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!

Will's POV:

It was Christmas Eve. Nico was still sleeping. Will was currently making coffee with the machine that Nico had "borrowed" from the Big House. He grabbed both mugs and walked over to Nico. He set his coffee on the table next to him and pulled up a chair to wait for him to wake. He thought about the way he had acted the previous day. He really didn't know who he was anymore. He didn't know where the anger was coming from. He was usually so easy-going and laid back. He tried to think when the change had happened, but he couldn't pinpoint it. His inner musings were interrupted by Nico moving. He rolled over, revealing his face to Will. Will smirked as Nico started sniffing the air.

"Please gods, tell me that that is coffee." Nico's voice was heavy with sleep, which was incredibly attractive. Will bit his lip as Nico's eyes opened. "What are you looking at?"

"You. Merry Christmas Eve, Nico." Will leaned forward to plant a kiss on Nico's lips.

Nico pecked him but pushed away.

"I do love you, but I need coffee." Nico moaned.

Will laughed as he leaned away. He grabbed Nico's mug and handed it to him. Nico slowly sat up, his blanket still on his shoulders and wrapped his hands around the warm mug. Will knew that Nico hated the cold which is why he had made him coffee.

Nico slurped down a good third of the coffee before speaking. "That was life-changing."

Will laughed. "So that's all you need to be happy in the mornings: good coffee. I will take that into consideration."

Nico looked around the room. "Hazel?"

"Breakfast," Will explained.

"Okay," Nico muttered. He looked at Will. "Thanks for staying last night."

Will nodded. "Of course. Now, let's go get some breakfast, I'm starving."

Ten minutes later, Nico and Will arrived at the dining pavilion to join the rest of the camp. They sat down with Reyna, Frank, and Hazel. They were all laughing about something. They looked up when they approached.

"Good morning, you two. I've been up for hours while you both slept like zombies." Hazel joked.

"Nico is not a morning person if you haven't figured that out yet," Will teased.

"What about you, son of Apollo? You usually wake up with the sun." Frank asked.

"Well, the Hades cabin is extremely dark, which I am sure you are aware of, Frank," Will said suggestively.

Frank turned red. "I- I have no idea what you are talking about. Going into another's cabin… that's against the rules! Guys and girls aren't allowed to be in the same cabin alone."

"They should probably expand that definition, with those two," Piper said as she joined the table with Jason.

It was Will's turn to look embarrassed.

"He's only in there because he's my doctor. I have a Doctor's note and everything," Nico countered. He considered Piper and Jason. "I thought you guys were spending the holiday with your dad, Piper."

Piper shrugged. "That was the plan, but then someone came back to camp hurt and Jason didn't want to leave."

Nico shifted in his seat. He looked guilty. "You guys didn't have to stay for me. I'm fine."

"Nico, you were screaming in the Infirmary for hours, you were not fine," Jason said, his eyes concerned.

"You guys shouldn't have stayed for me," Nico repeated, not making eye contact with anyone.

"Nico," Piper's voice sounded. He looked up to gain eye contact with her. "We wanted to stay. At any rate, you guys are my family too."

"And Jason wanted to stay to hang out with his favorite sister," Thalia interjected, sliding in next to Jason, punching him on the shoulder.

Will felt guilt go through him at the sight of the daughter of Zeus.

"So, it's okay, I promise," Piper said, the charmspeak in her words barely detectable. Her words calmed Nico down.

"Okay, okay, I believe you," Nico said. He looked over at Thalia. "Thanks for getting me back to camp. I hope you didn't get any injuries."

"Nah, I'm tough," she reassured. "Glad your healer boy was able to help you out."

Will spoke up. "Thalia, I wanted to apologize for the way I spoke to you yesterday. It was unprofessional and extremely out of character for me. I have no idea where it came from…"

She shrugged. "I yelled at you during Capture-the-Flag. Sometimes our emotions get the better of us; it's no big deal."

"Okay, only if you are sure," Will trailed off.

"Just don't try to stop me during the next game, and we will be even," she remarked.

"How long are y'all staying?" Will asked.

