Disclaimer: All rights to Rick Riordan. I own nothing, but the plot.

Themes of self-harm, anxiety, and depression are expressed within this story. TRIGGER WARNING! Please do NOT read if these themes upset you. TRIGGER WARNING!

Criticism is appreciated, but please no hate. Please review and leave me suggestions! Enjoy!

Nico's POV:

Nico woke slowly, blinking crust out of his eyes. He felt strangely at peace and started to sink back into sleep. He turned to his side and found himself looking into a face. He screamed, startled, and fell out of the bed. He hit the ground and rolled into a crouch, grabbing a knife that was on the floor. He pointed it at the figure in his bed.

"Who are you?" The figure didn't move. Nico cautiously got up. He peered down at the figure and realized it was Will. "Gods! Will!"

Nico dropped the knife, going to grab his boyfriend's shoulders. Nico shook them, but to no avail as Will didn't stir. Nico screwed his eyes in concentration, struggling to remember why Will was here. He looked at his hands as he tried to recollect what had happened. He noticed that his cuts were faint. He pulled them closer to inspect them. The skin was merely scar tissue now.

He pulled up his shirt to look at his stomach. All the bruises had faded; the cuts, merely scars now. He glanced at the bedside table and saw an empty vial. That's what it was. The sleeping draught made Nico's memory slow when he first woke up. He remembered Will arriving the night before and the way he had broken down in front of him. Will had healed him after Nico had gone to sleep. He must have drained his powers, which explained why he wasn't waking up.

"Will, c'mon, you need to wake up," he shook him more vigorously. "Will!"

No response. A cold feeling settled over Nico. Had Will completely depleted his energy? That wasn't good. He needed to get Will to the infirmary. He rushed out of his cabin. He jogged across the lawn and made it to the steps of the Big House. He walked through the house and pushed his way into the Infirmary doors. As the door opened, Kayla jumped at the desk she was sitting at, dropping her pen.

"Holy Zeus, Nico. You scared me!" She caught sight of Nico's face and immediately stood, walking over to him. "What happened? Are you okay? You look so gaunt! When is the last time you ate?"

She peered into his eyes, placing a guiding hand onto his arm to try to lead him to a bed.

"Fine! Kayla, I'm fine! But Will..."

Kayla interrupted him. "Yes, yes, Will is arriving later today. But are you sure you are alright? I know I haven't checked on you the past week or so. I've just been busy with family stuff and camp disputes."

"Kayla-"

"You haven't been cutting, have you?"

"Kayla-"

"Do you need more sleeping-"

"KAYLA!" He shouted. Kayla closed her mouth. "Will is already here and he's hurt!"

"What? How?!" Panic set over Kayla. She frantically started gathering up supplies. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried... Look, it doesn't matter. He isn't badly hurt. He was healing me, and I think he drained his energy."

Kayla stopped moving. She turned to Nico, eyes narrowing. "Why was he healing you, Nico?"

Nico ignored her question. "Are you going to help me or not?"

Kayla gestured to two of her siblings who had wandered in to see what the commotion was. "Go with Nico to his cabin and bring Will in here. He's drained himself yet again." They nodded and Nico started to lead them out. "Oh, and Nico?" He turned. "Don't think this is over because we will be talking about this once you get back in here."

Nico gulped as he led the two Apollo kids out. Kayla had taken over Will's job as Nico's doctor while Will was at school, so she knew all about his self-harm, eating, and sleeping habits. She had been swamped the past couple of weeks as well so she had been unable to see the deterioration of Nico's health.

Nico sat next to Will in the infirmary, thinking how backward it was. It was usually him in the bed and Will sitting anxiously by his side. He bounced his knees up and down as he looked at the clock. It was already five in the evening. All of his friends were returning to camp that night as they had been invited, by the gods, to Mount Olympus to celebrate the winter solstice. Something about "honoring" the heroes of Olympus.

No one had arrived yet, except the Hunters of Artemis, would had also been invited to Olympus. Nico didn't know exactly when his friends were arriving as the plans had been made a month before. He hadn't heard from any of his friends since November. Just like he hadn't heard from Will. But, considering it was the 20th, the night before the solstice, Nico guessed that they would be arriving soon. He wished that they weren't arriving today because he didn't want them to see him in this state; they would be so disappointed in him. He didn't think he could handle that.

