"Lou Ellen, is Will home yet?"

The maid looked up from where she was dusting the parlor. "No, master Nico. He is still at work."

He nodded in acknowledgement and Lou Ellen gave him her mystical smile before returning to her work.

Nico wandered out of the room starting to feel a slight itching feeling somewhere deep inside. The walls seemed to lean in towards him, making the room unusually warm and stuffy. He wished his husband would come home.

Dr. Solace had just set his papers down on his desk when Nico wandered into his office wearing nothing but his pale pink silk nightgown and matching robe.

Will smiled and stood up, going over to kiss his husband's cheek.

"Hello dear, I was just coming to greet you. Sorry I came home so late."

Nico smiled languidly. "Your hours are too long." He was preoccupied with that chaste kiss. It left a strange sensation in him.

Will laughed softly. "Yes, can't say I don't agree with you there. How've you been, darling?"

Nico was distracted by the proximity of Will's body and the arms holding his in an almost embrace.

"Not well. I've been feeling strange all morning…" he answered hazily.

Will's eyebrows furrowed in soft concern. "Strange?" he asked, his doctor eyes already roving over his beloved's body trying to find anything wrong. Nico's eyes were a little dazed but besides that there was nothing.

"Mmh," Nico hummed in assent, eyes closing. He'd been waiting for his husband to return all day, somehow sensing he would feel better once he was home. Now that he was so close to him, Nico felt the outside world starting to recede around them.

Will was going to ask for further clarification when to his utter astonishment, Nico swooned right into his arms.

"Nico!" Will cried in alarm, catching him immediately. The boy didn't respond, his pale lavender eyelids remaining closed. He had fainted, Will could determine that.

"Lou! Cecil! Get in here, now!" he called.

They rushed in looking worried and then shocked as they spotted Nico in Will's arms.

"Oh dear! What happened?" Lou Ellen asked, already moving towards her master.

"He fainted, I don't know why. I'm taking him upstairs. Cecil, prepare the bed and Lou Ellen bring me a fresh damp cloth." They nodded and hurried to do as he bid.

Will looked down worriedly into his husband's face. He didn't know what was wrong with his Nico but he was the best doctor in town and damned if he wasn't going to find out. Cradling him to his chest, Will made his way upstairs.

Nico woke up to a cold damp cloth on his forehead and a hand holding his. He opened his eyes, immediately spotting his worried husband sitting in a chair by his bedside.

"Thank god, you're awake." Will looked profoundly relieved and raised his hand to kiss his, still not letting go.

"Will," he croaked.

"Shh, drink this first." Will handed a cold glass of water which he drank gladly. The liquid was refreshingly cool.

"How do you feel?"

Nico considered. He was dismayed to find that the strange itching feeling remained but had lessened thankfully. It had grown increasingly throughout the day until he was finally with Will again. But now he felt…

"Heavy, sort of like I've got a fever. And sluggish definitely." He didn't want to move. The prospect of getting up was too much work and Nico simply wanted to continue laying in bed under the covers. His energy was completely depleted. As for feverish, well he did feel strangely hot and burning inside him. The sensation seemed similar to having a fever.

"What happened?" he asked Will who was laying his hand on his forehead.

"Well you fainted right out of the blue. Thankfully I caught you and brought you to rest here. Now you don't feel like you've got a temperature. But I recall you telling me you were feeling strange all morning." Will retracted his hand. "Care to elaborate?"

"Oh." Nico's eyebrows furrowed as he thought back. "I have been feeling strange." He proceeded to tell him about the itching and burning feeling trying to describe it accurately. Will frowned as he listened intently.

"Any other symptoms?" Will had slipped into doctor mode. Nico supposed he was his patient now.

"I feel really weak," he admitted. "But besides that, no, none that I've noticed."

Will sighed. "Well, I don't know what's wrong with you. If it's an illness, it's yet to show any symptoms. We'll just have to wait and see. For now, you're just going to get plenty of fluids and I'll open the window to let in some air. Our cook, Kayla is making a nutritious broth downstairs that's sure to bring back your vitality. Now do you want to eat it here or down at the dining table?"

