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Nico had almost been excited for Capture the Flag, since Will was technically off-duty and would be joining the game that night. He’d been excited to kick his boyfriend’s ass, honestly, but Will liked playing rough with him, too, and they scuffled all the time. They were boys, after all.
But there had been so many little fights, and time flew so fast, and Nico had been so gods damned occupied trying to find his stupid boyfriend before the end of the game that he’d forgotten to watch his surroundings, and a kid from Hecate had popped out of fucking nowhere and slashed Nico’s thigh right open on his very much too-big sword.
Nico stumbled into a tree, disarming the kid with one twist of his wrist. He squinted—was that fucker wearing RED!?
“We are on the same team!” he spluttered, pressing down on his leg. “Motherf—” he cut himself off, breathing through gritted teeth. Darkness crept in at the edges of his vision and he clenched his jaw harder. That wasn’t nearly enough blood loss to make someone faint, which meant… He looked back at the kid and glared, making him cower back against the cliff face. “Is that sword cursed?” he asked. “Because if I’m about to pass out, I need to get out of here now to avoid the myrmekes.”
The boy nodded, round eyed, and Nico cursed under his breath. He straightened up, sheathed his sword, and set off for camp at the fastest limp he could manage. By the time he collapsed, he could see the tree line—and then, suddenly, he could see nothing but darkness.
He wasn’t unconscious.
He was fucking blind.
“You have got to be kidding me,” he grumbled, only to stop dead as icy dread seeped through his chest. “Hello?” He gulped. “HELLO!?” Nothing answered him; not even his own voice. He was blind and deaf.
Suddenly, there were two sets of rough hands seizing his arms. He yelped, trying to shake them off as they dragged him upright. “Where are you—fuck!” he screamed, but though it stung his throat, he heard nothing but total silence. He squirmed, writhing, but whoever had him just held on tighter, dragging him across the grass. He stumbled twice, trying and failing to fight—what direction were they going? Were they taking him to jail? Was the game over? Were they bringing him to Will? Who were they?
“I can’t see or hear you!” he snapped, suddenly realizing that he should probably explain. Unfortunately, if he couldn’t hear himself, there was no guarantee that he hadn’t been muted as well. There was a high possibility that anything he said was too slurred to be understood, or that it was silenced straight from his mouth. “Who are you!?” Predictably, there was no answer. The grass changed to wood, and Nico found himself being manhandled onto a bed that was way too soft to be an infirmary bed. The hands on his arms held him down and he struggled, trying to throw them off.
“Stop it!” he tried to scream. His throat moved around the words, but he couldn’t hear himself speak. The darkness didn’t let up, and neither did the hands. He managed to get one hand free, twisting his body into a contorted arch and yanking his arm out of the wiry grasp.
He balled up his fist, ready to throw a punch in the direction of the other person—and then someone cupped his face.
He froze, momentarily stunned. The hands that touched his cheeks were warm and calloused, gentle where the thumbs brushed against his cheekbones. Nico inhaled and smelled the eucalyptus antiseptic they used in the infirmary, along with a whiff of lake air and sunshine. He exhaled shakily.
“Will?” he asked tentatively, still without sound. The hands moved his head up and down once. Nico shivered. “What’s happening? I can’t see or hear anything. I’m scared! Who’s holding me?”
Will’s hands slid down his neck to his shoulders, where they squeezed gently. The hands gripping Nico’s arms vanished. He gulped. Will turned his arm over and pressed a fingertip into his skin.
P, he traced. Nico swallowed.
“Percy?” he asked in the silence. It was unnerving, being unable to hear his own voice. Will stroked his cheek again. A was next and Nico relaxed a bit, leaning into his boyfriend’s touch. “Pery and Annabeth,” he breathed in relief. “You scared me, you assholes.” He reached out blindly and his hand smacked right into the healer’s mouth. He flinched, but Will just smiled under his palm. He took Nico’s hands and guided them to his cheeks, and Nico traced the contours of his face. “It is you,” he mumbled. Will nodded slowly.
