Work Text:
1: The First Time
Nico had never liked the infirmary. It was too… sterile, too cold and clean and sharp. The whole place balanced itself like the edge of a knife. It smelled like antiseptic and sometimes coppery, like blood, and the cots were lined up in horrifying rows like bodies after war, and it was always loud and Nico hated it.
He didn’t know how he was supposed to make it three whole days in this sterile hellhole, but he’d promised. Stupidly, yes, but… he looked away from the white walls, towards the blond curls of the healer bent over the front desk, rummaging through drawers and muttering to himself.
The infirmary wasn’t so bad when Will Solace was in it, Nico mused, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall casually to hide his swaying as his vision flickered and the room spun lazily. Will was… warm. He brought warmth and softness to the cold sharpness of the infirmary’s walls, and his hands were strong, fixing pain and emptying beds one after another until there were no bodies left at all. He was nice, too. Nico liked nice people. He even had a nice smell to him, something clean, but fresh; homey. Like warm honey and morning dew, or sunlight in those minutes before sunset that people called golden hour. Golden was a good description for Will.
Nico wondered if he’d even spent his first night in the Hermes cabin, or if everyone had looked at him and collectively thought, yeah, that’s Apollo’s kid. He looked like Apollo’s son, like he could never be anything else but a child of the sun itself. Nico had heard him sing, too; Will didn’t think much of it, but he had the kind of voice that made people relax, tension bleeding out of their shoulders and soft, contented sighs escaping their lips. He was a wonderful singer, son of music and sunlight and the best healer there had ever been. Nico nodded to himself, deciding that Will Solace had most definitely been placed before he’d even been claimed.
“Aha!” Nico flinched, startled out of his musings when the object of his thoughts straightened up triumphantly with a vial in his hand. “Damn! I really thought someone had taken it, for a second.” He swished it, listening to the splash inside the clay bulb, and grinned. “Know what this is?”
“A bottle?” Nico deadpanned, scowling at the unknown and probably disgusting medicine. Will scoffed and rolled his summer sky eyes.
“Smart mouth on you, for somebody who’s about to pass out,” he said dryly. “It’s special. I saved it for you once I found out from Reyna. It’s unicorn draught.” He beamed, swishing it again as Nico perked up like a dog, pushing himself off the wall. “We only have the one vial. The others were looking for it after the worst of it once we ran out of ambrosia, but I put them on nectar IV’s and stashed this away just for you.” He winked. “You deserve it. Besides, it helps you more than ambrosia and doesn’t feel like it’s burning you, right? I want you to be comfortable while you’re here.”
“Thank you,” Nico said, eyes darting around apprehensively. There was absolutely no fucking way he was going to be comfortable here, but he was touched anyway. Will had heard one detail about him and had gone out of his way to squirrel away and hide medical supplies just for him, just for his comfort. “That’s… nice of you.”
“No sweat,” Will said, and then tilted his head in a nonverbal indication for Nico to follow him. They made their way through the main infirmary silently, passing two girls and a boy on their way, and then Will took an unexpected left. “So,” he said cheerfully. Nico blinked away the dark spots at the corners of his vision when he turned too sharply and tried to keep up. Curse that too-tall boy and his long, sturdy legs. Was he a giraffe? “I know you hate the infirmary. A lot. I get it, it’s scary. Usually, I just try to calm people down and get them to sit still. But you’re special.” He grinned over his shoulder.
“I’d better be, after everything I just did for you guys,” Nico grumbled, but his cheeks were pinker than Piper’s cabin, because Will Solace had just saved him a vial of unicorn draught and called him special. It was worth noting, Nico mused, that Will Solace could say absolutely anything to him and he would love it. Will had Nico eating out of the palm of his hand, because Nico di Angelo was one hundred percent, completely, utterly smitten with him. He was a kid with a crush, drowning in his own heart eyes and puppy love, and he had absolutely no idea how he was going to last three full days with the son of Apollo standing by his bedside taking care of him. No one ever took care of Nico, except sometimes Hazel, and he wasn’t really sure what he was in for.
“Well, yeah,” Will chuckled, stopping at a door and nudging it open. “But more to the point, you’re skittish and shy and going to be here for three days, not ten stitches. And—”
“I’m not shy,” Nico interrupted with an indignant huff. “I’m just… solitary.”
“Yes, a self-proclaimed loner who’s only alone because he’s too nervous and self-deprecating to go out and make friends or even talk to anyone who hasn’t forced their way into his life. Or, like I said, shy.” Will cast a look over his shoulder and Nico tried to glare at him. He couldn’t quite muster the energy, so he settled for a grimace. Will beamed. Gods, his eyes were so blue. Nico looked away. “Anyway,” Will continued, “Aside from your somewhat nervous personality, most of what you’re here to do is sleep. So you’re going to stay in one of our overnight rooms—which is to say, the healer-on-duty room. I’ll be in the other one just across the hall, there, don’t worry. I’ll be able to hear you if you call for me, and if you get too scared to yell or just can’t, then you can ring this bell and I’ll come and get you.”
“Wow, I get my own room?” Nico meant it to sound sarcastic, but it came out surprised. He looked around. There was a nightstand with two drawers, a comfortable looking full-sized bed with a headboard and a footboard, a large stuffed horse on the sheets, and a lamp. Over on the wall, there was a window, and there was a sink in a small counter and a chair in the corner. Nico blinked. “Wow,” he mumbled again. For a second, the lights went out—then Nico’s vision began to clear from the center outwards, and he realized that had just been his vision blacking out. “Nice.”
“Yeah,” Will said. “Now, you’re just about to pass out, so let’s get you into some pajamas before you get to bed. Did you get a chance to shower? You smell good. Uh—not like blood and dirt and sweat, I mean. Not that I was sniffing you.”
“Yeah,” Nico said tiredly. “Really quick in the communal showers, though. Didn’t have time to change my clothes.” He blinked away more dark spots. “Hey, is my vision supposed to be going… black and spotty like this?”
Will arched an eyebrow and crossed to the nightstand, pulling open the top drawer and producing some very soft looking duck pajamas. Nico had actually never been at a low enough point in his life to stoop to wearing ducks, but he was pretty sure today was not the day to fight Will Solace on his fashion choices. If he could take down an adrenaline-crazed, injured Clarisse la Rue, he could most definitely handle the shaky, stumbling newborn lamb that Nico di Angelo, fearsome, armies-of-the-dead commanding son of Hades had become. Nico wasn’t sure he wanted to humiliate himself by getting put on the floor by a healer today.
“Supposed to be?” Will answered, making him blink again. “No, it most certainly is not. But in your current condition, it’s expected. Like I said, you’re about to pass out.”
Nico rolled his eyes and unbuckled his sword, leaning it against the wall. “I am not going to passss…” He took a step forward and found himself suddenly stuck on one of those moving carnival houses from that thing Hazel had taken him to on her birthday. The room swirled and swayed around him and he watched the floor approach as he stumbled to maintain his ground.
Strong hands caught him and held him up, one arm around his waist and the other on his shoulder, and Will Solace’s stupid, beautiful face appeared in Nico’s vision once the new spots had been blinked away.
“Oh, yes, you’re right,” Will said flatly, unimpressed. “You look fine, my mistake.”
“Ugh, shut up,” Nico mumbled, because it was either that or kiss me, and he really wasn’t ready for that conversation. Will hummed, a tinge of amusement in his tone, and half carried him to the bed. Nico hissed when the healer began tugging his clothes off one piece at a time. He knelt down to unlace and remove Nico’s boots and socks, then took his jacket, then coaxed his shirt off. He reached for Nico’s pants, but stopped dead when he heard the boy grunt weakly. He looked up, bright blue eyes finding Nico’s.
“Hey,” he said sweetly, soothingly. “What’s the matter? I’m not gonna judge. I just want to get you in clean, comfortable clothes before you go to sleep.”
Nico shook his head groggily, trying to clear it, and saw Will press his lips together in concern. He stood and helped Nico put his very uncooperative arms through the duck shirt before reaching for the vial on the nightstand. The pop of the cork made the son of Hades perk up like a dog again, and Will smiled.
“Drink up,” he said, holding it to Nico’s lips. “Easy, easy, now. That’s it. Good boy.” Nico pretty much melted at that, but he was distracted by the cool rush of unicorn draught sliding down his throat. He swallowed, closing his eyes, and clasped the vial over Will’s hand with his own much shakier one. He chased it until all the liquid was gone, and then sighed deeply as it spread through his system like cool water. His vision cleared, and when he yawned, the room didn’t spin. Will set the vial aside. “There we go,” he said, smiling. “Now, let’s get you into clean pants—do you want underwear? I pulled out some underwear if you want it, but you don’t have to—and get you into bed.”
Nico nodded, furrowing his brow into a fearsome scowl as he fumbled with his jeans until they were on the floor, then lifted his hips for the underwear and duck pants Will tugged up his body. “If I don’t remember this in the morning, you better not remind me,” he grumbled. “Let me have my dignity.”
“Oh, you have dignity,” Will told him, amused. “Mr. Army-of-the-dead, front-lines, Big-Three kid. Mr. called-the-gods-to-war, carried-the-Athena-Parthenos-around-the-world, first-person-to-live-in-both-camps, survived-Tartarus-alone son of Hades. No one can ever take your power away. Your reputation precedes you, my dear. Now c’mon, lie down and have a little nap before you fade out entirely again.”
“Hmm,” Nico said, scooting backwards on the bed. “What’d you call me?”
“What, my dear?” Will grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. Felt right. I won’t call you pet names if you don’t like them, though. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“Didn’t say that,” Nico mumbled, and yawned widely. Will helped him situate himself in bed and pulled the blankets up over him, tucking him in against the fluffy stuffed horse now shoved under the covers with him.
“Sure, sweetheart,” Will said, voice tinged with the warmth of his real smile. Nico cracked an eye open just to see it, even though it felt like lifting a fucking temple. Sweetheart sounded good, curling around the edges of Will’s Southern tongue and drifting around his head like a hazy, sleep-inducing smoke. Will pulled him closer, positioning his arms to wrap around the horse.
“…Uhh?” Nico managed. Holy shit, how had he made it to the bed?
“Want you to hug this, alright, darlin’? I don’t want you to roll onto your back or shoulder, so hug this and keep it nice and close. That way you’ll stay on your side.”
Nico narrowed his eyes. “S’a stuffed horse,” he mumbled. Will narrowed his eyes right back and Nico wilted.
“It’s a Pegasus, and you’re gonna hug the Pegasus,” he said. Nico huffed. Will frowned. He hugged the Pegasus. Will gave him an approving smile and tucked a curl behind his ear. “Sweet dreams, Nico. See you in the morning.”
Nico reached out for him, suddenly panicked. He couldn’t, he couldn’t do it again. He’d done it once before, from his and Hazel’s room on the Argo into Percy and Annabeth’s. He’d played it off, pretending that his nightmare had involved something attacking them and he’d overshot his shadow travel in his haste. It had worked, but he was so tired, so tired and so uncomfortable here, and without Will, he would do it again. He couldn’t do it again.
“Lights,” Nico croaked, trying desperately to focus on the blurry shape of Will’s face. The nasty thing about unicorn draught was that once the pain and burning of the injuries went away and his body had cooled down, his survival mechanisms tended to figure, ‘oh, okay, we’re fine, now. Guess we’re good to relax!’ and check out, leaving him clinging to consciousness through immense exhaustion. “Lights. I need the lights.”
“Oh! Oh my gosh, I’m sorry, Nico. I didn’t know you were scared of the dark. That’s okay. The white ones will hurt your head, but I’ll turn on both lamps for you. They’re a nice orange color.” He flicked the switches and smiled as he flipped off the main light. “Okay?”
Nico sighed, relaxing. “Yeah,” he mumbled as warm, rough fingers wrapped around his to stop them from flailing around. He didn’t let go of Will’s hand, and after a second, the healer took a seat on the edge of the bed, one hand running soothingly through Nico’s still-damp hair. Nico made a soft sound and drifted off, falling limp against the stuffed animal.
“Sweet dreams, Nico,” he heard, and a whisper of a touch pressed against his temple as he closed his eyes—something softer than Will’s calloused fingers.
Nico fell asleep.
A scream resounded through the room, alarming Nico into shooting bolt upright in his bed. His eyes flicked from side to side, scanning the room for a threat, but he could find nothing. His throat was hoarse and after a second that felt like an eternity, he realized that the scream was tearing from his own open lips, raw and rough and harsh.
He choked himself off and took a shuddering breath, shaking in his miserable pile of blankets and stuffed horse. With another breath, he scooted back against the headboard and pulled his knees to his chest. It took another few scans of the room and short, shaky breaths before he could bury his face in them, but that felt better once the tears came.
