A few days after Nico was feeling better, he took Will to Gilo Claw, Arizona.
He had Jules-Albert take them, and he was a really fast driver, so they made it there in a matter of hours. Once Nico got out of the car, he held a hand out to Will to help him out, while holding flowers in his other hand.
"What are we doing here, Nico?" Nico still hadn't told Will yet. He would rather show him instead.
"I told you that I wanted to have you meet somebody." Nico said, approaching a graveyard.
"And this person lives in the middle of nowhere Arizona-" Will cut himself off when he noticed that they were walking in the direction of the graveyard.
The two walked in silence while they walked to the graveyard. Once they got there, Nico took Will to a small grave towards the back. It was relatively new, and it had dried up flowers, pieces of candy, and other little things in front of it. The grave read:
"Bianca di Angelo
1930-20
Loving sister and daughter, may she rest in peace
The part where it said the year she died was hard to make out even though the rest of the grave looked new.
Nico sat on top of the grave naturally, like he had done it many times before. Which he had.
"They actually never found her body." Nico said in a soft voice. "She's still out there in the junkyard somewhere." He knelt his head towards the right of where they were at.
He picked up the old flowers and replaced them with the flowers that were in his hand. "Gods, I should have visited sooner. I haven't seen her in over a year. It's been busy for me."
"One of the first things I did when I had finally accepted that she was gone was ask Percy where it happened. While I was practicing my shadow travel ability, and after I tried multiple times, I made it here. I asked for directions to the nearest graveyard, and then I asked the person that was working there to give my sister a gravestone. They didn't listen to me at first, of course. I was a random kid in a coat that was way too big for me. I looked ridiculous. After about the third time I tried, I was actually ready to show this guy my powers when my dad actually showed up." Nico wouldn't make eye contact with Will the whole time.
Nico felt the smooth texture of the grave underneath his hand and body, and he glanced at Will quickly before looking away again. Will's expression was solemn, yet his gaze soft.
"It's pretty stupid because I know she's been reborn and is who knows where, but you said you wanted to meet her before, and I told you that I wished you could, as well."
"It's not stupid." Will told Nico gently.
"Sometimes I talk to her. Especially when I knew her ghost was still around, but even after I would. I tell her about things that have happened since we had last seen each other before she went on the quest. The one where she never came back. But like I said, it's been over a year."
Nico stood up. "You can talk to her if you want. I mean, you don't have to, but if you want."
"I'd love to talk to her." Will told him.
"Okay. I, uh, I'll go over there. I want her to be able to meet you when I'm not listening."
"Okay." Will said. He bent down and sat next to the grave.
---
As Nico walked away, Will began to talk.
"Hey, Bianca. I'm Nico's boyfriend. I'm sure he told you that he's gay, right? Maybe? He didn't know, but I told him that I thought that you would be perfectly fine with it. Well anyways, my name is Will Solace, and I've been dating him for about 3 months now, but we've been friends for 6 months, but I've known about him since we were around 10-11, and he's known about me since we were 12. I actually got to see you before! I didn't know who you were, and I saw you from far away. I'm a son of Apollo, by the way. I know you've met him. Sometimes I think it's kind of funny and cliche because my dad represents the light and your dad the dark, but I also think it's kind of cool.
"I'm sorry that I wasn't around when he was all by himself. I really liked him, but I didn't know where he was. Everyone thought that he was dead, but I didn't think so. I really am sorry, though. But I'm here now. I'm trying to take care of him the best that I can, and I like him a lot. He's been through so much. So much. But I'm really proud of him. A lot of people wouldn't be able to handle half of the stuff that he's gone through without making it out the other end, but he's still here. And he's doing better, too.
"He's starting to really accept himself being gay, he's even kissed me in public and holds my hand in front of people sometimes. You know why he's so resilient? How he can deal with so much pain and loss and still be here? That's thanks to you and your mom. You've raised an amazing person, and I wanted to thank you for that. Nico's so brave and so strong thanks to you. He's so amazing. Every time I look at him I'm just so amazed. So awe-inspired. Every time I look at him I like him more and more.
"Do you know about the stuff that Nico has done recently? I think the last time he talked to you was before Tartarus. Well, he fell. He was finding the Doors of Death and he fell. He was the first known person ever to actually survive it. And he was mostly alone. And only 14.
"He barely survived with his life. He was taken out by some evil giants and then was put in a jar for a week which he barely survived as well before he was saved. Then Percy, you know all about him I'm sure, made him promise to lead the rest of the group to Greece when he and Annabeth fell. So he did. He led the rest of the 7 to the House of Hades in time, even having to tell who he loved to Cupid in front of Jason.
"After they saved Percy and Annabeth, Nico volunteered to shadow travel halfway around the world carrying the Athena Parthenos, and almost killed himself in the process. All of that for a world, for the Gods, for the camps, who had done nothing for him. Camp Half-Blood who hated him being around and didn't accept him as a son of Hades. And so many people still don't appreciate all that he has done for them. It's not fair.
"He was going to leave again, like he always did, except this time for good, but I stopped him, plopped him in the infirmary, and wouldn't let him leave camp. I couldn't let him get away again. Not like the other times when I got too scared to talk to him because I liked him so much, and because I was so busy in the infirmary."
Will laughed. "I even tried to flirt with him, though he was too dense to realize. Once we were together, he said that he didn't even realize that I liked him until I actually kissed him. Can you believe that?
"And another thing. As you can see as me being here, Nico got over Percy. He actually told him and Annabeth how he used to feel, which was super brave. Oh, and he has 2 really awesome friends that support him a lot, Jason and Reyna. Nico is also friends with Percy now. He's also friends with Annabeth, and Piper, Lou Ellen and Cecil, and Coach Hedge. He's probably already told you about his sister, too. I can't wait to formally meet her!
"I wanted to tell you something, Bianca. I love your brother. I really love him. I'm just really scared to tell him. I mean it's always nerve racking the first time you tell somebody, because you don't know how they're going to react. What if he doesn't love me back? But I'm also worried that Nico will freak out. So I wanted to tell you.
"I promise to take care of him. I'll make sure he keeps on getting better and happier. I'll take care of him for you. You don't have to worry about him anymore, because he's going to be okay now. I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, that he doesn't isolate himself. Because he's not alone anymore. Not as long as he has Hazel, Jason, Reyna, Hedge, Piper, Percy, and Annabeth. Not as long as he has me. I'll never let him get to where he was before, alone and half-dead. So you can rest now, Bianca. He has people who love him and care about him.
Will stood up. "It was nice to finally meet you, Bianca. I've wanted to for a long time. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, even if you can't hear me, just know that he's okay now, and I hope you are okay, too. I hope you have a good new life, whoever you are now. So goodbye, and I hope I'll be able to meet you for real one day, however that may be."
Will began to walk towards his boyfriend who was standing in the distance, ready to head home.