WHO: Nico di Angelo and Will Solace WHEN: December 27, 2019 after Will’s arrival WHERE: the bureau and then Nico’s car on the road SUMMARY: Will arrives in Tumbleweed and awkward angst ensues as Nico catches him up on what’s been going on over the years. WARNINGS: teenage sads
Nico really wished that his stomach would stop doing the whole flip-flop-butterflies-sinking acrobatics it’d taken up for the car ride to the Bureau. It had no right to do that. This was just picking up a fellow camper. Who he had memories of dating. Memories that were years old now. He groaned as he slumped forward and bumped his forehead lightly against the steering wheel of the car. Yeah, sure, that was a totally normal thing that happened every day. While other people from his world had come and gone, this wasn’t quite the same. He either wasn’t as close to the others or, well, with how the demigod life was, missing out on a few years of people’s lives wasn’t that too strange a thing. They could go months without seeing each other. Sure it was weird that one of you aged and the other didn’t, but it didn’t cause this reaction. The best he could compare it to was the times that Bianca had passed through. Having that gap in timelines that was far too obvious due to growth spurts and puberty and would need an explanation.
He blew out a heavy, steadying sigh before sitting back up. He could do this. He’d done it with Bianca twice and that had to be harder, right? Getting out of the black SUV, he pocketed the keys in his aviator jacket before striding to the Bureau. Once he caught sight of the all too familiar blond, his attempt at cool and collected started to crumble a bit as he shoved his hands in his pockets and a smile threatening to shine through. “Hey.”
--
Will had no idea where he was. Well, that wasn’t true. He had been told where he was and as he waited outside, the familiarity of Texas was hard to ignore. It made the idea of being someplace that wasn’t actually Earth hard for him to grasp. He was tempted to try to send an Iris message to someone back home or to his mom - he had a few drachma in his pocket - but then the car pulled up. Will was told Nico was coming to pick him up, but honestly he had expected the boy to shadow travel to him. That he arrived so… normally, was a shock. Even more of a shock was seeing Nico as he got out. He was taller now and somehow even more attractive and Will felt the familiar warmth in his chest he always got when he saw Nico. Somehow Nico had changed, though Will couldn’t say how. Strange was normal for a demigod, so he told himself it was probably some meddling of some god.
He smiled as Nico got closer and took a step toward him. “Hey.” His eyes visibly swept over Nico this time and Will’s smile warmed. “You look good.” Somehow knowing something was different had made Will pause, but the more he stood there, the more he realized this was Nico no matter what. He moved to close the distance and to give Nico a hug.
--
His cheeks apparently decided to join his traitorous stomach considering Nico could feel the warmth flushing across them at the once-over and compliment. To offset the blush, he rolled his eyes and shrugged off the words. “Amazing what three balanced meals a day does.” He’d gotten slightly better at taking compliments over the years, even if he still couldn’t quite see it and still maintained that the opinions were completely biased.
It was also a testament to how much he’d grown emotionally that instead of at best staying put and at worst flinching back, he stepped into the offered hug. Yeah, this was going to get complicated and awkward, made more obvious because they didn’t quite fit together the same as he remembered, but in the moment, a hug felt right. It’d been years and Will was his friend along with everything else and with the sheer amount of people from their world coming and going, that felt like a pretty great Christmas gift without even bringing Santa into the mix. So maybe the hug was a bit tighter than it needed to be, but who could blame him.
“Before anything else, we need to talk,” he mumbled against Will’s shoulder, which, ok, probably not the best opener, but how did you even open up a can of worms conversation well. “But, gods, it’s good to have you here, Will.”
--
He wanted to kiss him and he had just been about to when Nico mumbled about needing to talk. While Will had never had a boyfriend before Nico, he knew enough from pop culture to know that the sentence could mean trouble. It also could mean something else like ‘Chiron is here and he’s really angry with you so brace yourself’. Somehow Will didn’t think he was so lucky. Still, he was reluctant to leave Nico’s warmth. He had been asked once by someone in the Aphrodite cabin if Nico was cold to be around. Will never thought he was.
He pulled back just a little to look at Nico and moved to brush some of the other boy’s hair out of his face - a familiar move he had done so many times back home. Will smiled. “If I have to be in some apparent other world suddenly, I’m glad I’m here with you.” Though he wondered why he was brought here. He understood Nico - he was one of the big three’s kid. Will wasn’t very important in the scheme of gods and their prophecies and he was okay with that.
