"Nico!" Someone yelled from behind him.

He opened his eyes, and noticed he wasn't in the infirmary anymore. He was standing in a dark, big salon, with great columns and a marble floor with fancy patterns. He turned to the source of the noise, but couldn't see anything aside from pure darkness.

"Nico!" The voice yelled again, and only now he could recognize its owner. The sound was followed by an ear-piercing shriek.

"Will!" He looked around again, desperate, his breathing turning into panting as he could hear his own heartbeat in his ears. Will was in danger, he could feel it.

Another scream. Nico ran towards the sound, only to bump against a wall. He punched it with his fist, yelling the boy's name.

A light went on behind him, and he turned. In the center of the room, lying in an awkward position, Nico saw Will turning his head in his direction.

"Will!" Nico gasped as he ran towards him. The other let out a low groan as Nico kneeled and placed his head in his lap gently. His face was full of bleeding cuts, and his limbs were sitting in unnatural positions. He wondered if some of them were broken.

"What- what happened-?" Nico's voice broke. Seeing him like this made his heart ache.

He was surprised to see Will smile. "I-it's not... It's not your fault..." He managed quietly, as if reading the Nico's thoughts. He knew he had let this happen. If only he'd been more careful...

"I'm sorry..." The son of Hades could see the pain in Will's eyes as he said this.

"It's not your fault." The blonde repeated.

"We have to get you out of here..." Nico began to stand, taking long breaths, but Will shook his head.

"It's too late..." He pointed with his chin to his side. His shirt was all soaked in blood, the marble floor under it shining with scarlet liquid. The air started feeling a lot heavier to Nico.

"Will... No, no, no. We... we will get you back to camp... The other medics will cure you..." Nico's voice came out as a choked whisper. He tried to pull Will up, but the other wasn't doing any effort to help.

"Come on!" He cried, trying to make him sit up, tears already streaming down his cheeks.

"No, Nico..." Will's voice sounded so calm, it made Nico angry. "Just-" His voice broke as he winced.

"I-I love you..." The sound was a barely audible whisper, but it was enough to make it to Nico's ears.

"Wha- what...?" Nico looked straight into his blue eyes, genuinely confused and breathing heavily. Will just smiled as his eyelids grew heavy, and his eyes closed.

"No, Will! Don't you-!" Nico shook his shoulder. "Stay with me...!" He saw his own tears spill over Will's now pale features.

"Nico?" A voice broke in, and he felt something warm being pressed against his forehead.

He opened his eyes with a gasp. He sat up abruptly, making Will jump backwards.

"Hey... are you okay?" There was a shakiness in the blonde's voice that gave away he was worried.

"I..." Nico took a deep breath. His back was soaked with sweat, and his hands were shaking as he buried his face on them. 'It had been a dream...' the realization was truly reassuring. 'Thank the gods...'

"I'm fine." He said at last, not looking up as he nodded his head.

"Are you sure?" Will questioned as he sat down slowly in the edge of the bed. "You were talking in your sleep."

"Mhm..." He took another shaky breath, running his hands through his hair before turning to him. It was good to see him, even if he didn't show it. He had an urge to scoot closer, to hold his hand or stroke his hair, but kept it at bay. He didn't know if it came from the shock of the dream or from somewhere else. "Just a nightmare."

Will nodded. "Well, I actually came about an hour ago to serve you dinner." He said, "but you were asleep, and didn't want to disturb you... Would you like to eat now?"

Nico shook his head. It was fully dark outside, revealing it was around ten. "I'm- I'm really not hungry."

He saw Will purse his lips. "Nico..."

"What? I want to get back to sleep, anyway." But that was a lie. What if he met Will in his dreams again? What if he saw him die once more? He wasn't sure he could bear any more. But he said nothing about this concerns and curled back inside the bed.

He was surprised when he heard Will sight in surrender. "Alright." He stood. "Well, have a good night, then." He placed out of the room, closing the door almost soundlessly behind him.