Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes.”

“Come on! Really? Camp just started!”

“Yes! Oh my gods… yes. I can’t- I’m so sorry. I’m sorry but this is going to be hilarious- “

“This is not going to be hilarious! This is going to be a nightmare. He’s going to be unbearable and you don’t have to deal with him!”

“I know! That’s why it’s so great! I just get to sit back and- I wouldn’t do that if I were you, kid,” Percy said, holding a hand out between Nico and a new, curious camper who was creeping closer to Nico’s bleeding arm. “He’s kind of got a no touching policy…. unless your name is Will Solace, in which case you can touch him a whole-“

“Percy.“

“Sorry. I can’t stop myself. It’s like… a real problem I have.”

Nico dropped his head into his free hand as another one of the campers, a boy with a rounded haircut and thick glasses peered up at Percy with a sour look on his face. Nico wracked his brain but couldn’t remember his name. “Who is Will Solace?”

Percy blinked. “Oh uh… well, if you haven’t met Will yet, that’s probably a good thing. He’s our best combat medic and he’s in charge of the infirmary. He uh, bandages us up whenever something stupid happens. He’s a great guy. You’ll all really like him. He’s Nico’s better half.”

Nico pinched the bridge of his nose. “Are you serious right now?”

“Yeah. Oh. I mean- Sorry, sorry. Other half. It’s not really fair to call him better. He is nicer though.”

“To you,” Nico huffed, blood trickling down his arm. He frowned as the red seeped into the sleeve of his shirt. “He’s going to be so annoying. I think this shirt might be his.”

Percy paused, his eyes slowly lighting up. “You’re joking… Oh my gods you’re not! This- this is amazing!”

Nico’s hand clenched into a fist and before he could do anything, a little girl with dark auburn hair stepped forward and tugged at Percy’s hand.

“I met him, I think. Is he the doctor with pretty blue eyes?”

Percy waggled his eyebrows at Nico. “Oh so pretty.”

“Is he another son of Hades?”

“No, get this, he’s a son of Apollo and-“

“Percy,” Nico said as calmly as he could. “If you don’t shut your mouth I will, personally, make sure that your next words are your last.”

“Yikes.“

“To reiterate, I am bleeding so unless you want to explain to him why you let me bleed to death – which you don’t because I know for a fact that you’re not that much farther down the list of ‘schist he’s had enough of’ – you might want to consider packing this up.”

Percy muttered a quick “Oh. Right. Yeah, yeah, sorry” before taking the sword out of Nico’s hand. Nico clamped his hand down above the gash on his arm and winced as he felt his skin tug at the pressure. He shot Percy a look.

“This isn’t over.”

“Oh, I’m sure it isn’t. In fact, I think it’s just getting started but you’re right, we should probably stop the bleeding first. Come on, kids. Let’s go visit doctor Solace.”

Nico’s frown deepened and he turned on his heels in the direction of the infirmary with Percy and the campers in tow.

Nico usually loved the first few weeks of camp. The first few weeks were the best. Percy, Jason, Annabeth, Piper, and Leo were all back to help the camp set up for the new summer, Mr. D had yet to threaten anyone with physical violence, and the infirmary was only the slightest bit busy so Will was still able to participate in a lot of the camp’s activities.

The first few weeks were the highlight of Nico’s entire year. Stitches and another speech about his lack of self-preservation were not the way he wanted to start it off.

As they crossed the camp, Percy did his best to keep anyone from running off while each one of the campers peppered him with questions. They were all pretty good kids, each of them no older than ten, and most of them claimed the moment they set foot in the camp. Nico didn’t mind them. He actually kind of liked most of them. He liked answering all the questions and he liked watching their faces light up when they blurted things out like: “That’s so cool!”

The kid with the rounded haircut creeped him out a little bit, not because there was anything wrong with him but because he always seemed to be staring at Nico. Unlike a lot of the others, his godly parent hadn’t claimed him yet, but he didn’t seem worried. Nico’s only real problem with him was that he could not, for the life of him, remember the kid’s name.

It starts with a T, right? He thought, side-eyeing him as he watched Nico’s every move. Tim? Teddy? …Todd?

