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Will knew something was up when Rachel and his boyfriend rushed past him and Nico grabbed his hand, dragging him along too. He had been carefully looking at a very cool dragon figurine and now he was booking it toward the exit of the shop, every step a stumble. Before he had a chance to ask what exactly was happening, there was an angry shout from behind them. “Hey!” screamed the shopkeeper.
“Oh no,” Nico mumbled as Rachel barreled into the door and they flew out onto the street.
They were sprinting down the sidewalk and as Will looked over his shoulder, he saw a security guard chasing them. Nico was still tugging him along and Rachel was ahead of them both, her hands shoved in her pockets and her jacket clutched to her chest.
“What did you do?” Will asked in horror.
“Uhh,” Rachel glanced back at him, “I borrowed something.”
“Borrowed?” Will repeated, “You mean you stole something?”
“Are you gonna snitch?” Rachel huffed.
“I think we’re a little past that!” Nico snapped, “Let’s go!”
“Can you shadow travel us out of here?” Rachel asked.
“It’s noon,” Nico said, “We’d have to go in somewhere to find a good enough shadow.”
“Fuck,” Rachel swore, looking over her shoulder.
They whipped around the corner and skidded to a stop as they spotted a cop running toward them. “Oh fuck ,” Nico muttered.
Rachel whirled around and tried to run the other way but the security guard had caught up to them. Her shoulder sagged and she looked to Will and Nico. “Play it cool,” she hissed.
She turned to the cop with a sweet smile, “What seems to be the problem, officer?”
His eyes narrowed at her and he crossed his arms. “We got a call about three teenagers,” his eyes scanned over the three of them, “Who shoplifted.”
“It’s them!” the security guard called from behind them.
“We don’t know what he’s talking about, sir,” Rachel said.
“Oh?” the cop raised an eyebrow, “And you were running because…?”
“Is it illegal to go for a run?” she asked.
“Search them,” the security guard said.
Rachel met Will’s eyes and his heart dropped. Rachel looked panicked for the first time. “I don’t think that’s necessary,” she said.
“If you could just empty your pockets, I’m sure we could clear this whole thing up,” the cop said dryly.
Neither of them moved and the officer huffed, frowning. “Should I call for backup?” he asked.
Nico finally dropped his hand and sighed. Beside him, Rachel began to slowly pulled her hands from her pockets. Two necklaces and a pair of earrings came out as well. As she moved her arms away from her body, a pair of pants tumbled to the ground as well. “Rachel,” Will muttered disappointedly.
“ All of you,” the cop said.
That was… bad. Will’s first thought was of the baggie of weed he had shoved in his back pocket. His next was of the multitude of knives and other weapons he was sure Nico had on him. Nico glanced at him and then frowned, his shoulders slumping. He reached into his pockets and pulled out two knives, setting them on the ground in front of him. Next, he pulled a switchblade from his back pocket and a small dagger that was tucked into his boot. He tugged off a couple of rings on his hand that Will knew could be twisted to reveal small blades. The necklace Nico had on was also technically a weapon, an enchanted pendant that would be transformed into a combat staff, but he didn’t take that off.
“Is that it?” the cop asked.
“Oh,” he mumbled, pulling out a set of brass knuckles from the inner pocket of his jacket and setting them on the ground with everything else.
“Brass knuckles?” Will asked in disbelief.
“I like to be prepared,” Nico shrugged.
“And you,” the cop said, his eyes resting on Will.
Maybe Will could get away with strategically avoiding his back pockets. It was worth a try at least. He turns out his pockets, revealing some change and folded up straw wrappers.
The cop grunted and his eyes flickered away for a moment before the security guard, still behind them, shouted, “He’s got something in his back pockets!”
If Will could have gotten away with a heated glare he would have. “What’s in your back pockets, kid?” the cop asked.
“I’d rather not say,” Will said.
“Well, I’m going to need you to show me.”
Will sighed and slowly pulled out the baggie of weed he had in his back pocket, along with the rolling papers and the lighter he had too. He could hear Rachel groan and part of him wanted to snap back, “This is your fault” but he didn’t have the chance.
The cop looked at Will for a moment, emotionless, and then raised his walkie-talkie to his mouth and said, “I’m gonna need a squad car and a couple more pairs of handcuffs.”
