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asolareclipses · 1 month

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Nico knew that canoeing was a bad idea, yet somehow he ended up in the middle of the sound once again. It of course was Wills idea. He and his love for athletic hobbies, Nico would preferred to watch a movie or stayed indoors. But here he was in a canoe.

It’s not like he hated canoes or anything, he wasn’t anti-canoe or whatever. It just happened that every time they rowed out onto this lake something went wrong.

The first time was when they had just started dating. Will had meticulously prepared and over the top date that made Nico feel like his bones were going to jump out of his skin. An image that frequently appeared in Nicos mind for some reason. Unfortunately the date was ruined when a swarm of bees decided to take interest in the honey and peanut butter sandwiches Will had made. They capsized in seconds.

Of course they decided to give it another shot, after Will promised no more honey. And everything was fine, at least it was until a giant statue of Apollo crashed into the water almost drowning the both of them. Looking back, it was definitely a sign for the chaos that followed Apollos arrival at camp.

Still, somehow, Will had managed to convince Nico that this time would be different. The word convince meaning he gave a smile to Nico and all of his stubbornness melted into a puddle of adoration. But of course Nico wasn’t going to admit that.

Instead with each row of the paddle he silently cursed himself for his disgusting obsession of his boyfriend. Each day he impressed himself with how much of a cliche he was. The moments when he’d see something and think Will would like that. Or when something like a yellow flower or particular glare from the sunlight reminded Nico of his smile, a grin that was slightly uneven but set loose butterflies in Nico’s stomach every time he had the pleasure of viewing it. Gods he was so gross. This was totally against his image. Cheesy guy head over heels for his boyfriend? Yeah, no. Those were not the vibes he was trying to emit. Still he never held himself back from his affection, he just didn’t let people see it. Or he thought he did.

When Nico looked up he was almost blasted out of the canoe by the most breathtaking sight. Will had been looking at him, an adoring half smile spread across his face. The sunlight reflecting ever so slightly from his eyes. His blonde hair fell recklessly in his eyes, rustling as a breeze passed by and his face was flushed slightly pink. Which Nico tried to convince himself was sunburn even when knowing how that wasn’t possible for a son of Apollo. Honestly, Will was effortlessly beautiful and he didn’t even realize it. From his freckles to his sun kissed skin he was perfect.

Will titled his head in curiosity as he watched Nico stare, “What?” He said as his smile grew bigger.

Nico heart did ten jumping jacks seven pushups and took a few laps in his chest. “N-Nothing.” Nico lied, the stutter being the selling point.

Will laughed, a sound that blessed Nico’s ears, it was like hearing liquid gold. “You’re cute.”

Nico tried his best to glare at Will, it turned more into a flustered glance. “Okay nightlight.”

“You’re turning red Nico,” Will smirked. He looked proud of himself, it was so attractive.

Now that inner comment caught Nico so off guard it almost made him audibly scream.

“Shut up please Solace,” Nico said. But he couldn’t hold back his smile. Revenge time, he thought. “You know…” Nico paused looking into Wills eyes for a moment too long. He’d long forgotten his paddle, dropping it to the side of the boat as he leaned forward to brush a strand of Wills golden hair from his face. “You might be cuter.”

A quick look of surprise danced across Wills face as the pink flush turned deeper. He blinked, and then blinked again before opening his mouth to speak and then closing it. It was a moment of speechlessness that Nico reveled in. But of course it didn’t last long.

Wills expression soon changed to delight as he smirked, “What about me do you think is cute?”

Nico’s smile dropped. He failed to realize that Will was the king of flirting and would somehow one up him each time. It was probably an Apollo kid thing. Dramatics, romance or whatnot. But Nico was determined to win so he said something cool like, “Um...”

Will giggled leaning forward, they were now extremely close and Nico was hyper aware of his breathing and well, everything else too. “Speechless huh?” Gods the look on his face was so attractive Nico wanted to tattoo it onto the back of his eyes. Woah, too far.

“N-no?” Another killer reply good one Nico, he thought. It took all of his willpower not to shrink into an embarrassed ball on the bottom of the canoe.

Will placed his hands on the sides of Nicos face, he too had forgotten the existence of his paddle. “How can I be cuter when you’re already the cutest?” He asked in a soft voice as his eyes sparkled like gems.

Nico tried to rack his brain for something to say but all he found was a puddle of thoughts. His mind had melted the second Will had touched him. His hands were so warm. He could feel the warmth spreading throughout his body turning him into incoherent mush. He was so in love with Will it was embarrassing.

“I win.” Will placed a peck on Nicos nose lightly.

Those words triggered Nico’s competitive side and he suddenly felt the unwavering need to win. His body moved before he could think as his hands moved to the back of Wills neck and he pulled him in for a kiss.

