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Nico considered himself relatively well versed in the art of combat. He had fought titans and gods and led legions of the undead into battle. He also had a zombie for a chauffeur so he considered himself prepared for pretty much anything. One-on-one fights to the death? Yep. Cows that dissolved your lungs with poisonous gas? Why not? Laser tag? No.
Nothing had ever prepared Nico for the high stakes gladiatorial combat that was laser tag. Even more confusing than the game itself was why he couldn’t use a sword. He was supposed to win, wasn’t he? Clarisse had suggested this wonderful outing to Chiron talking about the “importance of teambuilding” and “thinking creatively.” Really she just wanted an excuse to beat some kids up in a new environment. Nico really hadn’t planned on going. A bunch of sweaty kids running around in the dark that he couldn’t actually hit with anything? No thanks. But then Will asked if he was going. “Hey Neeks,” Will said with a little smile on his stupid face, “you coming to laser tag?” so now here he was.
It was really kind of pathetic he supposed. He would have given in eventually but now Will didn’t even have to say “Please?” in that voice of his or even pester him into submission. Nico just did it. And now a solid 50% of the time Will called him ‘Neeks” which was better than Death Boy but it didn’t fit very well with the brooding lord of the underworld persona he had worked so hard to cultivate. Even worse was that he liked it. Now he was even calling Will sunshine unironically. It started out as a “Whatever you say sunshine” but then Will’s little smirk when he said it turned into an actual smile and now Nico couldn’t stop. His father was one of the most powerful beings in existence yet Nico’s weakness was pretty blond boys who liked being called sunshine.
So here he was standing in a dimly lit room wearing a 10-pound vest covered in lights with a plastic gun drawn ready to shoot like every 8 year old was a minotaur. He was content standing in his corner firing shots at anyone who came near him until Will slid up behind him like he was part of some SWAT team. “So Neeks, see that balcony up there?”
“Yeah, the one with 20 people who all want to kill us?”
“That’s the one. I think we can make it to the stairs on the other side and only die twice on the way”
“Well that’s reassuring Solace. I’d hate to die three times.”
“You’re right, might have to stay in the infirmary again if that happens,” Will said solemnly. Nico had thought he’d shot down the idea until Will gave him a wink, grabbed his wrist, and started sprinting towards the other side of the room. They were about halfway across when Nico’s chest vibrated, flashing red. When they ducked behind a space-patterned wall, Nico was out of breath, although he noted that dying in laser tag wasn’t quite as bad as actually almost dying.
“For once it wasn’t your hair that gave us away Solace. I think the flashing vests outdid you,” Nico pronounced recalling the disaster that was fighting Gaea.
“Hey, I said we’d probably die twice. It’s only been one time.”
“And we’re only halfway across” deadpanned Nico.
“Are you saying my math was right di Angelo?”
“Keep dreaming sunshine,” he said with a roll of his eyes
“Oh don’t worry, I will.” and that was the kind of comment that made Nico blush and feel things he didn’t want to feel and think cliches about butterflies in his internal organs. He knew that he liked Will. Liked him more than he probably should. But he didn’t want to fall for the first boy that was nice to him. Regardless if they were cute and had pretty blue eyes and were (though he’d never admit it) kind of funny. But Will had to make these comments and let hope flood out of Pandora's box and fill every chamber and artery of his rapidly beating heart. So when he stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth like he did when he concentrated really hard and peeked around the corner for children with toy guns Nico knew he was going to follow.
So Will looked over and muttered an “All clear” in a very serious whisper and signaled with two fingers to charge the stairway. The smile that flashed across his face like light flickering across the surface of a pond was the only thing that gave away the playful spirit covered by his steely facade.
Their sprint across the star-speckled floor and smoke heavy air was met with red flashes striking the ground in front of them as they glided through the shadows. Finally, as they reached the bottom of the curving metal staircase the horde of children at the top fired at them. Will yelled dramatically “There’s too many of them!” as the lights on his vest blinked out of existence.
“Well, it looks like this is the end Neeks. We had a good run.” That’s when Nico realized how dark it was. It was dark everywhere. Between the short walls covering the field and sparse lighting, there was hardly anywhere not covered in shadows.
“How badly do you actually want to win this thing?” Nico asked with a sigh.
“More than anything in the world,” Will said with more dramatic flourish than a game of laser tag warranted. But even if it was a joke Nico supposed he could make it happen.
“Grab my hand,” Nico demanded suddenly, the words tumbling out before he had even processed their full meaning.
“Sure, but why?” was the response he got from a puzzled Will who still gladly stuck his hand out.
“Here.” Nico grabbed his hand and felt his warm skin slightly sticky with sweat. Nico looked back at Will’s face where the puzzle pieces were setting into place. Will tried to object but before he could Nico stepped to the side disappearing into the shadows.
Reappearing on the balcony behind the horde of people in flashing vests Nico yelled “Fire!” as he and Will let off shot after shot from their guns decimating the enemy ranks. The best part was the faces that turned to look as their vests vibrated.
A cacophony of “What the f…” and “How the hell” mixed with the 90s sci-fi sounds of their guns powering down. As the final enemy on the balcony shouted in anger as they were defeated a booming voice in the sky yelled “GAME OVER!”
The lights turned back on just in time to see Nico fall against the railing and Will rush over to pick him up off the ground.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Nico said unconvincingly.
“Yeah, that’s why you were lying on the ground. If you pull that shadow travel again you're going to fucking die.” Will stated with a lilt of unimpressed sarcasm in his voice.
“At least I’ll get a break from you,” Nico muttered as he pushed himself out of Will’s arms, still shaky on his feet.
“I heard that. I’m sure the fields of punishment are a lot of fun.”
“Hey, I have a room decorated with monk skulls waiting for me when I die.”
“That’s the most horrifying thing I’ve ever heard. Please tell me that was a joke.” Nico wasn’t quite sure how to respond, monk skulls were obviously a sensitive topic. He was saved from that thought when he heard a distinctive shout from none other than Clarisse.
“How the hell did they beat me?” Clarisse bellowed in that characteristic tone specific to Ares kids who had just lost a game. Nico looked up at the screen displaying scores on the wall by the door, sure enough, he and Will were in first and second place.
“Was that worth it sunshine?” Nico asked sarcastically.
Will beamed at him, then his smile turned into a smirk. “Yup. Definitely. And now you're going to spend a day in the infirmary.”
Nico looked back at him and shrugged. Spending another day with Will was definitely not the worst thing in the world.