Nico wakes up with a mouthful of hair.
“Are you serious.”
He sticks out his tongue, trying to get it out of his mouth without spitting on it, giving up after about four point three seconds of trying. He wriggles his arm out from where it’s pinned between his body and Will’s, flicking the last few strands off his tongue. For good measure, he kicks the first thing he can reach — his boyfriend’s thighs, go figure — in protest.
“Please, no,” Will mumbles tiredly, batting blindly under the cover until he slaps on big hand over Nico’s ankle, squeezing. “Please. I got in at three thirty last night. It’s barely seven. Please.”
Nico sighs, relaxing his muscles. Will presses a brief kiss to his shoulder in gratitude, face buried in his chest, sinking boneless into him.
“The whole knowing the time without a clock thing will never stop being weird,” he mutters, pressing a kiss to a freckled forehead. He rubs his hands over Will’s bare shoulders, digging his thumbs along the knotted muscles, and smiles as he groans, trying in vain to plaster somehow closer to Nico, practically melting into him. “Gracie keep you up all night?”
He shifts as he nods. “Harley, too. Poor things just want someone to hold their hair outta their face and rub their back, they’re so miserable.”
Nico hums in sympathy. It’s flu season — hitting the little kids, mostly. Will has been on his feet for days trying to mitigate symptoms, soothe aching bones and sore throats. There’s not too much he can do for the flu, but the kids are miserable and they trust him, so his presence is more of a cure and a comfort than anything.
“Kayla there now?”
“Austin and Lou. Kayla’s on after lunch; Piper’s with her.”
“Good.” He squeezes his shoulders again, leaning down to press a long, lingering kiss right between his eyes. He leans into it, sighing. “Sleep for a bit, okay? I’ll come check on you, but I don’t want you up before 2.”
“‘Kay,” Will sighs, unconscious again by the time Nico’s wiggled out of his hold. For a moment he stands, watching him: his bare, broad back, spattered with dark freckles and moles, dipping at the base of his spine and covered barely by the soft, white sheets; arms curled up all the way around his face in Nico’s absence, bicep squeezing his cheek, pursing his delicate Cupid’s bow; long, light eyelashes fanning over round cheeks; even, steady breathing, in and out, in and out.
Golden hair, of course, frizzy and messy and poofing out around his head; haloed in the early morning sun.
He’s barely able to tear himself away to go shower.
———
“They’re everywhere,” says Kayla in disgust, peeling a long, curly strand off her shirt. “I haven’t been in the same room as him in two days. This is a brand-new shirt. How am I still somehow covered in his hair?”
“He’s like a dog,” Austin explains. Nico snorts. “He sheds, and at first it’s subtle, here and there, you get used to it. The suddenly two years go by and people are complimenting the fur coat that was not fur before you bought it.”
Gracie sticks out her bottom lip, eyes watering. “Will is not a dog, he’s a boy!”
Austin groans, muttering something about favourites and annoying older brothers and where was this energy when I ate the last secret cabin twinkie and was accused of being a ratbag, huh, Gracie, where was my defense squad and annoying older brothers again. Gracie is unmoved by his whining, glaring at him with big green eyes — ever her oldest brother’s defender.
Nico hides a smile in his hand. No wonder, with how Will dotes on her. On all his siblings, really, but only Yan and Gracie are young enough that it doesn’t embarrass them.
Kayla and Austin, on the other hand. (At this point, Will enjoys embarrassing them in front of their friends as much as the actual doting.)
Kayla, weak to her sister’s pouting, pokes her playfully in the side. “I’m only teasing, Gracie-girl. Of course Will isn’t a dog.”
“Except the shedding, and the constant yapping, and the fact that if you don’t let him loose to run around for a while he goes batty, and of course the following Nico around like a lovesick pup—”
“Thank you, Austin,” Nico interrupts, clearing his throat. He sends a quick prayer of thanks to his father for hair genetics covering his flaming ears.
Austin snickers. “Anytime.”
After three years it’s futile, but sometimes Nico really considers rescinding his doctor’s note. Is sitting here during meals really worth his peace? Is it?
“He really does shed, though,” Kayla says after a moment of silence. She pinched yet another hair off her shirt, sighing. “Like, not to agree with Austin or anything —”
“Hey!”
“— but, like, damn. If he’s been there, you know it.”
Nico snorts. “Tell me about it. I keep finding hair on my pillows, it’s driving me insane.”
It does drive him insane. He finds it in the shower — although to his credit Will really does try to get them all there — and in his hairbrush, on his clothes, his sheets, his mattress. The floor. Once, notably, on the shrine in his cabin, after which Will had panicked and sprinted to the pavilion to scrape an entire pot roast and pray not to get smited, leaving Nico to laugh himself to tears at the base of it.
