Tumgik
#nico watches star wars
squarecloud73 · 1 year
Text
*I worship you Tumblr don’t remove it
Tumblr media
We all know who's days it is ☠️
Nico tries to wear a star war costume to match his bf.
Tumblr media
Who is now deeply touched but conflicted.
4K notes · View notes
demideific · 1 year
Text
People who are already complaining about Nico acting like an actual teenager before the book has even fully been released are the weakest and most boring link like boo tomato tomato.
1K notes · View notes
cabin10diaries · 1 year
Text
oh, will definitely wrote on ao3 at some point. he posted and forgot about it. and some years later, it suddenly pops into his mind, and he rereads what he wrote, and by gods is it horrible.
he then proceeds to rewrite it and falls in love with writing, partially due to being a son of the god of poetry. he totally writes (shitty and corny) poems to nico.
26 notes · View notes
rainnows · 1 year
Note
important question!!! what are sages (and her parents) thoughts on bluey??
I did not know what bluey was and had to google it, so?? I dont know. I have never heard of this show in my life. Cannot formulate fictional thoughts when i have none of my own, y'know?
Uhhh according to google its targeted at six year olds and sage would in fact be 6 years old when the show first aired? Apparently theres neurodivergent and otherwise disabled characters in it which is rad and is something i think nico and will would appreciate, although I am a firm believer in PBSkids Sage myself.
2 notes · View notes
mediumgayitalian · 14 days
Text
At around half past one, Nico gets a Feeling.
He gets feelings a lot. Nothing he can quantify, just something telling him that something is up, somethings wrong. Or something’s about to be. At this point, he’s learned to trust his intuition, based purely on the number of times it has saved his life; a number he’s long since given up counting. (He’s only ignored his gut feelings three times in his life: when Bianca went on her quest, when his father promised not to hurt Percy before the Titan War, and when he went looking for the Doors. He has learned his lesson.)
So when something at the bottom of his stomach tells him to get up, to check things out — he does.
He knows it could be nothing. (The last time he had a Feeling, it turned out that he had placed a book precariously on the edge of his desk, and it had been about to fall. Not exactly world-saving stuff.) But regardless, he steps out of bed, shoves his feet into his shoes, and creeps out of his cabin.
Camp is kind of beautiful at night.
There’s an eerie calmness to it without so many human disasters running about, and the quiet reflects that. All Nico can really hear is the hooting of owls in the distance, the chittering of nocturnal animals and monsters alike, the distant screeches of curfew harpies, and the pleasant crashing of the waves. The air is clean, when he inhales, and he takes the time to hold it in his lungs for a bit, imagining the sweet breath is healing his burned lungs, turning the scar tissue back to something flexible and normal. Whether or not it actually works, he doesn’t know, but it feels nice.
Under the light of the brightly shining new moon and billions of stars, he starts his patrol. Around his own cabin first — there’s nothing, as he expected, the warning doesn’t seem overwhelming like threats tend to be — and then he makes his way around the circuit, checking behind gardens and shrines and inside braziers. He hums quietly as he walks, something preppy and bright the Apollo kids have been hollering for days, and waves to Lady Hestia, sword heavy at his waist.
“Come sit,” she calls, patting the seat next to her.
Nico does.
“Haven’t seen you out at night in a while.”
He hums, toneless this time, leaning back on his hands and mirroring her gaze at the sky.
“Been sleeping, for once.”
“I’m glad.”
He smiles, knowing that she means it. He watches out of the corner of his eye as she picks up his sword, sliding it from his belt loop, and uses it to stoke the flames. She doesn’t seem afraid of it, or wary. To her it’s just a stick of metal. It’s nice.
“You have you been, my Lady?”
She pokes at the embers a few more times, scooping a few to balance at the tip of the blade for a while. It glows with the heat, and he knows he’ll have to sharpen it tomorrow, but he doesn’t mind. Maybe he can do it while Will is in the archery range. It’ll give him an excuse to be at the armoury at the same time, anyway.
“I’ve been well.” She breathes deeply, small smile pulling at her face. “It’s calmer, and more people wave to me. I like it.”
“Good.”
She dismisses him a few minutes later, sending him off with a promise to chat again soon. She doesn’t need to worry about him promising — he makes a point to sit with her at least once a week — but it’s nice to know someone wants his company, so he appreciates it. He leaves with a wave, walking towards the eastern half of the cabins.
Nothing’s amiss. He can hear campers snoring, and see the odd reading light. Malcolm catches his eye as he walks past the Athena cabin and winks, sending a cheeky salute when he sees the sword held loosely in his hands. So far, everything seems fine. He’s beginning to think the Feeling might have simply been about Lady Hestia, so he decides to do one last check around the Big House and then head back.
Of course, that’s where the issue is.
The infirmary lights are always on. They’re dimmer in the night, more of a glow than anything, but there’s an extra brightness streaming out from the windows, and when Nico peeks inside, he sees Will, standing with his back turned at the nurse’s station.
He takes a moment to check his strength, making sure he has the energy for it — dinner last night was pho and he had three bowls, he most definitely does — and sinks into the shadows by the door. He materializes back in the little alcove by the bandage & wraps cabinet, lurking silently while he blinks the dizziness away.
The first thing he registers is soft singing.
He’s facing Will, now, and can see the glow coming from his hands, enveloping a bowl of some kind. He has both hands coated in some dusky pink substance, massaging and gently pounding it against the sides of the bowl, working it through with great care. As his voice gets higher, the glow gets brighter, fading as he dips lower. He sings something about hills and meadows and the breeze, about wing-song, about the sound of flower stems bending in the wind. For a while Nico stands, listening to the melodious ancient Greek, swaying with every pitch and hold. It’s captivating.
Will is almost haunting when he heals.
There’s a divinity in him — in all of them — but he glows when he sings. Not just his hands, and sometimes his head if he puts enough power in his words, but there’s an almost shimmer to the air around him, a shining warp. His skin gets clearer, and his hair goes more metallic, almost, like spun gold rather than blonde. His freckles make his skin into an inverse replica of the night sky, dark specks surrounded by bright empty between them. His long fingers pluck through bright strands of light like a harpist strums their chords; lightly, carefully, skillfully; like a braider weaves their hair. There’s an undeniable age to his magic, a practice that’s visibly replicated millions of times over thousands of years, as if every healer who has come before him links their arms with his, breathes their strength in his lungs. Sometimes, when he does something truly unbelievable, amazingly beyond reason, he flickers — his orange camp shirt fades into a white chiton, or long robes, or a white coat, or a blue tunic. Watching him heal is like watching the sunrise — breathtaking and unique, every time, but powerful in its cyclic archaism.
