A sharp pain woke Nico from his sleep, squinting as the sun assaulted his eyes. Attempting to sit up ended poorly as his stomach turned. "Woah there!" He heard a voice warn, the sound hitting him like a bullhorn.

"Don't sit up. Doctor's orders." Nico opened his eyes a little more to see Will in front of him. The sun hit the back of his head like he was an angel, and Nico rolled his eyes. He didn't fight him though, laying back down as he took in his surroundings. Will's room had looked different the night before. Nico's eyes widened as it sunk in where he was. Panic filled him as he reached down instinctively to assess himself. The smooth cotton of the shirt he was wearing was comfortable, but definitely not what he had been wearing. The next thing that hit him was the smell. Coconut and musk, so it had to be Will's.

"What happened?" Nico groaned, placing his hand over his eyes and attempting to sit up again. This time he took it slower and he didn't have the feeling of nausea that he'd had a moment ago. His head was pounding, so he was pretty sure that alcohol was involved, but the last thing he remembered was Will's eyes approaching him. Had he been on the floor?

"How much do you remember?" Will asked, coaxing a few Tylenol into Nico's hand. He eyed the dark-haired boy until he swallowed the pills and handed him a glass of water.

"I remember…" Nico paused to consider. What was the last thing that he had a complete memory of? "Oh!" He declared as it came back to him, his face flushing with embarrassment. "Um…the last thing I remember, like fully, was making out with you. And then Jason or someone said get a room. I think…" He tried to remember more, but his brain started pulsing at the effort, so he gave up for now.

"Oh yeah. Well let me fill you in then. I'll grab some breakfast and…well I'll tell you." There was a hesitance in Will's voice that Nico pretended not to hear. The door closed behind him, and Nico laid back down. While Will was gone getting breakfast, he debated with himself what was more important; knowing what happened the night before, or not being embarrassed. Based on Will's reaction, he would most-definitely be embarrassed by whatever he had done. On the other hand, Nico wasn't the type of person to leave chunks of his memories missing.

Eventually, he decided that he needed to know. Sitting up again, he decided to get up. Standing proved to be a little challenging, his balance was more off than he had expected. He couldn't even remember the last time he had been this hungover…had he ever been this hungover? He shook his head and was rewarded with another pounding. His head felt like it could burst at any moment.

The mirror on Will's closet door allowed for Nico to evaluate himself. His hair was a mess, sticking up on the side he had slept on. The shirt he wore was a soft blue color and about two sizes too big. Allowing his gaze to slip down, he was wearing boxer-briefs. His boxers, he noted, thankful that at least those were familiar. A blush crept up on cheeks as he sighed. At least he had worn his nice briefs; at least Will didn't see him in the grungy plaid boxers he normally wore.

"Oh God." He spoke softly, burying his head in his hands. He wanted so desperately to remember what had happened, but it wouldn't come to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his clothes. They were folded nicely on his desk chair, with his shoes next to them on the floor. His pants were wrinkled, as was his button down, but they looked clean; which pretty much guaranteed that he hadn't thrown up.

Will opened the door then, returning with several pieces of toast on a plate and an apple. He was wearing a graphic tee that said Namaste in Bed, which Nico would have found hilarious if he wasn't so mortified that he was in Will's room having clearly blacked out the night before. The taller man handed Nico the plate of toast and bit into the apple.

"Thanks." Nico grumbled, grabbing the piece of toast the blonde boy offered him. He was grateful to have something to eat, realizing just how hungry he was. It would be stupid to eat too much though, since it would probably just make him barf.

"So?" Nico prompted, after he finished his first piece of toast, grabbing a second. His dark-eyes watched as Will eyed the apple and bit into it. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment before sitting on the bed next to Nico.

Will cleared his throat, avoiding Nico's eyes. "Okay well so starting from the get a room comment, here's what happened…"

The Night Before -

"Nico are you okay?" Will asked, approaching the boy. He had pulled back from the dance floor, and finding his back against the wall, had slid down. Will eyed Nico with concern, hurrying to catch him. The crowd was dancing wildly, and Will felt like a salmon swimming against the current.

"Nico." Will called as he approached the wall, the darker-haired boy now dangling his head, his knees curled into his chest. He looked so small, so broken, Will was afraid that if he moved, he might shatter.

He sat next to Nico, putting his arm around his shoulder and pulling him in tight. Nico moved his head to lay comfortably before looking back up at Will. There was something missing from his eyes, and Will wasn't sure he really knew where he was anymore.

