"I just need to grab something really fast, but you can come in." Nico says, stepping towards the door of his cabin, pushing the dark wooden door open. Will nods, stepping in behind Nico. They're probably gonna be late to the "study hall" with Chiron and the older kids left at camp for the school year, but Nico had insisted on going back to his cabin beforehand.
Will's been in here once before, but never with Nico, never anyone in the room. He still can't help but stifle a laugh. The decor is a little less Twilight, at least. A little more Nico. Maybe he should have asked Melody to help his boyfriend before she left…
"Stop laughing at the decor. I didn't choose it." Nico says darkly, rooting around on his desk for something, pushing papers aside.
"I know." Will says, a slight laugh leaving his lips. "I like that you're startin' to change it at least, Make it more… you." A slight noise startles him, and Nico freezes, his dark eyes wide. Guilt colors his face, and Will's eyes narrow. Something is up. "What was that?" He asks, looking at his boyfriend with a frown on his face.
"Will." Nico says weakly. "You have to understand it was an accident, and it just won't… leave." Will crosses his arms over his chest, waiting for Nico to explain. Before Nico can explain or even utter another word, the same rattling sound reverbs through the cabin again, and a small catlike figure tumbles out from behind the pillows on what Will assumes was Hazel's bed.
Cat-like. Since it's mostly bones.
"What… is that?" Will asks, his eyes widening, and Nico runs a hand through his hair, the dark strands falling back into their normal place in his eyes. Will watches the movement. Nico needs a haircut. He'll have to push him to ask the Aphrodite girls about it.
"I accidentally summoned a cat… well a ghost cat? And he won't leave me alone or go back. So he… just lives here now." Nico confesses, turning to face Will. "I promise that I didn't use my powers on purpose. I got… emotional when Hazel left for Camp Jupiter." He shifts awkwardly, and Will can tell that he's uncomfortable telling Will about this, but he's trying, and Will can't help but feel grateful for that. "He's kinda cute, though. Don't you think so?"
The ghost cat jumps off the bed and trots over to Nico, starting to rub its face all over Nico's leg, as much as a ghost can. Will has to agree, it is quite cute. He squats down, and the ghost cat stops moving, eyeing him warily.
"Hey there, lil one." Will says softly, and the cat tilts his head slightly, hackles raised ever so little. "I'm not gon' hurt you, I promise." He holds his hand out, and the ghost cat creeps forward from its place by Nico's side. It comes forward, sniffling his hand, before it bumps against his fingers, and Will blinks in surprise.
It can't quite touch him, but he feels a cold sensation brush against his fingers, a stark contrast to the warmth that usually radiates from his skin. He smiles, and the cat trots away with its tail up, jumping onto Hazel's bed and curling into a ball in the center.
"Have you named him yet?" Will asks, and Nico's cheeks flush a warm red, His boyfriend looks away from him, muttering something. "Hmm?" Will presses gently.
"Nero. Sohee, she, ah… she showed me this song from Korea based on an old song from Italy called The Black Cat Nero and it just seemed… right." Will hums. That does seem like something that Sohee would do. "I'm not really sure if he was… a black cat or not, I haven't seen any of his life before, but…" Nico shrugs his shoulders slightly.
"It's cute, Neeks. It didn't exhaust you, summoning it?" Will asks, and Nico shakes his head, chewing on his lower lip.
"Not at all. But my summoning powers never really have, only the shadow travel." Will nods, filing that information away in the Nico folder in his head. Good to know.
"You found what you were looking for?" Nico shakes his head, but he shrugs.
"It's fine, I'll look for it later. Not important at the moment, I know you're getting anxious about being late." Will huffs, shaking his head. They could have just gone straight there!
"C'mon Neeks. Schoolwork is waiting." Will chirps and Nico just sighs before motioning for Will to go first.
—
"Will, c'mon. Everyone's cleared out for the night, you don't have to be here anymore. Plus, it's movie night, remember?" Kayla says, leaning against the doorway to the office in the back of the infirmary. Will looks up from his schoolwork, his pencil paused over the last of his workbook.