“Did you want to sit down here and talk?” He hadn’t stepped away just yes, still close to Nico with one arm around the boy’s waist. Like Nico, Will was aware that they fit differently now together. Will would be okay with learning how they fit over again now, should they need to. “Or do you want to talk in your car?”
--
Ok, yeah, this might be harder than Nico anticipated. Not because of his own feelings, but more because he knew this was going to suck. Yeah, they’d bicker, but it was always good natured. He didn’t actually want to hurt Will and… well, he had enough experience to know there was no way for it not to hurt. So he had to hold his tongue on retorting with a ‘you might not be that glad’ and instead went with: “Ah yes, my charming personality that just cheers up the worlds.”
He took a look around. There were merits to being out in the open air, but the whole conversation would probably be better with less chance of eavesdroppers and, well, if sulking needed to happen in the car, it’d be easier if they were already in the car. Breathing out a sigh, he gave Will’s shoulder a squeeze before he nodded his head towards the car. “Car. Bit more private.”
--
Maybe he could have followed Nico faster, but there were certain attributes of Nico’s that Will had always enjoyed and the view from behind. He paused for just a moment and then followed Nico to a car that was vaguely familiar. “It’s kind of weird to see you driving a car and not something else.” Something more ‘Greek’ he meant. Sure, some of the other demigods drove, like Percy, but at camp they were all about chariots and pegasi.
Will slipped into the passenger seat. He had no idea how long this trip was going to take or what they were going to talk about, though Nico had said privacy was important. Wil was trying to decide if privacy was important because of something serious or just because it was Nico being Nico. He clicked the seatbelt in place and glanced to the other boy. There were things about him that had changed - Will could tell that from just the small interactions they had. They weren’t bad changes, but he wondered if Nico would need prompting for this conversation like he might back home, or if he didn’t.
He tilted his head and smiled warmly. “What is it that you want to talk about?” Old habits died hard.
--
“It’s weird to be driving, but Jules-Albert isn’t available, so…” Nico shrugged. He really could have gone on more with that. It was a good tangent topic. Much better than just ripping off the bandaid. But ok. Will deserved better than that. Especially when he was doing that good listener and friend thing. Which earned Will an aggravated pout.
“That’s not fair,” he muttered before he paused a moment, fidgeting with the keys and keyring to the car. “Ok, uh, first off, what’s the last thing you remember?” He had a pretty good guess considering their interactions, but it was always better to know for sure considering… “People can get pulled from all different points in our timeline.”
--
The question caught Will a little off guard and he paused to think. He glanced out the front window for a moment, watching the familiar and yet unfamiliar scenery go by. “Well… Apollo is human, for one. There was a battle at camp with a big statue. We won. Leo came back with Festus. Then my dad went off with Leo, Calypso, and a new demigod named Meg.” There were small things in between, but Will was pretty sure Nico was looking for the big things. Like he probably didn’t want to hear about them and the three-legged death race or how he got jealous of Paola.
“So… what about you? Do you remember the same or something different?”
--
Nico nodded along, each thing matching up with the memories he’d gotten during that overnight memory dump. Nice again to have other people confirming that the memories were in fact real, but more of a relief was that there wasn’t more. That was as much of a threat as someone being farther in the past, especially considering Leo’s recent update. Which… was a whole other talk there…
His nod slowed at the question as he took a deep breath that lifted his entire torso. “The same memories, but…” He pressed his lips together. “When we’re here, there’s the possibility that we get memory upgrades when we sleep. Sort of like how we see things in dreams back home, but uncontrollable and more intense depending on the amount of time you’re getting.” He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel restlessly. “When I first got here, I only remembered to fighting in the House of Hades. Then to after everything with the Romans at Camp Halfblood. Then-” He nodded his head towards Will. “-to that. But, uh… I got those memories… years ago…”
--
Will listened intently, nodding a few times throughout. He remembered all of the things Nico was listing, though it was hard to wrap his head around the idea that Nico learned or experienced some of it through dreams, especially since some of it was pretty intense. Still, he didn’t doubt Nico’s words.
When he came to the end with the words ‘years ago’, Will’s brow furrowed in confused thought. Had he heard Nico right? Yes, he was pretty sure. His eyes remained trained on the boy driving the car. “Years?” He was obviously still processing. He remembered Nico saying people were brought from all different timelines. He might not have the same sort of ability as Octavian had to see the future, but Will felt something squeeze his chest. It felt like foreboding. He took a breath. “... how many years have you been here, Nico?”
