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Nico had never seen anything like it.
Sure, he had seen Will angry before, but never like this.
The son of Apollo stood in front of the offending demigod, who was clearly terrified. Nico couldn’t blame him; Will looked terrifying for someone who was supposed to be the human embodiment of sunshine.
The whole situation had started off ridiculous. Older campers, led by a boy from the Nemesis Cabin, were harassing some newer younger campers, some including Will’s little siblings. It had been going on for a few days, but most people brushed it off as simple hazing by the older campers. However, that morning, when Will’s little sister refused to leave the Cabin after having one of the worst meltdowns anyone has ever seen, Will decided to intervene. Nico had followed partially because he liked the Apollo kids, so he wasn't happy with what had happened, but also to provide some muscle for Will if needed.
To his credit, the son of Apollo had tried hard to be civil. He gathered the older campers who were spearheading the bullying in the arena and asked them to please stop, telling them about his sister’s meltdown and how they were taking things too far. The group just laughed at him, and the conversation went from talking about their bullying behavior to the group actually ragging on Will for his powers. The ringleader, the boy from the Nemesis Cabin, was the worst, calling Will useless and listing off why he was the worst son of Apollo.
Nico was fully ready to send them straight to Asphodel, but Will stopped him as he turned away from the group, saying they weren’t worth his time and that he would speak to Chiron about their behavior. However, that’s when the boy from Nemesis took it too fat, as he proclaimed, “Can’t even deal with us like a real leader. Bet your brothers are turning in their graves just from the disappointment.”
Nico saw something flash in Will’s eyes as the son of Apollo froze. Nico already knew this was a bad start, as Will was definitely sensitive about his brothers. Sure enough, Will spun on his heels walking straight up to the Nemesis boy who was smiling smugly.
As Nico observed his boyfriend, he noted Will seemed to have been drained of his typical warmth and sunshine, making him look almost sickly. His skin was paler with what seemed to be a slight grey tone radiating off him. His eyes seemed to have darkened a few shades, and his hair was lackluster. The typical warmth that radiated off him was turnt up, sending a heat wave that Nico felt from a few feet away.
In other words, Nico though he looked cool as fuck.
However, his admiration of Will’s sudden badass persona was interrupted as he watched Will, almost in a trance-like motion, raise his index finger and point at the boy in front of him. Immediately, a dull gray mist curled off of his fingertip. The mist thickened and encircled the boy’s head as his eyes widened, forced to inhale it. The moment his head was completely encircled by mist, Will dropped his hand and the boy collapsed, wheezing and choking.
Nico stared at the scene in front of him, still in shock by what just happened. The other demigods who had been watching looked unsure of whether or not to step forward and help the collapsed demigod, eyeing Will fearfully. Will, on the other hand, seemed to have regained his normal Apollo glow back and any trace of the mist was gone. However, his face was still pale as he fumbled out an apology before dashing away.
Nico snapped out of his stupor. He glanced at the boy, and once he was sure he wasn't close to death, followed his boyfriend to the back of the Apollo cabin, hidden from other campers’ view. By the time he found Will, the medic was sitting on the ground, legs pulled tightly to his chest as he cast a blank stare forward. The son of Hades crouched down next to the older boy, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder. Will wasn’t crying, but he was still shaking like crazy.
Nico settled next to his boyfriend, feeling a little awkward. He had been working on his social skills over the past month or so, but it was still rough enough that he didn’t understand what to do. Instead of grabbing for empty words, he wrapped an arm around the son of Apollo’s shoulder, knowing that the older boy responded well to physical contact.
After a few minutes of silent comfort, Nico felt Will’s shaking decrease as he squeezed the son of Apollo’s shoulder. “You good?”
Will huffed, rubbing his eyes with the base of his hands as he shook his head. “Not really. But I guess you want an explanation now, right?”
Nico hesitated, moving a little closer to Will. “If you want to explain now, you can. You don’t have to,” he murmured, watching his boyfriend’s expression out of the corner of his eye.
Will seemed to waver on whether he wanted to speak up. After a few seconds, he said, “I made him sick, Nico.”
Nico frowned, unsure of what his boyfriend said. “What do you mean ‘you made him sick’? That’s not possible unless…” his eyes widened slightly, but he did his best to cover up his shock. “Oh.”
Will huffed, looking uneasy. “What kind of medic am I? My job is to save lives, but if I lose my temper I just hurt people and… I could’ve killed him if I got angry enough, Nico,” he choked out.
Nico worried his bottom lip, unsure of what to say. Secretly, he thought Will’s powers were awesome , and maybe someday he could convince Will to work with him on controlling his abilities. But now wasn’t the time, clearly.
Will had kept talking as Nico was mulling over what to say. “I didn’t want this. I don’t want flashy powers; hell, I don’t want to hurt people. I actually killed a monster for the first time when I was twelve, Nico. Not because they didn't attack me or I didn't know how to fight, but because I figured they are living too so I shouldn’t hurt them. I’m just… I’m not cut out for powers like this. It makes me feel like all these hands of mine can do is hurt people.”
Will paused, taking a deep breath. Nico took that moment as his chance to give his input. He gently took Will’s hands into his own, squeezing them slightly. “Will, these hands have saved nearly every person at this Camp three times over. These hands kept me from turning into shadows. And most importantly, these hands delivered a certain satyr baby, right?” he said, a rare and small smile on his face.
Will returned the smile, and Nico took it as his cue to continue. “Point is, your powers might scare you and they might be a lot to handle, but it doesn’t make you any less of a great person. And as for you not being cut out for these powers, well, I beg to differ. I think your father, if he has the ability to choose who gets what powers, would have intentionally given this to you. Not as some curse, but as a bonus gift of insane power that teaches you to be responsible and cautious. And your personality works well with these powers. You are really level-headed and rational, but you have to understand that everyone gets angry sometimes. But would you really want someone like, say, Kayla for instance, to have these powers?”
Will shuddered at the thought. “Oh gods. She would have decimated half of the Camp by now.”
Nico suppressed a smile, nodding along. “Right. These powers are yours because you are strong and good enough to handle them. It’s going to take some time to really embrace them, but I promise I’ll be there for you if you choose to explore them. If not, I’ll always be there to help you out if you lose control again.”
Will let out a shaky sigh, staring blankly at the ground between him and Nico for a few seconds before responding. “You’ve really got quite the way with words, you know that?”
Nico rolled his eyes, nudging Will’s shoulder with his own. “You’re annoying,” he grumbled, but nonetheless couldn't stop a smile from gracing his features.
The two sat in silence for a few more minutes, before Nico spoke up again. “What should we do now? We can’t just hide out behind the Cabin for the rest of the day.”
Will hesitated before intertwining fingers with Nico once more. “I don’t want to go to the infirmary right now, or deal with questions. The boy should be fine and just have a severe head cold but…”
Nico nodded, squeezing Will’s hand. “I think your siblings can deal with a head cold. Let’s go to my Cabin. We can just hang out there.”
Will thought about for a second, his nose scrunching up adorably. “Can I play with Bob?” he asked finally, eyes lighting up slightly.
Nico grinned. “Sure, but be careful what you wish for. Once he settles on your lap you’ll be trapped in that spot for at least an hour.”
Will laughed softly at that, as the two got up and headed to the Hades Cabin. Will’s powers weren’t to be forgotten, and eventually he would have to begin to work on understanding them better, but Will had a feeling he could handle them if he had his significant annoyance by his side.