Nico Di Angelo at Hogwarts

Chapter 27

Several times, Will found Nico in the middle of the night, knife in hand. Tears stained his face, blood on his hands, streaks of crimson spread wherever he touched. 'Nightmare.' He wasn't able to stomach large portions of food, throwing up after a few meals. His skin was paler than usual, translucent and almost blue. His veins were visible, and any fat he had dissolved. His skin tightened and his muscles ached, his throat burned and his eyes were puffy. A headache pounded against his temples at all times, and black spots would dance through his vision. 

It had been decided that there would be a month break, then school would continue, just a lot less rigerous than prior times in the year. Attendance wouldn't be as harshly enforced, and there was a rule amongst the teachers to not assign homework. Students were encouraged to stay together, to never let anyone beyond their sight. 

Everyone would shy away from Nico, some students would just flat out run away, and demigods, who would have stayed away as well, had traveled back to their respective camps. He never left his bedroom, and Will had to go get him food. Some days he would just lay on the rug, staring at the ceiling, not moving for hours, and some days he couldn't stay still, pacing, fidgeting, looking around. No matter what he was doing that day, everywhere was decorated and lit up by hundreds of candles. Will's sunshine pendant still hung around his neck, and Nico had papers spread out all over the floor, sketch after sketch of random things, but mainly the tattoo he had gotten for Will. 

"Sunshine?" Will asked, stepping in to the room with a bowl of chicken noodle soup, with a piece of freshly baked bread, still warm from the oven. It was a day when Nico was doing nothing but sketching. He was putting the last shadings on a drawing of Bianca, her eyes were squinted, her cheeks full and rosy, obviously mid-laugh. Will sat next to Nico, setting the food by Nico's drawings. 

"Why did she have to die, Will?" He asked sadly, leaning into the blonde's chest. 

"I don't know, Sunshine." Will looked down at the struggling boy. 

"Do you know what Bianca means?" Nico's fingers gingerly picked up the drawing. 

"No." Will's voice was gentle, caring. 

"Bianca means white. She had a white soul, Will. A pure, untouched, kind soul. She had so much life, so much hope, and it was stolen from her in less than a second. That white soul was gone before you could blink. I think that's why I can't stand the color. It reminds me of her, and her kind soul." His words were soft, low. His lips formed them carefully, as if one mishap would destroy her image. 

"If that's so, then you have a white soul too, Nico." The said boy shook his head. 

"My soul is dark, stained. There are things that can't be cleaned." Will tilted his head. 

"No, those are things that have stained your person, your mind. Your soul is separate. It's white, like a piece of fresh piece of paper. Wait, no. It's not white, it's see through, like glass. Your soul is the purest one there is, but that hurt you feel isn't a stain, Nico. It's a crack. Some cracks are going to be too big to heal, but it doesn't mean we can't try. Think of it like a coat, and it's torn. It's the only one you'll get, and it has some tears that you can't completely fix. You will suffer more, freeze faster if it's left untouched. But if you try to mend it to the best of your ability, you'll be warmer. It won't be perfect, it won't be like it was, but it will be yours." Will's words cut through Nico's cloudy thoughts like a knife through warm butter. The ravenette stuttered, too overwhelmed by the raw love that came through Will's speech to be able to form a coherent sentence. 

"Don't speak, Sunshine. Your throat still hurts from crying this morning, I know." They sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking about the words that had been said. Nico slowly ate his soup, blowing on each spoonful to cool it off. A bite of bread was interspersed between spoons, it's middle was soft and slightly sweet. 

"More than yesterday," Will noted softly, proud that Nico was trying. The said boy just snuggled deeper into his chest. Several candles reached the ends of their lives, their wicks sparking one last time before snuffing out, long trails of smoke racing towards the sky, twirling in every direction. Nico's head snapped to the side, before absentmindedly shifting closer to the brighter candles. 

Will didn't say anything, only walking back into Nico's office and grabbing replacement candles. He pried the hot, sticky wax from the shelf it sat on with a knife, dumping it into the bucket filled with other dead candles. The new replacements found their way onto the lacquered wood and were soon lit by a long match from the matchbox on the bedside table. 

When he turned back around, he saw that Nico had crawled into bed, taken his shirt off, and was snuggling into the soft covers. Will smiled softly at the sight, just purely happy that Nico was alright. He shed his shirt as well, kicked off his shoes and pulled off his socks, before shimmying out of his pants so he was just in boxers. The blonde settled into the sheets next to his boyfriend, who latched on to him like a leech, already half asleep. Will sighed in content, playing with Nico's fingers. His gaze settled on Nico's fourth finger. 

"Soon." He promised, pressing a soft kiss to Nico's forehead. The boy was already asleep, a soft, dreamless sleep. 

a/n

Quick question, who in my reader base is Panromantic Aesexual? Just want to see if I'm the only one 

Listening to RM's mono for like the fifth time today and low key crying, gonna go listen to Hope World next cuz Hobi is an under appreciated little boi who needs love 

Stay Alive frens 

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