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Chapter Text

Will was quick to exit the infirmary after his shift was over and rush to the cabin he shared with Nico. The raven’s illness had been plaguing his thoughts almost as much as it was plaguing his mate’s body. Nico had no fever, no lingering nausea after throwing up almost every day, not even a hint of congestion. Yet Will could see the toll the mysterious illness was taking on his mate.

It pained him both as an Alpha and a healer to be unable to diagnose and treat his mate. Especially when it was his literal demigod gift to do so.

That morning Nico had seemed a tad more chipper as he nibbled at crackers to keep his stomach calm; it gave Will a twinge of hope that maybe his love was on the mend.

When the blonde finally arrived at their cabin though, it was to a sight he hadn’t seen in ages.

Nico was laid sprawled across their bed and looking at the ceiling with the dreamiest expression on his face. His hair was pooled around his pale face like spilled ink and his hands were resting comfortably over his stomach.

Had his face been flushed Will would have been worried he’d been dazed by fever. Instead the Italian looked calmer and more relaxed than he had in ages.

“Angel?” Will called curiously.

Lidded dark chocolate colored eyes smiled at him from below night colored bangs.

“Tesoro. You’re back.”

Will dropped his bag and hurried to his love’s side. “How are you feeling Angel? How’s your stomach?”

To the blonde’s utter confusion, the raven just beamed at him.

“Why don’t you check for yourself?” He all but giggled.

Will brushed his hand over Nico’s forehead first to check for a temperature. His mate rarely laughed, let alone giggled; this wasn’t like him at all.

Still, his powers told him that Nico wasn’t running a fever, so he did as instructed and placed his palms on his mate’s exposed stomach. Instantly he felt vitals being flashed across his mind as clearly as they would have a hospital monitor.

•Blood pressure: 90/60 mm Hg
•Breathing: 15 breaths per minute.
•Temperature: 98.1°F
•Pulse: 75 beats per minute.
•Pulse: 135 beats per minute

What? Two pulses?

Realization fell over the blonde like a smothering blanket as his powers gave him more and more information confirming his suspicion.

This was the first time he’d tried to actively check Nico’s abdomen in weeks; wrist and forehead vitals were so much easier, he’d thought that was enough, he’d thought…..

“Nico…..Nico…..you’re…” He couldn’t get the words out.

The raven placed his hand over his mate’s and squeezed it.

“I took a test this morning. I haven’t been able to stop looking at it.”

Right on cue Will noticed the test on their bedside table, the positive sign a visual confirmation of everything his powers were telling him.

“I’m pregnant Will.” Nico sighed happily.

Will’s temperature dropped. He could feel the heat, the warmth, the very sun given power in his veins drained from his bloodstream like it was being leeched from every place his skin touched Nico’s.

A lump of cold hard dread settled in his throat and stole all his air.

It must have shown on his face, because the raven’s eyes widened as his grip tightened.

“Will, what’s wrong? Is the baby okay?”

Will tried to swallow, to inhale, to do anything other than gasp as the information sunk in.

Nico sat up and crawled closer to his mate.

“You’re scaring me Tesoro.” He breathed anxiously.

“You’re pregnant.” Will exhaled hollowly.

Nico nodded his head hesitantly and tried to pull his mate closer. He reached out and cupped his mate’s face between his hands so that the blonde would look at him.

“Talk to me.” He ordered quietly.

Will placed his hands over Nico’s and bit back tears.

“Who’s…….Who’s the father?”

Will could feel the literal jolt of surprise travel through his mate.

“How….how can you ask me that?” Nico asked with more astonishment than anything else.

Nico had been so happy, so excited about this miracle inside him, he’d never stop to consider the idea that his mate would be anything less than thrilled at the news.

Not until Will turned away from his gaze and touch.

“I’m sterile Nico. How can I not ask?” Will all but spat back.

He hadn’t meant to say it like that, to betray an anger that he was barely even grasping at the moment, but he had and he could practically feel the sting of it on his mate.

Still, he was too overwhelmed to stop himself from continuing.

“I told you we could get a sperm donor, I told you I’d raise them as my own, but to go behind my back like this, to pick someone without consulting me, without even telling me, how could you do that?”

Nico was too shocked to respond.

A barely withheld growl bubbled up inside Will’s chest.

“How did you get pregnant?”

The thought of another touching his mate, seeing Nico’s expression of pleasure, seeing his mate’s neck bared in ecstasy, scalded his veins with the intensity of the heat of his anger. Every Alpha instinct in him rebelled against the idea.

