Out of the Shadows: A Solangelo Fanfiction

Chapter 31: Thanksgiving

   Kyla healed up nicely. A week after she arrived at camp, she was claimed by Athena. She was debriefed on everything, but she seemed to really start feeling at home.

   Now it was Thanksgiving. Nico used to hate this day. What did he have to be thankful for? But he actually had things to be thankful for now.

   All the campers were sitting at their respective tables for dinner. It was a normal dinner, except they were all eating typical American Thanksgiving meals, and they would all say what they were thankful for.

   The chittering died down as Chiron told them they had to say what they were thankful for before they ate. So one at a time, people said something. Some people said family. Some people said a partner. Some people said silly things like cake.

   Finally, it was Nico's turn. He stood up.

   "Nico, it's okay if you don't want to-" Chiron started, but Nico cut him off.

   "Thank you, but it's alright. I'm thankful for Will. I don't know where I would be right now without him."

   Everyone looked at him about as shocked as he felt. Nico never said things like that. But what he said was very true. Without Will being there for him, where would he be? Without realizing it, Nico had stayed at camp because Will was here. Blushing, Nico sat down and tried to block out all the stares. He could see Drew mimicking throwing up and flipping him off.

   Will stood up. "And I'm thankful for my boyfriend, Nico. He's amazing and I wouldn't want him to change one bit. He's perfect."

   Will sat back down, smiling while Nico was trying to hide his face.

   After everyone was done, they all dug into their food. It was the first Thanksgiving dinner he had had since Bianca was alive. And his first official Thanksgiving dinner since the 1940's.

   After everyone ate, campers turned on the music and danced around. Of course Nico didn't dance, no matter how many times Will begged him to.

   "Nico, come on and dance with me!"

   "No."

   "But you can dance!"

   "So? A lot of people can dance."

   "But you're wasting your talent!"

   "I haven't danced since I was 10."

   "You said that you would teach me how to dance because I suck!"

   "It was a joke."

   Will gave him a pouty face. "You're so mean, Nico. Just one song?"

   "No."

   "You are so stubborn!" Will sighed.

   "So are you."

   "Will you ever teach me how to dance?"

   Nico thought about it. "Maybe someday."

   That was enough to make him grin and shut up about it.

   "Will?"

   "Hmm?"

   "Why do you like someone like me?"

   Will stopped his dancing and came over to sit next to him. "I like you for a lot of reasons. You're brave, always standing up for what you believe in. You've faced horrible things in your life, but you're still standing. You can be really funny and sarcastic, too. You're smart, you know things. Without you, we couldn't have stopped Kronos or Gaea. And you're really adorable and hot at the same time."

   "I am not adorable."

   "Yes you are."

   "I'm scary!"

   "I don't think you're scary. Even if you were scary, you could still be adorable and hot."

   "Nobody likes scary people."

   "That's not true. Look at Annabeth."

   "But that's different. I've always been a depressed loner, Son of Hades full of darkness and despair. Wandering around with evil ghosts, nobody knowing what side I'm on."

   "Hey, I've always known what side you were on. And I don't see the darkness as being a part of who you are."

   Will kissed him. Will knew not to do that in public, but Nico didn't pull away.

   "Now it's your turn. Why would you like someone like me? Someone who can barely even fight, how could he have landed a child of the Big Three? Some useless healer?"

   "Hey! You are not useless! Without you, so many people at camp would be dead. And I would have to do more burial rites! You are a very talented healer. Someone told me that strength doesn't lie in how hard your punches are. I love that you always try so hard, even if you do overwork yourself which is bad. You are so caring and kind and stubborn. Did you know you're the only person who has ever broken my glare? The only person besides my sister who can convince me to do things like stay in that awful infirmary for 3 days? And you care about everyone, no matter where they come from or what they look like. You are so brave, taking on all those Romans and getting in Octavian's face. You are so not only a doctor. That's just not true. Even if that was true, I wouldn't care. But it's not. It's really not. Not only are you the best doctor at both camps, but you can play the guitar, sing, make people rhyme for days on end, shoot a bow and arrow even if you aren't as good as your siblings, you can calm both me and Clarisse down with a single touch, which is no easy feat. You can outrun six Romans. You can whistle at some crazy frequency. You sing hymns to heal people. And," Nico looked away, blushing. "You're really hot."

   Will laughed. "Thanks, death boy. That really meant a lot to me."

   "Yeah, well, I hope I did fine. I'm not used to praising people."

   "Well then, you're a natural!"

   Nico rolled his eyes. "Enough sappy stuff. I don't like sappy. Plus we're in public."

   "But it's so hard to not do anything romantic! You're so freaking cute, and I always want to kiss you!"

   Nico's face turned red. "Whatever, Solace."

   But Nico was thankful to finally have someone to help him. For years, he thought the only person who could do that was Percy. Nico had loved Percy, and always wanted to be with him. Once he realized that was never going to happen, he had given up, knowing that no one could help. But he was wrong. Because the fates had given him Will.