It's Always Going To Be Will & Nico

If you want to see what your characters are made of, first you must break them. \-------------/ Not currently filling prompts, though the mini fic is always open. Occasionally 18+, but not often. All Fics ll Carter Icon art by: chakyland Header art by: toastchild

[ask-will-and-nico]

To anyone who has ever sent me a prompt/ask with anything along the lines of “if it’s not too much to ask/a burden/if you want/hope I’m not bothering you” or literally anything else, I just want to tell y’all something.

It’s not. It’s not a burden or bothersome, it’s not that I don’t want to, it’s not that it’s too much to ask. I promise I’m not just ignoring it because of you.

I haven’t been able to actually write anything in years now. I have not produced a single piece of writing that hasn’t been required of me since I started college (four years ago). It is not your fault I have zero motivation and desire to write anymore. 

Hopefully I’ll get back to writing eventually, but I just want everyone to know that I haven’t stopped because of an ask they sent.

((This is a pinned post so scroll below for content))

[ask-will-and-nico]

I have an idea for a new mini fic if no one is wanting to continue the current one

That was my b, I had one in my inbox for a while….but you’re welcome to share ideas!

[ask-will-and-nico]

Nico chewed his lip. He was going to sound so boring, but he supposed he was sort of a boring person lately. ‘Job hunting,’ he responded. ‘Know any places hiring?’ It was a few minutes before Will replied back. ‘That’s rough,’ he acknowledged. ‘I think the coffee shop down the street from my apartment building is hiring. It’s called The Daily Grind.’ Nico stopped for a second when he saw that name. That was the coffee shop he’d just applied to. Did he and Will live near each other? Maybe there was more than one Daily Grind location.

‘Oh, I’ve heard of that place before. Actually sent in an application recently.’ Nico sent it without thinking too much about it. He yawned and rubbed his face. It was getting pretty late, though Nico had always been more of a night owl than a morning person. He hated mornings, which, now that he thought about it, probably meant applying to work at a coffee shop probably wasn’t the best idea he’d had. But it wasn’t like he had a lot of other options. He needed to get a job somewhere before his dad decided he’d mooched long enough and stopped paying his tuition and bills. He sent Hazel and quick text, just to ask how her day went, before closing his laptop and standing, stretching his arms up over his head with a satisfying pop. Will had texted him back, telling about his favorite pastries at the place and his usual coffee order. It was perfectly mundane, and Nico shouldn’t be as interested in it as he was, but he couldn’t help himself.

[ask-will-and-nico]

Nico’s phone buzzed, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the message. He’d been waiting all day for Will to text him and had resigned himself to bot hearing from him. He’d figured Will had forgotten about him. He had been sad about it, but his job searching had mostly distracted him. Now, he was staring at his phone, a smiley emoji staring back at him. Will had actually texted him. Nico took a deep breath and sent a short response. ‘hey, what’s up?’ Simple. Nothing too eager, even thought he felt like his heart might burst.

Maybe he was getting a little ahead of himself, but Nico couldn’t remember the last time he had a crush. Had he been this giddy last time? It felt a little ridiculous, but also…nice. It gave him something to look forward to, something other than school work or job hunting or bills or any of the other things that he was responsible for. His phone buzzed again, and maybe he picked it up a little too quickly, and maybe he was a bit disappointed when it was just Hazel sending him a meme, but no one would know but him, and he was keeping that to himself. It was getting pretty late anyway, Will would probably be going to bed soon. Nico probably shouldn’t expect a response. He was proven wrong though when his phone buzzed again, this time not from Hazel but from Will again. ‘Just started some homework. What about you?’

[ask-will-and-nico]

Will somehow managed to make it through dinner without incident. They got home with little fanfare and Will went straight to the bathroom to shower to wash this day off of him. He had some homework to do before he could go to bed, but he wanted to at least get a small reset. Dinner had actually gone well, all things considered. He just needed the rest of the night to go by just a little bit smoother.

-

When dinner finally wrapped up, Luke ushered him back to the car. They didn’t speak on the way home. Will was just grateful that Luke didn’t seem to be in a foul mood. Will had done well at dinner, then. They got back to the apartment and Will went to take a shower before he had to do some homework. He considered texting Nico, but he figured it would be better to send a text after his shower instead.

