#poly!solangelo x reader

"Do you think he thinks he looks brooding?" I stage-whispered, feigning secrecy between myself and the taller of my partners. Will snorted, and immediately sputtered toothpaste over the sink.

"It went up my nose!"

I cackled, throwing my head back and turning off the hairdryer to set it down on the bathroom counter. Nico's voice growled (read: whined) from the open door of the bedroom- "That's karma for laughing at their stupid comment."

"Aw, the edgy bastard can't handle being called an edgy bastard?" I teased, coming to lean against the doorframe as Nico stayed propped up on his elbows, laid on the bed.

He stuck up a middle finger and I blew him a kiss.

"Be nice to the edgy bastard," Will cooed, coming to wrap his arms around me from behind and hooked his chin over my shoulder. His minty breath brushed cool over my cheek. "You know how he gets about Poseidon's kids."

The other middle fingers came up as Nico flopped to lie flat on his back to swear at both of us. "I am not- I don't get like anything, fuck the both of you."

"Is that on the table?" I grinned, leaning back into Will and feeling his hands drag from my waist to my hips. Nico emitted an indignant, affronted noise that mellowed out into something approximating curiosity. Interesting. "Answer me, baby, do you wanna fuck both of us? Or... do you want both of us to fuck you?"

Will's hum vibrated through my ribcage and he nosed at my cheek. "Maybe he wants to see you all powerful and shit, I think. Powerful the way that P-"

The speed at which a pillow thumped into the both of us was honestly impressive, and I shrieked a laugh as it smacked into my (and therefore Will's) face. Nico was now sat up, arms crossed and a disgusted expression on his face. "Don't even, do not bring that name into our sex life, that boy was a mistake I wish never to repeat."

"Hey," I pouted playfully, picking up the pillow and throwing it back. "That's my half-brother, y'know."

Nico threw his hands up in the air and flopped down onto the bed. "Why, why must you remind me of that, do you hate me? I won't let either of you fuck me if you remind me that I'm dating the half-sibling of the first guy I had a crush on when I was 14 when I am now 24 and a whole ass adult who would like to not talk about dumb 14 year old love."

"Hey!" Will protested, waddling with me over to the bed and dragging me down onto it with him. "I have no relation to He Who Shall Not Be A Part Of Our Sex Life."

I had to agree that he deserved the second pillow to the face that Nico served him, and I wiggled out of Will's grip to go crawl over to the son of Hades. "Won't mention it again, Neeks, promise, I'm sorry."

The pout I recieved was adorable and I was utterly powerless to resist kissing it. I was rewarded with a shy smile and hands coming to rest on my shoulders. "Thank you, baby, I appreciate that."

I nodded, kissing him once again. "Now, seriously, do you wanna fuck? 'Cause you were definitely eye-fucking me in the bathroom and I wanna know if you're up for more."

Nico hummed, nodding his head and bumping his nose with mine. "Mhm, yes, I do, I would like to be fucked because I'm warm and still kinda sleepy and frankly being between the sea and the sun sounds incredibly appealing."

The soft whine came from Will, who squirmed over to bury his face in Nico's hair. "I love you so much and you're quite romantic really and I wanna hold you while you get fucked because I don't want to, like, do that bit right now. That okay?"

"More than okay," Nico replied softly, a hand leaving my shoulder to scratch gently at Will's golden halo of hair, freshly washed and smelling of roses and honey. I hummed an agreement, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"You can hold him together while I take him apart, hm?"

I felt the shiver of Nico's body and by Will's hidden smirk, I could tell he did too. Hefting himself up, Will crawled over to the headboard, making grabby hands at his boyfriend. "Come here, you." He recieved a pout, Nico's head tilted back to look at him and exposing his pale olive-toned skin to me quite nicely. Will rolled his eyes fondly and reached out to heave Nico up into his arms. "24 year old adult my ass, demanding to be carried everywhere."

I shrugged, grinning and crawling over to curl my fingers over the waistband of Nico's worn sweatpants that are only acceptable to wear to sleep. "He can be a pillow prince if he wants- what are you gonna do, say no?"

"...no, I'm going to indulge him every time because life was mean so I won't be," Will mumbled, face smushed into Nico's hair, voice dripping with affection.

Nico shifted uncomfortably, the skin of his cheek caught in between his teeth. "You don't have you, y'know? I'm not- if you don't want to, I'm not gonna make you." He looked at me, nerves spiking with worry that he's somehow forced us into this.

"Neeks, we want to do this," I reassured him gently, pulling at the elastic of his sweatpants and murmuring the words into the soft skin of his lower stomach. "Will just wanted to hold you, and you were totally okay with that, right?" He nodded. "And I know that if I didn't want to do this, I could say so and we'd do something else, right?" Another nod, then a blink and a visible steeling of his nerves and a softening of his body.

"Yeah, of course, anything, anything you'd want," Nico whispered, fingers tangling with Will's as they both watched me ease Nico out of his sweatpants and gently pull his thighs apart.

I brushed a kiss over the inside of his thigh, laying down on my stomach. "Right now, I wanna make my boyfriend feel good while our other boyfriend looks after him, does that sound good?"

"Colour, baby?" Will murmured into his ear, reminding him of the traffic light system- green is good, yellow is slow down to a stop and talk, red is stop immediately and transition into aftercare.

"Green, green, I'm good," Nico breathed, eyes locked onto me as I pressed my lips up his thighs. I blew softly over his dick and he inhaled sharply, the same moment he twitched under my attention.

The first swipe of my tongue had his stomach muscles tensed, lip caught between his teeth. Grinning, I looked up at Will. "Lube, please, loverboy." Will rolled his eyes but blushed at the name, obediently grabbing a bottle from the bedside drawer and passing it to me.

Holding it in one hand to warm it up a little, I used the other hand to wrap firmly around Nico's dick, holding it just so I could get my lips wrapped around the tip. The twin inhalations from the boys above me were fuel to the burning heat in my abdomen.

"F-Fuck," Nico whimpered, fingers squeezing tight at Will's as I dragged my tongue around the head, coaxing him harder and harder in my hand. Slowly, I took more into my mouth, feeling the familiar weight of his cock on my tongue and sucking very lightly. The taste of precome burst on my tastebuds and I shivered in delight that my tough, edgy, extraordinarily powerful boyfriend was so easy to please.

Will's lips were pressed to Nico's ear, voice soft and lilting. "Aren't they pretty, huh? They look so good with their head between your legs, does their mouth feel good, baby?"

"M-Mhm, r-really good, so warm, shit-" Nico gasped as his cock bumped the back of my throat, hips jerking up but Will moved both pairs of their hands to hold him down.

"Behave, Neeks, let them do the work," he hummed, kissing Nico's temple. I flicked open the cap of the bottle, releasing my grip on Nico to drizzle some lukewarm lube over two of my fingers.

I pulled my mouth off him slowly, blinking up at my boys through my lashes with a cocky smirk on my face. Nico already looked wrecked, my poor love. "Ready for more?"

His nod was almost frantic, and I laughed softly. "Alright, just relax, I've got you, hm? Will's gonna keep you nice and warm and grounded, okay?"

