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A few months in, and everything was perfect.
Will and Nico were happy at Camp Fish Blood. Nico had settled in and made friends just like Will knew he would. Though Will wasn’t quite so happy about Nico’s friendship with Perseus Jackson, he wasn’t about to get in the way of Nico’s relationships. He was willing to put aside his personal grievances with Percy if it meant Nico had good friendships.
And it did look as if it was a good friendship. Nico and Percy bonded over their skills with swords; Nico had been good at a human sport called ‘fencing’ when he was still living above the ocean, and it seemed those skills transferred well to underwater combat. Once Nico learnt how to move in the ocean effectively and Percy taught him tricks to applying those movements to fighting, he quickly rose through the unofficial ranking of swordfighters in Camp Fish Blood.
Will was proud of him, and he made sure to tell Nico this, several times a day. “Little shark,” he muttered, nosing into Nico’s hair.
Nico pushed his face away, but Will could see a smile tugging at his lips. “Significant annoyance.”
“I’m your significant annoyance,” Will singsonged, wrapping Nico up in his arms and throwing them both down, spinning in circles sideways.
Nico squirmed, clawing at Will’s arm with his dull nails and forcing him to loosen his grip. Nico threw Will over his head a couple feet away, falling into a natural fighting stance. “Remember that I am higher than you on the ranking, Will.”
“I remember,” Will said, floating closer. If he wanted to execute his plan, he’d have to be sneaky. “But. I also remember. You happen to love me. So…” Will swam up to Nico, wrapping his arms around his waist again. Nico relaxed, letting his head fall back onto Will’s shoulder.
“Hmm. Yeah.” Nico yawned, turning his head to tuck it into the crook of Will’s neck. “I do.”
“Good, because otherwise you won’t forgive me for doing this-!” Will reached up to tickle Nico’s ribs, holding on tightly as Nico shrieked and thrashed violently.
“W-will- god, Will-” Nico ground out, his voice uneven and disrupted by little giggles. “Le-et go-”
Nico finally managed to leap out of Will’s arms, and he immediately sped away, trying to put as much distance as possible between him and Will.
Will chased after him, following Nico as he raced behind the cabins and into the kelp forest. Nico wove through the long strands of kelp, slowing down slightly to avoid getting tangled, but Will increased his speed. Nico’s scales were newer and rougher compared to Will’s, which were smooth from years of swimming in the ocean, and allowed him to easily slip through the kelp and catch up with Nico.
Nico stopped in the middle of a small clearing in the kelp, waiting until Will collided with him to turn. “Hi,” Nico said, a twitch of his lips giving away his amusement.
“Hi,” Will replied, leaning in closer and draping his arms around Nico’s waist again, no ulterior motives in mind other than to be closer to him. Nico seemed to realize this, and slid his arms up Will’s back to curl his hands over his shoulders, bringing him closer. Will melted into the embrace, totally at ease.
A sharp, sudden pain pricked at his shoulder, and Will jerked back with a wounded squeak. Nico laughed, pressing a kiss to the bite mark. “Payback.” That was only fair, Will supposed.
They really shouldn’t spend too long in the kelp forest. Things lurked in here, normal things like sharks and sea snakes, but other things too, like ancient creatures that posed a more serious threat. But Nico was so warm against him, and Will was tired, so he let himself slowly spiral down to the ground.
Nico sat on the sand, Will still lying on top of him and clinging to him like a starfish. It made him feel small, but in a good way – like a child in a loved one’s embrace, which… well, Will supposed he was, still. He didn’t feel like a child anymore, not with everything he’d gone through, but technically he was still a youngling.
Will hadn’t told Nico about his family. One emotional night, Nico had spilled his guts to Will about his neglectful and distinctly absent father, and his mother and sister’s deaths when he was younger. Will had listened to it all with a sympathetic ear and a shoulder to cry on, and Nico had taken the comfort, eased by Will’s presence. Will knew that Nico trusted him with anything and everything, and he loved that they had that sort of connection.
