Three Days In The Infirmary [Solangelo]

THREE

Nico was so glad to finally shower. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd felt clean, so he was relieved to be able to wash his hair and just enjoy the hot water without fearing that a monster would try to kill him. The plastic bags did their jobs fine, and after a good half an hour, Nico figured he should get out and stop wasting water.

After Nico had dried off and pulled on his clothes, he realised that he'd left the shirt sitting on the bed, but taken the hoodie.

I'm an idiot...

Assuming that Will would still be with other campers, Nico walked out of the bathroom without his shirt on.
'O-oh, you're back,' he commented when he saw that Will was lying on the bed, his cheeks flushing. Nico quickly peeled the plastic bags off his arms and threw them into the trash, about to put on the shirt when Will held up a finger.

'Wait, I'm going to clean and redress the cuts,' Will told Nico, grabbing some bandages and a packet of wipes off the bed next to him. 'I'll heal them a bit, too.'

Nico was going to protest and tell Will not to waste his energy, but relented without any fight; Will would do it either way, it was just who he was. Nico went and sat down on the bed as Will stood, starting to undo the bandages around Nico's biceps.

The cuts were still burning like molten lava, but they looked slightly less horrific than they had the previous day. Will took the bandages off, cautiously wiping the dried blood off Nico's skin around the injuries, before singing a hymn in Ancient Greek (which was how he healed people).

Nico felt a kind of tingly feeling in his arm, and watched in amazement as the cuts healed; they didn't heal much, obviously, but they healed a bit, and that was what mattered to Nico. The faster they were gone, the better.

Nico thanked Will, after he stopped singing.
Will waved it off, but he was yawning and rubbing his eyes for the rest of the night.

That night at dinner, Jason sat with Nico and Will. He surprisingly didn't spend the whole time making fun of them, and instead, held a civilized conversation. He told them with vigour about his plans for the two camps, how he and Chiron had started to plan some joined war game/capture the flag ideas, how they were working to come up with a cool new programme which involved things that would keep everybody happy, and it made Nico smile to see Jason talking about this so enthusiastically. Nico hated to say it, but Jason really was growing on him.

By the time they'd eaten dinner, both Will and Nico were ready to sleep. It had surprised Nico to find that he hadn't had any nightmares while sleeping the previous night, but as he lay in the bed in the infirmary, a daunting thought had struck; tomorrow was the third day, the last day of resting time that he owed Will.

Nico wasn't quite ready to leave yet; he liked Will, even if he didn't want to admit it. Will's hair, his eyes, his stupid perfect smile and warm personality... Nico liked it. Their arguments made Nico smile when he thought back on them, and walking around camp had felt easy, like nothing was wrong – Will made Nico feel normal, accepted.

Lying in bed, staring at the roof, Nico wondered if he and Will would still talk after tomorrow was over; it seemed unfathomable that they'd just stop talking, but what if they did? What if Will really did just think of Nico as a patient?

Nico slept a little more restlessly, that night.

'... Nico. Wake up. Nico. Death Boy, get up!'

Nico sat up with a start, almost head-butting Will. Will jumped back, almost falling over.

'Gods, Will! Don't do that!'

Will laughed sheepishly.
'Sorry, di Angelo. But this is important, come on.'

Nico blindly pulled on clothes, not having enough energy or inhibitions to tell Will to get out. Will and Nico went up to the dining pavilion, where Jason, Percy, Annabeth and Piper were gathered around something.

'We thought you were dead! Oh my gods, I am going to strangle you when you get back to camp!' Piper exclaimed, to whoever they were iris messaging with. Nico walked over unsurely, not realising that Will was hanging back.

'I know, I know, but I'm alive! Isn't it great? That physicians cure stuff, though, man, it's so bad – hey Nico,' Leo, who was grinning impishly, said with a small wave.

'I felt you die, how...?'

'Ah, I'll explain when I get back with Calypso; we'll be there in no time, maybe a week or two at most.'

They talked to Leo for a while longer, before ending the message and talking amongst themselves.

'Nico,' Will raised his voice above the chatter, smirking slightly. Will held up a shiny red apple. 'Here.'

He tossed the apple to Nico, who caught it easily.
Everybody went silent, and Nico looked around in confusion.

'What?' he questioned, idly wondering if somebody had poisoned the apple.

Annabeth smiled slyly at Will, and Jason shrugged.

'Oh, it's nothing... just, you know, in Ancient Greece, tossing an apple to somebody and having them catch it was seen as a proposal,' Jason said, like it was no big deal.

'Whoops,' Will said carelessly. 'I guess we'll need to go on a date now.'

Nico, in his state of surprise, could only manage to repeat the words, 'a date?'

Will grinned, nodding.
'Yeah, di Angelo, a date.'

'W-well, I suppose that would be... um, okay.'

'So Will is your type, Nico!' Percy exclaimed, pointing accusingly. 'This is –'

'Oh my gods, Percy, get over it!' Jason said, shoving Percy into Annabeth. 'That is your girlfriend and it doesn't matter if you're not Nico's type!'

Percy stared at Jason for a couple of seconds, before they both burst into laughter. While everybody else was talking over each other, joking around, Will approached Nico.

'So, how about that date, Death Boy?' Will asked welcomingly, slinging an arm around him.

'I mean... me, really?' Nico asked, his cheeks going red.

'Mm-hm. Believe it or not, I like you, Nico di Angelo,' Will told Nico, shrugging and playfully poking on of Nico's red cheeks.

'... Can I keep the hoodie you leant me?'

Will laughed, and Nico thought it was a delicious sound.
'If you want, Nico.'

'I like you too, Will,' Nico admitted quietly while they walked, feeling shy. Will ran his fingers through Nico's hair once.

'Good. By the way; you owe me the rest of your life as my boyfriend.'

Nico rolled his eyes, trying to bite back his smile.
'Whatever, Sunshine. Let's just go on that date.'

--
so there we have it! my short solangelo story :) I hope you liked it, even though it wasn't very long, and i'd looooooveeeeee to read some comments...
*wink wink nudge nudge comment comment*
:3 byeeeee