Chapter Text
Will was in pain .
He had dealt with his fair share of physical pain and injuries from being a demigod and a human in general. However, any previous pain he ever felt was nothing compared to what was washing over him in the moment.
It started out subtle, an occasional stab of pain in his chest when he tried to inhale. He figured that the pain would subside on its own, attributing it to chest cramping after spending the night before hunched over at his desk. However, almost three hours later, he found himself in so much pain that he could barely think, the agony extending from his chest and hitting him from a different part of his body every few minutes.
He made a half-hearted excuse to go to the supply closet and do some reorganization. Will didn’t want his siblings seeing him losing it, although he had a feeling Austin wasn’t buying his excuse when he listed off some random tasks to do near the back.
About half an hour passed as the pain grew consistently. He was in the midst of absentmindedly rolling up some bandages when a spike of pain from his chest caused him to drop the bandages, hands shaking as tears began spilling out of his eyes.
Will felt the burning feeling in his chest only grow as he tried to take a breath in. He groaned, placing his arms out in front of him as he tried to prop himself off the floor ( he had no idea when he had fallen down ). A stab of pain radiated from his lower back as he felt his stomach turn, queasy from the pain.
It was at that moment that there was a creaking of a door and immediately a flurry of noise as footsteps approached him. He tried to move away, feeling a vague flush of shame at the prospect of someone seeing him in his state of pain, but was unable to make himself shift even a little before being overwhelmed by another sharp ache.
A voice spoke urgently to him, although the pain made concentrating on whoever was speaking too difficult, “Will? What’s wrong?”
Will tried to open his mouth, but no words came out. His throat burned, as though someone had force fed him acid. He managed the smallest whimper of agony as he tensed again at another jolt of pain, this time from his leg.
The voice sounded more panicked now, but Will’s focus faded out, the slight ringing in his head becoming all he could hear. He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing down another wave of nausea.
He sat there silently, unaware of everyone and everything around him for what felt like hours. Finally, he felt some of the pain beginning to draw away, his head clearing just enough that he could open his eyes.
He wasn’t on the floor anymore, nor was he in the supply closet. Somehow, in his haze of pain, he had missed someone carrying him to one of the infirmary cots.
Will tried to sit up, only to realize he was hooked up to numerous monitors. More than that, his wrists were handcuffed to the sides of the bed. He felt panic welling up in his chest again, his brain already feeling foggy again as he found himself unable to remember where he was again.
Infirmary, right , he thought to himself, trying to remind himself to relax. As he took in a shaking inhale of air, he heard an exclamation of surprise.
“ Di immortales , you’re ok.”
He looked up to see Kayla running over to him, going in for a hug but then seeming to hesitate as she simply cupped his face in between her hands. Will blinked, still disoriented and already feeling a dull, throbbing pain returning.
“Wha- why am I here, Kay? Why are you…” his voice trailed off as he focused on three parallel cuts on the right of her face, starting just below her eye and stretching to the corner of her mouth.
She seemed to understand what he was staring at, already worrying her bottom lip. “I went to look for you when you disappeared in the back for almost an hour. Austin said you were doing some reorganization, but he said you didn’t look good, so we figured you skipped lunch again or something but... I mean, it was so scary, Will. You were hysterical, and I panicked and tried to get to close, so really it was my fault-”
Will felt his gut twist, but this time he knew it wasn’t because of the pain. “I hurt you,” he mumbled, instinctively moving himself away from his half-sister. Kayla sighed, rubbing her eyes as she shook her head.
“Well, yeah, you did. But please don’t get it in your head now that you’re a menace and oh my gods I’m going to isolate myself from everyone and everything for two weeks as punishment . You were in pain, Will. Whatever happened, then wasn’t you. Plus, these barely even count as an injury; they look a lot worse than they are.”
Her eyes scanned Will critically as she reached out and placed a hand on his forehead, brow creased in concentration, “You, on the other hand… you’re fine physically, save an elevated heart-rate. But you clearly aren’t, I guess.” Kayla swallowed, pulling her hand away. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m doing the reading thing right.”
