#like the back of my hand | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

katealot · 9 months

Text

Like the Back of My Hand

Chapter 13 of Solangelo Soulmate AU

[First] [<- Previous] [Next ->]

Read on Ao3

Word count: 4473

Previously: "B-but one thing... I can say for certain," Will said, sensing the miscommunication, "is that..." he looked him right in the eye, "I love you."

Nico's heart leapt into his throat. He stared at Will who stared back at him, letting his words land before continuing on.

"And you don't have to say it back, because I know that saying that kind of thing isn't something you might want take lightly, which is also why it... took me so long to say it to you. But I do, love you. A-and I've known... for a while."

Of course, after such declarations, it seems only fitting that they didn't see each other for the next three days. Not that they were avoiding each other... intentionally. Their schedules just kept clashing in ways that seemed like more effort than not to work around. Work, unavoidable holiday traditions,

And besides, Nico thought after one of their failed attempts to see each other, Will loved him.

He tried not to think about it, to fight the urge to smile when he remembers how the words sounded coming out of his mouth, to suppress the residual fluttering in his stomach. For as uncharacteristically giddy being explicitly loved by someone made him feel, there was an equally as terrifying fear that if he acknowledged it, Will would change his mind, deciding he actually didn't want to stick around, and leave Nico's life as quickly as he'd entered it. And although that stifling fear kept him from living in that moment when Will finally confessed his intentions... he felt safe in acknowledging their mutual desire to keep trying to find time for each other.

So finally, as the last week of December sauntered on, Nico found himself sketching in his living room, Will's legs resting across his lap as he lay across the couch, reading and ignoring the carbon copy holiday romcom that was on in the background.

"I'm kind of surprised you had today off," Nico said. "I thought I read somewhere that most attempted murders happen on Christmas by someone you know... figured you guys would be slammed."

Will chuckled and lowered his book so he could smirk over the top of it.

"It is so creepy that you know that. Where could you possibly have read that?"

Nico shrugged.

"Internet," he said, deadpanned.

"Ahh," Will suppressed his smile, nodding sagely, "well then, it has to be true."

Nico nodded back. Will snickered again.

"It's definitely a busy time of year," Will answered, "but something in the schedule managed to get me off today."

Miraculously, Will seemed completely oblivious to the double entendre he had just made. So, naturally, Nico took the opportunity to embarrass him.

"You're telling me you didn't imagine anything getting you off today?" He pretended not to watch as Will's grip on his book went slack, gears turning, until he flushed a bright red. Quickly, Nico continued on as if equally oblivious, "So where's your mom today? I figured you'd be with her if you weren't at work."

Will, who was still blinking dubiously from the first question, answered,

"U-uh, she's," he shook his head to clear his thoughts, "I told her I had work today."

Nico stopped drawing. He put down his tablet and looked at Will,

"You..." he quirked his eyebrow, a small smile ghosting his lips, " you lied to her? For what? So you could spend all day on my couch with me?"

Will smiled back at him.

"Is it so hard to believe that I'd rather do nothing with you than hang out with my mom again?" He rolled his eyes, but smiled all the while, continuing, "I love my mother, don't get me wrong..." he paused, meeting Nico's eye, "but I also love you."

There it was again. That funny feeling. That rushing sense like flying... or falling. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Sneaking around behind you parent's back," he said quietly, teasing, "I didn't know you were such a bad boy, Solace..."

Will smiled wickedly at him, setting aside his book, and moving his legs from Nico's lap. The memory of being pinned to this very couch not long ago flashed across his mind, but then Will got off the couch and walked toward the balcony, and Nico let out an involuntarily sigh. Will stopped by the flower box to pay his favorite occupant a kiss on the petal, before doubling back behind the couch and toward the kitchen.

Nico heard the sound of the faucet turning on and the clinking of Will tidying some of the morning's dishes. He huffed, only a little disappointed, and picked up his stylus, but froze when a pair of fingertips slid over his shoulders and across his chest until he was pressed to the back of the couch in a hug from behind. Will sighed against him, the places where their skin met radiated a comforting heat, and Nico almost instinctively relaxed. They stayed like that for a few seconds more, and then Nico felt the rumble of the voice of his voice almost before he heard the words, soft and low:

"Are you into bad boys, di Angelo?" Nico couldn't help it. His face flushed furiously with color, so quickly that he had to lift his tablet to hide his red face, and more importantly, his slowly blossoming grin.

After regaining his composure, he huffed stubbornly and turned so that his cheek was basically resting against Will's lips. Ever determined to get the last word, he quipped back,

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Will took this in stride, placing a soft, lingering kiss on Nico's cheek, before slinking off of him again to stand in the solitary sunbeam that manged to break into his apartment. Nico watched as Will leaned casually out the window, turning toward the sun and closing his eyes, letting the warm rays wash over him. Nico couldn't help but conjure the image of a sunflower, facing away from every other flower in an entire flourishing field, to turn it's face toward the sun. And, as was the routine, when Nico had filled his head with artistic symbolism, Will embellished it with his own thoughts.

"We should go out today," he said, not opening his eyes, "the sun is out. We could go for a walk, or maybe take one of the carriages around the park. Oh," he exclaimed, opening his eyes to look at Nico at last, "how do you feel about ice skating?"

Nico shook his head, a lazy smile on his face,

"I'll get dressed and go outside if you promise not to take me ice skating."

Will chuckled,

"Deal."

----

"So my sister's party is in three days," Will said as they leaned against the railing at the Highline. They had decided on a walk and Will picked the place, one 'with a view' he'd said, "I figured since you have class and I have work, I could pick you up on my way there?"

"I don't know-" Nico answered before he really had a reason, but continued nonetheless, "I wasn't really sure if I would go or not."

"What, really? Kayla has been talking about seeing you again all week, and I told her I'd bring you. I mean was that... like, presumptuous or..." he bumped his shoulder, "did something come up?"

"It..." Nico thought for a moment about what he was doing, yet found that this old routine of avoiding people was missing the it's main appeal: the desire to be alone, "no, it wasn't presumptuous. Sorry, I-" he shook his head, cracking a smile, "forget why I hesitated, of course I'm going. I'll see you at 9ish?"

The time passed. Will indeed rolled up in a ride-share right around 9:30pm.

Nico climbed in the back where Will was already seated. The blond smiled at him.

"Hey," he said, reaching out to take Nico's hand reflexively.

"Hey," the other boy returned, squeezing his fingers in genuine happiness,"how was work?"

"Oh, you know," Will said with a sad smile, "they can't all be winners."

Nico wanted to ask him what he meant, but the way Will turned to look out the window but squeezed back even tighter made him think twice.

He works in a hospital, he thought to himself, he's surrounded by sickness and death every day...

He gazed at the blond with a sad sort of understanding and then made a decision. He was making it his personal mission to make sure Will had a good time tonight.

Pulling up outside a nice looking apartment complex, Will navigated them inside and into the elevator, pulling Nico by the hand along with him the whole way.

Just before the doors opened, Nico nudged Will's shoulder.

"Hey," he said, to which the taller boy quirked his eyebrow, "you look nice tonight."

Will smiled at him.

"Thanks, he said before winking, "you don't look too bad yourself."

Nico chuckled and rolled his eyes which made Will smile even more.

Then the door opened and they were greeted by a tall, muscular gentleman who was neither Kayla nor Oasis.

"Charlie! What are you doing here, it's so good to see you man!"

