Meals at camp are always a mess and a half, Will has started to realize. Were they always this way? Well… maybe if he thinks about it real hard. Surely every summer HE'S been here, there's been some fuckery at least, but maybe—

Will startles out of his thoughts as the ground starts to shake, and he looks over at the Hades table in alarm. Nico's dark eyes look at the ground in disinterest as skeletons start to climb out of the crack that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Will's eyes narrow. The fuck?

"Oh my gods!" One of the Aphrodite girls shrieks, but Nico doesn't seem to have much of a reaction to the commotion that the skeletons have caused. Whispers and screams start to break out amongst the campers. Could this be some Halloween prank that Nico is pulling? Is Nico bad? Will can hear all of their whispers, and he can't help but sigh.

"Nico! What is the meaning of this?" Chiron stands from his place at the front of the table, and Nico blinks a few times, his eyes unfocused. Concerning. Will frowns, standing up and walking over to the table that his boyfriend spends every meal at. He plops down next to Nico, and holds out his hand. Nico heaves out a big sigh, making a show of rolling his eyes before holding his wrist out to Will.

Will frowns as he searches through Nico's vitals. Nothing seems out of the ordinary…

"William, Nico, please come to the Big House so we can discuss this." Chiron says, and Will just nods, standing up. He tugs on Nico's wrist, and the younger boy reluctantly follows him.

It doesn't take long for the three of them to reach the Big House, and Chiron turns on both of them once they are in the meeting room that most of the Senior Council gatherings take place in.

"I was under the impression that Nico was fully in control of his powers." Chiron says, his arms folded over his chest. Will scratches the back of his neck, but Nico speaks up before he can say anything.

"I have it mostly under control, but my powers tend to be affected by my emotions, and sitting at Hades table all by myself is very lonely, Chiron." Will blinks in surprise, looking over at his boyfriend. Nico is the perfect picture of innocence, his dark eyes wide. Chiron looks between Nico and Will, a frown marring his features.

"You're… lonely." Chiron says slowly, and Nico nods, shifting from side to side.

"And it affects my powers because of my emotions. Something like… a mood disorder, I think you would call it these days." He adds. His gaze slides over to Will, and Will sees the gleam in Nico's eyes.

Oh.

Oh, Nico is doing this on PURPOSE.

"What would be the best course of action then, William?" Chiron asks, turning to face Will. Will blinks, rubbing his right arm with his other hand. Nico gives him a look, urging him to go on.

"Well, uhm… I don' think that Nico's dad would have too much of an issue with him sittin' at a different table, right Neeks?" Will asks, and Nico nods.

"Not at all. Father doesn't get offended by those sorts of things." Nico says, and Will nods, feeling nervous under Chiron's gaze.

"In my, uh, medical opinion, it's best if Nico doesn't keep summonin' skeletons, and probably best for the camp as well… Apollo Cabin has quite a few seats at our table, though, especially during the school year since the rest of my siblin's aren't here. Nico could sit with us, if that's alright with you?" Chiron's eyes move over to glance at Nico, who schools his face into nonchalance.

"You two are… involved, no?" Chiron asks, and Will feels his cheeks go pink, but he nods, shuffling his feet a little bit.

"Yes, which is why I think it would be the best fit for Nico to sit at my table. In my medical opinion. To keep his anxieties at bay and alla that." Will says, feeling a bit more confident in what he's saying. In all reality, he can see how it would make sense, if he didn't know that Nico was doing it on purpose. He can't help but feel a bit impressed and touched by Nico doing that. Did he really want to sit with Will that much?

Chiron sighs, clearly of the opinion that it would be fruitless to fight it, and he waves his hand. "Fine, fine. Nico, you may sit at Table Seven for all meals. Please make sure to give your offerings as usual, and maybe add William's father into them as well." Nico nods, and Will smiles at the energy that he can practically feel rolling off of Nico. "We should get back to the meal. Your siblings and the rest of the camp are waiting." Chiron flicks his tail as he walks off, and Will tugs on Nico's hand to pull him a bit back, the pair of them walking just out of earshot of Chiron.

"A mood disorder? You did that on purpose!" Will hisses, and Nico can't help but laugh, his brown eyes sparkling a little bit.

"Are you mad? You don't look mad." Nico says, and Will shakes his head.

"I'm not mad, Neeks. If anything, I found it adorable that you used it as an excuse to sit next to me at meals. I just wish you had said something so I coulda thought it through a bit without soundin' like a right idiot!" Nico snorts.

