Work Text:
“You smell so bad.”
“Infirmary accident,” Will groaned. “I needed a new camp shirt, like, two hours ago.”
“Yikes.” Nico raised his eyebrows. He’d just come from training, so he was a little sweaty, but it was nothing compared to how Will was faring. However, it wasn’t uncommon for Will to leave the infirmary unscathed, so Nico was used to it. “Well, I’m headed in the direction of the camp store. Walk with me.”
“Thank the gods.” Will sighed, pinching the fabric of his stained shirt so that it touched as little of his skin as possible. “Alice ate something that disagreed with her, and she walked in and almost fell flat on her face, so I grabbed her to make sure she didn’t fall over and- yeah. At least most of the vomit was on the floor and not me.”
“Couldn’t you grab something from the spare clothing box in the infirmary?”
“Yeah, but they never have anything my size.” Will pouted. Nico looked away. He’s cute. By now he’d accepted that he liked Will, but he hadn’t exactly found a way of dealing with it yet. “Anyway, now I get to walk with… you.”
There was an odd tone to Will’s voice. Nico didn’t know what to make of it. “Don’t sound so excited,” he snorted, though he felt a little hurt.
“Oh, I’m excited to see you. I just can’t think straight until I get out of this shirt. Kayla’s the only one in the infirmary right now and I should get back soon.”
Nico nodded, letting the conversation plateau until they reached the camp store. The doors were stuck, for some reason, but with a good shove Nico was able to force them open.
Will made a beeline for the shirts, pulling his dirty one straight over his head and dumping it on the floor. Nico turned away sharply, face flushing. “Do you mind?”
“Sorry, I forgot about your early 20th century sensibilities.” Nico could feel Will’s sarcasm from here.
“Shut up. Are you done?”
“Yup, good to go.” Will gingerly picked up his old shirt and they made for the doors. Before they could get far, a small bowl rolled out from behind the counter on the other side of the room, connecting with Nico’s foot with a clang. There was a panicked squeaking sort of noise, then a loud poof as the contents of the bowl shot up and spread themselves over Will and Nico.
“Hey!” Nico stumbled back, shouting, while Will dropped his shirt and tried desperately to brush the weird, sparkly dust off of himself. “What the hell?”
“Whoops!” Connor Stoll popped out of the dimly lit corner, a ‘don’t-kill-me’ expression on his face. “Didn’t realize anyone else would be in here.”
“We barred the doors,” Travis added, appearing on the other side of the counter to hastily pick the bowl up. Nico couldn’t help but notice he was wearing heavy-duty gloves.
Lou Ellen ducked out from behind Connor. Nico glanced at Will for a second. “How many people are behind that counter?” he wondered, lips barely moving. Nico privately agreed.
“Oh, no.” Lou Ellen’s face dropped. “Don’t worry, it’s fixable-”
“What’s fixable?” Nico said.
“Um, the-”
Connor grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth. Lou Ellen slapped it away. “Nothing! Travis’s magic… super-strength deodorant. Trust me, he needs it.”
“Hey!” Travis cut in.
Will went along with it. “Oh. Well, I just needed another camp shirt- your sister threw up on mine.”
“Her fault for trying to conjure up the most disgusting food combinations with the magic plates,” Connor muttered.
Nico stayed silent. Something didn’t feel right. Lou Ellen’s apologies, Connor interrupting her- not to mention how Will’s lips really didn’t move when he’d spoken to Nico earlier, but he’d heard his voice so clearly. He looked over at Will, who smiled at him absently. “I think I need a shower, too. I can still smell vomit.”
Nico turned away. “Gross. Don’t say that out loud.”
“Say what out loud?” Connor asked.
Nico froze. Will froze. Lou Ellen froze. Connor and Travis just looked confused.
Nico spoke up first. “What the fuck is going on?”
