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 trial day. The rec room was set up like a courtroom. The ping-pong table had been removed. There were two thrones at one end, with Chiron sitting in his wheelchair. Dionysus was at the center, his throne wrapped with grapevines. He would be the head "judge" in Aaron's trial. Hades was to his left in a throne of black marble. Chiron was to his right.

There were a table and chair set up in front of the thrones for the witnesses to sit and testify. Behind the table were two benches for the two parties to sit. Aaron, Ryan, Tyler, and Drew sat on the left side with Clarisse and Reyna looming over them, keeping them in check. To the right, Nico, Will, Jason and Kayla sat. Behind these benches were an assortment of folding chairs and deck chairs for the head counselors and the few campers allowed to witness the proceedings.

Nico was frozen in place, staring directly at Aaron, who was glaring back at him. The son of Hades appeared to be lost in his memories because he shuddered a moment later, tearing his gaze away from Aaron's.

"You okay?" Will asked under his breath.

"Yeah, little nervous," Nico muttered back.

"Hey, everything is going to work out. We all got your back."

"Yeah." Nico absentmindedly said, still lost in his thoughts.

"Nico," Will said. Nico looked up to meet Will's eyes. "It's going to work out. We have enough evidence to take these guys down."

"That doesn't change the fact that it happened."

"Hopefully, with their punishment, you can start to put it all behind you." Will offered.

"Hopefully." Nico looked off into the distance.

After the late-night conversation that he had had with his father, Nico seemed ever more reserved within himself, with traces of self-deprecating humor mixed in. Nico would talk with his father for hours. Will wondered what they were talking about, but Nico would never say. It had been a relatively calm couple of days. No major incidents. Will still avoided touching Nico as much as possible. And Nico had really put the effort forward to try and be ready for the trial. Will knew that Nico just wanted to get it over with.

Will looked up as people started making their way over to their seats. Annabeth stood in front of the table to discuss something with Chiron. She and Percy had headed back to school but continued to return to camp in order to handle the investigation. Leo and Calypso, sitting close behind their bench, had taken permanent residence at Camp. Leo had gone to Camp Jupiter to get Frank for the trial. Hazel, Frank, and Reyna would head back to Camp Jupiter when the trial was finished. Jason and Piper were missing school, not having gone back yet, but Will had a feeling that they would be spending more time at Camp Half-Blood to help Nico to heal from his traumatic experience. Will himself had made his own arrangements with his mother that he needed to tell Nico about. But, now was not the time. Annabeth had finished speaking with Chiron and was now looking out at the crowd. The campers fell silent.

"We are gathered here for the case of Aaron Stevenson, Ryan Diaz, Tyler Smith, and Drew Tanaka and their alleged assault of Mr. Nico di Angelo," Annabeth spoke. "I have led the investigation into the assault and have received conflicting testimonies from both sides as well as inconclusive evidence linking Mr. Aaron Stevenson to the attack. Today, Dionysus will provide an objective ruling on what he believes to be the truth. Are both sides ready to begin?"

"Yes." Aaron asserted.

Annabeth looked at Nico, needing him to confirm before proceeding. He was lost in thought. Will lightly nudged him.

He started and spoke up. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Annabeth smiled sympathetically at him. "Then the case shall begin." She cleared her throat.

"On New Year's Day, Nico di Angelo was seriously injured in the forest. Later that night, Aaron Stevenson reported to the infirmary with a hand injury consistent with one obtained with punching incorrectly. Aaron stands accused of attacking Nico. Tyler, Ryan, and Drew have been accused of being complicit in the crime. All evidence will be presented in this trial. To begin, I call William Solace to the stand."

Will stood. He sat in the chair to face the council. Hades glowered; Chiron's face remained passive; Dionysus looked bored.

Annabeth spoke again. "Please, tell us everything that happened."

