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Chapter Text

Warning!

if you are not comfortable with anything said please click away

This work contains the following:

Graphic depictions of blood, vomit, mucus, and fever

Angst..it's all angst just letting you know

Wounds, small wounds, open wounds.

Flowers(yes flowers) blossoming from different areas of the body (may or may not be fatal)

This fic will not follow the regular symptoms of the hanahaki disease

Unrequited love

Homosexual love

Flower puns

Bad grammar

This is a fic to help with my writer's block do not expect anything good, I myself am proud of what I wrote but I'm open to constructive criticism

Also I have no idea what to write next on the valdangelo fic help me, this is just a blob of text now. 

Bye!!! Love you guys!

Chapter Text

It was December a week before Christmas when it started.

Nico was sitting near the windowsill, watching the snowflakes fall when,

he let out a cough wet and covering his elbow with blood and pollen, as he inspected the red velvety substance he noticed multiple little tiny petals clotted and covered with blood.

"What the hell?" He wondered what sickness would cause him to have such symptoms, standing up he went to rinse off all the mucus and blood.

Drying his hands and zipping on his boots he heads to the infirmary, off to search for William Solace, he wasn't sure what he'd tell him, it's not one he has ever seen before, not even in books, which leaves him curious, maybe solace has knowledge of it or maybe a medical log.

When he entered the medical room he saw will bandaging a camper, he took a seat on one of the beds, patiently waiting for the doctor to finish aiding the injured kid.

"What brings you here Nico?" Will asks as he removed his plastic gloves and cleans off the blood on the equipment.

"A sickness I'm not sure of, I have coughed a bundle of flower petals earlier, it was covered with blood, and it's one I haven't heard of before, do you perhaps know anything of it?"

Will shakes his head, with a tint of worry in his eyes he asks "That's an unusual set of symptoms, did you have any other symptoms beside that?"

"The cough just started today, I'm not sure if anything else happened, thought I'm growing tired by the second."

"I see, please inform me if anything happens other symptoms sprouting(pun not intended), etc. I will do research about your sickness, and I will tell you if I find anything, but as of now- Will said as he stood up heading towards the medicine cabinet, he pulled out a pack of cough drops "I recommend taking these to soothe your cough, and drink honey with boiled ginger water to loosen your mucus if you have a wet cough, push fluids too." The doctor advised as he gave Nico the mint.

Nodding and taking the drug out his hands he paced out the room, after exiting he found multiple campers playing with the snow, the lot of them using snowballs as projectiles.

As he was walking on the path clear of snow he was hit by a cold ball of frozen rain, wiping and clearing his face a camper ran to him to apologize, after assuring them it was fine and it was just an accident and walking back to his cabin, he took off his snow covered boots that was already damp by the time he stepped on the floor of his cabin.

He trudged into his bed not even bothering to change out of his clothes, it was too cold and he was too tired for that anyways.

________________________________________

When he woke up it was already dark out, he isn't sure what time and how long he had slept but one thing he knows is that he missed dinner, he thought as his stomach grumbled, but it was fine he was used to being hungry.

But he had to drink something, his throat was going dry and he had some tea leaves around here somewhere, he went to his mini electric stove and some boiled water, he probably missed the campfire too, atleast he felt a bit better and rested than earlier.

Pouring the hot water on a mug he soaked the tea leaves, after he left it for 3 minutes Nico threw away the tea bag.

Sipping the piping hot tea, not caring wether it burned his tongue or not. He choked on it, spilling tea on himself he coughed out another bundle of petals, but this time it was a whole flower, a single red bleeding heart, it blended with the red of his blood and he gold of ichor. Quite annoyed he tossed out the flower and finished his tea.

After finishing his drink he stripped and got into the shower washing himself off with the strong smelling liquid, ridding all of the tea that spilled on him, while in the shower he coughed out petals one after the other, filling his bathroom with flowers of yellow hyacinths 'Doesnt Apollo have a story about hyacinths?'. After cleaning the bath and drying himself he changed into a pair of pajamas.

The child of hades then got ready for bed, brushing his teeth, and climbing into his matress, after tossing and turning for a bit he soon fell asleep.

