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“Will, quick! It is Nico, he just collapsed!”
Percy ran into the Apollo cabin like wildfire. He was looking for a certain blond medic to come with him to the arena. He had already tried the infirmary, but Will was not there.
“What happened? Where is he?” Will emerged from the bathroom, his hair in utter disarray, he must have been trying to tame them.
Percy breathed out a sigh of relief, if only partial. He finally found the right person who would surely be able to help Nico. He did not wait for anything and grabbed Will’s hand, he started dragging him out of the cabin while explaining.
“Jason and Nico were sparing in the arena when Nico collapsed, he just fell down out cold in the middle of an attack. Jason was lucky enough not to run him through with his sword. Austin was there so he immediately took a look, but he said he does not know what could be wrong. He told me to go fetch you.”
Now it was Will who was tugging at Percy’s hand, urging him to run faster. The son of Poseidon gladly obliged. He has seen Nico collapse before, several time actually, but never like this, never as if he was a puppet whose strings got cut all of a sudden. It scared him.
“Is he injured?” Will asked urgently.
Percy did not understand what the son of Apollo was asking about. Of course Nico was injured, why else would he need a medic?
“Beside collapsing, is he injured in any other way?” Will specified. He probably picked up on Percy’s confusion. Now it was clear.
“I do not think so. The match just started, there was no time.”
“Alright,” Will mumbled under his breath.
He sighed and held Percy’s hand less tightly. It made the son of Poseidon realize just how tense the other camper had been. He must have been scared for his boyfriend too. They have not made their relationship official yet, but the whole Camp knew anyway. They were not exactly subtle about it, not that anyone minded.
They finally arrived to the arena and Will let go of Percy and sprinted to kneel besides Nico. Who knew that the son of Apollo could be so fast, who would have guessed with how easy going and laid back he usually was. Austin immediately started telling him everything he knew while Will was examining his boyfriend.
Percy joined them in a more sedated pace. His heart was racing from his desperate search for the medic and he was slightly out of breath despite his numerous battle experiences.
Will finished his exam and sat back on his heels with a puzzled expression. He was looking down at Nico as if his boyfriend was a true medical enigma that no one could crack.
“Did you find anything, Will?” Percy asked when it became clear that the son of Apollo would not inform them about Nico’s state.
Will was even more puzzled now. He was scratching the back of his head. “Not really… He is just sleeping.”
Percy’s mouth fell open in surprise. Who falls asleep in the middle of a fight? Even if Nico slept poorly most of the time and looked like death itself, surely he would go lay down before collapsing like this. What was happening?
***
Will have already tried everything and Nico was still not waking up. It has been three days already and the son of Hades did not show the slightest sign of improving. If he had just been exhausted and had collapsed because of that, he should have been awake by now.
Physically, Nico was healthy. Or as healthy as he could with his eating habits and poor sleep hygiene. Will has been trying to get him to care more about taking care of himself, but progress was scarce. Though he monitored him closely, he would have noticed if Nico had been feeling so poorly to collapse.
The son of Apollo has consulted his siblings, both in Camp Half-Blood and in Camp Jupiter, even a few older ones that lived outside of both camps. No luck. He skimmed through all medical books he could get his hands on. He found nothing. He consulted with Chiron and Mr. D, but neither they had ever seen a similar illness. They even contacted Hades through an Iris message to ask if he knew anything, they came out emptyhanded save for a promise that the god would contact them should he find anything out.
The cause of Nico’s state remained a mystery through and through.
Out of his mind with worry, Will tried the only other thing he could think of: he prayed to his godly father. When he made his offering on the third day after Nico had collapsed, he stayed by the fire for longer than usual and closed his eyes.
Father, if you hear me, I could really use your help. Something happened to Nico and I cannot figure out what is wrong with him, he just will not wake up. You are the god of healing, you know all there is about even the rarest of illnesses. Please, tell me how can I help my boyfriend?
Apollo usually did not respond to his demigod children’s prayers. Not that other gods were exactly prime examples of doting parents, but Apollo tended to be one of the worst in this department. After the whole fiasco with being turned to Lester Papadopoulos, Apollo has become if not closer then more understanding with his children than before. Though he still never showed his face after reclaiming his immortality.
That was why Will took two steps back, shellshocked, when the said god suddenly appeared next to him in the middle of the dining pavilion.
“Hello, son,” he greeted cheerfully. He was grinning from ear to ear, completely opposite to the solemn atmosphere around.
Will stood frozen on the spot, he could not even talk with how surprised he was that his father actually listened to his prayer.
