Chapter Text
Fuck fuck fuck-
Nico chanted it in his head like a prayer. He didn’t have the mental capacity for anything else at the moment. If he started to think about how heavy Will was, he slowed down. If he thought about how close the dead sounded behind them, it slowed him down. If he thought about how they were separated from their friends and they could all die in here, he slowed down. Moral of the story; the less he thought, the better.
He was so committed to putting one foot in front of the other that he almost missed it. If it wasn’t for Will’s half-hearted tug, he might have walked right past the intact door just off to the side of the hall.
They stumbled into the room together, breathing hard as Nico slammed the door shut, locking it out of habit. The room was small but it was better than being exposed in the hallway. Who knew what was waiting at the end. Nico decidedly did not think about it.
There was a table full of junk tucked in the corner but other than that the room was bare. Will's arm was heavy and limp over Nico’s shoulders and he settled into slow, dragging steps despite his best efforts. Nico pulled Will to the far wall and helped him lean against it. The boy let himself fall against the stone tiredly as Nico leaned into the space beside him.
“Shit.” Nico breathed, head dropping back to stare at the ceiling.
The one small rectangular window that illuminated the room was facing the courtyard that, from the looks of it, was blessedly empty. Small miracles.
Will laughed quietly, he sounded tired, “Sorry.”
Nico squeezed his eyes closed, “Shut up.” He shot back harshly, not managing to keep the bite out of his tone. He wished he could, really, but when Will decided to be a fucking idiot, he wasn’t sure how anyone expected Nico to control himself. He glanced over at the boy and felt his stomach roll for all the wrong reasons. He looked away. “Just shut the fuck up for a second.”
Will didn’t respond but Nico heard the way his dirty shirt dragged against the stone as he slid to the floor. Idiot. Nico hated his guts.
Everything had been going great. Fantastic even. Then Will went and pulled this shit. Nico swore to all the gods out there that if he weren’t stupid in love with the boy, he’d kill the fucker himself.
He ran his hand down his face, not caring about the dirt and grime that now coated them in layers or the grit under his nails. There was a pounding behind his eyes, a throbbing in his temple that kept him from thinking straight. Probably because Will had pushed him face first into a pallet rack earlier. The fact that it had saved his life was totally irrelevant. Asshole.
The only sound in the room was their breathing. It was hard and his lungs were aching but he didn’t sound as bad off as Will. He fought to tame his breath, forcing stale air into his chest and holding it there. One of them had to get it together. He exhaled all at once and pretended his hands weren’t shaking as he reached for his walkie.
“Talk to me, Jackson.” He said shortly into the device. It was an old clunky thing but it did its job. Especially after Leo worked his voodoo magic on it. Somehow he’d doubled its range. He’d rambled on about the differentiating qualities of frequency versus amplitude but, to be honest, Nico didn’t give two shits about how he’d done it. All he cared about was their reliability and their usefulness in not letting him die.
The response was immediate. “ Nothing yet, the swarm is still on this side. Only saw a few break off after you.” His voice was full of static, even with the range boost it wouldn’t be long until they were too far away.
Nico grimaced, “More joined in. One of the south walls by the road is down. Should be okay for now, we’re taking a break in, uh,” He heaved a breath, squinting at the room label printed beside the door. “Room 305 off the main southeast hallway.” They’d had to dodge around and double back a few times before finding the room and even that had been a task. Getting all the way back across the building with only the two of them would very nearly be impossible.
Percy’s voice rang out through the walkie again, “ Ten-four, we’ll work our way back to you once we're done here.” A pause left the static ringing in the space, “ How is he?”
Nico’s eyes slid sideways to where Will was looking up at him from the ground. His blue eyes squinted and he stuck out two thumbs up as he rocked his head in a pulsating nod.
Nico clenched his jaw and looked away, “He’s still being an idiot, so that’s something.” His fingers tapped at his thigh in agitation, “Is everyone online?”
Leo’s voice crackled to life, it was clearer than Percy’s. He was probably still in a central location to act as a pivot point for the frequency, “ Jason and Pipes have been off for three minutes but they’re probably just making out in a closet somewhere, no sweat.” His voice was light and teasing, somehow without the ever present strain everyone had developed since the end of the world. “ Last check in said they were goin’ ghost to dodge the swarm and meet up with goldilocks and aquaman in the warehouse .”
“I told you not to call us that, man.” Percy objected, probably more out of obligation than real annoyance.
“What? Now it’s my fault you guys are straight out of science fiction? Whateve’s, amigo.”
