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Skin Deep - And The Winner Is...
Hey guys, little PSA here - my laptop is going through some issues right now, so I can only post pre-written fics for the next couple days. I can use my phone and still take requests, but I can’t write anything new. Hopefully things will be fixed soon, but I might not be able to post a fic on Sunday (or I might have to post it late). Thanks so much for understanding!
It’s the epilogue ladies and gents! I hope you’re ready for some good old fashioned fluff as Skin Deep comes to a close. I don’t have much to say other than thank you thank you thank you for sticking around this long! This fic was so fun to write and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. Sorry for any spelling/grammatical errors, I sneezed and all the willpower left my body.
Writing Masterpost
If you want to send a request or a prompt, my inbox is always open! I publish a story at 8:00 AM PST everyday, so I’m always in need of new ideas. If you want to be tagged in my works, just let me know and I’ll be sure to tag you!
Prompts | More Prompts | The Trifecta of Prompts | Original Prompts
Trigger Warnings: (brief) victim blaming
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Scrolling through news articles, Cathy’s head was resting against Anne’s chest as the girlfriends cuddled. “Found another one,” Cathy sighed, showing Anne her phone. The two of them had been finding loads of news articles covering the story on Kit’s trial, the majority of them riddled with falsities and crazy exaggerations. A number of them painted Kit as the villain for assaulting Culpeper and Dereham and then getting her father sent to jail.
Anne huffed in annoyance as she read the article title. “Drama Queen Wants More Attention, Goes to Court and Tricks Jury. What the hell are these reporters thinking?”
Shrugging, Cathy closed out of the article. “I have no idea. But at least we know the truth, and justice is being served.”
Humming in agreement, Anne pulled Cathy closer to her chest. They were together on Anne’s couch waiting for the others to show up for a movie night. After all was said and done, the six girls agreed to come together and hang out without all the drama around them. Kit was out with Anna, but she had moved in with Anne and her family after her father was sentenced to prison. They were supposed to be home any minute, probably with unhealthy snacks in preparation of movie night.
The two girlfriends sat together in silence, needing the moment of quiet. There was almost always noise when Anne was around, but after the chaos that had followed that beauty competition and the trial, silence was much more romantic than any words they could say. Cathy and Anne sat together, enjoying the familiar presence of each other.
Their moment of silence was broken by the door opening, revealing Kit and Anna on the other side. “We’re back,” Kit called, a small bag of groceries in one hand. Her other hand was interlocked with Anna’s as they walked closely together. Cathy noticed their closeness and smiled knowingly at Anna. The other girl hid a blush and instead focused her attention on the bag she was also carrying.
Stretching out from behind Cathy, Anne leaned over the couch. “Did you get anything good?”
“You bet,” Anna replied, releasing Kit’s hand and taking the bag in the girl’s other hand. She placed the two bags on the coffee table in front of Anne and Cathy before plopping onto the loveseat beside the couch. Practically jumping into her lap, Kit climbed onto the loveseat as well and got herself comfortable.
Cathy watched her girlfriend rip through the bags in search of different junk foods. “If only you focused as much in school as you do searching for processed foods.”
“Aha!” Anne cried, pulling out a box of guylian chocolates. She went to open the package, but Cathy slapped her wrist. “Wha?” Anne asked in confusion.
Rolling her eyes, Cathy grabbed the chocolates and put them down on the tables. “At least wait for Catherine and Jane to show up, Anne.”
“Yeah Anne, have some decency,” Anna tried to hide her laugh as she teased her friend.
Pouting dramatically, Anne turned her head away from her girlfriend. “You’re mean to me.”
Chuckling, Cathy leaned into Anne. “Aw, come on, you know you love me.”
Unable to resist, Anne spun back around. “Yeah, I do.” 
She kissed Cathy, only to be cut off by Kit screaming, “Ew, PDA!” and throwing a pencil at them. 
Breaking apart, the girlfriends laughed at Kit’s disgusted face. Picking up the pencil, Anne threw it back at her cousin, watching the girl duck so that it went flying over her and almost hitting Anne before smacking the wall uselessly. “Hey, don’t drag me into this,” Anne pretended to complain.
“Drag you into this?” Anne pretended to be offended. “You started this!”
“How?”
“Well for starters -”
Before the friendly argument could escalate, there was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it,” Cathy offered, standing up and making her way over to the door. She already knew who it was before Catherine and Jane waved through the peephole. Cathy opened the door and greeted, “Hey girls, welcome to Anne’s house.”
The three of them made their way over to the couch, Catherine and Jane scoping out the room as they walked. “Nice house,” Aragon commented as she sat on the opposite side of the couch as Anne. 
Grinning, Anne shrugged. “Well it’s my parents, so I’ll tell them you think they have good taste.” 
Aragon shook her head as a smile graced her lips. “Whatever Boleyn.”
Making her way over directly to Kit and Anna, Jane held something behind her back. “Hi Jane,” Kit gave a small wave.
There was a big smile on Jane’s face that she was trying to hide as she stared at Kit. “Hi Kit.” The nickname rolled much more naturally off Jane’s tongue, and Cathy couldn’t help the swell of pride in her chest.
