So this is meant to be somewhat angsty or just sad in some way I suppose, something I'm great at writing but at the same time am horrible at. My words never bring out the emotions I want it to, life sucks.

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Tears fell down Nico's cheek as he lay still in his bed, eyes squeezed shut. It was as if he wanted to leave his nightmare, yet didn't. Will had tried and tried, failing at his every attempt to soothe Nico or wake him up. It was clear from the start that he was having a nightmare of some sort, Hazel had even sensed the pure vulnerability in Nico's soul in her sleep.

Will didn't know if the dream was of Tartarus, inflicted by Tartarus, or the worst one: made purely from Nico's own mind. The worst thing about Nico's dreams and flashbacks of Tartarus was something Will could say from off the top of his head; the different reactions.

Percy and Annabeth would scream and cry and make an overall show that made it easy for people to know that they were having a nightmare or having a flashback of some sort. But it was the complete opposite for Nico. Will wouldn't say that Nico went through more than Percy and Annabeth, but there was no doubt that he had faced a lot. While almost everyone had welcomed Percy and helped him with no hesitation, Nico was shunned off to the side by every demigod at Camp Half-Blood. After his sister's death, no less. If Will needed to compare, he would say Nico went through more emotional trauma then Percy and Annabeth might've.

It wasn't even because of something Nico did—it was just because everyone feared him. Percy was predictable, he had undying loyalty towards Camp Half-Blood, but Nico was the wild card. He almost joined the wrong side once, so nobody was doubting that he wouldn't do it again. And while Nico wasn't as powerful as Thalia or Percy, something the Lotus Hotel and Casino was to blame for, he could be with time. It was established long ago that being in a slowed down hotel for seventy years damaged Nico's growth, made his powers 'awaken' slower than it should've.

Maybe that was why Nico's reactions to dreams were so different. He was always silent, the only indication he was having a flashback were the glazed over eyes, and the occasional tear that would slide down his cheek. It made Will question things sometimes. When Percy and Annabeth came back, Annabeth thought the scariest thing was Percy controlling the tide of poison, while Percy's was seeing Tartarus' true form. Something the son of Poseidon realised Nico saw the whole time.

He had questioned how Nico saved his sanity, and sometimes Will wondered that too.

Knowing he had to wake Nico up, Will decided to take drastic measures.

The son of Apollo snuck out of Cabin 13, taking the risk of getting eaten by harpies to get to Cabin 15; Hypnos.

As expected, everyone was asleep, but that didn't matter. For whatever reason, the Hypnos cabin had soundproof walls, which was perfect for what Will was about to do. He brought two fingers to his lips, and blew the loudest sonic whistle he had probably ever done in his life. To the Hypnos campers' credits, they only stirred. Though Clovis woke up, glaring weakly at Will, who stood at his bunk-side.

"What in Hades-" Clovis murmured with furrowed brows, and Will knew he only had seconds left before the demigod would fall asleep again.

"Clovis, I need you to let me into Nico's dream."

Will didn't like what he had asked. The last thing he wanted to do was to violate his boyfriend's trust, and maybe lose it forever. But Will was worried, and he was willing to lose the son of Hades' trust if it meant that he would be awake and okay.

• • •

Will blinked.

Everything looked murky, as if he was watching something through an Iris Message, with everything darker and murkier, like from the surface of a swamp or dirty lake. Though he could move his body and walk around.

Will almost couldn't explain it, but he definitely didn't like the chill that ran down his spine. Clovis had warned him multiple times that it's dangerous to go into someone else's dream, especially one of the Big Three demigods, but Will ignored it. Now he wish he paid more attention to those warnings.

His vision was cloudy, but there was no doubt in Will's mind that while there were many kids on stage, the one kid standing proudly at one side in a tree costume was Nico di Angelo, well, a younger Nico.

Will almost couldn't believe it. Nico was dressed in a tree costume he would've called stupid, and had a broad smile on his face, an expression that looked foreign on Nico's face. The kid looked so proud, and didn't seem the least bit sad to be nothing more than a tree in a play.

This younger Nico looked to be maybe seven or eight years old, but even then, Will could envision the dark circles that would soon be an almost permanent feature of the son of Hades' appearance, he could imagine the darker quality and brokenness that would soon be his eyes. And even more, he could see how Nico's would soon change from the slightly chubby boy with healthy olive skin to someone so pale and thin it's scary.

Will felt sick realising how much Nico's appearance actually changed over the years. He never seen the boy when he just got to camp, and now was sort of glad he didn't. It would've broken his heart to know how a bubbly little kid obsessed with Mythomagic became someone so broken and quietly powerful.