Will stepped forward into an embrace the behemoth of a man who hugged him back, and responded in an appropriately deep voice,

"Will, how have you been man! I was in town and thought I'd drop in."

"That's great to hear, dude, we should grab lunch if you're still around tomorrow," Will turned and re-took Nico's hand is his. Nico stood a little straighter as Will introduced him.

"This is Nico, by the way," he said.

"Hey." Nico nodded awkwardly. Charlie looked at him, giving him a once over, then looked at their intertwined hands, then back at Will, then shrugged.

"Pleasure to meet you," he said and stepped aside, ushering them inside where the party was already in full swing.

There weren't a lot of people there, but the music was loud enough that the people who were there were talking loudly to be heard over it. They shuffled in and toward the heart of the apartment, but a bathroom door opened just as Nico was passing it and he had to let go of Will's hand to catch it.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Said the woman who was stepping out from behind it.

"It's fine-" Nico started to say, and then he met her eye.

"Annabeth?"

"Oh wow, Nico? Hi! I... wow, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah, same... how do you-"

"I went to camp with a Kayla and a lot of our friends here," she answered before he could finish, "I was just leaving, but it's good to see you; how are you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm," he cleared his throat, "you know, I'm making it through alright. I know, or- I'm-I'm seeing Kayla's brother so..."

She raised her eyebrows and a smirk ghosted her usual rsf (resting scowl face).

"You don't say..." was all she said, amused.

"Yeah, I should actually probably go find him, so-" he shifted uncomfortably between his feet.

"Of course," she said, letting him off the hook, "well it was good to see you. Percy's been talking about getting dinner with everyone again soon."

"Oh yeah, sure, that would be fun," he said, "well I'll see you around Annabeth."

"Yeah, see you," she said, unmoving.

He cleared his throat again and continued moving further into the house, searching for that familiar mop of blond hair. He was scanning the living room, where the bass of the Dua Lippa song was thrumming beneath his sneakers, when he felt a warm touch on his wrist.

"Hey, I thought I'd lost you back there," Will said.

Nico opened his mouth to respond but he was interrupted by a gentleman in a beanie who put an arm around both of the boy's shoulders.

"Enjoying the party over here?"

"Oh, hey Connor," Will said, "we actually just got here, this is my partner, Nico."

Connor nodded at Nico.

"Sup," he said, "well I'm just letting people know about the activities that are happening on the porch..." he held up a lighter and wiggled his eyebrows, "If either of you wanted to join us?"

"I'll pass, but thank you," Will said.

"Not a smoker?" Nico asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Will tried to hide his grimace, and then answered,

"Yeah when you've worked in a hospital for a while..." he trailed off. After a moment, though, he continued, "And, you know, I just don't love the way it makes me feel. But if you want to...you know... feel free"

Nico nodded and turned to the other guy, Connor,

"After you," he said.

Stepping out onto the small balcony, Nico nervously scanned the three other faces and was relieved to find two he recognized. Austin and Oasis sat on the ground with their backs against the railing, chatting and passing a roll-up between them.

"Ayye, he made it!" Austin said, standing up to give Nico a side-hug.

"We were wondering when you two would show up," Oasis followed-up, putting her fist out for him to bump, which he promptly did.

"Call it being fashionably late?" Nico attempted. Austin laughed and Oasis smiled, so he marked that one up as a success. He sat down against the sliding door as the bud was passed quietly around.

"Concerts," Austin said to the sky, blowing out a cloud of smoke before actually addressing the group, "Nico, what's the best concert you've ever been to?"

Nico gaped at being called out for only a moment before he collected himself and answered.

"Oh, man um... Elton John, probably?"

The balcony exclaimed in surprise.

"When did you get to see Elton John?" asked Connor.

Nico shrugged,

"Like 2 years ago I think? He was in town and so my sister flew in and we saw him together."

Austin whistled.,

"I hear he's a great performer."

Nico nodded, sighing wistfully,

"He certainly knows how to put on a show."

“So,” Oasis said through a cloudy exhale, “If you could go back in time and tell yourself from a year ago about how life is today... do you think your younger self would be proud of you?”

The half of the balcony groaned and half hummed thoughtfully.

“Naw, I’d be on my own ass to get my shit together,” Connor said, passing the blunt to the strawberry-blonde girl next to him.

“Yeah,” she added, passing it in turn to Nico, “I mean I think she’d be happy I left my stupid ex, finally... That's been a long time coming… I guess she’d be proud of that.”

“Hell yeah I’d be happy,” Austin said, producing a small kalimba from out of seemingly nowhere and gently plucking away at it as he elaborated, “I’m not making too much money, and my emotional support grown-up did just leave me with our overworking-ass-punk-ass brother, but we’ll manage! We always do."

Oasis and the blonde girl snapped in agreement, saying things like "yes ma'am," and "I'll drink to that."

"Plus,” he said, nudging Nico’s foot as Nico handed him the blunt, “I got new friends, now.”

“Blegh-” Oasis mimed throwing up, but pulled Austin in around the shoulder for a hug. They all had a chuckle.

“What about you, Nico," Oasis finally said, "What would you a year ago think of you right now?”

Nico tensed as all eyes turned to face him. He laughed uncomfortably under their gaze, but when no one stepped in to fill the silence, he took another hit and answered.

“Oh, I- I don’t really know,” he said genuinely, “what have I done in a year?"

He considered for a moment everything that has happened since last winter,

"I finished my core curriculum classes, so I’m pretty much set to graduate in May… I helped my friends move across the country-” He thinks about the grueling road trip he, Jason, and Piper took from New York to California and practically shudders at the memory of those long days in a U-haul with a broken AC. That had only been a few weeks before...

“And then I met-” my soulmate, he stopped himself from confessing, “I met… the weirdest doctor in New York,” he cracked a smile and his friends giggled knowingly, “and he kind of hasn't left me alone since, so now I'm here."

He thought about who he was before that day in the park. What kind of person he had wanted to be back then. He thought about how it felt, so sure that he would be the last person left; that everything and everyone would slowly drift away until at last there would be nothing left but him.

And then the feeling of someone finally looking at him, taking his hand, and inviting him to step into the sunlight.

“I think I’d be pretty pleased,” he concluded finally.

A second roll-up was passed around, the conversation turned to favorite road trip snacks, which turned to what podcasts everyone was listening to these days, which turned to the new law that passed in the house for federally mandated renewable energy.

----

Eventually, Nico excused himself and popped back through the sliding glass door into the living room. There weren’t that many people in here but what mattered was that none of them were anyone he knew. Which didn’t narrow it down, necessarily, but the point stood.

He carefully peaked around corners, his antsy-ness increasing with every passing second of solitude, until he found what he was looking for: the teal themed kitchen where a brilliantly smiling Will was laughing at something Kayla was saying. Nico slunk in, trying to be discreet, but the second Will saw him, he perked up. Kayla turned and he was met with two equally enthusiastic gazes.

“Nico! I have been looking for you, I’m so glad you’re here!” Kayla practically sung as she pulled him into a bear hug.

She’s a little tipsy, Will mouthed to him and he stifled a chuckle.

“I’m glad to be here,” he answered instead, “you look amazing, this place looks amazing.”

“Oh this ol’ thing? Pshshbt-” she blew a raspberry, gesturing vaguely to the decorated room, “Oasis picked most of it out. I’m just happy to be unpacked.”

