"Hey, Nico. Wake up."

Someone was shaking his shoulder ever so slightly, and Nico felt the drowsiness slowly drain from his head. His whole body hurt, and he had to stretch. He hadn't felt that physically uncomfortable since the last time he had slept on the ground, on his way to Camp with Reyna and the coach that same summer. The reason was clear enough once he realized where he was. He had fallen asleep in the amphitheater while everyone had been singing and toasting marshmallows around the bonfire. He could still feel the echo of the sharp edge of the seat behind him, which had been pressed against his neck.

Will was watching him, frowning.

"You fell asleep again."

"Mhm," Nico hummed and looked around. Everyone were leaving and packing up their bags of candy. "I guess I did."

"You fell asleep during Arts and Crafts today too," Kayla commented as she put away a guitar into its case. Austin had gathered all the sticks used for marshmallows and placed them next to the now small and yellow fire.

"When was the last time you had some decent sleep?" he asked. "Didn't the tea Lou Ellen gave you help at all?"

Nico just shrugged and stood. "It's no big deal. See you tomorrow." he said, but was careful not to look anyone in the eyes. For some reason, the children of Apollo made him feel see-through. He wasn't used to being so… noticed. The hairs on his neck rose as he walked out of the theatre, and he knew they were watching him go.

Truth be told, he barely ever slept the whole night through. At least not for more than maybe two nights in a row, if he was lucky. The last time he had, he had been restricted to an infirmary bed for three days. The effect had stayed with him for a whole week afterwards, but then the nightmares had acted up again.

Lou Ellen's tea did help. At least he actually slept, instead of lying awake until dawn. But he still woke up every other hour or so, and he felt tired and moody throughout the day. He had taken to napping whenever he could, preferably on the grass with the sunshine warming him up. It was Will who had introduced him to the concept of "relaxing in the sun." Will would talk, either to him or to whoever had joined them, and Nico would doze off, only to have Will carefully nudge him when it was time to get up.

But the past week, it was as if Lou Ellen's tea didn't help at all. It did make him tired, but he just couldn't fall asleep. Thoughts kept churning in his mind, and without anything else to focus on, he couldn't make them quiet down. They never lead anywhere. They were the same thoughts that had haunted him for almost five years. Nothing new, old stories. Nothing he could change or fix. But they kept him awake, thinking. And once he dozed off, the nightmares began.

He still tried, though. Back at the cabin, he put on an electric kettle Cecil had got his hands on from somewhere, and stuffed tea into an infuser. While the tea brewed, he changed into the only orange t-shirt he had, which was several sizes too big and therefor only deemed fit to sleep in, and pajamas pants. Drinking tea by the foot of his father's altar had become a sort of evening ritual the past month. Perhaps it was odd to sit on his knees, sipping tea while burning incense, but it gave him a feeling of spending time with someone, while still having his space and quiet. He tried to focus on the taste of the tea and the smell of cypress from the incense. It was a technique Kayla had suggested, a type of meditation she had called mindfulness, which might help him empty his mind before going to bed. It was getting easier, but the past week, nothing had really helped.

Just as he blew out the incense burner, there was a quiet knock on the door, followed by muttering whispers about being quiet.

Outside on the stairs were the three remaining residents of the Apollo Cabin, all of them looking as determined and strong willed as you could while wearing PJs of various patterns. He could understand Kayla's shamrocks, but not quite why Austin had chosen Hello Kitty when he could have just kept to plaids like Will.

"You are coming with us," Kayla whispered. It was clearly not an inquiry to be questioned. He still tried, though.

"What, why?"

"It's an experiment," said Austin.

"A medical experiment," explained Will.

"A medical experiment on your sleep cycle," continued Kayla. When he still didn't react with anything but a scowl, Will sighed.

"It's just a sleep-over. No big deal. We'll have you back here tomorrow morning at dawn. No one is going to find out."

"But why?"

Kayla smiled, that kind of over-bearing and caring smile that Nico still didn't really know how to deal with. It reminded him too much of Hazel and, well, Bianca.

"We all have nightmares. All of us. And our experience is that we sleep better when we are together. We thought it might help you too."