It takes Nico a long time to realise Will is swaying.
Snapped out of his trance, he begins to notice Will’s long, slow blinks, the unsteady way he stands, the weight he has leaned on the counter. Even his face looks plainly exhausted under the glow, face pillow-creased and eyes bruised, hair mussed, limbs leaden. Footsteps as silent as he can manage, Nico creeps over to the schedule posted by the door, scanning through the scrawled pen ink.
He curses quietly. Will is not supposed to be awake.
There are really only three people who can work the infirmary to its fully capacity, barring Chiron. Kayla, Austin, and Will are the only ones who can magically heal, as much as the volunteers are imperative, so when the camp is in full swing one of them must be stationed at all times. That’s how Will sets it up. A bit of a waste of time, he acknowledges, but Nico knows he has memorized every time a camper who should have been saved. He carries far too much guilt to ever let it happen again, as inconvenient as his rules may be.
Night shift, though, is a need-be basis. If the infirmary is as empty as it is right now, then there truly is no need to keep one of the three of them awake outside their circadian rhythm, staring at nothing. Instead, they take shifts in the on-call room — asleep, but prepared should anything go wrong, should a monster chase a new camper at an odd hour. It’s Will’s turn for on-call. It’s two in the morning. He should be asleep.
And, yet.
Nico recognizes the look in his eyes. There’s a — frailty, to them, a deep-seated, animalistic fear, one he recognises from the hours after his own night terrors. A single-minded panic that cannot be unseated in any logical way, cannot be comforted with any gentle hands.
Nico handles his fear with slashing swords and bruised knuckles. Will, he knows, handles his fear with obsessive, endless preparation.
Knowing full well nothing is going to drag him away from his focus bar actual cardiac arrest, Nico walks right by him. Will doesn’t move. He settles behind him in the old, creaky leather office chair, curling his legs under him and resting his head on the soft arm. He watches Will, watches the almost machine-like movement to his kneading arms, and falls back asleep to his humming.
———
“…Nico?”
He wakes up warm and a little cramped, in the same position he fell asleep. Sun is streaming on from the many issues, blocked from burning his eyes by Will’s hunched frame, facing towards him now, hands and shoulders shaking with equal violence.
“What time is it?”
His voice is croaky and wrecked from hours of singing. Nico is willing to bet his throat is burned as badly as his hands, cooked from non-stop, sun-borne glowing. The divinity that had emanated from him before has abandoned him and he looks young, lost.
“Early,” Nico says softly. He unfolds himself from the chair, stretching slightly — gods, he is going to ache today — and wraps a slow, careful hand around Will’s wrists. “Probably around six, if I have to guess.”
“I don’t remember waking up.”
“That’s okay.”
“I’m tired.”
“That’s okay.”
His breathing is heavy, laboured.
“I don’t —”
Nico squeezes gently. “It’s okay, Will.”
Will swallows and says nothing.
“Come on.”
Carefully, letting Will’s stiff joints set the pace, Nico guides him out of the infirmary. The sun shines brighter as soon as he steps outside, but he doesn’t seem to notice bar a tiny, almost imperceptible flinch at the change in lighting. Nico switches from holding his wrists to laying a hand on the small of his back, half-worried he’s going to fall over.
Luckily, he makes it to the Apollo Cabin upright, although the stairs take them a while. The hinges of the old screen door creak as Nico pushes it open, and he sees both Kayla and Austin, up and dressed, jump.
“…Will?” Kayla asks softly, eyebrows creased in concern. She walks over to him when he doesn’t answer, frozen still, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”
Will leans — almost hesitantly — into the touch. The same blankness from before clouds his eyes, although this time there’s less of the fear.
“Hey.” Nico walks over to stand in front of him, waiting patiently for him to meet his eyes. In the minutes it takes, he hears Austin pad over, standing opposite to Kayla, hands clenching and unclenching like he can’t decide what to do with them. “You think you can sleep?”
Will doesn’t answer verbally, but drifts after a moment to his bed. Nico follows, helping him out of his shoes and shirt. After a beat of hesitation, Austin hurries over, turning down Will’s sheets and helping him crawl in. Soft guitar music begins to play, and when Nico looks over Kayla is fiddling with the CD player, turning the dials carefully. Without much fanfare, Will’s eyes flutter closed, and his breathing slows to something deep and even. His twitching fingers still.
“I don’t think today’s an activity day,” Nico murmurs. “I checked up on him a while after midnight; he’d been at it for hours. He didn’t stop ‘til sunrise.”
Kayla rubs harshly at her eyes. “Fuck.”
“He’ll be okay,” Austin whispers. He runs a gentle knuckle over Will’s forehead, then turns his careful, imploring gaze to Nico. “You kept an eye on him?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
Nico inclines his head. “Had a feeling.”
“I don’t know what to do,” Kayla admits. “He was —” She trails off, staring at something in the left half of the cabin — the empty half. “He was like this after the Titan War, too. I think he spoke maybe two words for the entirety of September.”
Nico almost can’t imagine it. The very thought of it makes something twinge in his chest, clench in his stomach.
“We’ll figure it out.” He nods, to convince himself as much as Kayla and Austin, who look to him with way more trust than he deserves. “We won’t let it — it won’t get that bad. We’ll help, and if we can’t figure it out we’ll get help. It won’t be as hard as last time.”
It won’t be as hard as last time because there won’t be twelve shrouds, Nico doesn’t say, but he doesn’t need to. Both Kayla and Austin nod, looking at their sleeping brother with firm resolution.
“This time, we’ll be there.”
175 notes · View notes
aroaceleovaldez · 3 months
Text
of the problems i have with TSATS, one of the sillier ones is... those star wars opinions are so bad. Will is supposed to be a huge star wars nerd but they're discussing it like they all only have the most cursory knowledge of the franchise. i'm not even into star wars but I cannot accept this.
funniest and more sensible options would be:
Will's favorite character is someone intensely obscure, like Karre or someone like that, and he will psychoanalyze and critique you on whatever your answer is to which Star Wars character you think is hottest. This information is SO important to him.
Kayla's is Kylo Ren because she's basic as hell (she knows this and is fine with it, she thinks it's funny) but also because Will hates that answer SO much and she thrives on tormenting her brother. He keeps begging her to pick literally anyone else.
Austin insists his favorite character is Weird Al Yankovic in his The Saga Begins music video and that it Totally Counts As Canon Trust Me. Will tentatively concedes on that one.
Inspired by him, Kayla's secondary answer is literally anyone from Spaceballs. Will also tentatively concedes on that one, because it is funny.