His mate pulled away from him and crossed his arms protectively over his stomach.

“You know how I got pregnant Will. You were there; you were there biting my mark and screaming my name! A fucking miracle happens and all you can think to do is accuse me of cheating on you?!”

“You can’t say that I’m the father Nico! I took every test imaginable to see if we could have a child, I tried everything I could think of to make that happen, and I know for a fact that it just isn’t possible! So just tell me who the fucking father is!”

It was Nico’s turn to snarl as tears filled his eyes.

“This is our child Will. Our miracle! I don’t care what your tests said, you got me pregnant! Why aren’t you happy about this?”

The lights dimmed and brightened as the shadows withered around them in a strange combination of both their powers affecting the cabin.

“How am I supposed to be happy about the fact you cheated on me!?” Will screamed with enough force in his voice to shatter two of the light bulbs in their bathroom.

Every insecurity, every doubt he’d had since even before he’d even found out he was sterile bubbled up inside of the blonde and gushed out in a wave of everything ugly that had been fermenting inside of him.

He’d always known he wasn’t good enough to be the mate of one of the children of the big three. The mate of the man who even as a teen had done more for the mortal realm than most of the camp had done combined. Of an Omega powerful enough to not even need a mate.

Who’d become Will’s mate anyway.

Nico’s glare looked deadly enough to send him directly to the Underworld with less effort than it took the younger demigod to blink, but beneath that anger, Will could see desperation and even fear.

The blonde didn’t understand it. Even while being attacked by an Alpha in heat Nico hadn’t shown any fear. The few time that Will had ever seen his mate afraid was when….when he was scared of being rejected. Of being left.

Will could see him trembling; see his pale hands splayed protectively over his abdomen, his stance and his body tensing for action.

Nico was ready to protect this child. To protect the potential person inside of him as an avalanche of parental instincts brought with it a literal rumble of a growl from the Italian’s lips.

Nico was scared. Worse, he was scared of Will. Of being left by one more person he loved.

That thought alone sapped the anger out of the son of Apollo so quick the entire room went pitch black.

He had the power to scare Nico because it was given to him, because he was trusted with it.

Nico trusted him. More than that, Nico, who could have had any Alpha he wanted, loved him. Loved him enough to stay through sterility when all he wanted in the world was a child.

Loved him enough to believe a lie.

Will swallowed thickly as he reached for his mate’s hand in the dark. It was still over his stomach, and in that touch Will felt two hearts beating so quickly.

Too quickly.

“Breathe.” Will reminded his mate quietly. “Inhale, exhale.”

Nico let out a hiccupping breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding as he shuddered under his mate’s touch.

He tried to breathe like he was instructed, but the more he tried the more it came out in sobs.

“I didn’t, I would never Will.” He wept in the dark.

The blonde stroked his thumb over the back of the olive hand beneath his own and scooted closer.

“I know. I’m sorry, I know.” He assured the raven.

Nico wiped at his eyes and crawled closer to his mate.

“I swear on the river Styx I’ve never cheated on you.”

Thunder rolled in the distance at the promise and Will offered a thin smile.

“Thalia and Percy were conceived despite a promise on that river.”

Nico sniffled and laid his forehead against the blonde’s shoulder; even quieter than before he vowed:

“I swear on Bianca’s soul that this is your child.”

The oath carried more weight than any other the raven had ever spoken and made Will catch his breath.

If he’d had any doubts before, those words stole them away.

“Our child.” Will corrected softly and he wrapped his arms around his mate and pulled him close.

“Our Bianca Solace.”

Nico looked up at him in shocked wonder.

“A daughter?” He breathed.

“Our daughter.” Will corrected again with a gentle grin.

“Our daughter.” Nico marveled: the smile on his face nearly dazed with joy.

Will just kept hugging him; hugging him and hoping he was making the right choice.
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It wasn’t an easy pregnancy.

The initial morning sickness was just a precursor to the real pains and troubles the raven would endure as the life he’d long desired grew within him.

It became clear in the weeks that passed and the vomiting and nauseas grew more intense that Nico had hyperemesis gravidarum, a possibly life-threatening condition that made it nearly impossible for him to keep food down.

His already lean body lost what little fat it had to spare quickly as frequent regurgitation kept him from retaining, let alone adding, the pounds he needed for a healthy pregnancy.