He looked at Will again, who appeared on the verge of panicking. His lips didn’t move when he said, “Oh gods, is there something wrong with my mouth-”. There is definitely nothing wrong with your mouth, Nico thought unconsciously. Will squeaked and broke their eye contact. “Lou. What was in that stuff?”
Lou took a deep breath. “You can read each other’s minds now. Surprise!” Nico had never seen jazz hands look so guilty and repenting.
Will looked over at Nico, who slowly met his eyes. Shit.
Cool, we can think in unison, Will thought, and Nico turned back to Lou with a suppressed smile. “Explain. More.”
“Me and Connor wanted to make a potion so you could talk without actually talking,” Travis started. “You know. Cheat at cards. Make plans in battle without letting your enemies know. Useful things.”
“But the potion got messed up. Just a teensy bit. So instead of being able to communicate telepathically, now you hear whatever the other person is thinking when you look at each other.”
As if by impulse, Nico and Will’s eyes met again.
This is disastrous.
Oh gods, what if he knows?
Knows what?
Nico looked away, eyes wide. Will could not find out his secret or he would die. Or, like, go live in the Underworld forever or something.
Will’s face has been steadily reddening the entire conversation. “How do we fix it?”
“It should wear off in a few days,” Lou mumbled.
“A FEW DAYS?” Nico yelled. Will made a noise like air deflating from a balloon mixed with a whiny kitten.
“You can wear a blindfold when you’re near each other?” Connor suggested weakly. Nico sent him a poisonous glare, and he sank down behind the counter and out of sight.
“I mean, how often do you really look at each other?” Travis tried to put a positive spin on it. “It can’t be that hard.”
Nico sent Will a long-suffering glance. I think I would look at you forever, Will thought at him.
Nico refused to let himself blush. I have a time limit of 10 seconds. Also, that’s a bad joke and a lie.
You only think it is, Will replied, then tore his gaze away. “Um. Lou, do you think you could work on a reversal spell?”
“It’d be complicated… and there’s the risk of permanent brain damage to avoid, but I can try.” Lou nodded. “Come on, Connor. You can carry my books.”
Connor groaned as he, Travis and Lou Ellen gathered the supplies. Nico just watched. This was going to be hellish.
Will snuck up beside him. “What if I know what, Nico?”
Nico jumped. “Huh?”
“You shut me out. What are you hiding from me?” Will narrowed his eyes at Nico. Oh no, oh no. Sometimes it’s so easy to forget I’m gay-
Nico jerked his eyes away from Will’s. Will covered his mouth, obviously trying not to laugh. “I already know you’re gay, don’t worry. We came out to each other months ago, remember?”
“I remember.” Nico’s face flushed as he recalled how Will had nervously come out to him, not sure what to expect. Nico had stumbled over his words so badly that Will almost ran away before Nico held him back and said, ‘boys are nice for me as well’. Will still hadn’t let him live it down.
“Then what is it?” Will stared at the floor. “Do you secretly hate me or something?”
“No!” Nico exclaimed. “I… I can’t tell you.”
“Oh.” Will was disappointed, Nico could tell, but he just couldn’t find out Nico’s secret. Well, either of them.
“I have to go.” Nico reached over and squeezed Will’s wrist quickly, dropping it before the other three could see. It was almost embarrassing how hard he had to try so as not to look in Will’s eyes. “See you later.”
Nico could faintly hear Will start to argue with Lou Ellen as he walked out of the camp store, but he found himself feeling vaguely triumphant. She was the one who had gotten them into this mess. Of course Lou was one of his friends, but still. If anyone found out he liked Will, Nico would have to leave camp for good.
Well, at least he’d be kept occupied by the secret missions he was running for his father.
“He’s so dramatic,” Will sighed.
“He’s dramatic, and silly, and cute, and you like him so much, and whatever will you do-” Lou Ellen broke off with a yelp as Will hit her with a stray book. “Ow. Well, that’s what you sound like.”
