Chapter 5: First Sleepovers or The time Will fully came to realise why Nico didn't sleep.
Very few people had seen inside Cabin Thirteen. There were speculations as to what it was like, that it was swathed in shadows and as cold as a graveyard, that semi-animated zombies filled most of the beds, that those beds were little more than cocoons of spider webs or ornamental coffins of blood-red lining and skeleton comforters. That to sleep a night in the Hades' cabin was to endure fitful darkness and a pervasive sense of foreboding.
Sadly enough, many of those speculations weren't all that far off the mark. Will was one of those few that had seen inside – actually seen – and he could say that it was far from being his favourite place on camp. It was far from being Nico's either, even if he did spend a whole lot of time inside; he claimed that he'd tried to redecorate but the cabin just 'didn't like it'. Whatever that meant.
It wasn't all that cold, though. Nor was it pervasively foreboding. And though it was dark, that was mostly because Nico neglected to light the actual flaming torches that lined the walls. There were coffins for beds and they did have red lining and sheets, but they actually looked remarkably more inviting than their structural morbidity would suggest. Definitely more likely to be the temporary and comfortable bedding of a resting vampire than that of a cadaver.
Will wasn't so taken with the shrine at the far end of the cabin, though. There was something a little - or very – creepy about the arrangement of skulls, bones and glittering jewels, even though most of those skulls appeared to have come from monsters rather than humans. Most of them. He didn't blame Nico for keeping it half-draped in a black sheet most of the time.
Will had stepped through the doorway several times in search of Nico though had never stayed for very long. Unlike most of the other cabins that seemed neutral towards intruders if not openly welcoming, there was a very definite sense of seclusion to Hades' cabin. As though it was questioning the very notion of Will's entry between its walls. Not that Will let it faze him, because he'd rather put up with that and spend time with Nico that wait outside by himself. Still, he was always thankful that Nico seemed largely inclined to spend most of their indoor time in cabin seven instead.
No, Will didn't particularly want to go into cabin thirteen more than he had to. And he wouldn't have expressed any inclination to do so if not for one particular conversation that arose at the Apollo table of a dinnertime.
"Isn't it sort of creepy, though? I mean, it's always dark, and shadowy, and you're in there all by yourself."
Will glanced away from the conversation he'd been having with Kayla at Fionn's words. She was staring expectantly at Nico from across the table as she peeled green peas from their pods and popped them into her mouth with her finicky pickiness. Nico paused in the act of alleviating his burger of every hint of vegetable to regard her with hooded eyes.
"I like it dark."
"Obviously, being the son of Hades," Will expanded. Nico shot him a glance that told him exactly what he thought of the redundancy of his statement.
"But you spend so much time in our cabin, I'd think you were sort of coming to like things a little bit lighter," Fionn persisted. "It must get really dark in Hades' cabin at night."
"Yeah, well, that's what happens at night time, Fionn," Kayla said with a condescending smile to her younger sister.
"No, no, I mean in the cabin thirteen. Like, it's already really, really dark, and – do you even have lights in your cabin, Nico?"
Nico stared at Fionn unreadably, unblinkingly, for a long moment. Will wondered if he was more affronted or amused by her persistence; sometimes it was hard to tell the difference. "I do, yes. But I usually don't use them."
"Why not?"
"Nico can sort of see in the dark," Will explained. "Sort of."
"Oh, like a cat?"
"No," Nico said, just as Will nodded with a grin and a "Yes". He received another pointed glance for his efforts and a crushing heel into the top of his foot beneath the table. He thought one of his bones might have been mashed into a pulp and had to bite back a wince.
"It must get pretty lonely in there all by yourself," Fionn continued, oblivious as always to the effects of her blindly ploughing forth into a dangerous situation. "Your sister used to stay with you while she was here, right?"
"Yeah, Hazel and sometimes Frank," Nico said quietly, almost warily.
"Does anyone else ever stay over?"
Nico shrugged, batting Will's hands away as he deliberately gestured towards the discarded vegetable scattered about his plate. "Reyna did when she came to visit, but otherwise not really."
