Nico was an incredibly heavy sleeper Will noted. He passed out and didn't even notice when Will changed his bandages and whatnot. Will was constantly taking his temperature and running tests. He did the best he could to heal Nico as much as possible while he slept because he knew Nico wouldn't turn up in the infirmary often.
It was nice to help him. That's why Will loved healing people. He got to know them and ease their pain. He took their burdens and made them feel better. Will wanted to make Nico feel better. He also wanted to spend time with him. After all Nico had done for the camp healing him was the least Will could do.
Nico had been out for a few hours and Will had just finished healing the werewolf scratches on his arms when Nico's nightmares started.
"No…" Nico murmured, making Will think he was awake and protesting to Will's hand being on his forehead. Will was checking for a fever, but when he heard Nico talking he was surprised to find that the other boy was still asleep.
Will waited a few seconds and then Nico started to toss and turn in his bed.
"No… No… I… I can't…" Nico stammered, clawing at the sheets.
Will wasn't sure what to do. Then Nico started thrashing around and Will hurried to soothe his patient.
"Shhhh… Nico. Nico. Shhhhh it's okay," Will whispered frantically. He tried to calm him but it was all he could do to keep Nico in bed while he was experiencing this nightmare.
"It's… No… No… It's alive… Tar- Tartarus… No… GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Nico screamed.
"Nico. Wake up. It's okay. Nico, you aren't in Tartarus anymore! Nico!" Will cried, grabbing Nico's shoulders.
Suddenly, Nico's eyes flew open and he lunged at Will, knocking them both to the floor. Nico frantically tried to attack Will, but, thankfully, barely awake Nico was no match for fully awake Will.
Will grabbed Nico around the middle and hauled him back into the bed. He sat at the side and held Nico by the shoulders. The boy's eyes were wild and he still didn't look fully awake.
"Nico. It's okay. Look at me, Death Boy," Will said, gently grabbing either side of Nico's face and making him look into Will's eyes, "You are safe, okay? You're safe. You're not there anymore."
"I… I… I'm so sorry." Nico stammered, apparently realizing what had happened, "I could've killed you. Are you okay?"
"Am I okay!?" Will asked incredulously, "Nico, I'm fine. Are you okay? Were you having a nightmare about being in Tartarus? I know that Percy and Jason said something about you being in there alone, but I didn't realize… I guess I didn't process… Do you want to talk about it?"
Judging from the look in Nico's eyes the walls had gone back up and Will knew they weren't going to have an open heart to heart discussion as much as Will pushed.
"Nico. I know you don't want to talk about it, and that's okay… Just know that I'm here, okay? If you ever do want to talk, I'll listen. Even if you just want to be around someone afterwards, I'd be more than happy to spend time with you." Will said, looking intently at Nico's face.
"Yeah… Okay… Thanks." Nico said, "What time is it?"
Will sighed. Nico was not an easy person to get to know, but he wasn't going to give up.
"It's about 9:30 pm. I suggest you try and go back to sleep." Will said, standing up, "I'm going to go check on a few other patients, okay?"
"Alright," Nico mumbled as he rolled onto his stomach under the covers. Will figured he'd want some privacy after that episode. He figured waking up to Will and knowing Will had seen it all would be a little embarrassing.
Will just hoped that one day Nico would let him in.
When he returned to Nico's room an hour or so later Will found Nico mumbling and turning around in his sleep. Obviously his dreams weren't pleasant. Will doubted they ever were.
Will approached the bed and tentatively placed his hand on Nico's forehead. Maybe some healing magic would help soothe Nico's nightmares. Maybe Will could help him get some actual rest for once.
"Nico, you're burning up!" Will said in surprise. Even more surprisingly, Nico answered Will's exclamation. His fitful sleep obviously causing him to be in some weird partially conscious state.
"I'm… Hot…" Nico mumbled.
"Yeah… Yeah you are…" Will said then felt his face redden, "I mean… You feel like you have a fever."
Will went to get a cold washcloth to put on Nico's forehead but Nico grabbed Will's hand. Will felt a tingling sensation spread through his entire body as he turned back to Nico. Will was surprised by how cold Nico's hands were considering the heat of his forehead.
"You're… hot…" He mumbled. Will's eyes widened, "Living people… are so… warm… Dead people… ghosts… are cold… I'm cold…" Nico drifted back off to sleep and released his hold on Will's arm.
"Yeah…. I guess living people are warm… I guess you of all people would know the difference and for that I'm sorry, Nico… You don't have to spend your entire life with the dead…" Will whispered.
He went and grabbed the washcloth and spent the next hour getting rid of Nico's fever, cooling his face and finding extra blankets for his bed. After Will was comfortable with Nico's body temperature, he turned to some healing magic to hopefully ease off Nico's nightmares. At least for three nights Will was determined that Nico would get a good night's sleep.
Will couldn't help but stay with Nico that night. After the nightmare incident that had happened earlier he couldn't imagine leaving Nico alone to deal with them on his own. If they started back up Will could hopefully use some more of his father's gift to ease Nico back to sleep.
The sad thing was that Nico always had to deal with them alone. He was always alone, and Will desperately wanted to change that. He was a healer. He wanted to heal the hurts he knew Nico had… Maybe that was why he felt so drawn to him…
Will knew that wasn't the only reason, though. He loved fixing up people, not that there was anything wrong with Nico besides obviously poor mental health and constant near death experiences from his underwold magic. Nico was also everything that Will was not and Will loved that.
Nico was strong. He fought for what he believed in. He defended camp while all Will did was deliver a baby and get chased by Romans. He wished he could do something like that. He wished he was able to fight. He was a good healer, but even still, he couldn't save everyone. Will looked at his hands in disgust. He felt drawn to Nico because Nico exemplified all the things Will wished he was.
Yet, Will could tell that Nico didn't see himself that way. He didn't appreciate what he did. He thought of himself as a freak. He purposefully chose to be alone. He refused to believe anyone could like him because he didn't like himself.
Without thinking, Will took Nico's hands in his for a moment. He wished he could show Nico all the great things that his hands could do. All the things that Will wished he could do… If only Nico could see him the way that Will saw him. He was an irritatingly stubborn annoyance, but he was brave and he saved people. He saved the entire camp. He was possibly the strongest person Will had ever met, yet he hated himself.
Will was going to have to change that.
