Chapter Text
NICO'S POV
I jogged back up the hill where Will was waiting, which was honestly a generous word for what my legs were doing.
Jogging. It felt more like collapsing at speed. My knees were jelly, my lungs were on fire, and my shoulder-gods, my shoulder-was radiating pain like a dying star. But I would rather die again than let Will Solace know that.
He was standing there with the wind tugging at his shaggy blonde hair like some kind of camp-sponsored shampoo commercial, looking at me like l'd just grown a second head. I turned slightly to follow his gaze-and, yep. There it was. Percy Jackson, mouth wide open, looking like someone had just handed him the keys to Tartarus and told him he was moving in.
Which, okay. Fair. I had just told him I used to have a crush on him. And by "told," I mean "blurted it out at top speed while refusing to make eye contact." Classic me.
"What did you say to him?" Will asked, eyebrow raised. The soft drawl in his voice was barely there, but I could still hear it-that lazy Texan lilt that made something flutter in my stomach like the ghost of a butterfly. A dead butterfly.
Fitting.
His hair bounced a little as he tilted his head to look at me, and I tried not to notice how annoyingly golden he looked.
"Nothing," I muttered, voice about two octaves too low to sound convincing. He squinted at me like he could see through my soul.
Which, honestly, wasn't a huge ask. I was half-dead on a good day.
Then he clapped his hands right in front of my face.
"Nico. Earth to Nico. Are you alive in there?"
I blinked. I had, apparently, been zoning out while staring into his eyes. Great. Subtle.
Will looked even more concerned now. He took a deep breath, and I watched the way his neck moved and -Nope.
Nope nope nope. Abort mission.
"Zoning out, not breathing properly, and don't think I didn't notice you nearly collapsing on the way up here," he said, eyes narrowing. "That's strike three. Why didn't you come to the infirmary earlier?"
"Sorry?" I offered weakly. It wasn't much of an excuse, but I didn't have anything better.
During the war, my health wasn't exactly a top priority. My to-do list had been: 1) Help stop the world from ending, 2)
Help rebuild camp, 3) Disappear again. That was the plan. It had always been the plan. But then Will Solace had to show up with his warm hands and stupid patient smile and make everything complicated. And the thing was, everyone else was leaving. Percy and Annabeth were getting ready for college in New Rome. Jason and Piper were off chasing Leo halfway across the planet, hoping he hadn't actually gotten himself killed. Hazel and Frank had gone back to Camp Jupiter.
Soon, no one I cared about would be here.
And Will... Will was just being nice because that's what he does. He's the camp healer. He'd look at anyone like that.
With those eyes like maybe you're worth something. Like you could stay. But I knew better. Once he knew the truth-really knew me-he'd realize I was just another broken thing to fix.
That's all lever was to people, in the end. A project. A shadow they couldn't quite make sense of. Something to pity from a distance. Smile at. Talk around. Move past.
I felt the air shift as Will stepped toward me again, and I hated how easily his presence filled the space between us.
Like it was nothing for him. Like it didn't make my skin itch and my ribs feel too tight.
"Nico!" he waved a hand in front of my face, brows knitting together in that infuriatingly concerned way of his.
I blinked hard, the world snapping back into place in pieces
-grass, wind, golden sunlight glinting off his hair. I didn't even know what l'd been thinking about anymore. Just... everything. And nothing.
"Sorry," I said, automatic.
Will exhaled through his nose. "Right. No more apologies, death boy, we nee-"
"Don't call me that."
I tried to make the words sharp, deadly. Tried to summon the version of me that made monsters flinch and campers step back. My eyes narrowed, jaw tight, spine locked into place like it would make me look taller, tougher, more in control. The son of Hades version of me.
It didn't work.
Will didn't flinch. He didn't even blink. Instead, he drew himself up to his full height-broad shoulders, square stance, absurdly golden hair catching in the light like he was doing it on purpose. He was standing so close now I had to tilt my head to keep eye contact, and gods, why did he have to be so—
I mean. Not that I would mind him being dominant over me
NO STOP, NICO.
I stared harder, like I could death-glare the thought out of my own skull. Will just looked back, maddeningly unfazed.
"No," he said, calm and infuriating. "I won't stop. And don't think that little death glare is going to scare me away."
It wasn't little. Okay, maybe it was. But still.
"And while you're under my care," he added, tilting his head, "I can call you whatever I want. Death boy."
I gritted my teeth. He wasn't joking. That smug little glint in his eye was too steady, too practiced. I could tell he'd dealt with difficult patients before-people who'd fought him, tested his patience, slammed emotional doors in his face.
And I could also tell he wasn't planning to make an exception for me.
He wanted me to push him.
Good. I'd make this as hard as I possibly could.
I narrowed my eyes. "You're enjoying this," | muttered.
Will just shrugged, not denying it. His gaze was steady, a little infuriating, and full of something I couldn't quite name. Pity? No. That wasn't it. It was worse. It was... earnest.
Like he cared.
And that was harder to deal with than anything else. I didn't want it. I didn't trust it. I didn't deserve it.
He took another step and suddenly I was looking up at him again, the shadow of him falling over me like a net. I hated how small I felt next to him. How easy it would be to just... let him carry me. Fix me. Put me on one of those sterile white infirmary cots and forget about me in three days.
He was probably used to people like me. Kids with trauma eyes and silence like armor. He'd patch me up, file me away in his brain under "complicated cases," and move on to someone easier. Someone brighter. Someone less... broken.
"I'm not one of your patients," I said quietly, hating how weak my voice sounded.
HIII let me know how I did in the comments please(seriously commenting makes my day, and I will reply to them ALL) and the chapters do get longer but this is a short first one xx hope u enjoyed!!!!