Solangelo One Shots

The Not So Triumphemt Return of Apollo

In honor of the new Trials of Apollo book coming out May second (so excited!!!), I decided to write a one shot from Will's POV about when Apollo first came to camp. Also, I just found out that there's a Nico Di Angelo protection squad, who can be found at TheProtectionSquad, if any of you were wondering. And sorry for the long a/n :).

Will's POV

"Do you think it's really him?" I asked, my head in my hands as I stared at my alleged father. "I mean, he looks nothing like Apollo. Just because someone says that they're Apollo doesn't actually mean that they're Apollo. Right?" I asked, glancing at Nico who was sitting in one of the hard plastic chairs that we kept in the infirmary.

"I don't know, Will," he sighed, putting his hand on my leg. I melted at his touch. Nico could always make me feel better, no matter how small the gesture. "Based on what that Meg girl is running around saying, I think he's the real deal. She said he was completely full of himself, and that sounds like the Apollo we know." Nico tilted his head, observing my father carefully. "he's kind of cute," he commented. "In a scrawny, geeky kind of way." I smacked him in the arm, disgusted.

"Nico!" I complained. "He's my father!"

"I'm kidding!" he laughed. He leaned into me and gave me a small kiss on the lips. "He's pretty hot, but nobody can compare to you."

I looked at Apollo again. He was pale, and his dark, curly brown hair made him look even paler. He was tossing and turning in the small infirmary cot, and he was murmuring something that I couldn't make out. "When do you think he'll wake up?" I sighed. "I mean, he's never been that great of a dad, but I'm still worried about him." Nico took my hand in his, rubbing the top of my hand with his thumb.

"Don't worry, Will. He'll be fine."

"You know, you don't have to stay here the entire time," I told my boyfriend, glancing up at the clock. The minute hand was going so slowly it looked like it was stuck in molasses. "I'm required to be here. You are not. By the way things are going, he's going to be asleep for a few more hours, at least."

"Idiot," Nico groaned, rolling his eyes. "I'm not going to make you stay here for hours with your godly father who seems to be the same age as you. If you're here, I'm here." I grinned at him, and he grinned back.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" I asked, grabbing Nico's hand.

"Not nearly enough," he responded, moving my hand to around his shoulders. "Maybe you can make it up to me sometime? We haven't gone out in forever."

"Soon," I promised. "First we have to wait for him to wake up." I jerked my thumb at my father, whose sleep had gotten progressively more fitful. A thin sheen of sweat had broken out on his face, which I thought was impossible for a god. His murmurings had gotten louder, and I could just barely make out the word oracle before his words turned back into babble.

"Should we try to wake him up?" Nico suggested. "Maybe he's just taking a nap."

"Passing out doesn't work like that, Nico. You should know that better than anyone." I watched as his pale olive face flushed, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"At least try it," he snapped.

"Fine, but I'm only doing this because I love you so much." I stood up from my chair and knelt in front of Apollo. "Wakey wakey eggs and bacey," I whispered, lightly shaking his shoulder. He did nothing more than grunt and roll over onto his other side.

"Maybe we could try praying to him," Nico said, coming next to me. "He's pretty self- centered, he might respond to that."

"Now there's an idea," I said. I stood up and readied my best announcer voice. "Oh great god Apollo, we recognize your greatness and ask you to please wake up so that we may bask in your glory."

"That's a good start, but you have to go bigger," Nico advised. "He likes haiku's, right? So let's write him a haiku." He stood up and raised his arms above his head as if he was praying to the sun which, in a way, he was. "Apollo is great," he said, starting off his haiku. "He is the best god there is. Will he please wake up?" I clapped for him as he hopped down from the chair and took a bow.

"That was good, but I think we need to make him an alter," I said, a sly grin forming on my face. I rummaged around in the medicine cabinet until I found a spare box of band- aids and tongue depressors. I dropped them onto the floor, and started to arrange the tongue depressors into the shape of an A.

"Can you get started on the O?" I asked. "What I was thinking was that we could spell out Apollo's name with the tongue depressors, and then make a sun out of band- aids around it." At this point I was just having fun, but I didn't care. It was better than sitting around and doing nothing.

"I'll get right on that," Nico said. he started to arrange the O right next to my A. "You know I've never been much of an artist, right?" I shrugged.

"The important thing is that there's an altar. It doesn't have to be a good altar."

Half an hour passed and the altar making was still going strong. We had finished writing out Apollo, the tongue depressors making the letters look straight and stiff, like something you might built on minecraft. We had been slowly building the sun, so that there was a half circle around Apollo and not much else. It was slow work, but it beat the alternative. Besides, doing anything with Nico was already considered fun.

The door to the infirmary opened and Austin and Kayla strolled in, the two remaining Apollo campers who stayed year round. "How is-" Austin started to say but both demigods stopped short when they saw the project that was underway on the floor.

"What on Earth are you doing?" Kayla wondered, eyes opening wide at the strange sight on the floor.

"We're building an altar for Apollo so he'll wake up faster," Nico explained. Austin rolled his eyes.

"I will never understand you two," he said. "Hows- hows dad doing?" I glanced over at Apollo, who was still sound asleep.

"Fine," I said. "Falling from olympus stressed him out, as did everything that happened in the forest, but I'm guessing he just needs some rest. You guys don't have to stay here."

"Well, let us know when he wakes up," Kayla instructed.

"Will do," Nico smirked, always the master of puns. (a/n: did you get my pun? *winks*). MY two half siblings waved, and walked out the infirmary door, leaving Nico and I alone to our most important project.

It had been three hours since we finished the altar. I had no idea how I was going to get the band- aids off the floor, but they looked pretty good now. Maybe it could be my and Nico's next fun project together. It was starting to get darker and Nico and I had abandoned our chairs, curling up together on one of the empty cots. Nico had fallen asleep and his back was pressing against my stomach, pushing into it each time he let out a breath. A single strand of black hair had fallen in his face and it rose upward and downward, in sync with his breathing schedule. I hadn't moved it yet. It was oddly mesmerizing to watch. I was calm before I heard a gasp of air from the cot that Apollo was on, followed b ya strange voice asking "where am I?"

I shot up from the cot, waking Nico in the process. "Wha- what's going on?" He groaned.

"He's awake," I murmured, emotions racing through my head. "Apollo's awake."

Hi guys! As usual, I hope you liked that one. I had to write it with the new book coming out so soon, and I'm assuming most of you guys are just as excited for it as I am.

Nina