Will POV
Will liked being a medic. It was straightforward. He could sense other people's needs and would help the best he could. But when someone's emotions needed fixing it was harder. There was no manual to tell you how to fix that. So when Will noticed Nico walking around looking moodier than usual, he groaned.
He could sense the boy's unhappiness from across camp. Will decided to talk to Nico.
"Hey." Will came up to Nico in the arena. Nico was decimating dummy after dummy with his black Stygian iron sword.
Nico tensed but kept hacking away.
"Can I talk to you?" Will was careful to stay back to avoid getting his head chopped off.
"What do you want?" Nico growled. He turned to face Will, his cheeks flushed.
"I wanted to see how you're doing."
"I'm fine." Nico turned away and started slashing and the dummies again.
"Nico, I know you're lying. I know you aren't very happy right now."
"I said I'm fine, Will." Nico turned to leave but Will grabbed his shoulder.
"We're going to talk right now, Death Boy." Will pulled Nico over to the side of the arena.
Will sat down while Nico just stood there.
"You can sit." Will smiled. Nico sat down a couple feet away from Will not saying anything.
"You're getting pretty good at your sword skills." Will tried to make an attempt at conversation.
"Get to the point Solace." Nico growled. He twisted his skull ring nervously.
"I noticed you're not coming to meals since I released you from the infirmary. When was the last time you ate?" Will looked at Nico's hands which were pale.
"I'm fine." Was Nico's automatic response. Will moved closer to Nico and grabbed his cold hands in his warm ones.
"Will…" Nico didn't look at him but Will could see his face turning pink.
"Dude you're wasting away. You need to eat something."
"Why do you care?" Nico pulled his hands away and stuffed them in his black sweatshirts pockets.
"Because you're my friend, Nico. Because…" because I like you. But Will didn't add that. It would only make Nico hate him more.
Nico POV
Nico was surprised Will considered him a friend since Nico basically hid out in his cabin or the arena all day and didn't talk to anyone.
"Fine. I'll come to one meal if it'll make you happy." Did he really just say that? Since when did he start doing things to make Will Solace happy?
"Great I'll see you there at dinner! Don't be late or I'll haul your sorry ass to the table." Will got up and left leaving Nico alone. Nico sheathed his sword and walked to his cabin.
He looked in the mirror and decided to take a shower so he didn't look bad when he came to dinner. For some reason he wanted to please Will.
Once out of the shower he threw on a black tee shirt and jeans. Nico looked marginally better though he still had those dark lines under his eyes from all the nightmares.
Gods, the nightmares.
Nico slipped and fell onto the shards of glass that made the ground. His hands were already scraped, the blood dripping slowly onto the ground. Nico didn't have the energy to even curse in his head. The sulfur air made his lunges burn and every breath was painful. A shadow loomed over him. Nico lifted his sword with determination in his eyes. But it slipped out of his hands. His body froze, his end had come...
"Nico?" Will had his arms around Nico and was leading him down to the floor. Nico was shaking and felt dizzy, not sure where he was. His heart was beating so hard he was sure it would pop out of his chest.
"Nico… it's ok." Will pulled Nico closer to him and held him there until Nico's breathing returned to mostly normal.
"Will? What are you doing here?" Nico pulled away and realized he was sitting on Will's lap on his bathroom floor.
"I came to check on you because you weren't at dinner and when I knocked there was no answer. I opened the door and found you shaking and screaming." Will pulled Nico closer to him even though Nico looked like he didn't want to be touched.
"Oh…" Nico found himself melting into Will's embrace.
"I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to." Will pulled away and stared at Nico's brown eyes.
"Thanks… is dinner over?" Nico met Will's gaze.
"Yeah. But I brought you some food. I hope you like ribs." Will smiled and Nico found himself smiling with him.
They walked into Nico's mini kitchen and Nico saw that Will had piled high a plate with ribs and mashed potatoes with lots of butter.
"Eat Death Boy. You'll feel better." Will pulled out a chair for Nico to sit at.
"I can pull my own chair out, you know." Nico grumbled.
"You couldn't walk to the dining pavilion if you wanted to after what happened just now." Nico tried to protest but he realized it was true. His legs were shaking and he was still light headed.
"I'm never going to admit it, Sunshine." Nico's lips turned up a bit showing a slight smile. Then he realized what he said. His smile disappeared, replaced by shock.
"Sorry." Nico mumbled and sat down hastily, not looking at Will.
"Nico. I liked it. Don't apologize." Will smiled and sat across from Nico. His cheeks were pink and Nico noticed.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Nico suggested quietly when they were done eating, not meeting the other boy's eyes.
"Sure. You get the movie I'll take care of the dishes." Will smiled and got up, taking the dishes with him. Nico went into his room and searched the DVDs for something interesting. Since demigods attract monsters by being online, DVDs were fine. Nico had managed to collect a bunch from all different genres.
"Does this sound good?" Nico held out Frozen before realizing it was kind of a kids movie. He turn blushed.
"Yes! I love that one!" Will piled pillows on the bed while Nico put the DVD in the TV. Nico climbed into bed and Will sat next to him a few inches away. Nico wanted to be closer but he also thought that it would be weird so he just sat there.
"Oh just relax!" Will said after a while. Nico startled.
"Sorry. But seriously, come closer, you look uncomfortable." Will patted the bed between them. Nico scooted closer and soon his knee was touching Will's. It sent a shock through him but he ignored it.
Will put his arm around Nico's shoulders and pulled him closer. Nico could smell Will's citrus shampoo and it made him relax just a bit.
Will held Nico's hand the rest of the movie and Nico was grateful because images of Tartarus and the jar kept coming to him.
"You ok?" Will's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Nico noticed the movie was over and he was clinging to Will's hand.
"Yeah." Nico shrugged and got off the bed. "You should probably go."
"Ok. But please promise me you'll get some sleep tonight?" Will walked to the door.
Nico nodded. He didn't tell Will that he'd probably have nightmares and would stay up drawing them.
"Goodnight, Death Boy." Will smiled. Nico's lips twitched upwards slightly. He liked Will's smile. A lot. Will closed the door behind him, leaving Nico alone.