The door creaked open, revealing a very rumpled Will Solace. He had bedhead, one side of his hair flat against his head and shirt still folded up around his ribs on his left side, a clear indication that he’d tugged it over his head roughly and run.
“Nico?” he said, scanning the room for threats just like the son of Hades had done. “Hey, there. I heard you screaming from down the hall. What’s the matter? What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing,” Nico rasped, curling up tighter. His voice came out half an octave lower than usual and rougher than gravel, but he gripped his legs and kept himself buried in his knees. Will sat down on the edge of the bed next to him.
“That’s a rough throat you’ve got, there,” he said gently. “May I heal it for you?”
“I woke you up,” Nico said.
“Waking up the healer on duty when you need help is not an offense,” Will told him in a low, smooth voice. “And even if you did do something wrong, you don’t deserve the punishment of letting your wounds remain unhealed. I’m here. I’m here for you, just you. I’m here to heal you and sit with you and help you calm down. Nightmares are scary. I know you haven’t been here long enough to settle in, but it’s okay, Nico. Believe me, we all get them. I’m sure yours are worse than most people’s, but we do get them, and you’re not weird or annoying. We all know what you’re going through, how it feels to relive your worst memories. You don’t deserve to be punished anymore, especially by yourself.” He scooted a little closer, leaning forward to peer into Nico’s downturned face as best he could. “Now, may I heal your throat and take a look at you?”
Slowly, Nico nodded and raised his head. Will smiled sweetly, raising a hand and brushing warm, calloused fingers against Nico’s neck. “I’m gonna wrap them around your throat so that I can fix both sides of your larynx,” he murmured. The warning was nice, Nico thought, closing his eyes and tilting his head back against the headboard. Will chuckled as he wrapped his hand around Nico’s throat and whispered a prayer. “You’re a nice guy, Nico,” he said pleasantly. “Thanks for trusting me.”
He checked the stitches in Nico’s shoulder and back, then ruffled his hair playfully and coaxed him back into bed.
“I’m sorry you had to come and help me,” Nico said. Will huffed a soft, barely-there laugh and shook his head, inadvertently shaking his messy curls back into their golden halo.
“I’m sorry the lights didn’t stop the nightmares,” he replied. Nico blinked.
“They’re not for nightmares,” he said. “I… when I get scared, I shadow-travel in my sleep sometimes. I did it on the Argo. Once or twice in New Rome. The lights make it a lot harder because they weaken the shadows, even the ones cast by obstacles. I usually wake up before I can do it, that way. They did work.”
“Huh,” Will said, pursing his lips. “Interesting. I didn’t know you could do that. Look at you, figuring out ways to hinder your own powers. You’re smart, di Angelo.” He smiled, and Nico’s cheeks warmed. He tucked himself back into the pillow, turning his face to try and hide his blush. Will tugged at the blankets. “Hang on,” he all but crooned. “I’m going to readjust your covers to make a more ideal surrounding to fortify your position before you drift off again. Gotta make sure you’re in the most comfortable and beneficial position you can sleep in.”
“What?” Nico asked, staring up at his handsome face—woah, where did handsome come from? Nico had thought his crush was beautiful, but handsome was a new word. It was true, though, Will Solace was a striking model of masculine perfection—in confusion. Will grinned, displaying perfectly straight, white teeth.
“I’m tucking you in, death boy,” he said affectionately, and pulled the blankets up to tuck them attentively around Nico’s thin frame. “And making a little blanket nest for you to keep you from moving around and tearing your stitches.” He pushed the three blankets around until they’d formed a little wall all the way around Nico and his stuffed bedmate, blocking them in. Even Nico had to admit that it felt significantly safer. He felt ridiculous, being comforted by something as small and simple as being tucked in, but when Will brushed his hair back and let a thumb caress his cheek, he couldn’t find it in himself to care.
“Call me if you need me,” Will whispered. “I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”
Nico reached for him in a fit of childish greed, and Will let him hold onto his hand, curling his fingers safely around slim silver-white ones. Nico closed his eyes, focusing on the warmth of Will’s hand.
When he fell asleep, the storm that swept his mind hushed itself, its torrential shadow-pulled waves soothed into tranquil acquiescence by the warm brilliance of the sun.
He let the darkness take him, and dreamed of warm honey and fresh morning dew set out on the porch in that perfect hour of the day where the setting sun bathed the world in soft, glowing gold.
And in that golden moment, he dreamed of Will Solace’s gentle hands.
2: Just To Check
Nico shot up in his coffin-shaped bed, gasping for air. He scrambled for his lamp, only to knock it onto the ground, and whimpered as he frantically staggered out of bed to the light switch on the wall.
The light was a pale color, a sickly yellow-green that made his cabin feel dismally unlived in, and Nico found it didn’t do much to dispel his anxiety and the hammering of his heart, so loud it felt like it would deafen him. He tried to pick up the lamp, but his palms were sweaty and his hands shook. He dropped it, and the clank it made had him flinching so hard that he summoned a dead possum right in the middle of the floor.
Embarrassed, he sent it away, trembling and glad no one was there to see his sorry state. Summoning roadkill in the middle of the floor was a lot like peeing yourself, for a child of Hades. He backed into a wall and hugged himself, but he couldn’t even manage to take a full breath. His eyes blurred with tears and he gasped, chest heaving, trying not to descend into a panic attack in the middle of the goddamn night.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. Three-fifty or so, he guessed, eyes too blurry to read the hands with any more accuracy than that. He sank down to the floor, telling himself to get a grip, get a grip!
It didn’t work. He had to see. He was never going to go back to sleep if he didn’t see for himself—he had to check, he had to—what if it was real? What if Nico found the same scene as in his dream?
No, that was impossible, he told himself. If something like that got into camp, the alarm would have been raised by now. There was no way it was real—but the image haunted Nico’s mind like it had been tattooed on the inside of his eyelids, and he dry-heaved like he hadn’t done since Percy had choked him.
Fuck it, he decided, and shot to his feet. With shaky steps, he turned to the nearest shadow and melted into it, closing his eyes as he ran.
Nico slipped out of the shadow in the corner of a fairly bright room. He stumbled upon landing and caught himself on the nearest bedpost, clutching at it so hard his knuckles turned white. He winced as the frame shook, holding his breath, but after a moment he found himself gasping for air yet again.
He looked down, squinting in the sudden brightness of the warm gold and orange fairy lights that decorated the cabin of the sun god’s children, and located a Star Wars blanket—conveniently, it was draped over the very bed he leaned against. Taking shaky, far-too-fast breaths, he dragged his eyes upward, bracing himself for a mangled mass of blood and intestines and broken, twisted bones, an eyeless face contorted into an expression of frozen horror in its owner’s last moments.
The sight that greeted him was not that.
Will Solace slept peacefully, sprawled on his back with one arm flung out to the side, hand dangling over the edge of the frame as if he’d never thought to fear what lay in wait under the bed. His mouth was partly open, just enough for his front teeth to peek through, and his eyelashes lay undisturbed over his cheekbones, which were cast in warm shades of gold and violet by the shadows of the fairy lights. His freckles looked like cinnamon scattered over his handsome face—how was he so handsome, dead asleep like a starfish with his mouth half open?—and his brow was smooth and unbothered.
Nico heaved a deep sigh of relief, leaning heavily against the bedframe. He felt ridiculous, all of a sudden, and more than a little creepy. So what if he’d had a nightmare? He and Will weren’t even really friends, never mind friends that were close enough to sneak into each other’s cabins after curfew!
The image flashed into his mind again as he shifted back, trying to stand on his own: Will, dead, organs ripped out of his gaping, broken ribcage and eyes gouged out of his head as he lay twisted nearly in half, face still set in a horrified, distended scream in his last moments. Will, dead on the ground at Nico’s feet, because Nico had failed to save him.
He took another look and his lips parted on a choked gasp as his eyes locked with bright, clouded blue. Will pushed himself up and rubbed his eyes through a yawn, which was far too cute for Nico’s incredibly fragile heart to handle at this vulnerable moment.
“Nico?” Will’s voice was heavy with sleep, rough and low and so Southern it made Nico’s heart flip in his chest. He gulped, releasing the bedframe as if it had shocked him. “What’re you doin’ here?” He glanced over at the clock on his dresser and frowned. “’S four in the morning. You okay? Did you shadow travel here?”
“I’m sorry.” Nico was surprised by how even his voice came out, but he could feel the lump in his throat and his vision was beginning to blur. He backed away towards the shadows in the corner. “I didn’t mean to wake you up—I shouldn’t have come, I just—I had to see, just to… I’m sorry. I’m going. I won’t do this again.”
He reached for the shadows, but before he could grab them, a hand wrapped gently around his wrist and drew him back into the dim, comforting light. Will—oh gods, shirtless Will—led him back and sat down on the edge of his bunk. He yawned again, then tilted his head back to look up at Nico.
Nico gulped. “I’m really sorry,” he whispered. “I know I shouldn’t be here. It won’t happen again.”
Will screwed up his nose and tugged the son of Hades a little closer. “You’re not in trouble, dude,” he said. Nico gasped and stumbled when he tugged harder, and Will used the momentum to drag a foot under his and unbalance him, sending him tumbling down onto the mattress. “You’re shakin’ like a leaf and twice as pale as usual. What’s the matter? You need something?”
Nico looked down at his lap, lacing his fingers slowly over his black skeleton pajama pants. The grinning skulls twisted into Will’s contorted face. He looked away—but that brought his gaze to Will’s lap, and Nico found himself enthralled by the little R2D2 robots on his blue pajama pants. Will really liked Star Wars, he supposed.
“Nico?” prompted the healer, and Nico flinched a little. Right; Will had asked him a question, and given that Nico had just shown up in his room via shadow travel and woken him up by watching him sleep at four in the morning, Nico supposed he was owed an explanation.
“I—” He paused; studied his fingernails, and then the floorboards. He took a shaky breath. “I had a nightmare.” Gods, it sounded so fucking childish. Nico frowned at his hands, keeping his eyes on the little scars at the base of his thumb and away from the skulls on his pants. He tugged his Skrillex t-shirt down farther, and finally pulled his knees to his chest so he could cover them altogether. Will didn’t seem to mind that his feet were on the bedframe. “It was bad—really bad, and it was new. You—you were there, I don’t know why, and you were… you were dead. Horribly dead, twisted and bloody and—your eyes were—they were gone, and your insides were—were everywhere, and it was that dream feeling, like you’re not sure exactly what happened before, but you know why, and you were ripped apart like that—pieces of you everywhere, blood on my feet, blind but your face was like you were still screaming when you died—you were like that because I didn’t save you.”
Will made a soft sound. “Oh, Nico. Jesus, death boy.” He scooted a little closer. “Had to come and make sure I was okay, is that it? Make sure it was just a dream?”
Nico nodded, still not looking up. “I’m sorry I woke you up. I shouldn’t have just come into your cabin in the middle of the night. I didn’t mean to be creepy.”
“Nico, don’t apologize.” Will nudged him with his shoulder. “Can I have your hand for a second?” Nico eyed him, then lifted his hand and reached out. Will took it, and—oh, oh gods, oh gods—pressed Nico’s palm flat against his incredibly warm bare chest. He held it there. His chest was solid and firm, hardened by muscle but still covered with a healthy layer of fat, and once Nico stopped panicking…
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
He exhaled shakily. A tear spilled over his lashes and down his cheek and the speed of the beats under his palm increased a bit, but the distraught teen took no notice. He closed his eyes, feeling for himself as Will’s heartbeat pounded warm and alive against his hand, irrefutable evidence that he was here and okay and alive. That Nico hadn’t killed him.
“Oh,” the son of Hades almost whimpered. Will chuckled softly, a rush of air that sounded warm, like summer.
“See?” he murmured. “I’m alright. I’m right here.” His grip uncurled and his thumb stroked the underside of Nico’s wrist, along his own veins. “Your heart’s fast.”
“Yours is, too.” Nico let his hand slide away from Will’s chest. Will caught it in his palm, cradling it for a moment.
“You’re crying. I get nervous when you’re scared. Wanna help you.” He set Nico’s hand down between them and stroked along the side with his thumb. Nico didn’t move away.
“Thank you,” he whispered. Will smiled tenderly at him, gentle affection glowing in his kind blue eyes. Nico looked away, because his heart was already beating too fast. He didn’t need Will to catch on.
“D’you wanna stay here tonight? There’s enough room in my bed for you. It’s a lot lighter than your cabin. Warmer, too.” Nico looked back up, too surprised to remember not to drown himself in Will’s gaze, and his mouth fell partway open again. Hell no. Hell no. He had to get out of here right the fuck now. He looked away.
