Nico di Angelo realized he was in love with his best friend because of something stupid, really. He and Will were lying on their back in the park under a tree to shield them from the sun. Actually, Nico was lying under a tree to shield himself from the sun. Will was lying next to him in the sun. He had his eyes closed and was humming quietly under his breath. Nico didn't know the song, it was probably one of those overplayed pop songs Will loved. A strand of his hair that was growing slightly too long (that was Will's mother's opinion, Nico liked it just fine) fell onto his cheek. He tried to blow it away without opening his eyes and that's when Nico realized he had been staring at Will for a very long time, staring at his lips in particular. Too long for 'just friends'.

The thought scared him. He was in love with his best friend. His best guy friend and he did not understand how that was possible.

He had always been told he didn't have a soulmate, that he wasn't made for love, that he was meant to be alone. He wasn't particularly happy about it, but he wasn't particularly happy about the mole on his shoulder, either. Or about the fact that his arms refused to grow any muscles. It was something he had accepted over the course of sixteen years.

Nico di Angelo was not meant for love. It was that simple.

When people were born, they saw the world in shades of grey. But when they met their soulmate, something would change and they would see colours. People were told the change was amazing and everyone waited in anticipation for the moment they met the love of their life.

People sometimes asked Nico how he saw the world, but he was unable to describe it. The world was simply the world to him. Colours and all, that's how he had always seen it. That happened sometimes. And these people were told they weren't made for love. People like Nico. And Will, incidentally.

(Will found it extremely funny that Nico was one of these people when he never wore anything but black. Nico didn't think it was that funny.)

It wasn't something that happened that often so they were lucky to grow up next door to each other. Will's family moved next to the di Angelo's when Nico was one year old. Their parents quickly became friends and the two boys always went with and became the best of friends. Nico didn't remember his life before Will, he had always been there. And maybe if they didn't meet at the age of one, they wouldn't have been friends now, but that was just luck. They were as different as could be.

No one else in their neighbourhood was like them. They had to take the bus for half an hour every day to go to school. A school made for people without a soulmate. Nico's sister had told him it was because they didn't have the same classes or whatever. Nico thought it had more to do with discrimination and the fear and belief that everything different is wrong.

Luckily he had Will to share his faith with. Maybe they'd live together forever, seen as they'd never find love. Eternal roommates.

So, Nico realized he was in love with his best friend because he was staring at him for too long. He didn't tell Will this, of course. What he was feeling was definitely not normal. His brain was probably just melting because of the unbearable heat. How did he know what love was, anyway? He was probably making things up.

But the feelings didn't go away. If anything, they grew stronger with each passing day. Now that Nico had admitted it to himself, his brain didn't stop noticing things he never noticed before. The way Will's blue eyes sparkled when he laughed, the way he bit his lips when he was thinking deeply (Nico tried not to notice how insanely hot that was. He didn't succeed), the way his laugh sent shivers up Nico's spine,…

He didn't know what to do. His feelings were all over the place with no way to let them out. If he didn't find a way to release them, he was afraid his feeling would actually float out of his head into the open where Will would be able to read them. So he decided to talk to his sister. Bianca knew everything about him, except for this. And she already found her soulmate, surely she would be able to help.

He remembered the day she came home all giggly and literally shining. She had opened the front door and screamed 'I found him!' before dramatically falling down on the couch.

Her eyes were sparkling when she told them about him. His name was Andrew and apparently he was blind. But the colours came to him in his mind. He was suddenly able to visualise all different kind of colours without having actually ever seen them and he had started crying. Bianca, too. Then they had talked for hours before they both went home to tell their families. Bianca said she had loved him from the minute they had exchanged a word.

So, Nico went to talk to her. Apart from Will, she was the person he trusted most in the whole world.

He went up to her while she was sitting in their backyard reading a book and looking up to examine a butterfly or the flowers every now and then. Even though she had been able to see colours for over a year now, she still wasn't entirely used to it.

Nico sat down next to her. She looked up and smiled at him. He hesitantly smiled back. She must have sensed something was off, because she put her book down next to her.

'So… How's Andrew?', he asked, trying to play it cool.

'He's good. What about you?', she answered.

'Me? You want to know how I'm doing?' She nodded. 'I'm… okay, I guess.'

She gave him a look that clearly said she didn't really believe him.

He sighed. 'Can I talk to you about something?'

'Sure.'

'Do you – Do you think it's possible for me to have a soulmate even if I already see colour. Like, maybe there's just something wrong with my eyes and that maybe I am destined for love or whatever', he muttered quickly before losing his courage.

She was silent for a moment. 'I don't know, Nico. Maybe. Why are you asking me this?'

She looked at him, their eyes locked, it was enough for her to know that it was serious.