“Get any hot goss out of the balcony bunch?” Will asked, resting his arm casually across Nico’s shoulder and pulling him close.

“Only that Austin misses Kayla and thinks Will works too much, but nothing that wasn’t obvious.”

Kayla and Will both blinked at him and then they looked at each other and started snickering, which Nico joined in on.

“What about you? Did you miss me while I was gone?” Nico teased.

"With every second you were away," Will said, without missing a beat.

Nico wanted to say something snarky, but he got distracted by the flecks of glitter falling off Will's new years headband and onto his face. They mingled with his freckles until it looked like his cheeks were adorned with stars.

"What are you smiling at?" Will said suddenly, and only just then did Nico realize he was unabashedly staring at him.

"Sorry," Nico said, a smile creeping across his face, "the view is pretty,"

Will raised an eyebrow. Nico laughed.

“Ugh, get a room you two,” came Oasis’ voice as she strode in and wrapped her arms around Kayla’s waist from behind, “If you don’t mind, actually, I need to steal miss Knowles here away for a bit. There’s something I urgently need her to make-out with in the bathroom.”

“Oof,” Kayla nodded, “you heard the lady. Duty calls, boys,” she saluted them and they saluted her back, then they all four broke out into a fit of laughter as Oasis led Kayla out.

Their laughter died down and they lapsed into the closest thing to silence either of them have had all night. They sat comfortably in it, each basking in the comfort of being alone... together. Will's head rested atop Nico's, and Nico traced thoughtful patterns across Will's knuckles.

"So,” Will said once they were alone, “I take it the smoke was good?"

"Yeah. Really good, actually. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this relaxed," Nico said genuinely.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Will asked him, "Beer? Water?"

"Water would actually be really nice right now.”

Will nodded and shifted away from him, preparing and then delivering the drink to Nico.

“Can I ask you a question?” Nico asked Will as he handed him the solo cup.

“Always.”

“What do you... like to do, when we are together?”

Will laughed, stopped when he realized Nico was actually waiting for an answer, and then cleared his throat.

“Is this a trick question?” He asked.

“No, it’s not a trick question! I just want to know-” he sighed, trying to put a finger on what he was trying to get at.

Will stared at him, a perplexed but infatuated look on his face. Nico, growing frustrated at not being able to put his question into words, defaulted to the question he was asked earlier.

"If you could go back in time and tell your past self how you were doing now, do you think you'd be happy?"

"Huh..." Will said, thoughtfully, "that is... a good question."

Nico nodded.

"I'm full of good questions," he said sagely.

"So you are," Will mused, continuing after a moment of thought, "I think I'd be surprised. That things are working out so well with," he paused, looking at Nico, "...with work and with my siblings and with... you know... you. If that's what you meant..."

"...Are you okay?" Nico asked at last, no longer able to bear his quiet suffering.

Will exhaled. As much as he had not wanted it to be, it had just been one of those days. His mother was still staying with him and was really taking it hard that he wasn't spending New Years with her. One of his... favorite patients (he knows you aren't supposed to pick favorites but) had succumbed to her illness today, and his attending had flipped out on him, taking it even harder than he had. His social battery was circling the drain. But as was usually the case when he was around Nico... none of that seemed to matter anymore. He could let down his guard and catch his breath for a minute.

He took another deep breath, and then finally answered with a nod, "I will be," he looked up to meet his eye, "I am now."

Nico looked at him over the rim of his cup for a minute before setting it down and digging out the pen he always carried in his front pocket. He clicked it and wrote something short on his palm.

Will felt the tell-tale chill of a tingling, like an icicle tracing along his skin, and lifted it to read the word fading in:

Promise?

Nico picked up his cup and used it to hide from Will's gaze. He peaked at him over the rim of his cup. Will looked back, a question he was too afraid to know the answer to on his mind. Instead of asking it, though, he got out his own pen, uncapped it and wrote his response.

Swear <3

They both looked at each other at the same time and Nico stepped forward and wrapped his soulmate in a truly constricting hug.

Will, not yet used to this type of physical touch from him, closed his arms around Nico's shoulders, sighing into the touch and resting his head once again atop Nico's

Nico listened to the Will's heart beating in his chest, counting as silence once again enveloped their little bubble.

"Hey, the Ball drops in 2 minutes!"

Someone had popped their head in to inform them, dashing off just as quickly.

"Shall we?" Will asked with a sigh, smiling down at his partner.

"After you," Nico answered, taking his hand in his.

The living room was packed; not because the party was raging, but because it just wasn't very big. People who were scattered about where now all trying to find a space to occupy to watch the 20" image of the New Years ball drop. At one point, Nico and Will were each pressed up against someone else's back, with 30 seconds left until midnight, Nico glanced around and got an idea.

"Follow me," he said to Will and with zero hesitation started hauling ass toward the balcony, dragging Will behind him.

After several chaotic moments of trying to shove people out of the way politely, Will was stepping through the doorway onto the balcony.

Wow, he thought, looking out over the evening city lights, I didn't realize their view was this good.

Nico pulled him over to the corner, opposite the two other strangers who had managed to escape out here. Luckily, they all seemed to share a mutual agreement to mind their own business.

"9!"

"You're a genius," Will smiled down at Nico, pulling him close for warmth.

"Finally, he admits it," Nico teases back.

"6!

4!"

They gazed into each other's eyes as they stood, chest to chest, arms wrapped securely around the other.

"3!

2!"

"Happy New Year, Neeks," Will said, almost in a whisper. They were nose to nose now, foreheads resting together.

"Happy New Year, Will," Nico said, smile on his lips. He closed the distance between them and reached up to hold Will's face in his hands as he kissed him long and sweetly. Will jumped and laughed into the touch, covering Nico's freezing hands with his own warm ones.

Fireworks exploded across the city and there sounds of a million people celebrating together filled the air.

And all the while, Nico and Will held each other, stealing kisses between giggles and glances.

---

It was nearing 2:00am when the boys returned to Nico's flat, both shrugging off their jackets and shoes in a sleep-drunk haze.

Will was absentmindedly recounting the tale of when he and Austin first moved in with Kayla,

"It was kind of a wild thing for either of us to do, just pick up shop and move to New York? Like, it worked out but... insane decision."

Nico hummed in agreement as he trudged toward his bedroom, the chatting blond following closely behind.

"I can't believe it's been 3 years though... man..."

Nico stripped himself of his jeans and crawled beneath his covers, nuzzling in like a hibernating bear cub. At the same time, Will absentmindedly took off his nice pants and shirt and crawled in next to him, curling around the smaller boy in true big spoon fashion.

The room lapsed into quiet as the night wound down, nothing but two sets of breaths, almost perfectly in sync. Just as Will was finally drifting off, he heard his name spoken quietly into the room.

"Will?"

"Mhm?"

"...I had fun tonight..."

"Yeah," Will smiled, "I did too," he paused, considering leaving it at that, but continued, "Nico?"

"Hmm?"

He spoke almost without thinking,

"I love you."

Again there was silence, but this time charged with expectation as Will waited for a reciprocating word. As he was getting ready to concede for the night, he was just kidding himself, Nico was asleep, and even if he wasn't he didn't owe Will-

"Yeah..." Nico murmured, barely intelligibly, "I do too."

