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Will had suspected for the past two days that Nico was illiterate- he always found an excuse to avoid reading any of the forms Will gave him, claiming to have a headache or nausea, even pretending to fall asleep. Will’s suspicions were confirmed when he gave Nico a form to sign- well, it was technically a piece of paper saying ‘I agree to wear pink for a week’, and Nico seemed to read it over and over then signed it. When Will asked him what it said, Nico casually told him that it was just another medical form. So Will didn’t say anything- he understood that Nico was most likely embarrassed, because most teenagers could read. It made sense- English wasn’t Nico’s first language, and English was actually a difficult language with oddly specific and niche grammar rules that made it difficult to learn, plus Nico’s memories from childhood were mainly wiped which would have included learning to read and write, and even then he doubted education would be high on the list of priorities in pre-war and wartime Italy, and with dyslexia and ADHD, a school environment like the military school he attended after the Lotus probably wasn’t the best environment to learn- discipline was usually favoured over understanding.
Instead of asking him about it and making a big speech out of it, Will instead decided that the best use of his free day would be to read to Nico. So he picked up a book and unceremoniously threw himself onto the bed next to him. “Do you mind if I read this here?”
“Uh- sure, whatever,” Nico shrugged awkwardly, shuffling away slightly. Will respected his personal space and shuffled further to the edge of the bed, but made sure Nico would still be able to see the book, and Will began to read aloud, following the words with his finger. But Will didn’t hide it when he stumbled over words, when he had to pause to break words down phonetically, when he spent longer than most people trying to figure out a word was before skipping over it and trying to figure out what the word was from context. He noticed Nico watching, but he pretended not to notice.
“Why do you read,” Nico asked by the time Will finished the first chapter- which took a while because he skipped to the middle of the book then to the end then searched through the pages to find a particular scene for spoilers before going back to the first chapter.
“For fun,” Will smiled, “I like the stories.”
“I mean… don’t you find reading easy… you know, like most people,” Nico asked carefully.
“I’m dyslexic,” Will admitted openly, “most demigods are, but mine’s particularly bad, and I dropped out of school young when I came to camp.” He noticed Nico’s expression change from nervous to relieved, relaxing his posture slightly.
“When I try to read,” Nico began quietly, “the letters keep moving and rearranging themselves, they don’t stay in order, and it’s like the page is moving too. And the more I try to focus, the more the letters seem to jump around and nothing makes sense anymore, it’s just a bunch of symbols, and it’s worse because it’s not my first language, I have to translate everything in my head, even verbal conversations sometimes.”
“I don’t have that issue that myself,” Will responded candidly, “but for me, my brain just doesn’t seem to link the words on the page to the words I know, phonetically and stuff. It’s not automatic for me to recognise words, I have to make the effort to think about each letter phonetically, to break it down and put all the sounds together and actively figure out what word it is that I already know. I don’t automatically recognise the words, it’s like I’m looking at each word for the first time.”
“It makes it worse with the ADHD,” Nico admitted, “I just can’t seem to focus enough and I get frustrated because nothing makes sense.”
“Oh my gods, I know right, like, I cannot keep my focus on what I’m reading, I end up picking up other books or skipping ahead or going back over the same thing again and again because it just will not sink into my brain because suddenly everything else is interesting and I end up thinking about something completely different. And if I’m not like that, then I just end up reading a whole book in one sitting without moving from my reading spot.”
“Exactly,” Nico agreed loudly, waving his arms wildly as he broke into a passioned rant, “I don’t understand how people can just- focus so much, and do you get that thing when even if you were enjoying something, you suddenly just- lose interest and it’s like a physical drop in your stomach and you just cannot for the life of you find the motivation or willpower to carry on and your mood just drops and you just want to go to bed?”
“Ugh, that’s so annoying,” Will agreed, “and then that’s it, you’re labelled a problem child and apparently you’re disruptive. Like- you try focusing for hours on end when you literally have a medical reason why you can’t, when you’re also dyslexic and words are fucking hard, okay, words are not easy, then you just- lose it completely, because you’re trying your best but you just can’t focus and it’s too difficult, I used to get so frustrated and mad at myself I’d walk out the class. School isn’t suited to people like us, it’s ridiculous that they expect us to be as good as neurotypical kids who can focus and read and write without the mental exhaustion and the sheer amount of effort that we have to use.”
“And you’re entire worth as a human being is weighted by how well you perform in a biased system that doesn’t suit everybody, and if you can’t keep up with the unrealistic expactations they have of you, you’re instantly branded as stupid, you’ll never do anything, you’ll work in McDonald’s- why is that even considered a bad thing?”
“Exactly,” Will sighed, picking the book back up, “but right now I need to know what happens in chapter two. Right after I re-read chapter one because I can’t remember anything beyond the rainbow.”
Every free day Will and Nico had from that day forwards, they’d spend in the same way- Will would take a book to Nico’s cabin, or to where Nico was in the infirmary, and he’d sit and read with Nico. As they started dating, they’d sit a lot closer, cuddling whilst Will read aloud. It helped Will- he was stumbling over words a little less, recognising them a tiny bit easier. Will didn’t notice his own progress, but Nico pointed it out to him. It wasn’t until Will misread a word and Nico automatically corrected him, however, that the two realised how much progress Nico had made.
“Huh?” Will had questioned, craning his neck to look up at Nico.
“It says to receive, not relieve,” Nico pointed out, reading aloud, “it says ‘he would receive his award in a week’.” Will looked at the page, then back at Nico, who seemed to be re-reading the sentence again and again, before taking the book from Will’s hands and turning the page, reading aloud a new sentence as if to double check that he could read. “Will can you double check I got that right,” he asked, and Will read the sentence, repeating what Nico had read. Nico was smiling- because finally, he felt free. So much more of the world would become accessible to him now, so much more he could do. The simple things, like ordering food, or reading the signs of streets, to understanding the contents of important documents, maybe beginning an education. It felt like he was seeing the world for the first time.
“I’m proud of you, Neeks,” Will beamed, bursting with pride. His plan had worked- Nico had learned to read by watching Will read, from the way Will broke down words, re-reading books with Nico and following along with his finger.
“I uh… I couldn’t read,” Nico blushed ashamedly, his smile dropping a little.
“I know,” Will said softly, “that’s kinda why I started reading to you. I didn’t wanna say anything because I didn’t wanna make you embarrassed and mad at yourself or upset, and I learned to read because my mom would always read to me, and I figured if you saw me struggle with it, then you’d be less ashamed of your dyslexia and you wouldn’t feel so alone in your struggles.”
“Will,” Nico smiled softly, giving him an affectionate kiss on the cheek, “thank you. For being patient and understanding. I- this means the world to me, Will. I love you,” Nico said gently, and Will blushed, beaming.
“I love you too, Nico,” he replied, giving Nico a quick kiss on the cheek, “wanna read to me?”
“I’d love to,” Nico replied enthusiastically- it was still a struggle to read, but he could read, and it meant the world to him- he felt free, capable, and proud.