If only young Nico knew what would become of him.

Will focused more on the audience, the parents laughing and beaming with pride at their children's performances. He looked around, trying to spot who Nico was looking at. The young boy had his gaze glued on a young girl sitting near the middle. She was probably a head taller than Nico, and had a proud smile on her face. It was scary how similar the two looked, same olive skin, same dark eyes and hair, with a start Will realised that Nico had a light splash of freckles across the bridge of his nose, barely visible. It took a second for Will to understand that she was probably Nico's sister: Bianca di Angelo.

She was dressed in a way Aphrodite campers would probably scream at her for. Bianca had on some sort of army green baret, her wavy hair pushed down beneath the hat as if she wished it could hide her face. She also had on a baggy beige or brown cardigan jacket, with an ankle-length dress and boots to match. It was obvious that she had dressed much as much as she could for Nico's play.

Will scanned all the faces on stage, every kid had their gazes on their parents, as if hoping to impress them. Will couldn't help but smile—he couldn't help but remember when he used to want to seem impressive in his mother's eyes. Nico was doing the same, though he probably didn't know there was no need to seem impressive, the glint in Bianca's eyes was enough to let Will know she was proud.

After watching the performance for a few more minutes, Will realised with a start that while everyone else was trying to prove their worth to their parents, Nico was just trying to entertain his sister, someone he knew accepted him for who he was, and the only person he still had.

Will ran around wildly through the mortals' bodies in Nico's dream, trying to find the son of Hades in question. He hoped that Nico would be an invisible spectator of the dream, that would've made things easier. And thankfully, he was.

The son of Hades was in one corner of the auditorium, against the two corners, hugging his knees. His dark clothing blended in so well with the darkness Will almost missed him. Will's eyes flashed voluntarily back to the younger Nico on the stage, he could hardly believe the difference. He knew Nico went through some sort of change, but he didn't expect this.

"Nico," Will said, his voice barely above a whisper. It was as if he was scared a sudden movement could break the son of Hades. Nico hated being treated like glass, but at the moment, it seemed that's exactly what Nico was: glass on the verge of shattering.

Nico looked up at Will with droopy eyes, fatigue and worry clear in his eyes. Nico's shoulders tensed when he saw the blond, and he quickly shuffled back, an action that made Will drop his smile. The son of Hades' eyes were wide, fear flashed in his eyes before it was gone, his face a neutral expression, unreadable. Will couldn't stand it, it had been a while since Nico had shut anyone out, he hadn't done that since the Prophecy of Seven, and to see his old tricks popping up again saddened and angered the son of Apollo.

"Nico it's fine—it's just me." Will said as kindly as he possibly could, wishing he could charmspeak like Piper—that would've very helpful at the time.

The son of Hades pushed his whole body against the wall, as if he could just melt through the wall and away from Will. The son of Apollo reached over tentatively and rested a hand on Nico's kneecap, hoping he could make Nico feel better. Like Reyna could lend others strength, children of Apollo could heal people or bring happiness into a person with just a touch—though it was based off how much happiness or health the demigod themselves had first.

Nico stilled, before relaxing slightly, his expression still guarded. "No don't." He said, voice small. It was a tone Will had never heard his significant other speak in. It was one of a scared child, unsure of what to do.

Nico had his eyes glued on Will, as if scared he was going to hurt him. It dawned on Will what the son of Hades was thinking.

It was a dream, a memory of some sort. It was no secret that Nico was scared of being forgotten, losing someone like he had with Bianca. So instead, he pushed himself away, hoping it would prevent anything of the sort to happen again. He thought Will wasn't real in the dream, a figment of his imagination, ready to taunt his own fears. It scared Will to think about.

Every demigod had fears, but being in Tartarus no doubt helps one focuses more on them.

Will scooted so that he was sitting next to Nico against the wall, wrapping an arm around Nico's shoulders, muttering sweet nothings that Will himself knew nothing about. Soon he realised he was humming a lullaby of some sort—it was the melody of the lullaby Bianca used to sing to Nico when he was young. Will only knew of it because the son of Hades had sung Will to sleep with it a month ago after the war when he was incredibly stressed with the amount of deaths he couldn't prevent.

They weren't together back then, but the gesture was what made Will sure he wanted them to be, especially when Nico had blushed and denied every doing it the next day.

Will didn't know when Nico woke up from his dream, or when he was suddenly sitting next to an awake Nico on the bed in the same position as in the dream. I glance at the mop of black hair beside me, unable to stop a smile from showing when I saw Nico was asleep. His expression was still troubled, but at least more at peace.