Carefully, Will reached for him, warm hands sliding along his arms and down his sides to grip at his waist. He pulled, very carefully, readjusting until he could drag Nico into his lap. He pulled Nico’s back to his chest and inhaled deeply. Nico mimicked him, breathing deep and slow.
Will cupped his jaw and turned his head to the side, one arm sliding around his waist to hold him down, keeping him from swaying without his bearings. Chapped lips pressed against Nico’s forehead. The silence remained, but Nico felt those lips moving against his skin. He sniffed.
“I can’t hear you,” he said, and he didn’t know if Will could hear him, either. “What’s going on?”
Warmth enveloped his hand—Will’s grip, guiding his hand down to his own thigh. Nico gulped at the sticky feeling that met his fingertips there. The sword. That stupid kid had cut him, that was right. He’d forgotten in his panic, but the dull, throbbing ache of it flooded his senses. Calloused fingertips stroked the back of his hand, then moved to press lightly beside the wound. Nico sucked in a breath.
Will tapped him once, then traced against his thigh, fingers hot and rough and gentle. Y. He tapped again, twice in quick succession, and traced, N. Nico blew out a controlled breath.
“Once for yes, twice for no…?” he guessed. Will kissed his cheek, smiling against his skin. Nico snuggled back against him, suddenly desperate for the grounding feeling of his boyfriend’s solid warmth all around him. “Did that sword do this to me?”
One tap. Nico nodded slowly, clutching Will’s forearm around his waist and tracing the woven bands of the braided leather bracelet around his wrist. They were cool to the touch and smooth, sliding beneath his fingers not unlike a snake. He dragged his touch to the inside of Will’s wrist, feeling out his pulse. It beat slow and steady, throbbing gently beneath Nico’s own fingertips, a warm press of life. A bit of hair brushed against his fingers, too, and Nico had never noticed that Will had arm hair before. Will kissed the base of his neck, soft and loving. Nico leaned into it. The hand on his squeezed before traveling back down to his leg, touching his thigh and working gently into the tear in his jeans. It rubbed a circle next to the wound, then went still. Nico inhaled and exhaled, focusing on the feeling of his chest expanding.
“You—” he paused when he heard only silence. There was simply no way to get used to not hearing his own voice, even when he could feel it leaving his throat. “You want to heal me?”
One tap. Those lips brushed the underside of his jaw, then his cheek, then his temple. Nico’s lip quivered. “Okay. How big?” The hand closed around his, guiding him to the top of the wound to feel it for himself. It slid down his leg, helping him map out the damage, and when Nico tried to visualize it, he hissed through his teeth at the size. “Oh.”
Will’s fingers moved to his belt. Nico flinched when they tugged on it, but he gripped Will’s warm forearm and gritted his teeth, knowing his boyfriend couldn’t reach the wound with his pants on.
“Okay, this is officially my least favorite experience in camp,” he whispered, wondering if Will could even hear him. “If the other two are still here, could they leave, now? I don’t want to sit here blind and deaf in my underwear in front of them, if possible.”
A hand squeezed his ankle and he jumped. The bed dipped. Nico waited for a bit, until Will’s hands resumed unbuckling his belt.
“Are they gone?” he asked. One tap. Will kissed his temple. Nico nodded, leaning back against him. “Please be gentle. I can’t see or hear you and I’m scared, Will. Go slow.”
One tap, then strong fingers wrapped around his wrist and brought his hand up for chapped lips to press against. Nico shivered. He had no idea where those hands were going to touch him, and the loss of control felt frighteningly vulnerable.
One of Will’s hands glided down his unharmed thigh, squeezing gently. Nico jumped; had Will’s hands always been so big? He’d never really noticed before.
