Fate Withstands

Chapter 17

The morning the Hades cabin finished constuction, Nico met Will Solace for the first time after the Battle of Manhattan.

Nico was sitting on the front steps of his new cabin, taking in the sunlight after a long night in the Underworld. No matter how many times he did this, he could never get used to the light, to the life washing over him.

"Did you design it?" Will Solace sat next to him after giving the new cabin a good look over.

Nico shrugged. "I told Annabeth what I wanted, she put the blueprints together. Skeletons did the rest."

Will took his hand, causing Nico to jump in surprise. "You're still full of darkness. Have you had any healing since the battle?"

Nico shook his head. "Have you?"

Will Solace had changed. He looked exhausted after days treating the wounded, but that wasn't all. Something else was weighing heavy in those blue eyes.

"I didn't suffer any injuries after the battle." Will closed his eyes, and Nico could feel the darkness draining out through his hand, filtering into the son of Apollo. "You seem to have gotten better control of your abilities."

Nico waited until Will opened his eyes again to nod. "Having to go to war kind of made it more important to get under control. And I think Minos was right when he said that my power will grow fast because of my time in the fields."

Will didn't take his hand back, instead looking into Nico's dark eyes. "So, how's it feel to be a head counselor?"

"I could ask you the same." Nico didn't take his hand back despite the instinct to do so. "You have all your siblings to take care of. I'm kind of just my own thing."

"Well..." Will frowned. "It's hard thinking that Lee's gone..."

"He made it to Elysium," Nico supplied. "Eternal peace, sort of."

Will nodded, his smile once again returning. "It's good having you here at camp, Nico. Are you planning on staying?"

Nico shrugged. "Don't know."

"Well, for whatever it's worth, I think you should." Will glanced down at their hands with a faint blush before standing up. "Come on."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Where are we going?"

"The infirmary." Will pulled him to his feet. "You need some nectar. And..." He put his hands on Nico's cheeks and looked at the sloppy Band-Aids Nico had put on the deep cut. "We can get this closed."

Nico twitched. "Um..."

"Come on." Will pulled him away without waiting for an answer. Without another option, Nico followed.

Part of him wondered why Will had stayed for the winter, but it wasn't too much to guess. He had an infirmary to run, a cabin to watch over, too many siblings newly dead to pick a substitute. Not to mention a home life he never spoke about.

As they walked through camp, the few campers that were out and about gave them curious looks but no words were said. Maybe they liked Will Solace too much to say anything. Maybe they were scared of Nico di Angelo.

When they got to the infirmary, Will sat Nico on an empty bed before bringing a tray over. "Take the Band-Aids off your face."

Nico did as he was told, frowning when the smell of blood leaked into the air. "It's just a cut. I've gotten worse."

Will couldn't help but laugh. "I know that, Nico. You didn't die from a little cut. But it still needs to be healed."

Nico let Will drip some nectar onto his face, having to stop himself from completely relaxing into his soft touch. Will Solace, his crush (he was starting to think this crush was stronger than the one he had on Percy) was touching his face. He was being gentle, he was healing him.

Love trickled into Nico's heart.

"What happened here?" Will picked up Nico's right hand, frowning at the swollen and bruised knuckles.

"Punched a giant in the leg, I think," Nico recalled. "I don't remember much. Whenever I try to think back to the battle, I just remember...remember the battle I died in."

Will gave him a small piece of ambrosia in silence before wrapping his knuckles with an ace bandage. When he was done, he gently set his hand down. "There..."

Nico thought back to the night of the death rites, to Will's sad eyes as he watched the bodies of his siblings go up in flames.

"I know what it's like, to lose a sibling," Nico offered up. "I mean, I thought my sister was dead for years. I just recently found out that she's been in a time altering hotel. It's...it's hard to go on knowing that they can't, but you get through it."

Will sat next to him, his smile fading. "Does it ever get easier?"

Nico reached over and wrapped his fingers around Will's tan hand. "I wish I could say so."

Will clung to his hand, his blue eyes crystalizing with oncoming tears. "Do you ever feel guilty for being here when they can't?"

Nico shook his head. "I believe in fate, Will. I really do. It's fate we're here and they're not. We can't help that."

"I know, I know." Will sighed. "I don't know, I can't help it much. I keep thinking about what would happen if I did certain things in the battle, if I had traded places with Lee."

"But you didn't." Nico pulled his shirt up and showed his scars. "Look, I was shot in the chest, right by the heart. I could think about what would have happened if they were inches to the side, if the bullets hadn't ripped through so violently, but it's pointless." He let his shirt drop. "The Fates had me die that day. I can't help that."

Will looked up at the ceiling lights. "You should stay, Nico. You're good to talk to. And...and I enjoy when we talk."

"Me, too." Nico stared at that beautiful face, looked into those hurting eyes. "And besides, the Fates may decide when we die, but we choose everything else. I chose to go to war, so that's how they killed me. But I carved into my destiny with the blood of that war."

"You think it's good to carve your own destiny?" Will asked.

Nico nodded. "We need to make our own choices."

Will looked over at him, stared into his dark eyes. How could they be so dark, so black and bottomless, so inviting? "Then I'm going to."

He leaned in, kissed a shade on his pale lips.