"Nico? What are you doing?" I hear Frank ask.
I pull away from Will shamelessly. "Kissing my boyfriend."
Frank's mouth hangs open. "What?" Then he takes a closer look at Will. "Oh my Gods. Will, what... What happened to you?"
Will sits up and smiles. "If you haven't already figured it out, that was no Hydra. It just looked like one, and, well, maybe it was, but it was possessed by Hebe's powers somehow."
My prayer was answered, I realize. Thank you, Hebe. Thank you. I think to myself as Frank backs up a bit, looking confused.
"That... Thing tried to fire a spell or something at me, and Will took the hit. The magic, or whatever it was, turned him eighteen again." I explain.
"Oh." Frank replies, then gulps. "Well, when did you two start going out then?"
I'm about to reply, but Will cuts me off. "Not long after Nico returned. We'd had crushes on each other for a while before he left. Remember how I went goth when he died?"
Frank nods, and Will continues. "Okay, well that was my way of remembering him. I became more like him."
I grab Will'd hand and squeeze it. At first, I though that his choice of doing that was a bit creepy, but now I think that it's endearing.
Frank bites his lip. "Okay, um, well then." He clears his throat. "Okay. That's not strange at all."
I laugh. "You know what? It is weird. And you know what else?" I lean my head on Will's shoulder. "I really don't care."
"Okay." Frank says, then walks away.
I laugh harder, and Will joins in. After a moment or two, I stand up and offer Will my hand. He takes it and stands up. He still towers over me, but not nearly as much. Apparently, he still has another four inches to grow. As for my height, I might grow another inch.
But then again, who cares?
I walk with Will to where the rest of the group is meeting, still holding hands with him.
We receive a couple strange looks, but nobody asks any questions. It's not like they actually need to, either -we'll tell them the whole story later.
I can tell that Nick automatically makes the connection, though, because he gives me a thumbs up right before the meeting really starts. At this point, Jeannie, Leo, and Calypso have already been treated with ambrosia and band-aids. There's not much more we can do for either of them at the moment. Jeannie's joining us for the meeting, but not Leo or Calypso.
"Okay." Ivan starts. "I think that our mission has been accomplished. Are we agreed?"
All around the circle heads nod.
"Yeah? Okay, then, we should start heading back. Should we shadow travel or fly?"
Nick and I share a glance, and I can almost read his thoughts. He wants to try it.
"Let's jump. Nick and I are ready." I say, clearing my throat.
"Alright." Ivan says.
I grab Jeannie's hand, then Will and Jeannie pick up Calypso. Nick grasps hands with Ivan and Frank, and the three of them pick up Leo. Ivan grabs the bag that contains Festus.
Then we start heading for home.
