A/N - I feel the need to note that basically nothing in this chapter was actually going to be apart of this story, I mean, it didn't go along with the plan for this story. But ya, then last chapter happened, and now we have *gestures vaguely at the blob of hopeless writing below* this. Oops
*Nico's POV*
Nico and Will were lying in Nico's bed, hands clasped, eyes studying the folded curtains above them.
Nico had found Will in the back of the shop, tugging at his hair nervously.
Nico had studied Will for a moment. Unsure about how concerned he should be. There seemed to be nothing wrong. But those three boys . . . what they'd said . . .
But there had been no blood, Will had even smiled when Nico had walked up, and had asked what was wrong when he had seen the worry on his boyfriend's face.
Nico had said he was fine and had asked of Will's well being. WIll had just shurgged,
"Same as ever, I suppose." He had grinned and taken Nico's hand. Kissing his cheek.
"We should probably get going though." He'd said.
"You're not buying anything?" Nico had questioned, Will had laughed, but it sounded different, Nico had never heard Will laugh like that.
It sounded. . . strained.
Nico knew something was off. But he didn't mention it. Will would tell him when he was ready. At least, Nico hoped.
They had explored the rest of Hogsmeade, but Nico couldn't stop glancing at Will, checking again and again to see what was wrong.
Will seemed fine, physically, at least, but he didn't seem as happy as he had when they'd first arrived.
Eventually Nico said he was cold and brought them back to their dorm, where he lay down, Will beside them.
That was how they had arrived at the position they were currently vacating.
"Will?" Nico asked, turning over to face his boyfriend, breaking the silence stretching between them.
He had to know. He was being impatient. But that didn't change the facts that something was wrong.
"Mmm?" Will hummed, eyes not meeting Nico's.
"What happened at Honeydukes?"
Will still wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Um, you bought that candy for Annabeth, I don't know, Nico." Nico eyed him, shoulders slumping,
"I've never had you lie to me before, Will."
"I'm not lying." Will took his hand out from Nico's fiddling with the hem of his shirt, he looked ill.
Nico lifted his hands to Will's face,
"Please, il mio amore." Will shook his head, turning his face away from Nico.
"Can you just leave it alone! Just, go!" He snapped, Nico recoiled, Will had never been mad at him before.
Well, that wasn't particularly true, WIll had been mad at Nico before, for shadow traveling, mostly.
Things that showed Nico that Will cared.
But this wasn't the same thing. THIS time Will was mad mad . . .
Nico set his jaw. Remembering how, at the beginning, he'd stubbornly refused Will's help. And Will had been equally as stubborn back. Well, now the situations were reversed.
"No, I'm not," Nico said stubbornly, sitting up and crossing his arms, "And I'm not leaving either. For one it's my bed, and for the other you're clearly lying."
Will huffed and got up from the bed,
"Then I guess I'll leave then."
"No, no you won't," Nico stood as well, blocking Will from leaving, "Neither of us is leaving until you tell me whats wrong," Will wouldn't look at him, "Please, Will, I just want to help, let me help you." Will shook his head, he seemed unable to talk.
Nico took a breathe, he didn't know what to do in this type of situation.
It had always been Will who had been better at this sort of thing. There was nothing, right now, that Nico could be mad at, nothing he could fight.
"Okay, um, well," Nico fumbled for words before sighing, "Will, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do right now. I know something's wrong, and you don't want to tell me what it is. But I won't just ignore it," Will had started hugging himself, "But you don't need to tell me right now, alright? But I won't ignore it." Nico reached out for WIll again, the blonde haired boy flinched.
"Do you not want to be touched?" Nico remebered hating touch, sometimes he still did, he understood this.
When Will didn't respond Nico nodded, "Ya, it's okay, I think we should go to sleep," Nico paused, considering, "Do you want to sleep by yourself?" Will shook his head. And Nico nodded,
"I won't touch you, alright, and you don't need to talk either. You can have that side, and I'll stay on the opposite side." Carefully Nico slid into the side of the bed he had gestured to as his, Will doing the same.
They resumed the same positions they had been in only moments before, except this time they didn't touch.
Will must have fell asleep, but Nico was still awake when the other boys came into the dormitory, as the lights clicked off and everything turned dark.
So it startled him when he felt Will move closer to him in the bed, when Will whispered into the darkenss.
"It wasn't my fault, right?" They still weren't touching so Nico carefully turned as well, so he could feel Will's breath agianst his cheeks.
"What wasn't your fault?"
"Why they, they did what they did." Nico thought back to the boy's conversating as they left the shop and felt his anger growing.
"Who's they?" Will shook his head,
"The, uh, Dr--, I don't know." Will was lying, but this time Nico didn't point it out.
"That's fine," Will had started shaking agian but Nico didn't try to touch him, he didn't want to make it worse. Will seemed to be forcing the words out of himself.
"You know, I'm a fast healer," Nico didn't say anything, but he felt like he was listening with ever inch of his soul, "so when I get hurt it tends not to last very long and then its all better. But," he paused, gathering himself, "I've never really considered what it meant, you know, to never have any recollection of those times, I mean I do remember them, I just don't have any scars, because all my wounds heal so quickly. So it's harder to remember. And I don't know if that's good or not. If it's good that eventually I'll forget. Or maybe I won't ever forget. And, and, I don't even know why I'm thinking about this. It's not, it's not like they cut me or anthing. So I wouldn't have a scar or anything." Will had started hyperventilating, and this time Nico did touch him.
Tentatively at first, a hand on the cheek. When Will didn't flinch away Nico breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Will, you have mental scars too, you know?" Nico felt Will nod his head, "And not remebering sucks, becasue then you can't grow from things. But I don't think that you would ever forget the really bad things. I think you will always remember those times. And while that may feel horrible and you may hate it just remember it's a fact of life. There has to be bad for there to be good. It's fine if you don't have scars to remember every little battle, I think, as long as you remember the big ones. The ones that you grew from." Will sniffed, pressing his cheek into Nico's hand.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore." Nico smiled sadly.
"Thats okay, just know that I love you."
"I know."
It was only deep into the hours of the night that Nico realized he had never given Will his Valentine's Day present.
A/N - Lets call this character development, shall we?
Ya, I don't know what that was. But only that I really enjoyed writing it. 😁😁😁
I hope you liked it!
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-Nameunknown
Word count: 1283