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It was warm when Nico woke up, just shy of being overwhelming. It didn’t take long for him to figure out why as his bleary brain caught itself up to speed and registered the other person.
Will was wrapped around him, arms encircling his waist and his entire torso more or less on top of Nico, his face tucked into the crook of his neck on the side opposite to his legs. It was somewhat ridiculous, like he had just flung himself over Nico, though that checked out considering it was essentially what happened.
Will had pushed the door of his cabin open with a groan, dragging his feet and cursing out several cabins beneath his breath. When Nico had asked, all he had gotten was a grumbled response that seemed to translate into ‘the Ares cabin are dicks and the Hermes cabin even more so, especially when they’re in the same room’, and then Will was wandering into his bathroom. He had returned almost immediately with his camp shirt swapped out for a star wars one, oversized and recognisable as his favourite pyjamas.
He had then tossed himself onto the bed that Nico was laying on and made himself comfortable, murmuring a quick goodnight before being out like a light, much earlier than normal. Nico hadn’t found it in himself to move him, so he’d let Will sleep until he eventually dozed off as well.
Judging by the birds outside, they had slept through the night and into the next morning. Oh Hades, Nico was not looking forward to people realising exactly where Will had slept.
He looked down at Will, a mess of blond curls tickling Nico’s jaw. It was sweet to see him sleeping, even if he could feel how his mouth was open and likely leaving a drool stain on his sheets. Sleep was soft. Vulnerable. Nico had never imagined people being comfortable enough to sleep around him, not just in the same cabin, but actually with him, as though his presence was safe and relaxing.
He knew now that there were plenty of people that trusted him enough for that, but Will always felt special. With Hazel, she was his little sister, it was expected of him to look after her. With Reyna it felt more like she was the one protecting him than the other way around, since even as she slept she still held their air of a seasoned praetor. Most of his other friends could sleep anywhere, so while they did trust him, it wasn’t special.
It was with Will.
Will didn’t like being vulnerable. He was the head healer, he was the one people went to when they needed help. He was always insisting he had to be strong, putting up a façade when it was needed just to ensure that people saw him as an infallible source of help and reliability. He didn’t doze off quite like others did, even after hours on end in the infirmary during the busiest hours. Austin would plonk his head on a desk and be out like a light, Kayla would lean against the nearest surface and start snoring quietly, but never Will.
Unless he was alone with Nico. Then he had no qualms in acting like a human blanket, curled as tightly around Nico as he could and breathing evenly. He entrusted that to Nico, and he couldn’t be more grateful.
Will’s trust was something he was scared of, something he held so carefully lest he damage it somehow, but as terrified as he was, nothing made him feel more special.
Will trusted him. Him. The weird, creepy Hades kid that ran off for most of his childhood. The one people judged, who seemed to curse everyone around him. And Will just sprawled out, defenceless and uncaring, clutching onto Nico like he was the one thing keeping him tethered to the earth.
He could tell Will had woken up when he shuffled slightly, closing his mouth against Nico’s shoulder and trying to move closer, as if that was even possible.
The quiet stayed for a good few minutes as Will shuffled a few more times, before his head tipped and Nico found himself staring into blue eyes, barely cracked open.
“Morning.” Will half-whispered, his voice deeper than normal and Nico felt his stomach swoop.
“Morning. You slept for a while.”
“Mm.” Will stretched out, moving away from Nico and raising his arms above his head, blanket stretching awkwardly with the movement until he settled on his side, “Whoops. Looks like you did too.”
He pressed his lips together in a barely concealed smile at the top of Nico’s head, and Nico scowled, bringing a hand up to his hair.
“Some of us have bedhead okay? We can’t all wake up looking perfect at the first sight of sunlight.”
“You think I look perfect?” Will grinned at him, just as genuine as he was teasing, a hand making its way above the fabric bedding and into Nico’s hair as Will shuffled closer, “I think you look perfect too. Even with bedhead.”
