Stay For Me

Chapter I

A/N Told you on my other story what my ADD brain did so tHERE YOU GO

Then he walked back across the green, where Will Solace was waiting.

"Di Angelo. Now that you're here, we can proceed to the... medical stuff," said Will. "Huh?" The son of Apollo stared at Nico expectantly, as if awaiting an answer. Nico looked as confused as ever. "I said... You have to come to the infirmary. You need to rest. All this shadow-traveling drained you," explained Will. "Oh.. Yeah sure. I guess I can do that," the dark-haired boy shrugged. He averted Will's gaze, which did not surprise the healer, but he seemed lost in thought. The demigod's curiosity got the better of him. "Uh... Is everything alright?" he asked. He waited a minute. Two. The boy did not respond. Will nudged him, which immediately snapped him back from his daydream. "Oh yes. Everything's fine," Nico sighed. His evasive look said otherwise. Will raised an eyebrow in doubt, the boy's answer not convincing him. "Are you sure? You know, if something's wrong, I could-" "No. I told you everything was okay," snapped Nico. Everything was not okay, Nico thought. Will ran a hand through his messy blond hair, before motioning to the infirmary. "Alright then. If you don't want to talk..." I do. "Let's go to the infirmary."

They walked to the Big House silently, the noise of the demigods in the volley court covering Will's humming. "Welcome," said the healer as he gestured towards the entrance, where a red sign saying "Infirmary" was stuck up on the wooden door. The door flew open, revealing a girl - probably another daughter of Apollo, who was barely standing under the weight of several containers of ambrosia and nectar. With her chin, she nudged one of them aside. "Will! Where were you? Don't you see we need help? And you just run off to-" Her gaze drifted to Nico. "Kayla, I'm sorry. I just had to help someone," replied Will. Kayla nodded slowly, before leaving for another room, which Nico assumed was the stockroom. "See? I'm too much trouble. You should go help your siblings. They need you," Nico commented. "Nice try," Will teased. "But my job is to help campers in need or in danger, and you're both, so you're not leaving that place, Death Boy" he chided. The son of Hades crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, not sure whether to laugh or be angry. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Death Boy?" "How many times do I have to tell you it sounds good?" the blond boy retorted, before sticking his tongue out at Nico, who returned it with a pout. "Come," he said, before grabbing Nico's hand and leading him across the emergency ward. Nico did not let go of his hand, and he let Will drag him through the main corridor. There were next to no free beds, and the healers seemed overwhelmed by the work.

Children of Hecate and Hebe were helping the poor, sleep-deprived Apollo campers, rushing from patient to patient, drinking the occasional cup of water. Nico's eyes were wide, shocked by the number of injured campers. Will glanced at him and sighed. "Every time there's a big battle, this happens," he murmured, as he gestured at the demigods. "I- I'm so sorry," Nico mumbled. Wait. Why am I apologizing? The corners of Will's eyes crinkled in an attempt at a smile, and he gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Hey, it's fine. It's our job, after all. Helping demigods. We're children of the god of healing, after all." Nico shuffled on his feet, and shoved his hands in his pockets. "So... Where are we going?" They were still in the middle of the corridor. Will pointed at pale blue curtains behind the last line of beds. "We're in the emergency ward. This is for campers who need immediate assistance." Then he looked back at Nico. "You don't need that, because you're not injured. You only need to rest." Will studied him, and Nico could feel himself blush."Oh and you might need some ambrosia too, hmm, some nectar... Yeah, that would help," he muttered, more to himself than to Nico. He noted something on a pad he took from a metal trolley. "So you'll stay in the room behind the curtains," he declared. Nico shrugged, glad that the son of Apollo wasn't staring at him anymore.

This division of the infirmary was much smaller than the first one. The light blue walls were decorated with Greek symbols, which Nico didn't understand. The calming scent of vanilla filled the room. Nico noticed approximately twenty campers, which was quite surprising after the crowd in the previous ward. Many were asleep, which might be why it's called "Restroom" by the campers - they thought it was a hilarious joke. Will directed Nico to a bed at the end row. "Stay here. I'll just- I have to take something from the stockroom. I'll be back in a minute," he said. Nico stared at him, but didn't sit. Will sighed, and tapped the bed. "You. Sit. Me. Go fetch something from stockroom. Clear?" Nico stuck his tongue out at the son of Apollo, which made him smirk. Nico nodded, and sat down. "Good," said Will, before rushing to the curtains, pulling them and leaving. The son of Hades slumped on the bed, his hands under his head. 

This was going to be a long stay.