Will rolled his eyes. He’d been perfecting it with Nico, and he’d gotten it down to a pretty good level of annoyance. “You got us into this mess. I hope you know how to get us out of it.”
“Is it really so bad?” Lou asked. “You get to know everything about him now.”
“He finds it so hard to open up, and now he's forced to. How difficult do you think that is for him, Lou?” Will ached for Nico and how uncomfortable he’d looked when he found out they could read each other’s minds. Nico was obviously hiding something big, and Will desperately wanted to know what it was, but he’d never want to force Nico to tell him.
“I’m sorry.” Lou bit her lip. “I’ll get to working on a cure.”
“Thanks.” Will hugged her, knowing that she did feel guilty about it, even if she didn’t think it was as serious as he did. “I’ll go check on him later.”
“Maybe after you shower.”
“Yeah.” Will let out another sigh.
After he’d showered, Will took a detour on the way to the dining pavilion and stopped by Cabin 13. It was less of a detour and more of a reroute, seeing as Cabin 13 was at the very end of the cabins, but Will didn’t mind. He would go to hell and back for Nico. Cabin 13 wasn’t very far away.
He knocked loudly. “Niii-coooo. Anybody home?”
Nico opened the door after a few seconds of waiting. “You are so insufferable,” he sighed, staring up at Will. I missed you, even though it’s only been an hour, it’s nice to see you.
I missed you too, Will thought, then everything caught up to him. He knew Nico only meant it as a ‘we’re friends!’ sort of sentiment, but Will meant it as much more. He just hoped Nico didn’t catch on.
They both switched to staring at the ground. “Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea for us to wear blindfolds.”
“We’ll be fine.” Nico bit his lip and closed the door behind him, stepping out into the sunshine. “I think it would be interesting to test it, too. Like, is it just whatever we’re thinking, or can we direct our thoughts? Like, actually communicate? And what’s the distance limit?”
“We can do that later,” Will laughed. “Come on, let’s just have dinner now.”
Will pushed away the constant question lingering in his mind: What is he hiding? He took Nico’s hand and began to drag him away from Cabin 13, snickering when Nico almost fell off the steps and had to stumble to catch up. The glare Nico shot him was worth it, though if Nico had heard him think he’s cute when he glares, then Will was sure he was due for an early death. Luckily, Nico didn’t seem to react, so Will thought he was in the clear.
They made it to the dining pavilion and sat at the Apollo table as usual. “Hey, where did you go?” Kayla demanded. “You were supposed to come back and help me finish inventory.”
“Oh!” Will winced. He really had meant to return to his shift, but it had slipped his mind. He had to be more responsible. “I guess I forgot, sorry! There was… another incident I had to handle.”
“Well, don’t expect any help filling out the injury paperwork,” Kayla grumbled. Will didn’t correct her on what the incident was.
Austin moved past infirmary disputes and started talking about that night’s set list for the campfire. Will listened and interjected with song ideas while Kayla made sarcastic comments and Nico picked at his food.
After a while, Will felt Nico staring at him out of the corner of his eye. Will turned and raised his eyebrows at him. What?
Something in your teeth, Nico thought. Will broke their eye contact and took a big gulp of water to wash a piece of salad out from between his teeth. “Thanks, Nico.”
“For what?” Austin asked, confused.
Nico and Will both realized at the same time that Austin and Kayla had no idea they could read each other’s thoughts. “Um,” Nico said.
They made eye contact again.
Nico: Fuck.
Will: This is going to be so funny to explain.
Nico: Explode. Right now.
“So,” Will started. “The incident that I left the infirmary for. Alice threw up on me-”
“And I had to clean it up,” Kayla said.
“-so I went to get a new shirt. And apparently, Lou and Connor and Travis were working on secret potions. But it got messed up, and me and Nico walked into the middle of it. And we were looking at each other and hearing each other, but apparently, we can mind-read now.”
“What?” Kayla said, completely blindsided.
Will repeated himself. “Whenever me and Nico look at each other, we can read each other’s thoughts.” Kayla and Austin let that sink in for a moment.