IVs had to be frequently added to his arms to keep him hydrated and as his body struggled to accomplish even the simplest of tasks.

Every meal was picked with care to try and keep him from seeing it twice and most off it had to be eaten with a spoon.

Cabin 13 became its own little medical ward as Will redecorated to best care for his mate.

He planned meals for every other hour and slipped ginger pills between his love’s lips with kisses that tasted like chicken soup and bile. He rubbed his love’s back through his nauseas and kept him off his feet as much as possible.

Still, every pound that seemed to be stripped from Nico’s cheeks and chest appeared to drip from its previous location and pool in his abdomen as the baby grew more and more.

It pained the raven’s visitors to see him so drained of life and yet overflowing with it. To see the man they loved beaming at them even as his stretched thin skin strove to allow him to accomplish even that small task.

His eyes never lost their brightness as he discussed preparations he was making in his mind about how to best take care of their child and still be active members of the camp’s older staff. He boasted so proudly that their daughter would be the first Demigod born on camp soil; that she would be the joy of the camp from birth.

Will would nod and smile at his mate’s words, but never add to his bragging or planning. In fact, in the months that had passed he’d grown too in his own way. Grown quieter, paler, even dimmer in the face of what was to come.

In so many ways it helped for him to focus on caring for his mate; to not think past Nico’s next IV or dose of medication.

Because he loved his mate. He loved him so much.

He could endure this. He could endure anything for Nico.

Even the worry eating away at his insides like a parasite.

Worry about the difficult birth to come. Worry about how the campers would react.

Worry about Nico realizing the truth.

Because Will knew he couldn’t be the father of the child inside his mate.

Everything he knew about genetics told him so.

He also knew Nico would never cheat on him; never risk what they had even for the sake of a child.

He knew Nico believed that it was their daughter growing inside him.

But Will knew better; and that knowledge haunted him.

Because his mate spent more time in the Underworld than any other living person in demigod history. He’d encountered things that other demigods had never even heard of in the land of the dead and despite how nonchalantly Nico had described them to his mate the blonde knew that his love put himself in real danger every time the lord of death summoned him for a mission.

He also knew that more than the souls of the dead roamed Hades’s realm. It was a land of monsters. A land of danger.

A land where a fertile Omega should never have roamed alone.

Because by Will’s math Nico had gotten pregnant right around the time of his last mission to his father’s realm.

By what Will couldn’t even begin to guess.

Yet Nico had shown no signs of attack or rape. Will would have noticed that in the middle of a rut or not. Plus Nico also seemed to have no memory of such a thing occurring.

Will held Hades responsible for that.

It wouldn’t have been the first time that the Lord of Death had dipped his children in the River Lethe to make them forget.

Nico and Bianca had been forced to bathe in it once before, under the orders of their father, so that they wouldn’t remember their mother’s horrific death right in front of them.

Will could so easily picture Hades dripping a single drop onto his son’s raven head. Enough to wipe away just enough of his memories to leave him unscarred by the event.

Enough to send him back to Will healed, safe and sane.

But not something that would have stopped the life from growing inside of him.

Deep down Will knew it was a blessing in so many ways.

Nico wouldn’t have been able to bear such an attack; it would have brought back so many issues with self-loathing and depression. It might have destroyed the younger demigod. It might have destroyed them.

So Will was lucky that this was all that had come about. Lucky that Nico would get to have this experience with being pregnant no matter what the child would be in the end.

Because he couldn’t be angry with his mate. Not when he didn’t suspect what Will did. Not when he thought a little blue eyed and olive skinned child was soon to be theirs.

Not when he thought the child inside him was their miracle.

Only Will was left to worry and fret over his mate’s ever expanding abdomen and what was really growing inside. When all he knew was that it was protected by a placenta so thick that ultrasounds were useless and that what little beyond basic stats he could discern from his powers didn’t give him much optimism.

Even his Alpha sense of smell was useless. Nico still only smelled of them. The beautiful combinations of their scents that clung to them both and told the world that they were mates.

It might have given Will some clue if his mate had stunk of Gorgan or Cyclops; he might have been able to guess at the child’s other parent if he had only the slightest clue as to what they were.

But Nico still smell like them. Still smelled like Will had always dreamed Nico would smell like when he was carrying their children. Like warm milk and baby powder mixed together with their scents. An aroma of life.

It made it all the more heart wrenching to think about what would happen after the baby was born. Would it be more monster or Demigod? Would it see Will as a parent or a snack?