He could feel the surprise on Wills lips, then he felt the curve of a smile as Will kissed back. He was filled with a warmth that spread throughout his whole body. Nico thought about how impossibly soft Wills lips were as he ran his fingers through his hair. It took all of his mental strength to pull away, but as he did Will leaned forward as if he yearned for the kiss to continue. This pleased Nico more than he’d like to admit.

“No, I win.” He whispered brushing his thumb against Wills bottom lip.

Will stared at his lips then moved his eyes up to meet Nico’s. He stared for a minute, then a minute longer before a sly smile spread across his face. “You sure about that?” He said before rapidly kissing Nico all over, his forehead, nose, cheeks, chin, slowly moving down his neck.

Nico giggled, squirming but not making any effort to pull away.

Will paused for a moment keeping his lips close to the side of Nico’s neck, “Do you give up yet?” He whispered, knowing his breath would send chills down Nico’s spine. He could feel his words reverberating throughout his whole body.

Nico took a shaky breath, opening his mouth to speak but he was cut short by a realization, “It’s leaking.”

“Your heart?”

“No idiot the boat!” Nico tone was twinged with surprise as he pushed Will lightly.

Will looked down to see the puddle forming on the bottom of the canoe, “Oh..”

“Oh?!” Nico looked at Will in exasperation, instantly regretting coming out onto these Gods forsaken waters.

“Thats not good huh?”

“Duh! What do we do?!” Nico began to look for the paddles which had drifted a distance away, now bobbing peacefully in the soft waves.

“Great question babe.” Will looked around the canoe as if looking at it would magically fix it.

“Would be even greater if it had an answer,” Nico replied. He wondered if he was cursed when it came to water, it would make sense, Poseidon hated Hades after all . It was a short thought he had no time to linger on, but its briefness stung with a familiar pain.

“I think we have to abandon ship,” Will suddenly said.

“We what now?”

“Either we sink with it or escape while we still can,” He spoke as if he’d already made up his mind that this was the best option.

“Great.” Nico replied.

Will grabbed his hand as they both shakily stood up, careful not to capsize the canoe. Not that it would’ve mattered.

“In 3…2…1!” Will called out before they both plunged into the cold waters.

As Nico hit the water and the darkness washed over him, he realized he did in fact hate water. Well, not necessarily being on or near water, he hated being in it. It was cold and dark. Two things extremely prevalent in Nico’s life yet the combination that water brought reminded him of his deepest memories. He couldn’t drown in those right now, because he was too busy trying to actually not drown.

He floundered a bit at the surface, he was never good at swimming. He hadn’t actually learned until somewhat recently and he was a beginner at most. Will sensed Nico’s panic and he began to reach out so they could swim to the shore together. He could feel the nervousness start to dissipate as he looked at Will.

Then everything went dark.

Nico thought he had passed out, that was until he felt the salty water rushing into his mouth. This was when he realized he was being pulled down by something, or someone.

He looked down and in the darkness where he could barely make out a hand grabbing his ankle. He resisted the urge to scream, well more like he couldn’t scream as his lungs were quickly filling with water. He tried to regain his composure, realizing that if he didn’t he would drown. Slowly he forced his arms against the current as he reached for the arm, if he could just get it to let go. As soon as he grabbed the creature he knew immediately it was a spirit, a spirit which promptly turned its head revealing several rows of sharp teeth. Then in a split second a searing pain rolled up Nico’s arm, it bit him. The dark water turned a tinge of red, spiraling out in swirls and eerie patterns.

Nico almost let go. But he wasn’t going to let a spirit be what killed him, he hadn’t earned the title Ghost King for nothing.

As Nico lungs screamed for air he ignored the pain and gathered the rest of his energy, still gripping the spirits arm he willed the spirit to dissipate. Suddenly he was no longer being pulled down, but that also meant he had to now swim back up.

Fear filled his body like the water in his lungs. It was so dark. It was so cold. He was going to drown.

Then he saw a splash of light, a yellow glow from above him as a hand reached out. He grasped at the hand, feeling the familiar warmth pull him towards the surface.

He came up coughing and gasping for air as Will desperately tried to keep them both above the water.

“Oh my gods- Nico what was- that,” Wills voice was mixed between splashes.

Nico couldn’t answer as he was too busy trying not to choke to death. He thought they would never make it to shore but soon Will was pulling him out of the water.

“It’s okay, just breathe.” Will said putting his hand on Nico chest, he felt his lungs expand as his breathing became clearer.

“Gee, wish I’d thought of that.” Nico replied still hanging on to his sarcasm despite almost dying seconds ago.

“Are you okay? I- What happened - You- Oh gods Nico your arm,” Will stuttered before his face filled with concern.

Nico had forgotten about that, he was almost shocked to see the wound was much worse than he initially thought it was. Instead of a small bite it was a bunch of large gashes cut deeply in his skin. It was like a shark with knife’s for teeth had bitten him.

“Dam,” Nico said as the blood dripped from his arm making staining the sand with a dark red color.

“Infirmary now.” Will said grabbing Nico by the not chewed up arm. His tone was urgent and so was the look of concern, which was probably better described as pain, that was splashed across his face.

