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The day was mostly warm so far. Nico liked it; sure, he tended to dress in tight, black clothes all the time, but a little bit of sun could do him some good. Sometimes winter just got too cold for him, so Nico relished the moments of warmth when he could.
Someone knocked on the door. By the specific force, speed, and rhythm of the knocking, Nico could figure out who it was and that he should be quick. He scurried to the door and unlocked it, finding Will hovering on the doorstep panicking.
“Nico!” Will cried, hands shaking just slightly. “Are you free right now?”
“For the next few hours, yeah,” Nico replied, frowning. “Is everything…?”
“Are you good at buying Christmas gifts for people?”
“Am I what?” Nico was thrown for a loop. He hadn’t expected Will to ask this.
“Christmas is in, like, a week, and I haven’t gotten anything for my siblings, and I need to ship the gifts because they live elsewhere, and I’m panicking, so… what do I do?” Will looked to be in despair. “Please, you’re my last hope.”
“I… okay,” Nico said, already pulling Will inside. “First, a plan.”
Nico made Will sit down at his kitchen table and write a list of his siblings’ interests, possible gifts for them, and where they could go together to buy something. By the time Nico was ready to leave, Will had completed a list.
Nico ran his finger down the page, counting the number of people. “Kayla… Austin… Gracie… Solía… Lee and Michael?” Nico stopped, coming to a couple of names that haven’t come up in conversation between him and Will before. There was only one bullet point under each of their names; Michael’s said a replacement figurine and Lee’s said leather bracelet.
“Oh,” Will stopped. “I… I didn’t- I didn’t need to put them on there, I’ve already got their gifts.”
Nico tilted his head at Will, who still wouldn’t quite meet his eyes. “…Okay. Well, we can focus on the other four. It looks like we could get this all at the local shopping center, so should we head there?”
“That sounds good.” Will swallowed, looking like he was biting his tongue. He released some tension, and his posture melted back into something more relaxed. “Yeah. I, um, just realized I have something else I need to do today. Can we go tomorrow?”
Will looked uncertain of himself, which… it wasn’t unusual for when Nico had first met him, but Will’s confidence had seemed to be growing. Nico just hoped he was okay. “Yeah, that’s totally fine. Are you sure everything’s okay?”
Will smiled brightly, running a hand through his hair. “Totally. Just tired. I should go take care of the something else, so, uh… I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Nico responded automatically, still puzzled by Will’s slightly volatile behaviour. He didn’t know what Will was upset by, but he knew Will would come to him when (if) he was ready.
Will got up, almost tripping over his own feet. Nico left the house keys and wallet he’d collected in preparation for their outing on the table, letting Will out the door.
Before he left, Nico caught Will’s hand and pulled him into a quick hug. “I don’t know what’s bothering you, but I hope you’re okay. Or that you’re going to be.” Nico released Will with one final squeeze.
Somehow, Will looked more shaken than before. “Uh. Thanks. Th-thank you.”
Nico watched with a crease in his forehead as Will stumbled back to his own house. Something was obviously troubling Will, but he didn’t know what, and it worried him.