He Loves Me?

21

Will looked down at the sleeping form on the bed beside him. He smiled. Maybe this made him a sap, but he liked the way Nico looked when no one was watching - at peace, sort of. Not so guarded. A bit lonely. Will shook himself. Gods. He had to get a hold of himself. After allowing himself a few more seconds of watching Nico's chest rise and fall softly, he gently shook the boy awake. (He seemed to be doing that quite a bit more these days, 'allowing' himself.)

Nico looked up groggily and stretched out his arms, hitting Will in the face as he did so.

"Di Dio! Sorry!" Nico stuttered as Will picked himself up off the floor.

Will just smiled.

"It's alright, Death Boy."

Nico scowled but didn't say anything, taken over by a yawn. Will tried not to stare too hard at the stretch of skin that was exposed as his shirt rode up.

"How was your sleep? Dreamless?"

Nico blushed, then tried to regain his composure by rolling his eyes.

"Yes." A pause. "Thank you."

Will's grin could've lit up Tartarus, it was so bright.

-x-x-x-

Will liked to think he was calm, composed, and self-assured. He liked to think that other people thought that of him. But it was slightly hard to keep that image present when he was tripping over a bed frame as he saw Nico make his way towards him in the infirmary. It's safe to say that Will got a little over-excited as he saw Nico, still with his bed hair, his eyes and, well - his pretty much everything. Nico shot him an amused smile. Will was embarrassed at how quickly he smiled back, beamed, even. What was wrong with him today? Ignoring the snickers from his cabinmates, he picked himself up and walked over to Nico.

"I guess that's the second time today you've fallen for me, Solace." Nico said, a half smile gracing his face.

Will just stared - had Nico just said that - and then he realised that yes, yes he had just said that.

"It's not an uncommon thing for me to do." He replied.

It was Nico's turn to blush.

"So, what brings you to my humble abode?" Will questioned, gesturing to the bustling hive behind him.

Nico snorted. "Humble, huh?"

Will pouted, and this seemed to cause a reaction from Nico. The other boy smirked to show he was kidding, and Will was left feeling like he'd been punched in the stomach.

"I was actually... Well, I - I was just wondering if you... wanted any help." Nico looked down.

Will stared at him, prepared to make a joke out of it, and then he realised this was possibly something Nico needed to do, to be in a place of healing; not death.

"Of course, Sunshine." His voice had softened considerably. "Just let me grab my glasses and you can follow me around."

Nico made an unidentifiable noise at the word glasses, one that Will chose not to decipher, and they set off.

-x-x-x-

"Hey, uh, Solace, what do you do when someone is vomiting leaves?"

Will sighed and made his way over to the bed Nico was sitting by, cutting bandages. He muttered something under his breath and ran his hands over the patient's - McKayla's - eyes (he always tried to remember their names).

Nico looked mildly impressed.

"What was that, some sort of voodoo -" Nico was cut off as Austin came up to them both, completely out of breath. Will started forward.

"Austin, what -"

"It's Lou Ellen." A breath. "She's been gouged, by... By some sort of poisoned claw."

He gestured for Will to follow and he did, Nico trailing behind.

They crashed their way through trees and underbrush, several annoyed Dryads spouting insults at them as they ran. Soft groans could be heard from the clearing beyond. Will knelt by Lou's side, Nico awkwardly standing next to him, unsure if he was welcome.

"Monster, a bloodhound with teeth and claws and- " Her babbles died out as Will enchanted her to sleep.

He ran his hand over the wound and began murmuring a series of chants to draw out the poison. Swaying with the weight of the healing, Will leaned against the nearest thing for support - Nico's leg. Nico automatically rested a hand on Will shoulder. He nudged some of his under worldly power into Will and urged it to heal, not to maim. A second later he dropped to his knees, pressing closer to Will and gritting his teeth. Lou was still and silent on the ground, unconscious as the gouge began to knit together. It closed perilously slowly, inching its way towards being fully healed. It was so close now.

So close.

With a great gasp, Will fell back against Nico, who hesitantly wrapped his arms around the taller boy. Will tilted his head up at him and smiled, exhausted.

"You okay?" Nico asked softly.

Will nodded. He relaxed into Nico and ignored the knowing stare of Kayla burning into his back. He was comfy. Safe. Slightly hungry.

But Nico kept holding him, and let Will's tired head rest against his chest.

And Nico didn't push him away, for reasons he didn't quite see the use in questioning.

a/n i am going to be editing my (rather horribly written) previous chapters - and i can't remember if they re-publish or not. So if it comes up with lots of me publishing another chapter, don't get your hopes up sorry sorry sorry.

- L :)