I rubbed ever-so-gentle at his hole, getting him used to the feeling before easing the tip of my finger inside. Nico threw his head back against Will's chest, gasping.

"Shh, I know, I know," Will cooed as I pressed in further, making sure not to hurt him as his hole swallowed up my finger to the knuckle. I moaned at the sight and the feeling, hips pressing into the bed as I dragged the finger back out. "Feels good, doesn't it? They're so good with their hands, so good at getting you ready for them, shh, don't squirm, be good for us, baby."

Nico's eyes were lidded and heavy, cheeks flushed down to his chest and lips parted in shallow breaths. He looked gorgeous and I kept my eyes on his face as I slipped a second finger inside him along with the first.

He keened, back arching and toes curling. Soft, almost sleepy moans fell from his lips and I soaked them up like ambrosia. "Beautiful," I whispered, pulling and pushing my fingers into the tight, hot heat of Nico. I could feel him relaxing, acclimating to the feeling and loosening up under my touch.

"B-Baby," Nico panted, hips making aborted little rolls despite Will holding him down. "More, p-please, want more, wanna feel you."

Will chuckled lightly, nuzzling into Nico's pink cheek and looking down at me. "You heard the man," he grinned. "Give our pillow prince what he asks for."

I saluted from between Nico's thighs. "Sir, yes sir!"

Nico scrunched his nose, a playful smile tugging at his bitten lips. "Cringe, ew, stop immediately, I will not let you fuck me in some kind of military kink scene, you two can negotiate that firmly without me."

Laughing, I crawled up to be face to face with him, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "You don't wanna be the lowly soldier being taken advantage of by his captain and their general?"

"No," he declined flatly, one eyebrow raised in disgust. "No, I do not want that."

"Spoilsport," I pouted, leaning over Nico's shoulder to press my lips to Will's as well. "Guess I'll just have to fuck you without the honourifics." I opened the lube again, hissing slightly as my wet hand wrapped around my sensitive skin, pleasure and desire running thick through my veins as I knelt back between Nico's legs.

Will smothered a laugh, arms moving to wrap around Nico's ribs under the t-shirt he was still wearing. His eyes met mine and he winked. "You'd look hot in the uniform, though." Nico smacked a hand over Will's mouth, then repeated the action with mine when I opened it to reply.

"Enough! No military kink in this bedroom while I am also in this bedroom, and especially not when I am waiting impatiently to be fucked by my partner!"

"I love it when you get demanding," I smirk into his palm, leaning over him with one hand settled on the bed and the other guiding my dick to rest teasingly against Nico's hole. He clenched and released, making a punched-out sound as I applied the barest amount of pressure.

"You're such a tease," Will laughed, smoothing his hands down Nico's sides. "Let the poor kid have it, come on."

"I'm 24!" Nico protested, wriggling slightly to look back at Will. "Just 'cause I'm younger than both of you- oh!"

He choked on his protestations as I finally pushed in, head breaching his tight hole. My head dropped forward, chin almost to my chest as I moaned lowly, his warmth pulling me in little by little until I bottomed out. Nico's hands scrabbled for purchase at my shoulders, eyes squeezed shut as he tried to get used to the feeling.

"Just relax, deep breaths, baby," Will soothed, voice liquid and silky to my ears. "It's okay, I've got you, do you need anything?"

Nico shook his head jerkily, focusing on breathing as I stayed as still as I could, holding myself up over the two of them.

A hand pushed my hair out my face and I looked up at Will. "You too, hon- I'm literally wrapped around our Nico-" (our Nico, ours) "-but I've got you too, do you need anything from me?"

I melted inside, his striking blue eyes feeling safe and lovely and not for the first time I thanked the gods that I got to fall in love with both of them. I shook my head, a small, shy smile pulling at my lips. "I'm okay, I'm good, just waiting for Neeks to be okay."

"I'm okay," Nico parroted, hips rolling experimentally and I gasped harshly at the sudden sensation. He smirked, despite being slightly floaty. "I'm ready, are you finally gonna give me what I want?"

I laughed breathlessly, just once, before I moved my hips. I pulled out and pushed back in sharply, revelling in the yell the action dragged out of the man underneath me. I repeated the movement over and over, fingers curling harshly into the bedsheets and stomach tense as I pound into my emo pillow prince over and over.

"This good enough, huh?" I gasped out, grinning in satisfaction as Nico only nodded his head. He squirmed and twitched against Will's chest, hands grasping at my body wherever he could reach.

Will gently spread Nico's legs further, hooked Nico's knees over his own and suddenly Nico yelped, cock jumping against his stomach where it had been smearing precome over his skin. I grinned, aiming for that one particular spot again and again, reducing my boyfriend to a moaning mess of pleasure as he melted into the arms of our other boyfriend.

"There it is," Will cooed, teething over Nico's ear. "That's where it feels so good, doesn't it? Our baby, they're so good at this, found your prostate so easily, they know your body so well."

Both Nico and I flushed at the dirty talk, the sinful words of the child of Apollo who became an utter menace the moment he found out how his voice affected us. He kept going, muttering filthy things into Nico's ear just loud enough that I could hear him over the pounding of my heart in my ears.

"B-Babe, W-Will-!" Nico groaned, shaky hands clutching at the back of my neck. "Can you- please touch me, wanna come, 'm so close, baby, please?"

I snapped my eyes to Will, knowing that Nico might be too out of it to remember that Will didn't want to be too involved. "You don't ha-have to, sunshine, I've got him i-if you don't want to."

Will shook his head, smiling softly at me and dragged his hand teasingly down Nico's torso to palm at his neglected cock, flushed and weeping. "I've got him, I want to, we can make him come together, right?"

I nodded, breathless and beginning to chase after my own peak after focusing on Nico for so long. Will's long fingers wrapped around Nico's cock and I cried out as Nico's hole tensed around me at the touch, dropping my head onto his shoulder.

"Fuck, fuck, need- need Nico to come first," I pleaded, ever the polite gentlefolk even as I was falling headfirst (dick first?) into pleasure.

Will's hand jerked and tugged almost ruthlessly at Nico, sending him spiralling into an orgasm. He thrashed between us, a soft scream ripping from his throat as he came all over himself, white streaks staining his pink, blushing skin. I pulled out of him quickly, giving a throaty, choked moan as I released over Nico's stomach, hips twitching against nothing as I bit my lip hard.

Nico's eyes were closed, lips parted as he panted, but he waved his hand about until he found my head, dragging me down into a fierce kiss. We kissed until we were dizzy, tongues tasting like each other and bodies settling down from the highs.

"Love you," Nico mumbled, words pressed against my lips and I thrilled at the admission, just like I did every time.

"Love you too," I whispered back, nose bumping into his cutely.

"What am I, furniture?" Will joked, earning tired laughs from both me and Nico.

"Very comfy chair," Nico hummed, tilting his head back to press clumsy kisses into Will's jaw. "Favourite chair."

"Love you too," I whispered again, this time leaving a kiss on Will's forehead and he blushed at the simple affection, rolling his eyes and kissing my cheek back.