Nico ignored the flush in his cheeks in preference of responding.
“You were literally just making fun of my hair.”
“I think the mess is cute!” Will frowned, “It’s all poofy.”
“Poofy?”
“Yep.”
Nico huffed and turned his head to hide the smile growing on his face, “You sure know how to flatter a man Solace.”
“Well, it’s one of my many talents, what can I say?”
Nico didn’t grace him with an answer and instead tugged at the front of his shirt, bringing Will collapsing back onto his chest and shutting his eyes with a soft sigh.
“Nico, I just woke up.”
“And now we’re sleeping again, catch up.”
Will snorted, but burrowed back into him with little complaints. His breath was hitting Nico’s neck, hands securely wrapped around him, and Nico held back the growing urge to cry.
It was a little embarrassing to be so destroyed by how much his boyfriend cared for him, but Nico could hardly help it. Will trusted him, but more than that, he cared for Nico too. Every touch he gave was imbued with love, wordless affirmations with each smile and kiss. He loved Nico, and Nico loved him back, and it was a fact constantly reinstated by the way Will treated him.
It was easy to fall back asleep with Will so close to him, the body pressed against his calming in a way that nothing else was. Their breathing evened out in sync, and despite how early a night they had previously, they didn’t end up getting out of bed until lunch was right around the corner.
Nightmares were a constant for practically every demigod, and Nico wasn’t any exception. Instead, it was rather the opposite. He had more nightmares than many of the other demigods he knew, past trauma digging itself up and poisoning his sleep with fear.
Nico had started awake, jaw clenched tightly to the extent that he could taste the tang of blood, heart racing and palms damp.
He was in the Apollo cabin before he could even think about it, terrified that he would find Will the same way he had in the landscape his mind had conjured up, curled up as though he was trying to make himself as small as possible, so different to the way he liked to stretch out. Hands by his head and clothes stained with the blood pooling beneath him.
Of course, Will was okay. He always was. His face was gentle where it peered out from beneath his blanket, hair spread across his pillow. They weren’t in Tartarus anymore, there were no wars. They were living in peace, and yet Nico’s stupid sleeping brain couldn’t seem to catch up to that fact.
Will was a heavy sleeper, but when Nico tugged at his arm after padding over, his eyes slowly opened. The blanket was held up for Nico without question and he slipped under.
Was it the smartest idea? Not especially. Sleeping in other cabins was already technically against the rules, and when it was with your boyfriend? Well, Nico just hoped that Chiron was willing to ignore it when everyone inevitably woke up and caused some sort of huge fuss that he wasn’t willing to deal with. While the cost of spending the night in his boyfriend’s bed was sure to be a pain in the ass – gossiping campers and disappointed leaders alike – Nico really couldn’t find it in himself to refuse the invitation.
It only felt natural to curl into Will, slotting together like puzzle pieces and finally setting Nico’s mind at ease.
He remembered before, back when he never had the chance to hug people let alone lay with them. He’d spent a lot of time wondering what it would be like, more than he should have really, more than he would care to admit, but he’d never gotten it quite right. He always thought it would be awkward and clunky, comfortable but in a slightly strained way, like when he laid down on the floor and it was nice enough that he didn’t want to move, but it still pressed on his back irritatingly.
He had been wrong. It was more than simply comfortable, it was almost blissful, limbs intertwined and warmth leeching from one to the other, every curve and every joint cushioned. It had been hard to go back to sleeping with a simple pillow after the first time he’d dozed off in Will’s arms, and that love for being held and for holding him had never quite gone away, even a good while into their relationship.
He hadn’t realised he had fallen asleep until he woke up, which in hindsight wasn’t all too surprising. He’d been so out of it that the fact he made his way to Will without issue or waking his siblings was honestly a miracle.
Those siblings had woken now though, and Hades knew that they weren’t about to leave him be with the way that their clamouring was the first thing he heard.
“Is that-?”