But… Will was a little more secretive with his own problems. His mother had left him at a young age, and really, Nico’s father leaving him wasn’t much different, but for some reason Will still couldn’t make himself reveal everything to Nico. Maybe it was general trust issues, maybe it was how deep the trauma had rooted itself inside him, but it wasn’t as easy for Will to open up about the deep scars his parents had left on him – physical and emotional.
Will had received a few scars over the years due to parental conflict. Naomi had never struck him, of course, but Apollo had done so on more than one occasion. Scars were a common occurrence with sirens – many had criss-crosses of white lines across their chest and discolorations in their scales due to fights, whether with other sirens, with humans, with animals, or with worse. Given the infrequency with which Will left camp, and his extreme lack of fighting skills or fights, it would have been very unusual for him to be harbouring any scars. Yet, with how much of an asshole his father was, he had a few.
Nico hadn’t noticed a lot of them. Will had a couple on his arms which Nico had clocked, stroking with his soft fingertips before kissing them lightly. Nico undoubtedly assumed Will got them in a fight, which wouldn’t be… wrong, it would just be a slight omission of the actual truth. He had got them in a fight, but it wasn’t a fair one by any means. There was no way Will, with his pathetic swordsmanship and far inferior reflexes, could have deflected his father’s arrows. Especially when his father was literally the god of shooting.
One particularly nasty one that Nico hadn’t picked up on yet laid just above his right hip, where his scales faded into his skin. It was long and deep, and a stark white colour when compared with Will’s regular skin colour, and thick, too. The puckering had smoothed out with time, but it still remained an ugly reminder of Will’s last encounter with his father.
It had been a cold day. It was hardly ever cold at Camp Fish Blood, but that day was. Will had been hanging out on a coral reef on the farthest edge of the kelp forest, playing with the little fishes and admiring the wildlife. He had rounded a corner to see Apollo, hovering there with a frown on his face.
Will couldn’t remember if anything happened before Apollo started screaming at him. Will had let his mother leave the safety of Camp Fish Blood, hadn’t done anything to stop her. And did she really love him if she’d left like that? It certainly hadn’t made Apollo love him any more, if he’d ever loved him at all.
“You alright down there?” Nico interrupted Will’s memory, stroking the bite mark on his shoulder soothingly.
“Mmm,” Will hummed, nodding against Nico’s shoulder. “Jus’ thinking.”
They went back to silence. Will kept his thoughts firmly away from any scars or any past events. It didn’t matter right now. What mattered was that he was here with Nico, who loved him, and wouldn’t care about his past. Or at least, Will tried to believe he wouldn’t.
“C’mon,” Nico said, shaking Will. Will blinked lethargically, then floated off Nico. He’d fallen asleep. “Let’s go, the sun is setting.”
The water was darkening around them as the sun fell beneath the hills above sea level. Will helped Nico upright, then held his hand as they began to swim back to camp.
They didn’t get far.
As the sun kept falling, unusually fast, darkness engulfed them quickly. Will squeezed Nico’s hand tighter at the abrupt lack of light. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like this at all. This felt like a trap.
“Almost there,” Nico whispered. It felt dangerous to speak too loudly, as though they might disturb some sleeping monster, poised to attack at any provocation.
A light was growing in the distance. Nico sped forward, thinking it was another camper, but Will held back. There was no light at camp that bright. That kind of light could only come from one person.
“Nico,” Will said, hard and with an edge of tension. Nico stopped, looking back at him.
Will’s eyes widened as someone swam into view in front of him. Panic seeped into his expression, and Nico could see him become stuck in it, as if frozen. Nico whipped his head around to see… something.
It wasn’t a monster. It wasn’t an animal. And it wasn’t quite a siren, either. It was like a combination of all three, with another element added to the mix, then shaken violently to create an amalgamation of light and shine and teeth. The creature’s eyes shone in the darkness, a faint glow emitting from its scales (skin?). It had prominent fins, feathery and beautiful, both on its tail and falling from their head in waves, like hair. It baffled Nico, yet entranced him, and he felt himself unconsciously moving closer.
