Could you do Solangelo cuddling (Fluff), but one of them has really weird mid-night thoughts?
A/N: This has been done forever ago, idk why I didn’t post it, my bad (^_^; )
Read on AO3 or FF.Net
“Ugh, I’m tired.”
“That’s why we’re going to sleep, Ghosty.”
Nico hummed noncommittally as he flopped down onto his bed. It was late, nearly midnight, and he was more than ready to be dead to the world. They had had a busy day of classes, training (for Nico), working (for Will), and dealing with the general chaos that came with living at Camp Half-Blood.
Will’s siblings let the head counselor sneak off to the Hades cabin for the night. While they all teased their older brother about having a “fun night,” they all really just wanted him to get a good night’s sleep, and cuddling with his boyfriend almost always did the trick.
After doing the minimal to get ready for bed, the boys hit the lights and shuffled beneath the covers. Immediately, their hands found each other, and they tangled their limbs together. It was easy, a comfortable routine they developed over the course of their relationship. They were hardly cuddly in public, so their private time together had to make up for that. And it was really just that—cuddling and sleeping together—and nothing more.
“Good night, Neeks.”
“Good night, Sunshine.”
Will shifted onto his back, giving Nico the space to move even closer so that his head rested on the blonde’s chest.
It was nice and cozy. Perfect for sleeping.
And yet.
Will laid there for a solid fifteen minutes, not thinking anything in particular as he stared off into the darkness. He tried not to shift restlessly so as not to disturb his boyfriend, but that just made him stiff and less than comfortable.
He tried to focus on Nico’s breathing for the next fifteen minutes. The boy’s breaths had evened out, but Will had a feeling that he wasn’t quite asleep yet either.
Why couldn’t he sleep? Was something bothering him? Normally, he’d have his to do list for the next day on his mind. When that kept him up, he simply got up, wrote it down, then climbed back in bed and was out like a light. But that’s not what was happening now. He squared away his to do list earlier, on a small note that sat on his desk in the infirmary.
What was on the list? Maybe if Will recounted it to himself, he’d fall asleep out of boredom.
Cut bandages. Well, that was a daily task, but sometimes it was nice just to check it off at the end of the day.
Check inventory. A weekly task, but sometimes Will would compulsively check it, just in case, or when there was nothing else to do.
Practice nutrition plans. Since the son of Apollo hoped to be a real doctor someday, he’d been exploring different medical fields to see how he liked them. He was currently exploring the nutritionist route, which could help as a family physician or pediatrician anyway. He would ask the Demeter kids about different vegetables, herbs, grains, all that stuff, and practice writing up specific diets for hypothetical needs. It was kind of interesting so far, but not Will’s favorite.
I wonder what kind of plan a child of Hypnos might need. If you consider the narcolepsy, possible lack of sunlight, there’s bound to be some nutritional deficiency going on, he thought to himself. Hmm, deficiency. De-fi-shi-en-see. That’s how you spell it, right? D-E-F-I—she-en-see—C-I-E—defishy—um where was I? Okay, wait, D-E—honestly, who spelled this word this way? It’s confusing. Why is C-I-E pronounced “she”? What—
“Will,” a stern voice pulled Will from his musings. He turned his head down to see his boyfriend squinting up at him in the dark, his eyes having adjusted long ago. “You’re thinking too loud. You’re practically yelling.”
“Wha—that doesn’t even make sense,” Will responded, his voice sounding loud in the quiet of the cabin.
“It does. It’s loud. You’re loud.” Nico shifted so he was more even with Will and could look him in the eyes properly. “What are you thinking about that’s making your head wrinkle?” He poked Will directly in the forehead to punctuate his point.
Will swatted his hand away. Nico kept looking at him and he sighed. Whatever. “Why are words words?” He looked back up at the ceiling, confusion clear on his face.
Not hearing an immediate response, he turned to see his boyfriend staring at him, his expression a mix of perplexity, incredulity, and amusement. The son of Hades simply raised an eyebrow, apparently not planning on giving Will the answer he so desperately needed.
So, he continued. “You know, like, words. Why are they what they are? Why is the word ‘word’ a word? Why is it spelled like it is? And why does it mean word? Actually, how do you even define ‘word’?” He tapped his chin in thought, once again staring at the ceiling. He saw Nico glance up at the ceiling out of the corner of his eye, probably mocking Will. But the son of Apollo was too preoccupied to comment.
“A word is a word,” Nico replied, like it was that easy.
“You can’t use the word being defined in the definition,” he rolled his eyes, like Nico should’ve obviously thought about this before and know that that’s not an acceptable answer.
Will took a breath to begin another senseless rant about language when his boyfriend cut him off. “Words are words, letters are letters, languages are way they are because people decided that’s how they wanted to communicate. Nothing more to it. Please sleep.” His deadpan words were probably meant to be patronizing or flippant in some way, but Will actually felt like that answered his wonderings quite well.
“Huh,” Will said, mostly to himself. He paused as the words processed in his brain. “That makes sense.”
“Oh my gods,” is all Nico said before he rolled over, his back to Will. “Go to sleep, idiota.”
Will beamed, throwing his arms around the dark-haired boy to hug him from behind. “I’m so lucky my boyfriend is a genius.”
“You’re dumb, now sleep.”
“Okayyy,” Will drew out. But now that his mind was satisfied, he remembered that he had an exhausting day and that he really really wanted to sleep.
He settled in further before whispering a “good night” to the air, the boy next to him already breathing deeply.
Summary: Will might be a lot of things. And among those things, Will would dare to say that he’s a good guy. But when it came to Nico di Angelo, would he ever be good enough, though?
Word count: 3900 words || Rating: Teenage and Up Audiences || Read on AO3
Notes:
1. Based on the song "good guys" by LANY
2. My contribution for @after-everything-pjo-zine project. Check out other fics (each fic is accompanied by great fanart so you just HAVE to check it out) in the zine here.