“I’d like to,” he heard himself say, soft and low, like a secret between them. “If you want me to.”
“Yeah,” Will said. They were silent for a second; then he yawned again and nudged the raven, and Nico found himself crawling up the bed and laying down against the wall. Will put a pillow behind his back. “So you don’t elbow the wall and get hurt if you wake up too fast again,” he said. It felt safe, having something so soft against Nico’s back. He shivered. Will tugged the blanket up over him and tucked him in, smiling as he lay down next to him.
They were far too close, hands touching between them, Will’s knee brushing against Nico’s shin because he was so tall, so much taller than Nico was, and their hair mixed at the edges on the pillows, Will’s golden curls with Nico’s messy black waves. It was pretty, Nico thought idly.
His heart pounded like a rabbit’s, and Will must have taken notice, because he frowned and pulled Nico’s hand back to him. “You’re still scared?” he asked, but it was quiet, barely a rumble from his chest, hardly even a spoken voice, and Nico took it as a rhetorical statement. Will looked up at him, blue eyes meeting shining onyx. “Can I hug you, Nico? Would that help?”
Not a chance in Hell, Nico thought dryly, glancing briefly at Will’s bare chest with his stupidly attractive sunshine tattoo. But his hand was warm, and Nico was still shivering.
“I’m cold,” he said, and mentally kicked himself for the tremor in his voice. “Won’t I make you cold?”
“I run hot,” Will said confidently, shooting Nico a boyish, lopsided grin that made his heart flutter erratically. Will’s eyes flicked down to the wrist he still held. When they looked back at Nico’s, they gleamed. Nico gulped. “Can I hold you?” Will asked, caressing the side of Nico’s hand with his thumb. Nico cleared his throat quietly, trying not to wake Will’s siblings, eyes flicking back and forth between Will’s eyes and their hands.
“Uh…” He swallowed. “Yeah. Okay.”
Will smiled, and it felt like a reward, like praise for being so good, listening so well. He gulped again. Will shifted closer, sliding across the minimal space between them, and Nico’s heart pounded and his breath raced like he was about to have a panic attack, and then—
Oh.
Will’s arm slid around his waist, thumb brushing affectionately along his back as he reeled Nico into him. His other arm slipped cautiously under Nico’s head, carefully brushing back strands of hair so he didn’t tug on any of them, and settled along his shoulders. Nico found himself pressed into Will’s chest, cheek on his shoulder and nose tucked into the curve of his jaw. He hadn’t realized you could get so close to another human.
“Is this okay?” Will checked, and Nico’s heart fluttered traitorously again. Will was always asking, always moving so slowly, making sure every little thing was okay, just for Nico’s peace of mind.
“Yeah,” Nico croaked. “It’s okay. I’m okay.” Will was tense, his muscles taut under Nico’s cheek and his pulse fluctuating rapidly against Nico’s nose—he was nervous. Somehow, that made Nico’s nervousness evaporate entirely.
He scooted slowly, inching a tiny bit closer, and when he was pressed right into Will’s side, he slid his arms under the blond’s and wrapped them around his waist, just under his very intact and healthy ribs. And then he hugged Will back, burrowing into his warmth and pressing tightly against him. Will’s knee pushed between his legs, and Nico let it stay, lifting the left one up to drape it around the healer’s hip.
Will exhaled, shaky and soft and half breathless, and relaxed. The hand curled around Nico’s shoulders moved to play with the ends of his hair—he was going to need a trim, soon. But Will’s fingers were gentle, separating tangles mindlessly. Nico felt his lips press into his hair and smile, and he couldn’t help but squeeze a little tighter.
His anxiety died, replaced by pure comfort. It felt good, being in Will’s arms, wrapped around him, tucked carefully against his chest. He closed his eyes, savoring the scent of sunshine and sleep that emanated from the blond’s body. Will smelled good, like the edge of honey that had been left in the sun too long, or maybe a certain laundry detergent lingering from his clothes. In a ridiculous flash of jealousy, Nico found himself in envy of Will’s clothes, simply because they got to feel this all day, every day. He hid his face in Will’s neck, hoping the older boy couldn’t feel the heat of his blush.
“I think you’re sweet.” The son of Apollo broke the silence with a statement so low that Nico felt it more than he heard it, the vibration of Will’s chest under his cheek more soothing than a lullaby. Then the words caught up to him and he raised his head.
“What?” he asked, low and quiet to match Will’s tone. Will smiled down at him, that same tender kindness warming his summer-sky gaze, and guided his head back to rest on his shoulder and the side of his chest again.
“I think you’re sweet,” he repeated. “Coming to check on me just because you dreamed that I was hurt. Or, gruesomely maimed. It’s sweet. So. You know. You don’t… have to be embarrassed or ashamed. You’re always welcome here, anytime you want. You don’t need an invitation to come and see me.”
“Oh.” Nico hugged him like a teddy bear, nuzzling farther into his chest until he could feel that steady—not so steady, now—heartbeat beneath his cheek. “Thank you. I was worried I scared you.”
“Only for a second,” Will chuckled. “Then I saw your face and I was just worried about you. You don’t scare me, Lord of Darkness. Couldn’t if you tried.”
“I’m terrifying,” Nico mumbled back in mild offense. Will hissed a soft laugh, another rush of breath. Nico was right; it was warm against his hair.
“Not to me,” he said, and returned to stroking Nico’s hair. “You scare a lot of people, but every time you do, you always look like you’ve scared yourself, too. I just wanna hug you.”
“I don’t hug much,” Nico said, then paused. “Well. People don’t hug me much.”
Will squeezed him close, making him wheeze, and smiled into his hair. “I’ll hug you enough for everyone, then,” he promised. “Until you’re completely sick of me. Anytime you want, every time you want. I’m all yours.”
Nico would have swooned if he’d been standing. Instead, he closed his eyes and locked his arms tight around Will’s waist, snuggling into his embrace. “I don’t think I could ever get sick of you,” he admitted softly. Will smiled again. Then, casually and without warning, he kissed the top of Nico’s head. Nico inhaled sharply and they both froze.
Before the son of Apollo could speak and ruin it, Nico melted into him and butted up against his chin, silently approving of the affectionate gesture. Will let out a third rush of breath, half a laugh and half a relieved sigh, and kissed him again.
“Sweet dreams, Nico,” he whispered. Nico couldn’t even find the energy to return the sentiment.
Nico was woken by shifting under his cheek. He frowned without opening his eyes and dug himself further into his pillow, curling up to cling tighter. The shifting stopped, and warmth rushed over his hair.
“How did he get in here?” whispered a girl’s voice from somewhere at the edge of Nico’s consciousness. Steady fingers stroked Nico’s hair as if he was a cat. If he were awake, Nico probably would have been annoyed, but he was mostly asleep and it felt good. He made a half-hearted attempt at purring.
“He shadow-traveled in around four,” a familiar voice whispered in response to… whatever the girl had asked. That was Will’s voice. Nico would know his voice unconscious and blindfolded with plugs in his ears. He loved that voice. He loved Will. “He had a nightmare, something about me dying horrifically because of him—my gods, Kayla, you should have heard him describe it. Apparently, I was eviscerated, had my organs ripped out, blood everywhere, I clearly died screaming, and my eyes were gouged out.”
“Jesus Christ,” murmured the girl. Kayla, that’s who it was. Will’s little sister. “Let’s hope that’s not prophetic.”
“Dude.”
“Sorry. And he woke you up?”
“He didn’t do it on purpose,” Will said, stroking Nico’s hair again. “He came to check on me, halfway to a panic attack, just to make sure I was alive. He was scared it had really happened. He apologized about a million times, but I sat him down and talked to him, let him feel my heartbeat. I asked him to stay, so he did. We cuddled and I finally got him to stop shaking, the poor thing. He’s too sweet for his own good.”
“Poor guy,” Kayla murmured. Will’s hum vibrated deliciously through Nico’s body, filling him from the top of his head to the end of his tailbone. He nuzzled closer. “Why don’t you guys sleep in? We don’t really need you in the infirmary, and there’s no one injured. Looks like he needs the rest.”
“Sure,” Will said, voice lilted like he was smiling. “Gods, look at him, sis. I could have been hugging him all along—he loves it. You should have seen him last night. He was so cuddly, just snuggled right up to me, wrapped himself around me like a baby koala. I kissed his head and he literally headbutted me like a cat demanding another one. He’s so cute.”
“Very cute. Why don’t you ask him on a date?” she suggested, moving around the room. “He doesn’t let anybody else get that close to him and he freaked out thinking you were hurt or dead. He clearly loves you more than what most people would consider a normal, platonic amount. And you obviously make him feel safe, so I doubt it’ll ruin anything. If he can climb all over you and just lie there dead to the world in your arms, I’m sure he can sit calmly and take a confession.”
“Kayla,” Will admonished, but he hugged Nico a little tighter, and Nico felt loved. He snuggled into Will’s chest, shrinking into himself to minimize the parts of his skin left exposed by the blanket. Will sucked in a breath, and in a moment, Nico felt him draw the blanket up to cover him, tucking him back in attentively. His heart swelled. Will took such good care of him.
“Love you,” he murmured. The quiet conversation fell into silence, and Will inhaled sharply as he shifted. Nico found himself in a much more comfortable position, laying pressed between Will and the pillows, wrapped in warmth and blankets and his favorite person in the whole world.
“What was that?” he heard Will say. Nico yawned.
“Love you,” he said again, and hugged Will. Then, comfortable and floaty inside, he slid back into a soft, dreamless sleep. Will’s heart was a little faster than normal, but it didn’t seem like enough of a problem to wake up for.
The next time Nico woke, it was to the same wonderful smell and the same comfortable, quiet warmth. He stretched, arching his back like a lazy cat, and then froze.
Will was asleep again, handsome face turned to the side where it must have been buried in Nico’s hair. His eyes were closed, lashes spread against his cheek again, and his mouth was closed this time. He had a strong jaw, Nico thought to himself, reaching up to brush his fingers along it. Will made a small sound in the back of his throat. Nico smiled to himself.
He shifted, suddenly uncomfortable on his right side after lying on it for so long. Will didn’t move. Nico eyed the rest of the room—empty, sunlight streaming through the two windows at the front of the cabin.
Carefully, he shifted again, rolling over as quietly as possible. Will sucked in a breath and murmured something unintelligible, his breath huffing softly over the back of Nico’s neck. It made his hair stand up, but it felt like a good thing. Goosebumps erupted across his skin, and he shivered.
Will’s arm slid back over his waist and Nico surrendered to it, closing his eyes and leaning back into the older boy’s chest. Will made another sound and hugged him, as if Nico were a teddy bear that he was particularly attached to.
Nico hid a smile in the pillow and sighed, melting back into the wonderful warmth of Will’s body. He was so warm—so comfortable and so, so safe. He moved, pressing tightly against Nico’s back, and Nico squeezed his hand gently in front of him. He ducked his head to kiss the back of it, smiling against tanned, calloused skin.
The hand moved, wrapping around Nico’s and squeezing, and Will’s breathing changed. He shifted, nuzzling the back of the raven’s neck.
“Mornin’,” he mumbled, lips brushing the bare skin at Nico’s nape. Nico hummed, heart beating harder as Will sighed softly into his neck, stirring his hair. “You awake now?”
“Mmhm.” Nico pressed back into him, savoring his embrace. Will smiled and pulled him closer, close enough that their hips fit together and Will’s knees pressed at the back of his, a gentle connection all the way down Nico’s body. “What time is it?”
Will moved to glance at his clock, then returned. “One in the afternoon,” he reported. Nico inhaled sharply.
“You slept that long?” he asked incredulously. Will laughed his air-laugh again and nuzzled back into the son of Hades’ neck.
“Nah, I woke up around seven,” he said, amused. “But you were so comfy and cuddly, I didn’t wanna wake you. Plus, you clearly needed the sleep. Kayla covered me today at the infirmary so I could stay here with you.” He yawned. His teeth scraped Nico’s shoulder. “It was nice. I like cuddling. You’re very… snuggle-able.”
“I’m what?” Nico looked over his shoulder, then chickened out at the proximity of Will’s unfairly kissable face. Will nosed underneath his ear, making him shiver again.
“Snuggle-able,” he repeated with more confidence. “Good for cuddling. Huggable. You’re cute.”
Nico made a sound like a dying cat and rolled his eyes, turning his face into the pillow in an attempt to hide the redness of his cheeks. Will snickered behind him and he jammed an elbow back, aiming for the boy’s ribcage with just slightly gentler pressure than he’d have aimed at anyone else.
Will wheezed. “Rude,” he huffed, sliding his hand backwards over Nico’s hip to rub the spot he’d been attacked. “Like I didn’t just wake up in the middle of the night to comfort you and lie in bed holding you until one in the afternoon.”
