A little one-shot about my fav PJO character :) (Who I don't own *cries*)

He waited.

Blonde hair rustled in the wind, blue eyes trained on his brother, as Lee cracked his neck and gave him a thumbs up.

Eyes flickered to the sky, blue and clear. It was as if the sky had realized how beautiful Will's eyes were and tried to imitate them. But the blue of the sky was just a blue. Not a glowing blue filled with joy and contentment, as a young boy watched his idol practice archery.

Will launched the disks into the sky and watched in awe as Lee pulled four arrows from his quiver and shot the disks down in one fluid motion. Before the disks landed on the ground, Will was already racing towards Lee.

"That's a new record!" he panted, "Four arrows at once, spot on each time!"

Lee laughed fondly, ruffling his younger brother's hair. "Okay, let's get started on training you now."

Will's eyes brightened, and the clouds shivered in jealously, wishing they could take residence in the brightness of his eyes. "Are you going to use five arrows next time?"

Lee handed Will a smaller bow, and positioned him towards the bulls eye. "Next time."

There wasn't a next time.

It was dawn. The navy night was fading into a hazy dawn. Will shot arrow after arrow towards the target, missing each time. He could barely see past the blur of tears in his eyes. The dawn seemed to drag on, the sun never fully coming up, as if Apollo himself was grieving his lost son as well.

Will felt a hand on his shoulder. Michael was watching him sadly, his own eyes rimmed with red. They stood there for a moment, Will's eyes as murky as the sky.

"It's not fair." Will whispered at last.

Michael sighed, casting his gaze downwards. "I know. But we have to move on. We have to protect the camp."

Will clenched his fists. "I couldn't save him." His eyes had a haunted look about them.

"I failed him twice. I couldn't fight the giant. I couldn't heal him."

Michael gently pulled Will closer, wrapping an arm around him awkwardly, as Will was growing up, already taller than his brother. "You did your best, that's all anyone can ask."

"I couldn't kill the giant!" Will exploded and the sky darkened as even the sun flinched away from his pain. "I was useless. Anyone, even a child of Aphrodite could have done better than me."

"Listen here." Michael snapped, forcing Will to meet his eyes. "You are not hardwired to kill. Your healing capabilities are special. It's a blessing and a curse, but you have to focus on what you can do to help, not what you couldn't do."

Will shook his head, tears cascading down his face. Michael's voice dropped. "Apollo gave you something none of us have. Maybe you're right about most demigods being able to kill, but healing? That's all you Will, and trust me when I say you're the most valuable of all Apollo's kids."

As Will's mouth curved into a half smile, the sun finally broke free of the night and chased away the shadows, illuminating the two brothers in a pearly light.

Michael dedicated himself to Will's medical education when he wasn't consumed with head counsellor duties.

Such as yelling at Clarisse.

As Will wrapped up Connor's shoulder after he had pulled it during training, he listened in amusement as Michael ranted on about how stubborn Clarisse was.

Where Lee had been patient and kind, Michael was fiery and protective.

As the sun vanished below the horizon, the night gleamed in a hundred shades of indigo. Stars flickered to life, revelling in the sapphire embrace of the sky.

Michael and Will trundled to the Apollo cabin. At the door, Michael placed a hand on Will's shoulder and grinned at him.

"I'm proud of you."

A hundred shades of indigo and not a single one could match the beauty of Will's luminescent eyes.

Today his eyes were grey. Dull and morose. Thick clouds covered the sky, shielding the heavens from the waves of pain rippling from the boy.

Head counsellor. He had to be strong, be strong for the rest of his cabin. But it was so hard. How do you stand when the world has been ripped from the bottom of your feet?

He moved through the days in a haze. The sky mourned the loss of a unique, innocent blue. There was much to be done, so many wounded. So many dead.

A smile plastered on his face, Will fixed the broken, wearing his voice thin with songs of healing.

His eyes had lost all colour. Faded photograph blue.

He celebrated with the others. Sang boisterously at the campfire, cheered at the defeat of Kronos, and yet people seemed to wonder why the sky was not as happy as it was before. The thought passed as quickly as it came though. The sky couldn't be truly happy.

And neither could Will.

Acting happy became routine, at times it was real. He loved his other siblings, worked hard to heal, and vowed that he would never let anyone die. There were moments though. Moments when he looked at one of his younger brothers and saw Michael. Moments when an arrow sliced neatly through the air and he remembered Lee. Each time, the pain was as real and fresh as the day when he lost them.

He was truly terrified when Gaea rose. He would not and could not lose anyone else. The self-loathing nearly overcame him at the meeting. Wrapping and unwrapping an Ace bandage and wishing he could charge into battle and protect those he loved.

But what could he do except stand on the sidelines?

He threw himself into the spy mission, out of shear desperation. He didn't want to wait for the wounded to come to him.

There was a darkness rolling off Nico that stunned Will. Maybe. Thought Will. Maybe I could fix that.

"It's none of your business, but I don't belong. That's obvious. No one wants me. I'm a child of – "

He was angry. Angry that he had been so caught up in his own misery that he'd let Nico pass through his life.

"Oh, please. Nobody at Camp Half-Blood ever pushed you away. You have friends – or at least people who would like to be your friend. You pushed yourself away. If you'd get your head out of that brooding cloud of yours for once –"

Nico glared at Will, not yet aware he was falling hard for the child of Apollo.

Kind like Lee. Protective like Michael.

Friendship happened slowly, for two boys who had lost so much. But laughs began to come more frequently. The fog began to clear. An amiable punch. A casual touch. A lingering brush of the hands.

First kiss.

Nico had never seen such a dazzling cerulean. Did Will's eyes change colour? He surely would have remembered this breathtaking colour when he first met Will. Then his lips were captured by Will and he forgot his own name.

The sky cast off its dull periwinkle, thrilled to have a muse again.

Nico stared up at the clear azure sky. It was almost blindingly beautiful today. Lou Ellen chatted beside him, then commented that she wished she could capture this view for eternity.

She pulled out her iPod and snapped a picture.

"It's not the same," she sighed.

Nico heard his name and turned to see Will making his way towards them, hair rustling in the light breeze. His eyes were sparkling, a magnificent sky blue. No that was wrong. It would be an insult to say sky blue. They were Will-blue.

Nico smiled as Will plopped down beside them, sun-kissed hair standing in all directions. He leaned forward to press his lips against Will's, losing himself in Will's brilliant blue eyes.

He doesn't need the sky.

He's got the real thing.

Reviews would be fantastic!