“Is there something you want to say?” Kit asked, noticing her friend’s excitement.
Presenting what was behind her back, Jane’s eyes brightened. “It’s the pageant sash. The one you would’ve gotten when they announced you as the winner.”
The five girls watched her in varying degrees of excitement. Jane was overwhelmingly excited to present the sash and Anna seemed monumentally proud of the girl next to her. Aragon was satisfied, waiting for Kit to put on the sash and take the winning spot she rightfully deserved. Anne and Cathy were relieved that despite everything, despite Anne’s desire to rig the competition so Kit would win, she had done it all on her own.
Kit’s face dropped, morphing into one of confusion. She carefully grabbed the sash from Jane’s hands, inspecting it. The ribbon wasn’t particularly fancy, but the deep purple and stitching proclaiming “winner” made it seem much more high quality. Kit’s hands moved to the top of the sash where the seams were, and she pulled, ripping the sash in half in one tear.
“Kit!” Cathy gasped, jumping out of her seat. “What are you doing?”
Anna scrambled to pick up the two halves of the sash, inspecting it to see if it was beyond repair. All the girls were shocked at Kit’s actions. Kit started to fidget with her hands, her eyes looking anywhere but the sash. “I don’t want it. I never wanted to be a winner.”
Frowning, Anne rocked in her seat. “What do you mean? That’s all you’ve ever wanted. You’ve been doing this for so long.”
Shrugging, Kit let her voice drop its usual perky tone. “I only did it because I was told to. I’ve never particularly liked beauty competitions. Or competitions in general.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to be a winner?” Jane asked in confusion, her hands unsure of what to do now that the sash was destroyed.
Glancing around the room, Kit furrowed her eyebrows. “Isn’t it obvious? Competitions are about comparing people, seeing who’s better. But it’s impossible to judge things that are different. We’re all too unique to say that one of us is better than the others. I’m done comparing things and trying to be the best. It never does any good.”
There was a silence in the room. “Kit’s right,” Aragon agreed. “These competitions are stupid, and winning is only a title. We already know Kit’s a winner in her own category. So are the rest of us.”
The rest of the girls murmured their agreement. Cathy didn’t know how to describe how immensely proud she was of all her friends in that single moment. Jane had been so nervous to interact with them at first, her voice stuttering and small, but now she was happily talking with Kit and Anna, comfortable with her new friends. 
Anna had always been afraid of her feelings for her best friend, but if their holding hands was anything to go by, Cathy knew Anna wasn’t going to let fear control her anymore. 
Catherine had been so angry with Anne for as long as Cathy could remember, but they had managed to put that aside and be calm enough to joke with each other as friends. 
Kit was so tiny and afraid when this all happened, anxious and unable to keep herself together, to even smile, yet she had overcome all of her fears and insecurities and become the one to understand that these beauty competitions didn’t matter. 
And Anne… Anne had grown from the girl who thought she couldn’t do anything to save her cousin to the girl who, no matter what, was going to do everything she could to protect those she loved. Anne had been willing to jump in front of Kit’s deranged father in order to protect Cathy, knowing full well that if a fight started, she would lose.
Breaking her conversation with Aragon, Anne pulled Cathy into her arms. “You’re so brave, you know,” Anne murmured squeezing her hand.
Frowning Cathy shook her head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Letting out a puff of air, Anne set her chin on Cathy’s shoulder. “Well then let me tell you. From the moment we started this all, you’ve been by my side. You’ve helped every single one of us in some way. Without you, I would’ve never talked to Catherine about our history. You’re the reason we’re friends now. You’ve encouraged Jane, you helped find Anna, you proved Kit innocent and told the world the truth. You’re a hero Cathy Parr. My hero.”
There were so many things Cathy wanted to respond with, but none of them came out. “I love you,” was all she could say to Anne, her heart beating fast.
“I could never not love you Cathy Parr.”
Once again, Kit broke the moment. “It’s movie night, come on, let’s set up the tv.”
Aragon picked up the remote on Anne’s coffee table and started flipping through movies. “Any of these look good to you?”
“That one!” Kit pointed out when it appeared on screen.
The girls all exchanged knowing grins as Catherine hit play on the movie. “Well then, Miss Congeniality it is.”
---------------------------------------------
Tag List:
@radcowboyalmondtree @boleynhowards @annabanana2401 @babeebobo @dont-lose-your-queerhead @everything-insanity @mindless-pidgeon @i-wanna-dance-and-sing-six @thedemidisaster @its-totes-gods-will @thatbolxyngirl @thenameisnoone @sixqueendom
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evergreen-crossing · 7 years
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Educating What to do When Encountering the Homeless
Hey everyone, I know I don’t really talk much on this platform if at all, but this topic has really been bugging me and I’ve been thinking of ways of how this could possible be dealt with. It always frustrates me that I have know idea what to do when I encounter a homeless person, that I’ve just been told don’t give them money or else they’ll likely buy drugs or alcohol with it (which is certainly a real potential). I always panic and my fight or flight system kicks in telling me “just flee!” in fear of it becoming a dangerous situation (which is also a real potential). But in the meantime I’ve still ignored helping the homeless stranger, which is incredibly frustrating to me as they are still people in serious need. I’m frustrated that I’m just so scared and feel helpless in these situations.