"But— aw hell, what time is it?" He asks, blinking a few times, pushing a few stray blond curls out of his face. Kayla looks down at her watch, frowning a bit. She tilts her head to the side, her freshly dyed green tips just brushing her shoulders.
"Almost 8." She says, and Will startles. The office only has one window, and he turns his head to look at it before standing up quickly. He hadn't even noticed that the sun went down! No wonder he had been feeling awful since about an hour ago. He rubs his eyes, sighing deeply.
"I'm comin', just… give me a second." Kayla nods, still leaning against the doorway. He can feel her watchful eyes on him as he organizes things, setting his schoolwork aside in a neat pile. He files it away in the desk drawer labeled "Will" before stretching his arms over his head. Damn, how long had he been hyperfocused on his work? Had someone come into the infirmary and needed help? He can feel his throat constricting in panic, and he hears a huff from Kayla.
"Stop being dramatic. No one came in, you just were working too hard. Tero did a run of the infirmary earlier when he realized you were in the zone." Will breaths out a sigh, his shoulders lowering in relief. Anteros isn't allowed to leave him, ever, he thinks jokingly. There's no way that he could get a single thing done without his brother.
"Did they pick a movie?" Will asks, picking up his red flannel and pulling it on over his camp shirt. Kayla makes a noise halfway between a laugh and a snort, and Will stares at her. She just smiles, turning to leave the infirmary. "Kayla!" He runs after her, pestering her incessantly, but she refuses to answer. She keeps this up the entire way back to their cabin, clearly giddy at the notion of keeping a secret from him for once.
"You are so evil, you know that right, Kayls?" Will says, laughing, as they enter the cabin. He stops and stares, his eyes narrowed at the sight in front of him. Anteros looks up at him innocently from his beanbag, and Nico turns his head slightly to look at Will, his dark eyes bright. "Where are Austin and Sohee?" Will asks, stepping further into the cabin's front room. The yellow flowers on the windowsill move gently in the slight breeze outside, but Will barely pays it any mind.
"They can't watch this movie." Anteros says simply, and Will turns to face Kayla, his hands on his hips. She blinks up at him owlishly, innocently. Fake innocent, Will muses. There's no way she doesn't know what's going on.
"Why can't they watch this movie?" He accuses, and Kayla shrugs her shoulders, pushing past him to enter the cabin fully.
"Austin's already asleep, you know how he gets when the sun goes down early." She says, plopping down into a beanbag. She's right, but that's still suspicious. It's only late September, the sun isn't down that early yet. "I dunno where Sohee is, actually. She might be with Dylan or maybe with the Demeter girls. They've been teaching her about plants and stuff." Will stares after her.
"Anteros suggested we watch it." Nico says after a bit, and Will turns to glare at his younger brother. Anteros just looks at him, blue eyes gleaming under the dim light in the cabin.
"What movie?" Will says, his voice level.
Anteros shifts uncomfortably. Will feels his lips turn into a frown.
"It's a formative piece of queer media, Will!" Anteros says finally, and Will heaves out a huge sigh.
"You're fucking joking." Will spits out, and Nico blinks in surprise at Will's sudden outburst. Kayla just pulls up a book, clearly unamused by his and Anteros's actions.
"It is and you know it!"
"It is 100% a piece of media that needs THOROUGH discussion before just jumping into, Anteros!"
"What's the fun in that, Will?! I didn't get any warning when I went into it!"
Nico watches the pair of them arguing, and Will pinches his nose, breathing out deeply.
"I'm confused." Nico says plainly, and Will turns to look at his boyfriend. There's a frown settled on Nico's pretty face, and a gleam of contempt in his eyes a bit.
"It's a controversial movie, Neeks. I can't believe Anteros would just drop it in casual conversation without havin' a discussion 'bout it."
"It's just Call Me By Your Name, it's not like it's porn or something, Will." Kayla buts in, not looking up from her book. Will glares at her, but she doesn't respond, too focused on her reading.
"That… explains nothing to me." Nico says, his eyes dark. "I'm not a kid and you don't need to treat me like one."
"See, Will, you're overreacting." Anteros says, and Will whirls, staring his brother down.
"Will someone just explain why the hell Will is so mad about this?" Nico says before Will can start telling Anteros off again.
