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Will thinks that by now he probably has mastered the best way to open and close the front door with as little noise as possible. At least there hasn’t been any complaints from their neighbors as of late about him coming home in the ungodly hours of the morning. (How Mrs. Jenkins counts 3 AM as morning is still a mystery to Will.) He’s not overly concerned about Nico waking up, since he seems to be able to sleep through a nuclear attack. Sometimes Will envies him so much.
Dropping his keys to the jar on the table by the door, Will kicks off his shoes and hangs up his coat without putting any lights on. He only jumps a little when he feels something soft brush his legs; Sassy hasn’t been with them for long yet, so she’s a fairly new part of his routine. She’s a good cat, though, and Will greets her with a few belly rubs before straightening up, opening a few top buttons of his dress shirt and letting out a deep sigh.
Night shift has never really agreed with Will. However, it pays well, and with two sets of study loans and a desperate want of an actual house they could use every extra dollar they can get.
Will only puts on some lights when he reaches the kitchen. The harsh cold light makes him glare after getting used to the dark in the hallway, and he blinks a few times as he makes his way to the fridge. Sassy follows him, purring loudly and pushing against his shins in hopes of getting a treat. Will scans the contents of the fridge, and as his eyes land on a container with a note on the lid his lips curl into an easy smile.
I know I promised minced meat pie for tonight, but the chicken was going to go bad. Pie tomorrow.
The message is topped off with a tiny smiley face and an even tinier heart. Will doesn’t understand why Nico still claims he doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body when at the same time he keeps doing all these small things that make Will’s heart flutter and his cheeks warm up like he’s seventeen again.
”He’s cute, isn’t he”, Will says to Sassy, who just meows at him and blinks. Will takes it to mean, obviously.
He takes the container to the kitchen island and ”accidentally” drops a little piece of chicken on the floor for Sassy to clean up. The salad is delicious, as is everything else Nico cooks. Will likes to joke that it has something to do with his Italian roots, and Nico rolls his eyes and calls him a racist.
The whole building is quiet at this time of night. Will remembers a few years back when their downstairs neighbors had a baby and pretty much everyone was kept awake for the next four or five months (except for Nico, of course, who became extremely smug about it). Gina’s all grown up now, going to school in a year, and her parents are expecting again. Twins. Maybe Will and Nico can find a house before fall.
The only sounds disturbing the still and quiet are the wall clock and the occasional car that passes their sleepy part of town. Sassy has stopped her purring and probably gone back to bed – the couch or her actual bed, Will can only guess. When Will gets a glass of water and his wedding ring clinks against the glass it makes an obnoxiously loud sound, almost startling Will all over again. He likes the apartment quiet, especially after such a hectic night at the emergency room, but there is such a thing as too quiet.
Rinsing the container, turning off lights and shuffling to the bathroom Will does with little thought, so tired he just wants to fall face flat on the bed in his day clothes. He needs a shower, though, and makes it a quick one, not bothering to wash his hair. Nico has a slot between customers and lunch after 11, Will might drop by then for some pampering, and maybe a lunch date.
Will doesn’t turn on the lights in the bedroom. He leaves the door cracked open for Sassy to come and go as she pleases, then stands in the dark for a moment until his eyes adjust. He can see Nico curled up on his side of the bed, Lucas curled into a furry ball to the bed of his knees. The dog looks up when Will makes it to the bed, shuffling a little out of habit, and after a little bit of nudging from Will’s part all three of them manage to get comfortable, humans under the duvet and Lucas on top of it. Lucas turns on his other side, rests his chin on Will’s knee, and then lets out a content sigh that Will wholeheartedly echoes.