"Who said I was gonna sit next to you? Maybe I wanted to sit with Sohee!" Will rolls his eyes, grabbing onto Nico's hand and intertwining their fingers.

"You're cute, Neeks. Even if you won't admit it. Hades really won't have a problem with it?" Will asks, and Nico shakes his head.

"Nah. Dad is really relaxed with these things because we see each other so much. I promise it won't be an issue. What about your dad?" Will sighs, and Nico squeezes his hand.

"I don't know. I don't think that Dad would have an issue with it, but we don't know what's happened to him. It's very confusing and scary, but I guess we'll just cross that bridge when we come to it?" Nico nods, a small smile creeping across his lips.

"Sure thing, sunshine."

It's not long before they make it back to the dining pavilion, and all eyes are on them. Nico's cheeks flush a bit pink, and he ducks his head as he makes his way to the Apollo table, plopping down in the seat next to where Will had been sitting, and immediately whispers start to break out amongst the rest of the campers.

"Chiron! We aren't allowed to sit at other tables!" A loud voice calls out from the Ares table, and Will shoots a dirty look at Sherman Yang, but the other boy pays him no mind. Chiron sighs, shaking his head.

"It is for the better, Mr. Yang. We do not want any more incidents of Mr. di Angelo losing control and breaking the pavilion. William has given his medical opinion and Nico will be sitting at Table Seven for all meals now." Will turns his head, and he snorts inwardly at the smug look Nico gives to Sherman, whose ears are starting to turn red.

"Yeah, sure, medical opinion my ass." Sherman snarks, and Will stands up.

"You sure trust my medical opinion when you're in my infirmary for a broken arm, huh Sherman?" He says, and Sherman glares at him. "Either trust my medical opinion, or don't, and you and your siblings can heal yourselves."

"Willard, let's not get into this now over dinner." Mr. D says, flicking a grape across his table, his cheek resting on his hand. Will flushes a deep red, and sits back down. Nico squeezes Will's arm gently before digging into his meal.

"What was all that about?" Anteros asks, stuffing a piece of bread in his mouth. Will shrugs.

"Neeks is gonna be sitting with us from now on. People are gon' have opinions about that, I suppose." Will says, and Anteros shrugs.

"Well, I'm happy to sit with Nico!" Sohee exclaims, chewing loudly on a carrot, and Kayla chuckles, reaching out to ruffle her younger sister's hair. She'd just gotten out of the infirmary, though still bandaged up underneath her jacket and camp shirt. To the unknowing eye, it was like nothing had happened to her.

"You doin' good, Kayls?" Will asks, eyeing her, and Kayla just rolls her eyes, sighing deeply.

"If you ask me that at every meal, Will, I swear to all the gods, I will stab you." She points at him with a butter knife. "I'm fine. I'll be more fine when you stop annoying me about it."

Will just holds his hands up in surrender, and Nico snickers into his food.

Will can't help but sigh. Just one more person to gang up on him at meals. Fantastic.

—

"It is too dang cold for this now, you know that, Lou." Will complains, but his best friend just laughs, flicking a piece of grass at him.

"We haven't seen you in ages because of everything that went on with Kayla and then…" She trails off, and Will sighs. "Anyway, it's just the clearing! The sun is out!"

"Barely." Will grumbles, and Nico just laughs from his side, burrowing deeper into his hoodie. Lou Ellen rounds on him, her green eyes bright.

"That is quite the familiar hoodie, di Angelo." She snarks, and Nico just sticks his tongue out at her. Will blinks. He hadn't realized that Lou Ellen and Nico were actually close in any way. Maybe it was their powers? Will doesn't know. He remembers hearing something about Hazel and Hecate, so maybe that's it. He'll ask later.

"It's very warm and it smells like sunshine, let me live, Blackstone." Nico says, and Will huffs out a laugh.

"You're very cute, wearin' my clothes, Neeks." Will teases, and the tips of Nico's ears start to turn red, and he looks away from Will.

"I haven't replaced my bomber jacket yet, and your hoodies are warm. Sue me." Nico bites out, and Will reaches out to tug on the back of the jacket, making Nico stumble just a bit. "Hey! I could have fallen!"

"Your balance ain't that bad, hold your horses." Will says, rolling his eyes.

"It's so funny seeing the difference between you two fighting every two seconds during the battle this summer, and now Nico is wearing Will's clothes and getting red in the face." Cecil comments, and Nico mutters something under his breath in Italian that has Will swatting at his shoulder.

