Fighting Darkness

Chapter 3

((Author's note: kissing scene towards the end. Be prepared, you can skip it if you want))

Nico woke up after a few days. Yeah, he slept for days. As he awoke, he noticed Will, sitting propped up in a chair next to him. He was asleep, Nico was happy for that, but he still looked overworked. With a small glance, he figured out a few things. Same cot, same sheets, same bedside table. The hole in the wall was new, though.

Had he done that? He searched through his memories, remembering when he got angry at Will. His conversation with his dad came flooding into his brain, and he winced. He was harboring some super powerful deity in him. Fun.

Nico wondered if he could talk to him. Even so, what would he say? 'Hey buddy, what's up? You like it in my body? Yes? Well that's too bad now, isn't it? Because you kind of have to leave. Sorry!' Nico doubted that would go down smoothly. Wait; did this guy know what he was thinking? Nico prayed to the Gods that he didn't. That would be horrible.

Someone came bursting in through the door, in a purple t-shirt and jeans. Even with her back turned, he knew who the braided hair and rigid posture belonged to.

"Reyna?" He called out, curious as to why she was there. She turned, took one look at him, and frowned. He knew from experience that there was much more going on inside of that head of hers. He could see clearly through the defensive wall she had put up by now. Something was wrong.

"Nico? Gods, are you okay?" She asked, walking quickly over to his cot. She crossed her arms and stood over him, assessing the damage.

"What happened? I tell Chiron to take care of you, and next thing you know, he's sending me some Iris message about you dying? So I had to leave camp and come check on you." She said, sounding annoyed and unsure at the same time.

Nico was astounded, and the look was clearly written across his features. She came from New Rome just for him? Someone did something for him? He was suspicious, but Reyna meant it. She was actually worried about him. The thought of someone caring that much made his heart hurt a little. Bianca was the last person who cared about him that much. Sure, Hazel did, too, but she had so many other people to care about. It never bothered him; he had realized that few people even knew he existed, so someone caring for him was a pretty impressive feat.

Reyna had a lot of people to care about. She was a Praetor. Nico imagined that being Praetor meant automatically having to care about everyone else. No one else had cared that much about her, though. He knew that her sister had used her for bait. He knew that her father had been crazy and abusive. He knew that she had tried with Jason and Percy, and that didn't work out, either. Nico decided that he would be the person to care about Reyna. She deserved it. Caring about someone meant showing them you care. She was obviously freaking out, so he would comfort her, because that was what friends did.

"Hey, I'm okay now. Don't worry." He said softly, propping himself up on his elbows. Before he knew what was happening, he was enveloped in the praetor's arms, being squeezed tightly.

"Don't ever die again. If you do, I might have to kill you." She threatened. Nico let out a small laugh. It was something that he found himself doing a lot more lately, laughing. In Will's presence, it was the most. Every corny joke made him want to laugh, but he usually refrained.

It could have been a few seconds or a few minutes, Nico lost track of time. Reyna just held on to him until they heard a throat being cleared from the doorway. A roman camper, Michael Kahale, took up the whole doorway with his broad shoulders and tall frame. If there was a way to be overly muscular, Michael had found it. What, did that kid do a million pushups every day?

"Reyna, we have to tell Chiron soon and get the transports ready." Michael's voice was deep and masculine. Almost like Will's, but Will's voice belonged in the heavens. Low, masculine, melodious, it sounded like what he imagined honey to sound like.