sometimes.

Funnily enough, he turned towards Jason for support, instead of his boyfriend.

"Jason! Did you just hear that? Say something to your lo-…"

"Can't fight the truth, Percy!" Will interrupted him, and Percy glowered at him, repeatedly nudging Jason to apparently get him to defend his hair.

Jason was staring off into space with a face that said 'What did I do to deserve this?'.

"Wires, huh? I was thinking of straw, but wires work, too…" Piper muttered thoughtfully, and Will snorted out a laugh, while Percy's mouth fell open with an indignant cry.

Nico groaned, undoubtedly knowing what would happen next.

Will knew it, too.

"It's not like all of us can use up a whole bottle of conditioner every time we wash our hair!" Percy argued indignantly, and Jason gave Will a long look, as if telling him not to reply.

The hint of desperation also seemed to imply a very loving 'Pretty, pretty please'.

Of course, Will never let anybody tell him what to do, anymore, though, so…

"Oh please, as if you know what conditioner is."

"I know full well what conditioner is! You don't know how to properly use conditioner!"

Right.

"Which is why my hair is silkily soft, while yours is wiry and dry." Will pointed out unimpressed, and Percy crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"You know you like it that way!" He shot back, and Will blinked, slightly taken aback.

Erm…

Unexpected, but okay?

No…just very unexpected, not okay at all.

What was he supposed to retort to that?

"Erm…"

Damn, he had no idea.

Percy's eyes lit up in triumph, and Will scowled, quickly gesturing.

"While…I can't deny that statement entirely, that does not mean that's a good thing! Also it has nothing to do with anything. Your argument is invalid, Percy. Stop laughing! I said it's invalid! Jason, make him shut up!" He rambled when Percy started laughing and exclaiming something about one-upping Will (as if that was possible!), while Nico was staring at them both in what seemed to be disbelief.

Jason merely sighed loudly.

"Jason!" Will called indignantly, and the blonde made a face, turning towards Percy, who immediately raised his eyebrows at the blonde, still chuckling.

"You can't say anything now, bro. You didn't do anything when I asked you for help, you can't just go and help him now!"

Jason looked towards Will again, who crossed his arms in front of his chest, raising his eyebrows as well.

The blonde studied him for a moment, then studied Percy again, then stared off into space.

For a moment, they waited in silence to see what he was going to do.

Come on, he had to take Will's side here!

(To be honest, Will wasn't even sure what he was being upset about, but that didn't mean he was going to give in, anyways.)

Finally, right when both he and Percy started shifting, wondering whether Jason even intended to do anything at all, the blonde moved and looked at them, again.

"You're both very beautiful."

Will opened his mouth to argue, but then found he couldn't.

Neither could Percy, for that matter, his mouth opening and closing as his mind wrapped around Jason's words.

They stared at each other for what felt like ages, trying to think of how to reply to that.

When they couldn't find anything, they resorted to huffing indignantly and crossing their arms in front of their chests at the same time, looking into opposite directions.

Piper chuckled quietly.

"Wow, how smooth, Jason. Nico, are they always like this?"

"Always." Nico instantly replied, making Percy and Will wince.

"But that's okay. It keeps things from getting boring, and Jason usually manages to keep them in line, if necessary. Plus, half of that is acted, anyways. They generally start bickering right when things are rough or somebody is down and there's a need for distraction. It's their way to show they care." Nico continued, and Will and Percy both pursed their lips guiltily.

Caught in the act.

Still, that didn't keep them from exchanging a telling look and putting on indignant faces no instant later.

"What? An act?! Lies! All lies!" Percy insisted, while Will started gesticulating wildly.

"The impudence! As if Percy can act! He can't even pose for pictures, and you dare insinuate he tries to act?! Preposterous!" He exclaimed dramatically, and Percy made a high-pitched, offended sound, jumping up.

"Who can't act? I can act just fine! And my poses for pictures are top notch, I'll have you know!"

"Guys…" Nico started, while Jason didn't even bother, merely putting his elbows on his thighs so he could bury his face in his hands once and for all.

Poor guys.

Will would surely prefer to behave like an adult, but…

He looked towards Nico, who by now seemed to not mind the whole haircut-thing whatsoever anymore, with his lips even twitching ever so faintly when he thought they wouldn't notice.

Yeah, well, the things they did for one another, right?

.

"You know, now that I'm already in the middle of this, I suppose it's okay for me to let you know I have zero idea how to cut curly hair." Piper said conversationally, and Will decided it was a good thing he had chosen not to look in the mirror until she was done with her madness.

"Erm…nice. If that's supposed to reassure me…"

"It's not. I thought it would be easier than this. But hey, Mitchell has a shaver laying around here somewhere, so if it looks too horrible, we can just shave the whole thing off. I'm sure you'll still look…decent." Piper tried to sound certain, though it certainly didn't feel that way.

Will tried to picture himself bald, and decided he'd rather glue all his hair back on if he had to.

There was no way he'd let the guys see he had freckles on top of his head, too.

He'd never hear the end of it.

"Stop scaring him, you're doing just fine. Will, you look adorable as usual." Percy stated next to him, and Will's head snapped around, making Piper curse.

"Keep your head still! Seriously, you guys! I know you have ADHD, but at least try to work with me, will you?"

Percy snickered, and Will tried to very subtly kick him, but that only made Piper whack him with the magazine she now kept close for this sole purpose.

Mean.

Then, he heard her whack Percy across the back of the head, too, and grinned smugly to himself.

Better.

Wait…

"I am not adorable. Nico is adorable, but I-…"

"I am no such thing. I'm the Ghost King. Fear me." Nico grumbled next to him, and they all turned to give him a long glance.

He looked adorable with his hair cut.

It was still long enough for a ponytail, but not quite as shaggy and wild as before, and his fringe was finally under control, falling nicely around his face, instead of into it.

"Very fearsome." Will agreed, and Nico stepped on his foot with a scowl, before Jason reached out to take Will's chin and move his head straight again, so Piper could continue with her work.

Will would have loved to snap at him for it, but he merely relished in the familiarity of the touch, before being confronted with Piper's once more.

It was so…weird.

Somehow, over the past weeks, he had gotten so used to feeling Percy's, Nico's and Jason's values, one would think it would feel natural now to sense the sudden rush of information.

Yeah, well, it wasn't.

Not when it was somebody other than the three.

It also made him realize just how attuned he was to them already, since he knew exactly how they felt the moment they established some sort of physical contact with him, while with Piper…

Well, he knew she wasn't as frustrated as she tried to sound, and he knew he didn't have to be all that worried, because she wasn't, either.

Though he knew the concern she did feel was genuine, and she hadn't lied when she had said she had no clue how to really cut his hair.

But she seemed to be managing alright, and he could feel a sort of confidence in her that made him trust her enough to let her continue.

Beyond that though…he couldn't really tell.

There was something warm whenever Annabeth said something, so he guessed that must be affection or love or something along those lines, but nothing as distinct and sensible like what he was used to from the guys.

Though that was more because he couldn't yet differ between the nuances of her emotions, not because her feelings weren't as strong or anything.

She had a wide range of emotions, and very strong emotions, he could already tell.

But he didn't know her well enough to read them all just yet.

Though he didn't exactly plan to, either.

He knew her values, he knew she was healthy, he knew she was good, and that was all there was to it, all he wanted to know, all he wanted to pay attention to.

That was all he should be paying attention to when touching his guys, too, but…yeah.

"Dude, if you uncurl your curls, your hair is almost as long as mine." Percy suddenly stated in what almost sounded like awe, and Will tried to catch a glimpse of his face out of the corners of his eyes, not daring to turn his head again.

"You don't say." He smart-assed, anyways, and felt Percy squeeze his knee, making him jump and Piper click her tongue.

"Behave. Both of you." She said sternly, adding the last part when Will tried to kick Percy again, and he let himself fall back into the chair with a small grumble.

He knew they all needed haircuts badly, but…now?

They had just gotten back last night.

He had only been able to glimpse his siblings at breakfast real quick, most of them already gone by the time the guys and he had arrived at the pavilion.

Of course they were restless.

There were friends to greet, stories to exchange, Percy's to tease…

Also, Will should check the infirmary to get an overview of who was there, still or again, and get an update on what had happened while he had been gone.

He was confident his siblings had managed just fine without him, but he was also pretty sure they'd be glad once he was back and actually took over his duties again.

And…okay, he had missed his siblings a teensy bit, okay?

Will absolutely wasn't looking forward to getting his stuff back in there and let them see his guitar (he had even contemplated leaving it at Nico's, but he had a hunch that would make the guys worry all over again, and he was so done with making them worry), but he was looking forward to getting back to them, all the same.

Though, after last night, he knew he wouldn't be sleeping in his cabin anytime soon.

Not that he had really planned to, but with his nightmares, he'd rather sleep out in the woods than wake his entire cabin full of siblings because of his nonsensical screaming and burning up.

Oh well.

Hopefully, this whole mess with his nightmares would be over by the time Percy and Nico finally had enough of him and Jason always being around.

If that day ever came.

With those two, one never knew, after all.

"Alright, this should be…it. What do you think?" Piper asked, and Jason tugged off the sweatshirt they had put over the mirror haphazardly when Will said he didn't want to even catch a glimpse until the very end.

His eyebrows shot up.

Well.

Actually…it didn't look half bad?

In his opinion?

He glanced sideways at Jason and Nico, and found them both smiling at him, both putting up their thumbs.

"Adorable." Both of them said, and Will scowled at them, waving his hand in their faces to get them to shoo, which only made them laugh.

Then he turned to look at Percy, daring him to say anything along the lines, too.

But Percy was too busy frowning at him, his fingers inching closer to Will's head, as if he wanted to touch, but wasn't sure whether he should.

Will watched him quietly, waiting for him to make up his mind.

Percy's fingers were inches away now, and he was worrying his bottom lip, still apparently not realizing Will was practically staring at him.

Then, his eyes hushed to Will's, and his hand shot back, a sheepish smile appearing on his lips.

"Nice?"

Will raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

Then he rolled his eyes, grabbed Percy's hand and moved it into his hair.

"Just do it already, Gorgeous."

Percy's cheeks flushed slightly, though he didn't argue or pull his hand away, instead moving a bit closer and bringing up his other hand.

It felt weird, having Percy play around with his hair.

Only Jason really did that, at least when Will was aware of it.

"And? What do you think, Percy?" Piper asked, sounding amused as she waited behind the chair ever so patiently for them to get done, so she could continue with Percy.

"It only curls around once now. I could make it curl around my finger twice before." Percy stated seriously, and Will could hear Jason chuckle.

"That's what happens when one cuts hair, Percy. It gets shorter." Annabeth called over unimpressed, and Percy made a face, his cheeks turning darker.

"I know that, Wise Girl. It's just…blah, never mind. It looks good. Not as good as Nico, of course, but…yeah, good."

Will made an unimpressed face, and Jason inhaled a sharp breath behind him.

"You're hopeless, Percy. Just say you like it already and get it over with. At this rate, you'll be hurting his feelings."

"Shut up, Jason, I just said I liked it." Percy snapped back, and Will rolled his eyes, looking towards Nico, who was just reaching out to brush through Will's hair, too.

"I like it, too. Though Percy's right, it's weird when it only curls once." He said quietly, and Will felt his face heating.

When exactly did they even have their hands in his hair?

Where was he when that happened?

And how come they were paying so much attention to something so trivial, anyways?

"So it's good? Splendid. Now, Percy, get over here, it's your turn next. Sweetheart, get the bolt cutter."

Will snorted and vacated the seat, though he had to admit he was a tiny bit disappointed Nico had pulled his hand away again.

He wouldn't have minded that staying there for a while…

Since he got up off the chair and moved towards the left, Will suddenly found himself facing Nico and Jason, with no option to sit nor really get past them.

Oops.

Turning around, he found Percy eyeing him, eyeing the situation he was in, then grinning maliciously and dropping right into the seat, kicking his legs up to 'get comfortable' which basically meant Will couldn't get past him, either, unless he started climbing over his legs.

Mean!

Will made a face, more than a little tempted to kick Percy, but then he saw that smug grin again – and suddenly, he had a far better idea.

He turned back towards Jason, who was already eyeing him warily, as if wondering what he was going to do now, one hand already on the armrest as if he was readying himself to get up and move the chair out of the way to let Will past.

Nope, he wouldn't have to do that.

Will moved over to him, too fed up with Percy still to really think straight, which was why he only started wondering whether Jason was actually okay with this…when he was already sitting right on his lap.

"Jason, Percy is being mean to me." He lamented, as if this explained everything, though a part of him started seriously worrying whether he might not be crossing some invisible line right now.

They were in a different cabin, after all.

"I didn't even say anything!"

