Chapter Text
I.
“What is this?”
Nico stared at the item in Will’s outstretched palm warily like if he touched it, it would come to life and bite his face off. Was it poisonous? Some sort of bait to lure him into a trap? For all he knew it could have cursed properties, and while he loved a good jinx of death every once in a while, after the time he had touched something without performing a proper cleansing ritual back in Albania, well, he didn’t want to risk the possibilities of what could happen.
Will rubbed the back of his neck, clearing his throat. “It’s a friendship bracelet!”
“For…me?” That couldn’t be right. Curses made much more sense.
“I figured I should make you one,” Will said. “You know, to commemorate our friendship.”
Although some of his caution faded (because it couldn’t be cursed if Will had made it, right?), it still lingered in the front of his mind. “Is trapping people in the infirmary for three whole days what you call friendship?”
“Nope,” Will chuckled, “That’s somethin’ I only do for certain sons of Hades who believe they are above restin’ and having limits.”
Crossing his arms, Nico scoffed. “I know my limits.”
“Do you? Because if you did, you’re body wouldn’t have been on the brink of completely fadin’ out of existence multiple times.”
“That’s a bit dramatic. It only happened like, twice.”
“For your information, it happened four times, but even if it was two, that is still two times too many—”
“I feel like that math isn’t right, Solace.”
“—because you shouldn’t be fadin’ at all.”
Well, he had somewhat of a point, but Nico would never admit that. If there was one thing he learned from his stepmother, besides the sensation and inferiority of being a plant, it was how to be petty. So, instead of arguing against Will, Nico just rolled his eyes.
Unfortunately, he still hadn’t mastered the art of pettiness because it backfired by settling them into an awkward silence. His gaze flickered back down to the bracelet. He watched as Will’s free hand drummed against the side of his ridiculously impractical cargo shorts while the other started to fall, along with his expression.
“So…do you not want it?”
Gods. Why did he have to both look and sound so pathetic? Like a kicked puppy that had just been abandoned on the side of the road. Or a stray kitten left behind in a cardboard box in an alleyway. It was to the point where Nico could practically feel sadness rolling off of him in thick, dejected waves that made a curl of guilt stab him in the chest.
He didn’t get it. They’ve barely known each other for more than a week and he was pretty sure that was too soon to become actual friends. Acquaintances? Maybe, but definitely not friends, especially since most of the time they had spent together was because Will was just doing his job.
Normally, Nico would have had no problem with voicing those thoughts out loud. He was used to pushing people away, a professional at it, even, given how much experience he’s had. After all, almost everyone who had ever been close to him usually ended up getting hurt in some way or another, which was why he made sure to keep his distance.
Except, how come he couldn’t do that with Will?
Before he could really think, Nico snatched the bracelet out of Will’s hand to prevent him from putting it back into his pocket. “No. Give me that. It’s mine.” There was a nagging in his brain that suddenly arose, which faintly sounded like Bianca nagging him about manners. It only went away when he mumbled a quiet, “Thank you.”
That got Will to smile again and ugh, it always seemed to get brighter and brighter the more he did it. Will should really be less worried about him fading into the shadows and more about him getting permanent retina damage.
“If it doesn’t fit, lemme know,” Will said, rocking back and forth on his feet. “I wasn’t sure what your exact measurements were, especially because you’re still heavily malnourished which is somethin’ we will definitely fix, but I tried to make it adjustable.” He paused in his rocking. “Do you…do you want help puttin’ it on?” He held up his hands when Nico raised a brow at him. “Or you don’t have to wear it, if you don’t want to.”
Nico looked back down at the bracelet, running his thumb over the beautiful swirls of silver on black. The rows of embroidery floss were knotted neatly, with no uneven bumps and no lopsided twists. It was a masterpiece compared to the one Nico had made when he had first arrived at camp, which had resulted in him being entangled in a multicolored mess for hours.
“I’d rather not,” Nico said. Then, to prevent Will’s smile from falling again, he tacked on. “I just don’t want it to get ruined.”
Glancing up at Will, his mind was hit with a mantra of blue blue blue before the door to the infirmary beside them suddenly burst open. A mop of red and green hair poked out from behind it.
“Will! We need—uh, am I interrupting something?” Nico did not like the suspicious twinkle in her eye.
“You’re fine, Kayla. What’s up?”
Kayla let out a strained laugh. Nico sensed Will tense. “So,” she started. “Don’t be alarmed, but Austin kind of…fell off a ladder.”
Nico felt like there was definitely more to the story. Austin never just did anything. Whatever small thing he did always tended to cause a chain of unfortunate accidents that ended up with either him or other people getting hurt.
“What was he doing on a ladder?” Will asked incredulously.
“No clue, but he fell. Onto one of the carts that was stocked with salves. Shattered the glass jars containing those salves. And now he’s bleeding on the floor.”
“What.”
Ha. Called it.
Will sighed. Deeply. Like he was contemplating every single one of his life choices. He took a moment to smile back at Nico, an open invitation that summoned those damn butterflies, before dashing inside the infirmary to help his brother.
Nico took one more look at the bracelet, tucking it safely within the small inner pocket of his jacket. Then he followed after him.
