The boys stared at Nico's knee in amazement as the once-open wound started to slowly, slowly, stop bleeding, and start to close on its own. The gashes started to scab over, and within a couple of seconds, had hardened into a semi-protective shell of skin, only to start to flake off and reveal new, clear, unbroken skin underneath. Nico's knee had healed on its own within a span of 70 seconds. After the gashes had healed, the two demigods stared at the perfectly healed spot where Nico's skinned knee had once been open and bleeding and simultaneously looked up at each other in shock.

Will finally broke the silence. "What... was that? How... When..."

Nico furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't know... the only thing you did was..."

Will and Nico spoke at the same time. "Kiss it."


"KAYLA! KAYLA! KAYLA! YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS! GUESS WHAT GUESS WHAT GUESS WHAT?"

Will burst into the infirmary hallway and ran past all the beds towards Kayla as she prepared to splint a newly dislocated finger that one of the newer pegasus riders had gotten stuck in a bridle. Kayla looked up at Will, slightly annoyed, as she carefully put down her patient's hand and asked,

"What happened that was so important that you'd violate your own ground rules for, first of all, low noise levels in a place of healing, and second of all, not running in the infirmary while there were injured patients that would be put at risk?" She quirked an eyebrow at Will, who was bouncing up and down on his toes with a very shocked-looking Nico behind him.

"LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK!" Will exclaimed.

"... Look at what? Will, really. You're going to have to calm down a bit. I just can't understand you when you get like this." Kayla put on her 'no-nonsense face' and crossed her arms.

Will took a deep breath and thrust his arms out towards Nico's knee.

"LOOK AT HIS KNEE!"

Kayla peered down at Nico's knee.

"What's so special about that? It's completely normal. No injuries, or sprains, or anything. Your point?"

Nico put a hand on Will's shoulder and pushed him back onto one of the hospital beds, where he started giggling quietly in his excitement. "You, sit down. Here, let me explain to Kayla."

Nico turned to face Kayla and said, "Long story short, I tripped on a rock, Will kissed the wound, and it healed... like... super fast."

Kayla knitted her eyebrows and looked at Nico like she didn't believe him. "Are you sure? Because that would be a medical miracle..."

"Here! I'll show you!" Will shouted as he jumped up, and ran over to Kayla's very confused patient's side. Will gingerly picked up the second-year's sprained finger, kissed it, and held it up to Kayla's face. She watched in astonishment as she saw the joints slowly reorganize them into the way that they were before. Kayla gasped, blinked, and inspected Will's work.

"But... how? When... Whaaaaa?" Kayla looked just as confused as the once-injured patient next to her did.

Nico shrugged as Will started to jump up and down again. "It just happened... I have no idea why."

Kayla jumped up as a huge grin spread across her face. "Well, we'd better put this new skill to use! C'mon Will!"


The three of them walked through the injured patients, with Will going around kissing everyone's wound like there was no tomorrow. But with every step Will took away from Nico, with every time he saw Will's lips plant them on someone else's skin, another grain of jealousy gathered on top of the many, many other grains piled in his chest. Every little cut, every little burn, every hoof mark, every thorn scratch, even the paper cuts were of utmost importance to Will. He took care of every single one of them. Every one. Not even the small ones that didn't hurt.

Every.

Single.

One.

Nico stared at the wall angrily as Will performed his speed-recovery technique over, and over, and over and over and over until Nico could barely stand it anymore. He started to breathe heavily and was about to scream at Will before he thought better of it and once again, against his "doctor's" orders, melted into the darkness that seemed to draw him in completely.


"What in the Hades? Nico, you scared me half to death! What are you doing in my cabin?"

Another pair of blue eyes, although more intensely so, stared into Nico's deep brown ones with worry and care in them. Jason peered worriedly into Nico's grief-stricken eyes, and helped Nico up from the kneeling position that the latter didn't even realize he was in.

Nico heaved a deep sigh, and plopped down on the nearest bed that he could find, with Jason sitting down next to him soon after, putting his hand on Nico's shoulder.

"Neeks, what happened? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Jason ran his large fingers through Nico's hair, affectionately ruffling Nico's dark, glossy waves.