Not to mention Percy and Nico were around.

"You better keep your head straight, or I swear I will get the shaver."

Not to mention people other than Percy and Nico were around.

But then, Jason leaned forward and wrapped an arm around him, tugging him further onto his lap.

"You know, I'm not surprised. Seriously, what am I supposed to do with you two?" He asked gravely before putting his chin on Will's shoulder, and Will wiggled his eyebrows at Percy smugly when he scowled at Will darkly.

Ha.

Percy definitely wouldn't have gotten away with this.

"You should ground him." He suggested, and Percy's mouth fell open.

"How dare you! Jason can't ground me! And anyways, you started it! If anything, he should ground you!"

Will stuck his tongue out at Percy, and Percy tried to kick him, only to get whacked across the back of his head with the magazine again by Piper.

"Hold still."

"You know, I should ground you both, but that would only give you even more time and reason to cause trouble, and neither of you would even bother to listen, in the first place." Jason deadpanned, and the next moment, his nose was nudging against Will's neck.

Will held perfectly still, feeling his heartbeat speed up and goosebumps appearing on his skin as he waited for Jason's next move.

What was he doing?

"You could always get Nico to ground them." Annabeth put in quietly from where she was now lying on Piper's bed, still reading her book.

"Unfair!" Percy and Will both instantly wailed, and Will glanced around at Nico for the first time since sitting on Jason's lap.

Somehow, the Italian had become so quiet he had almost forgotten he was there, which was…kind of unusual, actually.

Nico was looking down at the ground, kicking listlessly at some invisible dirt and looking between upset and conflicted.

Uh-oh.

What was wrong?

What had happened?

How had Will not noticed that until now?

Was that because of Percy and Will being idiots again?

But they were only doing that because they were bored!

Jason's nose nudged against his neck again, and this time Will glanced around at him, just to find Jason studying him with an odd look on his face.

Then one arm unwound itself from around Will's waist and moved up, so his fingers could brush through Will's hair right by his ear.

…What?

Will looked back towards Nico, who glanced up at them for maybe a second, then looked down again, still looking between conflicted and absolutely miffed.

Had…had Will done something wrong?

Jason moved his head to Will's other side, away from Nico, and nuzzled against the side of his neck again, his fingers brushing against Will's ear ever so faintly.

Will closed his eyes with a small sigh, trying not to lean into either touch, and he could hear the faintest hint of a chuckle escaping Jason's lips.

Then, he felt said lips against the side of his neck, right where his hair now ended.

"I like your new haircut. Gives much better access to your ears and neck." Jason breathed barely audibly, though Will could hear him perfectly fine, his face erupting into flames.

He hurriedly glanced towards Nico, but he was still glowering daggers at the ground.

Then he looked towards Percy, but luckily, he seemed to have missed the exchange, too, sitting in his chair with his head tipped back and his eyes closed.

Though, of course, he just had to open his eyes and look at Will right then and there, when Will was still fighting the heat in his face and neck and…entire body, really.

Percy studied him for a long moment quietly, then his eyes moved towards Jason.

Then back.

Then he rolled his eyes and shook his head, looking away with a last chiding look at them both, as if he was disappointed in them for misbehaving in public.

"Shut up, Percy." Will huffed indignantly, but all that did was make Percy huff, Jason chuckle, and Nico glance up at him again with a now slightly guilty, but ever so upset look.

Piper looked at them all in turn for a moment, then exchanged another look with her girlfriend, who seemed to magically feel Piper glancing over at her, because she instantly returned the look with a small shrug, before returning to her book, while Piper returned to the task of cutting Percy's hair without comment.

Will eyed them warily for a moment, then realized with a jolt Jason might have misunderstood his statement of 'Shut up, Percy' as a reply to Jason's comment about his hair, as if he had mixed up their names.

He grabbed hold of Jason's wrist hurriedly, trying to get an overview of Jason's emotions, whether he was upset, disgruntled, disappointed, anything.

But all he could feel was warmth and affection and amusement, with a growing portion of concern as Jason tightened his hold on him and moved his head to shoot him a questioning look, as if asking him what was wrong.

Will relaxed again.

Good, he hadn't misunderstood.

At least it didn't seem that way.

He turned his head to him, after glancing towards Percy once more for confirmation that he had his eyes closed again.

"Percy was acting stupid again." He explained to Jason ever so quietly, just to make sure he really wouldn't misunderstand.

Jason smiled at him, his hands stroking over Will's sides faintly before wrapping around him properly again.

"I know. I saw."

"Oh."

Of course he had.

Stupid Will.

Jason's expression didn't change, nor did his emotions, and Will wondered for a moment whether he'd get away with turning towards him and wrapping his arms and legs around the blonde and never letting go again.

The answer was undoubtedly no.

What a shame.

He looked straight ahead again with a deep sigh, and promptly felt Jason tugging him closer.

That felt nice, too.

Seriously, how could Percy and Nico live with the two of them around constantly?

Will wasn't even dating Jason and he already wanted to be alone with him much more than he'd have thought possible.

He'd go crazy if he really was dating Jason and the other two would keep being around and keeping him from getting touchy-feely with the blonde.

Mostly because he'd want to get touchy-feely with him and them, and he tended to do lots of stupid things whenever Jason gave him the chance.

Still, how did Percy and Nico manage to resist being all over each other all the while?

Because he definitely couldn't do it.

With newfound respect for Percy and Nico and their self-control, he glanced towards Percy, just to catch Piper apparently having some sort of mute conversation with Jason, since she was definitely looking at him, and he could most definitely feel Jason giving a small shrug and a nod.

What?

Wait, what had that been about?

Will studied her warily, especially when she looked at him, and the two stared at each other quietly for what felt like forever.

Though he had no intention of backing off or looking away, instead staring her down and just daring her to say anything.

He had no idea where all this defensiveness and…well, alright, maybe even a tiny hint of jealousy…was coming from, but now that it was there, he couldn't manage to keep it down whatsoever.

Piper's eyebrow shot up, and Will was pretty sure that, if he were a cat, he'd be swishing his tail right about now in agitation and annoyance.

Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, Jason moved and nudged his nose against Will's neck again, making him blink and look sideways at him in confusion, and the spell was broken.

"Is there a reason you're glowering at Piper as if you're thinking of murdering her in her sleep?" Jason asked quietly, a hint of humor in his voice, and Will felt his face heating again.

Damn it!

He glanced back at Piper again, but she was grinning to herself and cutting Percy's hair again, so he focused back on Jason again hurriedly, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Erm…no, not particularly, no. I don't really know what you're talking about. At all. As if I'd…erm…" He mumbled, trying to keep his voice down, while also trying to sound sure of himself.

Needless to say, he failed at both, but other than Percy opening one eye to peek at them for a moment, before reaching out to take Nico's hand, and Nico putting his forehead on Percy's arm, nothing happened, and they seemed to get ignored.

Good.

Jason chuckled quietly behind him, and Will made a face.

"You know, I never took you for a very jealous person."

Will's head snapped around.

"I am not jealous!" He hissed, but was pretty sure Jason didn't believe a word, though he did lift his hands in 'surrender'.

"Of course not, Freckles. And it's great if you're not. I mean, you have no reason to be, after all."

Yeah, yeah, Will knew that.

"Duh, I'm the best you're ever going to get." He deadpanned – then he realized what the hell he had just said and he froze.

That…that sounded as if he was sure they'd…they'd…

Was he sure?

Could they?

Could he?

He…maybe he really could…

They could…give it a try…?

Maybe…?

But what if…

And then there was…

Will stared off into space, pondering all that for a moment.

No, they couldn't.

Not unless he told Jason about…him.

Jason knew there was something wrong, and Will was pretty sure he wouldn't just let that go ignored.

Jason was that sort of person who believed that everything could be 'talked out', after all.

Yeah, well, Will had tried that, okay?

It hadn't worked.

One only had to remember his two times in Elysium to know just how much that had not worked.

He remembered the breakdown he had had the second time, and just the thought of risking something similar around Jason made him all sorts of sick.

He didn't want anybody to see him like that.

Especially not his guys.

They had already seen too much, anyways.

Jason put his chin back on Will's shoulder, and Will absent-mindedly let his head drop sideways against his.

"I don't doubt that whatsoever. Now, I'll have to move you."

Wait, what?

Will turned to look at him in utter confusion, but then Jason was already grabbing him firmly by his hips and practically lifting him up as he was, saying something to Nico, whose head snapped around just like Will's, both of them only managing to open their mouths before Will already found himself on Nico's lap.

Him.

On Nico's lap.

Nico's. Lap.

Will stared at the Italian, and Nico stared right back, looking as dumbfounded and struck as he was, his hands gingerly on Will's sides, as if fearing he'd hurt him.

What?

What?!

Jason laughed next to them and got up, and now they were both looking around at him with big, round eyes, but Jason merely ruffled through both their hair in turn, before switching seats with Percy, who…apparently was done getting his haircut.

Oh.

Oh, that made sense, then.

No, wait, it didn't.

Why was Will on Nico's lap?!

Why hadn't Jason just let him get up and take his seat?!

What?

What?!

Percy snorted, taking in both their faces with an expression full of glee and mirth, and if Will hadn't still been so stunned, he'd have kicked him.

Hard.

…Alright, maybe not so hard, he didn't want any bruises to happen, after all.

"Feeling comfortable on my boyfriend's lap?" Percy sassed, and Will snapped out of his stupor – but only to put on a dangerous grin and adjust his position on Nico's lap, wrapping an arm loosely around him.

"Of course. What do you think?"

Nico made a startled sound in the back of his throat, though Will could feel him gripping his sides harder, as if to make sure to keep him there.

Percy merely huffed, though he funnily enough didn't seem disgruntled, upset, or jealous, in the slightest.

Seriously, this guy made no sense.

He could throw a hissy fit about Jason not spending any time alone with him in the mornings, but he didn't even blink when a guy who was clearly interested in his boyfriend was sitting on his boyfriend's lap?

Plus, said boyfriend might or might not have been interested in said guy at some point, too.

In Will's opinion, that should at the very least cause a frown, or make Percy put on a show of kissing Nico right in front of Will and showing him Nico still was his and as taken as usual.

That was as if Piper or Reyna suddenly started hitting on Jason again.

At the mere thought of either of them on Jason's lap, Will felt his blood boil and the urge rising inside him to go and do something stupid, like mentioning he had gotten to suck Jason's dick before either of them had had the chance to.

Well.

Since when was he this possessive?

He shifted a bit on Nico's lap, who loosened his grip on him for a moment to give him more freedom, but the moment Will wondered whether that might not be a sign he should get off, his arms were right back around Will, keeping him in a firm hold.

That…felt unusual.

Different from Jason.

A lot different from Jason.

Jason tended to hold him tightly, but in a way that still allowed him to jump up and flee, should the need arise.

Nico's hold was less tight, but therefore…harsher? More claiming?

Will had more moving freedom, in a way, but Nico's hands didn't waver from their spots, as if to make sure Will knew he had him and wouldn't let him go unless he had to.

Will frowned at himself, pretty sure that sounded pretty much the same, but it absolutely wasn't.

Oh well, it didn't matter.

Not really.

Will glanced towards Jason, noticing the blonde was eyeing him curiously, while Piper stood next to him, mercilessly working over his sides.

That…looked pretty short…

"Are you sure you're not cutting off too much? He's not Roman anymore, after all." He heard himself muttering uncertainly, and Piper looked up with a questioning look.

"Oh, no worries, I'll only do that at the sides, else they'll be sticking off at horrible angles, since he's too lazy for gel and wax. Wouldn't want your boyfriend to look all serious and Praetor-ish again, would I now? He looks much goofier with a bit longer hair."

Will wasn't convinced, but decided not to say anything, while Jason's lips split into a wide grin.

Hey, what was he grinning about?

Because Piper said he looked goofy?

Nico stiffened behind him, and he could feel Percy's gaze on him, but he assumed they were just waiting for him to pick a fight with Piper or something.

Which…actually, no, that seemed unusual for them…?

But then what…

Well, Jason did look a lot friendlier with his hair not cut super short.

So it wasn't as if he was going to correct her on that statement, unless he had to.

But Jason would probably think he was doing it out of something crazy like jealousy or something, and Will absolutely didn't need that, so…yeah.

After another moment of contemplation, he decided to simply shrug, leaning back into Nico's hold.

"Well, alright, if you say so."

Jason let Piper move his head around and Will could see him gazing off into space with a rather elated seeming grin, while Percy and Nico seemed to share a look behind him.

Piper glanced towards Will for a moment, her multi-colored (and disorientating) eyes gleaming with mischief and glee, which confused Will all over again.

What?

Had he missed something?

He thought over her words once more, then wanted to smack his hands against his forehead.

