Chapter Text
Will would consider one of his skills to be silently crying. It was something he had learned over the years of sleeping in a cabin with several other people that he would rather die than wake up when he was crying.
But now he often slept in the same bed as Nico. Which proved some difficulty when he had had a particularly bad day and needed to be alone. He couldn’t really be in his own cabin, nor could he go to the Hades cabin.
So he hid in the infirmary.
No one bothered him about why he was in there, and usually no one would come in at night unless someone was looking for him. Which was a rare occurrence.
Plus there was always something that he could do to keep his mind off of whatever had gone wrong. To keep his mind busy.
Paperwork would always eventually stack up, so he’d do that. Sometimes the cabinets would need to be restocked, it was something to do. Even when there was nothing he would make sure the medical records were tidy, twice, three times, four times. Making sure things are in perfect order.
It was just a way to distract himself. No one needed to know.
As far as everyone else was concerned, he was fine. He just liked to make sure things were in proper condition and that everything was ready for the next day. People would settle for that answer. It was better than “yeah, I’m kinda falling apart so I need something to distract myself from the slowly deteriorating thread that’s trying to keep my mental health together.”
His siblings and Nico were really the only ones that actually cared about how much he was working. Sometimes even Lou Ellen or Cecil.
“Will,” Kayla pushed open the door to the infirmary, she rubbed her eyes and yawned groggily, “what in the name of Olympus are you doing here at three in the morning?”
“Why are you up?” Will said, barely glancing up from the paperwork he wasn’t even registering anymore.
“I got up to go to the bathroom . And I found you missing,” she explained, leaning up against the doorframe, “your turn. Why the Hades are you up?”
“Because…” Will blanched, because I had a nightmare. Because I was thinking about Michael and Lee. Because I was judging my own worth in terms that no one else would dare to use out loud in fear of Nico’s wrath.
“Usually the ‘because’ is followed by a reason,” Kayla crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking Will up and down, “look, Will. I know you’re stressed. I can see it all over your face. But you can’t keep working like this, how many times do I have to tell you?”
“I’m fine Kayla, I’m just finishing up,” Will waved his hand dismissively.
She obviously saw right through his lie.
“You seem to be nice and prepared to be working all night,” Kayla gestured to the stack of papers on the desk. Will blinked, he had completely forgotten about those.
“No, that was just... What still had to be done…” Will clicked his pen, “I was measuring how much there would be left.”
“You’re going to bed,” Kayla said firmly, “I’m not taking no for an answer. You’re pushing yourself too hard. You’re going to get hurt like this.”
I know that. Will wanted to say. The nightmares are constant and I can’t ever sleep. But if I told someone about it, I’d just be a bother to them. So what does it matter if I’m up all night working?
But he didn’t say any of that. He only hung his head and muttered “sorry.”
Kayla’s expression softened, she sighed and relaxed her shoulders, “don’t apologize, just come to bed.”
“Okay…”
He wanted the nightmares to stop, he’d do anything from seeing his dead brother’s faces every night. All the patients he couldn’t save. But he didn’t want to worry Kayla.
She made sure all the lights were turned off and dragged Will back to the Apollo cabin. She didn’t even get back in bed until she had seen Will climb under the covers and lay down. Austin slept through the entire exchange.
Will stared at the ceiling for a long time dreading when he would fall asleep.