So I finally had a lightbulb go off in my brain asking “what if we actually collectively educated people on how to safely and effectively handle this situation while also being able to help these people who are in need? So that we can handle this in a much more calm and productive manner.”
Now this idea is still very much in the works, so I’ve posted this here to see what others think about this as well as get some feedback on how to improve and edit this, and gain some support and awareness for this subject in the meantime too! Please feel free to message me or add helpful links and tips to this post!
So without further ado, this is what I’ve written.
Often people may feel overwhelmed with what to do when encountering a homeless person on the street, to the point that it leaves us to do nothing. We are often taught not to give out money to these strangers, since they could very well do more harm for themselves with it then good, but what should we do instead? Should we really just walk away, going on as if they don’t exist? There are shelters and other companies that can help them, that many people do help by donating to. Many of us have also probably had things like “canned food drives” to support these places and other campaigns from time to time. But does that mean we should just ignore the strangers we see on the streets? Many of us also likely have the fear of the danger we could be putting ourselves or others in when approaching these strangers, that they could possibly be criminals or some other kind of shady or violent character, which is completely understandable as this can also be a real potential threat. But what should we DO instead, then?
I feel like, at least where I’ve grown up in the U.S., we’ve become such an individualist society, taught to “keep to ourselves” and “mind our own business” to the point it can be detrimental to us and our society. Perhaps many of you have had worries go through your head of not wanting to “encroach” on someone or not wanting to be “assumptive” of their situation out of fear you might offend (at least I know I have), and so the better and “respectful” option seems as though we should just let people be.
THE PROPOSITION  What if we taught in schools how to safely handle and help homeless people we encounter? (Or at least in the meantime teach each other, since I know it’s asking a lot to change the American school system) Sure you can look up on your own how this might be achieved, but you can look up how to learn subjects like math or science too. Does that denote from the importance of actively teaching people about these subjects in classroom environments, and how to utilize these subjects in our everyday lives?
We have to teach people how to ride bikes, how to have proper manners, how to be an adult, isn’t this also something we need to teach as well and not expect people to be able to “just know” how to do?
Health class, for example, is important to teaching how to take care of ourselves, isn’t it’s job to also teach how to be prepared to take care of and educate others in healthy manners? Perhaps we can incorporate this topic into Health classes. It really wouldn’t take up that much time either! Just teaching how and when to speak to homeless persons safely, what should we ask, and what services to call for your local area!
If you’re a teacher could you see yourself making time in your classes to discuss this subject?
Would it be helpful if we put psa flyers up of “what to do?”s as well in our cities? Could these flyers also be helpful for homeless people on who to contact too?
I’ve posted some links on this post bellow that could be helpful for this subject, but feel free to add in regards to your local area I missed! If you don’t live in the U.S. but still wish to help improve educating about this subject where you live, feel free work to towards this endeavors where you live! You can also post links and numbers to homeless shelters to work with, as well as helpful tips and guidance, to encourage this education process!
(I know this is a long post, but that’s part of why I’ve asked for feedback on how to make this better.)
These are sites I’ve found which give help on what to do when encountering a homeless stranger and search directories to find who to call -
http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/take-action/what-should-i-do-if/#15
https://www.sf311.org/homeless-concern-homeless-person
http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-38-fall-2010/feature/helping-homeless-school-and-out
http://www.thepathoflife.com/get-involved/when-your-encounter-someone-who-is-homeless/
https://www.bowery.org/homelessness/tips-help-homeless/
http://nationswell.com/homeless-america-5-things-to-say/
http://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org
http://nationalhomeless.org/references/directory/
Please like or reblog this post so we can help educate each other on this subject! 
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peachscribe · 7 years
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Where Nico is in the army and he comes back after 4 years to finally start college and he is Will's roommate
look at me actually doing another one of my prompts so soon after i did the last one
i gotta admit i thought ths prompt was great but i wasn’t expecting it to get so out of hand. like. it’s so long. normally i post from mobile but here i am actually on a computer to add in a cut beCASUSE IT’S SO UNBELIEVABLY LONG brace yourself
also the last time i tried to add in a cut something weird happened where it wouldn’t show what i had written after the cut so if anything weird like that happens again don’t be afraid to let me know like ya’ll did last time
also before we get started: ((tw)) there’s some kinda graphic nightmares and one of the characters has a panic attack. just a psa for anyone who’s sensitive to that kind of stuff
The reassimilation process was something Nico had not looked forward to. Seeing friends after years of being apart, eating his favorite sugary cereal, taking naps whenever he wanted? Easy. Getting to know what life was like without fear? Probably a bit harder.
Nico had snuck into the army when he should've been a senior in high school. Of course, he was found out a bit later on and forced to complete his studies online.
(Which seemed very stupid to Nico at the time. War was happening right in front of everyone's faces, but they were focusing on the meaningless studies of a kid who didn't care too much about stuff like that. And then the war ended and suddenly Nico had no clue what to do with himself. He was glad the Sargent Reyna had forced him to finish high school.)
