Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/11767893. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Underage Category: M/M Fandom: Percy_Jackson_and_the_Olympians_-_Rick_Riordan, The_Heroes_of_Olympus_- Rick_Riordan, Percy_Jackson_and_the_Olympians_&_Related_Fandoms_-_All Media_Types Relationship: Nico_di_Angelo/Will_Solace Character: Nico_di_Angelo, Will_Solace, Jason_Grace, Percy_Jackson, Hazel_Levesque, Original_Characters Additional Tags: Oneshot, long_fic, Insecurities, Depression, Fluxuating_Nico, Intern Will, Talking, Lots_of_words, Sex, Smut, Two_young_boys_in_Virginia, Only used_the_location_for_one_unfunny_line, First_Time_Ship, after_hoo, Leeway_in_terms_of_timeframe_for_ToA, Its_fanfiction_dont_worry Stats: Published: 2017-08-10 Words: 15604 ****** Seven Things to be Insecure About Me ****** by Fanficanatic Summary A linear storyline that follows Nico and Will as they traverse their relationship, coupled with the doubt that troubles our Ghostly King. For while there may be good times to come, what's we never truly overcome are our insecurities. Alternative Title: Nico Di Angelo - 7 Reasons Why Cause Netflix Already Used 13 Reasons Why Notes This shit took me two months to complete, better be fucking worth all the trouble. Hello! This is my first ever Solangelo fic, and I love Nico ships, so this was a fun experience. This fan fiction is a labor of all of my love and thoughts, so enjoy it. I have chaptered fanfics ony page if you would like to check it out, so please, enjoy my story! EDIT: HNNNNNNN I FORGOT TO EDIT OUT A NOTE I LEFT FOR MYSELF NOOB MOVE GAAH BETA EDITING FOR YOURSELF IS HARD See the end of the work for more notes 1. Weight “Nico, I bought us some food!” With the promise of food in mind, the son of Hades came bounding from his room in the spacious apartment they shared to see what had been bought for him. Will, after a long day of interning at the local hospital, just wanted to get something quick and easy, so he went to the nearest restaurant and ordered some take out. The bright son of Apollo plopped the individual bags of food onto the kitchen table so that he could sort them out. “Okay, I got myself a salad and some chicken tenders, don’t touch that. Here’s your food, babe. I got you a hamburger, no pickles, fries, and water.” Pulling out the aforementioned food, Nico noticed the size difference in portions. He piped up, voice bordering on appalled and annoyed. “Hey, Solace, I know you went all out for me by buying this stuff, but uh, what the fuck is that?” Will stopped in his task to glance at Nico’s eyes bulging from the sheer mass of the burger. It was a double patty, cheese filled, topped with tons of vegetables, a large platter of french fries, and a bottle filled with at least a gallon of water. “Hmm? Oh, that’s so that you can get back to your average weight. You are severely underweight for a fifteen year old.” Nico looked at the burger and back at his boyfriend, his stare giving off more incredulous words than could be expressed. “B-but look at that shit! It’s huge! And I'm not that underweight…” Pouty Nico reared its head, and Will cooed at the sight, petting the head of hair and kissing his forehead. “Babe, you're 100 pounds. That puts you in the 5th percentile of average Americans boys.” “I’m an Italian immigrant, of course I'm going to be the outlier in a statistic made for American boys!” Will chuckled and snapped open his salad, inhaling the scent of the fresh greens and spreading some caesar salad dressing atop it. “You live in America, that makes you American. Welcome to the land of the free.” “And the land of the obese. I thought you were a doctor, shouldn't you be monitoring what I eat, per say, a giant cheeseburger and fries?” Will, who had been munching happily away at his dinner, gave him a deadpanned stare. “Nico, I know what you can and cannot eat, and I know for a fact that this right here is not going to magically make you gain 40 pounds. It is going to clog your arteries, mind you, but with the exercise program we do-” “You mean the exercise program I do. You’re already Mr. Perfect Health, Washboard Abs M.D.” Will blushed at the compliment, biting into a crunchy piece of chicken before continuing. “Your metabolism needs to kickstart, and the only way that is going to happen is by eating three meals a day, three filling meals a day, and a few snacks in between. Pomegranates do not count as a meal.” Nico glared at the son of the Sun as if he could argue that claim. “Well, pomegranates have kept me alive before, so there!” “Magical pomegranates do not have the necessary protein that helps you develop stronger brain cells.” Nico groaned and grabbed the burger, holding it up to his face and silently pleading with Will once more. The doctor in training shook his head and Nico grumbled incoherently before biting into it. The entire thing was heavenly, the unhealthy feast sending endorphins through his body, but one bite was already enough to tell Nico he was done. “I'm full.” “You are not full. You haven’t even reached the point where the food has digested. And I know you can eat more, remember that steak the other day.” Nico gazed dreamily into the distance, flashbacking to a recent experience. “Hell fucking yeah I remember that porterhouse steak, it was magnificent…” Nico snapped out of his reverie to glare at Will, who was dipping a tender in some barbeque sauce. “Heathen, dipping your chicken in barbeque sauce. Honey mustard is where it’s at.” Will put a hand to his chest and gasped, his sarcasm exuding out of his pores. “Well, sorry, Mr. Foodie, you must eat a lot to know what goes good with what! Oh wait…” That struck a major chord in Nico. He crossed his arms and looked at the floor, eyes a bit watery. “Meanie.” Will, who had been smiling a few moments ago from teasing the younger boy, immediately felt bad. Why was it that whenever he used that tone of voice and made Nico look like that, he felt like such a shit human being? There was one way he could make him smile, however. “Oh ho ho, look who’s coming to get you, Di Angelo…” Nico’s eyes widened as he recognized that tone of voice. He flipped from hurt emotionally to enraged and wary in the next few seconds. “Solace, don’t you fucking dare touch me after what you-!” “IT’S THE TICKLE MONSTER!” Nico screeched and ducked under Will, who had become possessed by an otherworldly being known as the “Tickle Monster”. “Solace, I'm not playing games with you, I will shadow travel my ass to Puerto Rico if you keep this up!” “The Tickle Monster will always find you, Di Angelo! He won’t stop till he makes you scream in delight!” “Fucking childish, man!” Nico jumped the couch and landed on the hardwood floor and planned to slide in between Will’s legs to their bedroom and to freedom, but the Tickle Monster was an omnipresent being who predicted even the slightest movements. He easily saw what Nico would do and trapped him in between his legs, making him his victim. “I GOTS YOU!” Nico uttered a bloodcurdling scream so unlike his stoic demeanor that it would have caused the others in their apartment building to call the police. Unluckily for Nico, Will had specifically asked a favor from the Hecate Cabin a month ago to put up spells around the apartment. Some of the spells included making the place soundproof, bullet proof, rainproof, and impervious to physical damage, after a mishap with sword practice. The Ghost King struggled to be released as the Tickle Monster shoved his hands in all of the spots that made him yell in laughter. “S-stop, Will, I swear, I will, ha! I will get, HA! Hahahaha!!!! STOP, P- PLEASE!” The Tickle Monster, satisfied with his deed, transformed back into Will, who had sneakily brought the food bag with him. He silently straddled himself between Nico’s legs and held the boy close, making sure he wouldn’t leave again. As quick as lightning, he stuck a few fries in Nico’s mouth, who chewed on them while having a frown upon his face. “You don’t play fairly!” “I don’t have to. I just want you to be healthy, babe.” Nico glared at the sunshine child above him. “Eat my ass.” “I’d rather you eat the food I bought you.” “After the mean things you said to me, I think I’m good on that burger.” Will smirked and leaned down to whisper in Nico’s ear, voice laced with filthy intentions. “If you finish that burger by today, I’m sure I’ll be more than willing to give your yearly check-up early, if you know what I mean.” He emphasized the word “check-up” with an emphatic smack to the other’s ass, making Nico whimper in keen lust. He flipped Will over, to his surprise, and ran back to the kitchen, where he once again tried to devour the burger as quickly as possible, a Herculean task in itself. The healer got up quickly too, screaming after Nico. “Shit, Nico! I said finish the burger by today, not in the next 30 seconds! Cease! You might hurt yourself and suffocate!” =============================================================================== 2. Height It was summer, and the two demigods had come back to camp to help out with planning activities and giving sword/healing lectures. On his day off, Nico walked quietly through the strawberry fields, watching the satyrs play on their reed pipes and grow the decadent fruits in the everlasting summer. His default frown turned into a slight smirk when he saw one with ardent enthusiasm grow one that was twice the size of the others, and proceed to freak out. He was so enthralled with the actions of the satyr, he didn’t hear someone approach him from behind. “Hey, Nico.” Nico turned his shoulder to see Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, floating behind him. No wonder he didn’t hear him. He nodded his head to show he acknowledged his presence and went back to gazing at the satyr who was still flipping bricks. Jason followed his gaze and chuckled softly. “Wonder why he’s freaking out.” The younger teen shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe he has OCD. He must like his strawberries to grow a certain size.” Jason nodded his head and set his feet on the ground, standing next to Nico. The blonde tapped him on the shoulder and he looked behind once more, curious as to what he wanted. “Hey, dude, want to go and fly in the sky?” Nico suddenly looked panicked for a second, fear clouding his eyes. Why would Jason want to take him up to the sky all of a sudden? Was it because he did something and he wanted to discuss it? The panic faded away, letting a scowl settle instead. “Jason, I’m not sure you remember this, but I am the son of Hades, a.k.a, the son of the Underworld. Under. Not above. His domain and Zeus’ do not coincide with each other.” Jason rolled his eyes and looked towards the heavens. “I’ll just pray to my father to make sure he doesn’t shoot us down. Besides, I feel like you’ll really enjoy it up there.” Nico crossed his arms and huffed. “I don’t believe