Chapter Text
Once they got the swords and ended up behind the Hades cabin, Will realized this would be a lot tougher than he expected. Not just physically, but also emotionally.
“Okay Solace, show me your ready position,” Nico stood in front of Will, bathing in the outdoor sun for the first time in ages.
Will tried to mimic what he’d had seen on the demigod fighters he’d seen before, but it didn’t quite work out. He looked like a baby giraffe trying to walk for the first time, one push away from falling with his sword down to the forest. He saw Nico try not to laugh at Will, but Nico couldn’t contain himself, letting out a hearty chuckle. Will wasn’t sure whether to laugh with him or slap the smug smile off of his face.
“Hey!” Will pouted.
“Sorry, sorry,” Nico apologized, still laughing. He then moved to show Will ready position, “Here, copy me.”
Will shifted his stance slightly, closer than before but still so, so off. “Like this?”
“Here, let me just do it for you,” Nico walked behind Will, pressing himself against the taller boy and started adjusting his arms.
Even though Nico was short, his pressed against Will seemed like a looming presence. The touch made Will dizzy. Just a few days ago, Nico wouldn’t let Will touch him, and now he was doing things like this to Will so casually.
“Perfect,” Nico said, moving toward his spot in front of Will, “Let’s see what you got, Solace. Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you,” Another smug grin grew on his face.
Will gulped, tightening his grip on the practice sword. It felt heavy and alien in Will’s hand, it was nowhere near holding a pill bottle. Still, Will tried not to let his fear show, “Easy? Will you use your shadow powers to trip me or something?”
“Tempting, but no. I like to play fair,” Nico said, circling around Will, “Try to swing at me. Any part of me, I dare you.”
Will lunged clumsily at Nico’s hip, a wide swing that Nico effortlessly blocked. The heavy clash of wood on wood rang against the field. Nico’s moves were fluid and tactical, like a painter finishing their masterpiece. Will tried again, a hopeful stab at Nico’s chest but Nico countered by twirling his sword and side-stepping away with ease.
“You’re leaving yourself open, Will.” Nico chided teasingly, “You have to be able to predict my next move and then move accordingly.
Will huffed frustratingly, “It’s not exactly in my job description to predict when to hurt people,” Will swung again, harder this time, driven by a competitive spark.
Nico however, was a master of evasion. “No way you almost got me! Whatever, it’s not like it’s gonna happen again.”
“Ready to admit I was right about the whole hoodie thing?”
Nico huffed a laugh, “Fine. I don’t have anything underneath though,” He said as he pulled his hoodie up and over his head, throwing it at the cabin walls.
Oh gods, how would Will be able to focus now? Nico’s toned skin practically taunted Will at how bad he was gonna be at sword fighting with this distraction. He wanted to bite the porcelain skin until it turned a shade of red and purple that was angrier than those wolf scars, crawl into the crook of Nico’s neck, wrap his ar-
Shut up, Will.
Will shook his head, “I knew I was right,” he smiled as he swung at Nico again.
Nico danced around Will’s predictable attacks, occasionally tapping Will’s hip or shoulder in a ‘Watch this spot, Solace’ kind of way. It made Will mad at how many things he couldn’t account for.
“Footwork, Solace!” Nico called out, almost enjoying himself. Even though Will was horrible at fighting, he liked seeing Nico like this. He was moving, he was teaching, he wasn’t dwelling on the shadows. Also maybe cause Nico was hot without a shirt.
Will gritted his teeth, “Just you wait,” Will tried a new tactic, a low sweep.
He slashed his sword at Nico’s knees, hoping this could surprise the boy just enough for Will to get an open spot to win the fight. Of course, Will was right. Nico yelped and jumped up in surprise, dodging Will’s attempt as usual, but knocking off his balance. His eyes widened the slightest bit from Will’s attack and a gasp escaped his lips.
That was all Will needed. He took Nico’s shock to his advantage and pressed his sword against Nico, pushing the shorter boy toward the cold, stony walls of the Hades cabin. Nico panicked, trying to pivot or find a way to escape, but it was too late.
Will drank up the panic and disbelief in Nico’s eyes that loosened up the usual guardedness he had. If Nico’s smiles were prizes, this moment was like a 20-foot trophy. Will pushed his sword against Nico’s chest with one hand, the other holding both of Nico’s hands above his head and shoving him onto the walls of the Hades cabin as Nico’s sword clattered on the ground. The smell of rain and mahogany ran chills down Will’s spine, either from the intimacy or the actual chills Nico sent through him, Will didn’t know which. Frankly, he didn’t really care. All he thought about in that moment was how Nico’s eyes were like blackholes, sucking in all light. It was intoxicating.
