A chapter I write with nonbinary_nightmare
If you guys want to write a chapter with me, send me a messag ♥️♥️
———
NPOV
"Nico Di Angelo! What is going on here?"
"Oh, yeah." I responded casually. It really wasn't that big of a deal. "I got attacked by Lycan and Reyna stitched me up but they just refuse to heal. I don't know why."
"No, I'm talking about your shirt. What the Hades are you wearing? Are those parrots? And what's going on with— wait." Will Solace paused a few seconds, the realization taking a moment to settle in. "Lycan? You were attacked by Lycan? And you just now thought to tell me?"
"When would I have told you?" I asked. I mean, when would I have told him? It's not like we were friends. I say this as Will took multiple deep breaths so to not scream in frustration. He did not succeed at this. "When will you learn?" Will shrieked in a tone that resembled that vine. "That your actions have consequences?"
"I know my actions have consequences. You telling me that is like Snape telling Harry that 'life is pain' as if Harry didn't know that." Will calmed down for a second.
"Ugh. I hate Snape."
"Same." I agreed. We both stayed silent for a moment before Will once again remembered the original problem.
"Lycan!? Nico, you're lucky to be alive!"
"Woohoo. I'm not dead." I said in a monotone voice. Will didn't seem to notice my low self-esteem, he was too busy frantically looking through a cabinet and grabbing seemingly random bottles. I wasn't a doctor, I had no idea what those bottles and jars contained.

"Open your mouth." Will says in a commanding tone.
"Why?" I ask. I'm not going to open my mouth for anyone without knowing why.
"So I can stick this spoon in your mouth and you can take seven different medicines at once. So open up." I open my mouth and he shoves the spoon in my mouth.
"Oh, gods." I say about the disgusting medication. "I just choked. That spoon toched the back of my throat."
"Good practice." He said absentmindedly, shuffling through a drawer. He bowed his head down, trying to hide his blush. "Because you need to eat more." He said quickly. I wonder why he seems embarrassed. What else would he have been talking about? He grabs his clipboard and turns around to face me, his face still slightly pink.

"When was the last time you had at least ten straight hours of sleep?" Will asks as he scribbled on his clipboard.
"A few days ago. When Reyna, Hedge, and I delivered the Athena Parthenos." I respond. He squints at me suspiciously.
"Non shadow travel induced sleep?"
"Oh." I think for a moment. Gods, it's been a while. "About a year ago? After the battle of Manhattan." Don't get me wrong, I do sleep. Just not all at once. And maybe not enough. Before Tartarus, I loved sleeping. It's like being dead, but still being able to save the world occasionally. Life with benefits. But now my 'rest' is plagued with nightmares. It's better to avoid it. Why confront a problem when you could just not?
"Okay, so," Will says. I'd almost forgotten he was here. "You need to sleep. I'm going to do an IV because quite frankly, you're lucky to even be alive. When was the last time you've eaten? When was the last time you've drank anything other than coffee?"
"I ate yesterday, Solace. And I drank some tea."
"Was it caffeinated?"
"Yes. But it still counts!" I protest.
"No, Nico. It doesn't. Gods, all Percy drinks is blue soda and he's still healthier than you!" He walks out of the room angrily. I hear him take several deep breaths in the hallway. "Keep it together, William." He says to himself. "Nico's a good person. He just needs to eat a bowl of spaghetti and take a nap." He takes another minute before walking back in with an IV.
"Why do you want me to eat spaghetti?" I ask.
"You weren't meant to hear that." He smiles uncomfortably. "But I'm going to explain it to you anyway because you need to know. You're incredibly underweight. You haven't had water in gods know how long, and it's been a full year since you've had healthy sleep. You're running on adrenaline, ambrosia, and a prayer. Your arms are covered in werewolf scratches, which seem to have been infected for days now. You didn't let anyone look at your injuries after the battle, so I don't even know what else is going on." Will pauses and takes a deep breath. "Sorry. I just.... I care about you. And it bothers me that you don't care about yourself." Wait. He cares about me? How?

Will was serious about the spaghetti. He did the IV and gave me a check up, then told me to rest for a few minutes. Then he left. So now I'm just sitting here, waiting for Will to come back.