***
Will might be a lot of things. And among those things, Will would dare to say that he’s a good guy. And he would proudly say that it’s because his family raised him to be one. His Mama made sure that he never forgot to say please, sorry and thank you, and his grandma taught him to respect people. Even though Apollo wasn’t around to be an ideal father as Will was growing up in Tennessee, his grandpa showed him how to be a Southern gentleman.
So yeah, he might come across as a young man who with a sassy attitude. But heck, Will knew that he was a good guy. And he’s proud of that.
But here’s the thing. Here’s a thing about being a good guy. Being a good guy might sound like it’s a good thing to do. But being a good guy also sometimes meant that you’re almost as invisible as a wallflower. Because even though you’re good, there were always be better guys. And one thing that Will learned about being a good guy? Good guys never win.
***
“It’s been almost two weeks, you know,” Will said as he kept his eyes at the monthly medical report that he (pretended) to be reading.
“Two weeks since what?” Kayla asked, but didn't bother to pretend that she's actually interested.
“Since Nico went for that quest, remember? Something about Persephone’s parrot or something?” Will said, still trying to keep his eyes at the notes. Because he knew that Kayla might still see the worry in Will’s eyes. (Sometimes it’s almost scary, how his siblings knew him too well).
“Oh? Really? Has it been two weeks yet?”
“Almost,” Will said, decided to leave the detail that it’s actually has been 11 days and since Nico had left the camp early in the morning and now it was almost dinner, it’s been almost twelve freaking days since Nico left the camp for that stupid quest.
“I mean, of course, it might be nothing but well, I thought it was supposed to be a short, simple quest?” Will continued. “Usually if it’s just this small quest, it never took him this long before. Usually it would just be like, three days, five, at the most, and like, a week if he took a detour to impulsively do something unnecessary, but never this long.”
Will lifted his head and turned to look at Kayla, who didn’t seem to share the same worry as Will. Her eyes were still fixed on the glossy pictures of the magazine that she was looking at. A non-committal hum coming from her was the only sign that she was (kind of) listening.
Will tried to focus on the lines of writing in front of him, but the letters were all jumbled and he couldn’t make himself try to read anything. His mind was too busy thinking about different reasons and scenarios of why Nico wasn’t back yet from the quest.
“Do you think I should ask Chiron about it? Probably he’s heard from Nico, y’know. Like, maybe something came up and I don’t know, maybe Chiron knew or maybe even Rachel got a vision or something, or-“
“Or you could have just contacted me, Solace. Pretty sure that it doesn't hurt to try IM me”
Will stood up and spun to face the direction where the voice was coming from. He did it so fast, he got dizzy because of it. It took him two seconds before his eyes could fully focus on Nico di Angelo, who was staring at him. His face looked nonchalant, but his eyes glinted with amusement.
“Uh, hey,” Will greeted, gripping the desk as he suddenly needed to get a hold of himself. “You’re back.”
Nico gave him a single nod, brushing away some strands of hair from covering his eyes. “Yep. I just got back.” He shrugged his shoulders before continuing. “Thought I’d drop by here before I report to Chiron.”
Will tightened his grip on the desk, trying his best to hold himself from closing the distance between him and Nico just to pull Nico into his arms.
“And uh… What brings you here?”
The emotional part of him wished that he was the reason why Nico came straight to the infirmary after the quest. But the rational part of him shushed him. That damned rational part of him told him that hey, it was him who wanted to see Nico, not the other way around.
Nico kept his eyes at Will and there was something in those dark eyes that Will couldn’t really put his fingers on.
“I thought you wanted me to have a check-up every time I got back from a quest?”
Of course.
Will tried to ease the dull pain in his heart by giving Nico a small smile. “Yeah. Of course. Need to make sure that you won’t fade into the shadows again, huh?” Will let out a nervous chuckle. “I mean, I am your doctor, and a doctor only wants the best for his patients.”
This time Nico stayed silent as he nodded. Will gestured to a nearby cot with his chin.
“Now, if you could just sit down over there, please?”
Still saying nothing, Nico strode to the cot and quickly sat there. Will took a deep breath, mentally telling himself to be professional, and let it out in a long exhale. He made his way to where Nico was waiting for him.
The check-up was a regular one. And there was nothing new about how touching Nico made stupid butterflies do some stupid dancing in his stomach. He ached to ask Nico questions about what happened in the quest and why it took so long. He wanted to know whether Nico ever thought of him while he was on the quest the way Will kept on thinking about him while he was away. He wanted to listen to Nico talk to him, with that slight accent that made his voice so melodious, almost like he was singing.
But it would only scare Nico away.
So he kept his eyes at the board where he jotted down the notes about Nico’s vitals.
“So, uhm… This quest was a bit longer than usual, huh?” Will asked, almost proud of himself that his voice sounded normal.
Nico hummed as he put his jacket back on. “Yeah, we had an unexpected encounter with some empousai. Luckily, David is unexpectedly good at fighting.”
At the mention of the name, Will lifted his head up. “David? You mean the new camper? That Athena kid?”
Nico nodded. “Yeah. For someone who never held a sword before, I have to say that I’m impressed.”
A strange, nauseating heat flared inside Will’s stomach. “Really?”
“Yup. In fact, I promised to give him an extra lesson in sword-fighting tomorrow.”
That strange heat swirled even more inside Will. He stretched his lips into a lame attempt to smile at Nico.
“Oh,” Will said. “Nice.”
“In one way, he strangely reminded me of Percy, you know? The way he held his sword.” And Nico continued talking for a while about that stupid new guy. Will listened, humming every now and then just to show Nico that he’s listening.
Half of his mind wished that the harpies would find that David kid to be a nice target for their dinner. The other half of his mind scowled at him for having that kind of evil wish.
