Work Text:
Will hadn’t realized how lost in his head he was until he heard a knock on the door of his lab. He blinked, rubbing his eyes under his glasses.
“Come in!” He called, turning on his heel to see who had knocked.
He was expecting Percy or Annabeth, maybe even Frank, but certainly not Nico di Angelo. He tilted his head to the side and took his glasses off, laying them on one of the many flat workspaces. He offered the man a small smile. Will didn’t know much about Jason’s close friend, something about HYDRA and murdering Percy’s parents? He didn’t really know or care.
“May I help you?” He asked, rounding some of his equipment so he could get a proper look at the brunette.
“You’re Doctor Solace, right?”
“I am.” Will nodded, taking a few steps closer to hold his hand out. “Doctor William Solace, what’cha need?”
Nico took a half-step back, staring at Will’s extended hand. He slowly grasped the blonde’s hand, giving it a small shake. “Nico.” He let go of Will’s hand, shifting from foot-to-foot awkwardly. “I uh, Jason told me you could help me. I’m uh- I’m-” He lifted his left arm, which was less of an arm and more of a stump. “This. This is the issue.”
Will’s face lit up. “Ah, yes!” He nodded, rushing back over to his workspace. “Captain Grace told me about this months ago, how could I forget?” He grabbed a tablet, stepping into an open space. “Arms aren’t my specialty, but I think you’ll like it.” He gave the tablet a small jerk, watching the projection of the 3D modeled arm cast into the open space of the room.
Nico stared with wide eyes as the projected rotated slowly. “You designed that?” He asked, his face painted over with shock.
The design was simple, but it had character to it. It was black, each individual plate of metal meticulously put together to make the arm flexible. It was beautiful, so much better than the arm he had previously had. That arm had been lost in uh- an accident. He didn’t particularly enjoy thinking about it.
“I did. It’s fine if you don’t like it, I can design something else. I want you to like it, I mean you’re gonna be the one using it. I wouldn’t want you to have something you don’t like attached to your body.” Will rambled bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck.
The brunette shook his head. “No, no it’s super cool.” Nico said, stepping closer to the hologram to get a better look. “I like it a lot.”
“Really?” Will’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Well that was easy.” He said with a light chuckle. “JARVIS, can you start working on this for Mr. di Angelo?” He asked.
“Of course, sir.” The AI system replied.
The hologram disappeared, leaving the two men standing there in silence. Will went to put the tablet back, biting the inside of his cheek. He grabbed his glasses, pushing them back onto his face. He was about to speak when Nico cut him off.
“I’ve seen you on the news.” He spoke quietly.
Will breathed out a sign through his nose. “No, you’ve seen the Other Guy on the news for destroying New York City when Frank’s sibling brought an army down on us.” He spoke in a monotone, pulling his lab coat tighter around his body.
Nico shook his head slowly. “No, you’re the scientist that tried to replicate the serum they gave Jason. They said you were crazy.”
Will turned to look at the former assassin. “Because I was crazy. I had a bad run with gamma radiation and now I’m stuck with an ugly green monster that lives inside of me. One wrong move and he comes out and destroys everything.” He pushed a hand through his blonde curls. He grabbed his mug of herbal tea, taking a small sip. “I can’t live normally in society anymore, so I stay here in the tower.”
Nico took a few small steps closer, running the hem of his shirt between his fingers nervously. “If it makes you feel any better, my brain was put in a blender by HYDRA, I can’t exactly live normally in society either.” He said with a small shrug. “One small trigger and I’m on a killing spree, it’s not exactly fun.”
The doctor couldn’t take his eyes off of Nico, almost a minute passed before he remembered he needed to breathe. “That’s...That’s terrible.” He breathed out, his grip tightening on his mug. “I- Would you like some tea?” When Nico nodded, he smiled. “Take a seat wherever you want.”
The brunette shuffled over to a stool, taking a seat and swiveling back and forth slowly. “I don’t want to be pushy, but when do you think my arm will be re-”
“Doc!”
Both men turned towards the door when someone poked their head in.
“Yes, Magnus?” Will arched a brow, turning his electric kettle on. He grabbed a Star Wars themed mug for Nico to use.