“Guys, essential chatter only please.” Annabeth reminded, stern but with just a hint too much exasperation to be taken all that seriously. “If you don’t hear from them again in seven, let us know and we’ll double back. Everyone keep your 9-1-1 channel open in case they run into trouble.” It was their agreed upon procedure; ten minutes without check in before backup was on its way. It was an insurance policy, in a sense. Trust that everyone was capable enough to keep themselves alive but never assume the shitty world they lived in would make it easy. “Until then, the vaccine is our priority. Nico, you two stay where you are for now. If it goes quiet, meet us at the entrance, if not; we’ll come to you.”
“Sure thing, O’ fearless leader. Super-sized McShizzle over and out.”
Nico sighed and let his walkie fall to his side. If there was one thing he couldn’t stand, it was the waiting.
A warm touch on his hand brought him back to the present. Will’s fingers wrapped around his wrist and gently tugged. He had his head tilted and he was looking up at Nico with that infuriatingly soft smile of his. Nico sank to the ground beside him without much more than that.
When he hit the ground he allowed himself a moment to feel the exhaustion in his limbs and the strain the bright light from the window caused his eyes. It only took that split second of muted peace for him to let his suppressed thoughts rush in uninhibited.
Fucking William Solace. He could feel the heat of anger simmer in the pit of his sternum and refused to acknowledge any emotion that might have been creeping under it.
“I hate you.” He whispered as he turned his face into Will’s shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut as Will draped his arm around him tiredly.
“Don’t I know it.” He replied, letting his fingertips brush lightly at the stitching of Nico’s aviator jacket.
“I’m serious, you’re the stupidest man I’ve met in my life.” Nico murmured, turning his head so only his temple rested against his boyfriend's arm.
Will laughed, “Weird way to thank me for saving your life, but I’ll take it.”
At that, Nico pulled back indignantly, eyes narrowed, “I had him. It was fine .”
Raising an eyebrow, Will fixed him with a hard stare, “You were cornered.”
“I had it .” Nico snapped, unable to reign in his frustration. It wasn’t a rare occurrence, Nico getting angry, and Will knew that the anger at their situation was simply misdirected back at him. They’d had more than one fight about it over the course of their friendship and then later relationship as well. Eventually they’d reached common ground about how Nico should be allowed to be a dick sometimes because the world was a shit-hole, even if Will refused to see it that way.
But there was something different about the understanding on his face this time, something off about the way Will’s eyes softened to scan Nico’s face, the way he brought up his hand to thread through the black strands of Nico’s hair.
“Not a chance I was willing to take.” Will murmured, eyes full of the strangest kind of sadness.
Nico frowned, eyes squinting suspiciously, “Are you sure you’re…” he let his voice trail out as his eye caught on the edge of the scratch ending on the other side of his neck. He pursed his lips and downcast his eyes. “Let’s get that cleaned.” Not that it would really do much to stall the infection.
He started to reach for his small camping backpack with the sparse emergency first-aid materials when Will caught his hand.
“Save it.” Was all he said as he laced their fingers.
Nico blinked at their hands, flicking his eyes up to the blond’s face who was very intently studying Nico’s hand. “Will,” He started uncertainly, it wasn’t like the boy to deny anyone basic medical treatment, even if it was ultimately useless.
He just shook his head without looking up, “Honestly, it’d just be a waste.”
Nico stared at him in disbelief for a second before he yanked his hand away, going for the pack again. “Yeah, fuck that,” the zipper slid open without much of a fight, “It’ll help with the stinging.”
He reached into the bag and rooted around for the slim bandage roll and travel tissue pack. It wasn’t much but there was always the risk of having to abandon the bag so Nico always felt better if nothing valuable was tucked away inside. With the other hand he pulled the plastic water bottle out. It was only half way full and the label had long since been torn off, but the water was fresh and clean.
He hadn’t even started to unscrew the cap before Will protested again.
“It’s not worth it, really.” He tried and Nico rolled his eyes. Doctors made the worst patients. He dampened the tissue with some of the water and tried to keep his dirty fingers from contaminating the wet splotch as he adjusted it in his grip.
“Turn your head,” he demanded, gesturing with the tissue. When Will made no effort to move, Nico huffed and gripped his chin with his other hand to do it himself.
He brought up the wet tissue to the side of the shallow scratch and started to dab at it carefully, “Seriously, Will, we can spare one-”
“I got bit.” Will cut him off bluntly, twisting to face him and grabbing his wrist in one motion.