“Okay. Everything looks good. Just make sure that you drink enough water,” Will said as he wrote the date and signed his name on the bottom part of the report.
“So I can go now?”
Will nodded. “Yeah, you’re free to go now,” he answered as he walked back to his desk to put the record in the folder.
“And you’re not even offering to walk me back to my Cabin like a good Southern gentleman?”
Will spun on his heel quickly. He stared at Nico with wide eyes, thinking that he might have been hallucinating.
“What?”
Nico snorted and slid down from the cot. “Never mind. I need to report to Chiron first anyway.”
Will blinked, and it took him a full two seconds before he had his voice again.
“Nico-“
But Nico was already one step away from the door. He stopped and looked at Will over his shoulder. The left tip of his lips curled up, just slightly, forming a ghost of a smile. He gave a two-finger salute to Will.
“I’ll see you around, Solace.”
Not waiting for Will to answer him, Nico stepped away. And just like that, he’s out of sight.
Will stared at the open door. There is this hollowness inside his heart that he couldn't explain. Like he just missed a chance.
He always thought that he’s a good guy. Or at least, he’s trying to.
But would he ever be good enough, though?
***
“What are you doing here?”
Lou Ellen’s voice startled Will.
“Me? Uh…” Will scrambled to pick up the book that he just dropped and showed it to Lou, like he was trying to prove something. “I was reading!”
Lou Ellen stared at him with a glint of amusement in her eyes as she gave Will the Look. The ‘don’t-give-me-bullshit’ Look.
“What, am I not allowed to read in peace?” Will said, a bit defensively.
“Hey, it’s cool dude,” Lou said. “In fact, it was nice to see you somewhere else aside from the infirmary,” she added.
Will relaxed a bit, going back to lean his back on the tree.
“I can see why you choose this spot. It’s much quieter than the infirmary on your busy days,” Lou said.
Will hummed. His eyes flickered to the far left, to the clearing a few yards away, just for a split second before he opened his book.
“And the view from here is also… decent.”
Lou Ellen’s tone made Will quickly look up again at the daughter of Hecate. She’s now grinning at him, like she just figured something out.
“How long have you been spying on those two?” Lou asked, gesturing with her chin to two demigods in the clearing who seemed to just finished sparring.
Will gaped at her. He blinked and quickly shook his head. “What? No! I’ve told you, I was reading here!”
But Lou Ellen didn’t seem to care about Will’s reaction as she waved at the demigods in the clearing.
“Hey, Nico! David!”
Will’s eyes widened in horror this time as he turned his head around, only to see that Nico and the new Athena kid walked towards them.
“Lou!” he hissed in annoyance.
Lou Ellen just gave him a teasing smirk. “What?”
Will groaned and quickly stood up, his book abandoned on the grass as he unconsciously ran a hand over his wild locks.
“Hey,” Nico greeted. “What’s up?”
Nothing’s up aside from his heartbeat, Will would like to answer. But of course, he kept it to himself as he tried his best to school his face into a relaxed, nonchalant, I’m-just-chilling-here expression.
“Nothing much,” Lou Ellen shrugged her shoulders. “You two are sparring together here? Why? Is the arena too mainstream for you?”
The new Athena kid gave a half-smile as he brushed off some hair from covering his eyes. “It was my request, actually,” he said. “I just want to have a...” he waved his right in a vague circular motion, like trying to find the exact word to say. “A more… realistic view when fighting a monster?”
That didn’t really make sense to Will. But it seemed to be an acceptable reason for Lou Ellen as she nodded at him.
“And has Nico been a good teacher for you?” Lou Ellen asked.
Will didn’t miss the way Lou gave him a quick glance.
David’s half-smile turned into a full one. “He is!” He turned his head to Nico and smiled at him, like he was pleased at Nico. “Thanks for teaching me, Nico. You are very good at sword-fighting.”
Nico returned David’s smile with one of his small smiles. A smile that could have filled Will’s chest with warm air. But since he’s not at the receiving end of that smile, it turned Will’s chest into lead instead.
“Anytime. It was a pleasure.”
“You will teach me more, yes? And ah… We also need to talk more. About football.”
This was the first time for Will to really listen to David talking, and he couldn’t help but notice how David’s voice had quite an accent. Especially when he pronounced football, the way he stretched some syllables.
Nico’s face lit up. “Yeah! We should! I know that Cecil played football! Right?” His eyes darted from Will to Lou Ellen, like asking for confirmation.
“Cecil? He does. I can take you to talk to him. Come on,” Lou Ellen quickly pulled the sleeve of David’s shirt and led him away from the other two demigods.
Will watched the backs of Lou Ellen and David who were walking away from them. He could feel nervousness starting to creep in on him as their voices slowly faded away, as he realized that he’s now alone with Nico.
Not that he hated to be with Nico. It’s just… this wasn’t his plan. He wasn’t prepared. And Will hated it when things didn’t go as he planned. He hated it when he was unprepared.
“David played football,” Nico said just when David and Lou Ellen disappeared from their sight.
Will angled his neck to look at Nico. “And when you said football, did you mean soccer?”
“I mean football,” Nico answered, turning on his heels a little so now he was facing Will. “The real football.”
Will snorted and slid down to sit on the grass. “They’re the same,” he said, leaning his back on the tree.
Nico followed Will, sitting on the grass. “It will always be football for me,” he said. There was a melancholic tone lacing his voice. And it made Will wonder, maybe it’s something that Nico used to play. In the streets in Venice, when he was just a kid who had no idea that Greek gods and goddesses were real.
“We, David and I, we were talking about playing here. I mean, it would be great, you know? David said he played midfield. I’m usually,” Nico paused, but quickly continued. “I mean, I used to play as a striker. If we can connect well, that would be really cool.”
