Chapter Text
Chapter Eighteen: And No One Dared Disturb
When Cecil was finally taken care of, Will quietly went over to Chiron, already busy with another patient. Nico watched from beside the elevator, not wanting to deal with conversation so soon after a near panic attack.
But Chiron glanced over at him, then smiled and nodded. Will ran over to Nico in an instant, beaming.
“Archery time!”
“Slow?” Nico said.
Will looked him up and down. “Sorry. A bit much?”
Nico only nodded.
The look on Will’s face as the pair stepped in the elevator, though, made him smile. “Oh, my gods. You did this on your own, didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” Nico muttered.
“Good job,” Will said quietly, sensing that even after having managed it himself, Nico was still nervous. “We can try taking the stairs later, if that helps.”
“Probably,” Nico admitted with a smile as the doors opened.
The pair of demigods hurried to the archery range, only stopping at the armory to find Nico a bow.
“Compound,” Will said as he handed a black and silver one over. “Designed for a lefty. Probably smarter until your scratches are fully healed.” They were almost good, Nico knew, but he didn’t want to push past his limit. Not if that would annoy Will, and Nico already knew it would.
So Nico took the bow, and with Will carrying his own and a quiver, they walked to the archery range. Nico could see far more people staring at him than he wanted to see at all, but he trusted Will.
“They’re more impressed than scared, I think,” Will said to him when he mentioned the looks.
So Nico believed it.
The pair of demigods didn’t have to talk to anyone when they arrived at the range. Will only told Nico to wait as he set up a target, far closer than any of the marks in the dirt would indicate.
“Watch carefully and don’t stand in the way,” Will said as he grabbed his bow. “We’re lucky the place is empty today, because no one’s going to dodge to grab an arrow and end up shot.”
“That happens?”
“Yes,” Will said drily.
Nico shuddered, watching as Will kept fussing with his aim, never quite satisfied. It took him a minute to realize that it was because the healer didn’t have his binder on, that his body wasn’t the way he was used to shooting.
“You’re a guy,” Nico said. “Just a reminder.”
Will snorted. “Yeah, yeah.”
But he finally hit the bull’s eye.