Nico’s eyelids fluttered. Bright light seeped through, causing him to see spots and he raised his hand in front of his eyes to block the light. He heard talking and saw shapes all around him. Dark outlines, silhouettes. People.
“He’s coming to! He’s waking up! Back up! Give him space!” multiple voices whispered. One familiar voice stood out.
“Back up! You’ll freak him out!” Will. Will was here. That made Nico calm down. He felt someone take his hand and brush the hair out of his eyes. He saw Will, his eyebrows knit together in that cute way they did when he was worried or confused.
“Hey! You’re awake!” Will smiled. Tears were spilling down his cheeks, Nico noticed, but he wasn’t sure why.
“Who?” Nico asked, his throat dry.
“Friends. You’re safe, Nico. It’s alright.” Will cradled his face in his hand.
“What happened?” Will swallowed and took a deep breath.
“You got…hurt.” Nico attempted to sit up, but groaned and was pushed back down by Will.
“What happened to me, Will? Where am I? Who’s here?”
“You’re in the infirmary, Sunshine. Hazel’s here. So is Frank, Percy, and Annabeth. Piper & Shel too.” Nico almost asked where Jason was, but closed his eyes and remembered. His bit his tongue to keep from sobbing out loud.
“What happened, Will? Tell me, please!”
More tears came down Will’s face. Nico looked around and realized Hazel, Piper, and Annabeth had red eyes and wet cheeks. Each of their partners had their arms around them or their finger laced together. Frank’s face was tight with worry, and Percy’s eyes were rimmed red. He had been…crying. For Nico. A pang of gratefulness hit him. All of these people cared about him, enough to cry for him.
“Nico, you…you fought like a madman. You defeated Nero, Sunshine. And almost half of his army. But, you ignored your injuries and overused your powers until it was too late. You had so many wounds, I-” Will’s voice broke. He dropped his head. “I almost couldn’t save you. You’ve been asleep for days, we were so worried.”
Nico was shocked. All these people, here for him. Worried about him, crying for him. He felt horrible for bringing them all so much worry. He felt terrible for making Will so upset. He squeezed Will’s hand.
“I’m sorry. I love you, Will, and I’m so sorry for making you so scared. I…can’t imagine if that was you. And…thanks everyone, for coming to see me I guess. I’m obviously not great with emotions but seriously it means a lot that you showed up.”
Percy laughed tightly. “Of course we showed up, man. We care about you.”
“Yeah. Nico, you’ve saved our sorry butts on multiple occasions, and you’ve always been there,” Annabeth cut in.
“Yeah, she’s right. Of course we came. You’re our friend, it’s what friends do,” Piper said, smiling warmly through her tears. Nico smiled back as his eyes started to water.
“Ok, now please, get out, all of you! Visitors hour is over. He’s okay, but he needs rest and food! And he needs his boyfriend. You’re all crowding my infirmary. Out!” Kayla shouted, pointing to the door. Everyone groaned and said their goodbyes with hugs, fist bumps, or forehead kisses. Nico was shocked when Percy hugged him.
“I was so worried we’d lose you, man.” Nico could hear the tears in his voice. He smiled and hugged back, wrapping his arms tight around Percy’s shoulders.
“You’re never getting rid of me.” Both boys smiled as they pulled away.
When everyone was gone, Nico turned to Will. He smiled at his boyfriend, who smiled back weakly. “Will, honey, how much sleep have you had since I passed out?” Nico asked softly, reaching up to hold Will’s head in his hands.
“A couple hours, I’m not sure.” Nico stopped smiling.
“Will, you gotta sleep. Go lay down.”
“I’m not leaving you Nico, not ever.” Will’s voice was firm as he kissed Nico’s hands. Nico smiled again.
“I’m glad to hear that. How about we just push that cot next to mine? Here I’ll help,” Nico offered, only to be pushed back down into his bed.
“No. You heard her, you need food and rest, Nico.”
“She also said I needed you,” Nico answered with a smile. Will returned the grin. He walked over and pushed the bed next to Nico’s, and lay down stiffly. He scooted over to Nico, laying his head on Nico’s chest and covering himself with his blanket. Nico wrapped an arm around him and snuggled into his blankets, pillows, and boyfriend. He knew that the next three days would be strict bed rest issued by Will, but it didn’t matter. Nico wouldn’t be bored or lonely this time.
Will would never leave him.
Until the day that he was taken by Nico’s father,
he would be always
and forever
his.
That was a fact.
And it was Nico’s favorite fact.Â
830 words
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