Work Text:
home /hōm/ (n.) - “the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.”
–
“Hey, David, could you stay after for a minute?”
The class, predictably, all began to ‘ooh’ at him as they walked out the door. Piper rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the student in question. She saw the normally quiet boy shrink in on himself as he glanced around the classroom, looking halfway ready to run out the door and make a break for the parking lot. “You’re not in trouble,” she reassured. “I just have a couple things I wanted to ask.”
He didn’t look completely calm, but David set down his backpack and walked over to her desk. “What’s up, Ms. McLean?”
Piper smiled, hoping it would knock down the last vestiges of nerves she saw. “You’re in Mr. di Angelo’s first class, right?” He looked confused, nodding hesitantly. She laughed softly, “I’m assuming you know about how his fiancé is a medic in the army and has been abroad for the past 15 months?”
David didn’t look any less lost, but he nodded again. Piper crossed her legs, leaning forward. “Well, I wanted to ask you a favor. Will, his fiancé, is returning today, but wants to surprise him at school tomorrow. Me and my girlfriend are picking him up from the airport later tonight, and he’ll be coming to school with me tomorrow.”
She watched as her student’s face lit up in excitement, finally realizing she wasn’t lying when she said he wasn’t in trouble. “Really?”
Piper smiled at his enthusiasm, knowing she chose the right student to ask. David was a good kid; very sweet, always listening to lessons and asking thoughtful questions. “Yep! You don’t have to worry about being part of the huge plan or whatever, Will and I just wanted to ask if you wouldn’t mind filming it? He wants to be able to watch it later, and while Nic—sorry, Mr. di Angelo might say he doesn’t care, he’ll definitely want the video, too.”
David chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Do you want me to use my phone, or…?” He trailed off, obviously not sure fully of what she was asking him.
“Nope! I’ll have a camera for you to use tomorrow, you’ll just need to stop by my classroom beforehand to pick it up and all that. Would that work?”
He nodded, crossing his arms across his chest. “Yeah, I normally get here around 15-20 minutes before the bell, so I’ll have plenty of time to come grab it.”
Piper beamed, before grabbing her phone to text in the groupchat Will had set up with her and Shel. “Awesome! I’ll let them know I got that last bit figured out, then. If you’d like, you’ll probably be able to see and talk with Will a little beforehand. I know he’ll want to thank you a hundred times over, like the overgrown puppy he is.”
The teen snorted, shifting on his feet. Piper finished her text, placing her phone back on her desk. “Alright, I won’t keep you any longer. Have a great rest of your day, David, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning!”
David waved as he headed out of the classroom, backpack slung haphazardly over his shoulder. Piper sighed, leaning back in her chair. Glancing at the time, she saw she had about an hour before her and Shel needed to be at the airport.
God, Will was lucky she loved him and Nico, this was stressful.
–
Nico thought waking up alone would get easier after so long apart, but it never did. The bed was always a little too empty, a little too cold, a little too big. He had never liked mornings, his job requiring that he wake at six so he wasn’t late never amending that thinking, but Will being there, up and rising with the sun, always made it easier.
Heaving a sigh, he rolled out of bed, leaving the comforter a tangled mess. Nico trudged into the bathroom and turned on the shower, heat up as high as he could get it.
20 minutes later Nico felt like one of those singers in music videos with the steam following him through the doorway, but no joke was ever as funny without Will there to laugh at it. He threw on some work clothes, rubbed on deodorant, and walked out to the kitchen to make a light breakfast.
This part of his morning was his least favorite, because normally Will was there, ‘helping’ him cook (Nico was never letting him touch the stove again, but he could pull out ingredients and plate food), distracting him, and otherwise making everything warmer, somehow.
Instead, he was alone, the air cold and unwelcoming despite the heat being on and him wearing an outfit appropriate for the weather. Nico shuffled to the table, sitting down heavily and slowly chewing his toast. His watch read 6:45, meaning he had 15 minutes and then he had to get in the car and leave. He sighed, continuing his breakfast in oppressive solitude.
One more month. Just one more month.
Sliding his plate into the dishwasher, Nico grabbed his phone, wallet, keys, and bag, before heading out and locking the door. The 20 minute drive felt like a marathon, a slow crawl at a snail’s pace, but he inevitably arrived.
When Nico was growing up, he never pictured himself as a high school history teacher. If asked, he would have said a museum proctor or an archaeologist; something more inherently exciting. Yet, he loved his job. He loved sassing his students and seeing one of his best friends every day during planning periods. He loved watching his students feel more and more comfortable in his room, and he loved teaching one of his favorite topics.
Unlocking his room, he flicked on the lights and headed to his desk to set everything down. Nico logged into his computer, and then his laptop, before pulling up that day’s lesson plan. Grabbing a dry erase marker, he turned and began to write important information and reminders for each class.
As his students slowly started to file in, he looked up and greeted them each individually. They all looked about as awake as he was, though Nico knew that wouldn’t stop them from participating in class. He sat down at his desk and quickly connected the computer to the projector, pre-pulling up all the links needed for the first couple classes.
It was a boring routine, but it was his, and had been for the past four years. His students knew he wouldn’t be very talkative before the bell, knew he wasn’t a morning person. They knew his resting face looked scary, but that he was really a huge nerd who hated mornings and hadn’t yet fully woken.