I will. If I remember correctly, your father also did something to me that really scarred me in a way that I don’t think I’ll be able to recover from.” Jason winced at the harsh tone of voice that Nico used, but persisted nonetheless. “Well, here, why don’t I pray to Jupiter that he doesn’t shoot us down? He can only be in one form at a time, and while he may be stricter than Zeus, he also doesn’t have that sort of vendetta against you.” Nico glared for a few seconds longer before groaning and waving his hand in a “get it over with” manner. Jason clapped his hands and breathed out slowly, closing his eyes in the process. “Iuppiter Optimus Maximus, dux et protector deum luminis, et caelum, I, Jason, former praetor of Camp Jupiter and Pontifex Maximus, wish to enter the domain of the sky and fly freely in the winds of you. On this sunny blessed day, if you grant us the ability to do so and have faith in our abilities, your son and the son of the almighty Pluto, to converse, the bond between brothers may be strengthened, coupled with, in the name of Camp Half-Blood, my dinner tonight.” Jason opened his eyes to see Nico staring at him in amusement. “What’s so funny?” “You have to specify what you have to give him before you pray to him?” “Yeah, man. Knowing what you are going to get is very important. Who would want a liar in the cohorts?” Nico raised his hands to admit surrender. “Not me, man.” Just as he said that, a slight warm breeze washed over the both of them, filling them with a strange energy, almost unreal. “There’s our blessing, let’s go. Hold onto me.” Nico sized Jason up and sighed, grabbing onto one of his muscled arms. “Why do you have to be so tall?” Jason smirked, his scar stretching slightly. “Why do you have to be so short? Genetics, my dear boy.” With that, Jason flew up and away into the air, making Nico holler in terror. “Holy crap, Sparky, do you ever get used to the change in quick pressure, Jesus fucking Christ!” “We don’t believe in him, Nico.” Jason did a few loop de loops (which made Nico want to hurl up the burger he ate last week) and brought them up to a really tall cliff near Zeus’ Fist, far away that the campers wouldn’t see them, but close enough that monsters wouldn’t sniff them out. Nico stumbled off and lay on the floor. “Now I know what Thalia meant when she said she hated heights…” Jason sat on the cliff, looking over the entire camp. The blue waters of the lake shimmered in the sunlight, playing illusions and tricks upon the mind. The rock wall could be seen, heat emanating from the lava side and campers trying to climb up the wall like ants on an incline. The Parthenon pavilion was the centerpiece, however, the bright white pillars and Greek exterior really painting the picture of something bigger than a summer camp. A legacy. “Isn’t it beautiful?” Nico, who had gotten over his nausea episode, crawled over to Jason and nodded. “Peachy. Now, what did you want to talk about?” “How is Will? Is he the best person you could ask for in a boyfriend?” Nico looked out to the water, swinging his legs openly. “I guess so. I mean, he’s overbearing and kind of pushy, but that’s only when my health is concerned. He’s very sweet, always smiling, and he’s got a dark sense of humor for a son of Apollo. Might have been because of all the things he’s seen as a doctor.” Nico allowed himself to laugh for a moment before continuing. “I can’t believe it’s almost been eight months.” “Eight months since what?” Nico rubbed his arm in a nonchalant fashion, too preoccupied with the action to look at Jason. “Eight months since I confessed to Percy.” Jason nodded, exhaling softly before throwing an arm around Nico’s shoulder, not afraid of getting punched by the teen. “From the way you speak about it, it’s almost as if you haven’t given up on him.” Nico whipped his head to glare at Jason, who had a slight frown upon his face. “It’s hard moving on, okay? How would you feel if you felt like a freak, three years younger than the hero of all time, and you confessed your feelings for them? I told him he wasn’t my type, but he still is. He just tries to act as if everything is okay, but I know he must feel really awkward right now. I just have to accept that oblivious people need to stay oblivious to make things simpler. Me included.” Jason rubbed him on the shoulder softly, thinking hard about how to formulate a response. “Nico, I came up here to talk to you just about this. Yes, Percy is an idiot and oblivious and all the adjectives that make him the archetype for “stupid hero”, but he is a good guy, has good intentions, and wants you to understand he will make sure to talk this through. He doesn’t want it to seem like he’s treating you as normal, but be upfront about the issue at hand. What if this starts affecting your relationship with Will.” “It won’t.” The swift response was just as Jason suspected. “But what if it does.” Nico grimaced at the repeated question, and gave Jason the answer he wanted through gritted teeth. “It won’t, and if it does, I’ll face it head on instead of running away. I’m not the child I used to be.” “You forgot one thing. You need to face it head on with the friends you made.” Nico turned his head towards Jason, who was now smiling sadly. “Nico, I love you like a brother. You would totally have been my bud back in Camp Jupiter, and I care about you.” “You only cared about me after you found out I hated myself for being gay.” “And what about now, eight months later? I’m sure if I only did it because you were gay, I’d have taken you from Will myself.” Nico blushed at the unexpected compliment, but Jason was on a roll. “Look, I care about you more than all the others here at this camp. You just have this personality I want to pry into, and the most heart out of everyone, so I just want to make you happy. And if making you happy is tackling that son of Poseidon and having you tell him what’s truly up instead of “Oh, you’re not my type, see you later my still unrequited love”, it’s time to invest in football pads, because I’m ready.” Nico dipped his head slightly, still looking out into the distance. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it. I bet this is what you see whenever you fly. Or is it because you are tall?” “Stop changing the subject.” “Stop being so mushy with me, Jason. I understand what I did was half-assed and stupid, no need to berate me. I will take up your offer in the future, just not right now.” Jason smiled, and Nico felt slight butterflies in his stomach. He might have a thing for blondes and well as green eyed men. “Also, I brought you up here to tell you that I'm leaving again.” “Okay, Camp Jupiter is a great place, I enjoy the Bay Area. I'll be sure to-” “Not to Camp Jupiter.” Nico paused and narrowed his eyes, staring at Jason suspiciously. “Then where are you going?” “Los Angeles. Piper got accepted to a private school there and I'm going to be attending UCLA.” Nico shook his head in disbelief. “No way, you got accepted? What’s your major, man?” “Political Science and International Relations.” “A son of Jupiter becoming a future diplomat? How unique.” Jason snorted into the air, making Nico snort in reply twice as hard. “Don’t come crying back here when you realize how hard double majoring is.” “How would you know? Back in the 30’s, you didn’t even have to go to college that much for a job.” “That’s because the world was starving from the Depression. Times are changing, man.” Jason bowed his head, deep in thought now. “I’m going to miss you.” “I won’t.” The surprised look on Jason’s face from the quip sent Nico into slight hysterics. “O-of course I’ll miss you, dope! Even if we’ve only known each other for about a year, you’re an alright friend. You tired of this life shit now? I'm ready to sleep.” “Okay, let’s go. High five me, man.” Jason extended his arm out to Nico and the son of Hades balked a moment before going out to slap the other’s hand. Jason, being the annoying friend that he was, extended his arm above his head, way out of reach of Nico. The younger teen sat stupefied, before becoming engulfed in fury and pushed Jason off the cliff. Jason, despite being surprised, chuckled as he fell 50 feet before activating his powers. He flew back up the cliffside and snickered at Nico, who still looked as mad as a hornet. “What if I wasn’t the son of Jupiter, huh? I would have died.” “I hate tall people!” Jason rolled over in the air laughing as Nico began throwing little pebbles and rocks at the floating boy. =============================================================================== 3. Body Image “Oh my gods, why is it so hot!” Will had applied sunscreen to his body thoroughly and it still felt like he was getting baked. His summer tan could only protect his melanin-deprived skin for so long. All he had brought to protect him from the heat was a giant straw lifeguard hat. “Quit being a baby, you don’t see me complaining.” Will turned around from the bench he sat on to stare at his boyfriend. Nico was completely covered head to toe, wearing black skinny jeans and a The Who printed black tank top. His pale arms shone in the bright sunlight, even to some eyes causing a glare. “Nico, why are you still wearing skinny jeans in 101 degree weather? You’re going to get a heat stroke in your pants.” “I don’t think anyone has ever gotten a heat stroke so bad, their penis fell off.” Despite saying words such as shit and fuck, Nico had gotten into the habit of never saying euphemisms for his dick. He only ever called it what it was. Will would have expected him to say it by now, but nope. Still nothing. “Touche. Still, I have some black swim shorts for you to wear.” “No. I'm not going swimming anyway.” Will raised his eyebrows surprised. “Uh, yes, you are. Besides, it’s not just for swimming. You can just sit in it if you please.” “Uh, no, I'm not. What are you going to do, bring out the Tickle Monster? I'll kick your ass if you do.” Will leaned backwards unamused before standing back up. Nico, not expecting him to be so direct, backtracked in his steps. The blonde walked one step forward, then another, then another until he was calmly walking up to Nico. The aforementioned boy in the meanwhile was still walking backwards, uncertain of what was to come. “Hey, stop it, I won’t do it.” Will was unperturbed by the words uttered by a desperate Nico, who noticed how close the other had gotten. Will stopped only a hair's breadth away from Nico before leaning close to him. “Kick my ass? Just because I want to do what? Clothe you? Are you going to reprimand me later for giving you a bottle of water when you so obviously need it in this weather? I'm sorry for caring so much.” Will draped the shorts over Nico’s shoulder and walked back to the bench, leaving him be and trying to fix up the picnic basket he made for the date he planned. Nico felt guilty. Nico was guilty. He shouldn’t had said anything