Nico’s toe caught the bottom step of the infirmary stairs and Percy’s hand came slapping down onto his shoulder to steady him.

“Come on, Death Boy,” Percy said cheerfully, directing him forward. “Your better half awaits.”

Nico growled and took a swing with his good arm.

Only a couple of beds in the infirmary had campers in them, mostly newcomers who had arrived with some sort of monster on their tail. Clovis was perched in one of the beds with his ankle elevated from where a Hermes cabin prank had already gone wrong. Rachel Elizabeth Dare was leaned back in another, legs crossed at her ankles and an amused look on her face as Percy led Nico in.

No one was severely hurt, just bruises and bumps, which explained why Will wasn’t in immediate view. Kayla caught sight of them and she opened her mouth to say something but after one quick glance at Nico’s arm, she clamped a hand over her mouth and tried her best not to laugh.

“He’s uh… He’ll be right back.”

From behind him, Percy attempted to corral their campers into a reasonable area and Nico tried to decide if making a run for it was even worth the effort. Next to him the kid whose name he couldn’t remember (Thomas? Taylor?) was staring at him with suspicious eyes. 

“What’s your problem?” the kid asked as Nico glared at nothing in particular.

“You’ll see.”

“How?”

“Because it’s about 6’0 and blonde. You won’t be able to miss him.”

Not a moment after, Will stepped into the room and Nico’s stomach took that exact moment to trip over itself.

Which is stupid, Nico told himself. It’s just Will.

But Will was never just Will. Today his legs seemed miles long and his freckles were darker than they had been two weeks ago in California. Similar thoughts had crossed his mind that morning when Will wished him a good morning on his way to breakfast and even then Nico had almost choked on his Cheerios.

Which is stupid, Nico reiterated to himself.

It was just that summer had always looked good on Will and Nico wasn’t entirely sure why he was so much more aware of it now than he had ever been before.

Will made it about two steps into the room before his eyebrows shot up. For a brief moment he almost looked as if he were about to smile and Nico’s chest began to swell before Will caught sight of Nico’s arm and all the emotion drained from his face as he raised a hand toward the door and in a calm, steady voice said: “Get out.”

Nico groaned. “Come on.”

“Out.”

“What do you mean out? I’m bleeding.”

“I can see that,” Will said flatly, walking to Rachel and handing her an ice pack. “Don’t get it on my floor.”

“I’m not- Isn’t it like… against your Hippocratic oath to turn away a patient?”

“Fortunately for me, my Hippocratic oath doesn’t cover stupid, Neeks.”

Nico puffed out his cheeks. “Okay, first of all: rude. And second: this arguably wasn’t my fault. This was Percy’s.”

Rachel snorted and pressed the ice pack to her temple. Percy waved his hands frantically in front of himself.

“Woah! It was an accident! I didn’t-“

“Okay, first of all,” Will mocked, stepping forward and ignoring Percy. “I don’t care. Second: I know you’re faster than him so if you weren’t-“

“Hey-“

“Jackson.”

“Right.”

“You,” Will said, taking a closer look at Nico’s arm before narrowing his eyes. He lifted a hand and cuffed Nico in the back of his head. “That’s what you get for showing off!”

“Ow! I wasn’t! I was just-”

“Showing off and- you didn’t even put a tourniquet on it? Really? Are you new here?”

“I’m holding it-“

“Well for gods’ sake at least elevate it-“

“I am!”

“You’re- You have no concept of self-preservation-“

“You can save the speech. I already know- ow! Watch it!”

“You watch it,” Will accused with a finger pointed into Nico’s face after he manhandled Nico’s arm upward but before he jabbed it in the direction of one of the beds. “Camp just started and I already have to stitch you up so I don’t want to hear it. Get over there.”

Nico grumbled and dropped himself onto the edge of the nearest cot. Will disappeared into the supply closet. Terence, TJ, or whoever the Hades he was stared at Nico.

“The doctor is kind of a jerk,” he said.

“You don’t even know the half of it.”

Nico shifted the hand that was wrapped around his bicep and winced as the skin moved. A trail of red ran down his elbow and Nico watched as it landed in a red splatter against the infirmary floor. He made a face.