“Holy Hera!”
“Nico? Why’s he here?”
“Gracie, Jerry, do you want to head out of the cabin for a bit? We have some grown-up talks to have with your brother.”
Will clearly heard that last one as he sat bolt upright, jolting Nico as he did so.
“Kayla!”
“And so he wakes!”
“You can’t just- Hades Kayla, what is wrong with you?”
“You were one of the ones that raised me, so let’s blame it on you huh?”
“No!”
Nico let his eyes drift open to see Will’s flushed face, staring over Nico’s shoulder at where Kayla was presumably stood. He’d bet a good amount of drachmas that she had her hands on her hips, the way she always did when snarking at Will.
“Look Will, we love you very much, but you seriously can’t be sneaking your boyfriend in here after hours, do you have any idea how much trouble we could all get in if Chiron thinks we’re helping you with this?” Austin also didn’t sound especially impressed, though the teasing in Kayla’s tone was less noticeable in his.
“I didn’t sneak him in!”
“You didn’t huh?” Kayla huffed, and Nico felt like maybe he should help out a little.
“He’s telling the truth.” Nico turned over and rubbed at his face, holding back the urge to groan at the early hour that the Apollo kids decided they just had to start functioning at, morning sun barely peeking through the windows. “I came in here myself last night. Had a nightmare and needed to see him.”
“And you decided to sleep here?”
“Pretty much. Wasn’t sure I’d get much sleep otherwise so I thought it was the better option.”
Now look, maybe that wasn’t entirely truthful and Nico could probably have gone back to sleep after confirming that Will was still alive and breathing, but he wasn’t about to tell them all that! He’d never been entirely against a little emotional guilting to get what he needed, and if what he needed was an escape from punishment for sleeping beside his boyfriend, then what was he to do?
Kayla turned it over in her mind, Austin squinting at the two of them from beside her. Yan was staring wide eyed behind them, just about old enough to understand what their siblings were getting at, Gracie and Jerry stood huddled together by Austin’s side. Nico felt incredibly judged and he wasn’t exactly appreciating it.
“Okay. We know nightmares Nico, don’t worry. Whatever you needed.” And Kayla was merciful that morning, thank the gods.
“Just don’t do it again.” Austin warned, pointing a finger at them as though he was an elderly man and not a good couple of years younger, “If we have to give Gracie and Jerry the talk already because of you two-“
“Okay Austin!” Will yelped, “That is enough from you! Shut up! Go get dressed or something, fucking damn, it ain’t that and you know it!”
Austin’s only response was a grin that made it blatantly obvious that he did in fact know that neither Will nor Nico had done anything beyond sleeping the previous night, and had just decided that he wanted to be a little shit that day and make the two of them flustered. Nico’s red cheeks made it pretty obvious that he was managing.
It took another couple of minutes to get the rest of the cabin’s occupants dressed and out for breakfast, Will sending Kayla in charge before flopping back down beside Nico the minute the door shut, ignoring the teasing glances Kayla and Austin were sending him.
“They are such idiots!” Will groaned into the mattress, sighing so deeply that for a disturbing moment it reminded Nico more of Chiron, years of looking after unruly teens clearly taking its toll.
Nico grinned at his misery, suddenly glad that Hazel spent most of her time at Camp Jupiter rather than Cabin 13. He reached out and poked Will’s side, once, twice, and on the third he was rewarded by Will batting at his hand.
“C’mon Will, it’s breakfast.”
“Since when did you care about breakfast?”
“Since I gained an irritating doctor boyfriend that insists I eat every meal?”
Will turned onto his back and squinted at Nico for a long few seconds, “Yeah that checks out. Okay, breakfast time it is then.”
Will heaved himself up and Nico melted back into the shadows to his own cabin, grabbing some clothes from the floor. Maybe if they tried really hard and Nico turned up from a different part of camp, they could gaslight the rest of Cabin 7 into thinking they all just mass hallucinated.