He blew out a long, silent (or maybe not, he had no idea) breath and leaned back, letting his head fall onto his boyfriend’s shoulder. Will kissed the base of his throat with a long, firm press of lips, as if he was determined to make sure Nico could feel exactly where every part of his body was. Nico appreciated it. He lifted a hand and felt around the air until he managed to find Will’s hair, where he tried to thread his fingers through—but then an iron grip was on his wrist, pulling him away. He made some aborted sound of complaint, wondering if Will would ever understand that, and those dry lips pressed to the inside of his wrist, to his fluttering pulse. Will touched Nico’s hand to his leg, and Nico exhaled again.
“Oh,” he whispered. “The blood. I have blood on me.” One tap and another kiss. “Have you started?” Two taps, then Will’s lips curved into a smile against Nico’s throat. He stopped moving for a second. “Why haven’t you done it…?” Nico asked, struggling to tell if his voice was loud enough. Will took his hand again and dragged it over his pants until he reached the zipper. Then he pressed Nico’s hand down, and—Nico froze.
He was hard? How? He squirmed, but Will’s hands pressed into his thighs and held him down, stroking at the inside of them in a soothing manner. Nico squirmed even more at that.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, embarrassed. “I don’t know how this happened. I swear. Blood loss?” Will shook his head against the crook of Nico’s neck. A hand spread out against his heart. Then those rough fingers were back on his arm, tracing out slow letters.
W… A… N… T… H… E…L…P…?
Nico groaned. “Uh… do I… want help? Is that what you said?” One tap. Nico nodded. “Okay. Yes, please, help would be great.”
Will kissed his jaw again. Nico waited, bracing himself for the feeling of fingers in his cut—only to gasp and shudder as they slid into his underwear and wrapped around his penis, instead. He was pretty sure he whimpered, leaning back into Will’s shoulder as the hand tightened. Oh. Oh. That kind of help. Well, oops, that hadn’t been what Nico meant. He opened his mouth, about to clarify, but then Will’s hand ran up his length, squeezing just right, and all that left his mouth was a weak-feeling moan. He clung to his boyfriend’s arm.
Callouses made from pens, materials, hard work and skill rubbed roughly against his frenulum, teasing it as nimble fingers worked their way around his shaft. He panted, curling forward only to be pulled back. Will’s left hand slid down his thigh and squeezed, rubbing circles into the soft skin near his groin, and Nico arched his back, accidentally pushing up into the tight grip Will had on his slippery cock. They’d never done anything like this. They’d never even gotten too handsy over the clothes during their makeout sessions—this was altogether new territory.
And Nico was almost ashamed of how much he loved it.
“Will,” he choked. Will’s grip tightened and Nico moaned again, letting his head drop back on his boyfriend’s shoulder as the steady strokes sped up. Will kissed his jaw, then trailed more kisses down his neck until he reached Nico’s shoulder. He bit down gently, making Nico shudder, and dragged his teeth up the smooth column of the boy’s exposed throat. Nico let out what he thought was a cry—seconds later, Will’s hand squeezed his thigh and then slid up his body and pressed over his mouth. Nico got the message. Be quiet.
He whimpered, turning his face into Will’s neck, and closed his eyes—at least that way it felt intentional.
Will’s hand slowed and he groaned in frustration, arching his hips to chase the feeling. Will grinned into his hair as he pressed another kiss there. Nico choked when his thumb slid up to rub back and forth over his slit, making him wetter and wetter by the second. He squirmed, and Will held him down.
The hand left his mouth and traveled down his neck, squeezing gently as if to ground him. It came to rest on his chest—Nico inhaled, shaking as he tried to breathe. Will was reminding him to breathe, right? In and out, slow—fuck! Will moved, his fingernail scraping the bead of Nico’s nipple through the thin material of his worn shirt, and a shock arced through Nico’s whole body. He threw his head back and gasped, trying to keep his voice down—an incredibly difficult task, given that he couldn’t hear himself—as Will played with him like a toy, plucking his strings as easily as if Nico were a favorite guitar of his, one he knew exactly where to strum to make the best music.
