Gods of Olympus, he was cute.
But they were total opposites. No one would suspect that Will Solace, a son of the sun god, would fall for the son of Hades. Even their appearances couldn't be more different: Will had golden blonde hair, blue eyes, and tan skin while Nico hair a scalp full of black hair, dark eyes, a scowl, and deathly pale skin.
And he was totally adorable.
As Will walked through the aisles of wounded demigods, he silently replayed his conversation with Nico. So far, his only indication that he liked him was his irregular heartbeat when he held his hand.
Nico was so hard to read. Even before the last quest, Will was attracted to Nico. He never found the courage to talk to him, though, except for a few times during dinner. Those conversations usually sounded like this:
Will: "Hey, Nico. Can you pass the salt?"
Nico: "I don't have the salt."
Will: "Oh. Thanks."
That was the extent of their relationship. He always secluded himself from the camp, and it was hard to get close to him. It was even harder when other campers whispered about how odd and creepy he was. Will's only revelation was when Nico was briefly celebrated for his heroism in a recent quest. Then, Will was just another face that congratulated him. Will must have told him congratulations a dozen times. It was a start, anyway.
Thank the gods for their teamwork on the field when they were fighting Gaea. Nico finally realized Will existed, and he was open to staying in the infirmary with him!
Well, okay, it wasn't exactly with him, but since Will basically lived here, it was close enough.
Will was sure Nico felt that same spark of electricity when they touched. That had to mean something, right?
"Hey, Solace! Mind lending a hand over here?"
Will looked up to see one of his brothers, Trace, waving him over to one of the beds. He breathed in deeply and said, "Well, duty calls."
As he got closer, he seized up the situation. This demigod was in bad shape. She couldn't have been more than 10. Her left arm was amputated at the elbow, her left eye was bandaged, and gauze covered her body so she looked like a part-time mummy.
"This is Casey," Trace introduced. Casey waggled her fingers in an attempt to wave. Will knelt down by her bedside and spoke softly.
"Hi, Casey. I'm Will. How are you feeling?"
She winced. "I'm better than before. But everything hurts. Even..." Her eyes trailed down to her missing arm and sighed.
Will nodded sympathetically. "Phantom limb syndrome is common in amputees. It will pass soon enough," he promised.
Phantom limb syndrome... Wow. Even that reminded Will of Nico. That Death Boy better be sleeping...
Will closed his eyes to refocus on the situation at hand. "So, Miss Casey, what can your favorite healer do for you today?"
Casey mustered a small smile and opened her mouth to speak.
"We need to change the gauze on her eye and reexamine it," Trace spoke for her.
Will breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully, this would go by quickly and he could return back to Nico. There were still some things he wanted to talk to him about.
Ok, so it was a sloppy job. But her eye was healing great and the gauze... well... it was gauze-y. She wouldn't win a beauty contest with it and he certainly wouldn't get an award for "Best Looking Gauze Applied to Demigod Face," but she was done.
Will flashed the patient a perfectly-white smile. "You're healing wonderfully. You should leave here in a week or so!"
Will faintly heard a thank-you from Casey as he whirled away. He couldn't seem to walk fast enough to reach Nico. Unfortunately, several of his siblings called him aside on his way to Nico's corner. He was constantly needed for every kind of healing job. Most were easy, but before he knew it, it was dinner time. Demigods filed out and ran towards food and more demigods took their place for their shift. Some, like Will, were too powerful and needed to stay all day. But today, Will desperately wanted to sit with Nico at dinner.
He finally reached Nico without interruption. Sliding the curtain aside, he was greeted by a snoring Nico. He had a tiny, quiet snore, so it was kind of adorable. When he was asleep, it was like all the demons that ate at him were gone. His face no longer scowled. He looked completely at peace.
"What an angel," Will breathed quietly.
Even though it had only been a few hours of sleep for Nico, Will knew that his sleeping schedule needed more regular and monitored hours. Plus, the kid needed food. He was scary thin, though Will suspected this was the best he had looked in months. His face was still sunken. Definitely malnourished.
Luckily, Will knew of a handsome, blonde headed son of Apollo that could heal him.
Even from here, Will could sense Nico's essence strengthening. The kid was stubborn, but it seemed like he had kept his promise to stop doing Underworld-y stuff. Will felt a rush of pride and giddiness that Nico cared enough to follow his directions.
Will suddenly became aware of how long he had been watching Nico sleep. Blushing, Will pulled up a chair and pushed it close to Nico. He sat down and gently nudged Nico.
"Hey," he said. "di Angelo. Wakey wakey! It's food time."
Nothing.
Will cleared his throat. "Nico! It's time to wake up. Come out from dream world."
More snoring.
Well, if he had to do it, he had to do it.
Will let out a ear-piercing whistle, his signature sound. Nico's eyes flew open in panic. His black stygian sword appeared in his hand as he hopped off the bed quicker than what should be humanly possible.
And the sword was pointed right at Will's neck.