"And Jason's not my boyfriend." He added hurriedly, though he knew it didn't sound very convincing, especially not thrown in this belatedly.

Jason's grin didn't waver in the slightest – if anything, it got even wider.

As did Piper's, for that matter, though she merely shrugged and concentrated on Jason's hair again.

Will turned to look sideways at the other two, catching them exchanging another long look.

Crybabies.

The lot of them.

Will stepped on Percy's foot.

"See? This is what happens when you keep trying to set us up with each other, Percy. Now Piper is getting the wrong idea."

Nico very cruelly pulled him away, moving him onto his other thigh and away from Percy before Percy could attempt to try anything (and also to prevent Will from stepping on any feet again).

But Will's words already did the work for him, anyways.

Percy let out an indignant 'What?!' that was surprisingly high-pitched, even for Percy, and his face seemed to be unable to make up its mind whether to turn pale or pink.

"I did no such thing!"

"Did too."

"Did not! You two are simply-…"

"Both of you, stop it. We're not having this argument again." Nico cut in, and both their mouths snapped shut automatically, though they still managed to scowl at each other.

Annabeth chuckled from where Will assumed her to still be on the bed.

"'Again'? Seems like you have quite the work on your hands full with those two, Nico."

"Oh, you have no idea." Jason put in very helpfully, and Will and Percy turned to scowl at him together, instead.

Annabeth laughed.

"Oh, I think I do. But hey, what do you know, teasing is a sign of affection, right?"

"That's what I keep telling them, too." Nico muttered, and Percy and Will both wailed in unison.

Though Will decided not to say anything to that, for obvious reasons.

Instead, he decided to pointedly redirect his concentration to Piper's hands moving through Jason's hair a lot more than she had with Nico, Percy or Will.

Wait, that wasn't what he was paying attention to.

He was paying attention to how she cut his hair.

It seemed like an useful skill, after all.

Absent-mindedly, he put his hand on Nico's wrist, the way he usually did with Jason – just to blink, confused by the sudden rush of emotions.

Nico was…a mess.

Confusion, concern, dread and guilt, but also longing, need/want and affection coursed through the Italian, all somewhat intermingled with the other, and the guilt seemed to get stronger the better and warmer and fuzzier he felt.

Will frowned, glancing around at Nico, who didn't even seem to be looking at anything in particular, his face fairly blank.

His frown deepening, Will looked towards Percy, who was looking from Nico to Will and back, looking…hopeful?

The moment he noticed Will looking, though, he hurriedly looked away, seeming somewhat conflicted and fidgety.

Alright, this was it, they made zero sense!

Will scowled, and he pushed back into Nico's hold automatically, still hung up on the fact that it was usually Jason holding him like that, and Jason always let him do that.

Nico's heart fluttered, and his hold on him tightened, a warm, hopeful feeling surging through him for the faintest moment, before the guilt was back.

But why? It just didn't make any-…

Oh wait…

Oh.

Oh.

Will glanced back around at the Italian, who met his gaze with an almost troubled look on his face, though he instantly masked it with a small smile.

Oh Nico…

Will felt the guilt gnawing on himself now, too.

He should probably get off him.

Seriously, he was kind of just staying to indulge himself, but if this put Nico in such disarray, that made everything even more wrong than it already was.

Oh gods, Will was an idiot.

He tried to move, tried to get off, thinking he'd just come up with an excuse as he went, but then he found Nico's arms tightening their hold on him, keeping him there.

"You okay?" The Italian asked, sounding the tiniest bit unnerved, which showed Will he knew what he had wanted to do.

With his hand still on Nico's wrist, he could also sense the unmasked fear shooting through Nico, but…not necessarily of Will leaving.

It could just be Will, but this struck him more as that sort of fear he had when he thought somebody had figured something out and was going to tell, rather than somebody getting up from his lap because of lack of comfort or something.

Though they were both fairly similar of course, and felt pretty much the same way to an outsider, so it really just might be Will.

It didn't really make a difference, anyways.

Will turned his head, smiling at him gently, and feeling Percy's gaze hushing between them.

"Oh, I'm great, Nico. Your lap is wonderful. I was just wondering whether your boyfriend won't get jealous, after all. Maybe we should switch or something, so he'll-…"

"I'm not jealous. You stay right there, or so the gods help me." Percy grumbled, and Will wanted to strangle him.

That idiot!

And wait, what did he mean, Will had to stay right here?!

Ugh, that giant idiot.

Will wanted to scowl at him.

Will smiled at him, instead.

"Aww, but Percy, I thought you'd like having me on your lap for a while. It was going to be an early birthday gift."

That wasn't what he had had in mind whatsoever, but it felt good watching Percy's head snapping around and his eyes widen.

Why Percy reacted that way was beyond him, but it looked funny, anyways.

Then, Percy scowled, and Will had to control himself not to laugh.

"You're so full of shit, Will."

"I love you too, sweetheart." Will deadpanned, and Percy's cheeks flushed ever so faintly, though his scowl only deepened, and he turned his head away again.

"Whatever. Just stay away from my lap."

"Rude." Will pouted, and turned sideways on Nico's lap again so he could drop against him completely, but Nico funnily enough didn't seem surprised in the slightest, simply adjusting his hold on him and stroking one hand over his back (which felt really nice, might he mention).

"Nico, your boyfriend is mistreating me."

"Nico's boyfriend has a name." Percy grumbled, and Will sent him a wry look.

"Fine. Nico, Perseus is mistreating me."

Funnily enough, Percy seemed satisfied with that.

Seriously, if Will hadn't witnessed how Percy could react to that name, he'd have never believed it.

"Maybe you should stop teasing him, then." Nico said quietly, and Will huffed, letting his head fall onto his shoulder.

"Impossible. The temptation is too great."

Percy huffed loudly, but Will ignored him.

"Then what am I supposed to do about it?" Nico asked and Will turned his head to grin at him, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Ground him."

"You know what!"

Will cackled.

Then he wailed.

Percy was way too mean!

.

"Somebody is liking your new hairstyle, Jace." Percy stated drily, and Will scowled at him, though he made no move to remove his hands from Jason's head, going through it over and over again.

It was so short.

Well, at the sides.

Piper hadn't lied, after all, so Jason's hair was still longer on top, but it still looked so…different.

(It really didn't, but Will was still low-key freaking out about it.)

It looked good, but also…couldn't she have left it a teensy bit longer?

He stroked through it again, making Jason glance sideways at him.

Yeah, he had a hunch he shouldn't be doing that when they were sort of in the middle of lunch, but…

"Actually, I think he's doing that because he doesn't like it." Jason corrected, and Will hurriedly pulled his hands away.

"No! No, it looks good. It's just…different." He rushed to explain, then wondered why he even bothered.

Jason smiled at him faintly and patted his head, and Will made a face at him, though he had a hunch Jason just wanted to touch his hair again without being quite as obvious as Will about it.

Which was the only reason he let him do it, of course.

"It's okay, it will grow longer again soon enough."

"I said I liked it!" Will exclaimed loudly, tempted to slam his hand on the table.

"Why didn't anybody even as much as comment on my hair? Everybody is making a fuss about everyone's hair but mine. How unfair is that?" Percy suddenly mumbled from where he was sitting next to Nico, staring down at his plate with a pout, one hand playing with the tips of his fringe.

"I think you look great, Percy. It looks very nice." Nico rushed to say, patting Percy's shoulder as if in consolation.

Percy kept pouting, probably having hoped to get him to stroke through his hair, too.

Will rolled his eyes, shooting Jason a quick look.

"Well, that's because it's no surprise you're good looking, Gorgeous. She barely cut yours, so it looks pretty much the same, just a bit more…orderly. So it wasn't as much of a change to us as Nico's or Jason's new haircut." He stated dryly, but all that did was make Percy huff.

Oh gods, what a drama queen.

Seriously, the Ghost King and the Drama Queen.

Nico and Percy made a perfect match.

Will sighed and leaned forward, nudging Percy's hand aside to stroke through his fringe.

"Percy, of course we like your haircut. Do you really think I'd have let you live it down if you looked stupid? I'd be cracking jokes this entire time, you know I would."

Percy's lips twitched, but he kept his eyes downcast and forced the pout back.

Alright, now he was just begging for more attention.

Dork.

Jason sighed next to him and leaned forward as well, reaching out with one hand to brush a longer strand of hair behind Percy's ear.

"Will is right." Jason said quietly, and Will huffed in agreement.

When was he not right?

Percy now did grin, looking rather pleased with himself and the situation.

Of course he did.

He had all their attention on him now, after all.

Seriously, in situations like these, Will knew exactly why Jason and he had to stick around all the time.

Percy's need for attention was unbelievable.

"There you are-…oh…right. Want me to pet your head, too, Jackson?" A voice sounded behind them, and Will managed not to jump or freeze, which instantly made him feel stupidly proud of himself.

Though he did find himself pulling his hand back as he looked around at Clarisse coming closer.

"Morning, Clarisse." He and Nico greeted automatically, even though it wasn't technically morning anymore.

They were in the middle of eating lunch, after all, but…yeah, whatever.

"With my luck, you'd try to 'pet my head' with your new spear." Percy retorted drily, and Will was about to defend her, but then didn't, because…well, with those two, he wouldn't put it past her to try it…gently…

Clarisse cackled at that, flopping down next to Will, and he wasn't sure whether she was doing it on purpose, but that kind of moved him further towards Jason, who of course made no move to make more space, instead letting Will press against his arm and side.

Will would probably complain about that, but…well, he kind of didn't mind.

And the fluttery feeling he could feel surging through Jason made it even better.

"Eh, can't deny I didn't think about it. But anyways, hey there, kiddos. Had a nice trip? Ginny and Merve told me a bit about your travel complications in the beginning, and the smooth drive back. Surely has its perks to have a personal chauffeur, huh?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows at Nico, who shrugged with a small smile and a light blush.

"It would have been more helpful if we had known beforehand, that way we would have been able to avoid said travel complications, but…yeah, it was fun."

"Hey, the travel complications were great. We got to swim in the Salt Lake." Percy put in quickly, and Will couldn't help but smile.

Somehow, that really seemed to have been the best thing about the trip to Percy.

"We also got to see a lot more than just the Salt Lake." Jason added, and Will thought of all the places they had gone through and not even really looked at.

Maybe they should have gone sightseeing.

There he was out of the Camp for once, and all they had done was rush through the world to get to their destination asap.

Kind of a shame.

Though he knew he had been more than a little stressed back then already, without having to plan any sightseeing tours, so he was sort of glad they hadn't done anything of the kind, too.

Then, he suddenly thought of their Pocky game, especially the Pocky kiss with Nico, and decided to much rather study Clarisse's profile, while Nico and Percy talked about some other things they had done.

"We also visited my mom."

"And my dad refurnished my room in the Underworld into a gaming room."

"Oh, and we went to Elysium!"

"We also met Silena."

Will winced, but Nico's gaze was firm and levelled as he gazed at Clarisse, waiting for her reaction.

Clarisse…didn't react for a long moment, her face blank, her breathing even.

Then she let out a small sigh and her jaw clenched for a moment.

Will moved his hand to her shoulder, but more to get an input on her values, rather than for comfort.

She didn't want his comfort, he could already tell that much.

"Oh really? That's nice. Is she…" Clarisse started, but then trailed off, probably wondering what word to best use.

Will wouldn't know, either.

Okay? Alright? How alright could somebody be when they were dead?

"She's with Beckendorf. They're happy. We…told her a bit about how things are up here, and she told me to tell you she's proud of you. She also demanded I should tell you that you better let her know if/when you're getting married, because she has 'the best speech ever' and it would be such a waste if you never heard it." Nico explained quietly, and Will frowned slightly.

Really?

When had she told him that?

Then again, Will barely remembered anything from Elysium other than Leah, Lee and Michael, so…yeah…

Clarisse laughed, though the pain and sorrow coursing through her were still ever so vivid.

"Oh really?"

"Oh yes. She showed me a giant stack of papers, so if that's it, then let me warn you: It's going to be long." Nico replied with a small smile, and a sense of nostalgia rushed through her.

"True, she always said she'd be my bridesmaid, and that her wedding speech would be as slaying as my fighting skills…" She mumbled absentmindedly, staring off into space, and Will patted her shoulder gently.

"So how was your time here? Everybody still alive? Will said he's scared of checking the infirmary, because he fears you cut up too many people." Percy asked, and Will shot him a dark look.

Clarisse chuckled, nudging Will in the side.

A lot harsher than the guys usually did, but fairly gentle for Clarisse's standards.

"Aww, you flatter me, Solace. Nah, you'll only find the regulars and some newbs who couldn't hold their weapons right, if even. Everything is good. Chuck is growing splendidly, too. Which…is actually why I came, in the first place. He's missing you, Neeks. You said you'd visit him by times." She didn't exactly say it in an accusing tone, though Will immediately saw Nico shrinking back slightly.

