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That's it, today's the day. Will decided, leaning against the wall as he watched the patient he'd just released from a two day stay leave, their girlfriend meeting them at them door with a smile on her face before giving them a hug.
Apollo, give me strength. Will hummed to himself, walking out of the infirmary as if it was a normal day. It was not—it shouldn't be, after this act of his.
"Finally coming out of your infirmary-shell, Will?" Kayla asked, walking up to him as he left the infirmary building right next to the Apollo cabin.
"Hm," He replied, holding back a smirk. "Seen di Angelo?"
Kayla pinched the bridge of her nose. "He's fine, Solace. I don't think he's injured, and I'm 90-percent sure he ate some breakfast—make that 80- no, 65, final offer."
"I'll take it." Will said, glancing around. "Where's everyone? Usually they're all enjoying a break before lunch."
Kayla shrugged. "Clarisse and Nico are duelin- William Solace!" She began jogged at Will's heel as he went towards the arena without a further word. When they reached it, it seemed the battle had just ended moments before because Clarisse was being pulled up by Nico, them both shaking hands in good sport and nodding to the other.
"Good technique on that move, just don't leave your ribs open next time." Will heard Nico say to the other.
"Not to bad yourself, runt. Pick up your leg on that spin though, if you weren’t in the arena you’d trip." She replied.
With each finishing their words to the other to improve on, Will saw Nico walk away with a small cut on his hand, a few droplets of blood falling to the ground.
"Di Angelo!" Will called, waving down the son of Hades.
He rolled his eyes, but moved towards the healer regardless. "Solace?"
"Your hand is bleeding. Infirmary." He said, pretending to look busy waving down Clarisse to check for injuries.
"Ughh," Nico groaned, "I'm not even hurt. Just give me a piece of ambrosia if you must." He said with an unimpressed expression.
"Infirmary." Will repeated, doing a once over of Clarisse and seeing a minor cut on her cheek, a few bruised spots, and a very small gash in her arm. He passed a square in a baggie of ambrosia to her and walked out, Kayla still hot on his heel.
"Favoritism at its finest." Kayla smirked knowingly, darting her eyes between Will and the place Nico was a minute before in suggestion.
Will shrugged, making his trek back towards the building he spent most of his time at. Arriving back, he saw Nico sitting obediently but begrudgingly on a cot in the corner. He closest to the shadows, arms crossed.
Will walked over to his cabinet and pulled out a small black bandaid (he totally ordered them just for Nico) and walking back to the boy. He placed it on carefully, avoiding the unwavering gaze of his brown eyes, and brought the back of his palm up to his lips.
Placing a gentle, quick kiss on the skin, he retracted it and gave him a tiny vile of nectar—no larger than a small swallow—and clasped his hands with finality, ignoring his surprising actions. "All spruced up, di Angelo."
The boys face was noticeably red, but he did a decent enough job hiding it with throwing his hair in front of his facing and hanging his head slightly. He stood up and went back into the shadows from whence he came, not another word before his disappearance. Will smiled.
Stage 1: Complete.
***
"Piper, bring Nico here for me?" Will asked the daughter of Aphrodite, snagging her before she left the room after her wound had been healed.
She shrugged, replying "Sure." before leaving to do as asked.
As promised, about five minutes later another annoyed figure stepped through the shadows. "You called, Solace?"
Will nodded. "Wanted to see how that cut was healing." He smiled, gesturing to an open cot in the center of the room. He passed a bottle of water to Nico, knowing he probably hadn't drank anything all day.
"The Hades?" He asked in response, scrunching his eyebrows with a sneer but doing as asked. He took a sip of water, probably guessing what he thought Will already knew.
The blond grinned, knowing what Nico was likely thinking: The fuck? It’s a scratch.
Will took the hand, looking it up and down and gently tracing the lines in his palm as he touched at the cuticles precariously, finally landing on the spot where the black bandaid still lay. He ripped it off, earning a near unnoticeable intake of breath from the other at the unexpected movement.
"Sorry, sorry." He apologized. "It's all healed up." He turned the boy's hand over, half leaning down half bringing the arm to meet his lips again, the unexpectedly rough palms from sword fighting oddly comforting against his lips.
He brought them both apart again, and there was no hiding the blush Nico sported this time.
"All healed." Will repeated, leaning casually with his arms supporting him on the cot across from him. Nico shook his head slightly, standing up and shadow traveling out again without a word.
Stage 2: Complete.
***
"Heyyy Neeks!" Will called to the boy in the black t-shirt that was walking by the infirmary, hands casually in his pockets as he looked around the camp.
The contented expression on his face swapped with an indifferent one in a snap. "What?"
"Have you finished breakfast?" He asked.
"No." He replied.
Will raised an eyebrow at him.
"And?" Nico questioned, raising one back.
