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It wasn’t rare for Nico to wake up in the middle of the night. The nightmares that plagued him usually led to him waking up in a cold sweat, delirious and more often than not, crying.
Although it was rare for Nico to wake up from a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
When the son of Hades opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was how it was still pitch black outside. He glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand, noting how it was nearing the witching hour. He frowned, pulling the blankets up to his chin and closing his eyes again.
There was a small whimper from the other side of the bed.
Nico tried to relax, ease himself back to sleep. He had a sword fighting class to teach in the morning with some of the new campers, he needed all the rest he could get.
A muffled sob disturbed his peace.
For a second he didn’t think much of it. He had just woken up and his brain was still mush. Then, he realized something-
Will.
Nico’s eyes snapped open. He turned onto his other side and was met with his boyfriend’s back to him. The shake of Will’s freckled shoulders told him all he needed to know.
“Sunshine?” Nico whispered, propping himself up on one arm and placing his hand on Will’s arm.
The son of Apollo sniffled, scrubbing his face with his hands. “Hm?” He hummed, keeping his back to the ravenette.
“Why’re you crying?” The younger whispered, moving closer to press a small kiss to Will’s bare shoulder.
“‘m not…” Will mumbled, rubbing one of their soft blankets between his fingers. He pulled the blanket up to rub it against his lips. It was something he did to calm himself down, Nico had recently discovered.
“What’s wrong?” Nico asked, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist and hugging him close.
Will’s skin was cool to the touch, which was never good. His skin was always warm. Nico pulled the blankets up to Will’s chin, making sure none of his long limbs were sticking out.
“Just thinking about Michael and Lee.” Nico heard the blonde whisper.
The son of Hades sighed quietly, moving closer to press his face against Will’s neck. He brushed his thumb against his boyfriend’s soft stomach. He knew it could be dangerous when Will got too caught up in his head and it was best to stop him before it was too late. Will was one to bottle up his emotions once he thought too much over something, then everything would continue to bottle up until eventually- the dam broke.
“They’re at peace.” Nico whispered. “They’re both in Elysium, with Jason.”
Will sniffled, nodding slowly. “Selina too?” He whispered in reply, the blanket still pressed against his lips.
Nico smiled sadly. “Yes, Selina too, Sunshine.”
Nico knew the deaths of the second Titan war were among Will’s greatest regrets. Despite being eleven at the time, the son of Apollo still felt that each demigod death could have been avoided if he tried harder. It broke Nico’s heart. There was no use in trying to convince Will otherwise, that would only make matters worse.
Will nodded slowly, drying his tears on the blanket. “Will they wait for me?” He whispered.
Nico arched a brow, lifting his head up from the crook of Will’s neck. “What do you mean?” He asked.
“In Elysium,” The blonde whispered, his eyelids visibly growing heavy from all the emotions he had exerted. “Will they wait for me?”
“Of course.” Nico whispered back, bringing a hand up to brush Will’s curls out of his face. “They’ll have no problem waiting for you, you’re their baby brother. But I don’t think they’ll want you showing up any time soon.” He said. He couldn’t possibly fathom the thought of Will dying young like so many other demigods.
Will let out a breathy giggle. “I can’t leave you.” He yawned, closing his eyes. “We’ll go together, all old and wrinkly…” His words began to slur as he succumbed to the call of sleep.
“Not until we’re old.” Nico pressed a soft kiss to Will’s jaw, then settled back down against his neck.
It didn’t take long for the shorter of the pair to fall back to sleep. Recovery was different for everyone. Trauma was different for everyone. He knew they both dealt with trauma in very different ways, but they would always be there for each other, even at 3am.