Without the rigidity of the army and the war providing Nico with some sort of purpose, he found himself enrolling in a quiet university to maybe get a degree in psychology or some other -ology. Tuition was free thanks to his four year service, and nothing was really holding him back, so he just decided to full on commit and live in the dorms.
Maybe communal living would help the assimilation process.
Nico had expected a roommate who talked little to him and minded his own business because Nico could get scary. What he did not expect was a boy the human equivalent of a Labrador retriever who only ceased to be quiet when he slept throwing paper planes at the ceiling and asking about the meaning of shades of the same color in different contexts.
"Blue like the sky during the day time is sort of associated with hope, you know? Because it's bright and lighter," Will was saying, carefully folding another sheet of written-on notebook paper. Nico could only assume that the paper was Will's notes from that day. "But blue like the night sky is darker, and therefore holds a certain heavy weight to it." He threw the paper plane up at the ceiling. It flew up, bounced on the lights, and then crashed nose-first on the carpet. "Do you get what I'm saying?"
Glancing at his watch, Nico looked at the half-finished history paper on his laptop screen, the cursor blinking at him tauntingly. "I'm going to get something to eat," he said, standing up from the small desk and ignoring Will entirely, which was something he had grown quite used to doing after only a couple of weeks of living with him.
Will scrambled up from his lounging position on his bed. "Hey, can I come with you?"
"You've normally already eaten by this time." Nico checked his watch to make sure. 7:32. He was right, of course. Will ate dinner with his friends down in the cafeteria at 6:15 every weekday, and Nico always left the campus to get food at 7:30.
"Well, I've been thinking."
This was probably going in no direction Nico would like.
"And it's been two whole weeks since the semester started, and we haven't really talked, you know?" Nico did know. He was doing it on purpose. "And I just think that we should probably get to know each other better if we're going to be sharing the same living space for a year."
Despite how much he hated the logic of it coming from Will, he knew that he was right. In the army, people had to get to know each other fast to build trust and to make shared life in wartimes easier. If he dragged his feet on actually communicating with Will, there was a chance he'd come to hate this normal life.
So he shrugged. "Okay."
-
They arrived at Nico's usual dinner place (which might've actually had a real name, but the broken neon sign at the front said only 'EAT' so that's what Nico referred to it as in his mind) at 7:58. Will had been chattering away the entire walk to Eat, and Nico tried his best to pay attention.
He slid into his usual corner booth, and the teenage waitress he had come to recognize walked up without a pen and pad. It seemed she was also starting to recognize Nico and his routine.
"Junior burger with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, French fries and a strawberry milkshake?" she asked, and Nico nodded. She turned to Will. "What about you?"
"Um." He looked around for a menu. He didn't find one. "The adult burger? All the way."
"Fries with that?" the waitress asked, seemingly unbothered by Will's reference to a regular burger as an adult burger, though Nico had to try to muffle an ugly snort.
"Yes, please." Will still looked a bit awkward.
"And what to drink?"
"Do you have orange Fanta?" The waitress nodded. "Then I'll have that."
"It'll be right out," she promised, walking back to the kitchen to relay their order.
"How does she know your order?" Will asked once the waitress was out of sight, leaning in as he did so. As if the question was something scandalous.
"I come here every weekday," Nico said with a shrug, not bothering to keep his voice low or lean in like Will had.
"You really have schedule for yourself, don't you?" Will asked after a moment, looking a little incredulous. "Like, I noticed it after the first week, but you always have these set times you come and go, and now you come to the same place everyday?" He let out a low whistle, shaking his head a little.
Nico didn't understand why Will found this fact so hard to believe, but he nodded a little anyway.
"Anyway," Will said, picking up the salt shaker and fiddling with it in his hands. "You didn't strike me as the strawberry milkshake sort of type."
Again, Nico had no clue as to the significance of such a basic decision. "I just am, I guess. I like sweet stuff," he admitted, watching as Will put the salt shaker down to fiddle with the pepper shaker.
"What's your favorite?"
"Anything really," he answered, tracing the grains of the wood and giving a little shrug. "I wasn't able to have anything sweet for a while, so I've just been picking up where I left of and eating any sweet stuff I can."
They both gave a nod of thanks to the waitress as she set down their drinks before walking off. Nico took a small slurp of his milkshake, relishing the taste of it. Will watched as he did so.
"Why not?" Nico looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, why weren't you able to eat anything sweet?"
Nico shifted uncomfortably, carefully analyzing his options. He could tell Will about his service, but then Will would know for sure that Nico had fought in the war because of how recent it was, and it could change how he interacted with him. Despite how intrusive Will was almost every waking moment of the day, Nico liked that he never treated him like he was fragile or scary. The other option was lying, which would probably not hold for long. And that could risk a future friendship with him.
He stared out of the window to the road, lit up by street lamps. People walked by, immersed in their own conversations, or walking peacefully by themselves.
"I served in the army."
Will blinked at him, though Nico only knew it because he was looking at Will's reflection in the window rather than his face. "You mean...?"
"Yes, I served in the war."
"Oh." Will sat back, and Nico braced himself for the onslaught of questions.
(Did he serve active duty? Did he ever kill someone? Interesting stories or scars?)
"Wait. How old are you?"
