High Windows Cast Long Shadows
Nico could taste blood from biting off some skin on his lower lip. He tapped his foot impatiently, his middle finger picking at his thumb's cuticle hard enough to make him wince, but not enough to make him stop. Any second now, he thought.
The room was spacious and warm, large enough to accommodate ten people, and was bathed in the honey-colored light of the afternoon sun that spilled in through the large windows, from high up on the walls. Rays of light fell diagonally into the room, illuminating the golden mosaic depictions of naked Apollo that adorned every inch of the floor. Tacky, Nico thought.
The high windows – some eight feet above the ground, served the double purpose of permeating the room with an abundance of natural light, as well as affording privacy to those inside. Not all windows in the Apollo cabin were placed at this particular height – just the ones in the bathroom, and Nico knew this fact well enough, because… he was currently standing in a corner of the Apollo cabin bathroom.
A third and final signature trait of high windows: they cast long shadows.
For one who is accustomed to traveling within these blotches of penumbra, you can see the appeal. One would merely have to wait for when shadows are at their longest (and if possible – darkest), step into them with conviction, and whisper your desired destination. Darkness, one's old friend, would see that one is promptly delivered into the nearest available (preferably long) shadow at the chosen point of disembarkation.
Nico had been disembarking at the Apollo cabin bathroom's Shadow Travel Station with increasing frequency as of late.
It was, by far, the largest bathroom Nico had ever seen inside any of the cabins at Camp Half-Blood – not even Mr. D's own private bathroom in the Big House was remotely this large. Nico would know, he had shadowed travelled into all bathrooms at Camp Half-Blood. The walls were lined with light sand-colored tiles, perhaps in an effort to resemble the walls of Ancient Greek temples. Wall braziers hung at symmetrical intervals, however the light coming in through the windows made them woefully unnecessary. In the middle of the room sat a built-in Jacuzzi made of cream-colored stone, like a giant basin, only empty. A marble toilet was tucked away behind a divider panel made of obscured glass in the corner farthest from where Nico was standing. Directly in front of him, about ten steps away was a large shower stall, taking up almost an entire wall. The glass doors had been spotlessly wiped, so much so that if it weren't for the gold handle, Nico wouldn't have been able to discern them.
The corner of his preference was the left one by the door, directly under the high window facing west. At approximately 5 o'clock, when the sun chariot started its descent towards Honolulu Airport, Long Island was coated in egg-yolk yellow, and for a blissful 20 minutes, blazing rays of sunset drifted into the Apollo cabin bathroom through its large high windows, casting a massive and impossibly black shadow thick enough to hide any shadow-dwellers in almost perfect darkness.
Nico just so happened to be a shadow-dweller coated in perfect darkness as he stood still, biting on his lip and sucking on his own blood, melting into the umbra like black smoke, waiting. He glanced at his watch. Any second now.
As if summoned by magic, the bathroom door opened and a man walked in. Nico braced himself and became one with the darkness. The son of Hades practically lived in the shadows, camouflaging into them was child's play. He wouldn't be seen.
The young man walked in with dauntless steps, the squishy sound of his crocs slapping against the tiled floor reverberated throughout the room. He walked around the Jacuzzi toward the shower stall, taking off his scrubs in the process and discarding them into the basin as if it had been a hamper. Nico's eyes narrowed, as if trying to scan the young man from top to bottom.
At age seventeen, Will Solace, son of Apollo, was as radiant and beguiling as ever, having reached the peak of his unearthly beauty – longish blonde curls that reached the end of his neck, sun-kissed skin that gleamed impossibly bright, lean muscles that pointed to a life full of activity.
How Nico hated him. His confidence, his beauty, his nonchalance. He hated his warm smile and kind eyes. He hated his long, thin fingers and slender wrists.
He hated the way his breath hitched as Will's pants slid down his hips, revealing a whole different set of muscles. The blonde kicked off his shoes and pants and walked into the shower stall, his back to Nico.
As water began pouring down his head and shoulders, Nico's eyes zeroed in on Will's ass, the backs of his thighs, his strong calves and sculpted feet.
How he hated him.
Will reached out for the shampoo dispenser, turned around to face the door, by which Nico stood cast in shadows, and began massaging the substance into his hair. Foam formed instantly and started running down his body. His young, toned abs rippled with each flex of his arms. His cock was long and languid – but it wouldn't be for long. Nico knew this for a fact.
It wasn't long before Will started scrubbing his chest, his armpits, his abdomen, his pubes. Then his hand wrapped around his cock, quite innocently at first – just another part to scrub, then in earnest. His pumps were slow and absent-minded, he tilted back his head and opened his mouth, taking in a mouthful of water, then letting it dribble down his chin.