She shrugged again. "Whenever Lady Artemis reappears. Could be a couple of days, could be months."

"Oh, joy," Nico muttered, but Will could tell there was no animosity behind his words. Nico had told him about the discussion he and Thalia had had; they were apparently on good terms again.

Thalia laughed. "Get used to seeing my ugly mug, di Angelo!"

"A good Christmas gift would be you leaving camp," Nico retorted.

"That's not a very good attitude to have during the holidays, Nico," Will admonished. "It's Christmas Eve! Not all of us are angsty teenagers disillusioned with the thought of celebrating the holidays. So be happy!" Will poked Nico in the stomach.

Nico glanced at him. "Not all of us have great Christmas memories, Will."

"Yes, my great Christmas memories included years where I didn't get any presents because my mother had spent all our money on booze."

Everyone at the table fell silent at Will's words. He rarely ever talked about his mother because of the bad memories it brought up. She was recovering at this point in her life, now a nurse, but she had struggled when Will was younger. The stares suddenly became too much, so he put a smile on his face.

"Now, I have some things to attend in the infirmary before all the festivities begin," he kissed Nico on the cheek. "I will see y'all later."

He got up from the table. Truth was, he didn't have anything to do in the infirmary, but needed to get away from people. Bad memories about his mom were flooding in. Jason mentioning his name quietly took him from these thoughts. He slid behind a pillar to see what was being said about him.

"I never knew Will's mother was an alcoholic," Jason muttered.

"Just like ours, huh?" Thalia said.

"He doesn't really talk about it that much. That's the first time he's mentioned it in months." Nico explained.

"I hope he's okay," Hazel whispered. "He seemed to want to walk away quite quickly after mentioning it. Did he really have anything to do in the infirmary, or does he just need space?"

"I have no idea. I'll go talk to him to see if he's okay." Nico said, standing.

"It might be better if you let him cool off first, Nico," Jason suggested. "You are the one who triggered the memory in the first place."

"Oh, so I'm a trigger now?" Nico asked, venomously.

"That is not what I said," Jason defended. "And that wasn't what I meant. Will might just want someone else to talk to that understands the situation."

"Oh, he can't relate to me, is that it?" Nico asked.

"Oh, c'mon, Nico. Thalia and I had an alcoholic parent, we know what he's going through." Jason placated.

"Yeah, my mom got erased from my memory, so I guess I wouldn't understand," Will heard shuffling before Nico spoke again. "If anyone needs to relate to me, I'll be in my cabin."

Nico stalked past the pillar Will was hiding behind. Will thought about following but his own thoughts were too jumbled.

"Should we go after him?" Jason asked. He didn't even have to voice his thoughts; he thought Nico was going to hurt himself.

"Let him cool off," Hazel recommended. "He just needs some space. I'll check on him later or Reyna can go. She can usually get him to talk when you can't, Jason."

Will pushed off from the pillar to go to the infirmary. He pushed open the door and walked in, thoughts of his mother plaguing him. He looked up and was surprised to find the room empty. Since the Hunters were at camp, there were usually at least five different disputes about various things. But the infirmary was quiet. He grabbed a clipboard from the desk before walking over to the main medicine cabinet. He began to take inventory of what they had. He looked at the rubbing alcohol bottles. This reminded him again of his mother.

When he had been around five or six, Will's mother had had too much to drink. She passed out, falling onto her dropped wine glass. The cuts were superficial, but they wouldn't stop bleeding. Even as a child, Will was fascinated with being a doctor, so he got the first aid kit out. He used rubbing alcohol to remove the blood and sterilize the area. He felt his father's presence surround him, guiding him, as he stitched his mother up. Once the bleeding had stopped, Will had called an ambulance. When it arrived, the paramedics told him that he had saved his mother's life. Not only did she have alcohol poisoning, but she had also overdosed on drugs. She was hospitalized for three days before being sent to rehab. A social worker tried to place him with a family, but Will's neighbors took him in while his mother was recovering.