“Hello there, anybody home?” Apollo asked in a singsong tone and waived a hand in front of Will’s face. “I thought your boyfriend is the one sleeping his days away, not you.”
This got Will out of his stupor. He hurried to correct the god before the whole Camp assumed something they should not. Nico would not be too happy if he woke up and their relationship had already been pronounced official. He would hate that.
“Nico is not my boyfriend,” Will countered. Saying it aloud hurt, he wanted that more than anything, but he had promised Nico to wait for him to feel comfortable with their relationship before disclosing anything publicly. “Well, not officially at least. Not yet.”
Apollo watched him with scrutinizing intensity, making him squirm a little. Before Will did anything he would regret later, he grabbed the god and dragged him out of the still silent dining pavilion. Murmurs erupted behind him as soon as he and his father stepped outside.
“What are you doing here?” Will asked the first question that came to mind. He was still trying to gather himself and get over the shock.
Apollo looked mildly amused: “You are asking this? Really? You are the one who prayed to me to come and help you wake up your boyfriend. You even said he was your boyfriend in your prayer. So make up your mind. I do not have the whole day. So, do you want me to leave?”
“No!” Will was not far from shouting. He quickly tightened his grip on Apollo’s elbow to keep him from disappearing. Not that it would do any good if the god actually decided to leave. “I was just surprised that you showed up. And Nico is not…”
“Not officially your boyfriend. Yes, you already said that.” Apollo interrupted him. He was clearly done with the pretence and did not care in the slightest if the relationship between his son and the son of Hades was official or not.
Will felt his cheeks heat up and quickly changed the topic: “So, do you know what is wrong with Nico? Does he have some serious illness? How can I help him?”
Apollo just sighed. “One thing at a time, Will. First, show me to him, I need to have a look before I can give you any reliable information.”
“Of course,” Will nodded. He was relieved that the topic of boyfriends got dropped. He headed towards Nico’s cabin where the son of Hades has been moved after the first day in the infirmary. Apollo followed.
It took all but five seconds for the god to finish his examination and turn to his son with grave look. Will’s heart dropped; this could not be good.
“I cannot see any physical injuries,” Apollo finally gave his verdict.
Will had to resist an instant urge to roll his eyes, god or not, even he could tell that much. It gave no enlightenment to what was actually wrong with the son of Hades. Though Will harboured respect towards his father, Apollo was now being as useful as when he had been Lester, meaning, not very much.
Luckily for everyone involved, the god quickly continued, probably feeling Will's growing annoyance and frustration: “But I can sense strange energy surrounding your boyfriend, a god is interfering here.”
That was an interesting piece of information. Will gave Nico a quick look, wondering which god he could have possibly offended. Lately, he has been under Will's direct supervision, he had not gone to any quests without him either. And the son of Apollo definitely did not see this coming, Nico has been behaving, he has been happy. Who dared to make him suffer again?
Will opened his mouth to ask which god dared to hurt his unofficial boyfriend. Apollo did not let him talk though.
The god was examining the interior of the cabin, his face was scrunched up in displeasure: “This place is so dark and gloomy. William, how can you let your boyfriend live in a place like this? I get it, he is the son of Hades and everything, but really? The kid needs to get out more, he is as pale as a ghost.” He chuckled at his own joke and raised his hands placatingly. “No pun intended. But really, you should take better care of him, you are a healer for goodness’s sake.”
Will had to make a conscious effort to remain calm. He counted to ten in his head, slowly. He needed Apollo's help, he could not start telling him off and explaining that he would very much like to take care of Nico more, but his boyfriend would perceive it as intrusive and would run away, either by closing off into himself or actually physically running away from Camp. He was getting better, that was for sure, but his loner tendencies were still present.
“Father,” Will spoke sternly and Apollo got the message, he stopped fooling around.
“Yes, yes, where were we?”
Another counting in his head, to five this time: “Which god is messing with Nico? Can you help him?”
Apollo looked back at the son of Hades, then at Will again. His eyes were sparkling and his mouth morphed into a mischievous smirk. Will was convinced he would not like what was coming.
“I may know who is at play here. My help is not free, I would not risk angering any of the Olympians by telling you though. I should really demand something in exchange for my services, a good offering, I am still recovering my godhood, you know.” Will stared at him with judgement and Apollo quickly backpedalled: “But since you and your boyfriend helped slightly in my ascend, I think I can give you a clue.”
Will stared at him, not uttering a word. Apollo seemed uneasy under such scrutiny and quickly obliged: “I believe you have what to do with Aphrodite.”
