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Waking up in a cold sweat was something Will had gotten used to. Waking up with adrenaline pumping through his veins and the faint echo of his own screams in his ears was something he had gotten used to. Waking up shaking and on the verge of tears was something that he had gotten used to.
Waking up to find himself facing his desk in the infirmary, however, was not something he was used to.
Calming down his breathing, Will rubbed the sleepy blur out of his eyes in the hopes that the haze would lift off his mind enough for him to properly figure out why he was where his was.
He was in his office in the infirmary, just as he thought, but he couldn't remember why. Thinking hard, faint memories of telling his half brother Austin to go to bed and not worry about him as he turned to a desk full of paperwork came to the front of Will's mind.
Ah, of course, he must've fallen asleep after trying to complete the mountain of paperwork piled high on his desk from a busy day.
Looking down at his desk, Will breathed a sigh of relief at finding he had indeed finished all the work before conking out.
Standing up and trying desperately to stretch the crick out of his neck and back from the awkward sleeping position, Will silently berated himself for being so careless.
He shouldn't be sleeping out where he was so exposed, where anyone could come in and find him whimpering like a-
The sound of the infirmary door opening and closing brought Will out of his thoughts, walking out of his mini office to see who it was that had come into the infirmary.
Will felt his heart lift at seeing an unruly mop of black hair on a pale frame, the son of Hades looking at Will with what appeared to be relief.
"Hey Neeks!" Will greeted his boyfriend cheerily, all traces of the night's events immediately leaving him.
"Will! How early did you get here, I've been looking for you all morning!" Nico said breathlessly as he walked over to the blonde.
Will blinked in surprise as he spared a glance out the windows to see that it was, indeed, late in the morning.
The blonde boy sheepishly turned his gaze back to Nico, rubbing the back of his neck. Before Will could come up with a reasonable answer that wouldn't end in a lecture about getting enough sleep, the son of Hades continued to talk.
"We've been called to the big house, I think Chiron has a quest of sorts for us."
Nico turned to walk away again but hesitated, as if to say something more, then turned back and quickly leaned up to peck Will bashfully on the cheek, going up on his toes slightly to do so before stepping back and looking away, a light blush covering his cheeks.
"And, uh, good morning." The shorter boy mumbled.
Will smiled fondly at Nico's bowed head. Even after almost 6 months of dating, Nico was shy approaching physical affection, which despite Nico's apologies, Will was more than happy to help with. They'd agreed at the start of their relationship to take things as slow as they needed, and that there was no rush to jump into things.
Despite Nico's apprehensive attitude towards physical contact, the son of Hades had initiated their first kiss during a random hangout in his cabin, surprising not only Will but himself as well. Will found himself grinning wider at the memory as he bent over slightly to return the peck on the cheek.
"Good morning to you too, Death Boy." He whispered lowly, making eye contact with Nico as he looked up before straightening his back.
"Now, what was this about Chiron needing us?"
~
It turned out that information regarding a possible powerful demigod was being kept in some rural town. Why it was there Chiron wouldn't tell them, simply saying that there was a file in the post office labeled 'Thani', and that it needed to be required effective immediately. It was all the way in Australia, and since every other resource of getting there quickly was being used up on countless other quests, Chiron had to turn to Nico's shadow travelling. Will was going as Nico's personal doctor, ensuring that he didn't over do anything, and that if he did, he would be in good care.
Will was currently humming in his cabin as he shoved some essentials in a small backpack; ambrosia, nectar, a first aid kit, a water bottle, and a small amount of food.
He wasn't too worried about packing heavily, as it was a relatively simple quest, especially compared to other quests being handled by other campers, so it shouldn't last longer than a few hours.
"Hey. You ready?"
Will turned at the voice, finding Nico leaning on the doorway with his arms crossed, giving Will a steady look.
"Well, yeah, but we aren't leaving until 5, remember?" Will replied.
Due to the time difference, they had decided to leave at 5 am, meaning that they'd arrive at the post office around 8 pm, which was when Chiron said the post office would close.
Nico rolled his eyes.