Nico sighed and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms against his chest. Beside him, Rachel huffed and began to focus intently on a splotch of paint on her hand. Will was freaking out. He didn’t want to go to jail . He wouldn’t make it in jail and his mom was going to kill him. His throat began to tighten and his hands trembled as he looked at Nico in a panic. Nico caught his eyes and his gaze softened. He reached a hand out for Will to grab and the blond did so happily, interlocking the fingers and squeezing tightly. “It’s gonna be okay,” he whispered softly.
“Stand against the wall,” the cop instructed, jerking his head toward the brick wall beside them.
They shuffled over and leaned against it. Nico and Will’s hands were still intertwined and the cop looked down, his eyes narrowing. “Hands to yourself,” he said.
Nico glared at him, sneering. “He’s freaking out. We’re not doing anything wrong.”
“Should I add resisting arrest on top of theft and drug possession?”
“How are they resisting arrest?” Rachel snapped.
“They’re not obeying instructions,” the cop said.
“They’re holding hands you absolute—“
Will cut her off, making a show of dropping Nico’s hand, “Okay! It’s fine! We’re not— we’re listening!”
The cop barely acknowledged his words as he turned to the security guard who was still looming off to the side. “We’re okay here, you can head back.”
“Are you sure? Do you want me to stay until your backup arrives?” the guard asked, puffing out his chest.
“It’s handled,” the cop said monotonously, “I’ve got it. They’re teenagers.”
From the corner of his eye, Will saw Nico’s lip twitch up in amusement. The security guard nodded slowly, still seeming unsure, but turned around and began to walk back to the shop they’d fled from.
The cop looked at them, his brow furrowed and his eyes cold as he studied them. He cocked his head as he met Nico’s eyes, who stared back defiantly. He leaned into his walkie-talkie again, “What’s the ETA?”
“Pulling up now,” the walkie crackled back.
A cruiser turned the corner and pulled up to the curb in front of them. As the cop turned to greet them, Nico rapidly looked between Will and Rachel. “Okay,” he whispered, “Once we get in the cruiser I can shadow travel us back to Camp.”
“Perfect,” Rachel said at the same time Will firmly said, “No.”
They looked at the blond in confusion. “What?” Nico asked.
“We’d be fugitives ,” Will hissed.
“Not my first rodeo, Sunshine,” Nico snorted, “And they wouldn’t even know who we are.”
“ You may be Mr. Incognito,” Will told his boyfriend pointedly as he gestured between himself and Rachel, “But we are not. In case you forgot, Rachel’s dad is super-rich and my mom is kinda famous.”
“Will,” Rachel tried to argue, “It will be fine.”
“I’m not going,” Will said, his arms crossed with finality.
“Looks like it’s just you and me, Ghostie,” Rachel sighed.
Nico studied Will for a moment before he deflated. “I’m not leaving him,” he told her.
“Come on,” she groaned, “You’re really gonna go to jail?”
“Like I said, not my first rodeo,” Nico said, “I’m not leaving Will.”
“You can go,” Will tried to say to him.
Nico shot him an annoyed look. “And leave you to explain how we just straight up disappeared? Plus, you’re not the one who got us chased down the block.”
“Yeah but it was my weed,” Will said.
“That we were all gonna smoke,” Nico rolled his eyes, “And I’m staying, so it doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t leave you, Will. I won’t leave you.”
They lock eyes for a moment, silent but insistent as if they’re having a whole other argument. “Then I guess we’re going to jail,” Rachel sighed.
“A holding cell in a station is barely jail,” Nico said.
Before Rachel could respond, both cops walked up to them and instructed them to turn around and face the wall with their hands behind their back. As one of them began to handcuff Rachel, she huffed in annoyance. “Is this really necessary?”
“It’s protocol,” the cop grunted.
“Do you think we’re gonna try and bolt again? Or fight back?”
“The number of weapons that one,” the cop jerked his head at Nico, “Had on him was a bit concerning.”
Rachel didn’t say anything because, well… she couldn’t really argue with him on that. Will was the last one to be handcuffed and that’s when it really began to set in. He was scared . Sure, he had faced down monsters and reattached arms and done a million other impossibly dangerous things, but that didn’t change the panic swelling in his chest.
“Will, look at me,” Nico muttered from beside him.