-/-/-

Once he was feeling slightly more refreshed, he grabbed his phone. He carefully typed in the number on the piece of paper and triple checked the digits. (They were very clear, Nico had much better handwriting than he did.) He mulled over what to say multiple times. Did he go neutral with something like “hi”? Or did he try to be more smooth with “hey, remember me?” No, that seemed too forward for a guy he’d only met twice. He was cute, but Will didn’t want to be weird. Besides, he didn’t want Nico to get the wrong idea right away. Trying to pursue anything while he was still stuck with Luke was the worst idea he could think of. Besides, what Will needed right now was a friend, not to try and pursue a romantic interest. He decided to go with the causal “hey, this is Will!” With a smiley emoji. Maybe that was a hair on the side of annoying with the extra emoji, but it relayed Will’s personality pretty well. Nico texting aside, now he needed to focus on doing his homework before it got too late.

[ask-will-and-nico]

Dinner was mostly uneventful. Luke showed off what a gentleman he could be, opening doors for Will and leading Will with a gentle hand on the small of his back. He was all smiles with the waitstaff, complete with small talk and all. Will knew this routine like clockwork. Luke liked to show off to *other* people what a perfect boyfriend he was. How polite and charismatic he could be. No one but Will knew the other side to him. All these dates did was feed Luke’s ego. But Will played along anyway, smiling and laughing when he was supposed to, showing Luke that he hadn’t forgotten his place in their dynamic, as much as it pained him.

It was exhausting. Being pleasant and social and acting like nothing at all was wrong. After a long day, all Will wanted to do was go home and eat some microwave food before face planting in bed. He hated having to be paraded out and about and acting like he liked it and was having a good time. His head was starting to hurt, and all he really wanted to do was text Nico. But he had to shut that thought down right away, lest Luke sense he was thinking about someone else. He really didn’t want a scene here in the middle of Applebee’s that some poor wait staff that was barely working minimum wage would have to bear witness to. No, he could smile and laugh at all the right times and go straight to bed as soon as they got back. That thought would be what carried him through the rest of this excruciatingly long dinner. It would have to be.

[ask-will-and-nico]

Nico tried to get his mind of off Will and onto more important matters: finding a new job. His savings would only get him so far. Once he got home, he started applying to some places near his apartment, a local coffee shop, the bodega on the corner, the grocery store down the street. He even applied for a couple of restaurants nearby. His hope was for the coffee shop, it paid the best out of all of them, surprisingly, but at this point, he’d take anything.

-

The end of Will’s day came a bit too quickly. Before he knew it, he was waiting outside for Luke to pick him up. He was dreading this ‘date’ but it wouldn’t be all bad. Will wouldn’t have to cook tonight, or do any dishes. When Luke was in the mood for a date, he even treated Will like an actual boyfriend—at least in public. Will just hated that it messed with his feelings so much. He knew Luke just did it when he felt like it. He didn’t mean any of it. There was no romance left in their relationship. But it left Will wishing there was.

-/-/-

He sighed, feeling more than just a little pathetic. He shouldn’t long for morsels anymore, shouldn’t think about the little touches or glances that once littered their relationship. They’d been long gone for a while now, and he didn’t know why he looked for them. It was just taunting at this point. He sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair. This was just another example in a long string of failed attempts to seem like a normal couple again. He hated it. But as far as Will could see it, he was stuck. He couldn’t exactly leave or kick Luke out. That wouldn’t end well, especially not for Will. All he had to do was play along for a little while longer and eventually he’d be able to get out of this. He just wasn’t sure how much longer he’d have to play along.

[ask-will-and-nico]

Nico couldn’t stop blushing. That had been his only class for the day, so now he was just wandering campus, trying replaying the scene over and over again. He’d lowkey made a fool of himself, but Will had been so at ease. He made Nico feel like maybe he wasn’t stupid for going up to Will and giving him his number. Now, he just had to wait and see if Will would text him. Gods, what if Will didn’t text him?

-

Will thought back to their little interaction as he walked through the halls. Nico had had the prettiest little blush dusted across his cheeks. And he’d seemed so nervous just to talk to Will. It was kind of adorable. Will shook his head and had to consciously wipe the smile off of his face. He needed to focus. He still had to get through the rest of his day and get through a date with Luke without raising suspicion. Luke got jealous about everyone Will talked to, so he really had to keep Nico a secret if he wanted to form any kind of friendship with him.