“Oh, no,” Austin said suddenly. “But what about the-” Will shot him a glance, and Austin cut himself off. “What about the secret… thing?”
“What secret thing?” Nico asked. Will repressed the urge to facepalm.
“There is no secret thing.”
“But-”
Will widened his eyes at Nico. Pleeeaase please please please do not ask about the secret thing.
But you asked about my secret thing, Nico thought accusingly.
Yes. But. My secret thing is secreter.
That’s not a word.
I’M BEGGING YOU, Will mind-yelled.
“Fine,” Nico huffed, looking away and speaking plainly. “We both have our secrets. Whatever.”
“I want to know your secret, though.”
Nico rolled his eyes. “We just discussed this-”
“As your best friend, I think we should share all secrets except for the type of secret that I have-”
Nico cut Will off with the kind of laugh Will had come to know as one that meant you’re so annoying, but not really, because I like you and we’re friends. Sometimes Will just wished the ‘friends’ part wasn’t so concrete. “Anyway. Nico, light of my life, except not physically. I think we should just trade. A secret for a secret.”
“Yeah?” Nico raised an eyebrow and faced Will head-on. “Okay. Go.”
I use 3-in-1 body wash shampoo and conditioner, Will thought.
Bugs bugs bugs bugs bugs, Nico thought.
What?
I’m trying to direct my thoughts. Bugs. Bugs. Bugs!
Will’s eyes scrunched shut when he laughed. “That’s so stupid. Well, at least we know a little more about how it works, now.”
Nico turned back to his dinner, satisfied. It took a few seconds before he paused and said, “Wait, you use what?”
Will’s laughter came to an abrupt, wheezy halt. “Let’s not focus on that-”
The glare Nico pointed at his shoulder was icy. “I will talk to you about this later.”
“Come on, tell me you don’t remember when you used to not wash your hair at all and it was a greasy mess 24/7-”
“When I was homeless, yeah. We have access to showers at camp, Will. There is no excuse for not using a real conditioner.”
Will sighed. “Anyway. Are you going to the campfire?”
Nico hummed. “I’m not sure. Are you?”
“Yeah, of course,” Will emphasized. “Come with me, we can sing-” Nico raised his eyebrows pointedly at his plate of food. “I can sing and you can listen.”
“Yeah, fine.” Nico stood up suddenly. “I’m tired. I’ll see you later?”
“Alright-” Nico was gone almost before Will got the word out.
“Is he okay?” Austin asked hesitantly.
Will pressed his lips together. “I think he’s just overwhelmed. He said he’d be at the campfire, though.”
A couple hours later, Nico turned up at Will’s shoulder as he was tuning a guitar. Will nearly jumped a mile in the air, but he managed to keep it cool. “Hey, Nico.”
“Hi.” Nico sat in the small space next to Will, crammed up against his side with one leg braced so he didn’t fall off the edge of the log. “Where are Cecil and Lou?”
“Cecil’s with his siblings, Lou is trying really hard to find a cure for the potion.” Will swallowed. “She said she’s sorry.”
“I know she is.” Nico didn’t say anything else after that, so Will didn’t either. Austin started leading the campfire sing-along, and Will strummed along with his mediocre guitar skills and sang quietly so no one could hear his voice too much. Will wasn’t a bad singer, but he was certainly nothing compared to Austin, the more musically talented sibling.
He kept sneaking glances at Nico, who he thought was having a good time even if he looked a little blank. Will had learned how to read Nico’s expressions pretty well- right now, Nico was on the edge of tiredness, but didn’t mind so much because he was content enough. Will shot him a smile as the song ended, holding his gaze.
Gotta pack my bag before I leave tonight, Nico was thinking, slightly absent. Oh, Will’s smiling at me. Smile back.
Nico smiled at Will, but Will’s grin had dropped at the knowledge that, apparently, Nico was leaving. Tonight! You’re leaving??
