Found Light in the Shadow (Solangelo)

Chapter One

Will

Nico is ahead of me, running by the River Acheron, the river of pain.  Bob the titan is running by his side.  Nico suddenly stops in front of me, dropping to his knees and putting his hands over his ears.  I could tell that the cries from the river were overwhelming my baby.  For some reason, all I could hear was my Nico screaming.  It hurt me having to see my baby like this.  Just before I reached him, he got back up and continued to run down the river's banks.  The air in the pit of Tartarus was suffocating, sulfur burning at my lungs.  I wasn't sure how Nico kept going like he was.  I struggled to keep up with my Nico as he was approaching the edge of a cliff.  I was right behind him, just a few feet away...

"Will, please wake up."  I woke up suddenly with Nico shaking my shoulders.

I looked down, sweat was rolling down my torso.  The parts of Nico's body that were against me, covered by my sweat as well.

"Nico, I was having that dream again."  I sighed heavily, still trying to catch my breath.

Nico wrapped his arms around my chest.  "It's OK baby, I'm here with you.  Nothing is going to hurt you now."

Nico's embrace started to calm me down.  Being in my husband's arms was starting to have a soothing effect on me.  Just knowing that he was beside me was enough to take my pain away.  I wrapped my arms around my lover and pulled him tight against me.

"Baby, I can't begin to describe what I saw.  It was all so terrifying."

"I know Will," he said while stroking my hair, "you don't have to describe it to me.  Let's take a hot shower, it'll make you feel better."

I nodded at my husband and gave him a quick kiss.  We got up and went to get a shower, rinsing my sweat off both our bodies.  After drying off, we both crawled back into bed.  This time I curled up to my Nico, resting my head on his shoulder.  I wrapped my arm around him and held him tight.  I wasn't going to let anything happen to my husband.  Not even the depths of Tartarus would touch him.

...

I woke up in the early morning light.  I was still holding my beloved Nico in my arms.  My husband had come so far, opening up and giving all of himself to me.  He was the shadow that formed from my light.  I was not going to let anything hurt my little man.  Although, my Nico was still shorter than I was, by about three inches, he had filled out into his man body pretty nicely.  His chest was nice and defined, his arms actually had some meat on them.  His legs were still pretty skinny, but I didn't mind it at all.  Nico's abs were perfectly defined.  He even had a light, jet black, happy trail now.  My husband was still all mine and I loved every inch of him.

Thank the Gods that today was Sunday, neither of us had anywhere special to be. As I laid there holding my baby, I couldn't help myself thinking about the last year together. After we got back from our honeymoon, we finished off the camps summer season. During the off season we both resumed taking online college classes. Nico was really starting to enjoy his art classes. For Christmas, I got him an easel, a paint set, and a bunch of canvases. He was actually starting to get pretty good at painting. My pre-med classes were still the basics of anatomy and medical terminology. Some of it I had already known, but there was still a ton to learn. Nico asked Leo to build us two little desks so we have our own space to work on our schooling. My baby tried to be supportive of me, helping me with my homework and getting ready for exams. When our one year wedding anniversary came around, we went into the city for an evening.  We had made reservations at Sardi's for dinner.  Afterward, we ended the night on the observation deck of the Empire State Building once again.  I was just glad to be spending the time with my husband.