-/-/-

He sighed. It was a pretty miserable thought, and he knew how bad it sounded, even in his own head. But still, he was kind of stuck until further notice, so there wasn’t much to be done other than play along anyway. He rubbed his face and ran his hands through his hair, just to try and look a little less happy and a little more disheveled. He was sure he’d get that way once he was back at work anyway. Paperwork wasn’t nearly as stressful as actually being a nurse or doctor in the hospital, but deciphering terrible handwriting and trying to fill in the blanks of quick scribbling made him want to tear his hair out on even the best of days. He hoped Nico was off to a better part of his day.

[ask-will-and-nico]

Oh. The smooth baritone of Will’s voice. The easy smile. The relaxed body language. It all did something to Nico and he suddenly had butterflies in his stomach. When was the last time he’d felt like that? He could feel himself blush and felt like an idiot for it, especially because he knew how obvious it was on his pale skin. He cleared his throat and noticed that the other med students were tiredly waiting for Will now. He suddenly felt even more embarrassed with the audience. “Right. So, um. Text me, yeah?” Nico said. So much for any of the confidence he’d felt when he first walked up to Will. But at least he’d done it. That counted for something, right?

-

Will stuffed the paper into his pocket, and went back to work. He had to take this class in his lunch break just to squeeze it into his schedule. He hoped with everything that, by the time Luke picked him up, he'd forget about it, just so it wouldn't show on his face. Luke was definitely the jealous type

-/-/-

“Yeah, I’ll text you. Maybe I’ll see you around?” He asked, probably sounding too hopeful. Nico was cute though, he couldn’t help himself. And he couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually made a real friend, and not just someone he worked in a group project with. Nico nodded before rushing out of the room and Will smiled a little bit. Well, at least his day hadn’t been total trash. He figured he’d turn around to teasing from his classmates, but surprisingly no one said anything, they were all too engrossed in their phones or desperately clinging to their coffees and sleeping with their eyes open to notice him. He grabbed his backpack and nodded before shuffling out of the room and heading back towards the hospital.

[ask-will-and-nico]

"Now, um, I'm gonna need a volunteer for a demonstration on how to apply a tourniquet. Would anyone like to come up here and help me?" Nico knew exactly what a tourniquet was, and how much they hurt. But he didn't hesitate at all to raise his hand. "I volunteer as tribute!" He grinned sheepishly, painfully aware of what a dork he looked like. Why did he say that?

-

When class ended, all Nico’s classmates packed up and booked it out of there while the med students were still packing up. Nico didn’t want to make a scene or make things awkward for Will, so he scrawled his name and number on a slip of paper and walked up to Will before he could let himself chicken out. “Hey,” he said, trying to sound casual. “Good to see you again.” He’d never been this forward with anyone before, but something inexplicably drew him to the blonde and he would hate himself if he let this moment go. He’d just casually give Will his number, and then the ball would be in his court.

-/-/-

“What’re the odds we went to the same school?” Will asked, giving a tired smile. Nico chuckled and shrugged. “They have to be pretty low. And yet…” Nico knew he wasn’t going to have his nerve for too much longer, and he thrust the paper forward to Will, who looked a little startled, looking down at the paper. “Sorry,” Nico mumbled, but he wasn’t, not really. “It’s, um, it’s my number. Phone. Number.” He said awkwardly, inwardly cringing. Of course it was his phone number. He felt like an idiot as he stood in front of Will, who still looked mildly alarmed. “Just- since the, um, odds. They’re so low. We should take advantage of it, right?” He asked. Will’s lips slowly curled into a soft smile, and his tired blue eyes finally looked up at Nico, and, oh. He was so handsome when he smiled. He took the paper from Nico, his hands rough but warm. He had lots of little knicks and scars on his hands, and Nico wondered what each one was from. “You’re right. We should take advantage of it,” Will said easily, not awkward in the slightest.

[ask-will-and-nico]

It was Will, bouncy blonde curls and all. He looked just as exhausted as the other med students, sporting a styrofoam cup of coffee, but he was there. Nico wondered if he’d even remember him. Probably not. But Nico was suddenly so grateful to have to take this class. He was grateful that he’d only cut his classes to half time instead of dropping out entirely, like he’d originally considered. He was grateful for any shitty circumstances that had led him to that moment because he would actually have a chance to talk to Will again and maybe even get his number because he couldn’t get the blonde out of his head.