“Ugh, stop it,” Nico muttered, pushing himself up. He stretched, arching his back, and flinched when cold fingers trailed up his spine. “Jesus, Solace, what the hell are you doing?” he asked, glaring down at the blond. Will shot him an absolutely shit-eating grin and shrugged.
“You made a pretty shape. I like to defy the signs.”
“Defy the signs?” Nico repeated, squinting at him. “What do you mean, signs? And I am not pretty, thank you very much. I’m basically a skeleton with skin. It’s my aesthetic.”
“Sure, short, dark, and handsome,” Will droned. Nico slapped his shoulder and he laughed. “You looked like art, you know, like those paintings of dancers? I like to defy the signs that say ‘don’t touch the artwork.’ So I poked you.”
Nico scoffed and kicked him lightly, moving back to lean against the wall so he could look down at the blond. Will stretched lazily and sprawled out like a starfish again, grinning dopily up at the son of Hades. “Don’t poke me,” Nico said, kicking him again. “If I was art, I’d be minimalistic and weird.”
“Nah, you’d be something… powerful,” Will said, squinting at him. “Like a dark angel. Maybe crying in a church or something. Shadows and ghosts around you. Something that makes people think and feel slightly uncomfortable. Something that stays after they leave.”
Nico looked away. “I don’t go to churches anymore,” he said quietly. He couldn’t bear to look at Will, to tell him that he had been there, crying at the doors of a church with all his ghosts and shadows closing in on him. Will was frighteningly good at reading people. “I don’t think there’s anything powerful about that kind of picture.”
“One look at you and not a soul could ever forget you,” Will murmured, looking up at the ceiling. “I think that’s powerful. To be someone that will never be forgotten. You’re an icon, y’know that?”
Nico did look at him, then, and noticed in the golden afternoon light that the bags under Will’s eyes were purple and heavy. Something in his eyes was far away, lost to some unknown world, and Nico found his heart suddenly stuck in his throat at the thought of the son of Apollo slipping away from him. His hand found Will’s, lying open by his leg, and he traced the healer’s pinky with his own. Will glanced over at him, and Nico’s breath caught. He didn’t look far away anymore; he looked like he was reading Nico’s very soul.
“I’ll be forgotten,” he said, certain and calmer than anyone Nico had ever heard. The cadence of Will’s voice in that moment reminded him vaguely of his mother’s: calm and certain, gentle, unbothered. Resigned. “I never led anyone into war. I never went on any quests, or even killed that many monsters. All I did was heal.”
He was wrong. He was completely, entirely wrong, and Nico felt a surge of surprising anger rise up in his chest. He glared down at the blond and whacked his shoulder again, hard enough to make him wince.
“You abuse me,” Will joked, rubbing his shoulder. Nico huffed.
“You are braver and stronger than anyone I know,” he said harshly, fixing Will with the most serious look he could conjure. “Killing monsters is something any demigod can do. Something all of us do. We’re attackers and protectors. It’s something that’s trained or branded into us from the moment we discover what we are. But you?” Nico poked him in the chest, a hard jab at his heart. “You save us. Our lives rest in your hands, and we trust you to take care of them. And you never let us down. I get scared every single time I see a monster, even though that’s an everyday occurrence. But if I know you’re nearby, I don’t even think about it. You heal. That’s something that no other demigod can do, you know that, right? Even your siblings—Kayla has archery and Austin has music, but they can’t do what you do. I saw you. I saw you before you even knew my name. I saw you running from body to body, to people who were screaming and begging, people who should have already been dead, and I watched you save them. I am not exaggerating when I say hundreds of the people in this camp and my sister’s owe their lives to you. You will be remembered, probably much longer than I will—maybe not longer than Percy, the man’s a legend—but longer than Piper. Leo. Jason. Hazel. Reyna. Longer than me. You are the reason so many people are alive. They won’t forget that.” He paused and glanced down, then met Will’s startled blue eyes again. “You saved me. I wrote that off as impossible a long time ago, but you did it anyway.”
Will stared at him for a moment, eyes wide and lips parted. Then he softened, and his hand slid into Nico’s, squeezing gently.
“Are you sure you’re a son of Hades?” he asked, warmth imbuing his tone. “You sound like a child of Athena when you get all self-righteous like that.”
“Self-righteous?” Nico stiffened and glared. Will squeezed his hand again. He wished that wasn’t enough to make him melt. “I’m not being self-righteous. You shouldn’t talk like you don’t matter.”
“Oh, honey,” Will said, so sweet and gentle that Nico wanted to fall back into his arms and do nothing but listen. “I don’t feel like I don’t matter. I’m not that self-centered, you know. I have a place here cut out for me, a good one. I mean something, here.” He smiled and reached up, brushing a piece of hair behind the raven’s ear. “I think I needed to hear that, though. You’re good at talking.”
“I’m not,” Nico said, averting his gaze. The last thing he needed was to have his crush seeking him out to tell him that he meant something. Nico was going to end up telling him just how much he meant.
“You so are, though,” Will said, grinning. “So good at knowing what to say. You have a lot of practice comforting people, Nico?”
“No,” Nico said shortly. “Just Hazel.”
“She’s a lucky girl,” Will sighed. “To have a brother like you.” He paused. “Anyone would be lucky to have you in their life.” He grinned. “Shit, you’re sleeping in my bed. I’m the luckiest son-of-a bitch in this whole camp, aren’t I?”
Nico scoffed and leaned back against the wall. “Most inconvenient place to end up after a nightmare,” he droned. “Having to look at that face is an entirely new genre of nightmare.” Because I have to force myself not to kiss you, he didn’t say. Will’s grin widened again.
“Good to know I’m in your dreams, di Angelo,” he teased lightly. “You’ve been in mine, too, but I wouldn’t classify those as nightmares.” He winked, and Nico damn near fainted.
“The fuck were you dreaming about?” he wheezed through a tight throat. Will laughed.
“I’m teasing,” he said, but his ears were red. Oh my gods, Nico thought, watching him stretch again. He’s lying. He really did dream about me.
“Anyways,” Will said, interrupting Nico’s sudden influx of fantasies about what, exactly, he had done in Will’s dream (had they held hands? Had they gone on a date?). “What are you doing today?”
“Nothing,” Nico fired back without thinking. He blinked as Will fixed him with a raised eyebrow. “Sorry. Nothing. No plans.”
“Ohh-kay,” Will said slowly. “Want to come hang out with me?”
“All day?” Nico sked, staring at him in utter disbelief. “You just put up with me all night and you want me to stick around more?”
Will snorted. “It’s hardly ‘putting up with you,’ dumbass,” he said. “I like having you around, believe it or not. And you were very cute when you were sleeping on me. You sprawled right out over my chest and melted into my hug, and you made these cute little sounds when I played with your hair, and—”
“I get it!” Nico snapped, red-faced. “Shut up! I’m sorry! Gods, Solace, I won’t do it again!”
“Why the hell not?” Will whined. “I liked it! It was awesome! Woah!” Nico whacked him with a pillow and he spluttered, laughing. “Hey!” Nico whacked him again, and then Will grabbed the pillow and yanked, pulling Nico off balance. He got an arm around the raven’s waist and flipped him into the mattress, half knocking the wind out of him. Then he braced his hands on either side of Nico’s head and leaned down with another cocky grin. “Hi, you.”
Nico tried to inhale and promptly choked on his own spit, starting a coughing fit that made him double over so hard he cracked his forehead on the blond’s. Will pulled back with a hiss, rubbing his head, and smacked Nico’s back hard. Nico coughed again, then put a hand over his mouth and took a few deep breaths.
“Sorry,” he croaked. Will smiled.
“Meh, I can fix it,” he said. Then he leaned in and pressed a kiss to Nico’s forehead, making him freeze in place. Will’s lips were warm and soft, a little dry this early in the day, and gentle against his skin. He sighed, shaky and soft. Will smiled against his forehead before pulling away. “All better?” he whispered with a gentle smile.
“Yeah,” Nico breathed softly as the sting faded from his forehead. Then he blinked, coming back to the realization that, uh, William Andrew Solace had just kissed his fucking forehead! He coughed. “No! No, what—why would that—”
“Hmm, weird. Usually works the first time. Let me try again.” Will leaned in and kissed his forehead again, warm and gentle and wonderful, and Nico gave up.
“I’m going to go take a nap,” he almost whimpered—not his best excuse, immediately after waking up—and did his best to get out of bed without tangling his feet in the blanket and going face-first into the ground—although, if he hit his mouth, would Will…? No. Ridiculous. Nico shook his head and made for the door before freezing.
“Your siblings,” he said. “Did they… see me?”
“When you woke me up?” Will asked, stretching (gods, he looked so fucking good without a shirt) and reaching for his dresser. “No, they didn’t. That was just you and me. They saw you this morning, though. They were checking to see if I was sick, because I’m always up by six or seven. I couldn’t bring myself to move—you were so comfortable, lying on top of me. I’m a soft man, Nico. I like puppies and cuddly emos. I will not move if a cat chooses to sit on me. I wasn’t gonna disturb you, no matter what.” He looked over. “They didn’t mind. You look… sweeter when you sleep. You lose the glare and get clingy. You look soft.”
“You’re the soft one!” Nico spluttered. “Excuse me while I book a completely innocent day trip to the Lethe for you and your siblings. Goodbye.”
“Woah, woah, woah, pretty boy, not so fast,” Will called. Nico took a long breath in through his nose, swallowing hard. Was he just that unaware of what those words did to him? What a dick. An incredible, kind, sweet, dorky, handsome dick. Nico leveled the healer with his best glare. “Come here, I need to do a checkup before you go.”
“A checkup for what?” Nico asked, reluctantly stepping closer. Will took his hand and tugged him closer, shooting a warm smile up at his face.
“See if you faded during that nightmare last night,” he said. “Or the shadow-travel after. You were shaking pretty bad, you know. I do like having you stay over, but it wasn’t just because I was eager for a sleepover. You scared me last night. You were so faint.”
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Nico said, watching Will’s fingers press into his wrist and trying to breathe normally. Will’s lips twitched upward at the corner.
“Your pulse is fast,” he murmured. Nico pulled his hand back.
“It’s hot in here,” he said. Will laughed under his breath.
“Yeah, heat doesn’t make your heart rate go up,” he said, winking. “And it’s not hot in here. You can say I make you nervous, I won’t be offended.”
“I don’t get nervous, I make other people nervous,” Nico said, frowning at him. “I make you nervous, I felt your heart last night and you didn’t even have a nightmare. What’s your excuse?”
“Pretty boy touching my chest to make sure I was okay?” he offered, grinning innocently up at the son of Hades. Nico flushed and turned away.
“Goodbye, Solace,” he said, and slammed the door behind him. It drew the attention of Percy, standing in the green chatting with Annabeth, and the two of them blinked owlishly at him.
“Shut up,” Nico said.
“Sleepover in the Apollo cabin, huh?” Percy asked, grinning. “Were you invited, or do you just show up and crawl into bed with… Will, I’m guessing? He’s sweet on you.”
“He is not and I did not,” Nico lied. “I had a nightmare and shadow-traveled and he made me stay so I didn’t fade. I just woke up.”
“It’s almost two in the afternoon!” Annabeth noted, raising an eyebrow. “Sleep well in there?”
“Well, it’s a hell of a lot warmer than my cabin,” Nico shot back. “Plus, the lights make it easier to resist shadow-traveling in my sleep. It’s a problem.”
“Oh, and, uh, do you usually end up in the Apollo cabin? Maybe, specifically, in Will Solace’s bed?”
“Alright, alright.” A familiar Southern voice drawled out behind Nico and he turned just in time to see Will sidle up and throw an arm around his shoulders. “Leave the poor guy alone, would you? I did actually have to heal him last night. He was fading a bit. The nightmare, then the shadow-travel, I’m guessing a minor panic attack—it physically hurt him. It drained him. He needed the sleep, and he needed healing. So I told him to stay and sleep with me so I could heal him.” He shrugged. “Now he’s up and got some color in his cheeks—as much as he ever does—and he’s free to go. And if he needs to heal a lot and sleep a lot in a short amount of time, he’ll come back. Right, Nico?”
Nico nodded, ignoring the slight lump in his throat—because Will Solace, son of the god of honesty, had just lied for him. Nico hadn’t needed much healing and Will hadn’t made him stay. He’d offered a place, he’d held Nico, and he’d reassured him. But he hadn’t made him stay.
“Right,” he choked. Will squeezed his shoulder, shook him lightly, and pushed him gently in the direction of his cabin. “Bye,” Nico said, and nearly sprinted for his cabin, heart pounding. He slammed the door behind him and crashed face-first onto his bed, burying his face in his pillow.
