Chapter Text
Nursey jumps back like something stung him and Will, who had more of his weight than he needed to on Nursey started to fall forward.
“Oh no,” was his brilliant response because his limbs felt too heavy to try to brace himself.
Reaching a hand out to stop his forward descent Nursey repositioned them both so that he was sitting with Will almost between his legs. “Well Dex patrol wasn’t good for anything! We should get you out of here. You can crash at mine, I’ll take the couch.”
“No matter how much I want that,” Will flops his head back against Nursey’s chest so he can kind of see him, “Holster threatened me with singing Baby Shark if I moved from this spot. And you don’t understand how he makes songs I like become terrible, imagine Baby Shark.”
“First off I have no clue what you’re saying and I’m not quite sure you do either. Secondly, Holtzy won’t mind if I have you. I promise.”
“I can’t tell you why because you’ll think I’m broken but he will so care.” Will released a long sigh and started to shift his weight like he was getting up.
“Slow down there Dex,” Nursey’s grip tightened over Will’s stomach making him aware of the feeling of Nursey all around him, “we don’t have to leave but let’s stay sitting here. I know for a fact you’re not broken but you might become it if I release drunk Dex.”
Will let out an involuntary giggle and pushed his head farther onto Nursey’s shoulder to see him better, “You have really nice eyes.”
A surprised laugh came out of Nursey followed by, “So do you Dex-a-roo.”
“If science was, y’know, different, you and Javi would make the coolest eyed kids ever. So soulful and capitating,” he shook his head, “capacitating,” he grunted in frustration, “captivating.”
Graciously, they sat silently for a while allowing the noise of the Kegster fill the air. Then Will felt Nursey shift behind him and bring his face fully into his eyeline. “Uh Dex?”
“Yeah Nurse?”
“Has Holster said you’re broken?”
“What? No! He’s helping to fix me. Well not fix me I guess, I’m not even sure that’s possible, but he’s helping me cope”
_/\_
Regret.
That’s the only thing Will can think of. He doesn’t know where he is and he doesn’t want to open his eyes to find out. He feels both separated from his body and aware that every cell is in pain. His mouth is so dry he thinks his lips might be glued together.
He’s laying at an almost 90 degree angle and his front is warm while his back is ice cold. He extends a hand out lightly feeling beside him and strongly praying he won’t stick his hand in last night’s vomit. What he feels is cold and smooth and not bed-like in any imaginable way. Did Holster throw him in the tub?
As if he attracted to the bathroom by this very question someone slams open the door, followed by a strong southern “Oh dear”.
Will raises a hand in what he hopes is a ‘hi, I’m fine, please leave me here alone in the dark’ way. Unfortunately, because the world hates him and Bitty is a bit of a helicopter parent the lights are flicked on and he starts trying to lift Will up.
“Bits, for the love of everything good in the world, leave me here to die. Win the next game in my honour, but leave me here to die.” His voice was wheezy and croaky and it hurt his throat to talk.
“Dex, who knew you could be so dramatic. I think Nursey is rubbing off on you.” Bitty tsked saying he would be back with a wet washcloth to put on Will’s forehead.
Grateful for this brief reprieve, Will closes his eyes and sinks lower into the tub.
“You shouldn’t have let Ransom and Holster talk you into drinking with them.”
Suddenly, uncontrollably the words Will was about to say came out in song, followed by an accompanying beat “If I knew then what I knew now, I’d have found the way to make things work out somehow.”
“Pardon?” Bitty’s tone was slightly shocked but also amused, “Honey, I think you’re still drunk. Thank gosh, I brought reinforcements to help get you up.”
“Holster?” Was his mouth always this dry after he drank? For the life of him he could not remember a time where his mouth was ever this dry.
“No Dexy-poo, just the guy who actually took care of you last night.” Nursey’s voice shocked Will into opening his eyes. He kind of wished he didn’t because he forgot how bright the light was but also because of the glare that Nurse was shooting his way for no discernible reason.
Despite all this, Will has to admit Nursey looks amazing. His green shirt bringing out a whole new colour spectrum in his eyes. The way the sleeves hug his biceps also helps. Which isn’t fair with the state Will himself is currently in.
Will has always known that Derek Nurse is a gorgeous person but usually he errs on the side of hot mess and not just hot so Will never feels fully unarmed in his presence. Now? With more tub juice than blood in his body and Derek Nurse towering over him like the picture of put together, he’s never felt more undergunned and unprepared in his life.
Again, without his permission he starts singing, “Oh, you’re such a pretty thing. When I look at you, I’m always looking through anime eyes. A million little stars bursting into hearts in my anime eyes.”
What the actual fuck?
He slaps a hand over his mouth like he’s trying to keep the words in his mouth, but it’s too late the words are out there.
“Dude, you are so drunk still.” Nurse mumbles as he helps Bitty get Will out of the tub.