Will closed his eyes while his stomach churned with a strange, unpleasant feeling. So, not only was this David kid good in sword-fighting, he’s good in soccer too?
“Do you play too? I mean, you can be the goal keeper. I guess you would be great. I mean, you’re tall and it would be a great asset for a goalkeeper.”
Will huffed. Stuck between the goalposts while watching Nico and David scoring goals? Yeah. No, thank you.
“We’ll see about that,” Will said, still with his eyes closed.
For a while, none of them said anything. Will opened his eyes when he heard Nico sighed. He turned his head, watching Nico stand up. Nico brushed his pants, and gave Will a small smile.
“I’ll see you around, Solace.”
Will wondered why that smile looked a bit strained, but returned it anyway. “Yeah. I’ll see you around.”
He watched as Nico walked away.
Someone would be a good guy for Nico, he thought. And even though Will was a good guy, maybe he just wasn’t good enough. So of course, someone would be a good guy for Nico. Someone else. Not Will.
***
Will didn’t even know why he was here, standing awkwardly near the table where the food and drinks were.
Oh, yes. Because Cecil and Lou Ellen practically dragged him here, to this stupid Halloween party organized by the Aphrodite Cabin.
It’s not that Will disliked Halloween. And it wasn’t like he hated Halloween parties either. What he didn’t like, was seeing Nico talking with David at the other corner of the room. Just looking at the sight made a strange, nauseating fire flame inside of him.
“Pining over di Angelo again?” Lou Ellen nudged him on his shoulder.
“Yeah. How long are you going to act like this Will? Playing it cool while we all know how you wish you’re the one talking to di Angelo instead of David?” Cecil joined Lou Ellen in interrogating Will.
Will only rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” he mumbled, and took another sip of Coke from his cup. He tried to watch the campers who were dancing in the middle of the floor. Some kids from the Hermes cabin somehow got a hold of speakers. And of course, with a little help from the Hephaestus kids, the party had a cool sound system that was now playing pop music.
Lou Ellen sighed. Will stole another glance at where Nico was standing. David was leaning a little to whisper something at Nico. The proximity between those two made it a little bit harder for Will to breathe. He wondered what it was that David was telling Nico. But then Nico turned his head to Will. And no matter how cliché it might sound, Will’s heart skipped a beat when their eyes met. Will quickly looked down to the floor.
Next to him, Lou Ellen clicked her tongue.
“You know what? I can’t take this anymore. It’s been MONTHS. This has got to end tonight,” she said. Ignoring Will’s protest, she grabbed Will’s wrist and pulled him along with her, walking towards Nico and David.
A few seconds later, Will was standing with a flustered face in front of Nico and David.
“Hey, Nico, David! You guys enjoying the party?”
David gave that half-smile again. “Ah, yes. The party is nice.” He angled his neck just a bit so now he was looking right at Will. The half-smile subtly transformed into a knowing smirk. “And you? You… You are the healer, yes? Will?”
Will forced himself to smile politely at David. “Yeah. That’s me.”
David gave a single nod. “Nico talked a lot about you. A lot of good things.”
Will blinked. His eyes darted to Nico, but the raven-haired boy looked away from him. Still, his cheeks were a dark shade of red.
“Is that Cecil over there? I think I want to talk to him,” David suddenly said as he pointed at Cecil with his chin. “Lou Ellen? Come with me?”
Lou Ellen grinned as she nodded and made a 90-degree turn on her heels. “Yeah, come on, David. Let's leave these two idiots.”
And just like that, they left Will again, standing awkwardly less than two feet away from Nico.
“Uh… I didn’t expect to see you here,” Will said.
Nico turned his head at Will, an eyebrow slightly raised up. “Oh? I thought you were the one saying that I need to work on my social skill.”
Will gave Nico a small smile. “Yeah. So. Good to see you here, then. I mean, for your social skills and all.”
Nico stared at Will. And there was just something behind those dark eyes. Something that Will couldn’t put into words. Something that made him unable to look away.
“Aren’t you going to ask me to dance, Solace?”
The question got Will off-guard. Of all the questions in the world, it’s probably the most unexpected one.
“Huh?”
Nico held his eyes at Will’s for another second, but then he looked away. “Never mind,” he said, half-mumbling. His cheeks blushed again into dark cherry color.
“But… do you want to, though?”
Nico’s head turned back to Will. “Want to do what?”
“Dance? Do you…want to?”
Nico bit his lower lip and he looked down for a second. When he looked up back at Will, his charcoal eyes were soft.
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“On who’s asking me to.”
Will’s heart started to jump around in his chest.
“What if it’s me asking you?”
The eyes that were staring back at him were now smiling.
“Then I guess, it depends on the song, then.”
Will’s heart was probably doing some crazy somersaults right now, but his lips curled up without him even thinking about it.
“Well, it’s my favorite song that they’re playing right now. I hope it suits you?” he asked, carefully offering his hand.
Nico’s smile was as soft as the look in his eyes. And the moment their fingertips touched, Will’s heart soared high and suddenly his chest was filled with warm, light air.
As Will led Nico to the floor, he thought about how long he has been wanting to do this, to hold Nico’s hand in his.
They swayed along with the music. Nico’s left hand felt perfect in his right hand. Will’s left hand rested on Nico’s hip and Will couldn’t care less about the other people dancing around them.
“Your dancing is better than your singing,” Nico said, a playful smile on his lips.
Will chuckled. “My grandma said a real Southern gentleman must know how to dance. And I remember my Mama dancing with me when I was a kid.”
“Your Mam raised you well, I have to say.”
Will hummed. “I’m a good mama’s boy, I can promise you that.”
“I can see that, Will. Everyone can see that.”
“See what?”
“That you’re a good guy.”
This time Will held his eyes at Nico. “I try to be,” he said. “But… Would I ever be good enough for you?”