Nico was so surprised by the question that he actually turned to look at Will in the eyes. "What?"
"Like-" Will made a vague gesture with his hands, seeming to search for the right words. "You look so young. Er, well, not really, because the way you hold yourself isn't like a kid and the look in your eyes isn't either, but your physical stature is very..." He trailed off, making another vague gesture, but this time at Nico.
"I don't know if I should be offended."
"No!" Will exclaimed, waving his hands frantically. "That's not what I meant. You're really handsome in an adult sort of way" - Will's face was turning an alarming shade of red - "it's just you're kinda... small."
Nico stared blankly at Will, whose blush was now creeping under the collar of his shirt. He got the feeling that Will didn't say 'small' to be demeaning.
The waitress came by with their food, and Nico watched as Will desperately tried to get a hold of himself. He decided he might as well relieve him a little bit.
"I was a bit young when I joined," Nico said, grabbing the ketchup to squirt a quarter-sized amount of it on his plate.
Will cleared his throat, no doubt glad that the focus was off of his inability to express his words right. "How young?"
Nico thought for a second. "I believe that I had just turned seventeen at the time."
A piece of Will's burger suddenly lodged in his throat, and Nico stared in mild concern as Will coughed violently before taking a large swig of his orange Fanta. "But that would mean you were still in high school!"
The patty on Nico's burger wasn't perfectly aligned with the bun. He fixed it absently. "I snuck in. I did finish my high school course online, though."
Will stared at him, a strange look of awe on his face that Nico didn't quite understand. "That seems a little heroic," he said, and Nico's jaw clenched. "In like a dumb movie protagonist sort of way," Will continued.
Nico let out an ugly snort.
-
As the weeks passed, Nico slipped into a comfortable routine. His classes weren't as on-schedule as he hoped, but he went to Eat with Will on Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's, and on the weekends they made macaroni and cheese for lunch and soup for dinner. Sometimes they'd go hang out with Will's friends, though that was only on Saturday's and Nico didn't think he liked it being part of his routine. He preferred it much better when it was just himself or himself and Will.
He would go jogging in the mornings and ignore the nightmares that woke him up in the middle of the night.
Nico was stretching by a bench, trying to loosen his muscles a little before he jogged back to the dorm. It wasn't too early in the morning, though there was a certain chill in the air that cooled the back of his throat and made his breath come out like puffs of mist. He checked his watch. 7:27. Will was most certainly still asleep.
Just as Nico was about to take off again, his cellphone vibrated in his sweatpants pocket. "Nico," he answered without checking called ID.
"Hey," came a groggy voice through the phone that Nico immediately recognized. "Annabeth just woke me up to remind me that you had started school nearby."
Nico didn't mention that he had been going to school for a little over two months. "Hey, Percy."
"It's been a while, Neeks," he said, and there was some slight shuffling, like he was getting out of bed. "I wanted to meet up with you again sometime soon. That cool?"
"Tell me when and where."
Percy rattled off coordinates and Nico took the phone away from his ear, saving a note with the numbers and promising to look up the destination later. They decided to meet up in a month when both of their schedules would align.
"I'm going to try to get a couple more hours of sleep in," Percy said, and Nico heard him stifle a yawn. "It's always easier to sleep when it's light outside, you know?"
"I know, Perce," Nico said, his voice grim as he reached down to touch his toes. "Take care of yourself, okay?"
"The same goes for you," Percy responded. Nico ended the call.
He jogged back to the dorm, listening to the sound of his breathing and the slap of his shoes on the sidewalk.
Nico accidentally woke Will up as he opened the door a little too loudly. Will sat up, letting out a groan and dragging his hands over his face. "Dude. You go to sleep after I do, and then you get up earlier than I do. Do you even sleep?"
Dropping his phone on his pillow, Nico slumped onto his bed, untying his shoes and peeling off his socks. He didn't answer Will's question. Will didn't seem to mind.
"Anyway isn't it a free day for you?" Will asked, grappling for his phone and checking the date. "Why are you up so early?"
"I go jogging," Nico said, voice monotonous as he gave Will a look. This shouldn't be new information.
"Yeah, but we promised we'd take today to relax."
Nico let his mouth quirk up in a little smile. "I am relaxing."
Will flopped back onto his comforter. "You're so strange."
Grabbing a sweat towel draped over his desk chair, Nico wiped down his face and neck, knocking lightly on Will's chest to get his attention. "Breakfast?" he offered, but Will just wrinkled his nose at him.
"You're showering first."
-
After Nico had gone down to the showers, his hair smelling distinctly like green apples (the shampoo Will had bought for him), he returned to the dorm to find Will asleep again.
He sat on the edge of Will's bed, reaching over him and grabbing the extra pillow Will kept by his side. He took a moment to admire the pretty features of Will's face - the light dusting of freckles, the brush of his eyelashes on his cheeks, the curl of his feather-like bed hair - before smacking him with the pillow.
Will shot up, nearly cracking his forehead against Nico's, but Nico moved his head easily, observing the alarm and anger on Will's face as he realized what happened. "Will. Breakfast."
"You do this every time you wake me up," Will grumbled, pushing Nico away (but gently, which is how Nico could tell he wasn't as angry as he pretended to be) and kicking his legs out from under the comforter.