“Well, William, I see you finally caved and changed someone. Living up to my expectations, finally.”
Will snapped out of his trance. His name was Will, not William, and that man could not attract Nico to him like he did with other poor creatures. Will pinched Nico, and Nico startled, blinking. Will opened his mouth to say something, to confirm the accusation, to deny it, he didn’t know. But-
“You know I’m just kidding. I’m very proud of you for being the… ‘stay at home’ kid around camp. Always ready to take on extra chores or patch someone up or help someone out, huh? It’s very… noble of you.”
Will wilted. Apollo would always be the same oppressive, domineering man he always was. “Thank you, Apollo.”
“What’s that?”
Will swallowed hard, biting his cheek to keep himself from cursing Apollo out then and there. “Thank you, father.”
“That’s better.” Apollo had a stupid, smug, self-satisfied smile on his face. Will was struck by the urge to slap Apollo, just to make him do anything else, but the smarter part of Will knew that that would be a very, very bad idea.
“Uh, hello… Apollo.” No. Please, Nico, don’t try to be polite right now, Will begged to him in his head despite knowing it would do nothing. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Nico.” He sounded confused. Yeah, I bet he does.
Apollo turned his piercing gaze to the smaller siren. The changed one. “Ah. This must be the little beauty who captured William’s heart in the heat of the moment. I can see why you like him, he's very pretty, isn't he?”
Nico flushed red, embarrassed, a little unnerved, and clueless as to what the hell was going on. This was the man who was Will’s dad?
Will gritted his teeth, pushing past his rage and pulling from the not-quite-endless well of patience within him. “Sorry, we’re kinda busy now, if you didn’t realize. It was good to see you, but we have to go.”
Will started to swim away, towing Nico behind him, but Apollo roughly grabbed Nico’s arm and yanked him back, ignoring Nico’s “Hey!”
“Let him go!” Will yelled, tugging at Nico desperately, but Apollo just pushed him away with unnatural strength.
“Did William tell you?” Apollo asked, searching Nico’s face. “About his mother and I?”
Will went deathly pale. No. Not now, please, not now. Please not this. “Apollo-” Will tried to appeal to him, smiling weakly. “Dad-”
“Quiet, William.” Apollo’s voice was sharp and left no room for protest, and it silenced Will instantly. Apollo hadn’t stopped staring at Nico, eyes locked on each other’s, Apollo’s in a mad frenzy and Nico’s in terror and shock. “I was the evil one, the cunning one. The siren with the power to bewitch any human I chose to be mine for as long as I wanted them.” Will clenched his fists. Of course his father would do this. When had his father ever actually cared about him (about anyone), other than to tell him he should be better?
“I entranced William’s mother. She threw herself into the water, submitting herself to me in an impulsive decision. She should have known better.” Apollo’s eyes went far away, releasing Nico from their anchor on him. “Of course, I grew tired of Naomi eventually. She was wonderful for a short while, but I find that humans grow so boring so quickly. A lot of them don't last very long, either." Apollo snapped back to the present and leered over Nico. "Like father like son, they say."
Enough was enough. Will would not stand for Apollo slandering his mother like this, and he would not fucking put up with Apollo threatening Nico. He barged in between the pair, breaking Apollo’s laser-sharp focus on Nico. “I am nothing like you! I will never be like you!"
Nico pulled away from Apollo’s slackened grasp, sliding his hand into Will’s, his voice low. “Let’s go.”
He began to lead Will away from Apollo, but Apollo lunged forward, gripping onto Will’s shoulders and digging his long, pointed nails into his skin. Will gasped, trying to break free, but Apollo held on tightly and stared him dead in the face, eyes glittering with insanity. “Your mother was weak. She wasn’t made for the sea. Not like I was. Not like you were. She never would have lasted long with me. You have just enough power in you to last here, Will. But does he?” Apollo raised his eyebrows as if making a point. “There is a reason humans live on land and not down here. They are not strong enough. No matter how powerful you believe your love is, it will never be enough. He will leave you. Or you will leave him. It does not matter.”