He sighed quietly, looking down at the mess we made of Nico. "You know you're for sure gonna need another shower, right?"

Except two days before your party you were hanging above the toilet bowl. As you felt like you reached the bottom of your stomach you moved away and leaned against the wall. You felt a little silly about the sorrow which you felt. Certainly you were tired, but come on you just wanted a get together, to see your friends and feel celebrated. 

But you were just being silly.You weren’t up to it, so Nico called everyone with the news and the rain check. Will offered to be your personal doctor, but you were just without any energy and feeling quite miserable so you told him to just focus on everyone else instead. 

Nico didn’t want to feel too guilty about probably giving you the stomach bug. He also didn’t care about his own birthday that much- but he knew you valued birthdays. He knew because every year you organized something for him, every year Will did something because he knew you enjoyed celebrating them. Every year you try to celebrate your own birthday, making all the preparations and stressing an appropriate amount for one's birthday. Nico knew you were upset, and he knew you would pretend to be fine. Nico might not understand exactly why you care so much about birthdays, but he knew you did and just couldn’t figure out how to make it right. You were going to be sick on your birthday and he hated it. 

Whereas Will decided to focus his energy into healing you in every way possible. He had seen you get more tired the days before you officially got down with the bug. If anything, the way you deflated when you asked Nico to call everything off had his heart aching. Sure, you were firstly stressed about going to the store still, as the plan had been to go last week but it was simply too busy to go, but now you were unable to go anyways. 

At least since the bug had already passed through most of your siblings, you were staying in your cabin. Since it was already past breakfast, your boyfriends gathered up some easy to digest foods and made their way to you. Nico had their presents for you, all wrapped up. He hoped that even if you couldn’t celebrate, they could at least make you feel a little better. 

You had hoped that this morning you would miraculously feel better. Perhaps then you could still do something- hang with your lovers, maybe get some of the closer living friends together. But no, your body was against you. For birthdays to always seem so big and magical, only to just be another day when you’re sick felt like a crime to you. Mostly though you were upset at how upset you were. How did you never realize how important your birthday is to you, unless you’re missing it. At first you thought you might just have been upset at the change of plans because you had planned it all, but then you figured it was missing your friends, missing the shot to have them all come over and talk to them. Sure you never needed a reason, but having a reason on a set date was always nice. And now you were stuck in bed, hugging Beanjamin close, as you blinked away some more tears. 

“How is our birthday buddy doing?” Will’s voice sounded careful. You quickly wiped some residue tears away before turning around in your bed to face your boyfriends. You didn’t feel like sitting up just yet.  “I’m still nauseous, but it is less than yesterday.” You sighed, “Also rub it in that all I’m getting this year is puke.” 

“That’s not true,” Will mused as he crouched before your bed, “firstly you are getting some breakfast if you’re up for it, if not at least some water.” You stared at Will for a beat before slowly going to sit up. Nico was moving your pillow in no time, so you could lean against the wall next to your bed. You spotted the gift bag prepped up against your bed, but didn’t say anything. Something about being polite about it. 

Will checked once more what you wanted to eat and carefully watched while you ate. He seemed content with the fact you were at least ingesting foods now, so with a little ‘proud of you!’ and other encouragement you got down a semi decent breakfast. As soon as that was over, you leaned your head against Nico’s shoulder, as he had sat down next to you and kept Beanjamin safe from any spills. Beanjamin was his plushie, but he had lend it to you as you weren’t feeling well, a guardian of sorts. As you closed your eyes for a little, you didn’t react to the knock on the cabin door. You felt Will get up from the bag, and opened your eyes as he let someone in. 

“Special delivery from Hermes express,” said Hermes himself, as he emptied his sack full of post. After he was done he winked, before going “And a happy birthday, kiddo,” and disappearing to wherever his next delivery was. You sat up a little more, eyeing the small pile of stuff and letters on your floor. 

“Did you set this up?” you eyed Nico who just shrugged. “I didn’t ask anyone, did tell them you were bumped about not celebrating your birthday,” Nico moved off the bed, grabbing a blanket and putting it on the floor, “You want to get started? Only go so many hours on your birthday.” 

You missed the time you spent at home. Of course, you loved camp, you loved your friends, but every time the holidays came around you felt homesick to a place you would never return to. The worst part was remembering the specific traditions you used to have with your parent - and knowing that you wouldn’t get to do those this year again. You often go through this period fine, a little high strung sometimes but with your friends, and boyfriends, on your side you would get distracted enough to only get sad when you’re alone. 

And it felt wrong to celebrate the holidays without your traditions, it felt weird to bring up your traditions and it was simply hard to communicate what you wanted. Maybe you wanted to be back home, never having known demigod life, or maybe you just wanted a hug and baked a specific recipe you used to make every year, or see your living room decorated specifically like it used to be. 

Either way, the holidays come and go every year and it seems that today was simply the day that your brain decided to be sad and homesick. Thus, you figured you would just spend some time wallowing in your misery on your own instead of bringing down the general mood around camp. Maybe a part of your reasoning was that the more happy atmosphere of camp would simply make you sadder and feel worse. 

However, your boyfriend seemed to have a different idea. You see, your sour mood around the holidays didn’t go unnoticed by your lovers, as you seemed to close off a little more each day from them. Nico especially wanted to make the holidays a bit special. In the previous years, before he stayed at camp year round, the holidays had always been tinted by grief and sadness. He barely remembered how he used to celebrate when his mother and Bianca were still around, but Will and you had slowly been giving him new hope. Perhaps, with the two of you on his side, he could slowly move on, and one of the steps he wanted to take was to rejuvenate his energy around Christmas. Therefore he had made some plans for the three of you.

“I’m not really in the mood to go out today, Nico.” you looked away from your boyfriend, “I’m sorry,” 

“Please?” Nico wasn’t one to beg, but he really wanted to spend time with you, “Will’s already in my cabin.” he offered as he held out his hand to you.

“I don’t want to bring your mood down,” you explained, but you slowly took his hand anyway, unable to tell him no. 

“That’s fine,” Nico grinned a little, “If there is anyone who would bring the mood down it would be me and you know it.” Then his face flushed a little, “besides, it wouldn’t be the holidays without my family.” 

“Your family?” you asked before, softly, “oh,” Your heart stammered, he had meant you and Will as his family, you looked at him fondly, “I love you, Nico.” You stepped closer before softly sharing a kiss with him.

When you finally entered the Hades cabin you didn’t notice much to be off. Will was laying on Nico’s bed, with his feet still on the floor. You sat next to him, putting your hand on his hair. Will smiled at you. 

“Nico got you out of your cabin?” Will asked, grabbing the hand that was on his hair and pressing a kiss to the palm as you hummed. 

“He had some rather good arguments,” you elaborated, “like loving me, and loving you.” 

“I didn’t take for our sunshine to be a poet,” Will sat up as Nico sat down beside him. They kissed softly, “But your talents are uncountable,” Will finished his sentence as he broke away. Nico had a blush on his face as he stared at his boyfriend. 