and just put on the fucking shorts. He just didn’t want his partner to see how ugly and skinny and pale he was in the sun. He had seen him naked many times now, but not in such a public manner and not wearing beach attire. He quickly rushed to the bathroom to change, slipping on the shorts and cursing his stupidity. He ran back outside to find Will all smiles again, holding the basket out. “Ready to go, babe?” He didn’t deserve to be called babe. He sucked as a boyfriend. “Yeah, ready as I'll ever be. At least you didn’t get tacky Hawaiian print shorts for me to wear.” Will scoffed. “I was considering it, but the thought of you slowly gauging my eyes out with a spoon flashed before my eyes and I didn’t commit to the purchase.” As they walked through the camp to the lake, multiple people saw them walking by. Nico still had his shirt on while Will had taken his shirt off, displaying his amazing body to everyone. Random campers would whistle at him or scream his name in a fanboy-ish manner, waving themselves and winking. Nico was getting a bit self-conscious now, no one even mumbling a hello for him to have. He even saw the Stoll brothers, Connor and Travis, wolf whistling and screaming compliments at Will, which he rolled his eyes at, but said nothing to Nico, despite being his friend when he was in their cabin a few years ago. I mean, it was not like he wasn’t used to it. The son of Hades was not really someone you spontaneously decided “Wow, I’d really like to get to know you. Wanna be best friends?” Being with someone, however, and getting treated like the same type of trash while they were greeted accordingly and patted on the back was demoralizing. It got worse once they arrived to the lake. “Hey Will, want to play some volleyball? We got one more spot open.” “No thank you, I'm here with my boyfriend for a date.” The daughter of Nike who had asked him to play stared awhile at Nico, becoming uncomfortable with the attention. “Oh… it’s you. The Hades spawn.” Rude much? Most people weren’t blunt about their dislike for him, but her narrowed eyes and thick braid whipped around, showing their disapproval of his existence. It would have been nicer if she had been straight out racist and called him “that spaghetti fucker”. “Why are you wearing black of all colors, it’s so hot outside.” Nico pursed his lips at the girl, sending her his signature glare. “I like the color black, it goes with everything.” She turned back to Will, clearly unimpressed. “You’re dating him? Really? Okay, I guess. See you later, Will.” She gave him one last dirty look and smacked the ball over the net, continuing their game. He could feel himself wanting to sink lower into the ground, dragging her screaming body with him. Okay, calm down, Mr. Emotional. They arrived at the spot they wanted, a clearing by the water next to some shady rocks. They laid down their blanket and leaned against the rocks, silently eating their sandwiches. All the while Will looked at Nico with a smile, while Nico hesitantly smiled back before becoming entranced with his sandwich. “Are you okay, Nico?” “I'm okay.” “Shayla was being a bitch.” Nico choked a bit on his sandwich before gazing at Will again, albeit… nervously, Will noted. “Who?” “You know who, that Nike girl.” “Oh, yeah. But she was right. I wear too much black.” Will raised an eyebrow at that statement. What was Nico on about today? “When do you ever wear too much black?” “Apparently now.” Will chewed a bit of his prime roast sandwich before continuing. “And when do you ever give a shit about what others say about you? If you wanted, you could just take off your shirt.” Nico looked down at his shirt, and gripped it with his hand. “But I like it. Besides, me shirtless is kind of gross.” Will put down his sandwich and put his hands on his legs, looking confused at his significant other. “Gross? Why would you shirtless be gross? I love seeing you shirtless.” Nico angrily bit his sandwich before continuing. “Doesn’t mean everyone does. I look like a skeleton, all pale and sickly, and I mean, I am only 100 pounds. Just trying to look out for everyone else.” “You don’t look bad. Okay, if you don’t want to eat out here near the lake where everyone can see you, why don’t we go back to the cabins and eat?” Will frowned and put a hand on the basket before Nico put his hand on top of his, desperately trying to amend his mess up. “No! Please don’t. I know how much thought you put into this date, please, stay. I don’t want to ruin this.” Will released his hand from the basket, smiling sadly and ruffled Nico’s hair. “You’re so cute. I just wish you saw that about yourself.” Nico nodded, not agreeing with what he said. Will kissed him on the lips and they continued their date, undisturbed by anyone else. When they were done, they packed up the leftover food and sat by the water, splashing and playing around. Thirty minutes passed and Nico jumped into the cold lake (since Will insisted he wait), the temperature much different than from the surface. Will jumped in and all hell broke loose. Water flew everywhere, heads were dunked, and he was sure bathing suits were pulled down slightly. After an hour, Will became tired and left the water, Nico following suit. He had no shirt on now and was dripping wet with lake water. Nico’s lean body was shining in the light, a pale beacon of light for anyone to see. His small nipples bare for the world to gaze upon, his slight 4 pack becoming more defined by the day. Will could adore his boyfriend all day. He didn’t look like a skeleton, he looked ethereal, almost holy in a sacrilegious fashion. Will approached Nico from behind and pulled his hair, turning him and kissing the lips in front of him deeply and securely. The Ghost King let out a sound of surprise before melting into the kiss, letting Will dominate the landscape that was his mouth. Their lips moved in harmony, no clashing of teeth to hurt each other. Will’s hands slid smoothly over Nico’s sides, rubbing him in an effort to soothe him. His hands then wandered to play a bit with the nipples in front of him, causing the raven haired boy to moan lewdly into the healer’s open mouth. He let go of the kiss to spread light love marks across Nico’s neck, singing his praise about his boyfriend. “You’re such a good person, Nico. You are the most loving person I have ever met. I really believe you deserve so much.” Nico loved receiving praise, regardless of whether the situation warranted it or not. He knew it would be over soon, the praise, the love, and it would all go back to jokes and lighthearted insults and ignoring him. His whine into the air was cut short as Will reattached his lips to his own. Nico had entered Elysium, enjoying the taste of Will, savory like a ripe cheese and sweeter than buttercream between cake. The son of Apollo parted his lover’s lips, slipping his tongue inside. Nico needed this, crying out in joy when Will pulled him closer by the hips. Nico wanted this. But he didn’t deserve it. “Perfect.” Not really, he was broken and needy. “You’re so cute. It’s adorable.” He was creepy, stop it. A small blush formed in his cheeks, dusting it pink. “You make me so happy.” Nico halted in his kissing, now really listening to what Will was saying. He chewed his lip through the tonguing, contemplating the statement nervously. Did he? Did he really make him happy? He looked happy, but he couldn’t be happy with what he’s receiving. Terrible looks, skinny body, gaunt face. Did he really seem happy with that? “Hey!” Both boys separated from each other at the sound of a voice, calling in the distance. “Hey, put a shirt on, you walking toothpick! No one wants to see you like that!” “Yeah, ugly ass Hades kid! Try not to get too sunburnt, sour cream colored motherfucking faggot!” That was enough. Nico looked towards the ground, unshed tears once again forming in his eyes. He had to keep his face, not show any emotion, but it was so hard when Will was there, the only person who actually tried to seem as if they gave a damn about how he felt. His hands curled into fists and his knees gave out, realizing that water was now flowing free from his eyes. Will, however, could only see red. He put a finger to his mouth and whistled really loudly, the amplified sound traveling in a specific direction before hitting its target. The two similar voices screeched in pain before silencing once more, leaving a flock of birds to soar upwards to escape the sonic blast. Will breathed hard, hands curled in fists. Why did everyone hate Nico? He was a complex person, yes, but he cared more than anyone he had ever known. He didn’t deserve any of this. Will turned to find Nico sitting down once more, hands wringed around his shirt and hugging it, as if to cover up his body. Will’s heart broke at the sight of his boyfriend’s face, stiff and teary. “Nico…” Will reached down to hold Nico in his arms, and that’s the first time he had ever seen his Ghost King break down and sob, dejectedly and broken. The healer held onto him like he was the last thing after a major storm, washing away houses and memories except this one piece. He wouldn’t let go, not now. Not for a long time. =============================================================================== 4. Personality “Kayla, I need an IV bag for Casey over here. No Casey, it’s not filled with morphine, it’s just filled with water.” When Will wasn’t at the hospital, he was at the camp infirmary, tending to the wounds of the sick and needy. Or in this case, the stupid and the easily bruised. Most of the campers liked Will, as he was always attentive and knew just how to speed up the healing process so they could injure themselves again. “Okay, Austin, stop playing around with that scalpel, I need you to make an incision and remove the bits of glass embedded in Ashley’s leg. Yes, all of them! We can’t have her going around with an infected leg.” The African- American teen grumbled before picking up the device and smiling nervously at his equally nervous patient. “Nico, I need you to stand over here and give me that antiseptic, we need to disinfect the leg before applying more pressure.” Nico stood in the middle of the room, completely heedless of how to do anything. “You’re not even surprised that I’m in here? Especially since the door is locked?” Will waived his hand in the air noncommittally. “I’ll scream at you for shadow traveling later, more hands means faster day, which means I can leave sooner. So come here and administer the antiseptic.” “Uhhh…” Will groaned and looked around at the table in front of him. “To the left of the purple ambrosia box.” Nico picked up a random bottle without looking only for Will to deadpan him. “No.” Nico proceeded to pick up multiple random bottles to the chagrin of Will, who needed to disinfect the bloody patient immediately. “Nope.” “Nada.” “Oh, like hell I’ll applying that on his leg.” “Are you even