"Yes, I know, but I'm just making sure you're ready now. You shouldn't be packing when we're leaving, you should be packing before you sleep."
Will felt a tremble of fear go down his spine at the mention of sleep, but tried not to let it show as he flashed Nico his usual sunny smile.
"Well, I'm all packed, so don't stress Neeks."
Will walked forward to pull Nico into a hug, pecking the top of his head. Nico didn't protest at the action, simply relaxing into the embrace before stepping back and squeezing Will's hand.
"I'll see you at five tomorrow morning, then."
Will returned the squeeze before letting go and nodding his head.
He knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep that night, especially not with all the nerves, but that was alright. Just as long as he didn't need to sleep within proximity of Nico, he'd be fine.
As long as all went well, they wouldn't actually need to sleep there, so once they came back Will could collapse back into his bed.
Yep, as long as all went well.
~
All was going to shit.
Will had underestimated how much the lack of sleep would affect him, and was therefore practically zombie-ing his way through the quest. He hadn't missed Nico's concerned looks at the dark bags under his eyes, but he had simply waved the son of Hades off with a quick signature smile and a bump of the shoulder.
As soon as they arrived in Australia, they had nearly jumped out of their skins as they materialized a few feet away from a kangaroo, spooking the animal as it jumped away from them.
They had continued to break into the post office which was conveniently on the edge of the small town, right next to where they had appeared. They then spent the next hour or so almost turning the place upside down in search of the important file.
Nico was about to try and break into a small vault near the back of the small office when Will picked up a business card from the front desk, scanning over the details before feeling his body freeze in realization.
"Hey, Neeks?" Will whispered, eyes not leaving the small piece of paper.
"Yes?" Nico almost snapped, fiddling with the lock to the vault.
"What did Chiron say the name of the post office was?"
Will heard Nico immediately stop what he was doing, the tension in the room suffocating as he felt horrified eyes land on him.
"Darrin Circuit Post Office. Why?" His voice was weak, cracking on the last word.
Will closed his eyes and tried not to scream.
"We're in Rightworks Postal Service."
Will opened his eyes and looked over to see Nico cover his face and double over, shaking from was seemed like restraint.
"Holy shit, I think I might cry." Will said, before feeling a giggle break loose. Sleep deprivation combined with the current situation must've been a great combination for hysteria, because Will felt like his mind was being snapped.
Nico stood back up again and looked at Will, only to join him in giggling. After a few minutes of giggling like a bunch of toddlers, Nico ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
"Gods, we're a bunch of idiots. At least now we know why we couldn't find the file. But where the hell did this office come from? Chiron said there was only one in this place."
Will shrugged his shoulders as he surveyed the now messed up office, noting the modern look, a stark difference to the run down state of the rest of the town.
"This one must be new, they just haven't updated it online." He suggested.
Nico looked so done with the world, still running his hands through his hair as he looked around at the mess they had made. Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside, and the two boys looked at each other in a panic. They needed to get out of there, quickly.
Will tried moving towards Nico but promptly slipped on a pile of scattered paper, landing hard on his wrist.
A yelp rang out unintended in reaction to the pain, Will barely registering Nico rushing over to him and shadow travelling them outside as a haze of pain filled his mind.
As soon as they were out, Will felt himself being propped against the base of a tree trunk, Nico placing a worried hand on his shoulder as he tried asking Will if he was okay.
Will tried to calm himself down, to just breathe slower, he was basically a doctor, he knew that it was only a minor sprain. It was more shock than anything, really.
When he was finally able to see more clearly, Will nodded towards his backpack which was sitting next to Nico.
"Ambrosia." Will said simply.
Nico nodded his head in understanding, and after less than a minute of fumbling through the pack, a ziplock bag of the squared goodness was produced and given to Will.
The taste of his mother's french toast filled his senses, easing the throbbing pain in his wrist and calming down his heart rate. However, it didn't seem to provide any relief to his fatigue, he belatedly realised as the adrenaline from the shock wore off and the effects of sleep deprivation started to set in.