When the bell rang, Nico looked up and smiled a small, kind grin at his first class. “Hey, guys. How are we this morning?” He got a few responses, but most just slowly blinked at him, making him laugh. “Yeah, it’s just one of those mornings, I get it. Alright, so, we started talking about the Ottoman Empire yester—”
And he was off. Nico watched his students perk up, asking questions and taking notes. Not hesitating to snark back at him, knowing he wasn’t the type to reprimand for ‘attitude’; Lord knows he has enough ‘attitude’ himself.
Maybe ten minutes into the lesson, he was hunched over at his desk, still talking as he rummaged for a paper in his drawers. A knock sounded at the door, before a voice spoke: “Ms. McLean asked me to bring this over to you.”
Nico called a thanks over his shoulder, not yet turning as he finally found the notes he had been searching for. Setting it on his desk, he went to grab whatever the student had brought. Hand on the paper, Nico glanced up at the student’s face (God, it was always embarrassing when students were taller than him) and stopped; stopped moving, stopped breathing, stopped existing within the cruel constraints of time.
There was no way.
“Will?”
The love of his life grinned back at him, and oh how he had missed that smile. That one dimple and the little freckle on Will’s bottom lip. “Heya, darlin’.”
He didn’t think. Nico threw himself into his fiancé’s arms, trusting the other would support his weight. Will’s hands went under his thighs on reflex, catching him, as he sobbed into the man’s shoulders. He didn’t care that his students were probably taking pictures, or texting friends. He didn’t care how unprofessional he was being. His Will was here, his Will was home.
“When—when did you, you’re here? How?” Nico stuttered out, voice thick from tears. “You said one more…?”
Will chuckled, and how he loved feeling the vibrations against his chest instead of hearing them through his phone’s crappy speakers. “I wanted to surprise you, sweetheart. Piper helped me set it up, got me from the airport and everything.”
Nico suddenly drew back, grabbed Will’s face, muttered a quiet, “You asshole, ” and brought him into a kiss. It took a second for the other to respond, caught off guard, but when he did it was heaven. He felt like melting into his fiancé’s arms, a puddle of pure content.
Breaking the kiss, Nico suddenly remembered his students. Face most certainly a bright shade of red, he slipped out of Will’s hold, though not without grabbing his hand; he was not letting him go, even if the distance between them only spanned a few feet instead of thousands.
Looking at his students, all he saw were wide grins, and even a few teary eyes. He laughed wetly, scrubbing harshly at his face. “Sorry.” His students all rolled their eyes and told him to shut up. Nico beamed, pulling Will fully into the classroom so he could stand in front of the class.
“So, if it wasn’t obvious, this is Will, my fiancé, who I haven’t seen in 15 months.” Will smiled, waving kindly at the teenagers. Nico watched as his love knelt and picked up the ‘paper from Ms. McLean’ before he stood and turned to face him.
“You never got to see the paper, darling.” Rolling his eyes, Nico yanked the paper out of his clasp and went to skim what was either a horrible joke or some sappy, sweet attempt at poetry. Instead, he found his vision blurring for the second time that morning, hand shaking in disbelief.
“Wh-what?”
Will hugged him from behind, chin hooked over Nico’s shoulder, holding him close. “Go on, baby, read it aloud.”
It took him a second to find his voice, still convinced this was a cruel dream that would leave him a hollow shell once awake. “Ca-captain Will Solace of the 7th Regiment, we have reviewed your application, and—” Nico sobbed, hand not holding the paper grasping desperately at Will’s arms.
“We have reviewed your application, and after careful consideration of your service, we have decided to approve your discharge request. A ceremony will be held for you and your comrades who have also been approved for discharge; further information has been enclosed within this letter. We thank you for your service, signed Army General—”
Nico couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. He collapsed fully, Will’s arms the only thing keeping him from colliding harshly with the ground. He tried to pull himself together, tried to not sob like a toddler in front of his students, but he couldn’t. He cried, and cried, and cried, barely registering when Will slowly lowered the two into a crouched position.
“No more leaving?” He finally whispered out, turning to be able to meet those blue, blue eyes he loved so much.
They crinkled as Will smiled. “No more leaving, I’m all yours.”
Nico half-hid his face in the blond’s neck, turning to address his class, not bothering to stop the floodgates this time. “I guess we’ll talk about the Ottoman Empire next class, then.” They laughed, some packing away their things, some wiping their own tears, others beaming at the couple.
He felt Will crane his body behind him, and didn’t even have a chance to ask what he was looking for before the man spoke. “Hey, David, did you get it all?”
Nico zeroed in on the boy in question, who held up a camera. “Yup! Do you want the camera, or should I give it back to Ms. McLean?”
He rolled his eyes, grabbing at his desk chair and forcing Will up from the floor to sit in it, settling in his lap; the blond man all-the-while reaching out for the camera as David returned it. “Of course you had it recorded.”
Will smirked at him. “Like you won’t have this played at our wedding.”
He felt himself flush a little, but he couldn’t bring himself to even care. Will was here, their wedding could happen soon, they would be married.
Nico heard Will start to engage with the class, talking and asking and answering questions, but the exact words fluttered in one ear and immediately dove out the other. He was content to gaze at his fiancé, watch him smile and laugh, listen to the cadence of the voice that could calm him from the darkest of nightmares, take in the warmth and scent of him he had missed so much.
His Will was home.