He grabbed Will's hand into his, hoping for the support he needed. Will was on an IV and Kayla had said that he would probably be awake by nightfall. He had avoided her lecture, but he had a feeling he was still going to get one. And speak of the devil, Kayla walked in with a tray of food.

She set the tray down and put her hands on her hips, looking at Nico. "We need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you Kayla," Nico stated, not looking away from Will.

Kayla rounded the bed, getting on the other side, trying to gain Nico's eye contact. "Well, I have a lot to say to you. Have you been cutting?"

"No," Nico lied.

"Then why did Will pass out healing you?"

Nico grunted in frustration. "What's done is done, and you have no proof that I even did anything."

"The proof I have is lying comatose in front of you," Kayla snapped.

"You are blaming this on me?" Nico looked up at Kayla in shock.

"He is in here because of you. He wouldn't have drained himself like this, if it hadn't been for you," Her voice was venomous.

Nico couldn't help his flinch back. This did not go unnoticed by Kayla.

"Nico, I didn't mean…"

Nico stood to confront Kayla. "You know, you're right. He did hurt himself because of me. It's all my fault."

"Nico!"

"I am so sorry for the fact that I decided to slice my own wrists open because of my shit mental health. I am so sorry that I felt completely isolated. I am more ashamed than you are disappointed. If you are going to continue to lecture me, you can leave."

"Nico why didn't you say something?" Kayla asked, trying to grab his wrists to look at the cuts.

Nico drew his hands away from her. "That is none of your concern."

"Yes, it is! Will made it my responsibility to look after you!"

"I don't need to be babysat no matter what Will thinks. And you didn't do a very good job, did you? Will wouldn't be in here if you had done your job."

Kayla reeled back. "Don't you dare try to blame this on me, Nico..."

"Oh, that's right. This is all my fault; I forgot. It is all my fault that I have gone through all the shit I have, and I can't seem to get over it." Nico shot at Kayla. She stepped back. "Now if you would be so kind as to get out and leave me alone with my boyfriend."

"I'll leave you two be." She said quietly. She gestured to the bedside table where the tray sat. "This is for you. You looked a little gaunt, so I got you some food."

Nico didn't speak, the anger slowly draining out of him. He sunk back into his chair staring lazily at his boyfriend. It was his fault that Will continued to drain himself. If Nico was strong enough not to cut himself or strong enough to actually fight his opponents, Will wouldn't hurt himself. But Nico wasn't strong and that was the problem; he was the problem. And he needed to fix that. Dropping his boyfriend's hand and ignoring the tray of food, Nico walked out of the infirmary, his mind on his mission.

Jason's POV:

Jason felt a jolt go through him as Tempest stopped. He looked around, realizing that they had halted outside Camp Half-Blood's borders. Piper landed on his right side with her pegasus, Reyna on his left. Both girls looked incredibly regal on their steeds. Jason slid off Tempest, who disappeared in a crackle of electricity, before going over to Piper, helping her down from her pegasus, named Gilda. Reyna jumped down from Scorpio, the brother of Scipio, her departed pegasus.

In a flash of golden-brown, Arion arrived, delivering Hazel and Frank beside the other demigods. Jason, Piper, and Reyna had left California a couple of days prior, stopping a couple of times on the way and making camp in the middle of the country. Frank and Hazel had left that morning, trying to leave one of their praetors at camp for as long as possible. Jason didn't know all the details, but a couple of the senior counselors had been set up as temporary praetors while Reyna and Frank were gone. Reyna hadn't wanted to leave her camp, but she had been directly summoned by the gods; summons that she couldn't refuse

Adjusting his glasses, he looked around at everyone. Everyone's faces were bright, excited to be back at Camp Half-Blood. Except for Reyna, but Jason could tell she was secretly pleased. Jason nodded and received nods of affirmation as they started over the hill and across the boundary, guiding the pegasi with them. The snow disappeared and grass appeared beneath their feet. Travis Stoll, who had been the lookout, jumped from the tree to come and greet the demigods. He first approached Jason.

