Untitled Part 26
'The first time we kissed?' Will's eyes looked hazy and unfocused. 'I ... Yes, I remember. Why do you ask?'
Nico forced down his growing sense of panic. Will's condition kept swinging from almost fine to ready to keel over, but the trend was definitely downward. If this kept up, they would never make it down the river, much less to Tartarus.
Meanwhile, Gorgyra loomed over them on the dock. Nico tried to ignore the fluttering of the nymph's gown in the chilly breeze, the whispers swirling around him, yearning for more secrets.
'Because the stories help.' Nico tried to sound confident. 'It won't take long. Then we'll get in the boat and go.'
Will nodded. 'Okay ... Well, if I remember correctly, it wasn't that long ago.'
'No, it wasn't,' Nico agreed.
Will watched Gorgyra drifting around them, like a teacher monitoring a test. He put a hand on Nico's leg. 'We don't have to talk about this now, Nico.'
'Yes,' said Nico. 'We do.'
The whispers from Gorgyra's gown reached out again:
You were so alone then.
Will you be alone again?
Nico pushed them away. 'It was after Jason died.' He willed his voice to stay even, not to give in to the rising sadness in his chest.
'Yes,' said Will. 'Just like with Leo, you were distraught. But not angry. Not that time. You were more ...' He sighed. 'I'm not sure what to call it. I didn't know what to do.'
The dock boards creaked under Gorgyra's feet. 'Do about what?'
'About me shutting down,' said Nico. 'Like, completely. I wasn't even crying over Jason's death. It didn't seem real to me. How could he just be gone?'
'And Jason meant a great deal to you, yes?' said Gorgyra. 'He was the first to truly accept you.'
'Exactly. And I wasn't there to help at the end. I couldn't save him!'
Hot tears poured down Nico's face. He turned away from Will and Gorgyra, suddenly ashamed by his display of grief. But the whispers followed him, threads of loneliness and desperation wrapping around his heart, pulling him back.
You wish for him to return, they said.
You resent that he left you.
You are worried that this one will leave you, too.
That last whisper was a punch to the gut. Nico sobbed, because that was his biggest fear, wasn't it? That's what he worried awaited them at the bottom of the plunge: Will would die. Will would sacrifice himself.
Will would be left behind.
'I've got you,' Will said in his ear. Then his boyfriend's arms wrapped around him, holding him tight. Nico turned until they were face to face, staring into each other's eyes. Nico was supposed to be nurturing Will, not the other way around, but Will always seemed to know when Nico was most vulnerable. There wasn't pity in Will's face, just concern. Just care.
Nico leaned forward and kissed him.
It wasn't a long or particularly romantic kiss. Their lips met. Will reached up and held the back of Nico's head. It was brief, it was sweet, and it was what Nico needed.
It was also exactly what Will had done for Nico that day outside the Hades cabin, shortly after they'd learned of Jason's death. Will had kissed Nico for the first time in a moment of impulsiveness, something Nico didn't know Will had in him. The kiss had been just like this one, short and sweet. Then Will had pulled away, worry on his face, an apology tumbling from his lips.
Nico had stopped him. Then kissed him back.
In a moment so full of grief and rage and sadness, Will had given him ...
Light.
Now Will pulled away. 'I'm right here,' he promised. 'For whatever you need. We have each other.'
Nico didn't mean to laugh. It came out as a frail, brittle sound. Only a few days ago, he'd joked to Annabeth that her advice sounded like a Hallmark card. Now he felt like he was living in one.
He was worried Will might take offence. Instead, his boyfriend only looked concerned.
'What is it?' Will asked, wiping away Nico's tears.
'Nothing,' he said. 'I just ...'
He glanced over Will's shoulder and his voice died. Gorgyra now stood at the end of the dock, moving her hands as if working a loom. Below her, the River Acheron churned, threads of dark water weaving themselves together into a thick band, which Gorgyra pulled towards her.
Will turned to watch. He and Nico sat there – Nico's arm around Will's waist – as Gorgyra gathered cords of woven water, stitching them into her dress. Only when the last thread disappeared into her gown did Nico realize what she was doing: rescuing lonely souls trapped in the River of Pain, adding them to her collection. When she was done, her chest heaved with exertion. Her gown's fabric had turned cloudy, whispers filling the air as the older souls greeted the newcomers.
Gorgyra staggered under their weight. Instantly Will and Nico rose to help her, their own problems forgotten.
'I'm fine,' she promised, though her face was drained of colour. 'The souls called to me, and I had to help them. It seems your tender moment drew them here.'
'I'm sorry,' said Nico.
'No, it is a good thing,' Gorgyra said. 'Lonely souls finding one another is always a good thing.'
She gestured to the boat. 'She is yours. You have more than earned her. Take care of her, and she will guide you straight into Tartarus.'
Nico's heart leaped – not because he was anxious to get to Tartarus, but because they might finally be making some progress.
Will shifted next to him. 'But ... I didn't finish the story.'
Gorgyra's smile was weak but still warm. 'I believe you just showed me.'
The boat bobbed precariously as Nico climbed in. He hoped Will had good sea legs. The only ship Nico remembered spending a significant amount of time on was the Argo II, and that had flown more than it had sailed.
This trip was with Will, though. That changed everything, even if their destination was the basement of the universe.
Gorgyra watched them pensively as their boat drifted away from the dock. What was she thinking? Did she believe that they'd make it?
Nico reached in the pocket of his jeans. He took out the coin, running his fingers over the embossing until he'd traced every bit of it.
'You brought my gift,' said Will, smile lines crinkling around his eyes. 'Great minds think alike.'
He reached inside the collar of his shirt and pulled out his gold chain.
On it glinted Nico's ring.
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