"Err-" Nico deliberated. He really didn't feel up to getting out of bed and walking downstairs. Even the thought was draining.

"Downstairs, I think," Will decided, blue eyes narrowed in consideration. "The exercise would do you good."

Nico sighed and pushed the covers off. Warm as he felt, the heavy weight of the blankets had been reassuring.

"Help me?" he asked quietly.

Will obliged, taking one arm to help him get out of bed. Nico found himself leaning against him, relying on his husband's strength.

They slowly made their way downstairs. Will hovered protectively close, ready to catch him if he fell. Thankfully, that need didn't arise though Nico did feel much more tired after that brief exertion.

"Here you go, sweetie. Nice and hot," Kayla said as she ladled the steaming broth into his silver dish.

"Thank you, Kayla," Nico muttered. The dinner smelled delicious but Nico was more distracted by the peculiar disappointment he felt at Will having to move away to sit at the other end of the table. Ridiculous as it was, he felt sad at being so far away from him even if it was only a table's length away.

Will watched Nico worriedly and observed how he picked up his spoon with delicate fingers and dipped it into the liquid in front of him. He was concerned about Nico's health; in all the time he'd known him, he had never had a fainting spell before. Will decided privately that if it happened again, he was going get a consultation. In the meantime, he would arrange for Lou Ellen to stick close by him at all times. That way, he could be assured his love was looked after while he was at work.

That night, Nico lay in bed with Will's arms wrapped around him and reflected how this was the best he'd felt all day. Yet, even still, as warm and comfortable as he felt, the itching feeling persisted. It was as if he… longed for something… more. Nico burrowed deeper into Will's embrace and tried to forget the feeling.

"Do you have to go to work?" Gah. The question he'd been holding back all morning finally slipped out.

Will paused in the act of putting on his coat.

"The Foster's daughter is bedridden with cough; it might be pertussis. I have to try to help darling, you know that." Will was a doctor who made house calls for very rich families.

The guilt surged back in Nico. He knew other people were sick and dying but he couldn't help wanting Will to just stay at home with him. The temptation to ask anyway had been too great.

"No, I know of course. I'm just… I'm going to miss you."

Will smiled indulgently. "And I you. Don't worry. Lou Ellen will take good care of you and I'll be home in a few short hours."

Nico couldn't shake the hunch he wouldn't be able to last those few short hours.

"Okay." He kissed his husband's cheek. "See you soon."

True to his word, Will came home early that day. He had thought anxiously about Nico the entire time they were apart. Wondering if his condition had worsened, wondering if he had passed out again. So it was with a touch of apprehension that he called his name the moment he entered the house.

The response was immediate. A blur hurtled around the corner and knocked him back against the door.

"Will!"

He laughed. "Hey there, sweetheart. I missed you too." He kissed the crown of the boy's messy black hair while enveloping him in his arms. Now that he could see him properly, Nico's eyes seemed just as hazy as yesterday's and he now sported a faint red flush on his normally pale white cheeks.

"Missed you is an understatement," Nico muttered before pressing their lips together in a deep kiss.

Surprised but delighted, Will kissed him back but had to be the one to end it as he had some more important things to ask.

"How are you feeling?" He searched deep in the brown eyes.

"Okay I guess. The same," he replied more interested in continuing that kiss Will had just broken off.

"Mmh." Will detached him again. "What's gotten into you today?"

Nico bit his lip, lowering his eyes to the blonde's chest. "I don't know, I just… missed you." He wrapped his arms around his husband's neck and buried his face against his shoulder.

Will nearly cooed. His Nico was just so adorable. He wrapped his arms around the boy's narrow waist.

"Well do you have any intention of letting me go today? I have to get to my office," Will remarked with amusement.

"No," Nico replied petulantly.

Will snorted good-naturedly. "Well all right then." He lifted the younger boy off the ground and Nico immediately wrapped his legs around his waist to accommodate. Will carried him away.

Kayla prepared another hearty and nutritious meal for dinnertime but Will's thoughts were far from the delicious dish in front of him. Or rather not that far. His attention was completely absorbed by all the Nico over him. The beautiful raven haired boy was sitting on his lap, arms wrapped around his shoulders and lips sucking on his neck. Nico's body radiated warmth, which was unusual for him since he was usually rather cold.

