In Time {Solangelo}

~ Nico ~

He was falling through the air, the wind whipping his face. Then something grabbed him, he thrashed and kicked but the invisible force held him steady. I see you have found me again, son of Hades. The voice of Cupid ecoched in his mind, the voice that he never wanted to hear again. You have found love once more, because you learned to let go. Nico tried to free himself but the god of love was strong. You know that you can't fight love, the only way to beat me is to face your feelings. You can't expel me by simply placing a few punches, you should know this by know, son of Hades, after all, you have faced me before.

Nico struggled, he wanted to scream that Cupid was wrong, but he knew that it would do no good. You were able to once, but can you face the harsh light of love again? I do not know. No one does, but you, Nicolas di Angelo. It is up to you to make that decision... Then the smooth voice faded away and Nico found himself falling once more.

Suddenly he was in his mother's arms, she held him tightly. Next to them Bianca stood, tall and proud, holding Nico's hand. The three of them stood, waiting. They were waiting for that tall, white man, the one who came every few weeks, the one who claimed to be their father. Bianca turned to their mother, "Mama, where are we going?"

Their mom smiled down at Bianca, "Somewhere safe."

Bianca looked confused as the scene faded away. He stood alone in the fields of ghosts, he knelt and put his hand to the ground, trying to summon his powers. Nothing. How had he done it before, how had he saved Percy from the skeletons? He clenched his fists, Percy. He had promised. Promised to bring Bianca back alive. Instead he brought Annabeth. He could almost feel the tears that had poured down his face, Bianca. Bianca was gone.

Bianca... Bianca... He closed his eyes, he remembered her face, her hair, her eyes, everything. He was the son of Hades, he should be able to summon his sister. No. He could. But when he opened his eyes he wasn't in the underworld anymore, he was at camp, in the dining pavilion, sitting at the Apollo table. Across from him sat Will Solace, he was smirking at Nico, a cute smirk that seemed to say, see death boy, that's how it's done. In his dream Nico smiled back, Will reached out and took his hand, smiling warmly. Then black. Black. Nothing more.

He knew that he was awake, but he didn't want to open his eyes and, in Cupids words, face the harsh light of reality. Nico tried to force down his emotions, Will had grabbed his hand. Probably just a show of friendship, or support, or something like that. He told himself, but somme part of his still wanted to believe it was more, he pushed those thoughts aside as something sharp poked him in the ribs, he opened his eyes.

"What?" he croaked.

Two girls sat beside him, Charlie and Kayley. Charlie smiled warmly and passed him a juice box, "Drink." she commanded, he did. It had no taste. Kayley gave him a square of ambrosia, Nico was putting it to his lips whenCharlie grabbed it out of his hand, "No, you've already had too much." she put it aside and passed him another juice box. Kayley smiled apologetically, "Sorry for waking you." her voice dripped with sarcasm, in a quieter, more serious tone she added, "Please don't tell Will..."

Nico nodded, his tongue felt as heavy as lead but he managed to say, "How long?"

Charlie glanced at her watch, "Will knows the exact numbers, but around... maybe two and a half days."

"What?"

"Yeah, we couldn't move you for, like, the first fifteen hours-"

"Will was worried sick!" Kayley broke in.

Charlie pinched her lightly, "Then we could, but Will didn't want to attempt to get you all the way to the infirmary, in case you like..." she made a poof gesture with her hands, "So you stayed here." Nico looked around, he realized that he was still in the Apollo cabin.

"The sunlight would have helped." He said weakly.

"Yeah, Will said that sunlight would be good for you, but... well for how bad you were fading, the sun god's cabin was even better than outside. It's brighter, and has healing powers!"

Nico nodded, that made sense.

Kayley grinned, "That sounds like a cool advertisement!" She stood and clasped her hands behind her back, she deepened her voice and said, "Are you or any of your loved ones suffering from using up to much Underworld magic, then going into deadly shadow coma's? Because if you are, we've got the solution for you! Don't go outside, come to Cabin 7, at camp Half Blood! The light is stronger and it's got healing powers!!!"

Nico clapped politely as Kayley sat down, while Charlie snorted, "Well, I know my future!"

Then the door opened and Will walked in, he saw the three of them, his eyes narrowed. He put his hands on his hips, and Nico couldn't help remembering his dream, Will reaching across the table for him hand, Nico shook his head, he couldn't think about that now.

Will's usual calm, happy aura was gone. He looked stressed, upset and worried. He also looked sleep deprived, very, very sleep deprived. The son of Apollo glowered down at his sisters, "You woke him up, didn't you?"

They both shook their heads. Kayley sighed, "Nico just casually woke up!"

Charlie nodded in agreement, "Gods Will, how could you blame us? We didn't have anything to do with it."

Will studied them, "Yeah, you totally woke him up."

Kayley was the first one to crack, "Well what were we supposed to do? Hun? Let him sleep?"

"Yes." Will said angrily.

Kayley shrugged, "Whatever." she turned and walked over to her bed, she sat down and started to write something. Charlie took a step forward, "Will, I'm sorry. I should have stopped her-"

She was cut off by Will, "Yes, you should have!"

She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Will, I really am sorry. I-"

"But you let her!"

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

Nico scooched back, until his back touched the wall. He didn't want to in the middle of a fight between some of the most stubborn people he knew.

Charlie's green eyes gleamed with a hint of challenge, "No. I don't control her."

"You could."

Charlie looked about to tear Will to pieces, "I don't control her." her voice was as cold as ice, but Will didn't back down. Nico caught Kayley's eye, she stood and came towards her siblings, "Guys, look, Nico's awake. He's right here." she gestured towards him, Nico glared at her, she wasn't supposed to get the angry people mad at him. But Will and Charlie ignored her completely lost in their own battle of wits. Kayley shrugged like, oh well I tried, and then she turned back around and lay down in her bunk.

Completely oblivious to everything else, Will and Charlie still glared at each other.Charlie took a breath, "I don't control her, she's my friend. I don't control friends."

Will glared at her, a strange light in his eyes, "I don't care. You put another person's life in danger!"

Charlie's eyes seethed with anger, and for once Nico could see how truly powerful the short, green eyed, daughter of Apollo was. "Will." her voice was now lower, steal calm, but still full of anger, "You know that we would never do that. You know that I would never do that." She took a step forward, her eyes blazing, and Will seemed to realize what he'd done. He stepped back, Nico cleared his throat, Will glanced at him, but Charlie ignored him completely, too focused on the task at hand.

"Will," her voice was as sharp and cold as ice, "Next time, I'll just leave him to die. I'm very sorry for trying to help." Then she turned and left, slamming the door behind her.