“What?” Nico said. How did he-? Shit. Fuck. Bugs, bugs, don’t freak out, bugs, don’t think about dad-
“What about your dad?” Will questioned. “Nico, just tell me-”
“I gotta go,” Nico said abruptly. He got up and practically ran back to his cabin.
Will wanted to go after him, but Austin held him back. “Will, the campfire.”
The rest of the night, Will was distracted and off-beat. It wasn’t until after the campfire that he had a moment to check Nico’s cabin, but by that time, he was gone.
As soon as Nico got to his cabin, he threw his mission supplies into his backpack and shadow-traveled straight to the Underworld. He couldn’t get Will’s hurt expression out of his mind. He didn’t know what was worse – Will knowing that he ran secret missions for Hades, or Will knowing that Nico had purposefully kept it a secret from him.
Well, that was all a problem for future Nico. Right now, Nico could grab a couple hours’ sleep in his bedroom in the Underworld before completing whatever task his father requested of him.
However, when Nico laid down, he found that he was unable to pass out. He tossed and turned, threw his blankets on and off, and even tried counting little hellhounds in his mind (sheep were cute but largely overrated in Nico’s opinion). Eventually, it was nearing 11 at night, and Nico reluctantly got up to make his way to his father’s throne room.
“Son,” Hades greeted him at the doorway.
“Hello Father,” Nico said, completely done with politeness at this point. “What do you need me to do?”
“Wait.” Hades frowned at him. “Is there an issue to be resolved? You are unusually… rude this evening.”
“You always say I'm rude.”
“Because you always are.” Hades didn’t miss a beat. “Is there something wrong in particular? Or can we progress with the mission?”
Nico sighed. Maybe his father would have some idea of how to reverse the potion’s effects. “One of my friends spilled a potion on me and now I can read my friend’s mind.”
Hades blinked, noncommittal. “And why is this a problem?”
“Because he found out I’m running potentially dangerous missions at night, and he… he worries.” Nico swallowed. He never wanted to worry Will, which was why he didn’t tell him. He was always okay to patch himself up afterwards, and he slept late the next day, so he was taking care of himself. Will would only wind himself up unnecessarily.
“Well. It sounds like it’s not the mind-reading that’s the problem, it’s your communication.” Hades sat back in his throne, nodding. “I communicate regularly with Persephone, even when she’s in the Overworld. She particularly enjoys it when I write her messages with bones in empty fields.”
“I’m not doing that.” Though perhaps a gift wouldn’t be a bad idea. “It’s just- I don’t want him to just be able to know everything about me.”
“Ah. Then I suggest you stay away until it wears off.” Hades cleared his throat. “Are we done now? There are stray spirits that need collecting in Illinois.”
“Ugh. Illinois.” Nico sighed. “Yes. It will be done. Thank you, Father.”
Hades bowed his head ever-so-slightly towards Nico. “I will see you next time, Nico.”
Nico stepped to the side and shadow-traveled away.
It was pitch-black when he jumped out of the shadows, barely stumbling. Nico knew it would be a long night, so he steeled himself for the cold and forged towards the dark, abandoned-looking buildings his father had requested him to purge of spirits.
The ghosts were sneaky things, and they ducked and dodged Nico’s attacks with the ease that could only come with being incorporeal. Nico ran right into a wall chasing one down; a rookie mistake, but Nico was tired and it was dark. Even his (admittedly on the weak side) night vision powers as a son of Hades didn’t help him much.
One of the spirits made a faint whooshing sound, speeding past him, and Nico swiped his sword out to the left in time to suck its soul back into the Underworld. The rest of them wailed, and Nico sighed at the cacophony. Spirits were such dramatic creatures.
After four hours of chasing down the wispy, frustrating spirits in the rapidly lessening darkness, Nico was exhausted. He was covered in scrapes from where some of the spirits had avoided his attack and he’d tumbled down a hill, and his head hurt from straining his eyes in the dark. Usually it wouldn’t have taken him this long to capture them, but he supposed he was off his game from his fight with Will.
