Will stares blankly out over the archery practice fields, his mind drifting off. As head counselor, he has to supervise the Apollo Cabin lessons, but he's never been good at archery, and he's certainly not gonna lead the lessons. He has Kayla for that, at least. He's drawn out of his daydreams by a loud voice.

"Will! I need some help with my stance. Do you think you can help me out?" Will turns at the sound of someone calling him, seeing Vivian standing with a bow, her long black hair pulled back into a plait. He blinks, looking over at Kayla, his younger sister helping some of the other kids at the lesson with the proper stance.

Kayla just shrugs her shoulders, nudging one of the younger camper's legs a little farther apart, eyeing them with a watchful gaze. "I'm busy here, you go help her out." She says dismissively, and Will nods, striding over to where the older girl is standing.

"I'm not really sure why you're askin' me, I'm no good with a bow." He says, and Vivian just laughs, shaking her head, flipping her braid over her shoulder.

"Nonsense, you're a child of Apollo. That makes you already better than me at archery, right?" Will frowns, but he doesn't answer her. It's not something he really likes to talk about, but he's sure she knows. It's not like he's never mentioned it before, but he's not about to have this discussion.

"Alrighty then, I guess. Pull the bow back, lemme see if I can fix anything glaring 'bout your stance." Vivian does as he commands, and he can see her arms shaking just a little bit. "Ah, there it is. You're straining too much. Don't hold it for so long like that, you're gon' tire out your muscles like that." He taps her arm, and he feels her straining to relax.

"Like this?" She asks, relaxing just a little bit. Will nods, a small smile appearing on his lips.

"Real good, Vivian. You're doing a lot better. But you gotta turn your body juuuuust a lil' bit more towards away from the target, you're facing it too much." He hesitates. He feels so out of his element at the moment. Vivian eyes him expectantly, looking at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Like how?" She says, and Will ruffles his messy hair, sighing. He's so bad at explaining these things, seriously. Why the hell is she asking him and not Kayla, anyways?

"You're supposed to be more sideways, your hips shouldn't be facing the target." He says, and Vivian tilts her head, her brown eyes focused on Will, a dark gleam in them.

"Can you show me?" She says, a hint of something in her voice, but before Will can answer, there's a deep crack, and the ground shakes just a bit. Will startles, looking around for the origin, and one of the younger girls cries out in surprise, jumping back from where she had almost slipped off into the crack in the ground.

"Sorry." A low voice calls out. Will turns to face the voice, and he sees Nico standing just a few feet away, dead grass curling at his feet. He's frowning, a deep crease in his brow, eyes focused on Vivian. "Lost control for just a second."

Will frowns. Nico's not really supposed to be losing control like that anymore, not since most of the shadows were chased away, and the flickering came to a stop. "Sorry, Vivian, I have to check on him." Will apologizes, turning to the older girl. Vivian's eyes narrow, but she waves him off.

"Go check on Death Boy, not a problem." She says snippily, and Will gives her an apologetic smile before dropping his hand from her shoulder and making his way over to Nico.

"What was all that about, Neeks?" He asks, and Nico eyes the crack in the ground that he had made with complete apathy, like it wasn't his fault.

"I guess I don't have control over all my powers again just yet." He says monotonously, and Will narrows his eyes.

"And the grass?" Will asks, and Nico shrugs, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It happens." He says, and Will stares at him. Something's wrong, but he can't quite get the read on Nico's emotions that he usually can, especially with Nico refusing to make eye contact with him.

"It… happens." Will says slowly. It's not a question, but Nico nods anyway, kicking a dead patch of the grass.

"Occasionally."

"Why haven't I seen it before then?" Will shoots back, and Nico sighs deeply.

"It's not like you're observing me 24/7, Solace, come on." Will frowns, putting his hands on his hips.

"Back to last names now? What's going on?" Will reaches out for Nico's shoulder, but the younger boy just shrugs him off.

"I'm fine. You should finish up observing the archery class. I'll see you later." Nico turns on his heel before Will can even answer, and Will just watches him go, clenching his fist.

What the hell?

—

Will scrubs at his eyes, heaving a deep sigh. Today is not his day, clearly. He turns, closing the door to the storeroom.