-

Will's eyes lit up when he saw Nico, but he quickly turned away. He was afraid of... What, exactly, he didn't know. He shrank into himself, hoping Nico would see it as a sign to give him space. But... Then he felt guilty. So he forced himself to give Nico a small wave.

-/-/-

Nico suddenly wished he put more effort into brushing his hair this morning. He knew he probably didn’t look very attractive, especially not at eight forty two in the morning. When Will waved, Nico felt himself smile despite himself, and gave a little wave back. They probably looked goofy, and maybe a bit weird to their classmates, and Nico got a little self conscious. For the rest of the class, Nico wasn’t really paying too much attention to anything except Will. He talked about some first aid something or another, Nico couldn’t really say what. He was more distracted by the way Will’s biceps flexed when he was showing how to help stop bleeding. He couldn’t help but notice the scratch on Will’s face, and the dark bruise on his neck. It looked like he had tried to cover it up, but they both were fairly obvious to Nico, who knew a thing or two about covering up injuries. He wondered what they were from.

[ask-will-and-nico]

It almost sounded too good to be true, but he knew he’d get there one day. He just had to keep going. He thought of his Mama, the woman who’d raised him to be determined and persevere through thick and thin. Then he thought about his dad. His dad never expected him to amount to much. Just the spite was enough to fuel him most of the time. He could deal with Luke. And maybe he’d get lucky and run into that pretty stranger again. He just needed to get through another night, another day. He’d get there.

-

It felt as though he blinked, and his alarm was already sounding. He dragged himself out of bed, chugged the last Red Bull, and had his hand on the doorknob when Luke's hand laid on his waist. "Hey... Date tonight after work. We're going to Applebee's." Will sighed. "Sounds fun." In all honesty, it didn't, he wasn't even sure why Luke still bothered with date nights, but his opinions didn't matter anymore.

Once at work, he did his best not to draw attention to himself, drinking as much shitty office coffee as he could get away with, and waiting for the clock to strike five so he could meet Luke outside.

-/-/-

Nico yawned and tried to keep his eyes open through class, but he was exhausted. He’d been up most of the night thanks to his neighbor’s apparent partying, and he couldn’t say he had too terribly much interest in his mandatory first aid class. He didn’t understand why he had to take it, but it was a requirement for the school’s graduation. Something about how anyone could be the one to need to have to know how to save someone’s life and all that stuff. Nico figured it was probably just an excuse to get the med students a free pass to teach in front of a captive audience. He yawned again as the equally tired looking medical students shuffled in, some holding cups of coffee, and some sporting bright red eyes that Nico knew was a result of their…medical knowledge. His heart skipped a beat at the last student who walked through the door.

[ask-will-and-nico]

His relationship with Luke was rocky at best, abusive at worst. Will wasn’t in denial about that. Not anymore, at least. He’d become more of a verbal punching bag for Luke, and, every once in a while, a physical one. But, Will only got a small stipend from the school, so he couldn’t afford rent in New York, and it wasn’t like he had time to make friends to see if he could find another roommate. Besides, it’s not like Luke ever forced him to do anything sexual against his will. He had his own room, a relatively clean apartment, and food on the table. All he had to pay for was part of the utilities. He couldn’t be ungrateful when some people had it so much worse. Will sighed and threw the napkin away before turning the light off and climbing into bed.

He couldn’t stop his thoughts from wandering, he’d never been good at keeping his thoughts under control. He thought again about the boy at the subway. He…had to admit, he couldn’t remember what his name had been, other than not American. He’d been cute though, and Will had felt attracted to him in a way he hadn’t felt to anyone else in a long time. At least, not since he started dating (and fell out of dating) Luke. He rubbed his eyes. The guy had seemed nice, if a bit standoffish and unsure of himself. Will was used to that though, working in health care. When people weren’t confident in themselves, it often manifested as aggression or shyness. Will thought maybe it had been the latter with the stranger. Will groaned. He didn’t need to be inviting anymore drama into his life, especially not when he was getting so close to getting his license to practice medicine. Once he could find a more stable job, he could get out of this shitty living arrangement. And for that, he needed his medical license. Then he could go full-time at the hospital and not just be a desk jockey.