WIll met his eyes and blinked rapidly, trying to keep his breathing even. “It’s going to be okay,” Nico told him, “I promise .”
They were led to the cruiser and crammed into the backseat. Nico ended up in the middle and was halfway on top of Will, who was basically vibrating with anxiety. The blond tipped his head forward, burying his face in the crook of Nico’s neck and taking a few deep breaths. “It’s okay,” Nico repeated soothingly, “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.”
Will nodded with his face still pressed against Nico. Rachel was grumbling beside them, sending heated glares to the cops in the front seat. The ride to the station was short but Rachel kept muttering about the awful driving. Half of Will was glad to have the distraction and the other half wanted to tell her to ‘Just quit it, already.’ But he kept his face hidden the entire ride and didn’t look up until the door to the backseat opened.
They were dragged from the car and into the station and promptly placed in a holding cell. When they were released from their handcuffs, Will immediately sat on the bench and curled his knees up to his chest. As the cell door slammed closed, Rachel whirled around and angrily shouted, “Don’t we get a phone call or something?”
“After we’ve processed you,” was the response she got.
That was… not good. Nico wasn’t exactly a legal person . Well, maybe he was if the documents sued to get him into boarding school had been made official, but they couldn’t be sure.
Luckily, Nico walked up to the bars, his arms crossed and feet set defensively. “That’s not true.”
“Excuse me?” the cop asked.
“We have the right to legal counsel at any point during the process. And I want to call my lawyer before I answer any of your questions,” Nico stated, his face set.
The cop glared at him as if trying to intimidate him into backing off but Nico didn’t back down. “Fine,” he said after a minute, “One call.”
Nico all but smirked as the cop carefully let him out of the cell and led him toward a phone nearby. The raven looked over his shoulder at Will and Rachel and his nose twitched in amusement.
“What’s he doing?” Will asked Rachel.
“I dunno,” Rachel said, “Either something really bad or really good.”
They watched as Nico dialed the phone under the scrutinizing gaze of the officer but the pair couldn’t hear what he said. He was clearly speaking to someone and kept glancing back at the cop with suspicion. When he hung up the phone, the cop harshly grabbed his arm and led him back to the holding cell, shoving him in.
“So bossy,” Nico mumbled as the cell slammed shut.
“What was that?” the cop snapped.
Nico looked back at him with a deceptively sweet smile and said, “Nothing, Officer.”
The cop narrowed his eyes at him and huffed but shuffled over to his desk, still in view of them.
“You have a lawyer?” Will asked.
“No,” Nico snorted, “Definitely not.”
Rachel cocked her head to the side, “So who’d you call?”
“Mr. D,” he said.
Will shot forward, his feet slapping against the concrete floor, “What? Why?”
“He can help,” Nico shrugged, “He’s on his way.”
“From camp, that will take hours ,” Rachel moaned.
“Are you forgetting that he’s a literal god?” Nico asked, “He’ll be here in like five minutes and that’s just so it doesn’t seem too suspicious.”
“Oh,” Rachel blinked, “Okay.”
Will stood up, his face still twisted in disbelief, “You used your one call on Mr. D?”
“The one call thing is a myth,” Nico said as he sat down beside where Will had been, “You’re not actually entitled to any phone calls.”
“So basically we’re screwed?”
“No,” Nico huffed, reaching forward and grabbing Will’s hand to drag him to sit down, “I told you it was gonna be okay and I meant it.”
“This doesn’t feel like it’s gonna be okay, Nico,” Will worried, “It feels like we’re in jail.”
“Well, we are,” Rachel mumbled.
Nico shot her an annoyed glance and then turned to Will, placing one hand on his shoulder and the other gently against his cheek. “I need you to trust me, Sunshine,” Nico said, “I know you’re freaking out but just trust me.”
Will was still somewhere between the edge of tears and tearing his hair out but he nodded slowly, leaning into Nico’s chest. He may still be kind of losing it but he did trust Nico. He trusted him with his life and, he supposes, his freedom too.
Nico smiled at him, his eyes warm with affection. “Just hold tight,” he whispered.
“Are you gonna give me a pep talk, Neeks?” Rachel teased.
Nico looked at her over his shoulder with a look of fondness and exasperation. “Do you need one?” he said dryly.