--
“In this particular world?” Nico glanced over to give Will an apologetic look. “Over three and a half years. When we ended up here was around when I got those memories of everything going on with your father.” Which was just part of it the time difference. “Before here, I was in another world for a little over a year. And… um…”
His lips pressed together tightly. He still felt he wasn’t good at talking. Or well, talking about this sort of thing. There was a part of him that just wanted to stall and plop Will down in front of Anakin at the camp and just let whatever happened happen, but that wouldn’t be fair to either boy. And probably counted as being a horrible friend and boyfriend. But the year difference was enough to take him as it was, so that should get breathing room, right? Plunging ahead felt like too much baggage at once, but also that was the demigod life, wasn’t it? Just getting far too much information dumped on you with a bunch of crypticness thrown into the mix. Just ugh.
So, he just left it with: “... yeah…”
--
Will might not be the son of Athena, but he could do math. Almost five years was what Nico just described. He tried to wrap his head around that. For Will, Nico had been right there. He vaguely remembered someone at the Bureau telling him something about time works differently, but by then it had been hard to listen to any more information. Still, Nico looked different. He did look older, now that Will had the context to put it in. The boy’s lip formed a thin, thoughtful line and went quiet for a moment as he looked at the hands in his lap. His hands had held bandage and treat a lot of kids over the years. Somehow, he didn’t think his hands could help fix something that was creeping up inside of him.
He tightened his hands into fists and then flexed them, watching his hands for another silent moment or two. “Tell me you haven’t been alone all this time.” He look up after saying it, looking to Nico with the same concern that his voice held.
--
Nico just blinked at Will’s words when he finally spoke. They were both completely not what he expected and unsurprising at the same time. Because this was Will, wasn’t it? The son of Apollo was just told that he’d been ‘gone’ for five years and of course his first go-to was of whether he’d been alone. His heart warmed at the concern considering everything they’d been through and just memories of making sure he felt welcome within the Apollo cabin family and at camp. He also couldn’t help the pang about how well Will managed to give an opening for what he really needed to tell Will about.
“I haven’t,” he reassured, voice soft and low. “Reyna was with me for a few years at the start. Other people from both camps have come and gone from here, including your father. Like actually your father, not your father as Lester. Plus there’s others who have come through from different worlds, so we have a bit of a community. And, um…” His cheeks went red again as he snuck a glance at Will before focusing intently on the road. “... I… I met someone… in that first world… and he’s managed to stick around all this time…”
--
That he hadn’t been alone was a good thing. Will didn’t know Reyna a lot, but he had heard stories of her and he knew she had helped stop the civil war. He was trying to think of how different people from back home would react to this place when Nico blushed and got Wil’s attention. He knew that look. He didn’t realize it, but Will had stopped breathing for a moment.
Somehow, he wasn’t surprised by what Nico said and yet, still was at the same time. He’s managed to stick around all this time meant that this boyfriend of Nico’s had been with him for a very long time. It put their short time together to shame. His realization of what it truly meant set in a moment later. His eyes widened just a little before he tempered himself, aware of how his reaction might hurt Nico, and looked forward out the window.
Will’s mind should have been swirling, but it was actually blank. He managed to exhale quietly as he watched the scenery move passed them while Nico drove. He opened his mouth, conscientious of how silence might affect the other boy he had feelings for, but nothing came out just yet.
His eyes fell to his hands again. This time they curled against the fabric of his jeans. It would be a lie to say that Will wasn’t hurt by the revelation, but he wouldn’t have expected Nico to spend almost five years without someone just because of him. He breathed deeply, his chest rising and falling more prominent that it had before as he got himself under control. Time passed in silence until Will was able to speak without his voice betraying him too much.
“... And you’re happy?” There was a subtle hint of sadness in his voice, but it was clear he was trying to hide it. Will couldn’t quite bring himself to look up just yet.
--
Nico tried not to let the silence make him twitchy. He knew it was a lot to take in. He knew how he would react. He knew how he had reacted. Even if Will wasn’t nearly as dramatic, there were still emotions to sort and deal with or, well, bury. Boy, was burying emotions a favorite go to that ended up in a lot of trouble. But he should wait. Keep quiet for a bit until Will was ‘ready’. And when the silence was broken, well, again with Will being Will.
