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If there's anything Nico has learnt about Will in the past three months, it's that Will is a big, huge, massive (and other similar adjectives) hypocrite.
He could chew anyone's ear off by listing all the reasons why you should avoid fast food and switch to a healthier alternative, all the while hiding a secret stash of unhealthy snacks under his bed. He spent most of his time lecturing kids (except Harley; that kid's a lost cause) on the dangers of various weapons, but couldn't handle the weapons without getting almost impaled.
Will's hypocrisy is most prominent in the infirmary where he works himself to death everyday without any regard to his health, and has the audacity to limit Nico's underworldly powers just because YoU aLmoST tUrnED InTo a SHadOw, NiCo.
And of course there are consequences. Will looks exhausted all the time when he's at the infirmary, his hair in every direction and dark circles around his eyes. No matter how much his siblings tell him to take a break, he refuses to listen to them.
It's an unending cycle of Will working late shifts, developing dark circles, almost passing out due to exhaustion, Kayla or Austin (and sometimes Nico) scolding him, forcing him to take a rest, rinse, and repeat.
Today is no different.
As soon as he enters through the infirmary door, he notices four distinct (not so much) things.
1. Will is sitting on the bed normally reserved for patients.
2. Kayla has a murderous expression on her face and is standing with her hands on the hips in front of Will.
3. A patient whose name Nico doesn't remember is a few beds away, looking at them with the most confused expression.
4. Will's tshirt is inside out
Nico makes his presence known with a small cough. "Hey Will, how are you doing?" he asks, although he can easily guess the answer. "And why's your tshirt inside out?"
Will opens his mouth to answer but Kayla interrupts him. "Oh I'll tell you how he's doing. He has been taking extra shifts for weeks, hasn't slept for the past 24 hours, he drained himself and almost passed out while healing Billie there," she points to the patient, "And he's been eating— Oh gods! Have you even been eating regularly? When was the last time you ate anything, you idiot?" Somehow, Kayla finishes it all in one breath.
When Will speaks, his voice is small, confident and unsure at the same time. "I've been eating regularly, Nico has been bringing me lunch and snacks." He looks at Nico with a meaningful expression.
Liar. Nico hasn't brought him anything to eat for a while. He almost tattles it to Kayla, but the genuine fear in Will's eyes stop him.
Kayla can be really scary and commanding when she needs to be, just like her brother. It's probably 'children of the Sun God' thing— just like the sun, they can be warm and friendly, but they can also be intense and at times vicious.
"I'll be fine, I just need to rest for a while. I'll be fine by the time I have to start my shift." Will attempts to get out of the bed but Kayla pushes him back with more force than necessary.
"William Andrew Solace!" Kayla doesn't raise her voice, but her eyes betray a look of calm before a storm. Maybe that's why the intimidation factor is ten times higher than before. "If you so much as lift a bandage roll in the infirmary, I'll make sure to use you as a practice dummy for my archery lessons."
"I'm going to be—" Will starts but suddenly loses his voice at the back of his throat when Kayla gives him another stern look as if daring him to complete the sentence. "Oh alright, you win. Stop threatening your big brother now."
"I'll stop threatening my big brother when my big brother starts acting like a big brother," she grumbles. "Besides, you're the one who—" she's cut off by the sound of the door being opened.
Austin, much like Nico, understands the scene in front of him as soon as he enters through the door. Like he said, it's not an uncommon occurrence.
"Ohh, Kayla is lecturing Will again? Man, I wish I had popcorn so I could enjoy the show," Austin laughs and sits at the corner of one of the empty beds, legs swinging above the floor.
"You'll find lots of it under Will's bed. Flavoured and all," Nico supplies helpfully.
"Thanks Nico!" Austin cheers at the same time Will shouts "Don't you dare Austin," and almost simultaneously gets hit in the head by Kayla.
"Don't yell at him when I'm yelling at you!" Kayla yells, but Austin is already out of the infirmary.
No one says anything for a while, and silence that fills the room is a little awkward. Not to Nico— he quite enjoys Will getting yelled at by his siblings. Serves him right for all the restrictions and bed rests he had put Nico through.