He hated when Will was right.

Something soft hit him in the side of the head and when Nico looked over he found a rolled towel lying next to him. By the time he looked back at his arm, Will was already there, wrapping some type of rubber tubing above where Nico was holding his hand and then there was a tight squeeze and Nico could almost feel his blood flow seize.

Right, he thought. So maybe it works a little better.

Will lowered his arm, nudging his hand away and absent-mindedly handed him the towel before he turning his attention to the young campers that were peering over at Nico curiously. Will dropped his hands onto his hips and the kids all clumped together, all looking as if they were prepared to be scolded.

Nico pressed the towel to his arm, trying his best to mop up most of the blood.

“All right future awesome demigods,” Will started, hunching down to be eye-level with the new campers. “Who wants to help me pick out the colour of Nico’s bandage?”

The kids surged forward, their hands darting up in the air, bouncing on their toes. Will grinned, ushering them all towards the back of the infirmary where Nico could hear the floodgate of questions that flew out of their mouths.

“Is Apollo really your dad?” - “What does he do anyway?” - “What’s the grossest thing you’ve ever seen?” - “Have you ever had to put someone’s arms back on?”

Nico shook his head, looking up at Percy who was standing with an amused look on his face.

“You were like that too, ya know,” he said.

Nico opened his mouth to disagree but then stopped himself, thinking back to the first time he met Percy and how he hadn’t been able to shut himself up. “Yeah fine. Whatever. It was a long time ago.”

“Yeah, aside from the fact that you’re still kind of like that whenever he’s around. Just grumpier.”

“Fuck off. What’s the weird kid’s name?”

“The weird kid? The one that kind of looks like you with a bad haircut?” Nico flipped him off. Percy laughed. “Tucker. His name is Tucker.”

Right, Nico thought, and then repeated the name over and over in his head.

When Will returned, the kids were still excitedly following him, tugging at his shirt, and pointing in all sorts of directions. Will did his best to humour them, shuffling his way toward Nico with a clear, plastic bin balanced on his hip and an electric green bandage in his hand.

“Is it always sunny where you are?” – “Can you play any instrument you want?” – “What if some’s head got cut off, could you fix them?”

And then louder than anyone else, Nico’s new favourite camper asked: “Are you really Nico’s other half?”

The room went eerily quiet and Nico had an epiphany.

It’s me, he thought in awe. I’m going to be the one who finally kills Percy Jackson.

Will raised his eyebrows, looking at Nico briefly before sliding his gaze over to Percy. “Honestly Percy?”

“Oh come on! Am I wrong?”

“He’s going to kill you someday, you know that right?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“First step is admitting it. Why don’t you show Team Awesome here the rest of the infirmary? I’ve got work to do.”

“Yeah, fine. Come on crew,” Percy called, guiding the campers away from Nico and Will. “Let’s go bug Rachel-“

“No, you don’t. She has a headache. Leave her alone.”

“Fine. I’ll show you guys where Will keeps the lollipops.”

Will watched as the group began darting off in different directions of the infirmary, picking up Kayla along the way who shot Will a wink and the clear message of: I’ll take care of this. Will smiled and Nico mirrored him as he watched all the kids ask Kayla why her hair was green.

The beginning of camp was always the best.

“Hey,” Nico said, nudging his foot into Will’s as the room quieted. “I can’t feel my fingers.”

Will turned his attention back to Nico, blinking a few times before leaning over to dig through the bin he had set on the edge of the bed. “Serves you right.”

“Harsh.”

“So is bleeding on my infirmary floor, which,” he dropped his eyes to the floor before flicking them back up at Nico. “Did I tell you so or… did I tell you so?”

“Don’t rub it in.”

Will shook his head and took a seat next to Nico, curling one of his legs up onto the bed and then hooking the other over Nico’s knee as if they were back home watching TV. He pursed his lips and peered at Nico’s arm, reaching into the bin and snapping on a pair of plastic gloves before turning it over in his hand and frowning. “I’m not happy about this.”

“That makes two of us,” Nico grumbled and then added: “Sorry.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I mean, it was an accident.”

