Chapter Text
When Nico felt himself coming back into the realm of consciousness, he felt extremely comfortable. His entire body felt like it was enveloped in a thousand fluffy clouds. And for once he had actually dreamed of nice things; a field of flowers, walking along the beach, being surrounded by his friends. That had been the oddest thing, since his dreams always involved nightmares. But when he cracked one eye open, he soon figured out why. He was in the Hypnos cabin laying on a feather down comforter. Which felt absolutely amazing, by the way. When he redesigned the Hades cabin, he’d have to put a few of these in there.
A chorus of snores reached his ears. Every single kid in the room was fast asleep; including the one beside him gripping his hand for dear life. Usually any sort of touch would have freaked him out, but now he just felt relieved. Relieved that Will was here. Relieved that he was still here. He’d been so scared. More scared than he’d ever been. Maybe because for the first time he actually cared what happened to himself. He leaned down and touched his forehead to Will’s. The blonde’s eyelashes fluttered lightly. He muttered something unintelligible and went back to snoring. Nico poked him in the cheek until he slapped his hand away.
“Imma tryin’ to sleep here,” he drawled. “Waitin’ for Nico to wake up…”
“But Nico is up.”
Will’s eyes flew open in an instant. He launched himself towards Nico and tackled him into a hug, laughing like a mad man. “Oh gods, you’re ok! I was so worried! You slept forever-granted most people do in here-but still! Thank Apollo! Hell, I’ll even thank Hades.”
Will nuzzled into his neck, his arms thrown around his and touching every inch of his skin, clothes, even his hair like he was trying to make sure he was really there. An unfamiliar feeling rose up in Nico’s gut. He felt hot all over like he would burst into flames at any second. Slowly he wrapped his arms around Will’s back and drew him closer. He felt nice. Sturdy and strong, but also safe. Nico buried his nose into Will’s blonde hair and silently noted that he smelled nice as well. His hands ached to travel further down, to touch more, to discover more about Will. But Will was drawing away as was probably for the best. Nico was glad to know that Will was blushing and looked just as flustered as he did. Both of them probably needed a good dip in the ocean right about now.
“How did I get in here?” Nico asked.
“Oh, I carried you here. Clovis said you could sleep here until you woke up, though I don’t think he minded all that much. The hardest thing was for me to get him to stay awake long enough so he could send you out some nice dream vibes.”
Nico was shocked. “You did all that for me?”
“Duh, of course I did.” Will looked flat out embarrassed now. “I’d do anything for you.”
“Um, we should get out of here,” Nico whispered. “You know before we fall asleep again.”
“That’s a good idea.” Will took Nico’s hand and helped him out of bed. He was still weak, so he leaned against Will for support which he didn’t mind at all. Walking outside, Nico had never been so glad to feel the sunshine on his skin. It felt incredible; like it was heating up his entire body and warming him from the inside out.
“Nico!” Somebody was screaming his name and when he looked around for the source he saw Hazel running frantically towards him. Jason and Piper followed closely behind her. She ran up to him, but didn’t tackle him thank the gods. Her gold eyes were shining with worry. She looked like she hadn’t slept a wink in days.
“Hazel, you look terrible.”
She stared at him for a solid minute, then burst out laughing. “I could say the same for you. Have you even seen yourself?”
“Yeah man, you have a wicked case of the bed head.” Jason piped in.
“Well I did just camp out in the Hypnos cabin.” He reached out for Hazel who eagerly stepped into his arms for a hug.
“I was so worried! When Will texted me about what happened I came as fast as I could. I hand fed you necter and ambrosia till you at least gained a bit of your coloring back.” She looked like she was about to cry so Nico gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“I’m sorry I worried you. It won’t happen again, I promise.”
She looked skeptical but Will suddenly piped in. “You don’t have to worry about him. I’m going to be stuck to him like glue. He ain’t leaving my sight until I deem him cured.”
Hazel heaved a sigh of relief and smiled at Will. Nico, who was still leaning against him for support, noticed that Piper and Jason were exchanging little knowing glances and smiles. For once he didn’t care, though. He leaned further into Will and tightened his grip on the back of his shirt. He sighed, genuinely happy.
“Hey Hazel,” Piper came up and put a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe we should let those two have a bit of privacy?”