"I wasn't at Camp!" He defended himself meekly, but Clarisse merely waved off.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Could have dropped by before, but I get that you're…you know, busy. Young people in love, and four of them, as is? I picture that to be pretty difficult in the beginning. But I'm glad you managed to find yourself some decent people for once, Solace. Didn't like your ex much."

Will felt his blood turning to ice, his body going rigid.

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

Not now.

Deep breathing.

Everything was good.

She was just…it was all no big deal.

Will tried to smile, but he was pretty sure his bottom lip was trembling.

If she noticed, she didn't comment on it.

"Oh! We're not-…" Nico started, but Clarisse didn't let him get any further.

"Whatever. No, what I was trying to say, is that today's your lucky day! I was supposed to watch over Chuck this afternoon, since the Coach is busy teaching the younger satyrs whatever it is they need to be taught, and Mellie was hoping to go to some nymph meeting. As you might guess already, I kind of have something coming up, though, so I'd much prefer if you could go in my place. Don't worry, you can take your boyfriends with, the kid always loves meeting new people." She rushed to explain, not really giving them much opportunity to say anything at all.

Which was great, because Will was still trying to regulate his body temperature, and his fingertips were numb, while the rest of his body seemed to tingle.

Gods, he hated this sort of shock.

Why was this always happening?

He had looked into it before, and he should already be way past this stage!

It had been so long ago, it shouldn't even faze him anymore.

He wasn't traumatized, or anything, after all!

Will had researched that before, and had decided the symptoms didn't fit, and there was that!

…Will might have tweaked that a little bit.

But Will still wasn't traumatized!

He was just…

Jason's hand moved to his thigh, and Will jumped slightly, though he was glad when Jason didn't immediately pull away again.

"I'd love to go." Jason said quietly, while Percy seemed to have started rambling about always having wanted to meet Chuck, and that he loved babies, and that he couldn't wait, but that he also wasn't going to change any diapers because he didn't want to break the baby (which made no sense, but okay).

"We're not boyfriends." Nico mumbled for the third time, but was once more ignored, and any other time, Will would have probably laughed about it.

Right now, though, he merely let himself fall against Jason slightly, staring at his still full plate with absolutely no appetite at all.

In fact, he felt sick.

Oh, so that's why he kept dancing around Jason.

He had almost forgotten.

Seriously, one had one good day, and suddenly it felt as if one could take on the world again.

Apparently, not.

Will pouted, and suddenly found a glass of juice pushed towards him.

"Sun-bug, you're paling again. You don't like babies? Come on, it will be fun! You helped Mellie through labor, right? So I'm sure you won't do anything horribly stupid like dropping the baby. Whoa, what if Chuck still remembers you? Do babies do that? Can he remember you? Who knows, maybe he'll think you're his dad because he saw you first." Percy rambled, leaning forward to grab Will's hand and wrap it around the glass when Will didn't do it, himself.

Then, he even started guiding that stupid glass to Will's mouth, and Will moved away with a scowl, sipping on his drink against his better judgment.

He was perfectly capable of drinking!

Percy merely blew him a kiss that made Will glower at him even more.

Then, he mulled over his words, glad for the distraction.

"I doubt he'll remember me, but sure, I'd love to see him again and check that everything is alright. And Percy, I do like babies. Who doesn't?"

He was pretty sure he didn't want to know the answer to that.

Clarisse was already up and going, and Percy and Nico were right behind, as if they had all just waited for Will to give his okay, which seemed…weird.

"You're such a doctor, Will. Come on, grab your food and let's go!" Percy exclaimed, sounding obnoxiously cheerful again, but Will merely sighed.

It only occurred to him that the reminder 'Come on and let's go' was just because he still hadn't made a move to get up.

Yeah, well, his legs didn't want to obey, it wasn't his fault.

Jason got up slowly, making a show of packing up a couple of sandwiches out of nowhere, and Will let out a small sigh, trying to ignore the pricking in his legs as he moved them to get him up and going.

It felt as if they had fallen asleep, but that usually didn't come with the feeling of nausea currently coursing through him.

He decided to ignore both, wordlessly taking the sandwiches from Jason to have an excuse to stay by his side.

"You alright?" Jason asked, sounding good-naturedly enough, but he was studying Will again in that way Will didn't like.

Will let him scrutinize him all he wanted, merely shrugging his shoulders.

"Just thought of all the work my siblings must have left me in the infirmary. So not looking forward to all the paperwork." He exclaimed with a sigh, and Jason's lips twitched.

"If you want, we can try to help…?"

"Hell no. The day I let somebody else touch my paperwork, is the day I'm dead in my grave. Or wherever I'll be. Why do you think my siblings leave me that work?" He asked indignantly, then realized that probably sounded pretty contradictive, regarding his whining just now.

Jason chuckled, linking their pinkies together without asking, and Will let it happen without comment.

"Oh, I wouldn't know. To make things more difficult for yourself? You love doing that, after all." The blonde remarked, and Will sent him a wry look.

"Behave, Jason, or I'll appoint you the diaper-changer."

Jason rolled his eyes, absolutely unfazed by his statement.

"Sure, I doubt Percy and Nico will want to do it, anyways, so it will either be you or me."

Yeah, pretty much.

"You do know Chuck is a baby satyr though, right?"

Jason's face changed for a moment, then he put on a sheepish smile, just as they caught up to the others.

"Well, in that case…have fun, Freckles." Jason stated, and Will's head snapped around.

"Hey, Perce, Will says he'll be the diaper-changer."

"Perfect! We were just wondering who'd do it." Percy exclaimed, moving to Will's side to hug him, telling him he was 'great and amazing and the best', while Nico had his face buried in his hands, repeatedly muttering 'We're not boyfriends' under his breath that still went ignored.

Well…Nico, in all honesty, by now, it was hard to tell what they were, exactly.

Of course people would assume them to be boyfriends.

There were moments even Will caught himself thinking they were boyfriends.

(He called it wishful thinking, but that didn't make it any less valid, he just decided.)

He'd like them to be boyfriends, too.

Will shot another sideways look at Jason, who grinned back at him, earning him a dark scowl and a very affectionate 'Fuck you!' from Will.

That only made him laugh.

Of course it did.

Jason was such a dork.

Will wondered why the thought of just dating the three of them seemed so much easier and more possible than dating Jason by himself.

Probably because dating Jason was actually possible, while the other option wasn't, so the thought of it was of course a lot simpler than if Will was actually confronted with the possibility for real.

If the guys suddenly tried asking him out for one giant foursome, he'd probably turn on his heels and run back to his cabin and never come out again.

Wow, he was such a coward, it was almost hilarious.

Will sighed, then grinned as he watched Percy hop around in front of him, now all over Nico again.

Yeah, alright, maybe taking care of a baby right now wouldn't be all that bad.

It would certainly keep him busy, and who didn't like some nice distractions from life?

Plus, this was his perfect chance to show Percy and Nico what they were in for, should they ever opt to adopt a baby/small child.

Or adopt, in general.

All kids were difficult and needed proper care and attention, no matter their age.

This would certainly be interesting.

Jason started sneaking closer again, and Will acted as if he didn't notice until the very end, when Jason's pinkie tried linking itself with Will's again, and he shot him a questioning, expectant look.

Jason put on a pout, batting his eyelashes at Will.

Rude, using his charms like that.

Will looked away, trying to resist.

"I'll help you a teensy little bit?" Jason tried tentatively, and Will rolled his eyes with a sigh, glancing back at Jason to find him blinking hopefully at him, again.

Let it be known, Jason was a horrible human being.

Will loved him.

He allowed their pinkies to link and shook his head with another small sigh as Jason's other hand snatched the sandwiches back for whatever reason ever.

"Alright. I hope he pees on you at least once, I'm just saying." Will grumbled, then Percy suddenly appeared at his other side, still excited, still obnoxiously loud, but Will loved that, too, and he decided to let that be his reason for not saying anything when Percy grabbed his now once more free hand, even though Will was definitely not Percy's boyfriend.

Percy's actual boyfriend was to his other side, holding hands with him too, while his free hand was still covering his face, though he had stopped muttering.

(Will thought he could glimpse a smile on a flushed face, but that might also just be wishful thinking as usual, so he decided not to think too much into that.)

Clarisse marched ahead of them, explaining something about a feeding schedule and how to prepare Chuck's food, but Will hoped she'd explain that once more when they got there, else they'd be screwed.

And so, they made their way towards Mellie's and Coach Hedge's place in the forest.

Will didn't even want to know how many people could see them like this, how many of his siblings would undoubtedly spot him holding hands with Percy, and sort-of holding hands with Jason.

But hey, if they assumed anything, it was their own fault, right?

Will certainly wasn't going to point anything out to the guys.

He also had no intention of clearing things up whatsoever.

(Nico, Percy and Jason would probably do that for him at some point, anyways.)

So, yeah, he was good.

This was great.

And now, it was baby-time.

.

"You know, I was joking when I said he would never put the baby down, but…" Will started quietly, shaking his head with an amused smile playing on his lips as he, Jason and Percy watched from the sofa how Nico ventured around in the small kitchen, preparing Chuck's food…while holding Chuck like a pro all the while.

Adorable.

Absolutely adorable.

"That's okay, he doesn't have to put the baby down, after all, right?" Percy waved off, watching his boyfriend with a dreamy expression on his face.

He had only gotten to hold Chuck once so far, and that only for a few minutes, before Clarisse had taken him back and given him to Jason, instead.

It had been a 'practice run' to ensure they all knew what they were doing when holding him.

Of course, Clarisse needn't have worried, but Jason and Will surely had needed that nudge to really dare and take the baby.

Else, Will was pretty sure he'd have contented himself with just trailing behind Percy and Nico and letting them take turns in carrying him whenever the need arose.

Well, it wasn't as if it was any different now, to be honest, but at least he felt confident he was capable of holding Chuck if he had to.

Nico had kind of taken to him after the first some minutes though, and ever since then he hadn't put him down a single moment, even though Chuck had stopped crying for his parents (and Clarisse) ages ago.

Will would be concerned, but he had read plenty of stories of mothers holding their babies the majority of the time until they could crawl/walk, and none of them had seemed to have any lasting damage from that, so everything was good.

If anything, the babies saw it as their parents being extra loving and protective.

A child was absolutely defenseless, after all.

Will much preferred the thought of spoiling his baby and carrying it around all day, than being like some people were and leaving it in a different room and letting it cry.

It all had its good sides and bad sides, but personally, he'd rather keep the baby close.

And so did Nico, apparently, since the Italian was now humming some song Will didn't know, with Chuck professionally hoisted on his hips, while his free hand worked on Chuck's second lunch.

Chuck was grinning up at him with big, round eyes, making grabby hands either at the bottle, or at Nico's face, and Will caught Nico smiling in a rather serene, content way.

Seriously, if Chuck didn't have goat legs, Will could so picture this being Nico's child.

He sighed, putting his chin on his arms and noticing Percy doing the same.

Will also noticed Jason glancing over at him faintly, but he was too taken by Nico and his baby skills to react in time to look back.

"Alright, this should be it. Do you want to feed him or should I?" Nico asked, coming back and adjusting his hold on Chuck, who made a squealing sound and smacked his lips, as if he knew exactly what they were talking about.

Clarisse had explained to them that he wasn't yet very good in eating solids – though he certainly loved trying – and that they could attempt to give him some of the fruit from the basket in the kitchen, but they had settled on only trying that later, once they had the basic feeding of the milk down.

Since Chuck was a satyr, not a human baby, things were a tiny bit different from what Will had read on the topic, and pretty confusing too, but he was confident they'd manage.

From what he had gathered so far, everything was either a lot quicker than for human babies, or a lot slower.

Chuck could already crawl like a baby, and hop around like a goat, but he couldn't yet eat much other than milk, and the occasional grass, as they had been informed.

From what Will could tell though, he was a healthy little thing, so all was well.

"You can do it, if you want." Percy waved off, still with a dreamy expression on his face, and Will wondered whether he'd start drooling.

If he did, hopefully it wouldn't make Chuck drool, too.

And if it did, then he hoped Chuck had drooled before then already, so it wasn't anything Percy had accidentally taught him.

Nico eyed them warily for a moment, probably wondering why all three of them were kneeling on the sofa and leaning over the back of it, instead of sitting on it properly, but he didn't ask.

Good.

He wouldn't have liked the answer, anyways.

Nico walked past them and settled into the armchair, changing Chuck's position so he could eat, and Chuck let himself fall into his arms only all too willingly, letting out a loud 'Oooh!' and eyeing the bottle with what was definitely hunger, smacking his lips again before reaching out and urging Nico to hurry up.