All Will could hope was that it would love his mate. Love him and let him be the parental figure he’d always wanted to be. Will could bear anything else.

Even if the child was a monster, even if it never smelled like him or looked like him, even if it hated Will for not being its real parent, he would bear it.

Because it would be half Nico; half of the man he loved.

That innately made it more precious than any other child that had ever roamed Camp Half Blood to him.

He’d meant what he’d said when they first found out that he was infertile. He would love this child as his own. Raise it no differently than if it carried his own blood in its veins.

He wouldn’t be like other Alphas that left their mates after such an attack. He wouldn’t abandon the man he loved no matter how strongly he knew his Alpha instincts would object to the scent of a child carrying his mate’s scent and another’s.

Not when he’d already been lucky enough to not have to bear the scent of another on his mate during the pregnancy; lucky enough to be spared anything that would have made it difficult to help Nico through this.

Lucky enough to see Nico so happy with being pregnant.

And to know that the universe had given his mate the one thing that he never could.

Chapter Text

Nico was happy; more happy than he’d been in a long, long time.

Every Omega instinct inside of him was purring in satisfaction at his current state. Every inch of his body pleased with everything around it.

Because for the first night in months he had life inside him and Will all around him.

He was lying on his side, for once free of the IV that had kept him still for so long, with Will wrapped around him.

His Alpha was warm against his back and Nico could feel every exhalation against the nape of his neck as his Alpha held him so tightly.

Could his mate feel what Nico was feeling? The feel of a little life fluttering about inside him? The excited pulsing of a being nearly ready to be born?

Nico hoped so. Hoped that whatever was making his mate so uneasy would pass when he finally held his daughter in his arms for the first time. When he was finally able to know for sure what Nico had never doubted.

That this was their child. Part underworld, part sunlight, and everything Nico had ever wanted.

“I love you.” He whispered into the dark to both of his loves.

“So much.” He admitted around a grin.

Surprisingly the arms around him tightened at his words and revealed that his mate wasn’t as dead to the world as he normally was at this late an hour.

“I love you too.” Will breathed against his nape.

Nico smiled against his pillow before grasping Will’s hand over his stomach and snuggling closer to his mate.

He felt so calm; so at peace. It reminded him of how he’d felt before his first heat with Will. So ready for the next stage of his life; so ready for everything.

Even for the talk he knew Will and he needed to have.

“Will?”

“Yeah?”

Nico gathered up his courage and squeezed his mate’s hand tighter.

“I know…….I know that you don’t believe me.”

“Angel……” Will began, but his mate cut him off.

“No, its okay.” The raven assured him.

“You’re taking care of me. Even though you think she isn’t yours. That tells me more about your dedication to me than anything else.”

Unable to deny it Will just held him tighter.

“She’ll be half you.” The blonde began after a heartbeat.

“I don’t care what she looks like or smells like. Anyone with your blood in her veins will be precious to me. I’ll love her and protect her not matter what Angel.”

“But you still don’t think she’s yours.” Nico pointed out again softly.

Will pressed his forehead against the back of his neck and said nothing; unable to deny the truth of that statement.

“I love you Will.” The Italian reminded him. “And I don’t hold your doubt against you. If things were reversed and I found another Omega pregnant and running around with your scent on them I’d be quick to disbelieve you if you said the child wasn’t yours.”

Nico paused to run a hand over his aching abdomen with a fond smile.

“Because no matter what theory or worry you have running around in your head right now, I want you to know it won’t matter soon.”

Nico lowered his head to look more directly down at his rounded middle.

“She’ll be here. And she’ll be so a part of you and me that you won’t have to worry anymore. You won’t have to doubt. I promise.”

Will just held him tighter.

“I want to believe you. I want her to be our miracle. But if she isn’t, if she’s something totally different, one of us needs to be ready for that.”

Nico sighed, sounding more tired than disappointed at his mate’s disbelief.

“Everything will change once she’s here.” He simply promised them both.

Will kissed his neck before answering.

“Of that I have no doubt Angel.”
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Nico went into labor on a cloudy Wednesday afternoon in late spring.

A simple stretch to grasp a water bottle at his bedside had Nico gasping and clutching his stomach with both hands.

“Will.” He gasped anxiously.

The blonde raced across the room, IV bag still in hand from his trip to their converted closet/supply space.

“Angel, what’s wrong?” He asked just as anxiously.

