Chapter Text
Will Solace stood in the doorway of the Apollo cabin, a stern look on his face. He pointed to the ground at his feet like You. Here. Now.
“Jason, would you excuse me?” Nico said, walking past the son of Jupiter.
“So where were ya?” Will demanded once the son of Hades got into hearing range. He was wearing a green surgeon shirt with jeans and flip-flops, which was probably not hospital protocol.
“What do you mean?” Nico asked with furrowed brows.
Will huffed.
“I’ve been stuck in the infirmary for, like, two days. Ya don’t come by? Ya don’t offer ta help?”
“I- what?” Nico blinked, confused. “Why would you want a son of Hades in the same room with people you're trying to heal? Why would anyone want that?”
For some reason, the son of Apollo looked just as confused as Nico felt.
“So- ya can’t help a friend out? Maybe cut some bandages? Bring me a soda or a snack? Or just a simple How’s it going, Will? Ya don’t think I could stand to see a friendly face?”
“What-? My face?” Nico scrunched his nose up.
The words Will was saying didn’t make any sense, at least, not strung together like he’s done. There was nothing friendly about Nico’s face. All he does is scowl at people for acting annoying or for irritating him.
“Gods. You’re so dense.” Will noted. “I truly hope you’ve gotten over that nonsense ‘bout leavin’ Camp Half-Blood.” He tsked.
“I- yeah.” Nico stuttered out. “I did. I mean- I’m staying. Here. At camp.”
“Good.” Will nods, seemingly pleased. “So ya may be dense, but you’re not an idiot.”
Nico can’t help how he stares at the son of Apollo, mouth parted ever so slightly in something akin to shock.
“How can you even talk to me like that?” Nico asked incredulously. “Don’t you know what I can do? I can summon zombies and skeletons and-”
Will snorts, interrupting the son of Hades’ rant before it can truly begin.
“Please- right now ya couldn’t summon a wishbone without melting inta a puddle of darkness, di Angello.” Will says, raising a challenging eyebrow. “‘Sides, I told ya, no more underworld-y stuff, doctor’s orders. Ya owe me at least three days in the infirmary- starting now.”
Nico really needed something else to do besides stare at the child of Apollo, a child of light and health, who stood before him, a son of Hades, of darkness, and death without an ounce of fear or hesitation, but he can’t help it. He felt like there were a hundred skeletal butterflies resurrecting in his stomach, and all he could do was stare.
“Three days?” Nico repeated, forcing himself to look away. “I-...I suppose that would be okay.” He agreed, eyes flickering back to watching Will’s reaction.
“Good!” Will smiled. “Now-”
A loud whoop! cut through the air, drawing attention to a grinning Percy and a laughing Annabther who playfully slapped the son of Posiden’s arm.
Taking a breath, Nico made a decision.
“I’ll be right back,” Nico told Will, who was now frowning. “Swear on the Styx and everything.” The son of Hades says in some sort of attempt to relive the down turn of Will’s lips from his face.
He walked over to Percy and Annabeth, who were both grinning like crazy.
“Hey man,” Percy greeted him. “Annabeth just told me some good news. Sorry if I got a little loud.”
“We’re going to spend our senior year together, here, in New york,” Annabeth explains. “And after graduation-”
“College in New Rome!” Percy finished for his girlfriend, pumping his fist like he was blowing a truck horn. “Four years with no monsters to fight, no battles, no stupid prophecies. Just me and Annabeth, getting our degrees, hanging out at cafés, enjoying California-”
“And after that…” Annabeth cut in, kissing Percy on the cheek. The sight didn’t bother him like it once had. In fact, he was happy for the two of them. They were describing what Nico supposes is their dream life, and he was just fine with that, with the two of them being together. For once, there was no acidic jealousy building in his gut. “Well Reyna and Frank said we could live in New Rome as long as we like.”
“That’s great.” Nico said, both surprised and not, to find that he meant it. “I’m staying at Camp Half-Blood for now.”
“Awesome!” Percy cheered.
Nico studied the son of Poseidon for a moment- from his face structure, to his green eyes, to his grin, to his ruffled black hair. He seemed so normal now. He wasn’t some mythical figure, he was just some regular guy- not someone to idolize or crush on.
