Chapter Text
Summer had officially begun which meant most of the summer campers had arrived at camp. After the quest he went on in the winter, Nico was glad to finally relax but he couldn’t lie, he missed the lively atmosphere of camp.
The giggles of the Hermes cabin pulling pranks, the hushed whispers of the Aphrodite cabins’ gossip sessions, the Apollo cabin’s midnight jazz performances, the shrieks of Hermes cabin prank victims…
He was glad to finally get back into the routine of leading sword fighting classes and participating in other activities as well. However, it didn’t seem like his boyfriend was having much fun. Of course, Will was ecstatic to see his younger siblings again but being thrust into the heavy workload of having to constantly heal accident-prone demigods really did a number on him. It hadn’t even been that long and he’s already had to deal with too many injuries!
It had only been a week and a half into the summer session and Will was already going back into his old habits of holing himself up in the infirmary. Nico thought that after the wars, crazy emperors, Tartarus, and the whole Court of the Dead ordeal, they could finally take it easy and relax this summer. Unfortunately, he forgot how much of a workaholic his boyfriend was. It got so bad that Will would skip meals or even go several days without sleep. The only way to make him leave the infirmary was to physically drag him out!
At this point, Nico wasn’t just frustrated. He was worried as well. He had been doing pretty well ever since he started doing therapy sessions with Mr. D but he never considered how his boyfriend might be doing. After all, Will had always been the reasonable, bright, and caring one out of the two of them so the average person would obviously assume he had it all together! Nico, on the other hand, knew his boyfriend better than that.
Nico knew that his boyfriend often felt insecure and had low self-esteem. He had opened up to him about how he felt like he wasn’t a good enough healer and how he had to make up for all the lives he couldn’t save during the wars by helping as many people as he could now. Nico knew that his care for others would often lead to him forgetting about himself so he had to take matters into his own hands.
—
Nico stepped into the Big House as a man on a mission. He was going to get his boyfriend a well-deserved vacation. Luckily, it was just Mr. D playing solitaire with no Chiron in sight.
“Mr. D, I think I need to talk to you about something.” Nico said sternly with a worried look painted on his face.
Hearing this, Mr. D’s worn out expression softened as he looked up at the son of Hades. “What do you need, Nico?”
Nico expressed his worries and told Mr D. about how much Will had been working and how he thinks he might end up hurting himself. Finally, Nico nonchalantly brought up the idea of maybe letting him and Will go out on a road trip of some sorts to help him relax. It didn’t take much convincing for the wine god to agree. After all, he of all people knew how important it is to take life easy every once in a while.
The only issue was… Campers aren’t allowed to just leave camp for a long period of time—and especially not during the summer. They had to figure out a way to let Will get his holiday without getting into any trouble. With that, they quickly hatched a plan.
It was simple! Since campers could only go out for very short periods of time unless they were sent on a quest… They’ll just have to get a quest! How you may ask? Well obviously by roping in Daddy Dearest!
Nico reached into his bomber jacket’s pocket and pulled out a glass prism. He held it up to the sunlight, producing a rainbow, and tossed in one golden drachma. “Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering.” he began “Phoebus Apollo, Olympus”
Slowly, the image of a radiant young man with flowing golden locks appeared in the rays of color. “…Dionysus? Did you need something?” he muttered hesitantly before noticing Nico’s presence “Oh? Nico di Angelo..? What’s going on here?” he continued, sounding more worried.
“Hello, brother.” Mr. D finally spoke with a glint in his eyes “We… have a proposition.”
Following that, Nico and Mr. D explained the situation, once again repeating the story of how Will had been overworking himself, yet again. Apollo felt guilty that his son had to bear so much pressure and was listening fervently, waiting for the part where he might be able to help out.
After Nico brought up the idea of a little vacation for Will and him but explained the issue of campers being unable to leave camp without a quest, Mr. D began to speak.
“So, we were hoping you could help by sending our brave little heroes on a “quest” to “retrieve” something of yours while actually sending them on a nice roadtrip.” He suggested while emphasizing certain words and constantly making air quotes to get his point across. “How does that sound?”
“Well, if there’s anything I can do to help my son, I’ll do it.” Apollo replied enthusiastically while slowly nodding his head—clearly coming up with some plans of his own. “Don’t worry, I’ll be there soon.” He finished his sentence with a wink and faded away.
Mr. D got up from his seat and walked towards the fridge looking to get another can of coke and grunted “Well, there you go, kid.” He grabbed a can and started chugging. “You heard the man. Give him a little bit of time and he’ll do what he can.”
Nico beamed at the camp director. “Thanks, Mr. D”
As Nico left the Big house, Mr. D lazily nodded in response with a detached expression—seemingly indifferent—but Nico knew he was always glad to help.