_/\_
A shower and a gallon of coffee later, Will is facedown at the table waiting for team breakfast to begin. All he wants to do is crawl back to his dorm room and crush himself under the weight of his duvet and embarrassment of calling Nursey a pretty thing to his face. Unfortunately, he now needs to talk to Holster about his uncontrollable singing.
Nursey, himself, has taken up residence beside him since he sat down but has yet to utter a single sound. That is until the chair on the other side of Will is pulled out with a deafening screech causing an unimpressed scoff to escape from Nusey’s lips.
“Nursey, Dexy,” Holster’s booming voice rattles Will’s brain.
“Stop shouting,” pleads Will without lifting his head.
“Oh, do you want me to whisper sweet nothings in your ear?” Holster does not do volume control apparently.
On his other side Nursey scoffs again.
“This is your fault show some remorse.”
“I did what I had to do for science. You gave me a hypothesis, we ran an experiment. Apparently, your hypothesis was true. Now we know that getting schwasted does not,” he did finally drop his voice on the end of his sentence, “stop your little problem.”
This time Nursey basically growled, annoyance rolling off of him in waves so strong Will didn’t need to see his face to picture his glare.
“Have something to say Nurse?” Holster tried for innocence but Will knew just how evil he could be. Well at least in his hungover state he did.
“Chill. Nothing, just you would think you would have been this glued to Poindexter’s side when you placed yourself on Dex Patrol.” Nursey’s tone was pointed, if a little harsh.
“I didn’t leave his side for more than two minutes,” Holster threw his arm around Will and pulled him closer.
Nurse scoffs again, but before he can say more the other seats around the table start to fill.
As chatter surrounds them Will finally buildups up the motivation to raise his head from the cool wood of the table, shrugging off Holster’s arm in the process.
“So, I’m reading this book for class,” Nursey starts pulling some attention his way. “It’s about this guy who puts his trust into an older man who he looks up to. The kicker is that he respects this older man so much that he misses how bad he’s being treated by him. From the outside, like as a reader, you want to be like ‘Dude, look at the situation you’re being put in by someone who should be there for you’ but you can’t.”
“Maybe, you just don’t understand the dynamic,” Holster starts in from Will’s other side, “You know as an outside… reader.”
“The thing is the main character talks about how he’s broken but never explains what MAKES him broken other than this older guy is trying to fix him. So that leads me to believe that this other guy is telling the main character that there’s something that needs fixing.”
Something about this, the broken part especially, gives Will a sense of déjà vu but he can’t place why. Maybe Nursey already told him about the book.
“Or the characters have conversations off page that divulge why the main one thinks he is broken and this older guy is just being a supportive friend.”
“I think that the other guy isn’t inherently bad but that he’s using his power in the relationship to, I don’t know exactly,” Nursey’s voice turns to steel, “maybe get his dick wet.”
“Nursey,” Chowder pipes in all of a sudden with a placating tone.
And Will? Will is so confused. He knows he’s not an English major and heck he barely even wanted to take his introductory English courses, but this does not sound like a book that would get assigned. Even in as accepting a place as Samwell. He also does not understand why Chowder just used that tone of voice.
“I think you need to reread this book, Derek, because I don’t think you have the plot at all.” Holster also has steel in his voice.
_/\_
After the disaster called team breakfast is finished, Will somehow ends up in the attic with Holster even though they are supposed to be cleaning the lawn and the kitchen respectively.
“And then I woke up and I just randomly start singing, but in like real life.” Will runs a frustrated hand through his hair making it stand up. “When I hear songs, time kind of stops and nobody else hears them. But when I do it it has to be the most public, embarrassing way possible.”
Holster looks like he’s trying to keep the glee off his face. He can’t hold in his big, stupid grin when Will tells him he called Nurse a “pretty thing”.
“This is so good.” Will kind of wants to punch Holster.
“Are you even listening, barring that Derek Nurse is obviously a very attractive individual and knows it. All of my inner thoughts are becoming outer thoughts with accompanying music.”
“Oh yes, obviously Derek Nurse is a very attractive individual.”
“You are focusing on the wrong thing here Holster. If it had been Ransom or Lardo or Jack it would’ve been the same reaction. The issue is why can’t I stop the singing? This is infinitely worse than when it happens just to me.”
“Let’s intellectualize this. What’s different today since any day you’ve been able to hear heart songs?” Holster breezes by Will’s insistence that they are not called heart songs. “Yes, my dear William, you ARE hungover today.”
When Will doesn’t say anything, Holster opens his arms in a ta-da gesture.
“Well, let’s hope you’re right or else I’m locking myself in my dorm and only leaving for games and classes.”
At that Ransom walks in and takes in the slightly tense scene. “I’m guessing you told Dex that he had to drink any time we caught Nursey looking at him.”
Will’s jaw falls open, and truly he means for no sound to come out because he feels speechless that Nurse looked at him that many times last night that he was able to get that drunk that quickly. Unfortunately, if Holster is right, Will is still hungover so what comes out is “And isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think.”