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Will had just finished dinner and was walking up to the Hades cabin when he heard the shrieks and screams
Nico had been missing from dinner, which made Will worry. Will trusted Nico to tell him if something was wrong, of course, but sometimes Nico dived back into his old coping mechanisms,
Isolating himself and repressing his feelings to the point of burnout
after the war with Gaea, Nico had crashed badly. He went into autistic burnout, an unpleasant experience that Will knew firsthand about
It had taken them a couple of months to get Nico partially out of burnout. Most of those days, he spent either asleep in the Hades cabin or getting iv and fluids in the infirmary. It had been rough for him. Nico wasn’t used to being vulnerable with others. It caused countless meltdowns. Will had coaxed him down and held him till he fell asleep
Recently they’ve been able to get him to join campfire again and partake in capture the flag again
He was doing much better
Will knocked on the Hades cabin door, though the shrieks and sobs drowned out the sound
He pushed his way into the cabin where there were clothes lying everywhere. The bed was unmade. Nico was lying with his head in his knees, his back up to his bed, pounding his fists on his head and violently rocking back and forth.
“Hey, Neeks…” Will said softly, as to not startle the Hades boy
Nicos head immediately shot up, their gazes locking. He suddenly let out a heart-shaking shriek of a sob at Will’s presence
He reached his hands towards Will. Will immediately made his way towards him, kneeling next to Nico.
“I’m here, baby,” Will tried to comfort him
All the other boy could do was sob. His panic had decreased at Will being there with him. It put Will at ease, knowing his presence calmed the boy to an extent.
“What can I do, Nico?” he always asked Nico this during bad meltdowns. Having Nico tell him rather than assume worked wonders. Something a lot of people had to learn.
Will knew the struggle of a meltdown, being autistic himself, not being able to vocalise or think anything except “too much.”
That’s exactly what Nico said.
“Too much,” he sobbed, his hands flapping around. Tears rolling down his pale cheeks. Nico then made a choking gesture at his neck, symbolising that he was finding it hard to speak. Something they had made up to help them recognise when Nico was having a hard time vocalising things.
“Would you like pressure?” Will quickly came to learn that Nico loved deep pressure before bed. Nico always had Will squeeze the life out of him or lie his whole body weight on top of him.
Nico quickly started to nod rapidly.
“okay.. okay… c’ere” Nico launched himself into wills chest wills arms rapped around him like a sheild squeezing tightly and rocking them both side to side
Nico breathing started to even out, his head clearing, and the meltdowns losing its hold.
“I’m here, Neeks. You’re okay, baby,” Will whispered softly, but Nico had already dozed off, exhausted and dehydrated from the meltdown
He carefully picked the younger up and laid him on his unmade bed. He situated the pillows to Nico’s liking and tucked him in
He swooped his jet-black bangs out of his eyes and kissed his forehead.
“Goodnight, Neeks.”
Nico’s only response was a soft whimper as he turned in his sleep.
-
The next morning, Will woke Nico up with soft kisses to his cheeks.
“Mhh.” Nico groaned. It was always a nightmare waking Nico up. The boy was really nocturnal.
“It’s morning.”
“I can see that,” Nico rolled his eyes
Will brought the cup of water he had prepared for him to his chapped lips. Nico gladly took a couple of sips.
“I’m sorry about last night…” Nico mumbled, fidgeting with the bed sheet.
“Nico, we’ve been through this. You don’t have to apologise,” Will sighed at the boy’s foolishness.
“I know it’s just…”
“It’s just nothing, Neeks. I love you, okay?” Will interrupted, playing with Nico’s hair, trying to comb the bed head he had.
“Okay.. I love you too.”