Work Text:
Nico Di Angelo likes to view himself as a professional.
He'd say that he's got enough work experience under his belt to be claimed as such, despite only having worked in the particular field for just two years. But then again, though Nico may have only been occupationally pursuing photography for just two years, he used to be hired in a company amongst those who have been doing it for decades.
By no means, does he think, he's the best at what he does, but that doesn't mean he doubts that he's any good at it either. And even though some would say in their annoying, condescending and self-prestigious voices 'simply taking a few pictures can't be all that hard work,' Nico would love to beg to differ while scowling at their ignorance.
However, Nico's a professional. So he doesn't let any shitty, crack-brained comments get to him.
(Rationally though, Nico doesn't work 24/7, so flipping a bird or two at those pricks -- technically -- isn't unprofessional.)
It's why he's actually semi-successful with what he does, since it's so fucking difficult to get a name out there for yourself; Nico has managed to get by as anyone's average photographer with his own solo career. A small business, sure, but it keeps a roof over his head, pays his bills and helps maintain a Netflix subscription even after the free trial has completed.
Professionalism is also what attracts his clients, reinforces his studio and creates the little budget business cards that honestly don't look all that bad.
So when he gets an email, on one lousy morning that he supposes he's going to dedicate to editing, it's out of sheer and utter professionalism that his eyes widen like he's struck gold, and jumps up from his worn out office chair and does an embarrassingly degrading display of fist pumping the air with an uncharacteristic whoop.
Because Nico Di Angelo is a professional, and if he just received a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity, he's going to react in a fitting manner.
~*~
Nico Di Angelo is a professional, but if he slips up every now and then he'd say that he's also only human.
So when finds himself hurriedly skidding through the forever busy streets, with his Canon EOS 5D Mark IV swinging hazardously from around his neck, heavy backpack bouncing up and down and his stupidly expensive cup of steaming coffee spilling all over his hand, he'd say it's not one of his proudest moments. But give him a break because Nico is rarely ever late, and given that this is the best gig he's ever received in his life ever, he's more than a little anxious to make it on time.
Whether it's lucky or not, Nico arrives to the warehouse with three quarters of his coffee spilled out of his cup and only thirty minutes before the rest of the crew are expected to arrive. That means that he's got thirty minutes to get everything set up, and he doesn't even have his bittersweet caffeine to give him the energy to carry out the task. None the less, he's got a lot riding on his going well, so he sets him stupid cup down, shrugs off his rucksack, and gets straight to work.
Fashion photographer or not, Nico himself has never been super into it himself. He's generic, he himself would be satisfied with monochromatic t-shirts, two pairs of jeans and a few hoodies to get him through life. However, Nico works in a field in which style is a huge deal, so it's only natural that he knows how insane it is he's carrying out a photo shoot for a new clothing line by Gabriel™, this is his biggest break yet.
The thing is Nico knows he's a professional and all, but it's a little bit baffling to consider how they even came across him. For a brand as big as Gabriel, why would they choose a somewhat everyday photographer?
By some miracle or two, he's managed to just about get the lights set up at the right angle by the time he hears several footsteps and voices echo through the warehouse. They're here, Nico registers with a sudden stab of nervousness that he didn't know he was feeling, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and trying to find a way to stand and greet the crew casually as they inevitably come through that door.
Nico doesn't know why he's so highly strung though, this is the same job he does every time, only that the stakes are slightly higher. He's a professional, he can do this.
But then the door opens and he enters through, and Nico realises that professionalism be damned because he is so, so screwed.
~*~
Nico Di Angelo would promise that he's a professional, he really is, but really that claim is slowly slipping through his fingers.
Cause as soon as his eyes land on that one figure that comes through that door, all coherent thoughts turn to sludge and all he knows is he's in some deep fucking trouble.
Because of all possible seven billion people in the world he could potentially be shooting, of course it's Will Solace.
It shouldn't even be a surprise, Will Solace is practically a celebrity. If anyone is worth modelling for Gabriel, it's most certainly him.
He's charming, he's humble, he's famous, he's fucking gorgeous and Nico is head over heels in love with him.
As a small group of people fill into the room, Nico is more or less frozen in shell shock, because all the information he seems to be processing is something along the lines of: Will Solace is here, Will Solace is here, Will Solace is here in a fucking suit and I'm supposed to be shooting that.
Maybe it's just a dream, but then when Will strides forward in bold, confident steps and extends his arm with a (literally) award-winning dimpled smile, the sudden warmth is overwhelming and hits Nico like a truck.
"Hey, you're Nico Di Angelo right? I'm Will Solace, we'll be working together today."
Nico thinks he might faint.
Instead he internally kicks himself, and forces the gears of his brain to spin backwards with a churn because he needs to be fucking professional.
A few seconds too long later, Nico meets his handshake in a manner he hopes isn't shamefully hesitant, "I'm gay-- briel." Will crooks a golden eyebrow and Nico launches into panic mode, "Obviously I'm not Gabriel, what I mean to say is that they hired me. And yes, we're working together today, I'm Nico Di Angelo."