Too late, he notices the total silence at the Apollo table, the wide eyes boring holes into his head, the loose, dropped jaws.
“What?” he says, shoulders curled defensively.
As soon as the word leaves his mouth, realization dawns on him. He chokes on a grape.
“You two didn’t tell us?” Austin demands. “How long has this —” he gestures vaguely at Nico and at the infirmary, which, he assumes, is meant to represent Will — “been going on?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he wheezes. With his rapidly asphyxiating brain, he attempts to summon his boyfriend, still conked out, via sheer force of will. GET THE HELL UP AND COME RUN DAMAGE CONTROL, he screams silently.
Predictably, this does nothing.
Kayla shrieks. “Oh my gods, look at his face! They’ve been doing this forever!”
Nico bangs his hands on the table, trying at once to convey his protest and also hi, hello, children of the god of medicine, I am choking to death, fix please. Neither signal gets picked up, inhabitants of the table erupting an a screeching series of questions so loud that other campers notice, understand, and approach, equally as screechy.
“Will and Nico are together?”
“Holy shit! Since when?”
“I thought they’d never get out of the pining stage!”
“Don’t they hate each other?”
“Bro, are you stupid? Do you not know what bad flirting is?”
“Hey, is di Angelo turning purple, or is that just me?”
Throwing himself into the nearest shadow, Nico disappears.
———
“Get up, get up, I fucked up, I fucked up!”
Will shoots straight upright with a gasp, force of his own body sending him careening right over the side of the bed. He goes down in a tangled heap of cursing and yelping and ow, fuck, shit-damns.
“What happened?” he demands as soon as he’s free from his fabric prison. He rushes (stumbles) over to wear Nico is still wheezing, hands braced on his knees, for dizziness now as much as to catch his breath. “Neeks, woah, slow down for a sec. Deep breaths with me.”
He tries to follow along to Will’s exaggerated breathing, steady, long inhales and exhales. A calloused hand touches the curve of his neck, warmth blooming under it, and suddenly his airways are cleared.
“Thanks,” he manages hoarsely, breathing back somewhat under control.
Will squeezes his hand. “No problem.”
There are several pillow creases criss-crossing on his cheeks, making him look soft and sleepy, although his eyes are alert, crinkled in poorly-concealed amusement. His hair is somehow more mussed than when Nico left him this morning.
“What happened?”
“So I. Um.” Nico clears his throat. “Your bother was roasting you for shedding like a dog. I, of course, had to join —”
Will rolls his eyes, mouth twitching. “Of course.”
“— and I mentioned super casually that I get your hair all over my shit, right? And, well — well.”
“Well?” Will prods, when Nico cuts himself off. Chancing a glance, Nico finds he doesn’t look angry, or nervous, or disappointed — and of course he wouldn’t. Not for something as silly as this.
He is gonna laugh, though. Nico hates when he’s righteously clowned.
“Well, I.” He lowers his voice to a mumble. “May have said something about all of your hair that ends up on my pillows.”
For a moment it’s silent. Nico keeps his eyes trained away, although he leans into Will’s touch, his hands in his face, the side of his neck, the warmth thrown off his sleep-addled body.
He’s almost startled by the giggle.
Almost.
“…Oh, you dumbass.”
He tries very hard to look annoyed as Will cracks up. He taps his foot, crosses his arms, and tries very, very hard to frown, but Will’s laugh has always been the most musical thing about him, and he loves to serenade. And Nico is very weak to song.
“Stop laughing at me,” he snaps, without heat.
Will’s cheeks puff up from the force of him trying, face going red around the edges.
“I’m trying, Neeks, I am —”
“Not very hard.”
“I am, I am.” Valiantly, he draws in a deep breath, only breaking into giggles twice before managing to hold a somewhat straight face. “Nico,” he says, suddenly very close and very warm, “I love you.” He presses a kiss to his forehead. “And I love sneaking around with you —” the bridge of his nose — “and making out in dark closets —” his cheeks, both, quickly, one after the other — “and behind the Big House —” the base of his jaw — “and in the —”
“I get it,” Nico interrupts, flushing. He can feel the curve of Will’s smile against his skin.
“My cabin, if it’s empty,” Will murmurs, kissing the underside of his jaw, his neck. “Yours.” Slight nip of his teeth. Nico gasps.