“So,” Nico began, shoving his hands into the pockets of his aviator jacket. “Since we’re going to be spending at least a year seeing each other at camp, I think I should clear the air.”
Percy’s smile wavered.
“What do you mean?” He asked in confusion.
“For a long time, I had a crush on you.” Nico shrugged, finally ready to let this particular secret go. “I just wanted you to know.”
Percy looked at Nico, then at Annabeth, as if to check that he had heard correctly. Then he looked back at Nico.
“You-” Percy began.
“Yeah.” Nico nodded. “I mean- you’re a great person, but I’m over that.” He shrugged once more, offering Annabeth a genuine smile. “I’m happy for you guys.”
“You-... so you mean-” Percy stuttered.
“Right.” Nico nods again, watching with amusement as the son of Posiedon floundered.
Annabeth’s gray eyes sparkled with mischief as she returned Nico’s smile.
“Wait.” Percy says, holding a hand up as if to freeze him in place. “So you mean-”
“Right.” Nico says again. “But it’s cool. We’re cool. I mean, I see now… you’re cute, but you’re not my type.” Nico dismisses.
“I’m not your type..” Percy echos. “Wait so-”
Nico huffed out a breath that could, technically, be called a laugh, if a rather pathetic one, but a laugh nonetheless. Who knew something that caused him so much trouble would turn out like this? Amusing instead of terrifying.
“See you around Percy.” Nico waves. “Annabeth.” He nods.
She raises her hand for a high five and Nico obliges. Then he walked back across the green, where Will Solace was waiting.
“I told you I’d be back.” Nico says in place of a greeting, shoving his hands into his jacket pocket.
“Come on.” Will says with a roll of his eyes, gesturing for the son of Hades to follow him, and Nico does. He follows him all the way until they reach the entrance of the infirmary.
Nico paused in the doorway as Will walked in. When the son of Apollo realized that Nico was no longer following him, he turned back and made the same gesture he had earlier. You. Here. Now.
“I still don’t think this is a good idea.” Nico mumbled as he walked into the infirmary, and almost immediately, the volume of the room dropped.
“Oh thank the gods- silence!” A teenage girl who was wearing a blue surgeon top cheered.
“Damn, Will. We would have let you out to grab di Angelo sooner if we knew he could do this. I can finally hear myself think.” A teenage boy who is also wearing a surgeon's top says.
Will snorts.
“Get back to work.” Will orders the children, who Nico presumes are other Apollo kids, turning back to Nico he says, “Don’t mind them,” with a dismissive wave of his hand he continues, “They’re just being dramatic. Like always.”
“We can hear you!” One of the Apollo children calls over their shoulder.
“That’s the point!” Will responds while leading the son of Hades into a back hallway.
They stop by a cabinet briefly, where Will grabs a clipboard with a stack of papers, and a folded piece of fabric before opening a door. He gestured for Nico to go in first, leaning against the door to keep it open. Nico entered, reluctantly, but Will didn’t follow.
“Here. Change into this.” The son of Apollo says, handing over the folded fabric. “Ya can change in the room itself or in the bathroom there.” He says gesturing to a door inside the room. “And ya can keep your underwear on, but everything else needs ta be taken off.”
Nico can feel the way his muscles tense at the statement, and immediately opens his mouth to protest, but the fabric was already in his hands with the door closing behind Will before he could utter a single word. Glancing at the fabric in hand, Nico grabs one edge and lets the rest drop, unfolding the fabric with minimal effort.
It was a hospital gown. Which should have been unsurprising seeing as the son of Apollo was apparently ‘hospitalizing’ him for the next three days, but it was still a little shocking to see the garment. Sighing, Nico complies with the order to change, pulling off his weapons and shoes before stripping himself of his clothing, trading it for the gown he had been given. He folded up his clothing, placing them at the foot of the singular medical cot that was in the room, tucking his boots under the edge of the metal frame, and hanging his sword belt on one of the bed posts.
With nothing else to do, Nico walked back over to the door, opening it enough to peer outside of it. He spots Will writing something down on the clipboard he had grabbed earlier, leaning back against the wall opposite of the door.