#katealot writes #like the back of my hand #ltbomh fic #soulmate au #solanelo #will solace #nico di angelo #its new years in this one

2 notes · View notes

katealot · 1 year

Text

Like the Back of My Hand

Chapter 12 of Solangelo Soulmate AU

[First] [<- Previous] [Next ->]

Read on Ao3

Word count: 7,532

Previously: Will turned to see Nico watching them and blinked. He looked utterly shocked and confused, not unlike how Nico felt, but he shook his head and he stuttered out an introduction.

"Oh, u-uh, this is Nico," He gestured to the boy standing in the doorway who awkwardly waved back.

"And, uh, Nico," Will said, meeting his eyes in a silent plea before finishing his statement, "this is my mother."

"Mama, what are you doing here? You didn't tell me you were coming to visit, I would have taken time off of work." Will says, taking her coat from her.

"I just thought it'd make a nice surprise! You know, since we didn't get to spend Christmas together last year." She ran her fingers through her curls and smiled again at Nico, then, like she was just remembering, "How rude of me, I haven't even said hello to Kayla," She turned back to the front door and put out her arms for a hug, "How are you, darlin'?"

"I'm doing good, Ms. Solace," Kayla returned the hug, "It's nice to see you."

"Oh, lord, how many times do I gotta tell you, call me Naomi, hun!"

Will slunk over to Nico's side and gently grabbed his wrist, whispering,

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't know she was coming, I swear."

"It's fine, Will," He turned his hand so he could hold his wrist in return, "Does she, uh- know about me?"

"I've definitely talked about you, but she's not... she can be a little all over the place, so..."

That didn't necessarily answer Nico's question, but it was clear Will was flustered, so he decided not to push.

Austin popped his head out over Nico's shoulder to see what was going on and let out a small gasp.

Will groaned and Nico looks between Austin and Will's mother who were now beaming at each other.

"Ohmygosh, hi American alt-country singer, Naomi Solace," Austin says, nudging his way past the two other boys and rushing the older woman.

"Well hi, my favorite Texan city, Austin," Naomi says, turning to catch the boy in a tight embrace, "Goodness, have you gotten taller?"

"Not that I've noticed. Maybe you're shrinking," He squeezes her as she laughs, the sound ringing out clear and beautiful as a bell.

Wait. Was Will's mom... famous? Nico turns her name over in his head, trying to figure out if he's heard it before, or maybe her music. But country was never his thing (the irony of the fact that, apparently, country might very well be his thing, is not lost on him) and he really can't say he recognizes her as a popular musician. Nevertheless, a wave of intimidation sweeps over him, as he is now aware that even though he doesn't know who she is, she is clearly worth knowing.

"Can we move a little further into the house," Will suggests, "this hallway is getting kind of crowded."

With that, everyone shuffles back toward the living room, and Nico wastes no time headed back toward the far end of the couch, trying to make himself small and as far away from the new player on the field as possible. Will is quick to follow, though, sitting next to him and resting their knees against one another. Besides that, though, there's no sign of his usual physical affection.

As everyone else settles back into their spots, Naomi sitting on the opposite end of the couch, she is re-introduced to Oasis who waves politely at her, and Nico quietly digs a pen out of his pocket and subtly uncaps it, turning over his hand to write.

i didn't know ur mom was famous

Will, sensing the tingling sensation, turns his own hand over to read the message. He looks at Nico and flashes him an apologetic grin. He really doesn't talk about himself very much, he realizes, being much more invested in what other people have to say than with sharing his own experience. Occupational hazard, maybe? He doesn't know.

He gestures for Nico to hand over the pen and starts writing a response while the rest of the room idly chats.

she's p popular on the country scene but nvr rlly went mainstream

While Nico is reading Will's reply, he can feel someone looking at him. He looks up to find Oasis staring at his hand, then Will's, then meeting his eyes. She smiles a faint, knowing smile, and he blushes slightly.

"So Nicky, how do you know everyone?" Naomi's question snaps Nico out of his embarrassment.

"Uh sorry, what?" He blinks.

"It's Nico, Mama," Will corrects immediately, "and we... met at Central Park. He was drawing me for a class, I think."

Nico nods, noting in stride that he didn't mention how they found each other.

"Oh, are you an artist?" She says.

"I'm an Art Therapy major at NYU," Nico answers, "and it was just a figure study. I like to ketch while I people watch."

She nodded, but her expression made it clear she wasn't fully following.

"That sounds wonderful," She smiles sweetly at him, then turns her gaze back toward her son, "Well honey, I think I ought to lie down, the flight has me just about plum tuckered out. May I use your room?"

Will stands reflexively to escort her and furrows his brow.

"Sure, but it's kind of a mess. How long are you stayin'? I thought you were on tour?"

Nico noticed that in the very short time his mother had been around, that Will had adopted just a hint of her southern drawl.

"Oh, darling, I don't have to be back until January, so I thought I'd stay for the holidays," She reached up and ruffled his hair, making it stick up in a goofy fashion that, despite him being a head taller than her, made him look younger. Like he was just her little boy again.

She turned and started walking toward the back of the house, where Nico assumed Will's room must be, and Will followed, only stopping for a second to shoot a glance at his siblings, and then Nico.

As they walked out, everyone in the rooms' eyes followed them. When they were out of earshot, Kayla leaned in, speaking quietly to Nico.

"Was that the first time you've met his mom?" She asked, and Nico nodded. Oasis chimed in.

"Yikes, super out of the blue. Sorry you had that sprung on you."

He tried to shrug it off.

"It's fine. I mean, he didn't know she would be here or he definitely would have warned me," Nico suddenly felt very self conscious about what he was wearing. He looked down at his sweatpants and mismatching black socks, "I wish I was dressed a little better though..." he murmured.

"Naw, man, you should have seen what I was wearing when I first met her,” Austin adds, “Straight up sleep shirt and boxers. And she's one of my heroes!" He buried his face in his hands at just the thought.

Nico smiled at their attempts to comfort him, and then his expression once again grew serious.

"Do you, uh,” he lowered his voice even more, “know if she's... cool with..." he didn't continue, but everyone knew what he was not saying.

"Will's definitely told her he's not straight, but I don't think they talk about it a lot. I think she grew up kind of conservative, but she's not, like, a bigot," Kayla offered.

"Yeah," Austin added, "If anything she's probably just confused more than anything."

It was then that Will returned, looking between the four of them with an apologetic expression.

"Y'all, I'm sorry my mom sorta crashed our game night. I really didn't know-"

"We know," Oasis cut him before he could continue.

"It's all good, dude, we love your mom," Austin says.

Everyone nods and murmurs their agreement, then Nico stands, swaying for just a moment before steadying himself.

"You leaving?" Oasis asks, standing after him.

"I think I'd better, yeah. It was great to hang out with you guys. And great to meet you, Oasis."

She nodded, stepping over her girlfriend and stopped in front of him.

"Are you a hug or a handshake kinda man?" She asked.

Nico was taken aback. He'd never been asked before, so he never considered offering up his preference. He was, what some would call, socially uncomfortable in most scenarios. Over the course of the evening, however, he'd found his walls had begun to come down, brick by brick.

Even so, he played it safe. He put out his hand and Oasis met it in a firm shake that ended in a squeeze. Her way, he imagined, of fitting a hug into the handshake anyway.

"It was nice to meet you, Nico. See you on New Years?"

"Uh," He smiled sheepishly, "yeah. See you then."

Then Kayla all but shoved Oasis out of the way and came in for a hug.

