Waiting (a pernico fic)

Chapter 7

Will

Will insisted that Nico stay overnight to make sure he wouldn't hurt himself anymore. That meant Percy was staying overnight too. It made Will want to drag him out by his collar. Why should Percy be all over Nico? It was disgusting how lovey dovey they were. And Percy was why Nico hurt himself in the first place! It made Will want to tear his own hair out. Damn Percy, damn Nico, damn Will for letting him go. He'd have to do something, before he drove himself crazy...

Percy

Laying next to Nico was the closest he'd felt to relaxation in a long time, which was ironic under the circumstances. He should be a wreck, but he knew Nico was going to be okay, which helped. He seemed to be relaxed too, being the little spoon and snuffling softly every now and again as he slept. Percy was glad he'd been able to help Nico get to this point, and in return, Percy had his dream guy. For about four seconds, everything was perfect...
...then the screaming started.

Nico
(Dream)

As far as Nico could tell, he was in Hell. Normally, Hell wasn't so bad, considering his parentage, but this time it was chaos. Shades were screaming and running around the Fields of Aphosdel like mad, Elysium seemed like a war zone, and the Fields of Punishment.... Holy Hera, it was a nightmare. The Fur- Kindly Ones were MIA, the damned were terrorizing the heroes in Elysium, everything was madness. Where's Father? He should be fixing this, Nico thought absently, then froze. Standing stationary in the middle of Elysium, completely unaffected by the goings on, was Percy. He was a shade and his dark eyes were locked on Nico. "No... you can't be... we survived..."
"You survived, Nico. I wasn't so lucky." Blinking back salty tears, Nico walked toward Percy, fists clenched. "I was just with you. You saved me."
That seemed to amuse Percy. "Me? Save you? Why?"
"You said you loved me." At that, Percy cackled like an old witch. "I love Annabeth, not you? Why not crawl back to Will, he actually cares about you. Unless he doesn't feel that way for you, in that case, you die alone. Like I did." That hit Nico like a Gryffin to the chest. "You... What?"
"Everything will be clear when you talk to Will. You better wake up, Neeks. Time's wasting."

Bolting upright and retching in a breath, Nico awoke, Percy shaking him while looking panicked. "Nico! You're good, it was a dream, calm down." Once Nico got to breathing semi-steady, he wrenched out of Percy's grip. "Hey, what happened?"
"I'll tell you later," he dismissed then hopped out of bed, towing his IV, to find Will.

Will

"Thanks," Will smiled to the Hypnos kid who's name he couldn't remember, then headed back to the Infirmary, awaiting Nico to come. He knew it was wrong to mess with a person's dreams, but he really had no choice. He knew Nico would listen to a dream, so it was his only real option. Just as he came through the door, he saw Nico with his IV stand, asking one of the Apollo kids where Will was. "I'm here, what's up?"
"What's up is that I had the most fucked up dream and it told me to talk to you. What the fuck is going on?" He hadn't been prepared for anger. Curiosity maybe, caution more likely, but not anger. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, that in my dream, Percy was a ghost who told me he didn't love me and that "everything would be clear" when I talked to you," Nico illustrated with air quotes. "Look, I can't interpret dreams, but if it said to talk to me, there's a reason behind it. Follow me," Will motioned to an empty room and Nico ambled after him.
"Now tell me everything, from the beginning." As Nico explained, Will silently noted to go talk to the Hypnos kid and ream him out for being so obtuse. "So what are you supposed to be making clear? And why did ghost Percy say I should go to you?" Because I wanted him to, Will thought. "I don't know. It might be underlying doubt in your relationship on your part. Do you have doubt?" Nico sat heavily on the bed and sighed. "I mean, I really do love Percy, but how do I know for sure that he loves me like he says he does?"
"You don't," Will sat next to Nico, fighting the urge to give the boy a massive hug, knowing the reaction. "You will find out as the relationship progresses. Or you could just ask him."
"I couldn't do that."
"If it were me, you could. I'd want you to, actually." Nico's gaze left his lap and trained on Will's. "Really?" Will nodded. "Wow. Um, okay." While Will had Nico's gaze, he moved closer, keeping his eyes locked on his. "I would be completely open and honest with you. You deserve that." He held in a smirk when he saw the son of Hades blush slightly. "Not really."
"Oh yes you do. If Percy loves you, then he'll answer when you ask him. Any good boyfriend would." Nico nodded and looked down in thought while Will silently celebrated. He'd planted the seed of doubt, now all he had to do was wait until their flimsy relationship crumbled and he would swoop in for his prize. "Um, I gotta go." Will nodded. He was going to talk to Percy. "Go ahead, I'll see you later." Yes, he most certainly would.

AN: I'm so sorry for the wait, I've been sick as a dog and I was in the hospital, but I'm back and still waiting for any fluff requests. The deadline is March 18th, so be quick. I'll be writing more and thanks for all your support! -🐙ps16