My Moonbow (Solangelo)

Chapter 5

Fortunately, the gods blessed Nico with a dreamless sleep for the rest of the night.

He woke up by the sound of campers yelling and running around, outside of the infirmary.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to shake the sleep away from him as he stood, and headed to sit in the widow sill seat. He glanced outside, narrowing his eyes as the sun washed over him. There were a couple of children –about five– playing to catch each other. Every time one caught other, the rest would burst down in laughter. Nico found himself smiling. He could barely remember the time he looked like that, so young... so innocent...

And so happy. He had been happy, once. But it was taken from him the moment Bianca was. Since then, it had been mainly a mix of emptiness, rage, sadness and a latter numbness.

Of course, he had had a couple of happy moments after that, but they had all come to pass. Like all those times he met with Hazel in the roof of the temple of Pluto, in Camp Jupiter, and they'd talk about anything and everything at the same time. The memory of her made him smile.

He remembered that time he'd opened up to her about Bianca. Even after knowing each other for months, Nico had feared to give away too much of himself. What if she didn't like what she found out? But Hazel was his sister, and she had been through a lot, too. And if anyone could understand him, it was her. And he had been right. She became an even greatest support. He almost could say she filled that whole in his heart Bianca had left. Of course, she couldn't be replaced, but Hazel was also a great sister.

His train of thought was cut off by a low knock in the door, followed by the sound of the knob turning. Nico turned to meet a pair of brown eyes studying inside curiously.

"Oh, you're awake." Austin grinned, then added, muttering. "Will will be disappointed."

Nico wasn't able to form a sentence before Austin shut the door behind him and was out of sight. He was surprised that even that couldn't annoy him that morning.

He stood, yawning, and went to sit back in his bunk. If Will saw him out of bed, he'd probably give him a two hour lecture about the dangers of walking with a broken wrist –because, of course, one needed their hands a lot when walking–, and he could end up blacking out.

He put the thin blanket over his lap in the very moment Will walked in, carrying a food tray. 

"Morning, death boy." The son of Apollo grinned as he placed the tray in the little table beside the bunk bed, the same way he had done the morning before.

"Hi." Nico glanced over at him. His hair looked a couple shades lighter than usual, and his face was a little pale, but it probably was just an effect of the light. Still, Nico's brows drew together in worry. "Are you alright?"

Will looked at him through his long lashes. "Yeah," he smiled; a smile Nico could tell was forced. "I am. Why do you ask?"

Nico shrugged, then shook his head, dismissing the question. Will wasn't the kind of forcing smiles or faking he was alright. That was Nico's job. Or, at least, Will's smiles didn't usually look forced. He wondered if something had happened. 

Probably it just was one of those days. Will couldn't possibly be alright all the time. Even though he had the looks of a divinity, he was, in the end, still human.

Nico immediately shook that thought away, and moved on. 

"So, uhm..." Will began, shaking him back to reality. "I brought corn flakes and a glass of orange juice for breakfast. Is that okay, or do you want something else?"

"It's alright." Nico replied quietly, shifting his weight in the bed.

"Good..." He put the tray over his lap. "I have a patient to look after right now, but I'll be back soon if you want my company."

"Alright." Nico agreed, nodding with his head slightly, glancing down at the food. He took a spoonful from the bowl and looked up at Will, who smiled a little. Then he walked out.

Nico sighed, and glanced around. He took another spoonful, as he had decided he wasn't in the mood to bother Will anymore than he usually did, and continued to chew on the crunchy cereal slowly.

Will walked back in after about twenty minutes. By then, Nico was already in his last sip of milk. The child of Apollo smiled at that, and reached for a chair to sit next to the other boy's bed.

He sat with the back of the chair at the length of his chest, and rested his chin over it. He gave Nico a sly smile as their eyes met.

Nico smiled back slightly, noting the dimple that formed in the right corner of Will's lips. The first word he thought of to describe that was «cute», but it didn't quite fit. Will was more than cute, in his opinion... Hot wasn't the word, either. Attractive, yes, but it still fell short.

He knew he shouldn't be thinking about his friend –yes, Will was his friend– like that, but the sun coming from the window made Will look even more like a magazine model than usual.

But then Will dropped his gaze, a sigh scaping his lips, and Nico knew something was off.

"You're not okay." He stated, his brown furrowed, as he put the tray away.

Will looked back up at him, looking confused for a moment.

"You can tell me, you know..." Nico crossed his legs in front of him, turning to Will.

He sighed. At last, he spoke, "okay..." He sat up straighter, and began.

"So, there is this– person I kind of like... Well, no, I like them a lot." Nico's expression dropped for a moment, but he tried to keep it neutral. "The thing is I don't think they like me back. They see me only as a friend, at the most. And, well, it makes me– sad?" Will shrugged at that. "Because I care a lot about them to be only their friend."

Nico bit the inside of his cheek. He didn't know why he was even disappointed. It was obvious Will would be into someone more... well, more like him. Why would he like someone like Nico? But it still hurt.

"Oh." Nico managed as Will didn't say anything else. "And... who is she? If you don't mind me asking..."

Will looked at him, and Nico could almost swear he was resisting to raise an eyebrow.

"Are you just going to assume they're female?" Will asked. Nico's eyes widened. Was there the possibility that Will was...? He hadn't even considered that. He always had the prejudice that boys as good looking as him would be straight, all the way.

"Oh- uh..." Nico stuttered embarrassed, searching for the right thing to say. "Are they not?"

Will dropped his head, chuckling, and shook his head as he stood.

"What are you laughing at–?" Nico was getting frustrated. Why was it so hard to be around this guy? He only wanted to know who he was into, so he could have someone to hate.

"Nothing. Uhm... No, they're not female." He said, and glanced over his shoulder at the door.

Nico's jaw dropped. So he wasn't straight. That gave him a spark of hope, though that little voice in his mind told him there were lots of cute guys in camp and that he wasn't one of them. He almost preferred Will being straight. At least that way he wouldn't have to deal with that amount of rejection.

"Anyway," Will continued, placing his stethoscope back around his neck and walking to the door. "I have to go right now... If you need anything, just– let me know..." He smiled, and closed the door behind him, leaving a very intrigued Nico behind.