As you sat there for a moment in silence you realized that for a moment the never ending sadness you had felt the past few days had gone, chased away by simply being near your boyfriends. Perhaps you should note down that your loved ones would make you feel better, as much as loved ones could also make you ache. You shuffled your body closer to Will’s, and felt his warmth against your side. 

“So what’s the plan?” You asked, looking at Nico as he came out of his little daze. 

“Well, I thought maybe,” he hesitated for a second, the slightest sliver of doubt in his mind, “that we might celebrate the holidays with the three of us. As in, we make our own tradition?” he suggested, and Will nodded slowly. 

“My mom and I used to write each other small poems,” Will said, “Or I guess songs, sort of, each year.” Will then smiled softly, “Well, we still do. She sends them in the mail and I use Hermes Express to get mine wherever she is. It’s a small way we communicate. Although, the three of us don’t have to do that, it’s honestly a bit private for me.” Will admitted. 

“Did you have any traditions, Nico?” You asked. 

Nico shrugged slowly, “I don’t remember a lot, and never really had a celebration since coming to camp.” Then he flushed slightly, “I used to go to McDonalds, and simply get a festive meal.” 

“Festive?” Will poked Nico’s side, “What, do they add Christmas lights to it?” Nico shook his head. 

“No, but the people there,” he sighed, “I suppose I just sought out the energy, okay?”

“You’re cute,”  you told him, leaning over Will to kiss Nico’s cheek. On your way back Will grabbed your cheek and pressed a kiss to it.  

“What about you?” Will let your face go. You thought about it for a moment, but it didn’t take long  as you had been sitting with these feelings for a while. 

“There wasn’t much outside the standard things-” you sighed, “I suppose for us what mattered most was to spend the time together.” after another beat you resumed, “I mean, we always made a dessert together but the recipe changed every year,” you laughed at the memory, “we really should’ve written it down somewhere. I don’t even remember the name.” 

Nico perked up a little, “Do you remember the ingredients?” but you shook your head. 

“I only remember the taste when the nectar tastes like it,” You leaned on Will’s shoulder, “Which isn’t always.” 

“Well, we can just bake a different dessert each year until we find it, starting now.” Will suggested and you rolled your eyes, “That would take ages,” you objected, but Nico ignored you.

“Where will we bake?” Nico asked, “Last time I checked anything that could serve as a kitchen here is a bit off-limits.”

“I’m pretty sure Leo can give us something to work with.” Will said, and you felt the trembles of his voice through his chest. 

“What, he’ll let us bake on top of him? He’ll lay still for twenty minutes?” You joked. 

“No, we’ll lock him in a small, metal box until the food is cooked,” Nico said and you laughed. 

Nonetheless, after you made your way to Bunker Nine it only took Leo half an hour to have a baking station set up, with the condition that he would also get a part of the dessert. 

“And kisses?” He puckered his lips, and as you stepped towards him, Nico was faster, pressing a rock he had on hand to Leo’s mouth. Leo backed away, as he grimaced. 

“Hey! That’s unhygienic!” he objected, but Nico just smiled widely. 

“I dunno, stones are rather tasty if you ask me.” Nico put the rock on the table.

“Yeah, you need minerals in your diet Leo.” Will chimed in from next to you. Leo looked unimpressed as he waved you off. 

“I’ll be somewhere on the other side working on Festus, just make sure to call me when your dessert is ready.” 

It rested just above his shoulders, dark and shaggy and so delightful to run fingers through. I stared at him, head bent over some paperwork for his job. My fingers tapped the table, my head resting on one hand.

His t-shirt was loose and low-necked, exposing a plane of pale olive-toned chest, the faintest of bruises decorating his neck from a few days ago.

"Darlin', why are you eye-fuckin' our boyfriend?"

Both Nico and I jumped as Will wandered into the kitchen, bee-lining to the sink to wash the dirt from his hands. Nico flushed pink as he met my eyes.

I winked, and turned to my other boyfriend. "What? You jealous?"

Will laughed. "Honey, I know I look hot." He was right, his working-in-the-garden jeans slung low on his hips and he was wearing a t-shirt just a little small for him, showing a sliver of stomach at all times.

"I'm trying to be productive," Nico murmured, looking back down at his papers.

"We aren't distracting you, babe." I shrugged, slipping out of my seat and wrapping my arms around Will from behind. "Are we?"

Will shook his head, reaching for a towel and drying his hands. "We've never done anything wrong in our lives." He turned in my embrace, resting his arms on my shoulders. He was a little taller than me, so I had to tilt my head up a little to meet his eyes. "Hey there."

I grinned. "Hey. You do look hot."

He ducked his head down to touch his lips to my ear. "Wanna see how far we can go before Neeks breaks?"

"Oh, absolutely."

I slipped my hands under his shirt, feeling him shiver. In return, he cupped my cheeks in his hands and brought me in for a long, sweet kiss. I sighed in satisfaction, swiping my thumbs over the skin of his back.

Will pulled back, pressing kisses along my jawline. "So, what did Nico do to get you to look at him like that?"

Sighing wistfully, I glanced briefly over to the man at the table seemingly very focused on his work.

"His hair, it's so beautifully long," I murmured. "Would be so good to run my fingers through, maybe pull a little bit, we know he likes that."

Nico gave the smallest shift in his seat, but his eyes were staring at the papers. Will nipped at my pulse point and I gasped.

"And the t-shirt, I'm guessin'?" Will's hands slid into the back pockets of my jeans, pulling me flush against him. "He looks damn good in big shirts, don't he? All that skin showin', be a shame not to do somethin' about it."

I nodded and grinned, hearing the smallest gasp from the table. "He always looks so gorgeous with teeth marks, I think."

Will smirked, pecking my lips. "I have to agree, honey, if only he weren't so busy."

Papers shuffled on the table, as if someone were gathering them up and piling them neatly. The chair scraped on the floor and Will winked at me. He bent close to my ear again. "I think we won."

Nico stood up and cleared his throat, and I turned around to lean my back on Will's chest to look at him. He looked flustered.

"You can't- this isn't fair, you're both assholes." He crossed his arms. "I'm trying to work and you're... you're just..."

I reached out a hand and he folded instantly, almost tripping over himself to get to us. His fingers laced with mine and he tilted his head up ever-so-slightly to meet my lips.

Compared to his usual clothing, Nico was clad in soft sweatpants along with the aforementioned t-shirt, barefoot on the kitchen tile. He looked soft and welcoming and I smiled into the kiss.

Will kissed the back of my head. "Bedroom?"

I shook my head, breaking the kiss. "Sofa? Closer."

I recieved two nods and the three of us stumbled over to the sofa. I sat, dragging Nico on top of me so he was straddling my thighs. My fingers danced at the edges of his t-shirt. "This okay?"

He nodded enthustiastically and I ran my fingers up and down his spine with one hand, pulling him into a kiss with the other. Will came to stand behind Nico, bending over his neck and pressing quick kisses into the flesh. I could feel the heat radiating off Nico under the attention of both his partners.

Slowly, Nico took my hand and with a fierce blush put it to the back of his head.

"Want me to play with your hair, hm?"

He blushed harder. "Y-You were the one who wanted to, I'm just... helping."

