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Will was about to take a bite of his jalapeno popper when Nico stormed in the infirmary, fuming. His expression reminded Will of the Colchis Bull that rampaged through the camp a couple of years ago. He set aside his snack. Too bad he would have to heat it up later. Those things weren't good cold. It looked like it was gonna be a long conversation. Nico's eyes blazed and his teeth gnashed and his grip on his Stygian Iron sword made his knuckles turn white.
"Hold up, fella. What's up?" Will asked, holding up two hands in a placating gesture. It surprised him that Nico had gone straight to the infirmary, not to Jason. What was going on with those two anyway? Jason seemed to have taken his role as surrogate big brother seriously, as seriously as if it had been an order from the legion.
Instead of answering, Nico started taking huge breaths and pacing back and forth in front of Will, a method that Nico used to calm himself.
"Percy Jackson is such an idiot. He makes me want to bring about a zombie apocalypse," Nico said between gritted teeth while his hands formed as if he were strangling someone. He hadn't stopped pacing.
"What did he do now? Percy can be, like, really sassy sometimes but that's just the way he is." To the side and no one in particular, "Actually, that's how most of us are given our ADHD, we mouth off without meaning to."
That made Nico stop. He stared out the window. It was just a little after 2 in the afternoon and the trees in the distance appeared brilliant green under the summer sun. Nico was in an orange Camp Half Blood shirt that was at least one size too big for him. To Will, he looked really cute in color and the angry flush in his face made him look a bit healthier. Three weeks ago, he ordered Nico to stay in the infirmary for three days. They got on quite well and they had become quick friends. They traded hobbies and battle tips. Sometimes, Will would join Nico in the Hades table, using his being a doctor as an excuse to make sure that Nico was eating well, not just McDs. It had paid off and it made him feel relieved that Nico's decision to stay was doing him a hell of a lot of good.
"Come on, Nico. Take a seat and tell me what Percy the idiot did." Will had interacted enough with Percy to know that the son of Poseidon was brave half of the time and too thoughtless to know what he was getting himself into the other half. Nico obeyed and sat on an infirmary bed opposite Will. He propped up his sword on the bedside table.
"Thanks to him, I'll never be able to look straight in the eyes of the kids we were instructing earlier." He rolled his eyes as he explained.
Will nodded, urging him to go on.
Nico sighed and looked at his hands, which were fidgeting. "Earlier...after lunch, I was scheduled to teach the new arrivals about the basics of swordfighting. He was passing by and volunteered to help. That was fishy from the get-go. He knows I don't need help teaching lessons especially when it's about swords. I let him though because I thought he was just feeling nostalgic. He'll be leaving the camp soon, remember? So we made the introductions, told the kids about some camp rules and other activities." Nico's hands started gesticulating at this point. "So when the kids were allowed to take up their wooden swords and hit the dummies and the two of us were supposed to go around and give out pointers, he pulled me aside and started grilling me about our last conversation. I told him that we should talk about it elsewhere at another time but he kept asking me why he isn't my type and whether Jason is more my type because that would totally bum him out and maybe if he borrowed Annabeth's glasses, he could be my type or if I had the hots for Frank because they're related and so on. And I just couldn't help it. I kicked his shin and yelled at him that I couldn't believe I was dumb enough to crush on him..."
"Wait, wait hold on. You have a crush on Percy?"
"Seriously, that's your takeaway on this? Not Percy's annoying narcissistic behavior? And it's HAD. Past tense."
"You had a crush on Percy?"
"Yes, yes. Why is it such a big deal? I have to tell you this because Percy, the big baby is coming here later. Maybe after he's told Annabeth what happened."
"Why?"
"Because he was wearing shorts and I was wearing steel-toed boots." Nico pointed at his feet with a condescending look. "And that's why I couldn't look at the new campers in the eye. They probably think I'm the violent spawn of the underworld."
"Oh-kay. First, you are the son of Hades and second, you acted violently so you are indeed a violent spawn of the underworld...sometimes. You know we can't hit each other if we're not sparring or playing capture-the-flag. That's what the rules say. At the very least - and you didn't hear this from me - you could have just hit him while no one was looking. I heard that from Clarisse one too many times. The only reason you got away with it is because Percy didn't fight back."
Nico snickered. "Yeah, just because I'm younger and smaller, they think they can harass me." His eyes began to take on that madman's gleam, which disturbingly enough, Will found adorable. He was like a diabolical black kitten who planned to manipulate the world through sheer cuteness and cuddliness alone. Will was beginning to understand how Jason and Percy treated Nico. It was as if he were their prickly little brother that they doted on. They poke and prod but whenever the little one lost his temper, they just let him hit them because it would look really bad if they fought back. Plus, how can you even think about hurting such a cute creature?
It dawned on Will that Nico had been capitalizing on his cuteness without meaning to. Nico thought that he creeped out the people around him but the truth was that to those who knew him well, he was just their moody and secretive little brother. He was talking to Will because Will was different from his other friends. They were on a more even footing. This gave him an idea.
"Nico."
"Yes?"
"Are you feeling better now that you've let that out?"
"Yes?"
"You had a crush on Percy?"
"Yes."
"So you are..."
"I am what I am."
"But Percy's not your type."
"For the millionth time today, no, he's not my type. Why are you asking me this? What's your type anyway?"
"I'm very particular, I guess. Dark-haired Italians that are shorter than me who happen to be spawns of the underworld."
"You are aware that you've just described Benito Mussolini." Nico smiled as he said this. It made Will laugh.
"Smartass." Before Will lost his nerve, he got up from his chair and gave Nico a peck on the cheek. "Don't worry. When Percy comes in later, I'll make sure to tell him I'm your type."