"I dreamed of you again, you know."

His voice bounced off the walls, cascading downwards in an echoing spiral.

"I saw you, again, the first time in months. On the beach again. You stumbled out of the waves, as if formed by the froth itself, onto the shore. And this time, instead of letting you fall onto the sand, I was there to catch you."

His voice dripped with exhaustion. He didn't care.

"You smiled at me, I know that, because I felt myself smiling back. I buried my nose into your hair, and held you tight, and felt your pulse underneath my fingers. Yet, it's as if I can't remember the feel of your lips, or your eyes- when I focus in, they vanish like ghosts.

Time doesn't seem to pass anymore. They've all moved on; after all, you were hardly there. A few weeks here, gone, dust in the wind of eternity. Even Hazel's lips no longer quiver when we walk by your apartment, and she stares ahead with clear eyes untainted with tears.

I should, too. But I can't. Even in eternity, it's too soon."

He knows it's insane. It's been a month since Nico fell from the clifftop. Not fell, he corrected himself. Jumped, chose to jump. As if that made it ache less.

"I remember you used to talk in your dreams. Your insecurities poured out to an audience you didn't know existed. You always thought you were the lucky one, and were worried that you weren't enough for me- that somehow I was the perfect angel, and you were just a burden I carried."

He chokes on the word burden. There is no reason; just the thought of Nico, moments before plummeting into the ground, thinking he was a burden.

"I know you can't hear me anymore, and I can't hear you. I think about that a lot; what were the last words that passed from your lips? I can't even remember. You gave up Paradise for me, and I can't fucking remember your voice, your words, you."

His voice is cracking now. He knows soon, like every other night, a firm and gentle hand, maybe Percy or Hazel, will hold his and guide him back home, uttering soothing nothings in his ear.

"You didn't even say goodbye; one second you were in my arms, and the next, you were gone."

He feels them now, his tears spilling into the chasm, and a hand clasped around his. He doesn't turn yet; he desperately wants to pretend its Nico, and that when he turns, it will be his eyes that look back. He imagines fiercely; that the hand tracing circles in his palm, that the warm body just inches away from him, the voice calling him to go home, that it's Nico.

And then he sees a strand of blond hair in the corner of his eye, and the illusion is broken. Luke holds him as he sobs.

Gone. The sound reverberates, and is gone. Then, the unmistakable drip of water, a few drops, slipping onto the ground.

He won't try to cry back again; nothing ever escapes the Pit. He hasn't seen anything, felt anything, in forever and forevermore.

And so Nico sits, forever silent, forever longing, listening to the final drops slip onto the ground next to him. His Hell, orchestrated to the symphony of Will's tears.

A/N: So, yeah this is the end of this story; hope you enjoyed it. I hope to be putting up/writing a few more short stories, so if for some reason you enjoy extra tears with your coffee, check out my other stuff (one of which is already up). As always, reviews are greatly appreciated, and I'm super thankful to reviewers, favorite and followers, and everyone who even bothered to click on this story :]