Chapter Text
~Nico~
The sun shone brightly, cascading off Will’s hair, dancing on the fresh grass. Nico couldn’t stop thinking of how beautiful the sun reflected off of Will, but quickly dismissed it. “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this,” Nico muttered under his breath, furrowing his eyebrows.
“Hey there, Death Boy! Glad you didn’t run off on me,” Will chuckled cheerfully, “Looks like you gave Percy there quite a shock, what’cha tell him?”
“I thought I already told you, stop calling me Death Boy,” Nico snapped with a scowl.
He chuckled again. Does he think it’s all a joke?
”Well, you’re stuck with me for a bit now, and since I’m your doctor, I can call you whatever I want… Death Boy.” Will said with a huge grin on his face.
Nico huffed and folded his arms over his chest, “You’re so annoying, Solace. Let’s go and get this over with.”
With a shrug, Will led him from the cabins down to the Big House. Silence filled the air, interrupted by the occasional camper calling out, “Hey Will,” and Will returning the gesture with a wave or a smile. Many of the campers stared, pausing their game of volleyball or archery practice to glare at Nico.
They’re probably wondering why one of the friendliest people in camp is walking with “The Guy Who Brings Death Everywhere He Goes.”
As they finally reached the steps of The Big House, Will opened the door, holding it open for Nico. Nico nodded in a quiet, “thank you”, before passing through the doors and waiting for Will to guide him to the Infirmary. As the doctor opened another set of doors, the scent hit him immediately. The sterile smell of lemon and rubbing alcohol invaded Nico’s nose, almost causing him to gag. The scent was way too clean, and Nico would ruin it.
“Are you positive you want me here, Solace?” Nico asked him. “It’s just so… clean and fresh and alive. I dunno, Will, I don’t think a person like me should be he—”
“Nico.” Will’s voice was stern but gentle,” The Infirmary is for all, and if anyone should be ‘allowed’ in here, it’s you. You’ve been through prolly more than others and deserve the same type of care as anyone else in this dang camp.”
For some reason, that comment resonated with him. No one has told him that before, not since Bianca was alive. “Okay, let’s go,” Nico breathed.
Will smiled, not like an “Aha!” smile, but a gentle one, like he was proud of Nico. The two boys started down the hall and passed the usual cots for the injured.
“Since you’re gonna be staying with us longer than usual, you get to stay in the…. Special Deluxe Luxurious Grand Super Special Room!” Will made an exaggerated gesture with jazz hands and opened a new door.
The room was neat, but with a certain coziness. A fluffy blanket on top of the cot, along with a couple of pillows. Across the room was your typical doctor's office setup: a cabinet full of supplies, a sink, and a small cart stocked with supplies near the bed.
“Well, I gotta go get some other stuff, but I’ll be back soon!” Will exclaimed. “Just get situated, and I’ll be back in like uhh six, or seven minutes.”
And he went out the door and closed it.
As the door clicked into its place, an easy silence fell over the room. It was as though nothing had ever been there before, or had ever walked out the doorway.
And Nico had always liked it that way: alone, small in a dark cabin, huddled in a quiet bent over his knees. Yes, that’s how it had always been, and that must be how it will always be.
However, how could he think that way now when Will’s constant insistence on being absent made it unmistakably clear that something was wrong, and changed, and too empty?
The corners of his eyes began to wobble uncontrollably and he found himself clawing at the air, desperate for some semblance of autonomy.
The boy vaguely felt his vision blur, as if he wasn’t in the room at all but somewhere outside of his body. He felt like melting into the deepness of his consciousness, and his body was unable to feel anything but the darkness of his shadow.
With a snap, the clock’s warning finally registered.
Tick, tock, tick, tock. It shook its head grimly as it rapped its long black finger on its porcelain. There isn’t much time.
Nico’s blurry vision sweapt over the excessive amounts of medical gear: the cold metal of the bottomless sink; the thin fabric of the privacy board that contradicted its purpose; the faraway tiles of the floor; the creaking wood of the cabinets; the blood bin that could spill over at any moment, painting the pure white of the floors with the stench of warfare and Hades.
An examination, that’s where this will go. That’s where it was bound to go. An examination where Will was obligated to bare Nico to the crushing walls of the room and the thick, suffocating air. Would he find his uneven skin ugly? Is his coarseness unbearable to look at? If only that wolven Lycan didn’t seep and tear his claws through Nico’s grime, then would Nico have been at least bearable to watch, to see, to touch, to hold?
Everything and anything should have been forbidden to Nico, forbidden to his mauled mass of ruined and scarred skin, but here he was—waiting for everything and anything.
A knock on the door snapped Nico back into tangible reality.
The door opened with a cheerful creak, and out popped Will Solace in a fresh new pair of scrubs: pens and tools sticking out of the pockets, a stethoscope around his neck, and a clipboard in his resting hand.
