It was all his fault. He hadn't been paying attention. It was his fault. There was no more to be said. If he hadn't been so exhausted from summoning the skeleton army, if he hadn't taken his eyes off the opponent to yell that it wasn't working then maybe Nico wouldn't be standing alone.
Nico couldn't move, couldn't speak, could only stare at the space in front of him, the space where he should be. Nico hadn't been quick enough, by the time he saw what was happening the man he loved had crumpled to the ground.
If he had been quicker, if he had been faster to turn, he could've done something, he could've gotten them both to safety. He should've realised what was happening sooner, he should've reacted quicker. He had let him die.
He had watched him fall to the ground. He had caught him in his arms, cradling his head to his chest, he had seen his final words… But he hadn't heard them. He should've heard them. They were meant for him and he hadn't listened.
But it was too late now.
Tears stained the grass, turning the dirt to mud. Nico's hands were stained with blood, his blood. His skeleton army crumbled around him, turning to dust before his very eyes. Maybe someday in the future his skeleton would be among them and Nico could see him again… Would he be angry? Would he be sad? Would he hate Nico for killing him, for not even attempting to bring him back to life, he was the son of Hades after all. Wait…
Nico sat up, tears long forgotten. Hope bloomed in his heart – maybe there was a way to fix this. Conjuring up whatever small amount of energy he had left, Nico began chanting. His body seemed to shimmer but Nico ignored it and continued. Suddenly he felt a presence awaken, growing stronger and then he heard it; the voice of the one he loved more than anything, the one he would do anything for.
"Nico, don't." But Nico ignored it, he would put this right, he had to. His energy was fading. He willed it to be enough, he would do this even if it killed him. He saw black.
•••
His energy was depleted, he could barely blink let alone sit but he had to see, he had to make sure. He opened his eyes. He was still on the grass and he was still covered in mud and blood. He shifted his eyes to where he knew he was. He was still, his face white. There was nothing Nico could do, he was too late. It had been too late the minute Will made the decision and jumped in front of him. The tears slipped down his cheeks but he made no attempt to wipe them away. It hadn't been Will's time but there was nothing to be done – there was no undo button on life.
Sometimes, love wasn't a good thing.
A/N: Hello! So this was just a random thing I came up with. It's based off a post my friend found and I immediately thought of this. I'm not 100% happy with this so sorry if it's not very good. TTTC, for those of you who want to know, is currently on hold so I can catch up with everything I'm behind on but I'll hopefully be updating it soon! That's all for now, hope you enjoy and goodbye!