This is a request from BWhite_280 , so I hope you like it!

Will's POV

He thought he was done with all of his patients when the door to the infirmary slams open and Kayla, Austin, Percy, and Annabeth barge in, carrying a heaping pile of what looks like black cloth between them. "What's going on?" Will asks, frowning. "I thought you already brought me all of the patients." It has been a clean battle, save a few scratches that needed medicine and broken limbs that needed to be set. But the looks on his friend's faces, the way Percy looked as if he had seen a ghost and look of pure pity Kayla was giving him, made his heart drop in his chest.

"We thought we did," Kayla said. "We were doing a sweep of the forest when we found him, propped against some tree in the middle. You're lucky we found him, he'd have been dead soon if we didn't." Annabeth takes over the body, laying them gently across a bed, squeezing their arm lightly and Will watches as a tear slides out of her eye. "I don't think he's going to make it though, Will. I'm really, really sorry." He's surprised as she throws her arms around him, squeezing tightly. He can feel her tears wetting his tee shirt. "I think the best thing we can do is give him the most comfortable death possible."

"Well, who is it?" Will asks, pushing himself out of Kayla's grip and stepping over to the bed. Almost as an instinct, Annabeth puts her hand on his back as he crouches down, brushing strands of black hair out of the person's face. When he sees the familiar features, the high cheekbones, dark brown eyes that he's grown to love so much, he feels like throwing up. "Nico. Nico, oh my gods. What happened?" It's clear that it takes all of Nico's effort to talk and when he finally manages to push out words, there's a sparkle of blood on his lips.

"There were like five of them on me," he says. "There was no one else around, and I only had my sword. I thought I had all of them but one of them wasn't quite dead, and it jumped me when I had my back turned. And I don't know what was on its claws, but I feel like shit. It burned when it dug into my back." Will turns wildly to his friends, his heart pounding.

"Kayla? Austin? Any ideas?"

"Looks like some sort of poison," Austin says. "Probably from the underworld, because I've never seen something turn that yellow that quickly. And if it is from the underworld, we don't have the cure."

"Who would've known," Nico says with a light laugh that brings up more droplets of blood. "My own home would be the thing that brings me down."

"Hey, don't talk like that." Will brushes his hand across Nico's cheek, his skin blazing. He feels his heart drop even more. "I'm going to save you, don't worry. I've seen worse than this." It's a downright lie, but he hopes it gives Nico a little bit of comfort.

"Will, at the rate he's going," Kayla says. "If he doesn't bleed out, the fever will kill him. It's too high already, and he's lost a lot of blood." She sets her hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze but it feels anything but comforting. "We do have stuff for this situation, though. We have a set of needles in the office, I can go grab one and whenever you're ready-"

"No," Will snaps, immediately regretting it. He watches as Kayla's face falls and the warmth of her hand is gone from his shoulder. "I've got this. Seriously. And if you guys aren't going to help, I mean-"

"We'll leave you alone," Percy says quietly, grabbing Annabeth's hand. They walk out of the infirmary talking in low tones, and Austin and Kayla follow. Once the room is empty Will turns back to Nico, giving him a tight smile that must look more gruesome than comforting.

"You're going to be fine, okay?" Even looking at Nico makes his chest hurt. His face has taken on a gray tinge and it's coated in a thin layer of sweat that makes his face look glossy. Even so, Will presses a soft kiss to Nico's forehead, the heat burning him. The fever feels as if it's risen in the past few minutes and Will can't help but look worried.

"Will, you don't have to pretend." Nico's voice is still raspy but it sounds as if it's getting stronger, coming out a little louder. "I know I'm going to die, you don't have to pretend to save me."

"Roll over so I can see those scratches." He pretends as if he didn't hear Nico. His words hurt too much.

"Will-"

"I said roll over." Nico rolls his eyes, revealing a shirt in tatters and five gouges dug into his back, the skin a pale yellow around them. There's blood everywhere; blood on his skin, blood where the shirt had been cut, blood staining the bed, and Will sucks in a harsh breath without thinking about it.

