Nico tried his best to hide it. He'd brush the tossing and turning off as being a restless sleeper. He'd blame chronic sleep-talking for the shouting. No one had to know about his nightmares.

In his first few days back at camp, he'd been forcefully displaced from his cabin. This was less than ideal in more than one way. The bustle of the infirmary contradicted the solidarity of his own room, placing him in far more social interactions than he'd like. And the obnoxiously cheerful décor didn't match his mood one bit.

Ironically, the place's one and only shining beacon of hope just so happened to be the reason he was in this mess.

A head of blonde popped up from behind the glaringly white curtain separating his bed from the next.

Speak of the devil.

Now, Will Solace was a conundrum. Nico was both jovial and irritated at his presence. On the one hand, Will was the most toLerable person he had met at camp so far, but at the same time, Will had an uncanny ability to see past Nico's many façades. This was an issue.

Nico made it his sole, number one, top priority in life to seem utterly emotionless to the outside world. He told himself that it was because he didn't want to burden anyone with his complex feelings, but, in all truth, he was just shit at confrontation.

Fortunately for him, hardly anyone brought up his strange sleeping patterns, and if they did, they'd dismiss his halfhearted excuses with a skeptical glance.

Unfortunately for him, Nico didn't anticipate the freckle-faced little shit known as Will Solace.

And boy was this kid persistent.

"Sleep well last night?" Said kid asked with a dubious look.

Nico rolled his eyes.

"Well," Will continued, "here's breakfast, in any case. A well-balanced meal to help you regain your strength."

Make that two good things about being confined to bed rest. Nico never said no to breakfast in bed.

Will worried for Nico. The frailty of his seldom-used voice when it had held so much power. The weakness in his fingers that could call up nightmares without so much as a second thought. The dull sheen of dead-man's eyes where there used to be such life, such passion. It tore his heart in two. Will, healer's instinct showing through, vowed to not only elevate Nico's health but also his mood. And if that meant sleeping in a chair beside Nico's bed every night looking for signs of distress, Will would do just that.

Not that he would ever tell Nico about it.

Will inclined his head as Nico kicked his sheets to the edge of his bed. He'd told Will not to worry about his restlessness earlier in the day, but Will, being the medic that he is, had to check.

He rose from his chair and made his way to the edge of the bed. Nico's face was screwed up in his sleep and his eyes moved erratically under the lids. Will pressed his cheek to Nico's forehead, checking for fever. He blushed at the thought of Nico waking up just then and moved away, brushing off the sweat that had accumulated there.

Without warning, Nico cried out and jerked sideways, his eyes squeezing shut and brows knitting.

Will quickly darted behind the white partition, knowing he'd never hear the end of it if Nico found out, but was drawn back out by the small sniffling heard from the other side.

He was torn. On one hand, he didn't think Nico would appreciate his intruding on a private moment, but on the other, Will just couldn't bear to hear Nico's sobs without doing anything. In the end, his comforting side won out and he made his way to the bed.

Nico was sat curled into fetal position, his face in his hands. A sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead in the low light. Will felt the dampness as he settled next to Nico and placed a hand on his arm.

Nico jerked away, moving to sit at the edge of the bed and shooting a glare at the intruder of his personal space. His gaze softened some when he realized who it was.

"Nico-"

"What do you want?" Nico snapped, but his voice cracked, betraying his brokenness. He angled his face away.

Will sighed sadly and turned away as well. They sat for a minute in silence, backs turned and on opposite sides of the bed.

"It's scary what it did to me."

Will opened his eyes and turned around.

"That... that experience. The horrors, the insanity, the..." Nico trailed off, sniffling and wiping his eyes.

Will shuffled over to Nico's side. He reached a tentative hand out but feared it'd be rejected again. Instead, Nico dissolved into sobs, leaning his head into Will's chest.

Though surprised by this blatant show of emotions, Will felt an overwhelming degree of protectiveness toward the shattered being in his arms. He had never seen Nico so exposed, so vulnerable, so helpless. But the level of trust Nico must have had for him spoke volumes, and Will wondered why someone so closed-off had chosen him to be his confidant, him to lay everything in front of.

The shaking of Nico's shoulders sobered him quickly.

"I wouldn't wish Tartarus on my worst enemy."

Will could tell this carried weight for Nico, and the confession made his eyes sting. No fifteen-year-old should ever have to go through something so harrowing, plagued by post traumatic stress disorder and its many side effects so early in life.

They stayed that way for a while. Will rubbed Nico's back and stroked his hair, knowing physical comfort could be more powerful than anything spoken.

Finally, Nico's weight sagged and Will moved to lay him back on the mattress. Nico's eyes opened slightly and he muttered a barely audible 'thank you' before giving Will's hand a final squeeze.

He didn't want to move. He wanted more than anything to curl up beside Nico, to be his anchor in a sea of nightmares, never moving apart, always having each other's backs. But he reluctantly extracted his hand from Nico's.

Will's eyes lingered too long on Nico's serene features. Maybe with a little food his gaunt frame would fill out. Maybe with a little sleep the dark rings under his eyes would fade. Maybe with a little sun the grey-green pallor of his skin would subside. Maybe with a little help Nico could be happy.

Will moved to his chair with a smile.

A/N So these are all (mostly) going to be one-shots unrelated to one another (sans the consistent Solangelo). They may jump around in the time line and I'll try to get some indication of when each takes place unless it's fairly obvious (like this one being just past BoO).

I am most definitely accepting prompts and ideas (pleaase!). So drop me a pm or review. Hope you like! Thanks!