So cute.

Nico chuckled softly, muttering something in Italian Will couldn't catch, then he tested the temperature of the milk on the back of his hand once more before giving it to Chuck, who started drinking immediately, gazing up at Nico with amazement and wonder.

Aww, alright, Will was going to burst from that overload of cuteness right there.

"I swear, if you're not getting kids, I'm going to adopt for you." He whispered over to Percy darkly, and Percy pushed him away with a small laugh.

"Don't you worry, I want an army of those."

They snickered, and Jason looked over to them with an amused look.

"I think one or two will be good enough for a start, Perce."

"Lies. At least six or seven. We'll manage somehow." Percy stated confidently, and Will bit his lip so as to not laugh out loud.

Of course they were only joking, but somehow, he could so picture Percy with a whole bunch of kids.

But he also knew children weren't always adorable and quiet, and he was so going to ask Percy again about just how many babies he wanted, once Chuck showed his not so peaceful side.

He had cried earlier when he had realized Clarisse wasn't coming back, and had cried even more when he realized his parents weren't hiding anywhere, but that was nothing to what Will knew he was capable of.

Also, the way Clarisse had wished them 'Good Luck' indicated there was much worse to come, too.

But for now, everything was peaceful, and he agreed that kids were wonderful.

"Would you adopt? Like, do you want kids?" Percy asked curiously, and it took Will a moment to realize he was asking him.

Blinking surprised, he found himself shrugging.

"I don't know. Maybe? It depends."

"On what?" Percy pried, eyeing Will oddly.

Will looked past him at Jason, who was also watching, looking just as curious.

He shifted, glancing down.

"Well, on my partner, for once. Alone, I wouldn't want to adopt. But if I had a partner, and they wanted a kid, then sure. It wouldn't have to be a baby, though. There's so many kids waiting to be adopted, and the older they get, the smaller their chances get to actually get adopted, so…I'd probably try to take in one or two of those. I don't know." He explained awkwardly, and both Percy and Jason smiled at him.

"True that. In all honesty, I'd probably do the same. But you have to admit this is nice, right? A baby?"

Will threw Percy a dry look.

"Percy, if you're hoping for a surrogate mother, I can't help you with that. I'm still a guy, in case you haven't noticed."

Jason snorted.

"Damn, Percy, you got found out." He joked, while Percy was too busy looking indignant and offended.

"That was not what I was doing! I was just…oh, come on, you two are such-…"

"Watch your mouth, Percy. I'm not having you teach Chuck any swearwords." Nico interrupted sternly, while Jason and Will cackled in unison at Percy's dismay.

"Of course not, my Angel. But they are being their usual horrible selves again, you know…" Percy whined, and Nico sent the three of them warning looks that had Will and Jason exchanging another amused look.

Aww, somebody was in parent-mode.

"You'd make such a wonderful dad." Will charmed effortlessly, sending Nico a little wink, while Percy groaned and rolled his eyes, muttering something darkly under his breath Nico luckily couldn't decipher.

"A child suits you wonderfully, Nico." Jason agreed amiably, and Will reached out to high-five him, unable to resist.

Percy between them leaned forward and let his head fall on the living room table, while Nico eyed them skeptically, an adorable blush creeping up his neck.

"Alright, Percy, it's your turn." The Italian then announced and made to get up, and Percy instantly jumped up, looking shocked and frantic.

"No! No, it's alright, I'll just hold him later, it's no problem at all-…" He started hurriedly, but Nico ignored his wailing and moved over, pushing Percy back into the sofa with one hand and working on getting Chuck's puny hands to let go of his shirt.

"It's alright, Chuck. Percy is going to give you the rest of your bottle in a moment." Nico soothed when Chuck started whining slightly, and the baby satyr instantly tilted his head and smacked his lips as if in question.

"Yes, food. Now, go to Percy." Nico said softly, and finally managed to get the little fist to let go of his shirt, before passing Chuck to a very overwhelmed looking Percy.

"But what if I hurt him? Or what if he chokes? I can't do CPR! Well, I learned, but I think I just forgot how to do it!"

"Will knows how to do CPR. You'll be fine, Percy." Nico replied utterly unfazed, fixing Percy's hold on the baby and pushing the milk bottle into his hands.

"But…but…but…" Percy started, now looking around at Will with a pleading look, as if he hoped Will was going to volunteer to feed the baby.

Oh, hell no.

He shook his head wildly, and Percy looked ready to cry, now turning his head towards Jason to his other side.

"You'll be fine, Percy. Stop making puppy eyes at Jason, I know you can do it. See, you hold the bottle like this, so he gets the milk, not any air. Yeah, like that. And then, he already does the rest by himself-…see? There you go, he's drinking. You're doing great, Percy." Nico assured, his tone still so unusually soft, and Will put his chin on his hand as he watched the scene with a stupid grin on his face.

Aww, they looked so adorable.

Like a little family.

Jason inched closer to Percy and peeked over his shoulder at Chuck, who switched from looking at Percy to Jason and back, interrupting his drinking to grin at them both with a toothless smile.

Nico chuckled, placing a quick peck to Percy's forehead before pulling back and moving back to the kitchen to clean up the mess he made, while Will slowly shifted closer, too.

"He's so cute." He said softly, and Percy nodded, worrying his bottom lip as he tried to make Chuck drink again, but Chuck was too busy beaming at the three of them now.

"You want to take over?" Percy then asked hopefully, but both Jason and Will instantly shook their heads.

"You're doing great, bro."

"Nah, you're a natural at this, Gorgeous. Just keep going."

They grinned at each other for a moment, while Percy sighed deeply and nudged the bottle back against Chuck's lips, who did start drinking again now.

Though not for long.

Mostly because Jason was starting to make stupid faces, that absolute dork.

Well…okay, Jason might not be the only one making faces.

Every time Percy turned his head sharply to catch Jason making faces (and making Chuck laugh), Will was the one making a different grimace at Chuck (making him laugh even more), which resulted in Percy's head snapping towards him, but he failed to catch either of them, frustrating him more and more (which seemed to make Chuck laugh the hardest. He was so much like Clarisse, it was both amusing and worrisome).

They kept it up until Nico came back, who made them stop the best entertainment ever with a scolding look at them both and a promise they'd be holding Chuck next.

Mean.

It wasn't their fault teasing Percy was so much fun.

"You're always so mean to me. I'm feeling so unloved." Percy fake-sobbed, and Will and Jason both started patting him on the back with matching 'Aww'-s.

"We're so sorry, Percy. You know we love you dearly." Will insisted seriously, and Percy looked as if he wanted to push him away, but thanks to the baby in his arms, he couldn't.

Will would have to remember that.

"Yeah, well, Will and Nico love you dearly. I tolerate your existence." Jason stated drily, and Percy wailed, while Will and Nico simultaneously boxed Jason's arms from both sides, making him laugh.

"Liar! You adore him. Tell him you love him, you d-…"

"Will! Not in front of the baby!" Nico interrupted him sharply, and Will winced, lifting his hands immediately.

"I was going to say 'darling'!" He insisted (and lied) loudly, and Chuck started laughing and beaming at them again, making them all fall silent and look at him.

"You still owe me an 'I love you'." Percy said quietly, a small smile playing on his lips as he put the bottle down and gave Chuck his finger to hold onto, instead, which Chuck did, laughing brightly at him.

"I love you." Nico, Will and Jason replied automatically, and Will felt his face heating.

So did Nico's, for that matter, and Will absolutely wasn't surprised that Nico was right behind him when he fled the living room to check whether there was anything left to do in the kitchen.

Of course there wasn't, but Nico pushed past him and started going through the cupboards for some glasses, so Will busied himself looking for the juices that Clarisse had told them to help themselves to earlier.

Seriously, talk about an awkward moment.

Why had he replied, too?

It was obvious Percy had meant Jason.

That Nico would reply was obvious, too, but that didn't really mean it was okay for Will to just chime in.

What was he thinking?

He was being way too obvious.

Even though he doubted either Percy or Nico would take it seriously, he knew Jason might.

And after Jason's whole 'I'm going to lose you'-issue, Will didn't want him to think he was only not dating him already because he was hoping for more with either Percy or Nico.

Though Jason had said he knew that wasn't the case.

Which seemed weird enough already, anyways.

"No, Jason, don't leave me alone! Bro! Bro, you can't…" Percy started wailing, and Will wasn't surprised to find Jason in the doorway to the kitchen a moment later, poking his head in to check on them.

"You two quite alright?"

Will guessed their flight from the living room had been a tad too obvious to go ignored.

To be expected.

"We're good. Just getting some drinks." Nico answered for them both, while Will opted for a small smile.

Jason smiled back and nodded, returning to Percy, who was now blessing him with all sorts of things like longevity, fertility, luck, and tons of other stuff he had no control over.

Will and Nico exchanged an amused grin, then brought the drinks, not surprised in the slightest when they found Percy maneuvering Chuck into Jason's arms.

"He drank his bottle, Nico. It's only fair if Jason holds him next. I'll hold him in a bit again, okay?" Percy hurried to explain himself, and Will nudged Nico to take his seat next to Percy, instead deciding to claim the armchair.

Or so he thought, but then Jason's arm came out of nowhere and snatched his wrist, tugging him over to sit on the armrest next to Jason.

"Stay here. Chuck adores you. Look how he smiles at you." Jason said softly, and Will reluctantly sat, looking down at the bundle of joy that was showing him another one of his toothless smiles, making a squeaking sound when their eyes met.

Babies were way too adorable.

"Well, who can't smile when they're looking at our sun-bug?" Percy put in seriously, now being the one to peek down at Chuck over Jason's shoulder, while Nico put his chin on Percy's shoulder with a broad smile.

"Maybe he's seeing that miniature sun I keep talking about. I once heard babies can see things grown-ups can't see anymore."

Will frowned for a moment, something nagging at the back of his mind.

Miniature sun?

He had heard that before…

Hadn't Jason said something like that before?
Wait, that had come from Nico?

Nico had said that?

"Like spirits and stuff? That's cool." Percy muttered, and Nico chuckled.

"You know, other people would call it 'creepy', but okay."

Chuck started holding onto Jason's finger, blowing bubbles with his mouth, which made Will react automatically and use his napkin to wipe the drool away.

Suddenly, he had three guys shooting him soft, knowing grins, and he felt the heat rising in his face.

"Hey, we should get you one of these, Percy. They'd come in handy when you drool into my neck at night, again. Do you think they'll have these in blue?" He asked hurriedly to get them to stop looking at him like that and Percy promptly scowled, opening his mouth to undoubtedly snap a very loving 'Fuck you' right back at him.

Nico clapped his hand over his mouth before he had the chance.

"Don't even think about it."

"But Chuck can't even talk yet! He surely won't remember it by the time he'll even start talking, I'm sure of it! Plus, have you heard Clarisse and Coach talk? They cuss all the time!" Percy complained, but Nico's stern look didn't waver, and Percy resorted to pouting, while Jason and Will chuckled.

Chuck chuckled too, beaming up at them and now apparently trying to squish Jason's finger.

Definitely Coach Hedge's kid, that much was certain.

(If the goat legs hadn't been indicator enough.)

"Aw, look at how strong you are." Jason nearly cooed, and Will nudged him pointedly when Chuck now looked confused.

"Jason, you have to at least act like it's hurting." He chided, and Jason blinked.

Then he sent Will a hopeful look, batting his eyelashes at him.

Which might not have worked nearly as well as when Percy did it (because Percy was the master of the baby seal face™), but still worked well enough to make Will want to move mountains for him.

He sighed and made a grabby hand at Chuck to signal he was going to touch him.

Of course, he vaguely realized a moment later that was probably a really stupid and unnecessary thing to do, but oh well.

Funnily enough, that caught Chuck's attention instantly, and he let go of Jason's hand to make grabby hands right back at Will.

"Aww, see? He adores you." Percy cooed with a broad grin, and Will shot him a dark look before letting Chuck touch his hand all over, grabbing hold of each finger once before settling on his thumb, holding onto it with both hands and tugging, as if he hoped Will's finger would fall off.

What a charming child.

Will grinned down at him with an encouraging smile, wiggling his finger around a bit and making him laugh, before Chuck started looking almost determined, making strained sounds and squishing Will's finger..

"Ouch, ouch. Man, Chuck, you're so strong!" Will said seriously, wincing whenever Chuck gave an especially good tug, and Chuck all but gloated.

Yes, a truly charming child.

By the looks of it, he was definitely taking right after his father.

Probably with Clarisse's help, too.

"Oh wow, Will, that looks painful. Such a little warrior." Percy teased, and Nico bit on his lip to stifle a laugh.

Will put on a pained face.