"Bad, huh? I don't know what they look like but by the way everyone's talking about them, I'd guess they're horrible."

"They're really not that bad," Will lies. "Hang on a sec while I grab some bandages and some medicine for the fever. I'll have you patched up in no time." He hopes that Nico's too out of it to notice the thin sheen of sweat Will can feel popping onto his face, or the way he can feel his face paling as seconds go by. He watches as Nico opens his mouth but Will spins around, stomping his feet so he can't hear Nico's quiet words. "I'll be right back!" he calls before slipping into the office and slamming the door shut behind him.

When he's sure that Nico can't see or hear him he collapses onto the floor, burying his face in his hands and letting tears leak out of his eyes. His heart feels like it's about to shrivel up and die and soon he's gasping for air, his lips parched, his chest hurting. He's seen terrible things before, people on the brink of death. But he's never seen anyone quite that bad as if they're already dead. And the fact that it's Nico makes it worse than he could ever imagine but he'll never tell Nico that so he pushes himself up on unsteady legs, grabbing medicine and bandages and anything else that he thinks might make Nico more comfortable. He's about to leave when he passes by a cabinet, the only one that's protected by lock and key at all times. They let the other campers come and go as they please, grabbing anything that they needed, but the contents of the cabinet are almost too dangerous for the healers.

Will slips his key into the lock, letting the door swing open to reveal a small stack of five needles sitting alone, backed against the white paint. They're pristine; they've never had to use one before, and the cabinet is almost never opened. It makes Will sick to his stomach to imagine slipping the contents of one into Nico, watching the light fade from his eyes. But he might have to so he slips it into his pocket, needle out and after locking the cabinet tightly, slips out of the office.

Nico's POV

"Flip back over," Will says, towering over Nico. There's a bundle of supplies in his hands, but Nico knows that none of them will help. If anything, they'll only prolong the inevitable. He winces as he turns back onto his side, his cuts exposed to the air as Will wraps gauze so tightly around them that he can't breathe. Halfway through Will passes him a plate of ambrosia and a cup of nectar, more than a demigod should ever eat. "You have to finish it all."

"Won't this kill me before anything else does?" Will flips Nico onto his back again before pulling up a chair, watching him with fearful eyes. Nico can tell that Will is trying to put on a brave face, but it isn't working.

"No," Will says. "You need all of it." He's still watching Nico unblinkingly as he takes a swig of nectar, the warm taste of cannoli spreading in his mouth. "Good?"

"Yeah. It's still not gonna save me, though." He watches as Will's face gets red as Nico crams a square of ambrosia into his mouth. "I'm going to die, Will." It's strange saying it after believing it for so many years. He'd been on countless missions, put his life on the line, helped save the world, and in the end, it was a hellhound in the camp that did it.

"No, you're not."

"Than what's in your pocket?" He points to the tip of a needle sticking out of the pocket of Will's sweatshirt, the tip glinting in the harsh lighting of the infirmary. Will's face goes pale and he pulls it back in, the tip disappearing from sight.

"Nothing."

"Is it the thing Kayla was talking about?" Will tries to look away from Nico but his eyes keep following him until Will sighs, pulling the needle out of his pocket and turning it over in his hands.

"Yeah."

"What is it?" He props himself up on his elbows, immediately regretting his decision. His head spins and his stomach lurches, and through his blurred vision, he can see Will reaching out a hand for him, dragging his chair closer and wrapping an arm around Nico's shoulders.

"You good?"

"Yeah." It's a lie and Will knows it, too. When Nico glances in the mirror he can see that his face is completely gray, dotted with beads of sweat. He looks like a corpse. "What is it?"

"Cyclops blood." Will bites his lip. "We took it from Tyson a few years ago, just in case we needed it. I didn't think we ever would. It's deadly to humans after a little while, but it's painless."

