Percy in this chapter: Gods damn it I will make my ship sail if it's the last thing I do!
Also, Solangelo is cute, and neither of them think they deserve each other, and to the reviewer who asked about the Oracle things, I have the whole thing planned out with the Oracle, and to answer your question, the curse isn't broke yet- a part of the curse included it lasting as long as Hades was bound by the oath so even now that his kids are accepted the curse does still stand.

Percy didn't actually plan on cornering her baby brothers best friend/crush in order to have a heart to heart with him. Really she didn't, but, well, when two weeks after the news about the wedding, during the weekend at camp, Percy saw Will rushing out of the infirmary and saw Nico trying to rush after him only to be held back by Kayla she couldn't help but rush after the son of Apollo, who dashed into the woods.

She wasn't fully surprised when she found him sitting on Zeus' fist- not many people went there any more- there were too many painful memories for everyone, but that just meant that it was probably the best place in camp to go if you needed to be alone for some reason.

She paused when she reached the clearing, eyeing him carefully.

Will looked pale- he had done ever since the Labyrinth, he'd never really regained that healthy tan he'd once had- but then, he didn't come outside that much during the days- he spent most of his time working in the infirmary.

Probably too much time now that Percy was actually considering it- it couldn't be healthy to spend that much time stuck inside working constantly- and there were always people who needed patching up these days- from training gone wrong or from quests where campers got injured.

She frowned, taking him in carefully.

Too pale, bags under his eyes- and of course the scarring- that was impossible to forget that- the three red lines were still pretty thick, raised and nasty looking even months after he'd received them.

Percy felt a rush of pain for him at the sight of them- she didn't spend so much time with Will, she usually just saw him in passing but- he looked like he needed a break to say the least.

She took a deep breath before she moved quickly towards the rocks where Will was sat. "Hey Sunshine boy. Mind if I join you?" And Will's head snapped up, his eyes going wide when he looked at her.

"Percy? What are you doing out here?"

"Eh, y'know. Definitely not following my baby brothers friend to make sure he's okay." that made Will flush and duck his head, an embarrassed look on his face.

"I'm fine. You don't need to check up on me-"

"Uh huh." Percy reached Zeus' fist and hauled herself onto it, very carefully not actually looking at Will as she spoke. "You look like you've slept less than I did in the first week or so after the battle."

"I'm fine Percy-"

"Will-" Percy sighed, "Cut the bullshit. Something's wrong, I'd have to be blind not to see that. So what is it?"

"It's nothing-"

"Nico says you've been pulling away-"

"I haven't-"

"Will." Percy gave him a level look, a frown on her lips, "Listen, whatever you tell me is just between you and me. You're one of my little brother's best friends, I wanna know that you're okay." and she watched as he looked down, his hair falling into his face- and she hadn't even noticed how much his hair had grown out until now, but seeing the way it fell in his face, blocking the view of his face- and now that she thought about it he tended to let it fall into his face a lot these days.

"Nico told me about your moms wedding." Will spoke after several minutes, "He invited Kayla and I."

"I know." Percy watched him carefully, "You don't want to go?"

"I-" Will looked down at his hands-and Percy spotted a silver ring on his thumb- and she peered at it- resisting the urge to smile when she realized what was on it- a little skull. She had no doubt who had given Will that. It had to have been Nico. That must have been what he'd been picking up that day when Persephone had essentially kidnapped them. "No. I don't."

"Why not?"

"It's not-" Will reached up, and Percy could see that he didn't even realize he did it, his fingers brushing the bottom of the scars on his face. "It's-"

"Will- you know no one cares about the scars right?"

"No one here." Will said after a moment, "I went home after Christmas to visit my mom." he stared at his ring, twisting it almost nervously. "I don't see her often. She screamed. My step dad wouldn't even let my half siblings out of their room-"

"Will-" Percy's voice was soft, "Gods-"

"I know it's bad I know it looks bad but- no one here ever mentions it-"

"Of course we don't. Will I know that the scars don't look pretty-"

"My mom screamed Percy. They're hideous I know they are."

"Is that why you've been pulling away?" Percy frowned, "Will no one here gives a crap about sc-"

"Yes they do!" Will burst out, "They just don't say anything- I can feel people looking, especially the new campers." he reached up, brushing his hair out of his face to show the scars better, "Do you know how many times I've been asked what happened and I how I got them?"

"Will-"

"I don't even remember Percy! There's so much about those days I don't remember." his voice was shaky. "It's all flashes, I know something clawed my face and I know something bit my leg. And I remember being terrified and alone and Clarisse wasn't really waking up at all and I'm not the best fighter I'm better than I was but-" he shook his head, "I don't- I know all I did was run and I didn't even do that without getting myself almost killed-"

"Will if it wasn't for you then Clarisse would have died." Percy's voice was soft, "If it wasn't for you then we'd have never found the entrance to the Labyrinth."

"Oh come on-"

"No, no seriously." Percy shook her head, "Will- you were badass to get yourself and Clarisse out of there alive."

