3 Days

1

Nico walked back to Will. Will was right where he'd left him, sipping his coffee in his army-green Yeti tumbler.

"Everything ok?" he asked between sips.

"Yeah, fine. They're off to Camp Jupiter to start college next year."

"Sweet," Will said. "Good for Percy and Annabeth." He took another sip. "Now, let's get you to the infirmary. Do you have anything more comfortable to wear? Nico, did you sleep in those clothes?!"

Will had just noticed Nico's bomber jacket, black T-shirt and black jeans looked like they hadn't seen a washing machine in weeks. "No, wait. Don't worry, I'll be right back." Will held up one finger and then quickly turned in a semi-circle and headed back into the Apollo cabin.

Nico was left standing in the sunshine. He had a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach that felt like it was radiating outward through his body. The skeletal butterflies were back, like someone had disturbed their peaceful slumber and they had all flown up into the air at once.

Will was back in a flash holding a T-shirt with what looked to be a skier doing a jump on the front and some green sweatpants that matched his Yeti tumbler.

"You can chill in these, but let's stop by the dining pavilion and grab you some breakfast."

The two walked in the morning sun. When they reached the pavilion, Will grabbed two bananas from the fruit bowl and tossed one to Nico. They peeled down the tops and started eating on their way to the infirmary.

"You can shower while I check in on our battle patients," Will said between bites. "Find me after and I'll get you settled into a nice spot where you can rest."

The infirmary shower was nothing special, and Nico was clean and in Will's clothes in no time. Man, they smelled so good. Like Will. Nico felt cozy, and what was this other feeling? Cared for? Protected? It had been so long since someone had looked after Nico. After his sister Bianca died, he had not let anyone get close to him. He was a child of Hades, who could want to be close to someone who's father ruled the Underworld? People tended to run away from death, not toward it. He knew his father cared for him, but as a god, he had never been involved in Nico's life in a personal way.

Will glanced up just as Nico was coming out of the bathroom toweling off his wet tousled hair and in his borrowed clothes. The two locked eyes and the world seemed to stop for a moment. Nico took some shallow breaths and felt his heart pounding in his chest. "Bed?" Nico managed to get out, then embarrassed, with his cheeks turning the color of the ripe berries in the strawberry fields, squeaked, "rest?"

Will's head shook briefly, like he was coming back from someplace far away, and then he blinked a few times.

"Right this way." Will got up and led Nico to the far end of the infirmary. Will pulled back a curtain, and there was a bed with a little nightstand beside it with a lamp, the nightstand between the bed and the infirmary's East wall. "This is where we crash when we're working around the clock. You need it more than any of us, climb in and I'll grab an extra blanket."

Nico got in, and thought it was the most comfortable bed he had been in in a long time. He had been on the road for what felt like eons with Reyna and Coach Hedge bringing the 40-foot tall Athena Parthenos to Camp Halfblood. The only way to get all four of them from Greece to New York without getting obliterated by monsters was through shadow travel, which depleted him of energy. Each time he had shadow traveled, he felt more and more like he was disappearing. By the end of the trip he would be knocked out for days at a time and not even Reyna or Coach Hedge could wake him. Even now, his hands and arms were slightly transparent, like he was fading away.

Will came back and shook the extra blanket so it covered Nico completely. Surprisingly, it was warm. Nico wasn't sure how they were able to heat blankets in the infirmary, but it felt amazing. He had almost drifted to sleep, but whispered softly, "thank you." Will leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Not feverish, which is a plus," he said. Then he pressed his index finger to Nico's mouth when Nico opened his mouth to complain. "You sleep." He turned around, closed the curtain behind him, and Nico drifted off to sleep.