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The moon was so bright that it normally would have been enough to luminate the calm scene occurring on the ground below. Tonight, however, clouds littered the sky warning those who lived under them that a storm would be coming soon. It was a beautiful summer night, that light pre-storm breeze blowing through their clothes and hair as they sat on the cool grass of the clearing.
A warm hand closed around Nico’s, and he felt the pressure of another body press up against his side. Without even thinking about it, he melted into the feel of the boy next to him. He let his eyes fall closed as he took in a deep breath of the summer night breeze.
Eventually, he let his eyes open, shifting his gaze to the beautiful boy next to him. Will was already looking at him, the smallest presence of a smile on his face. Even in the dark, Nico could see the vibrance of his bright blue eyes. The tips of Will’s blonde hair were illuminated by the shine of the headlights of the car they sat in front of, putting the silhouette of his curls on full display.
Looking at this boy, Nico couldn’t help but smile. He had spent years building up walls to protect himself, but then Will came along and broke every single one of them down.
It must have been minutes before the cold drop of water on Nico’s cheek forced him to look away from those blue eyes. Instead, he turned his gaze upwards, squinting to try and see where the clouds were against the black sky.
As if it was taking a cue from Nico, the sky seemed to open up, letting raindrops fall down on the pair. Nico frowned up at the sky, upset with it for ruining his somewhat perfect night. His frown deepened further when Will pulled away from him, leaving his side cold. His heart skipped a beat in his chest as he realised what Will was doing. Slowly, reaching through the window of the car, Will turned the music on the speakers up and walked back toward Nico.
“Dance with me?” He said, offering Nico his hand.
Nico would have done anything Will asked him to.
Their hands joined and Nico didn’t even try to suppress his smile. The two of them mostly just swayed together, Will humming quietly to the tune of the song as he rested his head on top of Nico’s. The two of them stayed here, in this moment, for as long as the song would permit them.
Eventually the song changed- a more upbeat tune- and the rain picked up. There was a tiny clap of thunder from above and Will pulled away from Nico. Not fully, they were still holding hands, but Will turned his head up to the sky and let out an unabashedly loud laugh. Nico just watched, as Will let out a cheer towards the clouds, feeling his smile grow and his chest ache at how much love he had for this boy.
Suddenly, the rain was too heavy, and they decided they should go home before it got too bad and they could not drive home. So, with shoes full of water and bodies soaked to the bone, they climbed back into the car and began to drive home.
The moment was too short for Nico’s liking, and he didn’t want to leave yet. Will pulled up outside of Nico’s apartment and put the car in park. He turned to face Nico and let his hand brush against Nico’s face, pushing the dripping hair out of his face. He lets his hand rest on Nico’s cheek, pulling Nico a bit closer and bringing their lips together. It’s a sweet kiss, and the two of them pull apart much too soon, but Will whispers “I love you,” into Nico’s ear and he thinks it’s alright.
****
The first thing Nico feels is the wrinkled sheets wrapped around him. A ray of sunlight comes through the gap of the blinds in the early morning. The red-orange light beam lands on his face. His eyes flutter open at the sudden light in his eyes, his initial reaction to pick his hand up and shield his face.
After getting over the initial shock of the bright light, his senses wake up, and he takes in his surroundings. He smells the scent of fresh air coming from the open window, he listens to the sounds of the bustling streets of New York City below. He stretches out his muscles from the long night of sleep- one of the best he’s gotten in a while.
He finally looks around the room, taking in every detail. He looks at the unorganised bookshelf and desk, papers scattered all over it. He looks at the clothes on the floor, not having quite made it to the laundry basket. He shifts in the bed to turn onto his left side, heart skipping a beat at the sight. Will was sprawled out on his side of the bed, curls falling in his face.
Nico rarely woke up before Will, so he took this moment to really study the boy. He gently pushed the curls out of his face, trying his best not to wake Will. Noticing that Will began to stir, Nico just laid back down on the bed, facing Will and shifting his position on the bed to be a little bit closer to the man.
It was lovely to lay here with Will like this. He wanted to wake him, to tell him how beautiful he was, how cute he was while he slept, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment.
He kind of felt like he was sitting between comfort and chaos: True comfort would mean waking Will up and folding himself in Will’s arms, but chaos would mean waking him up and realising that they both have things to do that day- that they couldn’t spend all day tucked up like this. So here Nico was- in between the two.
He decided to push his luck, and push himself into Will’s embrace, relishing the way the blonde’s arms instinctively wrapped around him. They stayed like this for a few moments until Will stirred, taking in a slight breath as he pressed a kiss to the top of Nico’s head. Nico pulled his head back and looked up at Will’s face, melting as he spotted the warm smile on his lips.
Nico just pressed a quick kiss to Will’s lips before falling back into his gravity and nuzzling his head into Will’s neck. Will chuckled and held Nico closer. They stayed like this until they absolutely couldn’t anymore- the call of Will’s work becoming too demanding.
“Come on, Sunshine.” Will said sweetly as he tried to pull Nico out of bed.
Nico felt his whole body relax on instinct at the nickname and he went along with whatever Will said. Will teased him for it, but how could Nico resist when Will was like this?
Again, it was over too soon, and they were in the car outside of Nico’s apartment as Will dropped him off. Will laughed at the frown on Nico’s face as he unbuckled his seatbelt to exit the car and tipped the latter’s chin up with two fingers.
“Don’t worry, Sunshine. I’ll see you later.” Their eyes met for a brief moment before Nico closed the gap, sighing into their sweet kiss.
They pulled away, albeit reluctantly, and Nico got out of the car, waving at Will as he drove away. He watched Will’s car, thinking about how this was just like the start of every movie he had seen before.
He sighed contently as he walked up the few steps to his apartment door, and let it slam behind him as he entered.
—
Nico awoke with a startle as the door to his apartment slammed.
“Sorry!” Jason yells from the doorway. “Didn’t think it would be so loud!”
The first thing Nico notices is that he is cold. He’s cold and he’s disoriented. It takes him a few moments to regain his bearings, but once he did, it was like a stone dropped in his stomach.
No no no no no no.
It wasn’t real. It isn’t real. It was a dream.
Nico hits himself for letting himself live in that fantasy for so long. He and Will don’t exist like that anymore- they haven’t in a long time.
The door to his bedroom opens, and Nico looks up, shaking himself from his thoughts, albeit unsuccessfully. He just hopes it’s not written all over his face.
“Nico?” Jason says, concern clear in his expression.
“Hm?” Nico says. Had Jason said something?
Jason just sighs and sits down on the edge of Nico’s bed, “Will again?”
Nico lets himself deflate. Jason holds out his arms and Nico crawls into them, letting himself be comforted.
He and Will don’t exist. They haven’t in a very long time. Nico can’t even recall the last time he’d been kissed. There hadn’t been anyone for him but Will.
Eventually, Nico shakes it off enough to get Jason to leave him alone and get dressed. He makes his way out to his own car, running to avoid the steady fall of rain from the grey sky above. Finally behind the wheel, Nico lets himself fall against the back of the seat and close his eyes, getting a breath of air.
He stares out of the windshield at the rain bouncing off of the pavement.
It was just like the ending of every movie he had seen before.