Will watched lightning spread from cloud to cloud, from the door of our cabin. Nico sat on the steps at the end of the deck. Above his head the faint symbol of a lyre glowed.
Will had no idea what Apollo was up to. Or why the symbol was lingering so long above Nico. It was a riddle to solve so Will reluctantly went over to find out.
The symbol grew brighter and winked out of existence with an audible pop. Thanks dad.
"You decided that having a family was more important than being in a relationship with me."
"It is." He wouldn't look at me. There was a sudden burst of light over him.
Will laughed and found he couldn't stop. The feeling of relief."Oh gods. Nico, you're doing great."
He glanced at me but his eyes quickly darted back to the ground. "Really?"
"Yeah really. You have everything: a bigger family, a safe home, a job helping others and earning spending cash."
""Chiron says I was too young." Will felt the jarring shift in the acoustics. Even before Lester had shown up, Apollo had been more of an active participant in their lives than the other Olympians. But now it was the same for Nico. "I didn't have any way but forward." He started crying again and Will hated it less than the silent panic.
"Yeah I know."
Will wished he had been more understanding earlier. He tapped Nico's shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with that. Look what you built for yourself anyway." He nudged Nico again and reminded him, "Hey, you're only fifteen. It's not set in stone, you know?" He nudged him with his elbow again, harder this time. "I'm only fifteen too. I'm not going anywhere any time soon."
Will had an idea. "Hey, want to go to the strawberry fields?"
"It's after midnight."
"No more rules, Nico. Let's just go for the things we want."
Will brought him to the day room in the infirmary instead and started piling blankets on the sofa. Nico picked up a towel off the back of a chair and looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.