Nico seemed to notice as he stood up and moved to sit at a tree stump close across from Will, sitting down and taking out his sword to set beside him.
"Go on, I'll take first watch." The son of Hades prompted.
Will was almost shaken out of his sleepy haze at the fear sparked by Nico's words. He immediately started shaking his head, much to the confusion of the other boy.
"No, no, I don't need to sleep. We've only been awake for a few hours, and really, if anyone needs to sleep, it's you! You've been shadow travelling a lot, you need to rest more than I do. Besides, we need to go to the post office! The actual one, with the file. Because we need to get it!"
Will knew he sounded a little overenthusiastic, but he was desperate to stay awake. He couldn't sleep now, not here, not in front of Nico.
The dark haired boy simply cocked an eyebrow before shaking his head.
"No, Will. Don't think I haven't noticed how tired you've been since you woke up, you probably have some crazy sleep schedule from working in the infirmary, I know. And you're also injured, you need to rest. I'm fine, I've stayed up for way longer than 24 hours straight after shadow travelling."
Will was verging on begging Nico to let him stay awake, desperation probably shining in his eyes.
"No, it's just a sprained wrist, I've had worse, and besides, if we just go and get the file now we can go back to camp and I can rest then-"
"William Solace, I swear to the gods that if you don't go to sleep I will knock you out myself." Nico near growled.
Will tried not to look too scared as he gulped, looking down at his feet.
"Unless... are you afraid of something, Will?" Nico's voice was surprisingly soft, and Will felt a lump forming in his throat as he made eye contact with Nico.
The son of Hades looked simultaneously worried and ready to protect Will from whatever was scaring him, but Will couldn't bring himself to say it. To tell the truth. To finally tell someone how much of a coward he is that he can't sleep in his own damn bed without waking up in tears. He already lost his self respect ages ago, he couldn't lose Nico's too.
Too tired to find a way out of the situation without telling Nico his secret, Will simply shook his head and put on what he hoped looked like a sleepy smile before settling down on the ground, using his backpack as a pillow. Surely a small nap wouldn't hurt? As long as he didn't fall too deeply asleep, the nightmares shouldn't bug him. Right?
~
Will felt himself being shaken awake by gentle hands, his face wet with the usual tears. He sat up and opened his eyes, head spinning as he tried to remember where he was and why he was sleeping, trying to separate nightmare from reality.
His heart was still beating fast as he felt hands grab his face and stop him from looking around, focusing his attention on the boy in front of him.
Oh. Nico.
Memories flooded his brain, and his heart rate impossibly picked up in speed. It was all over now, there was no playing this one off. Someone had finally caught him in one of his night terrors, and it was one of the bravest people he knew. He was going to be judged, he was going to be seen as weak, he'd be treated differently, Nico was never going to look at him the same way as before, oh gods, is Nico still even going to want to be with him?
Without realizing, Will had started crying harder, and before he knew it he was being pulled into a soft but encasing embrace, his face buried in a soft black shirt.
Nico wrapped one arm around his back, holding him tight as he ran the other hand through his blonde curls, whispering comforting words mixed with soft kisses on the head.
Will curled into Nico's touch as he continued to sob into Nico's shirt for a few minutes, trying to calm himself down as he breathed in Nico's scent. Campfire smoke, forest, and something soft and spicy that was purely Nico, all things that comforted him greatly.
After his tears had stopped and his sniffles were few in number, Will sat back cross legged, Nico mimicking his position, and slouched, avoiding eye contact as he prayed to the gods to simply sink into the ground forever.
A hand on his knee finally prompted him to look at Nico, although he was still unable to quite look him in the eyes. Gods, this was so humiliating.
"Hey. Wanna talk about it?" Nico asked softly.
Will bit his lip and looked down at his hands, picking at the hem of his shirt.
Cool, pale hands suddenly laced themselves with his as the son of Hades leaned his head forward to rest on Will's shoulder.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?" He said, nuzzling into the place where Will's shoulder met his neck.
Relaxing a little more, Will dropped his head onto Nico's shoulder.