Nico glared at him, letting his hand be stopped to give him the full extent of his glower, “That’s not funny.” Will didn’t break his gaze and his jaw didn’t unclench for a single moment under Nico’s scrutiny. He tore his wrist away from the medic for the second time, “Don’t fucking joke about that.” He said lowly.
Scratches were one thing. They were simple. A shallow graze like Will’s would still introduce the virus into his body but it was slower. The bacteria in the bones of the dead was still toxic but it was lethargic. The virus had to deal with the full force of the human immune system. Slowly building strength and facilities to effectively prompt the immunodeficiency response that would allow it to take full control. People could last days or weeks in Stage One of the infection before the serious repercussions began. Stage One was curable with the right antibiotics and treatment equipment.
Bites, on the other hand, were a fucking catalyst. The mucous glands in the mouths of the infected were swollen with noxious blood that leaked between their teeth and down their chins. It was vicious and swimming with disease.
A bite didn’t just break the skin barrier, it obliterated all of the hardy human external defenses. The pathogens got the express pass directly into the bloodstream. The pure volume of harmful cells was enough to overwhelm the immune system in a much shorter time range than scratches, annihilating any chance of slowing down the process. It typically resulted in a speed run through Stage One into an all expenses paid Stage Two hell.
Lucky people made it a day or two, most lasted a few hours. The worst off didn’t even make it that long.
If what Will was saying was true, there was no telling how much time he had left.
Hence the extraordinary unfunniness of Will’s statement.
Nico stared at him, sharp eyes daring him to laugh it off while Will looked back with weary apprehension. Blue eyes slowly shifted between the two of Nico’s own before his shoulders slumped in defeat and exhaustion. He exhaled as he rolled slightly to the right on his hip, exposing his side for the first time since they’d been in the room.
There, Nico froze. Will’s once grey shirt had been dulled with wear and dirt for as long as Nico could remember but the sticky red blood stain was strikingly new. About the size of an apple, the material was wet and stuck to Will’s skin, the punctures through which a dead man's teeth had gone through were near invisible as the blood embraced every fibre of the fabric.
Nico couldn’t help but reach out for it. Needing to confirm in some other way what he was seeing. Pull the fabric away to find nothing at all. To find it was indeed a big, callous joke.
Will slapped his hand away decisively before he reached the shirt, “Don’t touch it!” He hissed sharply, “You may have been cured once but you’re not invincible.”
Over the roaring in his ears, Nico could barely even hear him. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not here.
Numbly he heard himself speak, “You’re fine.” He didn't register his lips moving but he heard the words he spoke as if he were underwater. “It’s fine.” He locked eyes with Will, “There’s time. There’s still time, Will.”
Stage Two was when it got bad. Stage Two would be when it was too late.
Will would be fine.
He had to talk to the others.
He surged to his feet, staggering the few feet towards the opposite wall. He fumbled for the walkie that he’d slipped into his jacket but it fell out of his shaking hands and clattered to the ground. As it landed on the floor the battery cover popped off and skated across the room. “Shit.” He shook his head, hair catching on the moisture of the cold sweat on his skin. Before he could reach down and grab it, Will kicked a leg out and dragged it to himself with his foot.
Flicking his eyes over at him, Nico was forced to assess the other boy.
He was filthy. They’d had to shift through rubble and traverse rough terrain to get to this facility and it showed. Will’s hair was caked in dirt, dulling its colour. His clothes were ragged and ripped and bloody. His jeans were covered in soot from the previous day and patches of the material were worn to a drab grey in place of its original blue. Then there was his face. It was set in exhaustion. Lines had formed under his eyes and his skin was tight with sun exposure.
But there was steely determination, there was a resolution in his expression that refused to waver. His voice held the same sentiment as he spoke, “Stop it, Nico. Just stop.”
He stared at Will, frozen where he was standing, feeling the strangest mixture of betrayal and devastation boil in his chest. He wanted to throw something at him, punch the window so hard the glass shattered, he wanted to do anything that would make Will stop looking at him with those sad blue eyes. With road-dirty clothes and hands made for medicine. Will wasn’t supposed to get infected. Will wasn’t supposed to die.
But he sat there and stared up at Nico like he was the crazy one for getting upset. He couldn’t stand it.
He couldn’t stand the fucking acceptance .
“What,” He spat venomously, “You’re just going to give up?” Seething, he took a step forwards and for once saw hesitation on his boyfriend’s face.
There was still time. How could Will not see that?
He crouched and ripped the walkie out from under Will’s shoe.
There was still time.