Well, could it really be called a fight if he ran away before Will could say anything? Will was probably mad about that. Will probably had a right to be.
Nico rolled his shoulders to release some of the tension and let out a breath. Finally, he could go home and get some sleep. After bandaging all his injuries. Will’s rants in the infirmary had finally instilled a sense of personal caretaking in him.
Nico hopped through a shadow and stepped out next to his bed, ready to fall onto it and take a couple of minutes to just rest. Unfortunately, Nico’s bed was occupied by someone else.
He stopped himself from slumping onto his bed when he saw Will, curled up on top of his sheets and half-asleep. Nico took a sharp breath in, and this apparently awakened Will, who shot up and barely managed to avoid slamming his head into Nico’s jaw. “Hey! You!”
“Me,” Nico said. “Uh, hi.”
Their eyes met, and Nico winced as Will’s disorganized and loud thoughts echoed in his head. I was scared you left. Maybe for good. Are you okay? I’m so mad at you. I’m mad you didn’t tell me and I’m mad you left. What’s wrong? Let me help you.
“You left,” Will said. He sat up and rubbed his face harshly, and Nico was cut off from his thoughts. “You were gone. I thought you ran away.”
“Well,” Nico started, very aware that this was likely not the right thing to say, “I did have to complete my mission.”
“What mission?”
Oh. He doesn’t know?
“Stop-” Will made a conflicted noise. “I can’t look at you right now. Tell me with words.”
Nico bit his lip. “I… I run missions for my father sometimes.” It spilled out of him, so easy now that he was caught with nowhere to turn to. “Son of Hades things. Tonight I collected some stray spirits. It’s not usually too dangerous.”
“Usually?” Will exclaimed.
“It’s nothing I can’t handle!” Nico took a deep breath. They were both getting upset. “I promise it’s okay. Please look at me?”
Will finally turned his head. Nico widened his eyes at him and tried to project everything he felt at Will through his thoughts. I’m sorry I left. It wasn’t that I left you. I didn’t want you to worry. I love that you worry. I know you care. But it ties you up. I don’t want to do that to you.
It worries me more that you didn’t tell me anything, Will thought.
I’m sorry. No more secrets.
“No more secrets,” Will agreed definitively. He grabbed Nico’s hand and squeezed, and Nico squeezed back. “Okay. Let’s get you healed up.”
“I can take care of myself,” Nico said.
Will smiled at him. “I know. But let me help. Please?”
Nico conceded. He knew it would make Will feel better. “Okay.”
Will got Nico’s first aid kit and made him sit on the counter next to the sink. Nico was quiet while Will wrung out the washcloth and gently washed the dirt out of Nico’s scrapes. He probably should’ve just taken a shower, but it was almost 4am, and he was so tired. Plus, he had a growing headache from running into that wall.
Will was wrapping a bandage around one of the deeper cuts on Nico’s arm (he distinctly remembers trying to grab a rock while falling down the hill and failing miserably). He wouldn’t mind if Nico rested. He might say it was healthy, even. Nico leaned forwards and placed his forehead on Will’s shoulder, just lightly. He let the stiffness drain out of him.
“You alright?” Will asked, suddenly concerned. He touched the back of Nico’s head to check his health.
“Okay. Tired.”
“I bet.” Will touched his temple this time. “Oh. What did you do?”
“Ran into a wall. Fell down a hill.” Nico yawned. Will exuded warmth, especially so close. The only points of contact between them were Nico’s forehead on Will’s shoulder and Will’s hand on Nico’s temple, but somehow, Nico’s whole body glowed with something hot and comforting.
“Jesus.” Will held Nico’s head carefully and his fingertips shone as he took some of the pain away. “That help the headache?”
Nico’s head suddenly felt much lighter. “Yes. Thank you.”