"It... it's stupid. Please, forget about it, you'll think I'm stupid." He said miserably.
Feeling Nico tense was the only warning Will got before his face was being held by cool hands again, dark brown eyes staring intensely at him.
"Will, please don't tell me you've been keeping this to yourself because you think it's stupid." Nico scoffed in disbelief.
Will felt his ears burn in shame, although he didn't quite know why. He didn't respond, but the expression on his face must have been enough because Nico scoffed again and let go of his face, taking his hands in his instead. Will's head was spinning not only from the fragility of the situation, but the sensations Nico's touch was sending through his body. This was the most Nico had ever touched him in one go, and Will started to fear that he was still sleeping, and this was just another part of his nightmare.
"Will." Nico's steady voice brought him back to the present. Seeing that he had his attention, Nico gave a small smile before continuing.
"You know I get nightmares too? Everyone does. It's not something to be ashamed of."
Will felt his mind protesting at the words, having to squeeze his eyes shut momentarily to stop himself from outright shouting at Nico about how wrong he was. Once he deemed himself steady enough to talk without losing control, he took a deep breath and tightened his own grip on Nico's hands.
"But mine is something to be ashamed of. It's not the same as everyone else's, Nico, I'm a freaking doctor. I see gore everyday, I should be used to it, I'm one of the few people in the infirmary who has never had to witness a death, and dreaming every night about people who are still alive dying isn't something I should be doing. I should have more control over it, I'm meant to have the most common sense when it comes to these things, heck I give lectures about it to people! These things shouldn't be affecting me, but it's okay, I'm sure I'll be fine tomo-"
"I'm gonna stop you right there." Nico's voice was shakey, so shakey that Will looked up, only to feel like he'd been stabbed in the chest as he looked at Nico's watery eyes. Was he going to tell him now? Tell him that he can't handle someone with these kinds of problems? Tell him that he can't be with someone as weak as Will?
Will tried to tug his hands away, but Nico's grip was too strong, keeping him there as he continued to talk.
"You can't walk away from this and act like you're fine. I know you want to, but it's not happening. I'm not going to let you keep on suffering, gods Will, how long has this been happening?"
Will looked down in shame before replying weakly.
"A little over a few years?"
The hands on his were shaky now, but still holding strong.
"Will, I, I know you don't want to talk about this, and you don't have to, at least not in detail, just please let me in. I don't have to tell anyone, it can just be us to, and if we need to, we can find someone we can trust to help out. You're not the only one with this stuff, okay? I know at least 26 other kids at Camp with it, myself included, and they haven't gone through so much as taken a tumble on a chariot. So please, Will, just let me help you, in any way I can."
Will felt dizzy. This was too much, it was all too much, he felt so exposed, so vulnerable, he needed to hide, he needed to cover it up, the ugly truth, he needed to-
Nico's hands ran up and down Will's arms, a comforting gesture that slowed down Will's thoughts, allowing him to process everything a little easier.
"What do you want? What do you need?" Nico whispered.
"I... need everything to be slower." Will managed to whisper back.
Nico nodded, then offered a crooked smile.
"What say we go get that file now?"
Will let out a loose laugh, his chest suddenly feeling lighter than before.
"Let's just make sure we go to the right place this time."
"I don't think we can get back into the other post office if we tried, they're probably swarming with a bunch of people trying to figure out why the hell there's a bunch of mail scattered everywhere."
"Eh, they'll come up with something."
They stood up and brushed the dirt off themselves, and Will blushed as Nico pulled him into a hug, the embrace feeling somehow so much more intimate than before.
"I love you." Nico breath as he wound his arms around Will's neck.
"I don't know why you still do." Will found himself muttering.
He tensed as he waited for Nico's reaction, but received none as the shorter boy simply pulled him down for a sweet, lingering kiss, one that seared a silent promise to his lips.
"Then I guess I'll just have to show you why when we get back." Nico said lowly as he caressed Will's neck with the light touch of his fingers.
Nico had to practically drag Will to the post office, the son of Apollo too lost in the phantom touches of Nico's hands.