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His deep slumber was interrupted of him choking on yet another flower petal, this one was mixes of petunias and purple roses, staining his bedsheets with blood and mucus. While coughing the flowers out he vomited, blood, tea, and flower petals all mixed in his puke.

Scrunching his nose in disgust of the foul and nauseating smell, he started to throw up again, he vomited until he couldn't, it was a disgusting sight, maybe this disease is way worse than he thought it would be.

He got off from his bed to clean up the mess, ruining his carpet, but he didn't care all he wanted was to sleep, and since he didn't want to attract insects and rodents he forced himself to get up and clean it up himself.

Carrying a bucket, a mop, and bleach he started to mop out the vomit, throwing his carpet away, and spraying perfume all over, he had ridden of the puke, stumbling to the bathroom and putting away all his cleaning supplies, he threw himself on the bed and slept.

________________________________________

The child of hades woke up with a nosebleed, the blood dripping like a faucet, mixed with the pollen his body somehow produced, he once again headed to the clinic, he's loosing so much blood from the coughing alone, what will happen when you have a nose dripping with blood?!

When Nico arrived Solace wasn't present, instead another Apollo kid was there in place of him, said he was resting from over working himself and that he will be back the day after tomorrow, but Nico needed him now.

"Can I help you with anything?" Said the Apollo kid he didn't bother to get the name of

"N-nevermind, it's nothing." Nico dismissed covering his bleeding nose as he exited the infirmary.

Walking back to his cabin he again coughed out a flower, a small heliotrope, it's purple complementing the velvet color of his blood on his hands, he then proceeded to hurriedly run to his cabin, washing off the liquid gold off his hands, then he ploded to the dining pavilion.

Sitting and and picking at his food he noticed someone come up to him, the familiar face of a child of Zeus he always talked to, Jason Grace, the blonde equivalent to Superman, he always knew what was wrong and what to say.

"Hey, you good? You don't seem all too well, you look paler than usual. Do you have a fever?"

Nico sighed and slumped his shoulders, nodding yes, Jason took a hand and pressed it against his forehead.

"You're temperature seems normal, have you checked in with any of the Apollon kids?"

"I asked solace about it, said he had no idea what I caught." Nico sighed as he picked as his food.

"Well get some rest, don't over work yourself." Jason patted Nico's shoulder as he went back to his table.

Placing a peice of barbeque in his mouth he chewed, coughing a bit of petals in the process, he then turned his head to the figure approaching him.

"Hey how're you feelin', any better than yesterday?" Will questioned Nico as he came to sit down at his table "not really no, if anything I got worse." Nico said shaking his head all while having food in his mouth.

"Anything happened last night?" Asked the southern child of Apollon, remembering what happened last night Nico shuddered "not that much, more flowers, more blood, I also got a nosebleed when I woke up this morning, I got up to find you but you weren't by the infirmary." He shrugged.

Will bite his lower lip in worry, his blue eyes intense "have you— have you had any other symptoms? Like chest pains, head aches or anything related?" Nico shook his head again "not any that I've known of, I just feel tired, and like I've swallowed sandpaper and a bouquet of flowers, though I've been getting fairly dizzy, maybe caused by blood loss."

"Gods Nico! Why didn't you tell me that in the first place, that's why you've been looking pale—r than usual, this isn't just a cold Nico this is serious!" He shouted shaking Nico drawing some attention from the other campers in the dining pavilion, putting his hands on his chest and pushing Will away gently Nico sighs and shakes his head "I'm fine Will, I'll be fine" Nico shaking his head in a dismissive manner.

He'll be fine he told himself, it's normal, he'll get through it, he's a demigod, he went through hell and back twice and that didn't kill him, he won't let some virus destroy his body.

"Look I'll go back to the infirmary and look through the text books, I'll even get Chiron involved if I have to, but I have to ask, have you been under significant amounts of emotional stress?"

"Of course not, what that got to do with coughing up flowers? Also take some rest solace, take a day off, some other Apollo kid is filling in for you." Nico said jabbing Will's side.

"Just find me a cure when you're rested, before I turn into a garden atleast" Nico joked earning him a eyeroll from Solace.