"Nico di Angelo, they don't understand Italian like I do, be nice!" Will chastises, and Nico just huffs, shrugging his shoulders.

"Is your name really just Nico?" Lou Ellen asks, and Nico eyes her. "What! It's a valid question! Will just goes by a nickname, and NIco is such a nickname sounding name." Will sighs.

"That's 'cause William sounds like a grandpa name, and I ain't a grandpa!" He complains, and Cecil snorts.

"I'm gonna choose to ignore the grandpa comment, since it'll probably piss off Nico if I say what I wanted to–"

"You're right, and you should keep that to yourself." Nico interrupts, and Cecil scrunches his nose at Nico before continuing.

"Anyway as I was SAYING, you gotta modern middle name at least, Solace." Nico looks at Will in curiosity, and Will just sighs.

"Andrew, Neeks." He says, and Nico hums, nodding his head.

"You are avoiding the question, di Angelo!" Lou Ellen exclaims, and Nico just sighs, rolling his head back. He looks up to the sky, blinks once, twice, and then turns his gaze back to Lou Ellen.

"Niccolò." He says finally, and Lou Ellen gets a big smile on her face.

"Victory of the People." She says, and Nico nods. "Great name."

"Thanks, I got it for my birthday." Nico says, and Will can't help but snort, making Nico shoot him an amused smile.

"How's your cabin doing, Will?" Lou Ellen asks after a while, and Will just shrugs. It's a well known fact that he and his siblings struggle with the colder months.

"You know how winters get. It's gon' be real hard from here on out until spring comes again, and with everythin' going on with Dad…" Will sighs. "I'm real worried about Sohee, especially with Gracie not being here. She has Dylan, and the Demeter cabin seems to have adopted her to tag along with all their activities, but…"

"I know that feeling. You gotta be careful, Will." Lou Ellen frowns. "You know that you always have me and Cecil, and now you have Nico. You don't have to shoulder things all on your own this year." Will smiles, and he glances over at Nico, who nods, even though there is a small frown marring his features.

"I know that, I promise. I'm doin' my best, seriously. I think this year I'll be a lot better since there's not as much to worry 'bout these days." Will gives them a small smile, but he knows he doesn't mean it, and he knows that they know that.

Lou Ellen looks at him for a long time before she sighs. "At least you get Nico sitting at meals with you and your siblings. How DID you pull that off, anyway?" Will whips around to glare at Nico, who has dissolved into laughter.

"Well SOMEONE decided they wanted to fake a MOOD DISORDER!" Will says, and Nico just keeps laughing, Lou Ellen looking at him in amusement.

"Not my fault Chiron believed me!" Nico says, laughter still coloring his words. Will just sighs, shaking his head.

"I think he just didn't want to deal with it, and figured it was better to just let it happen." Will says, and Lou Ellen snorts.

"Yeah, probably best not to argue with Mr. Prince of Darkness over there." Nico shoots her a dirty look, but Lou Ellen just grins, shooting sparks of magic at him. "What, Will isn't the only one who can call you silly names. You've been accepted into this friendship, that means that you get the silliness."

The smile that creeps onto Nico's face at her statement makes Will's heart clench. He's just happy to see Nico being so accepting of the people around him actually showing affection. He's come a long way from the Nico that had barely accepted staying in the infirmary those months ago.

—

"I'm not real sure this is a good idea, Neeks." Will says, his arms crossed over his chest. HIs medic bag sits in the middle of the clearing they'd made under the trees. Nico sighs deeply, standing in the shadows.

"You promised that we could figure out what was going on with my shadow travel, and that I could start practicing once I got stronger. I'm stronger now, so I can practice." Nico says, a scowl on his lips.

Will stares at him for a minute, not sure how to move forward with this. He watches Nico at meals. He knows that his boyfriend barely eats. Sure, he doesn't flicker every two seconds, but that doesn't mean anything when Will hasn't seen Nico eat more than a few pieces of fruit and a piece of bread per meal.

"Neeks–"

"I'm going to practice whether you like it or not, and we both know that you would prefer I practice where you can be there if something goes wrong." Nico snaps, and Will frowns.

"Well, yes, but—"

"I'm serious, Will. I'm gonna do it anyway." Nico says, and Will just sighs.

"Fine, if you're gon' be like that, might as well." He says after a bit, and Nico nods, his eyes softening just a little bit. He's still detached though, Will can tell. It's a fight they have had millions of times, and Will's sure that they will most definitely have it again.