He lied for me, he held me, he thinks I’m pretty.
He groaned into the pillow, squishing his face down so hard his nose hurt. I am so completely fucked.
3: The Accident
Darkness closed in on all sides, reaching out with hungry tendrils to drag Nico into their shadows and drain him, take everything he had left. He struggled, clawing at the stone.
“Stop it, please stop,” he gasped. There were manacles around his hands.
“We need you,” they hissed. “You escaped us too early. Lord Tartarus wants you back, filthy little son of Hades. You are weak. We shall have you.”
“No!” Nico tried to scream, but stone weighed down on his back as the cave tightened, pressing him into the floor. He was going to die. There was darkness everywhere. He couldn’t see his hands anymore, but he kept yanking at his chains. “Let… me… go!”
“Never,” chanted the laughing, hissing monsters in the shadows. Nico could see fine in the dark; it was his realm. That meant these were no natural shadows. This was something evil, something that had come to take him away. The stone pressed down harder. He couldn’t breathe. It trapped him, sending flaring pain up his side and spine. He tried to scream, but nothing came out. The darkness closed around his head, blacking out what little was left of his vision.
“I can’t see, stop it, I’m scared!” he wheezed, trying to claw himself forward, scratching at the stone, gasping, writhing. “I’m scared! It’s too… too dark, I want to go home! Where am I!? It hurts! Help—Will! WILL!”
“NICO!”
Nico shot up, choking on his gasps. His chest heaved as he doubled over, coughing violently, and when a hand touched his back, he slapped it away with a hoarse scream.
“Nico, Nico, hey! It’s me! It’s okay, it’s me, I’m right here. You’re okay, you’re okay. Hey, what’s the matter? What happened, honey?”
Nico struggled against the blankets and someone pulled them off him, freeing him enough to allow him to scramble over to the wall and press his back to it. He wiped the tears from his eyes, clearing his vision. Orange fairy lights glowed from the bottom of the bunk above him, and several frightened faces stared at him from three or four other beds in the room. He panted heavily, trying to slow his heart down.
“Hey,” came a gentle, familiar voice. Nico turned his head, and there, on the bunk next to him, was Will Solace. His face was pale and his brows were knitted together with worry. His hands hovered in the air between them, outstretched like he wanted to touch Nico, but wasn’t sure if he could. “Hey, Nico, are you alright?”
Nico gulped. “I’m sorry,” he rasped. “I didn’t—I didn’t mean to—I can explain. It was an accident. When did I…?”
Will shook his head with a soft huff of relief. “You don’t have to explain, Nico,” he whispered. “You already told me that day in the infirmary. You asked me to turn the lamps on and said you were scared of shadow traveling in your sleep. I thought you were paranoid, at the time, but I wasn’t asleep when you showed up here about five minutes ago. You melted out from the shadow on the wall and fell right into me, tossing and turning and white as a ghost, and then you started screaming for me. What happened? A nightmare?”
Nico nodded slowly. “I didn’t mean to wake you up,” he choked. “There was no light. I couldn’t—I was being crushed and it was so dark even I couldn’t see anything and I—I got so scared, and I wanted to go home, and I needed help, so I reached for it, and…”
“And it took you to me,” Will said. A kind smile spread across his face. “Awww. How sweet. Is it alright if I hug you, Nico? If you don’t want to be touched right now, that’s fine.”
Nico eyed him. “…Yeah,” he croaked. “Okay.”
Will scooted closer and sat against the wall next to Nico. He raised an arm slowly, hovering over Nico and allowing him to duck under it himself, leaning his head on the healer’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” Will murmured, pulling him oh-so-carefully closer. “I’m here. D’you want me to turn the lights on?”
“No,” Nico whispered. “Your siblings sleep with them off.”
“Okay.” Will shifted, looking up at the wide-eyed faces around them. “It’s alright, guys. Go back to bed. It was just a nightmare; we all get them. Sometimes the shadows pull Nico away from his cabin if he gets too panicked. He doesn’t do it on purpose. It’s fine.” He rubbed Nico’s arm slowly, up and down, and the warmth of his hand helped ease Nico’s breathing. He inhaled slowly. Will squeezed his bicep gently.
“You okay, Nico?” asked Austin from one of the nearby bunks. Nico nodded slowly.
“I’m fine,” he said, a little too gravelly, as if he’d been gargling rocks for a few hours. “Sorry I woke you up. It was an accident.”
“No problem,” Kayla said, guiding her two younger siblings back to bed. “We all get nightmares. You’ve had it worse than we have. Don’t worry about it. Get some sleep, okay?”
Nico nodded again and ducked his head, focusing on his breathing until the rustling began to die down, all the younger Apollo siblings safely back in bed.
Will leaned down to see his face. “Hey, sunshine,” he murmured. “You alright? What do you need, do you know?”
“Dunno,” Nico muttered. His heart wouldn’t slow down. Suddenly, the wall behind him felt too much like the stone he’d been trapped under. He shifted away from it, inadvertently pressing further into Will’s side—but he found he didn’t really mind. Will was warm and comforting against him, and the fairy lights made everything glow. It was the exact opposite of his dream, warm and light and kind and with company. He exhaled softly. “Fuck.”
“Language, death boy, really,” Will teased. “Seriously, though, are you okay? You were really screaming, there.”
“I’m fine,” Nico said quietly. “Thanks. Sorry for waking you up.”
“Don’t apologize,” Will said with a soft smile. “Nightmares are a part of life, especially after what you’ve been through. It’s okay.” He rubbed Nico’s back, pulling him a little closer. “You wanna try and go back to sleep? You can stay with me.”
“I don’t know,” Nico mumbled. “You should, though. I’ll be fine.”
“Nope, you’re staying with me tonight,” Will said with a boyish grin. “C’mon. I got a trick.” He set up his pillows against the headboard and pushed Nico back against them, pulling a soft gasp from his throat. Then he reached under the mattress and pulled out a sleek silver laptop, which he set in his lap and opened up. “This is our secret,” he whispered, “’cause I’m not supposed to have this. Okay?”
“Okay.” Nico rather thought he liked the idea of sharing a secret with someone. He had too many of his own and none of anyone else’s. “What are you doing?”
“A good cure for fear is cuddles and Disney movies,” Will asserted. “Which ones have you seen?”
“I saw Snow White,” Nico said. “When I was little. And Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty in the Lotus hotel.”
“Okay, so we have some catching up to do,” Will said, grinning. “How about… Princess and the Frog? It’s set in Louisiana. Your sister’s from there, right?”
“Yeah. New Orleans.” Nico tensed when an arm slid around his waist, but after a moment, he relaxed and leaned into Will’s side, watching him set up their movie from an attached… block of some sort. “What’s that?” he whispered.
“A hard drive,” Will answered, showing him the blinking white light on the block. “I store movies on it. It’s handy, since we don’t have WiFi up here. I keep having to sneak into cabin one to charge the laptop, though. Thalia thought it was hilarious when she found out everybody charges their contraband in her cabin. It’s the only one with electricity.”
Nico snorted, pulling the blanket up higher. Will grinned. “I like your pajamas,” he whispered. “They look soft. The little skeletons are cute. How many bone-related pajama pants do you have?”
“I don’t know,” Nico said, shrugging. “I steal them from stores. Maybe three or four?”
“I should be telling you off for stealing,” Will joked, “but then, I smuggle shit in and run an illegal tattoo parlor, so it’d kind of be the pot calling the kettle black.”
“What?” Nico asked. Will grinned and lifted his shirt, turning Nico’s face bright scarlet and revealing his stick and poke sun tattoo.
“Yeah, I do them myself. Piercings, too. You ever want some jewelry in that pretty face of yours, let me know.”
“I knew that!” Nico spluttered as the blond lowered his shirt. “I meant the—the other thing! The pot, and… what?”
“Oh, pot calling the kettle black.” Will nodded. “Right. It’s a saying for hypocrisy. Like a burned pot calling a new kettle black, even though it’s a lot blacker itself. Like ‘people in glass houses—’”
“—Shouldn’t throw stones.’ I know that one,” Nico said. “Huh.”
“Yeah, that’s it.” Will squeezed him close. “Okay. Don’t worry about waking the kids up; they’re out again by now. Apollo kids get tired in the nighttime.”
“Then, aren’t you tired?” Nico asked, looking up at him as Will pressed play. Will smiled, something a little softer than his usual grin—more private, Nico thought.
“I have a thing for shadows,” he whispered. “They never wear me out no matter how much time I spend with them. Make my brain go quiet.”
Nico felt his heart skip a beat as blue eyes found his and shone. He swallowed. “Me too,” he whispered. “I take naps in the daytime. I get scared of the dark. I can see in it pretty much perfectly, but it… it sucks on me. Drains me and draws me in. I like sunshine. It’s… warm.”
“Mmhm,” Will agreed. “Warm and bright. Good for someone like you. You’re so little and pale and cold to the touch. Makes me worry about you, you know that? I worry a lot.”
“I’m not little,” Nico muttered. “Or cold. I’m fine.”
“Uh huh,” Will said, and slipped a hand under Nico’s shirt. Nico gasped—the palm of Will’s hand seared into his side, warm and calloused, raised and hardened skin dragging against the smooth ridges of his scars and spreading fire through his skin. “Freezing,” Will whispered. “That’s why I’m here.”
“Oh,” Nico said faintly. He almost mourned the loss of his crush’s touch when Will retracted his hand. Will kissed his forehead and drew him in like it was nothing, and Nico’s throat swelled up so much that he had to blink tears out of his eyes before he could see the movie on the screen.
He found himself startling awake at a point in the movie where he… honestly had no idea what was going on. Will’s arms were wrapped securely around him, holding him close, and his heart beat an unsteady rhythm beneath Nico’s cheek—something quick and erratic, like he was nervous. Nico mumbled something entirely unintelligible and let his eyes fall shut again, too tired to keep them open.
“Shh,” Will whispered near his ear. “You’re alright. I’ve got you. Go to sleep, sweet boy.”
Nico found himself melted by the pet name, so uncharacteristic of him but so welcome nonetheless, gentle and adoring and wonderful. He nuzzled into Will’s chest and wrapped his arms around his ribs, keeping himself close. Will cooed at him, a soft sound from somewhere in his chest that made it rumble soothingly under Nico’s cheek. Nico sighed and relaxed. Will pulled the blankets up around him, tucking them carefully over his body until he was snugly tucked in against the healer’s warmth, surrounded by fluff and comfort and soft orange fairy lights. Nico gave himself over to Will’s embrace and drifted into sweeter dreams than he’d ever been allowed before.
When he woke, sunlight bathed the cabin in a warm glow, and he was alone in the bed. He stretched, then paused as something rustled beside him. He shifted the blankets until he found it—a stuffed fox with a note tied around its neck.
Good morning, sleeping beauty. Sorry you woke up alone; I had to go to work. Sleep in as much as you like. I left you Red the fox to keep you company. If you need me, you know where I am. Want to go to dinner together? I can come and pick you up at your cabin tonight. See you later, death boy.
~Will
Nico smiled privately to himself and tucked the note into the pocket of his oversized grey sweater before standing up. He made the bed, suddenly feeling self-conscious about leaving a mess, and made for the door, only to pause again at another note stuck to it.
Anyone who wakes Nico up deals with me personally. You saw how scared he was last night. He got very little restful sleep before he came here. Let him sleep or so help me God, there will be consequences. Have a good day, guys. Love,
~Your big brother
Nico took that note for himself, too, before dashing back to his cabin and promptly locking himself in to properly process and break down over the heart-attack inducing memory of spending the night in Will’s incredibly warm arms.
He barely managed to pull himself together and shower before dinner.
4: Did I Mean To?
The crushing darkness faded into a distant memory, chain and claws releasing Nico as if they’d never been. Sunlight streamed through the window and lit the room in soft golds, casting gentle violet-blue shadows behind the huge bed and the carved wooden dresser. The blankets were soft and blue, sliding against Nico’s skin. He yawned and rolled over, snuggling into the warmth of the person next to him.
A sleepy exhale stirred his curls. Nico smiled into golden skin as strong arms curled tightly around him, pulling him close. It smelled like warm honey and morning dew, and when Nico nuzzled closer, a quiet hum made the body under his cheek rumble. He stretched lazily, reaching out to drape his arm over the man’s stomach. He seemed older.
“This place is nice in the mornings,” drawled a warm, familiar voice. Nico hummed in quiet agreement. “I’m glad we moved here.”
“Me too,” Nico mumbled, and curled up until he could drape his legs over the man’s hips. “Go back to sleep. It’s early.”
