Chapter Text
Will Solace likes working at the infirmary okay? Sure, sometimes he gets overwhelmed or has a breakdown, but he is needed there. He wants to help people and heal them, but now he's getting sent on a quest. What if someone gets hurt while he's gone, and it's going to be his fault because he wasn't there to help them?? What if-
"Oh, Will, Nico! It's good you're here, I've got a quest for you boys." Chiron says as he gestures for the two campers to come inside the Big House.
Will didn't even notice Nico was there. He didn't know the guy, I mean sure, he's seen him around camp for the past couple of months but otherwise, Will didn't know pretty much anything about Nico Di Angelo. He knew people thought Nico was scary because he's the son of Hades and all, but Will didn't seem to mind it. He stepped inside the Big House followed by the shorter boy. Chiron takes them into his office and instructs them to sit down.
"I suppose you already know why you’re here. I’ve got a quest for you both. Will, I need you to restock the infirmary. I know you're the head medic therefore you shouldn't leave camp, but you're also the only one who will be able to collect all of the herbs we need. I've got a list of all the things you will need to find here." he slides the paper envelope across the table and Will starts reading it.
"As for you Nico, I need you to accompany Will for protection. I know you can take care of yourself Will, but it's dangerous to go on a quest alone. If all goes well, you should be back by Friday. That's 3 days. Here, I prepared some backpacks for you filled with supplies you may need to store the herbs and medicine in."
Nico curiously looks at the giant backpacks and wonders how are they supposed to walk with these on their backs for three days. The backpacks look like they could kill Kronos himself if he got hit by them in his face instead of a blue plastic hairbrush.
"You shall leave immediately. Good luck boys!" Chiron smiles at them and gestures for them to leave.
Nico is on his way to the Hades cabin when he hears someone call his name.
"Nico!! Nicoooo!! Gods, you walk fast for someone your height." Will tries to catch his breath, his golden locks falling into his face. He's wearing his usual Camp Half-Blood bright orange t-shirt and a pair of black shorts.
"What's that supposed to mean, Solace?" he frowns at the smiling boy.
"Nothing, nothing. So, we've officially got a quest together! You wanna go grab your things and meet in front of the Big House in 30?" Will asks while following the other boy on his way to the Hades cabin.
"Sure," Nico says quietly.
"Alright! I'll see you soon then Nico!" Will turns back and starts making his way to the Apollo cabin.
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Look, Nico expected lots of things from this quest. He mostly expected it to be very awkward and uncomfortable. However, he definitely did not expect this. He didn't expect Will to be so chatty and… nice. It's like he didn't stop talking for one second, spitting out every second thought he got. Nico didn't mind. It felt nice. His voice carried through the wind just as a melody. It made Nico's stomach feel sick and he had no idea why. They were walking through a forest right now, the wind ruffled their hair and you could hear the birds sing. Nico hated it. It was so sunny, his eyes hurt from so much light.
"You okay, Di Angelo?" Will asked with a puzzled look on his face. His golden hair reflected the sunlight and he looked like the sun itself. He looked so beautiful. Uh, not beautiful. Just the normal amount of pretty. Yeah, just as pretty as any other boy. Wait no, not that Nico found other boys pretty too- he didn't find boys pretty. Yes, that's right. Boys aren't pretty. He was just trying to say that he liked Will's hair. Gods, that isn't any better is it? He felt like throwing up. He showed his guilt along with the feelings he refused to unpack deeper into his poor heart. He didn't have time for this.
"Nico? You there?" Right, Will asked something.
"I'm fine. My head just hurts a little bit. There's so much light everywhere." Nico replies.
"You sound like a vampire when you say that." the shorter boy shifts uncomfortably.
"Not like that's a bad thing- it's not. Did you drink enough water?? You probably didn't, here, Chiron packed us some." He gives Nico the plastic bottle and Nico takes a sip.
"Gods, Nico you need to drink more water. No wonder your head hurts when you drink so little. You're very dehydrated. You need to take better care of your health!" The raven-haired boy takes a bigger sip of the water this time. They walk in comfortable silence for a while.
"Wanna play 20 questions?" Will randomly asks.
"Sorry?" Nico's thoughts get interrupted. What even is ‘20 questions’?
"Uh, do you want to play 20 questions? It's a game where I ask something, and then you have to answer it, and vice versa." Nico would usually think this is a bad idea, but it's not like he's got anything better to do right now.
"...Okay" he answers after a few seconds of rethinking his decision.
"Great! I'll start. What's your favourite color? Mine's yellow by the way."