"I'm a hugger, so step aside," She embraced him in a grip that was stronger than he would have given her credit for. Although, considering how toned the arms sticking out from under her tank top were, perhaps he’d underestimated her. She released him from the hug, but held onto his arms, meeting his eyes.

"See you around, okay? Don't be a stranger."

She said it more like an instruction than a request. Her eyes held the same intensity Will's did when he scolded Nico for forgetting to eat during the day.

Nico chuckled nervously.

"Yes ma'am," he responded, his tone half-joking.

She nodded approvingly and let him go, retreating back to her spot on the floor.

Austin bid his farewell with a fist bump. Which only left...

"Walk me out?" Nico asked, brushing his hand lightly against Will's. The other boy smiled sweetly.

"Of course."

Nico gave one last wave to the room and headed toward the front hallway, Will following close behind.

Will leaned against the wall, watching Nico shrug on his coat, gloves and scarf. Nico stole glances at him, trying to read his expression. He could see worry there, and Will just started to open his mouth to say something before Nico cut him off.

"Don't say you're sorry again.”

Will looked at him in surprise, but closed his mouth obediently. Instead he smirked, pushing himself off the wall and stepping to the shorter boy, who now had to look up to meet his eye. He'd never say it out loud, but Will loved when Nico had to look up at him.

"Well then," Will purred, "can I at least say I'm really glad you stuck around?" He pretended to adjust the lapels of Nico's peacoat, just so he could hold onto him.

Nico's face heated up, and finally, when their eye contact was getting a little too intense for this corridor, he looked down at his feet, trying to coax his heart back into a steady rhythm.

"Only if you mean it," he mumbled, half-joking.

Will's hand moved, his fingers reaching up to tuck a loose hair behind Nico's ear, and following the movement through until he was holding his chin in a delicate touch.

He tilted Nico's head up so that they were once again looking at each other. His other hand drifted slowly down until it rested on Nico's waist. His breath hitched in his throat.

Will's eyes wandered the other boy's face momentarily before landing on his lips.

Slowly, deliberately, he leaned in and kissed him sweetly. Once, then again. He didn't let go of his face, and Nico breathed in his scent: the last traces of cinnamon cologne and sweat from all the heavy lifting earlier.

Nico leaned in closer now, rising up on his toes and planting his hands on Will's arms to steady himself. He kissed back, getting lost in the ebb and flow of the way their lips, their breath, their bodies moved against each other.

But then, just as soon as it had started, it stopped, Will pulling back to look at his face again.

"I mean it," he whispered.

It took a second for Nico to remember what he'd said. He was busy trying to remember how to breath.

He clears his throat, taking a moment to reconfigure his senses as he stepped toward the door, one hand reaching for the handle and the other hand in Will's. He opened it and a wall of frigid air hits both of them. A shiver ran up Will's spine, still only dressed for central heating. Nevertheless, he follows Nico out onto the porch anyway.

A car pulls up and Nico turns to face his companion, intertwining his and Will's other hand, unwilling to let go just yet. He watches the clouds of fog drift up and away with each breath they take.

"I'll call you tomorrow?" Will says and Nico nods, squeezing his hand, "I-" he stops himself.

He wants more than anything to tell him, but even with his heart this full, a whisper of fear keeps him from saying it. He settles with hiding it in different words.

"Thank you."

Nico just smiles. He doesn't have any words to say. He doesn't need any.

He squeezes Will's hand tightly one last time and heads down the front steps, both of them letting go at the last possible second.

Will watches Nico get into the cab and the car pulls away, waving as it disappears around a corner.

He lets out a wistful sigh, then turns, retreating back into the warmth of the house.

---

Nico closes the door to his apartment and stands there for a few moments, thinking back over the events of the evening.

Kayla was moving out of Will's house and in with her girlfriend,

He'd been invited to spend New Years with the sunshine siblings,

Will's mom had shown up out of the blue,

Will seemed nervous about it, but was grateful for Nico's company anyway.

He furrowed his brow, trying to decide whether or not to read in to the latter thought. He is snapped out of it by Pluto, weaving herself between his legs and looking up with wide, wanting eyes.

"Mrowr?" She chirps.

Nico smiles down at her and pulls off his gloves, reaching down to scratch just above her tail.

"You hungry little buddy?" He asks, shedding the rest of his layers and walking further into the house to feed her.

Ten minutes later, he is sat at his desk, laptop open, with a video of Naomi Solace pulled up, crooning sweetly at some country music event. He sketches absentmindedly as she sings. He doodles Oasis and Austin's faces, a cartoonish slice of ooey-gooey pizza, a pair of hands holding a pair of hands holding a switch controller.

He finds himself drawing images from the song. A bridge, the sun, a bus window reflecting a woman's crying face.

At one point he stops drawing to watch the video and listen to the slow, sad lyrics of the chorus. He can't help but wonder if she wrote these songs about her life. A few of them are upbeat, talking about dancing in a crowded hall as a young woman, or the first time a baby smiles, but plenty of them are melancholy ballads about lost love.

As he continues watching her assorted televised appearances, he notices how her look changes from year to year. A Dolly-esque hairdo with a fringe dress. Long straight hair with a tiny bikini top and high-waisted bell bottoms.

He searches for Will in her features and finds them in her wild blonde waves, the way her eyes crinkle when she smiles, singing into the microphone, her laugh as she cheers on her guitarist's solo.

The next video auto-plays and there she is again, sitting on a green leather chair in an all denim one-piece, being interviewed on a talk show in the 90s. Shes talking about her music and the new album that's coming out, and then the host asks about family, and how she balances work and home.

"Well, it all gets a bit wonky," she says, her accent thick in her youth, "especially this past year while I've been working on Solar Power. But, no matter how long the work days are or how many deadlines I'm starin' down, I know I get to come home to my beautiful baby's sweet face every night, and that just about makes it all worth it."

The audience 'aww's and applauds her answer, and the host settles them down again before continuing.

"That's wonderful, just wonderful, and uh I hear we actually have a special guest here in the studio with us tonight, is that right?"

Naomi beams and nods enthusiastically, standing and disappearing momentarily off-camera. Nico hears excited muttering, then exclamations, then Naomi Solace reemerges, holding the hand of a bleach-blond, curly-topped toddler, sucking his thumb and wearing an adorably tailored powder blue suit with a white ruffled shirt peaking out from beneath the jacket.

The audience is going wild now, and Nico has to pause the video to take it all in. He is reeling. His heart might actually explode at the sight of five-year-old William Solace in a tiny baby suit on national television. He actually clutches his chest and takes a deep breath, before resuming the video and watching as Will’s mother picks him up and sits him on her lap for the rest of the interview.

"This is my son, Will. Can you say hi, baby?" his mother bounces him encouragingly and he looks up at her, then out at the awaiting studio audience. He takes his finger out of his mouth and then speaks out in a very small toddler voice.

"Hi."

The audience loses it, cooing and applauding, and little Will laughs and claps along, clearly loving the energy in the room.

Nico pauses again. The still image of baby Will's smiling face while his mother looks dotingly down at him fills the computer screen. Nico realizes in that moment, that that smile hadn't changed since Will was young. It made his heart swell. He flipped to a fresh page in his sketchbook, and got to work on a new drawing.

---

The next day, as promised, Will calls Nico.

"Hey," He says, walking into one of the hospital break rooms and starting to make himself a cup of coffee.

"Hey," Nico said through the phone, "What are you doing right now?"

