Various Fanfictions

Nothing Else

Heroes of Olympus

It was supposed to be simple. He and Percy were supposed to walk up the side of the mountain and try to make peace with the spirits. Since Percy tended to injure himself, Will was sent as a personal medic.

That's all I am to everyone, aren't I? Will thought bitterly. A healer.

To put it shortly, they weren't able to make peace and were sent on their way before the spirits attacked and, inevitably, killed them. Or Will at least. He was not warrior, and Percy had other things to worry about.

Will was always uncomfortable around Percy. Ever since Nico had told him what he'd done, Will couldn't help but be bitter towards the demigod. Looking at Percy, with his toned muscles, tousled black hair and bright green eyes, Will couldn't help but feel self conscious. Nico had liked this guy, and he now likes him. What was Will compared to Percy?

And so they walked back in silence. Will clutched his medical pouch tightly, trying to focus on his footfalls and breaths and looking anywhere but Percy. They were about the same height, Will being slightly shorter, but he felt so much smaller. He thought about Nico, and what he saw in Will that he hadn't in Percy. Will was nothing compared to Percy, he didn't know why Nico even liked him -

Something hard slammed into Will, and he was thrown to the solid ground. He let out a cry of pain and surprise, realizing after a second that Percy was on top of him.

"Shit," Percy cursed, pushing himself to his feet on his hands. Will continued to lay there, staring up at him.

"Percy - " Will started, preparing to get angry. Why would this prick who hurt Nico decide to shove him to the ground?

The next few seconds were a blur. Percy uncapped Riptide, and Will was shoved to the ground again, this time from behind.

Will say on the ground, dazed. Distantly, he heard Percy yell, "Furies!" But Will couldn't bring himself to move. Furies. He was going to die. He could practically feel their razor sharp talons digging into his chest -

"Will!" Percy shouted, and Will was brought to his senses. Scrambling to his feet, he saw Percy surrounded by three Furies, with two more approaching Will. Their red eyes blazed with, well, fury, a slimy substance too dark and thick to be drool dripping from the gaping hole in their head that they call their mouths.

Try as he might, he wasn't able to summon any light to bend and use as a weapon. Light bending was a very rare Apollo child ability, and it seeped his energy when he did, if he even could. All he had was the scalpel in his pocket (because for some reason he'd left it there from earlier) and his voice. Letting out a high frequency whistle, the Furies stopped, winced, but pressed on.

Will glanced at Percy in a sudden panicked worry that surprised even him when he heard Percy cry out. He'd taken out one monster, one was on his shoulders , and the other was preparing to pounce. Will snapped a branch off a nearby tree and wielded it like how Percy had taught him when he tried to learn to sword fight.

Then the Furies attacked. The first thing Will felt was the pain in his hand when the Fury raked its claws across his hand to disarm him (if you could even consider him "armed"). Will cried out and stumbled back, clutching his bloody hand to his chest.

"Will!" Percy cried again, but Will was in too much pain to glance over. One of the furies had flown overhead and dug its claws into his shoulders, but he was too dazed to feel the tendons and muscles slice open and the blood seep down his arm. The monster shoved him to the ground and he fell without much of a fight.

A shallow raking of claws across his back got him moving. He flipped onto his back, adrenaline pumping too quickly to feel the pain anymore. He jumped to his feet and backed up, right into the claws of the next Fury.

A claw to the face was what did it. Will cried out, feeling his fave rip open, the taste of metal filling his mouth and choking him. The Fury was hideous. It's gnashing teeth were inches from his face. Will desperately tried to shove it off, resulting in more gashes being slashed into his arms.

The claws went in extra deep the next second, his stomach exploding in pain. Wills back arched off the ground and more blood filled his mouth, mixing with his tears and soaking his curls.

Then it was over. The Fury let out a gasp, then dropped right onto Will. Will let out a shriek as weight was applied to the gaping wounds in his stomach. Percy, wide eyed and terrified, shoved it off of him and knelt down.

"Will," he breathed. "Oh my god, no no no, stay with me -"

Percy began to panic, pressing down on Wills wound and wincing when he cried out. Will thought about Nico, and how sad he'd be when he died. He'd cry, oh god he's cry so much. Nico -

Will screamed into the empty forest, white hot pain flashing through his abdomen and spreading through his body like fire.

"Sorry!" Percy apologized, horror written across his face. He had this distant look in his eyes, and Will knew the look all too well. The look when you were losing someone you knew would make it, right under your hands. Oh, he knew it too well.

