!! suicide is mentioned, please proceed with caution if it triggers you. nothing graphic. the character who attempted is still alive. !!

It's been a long time, I know. If you don't remember what had happened in the last chapter, Will attempted to take his life and Nico stopped him from doing so. That's basically the gist of it. Thanks for reading!

Nico

I wrapped my arms around Will as he leaned against me, resting his head on my shoulder. His hair tickled my nose, and I resisted the urge to sneeze. 

After the suicide attempt, Frank had told me to take Will back to the room that Perseus had given us. He was relieved that I was able to talk some sense into the son of Apollo, and he informed me that Clarisse, Reyna and Jason would finish cleaning the training arena. 

"Nico." Will murmured, lifting his head up slightly to blink wearily at me. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" I interrupted him by placing a finger against his lips, smiling softly at his surprised expression. 

"It's alright, sunshine." I whispered, ignoring the voice at the back of my head that was telling me it wasn't okay. "You weren't thinking properly. I understand. You're here, and you're with me. That's all that matters." 

Will's lips curved up into a small smirk before I lowered my hand from his lips. He leaned in to kiss me on the cheek before he wriggled out of my embrace to lie down on the mattress. I reached out to pull the blanket up to his chin and brushed my thumb against the side of his face. 

"Get some rest." I said, and Will nodded sleepily before his eyes closed and his breathing evened out. I watched him for a few seconds before turning to face the door. "I know you're out there. I'll be there in a second." 

I rose to my feet and walked over to the door, stopping in front of it as it swung open. Standing in front of me was Perseus, and he looked down at me before moving to the side. 

I stepped out into the hallway, closing the door as I did so. Perseus gestured at me to follow him, and I sighed before nodding in agreement. He turned and strode down the corridor, and I had to hurry to keep up with him. 

He didn't say anything as we arrived at the gardens that surrounded the castle. I had to admit that the current King of Olympus did a good job on maintaining the flowers and bushes, but there was no way in Hades I was going to tell him that. 

Several members of Perseus' army were loitering around the garden, but I ignored them to focus my attention on my former friend. He wasn't looking at me, and his gaze was fixed on a particularly large water fountain that had been placed near a bunch of rosebushes. 

"What do you want?" I finally asked, crossing my arms over my chest. "You and I have not spoken in days." 

Perseus' eyes slid back to my face, and he clicked his tongue. "No need to be so hostile. I heard about Will and what he had attempted to do." 

I hated how calm he was, and I hated how Will's suicide attempt seemed to not bother him at all. "So what? Are you here to say sorry? I don't believe any of that bullshit." 

Perseus raised an eyebrow before he pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to me. I instinctively caught it and looked down to see that I was holding a small, velvet box. 

"Open it." The former son of Poseidon said, and I hesitated before complying. My eyes widened in disbelief and surprise to see that the box contained a diamond ring. 

I glanced at Perseus for clarification, and he gave me a wry smile. "That was for Zoe. I was going to propose to her after the war, but I should have known something was going to happen to her. I was too stupid to not have given it to her earlier." 

Why was he was telling me this? Why did he give me the ring that was meant for his dead girlfriend?

"There's no point in holding on to it." Perseus continued, ignoring the bewildered look that I was giving him. "She's gone, and I can't see her again. So, I'm going to let you keep it." 

Did I hear that correctly? 

"What?!" I spluttered, closing the box and tightening my grip on it. "Are you serious? Why- Why are you giving it to me? How am I... What am I even supposed to do with it?" 

Perseus snorted and rolled his eyes, causing me to glare at him. "Calm down. I'm giving it to you for a reason. Use your brain, it's not that difficult to figure out. I thought you were smarter than this." 

Did he really have to insult me? 

I frowned as I looked down at the box in my hands, thinking about why Perseus would give me something that was obviously very important to him. My mind went back to what he had said about proposing to Zoe, and-

Oh. 

My face turned red as I met Perseus' gaze, and the smile returned to his face. "Ah, so you've figured it out. Good for you." 

"You- You're giving me this so I can propose to Will? Why would you do that? I'm not even sure if I want to!" 

Perseus gave me a deadpan look and jabbed a finger at my chest. "Please reconsider what you had just said. It is so unbearably obvious that you two are smitten with each other. There is no way you aren't going to propose to him in the future. Quit lying to yourself and to me." 

I was so, so confused. Why was Perseus doing this? Wasn't he the bad guy? He wasn't supposed to care about us, especially after capturing and locking us up! 

His expression softened as he noticed the stunned look on my face. "Listen Nico, the ring has no use to me anymore. Keep it, and when you find the courage to propose to Will, you'll thank me." 

Sure. Whatever he thinks. 

I curled my fingers around the box and nodded stiffly. "Fine. I'm not going to say thank you, by the way." 

Perseus scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. "I didn't expect you to. Now let's go back to your room. It would be a shame if Will wakes up and he sees that you aren't there." 

I gritted my teeth and slipped the box containing the ring into the pocket of my pants. Perseus waited for me to walk in front of him before following, both of us entering the castle without another word. 

Word count: 1138

Hello friends, I have returned. It's been an incredibly long time, and I apologize. Hope you all are doing well, and see you soon!