"You wouldn't wake up otherwise," Nico said, moving off of Will's bed to his own, where he watched Will go through the process of ruffling through his drawers and their shared closet to find an outfit.
"There are other methods of waking someone up, you know," Will replied, gesturing for Nico to turn his head as he changed.
"Oh, believe me. I've tried," he said, turning his gaze down at his blankets and only looking at the muscles of Will's back once. "This is the only method that works."
Will scoffed, turning to his dresser and putting on his contacts with ease and wiping his face down with a facial cleanser. "I doubt that." He ran a hand through his hair, fixing it haphazardly in the mirror before turning back to Nico. "So where are we going?"
"That cafe down the street?" Nico suggested, and off they went.
-
The cafe was quiet, but a dull hum accompanied the indie music playing softly from the speakers. Nico let Will order for them both as he chose a table for them to sit at.
Will came back with Nico's regular breakfast order of a danish and chocolate milk and his own order of a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee. Also on the tray was a small slice of some dessert that Nico didn't recognize.
"What's that?" he asked, pointing at the mystery desert as Will set down the tray.
"Don't know. It looked nice and the cashier said it was new. I thought you'd like it."
A little twinge of affection nudged at Nico's heart, but he refused to acknowledge it. Just like he'd refused to acknowledge similar feelings of affection he'd began to feel for a couple of weeks.
Nico took a small bite out of the desert, liking the sweet taste of it enough to let himself smile a little. "It's good."
"Can I have a bite?"
"Yeah, sure," he said, offering the sweet to Will. Instead of taking it in his own hands, Will bit into it while it was still in Nico's hands. Once again, Nico felt a surge of affection, but he remained outwardly the same.
Will sat back, wiping his mouth, seemingly unaware of the intimacy of such an innocent act. "Very sweet."
-
They spent the rest of the day at the dorm, lounging on Will's bed and watching sappy rom-coms on his laptop when they both admitted they weren't up to watching action or horror or sci-fi or whatever else.
Will's body seemed to be much like a furnace in that it exuded a comforting heat, and midway through the third movie, Nico pulled the covers up to his chin and leaned his head on Will's shoulder. Will didn't seem to mind, and Nico found himself curling up almost in Will's lap by the time the sky's colors darkened to a heavy blue that descended the small room into a quiet darkness.
When the end credits rolled, Will paused before exiting out of full screen mode, his finger hovering over the button. "Are you always so cold?" he asked, his voice low.
"Usually."
He seemed to think about this for a moment, and Nico wondered if he was going to push him away on account of Nico's freezing feet pressing into Will's legs or his freezing hands tucked between Will's thighs and his own.
But he just exited out of full screen mode. "Which do you want to watch next?"
-
Nico was crouching in the bunker, holding his rifle in his left hand, dagger in the right. His eyes were closed and his muscles were tense as he listened for footsteps.
He tried not to think about how most of the men and women he'd made friends with were now laying lifeless all around the grounds outside of the bunker. He tried not to think about leaving his sister, Hazel, behind if he joined his friends. He tried not to think about the feeling of the rage that lead him to the place he was now. On enemy lines. In a bunker that was the enemy's property.
Footsteps. Not quiet. They didn't know he was here.
Nico opened his eyes, looking down at the near nonexistent supply of bullets he had. That was fine.
The footsteps drew closer.
He always liked the dagger better.
-
Nico was in a prison cell. He heard the laments of the captured around him, but he remained silent. Noise resulted in punishment. He was not fond of punishment.
A guard came by, his tall and wide stature covering the very little light that came from the hallway. He unlocked the cell door.
Sometimes punishment came without a reason.
-
Nico was strapped to a table. The scent of blood was metallic in his noise, and it tasted like pennies in his mouth.
He didn't know anything, he was just a kid, he didn't know anything, he didn't know anything, he didn't know anything.
Words meant nothing when all he could do was scream.
-
Nico jolted awake, his throat tight with a scream he only just managed to hold in.
Will snapped awake beside him, his hands going to Nico's, which were pulling fiercely on his own hair in attempt to get his head in order again.
"Breathe," Will was saying, and Nico found himself coherent enough to feel sorry for his roommate because the one time he wakes up for one of his episodes, it just so happens to be one of the worst. "Nico, take my hands," he said, his voice soft and smooth. Nico latched on to the familiarity of his voice, his hands shakily grabbing Will's.
"I'm s-sorry," Nico heaved, his breath coming in short and unsatisfying gasps. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't apologize," Will said, bringing their hands down to their laps. "Take a deep breath with me, okay?" Nico followed Will's breath, though his own broke a couple of times from sobs. He only realized he was crying when Will let go of one of his hands long enough to wipe his eyes. "Do you see me?"
Nico nodded, though the absurdity of the question cut through some of the fog in his head.
"What do you see?"
"Eyes," Nico managed to say, his breath still coming short and uneven.
"What color are they?"
"Blue." He took in another shaky breath. "Sky."
"Good," Will praised, giving Nico's hands a soft squeeze. "What else do you see?"
"Freckles."
"How many are there?"
