The Solangelo Collection

The Sun Glares Back at Nico

Will was usually the one to go and see Nico in the morning, knocking at Cabin 13's door until an extremely disgruntled child of Hades greeted Will, and the day, with a glare. Nico would wrinkle his nose and glare up at the sky like it had personally spite him.

Which it might have, Will wouldn't know.

Today, however, this routine was different.

Blinking sleepily, Will sat up, trying to understand what exactly the noise ws that had woken him up. Glancing out of his cabin window, Will took notice that the sun, while starting to rise, was still lower than it usually was when he woke up. Which meant that it was definitely too early to wake his siblings up.

Someone was knocking at Cabin 7's door at an obscenely early time of the morning.

Finally awake enough to understand what was happening, Will quickly got up to answer the door before his siblings could fully wake up. Stumbling out of bed, he stepped over arrows and instruments before flinging the door open, stopping in his tracks wide-eyed at the sight that met him.

Nico was red.

Although Nico's overall health had been improving, with a healthier diet and an 'acceptable' amount of Underworldly magic (Nico and Will had argued over that), he was still what could be considered pale. Or at least he had been.

Now, Nico stood in front of Cabin 7, pink arms crossed, bright-red nose scrunched, and tired eyes displaying a sense of irritation that Will was quickly realizing meant Nico hadn't slept well. Every inch of exposed skin was burnt, and Nico was clearly not happy about it.

Will stood silently, mouth open slightly, looking at Nico in shock. Shutting his mouth, Will shook his head, blinking. "Good morning, Nico," Will started, quietly. "Uhm. Do you want some sunburn ointment? Aloe?"

The sound of Nico's name seemed to wake up some of Will's siblings as they began to stir behind them. The Apollo kids had begun to take a huge liking to Nico, striking up a conversation whenever they saw him - even teasing Will slightly. Because of this, however, they all knew that Nico was definitely not an early riser.

Nico was not going to like this, Will thought, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Nico, are you okay? What are you even doing up this - woah, you're burnt," Kayla blurted, sitting up in her bed quickly. Murmurs came from some more of Will's siblings, causing Nico's already red face to turn an even deeper shade of red - which Will didn't see how that was possible. It definitely wasn't healthy.

"Good morning," Nico greeted sullenly, uncrossing his arms with a slight wince. "I thought you'd be up by now. Sorry about that."

Kayla just waved a hand at Nico in response, getting up to stretch. Some followed suit while others went back to bed, and some continued to listen in on the conversation with mild concern and interest.

Will turned to look back at Nico, who was looking more exhausted by the minute. "Why are you awake this early?" Will asked, pushing his hair out of his face. "You usually sleep way later." Nico raised an eyebrow and gave a pointed look at his arms. "Oh. The sunburn."

"Good job."

"Thanks," Will casually replied, grinning slightly at Nico. Let me get ready and we'll head to the infirmary. Get you some ointment, maybe an ice pack, and you'll be on your way."

Nico nodded and stepped back slightly from the doorway to wait. Will shoot his head, shutting the door behind him.

"I didn't even know he could burn," Kayla muttered to Will as he got his things ready to take a quick shower.

Will shrugged in response. "Honestly, neither did I."

After a quick shower, Will walked quietly, careful not to wake his siblings up too soon. Putting his bag on his back, he opened the door quietly, peeking around the doorframe to see that Nico had decided to sit on the ground next to the cabin. When Nico realized Will was there, he gave him a curious look.

"Do you want to see how I wake everyone up?" Will was whispering, and Nico quickly got the message. Nodding, he silently moved to join Will in the door frame. Will stood up straight.

"Good morning everyone!" Will greeted. There was not response from his siblings. As usual. Even those who were awake greeted him with a slight nod or wave of the hand. "It's morning time! We've got places to be! People to see!" Still no response.

Will slammed his hand down on the button next to him. Light flooded into the room as the blinds on the ceiling were wrenched back, giving way to a bright blue sky - and many disgruntled Apollo children. Quickly, Will pushed Nico out of the doorway and out into the camp, shutting the door behind them. A series of thuds could be heard from inside.

"I would take you out myself if you did that to me," Nico said, grinning. Will laughed in response, and they began their walk to the infirmary.

Will did make a note not to wake Nico up that way, however, because while it hadn't been a threat, Nico also wasn't known to make empty promises.

They walked in silence, Nico yawning on an impressively even interval. Will estimated a yawn around every 30 seconds.

"How long... how long did you sleep?" Will finally asked. Nico turned to him, blinking wearily. .

"Not enough," Nico grumbled, as they reached the doors of the infirmary. Will held open the door for Nico, who walked inside.

Flipping on all the lights, Will guided Nico towards one of the empty rooms, peeking his head into the occupied rooms nearby to check in. Everyone seemed to be doing okay, so he walked back into the infirmary room where he had left Nico, who was slouched on the edge of the bed.

"Okay, so I'll give you a little bit of ambrosia to see if that helps, pain medication, aloe, and an ice pack. With all of that, you should be good by tomorrow." Will was basically talking to himself by now, pulling out the needed supplies from the cabinets. Sunburns were pretty common at camp, but Nico was burnt. "You can stay inside all day to avoid it getting worse, it you'd like."

Nico's eyes sparked a little bit at this suggestion, no doubt the idea of sleeping all day running through his mind. Will laughed slightly, handing him a chunk of ambrosia. After Nico had eaten that, Will handed him his bag of sunburn supplied and smiled down at him.

Will would never tell him, but he really loved when Nico was sleepy. The guard that he had put up lowered when he was tired, his eyes sleepy but bright, his smile tired but gentle. Genuine.

Nico smiled up at Will before leaning into his chest cautiously. Will froze for a second, before gently, being careful of the sunburn, wrapping his arms around Nico. They stood there for a moment, simply standing in the safety of each other.

After a yawn from Nico, Will laughed and pulled away, adjusting his hands so they were gently holding onto Nico's wrists. "Alright, go sleep. I'll wake you up for lunch." Nico nodded, leaning forwards to rest the top of his head on Will's chest, still keeping the distance between their bodies. Will felt himself smiling - beaming. "Okay, okay, I'll walk you to your cabin. Let's go, Death Boy."

Nico mumbled a response, following Will out the door. As they exited the infirmary, Will realized that one of his hands was holding Nico's.

When they arrived at Cabin 13, Will let go of Nico's hand. "I'll see you in a couple hours," Will started, about to reiterate what he had told Nico in the infirmary for treatment, but Nico simply smiled, nodded, and stumbled into his cabin before shutting the door.

Will grinned.

Gods he loved Nico.