“All done?” Will asks, without glancing up from his papers.
“Yeah.”
Will nods, scribbling something down and then pockets his pen, tucking the clipboard to his chest as he pushes off the wall and walks towards him. Nico pulls the door the rest of the way open, holding it for Will so that he could enter the room.
“Have ya done medical examinations before?” The son of Apollo questions, earning a shrug.
“Probably, but not in a while, and it was back in the thirties.” Nico stated bluntly.
Will hummed.
“But ya know that I need ta chart your height, weight, blood pressure, oxygen levels, heart rate, current injuries and symptoms, as well as previous ones, and a few other things, yes?”
Nico nods, vaguely aware of how doctor appointments are supposed to go. Except this isn’t a doctor's appointment, because Will isn’t a doctor, but he is a combat medic, so perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a medical appointment?
“Good. Can ya step on the scale and face me? I’ll grab your height and weight first so ya can get settled in bed faster.” The son of Apollo instructs, interrupting Nico’s train of thought.
Doing as asked, Nico stepped onto the scale and stood up straight. Will messed with the mechanics of the simplistic machine, frowning as he adjusted something once, then twice, still frowning.
“Step off for a moment, please.” Will requested, and when Nico did, Will reset the weights at the top of the scale, sliding them back to zero. “M’kay, sorry ‘bout that. Go ahead and step on up again.”
Nico stepped back onto the scale, letting Will fiddle with the weights until it leveled out at an equal weight. The son of Apollo was still frowning, but he took out his pen and scribbled something onto his clipboard, so maybe Will was just concentrating.
“Alright, ya can get settled on your new bed for the next three days.” Will dismisses him, uncliping his papers and reorganizing them so that there was a different paper at the top of the pile, leaving some of the papers out on the counter. “Here.” He says, handing over the pen and clipboard once Nico had sat down. “Check off the boxes that apply ta ya while I take your vitals.”
Nico took the clipboard, looking over the list of things.
“Why are there so many boxes?” Nico scowls, flipping through the four pages worth of questions. Most of them are boxes to check off, but one of them is a front and back body diagram that was apparently for circling areas of pain.
“‘Cause we need ta be thorough when takin’ a look at new patients. Be happy that the forms at camp are all in Greek.” Will answered. It sounded a bit too rehearsed to not be something he’s had to explain over and over again. “Can I have the wrist you're not using ta take your vitals?”
Hesitantly, knowing that this is necessary and unavoidable, Nico hands over his non-dominant hand as he starts actually reading each question, checking off each box ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as he comes to them. Pausing momentarily, Nico stared at the golden glow that came off of the son of Apollo. The feeling of spiders crawling under his skin started to eat at Nico. As soon as Will stopped glowing, Nico pulled his hand away, shaking off the sensation that always came with being touched as he turned back to the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ boxes.
Will doesn’t say anything about how harshly he tugged his hand away. The son of Apollo simply leaves him be, walking back over to the small pile of papers he had removed from the clipboard, he takes out a new pen and starts writing something down, presumably the vitals he just took.
“Have ya had any more fadin’ episodes; transparency, intangibility, or anything along those lines?” Will inquiries as he’s writing. “I’ve talked with Coach Hedge ‘bout your original episode and subsequent three day coma, so I have a vague understanding of the observable symptoms and the reasonin’ for said fadin’, but I’ll need the rest of that type of information from ya.”
“Can I finish your check list first?” Nico asked in annoyance. He’s too tired to split his attention between answering multiple questions at once.
Will winced.
“Right, sorry. Let me know when you're all done with that.” He says with a sheepish smile.
They sat in silence while Nico marked the papers he’d been given in pen, answering the long list of questions that ranged from physical pain and discomfort, to living habits, to emotional well being. It was rather thorough and uncomfortable, but he answered every question on the list. He’s unsure how long it took. The only thing that really indicated the passing of time was the fact that Will would shift around and fidget every few minutes, but he didn’t rush Nico. He let the son of Hades go at his own pace, let him hesitate on questions, not marking anything for minutes on end and didn’t say a word.