Nico's should be either Kylo Ren, because he's only slowly learning about the franchise through osmosis and appreciates Kylo's edgy aesthetic (and Kayla is encouraging it cause the answer annoys Will), or specifically Anakin to continue the jokes about Nico having a type.
Bonus points if Will is making him watch the franchise in canonical chronological order because Nico is one of the few people who doesn't know about Darth Vader, so Nico is just genuinely like "Yeah no I love Anakin's vibes he's cool :)" and it is taking ALL of Will's self-restraint to not spoil it for him.
224 notes · View notes
x-bloodrain-x · 3 months
Text
Tumblr media
Don't they all look so smiley like they didn't have to suffer through watching their friends die and have PTSD, anxiety, depression, or dyslexia (Often all 4) I love how Grover's here. He was forgotten about during HOO but he was one of the best characters.
I'm not surprised Nico can't stop playing the Nintendo to smile for a picture. They didn't have those back then. Wonder if Will showed him a Star Wars game on it...
I feel like Reyna should be here too though if Frank and Hazel are there
Credit to artist
280 notes · View notes
loupy-mongoose · 5 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
After giving their emotions a moment to level out, Randy stepped into his vanished daughter’s room. Nothing seemed in disarray, so he knew she hadn’t struggled against a captor.
Then, he spotted it. On the desk in the corner.
A note.
He picked it up and read it aloud, struggling to keep his growing dread at bay.
"Mom and Dad I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it this way. But I wanted to know Nico in full, and I know if I told you what I was planning, you'd either stop me or come with me. Daddy, I know you're afraid of him, and I fear if you knew the past he told me, you would only fear him more. I trust he's not as dangerous as you think he is, but just in case, I'm going alone. I don't want him to hurt any of you if he really IS dangerous. I love you all, and I WILL see you later. Love Lavender."
Both parents went silent as they separately mulled it over. Randy fought to silence each possible outcome as it popped up in his mind. Trying to reach a point of rational thought. Anger and fear ravaged his every fiber.
Akoya spoke up first. How... How do we know where she went? She never told us where Nico lives...
An idea suddenly crossed Randy's mind. He turned, preparing to return to their bedroom, when pain shot through his legs.
Hrrgh!!
The shock sent him stumbling, but before he could fall he felt his weight disappear. He sighed as he was lifted to his feet beside Akoya. Nice catch.
The white-haired woman supported him with her arm. Anytime~ There was a chuckle in her voice despite the circumstances.
More carefully, they headed to their room.
All at once Randy reached for his phone and psychically pulled his cane to him, internally grumbling at his legs' mean trick. He sat on their bed, pulling up his phone's search history.
He knew that Lav had been using it, which was not uncommon. But maybe there was a clue...
...Stars?
She'd looked up star charts?
And maps...
And...
...Fuji?
He tapped on links shown to have been used. He read the articles they led him to.
His next words were spoken quietly. I think I know where she went...
Kanto.
Specifically...
Lavender Town.
Randy selected a shirt out of the closet. Amidst his fears and feelings, he noted that it was a turtleneck. Huh. Guess the cold season is here. He slipped it on.
That, or I'm grasping for some comfort...
He then pulled on a pair of pants, before leaving the privacy of the closet and approaching the Mews chatting on the bed.
At his approach, Akoya turned to face him, concern lighting her eyes.
She watched as he bustled around the room, making heavy use of his cane, looking for little things he might need and gathering them by a duffle bag on the bed.
She floated toward him. Randy...
He didn't look at her. Mhm?
Love... She moved so that she was in front of him. Please, slow down.
She transformed into her human form, but he began to move around her.
I know you're scared for her, but we have to trust that she can handle herself. She's not a helpless child.
He turned to her sharply, startling her. I'm going after her, Akoya. With or without help.
She clenched her fists, pushing back against her own fears to speak her mind. Of course! I don't expect you not to! And I don't expect you to do it alone. But we can't rush into it. We have to know what we're doing. What about the twins? Are we leaving them with Persim? Do we take them? Is Persim coming? Which would mean Rosemary too!
He throws some items into the bag ...Whatever gets us moving fastest. I'm not willing to take the chance that Lav is.
Akoya grabs his hand, losing her internal battle for control. I know! But Randall, the last time you acted rashly, it ended in disaster!
At this, Randy freezes. Akoya flinched. She never meant to use his worst experience against him, but at least she had his attention...
And if I recall... you did the exact same thing to me.
He stood still, shivering from his warring emotions. I-I know... I know... I.. I just... He started sobbing. Every little thing... that could go wrong... I can't get it out of my head... She could run out of energy, or lose control, and drown, o-or get attacked, or e-even if she does make it and meet him, he could be manipulating her!
She hughed him tightly as he melted down in her arms, punctuating his words with sniffles and sobs.
Why else would she go to meet him without telling us...?
He must have convinced her to...
R-right?
...
We can't know that. Not until we find her.
But... Just...
Take a moment to breathe... Okay?
He took a deep breath.
...Okay...
~~~~~~
PREVIOUS NEXT
ARC START | CHRONO
Happy birthday to me, have some distressed Lindens. XD
I apologize that the last portion switched from Randy's POV to Akoya's. Normally I try to avoid doing that, but I felt it flowed well enough this time. X3
359 notes · View notes
apollo-cant-write · 14 days
Text
He would be okay [ao3]
hurt/comfort, angst and fluff, short and sweet, will solace is exhausted but nico is there for him
One thing about Will is that you can always tell when he's about to break down.
It starts small. He'll still tell stupid jokes, smile your way and, of course, work hard in his shifts but you can see exhaustion in his eyes.
Then, you watch as he locks himself away, running from anyone who tries to speak to him. His shifts turn awkward, his meals too.
At one point you'll notice he's not even eating, he's paying less attetion, always looking lost in something else.
And finally you'll notice the frustration.
He'll yell, cry, shake in your arms and what is there to do except accept it? That's what Nico thinks as he holds his boyfriend on a dark winter night. It's past curfew but he doesn't care, Will needs him.
Will lasted a whole week this time, a whole week without bothering others.
It had been a few months since the last war, he should be over all the deaths by now but he could still feel them. As if a bit of him died with each person he couldn't heal.
He sobs.
It's not like he himself got badly injured, everything turned out pretty good. If we don't count the occasional stab thrown at him.
(He ended up with a giant scar near his stomach, but that's a story for another day)
He cries into Nico's shirt and whispers apologies all of which and answered by the grip on his back tightening. He didn't mean for this to happen, he didn't mean to burden someone with his problems.