Nico huffed. “And you said I was the dense one.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean…” Nico stopped, but his feet kept on moving. He sighed. “Gods, do I really have to spell it out to you?” He asked, sounding exasperated as he looked away from Will.
Hope bloomed inside of Will and he grinned and oh, how he wanted to shout and laugh. He took his hand off Nico’s hip so he could gently cup Nico’s cheek, guiding him to face him back.
“Do you mean you like me?” Will asked.
“Well, do you like me?”
Will chuckled and he could feel a stupid smile creeping in. “Why do you even have to ask?”
Nico shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Because you’re nice to me but you’re also nice to everyone? Because you don’t seem to care even if I talk about someone else? Because you…” Nico stopped again and shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe because I just…don’t know?”
Will squeezed Nico’s hand just a bit tighter. “I was just… I was just afraid that I’m not good enough for you.”
Nico rolled his eyes. But his lips twitched, like he tried to hold back a smile.
“You’re a good guy, Will. You’re a good guy to everyone. But sometimes I hope that you can be my good guy.”
It’s like a thousand birds were singing inside of Will now as he felt like he was floating in this bubble of happiness.
“Then I’ll be yours, Death Boy.”
Will wrapped his arms around Nico, and pulled him into his embrace.
“I’ll be your good guy, then. I’ll be your everything.”
Nico pulled himself a little away from Will. He looked up at Will and the light in his eyes was like the most beautiful star in a dark night.
“Everything?”
“Everything. Anything you need.”
***
Additional Author's Notes:
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :). Reblogs, replies or any other feedbacks are much appreciated. Also please don't forget to check out the zine!!!
The piece I did for @after-everything-pjo-zine to go with @solangelover‘s fic “Nyctophobia”. Be sure to check out more of Rin’s work over on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thwipster808/works
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It’s been a year in the making, and we’re all very proud of the result!
A/N: Haven’t written in FOREVER but this was done a while back for the @after-everything-pjo-zine ! It’s out now, free download! Please check it out and support the other content creators who put a lot of effort into the zine. I had art done for my fic by @kalytera and it is EXCELLENT please check it out!
Read on AO3 or FF.net
Nico sprinted after the monster, directly into the forest.
He had been on border patrol and let the son of Hermes working with him leave early. They hadn’t had any monster activity in months and the kid looked like a zombie. Nico didn’t have too much sympathy for him, though, as he knew Cecil and his siblings were gearing up for some big prank. But still, Nico was more than powerful enough to take on a monster or two on his own. Not that he expected any action.
Of course, he was wrong.
In the darkness of the night, Nico saw something moving in the woods just beyond the border. He knew whatever it was couldn’t actually get in, but it was so close that Nico decided to go ahead and get rid of it. He had been itching for action anyway. The moment he stepped outside the border, the monster shot out of the trees. Luckily, Nico had his guard up and quickly rolled out of the way. The monster slammed into the camp border and whipped back around to Nico.
It was hard to make out what monster Nico was facing, but he didn’t care too much. It just looked like a giant badger of some kind. Not giant as in a Giant giant, but very abnormally large for a badger. Nothing major, Nico had faced down the worst of the worst in his life. This was a plaything in comparison.
“Let’s go, big guy.” Nico readied his sword. The monster lunged again, and this time Nico hoisted his shield to block the teeth, standing his ground. He swung out with his sword and grazed the badger’s cheek, causing it to flinch to the right and back off. Nico used the shadows to hide himself as he circled around the monster’s left side. It swiveled around looking for him, taking a second too long as Nico darted forward and stabbed it in the side. The creature screeched, flailing around and knocking him over with its tail. With a grunt, he fell to the ground, his sword skittering away from him. The monster, however, did not turn back to attack like he expected. It must not have been as invested in the fight as Nico was, because it began running back into the forest where it came from.
“Wha—hey!” Nico was affronted. He wanted that fight, and he was winning.
So here he was, chasing a giant badger in the dark woods. After running for 5 minutes, Nico realized that he had lost the beast. How, honestly, he didn’t know. He must’ve been out of practice. Or maybe the badger burrowed underground. He didn’t know how he’d missed a giant hole in the ground, but either way, he was annoyed.
The next thing he realized was that he was lost. Again, how he could get lost so quickly literally right past the camp border, Nico was at a loss. He was really out of practice.
Nico spun around, trying to see if anything looked familiar. Just trees and darkness. He tried to figure out which way he came from, but he got turned around. The adrenaline from before began to leak out of his body as his situation set in.
Nico was lost. Out in the woods. Outside of camp. In the darkness of night.
Well, okay, Nico tried to reason with himself. No problem, just shadow travel.
Except he hadn’t gotten the clearance from one Doctor Solace yet. But this was a bit of an emergency situation, so it was probably fine.
I mean, this isn’t actually that urgent, a voice in Nico’s head said. Just walk in one direction and you’ll probably hit camp.
Nico nodded to himself. He could try that. Why was he even worried anyway? He was looking for action—being stuck in the woods was the best way to find it. Maybe if he was lucky, he’d run into the badger beast and get to finish the job. So, he started walking.
And kept walking.
And walking.
Nico lost track of time and his steps, but it felt like an eternity. His breathing was coming out in short puffs, the cool air revealing each breath. His heart was beginning to race, though he wasn’t sure why. He was only walking. His eyes darted around, at first out of caution, but it slowly felt more and more like paranoia.
It felt like the darkness was pressing in on him from all sides.
His body started to tremble as he walked faster, but Nico knew this feeling.
He was scared.
A son of Hades, afraid of the dark. Ridiculous.
But he couldn’t help it. He felt its cold tendrils snaking up his back, making his hair stand on end. Dark fingers were curling around his throat. His breathing was shallow, and too fast, but he couldn’t seem to draw a full breath. His hands flew to his hair, tugging at it as he tried to ground himself. He realized he had stopped walking, just standing in a small clearing of trees, head spinning.
