Chapter Text
Nico was so confused, What in the world had he done, had Will somehow read his mind, had he realized that Nico was a fake?
Because Nico was gay, which was bad enough, but now he seemed to also like girls now? It was gods horrible, what was wrong with him, how he was so, so sure of his residual gayness and now there was a chance that he might like girls, would that cancel out his attraction to Will, what was happening??
Sure it might have been a bit strange if he was able to read minds but in the messed up world of the gods, anything is possible. This might be Eros, he didn't know why, but it might just be because of the sour meeting Nico had with him.
Don't get him wrong, he cares a lot about Will and is worried about him, but that iris message with Reyna had changed him.
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"Heya Nico!"
"Hi, how's things in the hunters going?"
"Good, someone knew just joined, actually, let me bring her in."
She leaves the image and then reappears with, huh, she had really stunning hair.
"Hi. I'm Charley. Reyna told us some stories about you, you seem like a fun guy."
"Yeah, I guess so..."
Reyna seemed to notice the awkwardness in his voice, she shooed her away.
"Sorry, I just realized that I have chores to do right now. See you later Reyna."
He cut the call, what the heck, obviously that girl wasn't interested in him, she was a hunter and just making small talk, but Nico felt something, he hated it.
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Will hadn't known about the conversation, no one told him, but still, Nico felt as if he was doing something scandalous. How in the world could he continue to date Will, who would believe that Nico could commit to him, only for him to lose it because of the one gender Nico was sure he wasn't attracted to.
Will hadn't said much, hadn't done much before he ran out, Nico could tell that Will was inside his head and he wasn't listening to Nico but the small doubt of 'you finally scared him away, the one person who made you happy'.
Because Nico was beyond denying how much he loved who he loved and he had accepted himself, now that was gone, and he was alone, lost.
He found himself in his cabin, after a few strange moments where he just buried himself in his thoughts, to see the room was darker, smokier, darn it, he had used his powers without meaning to. He looked out the window to the door and saw that there was now decaying around the camp farther out than the outlines of his cabin. He returned to his bed and tried to collect his thoughts, without shadow traveling to hide in the underworld and he heard a soft, soft, knock on the door.
He turned away, sensing Hazel walk through the door. He kept his head on his knees and tried to be silent.
"Nico, are you alright? Why are you in the dark?"
"Gods Hazel, I'm a m-mess. I-I was visiting the Infirmary, visiting Will, when he got really upset for some reason, I don't know what I did. He then ran out, crying." He paused, what should he say next? Should he mention his strange new liking for girls? Should he confess to being a liar? He didn't know what to do.
"Nico, calm down for a second, you're panicking."
"I'M PANICKING? Yes I am! I'm a foolish liar, an evil being, I'm lying about myself, and I don't know why, unless it's to hurt Will and I don't want to hurt Will."
"Come on Nico, breathe, just breathe, in and out."
Nico Lie on the bed, trying to listen to Hazel's Advice, his heart beating like a drum in his chest. After a few minutes, the drum beat settled back into a steady roll.
"Sorry Hazel, I don't know what came over me."
"That's alright Nico, can you tell me why you're upset?"
"Okay, so I was going to visit Will in the infirmary and things started off fine but then he got annoyed and I tried to understand the situation when something happened and Will just... ran out."
"How does this tie to you being evil or a liar?"
"You know how Reyna and I IM sometimes to catch up? We were just chatting when Reyna mentioned that they had gotten a new member, and she decided to introduce us, and...she was just being nice and making small talk but she complemented me and... and I thought I felt something. So I guess I like girls now? I've hated myself over the fact that I'm gay, and now it turns out that I'm not and I might neutralize my relationship with Will to run off with a girl, I feel weird and gross now."
"You do know that being Bi is a thing right? Realizing that you may like girls does not cancel out liking guys, and I'm sure it wasn't a full crush, just maybe a revelation of sorts. You can have a preference, it doesn't have to be completely 50/50. So what if you've never had a crush on a girl before, you still can."
"I've honestly never thought of it like that, things aren't the same for me, nothing is as easy as it is for others because, I'm new to all this."
"I understand that Nico, and I understand that none of that was your fault. You don't know every one of Will's problems and I don't know all of Will's problems, it's your worry, brought on by so many years of isolation and confusion, that makes you think like this and if you think about it logically, Will doesn't think that your evil. Even if he knew about that event with the hunter, which we both know he doesn't, he would not think that you are evil."
"How do I approach him after this, I know how sad he looked, but he doesn't know how much it affected me, what if he thinks I'd ruin it if I try to tell him about my hurt?"
"That is the most illogical thing ever Nico, Will cares about you to the moon and back."
Nico smiled, finally, because he knew that he was drastically overthinking the situation because he knew Will, he was one of the ones who probably knew a lot about Will, and the last thing Will would want to do, was hurt Nico. Whatever happened with Will wasn't Nico's fault and it was just something with Will that he didn't know about.
He sat up and followed Hazel outside where they then traveled to the Demeter cabin to get some flowers for their cabin.