Chapter Text
When Nico woke up in the infirmary, he was in a clean, warm bed in his own, private room. Through the curtained doorway, he could hear someone singing in a sweet, airy tenor. “Turn my headphones up real loud. I don’t think I need them now, ‘cause you stop the noise...”
“Will?”
“Holy Mother of Zeus! How long have you been awake?”
“Like, two seconds.”
“Okay. I’m coming in. You decent?”
“Yeah.”
Will poked his tan face in between the white-and-gold curtains. “Hey.” He seemed shy, all of a sudden.
“Hey,” said Nico, hiding a smirk. “You can come in, you know. Like, all of you.”
Will giggled and flushed as he stepped inside. “So, I guess you’re feeling better?”
“Mostly, yeah.”
“Good. I was getting worried. I think the Morpheus kids went a little overboard on the sleeping magic stuff. You were out for two days.”
Nico groaned. “You knocked me out for two days? You’ve got to be kidding me, Solace.”
“Well, you’re awake now. That’s what’s important, right?”
The boy on the bed rolled his eyes and said nothing as Will rummaged through the medicine cabinets lining the walls. He emerged with his arms full of shiny silver equipment, a notepad, and a pen between his teeth.
“I just have to check a few things really quick,” Will promised, pulling out a thermometer. “Here, stick this in your mouth.” He paused for a second as he realized what he had just said. “Oh gods, not like that.”
Nico raised his eyebrows as he tucked the thermometer under his tongue, earning a playful punch from the healer.
An awkward silence fell, only to be broken by the loud beeping of the thermometer. “Perfect,” Will decided, checking the small screen. “Now give me your arm, I need to do blood pressure.”
As Nico complied, the wheezing of the blood pressure monitor filled the room and, Nico hoped, covered up the sound of his wildly thumping heart. Will was so close, and it made him feel so...vulnerable. It was not an unfamiliar feeling, but whenever Percy had made him feel like that, Nico was able to run away. Now, there was little to do to resist Will’s hand on his arm, the comforting but also somehow exhilarating feeling of the lightest brush of skin on skin.
“Good.” Will pulled out a stethoscope. “Now, sit up and take deep breaths.”
Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Nico was not prepared for this. Not prepared for cold metal, warm hands, under his shirt, pressing against his chest.
Will cocked an eyebrow. “Deep breaths. Relax. Jesus, your heart is going crazy.”
The smaller boy turned wine-red behind his wavy dark bangs. It was quiet again as Nico tried desperately to slow the frantic beat of his heart.
“Okay, di Angelo. You look fine. But you still owe me a day in the infirmary. And no death magic.” He turned and busied himself with stashing his equipment and scribbling in his notepad.
“Hey, Will?”
“Yeah?”
“What’s that song you were singing before?”
“Oh my gods. You heard that?”
“Yeah.” Nico twisted his silver skull ring. “But it...it was good. Don’t worry.” He smiled an awkward half-smile; he knew he had to work on giving compliments and, hell, just being social in general.
Will smirked. “Thanks. It’s called ‘Summertime.’”
“I...I liked it.”
“I’ve got it over here. You know- Apollo, God of Music and all.”
Nico nodded. He did know: he’d heard everything from Lady Gaga to alt-J to Metallica blaring from Cabin Seven.
Meanwhile, Will opened a small, narrow cabinet by the door, grabbed a CD player, and pulled a sleek plastic case from the tall stack in the shallow cabinet. After a few moments of fumbling with the machine, Nico could hear the steady pulse of drums, then guitar, sweet and clear. When the words began, Will sang along, his voice melting into the one on the recording, weaving a heartbreakingly simple melody.
“When the lights go out, will you take me with you? And carry all this broken bone, through six years down in crowded rooms and highways I call home.”
Nico didn’t know what came over him. But Will was pretty as an angel in pale gold as he swayed back and forth, striking sapphire eyes gently shut. And Nico couldn’t stop himself. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and shuffled unsteadily to where Will stood.
The son of Apollo seemed aware of his presence; a small smile appeared on the edges of his sun-reddened mouth. And as he murmured, “And if you stay, I would even wait all night. Or until my…” Nico pressed their lips together, swallowing the word ‘heart.’
He could feel Will’s smile widen as he responded, strong but gentle hands finding their way up to rest on the delicate bones of Nico’s slim shoulders.
Nico reached out his own thin, pale hands, pulling the other boy closer, closer, their chests colliding, sharing heat, happiness.
“You can run away with me anytime you want,” the song promised.
But, for the first time in a long, long time, Nico didn’t want to run away. He felt safe just where he was.