Will hesitated, trying to sit himself up a little more, only to be reminded of the handcuffs, “I think you’re doing it right; in fact, I have an idea what’s happening. But, uh, can you uncuff me for a little bit please?”
Kayla blinked, immediately facepalming and cursing as she fished for what Will could assume were the keys in her small messenger bag. “Sorry, I don’t- we had to just keep you down so you wouldn’t, y’know…”
Will hummed in agreement, trying to hide the look of pain flitting across his face as the dull throbbing across his entire body began to intensify ever so slightly. “It’s alright. That was a good call.”
The two were quiet for a few seconds as Kayla finished uncuffing him. While Will stretched out his cramped wrists, Kayla was studying his vitals, brow creased in concentration.
After a few more seconds, Will cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him. She raised an eyebrow, silently asking him to continue.
Will sighed, averting his gaze away from his sister, “I think this… I don’t have physical symptoms of any sort of injuries because…” He took a deep breath, “I think this is my soulmates’ pain.”
Will had been fascinated by soulmates since he first heard about them. Silena had spent an hour explaining the concept, the details of what people experienced in the past and the different types of soulmates.
Silence lapsed between the siblings once more as Will watched her expression carefully. Kayla was staring at the floor to her right, emotions unreadable. Before he could try and elaborate, she spoke up.
“I’ll kill them.”
Will blinked in confusion, “Pardon?”
Kayla looked up, and it was then he noticed the irritation and anger that clouded eyes, “Whoever this is. I’m going to figure out what they’re doing that’s hurting you and I’m going to fucking kill them .”
Will still didn’t understand his sister’s anger. He sat forward slightly but immediately fell back again as a sharp pain radiated outwards from his chest. Kayla immediately stepped forward, most likely to check what was wrong, but he cut her off before she could start speaking.
“It’s not their fault, Kayla. Whoever they are… it’s way worse for them.”
Kayla’s expression was stormy as she scowled. “You’re too forgiving, Will. Someone could hit you with a monster truck and you would be first to apologize. But you… you can’t see what’s happening to you. You were in so much pain at one point that- you flatlined, Will.”
She swallowed thickly as Will let her words sink in. He had no idea what to say to that, averting his gaze. Kayla filled the silence after a few seconds, clearly not done.
“You didn’t just flatline once, Will. You went out at least three times somehow. Now, either your dipshit soulmate somehow managed to die and come back three times in a row, or they are so reckless that their pain killed you that many times over.”
Will clenched his jaw, thinking it over. He wasn’t sure if the latter explanation made much sense, but it would be more pragmatic than his soulmate dying and coming back at least three times.
He realized after a few seconds that Kayla was waiting for his reaction as he sighed, shaking his head. “It’s still not their fault. They must be in a lot of pain if I feel it too.”
Kayla didn’t look like she shared his sentiments, but seemed to register the defeated and tired expression on his face, allowing some of the tension to escape her shoulders. “Whatever. You need more rest, at any rate. We don’t know if this is over yet, and if something else happens again… you need some sort of energy.”
She helped him lay back down, setting his pillow and fussing around his cot for a minute or so. “We can keep the handcuffs off for now, I think. But if there’s another spike in your heart rate, we’ll put them back on just in case, ok?”
Will nodded, eyes already drooping shut. Despite the growing bouts of pain, he was fully ready to close his eyes and drift into unconsciousness. He nonetheless forced himself to ask one more question.
“Is Austin okay? Cecil and Lou aren’t in trouble?” he mumbled. He heard Kayla snort from nearby him, feeling her take his hand in her own gently.
“You legally die three times and you still have the audacity to ask about how everyone else is doing?” She chuckled softly, “They’re ok, you selfless idiot. Now get some rest, please . We’ll all be ten times better once you’re back on your feet again.”
Will wasn’t sure whether he nodded in response, giving a small grunt of affirmation as he let his eyes finally shut. He drifted off into a deep sleep, his last thoughts sending a fleeting prayer to his father ( or any deity listening ) to look after his soulmate, whoever they were and wherever they might be.