Red. Comfortable red. The warm red hue of flesh, all that Nico could see, lids shut and back to the sun.
White hot rays, puncturing and battling against the fresh armour of the 50 sunscreen his boyfriend had to basically force on him.
Nico definitely did not give in to the struggle, just so he could feel the alarmingly feverish digits of Will Solace, pressing down on his shoulders, scapulas, down in the faint gaps of his ribs, down on the bumpy road of his spine, to his narrow hips and on the small of his back. And Nico did most definitely not turn his head from the boy now resting on the fresh grass besides him, just so he could squish his face on his crossed forearms, concealing a blooming tint of embarrassment. Poorly concealing, might we add, because - Nico knew - his flush would not just rest on his face but stain up to the tip of his ears and down to the back of his neck. Nico could basically hear the annoyingly triumphant smirk, annoyingly pulling on the annoying lips of his annoying boyfriend.
"Just so you know." Will had said, shooting some sunscreen onto his palm and down on Nico's back, following the same motion and routine some would do to get something out of a dog's mouth "I'm doing it because finding actually good aloe vera in this economy is a pain in the ass "
Liar, Nico would've rebutted, hadn't he been to focused on grumbling and cursing his boyfriend away. Liar, liar, pants on fire he would've actually said. He knew Will too well and he knew how much - a very normal amount, really - he enjoyed teasing and taunting Nico especially on sunburns, with his perfect amber skin, pearls of freckles, free from the angry punch of the sun. And Nico could not help but stare as his glazed skin moved and shimmered under the summer heat, following every shape of his perfect form, which was definitely not one of the reasons Nico had been fighting for his life for the past ten minutes, trying to sink in his own arms.
A thrush behind Nico's head told him his restless boyfriend changed position, again.
"Can you put this on me?"
Nico did not even raise his head "Frying oil?"
"Sometimes you're so funny, I forget to laugh."
A gentle poke on his ribs wiped it away at an alarming speed. "Nico" Then another poke. "di Angelo" And then another one. "Wednesday Addams" One more "Pete Wentz" One more. Nico grabbed Will's wrist, knowing to well that it was just the start, that he had a whole list and that he will force him to hear them all. Nico finally rose from the comfort of his pillow - forearms - and scowled. Before he even could articulate some clever comeback in his mind, Will's eyes wandered down his frame and widened, a loud gasp parted his lips.
And Nico knew damn well that in Will's dramatic language that could mean either a giant tarantula had crawled on his back or that he noticed a new mole. So he waited for a cue to start going absolutely ham or roll his eyes. Fortunately for him, it was neither a ham or a roll of eyes day. Well, maybe jut a bit of a roll of eyes, but very tiny.
"You have a birthmark!" Will exclaimed with the glee of a child on Christmas's day.
"You've been spreading sunscreen for like- ten fucking minutes, and now you're noticing it?"
Nico couldn't fight an endeared smile off of his face. By then, it was already common knowledge to Nico, but it would never cease to amaze him how the same person with sharp blades of sapphire and steady voice of a commander, could coordinate an infirmary full of teenagers (and trust, that takes talent; a miracle even) and heal away a mortal wound in the same breath, also wouldn't notice if he was walking straight into a cliff with a warning sign planted an inch from his nose.
"You knew?" Will asked, bewildered.
"No, I've been living in this body for just like sixteen years, so it's all pretty new to me."
Will stuck his tongue out, a little pink glow resting on the apple of his cheeks "It's not like you could possibly know every inch of yourself.." he mumbled. His face relaxed for a while, but his eyes still tense and squinted, studying the silver shine on his boyfriend's back or pondering something, now lost in the deep deep end of his thoughts. Then slowly but surely, bit by bit, tooth by tooth, his lips parted again. This time, it was one big smile. One of the rare ones. One that displayed carelessly the crooked path of his bottom canines or the slight diastema of his incisors. One of those Nico so dearly loved and yearned for.
"You know," Will said, bringing one callous index to caress the mark on Nico's skin, casting lighting in his muscles, causing shivers down his back. "It's in the shape of Texas." that cheeky smile just kept growing and growing.
Nico was sure that at some point it would reach his ears. "Stop messing with me, Solace." he shook his head.
Nico could see just how hard Will was trying to battle that smile off of his face "I'm dead serious. I do not lie when it comes to the the land of Whataburger and Chicken Fried Steak."
"Cardiovascular grafts." Now Will was dead serious.
"Texas did not invented cardaviscu-- that."
Will nodded, like he had been dying to say that and honestly, Nico was dying to hear it. He loved when Will got all jittery and exited when it came to pour down medical informations down his ears almost as much as he loved grim medical fun facts.
"Huston, 1954. Which was also how we found out nylon disintegrates too fast in our body."
Nico was genuinely tuned in for his rant and waiting for Will to dwell on that but an uncharacteristically sappy thought flashed through his mind.
"You swear that it's shaped like Texas?"
Will solemnly put a hand on his heart. "I swear on Mama Solace" and that was all Nico needed. Yeah the oath on the Styx was fatal if not fulfilled or whatever but an oath on Naomi Solace was the highest honor Will could grace him with.
"Okay. Belly down" he ordered and Will complied, a little puzzled look knitting his brows together.
Nico straightened himself up and carefully started studying the patterned backside. He also took the opportunity to linger just one second more on the constellation of his freckles, drawing invisible connections between them, admiring the slow rise and fall of his ribs, breath so relaxed under his touch. An implicit trust fall that tugged a little red string on Nico's heart. His eyes fixiated. A little, irregular splotch. An adorable and indelible coffee stain, painting Will's skin. A nebula, adding to the caramel starry night gently resting on his back and there was no need for Nico to be an astronomer to know that that was the last sight he wanted to see if he was ever doomed by the blinding light of the sun.
"You're not gonna believe this" the soft scratch of a voice told Will "You have a brithmark too."
"I've been living in this body for seventeen years." Will promptly mocked him, earning a well planted smack on his head. Then he stiffened, his breath hitching, like he suddenly remembered something. "Oh my gods don't tell me. It's in the shape of Italy." he guessed
A light chuckle shook Nico's bony shoulders. "Better." he said and jolted backwards to avoid Will's forehead smashing his nose. It would've ruined the moment.
"It's in the shape of Venice?" he said, so loud that some distant anrgy thrushing of bushes told them he had startled awake some poor nymph.
Nico shook his head again "It's in the shape of Veneto " "Is that were the Vatican is?"
Nico's shoulders dropped, unsure if his smile should also drop in disappointment or he should give in to the laugh bubbling in his belly. So with unsteady voice he said "No, ding-dong. It's the region where Venice is, you know? Like Austin is in Texas, Venice is in Veneto."
"Yeah, alright, I got that."
Will looked in the distance, probably registering the information that Nico just dropped. Nico knew it landed when another soft but unnecessary dramatic gasp rattled Will's chest. A grin stretching to the side, Nico watched, careful not to miss the endless cracks and bite marks on those full and perfect heartshaped lips. "We're soulmates" soft like summer breeze, it came out of his mouth, the realisation of another red string. Another yarn line that wrapped around their pinkies, that pulled them closer and tightened every time they swayed apart.
Bright red like the warm, comfortable hue of flesh under the sun.