"Oh wow, yellow? Who would ever guess?" Nico smirks at the sunshine boy.
"But um, mine is black."
"Talk about originality, di Angelo. You're not any better with your whole emo guy aesthetic." the sunshine boy nudges Nico in his arm.
"What?? I'm not even emo!! Do people think that?" his voice fills with frustration.
"Well, you do wear only black things, you have black hair, you're unhealthily pale, and you definitely don't get enough sleep judging by how big your eye bags are. And yeah well, you're the son of the god of the underworld. So yes, people think you're emo." Nico looks disappointed and Will wonders why.
"Not like being emo is a bad thing. I think emo people are cool." he quickly says and shoots Nico a shy smile. For some reason, Nico looks… relieved?
"Alright, my turn to ask questions, Solace." Nico decides.
"Shoot your shot, Death Boy." Will chuckles. Death boy? That's new.
"Favourite animal?" he curiously asks.
"Bats!!" Nico can basically see the excitement on the blond's face.
"Bats?? Why bats??" the other boy wonders.
"They're just so cool!! Did you know that without bats there would be no bananas or mangoes or avocados?? You see, bats pollinate the fruit-" Nico stops walking and shushes Will.
"Something is here. I can feel it." he reaches for his black sword and looks around cautiously when he notices the giant Minotaur running towards them.
"Is that what I think it is?" the taller boy asks, his voice filled with worry.
"Hold onto me Solace." before Will has a chance to ask why Nico grabs his hand, and the next thing Will feels is a cold shiver running down his spine and screams of the dead. They aren't in the sunny forest anymore. They appear to be behind some grey building in some random town. Nico stumbles and his head gets dizzy.
"Whoa there Death Boy, where are we?" Will catches him. Nico looks at Will but everything is so blurry and it gets harder and harder to think straight.
"I uh… I shadow traveled us away. We should be…" Suddenly, everything goes black.
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Okay, alright. So, Will is in some random town with this annoyingly pretty boy passed out in his arms. It's okay. He's used to taking care of passed-out people, but firstly he needs a bed. He needs to lay Nico down and let him rest. What Will needs is to find a hotel. Quickly.
He gives Nico some ambrosia so that he'll at least be able to walk with Will supporting him so that people around them won't find the two boys too suspicious. Will slowly starts to make his way to the building across the street that has ‘Jennie’s Hotel’ written on it.
"Don't worry Neeks. Let me take care of you." Will says, his face full of worry.
"Hmnngh…" is the only reply Will gets from Nico at the moment and he’s still glad for it because that means Nico didn’t pass out again.
They get closer and closer to the said hotel until they are standing in front of the bricked building. Will opens the brown door and walks inside, his arm across the raven-haired boy's shoulder.
"Hello?" he asks, his voice echoing through the empty hall.
"Hello! Customers! What is it you need?" An older lady with long brown hair pops out of the reception desk.
"Um, we'd like a room. Do you have any available please?" Will asks with a forced smile.
"Ah, I see. Unfortunately, we're all booked, the only room we have available is with a single king-sized bed. Would that be okay with you boys?" Will looks over at the boy on the verge of passing out. Gods, how is he going to explain this to Nico? It doesn't matter, Nico needs to rest right now.
"Yes, that's okay. Two nights please."
"Alright well, here's your key then. You can pay when you'll be leaving. You boys seem very tired. You should get some rest." She smiles at them.
"Thank you, ma'am." Will smiles at her
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"Wh… what happened? Where are we?" Nico wakes up to a worried Will Solace staring at him.
"Nico!! Thank Gods, you're okay!! I was so worried! You passed out after you shadow traveled us to this town. I gave you some ambrosia and used some healing hymns on you, but you still need to rest. Your body is exhausted. You shadow traveled us a pretty big distance, Death Boy." Will shakes his head.
"Thanks. You really saved us there." Nico feels his cheeks getting red so he clears his throat.
"It's um nothing. So, where exactly are we?" He shoots Will a confused look.
"I uh, I brought you to the nearest hotel I found because you were on the verge of passing out but they-" Nico tries to stand up but stumbles and falls. Will catches him in his arms.
"Whoa Nico, you okay? You can't stand up so fast, your iron level is pretty low." There's a light shade of pink spattered on the shorter boy's cheeks.
"I'm fine Will, thanks. For you know, fixing me up and stuff." Nico carefully stands up.
"No worries Neeks. You need to be more careful next time though, this shadow travel thing seems to take a lot out of you." Nico looks frustrated.