"Yes, I think I'll lose my finger before this is over." He lamented, before uttering some more exaggerated 'Ouch'-s and 'Nooo'-s, that all made Chuck laugh and beam at him.

Then, he finally let go and stroked over Will's hand again, before getting distracted by the striped pattern of Jason's (horrible) sweater.

"Does he have any toys to play with? Just in case he gets bored of us anytime soon." Percy asked curiously, and the three of them looked around at him with knowing looks.

"I don't want to play with them! I just want to know whether he has any!" Percy exclaimed exasperated, as if he knew what they were thinking.

They grinned at him, but decided not to comment (for now).

"Yeah, Clarisse showed us his box while you were too busy holding him and cooing about how cute he was." Will explained, and Percy made a face, while Nico sighed and stared off into space.

"I should have brought my camera."

Oh yes, he really should have.

If they had known they'd watch over a baby satyr, Will was sure that would have been the first thing the four would have searched for in their luggage.

"Want me to go get it?" Jason offered, but Nico waved off with a small shake of his head.

"Nah, it's okay. We can always offer to watch over him again some other time. Mellie would be grateful, for sure."

True that.

Chuck made a small noise and Will looked back down, finding him looking up at Jason with big, round eyes, a look of anticipation on his face.

It took another moment for Will to realize that was because Jason was making faces again.

Seriously, such a dork.

"Wonder if he likes playing airplane." Percy mused, and Will could see Jason's eyes light up.

Oh gods.

"Jason, whatever you're thinking…" He and Nico started at the same time, the concern barely concealed, but Jason was already pushing off the sofa, asking Chuck whether he wanted to try 'something fun'.

Jason, no!

…Jason, yes.

While Percy bent forward laughing, and Nico and Will clutched each other in horror behind him on the sofa, Chuck started laughing loudly, right along with Jason, as the two started playing 'airplane'…with Jason flying around right under the ceiling, holding Chuck out in front of him like Rafiki did in The Lion King with young Simba.

"If he drops him we are all dead." Nico breathed, sounding devastated, and Will could only nod numbly.

They seemed to be the only ones worrying, though, since Percy was practically on the floor laughing, and Chuck seemed to think this was the best thing in the world.

Were satyrs even supposed to…well…fly?

Satyrs were usually said to have a connection to the Earth, not the Sky.

Oh gods, Coach Hedge was probably going to murder them once he found out.

Nico and Will exchanged another long, shocked look.

Then Nico suddenly broke out laughing, and Will did, too, pushing him back into the couch with a 'We're so doomed! Stop laughing!'.

"You stop laughing! Mellie will have a heart attack if she finds out!" Nico shot back, still cracking up, while Will started tickling his sides.

"Hey, you two better behave, there's a child watching." Percy chided with one look at them, and Will wanted to inform him that 'a child watching' should be the least problem he should have with this, but then didn't, instead turning to tickle Nico again as they both laughed and talked about just how doomed they were.

It didn't make any sense, but it felt like the right thing to do, anyways.

Gods, how had he ever lived without these three dorks in his life?

It was unimaginable.

Impossible.

Surreal.

Well, anyways, he never wanted to miss them in his life, again.

And one of them definitely had to get a kid at one point or another!

.

"Why won't he stop crying?" Percy whined, and Will buried his head under the sofa pillow with a shrug.

Had he mentioned babies were loud?

Because they absolutely were.

And satyr babies apparently sometimes drifted off into bleating.

Very, very loud and frantic bleating that made Will feel scared somebody was going to think they were slaughtering something in here.

"Maybe we should check his diapers." Jason suggested, but they had done that no ten minutes ago, so Will highly doubted it.

Also, he was never changing satyr diapers again in his entire life.

Clarisse had explained the process to him, but hearing one had to wash a satyrs backside with lukewarm water didn't sound half as difficult as it actually was.

Also, while Chuck's puny hands had close to no strength in them, his goat half certainly could kick perfectly fine.

Of course, Nico and Percy had helped both with the bathing and the drying, and Jason had put the clean diapers on (a cheer for teamwork), but the whole ordeal had still left Will more drained than he'd have thought.

Somehow, ever since that fateful encounter a good hour ago, Chuck had decided to start screaming and crying, though, and so far they hadn't managed to figure out what he wanted.

He didn't want to eat, Nico had tried that.

He didn't want to play, Percy and Jason had tried that.

His diapers were clean.

He made no move to sleep.

What were they supposed to do?

Maybe he wanted to sleep, but didn't trust them enough?

No, it didn't seem like a trust-issue.

Will groaned, burying his head further under the pillow, though it didn't drown out much noise.

Chuck probably missed his parents.

It was to be expected, really, but did he have to be so loud about it?

Seriously, what were they supposed to do?

Somebody patted his lower back, and he grumbled, waving off with one hand half-heartedly, though he still felt the anxious tug in his gut and a sense of dread growing inside him.

He ignored both and pushed it all right back down, pulling his head out to look around at the culprit and glower at him.

Unsurprisingly, it was Percy, urging him to make space with a pointed shove at his backside, making Will glad he had looked up before that touch had happened.

Idiot.

Will reluctantly made space and sat up somewhat, and Percy flopped down, just to fall against him with a groan and a sneaky attempt at stealing his pillow.

"Try singing to him or something." Will suggested to Jason as Jason was the baby-holder at the moment, then he swatted Percy's hands away, determined to protect his pillow until the very end.

Chuck started bleating again, making Will's heart ache and his head pound, and he lifted the pillow so both he and Percy could bury their faces in it.

"I can't sing! Why don't you do it?" Jason asked indignantly, but Will merely groaned again.

He was so not singing right now.

"Don't know any kids songs or lullabies, sorry."

"What sort of childhood did you have?!" Percy asked, pushing the pillow down to shoot Will a bewildered look.

Then he seemed to realize what he had just asked, his expression turning horrified and guilty and sheepish.

Will merely stared at him wordlessly.

Should he actually reply to that?

Should he tell Percy about his childhood?

There wasn't much to tell, after all.

Based on Percy's struck look, there was no need for that, though.

"I'm sorry…" Percy mumbled awkwardly, but Will waved off.

"Don't worry about it. I know how it was meant."

"Not like that…" Percy muttered guiltily, but Will ignored him, instead letting himself fall back sideways with his pillow.

He could still feel the guilt and devastation rushing through Percy where Will's bare foot was brushing against Percy's side.

Sighing, he held up an arm to signal he should get closer.

It only occurred to him a moment later that he was practically inviting Percy to lay down on top of him, but luckily, Percy wasn't stupid enough to try that, instead falling down behind him and pushing his head under the pillow with him.

Better.

Awkward, and Will was absolutely not going to make any space for him whatsoever, nor turn to his side no matter which way, but better than Percy drowning in misery at his feet.

They heard shuffling and movement around them, but didn't think much of it until they suddenly heard Nico clearing his throat.

For a moment, Will wondered whether he wanted to get under the pillow, too, because space was one thing they definitely did not have here (though they'd try if needed?).

Then, he wondered whether Nico had something against Will and Percy so close.

When he and Percy peeked out from under the pillow though, they found Nico several feet away with the baby cradled in his arms, his face full of concentration.

What…?

Before he could ask what he was doing, though, Nico was opening his mouth already.

And then, out of nowhere…

Nico started singing.

Singing.

Nico.

Nico di Angelo.

Who had claimed he couldn't sing.

(Not that Will had ever believed him, especially because he had made him chime in back during their picnic in December, but whatever.)

Will felt as if the world stopped for a moment.

Percy next to him gaped, looking as stunned as Will felt, and Will could feel a similar rush of emotions rush through him as did through Will right then and there.

Just…wow.

Alright, Nico sounded a tiny bit rusty every here and there, and his voice did crack a couple of times, and Will had no idea what he was singing, because he was singing something definitely Italian, and with a lot of accent, and very fast, and Will was rambling, but…

Yeah, it was beautiful.

"I'm in love." He mumbled, and Percy made a weak sound, as if that was an understatement.

"Shouldn't you be faithful to your almost-boyfriend?" He asked after a moment of silence, and Will huffed.

Though it wasn't him smacking Percy's arm, but Jason, who had moved to stand behind the sofa they were sprawled on.

"Don't tell him such nonsense, Percy."

Percy made a face, looking at them both in turn.

"You make a great couple. You're both crazy."

"Says the one letting us hang around all the time while knowing we're pining for your boyfriend." Will shot back, and Jason made an affirming sound.

Percy rolled his eyes, pushing Will over so he could use his shoulder to prop up his head and watch Nico.

Will momentarily stiffened at both the sudden push, as well as the sensation of Percy pressing against his back, but then he took a deep breath and let it go.

Hey, was it just him, or was this getting a bit easier?

Did that mean he was getting better?

Will definitely hoped so.

With a wistful glance towards Jason, he glanced towards Nico again, watching how he was slowly shifting his weight from his left foot to his right, still singing softly to Chuck, who had quieted down considerably, now staring up at Nico in what was either stunned horror, or amazed awe.

In either case, he was only whining quietly, then not at all anymore, so Will decided that was all that mattered right now.

"Percy, can you take over singing?" Nico asked between two verses, the switch in language making his accent much more pronounced than usual, and Will found himself blinking surprised.

Had Nico always rolled his 'r'-s like that when saying Percy's name?

Had he always drawn out his vowels like that?

Oh gods, that had sounded so unlike Nico, Will was both amazed and disturbed.

Percy behind him seemed to be in a similar state, though he then started shaking his head wildly.

"Can't. No way. No. Can't sing. Nope. And Will won't let me go. I'm so sorry, babe."

Coward.

Will glanced towards Jason, but Jason was already looking at him and shaking his head, as if he knew full well what Will wanted from him.

Meh.

Fine.

"Alright, I'll try something slow. If he starts crying again, it's not my fault." He grumbled and swatted Percy's arms away as they tried to snake around him as if to keep him there (which made no sense, anyways).

Then he jumped up and made his way over to Nico, racking his brain for any possible song.

This was undoubtedly going to be very embarrassing, and he was fairly certain Chuck would cry again in no time.

Nico passed him the now confused looking baby satyr, still singing his last verses until Chuck was safely nestled in Will's arms.

Was this the right moment to mention Will was still the one least confident with his baby-holding skills?

He could do it, but he still feared he'd drop him.

And that while he had helped birthing him.

Chuck looked up at him, looking expectant.

Then, he looked like he was going to cry again, and Will made a face, hurriedly bobbing up and down on his heels somewhat, still racking his brain for something to sing.

He knew of nothing.

He decided to simply start singing, anyways, not surprised in the slightest when it turned out to be 'You are my sunshine'.

Yeah, well, whatever.

At least it was a quiet song.

He half expected the guys to laugh, but they didn't, though he also didn't look away from Chuck to check their expressions.

Instead, he started shifting his weight from left to right like Nico had done, then he started slowly walking through the living room, singing the song softly, and as quietly as he could, hoping Chuck might be tempted to fall asleep.

The baby satyr stared up at him with big, round eyes, one fist in his mouth, the other one around the finger Will was offering, and Will guessed he must be doing something right, after all.

To buy himself some time, he sang some verses several times, wondering whether he could get away with just singing this song until Chuck would fall asleep out of boredom.

But then he thought the guys might seriously laugh, so he tried to find something else he could sing.

The satyr baby was still gazing up at him with wide eyes, though now he was smiling again, bright and toothless and adorable, and Will poked his nose when he let go of his finger to make grabby hands at Will, showing he wanted him to lift him up differently.

Will smiled, keeping up his 'lullaby' as he adjusted his hold on Chuck, so he could now look over his shoulder if he wanted to – though the baby made no move to, instead burying his face in Will's sweater with a small squeal, his hands holding onto the fabric.

Apparently, he liked the sweater.

Will sighed, clearing his throat and glancing over at the guys, just to see them beaming at him and motioning for him to continue.

Ugh.

Will turned away to hide his warming cheeks, instead clearing his throat again and starting another song, soft and slow, just some random love song.

Chuck blew bubbles, and Will guessed it was too fast to work as a lullaby, so he switched mid-song to a different one.

Good thing he knew a lot of songs.

The perks of being a son of Apollo, he guessed.

Sadly, Chuck didn't seem very impressed, now right-out drooling and making rather goat-like noises again.

"Try 'We're in heaven'!" Jason tried to call over and whisper at the same time, just as Percy went and exclaimed "How about 'Come Little Children'?", which caused all three of them to send him a long, unimpressed look.

Percy merely shrugged with an innocent grin.

"I thought it would be a good one."

Will rolled his eyes, but went with Jason's suggestion, anyways.

Definitely a good thing he knew a lot of songs.

Chuck instantly went quiet again.

Hey, was that one actually used for kids?
Interesting.

Oh well, the more one knew.