Especially someone like Nico. Someone who has gone through more than the average person, or even the average demigod, can imagine. Someone who has suffered and persevered, someone so brave and so tough.
Unlike Will, who with each bad thing that happens becomes increasingly more paranoid and panicked
Nico suggested he went to therapy but how would he even explain his fears without sounding downright insane? That's another problem he wasn't about to deal with.
He breaths in and out slowly, feeling his heart rate and body calm down. He doesn't look up, he can feel the too pitiful look on Nico's eyes stare him down. He knows what's he's going to say.
"Please don't..." he lets out and it sounds so desperate it almost makes him tear up again. So pathetic, so embarrassing.
Nico sighs "I understand you're scared but I think it would be for the best."
"For the best? They'll lock me in a rubber room once I say anything" he laughs and wipe away tears that have come down to his cheeks.
"At least you look good in white."
Will laughs and lightly punches Nico's shoulder.
"You're such an asshole," he mutters, though he doesn't actually mean it "literally the worst"
Nico stays quiet for a moment and Will can't tell if he should worry. He still doesn't look back, he wouldn't be the one losing this game. He wouldn't give in to the temptation of Nico's beautiful brown eyes.
They were different than any other eyes Will had ever seen before, and he's seen alot just from being a doctor, some in pretty bad shape.
Nico's are just too precious, gorgeous, almost sparkling and changing colors. Or maybe Will is just imagining it. (Gods, he's so in love)
What Nico says next is almost worse than any fucked up eye he's ever seen.
"I wish I could help you." Nico says and Will can see the words turn into a knife and stab him right in the chest. Piercing his heart. He bleeds out. He dies.
Or he wants to, at the moment, but instead he just frowns and complains.
"You don't have to do anything, I'm not your responsibility. You have other things to worry about like the work your father has been giving you or training the new campers or--"
"You're my boyfriend and I care about you" he interrupts and grabs Will's face, slowly turning it to face him "Alot"
When tears star spilling out his boyfriend's eyes, Nico panics
"Sorry! That was too much- I'll let you- uhm... do your thing"
"It's okay, Nico" Will puts his hand over the one that's gently grabbing his cheek "You're just too sweet"
"You deserve it"
"Hmmm... I don't know about that" Will exhales and closes his eyes which are now burning as an aftermath of the crying.
"Well, I do. You deserve all the sweetness in the world. All the love. All of everything good that exists" Nico presses a few kisses all over his face.
"Gods, I love you"
"I love you too, sunshine, and I'm here for you. You know that right?"
"If I didn't I wouldn't be here"
Nico kisses him, softly, in response and only pulls away to speak again.
"The city in camp jupiter has a few therapists, you could try going there if it's easier" he gets a hold of Will's hand a squeezes it as if trying to reassure him it's safe.
"I'll think about it. Deep down, I know it'd help me"
"Yeah, it's going to be okay"
With someone like Nico, someone who loves so much, cares so much, someone so sickeningly sweet, Will could believe it.
He would be okay.
(Legends say he fell asleep there. In the warmth of the embrace, feeling peace, even if for just a moment.
But who knows?)
57 notes · View notes
zxmbievxmit · 1 month
Text
Okay so because I’m bored and because I just want to talk about my favorite character, here are some Will Solace Headcanons. Some I will elaborate on some I just made up.
- Has the curliest hair (other than Leo)
- Has freckles EVERYWHERE
- Has scars mostly from Tartarus and training
- Sucks at archery (most training scars are from archery)
- Almost always wears flip flops, but on occasion wears sneakers
- The sneakers he does wear are absolutely destroyed / covered in doodles
- Loves dogs especially Golden Retrievers and Australian Shepherds
- Also loves fish and guinea pigs
- Never ever takes off the chain w/ Nico’s ring
- Pretty good at guitar, amazing singing voice
- Has bad ADHD, copes with it by constantly being busy
- Overworks himself a lot
- Gets reenergized from the sun (so do all Apollo kids), sometimes he just sits out in the sun
- Sometimes helps w/ camp plays / musicals
- Listens to Taylor Swift, Conan Gray, Olivia Rodrigo, Mitski?, Laufey, and musicals (not limited to these)
- Terrified of pigeons, but loves other birds. Especially crows, thinks they’re pretty (like Nico)
- Special interests are Star Wars and true crime
- Wear a lot of jewelry, especially earrings. He has a lot of piercings
- Can draw pretty well, especially autonomy but doesn’t draw a lot
- Cries every time he watches Frozen (sibling angst)
- Loves Tangled, loves when people compare him to Rapunzel
- Not picky, will eat anything
- Does kill bugs but Nico refuses to. Saves them every time
- Loves horror movies (especially slasher ones), analyzes the gore and how realistic it is
- Good friends with Leo, Percy, Clarisse, Cecil, Lou Ellen, and Nyssa
- Watches nature documentaries (gets sad when the animals die)
- Was really close to Lee Fletcher and Michael Yew, Michael taught him how to be a medic
- Looks like a surfer boy but sucks at surfing
- Had really blue eyes (blue eyed stare)
- Hair looks golden when the sun hits it
- Has bad nightmares
- All Apollo kids wake up with the sun
- Annotates every book. Has annotated a lot of Nico’s books (Nico loves it)
- Has dyslexia (like most demigods) but loves reading
- Has pretty bad anxiety, but his hands are pretty steady
- Stays calm under pressure most of the time
- Songs that make me think of him: Mirrorball, Summer Child, All American Bitch, Working for the Knife, and From the Start
- Hates hot pink (idk)
- Nico sometimes does his makeup and paints his nails
I have more for other characters (and some more of Will) but that’s all I’m doing rn
61 notes · View notes
chicken-wayng · 17 days
Text
Will Solace loves Grey's Anatomy.
He has time for an episode a night, which he promptly falls asleep during. When he and Nico first started dating, Nico tried calling Will out on it: ["You can't be watching it if you're really asleep." Will knows all the lore, can tell you every inaccuracy, and where the characters could have done better. "You're not really asleep." Will agrees, he doesn't think he's passing out, but a week's worth of recordings and a stolen EKG/ECG machine (thanks Hermes cabin!) proves he is. Every night, as soon as the episode starts his eyes droop, his neck bends back and he starts to snore. "You've seen it before!" Will hasn't, and even swore on the River of Styx. "You've looked it up." Another swear.] Yet no matter what Nico comes up with, the answer still seems as if Will is just somehow doing it through some sort of osmosis.