"Tero, you need anything else?" He asks, poking his head into one of the occupied bed spaces. His younger brother sniffles, shaking his head. A deep chested cough wracks his body, and Will sighs. It's so like the children of Apollo to get sick in the fall and winter, when the sun is in the sky less and less. "Well, I can't give you any more nectar for a few more hours, so just try and get some sleep."

"Sure thing." Anteros croaks, burrowing deeper in his blankets. "Think tha' Sohee had a cough yesterday too, so make sure to check on her before she gets this bad." Will nods, pulling the curtain back so Anteros isn't bothered by the lights. Will sighs. Down another healer means that he's gonna have to be more proactive about taking shifts. Even though there's been no new campers…

"He feeling any better?" Nico asks, and Will startles. He hadn't heard his boyfriend come into the infirmary, but he can't help but feel relaxed at the sight of him. The way Nico's dark hair hangs into his eyes, despite the haircut that he had finally coaxed him into from the Aphrodite girls, the familiar sword at his hip, the custom black camp shirt. Everything about Nico is so familiar to him, and it makes the stress wash away.

"Not really." He admits, stepping forward. Nico hums, letting his shoulder brush against Will's arm. "We always get sick around this time, and it'll get even worse in the winter. Plus, the seasonal depression." Nico looks at him in alarm.

"The what now?" Nico asks, and Will shrugs his shoulders. It's not something that many people even know about him and his siblings.

"In the winter, we get really lethargic and snappy, hard to regulate emotions, and a complete lack of motivation. Has to do with the seasons and the sun and whatnot. Only downside of being 'round Apollo kids in the winter. Not to mention that Daniel's birthday is in the winter…" Will trails off, biting down on his lower lip. Nico hums in understanding, and he reaches for Will's hand, squeezing it gently.

"You don't have to explain." He says quietly. "I get it, you know that I do." Will smiles, squeezing Nico's hand back. The feeling of his boyfriend's ring pressing against his skin is familiar, warm to the touch.

"Will." A familiar voice makes them jump apart, and Vivian materializes in the doorway, her dark hair in a high ponytail. Suddenly, the temperature drops harshly, and Will sees Nico's eyes harden. The hell? "Sydney asked if I could trade inspections with her so you're with me today." Nico snorts, and Will gives him a look.

"Yeah, sure, give me a second, Just gotta grab my stuff." He says, and Vivian smiles warmly.

"Sure thing. I'll wait for you to finish up." Will turns to Nico, who's still scowling at Vivian like she's personally wronged him.

"You have sword training today with the little ones, don't you?" He asks Nico, who breaks away from his glare fight with Vivian, nodding as his shoulders drop.

"Yeah, I should probably get going… I'll see you later, Will?" Nico says, though it's not quite a question. Will nods, and Nico hums once before pushing past Vivian, making his way out of the infirmary seemingly towards the sword fighting arena. Will watches him go, his arms crossed over his chest.

Something's wrong. Will knows this. He just can't place what Nico seems to be so upset about.

—

Even Ancient Greek starts to swim in front of his eyes when he's been staring at it for too long, Will's beginning to realize. He sighs, tapping his pencil against the desk in the infirmary, the rhythmic sound soothing to his ear.

Suddenly, there's a knock on the side of the doorframe, and Will looks up, his eyebrows furrowing. A familiar brunette head of hair pokes its way around the doorframe.

"Sydney?" He asks, and the head counselor from Hebe smiles warmly at him, her green eyes bright.

"Hey there, Will." She says in that soft lilting voice of hers, and he stands up, putting his homework to the side. He can focus on that later. Other senior counselors never come looking for him unless it's serious.

"Did Dylan or Paolo do somethin' stupid again?" He asks, eyeing her, and she just laughs, shaking her head.

"No, no, nothing of the sort. I just wanted to talk to you real quick, can I come in?" She asks, and Will nods, motioning for her to close the door behind her. She does, and steps further into the office, fiddling nervously with the two beads on her camp necklace.

"What's up, then? Somethin' important?" He tilts his head, and she just sighs.

"You did inspections without me?" She says, and Will looks at her in bewilderment. Hadn't Vivian said…?

"Yeah? Vivian said that you asked to switch inspection times with her earlier, so she and I did them this afternoon." The look that flashes across Sydney's face makes his eyebrows furrow in confusion. "What's that look for? That ain't look good."