His mother had only ever sung one song to him, a song he thought might or might not have been called 'Smile', but…

Well, it was sort of private.

She had rarely managed to even read him a bedtime story, so it had been very rare for her to actually sit down and sing to him.

At least for the part of his life he remembered.

Knowing now how tedious and difficult her life must have been, he couldn't blame her, of course.

Still, the memory hurt as much as it filled him with warmth, and he wasn't sure he wanted to sing that to Chuck.

Not here, not right now.

Not with the guys right there, hearing every word.

They probably wouldn't understand, anyways.

It probably wasn't even a lullaby.

But it had been the song his mother had sung for him, undoubtedly knowing the hardships he'd have to go through.

Hopefully, Chuck would have a much more protected and safe childhood and life, though the chances were slim, even if he was a satyr, not a demigod.

He sang softly, drawing out his words, and noticing he had started moving through the room again slowly, though Chuck actually seemed to like the movement, now stilling and holding onto his sweater once more.

Will caught the guys watching him and wished he had a hand free to shoo them away, the attention making him much more self-conscious than it should.

Why was it that he could play SingStar! with Percy just fine, but the moment he had to sing lullabies for a baby, he started feeling self-conscious and wished they couldn't see nor hear him?

Now he was at least trying to sound presentable.

Then again, he guessed it didn't matter, because he knew they wouldn't judge him, anyways.

…He still stuck out his tongue at them, before turning his back to them pointedly, and he could hear all three of them chuckling quietly.

Will smiled to himself, moving through the room and stroking over Chuck's back as he sung, and he could feel him becoming more and more drowsy as he continued, now back to singing whatever came to mind, though Chuck stayed quiet this time.

And then, slowly, ever so slowly, he could feel him drifting off.

Perfect.

It still took another two songs until Chuck was fast asleep, but by then, Will was glad to get a break, feeling almost as drained as when he had been in the Underworld.

Yes, babies were definitely exhausting.

Jason popped up out of nowhere, taking Chuck gently from him, while Nico helped to get his tiny fists to let go of Will's sweater without waking him.

Will smiled at them gratefully, turning around to make straight for the sofa to drop dead onto it, but was suddenly confronted by Percy holding out a glass of juice in his face.

Seriously, Percy and his urge to make Will drink more.

Will was the doctor here.

Which reminded him he still had an infirmary to check on once they could leave here.

He groaned at the mere thought, drowning his glass in one go before all but running for the sofa, forcing himself to sit down properly instead of just flopping down onto it.

This wasn't his place, after all.

Percy flopped down next to him with a sigh, winking at him when he caught him looking.

"Good job on getting him to sleep, sun-bug. I knew you could do it."

Such praise.

Will was horrified to realize his face was actually seriously warming slightly at the words.

No! Why?

Percy was only joking!

Jason and Nico came back from where they had put Chuck down in his crib so he could sleep in peace for a while, and Jason made straight for him.

Uh-oh?

"Here, you look tired, and I know you barely had anything to eat all day." Jason said upon reaching him, placing the wrapped up sandwiches in his lap, though Will was more surprised he hadn't noticed Jason must have stopped by the kitchen, rather than the fact he had given them to Will.

(Or probably even packed them just for Will, in the first place.)

He decided not to argue, instead just nodding in gratitude and unwrapping the foil, offering Percy one of the sandwiches without looking, and Percy let out a delighted squeal.

Dork.

Jason rolled his eyes, then sat down to Will's other side, letting his head tip back onto the backrest with a loud sigh.

"Kids surely are something, huh?"

Absolutely.

Will took a big bite out of his sandwich, letting Percy and Nico reply with dry chuckles and matching sighs.

There went that 'army of babies' Percy had talked about earlier.

Not that he doubted they'd be able to do it.

But he had time to tease them about that, later.

Now, it was time to eat.

Jason was right, after all.

After his nightmare, he hadn't felt like eating much for breakfast, and lunch had sort of been interrupted by…Clarisse…so he really was starving.

Glancing past Percy and Nico at the clock, he realized it was 4pm already.

Which was great, since Coach Hedge would be back by 5pm, but also horrible, because that meant he'd have to get to the infirmary in close to no time; and he still hadn't gotten to meet a lot of his siblings.

In fact, he had only caught a glimpse of Alec and a few others, and only managed to actually say hi to Austin.

He hadn't even yet seen Cecil and Lou Ellen anywhere.

Oh well, it was only his first day back at Camp.

Plus, it wasn't as if he was going to leave anytime soon.

In fact, he wasn't even sure for how long they'd be staying until Jason would take them to the next god/goddess.

So, yeah, all was well.

Except the pile of paperwork undoubtedly waiting for him at the infirmary.

Jason's hand started stroking over his back in slow, soothing circles, and while Will wasn't sure why he was doing that, it certainly felt great.

…Yeah, okay, fine, the paperwork would probably not even be all that bad.

Will did love his work there, after all, that included all the stuff he didn't love.

More or less.

Whatever, it was going to be okay.

Maybe the Camp had had mercy on him and it wouldn't even be all that much, so he might even finish sorting through it tonight.

That was a great thought.

Will decided to think positively for once, leaning against Jason slightly and catching him smile out of the corners of his eyes, in that typical giddy way that usually made Will want to either kiss or tease him.

But Will merely closed his eyes and continued eating.

Yeah, all was well.

.

Will stared at the lines of text in front of him without comprehending a single word, though it took him another two minutes of staring before realizing that.

Letting out a frustrated huff, he started at the beginning of the paragraph again, but found his mind wandering almost instantly once more.

Coach Hedge had come back half an hour early, meaning he had found them huddled on the sofa talking about baby names (surprise, surprise, Percy said he'd be good with 1-3 kids, after all. So much for that army of babies), though he hadn't commented on that with anything but an exasperated huff before checking on his son.

He had seemed pleased with their care, though he had seemed surprised that Chuck was sleeping.

Apparently, that was the time of the day he usually got to hop around and 'dance' to some pipe music from whatever satyr was there at the time.

Which would explain why Chuck had been so restless in the first place, and nothing they had done had seemed to help.

Thanks, Clarisse, for pointing that out.

Good thing the singing had helped.

Will didn't want to know how Coach Hedge would have reacted if he had come home to the four of them rushing through the living room trying to somehow make the baby stop crying.

But all had gone well, and they had left with the promise to watch over Chuck whenever it was necessary and they had the time.

Will smiled slightly at that.

After getting out of the forest, he had immediately run into Lou Ellen and Cecil, and the four had decided to split up for a while to get done with their actual responsibilities.

Meaning Nico and Jason had left to go to Chiron and inform him of their return (which he probably already knew, anyways), the newly acquired signatures, and the situation in Camp Jupiter, while Percy had left to get to the sword-fighting group and check up on who was doing the teaching, so he could let them know he could take over again.

Will had first taken his time catching up with Cecil and Lou Ellen, of course, who had apparently momentarily joined forces with the Stoll brothers for some major coupes against the Ares and Apollo cabin, all because Will hadn't been there.

'We're so sorry, man, but you're all that's keeping us in line.' Lou Ellen had said sympathetically, and he still remembered Cecil nodding ever so humbly.

'Indeed. Better take us with you next time when you go on such dangerous and mighty quests.' He had added, and Will had only been able to roll his eyes at both of them before laughing right along with them.

It was good to be back.

It really was.

He wasn't sure what he had been so anxious about, after all.

Seriously, the Camp was the same as always.

Which kind of made him wonder what Hades had meant with his ominous 'the nightmares will be the least of your worries once you get back'-statement.

Everything seemed the same as usual.

Upon getting to the infirmary, Will had even immediately checked the summary of illnesses and injuries for any patterns or a possible epidemic, but next to a few kids catching a rather bad flu, there was nothing bad or particularly worrisome.

Sure, they had two kids with rather bad gashes that would most likely scar (for once not Clarisse's fault, the two had apparently gotten into a personal fight with each other and crossed the line), but seriously, other than that, things at Camp seemed to have gone rather smooth, with only minor injuries.

So nothing really indicated anything bad.

He looked around the room, at all the papers and files and folders lying around, and heaved a sigh.

Yeah, well, next to this place looking like a mess.

Then again, this was his room, and he wasn't nearly as clean and tidy and neat as Jason, so what else did he expect?

Well, technically his room.

Originally, it had just been a small supply room, but he had refurnished it to have a desk, and the shelves held all the paperwork instead of any supplies.

Mostly Will's work.

When he had taken over as the head of the infirmary, he had set out to sort through all the reports and papers he could find and get everybody to put more effort into a bit of order and system.

If Reyna had anything to say about their files now, she certainly would have been shell-shocked by how it used to be like here at Camp.

Then again, barely anybody had seen much sense in documenting anything, what with everybody having dyslexia, and the on-going battles, and the ever-so-short lifespan of demigods.

But he had his room now, and they had a much better system now with regular check-ups and whatever else.

Not as fancy as Reyna's 'We have handwritten samples of every freaking person that sets foot in this place', but good enough.

Will sighed again, rubbing at his temples and contemplating whether he shouldn't just continue on this tomorrow.

Then again, he had hoped to finish up tonight, so the four could spend more time together tomorrow, with him only having to help out in the infirmary for a few hours, instead of the entire day.

(Plus, Jason and Percy had talked about doing a little 'warm-up battle' tomorrow before Percy would teach the kids, so Will had kind of hoped to be able to watch.)

It would be so difficult, getting used to not spending all their time together.

Especially because of their different schedules.

Sure, Will could shift his hours a bit, but he'd still have to help out in the infirmary daily – not just because he was the head of his cabin and the head of the infirmary, but also because he wanted to be there for people and help them, for real.

Jason had to do his planning and talk to Annabeth and Chiron and gods knew who, Percy had his teaching to do, and Nico…well, Nico could do as he pleased, though Will had a hunch he'd probably want to rather help Percy with teaching swordplay, than hang out with Will in the infirmary, in all honesty.

In other words, tough times were ahead of them.

Maybe they'd even stop sleeping together in a cabin…

No, probably not.

Percy had made too much of a fuss on their way out of the forest about how they had to keep that up, no matter what, so Will highly doubted they'd just drop that.

Though they would probably have to, sooner or later.

It was getting warmer, too, so they definitely couldn't use the whole 'abusing Will as a blanket'-excuse for much longer.

Which only left his nightmares as possible excuse, and he hated the mere thought.

Huffing to himself, he tried to concentrate on the report once more, though his eyes hushed over the text without comprehending it, just like before.

This time, though, he realized that was because it was literally just a bunch of letters jumbled together without sense or system.

Alec!

This was the last time Will let him type up any sort of report, ever.

He had met most of his siblings on his way to, and inside, the infirmary, and as expected, they had been overjoyed to see him, had told him plenty about the tricks his friends had played on them, and had instantly told him where he'd find his piled up work.

So caring.

Nah, he knew how it was meant, so it was okay.

They had also talked a lot, with him telling them tidbits of the Underworld and New Rome, which had made most of his siblings exchange meaningful looks with each other.

Since they hadn't called the guys his 'boyfriends', he had had no reason to 'correct' them, so…yeah, he was feeling pretty damn good about that, still.

Will shook his head to himself, but decided he could still clear up any misunderstandings tomorrow.

He also still hadn't brought his luggage back to his cabin, including the guitar, so that was another thing he could to tomorrow.

Maybe.

Maybe also just the day after that.

Maybe he'd just smuggle the thing inside when everybody else was outside, and if anybody asked at a later point, he'd insist it had always been there.

…Yeah, he wasn't sure what to do about that just yet.

It was just…it was difficult.

All of it was.

Will sighed, then put on a smile.

But he'd manage.

With new determination, he put the report into his folder, scribbling the date and his signature in the top corner to show he had read over it.

Then he circled the last paragraph with the scribbled nonsense and wrote 'No more reports for Alec' next to it to mark it down for future generations that his brother was an idiot.

So, there was that.

Satisfied, he went to put the folder back into the shelf, noticing with a grimace how all his joints started cracking.

Damn.

How long had he been in here?

True, it surely seemed ominously quiet.

Oh well, he'd just finish up sorting through his stuff real quick, then he'd go and check the time and leave.

Sitting back down with a yawn, he grabbed the other papers with the summaries and notes Kayla had taken in his absence that he had already read through, trying to sort them by date.

After this, he was pretty much done.

How awesome was that?

That meant he only needed another thorough update from Kayla tomorrow (to make sure he caught everything), then he'd be able to start fresh with the new patients, since the other ones were already in the best care.

And he'd get to see Jason and Percy and their fight, should they really decide to pull through with it.

He was so not going to patch them up if they ended up getting hurt.

…Which was to say, he absolutely would, but he'd definitely chide and tease them about it all the while.