"I have something to tell you." Nico said in a voice that Will was sure he thought was a whisper but was actually a shout. "And you can't interrupt because I have to tell you now." He held his hand up with a sense of authority, pointing at Will and pouting.

"Okay. I promise not to interrupt." Will swallowed the confusion in his eyes and nodded softly. He held his hand up, making the motion of crossing his heart. The drunk boy seemed to accept this and turned his body to face the blonde boy face on.

"My sister, Bianca…I'm the reason she's dead." Nico looked up at Will, his eyes full of pain. He said it so matter-of-factly that it took Will by surprise. Nico had mentioned his sister was dead, but to say he caused her death…

"She was looking for me. She was always taking care of me…We were at camp, and I was being an anti-social loser…" Nico laughed darkly, turning his gaze down to stare at his hands. "Guess nothing's really changed." Will reached out, stroking Nico's cheek with his index finger. The dark-haired boy pulled back, and Will withdrew his hand.

"She went to find me, and she died. I had runaway from camp. I was 10, no one wanted to be my friend, she had made friends with some other campers, so I was always alone. Maybe I liked it better that way." He paused to shift his legs, crossing them. "I ran away because I had a stupid crush on Percy, and it scared me. She…" The pain in his voice was so evident that he barely spoke. Will moved his ear next to Nico's mouth to hear him and still he was straining. Nico's eyes stung as tears began to well, and he willed them back.

"She didn't even do anything, I was mad at someone else and I yelled at her and ran as far and as fast as I could. Percy and a few campers volunteered to help her look for me. For a long time, I blamed Percy because if I hadn't had a stupid crush on him then I wouldn't have run away and she wouldn't have chased after me, but its my fault. Its my fault she's dead." Nico collapsed into Will's arms, the tears he had been holding back taking over him. He buried his face in Will's chest, as the blonde boy stroked his hair.

"Its okay. You're okay Nico. I'm here, you're safe." Will cooed into Nico's ear, hoping that Nico could hear him. He wasn't sure why Nico had needed to tell him this, but it seemed like he had a lot of unresolved issues pertaining to it. Jason wandered over, but Will shooed him away, not wanting to give Nico anything else to overwhelm him.

"Nico, not that I'm upset about it, but why did you tell me now. When you talked about Bianca on our first date, you said then wasn't the right time, so why is it now?" Will knew something had caused this little breakdown, and he was trying desperately to figure it out.

"I didn't tell you because I wanted you to like me. But now I need to tell you because you should hate me. You needed to know what kind of monster I am. No one as good as you should waste their time on a monster. I don't deserve you. You should leave." One look at Nico's face and Will could tell that he meant every word. He truly believed that he was horrible and that it would scare Will away.

"You're not a monster Nico." Will spoke, making Nico look at him to see the sincerity of his words. "You're not a monster and I'm not gonna leave you." It made sense, in a way, Nico was always so guarded. Earlier he had said he was guarded because he didn't want to let go of his sister, but now Nico understood that there was more to it. If he let himself love than he had to accept that Bianca's death was not his fault. It was easier probably, to hate himself for causing her death rather than dealing with the tragedy of the fact that it was just an accident.

He always wondered what Nico was thinking behind his dark brooding eyes. It was hard to think that these were the kinds of thoughts he was having. Will recalled what had caused Nico to run away…a crush on Percy. That was one of Nico's close friends, Will thought. Suddenly it made more and more sense why this breakdown had happened when it did. The last time Nico had liked someone, his sister had died. Will found himself hugging Nico tighter. "I'm not going to leave you." He repeated, feeling Nico heave beneath his embrace as he sobbed. They sat there for at least half an hour, by which time the party was pretty much dying down.

"Nico?" Will brokered the courage to break the silence after Nico had stilled beneath him. There was no response, and he broke them apart only slightly to look at Nico's face. He was asleep, with dried tears streaking his face. Even in his sleep he was frowning, which caused Will to frown himself. Delicately, he removed Nico from himself, scooping him up in his arms. Nico was actually heavier than Will expected him to be, especially since during their talk he had look so vulnerable and so small.

Will managed to get Nico up to his room and put him on the bed. Nico's sweater was covered in snot, so he decided to get the boy out of his clothes and into fresh ones. Rummaging quickly through his drawers, Will pulled out a comfy blue t-shirt. He knew it would be too big, but he figured everything would be too big. "Nico, I'm gonna put you in some pjs. Can you lift your arms over your head for me?" There was only a gurgle in response, but Nico slowly raised his arms.