"Welcome back, Jason, Pipes. How's California?" He asked, shaking his hand and pulling him into a side hug.

Jason clapped him on the back for a second and released his grip before responding. "Quite a lot warmer than this, I can say that. Where is the rest of our welcome committee?"

Jason was disappointed that Nico hadn't come to meet them. He hadn't spoken to Nico in over a month. He tried to Iris Message him, but the call would never go through. He was excited to see him. But then again, it was Nico so he didn't really expect anything different of the son of Hades. He wasn't one for social interactions.

"There are already all at dinner. Chiron sent me out to greet you guys and bring you to your 'welcome home feast'," he said with air quotes around 'welcome home feast'. "So let's get this party started then," Travis exclaimed.

"Has anyone else arrived?" Reyna asked.

"The Hunters arrived yesterday, but no one else had. But we know how late demigods are sometimes. Especially since it's Percy and Leo," Travis joked. They all laughed. "Didn't it take you guys two weeks to get to Epirus when it was supposed to take three days?"

Jason shrugged. "It didn't help that the mountains were fighting back."

"Even with Annabeth and Calypso, those two still find ways to make trouble," Reyna said.

"I'm sure they'll get here soon. They would rather die than to miss a meal," Frank's response led to laughter.

They arrived at the dining pavilion and a couple of campers came to take the pegasi to their stables. Jason was separated from Piper as he shook hands with people and clapped his friends on the back. He hugged his sister, Thalia, who he hadn't seen in a while. As he made his way around the pavilion, he kept his eyes open for Nico, but the elusive son of Hades was nowhere in sight. But he wasn't the only one who noticed his absence.

"Wondering where Nico is?" Reyna muttered in Jason's ear.

"Have you seen him?" Jason asked, straightening up to survey the area with her.

"No, but Will is absent too, which makes me think he has something to do with it."

Jason hadn't even noticed the son of Apollo missing. He spotted Kayla, concern knit in her eyebrows, and was beginning to make his way over to her before the stomp of hooves interrupted him. Chiron was standing, waiting to make an announcement. Nico would have to wait.

"Welcome back from Camp Jupiter. It is wonderful to see all of you and we are honored that you are part of the group that will be representing our camp and Jupiter at the Winter Solstice..."

The whinny of a horse interrupted him. He whipped around to see Percy and Annabeth arriving on their pegasi. The whole camp clapped as the two demigods descended. Percy grinned as he slid off Blackjack and helped Annabeth off Guido. He muttered a few words to the pegasi, and they trotted off.

As he turned to face the crowd, he was enveloped in a furry mass as Grover ran to hug his best friend. Jason grinned. Percy and Annabeth were finishing up their senior year in New York. Jason hadn't seen much of Percy in the last three months. He sauntered over and did a complicated handshake-hug with Percy.

"Welcome home, Perce."

"Thanks, Jay, it's great to be back."

Everyone muttered their hellos and exchanged their hugs. After the initial commotion had settled down, Chiron cleared his throat. Everyone sat as he spoke.

"As I was saying, welcome home. We are honored to have you represent us-" a loud roar filled the sky. Festus appeared on the horizon, racing toward the camp. "Oh, for Zeus' sake, why do I even try?" Chiron grumbled. "Carry on with your greetings and dinner; we shall continue this announcement after the feast."

Jason stood with Piper as Festus landed on the beach. They walked down, a group following them, to meet Leo and Calypso. A tan Leo ran up to meet them. He barreled into Jason, hugging him fiercely.

"Hey man! Did ya miss me?" Leo asked. Jason laughed.

"Of course, I did. How was... wherever you were?" Jason asked, releasing his best friend.

"The Caribbean was beautiful, and the beaches were phenomenal," Calypso exclaimed, kissing Jason's cheek as he hugged her. "It's so nice not to be trapped on a beach anymore and just enjoy the sand."

"Yeah, I bet." He said absentmindedly.

Jason never knew exactly what to say to Calypso, because she had experienced such isolation that Jason couldn't even begin to fathom. But he tried his best because Leo loved her, and she was a pretty cool goddess.