Regardless, Will runs the Grey's Anatomy fan club which has members from all cabins but primarily Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite, Poseidon (Percy "just watches it for Sally" (yfr) and Tyson started it with her one time when Percy had to run home really quick and they ended up making a making a tradition of it. They're not as hardcore as the others), and Ares. The other cabins have their own fandom-clubs and watch parties, but the Grey's Anatomy group is the biggest. The Poseidon and Ares cabins like to pretend they're not as interested as they are, but they're the most aggressive recruiters. Aphrodite cabin obviously writes the best fanfiction, but their Grey's ff is NEXT LEVEL. Practically novelizations that would make PUBLISHED Doctor Who and Star Wars authors works look like the insult certain folks mean fanfiction as. The Apollo cabin beta reads the medical parts for them and the Athena cabin comes up with more ways for them to access it (audio recordings, dyslexic friendly print, there's a girl from the Athena, a boy from the Apollo and one of the big ff writers from Aphrodite all working on a graphic novel version), and even the Ares cabin and the Hermes kid help - by holding a raid on the store where a lot of things were stolen but primarily paper. It becomes Grey's Madness; the content going around is borderline copyright infringement but no one cares because no one is making money. Chiron even implements a No Spoilers rule because some students are further ahead than him (yes he's older than it is, but he's busy running a camp full of kids that are responsible for stopping world ending events,,, like give him some slack).
Nico, Clarisse, and Mr. D hate Grey's Anatomy.
46 notes · View notes
mischivana · 3 months
Note
Hi, I know that you are new but can you do prompt #2 when Jason Grace say this to the reader to confessed his love. SORRY ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE
I Think I Might Be Falling in Love With You
Jason Grace x Fem!Reader
Masterlist
Authors Note: hiiiii sorry this took so long!!! holidays have been hectic and I haven't had anytime at all to do anything. Semester finals are also next week so any other request will also be delayed until then so please be patient, I'll try to get things written asap!!
Tumblr media
Jason Grace was a confusing person. Despite the fact that I'd known him for years in the legion, sometimes it felt like he was a total stranger. When he came back after his disappearance it was like I was looking at a new person even though he was the exact same before he left.
Currently, I was hunched over a table in the New Rome University library with him sat across from me. We were studying for midterms and he was helping me understand one of my worst subjects: Ancient Greek History.
Yes, we had won a war with them and yes some of our best friends were Greek but that didn't mean I knew their history as well as they did.
"Don't- don't laugh at me!" I said playfully as I watched him chuckle at me. I'd gotten an answer wrong and he laughed at me playfully. "It's not funny Jace! I'm gonna fail my midterm!" I said with another laugh.
"I'm not laughing- I'm not!" He said defensively, throwing up his hands playfully. "It's just-" He started again, tilting his head and looking at me "we've gone over Epictetus so many times now" he said, exaggerating his tiredness.
"can we stop....please?" I said with playfully pleading eyes. we've already been here for three hours and I was exhausted. We had a mini-starring contest before he let out a sigh. "Fine...it's getting pretty late anyway so-" he said, I looked out the windows and it was already dark.
"wanna stop to get food before heading back?" he said as he watched me put my stuff away. He threw his own bag over his right shoulder and got up. "Sure...there's that new Chinese place down the street from yours and Percy's apartment?" I suggested zipping up my own bag.
"Nah, I'm not in the mood for Chinese . Plus, it's Percy and Annabeth's weekly movie night so I can't go back for another 2 hours at least" He said as he checked the time on his phone. I was about to put my bag on my shoulder when he reached to grab it instead.
"Here, let me" he said grabbing my bag by its top handle in his left hand. "No- Jason you don't have to I can carry my own bag" I said as we started to walk slowly. "No, I don't mind. It's not like I can't handle it" he said as we continued to walk towards the front of the library.
He wasn't wrong about what he said. He was New Romes most trained soldier and was built like Michelangelo sculpted him out of marble. We started to walk on the side-walk towards me and Annabeth's apartment.
"what about that pizza shop next to your apartment building?" He said as we walked down the stairs. "We go there all the time Jason" I said playfully. "Yeah that's because they make really freaking good pizza" he replied without missing a beat.
"fine." I said dramatically with a laugh. We continued to walk to the pizza place on the corner next to the apartment building, talking miscellaneously until we reached the place. We ordered and sat down at a small two seater next to the widow and waited.
"I still don't understand, why was Nico upset when Will forced him into the infirmary?" he asked me confused. "Because Nico still doesn't understand that sleep is a basic human need" I said with a giggle. "right..." he said, confusion still in his voice. I just laughed again.
He looked at me with a certain look. One that I don't think he knew he was making. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. Jason's emotions were hard to decode. He was a very hard person to read. He also had a hard time expressing his emotions. Like I said, he's a confusing person.
"I think I might falling in love with you"
I froze when he said that. it was so sudden. I wasn't expecting it. It threw me for a loop. I looked at him keeping my smile but with a slightly more confused look. "...what...?" I said gently.
He looked at me with a simple but puzzled look, almost of longing. "I...I'm not very...good at...this" he said quietly looking at me with the same expression. "I...I don't know if Im doing this right or if this is even what I'm feeling but...yeah... I think I might be falling in love with you" he said with an expression of longing.
"it's just that, whenever I'm with you...I feel complete" he started speaking again. "your smile always makes me happy and your laugh somehow makes me the happiest I've ever been" he continued. I smiled at him wider.
I looked in his eyes with the same expression. "I think...I think I might feel the same way" I said gently as I laid my hand over his on the table. He smiled at me and I smiled at him. We sat in a comfortable silence, just enjoying each others presence until the pizza came. We started to eat and continued to talk miscellaneously, smiling abut what juts happened.
By the time we got back to the apartment Percy had texted Jason letting him know that Annabeth had fallen asleep and would be staying over. We stopped in front of the apartment door and smiled at each other.
"well uhm...I'll meet you at the library to study tomorrow? Same time?" I said cheerfully, looking up at him. "uh..yeah!... yeah that sounds- that sounds good" He said with the same tone, his cheeky smile warming my heart as always.
We stood in silence for a moment longer before I carefully approached him. I stood on my tiptoes and gently kissed his cheek. I pulled away and smiled while grabbing my bag from him and unlocking my door "goodnight, Jason..." I paused as I opened the door.
I looked at him again, he had blush across his face and a small grin. "Y'know...we could have our own movie night? Cause Annie is sleeping over at your place with Percy..." I said quietly, looking at him with a small smile, a gentle blush across my face.
He looked at me with the same loving expression. "yeah...yeah I'd like that" he said gently. He walked up to me in the doorway and we looked at each other lovingly. we both knew what we were thinking but we didn't have to say it.
he gently leaned down and kissed me, I kissed back and held his hands at his sides. Yeah...I think we might have fallen in love with each other.