The sweater was a bit snug, so it took him a minute, but eventually it came off. The button-down underneath was easy enough to undo. Will worked quickly, his precise fingers finding no resistance in the small white buttons. When he removed the under-shirt, he stared for a moment at Nico. His skin was reflecting in the moonlight, and he couldn't help but let his eyes wander. His right arm was decorated very delicately with a half sleeve of tattoos. He didn't know Nico had tattoos, the other boy had never mentioned it.

There was a delicate skull made of flowers at the joint of his shoulder, surrounded by a beautiful field of strawberries. Towards the bottom of his bicep, there was a bird carrying an olive branch. There was only one spot on his arm that was glaringly empty, a circle of pale olive-toned skin in a sea of colorful inks. The art was beautiful, and Will spent another moment studying it before he realized that it must be private. If Nico had wanted Will to know about them, he would have told him. He sucked in a sharp breath, a chill causing him to shiver.

Nico shivered as well, and Will grabbed the cotton shirt, pulling it over Nico's head. Nico accepted the new fabric, quickly fumbling his way out of his pants and crawling under the covers. Will was going to leave his pants on, so he was rather frazzled when Nico started removing them. It made sense, Will thought, I don't think sleeping in khakis would be very comfortable.

He tucked Nico in to his bed, grabbing a spare pillow from next to Nico and a blanket from his closet. Settling down onto a makeshift bed on the floor, he called to Nico, "Goodnight." There was no response, the boy having fallen asleep almost immediately after crawling under the covers. Will doubted he would remember this all in the morning, and he spent some time thinking about what he would say. An uneasy sleep found him soon after that.

Present Time -

"Oh." Nico replied after Will finished recounting his story. He had expected a declaration of love or an embarrassing dance off; anything but that really. "I guess I owe you an explanation." Nico began, taking a long sip from his glass of water. His throat was so dry.

"You don't owe me anything Nico." Will responded, noticing that Nico was avoiding eye contact.

"Yes, I do. You shouldn't have had to deal with that…I well firstly I'm sorry. It really was not the time for me to tell you about Bianca. I promise, I understand that her death was not my fault, but sometimes when I'm drunk or vulnerable, I have these invasive thoughts. I was really bad last year, Jason had to threaten to tell my dad before I went and got help." He stared at the toast in his hands, bringing it up to his mouth to nibble on. "I…I didn't want you to see how broken I am."

Will went to interrupt but decided against it. He had to let Nico say his piece, or he was afraid he would never open up to him again.

"Get a room was my trigger." Nico spoke quietly, finally dragging his gaze up to meet Will's. "That day, the day Bianca died, I had been hanging out with Percy and someone had shouted for us to get a room. Bianca had come to my defense and I yelled at her. I shouldn't have run, but that's how I dealt with all my problems when I was young. It wasn't the first time that I had run away; she always came after me."

"So that's what started your fight with Bianca, and then when Jason said it, you panicked?" Will reiterated, carefully watching Nico for an acknowledgement. The dark-haired boy nodded, turning his eyes back to his breakfast.

"I shouldn't have reacted that way."

"To Bianca on that day or to Jason last night?" Will responded, calling out the ambiguity of his last statement.

"Both I guess. There's a part of me that is always going to always blame myself. My therapist always talked about finding closure somehow, but I haven't been able to." Nico sighed, leaning his head on Will's shoulder.

"Nico…you know I'm not gonna leave you because you have some mental health issues, right? And having those issues doesn't mean you're broken." Will prodded, wrapping his arm around Nico's shoulder.

"I had hoped you wouldn't, but I couldn't know for sure. Will I really appreciate you taking care of me and listening to me and…" Will cut him off, placing a soft kiss on his lips.

"Don't let anyone see that you're broken…don't let anyone in." Will sang, watching Nico's face light up in recognition. "You really have been listening to Trophy Eyes." He smiled, glad to have eased some of the tension in the room. "That song is one of my favorites, and I guess now you know why." His soft chuckle was a welcome break from the sadness that had been in his voice.

"How does your head feel?" The blonde boy asked, getting up to throw away his apple. Nico looked at him before smiling more. "I guess it's better, the Tylenol must have helped." Will nodded at that.

Nico stood, grabbing his pants from the desk chair and pulling them on. "Thanks again for letting me borrow your shirt." He spoke, pulling it over his head and offering it to Will. The taller boy swallowed hard, forcing his eyes away from Nico's chest. "You can keep it." Will offered, softening a bit as he spoke. "It looks good on you." A light blush flirted its way onto Will's cheeks, and he let out a breath he had been holding as Nico pulled the shirt back on. There was something deeply attractive about Nico wearing his shirt, and he couldn't decide if it was better for him to be wearing Will's shirt or not wearing a shirt at all.