“Please,” Nico whispered, shuddering when Will traced a slow circle around his nipple and stroked him slowly. “Please, Will.”
Will bit down lightly beneath his jaw, letting his tongue trail down Nico’s strained throat. The son of Hades whined, pressing up into the touch as his whole body shivered and arched away from Will. The healer grinned, pressing wet, biting kisses along the length of his throat. Nico tipped his head back even farther, trying to encourage Will to kiss him more.
He gasped when Will sped up, jerking helplessly in his lap as that huge, hot hand gripped him firmly and pumped him up and down, fast enough that Nico wondered dazedly if Will’s hand would be okay later. He felt his boyfriend’s mouth moving against his neck, forming words he couldn’t hear, and shuddered hard.
“Will, Will, I’m too—I’m so—I’m gonna—” he panted frantically, clawing at Will’s forearm. His other hand flailed until it found purchase on Will’s thigh, where he latched on and held as he approached the precipice he’d fallen over only a few times in his miserable life. “Please, please, please,” he whispered, feeling wrecked. Tears beaded in his eyes, hot and heavy against his waterline, and the warmth of them faded into ice as they spilled down his cheek when he blinked. When had he opened his eyes? It didn’t matter—he couldn’t see. He couldn’t see or hear, couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. All that existed was Will’s scent, Will’s warmth, Will’s mouth on his neck and hand working sinfully between his legs, Will’s breath on his skin and fingers playing with his nipples, Will, Will, Will!
“I can’t,” Nico choked in silence, and when Will flicked his wrist, sending shocks of pleasure up his boyfriend’s spine while his free hand tweaked Nico’s other nipple to light him up, he cried out and fell apart. He shook and shivered, arching his back as his toes curled and Will’s hands, his fucking hands gripped him, one on his thigh and the other flying over his length, stripping his cock into an oversensitive measure of bliss that Nico had never experienced in his life. Will kept him coming and coming, stroking and teasing and licking, sucking, biting at him until he went limp against his boyfriend’s chest, whining at the overstimulation.
Will slowed down, then carefully pulled away. He shifted Nico’s pants off and laid him down on the bed—was there a towel under him? Of course there was, there was a giant sword slash on his thigh—with a gentle kiss to his forehead. He stroked Nico’s cheek, wiping the mess away, and Nico realized somewhat belatedly that he was drooling.
He lifted a hand and knocked into his own jaw before he managed to wipe his mouth. His cheeks felt hot. He wondered if he was blushing.
Will pulled away and Nico was pretty sure he yelped, though he couldn’t quite hear the sound. He didn’t know where his boyfriend had gone—did he look weird? Was Will leaving? Was Will jerking off? Rude, Nico would help after he could see and hear again.
Before Nico could even gather the breath to call out, Will was back at his side, holding Nico’s hip in one hand and lifting his entire lower half as if it were nothing. He scooted forward until he was kneeling on the bed with Nico’s legs draped around his waist—then he shifted, petting his boyfriend’s stomach almost playfully as he turned sideways. Nico moaned in relief as warm, gentle hands landed on either end of his cut and the familiar vibration of Will’s healing songs shivered through the muscles, loosening and re-binding them together in a slow, gentle knit of warmth.
“I feel like a sweater,” Nico muttered as his skin was lovingly knitted into place. He closed his eyes, suddenly overcome by the whiteness of his surround—oh.
Nico shot upright, blinking quickly as the room returned—blurry, then solid, and when Nico scrubbed his eyes to rid them of tears and get them working, the room finally cleared around him. He blinked a few more times before finally locking eyes with bright azure blue.
Will smiled, looking like an angel with his shining blond curls and perfect white teeth and red, kiss-bitten lips and gold-tanned skin. “Hi,” he said, and Nico nearly sobbed because his voice was low and warm and a little amused, just the voice Nico wanted.
He cleared his throat. “Hi,” he croaked, and reached out with shaky arms. Will cooed and reached for him, pulling him back up into his lap, and Nico didn’t even care that he was in his underwear. Will stroked his hair and pressed a kiss to his cheek, just below his eye.