"During the Capture-the-Flag game, no one could find Nico. We started searching and eventually, Aaron pointed us in the direction of Nico. We found him, with major injuries as well as heavy blood loss and hypothermia. Kayla and I brought him back to the infirmary where we looked over his injuries more thoroughly. They were consistent with the injuries of an assault victim. Nico went into critical condition. I was deemed too close to the case and was locked out of the infirmary. I was walking around camp when Aphrodite appeared."

Will closed his eyes briefly as everyone murmured around him, curious to know why a goddess had shown up at camp. Will hesitant to admit the next part, especially since Nico was listening. He hadn't gotten around to telling Nico about his request.

"What did she say to you?" Annabeth questioned. Will hadn't told the head counselors the full story.

"She started speaking to me about the prayer I had made. At the Winter Solstice, Nico and I both talked to Aphrodite. She said that she wanted to get involved in our love life. I really didn't think anything more of it. A couple of days after the Solstice, Nico's and I's relationship did become more interesting; Nico was planning to leave camp."

Will didn't enjoy sharing all about his love life, but if it would help Nico get justice. He could tell that other campers were also shifting uncomfortably; no one liked to hear about the troubles of another's relationship.

"I prayed that Nico wouldn't leave camp. She said that she- she answered my prayer of Nico to stay and had convinced someone to beat up Nico to cause him to stay." Will heard little murmurs from behind him, but he pushed forward. "That was obviously not what my intention was with saying that. I asked who she had convinced, and she didn't say exactly who, but she implied that it was Drew."

"Can anyone confirm that?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes," Piper spoke up from the crowd. "I was there when it happened." She stood. "All that Will said about Aphrodite is true. She started to say Drew's name but stopped herself."

Will continued as Piper sat down. "After the whole confrontation with Aphrodite, Piper and I reported back to the Big House to inform Chiron. Aaron was on the infirmary steps, complaining of a hand injury. His injury was from punching someone incorrectly. I treated him, not thinking much of it as I didn't realize the connection between him and Nico. Later that morning, a head counselor meeting was called. We discussed all the information we knew before trying to figure out who would hurt Nico. I told everyone about the first time Nico had been assaulted."

"He was assaulted before?" Dionysus asked.

Will nodded. "The day before the Solstice, I arrived at Camp and found Nico with major injuries. He told me that he had been beaten up by camper but refused to tell me who did it."

"Why not come forward then? Why wait this long?" Mr. D asked.

Will glanced back at Nico as he spoke. "Because Nico asked me not to say anything." Annabeth gestured for him to continue. "I brought up his first attack, thinking that the same guy who hurt him the first time, assaulted him again. I didn't know anything else about the guy, so I brought up the only other person I knew that had issues with Nico: Drew Tanaka."

"What's the connection between Drew and Nico?" Annabeth asked.

"Drew has bullied Nico in the past, calling him disgusting and a monster for being gay. She told him to kill himself on multiple occasions," Will revealed. "She also had an issue with me, because I rejected her advances. She hated me for it. And she took her hate out on Nico. Considering all this, I believed that Drew had somehow been involved. Piper told us that she was dating Aaron. When they started dating, Aaron started acting out of the ordinary, as confirmed by Clarisse and Connor."

"It's true." Connor Stoll piped. "He wasn't himself anymore."

"We believed that Drew had convinced Aaron to hurt Nico. Aaron had been following Nico and me for a while. He witnessed weak points for both of us and antagonized us for them. Drew already had a lot of hate for us, so getting a sign from her mother that it was okay to beat Nico up... she must have relished that."

"How dare you accuse me of-" Drew jumped up and tried to defend herself against Will's accusation, but Dionysus held up a warning hand.

"It is not your turn to speak, Ms. Tanaka." His voice was dangerous, eyes burning. She sat down very quickly. Dionysus indicated for Will to continue.