“I don’t know.” Nico hissed as he rewrapped his arms around his stomach. “It hurts.”

Will was at his side in an instant; his hands already reaching out to check his vitals.

“Talk to me Sunshine, what exactly are you feeling?”

“Like something shifted that shouldn’t have.” Nico groaned.

Will wiped a cloth over his sweating forehead as he helped his love lean back against the raised portion of his bed.

“Do you think your water broke?” Will asked calmly.

Nico carefully shifted around in his hospital gown and winced before nodding.

“I think so.” He confirmed a moment later.

“That’s good Sunshine.” Will assured him. “What you felt before must have been a contraction.”

“Right.” Nico nodded weakly.

He’d spent most of his time on bed rest reading about this very thing, but reading about it and feeling it happen were two very different things.

“I’m going to tell Chiron and the others in case we need help later on, but you should try to rest while you still can Angel. This’ll take a while.”

Nico nodded and laid back as far as he could in his bed. He knew he needed to relax and rest, but he was too anxious, too worried that he’d trip at the finish line and cost them their once in a lifetime miracle.

His mate noted his worry and cupped his face in his palm.

“You’re ready for this Nico; we’re ready for this.”

The raven nodded and tried to do the breathing exercises he and Will had been practicing for weeks. As soon as the younger Demigod got a good rhythm going Will pulled his hand back and raced to their bathroom to begin making Iris calls.

They’d been planning this for months, yet Will still felt nervous.

He had at least two of his older siblings on standby in case he needed help just outside the cabin, and at least a dozen or so more ready to drop whatever they were doing to help their head consoler, but he still felt uneasy.

Nico had been improving recently with frequent IVs and a carefully planned diet, but he was still so thin, so weak. Only Will’s early intervention and treatment had made it even possible for him and the child to come this far without further complications. Still, Will knew this was going to be a strain on his mate even in the best case scenario.

Right now though, all he could do was send a quick prayer to his father and Hera, the goddess of labor and birth, and hope for the best.

For all his mate had done for the gods until now, they owed him any blessings they could bestow upon him now more than ever.

Because whatever happened, Will would need their compassion.
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As startling as the initial contraction had been, Nico grew used to it quicker than he would have expected. It hurt, gods did it hurt, but not as much as he knew it would later on.

After all the calls and preparations were made there was nothing left to do but wait. Nico knew at least half of the camp was praying for him, more if he counted those to the West, but he still wished he knew for sure that their prayers were being heard.

Ironically enough, in the middle of bringing this new life into the world, he thought of his father. With his mother and elder sister gone he had only two people who were family to him by blood. One thousands of miles away and rushing as fast as she could to get there and one in the Underworld ruling over the dead.

“Is it weird that I want to pray to my father right now?” Nico asked when his mate had finally settled at his side after rushing about to get everything ready.

Will smiled dimly at him as his reached out to comb his fingers through the younger’s sweat matted hair.

“No, it’s not weird at all Angel. It seems like that’s all I’ve been doing lately. I don’t know if my dad’s even listening anymore, but I feel better praying than just sitting around doing nothing.”

Nico smiled weakly at him at that before wincing as another contraction race up his spine.

“I need something to distract me.” He requested in slight frustration.

“What can I do?” Will asked in a rush; hating to see his mate in pain.

Nico flinched before replying as steadily as he could. “Talk to me please.”

For an instant Will literally couldn’t think of anything to talk about that wasn’t related to all the complications he was dreading could happen from here on. Thankfully he caught sight of an older picture on one of their walls, a picture from before they were even mates, taken when Will never dreamed he’d end up with the son of Hades.

“Did I ever tell you about the moment I realized I was in love with you?” Will asked quietly.

Nico smiled faintly and shook his head.

“Was it love at first sight?” He asked half jokingly.

“Not quite.” Will teased right back.

“You’d just started training new campers in sword fighting. I was watching you from the stands, waiting to help in case any of the new campers got overexcited and hurt themselves like they always seem to do in the first few weeks of camp. Even after complaining at the head consoler meeting for an hour that you’d make a terrible teacher you were still doing a much better job than Percy or Jason ever did. Your students were focused and no one had gotten more than a splinter during the whole lesson. I was able to enjoy just watching you without feeling guilty.” Will admitted with a blush.

“I thought you said you weren’t in love with me yet.” Nico questioned curiously; obviously enthralled enough with the story to be distracted at least marginally from his discomfort.