"Would you like to?"
"Like to what?"
"Have someone else sleep over in your cabin."
Nico stared at Fionn for a moment as though she was an idiot. "No. Why would I want that?"
"In case you get lonely."
"I don't get lonely."
"Bullshit," Will murmured under his breath. Nico drove his heel down once more onto his foot and he couldn't withhold a wince this time.
"Do you actually get zombies and skeletons wandering through your cabin at night?" Wesley asked, leaning into Fionn to include himself in the conversation.
"What?"
"Zombies. And skeletons," Kayla explained from beside Will, leaning around him to try and catch Nico's eye. "And wraiths and ghouls. Everyone wonders what kind of weird creatures come out at night, especially after that time that something screamed from inside a couple months ago. What was that all about?"
Nico slowly turned towards her and regarded her with the same blank stare he had Fionn. Will followed his gaze and noted in passing that they'd acquired something of an audience throughout the conversation. He wasn't surprised, given that there were always speculations surrounding Nico and his habits. If only he knew that remaining close-lipped and deflecting questions only made people more curious, manifesting the air of mystery that still shrouded him despite his stepping more into the going-ons of camp life.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Well? Do they?" Fionn asked.
"Does who what?"
"Zombies. And skeletons. And ghosts and stuff. Do they actually come out at night and all fill up the beds of your cabin?"
Nico drew his gaze around the small ring of Apollo's children, a noticeable portion of their greater number, and shook his head. "You people are all insane."
"Notice that he's not disputing our suggestions," Austin pointed out.
"Yeah, because they're stupid."
"Has anyone seen it to prove it, though?" Kayla asked, waving her fork at him.
"No. And you never will. Other people don't sleep in Hades' cabin. That's just how it is."
"Because they literally can't or because you don't want them to?" Kayla asked.
"Both," Nico said stubbornly, frowning and folding his arms across the table before him.
Will could have anticipated the response of his half-siblings. He did, really, though wasn't quick enough to divert their request before it arose. Grinning, Kayla leant further around Will and sharpened her unwavering stare. "You know what this means, right? We're going to have to sacrifice one of our number."
"What?" Nico said flatly.
"Someone will have to sleep overnight in Cabin Thirteen. Just so we can see if they can live to tell the tale."
Nico regarded the rapidly spreading grins of the Apollo members around him. "No. You're all idiots. I don't want any of you sleeping in my cabin with me."
"Your cabin." Kayla smirked. "That's a little presumptuous of you, don't you think?"
"Do you see any other kids of Hades around?"
"Fair call. But that's not a good enough reason." Kayla grinned, grazing her gaze around the table. "We have a self-appointed quest, my friends."
A babble of amused enthusiasm arose even as Nico's scowl deepened. Deepened and sharpened slightly with something that Will doubted anyone else even noticed. It looked just faintly like worry.
Was he really so averse to anyone else sleeping in his cabin? Or was it for other reasons? Was it really dangerous for anyone else but a child of Hades? But then, Reyna had slept in there, and Nico said Frank did too, so…
Making a quick decision, Will cleared his throat loud enough to quell the abrupt uprising of noise. "I'll do it."
"Will, my man!" Wesley reached across the table to clap a hand on Will's shoulder. "Taking one for the team like a real trooper."
"On you, Will."
"Of course you would…"
"Make sure you take notes, yeah? Give us the full blow-by-blow."
Will shook his head, rolling his eyes. "You guys are worse than Aphrodite's kids, you gossip so much."
"Don't be so insulting, Will," Kayla sniffed. "This is an important investigation we're setting you on here. Real solid research."
"Right. I'm sure."
The talk descended into speculations, into bets placed as to whether Will would survive the night and, if he did, what degree of mutilation he would suffer. Will let them talk, unfazed by the increasingly gruesome suggestions. Or at least not fazed much.
