Chapter Text
Will yawned, squinting at Nico’s frail figure as he stumbled out of Will’s bed, probably for the bathroom next door. He smiled, eyes closing as he drifted in and out of sleep.
Nico and Will had only been dating for a few weeks, but it was amazing watching Nico become more comfortable around him, and, as of last week, they’d started sleeping in the same bed. Their hot and cold body temperatures complemented each other well, and Nico admitted it stopped a fair few of his nightmares, which Will was totally normal about.
Nico had been admitting more things as of late, but there was one thing Will just couldn’t get him to budge on: his health.
Nico had always been on the fragile side, with dark eye bags and a bag-of-bones physique. Nothing a good diet and absence of shadow travel couldn’t fix, right?
Wrong. Nico had maybe gained a little healthy weight, but he still had chronic brainfog, got dizzy in training, lost his vision when standing up, and spaced out often—to the point he’d ask Will to repeat sentences he knew for sure Nico had heard.
And the list of symptoms in Will’s brain kept growing.
He was worried, to say the least. They’d gotten into a sort of fight last night over Nico’s stupid belief that he “wasn’t that sick”. Will had watched in horror as Nico’s shell cracked back into place before storming out of the infirmary to give himself space from the healer.
Thankfully, later in the night, he felt Nico’s gaunt body settle beside him, and everything was alright again.
A series of loud bangs sounded from the next room over, breaking Will out of his daze. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes. Had Austin accidentally knocked over his alarm when pressing snooze again? He shrugged, laying back down and returning to his daydreaming.
—————
Nico’s vision swam as he mindlessly walked into the bathroom, not even glancing at his reflection.
And then the ground was swept from underneath him, his feet leaning inwards and outwards as he tried to regain his balance. He swayed back and forth, limbs flailing, pawing for anything to grab onto. His pupils widened, blinking rapidly before he promptly collapsed, slamming the side of his head against the wall.
Just as suddenly as it had happened, it stopped, and Nico shook as if he’d been pulled out of the depths after drowning.
What just happened? How had he gotten here? Where was here?
One thought prevailed through the noise. Where was Will?
Nico lurched out of the bathroom, panic searing through him. He needed Will.
He searched aimlessly, tripping, hands shaking at a random door handle in blind terror, but it wouldn’t budge. His head ached, panging in a hollow way as his breath staggered.
Nico let out a hysterical whimper as he sought solace to no avail. Finally, his eyes caught on familiar socked feet, poking off of a familiar bed. He breathed a sigh of relief, quivering as he struggled to run towards Will.
“Will,” Nico sobbed, leaning on the doorway as cold tears streamed down his face in an instant. “I don’t know what happened, I–” He gulped down another shallow breath, staring at his boyfriend’s blurry, confused face. “I couldn’t stand, my–my head hit the wall.” Nico’s palm found his aching cheekbone as Will sprang to a stand.
“Oh, honey.” He took Nico in his arms, sitting them down on the bed. “Gods, was that noise you?”
Nico nodded. “I didn’t trip over or anything.” His lower lip trembled. “My vision was gone.”
Will rubbed away a tear, tender. “You must have fainted, darling.”
“I’m that sick?” Nico gasped. It made sense, but only really ill people fainted, right? Not to mention, he was so zoned out that he didn’t even know who he was or why he was walking into that bathroom. It was terrifying how quickly that could happen.
Will held his face in his hands. “Looks like it.” His gaze softened as he pulled Nico closer. “That must have been so scary.”
“It really was. I don’t even remember going in there. All I knew was that I needed you.” Despite it all, Nico was slowly calming down in Will’s presence, now understanding what happened, though not why.
“Oh, Precious. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” Will pulled away, grabbing both of Nico’s hands. “I hate to say it, but I think all these symptoms are pointing to a bigger issue.”
Nico shuddered. “Well, I don’t want it to happen again. How do we fix it?”
Will tugged Nico to the middle of the bed, tucking him in. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure that out later. For now, let’s get some food into you.” Will stood, kissing Nico’s forehead. “Rest, please. Eggs okay?”
—————
Nico got up slowly, being gentle with himself as he walked towards the big house kitchen to see two sunnyside eggs. He giggled a bit, seeing them positioned on the toast like eyes with a tomato sauce smile.
Will enveloped him in a hug from behind. “That’s the face I make when I see you too.”
“A goofy lil’ grin?” Nico cackled when Will nodded dumbly. He winced as the feeling in the back of his head got worse, like how it feels when you change altitudes falling through the air. “I don’t want to feel like this forever.”
Will frowned, sympathy gathering in his eyes at the change in mood. “And you won’t. I have my suspicions about what’s wrong. We’ll figure this out.” He squeezed him tighter, careful around his face.
Nico smiled softly, “I trust you.” He took a bite of toast. “You make good eggs.”
“I’m a man of many talents.” Will chuckled, but he tilted his head in thought a second later.
“What is it?” Nico asked, curious.
“How do you feel about needles?”