“Don’t cry,” he murmured. “Don’t cry, pretty baby. Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”
Nico shook his head and leaned into Will’s chest, pressing his face into the base of his neck. “When you asked if I wanted help, I thought you meant with the cut,” he muttered. Will froze, his whole body tensing like a stone under Nico’s weight.
“Oh, no,” Will breathed. “You… you did? I thought—oh my gods, Nico, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have—we should have talked about it first. I should have just healed you, I’m so sorry.”
Nico nuzzled under his jaw. “I was surprised, but I didn’t hate it,” he said, smiling. “I feel good. That felt good.” His let his hands slide up Will’s arms and wrap around his neck. “I’m surprised you did that with me blind and deaf and bleeding out,” he sighed, stretching like a satisfied cat. “That’s not like you at all.”
Will cleared his throat awkwardly, hugging Nico against him as he shuffled back to lean on the wall and drew his knees up against his boyfriend’s back. “Well,” he said, embarrassed, “I wasn’t sure if healing the cut would bring back your senses—curses are tricky; sometimes they’re linked to the physical wound and sometimes they’re a residual thing that you have to get someone to physically undo. And you were squirming so much, I was scared I would end up jamming a finger into your cut and hurting you.” He cleared his throat again. “Also,” he half-squeaked, cut off by a voice crack that made Nico smile into his neck, “You didn’t see yourself. You were—you were all glassy-eyed and panting and making these little noises—did you even know you were whimpering? It was—it was pretty hot. I kinda, uh, got distracted.”
“Hmm,” Nico said, nuzzling him again. “It was your hands. They’re big and warm. I always knew about that; I love your hands. But I could only feel, and they were all over me and I didn’t know where you were going to touch me next—and I could feel your callouses, and how rough your palms were and how strong your grip was on my thigh, and then you held me down, and I really never thought about what I’m into, but you’re at the top of the list.” He half-purred, melting into Will’s chest. “I like when you touch me,” he said contentedly, and yawned. “Gods, that was so hot.”
“Yeah,” Will whispered, dragging his fingers through Nico’s hair. Nico hummed against his neck. “Yeah, it was pretty hot.”
Nico cracked an eye open and pulled back, sitting up in Will’s lap and leaning back against his knees. Will’s hands found his and Nico held onto them, smiling as Will swayed him playfully back and forth.
“Do you… want me to help you out?” asked the son of Hades, tilting his head to the side as his eyes flicked down to his boyfriend’s crotch and back up. Will blushed, that lovely pink dusting over his cheekbones that always made Nico want to kiss him.
“No,” Will said, embarrassed. “It’ll—it’ll go away. You need to rest.” He paused, narrowing his eyes at Nico. “And by that, I mean, I need you to rest. You lost a lot of blood, and… um, other… bodily fluids… and you fought earlier and had a mild panic attack. You need sleep.” He paused. “And the mood has… sort of passed. I really just want to cuddle with you.”
“You don’t have to say I ‘lost bodily fluids,’ honey,” Nico deadpanned. “You can say I came my brains out. You’ve earned bragging rights. It was good.”
Will spluttered. “You—that—!” He scoffed. “You are a lot more open about this than I thought you’d be!”
Nico grabbed Will’s stupidly beautiful face in his hands and kissed him, smushing their lips together nearly hard enough to hurt. He rubbed their noses together when he pulled back and smiled, pecking him twice more before speaking.
“I trusted you enough to touch me,” he said softly. “If I couldn’t talk about it with you, then I wouldn’t have been ready to do it with you. I can be open. I trust you. And I love you.” He smiled. “We’ve been dating for two and a half years. You literally walked through Hell for me; I figured sex was going to happen at some point.”