Or maybe, as Nico approached the dining pavilion and saw the awfully giggly grins of other campers, that was wishful thinking.
Will had a bad habit of overworking. Everyone knew this, and pretty much everyone teamed up to try and help him take care of himself, even going as far as to declare some weird version of a peace treaty in the middle of capture the flag to avoid any more injured campers. Despite their best efforts though, Will always managed to find a way to do something.
“Will, what the fuck even is this?”
“Uhm,” Will shuffled some papers around the table he was sat at, “Files.”
“Well I gathered that. What files?”
“Patient ones. Patient files. From like, every year of camp.”
Nico resisted the urge to send his head flying into a nearby wall.
“The files, for every single camper ever?”
“Yeah.”
“Will.”
“Yeah, okay, I know it’s bad. Just- look.” Will sighed and glanced up at Nico, and for the first time since he had wandered in, he met the other’s eyes. They were red-rimmed, like he had been crying, and Nico’s stomach sank.
“Every camper? All of them?”
“Yeah.”
“The dead ones?”
Will didn’t say anything, but the look he gave Nico was answer enough.
He had been staring at the same file for a good minute before Nico interrupted him and it became clear exactly why as Nico walked over and peered at it. Lee Fletcher. Will’s older brother from his first years at camp, with a red stamp by his name marking him as ‘deceased’.
“Will-“
“I know Nico, alright!” Will snapped, genuine anger bleeding into his tone as he buried his face into his hands. The instinctive urge to run tugged at his gut, but Nico stayed firmly in place.
“I know Nico.” His voice was softer this time, “It’s just that they’ve been clogging up the drawers and it’s getting harder to ignore. I keep seeing Austin and Kayla hesitating every time they go past their files and they need to be thrown out, or put into storage somewhere or something, but it’s hard. I don’t just want to toss out the fucking- I don’t know, proof of their existence! But we’ve got to, right?”
“You don’t have to do anything.”
Grief was a strange thing, it could worm its way into the most mundane aspects of life and leave everything else untouched. Nico knew that when he was grieving Bianca, it was like the universe had crashed down around him. He couldn’t function, he couldn’t see anything without it reminding him of her.
Will was different. Will seemed almost too fine with the deaths of his siblings, barely faltering when they were brought up when Nico knew for a fact that he choked up at the name of his sister. But then something would happen, something small and seemingly insignificant, and Will would become a mess.
Like their names scrawled on the top of infirmary files, and the way that sometimes files had to be moved aside.
“They have to go though.” Will glared at the paper like that in itself could solve the issue, “We can’t keep them there. It’s causing problems, making us slower in our work. And we need the space for all the new campers, as well as the Romans that visit more often.”
He stood up, pushing away from the desk and over to Nico, burying his face in Nico’s neck and capturing him in a hug. Nico returned it seamlessly, holding Will back in the hopes that it helped, even just slightly. Will didn’t like being sad in front of others, but he’d stopped minding as much with Nico. That much was obvious even just from the tears he could feel staining his collar.
It took a few minutes for Will to pull away, breathing shakily and hands trembling slightly. Seeing him so close made the bags under his eyes seem only more prominent, so dark that even Nico winced.
“Will, how much have you slept?”
The silence was enough of an answer for the both of them.
“Okay, lets go over here.” Nico took Will’s hand and guided them both over to a bed in the corner, just as empty as the others in the infirmary, and pushed Will onto it.
“We’ve swapped places,” Will said with a hint of humour in his tone, and Nico was reminded of all the times Will had to practically wrestle him into resting.
“You’re a better patient than I ever was.”
“Not hard really.”
Nico gasped in mock offense and jabbed at his side, “Will, I am hurt!”
“My apologies.” Will wrapped his hand around Nico’s wrist and stopped him from taking it back, instead yanking at it and pulling Nico onto the bed with him.
“Seriously?”
“Yep. You said we have to sleep.”
“I said you have to sleep.”
