Healing

CHAPTER 2: THE STORY BEGINS

As Nico walked back towards Will, the skeletal butterflies were back in his stomach- 'three days. Infirmary. He'll take care of me. We probably won't be surrounded by many people. And oh Gods! What am I even wearing! This torn-up floral t-shirt! I don't even own anything else! Oh gods, what a disaster!' he groaned inwardly. He even thought of running away, but he knew that wouldn't do him any good.

'You look too pale. And too sickly. Go and get yourself settled in one of the beds with the help of the other healers. I'll be with you in a minute.' Will said when Nico was within earshot and rushed off towards his cabin that was shining as bright as his father's chariot.

'Seriously?' Nico thought to himself. 'He just went off like that? No asking what all that was about, not caring what all that was about. Huh.'

He went to the infirmary, did as Will had instructed and waited for him, lying there.

When Will got there, he said something to a healer Nico hadn't seen before. He must've arrived to camp recently and looked about ready to crap his pants. Then Nico saw what Will had gone to his cabin for- a silver thermos flask. Nico remembered seeing that flask on his last visit to the infirmary, but couldn't remember what was in it or why would Will need it.

Will set the flask down on the little dresser beside Nico's bed and then said, 'Ok, first of all, you need to get that shirt off. I thought you would've changed it, but you seem to like it- though I can't imagine why. It's hideous and you seem to lean towards dark colours. Mostly black.' Will said in a slight joking tone, but you couldn't miss the concentration and determination in his eyes. Nico felt too dazed in his presence to do anything but ogle at him like an idiot. He was also quite dazed in general because of everything that had been happening, him not getting any sleep, praying for the first time, winning the war, saving the world, coming out, all of that. So naturally, Will tore the shirt that was coming apart already off him and then came his turn ogle. Not in amazement though. Nico felt as if his mind had been taken out and left open for everyone to see and judge and unravel. Will was staring open-mouthed at his bare, ghost-pale chest that allowed him to see the bones of his ribcage quite clearly. He was too thin and sickly and his fingers were bony. But Nico suspected the real reason was that he was still covered in the werewolf claw-marks that had stubbornly refused to heal. Reyna had tried about everything- from mortal healing to demigod healing to nature spirit magic (with coach Hedge's help.) In the moment of haste, they had had to just stitch them up for a time being, but Nico really hadn't been able figure out by whom and how and when to get them checked. And in order to hide those stitches; he didn't get his battle wounds checked too. So his skin was littered with cuts small and large and shallow and deep. Luckily he had at least cleaned the wounds and used some basic first aid on the small cuts.

The last time Will had checked him up during the battle, it had just been about his consciousness and it focused on not letting him slip away into the shadows or slipping into a coma or whatever. Since there had been a lot on each healer's plate right then, Will had just patched him up so he wouldn't die at any unpredictable moment. (Though why he had bothered, Nico still didn't know. Who would even care if he did slip away? Hazel would, but she had Frank and people from both camps that would help her and comfort her. She would forget about him soon enough. He was probably a burden on her.)

Anyway, that had been the whole point of bringing him into the infirmary now, really. Or was it because maybe he liked him and wanted to spent time with him? No! What was he even thinking? Why would Will Solace like a brooding, useless, sad old lump like himself? Oh and not to mention, his chest was almost translucent.

Will started muttering furiously and fidgeting with things that Nico didn't know shit about and poured a great amount of liquid from the flask into a tumbler and shoved it in his hands. Nico looked into the tumbler and realised the stuff moonwater. Will was about to give him some ambrosia when he saw Nico hadn't downed the moonwater and told him to do so. Nico gulped it down and awkwardly took the ambrosia from him and felt it melt in his mouth, and he could taste that meal that Hestia had provided Nico and Percy with.

Most demigods tasted the food that reminded them of home, happiness and/ or peace when they took ambrosia and nectar, but Nico had never been most demigods. He didn't get any taste before the Titan war, but since that meal, he was always reminded of that day whenever he used ambrosia. He used to hate it and hence tried to avoid using it, but now that he had confessed to Percy, he welcomed the warmth and burst of flavour in his mouth. That day had never exactly been a happy memory or didn't even remind him of happiness, but he had felt safe for the first time in a long while, even if it was only for a thin sliver of time. And then there had been Percy with him. He felt like he had made real progress with him that day. He didn't know what progress and how exactly, but he felt like he had.