"Wait, your full name is William Andrew Solace?" Nico suddenly remembers Kayla addressing him as such. "You said Will wasn't short for anything!"
"Yeah well, you said you'd defend me from Kayla when she'd scold me, so I guess we're even," Will simply shrugs.
"Well you— Wait, I never said that!"
"You could have, but you didn't." If Will hadn't been bedridden, Nico would have made sure to banish him to the underworld.
Thankfully Kayla comes in and starts checking Will's vitals. Her hands move as if conflicted between being gentle and being too rough and knocking some sense into him. Nico is considering leaving the infirmary when he realizes something.
"So your name is William Andrew Solace. Your name's Will and the initials of your full name is Was."
Will groans and rolls his droopy eyes, and Kayla laughs. All in all, it's a win.
"Is that why you're always so tense?" Nico continues, which makes Kayla laugh harder and Will even more exasperated. His own cheeks hurt a little from trying not to laugh at his pun.
"Alright Will, you're good to go now," Kayla says once her laughter has subsided, "Get out and don't come back before two days are over."
She's letting Will get away easy, and that's not happening in Nico's watch. With the most innocent face and sweetest tone he can muster, he addresses Kayla.
"You sure about that? He needs complete rest, and you know he'll just find something else to waste his energy on if you let him free." He can see Will frown, but the dark circles around his eyes make him look comical. "I think you should keep him bedridden in the infirmary. That way you can keep an eye on him."
Will objects immediately and Kayla hums in agreement, but Nico isn't done yet.
"And I think you should keep him here for three days. How else will he learn his lesson?"
"You're right, Nico," Kayla tells him, and then addresses Will, "Alright, change of plans. You're staying for three days in the infirmary. No negotiation."
Three days in the infirmary, that sounds familiar. Had revenge always been so fulfilling?
"You know, I could find a way to get away from you guys in five minutes if I wanted to. You'd never catch me." Will huffs and pouts in his temporary bed. The slight rosy tint on his cheeks is almost endearing.
Yeah, I don't think so, Nico almost says, but Kayla beats him to it.
"You know what, you actually might," she says, and turns to Nico. "What was that quote again? Where there's a Will, there's a way."
Nico automatically raises his hand for a high-five, but wonders midway if he's close enough with Kayla for that. Before he can change his mind, Kayla returns it with enthusiasm.
Will groans for the hundredth time that day and slumps back to the bed. Kayla mutters something akin to drama queen and idiot under her breath and goes to check on the other patient— Billie. It's just the two of them now.
"I hope you're happy," Will says with the same amount of pout as before.
"Oh, I am. Finally got my revenge."
"That's so unfair."
"Why? Just because you're being held against your Will?"
"Gods! I'm too tired for this." Will lays down on the bed, looking like he's spent the last of his energy groaning and rolling his eyes. His eyes dart to the foot of the bed where a blanket is, but makes no attempt to pull it over his body.
With a sigh, Nico steps up and helps Will with the blanket. "It's okay to sit back and relax sometimes you know, you have nothing to prove to anyone. You can't expect to shoulder all the infirmary duties and not hurt yourself in the process. There's a reason you have your siblings, and that you're not alone." Nico hopes Will understands this more than anything.
"Aren't you a little too wise today?" Will's smile is like his eyes, tired and sleepy, but also genuine and beautiful all the same.
When Will directs his smile at Nico, a soft warmth settles in his heart and the skeletal butterflies in his stomach go mostly ignored. But that's okay, he'll acknowledge them some other day.
"Someone once told me not to be too hard on myself," Nico recalls Will's words on the third day of his infirmary. "The same applies to you, Solace."
"Yeah, alright. Who was the wise man who told you that, death boy?"
"Oh shut up, William Andrew Solace. Stop being so tense." Will opens his mouth to say something, but just smiles and shakes his head.
"You're never letting me live this down, are you?"
"You're basically asking for it with that name," Nico says. Will smiles with his eyes closed, and it takes Nico all his restraint to not admit that it's the sweetest thing he has seen today.
"Hey Will?"
"Hmm."
"Take it easy. If you find yourself being tense for some reason, I'm here for you. You know, to offer some solace."
"Ugghhh. Go away di Angelo."