Nico was getting kinda tired of waking up on a bed in the Apollo cabin, with his body aching all over.

As he opened his eyes, he felt the sting of the light filtering in through the windows. He looked around and noticed that it was daylight.

He managed to sit up. Lifting the covers, he saw the wound on his stomach had healed. How long had he been out?

"Three days."

Nico's head turned to see Will looking at him from the doorway, having seemingly read his mind.

Nico ran a hand through his hair, looking down at the covers. "Gods."

He heard Will make his way over to the bed, sitting down on a stool next to it. He didn't look great, with slight bags under his eyes, and an exhausted look on his face.

Nico stared at him, his mouth opening and closing. He didn't really know what to say.

Will didn't seem to have that problem. "What the fuck, Nico?" His voice was even, tired.

Nico flinched, gripping the bed sheets tighter.

The son of Apollo placed his hands on his knees, leaning forward. His eyes bore into Nico's. "You turn up after days, injured, again."

Nico felt confused. How had he gotten back to camp?

Will had apparently read his mind again as he answered: "Some guy brought you here. He just showed up in the cabin, kinda like you do."

Nico's eyes widened at that.

Will seemed to notice his reaction. "He said his name was Anubis." He was still looking at Liam, trying to gauge his reaction.

Nico dragged a hand down his face. "Shit." He paused for a second, trying to figure out what to say. "Was he okay?"

Will looked down at the floor for a moment. "Yeah, he looked like he was okay. A bit covered in gold, but."

Nico heaved a sigh of relief. He wrung his hands together.

Will clicked his tongue. "You were coughing up ichor, Nico," he said. He looked like that particular detail really freaked him out. "Wanna tell me why that is? 'Cuz I'm pretty sure that's not normal…"

Nico sucked in a breath through his teeth, steeling himself. "I'm so sorry, Will."

Then he told Will everything.

The son of Apollo was silent throughout his retelling of the story. He sat with his weight leaned on his elbows on his knees, looking at Nico.

When he finished, Will leaned back on the stool, staring at the ceiling. "So, I never stood a chance, huh?"

Nico looked back at him, puzzled. "What?"

Will glanced back at him, a teasing smile on his face. "Anubis. You chose him."

The son of Hades stared for a second, before his face flushed.

Will didn't seem angry or disappointed, just looking at him with that tiny smile. "You really like him, huh?"

Nico buried his face in his hands. "Oh, gods."

"He looked extremely worried when he brought you here," Will commented.

Nico chanced a look at him.

"He said that he was so sorry that this had to happen to you, and, uh…" Will paused for a second, his eyes flicking between Nico's. "He said that he couldn't have this happen again, and that it was too dangerous for you to be with him…"

Nico's hands dropped to his lap. "What?"

Will looked sympathetic. "I think he feels responsible for you getting hurt, and he'd rather you not see him anymore, than you getting hurt again."

Nico gripped the bedsheets. How could Anubis decide this for them both? Nico had a say too, possibly the most important say.

He got up from the bed. Will got up from the stool, too.

"Whoa! Where do you think you're going?" he said, grabbing Nico's arm.

Nico looked at him. "I'm gonna go find him."

Will's eyes softened. "Do you even know where he is?"

Nico pondered that for a second. He had only one idea, and it would take some luck for it to work. He nodded at Will.

The other demigod let his arm go. "Okay, but you seriously need to take a shower."

Nico frowned as he looked down at himself, his clothes stained with dirt, blood and ichor. He scrunched his nose. "Fair enough."

Will pushed him out the door, making a snide comment about how it was amazing that Anubis liked him with how bad he smelled.

Nico stumbled to the Hades cabin, smiling at some campers that commented on his recovery. He managed to take a shower and grab some clean clothes before he slipped into the shadows.

When he slipped out, he was met by the busy streets in New Orleans. It was nearing dinnertime, and he could smell the food being prepared.

He didn't really know how to find Anubis. He closed his eyes, trying to see if he could somehow feel him.

He could at least feel death somewhere, and considering he was looking for a graveyard, that might be as good a place to start as any.

