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Normally at this early in the morning, most of the other campers were still asleep in their assigned bunks, but there were some who made exceptions to that rule or just outright ignored them. Nico just so happened to be one of these campers, but thanks to his dark clothing, even in the waning dusk, it was still hard to see him unless one made a conscious effort to look. He wondered if half of that was due to the fact that he was still recovering from all the shadow-travelling he did nearly half a year prior. Nico leaned against the tree, the sun barely over the horizon, but he didn’t mind. The way the colors clashed together as dawn approached was something worth waiting for. Well that, and one other thing.
“Morning,” a voice called and he turned to see Will walking towards him in the usual camp orange t-shirt, bright blond hair still ruffled and tangled from sleep.
Nico watched the son of Apollo rub the remaining sleepiness out of his striking blue eyes and stretched out his arms over his head.
“Took you long enough,” Nico said.
“Hey, it’s not easy sneaking out of my cabin when everyone else is practically sleeping on the floor,” Will paused for a moment to let out one last yawn. “Now then, shall we?”
“We going for a stroll in the woods?” Nico asked.
“No, I think the satyr’s might chase us out if they spot us. I have something better in mind, trust me.” Will said, taking his hand. Nico hoped his palms didn’t become instantly sweaty on contact.
They walked towards the docks and were grateful to see that the boat they saved the night before had remained untouched. Will hopped in first as Nico untied and then quickly joined his boyfriend. They each took turns in rowing and after they made it to the middle of the lake the boat was left to lazily drift. As much as he enjoyed the silence, Nico wanted to know what was on his boyfriends mind.
“How have you been? It’s been a rough week, especially after…” Nico bit his lip. Now he wasn’t sure if he dared himself to proceed any further.
Will was already stressed enough over losing his siblings Kayla and Austin, coupled with the appearance of his father Apollo, god-turned-teen, and trying to tend to the wounded after the foot-race while still acting as the head of his cabin. Nico attempted to get some time for Will to be alone or just rest, but his boyfriend was stubborn about leaving his position. Nico knew full well Will would put the well-being of others over himself even if it made him so tired that he’d pass out when there was nothing left to do.
“I’m still worried, but I have faith that Apollo will bring them back.” Will looked over the water and managed a small grin. “You know, it’s kind of weird referring to my Dad like that.”
“I thought the whole “I’m punished by Zeus and got turned into a mortal teen” would have weirded you out more,” Nico replied and Will laughed good-naturedly.
“Well that too, but I got over it quickly. Stranger things have happened.”
They were silent once more, it was comfortable enough, but Nico couldn’t help but shake the worry off. He glanced at Will again, half expecting the son of Apollo to say something cheesy or laugh away his problems.
“I’m just… worried about you,” Nico said and Will looked at him. “You’re always putting others before yourself, and you never take the time to rest or…” Spend more time with me.
He trailed off but decided to not continue, it was too embarrassing for him to say the rest.
Will motioned somewhere with his hand.
Nico followed his gaze and saw the sun peeking over the hills of camp, the sky slowly changed from a faint blue to a peach orange. Dawn was finally here.
“When I was a kid, my mom used to sit out on the balcony of our apartment and we’d watch the sunrise together. I still do it ever since I came to camp, but now I finally have someone to share that view with.”
Nico saw Will looking at him in the corner of his eye with that same smile that always made butterflies suddenly flutter in his stomach and his heart beat faster. It took a few glances between the sunrise and Will’s face for something to settle in.
“Wait, are you saying this is like a date??”
“If that’s how you want to think of it, buddy,” Will laughed and Nico briefly dipped his hand into the lake water and flicked the droplets at his boyfriend who quickly returned the favor.
“You said you wanted to have some alone time!” Will shouted.
“I didn’t mean like this!” Nico exclaimed.
“Wait, are you blushing, Death Boy?”
“Shut up!”
They stopped their splashing game once they noticed the boat rocking dangerously, opting to sitting together, holding hands and just enjoying being in each other’s company.
“You’re a dork,” Nico muttered, leaning his head on Will’s shoulder. Will smelled like hot chocolate, and it felt so warm being beside him that he felt like dozing off.
Will laughed in reply, gently resting his head against Nico’s skull. “Yeah, well I’m your dork.”
This was how he wished it could stay, just the two of them together in this tranquility. Even the sound of rushing water couldn’t dampen his spirits… But maybe the boat shaking a bit would.
“Will, stop rocking the boat.” Nico muttered, nuzzling his head deeper into Will’s shoulder.
“I’m not,” he grumbled and Nico cracked open one eye. “Do you really think I’m that devious?”
He saw something rising out of the water, something big and bronze, and it definitely wasn’t one of the Hermes’ cabin pranks or a lost machine from the Hephaestus cabin. It looked like a statue. After he looked at the face of the figure, both of his eyes snapped to attention.
His voice shook in confusion and disbelief, his mouth fumbling with the words, “Is that… a giant statue of your dad?”
“You’re imagining things,” Will sighed, his eyes still closed and his hair gently running through Nico’s hair. “How much sleep did you get last night?”
Before Nico could move his hand to pull at Will’s eyelids, a large wave erupted from the statue, tossing the two demigods and their boat into the air. The last thing Nico heard was Will yelp: “Holy Hera!” before hitting the cold water.
He thrashed blindly as the lake rushed into his lungs and burned his eyes. Nico kicked his legs desperately, clawing his way upwards. When he finally burst through the surface, his bangs blocked his vision and all he could hear was Will spluttering.
“Nico?!” Will called and he blindly swam towards the sound of his voice. He felt a hand grab onto his wrist and drag him over something solid, it was their overturned boat. “Are you okay?”
“Never better,” Nico coughed and moved his bangs with his free hand. Needless to say the sight he saw would surely scar him for life.
“What is that thing?” Will asked, his eyes as wide as plates.
“A giant-butt naked statue of your father,” Nico spat out with snark, his mood already dampened. “The real question should be how it got here. What happened to the barrier?”
The statue began heading towards camp, which was enough to snap the two back to reality.
“We have to get back to camp!” Will yelled and Nico was prepared to swim until there was a buzz in the air above them. They looked up to see the myrmeke colony flying towards the camp as well.
“What now?” Nico grumbled, first their date was ruined by a giant naked statue of Will’s father; second, the said statue was probably off to destroy the other demigods along with the camp, and finally, he was probably not going to change clothes until much later once everything wasn’t spiraling into mortal peril.
“We’ve got better things to worry about than- wait! I see Apollo on one of the myrmekes… KAYLA AND AUSTIN! THEY’RE OKAY!” Will screamed almost as loudly as he whistled. While Nico was relieved to see that Wills’ siblings came back in one piece, his current predicament wasn’t boosting his mood.
“I really hate your dad…”
“Yeah, I’m sure you do. Save the brooding for later, we need to hustle, right now!”
As much as Nico wanted to retort with a sarcastic remark, he began to swim as fast as he could towards shore. Something told him they would be needed for this battle.
“So much for peace and quiet,” the son of Hades muttered.
If he ever got the chance to see Apollo’s face again, he’d be sure to give the now mortal teen god a good slap in the face for ruining his date.