Chapter Text
Will was nervous the first time he told Nico he needed to stay longer than three days in the infirmary. Worried that Nico would see right through him and tell him to fuck off. He didn’t expect Nico to agree.
Nico hadn’t expected Will to ask him to stay longer but he was glad that he did. He liked Will. A lot. Probably in the way he used to think he wasn’t allowed to like guys. He’d already started letting himself believe the opposite, but sometimes he’d catch himself thinking what he felt for Will was disgusting. Luckily, actually being around Will helped with that. The more time he spent just doing things like teaching Will the basics of Mythomagic the more at ease he felt with his feelings.
For his part, Will had tried to flirt with Nico by making sure he had enough blankets and things to keep him occupied when he wasn’t there. Because to Will’s surprise again, Nico didn’t mind if Will spent every second that he wasn’t needed with Nico. In fact Will, would’ve said that Nico was actually just as sad to see Will leave as Will was to actually leave. It hadn’t taken long for them to settle into a routine. As soon as Will was done with his more pressing patients, he’d visit Nico and they’d either end up playing Mythomagic or watching musicals off of Will’s laptop. (Leo had made a device that could give the camp Wi-Fi without attracting monsters. It was truly the best thing since sliced bread.)
Nico claimed to hate the musicals. They really ruined his dark and gloomy aesthetic even though he was coming to find out that most musicals were quite tragic. His favorite was Repo! The Genetic Opera and he’d meet anyone in an alley to fight about how great it actually was. The concept itself was pure genius and personally, he thought the music was amazing too. (Mainly because it wasn’t like most musicals.) He also loved musicals like Sweeney Todd, American Psycho, and even Little Shop of Horrors and Phantom of the Opera. Will walked in on him trying to sing both parts of “Phantom of the Opera” including Christine’s high parts...
“Nico? I love that you liked Phantom, but could you please stop screaming? Paitents are trying to sleep,” Will said quietly. As he watched Nico blush, he had to keep back a smile.
“I-I wasn’t singing Phantom. I was...I was practicing my screeching,” Nico mumbled, blushing as he did so. He sat there for a few moments before he buried his face in a pillow.
“Right. I’ll let you get some sleep, then. See you in the morning,” Will replied with a soft smile. He was head over heels for this boy and it had only been a week since they’d properly started to spend time with each other. What was he going to do?
Ask Chiron if Nico could stay longer apparently. He’d realized that Chiron hadn’t said anything when he kept Nico longer than three days, but that he’d probably bring it up if Nico stayed any longer. Neither of them wanted that to happen. He knew it wasn’t only him because one night, when they were both exhausted after watching Rent, Nico told him that he didn’t want to go back his cabin. It felt like a coffin, and he wasn’t actually dead. So the next morning, after making sure it was okay with Nico, he headed towards Chiron’s, and when he came back he was over the moon.
“Nico! Nico he said yes!” Will exclaimed, waking Nico from his nap.
“He...he said yes? Really?”
“Yes! He didn’t even question it. I think he wants you to socialize more.”
“Well I’ve definitely been socializing more. You’re with me constantly...”
Will frowned. Nico had said that like it was a bad thing. In reality, Nico was just tired and had trouble controlling his tone.
“I...I can leave you alone more if you want, Nico...”
“NO! I mean...please don’t. I like it when you’re with me.”
They both had a faint blush on their cheeks. They both wanted to do something, but they both couldn’t bring themselves to. Will ended the silence that ensued.
“Alright. I’ll bring over my laptop and show you
Les Misérables
when I’m done, sound good?”
Nico nodded, and Will added “I’m sorry, I’ll let you get back to your nap.”
“Don’t let anyone die. I’ll know if you do.”
***
They finally ran out of good musicals to watch a few days after Chiron granted their request. Kayla was the one who suggested Netflix and Chill as an alternative.
“I’m just saying if you want the guy to like you, Netflix and Chill apparently works. You just need Netflix,” Kayla suggested with a small smirk.
“I’m trying to take things slow, Kayla. I don’t think Netflix and Chill is the best solution. That implies that something is going to happen while watching Netflix, when in reality the most that will happen is that his hand will accidentally touch mine—”
“Which you love—”
“Shut up!” Will blushed brightly, thinking of all of their accidental hand touches. There truly had been too many. “Maybe I’ll show him Netflix without the Chill.”