"Eat your spaghetti!" He says, plopping down a large plate of spaghetti.
"Where did you get this?" I ask him.
"Doesn't matter!" He responds cheerfully. "Just matters that you eat it." So I eat it, because I'm never one to refuse spaghetti.
"So," Will says, sitting. "I have some icebreaker questions! Ready?" I don't want to, but then I remember that Apollo kids can curse you to speak in rhymes for a week. That's a punishment no one deserves. I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy, so I nod. "Sure."

"If you were on an island and could only bring three things with you, what would they be? And don't say a raft or a plane or something. That's cheating."
"A sketchbook, my sword, and French fries." I say, eating the last bit of pasta.
"Why fries?" Will asks, pale blue eyes looking into mine. Oh gods, his eyes are gorgeous. I feel as if I was shrunken really small, I could drown in them. Although technically, when you're that smart, you could drown in anyone's eyes. Literally. After a moment I realize that haven't responded. I need to play it off cool so he doesn't notice.
"Is this an interrogation? They're delicious."
"Very true."

Will leaves about an hour later. I'm left alone in this way too hospital-ey room. I get it, it's an infirmary. But why would they need informational pamphlets on the wall? Why you need a flu shot, and, puberty in female adolescents, and, Is Athletic Foot your Archille's heel? Not to mention the kids' books stacked neatly in a pile next to the sink. Don't poke the mump! seems like a solid lesson to teach children. There are at least four other books, and at least ten more pamphlets, but there was one magazine. I think about reading it, but I decide to sleep instead.

Day Two
My dreams aren't that bad. Just a goat screaming. Then the screaming gets louder, then, get this, the goat dies. And it's eyes fall out. Surprisingly, this is one of my more pleasant dreams. But then I look more closely at the goat eyes and I realize they look familiar. They're Will's eyes. Good gods, why am I dreaming about a goat with my doctor's eyes? That's so messed up. The eyes are in the ground, but the goat is still screaming. It feels more real than it did a minute ago. Almost as if... My eyes snap open and I see Will, eyes safely intact, screaming a song. "Vα θεραπεύσει, μητέρα γαμημένο τσιμπήματα λύκου!"
"Oh, gods!" I say, inching away from him. "What are you doing?"
Will stops singing (if you can call it that) and smiles at me. "I'm healing you. Singing in Greek heals demigods."
"Singing? Don't you mean shrieking?" I ask. I'm still upset that he woke me up.
"I know I'm not the best singer," Will says, "But I'm the best healer here. So be quiet and let me shriek at you."

I stare at him while he shrieks. His hair is yellow. Not really blonde, but more of a golden color. Light shines through the window, casting a faint rainbow on his face. He's so gorgeous that I almost can't even hear his 'song'. Almost.
"Vα θεραπεύσετε, να θεραπεύσετε, να θεραπεύσετε ή θα σας σκοτώσω!" He finishes. I start clapping politely. "Very well done. With threats like those, I doubt the bites will have the courage to stick around." Will rolls his eyes.
"Alright, Darlin'," He says something else, too. But I don't hear it. Did he just call me Darling? Does he like me? I like him, I realize. That explains why I've been staring at his hair and his face. Hm. Yeah, that checks out.
"Nico. Hold out your arm. Nico?" Will says, snapping me back into reality. "Right." I say. "Sorry, just zoned out for a second there." I hold out my arm and wonder. Did he really say that? Or am I just hearing what I want to hear?

I hadn't realized that I was staring at him until I was making eye contact with him. My face heated up upon seeing those blue eyes and that amused smile.

"You good?" Will asks.

"Y-Yeah," I stutter, glancing at the floor, dropping my head a bit subconsciously to cover my red face with my bangs.

"Really?" He asks, going back to working on my arm, "because you seem to be staring a lot."

"What?" Nico glances up at him, and Will's smiling mischievously as he reaches for gauze. I glare at the floor again, "Shut up," he mutters.

"Hey, Nico?" Will says after a minute, tightly putting the fabric on his shoulder.

"What?" Will looks up at him and smiles.

"You're adorable when you blush." That only makes my face red.

Will leans in a bit, and I pull back, eyes wide and heart pounding in my chest. Holy shit.

"W-What are you doing?" I ask, voice an octave higher. Will puts a hand to my red cheek, and I swallow thickly. I couldn't help as my eyes flick down to his rosy lips.

"Can I . . ?" he trails off, and I look back up into his eyes. I can only nod in response. He beams, before slowly connecting our lips together.
———
LexterCollabs

(1733)