"I'm on my break," Will says, stirring in a packet of sugar with one of those tiny wooden stirrers, "Thinking about heading down to get one of those wraps from the place across the street."

"Mmm," Nico hums like he's not really listening, then, "I have a better idea."

Will stops, taken aback. He laugh a little.

"Excuse me?" he says.

"Come outside," Nico says and then the line goes dead. Will stares at his phone and then his coffee, then his phone again. Finally, he breaks through his stupor and turns, heading out toward the hospital entrance.

He steps outside and immediately sees Nico waving at him from across the street, pausing to look both ways before walking over to meet him.

"When- what are you doing here?" Will asks, unable to fight down the smile forming on his lips. Nico shrugged.

"I just thought you might like some company for your lunch today," He says, "Plus, I've never actually seen where you work." He looked up at the awning that donned the name of the facility.

Will laughed and then noticed the bag Nico had in his hand.

"Did you... bring me food?" The bag was label-less, reminding him of those paper bag lunches kids are given for school on TV.

"Yeah. I figured, maybe, homemade was probably better than whatever hospital food they served, so..." He held the bag out and Will took it, smiling all the while. Then, Will nodded his head toward the door.

"Shall we?"

Nico chuckled and followed Will’s lead out of the cold.

After a short tour of the check in-desk, hallways and waiting rooms, Will led them to the cafeteria.

They found a table in a relatively secluded corner and sat down.

"You look good in scrubs," Nico remarked nonchalantly, as Will unfurled the paper bag and looked inside. He quirked an eyebrow and chuckled.

"Thanks," he said. He pulled out a panini, still warm and wrapped in paper, "You said you made this yourself?"

"Most of it," he reached over and extracted a smaller whiter paper bag from within the big one, grease spots speckling the bottom, "these are the best fries this side of Midtown, courtesy of Katz's Deli. And this," he pulled out a small plastic container of a pale pink sauce, "is a homemade aioli. It's good with the sandwich and the fries, so I want you to try both."

Will didn't have to be told twice. He unwrapped the incredible smelling sandwich and dipped it into the aioli, taking a huge bite and chewing thoughtfully. Nico watched him expectantly.

After a few seconds of unremarked upon silence, Nico pressed.

"Well," he said, "how is it?"

Will chewed once, then twice more. Then face scrunched up like he'd tasted a lemon.

"Honestly? Not that good."

Nico's eager smile dropped.

"You're joking," he said, trying to think of what the missing element could be.

But then Will grinned and rolled his eyes.

"Of course I'm joking," he mumbled through a mouth full of food, "It's amazing, you dingus."

Nico glared at the other boy. He snatched a handful of fries, broke off the end of one, and chucked it squarely at Will's forehead.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," he pouted, nibbling on his consolation snack.

Will chuckled, making a show out of swallowing his bite before talking again.

"You're bossy, you know that?" He teased.

Nico watched him devour his food, occasionally stealing more fries to munch on. After he finished, Will dabbed his mouth with a napkin.

"Thank you for the lunch, Neeks. It was delicious."

Will rested his hand on top of Nico's. In turn, he interlaced their fingers together. He smiled down at their hands.

"Can I... come over later?" Nico asked, surprising Will with the trepidation in his voice.

"Yeah, of course," he answered, almost immediately, before remembering and adding, "Oh, my mom might be there..."

He didn't continue, letting Nico draw his own conclusions about that particular situation.

"Yeah, I know," Nico continued anyway, absentmindedly drawing shapes on the discarded bags with the leftover sauce, "I actually thought I could make you guys dinner. If you'd be okay with that?" He looked back up and found Will staring at him. He faltered, thinking for a moment that maybe he completely misread the situation, that that kind of world-clahing was not okay. But then, the corner of Will’s lips curled up and he replied.

"Sure. I'd love that."

Nico actually signed with relief, squeezing Will's hand gently.

"Good. Great..." he smiled, "Grool."

They both stood and made their way back to the building's entrance, chatting quietly along the way.

"I'll see you tonight then," Nico said, walking backward down the sidewalk toward the subway station.

Will nodded and smiled,

"Not if I see you first."

He waved as Nico turned and pulled his coat a little tighter, shaking his head smiling to himself, feeling an odd sense of giddy optomism about how the afternoon was shaping up.

---

Knock, knock, knock

Nico waited at the front door of Will's house with two arms full of grocery bags. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and letting the frozen air collect in his lungs before exhaling a cloud of condensation. A moment later, the door opened and there stood Naomi Solace in a blouse and jeans.

"Oh, goodness! Hello, you! Here, come in, come in, let's get you out of the cold-" She stepped aside and ushered him in, closing the door behind him, "the boys aren't home, you should know."

"Uh, yes, I do know actually," He kicked off his shoes and headed into the house toward the kitchen, where he took off his jacket and began unloading his bags, "I told Will I'd make you all dinner tonight. I'm a... uh-" he smirked to himself, "I love to cook for people."

"Well, be still my southern little heart, ain't you just sweeter than a chocolate pie. Makes me wanna go to the dentist for a toothache," she said, following him into the room and leaning against the counter, "And, I am so sorry, honey, you're gonna have to remind me of your name one more time."

"Nico," he smiled, "Nico di Angelo."

"Right, yes, Nico. I knew it was something like that, but I kept getting hung up on 'Nick'."

They stood in silence while he arranged the groceries on the counter. Eventually she cleared her throat.

"Well, I'll leave you to it, hon. Holler if you need anything-" she paused and made a face, looking around, "although I'm sure you know this place better than I do."

She started to retreat but Nico stopped her.

"Oh, actually, hold on," he said, walking over to his backpack, "I, um, I brought you something..."

He noted the surprise on her face as she turned back to look at him expectantly. He rifled around a bit until his hand closed around a small, black portfolio. He pulled it out and retrieved form within it a piece of thick watercolor paper. He gave it a nervous once over before offering it to Naomi.

"I was, uh," he cleared his throat, realizing that the story behind it maybe sounded a touch stalker-y, "I saw an interview you had when Will was really young and just thought it was, uh, kind of picturesque so I, uh..." he trailed off, watching her face change as she took it.

Her mouth fell open as she studied it in stunned silence.

It was a line-art and watercolor drawing of a four-year-old Will, laughing at the talk-show host sitting just out of frame, sitting on his mother's lap. The twenty-something Naomi smiled down at him with a heart-meltingly fond expression. Looking closely, you could just make out some of the sketch lines: stray hairs, freckles. It wasn't by any means the most complex piece he'd ever made in terms of composition, or even the best, but after finishing it the night before, he had felt a sort of proud squeeze in his chest usually indicating he's made something special.

When she finally looked back up at him, Nico realized she was crying. Her eyes were wet with tears, two of which already escaped and ran silently down her cheeks as she gazed at him. Before he knew what was happening, she surged forward and wrapped him in the textbook definition of a bear hug.

She squeezed him tightly, and he heard a soft sniffle. Then, pulling away, she held him at arms-length and reached a hand out towards his face.

He would have expected himself to flinch away from the gesture, he barely moved when she cradled his cheek.

"Oh honey... thank you," she said.

He relaxed. Something about the way she was looking at him just felt... familiar.

