Work Text:
I dozed off for a second, maybe for the thousandth time today. I was perched precariously on the railing of Hades cabin and had already felt the prickle of thorns from the rose bush below. Everything that was to be done while waiting was done, meaning I got extra sleep and mope time. But it was productive moping. I almost got bored enough that I went to go hang out with Mr. D. As much as I liked him, well as much as anyone likes him, today wasn’t the day.
I gave up balancing on the beam and hopped down. As I walked off the porch, I checked the clock that rested on the signpost. The signpost was, what Will had once made an allusion to that I hadn’t understood then, very much like the sign in Alice in Wonderland. The signs pointed everywhere: Aphrodite cabin, the lake, the archery course. In every color like a madman. The clock that decorated the top seemed like one straight from London. It didn’t complement the post at all, but it seemed to fit in among the madness.
I sighed inwardly at the thought of having to wait thirty more minutes. I wandered the yellow brick road of paths until I somehow ended up in the music hall. It had tall white Grecian pillars and the stereotypical hall characteristic to it, and someone was shredding the guitar inside. It seemed exactly like my kind of heaven.
The artist, whoever it was, let out the final note on, I think, "Basket Case" by Green Day. It was kind of hard to figure out because Green Day isn’t all guitars, but it matched pretty well. And honestly, this version was amazing. If I listened hard enough, I could hear them.
The person sighed inside before playing some scales and then packing up. I realized how long I had been standing there when I checked the sun. My chance to surprise Will at the infirmary foiled by my inability to keep track of time. A lame excuse if I ever heard one. I was about to shadow travel to the infirmary when I heard a voice.
“Nico?”
I turned to see my sunny little boyfriend. “Hey,” I said almost awkwardly after all, I was standing out here like a creep.
He dropped something, ran, and scooped me up in a hug. He stopped, looked around, saw nobody, and peppered my face with kisses. He stood back and looked me over with a clinical gaze before switching to something I didn’t want to put into focus.
“Why were you gone so long this time? When did you get back? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I am fine, I am very careful.”
“Careful my ass,” he said with a snort.
I gave him a look. “I am really sorry. I ran into some trouble but good news,” I said with a little smile, “I no longer have to run errands for my father.”
His smile was bigger than I could have imagined.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“You are sure?”
“Yas Queen,” I said with a deadpan look.
We both burst out laughing. I noticed the thing Will had dropped behind him.
“You play the guitar?”
“Oh yeah, it was one of the skills that Apollo didn’t give me, but I liked the sound of it so I took lessons. I still am not really good but I like it.”
“Were you the one playing music?”
“Yeah.” He looked embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his neck, a pink flush spreading across his face. I didn’t realize it was possible that Will would be embarrassed about his music. I smiled a little viciously. I was going to love this.
A couple of years later in Will and Nico’s house
A white electric guitar with thousands of stickers layered upon the sides lay on a sofa in the sun as two men waited outside. A school bus came up, and a little girl clambered out of it.