“Will,” he whispers. His knees start to shake. “Will, c’mon, we gotta —”
Will presses a kiss square to his Adam’s apple, lingering. “We’re in yours quite a lot. I’ve gotten used to it, honestly, Neeks, I —”
The door bangs open, making both of them yelp. The matching screeches to not help the general air of panic and sitcom level foolishness.
“Oh my gods, you really are porking!”
“Get out, Kayla!” they both yell together.
“Jesus,” Will curses, forehead resting on Nico’s shoulder.
Nico bites his lip. Will shifts, turning to meet his eye.
They last two whole seconds before losing it.
“Three years of sneaking around without so much as a soul finding out,” Nico huffs as Will snickers. “Three whole years.”
Will pecks him loudly and exaggeratedly on the cheek. “And endless more in the open.”
“You’re such a goddamn cheeseball.”
“And yet you’re in deep, deep love with me.”
“…I am.” He cradles his face, pressing a kiss, finally, to his lips. Will presses back, smiling. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
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More pjo/hoo headcanons
Apollo kids exclusively work out with musics as a cabin, but they always argue about the playlist that should be chosen. Will uses councillor privilege to force them to pick country.
The Athena cabin has a projector for sure
Also, they have youtube premium because of lofi music
Apollo kids have been banned from using guns in training with others (they recreated the ten duel commandments from Hamilton and actually ended up shooting without missing the target. Now, they can only shoot on regular targets, not living ones)
Hephaestus and Athena kids are a living proof of the "an architect's dream is an engineer's nightmare" thing
There is definitely an Athena kid out there that hates math with a burning passion. Their mom isn't very happy about that.
Despite their rivalry, many Apollo kids have Ares cabin bffs - after all, they spend lots of time in the infirmary
Ares kids usually have a great relationship with their father - he is surprisingly encouraging and supportive
Will can definitely ride a horse and you can't convince me otherwise
Also. His mom has a yellow pickup truck with tons of stickers and a guitar on the backseat
Sally refused to use the subway ever since Percy was born (you know how the underground always smells like monsters and that's why Grover didn't notice the chimera? That was exactly why)
Percy used to cry in the seafood section of stores, especially if it had anything living there
Athena kids can achieve Eminem speed during debate, I will not elaborate any further
Oh also. They're not straight As kids, or at least not all of them, especially the older ones. I mean, the school system vs learning disorders? There's no way they're winning that fight entirely. They probably have the subjects they like and ace, and then the subject that are just there, and since they're not failing, they don't really care (yes this is about me getting a C from physics again, I hate physics)
Annabeth loves the "further is for physical distance, farther for metaphorical and father for emotional" tumblr post
Hera's cabin has a family portrait of the olympians, it's quite a bittersweet sight
Let Demeter kids have a scythe as their weapon of choice pls
Athena kids make so many lame nerd puns. Occasionally, a Hephaestus kid or a secret nerd will laugh.
Athena kids are definitely the type to fight the teacher about their grade. They will gather evidence that their answer is technically correct and either impress or annoy the teacher so much they will actually change their grade
All Athena kids have a resting bitch face (just like Hermes kids have a face that says they're troublemakers)
Hermes kids are naturally skilled at orientation on a map and in terrain
Hephaestus and Hermes cabin have once held a lock-picking competition (based on speed but also the amount of damage caused)
Every single person in the Athena cabin has seen both Dead Poets Society and School of Rock (and loved it)
For an absolutely nonexistent reason I think the Aphrodite cabin has some pro tip for washing blood out of clothes and stuff
Very stereotypical of me but in the Ares cabin, the strongest is the leader and their word is law, if you disagree, you gotta participate in a one on one fight of choice (it doesn't matter that much if you win, at least you still prove your bravery and the courage to stand up for what you believe in). Meanwhile, the Athena cabin votes on everything. And yes, they are proud of it. And yes, they have senate level debates where everyone uses whatever dirt they have on the others to win (because they probably know too much gossip without even really intending to) sometimes. Only sometimes.
Also. They have ostrakism which is basically a thing where you break a pot/vase/something, each person gets a piece and carves on the name of someone who is endangering democracy in their option. The person with the most votes gets chased out I think. Athena kids have changed up that part, they simply ban that person from voting for 6 months.
Athena kids with learning disorders. That's all I want to say.
Mentioning my previous 'Athena cabin has a Pallas cat' headcanon
Also Athena kids are the people who will point out historical stuff behind the names of places or companies (example: my country has a shopping centre called palladium, i instill the lore of the original palladium on anyone unfortunate enough to be there with me)
Apollo kids personalise their instruments - stickers, paint, carved initials, cool straps and other accessories, you name it!