"Percy," Will croaked. "The - the bandages -" He cut himself off and coughed, blood spraying into the air and splattering onto his face, intermingling with his sun kissed freckles. Percy's eyes widened, and he smacked his forehead, leaving a bloody handprint. If Will weren't dying, he would've laughed.

Percy was back in an instant, but it felt like hours to Will. Bandages were wrapped too tight around his abdomen, tearing screams from his shredded throat. Percy apologized again and again, mumbling something about how Nico would kill him, something about Bianca.

And then it all made sense to Will. Nico blamed Percy for Biancas death, he was supposed to protect her, and here he was losing another person precious to Nico.

Will couldn't let that happen. He couldn't leave Nico alone again. And so he held on.

Bandages were already soaking through when Percy hauled him to his feet. Will cried out, leaning heavily on Percy, his sweat and blood soaked bangs hanging in his eyes. Percy apologized again, and Will muttered back that he didn't need to.

They were only about a mile out, the entrance to camp wasn't too far away. They'd walked most of the way back before they were attacked. It occurred to Will that if he really was dying, Nico would feel it. He must be going crazy, Will thought.

Minutes passed by all in a daze. Neither of them saw it coming when his legs suddenly gave out and he collapsed to the ground.

"Will!" Percy shouted for the umpteenth time that day, falling to his knees and seeing that his bandages had begun to fail. Blood had soaked them dark red, staining both of their camp shirts. Will couldn't imagine what he looked like. Hooded eyes, blood soaking every inch of his skin. He must look dead.

The ground disappeared from beneath him as Percy scooped him into a fireman carry. Wills long lanky limbs hung limply like vines from his body. He could hear Percy breathing heavily, whereas he didn't make a sound. He didn't have the energy. And he didn't need to be a doctor to know that wasn't a good sign.

Finally, as the sun began to set, camp came into view. They were still far out when Percy began to shout. Wills breaths became labored, coming in short pants as the blood clogged his airway. Internal bleeding, he thought dazedly. Not good.

It felt like hours before people began to show up. He could hear voices and Percy's increase in speed.

"Wait, isn't that Percy?" Someone asked from far away.

"Wasn't he with Will?"

"...is that Will? Is he dead?"

Yes, Will thought bitterly. Yes, I am.

Then he heard Nico, and everything seemed okay again. He'd made it to Nico, and now he could die in his arms say his goodbyes.

"Will!" He heard his boyfriend shout, and Will was lowered to the ground.

The meme "careful, he's a hero," flashed though his head, and Will laughed in his head. He was delusional.

Cold hands touched his face, and everything blurred away. The voices and sounds around him. There was only Nico, only the dark eyes staring into his, the dark hair framing his beautiful face. And Will realized then that if he died right then and there, he'd be okay with it. As long as he was with Nico, staring into his eyes. And all would be right with the world.

But the tears in his boyfriends eyes shut those thoughts down as soon as they went to his head. He couldn't leave Nico alone, he'd be lost, broken.

Hands were pressing into the wound on his stomach, and he found the energy to scream. It cut through the crowd like a knife, and Nico hugged his head harder from where he held it in his lap. Chaste lips pressed to his forehead, mixing with the sweat and blood.

Dazedly, he saw Percy standing off to the side with his hands wrapped around himself and tears in his eyes. He wanted to tell Nico not to be angry at Percy, that it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't because the next second everything went black.

...

Will could swear he heard death calling. He heard the cracked, haunting voice of the souls calling to him, reaching out and it reminded him so much of Nico he almost went. But Nico wasn't there. He was here, on earth, with the living.

He felt soft, cold hands on his and he looked down, but there was nothing there. He heard an Italian accented voice calling to him, but he didn't see where it was coming from.

And then a blinding light appeared like in the movies, and Will almost went. He belonged with the light, he was a child of it. The sounds of heartbroken sobs stopped him. It echoed in his ears and his soul. He'd heard those cries before, in the dead of night too many times as he comforted the one they came from.

Nico.

...

The irony that a child of death would be the one to bring him from the brink of it. Wills eyes snapped open, and immediately the pain set in. He cried out softly, knowing at once he was in the infirmary and didn't want to wake anyone.

A dark haired head snapped up, and Will met Nicos eyes again, but this time he wasn't dying.

No words were said, they only stared at each other, blue eyes meeting black, neither one believing the other was there.

Because there was only each other, and nothing else.