Nico shrugged and said, "Well, it's not really a big deal... I guess."

"Well, it's got you worked up like this so I'd think that it's sort of a big deal... I guess." Jason jokingly bantered. But anyone could tell from the way he said it that he had left himself open to whatever Nico would say.

Nico looked up over his shoulder at Jason sitting next to him on the bottom bunk bed. "It's a pretty long story. You got time?"

Jason lay back on the bed and chuckled. "I've got all day, buddy. Spill." He watched as Nico laced his fingers together, and started to speak.

"You know that I'm staying at Camp Half-Blood. After Kronos... After the giants... After Tartarus... After Gaea... I guess I just needed a place to... just take a breath. But that's not the only reason why I stayed."

Nico paused, shuddering at the memory. "Remember Cupid? Remember the way he... forced me... to... give up my secret... He ripped it right out of my chest... and it was about Percy? I really liked him. I understand why now. But... by the time I really understood what was happening... I finally understood what else was different."

The shadows on Nico's face seemed to sink deeper into his bones, his voice flattening as he continued, "On top of me being a 'spawn of the underworld'. I know what all the other campers say behind my back. I'm 'Death Boy'. The creepy guy, the scary guy, the outcast. That one 'goth' kid, 'Mr. Shadowy', I've heard them all. It's like... they never knew me at all."

He inhaled deeply before continuing in a much quieter tone. "But Will... Will was different. When I came back to camp, I feel like he really welcomed me, like, as a friend. It felt like he understood me, understood where I came from, what I'd seen, what I'd done, and accepted it all. It was like he was there during all that time, and now, he's been there and back with me. From what I've seen from talking with him, and watching him work, and what his friends have told me, he really means it all. He's as pure as the sun is bright."

Jason listened intently the entire time Nico was speaking and thought about what he had said. Nico stopped his monologue and looked up at Jason to see what he thought, but Jason just lay there and stared up at the bottom of the top bunk.

So the smaller boy continued talking. "Usually, I'll go and talk to Will while he's working in the infirmary, and sometimes I'll help out with the patients who aren't too freaked out having a son of the God of the Dead taking care of them. It's become something like a habit. But this morning, I tripped on a rock in front of the infirmary, and I scraped my knee. I went in, and Will said that he could bandage and dress the wound. But after he cleaned it and before he wrapped it up, he gave me... 'a kiss—"

Jason lifted his head to look at Nico, intrigued—

"—to speed up the recovery', kissed my knee—"

And then lowered his head again—

"—… and then… It healed. Really fast. I don't know why… Maybe it's a son of Apollo, the God of Healing thing… but after he discovered that… He started putting it to use… going around the infirmary and… kissing everyone's wounds… and I—"

Nico choked on his own words, and Jason half-smirked inside. Is Nico really… jealous of him? The blonde pondered.

"—I couldn't bear seeing him do that to so many people… When all I wanted… was… just for him to do it to me." Nico sighed. "I don't know what to do now. I'm… really confused."

Jason finally got up and smiled widely at Nico, once again mussing up his already ruffled hair.

"Nico. You know what's really going on here right?"

Nico looked up at Jason questioningly and cocked his head to one side.

"I think… That you're jealous. Of everyone else. Because... You're not the only one he's kissed!"

Jason laughed and bolted for the door as Nico jumped up half a second later, chasing him around the otherwise empty cabin.

"YOU LITTLE SON OF A—"

A few minutes later, the two demigods, gasping for air, sat back down on the bunk bed and finished their conversation. Jason smiled knowingly at Nico.

"Neeks… If you really feel like this, I think you should tell him. I can see that he really matters to you, and you should do what you can to keep it that way. And if you like him that much… He might just like you back. Who knows?"

Nico smiled half-heartedly back at Jason. "Thanks… I-I guess that helps. Looks like I'll be paying Will another visit today."

Nico was just about to step out the door when Jason yelled back at him, "Oh yeah! Don't tell him you shadow-traveled here or I'll be seeing your sorry butt back in an infirmary bed for another few days!"

Nico mentally slapped himself in the face for forgetting about that.