“No, it wasn’t. You were being careless.”

“That’s the same thing.”

“No,” Will said with a sharp look. “It isn’t.”

Nico dropped his gaze and picked at the imaginary fuzz on Will’s jeans, drawing his leg closer for some semblance of comfort. He moved his eyes up briefly but Will wasn’t really looking at him, he was seeing whatever it was he saw when he was looking at a patient, trying to figure out what the best course of action was and the best way to treat them. Usually Nico liked seeing Will like that. He liked the way Will’s eyes focused in on things Nico couldn’t even see. He liked watching Will’s brain tick, but whenever it was Nico, there was something else; a sort of displeasure and sadness that lurked behind the rest of his thoughts.

“I hate it when you look like that,” Nico muttered, flexing his fingers into the fabric of Will’s jeans.

“Like what?” Will replied, letting go of Nico’s arm and digging through his bin before applying thick salve over the cut. “Inconvenienced?”

“Disappointed.”

“Yeah well, you should take better care of yourself then. You’re not…” Will mumbled a string of words under his breath. Nico’s arm pulsed with warmth. “You’re not invincible you know.”

“I know.”

Will shifted Nico’s arm, wrapping it with gauze before following it with the electric green bandage. “This ones not that bad.”

“No stitches?”

“Not this time.”

“Thanks.”

Will hummed an acknowledgement but his face didn’t relax. He finished securing Nico’s bandage and then stood; taking off his gloves.

Nico stayed silent as Will started putting his things away. He felt like a child who had let down one of his parents, and while it wasn’t uncommon for Will to be curt with Nico when he injured himself, he seemed particularly distant. There had been considerably less ridicule than Nico had anticipated, and instead of staying curled close to Nico’s space, Will immediately removed himself the moment he could. Nico couldn’t even remember the last time Will had willingly left their joined space.

He watched as Will picked up the roll of gauze. He frowned.

Will’s hands were shaking.

“Hey,” Nico said, watching Will’s hands. “Everything okay?”

Will’s fingers twitched as they secured the edge of the bandage roll. “Yeah. Everything is fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course, I’m sure I’m just-“

“Lying?”

Will stiffened. His eyes turned to slits and Nico could almost see the sharp retort sitting on the edge of his tongue. Nico stared back at him, eyes firmly set and waited for Will to decide if he was going to continue to be stubborn or if he was just going to fess up to what was wrong.

Will opened his mouth to say something but stopped. He made a face and then deflated, sinking to sit back down on the bed and leaned forward onto his knees so he could drop his head into his hands.

“My head hurts,” Will admitted. Nico scrunched his eyebrows together.

“Again? Have you taken anything for it?”

“Yeah, but it’s not working.”

“How long has it been hurting?”

“Ever since we got back to camp.”

Nico’s hand stilled from where it had slid up to Will’s neck. “Why didn’t you tell me?

“It’s not a big deal.”

“But it’s almost been a week since we got back. That’s not normal, Will.”

“I know, it’s just-“

“Have you talked to Kayla about it?”

Will shook his head, sitting up straight. “No. I’m sure it’s going to be fine.”

“Will-“

“Neeks,” Will said, turning to look at him with a thin smile. “It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not,” Nico said. “You’ve been having these headaches a lot. You think I’m bad but you’re just-“

“A product of watching you?”

“Shut up. I’m being serious-“

“I know,” Will drawled, tipping his head back and releasing an overly dramatic breath. “And it’s freaking me out. You’re going to catch feelings if you keep this up, ya know.” Nico glared at him and Will’s eyes widened in faux-shock. “Oh my gods, what if it’s too late? Maybe you already have them? You’re worrying! Aw, my little Neeks is all grown up and human now.” Will clapped his hands onto Nico’s cheeks and squished them together. “You’re so cute when you care.”

“I’mgonnapunchyou.”

“What was that? I can’t hear anything over the sound of your adorable face. Sweet, soft, little Neek-ow! Hey! What was that for?”

“I tried to warn you.”

“Rude,” Will said with a smile. The tension in Nico’s stomach began to uncoil. “I was just telling you how cute you are.” His eyes flickered to the sleeve of Nico’s shirt and smirked. “Which you are. Especially when you steal my clothes and start worrying about me.”

