Author's Note: So I adore the Percy Jackson series. I'm finally working my way through Heroes of Olympus but the internet is a horrible place and now I know a bunch of stuff that happens to everyone. I wanted to do a genderbend for Nico so to keep the twist from the books I genderbended everyone involved in that so Percy, Annabeth, Nico and Will all got bent. This will be a series of one shots of mainly Solangelo trash, because I will ship those dorks to the end. I own nothing.
Sunshine and Shadows
1 . Nightmares
Wilhelmina Solace, just Will to her friends, was just getting off her shift in the infirmary walking back to the Apollo cabin when she spotted a small knot of people gathered near the canoe lake in the gathering dark. There were five of them that she could make out. Curiosity taking over despite the lateness of the hour and the threat of the patrol harpies she changed course and hurried towards the lake.
It turned out there were seven demigods by the lake though one stood apart from the others out on the docks like she didn't know they were there. Will couldn't make out who was on the dock only that she was in fact female. The others were easy to identify as they had all become celebrities at both camps due to their defeat of Gaea. Arthur Chase, Persephone 'Percy' Jackson, Jason Grace, Piper Mclean, Leo Valdez, and Calypso all stood in a loose half circle whispering to each other.
"I did it last time and I nearly got my head chopped off!" Leo complained his hand wrapped around Calypso's. Arthur nodded.
"Well we can't just leave her out here. Especially not after the crow's nest incident." They all shuddered except Calypso who looked confused. Leo squeezed her hand but Will couldn't hold in her curiosity any longer.
"What are you guys talking about? You know the patrol harpies are going to be out soon." They whirled on her Percy and Arthur going for weapons. Leo's hair caught fire illuminating the area and the girl standing on the docks. Will gasped. It was Nico. She was wearing pajamas that clearly didn't belong to her, they weren't black for one. They were magenta and a touch big on her. If Will had to guess she'd say they belonged to Piper or another of the Aphrodite cabin. Her hair was a mess. Free of its usual ponytail it fell about halfway down her back and blew around her in the breeze. It was longer than Will had expected it to be and she wanted nothing more than to run her fingers through it but what caught Will's attention most was Nico's eyes. They were half lidded, glassy and out of focus. Her lips were moving slightly but she wasn't reacting to the splash of water on her feet from between the boards of the dock. Will was pulled out of her assessment of the daughter of Hades by Jason waving his hand in front of her face.
"Earth to Will? You ok? You totally spaced out on us." Will nodded.
"I'm fine. What's wrong with Nico?" Piper looked at her knowingly and Will blushed. Of course Piper knew, daughter of Aphrodite after all.
"Well maybe you'll be able to help, oh head doctor. After all, if she'd want anyone's he…" Jason elbowed the mechanic in the side hard. They all glanced at each other, then Percy stepped forward fidgeting with the hilt of Riptide which she'd taken to carrying in sword form as often as possible.
"It started after we saved Nico from the giants." This was news to Will and it made her heart sink. Nico had been held captive by giants? There were few things Will could imagine worse than that. Percy paused and Arthur took her hand and quickly gave Will an overview of what had happened. Will paled going several shades lighter than the skeletons Nico summoned. Nico had been to Tartarus. It hadn't even been her quest and she had gone to literal hell for them. Worse, unlike Percy and Arthur, she had gone through it alone.
"Since we got her back she's been sleepwalking, but it's not like normal sleepwalking. Every time we try to wake her up she'll start babbling about monsters and cursing at the goddess of Misery and well she's attacked us on more than one occasion. She's walking around having nightmares about Tartarus and we don't know how to help her." Percy was in tears. Arthur wrapped his arms around her and she relaxed slightly. Will nodded to herself and stepped around Jason. Piper held him back as he made to stop the daughter of Apollo. She crept onto the pier, careful to make some noise. Nico's head turned towards Will without ever actually seeing her. It broke Will's heart to hear that Nico's mouth was open, not because she was simply breathing but because she was muttering under her breath.
"No more. Stop. Can't breathe. Please. No more." Will felt her resolve harden as Nico continued muttering the same litany over and over.
"Hey Death Girl." That got a twitch but the pleas didn't stop. Will stepped forward and spoke a little louder.
"Princess you need to listen to me." The nickname was one Will had started calling her after she heard Jason refer to her as the Ghost Queen. Will liked to call her that when no one else was around because it would make her blush and stammer even though it did piss her off on occasion. Will couldn't help it she thought Nico was cute when she was angry. That got a definite response. Nico turned blindly towards her but fully faced her at last.