Will’s eyes were blank with horror, and he couldn’t move a muscle. Apollo was practically holding him up, his nails piercing Will’s flesh, but the pain barely registered. Apollo had gone pretty far before, and he’d even physically attacked Will upon their last meeting, but he’d never gone this far. He’d never told Will such horrible, glaring, abrasive things before, framing them as if they were facts, presenting them as if they were problems for Will to solve. Will didn’t know what to do.
Arms reached out from behind him, pushing Apollo back with all the force in their tiny muscles and catching Will as he fell. Nico’s voiced seemed to echo from behind him, furious like Will had never heard in him before. “Get the fuck away from him.”
Apollo seemed startled, if only slightly, and Nico continued. “Will is nothing like you. From what I’ve heard of you, you’re a miserable excuse for a father who has never once made Will feel loved. Will is selfless and kind and funny and one of the best fucking people I know. Becoming a siren was one of the best decisions of my life and I know this because I love him and he loves me. You’re wrong. So, if you please, leave us the fuck alone and don’t come back.”
Nico held firm, his shaking hands imperceptible to anyone except Will. Will squeezed his hands, and Nico squeezed back lightly. The small gesture of comfort and solidarity helped to boost Will’s confidence, and he rose, still holding onto Nico.
Apollo’s expression was empty for a moment, until it folded into a smirk, just as arrogant as always. “I admit, you’ve impressed me, half-fish. You actually sound serious.” Apollo got up close in Nico’s face again, studying him. “It wasn’t a wise decision to tell me to… leave you the fuck alone. Such vulgar and demanding language isn’t appropriate with your superiors.” Apollo moved back and sniffed. “This one time, I will let you pass, because you so clearly do not know any better. However, do remember that I am a god. I have power you couldn’t imagine, little half-fish. Do not disrespect me again.”
Apollo leaned over to Will, grabbing his face roughly and patting his cheeks. “We’ll see if you and your little pet last, William. Don’t disappoint me.”
Apollo swam back and slowly stretched his arms to the sides, bubbles swirling up his tail. Will shouted out, barely managing to turn Nico’s face away and hide him in his neck before a blinding flash lit up their area of the kelp forest, and Apollo was gone.
Will waited a minute, then another, before he dared to crack his eyes open. The natural light had returned, the darkness from earlier having been only an illusion. There was no sign of Apollo.
Nico drew back, and Will tensed, remembering everything Nico had heard. “Will…” The other siren said softly.
Will broke.
His shoulders were heaving, and tears started to trickle down his cheeks, then they came in floods. He was sobbing pathetically, and he sunk to the ground, hunching over and pressing a hand over his mouth to muffle the sounds.
Nico tried to hold Will to him, but Will shoved him away with both hands. He couldn’t let Nico touch him right now. He couldn’t let Nico see him right now. Will covered his face with his hands, trying to slow the crying.
Nico was silent for a while as Will pulled himself together. After some time passed with the light slowly dimming, Will lifted his head from his hands, wiping the tears and snot from his face and sniffing. Nico wanted to stay quiet, but the question was burning up his throat, and he had to let it loose. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Will almost started crying again, but he managed to hold it together, if only just. His voice was cracking and rough, not at all the beautiful, melodic sound Nico was used to. “I… would you really still want to be with me? After that?”
“Will,” Nico said, shocked. Of course he still wanted to be with Will! Will was the best thing in his life, possibly ever. “I… I love you, Will. I’m not about to give you up just because your dad’s a piece of shit.”
Will choked out a broken laugh, grinding the heels of his palms into his eyes. “Don’t say that out loud in the open, Nico, he’s a god. He has the power to destroy you, and the spite.”
Nico huffed. “Well, I still think he’s a-”
He was cut off by lips on his. Nico put a hand on Will’s cheek, rubbing circles on it gently. Will tasted salty, but still with the same soft, vaguely sweet taste Nico had gotten the first time he’d kissed Will. Nico’s other hand came to rest on Will’s shoulder, but there was something there – something wet, but vaguely sticky, a different consistency to the water around them…
Nico tore himself away from Will, his hand covered in blood. “Fuck, Will! Why didn’t you tell me you were bleeding?”