Tumblr media
Hiiiiii, again Im so sorry this took SO long to get out. I hope you like it!
84 notes · View notes
felixia-duck · 1 year
Text
Nico accepted to watch Star Wars with Will just because his boyfriend is a cute nerd
Tumblr media Tumblr media
314 notes · View notes
blorbocedes · 9 months
Note
prompt: lewis' film debuting at cannes, nico only an hour away
Lewis' film is premiering at Cannes. Nico takes his daughters to go.
It's apparently in collaboration with Liberty Media, lots of big Hollywood A-listers attached as producers, and actual F1 tracks and cars in use. The story is loosely based on Lewis' life, the titular Black kid from a small town in England becoming the Greatest Of All Time. So not too loosely, the main character is named Louis Harrison after all.
It's the kind of feel-good inspirational movie that Nico thinks is important for his girls to watch. The promotion for the film went all out, inviting all F1 stars. Nico himself has been vaguely aware of this film, his social media guy told him his mentions and engagement was way up ever since the main cast included a German blonde, with some speculating it would focus on the "silver war." He clarified to the German tabloids he had absolutely nothing to do with the making of the film after they spread rumours about it being a collaboration.
His daughters, like their father, love to dress up and they walk the red carpet hand in hand in their matching floral dresses, and Nico in his organic, tailored velvet green suit; pausing for the photos.
Their seats aren't too awful, very middle of the pack. A few rows ahead Nico can recognize Lewis from the distinctive shape of his braids, and glittery jacket; talking to someone Nico assumes is the director. Nico never quite had that Hollywood fever, but it seems Lewis is enjoying his retirement.
As the theatre goes dark, his daughter appropriately chastises him for having his phone out, texting Vivian a thumbs up on when she wants the girls home before pocketing it. It starts off with Young Lewis -- or Louis -- watching Senna race, a voiceover about dreams and becoming the best. The younger actor is appropriately charming, doesn't have Lewis' gap tooth but has a mean scowl when people underestimate him. It reminds him a lot of the real Lewis. The usual diatribe about the humble beginnings, the actor playing Anthony being Louis' one man pit crew taking him to races within England, an incredible wholesome father-son racing representation, one Nico was lucky to experience in his own life.
Moving on to karting years, Louis as the only black kid getting certain looks from the rest of the boys, lily-white and jealous. One even shoves him while walking past, making a pointed racially charged comment. There is a time when Nico would've assumed this is exaggerated for dramatic purposes, that his experience on the paddock, even being around Lewis as tightknit as they were, was never that bad. But he knows better now, that there's some things he will simply never experience or flew over his head at that age, and makes a mental note to bring it up with his girls and make it a teachable moment later.
And then, a young blonde boy with the thickest German accent congratulates Louis on winning the race, and Louis' eyes go wide. "You're Julian Richter. Your family is racing legend, man."
Julian. Nico snorts. He supposed it's better than Erik or Klaus as far as stereotype go. He tries not to read too much into it, as Julian and Louis become best friends -- skateboarding on the tracks, instead of unicycling, probably to seem cooler or relating to the kids, -- and karting teammates. Something wistful in Nico aches when the scene is on a beach in Spain, and the characters in the face of their uncertain futures promise they're going to become F1 World Champions together.
The story focuses on Louis' unlikely odds, a chance meeting with an F1 team principal, nothing but a handshake promise and then the road to F1, to win on his rookie year.
And then Julian enters Formula 1. And then Julian signs with Redbull. And then Julian wins consecutive championships, in the backdrop of which his and Louis' friendship crumbles in jealousy and competitiveness, and Nico feels sick to his stomach because Julian Richter is Sebastian Vettel, and the racing legend family he comes from -- the Richters -- are the fucking Schumachers.
The regulations change, Louis starts winning, he has a famous actress of a girlfriend, there's a love story angle. It isn't until Louis wins his 4th title that Julian comes over to congratulate him, both equals again -- remember what we promised on that beach in Spain? and their friendship rekindles. If the timeline Nico's keeping track of adds up, that makes it 2016. His daughter excitedly squeezes his hand when the two characters embrace on screen, making up.
The third act conflict sets the stage for Abu Dhabi 2021, naturally. But before that, it does show Louis becoming complacent with winning, arrogant and cocky as his celebrity profile increased, a rocky relationship. And then, the Niki Lauda wise mentor older character who was there for Louis all this time passes, and it tugs at the heartstrings -- is also Louis' wake up call to change. His girlfriend ends things with him. The young Belgian villain has fully set the stage.
There's a lot of emphasis how winning this final race will match Harrison to Richter's record, the legacy of it all. And then, the controversial safety car decision. Louis Harrison has the championship slip out of his fingers. The crowd gasps, the FIA are not painted charitably, stubbornly sticking to the decision out of 'decorum' after the Mercedes team argues for it to be reversed. Someone definitely boos from the back.
One thing Nico can admit is the racing scenes are quite fun and realistic, even if Toto doesn't break headphones quite as often and once a car was in 5th gear instead of 3rd.
The Julian Richter character shows up after the race to tell Louis he's retiring to go plant trees, and that Louis needs to "win it back and match my dad's legacy, it's what he would've wanted." Nico wishes he knew where Sebastian was so they could lock eyes in this moment at this Frankenstein caricature of them, that exists only to support Louis.
'Loosely based' is correct, because this shows the next season after a lot of sulking and Louis not believing in himself, the Mercedes is immediately competitive instead of whatever the W-13 was. It's a repeat of the 2021 season, which is a repeat of the 2016 season when Julian and Louis were bitter rivals. Louis is also more outspoken now, and shows how he's changed. It all comes down to the final race. The film narrates the speech from the beginning, of believing in yourself, there's a montage of Louis ever since he was a kid falling and getting back up with dramatic music swelling, and then a shot of him slapping down his visor. Lights out and away we go.
Louis Harrison wins the race.
They got Crofty to do a voiceover line for 'This year while off the track Louis Harrison has found his voice, and on it, once again he’s found his groove, and now he finds himself alongside Richter, as top in the record books, the world championship record is equaled,' His girlfriend jumps into his arms in parc ferme. Somewhere, Julian is planting a tree and smiling at the small radio. It's hugs and kisses all around the team, champagnes bursting.
The actual crowd erupts in cheers of emotional catharsis, and it cuts to a future scene of the real Lewis Hamilton in an interview setting, being asked about how he feels about his journey in F1 and if he ever thought he would make it -- if he believed in himself, winks at the camera.
The screen goes black. A Kendrick Lamar song plays as the credits roll.
