Shelter (Solangelo)

Chapter 8

At breakfast, Nico scoops a spoonful of his oatmeal and tosses it and an apple slice into the brazier as a tribute to his father. Then he tucks in at the table he shares with Jason and sometimes, Percy. His spoon scrapes the bottom of his bowl before he knows it, his stomach growling for more. He can't quite keep from smiling into the empty bowl as he reaches for his sliced apple. If anything, Will's got the gift of getting him to eat.

"Hey, man," Jason says, taking the seat across from Nico. He's frowning, and his forehead wrinkles in the middle. Jason's expression, with the addition of his glasses, makes Nico think of a scientist puzzling over an unexpected turn in an experiment.

"What's up, Grace?" Nico asks, he peels the skin off his apple slice with his teeth, then bites it in half.

Jason studies his hands, clasped in front of him on the tabletop, then looks up at Nico from under shadowed brows. "When were you going to tell me about Will Solace? Are we friends or not?"

Nico pauses, then pops the other half of the apple slice into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. He clears his throat. "What do you mean?" He's not sure why Jason is acting so butt hurt. It's not his business who Nico's interested in, not really, but Nico's gut twinges uncomfortably all the same.

"Nico," Jason says, lowering his voice and leaning in closer. "He's sleeping in your bed with you, and you're going to deny it?"

Nico sets down the piece of apple that was halfway to his mouth. He frowns, then hisses. "Now you're coming into my cabin while I'm sleeping? That's not cool."

Jason has the decency to attempt to look ashamed, but it doesn't stop him from pushing. "Look, Nico. Just be careful, okay? You're fourteen …"

Nico narrows his eyes and folds his arms across his chest. "I'm older than I look and you know it. You have no say in what I choose to do with my life."

"Alright, fine then," Jason hisses back. "He's fourteen then. Just because he's built doesn't change that fact."

Nico's retort dies on his lips. Damn. His mind whirls. Had he coerced Will earlier? He's not sure. He remembers asking him to say if he wanted to stop, and Will had said, 'don't stop', but … not before Nico worked him up and … His brain hurts. It wasn't planned, wasn't really his fault. He keeps his face neutral, but inside he's cringing.

Nico pushes the rest of his apple away. He's not hungry anymore.

"Hey, I don't mean to put you off your food. You're a good guy. I just don't want to see either of you getting in too deep, you know?"

Nico swallows. He's already in too deep. That's how he rolls, deep. Considering the life expectancy of most demigods outside of camp, hell, lately even inside camp, Nico's fine with getting down and dirty a bit. But damn it if Grace doesn't make a good point. Yeah, he's got to have the dreaded talk with Will sooner than later, now with added baggage. Nico's always been ace at digging his own grave. If he avoids talking to Will about Bryce and the darkness inside himself, he'll be a fraud. Maybe he's already crossed that line.

"I know," Nico says, his voice dull.

"I'm not going to tell anybody, but really, you need to soon," Jason says. He is lecturing, but at least he's not angry or acting disgusted about it. "This isn't the sort of thing you can keep quiet at camp."

Nico stares at the long shadow the table makes on the ground, longing to jump into it. But he's done running.

~*~

It's not until campfire that Nico finds a chance to pull Will aside. Nico had spent most of the day arguing with the Hephaestus campers about their resistance to burning Leo's shroud. He thinks the compromise they've struck is honorable. Leo always did do things differently.