Will coughed, redder than a tomato, and quickly kissed Nico again. Nico’s hands slid down to his chest and he grinned into his boyfriend’s kiss when he felt the speed at which it raced. He pressed into the contact, tilting his head and melting as far into Will’s body as he could get without actually dissolving. Will’s heart hammered under his palm, so he opened his mouth and licked at the healer’s lips.
Will let him in and kissed back, tangling a hand through Nico’s hair as they made out languidly. Nico cupped the back of his boyfriend’s neck and deepened the kiss, letting out a soft moan into Will’s mouth. Will shuddered under him, and Nico felt electric heat zip through his gut, excited and hungry.
“Let me touch you,” he whispered, lips brushing Will’s before he dove back in and surrendered himself, dragging Will up into him and letting him take control of the kiss. Will let out a strained, desperate sound, half a whimper and half a moan as his hips bucked against his will. He exhaled, and even that was stuttered and shaky.
“Sorry,” he whispered. Nico bit his lip playfully, tugging on it. Will chased him into another wet kiss, licking into his mouth hot and desperate, and Nico preened at the attention.
“I like it,” he whispered back, and rocked his hips down. His ass rubbed against the bulge in Will’s cargo shorts and Nico grinned into Will’s kisses as the son of Apollo groaned. Will dropped his head, returning to Nico’s neck for the second time, and Nico tangled a hand in his hair to press him closer.
“Is this okay?” Will asked, and Nico almost purred, because of course his shy boyfriend had to ask about everything since he’d made one mistake.
“Yes,” he hissed, rolling his hips down again. He swallowed, lost in pleasure as he began to harden in his briefs again. He debated what to say for a moment before grinning and lowering his head to pant in Will’s ear. “Leave marks,” he whispered. “Show them I’m yours.”
Will jerked under him, snapping his hips unintentionally even as his jaw clamped down hard enough to draw a wanton moan from Nico’s lips.
“Nico,” he whined. “You can’t just—I’m nervous, you ass. I’ve never done anything like this before. You’re my first serious relationship.”
Nico beamed and slowed his hips, pulling Will’s head up to his and kissing him slow and deep and soft, lips on lips moving in perfect, gentle tandem. “I love you,” he whispered, rubbing his nose against Will’s. “Do you want to stop?”
Will swallowed, eyes darting between Nico’s. He blinked. “No,” he said uncertainly. Nico stroked his hair adoringly, tucking curls behind his ears and brushing them away from his beautiful blue eyes.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “I don’t wanna push you. I can wait. I wasn’t even planning to start anything today.” He smiled and pressed a kiss to Will’s forehead, and his heart swelled when Will hugged him close and rested his head against a pale shoulder. Will kissed his collarbone.
“…Is it okay if we stop here?” he asked. “It’s not that I’m not ready. I am ready—I wouldn’t have jerked you off if I wasn’t. I’m just… too tired? Like, I know I’m hard, but it’s just because I got to see you get off at my hands and I—you know I have a possessive streak. I liked that; watching you. I like pleasuring you. But today I worked the morning shift and then helped in and after Capture the Flag, and then you were hurt and I saw you screaming on the way here, fighting, and you couldn’t see or hear and I was so worried about you, and then you were hard, you were so horny because of me, because I was touching you, and… it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster of a day.”
His eyes were wide and anxious, but not apologetic. Nico kissed his nose and shifted, leaving his position of straddling Will’s lap to bring both legs to the left and snuggle back into his boyfriend’s arms.
“Of course,” he said sweetly. “It’s okay.” He yawned. “You’re right about me needing sleep, anyway.” He smiled and kissed Will’s cheek, chaste and adoring. “Wanna go to bed early instead?”
Will smiled back and kissed him, pressing little pecks against his lips and cheeks and forehead and temples and nose until Nico was curled into a ball in his lap, intermittently snickering and squawking with laughter, and they were both grinning wide enough to make their cheeks hurt.