Eventually, Nico finished, silently handing over the clipboard, which Will was quick to take. He flipped through Nico’s answers, eyes moving quickly down each line
“Lycon scratches? No bites?” Will inquires worriedly.
Nico nodded, understanding the medic’s worry about potently having a werewolf on the loose in a building of injured people
“No bites.” Nico echoed.
The son of Apollo sighed in relief, going back to his reading.
“I’d like ta take a look at those scratches, specifically that one on your face and the one that needed field stitches.” He informs Nico while flipping the page. “...the last time ya ate was five days ago?”
“Yes?” Nico answered with a raised brow, gesturing to the paper where he had already answered that question.
“And it’s pretty- normal, for ya ta go a few days between eatin’?” Will inquired, staring at the son of Hades as if trying to take apart a fairly difficult puzzle.
Nico nodded, shifting uncomfortable under Will’s attention.
“That explains the vitamin deficiency, dehydration, and malnourishment.” Will informs him, drumming his fingers along the back of the clipboard. “On top of lookin’ at and treatin’ your injuries, I’d like ta start ya on a light liquid diet ta get your body used ta consumin’ thin’s again, as well as an infusion of saline the vitamins you’re lacking, and some nectar.”
Nico ran his tongue along the edge of his teeth, staring the son of Apollo down, choosing to keep his mouth shut. He doesn’t need any of this. He’s been doing just fine so far. The son of Apollo should be putting his time to better use on a patient that actually needs his care and the supplies he plans to waste on him.
“Anything else?” He questioned rhetorically.
Will tilted his head to the side, considering something, much to Nico’s horror. He hadn’t meant that as a challenge.
“There is.” The son of Apollo agreed. “But let’s start there so you’re not overwhelmed.”
Thank the gods for Will having pity on his poor wounded patient. Nico could only put up with so much. Sitting in a room on his own while connected to a bag of liquids was one thing. Having to undergo a bunch of medical tests is another thing, and he refuses to be the freak the healers decide to experiment on.
“Just the wound checks and the infusion.” Nico said pointedly.
“And the liquid diet.” Will tacks on helpful.
“And that’s all.”
“For now.” Will agrees with a conspiratorial smile that was more of a smirk than anything else. “We’ll see if anything else pops up during your stay.”
Pursing his lips Nico couldn’t help the way that he narrows his eyes at the medic. Will turned his smile into one that could be considered innocent, but something in the way he was looking at Nico set his nerves on edge, skeletal butterflies flapping away in his stomach.
“I’ll take good care of ya.” Will reassures him. “Don’t’cha worry.”
Nico tsked. “Don’t you have other patients to attend to? Ones with real issues?”
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, as it caused Will’s smile to fade into a frown, brows furrowed together. Just as the son of Apollo opened his mouth to probably argue against what Nico had said, someone knocked on the door, calling Will’s name.
“Well?” Nico says with a raised brow, gesturing to the door. “You have more important things to attend to.”
It was almost funny how conflicted the son of Apollo was, glancing between Nico and the door as if he couldn’t decide what to do. When the person on the other side of the door knocked again, calling Will’s name a little more urgently, the medic in question groaned, turning to look at the son of Hades.
“I’ll be right back ta clean up those injuries and set up that infusion. I promise- just give me a few minutes.” Will says, placing his clipboard down on the counter he rushes over to the door, quickly talking to the person on the other side as he leaves Nico all alone in the boring examination room.
It takes no time at all for Nico to hop off the bed and walk over to the counter. He grabs the clipboard, reading over the pages Will had kept for himself to write on. It wasn’t anything too interesting. The paper had his name, Nico di Angelo, godly parent, Hades, approximate age, fourteen, hair and eye color, black and brown, height and weight, five-foot-four or one-hundred-sixty-three centimeters and sixty-eight-point-thirty-four pounds or thirty-one kilograms etc, etc.
It was about what he had expected from a paper with medical information. Not that he knew what the vitals mean. Is seventy-four over forty-eight good blood for pressure? Is eighty-two good for a heart rate? Ninety-six must be good for oxygen, right? It’s almost a hundred but not quite. Maybe it’s bad-
Another knock on the door cuts into Nico’s train of thought. He quickly placed the clipboard down on the counter and faded into the shadows, reappearing on the bed as if he had never moved, just in time for the door to crack open.