Nico could feel himself getting hard now. He palmed the front of his pants in both excitement and shame, silently chastising himself for reacting to the scene with such mundane compliance – yet he was unable to look away. The son of Hades could be many things, but he was never one to look away.
How he hated him. Will Solace with his perfect cock. Perfectly pink, perfectly erect. Nico's own cock curved slightly around the middle, and had a habit of pointing downwards even when hard as a rock. Will's cock was straight as an arrow – straight, just like himself.
Nico wondered if anyone had ever sucked his perfectly straight dick before. It was easy to ignore the shame when he got hard, and now that he was, he could absolutely picture himself taking Will's cock in his mouth, all the way in and until he gagged. The thought sent ripples down his back.
Will's pumps quickened, drawing a soft moan from his parted lips, then he stopped.
He turned around once more and reached for another squirt of soap, which he proceeded to smear down his legs. As he bent over, Nico was awarded a perfect view of his ass, a strip of pink between creamy white cheeks. The tone darkened the closer it got to his asshole, but Nico could tell it was still pink, the motherfucker and his perfectly pink asshole.
As Will reached his calves, his balls were visible from between his legs and Nico suppressed a moan. He conjured up the sound of balls slapping against skin from memory, countless hours of watching porn in his Underworld laptop had granted him enough material to space out into sweet, wanton oblivion whenever he felt like it.
But Will Solace's live show was better than any video he had ever watched.
When Will stood back up, his cock was still hard – harder in fact than before, and now that he was all squeaky clean, he seemed to return his full attention to it.
With a long, hard stroke, he turned slightly, his profile to Nico. With his left hand perched on the wall for balance, his chin down, he began pumping himself in earnest.
Water dribbled down his hair, his long locks smeared against his face – but Nico could see the profile of his long, pointy nose and his parted lips. Then Will suddenly moaned so loudly Nico almost jumped. He tilted his head back and water hit directly against his Adam's apple. Steam had begun to blur the glass door of the shower stall, but Nico didn't need to see what his imagination could conjure up without a problem.
He saw it all in his mind as if he were there, in that shower stall with stupid Will Solace and his perfect erection.
He imagined the tip of Will's cock growing plump and dark. He imagined how Will cupped his balls with his left hand as he tugged and squeezed his cock with his right. Nico could picture himself kneeling down in front of him, his hands hooked behind Will's thighs, his mouth open, ready to take in his essence when he came.
Will moaned through gritted teeth – Nico could hear it clearly thanks to the room's perfect acoustics, perks of being in an Apollonian bathroom.
Will's movements became more and more erratic with every passing second. When the sound of slapping skin reached Nico's ears, he almost pulled out his own cock and started jerking off.
Will remained in the same position, his profile to Nico, a hand on the wall, but his right arm moved so fast Nico could see his muscles tensing across his back. Will's breathing escalated quickly, and soon enough he was panting.
"Take it," Will hissed, the words perfectly reaching Nico's ears. Solace wasn't much of a talker when he jerked off, except for the odd command directed at nothing in particular that never failed to send a jolt of electricity down Nico's cock.
He wished, oh how he wished, those words were directed at him.
Nico palmed his infernal erection slowly, as if willing himself to calm down.
How he longed he could just emerge from the shadows, walk the ten steps to the shower stall and join Will Solace in the water. He wouldn't even take off his clothes, he would simply reach out, grab him by the arm and turn him around, taking his cock in his hand and driving it into his mouth. He could picture his tongue rolling around Will's tip, the salty taste of pre-cum on his lips.
As if on cue, Will Solace let out surprised gasp followed by a low grumble that signaled his orgasm. And in Nico's mind, Will's semen filled his mouth.
When Will walked out of the shower in blissful satisfaction, Nico couldn't bring himself to hate him any longer. Will's post orgasm beauty always took Nico by surprise, conjuring up feelings he didn't know he was capable of. And each time he told himself it would be the last.
He had been telling himself that for weeks.
He watched in a daze as Will wrapped a towel around his waist and headed for the door.
In the shadows, Nico had to restrain himself from reaching out a hand. If only he could graze Will's skin with the tip of his unworthy fingers – but no.
Because Will was straight and Nico was a sickening Peeping Tom, and the radiant son of the God of the Sun wouldn't even glance in the direction of the shadows that surrounded a scion of the Underworld.
It had been so with Percy, and it would remain so with Will. And Nico would be alone forever, shadow travelling into bathrooms and masturbating in the darkness of his cabin.
When Will opened the door to walk out, he stopped.
"Just because I can't see you, doesn't mean I can't feel you," he whispered.
Nico froze, his eyes widening.
"Son of Hades," Will added. The words were heavy and slow, like honey on a cold day, but there was no resentment in them. Nico failed to register the tone. His blood turned icy in his veins, and before Will could walk out of the bathroom, Nico vanished into the shadows.