"Thanks…I can wash it and give it back to you." Nico offered, tucking the front of the shirt into the waistband of his pants.

"You don't have to. That's what boyfriends are for, so you can steal all my clothes." They both smiled at the label, and Nico grabbed Will's hand, rubbing it with his thumb.

"What plans do you have for today?" Nico asked, sitting in the desk chair and pulling on his shoes. Will's eyes glanced over to his calendar before sliding back to his own.

"I've got a lab due on Monday and a test on Thursday so I should probably study for those." He looked guilty for a moment before shifting uncomfortably. "Not that I don't want to spend time with you, but I'm kinda behind."

The implication of Will's words hit Nico. He had gotten behind because of him. He probably didn't have that much spare time in medical school, and he had spent a bunch of it with Nico this past week.

"You don't have to worry Will, I want you to do well in school. If you need to prioritize some assignments that's fine. The last thing I would want is you jeopardizing your future because I want to hog you." He snaked his arms around Will's waist, rising on his tip toes to plant a sweet kiss on Will's lips. Will's body protested when Nico tried to pull apart, his arms wrapping around Nico to trap him.

"What if I want to be hogged?" He teased, earning a smile from the dark-haired boy.

"Aren't you supposed to be the responsible one?" Nico replied, mocking him.

"Yeah probably." He teased back, closing the distance between them once again. They broke apart a few seconds later, leaving it at that. "I'll drive you home." Will offered, grabbing a coat from his closet.

Nico nodded sadly, he didn't want to go, but he also didn't want Will to fall behind. He went to put his sweater back on, but Will stopped him, handing him a sweatshirt instead.

"Here, your sweater has a bunch of snot on it." Nico pulled the sweatshirt over his head. It was from the Olympus Medical School, and it was laughably long on Nico. Will was almost a foot taller than him and it was never more evident than now. It was so soft, and it had that distinct smell of Will's cologne. He smiled up at Will, thanking him for it.

"Come on then." Nico prodded, grabbing his sweater and button-down. When they went downstairs, Nico laughed at Travis sleeping on the couch. He had no shirt on, and something very lewd drawn on his face. He was gonna be pissed when he woke up. Connor walked out of the kitchen, eating cereal out of a mixing bowl. He raised a questioning eyebrow but didn't say anything. Nico's face burned as he realized what it must look like, and he picked up his pace walking out the front door.

"He thinks I'm doing the walk of shame!" Nico groaned, opening the door to Will's car and slamming it shut behind him.

"To be fair…" Will began, laughing as Nico glared at him. "Alright yes, it's very rude of him to think that. Want me to beat him up? Defend your honor?"

"That would be a start yes." Nico responded matter-of-factly, crossing his arms and pouting. He couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous he sounded. The quick trip to his dorm was quiet but comfortable as he put the hood up on Will's sweatshirt.

"Hey Will, can you do me one more favor?" Nico asked, covering his eyes with his hands.

"Anything death boy." Will cooed, appreciating the groan in response to his nickname for Nico.

"Can you turn off the sun?" Nico prompted, ignoring Will's jab. The Tylenol had helped with his headache, but the light from the sun was absolutely killing him.

"Sadly, that is not in my wheelhouse. Take it up with my father." He laughed at his own joke, placing a comforting hand on Nico's head.

"Just because your father's last name is Apollo doesn't lead me to believe that he has any control over the sun." Nico sighed loudly, pulling the drawstring on the hoodie tight to cover his face. The darkness helped his head not hurt as much. He felt the car come to a stop and figured they must have arrived. Gathering his belongings in his hands, he kissed Will goodbye.

"Study break for lunch?" He posed, looking into Will's blue eyes as he asked.

"If I get enough of my report done then yeah!" It wasn't a rejection outright, just a reminder of why they were separating in the first place. Nico nodded in acknowledgement, opening the door and getting out. Will waited for Nico to pull his id out of his wallet and enter the building before leaving. He swallowed when he was inside, knowing that Jason would be waiting for an explanation.

"I can't delay the inevitable forever." He reminded himself out-loud, making his way up the stairs, preparing himself for Jason's inquisition. Suddenly he was reminded of the way Will's face had lit up in the morning sun, and he felt like he could conquer the world. He pushed his key in the door and turned it, moving slowly into the fate that awaited him.