"I will, just..just conserve your energy, maybe don't do anything physical for now, and don't go shadow traveling for goodness sake!"

Nico merely grunted, pushing his half-eaten plate of food away, he didn't feel like eating anymore. The thought of more flowers, more blood, churning in his stomach made bile rise, he stood up abruptly "I'm going back to my cabin.

Will watched Nico leave, worry etched in his eyes, he headed to the camp library, determined to find out what's happening with Nico, he speed walked out the dining area brows furrowed,

He had to know.

________________________________________

The next two days blurred into a cycle of worsening symptoms for Nico.

The coughs became more frequent, more ragged, each spasm racking his body and leaving him breathless, he wasn't just coughing up petals and single flowers anymore sometimes it was clusters, small bouquets, entangled with thick mucus and blood, the gold of ichor mixing with his fluids.

His bathroom became a garden of black and purple roses, hyacinths, and bleeding hearts reminding him of his worsening condition.

He barely left his cabin, only for quick, necessary trips to the dining pavilion where he picked at food he couldn't keep down, or to the bathroom to violently purge himself.

He tried to hide it, but the constant sound of his hacking coughs carried, and the trail of discarded tissues and the faint scent of pollen and decay around him were becoming harder to mask.

No matter how much perfume, disinfectants, and air fresheners he sprayed his cabin was always left with the strong smell of metal, it got to the point he stopped trying to get rid of the smell all together.

His nosebleeds were almost continuous, requiring wads of toilet paper just to stop the bleeding to spread, paper towels littering his bedroom floor, he was always cold, despite the amount of covers he put on.

His skin was practically translucent, dark circles showing around his eyes, his body frailling.

He'd tried the cough drops, the ginger tea, the fluids Will had suggested, but nothing helped. The flowers kept coming,

He was dying by the second.

Chapter Text

December 21st

Four days before Christmas

Suprisingly the symptoms seemed to have gotten better, even the coughing had stopped less than a few days ago.

He had finished cleaning up his cabin, disposing of all the rotting petals, scrubbing all the blood off, but while cleaning he had discovered one thing. The flowers seem to survive off his blood.

Some flowers that were covered in dry blood seemed to wither slower than the one that aren't, which makes sense, and yet it still never failed to make his skin crawl.

Can you believe it? Literal Tartarus can't scare this child of hades but a parasitic blood consuming flower can make his spine chill?

While he was regaining his strength little by little Will seemed to search all over the camp library just to find what was affecting him, while Nico was grateful for Solace's help he was worried. Will hasn't had proper sleep since he started his research, or even a proper meal.

Nico had tried to persuade Will into getting proper rest that Solace had always denied saying that his health mattered far more than his, which was total bullshit. Will was the head counselor of the Apollon cabin and the camp doctor he's way more important than Nico.

Nobody's going to miss him anyway, why is Will so determined on finding a cure for him?

________________________________________

It was around noon when Nico found Will exactly where he expected him to be – hunched over a cluttered table in the corner of the library, next to him was a seemingly never ending pile of books, scrolls, and ancient texts some of which he read some he hasn't. Will had his face buried a book when Nico found him, dark sunken eyes from the lack of sleep dulling his beautiful sky-like eyes, his golden hair disheveled. He was munching on a half eaten granola bar, it was probably the only thing he ate since this morning or even the last few days.

He looked like a zombie yet even so the light from the high windows illuminated and highlighted his perfect features. Despite the harsh winter Apollons sunshine casted over him. He looked...perfect 'wait, what the hades was he thinking?' Nico shook his head, hopefully shaking his thoughts away with it.

"You look like a mess" Nico said, his voice a little hoarse than he would have liked. Will startled, dropped a small, leather book. He rubbed his eyes vigorously. "Nico! He cried "Gods, you startled me. Are you feeling alright? You shouldn't be out of your cabin" chided Will as scrambled to grab the fallen book.

Nico walked closer ignoring the slight shake in his legs "I'm fine, you're not. You look like you crawled your way out of the underworld. When was the last time you slept?" Turning his head to look at the clutter of books on the table. Biting his lips "you're going to get yourself sick if you keep this up" he scolded shaking his head.