They were halfway there when Nico stumbled, almost losing his balance as a wave of dizziness hit him like a semi truck.

Will reacted quickly slinging Nicos arm around him and holding his waist as he carried most of his weight. Nico didn’t know if it was a result of the blood loss, the use of his powers, or the almost drowning. Probably a combination of all. But he couldn’t focus, the world was blurring together as he thought about the darkness of the water. He could see the image imprinted in his mind of Wills hand, glowing, reaching towards him to save him. Will literally and figuratively pulled him out of the darkness. Turns out a near death experience makes Nico feel really poetic. Or maybe he was just delirious.

They reached the infirmary, Will rushing to grab bandages and nectar as soon as he sat Nico down. His whole arm was drenched in blood now, he had been sure the cut wasn’t that serious. The nectar stung his skin as the bleeding stopped. Nico felt a rush a strength before his mind cleared and the blurriness faded.

Will looked at him with a subtle fear in his eyes, not against Nico but for him. “What did this?”

“I don’t know,” Nico replied as his eyes moved over the cuts. “A water spirit maybe? Something like that. I didn’t see its face, it was too dark.”

Will sighed, “I should’ve known we were too far from the barrier. Of course the water would be more prone to monsters.” He scolded himself in frustration as if he were somehow to blame.

“It’s not your fault Will, neither of us expected that to happen.” Nico said softly as Will delicately wrapped the bandage around his arm. Usually the way his hand would move in expertise as if bandaging was an art mesmerized him.

But now his hands slightly shook, “I shouldn’t have made you come out onto the water with me. You were right, it always goes wrong. But instead of listening I made you do it anyways.”

Nico grabbed Wills hand and looked up at him, an expression of reassurance across his face. “You didn’t make me do anything.”

“I know but-“

“But nothing,” Nico cut in. “I chose to go with you because I wanted to. End of story.”

Will sighed. He brought his head down resting it on their hands.

“I’m okay,” Nico softly spoke, “and you’re okay.”

Will nodded looking up at Nico, his eyes slightly shining. Whenever Nico would get hurt Will would always look like he was in pain too. Whether it was something big or small. Will seemed to feel it twice as hard. It was as if seeing Nico in pain was the worst thing physically possible for Will. Nico felt guilty for always being in pain.

A breeze from the infirmary air conditioning blew past, and Nico shivered. He hadn’t realized how cold he was until now. Will was soaked himself but still he rushed to grab a towel, draping it over Nico’s shoulders.

“I’ll grab clothes, you need to change before you catch a cold.”

“You too.” Nico said as Will was opening the door.

“Right.” Will replied almost as if he hadn’t thought about that.

When Will left Nico was met with a sense of silence. The infirmary was empty. Rare, but it made sense as it was nearing spring and most campers were at school or doing whatever non-summer campers did.

In the silence, Nico thought about being dragged into the depths. The tugging sensation had been so familiar to the one he’d felt many years ago. That same darkness as he was dragged deeper and deeper down somewhere he’d never wanted to go. The feeling had been so identical it made him sick. But this time he had Will to pull him up. Will who lost all self preservation when it came to Nico. Will who cared so much about Nico that it scared them both. He didn’t want Will to drown in his thoughts like he had, he wanted to be his light, to pull him from the darkness too.

A drop of water fell from his hair and hit the ground, just as the door opened and Will rushed in. He hurriedly told Nico to change and Nico made sure to remind him to do the same.

Finally being in dry clothes brought a pleasant warmth throughout his body. But his hair was still dripping wet, chilling his neck as each drop made its way down his face. He noticed that somehow Wills hair had mostly dried already, another mysterious Apollo thing, Nico assumed.

Another drop of water fell from Nico’s hair and hit the ground.

Will noticed and frowned, putting a towel on Nico’s head, he stood while Nico was sitting on the infirmary bed. Will ruffled the towel, making a mess of Nico’s already unruly hair.

After a moment he stepped back and asked, “Is that better?”

Nico shook his head.

Will scrunched his brows in confusion before Nico suddenly wrapped his arms around Wills waist, pulling him closer.

“That’s better,” Nico said. His voice muffled as he buried his head in Wills shirt.

He could almost hear Wills smile as he leaned into the hug, they both shared the warmth of that moment for what seemed that forever.

Nico wanted Will to feel warm too. He wanted to be a light for him. Whatever darkness or pain Will had, Nico wanted to erase it all. Maybe he couldn’t do that. But he could be here, in this moment, so that’s what he did.

After a moment he moved back, looking up at Will. It was a breathtaking sight to say the least. The way Will looked down at him with a warm smile. It was like looking directly into the sun except Nico couldn’t look away. His eyes danced like diamonds and Nico realized what it felt like to be truly loved.

“I love you Solace.”

“I love you too.”

That day Nico thought that maybe canoeing wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

The new scars on his arm may disagree.