Will Solace

Nico had always been stubborn. Especially when it came to his health. I had been sitting beside his bed in the infirmary for days because he kept getting up and saying he was fine and convincing the others to let him leave when I wasn't here. And then I had to go find him, and drag him back here by the ears. Not literally, I wouldn't do that to anyone, but...

He was sleeping right now, but sometimes I wondered if that kid was dead. He was so still, so silent, and so very pale, that he honestly looked dead. And tired. His eyes were caved in and there were unbelievably dark circles under his eyes. I scowled at him, only to find that he was glaring back at me.

"You're still here? You can go Will, I'm not going to die." He said jokingly. But, being who I am, I took that more seriously than I should've.

"Nico, a week ago, you were on death's door. You may be physically healed, but everything on the inside is just gonna be jelly. I'm not leaving until I think you're better." He breathed in through his nose in annoyance.

"Fine. Can I at least have something to eat though? I'll be one step closer to "death's door" as you put it, if I don't eat soon." He asked. I nodded slowly and got Joseph to watch him for a couple minutes and made sure to warn them against him. He was clever, and I wouldn't put it past him to bolt as soon as I left.

***

The mess hall was crowded, and I grabbed an apple for myself and a bowl and spoon for Nico. Percy was talking to one of the Roman kids at the far end of the pavilion I think, but he waved when he saw me. I smiled and waved back.

***

Nico, thankfully, hadn't bolted, and was sitting up now, looking a bit uncomfortable. Joseph looked pretty uncomfortable too. I chuckled a bit and Joseph left as soon as I got there, saying he had another patient to attend to. "And actually I was at "death's door" about a year or so ago." He murmured. I stopped and could've sworn the light in the room dimmed. "Nico, do you know why you survived that?" I asked. "Because you're strong. And you didn't give up. So, if you give up now... It'll all be for nothing. Just... eat the food and stay strong." I told him before he could have a chance to answer.

I handed the bowl and spoon to Nico. He stared at me, but then nodded, and a moment later, the bowl was filled with steaming yellowish-white mush. I bit into the apple and peered into the bowl as he sniffed it carefully and blew the steam away before eating it. He was sitting cross-legged now, and hunched over, with the bowl on the bed.

"What is that anyway?" I asked curiously.

"Potato soup." He muttered quietly.

"Sounds good. I'm going to force you to eat every last drop of you don't do it willingly though." I replied. He looked up and his body shook once— sort of like a very small, very quiet laugh. His black hair had fallen over his face and flopped mercilessly in his eyes.

"I know. I'm kinda hungry anyway." He said with a shrug.

The bowl was empty within minutes. And then refilled, but only halfway.

"Kinda hungry? How much do eat when you're really hungry?" I asked teasingly. He glanced up at me again.

"I don't know. I've only ever been not hungry, kinda hungry, sort of hungry, or just plain hungry." The word was starting to sound strange.

"How is "sort of hungry" any different than "kinda hungry"?" I asked.

He thought for a minute. "Sort of hungry isn't really me being hungry. It's more just me wanting food. Kinda hungry is actually having that empty pit in your stomach and eating until I've stuffed myself. So I suppose if I was really hungry I would eat until I'd stuffed myself, and then more after that." He replied thoughtfully.

"Good. You should eat more, I can see your skeleton through your shirt." I replied, slightly worried.

His nostrils flared as he picked at the black t-shirt. I smirked. He noticed this and stared for a minute. "What?" He asked blankly.

"Nothing, you just look...cute when you do that." I shrugged. He blinked, and shifted on the mattress.

"Do what?" He asked, his brows furrowing.

"That," I said, pointing to his brows. "And when your nose flares when you get even slightly embarrassed."

His nose flared again and a hand jerked up to cover it. I smiled as he eyed me suspiciously. But the moment was ruined when someone burst through the infirmary door.

"Will," it was Leo. Strange, he never comes here. And he was out of breath. "You better come quick." Was all he could say.

"Why? What's wrong?" Nico asked from the bed, his hand entwined with the other folded across his lap.

"Hey Nico," Leo panted. "Um, someone—just come see." He told us, jerking his thumb back towards the outside.

"Alright, I'll be right there," I replied, eyeing Nico.

"If I leave, are you going to wander off again?" I asked. Nico scowled, but shook his head.

"Promise?"

"I won't go anywhere, Will." He replied. I nodded.

"Okay, I'll be right back. And if I hear you put one toe off that bed, I'm not letting you out for another week." Technically, he was supposed to get out of the infirmary in a couple days, but...

"Alright, go!" He shooed me away, Leo watching the whole thing with an amused smile. I laughed and followed Leo down to the mess hall.

