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Nico wanted to talk. Will wasn’t entirely sure what that meant. Nico wasn’t exactly known for talking. He was a very private person, and Will understood that. He didn’t want to share, and they wouldn’t make him. He was fine with the little amount of information he gave him about his life.
Yet he wanted to talk to him.
Nico was there before Will was. He was sitting on a bench, staring blankly into the distance. They sat next to him, lacing their hands together.
“Hey,” he said. Was he being awkward? Was he supposed to say something else?
Nico barely glanced up at them. “Hi.”
Will kicked a rock, sending it skidding against the pavement. “You said you wanted to talk to me?”
“Yeah. Right.” He folded his hands, one on top of the other, placing them in his lap. He looked like he was going to be sick.
“Nico—”
“I’m fine,” he snapped, covering his face with his hands. “I just— Give me a sec. Please.”
Will nodded (he couldn’t see that, but it’s the thought that counts), idly picking at their cuticles. “Of course. Take your time.”
Nico was silent for a while. He took a deep breath (which he probably thought Will couldn’t hear). “I’m gay, Will. I think. And— and if you don’t want to be friends with me anymore because of it then I totally get that. I do. I’m really sorry for not telling you earlier and if you hate me now, I get it. I get it. I know I’m, like, gross, or— or whatever, and I understand if you don’t want to talk to me anymore. And… God, I’m rambling, aren’t I? Sorry.”
He made a sort of sniffing sound, before he brought his legs up to his chest. Will twiddled their thumbs, glancing at Nico before going back to staring at the ground.
“Nico,” he said. He rethought his choice of words. Then he rethought his words again. “I don’t care if you’re gay. I’m not going to stop talking to you because of it. It’s really none of my business who you like or not. I don’t think you’re gross, or anything like that.”
Nico didn’t say anything. Will took that as a sign to keep talking.
They took a breath. “I think that you’re a great person, and the people you like won’t change my opinion on you. Nico, you’re my best friend and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.”
Nico shifted so his head was covered by his arms. All Will could see was his hair. “You don’t know me. You don’t know the things I’ve had to do. Will, I’m disgusting.”
“Nico, no—”
He shook his head. “You don’t— you don’t get it, Will. There’s something wrong with me and I don’t know what it is. Other people have tried to fix it and they couldn’t and I don’t know why.”
Will had to take a second to let that sink in. “You… What?”
Nico’s breathing was shuddery. “It didn’t work.”
“Nico, listen to me,” Will said. He barely looked up at them. “I don’t care about your sexuality, or anything like that. I care about you, Nico. I care about you and I don’t think you’re gross, or disgusting or— or anything like that! You don’t need to be fixed, not at all. I know that I can’t help you as much as I should— as I want, but I promise that I’m not ever going to stop being your friend!”
Their eyes were teary, and they wiped the blurriness from their vision. Nico had uncurled himself, and he was sitting with his hands in his jacket pockets.
“You’re being an idiot.” He looked up at him. His eyes were red.
“What?” Will asked.
“You’re doing that thing again,” Nico answered.
“…what thing?”
“That thing where you think you can fix everything.” He pulled his hands out of his pockets and started picking at them. “You have one hell of a saviour complex, Solace.”
“Oh.” They laced their hands together. “Sorry.”
Nico shrugged. “It’s not exactly a bad thing. You would make a good doctor. But you can’t always fix everything. You can’t put a bandaid on a broken leg and expect it to work. You can’t save a person when they’re about to die.”
Will twiddled their thumbs. “What are you saying?”
“Can’t fix everything. Can’t help everyone. The more you try, the more you’ll get drained. I’m a lot to deal with, Will.”
They smiled. “That’s okay. I can deal with that.”
Nico let out a short laugh. “You’re optimistic.”
“It’s my only talent.”
“You’re boring then,” he said. He then reached out his hand. “Hold my hand?”
Will put his hand on his. “Of course I will.”
Nico interlocked their fingers. “This doesn’t change anything, does it?”
“Not at all.”
“Okay. Good.”
“Oh, and for the record, I think I might be bisexual.”
“Oh. Cool.”
“Does that change anything?”
“No.”
“Okay.”