“Why her?” Will asked, genuinely curious. What would the goddess of Love want to do with them? Was this some kind of trial? Or a prank?
Apollo scratched the back of his neck and gave Will a sheepish smile. Oh, he definitely had something to do with this whole situation. Will crossed his arms over his chest, waiting.
“When I went back to Olympus, I may have boasted a little about my feats in recovering the Oracles and defeating Python…”
Will gave him a no-nonsense look. Apollo winced and quickly covered it with a bright smile before he corrected himself: “Fine, more than a little bit. But you have to exaggerate when narrating epic tales or no one will want to listen to them!”
Will just sighed and gestured for his father to continue. The god obliged, going back to his epic narrating style.
“Artemis commented that I was not alone and that I should shove my ego… whatever, it was not important. Then Aphrodite pointed out that I would not have succeeded without yours and Nico' help and was all but melting at how cute a couple you were. There is a bet pool between the gods now to guess when you will officially announce your relationship to everyone, without any doubts, and kiss…”
Will's eyebrows flew sky-high. So this is where all this was coming from. If it was Aphrodite, he had a suspicion he knew what needed to be done to get Nico to wake up. The goddess of Love would definitely want to win since this concerned her domain. She must have been getting impatient to interfere this directly.
Apollo saw right through him and prompted: “So, what will you do, Will? If you understand, you should know that you are the only one who can save your boyfriend.”
“What time did Aphrodite bet for?” Will asked. If he was doing this, might as well go all the way to please the goddess of Love, it could only be in their best interest in the long run.
Will was definitely not hurrying because he has wanted to kiss Nico for a long time already. Definitely not.
“Sunset tomorrow, why do you ask?” Apollo was the one confused now.
Will smiled and started pushing the god out of the cabin. “Thank you for your help father. I will make sure to send you some s’mores as offering during campfire. You should go now though, I am sure that you have your godly duties to attend to. It was good talking to you, bye.”
While talking, Will was pushing Apollo towards the door, fully intending to bodily get him out. He did not need any more godly interventions now that he knew what he should do.
Apollo finally caught up onto his plan and tried to resist all the pushing. He grabbed onto the doorframe, already halfway out. He was pleading: “Will, my favourite son, you would not do this to me, would you? What it is one day here or there? You want your boyfriend to wake up soon, right? Why not do it today? Or even right now?”
“This is why you came, is it not?” Will looked at him with disappointment. He should have expected this, Apollo was not one to care too much about his children. “You were betting for this afternoon.”
It was a statement on Will's side. Apollo smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders: “You know me too well, Will. Can you blame me for wanting to beat my sisters in the bet?”
“I guess not,” Will agreed and gave Apollo one last push out of the door. “That does not mean I have to go with your scheme. I am grateful for your help, but you should really go now. I have my boyfriend to take care of.”
With his last sentence, Will closed the door in front of the god's nose. Luckily, Apollo seemed too shocked to do anything like barging back in or incinerating both his son and his boyfriend, possibly together with half of the Camp.
Will turned his back to the door and went to gently tug away a strand of dark hair from sleeping Nico's face. He looked so peaceful like this. Will was no longer worried out of his mind when he knew what was happening and how to reverse it.
He was in luck too, Nico would surely be angrier with the gods who had played with him and put him to sleep than with his boyfriend who kissed him without asking for explicit permission first. And if the son of Hades would actually dislike it, Will could always claim it had been for medical reasons, to save him as his healer. Though he greatly doubted he would have to use such poor excuse.
Will had wanted to kiss him for so long now, but he had not dared, now he had a golden opportunity. He had seen Nico eyeing his lips several times too; they had come so close on a couple of occasions, but someone always interrupted them and his boyfriend pulled back. The son of Hades was still painfully shy and uncertain about his sexuality.
This time, no one would stand in their way, maybe aside a few peeping competitive gods. They could deal with them later if need be.
***
“They were so unfair. I even told them the time I bet for, they missed it on purpose, I am sure. That rascal from the Underworld is corrupting my perfect filial son.” Apollo complained to the gathering of his siblings. They were all in his palace on Olympus, all bickering and disapproving. “And you, Aphrodite, you clearly cheated! What was it with cursing my son's boyfriend? You could not have waited for them to get properly together? Who was it that kept saying that their shyness and hesitation were cute?”
“That would have taken ages at the pace they were going at,” Hermes added. The statement was true, it has been almost a year from the moment Nico di Angelo came to live in Camp Hal-Blood and he still did not allow Will Solace to call him his boyfriend outside of the Hades cabin. No one refuted it. “The longest bet was one year and three months, no one would have won if they had not gotten a little help.”