"So that's how I'm gonna die, huh? Cyclops blood? It's humane, at least. And you'll be here."

"Hang on," Will says, slipping the needle back into his pocket. "I haven't decided yet. This is for people who are on the brink of death, people who don't want to suffer anymore. Not people like-" his voice falters. "Not for people like you."

"Will, come on," Nico says. "I'm going to die, I've accepted it. I feel like shit, I can barely sit up, probably can't walk- I'm done. The least you can do is do it on your terms and let me die peacefully, with you by my side." A tear slides out of Will's eye and he wipes it away hastily.

"I can't," he says. "I can't kill my boyfriend."

"Let me do it," Nico says, holding out his hand. Will chews on his lip, pulling the needle back out and twisting it in his hands. His face is white and he lets another tear slide out of his eye but this time, he doesn't wipe it away. "Will, please. You can come up here with me, just be with me till I die." Death is a funny thing because he's never really thought about it, not until that very moment. But he has it better than most. He'll take his room in his father's palace, eat dinner with him and Persephone, throw around a ball for Cerberus. Maybe he'll see Bianca, too. It's been a while since he's seen Bianca. "Please. Don't let me die after a few days because my fever got too high and boiled my brain. That's not how I want to die."

"Fine," Will says, tears rolling freely down his cheeks. They splash onto the floor like crystals smashing. "Hang on, though. Scoot over." He kicks off his shoes, climbing into bed with Nico and letting Nico rest his head on Will's chest. He feels warmer than he ever has before as if he's wrapped in a big blanket, ready to go to sleep. His head is still spinning like a top, his vision almost pixelated, but when he looks up at Will's face, it's clear as day. "Here." He hands Nico the needle, the blood bright red, sloshing around in the tube. "You're sure about this, right?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Will presses his shaking lips onto the top of Nico's head, tears wetting his hair as Nico aims for his vein, slipping in the needle with trembling hands. It stings, but not much and once it's in, it feels like a breath of fresh air. He wasn't sure how he thought it would feel, but not like that. Now it feels almost refreshing. He feels Will's entire body shaking with sobs as the blood drains into his system and when every single drop is gone he lets the needle drop to his side, leaning into Will's embrace. "How long does it take?"

"Ten minutes." Will pauses as if he's said something terrible. "You have ten minutes. Gods, why did I let you do this?"

"It'll be fine," Nico says, barely able to lift his head and press a gentle kiss to Will's lips. "I'll be fine."

"You're burning up." Will cards his fingers through Nico's hair, tears dripping down from his face. His hand rests on Nico's cheek, then his forehead, as if to confirm that he's done the right thing.

"I know." Nico feels his eyelids dropping and suddenly he's exhausted, but he doesn't feel scared. Tired, mostly, and ready to sleep. "Tell everyone goodbye for me. Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Reyna, Hazel, Frank, Kayla, Austin- all of them. Anyone you see, just tell them that I say goodbye."

"I will."

"And I don't want to see you down in the underworld anytime soon," Nico says. "Give it another eighty years, and then, maybe. And when you do, I bet I'll be able to convince my dad to give you a room. Or you can just stay in mine. But it's going to be a while until we see each other."

"Okay." Nico feels like he has so much more to say but when he opens his mouth it feels as if his vocal cords aren't working. His entire body is shaking as if there's an earthquake underneath his skin.

"I love you." It's the only thing he can push out and the words come out shaky and somehow, he knows they'll be his last.

"I love you, too." Will is shaking, too, trembling fingers weaving their way through Nico's hair. "So, so, much, Nico." Nico isn't sure if he's still talking because his senses feel as though they're shutting down but he's still aware of Will's body, warm and comforting. He's sure Will is still talking, he can feel the vibrations in his chest. But Nico can't answer so he lets himself sink, falling so deep into Will's chest he doesn't think he can climb out so he doesn't try, let's himself sink away into nothing.

Hi guys, I wrote this in a hotel room in like the span of 45 minutes so I really hope you like it!

Nina