Loved Back

Summary: The war against Gaea is taking a heavy toll on the demigods. What happens when a certain son of Hades is injured and left in the hands of a particular son of Apollo? Rated T for safety.

Enjoy! :)

The war against Gaea was raging on with no near end in sight. The demigods, though fiercely persistent, were exhausted, and everyone was losing strength and control over their powers. Nico di Angelo was fighting as passionately as an entire legion combined, slicing up dracaena with his notorious Stygian iron sword and raising entire armies of undead warriors, but he, too, soon felt a weariness tugging him down. Every slash of his sword seemed to drain him, ever battle silently sucking out the strength from his body. Nico knew that he could not continue in his state of tire, but he stubbornly fought on, ignoring the small voice in his head begging him to stop.

All of a sudden, there was a deafening BOOM! Nico shook out of his drowsy haze as an entire army of Gaea's monsters burst out of the earth, sending chariots, soldiers, and muck flying everywhere. His eyes narrowed at the treacherous sight of the newly-recruited demons, a sinking feeling in his stomach, and he did not notice a wily kampè creeping up behind him, a crooked grin carved on its scheming face.

With a swift motion, the kampè slashed Nico across the back with its razor-sharp talons, shrieking in glee as its victim cried in pain and sank to his knees. Nico tried to regain himself but could already feel a heated wetness on his skin where the demon had cut him, and his shirt uncomfortably clung to his torso when the sticky blood dribbled down his back in crimson rivulets. He could not move as the pain numbed his entire body, and he readied himself for the monster's final blow.

Instead, however, Nico heard a sickening crunch, and the cackling demon fell beside him with an arrow dead-center on the back of its head, its distorted smile still plastered onto its face. Partly in a daze at his unbelievable fortune and partly hazy due to the kampè poison slowly dulling his senses, Nico struggled to get a clear glimpse of his savior. His vision was blurring, now a mere kaleidoscope of colorful spots dancing across the battlefield, but he was able to make out a familiar lean figure with sun-bleached hair and startling blue eyes.

Will Solace. Shit.

Nico tensed as Will knelt down beside him and began chanting a healing mantra, running a soft hand over his injured back. A warm sensation of relief settled over him as the pain slowly dissipated, yet he still found himself holding his breath as the son of Apollo gently grazed his skin.

"Nico, you're going to have to come with me to the infirmary. You've been hurt pretty nastily, "Will said, his eyes full of concern, as he slung his quiver over his shoulder.

Ignoring the cute way Will cocked his head as he gazed at him, Nico gritted his teeth, replying, "I'm fine, Solace. You've already saved the day, isn't that enough?"

Will's piercing stare was unfaltering as he firmly gripped Nico's shoulder, a hardened tone in his voice. "Nico, the kampè's poison poison has already entered your bloodstream. We need to get you to the infirmary now. So come on, let me help you up."

Nico jerked back as Will reached out to support his body against his own. "I can walk there by myself!" he grumbled, stumbling as he attempted to stand.

Will caught Nico by the wrists and wrapped his arm against the injured demigod's shoulder, steadying him. He was definitely looking impatient as he cried," Nico! What do you not understand? You've been poisoned by demon venom and I need to get you to the infirmary now!" He tried to drag Nico along as the stubborn boy writhed around trying to free himself. He was already feeling woozy as drowsiness settled over him, but he persistently fought Will's iron grip.

Will looked absolutely fuming as he directed a furious glare Nico's way. "Nico-"

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE, SOLACE?" Nico cried, infuriated by the weak, defenseless position he was in.

The truth was, Will Solace had never done anything even remotely wrong. In fact, he had done everything right. Right enough to catch Nico's attention, and right enough to hold Nico's attention. Will had this charming aura about him that Nico instantly fell captive to, and the fact that he was so susceptible to it made Nico sick. He had felt this way before… the clammy palms, the skipping heartbeats, the unquenchable nostalgia…, and it had ended in treacherous heartbreak: Percy Jackson.

