Solangleo Stories

Pierce the Night

Summary: Basically Will comforting Nico after a really bad nightmare

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It was dark outside. It was dark inside. It was even darker inside Nico di Angelo's head. Visions from Tartarus bullied their way into his mind. Guttural roars shook inside his skull. Monsters he couldn't see, enemies he couldn't fight, forced their way into his nightmares night after night. He tossed in his bunk trying to shake the memories from his mind. He clawed at his face, trying to replace the pain with something he could control.

No longer able to contain the terror, the helplessness, the agony he was feeling, Nico screamed into the night. He had never been afraid of the dark. But he couldn't help fear the murky corners of his own mind, where the pain was the ground on which you walked and suffering was the air you breathed.

But then Will was there. He appeared like the sun through the clouds. The door swung open to reveal him as the only beacon of hope on this, the darkest of nights. Without hesitation he clambered onto Nico's bunk, gently grasping his shoulders. Nico fought against him, thrashing out of his grip. He could not see that is was an angel come to save him, it felt just like another demon trying to drown him in his own thoughts.

Will did not retreat, he did not back down. He took each scowl, each violent thrash, each blow he sustained without complaint. It was not his own pain he could feel, but that of the boy before him, so desperately trapped in his own head.

"Nico! Hey, it's me! It's Will!" He whispered viciously. Again and again, he repeated. "It's me, it's just me,"

The son of Hades stopped fighting and trembled in Will's arms. Nico began rocking back and forth, hands gripping his head as if he could claw out the monsters inside of it. Tears streamed down his face. One of them dropped onto Wills' arm. It stung his skin, to know that Nico was in so much pain and he couldn't reach him.

Will stroked the boy's hair, whispering sweet soothing nothings to him, presenting an exterior of calm, despite his own internal panic beginning to rise. He cupped Nico's face, stroking his messy hair, keeping it from his tightly shut eyes.

He tried frantically to bring Nico back to him, to rescue him from the prison of hurt he was locked in.

Not knowing what else to do, against every medical instinct in his body, Will placed a desperate kiss to the son of Hade's lips. Nico stilled instantaneously. Will drew back hastily, and slightly embarrassed by his unexpected action.

Nico's eyes fluttered open and began flicking around the darkroom like a startled animal. His breathing became rapid and panicky, and he once more began to shake.

"Hey, hey! Nico! Please, Nico, look at me," Will said quickly. Nico's eyes met his in an instant. They were so full of fear, too much to haunt the face someone so young. Will couldn't shake the feeling that, though Nico was looking directly at him, his focus was a million miles away, tormented by the horrors he had awoken from.

Will reached out and held the other boy by the shoulders, staring into his faraway eyes, "Just breathe,"

The son of Hades obliged, taking a shuddering breath, and it was as if he could suddenly see the son of Apollo sitting before him

"Will," he exhaled shakily. Nico's body crumpled against Will's, curling up against his frame. Will wrapped his arms protectively around the boy, scaring away the terrors of the night.

Nico sobbed into him, and Will held him tighter, reassuring the son of Hades he was no longer alone.

They sat in each other's embrace for an immeasurable time, long enough for Nico to calm down enough to collect his thoughts and form full sentences.

"I'm okay, I'm fine," he mumbled, "I'm so sorry Will. Really, I'm good, don't worry. It happens a lot, it's fine-"

"Shh," Will whispered, gently lifting the boy's chin, looking him directly in his dark, melancholy eyes. "Stop telling me you're okay,"

Nico snaked his arms around Wills's waist, and the son of Apollo wrapped his arms once more around Nico's shoulders.

"Please," he whispered into Will's shoulder, "Don't leave me alone."

It broke Will's heart. How could he refuse such a request from one so broken?

Perhaps that's why the son of Hades slept so soundly the rest of the night.

Maybe that's why, the next morning, he woke curled up to a sleepy mess of blonde curls.

And it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume, that, with the strong arms of a certain demigod wrapped tightly around him, he never would again have to face those dark corners of his mind while he slept.

Because of the glowing beacon of hope he lay beside every night. The one who scared the night time horrors away. The one who kept him safe.

The one he would wake up with every morning from then on.

His blessing, his Will.

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A/N This has probably already been done a hundred times, and likely a lot better too. Yeah, I don't know just more Solangelo content. If you want something more substantial, I have a seven-chapter story about the development of their relationship following the war with Gaia, titled Warming to You. So yeah, go check that out if you need something to fulfill your fluff desires. <33