"Alright, I'm going to shadow travel just across the clearing, into the trees over there. Nico points to where his sword is leaning against a tree. They'd decided to use it as a marker, at least for now. Will nods, burrowing himself deeper into his light blue hoodie.

"'Kay, I'll keep an eye on ya and we will see what happens." Will says softly, and Nico nods. He takes a step back into the shadows, but he hesitates. Will raises one eyebrow, and Nico pushes forward to press a kiss to Will's lips before he pulls back, a cocky grin on his face before he's melting into the shadows behind him.

Will blinks for a second, dazed, before he shakes his head, turning so he can see where Nico's sword is. Nico tumbles out of the shadows, landing hard on the ground. Will picks up his bag, sprinting across the clearing to his boyfriend's side. Nico leans back against the tree, panting, his skin pale and sweat beading on his forehead.

"Shit." He mutters, and Will kneels down next to Nico, lips tugged down in a frown.

"Neeks, stay still for justa sec, 'kay? I need to take a look at your vitals, just relax." He says in a rush, and Nico nods, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the tree. "No faintin' on me."

"No promises." Nico slurs, and Will feels his frown deepen, but he pushes past it, instead focusing on his boyfriend's heartbeat under his fingers. "Did you know your accent gets thicker when you're stressed out?"

"Yeah, Kayls has mentioned it once or twice, I get it from my mama." Will says absentmindedly, taking stock of every single one of Nico's vitals. He's much weaker, much more prone to flickering. He can feel the shadows still wrapped around Nico, but it's not as bad as it was when he had first come into the infirmary.

"What's the diagnosis, doc?" Nico says, his voice still a little wobbly and weak. Will reaches over for a candy bar, pulling a Kit Kat out of his bag. He unwraps it and hands it to Nico. Nico takes it silently, slowly starting to eat the chocolate candy, his dark eyes a bit unfocused and tired looking.

"I think if you do that again, you'll faint. If you do it over a larger distance, you'll also faint." He says, and Nico shakes his head.

"M'not dizzy." He says, and Will squints at him.

"You don't have to feel dizzy to be faintin', Neeks." Will says, and Nico shakes his head again.

"It's not like tha', Will. It's more…. I feel sleepy. Like I could curl up and take a nap right here on the grass." Nico says, and Will sits back on his feet, looking over Nico with a careful eye.

"Okay, that is enough experimenting for today." Will says, and Nico hums, his eyes closing. "You can't walk, can ya?" Nico shakes his head, and Will heaves out a sigh before picking up Nico, sliding one arm under his back, and the other under his knees. "Gods, Neeks, you're light as a feather."

"Good for you." Nico mutters, pressing his face into Will's neck. "Won' drop me."

Will snorts, and Nico huffs. "Like I would drop you anyway. I'm stronger than I look, Neeks."

"Mm, too true." Nico hums under his breath. "Wait, are you gonna carry me through camp?" Will rolls his eyes.

"Yes, I am. It's fine, barely anyone is around, and it'll just look like you hurt yourself, which you did. No one will bat an eye. Plus, we are dating, Neeks. And you're prone to… all of this." Nico huffs, but he doesn't fight it.

It doesn't take long for Will to make it all the way to Cabin 13, and he pushes open the door with his foot, setting Nico down on the black bedspread. Nico blinks a few times, ruffling his hair with one hand.

"You should get some actual rest, Neeks." Will says, sitting down near Nico's feet, helping Nico take off his shoes. "Shadow travel seems ta knock the wind right out of you, and you look dead on your feet. Pun intended." Nico rolls his eyes.

"Yes, Dr. Solace." He snarks, and WIll hears a grumble and a rattle of bones. Nero jumps up onto Nico's bed, the glowing green fire of his eyes focused on Nico.

"Well, your kitty cat here can keep you company, because unfortunately, I have a shift at the infirmary." Will stands up, crossing over to press a kiss to the top of Nico's head. "Come to Seven before dinner so we can walk over together."

"You mean come to the infirmary so I can drag you out of the infirmary by your scrub shirt kicking and screaming? Gotcha." Nico says, settling back against his pillows, a slight blush coating his cheeks. Will grins, leaning in close to Nico's face.

"You know, you're gettin' all kinds of freckles on your cheeks now that you've been getting sun." He says, and Nico pushes his head away, cheeks going darker red.

"Go to work, Solace. I'll see you at dinner." He says, looking away from Will.

"See ya, Neeks. Bye kitty kitty." Will says before he turns to leave the cabin.

He can't help the smile that won't leave his face for the rest of the day.