I. WILL

WILL ADMITTED IT: Nico di Angelo was hot.

And watching the dark-haired boy swirl around in an exotic dance, dismantling Romans left and right?

He had a ridiculous urge to fan himself.

Did he mention Nico was fighting to protect him?

Will might be in love….with a son of Hades no less. The last person in the world who would feel the same way. Did he do something to smite Aphrodite in another life? Mere seconds later, groaning reached his ears, and Will gazed up to see Nico lower the point of his sword. Done already? A quick glance told him that the other demigods were only dazed.

So Will did the first thing that popped into his head: He punched Nico on the shoulder. What was that? This is how you show someone you're interested? Unbelievable. "Thanks for the assist. Six at once isn't bad." What was wrong with him? Insulting his crush? Again, unbelievable.

"Not bad?" Nico glared at him, and Will couldn't read his expression. Was Nico really mad? "Next time I'll just let them run you down, Solace."

Will's heart deflated at the sound of his last name. Some of his friends called each other by their last names. Did this mean Nico only saw him as a friend? Of course, you fool. What else would he see you as? A boyfriend? Yeah, right. In his dreams. Maybe not even then.

Will forced a smile on his face. "Ah, they'd never catch me." Lie. This was why he was a healer, not a fighter.

Cecil waved at them, and they moved towards a siege machine – Nico in the lead. Too bad a guard spotted them a few feet away. "There!"

Lou Ellen muttered something under her breath – something unpleasant, Will was certain. "They're expecting an attack now." She went on about the Mist not working and something about retreating, but Will was too entranced by the gleam in Nico's eyes.

He wasn't going to do what Will thought he was going to…was he?

"No," Nico said, and for a quick second Will thought he was replying to Will's inner thoughts. And then Nico continued, "Let's give them what they expect."

All right, so that didn't shed much light on the subject. But the next thing definitely did.

Nico spread out his hands, a look of concentration on his face, and the ground in front of the Romans erupted. Cecil and Lou Ellen rushed forward to help fight the Romans along with the skeleton warriors Nico had summoned. Sure, Will ought to go help them as well (maybe serve as a distraction again?) but he was a little busy preventing the son of Hades from falling right. On. His. Face.

Anger bubbled at the fact that Nico had ignored his warning, but Will immediately pushed it down when Nico's dark eyes crossed once. "You idiot." He put an arm around the younger boy. "I told you no more of that Underworld magic."

"I'm fine." Yeah, right. If Will had a penny for every time someone had said that and not meant it…

"Shut up. You're not." Nico shot an annoyed look at him. Will ignored him, digging for the pack of gum he was sure he had stuffed into his pocket.

Nico tried to pull away for gods knows what reason, but Will wasn't letting him off that easily. After a brief struggle, Nico leaned against him for support. Willingly. Will fought to hide a smile. "Take this." He held up the pack of gum.

"You want me to chew gum?" Nico stopped there, but Will could hear his unfinished sentence. In the middle of a battle? All right, so it was a rather strange request, but Nico didn't have to sound so incredulous. Didn't he trust Will?

"It's medicinal. Should keep you alive and alert for a few more hours."

Nico reached out for the gum hesitantly and popped a stick of it into his mouth after he had unwrapped it. "Tastes like tar and mud."

Huh, that was a surprisingly accurate description of it. Still. "Stop complaining."

Cecil limped over, and Will could tell he had pulled a muscle. He sent the demigod a scolding look. Cecil deliberately ignored him. "Hey. You guys kind of missed the fight."

Lou Ellen was right behind him, leaving behind tied up and very disgruntled Roman soldiers. "Thanks for the skeletons," she said, grinning. "Great trick."

Nico looked rather pleased with himself. Will shot him a glare. "Which he won't be doing again."

The other boy pushed Will away and stood on his own feet – albeit shakily, of course. "I'll do what I need to."

All right, so it was rather heroic of him, but…Will rolled his eyes. "Fine, Death Boy. If you want to get yourself killed—"

"Do not call me Death Boy!" Nico shouted.

"Um, guys—" Lou Ellen began.

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!"

Will turned. Looked like their little skirmish hadn't gone unnoticed. Roman soldiers advanced on them – unfamiliar faces behind armor. One – clearly their leader – marched in front of them, dressed in extravagant clothing Will thought was a little too much for a battle. Dog-headed warriors stood behind him. Beside him, Nico stiffened, and Will could tell he recognized them. "Well," the Roman sneered. "Graecus saboteurs. Tear them apart."

They marched forward, and even Will – who had little to no war experience whatsoever – could tell they were about to be overwhelmed. Naturally, he did the only thing that popped into his head: Will let out a piercing cab whistle. The dog-men dropped in agony, clutching their ears.

"Dude," Cecil stated. "What the actual Hades? A little warning next time."

He sounded a little peeved, but Will only shrugged, gesturing towards the warriors. "It's even worse for the dogs. One of my few musical talents. I do a really awful ultrasonic whistle." And wasn't that the truth? Will inherited little to none of his father's musical aptitude.

Nico didn't bother with the conversation, jabbing his sword into the dog-men as he walked past them. Will winced as they turned into shadows. The Romans were stunned. "My – my elite guard!" the one dressed like a king wailed. "Did you see what he did to my elite guard?"

"Some dogs need to be put down," Nico stated, taking a step forwards. "Like you."

And for a moment, Will believed it would work. Until the Roman spoke. "You will be destroyed! You Graeci sneak around, sabotaging our weapons, attacking our men—"

"You mean the weapons you were about to fire at us?" Cecil shot back.

And Lou Ellen, never being one to back out from a fight, added her own piece. "And the men who were about to burn our camp into ashes?"

The Roman continued about how the Greeks were tricking them all, ordering the demigods around. Will really hoped they didn't check too closely, or they would see the results of the group's sabotaging. "Tell me, son of Pluto," the Roman started, and Will snapped back to the present. "Why are you helping the Greeks? What have they ever done for you?"