“Fuck off,” Nico said, feeling his cheeks get warm. “Mom put it in my bag.”

“Uh huh. Sure. You know if you missed me this much you could just come say hi. You don’t need to like-“

“Please stop talking.”

“No,” Will said, draping himself across Nico’s shoulders. “I just- If you’re here I have to irritate you. I can’t help myself.”

“Yeah, and I can’t even explain how sick of your shit I am.”

“Liar,” Will grinned, pressing his nose into Nico’s cheek. “You love me. In some sick, twisted way you love me. You can’t live without me. Your life would be meaningless and joyless without me. Admit it.”

“No."

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Say it.”

“Will Solace,” Nico said, turning to take Will’s face in his hands. “You are the light of my life… and every day all I dream about is different ways to snuff you out.”

Will’s eyes narrowed and he reached up and dropped a hand onto Nico’s face, shoving it away as Percy, Kayla, and the campers filtered back in the room. “Jackson,” Will said, trying to smother Nico as he laughed under Will’s hand. “Get this thing out of my infirmary.”

“What did that thing do to you?”

“It exists, and all it does is break my heart.”

“Honestly, Nico,” Percy said as Nico managed to push Will’s hand away. “You should be nicer to Will. Your life would be meaningless and joyless without him.”

Nico’s mouth fell open. “How did- What? He literally just said the same thing.”

“’cause it’s true,” they chorused, shrugging their shoulders in tandem.

“I hate you both,” Nico said, standing up. “You’re terrible and horrible and I don’t deserve any of this.”

“Well, that’s definitely just not true,” Will chuckled, nudging him in the back of his leg. “Get out of my infirmary, Death Breath.”

“With pleasure.”

“But you awesome guys and gals,” Will said, turning to the young campers who are all looking at him as if he were some sort of magician. “You are welcome here whenever you want, and if you, or anyone else, gets hurt, you run straight to me and let me know, okay?” There was a wave of enthusiastic head nods. Will grinned. “Right on. I’ll see you all you cool cats at the campfire tonight.”

Will escorted them toward the door, all the kids asking Percy what the campfire would be like. Nico stayed a few steps behind, trailing after Will who was still smiling even as he kept his hands tucked into tight fists to stop them from shaking.

“Hey,” Nico said when Percy and the campers were just out of earshot. Will hummed and Nico moved closer, placing a hand on the back of Will’s neck and kneading his fingers into skin. “You’ll tell me if it gets worse, right?”

Will’s eyes dropped shut. He leaned into the touch. “Mhm.”

“You promise?”

“Of course. Would I lie to you?”

“If you thought it would make me happy, you might.”

Will cracked open one eye. “Guilty.”

Nico sighed. “Why don’t you lie down or something? We can like… go nap it out in my cabin. I-“

“Neeks,” Will said, laying a hand against Nico’s arm and giving him a soft, affectionate smile that did strange things to Nico’s stomach. “I’m fine. Thank you for watching out for me but it’s nothing. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

Nico pursed his lips and Will nudged his head over to where Percy and the new campers were waiting for him. He gave Will one last long look and then conceded. “Fine,” he said, letting his hand linger for a second longer. “But if anything happens I am holding you personally responsible.” Nico hopped down the steps from the infirmary and turned back to call to Will as he walked towards Percy and the campers. “I can’t protect you all the time, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Will smirked with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You’ll die trying anyway. Worry about yourself first. You’re no fun when you’re falling apart.”

Nico smirked and flipped a middle finger in Will’s direction. Will mimicked the gesture, sticking his tongue out for good measure.

Nico turned back around, grinning to himself as he jogged to meet up the group. He was met by an unnecessarily stern look from Tucker. “What?”

Tucker scrunched up his nose in distaste. “Percy was right. You guys are kind of gross.”

Next to them Percy started laughing and Nico punched him in the shoulder, but instead of telling either of them that they were wrong, he simply smiled and turned to look back at the infirmary where Will was disappearing inside.

