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Will saw the way that Beckendorf fought. He watched from the distance, peeking behind a pillar, and admiring the rough way that he sparred. His biceps were about the same size as Will’s head. Working in the forges and training had made him strong.
Will wished he could be strong like that.
Beckendorf could lift Will with one hand (though that wasn’t much of a feat since Will was only around 90 something pounds) and he had done it many times before.
Sometimes Beckendorf would teach Will combat, showing him how to hold his stance and how to defend himself. Will always listened very carefully, even if he would never be able to win against Beckendorf. And Beckendorf had even shown Will the forges (he didn’t like it very much, too hot and too dangerous).
Now though, Will was watching Beckendorf spar with Percy. They clashed with weapons, this was probably the first time Will had seen Beckendorf use a sword. And Will could’ve figured he was better than Percy.
Will crouched down, his fingers gripping the stone pillar that he was using to hide behind, he knew that neither demigod would mind him watching, but it still made him nervous to be out in the open anyway. Will’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
Beckendorf slashed at Percy, his strike was deflected. Percy ducked and aimed for Beckendorf’s knee. Thankfully he jumped out of the way in time.
“William,” called a voice from behind. Will turned to see Michael approaching him.
“What are you doing hiding behind a pillar?” Michael asked, putting his hand on Will’s head. Will blushed.
“Nothing.”
“Well if it’s nothing if you wouldn’t mind joining me with my shift in the infirmary. I would love to have someone to talk to.”
Will glanced back at Beckendorf and Percy, then back at his brother. He weighed his options carefully.
“Okay,” Will nodded. He liked working with his brother in the infirmary, it made it a little less lonely, and since he technically wasn’t supposed to have an infirmary shift by himself, it worked out.
Michael grinned, “awesome. Come on, O’ Shakespeare.”
The nickname was a running joke at Will’s poor skills at word choices. Will grinned and jogged after Michael. He missed the half glance from Beckendorf from the arena as they left.
“Next year you’ll be able to man the infirmary by yourself, or at least take your own shifts without anyone else in here,” Michael said, scratching his cheek, “even if you can choose your shifts are you still gonna spend shifts with your big brother?”
Michael stuck out his bottom lip in a pout, Will laughed.
“Sure I will,” Will’s grin was crooked when he smiled but he didn’t mind.
At the infirmary, Will rocked back and forth in a swivel chair, staring at his brother from across the room as he made up one of the cots with new sheets.
The infirmary doors opened with a grunt and Beckendorf shuffled in. He was holding a gash on his arm that leaked red droplets of blood between his fingers.
“Hey, could I get a hand?” He asked, grinning weakly (it also could’ve been a grimace).
Will jumped to his feet, “I got it!”
Michael gave a thumbs up, “you can do it, Will, if you need me I’m right here.”
Will was determined to not need his brother's help, he could be strong too. He ushered Beckendorf to one of the cots. The top of his head barely came up to Beckendorf's chest.
Will’s hands had a slight tremble when he collected the gauze bandages and disinfectant. He slid plastic gloves over his hands and hurried back to where Beckendorf was sitting.
“Hey Will,” Beckendorf said, removing his hand from his wound as instructed, “I saw you watching me and Percy fight.”
Will blushed and squeaked out a timid, “sorry!” As he dabbed cotton balls of hydrogen peroxide on the cut. It wasn’t too deep, it wouldn’t need any stitches at least, Will wasn’t very confident in his abilities at doing stitches yet and he didn’t want to mess up in front of Beckendorf.
Beckendorf winced and barked a laugh, “no, no, it’s okay, you can always watch if you want. You don’t need to hide behind a pillar.”
Will might’ve blushed even harder. He had no opportunity to get flustered, he was doing very important tasks.
He pressed the gauze to the dripping cut, no need for ambrosia either, it would heal within a few days probably without scar too, and was very far from life-threatening. Will stuck his tongue between his teeth as he wrapped the bandages. Tying it off neatly.
“You’re all good,” Will said proudly. Beckendorf moved his arm, examining the bandages. He grinned.
“Thanks, Dr. Solace,” he patted Will’s head, “you did a mighty fine job.”
Will thought he would melt right there, he grinned, “thanks.”
“Remind me to see this one the next time I need some healing,” Beckendorf said to Michael, “he’s so much nicer than you.”
“When he’s older he’ll realize how stupid everyone here is and how much they get into trouble that could easily be avoided,” Michael sighed, “then he won’t be as nice.”
Beckendorf rolled his eyes and ignored Michael, “I’ll see you in the arena tomorrow morning, Will.”
“You need to let your arm heal first,” Will insisted. He pressed his lips together in a thin line.
Beckendorf smiled softly, “I guess I’ll rest for a bit then, how about a lesson in the forges?”
Will thought about the Hephaestus forges, how hot it was, and how everything seemed like a giant metal monster that would eat Will if he stepped near them. Will really did not care for the forges. He shivered and shook his head.
“Yeah,” Beckendorf chuckled, stretching his shoulders as he stood up, “I’ll see you later though.”
Will nodded, “okay!” His voice cracked on the one word and his cheeks turned an even darker shade of red.
“Bye Michael,” Beckendorf waved to Michael who had moved on from making the beds to stocking the shelves.
“Bye Charles.”
Beckendorf nodded to Will before he stepped out of the infirmary. As soon as the door closed Will grinned wider than he had all day, jogging over to his brother, “he said I did a good job! He called me doctor Solace!”
“Well, you are one of the doctors here,” Michael shrugged, “you gotta clean up though if you’re gonna be a proper doctor.”
Will nodded, bouncing on the balls of his feet, he disposed of his gloves and went to clean up the supplies.