trying?” “No, no, okay. Look for the purple box! You know what purple is? It’s blue and red combined.” Nico glared at him, obviously not enjoying the sarcastic teasing he had to endure. “You know, I don’t know this place. For all I know, it could be this bottle.” Will snickered a bit before gesturing his hand to come over to him. “It is.” Nico looked down at the bottle, then back at Will before groaning and handing him the spray. “Thank you so much for your detailed instructions, Washboard Abs M.D.” Will cleverly ignored the blatant jab and sprayed some disinfectant on the screaming boy, who was fighting against the magical rope the Hephaestus Cabin donated to subdue rowdy patients. “Marco, stop struggling! It’s going to get better!” “Fuck you, it hurts! Goddamn Hermes Cabin and their pranks, I'm gonna pop their skulls individually!” The son of Ares kept making rash comments before screaming at the intensified pain. Will held his breath and counted to 10 before conversing with Nico. “Do you have any solutions?” “If I did, I would have given them to you.” Marco shot his head up and glowered menacingly at Nico. “Hey, get the death fairy out of here! He’s making it worse!” Nico disappeared only to pop up on the other side of the bed and stare directly into the boy’s dark grey eyes. “The death fairy can hear you, and will make you disappear down a death fairy induced hole straight to Hades himself. I wonder how he’d torture an Ares kid like you…” Almost immediately, Marco paled and started blubbering and thrashing in his ropes, to the amusement of Nico. Will stood at the sidelines, shaking his head and glancing up occasionally to watch the display in front of him. “I’m sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I don’t want to die today, save me, Will!” The brown haired boy glanced teary eyed up at the blonde healer, who was having an early onset case of headaches. Nico cackled maniacally, fingers twirling in an evil villain caricature fashion. “Yes, Will, save him before I chop up his body and serve the bloody limbs still wriggling to Cerberus! He-heh-hahahaha!” This unexpectedly morbid turn for the worst caused Marco to start crying pathetically in the bed with tears dribbling down his cheeks, seemingly breaking Will from his disappointed state. “Okay, Marco, stop crying. I will make sure Nico is dead before you are out of here with that injury if he touches you. Nico, get out.” “What, I didn’t…” “Get out or else no sex. For a month.” Nico crossed his arms and pouted, before rolling his eyes and swishing the curtain out of his way. Will finished his tending of Marco and left him in the bed with one of his younger siblings, sniffling, to be comforted after the traumatizing teasing Nico brought upon. He searched the two story building trying to locate his boyfriend before happening on him in the lobby, reading one of the god’s magazines with a look of extreme boredom. The son of Hades finally looked up to see a very pissed looking surfer dude in scrubs with his arms crossed. “Sup.” “Why? He was already stressed due to his injury, now I have my younger sister holding his hand to see if he needs anything. I know he insulted you, but-” Nico raised a hand and glared irritably at Will before continuing himself. “I did it because I wanted to have fun, be adventurous, so I decided to mess around with him. It’s just my sense of humor.” Will shook his head incredulously. “By threatening him with death? And feeding him to Cerberus?” “My dog hasn’t seen humans beside me in such a long time, I mean, he gets bored to, you know?” Will had to take a heavy breath before he strangled the person before him, eyes hard, unforgiving. “I know when to find things funny, and when not. Most of the time, the shit that comes out of your mouth is hilarious, but that was not funny. I care immensely about my patients. How would you like it if someone did that right in your face?” Nico shrugged, complacent with the argument. “People do it all the time in front of me, they don’t care. Why should I care?” Will waved his hands around his head wildly, too filled with emotion to care. “You should care because it obviously affects you! If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t imitate the very thing they do to put you down.” Nico paused and silently brooded, his face down. Will crossed his arms before sighing and sitting in the chair next to Nico, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. “Why do you do this to yourself, Neeks? Put yourself down? Is it stress? Is it because Jason left for California? What is it?” Nico mumbled something quietly before Will could hear what it was. “What?” Nico sighed loudly in exasperation before attempting to speak again. “I said, it doesn’t matter. I don’t matter. Just, leave me alone.” “Stop pushing others who want to help you away! I understand it might be hard, but there’s no need to isolate yourself.” “No.” The room suddenly turned 10 times colder, a blast of icy wind seemingly rushing in from nowhere leaving the area frosty to the touch. The receptionist at the front desk screamed and ran into the next room, as well as some other awaiting patients, not keen on enduring the wrath of Hades through his son. Nico stood, his eyes blazing with anger and grief, the mixture of emotions swirling inside his head. Will’s hair stood on end but he stood his ground against the furious kid. “You don’t understand, okay? You’re a healer, you heal wounds. You can’t “heal” memories, or shit! I’ve been through things that I can only speak about with others who have been on my “quests”, or whatever the fuck you call those hellish nightmares. I have every right to isolate myself.” Will shook his head and glared at his boyfriend vehemently, stomping a foot down. “You have every right to isolate yourself? My best friends, my family DIED during the Titan War, and all you can think about is keeping to yourself? Everyone’s had to make sacrifices, and you’re not special because of yours.” Nico held his head in his hands, multiple medical magazines on the tables becoming enveloped in black shadows. “Shut up! I tried my hardest in the last war when no one else did, I tried to make sure everyone was able to live a life of happiness while I suffer, and-” “And where did that trying get you? Stuck in a fucking jar!” Nico paused, the insult hitting him straight in his chest. He had told Will his secret about being captured because he had trusted him enough to comfort him if he ever got another nightmare or triggered by something. He shook his head and glowered menacingly, albeit with a less angry stare. “I-I lost my sister about a week after becoming a demigod, the entire camp hated me for who I was. But did that stop me from helping regardless?” “No, but that didn’t stop you from keeping a secret about a Roman camp that could have invaded us because of YOU! You could have helped us make amends with them, but instead, you “isolated” yourself, forcing us into a war we never wanted.” Was he right? Nico was close to a panic attack, heart thumping and mind racing, but he tried one more thing. “B-but the Fates, they decreed when it would happen! I never, I-I wasn’t the fault of it!” Will didn’t know what was happening, but Nico seemed to be getting more and more tired, leaning against the chair he had been previously sitting in. The shadows pushed Will forward and he was now under a fluorescent light, with Nico. All he could see was Nico, his red eyes, messy hair, clenched hands. The young teen in front of him was angry, Will was angry, and it was a mess of emotions. “I tried to help as much as possible, I really did! Even when Percy wouldn’t love me, I tried, for him. Now, he’s gone, and I can fully commit to you!” Bad wording. “Excuse me? Am I always going to be second fiddle to Percy? Am I just a fucking rebound to you?” Nico blanched and he shook his head quickly, trying to backpedal the conversation. “No! No, no, no, I mean, I was so caught up with Percy that-” “Percy this, Percy that, I thought you confessed to him! I believed you were over him.” “I am! I'm not just gonna forget how he’s affected me though, it’s just that… that…” Nico didn’t know how to word how he was dealing with everything, his mouth betraying his thought process. “I never thought that I would see you tongue tied like this. Am I just someone you can deal with before you realize he’s the one for you? First you come and interrupt my work, and now have the gall to tell me off.” Will held his fist and wanted to scream how selfish of a bastard he was, but the face on Nico’s face made him hesitate. The look of utter brokenness, how his face was close to tears and the disarray in his appearance. He couldn’t bear to hurt his feelings much more, despite how mad he was. He put down his hand resignedly, the anger slowly seeping away. “But I forgive you. I can’t imagine having a crush on someone for so long and never being able to have them. All those feelings would have killed me, but you’re so strong. I’m sorry.” All was quiet in the room, the darkness so thick you couldn’t see an inch outside. Will could pinpoint every single feature on his boyfriend, his quivering lip and shaking hands wanting to grab Will in for a hug. But he didn’t, he just stood still in shock. “Why? Why do you forgive me? I did all this, I make everything so much harder! I-I’m not, I’m not worth it…” Will rolled his eyes and held Nico’s hands. “I know you’re you and all with your fucked up humor, but that doesn’t mean I hate you for it. I think you’re very worth the trouble. I love you for who you are.” “B-but, it’s not just about the humor! I'm super clingy, I hold too many grudges, I whine about stuff too much, I'm selfish!” Tears spilled from his eyes, pain and grief swirling in his mind. “Why put up with that?” “I put up with it because I am like that too. I'm no angel, you know. I feel these things from time to time, but not like you do. I don’t understand the pain, but I want to help. I shouldn’t have said all of that mean stuff, I’m sorry.” Nico looked around, left and right, for an exit, anything to escape the bright and forgiving nature that is Will. He wasn’t, couldn’t be anything but a failure. “N-No, you aren’t real. You’re an illusion, I’m worthless, I-I’m a… a…” The darkness surrounding them was getting to be too much for him to control, and he released it, collapsing on the chair fainting. The shadows retreated back into the walls, allowing the horrendous yellow wallpaper tinted with frost to emerge once more. Patients and employees cautiously opened the doors to see if everything was sane and safe, then continued on their way with a tension filled air, a few people giving a few choice words about the safety of the place. No one gave a second glance to the passed out Son of Hades. Will glanced down at his peaceful boyfriend with a look of concealed pity, the true extent of his problems finally exposed. He