He did notice, however, that Nico fell silent throughout dinner thenceforth. His expression was cast into stubborn blankness, the resolution of 'attempting to hide his thoughts' that Will had witnessed on numerous occasions before. That, alongside the memory of the worry he'd briefly witnessed, caused Will to frown. He didn't like it when Nico became serious like that, when he became distant. It ended up worrying him, too, even if he was still just a little curious. He and Nico had never had any sleepover of sorts, not in the entire time they'd been boyfriends. Not even in Apollo's cabin. It was as exciting as it was nerve-wracking.
Leaning towards his boyfriend, Will thrust his nervousness aside – what was there even to be nervous about, really? – and dropped his voice low. "Sorry about this. You seemed kind of annoyed about it, but they're persistent and I knew they wouldn't let it drop when the idea struck. I figured at least if it was me it wouldn't be quite so bad."
Nico remained silent for a moment staring at his plate and his abandoned dinner before he turned towards Will. Surprisingly he didn't scowl or brush aside Will's words but instead offered a small smile that possibly even held a hint of gratitude. "Thanks."
Will stared at him, faintly incredulous. "You really mean that?"
Then came the eye roll, and abruptly Nico's expression shifted from blank and closed to openly condescending. "Is that so hard to believe?"
"Coming from you? Definitely."
"Shut up, Will. Besides, it's only fair, really, that you have to come to my cabin every once in a while. I've spent more than enough time in yours."
"Yeah, but never sleeping there."
"That's because all you have to offer for a bed are hospital beds.."
"There's nothing wrong with those beds."
"The fact that your spare beds are hospital beds, Will, for sick people, makes it wrong."
Will drew a grin upon his face that was only half-forced. "They're only used when the infirmary fill out, you know. And besides, for sick people? I think that would mean you'd fit into it perfectly."
Thankfully, the heavy mood lifted after that, and talk of spending the night just the two of them in Hades' cabin was lost to disregard. Will didn't let himself pause to contemplate once more that it would be the first time he and Nico would actually be sleeping next to one another, let alone only them. The looming prospect of a night filled with shadows and chilling gloom was a bit of a deterrent that he'd rather not consider at all.
It wasn't as bad as he'd anticipated. In many ways, it wasn't bad at all. They spent the growing evening slouched across the thinly cushioned but unexpectedly comfortable couch – red and black, of course – and continuing their marathon of Supernatural when they'd finally moved from playing video games. Will had made a point of urging Nico towards some of his favourite TV series after he'd become accustomed to the fact that televisions and computers weren't likely to bite his hand off the moment he attempted to use them. So far they were doing rather well – Will was quite proud of the fact that they'd actually made it halfway through the series, with several others already tucked beneath their belts.
He didn't make it to bed, however, didn't manage to draw himself towards the coffins from the couch before the laptop playing reels of monsters that truly looked just a little too realistic. Instead, Will felt his eyes droop and, slumping into Nico, let himself fall towards sleep. It was oddly comfortable to lie with his legs hooked over the end of the couch, head pillowed against Nico's shoulder, and the beckoning fingers of slumber were difficult to deny. How could he not give into them, with the pervasive darkness of the cabin broken only by the flickering of the laptop screen and the mellow warmth that swirled from the walls? Will made a mental note as his eyes slipped shut to tell Fionn that it was not, in fact, as cold as a graveyard.
He woke with a crick in his neck and the knowledge that he had no idea what had dragged him from sleep. It was still dark, but even darker than it had been for the light of the laptop screen had been switched off. Will blinked for a moment, his eyes adjusting to the darkness as he looked around himself.
He was still on the couch – really, he hadn't expected anything other – and his legs still hooked over the arm, numbed from shorted circulation so that his toes tingled. Will pulled his legs back onto the cushions as he glanced back in the other direction to see that he still half rested upon Nico, though upon his lap rather than his shoulder. And Nico –
Nico was wedged into the corner of the couch, one elbow propped against the arm and holding his chin up while the other spread open a thick book. How he managed to read in such darkness Will didn't know – surely his night vision couldn't be that acute; Will could hardly make out his face in the darkness – but he appeared intent enough. He very obviously wasn't sleeping either.
"What are you doing?"