Nico doesn’t wake up when Will gently drapes his arm around him, but he does snuggle a little closer in his sleep, pressing his back against Will’s chest with a little huff of breath that Will absolutely adores. Being spooned is not a position Nico usually wants to fall asleep in, but once he’s out all’s fair game, and Will loves the feeling of him in his arms, safe and close. It’s a tight fit in the bed, especially as Will suspects Sassy will find her way in at some point too. Snuggling has never been a problem to Will, though, and he inhales the smell of Nico’s expensive hair products that keep his locks silky and beautiful. There’s a new, a bit honey-ish ting to them. Will likes it. He absently wonders if Nico’s got a new deal with a company for his Instagram or if he’s just mixing it out for other reasons.
Before falling asleep, Will is almost sure he feels Nico grab a hold of his hand, but in the morning he can’t be sure if either of them was awake for that or not.
Nico wakes up to the impression of being suffocated. Being buried under a man and a dog and with a cat purring on your face will do that to you.
He feels unbearably hot – and also a fair bit of annoyed at being woken up before his alarm. This has been happening more and more as of late, and Nico suspects it has something to do with his internal clock finally adjusting to the routine he has been having for the better part of two years now. It’s not all bad, it just makes it harder to sleep in on weekends and other days off.
Will is a rather light sleeper, so getting out of bed without him waking up is a challenge that Nico doesn’t always succeed. This is one of those times; as soon as Nico grabs hold of the arm thrown across his middle to lift it enough to crawl out, Will takes in a sharp deep breath and Nico can feel his whole body get less relaxed and more alert.
”G’morning.” Will’s voice is muffled against Nico’s shoulder, and the nuzzling doesn’t really help things, either. Nico laughs a little as he tries to gently pry Will off him.
”Not yet”, he says, tucking the duvet back over Will’s shoulders as soon as he himself gets up. ”At least not for you, anyway. I’ll set an alarm on your phone so you don’t miss lunch, okay?”
Sassy jumps off the bed and runs off, but Lucas barely even rolls over before he’s back asleep again. Will is not far behind. Nico can see that he tries to say something, but sleep overtakes him before he can even properly open his mouth, and the only thing that comes out is a bunch of illiterate sounds that make Nico roll his eyes. Constant night shifts are taxing, Nico knows. He’s so glad that Will has vacation time saved up and in a few weeks they can finally relax for a couple of days and go see Will’s family in Texas.
After a quick shower Nico manages to coax Lucas out of the bed for a short walk around the block. The sun is coming up between the apartment buildings, there’s the smell of the rain in the air, and the temperature is noticeably warmer than it was last week. Nico likes spring. Spring is busy for the salon, yes, since everyone gets the urge to try something new and freshen up before summer. But busy wok days also means bigger pay checks, and bigger pay checks means more money to spare. Maybe he should buy some flowers for Will today. That ought to bring a smile to his face before a long night at the emergency room.
Lucas runs back to bed as soon as Nico unleashes him, and Nico can’t really blame him. If he had an actual choice (as in, if he wouldn’t get in trouble for it), Nico would totally go back to bed, too. He’d even let Will snuggle in and trap him in like an octopus. But, alas, he has to open shop in less than two hours, and there’s lots to do at the back room before that. He really should be leaving as soon as he gets his hair in check.
Checking his look from each side on the bathroom mirror, Nico isn’t sure about the new hair oil he’s trying out for promoting purposes. He might have a chat with the company before putting out any Instagram posts. He thinks it might be better suited for Will’s hair, though. Maybe they’ll experiment during the weekend. Nico grins at the thought as he finishes up, then brushes his teeth and puts on a nicer shirt.
In the kitchen Nico notices Will has loaded the coffee machine ready for use last night. Nico’s keep cup sits beside it on the counter, and when Nico lifts it he finds a purple sticky note with a shining heart drawn on it. He spares a fond look toward the bedroom door, as if he could see Will through it, and then clicks on the coffee machine. Definitely flowers tonight. Perhaps even roses. Nico hasn’t gotten Will roses since their second wedding anniversary last fall.
Nico feels terribly uncool for doing it, but he can’t resist darting back to the bedroom before leaving. He doesn’t do this often, but getting to see Will one more time before leaving for work keeps him in a good mood for a while longer, even if the day is otherwise boring or uneventful.