“Checkmate, Death Boy,” Will huffed, his voice shaky with adrenaline. He didn’t originally mean to get this close, but he definitely wasn’t complaining. He couldn’t believe it, clumsy Solace conquered Nico di Angelo. Even through his pride, Will tried to fight his blush once his mind comprehended that he had a shirtless Nico pinned to the wall.
Just as fast as Will pinned Nico down, Nico gave him a sly smile. He quickly put his left leg onto the wall of his cabin and pushed himself down, bringing Will down with him. Will’s grip on Nico loosened with surprise, which Nico took to his advantage and grabbed Will’s hands and pinned him down, propping himself up by straddling Will. Nico gave him a toothy grin. “Are you sure about that, Sunshine? I’m pretty sure you’re the one who’s trapped.”
As Will understood what happened, he tried not to blush even harder than before (if that was possible). He seriously didn’t expect that move because Nico was basically half his height and weight. But Will should’ve known now, Nico was way stronger than he looked. Still, Nico di Angelo was straddling him. And he was half-naked. Just the thought of that would’ve sent Will reeling before he could bask in reality.
Sadly, Nico got off of Will and offered him a hand. “Not too bad for your first time, Solace.”
Will took Nico’s hand and got up. “You’re stronger than you look, di Angelo.”
Nico shrugged. “I guess you could say I have a sleeper build,” he joked, flexing his biceps on his good arm.
Still, Nico wasn’t lying. To the blind eye, he was just skinny. But once he flexed, Will swore his arm doubled in size, looking as if it popped out of his anatomy textbook. Will forced his eyes to the ground, pretending Nico’s joke didn’t have as much effect on him.
“I’m guessing you don’t need help with decorating your cabin because you’re so big and strong?” Will asked, batting his eyelashes.
“Hey! I still need help! You agreed!” Nico fought, “You can not leave me in there Will. It’s built for vampires.”
Will sat down against the dark cabin behind them, gesturing at Nico to sit with him. “So, what do you think you’ll decorate it with?”
“I don’t know. I definitely have to change the beds, maybe add a few more warm lights. I’m not quite sure what to do for decorations, though,” Nico’s eyes lit up, “I heard Hazel talking about LED lights the other day, I’ll look into that.”
“Hmm,” Will thought for a moment before getting up and running toward the forest.
“Will? Where are you going?” Nico called out, putting his hoodie back on and running after him.
“Just follow me!” Will laughed.
Both boys ran on green grass under the sunny sky until they reached the dense forest. Even though they reached it, Will kept running along the path into the heart of the forest.
“Here we are,” Will smiled, showing off the area in front of them.
Will had taken Nico to a clearing in the forest that was surrounded by flowers of all different colors, lengths, and shapes. The trees behind them rose to the sky, blocking out any excess shade but still gently reminding the boys that the sun was watching over them. The clearing was grass otherwise in the center, other than a few stumps in a circle. It looked like something straight out of a fairytale.
“Will…what’s this?” Nico asked, face twisted with worry.
“This was a project abandoned by the Demeter kids. They tried to make a ‘secret fort’ but kind of gave up though,” Will walked over to the flowers and pointed at the stump, “You can sit down.”
“That still doesn’t answer my question. Why’d you bring me here? I thought somebody died!” Nico huffed in anger.
“Just relax,” Will’s gaze landed on a few yellow flowers as he reached over and plucked them.
These flowers were like sunflowers, but bigger and better (obviously). Their petals were gradients of varying shades of yellow and the middles seemed like the soil that they relied on, nourishing the bright petals. Will’s favorite part was that they always faced the sun, no matter if there was rain, hail, or even a tornado. Normally he didn’t want to pluck the flowers so that he could preserve them for longer, but he decided that Nico was more special.
“What are these for?” Nico asked, puzzled with the gift.
“Decorations for your cabin. The Hades cabin needs some life in it too. Plus, it can help remind you that you have a home at Camp Half Blood now, that you don’t need to run away,” Will answered.
Nico looked up at him, his doe eyes doing all the smiling for him, “Thank you, Will,” he said softly before getting up, “Let’s go put them away now. I think I saw a vase with some bat flowers that was begging for this kind.”
Will scrunched his nose as he and Nico walked back to Nico’s cabin. “Bat flower? You know what that is?”
Nico shuddered, “Persephone didn’t just turn me into dandelions, you know.”
“Persephone? You’re close with her? She turned you into plants?”
Nico opened the door to his cabin, “I have a lot to catch you up on, don’t I?”