Will appeared to be fine the next time Nico saw him. He was smiling, laughing, and balancing one of his youngest siblings on his shoulders as he tried to organize the rest of his cabin into their allocated spots by the campfire. The weight that had been sitting in Nico’s chest lifted itself just enough to appreciate the sight of Will playing big brother and he figured that was a good enough start. He would deal with the rest later.

Toward the end of Will’s school year, Nico noticed his headaches had become more frequent. Will had always sort of joked that headaches were an Apollo thing; it was the curse of being so closely related to oracles and prophecies, but it hadn’t made total sense because Apollo had been quiet for years. Nico didn’t think too much of it until their end of the year plans shifted from long adventures out with Holly and Pip, to quiet nights in where Will would curl up next to him and fall asleep. He figured it was just sort of something he was going through and once they got to camp, once they were back to where Will had everything he needed, those feelings would pass and his mind would be settled.

But they hadn’t, and even though the smile on Will’s face was bright, there was still something tense and tight sitting at the bottom of Nico’s stomach.

During the campfire ceremony, the remaining campers were all claimed. Nico watched as a new Aphrodite child stared up at Piper with dreamy eyes, and then as another set of twins that looked suspiciously like the Stolls if the Stolls had been blonde-hair blue-eyed girls with pigtails in their hair, were claimed by Hermes. Finally, Tucker, who didn’t look even remotely surprised, stared at Hecate’s sigil over his head and carried on as if nothing had happened.

As the satyrs began playing music, Percy and Jason left their spots to find Annabeth and Piper. Uncharacteristically alone, Nico followed suit, trying to get a glimpse of Will in between groups of people.

Will was sitting on the far side of the arena, listening intently to Lou Ellen as she animatedly told a story that apparently required a lot of hand gestures and blushing. Nico placed a hand on Will’s shoulder; silently letting him know he was there before taking the seat next to him. Will turned and gave him a quick smile, turning back to Lou Ellen, who gave Nico a quick wave as she continued telling her story. Will laughed at whatever she was saying and dropped his hand onto Nico’s knee.

“It was actually really kind of cute,” Lou Ellen said with colour high in her cheeks. “Don’t laugh at me, Will.”

“I’m not laughing!” Will cried joyously. “Well, okay I am, but I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks.” Lou Ellen said. “How have you guys been? Was your school year okay? I feel like a terrible friend. I should’ve asked you both about this earlier but with the new campers-“

“No, I know,” Will said, motioning between him and Nico. “Both of us too. I’ve got them in the infirmary and Nico has been helping Percy and Jason so we get it. It’s been a busy week, and it looks like you’ve got a new one on your hands. Lucky you. He’s Nico’s favourite.”

Nico narrowed his eyes and Will knocked their shoulders together.

“He’s a good kid,” Lou Ellen, smiling just slightly as she watched the two of them. “I’m actually kind of excited. There aren’t a lot of us so it’s sort of nice. I guess his mom has been practicing for a long time and she’s not a demigod or anything but she’s an exceptionally talented mortal. He was very matter-of-fact about it all when he told me.”

“Sounds like him,” Nico said. “He’s kind of a creepy kid though.” Will’s elbow dug itself into Nico’s side. “Ow! What? He is!”

“That’s rude.”

“It’s true.”

“Really? Son of Hades? Ghost King? Prince of the Underworld?”

“What? Just because I have friends in low places means I can’t get creeped out by a little kid?”

“Yes,” Lou Ellen and Will chorused.

“You guys are brutal.”    

“There you are!” Someone exclaimed. Both Will and Nico turned to see Cecil clambering down the last few arena seats. “I’ve been looking all over for – Hi Will. Hi Nico – you!”

Lou Ellen looked around her and then splayed out her hands. “I don’t know what you were looking for. I’ve been here the whole time.”

“Well, yeah but… I lost track of you and the new twins are already giving me a run for my money. I think they just set something on fire.”

Will groaned. “Lose one set of crazies, get another.”

“It’s okay. I think Leo put it out. Anyway, look.” Cecil pointed to the small group of people who were dancing down on the main floor.

Lou Ellen blinked. “What?”

“People are dancing! We should too. Come on. There’s like- don’t even worry about it. No one will see you. It’ll be fun.”

