Chapter Text
Being chased around a giant Cheez Whiz processing plant was not how Will’s day was supposed to go.
As a matter of fact, it was supposed to be rather tame, with very little planned throughout that sunny day. Nothing but light practice for the morning, with the late afternoon booked for a cozy date under the moon with his amazing boyfriend…
The same boyfriend who was currently half-conscious in the tiny corner of some random, cluttered room. A room in a completely random, unfamiliar building.
It was Nico’s most recent shadow travel that took them to that unfamiliar building. The one after Will had called it a day, shooting down Nico’s insistence of I’m fine and just one more.
Besides, Nico did that half the time they practiced his shadow travel. It wasn’t uncommon to hear those protests before Nico eventually passed out, but this time… well, it was completely unexpected.
Will had his back turned, making his way over to retrieve his bag of medical stuff, when Nico suddenly grabbed his hand and jumped into the nearest shadow he could find.
And the next thing Will knew, he was nearly in a giant vat of bright yellow cheese.
Nico had stumbled- fallen, really, into Will’s arms. He was practically dead weight from that moment forward, which made running from the factory workers a little more difficult than Will would have liked.
That entire sequence of events was a blur, the only actual thing sticking to his memories being Nico’s gentle breaths against his ear.
There was a lot of yelling. Will couldn’t understand any of it- Spanish was not one of the languages he could speak- but the message was clear as day.
They were not supposed to be there.
After about five minutes of running around dark corridors and praying for a miracle, Will ran right into an inconspicuous door.
One that was left unlocked and
It was a split moment decision- one second, they were standing
“Okay—” Will rushed over to the door, pressing an ear to the cool metal. A few minutes of listening in was all he needed, because whatever he heard, it was nothing from the previous chase they’d found themselves in. “I think we lost them.”
Nico, too out of it to respond, simply curled in on himself.
Will sat down beside his boyfriend, his foot immediately coming into contact with something crinkly. A wrapper, he realized, one made up of a bright red coloring with the words Cheez Whiz printed at the front.
Everything started to piece itself together- the vat of cheese, the pallets full of empty jars, the used-up wrapper…
But the most concerning clue was splayed on the wall; a safety procedure sheet, written in Spanish and credited back to a particular South American country’s government.
He turned to Nico. “Why are we in Venezuela?”
This, however, did not seem to concern Nico. Will wanted to shake him awake, ask just why they’d ended up in an entirely different continent
Nico, however, simply responded with: “It smells like processed cheese…”
“Nico.”
“Will.” He mimicked, sluggishly uncurling himself to face Will. “I wasn’t aiming to end up here. I just… got pulled off course.”
Will frowned, ready to go full doctor mode on his ridiculously stubborn boyfriend. “And just how did that happen?”
Nico responded with a very deliberate yawn. An adorable, kitten-like yawn.
Fine, he thought. We’ll play it your way.
“Here,” Will dug through his pockets, fingers grasping the only piece of medicinal benefit he knew he had. “Eat this.”
And as soon as he held his palm out, Nico gave him this look.
It was cute- far less threatening than all the yelling those factory workers had berated them with. Nico’s eyes would narrow, brows furrow, and lips press together in a pouty frown. Sometimes he’d raise a brow, sometimes he’d cross his arms- but almost always he would tilt his head, making sure Will knew just how much trouble he was in.
Though, as much as Will wanted to smoother his boyfriend in affection, he knew that look. It was starting to become Nico’s shut up or you’ll be sleeping in the doghouse look.
And Will really disliked being in that position.
“You know I hate that gum.”
Will rolled his eyes. “It’s the best I’ve got, Nico.”
And reluctantly, Nico took it. “Why don’t you carry any chocolate?”
“Because someone would just go through my bag and eat the entire stock.”
“Would not…” Nico grumbled, tossing the gum into his mouth. After a minute or so of chewing, those telltale wisps of shadows expelled themselves from Nico’s body.
That always helped in the long run, but it did nothing to ward off Nico’s fatigue. The only way they’d
“So this is it?” Nico mumbled, his cheek pressing against Will’s shoulder. “We’re just… stuck here?”