'Just – Never mind, it's not important.' He tried standing up to go back inside, but she caught his wrist and pulled him back down.

'What's wrong, Coco?', she asked concerned, using his old nickname. It always calmed him down and made him feel safe and protected. The way he had felt as a little kid.

He looked down and opened his mouth. 'I—'

He tried talking, but he had no idea how to explain and describe whatever it was he was feeling.

'Are you in love with Wil?', Bianca asked hesitantly.

He looked up at Bianca's warm brown eyes in surprise. She raised her eyebrows and he nodded. 'How did you know?'

She shrugged. 'You're my little brother', she said like that explained everything. And in a way, it did.

'But what am I supposed to do now? We're both not 'destined for love' and all that bullshit everyone's been telling us since fucking forever. What if he doesn't even feel the same way?'

'You want to know what I think?' There was a sparkle in her eyes Nico didn't understand. He nodded. 'How long have you known Will?', she asked.

'I don't know. As long as I can remember. Since we were like, one?', he answered, confused. He wasn't sure where she was going with this, but he let her.

'Exactly. When did mom and dad realize you were able to see colours?'

'Euhm… Right before I had to go to school, right? When I was almost three?'

She nodded her head excitedly. 'Maybe, you weren't born this way. Maybe – '

Something clicked in Nico's mind and he finished Bianca's sentence. 'Maybe Will's my soulmate, but we didn't notice because we were too young when we first met.' The idea didn't seem that weird to him. It actually made a lot of sense. 'Do you really think that could be possible?

Bianca nodded. 'I've thought that for a while now, but I wasn't sure. I did some research and it has happened before.'

Nico's chest suddenly filled with fireworks, but he tried not to get his hopes too high. Nothing was sure and there was still the possibility that Will didn't feel the same.

'I think I have to find Will.', he turned to Bianca. 'Thanks, for listening and coming up with all this. I just – I just really love you, okay?', He said and engulfed her in a rare hug. She hugged him back and for the second time that day, he felt like a little kid all over again. Bianca had that effect on him.

She pulled back after a while, though. 'C'mon, go talk to Will!'

He scrambled up and gave her one last smile. Then he ran. In this heat, it would have been real torture if only his brain wasn't preoccupied with other things to even think of that. First, he ran to Will's house and when he wasn't there Nico checked the park. Will liked to sit there sometimes to clear his head, but today he wasn't. Suddenly, he remembered Will had cello-lessons every Saturday (though he didn't seem to get any better even after four years). He probably would've thought of it earlier if he didn't race off like a madman.

He decided to go wait on the steps in front of Will's house until he came back. Sitting there, he realized just how nervous he actually was. He hadn't noticed before, but now he had time to think, he thought of all the things that could go wrong.

Will might not feel the same way. Maybe we're not soulmates, after all. Maybe it's all in my head and Will wants to stay alone. Maybe we really aren't destined for love. Maybe, maybe, maybe…

His train of thoughts came to a halt when Will arrived. Looking as beautiful as ever. Nico realised that if this went wrong, he could easily ruin their friendship. He wasn't sure he would survive it if Will cut him off. But when he saw Nico arrive, he also realized that it wasn't just in his head, but that he really was in love with his best friend. And that he was in deep.

'Nico?', Will asked in surprise when he saw the dark-haired boy leaning against his front door. 'What are you doing here?'

Nico pushed himself up. He locked ayes with Will and suddenly felt bad for all the people that weren't able to see colour and missed out on the beautiful blue of Will's eyes. He took a dep breath and tried to think of what to say. He probably should have done that before. Will was looking at him with a funny expression when he didn't say anything.

'Will, I think – I – You – ', he stuttered. Locked inside his head, the words he had to say were very clear, but when he had to free them, they just didn't want to come out.

And then he decided fuck it and pressed his lips against Will's, ignoring all the alarm bell ringing in his had saying how this was a terrible idea. The alarm bells quickly turned into party bells when Will kissed him back.

When he pulled back, Will's eyes were big and his mouth slightly parted. But he was smiling his smile that could probably win against the sun in terms of brightness, and it was all Nico could have hoped for.

They didn't say anything for a while and were too preoccupied drowning in each other's eyes to notice the world around them.

And when Nico finally broke contact, blushing from the intensity, he gasped. Somehow, he was able to see colours even brighter than before. The sky above was bluer, the grass was greener, the bricks were redder. He looked back up at Will's eyes and they were the same colour they had always been.

The world changed and, just like Bianca's hugs, Will's eyes stayed the same and made him feel safe.

Will's eyes Grey to colours. Will's eyes Colour to more colour. Will's eyes Always blue.

A/N: Thank you for reading. Let me know what you think.

Love,
Vlindervin