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He should know better. He should know better. Nico’s older. Not wiser, but older. He should know.
It's 1am. Theoretically, Nico should be asleep, but Nico also shouldn’t be on the streets of Brooklyn, trying (and failing) to kill a monster that found him after he finished his father’s errand.
The monster shapeshifts, switching form between Nico's friends - Will, Percy, Hazel, Jason - each of them crying out to him, blaming him for abandoning them, wailing, screaming, sobbing. Nico covers his ears and sinks to his knees, shaking his head, repeating a mantra of “no, please, stop.”
He slashes his sword in the air, trying to hit the monster, while simultaneously not looking at it. Despite the knowledge that his friends aren’t here, Nico wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he saw one of them dissolve into dust. The screaming grows louder and louder, until it’s so high pitched that only a dog could hear it.
The monster screeches as Nico’s blade makes contact, but instead of turning to dust, the creature dissolves into a black puddle which slowly swallows the ground beneath Nico, and he falls.
Great.
Nico, to his credit, realizes this is a dream when he lands in his soft bed. His ears are ringing from the monster, and his eyes take a moment to adjust to the dark, but when they do, his blood runs cold.
Will stands at the door to the cabin, staring at Nico with a look of disgusted mixed with betrayal. His usual sunny disposition (pun intended) has turned to one of cold indifference as he glares.
“Will?” Nico chokes out. His throat is dry, but he refuses to drink whatever is in the cup beside his bed, lest it launches him into some worse nightmare than this.
“I’m leaving,” Will says, deadpan. “I’m tired of you.”
Nico heavily debates drinking the water now, but as he reaches for it, Will continues.
“You just- there's always something, with you, Nico.” Will runs a frustrated hand through his hair. “You’re scheming, or you're crying, or you’re having nightmares. Youre so much to handle, I can’t take it.”
It's just a dream, Nico has to remind himself. It’s not real.
“Of course you’re not responding, because whenever I have an issue, you have no idea how to fix it.”
“I'm the problem,” Nico whispers, tears streaming down his face.
“Clearly,” Will scoffs.
The door slams as Will leaves, and Nico sinks through his bed.
Nico, once again, lands on his bed, but his racing heart, still ringing ears, and tear tracked face tell him that he’s awake. He shoots up, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, only soothed by seeing that Will is stirring in the bed beside him.
“Nico?” Will rasps, slowly peeling his eyes open. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Nico says, trying to convince them both. “Go back to sleep, sunshine.”
Will does the opposite, sitting up in bed and rubbing Nico’s back. Nico’s impressed that he doesn't immediately recoil from the sweaty shirt in disgust. Will asks, “Bad dream?”
It's silent for a few moments as Nico decides if he should share his nightmare.
“Awful.”
“Do you wanna talk about it?”
“No,” Nico shrugs. He wiggles his way further into Will’s arm, burying his head into his chest. Will’s hand moves to Nico’s hair, twisting strands between fingers and scratching at his scalp. Nico sighs contently, and the comfortable silence almost lures him back to sleep.
“You know I’ll never judge you, right?” Will whispers, almost speaking to the room instead of to Nico. “Whatever you do, whatever you say, whatever you dream, I’m here for you. I'll support you. I'm rooting for you.”
“That must be exhausting,” Nico grumbles, somehow burying himself further in Will.
Will frowns, and he shuffles Nico out of his hiding spot to level him with a stare. “It’s not. Nothing about you is exhausting Nico. Loving you is not exhausting.”
Nico scoots away even more, looking down and picking at his fingernails. “It doesn’t feel like that.”
“Who told you that?” Will’s face is unwavering, and Nico feels tears prick the corners of his eyes again.
“No one had to tell me,” Nico shrugs, attempting to appear indifferent. He rubs his eyes, trying to push the tears back in. “I can just tell. I don't fit in anywhere, I'm a handful, I’m just… exhausting.”
“You’re absolutely not,” Will emphasizes. “I love you, okay? And I love loving you.”
“I love you too,” Nico sniffles. He snuggles back into Will’s embrace, matching his breathing to Will’s heartbeat. Feeling safe, comfortable, and loved, Nico drifts back to sleep.