Nico took a deep breath, steadying himself. It had been a long time since he even attempted using any of his powers. How could he have with Jason, Annabeth, and Will constantly breathing down his neck? He was barely able to go to the bathhouse without being watched after. It really got under his skin but mostly it was, well, kind of nice. He just wasn't used to the attention was all, and, even though most days he wanted to slip away from all the forced-upon campfire songs and beach days, he knew that when Jason or someone asked to hang out that they really wanted to. And that was pretty awesome.

Chiron made Nico sit out of the first two capture the flag games, much to his chagrin. "Sorry," he'd said in a tone that was quite the opposite, "but I've been firmly told you are not to exert yourself until you've been deemed fit enough." He glanced at Nico with a sly grin. "Doctor's orders."

Immediately, Nico's head snapped around to where Will Solace was gearing up for the games. Nico's eye twitched at the hearty laugh that slipped past Will's lips when one of his brothers made some comment. He crossed his arms. "I see," he ground out through his teeth and began stomping in Will's direction before he could help it. Chiron raised an amused eyebrow but said nothing.

When he was close enough, Nico yanked the shield Will was reaching for before he could take it. "Hey!" Will cried, spinning around with a scowl until he meet Nico's stormy eyes. The look simmered down to mild annoyance. "Oh. It's just you."

Just me?! Nico thought furiously. Does he NOT realize what I am?

"What the actual hell are you playing at?" Nico spat out. "Telling Chiron I can't participate tonight?"

Will's blue eyes were firm and unrelenting. "You almost died. You need a break."

"I am fine."

"Yeah, well, I'm the medic around here so…"

"And what's with that anyways? 'Doctor's orders'," he hissed. "Is that some sort of pathetic catchphrase?"

"It means that I am ordering you to take it easy until I deem you're fit enough." Will raised his chin a bit, making their height difference that much more noticeable. It pissed Nico off. "And right now, Death Boy, I deem that you need to just sit this one out."

"I hope you impale yourself with your own sword," Nico growled, dropped the shield to the dirt, and stomped off.

"And don't even think about shadow-traveling out of here, di Angelo!" Will called after him. "I have spies all over camp!"

Nico's response was an angry hand gesture over his shoulder, and he had to force himself not to look back.

The next week, Will pulled the same stunt. "Look, one more week isn't going to kill you," went his excuse. "But over exerting yourself might."

"Jason and Percy are playing," Nico huffed.

Will seemed to tense up at the mention of the son of Poseidon. "Well, if it makes you feel better I'll let you sit around and watch as I win."

Nico scoffed and cursed and protested that he had no interest in doing such a thing, but when the horn blew and signaled the start of the game, and Will joined the rest of his cabin with a strange sort of salute and a knowing grin, Nico found himself planted on a rock next to Chiron, observing the events of the game. He watched, with absolutely no interest whatsoever as Will snuck up behind Percy and snagged the flag while he was distracted by something the Stolls had set on fire. The Apollo cabin cheered and Will spun around, meeting Nico's gaze and grinning cockily. He was lucky Nico didn't raise the dead on him right then and there.

By the third week, Will had no excuses left. Nico had passed each and every physical exam that had been thrown upon him. Even Chiron couldn't find a reason for Nico not to compete. When he'd said as much to Will, Nico had thrown him a gloating glare and was surprised when Will didn't look as angry as he'd thought. Instead, he had looked almost… worried.

As Nico geared up, replaying Jason's plan in his head again – the Roman wouldn't let him forget his promise to be a team – Will approached him. "Nico."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Come to trash talk? Isn't there a law that says all Apollo kids have to turn all their threats into a haiku?"

Will shook his head. "N-no, that's… not why I'm here."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Come to apologize, then?"

Will glared. "Not even close, Doom and Gloom, but… ah… it's just…" Will's sudden nervousness made Nico nervous, too. "Just… promise me you'll go easy on yourself." His blue eyes lifted from the ground. "No shadow-travelling. No raising dead guys. No Underworld-y stuff." What was this guy playing at? First he forced Nico into the infirmary for three days after they'd defeated Gaea and Octavian. Then he practically babysat him and got the other campers to join in in some 'make Nico fat' scheme. He couldn't leave the dining hall without first eating at least two full plates. His stomach couldn't take much more of it. Then he repeatedly sabotaged Nico's chances of doing any normal camper stuff. Now he was pulling the concerned friend card?

"Why should I promise you anything?"

"Because we're friends?" Will tried.

Nico snorted. "You have a funny way of proving that, Solace."

"Nico," Will said sternly. Nico's gaze dropped to the ground. "Don't make me pull out my catchphrase."

For some odd reason, Nico found himself fighting against a smile. "Fine. I don't need my powers to kick your sorry ass anyways."

Will grinned. "Wanna bet?"

"Terms?"

"If I win," he hummed, "then you have to help me in the infirmary for a full day. Snacks and sodas. Cutting bandages. Whatever I say."

Nico scowled. "You want me to be a nurse."

Will blinked, cheeks a bit pink. "Um."