"And? You need to eat breakfast." Will stated, leaning against the door frame he was standing in. He totally hadn't been sitting behind it, waiting for a certain boy to walk by.
Nico grumbled, probably something in Italian. "Don't call me 'Neeks', what kind of name even is that."
Will shrugged, a smile on the corner of his lips. "Did you drink anything yesterday."
"I drank... something." His hand left his pocket, running it through his hair like he did when he lied, or was extending the truth.
"And how much, and what was, that 'something'?"
It was Nico's turn to smile slightly. "Like, two sips of water at dinner. It was actually the water I took when you insisted on giving me a checkup yesterday."
Will snorted humorously. "It was actually only one. You left it there afterwards, too."
Nico hummed in response. "Anything else, Solace?"
Will thought for a moment, wondering how he would pull off his daily task. It came to him suddenly when he saw Nico still tugging gently at his hair.
"Overworking yourself? Getting at least 6 hours of sleep?" Will asked, smirking when Nico did exactly what Will thought he would.
His long, pale fingers went to work at a small knot on the back of his slightly curly black hair, long overdue for a cut(he wouldn't let the Aphrodite kids touch it). "Uh- we'll say that. Yes."
"Yes to overworking yourself?" Will inspected his nails casually, looking at Nico out of the corner of his eyes as he fumbled.
"No! No to that one—yes to the second one- one-hour-usually-twenty-minutes of sleep and all-"
Will sighed dramatically. He did his best not to smile as he walked over to Nico as he planned to, taking the piece of hair and untangling it for him as he'd been struggling to do. Will being at least six inches—probably only three or four considering the boots Nico had on—taller than him helped tons.
Working gently at it, Nico seeming to shrink as he played at a cuticle on his nail. Finally parting it until the curl was loose and smooth again, Will able to run his fingers easily through it, he placed a whisper of a kiss on the back of his hair.
Nico took a half step forward, one hand a fist over his chest and the other where Will's lips had just been, and faced him. A blush was on his face, his eyes switching between blinking rapidly in confusion and unblinking. His eyes darted all around Will's face, occasionally fleeting up and down his body but not lingering anywhere beside his eyes.
Just as planned.
Stage 3: Complete.
***
Will walked over to the Hades table at lunch. "Di Angelo, you're being summoned to the infirmary at the end of this meal." Will said.
Nico blinked slowly at him, zero emotion except for boredom in his eyes. "Why." He said as a statement, not a question.
"Checkup." He replied simply, a smile on his face.
"I just had one yesterday." He deadpanned.
"No, I was making sure you were eating and such—and the day before was for the one injury. Full checkup today."
"I literally just got one like, two months ago. The others get one every four months, why in Hades am I getting one again?"
"Big 3 kids get them more often."
"Percy has one every eight months."
"I gave Hazel two within three months."
"Well yeah, one was cause she ran into a pack of hellhounds, and the other was because she had led poison. I have neither."
"Infirmary after lunch, di Angelo." He interrupted before Nico could even speak, "Head doctor's and head of Apollo's orders."
After lunch, Will was sitting with a medical book in his hand when a scowling, slightly emo boy with black nail polish—set semi-permanently on his fingers after a prank orchestrated by the Stolls and the Aphrodite cabin together—marched into the crème walled infirmary. "Why should I possibly be here, doctor?"
"I want to confirm you are in amply good health condition, di Angelo." Will smoothly recited his memorized lines. He gestured exaggeratedly to an open cot.
"Oh my gods..." Nico rubbed his temple, tramping over to the white sheets. He plopped down, taking off his extra black Camp Half-Blood shirt which was lain over a gray t-shirt. "We could have just done this yesterday..."
Despite Nico’s words, there was no signs of aggression in his posture, nor any undertones of true malice in his voice. He saw how Nico’s eyes were not dull as they sometimes were, and how he’d still listen to Will even if he bickered and complained.
Will did a simple checkup, using a light on his eyes and peering into his mouth and ears quickly before doing a few taps on his knees and elbows, and making sure some older wounds were still healed properly.
The last one was a thing but deep gash on his forehead that he'd glued shut a while ago. He lifted the boy's black mass of hair and inspected it, declaring it healing fine.
He placed a small, whisper of a kiss on his forehead in the center, hand holding the bottom of his chin gently.
"I-" Nico tried to say, but his jaw was slack for just a few moments before Will ushered him out of the door.
"All good, see me again—whenever I decide you need another one." He smiled widely, shoving the son of Hades out of the door into the bright midday sun and slamming the door in his face as he attempted to spin around to face him.
Stage 4: Complete.
***
Will wanted to be more discreet, he really did, but he couldn't help himself.
