Chapter 15:

The End

"NICO!"

Nico rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, smiling at the person in the Iris message. Will's hand was on his shoulder, keeping him steady.

"Hey, Percy," Nico said.

"Nico, oh gods. We got the council approval – we're coming to get you. I swear to Poseidon I will take out Solace myself-"

"No."

Percy blinked several times before repeating, "No?"

Nico nodded. "No, Percy. It's okay." Grinning up at Will, he said, "I'm coming down to visit as soon as the sun rises."

"What?"

Nico rolled his eyes. Honestly, Jackson. "I'm going to put it simply for you, Percy. Will is not a bad guy. He got framed for something his half-brother did, and he was just trying to fix it."

"Do you not remember how he kidnapped you!"

Nico shrugged. "Water under the bridge."

"Did you just… for the love of the gods."

Nico looked up. Beside him, Will was grinning down. The cut Octavian had left on his cheek was sticky with some green salve he had whipped up, and it was healing remarkably well. Underneath his loose tunic the rest of his wounds were wrapped, and he had insisted on rubbing ointment on and bandaging Nico's friction burns and scrapes, even though Nico had said he could fix himself just fine.

"I want to do something for you," Will had said.

"Don't attack the ship, Percy," Nico warned his cousin, who was having a meltdown on the other end of the call. "I won't have you drowning my pirate."

Will swooped down, pecking Nico's cheek with a smug look on his face. Percy started going through the motions of having a heart attack.

"What in Hades shiny underpants is going on!" Percy shrieked, and that was about when Nico cancelled the call. He would leave that particular party to Annabeth, to whom, once he arrived back in Half-Blood City, could be relied upon to rationally explain the complexities of this… thing.

Will sat down beside Nico then, contentedly watching the pink streaks that announced Apollo's arrival to the world begin to cross the horizon. He wrapped his arm around Nico, nudging him closer and leaning into his side.

"Will," Nico said uncertainly. "What… did Octavian do to you?"

Will shifted for a moment before answering.

"Lots of things. He is – was – a very persuasive speaker if he was speaking to the right people. I was higher up on the familial power tree than he was, and he wanted what I had. He blamed the murder of one of Jupiter City's specimen mermaids on me, and he had a big enough following that I was immediately convicted." He hugged Nico tighter. "I ran. Took some of my friends, and stole a ship. I decided that if I was going to be hunted down, a criminal from my city, I was going to earn it."

Now he turned his head, curls resting on Nico's cheek and eyes looking shamefully at the floor.

"I was going to use you, I suppose. To become a feared pirate, the best on the ocean. Immortal. I was going to show you off to Jupiter City and make then rue the day they exiled me." He sighed. "I had a lot of plans."

"Well, you can still be the best pirate on the ocean," Nico said, half serious, half teasing. "But with me, instead of using me."

Will gave a silent laugh, the one that's just a smile and a puff of air. "Sounds fantastic. Where do we start?"

Thank you all for getting this far, dealing with me and my bad updates and life. I'm sorry if it's bad, or is rushed, but I needed this off my chest.

See you all next time!

Frost Out!