So I posted this and then completely rewrote it so I doubt there will be many similarities.
Based on the chapter Orpheus Takes A Solo in Percy Jackson and the Greek Heroes.
I apologise for nothing.
Fighting, of course, was natural for couples, but Will and Nico had never argued like that. They had stormed away in opposite directions, Nico off to prepare for his death sentence of a quest, and Will in search of solitude in his cabin.
He was absolutely fuming. Nico was stubborn but he was actually going to risk his life like this? Did Will mean that little to him? And Nico's comment about Will's lack of fighting skills had been a low blow. Will was so wrapped up in his anger at that moment. He refused to leave the cabin - even after Cecil, Kayla and Jason had all begged him to make amends and that he would regret not talking to Nico before he left.
But Will was nothing if not stubborn. There was no way he was being the first to apologise.
It wasn't until after the party had left and it was too late that Will realised exactly what he had said.
And that's when the guilt set in.
It had been two weeks.
Two weeks he had been unfocused and distracted. He hadn't been himself. Lou Ellen had taken to avoiding him after he'd had a go at her for no apparent reason. The entirety of Camp Half Blood agreed that the sooner the son of Hades returned, the better for the Apollo cabin counsellor - and everybody else's sanity too.
Worry and guilt and regret had been eating away at him and driving him to madness. He wasn't sleeping. He wanted to take back those last words. He wanted to kiss away the anger. He wanted- no needed- to apologise. He needed Nico back. He needed him to be okay.
On the fifteenth day, not that Will was counting, he noticed shadows growing at Half Blood Hill just after breakfast.
Will ran from where he had been sitting with Austin to where Nico was arriving, to first apologise, then to lecture him about shadow travelling; he had no doubt done it recklessly. But Will had only taken a few steps when Nico collapsed and Alice from Hermes screamed for help. Will's pace increased.
Frighteningly pale skin. Dark matted hair. Ripped clothes. The only colour was Red. So much red.
The apologies died on his lips at the sight of all the blood. To make matter worse, Nico appeared to be starting to fade. He had clearly over exerted himself and that made Will's job all the harder. Will tried to lift him but Nico was like a fog; Will's hands slipped straight through. There wad no time to move him anyway. He yelled for bandages, ambrosia, nectar, anything he could possibly need. He fed Nico some nectar and he began to solidify. Will began removing his clothes. Peeling them off his fragile body. He had to stop the bleeding.
Where to start? Will counted so many injuries. He blocked the voices of Nico's quest companions telling him what had happened, and how Nico had been so heroic. Will began to chant as he wrapped the wound at Nico's middle, the one that seemed the largest, the one that was the most life threatening. Will worked so desperately but Nico was losing too much blood.
He couldn't let him die. Will cared. Will cared so much it pained him. Tears blurred his vision and his voice cracked as he prayed to Apollo. Begged for Nico's life. "No. Nico, don't do this to me. Don't do this! Please, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Father, please, save him! I can't-" his voice choked. Will could feel him fading. He could feel the futility of his efforts. He knew the truth but that didn't stop him from trying. It just wasn't an option. It couldn't be an option.
But it wasn't enough.
An agonising scream rang out through the camp. Will screamed as he held the body of Nico di Angelo in his arms for the very last time. He had failed again when it mattered the most.
Nico was gone. Nico was dead. He would never hug him again. They wouldn't ever kiss again. He lost his Death Boy. His Angel. Nico would never again complain about all his little nicknames or call him an idiot.
Will ignored all the people around him. Their voices passed him by like water on oil. He didn't hear a word. He just sat. Rocking Nico back and forth. Back and forth. He didn't care about them. Didn't have it in him to care. He only cared about the one in his arms.
Will was supposed to be a healer. The only one of his father's talents he had gained. He couldn't even do that properly. He couldn't do anything right. He was a failure. He failed Nico. He had said he didn't care. He cared too much. So much it hurt.
Everything hurt. Will wanted to forget it all. That one time Jason had joked about their wedding and the pair had ended up arguing about whether Will di Angelo sounded better than Nico Solace. All those campfires when the firelight lit up his shadows and they both sang a little too loud but neither cared. When the Demeter kids yelled at them for making out in the strawberry fields but they were secretly thankful that Will made Nico happy enough that he didn't kill the plants by mistake. Thinking about those things were like driving a sword through his heart.
Will had never known it was possible to feel so strongly about someone in such a short space of time. It was unfair that Nico was gone so soon. Will just wanted him back. He wanted the pain to end.
That night Will didn't sleep. He was sure he had cried all the water in his body but somehow he always found more tears. He didn't want his sobs to disturb the rest of his cabin so he found himself in Nico's bed.
His pillow still smelled of him.