“Of course.” Will returned to cleaning Nico’s arms up. “Almost done… here.” Will tied off the last bandage. “Time for bed?”
“Mmm.” Nico hummed and lifted his head. He stopped dead when he realized how close he was to Will. Close. Close enough to-
Will broke their gaze to put the first aid kit away and wash his hands. Nico blinked hard, trying to rid his mind of the image of Will’s lip so near his own. “Come on. I waited here all night for you, you owe me a sleepover.”
Nico changed into his pajamas and they crawled into the huge bed in the middle of the Hades cabin, easily big enough for two people. “Hey, Will.”
“Yeah?”
Nico waited a moment to gather his thoughts. “You said no more secrets, right?”
Will was hesitant when he responded. “Yes.”
“What’s your secret? The one Austin mentioned?”
“I can’t tell you that,” Will said quickly.
Nico sat up, argumentative. “But I told you mine-”
“Only because I caught you-”
“I would have-”
“Nico!” Will interrupted him. He sounded frazzled. “Please! It’s nothing big. I promise. I’ll tell you someday, when it’s not… well. I’ll tell you someday.”
Nico fell back onto the bed with a huff. “Fine. But mark my words, Will Solace, I will find out your secret.”
Nico didn’t hear anything else from Will. He must have fallen asleep. Nico tried to let the thoughts go and rolled over, closing his eyes.
Will left early in the morning for his infirmary shift. It definitely had nothing to do with not wanting to be around when Nico woke up. If Will was subjected to Nico’s adorable morning bed hair while they could read each other’s minds, Nico would find out his secret for sure.
And with Nico’s threat last night, Will was on higher alert than ever. He made sure to swear all of his siblings and Lou Ellen and Cecil to secrecy before he started his shift, and kept his interactions with patients short and clinical. If any of them noticed anything wrong, hopefully they chalked it up to lack of sleep. Which wouldn’t be entirely untrue. Will had laid in Nico’s cabin for hours last night, wishing he would return, and when he finally did it took them a good hour to sort things out. Will still didn’t know if they were fully okay again.
“Will!”
Will winced, expecting Nico coming to beg his secret out of him, but was relieved to see Lou Ellen. “Oh. Lou. Hi. Are you injured?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m almost done with the mind reading reversal potion. I just need-” Lou reached out and yanked a few strands of his hair out, ignoring Will’s yelp. “Thanks! I already got Nico’s.”
“He let you do that?” Will asked, rubbing his head.
“No. I cut his. Another thing – interestingly, Nico wouldn’t stop questioning me about your big secret, Will.” Lou wiggled her eyebrows at him. Will leaned back.
“You agreed not to tell him-”
“And I didn’t!” Lou raised her arms in innocence. “I told him nothing about your big gay crush on him. But I think you should. He’s obviously upset about it.”
“He is?” Will knew Nico wanted to know his secret, but he thought it was the novelty that drove him. It hadn’t occurred to him that maybe keeping a secret from Nico might make him feel the same way Will had felt.
“Yeah. I mean, he’s okay, but it’s bothering him.” Lou shrugged. “I’ll have this done in a few hours. Try telling him before then. I don’t think your embarrassment is worth risking Nico’s trust in your friendship.” Lou waved goodbye and skipped out of the infirmary, leaving Will to stand there, dumbstruck.
“She’s right,” Kayla singsonged. “Just tell him. It’s kind of obvious he’s crazy about you, anyway.”
“We’re just friends,” Will said quietly.
“He decorated a ribcage for you to hang in your office in the infirmary,” Kayla said, sounding a little grossed out.
“That was sweet,” Will said, a little absentminded.
Kayla rolled her eyes. She’d started doing it more frequently after Nico had become an honorary member of the Apollo cabin. “Will. He likes you too. And even if he doesn’t, he won’t hate you. Just go tell him you like him. It’s not a big deal.”
