Nico and Will - Beginning at the Infirmary [Solangelo fanfic]

A Quiet Meal

Nico could hear his pulse in his fingers as he and Will walked to the Dining Pavilion. Will had shimmied up to Nico's side so that a mere two inch distance separated their shoulders. The heat radiating off Will's body sent a shiver down Nico's spine. Nico sped up to put more space between him and Will, but Will merely quickened his stride. 

What the hell is Solace playing at?  Nico thought. 

Will merely wore a sunny grin as he turned to face Nico. "We could use your hands in Cabin 7 more often, you know," he remarked. "You cut nice bandages, Death Boy."

Nico's heart fluttered in his chest for a moment, but he immediately gritted his teeth and forced his insides to go still. "Whatever, Solace," Nico replied.

Nico and Will walked side by side in silence for a few seconds; then, Nico suddenly straightened his back as if recalling something. "Don't call me Death Boy," he hissed.

Will smirked and walked over to the Apollo table once they'd arrived at the Pavilion. Relieved to be alone again, Nico darted to the Hades corner. However, rather than the comfort of solitude, he was met with a muscular frame with neatly trimmed white-blond hair. Nico grimaced. He was so done with blonde boys for the day. 

"Hey, Nico!" Jason greeted brightly. "Since I'm the only one at the Zeus table and Hazel just left, I figured maybe we could sit together for dinner today." Jason ruffled Nico's dark, tangled hair and grinned. 

Inching away from Jason, Nico scowled. "Well, I guess you figured wrong. It's better if I sit alone. You probably don't want to be seen hanging out with me of all people anyway. Plus, everyone sits at their cabin table."

Jason frowned. "Why wouldn't I want to hang out with you? We're friends." Jason pronounced friends with a smile that made Nico squirm. 

Jason looked over to the Poseidon table, where Annabeth sat at Percy's side, her legs stretched out over his lap. She read a thick leather book between bites of a sandwich as Percy sipped a glass of blue Diet Coke by her side. "Besides, Percy and Annabeth sit at the same table, so why can't we?" he justified. 

"They're them," Nico grumbled. "It's different. You know that. Plus, I'd rather be alone right now."

Jason's brow furrowed with concern. He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but Nico glared at him with as much venom as he could muster. Reluctantly, Jason relented and picked up his plate of food and goblet before heading back to the Cabin 1 table. 

Nico sighed in relief and began picking at a pomegranate. I'm doing Jason a favor, he thought. He doesn't actually want to be my friend. He just feels bad after what happened with Cupid. However, as he watched Jason walk away, he couldn't help but feel the air around him get colder. 

Nico turned to look at the Cabin 7 table. After weaving through a row of smiles, he fixed his gaze on a mop of golden blond hair. Will's eyes twinkled as his slender fingers lifted a glass of lemonade to his carnation-colored lips. His slim wrist bore a leather bracelet, braided with two ivory bands and one black one. Will flashed a pearl-white smile as he laughed at something his brother said, amicably nudging him with his shoulder. Will's eyes gleamed as they began to search the rest of the Pavilion. 

Nico quickly turned to avert his gaze. He felt his ears go red but hoped that wouldn't be visible from so far away. He thought of Percy and Annabeth and Will and his brother. Everyone had someone. As Nico broke off another piece of the pomegranate from his plate, his heart twinged with a sense of longing.