“I- No.”

“But you love this song!”

“I do not love ‘Party in the USA’, Cecil.”

“That’s- huh. I thought this was ‘Uptown Funk’.”

“Which doesn’t even merit a response.”

“Oh come on. I’m not good at this, you know that. Just- Will! Stop laughing at me!”

“Sorry,” Will snorted, ducking his head into Nico’s shoulder to muffle his laughter. “Keep going. You’re doing great.”

Cecil huffed and Nico watched as Lou Ellen laughed and caved, standing up and taking Cecil’s hand. “Okay fine. Just one though.”

“Maybe two.”

Lou Ellen rolled her eyes and looked back at Will and Nico. “We’ll be back. Maybe. If he doesn’t accidently kill me.”

Nico watched as the two of them stumbled their way down to the rest of the dancers. Cecil, who had seemed so adamant and confident just moments before was now flailing and unsure of where to put his hands until Lou Ellen grabbed them and planted them against her waist. Will watched them with fond eyes and Nico continued to look at his face as his grin grew wider and wider.

Something low and warm flipped pleasantly in his stomach and all the apprehension he had felt earlier disappeared.

“What are you so happy about?” Nico asked, bumping their shoulders again. Will glanced at him briefly, beaming as he turned his attention back to where his two friends were dancing.

“I mean, are you seeing this?”

“That stupid smile on your face? Yeah, I see it.”

Will squeezed his knee. “Cecil. He’s trying so hard to sweep her off her feet.”

“Well, it looks like it’s working.”

“It worked,” Will corrected. “Cecil went to visit Lou Ellen before they came to camp and I guess there were some pretty sketchy one-liners but he finally came out with it.”

“No kidding,” Nico noted, turning to look at where the two of them were dancing. Cecil was smiling so big that for a moment Nico thought his face might split in half. “So they’re a thing now?”

“They’re definitely a thing now.”

“Well, I mean… that was only a matter of time.” Will chuckled. “What? Was it not?”

“Oh, it definitely was. Just took forever.”

“Some people need more time than others,” Nico said, lifting an arm and kneading his fingers into the back of Will’s neck again. “How’s your head?”

“M’fine. How’s your arm?”

“Fine. My physician was an asshole but otherwise fine.”

Will gave him a smirk, scooting himself further into Nico’s space so he could lean back against his good arm. “You probably deserved it.”

“Well that’s a given.”

Will’s leg was warm against his, and even though the summer air was comfortable around them, Nico still found himself leaning close. His hand felt like fire against Nico’s knee, but it wasn’t in the same way that had made Nico recoil the first time Will had touched him. This was different. This was the sort of feeling that made his stomach turn and want to thread his fingers through Will’s. It wasn’t normal, he knew, but he gave up normal a long time ago when he finally admitted to himself that Will was a special sort of stunning and there was nothing Nico could do about it.

All around them there were snippets of conversations, stories of how the year had gone, plans for the summer, I missed you’s and how have you been’s all to try and sound out how the future would go. Nico didn’t know what would happen after both Will and he found themselves at the end of their education next year, but the one thing he was sure of was that wherever it led him, Will was bound to be nearby.

Earlier in the week Percy had made an idle joke about “where there’s a will, there’s probably a Nico” and Nico had rolled his eyes at the time but couldn’t tell him he was wrong. He didn’t even want to.

Nico smiled, soft and to himself, watching Will stare unabashedly happy at the dancefloor. Nico’s heart swelled in his chest and without thinking much, he leaned forward and pressed his nose into the side of Will’s hair.

“Hey,” Will chuckled, reaching a hand up to rest against Nico’s neck as he squirmed away. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing. Sorry.”

Will grinned, turning his head to look at Nico. “Are you?”

Nico shook his head, smiling. “You want to dance?”

Will blinked. Once, twice, then half a dozen times in rapid succession. “I uh- what?”

“Do you want to dance?” Nico repeated and then when Will continued to stare at him and start sounding out something about not wanting to be the third wheel, Nico rolled his eyes and said: “With me, idiot.”