“Mm. I have to go to work soon.” He nuzzled Nico’s hair, inhaling deeply and lifting Nico’s head up. “You smell good.”
“Call in sick,” Nico said, readjusting to hug him tighter. “I want you to stay.”
“I can’t call in sick,” the warm voice said, lilted with a smile. “I had to take time off to move.” He kissed Nico’s head sweetly. “I love you.”
“I love you, Will,” Nico whispered, and opened his eyes.
There was no huge bed or golden sunlight when he first blinked. But there were orange lights above his head, and the bunk bed—although harder than the one in his dream—was warm, and felt nice. He yawned, lifting a hand to rub his eyes. His bed was never warm, and he didn’t have fairy lights. He must have done it again. He was so tired, every limb heavy and sluggish. He groaned softly.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” came an amused voice next to his head. Nico stiffened, then turned his head slowly to the side, eyes widening. Will Solace lay on his side next to him, cheek squished up in the pillow and lips curved into a soft smile. He had an arm reached out—Nico followed it and found it draped over his waist. He sucked in a breath.
“I did it again,” he whispered. Will laughed.
“It’s alright,” he said easily. “I don’t mind you showing up here. You blipped right out of the wall—I actually saw you land, this time, then you cuddled right up to me. You sleep-talk, did you know that?”
Nico froze, recalling his dream—how he’d felt, cuddled up to Will in a bed that must have been their bed and a home that had been new, but both of theirs. He gulped. He’d said that he loved him.
“I don’t mind,” Will said with a bright grin. “You’ve said it before. Love you, Will. You said it the first time you were here, while I was talking with Kayla that morning. It’s cute. I’m glad you like me so much.”
Nico huffed, relaxing, and rolled onto his side facing the son of Apollo. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to come here. I was dreaming and I couldn’t find the light. So I—I reached for it, and I remembered your cabin. Because there were lights, and it was warm. I think I was looking for fire.”
“Overshot a bit,” Will said, amused. “You were looking for cabin nine, two doors down. Our thing is sunlight.” He winked. “It’s warm enough, though, if you want to stay. I sure wouldn’t mind, anyway.”
Nico scoffed, cheeks warming. “You’re ridiculous,” he said. Will tugged him a little closer and Nico inhaled sharply, reaching out automatically to steady himself as his body slid across the sheets. His hand landed flat on Will’s chest.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. He spread out his fingers, pressing his palm flat against it.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump. Nico snickered, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Shut up,” Will whispered, but he was smiling, too. “You’re too pretty to be touching me like that.”
Nio ducked his head with a choked scoff. “Will,” he said. Will shifted, bringing his free hand up to curl around Nico’s fingers on his chest. “What are you doing?”
“I mean it,” Will all but cooed, shuffling closer. Nico could feel his breath against his cheek. “I’m trying to get you to stay. You know, with me? Here? In bed?”
“You’re working really hard to get me into bed, considering that I’m already in your bed.” Will shrugged and pulled him closer, sliding his hand up the length of Nico’s spine. Nico exhaled softly, closing his eyes. Will shifted, then lifted his head. Nico shivered as gentle lips brushed his forehead, pressing fleeting kisses to it and Nico’s cheeks.
“Maybe I just want to be sure you won’t run away from me,” he whispered. Nico shuddered. He lifted an arm, gripping at the bottom of Will’s pajama shirt. Will exhaled against his hairline and he felt a lump rise in his throat.
“I—I don’t like running away,” he whispered in the dim glow of the fairy lights. “I don’t want to run from everything.”
Will hummed, trailing his fingers up Nico’s back until he could thread them through his hair. “Why do you, then? When did you start learning to run away?”
Nico lowered his head into Will’s chest and took in a long, uneven breath. “When we were little, Bianca used to get me in trouble for things,” he whispered shakily. “She did it in the house, because outside, she always had to protect me. Mussolini was in charge, and I—I was too little to understand what his rules meant, but I knew enough to know that she was protecting me. I knew Mama had told her to. And she always did, but I think she resented me for making her become a parent figure to me outside. So at home, she’d get me in trouble. I always hated it, then, but now, I think—I think maybe she just wanted to be the one protected. She was a kid, too. And when she was going to get me in trouble—something like pulling my shoes out and telling Mama I’d tracked in mud, or lying that I’d said something dangerous at school, or making a mess and blaming it on me—she’d give me this look. This sad, desperate look, like she didn’t want me to get in trouble, but she needed to not be the parent for a while. She always gave me that look, and I started running, because if I wasn’t home, then I couldn’t have done it. Because I didn’t understand that my sister needed it, and I hated when Mama was disappointed.”
He took another breath, huddling closer until he could fit his head under Will’s cheek. “In America, right before the house came down, Mama gave me that same look,” he whispered. “Sad and desperate, like there was nothing she could do. And then Bianca grabbed my hand and screamed at me to run, and I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew she was screaming in Italian and Mama wasn’t telling her to speak English—it was our second language, but after running from fascist Italy, we had to fit in and couldn’t let on where we’d come from, so we weren’t allowed to speak Italian anymore and Mama would correct us even in the house—so it must have been serious. And then we ran. And then we came here, and she told me when she left that she’d come back, and she smiled at me. I never had to run when she smiled, so I waited. And then Percy came back on my birthday, and I thought that was the best birthday present, and I was looking for her.” He sniffled. “He gave me that look. The look that I’d thought was sad and desperate, the look Bianca gave me when she needed to be a child and that Mama gave me when she knew she wasn’t going to make it out. And I knew before he told me. It didn’t sink in until he handed me that figurine, but I knew. I knew that look, I knew what it meant. So I did the only thing I ever learned to do when I saw that expression. I ran. I ran and ran and ran, and I didn’t bother going home, because Bianca wasn’t there to get me in trouble, and Mama wasn’t there to scold me.”
“I never knew,” Will whispered, arms tightening around Nico. He kissed his forehead again. “Oh, Nico, I’m sorry. You must miss them so much.”
“I do,” Nico confessed, burying his face in Will’s shoulder. “They… they would have liked you. Mama liked kind people. In our world, they were hard to come by. First, we lived under Mussolini. Then, we were fascist immigrants. It was hard. I wish I’d had more time to learn, so I could have—I could have told them I understood.”
“Understood… what that look meant?” Will asked. Nico nodded.
“It was never sad,” he said softly. “It wasn’t even desperate. It was helpless. It was helpless, and if there was nothing they could do—my Mama, my sister, Percy—then I knew already that there was no hope for me. So I ran away because it was all I knew how to do. But I don’t like running away. I—I don’t think of it as escaping, I never did. I was just scared. Running away from home. Not getting out, not getting free. Just leaving home until it was safe again, except once I got older I started to believe that it would never be safe again.” He nuzzled into Will’s shirt. “I wish I’d stayed,” he confessed. “I don’t regret leaving, because I found Reyna and I got Hazel back, and I made friends and helped unite the camps and helped Percy find his way home—but part of me wishes I had stayed here. That I could have known you.”
Will hugged him tightly, burying his face in Nico’s hair with a fierce breath, hands curled around his hip and his shoulder. He was warm. Nico curled into him, and the lump in his throat eased. He exhaled softly and hugged the blond back, breathing in his scent—so familiar, so wonderful. Will pressed tiny kisses across his hair and a small smile made its way up Nico’s lips.
“I’ve got you, now,” Will crooned. “I won’t let you run again. I’ll take care of you. If something happens, I promise we’ll figure it out, okay? You don’t have to run, anymore. I’ll take care of you.”
“You already do,” Nico murmured, running his hands absently up and down Will’s warm back. “You make me feel safe, Will. I do love you. I really do. I love you. And I don’t want to run away from you, I never have. I’m not going to just up and leave because I embarrassed myself. I embarrass myself every day. It makes you laugh and when I overstep and end up in your arms, you never mind. You just hold me and joke and play with me. So I’m not going to run.”
Will sighed, tension melting from his body as he sank into Nico’s side, a searing comfort pressing him into the wall of blankets behind him. “Good,” he whispered, lips brushing Nico’s forehead. “Then just stay here with me.”
Nico swallowed and curled his hands into the back of Will’s shirt, letting his cheek fall to the place where the boy’s heart beat the loudest. “Okay,” he whispered.
Will was already asleep.
5: The Breakdown
Nico had been in a weird state since he’d woken up. He’d had another nightmare—not as horrible as Tartarus or mangled bodies, but something more… grey. The kind of nightmare you couldn’t really remember, something full of some form of great loss that leaves the dreamer unsettled upon waking.
He’d sat up in a cold sweat at five in the morning and had gone to breakfast at six just to get out of his cabin. He’d mostly managed to avoid people, besides Percy, Annabeth and Grover, who were getting ready for their newest quest—something about a chalice of some sort. He didn’t talk to them, choosing to wolf down a quick meal and disappear in the direction of the lake.
It was still dark out, but the horizon was tinged a light shade of blue. The very lowest point of it nearly matched Will’s eyes, Nico mused. A bright, vibrant blue color with a dark blue center and a grey ring around the outside like clouds on a sunny day. He liked Will’s eyes, he thought. They were friendly and open; they were more inviting than most people’s and had a sparkle to them that made him look mischievous and playful.
He sighed. Mists crept across the lake, shrouding the reflection of the fading stars like Nico’s mind shrouded his dreams. He wondered what had happened to leave him so uneasy, so rattled. His dreams were usually more vivid and memorable, but once the fear faded, he moved on with his day.
This was different; this was grey like mist, uncertain and hidden and hushed by his own small, childish voice. He buried his chin in his knees, eyes flicked up under his brow like he was glaring out at the misty morning lake. A mermaid splashed through the surface. He thought about jumping in, but when he took another look, the surface rippled with the playful shenanigans of its somewhat bloodthirsty inhabitants.
The sun began to peek over the horizon, casting a single strip of gold onto the surface of the water. It shone and glittered, captivating Nico with the way it sparkled on the waves. He remembered watching Will trying to surf on the lake, his board tied to the back of a canoe full of his siblings. They had been shouting, cheering him on loudly, until a mermaid had upended the canoe entirely and jerked the surfboard. For a moment, he’d stayed on, accustomed to surfing and confident in his balance—but then another mermaid jumped up and slammed into the bottom of the surfboard, sending him careening into the lake with windmilling arms and a loud squawk. Nico smiled at the memory, at watching Percy tell the mermaids off while the children of Apollo surfaced and righted their boat, nearly drowning because they were laughing too hard to even swim.
He sighed and looked up, squinting at the sun. His finger drew a little one in the dirt by his side. “Alright,” he murmured. “Thanks, Lord Apollo. I’m gonna go find your son.”
He could have sworn the sun blinked, just for a moment.
With a grunt, he pushed himself off and brushed off his jeans, reaching to adjust his sword only to realize he’d left it in his cabin. How strange; he almost never went out without his sword, especially alone.
He made his way toward the infirmary, hands in his pockets and mind clouded. He didn’t really know what he felt, and for once, he found that he didn’t particularly care. He just wanted Will.
He pushed open the door and paused—what could he even say? Why had he come? He wasn’t injured. They were friends, but did friends go running to each other when they were feeling sad? Nico didn’t know; he’d never really had many friends. He knew already that he liked Will, so much more than a friend, but—he was pretty sure Will liked him too. He’d come in to help cut bandages during Capture the Flag cleanup two weeks before, and out of the corner of his eye, he’d caught Will staring at him. He looked dreamy, leaning on his hand with a soft smile and warm, half-lidded eyes, watching Nico work and letting his gaze roam over Nico’s whole body. It should have made him feel uncomfortable, but instead, it excited him.
Will liked him. Nico could be brave.
He swallowed and looked up, only to freeze as four sets of eyes met his. Percy, Annabeth and Grover stood there, apparently stocking their medical supplies for their coming quest. Will cleared his throat.
“Nico?” he said, catching the son of Hades’ eye. He looked worried, and Nico suddenly found a lump forming in his throat, because—when was the last time someone had worried about him outside of active war? He bit the inside of his lip. Will’s brow furrowed and he stepped forward. “What’s wrong?” he asked, and of course, of course he already knew something was wrong.
Nico shook his head, and, ignoring the trio still quietly holding their bags, he took a few steps forward and reached out for the healer.
Will inhaled sharply and in a moment, warm arms were wrapped around Nico, pulling him into a tight, safe hug. Long fingers ran through dark curls and Nico let himself hide in Will’s shoulder, clutching at the bottom of his bright orange camp shirt.
“Hey,” Will said worriedly, “What happened, Nico? Are you hurt? What’s wrong?”