"I can bring you some food. Or we could go grab some together? There's a festival in town and I think we could use a break. If you want to, of course. You can stay and rest here if you're too tired. No pressure." He gently smiles at the shorter boy.
"I'll go."
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Nico and Will are making their way across the streets and it's getting dark. Nico takes a deep breath and the warm summer air hits his lungs.
"You're not scared of heights, right?" Will asks the boy walking next to him.
"Of course not." Nico answers.
"Great! Follow me then. I have a surprise for you!!" Will grabs Nico's hand and drags him across the crowd. Nico’s heart feels like it's about to have a heart attack. What the hell is wrong with me? I need to stop being such a creep. His feelings that he hoards deep inside his heart start bubbling up and for a moment it seems like he’s about to break, but this time he shows the thoughts even deeper so that he will never have to think about them again. Or so he hopes.
The smile on Nico’s face when he sees the festival makes everything worth it. Will realizes this is the first time he’s seen a genuinely happy smile on the shorter boy’s face. Genuine excitement. He looks so adorable. His eyes are shining in the dim light and for a moment Will is sure Nico stores the stars in his eyes. An entire universe if you would. Will feels like he’s been swallowed by Nico’s beautiful eyes and he has to remind himself how to breathe.
They go on a few rides and eat cotton candy. Will finds out Nico adores sugar so he buys him more. Yes, Will is a doctor so he shouldn’t allow his friends to eat so much sugar. It’s unhealthy. But this boy has been through so much, he deserves all the sugar in the world and more. Don’t tell anyone he said that though. He could lose his position as a head medic.
"Why are you smiling at me like that?" Nico asks.
"Like what?"
"Exactly like that!!
"You just seem so happy. I’m glad" the blond boy answers.
After they ride most of the rides at the festival Will decides he has to take Nico for a Ferris Wheel ride. He grabs Nico’s hand again and drags him into the queue. Soon, their turn comes around. They get into the small white carousel cabin and they sit in peaceful silence for a while.
"I’m glad you’re here." Will scratches the back of his head. "I mean, I’m glad it was you who Chiron chose to go on this quest with me." the blond boy breaks the comfortable silence and for a while, Nico just stares at him. His brain goes static.
"Nico? You okay?"
"I uh yeah, I’m fine." Nico clears his throat.
"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I just meant to say you’re pretty fun to be with." Will smiles at Nico.
"You… really think so? You’re not saying that just for the sake of the quest? After all, I wouldn’t be exactly anyone’s first choice of a person to go on a quest with. I get it, I’m the son of the god of death and you’re the son of the god of healing. Aren’t you worried I’ll ruin your quest? I was already a burden to you by passing out earlier today." Nico’s eyes get darker and the stars twinkle.
"What?! Nico no!! Of course, you’re not a burden to me! You saved us back in the forest! If we stayed there you could get seriously hurt and me too. And how is a hurt medic useful? I wouldn’t be able to heal you, Neeks. Sure, you’re the son of Hades, but Hades isn’t only the god of the underworld. Death and life go hand in hand. When someone suffers in life death brings them peace. If there was no death there couldn’t be any life. Death aches but calms at the same time. It’s a very needed part of life itself. You don’t cause death where you go, you heal Nico. You fight and you protect people. You saved the camp so many times, like in the Battle of Manhattan. I’m so glad it’s you who’s been chosen to go on this quest with me." Nico stares at him for a while before a small smile appears on his face.
"You really think that?" Nico asks with sparks of hope in his eyes. For some reason, Nico’s stomach decided to tie itself into knots and his lungs decided to stop properly functioning. Does Will Solace have this effect on everyone or is something just seriously wrong with Nico?
"Of course!!" Will replies. The blond is basically shining even though it's dark outside and the raven-haired boy just wonders how is he doing it.
Suddenly, the boys notice they are on the ground and there is a crowd of people waiting for them to get out of the carousel. Riiight, they were on a Ferris Wheel. Will forgot about that. He was too busy staring at Nico di Angelo.
They make their way out of the festival and start walking back to their hotel room. Nico guesses it could be around 10 P.M because it's already pretty dark, and the people are slowly going home too. The two boys walk across the empty streets together and Nico looks over at the taller boy. His locks are reflecting the moonlight and wait, Will doesn’t only look like he’s shining, he is actually glowing.
"I… are you glowing, Solace?" Nico shoots him a very confused look.
"Gods am I? Sorry, Nico. It happens sometimes when my emotions get a bit too overwhelming. I can stop if you want. I get it’s weird-"
"No!! Uh, I mean, you don’t have to stop. Unless you want to, of course. I think you’re pretty though. I mean, the glowing thing is um, pretty… pretty cool." Nico’s face goes red and Will smirks at him.