“Boring,” Kayla replied, rolling her eyes. “But if that’s what you think is best, obviously go for it. You’re welcome for the idea.”
Will sighed, and shook his head. “Thank you, Kayla.”
Kayla nodded, the smirk had never left her face. “Keep me updated on Death Boy.”
Will simply rolled his eyes in response and grabbed his bag to head to the infirmary.
Netflix without the Chill had turned out to be a wonderful solution to replace the gap of time where they usually watched a musical.
“So, Nico, this is Netflix. It basically has anything you want to watch on it, from movies to tv shows. So what do you want to watch?
“I don’t know,” Nico shrugged. “I’m not exactly the best at picking things. Why don’t you pick?”
Will sighed, and flipped through the “What’s Popular on Netflix” section because he too had no idea what to watch. After a few titles passed, Nico gasped.
“There’s a Mythomagic anime?!” Nico’s voice was filled with so much awe and wonder that he sounded like the ten year old that showed up at camp so many years before.
Will thought it was adorable. “Apparently. Want to watch it?” He asked, knowing the answer would yes.
“Obviously. Do you not know me at all, Solace?” Nico asked, although his grin gave away his teasing nature.
Will simply rolled his eyes, clicked play, and watched as the intro began to play. By the end, Nico was happier than Will had ever seen him.
“That was amazing? They stayed so truthful to the game, yet they gave it plot? We’re watching more, right? If we’re not, I might have to murder you.”
Will laughed, and their hands brushed over each other’s to click the “Skip to Next Episode” button. Then Will blushed, and pulled his hand away. Netflix and Chill alright.
“Of course we’re going to watch more. We’re going to finish all three seasons of it before you have to leave,” Will replied, trying to sound as relaxed as he could, despite the nerves of the previous encounter still being present.
Nico made a pleased sound, and clicked the button to start the next episode. They ended up watching five total, staying up until two in the morning. They were both exhausted when Will put his laptop away.
“Goodnight, Nico,” Will said with a tired smile as he got up from the bed and headed towards the exit.
“See you tomorrow, Will,” Nico replied. He wished so badly that Will would’ve just stayed with him. Gods, there was no way he could deny his feelings now.
***
Their extra two weeks were up, and they were almost done with season two of the Mythomagic anime. When Nico realized this, he quickly asked Will if he could convince Chiron to let him stay at least another week so that they could finish the whole series. Will was worried Chiron wouldn’t agree to another extension, but he couldn’t say no to Nico. He was shocked when Chiron granted his second request.
“NICO!” Will yelled, as he walked into the medical tent. There weren’t any other campers that were currently injured so he didn’t feel bad for being loud. “HE SAID YES! CHIRON SAID YOU COULD STAY AN EXTRA WEEK!”
Nico looked up from the game of Mythomagic he’d been playing with himself as he heard Will and grinned. He couldn’t actually believe Chiron had fell for it again. “I THOUGHT WE WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE LOUD BECAUSE PATIENTS ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!” Nico yelled from his bed, even though Will was within range to hear him normally now.
Will ended up in front of Nico’s bed rolling his eyes. “There aren’t any other patients here right now and you know it.”
Nico smirked. “How amI supposed to know? I haven’t been out of bed because I’m sick.”
Will pulled out his laptop, and sat down on the bed. “You’re right. You shouldn’t be out of bed. That’s why I’ve brought your favorite form of entertainment to you.”
“My knight in shining armor.”
Will rolled his eyes again, but this time a faint blush crept onto his cheeks. Neither of them had still made the first move, but they basically cuddled as they watched Mythomagic at this point. Nico’s lips were generally within kissing distance at all times and it drove Will mad.
Little did Will know that the same was happening in Nico’s head. Nico had thought about closing the small gap many times, but each time the part of him that still thought this was wrong stopped him. That part of him was growing smaller by the second but right now it still had control over the more physical side of things.
“Are you going to play it?” Nico asked hesitantly, when he realized Will was staring at him and not the laptop and still hadn’t pressed play.
Shit. Will blushed, and pressed play immediately. How was he supposed to recover from that?
“Sorry, I thought you might be turning translucent again,” he mumbled, turning his attention towards the screen.
“Sure. Better keep an eye on that or else I’ll have to stay longer,” Nico replied with a small smirk.