"C'mon, Nico. You'll love it, I promise," Will said as he pulled Nico through the door.
Nico wasn't attempting to resist, per se, but he also wasn't excited. Somehow, Will's mom had agreed to let Nico stay with them so he and Will could go to the same school. Today was Nico's first day since the 1940s and so far nothing had gone terribly wrong. Will said this meant the whole day would go fine. Nico replied that this meant when it inevitably went wrong, it would probably be worse than usual. Nico was getting more and more convinced that he was right. Will was insisting that both of them go to Gay-Straight Alliance.
"Will, I don't know about this. It's my first day, can we wait until next week?" he tried. Will was usually more open to doing what Nico wanted if Nico admitted to his emotions.
"No," said Will. Darn thought Nico. "It's fine. You won't even have to talk to anyone." Well, Nico considered, that's better. This wasn't going to be them sitting in a circle and talking about their feelings. If he could hide in the shadows and watch, he could handle that. Probably. For Will, anyway.
Nico looked around as they walked into the classroom, assessing threats and finding exit strategies first, then analyzing the others in the room. He and Will took a seat in the back of the room. Nico pressed himself against Will's side. Will whispered to Nico about the people in the room.
"So that's Alex, he's bi, he's dating Kayla, she comes occasionally. Anne is lesbian, so is Maggie. Shayla is trans. That's Andrew, he's straight, he's an ally. Oh, here comes Chris, he's the president."
Five more minutes passed as people trickled in, talking to each other, nodding at Will and offering Nico small smiles which he tried to return, and sitting in desks. About twelve people showed up when Chris finally started the meeting. He welcomed everyone back after summer break and had everyone introduce themselves, and, if they felt comfortable, come out. When it was Nico's turn he muttered his name and said nothing else.
Something was wrong. The wall behind him surely hadn't been so close a second ago? And it didn't look like anything was going to attack him, but his battle reflexes were kicking in. But everyone else looked calm? So did Will. There wasn't anything wrong, he knew objectively, but that was hard for Nico to believe when his senses are on hyper-alert and it felt like he wasn't breathing. He needed to get out, but he had insisted on sitting in the back of the classroom, a choice he now regretted. He and Will were on the other side of the classroom from the door.
Will, meanwhile, began to notice Nico tensing up beside him. Glancing over, he saw Nico's pupils were big and he looked ready to fight. "Nico?" he asked quietly, "what's wrong?"
"I don't know," Nico admitted. He looked scared.
"Come on, let's go," said Will, "Get you some water." Will, of course, carried water bottles with him, but Nico wasn't about to point that out right now. He gratefully followed Will out of the classroom, staring straight ahead. Will led him to a secluded corner and offered him a bottle of water.
Nico smiled at that. He sat down against the wall and took the bottle. He unscrewed the cap and drank. Will sat down beside him without talking. Nico would explain when he could.
It took a minute for Nico to feel okay, but he knew how to breath through these things. Eventually he looked at Will and said, "I don't know. I just freaked."
Will nodded. "Was it environment based? Any particular stimulus?"
Nico shook his head. "No, just...the topic matter. Don't get me wrong, your club thing is great. It's just...culture shock."
"How so?" asked Will
Nico hesitated, then began, "Well, you know. In my time, before the War. It was-being gay was illegal." Nico shrank down on himself.
Will pushed up closer to him and Nico let himself relax against his boyfriend. Will said, "Yes. That must've been hard, I'm sorry you had to experience that."
Nico nodded. "Yeah, it wasn't fun. Just a bunch of deviants getting jail time because they were morally weak." It was clear he had heard that sort of thing before. Will's heart constricted. It was hard not to internalize that kind of stuff.
"We know better now," Will said, "We understand love. It isn't bad, it's beautiful. Unless your religion is against it, really. And I don't think that's gonna be a problem for us." He smiled, and Nico fell a little bit more in love with him. It isn't bad, it's beautiful he repeated to himself.
"Thanks. I love you." It still felt awkward to say it, but it was true. Nico loved Will. "But can we maybe skip the club this week?"