“An early night sounds perfect,” Will said. He sounded relieved. Nico hugged him, and when Will’s arm encircled his waist, he let himself be dragged up the bed and tucked in. He pulled his shirt off and threw it onto the floor in the vague direction of the basket and yawned widely, relaxing into the pillows as Will stripped himself down. He opened the drawer where his and Nico’s pajama pants were—he always had some of his things in the Hades cabin, nowadays—and paused. For a moment, he stared at it; then he turned back to Nico.
“Would you be okay with sleeping naked together?” he blurted, blushing again. “Just… one step at a time?”
Nico squirmed out of his underwear and threw them into the basket in answer. Will relaxed, shoulders dropping as he smiled. Nico smiled back at him, and Will rid himself of his boxers and climbed into bed beside him, ushering him back towards the wall.
“Will?” Nico said, turning onto his side so Will could spoon him. Will nuzzled the back of his neck.
“Hmm?”
“I love you.” Nico found his boyfriend’s hand and tangled their fingers together, pulling it up to his own chest. “I can wait forever. I know you waited a whole year to kiss me. I just—there’s no rush, you know? I don’t mind if you just want to touch me, or if you want to wait, or if you want to do more together, or even if you’re… I forget the word Reyna told me. I think it’s asexual? If you never want me to touch you, that’s okay, too. I just want you to know that.”
Will squeezed him until Nico wheezed, smiling into his shoulder blade. He kissed the dip of Nico’s neck and shoulder and nuzzled him, sighing happily.
“I’m not asexual, baby,” he said, smiling. “I get hard for you, I think about doing things with you, and I--I do, you know, masturbate, too. I want to have sex with you, and I’m ready for it—at least, for us to start exploring. I really am just exhausted today.” He paused. “Thank you for stopping to ask me, though,” he said quietly. “I wasn’t going to say anything because you were so open and excited. I appreciate it.”
“It’s not fun for either of us if it’s not fun for both of us,” Nico said, rolling over and wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist. “I love you and I don’t want to rush you or make you feel like you have to do anything. Okay?”
Will smiled into his hair, sighing as he pulled Nico close and kissed the top of his head. “Okay,” he whispered. “I love you too, Nico. Sweet dreams.”
“Goodnight,” Nico said through a yawn, and when he closed his eyes, he wasn’t even sure he lasted a minute.
Chiron exited the infirmary, checking his watch. He was about forty-five minutes early, but he was pretty sure no one was awake at twenty after six in the morning on a summer Saturday, anyway. The sun was just beginning to rise; he probably had another fifteen to twenty minutes before Will came to check in with him and get his space ready for the day. Maybe thirty, if he was with Nico. Will hated leaving Nico alone in bed; he’d even been late a few times. Chiron didn’t blame him. He’d seen for himself more than once how cuddly his head healer’s boyfriend could get, and he saw the way Will looked at him.
He stretched, glancing around at the cabins as he left the infirmary to go check on the harpies—he’d had reports of a busted nest that would have to be fixed sooner or later.
Movement caught his eye and he stopped, turning his head reflexively to look. The sight that met him melted his heart, and he crossed his arms with an eye-crinkling smile as he took it in.
Will Solace sat on the porch swing on the deck of the Apollo cabin, eyes half closed and face fixed into a serene smile. He was barefoot, one leg thrown over the other at the ankle, and he leaned back against the cushions with a lazy slump to his broad shoulders.
In one hand, he held a steaming mug—that would be his usual morning coffee, Chiron figured, or maybe tea if he was having a slower morning. It was early, still a bit chilly, but the sort of chilly that meant the coming day would be warm and sunny. Will was watching the sunrise, it seemed, though it was high enough now that most of the colors had faded into bright, sunny blue and Apollo was well on his journey for the morning.
The thing that caught Chiron’s eye the most, though, as he stood there letting the dew on the grass soak into the fur around his hooves, was Will’s other arm.
