The Glory That Is Rome (a Percy Jackson AU)

Will's Willingness

    Will was not surprised that Nico needed his help again. In the past week, he had been called to Hades's house thrice to check on Persephone. The last time he had examined her, he had pronounced her recovered. He told her that there might be a scar, but she had been lucky to avoid the worst of the chariot's impact.

     This time, when Will arrived at Hades's villa, he was directed by a slave to an unfamiliar room. As he was led into the room, Will admired the tapestries and the small shrine dedicated to Pluto. Nico was reclining on a sofa. He didn't look sick. His skin was pale, but it always was and his dark eyes and hair gleamed as he saw Will approach him.

    "Thanks, you can leave, Thanatos," Nico told the slave.

    The slave bowed and left. 

   "What's bothering you, Nico?" Will asked.

   "Sit down," Nico said, patting a spot beside him on the sofa.

    Will obliged, wondering why the handsome man was acting so strangely. He had never been in a room alone with Nico before.

  "Thank you," Nico said.  

   "For what?" Will asked.

    "For saving my stepmother," Nico said. "You made me realize my faults. I should have not been so inclined to dislike her."

    "It's my job," Will said. "I would save even Caligula if I could."

    "You have the spirit of Empanda," Nico said, referring to the goddess of charity.

     "No I don't," Will laughed. "I make mistakes just like others."

      He stood up.

    "Don't leave," Nico said sharply before coloring and adding, "I didn't just call you over to thank you. I need help."

     "Are you ailing?" Will asked, wondering if he was suffering from melancholia. "What are your symptoms?"

    "I don't have an appetite," Nico said. "I have had a diminished appetite after my mother and Bianca died, but now I have none at all. I feel restless and I find myself occupied with thoughts that I cannot control. Can you help me?"

    "Your symptoms sound either like melancholia," Will told him. "Or perhaps. . ."

   "Perhaps what?" Nico asked.

   "Perhaps you are infatuated," Will said hesitantly. "I cannot aid in matters of the heart. You'll need to pray to Venus for that, but if you have melancholia — though that usually makes you tired instead of energized — then I would suggest gentle exercises, fine wine, massages, and baths."

     "Thank you,"  Nico said in a voice softer than Will had ever heard him use.

   As he walked back to him home, Will thought of the tender expression on Nico's face. Could it be? — no Nico could not be a Ganymede. He probably thought he was in love with a pretty lupa like all the young men of Rome thought. 

    Will was glad that his job kept him busy. It gave him an excuse for not having a wife, though it meant he had to pay heavier taxes. Still, the greatest tax of all would be stuck in a loveless marriage. Will knew he would treat a woman well if she was his wife, but he also knew that he could never love her as more than a friend. So he remained single not only for himself, but to prevent harm to another.