Sunshine Through the Clouds

Nico--Wrong Timing

Nico sat on the steps of Cabin 13, watching the sun go down. He enjoyed the shadows that began to snake up and down along the trees as dryads finished cleaning up their earlier dinner mess. From where he sat, he could see the lights of the infirmary poking out of their closed curtains. Silhouettes danced along them.

Will had only been at dinner for a minute or two, fixing himself a plate of whatever before dipping by the Hades table to remind Nico to eat something. Which, for the record, Nico was going to do anyway. Maybe. Yet there he sat, poking at a plate of barbeque, silently hoping that everything was okay. Nico didn't know what Kayla meant by 'some shit,' but assumed it wasn't good if Austin couldn't have handled it alone there.

He got up from where he sat just as the sun dropped below the horizon, and all that remained was a faint glimmer of orange light. Darkness was settling in around the camp like a well-worn blanket, and Nico made his way over to the infirmary. The door was open, so Nico shuffled up the steps and crossed over the threshold.

Inside looked like a tornado had swept through it.

If Nico thought the beds were crowded before, he hadn't seen anything yet. Campers laid about every single cot with bandaged burns that were so bad, Nico could see straight through the blinding white cloths covering them. An aura of death lingered over the place, stronger than it was before, but he didn't remember seeing Thanatos lurking in the darkness. Austin and Will were the main campers helping, with some other kids Nico didn't recognize organizing ambrosia and nectar supplies over in the corner. Kayla sat on a counter along the wall. Her legs dangled over the edge.

"What did I tell y'all about that?" Will huffed, snapping at Kayla until she nudged herself down.

"Uh," Nico cleared his throat, "You guys need any help in here?"

"Well now you ask?" Will muttered, turning around, "But no, we've done all we can."

Nico wandered over to one camper, a girl he recognized from the Ares group that started the contest, and sat on the edge of her cot. She was fast asleep, her brown hair burnt at the tips and hanging loosely around her face. He watched as the darkness around her settled down, as if controlled by Nico.

"She's got a bad aura," He observed.

"Well no shit," Austin muttered, appearing from a back room with a box of bandages, "But she's stable because of my song of healing, so I don't want to hear it." Nico looked at the kid, who he almost immediately felt connected with. Maybe it was the black jeans, maybe it was the signature 'why-is-this-my-life-but-I'm-good-at-it' look, or maybe it was just because he wasn't as sunny as the rest of his siblings. Either way, Nico thought pretty highly of him.

"What happened?" Nico asked, getting up. Kayla walked over to him, presumably so she could talk to him without shouting across a room.

"The lava wall malfunctioned," She explained, "Started spraying everyone. Some Hephaestus kids are looking at it now, but most of us got burnt. Actually, I'm pretty sure all of us got burnt."

"That," Nico muttered, "Is why I don't trust Ares kids." Will leaned against the wall and sighed before saying,

"Oh please. If I know one thing, it's that it ain't their fault. Not even they would try to rig a competition like that."

"Then...Who would?" He asked.

"We don't know," Kayla muttered, "We don't know."

Nico left the infirmary after around a half hour of talking, which he assumed was enough social interaction for one day. Anyway, his tired-o-meter was far too high, as were his apathy levels. Nothing could stand between him and his much-needed sleep. He barely bothered with closing the cabin door as he melted onto the bed, adjusting to the pillow. Around, the cabin was shockingly full, primarily of things he'd left when he was younger and fled from camp. He didn't really care to look around now, and, although Will had helped him put some stuff away earlier, he refused to do any more. It felt like removing a piece of history.

Sleep washed over Nico, and his eyes fluttered shut. Unlike most demigods, he wasn't cursed with nightmares or prophetic dreams. Instead, he could control them, more or less, or at least keep the really bad ones at bay. Memories of Italy took over this time. Not that he minded, anyhow. He could hear his mother's voice, but, for some reason, dream-Nico couldn't see her face. He'd look up and see her coats, or her shiny necklace, but no eyes or nose or mouth. Beside him, Bianca's voice sounded out. She sang as they walked along the street.

It was a good dream, the kind that Nico wanted to remember forever. It was almost like his dream-self remembered more of his former life than he did. Considering the circumstances, that probably wasn't too far off. Dreams are strange like that.

He awoke who knows how long later to total darkness, as the blackout curtains were drawn shut to not let any light in. Nico propped himself up and felt around wildly until he met the cloth and drew the curtains open, bringing in sunlight. The darkness bothered him, brought up memories he'd rather let remain hidden. His breathing grew forced and quick, despite the fact that he was no longer surrounded by pitch-black nothingness. He felt like he was suffocating, being dragged further and further down and down into a deep pit. He felt like he was in the jar.

"Nico?" He shot his head forward and his vision cleared, revealing Will propped up against the doorframe.

"What do you want, Solace?" He asked, rubbing at his eyes.

"All I wanted was to say goodbye," Will muttered, slowly inching his way into the cabin and leaving the door cracked behind him. He sat down on the corner of Nico's bed.

"Goodbye?"

"What, did you forget I was leaving?" In all honesty, Nico had kind of forgotten where he even was. But, yeah, he did forget Will was leaving. Until now.

"No, of course I didn't."

"Well, in that case, I've gotta go. See ya, Nico," Will said. He started getting up, but Nico felt pulled, almost compelled, to make him stay, if only for a little while. Nico lunged forward and grabbed his wrist, locking his hands in a death grip.

"What--"

"Thank you," Nico said, still holding on to Will's wrist.

"For...?"

"Y-you made me realize that, yeah, I can stay at camp," Nico felt a blush spreading up his cheeks but carried on, "And you're..." My everything-- "A great friend."

When Will pulled him into a hug this time, Nico didn't even try to pull away. Did he want to? Maybe a little. But when he was let go, Will's smile lit up the dim room like sunshine through the clouds. His freckles even lit up. Seriously, Will was glowing.

"Okay, really , I need to go now. But, thanks. I'll Iris Message y'all eventually," He got up, for real this time, and waved a last good-bye to Nico before walking out the door. Nico settled back into his bed. Even though the sunlight was now seeping in, hitting him right in the eyes, he managed to slip into a calm state. His brain settled in on a freeze-frame of Will, just as he left: His freckles still emitting a slight glow, his smile bright and blinding. He was wearing an oversized hoodie but gym shorts with flip-flops, a look only Will Solace could pull off. Nico regretted not stalling him for any longer, as he wasn't able to get a good look at his curls up close before he left.

He was almost asleep when he felt something tickling at his ankle. It started to itch, so he pulled away the covers to see what it was. A yellow-and-orange bracelet, woven with the kind of thread you'd make friendship necklaces out of, was laying on his bed. There was a small plastic sun charm woven into the middle of it. Nico picked it up and threaded it through his fingers.

It was Will's, no doubt. He'd probably just let it slide off and forgotten all about it. Nico knew it was just cast aside, and that it wasn't really a gift from him. Hades, it was just a bracelet. He slipped it on anyway before settling back into sleep. There, with the sunlight hitting right at his eyelids and the lingering scent of Will's strong-ass deodorant, Nico was able to catch a short, dreamless nap.

He'd never felt more safe in his life.

A/N: Chapter title art is not my own: https://karukiburedo.tumblr.com/post/643116307145015296/solangelo-happy-valentines-day

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