"I told Annabeth and Chiron all this but they said that the evidence was only circumstantial. We concluded the meeting. A couple of days passed, and Nico was in critical condition. There was nothing-" Will's voice cracked. "-nothing I could do to help him. So, I tried to get revenge on Aaron. I sought him out and instigated a fight with him. I accused him of beating up Nico. He threw the first punch. I defended myself before Jason and Clarisse broke us up. I went to the infirmary and Kayla treated me. I- she put me under for a couple of days. When I woke up, Lord Hades showed up, demanding to see his son. We took him to Nico, and he urged me to help him. I managed to heal his injuries, but soon thereafter, I passed out."

He turned to look at Kayla and Nico. He noticed Nico first. He was staring at Will with sympathy in his eyes. Will hadn't told Nico what he had gone through while Nico had been passed out. He just wanted Nico to focus on healing. Annabeth cleared her throat. Will realized he had trailed off from his story.

Will continued. "I woke up two days later to discover no changes with Nico's coma. Chiron was called in. He said Nico was tackling with something mentally; that there was a block on his mind. We brought Clovis in. He infiltrated Nico's dreams and told us that he had seen Aaron attacking Nico with two of his siblings. It was enough evidence for Annabeth. Jason and Percy were sent to bring them in. Meanwhile, I infiltrated Nico's dreams and brought him out of his memories. I witnessed what had happened and saw that Aaron, Tyler, Ryan, and Drew were all involved. In the dream, I was attacked by Aaron and received a punch to the jaw. When I woke up, I had a bruise from the punch on my jaw. That was our first indication that there was a god involved."

"What god would be involved in Mr. di Angelo's life?" Dionysus asked.

"Aphrodite was involved," Annabeth pointed out. She looked at Will. "Did she give any indication of why she was involved in Nico's life?"

"Just because she found it interesting," Will answered.

"That's not the only reason," Nico murmured behind him.

Will looked back at his boyfriend. What was he talking about?

"Mr. di Angelo?" Chiron questioned.

Nico sighed, running his hands over his face. "There are a couple of gods who have issues with me. But only one of them is linked with Aphrodite."

"Which one?" Annabeth asked.

At the same time, Jason spoke. "Nico, you don't have to."

Will noticed Jason and Reyna gain eye contact with each other before Jason looked back at Nico. They knew something that they weren't sharing.

"It's okay," Nico said. He looked up at Jason. "I can do this."

"Then come to the stand, boy," Mr. D commanded, turning his sights on Nico.

Nico's POV:

Nico's heart stopped as Dionysus gained eye contact with him. As much as he wanted to get the trial over with, he didn't want to go up to the stand. He sat, frozen, unmoving, hoping that his idleness would hide him so he wouldn't be called up. Another voice called to him, but it was like they were speaking underwater. Nico didn't move. He blankly stared. Eventually, a person came into focus. Will. Nico turned his attention on Will.

"You can do this." The son of Apollo whispered as he knelt before Nico, without touching him.

"What if I can't?" Nico whispered back, fully aware that everyone had their eyes on them.

"I'm right here to support you through this. No one is going to judge you or think any less of you. You can do this." Looking into his eyes, Nico could tell Will believed in his words.

Will's conviction gave Nico the confidence to stand up. Will stood as well. Nico squeezed his hand for that extra boost as he walked past him. Will whispered "good luck" as he sat down next to Kayla. The five-foot gap between his bench and the chair stretched for ten miles. Nico slowly walked to the stand, feeling everyone's eyes on him. He brought his hooded eyes up to see the three "judges". Dionysus finally looked interested to be there. Chiron met Nico's eyes with sympathy. Nico could tell his teacher did not wish for him to go through this ordeal. His father sent him silent messages of support. Nico feebly smiled at his father. He eventually arrived at the chair and sat down in it. He slowly brought his eyes up to meet Annabeth's. She smiled at him, nodding that everything was going to be okay.

"Are you ready?" She asked

"As ready as I will ever be" Nico muttered.