“Why choose midnight though, is it not an odd hour to have a first kiss? There are more romantic options, not that I would be interested anyway. I am in this just to annoy my annoying brother.” Artemis asked the assembled gods. Some of them looked thoughtful after her question, but she was unfortunately interrupted by the goddess of Love.
“Oh, come on!” Aphrodite shot right back at Apollo, completely ignoring everything that Hermes and Artemis said. “You tried to cheat too. You went to see your son and that is why they figured things out too soon. I was really looking forward to winning this bet. I was even going to give them some clues if they could not figure it out on their own. There are plenty of fairy tales where a prince kisses a princess to wake her up. I would not even call it a curse, it was just a small speeling spell, completely harmless.”
“You should not have cursed Nico di Angelo in the first place,” Athena grumbled mostly to herself as no one was listening to the voice of reason in this verbal squabble. The other gods were like small children who were arguing whose favourite pet was the cutest. “That child has been through enough already. And he is…”
“He is my son.”
Hades suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, startling the other gods. There was darkness swirling around his feet, the crown made of human bones glistered ominously on his forehead and his long dark robe was flowing menacingly around him, accentuating the illusion of the ruthless ruler of the Underworld.
None of the other gods dared to utter a single word. When their uncle took on this form, he was not joking around.
“Uncle,” Athena finally spoke for everyone. “Welcome. To what do we owe the pleasure? You usually do not appear on Olympus without a reason. Is something the matter?”
“Indeed, I am not coming for a leisurely visit.” Hades' form was glowing threateningly as he spoke. “I came because someone,” he shot a telling glare at Aphrodite, “was trying to meddle in son's affaires.”
“It was not like that, Uncle,” Aphrodite tried to defend herself only to fall silent when Hades raised a hand. The silence in the room could have been cut by a knife and spread on a piece of bread like butter. It was that thick.
“Say no more. Do not think that I have not seen what you were doing. However…”
A dramatic pause for effect. It was definitely working, all the assembled gods were mesmerizing his mouth, waiting for Hades' next words.
They knew that the lord of the Underworld was protective of his son, but to appear on Olympus in person to defend him? Was that not a little too much meddling? Or was he here to punish them for playing with the mortals' lives? Everyone did that, they were not the only ones to make demigods' lives a little bit more challenging. Who could blame them for wanting to have a little fun?
“I can forgive you lot this once since Nico was not harmed and is now happier than ever, not that he would admit it aloud of course, but… Now, pay up!”
The other gods did not move. They were looking at each other in confusion. Only one of them did not share the same expression.
Hermes smiled sheepishly at his siblings before standing up and coming to the centre of the room to meet Hades. The lord of the Underworld put out his hand and raised his eyebrows, beckoning Hermes to hurry up.
The others were shocked to see a small bag of drachmas – the very same bag that should have been awarded to the winner of their bet – exchanging owners. The gods gaped at their brother.
Hermes just shrugged his shoulders: “What? He won the bet fair and square. He is the one who put in the midnight option, who other would have done it? Do not tell me you did not know uncle was in it too? Though he joined last minute.”
The gods gaped even more. If their bodies were not perfect and indestructible, their jaws would have for sure been mopping the floor by this point.
Now it was Hades' turn to shrug: “Did you forget that I am Pluto, the god of Wealth? There is no way I would miss an opportunity for a fun bet. It concerns my son after all.” He gave the other gods a hard look. “That does not mean that I would like to see a repeat of this. Leave Nico alone, or you will see.”
Without warning or another word, Hades disappeared just as abruptly as he appeared. No one spoke for a long time. The message was clear though, no one should mess with Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades. Or they will see.
***
Back in his palace, Hades smiled to himself, weighing the bag of drachmas in his hand. Then, he took one and used it to Iris message Camp Half-Blood.
“They will not be trying something like that again, son, I warned them.”
“Thank you, father,” came Nico's voice from the other side of the dim rainbow. “We appreciate it.”
“No problem. And congratulations on making Will officially your boyfriend, I cannot wait to meet the kid in person one of these days.”
“One of these days,” Nico echoed and ended the Iris message.
Hades shared a look with Persephone, she was barely holding back her gleeful expression. Before the rainbow completely disappeared, they got a glimpse of tanned skin coming closer, warm laughter filled their ears before it morphed into the sounds of kissing.
Yes, Hades thought to himself, Nico was indeed happy.