“It wouldn’t hurt,” she said.
“Well, then don’t freak out,” he told her.
“Wow,” she laughed, “So much pep and encouragement. You should make a career out of this.”
Nico rolled his eyes and playfully shoved her shoulder. Beside him, Will had scooched closer so their thighs were pressed together and he could easily grab Nico’s hand to squeeze tightly. Nico let him do it without question, occasionally squeezing back reassuringly.
Will leaned his head on Nico’s shoulder. It was an awkward position because his boyfriend was significantly shorter than him but he didn’t care. He craved the closeness and although he was trying his best to stay cool, anxiety was still bubbling in his chest.
He played with Nico’s fingers silently as Rachel and his boyfriend whispered back and forth to each other.
Will’s head shot up, nearly knocking into Nico’s, as Mr. D waltzed into the station, Hawaiian shirt and all. He spotted the three of them immediately, grinning and raising the Diet Coke he had clutched in his hand to them. “You’ve done it this time,” he shouted.
“Sir,” a cop said, standing in front of him, “Can I help you.”
“I’m here to get those little snot monsters,” he gestured to the three of them, “Out of here.”
“They haven’t been processed yet,” the cop argued, “And do you mean you’re here to post bail?”
Mr. D snorted and lifted his sunglasses, his eyes glinting in a way that’s almost human but not quite, “I don’t think that’s quite necessary.”
Will watched the officer shift uncomfortably and cross his arms across his chest, “That’s how the protocol works. We don’t make exceptions.”
Mr. D sighed and set his can down on the nearest desk with a bit more force than necessary. He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes as the air around him began to crackle with power. “No exceptions?” he asked darkly.
The cop began to cower slightly and he shuffled back. “Well—“ he stuttered, “I can at least let you talk to them.”
Instantly, Mr. D relaxed and an easy grin spread across his face again. “Perfect!” he exclaimed, “I’m sure we can figure this whole thing out.”
He pushed past the cop still shaking in his boots and waltzed up to the cell, leaning casually against the bars. Nico stood and walked up to him. “What have you gotten yourself wrapped up in this time?” Mr. D snorted, “I mean jail, what would your parents think? Nico, think of your father.”
Nico rolled his eyes, “This is like, the least heinous reason I’ve been in a jail cell.”
“We get it, you’re a hooligan and trouble maker,” Rachel called.
Nico looked over his shoulder at her with an amused expression, “Try homeless from ages ten to thirteen.”
Rachel hissed and raised a hand to her chest in offense, “Oof, way to kill the vibes, Ghostie.”
Will huffed and stood up as well, standing beside Nico and looking at Mr. D insistently. “Can you get us out of here?”
“ Can you get us out of here,” Mr. D mocked in a nasally voice, “Wilhelm, I’m a god .”
“Then do it,” Will hissed.
“Snappy,” Mr. D huffed and then looked at Nico, “Your boyfriend’s got an attitude.”
Nico grabbed Will’s hand, “He’s a little nervous. This is his first time being arrested.”
“Aww,” Mr. D cooed, “I should get a photo.”
Nico smirked and rolled his eyes, “Can we just go?”
“I’ll distract them well you stage the great escape via shadow,” Mr. D told him.
“That’s your plan?” Will asked in horror.
“Well obviously I’m going to add in a bit of memory loss at the end there,” Mr. D said.
Will turned to Nico with a look of utter disbelief but before he could voice it, Mr. D was whirling around and walking to the center of the station, his voice booming, “Does anyone here know the Heimlich maneuver?”
A few heads nodded hesitantly and Mr. D grinned. “Good because that man,” he pointed to who appeared to be the captain of the precinct whose face was turning purple as he heaved, “Seems to be choking.”
All the officers stood up and there was a general shout of disbelief and panic. When everyone had looked away, Nico quickly grabbed Rachel and Will and tugged them into the darkest corner of the cell. “Let’s go,” he whispered as they melted into the shadows.
They stepped back out a block or so away from the precinct and Will had to bend down and brace himself with his hands on his knees, his eyes squeezed shut. He hated shadow traveling, it always felt like his stomach had turned inside out. Nico placed a hand on his back comfortingly and began to run his fingers through his hair.
“Blegh,” Rachel complained, his face twisting, “I hate doing that.”