picked him up and carried him to his cabin, to the surprise of all the other doctors on duty. Once he arrived in Nico’s cabin, he placed him down under the silky sheets of the bed and crawled next to him, shuddering when entangling his cold feet. He ran his hand through the thick hair, kissing his forehead. “If we are talking about traits, you are a stubborn one, you know that, right?” =============================================================================== 5. Abilities “You’re going on a two week cabin rest, that’s final.” “But I'm perfectly fine! Holy shit, do you expect me to kill myself with boredom while I wait for me to get better?” Will sat down with a clipboard in his hand, pressing down on certain areas of Nico to make sure he hadn’t faded. He looked up with a face of slight amusement. “I would usually recommend my patients to get some Celestial bronze bullets and do it the pussy way, but be absolutely sure to use Clorox. Tide is too watered down for that shit.” Nico snickered in amusement at the fucked up joke, but winced in pain immediately. Will’s face took a serious turn, entering doctor mode. “After that shadow display in the infirmary, I am going to check up on you every day. If I see you get out of bed once in the first week within the hours of 8-5, you will receive a spanking.” Nico flopped his arms on the bed, irked at the unnecessary attention. His dark eyes flashed with a bit of mischief, however. “Is that a punishment or reward?” Will pressed down on an old bruise and Nico yelped in response, cursing loudly. “Does that answer your question?” Nico rubbed the spot previously agitated with a look of pain before nodding apprehensively. Will smiled and kissed him on the lips, the feeling making Nico exhale in content. The pressure of Will kissing his lips was nice. Two weeks of not doing anything was hell for Nico, each day more aggravatingly boring than the last. It was the fifth day and he needed to pee, so he got up, wincing as his underused muscles stretched out. Shuffling to the bathroom, he pulled out his limp dick and began to piss into the porcelain potty, yawning sleepily. Once he finished, he scratched his pubic hair and pulled his pants back up, washed his hands, and was about to return back to bed when he noticed something interesting on the floor of the restroom. A random drachma on the floor. No one had been in his room for ages besides Will, so he must have dropped it when he came to give him his daily dose of ambrosia. He could use it to call someone. Without hesitation, Nico dropped down and picked up the shiny doubloon, running to the sink and closing the door to trap steam inside and create a rainbow. Once the room was steamy enough and a light mist had created bright shimmering colors in the air, he spoke to the rainbow with restrained impatience. “O, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Hazel Levesque.” With a flick of the wrist, he threw the coin, which disappeared almost instantly. The colors shifted around until he saw a dark skinned girl wearing a hoodie studying inside of a room, the edges blurred where the rainbow wasn’t as strong. Nico called out to his only living family. “Hazel!” The girl raised her head and grinned when she saw her half brother in the other side, wearing pajamas and in the bathroom. “Nico, you know you can just shadow travel to me if you want to visit! Or is your lover barring you from doing it?” Nico rolled his eyes and leaned against the counter of the sink, pouting angrily. “Yeah, and it’s bullshit! I’m so bored being in my cabin all the time I might shovel myself out with some of the plastic spoons he left with my dinner.” Hazel shook her head fondly at her brother, the drama queen. “Nico, I'm sure he knows the most about medical injuries and magical injuries, and you have a magical one. Don’t make him want to strangle you.” “I’ll make sure he won’t. How’s Camp Jupiter?” “Great! The high school here is so much fun, and they allow trips into the city so that we can experience life like mortals! The people in San Francisco are so nice, and diverse! You would love Castro Street though.” Nico huffed through his nose, tired of the obvious assumption. “I know I'm gay, I don’t have to flaunt it whenever I visit you in California. And New York is better, it has way more stuff to do.” “Nuh-uh.” “Yah-huh.” Hazel let out a short giggle before clamping her mouth shut, eyes twinkling with happiness. She released her mouth to speak more, before a voice called to her. “Hazel, the Senate would like you to handle this problem we have with the rocks in Oakland!” Hazel groaned and banged her head on the desk before she yelled back at the voice. “Okay, Frank!” Her voice transformed into a whisper when she looked back at her stepbrother. “Nico, these people have been on me for such a long time! They want me to use my geokinesis on this, form this structure like that, retrieve supplies from this dig site! I can barely do Algebra 2 and they look at me like I’m an architect!” “I wish my camp had that trust in me, I’m on probation as it is. But I can do stuff already that’s in my power range!” Nico tried to summon a skeleton rat, but his power seemed to be blocked. As hard as he concentrated, nothing appeared on his hand. Frustrated, he slammed his hand on the wall. “Fuck! It’s not working!” Hazel looked at him sympathetically, wanting to help him like he helped her. “I'm sure you're just tired, try it again later…” “No, screw it! I know that if I try again, Will will figure out I tried to do something and punish me for it! My fingers haven’t even started to fade back in yet! Useless!” Hazel’s eyes grew wide, she wasn’t used to seeing her brother so agitated. “Nico, don’t worry, everything will be alright! Stay calm!” Her kind words were rejected, and Nico threw himself to the floor, the camera of the Iris Message following his every move. Before she could even figure out that he was indeed having a mental breakdown, Nico’s hand sliced through the call, ending it abruptly. “No, no, no, it’s not alright! Will hates me and I hate me and I want Bianca to come back! The camp hates me despite Reyna telling me otherwise and Percy will never love me and I can’t even summon a fucking rat!” Sobs tore through Nico’s throat, his tears falling to the ground without anyone hearing. The heat of the room was becoming too much, so he opened the door and ran outside, breathing in the cold, damp air inside of his cabin. What could he do at such a late hour? Cut himself? No, if Tartarus wasn’t enough to break him down to do that, he could handle a little problem like this. Yeah, just calm down and breath. Nico took a deep breath and plunged into the bed, trying hard not to cry. His body twisted and turned, the silk comforter too warm despite the AC in the room. He groaned exhaustedly before tearing his sheets off his bed and laying in bed as still as possible. Five minutes passed and Nico was still on edge, legs jittery and eyes red from bawling. Suddenly, he realized he cut off Hazel during their talk that he initiated. He was such an asshole for that, he’ll apologize later. She obviously had made a call to Will to check on him, so he had to get ready for the inevitable shit storm. There was no way he would let the blond healer see him like this, so he went to the bathroom and washed his face. He applied eye drops to his eyes to rid of the redness plaguing his face and practiced smiling in the mirror, the fakeness evermore apparent. He changed into brand new clothes not bogged down with dried tears and sat at the edge of his bed, awaiting his boyfriend. He waited, and waited, and waited. He was still waiting an hour, 43 minutes, and 37 seconds when he realized that Will wasn’t going to come and give him a hug and tell him everything would be okay, or that he loved him, or any of the bullshit things that had been going on in his mind. Hazel hadn’t called him to say he was freaking out. She had bigger issues to deal with. Nico should be the one to do that himself, since he was the one filled with angst. Numbly, he climbed into the bed, the cold of the room suddenly seeping into his bones. If only he had a warm body to come and cuddle him, tell him sweet nothings as if the world hadn’t hurt him enough, making him feel more than worthy of being alive. A tiny sob escaped him, droplets rolling down his thin cheeks before he curled into himself and slept without a blanket, too tired to try and move. He fell asleep, truly living up to how a son of Hades should feel. Dead inside. LINE BREAK Waking up alone in the morning had never felt so terrible. Nico’s body ached from all of his tears he shed, his head hurt from how much he over thought everyone’s reactions, and his coughing indicated he had caught yet another sort of injury, a disease. Probably the cold, whoop de doo. The clock in the bedside read 8:15, the time when Will would come with his breakfast. As if Fates would have it, the doorknob jiggled then opened, revealing a surfer blond teen in scrubs holding a tray full of breakfast food. Nico’s eyes followed him fearfully as he walked across the room with an air of authority, placing the plate down at the end of the room. He turned towards Nico with a serious look in his eyes. Please no. “Hazel called me last night. Speak now.” Nico’s mind blanked, opening his mouth to ask his only question, but Will beat him to the punch. “And the harpies were out, so don’t give me shit about not visiting you.” And that’s when he noticed something that eluded Nico last night. “Is this a bone?” Oh shit, he actually did summon something. A tiny bone, no bigger than the size of a pinkie, was stuck in the wooden floor, open for all to look at. Exactly the length of a rat’s torso. In all of his time tantruming, Nico didn’t even bother looking at the floor. He didn’t have to look up to see Will seething in concealed rage. “Why. The fuck. Did you do that?” Nico mumbled his response, but Will wasn’t having it. He walked over to Nico and bellowed at him, his loud voice echoing louder with his amplifying power. “WHY, THE FUCK, DID YOU DO THAT!” No longer a question, Nico flinched at the extreme fear and trust he put into this guy. His cool facade was cracking, so he tried to answer truthfully with as little emotion as possible. “I was trying to show Hazel how much better I had become, but at first I didn’t see anything so I thought I failed.” Will crossed his arms and grit his teeth, not pleased at the answer. “You weren’t better. You have another week to heal up. I trusted you, Nico! I want you to get better, but you make it so gods damn hard to when you’re being stubborn as fuck!” Four words escaped Nico’s mouth which he was thinking but never dared utter, too caught up in his mind to fully pay attention to his words. “Let’s break up then.” Both boys stilled in their movements, the sound of the AC the only thing not breaking