Lucas has made himself comfortable in Nico’s vacated spot, his paw weirdly curled over his muzzle. Will has rolled on his back, and the duvet has fallen down to his waist. Nico walks over and tugs the duvet to cover at least some of Will’s exposed torso, to keep him from the chill of the April morning, and brushes off a few locks of golden hair from Will’s forehead. Will turns his head and blinks his eyes open for a brief moment before closing them again and smiling slightly.
”Kiss”, he demands, his voice raspy from sleep and low like it always is in the mornings.
Nico tries not to snort. ”You have morning breath.”
”Like you care.”
Nico doesn’t, not really, even if he does feel a little called out. He dips down and kisses Will softly, lingering a little when he feels Will’s lips chase his own, and gives a little extra peck before straightening up. If Will were awake enough to open his eyes, Nico knows they would sparkle in that beautiful way that always makes Nico think about the lake near the cabin where they spent their honeymoon.
”I have saved you a spot after eleven”, Nico reminds Will, even though he knows Will also has a reminder in his phone. ”And then my next customer after lunch isn’t until 1:30. We can go to the park.”
Will hums happily and reaches blindly to scratch Lucas behind the ear. ”I’ll bring lunch.”
Now Nico does smile, and he knows Will can hear it in his voice when he says, ”It’s a date.”
Nico is finishing up a customer’s buzz cut when the front door jingles and Will walks in with a paper bag of take out and a smile.
”There’s coffee in the back room”, Nico says as a greeting, taking in the logo on the paper bag. Will’s favorite deli, just around the corner. ”This won’t take long.”
”Always so efficient”, his customer smiles appreciatively, and Nico offers a small turn of his lips in return through the mirror. ”There’s a reason I come here every month and not the barber shop down the street from my home.”
This is the kind of feed back Nico likes. He has a lot of regular customers these days, or people who have heard a lot of good about Nico and his co-workers and have come to check them out themselves. Regularity brings him good money. It’s not particularly exciting, but there are perks in the customers getting to know him and his quirks. Nico isn’t one of those chatty hairdressers from TV-shows and movies. He doesn’t mind the customers filling the silence, but he feels lost of he’s expected to say something in return.
Nico hears Will chatting with Piper on his way to the back room. They have always gotten along great, even better than her and Nico do. Piper and her husband Jason are what Will likes to call their couple friends, which is a little stupid because Nico has known Jason for longer than he has even known Will. Nico is the one who introduced Piper to Jason, however, and Will argues that it’s that fact that overrides the high school homeroom friendship.
It really does not take long to finish up with the customer, and after ringing her up and cleaning his station Nico follows Will to the back room. He smells the coffee before he sees it, hears Piper laughing at something Will says, and finally spots Will leaning against the back door, the deli bag in hand and two keep cups of coffee under one arm.
”It’s going to rain in an hour or so”, Will says as soon as he spots Nico, giving him one of the keep cups and smiling. ”I thought you could have your lunch break now, and we could see the park, and then maybe you could give my hair a trim before your next customer?”
So that’s what they do. They sit next to a pond that will have ducks in it during summer months. Will has a Caesar salad and Nico has a turkey sandwich. They talk about a dinner party Will has wanted to do for ages and they’re finally hosting next week. When they get up to walk around a little bit, Nico sees that Will has a bit of salad dressing in the corner of his mouth, and he leans in to lick it away. This turns into a brief make out session that is only slightly inappropriate out in the public, but neither of them particularly care.
Nico likes kissing Will. A lot. It’s a shame, really, that their schedules only leave them so much hours together in the day, because what Nico would like to do most is have his lips attached to Will’s most of the time. He doesn’t think it’s such an incredibly weird thing to ask for. He’s pretty sure if given a chance, anyone would agree with him – but as it is, Nico is very happy to be the only one Will kisses. Period.
