Nico surfaced from sleep slowly and reluctantly. He would have happily gone back to sleep once he was awake but his entire body felt hot and stretched, painfully so. Nico squinted unhappily at the sun light that was streaming in the window and then down at his body. His arms which he could see over top of the blanket, were red and raw. He groaned softly and then coughed, apparently not all the smoke had left his system.
"Are y-you awake?" a hushed voice came from beside his bed. There sitting on a chair that had been pulled up was Hoody.
"Ya I'm awake." Nico grumbled staring down at his arms which were mostly bandaged. Since he had been wearing a t-shirt he guessed that's where he had gotten the worst burns.
"How do you f-feel?" Hoody asked getting up and passing the glass of water that was on the bedside table to Nico. Nico took it and drank gratefully.
"I feel like I went sunbathing in Tartarus." Nico said grumpily. Hoody laughed. Nico couldn't be bothered smiling. "Where's Toby."
"H-he." Hoody said and his voice caught in his throat nervously. He coughed once and continued. "He went b-back for J-jay."
"To kill Jay." Nico stated blankly and Hoody nodded. Nico felt a twist in his chest. He didn't like that, he didn't care if Jay had tried to kill him, he didn't want to think of Toby that way. Well if that was the case then he had better just not think about it, because he didn't think he could ask Toby to stop, at least not yet.
"Do you feel up to g-getting up Nico?" Hoody asked. "A c-cold shower might help the b-burns feel better, I'll make you b-breakfast and we can change your b-bandages."
"I think I can get up." Nico said pushing himself up gingerly and wincing when he stretched his still very sore leg. He got up realizing he was in pj pants and he was much cleaner than he was sure he had been when he fell asleep.
"We c-cleaned you up and put c-cold packs on your worst b-burns so they would-dn't get any worse." Hoody said half apologetically. "You d-didn't even wake u-up."
"I'm not surprised." Nico said trying not to put weight on his bad leg as he rummaged in his backpack for a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. "Percy, one of the other powerful demigods I know, tried to stop the tides once and after that he passed out and slept for nearly three days. Nearly caused a tidal wave to when he finally gave up and all the water came rushing in." Hoody chuckled and shook his head.
"What would you l-like for b-breakfast?" he asked getting up and heading towards the kitchen.
"I don't really care as long as there's a lot of it, I'm starving." Nico called after Hoody. Hoody didn't answer but Nico hadn't really expected him to, and instead limped to the washroom. It seemed odd to have a cool shower, but the idea of the having a hot one was too painful to hang on to. Nico carefully turned the tap to a level of cool that he thought would be bearable.
It took him a moment to psyche himself up to get in and peal his pj pants off the bullet wound in his leg, which apparently was still bleeding just enough to have gotten his pants stuck there. Once he finally slid under the stream of cold water he nearly moaned in relief, it did help, it helped a lot. The cold water took the edge of the heat that was lingering in his skin. Carefully he turned the temperature down a little, closed his eyes and just stood under the water for a long minute.
It was the smell of food that got Nico moving again, the smell of bacon making his stomach growl and his body jerk back into action. Carefully and gingerly he washed his raw skin. He hurt to the touch but he knew the last thing he needed was for any dirt to stay in the burns and cause an infection. Ambrosia and Nectar, which helped heal almost any other kind of wound for demigods, did little for burns because it relied to heavily on warmth. In fact Nectar was one of the main ingredients in Greek fire so Nico would have to avoid it this time.
Once Nico was sure he was clean he got out of the shower and turned off the water, grumbling as the heat under his skin slowly crept back now that it wasn't constantly being washed with the cool water. Gingerly he patted his skin dry with a soft towel and then pulled on his clothes, shorts and a t-shirt today, so there was less cloth to rub against his sensitive skin. Once he was clean and dressed he crept out of the bathroom, padding barefoot down the hall to the kitchen where Hoody smiled at him and handed him a plate of eggs, bacon, and pancakes.
"The s-syrup and stuff is already on the t-table." Hoody told him and went back to fixing two other plates. Nico wasn't sure why as he went to the table and started to eat but he understood quickly when he heard Masky's groggy voice call.
"I smell pancakes."
"Yep there are p-pancakes." Hoody called back to him. "C-come get them."
"Kay coming." By the time Masky came out fully dressed Hoody had put the other two plates on the table as well as coffee for himself and Masky, and orange juice for Nico. Hoody sat down to his own breakfast at the same time Masky came out and slid into the empty chair. They were all quiet as they ate. Shade then entered the room this time he didn't have his mask on and he was pulling his tank top on.
"Hey, the Fire-Walker is awake." Shade had a slight slur to his voice due to the whiskey still in his system. "Good job the other day, I checked in with Hades, and I took care of the spirits and made sure they all went to where they belong."
"Alright, thats good."
"There's more in the k-kitchen." Hoody said when Nico finished his first plate. Nico nodded and got himself seconds, he finished those at the same time Masky and Hoody finished their breakfasts. "C-can I have a look at you b-burns now?" Hoody asked Nico, once the table had been clear. "Your b-bandages need to b-be changed."
"Sure." Nico said grimacing. Hoody nodded and got up heading to the washroom, presumably to get bandages and disinfectant. "By the way where are Clockwork and Bloody Painter?" Nico asked Masky.
"They skipped town last night, they thought the fire was the perfect distraction and left as soon as they saw us all safely back. They said they promised you some art though, so it's on the coffee table." Masky answered blandly getting up to refill his coffee cup.