All his childhood memories feel less like memories and more like home movies that were taken before he was born. Logically, he knows they happened- that he was there, because he can see it, but he also can't help but feel like it's all the intricate workings of his imagination... trying to take him back to a time where there was no pain or anger or sadness in the world. It is a Sunday afternoon, and your mother has taken you and your sister over to the neighbors' house for lunch, as she occasionally does, to gossip about everything that had happened at church. You sit outside while your sister and the neighbor's kids try to scrounge up a semi-thrilling game of hop-scotch. And you are so hot in your wool suit, sitting on the curb of their patio in the shining Venetian sun, but you don't take off your jacket. Because you know that when the neighbors cup your face in their hands and tell you what a handsome young man you are in your Sunday best, your Momma looks at you with so much pride in her eyes.

He returns from his thoughts, back to the New York kitchen he's standing in, with someone else's mother holding his face in her hands.

He smiled down at her, but, starting to feel the uncomfortable edge of a vulnerable situation, he turned to casually break the contact and start preparing the kitchen.

He sees the blonde woman wipe her eyes. She looks again at the painting and places a hand over her heart, nodding at him and repeating,

"Thank you."

He nods, not sure what else to say. She must have taken that a her cue to leave, because she excused herself then to let him do his thing. He watched her go, then glanced around the kitchen, taking a breath and noting how, even in such a short time, this place felt like a kind of sanctuary to him.

Not 20 minutes later, Nico heard the front door open and shut, and a frigid exclamation.

"My gods, it is cold out there..." the voice murmured, then after a long pause, "Something smells good."

A few seconds later, Will appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, his somewhat puzzled expression brightening when he saw the other boy standing over the stove.

"You're already here! I was going to try and straighten things up a little before you came by..." he glanced past Nico to the sink full of dishes.

"It's fine, your mom let me in," Nico said, noticing how Will's smile faltered.

"Right," he said, "... she didn't say anything weird, did she?"

Nico had to fight down a smile as he answered dead-panned and without looking up.

"No, she just went ahead and showed me all the pictures from your many baby bathtime photoshoots."

"She WHAT?"

Nico busted out laughing at the mortified look on Will's face, chalking it up as revenge for lunch. But before he knew it, Will's expression turned smug and he descended upon him.

"Oh, you think you're real funny, huh? I'll show you funny."

He trapped Nico against the counter and began viciously tickling his sides. Nico's shaudenfeudian laughter turned into desprate deranged giggling as he tried to squirm away from the taller boy, any and all escape attempt being thwarted and met with more volleys of ticklish assaults. The laughter was contagous, and soon both boys were giggling like school children.

Then, Naomi's voice rang out from down the hall.

"Sounds like y'all are having fun in there," she said, her voice approaching. Will immediately dropped what he was doing and stepped to the side, making their position less incriminating.

She entered the kitchen, crossing to her son and putting a hand on his shoulder as she peeked into the pot Nico was stirring.

"That smells delicious, sweetheart," she offered, then, to Will, "why don't you go change out of your work clothes, honey, and then we can get the table set."

He nodded, swaying subtly to bump his shoulder against Nico's before pushing away from the counter and heading without a word back toward his room. Naomi nodded approvingly, and moved in the opposite direction toward the table in the adjourning room, leaving Nico once again alone, but this time, feeling the absence of that summery warmth by his side.

Will returned a few minutes later in a Batman t-shirt and cargo shorts, stopping through the kitchen to grab some dishes, running his fingers across Nico's back as he passed, then joining his mother at the dining table.

Nico listened in to the conversation happening the next room over. Naomi asked about Will's day at work and he told her about a case he was working on. He asked her if there was anything specific she wanted to do while she was here and she mentioned a few of the museums and tourist traps she wanted to re-visit. She asked about when Austin would be getting back.

"Oh he, um, he actually texted me earlier and told me he had a date, and not to wait up. So I guess..." Will cleared his throat anxiously, "I guess it's just us three tonight."

"Food's ready!" Nico said loudly, deciding then was the right time to insert himself. He turned off the heat and searched the nearby drawers for potholders. Will reentered the kitchen to help him carry things, and Nico caught his wrist before he could pass by again, forcing him to take a second to look at him.

"Hey," Nico said in a low voice, "you okay?"

Will smiled weakly.

"Yeah, yeah, just... you know, a little on edge I guess..." he trailed off, not wanted to explicitly state that the idea of sharing a meal with only his mother and his- uh... Nico, made him unusually anxious, "Yeah. I'll be fine. The food looks really good."

Nico searched his face one more time, giving him an extra second to get anything off his chest before releasing his wrist and nodding toward the glass dish of greens.

The boys placed the food on the table, and Will pulled out the chair next to him, indicating for Nico to sit.

They sat, both facing Will's mom across the table, and Naomi spoke up.

"Do you boys usually say grace?"

"Uh-" Will looked at Nico.

"It's been a while, but if you'd like to." Nico answered in stride. They all grabbed hands and Naomi hung her head and led a short and sweet grace toward food, family and friends. When it was over, the hands that held Naomi's fell, but under the table, the two boys remained connected. Nico's hand squeezed Will's as he introduced the meal.

"It's a butter and beef broth risotto with a sauteed garlic spinach."

"My goodness, it looks absolutely delectable, don't mind if I do," Naomi said.

As his mother tucked in, Will squeezed Nico's hand back, and gave him a look of gratitude, mouthing a 'thank you'. Whether it was for the food or the solidarity, Nico didn't know, but he smiled back at him anyway before they finally disconnected and helped themselves.

Over the course of dinner, the conversation topics remained cordial but bland at best. Naomi and Nico took turns asking about each other's work, where they're from, their likes, their dislikes. Nico kept noticing how Will's ocassional laughter sounded forced, or how his leg never stopped bouncing under the table.

Determined to be an anchor, Nico made it his secret mission to make Will laugh for real. He pulled out one of the trusty pens that he always kept in his pocket and wrote little quips along with what the table discussion was. Those only earned him a few minuscule twitches of the lip, so he moved on to his extensive artillery of stupid puns that Leo and Percy and Jason loved to text him for no reason other than to annoy him. These did slightly better, a few exhales from the nose and stolen glances, but still no genuine laughter.

Nico watched his partner as casually as possible between eating and talking, but, as soon as Naomi launched into another story about when Will was a kid, Nico took his chance. He scribbled a quick 'don't look yet' on the back of his hand, and after ensuring Will saw the message, he started doodling furiously, nodding and "uh-huh"ing his way through the anecdote, until at last he'd finished his masterpiece. It was a goofy little caricature of a dog winking and giving a big thumbs up, grinning with creepily human teeth. Just as he finished, Will reached for his drink, so Nico waited until he'd taken a sip to nudge his foot, giving him the all clear to peak.

Will glanced down and, seeing the drawing, snorted his water up and all over his face and the table. Nico tried to contain himself, but he his laughter bubbled over as Will coughed a few times, a helpless smile spreading across his face, assuring his concerned mother that he was fine and that he'd just swallowed down the wrong pipe. He smacked his knee against the dark haired boy's, and Nico counted that as a win.

---

"Glory be," Naomi said, dabbing her mouth with her napkin and discarding it atop her clean plate, "I haven't had a home-cooked meal that good in... I can't even tell you how long. You have a real culinary gift, Nico."

He smiled warily.

"It really is my pleasure," he said, then after a moment of consideration, "I always remember my mother cooking for me and my sister when we were little. I can never remember what it is she actually made, but I like to try and recreate classic Italian dishes you know. To feel close to her."

"Oh honey," Naomi, sensing the passed tense, "is she..."

He looked at his plate.

"She passed, yeah. When I was pretty young."