“Nico di Angelo, right?” A girl, supposedly an Apollo child given the surgeon shirt she is wearing, greets him warily.
He raised an unimpressed brow at the girl, tipping his head forward once, ignoring how the room spins around him. The nod of his head seemed to be all the encouragement the girl needed as she immediately brightened up, walking into the room with a tray of bowls. Each one seemed to contain various liquids.
“Will got pulled into a surgery, but don’t you worry! He sent me in to start your on the infusion and dietary adjustment.” The girl explains, chatting away as she sets the tray on a moveable table that she brings over to Nico’s bed side. “We’ll get you back on solid foods in no time!” She cheered, smiling at the son of Hades.
“And you are?” Nico asked, narrowing his eyes at the energetic child.
“Right! Sorry- I’m Xiao Yan, daughter of Apollo.” The girl, Xiao, introduces herself, holding out a hand.
It was obvious she was offering a hand shake, but he would really rather not be touched at the moment. He was dizzy and tired, and didn’t want to deal with the spiders crawling under his skin at the moment, so he nodded his head in greeting instead.
Xiao’s smile faltered for a second but it was hardly noticeable, something that Nico only noticed due to being hyper aware of his current surroundings. She clapped her hands together instead of just dropping the ignored invitation for a handshake.
“I have some broths, teas, juices, and of course water.” Xiao lists off, gesturing to each bowl as she goes. “We’ll start with the water, wait ten to twenty minutes and then check in to see how you're feeling. If you're all good we can move on to the teas, which have a twenty to forty minute waiting period, so do the juices. While something like broth has a forty to sixty minute waiting period. Any questions?”
“What are the waiting periods for?”
“Oh! Those are just about how long it takes for the stomach to absorb different liquids.” Xiao explains with a wave of her hand. “Why don’t you start on your eight ounces of water while I hunt down an IV kit from these cabinets.”
Nico eyed the singular bowl of truly clear liquid. Every other bowl had a tint of color to it or appeared completely opaque, such as the one he suspected to be a bowl of orange juice.
Just the thought of drinking these was starting to make him nauseous. Having to drink thick juices or slimy gelatine broths- Nico has to hold back a gag. He doesn’t even have anything in his stomach to throw up and yet his body still seems to think that throwing up is the best course of action.
Turning away from the nausea-inducing bowls, Nico watched Xiao fill syringes with different vials of medicine before adding them to the large bag of clear liquid that Nico assumes is the saline Will had mentioned. It was odd how normal it was to watch a ten, maybe twelve year old draw up medications with such fluid, experienced, movements. Odd in the same way as seeing children fight wars not of their own making.
“Okay! All set. Let me just insert the needle and then we can set this to the proper drip speed.” Xiao says, walking back over to Nico’s bed side. She’s carrying a new tray that she places on the bed beside the son of Hades. This one had gauze, bandage wrap, a long loop of tubing, the mixed bag of saline and medications, and a few other medical nicknacks that Nico can’t recognize off the top of his head.
“Let’s just get this over with.” Nico tsked, offering up an arm.
Xiao nods, grabbing a blue coil that she straightens out and wraps around Nico’s forearm. His reaction to the rubber band is almost immediate, jerking his arm away as soon as the band is stretched tight around his arm.
“You have to hold still for me to do this.” Xiao explains patiently.
“Can’t you not use that thing.” Nico hiss, glaring at the band.
“The band is used to make the veins appear. It will only be on for a minute.”
“No. Do something else. You’re not using that on me.” Nico states firmly. He was not dealing with that horrible sensation at the moment. He was dealing with too many irritants to be willing to deal with the rubber band pulling at his skin.
“It doesn’t hurt, just squeezes a bit.” Xiao tells him but Nico is having none of it.
“No.” He states coldly, “What part of that word don’t you understand?”
Xiao backs away with her hands up in surrender. The wretched feeling blue band held in one of her hands.
“Okay.” She agreed with a shiver, putting the band back down. “No band. But that means I can’t set up your IV.” Xiao pointed out.