There is a minutes long standing ovation, which Nico stands and encourages his daughters to clap along, with an inscrutable feeling in his chest. It was a good movie, very awards season bait, the director and lead actors are on stage giving a speech about how much it means to be able to inspire young people with Hamilton's real life story. Nico walks down the steps with others almost on autopilot.
He hadn't realized it, he didn't know he'd been holding out some tiny shred of hope that they would watch this film and through sheer nostalgia of shared memories, he and Lewis would have something to talk about again. He didn't realise how much weight he'd held to those childhood memories until he saw it be attributed to Sebastian Vettel of all people, who was too young to kart with them. It's a piece of fiction, that Nico has no right to harbour resentment towards, he tells himself.
Nico stops for a second, and is in direct eyeline of Lewis in his glittery jacket who is conducting an interview. He feels frozen when they lock eyes.
"People are saying the true heart of the film is Julian and Louis' friendship. How closely does it mirror real life from the actual F1 scene? Like the whole best friends as kids. Would you say you guys are still close friends now, and will the driver it's based on be attending the screenings like a few other F1 drivers have?"
"Yeah definitely, man, as fans have already figured out that friendship is loosely based on my friendship with Seb -- Sebastian Vettel. And yeah, it's -- you've been racing these guys since you're in karting, you feel like you've known them your whole life. [...] No, I don't think Seb's attending, this isn't really his scene."
Lewis meets Nico's eyes for a split second, before turning back to the camera. Nico carefully plucks the emotion he's feeling for something to be discussed with a licensed professional. To be quite honest, he didn't know Lewis could still make him feel like this.
His daughter tugs at his suit jacket sleeve, and Nico guides them towards the vegan ice cream and gelato stalls. There's a PG rated animated film screening at 4.
125 notes · View notes
riordanshitposts · 1 year
Text
New HC that instead of asking him, Will has resorted to tricking Nico in the most bizarre ways into watching Star wars with him.
214 notes · View notes
mediumgayitalian · 2 months
Text
The message comes from the constantly-running humidifier in the darkest corner of his cabin.
(It’s an eyesore. That’s why it’s there. It’s a bright, shiny pink, decorated with painted yellow suns and silver stars and random other doodles. At the bottom, there’s a messily painted signature next to a black heart. Will presented it to him proudly one random day, beaming that stupidly wide grin of his: “I made it in Arts and Crafts! It’ll help with your lungs, swearsies.”)
(It works wonders. When he breathes and feels like the air won’t settle in his chest, he stands close to it and clears up. When he’s hacking up a lung and smelling the phantom scent of acrid, monster air and the bronze staleness of his own recycled breath, it clears his throat. When he wakes up hyperventilating, eyes wide and unseeing, the soft bubbling of the steaming water and rhythmic pulsing of the glowing light gives him something to focus on.)
(If anyone asks, Nico threw it out the day he got it.)
He startles when his name is called, dropping the breastplate he was polishing with a clang. The sound makes him wince, and the Iris message flicker.
“This a good time, kiddo?”
Nico’s tongue feels like lead. Sally Jackson watches him carefully from the projection, small smile on her face, greying hair curling around her temples. Her brown eyes remind him of Bianca and how she would sometimes look at him, when he was fidgety and overwhelmed. Patient. It doesn’t help with the ache slowly spreading from his chest.
“Hi, Mrs. Jackson,” he manages, finally. His voice is more of a croak than anything.
Her smile widens, even as her face turns chastising.
“Sally, Nico.”
“…Mrs. Sally.”
She laughs, although Nico hadn’t meant it as a joke. Her laughter is twinkling and calming, like the rustling of leaves in a summer breeze. Nico’s shoulders relax without him realising, and a smile twitches at the corner of his mouth.
“I’ll take what I can get, I suppose. How’ve you been? I haven’t seen you in too long.”
Nico winces. The last time he’d seen her was an Iris message similar to this, only her eyes had been red-rimmed, and she hadn’t been smiling. Nico had pushed past the lump in his throat to report that he hadn’t heard anything about her missing son, either, although he’d promised he was looking, and then a few weeks later he felt like the worst person ever when Percy showed up in the Little Tiber and he said nothing. He’d clenched a drachma in his hands for hours after, guilt eating him alive.
Sally looks fine, now. He fights the urge to apologise — it would only upset her. His guilt is something he simply gets to live with.
“I’ve been okay,” he says finally. She hums. “Uh, busy.”
“Saving the world again, I hear,” she replies, grin turning wry. “Carrying a forty-foot statue across the world.”
Nico flushes. He wonders who told her, Percy or Annabeth. Or both, or maybe someone else, even. He knows the Jacksons’ place is something of a refuge, in this day and age. He’s not sure how he feels about other people talking about him like he’s a hero or something. He had a job to do, and he barely managed still.
“That was Reyna’s quest.”
Sally hums again. Her eyes never leave him, piercing and soft as they are.
“Happy Birthday, Nico.”
For the second time in ten minutes, he jumps out of his skin. It’s been a while since he’s heard those words — he forgot that Sally is one of the few people who knows his birthday, that he told her, two years ago, when he’d crawled through Percy’s window when he was sure the boy was at school because he was bleeding and half-delirious and didn’t know where else to go, so soon after the Titan War. So soon after ditching camp, skin crawling at the stares of the other demigods, knowing how strange he was to them. Sally hadn’t asked questions. She’d cleaned the empousa scratch and wrestled him into staying for lunch, soft voice and kind, calloused hand prying answers out of him he hadn’t expected to give.
(She was aghast when she found out he was walking the streets on his own birthday, celebrations not even crossing his mind. Even more so when she noticed his cold-chapped hands and thin, ripped jeans. “Thirteen, you know, is a big deal,” she’d said, and when he’d insisted on leaving before Percy got home she sent him out with snacks and a pair of gloves.)
He clears his throat. “Thanks.”
“How’d you celebrate, today?” Her grin is wide and creases her forehead, eyes nearly shut. Her smile is identical to her son’s, only with less of the trouble attached. “First year at camp as a full timer! Annabeth has told me that Chiron usually brings you all to the city to celebrate, it must have been fun.”
Nico avoids her gaze, shrugging. He picks at a loose thread in the hem of his shirt.
“I didn’t — um, we didn’t do that.”
He can practically feel the face she makes, eyebrows furrowed and mouth downturned.
“…Something else, then? How did you spend your day?”
Nico shrugs. “Stayed in the infirmary.”
He looks up just in time to see her face crease in alarm.
“You’re hurt?”