Once she returned home and got Will back, she stayed sober for a year before relapsing. Will didn't want to lose his mother again, so he hid it from the social workers when they visited. He started to take care of his mother from the age of seven, cleaning up after her and healing her wounds when they got bad. When he was ten, he had flushed her drugs once, she had lashed out at him. She hit him. It was the first and only time she hit him, but it had stuck with Will. He grabbed a scalpel tightly in his hand, trying to bring himself to the present, but he was lost in the memory. He had locked himself in his bedroom, his mother pounding at the door, begging him to come out. Will had prayed to his father, pleading for his help. Apollo had appeared, rare for an Olympian. He helped get Will's mother back into rehab. Will begged him not to, as he didn't want to be alone again, but Apollo had told him about a place called Camp Half-Blood. A place where he could be safe and where he belonged.

Apollo dropped him off at Camp Half-Blood, where he remained. He had finally found his safe place. After about a year of living at Camp, his mother appeared at the border. Without crossing, he asked how she knew where to find him. His mother had explained that Apollo had told her where to find him and that she was better. She was sober. Will was hesitant to believe her, but she promised to remain sober if he came home during the school year. Will had agreed, missing his mother. He lived with her during the school year and lived at camp during the summer. She and Will grew closer and closer. He helped her get back into school in order to become a nurse. Will helped her, with the skills he learned at Camp. The few times she had relapsed, Will became a full-time camper. It was on- and- off again, but she had been doing well, which is why Will had been living with her.

"Will? Where are you?"

He was pulled from his memory by Jason calling out his name. He replaced the scalpel in the cabinet and looked at his hand. The wound was superficial, but still bleeding heavily. He gripped his hand tightly, hoping the pressure would stop the bleeding as he closed the cabinet door which had blocked him from the sight of Jason and Piper.

"What can I do for you two?" He said nonchalantly, leaning against the cabinet door, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well you seemed upset when leaving the table and we wanted to make sure you were okay," Piper answered.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Will said shortly. "You guys can go; I have things to take care of."

"What things? There aren't any patients here. You should be enjoying the holidays with us." Jason continued.

"Is that blood?" Piper zeroed in on his hand.

She walked over to him, reaching out for his hand. Will flinched back, the memory of his mother hitting him still fresh in his mind. Piper stopped in her tracks, looking worried.

"Please don't touch me," Will requested, before turning to the cabinet. He wrapped a white bandage around his hand. "I accidentally sliced it while I was taking inventory. It's just superficial."

"I don't think it was accidental," Jason said. Will turned to face him. He looked at Will knowingly. "What's going on? What's this about?"

"You should know, since you relate to me so much," Will snapped.

Jason's face went red at his words. "You heard all that?"

Will ignored this. "Just because our moms were alcoholics doesn't mean we are anything alike."

Jason looked hurt at the words. "I just thought I could help."

"Didn't you get sent to Lupa when you were a toddler? Did you even experience your mother's alcoholism? Did your mother ever hit you? Or make you clean up after her?" Will questioned.

"She died in a car crash after drinking," Jason said bluntly.

Will went quiet. He hadn't known that.

Jason stared at him hard for a moment before speaking again. "Will, what is going on? We are friends; where is this animosity coming from?"

Will closed his eyes, swallowing down his anger for the sake of maintaining relationships; Nico was close with Jason and he didn't want to spoil his friendship. He opened his eyes, wiping the anger off his facial features. "I'm sorry, I just need some time to process. Thinking about my mom takes a lot out of me."

"Even if it might not seem like it, I do understand. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Jason said. "We can give you some space."

Jason turned to leave, but Piper didn't move. Jason looked at her, quizzically. She motioned for him to go and he complied.

Piper smiled at Will. "How about you tell me what's really going on? Because I sense that this isn't just about your mom. Jason's right; this animosity has come out of nowhere."

"I'm fine."

Piper rolled her eyes. "I spent most of my adolescence stealing cars, I know how to lie. Don't try to lie to me. What's going on?" She asked, eyes serious. Will remained silent. "If you won't talk to me, then who will you talk to? Should I go get Nico?"

"No!" He grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving. "He can't know that I'm like this."

"What's the cause of all this? Please, let me help." She pleaded.