“Then don’t. Go give it to someone who actually needs it.”
“Can’t.” She says with a shrug, wrapping her arms around herself as she shivered again. “Already mixed the meds according to your specific needs. If I don’t give it to you then it has to be thrown away.”
Nico frowned, disliking the waste of material that was already so limited, but he refused to have that thing touching him. The texture was horrid and he can’t deal with that on top of his exhaustion at the moment. Maybe he shouldn’t have shadow traveled back to the bed just to not be caught snooping. Then again, was it really snooping when it was his own file?
“You’re not using that thing.” Nico finalizes, daring the daughter of Apollo to decide otherwise, but she just nods her head with a sigh.
“At least drink the water please?”
Nico continues to glare at the girl, but does pick up the eight ounce bowl of water and quickly chugs it, ignoring the nausea that builds from swallowing something other than excess saliva.
“Not so fa- Nevermind.” Xiao sighed. “I’ll be back in ten minutes to check on you.” She says taking her leave of the room.
Sitting on the bed with nothing else to do, he moved his sword up to the head of the bed, just in case and readjusted himself to lay down and take a nap. The ten minutes must have passed by during his dozing because he woke to the sound of the door opening. Sighing, Nico sat up, expecting the daughter of Apollo to check him over then give him the all clear to move on to the next liquid, but was surprised to see that it was the son of Apollo that walked in instead.
Will frowned, looking around the room.
“What’s with the shadows?” He questioned, gesturing to the way that they were stretched out and around Nico protectively.
Huh, Nico hadn’t even realized he had done that. Maybe that's why Xiao started shivering. A child of the sun in the shadows is probably not a great idea.
Shrugging, Nico simply watched as Will walked over to his bedside.
“Don’t shrug at me, just stop. I told ya no underworld-ey stuff, and I’m pretty damn sure that includes those shadows of yours.” Will reminds him as he messed with the stuff from the IV kit his sister had taken out.
Nico narrowed his eyes at the blue rubber strip when Will held it up.
“What’s wrong with this? Too tight? The tug of the skin? The texture of the rubber?” Will list off, looking expectantly at Nico, who frowns at him.
“I- all of it? I guess?”
Will nods.
“We’ll try it with the fabric of your gown in between and if that doesn' work we can add a washcloth for thickness.” Will says, stepping into Nico’s space. “May I?”
The son of Hades looked at him skeptical but nodded anyways.
Will rolled the edge of his hospital gown to double the fabric where he then wrapped the rubber band. It was still horrible and he hated it, but the short nap he took helped him regain some of his composure so Nico could put up with it for a short moment. Will hums, grabbing some type of wet sponge to wipe an area on his forearm between his wrist and elbow where a thick line, a vein probably, had appeared. A quick poke later there was a tube in his arm. Will quickly removed the rubber band and went to work flushing the inserted tube with the syringe he had just connected. The son of Apollo nodded, taping down the tube before disconnecting the syringe, connecting the tube instead to the long cord-like tube that was already connected to the bag of medicine.
“All done.” Will cheered, offering him a bright smile. “Not bad, hm?”
“I’m not doing that again.” Nico informs the son of Apollo, who nods with an irritatingly understanding look.
“Not unless somethin’ happens ta this sight.” Will nods. “How was that water?”
“Fine.”
“No nausea?”
Nico shrugged.
“I didn’t throw up.” He states, cause Will to sigh.
“Alright, if that’s the standard we’re goin’ by. Go ahead and try the tea. It’s cold brewed, but I can warm it up if ya prefer?”
“It’s fine.” Nico tsked, picking up the bowl of tea.
“And Nico? No chugging this one.” Will tells him with a pointed look that made him feel a bit sheepish, but at the same time, he was annoyed with the tasks the son of Apollo was giving him. Wasn’t sitting in this hospital bed with the stupid gown for three days enough for him?
“Whatever.” Nico grumbled, drinking the tea, a light floral thing.
He put the bowl back down when he finished and gave Will a look, silently asking, what now?
“Alright! Let’s take a look at those scratches. The ones that needed stitches first.”
“Sure. Why not.” Nico says, rolling his eyes.