Flatmates - Solangelo AU

TWENTY

"Nico!" Will jogged towards him, and kneeled down beside him. Nico didn't look up, but mumbled into his hoodie. "What?" Will asked quietly, not hearing him.

"I said," Nico enunciated "go away please." Nico reached up and wiped a tear away with his hand, the salt water leaving a burning sensation on his gash.

"I'm not leaving you like this, Nico. I care about you." Will whispered, voice cracking slightly in the middle.

"You shouldn't." Nico's voice was lifeless, drained of all emotion.

"Hey," Will's voice was soft "look at me." His hand came up to Nico's head and tilted his face gently towards him. "I know you don't think highly of yourself," Will started and Nico scoffed. "No. You don't get to self deprecate like that. You don't see what I see when I look at you."

One of Will's hands was gently rubbing up and down Nico's arm, and his other had found the older boy's hair, tangling in his hair, pulling his head into his chest. Nico focused on his heartbeat like he had told Will to do once. That night felt so long ago to him. The steady rhythm calmed him down some, and he listened to Will, albeit hesitantly.

"When I look at you, all I see is kindness. You put up so many defenses, and you scare people away to prevent hurt, but that isn't you. You go out of your way to help everyone, even when it's at your own expense. Even after my stepdad had been absolutely horrible to you, you supported me. I had asked you to stay, and you did, even though Victor could have-" Will's fingers were wound tightly around Nico's arm, and he had to take a few deep breaths.

"You did research when you found out about my anxiety so you could help me. You still cook on days you feel like absolute crap even though I'm perfectly capable of just making a sandwich. You put aside your own life to help me when school makes things tense. You didn't make me return Nyx when any sane person would have, because you saw how much she meant to me. You're the type of person who sees someone getting abused and puts a stop to it, even if that means pouring hot coffee all over him or her. Kindness radiates off you and when you laugh, it's completely infectious."

"That's a complete exaggeration." Nico argued.

"It's the absolute truth. I'm not saying you're perfect, no one is. Yes, you have problems, who doesn't? But you're working on them, and I'd much rather be friends with you, as is, than some ideal version you think you need to be. Even if you don't think so, you deserve people in your life who care about you. You have Hazel, Alice, Winona, and Reyna. You have me. We all care about you."

Nico felt completely overwhelmed. He barely registered Will wiping away his tears, or the fact that it was now almost completely dark out. He just ran Will's words through his mind. People cared about him. It was new concept to him. He was used to being on his own. He loved Hazel and even though she was starting a new chapter in life, it didn't mean that she would stop caring about him.

"I still feel horrible that I can't be what you want." Nico admitted. He cared about Will more than anything, and didn't want to let him down.

"I want nothing more than to be friends with you. You're mental health is what's important here. Are you ready to go back inside now?" Will asked him.

"Sure." Nico agreed softly. Will stood up and held out his hands to help Nico up. Nico reached up, and Will latched onto his wrists, for which he was thankful, so as to not irritate the injuries on his hands further.

They walked quietly, climbing the stairs without even a word. Will opened the door, having not locked it in his rush to go after Nico. "Let's get you cleaned up." Will led Nico into the bathroom and gently rinsed his hands under warm water, clearing away the dirt and rocks and grabbing the first aid kit. "We really need to stop making this a regular occurrence." Will joked, and Nico gave a small, sad smile.