"There you go Princess. Listen to me. You aren't there anymore. You gotta come back to me sweetheart." Will barely caught what she said as she muttered as if only to herself.
"Not real." The tear that slipped down Nico's face shattered Will's already cracked heart. She slowly reached out and slowly linked pinky fingers with Nico. The daughter of Hades stiffened and reached for her sword. Will made no move to stop her, she didn't even tense, though she could feel the demigods behind her tense and reach for weapons.
"You don't need that. To quote you, I couldn't hurt a fly if it was to save my own life." Nico's head tilted to the side and the hand reaching for her sword paused. Her other hand moved, reaching further into Will's hand, unconsciously tangling their fingers together. Her mutterings slowed then finally faltered. They held hands in silence for a moment before the corners of Nico's mouth turned up into a small smile.
"Sunshine." It was the first clear non muttered word she'd spoken. Will smiled. Nico had started to teasingly call her Sunshine a few days ago but it was different this time. This wasn't teasing. This was relief and happiness and maybe a touch of something more. Will almost blushed.
"That's right Princess. You're safe. Let me take you home." Will carefully took Nico's other hand and began to slowly lead her toward the Hades cabin. Nico's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Am home." Nico mumbled then to the shock of everyone present Nico leaned forward and practically snuggled into her. Will turned vaguely the shad of a tomato as Nico's breathing slowed down to a more normal rate from the quick gasps it had been. It was lucky she was leaning against will for a moment later her knees gave out and Will just barely caught her. The others hurried forward. Jason carefully took off Nico's sword belt and held his arms out to take her but Will shook her head. Will shook her head. She carefully bent down and rearranged Nico so she was carrying her princess style. She would have to make sure she watched Nico eat for the next few days, the daughter of Hades was far too skinny. Percy grinned.
"You're a lot stronger than you look." Will grinned.
"You try getting Ares kids to take their shots."
"That'll do it." Percy laughed and took Arthur's hand.
"That is the cutest I have seen Nico since she first came to camp. We should get to bed though. Will's right about the harpies." Jason nodded at Arthur's words and kissed Piper on the cheek and followed Will who was slowly making her way towards the Hades cabin. The others grinned at each other and set off towards their own cabins.
Jason opened the door to the Hades cabin and set Nico's sword down by her bed. The cabin was a bit of a mess but Will couldn't really blame Nico. The seven were all pitching in to redecorate the interior of the cabin. It was starting to look less like vampires lurked here and more like the nerdy goth kid Nico was actually lived here. Jason pulled back the covers and Will stifled a laugh at the Mythomagic sheets under the black comforter.
"Percy's idea. Apparently she was really into it a few years back. Hazel says Frank is trying to get her back into it as a way to cheer her up for Hazel but I don't know if it'll work." Will grinned. She remembered baby Nico as she and the few who remembered all those years ago called her. She had been so full of life and happiness. Then Bianca had joined the hunters of Artemis and she'd been refused entry into their ranks. They hadn't known it at the time but apparently while Artemis had been with the group she had received a message from the girl's father that if she took both his daughters away from him there would be serious retribution. If that wasn't bad enough Bianca didn't come back from her quest.
Will lowered Nico down onto the bed. She was about to turn and leave when Nico rolled over and grabbed hold of the back of her shirt, Will frowned. Then she noticed Nico was starting to shake.
"Sunshine, please don't go." Will forgot Jason was behind her as she took the hand that Nico had fisted in her shirt and wrapped her fingers around Nico's as she sat down on the bed.
"I'm not going anywhere Princess." With the hand that wasn't holding Nico's she gently cupped her face and kissed her on the forehead. She jumped when Jason spoke from the doorway.
"You two are so cute, and I completely support this. It may be the best thing that's happened to Nico since she found Hazel. But if you so much as think about hurting her you'll have the seven plus Reyna, Coach Hedge and Calypso after you. Just so you know." Will nodded which was made slightly more difficult as Nico, still fast asleep, used their intertwined hand to drag her down onto the bed and snuggled against her tangling their legs together. Jason grinned.
"Gods I wish I had a camera." He muttered as he left. Will smiled into Nico's hair which smelled like cinnamon and nutmeg and something dark that she couldn't identify. Nico's breathing was slow and steady. Will's smile widened. It was likely Nico would try to kill her in the morning out of sheer embarrassment. Maybe send legions of the undead after her despite her doctor's orders not to use her underworld magic, but for now everything was perfect. With that thought Will drifted off to sleep, smile still gracing her tanned face.