Nico would never admit it out loud as he thought it sounded extremely conceited. But he always felt like he had suffered the worst. It wasn't fair. He suffered the horrors of Tartarus alone and not many people gave him credit, spent days wasting away in a jar, confessed a huge secret to a god, and had lost way too much. And every time he thought he had the possibility of a happy ending, it was always pulled away from him. First there was Bianca, his lovely sister, his only family. She had gotten tired of how annoying he was and joined a group exclusively for girls. Though he tried not to show it, it broke him inside. Perhaps if he had been less annoying, his sister wouldn't have joined those Hunters of Artemis. Nico couldn't stand them anymore. And then she had died on the very first quest she went on and left Nico entirely on his own. Nico snapped. He fled from Camp Half Blood, from the few people he got to know, and from Percy. Percy was the next thing Nico knew he couldn't have. Nico had loved Percy the moment he laid eyes on him. He was… heroic, amazing, good looking. But he was three years older than Nico and it just felt more awkward to the son of Hades as both boys aged. But Nico watched as Percy obliviously fell in love with the daughter of Athena, someone he wanted to hate but simply couldn't. Percy would never be Nico's, no matter how much he hoped or dreamed. He was relieved the day that he finally got over his long-time crush. Nico's family grew slightly. He gained two more sisters, one of them, he kind adopted as his big sister. Hazel was the sweetest and kindest person Nico had ever known. He simply adored her. At her funeral, he had to do his best not to cry and be there for his brother-in-law, Frank who now had a very difficult task ahead of him. Frank was now not only praetor of New Rome, but a wifeless father as well. The newborn baby he held was very cute, Nico had thought. It was a shame Hazel couldn't be apart of her new son's life. Nico had gotten news that Reyna had died at the hands of some petty mortal. Of all things, the brave praetor of New Rome was shot, accidentally, by a person who was blinded to what the world actually was. Nico positively sobbed at the young woman's funeral. She was the only who had seemed to suffer the most besides him. Nico had long discovered her secret of why she turned down every demigod's offer for a date.
Now the son of Hades sat, staring at a mop of blond hair, sun-kissed skin, and sparkly blue eyes. He tried to open his mouth, but he couldn't speak. It wasn't rare. Will Solace could always shut Nico up, one way or another. They had been dating for several years and were very, very close to each other. Will's head lay in Nico's lap, the rest of his body spread rather unceremoniously. Will smiled and reached up to run a hand across his face.
"Neeks," he murmured, "it's going to be okay."
Nico swallowed, "I-I, I love you."
"I love you," Will smiled as Nico leaned to press his lips against his boyfriend's. A sharp buzz in Nico's ear broke the kiss. He looked down as his worst nightmare came true. Will lay still, all trace of life completely drained from him. Nico screamed and sobbed, begging the fates to bring him back.
Finally broken, the son of Hades merely stared at the horizon whispering two small words, "I'm done." He turned and disappeared in the shadows.