Sydney shifts from side to side nervously, and Will can't help but feel even more confused. "You know, if you're dating another head counselor, you really shouldn't be doing rounds with them." She says in a tumble. Will blinks at her in confusion.

"What do you mean by that, I wouldn't be doing rounds with 'em anyway." Sydney stares back at him, equally as confused. "Wait, who are YOU talking about?" He asks, and Sydney crosses her arms.

"Who are YOU talking about? Aren't you dating Vivian?" Will feels his mouth drop open in surprise, and Sydney's eyes widen. "Oh my gods, you aren't." Will shakes his head. "You said you wouldn't be on rounds with them… oh my gods, you're dating a GUY." Sydney moves closer to him, grabbing onto his hands. "I am so sorry, Will, gods, I had no idea. Everyone assumed that you were dating Vivian or something, she has been gunning so hard for you."

Suddenly, everything makes sense. The way Nico has been acting this past week. The way Vivian has been everywhere he has been, the smirks and teasing glances. Oh gods, he is so fucking stupid.

"Sydney, I have to go, I have to find— I just have to go." Sydney nods, her green eyes wide and her bangs falling into her eyes.

"Of course, of course, I'm glad that I could sort this all out with you, Again, I'm really sorry for assuming. I hope things go well with your… yeah, just sorry!" She calls out as Will all but trips over his feet running out of the infirmary.

Kayla looks up in surprise as he searches for his flannel. "What are you doing?" She asks, holding a piece of bandage in her hand.

"I need to go see Nico. I'll be back… later. Probably. I'll let you know. I'll be at dinner for sure." He says in a rush, and Kayla raises an eyebrow, but she doesn't question him, which Will is ever so grateful for. Anteros would have a million questions, even if he wasn't half dead with the flu.

"'Kay, I'll make sure Sohee and Austin get to dinner on time then. Have fun doing…whatever." She says, turning back to the sleeping camper she's changing bandages on.

Will hesitates in front of the door to Cabin 13, but he sucks in a deep breath before knocking on the door three times in succession.

"Come in." He hears Nico's familiar voice call out from behind the door, and he opens the door, stepping in and closing it behind him.

Nico's stretched out on his bed on his stomach, Nero curled up by his side, a book laid out in front of him. His boyfriend looks up, and his expression changes to one of confusion as he sits up, closing his book.

"Will? Weren't you studying in the—"

"I didn't know Vivian was flirtin' with me." Will tumbles out in a rush, and Nico closes his mouth, his lips set in a hard line.

"Right." His voice is as cold as ice, and Will steps forward another step.

"I'm bein' serious, Neeks. I had no clue until Sydney told me today that Vivian lied about her askin' to switch shifts, and she basically accused me of datin' Vivian. That's not how I saw things at all, but when I was thinkin' real hard about it and I realized what she was doing." Will says, his eyes wide. Nico just looks up at him, and Will can't read his expression. "Say something, Neeks. I'm dying here."

"You're not dying." Nico replies, and Will sighs exasperatedly.

"It's an expression, Nico."

"I know."

"What do you want me to say?" Will asks, and Nico rests his chin on his fists, looking up at Will with a blank expression.

"Was it nice? Flirting with a girl?"

"Nico, I JUST told you I had no idea." Will says, and Nico just hums, his dark eyes trained on Will.

"You didn't answer my question." He points out, and Will makes a frustrated noise.

"I wasn't flirting, and the fact that you think I would do that while in a relationship with you is really fucked up, Nico." Nico tilts his head to the side again. "Especially since it's out of concern for you that we are keeping it quiet. I would love to walk around camp and hold your hand and sit with you at the campfire, but I want YOU to be ready for that." Will says, and he knows there's a bit of venom in his voice.

Nico doesn't say anything for a while, just looking at Will from his place on his bed. He deflates after a bit, his eyes dropping to the floor.

"I think I have a bit of a… complex." Nico admits, and Will frowns, moving over to sit next to Nico on his bed. He pulls his legs up, sitting cross-legged next to him, his knee brushing against Nico's.

"Whatya mean by that, Neeks?" He presses gently. Nico doesn't answer for a little bit, but he eventually sighs.

"I got… anxious. About Vivian. Since she's a girl. I thought that you'd rather… be normal." Will frowns at him.

"Neeks, what about me even suggests that would be something I want?" Will says, his voice low. "Have I not been clear enough about my interest in you? I like you, Nico. Not anyone else."