Nico turned his head slightly towards Will and, though he couldn't make out his expression in the darkness and over the slight distance between them, Will speculated that he could feel him roll his eyes. "Isn't it obvious? I'm reading."
"It is pretty obvious," Will agreed, nodding. "I meant why aren't you asleep. It's feels like it's after midnight, right?"
"One-thirty," Nico confirmed.
Will nodded. He'd vaguely known as much. As a child of Apollo, he had a sort of internal clock for that sort of thing, a tendency towards knowing where exactly the sun was situated in the sky, or, in the case of night time, how far off it was until it arose. "Right. One-thirty. You should sleep. Your best sleep happens before midnight, you know."
"I'll keep that in mind for next time, then. Wasted effort now."
Pushing himself upwards into a slouching sitting position, Will scrubbed at his eyes as he frowned. "Do you always stay up so late?"
"Most of the time."
"What time do you go to sleep?"
Nico only shrugged and Will's frown deepened. True, Nico might whinge about and bemoan his overprotectiveness, that he was too demanding with his suggestions to meet the recommended hours of sleep, and nutrition, and sun exposure, but Will didn't care. He was a doctor after all, even if no one outside of Camp Half-Blood would recognise him as such.
"Nico, that's not healthy."
"I'm not tired. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway."
"Have you tried taking something, then? Maybe some chamomile tea?"
Nico snorted just loud enough for Will to hear him. "What are you, my mother?"
"Just looking out for you. Isn't that what boyfriends are supposed to do?"
"Thanks, but I don't need it."
"Nico –"
"Will."
Nico's tone brooked no further argument. Will wouldn't have been surprised if he'd climbed from the couch and abandoned Will to the darkness of the cabin had he persisted with his suggestions. And though it wasn't quite as bad as he'd anticipated – Will hadn't seen a single ghost since he'd arrived – he wasn't keen to tempt fate with the absence of the son of Hades. The foreboding deterrence had eased throughout the night but he didn't like his chances without Nico alongside him.
With a sigh, Will felt his shoulders slump in defeat. "Alright, then. I won't nag, or tell you that you have to go to sleep. But can you at least try and rest or something? You don't have to sleep, exactly, but, you know, let your mind rest or whatever."
"Are you asking me to put my book down?"
"I'm asking you to put your book down."
There must have been something in Will's tone, some note of sincerity, perhaps a faint plea that nudged Nico towards compliance, for he remained objectionably silent for only a moment longer. Then he sighed and, folding the book closed and dropping it to the floor, turned to face him with a fold of his arms. Will could only make out the pale oval of Nico's face through the darkness, though he considered that he could physically feel the radiation of his scowl. For once, it barely elicited a slight smile from Will – it didn't really seem all that funny at the moment. "There. Happy?"
"Exceptionally," Will said. Then, without waiting for further reply and ignoring the grumbles and mutters of objection, he settled himself against Nico into the lazing slouch he'd assumed before.
"You call this comfortably resting?" Nico muttered.
"I'm comfortable. And I'm resting, so yes. You should try it too."
"What, with you lying all over me like a human blanket."
"I'm just sharing body warmth. You should be thanking me."
"Oh, well in that case, thank you for smothering me, you bloody space heater."
"Space heater? That's a new one," Will murmured, already closing his eyes and falling prey to the tentative jaws of sleep once more. In spite of his concern for the fact that Nico apparently didn't sleep, the pull of oblivion was just a little too much to resist. He'd barely fully woken up all that much as it was. "Just try and close your eyes and calm your thoughts down. Maybe you'll fall to sleep then. No reading, though. You're probably overstimulating yourself or something."
Nico grumbled something that sounded to Will's ears like "stop using hypothetical reasoning in a theoretical explanation" before subsiding. Will found himself smiling as he drifted back to sleep. That sounded more like the usual Nico, and a relief it was to hear.
The second time he woke was with jolt. That which had drawn him from unconsciousness was very distinct, sudden and sharp, and still sounding in a murmur punctuated by a faint cry. This time, Will blinked his eyes open in sudden wide wakefulness with the surety that something was wrong.