“If it’s not too much trouble, could you make me two mugs of Hot Cocoa?” Magnus asked, stepping all the way into the lab. His shaggy blonde hair was messy and he was breathing heavily, meaning he probably ran from his University to the tower.
“If you don’t mind me using water instead of milk, then sure.” Will shrugged. “May I ask why you need two mugs when you’re only one guy?”
“Water is fine.” Magnus nodded. He hesitated when it came to the next question. “I, uh, I’m taking one to Annabeth.”
Will rolled his eyes, but nodded. He took out two more mugs and a container of hot chocolate powder. While Nico’s tea steeped, he mixed together the drinks for Magnus. Once they were all done he carefully picked up the mugs and brought them over to the other male.
“If you run into Percy, tell him I have blueprints ready for him.” The scientist said.
“Sure thing. Thanks, Doc!” Magnus grinned, taking the mugs and carefully carrying them out of the lab.
Will smiled to himself, going to take the teabag out of the remaining mug.
“Who’s he? I’ve never seen him around here before.” Nico asked, taking the mug from Will with a small “Thank you”.
“Annabeth’s cousin.” Will said, hoisting himself up to sit on one of the countertops. “His name is Magnus. I guess he was bitten by some radioactive spider? I honestly have no idea, he’s a cool guy though.” He brought his mug to his lips and took a small sip. “He comes and asks me for Hot Cocoa all the time, but he’s never asked for two mugs. Plus, I know Annabeth is a coffee person, she won’t drink that.”
“Huh.” Nico’s brows pinched together as he sipped his tea. It was nice here, as was Will. “As I was saying, um, do you have an estimated time for when the arm will be done?”
Will hummed in thought, kicking his legs back and forth. “Well, if everything goes well then it should be done and tested in maybe...a week? Again, that is if everything goes well. With the tech we have and with JARVIS, there shouldn’t be too many setbacks. Once it's done we just need to get it sized to fit comfortably and you’ll be set.” His cheeks began to glow a soft pink. “Sorry, that was a lot.”
They both locked eyes with each other for a split second.
Nico coughed, quickly gulping down half of the contents of his mug. “A week is fine. I’m not doing anything so,” He shrugged. “One arm works for a while.”
Will was silent for a moment, then began to laugh. “I’ve never heard someone so chill with having one arm!” He wheezed, having to place his mug down to keep from spilling tea all over both himself and his tech.
Nico snorted, a small smile curling on his lips. “I’m used to it at this point, it doesn’t bother me.”
Will tried the best he could, but he just couldn’t take his eyes off the brunette. He wasn’t as much of a social butterfly anymore, especially after the incident that created Hulk, but talking to Nico felt easy. It felt natural. They were both a little broken, a little scarred, but they were healing. He never thought he would wake up that morning and realize all he had been missing out on, he just thought it would be a normal day.
Oh god he just fell in love.
Was it love? WIll didn’t really know, he had never been in love before. Something about Nico was different. It could be his smile, or the way his dark hair brushed against his shoulders and small pieces framed his face. Something about him made Will’s heart skip a beat.
Yelling from down the hall outside the lab seemed to bring both men back to reality.
Jason burst into the lab, his eyes wide and his face shining with sweat. “Jesus-fucking-Christ Nico, I thought you disappeared on me again! I had no idea where you were!” He groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. He waved weakly at Will. “Doctor.” He greeted.
“Captain.” Will nodded in acknowledgement.
“I told you I was coming to talk to Doctor Solace about my arm. You’ve been pestering me about it for months.” Nico sighed, rolling his eyes.
Jason paused for a moment, looking between the pair. He began to nod slowly. “You’re right...you did tell me.” he said slowly. He opened and closed his mouth a few times like a fish out of water, then simply turned on his heel and left the lab.
Once he was sure Jason was gone, Nico spoke up. “He had no idea what I was talking about.”
“He had no idea what you were talking about.” Will said in agreement.
They shared a lighthearted laugh.
Sometimes Will forgot what it was like to have human interaction. Despite there being so many people that lived in the tower, he often found himself alone. It was nice to talk with someone for once.
He could get used to this.