You Are My Sunshine (Solangelo)
He lifts the bottle and pours the hard liquor into a short glass. Pressing the rim of the cup to his lips, Will swallows it down in one gulp. His eyes roam over the box sitting in front of him. It was an old shoe box that was tearing at the edges and on the lid three words were written in slightly messy cursive handwriting. ‘Happy anniversary William.’ It was a gift from Nico eight years ago on their six year anniversary.
Will was going to propose to him. He’d been building courage to do it for almost a year when finally Percy and Jason threatened him that if Will didn’t hurry and propose then they’d do it for him.
The week leading up to that night he’d seen very little of Nico who had been running all over New York meeting with old friends of their’s, and Nico would never tell Will why he went to see all of those people. That night they sat by the fireplace and spoke of old quests and the adventures they used to have when they were younger. Nico stepped into their bedroom for a moment to get his present for Will. It was wrapped with some old newspaper because the son of Hades couldn’t find any actual wrapping paper. On top of the messily wrapped box was a big bright yellow ribbon.
“Neeks, you didn’t have to get me anything.” Will had said with a smile and set down his cup of coffee and took the box anyways. Nico chuckled at Will’s excitement as he tore off the paper vigorously. “Well, I did so I hope you like it. Because it took me forever to track those down.” Nico plopped down beside Will and moved the blanket they had previously been wrapped in to the side. Will looked down at the now unwrapped shoe box in slight disappointment. He plastered a fake grin on his face and turned to Nico. “Uh, thanks Nico. I love shoes…” Once again Nico chuckled at Will and shook his head. “Just open it.” Nico was sitting with his legs crossed and his chin laid in his hand tilted, waiting for Will to open the box.
Shrugging, Will lifted the lid that Nico had written ‘happy anniversary William’ on. As his eyes rested on what was inside he gasped in disbelief. He looked up at Nico and asked incredulously, “What? But how did you… When? I-I mean, I love it. I really do. But these were destroyed in the fire so may years ago!”
Nico smiled and reached up to Will’s face, wiping the stray tears away and caressed his face gently. What Nico had given Will brought tears to his eyes. It was all of the pictures he had of his friends, well more like family. All he had left of some of them. Sadly, they had been destroyed in an accidental fire one year in the Apollo cabin. Will had been so depressed about losing all these moments that for a week another Apollo kid had to take care of everyone at the infirmary while he mostly sat in Nico’s cabin and cried on the Ghost King’s pillow. How did Nico possibly do this? “I found a bunch of these film strips in the big house’s attic with so many pictures on them and saw these pictures in there so all I had to do was take them to get developed. Not really sure how they did it, but they did.” Nico explained and picked up one of his favorites from the top of the pile and smiled at it.
The picture had been taken a few months after the war with Gaea and they had just finished playing a game of Capture the Flag. The seven and Nico stood there, arms wrapped around each other all smiling for the camera. In front of them was Coach Hedge gripping his baseball bat and attempting to smile. To just anyone, it was just a normal day at Camp Half Blood. But, if you were to look closer, you’d see that Nico had not been smiling at the camera. He was looking at a certain son of Apollo. That was the day Nico finally admitted his feelings to Will. That was when Will finally kissed Nico. It was the day that Nico felt true happiness again.
Nico hadn’t noticed the tears building up in his eyes until one fell onto the photograph. He wiped the picture then his eyes and set it back into the box of memories. Will set the box of his past next to him and reached into his pocket feeling the small velvet box that held his future. Just as he was about to speak, the house phone rang. Nico hopped to his feet and picked up the phone from the kitchen and pressed talk. “Hello?” Nico answered. Will kept looking through the pictures as he waited for Nico to hang up. Nico’s smile from earlier turned into a scowl and he huffed. “Can’t you ask Elizabeth? I’m a little busy tonight.” This caught Will’s attention. The only Elizabeth he and Nico knew of was the Elizabeth from the hospital he and Will. And that meant that Henry was calling. Henry was working the night shift that night and Nico was on call but he and Will figured because Henry was working tonight Nico wouldn’t get called out. But they were wrong.
Nico sighed and placed his hand on his forehead. “Alright, alright. But you so owe me, Henry.” Nico said in defeat and hung up. Not even stopping to sit back down, he headed into the bedroom once more. Will got up and followed him, sitting on the bed as Nico opened the closet and removed his clothing to replace it with his navy blue hospital scrubs. “So what is it?” Will asked him. “Elizabeth is out of town visiting family and Henry said that his son was getting sick and he had to go right away since his wife is in Vegas or something.” Nico informed Will as he slipped his shirt over a white long sleeved undershirt. Will so badly wanted to just go ahead and ask Nico to stay with him for the rest of his life. But, he just felt like it wasn’t the right time. So instead, he asked, “What kind of case is it?” Nico was a maternity nurse but he mostly worked in the NICU while.
“Just a C-section so I don’t think it’ll take too long and then I’ll be back home.” he answered his boyfriend while retrieving his shoes and car keys and heading towards the front door. As Nico stood up from tying the laces of his shoes, he looked at Will apologetically. “I’m so sorry this ruined our anniversary, Sunshine. But when I get home we’ll do whatever you want to, okay?” Will walked closer to Nico and held his face in his hands. “Nothing can ruin our anniversary as long as I end up with you.” he whispered and kissed Nico’s soft and rosy lips. Nico smiled and pulled away saying, “Okay, I’ll back soon. Love you, Sunshine.” Will had a grin on his face when he said, “Love you too, Shadow.” One more kiss between the two and Nico left.
Later that night, Nico was heading home, driving in a rush to get back to his loving boyfriend. He had the radio playing some random station. Nico was thinking about Will at home alone and how all he wanted was to be there next him. Not paying full attention to the road, he accidentally ran a red light at a three way intersection just as an eighteen wheeler was plowing through the nearly empty streets of 11:36 at night. Nico was rushed out of his thoughts when the truck diver put on his horn. Although not very long, it was just long enough for Nico to have one last thought.
The eighteen wheeler smashed into the driver’s side, pushing Nico’s car into a light pole. Nico had been killed almost immediately.
Terrified of being sent to jail for manslaughter, the truck driver backed up and drove off, leaving Nico’s smashed body and car against the light pole. The car’s headlights were still on and the radio was still on that random station. An old Johnn Cash song was playing as Nico’s body, bruised and bleeding, lay completely still.
Now here Will stood in his kitchen of the same apartment as he and Nico lived in. Looking at the photos Nico had gifted him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out the small velvet box that once held his future. Now all it holds for him is a dream of another life. A happier one. For him and Nico. Tears started dripping down his face and Will couldn’t look at the pictures or the small box anymore. He didn’t want to see them ever again. Setting the pictures back into the box, he puts the ring box into the shoe box too.
Will slowly stumbles to the bathroom, bottle of hard liquor in one hand, and opens the medicine cabinet. After Nico’s death, his doctor prescribed him sleeping pills and antidepressants. He popped the cap off and swallowed whatever he needed to make this nightmare go away. Taking multiple swigs of the liquor, he opens the little orange bottle of antidepressants and stares into it. Suddenly rage consumed him and he threw the bottle at the mirror. The pills flew everywhere and the bottle rolled to the floor.
Will stomps into his bedroom and drops the bottle of liquor. “Damn it.” he slurs but didn’t pick the bottle up.Turning on the old radio on his dresser, he walks over to his bedside. After stripping off his clothes, he slips under the cold sheets. Will hummed along with the song that was playing until he fell into a dreamless and painless darkness. An old song began playing on the radio and it sung to him.