"So helpful, sweetheart." I twisted my fingers in his dark waves, holding firmly near the base so as not to hurt him unecessarily. He keened, head leaning back and resting on Will's chest. I took the opportunity to lean forward and nip red marks into his skin, tiny flowers blossoming on top of the old ones.

Nico's hands twisted into my sweater and Will's hands reached down to ghost over the front of Nico's sweatpants. "Can I touch you, please, baby?"

Nico breathed out a "Yes," and Will dipped his hand beneath his waistband. Nico's head tried to jerk forward but my grip in his hair was firm and he ended up rolling his body forward, pressing further into Will's hand.

I touched two fingers to Nico's mouth and his lips parted, tongue darting out to lick at the tips before obediently taking them into his mouth.

Will cursed. "Shit, so pretty, huh? My tough guy all soft for us, just for us."

Nico nodded as best he could with my hand gently pulling at his locks and my fingers in his mouth. I shifted my hips against the sofa, eyes flicking between Nico's gorgeous expression and the obscene sight of Will jerking him off under his sweatpants.

Will pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Will you let me put my mouth on you, darlin'? You look so good, I wanna make you feel good, can I do that?"

Nico's eyes rolled back and I removed my fingers from his mouth so he could answer. "Fuck, yes, you can do that."

On slightly wobbling legs, Nico turned around until he was sitting on my lap with his back against my chest. I arranged his legs so he was spread open, sweatpants tugged off by Will who was now kneeling on the floor. I wrapped an arm around Nico's waist, makinng sure he didn't move too much.

Will licked a stripe up Nico's dick and I felt him jerk against me, inhaling sharply. I made eye contact with Will.

At the same time as he took Nico's dick into his mouth, I bit down on Nico's neck. He writhed against me, crying out and tangling his hand in Will's golden hair. "That was a dirty trick," he panted, barely getting the words out.

"We know." I sucked bruises into his skin, enjoying the feeling of his pounding pulse against my lips as Will drove him slowly crazy with his mouth.

Nico's breathing got heavier and faster and I moved my hands to the insides of his thighs to stop him closing his legs on Will. Nico's hands were everywhere, in Will's hair, clutching my arms, reaching back to hold my head against his neck, the boy was frantic with pleasure.

"Fu-fuck, I'm gonna- Will, I'm gonna come-!"

I clamped my hands down harder on his thighs as Will pulled off of Nico's dick, jerking him quick and dirty until Nico exploded, cum drenching Will's t-shirt.

His body went limp, collapsing totally into mine. I held him close, whispering praise and reassurance into his ear, how he did so good, so well for us, I was so proud of him, he was so fucking gorgeous.

Will vanished to quickly chuck his shirt into the washing machine, returning soon with some water and a damp towel. Nico took it gratefully, swallowing half the glass. Will remained kneeling, cleaning our boyfriend carefully and putting his sweatpants back on.

"You doin' okay, darlin'?" Will pressed a kiss to Nico's knee from his position on the floor.

Nico nodded. "Very okay." He raised an eyebrow. "Are your knees okay?"

Will laughed. "They're fine, so worth the ache."

Smiling, Nico bent forward to kiss Will sweetly before slipping off my lap and curling into the corner of the sofa with his water.

I turned to Will, and winked.

"Your turn."

genuinely one of the reasons i think i might be polyam is because i like writing polyam relationships so much

So out you went, got dressed, got to the training arena, faced Sherman, not Nico, showed up to breakfast, ate something, waved at Will, didn’t feel any better. The day continued and around three in the afternoon you called it quits. It didn’t matter what you tried to do- nothing was giving you satisfaction, or felt like it was useful. Throughout the day your brain decided to suggest other activities that might be worth your time more than whatever you were doing, but those activities seemed to be even worse than what your initial plan was for the day. It was dreadful. Therefore, maybe doing nothing would feel good. 

Thus there you were, laying on top of your blanket, in your bed. Nobody else was in the cabin, and you were grateful for it. You had, as a good intention, grabbed your journal and a book you were currently reading, for perhaps your bed would give you enough comfort to do something. It hadn’t, however you kept the two near just in case someone would walk in. You would be able to quickly grab either and pretend to be busy to dodge any questions or requests. Or, at the least, you hoped you wouldn’t look like a depressed little shit. So, you just laid there, sometimes urging yourself to pick up the book, only to stare at the same page for ten minutes before closing your eyes. Eventually the dinner bell rang and you got up, head a little painful. You felt tired, but food might help? 

Food did help, at least with your energy level. You even found yourself a little excited to go to the campfire, more or less unable to say no to your friends. And you had spotted Nico sitting with Mr. D, and Will at the Apollo table so maybe you would be able to sit with them. 

Yet, as you made your way to the campfire surrounded by some of your friends, you didn’t see your boyfriends. After a bit you spotted Will with his siblings- ah, of course they would lead the campfire songs. He didn’t look at you, so you looked away. You couldn’t find Nico, but he might have gone to bed early.

Gods you were touch starved. Even the warmth of the campfire couldn’t make you pretend that your boyfriends were near, and the fact that that was the first thought in your mind was upsetting. You indulged in conversation with your siblings for a bit, but still, seeing Will so far away, it just made you want to lock him, Nico and yourself up in your room, in your bed and be cozy.  

And you truly thought you were making it up when Nico sat down next to you, and pressed a kiss on your cheek. After a moment of surprise you smiled at your boyfriend. 

“What are you doing back?” you asked as you reached for Nico’s hand, which he gladly gave you. “I missed you and Will,” Nico looked you over, “and I’ve been worried about you.” a pit formed in your chest, as you tried to laugh it off. “Why?” you didn’t like how your voice trembled just there, “I’ve been fine.” you tried to correct your tone, to no avail. Nico shook his head. “Don’t lie to me.” his tone was angrier than he was expecting it to be. He had known you were feeling less than okay from the date yesterday, and he realized how little he had seen you in the past weeks. He had missed Will and you and when he saw you in passing today you looked miserable, but then he hadn’t been able to find you again during the day and he got roped in the last few things he wanted to do for the troglodytes, so this was the first time he got to you again. Seeing you made his heart a little lighter, but his worry bigger. You were radiating yearning and he had seen you stare at Will from across the amphitheater. Either way, he could see that his tone had affected you, as you were no longer smiling, but instead staring at him, sadness barely contained behind your eyes, guards up. 

You weren’t saying anything, and Nico knew the feeling too. Instead he decided to stand up, tugging at your hand without words. He made eye contact with Will, and beckoned him over. Will took a moment, laughing as his siblings probably teased him, before he walked around the campfire towards the two of you. 

“What’s up with the two most beautiful people in the world?” he asked, although he could clearly sense the tension between the two of you. You looked away from your boyfriends, not wanting to face them just yet. 

