A/N: I know, I'm a terrible person. I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated this story. You have no idea how many times I tried to start another one-shot only to give up halfway through because it wasn't right. I've just been really busy with school and also I got dragged into the Supernatural fandom and it's taken over my life so I kind of drifted away from Percy Jackson for a while. I'm back now though. I hope you enjoy this and I promise it's happy!

Thanks to CarlaKitten21 and lunarchroniclesandcockatiels for the review!

Memory

"Gods dammit Nico," Will grumbled, half carrying, half dragging the son of Hades up Half Blood Hill.

"'S just a scratch, Will," Nico slurred. Then promptly passed out.

Will groaned under the added weight and tightened Nico's arm across his shoulders. "Just a scratch my ass," he muttered under his breath, voice strained with exertion. "No, you only got stabbed in the back, nothing to worry about at all, you'll be back on your feet in a few seconds." Will panted as they reached the summit and carefully lowered Nico to the grass, propping him up against Thalia's tree. "Watch him," he warned Peleus, then turned and ran as fast as he could down the hill.

The next few hours were torture for Will. Chiron had barred him from the room until he finished after Will had interrupted him for the fifth time in a row, so he had spent his time pacing up and down the waiting room, seriously irritating every single other camper that passed through. Rationally, he knew that Nico would be fine; he had managed to heal most of the damage before they left, but he couldn't help but worry. He had watched so many of his friends die before, and he knew he wasn't prepared to watch the same happen to Nico.

Eventually, Chiron trotted out and laid a hand on Will's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "Be careful child, we do not want anymore holes in this floor," he said, a twinkle in his eye.

"Is he okay?" Will demanded. Chiron's mouth twitched slightly and he nodded, amused.

"You may go in and see him now. But... Please be careful. I don't want that wound reopening."

"I will," Will promised, then rushed in, ignoring the stares from the other half-bloods.

"Hey," Nico greeted softly as Will entered his room. A bandage was wrapped around his middle and his complexion was pale - paler than usual anyway - but otherwise he looked fine. Will breathed a sigh of relief and dropped into a chair by the bed.

"Hey. You okay?"

"Oh, you know. Nothing like almost being killed to make you feel so alive."

Will huffed a laugh and shook his head. "You did not almost die, Death Boy. Besides, if you died on me, I'd kill you."

This time it was Nico's turn to laugh, although this was followed with a grimace of pain. Will immediately shot to his feet, his face a mask of concern. He chewed on his lip, wondering what to do, then spotted a glass of nectar on the bedside table.

"Do you want some nectar?" he asked. Nico nodded reluctantly, breathing heavily and tried to push himself up, a cry of pain escaping him as he moved. Will laid a hand on his shoulder, gently but firmly pressing him back onto the mattress.

"Oh no you don't," he admonished. "I'm doing this."

Nico grumbled something incoherently, but let Will lift his head up and gulped down the amber liquid. After a few seconds Will replaced the glass back on the table and helped Nico get comfortable again.

"Better?" he asked worriedly. Nico nodded wearily and closed his eyes. The pair sat in silence for a few moments, relieved just to have the other breathing softly next to them.

"Tastes different."

Will jumped as Nico's mumbled voice permeated the quiet. He looked over to his boyfriend to see his eyes were still closed, his lips turned upwards in a small smile.

"What does?"

"The nectar." Nico opened his dark eyes and looked soulfully over at Will. "It's changed. Used to taste like these biscuits my mom used to make when I was little. They had some fancy Italian name but I can't remember what it was now. Bianca and me used to have them as treats every now and then."

Will nodded. "And now?" he asked hesitantly.

"You remember that chicken soup you force-fed me for about a week straight when I had the flu?"

"Yeah. You mean...?"

"Yeah. It's kind of weird, you know, because it used to be really sweet and suddenly I'm drinking soup, but I like it."

"I should make it more often, then," Will joked.

Nico looked at him in mock seriousness. "First of all, I know for a fact you did not make that. Anything you cook looks like it went twelve rounds with a Colchis bull. Secondly, it's all about the memories. Nectar tastes of your favourite comfort food, right? So something that's commonplace wouldn't be special."

Will raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Guess you're not just a pretty face then?"

"Guess not." A beat passed then Nico began to speak again, his voice sounding slightly choked up. "It's a kind of sad because it was my last real link to my family to- to Bianca. I don't want to forget them."

Will laid his hand on Nico's arm. "You won't. They're still here, remember," he said, tapping Nico's head. "Got to keep moving, right?"

Nico nodded, leaning slightly into Will's touch and closing his eyes again. "I think I'm moving in the right direction," he mumbled. Will smiled softly and dropped a kiss on Nico's forehead.

"Me too," he sighed.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that and I cannot apologise enough for how long it's been. I'm not going to make any promises for an update schedule because I'm going to be so busy with school for the next few months but I am going to update faster than I did last time, and that's a definite. Honest. Thanks for reading and please leave me a review if you have a moment. Bye!