the silence. Will had a look of utter shock while Nico had a face of intense horror, still wondering why he had said the wrong thing. But Will caught every word of it. With a strong glare, he uttered, “Okay. Fine. Let’s break up. I’m only your doctor now, not your boyfriend. I'm done with you.” And at that, left the cabin. He left the cabin quickly so he wouldn’t have to hear the gut-wrenching, soul breaking sobs his ex released as he closed the door. And Nico sobbed loudly, not even trying to hide how much it hurt. His cough made everything ten times worse, the phlegm in his throat making him wince in pain. He had failed in his ability to keep the one he loved the most with him. Bianca would be ashamed. =============================================================================== 6. Love (Doubt) Will was worried about Nico. And not just from a patient point of view. He was almost never seen outside of the cabin after the breakup and when he was, everyone could see how miserable he looked. His glare could scare off all the kids still, but people talked harshly about him behind his back. “What a freak, he should just leave.” “Yeah, he’s done nothing for this camp. I heard Reyna did all the work with the Parthenon herself.” “Never trust a son of Hades. They’ll hurt you and betray you like no one else.” Not to mention all of the compliments Will got for dumping Nico was horrendous. One of the most insensitive ones told him that Nico was better off dead in a ditch, and that Will didn’t have to worry about going to a burning ritual if it happened. He got the limerick curse for a month after they said that. Will poked at his food when he saw Percy walking inside the camp. Immediately everyone flocked the hero of the demigods, the son of Poseidon, and Nico’s old crush. To make matters worse, Nico wasn’t even looking at him, too busy numbly staring into a plate of eggs. He prodded the eggs lightly, swirling then around near some toast with no purpose, very mechanical movements. Once the introductions were over, Percy sauntered over to Annabeth and kissed her on the cheek, to the cheers of the entire pavilion. What a shame that they got thundering applause while Nico received deafening silence. Breakfast passed and so did Nico past Will, his small frame becoming ever smaller in the presence of his past lover. Will, once out of the vicinity of Nico, let out a large sigh of relief and went back to work, drowning out his problems by fixing the physical ones of others. Weeks passed and the end of summer approached, the hot summer sun of August receding into memory. Will didn’t know what he was going to do now that he had to share an apartment with Nico. He didn’t even know if he would be allowed in his apartment, considering Hades had payed for all of his expenses. Oh, Hades. He hoped the god of the Underworld was not vengeful like the rest of the gods and try to fuck his afterlife up, regarding his only son. Who was he kidding, he was screwed from the beginning. Will had kept a strictly professional relationship with Nico, who had looked like he’d seen better days. His hair looked more unkempt than before, his skin breaking out in little pimples because of stress, even his clothes seemed to slide off easier than before. He had made progress in being able to talk normally to each other again, but regarding their relationship, Nico had completely cut that part out. Finally, one evening nearing the beginning of September, he got an answer. “Nico, I need to know if I'm going to still be paying rent for the apartment when we go back.” The boy in question looked at him weirdly, taking a bite of his pot roast before answering. “You never payed for rent back before the summer though, Solace.” He had taken up his last name again, which annoyed Will to all ends. “Yes, but that was because we were dating. I had asked you about it and you said your dad had it covered. Now that we… you know, do I have to pay? Because I can if it means I can still stay there.” The raven haired boy glared at his food for a long while before returning his answer at the most unexpected moment, when Will was taking a sip of water. “That'll be $560 a month, please and thank you.” Will might have won the award for best spit take in the history of Camp Half-Blood, since his water hit the Aphrodite Table three tables over. “Fucking Will! My shirt is fucking cashmere!” “Sorry Drew!” While that commotion occurred, Nico had been rolling on the ground in laughter, holding his stomach in his hand as he tried to control his incessant giggling. “I-I’m kidding, Solace. You don’t have to pay.” Will looked back at him warily, eyeing him occasionally. “Are you sure?” The son of Hades nodded once. “Of course. It’s the only way I don’t have to stay at this camp all damn year. And despite us not being… “us”, I'm a hell of a lot more comfortable around you than the other judgemental fucks that plague this camp. You know?” Will looked at Nico with a renewed smile, happy at the outcome of the statement. “Holy shit, thank you so much Nico! I could kiss…” “My ass, because I'm single.” Right. Will happily finished all of his food and went off to the infirmary with a spring in his step. Nico looked on at him with a forlorn stare, silently wishing how he could get him back. “Did you do it yet?” Nico rolled his eyes at the familiar voice and slammed his fork down. “No. He doesn’t like me like that anymore. Besides, I'm over him.” “That’s what you said about me.” “And here we are, talking like regular people. I almost threw up when he sat next to me from how nervous I became.” Percy shook his head disapprovingly, his green eyes sad for his friend. “Well, I'm leaving tomorrow. I came to say goodbye, because you will most likely be sleeping in. Just… talk to him and reconcile, okay?” Nico nodded slightly before wrapping his arms around Percy, nuzzling his head into the shoulder blade. His voice was barely a whisper, strong enough to hear but scared all the same. “Why, all those weeks ago, did you do that? I mean…” “To be quite honest, I saw you with Will coming in here and I wanted to get it out of the way come him strangling me for being alone with you. Sorry.” “It’s fine. Buona notte, il mio passato amore.” “Gay.” Nico pulled back from the embrace, opting to headbutt the snickering son of Poseidon. He let out a groan of pain, making Nico smile toothily. “Fuck you, Seaweed Brain.” Three Weeks Earlier Why the fuck did the camp own a lava rock wall. And why did Nico have to be forcibly assigned to participate in the activity. He had been run out of his room by Reyna, who was visiting on a camp exchange program for a month, and she deserted him once she saw the monstrosity of a wall. No, not to escape it, but to face it head on. She was currently battling her Greek stepbrothers and sisters for King of the Hill, her smile a rare sight in the clear blue skies. Nico, on the other hand, fell off many times and came too close to the lava on a couple of them. He hobbled back to his cabin daring anyone to laugh or point at him with a terrifying glare. Unfortunately, some brave people did, like goddamn Shayla, and he could do nothing about it with Chiron glancing at him in the background. Curse the fucking Nike cabin and her judgemental ass kids. His arms stung with a multitude of burns, bright red against the white of his skin, which over the summer had started to regain its olive complexion. Not completely, but enough to not rival the Hypnos kids who for some reason never came out of their cabins to sleep, only for food. Raising his arm was a bitch of a task, each sore making him cringe whenever hit by the sunlight. He had to struggle on the skeleton bench, that he would definitely replace by the end of the summer, not to get hit by a burst of Will’s dad’s rays. Must be revenge. “Hey, Nico.” Fuck, why now. He didn’t need Percy motherfucking Jackson to reprimand him and tell him to go get healed. “You should go get that healed. I think one of them is starting to inflame.” Raising his head slightly and grumpily, he ushered with a shake of his head to tell the older demigod away. “Shoo, I don’t need your fucking pity. I'm going to go let them heal naturally.” Percy leaned against a pillar, a frown setting upon his face. “Will wouldn’t like that. I'm sure he wouldn’t want his boyfriend to be all battered and shit like that.” Nico’s body reflexively cringed, wondering how Percy could not have heard all of the rumors flying through camp at the moment. “U-uh, Will and I, we broke up…” Percy’s eyebrows shot into his messy head, clearly surprised at the new information. He sat on the other side of Nico’s bench, throwing an arm over his shoulder. The raven-haired boy did not like being touched however, and shimmied his way out of the grip. “Sorry.” “It’s fine.” “So, when did it happen? When I arrived in camp, the both of you were still dating.” Nico let out a short breath and looked off into the distance, where the woods branched off into more woods, a never ending labyrinth of dirt and moss. How he wished he could lose himself in the damp grass and gristly branches, somewhere where it didn’t hurt. “We broke up a week and a half ago. I'm surprised you haven’t heard anything, Seaweed Brain.” “I don’t catch myself up in all that dramatic shit. With the war over, I can finally relax in New Rome.” Nico nodded, not really listening to the conversation about college and other meaningless crap for him. “...and Annabeth is taking 20 units, the crazy bitch. Don’t tell her I called her a bitch. But wait, I don’t understand one thing. What was the reason that you guys broke up?” Jolted back into the conversation, the son of Hades waved his hand dismissively, letting his mouth talk without consultation of the brain. “I was the issue. Too much me and not enough him, I made him super angry most of the time and I just… I didn’t bring enough to the table when it came to loving. Yeah.” When he was met with silence, Nico turned to look at Percy, who was giving him one of the most impassive faces he had ever seen on him. “Okay… and I call bullshit.” He saw through that that quickly? Nico quickly retorted, not fond of being called out like that. “It’s true! It was my fault.” Percy shook his head in disagreement. “That’s not the Nico I know. You can hold a grudge for, like, 4 years. And a crush too. So spill what’s really the matter.” He didn’t want to tell anyone what he was feeling, they would just laugh and leave like Bianca did! “I just told you!” “No, you gave me the most transparent answer you could. I've been taking psychology since junior year, and I can see what’s really been going on.” A wave of indignation washed over Nico, his temper flaring in the blaring heat of the middle of the day. “You can’t analyze shit! I'm alright, I've moved on from you and Will! I can take anything you throw at me.” Percy moved closer to Nico, making him gasp in surprise. He