“We’re going to have an intervention,” Nico said casually, and he squeezed your hand, “You coming?” You didn’t know, but Will nodded as he looked at you. He had been worried too, and this morning he had found Nico, but not you, and talked with him about how weirdly distant you felt. He knew he hadn’t found much time for you recently, and felt bad, but he did hope you would come to him if you truly felt bad, or if you at least felt ready to deal with your feelings. He hated forcing emotions out of people, but it hurt him to see you hurting. Will walked wordlessly to your other side, grabbed your hand as you looked up. You were met with a worried smile of your lover, before he softly kissed you on the cheek. “Let’s get this strong one checked out, huh.” His words were soft as your boyfriends led you to the Hades cabin. 

It hadn’t taken long to walk to the cabin, but when the warmth of the campfire was removed it seemed as if the cold hit twice as hard. You didn’t want to do this- but then again isn’t this what you had wanted? Alone time with your boyfriends? You had thought that they didn’t know, or wouldn’t notice but of course they do. Your significant others loved you, and would notice it whenever you’re unwell. 

So you walked into the Hades cabin, the lovers on your side moving to stand in front of you, neither letting go of you as they grabbed each other's hands, completing the circle. Your boyfriends looked at you, hoping you would start talking, telling them what was wrong. Instead, you tried to push their worries away. 

“I am fine, now that we’re all together.” your voice wavered, but you smiled, unaware of it not reaching your eyes. Nico wanted to call out your lie again, but decided to change strategies. “You’re allowed to feel bad, love.” Nico spoke softly, careful with his tone, “ You can talk about it, or not- that’s up to you but at least let yourself feel bad. Don’t force yourself to have a good day, like you did yesterday, or feel good.” “I wasn’t forcing myself,” you objected, “the day truly got better when I hung out with you!” “But afterwards? Or today?” Nico squeezed your hand, a knowing look on his face, “You’ve been feeling bad for longer and going on a date isn’t going to fix that.” “But it helped.” your voice was quiet, “I didn’t want to ruin our first outing like that.” “It might’ve helped, still it doesn’t mean we’re not worried.” Nico matched his voice to yours, and as a short silence fell Will spoke up. 

“And you should talk to us, or anyone, even if it would ‘ruin’ a date.” Will sucked in a breath, “I know it sucks to hurt- but we would be more worried if you didn’t tell us than if you do. We care about you and want to know when you’re unwell.” There was a lot of emotion in his voice, but after his little speech the room got quiet again. He let go of your and Nico’s hands as he cupped your cheeks.

“What do you need?” Will asked, wanting to leave behind his doctor ways of prescribing help. Will acknowledge that this time you were the only one who would know how to help yourself. 

“I don’t know.” you choked back tears, you did know. It wouldn’t fix anything in the long term, but it would make you feel better.  “cuddles?” your voice came out as a whisper, gone from the emotions you were feeling. Will smiled, as he softly gave you an ‘of course, love’ and intertwined his hand with yours. Nico silently propped up the pillows on his bed, before guiding you to sit next to him. As you sat down you leaned your head on Nico’s shoulder, as he put his arm around your shoulder. 

Will laid his head on your shoulder, still tightly holding your hand and leaning on to you. You didn’t want to move- but hiccups shook your body as you let out more tears, slowly you moved your legs up, going more into a fetal position as you leaned further into Nico, but Will pushed your legs softly downwards a little, refusing to let you curl up. 

“It will feel better, I promise.” he said as he looked you in the eye. He put his palm under your chin, using his thumb to move away some of the tears. It was futile- more were forming and falling while he did it, but he tried anyways, lovingly, catching them, catching you. His face was one of concern and so, so much love, as he made a final effort of clearing your face of tears by pressing a kiss on your cheek before once again leaning against you, his head on your shoulder. 

Nico’s grip on you tightened, but he was unsure of what he could do, and wanted to do. If Nico was honest, he hadn’t gotten much, if any comfort previous to dating Will and you whenever he had breakdowns. He didn’t know how he could help- he just understood the need to be independent, and the relief when he found out he didn’t have to be that anymore. This wasn’t about him, but he would need to be told what you needed before acting. 

Nico felt guilty, most of all. Perhaps if he had kept you closer he would’ve noticed sooner, he was often the most perceptive of the three of you. Then again, you knew how important communication was, and he knew how hard it was to communicate. The cycle of emotions would never go without its stumbles, and next time Nico swore to himself he would catch you. He would much rather fall with you, and find you at the bottom of a spiral. So he held you, and would hold you until you were steady again, and hopefully long after, he would hold you in his embrace. 

But that was not what today’s story is about. Instead, it is about how your boyfriend was acting when you found him. He was basically cradling his bag, smiling suspiciously.  However, as you all knew to not hang around after a monster attack, you didn’t question him at all, and when you sneaked back into camp and went separate ways you promptly forgot about Will being suspicious.

Or rather, you would have, if he stopped acting that way the next day. Nico had grabbed Will by the arm as Will had just tried to sneak away after lunch without talking to either of you. But instead of answering to your questioning looks, he wriggled his arm out of Nico’s grip. 

“I just need to do some stuff- I will catch up with you later.” Will slipped away quickly, leaving you and Nico alone. 

“He’s hiding something” You stated and Nico nodded. 

“Since yesterday, let’s follow him.” he suggested, and you both were on your way. 

Will had seemed to leave camp, going towards Rachel’s oracle cave. He finally crouched down before something, and Nico and you silently followed him. Will seemed too preoccupied with whatever was in front of him to notice Nico and you sneaking up to him. As you came closer, something darted past Will, and as he quickly turned around, to grab the creature he spotted his lovers. 

“Oh! Hi, what are you doing here?”

“We could ask the same of you, William.” Nico stepped closer, “Whatcha got there?” 

“A smoothie-” 

“Will.” Nico sternly glared at his boyfriend. 

 Will pouted, “Remember yesterday? When we encountered those monsters?” Both you and Nico nodded. 

“Well, I found these,” Will gestured for you to come over. In his lap were a bunch of kittens. You crouched on Will’s left, as Nico did the same on his right. Three of the kittens made their way over to him, climbing on his knees. Nico panicked, and fell backwards on his butt, giving the kittens more access to his lap. Will was mindlessly petting the remaining kittens on his lap, and you were watching Nico intently. Nico reluctantly tried to push the kittens away, but he was so gentle that he ended up petting them instead. 

It was a soft moment, as Nico relaxed and got used to the kittens. But good things never last.

“I think we’re parents now,” Will declared, and you shot him a panicked look. 

“Will, love, light of my life,” you carefully grabbed a kitten from his lap, softly petting it,  “We cannot keep these?” Will pointed at Nico, who hadn't looked up from the kittens he was petting but you shook your head. 

“Nico has the cocoa puffs! Certainly cats would be fine!” He exclaimed. Nico looked up and shook his head. 

“I don’t think they would be safe at camp, or happy.” he said, still unconsciously petting the kittens on his lap, which started softly meowing. 

“Let’s ask Chiron.” You offered. 

“No!” Will quickly grabbed the kitten back from you, “He would never allow it. Look how about we just try it for a week. I’m sure you both will be convinced to keep them by the end of it.” 