Hazel looked back and forth between Piper and Nico. “But~”
“Yeah, we need to um go talk about some stuff anyway.” Jason came up and started guiding her toward the mess hall.
“What stuff?”
Jason gave her a hard glare. “You know stuff we need to discuss.” He winked at her, which looked like he was having some sort of fit.
“Um, ok?” She turned her head around and gave Nico a fierce look. “I’ll also be keeping an eye on you. Don’t let him do anything stupid Will.”
“You got it.”
Nico watched Piper and Jason march a muttering Hazel across the field until he couldn’t hear her protests anymore.
“Let’s go somewhere private and talk.”
Nico looked up at Will and nodded. “We can go to my cabin. No one will bother us there.”
“You got it, sunshine.” With the help of Will, Nico was able to limp all the way to cabin 13. Will offered to carry him multiple times but Nico drew the line at that. When they stepped into the room, Will cocked an eyebrow.
“Don’t say one word at the décor. I’m planning on redecorating.”
“Ok. Should I just grab a seat on the nearest coffin then?”
Nico pinched his side and earned a gratifying reaction of pain. Will helped him lay down, even propping his feet and back up on the satin pillows.
“When you redecorate you should really consider adding some more light. It’s kind of depressing.”
As Will walked around and offered home décor tips, Nico leaned back and comfortably listened to him. It was easy to be in his presence. He didn’t feel pressured to make conversation or be something that he wasn’t. Will could easily make small talk about anything and Nico just smiled and listened to him chatter about anything and everything. Finally Will sat down cross legged in front of him, his face growing serious.
“So…where do we go from here?”
“What do you mean?”
Will rolled his eyes. “Come on, di Angelo. I mean are we friends or…you know, something more.” Will slid his eyes away blushing. “Because I kind of like you and…yeah. I-I know you’ve had a lot happen to you and I want you to be able to confide in me as a friend or-or anything. That’s how I really feel. Felt. For a while anyway.” Will had rushed out all his words and now was trying to reclaim his breath. Nico recognized the look that Will had in his eyes now. It was the same look that he’d been giving Percy for years. He’d been so wrapped up in his own personal self-loathing and pity that he hadn’t noticed the possibilities of a good thing right in front of his very eyes. Until now.
He took Will’s fingers and threaded them through his own. “I haven’t been able to share anything about myself with anyone. Or wouldn’t. I was too scared. Of rejection. Of bringing up painful memories. But maybe you can be the first.”
Will grinned, his dimples flashing brightly and eyes shining with relief.
“I’m not gonna promise that I’ll be able to share everything right away. I’m still working on all this stuff.”
Will brought his hand to his lips and ran it lightly across. His breath tickled Nico’s skin. “I’ll be here. To listen. Or whatever you need. I personally think you’ve been on your own for far too long. And if you let me, I’d like to be here. For you.”
Nico grinned shyly. “Ok.”
“Ok,” Will grinned. “Maybe you could share something right now? It doesn’t have to be anything huge or whatever.”
Nico thought for a minute. “I was born in Italy. In Venice, 1928.”
Will whistled. His eyebrows soaring up into his hairline. “Wow. OK. I don’t think I have anything that interesting. Um…I can make spaghetti? That counts as Italian, I guess.”
Nico laughed. “Yeah, I guess it does. Um, when I was younger, I was obsessed with the game Mythomagic.”
“That’s adorable. I used to play as well.”
If Nico hadn’t been so distracted by Will calling him adorable, he would have geeked out so hard. He would have inquired about every single figurine and deck he owned.
“Can you speak Italian?” Will asked.
“Yeah.”
“Say something then!”
“Ok. Um… mi piaci davvero.”
Will looked really impressed. “I can’t speak another language but I can bust out some sick raps.”
Nico burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it. He kept imagining Will with a visor turned backwards and saggy pants or whatever it was that rappers generally wore. It was ridiculous imagery.
“Hey! Don’t you know the most famous rappers are kids of Apollo?”
Nico just snorted into his hand. Will snickered and scooted closer to Nico. So close that all laughter died in his throat, replaced with nervous ‘ums.’
“I have something that I really want to share with you,” Will whispered into his ear.
“Uh, w-what is it?”
“I really want to kiss you. Is that ok?”
“Y-yeah…I think that would be more than ok.”