Nico took the bat flower vase to the bathroom along with the flowers, coming out with a new yellow-flower vase. He placed it gently on the table as if it were the most fragile, important thing in the world. Then, Nico just stared at it for a while. Will couldn’t see Nico’s face as he sat on the bed, so he wasn’t quite sure why. However, being the son of Apollo, Will saw the metaphor in it. Just like the flowers, Nico was facing the sun now, ready to change for the better. Will felt the pride swell in his chest as he lovingly stared at the other boy.
Nico snapped out of his thoughts and turned back to Will, “What are these flowers called?”
Will thought over it, he didn’t hear the Demeter kids saying much about them. “I don’t think they have a name.”
Nico sat down on the coffin bed next to Will. “I think you should name them.”
Will looked around the cabin, hoping something suddenly would hit him with inspiration. The Hades cabin was creepy, Nico wasn’t wrong about that. It screamed “Get the fuck out!” with the Greek fire at the front, and if that wasn’t enough, the interior was made by Dracula’s reincarnation. The coffin beds, the windowless walls, and the blood red doors gave Will a feeling like somebody was watching him, ready to strike. Poor Nico, forced to sleep here. No wonder he wanted to redecorate it.
Then, just by thinking of Nico, his eyes landed on the other boy. Ironically, Nico seemed like the sun that the gloomy room so desperately desired. Nico’s small smile, waiting for an answer was the only thing keeping this cabin from collapsing in its misery.
“Sunshine,” Will blurted out, immersed in his thoughts.
Nico tilted his head, “What?”
Uh oh. Will had to think fast now. “Sunshine flowers! Yes. That’s what I want to name them.”
“Sunshine…” Nico pondered over the thought, “I like it.”
“Because it’ll remind you of me after you leave the infirmary?”
“Whatever, dork,” Nico rolled his eyes, not denying it, “Am I not already discharged? I’m pretty much good as new.”
Will thought about it, and Nico was right. “Hmm, I guess you are.”
“Will!” Gracie yelled from outside Cabin 13’s door, “There’s a bunch of people in the infirmary again because their injuries from the war are getting worse! Kayla thinks it’s from the last batch of nectar they gave out, but she wants to check it over with you.”
“I’ll be there in a minute, just go back and settle everybody down,” Will asked.
“Yes sir,” Gracie saluted and ran down.
Will looked back at Nico, “Well, I better get going.”
“I didn’t know the infirmary was still so busy? It looked so empty last time I was there,” Nico asked.
“Between sound proof walls and all the volunteers we have, it certainly looks like that, but it’s practically overflowing after the war,” Will responded before softly adding on another bit, “You’ll still help out in the infirmary though, right? Don’t be a stranger.”
“I’ll be there tomorrow,” Nico’s voice was a low rasp, “on one condition,”
Will threw back his head, a playful smirk on his face. “Oh yeah? What is it?”
Nico walked across from Will, opening the door for the boy before he left. Will stepped closer, as if he was about to leave but didn’t quite want to go. He stood there in front of Nico, gazing at the beautiful boy in front of him while he waited for the boy to say something. These past few days were a rollercoaster, but the good kind that you want to go on again and again.
“Save me a seat at the campfire?” Nico stepped closer to Will as if daring Will to decline. No, Will would have never declined. Nico needed this win. He needed this community. He needed a fresh start.
And Will needed Nico. He couldn’t bear to see the boy run away again after they’d opened up to each other so much.
Will reached out and grazed the bandages on Nico’s arm. It was solid proof of their time together. “It’s a deal, Death Boy.”
Will started to walk past Nico, but alas, Nico was full of surprises. Just like a few days ago when he saw Nico hugging Jason instead of trying to help Will at the infirmary, Nico was hugging him now. His cool arms rested on Will’s back, hanging onto Will as they had that night in the infirmary. They both knew what it meant, a silent plea to still be close after this, not because they had to, but by choice. Will embraced the smaller boy, resting his head on Nico’s hair. It really was as soft as he thought it was.
Then, Will’s gaze flicked to their shadows below, tangled together just like the boys. Every strand of hair, every piece of fabric, every bend of their limbs were highlighted in the sun like Apollo himself was drawing a mural of this moment, his only paints being the sunshine and shadows. Will glanced down at the other boy as they embraced, noting every similarity they had to the painting. Nico was tightly holding onto Will, savoring this moment. Will held just as tightly back, if not more. He tried to dig deep into this brain, stitching this moment into his amygdala. Just like how Nico needed Will, Will needed Nico.
Just like how the shadows relied on the sun, the sun needed the shadows.