Frank, Hazel, Percy, and Annabeth arrived behind them. He watched as Percy and Annabeth awkwardly exchanged hugs with Calypso. There was still tension between the three that they had never worked out, but Jason didn't know from where or what. Something about Ogygia and Tartarus, but Jason had never asked.

"Hey beauty queen, you keeping Jason in line?" Leo asked, bestowing a hug onto Piper.

"Of course, I have to provide him the attention he needs when the second part of the bromance isn't there." She said sarcastically, winking as Jason.

"Did you guys decide on Lason, or Jeo?" Annabeth asked.

"Neither because I'm taken," Jason stated, pulling Piper to his side.

"Yeah, by me," Percy stated, inserting himself between Piper and Jason. "Jercy forever, bro."

"Now that Jason, Percy, and I are together, it is triple the trouble," Leo said, putting his arm around Percy's and Jason's necks.

"Oh boy." The respective girlfriends said in unison.

"Are we the only sensible ones here?" Frank asked, looking at Hazel.

"Definitely," she agreed, quickly hugging Leo.

"We all need to be sensible considering we are representing both camps on Mount Olympus tomorrow," Reyna stated, practical as ever, nodding to Calypso and Leo.

The group stood in a loose circle. They were all silent for a moment.

"Heroes of Olympus, reunited," Hazel murmured quietly, not wanting to ruin pride that the moment brought.

"Not quite, where is Nico?" Jason said.

"Yeah, I noticed he was missing-"

"Y'all haven't seen him? -"

"Where is your brother, Hazel?"

"Neither Reyna nor I saw Nico," Jason spoke. "But I noticed Kayla, and she looked really nervous about something so maybe that has something to do with it. We can go find and ask her."

"There's no need," Frank said, gesturing. Jason turned to see Kayla approaching.

"Jason, I need to talk to you." She looked around at the large number of people in the group. "Privately."

"Okay." Jason glanced a meaningful look back to the group as he walked to the edge of the cabins with Kayla. She looked around; making sure no one was in sight before looking back at Jason. "What's this about?"

"It's Nico."

Fear settled in the pit of Jason's stomach. "Did something happen to him? Is he okay?"

"I don't know exactly what happened, but this morning he rushed into the infirmary, going on about how Will was hurt. We brought Will in; he just drained his energy," she said to the concerned look on Jason's face. "Still unconscious but likely to wake up soon. Anyway, Nico and I had a… disagreement. I left the infirmary to let him cool off and when I returned, he was gone."

Alarm bells went off in Jason's head. It was never a good thing when Nico disappeared. He started formulating plans to search for Nico. Stop he thought Slow down. Take a deep breath. Think. Where would Nico go?

"I don't think he left camp. He wouldn't leave camp if Will was injured. He must still be somewhere on the grounds or in his cabin. Have you checked?" Jason asked.

Kayla shook her head. "I just discovered that he was missing. I figured that he wouldn't want to see me, so I thought I would find someone closer to him," she paused for a moment before bursting into tears. "This is all my fault."

Jason's eyes widened as she put her face in her hands. Kayla was usually so levelheaded, especially in a crisis. What had Nico said to her?

"Hey, there's no need for that. You know how Nico is. He does this sometimes, but he always comes back. This isn't your fault." He reassured, patting her on the arm.

"B-but it is! I- I should have kept a closer eye on him the last couple of- of weeks." She spluttered through her tears.

Jason put his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me, Kayla." He waited until her tear-stained eyes met his. "I am sure he is still at camp; he wouldn't leave when Will was hurt."

But Kayla kept crying. Something else was going on here.

He tried again. "He's probably just cooling off. And whatever he said to you, he probably didn't mean."

Kayla took a deep breath, but tears were still flowing. "I just feel awful. It's my fault."

"Nico isn't your responsibility, so nothing is your fault," Jason assured. "Don't take the blame for Nico's actions, okay?" She just sniveled. "Okay?" She nodded. "Okay, good. How about you take everyone to dinner while I go find Nico, okay?"

Kayla nodded, composing herself. She wiped away tear tracks and nodded thanks to Jason. Jason watched as she talked to the group and made some sort of excuse to where Jason had gone. They then accompanied Kayla to the dining pavilion. With his friends out of the way, Jason could focus on finding Nico. Alright Nico, where are you hiding?