“It is to me!” Will snapped back to attention, spinning to face Kayla. “He’s- he’s so important, Kayla! I get excited to see him every morning, I want him to always sit next to me at the campfire, I want to be around him all the time, I worry about him even when I don’t need to, and I just wanna- I want to be good to him, if he lets me. But I don’t know if he will.”
“Will.” Kayla looked at him head-on. “He already does. Listen to me. Just go for it.”
It was like an epiphany had washed over Will. Nico did like him, even as a friend, and maybe as something more, and Will couldn’t hold in his feelings for a second longer or he would explode. “I have to go.”
“Yeah.” Kayla shoved at him. “See you later, dork.”
Will raced out of the infirmary, bursting through the doors with the dramatic flair children of Apollo were known for. He had to find Nico.
His first stop was Nico’s cabin – empty with sunlight shining through the open windows, letting the air in as Will so frequently advised Nico to do. Next was the dining pavilion. Nico sometimes had a late breakfast, but he must have already eaten, as he wasn’t there. The arena – nowhere to be found. Will was running out of ideas.
“Hey, Will, the potion’s done.” Lou grabbed him by the arm, pulling Will to a halt. “Come on.”
Before Will had a chance to protest, he was dragged to the Hecate cabin, where Nico was staring at the bubbling cauldron. Lou positioned him next to Nico and took a ladle, about to sprinkle the dust over them again.
“Wait!” Will yelled. “Wait! I need to say something. To think something.”
Lou tilted her head in confusion, but Will turned to Nico. “Nico. Please look at me.”
Nico looked at him cautiously, as though he wasn’t sure what he would see. His mind held a purposeful blankness. “What? Don’t you want this to be over so I won’t find out your secret?”
Will breathed in. I just want you to know I like you so much. So so much. You are a shining light in my life – metaphorically, because you dress in all black – which I think looks really cute on you – shut up – what was I saying – I LIKE YOU!
Will looked down, letting Nico digest. He appeared to be slightly in shock. “Oh.” Will didn’t say anything. He waited for Nico to respond.
Nico took his hand and leaned down, catching Will’s eyes. You mean a lot to me too. Will prepared himself for rejection. And I’d like to go out with you. On a date, or something. If you want.
You like me? Will thought wondrously.
Yeah. You’re… you’re very special. Nico was slowly going red. Of course I like you too.
Will hugged Nico tightly. Nico squeaked and hugged Will back, burying his face in his shoulder. “I thought it was a bad secret.”
“No. I was… scared of things. And I’m sorry. But I’m glad we can be honest with each other now.” Will kissed the top of Nico’s head delicately.
Nico wriggled out of Will’s hug. I want to kiss you.
Oh, Will thought. Okay.
Nico leaned forward and enthusiastically pressed his lips to Will’s. Will held his face and kissed him a little more softly. Nico pulled away after a moment, and Will barely caught a glimpse of his mind repeating ohmygods and the bright smile on Nico’s face before Nico buried it back in Will’s shirt.
Lou cleared her throat awkwardly. Nico and Will sprung apart. “Are you guys good to do the reversal potion now?”
Nico nodded, so Will did too.
She sprinkled the potion over the two of them, covering Nico and Will in sparkly dust. Will sneezed. “Did it work?”
Nico took Will’s face in his hands to stare him in the eyes. Will heard nothing. He smiled. “We’re cured.”
“Thanks the gods.” Lou sat down on the ground with a sigh. “I’m glad that’s over.”
“It was kind of fun,” Will said.
“Sometimes,” Nico partially agreed. Will giggled and kissed the top of his head again. Nico liked him! He couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“Are you guys gonna be one of those gross couples?” Lou asked long-sufferingly.
Nico’s face turned stony. “No. I’ll stop talking to him in public.” Will blinked at him. “I’m kidding. But minimal PDA.”
“Oh.” Will shook his head. “Well, I can’t read your mind anymore.”
Nico smiled. “It’s okay. Just ask me and I’ll tell you the truth.”