Austin winked "We've already made up a bunk for you. And if you can't sleep, we'll have a game night and keep you company."

Nico crossed his arms and huffed. "I can deal with this myself. Seriously, I'm fi-"

"Just stop," Will said, his hands up and his expression soft. "We know you can take care of yourself and you're a big boy and all that. But we want you there. Alright? If it doesn't help, we won't suggest it again. You'll be free to leave whenever you want. We just want you to give it a shot."

They all stared at him expectantly - which was a bit unnerving considering he was wearing pajama pants. It just didn't seem very decent, like he was less capable of saying no when he wasn't in his regular clothes. Finally, he sighed.

"Fine. Let me just brush my teeth."

Cabin 7 was as warm and welcoming as always. Nico realized he had never been inside the cabin after sunset. Even though the golden sunlight had been replaced with silvery moonlight, it was as if every surface of the cabin still glowed ever so slightly with some leftover ember radiance. It turned out he wasn't exactly imagining it. There were so many yellow fairy lights strung up under the ceiling, that there was really no need for any other light sources.

"That looks like a fire hazard," he said and pointed up.

"Nah, we had Nyssa make sure it wasn't," Austin said and kicked his shoes off.

Will pointed to a bunk bed where both top and bottom bed were neatly made with sky blue covers. The bottom bunk had the addition of several pictured pinned to the wall and a patchwork quilt with various shades of amber.

"I thought it best to put you in the top bunk over mine. That way, if you wake up, I'll be right next to you, and you can just throw something at me if you need me." He said it so matter-of-factly Nico felt embarrassed. Like it wasn't a big deal to have Nico so close. But then again, it never seemed like Will did think it was a big deal. He was so touchy with everyone, Nico almost blushed just looking at it. The thing was, he kind of wanted it to be a big deal. He wanted Will to feel the same thing he felt - like his skin had suddenly turned extra sensitive and his insides were fluttering at the thought of sleeping so close by.

But out loud he said "Fine," and proceeded to climb up to the top bunk, which was much higher than in most other cabins. Perhaps children of Apollo just really liked being high up?

Kayla and Austin both found their top bunks, these too decorated pictures.

"Good night, sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite," Kayla said as she settled under her covers.

"But if they do, let them chew," Will continued from the bunk underneath Nico.

"Cause bed bugs need food too!" Austin ended, and turned off the fairy lights with a switch on the wall next to a big poster of Leonard Cohen.

It didn't take long before Nico could hear Kayla and Austin's breathing even out and fade into a steady beat. It was odd, he thought, how comfortable they all were with this. To have someone intrude on the time they usually spent alone as a family. It made him realize how incredibly far away Hazel was. Especially when he couldn't just shadow travel to see her anymore. Not yet. He couldn't even get through to her with IMs these days.

"Are you asleep yet?" Will's voice was a silent whisper from the bunk below, quiet enough not to wake the others, loud enough for Nico to hear.

"No," he answered.

After a moment of hesitation, Will whispered back. "Hold on. I've got something."

Nico could hear him shuffle, and soon his blue eyes and mop of blond bed-hair were peaking over the edge. Before Nico could react, something big, heavy, and warm settled over him.

"What-"

"My quilt. Here." Will stepped up the ladder and started adjusting the quilt, making sure it covered every surface of both Nico and his covers. "There. See if that helps."

"O-okay," Nico muttered, his face peeking out from under the two layers of covers. Will grinned, then disappeared from sight again. The bed creaked ever so slightly when he settled in his bunk. Nico counted over a hundred of Will's breaths before they turned heavy and steady, settling into the same beat as his siblings.

The quilt smelled of him, Nico noticed. Like lemon, resin, fresh air, and antibacterial soap.

No, he did not snuggle it.

Not at all.

But it did make him calm down. The quilt was so heavy, it was almost like wearing an armour. He curled up under its weight, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

Nico awoke to someone poking his shoulder, the action softened by the thick layer of covers. "Nico. Pst. Wake up, Sunshine." He groaned and attempted to hide his face underneath the quilt.

"I am so sorry to wake you up-"

"He is, he has been whining about having to do so for fifteen minutes."