[ask-will-and-nico]

It didn’t even make sense. Why would Will come back in the middle of the night anyway? Nico rolled his eyes at himself. He was just… being ridiculous. He didn’t need a relationship right now, not after everything that had happened. And it wasn’t like he had a great track record with relationships anyhow. He heaved a sigh and sat down. He’d take a break and then head back. … Meanwhile, Will was just getting to bed. He’d had so much homework after dinner, so he just hoped he’d get a few hours of sleep before he had to go back for clinicals.

Will yawned and stretched his arms over his head. He was tired, but he’d been tired for a long time. That was kind of his default state of being these days. He scratched his cheek, trying to convince himself not to pick at the scabs, though it didn’t work. He felt the heat of the blood welling up a moment later and sighed. Well, so much for keeping things conspicuous. He went to get a napkin and thought, involuntarily, about the guy from the subway station. He’d given Will this look, like he could understand the way Will looked, and he’d been there before too. Or maybe he was there now. The thought made Will shudder, just as the door to the apartment slammed shut. He sighed again. He was hoping he’d be able to get to sleep before his…roommate got back. He’d stopped referring to him in his mind as his boyfriend a long time ago, it helped separate the actions in his mind.

[ask-will-and-nico]

It, unfortunately, didn’t work any faster. He heaved another sigh and forced himself to go to his room and gather a load of laundry. He trudged back to the laundry closet in the hallway and threw the clothes in the washer. He was grateful he’d managed to find an apartment with a washer and dryer so he didn’t have to use a laundromat or communal laundry, at least, even if some of the neighbors sucked. Once the washer was running, he went back to the kitchen, still waiting on the coffee to finish. He was tempted to text Jason, but he was a light sleeper and Nico would feel bad if the text woke him up. His mind wandered back to the guy he’d met at the station again. It had been so long since someone had caught Nico’s eye and he just couldn’t stop thinking about him. Once the coffee finished, Nico poured it into a tumbler and put on a jacket and some shoes. He’d go for a walk to get some jitters out.

He sighed softly and hoped he would be far enough away from his neighbor’s weed smoke he wouldn’t have to smell it in the hallway. He wasn’t bothered by their habits, he just wished they did gummies like everyone else so he didn’t have to constantly smell like he was the one who was smoking constantly. Nico didn’t really have any destination in mind as he started walking, which, honestly, probably should’ve been his first thought. He should’ve figured out where he was going, lest he let his feet take him somewhere unfamiliar. Or worse. By the time Nico realized he had wandered to the subway station without his consent, he knew he had it down bad. Even worse was when he realized he was subconsciously hoping to catch sight of a particular head of blond hair or a flash of blue eyes. It was getting late, but it was the city, after all, so the station was still busy, but not nearly as much as during the rush hours. Nico groaned at his own stupidity. He couldn’t believe he just walked all the way back here hoping to find a stranger. What the heck was wrong with him?

[ask-will-and-nico]

“I’m sure he got home fine,” Hazel assured. Nico nodded. They talked for a bit longer before they wrapped up their call. It was always nice talking to Hazel. Helped him get his bearings on himself. But it also made him feel guilty for not taking better care of himself. Nico got up from his bed, sleepiness long gone, and went to the kitchen for some water. He scanned his apartment, messy and unkempt. Maybe he should clean up. If Hazel did want to visit soon, he didn’t want his apartment to be so disorganized. But he just didn’t have the energy right then. He sighed deeply and slumped down on the couch, mind wandering back to his nightmare.

He tried not to think about it too much. His therapist said when he got stuck in his thoughts doing something physical could help. He didn’t feel like he had the energy to do anything physical though. He was tried from the lack of sleep, and decided making a cup of coffee would have to do as “something physical.” If nothing else, the caffeine would at least give him enough of a boost to be slightly productive. Maybe. Maybe he could finally do a load of laundry. That pile has been staring him down for a while. He decided to take a bit of a risk and open the window for a little bit of air and was immediately accosted by the smell of his next door neighbor’s weed smoke. He coughed a few times and closed the window. Well, that was a bust. He had been told fresh air could help slumps too, but fresh air was hard to come by in the city. He sighed rather dramatically and glared at the coffee machine, hoping he could scare it into working faster.

[ask-will-and-nico]

hi! i sent something in for the mini fic recently and i was just wondering if you got it?

Yes! Working on it now!