Hello Sun, Hello Stars

The 'what ifs'

Nico Di Angelo, prince of darkness, ghost king, and son of Hades, had taken to keeping his curtains wide open in his cabin overnight.

Upon discovering his enjoyment of all things sunny, such as a certain Will Solace, the blinding morning sun had become a perfect way to begin each morning; waking up slowly to festering light was considerably nicer than being jolted awake by an annoying alarm, or frantic knocking on his door to get up for breakfast.

Despite the pleasant morning routine he had adopted, combined with the sudden and unexpected kindness of the other campers, and his boyfriend, Will, Nico could not help but feel a worsening sense of guilt deepening into the depths of his stomach as the days dragged on.

It was no longer a secret that his fatal flaw was holding grudges; that being, the inexplicable inability to let things go. One thing he had been unsuccessfully attempting to rid himself of was this very annoying guilt, and he discovered that the more he tried, the worse he felt.

So, in spite of everything finally looking up for the son of Hades, he couldn't help but feel exceptionally down.

Of course, people noticed. He never was good at hiding how he felt, usually wearing it in the form of a scowl, or his feelings taking form through insomnia or changes in appetite.

Had Percy or Jason been here, he would have been found out after a few days. Had Reyna been here, he wouldn't have lasted an hour.

Not that Will didn't notice; he simply had astounding amounts of optimism that Nico would eventually become accustomed to the new atmosphere at Camp Half-Blood, despite that not being the real issue here. Not to mention he was the head healer; a teenager put in charge of healing everyone's injuries in a camp where sword fighting was encouraged, there was a lava climbing wall, and of course the small fact that most demigods failed to make it past their early twenties.

His boyfriend really had his work cut out for him.

Nico really didn't want to worry him or put unnecessary strain on their relatively new relationship, but his ability to conceal his feelings lacked skill he simply did not have.

And so, it was no surprise when a few weeks into his broody disposition, he was cornered in the Hades cabin by his boyfriend, demanding (or rather, sweetly asking) to know what was going on with him.

"I know you're used to being shut away by the rest of the campers, and it's got to be really weird for everyone to be nice to you now, but we're all really grateful for everything you've done! I mean, no one should have been rude to you in the first place but I can tell a lot of them are really trying! Seriously, even Travis and Conner pranked you, and that means they like you, which I guess is a weird way of showing it but-"

"Will! Holy Hades, take a breath."

Nico knew he should explain. Staring at his boyfriend who looked like a kicked puppy as he was trying to figure out the son of Hades' thoughts was almost unbearable. But he really didn't want Will to get caught up with the plan he had been brewing for the past few days.

On the other hand, he absolutely did not want to lie to Will. So he made a split second decision.

"First of all, the campers aren't what's bothering me. Being at Camp has been really nice!" Nico started.

"Before you can interrupt, I want to say this. There's something I need to do. I've been thinking about it a lot and it's incredibly dangerous but I just can't stop thinking about the 'what ifs'. I need to..."

Oh gods how was he going to say this.

"I need to save Bob and Damasen."

He waited.

Will was looking at him with a confused expression on his face. One that quickly morphed into understanding, and then promptly to concern.

"You mean from... there?" He asked tentatively.

"Yes. From there."

"Nico-"

"I'm sorry. I just... I can't leave them there. Not after all they did to help us. They are the only reason we closed the doors of death and won the war. I just feel... guilty I guess."

Nico had never been one to express his emotions so easily. But with Will, everything felt easy. He trusted him more than anyone and although it's very cheesy, it's true. He wanted to be honest with him, and they'd even been practicing for Nico to be able to open up more.

Will was patient, and a great listener. He made Nico feel... well he made Nico feel a lot of things.

But mainly he made him feel heard.

"Nico... I'm not going to pretend I like this. But if you're adamant about going, I'm going with you."

"W-what?" Nico spluttered. "No. No, I cannot ask you to do that!"

"If you're going, I'm going." He said simply but firmly.

This is what Nico really liked about Will, amongst other things. He put things plain and simply, which was really helpful for the guy who missed the last 70 years of civilisation.

"However," Will began, "neither of us are going anywhere without an issued quest. Chiron would have our heads."

Nico sighed. He knew Will was right. He recalled a story Percy told him when he had snuck out to join the quest with Bianca, how Mr D had trapped him with vines or something.

"Then I suppose it's time we paid a visit to Miss Dare."