Nico abandoned his shirt in favor of wrapping his arms tight around the blond’s waist, burying himself further into the embrace. Will pet him gently and tugged him close, swaying side to side on his feet as if trying to rock Nico, to soothe him. Nico felt him look up to the others, who were whispering amongst themselves. He caught his name once or twice, but they had backed up toward the front desk and he couldn’t make out what they were saying. Will stroked his hair again.
“The ambrosia squares are on that shelf,” he whispered. “Take a case or two, just in case. There’s some nectar up there as well. Do you have enough bandages?”
They replied, and in a moment, the door closed with a click and left the infirmary quiet. Will looked back down at Nico, tightening his arms protectively. “Hey,” he murmured, fingers still patiently combing through Nico’s hair. “You wanna talk about it?”
“Not yet,” Nico croaked, shoving his face harder into Will’s neck. Will made a soft sound and kissed his temple, chaste and sweet. “I don’t know.”
“Okay,” he soothed, running a hand up and down Nico’s hip. “Do you want to sit down?”
Nico paused, thinking about it. On the one hand, his legs were feeling kind of shaky and he was in that stage of exhaustion where everything felt a little foggy and his body felt a little too weak. On the other hand, however, there was Will Solace and his warm, safe, wonderful hugs. He squeezed, hugging back as he realized just how nice it felt. Will huffed, something like a soft laugh.
“C’mon, death boy,” he said affectionately. “I’ll carry you.”
“You don’t have to carry me,” Nico said, reluctantly letting his arms drop. “Sorry.”
Will scoffed and half crouched, just enough to get his arms around Nico’s thighs and lift him up into the air. Nico gasped, grabbing at broad shoulders for balance. He glared at the healer, who smiled sweetly up at him. Damn Will Solace and his stupidly nice face. Nico’s anger melted.
“I want to carry you,” Will said like he was correcting him. Nico supposed he was, technically. “Come on. Relax. I’ve got you. We’re just going into the office, okay? I have some stuff to get done there anyway, so we can hide out together and no one will be in for the next two or three hours. Kayla’s in at nine, anyway. She can handle it.”
Nico braced himself for a moment longer on sheer principle, but when Will started moving, he relented with a sigh. He opened his legs to wrap around the healer’s waist, holding on loosely, and lowered his chin to a warm shoulder as he draped his arms around Will’s neck. Will rewarded him with another chaste kiss to his temple and he sighed, closing his eyes as he was carried like a child down the hallway and into a small, windowless room. Will flicked on the light—a nice, cozy orange, just like the fairy lights on his bed and the lamps in the overnight rooms. He settled down on a chair and pulled Nico’s waist, sliding him up his lap until his front was pressed right up against the healer’s. Nico made a soft sound.
“I thought you were going to put me down,” he mumbled. Will hummed, sending vibrations through his chest where it met Nico’s.
“I didn’t think you’d want me to,” he said simply. “And I don’t want to. You’re only this cuddly after nightmares. Just relax, Nico. I’m here.”
Nico melted into him—he loved when Will said things like that. It felt so comforting. He sighed. “I don’t even remember what I dreamed about,” he admitted, nuzzling into Will’s neck and letting a rush of dizziness take him over. “It’s just one of those dreams where… you wake up and you feel, like… screwed up. Like something’s wrong and you—you lost something. I don’t know.”
Will hummed. “Yeah, I get those, too, sometimes,” he said. “They’re really not fun, are they?”
Nico huffed. “No,” he said. “I went to the lake. I was gonna swim, but it was cold and the mermaids are… restless. I tried to calm myself down watching the sunrise.”
“Didn’t work?” Will asked, tilting his head to the side as he rummaged around in a drawer for his papers and pen. Nico shrugged.
“Might have,” he said. “I gave up. I just wanted you. You help me when I have nightmares. I feel safe with you.” He propped his chin on Will’s shoulder, staring at the wall. “Sorry I interrupted you, though. I didn’t know they were here.”
“Oh, honey, don’t apologize,” Will said easily. “They were just worried about you. Annabeth mouthed ‘what’s wrong’ at me and Percy took a couple steps towards you before stopping himself. Even Grover looked worried, and you two have barely even met, really.” He stroked Nico’s hair. “They told me to take care of you and to IM them if anything happened to you. They don’t judge when people break down, least of all you. They just wanted to know you were okay.”
“Oh.” Nico hugged him, leaning his head against the healer’s. “They’re… nice, I guess.” He paused. “You’re nicer, though.”
“Mm, well, I’m a little biased.” Will kissed his shoulder absentmindedly, papers rustling as he finished whatever he was writing. “You’re my favorite, so I treat you special. I like being so nice to you, but I’m not that nice to anybody else.”
“…Your favorite?” Nico felt drowsy, like he was falling asleep. His back hurt, but he didn’t care; he didn’t want to leave Will’s lap. Will made a so-so sound, the kind of Texan noise that could mean anything from ‘not a big deal’ to ‘whatever’ to ‘well, I guess so.’ Nico had gotten pretty good at reading Will’s Texan non-verbal dialects.
“Why wouldn’t you be?” he asked, amusement lilting his voice with warmth. “Do you honestly think that if Katie Gardener came running to my cabin in the middle of the night, that I’d hug her and let her climb into my bed? Do you think I’d cuddle Leo Valdez or kiss Chiara Benvenuti’s face? You have to know you’re special, Nico. I take care of you well beyond what my position demands. I like it when you lean on me. You’re sweet.”
Nico’s heart fluttered, because he’d already known Will liked him, but he’d never bothered to think about that particular point—that Nico already got boyfriend treatment, that Will did things for him that he wouldn’t dare to do for other people. “Thank you,” he mumbled, kicking his legs awkwardly behind the chair. Will stacked the papers on the desk and wrapped his hands around Nico’s thighs, hitching him up again.
“You’re welcome,” he said cheerfully, and stood up to make his way from the file room into one of the healers’ rooms. He kept Nico up in his arms, and Nico let his eyes slide shut, too tired to bother protesting. He rather liked the princess treatment, anyway, and Will liked spoiling him, so who cared? No one was there to see them.
He yawned and felt Will laugh as they turned into the room.
“Nap time for you,” Will said affectionately, setting Nico down gently on the bed. “I’m technically not on shift; I’m only here to stock the questgoers and log the missing medical supplies, which I’ve done, so I’m now free for the rest of the day. You feeling like a movie, or a cup of tea, or do you want to be left alone…?”
Nico shook his head, kicking off his shoes. He paused. “Do you have pajamas?” he asked. “Preferably duck-less, if you don’t mind.”
Will grinned and rummaged through the drawer by the wall. “I’m hearing… cats. How’s cats?” He brandished the pajama set with a flourish. Nico grimaced, but they were black, so he reached out and snatched them with a click of his tongue.
“Could be worse. Could be ducks,” he decided. Will turned around with a laugh, facing away from Nico so he could change in relative privacy. Nico folded his clothes neatly—he’d only worn them for an hour, anyway. He yawned, covering his mouth, and wondered when on Earth he’d become so tired.
“Am I good?” Will asked. Nico blinked.
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “Sorry.” The healer turned to him with a smile. A curl fell into his face. He blew it out of the way somewhat unsuccessfully. Nico reached out without thinking to tuck it behind his ear and Will leaned down into his touch happily. Nico nearly froze when he realized what he’d done, but before he had time to truly feel embarrassed, Will was nudging him in the direction of the bed.
“Come on, cuddlebug,” he said playfully. Nico wrinkled his nose. “Bedtime. I’ll stay.”
“Ugh, don’t call me that,” Nico complained, swatting at the blond’s shoulder lightly. Will pushed him back, sending him tumbling down onto the mattress. “Rude.”
“You hit me first,” Will countered.
“You called me cuddlebug,” Nico said, levelling the son of Apollo with a very unamused look.
Will grinned, flopping down beside him and tilting his head to lock eyes with pooled black. “What would you rather?” he asked. “Snuggle bear?”
“You are so—”
“Cutie-pie?”
“Don’t you dare—”
“Ooh, I know,” Will snickered, and reached out to yank playfully on the hem of Nico’s borrowed shirt. Kitten. How’s that?”
Nico didn’t think he’d ever gone so red so quickly. Will guffawed as the son of Hades snatched a pillow to attack him with. He flailed on the bed, pretending to be mortally wounded as Nico whacked him. At length, the raven dropped the pillow, too tired to keep hitting, and Will’s laughter subsided a bit. He sat up, leaned over, and pressed a kiss to the center of Nico’s forehead.
“You’re sweet,” he said, amusement warming his voice. Nico wondered how even his voice could sound so warm and comforting. “Very cute.”
“I’m not cute,” Nico protested, but there was no heat in the words. Will tilted his head, taking Nico in like he was a painting in a museum. Nico briefly recalled their conversation from before, when Will had called him a work of art.
“Sure,” Will said easily. “You’re adorable. And you’re sleepy, so lay down. How come you’re always so sleepy, hmm?” He tugged the blankets down until Nico climbed under them, then squirmed in beside him and pulled them up over them both. They were cold against Nico’s skin, even through the thin pajamas, and he shivered. Will noticed and held out an arm. “Here, sunshine,” he said softly. “Come here.”
Nico hesitated for a moment, but when Will began to retract his arm, he moved, ducking under it and wedging himself against Will’s warmth. He was so comfortable—so strong and so, so warm. Nico wondered how he ever slept without snuggling up to Will.
“This is why I’m always sleepy,” he mumbled into Will’s chest. “I know what you feel like and then I still have to sleep by myself in the cold and the dark.”
Will melted against him, firm arms sliding comfortably around Nico’s thin frame and pulling him close. He rolled over, then, dragging Nico with him and pulling a gasp from thin lips. It felt even better like that, though, Nico pressed between Will and the wall, sheltered from the rest of the room. He scooted downwards, hiding behind Will’s body and nuzzling into the crook of his neck—a perfect place to slot his frozen nose. Will let out a soft breath.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “I don’t like sleeping alone, either. I like having you here. I don’t worry so much about you when you’re cuddled up with me in my bed.” He kissed the top of Nico’s head lightly. “You’re so cute,” he mumbled. “So little. You’re tiny. I want to squish you.”
“You are squishing me,” Nico complained, but when Will made to pull back, he grabbed hold of the boy’s biceps and held him in place. “I didn’t say stop,” he added. “I like being squished.” He paused again. “And I’m not that small.”
“You’re little next to me,” Will said sweetly, nuzzling into Nico’s curls. “Mm. Y’even smell sweet. Man, I wanna keep you.”
“What am I, a pet?” Nico scoffed, but the words made something blossom in his chest anyway. “You’re weird, Solace.”
“I know,” Will sighed. “I’m usually much more normal, but when you get snuggly and sleepy like this, all my professionalism goes right out the window. You’re too cute for my sanity. Too nice, too. I like when you let your guard down and reach for me.” He buried his face in Nico’s hair, inhaling deeply. “I was so worried, Nico. I’ve never seen you reach out for me like that. I didn’t know what to think when you grabbed onto me.”
“I’m fine,” Nico said. “I was dealing with it alone and I kept going back to you in my head until I was basically just sitting by the lake, pouting. So I gave up and came looking for you instead.” He nuzzled Will’s neck, letting his eyes drift mostly shut. “I wasn’t hurt. I just missed you.”
Will cooed, hugging Nico impossibly tighter, until it was almost hard to breathe. “I missed you too,” he said. “I always miss you.”
Nico hummed softly, too close to sleep to bother with much of a response. “Me too,” he managed, and then he yawned again. Will kissed his head.
“Sweet dreams,” he said warmly. Nico fell asleep.
He woke some time later, still bathed in orange light and the cozy oven of skin-warmed blankets. Will shifted and he startled, a soft hum escaping his throat. Will brushed his hair behind his ear and kissed the corner of his eye.
“Go back to sleep,” he whispered. “It’s alright, darling. I have to go help Kayla for a little while.”
Nico stretched, arching his back in a lean bow as he put his arms above his head. Will’s fingers traced his spine, making him shiver, and then pulled away. Slowly, Nico pushed himself up, rubbing his eye with the heel of his hand. Will smiled at him.
“Not gonna sleep?” he asked. Nico leaned forward, nestling his cheek into the joint at Will’s shoulder and chest. Will wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close. “Hmm?”
“Won’t sleep tonight if I sleep all day,” Nico murmured. “I like naps, but I do need to get used to nighttime sleeping.”
Will hummed. “You know,” he said, “You could just come and sleep in my cabin. I don’t mind, and no one’s going to tell Chiron. Even if they did, I’m sure I could write you a doctor’s note. You’ve had some pretty horrible nightmares. Sometimes you even cry. It takes a lot to make you cry.”
Nico sighed again, leaning further into Will’s embrace. “Sometimes,” he said. “But I can’t always sleep with you. Otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep without you, and that’s not good for either of us. Why do you have to go help Kayla?”
