Nico's Heroes

First Meeting

*Trigger warning*

I slowly blink my eyes open as I wake up to an empty bed. I panic slightly because WIll isn't there and I can feel the panic rise up and bubble to the surface.

"Good morning angel, sleep well?" Will calls out from farther in my cabin. The panic subsides as I hear his voice. I smile and crawl out of bed.

"Could've been better if I woke up to your beautiful face, but overall the best I have slept in weeks," I tell him. 

"Well, you better fill out the sleeping log that Reyna gave you or she will have your head." Will jokes. I smile as I walk over to the paper. I pick up the pencil and fill in space for today. Will comes up behind me and pulls me into a hug. I jump slightly before I relax in his arms. I turn and cuddle in his chest. He presses his lips into my hair and kisses my head. I lift my head up to his face and I kiss his nose. 

"Dork." He laughs. I laugh quietly and pull away to get dressed. I pull on my pants and my camp t-shirt. Chiron made me a special black t-shirt which was really kind of him and I love it. I then throw on the black aviator jacket that Will gave me for Christmas last year.

"Did you take your medication yet?" I shake my head. "Go do that, please." I walk to my bathroom and reach into the medicine cabinet to take my pills. As I shake out my pills the voices startup.

"People who have to take meds are crazy, your crazy, freak, die, no one wants you, you need and stupid animal to stay sane, dumbass, not only that but you're a fucking fag as well," My hands start to shake as the voices start screaming at me.  Tears start flowing down my face as panic takes over. I crumple to the ground, shaking hard, my heart is beating so fast and I can't breathe.

"Will!" I call out. He somehow hears me and comes running to me. he sees me on the ground and drops to his knees in front of me. I am clutching my knees to my chest as Will starts to talk to me. I don't know what he is saying but his voice calms me down enough for me to breathe easier and stop shaking. The tears keep flowing as I crawl into Wills's lap. He pulls me closer and holds me until the tears stop. He keeps talking to me and telling me he loves me and that I am loved. Once I have fully calmed down I look up at Will and he pecks my nose with a kiss. I giggle as he does it five more times. I get up as does Will. I go back to the counter and pick up the spilled bottle of pills. I take the ones I need and put the rest back.

" Are you hungry, because pancakes are ready," Will informs me.

"Ooh, Yum. I'll be out in a minute." I brush my teeth and hair as the pills kick in, the voices quiet to a low mutter, I feel happier, and I don't feel impending doom on top of me. I walk out of the bathroom and head to my small kitchen. I sit down at the island as Will slides a small plate of mini pancakes in front of me. He sits down beside me with a much larger serving of mini pancakes. Will pours a bunch of syrup and adds a ton of fruits and whip cream. I add a few blueberries because they are the only thing that allows me to eat. I have to have blueberries with every meal because if I don't, all the food will just come right back up. Once we finish breakfast Will wants to go to the infirmary for a bit before we go meet my new companion. We head inside, as Will greets his siblings. I follow him around as he treats some of his patients in worse conditions that only he can treat. Once he finishes, he tells his siblings that he is heading out. They say goodbye as we head out to the car. Jules Albert is already in the driver's seat ready to drive us to the clinic. I tell him the address and he revs the car up and speeds us off.

"How are you feeling about all of this?'' Will asks. I think for a moment before responding.

" Well, I feel sweaty and scared. I'm scared she will run away and leave me. I'm scared that this won't work and that we put all this effort into another thing that is useless to help me." I ramble on. Will nods as Jules pulls into the parking lot.  I take a deep breath and climb out of the car. WIll comes around the back of the car and grabs my hand. We walk into the clinic and Will goes up to the front desk and tells the secretary why we are here. She nods and tells us where to go. Will guides me to the room where I am going to meet my new cat. Will opens the door and we walk in. There are a lot of people there. I squeeze Wills hand to let him know I'm uncomfortable. We walk in and take a seat. I am sitting beside a young woman who is holding a young boy in her arms. The young boy looks over at me and smiles, I smile back. He must be around three. 

"Why you here?" The little boy asks.

"I am here to meet my new kitty, are you going to meet your animal?" I ask him. He nods vigorously and smiles. The woman looks over to me and smiles. 

"I apologize for my son, he has autism and is very talkative. He is getting a dog to keep him sane. If I may ask, your here for an animal too?" She asks politely. I nod.

"Yes, I am here for a cat. I get really bad panic attacks and she is going to help me with those." I tell her. Will looks over and smiles at me.

"Making friends already, Angel?" Will jokes. I laugh and continue talking to the young woman. Her son joins in every few minutes. After ten minutes a young man with dirty blonde hair and bright grey eyes. He introduces himself and tells us about the animals. He starts calling names and introducing the animals to the corresponding person. He continues and I wait until he calls my name. 

"Nico di Angelo," He calls. I stand up and walk over. "This is Maria." She comes out and is smaller then I thought she would be. I go over to her and sit down on the ground. She comes over to me and climbs into my lap. I pet her gently and she meows at me. She stands up on her hind legs a puts her front paws on my chest. She presses her tiny pink nose to my nose. I laugh quietly and keep petting her. I feel instantly calmer and more relaxed with her. She makes me feel like Will does. Calm and grounded. Will walks over and sits down beside me. I look at him.

"Thank you, Will. I love you."

MariaPOV

I am sitting in my cage until a human opens it. I run through all of the training I went through to get here. I am supposed to help a boy with many mental disorders. I know I can do it. I walk out of my cage and sit down. The boy comes over and sits down in front of me. He reeks of death and despair. I walk up to him and climb into my lap. He seems to be holding his breath as I do. He starts to pet me gently and I meow calmly. I then decide that I want a good look at his face. I stand up on my hind legs and put my front paws on his chest. I look into his very beautiful but broken brown eyes. He has bags under his eyes. I was told that he has trouble sleeping so I need to help him with that. I press my nose to him and he laughs quietly. I made him laugh! He continues petting me and another boy comes over. I pull my face away from his and look him over. My boy has black hair and is very pale. I can feel his ribs under my paws so he must be really thin. The boy that came over is now sitting beside my boy. This boy has blonde hair and blue eyes. He is tan and must be very athletic. My boy looks at the blonde boy and tells him.

"Thank you Will, I love you." Okay, so Will must be the blonde boy's name.

"Of course my angel you need her," Will tells my boy. My boy nods and leans against Will.

"So, Nico are you ready to take Maria home?" Will asks my boy. Nico is my boy's name and I forgot about it. But I know it now so that is good. Nico nods and picks me up. He is very gentle with me like he is scared that I am going to run away. I but my head against his chin and he looks down at me. 

"What was that for?" He asks. I meow at him and do it again. Will laughs and walks over to a car. He opens the door and Nico climbs in with me in his arms. He puts me down beside me as he pulls a flat long rope across his chest. Once he clips a strange metal piece into another strange plastic piece he puts me back into his lap and continues to pet me. Will climb in beside him and the driver rolls down the parting. I look at the driver and I scare. He is a zombie! I meow at Nico and he looks at Will.

"I think she is scared of Jules. He is kinda scary. When my father first gave him to me I was scared to use him." Nico tells Will and me. I meow again and Nico continues to pet me.

"You better get used to weird and scary things Maria because it only gets worse from here," Nico tells me. I take note of that and the car revs up and speeds off to where ever Nico and Will lives.