Will who isn't the perfect ray of sunshine everyone thinks he is
Who seems so nice. So charismatic and handsome and friendly.
Who, behind closed doors, is jealous, spiteful, violent.
Who seemed, to Nico, so sweet and caring. Like someone who could heal him, fix him.
Who started with infantilizing him, talking down to him, making him believe that his body and mind, his feelings of doubt, are not to be trusted. That they're self-sabotaging in nature, driving him away from the one good thing he has going for him all because of a little disagreement.
Who, when Nico rebelled, told him not to treat him like a child, would just excuse it with 'I'm only looking out for you, Nico. Since you have such a terrible track record of taking care of yourself.'
Who escalated to insults and put-downs, that seem like joking on the surface so that, if he ever stood up for himself, he'd just be treated as the resident sourpuss who can't take a joke. Nobody would take his complaints seriously, even if he started crying, nobody would think anything but 'classic Nico, always so sensitive, so insecure, it's honestly annoying'.
Who hit him for the first time when he was waking up from a night terror, still not fully aware of what's a dream and what's real, hoping to calm him down like they do in the movies.
Who blamed the stinging of Nico's cheek on adrenaline and the last tendrils of his flashback, causing phantom pains. He knew it was bullshit, and Nico suspected it was bullshit, but he never said anything because... Well, who's the expert on these things, Nico? Me or you?
Who Nico was scared to lay down next to, but still did, laying awake the rest of the night, wondering how he got to this point.
Who got worse from there.
Who, when he was no longer able to convince Nico it never happened, he just healed the injury before he went outside. Because nobody would ever believe Nico without the scars to prove it. Even /with/ the scars to prove it, most would think he was lying, trying to slander the name of the most beloved boy in the camp.
Who, when Hazel started getting suspicious of Will, told Nico she was probably just looking to break them up because she's homophobic. She's not, and she's never said anything that could be mistaken as such, but she's from an older time, and he points to that as proof. And Nico has no choice but to believe him, he just wants what's best for him after all.
Percy whose heart stops beating for a minute when he sees Nico in the shadowy corner of his bedroom, battered, bleeding, and passed out because he used the very last of his strength to shadow-travel somewhere safe.
Who picks him up, light and bony as ever from his worsening depression and from the nerve-racking stress this relationship has put on him, and holds him close, patching him up the way him and his momma would do for each other all those years ago, never once trying to wake him up. He needs all the sleep he can get, and this could be the last peaceful sleep he gets in a while.
Who puts him in his own bed and sleeps on the couch instead, but not before making sure his front and back doors are both locked. He didn't think Will could tell where Nico was, or would travel all the way to his apartment from camp, but he had to make sure the poor thing was safe.
Who couldn't sleep, not just because the couch is uncomfortable, but because every time he started to drift off, he could swear he started smelling beer and stale pizza, and his nerves jolted him awake again.