Will was starting to become concerned now. He wondered if personality changes were part of Nico's mysterious ailment because the boy had never been so openly intimate with him before, certainly not at their dinner table. Nico had been acting strange ever since he got home; very clingy. He had not wanted to let go of Will even for a minute. No, all he seemed to want to do was kiss and cuddle him.

For what had to be the tenth time by that day, Will detached Nico from him.

"Dear, you should eat your dinner before it gets cold." And like all the times before, Nico seemed downright dismayed, nearly distraught at being pushed away even a few inches. He looked so cute and disappointed like a kicked puppy. It almost broke Will's heart.

Nico looked over to where his plate rested all the way at the other end of the table. Then he turned back to look at him with big, innocent eyes. "Feed me, Will?"

Will blinked astonished. "Err- what?"

Nico blinked too and his cloudy eyes cleared somewhat. He looked around seeming to come out of a daze and then took stock of their intimate position. He blushed.

"Uh, nothing. I don't- I don't know what I was saying." He got up and walked over to his own seat.

Will watched him confused and concerned as Nico picked up his silverware and started eating. Maybe he would get that consultation tomorrow.

Next morning, Nico was worse. By this point, he could hardly get out of bed. He had chills and was shivering despite all the blankets.

In spite of all this, he still asked, "Can I come with you to work today?"

Will paused in the action of feeling his forehead. "What?"

"I won't get in the way. Please Will?"

"Nico are you insane?" Will asked in astonishment. "No way are you even getting out of bed in your condition. How could you ask something like that?"

Nico averted his gaze. "I don't know. I thought… it would be interesting to see you work," he mumbled.

Will still looked at him incredulously. "Well rest assured. I'm not even going in to work today. Not with you in this state."

Nico looked up hopefully. "Really?"

"Yes, of course. Really." Will shook his head in bemusement then handed him a glass of water from the bedside table.

"Here, drink this."

Nico took the glass but as soon as Will let go, he almost dropped it. Will brought his hand back up to steady his. The doctor frowned as his worry grew. Nico had weakened considerably.

He took a few small sips then handed the glass back. Will placed it on the table. "Breakfast should be here in about a few more minutes."

Nico didn't seem pleased about that. "I'm not very hungry."

"Nico, you need to eat breakfast. Otherwise you'll lose all your strength," Will gently chastised.

"I'm really not hungry."

Will ran a hand through his blonde locks. "Just eat what you can, alright? I'll feed you if you want."

Nico blushed with that reminder of last night. He hadn't had any more personality changes since then. But he was haunted by the feeling of touching Will's body. He didn't know what had come over him yesterday. He just knew that no matter how much he touched Will, it was never enough and it just left him wanting more.

He peeled back the covers and swung his feet over the side of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Will asked.

"To the bathroom." Unfortunately, as soon as Nico stood up, he stumbled and would have fallen over if Will hadn't steadied him.

Disorientation, Will added to his mental list of symptoms.

In the afternoon, Nico succumbed to a giant nap and Will decided this was the best time to go and consult a colleague about his husband's illness.

He set off in the bitter winter cold towards the residence of one Apollo Solace, also known as his father.

But luck was against him as he discovered, once he reached the house, that his father was not in. The maid so helpfully informed him that Apollo was currently at Hecate's apothecary to which Will wrinkled his nose. Hecate that old witch. She was a gypsy that everyone in town came to for voodoo potions and magic cures. It was a bunch of rubbish in his opinion. He was skeptical of her, being a real physician himself and disdained his father for not sharing his skepticism. Nevertheless, he made his way over to her apothecary and found Apollo there browsing some ingredients. The store was dimly lit and smoky. Incense burned in a corner, creating a haze over everything. Hecate was bustling around behind her counter.

"Father." Will clapped a hand over his shoulder.

His father looked up surprised. "Will! I didn't think I'd find you here."

"I'm here for you. Look, Nico's sick and I was wondering if you could help me."

"Oh dear, Nico's sick? That's awful, I'm sorry my son. But you are a better doctor than me. I doubt I could help you find an answer you don't know." Apollo looked truly sorry.