Will closed his eyes and ignored him, his attempt at faking unconsciousness betrayed by the way his lips were twitching in a barely concealed smile. Nico sighed and wriggled his way into a comfortable position, accepting his fate without a single word of protest.
He was allowed to like cuddling with his boyfriend, alright?
Camp Half-Blood was sunny almost all the time, but that day felt unusually bright. Sunrays were being cast from the sky all over camp, and yet it was the nice sort of sun, the type that feels more like it’s wrapping you up its arms rather than being stifling.
Even Nico was finding it nice.
There was a small clearing towards the edge of the woods that he and Will had discovered a few weeks ago, colourful wildflowers dotted all throughout the grass and trees that felt oddly comfortable to lean against.
That was where Nico found himself as the sun shone, sat against the trunk of the largest tree and doodling in the sketchbook that Hazel had gifted him last time they saw one another. In all honesty, it had surpassed doodles by that point, instead full imitations of the nature around him, pencilled versions of the grass and leaves. He wasn’t a good artist by any means, but neither was he particularly bad.
It was after a good half hour of this that quiet footsteps began to approach, Will wandering over with an exhausted smile on his face.
“Hey.”
“Hi Nico.” Will didn’t dawdle around, instead collapsing to the floor the minute he was in range, laying his head on Nico’s lap so suddenly that he barely had time to shift his sketchbook out of the way.
Nico laughed despite himself, “Will! I was drawing there!”
“Mm, well. I’m here now so…”
“You bastard!”
“Do you really value your drawings over me?” Will opened one eye, looking up at him.
Nico huffed, “Maybe I do.”
“Yeah right.”
Nico placed his sketchbook right on top of Will’s face, ignoring his spluttering and instead going back to sketching lines, though now they were shaky with how his hands trembled from suppressed laughter. Will’s hand came up from beside them to start whacking the pages, fumbling and grumpy.
Nico lifted the sketchbook, “Yes dear?”
“Nico!” Will whined, pouting in a way that had no right to be so endearing. Nico leaned down to press a kiss to his nose, and the expression disappeared as fast as it had arrived, replaced with one of Will’s typical million-watt smiles.
“Can I go back to drawing now?”
“Only if it isn’t on my face!”
Nico stared blankly, “You do realise you are exactly where my sketchbook needs to be?”
Will flipped him off but complied with the unspoken request to move, shuffling to beside Nico instead of on top of him. His head was pressed against Nico’s knee, soft hair tickling Nico’s skin through the rips in his jeans.
Nico put the sketchbook back in his lap, and went back to his drawing. It wasn’t long before the daises in front of him had been recreated in smudged lines, the blunt pencil hardly doing them justice.
He held the page away from him, looking at the completed piece and nodding to himself. It was something, even if it wasn’t brilliant. He could show Hazel next time the two of them met up, she’d be happy with him for both using her gift and for picking up a hobby.
A slight movement made him glance down, and his heart stuttered in his chest.
Will had fallen asleep, face relaxed and soft where it was cradled by the grass around it. His freckles were prominent thanks to the recent weather, dotted all around his face and practically shining in the sunlight, and Nico had never wanted to thank Apollo so much.
The sun looked amazing on Will, lighting him up in a way it could do to no other, beautiful and warm as it sculpted his face and caressed his hair.
It wasn’t really a question on what Nico would be drawing next, and Will’s likeness was traced out in grey within minutes. He hadn’t been upset with the restrictions of his pencil before, but he found himself wishing that it could at least capture some of the golden hues that Will radiated, that inviting brightness that followed him wherever he went. He could draw everything else though, the curve of his jawline and the bump on his nose, the freckle right beneath his eye that Nico loved, and how his lips curved into the slightest smile even as he slept.
The final drawing wasn’t a masterpiece of any kind, but it was Will, and so Nico couldn’t help but find it perfect. Maybe that ought to have embarrassed him, because really, when did Nico become so horrifically smitten with the boy beside him? But it was hard to be embarrassed when Will was right there, peaceful and so, so incredible. And his, somehow.