Will rolled his eyes. “Sword-fighting class in the arena. Thirteen-to-fifteen-year age group. Clarisse taught.”
“Ah,” Nico said, nodding. For a minute, they stayed still, warm and comfortable against each other. Then Will sighed and reluctantly pulled away, leaving Nico’s whole side cold. Nico scrunched up his nose and reached for his clothes. “Why does it have to be so cold?” he complained. Will tossed him a sweater from the drawers.
“Here,” he said. “Take my hoodie. I can get it from you later.” He paused. “Or you can keep it, wear it around camp. If you want. That’d be fine. If you wore it around outside. You know, ‘cause you never wear enough layers.”
Nico snorted as he pulled it over his head. “Yes, William,” he said teasingly, “I will wear your sweater outside and let people see me in it. Do you have one with your name on it? Get your point across quicker?”
Will’s eyes flared with heat, just for a second—something possessive and wanting. It died out in a single blink, but it was enough to make something curl happily in Nico’s stomach. He had a sneaking suspicion that he kind of liked the idea of belonging to Will. Not so much as his property, but as his. Taken. He wanted to be able to say he was taken by Will.
“I wish,” Will said, grinning sheepishly. “Alas, cabin seven is about the closest I’ve got.”
Nico hummed. “Shame. You’ll have to get one made for you,” he joked.
Will spluttered a little, red-faced, and shooed Nico out the door. “Go on!” he said, embarrassed. “Go do something productive.”
Nico leaned up and, through a snicker, kissed the healer’s cheek. “Bye,” he whispered, and dashed outside before he could even see Will’s face. He nearly ran straight into a couple of whisper-laughing nymphs, who stared at him with large, round eyes. An idea flickered to life in Nico’s mind, and he cleared his throat, stepping back to give the aurae some space.
“Do you know anything about picnics?” he asked. They exchanged glances and nodded, smiles spreading slowly across their elfin faces. Nico took a deep breath. “Would you mind helping me with something?” he asked. “There’s… there’s someone I want to ask on a date.”
The nymphs beamed.
1: Role-Reversal
Nico startled awake and sat up, blinking in the darkness. Three heavy thuds came from the front door of the pitch-black Hades cabin. He groaned and swung his legs out of bed, barely pausing to snatch a pair of briefs from the dresser. The banging started again and he grumbled under his breath.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” he called, and yanked the door open. “What?”
Will Solace stood at the door, shivering and soaking wet, hair plastered to his forehead. “Oh, thank the gods,” he rasped, and suddenly Nico was enveloped in an uncomfortably warm and wet hug, made all the worse by his current state of undress.
“Uh—uh, Solace, I have… I have so many questions,” he said. Will pulled back, and Nico took a good look at him. He was pale and shaky, eyes red and shirt absolutely drenched. “Oh—my gods, okay, come inside right now before you fucking freeze, will you? Jesus. Go—go take a shower, I think Frank left some clothes here last time he and Hazel visited. I-I’ll dig out something you can wear, just take those off! You’re soaked, it’s storming, why did you come here in this weather?”
“You’re… naked.” Will stared at him and Nico wrapped his arms around his middle, suddenly self-conscious. “I just hugged you and you’re naked.”
“Well, I was dead asleep,” Nico said defensively, snagging a blanket to wrap around himself. “I was sleeping, you know, when you barged into my cabin looking like you’ve seen a ghost, drenched from the rain and acting mad!”
Will wrinkled his nose and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. I’m sorry I hugged you naked. I mean, I’m not, you’re stunning, you’re really—like, you’re perfect, really, but I definitely should have let you put clothes on first.”
Nico stared at him, growing more concerned by the second. “Do I—do I have to come help you? Are you sick or cursed or something? I’ve never seen you like this.”
Will ran a hand through his hair, trembling. “I had a nightmare,” he said. “That we fought, and you left, and then we sent out search parties, and they brought you back dead. And I never got to say goodbye, and you were gone, and the—the last thing we ever did was fight, and I had to come and see you. I—can I stay with you tonight, Nico?”
Nico blinked. “Holy shit, we’re even,” he said. Will gave him the dirtiest look Nico had ever seen on his handsome features. He grinned and reached out, taking the healer’s hand in his own. “Here,” he said, and pressed Will’s palm to his chest, right over his heartbeat.
Will’s eyes drifted downward and locked onto his hand. Nico’s heart stuttered and he tilted his head, leaning closer. He made to hug Nico, but the son of Hades stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Don’t get me wet,” he said quietly. “You’re cold. It’s cold outside.”
Will pulled his shirt off and dropped it on the floor. Nico pushed him lightly towards the bathroom. “Shower, dork,” he insisted. “Hot shower. Then I will hug you, I promise.” Reluctantly, Will backed off and headed for the shower, not bothering to shut the door. Nico picked up his discarded shirt and tossed it in the dryer, detouring to the bathroom once the water started to pick up the rest of his clothes.
“What are you doing?” Nico had to remind himself not to turn toward the source of that lovely, familiar voice. He grabbed Will’s shorts, socks and underwear and straightened.
“Drying your clothes for tomorrow so you don’t get sick,” he said smoothly. “Because I know you’re going to wear them back to your cabin tomorrow, dry or not, and it takes very little effort on my part.”
Will hummed. “You’re so sweet. I don’t deserve you.”
“What do you mean, deserve me?” Nico asked. “You think I keep you around because I think you’re worthy of me?”
“I’m sure I am in some way, but you’re just nice.”
“Not a lot of people say I’m nice,” Nico said. “Peasant.”
“I take it back,” Will called as Nico started the dryer. “You’re the worst.”
“See if I hug you now,” Nico called back. The shower shut off, and a minute later, way too much warm skin wrapped around Nico’s body from behind. Will buried his face in the back of Nico’s neck, and as Nico leaned back, he felt—
He sucked in a breath. “You’re naked,” he choked. Will hummed.
“You took my clothes. I dried off with the towel, though. Anyway, you’re naked, too. Does it matter?”
“I have underwear on,” Nico muttered. “At least let me get you that. Your—you’re kind of pressing into me.”
“Sorry,” Will said. “Don’t mean to do anything. Just wanna feel you. That you’re still here, y’know? I woke up and I—I thought I’d lost you so soon after I got you. I mean, seriously, we haven’t even been dating six months, yet. I don’t wanna lose you. I had to make sure.”
“Yeah, I know,” Nico admitted. “But seriously, if you’re sleeping in my bed, I need you to have underwear at least.”
“Of course,” Will agreed, and backed off so Nico could go and dig through Hazel’s vacant drawers to find a pair of Frank’s. Will wasn’t as big as Frank, but he wasn’t nearly as skinny as Nico, so the son of Hades decided Frank’s underwear was probably the better option. He tossed them back at the older boy without looking and decided he’d feel better with some pajama pants.
“Thank you,” Will said, and once they were both dressed, he attached himself to Nico’s back again, this time with underwear on. Nico squirmed, but let himself be hugged.
“You’re so clingy,” he muttered, tugging roughly on the arm wrapped around his waist. “It’s literally one in the morning. We’re going to bed. Or, I am. Join me or don’t, but goodnight.”
Will laughed and scooped him up, lifting him off the ground entirely. Nico squawked, flailing around, but he was dropped on the bed before he could get a grip on anything. Will crawled over him and slid down, pressing his body against Nico’s. Their skin slid together in a way that made Nico’s heart race in his chest. Will pushed his arms under Nico’s back, forcing him to arch his spine just a little bit, and rested his head on a thin chest.
“Clingy,” Nico murmured, but ran his fingers through the older boy’s hair, petting him like Will had done to him before. Will hummed into his pectoral and moved, kissing the dip of his chest lightly.
“I like your heartbeat,” he said. His fingers traced Nico’s spine and lightning ran through the raven’s body, making him shudder. “I like how it speeds up when I touch you. I don’t wanna have a big fight with you like that, Nico. Maybe a little one, but not a huge, relationship-ending fight. Not about anything.”
“Khakis should not stay on during sex,” Nico asserted, a tiny, playful argument in a desperate attempt to make Will laugh. It worked: Will spluttered a giggle into his skin and pushed himself up, weighing Nico down with warmth and comfort.
“You just haven’t had good sex,” he reasoned. “Way better with the—I don’t know, the chafing on the backs of your thighs.”
“Like you have experience.”
“And you do!?”
“I’ve had sex,” Nico said. Will lifted his head to fix Nico with a part upset, part angry, part betrayed face, mouth half-open as if he was about to say something—maybe demand an explanation—but when he saw Nico’s expression, the look melted into a suspicious squint.
“You’re a terrible liar,” he said, and relaxed again. Nico chuckled, playing idly with Will’s curls.
“You believed me for a second, though.”
“Asshole.” Will squeezed him. Nico felt drunk. He felt high, floaty and tired and warm and full of life, because he’d lied that he’d had sex and his boyfriend, his wonderful boyfriend, all of his firsts, had been incandescently jealous of some faceless stranger, just for a second.
“Sorry.” Nico squirmed. “I really don’t even know what sex is. I’ve never done anything like that. I don’t want to, yet.” He kissed Will’s forehead lightly. “Roll over. I’m not built like you. You’re heavy.”
“You want the wall?” Will asked, pushing himself up on toned arms. Without thinking, Nico curled his fingers around one of his wrists and turned his head to press a soft kiss to the fluttering pulse point that lay just beneath the skin there. Will stilled, staring down at him with wide blue eyes. Nico smiled, feeling safe and carefree.
“Hi,” he said softly, and nuzzled against Will’s wrist, feeling stark veins against the bridge of his nose. Will moved, taking his weight off his hand and turning it to cradle Nico’s cheek in his palm lovingly.
“Hi,” he whispered back. “You’re beautiful.”
Nico gave him a small smile and a sleepy hum, rubbing his cheek into Will’s palm. He wanted Will to kiss him. He didn’t know how to ask.
“Sleep,” he murmured instead, rolling onto his left side. Will softened further and laid down behind him, fitting an arm under Nico’s wild-haired head.
“You need a haircut,” he mumbled, nosing under the curls until his lips brushed the back of Nico’s neck. He wrapped an arm tight around his boyfriend’s waist and pulled him in tightly, kissing the back of his shoulder. “You’re so pretty, Nico. You’re stronger than anyone I know, you’re brave, you’re hilarious and kind and tough and sweet, gods, so sweet to me. Sometimes I… I look at you, and I can’t believe you actually like me, of all people. I’m… so lucky. I really am. I like you so much.”
Nico blushed, like he always did when Will professed his ample adoration, and rolled over. He nuzzled into the crook of Will’s neck and wiggled himself tightly into every crevice of his boyfriend’s body. Will hugged him, immediately faceplanting into the nest of curls atop Nico’s head, and melted as Nico embraced him.
“You… you’re good,” he said quietly. “I like you because you’re good. You made me feel safe, and important, and cared for and even happy. I forgot how to feel happy for a long time, Will. I thought I couldn’t, for a while. But you make me happy. You make me… I don’t know. You make me want you. I think about you all the time. I always want to see you. Remember before we started dating, when I had that weird nightmare, and I went to find you?”
Will hummed adoringly. “Oh, you were so sweet,” he crooned. “I didn’t want to let go of you. You were so cuddly.”
Nico smiled into his neck and pressed a shy kiss to his clavicle. “I went to you because you make me feel safe,” he admitted. “You make me feel good, even when I’m scared or just grey. You’re my safe place, Will. You’re the only one who ever made me feel that way. Of course I like you.” He hugged his boyfriend and hummed softly when Will hugged him back, littering kisses over his curls and crown. “You’re my boyfriend,” he added shyly, softening his voice to make Will’s heart beat a little faster. The beats quickened under his cheek. Nico grinned.
“I’m your boyfriend,” Will agreed, voice tinged with awe. “I’m gonna take care of you, Nico. Forever, as long as you’ll have me.”
Nico snuggled into him, rubbing his cheek absently against the ink on his lover’s chest. “Forever, then,” he murmured. Will’s heart skipped a beat or two, stuttering and quick beneath his skin. Nico beamed into his chest, curling close to him as he closed his heavy eyelids. “Goodnight, Will.”
“Sweet dreams,” Will whispered. Nico nodded and reached up, flattening his palms against his boyfriend’s warm back. He squeezed, hugging him tightly, and Will exhaled as the sentiment reached him. Nico didn’t need to say it out loud.
As long as you’re here, his embrace said.
They fell asleep in each other’s arms, curled together beneath a blanket of darkness and warmth, soothed by the silence of the night and the rush of one another’s breaths.
And in that gentle moment, Nico dreamed of Will Solace’s golden hands.