Nico sat on the ground, resting on the hard, uneven dirt, with his head in his hands. He breathed with heavy - yet at the same time steady, rhythmic breaths. The air around the boy was heavy, suffocating him with cold breezes; the shadows under the tree was somehow darker than usual, like a cold winter's night: dark, empty, lonesome. Nico didn't know how long he has been sitting in that one spot, nor did he care to count. He just focused on his breathing, in five seconds, out five seconds, in five seconds, out five seconds. He ignored the world around him, the sound of his fellow campers screaming and laughing and talking, enjoying themselves, not enjoying themselves, the Hermes cabin pranks, the prank victims, everything added to the hurt. Nobody noticed him. He couldn't care less. Until a voice rang out, directed right at Nico.

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Will. Of course it was him. The blond boy ran up to Nico, with a wide grin plastered on his face, not yet noticing anything wrong with the Ghost King. He was used to Nico's usual behavior. Oh, sulking under a tree? Must be a Thursday.

"Nico?" Will spoke again after not receiving an answer. His smile began to fade. "Nico? Are you okay?" Will crouched down to the silent boy. Nico slowly nodded, but moved as if every movement caused him pain. "Nico, look at me." Will waiting a moment for Nico to react. When he didn't, Will grabbed Nico's wrists, and pulled them away from his head. Nico's bloodshot eyes looked further down, away from any contact he'd make with Will.

"Nico…" The taller boy whispered, searching for the source of pain, any reason as to why Nico was so hurt, but failed. "Come on." Will pulled Nico up, and dragged him to the Hades Cabin. Nico's feet worked on autopilot. He followed closely behind Will, his wrist in the taller boy's hand. The heat from the sun, and the heat radiating off of Will, burnt into Nico. Too much light at once, too much heat at once. Too much everything.

The silent journey to the cabins worried Will deeply. Normally, Nico would let out some form of protest whenever Will dragged him somewhere. Actually, Nico would have first protested being touched this long. Reyna and Hazel were the only people at either camps who didn't a time limit, when it came to touching. Will, himself, was only at twelve seconds before Nico got uncomfortable.

Pulling the cabin door open, Will dragged the smaller boy inside. A wave of morose washed over Will as he walked into the average sized room. Darkness filled the area. The only lights in the room were green flames, which didn't do much for lighting. The beds still looked like coffins, and the blood red sheets didn't exactly help the picture. But Will didn't have time to complain about the room, and Nico's lack of interior designing skills. (But seriously, the Hades cabin needed a serious makeover.)

Not wasting any time, Will led Nico over to one of the beds, and sat Nico down. Will kneeled before Nico, taking his hands. His skin was icy, and the temperature dropping by the minute. The amount of pain the brunette was feeling was both astonishing and worrying. But what was even more worrying, was that Will couldn't find the root of the pain. He needs Nico to tell him the source of his hurt.

"Nico, please, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong." Will begged, shedding all pride. Nico opened his mouth, like he was going to speak, but no sound words sound out. Instead, he closed his mouth again, and gulped. His lower lip trembled. He bit his lower lip, trying to steady it, but to no avail. His dark eyes became glassy.

"Oh, Nico." Will threw his arms around the smaller boy, and held tightly. Nico lifted his pale, bony arms and weakly wrapped them around the blonde, returning the embrace for the first time. Nico buried his face in the crook of Will's neck. Salty tears began to drip down and soak through the taller boy's orange camp shirt. He let out a few small whimpers, before losing control. Loud sobs escaped Nico's mouth, breaking Will's happy - go - lucky heart.

"It's okay. Let it out." Will soothed, rubbing small circles into Nico's back. Will's heart hurt for his friend. He was worry - no - he was beyond terrified. Different thoughts pushed their way into his mind, but what kept coming up was, "What caused my stoic friend to break down like this? What is hurting him, and how can I stop it?" Will wanted to help his friend more than anything, but he didn't know how. He didn't know where to begin. He didn't even know what was wrong. So, instead, he held Nico tighter.

When Nico's sobs finally subsided, and his breathing returned to a normal, healthy pace, his heavy eyes had trouble staying open.