"You taught me everything I know. Please just let me tell you his symptoms and you tell me if you've ever come across something like this."

"Alright then, go on."

"It started with fainting. But before that Nico had said he felt an itching feeling inside him and that he felt warm too. He's weak, can barely get out of bed. But yesterday he was acting very odd."

Hecate looked up from where she had been measuring some red powder.

"Odd? What do you mean?" Apollo asked.

Will blushed as he tried to explain it. "Well. Nico was very… attached to me. He didn't want to let go even for a minute. And… he was being very err- affectionate." He looked at his father. "Unusually so. I started to wonder if personality change was a symptom of his illness. But he's been back to normal since last night except now he's got chills."

"Those are strange symptoms. I've never heard of such a thing like that. Overly affectionate, you say?"

Will nodded.

"Ain't no cure for that you'll find here," a gravelly voice interrupted.

Will looked over slightly annoyed. "Excuse me?"

Hecate's purple eyes twinkled as she said, "I've heard of such a condition before. But it ain't no illness."

"Oh have you?" Will asked skeptically. He was not in the mood for some ploy to buy her junk remedies.

"If you don't do as I say, he's only going to get worse."

Will snorted but Apollo laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Now hold on Will, I know you don't believe in her but she might know what's wrong with Nico. It can't hurt to try right?"

Will thought about Nico, bedridden back home. He reconsidered. Will loved him and he would do anything for him. Even this.

He turned to face the old woman. "All right then. What is wrong with my husband?"

She smiled mysteriously. "Nothing that isn't natural for his kind."

"His kind? What are talking about?"

"Your Nico is part succubus. He's got it somewhere in his blood and I'm guessing he's only part if it took this long to manifest."

Will looked at her shocked. "A succubus?" He repeated. "You're saying my husband is a demon who preys on men for sex?"

Hecate cackled. "Oh people have got all the wrong sorts of ideas about them. And no, I'm saying your husband is only part succubus. See they aren't that different from you and me except for their appetite in bed. Succubi need to sleep with people or their health deteriorates rapidly. You say he's been attached to you? Overly affectionate?"

Will swallowed the denials he was about to hurl at her. "Yes."

She regarded him with narrowed eyes. "Probably hates to be away from you, right?"

He looked at her stunned. "Yes, he has."

She nodded at his confirmation. "Mmh. When they aren't being satisfied enough, they get like this. Desperate for affection and contact. They needto be with their mates at all times, being apart only makes them worse."

Will thought back to Nico whom he had left at home. "Worse, you say?"

"Mm hmm. The more time passes, the more desperate and weak they get. The more unbearable it becomes to be away from their partners. Listen boy, the only way to get him better is to take him to bed and satiate his lust."

Will flushed at her frank advice but he nodded anyway. Who would have thought Nico's problem was a lack of intercourse? But then perhaps all the snuggling should have been some indication.

"And I mean it boy. Succubi have enormous appetites for lovemaking especially when they haven't gotten it in too long. Don't think it will be one and done. Expect to keep your nose to the grindstone all night. Maybe even to the next day."

"All right! All right! I get it!" Will interrupted. His face had steadily grown more and more red.

Apollo laughed heartily. "Don't worry about that. If there's one thing we Solace men are capable of, it's pleasing our lovers."

"Father," Will complained.

"Hmph," Hecate remarked. "Just remember sonny, you're going to have to keep this up from now on. Your husband got into this state because he wasn't getting his needs fulfilled. And if you start slacking again, he'll fall right back to this condition. "

"So this happens every time he doesn't get enough -err pleasure?" Will asked seriously.

"Correct. Luckily since he's only part succubus, he doesn't need as much as a full blooded one. Those poor creatures are insatiable. And if they go without it for long enough, they grow so weak they die."

Will's alarm grew. "I have to get home." Hopefully Nico was still sleeping and wouldn't wake up before he got back.

Hecate nodded sagely. "Do you want to buy some Peruvian root? It'll energize you if you get tired."

"Err no thanks. I'll be fine."

Apollo clapped his shoulder and looked at him seriously. "Godspeed."