Seeing Percy gaze at Annabeth so affectionately and coddle her every day had left Nico broken for a long time, but he was over that now. All those nightly fantasies about the son of Poseidon and pangs of disappointment as he walked by with his arm slung around his girlfriend were gone, to Nico's immense relief. Unfortunately, that's when Will Solace decided to saunter into his life, squabbling over every single cut and inspecting every injury with those gorgeous blue eyes. Nico could not bear to feel such pain again with Will, no matter how hard his heart hammered in his chest as the unsuspecting boy walked by…

Therefore, he decided to shut out Will completely, ignoring him every day, everywhere… or at least, trying to...

Nico felt Will's grip on his wrists loosen as a look of hurt flashed across his sharp-featured face. He immediately felt guilty for his harsh comment as he noticed the blazing fire in Will's eyes diminish ever so slightly, his shoulders drooping. He lost himself in the boy's pained look and opened his mouth to apologize when the world around him began swimming with blurs of meshed colors. He gasped and slumped to the ground, his body reducing to a rather useless lump of flesh, and the last thing he saw was Will's hurt expression turn to one of shock and worry.

Light completely blinded Nico as he slowly gained consciousness, causing him to squint to get a glimpse of his surroundings. There were four white walls, each decorated with bushels of lush grape vines intertwining and dancing their way across the room, and a large window to to his left. An intricate-looking machine hummed next to him as he realized he was in the infirmary.

Nico tried to sit up properly, but gasped and slunk back down as a pang of intense pain burst across his back.

"You don't want to do that," a bored voice said. Nico looked across the room to see Will leaning against the wall, surveying him with an expressionless look on his face. Shifting uncomfortably under Will's gaze, Nico remembered what had happened, and Wills's pained expression flashed before him.

"Erm… so am I all right?"

"I don't know. I still have to test your blood." Will replied, his demeanor unreadable. He walked over and stuck a needle in Nico's arm, refusing to make eye contact.

"Will, I'm-"

"Shush, I'm taking a blood sample.

"But Will, I-"

"I said shush, now let my concentrate."

"Will-"

"Nico-"

"WILL SOLACE SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME!" Nico cried exasperatedly, tearing the needle out of his skin. Will just stared at him in shock, and Nico saw this as a sign to continue.

He took in a shaky breath and said," Will, about this things I said back there… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to burst out like that..."

Will had seemed to gain a peculiar interest in his feet and he refused to look Nico in the eye, his lips pursed.

Fidgeting with his fingers, Nico continued. "I'm really grateful that you came for me. I probably wouldn't even be here if you didn't-" he shakily laughed-" and not many people would have done that for me."

When Will yet again did not respond, he sighed," I don't really have anyone and no one really loves me, so-"

At that, Will snapped out of his haze in an instant and was fiercely gazing at Nico with an odd gleam in his eye.

"Don't say that. No one here would have survived without your help, and everyone is eternally grateful to you for that. So many people love you Nico, but you need to open up. You're special, all right… even if you don't know who you're special to…"

They held each other's gazes for a while, until Nico found himself blushing furiously and broke away. A tense stillness settled over the room until Will finally said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you like that-"

Nico sharply looked up, observing the flustered boy. Everything about him seemed so perfect… from the way his ruffled blonde hair fell messily across his face to the way his entire body seemed to be pulsing with vigor. Nico's hungry eyes made their way down from Will's perfectly tanned face to his chest, which lightly heaved up and down with every breath, and to his rather fit torso, every curve and ripple delicately etched onto his thin shirt...

Snapping back into reality, Nico noticed how close Will had gotten. In fact, he could feel his warm breath tickling the side of his neck as he leaned in even closer. Will's wild hair brushed Nico's forehead as the two studied each other, their faces mere inches apart.

The tip of Will's lips curved up as he whispered in a low, husky voice," You know, you always seem to overlook those who actually care about you…" and then Nico found Will's smooth lips pressed fervently against his, his eyes fluttering close.

It felt as though a thousand fireworks had burst inside of Nico as he felt Will's hands skim over his hair and cup his cheek. He gasped in surprise and moaned into Will's mouth, tangling his fingers in the boy's shirt. Will laughed, his body vibrating against Nico's, and sent shivers down the his spine. Nico felt his own hands making their way up from Will's collarbone to his blonde hair, and nothing felt greater than the soft tufts of ruffled hair between his fingers. Nothing felt greater than being loved back.