“Oh, no, I’m — I’m not —” He stumbles over his words, rushing to assure her. “I’m not hurt. I was just cutting bandages, helping out. My friend —” his face glows, he knows it does, he pretends it doesn’t — “my friend says I have a magic touch. He’s full of it, because he actually does have a magic touch and does not need my help organizing nectar bottles, but. He’s stubborn. And annoying. And too lazy to organize it himself, probably.”
Sally’s grinning again. This time, the expression has just as much mischief as her son’s does, and despite himself Nico flushes darker.
“Sounds like your friend just wants your company.”
“Or something.”
“Or something.”
She watches him for a moment longer. Nico fidgets. He wonders what he’s supposed to say, if there’s an etiquette to talking to ex-crushes’ mothers who kind of mother you a little bit, too. Then he wonders who the hell he’s supposed to ask about that.
“Why didn’t you tell your friends about your birthday?”
It’s an odd thing for Nico to hear. ‘Your friends’. He has those now, he supposes. Will, and Nico, and Lou Ellen. Kayla. Austin. Cecil. Percy and Annabeth, even, and of course Hazel and Reyna and Jason. Maybe even Piper and Leo and Hedge. Mellie, too, ruffles his hair when she breezes by him, and Grover grins and waves when he catches his eye. Tyson beams at him when he visits camp. Sometimes Rachel picks the lock of his cabin for no reason and sighs dramatically in a corner until Nico snaps at her, then she grins and drags him off to do something stupid. If Nico thinks about it, about the list of people who insert themselves in his life, now, his head starts to hurt. When did he become so social?
Nico shrugs. “They’re gonna — make a big deal out of it. Will’ll probably try to — sing to me, or something.” He snorts just thinking about it. “He’ll break my ear drums. He’s a horrible singer.”
“I see.”
“Or, worse, he’ll write a poem or something. And it will be bad. The worst part about it, actually, is that he’s really quite good at poetry, but he thinks it’s funnier to write bad poetry, so he does and he recites it all the time and drives everybody crazy. One time I read a good one he wrote and he got all embarrassed because he is a walking indovinello, that’s what he is, let me tell you —”
“Hm.”
“— and Cecil, gods, don’t even get me started, Cecil would do something stupid like — like — steal me a car, or something. Even though I’m not even old enough to drive! And Lou Ellen would probably help him. And who even knows what ridiculous thing Kayla and Austin would plan, and, Zeus’ beard, I know Jason would start crying about something —”
“Nico,” Sally interrupts, gently, grinning, “it sounds like your friends would be very happy to celebrate with you.”
“They would be — overbearing,” he huffs. “Well — not Reyna. Or Hazel. Maybe a little Hazel, but mostly not.”
“Have you told them?”
“…No.”
“Why not?”
“It just seems — off, I guess,” he admits softly. “I didn’t have to tell Bianca about my birthday. She knew. She —”
His voice breaks, and he looks down, embarrassed. He swipes the tear from his eye and hopes Sally doesn’t see, even though he knows she does. Sometimes he feels like the record his mother has that was so thin and played-out that it skipped on every track and always made the needle get stuck. She was too attached to throw it away and get a new one. Nico is that track, he thinks, worn out and bumpy and always making the needle stick, always coming back to the same thing. He used to complain every time his mother brought it out. He wonders how many people must roll their eyes at his own skipping, repeating track.
“Maybe you don’t tell them, then,” Sally says, hushed. Nico finally gathers the courage to look back up at her, and she doesn’t look annoyed at all — kind, only, and determined. “You mentioned your friend in the infirmary. Do they still have patient files?”
He tilts his head, confused. “Yes? I think so.”
“Do you have one?”
Nico grimaces, remembering his first stay in the infirmary where Will left forms out for him to fill and Nico balled them up and chucked them at him. Will had chucked them back on reflex before remembering Nico was his patient, blurting out a red-faced “Sorry! Gods, I’m so sorry!” that had Nico laughing until he cried, as Will cussed him out, practically glowing a bright tomato-red. They never did get back around to filling those out, despite the numerous times Nico has landed himself back under Will’s dorky stethoscope. The medic must be stuffing the injury reports in a random file somewhere.
“I. Will definitely get one.”
“Put your information in,” Sally suggests. “Percy’s told me about the head medic in passing — Will, I think? He mentioned he’s quite thorough, I imagine he checks the files regularly.”
Nico nods. He does. They get messy and cluttered fast, what with the sheer number of maimings and stabbings et cetera, so once a month Will sits on the floor in the middle of the room and organizes everything in some inane system that only makes sense to him. If Nico fills out a form and stuffs it in his file, Will will definitely notice.
“That’s — doable.”
Sally smiles. It’s kind of radiant and hard to look at, and Nico feels himself smiling back on reflex, if a little shyer.
“Good! Oh, Nico, I’m so glad. I’ve worried about you, kiddo. I’m sure Percy’s tired of me asking.”
Nico whips his head back up to stare at her, jaw dropping.
“You…ask about me?”
“Of course.” She raises an eyebrow. “I’d have to do it less if you visited more than once or twice a year.“
Nico opens his mouth, then closes it again. He doesn’t quite know how to say that he had no idea that he was welcome — that she wanted his visits, rather than dreaded them.
“I made cake,” she says casually, like she can sense his turmoil. “Blue, of course. The best kind.”
Nico snorts. She winks at him.
“I’d hoped I would see you today. But cake lasts, you know. It will still be good tomorrow, if you don’t have any other plans.”
He imagines asking Argus to drive him into town — Will has still banned him from shadow travel, although he has begrudgingly allowed other “less draining” magic, not that Nico has to listen to him or anything — and pulling up to the apartment in Manhattan. Climbing up the rickety fire escape; or, this time, knocking on the door. He imagines Sally’s wide smile, maybe even Paul Blofis’ charming grin, her kiss on both cheeks and strong hand guiding him into the warm kitchen.
He swallows roughly. “I’d like that.”
“Good. Consider it done,” she says lightly. “Come over when you have time, I’ll be home all day. I look forward to seeing you, Nico.”
Nico smiles at her. Some of the ever-present ache in his chest lessens. “Me, too.”
“Happy birthday, sweetheart.”
“Thank you.”
He swipes through the message, dissolving the connection. The billowing steam from the humidifier returns to its usual soft plumes, and Nico stands there for a few moments, breathing deeply, imagining it settling in his lungs, clearing out the lingering smoke he imagines has taken home in them. He breathes in, breathes out, and walks, trance-like, to his dresser, tugging on his PJs and feeling like he’s floating.
He falls asleep with a smile on his face, dreaming of sweet blue cake and sweeter laughter ringing through a small kitchen.
73 notes · View notes