Too late does Nico realise that he's practically squeezing Will's hand to death, and immediately he lets go as though he'd been electrocuted.
Will just laughs though, and surprisingly it's not condescending or judgmental or anything of that sort. It's just a nice, humoured little chuckle, and Nico feels his insides melt drastically.
Until suddenly, someone claps, loud and sharp in the warehouse, and Nico almost jumps out of his skin because he's forgotten that there's other people here too. "Okay come on, let's get to work people!"
~*~
Nico Di Angelo used to view himself as a professional. Now, he just wants to shoot himself -- and not with the camera.
It doesn't take long for Will to get through hair and makeup, which honestly, seems to make sense since he's already as flawless as they come. Throughout that time though, Nico allows himself to make some adjustments to the set and talks to a few of the editors on what they're trying to get out of this whole session. Somehow, with some mercy lent to him by only the gods, he manages to maintain the conversations with actual, human normalcy and whatever trace of professionalism he has left.
Overall, what they basically want of Nico is to just make Will look as good a possible, which (theoretically) is perhaps the easiest task he's ever been given since it's very much impossible to fail.
Of course, instead of the fact that he's more or less infatuated with Will Solace which may be quite a tad bit difficult to not let get in his way.
When it eventually comes to the shoot, and everybody's gaze is on Nico for some sort of initiative, he almost wants to be sucked into the ground beneath his feet and never surface ever again. Instead, he merely takes a deep breath, and tries to damn hardest to make this whole extravaganza as far as a train wreck as possible.
"Okay let's just start with a few simple ones," Nico begins, adjusting the lens one final time, situating himself behind the camera like he always does, "Just a simple standing pose. Nothing too special, just act casual."
This, I can do, he tells himself, he's done it countless times before. He's good at what he does, he knows it; he's yet to leave a client or a company unhappy with the outcome of any shoot.
But it's a little... overwhelming when the client is Will Solace, and he doesn't make much movement to shift into his casual stance. There's half a grin spread across his face, but his blue eyes virtually glitter with mirth, and Nico loses himself in them before regaining full consciousness and snapping a few pictures of the image.
Will's a natural, slipping from pose to pose with fluid grace in his limbs. Nico doesn't think he's ever met a model so well suited for the camera as the blond, he's worthy of all the flashes and attention, truly something that should be captured and kept forever. It's not even in debt to just the appearance (though it does serve as a sweet, sweet factor) but it's the personality behind the looks, the humbleness of his character and the kindness and warmth that practically radiates of him. And though he's basically famous, never has he ever put himself above anyone, and that includes Nico.
"Try something more serious this time," he finds himself saying, "That stance is fine, keep your hands in your pockets, but don't smile, make it look more--" hot, he has to catch himself from saying.
"Like this?" Will asks and drops the smile, full lips instead only the slightest bit parted, a much more neutral expression washing over his beautiful features.
Nico's entire mouth goes desert dry. "Yeah," he manages to croak out before levels himself with the camera once more and lets even more flashes fill the set. He can hear the crew mumble their approval, or at least what Nico hopes is their approval, and really he can't believe he's managing to pull this off.
"Can you just look to the right, like, just about over your shoulder?" he requests and Will does just that, showing off the sharp of his jaw, the highlight of makeup making his cheekbones stand out a little more. "That's perfect," Nico breathes before he can snap his mouth shut, and bites his lip at his own lack of brain-to-mouth filter.
Will laughs though, a musical sort of sound, and glances back at Nico with a cheeky smile, "Thanks," he says with a wink.
"Will," warns a lady from the sidelines of the shoot, Reyna, Nico reminds himself.
"Sorry, sorry" he surrenders playfully before returning back into the pose, rolling his shoulders before settling completely.
They manage to get through a few more strikes, and at this point Will's loosely curled hair is slightly ruffled after being prompted to drag his fingers through it a couple times -- and though Nico was the one to request it, he can't help but feel irrationally envious at the hand because he would just about do anything to feel whether that hair is as soft as it looks.
It's all going so well, and within the past fifteen minutes Nico has managed to gets his frequent swoons under control until the eye piece he looks through abruptly turns black, and Nico curses under his breath.
"What's wrong?" Will asks as Nico pulls back from the camera with half a scowl probably pretty evident his face, but it's not like he's trying to hide it.
"Battery died," he mutters, vexed.
Reyna scares Nico. "Didn't you charge it before you got here?"
"I thought I did," he admits with a furrow between his brows, he's pretty damn sure he did, "I've got a spare battery in my bag though, I can just change it."
"Okay, lets take five anyways, freshen up a little."
On cue, everyone begins to shift and scatter; Nico beelines straight towards his backpack that sits on a spare chair in the corner after he unclasps his camera from the tripod.
It's with passive aggression that he unzips the bag and digs around for the spare battery, so much so that he didn't recongise that warm presence approaching him from afar.
"Hey, you want some water?" Will Solace asks, taking purchase against the wall, leaning against it, oozing casual confidence. He gestures a water bottle towards Nico, who simply stares at it as he continues, "I mean, it's pretty hot today. Gotta stay hydrated, huh?"
