Don't Fade Away: A Solangelo Fanfiction 2

Chapter 29: The Hedges

Gleeson, Mellie, and baby Chuck came to visit them, just as promised. They showed up at Camp while Nico and Will were bickering outside, and Nico got up to say hi. Will followed.

"I should probably tell them, right?" Nico said to Will as they were walking.

Will shrugged. "Only if you want to."

"Well, everybody at Camp knows, so do a few of the gods. I might as well tell them."

"Okay."

"Hey there, kid." Coach Hedge said to Nico. "Nice to see you're still hanging around here."

"Hi, Gleeson. Hi, Mellie." He greeted them.

Hedge noticed Will. "Hi, Will."

"Thanks again for delivering our baby." Mellie told him.

"Oh, no problem! I'm glad that I was able to help. How's he been?"

"Great! A healthy, baby Satyr." She said.

"That's awesome! How have the rest of you guys been?"

"Pretty good, if I do say so myself. Mellie, the baby, and I have been living in California with Piper and her dad." Hedge told them.

"That's great! Good for you guys!" Will said.

"Um, I wanted to tell you guys something." Nico said.

"Yeah?" Mellie asked.

"Will and I are dating."

Mellie smiled. "Good for you two!"

Hedge patted Nico on the back. "I'm happy for you, kid." He looked at Will. "Ya better not hurt him."

"I won't hurt him, don't worry."

"Remember, honey. Will delivered Chuck. Be nice." Mellie said, cradling Chuck, who was kicking around.

"I know. That's why I'm being easy on him."

"Hey, Will? Could you hold Chuck for a minute? I forgot something in the car, and as you can see my husband decided to bring his ridiculous baseball bat with him."

"It's not ridiculous! It's a necessity!"

"Of course." Will said. Mellie handed the baby over to Will, and Mellie and Hedge walked towards the car.

"Hey there, Chuck." Will said softly. "Look how cute you are." He tickled his stomach, and Chuck laughed. Nico noticed that he wasn't kicking anymore.

"You're really good with kids." Nico commented, watching on. Chuck was a lot bigger than the last time he saw him.

"You're not too bad yourself, Nico. I saw you talking to Lincoln. That was very cute."

Nico shrugged. "I just talked to him."

"You want to say hi to Chuck?"

Nico didn't know how to say hi to a baby. They didn't understand. "Um, hi." He said, with his hand up in an awkward wave.

Chuck smiled at him.

"See? Proving my point." Will laughed.

"Yeah, whatever."

Will rocked Chuck back and forth. "Isn't Nico just the best? He's the best boyfriend ever." He told the baby softly.

"No, Will's the best boyfriend." Nico told Chuck.

Once Mellie and Hedge came back over to where Nico and Will were, Hedge held up his baseball bat. "By the way, is there anyone I need to give a stern talking to?" Coach asked.

"A stern talking to about what?" Nico asked.

"For being rude because you're dating, of course."

Nico and Will glanced at each other.

"Yeah." Will said. "There's someone."

Soon, the five of them were next to the lake, standing in front of Drew Tanaka.

"Hi, Gleeson and Mellie! It's nice to see you again! Congratulations on the baby, by the way!" Drew said, using her fake friendly voice.

"Yeah, no." Mellie said, her arms crossed. Will was still holding Chuck.

Her eyes narrowed. "What is this about? And what are those two freaks doing here?" Drew pointed to Nico and Will.

"I heard that you were giving these boys trouble, just because they're two boys in a relationship."

"That's not the only reason."

Mellie walked over. "Nico and Will are some of the most amazing people I've ever met. One helped deliver my baby, and the other helped keep my husband alive so that he could come back home to me. I don't understand how you could hate them when they both have done so much for this camp, and this world."

"Exactly. Kid, if you have a problem with them because of their sexuality, then you have a problem with the gods. And I don't think they would be too happy to hear that. So I suggest you keep your homophobic comments to yourself if you don't want to face the wrath of the gods. Or worse, me and my wife." Gleeson continued.

Drew's face was pale, and her eyes wide. "I- you can't threaten me like that! I'm a minor!"

"You know, in Ancient Greece, you'd be considered an adult." He said.

"Come on, you guys. She doesn't need to take up any more of our time." Mellie said.

After they walked away, Nico thanked them.

"No need to thank us, honey. Nobody should be treated the way Drew has treated you boys, from what you told us."

"Yeah, I don't think she'll be bothering you anytime soon!" Coach stated, seeming proud of himself.

All of a sudden, Chuck started crying.

"Oh, I think he has a dirty diaper." Will said.

"I can do that for you." Mellie said.

"No, that's okay. You guys deserve a break. I'll change his diaper."

"You don't have to do that." Mellie told him.

"No, it's fine! I've changed a couple diapers before." Mellie handed him a clean diaper, and Will took off the old one and put the new one on. He threw the dirty diaper away in a nearby trash can.

"So, have you heard from Camp Jupiter at all?" Nico asked them.

Coach Hedge frowned. "No. With all of these technology problems, I haven't heard from the other cupcakes. Or Reyna. I'm sure they're okay, though. Camp Jupiter is a tough batch, we've seen that up close."

"So what have you guys been up to?" Mellie asked.

"Not much, really. Just normal Camp and demigod stuff, mostly. Though we did burn the Lotus Hotel and Casino to the ground about a month ago." Will said, bouncing the baby.

A few hours later, they had to head home. It was getting late, and Chuck was getting cranky.

"Here." Will handed Mellie baby Chuck back. "I had fun taking care of him and holding him today."

"Thank you, Will. It was nice of you to help us like that." She told him. She gave him a hug. "I hope we get to see you soon."

Mellie gave Nico a hug, and Hedge patted Nico on the back and shook Will's hand.

As the boys watched them leave, Nico held Will's hand.

"That was an interesting day." Will said. "I'm glad they came by. They're good people. I'm glad they said something to Drew."

Nico smiled slightly. "Yeah, that was funny. She got what she deserved. Especially after what she said that last time."

Will kissed the top of Nico's head. "Yeah. She definitely deserved it."