While Will hurried home, he prepared the explanation he planned to give Nico. After all, it wasn't every day you found out you were part sex hungry demon. He was going to explain things gently and carefully but it quickly became apparent those plans were going out the window for as soon he came through the door, Lou Ellen rushed towards him.

"It's Nico," she exclaimed panicked.

"What's wrong?" Will asked already moving towards their bedroom.

She shook her head. "He just became inconsolable when he woke up and you weren't there though we tried to tell him you'd be home soon. It's been frightening actually."

"Okay thank you Lou Ellen, I'll take it from here." He'd shed his coat and jacket and left them on the carpet.

"Does that mean you know what's wrong with him?" She asked from the foot of the stairs holding his discarded clothes.

"Yes." He undid his tie. "I'll explain everything later."

He opened the door to the master bedroom and was greeted to the sight of Nico, a small bundle buried deep in the center of the bed, only his head visible. Tears streaked down his worryingly pale cheeks and his eyes were puffed from sleep and tears. The sound of the door opening made him turn his head and the effect was instantaneous.

His eyes widened. "Will!" He would have leaped out of bed and jumped on the doctor if Will didn't reach him first.

"Hello, my love." Will wrapped him in his arms and kissed him deeply. Nico immediately went limp in his hold.

All the explanations left Will's head as leaned down over Nico, still kissing him intensely. Nico leaned up into his touch, arching his back off the bed. He kissed him like a starving man who'd been wandering in the desert for weeks and had just found water in the form of Will's lips.

Will discovered that Hecate had not been exaggerating when she said all night and many a time when he had fallen asleep, he was woken again to Nico climbing over him with his sinful eyes and lustful words, "need you" and Will obliged. Some part of him felt guilty. Nico's illness was really his fault. He was the provider, he should have been taking care of Nico and fulfilling his needs but he'd failed. Of course there was no way he could have known about his condition but he still felt responsible. So he thoroughly fucked him into the mattress all night and into the wee hours of morning, making sure to satisfy Nico's craving for sex.

Finally, though, the storm had passed and Nico and Will lay side by side utterly exhausted and spent.

"Christ," Nico whispered softly.

Will looked over at him and grinned. He turned onto his side. "Are you feeling better then?"

"Yes. Yes, completely. I feel perfectly fine now," Nico said bemused.

"Good." Will kissed his forehead. "Then she was right."

Nico looked over at him, eyebrow raised. "She?"

He gave him the rundown of what had happened at the apothecary yesterday and everything he had discovered.

Nico just blinked stunned.

Will took his hand. "Are you okay?"

Nico shook his head. "I don't know. I can't believe this. I'm part succubus? I mean my parents are dead so there's no way I'd know but…"

"It might not have been your parents. It might have been some ancestor from a long time ago."

"Yeah, maybe." Nico blinked again. "Wait, so we're going to have to…err do this a lot more now?"

"That's basically the gist of it." Will stroked his hand. "Nico why didn't you tell me?"

He looked over at him. "Tell you what?"

"Yesterday, you were all over me. Why didn't you tell me what you really wanted?"

Nico's eyes widened as he blushed furiously. "I- that is, well just how do you go and ask a thing like that?" he sputtered.

"You got sick and almost died, Nico," Will scolded sternly. "I don't care how embarrassing it is, you will tell me when you need me to bed you." His scolding was light, he still considered himself partly at fault for what had happened.

Nico flushed even brighter. With his dark curls all in disarray, he looked even cuter than usual.

"Okay, I promise."

"Good." Will kissed him. "I don't want to have this miscommunication again. Now I think we should do this at least once day. Obviously at night. That might be going overboard but I'm not taking any chances."

"Oh my god, I can't believe you're planning this out!" Nico hid his face under the pillow.

Will gave a grin that Nico couldn't see. "You plan out your meals don't you? Why not this? That reminds me we missed dinner last night, I'll have Lou Ellen bring us up some food."

"Now I'll think you'll be okay missing one day, that's if I ever work late or go out of town. But I'd really hate to push it to a week. We went two weeks without it the last time you got sick so that was definitely too much…" Nico buried himself deeper into the bed in mortification as Will continued rambling on about the logistics.