Nico fidgets with his fingers, twisting the ring around his middle finger around and around and around. "I'm scared." He says after a while, his voice hoarse.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Neeks. Not here. You've seen Tero and Mal, right?" Nico nods, but Will can tell his heart isn't in it.

"That's not it, Will, I—" Nico fidgets again. "Gods, I never wanted to talk about this again. It was bad enough the first time experiencing it." Will looks at Nico in confusion. Nico pulls his legs up to his chest, resting his cheek on his knees.

"Whatya talkin' about, Neeks? You know you can tell me anything. I'm always gon' listen to you." Will says, and Nico just breathes out a long breath.

"It happened when I was trying to help Jason get the scepter of Diocletian." Nico starts and Will turns to face his boyfriend fully. He pulls the sleeves of his flannel down his arms, the temperature dropping several degrees. He realizes that this is Nico's doing, but he doesn't want to interrupt him. "In order to get the scepter, Jason and I had to face… Cupid." Nico's expression twists in distaste. "He, he struck me with one of his arrows, he made me confess that I had had feelings for Percy in front of Jason."

Will inhales deeply, and Nico looks up. Will can understand what Jason meant before when he said that Nico's eyes looked like something had shattered inside of him. Not the color, not anything physical, but so much emotion and darkness rolling off of him in waves.

"He forced you to come out." Will says, and Nico nods, retreating further into his shell. Will leans back on his hands, pushing the anger that he feels towards Cupid…Eros… whatever his name is. His hands curl into fists on top of Nico's bedsheets, and Nico looks down at the floor again, cheek still resting on his knees.

"I deserved it." Nico says quietly, and Will makes a wounded sound that makes Nico look up at him in confusion.

"In what world would you think that it was okay for Cupid to do that to you?" Will snaps, and Nico blinks, dark eyes downcast.

"I lied to everyone, I lied to myself, and maybe if I could have been normal, if I didn't have feelings for the first person that came along—"

"If you're gonna go on some rant about being gay not being normal, I don't want to hear it." Will grits, and Nico frowns.

"I wasn't going to." Nico says, but there's a bit of pain behind his eyes that Will sees. He was.

"Nico, I know you're unlearning a lot of shit, but it hurts me to see you like this. To hear you talking about something so… intrinsically you. So intrinsically me. This is who we are. You having feelings for Percy was normal because you were a child. You're STILL a child. We all are! Adolescence is messy, it's feelings for people who aren't right, it's fighting and losing and—"

Will's cut off by an unfamiliar feeling, a pair of lips pressed against his own. He barely has time to think before Nico's pulling back, his dark eyes wide as he all but scrambles away from Will.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry, Will. I don't know what came over me, I just—" Will blinks, shaking his head. He feels like he has to restart his brain, the feeling of Nico's breath against his skin all but short-circuiting him.

"Don't— You don't ever need to apologize for that, Neeks. You just caught me off guard. I—"

"I shouldn't have done that. I really shouldn't have done that. I'm really sorry, Will. Like I said, I don't know what came over me, and– oof!" Will pulls Nico back closer to him, and Nico all but tumbles into him, his hands flat on Will's chest.

"Nico." Will says, his voice barely above a whisper.

"What?" Nico's voice is a little bit hoarse, and Will can feel his heartbeat pounding. He hopes that Nico can feel it.

"You never need to apologize for wanting to or even for kissing me at all." Will says again, and he can feel Nico shaking a little bit.

"But I didn't—"

"I was caught off guard, but it wasn't unwelcome, Neeks. It's not like I don't WANT to kiss you." Will says, and Nico blinks at him owlishly.

"Really?" He asks, and Will nods, squeezing Nico's wrists. "Then why haven't you–"

Will sighs, looking down at Nico, his expression softening. "Well besides the fact that it was my first kiss too—" Nico flushes, his eyes darting to the side. "I told you that we would take everything at your pace. That means everything. I told myself that I wasn't gonna kiss you first, because I wanted you to be ready." He admits, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. Nico stares at him, shifting back so he's out of Will's personal space, but still close enough.

"How long have you wanted to kiss me then, Solace?" Nico asks, tilting his head to the side. Will feels a flush start to creep up his neck and his fingers twitch, starting to glow in embarrassment. "Long enough to make you glow when I ask you about it?"

