The fight hadn’t been loud.

That was the strange part.

Camp Half-Blood had seen arguments before—dramatic shouting matches between Ares kids, Athena campers debating strategies like the fate of the world depended on it, even Percy and Annabeth occasionally snapping at each other during stressful quests.

But when Nico and Will fought, it had been quiet.

Too quiet.

It started in the infirmary late one evening.

Will had just finished wrapping a camper’s sprained wrist while Nico leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, shadows curling faintly around his boots. The sun was setting outside, warm gold bleeding through the windows of the Apollo cabin.

“You should’ve told me,” Will said, not looking up as he organized bandages.

Nico’s voice came sharp. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

“You shadow-traveled halfway across camp while you were exhausted.”

“I’m fine.”

Will finally looked at him.

“You passed out, Nico.”

Silence hung in the room.

Nico shifted uncomfortably but refused to break eye contact. “I woke up.”

“That’s not the point.”

The conversation spiraled from there.

Will’s worry came out sounding like frustration. Nico’s pride turned that frustration into something defensive and cold. Neither of them meant for it to escalate—but somehow it did.

“You don’t get to decide what I can handle,” Nico snapped.

“And you don’t get to scare the life out of me and pretend it’s nothing!” Will shot back.

The words hit harder than either of them expected.

Nico’s expression closed off instantly.

Fine.

If Will thought he was such a problem—

Then Nico simply wouldn’t be around.

He disappeared from the cabin without another word, shadows swallowing him before Will could even react.

And then he stayed gone.

For three days.

—

Will tried not to take it personally.

He failed.

Camp felt wrong without Nico drifting through it. No quiet presence leaning against the infirmary doorway. No dry commentary while Will worked. No pale figure waiting for him near the dining pavilion.

Every time Will caught a glimpse of black moving through the trees, his heart jumped—only to realize it wasn’t him.

By the third day, Will was exhausted.

He missed him.

Not just the big things.

The little ones.

The way Nico would sit silently beside him while he played guitar. The way he’d steal bites of Will’s food without asking. The way his hand always found Will’s sleeve when he thought no one was looking.

Will was reorganizing the medical shelves for the third time that evening when the door creaked open.

He didn’t look up immediately.

“Cabin hours are over,” he muttered tiredly.

No answer came.

But he felt it.

That familiar chill in the air.

Will froze.

Slowly, he turned around.

Nico stood in the doorway.