You were not convinced by the end of the week. Sure, the cats were cute and even talked back whenever you addressed them. However, getting them enough food, supplies and a safe shelter while keeping them out of sight was hellish. First up was naming the cats, which Will had attempted before you arrived. However, most of the kittens looked very alike and he kept messing up, so in the end it was either settling for leaving them unnamed ( “Until!” Will had exclaimed, “We decide to keep them.” “Or we get them other forever homes, love.” Nico tried to reason, but Will shook his head.) 

Next up was shopping for supplies. The kittens had been staying in Rachel’s cave, as she was not currently at camp, but the slight dampness was worrying you. Therefore you had to go to a pet store. But as you got there, you found out cat supplies weren’t the cheapest and in addition you had not a clue on what to get. You had asked the clerk for help, after Will refused to do so (“I’m sure I can find out what my children need,” “I can’t believe you’re killing your own kids by being stubborn,” Nico had rebutted). At last, you had a list of things and had started putting them in the basket. Suddenly, a worried looking Nico had shown up before you, telling you to hurry up. 

“There may or may not be monsters just outside of the store.” 

“Where’s Will?” you asked worriedly. You couldn’t stop yourself though- “he’ll find more cats while we fight the monsters again, where’s he?” Nico laughed, before answering. 

“He’s already convincing the clerk to let us through the back door, to throw the monsters off.” 

After your successful trip to the store it was decided that if the cats could be taught anything then that meant they were more likely to stay away from let’s say the lava walls or other dangerous places at camp. At least, that was Nico’s condition for raising the cats. Determined, Will and him set out to teach the cats tricks. 

Setting aside a small calico cat, who was the most calm thus far, you watched as your boyfriends started their endeavor. It certainly was cute seeing them try, but they clearly weren’t built for teaching a creature with no intent of listening. The kitten kept crawling onto Nico’s lap, and after being removed from it for the fifth time, it made a beeline for you, meowing angrily. Your boyfriends sighed in defeat as you started cuddling it, an unsaid ‘I told you so’ on your tongue. 

Meanwhile, about a quarter of the people at camp had caught a whiff of the cats one way or another. Besides that a camper or two had complained about allergies (not that they were exposed to the cats-), the week was coming to an end. You knew very well it was time to rip off the band aid for Will. 

But there was one final card Will had up his sleeve. He wanted to incorporate them into date night, as it would be ‘such a cute thing! Family time!’  

That wasn’t the only reason, it was going to storm, and Rachel’s cave was out of camp borders which meant that the kittens would be caught in the middle of it. After careful consideration, you smuggled them into Nico’s cabin, where you had set out a ‘cat-proof’ blanket fort. With a cat-friendly movie on the screen cuddles ensued. Will sat in the middle, Nico on the wall side and you were on the other. All was going well, although a little chaotic at first, as the kittens wouldn’t sit down. But with enough pets, the six kittens were seemingly getting sleepy. 

That was, until Will suddenly paused the movie. After a moment, he groaned. 

“I got peed on." he picked up the evil doer, “This little one peed on me. We should get them off the bed and blankets.” 

“Ah, yeah you didn’t manage to potty train them, did you?” you laughed and moved the kittens off your lap. Nico seemed a little more worried about getting  the cats off, as it was his bed you were sitting on. When you all put the kittens in a cardboard box, Will sighed. 

“Well, where are we going to keep them now? They will for sure pee everywhere in here, and the cave is unsafe.” 

“Do you think we should tell Rachel there is cat pee all over her cave now?” Nico asked, unhelpfully. 

“Probably, maybe-” you heard a knock on the door. It wasn’t past curfew yet, so you wouldn’t be in too much trouble if you were found hanging out, but there was a different problem as the kittens were meowing loudly. The three of you had a moment-long staring contest, not speaking up, in the hopes the kittens would also quit talking, which they didn’t. 

“I know you three troublemakers are in here,” Chiron’s voice sounded loudly, “I just want to have a word.” 

“He knows,” Will whispered, looking accusingly at you. You put up your hands.

“I didn’t tell him- I swear.” you whispered back. Nico shook his head, as he made his way to the door. 

“Hello, Chiron,” he tried to sound casual, “what brings you here?” 

“Oh, I simply want to see the box and its contents that you brought over here.”

“Of course, just a moment-” Nico was interrupted. 

“Now, young man.” 

Will looked at you, panicked. You grabbed the box but Will tried to stop you. “Please (Y/n)- we can-”  But you turned around, determinedly going to Chiron. As you walked out from behind Nico, Chiron looked at the kittens. 

“So, that is why I kept finding dead mice at the front step of the Big House.” Chiron grimaced, “I am sorry to inform you that we cannot keep the cats near camp,” 

“Look, we can teach them to stay away from danger and-”

“It is not that, young man.” Chiron looked heavily at Will, “The cats will hunt the wildlife near camp, and I cannot excuse that. It is harmful for the environment to keep the cats here, and I have already heard worries from several satyrs about the sudden uptake in disappearing animals. But worry not, there is a satyr supported stray cafe not too far from here, and Sam Greenwood has offered to take the kittens there, as he was going to visit it anyways . They will be treated well, and possibly adopted by satyr approved households.” 

“stray cafe? And why would satyrs run it, aren’t they against domestication?” 

“They take in any stray animal that should not be let out in the wild. Snakes, cats, lizards and the more. Invasive species are harmful to natural habitats, and by extension if the species does not have a habitat where they do belong, as is the case with your cats, they cats are better adopted and kept inside than letting them roam around until they run out of wildlife to kill. It’s one of many efforts to clean up after humans make a mess.” 

So, you gave up the kittens. Will pouted, but he handed over the kittens. 

“It’s for the best,” Will sighed, “but maybe we can visit the café at some point?” 

“That’s a paw-mise,” you smiled, and Will groaned. “You have to be kitten me-” Nico said, and Will groaned louder. 

“The entire week they have been here and you two start when they’re gone?” Will complained.

“This was just the purr-fect moment, sunshine.” You smiled, and Will put his head on your shoulder. 

──────────────────────

As your senses returned to you, you noticed you were in Rachel’s cave, right outside the border of camp. You blinked a few times, before you noticed both your boyfriends were already checking up on you.

“How are you doing? Feeling alright?” Will asked as he softly cupped your cheek and looked you in the eyes. You nodded, leaning into his touch as he nodded in response. You looked over at Nico, seeing distress on his face.

“Sorry, I know you don’t like shadow travel, but we had to be quick.” He apologized and you stood up and put a hand on his arm.

“It’s alright, what’s going on?” you asked, and Nico relaxed a bit.

“Long story short, Alabaster and Paolo had found these crystals,” he held up a purple bag with a green string, “while they were out of camp, and using a spell of some sorts they accidentally let out the souls these crystals were holding.” You slowly nodded your head, urging Nico to go on, “So, this resulted in camp being haunted, and as they were explaining this to me, the ghosts took a hold of their bodies- which honestly I did not think ghosts could do anymore, but I suppose that’s why these particular ones were in these crystals.”

“They got possessed?” Will asked and Nico sighed as he nodded.

“Cool!” You exclaimed, “Sucks, but still cool.” You chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a bit, “Anyways, how do we fix it?” you asked, “I am assuming we can’t leave camp haunted, right?”