He'd fallen from 'blanketing' Nico to more completely sprawling across the cushions but more because Nico had curled himself into an impossibly tight ball in his corner of the couch. Will couldn't make out his face in the darkness as he propped himself up to sitting but it hardly mattered. It was apparent where the sound had come from as it still ensued with muttering whimpers reminiscent of a terrified puppy.
He couldn't really see, though, and it suddenly vexed Will that he was so blinded. Taking a deep breath, he released it in a forced exhalation that drew upon the heat within him. Slowly, like a dimmer light gradually urged towards brightness, a golden yellow glow rose from his skin in a shallow, pulsing light. Not strong, but enough to see by. Enough to see what he could of Nico's face as it was half-turned away from him.
Reaching out towards him, Will gripped him gently on the shoulder. The contrast of his faintly glowing fingers to the darkness of Nico's jumper was as contrasting as black and white. He could make out Nico's trembling, the compulsive twitches quivering through his frame. He still appeared to be asleep but it was obvious to anyone who was listening that he was fighting a nightmare. There was pain and fear in his muffled murmurs that put Will in mind of the Christmas when he'd returned from seeing his reborn sister. An upwelling of protective sorrow flooded through him and he felt like he understood Nico just a little more.
Oh. So this is why he doesn't like to sleep. Maybe it's why he was worried at having someone else come into his cabin? Because he didn't want anyone to know he had nightmares? And then with a frown, Why didn't he tell me?
Shunting aside the query, Will edged along the couch. Such questions couldn't be answered now, nor necessarily should they be. It was Nico's right to have privacy and he shouldn't have to tell Will everything, even if he was his boyfriend. Even if Will did want to know. Squeezing his fingers, he shook Nico's shoulder gently, his light wavering.
"Nico? Hey, Nico, it's alright."
The spasms of shivering only intensified into bodily shakes and somehow Nico seemed to curl even further into himself. The whimpers grew louder and, in rising concern, Will slid forwards until he was almost leaning over him. He shook Nico's shoulder harder, speaking louder as the lingering traces of sleep fell from his voice. "Nico? Nico, wake up. Come on, you're alright. It's just a nightmare. Come on, wake up."
He gave a slightly harder squeeze, his voice rising, and abruptly Nico snapped alert. An arm rose to strike at Will aggressively even before he untucked himself from his curl and Will only just managed to catch his wrist before he was whacked in the face. An instant later and Nico was jerking himself backwards into the couch, whipping around to face Will and fully reveal a face paler than it had been before. This close, with the radiance of his own light, Will could make out his expression of confusion and grogginess, the rapid blinking as he swum into consciousness and the worry, the almost-fear, tightening his face.
"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay," Will hastened to assure him. The hand still grasping Nico's shoulder patted gently while his other curled around Nico's offensively raised arm in an attempt to restrain his straining, instinctive aggression. "You're okay, Nico. You're okay. It was just a nightmare."
Nico sat frozen for a moment longer, his face tight and eyes blinking rapidly. Then, as abruptly as he'd awoken, as he'd frozen into tightness, he fell to panting that were so heavy his gasps were nearly sobs. He seemed to deflate, chin dropping to his chest and shoulders hunching as if suddenly weighted by exhaustion. His upraised arm only remained so because Will maintained his grasp upon it, tension dropping and hanging limply.
Without thought, Will folded around him. Dropping his handholds, he reached forwards and wrapped both arms around Nico as he continued to pant in near sobs, as he kept shaking as though wracked by a heavy fever. Nico didn't respond, didn't make an effort to return the embrace and sat tensely with muscles quivering. But he didn't pull away. Will thought that was something at least.
They simply sat for a time. Will didn't know for how long, keeping his arms locked and head resting upon Nico's shoulder. He maintained that hold as Nico's heavy breathing slowly calmed, as his trembles reduced to shivers and finally stopped entirely. In the darkness of Cabin Thirteen, the darkness broken only by the mellow glow that Will maintained, they sat in one another's warmth, unspeaking and without presumption.