Will blinked, dried tear tracks still visible on his face. “Oh. It’s okay. It’s not that bad.”
“Not that bad? Will, he hurt you.”
“’S not the worst injury I’ve gotten from him.” Will patted his side as if to reach for his almost ever-present med kit. “Shit. I forgot I chased you here.”
“Yeah. We really need to get back to camp.” Nico stopped dead in the middle of helping Will upright. “Wait. Did you say this wasn’t the worst injury he’s given you?”
“Um.” Will shifted. “We should go-”
“Will.” Nico gathered Will’s hands in his own. “Has he hurt you before?”
“He’s a god, Nico!” Will turned away from him, beginning to make his way through the kelp. “He can do whatever the fuck he likes! And clearly he doesn’t care for me at all. What did you expect? He’s…” Will inhaled deeply, letting the breath out. “He’s Apollo.”
“Where?”
“What?” Will spun back around to face Nico.
“Where.” Nico’s face was deadly serious. “Where had he hurt you?”
“Can we… talk about this later?” Will ran a hand down his face. “I’m gonna lose it if we spent much longer in this kelp forest, and I’m tired. I just…” Breathe in, breathe out. “I just wanna go home.”
“I’m sorry.” Nico nodded, all intensity melting off his face. “I didn’t mean you have to tell me. You don’t have to tell me anything, if you don’t want to. I just want to help.”
“I know.”
Nico swam to meet Will, and he intertwined their hands, connected again. Will led the way back to camp, blood trailing behind them in little, pinkish droplets.
Once they reached camp, Nico brought Will to the small cabin he lived in alone. He dragged out the box of bandages he kept in his room, digging out a small tub of Lou Ellen’s mom’s healing salve.
“No, no, you don’t have to-” Will protested.
Nico shushed him, stroking the place where Apollo had caught Will’s face. “Please, Sunshine?”
Will sighed. “Okay.”
Nico smiled, scooping out a small amount with his fingers and rubbing it across the punctures on Will’s shoulders. They weren’t too deep, but they still hurt, and Will winced as Nico slathered the healing salve on, then wound bandages over the injuries. Lastly, Nico handed him a shirt to put on. “If you want it,” Nico said. “No pressure.”
He turned away to store the medical kit away, and Will took a deep breath in. “Nico?”
“Yeah?” Nico spun around so fast he was almost a blur.
“Here.”
“What?” Nico frowned.
“Here.” Will directed Nico’s hand down to his right side, where the scar laid. Nico’s mouth opened in a silent ‘O’ as he traced the line with his fingertips. Will shivered. “That’s… that was from when I last saw him.” Nico looked at him, his face open and inviting, and Will cracked a little more. “It was about… Mom… she’d just left, and he was screaming at me about how I let her leave, and I was weak, and then… he proved it.” Will twitched away from Nico’s hand, the touch suddenly too much.
“I’m sorry that happened to you. And I’m sorry that your… that Apollo is like that.”
Will hummed, unsure of what to say. He slipped the shirt over his head, letting it settle over his skin, then laid down on Nico’s large bed and adjusted himself so that he didn’t irritate his injuries.
Nico got that Will didn’t want to talk about it anymore, and he didn’t push it. He fetched another shirt for himself, turned the lights off, then settled beside Will, a couple inches of space between them.
There was silence. Will thought that Nico had fallen asleep until he heard him say firmly, “I’m not gonna leave you.”
Will bit his lip, reaching out and grasping Nico’s hand. Nico squeezed back, sensing Will’s need for comfort. “Aren’t you… aren’t you worried that I’ll be like him? That I’ll leave you?”
“The fact that you’re worrying that you’re like him proves that you’re not. He wouldn’t care.” Nico paused. “And I know you love me. And you know I love you. Right?”
“Yeah.” Will breathed in shakily. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Will curled into Nico’s arms, and Nico held him safely. And it wasn’t okay, and Will didn’t think it would ever be quite okay, but it was good enough.