Chapter Text
Will was confused. First of all, Nico shadow travels them to a random place. Then they’re taken in by two random adults, which Will probably should not have trusted. Now, he’s sitting in someone’s house, trying to heal his boyfriend, who is stubbornly refusing to wake up. And Nico says I’m the bad patient. He pauses, halting in shaking Nico’s shoulders in his attempt at waking him.
He looks back towards the kitchen, wondering why Ambrosius and Ballister haven't returned yet. He's not stupid; he knows they're talking about him and Nico, but he can't help but be curious. His attention is soon pulled back to the boy in his lap however, as a groan emerges from his mouth, his eyes scrunching together before a sliver of eye peeks out.
Will smiles softly, moving Nico's hair away from his face and rubbing his cheek with his thumb. "Good morning, sleeping beauty." He mummers, resisting the urge to tease him further. Nico blinks sleepily a few times before sitting up and looking around curiously. Soon, a guarded expression appeared on his face.
"Where..are we?" He asks, voice still raw and creaky from sleep.
Will sighed, scratching the back of his head. He didn’t look Nico in the eye, which he knew would alert Nico that something was up. Nico groaned, which made him smile, despite the somewhat awkward situation.
“What happened.” His voice was stern, but there was an underlying tone of affection for his “significant annoyance.”
Will sighed, chuckling softly under his breath. Yeah, they were definitely in a big mess. But at least they were in this mess together. Will clutched the ring strung around his neck, the constant reminder that there was always somebody out there thinking of him. Knowing that Nico would always be there for him, always helping Will during his toughest moments, such as thirty minutes ago in the woods. He cleared his throat and prepared to tell the rollercoaster that was his recent experience.
“So..you shadow traveled us, and we ended up in these snowy woods. You were out cold, so I just gave you some nectar and held you for a bit. Then these.. guys came, and they asked about you. They were..they were nice, and they led us here. They gave you a blanket, and left us to be alone for a bit.”
A kaleidoscope of emotions played on Nico’s face, varying from worried to surprised to defensive. Once he finished explaining, Nico pondered his words for a moment. He breathed in slowly, then released it all in a huff. He pinched the bridge of his nose, scrunching his eyes closed.
“..So we’re in some random men’s house.”
“Hey, they’re married! They’re like an..an old, gay, married couple. They can’t be that bad. It’ll be us some day!”
Nico pursed his lips to keep himself from laughing, failing miserably. They both laughed, Will thinking of each other in wheelchairs covered in wrinkles. Eventually their laughter died down, Nico still seeming wary of the other people in the house.
“Do you really think that we can trust them? You just met them around what, thirty minutes ago?”
Will stopped to think, while Nico looked at him with an exasperated but fond expression that only Will could manage to draw out of him.
“ Sei fortunato sei carino.” Nico muttered in faux annoyance, with no heat to his words.
Will flashed him a golden smile, practically brightening the whole room. He playfully nudged him with his shoulder.
“Not as cute as you, you little ball of darkness.”
He sighed, letting his shoulders droop slightly as he glanced at the hands clasped in his lap. “I do think we can trust them. While you were out cold, I looked around a bit, and, well…I think they’re a family. Look.”
He gestured towards a wall, Nico’s gaze following his outstretched hand. There were large and sharp letters painted on messily with white paint, spelling out MURDER WALL, accompanied by a depiction of fire. But it seemed overridden by photos, as well as a few drawings, though one in particular caught his eye. The one on the very top, presumably the most recent one, showed Ballister in a puffy gray jacket next to Ambrosius, who was wearing a scarf and a beige jumper. And between them was a girl with spiky pink hair, shaven in the back and sides, other than two locks of hair in front of her ears. She had a large grin, with rather spiky teeth, almost like a shark. The three of them were smiling at the camera, arms draped across each other’s shoulders, in the very same snow-ridden forest Nico and Will ended up in.
There were many other photos such as this, although Will hadn’t bothered to look at any others too closely. Nico stood, and Will watched him with a curious gaze as he took a few strides, pausing in front of the wall. He silently raised his hand and placed it next to the photo with the gentleness of a feather. His expression was unreadable as he gazed at the family, their smiles practically glowing from the photo.
“That’s Nimona.”
Ambrosius’ smooth voice filled the air as he appeared behind them almost soundlessly. You could practically hear the smile in his voice as he gazed at the photos.
But his voice wasn’t all that comforting to Will, at least at first. It definitely caught him off guard. Actually, that was an understatement. He yelped, flipping his head around as fight or flight instincts kicked in. And being a demigod, raised in Camp half-blood…He instinctively chose fight. His vision momentarily flooded with a yellowish-green color that reminded him of bile as his eyes flashed. It only lasted a moment, dispersing as soon as Will realized who it was, but it was too late. Ambrosius looked at him with a mixture of confusion and concern, before his face contorted and he sneezed. There was dead silence for a long moment, before another sneeze filled the air.
“Wha…huh?” Ambrosius was cut off by another sneeze, this time covering his face as he was ready. Will’s eyes widened, and he swiveled his head back towards Nico in a fit of panic. Nico’s own expression was similar to his partners; panicked and concerned.
“..Oh shit.”
Despite the sneezing fit, Ambrosius managed to spit out a “Language!” before coughing into his fist once again.
Ballister emerged from the kitchen, his eyebrows knitted in concern.
“Amby? Are you alright?”
Ambrosius didn’t reply, preoccupied with his goal of hacking up his lungs. The sound of a sharp intake of breath emerged from Will as he started to frantically apologize, waving his hands around as his words started to merge into one another.
“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, you see, I- well, there’s this thing- Since my dad- Uh- well basically- I kinda-”
His apologies pretty much just turned into incoherent babbling as he frantically tried to explain himself. Ballister stared at the scene, with Will jabbering and Ambrosius coughing and Nico standing there frozen in place, he had to hold back laughter from the absurdity of it all.
As if a lever was flicked, Nico was suddenly in motion, walking up to Will in two quick strides and wrapping his arms around his shoulders, placing his head into the crook of his neck.
“Will, deep breaths.”
Will scrunched his eyes closed as he followed the breathing exercise Hazel had taught him a year ago. Inhale for seven seconds, Exhale for four.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
He did this over and over again until he was stable enough to speak at an even pace, though the coughs that Ambrosius attempted at stifling sent waves of guilt throughout his body.
“..I have plague powers. And I accidentally..used them on Ambrosius.”