He puffed out a wry chuckle as he shook his head. “I want to say no, even if it isn’t true, I want to because-” His fingers spread up even as his palms stayed on the wheel. “It sucks. I know how much it sucks and I’m sorry that I’m putting you through this.” Another shake of his head. “And I understand if it’s just too uncomfortable, but you’re… you’re still my friend. I want you to still be my friend, but I get if it’s just too…” He drooped in his seat as much as he could between being in a proper sitting position and the seat belt. “I just don’t want to hurt you more than I already have.”
--
Despite the turmoil he felt inside of him, his lips suddenly pressed into a small smile. Nico had obviously grown in the years he had been here and Will couldn’t help the smile from the thought. The smile was brief before his face went back to a more stoic and thoughtful expression. It took him another few minutes to look up and gather his thoughts enough to speak.
“I won’t lie… The idea that you… that we’re not together. It hurts.” Will didn’t want to lie to Nico. He didn’t think that would be productive. He looked out at the window for a moment. “...but you’re happy… And of course you’d find someone else. You’re great.” Will was just glad that Nico let himself see that in himself enough to let another person in.
He sighed, rubbing his thighs and finally finding the nerve to look up and over to Nico. A small, genuine smile formed at the corners of his lips. “I guess I’ll just have to settle with having you back home, then.” He didn’t understand it completely, but he knew that the Nico back home was still dating him and this Nico was different in some ways while still being Nico.
--
His voice softened with empathy. “I know.” Or he mostly did. Sure his crush on Percy had been some sort of personal torture, but he understood that hope and not getting the attention wanted. And then there was that small fear that’d whisper in his mind every now and then of what would happen if Anakin left. There was that fear of loss, of course, but also the added dread that there was a possibility that he’d come back and not remember him at all. So even if he hadn’t been through what Will had been, he had an idea of the hurt.
Even if Will was still just blasting on through that hurt. He rolled his eyes. “More like well meaning and annoyingly stubborn people keep finding me,” he pointed out, his lips quirking in a smirk. “And somehow actually return my feelings. Weird.”
His smirk softened, making the genuine smile with one of his own. Because Will had a point. This situation was really weird, but as far as Nico knew, they were still together in their world, taking Camp Halfblood by storm. A Nico who was still 15 and hadn’t been through quite so much. Even weirder to think about. “Yeah, you’re still stuck with me back home.” He cleared his throat. Maybe Will would shut down talk of the ‘other guy’, but at the same time, well, with the whole at home talk, it felt good to add the reassuring fact that- “The guy that I met. He’s a Jedi.” Definitely not from their home world.
--
Will blinked. For a moment he was about to scold Nico for being so self-deprecating, but then he continued talking and he said his boyfriend was a Jedi and it was something he definitely wasn’t expecting. “A Jedi?” He looked at Nico again. “Like… from those movies?” Camp Half-Blood didn’t get a lot of technology, but he was exposed to pop culture when he went home to visit. Star Wars was a big enough franchise to not know what it was. That was probably the strangest thing to wrap his head around, considering he thought Star Wars was fiction.
“Okay… so I’m guessing there’s a lot to learn about this place.” Other than his not-boyfriend-anymore had a boyfriend from a movie franchise.
He paused, then found himself adding. “I’m glad you still want to be friends.” If he couldn’t be with Nico, he still wanted to be around him. Nico meant a lot to him. He found comfort in the idea that at least there was a version of him that could be with him.
--
A tension eased out of Nico’s shoulders that he hadn’t realized had settled there. Even if he’d gotten better over the years, some things were hard to scrub from his subconscious. Like that hindbrain worry of rejection. So even if nothing had really implied that Will was going to shut him out, that simple statement helped soothe that worry back into its sleeping place. It was a start.
“I know it’ll take some working out, but I meant what I said. I’m glad you’re here. And I can help with learning, because…” He snorted in amusement. “Yeah, like the movies. Or, well, there’s books too and he’s from those. There’s a lot of people from different worlds here. We don’t have much of Camp Halfblood here. It’s just been me and Leo for a few weeks, so he can help out too.” Which would probably be good considering just… having something to take the son of Hephaestus’ mind off of everything in a way that wasn’t locking himself in a forge. He cleared his throat. “So, uh, any other big pressing questions?”