A series of emotions flickered across Will’s face; shock, excitement, curiosity, and then settled into a suspicious sort of disbelief. “You’re joking,” he said slowly.

“I’m not, believe it or not. I actually really like dancing. I used to dance with Bianca all the time. My mom taught us when we were young and it’s not like we had an Xbox back then. We danced just for fun.”

Will stared at him. “You’re serious.”

“I’m so serious. I am even willing to show you how serious.”

“This feels like a trap.”

“I can promise it’s not. My traps are much more elaborate.”

“That sounds like something someone who was about to spring a trap would say.” Nico sighed and leaned himself against his seat in defeat. The corner of Will’s mouth quirked up and he tilted himself into Nico’s space, eyes squinting suspiciously. “Why would you want to dance with me anyway?”

Nico made a face. “That’s a stupid question.”

“I’m willing to accept a stupid answer.”

“You’re just fishing for compliments. I know you. You just want me to feed your ego.”

“So feed me, Seymour.”

Nico grunted. “Little Shop of Horrors? Really?”

A slow, cheeky smile crept across Will’s face and the look that painted itself into his eyes made Nico squirm in a way that was strange but not entirely unpleasant. “I’m not going to lie, the fact that you managed to catch that one turns me on a little.”

Nico choked and immediately started coughing. “You’re so fucking gross,” he said, shoving Will’s face away. “And that was easy.”

“Yeah well, you know me. I’m a sucker for 80’s movies-“

“Not that,” he groaned. “About the- Just- All I wanted was to dance. That’s it. Why are you the way you are?”

Will laughed and stood, dusting his hands off onto his jeans before offering them to Nico. “All right fine. Let’s dance. You’ve wooed me with your obscure movie knowledge and now I am ready to be wowed by your musical prowess.”

Nico stared at Will’s hands and stood without them, just to be annoying. “You’re a pain in the ass.”

“I know it.”

“Can you follow? Because I only know how to lead.”

“Boy, if that isn’t a metaphor for your life then I don’t know what is,” Will snorted. “What? Tell me that’s not true.”

“Forget this. I’m just going to go ask-”

“Oh no you don’t,” Will said seriously, his hands gripping into the sides of Nico’s shirt and holding him firmly in place. “Don’t you dare do that to my poor, little heart. It’s already got an arrhythmia problem because of you.”

“An a-rhythm-what?”

“Not important. Just don’t be mean.”

Nico smirked, coaxing Will’s hands into his. “You’re stupid,” he said, tugging Will’s hands to lead him down towards where Lou Ellen, Cecil, and the other campers were dancing. “I’m serious. I have no idea why you are the way you are.”

“Hey!” Will squawked from behind him. “I’m your best friend, asshole.”

“I know, which is why- like… why do you even bother asking me why I want to do something with you? Of course if I do anything it’s going to be with you. You’re always my first pick and so I don’t get why sometimes I need to tell you that you’re- …Will?”

Nico stopped as he felt Will’s fingers slip from his. He turned, and as he did, Will collapsed to his knees. Will’s eyes rolled back and he hunched forward, clutching his head as if he were trying to claw inside his skull. Nico dropped to the ground, darting his head around to look for some kind of help, but when he looked, he saw that Will wasn’t the only camper at his knees. All of the Apollo children were dropping one-by-one.

The music stopped and the grounds went silent.

Will’s fingers gripped tightly into his hair, nails digging too far into his scalp. Nico tried to steady him as he curled in onto himself, but it was like something was suffocating him. His vertebras stood sharp against his back and when Will’s mouth dropped open, no sound came out.

Beneath Nico’s fingers he could feel something unsettling happen in Will’s veins. Something wasn’t right. Something was terribly-

A scream reverberated through the arena.

Nico’s head shot up. The sound wasn’t human. It might have been once but it had been decades since it had been in its own body. Nico’s skin crawled and when he shifted his head to see where it had come from, he saw Rachel Elizabeth Dare standing along the edge of the arena, her body distorted and eyes glowing bright.

Green smoke poured from her mouth and the voice that followed shook Nico straight to his core. He tried to listen to her words, tried to rationalize them, but he heard nothing.

All he could see was the Oracle of Delphi looking straight at Will.