He was fine. He was in the forest, he’d been there a million times, it’s no different than in the daytime. It was fine. He was fine.
But he knew he wasn’t. He could almost hear the whispering voices, feel the tug where the shadows fell upon him. They wanted to take him from this world into the world of darkness. Maybe that was his world, not this one filled with light. Maybe they were right.
No, he thought. He couldn’t give in—he’d been through too much to give in. But isn’t that the reason he belonged in the shadows? Darkness and death followed him everywhere—maybe he wasn’t supposed to run from it.
Nico’s heart was pounding, his blood rushing in his ears. He belatedly realized that he had collapsed to the ground. The world swayed before his eyes. He was barely drawing in breath, his chest felt locked tight like something was constricting his lungs. Nico squeezed his eyes shut, feeling tears track down his cheeks.
Seriously? Here? Now?
Somehow, Nico’s thoughts were racing and yet, his mind was blank. The whispers were growing louder, buzzing through his head in an unintelligent stream of sounds. He could feel the darkness closing in on him, feel his consciousness slipping away.
He couldn’t breathe.
He couldn’t move.
He couldn’t do anything.
Suddenly, a sharp pain cut through Nico’s haze and made him cry out.
His body moved on instinct. Nico’s eyes flew open and he rolled into a crouched position. With a groan, he fell back down to his knees, gasping for air that his lungs so desperately needed. As his vision cleared of black spots, he finally looked down and noticed the fresh blood gushing from his thigh. His head whipped up just in time for him to dodge a swipe from the same badger monster from before.
Nico had never been so relieved to see a monster.
With the pain in his leg sharpening his focus, Nico gathered his energy and pushed up, suppressing a scream as his leg protested the movement. He drew his sword once more, still drawing in large gulps of air. The badger snarled and lunged once more. Nico quickly sidestepped and swung down with his sword, slicing the outstretched leg of the monster. It howled in pain, tumbling to the ground before staggering to its feet and retreating back into the woods.
Nico wasn’t planning to give chase, until he heard a large thump and another screech from the monster. He limped in the direction it ran to see that the badger had slammed into an invisible barrier. The camp border! Nico nearly cried with relief, completely ignoring the monster as it scurried away from him. Once he stumbled past the border, Nico fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. He could see the lights of camp. They stood out against the darkness of the night, reminding Nico that he was still shrouded in shadows with his back barely within the camp border.
He scrambled to his feet, feeling blood trickle down his leg and soak his sock. He used his sword to prop himself up as he limped forward, refusing to look down at his wound, which was probably bleeding more than he’d like. While he knew logically that his injury made his progress slow, Nico couldn’t help but feel like the shadows were pulling him back. It was like before, when he would shadow travel and almost get stuck in-between destinations. The voices were whispering again, trying to lure him into the darkness where he belonged. His vision was beginning to fade, black spots dancing before his eyes. He knew it was the pain and blood loss, he knew that. But it scared him because what if it was him? What if he was fading again? What if he disappeared in the night and no one knew?
Nico’s heart was pounding, which was not good for all the blood still gushing from his wound. His foot hit something, and he pitched forward, falling hard on the wooden steps of the Big House. He moaned loudly, unable to contain his pain and fear.
He distantly heard the door creak open and felt someone kneel beside his head. Nico was sure he was nearly hyperventilating, both from physical exertion and panic. He couldn’t hear anything being said. Then, there were hands on him, and he desperately shook them off, afraid of being pulled into shadows.
Then, a sudden warmth washed through his body.
The air rushed out of Nico as his entire body relaxed, his head falling back not onto the hard wood like he expected, but into gentle hands that cradled him carefully. As his breathing steadied, he peeked up to see blue eyes gazing down at him with concern, blonde hair falling down and framing a freckled face.
Nico saw Will’s lips move, but no sound reached his ears before his eyes slipped shut.
---
Nico woke the next morning to the familiar sight of white walls and sunlight streaming in through the window. He sighed, disappointed he landed himself in the infirmary for the millionth time, before he remembered the events of the previous night.
Nico was suddenly very alert, his heart rate jumping immediately as he sat upright in bed. He shoved the sheets back to inspect the wound on his thigh. It was wrapped up in white bandages, but no blood was showing through. Will must’ve been able to heal it closed, or at least stitch it up well. Nico tested moving his leg around a bit, surprised that it really didn’t hurt at all. He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, willing his heart to slow down.
“Glad to see you’re awake.” Nico’s head jerked up at the sound of the son of Apollo’s voice. Will strolled in front of Nico’s bed, looking down at his clipboard as he scribbled something down. Then he looked up and locked eyes with his patient.
Nico gulped. Will didn’t seem too happy to see him.
Before Nico could say anything, Will glanced down at his injury and said, “I fixed it up as much as I could. The wound wasn’t too deep. The blood loss was the worst of it, which is why you’re hooked up to an IV.” He gestured at the item, which Nico hadn’t even noticed in the few minutes he’d been up.
Nico nodded, leaning back against his pillow for a moment. He subtly tensed his muscles, assessing his physical condition for himself. Overall, he felt alright, just tired. It was probably the blood loss and… the other things that happened last night. He didn’t want to think about it, but it was like he could still feel the cold darkness lingering under his skin. His sense of panic out in the forest sat in the back of his head, keeping him from fully relaxing.
Will walked around the side of Nico’s bed, sitting in the chair and putting his clipboard to the side. “Nico…”
Nico knew that tone. The tone of a concerned friend, the tone of someone who wants to talk about things Nico really did not want to talk about. It always turned out to be a good thing when he talked with Will, but he couldn’t ignore his initial reaction of get away, especially not after last night. “Thanks for healing me, Solace.”