He held his mug with one hand, held away from his body a bit, because his other arm was wrapped snugly around a sleepy, clingy Nico, cuddled up in his arms. Nico was hugging him, arms around his waist and thin frame wrapped up in Will’s high school sweatshirt. His face was pressed into Will’s neck and his shoulders rose and fell in slow, even breaths. Every so often, Will moved his hand, rubbing gentle laps up and down his boyfriend’s back. Nico’s eyes were closed, his legs pulled up onto the bench on the other side of Will’s lap, which seemed to be where most of him was resting. He was sprawled lazily on the healer’s chest, dead asleep as the sun rose calmly over the quiet of Camp Half-Blood.
Will spotted him, and Chiron snapped out of his daze as the blond raised his mug and nodded in greeting, grinning at him with such a bright, boyish smile that Chiron nearly forgot that the boy would be nineteen in a few weeks. He waved back and made his way over, deciding that a detour wouldn’t put him too far off schedule.
“Good morning,” Will said, his voice low and rough from morning disuse. Chiron nodded.
“Good morning, Will,” he replied. “You two are up and about early.”
Will chuckled, casting a loving glance down at his sleeping boyfriend as he tucked a dark curl behind one ear. “I came to see dad off,” he said. “Nico came with so he could keep cuddling with me.” He kissed the raven’s forehead and grinned when Nico snuggled farther into him instinctively. “He’s a big ol’ teddy bear. We had a bit of an eventful night, yesterday; talked a lot. Nico got cursed during capture the flag—by the way, Carson is wandering around with a sword half his size that blocks senses. Nico was blind and deaf until I healed it. I’m not sure where he got it.”
“I’ll look into it,” Chiron promised. “Was he alright?”
Will beamed and kissed Nico’s forehead again, pressing his cheek tightly into soft black curls. “He freaked right out when Percy and Annabeth dragged him back to his cabin,” he said fondly, “but he knew it was me the second I touched him. Calmed right down, told me he was scared and snuggled right up to me when I pulled him into my lap. He trusted me with a lot, yesterday, and calmed me down when I freaked out later, too. We were tired, but it was good. We just woke up maybe twenty minutes ago, came out to watch the sunrise.” He nodded at the sky. “Today’s got a sleepy feel to it, don’tcha think?”
“I agree,” Chiron chuckled, casting another glance down at Nico before following Will’s gaze up to the sky. “I think today will be quiet enough. Your father’s got a beautiful day planned for us.”
Will grinned. “I’ll thank him at breakfast,” he laughed. Nico stirred, shaken awake by the vibrations in Will’s chest. He stretched, much like a languid cat, and yawned so wide that tears beaded in his big dark eyes.
“Morning, sleeping beauty,” Will cooed, running his fingers through Nico’s hair as he pressed a kiss to his brow. “You up this time?”
“Mm. Too early.” Nico buried himself deeper in Will’s arms with a shiver, and Will rubbed his back again. Chiron nodded.
“Good morning, Nico,” he said. Nico started a little as he whipped his head around, squinting in the brightness of the early morning sun. He sighed.
“Good morning,” he replied, and yawned again. Chiron smiled at him.
“When you have a chance, later today,” he said, “would you come by the Big House? I’d like to discuss yesterday’s incident with the sword, if you don’t mind. I’m going to need more information about its properties; I suspect it was smuggled in.”
“Sure,” Nico said tiredly, melting into Will’s hand as it ran absently through his hair. “When were you thinking?”
“Oh, whenever is convenient,” Chiron said, waving a hand dismissively. “Will’s shift begins in twenty-five minutes, officially, but no one’s awake. I rather think he can take the day off and just keep a radio on him in case we need him.”
Nico’s lips stretched into a wide, toothy, childlike grin and he curled back into his boyfriend’s chest. “Then I’m going back to sleep,” he declared. Will and Chiron laughed, and the centaur turned away to carry out his earlier duty.
Behind him, he heard Will’s amused voice singing a lullaby over Nico’s soft laugh. The sun warmed the camp as the world began to wake, and Chiron prayed to every god on and under Olympus that things would stay peaceful, just for a little while.
They had earned a rest, those two.