"There's an age gap." Kayla says, and Will sees Nico's eyes widen and then he blinks in confusion.
"But… we have an age gap." Nico bursts into laughter and Will just groans, practically falling into the beanbag next to Nico.
"No we do not, Neeks. It ain't like that!" Nico looks at Will, still clearly confused.
"I was born in the 30s and—"
"And you're still only 14. It's not the same." Will bites out, trying to ignore the way Anteros is practically howling with laughter.
"What do you mean it's not the same?" Nico questions, and Will rubs his eyes with his hands. He cannot believe that this is a real conversation he's having with his boyfriend right now.
"This is the best thing to ever happen to me, I can't right now." Anteros giggles, his laughter spilling into his words in a way that makes it hard to understand him.
"Because in the movie, one of the characters is emotionally, physically, mentally, alla that, in his 20s. You're not like that. You didn't experience most of those years, Neeks." Will says patiently, and Nico hums, seeming to think about it.
"Anteros said you think the main actor is hot." Nico says, and Will snaps around to throw a shoe at Anteros, who just ducks, still cackling with laughter.
"I'm so sick of you." Will grits out, and Anteros just keeps laughing, his silver blonde hair a mess.
"This is the best thing ever, thank you so much Nico!" He crows, his blue eyes bright.
"I'm still confused why Austin and Sohee can't watch this movie though." Nico admits, and Will sighs deeply, rubbing his temples.
"It's… I don't wanna say explicit, but…" Will trails off, and Nico's cheeks pink just a little bit.
"...Oh." He says, and Anteros rights himself, taking a few deep heaving breaths.
"Gods above, my sides hurt. Anyway, yeah it's got a little bit of a sexual undertone, so only us older kids get to watch it." Anteros grins. "But, like I said, it is such a formative piece of queer media, and a fantastic movie."
Will huffs. "It is good, sure, but still shoulda clued Nico in before alla this." He bites out, and Anteros shrugs.
"Plus, it's Italian." Nico perks up a bit at that.
"They speak Italian in the movie?" He asks, and Anteros nods.
"Plus French, some German I think, and lots of English. It's set in Italy. Lombardy region I think?" Nico nods, thinking about it.
"I don't think that I went there with my mamma or Bianca, but seeing Italy would be really nice…" He trails off a bit wistfully, and Will sighs deeply. He leans over, resting his chin on Nico's shoulder. The younger boy jerks a bit in surprise, his shoulder almost hitting Will in the face, but he relaxes, reaching up with a free hand to tug on one of Will's curls.
"Fine." Will grumbles. "But we are havin' a conversation about this movie when it's over, Neeks." Nico hums, not giving Will an answer. He just settles in against Will, leaning into his boyfriend for a rare moment of affection.
This, this he can do.
—
"Will, meeting." Will looks up from the camper that he's attending to, one of the Ares boys that he can't quite remember the name of if he's not looking at the chart. Nico stands in the doorway, his Stygian sword on his hip.
"Yeah? Give me two seconds to finish this up, 'kay?" Nico nods, leaning against the doorway, watching Will work. Will hopes that the Ares camper can't see the flush creeping up his neck under Nico's watchful gaze.
"Alrighty then, that should be good, lemme know if you need another bandage or something, and I'll check on ya in a few days, hmm?" Will says, and the Ares boy nods, muttering some sort of gratitude under his breath before swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He stands, then pushes past Nico with a mumble as he makes his way out of the infirmary. "I need to wash my hands, hold on a sec." Will says to Nico, who just waves his hand dismissively, toying with a stray thread on his clothes.
Will hurries to the back into the private room to wash his hands at the sink, before he tugs on his flannel from the office. He ruffles his hair as he walks back out to Nico, and the younger boy looks up from his feet, giving Will a small smile.
They walk in silence to the Big House, slipping into the room without making too much of a fuss. Will looks around at the Senior Council, and he can't help but feel weird. Several changes had taken place with the summer campers going back home for the school year. Currently, the Senior Council comprises of himself, Nico, Lou Ellen, Miranda, Sherman taking over for Clarisse, Malcolm taking over for Annabeth, Jake again in place of Leo, Drew as senior counselor for Aphrodite again, Connor alone since Travis had graduated, Butch, Clovis and Chiara, Holly and Laurel for Nike, Sydney for Hebe, and a new face that Will doesn't recognize for Nemesis. With Jason, Percy and even Pollux gone, there's no one for those three cabins. It feels weird.
