uh hi im back from bnha hell and ao3 whoops
enjoy.
prompt: night terrors
for: camp half blood forum
pairing: will x nico [minor] much brotherly! will!
It's a ear piercing howl that wakes Will the first night. He almost falls out of his bunk at the cry, and he ends up sitting straight up in his top bunk. The structure rattles and creaks, but he hardly hears it; only the choked sob that follows is the only thing echoing in his ears.
He scrambles out of bed and climbs down the bunk ladder. The rest of his siblings are sitting up in bed, wide awake, and terrified of the sudden noise. Whispered chatter fills the darkness of the room as Will passes them, hushing them to go back to bed.
As he searches the room for the source, a small fist catches the back of his shirt, making him stumble backwards. His blue eyes meet luminous green, and it's one of the younger campers; an eight year old girl named Olivia.
"It's Tyler," she says quietly, gesturing towards the corner bunk.
He nods his thanks and ruffles the smaller girl's hair, urging her to go back to sleep, before he approaches his younger sibling. Even so, he can still feel green eyes on his back, along with the others' concerned looks.
Ignoring them, Will steps towards Tyler's bunk, and there's a small sniffle.
"Ty?" he says hesitantly. "You alright, buddy?"
A boy, about ten, with mousy brown hair pokes up from underneath the sheets. Even in the darkness, Will can see the red rimmed eyes and quivering hands. His fists clench at the sight.
This shouldn't be happening.
"I-I dreamt…I had a nightmare that…" Ty chokes up again and dives back under his covers. Another shuddering sob.
His brotherly instincts kick in (even more so, at the sight of his ten year old, sniffling half brother) and he sits on the edge of the bed. His hands find their way to the top of the blanket bundle and he rubs soothing circles on the hidden figure.
"It's alright Ty," he whispers. "You're awake. You're safe. There's nothing here that'll hurt you."
The boy begins to slowly retreat out of his blankets and gingerly clambers onto Will's lap. Will wraps his arms around Ty and lets his tears soak his shirt as he explains the dream.
An empousa. Smirking, slithering, a knife at the neck of his mother. And then, it cuts, and there's blood. Blood everywhere, and the body falls to the floor and there's so much blood. Death.
He grips his brother tighter as he dissolves into fresher tears. They stay like that for a few beats, before Will says, "Sleep in my bunk tonight, Ty. I promise, I'll protect you."
Ty nods into Will's shirt and he stands up, with his little brother in his arms. He manages to climb the ladder to his bed and he tucks the two of them in, before falling asleep.
When the rest of the Apollo campers awaken, they find their cabin counselor fast asleep, his body curled protectively against the smaller boy's.
It was the first time it happened, but it certainly wouldn't be the last.
x
"MICHAEL!"
Will's eyes fly open as he practically jumps out of his bed and searches for the cries. Another one of his siblings direct him to Kayla's bed and he feels nothing but stunned as he watches his sister, brave, tough, Kayla, shake with tears and unseeing eyes.
"Kayla, wake up!" he wraps his arms around her and it breaks the spell; she's stopped screaming and shaking for their dead brother on Williamsburg Bridge.
"Will…" her voice drifts into a broken cry and she all but folds in on herself, wrapping her arms around her torso, as if trying to stop the night terror. "Michael…"
"Yeah. I know," is all he says.
Because, really, what can he do? He can't stop the nightmares from coming. The best he can do, as a healer, is to try and alleviate the pain with his gentle whispers and soothing touch.
This shouldn't be happening.
But they're demigods. Life is never easy, isn't it?
x
Darkness. It's the only thing he sees. A pit of dark, a manic laughter that comes in the unseen shadows. There's a cold chill running down his spine, and everything around him whispers, danger. danger. danger.
He stands at the edge, looking down into a ghastly chasm.
Come to me, it coos. Don't be scared. Jump.
It begins to creep up his leg, curling around him like a cat. He feels cold, cold, cold.
It drags him closer to the edge, so far forward. His foot slips and he falls. Hands grasp uselessly at nothing as the laughing shadows pull him in.
x
Will awakes with a cry. His hands are sweaty and sticky and it's uncomfortable. Next to him, a figure stirs. A boy with tousled black hair sits up, rubbing his obsidian eyes.
"Will, are you alright?" he asks.
He shakes his head. "Nightmare."
There's a sympathetic look in Nico di Angelo's eyes, as he takes his boyfriend's hands into his own. They're clammy and sweaty, but Nico doesn't seem to mind. He traces soothing patterns onto the top of his hand and gently places a kiss on his knuckles.
Nico di Angelo understands all too well of the night terrors that haunt them.
"You're safe," he whispers. "I won't let anything hurt you."
Their eyes meet, blue on black, and Will is struck by the softness in them.
"Thank you."
Nico tucks himself into Will's chest and runs a hand through his messy blonde locks.
"Sleep," he says.
Their bodies entwine as they sleep, and no one stops by the Hades cabin to wake them the next morning. They heard the cries and they know all too well that no one could escape the haunting night terrors that plagued their dreams at night.
Because really, they were demigods. Life was never easy.