slammed a hand on the wall, making the younger demigod wince. “Okay then. What if I told you I loved you right now, that I broke up with Annabeth to be with you? Am I still not your type?” Nico sucked in a huge breath, his knees going weak. It was a trap, and he was falling hard. He could smell the ocean, feel the light breeze, and see the green colors reflecting off of his eyes. Silently, he shut his own, his voice shaky. “I-I’m over you, Percy. Now, if you don’t fucking mind. Fuck. Off.” His words had no effect on the swimmer as he tred forward, his footsteps clear as day on the polished wood patio. “But are you over Will?” Another gasp as he heard, but didn’t see, a hand slam on the other side of his head. He could feel the body heat coming ever so closer. “I-I…” “You don’t miss what he gave to you? I may have hurt you, with Bianca, and the jar, and these crazy ass wars, but Will was an escape from that. He loved you, cared for you, made you feel safe.” “N-not all the time.” A sound of confusion escaped into the air. “When?” “W-When he yells at me for doing things I shouldn’t do, like shadow traveling. Or when he forces me to do things I know I should do, which I put off for later. I want to make him happy, but he makes me feel unhappy. I-I shouldn’t complain, though.” “Shouldn’t you? You need to be open with your feelings, Nico. Or else you’ll keep feeling unhappy.” A tear escaped his eye, the conversation and tone of voice Percy took on breaking in certain areas. “I want you to forgive me for what I did, but that’ll take some time. You telling me you loved me, that changed how I really treated others now. You’re the last person who has yet to forgive me.” Nico shook his head, more tears falling out of his eyes. The ocean was forming in his mind, Venice coming into view. A pressure on his hand intensified, and a miniscule sob escaped his lips. He tried hard to block the image from his mind, but his mother kept pushing into view, the feeling similar to whenever Will was around. Like whenever he was happy. “Don’t forgive me just yet, but forgive Will. He loves you, and so does Reyna, and Jason, and me. He m-makes you feel like you are actually someone.” A tear fell onto Nico’s shirt, and he knew Percy was crying. “Why are you crying, stupido.” Nico didn’t understand why he would cry. He wasn’t the one to be hurt over and over again, but then again, he didn’t know his life. He only knew his, which was a shithole to begin with. Percy just shuddered out his emotions and pushed forward. “S-So please, don’t doubt me on this. He cares so much more than I ever can, and despite us being so young, we’ve gone through so much. Please, don’t let this h-happiness escape you. I want you to know that from the quests we’ve come through, I am so sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” A mantra of words and tears fell from his lips and eyes, falling onto Nico’s burns. Despite the pain, he too started openly weeping, holding the one person he despised for so long close to him. They somehow found themselves the tiny living room of the cabin, crying on the couch Nico owned. Once both had sufficiently cried a lot, the Italian told his past crush everything. From his feelings about him to how he had shifted them into Will, the harbored emotions now gone for the son of Poseidon. He listened intently, rubbing Nico’s back as he recalled how powerless he really was when around the blond doctor, and how he wished to feel whole again. A lot of cliche phrases and emotions, in Nico’s opinion, but that’s how everything needed to be laid out. In the end, Percy had to leave for his cabin, not wanting to tire out Nico with his shadow traveling. With a wave, he got up and put on his shoes. However, an arm shot out to grasp Percy’s shoulder, the boy connected to it shivering with his eyes closed. “Thank you. T-Thank you so much for this. I’ve wanted to do this for so long, and now, it’s finally over. I want to forgive you, but I’ll let time take its toll on that.” Percy gave a smile that showed all his pearly whites and opened his arm for a hug. Now, even though Nico hated hugs with a passion, he allowed one for the Sea Prince, hugging him close to his body. The taller boy chuckled. “I'm trying to make up for all the shit things I've done. Did this help?” “Immensely. When did you become so mature? Am I even sure this is the real Percy Jackson?” The son of Hades cocked his head and knocked on the body in front of him, similar to knocking on a wooden door. Percy snorted and slapped Nico’s arms, causing the younger boy to hiss in pain. “You still have to get them healed.” Nico groaned into his chest and looked up, his natural frown on his face already. “I will, fucking hell. You and Jason are the two most persistent guys I have ever had the displeasure of meeting.” Percy winked at him, which for some reason caused no reaction whatsoever to his body. “You love us.” There’s the reaction. He pushed his past crush away before he could pop a boner and gave him a threatening glare. “No.” And with that, he shut the door on Percy, locking it and leaning his head on it, a smile filling his empty face. The next morning, he would go to Will and try to talk to him about them getting back together, but he was too busy trying to save lives. So he would just wait till the right time came. And yet… Seven Weeks Later Will came back home, tired from yet another day of volunteering at the hospital. He had to try his damned hardest not to sing to his patients while interning, because it would look like a fucking miracle if the patient suddenly had no scar after being in a life-threatening car accident, causing them to have to get rid of their colon. He tried not to remember the tears that poured out of their eyes, how much pain they had been in when they found out they couldn’t go back to school yet. Oh, did he mention it was a kid? The worst type. Will sat down on a recliner chair, his scrubs dirty with fluids that he couldn’t even begin to differentiate and muscles sore. Nico was sitting on the couch beside the chairs, his English homework book set aside on the table in place of a phone specially designed for him by Leo, so as not to attract too many monsters. “Hey Nico.” “Will, we need to talk.” “Yeah, I know, I am in my scrubs again, and it really sucks. I’ll make sure to lick the couch with my tongue this time.” “No, I have to ask you a question. Do you… still love me?” Will froze, moving the hair out of his face to stare at his ex-boyfriend. The usually stoic son of Hades had a nervous expression on his face, biting his lip gently to gauge his reaction. “Wh-what?” “Um, so, I just wanted to know, just, you know, asking around.” Will noticed how he elongated the “asking” part of the sentence, clearly expressing how he was not asking around. The son of Apollo stood up, his hands flying in front of his face. “Wh-wha… Um, well, I mean, yeah?” If looks could rejuvenate souls, Nico’s hopeful stare probably revived a million. His dark brown eyes shone bright with contained glee, and his next question was breathy and his bated breath huffing with excitement. “D-Do you want to get back together?” Will’s skeptical look, however, dimmed the excitement in his eyes. “Why do you ask? I thought you didn’t love me anymore.” Nico started shaking his hands around, trying to dissipate the notion hanging in the air. “I do! I do, it’s just, I realized if I just walk around here making it seem like I don’t love you anymore, it’s going to get worse. And I don’t want you to second guess me.” Will stared shocked at Nico as he stood up too, approaching him with an apprehensive look. “Look, I won’t say this again, but I love you. I appreciate the things you did for me. But you hurt me. And I mean not like physically, but emotionally. I may have not seemed like it, but I was hurting on the inside, which you knew, but not the full source. I want to start all over again. I want to have another first kiss, first date, everything. I’m sorry for what I did to make you all mad and stuff, and I will make sure to keep myself in check and keep you in check if I ever get too riled up. It’s taken me a goddamned month to say this, but fuck all. Let’s start with introductions, shall we?” Nico took a deep breath and stuck his hands in his pockets, glaring at Will Solace, who was still too dumbfounded to even move. “Hey, sup, my name’s Nico. Son of Hades. Wanna hang?” Will’s shocked stare cut through the air, filling the room with an awkward silence. Even Nico could feel it, though he didn’t understand the reason why he was still so stiff. He waved a hand in front of Will’s face, trying to get a reaction out of him. “Hello? Earth to Solace.” Will’s eyes dilated and his voice came out smiley and goofy, laced with an undertone of snarkiness. “Say it again.” Nico stared hard at his ex, too miffed at the idea of uttering any of the speech ever again. “What? No! That took me forever to think up of! How dare you, William Solace, after I just told you I wouldn’t.” Will smirked at his soon-to-be boyfriend, hands digging into his pockets to hide the balled fists of excitement. “No, not everything. Do this and I’ll be your boyfriend. Just the part where you say you love me.” Nico’s face flushed bright with red, imitating a ripe strawberry picked in the fields. Maybe he was the one that grew too big. Maybe that’s why the satyr had been freaking out, he had actually seen the future in his giant strawberry. “U-uh, I love you.” Will’s eyes grew wide with happiness and he threw himself into his new boyfriend’s arms, smashing their lips together. Nico let out a squeak of protest, trying to detach himself from the excitable healer. “Mmmmph! Will! I~mmph! Help!” Will’s lips had traversed down to his neck, greedily biting down on his boyfriend’s pale skin before sucking his ear. His teeth left bright purple marks in their wakes, sinking into new areas to show that Nico was his boyfriend once more. He nuzzled into a soft place underneath his chin and kissed it softly, trying hard to get a reaction out of the boy. “Oh, fuck!” Will smirked against his skin and let go, admiring his boyfriend’s now marked neck. He grinned cheekily at the son of Hades, who was giving him a murderous glare. “I will maim you if this doesn’t heal.” Will placed his lips near the boy’s ear, whispering in a secretive, seductive voice. “Of course it will, and it will always look brand new till I decide to stop healing it, so everyone knows again that you are mine.” Nico shuddered and looked at Will straight in his cerulean eyes, softening a bit. “I love you, Will.” Will smiled and kissed his boyfriend on the nose then on the lips, eliciting a small giggle. “I love you too, babe. And don’t you ever doubt it.” =============================================================================== 7. Sexual Appeal Sitting down and trying to complete homework was not first priority on