AN: idk why it came to me but...draco x dominic? Maybe? Idk lemme know what you think

Nico woke up with a pounding headache and the haze of sleep still heavy on his mind. He was in bed, he could feel the thin sheets beneath his bare skin, felt the comforter laying over his strewn out body. But his heater known as Will was nowhere in sight.

Once he realized he was alone in bed, Nico opened his eyes and took in the room.

They were on the Argo II, in the room Will had claimed for the quest, or visit, or whatever you wanted to call it. Will was sitting in a chair by the wall, leaned back, his gaze settled on the ceiling.

Sad. Nico could see the sadness in his eyes.

"Will?" he croaked. "What's wrong?"

The hangover was splitting apart his immature skull. He only then realized he was naked under the covers.

"Did our date night end how I think it did?" Nico asked.

Will nodded.

"I thought you got used to me being...in the wrong body," Nico said. "Why are you upset?"

"Your age has nothing to do with why I'm upset," Will snapped.

Nico blinked. "Was I bad-?"

"No, Nico!" Will stood up. "Think for a second! Why the Hades do you have that mark?"

Nico froze. There was something about your heart dropping into your stomach that you could never forget.

Will stared at him in the silence. Maybe that sadness was actually hurt.

"Are you going to explain?" he asked.

Nico looked away. "It's complicated."

"Uncomplicate it."

"I…" Nico sat up. "I've always been the traitor."

"Nico-"

"No, listen to me," Nico snapped. "I am always the traitor. That's who I am. That's the kind of hero I am." He remembered Persephone's pieces of advice and Hecate's. "That's what some people have to be. I'm on the side of the living. I just have to get my hands dirty so no one else has to."

Will sighed. "There's always a right way to do things...but okay, okay, I'll entertain what you're saying. Why do you have the mark?"

"To take Voldemort down from the inside out."

Will blinked. "How?"

"I'm still working on that part."

"Nico!" Will hissed. "Do you know how dangerous that is?!"

"Not anymore dangerous than anything we've done in the past," Nico argued. "Gaea. Tartarus. I've been through worse, Will, and I don't want my family to have to go through that."

Will walked to the bed and sat beside him. "Neeks… I'm sick of you being in life-threatening danger all the time."

"Me too."

"When this is all over, we're going to settle down," Will swore. "We'll fix your age or just live with it and we'll get a house in New Rome. We'll be safe. No more monsters and no more quests and no more Voldemort."

"But I have family here in Europe, now," Nico mumbled.

Will didn't answer but looked to the floor. He could barely feel the rocking of the ship but felt sick.

"We'll figure it out," he repeated hollowly. "As long as we have each other, we can do it."

"You're finishing med school," Nico ordered. "No matter what."

"And we'll be together. No matter what."

"We'll see."

The silence that stretched between them wasn't full of pure love and peace as it used to be.

The next few days were a haze of Will, Voldemort, and homework. School was going to be starting again and with it the continuing of the tournament. This time, every mention of it sent Dominic and Will's eyes towards him.

But Will still loved him. He still loved him.

Hecate, show me how to make this worth it. Please.

She never responded. Persephone would, but she wasn't Hecate. She didn't know much of the wizarding world. She didn't know much about Voldemort's plans.

Only Hecate would. Or another follower of Voldemort.

And that's how Nico found himself cornering Draco Malfoy in the darkened and cold halls of Hogwarts.

"Weasley, what are you-"

Nico shadow traveled him to an empty classroom. He wasn't sure what it had originally been for, forgotten over the years as either the teacher was removed or whatever they taught. Malfoy looked around like a trapped animal before backing up, falling over a desk.

"Wait until I tell father-"

"Yeah, not a good idea," Nico cut in. "You aren't going to tell him shit. You aren't going to tell anybody. So get that idea out of you weak, feeble mind before I beat it out."

Malfoy stood up and pointed at him. "Y- You...you just… What did you do? What was that? I can have you sent to Azkaban!"

"Again, no you won't," Nico dismissed. "Say my name to your father and he won't let you. But I don't want him or anyone else knowing about this little meeting, got it? Top secret."

"You really think I would listen to a Weasley, a blood-traitor, bloody hell, a demigod!"

Nico frowned. "And why is demigod now crude? And how did you know I was one? I didn't come with them."

"But you know every single one of them," Draco continued. "And you...you just…" He pointed back at the shadows. "Without a wand!"

"Fine, I'll accept it." Nico leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. "But why are you using it like you use blood-traitor? I don't agree with your reasoning for blood-traitor and mudblood and all of that, but I can see why you say and think it, what your father has pumped into you. So I want to know why you've been doing thinking on demigods and why they've become negative to you."

Draco scowled. "Father said no one at the ministry knew you were coming. Dumbledore just decided to introduce a new species without consulting anyone. Worse yet, no one seems to care."

"But you do."

"Why wouldn't I? Hell, your mind games even got to father!"

Nico pinched the bridge of his nose. This was not what he was expecting when he decided to grill Malfoy.

"You're more hysterical than normal. You know that, right?" Nico asked. "Just...shut up for a minute."

Draco's face darkened some more. "Who are you to-"

"Were you adopted?" Nico asked. "Or did your father have an affair and end up with the baby-"

Before Nico could blink Malfoy had his wand out and at his throat. The wood itched at Nico's skin.

"Who are you?" Malfoy asked, voice cold. "There's no way you could know that. Only me, my father, and mother know. Not another soul. If word got out…"

"I'm not planning on telling anyone, so calm your pissy self and sit down," Nico ordered. "We should talk."

"How do you know-"

Nico walked over to a desk and sat down. The dust across its surface confirmed his suspicions about the room and its forgotten whereabouts.

"Sit, Malfoy," Nico repeated. "And trust that I'm telling the truth about all of this. Your life is going to change for the better."

"Is that so?" Sarcasm dripped from Draco's tongue.

Nico frowned. "Well, let me ask you this. Have you ever had a monster attack you? A monster not of the wizarding or muggle world? A monster no one could see but yourself? Or did they see someone with a hat instead of horns, or a baseball bat instead of a sword?"

Malfoy was silent for the first time. He stared at Nico with his mouth stuck open, moving with no words coming out, the anger finally disappearing from his face and energy. After minutes of this he let out a sigh and collapsed into the seat beside Nico, his wand lowering to his side.

"Now," Nico said, "let me explain."