"Oh darling, that's just terrible, I am so sorry to hear that," Her voice and tender, motherly expression exuded nothing but sincerity, "But what a wonderful way to honor her. I'm sure if she could be here now, she'd be just about as proud as a mama can be."

Nico smiled a small, melancholy smile.

"I'd hope so," he answered quietly. Just then, Will scooped up his hand beneath the table, lacing their fingers together and rubbing reassuring circles into his thumb.

"You know, Willy," Naomi said, pulling his attention, "you just don't find friends like this every day," she nodded at Nico. The circles stopped and Nico felt Will tense up. He looked over and saw the blond boy's brows furrow.

"Yeah... I know-" he started to answer.

"I expect you to add him to the rotation of folks you bring around for the holidays and such. I know it's been a while since we've had a big shindig with with all you ol' pals from back home, but it could be fun to-"

"Actually, Mama," Will interrupted, "Nico's... not just a friend."

His mother looked confused. Nico looked suprised. He brought their intertwined hands up and placed them on the table between them all.

"We're together. He's..." he glanced at Nico, who was looking on with awed anticipation, "...my boyfriend."

They stared at each other for another intoxicating second before turning to see Naomi's reaction.

She looked at their hands. Then between them.

"Oh," she said, unable to hide her own surprise in her tone. She glanced back down again, this time noticing the copy of Nico's doodle decorating the back of Will's hand, "Oh."

The silence that fell seemed to last six eternities. Nico couldn't tell if the tightening of their grip on one another was initiated by Will or himself, but either way neither of them let go. Not even when the southern belle baffled them with what she said next.

"Boy, if I told y'all about the amount of people who have tried to pull that trick over on me," she gestured toward the drawing, "we'd be here all night."

Nico looked at Will, who looked at him, his face a mask of confusion not unlike his own.

"These men in bars loved to come up to me and show me their arms covered in drunken chicken-scratch and declare that 'I must have been writing a new song about my soulmate because this just appeared outta nowhere.'"

She actually snorted a laugh.

"I knew they were all bogus," she said, reaching up to her collar and pulling it down just far enough to reveal a small, stick-and-poke of a heart with an infinity sign woven through it, just below her left collarbone, "I had a test. I'd always ask them what tattoo they had on their chest. And, boys, some of the answers they gave..." she closed her eyes and shook her head, "I tell ya. But not one of 'em ever got it right. Some got close, and if they did," she shrugged, "maybe I'd take 'em home-"

"Mama," Will broke his silence to groan, which only made her laugh again.

"Sorry, sorry," she chuckled, "but like I was sayin', not one of them could tell me- or show me- this tattoo," she tapped a finger over her heart, "So I always was keepin' an eye out in case I spotted it out in the wild somewhere. Until," her eyes went a little misty and she sighed, "until the day I gave birth to Will."

Nico blinked, totally enraptured in her story. His death grip on Will's hand had relaxed, and he was listening intently. The way she told it, he suddenly knew what it must have felt like to be in the booth with her when she was recording songs.

"I'd been in labor for 10 hours, and all the while I could not reach that good-for-nothing father of his for the life of me. It was 4 in the morning, I was damn near hysterical, and THEN the doctor told me it was time to push. So I'm crying, Will's Nana is there holding my hand and telling me everything was going to be alright and then, before I knew it, I heard the loudest cry I'd ever heard in my life. The nurses all said it was just about the healthiest pair of lungs they'd ever heard. So they clean 'im off, wrap 'im up, and hand me this... perfect little boy, just absolutely screaming his little head off," she smiled wistfully, "But all I could hear was music. Because right there over his heart was a birthmark that looked just like my tattoo."

Nico couldn't help it. He gasped.

"Wait-" Will said before pulling down his own collar. Sure enough, a birthmark in the wobbly shape of a heart sat just below his left collarbone, adorned by six freckles that could almost be the rings of an infinity sign.

"No way..." Nico whispered in awed amazement.

"Mhm," Naomi hummed, sitting back in her chair. "From that day forward I stopped looking for my soulmate on the streets," she looked lovingly at her boy, "Because I knew he'd be right in front of me for the rest of my life."

Nico leaned back, running a hand through his hair and blowing out a breath.

"How come you've never told me that story?" Will asked her in utter disbelief.

"Well, baby, I guess I was just waiting for you to meet someone who gave you the same kind of clarity that you gave me." She looked between them, this time with a gentle, knowing smile that made them both blush.

Nico looked at their clasped hands, and his drawing on Will's skin, before sneaking a glance up at him. He found Will looking back at him softly, and a slow smile spreading across his lips.

Naomi cleared her throat, interrupting the tenderest staring contest of all time.

"All I mean to say is," she looked at Nico, her expression becoming serious, but not somber, "from one soulmate to another: you take good care of him. Because he's the best damn thing that's ever gonna happen to you."

A beat of quiet fell as all three of them let her words sink in.

"Yes, ma'am," Nico found himself answering, "I will."

She excused herself shortly thereafter, taking her empty plate and heading toward the kitchen, but not before stopping to give Will a quick squeeze around the shoulders and kiss on the top of his head.

They sat in stunned silence. It took a full minute and a half for either of them to think of something approprite to say. And even still, Nico somehow managed to find the most peculiar option.

"I can't believe you boyfriend-zoned me in front of your mom," Nico said. Will looked at him, dumbfounded, and then chuckled, put his head down on the table. He sighed. Then laughed again. Then groaned.

"Uuuugh, I can't believe she went on a soulmate soliloquy immediately after finding out," he said into his napkin.

Nico chuckled, reaching up to run his hands through Will's curls soothingly.

"...She did say soulmate so many time-"

"-Like SO many times, right?!" Will exclaimed, his head popping back up.

They both snickered at the absurdity of the whole ordeal before again settling into a loaded silence.

"So..." Nico began, tracing the edges of Will's hand doodle with his thumb, "Is that... what you think we are?"

Nico dared to peak up at him, just as Will's gaze fell on the table. He could see the nervousness in his face, the freckles on his forehead shifting as his eyebrows cinched and he blew out a shaky breath.

"I..." Will started slowly, stopping to take another breath, "don't like... saying things out loud that I don't... know for certain."

Nico felt his stomach drop. His grip on Will's hand eased, and he started to pull away but Will's grip tightened suddenly.

"B-but one thing... I can say for certain," Will said, sensing the miscommunication, "is that..." he looked him right in the eye, "I love you."

Nico's heart leapt into his throat. He stared at Will who stared back at him, letting his words land before continuing on.

Nico couldn't speak. He was so overwhelmed, it felt like a hundred rivers of emotion were racing to try and burst through all the walls he'd spent his whole life building around his heart. But it didn't feel bad, because instead of feeling like Will was swimming downstream trying to be the thing that does the wall in, he found him on the other side, placing buckets underneath the places where the cracks were leaking.

Finally, he manaed a head nod, and a breathless whisper.

"Okay."

It wasn't much, but it was all he could say.

He might have had the wherewithal to worry about how it sounded, were it not for the fact that he couldn't wipe the smile form his face- or deny the relief on Will's, when they both understood what that meant.

"Okay?" Will said, he eyes getting misty.

"Yeah, okay." Nico repeated, a sound somewhere between a cry a laugh escaping him.

#it's a long one folks #katealot writes #like the back of my hand #ltbomh fic #soulmate au #solangelo #dictor! will #art student! nico #nico di angelo #will solace

4 notes · View notes