Nico di Angelo arrived at Camp Half-Blood around noon. He set down his things in the Hades Cabin, pointed out again how terrible the décor was, and then walked across the green to the Apollo Cabin. He knocked twice and his boyfriend (he'd finally gotten used to calling him that) Will opened the door. "Hey there Death Boy," Will said. Nico just hugged him. As soon as he let go, he collapsed. Will picked him up (effortlessly, he weighs like fifty pounds), and rushed him to the infirmary. They confirmed that he had been shadow traveling altogether too much, and it was poisoning him. He lay unconscious in the bed and Will prayed to Hades not to take his son, and to Apollo for the ability to heal him.
The next day, Nico came around again. Will stood over his bed. "Hey, Sunshine…" he said weakly. "Hey, it's ok. It's going to be okay." Nico just smiled and closed his eyes. "Will?" he asked. "Yeah?" Nico swallowed. "I'm… I'm sorry." Will took his hand. "What are you sorry for? I'm the one who should be sorry. I can't find a way to heal you, and I'm losing everything, and all I wanted was one more day with you and-"
"Will." Will looked up. Nico was looking directly into his face. "I'm going to die." Will shook his head. "No. I could never let that happen to you. I can't lose you." Nico smiled. "It's okay." Will began to sob. "I love you." Nico stroked his hair absently. "Children of Hades… don't do love." Then he collapsed again. When he came around, Will wasn't there, but there was a beautiful woman with kaleidoscopic eyes sitting beside his bed. Aphrodite. Ugh. "Hello, Nico." Nico rolled his eyes. "What do you want?" She walked to his side. "I want to make it known to you that being a child of Hades does not make you unworthy of love, nor incapable of it. I believe that you love him. You may not be ready to tell him so, but you caused him a lot of pain yesterday. Love is a powerful thing. Use it wisely." Then she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Two days later, Nico di Angelo was dead. His last words were to his boyfriend. "I love you, Will." No one would ever know what transpired in that hospital room. They'd never know what made him change his mind.