So Will kissed him. He leaned in close and at first Nico was so nervous that he thought that his heart would hammer right out of his chest. But then Will’s lips were on his own and they were soft and gentle, hot and sweet. His entire body erupted. He felt hot and shaky all throughout his stomach, but it wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, it was the best feeling that he’d ever felt. Will deepened the kiss when Nico didn’t pull away. He put his hands on his cheeks, caressing him softly. He ran his fingers through his hair, scratching and pulling. Nico’s control seemed to snap at that point. He pulled Will closer to him, feeling his hot breath ghost over him. Nico’s abdomen was so tight now it was almost embarrassing. He involuntarily groaned which just spurred on Will even more. He took Nico’s bottom lip into his mouth and sucked on it, pulled it with his teeth and gods…it felt amazing. He felt Will’s tongue trace his pallet. Any other time he would have been weirded out by having someone else’s tongue in his mouth, but this was different. It felt right. They were a tangled mess of teeth and tongue, nowhere near perfect but Nico didn’t care. At the moment, he felt on top of the world and he never wanted it to end.
When they broke away, Nico’s breath was ragged and he had the strongest urge to go to the bathroom. Will wasn’t faring any better. His face was flushed and eyes dangerously wild.
“Gods, I’ve wanted to do that forever,” Will rasped out.
“Yeah?” Nico looked over at Will and grinned.
“Was it…um..alright?”
“Gods, yes.” Nico’s voice was way too desperate for his usual liking but right now he didn’t give a damn.
Will heaved a huge sigh. “Good. Because I don’t know what I would have done if you told me I couldn’t do it again.”
“You can definitely do it again.”
So they did.
**
That night Nico was visited by his dad. He was still reeling from his day with Will. He thought the grin from his face would never ever leave. And he kept replaying their kisses and the words that came after it over and over.
“So, does this mean we’re together?” Will asked, his face full of hope.
“If I let you slide your tongue down my throat then I think you can take that as a yes.”
Will had wooped with laughter and gathered Nico in a bone crushing hug. He hadn’t minded, though. He just laughed right along with him and let Will smother him with kisses. He was back in the infirmary as Will wasn’t going to let him off the hook just because they were dating now. But Nico didn’t mind. He didn’t want to stay in the Hades cabin anyway. It was too dark and he felt too alone. He had texted Will until he fell asleep, his face the last thing he remembered before he drifted off to dream world.
Which was quickly replaced by the creepy grin of the Lord of the Dead.
“Oh…”
“Oh?! Is that anyway to greet you dad, Nico?” Hades feigned shock, which wasn’t really that hard for him.
“What do you want, Father?”
“A son of Apollo, Nico. Really?”
Nico sighed. Of course this was about Will. “Look Dad, I-“
Hades held up his hand. “I’m not finished. Even though I’ve had to listen to that git’s horrible haikus all day, I’m happy for you.”
“Really?” Nico hadn’t expected that.
“Yes! I can recite one, see:
Light and Dark combine
Our sons will be together
For eternity
The Lord of the Underworld should not be reciting poetry!” Hades seemed genuinely disgusted. “At least you’ve seemed to have gotten over your infatuation with Percy Jackson.” Hades fake gagged. “I was really getting sick of that.”
Nico sighed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know. You’ve already informed me.”
“At least this kid reminds me of Persephone.” Hades eyes cloud over, taking over a lust filled look. “I guess darkness will always be attracted to the light.”
Ok, even for Hades that was incredibly lame.
“Are we done here?” Nico asked.
Hades came back to the present and walked over to his son. The next thing he did, Nico never would have believed if Nico hadn’t experienced it himself. Hades hugged him.
“I’m glad you’re happy, son. I meant what I said in that chapel. You really deserve it.”
“Um…thank you.” Then he wrapped his arms around his dad and hugged the Lord of the Dead.
“I’ll be watching you. If he tries anything, I’ll be sure to prepare him a rather nasty spot in the Underworld.” Then Hades disappeared in a flash of green, laughing.
**
Nico woke with a start. Will was right beside him, eyeing him nervously.
“Is everything alright?”
Nico stared into Will’s blue eyes and immediately calmed down. He scooted closer and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Everything’s great.”
“Good,” Will smiled and kissed him back
“Just don’t anger my dad.”