As if on their own accord, Nico’s hands travel up to the nape of Will’s neck during all the kissing, and he starts playing with the hair there. It’s getting longer, and Will had a point when he requested a trim, but other than aesthetics Nico likes to just feel Will’s hair. It’s so fine and thick, and you can tell that Will only uses minimal hair products because it feels so natural Nico almost wants to cry out in joy. Will likes to joke that Nico is mostly attracted to him because of his hair, and well, to be fair, the hair is one of the first things Nico noticed about Will, back in the day. That and the smile.
Nico leans back, breaking the kiss, and just looks at Will. There’s a quiet sort of happiness that radiates out of Will. Nico doesn’t think it can be put on being newlyweds anymore, since it’s been well over two years, so it must be something that has made a permanent home in Will’s being that makes him smile like that.
”You look very nice today”, Will says quietly, and Nico wants to kiss him all over again. He feels like they just started dating again, just without the nerves and the uncertainty and the not knowing what to say. ”I like your hair like that.”
On average, Nico spends twenty minutes on the way his hair looks every morning. Will knows this, is aware how much effort it takes to keep it looking like this. Maybe that’s why Nico likes the compliments from him more than from anyone else; because Will knows what it takes and can acknowledge it better.
Or maybe Nico likes it just because it’s Will and he’s so stupidly in love that it should be illegal.
Nico tilts his head a little and feels his hair shift accordingly as he leans in to kiss Will again. He feels Will smile through it, which makes the kissing a little more complex, but Nico likes it all the same. It’s Will. How could he not?
They walk back to the salon hand in hand – something Nico rarely does, because it’s one thing to be clingy and affectionate at home and another entirely to be so in public. But the feeling of Will’s fingers loosely tangled and looped around his own combined with the spring weather and blooming apple trees in the park is intoxicating. Nico knows Will likes holding hands more than he does, and he does try to indulge him every once in a while. Maybe after today Nico can get away with less hand holding for another few months.
Will takes a seat at Nico’s work station like it’s his throne – and in a way, it kind of is. If the salon is Nico’s kingdom, then Will is definitely his king. Nico huffs a laugh at the thought as he picks up his work apron, then comes to stand behind Will with his hands itching to touch that hair.
”Do you still refuse to grow out the top part?” Nico asks, already anticipating the answer as he cards his fingers adoringly through the curls. ”It would look so good.”
Will winks at him through the mirror before relaxing in the chair and closing his eyes. ”Not this time, no. We’ll see in the summer.”
As much as Nico wants to see Will in a man bun, he can also understand why he insists on keeping his hair shorter. It does make it easier to maintain, especially since Will doesn’t have the kind of passion for doing his hair that Nico does.
So Nico gives him the usual trim, short at the nape and a little longer at the top, with a few curls long enough to cast a shadow on Will’s forehead. He does his job quickly and precisely like he always does, only sparing a few lingering touches on Will’s neck when he feels like it, and is rewarded with a smile each time. By the time Nico is brushing off the excess hair from Will’s neck and shoulders his next customer has already arrived, and Will pecks his cheek as a quiet goodbye before leaving.
The afternoon is uneventful, and Nico’s last customer of the day calls in to cancel half an hour before the appointment. It’s a little bit annoying, but mostly Nico feels a giddy kind of joy at getting to leave early and surprise Will. Nico isn’t big on surprises, but he isn’t opposed to some every once in a while when it results in Will’s eyes shining and a make out session on the couch. He cleans up his station as quickly as he can, ignoring Lacy’s remarks on having a ”hot date with the hubby” tonight, and decides to check the books for next day’s appointments when he comes back to work in the morning.
Nico calls out a quick goodbye to Piper and Lacy and steps outside, feeling the late afternoon sun after rain on his face as he wraps his scarf around his neck. They have a couple of hours before Will needs to go to work; maybe they could walk Lucas together before that. As he starts walking to the subway, Nico thinks that yellow roses would match the new curtains Will bought to the living room.