With a sigh and another tired yawn, he put his head down on his arms for a moment, just to get a moment of rest.

It surely had been a long day, hadn't it?

He pondered that for a moment, then closed his eyes, just for a minute or two.

Next thing Will knew, he was quickly dozing off, the guys the last thing on his mind.

.

When Will opened his eyes again, he wasn't at his table.

He wasn't even in the infirmary.

He was out in the open, curled against Percy's chest with Percy's jacket thrown over him like a blanket, and Percy was carrying him to what he assumed to be Nico's cabin.

"What…" He mumbled confused, blinking the sleep out of his eyes, and Percy glanced down at him in surprise, before smiling.

"Hey there, sun-bug. Go back to sleep, we're almost there."

Who was he to take orders from Percy?

Will grumbled, though then he realized he was actually moving his face further into Percy's sweater, instead of away from him.

Oh well.

"What are you doing?" He asked unnecessarily, and Percy chuckled quietly, the sound and the motion reverberating through Will, though it wasn't unpleasant.

"I came to pick you up. It's 10pm at night, sun-bug. We got worried because you didn't show up anymore. Jason even went to the Apollo cabin to check whether you had simply forgotten about us."

Will wouldn't do that.

"Rude." He mumbled, and Percy chuckled again.

"Yes, you are. Falling asleep in the infirmary. Seriously, do you have any idea how long it took me to find you? I went through each and every room. Somebody threw a pack of tissues at me, by the way. How mean is that?"

Sounded as if Percy had caused havoc in the infirmary just to find Will.

Will would undoubtedly hear about that tomorrow.

The thought was oddly comforting.

"You came looking for me?" He asked groggily, and Percy nodded.

"Duh. I also pried the paper off your cheek that you fell asleep on." He replied smugly, as if that was something to be proud of.

Will smiled to himself.

"Gee, thanks. Didn't know you could be so nice."

Percy wiggled his eyebrows at him.

"Oh, I can be many things, you'd be surprised."

Will's eyebrows shot up.

Did Percy know that sounded an awful lot like flirting…?

He decided not to point it out.

Instead, he realized they were almost at the Hades cabin, and he started shifting in Percy's arms, suddenly feeling a lot more aware of the fact he was letting Percy carry him.

He hadn't even complained about that yet!

In the end, Percy would think he actually liked that!

…Well…he sort of did like it.

A tiny little bit.

Though not princess-style!

"Can you put me down?" He asked, his voice surprisingly meek, but Percy instantly stopped and let his legs down carefully.

"Sure. If you think you can walk."

Will scowled at him, and Percy automatically lifted his hands.

"Not like that. I mean…you seemed in a pretty weird position when I found you, and I know my legs always fall asleep when I sleep like that, so I thought it might be the same for you." He explained, and Will's expression softened again.

Oh.

Oh, okay, that made more sense.

He also knew what Percy was talking about when he put weight onto his legs and promptly swayed.

It was as if he had gotten out of bed too quickly, to be honest.

At least his legs weren't asleep.

If that counted as a plus.

Will decided to let that count as a plus.

Percy stayed close for support, but other wisely let him do his own thing, which Will was grateful for.

Together, they made their way to Nico's door, and Will noticed a shadow at the window disappearing, before the door was pulled open by the Italian.

Seriously, they had stayed up just for him?

It was stupid, but he felt strangely moved.

"Well, hello there, Doctor Solace. How did the first day back in the business go?" Nico asked with a raised eyebrow, and Will suddenly thought of something entirely different, of Nico older, taller, standing in the doorway to their place, their house, looking at him with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow, a smug, but pleased smile on his lips as he asked him how his first day in his own doctor's office had went.

Will blinked confused, and then saw his Nico again, and the cabin, and while he had no idea what had just happened, he decided to brush it off as some sort of wishful thinking combined with the fact he was still half-asleep, apparently.

"Eh, exhausting, but quite alright." He replied with a shrug as Percy tugged him up the stairs with a huff.

"And by 'exhausting' he means to say he fell asleep. Guys, you should have seen him."

Percy!

Why?!

Will pouted at him as Percy closed the door behind them with a small chuckle.

"Did you have to sell me out like that?" He hissed over quietly, but then Nico and Jason already uttered matching exclamations of 'What?!'.

Great.

"I just closed my eyes for five minutes! I didn't know I'd fall asleep…" That…sounded pretty stupid.

He waved off.

Whatever.

"Anyways, I'm done with all my stuff, isn't that great? Now I can jump right back into action tomorrow. Is that great or is that great? How did your days go? Did everything go well with Chiron? What did he say?" He asked hurriedly, trying to change the topic, and was met with three unimpressed faces.

But then, all three of them sighed and exchanged telling looks…before Percy and Nico took Will left and right by the arms and tugged him towards the bed.

Wait, wait, he had to get to the bathroom first!

Shower, get clean, get changed…

The next moment, he found Percy unbuttoning his pants, while Nico tugged his scrubs and shirt over his head, and Will could only squeak in surprise and horror, before he felt four arms pushing him into bed.

"But…but…"

"No." Came in unison, and Will wailed quietly, though a smile started tugging at the corners of his lips.

Jason appeared out of nowhere, squishing himself between Will and the wall with a small chuckle, before wrapping his arms tightly around Will and tugging him against his chest, a tad harder than he usually did.

Will completely didn't mind.

He also didn't mind Percy and Nico getting undressed in record time, before having some sort of mute battle and trying to stare each other down.

Percy and Nico.

Staring each other down.

Who'd have guessed?

Needless to say, Nico won, and Will's eyebrows shot up when the Italian grinned triumphantly and hopped into bed…just to get closer to Will, while Percy sighed and got in bed behind his boyfriend, though he didn't look all that unhappy.

In fact, he looked oddly hopeful, for whatever reason ever.

Will glanced behind him at Jason, but Jason was merely smiling at him softly, so he guessed he either hadn't noticed, or it wasn't important.

Oh well.

"So…erm…about Chiron…?" He started, but was shushed again.

"Shh, goodnight, Will."

"Go to sleep, sun-bug."

"I'll tell you tomorrow."

Nico, Percy and Jason replied, and Will decided to scowl at Percy, wink at Nico, and smile at Jason over his shoulder, since he at least was nice to him.

Jason stroked over his side gently, looking so oddly content, it was strange.

But Will liked it.

Even with his new haircut and all.

(That still unnerved him a tiny bit.)

"Good night, guys." He said quietly, and they hummed, Nico already starting to drift off.

Seriously, they must have had a just as tiring day as Will had had.

And he had made them wait for him, too.

Will decided he'd try make it up to them tomorrow.

Maybe some brownies for breakfast?

Jason and Nico would appreciate that, for sure.

And Percy could get himself some blue whatever.

He smiled to himself, then closed his eyes and snuggled back into Jason's hold, who was still stroking over his side, his hands feeling so wonderfully cool against his quickly warming skin.

If they were dating, this would be the sort of moment Will would want to turn around and kiss him.

Jason put his face into Will's hair, placing a gentle peck on the top of his head, and Will had to resist giggling.

Seriously, why wasn't he dating Jason already?

He had the chance to.

And they were practically doing everything already that people did when they were dating, anyways.

They might as well just…give it a try?

Will was almost confident enough to say 'Fuck it' and just do it.

But then he hesitated.

He wanted to.

He really did.

But right now, they could still pretend everything was as usual.

If they started dating, they'd actually be acting like an actual couple around actual people…

If they messed up now, they could simply stay friends somewhat.

If they started dating and Will messed up then (which he would), then…

But he wanted to!

Will opened his eyes again, stroking through Nico's hair absent-mindedly while watching Percy starting to drool again, also fast asleep.

What if he…what if he told Jason?

Not everything, but at the least a part of it, to explain his reluctance?

Not to mention to prevent Jason from coming to the wrong conclusion should he one day figure it all out by himself (which he undoubtedly would).

But seriously, what if he told Jason a tiny part of it, to explain it, to rest the case, to make Jason understand and not question anything anymore?

If Jason reacted badly to that, Will could still backtrack.

And if Jason reacted well to it, then…then Will could…they could try…

But how far could he go?

Before their night in the pillow corner, Will hadn't even realized there might be any sort of problem there.

He knew that, after…after him, he hadn't wanted to risk anything anymore, hadn't wanted to get himself into that sort of situation ever again, and had thus put up his walls automatically.

He had set boundaries he was determined to keep up, and until the pillow corner, he had thought that was all there was to it.

Then, the pillow corner had happened.

Sure, the whole thing with Elysium probably had had to do with it, riling it all up inside Will and opening old wounds, bringing back memories he had wanted to bury so, so long ago, but that didn't mean that night would have turned out any differently, even if Elysium hadn't happened before.

The pillow corner had happened.

Jason had happened.

They had happened.

Will still remembered how good it had felt, how much he had enjoyed the feeling of Jason beneath him, the feeling of Jason on top of him, the feeling of skin on skin contact, the feeling of his hands and lips everywhere on Jason, the feeling of Jason's hands and lips everywhere on Will.

And he'd die to have that again.

But Will also remembered the not so good parts.

How scared he had momentarily gotten when Jason had put his hands on his head while he had given him that blowjob.

The way he had tensed whenever Jason's hands had gotten too close to his backside.

How his jaw had clenched the moment Jason had gotten too close to his nipples.

The way he had enjoyed it all, but had also been so, so scared something would happen, something bad, that Jason would hurt him.

It hadn't occurred to him quite as strong back then, but thinking back now, it was obvious.

And then, most of all, that scene in the bathroom that would be burnt into his mind forever.

He had pleaded.

He had pleaded, and he had gotten scared, and he had momentarily forgotten what it meant to be his own person, had momentarily fallen back into old patterns, not thinking straight, not thinking at all, and only knowing what he had been used to up until that point.

If it hadn't been for Jason complimenting him at just that moment, Will would have probably had a breakdown, would have started crying, would have started begging for him to give him permission.

Permission.

Permission.

How was he supposed to explain that to Jason in any sort of way?

He didn't want any freaking permission!

He was his own person, he had read up on it, nobody needed any permission for sexual release!

Well, unless they were into that whole S&M-thing, but that was still built on consent and trust.

And they had safewords.

Will hadn't had any such thing!

…But that wasn't important right now.

Important was thinking about how he was going to get Jason to understand without telling too much.

If Will didn't know how badly it still seemed to affect him, he'd have just mentioned it at the side, like 'Hey, I've made a bad experience with this and this sort of thing, could we not do that' and be done with it.

But this wasn't something he could just brush off.

Jason would notice, especially if he didn't start complimenting Will out of nowhere at a convenient time again – and with Will's luck, he'd then have to explain just what he meant with a 'bad experience'.

Will wanted to try, though.

With Jason.

A relationship.

An actual relationship.

Could they do that?

Could he do it?

…Or was he just rushing it?

Because he knew Jason couldn't wait for him forever?

Because he wasn't sure he'd ever get over this in the first place?

Because a demigods life was short and full of nasty surprises?

Because he rather wanted that week of bliss than a life full of misery?

But even if, then so what?

His feelings were still genuine.

And he had the chance.

Why not do it?

Who cared whether it was rushed?

They had all rushed into things before, but that didn't mean they were bad.

Percy rushed into things all the time and he was still alive and well, and had saved the world a couple of times.

Wow, he couldn't believe he was using Percy as an example to justify his own stupid actions.

Will stroked through Percy's hair, smiling at the lack of knots in it due to Piper's excellent brushing.

Tomorrow, that hair would be all over the place again, he was already looking forward to seeing it.

The guys…they'd deal with it.

They knew Jason and Will were pretty much on their best way to a relationship, anyways, so it wasn't as if it was going to surprise them much.

It would mean a lot of change, though.

…Then again, their whole life was change after change after change.

They'd adapt.

Will raised an eyebrow at himself.

Wow.

Just wow.

Since when was he being so positive?

Must be the guys' influence.

…Jason's influence, undoubtedly.

Percy tended to have a negative view of life, after all, and Nico was a doom-and-gloom, realistic yet delusional sweetheart.

Will collected his thoughts, then turned his head around.

Alright, he could do this.

"Hey, Jason…" He started, then stopped dead again.

Oh.

Right.

It was the middle of the night.

And Jason was fast asleep with his nose in Will's hair.

Of course.

Will bit his lip, trying to hold onto his determination.

He'd just talk to him later.

Tomorrow.

He'd talk to him tomorrow.

They'd work it out, for sure.

Will had no idea what to really tell him, nor what to do if Jason in fact did react badly, but…

He'd talk to him.

Yes.

Tomorrow.

Absolutely.

Snuggling back into Jason's chest and watching Percy crawling ever so sneakily over Nico to take his spot, Will decided to take another deep breath and close his eyes.

Tomorrow.

Promise.