He knew that Nico was outwardly gay—the small rainbow pin that Jason got him still on his aviators jacket, along with his many other pins that he liked to hoard—, but that he still struggled with his sexuality as a Catholic raised child in Fascist, Italy 1920s. Thankfully, Will didn't have that problem. He didn't flaunt it, as Nico didn't, but the wasn't quiet if someone asked as a bi guy.
So, that's how he had rationalized walking up to the son of Hades who was hanging out with Percy, Annabeth, Piper, and Leo.
"Oh, hi Will!" Percy said, waving to him.
Will waved back with a smile, Nico spinning around on his heel to stare at him. Will noticed a blush on the face and did not ignore the way his eyes darting down slightly. They landed on his arms that were exposed outside of his orange Camp Half-Blood tank top, which displayed his titles as head of the Apollo cabin and of the infirmary.
"What's up?" Piper asked, a small knowing smile on her face as she looked between the sunny boy and the dark one. Leo nudged her with his elbow, a not-well-hidden smirk obvious on his face.
"Shit," Annabeth whispered in Ancient Greek, Percy slamming a hand in the air palms exaggeratedly up in a 'pay up' gesture.
"Oh, nothing much." Will said nonchalantly, purposefully not looking at the boy beside him who was blatantly staring at his face now.
Will and the other four just chatted, each very aware of the fact that Nico had not chimed in and was just looking at Will with a slight redness to his face, but they all decided to ignore that fact.
Will glanced down at the watch on his wrist—Leo had made special batteries for everyone, as apparently getting approved for a quest to go out and buy batteries for 100+ kids every month or so was pretty hard—and saw his two hour break Kayla made him take was almost over.
"Ah, I've got to go guys, my break is almost over." The others made joking remarks about the fact that he took a break at all. "Gotta go, bye guys, bye Nico."
Before he lost his nerve, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the far side of Nico's cheek, closer to the ear where he knew Nico would be most comfortable.
Thankfully, his reaction was good in the fact that he just flung a hand up to ghost over the spot, not touching it but hovering over almost in disbelief as his cheeks turned even redder. Piper had a 'told-you-so' look on her face, past the twentieth time reassuring Will that his more-than-platonic feelings were in fact mutual.
"Bye!" He called over his shoulder, the two crackhead boys in the group yelling it back while the girls recited it, but quieter.
He heard Nico whisper a soft but confused "Uh, bye?-" as Will glowed brightly.
Stage 5: Complete.
***
Holy Hades, Holy Hera, Holy Apollo, Holy Ze- actually never mind, not that one.
Will was, safe to say, totally freaking out.
Today as the day he'd worked up to.
Was Nico ready? Would Will be forcing himself on Nico? They were basically opposites except for the fact that they both had dicks and were half gods, but otherwise, they were basically polar opposites! Was Will ready?
Abruptly interrupting him from his thoughts, close to turning back, a certain victim of his mind burst into the Apollo cabin where he was sitting.
"Oh my gods Nico, Apollo might smite you or burn you up if you disrespect him like that by slamming that door again-"
And suddenly he was being dragged by his hand—his hand, not his wrist like usual—by a cool, olive tinted but pale hand(which still had black nail polish). The metal of his skull ring was foreign but not unwelcome as it pressed into the side of his hand.
"So worried about getting smote by a god, he's about to get smote by me..." The boy whispered under his breath, but Will still heard it faintly with his slightly heightened demigod senses. He pressed his lips together to suppress a smile, but his gut tugged with curiosity at the same time.
Finding a spot just outside of the U shape of cabins, in between a small grove of three trees that had low branches, and a few strawberry bushes poked their way through, showing little brothers of red where they'd soon be ready to harvest, Nico pointed to Will to sit.
He sat.
Sitting criss cross and staring at the gorgeous black haired boy in awe, Nico pinched the bridge of his nose and began pacing, waving wildly in the air.
"What the heck, Solace. What game are you playing? Why have you been—I don't even know—affection? Caring? Being obsessive? Gosh, I sound crazy. But it's true! What is going on? My hair, my forehead, my cheek—oh, gods, my hand—"
Nico sucked in a breath for the first time since his rant began, pausing his pacing for the length of the gasp before continuing.
"The seven and Reyna are all teasing me and have been asking about you—'do you have a secret boyfriend?', 'what's this Solace guy to you?', "son of Apollo, huh?", "head healer to contrast to your recklessness?'—my gods, Leo, why was that the first thing you even said—agh!"
He all of the sudden stopped his pacing, spinning on his heel and closing the two steps of distance between them and slid to his knees, hands grasping at Will's and holding them closely together. His eyes were large and unblinking. He was panting from his mini exercise of his body and lungs. "What are we?"
Oh my gods.
I'm gonna faint.
He saw the golden glow he was cascading around them, and the way it caught in Nico's eyes like golden hour and made them look so warm and welcoming, like he would just jump in and be content with a book and hot chocolate for the rest of his life, so long as he was with them.