"They seemed nice." Nico said smiling slightly as Hoody came out and set out some bandages, disinfectant and aloe salve.
"They are, Hoody gets along with them well because they're pretty calm and quiet." Masky said, coming back and sat down. Hoody knelt in front of Nico and pulled his arms out in front of him gently. Nico held them there as Hoody gently unwrapped the slightly damp bandages, revealing the red and white blisters underneath. Nico grimaced but Hoody kept a completely straight face as he reached for the disinfectant and a cotton swab to clean them.
"We wanted to thank you by the way." Masky said distracting Nico from the sting as Hoody started to carefully swab the disinfectant onto Nico's arms. "We've wanted to be free of the Operator for a long time but we've had no idea how to do it."
"You're welcome." Nico answered through his teeth trying to ignore the spikes of pain. "It's nice to be thanked for something for once. I think I've already helped more people than I can count and saved the world once, but usually people are too scared, or don't know to thank me."
"When d-did you save the world?" Hoody asked glancing up at Nico's face. "That s-sounds like a g-good story." So Nico started telling them a shorter version of the events of the battle with the titans the year before. By the time he was done his arms were cleaned to Hoody's satisfaction. He was gently spreading the aloe salve which felt much better and Toby had gotten back. Without interrupting he had kissed Nico on the cheek gently and slid into the seat Hoody had vacated. Nico noted that the smell of blood that clung to Toby had gotten stronger.
"So you led an army of the dead into battle against beings older than your gods when you were thirteen?" Masky said with a low whistle "That's really something." Nico would have shrugged but Hoody was bandaging his arms again.
"Well it was mostly my father, I just convinced him to come. Though honestly before he actually agreed I was pretty sure he was going to smite me for yelling at him." Nico smiled crookedly, then all of them laughed.
"So what are you going to do now?" Masky asked after a moment of silence. "The doors of death weren't closed when you destroyed the Operator were they?" Nico couldn't help but notice the way Toby stiffened at the mention of what Nico was going to do. He thinks I'm going to leave Nico though, sadly I wish he wasn't right.
"No they weren't closed. I'm going to have to go to Tartarus myself to close them. Gods can't trespass onto the old titans territory and a human would die instantly. Really I'm the only candidate."
"When do you have to leave?" Masky asked leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table.
"Two, maybe three weeks." Nico said shrugging. "My father sometimes keeps me up to date with what's going on through my dreams since sleep and death are related. Last night he came to me and told me that Thanatos is missing and the Keres twins are in revolt. With all three gods of death out of action there would be no point in closing the doors of death because there would be no one to police them. A quest is being issued to the correct demigods to find Thanatos, but until he is and the Keres twins are brought back under control there would be no point."
"Figures" Shade said as he drank from his cup of coffee.
"I thought your f-father was the g-God of death." Hoody said looking up curiously. "I n-need to look at you l-leg now."
"Okay." Nico said scooting forward so that Hoody could roll up Nico's shorts' leg enough to see the half healed bullet wound.
"My father is the god of the dead. He takes charge once someone is dead and transitioned to the underworld where he rules. There are three gods of the act of dying. Thanatos the god of peaceful and natural death and the Keres twins goddesses of painful and violent deaths."
"Do you really have to go?" Toby asked softly. "How long will you be gone."
"I do have to go." Nico said gazing levelly at toby. "I'm sorry but there's no one else who can right now, I have the best chance of succeeding and surviving. I will be honest with you though, if I make it out of Tartarus alive I'll be the first."
"Oh." Toby said dumbly his eyes wide and frightened. Nico looked away, he shouldn't have done this, he never shouldn't have agreed to be Toby' boyfriend he had known this was coming.
"You two will have to make the most of these next few weeks then." Masky said softly. Nico couldn't get a reading on his tone but Toby nodded never looking away from Nico's face. They were quiet then, as Hoody finished cleaning and bandaging the wound in Nico's leg.
"Come on let's get packed." Toby said standing abruptly once Hoody was done. "Hoody and Masky want to get back to the mansion today. E.J. was actually trained as a doctor so he should have a look at you to make sure we didn't mess-up." He reached out to help Nico up. He accepted, following Toby back to the room they were sharing. As soon as they were inside Toby closed the door and turned to Nico.
"Why do you have to go? Why do you have to care? You've already risked your life for these gods of yours multiple times from the sounds of it. Haven't you done enough?" Nico was taken aback by the abruptness of Toby's outburst but recovered quickly.
"It's not just for the gods Toby. If The Titans defeated the gods, or if Gaia does, then they'll make the planet uninhabitable for humans." Nico explained patiently.
"So? You're not human." Toby said scowling and crossing his arms.
"So? Toby that's billions of lives that I could save by doing this. Even if I die my life is a bargain in exchange for all those other lives." Nico said spreading his arms helplessly. "I haven't honestly prized my life that highly since I was nine." Toby stood quietly for a long moment looking Nico up and down as if deciding whether or not he was serious. Finally he seemed to realize that Nico was.
"Well I do." Toby murmured once he had realized that, crossing to Nico in one long stride and wrapping Nico in a tight hug. "So please try to come back."
"You know I will." Nico said cupping Toby's cheek in one hand. "I won' leave you for long at all if I can help it." They kissed gently for a long moment.
"Well then Masky's right, we'd better make the most of these next few weeks." Toby said forcing a smile once they broke the kiss. The smile Nico gave in return was more sincere. He knew he probably would have had to go to Tartarus no matter what had happened. He was glad that at least this way he would have some good memories to look back on while he was there.