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Ever since Nico’s soulmark had first started to appear when he was thirteen - a single W on the inside of his arm, up near his elbow - he’d wished for it to disappear. He was afraid to think about his soulmate in any way, so he tried his hardest not to think about them at all. He’d realized by thirteen that he was gay, and had already suffered through his first crush on a straight boy - he couldn’t imagine what would happen if his soulmate had turned out to be straight, too.
He started wearing long sleeves no matter the weather and got defensive whenever his classmates started bringing up their soulmates.
Things got better in high school, if only a little bit. The original excitement over the idea of soulmates had tapered as people got used to the marks on their arms, and so the constant questions Nico used to get about his soulmark had stopped altogether. Until Will moved to town and befriended all of Nico’s friends. He didn’t know not to talk about his soulmate in front of Nico, or that he shouldn’t ask Nico about his.
Eventually, Will learned to stop bothering Nico with the soulmate talk, and the two became close friends. They spent time together on their own, outside of school, and Nico learned that Will had made a promise not to date or even kiss anyone that wasn’t his soulmate. He claimed he was a romantic. Nico thought he was stupid. (And cute. And Smart. And Funny. And he wished there was even the slightest chance that he could be Will’s soulmate, but he knew that would never happen. Even if his soulmark now said Will, there was still time for that to change. He couldn’t get his hopes up.)
Will started talking about colleges when they were juniors. Nico thought that the end of high school would mean the end of their friendship, but then Will started talking about schools with great English departments and Nico realized that Will was looking at places for the both of them. And figuring out how they could room together.
And that was how Will and Nico found themselves sharing a dorm their first year of college.
Nico’s heart had sunk when the name on his arm turned into Willow, but he realized that he was finally free to move on from Will. He also knew, though, that he had to be more cautious than ever when concealing his soulmark. He’d learned how to cover up his tattoo with makeup so that it was completely invisible, and had started showering late at night so that there was no chance for Will to see his arm before Nico went to bed.
Will caught Nico with a makeup bag one morning right as he was leaving for class. “What’cha got there?” Will asked as he poured coffee into his travel cup.
Nico hugged the bag close to his chest. “Nothing. Don’t you have class?”
“Yeah, I’m just about to leave,” Will replied. “I’ll see you later.”
Will watched as Nico walked into the bathroom. He saw the quickest flash of ink on Nico’s arm before he shut the door behind himself, and so Will left for class.
There was a mark on Nico’s arm. Right where his soulmark should be. Which meant that Nico had a soulmark. Which meant that...there was no way for Will and Nico to be together, even on the off chance that Will’s soulmate might reject him. Will’s mark said Niccol, and there were no words to express how disappointed he’d been when Nic hadn’t turned to Nico when they were in high school.
Will spent the entire day trying to figure out why Nico wouldn’t want to talk about his soulmate, and wound up returning home after dark. Their room was pitch black when he walked inside, and he could hear soft snores coming from Nico’s bed.
Will turned on the flightlight on his phone and tried to stay quiet as he got ready for bed. At one point, he heard the rustling of sheets on Nico’s bed and he froze, hoping that he hadn’t woken the other up, but when he looked over it seemed that Nico had just rolled over in his sleep. His arm was hanging off the bed, and Will could just barely make out the vague shape of a name on his forearm. Will inched closer to Nico, shining the light up just a little until he could read the name - Willow.
Will almost fell over backwards at the sight. That was his name on Nico’s arm. Him! Will! Willow Solace, that’s what was going to be on Nico’s arm for the rest of his life! And Will-- He looked down at his arm. During his class that day, Will’s tattoo had turned into Niccolò. He didn’t ever think that he would be in one of the rarest soulmate situations to exist - being caught between two soulmates.
He couldn’t imagine having another soulmate, someone that wasn’t Nico. How could he consider turning Nico down in favor of the person the universe had chosen for him? Or vice versa?
He needed to sleep. He couldn’t think about this right now, couldn’t risk having a panic attack in the middle of their dorm at eleven at night. He crawled into bed and pulled the blanket over his head.
He couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Days passed and he still couldn’t get the image of his own name on Nico’s arm out of his head. He couldn’t think of a way to tell Nico, because even the slightest mention of soulmates had always caused Nico to shut down. How would he even take it?
Will hadn’t been able to focus on anything. Not his classes, not his homework, not his study groups. He ended up skipping one of his tutoring sessions to come home early, finding Nico in their kitchenette making himself dinner. He was on the phone, talking to his mother - Will could only tell that much because they always spoke in Italian to each other - with the call on speakerphone as Nico moved around the space.
Of course, Will couldn’t make out what was being said, but their tones sounded argumentative. Then, suddenly, Will heard Mrs. di Angelo say, “Niccolò di Angelo--” and Will tripped on his own foot on his way over to his bed.
Nico spun around, spotting Will on the floor, and picked up the phone. “Mama. Mama, Will’s home, I have to go. I’ll call you back later.” Nico came to stand at the foot of Will’s bed, staring down at him. “Will? Are you alright?”
Will sat up quickly. “Did she say Niccolò?”
Nico tensed visibly, arms crossing over his chest as he looked away.
Will scrambled to his feet and stood toe-to-toe with Nico. “Niccolò?”
Nico gazed up at him.
Will swooped down and kissed him.
Nico pushed him back. “Will!” Nico shouted, jumping back toward his own bed. “What are you doing? I thought you wanted to save your first kiss for your soulmate!”
“I do!” Will told him. “I did. I did. Nico--” Will walked toward him, and Nico moved back until his knees hit his own bed. “Nico, you are my soulmate.”
Nico shook his head. “No…”
Will rolled up his sleeve, revealing the name Niccolò on his forearm. “Niccolò di Angelo, we’re soulmates.”
“No,” Nico said again, and pushed Will back until he could get to his desk. He pulled a pack of makeup wipes from the drawer and scrubbed at his arm until the tattoo appeared. “No, Will, we can’t be. We have different soulmates.”
Will cupped Nico’s cheek in his hand and forced him to look up at him. “My name is Willow. C’mon, Nico, you’ve met my mom, you know how she is. Do you really think she would name her son William? My name is Willow.”
Nico dropped onto the edge of his mattress, and Will sat gently beside him. “You can’t be.”
“I am,” Will whispered. “My name is Willow Solace, and you, Niccolò di angelo, my soulmate, I love you.”
Nico’s eyes had started to water when he looked up at Will again. He darted forward and pressed his lips to Will’s. “I was so scared,” he cried, pressing his forehead to Will’s. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t love me, I-- Will, I love you, too. So much.”
Neither of them could bare to let the other go for the rest of the night, meaning that Nico’s dinner burned on the stove and he missed his evening class, but it was fine. They had each other.