Nico started to count, and though his mind tripped over some numbers, he still found comfort in the routine of counting. His breathing started to slow. He didn't bother telling Will how many freckles he had (he felt better by the 137th one), instead hanging his head a little. "Thank you," he said, voice weak. "I'm sorry."
Will rubbed his thumbs over Nico's hands. "Don't apologize." He let Nico lean his forehead on his collar bone, and he continued tracing circles on his hands. "Do you want to talk?" he asked softly after a couple of minutes.
Nico squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on the soft feeling of the pads of Will's thumbs on his hands. "It's dark," he whispered, and Will seemed to understand what he meant.
"Turn on the lights or wait until morning?"
"Lights."
"I'll be right back, okay?" he asked, giving Nico's hands a light squeeze. Nico nodded.
Will let go and left the bed for perhaps five seconds, but Nico already missed his heat and comfort. The lights flicked on.
Suddenly Nico was very aware of where he was and what had just happened. A rush of emotions overwhelmed him, and he couldn't look Will in the eye when he sat down on the bed again.
"Do you want to talk?" he asked again, and Nico found that familiar surge affection travel through him with everything else at the realization that Will would let Nico back out if he wanted to.
Nico pulled at a loose thread on Will's comforter. "No," he admitted, "but you deserve an explanation."
He glanced up at Will's expression long enough to see him break before Will pulled him into a crushing hug that made Nico breathless for a lot of different reasons. "Nico, I don't deserve anything if you're not willing to give it to me."
Tears welled in Nico's eyes, and he found himself hugging Will back.
"I have nightmares," he said softly, but Will still managed to hear him, pulling away a little bit so that he could look him in the eye. "I was just a kid, Will," he said, and one of Will's hands went up to cradle his face. Nico leaned into his touch. "I've done bad things, seen bad things, have had bad things been done to me."
When Will spoke, his voice was rough, as if he was the one about to cry. "Tell me."
So Nico did.
-
Percy Jackson was a man who hated wars. He fought in one before Nico, and he fought in the one with Nico. There was still a shock of gray in his hair from when he had been captured and tortured. Nico met him at one of the camps. They had been friends ever since.
Now, Percy was engaged to his longtime best friend who just so happened to be the woman who had rescued them from the camp and brought them back. Her name was Annabeth Chase, and apparently she was out with the girls to pick out a wedding dress.
Nico walked into the restaurant that him and Percy had agreed to meet up fifteen minutes early, and was not unsurprised to find Percy already there. Percy was making himself comfortable, one hand on a glass of water, the other draped over the back of the booth.
His bright green eyes stood out even from a distance, and as he scanned the restaurant, he caught sight of Nico. An easy smile lit up his face.
"Hey," he greeted as Nico slid in the booth. "How're you doing?"
"I'm managing," Nico said with a shrug, thinking about his comfortable life at the university with Will. "How's the engagement?"
"Pretty good," Percy said, taking a sip of his water through the bendy straw. "Annabeth is stressing about the planning of it, but I know it'll be okay. And it's pretty nice to know that soon we'll be a full on sappy married couple."
Nico let out a little laugh. "I don't know about sappy," he said, thinking of Annabeth's knack for punching Percy when he said dumb stuff and only using the pet name (if you could even call it that) seaweed brain.
"Are you kidding? We'll be the sappiest." Percy's eyes were soft and warm, though a little tired, and Nico couldn't help but think that maybe Percy was right.
"I'm happy for you."
Percy looked down at the ring on his left hand, smiling a little. "Thanks, man."
The conversation halted a little as a waiter came by to take their order, and Nico again wasn't surprised when Percy ordered something that almost seemed too large for one person to eat.
"What about you?" Percy asked when the waiter had left.
"What about me?" Nico repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. I mean, I know it hasn't been too long since you started university, but someone must've caught your eye by now."
Nico's face burned.
"Oh, I was right."
Nico covered his face with his hands, shaking his head. "It's not going to happen, if that's what you're wondering," he said instead of explaining.
"I'd like to know the details before you try to tell me something like that."
Finally managing to get his blush under control, Nico removed his hands, fiddling with his water glass. "His name is Will and he's my roommate."
Percy hummed. "Freshman?"
"Yeah, but he said he went to a community college before university, so we're about the same age."
"Is he hot?"
Nico thought for a second of Will's soft lines and golden-boy look. "I would say pretty. Or maybe beautiful?"
"You've got it bad, I think," Percy said, smiling a little. Then his expression turned serious. He leaned in. "Does he know everything?"
Looking down at the table, Nico nodded. "I had a bad panic attack after a nightmare a while back. He calmed me down, and asked if I wanted to talk to him about it. So I did." Nico thought about his life after that, and his heart warmed. "Since then, he's told me that I should wake him up any time I have a nightmare, which pretty much means I wake him up every night, but he doesn't seem to mind."
He didn't mention that they had both learned that Nico slept better when he was next to Will and now they slept in the same bed.
Percy thought for a moment. "Why're you so convinced it won't happen?" he asked, tracing his finger on his sweating glass. "He seems to care about you a lot."
