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It’s dark. Too dark.
Nico’s past few days in the infirmary were fine , almost peaceful, but if he’s honest, he’s never been more grateful to head back to Cabin 13 for the night.
Until he turned the lights out, and was surrounded in complete darkness.
It was fine, at first. Nico knew it would take a few minutes for his eyes to adjust to the dark, so he tried to not let it get to him that he could barely see his own fingers, let alone the cabin in front of him.
He trips as he makes his way to his bed, cursing his inability to tidy up after himself. Crawling into his bed, he pulls the blanket over his shoulder and closes his eyes.
Behind his eyelids, he sees the deep red expanse of Tartarus, the monsters that followed him, the bronze inside of the jar. He feels his throat close up, he can’t think, he can’t calm down, he can't breathe .
He rips the blanket off of him almost violently, eyes snapping open as he sits up in bed. His chest is heaving, his hands are scrubbing over his face, he can’t breathe, he can’t see . He backs himself into the corner of his bed, gaze roaming over every area in the cabin.
He tries not to flinch at the howl of the wind, or the trees casting shadows on the floor and tapping on his window, begging him to let them in. They form the shape of drakons, empousi, giants, all grabbing at him and pulling him and raking their claws on his body.
He definitely does not jump when a human shaped shadow appears outside his door. The shadow knocks, light enough that Nico can pretend to ignore it, but the knocking grows louder, more insistent, and Nico is tempted to crawl back under his blanket and let the darkness hide him from the figure.
“Nico?” The shadow calls through the door. They sound concerned, Nico notes, and vaguely familiar, but Nico knows that’s just a ploy, there are plenty of monsters who imitate voices, it must be one of them, it has to be—
“Nico, are you alright? It’s Will.”
Nico takes a shuddering breath, embarrassed at the possibility that this actually is Will, that the son of Apollo could see him like this.
“I’m fine,” he weakly calls back, not even convincing himself. His voice shakes, unsteady with fear. “Go back to your cabin, Will.”
They’re both silent for a moment, and Nico tries to focus on the pattern of the trees tapping his window instead of the figure who hasn’t moved from his door.
After sixty or so taps, Will says, “can I come in?”
Nico makes an involuntary noise, and Will takes it as an affirmative, because then the doorknob is slowly twisting and Nico shuts his eyes, tight enough to make them water.
Nico hears the click of the door and Will’s creaking footsteps, and then the bed is dipping, and Will is whispering, “hey,” soft as ever.
A few deep breaths, and slowly peeling his eyes open, Nico looks over at Will, his face quickly flashing from concerned to sympathetic.
“Hi,” Nico whispers, just barely. He avoids making eye contact, too embarrassed to even think of looking at Will. He schooches back just a little, making the smallest amount of room more for his companion.
Will takes the subtle invitation, sitting more solidly on the bed, but keeps his distance as much as he can. “Are you okay, Nico?”
“Fine,” Nico bites out. Will takes a deep, steadying breath.
“Let me rephrase,” Will says, gentle, calm. “Would you tell me what’s wrong, and how I can help you?”
Nico scoffs, “and why do you even care? I’m not your patient anymore, Solace, you don’t have to pretend to give a shit.”
Will looks hurt at that, but Nico can’t find it in himself to feel bad. “I care because we’re friends , Nico.”
The word stings like a slap to the face, raw and sharp, and Nico pretends he doesn’t feel the tears well up in his eyes.
“Let me ask again,” Will says. “And if you still want me to leave, I will. What’s up? How can I help?”
Nico takes a shuddering breath. He squeezes his eyes shut, and if Will sees a tear roll down his cheek, he doesn’t mention it. Finally, Nico breathes, “It’s stupid.”
“It’s not stupid if it makes you upset.”
“Okay, um, don’t laugh,” Nico pleads. When Will nods, sincere and safe, Nico sighs. “It just… Tartarus… the jar… it was all so… so dark.”
Will nods again, understanding gracing his features. “So, you’re afraid of the dark?”
“Well when you say it like that it sounds dumb,” Nico grumbles. He pulls his blanket back up in front of his face, burying his head in it.
“No, it’s not dumb, and I’d wish you’d stop saying that,” Will says, voice dripping with sincerity. “Now it’s my turn, okay? Don’t laugh.”
Nico mumbles something that sounds like an affirmative, and a moment later, soft beams of light are filtering their way underneath his blanket. Slowly, he lifts his head, expecting the overhead light to be on. When it isn’t, Nico must become visibly confused, because Will chuckles. Nico glances over and stops. Because Will… Will is glowing .
Literally. Glowing.
“You’re a glow stick,” Nico says, dumbstruck.
“My dad is the God of the sun.” Will shrugs, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “Does this… help?”
Nico nods, and Will smiles. He holds out his hand, and Nico takes it, being unceremoniously manoeuvred into a lying position, with Will sitting at the head of the bed and Nico’s head in his lap. Will’s fingers begin carding through his hair, and he whispers, gently, “sleep.”
“Tell me something happy?” Nico mumbles, feeling the exhaustion hit him all at once. He looks up at Will’s (literally) glowing smile, and finds himself smiling back, just a little.
“When I was claimed,” Will begins, absentmindedly braiding a few strands of Nico’s hair. “I was ten. It was a week or two after I got to camp, and I was doing archery with the Hermes cabin.”
Nico makes a noise, and Will quiets his voice before he continues. “I was shit at it, still am, to be fair. One of the Stolls, Travis I think, helped me hold my bow properly, and when I shot my arrow, it hit the bullseye.”
“That was your dad?” Nico barely mumbles out. It takes a second for Will to understand what he said.
“Yeah,” he says after a minute. “There’s no way I made that shot myself. Then everyone started cheering, congratulating me, patting me on the back. They knew I was struggling, and they were all so proud of me.”
“That sounds nice.”
“It was. Then… my dad’s symbol appeared above my head. It was surreal, you know? I wasn’t sure I would be claimed, and then there it was, and I was being taken to Chiron and my stuff was being moved to cabin seven, and Lee hugged me and welcomed me, and called me brother . I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything like that before.”
“Acceptance?”
“Yeah, I guess so. It just felt… nice. To belong. To know who I was. To know my siblings. I’m sure you felt that way with Hazel.”
“I did,” Nico smiles into Will’s leg. His voice is rough and Will feels bad, making him talk when he was almost asleep. “It was nice to have someone.”
“Yeah,” Will looks down at Nico, a dopey grin on his glowing face. He moves a strand of hair behind his ear. “It’s nice to have someone.”
Nico’s soft snores fill the cabin, and Will allows himself to dim his glow, still bright enough to provide light if Nico wakes up. Will finds himself drifting off as the sun comes up, hands still tangled in Nico’s soft hair.
When Nico wakes up, after one of the most peaceful nights he’s had in a while, he thinks,
it’s nice to have someone.