Nico felt like he could cry from the wonder of it, not for the first time. Instead, he shut his sketchbook, placing it onto the floor next to him and sliding down to Will’s level, tugging him close and feeling his heart swell with how Will returned the hold even in his sleep.
Will found the drawing a week later, sprawled in Nico’s bed as Nico sorted through mythomagic cards. Harley from the Hephaestus cabin had been getting into the game recently but hadn’t quite learnt everything yet, and while Nico wasn’t obsessed like he used to be, seeing Harley play with a deck that bad was physically painful. He was doing the world a favour by sorting a good hand for the kid, it was a moral thing. Not because he still liked mythomagic that much, nope.
Will had complained about being bored, so Nico tossed his sketchbook towards him and told him to flick through it. He was too focused to talk and Will’s attention needed to be occupied by something or else he’d start doing something stupid again, like that time Nico walked into the infirmary on a quiet day to find Will surrounded by about thirty paper cranes.
Will was quiet aside from the occasional sound of a page being turned, until his breath audibly caught.
“Will? You okay?”
Will didn’t respond, just staring at the page in front of him, blinking dumbly and flushing a deep red.
“Will?”
Will turned the sketchbook towards him with wide eyes and Nico found his face matching Will’s, burning with a violent blush. He had entirely forgotten about drawing Will until that moment, a carefully sketched face staring back at him from the page and the person it was based on looking at him.
“Uhm-“ Nico started to stutter before giving up, covering his face with his hands and trying not to melt into a pile of shadows.
“Nico?” Will’s voice was quiet, and a little breathless, “You drew me.”
It wasn’t a question, but Nico nodded anyways. Before he could even finish the motion, he found himself tackled to the bed, arms wrapping around him and he shrieked slightly as they fell.
“Nico!” Will drew out his name, holding him tightly, “Do you want me to die?”
“No!”
“You can’t just do things like this to me!”
Nico was lost, “The- drawing?”
“Yes, the drawing! You drew me!”
Nico managed to worm his arms out from where they had been awkwardly trapped by his face and instead hugged Will back, “Yeah well, you looked nice, so.”
Will made a pained noise and pressed closer.
“Nico di Angelo, I am never letting you say you’re not romantic again.”
“I’m not!”
Will moved away, sitting up and looking down at Nico, “You’re kidding. You literally drew me!”
“Okay?” Nico hoped his face wasn’t as red as it felt, but he wasn’t oblivious to the way it absolutely was. He stared up at Will and tried to ignore how his boyfriend’s face was still flushed, hair curling around the edges of his cheeks in a perfect combination of rose and gold. He looked away before Will could call him out on staring.
“I can draw my boyfriend if I want to.”
“Of course you can, it’s just very sweet of you!”
“I am not sweet.”
“You are! Nico di Angelo, you are adorable and wonderful and kind, and incredibly sweet!” Will seemed to take joy in how Nico groaned with each compliment, grabbing his hands before he could cover his face again and instead hugging them to his chest.
“You are amazing, and now I am going to lay down and cuddle with you until I stop feeling like I might explode from how much I love you, okay?”
Nico huffed despite the way his lips were tugging up, “I suppose I could live with that.”
“Good, cause youre going to have to.” Will stated, and then promptly fell down onto the mattress, hands pulling Nico in before he even landed and intertwining the two of them thoroughly. They’d be overheating before they knew it, but Nico couldn’t find it in himself to care.
He pressed a kiss to Will’s jaw and let his arms come up behind the other, threading his fingers through his hair, “I love you too, dork.”
Will hummed, “You should draw me more.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. You make me look all pretty.”
Nico kissed him again, “Not hard, you’re pretty in real life too.”
Will gasped with much more drama than necessary, “See, I told you, you’re romantic!”
“Oh, shut up Solace.”