Lou Ellen puts a hand on his shoulder as he takes a seat next to her, and Nico follows behind, sitting next to Will. Lou Ellen leans over to whisper in Will's ear. "That's Vivian. She's not recently claimed, but she took over for Damian, who said he didn't want to do Council stuff anymore. Not sure what all of that is." Will nods, looking at the other girl again.
She's pretty, that much is sure, with wavy black hair and bright brown eyes. He doesn't know all of the campers all that well, especially those from the non-Olympian cabins, but he knows he's seen her before. Her gaze flits from side to side, taking in all of the campers, before they catch Will's. A smirk turns up her lips, and she dips her head in greeting, pushing her wavy black hair off her shoulder. Will breaks eye contact, turning to look at Nico, who is scowling. He probably has been the entire time they've been in here, but there's a dark warning in his gaze, even if it's focused on the table in front of them.
"You good, Nico?" He asks softly, and Nico seems to snap out of his near trance, lifting his head to look at Will. He nods curtly once, and Will smiles, nudging Nico's ankle under the table where there's no prying eyes.
"Good afternoon counselors." Chiron says as he enters the room, wheeling himself up to the table. Will sits up a little bit, and Nico stops slouching so much, his dark eyes trained on Chiron. "Thank you all for assembling on such short notice. Especially for those of you… newly appointed to the Council." Chiron looks nervous, and Will feels his leg start to bounce up and down in anxiety. His hands are shaking. What is the matter?
"You're glowing." Nico says quietly, and Will clenches his fist, willing the golden glow to stop spreading across his fingers.
"What's the matter, Chiron?" Connor says, and Will blinks. He's not really used to Connor being so… mature? He's not sure how to say it without it sounding like an insult. But without the influence of his brother, Connor seems much different.
"William, the Apollo cabin is still suffering from a lack of prophetic dreams, yes?" Chiron says, and all eyes turn to Will. He swallows, willing his nerves down again before nodding.
"Yeah, we… Sohee ain't had any since before the, ah… battle in the summer. She's the most prolific of us, it's not real common anyone else gets a dream. But she's not had any. None of us." Will says quietly, and Chiron takes in this information.
"And there have been no signs of Apollo answering prayers or anything of the sort?" Will clenches his fingers again. Not that his father did that much anyway but…
"No." He says. Nico nudges his knee against Will's, probably an attempt to calm him down. Will feels anything but calm at the moment. Apollo had been entirely silent since the battle. No dreams, not even a gentle tinkle of music when putting their food into the fire at dinner. Nothing.
"Your healing works as expected?" Will nods. Chiron sighs, rubbing his face with one hand.
"It would appear that whatever happened during the battle this summer has not resolved itself, and Apollo is still nowhere to be found after the events of the summer." Chiron says, and Will stiffens. "Rachel is having trouble accessing the powers of the Oracle as well."
"Oh, uh… I guess this is kind of related to that." Will turns his head, blinking in surprise at Butch speaking up. The older boy has his arms crossed over his chest, looking uncomfortable at having something to say. "Iris messages are down. Don't know why."
Will feels his heart start to race. What? Iris messages are down? He thinks of Yan, Melody and Nova at that boarding school, Gracie back at home in Idaho, his mom humming in the kitchen in Texas. His leg starts to bounce again, and he feels a cool hand rest on his knee. Nico gives him a look, dark eyes hardened. Will deflates a little bit. Of course Nico understands him, he has Hazel to worry about.
"Ah yes, that as well. We have lost all communications with Camp Jupiter." Chiron says offhandedly. "I had been working with Reyna and Frank on an alternative form of communication, but all progress has been halted with Iris messages down."
"So we are cut off." Chiara says matter of factly, and Will cuts her a look.
"In a sense, I suppose that is correct, Chiara. We have been cut off." Chiron says. Will takes a deep breath.
What are they supposed to do now?