"Shut up." Will grumbles, and Nico laughs, the sound of it hitting Will right in the chest. Gods above, he likes Nico so much.

"Make me." Nico says in that teasing tone, and Will can't help the grin that pulls at his lips. He tugs Nico closer again, making the younger boy inhale sharply in surprise.

"Is that a challenge, angel?" Will says breathlessly, and Nico shakes a little bit before he nods.

"Perhaps."

"Well, challenge accepted then. But—" Nico frowns. "We do have to talk more later. And I need to talk to Vivian later to set things straight." Will says, and Nico rolls his eyes. "Oh, stop that, don't be like that, Neeks."

"Stop talking about her then."

Will leans down to press his lips against Nico's, one hand coming up to curl into the slightly overlong hair at the nape of Nico's neck. The familiar smell of petrichor intensifies, and Will can feel the temperature dropping. He pulls back just a bit, a soft laugh leaving his lips.

"Do you make the temperature drop on purpose?" He asks, and Nico makes an embarrassed noise, screwing his eyes shut.

"No." Nico admits. "Not… all the time. I did at the archery grounds, though." Will lets out an incredulous laugh.

"I knew you didn't lose control then." He accuses, and Nico just huffs.

"It wasn't entirely on purpose, but… yeah. I fixed it though, I promise." Nico says with a laugh. Suddenly, the horn for dinner sounds, reverberating through the cabin. Will pulls back from NIco, standing up.

"We gotta go, Neeks." Nico sighs dramatically before standing up, wiping his hands on his pants. He motions for Will to go first, and Will smiles, turning to head out of the cabin.

Once he's outside, Nico close behind him, he starts to make his way to the dining pavilion, but he stops in his tracks. Warm fingers slip between his, and he looks down at his hand. Nico's skull ring gleams up at him, and Will turns his head to look at Nico. Nico has a violent scarlet flush on his cheeks, and he refuses to look at Will.

"You sure?" Will asks, and Nico nods firmly, squeezing Will's hand, letting out a deep breath.

"Yeah. I'm sure."

They walk for just a little bit before Nico makes a noise, and Will turns his head to look at his boyfriend.

"What is it, Neeks?" Nico thinks for a second.

"You called me angel earlier." He says, and Will flushes a deep red.

"Sorry, I didn't think about the pet names, it just slipped out." Nico shakes his head, a small smile appearing on his face.

"I was going to say that I didn't mind it, Will." He says, and Will blinks in surprise.

"Wait, really?" He asks, and Nico nods.

"It's nice. You can keep using it." Nico tugs him a little harder, speeding up the pace. "Now, c'mon, we're gonna be late."

—

"Hey, Vivian! You gotta second?" Will calls as the older girl walks past him, and she stops, a warm smile on her face.

"Sure, Will! What's up?" She says, turning to face him. Will rubs the back of his neck. How is he gonna do this… Might as well just go for it.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm real flattered by your attention and alla that, but I—"

"Oh, so Death Boy finally figured out his shit?" She interrupts, and Will stares at her, his lips parted in surprise. "What? I'm the daughter of the goddess of balance, and I also happen to have an immaculate gaydar."

"But—"

"Also, do you think that there is a single person in this entire camp that didn't know that you and di Angelo have the hots for each other? We have EYES, Will." She scoffs, pushing her black hair out of her face.

"But, then… why?" He asks, and Vivian just grins, her dark eyes gleaming in the light of the campfire.

"Because it was fun to get di Angelo's dick in a twist. Was getting real sick of you two dancing around each other like you thought we were idiots and didn't know. Balance is restored. The world didn't end because people know di Angelo is gay. Things are right again. Thanks for being fun to play with at least." She says, patting Will on the shoulder before stalking away, her head held high.

Will's still in a daze when he sits down on the log next to Nico, and his boyfriend looks at him in confusion. "What did she say?" He asks, and Will just shakes his head.

"She knew. Said something about balance and the world not ending because you were out." Nico blinks in surprise, looking over at Vivian. The older girl just grins, sending a wink from across the campfire.

"I feel like I should be angry or hurt, but…" Nico frowns. "Mostly I'm just confused." Will can't help but laugh, leaning over to press a kiss to the top of Nico's head.

"Me too, Neeks. Me too."