"It's Nico!" Will confessed. Piper went quiet. "Nico is causing me to act like this. I never get this angry or this violent before I started dating him."

He stopped to breathe, before continuing.

"All this anger and violence and sadness… I think I'm getting it from him. The moods he gets in and his personality, it's dark and it's... it's like it is infecting me or something. When he gets hurt, I get so worried and angry all of the time. I just want to protect him, but he won't let me and that makes me feel useless. I feel like I'm so angry all of the time and I don't want to be. He makes me feel things I have always wanted to experience like love and passion. But he also makes me feel emotions I don't want to feel.

"Piper, I'm not myself and I don't know what to do. It's like I can't even control my emotions anymore. Yesterday, when he came to find me in the forest, I almost killed him by accident. I could have killed him, or anyone else. I'm scaring myself." He felt a burden lift off him as he admitted all of this to Piper. He sat on a bed. Piper considered his speech before responding.

She sat next to him as she spoke. "Couples in relationships mirror their counterpart's emotions. You are feeding off Nico's emotions, which could explain your anger. And I feel like the violence is a symptom of the anger since you aren't used to being angry. But you aren't going to hurt anyone; it isn't in your nature. And the whole overprotection thing, you have to understand that Nico lives a dangerous lifestyle. And the more you try to stop him, the more reckless he will become. I know he doesn't always take care of himself, but you can help him when he's unable to. But you have to give him the freedom to choose to accept your help. Otherwise, he will just feel like you are trying to control him."

Will nodded. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But I don't know how to stop all the bad feelings."

Piper considered this "I believe now that you've identified what and where the feelings are, you will be able to control them better. You have to try to pinpoint what you are really angry about before you react. From what I can tell, your anger stems from your fear of losing Nico. You are terrified you are going to lose him, so you get angry. You have to let go of that fear. He knows what he's doing; he's powerful. You have to trust in his abilities and trust in your own when he gets hurt."

"It just scares me so much," Will said.

"As it should; he's your boyfriend," Piper remarked. "But, if you let fear and anger rule your relationship, it might make your fear a reality. You might lose him."

"I love him so much, it hurts," Will confessed.

"I can tell how much you love him by the way you look at him. And, unfortunately, love hurts sometimes. But that's how you know it's worth having."

Will was quiet for a moment, mulling over her words. "That all makes a lot of sense. Thank you for listening to me and giving me advice."

"Of course. That's what friends are for. Now, c'mon, let's go celebrate." She stood up, putting her hand out for Will to grab. He did and they walked out of the infirmary together.

Nico's POV

He was in his cabin, lying on his bed, staring up at his ceiling. He heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it?"

"Reyna." A muffled voice sounded through the wood.

"Go away," He put a pillow over his face.

He heard the door open but hoped that his black shirt provided camouflage into his dark comforter so Reyna wouldn't see him. Unfortunately, his plan was foiled as Reyna sat down next to him on the bed.

"If you really don't want someone in your cabin, you should lock the door."

Nico spoke into the pillow. "Usually when I do that, people just end up breaking down the door and I have to send the bill to my father. He's always pleased to get those bills."

"Nice distractor, but we aren't here to talk about your father. You know Jason didn't mean what he said." Reyna informed.

"Then why isn't he the one here apologizing?"

"He assumed you wanted space."

Nico laughed. "He would assume correctly."

"He just was trying to help you. You were probably the most qualified to talk to Will. And he understands that now. Will didn't want to talk to him either." Reyna explained.

"He's not as charming as everyone thinks." Nico joked.

"He has flaws, just like the rest of us. He wants to apologize to you directly, but he asked me to make sure you are okay. He cares about you."

Nico pushed the pillow off his face. He sat up next to Reyna. "Everyone seems to do that too much."

"Well, get used to it, because it isn't changing any time soon."

"It's really quite obnoxious."

Reyna rolled her eyes. "Glad to see you are feeling better."

Nico shrugged. "I just not really in the mood to fight if I'm being honest."

"That's new," Reyna teased. "You want to rejoin the rest of us, then?"