Finally, Nico heaved a gushing sigh and the last of the tension within him seemed to dissipate. Will felt the slow, hesitant edging of his arms around his waist, returning the embrace Will offered against his direct request. Will turned his head towards Nico slightly, towards his hidden face with forehead pressed firmly against Will's shoulder. "Nightmares?"
"Mm."
"Does that happen often?"
"Mm."
The non-committal reply could have been a yes or a no, but Will already knew without asking. He'd simply wanted to check if Nico was ready to admit it, if he felt inclined to talk about it. Evidently he wasn't.
Breathing a sigh of his own, Will turned his head back to resting more comfortably upon Nico's shoulder. He felt for his boyfriend, for the lonely son of Hades that spent sleepless nights in his father's cabin, and felt only saddened that he couldn't offer anything more than a hug and a murmur of supportive and effectively useless words. Finally, Will had an explanation, a reason for the late night practice sessions that, though explained away well enough, had always been somehow lacking in validity. Nico didn't want to sleep; it as simple and complicated as that. Will could fight monsters as well as any other demigod, but these sorts of demons couldn't be beaten so easily.
"You should sleep," he murmured into Nico's shoulder. "Nightmares are tiring."
"Don't want to," Nico muttered in reply. His words were nearly inaudible through the muffling of Will's shoulder.
"Then just rest. I'll just… I think I'm just going to sit here hugging you, if it's all the same to you."
"Doubt I could stop you," Nico replied. "Stupid space heater."
Will gave a hitching chuckle that held little actual mirth and only tightened his hold around Nico's waist. He was gratified to feel Nico return the embrace just as tightly.
They sat leaning into one another for the rest of the night – all two hours remaining. Will wasn't sure if either of them actually slept. He knew he didn't, and though they didn't speak until dawn he doubted Nico did either.
When the hesitant glow of morning crept into the cabin to mingle with Will's own light, they finally drew apart from one another. Neither said a word about what had happened, their sombre mood persisting as they made their way down to breakfast together and were assaulted by the raucous questioning of the rest of the Apollo cabin. Will put on a brave face, drawing a smile upon his lips, and saw Nico do exactly the same in his own way, falling into his usual bored dismissiveness that he so frequently adopted. The sight of it arising only made Will wonder how often he'd done as much before, deliberately shunting whatever monsters wrought havoc of his dreams from his mind as he rose from bed each day.
Or didn't. Maybe he really didn't sleep at all.
Not much changed after that. Will remained close-lipped about the 'true horrors' of the Hades cabin, quickly falling into the taunting evasiveness that Nico unintentionally assumed when drilled about the reality of his sleeping quarters, and actually genuinely laughing at the badgering and pleading of his siblings. The children of Apollo still treated Nico as they always did, as had become the norm, and Will and Nico still acted like the often-bantering boyfriends that they were.
Except that after that, Will made a point of sleeping in the bed next to Nico every night. Nothing more than sleeping but he made sure he was there. If he couldn't fix the problem, couldn't heal Nico nor talk the nightmares out with him, then at least he could witness his struggles and support him as he fought them by himself. Whether it was in cabin seven or cabin thirteen – for Nico had finally deigned to 'sleep' in Apollo's cabin after their first sleepover – Will made a point of ignoring his rolled eyes, his scowling, his grumbling about how he didn't need a babysitter. It was actually easier to ignore than Will had anticipated; his belief of Nico's sincerity in disregarding him was challenged every time he recalled the hours they'd spent sitting upon the couch in wakefulness and supportive companionship.
And if he couldn't help him, then at least Will could hold Nico when he trembled with a nightmare, when he muttered and whimpered in his sleep for the scant times he managed more than brief shut-eye. He could alleviate the heavy darkness that could so easily hide the lurking monsters with his own light. Sometimes, when they were particularly fierce, Will would wake Nico up himself. Other times he would simply hug him until his shivering ceased and his mutters and sobs faded. Will doubted that he caught every time they happened – he didn't wake every night, and many nights he knew he fell into slumber when Nico didn't sleep a wink – but he tried. He wanted to try. He wanted.
After all, Nico was his boyfriend. And that was what boyfriends did.