“We didn’t exactly have a plethora of options,” Nico said.
Will stood up straight and leaned back against the wall. He took a deep breath as he felt less woozy and cracked open his eyes, looking around cautiously. Mr. D appeared beside them, causing him to jolt. Nico snickered at him and he shoved his arm.
“I think that went well,” Mr. D said.
“You can’t just make people choke,” Will scolded him.
Mr. D raised an eyebrow at him. “You think so, demigod? I’ll keep that in mind next time I do you three a giant favor and bail you out of jail,” he said.
“Will they remember anything?” Rachel asked.
“No, they’ll think it’s been an uneventful day,” Mr. D said.
“See?” Nico looked at Will, “Not fugitives.”
Will relaxed slightly and nodded, smiling tensely. “As fun as this has been,” Mr. D said, “I should get back to camp.”
Rachel furrowed her brow and cocked her head, “Don’t you mean we should get back to camp?”
“I suppose that too, will you be shadow traveling again?” Mr. D asked.
“Well, I thought that you could help us—“
Mr. D cut her off, “Alas, my dear Oracle, I have reached my benevolence quota for the day. You will have to find your own way back.”
Before any of them could argue, the god had vanished and they were left alone. Nico groaned in annoyance and shook his hands out. “Here we go again, I guess,” he sighed.
“Can’t you call Jules-Albert or something?” Rachel complained.
“Nope,” Nico said, “I just wanna be back. Plus, I don’t think it’s a great idea for us to wait around here, just in case.”
“Ugh fine,” Rachel sighed, grabbing Nico’s hand.
“You gonna be okay, Sunshine?” Nico asked Will softly.
Will nodded and intertwined their fingers. “Yeah,” he mumbled, “I just wanna be home.”
Nico smiled at him, his eyes soft and adoring, as he leaned back into the shadow cast by the building.
This time they appeared right outside the Big House where Mr. D was already sitting on the porch.
“See?” he exclaimed, “I knew you could do it.”
Nico grunted in response and halfway slumped against Will. The blond felt nauseous all over again but knew how exhausted his boyfriend probably was so he held him up. Rachel rolled her eyes and began to trudge back up to her cave, waving over her shoulder at Will and Nico. “See you later, sorry for getting us arrested.”
Nico waved at her but barely opened his eyes, his head pillowed against Will’s forearm.
“And Nico?” Mr. D called, “Try not to let this happen again anytime soon.”
“Will do,” Nico grumbled, “Thank you.”
“Nothing I wouldn’t do for any camper,” Mr. D said.
Will knew that wasn’t true. Mr. D could barely be bothered to stop the campers from killing each other over capture the flag teams. Coming when they call and helping them stage the great escape? Unheard of. Still, Will couldn’t be all the surprised as he looked down at Nico was halfway asleep against him. Maybe he was all doom and gloom and ‘I am the Ghost King’ but he was also terribly endearing. Although perhaps Will was a bit biased.
“Come on, Death Boy,” Will mumbled, leading them toward the Hades cabin, “Let's go take a nap.”
Nico hummed in agreement and shuffled along beside him. Will had half a mind to just pick him up but he assumed Nico wouldn’t appreciate that despite how tired he was now. Instead, he led them both back to the cabin and dragged him up the stairs and through the door.
Immediately, Nico collapsed on his bed and pulled Will down with him. The raven clung to his boyfriend, nearly on top of him with his limbs wrapped around him.
Will felt the rest of his anxiety drain away as his boyfriend fell asleep on top of him. He closed his eyes as well. ‘A nap sounds okay, ’ he thought.
He sighed and began to doze. As soon as he began to reach the arms of Hypnos though, his eyes snapped open and he groaned. “Aw man,” he whined, “They took my weed.”
Nico frowned and buried his face further into Will’s chest. “Shut up,” he whispered, “We’re napping now.”
Will couldn’t help but laugh softly and bury his nose into Nico’s hair, breathing in deeply. “Fine,” he whispered, “We can sleep.”
Nico mumbled something that Will couldn’t quite make out. It was either ‘We are sleeping’ or ‘Stop talking.’ The blond pressed a kiss to the top of his boyfriend’s head gently, “Love you.”
Nico’s voice was heavy with sleep but it still sent shivers down Will’s spine, “Love you too.”