They also have a whole row of those instrument hangers, yk what i mean?
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A short drabble of Will & the Apollo kids + a sprinkle of angst
PROMPT: Michael,Lee and the other apollo campers realizing the new tiny blonde kid in the hermes cabin is the son of the Naomi Solace and freaking out.
(A/N: I very loosely followed the prompt in the end)
It wasn’t surprising when the new camper, a small blonde boy with blue eyes, named Will Solace ended up in the infirmary. The first time Lee had treated Will he had been walked in by Maron, a satyr Lee knew brought back tons of demigods, covered in marks from where Stymphalian birds had attacked him. At the time, Will hadn’t said much to him, or anyone else, but he listened well. “It’s nothing too bad. Here,” Lee placed a small piece of ambrosia in Will’s hand with a gentle smile, “this will help you feel better. Just eat that and you’ll be feeling as good as new in no time.” Lee ruffled Will’s hair and walked over to check on a nasty cut that Sherman Yang of the Ares Cabin had gotten during training.
That had been two weeks ago. Will remained unclaimed by his godly parent, while it was disappointing (but unsurprising), several campers including Michael Yew did their best to cheer him up. Hermes and Apollo were at archery together, a new concept that Chiron had suggested. While two different cabins were put together for activities, all of the campers knew the real hope was that the Gods would find promise in one of their unclaimed children during an activity and claim them.
As it turned out, Will was better than other campers with a bow and arrow, though just barely above bar by Apollo standards. Michael found himself drifting over to the boy to help him more and more throughout the session. “You're stance is good, but you need to work on focusing your aim at your target. Why don't you try setting the bow down and throwing the arrow to see if that helps?” He suggested.
Will let out a huff of air and kicked at the ground beneath his feet. “What if I'm just really bad? I'm not even good at holding a sword!” His voice wavered with emotion as his eyes welled with tears. Michael couldn't help but feel bad for him. Unlike most campers, he had been claimed his first day after shooting an apple off of Luke Castellan's head. (If asked, he would swear it was an accident, but some other campers seemed to disagree.)
“Look, Will, I can't say what you'll be good at and what you won't, as your godly parent hasn't claimed you.” The younger boy sniffled and focused his attention on the ground. “But what I can say is that not every demigod is good at the same stuff. I can barely heal to save my life. Yeah, I can give someone nectar and ambrosia, watch over them, give them mortal medicine, all that jazz, but I don't have Lee or my big sister, Juliet's, skill in medicine.” This made Will's eyes widen in shock, because all of the Apollo children were so gifted. (Luke told him it was because their father was the God of a bunch of stuff.)
“My Mama says that everyone has their own skills.” Will spoke up after a few minutes of twisting the hem of his shirt in his fists.
“Your mama sounds very wise.” Michael smiled and picked up the bow Will had been using.
“She is! She's a musician!” Michael noticed how Will's blue eyes seemed to move like the sky when he mentioned his mom. He figured just because he didn't have the best relationship with his own at a young age, the same didn't have to be for all demigods.
“Oh? What's her name? Maybe I know of her.”
“Naomi Solace.” Michael almost choked at the proud tone, not that it wasn't completely appropriate. Naomi Solace was an absolute icon in the music industry. Their head counselor, Sam - a warm, ivory guy who stood at 5 '11, who would be leaving after this summer, had brought a ton of her records and CD's from home to keep in the cabin.
“Seriously? You're Naomi Solace's son!?” The other Apollo kids turned their heads in excitement and began to crowd around them. Will just nodded his head nervously, afraid he had said something wrong.
“That's fucking awesome! We all love her!” Catherine, an umber toned Apollo girl with heterochromia, spoke up.
“Will is still a child, watch your tongue, Cathy.” Sam scolded with a fond, exasperated expression. Will found himself bursting out into a fit of giggles. He had heard much worse while on the road with his mother, but he appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.
“You have totally got to introduce us one day, little buddy.” Another Apollo child, who Will had forgotten the name of, spoke up. The children of the sun God had never been anything but welcoming, so after pretending to think about it for a minute Will grinned widely. “Alright, just remember your manners.”
The rest of the day, the Apollo cabin borrowed, or rather stole, Will so he could join them in their activities. While the boy enjoyed the company of the Hermes kids, he felt a sense of belonging that he couldn't place when he was laughing alongside the talented Apollo children. That night at dinner, instead of offering his food to Hermes, he sent an offering to the God of the Sun.
Please, I don't know if I am your son or not, but I really hope I am. I know I may not be as great as Michael or Catherine, but I feel connected to them. They feel like home….like mama…like sunshine.
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