He started walking in the direction of the feeling, keeping his senses open to see if he could feel anything else. The feeling of death grew stronger as he trudged on. As he rounded a corner, he spotted a graveyard. He recognised it immediately as the graveyard in his dream with Anubis.

Breaking into a jog, he made his way over to the graveyard. He walked into it, trying to find Anubis.

He didn't.

He did manage to find the bench where he'd kissed him, and he sank down on it, his head in his hands.

Of course it wouldn't be that easy.

Nico leaned back on the bench, staring up at the darkening sky. "Anubis, you idiot."

"That was kind of rude," a familiar voice spoke up beside him.

Nico jumped about a foot in the air. He turned to see Anubis sitting beside him on the bench, like that was a completely normal occurrence.

Nico stared at him for a second, then he flung his entire body at the other. His arms wound around Anubis' neck, his face pressing into the god's shoulder.

"You jerk!" he mumbled into his neck. "Will told me what you said."

He felt Anubis freeze at his words, but his arms came to rest on Nico's back. He pulled the demigod closer, his face nesting into his hair.

Nico felt his body calm down at the god's proximity, their auras mingling nicely. "You can't just decide stuff like that on your own."

At that, Anubis pulled back to look him in the eyes. "Nico-" he started.

"No. Don't Nico me," Nico interrupted. "I agreed to the dangers, remember. I care too much about you, remember."

Anubis' eyes softened, but his hold started to loosen. "It's too dangerous, Nico. I couldn't handle anything worse happening to you." He looked down at the ground.

Nico slipped one hand beneath the god's chin, making him look him in the eye. "Hey. I should have a say in this, too. And I say that there's no way you're getting out of this. I worked too hard on getting you out, and now that I have you here, not just in my head, I'm not letting go."

Anubis looked at him with the softest eyes Nico had ever seen. "Okay."

Nico felt his face split into a grin. "Okay?"

"Okay," Anubis said, leaning into Nico's touch on his chin, his arms tightening their hold on him.

Nico was still grinning when the god leaned close to fit their lips together, making him kiss his teeth as well. Anubis huffed out a laugh, tilting his head to get a better angle. Nico tried to stifle his smile, pressing into the kiss. His heart was thundering in his chest now, and he was feeling slightly lightheaded. He gripped Anubis' shoulders to pull him as close as he could, revelling in how right it felt to be pressed close to the god. It felt like home.

Anubis' hand had made its way into Nico's hair, carding slowly through it as he continued to press kisses to his mouth and the rest of his face. Nico breathed out a sigh as Anubis kissed the tip of his nose.

"I really like you," the god muttered.

Nico opened his eyes to look at him. Anubis looked dazed (Nico didn't want to know how he looked if Anubis was that affected). "I really like you, too."

Anubis ducked his head as he smiled.

Nico traced a hand down the side of his face. "Hey, um, what happened back there?"

Anubis sat back slightly, clearing his throat. "You fainted, and I got you back to Camp Half-Blood." He paused to snort a laugh. "Will didn't really seem that happy to see me, to be honest. But he looked a bit weird when I said who I was." He ran a hand through Nico's hair again. "Kabechet had been under Apophis' influence." At Nico's confused look, he explained. "Apophis is kind of the big bad of Egyptian mythology. He looks like a giant snake, and feeds off chaos." He paused again, chewing his lip. "I suppose Kabechet was susceptible to his influence because of her serpentine lineage. That snake you turned to dust was an extension of him."

Nico chewed the inside of his cheek as he mulled that over. "So, what happens to her?"

"She'll still be in Osiris' service in the Hall of Judgement, but they'll be keeping a close eye on her from now on. They made her partake in a trial with the Feather of Truth, to know that it hadn't been her intention to do what she did," Anubis explained.

"Good, I'd hate it if she was punished for something she had been forced to do by someone else."

Anubis looked inquisitively at him. "You continue to surprise me, Nico."

Nico grinned at him, fastening his hands at the god's nape. "Then I guess you're in for a lot of surprises in the future."

Anubis stared at him, his eyes soft again. "I hope so."