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That’s it. He was leaving.
Will Solace turned and left the exhibit, done with pretending to belong there. He’d text his family later. It’d probably be a while until they noticed his absence anyways.
It had taken a long time for them to convince him to go to the art exhibition in the first place. Apparently they were big fans of the artist― some young Italian guy― and thought that they needed to share their obsession with Will. Will’s family was extremely artistic, in multiple senses. Whether it was visual art, music, or poetry, all of them were talented. And then there was Will, the science nerd who felt like a fish out of water in his own home.
The blond grumbled to himself as he walked out to his car, almost tripping over the curb. He cursed as he stubbed his toe, scowling at the pavement. The sun was finishing setting, and in the limited evening light, it was hard to tell where the curb was. Will assumed it had once been painted yellow, but the paint had since worn away making it hard to tell where to step if you were distracted.
Will shuffled his feet over to his car, unlocking the door. He was about to get in when he heard a loud, “Shit!”
He turned to see a young man clutching his shin as he knelt by the curb, his face scrunched up in pain.
“Hey, you okay?” Will hurried over to the other man, offering to help him up.
The man waved Will’s hands away, still grimacing. “Yeah. I just tripped on the fucking curb like the genius I am.”
“Ouch. I almost did that earlier. Here, let me help.”
“I’m fine,” he insisted, managing to stand up on his own. His eyes met Will’s, making the blond catch his breath. The man’s eyes were a rich brown, which suddenly made it harder for Will to be able to breathe. “Why are you staring?”
“S-sorry, I just―”
“Recognized me as the artist? Well feel free to compliment me or whatever, but please don’t be the creepy kind of fan that just stares. I’ve dealt with too many of those tonight.”
Will’s eyes widened in recognition as he realized who he was talking to. “Oh, you’re― Yeah, sorry, I just… I thought you were in the museum.”
“I was,” he said. “I just came out here to get my phone, which I forgot in my car earlier and then was too busy to go get before now.”
“Oh.”
The artist took a step forward, wincing in the process.
“Do you want me to check that out?” Will blurted.
“Huh?”
“Y-your leg, I mean. I have a first aid kit in my car. If you put some ice on it, it’ll help. Trust me.”
The artist raised an eyebrow. “Who actually carries a first aid kit in their car?”
Will reddened. “Well, I'm studying to be a doctor,” he mumbled, shuffling over to his trunk and unlocking it. He turned around to see the artist― Nico, Will remembered― watching him from over where he fell. Will’s hands fumbled as he took out the ice pack, even though his hands were normally steady when he worked. When he went over to give the pack to Nico, the artist took it and pressed it to his leg.
“Thanks,” he said. He looked up at Will. “So what’s your name?”
“Will. Will Solace.”
Nico nodded. “Well I’m Nico di Angelo, as it would appear you know.”
Will found himself fascinated by the man he was speaking to. When Nico asked his next question, Will was caught off guard.
“So were you leaving, then?”
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’ve, um. Well I’ve never been much of an art person, to be honest. I just came because my family wanted me to. No offense,” he added quickly, hoping he wasn’t blushing as much as he thought he was.
Nico seemed to be holding back a smile. “None taken.” He stood up again, handing the ice pack to Will. “If we’re being honest, I’ve never been that interested in science. But thank you for the ice pack.”
“No problem.”
“So do you have any plans once you get home?”
“Nope. Just TV, I guess.”
Nico bit lip, clearly thinking. “In that case, would you mind helping me out with something?”
“Sure,” Will blurted, without thinking first. He didn’t know what it was about that man that interested him so much, but he found himself glad he didn’t have to leave yet.
“Alright, let me get my phone first.” As Nico opened his car, Will put the ice pack back in his own.
“Follow me,” the artist called as he headed back up towards the museum. He led Will to the back parts of the museum, where there were offices and meeting rooms and, as it would appear, a room with Nico’s name on the door. Nico opened it, and turned on the light as he walked inside.
Will entered to find an art studio. The room was open and spacious and two of the walls were glass, which the blond imagined let in plenty of natural light during the day.
“The museum is allowing me to use this studio while I’m in town,” Nico explained. “The lighting in hotel rooms is awful.”
“Wow,” was all Will managed to get out.
Nico leaned against a table covered in tubes of paint and brushes. “I wanted to ask you for advice on my latest project.”
“Oh.” Will nodded in agreement, though he was confused as to why Nico wanted to ask him. He’d told him he wasn’t an art person, hadn’t he?
Nico flipped through a sketchbook that had been sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, finally turning it around to show one of the sketches to Will.
Will’s eyes widened. Suddenly, Nico’s art meant more to Will. He now found it impressive rather than boring, and he had no idea why. The sketch was of a man’s bare back with dark, feathery wings spreading to the left and right. The pencil lines swept across the page, looking as graceful as the wings they combined to make. It was beautiful.
“I’ve never worked this closely with human anatomy before,” Nico explained. “Considering this is my first time, I really want it to be good. I’ve looked at a lot of stuff online and in drawing books, but it’s still hard to create an original, meaningful piece without a live model. I figured, since you’re training to be a doctor, you might be able to help me make sure everything’s accurate.” What surprised Will was that Nico’s tone was more teasing than it was serious. His eyes held more mischief than they did genuine curiosity.
Will tried to match Nico’s tone. “Well this isn’t the kind of thing I specialize in, unfortunately.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, that’s too bad. I was hoping you could help. Unless…”
“Unless?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.”
Will swallowed. “Don’t worry. I’d love to help.”
Nico smirked. “Well… I did say a live model would be useful.”
Will’s heart sped up.
“It’d be quick, of course,” Nico added. “I just need to check a few things.”
“Sure.” Will was surprised to hear himself speak, but didn’t regret doing so.
Nico set down his sketchbook and walked behind Will. Will’s breath hitched when he felt Nico’s hands grab the bottom of his shirt. “Is this okay?” the artist asked, his mouth right by Will’s ear.
Will nodded quickly. “Yeah, of course.”
Nico slowly pulled the shirt up over Will’s head, tossing it aside. His hands began moving along the muscles in Will’s back, his touch firm. Will focused on his breathing, trying to keep it steady. Nico’s fingers danced along the dips and curves in Will’s back, slowly, languidly, as if he had no idea what he was doing to Will’s self control. No, Will thought. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
Nico pressed his lips to the base of Will’s neck before walking away entirely. He picked up his sketchbook again, quickly sweeping his pencil across the page.
Will put his shirt back on, his skin still tingling where Nico had kissed it.
Nico finally finished with whatever he’d been drawing, before ripping it out of the book and walking back over to Will, a smile on his face. “Here,” he said, handing Will the folded scrap of paper. “Thank you for helping me out.”
Will unfolded the paper, reading the delicate script on it.
Text me if you want to help out again.
Will glanced at the phone number that followed the message before looking back up at Nico.
The artist was still smirking.
Will remembered Nico’s tone when he’d thanked him, and replied in the same voice. “Anytime.”