The whole day passed quickly. Jason had apologized to Nico, which put the two boys back on speaking terms. Will had eventually come out of hiding and joined Nico for a walk around the winter wonderland that was Camp Half-Blood. He talked a little about his mom but didn't say too much, not wanting to ruin the holiday mood. Afterward, Nico, Will, Hazel, and Frank were battling against Jason, Piper, and Reyna in a snowball fight. Leo had been sent away since he kept getting overexcited, melting the snow. Although they were short one, Jason, Piper, and Reyna dominated them. They found Leo and forced him to set up a fire for them since they were all freezing.

Before they knew it, it was already around eight o'clock. The Stoll Brothers had somehow smuggled a movie projector and screen into camp. They were going to be playing Christmas movies in the amphitheater. Blankets and pillows had been brought to the amphitheater steps and the campers gathered together. Leo and his siblings had brought up some self-contained torches and put them around the steps, making sure everyone was warm. The nymphs were traveling around, giving around hot chocolate.

The movie was The Polar Express, which Nico had never seen before. He kept rolling his eyes at all the holiday cheer having a reputation to maintain but couldn't help watching the movie as it started playing on the screen. More than once he looked over to find Will staring at him, a small grin on his face. After four times of finding Will staring at him, he said something.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're cute."

Nico felt his face turn red. "That doesn't explain why you are staring at me."

Will stretched out on the blanket, looking away from Nico as he spoke. "You just looked so happy and content and full of wonder." He regained eye contact. "It suits you. And it makes me happy when you are happy."

Nico smirked and focused back on the movie. He even failed to notice the harpies floating around with mistletoe tied to them, courtesy of the Aphrodite cabin. The movie concluded and they started another movie called Elf.

Nico spoke in whispered tones with Will. "That was a good movie."

"It is a staple in the American household. My siblings and I watch it every year on Christmas Eve. It's a tradition."

Nico looked around for Will's cabin. He spotted them over in the corner, goofing around. "You can hang out with them if you want. If it's tradition."

"I want to start a new tradition with you," Will said, lacing their fingers together. A harpy with mistletoe was hovering over them. Will and Nico both looked up at the sound of the flapping wings. Will smiled. "You must know the rules of this tradition."

"Of course."

What Nico didn't say is that he was uncomfortable around so many people. Will must have picked up on his hesitation, as he didn't move forward. Nico threw caution to the wind and leaned forward. His and Will's chapped lips met in the chilly winter air. Nico heard giggling and "aww"ing around them, but he refused to be deterred. He didn't care anymore. He loved his boyfriend and he didn't care if the whole camp knew. They eventually broke it off. Nico looked around self-consciously, but everyone had gone back to paying attention to the movie. Nico smiled, leaning back against Will's chest. Will had propped himself up with his arms behind him. He wrapped a blanket around both of them. Nico soon fell asleep, Will's heartbeat drowning out the rest of the camp.

Nico woke a couple of hours later. He opened his eyes to find that Will hadn't moved. He was just staring down at Nico. Nico looked around them, confused and disoriented. It was just them.

"Where is everyone? What year is it?"

Will laughed lightly. "You haven't slept till New Years, I promise. It's 12:30, so Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you, but where is everyone else?"

"In their cabins. The movie ended about a half an hour ago."

Nico sat up. "Why didn't you wake me?"

Will shrugged and stretched, revealing his stomach as his jacket rode up. "You looked so peaceful, and I knew you hadn't gotten a lot of sleep in recent weeks."

"Weren't you uncomfortable?"

Will shook his head. "No, but I was starting to. I was going to wake you up soon; the harpies will eat us if we don't leave soon."

Nico stood and pulled Will up as well. They stood in silence for a moment, hovering near each other without touching.

"I had a great night," Nico whispered, breaking the silence.

Will smiled. "I'm glad to hear it." He grabbed Nico's hand. "Now it's time to go to bed otherwise Santa won't come."

Nico rolled his eyes as they walked to his cabin. "Whatever you say."

They eventually arrived and Nico pecked Will goodnight. He entered his cabin and collapsed onto his bed.