Not the Only One
synopsis ; Despite being at CHB for quite a few years, you haven’t connected with your siblings like you have with Will. When your frustrations arise with being one of the only Apollo kids interested in medicine, Will comes in with a few comforting words.
pairings ; will solace x sibling! reader
genre ; fluff
~ day
Your pencil scratched the paper roughly, pressing the lead into the notebook unnecessarily hard. Austin was practicing his Saxophone on his bunk bed, swearing when he’d miss a note or muddle an expression. Kayla wasn’t far behind him, working on her hymns and lyrics for a song she and Austin were working on together.
“So loud for no reason,” you thought.
You heard Austin make a squawking noise with his sax, followed by laughter from both of your half-siblings. You sighed and threw your head back in annoyance, glancing over at them, “Can you guys please quiet down? I’m trying to study over here.”
Austin quirked a brow, shifting his eyes from Kayla to you, “Well, playing forte quietly kinda defeats the purpose, don’t you think?”
You scowled, “I don’t know why not.”
Austin laughed and teased, “Aren’t you a child of Apollo? You don’t know what forte means?”
Kayla smiled a little at her half-brothers' joke, not seeing the daggers you glared into both of them from your desk.
You huffed and gathered your things, “Not all Apollo kids are musicians, Austin.”
“...Obviously, it was just a joke.” Austin watched as you stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door behind you. He turned to Kayla, looking for reassurance that it didn’t come across as rude, but was met with a shrug.
You didn’t know where you would go to study in peace. Camp Half-Blood could be pretty loud during the day, with clashing swords and cheering for the people at the lava wall, and sometimes there was a rare occurrence where a demigod managed to pull off a massive prank. Yeah, where would you go?
You stood still in the middle of the field between the Arena and the Big House, tongue in your cheek as you thought of the possibilities. The porch of the Big House should be quiet enough for you to finish studying in peace. There are a few tables and chairs from when Mr. D would play cards with his sons or Chiron now and then. Maybe one of them is free?
Upon your luck, you came across one near the door; the occasional grunts did leak out from the infirmary on the first floor, but not enough to distract you. You could finally look over your books and take notes without interruption, flying through the pages with ease. These topics always did fascinate you, learning about the human body and how it works just amazed you, not to mention how easily you picked things up. You had yet to put any of your knowledge in the infirmary or on quests, but man, you couldn’t wait. Not that you wished anyone to be severely injured or anything that is.
It was odd that there weren’t more Apollo kids interested in medicine. It seemed like every sibling you had only enjoyed music or archery. Will was the exception to this, though, he was the head counselor of cabin seven and the best healer in camp! Will was most definitely someone you looked up to. He’d already had so much experience under his belt and knew much about acting under stress; he was a phenomenal doctor.
Of course, being the best meant that Will was very busy and was rarely around. He was either in a meeting, in the infirmary, or with Nico, who missed him equally, if not more than you did. It was discouraging, feeling overlooked and alone in your interests and talents within camp. Nico was always very friendly and reassured you that Will was proud of you and missed you very much, but Will’s actions never lined up with those statements.
Whether or not Will was proud of you, you didn’t know. He was so busy that when you tried to show him what you learned, he’d smile and nod before heading to bed, or maybe a thumbs up and a simple “good job.” However, you weren’t sure if he missed you like Nico said he did. Will was never really close to you in the first place. You just sort of followed him around when you could. He probably stayed busy just to get away from you.
After a few hours, you were starting to get a little hungry. You figured maybe dinner was being offered and now would probably be a good time to take a break from the big words and symptoms. Folding up your things and organizing them neatly, you felt a presence directly behind you.
Will had come out of the Big House and noticed you hunched over your book and notepad, scribbling tiredly until you had decided to stop. He smiled, knowing how dedicated you were to heping others.
“So tell me, what illnesses did you learn about today?”
You stood quickly, turning around with a smile and hugging him tightly, much to his surprise, “Will! Are you headed to dinner?”
He hummed in response, pulling you away so he could gather up your things and hand them to you, “Wanna head over together?”
