The Many Adventures of the Dumbest Demigods Ever

Magic Hands

"What the fuck, Nico?"

"Fuck off, I don't want to talk about it," Nico sighed, slamming the door behind him and hanging his keys on the hook next to it. He took off his white lab coat that acquired a new brown stain on the front that wasn't there when he left for work this morning. Will chuckled from his spot on the couch, where he was grading quizzes from his morning classes that day.

Will shrugged and threw his arms up in the air in defeat, looking at the boy covered in mysterious bodily fluids before him. "Okay, okay. Just please don't get it on the couch, it's my mom's," he scrunched up his nose in disgust once Nico got closer to him. "Did one of the people shit on you again post-mortem? Jesus, you smell like death."

Nico flipped off his boyfriend as he walked into their bathroom. "Wow, it's almost like that joke gets less and less funny every time you say it."

Will continued to grade quizzes while Nico hopped in the shower and viciously scrubbed the smell of decaying bodies and gods know what off of his body from his day at work. Once he was clean and his skin was rubbed raw, he padded over to the couch and turned on the TV, settling on the Discovery channel, which was airing a segment on panda babies.

Will giggled and set his papers down on the coffee table. "Why are we watching pandas give birth?" His laughter died in his throat as he looked over at Nico.

Nico wrapped himself in the blanket he had brought from their room and was staring blankly at the TV screen. Will frowned and put a comforting hand on his back, turning to fully face Nico in his burrito-like state.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He studied Nico's face, but all he saw was exhaustion. "Long day today?" Nico nodded as his eyes glazed over with tears.

"Yeah. Serial murders of little girls happening in Jersey, so they brought the bodies over to us for a full examination," he drew in a shaky breath. "One looked just like her. Just like her. Had to be only about ten years old."

"Fuck, honey, I'm sorry. That must've been jarring," Will hesitated and continued rubbing Nico's back. He was afraid to bring up what would happen next, but it was inevitable.

"Did you see anything?"

Nico drew in a heavy sigh. "Pain. Couldn't make out a full face, though, and the girls were too disoriented to give any information about the guy," he shuddered and pulled the blanket closer to his chin, staring blankly at the pandas, who were now cuddling their newborns. "Fuck, that one little girl. She had her voice, too. Almost like it was really Bee."

Will hesitated. He knew it was rare for Hades to allow reincarnation to happen close to their loved ones because he never even really cared for any soul that came through his doors enough to let them live again. However, there were some souls that he took a liking to every few years. How impossible would it be that he would grant such a thing to his own daughter? And how could he do such a fucked up thing and let her reincarnate be killed in such a gruesome way, and still so young?

He took the smaller boy into his arms and sat him on his lap, brushing away the hair and blanket that covered his face. "As much as I think you should call in sick tomorrow, I know you – and that won't happen," Will sighed and brushed his thumb gently over Nico's cheek, which was damp from the tears that had escaped his chocolate brown eyes. "But, that doesn't mean you need to dive head first into this case. Protect yourself, OK?"

Nico nodded slightly, turned his head to look at Will, and ran his hand through his blond curls, watching as his fingers caught on some knots near the back of his head. He started humming and continued petting Will, seemingly lost in thought.

"What if, to make sure I wasn't diving 'head first,'" Nico started, putting his word in quotations, making Will roll his eyes, "... I convinced the chief to let you join the case as an expert?"

Will furrowed his brows and glanced down at the papers he had abandoned grading. "But I'm a college professor... "

Nico unwrapped himself and shoved Will. "No, a college professor who is a retired trauma surgeon and pediatric specialist. You've dealt with cases of abused children before, more than the average person. "

Then, Nico said something that made Will's breath catch in his throat.

"And they found a survivor. Eight years old. Mikayla Silvers. Apparently, no one has been able to talk to her or get any information out of her, even the pediatric nurses and doctors. She threw her jello cup at the psychiatrist's head, apparently."

Nick poked his chest, which got Will to meet his gaze. "You've always been the one to get through to these kids, you're like a traumatized-kid whisperer or something."

He only gave half a smile at that compliment, finding it disappointing that there had to be such a role to fulfill. Nico got quiet like he wanted to say something but had to choose his words carefully. He took Will's hands and looked down at their intertwined fingers.

"She's our only hope of catching this guy. All those children... she's their only hope."

Will bit his lip. He couldn't say no to children, could he? The old Will would have jumped at the opportunity, not even thinking twice about stepping into an OR or patient's room. But now, his stomach was knotted with anxiety at the mere thought of a hospital full of sick and injured kids.

"Nico, I don't know. I'm not like I used to be."

Nico's gaze softened as he cupped Will's cheek, and WIll leaned into the touch. "I know, amore. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. You've grown so much. You're an amazing healer and doctor, because you pour so much love into everyone you meet," Nico laid a hand on Will's chest, over his heart. "That's why you became a doctor, and I know deep down, that that person's still in there."

Will's mind was racing, every thought zipping to the forefront and disappearing just as fast. Nico could tell that he was spiraling. He wiggled his eyebrows and poked Will's nose, "And you happen to be a demigod who has wicked magic hands."

Will laughed and held Nico's hand that landed on Will's shoulder to his lips. Nico looked hopeful, which was rare after these cases. Some days, he came home ecstatic that he bagged another asshole who murdered his wife – other days, he returned with tears in his eyes because the soul of the victim had already gone crazy. They roamed the Fields of Asphodel aimlessly, and weren't convinced they could trust Nico to help them – or just simply didn't see him because they were already too far gone.

He wanted to be that person for this little girl. It's what he would have wanted, what they spent their entire medical career and schooling trying to do – the reason for it all. The reason he wasn't here anymore.

"Yeah, of course," Nico smiled and started attacking his face in kisses.

"And only because you said I have magic hands!" Will giggled. He stilled Nico by cupping his face and bit his lip.

Fuck. I would burn the whole world to the ground for this boy.

The laughter died down, and he planted a gentle kiss on Nico's lips, pressing their foreheads together. "Thank you, amore." Nico whispered, his eyes staring into Will's.

Will tugged on the other boy's ear and grinned. "Anything for you, you know that." He placed little kisses on Nico's forehead and hummed, bringing the both of them to their feet. "Alright, how about we head to our room... where I can show you what these magic hands can really do?"

Nico raised an eyebrow, burrito-ing himself in the blanket once again, grabbing Will's hand, and dragging him to their room.

"You're disgusting."

"Cuddling, of course! Magic hands for cuddling!"