"But if I win," Nico cut across, hoping to dissolve a bit of the awkward tension, "then you have to stop babying me. I'm not a little kid, Solace."

Will scoffed. "I know you're not. There's a difference between babying and worrying, Zombie Breath."

He didn't have much to say about that so he just trudged on. "So we've got a deal?"

Will straightened up, puffing out his chest a little, and held out a hand. "Deal!"

After a moment's hesitation, Nico reached forward and shook Will's hand. That time he was prepared for it; the little zap of nerves that electrified his system. Though it didn't make it any more comfortable. When it became apparent that Will had no intention of letting go, Nico yanked his hand away. "Now, buzz off and let me get ready, won't you?"

Will blinked again and crossed his arms. "Right, right. But, I mean it. No undead business. If I see you use your powers - which I WILL if you do - then it's an automatic win for me. I think we might have some black scrubs somewhere around here."

Nico groaned. "Go away."

With a bright laugh, the son of Apollo retreated, leaving Nico to glare at his back. His unnaturally broad back.

Nico quickly spun back around, picked up his black sword, and mentally scolded himself.

...

The plan was simple. Jason had all but drilled it into his head. "We just gotta beat Piper!" he declared with gusto. Nico couldn't roll his eyes enough at the dumb determined look on his friend's face.

When the horn blew, and the match started, Nico held up his end of the plan and set himself up as a decoy so Jason could sneak past the line of Aphrodite kids that were blockading the path. He kept one eye ahead of him and the other around his surroundings. So far, he hadn't seen hide or hair of a particular Apollo son or heard any lame haikus. Coast was clear.

After all he'd been through, capture the flag seemed juvenile and irrelevant. It really didn't measure up to real combat or battle. It didn't hold the same intensity or fear. He wasn't there just to play camp games or fool himself into thinking he's honing his skills. Really, he just wanted to prove that he wasn't broken or weak, that he was just as strong as he'd been before. He didn't want those worried glances anymore. Jason gave him them. Percy, Annabeth, and Piper all had them. Will Solace acted like he was already dying most days.

Cursing under his breath, Nico ducked behind a tree. Behind him, a twig had snapped. He was being followed. He would never hear the end of it if he'd let Jason's plan fail, so he prepped himself to take out his follower. He quickly went through his preferred methods of combat and chose his new approach. Kick 'em in the groin, Hazel's voice whispered in his head. When the unknown camper was in range, Nico spun out of the shadows to do just that. He hadn't expected for the other camper to dodge as if he'd been anticipating it and try to trip him. "Hey!" Will cried angrily. "Two minutes in and already trying to kill me?"

"How did you find me so quickly?"

"Easy." Will grinned. "I just went to the darkest part of the woods. I figured you'd be lurking somewhere around here."

"And so you just decided to stalk me?"

"I'm making sure you hold up to your end of the deal."

"Don't trust me?"

Will gave him an un-amused glare, arms crossed. "Would you trust you?"

Nico's shoulders sank. "Point taken."

Will laughed what Nico thought was too loudly. He jumped and scanned their surroundings to see if he'd been heard. Gods, that be just what he needed. Getting caught alone in the woods with Will freaking Solace. He glared at the healer, but Will just smiled. "Well, I would!"

Nico's head tilted to one side in confusion.

"Trust you. I would."

"You would?" Nico's tone was flat.

"Yeah." He shrugged and sat down on a fallen log, completely vulnerable. "I told you before. You're dense but you're not stupid. I think deep down you know that using your powers right now would do you more bad than good."

Nico looked around. He almost wished someone would find them. It would at least save him from the awkwardness of the situation. "Don't you have a flag to find?" he muttered.

"Ah, I'm supposed to be scouting."

Nico frowned. "Scouting. Wait. You didn't mean to find me at all, did you?"

Will's smile was shameless. "Does it matter?" Nico doesn't answer, but Will doesn't seem to mind. "Besides, are you really that surprised? This is the second time I've found you."

Nico's cheeks felt hot. "So?"

"Nothing. I'm just saying it's kinda becoming a thing."

The mere mention of having any kind of thing with Will Solace was enough to make Nico's entire face erupt into a violent blush. He huffed and crossed his arms, diverting his gaze before those blue eyes could meet it. "That's dumb."

"You're dumb."

"Nice comeback. Get that from your dad?"

"Around the same time you inherited your dad's impeccable sense of humor."

They glared at each other for a few silent moments. Okay, more like Nico glared half-heartedly and Will smiled tauntingly. Before he could stop it, his lips twitched upwards. He looked away in an attempt to hide it, but the damage had been done. Will laughed his loud laugh again. Before Nico could yell at him or insult him or even laugh back, there was a large, sudden gust of wind. He spun around and immediately it felt like his stomach had been kicked.

Directly behind Will, a dark figure was reaching out for him, and it was not friendly. For a moment of pure panic, Nico froze, and then shouted out in warning and raised his hands. Will's face went wide with alarm before an arm closed around his neck. Nico immediately began trying to channel his power, ready to strike down whatever it was that dared cross his path.