Will just looked at him, concern and worry evident in his eyes alone. Nico looked away quickly, unable to take that look without spilling his guts, which he most definitely did not want to do in this moment.
The medic nodded, not that Nico saw, and said, “Of course. You know I’m always here for you, Nico.” The son of Hades knew Will was trying to get more out of him, but he just couldn’t—wouldn’t—talk. Not right now.
Will seemed to get the hint. “You’re probably tired. The few hours of sleep you got isn’t enough to recover from your blood loss. You should get some rest,” he said reluctantly.
Nico glanced up as Will stood to leave, relieved when Will smiled down at him. At least he wasn’t mad that Nico wasn’t talking. He probably knew, to some degree, that there was more going on here than a monster attack.
Nico nodded back in silent gratitude for Will’s understanding.
“I’ll be back to check on you later.”
Will pulled the curtains closed around Nico’s bed, and Nico was alone. He could feel his mind beginning to buzz with thoughts and anxieties, so he quickly shook his head. The dark-haired boy shuffled further down into the infirmary bed, shutting his mind up and giving into the exhaustion he felt. If anything, he’d at least get a good rest out of this whole situation.
---
Nico woke up sometime in the afternoon, the sun shining in the sky. He sat up slowly, feeling out his body. His muscles ached a bit, probably from pushing himself while injured last night, but otherwise, he felt alright. The wound on his thigh throbbed dully. Pushing his sheets back, he saw that his bandages were still white, meaning it was mostly healed, thanks to Will’s magic.
The son of Hades glanced around. His curtains were still closed, and the infirmary sounded pretty quiet around him.
Nico paused for a few seconds.
Then promptly swung his legs off his bed and planted his feet on the floor.
He knew he shouldn’t leave, not without Will clearing him first. Will would not be happy with him (he knew from experience). But he could feel his nerves sparking under his skin, anxiety and fear sticking with him even through his nap. He didn’t want to be trapped in the white walls of the infirmary when Will eventually found him.
So, he stood up, shook himself out, and tried to look casual as he strolled toward the doors of the infirmary.
“Hey—wait!”
Nico glanced back, seeing a young child of Apollo nervously approach. “You—I mean, you can’t—can’t leave…?” She sounded so uncertain, Nico almost felt bad. Almost.
“Oh, it’s fine. I was just resting until I felt ready to leave.” He decided to leave Will out of this because lying to his sister felt a bit too much like betrayal.
Before the girl could reply, he opened the door and left.
Nico headed straight for the arena, intending to work out some of his excess energy so that he could go back to his cabin and fall right back asleep. He wasn’t even limping on his previously wounded leg, which he took as a good sign. He also reasoned that, considering a monster got the best of him, he should get to training as soon as possible.
He chose to ignore all the other thoughts pulsing in the back of his mind.
Only ten minutes of swinging around a sword passed before, “Nico di Angelo.”
Nico winced at the tone. He lowered his sword and looked over at the entrance to the practice area, only to lock eyes with a stern (and frankly, intimidating) son of Apollo.
He knew better than to ignore the healer, so he waited as Will stalked over. The other boy crossed his arms tightly, coming to a stop in front of Nico. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Nico cast about for some kind of response, but he knew there was nothing he could say in this moment to justify his actions. Not without diving into the details of his monster encounter, which he didn’t exactly feel up to doing.
After opening and closing his mouth a few times, Nico simply shrugged, eyes darting off to the side. He heard Will blow out a frustrated breath. Meanwhile, the son of Hades distracted himself with the rocks at his feet.
“Nico,” Will said, in that same knowing tone as before. Nico nervously adjusted his grip on the hilt of his sword before sheathing it, if only to give his mind something else to focus on for a few seconds. There was silence for a moment before Will continued. “I’m not mad at you.”
At that, Nico glanced up at the healer. He could see it, in the soft blue of Will’s eyes, that he was being honest. Nico had seen Will angry—usually not at him, but Nico had pulled stupid stunts in the past—and this wasn’t it. This was concern and genuine care. Nico was always waiting for Will to stop caring, to stop reaching out to him, but he never had, and he was beginning to think he never would.
The dark-haired boy nodded, unsure of what he should say. When it was clear Nico was not going to respond verbally, Will spoke again. “Something happened out there.” His eyebrows creased in concern when Nico stiffened. “You don’t have to tell me if you really don’t want to. But I want to help you, Nico. I saw you last night. You were… scared. Terrified. And I know it wasn’t from whatever monster attacked you. That’s not you.”
Nico gave himself a second to think about it, before blurting out, “I’m afraid of the dark.”
Both boys looked surprised, a moment of silence passing between them.
Nico expected to be judged, to be mocked. He knew it was Will, and Will wouldn’t do that. But hearing it out loud, it was laughable, at least to Nico. He could see the irony. He was Prince of the Underworld, the Ghost King. But he couldn’t help it.
“That’s—” Will started, then shook his head, starting over. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry, Nico.”
The son of Hades scoffed. “Sorry for what? That I’m a coward? It’s not your problem, Solace.” He looked away, shaking his hair so it covered his eyes.
“Nico…”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not,” Will said firmly. “I mean, it is. Ugh, I mean, it’s okay to be afraid of things. Everyone has their fears.”
“I’m the son of Hades. I exist in the darkness. I literally use the shadows to move around!”
Nico waited for Will to say more, unsure of what he wanted the other boy to say.
“Nico, please look at me,” Will pleaded.
Nico sighed, and peeked up at Will through his hair. He was met with an understanding gaze and a gentle smile.
“You’re not any less of a warrior for your fears, you know.”
And maybe that was truly what Nico needed to hear, whether he knew it or not.
But still, “I think it’s embarrassing.”
“I think it’s human,” Will shot back.
“Well, I’m only half, you know.”
