Three days, Nico thought. Three days with this lughead.

Despite his protest, he'd somehow been roped into three days in in the infirmary, under Will Solace's care.

During the twelve hours he'd spent in there, he'd learned a few things:

- Will was stubborn. Very. Very. Stubborn.

- His rest was probably for the better; in half a day, inky tendrils of darkness jutted from him, permanently staining the bed, walls, and floor of the infirmary. As a result, he now had his own room-small, but it beat other campers staring at him uncomfortably.

- Will stuck to calling him Death Boy, and there was no point in reversing the damage.

*Le linebreak*

Nico woke up in a cold sweat. He could normally control his dreams, but today was different. He couldn't run from Octavian, from his inability to use his powers-at least, without breaking his promise to Solace. But that wasn't his outstanding nightmare.

Bianca…

Under his breath, Nico chided himself. Ghosts only have power if you let them, he reminded himself. Both real and metaphorical.

Nico's senses started working again. He was in his new bed-which was permanently stained black from the shadows escaping him-and sunlight was seeping in through his blinds. "What time is it..?" he said to himself.

"Two PM, sleepyhead." Cut in another voice. Solace. "Morning, Death Boy." He said that last part like a taunt.

"Don't call me that," Nico growled. "Morning, Sun Boy." He retaliated.

"Bah, pathetic."

Nico prepared his glare, then remembered Will was immune to it, for some reason. He yawned, then sat up. He picked up the bowl of Fruit Loops on his table and began eating. It was flavourless.

Nico looked up at Will, who was studying him like some sort of specimen. "No need to give me cavities," he said, trying to break the silence. "I can't taste. I think my taste buds phased into the shadow world permanently."

Solace raised an eyebrow. "All the more reason for this treatment."

"Do you even understand what permanently means, Will? It means 'to never come back'."

"Well, we should at least try to-"

They were interrupted by a camper. Eli Parker, from Hecate, who was volunteering at the infirmary. He only spoke through the door-Nico's new room seemed harmful to anyone who wasn't from Apollo or Hades, with its shadows everywhere. "Nico's got visitors."

Will looked back at Nico. "You good enough to walk?"

The black-haired boy tried to make a point by getting out of bed to stand-only to have fallen flat on his face, if it weren't for Solace's arms catching him. "I take that as a no." he said, smiling. "I'll help you out, then."

Nico hated physical contact, but he couldn't deny that Will was stronger than he looked. He took him up on his offer and put an arm around him.

*Hail Hyd-er, Linebreak*

"Nico!" The boy found himself smiling at Percy, Jason, Annabeth, and Piper. The Romans had left the day before. "Why're you in the infirmary?" At the moment, Jason was interrogating him.

"It's a deal with Sun Boy over here."

"Still pathetic, Death Boy. And, as you can see, Nico's legs aren't in the mood for walking right now, so it's good enough reason to pull him in. Besides, he was just about transparent when I brought him in."

Nico grumbled. Then he remembered he was still leaning on Will, even though he had, for the most part, regained his balance. He stood up straight, reddening. "I can stand."

Percy's eyebrows flew up at the younger boy's cheeks. "Nico, your gay is showing."

Nico blushed even more, then glared at Percy. Inky seams of darkness crept from under his boots. "You got a death wish, Jackson?"

Most would go running for the hills after that, but Percy laughed-that is, until Annabeth not-so-quietly added "Is this revenge for 'not my type'?", smirking.

While Percy got flustered, Will looked confused. "Wait, Nico-you're gay? And Percy said he liked you?"

Piper comforted Percy as Annabeth replied. "No, Nico said-paraphrasing, of course-'Percy, I had a crush on you, but not anymore.' Then he added 'You're not my type'. Gods, Percy's been bugging me to the ends of the earth: 'Whaddid he mean he mean 'I'm not his type?! I'm everyone's type!'"

The last bit was news to Nico, and he was chuckling. Will was doing the same. "Don't worry, I'm gay too." Wil said, nonchalantly.

Suddenly, Aria from Hermes-a friend of Eli's-ran up to the party. She might've been the fastest runner in camp; her nickname was Sonic. "Big- news." She was panting, like she had run this entire distance. Nico wouldn't be surprised if she had. "Leo's-back!

Hope you enjoy! If I got anything wrong, don't hesitate to tell me~! v.v