Chapter Text
“I liked your sense of style,” Will said while Nico thumbed through his clothes, looking for something to lend him. Without really meaning to, Will had shivered, which Nico seemed to immediately pick up on.
“What, random black shirts from Walmart? Thanks.”
“Yeah. I mean, I didn’t say it was good, I just said that I liked it.”
“What a guy! I’m so lucky,” Nico deadpanned clutching his hands together with mock joy. “I like this,” he added breaking character as a side note with a nod to the speaker playing the wailing guitar in the background. Will knew that Nico knew he wasn’t actually being critical. Nico had dressed simply which is what most campers did in wartime. Even so, his all-black wardrobe definitely caught Will’s eye.
“Correct opinions have been given; happy to be of service.” Will saluted and paused a beat before addressing his second comment. “I thought it’d be your kind of thing.”
They’d bonded over music and sarcasm in the few days Nico stayed in the infirmary. Will considered himself a lover of all music. and brought Nico a variety of genres to map out his tastes and keep him from feeling too trapped or bored. On the second day he brought a post-hardcore mix and knew he nailed it after he saw the way Nico’s eyes lit up when the guitar came in screeching like a siren.
From then on, his tastes had been adorably easy to predict; Nico liked his music angsty and shrill. It had been a week or two since Nico had left the infirmary, but Will was still happy to supply him with playlists and burnt CDs.
He came to visit Nico in his cabin since he was something of a homebody. Will thought the company was good for Nico, and for himself too. They’d both changed a bit in their time together, and it seemed for the better. Will offered stability and openness that helped Nico come out of his shell. And Nico boosted Will's confidence in nonconformity which helped him make bolder choices and care less about what other’s thought.
Nico had started socializing more and would play off his former aloofness to deliver the most killer one-liners. His sense of humor matched up well with Will’s own wit which was becoming drier each day they spent together. They had gotten to a point where they could set up jokes for each other and they usually got a couple snickers from other campers whenever they realized the two weren’t actually serious.
Will, having gotten back into his darker music tastes, had started dressing the part somewhat too. In addition to the music, he had planned on introducing Nico to alternative fashion (he was practically already there anyway) but had ended up adopting it himself. He’d considered dying his hair black for fun, but he felt like people would think he was either imitating Nico, or worse Percy, so he opted for a green that had since faded into lime instead.
“This okay?” Nico offered Will a tattered but thick oversized black hoodie. His cabin was well insulated, either by construction or by magic he wasn’t sure. But it kept out pretty much any outside heat and short sleeves weren’t really an option. Nico had offered him this hoodie once before, which may or may not have been exactly why Will chose his cutoff sleeveless Pixies shirt when he already knew damn well how cold it got.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Thanks,” He said slipping it on. “You know, you can keep the iPod if you want. You’d probably use it more than I would. It’s made with celestial bronze and everything. And it's viiiiiiintage,” he sang, "just like yooooou~"
Nico rolled his eyes and grinned despite himself, but his tone came out business-casual, which meant he was serious. “Oh thanks, I couldn’t accept that though.”
“I really don’t mind. Trust me.” Will chuckled and tried to seem earnest.
“Well, I’ll think about it.”
They both knew that he wouldn’t, but Will decided to let it go and nodded subtly to let his friend know it was cool. They sat comfortably without speaking for a few minutes to actually listen to the playlist Will had made. Nico had closed his eyes, but took the brief pause between songs as his cue to open them and pick the conversation back up.
“You know what though?”
“Yeah?”
“I do wish records were still a thing. I don’t know.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. I guess it’s nostalgia?”
“True, I can get that. Practically speaking, I think it’d be a pain to have to flip them or like pick up the needle to replay a song though.”
“But see that’s actually part of it! Like, that encourages you to listen to the full album, you know? Rather than picking and choosing the songs you like, you learn to appreciate it as a whole.”
“Huh, I haven’t thought of it that way.” Will took a few moments to pause and consider Nico’s point. “Oh, but I was actually asking what you meant about them not being a thing earlier. They’re still a thing, you know.”
“Oh, well old ones yeah, I’m sure. But not music like this.”
“No, they make new records too, actually.”
Nico jumped up to look Will in the eye. “What!? Really?” With Nico's grandfatherly aversion to technology and based on the bit Will knew about him, he wouldn't really have a reason to know that, but he could see this was a Big Revelation for him.
“Yeah, man. They’re kind of niche, but definitely a thing.”
“Where do you get them?”
“Music stores. Some even sell records specifically. Or like, online.” Nico waved his hand at that.
“Nah, I’d rather go in person.”
“Fair enough. Want to see if there are any nearby?”
“What. Yes.”
True to his word, they found a list of the nearest record stores after a quick search. Nico was apparently very into the idea. He asked Will if he’d want to shadow travel there and sounded eager.
True Nico was either serious or snarky most of the time, and that percentage jumped when he was alone and around other people. So it made sense that most others wrote him off as a brooding loner. But when they were together, Will had noticed that Nico actually had a cute, excitable, even at times obnoxious side to his personality. Will liked peeking behind the mask Nico showed to the world and was glad that he was letting himself relax more often.
“So, do you wanna go?” Nico extended his hand for him to take. As if Will could refuse.