"I don't..." Nico trailed off, his shoulders sinking a little. "I don't know if he wants to deal with someone like me." He paused, a terrible thought occurring to him. "Or if he could even love me after what I told him that night."
The waiter brought their food. Percy gave him a light thanks before turning back to Nico.
"Listen, Neeks," Percy started, making Nico look up at him. "It was hard for Annabeth and me after we came home. We didn't know how to help each other at first, and it was hell on the both of us. But then we learned to let each other know when we had nightmares or when we had panic attacks, and things got easier." He paused, running a hand through his hair. "We changed after the wars, Nico. But what happened to us or what we did - that doesn't change who we are. Will knows how to help you. I'm sure he also knows that you aren't what you've done in the past."
Nico looked down at his plate of food, willing himself not to cry in public. "It really is good to see you again, Percy. Thank you."
-
They spent the rest of the day fooling around in town, and they met up with Annabeth and the girls as well as some of the guys for dinner. By the time Nico got back to the dorms, it was late and he was exhausted but happy. It was nice to see all his old friends again and talk to Hazel in person instead of by phone for once.
Will was sitting on his bed studying when Nico got there. "Did you have fun?" he asked, pushing up his glasses.
Nico checked the time. 1:43. "Aren't you normally in bed by now?"
He gave a little shrug, closing his textbook and stretching. "When you called saying you'd be home late, I thought I might as well do a little studying while I waited for you."
"Idiot," Nico said, though he smiling a little, "that call was supposed tell you that you didn't have to wait up for me."
"Oh, well," Will said, watching as Nico kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the bed beside him. "You look happy."
"I am," Nico said, closing his eyes and tucking his hands beneath his head. "I liked meeting up with my friends again."
Will yawned, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses and putting a light hand on Nico's head. "You'll have to tell me all about it. And maybe let me meet them, since you've been telling me about them for weeks."
"Sure," Nico said, his chest feeling warm and fuzzy as Will ran his fingers through his hair. "But you're about to pass out. Staying up late doesn't suit you."
Will hummed in response, his hand trailing down from Nico's hair to run his knuckles over his cheek. "I like this," he said after a moment, and Nico opened his eyes, his heart skipping a beat.
"Like what?"
"Seeing you like this. It's nice."
"Oh."
For a moment, Will looked like he was going to say something else, but he kept it to himself. "Go change so that we can sleep, okay?"
"You're going to fall asleep before I finish changing," Nico teased, getting up from the bed and grabbing his sleep clothes.
"Will not."
"Will too."
Sure enough, when Nico looked back at Will when he was done changing, Will was laying back on the bed, already in a deep sleep. Nico climbed under the covers next to him, falling asleep with a smile on his face.
-
The year went on, and Nico thought that maybe the reassimilation process wasn't as bad as he thought. He got used to his routine at school, and his routine with Will, and he quite liked the normal life he was living. He also got used to the growing feelings he felt for Will.
"I was thinking," Will started.
Nico wondered if he'd like the direction this was going.
"And I want to get my own apartment when this year finishes. Because that has always been my plan, you know? To live in a dorm the first year, then move out the next year. But I like living with you because you're nice company, and I've gotten used to you always being around, which is a good thing-"
"Will," Nico interrupted. "You're rambling."
"Right," Will said, running a hand through his hair. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe rent an apartment? With me. If you'd want to rent an apartment with me."
Nico thought about his options. He could say no to save himself from his unrequited love and deal with the heartbreak of being apart from Will. Or he could say yes to be by his side for a little longer and hang on to the hope that Will maybe loved him back (which is something that Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, and all his other friends said when they met Will and heard Nico's stories about him but Nico refused to believe).
"Yeah, okay."
"Really?"
"Really."
Will let out a breath, a smile of relief making his face light up. "Cool."
-
Nico was watching Will cook them both breakfast in their new apartment, his heart light and warm.
Moving in had been a process, but now every box was unpacked, and although they still didn't have matching chairs for the dining table, Nico liked the home that they had made. His nightmares had calmed down a little, and when he got them, Will was always there. He felt comfortable with the life he was living.
"Nico?" Will called, his eyes focused on the pan of eggs in front of him. His voice was a little hesitant.
"Yeah?"
"I think I'm in love with you." Nico blinked. "No," Will continued, still not looking at him, "that's not right. I know I'm in love with you."
Nico checked his surroundings to see if what he was experiencing was real life. He looked out the window. The morning sky was a brilliant and light blue.
"I know I'm in love with you, too."
Will finally looked over at him, his eyes wide. "You are?"
"Yes."
"Oh." He pulled the pan of eggs off the burner, grabbing the plates of toast he had set aside and scraping some of the eggs onto the plates. Nico got up to pour them both some orange juice.
When they were seated at their small dining table, Will paused before taking a bite of his breakfast. "Do you want to go out with me?"
"Yes."
It was only after they had finished their breakfast and were cuddled together on the couch to watch whatever on Will's laptop that it finally sunk in.
"Are you sure?" Nico asked, looking up at Will. "I mean, about dating me. Loving me."
Will found his hand, which was tucked between his thighs, and held it tight. "Absolutely sure." He pressed a kiss to Nico's forehead. "What about you?"
He pressed a kiss to Will's lips. "I'm sure."
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