Will shook his head. “No. You just have to get some rest first- I’d rather make sure you’re ready for another jump than end up in another continent again. Besides, I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a hot date planned for later tonight.”
Nico raised a brow, ears tinting a very light pink. “Really?”
Immediately, Will smiled. “Yep. He’s got these big, brown eyes and the cutest smile you’ll ever see—"
The punch to the arm was definitely worth it, seeing as he got to see the pretty blush spread across Nico’s cheeks.
“That was awful…” He said, practically nuzzling into Will’s chest. Really, Will could almost picture Nico rolling his eyes- as much as he could with the throws of sleep tugging at his eyelids.
“I know you liked it,” Will whispered, wrapping an arm around Nico’s waist.
“Uh-huh.” Came the sarcastically endearing reply.
So they stayed there for a while, filling the air with nothing but silence. Will half expected Nico to fall asleep right then and there, but he never did.
In fact, after about ten minutes or so, Nico forced himself to stir from their little corner. Will had not been too concerned about his shifting, but the very second Nico got to his feet, Will was ready to catch his swaying, fatigue-ridden form.
Except, he didn’t fall back down. With very small, determined steps, Nico made his way over to the door.
Will blinked. “Um, what are you—"
“We can go now.” Nico slurred, very nearly stumbling into the wall. “I just have to find a big enough shadow, an’ then…”
He trailed off after that, heavily leaning against the random support beam in the middle of the room. Nico pressed his face into it, suddenly falling very still.
Although he couldn’t see his face, Will could practically picture Nico drawing his eyes closed. M’not sleepy, he’d say, right before passing out on his trusted travel pillow.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have the pillow, so Will couldn’t gently coax Nico to lay beside him. He couldn’t run his fingers through Nico’s hair or hum him a little lullaby upon request. It was virtually impossible to get Nico to wait for recovery without that stupid pillow…
“I really think we should wait it out a little more.” He still tried, seeing as standing upright was not the best position to suddenly fall unconscious in. Will didn’t really want to make any sudden moves, afraid of startling his boyfriend into toppling right over.
But despite how out of it he looked, Nico had not yet fallen asleep.
“Will. I can take us home now. M’ready—"
“You’re not and you know it.” Will frowned, watching the way Nico’s breaths begin to even out. “I told you to rest before trying another jump. Really, if you weren’t so stubborn—”
Nico suddenly whirled around, The Look settling back on his face.
Will immediately shut up.
“Me? You’re saying this is my fault?” Nico crossed his arms, and when Will failed to respond, he huffed a little hmph. “I know how to take care of myself, William.”
“I know, sunshine.” Will raised his hands, carefully shuffling closer to Nico. “It’s just, sometimes, you take it a little far—"
“I—” Nico looked like he wanted to say more, to insist he didn’t need Will to fuss about him every few seconds-
But, all at once, Nico deflated.
His face was no longer fixed in a scowl, the fire in his eyes replaced with something different- something far more fragile than a short fuse could bring.
“I’m tired of this.” He grumbled, staring at the palms of his hands. “I want to fix whatever’s broken inside of me…”
Will felt a tiny bit of himself break at the admission he’s heard far too many times before.
Still, he got to his feet. He made his way over to Nico, spreading his arms like an invitation to come closer- an invitation Nico immediately took.
Will didn’t know how long they stood there for, embracing one another like it was the end of the world… but eventually, he slowly slid them to the ground, leaning into the support beam and holding Nico against his much more comfortable body.
“I know it’s hard.” He nuzzled into Nico’s hair, acutely aware of just how slack Nico had gone since their tiny dispute. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but you’re making progress. You’re doing better than anyone could have ever imagined- I’m so proud of you, Neeks.”
He squeezed Nico closer, and when there was no response, Will simply pressed a kiss to Nico’s temple and held him that much closer.
“Rest.” He breathed into the air, heart swelling with a bunch of jittery butterflies. “We’re in no hurry to get back.”