“I’m back, did you miss me?” Will giggled as he closed the door and moved to sit on the small black wheeled chair, wheeling closer to Nico’s bedside while whipping out a pen like he would a bow. Just as clumsily.
“So, just a few basic questions.” He waved off his initial aura loss with a little chuckle. ”First off, uhm, what’s your full name?”
“Niccolò Di Angelo.”
“See, how easy! Now second, when’s ya birthday?”
“January 28th, 1932.” As Nico responded, he expected a shocked reaction from Will.
“W-what?” His face dropped. Nico sighed.
“Trapped in the Lotus casino for 70 years, didn’t age, yah yah yah, but I’m basically 14 if that helps,” Nico explained, shrugging off his initial weariness.
“Wow, so I guess all those rumors about you being old are true… Huh. Thanks for the explanation, though.” And he jotted some notes down on the paper. “Last question, do you have ADHD, dyslexia, or anything similar?”
“I have both, I think,” Nico said hazily. “Both ADHD and dyslexia.”
“Hey, we both have ADHD!” Will shared excitedly.
“Don’t like all demigods have ADHD?”
“Don’t ruin the moment.”
As Will jotted down some more notes, he stood up from the chair and kept his clipboard and pen with him. He walked towards the scale and ruler against the wall. Will gestured for Nico to come, and Nico followed.
“Now, just stand on the scale so I can get your weight, and take off your shoes so I can get your height as well.”
Nico took off his heavily decorated boots with a metallic jangle and stood on the scale.
“Now stand up for me, really straight and tall, shoulders back!” Will directed him as if he thought Nico didn’t know how anything check-up-related worked.
And he hated it, hated how Will was babying him, but a small, indescribable part of him didn’t really mind it. For some odd reason.
“Wow, 5’4, that’s pretty short, Nico.” Will frowned in feigned disappointment. Nico wriggled impatiently.
“Oh shut it, Solace.”
Will chuckled to himself, wrote down his height, then looked down at the scale.
“Only eighty-three pounds!?” He exclaimed in shock. “Nico, you’re pretty underweight. When’s the last time you ate?”
“Breakfast”
“And when was that?”
“...A couple of days ago…”
“Nico!”
Will shook his head while frowning, then wrote down some more on his clipboard.
“You can put your shoes back on and go to your bed now.” He ordered with a gentle voice, ”We’ll start you on some sort of diet plan soon.”
Nico put his boots back on and plopped onto his bed. Will sat back down on his chair and placed the clipboard face down onto Nico’s bed.
“Next, I’ve gotta check your heartbeat. Could you please lift your shirt?” Will asked him while unraveling his stethoscope from his neck.
Nico’s hands immediately went to his chest.
“W-what are you going to do with that?” Nico jerked back, eying Will suspiciously.
“Relax, Nico, I won’t hurt you. I’m just gonna put this—“ Will gestured to the diaphragm of the stethoscope— ”onto different places of your chest, while my hand…”
He waved with his free hand. ”Stabilizes your back. I won’t pinch you or anything, just a hand on your back keeping you upright.”
Oh gods, he’s going to touch me.
Will saw the worry on Nico’s face.
“Nico—” Will said, placing a firm hand on Nico’s shoulder.
Nico jumped at contact, but Will's hand kept him from bolting out the door.
“Nico, I promise you’ll be fine. I won’t hurt you. I’ll even talk you through it,” Will said with pleading eyes.
Nico took a deep breath in and out. “Okay.”
Nico lifted his Hawaiian-printed shirt just enough for Will to work around; still, he felt uncomfortable letting his lower stomach be exposed. With a sigh, Will put the earpieces of the stethoscope to his ears.
“I’m going to place my hand on your back now.” Will directed calmly and slid his hand up Nico’s shirt.
Immediately, Nico felt the surge of warmth radiating from Will’s hand. It traveled throughout his spine, but instead of being uncomfortable, he found the tingling almost soothing.
Will cupped his hand around the diaphragm, warming it up for Nico. “I’m going to place the stethoscope on your chest now; it might be a little cold.”
As the cold metal gained contact with Nico’s skin, he felt a shiver. He suddenly yearned for the warmth of Will Solace, his comforting hand on his back. The skeletal butterflies formed again in his stomach.
“Just take a deep breath in and out,” Will stated, and Nico obliged.
“Whoa there, Nico, your heart is beating like really fast, are you nervous?” Will asked with concern in his voice.
“No, it’s just… cold,” Nico said shyly.
Will hummed in acknowledgement and continued measuring Nico’s heartbeat.
“Well, it’s calmed down a little now, which is good. We’ll keep watching it, though.” Will acknowledged as he replaced the stethoscope around his neck,” You can put your shirt back down now.”
Nico tugged his shirt back down a little too quickly, straining his arm, aggravating the stitches. He hissed.
“Nico, is your arm okay? You just flinched like something’s bothering you.”
Oh no, he’s spotted it. He’s going to think I’m a monster.