Time heals

Nico POV

Jason finally got it out of me. "Okay, it did feel a little different," I admitted after he'd pressed me for what felt like ages. I didn't like that I'd folded, but I guessed he deserved to know. I reminded myself that I didn't need to protect Jason. Besides, he already had hope that Leo was still alive so it wasn't like I was introducing false hope. I was feeding it though.

"That's amazing!" Jason laughed. "I knew it! He must've taken the cure! Somehow..."

I shrugged. "Maybe." Another reason why I hadn't wanted to share the news was because I hadn't wanted to give myself false hope. I still felt unbelievably guilty about Valdez and I wanted him to be alive.

Jason was thinking. "We should send out a search party," he decided. "To try and find him."

I tried not to let my skepticism show on my face. "Maybe," I repeated. "But if he's alive, I'm sure he'll come back in his own time. Where would you even look?"

I could see the gears turning in Jason's head. "I guess... But... I..."

I placed a hand on his back. "I know." I tried to sound comforting but wasn't sure if I quite pulled it off.

We were silent for a few minutes. "You could try to find him," Jason said quietly, almost in a question. "Thalia told me you know how to manipulate dreams."

I nodded. "I can try," I promised, already pretty sure about what I'd find.

"Thanks, dude!" Jason looked honestly grateful. "In the meantime," he said, "I'll tell Piper everything and we can ask for Chiron's help." He turned to me, his expression changed into something lighter. "And you can focus on getting healed by Will."

He said Will's name like he was trying to tease me with it. I made a face. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, Nico-"

The door opened (thank the gods) and speak of the devil, Will Solace walked in. It was about time. I was surprised he'd managed to stay away this long; he was usually annoyingly at my bedside during all of my waking hours. Plus, he'd shut the door on my "goodbye" when he'd left which I hadn't appreciated.

"How are you doing?" Will smiled. It seemed a bit forced. I didn't know how I could tell, but I could.

"Fine," I replied simply, with just a hint of venom. "You?"

Will looked a bit taken aback by my tone. I didn't know why. He was the one who had walked out and shut the door on me.

"Fine," Will echoed. "I was just bringing you some food-"

"I am not having any more of your disgusting soup!" I immediately declined. "I don't care if you want to force it down my throat, you'll have to fight me every step of the way."

Jason raised his eyebrows and Will snickered. "It's just an enchilada," he told me, placing it on my bed. The smell of Mexican food filled my nostrils and my stomach rumbled.

"Oh."

"And why are you so adamant to refuse my help?" Will asked with his hands on his hips. The challenging glint in his eye almost made me forget I was mad at him.

"Maybe because you insist on making my stay here, making me a complete misery for no reason," I grumbled, biting into the buttery tortilla.

Jason's expression of amusement was almost as bad as Will's. Will noticed and said to him, "Ignore him. I'm sure you know by now that he likes to pretend he doesn't need any help?" For some reason, that sounded like a challenge directed at Jason. I must've misheard though. "Can you believe," Will continued, "that during the first entire day, he was so transparent, I was worried he'd fall through the bed and get stuck there permanently?"