It's true, it's a hot day in the middle of the summer and the heat is probably getting to everyone here. He craves that water almost as much as he craves to just kiss Will senseless, but for some reason, he rejects his offer.
"You sure?" Will questions with an amused arch of an eyebrow, "You look pretty hot."
Nico almost drops his $3000 camera at that, panic mode blinding all his coherency once more. Shit, I probably look super sweaty, he instantly tells himself, I probably look super sweat and gross and Will Solace is right here, fuck.
"I'll be fine," Nico replies sincerely, "But thanks for the offer."
Will wavers a moment before he shrugs, tipping his head back to take a swig of the water instead. Nico tries to (and fails) to not downright stare at the way his adam's apple bobs in motion. He wants to lick it, and then his breath hitches and eyes widen before forcing that thought away in a deep corner of his mind.
When Will pulls back and licks the moisture off his lips, Nico's gaze trails his tongue like a hawk. When Will coughs into his fist though, he immediately snaps his gaze to his eyes, flushed at being caught.
"Sorry--I just--" Nico stammers, and he curses his lack of professionalism, "You're just..."
His blue eyes sparkle though, "It's fine, but are you completely sure you don't want some, you certainly made me a little thirsty."
Nico grimaces, he didn't mean to overwork Will, "Oh shit-- Sorry, I didn't realise. I just kinda want this to go perfect-- not that you're not perfect already! But uh, y'know, I... uh, I'll try to make it easier on you."
"No that's not what I--"
However Reyna intrudes on whatever Will was about to reply, and Nico is almost grateful for the interruption. "--Okay guys, break's over. Nico, did you find the battery?"
His long fingers curl over it as soon as she asks, and with an unceremonious tug he pulls it out of the bag.
"Yeah I got it."
~*~
Nico Di Angelo hates professionalism. Or maybe professionalism just hates him.
Since by the time the shoot comes to an end, Nico has exhausted the chances to embarrass himself so much so that he might just retire from his job, find a stray cat and live on the streets than to face more of this mortification.
Because, as it turns out, his success the first time round had been a complete and utter fluke.
He's not quite sure by what miracle he managed to semi-ignore it before but now Will Solace's blue eyes shine ten times brighter and his laugh it a hundred and one times more attractive. The whole of him, in fact, is way more enticing than the photographer thought he could comprehend.
It's after a couple flashes that Nico pulls back and gnaws on his lips with a notion. "Could you, uh, take your blazer off? Just to get some with the just the dress shirt."
The smirk he throws Nico is downright wicked, and there's no way that the blond doesn't know what he's doing to him. Nico thinks that his heart is thundering so loud that the whole of the US could hear it, but Will, as always, remains somewhat oblivious at the affects his antics bring.
"Anything for you."
"Will. For the eleventh time--"
"--I know, Reyna, I know," Will sighs, and Nico's completely lost but that's only because all he's been doing for the past few seconds is ogling the blond's chest, where the white fabric of the dress shirt pulls taunt against it.
"Fucking hell," Nico breathes to himself before snapping more photos, dear god he can only be so professional.
Only a couple more hellish minutes after that, Nico's alleviated from his torment when Reyna calls it a day and the shoot comes to an end. Now Nico won't have to face the repercussions of his thirsty pining any longer, he can go back to appreciating Will Solace from afar through photos and articles and--
"Good job on the shoot today," Will praises.
--of course.
"I, um, thanks... I guess? You're the one that did all the hard work anyway, all I really do it click a button."
It's quite dumb, really. He just supported the most fucking irritating remarks people make on his profession.
"It's a lot more than that and you know it," Will says with conviction, "You're a great photographer and I've seen your work before, I'm actually pretty honoured that I got a chance to model for you."
Nico can't help but scoff, "You're honoured?”
"Well, yeah, you're pretty fucking amazing."
"But you're Will Solace," he bursts with cheeks flaming an abysmal red, "You're literally the best client I've ever had."
What Nico expects is perhaps a humbled response, or at worse, a creeped out face at his sudden proclamation but all he receives is another one of those shit eating grins that send his heart on a roller coaster ride to his stomach.
"Well then," he smiles, showing off that dimple he's weak for, "Seeming as we well together I think you should give me your number, you know, for business."
Nico hadn't been expecting that, and with his last two firing brain cells he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his wallet. He opens the worn out, leather bound case so he could fish out one of his--
"I swear Nico, if you give me your business card I will just kiss you right here right now and maybe then you wouldn't be so oblivious."
Obviously, he freezes. As shell shocked as he was when Will Solace walked through that very door. His head whips up so fast that his neck threatens to snap, and he takes in Will's dead serious expression with incredulous eyes.
"I--" Nico starts, but then stops. Instead, he purses his lips and ducks his head down once more.
With some unbeknownst confidence, his fingers breach into his wallet once more. With a calculated risk, he hands Will his business card.
The blond just stares at it, bemused, before cupping Nico's cheek and making good on his threat.