Nico Di Angelo

As Will jogged after Leo, I continued to scarf down the soup. I could've had five more bowls probably, but for now, I set it aside and looked around the infirmary. Without Will sitting by the bed twenty-four-seven, and none of my possessions, it was dreadfully boring.

To be honest, I kind of liked spending time with Will, and was seriously considering jumping out of bed and dancing around— just so I could spend a couple more days with him. {Wait— what? No, you didn't just hear me say that. Don't tell Will.}

I sighed through my nose and leaned back against the wall. The poster of Coach Hedge against the wall creeped me out a bit, so I stuck my tongue out at it and turned my head somewhere else while I thought about what Will had said just before Nico came in. {Wait, did I just say Nico? I meant Leo. Maybe I should jump out of bed and dance around...}

You look cute when you do that. And he'd pointed to my eyebrows, which had been scrunched together in confusion. And then when my nose flared when I picked at my shirt. ''He must be mental'' I thought to myself. ''No one would ever find me...cute'' I shook my head to clear my thoughts and decided to focus on something else.

***

When he came back, he seemed slightly out of breath, and went straight to the back room where he kept gods know what kinds of medicines and stuff. A couple moments later, a girl stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. She was about five foot eight, and wore shorts and a camp t-shirt and flip-flops. Her auburn hair was tied back in a ponytail and the tanned skin of her face was tearstained. She had nice, brown eyes, and even though she didn't seem to have the same features as the rest of them, she looked like a Hermes kid. I watched as she breathed in deeply and played nervously with her fingers on her right hand.

Will came back a moment later with a small, plastic bottle that rattled with each step he took. "Just take one once a day until they run out." He told her. She nodded and murmured her thanks before turning and leaving.

"Who was that?" I asked as soon as I was sure she was out of earshot. Will sat down beside the bed again.

"Simone Collins. She had a really bad allergic reaction." He replied, answering my next question.

"Oh."

He saw the bowl on the table and raised a brow. "Not hungry anymore? From what I saw earlier, if say you could eat twenty bowls of soup and a whole chicken by yourself." He teased.

"I'll, uhh... I'll do that later." I replied with as much tease as I could muster. Already, I was ready to drop dead. Not literally, of course, but I could feel my eyelids drooping.

"Tired already? Maybe I should keep you here a bit longer..." He mumbled, but this time it wasn't a tease. This time, he was being serious.

I crawled back under the covers and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, murmuring, "Okay," as I did so.

Will Solace

"Okay," Nico murmured as his head hit the pillow and he fell asleep. I stared at the sleepy boy on the bed beside me. His hair flopped in front of his face again, resting just at his nose and lips. I knew I hated that feeling, so I brushed away the hair and pulled the covers up to his shoulders before leaving and helping my siblings with the other patients.

*a few days later*

Nico Di Angelo

I was still in the infirmary, and Will had gone out to the city with some of the other demigods to see if they could find anybody out there. Search parties, really. They went out for a couple days every month to help the satyrs, and everyone in the camp was eventually going to go help. This week, Will had been one of the people to go. While he was gone, I mostly slept and ate. Jason came to check up on me once or twice, and so did Percy, but other than that, I generally avoided the human race. Though sometimes I did miss doing camp stuff like Capture the Flag, and Mess Hall three times a day. But I was stuck in the infirmary for now, so it would have to do.

I think I was turning into an old guy, because I fell asleep at four today, and didn't wake up until ten. I would've slept through the night, but someone blew air on my ear and I jerked awake to find Will holding his stomach as he laughed. In one hand was a McDonald's happy meal bag. I glared at him.

"So-sorry, you're a very heavy sleeper." He managed, still laughing.

"Will," I groaned. He stopped, but the smile lingered. And even though it was night, I felt like it was a little bit brighter every second that smile spread across his face.

"Seriously, it took, like, ten minutes to wake you up." He said in his defence.

"What's with the Happy Meals?" I asked, confused.

"Oh yeah, Percy told me you like Happy Meals." He replied cheerily, holding the bag out to me.

"I'm not dead yet, Will." I said with a chuckle as I took the bag and peered inside it. Fries, burger, and a bottle of coke. A plastic smiley face emoji keychain rested in the bottom of the bag. I grinned and pulled out the food, patting the bed.

"Sit." I told Will, tucking legs up and opening the delicious (if extremely salty) fries and burger. He took a seat at the foot of the bed and reached for a fry.

"Sorry there's no ketchup." He mumbled, his mouth stuffed with fries. I shrugged. "Never liked that stuff very much anyway." I replied as I bit into the burger, savouring the taste of city food. Camp Half Blood had excellent food, don't get me wrong, but once in awhile you need a taste of city food, just to keep things normal.