“I wasn’t.” Will clarified. “But you were still my friend. My incredibly hot friend who was doing really impressive things with a sword and smiling that smile that I adored.”

Nico was the only one to blush at that. “Oh.”

Will nodded with a teasing smile on his lips before continuing.

“You had the campers pair up to do practice duels and after a while one of the older Hermes boys got overzealous and jabbed just a little too hard at a younger child of Aphrodite. A little Omega girl barely big enough to hold her sword above her head. She was crying on the ground and I was just about to rush over and check on her when you walked over instead. You got on your knees and picked her up off the ground. Then you wiped away at her tears and talked to her. I couldn’t hear what you were saying, but when I asked her about it later she told me you were telling her that it didn’t matter who her godly parent was or what designation she bore, that she could still be the fiercest warrior in camp. That she would have the advantage of no one expecting her to be as good as she was if she practiced hard enough.”

Will stopped stroking his mate’s hair and lowered his hand until it was caressing Nico’s cheek.

“I couldn’t hear you then.” Will repeated. “But everything about the way you reacted to that situation, how you knelt and picked her up and wiped away her tears, it got to me.”

Will smiled at the memory.

“And all I could think in that moment was, ‘That’s the Omega. That’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.’”

Nico was wide eyed at that.

“That was the moment I realized I was in love with you.” Will finished with a gentle grin.

The son of Hades looked stunned.

“That was over two years before we got together! I thought you’d only liked me for less than a year before you confessed!”

Will ducked his head and bit back a smile.

“Kayla and Austin had only known I’d liked you for a year. I wasn’t about to correct them and tell them I’d been pinning for you over twice as long as that. The teasing alone would have been unbearable.” He confessed lightly.

“You never said, you never even hinted….” Nico stuttered in astonishment; suddenly seeing so many instances in his mind during that time that made so much more sense now that he knew Will had been in love with him then.

“I never wanted to pressure you with my feelings. To make you feel like that was all I wanted from you. You were my friend first and discovering I was in love with you just made the time I spent with you even more special. Plus even if we’d never gotten together, even if you’d taken another Alpha as you mate, I would still have wanted to be as close to you as you would let me be.”

Will got as close as he could to his mate as he whispered. “At the time, I never dreamed you’d ever love me back. It almost made it easier to bear thinking that it wasn’t possible; that way my hopes never got too high.”

Nico had to blink back tears as he thought of how long he’d made Will wait before he was ready to accept him.

His voice was thick with tears as he responded.

“Do you remember the day you walked me back to my cabin when my heat was just starting?”

Will smiled as he closed his eyes and pictured it. “The first time I smelled you in heat. You smelled beautiful and scared and all I wanted in the world was to make you feel safe.”

“You did.” Nico assured him.

“You didn’t ask to stay and I loved you for that. For not making me feel like I owed you for your kindness. You were never more Alpha than you were yourself. You never did anything that was against your nature just to appease your Alpha instincts.”

Nico swallowed hard before continuing.

“All I ever wanted was to have a choice; to decide for myself who I wanted to be with. You gave me that. Even when I found out how you felt about me, you were still willing to just be my friend. To put your own feelings aside for my sake.”

Nico sniffled at the memory.

“I knew the moment you walked away from my cabin. The moment you gave me every choice in the world even though you wanted me to pick you. I looked at you and thought, ‘That’s the Alpha, that’s the only one I want.’”

Nico flashed a half smile at the memory.

“You were all I thought about that heat. You and children with zaffre blue eyes.”

Will chuckled lowly at the memory of that week. “I drove myself mad that entire time worrying about you. Wanting to bring you food and water and anything you could possibly need. It killed me to stay away; to worry about some Alpha breaking into your cabin and hurting you. My siblings were about ready to kick me out of the cabin by the end of the week because they were so sick of my fretting.”

Will’s smile had its own glow as he continued.

“I couldn’t have hidden my feelings for you by then if I tried. According to Kayla you either had to be blind or a son of Hades not to notice how in love with you I was.”

“She was kind of right.” Nico admitted shyly. “If you hadn’t confessed who knows how long it would have taken me to work up the courage to tell you how I felt or notice your feelings.”

Nico leaned into the tanned hand still cupping his face.

“It would have happened though. Eventually you would have done something so endearing I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from confessing. Just remember how I reacted when you admitted your feelings.”

Years of being bonded and still Will blushed at the memory.

