The Solangelo Collection

Sick Day with Nico di Angelo

Will knocked on the door of Cabin 13 for the third time that morning, waiting impatiently for Nico to answer. He tapped his foot and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt before leaning against the outside doorframe. It was still early, Will guessed. He had never really worn a watch to keep him on time, so maybe he had arrived early than he usually -

A thump could be heard behind him, causing Will to spin around to find a very exhausted looking Nico d'Angelo sitting under the shade that that the cabin provided. Will stood for a second, dumbstruck, processing what just happened.

Then it clicked.

"Nico, did you just shadow travel outside of your cabin?" Will asked, moving over to where Nico sat to help him up. Nico nodded, glaring at the sun outside like it had personally spite him. "I'm pretty sure, as your doctor, that I told you not to do that." Will looped an arm under both of Nico's armpits and hoisted home off of the ground, stifling a shout of surprise when Nico almost fell right back down. Will quickly righted both of them, taking on his weight and a fair amount of Nico's.

"It's not like I meant to," Nico grumbled as he stumbled, despite the support. "I haven't even gotten to brush my hair yet. And, again, I'm not sure you're actually a doctor yet."

Will paused. Nico sounded... different. Much different actually. Will adjusted slightly, wrapping an arm around Nico's waist and pulling him into his side. He didn't miss the way that Nico leaned heavily into him. Will snuck a quick glance at Nico's face.

Nico looked awful.

"Oh. You're sick."

Nico nodded, scrunching his nose. "What gave you that idea?" Nico sighed, before quietly sniffing. Suddenly, he blinked frantically and went to go move away. Will let go quickly, knowing that sometimes Nico needed his personal space, but regretted it soon after as Nico fell back onto the wilted grass. Will moved to crouch next to him and placed a gentle hand on Nico's back. He heard a sneeze before he felt like he had been dunked in an ice bath.

Opening his eyes, Will found himself within the inside of Cabin 13 along with a very tired, and decently sick, son of Hades.

"Do you shadow travel every time you sneeze?" Will asked, just a little shocked but not quite surprised. Nico sighed, mumbling an apology as he put his head in his hands. Will say down next to him. "Hey, don't worry about it. Let's get you back to your bed and I'll go run to the infirmary to get you something to help," Will said. Nico nodded, allowing Will to pull him up by his arms. Will held onto Nico's elbows and guiding him towards the nearest bed. Nico plopped down ungracefully, glaring at his cabin.

Though he had been on the paler side for quite some time, Nico was paler than usual, which made the purple under his red-rimmed eyes seem darker. His face was swollen and his nose was red and irritated, as though he had been wiping away sniffles all day.

"Has this been happening all day?" Will asked. He looked around, eyes widening at the chaos within the Hades cabin. It certainly looked like the shadow traveling had been happening all day based off of the mess surrounding them. Will had thought that Nico would have been messy when he first started to get to know him, but it turned out that Nico was exceptionally organized. Seeing the blanket thrown all over the floor of the cabin, along with a little trash can that had been toppled over and a hairbrush left in the middle of the walkway (just to name a few), definitely showed how Nico's morning had been so far. "Never mind," Will muttered, grinning at Nico slightly.

Will readjusted the blankets so that Nico was bundled underneath them. Nico gave a small thanks before he sniffled again. Will ran his fingers through Nico's hair, pushing a few of the stray strands away from his face. "I'll be right back, okay?" Will reassured, waiting until Nico gave a nod of understanding to leave.

Quickly, Wil hurried toward the infirmary - though he made to sure to shut the door to Cabin 13 as quietly as possible on the way out. When he arrived at the infirmary, Kayla looked up at Will with an eyebrow arched in question. "Hey lover boy," she greeted, a grin sneaking its way onto her face. "Where's Nico? You get kicked out?"

"Very funny," Will retorted, going over to the supply closet and digging through the materials that they had. "Nico's sick today, so I don't think I'll be able to work today."

Kayla's face quickly switched to a look of concern. "Nico's sick? Why don't you go ahead and bring him in?" Kayla asked, moving to grab a bag for Will to put the sick supplies in. She shot him a questioning glance at the amount of tissues that he was taking.

"Normally, I'd say that's a great idea, but the Hades Cabin is darker, and -" Will stopped abruptly when they heard a crash from behind them. Quickly, they both turned to see the front desk in disarray, the paperwork that Kayla had been shifting through now completely scattered. Will signed as Nico's face popped over the side of the desk, an apology already written on his face.

"Did he just shadow travel into my documents?" Kayla muttered, working her way over to help Nico up off the ground. Will handed Nico a tissue, nodding his head in response to Kayla before offering a piggyback ride to Nico, who, uncharacteristically, took up the offer.

"Yep. Cover my shift for me?" Will asked over his shoulder, grabbing the bag full of supplies in one hand as he pushed the door open with the other.

Kayla nodded. "Yeah, of course Don't get sick though," she warned, moving to pick up the scattered papers.

"I won't!"

It was a few days later, however, that Nico sat next to Will's bed in the infirmary, with a box of tissues in his hands and a pair of pink sunglasses on his face, as Will flashed brightly with each sneeze.

Nico grinned, handing Will a tissue. Will squinted at Nico as he aggressively scrubbed his nose. "Don't," Will warned.

"I haven't even said anything."

"Gods, you don't have to."

Nico laughed, and, after making sure the coast was clear, pressed a gentle kiss to Will's forehead, smiling brightly all the while.