“Can’t we? I don’t think it would make much of a difference as to how it is now” Nico joked, “It would be easier if anything.” You laughed but Will did not join in on the jokes, however.

“I think we have a serious issue right now, loves.” He sighed, being unable to hold back his smile, “I am assuming there is a strategy to this?” Nico nodded.

“We can get the ghosts back into the crystals simply by touching them with it, and if I can trust the package it came in it should seal them back into the crystals for good by using the code word ‘sigillum’, however,” Nico grimaced, “We need to first remove them from their hosts.”

───────────

By the time you had come up with some sort of strategy, it was already turning dark. Nico had listed the pros and cons of starting the rescue when it’s dark, the most important pro being that the ghosts would be more visible once they were outside of their hosts. The sun was setting slowly, and it was still a few hours before curfew. You had to try and be done before then, because with the harpies on your back you could kiss your victory goodbye. With this in mind, you and Will divided the crystals between the two of you, 3 crystals each. You felt nerves creep up as a fluttering in your chest. Will quickly squeezed your arm as the both of you split apart.

You would have liked to say that the plan was simple, but a big part of it was built around assumptions and luck. Although, arguably most of demigod life was built around those two aspects. The first part of the plan had been sealing the borders around camp. At one point, with Nico losing control sometimes when he is upset, you had Alabaster teach you some easy sealing spells, to trap any undead in a temporary prison. At the time, you had feared how Nico would take it. You didn’t want him to think you feared him, so as you nervously told him you did not meet his eyes. Instead of him getting angry, he softly grabbed your hand, cupped your cheek and thanked you, a small smile on his face and a bit red in the cheeks. 

However, neither of you had thought it would come handy like this. Doing the spell this big did tire you, and you were nervous about whether it worked, but you had to at least hope it contained the ghosts within camp. You couldn’t have them possessing innocent mortals.  

The second part of the plan depended on separating the ghosts so you would tackle one at a time- trying to not have Nico overexert himself as he will need to pull the ghosts out of their hosts, before both Will and you try to catch it in a crystal as quickly as possible. However, entering camp was dangerous because Nico only knew of two possessions: Alabaster and Paolo. He had run as soon as he noticed two souls in each of their bodies, but he was not sure about whether the ghosts could possess Chiron or not. You all had hoped not, for that would be a tough one to take on.

The other four ghosts could still be looking for hosts and although you rather not have anyone possessed, you hoped they had found four other campers already. If you knew the body in which the ghost was, you could at least be sure it would need to expose itself before being able to possess one of you three, giving you a small opportunity to capture the ghosts.  You weren’t sure how hard it was for the ghosts to jump bodies, so you could not possibly know who was on your side. The three of you were each walking near each other, scanning the camp for any movement.

The Big House was near the camp border, and although it was a place that most definitely held a ghost, it also held your only option as to get rid of your curfew deadline. It was a gamble, but you really hoped that they only left one person to guard the Big House. 

As you made your way onto the deck, you crouched down, slowly walking towards a window in hopes of peaking in. Nico sat against the wall, waiting for a sign, as Will tried checking the other window for any signals of life. Will had not expected to be faced with Paolo however, and he let out a yelp as he scrambled away, just before a hand wrapped in green punched through the window. 

Immediately you were on your feet, running past Nico as you grabbed your sword and held it in front of you. Will sprung on his feet behind you. You shot Nico a quick look, and he nodded. Your hand went to your pocket as you grabbed a crystal, ready for whatever was to come. Paolo stepped out of the window, breathing heavily. 

“Paolo, if you are in there,” you gulped as he glared at you, his eyes filled with a void, “I am sorry if I hurt you.” you said as you stepped forward. You wanted to distract him, so Nico and Will could get him.You stepped closer to Paolo, but he barely seemed to care as he lurched for you. You quickly sidestepped and hit him with the blunt of your sword on his head, knocking him to the ground. Before he got the chance to  get up, you jumped on  him, holding him down with all your body weight, both of his hands restrained. You made eye contact with Nico.

“Go!” you urged him and a look of focus came on his face. As Paolo started to struggle against your hold, you let your sword drop, tightening your grip on his arms. You could see the ghost being pulled out of Paolo, there was a lack of facial features, yet you felt as if its grim smile had a hold on your body. You felt its cold non-corporeal form pass through your hands and into the air above you. As the ghost took shape before you, your arms weakened and your chest tightened. You should get away! Run! But- it was as if it was trying to suck out all your life-force, solely with the holes that should have held eyes. 

The ghost disappeared, replaced with Will standing there, muttering ‘sigillum’. It was as if a soft wind blew over you, feeling yourself no longer restrained by whatever that was. You wanted to chalk it up to fear- you were just caught off guard right? This was the first ghost after all, so now you knew what to expect. You noticed how Paolo was passed out beneath you, as if in some kind of slumber. He would probably wake up in due time. You tried to get up looking unbothered by what just occurred, however there was still some remaining numbness in your limbs making you stumble. 

“You alright?” Nico asked worriedly, he wanted to make sure that the ghosts didn’t hurt you too much. In his opinion you got way too close this time. You nodded and tried to send a reassuring smile. “It just caught me off guard,” you took a breath, “didn’t think the ghost would scare me that much? I’ll be fine, let’s see if we can find Chiron.” Will silently grabbed your hand and squeezed. Nico protectively stepped to your other side, as a guard. He was trying to give some sort of comfort as you made your way inside. He didn’t like that he didn’t manage to prevent the ghost from coming so close to you, but you had to keep Paolo down. Nico really hoped the other ghosts would be easier to catch, but he feared for the worse. 

The three of you were on guard as you entered the Big House. You first passed through the infirmary, which was entirely empty (who was on infirmary duty today?), and as you made your way to Chiron’s office, nothing happened. The door was closed, and Will stepped forward to open it. 

“Careful, we don’t know who’s in there.” you warned your boyfriend as he put his hand on the handle. “I only sense one soul in there, so I think there aren’t any ghosts in there,” Nico noted as he put his hand on your lower back, the gesture meant to calm you. You shot him a thankful look and focused back on the door, the pressure of Nico’s hand grounding you a little. 

As Will opened the door, you were met with the sight of Chiron with tied up legs. “Ah, young Nico, I see you have come back.” Chiron greeted you, a glint of amusement in his eyes. Nico seemed embarrassed. “I had my priorities,” he simply said as the three of you started working on untying Chiron. “I understand your partners are very important to you,” Chiron noted, “However, I have to ask how you defeated young Paolo? Or is he still possessed?”  

“He’s down for the count, but we have the ghost in this crystal.” Will got the crystal out of his pocket, and shook it a little before showing it to Chiron. You noticed how by doing so, the shine in the crystal moved around. You imagined that this was the ghost, in its little house, being shaken around until it got sick. Payback for trying to fight you. Chiron inspected the crystal, and the centaur nodded in approval. 

“So the three of you have a plan then,” Chiron looked at you, now freed from his bindings. “I would like to request you to get rid of this haunting. See it as a quest!” His tone feigned excitement as all three of you grimace. You weren’t too surprised by this, but that did not mean it sucked any less.