𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑 𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒𝐄 ➳ 𝙥𝙟𝙤 // 𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨

xxv

TW: grief, mentions of death, swearing

Nico... dead?

Will was at a loss — in all aspects. He had just found out he had lost the love of his life. He also didn't know what to make of it. Even Nico's fucking father Hades had no clue where his son was.

Will sat on Nico's bed in the Hades cabin, a picture frame in his hand. In it, an image of him and Nico sitting in a field of flowers. He smiled fondly at the memory. His eyes glistened a little. 

Don't cry, Solace, he scolded himself. Nico wouldn't want him to, this he knew. They had in fact spoken about it in the "unlikely" event of one of their deaths. Nico clearly hadn't honored Will's wish of moving on because sitting on the dresser, still in its velvet lined box, was the promise ring Will had given Nico. It was dust covered, so Will presumed it hadn't been touched in, well... years.

Will opened the box, a tear sliding down his cheek. The ring was silver — Nico was not a gold person — with a moon and sun entertained with vines on the top. 

Inside the ring, was the inscription, from your significant annoyance.

Gods, what Will wouldn't give for one last kiss from Nico. He'd storm the Underworld if he had to — but according to Hades there was no use in that.

A knock on the door startled Will. 

"Will?" A gentle voice called. Annabeth.

"Yeah?" Will croaked out. He cleared his throat, and then repeated his words. "I mean, um, yes?"

The door swung open, revealing Percy and Annabeth, the two of them gripping each other's hand tightly. Percy had a pained expression on his face while Annabeth looked dead serious.

"Will?" Percy murmured.

Will didn't reply. He just stared at the grass behind Percy and Annabeth, focusing his attention on anything but the upcoming conversation.

Percy spoke louder. "Will." 

Will's head snapped up, cheeks flushing. "I'm fine. I'm completely fine."

"Well, um, Hazel just got here," Annabeth said softly. "We told her about... what happened... and we think you two should talk."

Will felt like he'd been slapped in the face. All this time he'd been grieving his lover when he forgot that his boyfriend's sister didn't even know. He hadn't even considered how Hazel might be feeling. After all, Nico was there for her when no one else was. And now he was gone.

"—ill? Will? Hello?" Percy asked gently. 

Will's eyes shifted back to them. "Right. Sorry. Of course, just give me a moment."

The couple nodded before closing the door.

Will lay on Nico's bed, breathing in the familiar scent. He remembered it from so many of his favorite memories. Late night cuddling, their first make out session, a sleepover with all of their friends, and of course, their well-known seven minutes in heaven that had turned into an hour.

A few minutes later, he left Nico's cabin and found Hazel. She was sitting at one of the tables in the pavilion, eyes streaming with tears.

The daughter of Pluto looked up. "Will."

"Hey, Hazel," Will said quietly.

———

Nico was beginning to regret his decision to live again.

Tartarus was, just as he remembered, a fucking unpleasant and depressing place to be. 

Time moved differently down here from what he could recall — so for all he knew an entire week in Tartarus could be an hour up on Earth. This could work in his favor, after all, seeing as he needed to get to the Doors before Thanatos came back.

Currently, Nico was trudging up a steep incline, the ground lined with rugged red sand and rocks. The sky was a hellish sort of color, the air reeking of sulfur. As far as revival journeys went, this did not take the number one spot.

So far, he had encountered multiple monsters. Amongst them, some vicious empousai that had not bothered to wait until Nico was done urinating — how rude.

He had multiple gashes all over his body, and it was not long before he realized that he was ill-prepared for the journey. No food, no ambrosia, no water, not even a drachma in case he changed his mind and wanted to head right into Elysium. No, this was the only way.

Suddenly, a "meow" broke Nico out of his thoughts. Quickly, he drew his sword, stopping in his tracks.

He could not deal with another fucking monster.

Nico looked down to see a cat rubbing up against his legs. His eyes brightened. "Small Bob!"

The cat purred happily, plopping himself down on Nico's foot.

Nico sighed. "No use in getting you to move, is there?"

Small Bob swished his tail in response.

Nico groaned. "Fine. Get up here." He scooped the cat up, and Small Bob perched on Nico's shoulder. The two set off together, trudging up the steep hill once more, Nico wincing with each step.

"You and I are gonna get through this, okay?" Nico murmured. "Together."