"You're open!" a familiar voice laughed out, and Nico quickly dropped his arms at his sides, stunned, as another Apollo kid - one of Will's little brothers - playfully tacked Will, who pretended to scream and flail about, begging for mercy as the younger child laughed and 'attacked'. Nico felt immediately ashamed of himself. He'd almost unleashed half of Hell on that little kid.

"You got me, you got me!" Will chuckled, ruffling the kid's hair and grinning. "Shouldn't you be with the rest of the cabin?"

"You left without permission!" he accused. Will's cheeks turned pink and he slipped a hand over his little brother's mouth before looking at Nico in horror to see if he'd heard. Nico had, but he was still reeling from his almost grave mistake.

"Y-yeah, well, I'm the leader!" Will said quickly. "And I told you to stay put while I scouted!"

"You didn't say anything about scout - mmph!"

A moment later, Jason burst out of the brush, waving the flag around his head. "WE WON!" he was shouting. Nico never wanted to melt into the shadows so badly before in his life.

...

The next day, Nico was too down on himself to leave his cabin. He stayed in bed, replaying that moment again and again. He'd almost used his powers on a kid. Sure, he had thought it was a monster, or a real enemy, or something. But the rage he'd felt then was supposed to be distinguished by now. Maybe staying at Camp Half-Blood really was a mistake. He couldn't really belong anywhere, could he?

Jason and Piper stopped by to kick him out of bed and get lunch. The whole time, Nico refused to even glance at the Apollo table. He swore he could feel Will's eyes watching him. He wolfed down his food, excused himself, and left before Will even had a chance to approach him. He really didn't care what Will thought of him, he told himself. He didn't need his approval or anything. So why was Nico worrying about it?

For the rest of the day, Nico stayed inside.

The day after that, Percy and Annabeth dragged him to breakfast. Annabeth could sense something was up but thankfully she knew better than to push. Percy sat close to her and avoided much eye contact. Almost a week after Nico confessed, things were still delightfully awkward between them. Nico had anticipated that, but at least Percy still didn't mind being seen with him. In fact, Percy seemed to be getting more and more comfortable around him. Even so, Nico was a little relieved when Percy announced he was going for a swim and left.

"You all right?" Annabeth asked as soon as her boyfriend was gone.

Nico hesitated. He'd spent a long time trying to hate Annabeth, but now there they were eating breakfast together. She was probably the smartest person he knew. He knew she wouldn't sell him out either. He sighed and relented. "I almost did something really bad."

Annabeth's face turned serious. "Want to talk about it?"

Nico shrugged. "There's not much to say. During capture the flag the other night, Will and I were talking. I saw a shadow reach out behind Will and I... I freaked."

She raised an eyebrow. "Freaked as in?"

"I almost... went dark on Will's little brother."

Annabeth's lips formed a perfect, "O". She nodded. "But you didn't."

"If I hadn't caught myself in time..."

"But you did."

"I should know better..."

"You do. I'm serious. You wouldn't have hurt anyone unless you had to. It was an honest mistake. Happens to us all the time. I swear, I've almost gutted Percy at least half a dozen times."

Nico allowed himself a wry smile. "I'm pretty sure we've all daydreamed about that once or twice."

Annabeth laughed. Her eyes sparkled with an understanding charm. "So... what were Will and you doing alone in the woods?"

Nico flipped her off.

...

Why was it so hard to open the door?

He'd replayed the scene in his head again and again, but when it came time to put it into action, he froze. You went through Tartarus, Nico chastised himself, and you can't even go into your own camp's infirmary?

He took a deep breath, raised his hand, and froze again.

Fortunately, he didn't have to stand there in silent agony any longer because the door opened. Unfortunately, Will Solace was walking out carrying a bag over his shoulder. He choked upon seeing Nico and took a step back. "You scared the crap out of me!" he gasped.

"Sorry," he said too quickly.

Will glanced up, eyes uncertain. "What're you doing here?"

Even though the tone was curious and not upset, Nico still flinched. "The bet," he muttered. "I guess I sort of... lost, so..."

Will raised an eyebrow. "But Jason got the flag. You won."

Nico blew a piece of his hair out of his eyes. "I didn't really win. It was all Jason. The bet was that I would get the flag. So... I guess I owe you another day in the infirmary." He risked a glance up. "If you, yanno, still want me."

Will's smile was so bright it practically hurt. "Well, how can I say no to free labor?" he laughed. Nico almost smiled back. "But, first thing's first," Will said, eyeing Nico's clothing, "we need to find you something less... depressing."

Nico scowled. "What's wrong with the way I dress?"

"Oh, absolutely nothing!" Will said earnestly. "Just that, well, some of my patients might think you're the Grim Reaper."

Nico had made a huge mistake coming here. He knew it. Maybe he'd even made a mistake staying at camp at all. But when Will smiled like that, Nico found it hard to care.

A/N: So I started shipping Solangelo the moment their hands touched. I've pretty much lived in the Solangelo tag for three days. If I don't write this I'll soon lose my ability to communicate like a normal human being. Literally, as soon as I read Nico's description of Will it felt like Rick Riordan had just slapped me across the face with a new OTP.