"No I wasn't-"

"Will-" Percy hesitated before she let out a breath. "Will you were alone with Clarisse, who was knocked out, you were separated from Nico and Kayla- in the Labyrinth- the place that was known for driving people insane."

"Yeah, and then I slept through the battle-"

"I wouldn't call it sleeping you were in a coma-"

"I could have helped people-"

"Will." Percy stared at him, "Fuck-" she moved, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and yanking him into her side. "Okay, okay I think I get it now. It's not just about the scars but about everything-"

"I hate it Percy. They're a reminder that I was useless-"

"Okay, okay Will... you can't help the fact that you were in a freaking coma." Percy stated firmly, "No one, and I mean no one, blames you-"

"If I'd been awake maybe I could have saved Lee." and Percy felt her heart breaking for Will- because his voice was so small, so very lost.

"Will-"

"He died protecting Kayla- maybe if I'd been there I could have healed him-"

"No." Percy shook her head, "Will do not do that to yourself. What happened was horrible- it was horrible- the whole battle was horrible but if I've learned anything in my therapy sessions with Mr. D. it's that blaming yourself for things out of your control doesn't do you any good-"

"But-"

"Will you did everything you could, you managed to get yourself and Clarisse back to camp safely- that's more than anyone else could have asked- you didn't even have a guide or anything like Annabeth and I did. Before that we were stumbling along and hoping for luck- you actually managed to get yourself out of there to somewhere safe-"

"Annabeth got out okay-"

"Hephaestus got her out when she was alone- and in case you've forgotten that was at the same time as Leo and I blasted ourselves into the sky. At least you got yourself
and Clarisse out-"

"I-" Will shifted slightly, "That doesn't change the fact that I wasn't there! I was useless Percy- and then you have people like you and Clarisse and Kayla and Nico, and they fought and they helped stop the attack- they were heroes and they- none of them have stupid scars like this to remind them of how they aren't anything special every single time they look in the mirror!"

"Will!" Percy's mouth dropped open and she stared at him for a long moment before she let out a breath. "Will you-"

"And I don't understand why Nico's still there all the time because he's this amazing strong brave son of Hades and I'm just the useless son of Apollo who isn't even that good at archery-"

"Will!" Percy shifted, pressing her hands to his cheeks, "Will Solace look at me right now- Holy Hades how long have you been feeling like this?"

"I-" there was a long moment before Will muttered, "It started after my mom freaked when she saw me over Christmas."

"Right." Percy let out a breath, "Okay- now I'm about to risk Nico killing me for this but by the gods someone needs to just smack your heads together- Will, I say this as honestly as I can. You aren't weak. You are strong, so strong. And so what if you're not as much of a fighter as your siblings or the rest of us- that just means that's not what you're meant to do. You're a healer Will, you are the best medic in camp- none of your siblings are as good as you are. And I have heard you whistle. I remember that day you, Clarisse and Kayla brought Nico all the way back to camp from home. If it wasn't for you those birds would have pecked us raw-" Percy shifted "and I have enough scars from the Stympalian birds for one lifetime thank you very much. And you were what, like, ten at the time? You dragged Nico to safety because he could barely even stand. You were crazy brave that day Will. When the chips were down you came out swinging and swinging hard. Yeah you might not be a fighter but you have some tricks and the most important thing is the fact that you cared enough to risk your life. You were brave and strong and smart. You're Will Solace why the fuck would you ever let anyone make you feel like you're less than awesome?"

"I was twelve." Will's voice was quiet, but he had a weak smile on his lips, "I was twelve when I did that."

"See, see you were awesome Will."

"I..." he let out a breath, "I don't think about those days that often-" he smiled faintly, "Nico was so cute back then- he taught me how to play Mythomagic." he was playing with his ring again, "He- he's the best friend I've ever had. He's- he's so strong and fierce and powerful. I know- I mean I know all Big Three kids are but- watching him- seeing how strong he is now-"

"Are you in love with him?"

And Will's face went bright red and he hesitated for a long moment before he ducked his head. "I don't know. I've never- but gods Percy he's Nico. He's Nico and I'm just-"

"I had a talk with him the other day." Percy cut Will off, a smile playing across her lips, "Do you want to know what he said to me Will?"

"What?"

"He's the sun and I'm death-" she saw Will's eyes widen and she gave him a teasing smile, nudging him gently. "And he also said something along the lines of you being light and healing warmth and him being all cold- I did make a joke about you melting his icy heart but he didn't appreciate that-"

she was cut off by Will's laugh.

"You didn't."

"What? I thought it was a very funny joke."

"You're terrible." Will hesitated, "It- it's something you actually discussed with him? He really said those things?"

"He did." Percy told Will seriously. "Now, tell me what you're going to do now?"

And Will hesitated, staring straight ahead before his expression turned determined when he looked down at his hands and he twisted his ring. Then a slow smile spread across his lips as he lifted his head.

"I'm going to go and kiss your little brother senseless."