Their faces had inched closer together, so close that their noses were only an inch apart. Their gaze continued flickering from the other's eyes to their lips. Nico licked his lips shyly, making Will do the same. Their faces were red.
"Will... what are we?" Nico asked again, softer.
"Well..." Will paused hearing the way Nico's small Italian accent accentuated in the way he said his name, but fluttered his eyes shut as he flattened his forehead against Nico's, tilting his head ever so slightly, opposite of Nico's. "I know I'd like to be more than what we are now..."
Will was expecting to initiate Stage 6. He was wrong.
With sudden confidence, Nico closed the painfully small gap between their lips. It seems that sparks echoed down his body as he gripped Nico's hands tighter, moving with the other boy. The rustling of leaves and the sweet smell of strawberries dimmed in his mind as his thoughts were only of the parts of his and Nico's body where they touched—their hands, their noses, their knees. Their lips.
They parted for air, finding each others eyes which twinkled with new light. Will felt like he had tunnel vision, not focusing on anything other than his—boyfriend...?
"Will... don't tell me we'll go back to just friends—or, more so distant acquaintances—after this." He seemed so hopeful, but so desperate at the same time.
"How about... significant others?" Will smiled slightly, still glowing brightly. Nico chuckled lightly, the small trembling of the dirt nearby(probably bones or a whole skeleton trying to rise) likely a sign of high emotions or heart rate.
Nico covered his face with his hands, "You're so annoying, you and your stupid glowing freckles, stupid blue eyes, stupid warm hands—" Will made his hands grow even warmer at that, cupping Nico's face which was covered by his fingers gently. "—stupid annoying way you say your words, my name... significant annoyance..."
Will grasped Nico in a hug, tackling him and rolling so that they were laying side by side on the soft green grass, a small tangle of arms and legs and slightly too long hair which flopped over Nico's face cutely, a few patches hanging over his eyes, only highlighting his features.
Will couldn't have a more beautiful boyfriend.
Stage 6: Complete.
***
Will and Nico were sitting on top of the infirmary the next day having shadow traveled up there, much to Will's protest. Yet he couldn't complain once they were sitting on the tiled roof with a blanket under them, an assortment of grapes, strawberries, cheeses, crackers and a few meats in a mini charcuterie board beside them. Their shoulders touched, looking over the rest of the camp who did not notice the two.
Nico finally made Will take a full day off of the infirmary, something he hadn't done since he'd passed out for a full 28 hours—which, probably didn't count, as he went straight back to work after his 'day off'—two years ago. Everyone in the Apollo cabin, plus a child of Athena who wanted to help, assured him the camp wouldn't burn if he took a break. Even Chiron relieved him of most of his duties for the day.
So, Nico and Will decided to spend his break together.
Nico had a skeleton sparrow, an owl, and crow perched side by side on the side of the building, sleeping contentedly while the smaller bird nestled next to the large owl, and the crow was leaning on the other side. Will had asked what they meant when they had barged into their little hiding spot the day before, and Nico claimed that the sparrow was for his heritage, the owl for Bianca, and the crow for Nico as he said he had a small sort of connection to them.
Will reached over and pet the sparrow, who had the best relationship to him. The owl was quietly inquisitive, always studying, judging but not maliciously, while the crow just downright stared him down usually. This was the first time he was completely relaxed, sleeping contentedly.
Nico smiled, obviously happy with how Will loved the birds as much as he seemed to.
Will leaned back towards Nico, the slightly younger boy resuming his stance of his head resting on his shoulder, and Will rested his head on the other's soft and fluffy hair. Will convinced Nico to let the Aphrodite cabin to do a full wash, brush, and trim of it.
"Grazie, tesero." Nico mumbled quietly, the small smile to his voice not lost.
Will reached his hand forward to grab Nico's lightly, brushing his thumb on the back of it.
He parted their bodies from each other and turned slightly, bringing the slightly smaller hand up to his lips where he softly kissed it in the way he saw Nico loved, getting good results as his face reddened slightly and his hand went up to push some hair behind his ear.
To Hades with it, I’ll make a Stage 7.
He cupped Nico's face with his hands, leaning forward again as if he were going to kiss him, but instead making a detour for his nose, planting a kiss there before pulling back and smiling dorkishly at Nico. Nico covered his face with his hands again as he did when he was embarrassed or flustered, but peeked through his fingers cheekily.
"You want to kill me..." He mumbled, muffled slightly from his hands but still intelligible. And so was his accent which poked prominently through.
Will ruffled Nico's hair with a free hand. "My favorite little emo boyfriend." He smiled widely.
"Does that mean you have more than one?" Nico pouted, cross his arms and popping a grape into his mouth.
Will shook his head, glowing some. "Of course not. You are my one and only."