“I remember. Everything I’d ever wanted had just suddenly been offered to me. Turning you away, it was by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

He laughed as he continued to cradle his love’s face in his hand.

“I could never do that now.” He admitted with a fragile grin.

Nico turned his head to kiss the palm cradling his face.

“No one would ever ask you to.”

Then with a smirk he added “And I’d fight them if they did.”

It was such a Nico thing to say that it couldn’t help but draw a laugh from the blonde. Weak as the Omega was at the moment, he was still so adorably fierce.

It made Will laugh even though he felt like crying. He hated that everything in Nico’s life ended up being a fight. Growing up, their first heat, conception. Even his labor would be a fight Will would have never wished upon him.

For once he wished the fates would grant his mate an easy path, something he wouldn’t have to struggle against.

He wanted that for Nico; even if he had to be the one to clear his mate’s way.
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They talked between contractions. Trading stories and happy memories.

All the while Will stroked his mate’s hair and placed heating pads under his aching back; doing everything in his power to decease his discomfort.

Eventually though the raven had to clutch a bin to his chest in the face of rising nauseous and focus more on breathing than talking. When it got to that point Will wiped the younger’s face with a cool wet cloth and helped him shift around his bed in hopes of finding a comfortable position.

Every touch of his mate’s skin against his own was an update on his progress and Will barely dared to lose contact in case something happened. Not when his whole world had suddenly become the two racing heartbeats that were deafening in his ears.

It only got worse from there.

Given his condition pain medication had to be kept at a minimum and Nico protested against that fact with every moan that left his mouth. All Will could do was flutter about in preparation and comfort his mate as best he could.

Until eventually Nico’s moans turned to screams and the real work began.

It felt like days had passed since the first contraction had wracked the Italian’s frame and his torturous labor had begun. Because without pain medication dulling his senses Nico felt every push and stretch and tear race through his body at full force.

He would have rather faced down titans again than endure this pain. Rather battled against the many beasts of the Underworld than bear another contraction.

Only the knowledge that this would grant them their miracle and the sight of Will’s smiling face kept him grounded.

As he got further along the rest of the world fell away as he focused on Will’s calm instructions and breathing. On the sound of half hummed hymns surrounding him as his mate prepared himself for their child’s delivery. Nico took comfort in the fact that his mate had done this before in his youth and that his healing power had only strengthened with age. He trusted his mate to bring their child into the world as safely as possible.

A fact that he was especially grateful for as he lost consciousness.
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Nico awoke to a body that ached. To the uncomfortable stretch of hymn healed skin and the shushing of a little voice.

His mate was at his side, his hands running soothingly over the raven’s side as he continued his healing.

“Sunshine.” The blonde breathed with relief at the sight of Nico’s opened eyes.

The Italian blinked against the light of the room and the glow of his mate as everything came back into focus.

“Bianca.” He asked through a raw throat.

“She’s perfect.” Will immediately assured him. “Absolutely perfect.”

Everything tense within in the raven uncoiled at the news.

Before he could even ask Will was leaning down and gathering up a blue bundle of cloth from the bassinet next to his bed.

Nico cradled the bundle to his chest as he looked down at his daughter for the first time.

The first thing he saw was the tiniest tuft of raven hair peaking out from the top of the blanket. Then light honey skin tinged red from the recent labor. But lastly, and most beautifully, were the zaffre blue eyes blinking up at him sleepily.

Eyes that were exact duplicates of his mate’s own.

The sight brought tears to his own dark chocolate gaze as he looked to his mate. To the beautiful exhausted smile on his face and the tears in his own eyes.

“She has my eyes.” The blonde breathed in wonder; seemingly still mystified at the sight despite how long he must have had to take in the information while Nico was unconscious.

“I knew she would.” Nico whispered proudly.

Will still shook his head in slow disbelief.

“How?” He asked, referring to how she came to be rather than Nico’s supposed knowledge of her eye color.

“Because she’s a gift.” A third voice answered. Both demigods froze at the addition to their conversation as their eyes raced over to door of their cabin.

Both knew a god when they saw one, but neither were able to name the deity that stood in their doorway.

He was cloaked in vines and dandelions, with emerald skin and golden eyes.

A staff of bamboo clutched in his large hand was the clue that eventually brought back a memory to the blonde of the pair.

“Priapus.” He guessed as he stood to instinctively hover protectively over his mate and child.

“God of fertility.” The god continued with a wide grin. “Able to draw seeds from the most barren of source.” He boasted.