After a response from both you and your stomach, the two of you made your way over to mess hall where you sat with your other siblings after making an offering. It was a little awkward considering there was a misunderstanding between you, Kayla, and Austin. The three of you didn’t make eye contact, something that Will caught on to.
“What’s the matter with you, huh?” He questioned Kayla.
She looked up in surprise, “Ah nothing really.”
His brows furrowed at her lackluster response. Kayla was a very sweet girl who never really held issues with anyone. It was odd to see her so downcast and quiet, especially at meals.
“So what’d you guys do today?”
Again, the three in question didn’t respond in a typical manner. Austin and Kayla were pretty close, it isn’t likely that those two did anything to upset the other. However, Y/n frequently got into spats with the others, they tend to clash more than was normal for siblings.
After dinner, Will made sure to ask Y/n to hang back for a bit. It wasn’t hard, he was well aware of how much they looked up to him, so this had to be handled with care.
You resumed your place at the bench, looking curiously at Will who had been pursing his lips and staring at you with calculating eyes. It was a little nervewrecking, it felt like you were about to be scolded. What had you done to deserve a scolding?
He must’ve picked up on your worries because he sent a small smile your way, “Calm down, I’m not gonna bite your head off--” he bit his lip before resuming, “I just wanna ask what happened with Austin and Kayla.”
Your breath hitched, a little nervous to tell Will that you caused more unnecessary conflict within the cabin. After the last time, you weren’t sure if Will would give you anymore chances to stay in the cabin. Because last time you had turned most of your siblings against you.
You had lashed out about the noise multiple times to Yan, Gracie, Austin, Kayla, and Jerry. You had also picked a fight with Victoria by calling her Ares fan club stupid. She held her own without Will’s input though. That was one hell of a swirlie.
“Well uh…” You started, heaving a big sigh and averting your eyes, “It just feels like no one really understands me, no one knows how it feels to be the only one interested in medicine when everyone else is into music!”
Will blinked, “Alright you’re spending too much time with Nico, you’re starting to sound extremely emo.”
When he saw your deadpanned expression he chuckled, “I’m joking. A little.”
You slumped down into the table, head buried in your arms.
“Y/n, you’re forgetting that you’re not the only one interested in medicine,” he sighed, “Obviously I’m into medicine, but so is Yan, Gracie just recently asked about helping out in the infirmary too. You have to remove the mindset that you’re the only one. You’re just isolating yourself.”
Your heart sunk a little at his words. Were you just being over-dramatic?
“I’m not mad at you, but picking fights with the others just because they aren’t into the same things is just not the way to go about things.”
You huffed, tears brimming your eyes, “but Austin was teasing me because I didn’t know what forkie meant earlier, that if I were really an Apollo kid then I’d know.”
He quirked a brow, “Forkie?” He thought for a moment, “Oh, forte.”
You slumped back into the table, “See? I’m just not an Apollo kid I suppose, maybe he made a mistake in claiming me.”
Will clicked his tongue in disagreement, “You’re being a little much right now, you being claimed was not a mistake. You forget our dad is literally god of so many things, how could you possibly excel in all of them?”
He continued, “While I agree that Austin shouldn’t have said that-- and I’m assuming Kayla weighed in unknowingly, that’s no reason to lash out and act as if you’re better.”
You opened your mouth to protest but he held up a hand.
“I know you don’t mean to, but you have got to stop thinking you’re on your own in the medical field. And you have to stop belittling your siblings' talents as well, we can and have coexisted without this much conflict before. Will you promise to try and compromise with them?”
You nodded, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to come off as entitled or anything. I just felt a little left out.”
He smiled and moved to pull you into a side hug, “I know, but I hope you know that you’re not alone in preferring medicine.”
Nodding once more, you looked up at him, heaving a shaky breath, “Have I been that much of a pain in the ass?”
“Psh, all of you are, but that’s one of them many reasons I love you guys so much.”
With a small laugh, you pulled away, picking up your books and staring off at the cabins in the distance, knowing what you had to do next. This was gonna suck, you never enjoyed apologizing much, but Will knows best so… Well most of the time.
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