“Shut up,” Will rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”
Nico looked away again, feeling a bit better even without having said much about what transpired last night. Maybe he didn’t have to. Maybe Will understood anyway, and really meant it when he said he’d be there for him.
Maybe he did have a place in this world, in the light, where the darkness of his mind and enemies of his past couldn’t get him. Maybe Will would be the one to show him that, once and for all.
This zine has been in the works for a while now, and it’s finally ready to be released! The writers, artists, and betas worked hard to bring this together during a tumultuous time of change and hardship. We are thankful for their perseverance, and can’t wait for you all to see the final product!
Click the Google Drive link below to view and download the After Everything zine PDF:
If there are any issues, please let us know! We’d also love to hear how you like the fics and art! Please support the content creators as well—their Tumblr URLs and Ao3 usernames are listed in the zine.
This zine has been in the works for a while now, and it’s finally ready to be released! The writers, artists, and betas worked hard to bring this together during a tumultuous time of change and hardship. We are thankful for their perseverance, and can’t wait for you all to see the final product!
Click the Google Drive link below to view and download the After Everything zine PDF:
If there are any issues, please let us know! We’d also love to hear how you like the fics and art! Please support the content creators as well—their Tumblr URLs and Ao3 usernames are listed in the zine.
GUYS! This is the zine I was working on! I helped moderate and participate! I have both art and a fic in here! And it’s my first zine!
I’m glad I got to work with everyone involved. Please download and check out our zine, and give the content creators some love on their blogs and other works too!
Summary: Everyone gets bad grades sometimes but Will takes it a bit harder than others- luckily, a person comes to his rescue
A/N: So first off- what is title?? I was calling a friend at the time and I was eating a baguette and I didn’t know what to name the fic so they said ‘baguettes dont help raise your grade’ and now it’s sticking and as a thank you, I’m gifting it to them. Thanks to @solangeloweek As for the rest of you, I hope you enjoy and comment- <3 from Me!!!
PS- yes I forgot to post this on tumblr even tho I posted it on ao3 yesterday 😔
Read on AO3 Masterlistp
A-
That’s what Will’s biology paper read. A-.
Now, to any other person, an A- would be a grade to boast about left and right but to Will a student who achieved A+ and A*’s everywhere he went, an A- was not a grade to go shouting about. He quickly flipped his paper so no one else would see the embarrassing grade and slipped it covertly into his bag.
Summary: it’s exactly as the title suggests. On Nico’s 17th birthday, he decides to do exactly as the title suggests and ends up visiting his boyfriend at the infirmary.
A/N: THIS WAS INSPIRED BY @rainnows and @daughter-of-sunshine from this post. ALSO SHOUT OUT TO @marbleheavy WHO CHEERED ME UP WHEN I WAS TALKING ABOUT BEING SAD ON BATHROOM FLOORS. Thank you @solangeloweek for this fun challenge! I actually managed to complete it without burning out halfway unlike with writers month which I PROMISE will be finishing. It feels super cool to tag people as if I had a tag list. Anyhow, hope yall enjoy the final day in will solace’s bday week and comment! <3 from Persephone.
Read on AO3 Masterlist.
Perhaps trying to give himself a lip piercing all by himself in the solitude of the Hades Cabin was not the best idea. That said, Nico was trying to celebrate his 17th birthday and he had been looking forward to getting a lip ring that he had seen Thalia wear recently and of course, Nico was impressed.
But Nico was even more impressed when Thalia had told him that she had pierced her lip herself like a badass motherfucker. At the time of course, Nico’s first thought was wondering whether the hunters of Artemis had a dress code and if so- were piercings included? (Because he knew that Apollo would definitely want in on that.)
But now, as he held his bleeding lip which dripped over his fingers and pulled out the metal needle which had come in the packaging, he realised that just perhaps this wasn’t a great deal. He grabbed some tissues and held them to his lips in the hope that the applied pressure would at least stop the big gush of blood but after several impatient minutes of doing so, he began to slightly panic.
rules: tag 9 people you would like to get to know better!
tagged by @conartisthaiji, ty!!! <3
favorite color: pink!
currently reading: song of achilles by madeline miller
last song: talk to you by ricky montgomery
last series: great pretender
sweet, spicy, or savory: spicy!
craving: some fruit snacks
coffee or tea: tea
currently working on: the background for my sunaosa bb piece
i have a fair amount of mutuals i barely talk to so i'll just tag some of you guys: @kitayz @lesbians4kirishima @lesbians4iwaizumi @lesbiansforwangxian @hotkatsudon @mangobff @biwaizumi @pugszler as always u guys dont have to do this and anyone that does want to but that hasn't been tagged is free to do so! <3
currently reading: the unconsoled by kazuo ishiguro
last song: waking up down by yaeji
last series: idk if this means book or tv series but the last tv series i finished was fleabag
sweet, spicy, or savory: sweet:)
craving: iced coffee
coffee or tea: coffee lmao
currently working on: college apps (theoretically)
i’m also gonna tag some mutuals who i don’t talk to a whole lot! (artie you already tagged some of them though ajdjfjsj) @savitarius @egoverlord @emokyoshi @catersick @girlbosszephyr @pathos-logical @glowstick-vampire @fancyholycrow
last series: uhhh idk i think the dragon prince?? that’s the last series i read/watched all the way through
sweet, spicy, or savory: savory omg
craving: chick fil a :( not about to give them my money though lmao
coffee or tea: coffee but i don’t really like either tbh
currently working on: so much summer work oh my god
tagging (don’t feel bad if you don’t do it ofc): @rabidanimeboy @bobisahandsomeskull @ohmissflo @gnecrognome @girlbossganondorf @redhoodpropaganda @antimonarchy @underoosstark @emmytheace
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turnnoffyourmind
origamiaround
blakekathryn
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dailybridgerton
