You Always Have What Other's Don't ~a Percy Jackson AU~

IX Nico

You guys wanted Nico? Bam. You got it. (It's lowkey short because I'm super pressed for time.)

Nico didn't remember the last time someone called him by his first name.

He would usually get referenced to as "Hey, you!" or "Kid!". The patients that noticed he was even there was usually called him Dr. Di Angelo, but nobody ever called him Nico. It got to a point where Nico almost forget it himself.

The hospital was fitting for him. Hospitals brought death, he was the living embodiment of it, end of story. Many patients mistook him for a ghost. Sure, they were all off their rocker, but nonetheless thought he was one. Nico had learned to tune out their cries of the paranormal, and continued to sweep the floor. You could say the graveyard shift was a good fit for him.

He had no intention of actually becoming a doctor. No, he was in it for the money. So yeah, sweeping and tending to the occasional flu was fine by him.

Many of the interns were a lot older than he was, and actually wanted to pursue medicine. Once again, Nico just wanted to mop the floor and get paid. So instead of sitting with them at dinner, he usually just sat in the locker room and ate whatever was in the E3 slot in the vending machine.

It's said that loneliness can be crippling for most people,

but Nico bathed in it.

***

There was a specific night at the hospital that Nico was positive he would remember for the rest of his life.

Nico had just puffed every god damn pillow in that stupidly ungrateful West Wing. He had endured the world's most cynical art student whine to her friend about illness, (which was actually getting better, fun fact), and had yet again been called the grim reaper. How fun.
It was 10:30, and Nico still needed to finish his Algebra homework before collapsing into an on call room. He had scarcely noticed the door open and shut, much less notice the person standing three feet away from him.
"Is this where you go everyday?"

The boy in front of him was a startling sight indeed. Not only did he look roughly Nico's age, but the scrubs he wore looked identical to his own. He didn't look scruffy, like all the other intern, but had boy-like cleanliness that you couldn't find in most of medical staff. If Nico had a polar opposite, it would be this kid. He looked like he visited the beach every weekend, and his sun kissed hair left Nico baffled. Could blond hair be that intense?

Nico jumped when he spoke. "Excuse me?"
"I'm Will," the boy said, extending his hand. "Dr. Apollo's son."
Nico gave him a sarcastic smile. "Ah yes, nepotism is a wonderful thing."
Will chose to ignore his passive attacks. "Need help?" He asked, peering at Nico's homework.
Nico brought his books to his chest defensively.
"X = B- plus or minus square root of B + 4AC over 2A." He said.
Nico thought he was speaking a foreign language. "What?"
"That equation you're looking for, that's it." Will smiled. "Honors. Do you go to Half Blood High?"
Nico nodded. "Sophomore."
Will blinked. "No way."
"What?"
"I know everyone in our class, and I've never seen you before."
Nico sighed. "You know, that's not the first time I've heard that."
Will looked at his feet, shuffling uncomfortably. "Sorry," he mumbled.
Nico scoffed and went back to his homework.
"Can we start over?" Will asked hopefully. Nico looked up at him. Why was he still here?
"I'm Will," he said, once more offering a handshake.
"Nico," Nico replied without shaking his hand.
Will sat next to him, unwrapping whatever food was in his crinkled paper bag.
Nico furrowed his eyebrows, he wasn't...
"What are you doing?" Nico asked.
Will looked surprised. "What do you mean?"
"You're not eating in here.. are you?"
Will cocked his head like a confused puppy.
"I mean, it smells like feet and dirty cotton swabs."
Will chuckled softy. "And pass up the opportunity to be social with a kid actually my age? No thanks. I'm fed up with grumpy residents for the day."

He couldn't really comprehend it. Nico didn't remember the last time he ate dinner with company. He chewed his food pensively. Maybe this was a dare by one of the interns.

But it wasn't. For the next week, Will sat with Nico in the locker room and helped him figure out his excruciating homework. He was one of the few people that could actually read Nico's handwriting. In turn, Nico helped Will diagnosis patients. Although the was crap at it, Will seemed to appreciate someone to bounce ideas off of.

And you know, Nico appreciated it too.

Four chapters in 72 hours what a wild concept lol.

Last, and certainly not least....
Get ready for Leo Valdez.