Will waves a dismissive hand "sleep is for the weak plus I fee— "says the one who has been berating me about proper rest," Nico scoffed "you have to eat something other than some damn granola bars, also you need sleep I have a feeling you haven't been sleeping since the past—" Nico began counting the hours on his fingers landing on the number "32 hours, basically all the time you've been in here. Get rest solace"

"I will I just have to—" Nico grabbed the book from Will's reach "I don't care." Nico interrupted placing a hand on his forearm "You're going to pass out before you find anything. You’re the lead healer, the head of the Apollo cabin, for goodness' sake! What good are you to anyone if you're on the verge of blacking out?!" Nico snapped.

Will pulled his arm back gently, Nico's gaze unwavering. “What good am I if I can’t help you? Your health matters more, Nico. My job is to take care of people. And right now, that means taking care of you.” Nico then sighed pulling a chair next to will.

Nico’s heart gave a familiar pang of bitterness. Nonsense. He remembered the countless times he’s been alone, isolated, forgotten. Nobody would even notice if he just one day disappeared. So why was he so insistent? Why did he care this much? The question left an unkind feeling of guilt, and an unfamiliar sense of warmth inside him.

"It doesn't work like that" argued Nico his voice holding the same tone it had ealier yet it doesn't hold the heat it had moments ago "You can’t help anyone if you’re not taking care of yourself. How are you supposed to find a cure it you're sick?You’re important, Will." He said fidgeting with his ring "People rely on you. I… I rely on you too. If you keep this up, you’ll just get sick yourself, and then we’ll both be useless.” He didn’t miss the slight widening of Will’s eyes at his last statement – the raw admission that Nico, the boy who'd constantly shut himself out, needed him.

Will stared at him for a long moment, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. Finally, he sighed, a deep tired sound “Fine,” he agreed, pushing back his chair. “i'll join you in the dining pavilion." Nico with a raised brow opened his mouth "and?.." Will crossed his arms pouting "..and I'll get some rest- but after that I'm back to this." He said offering a hand to Nico in which Nico gratefully took. They then headed to get lunch.
________________________________________

They walked in silence, the crunch of gravel under their shoes the only sound between them. Not the awkward kind, quite the opposite actually, not only that but they were still holding hands, Will's grip was suprisingly strong despite his visible exhaustion, his body heat transmitting to Nico, a comforting warmth spreading through Nico's usually chilled fingers. He hadn't realized how much he leaned on that touch until now, and Nico found himself not wanting to let go.

As they neared the dining pavilion, low hum of the usual sound of laughter and chatter that echoed through out the area grew louder mixed with the sound of clattering plates. The dining pavilion was livelier than Nico expected, he expected for a semi-deserted Camp on Christmas week. But even with the campers leaving for the holidays the place was still packed.

A handful of demigods, mostly year-rounders or those who couldn't go home for the holidays, were scattered across the long tables. The usual smell of barbeque was replaced by the smell of roasted chicken and pine trees. Once Will let go of his hold cold invaded Nico's hand reminding him of his usual state.

They grabbed their trays. Nico opted for a simple salad and a piece of chicken, while Will, despite his exhaustion, piled his plate with food, Nico wasn't sure if he'd even be able to finish it . Nico watched him, a small, involuntary smile tugging at his lips.

The Hades table was empty, as per usual. Will then started to tug Nico to the Apollo table "Will, what are you doing?" Said Nico as he tensed up "relax they don't bite," Will murmured "well mostly." Nico rolled his eyes playfully.

"Will! There you are!" a girl with green dyed streaks in her hair—Kayla, Nico remembered—called out her eyes lighting up when he saw Will. Her smile faltered slightly as she saw the dark circles under Will's eyes. "Gods, you look awful."

"Kayla, be nice, but Will where did you go? You hadn't been sleeping in the cabin for a while, you just randomly disappeared, where did you go?" another one of Will's siblings, Austin chided, though he looked just as concerned.

"I'm fine," Will said, his voice betraying his words "Just been busy, I've been in the library doing some research. We're just getting some lunch." He said waving a dismissive hand. He heard Nico murmur something to himself that he couldn't decipher.