"Shut it, Austin." Then Will's voice was soft and quiet again. "But if we're doing this again sometime, it would be better if Chrion and Argus didn't find out."

Nico still felt slightly disoriented. It was as if his brain needed a few more minutes to fully understand that he wasn't in his own cabin. Even though the disorientation should have startled him, he felt calm and still sleepy. Slowly, he pulled the covers away and stretched with a loud yawn. He wasn't sure, but he thought he could hear Will's breath catch ever so slightly.

"Wtime sit?"

"Only six, but I know Sherman, Ellis, and the Nike twins go running at six thirty, so we thought it best to sneak you back into your own cabin before they head out.. Did you sleep well?" Nico opened his eyes slowly, straining against the morning light coming from the windows.

Will was standing on the ladder. His hair was still shaggy and sticking out at the back, but other than that he looked annoyingly fresh and awake. Some people were just like that, Nico thought.

"I guess our experiment worked, then?" Will said and beamed.

Nico sat up and rubbed his eyes. At the other side of the room, Kayla and Austin were searching their bags and cabinets for clean clothes and toiletries. Apparently, they hadn't been up as long as Will, who was fully dressed in flannel and khaki shorts. He had some dried up toothpaste at the corner of his mouth. Nico decided not to point that out.

"For the sake of science, we should increase the number n to see if the hypothesis is valid, that you might actually sleep the whole night through more often than not when you're here and have company."

"A what now?"

Kayla pulled a clean set of jeans out from under a bed.

"Will is suggesting you sleep here tonight as well. And probably tomorrow too."

"I am not saying it will work every night. Or that you will need it every night," Will hurried to explain. "But I think we should try it out for a few nights in a row. You know. For the sake of neuro-science."

"Are you sure?"

"Come on, man," Austin said as he tried to pull on a t-shirt which turned out to be way too small so his arms got stuck halfway through the holes. From inside the shirt, he said "We can actually have a game night this time! A round of board games before we go to bed. Kayla, is this yours?"

Kayla pulled the shirt off her brother. "Yes, dork. And you know I'd just crush you in any game you chose, right?"

The two started bickering, and Will turned back to Nico.

"What do you say? Three nights? Doctor's orders?"

Nico picked at a strand of dark fluff that had taken to growing on his ankle.

"Three nights. And I am allowed to leave if I want to?"

"Pinky swear." Will held out his pinky for emphasis.

Nico stared at it for a moment, remembering the sound of soft breathing and the smell of Will's quilt. Then he wrapped his own pinky around Will's.

"Alright."

This would have been a lot easier if only he had remastered the art of shadow travelling without passing out, Nico thought as he ran as quietly as he could over the wet and cold grass. At least it seemed like the darkness was clinging to him, making him hard to see, even for the harpies.

Finally, he was at the golden Cabin 7. The windows were dark, as they always were at night, but he didn't hesitate. He opened the door slowly and silently, and stepped inside.

Even though his eyes weren't used to the darkness without the lights of the hearthfire and the stars that had been outside, he easily maneuvered over the floor to the right bunk. He could barely make out the outline of the ladder, and placed his foot on the first step, causing it to creak.

"Hey," a voice whispered. Nico wasn't even startled, he just bit his lip as he felt the warmth in his ears.

"Hey. Sorry for waking you."

"It's okay. I had a bad dream anyway, so it was a good thing I woke up." Will's voice was thick with sleep, and he yawned. "You too, huh?"

"Yeah," Nico said. "I hope it's okay if I-"

"Do you even need to ask anymore? Do you want the quilt?"

"No, it's fine, I-"

"Here." Will stood up and lifted the quilt up to the now permanently made top bunk. "I don't mind."

"Okay." Nico climbed up the ladder and heard Will settle back into his bunk. "I guess I should just get my own soon, huh." He had meant for it to sound sincere, but for some reason, he didn't really like the thought.

"Nah," Will said, his voice already a tired mumble. "I kinda like how it smells of you afterwards." Immediately his breathing got deep and slow, settling into the usual beat that matched that of his siblings'.

Nico felt the warmth from his ears spread into his cheeks. Then, before he could start overthinking things again, he pulled the covers and the quilt over himself and drifted into a dreamless sleep.