Will tensed at the claim as he glanced down at the daughter logic told him shouldn’t exist.

“What do you mean by gift?” Nico asked with cautious curiosity as he peaked around his mate.

The god laughed as he reached forward to nudge Will’s shoulder with the end of his staff.

“Your healer saved my daughter and a god never forgets a debt. So I offered a fair reward. A life for a life. A daughter for a daughter.”

Priapus looked at Bianca fondly for a moment before turning his golden gaze back to them.

“Like my own she’ll be your only child in this lifetime. So cherish her well sons of Apollo and Hades.”

Then as quickly as he’d arrived he vanished. Leaving behind only two wide eyed demigods and their dozing daughter.
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“Papa, we’re going to be late!” Bianca whined as Nico continued to carefully braid her long raven hair. The older raven only hummed softly in response as he finished tying the end with a yellow ribbon. “We have plenty of time Amore.” He assured her with a kiss to her head. The zaffre blue eyed 8 year old was all but twitching with excitement at the thought of the day ahead. It was the first day of summer and all of the children of the Seven and their many friends were planning a day of games and challenges for the young second generation of demigods; the first of the Greek demigods to be considered an entire surviving generation of legacies.

“Cousin Anthony and Aunt Hazel promised to tell me all about this new program for translating modern English into ancient Greek and Roman! I could finally read the whole Harry Potter Series without getting a headache!”

“That sounds wonderful Sweetheart.” Will answered from the doorway of their cabin.

“Daddy!” Bianca shrieked at the sight of her other parent.

Will knelt down and gathered his daughter up as she ran into his arms.

“You look beautiful Darling.” He complimented before turning to face his mate.

“You both do.” He admitted with fondness. Nico gave the blonde a tender look before joining his family in the open doorway.

“I can see Uncle Frank!” Bianca shouted from her place in Will’s arms.

“Or another bear that lets little Demigods ride on its back.” Nico added with a fond eye roll.

“Can I go now please?” The little girl begged.

Will placed his own quick kiss to their daughter’s forehead before putting her back on the ground. “What are the rules when there are visitors at camp?”

Bianca crossed her arms and rolled her eyes just like her Papa.

“No scaring the kids that don’t know Sally can breathe underwater by holding her down until the air bubbles stop. No convincing Anthony he’s going to be stuck like an animal if he turns into one too long……”

“And?” Will prompted.

Bianca looked at the ground and mumbled something under her breath.

“And?” Will prompted again a little more firmly.

With a sigh the younger demigod answered with a grumble.

“And no raising any skeleton animals unless you’re there to supervise or it’s an emergency.”

Will smiled and ruffled her hair. “That’s my girl. You run on ahead and we’ll catch up to you in a little bit.”

Bianca’s braids bounced in her excitement as she nodded before bounding out the door.

“A single skeleton kitten wouldn’t be the end of the world Tesoro.” Nico teased when she was out of hearing range.

The blonde just smiled tiredly as Nico leaned back against his chest. “She acts more like you everyday.” He whispered with pride as he wrapped his arms around his mate.

“Until she starts to glow in her sleep at night like a certain son of Apollo I love.” The raven countered.

The blonde laughed as he placed a kiss on his love’s neck.

“I love you too Sunshine. More and more every day.”

Nico glowed in his own way as he placed his own arms over Will’s.

“I was standing here when I first fell in love with you.” He whispered. “Right in this doorway.”

“And I was standing at the bottom of those stairs, wondering how you couldn’t see how much I adored you.”

Nico tilted his head back more to offer more of his neck to his mate.

“When I was a teen I never really thought I’d get to have this. An Alpha, a daughter…..A family. I was standing here the first time I thought it was actually possible. That someday I could have a claiming mark on my neck and a child in my arms.”

Will placed a quick kiss to his mate’s bared neck before replying.

“Back then I was so sure you’d pick someone else. That you’d never look at an Alpha that would rather heal than hurt anyone. I didn’t dare believe that one day you’d ask to be mine. That you’d give me a family when I didn’t even think it was possible.”

“It could have never been anyone else Will.” The raven promised. “After all.” Nico added with an adoring sigh. “I picked the best Alpha.”

Will let go of his mate just long enough to turn him around and look into his eyes.

“And I picked the best Omega.” He agreed.

And in the very doorway their love began they kissed. A kiss that was the renewal of all their promises to each other over the years; and a promise of many happy years ahead.

Together.