Will, noticing Nico barely got any food on his plate decided to dump half of the portion of the stew he got onto Nico's tray, giving him a look that dared him to argue. Nico just scowled, but didn't remove it.

They walked to the central brazier to make their offerings. As Nico scraped a portion of his stew into the flames, his prayer wasn't for himself. He didn’t ask for a cure, or for his own suffering to end. Instead, he glanced at Will who was currently praying to his dad, Apollo. He wasn't sure who he was praying to but he recited his prayer, Asking whoever or whichever god that was listening to keep this sunshine doctor of his safe. He'd world himself to death, don't let him.

Nico watched Will devour his food with a hunger that confirmed he hadn't eaten a proper meal in days. A small, strange sense of victory settled in Nico's chest.

"See?" Nico gestured with his fork, "You were starving. Told you a granola bar isn't a proper meal."

Will swallowed a mouthful of chicken. “It sustained me. Besides, my mind was on important things.” He glanced over at Nico, his eyes, though still shadowed with concern “How are you really feeling? You really shouldn't you be out your cabin. Any more coughing anymore blood?—" he quickly interrupted himself "sorry probably shouldn't say stuff like that while eating. Eat your stew diangelo." He said pointing his fork at the beef soup.

Nico shook his head. “Symptoms are getting better. Almost gone, actually. Which is… weird. But doesn’t mean your brain isn’t going to melt from the lack of sleep” He nudged Will’s arm "you gotta stop over-working yourself.

He didn’t mention the uneasy feeling of the flowers blooming in his chest, or how unsettlingly normal his body was starting to feel with their presence. He didn’t want to worry Will more than he already was.

Will's face lit up, a genuine, blinding smile transforming his tired features "that's great Nico!" He chirped, maybe a little too loud which turned a few heads at the table, realising what happened he covered half of his face which was a bit pink from embarrassment, "oh, sorry" he apologized in a high whisper.

Nico snickered at his reaction which in turn got him jabbed at his side. "You know,” Will said making Nico stop giggling “I found a few references in some old Greek texts. Nothing concrete, but there were mentions of a rare illness, it was stated as a myth but as demigod..." Nico sighed "is there any mentioned cure?"

"I haven't found much about it yet, but I think it was called hanahaki something. I'm not sure about anything about it yet but I did see something about it having something to do with unrequited love."

Nico's heart skipped a beat "what.." Nico's eyes widened, he couldn't believe it, was there really a sickness for that? How could emotions interfere with his physical health?

"I found it hard to believe myself, I haven't found out what and how the flowers grow in the host's body, nor do I know what kind of virus its called."

How could such a thing manifest physically? His stomach churned, a different kind of nausea than the one the flowers usually brought. He forced himself to take a slow breath, trying to keep his face neutral. Yet he still felt a strong urge to throw up, the food he just consumed earlier going back up his throat.

"—and one text mentioned that if the feelings aren’t reciprocated, the flowers can eventually fill the lungs completely,” Will continued, voice dropping. His smile frowning. "But then again, it could just be a metaphor for heartbreak right? What you're feeling might just be a curse from a god right?" He tried to sound reassuring but Nico didn't miss the slight tremble in his voice.

A cold wave washed over him, not from the temperature in the pavilion, but from a sudden, terrifying realization. He’d been spending so much time with Will lately, relying on him, feeling a warmth he hadn’t felt in years. He’d dismissed it as gratitude, as the relief of having someone actually care, but what if…

He pushed the thought away violently. No. It couldn't be. The symptoms were getting better, right? If it was unrequited, wouldn't they be getting worse? It had to be a mistake.

“Unrequited love?” Nico repeated, his voice sounding oddly strained even to his own ears. "Wait, so if it's unrequited," Nico swallowed hard, "does it mean if I just, stop… feeling, it goes away?" The words tasted bitter. The idea of himself pushing his emotions away like he always does. But this time it felt...off, like he couldn't just keep his feelings off his mind.

"I'm not sure about that Nico, I really don't know much about the cures, all I know are the symptoms and from the looks of it you have it all, and that's a big what if. But it may be possible"

He didn't even know who he had a stupid crush on, then suddenly his blood chilled when his mind flashed a picture of a certain raven haired boy.

Percy Jackson.