"It's okay. Go to sleep now. I'll be here." Will said with a soft voice. His voice was soothing enough to make Nico nod, and lay onto his back, still gripping the front of Will's shirt. Will gently tried to shake the younger boy's hands away, but when he discovered that the death grip wouldn't let go, Will gave up trying, and laid his head next to Nico's, watching as he closed his eyes, falling instantly into a deep sleep. Will wrapped his tanned, muscular arms, around the Ghost King, and held his close to his chest. Will listened to the steady beat of the Italian's heart, finding solace in the rhythm. It was like the beginning of a song. The drums letting out a slow, steady beat before the rest of the band joined in. But even when the song picked up pace, the singer vocalizing, being the main focus, the guitar screeching out riff after riff, the bass taking up the lower sounds, with any other instrument taking the attention of the listeners, the drum was always there, steady, calming, with the ability to change the course of the song completely. Will always preferred the drums, and the beat of Nico's heart was as good as any, because it played the song of life through the Ghost King's body. Will gently pressed his lips against Nico's forehead, and might have lingered a bit longer than he should have. When he pulled away, he put his head down against Nico's, and with their foreheads touching, Will drifted off into a surprisingly peaceful, dreamless sleep.

Nico's dream, on the other hand, began in a dark alley. Making a three-sixty, Nico made the unsettling discovery that he was cornered. Ten story brick building covered three of the four directions, leaving one opening. Nico didn't like where his dream was going, and tried to change it, but no matter how hard he tried, he was stuck. Nico sighed in annoyance, when he heard a sound coming from his one exit. His head shot towards the sound, and he saw a figure approaching, walking slowly. Nico made a grab for his stygian iron sword, but found himself weaponless. Nico scanned the area, trying to find anything that could pass as a weapon, whether it be a rock, a stick, or a brick, but there was nothing. Just him, the figure, and darkness. Nico back up, trying to think of an escape. His heart rate picked up as memories from Tartarus came flooding in. The figure was nearly upon him. When the figure stepped out of the shadows, and into the only light in the alley, Nico's heart froze. Standing before him was a young girl, no more than twelve years old, with her long, dark hair pulled into a braid. She had olive skin, stray freckles sprawled across her nose, dark eyes, and was dressed in silver.

"Bianca?" Nico whispered, his voice cracking. She smiled, and silently reached out her arm. Nico tried to grab her hand, but she began fading. Nico ran towards her.

"Bianca! No!" He screamed, "Bianca!" He was so close to her. Just a few more steps… "Bianca!" His eyes shot open, as he gasped. His face was only inches away from the Son of Apollo's. Nico let out a yelp, and jumped up, bumping his head on the bunk. Noticing that he still hasn't let the blonde go, he threw the clump of cloth in his hands down, and quickly retracted his hand, blushing slightly.

"Nico?" Will began, staring at the dark haired boy.

"What?" Nico mumbled, refusing to make eye contact. Memories of the moments before he passed out decided to resurface, causing his blush to grow bigger.

"Are you okay?" Will's voice was soft and full of concern, and though he spoke with a gentle tone, each syllabul came at Nico like a wrecking ball, tearing down the walk Nico spent three years building.

"I'm fine." Nico mumbled, crossing his arms, his eyes falling to a downcast.

"Nico-"

"I said I'm fine."

"Bullshit!" Will's sudden outburst caused Nico to flinch. He can't remember the last time he heard Will curse, or scream for the matter. Even during the war, Will seemed to be constantly calm. "You just spent the last ten minutes crying on my shoulder, and then fell asleep clinging to my shirt, so don't you dare tell me that you're fine." Will let out a deep breath. His countenance and tone softened, "Please, Nico, I only want to help you. You know what, no, not just that. I need you to know that I'm here for you no matter what! No matter what kind of shit you go through, I'll go through it with you. No matter what you're feeling, I'm here for you. Now just…just please. Talk to me." Will crossed his arms. "Now tell me what's wrong. Doctor's orders." Nico rolled his eyes, but secretly felt touched. Though he'd never admit it, it felt good having someone care about him like this.

"Fine. It's… It's Bianca. This week is… it's… it's the anniversary of her death." A single tear escaped his eye, and grazed down Nico's cheek, which he quickly whipped away. "This is the first year since her died that I couldn't visit her ghost in the Underworld. This is the longest I've gone without seeing her ghost, and it hurts knowing that I'll never see her again. I'm angry that she decided to get reborn. That she has a new family, and left me all alone." Nico sniffed. More tears fell from his eyes, this time at a faster rate. He hugged his knees to his chest. "She abandoned me. Again. Why did she keep leaving me?" Will didn't know what to say. His heart felt like it was being torn asunder.

"Nico…" He threw his arms around the younger boy, holding him as tightly as he could.

"You're not alone. You're sister loved you like crazy, she just did what she thought was best. And that included being reborn. But even without her here, you're not alone and you'll never be alone, do you hear me? I'm here. Reyna's here. Jason's here. Hazel is your sister too. There are so many people who love you and care about you and above all, want you to be happy." Leaning into Will, Nico spoke.

"But none of you are Bianca." Will hesitated.

"That may be true, but that doesn't make us any less your family."

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