Nico’s list of fun things to do. He’d rather forget about mortal school and help other demigods around the world, but Will said he still wasn’t ready to shadow travel yet, which he sort of agreed with. He couldn't even travel to the West Coast to visit Hazel without passing out for two days. At least he wasn’t fading anymore, his constant small training with Will paying off for his trips. Nico shivered in the cold apartment, the December blizzard in Virginia hitting hard as well as the regret of not asking the Hecate kids to magic the place with a heat incantation. Buying their apartment in Virginia was suspicious as it is, being so far away from Camp Half-Blood, but there was an influx of demigod and monster activity that needed to be patrolled through the year in the area, which Nico and Will thought that they could handle, being an expert healer and a child of the Big Three. Nico smacked his heater, which blasted back to life and released hot air right into his face, making him react in delight, spazzing slightly. He rubbed his hands and got back to his work, finishing the math problems and English assignment. Sitting back in his chair, he pondered what to do, opting to lay in the bed under a blanket and read. It proved fruitless, as even though his ADHD wasn’t as bad as other kids, the son of Hades still got distracted by tiny events, like the falling snow or the melodic dripping of a gift from Hypnos himself for saving his insomniac daughter. It was a glass case containing a poplar branch constantly dripping water from the river Lethe which, apparently, they had an exact replica inside the Hypnos cabin. Hearing the door slam open and the rushing sound of cold air invading the apartment, Nico rolled his eyes and burrowed deeper into his toasty cocoon, awaiting his ray of sunshine to burst into the joint bedroom. A few moments later, that exact thing occurred, his boyfriend wrapped in a scarf and snow gear, looking absolutely miserable from the cold. Nico gazed from his spot on the bed with a small look of amusement. “Hey, Will. Looking toasty, I see.” The son of Apollo said nothing except glared as he took off his clothes, the snow jacket and pants revealing worn jeans and a long sleeve shirt. A small squeak of surprise escaped Nico as the stripping continued, leading to Will slowly escaping his underclothes and into his birthday suit, albeit boxers. Lean muscles and strong tanned legs encapsulated the blonde, tightening as he stretched out the cricks in his arms. Seeing his boyfriend staring at him with a lewd openness, he winked cockily at the smaller boy. Gulping for air, Nico turned around as to not face his lover. “Hey, change in the bathroom! I'm not trying to~ ahh! Cold!” A heavy object dipped the bed and a pair of frigid temperature legs entangled Nico’s rare warm legs, as well as a hand traveling into his shirt to roam the field. A whimper escaped Nico when that hand held his nipple, playing with it as a low, heated voice crawled by his ear, barely grazing it. “I’m fucking freezing, Di Angelo. Seeing you I'm this bed all by yourself made me realize how much I need your heat. All of it.” Will’s lips smirked as he kissed the pale neck in front of him, his frosty lips making an impact on his boyfriend. Light moans escaped the smaller boy, spurring the colder male to move closer and work harder. One moan became a scream when Nico’s waistband got pulled up and an icy hand grabbed his dick. “W-what is your hand doing on my penis?!” “Enjoying itself. And I am too.” Nico shuddered as Will continued his ministrations, so lost in the pleasure to even cry out that he needed to cum, opting for small whimpers. At the apex of his completion, the blonde healer let go and flipped the both of them over. Not wanting to hear anymore of the raven haired boy’s whining for not cumming, he kissed the life out of him. Nico moaned as his lips were hungrily taken in by Will’s, thrashing in the bed as a hand cupped his cheek and his bottom lip was pulled upwards. The son of Hades gripped the hair in front of him and pulled it towards him, not allowing an inch between the two lovers. Wanting to make it more intimate, Will tried to remove the shirt on Nico’s body. “Stop!” A hurried Will became confused at the words the young boy was saying to him, his shirt now crumpled in his hands. “Don’t take it off.” “Why, babe? How are we supposed to have sex?” Nico rolled his eyes and pulled his arm down to express his desire to keep his shirt on. “I can wear a shirt during sex, dumbass. J-Just work around it. I'm too skinny still.” Skinny? He had finally gained enough weight since summer, and his body was in peak health. A grumble of anger escaped Will before he even knew it, his hands grasping the cheap clothing before ripping it down the middle. “W-Will! What are you doing!” “Shut up. You’re beautiful.” A deep crimson blush adorned Nico’s face as Will pulled off more articles of clothing. “You’re gorgeous.” “I adore you, Nico.” “I can’t wait to fuck you so hard.” That last compliment had Nico spinning with nervous excitement. “Y-You’re a horndog today, why’s that?” Will moaned into his ear and nibbled it a bit before replying, voice husky with lust. “Mmm, just got turned on seeing you under that blanket, imagining you naked with all those layers on you.. Before that, I was going to have a hot, hot shower and go to bed. But now…” Will took the time to trace out a pattern of kisses down the lean stomach in front of him before latching his mouth onto Nico’s cock, purposefully sucking only the tip so he could stare into the dark brown whirlpools other people called eyes. “I’m going to have so much fun.” Loud sucking noises and urgent screams of pleasure luckily couldn’t be heard to the public thanks to the nifty magic of the Hecate children, who Nico would have to give some riches of Hades for their splendid acts of kindness. Will’s tongue licked from the base to the tip before stuffing his mouth full of cock, deepthroating his boyfriend’s dick with passionate enthusiasm. Nico didn’t know how Will could take something as big as him, not trying to be arrogant but he was well endowed down there. It was making him delirious, seeing the healer almost choke when he got down all the way. “Will, you’re so good!” A growl generated low in his groin and he flailed, ripping his boyfriend off his dick before he could cum. Not a moment too soon, Will’s dick, maybe an inch larger and much thicker came into view and down his needy throat. “O-oh gods, holy fucking shit, Nico!” The boy in question couldn’t speak, only fumble his tongue around the phallic object that was Will’s dick, sucking and kneading his thighs to comfort the older demigod. His hands gripped the firm ass in front of him, massaging and keeping his hands busy since his dick was still very sensitive. Will looked down at his boyfriend and sighed happily, a look of happiness showing on Nico’s face, albeit different from their last session a while back. This time it was more intimate, still very lustful but less nervous. His sigh turned into a heated huff as Nico sucked the length, trying hard to lick up all of the leaking precum down his throat. He could do this forever if forever was an option. Minutes passed by and the room was now sufficiently heated, keeping the now active boys warm as Will slid on a condom and positioned himself at Nico’s ready entrance. They had never penetrated each other before now, never making it past a simple blowjob or fingering. “Babe, we both have never had sex before. We don’t need condoms.” Will pushed down Nico’s shoulder and pounded into his tight heat without warning. An “o” shaped formed on Nico’s mouth, followed by a groan of pain quickly washed away with Will’s lips on his. Kissing furiously, Will began a quick pace, thrusting heavily into Nico. “We always need condoms, okay? Don’t you fucking forget it!” A surge of dominance passed through Will, his thrusts becoming savage as he emphasized each word with an action, his favorite being a twist to a nipple. A scream escaped Nico, his poor asshole being ravaged by a blonde who probably had seen and taken care of more assholes than he’d like to. Bites and marks littered his porcelain skin, purple bruises commonplace on his body. In contrast to that, a hand cradled the back of his neck gently to keep him close, kissing him whenever and wherever he needed it. Will moved them into a different position where Nico was laying on his stomach while Will lay on top, arms holding him up as he fucked into him. A quick hand came down to slap Nico’s ass, making the teenager yelp in torture. His mind was numb, jellified and filled with nothing but the thought of sex, fucking, loving. He was going to blow soon if they kept it up at this rate. Sucking and mouthing at a certain spot on his ear, a few choice words escaped Will’s mouth. “How are you so damn sexy like this?” “Well, it’s mostly my great personality and ability to raise the dead.” A tinkling laugh left Will before he grunted loudly, heat pooling in his stomach. “I’m gonna cum.” “Cum in me please. N-no-” Before he could even complete the sentence, Will was one step ahead, tearing off the condom and slipping back into the warmth of Nico, his long dick hitting his prostate multiple times unprotected before shouting, covering the entire surface area with his load. Nico soon followed suit, splaying against the mattress as he shivered and exerted energy to cum. “H-holy shit, I just lost my virginity in Virginia.” Will smacked Nico’s head, chuckling at the younger demigod’s wordplay. “You’re such a fucking dweeb.” “You’re a dweeb who just took another dweeb’s virginity.” Will pressed his lips against Nico’s lips softly, dancing their tongues in a languid fashion, content with their deed. Nico pulled away from the kiss, words on the tip of his tongue. “Was I really not that bad looking?” Will grabbed a handful of his ass and forced him to stare into his crystalline blue eyes, glare unnerving. “You are and always will be absolutely stunning, babe. I love you.” Nico surged forward for a quick peck and mumbled something into Will’s mouth. “Huh?” “I love you, too, Sunshine. Dork.” Will smiled and shivered once more. “Can I get under this sheet with you now? I'm naked and freezing.” “Sure, if I can suck that penis of yours later.” Will nodded eagerly and Nico accepted his fate, cuddling next to his best friend, his doctor, and most importantly, his lover. Screw insecurities. End Notes I've been reading lots of fanfiction lately and it seems to have a trend now to start off a chapter with a word and its definition. Not hating, just noticed it. Obligatory shitty one liner and irrelevant location in Virginia. If you liked this or didn't like it, please comment down below anything and anything critical or positive and give me a kudos too, while your at it. Peace! Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!