"You think it’s cool? People usually just say it’s weird." he looks down at the ground and continues kicking around the small piece of rock.
"I mean, obviously it’s cool. You’re like a walking human glow stick. Do you just randomly start glowing at night? How does it work? Can you glow whenever you want to?"
"Ahaha thanks Neeks. And well, as I said before it affects my emotions. I can control it and stop if I want to, but I can’t just start glowing whenever I want to. I’m not totally sure how it works yet because there were only a few times when it has happened so far, but my guess is that when I get too excited or happy my body starts glowing. It’s… embarrassing."
"So, what you’re saying is that right now you are so happy that you started glowing from happiness? Why? I mean you’re on a quest. A quest with me." Nico tilts his head to the side and looks Will into his eyes.
"You’re not as bad company as you would think, Death Boy." he chuckles at Nico and they keep silent until they get back to the hotel.
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Nico thinks about how unfortunate he was for not dying at like, any moment until right now.
Their hotel room has only one bed. Ughhh what did he ever do to deserve this?? He stops at the door looking at the giant bed. There’s not even any point in trying to hide his embarrassment anymore. He fully accepts his unfortunate fate. This is the end. Goodbye.
"Oh Gods. Sorry Nico, I swear I was about to explain this after you woke up, but you fell down and then I forgot about it. Uhm, remember how I said I brought you to the nearest hotel after you passed out from shadow traveling? Yeah well, the thing is they only had a room with one bed left and you were on the verge of passing out again. I needed to get you to lie down so I could heal you. But it’s okay, no worries, I can just sleep on the floor! I’ll be okay!!" Will quickly says. He feels so bad for Nico.
"Oh. Oh, no. You can’t sleep on the floor. You’ve already healed me today and that must have cost you lots of energy. You should rest, I can take the floor."
"No. Absolutely not. You’re the one who got hurt today!! You are definitely not sleeping on the floor, Death Boy." Will says with a sense of strong seriousness in his voice. This is pointless, Nico decides.
"Guess we’ll have to share then. You take the right side, I’ll take the left." he throws his backpack on the left side of the bed. Look, Nico would never agree with this, but there’s just no way he’s letting Will sleep on the floor after he’s healed him and lost his own energy because of it. And if Will won’t let him sleep on the floor then they don’t really have any other choice, do they? Nico is going to die tonight.
He makes his way over to the bathroom and takes a boiling shower. He needs to calm down his thoughts and process everything that’s happened today.
After Nico exits the shower and starts shuffling through his backpack in hopes of finding some water bottles the other boy makes his way to take a shower as well.
"Nico, are you trying to boil yourself alive?! It’s so hot in here!" Will yells from the shower across the room, and Nico feels himself being genuinely happy for the first time in a really long time. It doesn’t make any sense. What the hell is wrong with him?? Will is just treating him decently because they’re on a quest together. Nothing more. He’s like this because he’s a nice person. It’s not like Nico is special or anything. There’s no reason for him to feel the way he does. So why is his stomach tied in knots and his lungs are giving up? This isn’t right. This is wrong, and he knows it. Gods, he doesn’t feel like he deserves to be alive.
After a good 30 minutes of Will being stuck in the shower singing Mamma Mia and Nico overthinking his entire life, the taller boy finally exits the shower. Nico throws a water bottle at him.
"Stay hydrated, Sunshine." Nico smirks at Will’s confused reaction. Wait, hold on. Oh no. He fucked up, didn’t he?
"Sunshine??" Will doesn’t even try to hide the red on his cheeks.
"Gods, sorry Will. I uh, I have no idea why I said that. I guess it just slipped out, I’m very sorry, I promise-"
"Hey, hey, it’s fine Neeks. You’re good, I’m not mad. I just didn’t expect it, that’s all. You can call me Sunshine if that’s what you want. I don’t mind. After all, I call you nicknames all the time." Will grins at the raven-haired boy.
"Sorry…" Nico can’t help but apologize again. He feels so guilty, how come Will doesn’t mind him being such a creep??
"No need to apologize, Neeks. Let’s go to sleep, we’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
They go to sleep on their two separate sides of the bed, and Will dozes off after a few minutes. Minutes!! Can you believe this guy?? He dozes off in the same bed as Nico and he’s totally okay with it! Nico doesn’t understand Will Solace at all. So, he’s left staring at the ceiling and questioning his entire existence till late at night.