--
Can I kiss you? Will your boyfriend like me? Am I still allowed to hug you? Seriously though I wish I could kiss you
"Not really sure where to start." Will didn't think any of his immediate, more selfish questions were applicable. He didn't want to burden Nico anymore than he sure the boy was and he knew the answers to some of them already. He silently told himself to get a grip. "I'm glad Leo's here. He just got back for me. It would have sucked not to actually be able to talk to him… does he have Festus with him?" It wasn't a big pressing question, but it was an easier question at the moment. Familiar.
"So, we're all living together?" That was closer to a big question. Of course, after a small pause, Will surprised himself by asking a bigger question. "What's his name?" Meaning Nico's boyfriend. "Does he know about me or will this be doubly awkward when we meet?" He assumed they'd meet at some point.
--
Nico nodded, a fond smile quirking his lips. These were at least easier questions. “Festus is here, thank the gods. Leo had to rebuild him from just his head, but he’s here. The Argo II is here too. And Mrs. O’Leary. Plus some new editions. Did you ever play Pokemon? Because it’s a real life thing here.” Another nod. “When we came here, a version of Camp Halfblood came through. It has parts, but it’s more… a house than cabins. A bit more privacy and fits in a bit better. There’s a pool too because…” He waved a hand. “... Texas.”
Which oddly segued easily into the question he hadn’t been expecting. Which was a good sign though, right? “Anakin.” He made a face considering the history of Anakins in regards to Star Wars. “Anakin Solo. He’s Leia and Han’s son. He lives by us too. His room used to be the pool house, but when his mother arrived, it morphed into a house by the Camp. There’s a room I have at the Camp, but lately…” His cheeks pinked as he waved a hand dismissively and cleared his throat. “He knows. I told him a few months ago. There was a thing with secret telling and he told me stuff about his girlfriend back home, so…” He shrugged before glancing over at Will. “She’s here too. Her name’s Tahiri, if you need someone to talk to about…” He waved a hand around to encompass everything that was happening.
--
Will processed everything. He was glad that Festus was around, even if Festus had to be rebuilt. He was sure it kept Leo busy, at any rate. He was also glad Mrs. O was around for Nico. The Argo II was something that Will had never been on except to put some medical supplies and even then he had been so distracted with what was happening he hadn’t taken time to enjoy the craftmanship. Maybe he’d get Leo to give him a full tour - the other demigod would know the ship way better. Will wasn’t really sure how to process the whole Pokemon thing so he tabled that for later.
The child of Apollo listened carefully about the boyfriend. Wasn’t Anakin the name of someone else? He knew who Han and Leia were and Leia was apparently here in this place. When Nico’s cheeks reddened, Will’s breath faltered for a second. Sure, he was getting his head around that Nico was dating someone, but they were living together too. He was sure kids in the Aphrodite cabin would tell him he was an idiot for not considering that already, but his mind was being slow to catch up. He forced his lips into a smile and soon the tight feeling in his chest died down again.
“Anakin and Tahiri… got it.” He nodded. He did wonder how she felt about things. It seemed like they had more in common than they’d probably like. “I’m glad there’s so much from home here. Probably helps.” He paused, glancing outside. “Everything outside looks a lot like home. Like, home home. Where my mom lives. Keep thinking I might see her poster somewhere.” They weren’t in Austin so he probably wouldn’t see her directly. He also was aware his last statement was such a non-sequitur, but he needed a break from everything and it had been a thought on his mind since he walked out of the Bureau and waited for Nico.
--
“Home, but also not,” Nico admitted, his brow pinching in contemplation. Even if it might be a topic change, it wasn’t unwelcome or awkward. “There’s Camp Halfblood, but it’s got that Texas flavor to it. Weird things happen, but it’s not like back home. Like using cell phones and stuff is a thing here without monsters just swarming. Monsters swarming actually isn’t as much of a thing in general. It still happens, but it’s more…” His hands rested on the steering wheel as they flexed inwards as if he was packing a snowball together. “...contained. Themed.”
His lips pressed in a line. Now that wasn’t something he’d considered. Most of the demigods who came here, well, either Texas wasn’t part of their backstory or their parents were either gone or just… not famous. He doubted that Will’s mother would be here, but at the same time she was a singer. There was a quality of fame there that meant that maybe a version of her might exist. Just as the historical figures who were their half-siblings still existed in this world, even if they weren’t demigods. There might be some slim possibility that her music career carried her over. Which was probably worse than the idea that she was just not here.
“You probably won’t. See posters that is. The people who come through the portal are limited and from what I recall, she hasn’t come through.” Which, wow, hey, look at that. Bearer of more bad news.