LISTS
He should have written a shopping list.
It had seemed like an invitation at first, when Nico invited Will to go grocery shopping. Bianca requested him to buy some necessities since they were running out, as well as a few personal drop offs – such as napkins and tampons. Considering that Nico isn't brave enough to go inside the store and come out with a plastic bag full of Wings, he doesn't want to do it alone.
And of course, the obvious alternate is: Will Solace.
Just in time, the blond enters the half empty grocery store. He's still sporting his usual attire: bright yellow orange khakis, a Hawaiian styled button up, and his blue sandals. His skin is glowing under the fluorescent lights, shimmering his natural tan. Nico tries not to look at the gentle slop of Will's muscles, at the strong backbones of his legs, and at the sharp angle of his jaw.
When he finally gets his mind back on track, he waves Will over. The blond spots him and grins, walking over.
He slings an arm over Nico's shoulder. About a year ago, the height difference between was rough. With Will being a few inches taller than Nico, it was a bit hard to keep eye contact without Will having neck cramps. Now, Nico has grown rapidly, the tip of his hair finally coming in contact with Will's cheeks. Bianca said that this is good for the both of them, since Will won't have to take the extra effort to bend down on the bed.
"So," Nico says, "how was lifeguarding?"
"Besides saving a dog and giving the poor animal CPR, nothing exciting."
At first, Nico thinks Will isn't serious until the blond flashes him a somber look. Nico returns it with a grossed out stare.
"I'm not kissing those lips until you wash your mouth."
Will gives him a laugh. "Oh, I did. Thrice. Once, because it was disgusting. Twice for good measure. And the third time was mouthwash. I don't want doggie saliva in my glands." He blows a teasing breath against Nico's lips.
Nico can smell peppermint and hints of sunlight. They duck behind a random row. Nico grabs him by the collar of his shirt, and mashes their lips together. Will tastes of salt and ocean – which is kind of wrong by definition if you compare it to Percy. But this – this is nothing compared to the other. This is better. He's sure of it.
Will's fingers are curled around the curve of Nico's belt loop, while the other is brushed against Nico's cheek. Nico's skin is burning, like there's a fire growing inside his stomach, lighting even the darkest parts of him.
When they pull apart, Will's face is a dark shade of red.
"You look like you have a sunburn."
"Yeah?" There is a lopsided smile on his mouth. "You do, too."
Nico feels his face go hot. "Whatever."
They both hear something drop on the floor. Nico swerves around to find a worker fumbling to grab the odd plastic wrapper on the ground. It doesn't take Nico long to find out that they're surrounded by condoms – lots of them. If Nico's face can go redder, he's pretty sure he'll look like a tomato by now.
The worker avoids looking up, shoving a basket at Nico's chest. "Thought you might need it," he mutters before walking away.
Will stretches for a condom on the top shelf and grins at Nico. He tosses it in the basket. On the front, the label Trojan is printed.
"I guess you can put that on the shopping list."
Nico purses his lips, nodding, while trying to hide the smile threatening to show. He heads out of the row, hoping his face doesn't look like it's about to explode. Because he doesn't spend much time in the beach, and because he doesn't like going out that much, he has a pale complexion. Bianca always encourages him to take a taste of the sun, before she swallows the words back in her throat. She had grinned at him knowingly, and said, "No, wait, you don't need to. You already have Will."
Unfortunately, she's still insisting.
Will falls into step beside him as Nico hides behind the aisle. There are rows of canned goods. Nico doesn't recognize any of the labels they usually eat, so he just picks whatever's expensive. Besides, Bianca had given him more than enough money to sustain. He throws it in the basket. Will grabs one on the shelf and wrinkles his nose.
"You do know that it's not advisable to keep eating canned goods, right?" He slips it back into the shelf. "So many preservatives in the thing, you can literally die from it."
Nico shrugs. "Bianca and I don't like cooking. We usually have the maids do it for us, but our dad took them back to the mansion for the week."
"You're so spoiled. Next thing I know, you'll ask me to help you do the laundry."
Actually, that isn't too far off. Nico's been running low on his indoor clothes. At this rate, he'll be wearing his usual outdoor outfits, and Bianca will notice. She'll think that he's finally going out with his friends when he's actually going to shadow himself upstairs.
Living in the beach house in the summer wasn't planned, not until Will decided to take his dad's offer to go to the beach for lifeguarding duty. Last year, he went out of the country for two weeks with Apollo for a doctoring seminar. Nico had spent those two weeks trying very hard not to miss him, but when Will came back, Nico hag hugged him at the airport, even though it was one of his strict rules not to display affection in public.
So, when Will had told him that he'd be taking a beach job this summer, Nico managed to convince his father to ship him to another city. Bianca wanted to come with, because 1.) She wanted to go to the beach; and 2.) She wanted to be with Nico for the summer, sibling bonding and all that.
Despite the fact that he's in a place where going to the beach is practically a must, he's stilled cooped up in his room, choosing to divulge himself into books and video games and whatever he can find. And Will. He chooses to divulge himself in Will.
They have already gathered all the things Nico needs when they stumble upon the food aisle. Will is searching for something, deciding to do grocery shopping himself. He veers around, trying to figure out why they're strolling in this part of the grocery store.
"You do know I don't cook, right?"
They're in the vegetable and meat section, and Will is checking out the broccoli when Nico tries to pulls him away.
"I didn't say you'd be the one cooking them, gloomy face." Will flicks his fingers on Nico's forehead. "You need proper nutrition, and I doubt Bianca can give you what you need." He scowls. "You look like you haven't eaten in a year. What kind of diet do you have, anyway?"
His "diet" consists of the occasional chocolate and Dr. Peppers. Bianca cooks breakfast for the both of them, and if he can get off living on bacon for the rest of his life, he's pretty sure that he can sustain himself. Lunch is basically a cheeseburger from McDonald's, but he calls it for a delivery, instead of having to go there himself. The only times he does go out is when Will invites him over, and the beach has less people. Sometimes, Nico likes to catch Will playing with kids on their surfboards. Other times, he gets irritated when he spots someone checking Will out.
If a cheeseburger were a banana, he would have scared everyone.
Nico only gives him a shrug. "Hey, I may be skinny, but that doesn't mean that I don't have physical strength."
Will smirks. "Oh, yeah. I would know."
At that, Nico's face heats up. He waves Will's comment off and heads to the meat cooler. He hesitates before pulling out a pack of bacon. He puts it inside the basket and walks back to Will, who's face looks like it's about to make a crucial decision.
Just then, a married couple walks by them. The woman has a rather bulge on her stomach. Her husband has his hand firmly against her back, supporting her. Nico finds himself staring after them, even after their backs are turned.
He doesn't think Will has noticed until the blond intercepts Nico's field of vision, until Will's baby blue eyes are the only ones he sees.
"Someday," Will promises, "that will be us. Only we'll still be fit when it happens."
Nico tries to hide his smile, but it's hard when something about this moment feels so intangible – like once it snaps, both of them are going to combust.
Instead, Will grasps both of Nico's hands, a playful smile on his face. "So, broccoli or lettuce? Both of them are healthy."
Nico rolls up on his toes and presses their lips together.
You, Nico thinks, and he doesn't have to say it. Will already knows.
A/N: Hi, this is Angel. I hope you enjoyed it. :)