A/N: AU where Will is a nurse at the hospital Nico is currently at for some sickness, based on a Tumblr story
Nico felt awful.
He was currently in the hospital for some illness he didn't care to get the name of. It wasn't life threatening or anything, he only had to stay for three days, two nights. But his head hurt, his bones ached, his nose was sniffly, and he would randomly spike a fever. Honestly, he'd never felt more physically miserable in his life. He guessed that, going most of his life without sickness, the gods felt the need to pack it all into one hellish affliction.
He had a nurse that was constantly monitoring him. Hazel offhandedly said he was cute, but Nico really didn't care at the moment. He wasn't present enough to check out his nurse, nor did he really think he looked like much of a catch in his hospital gown.
When the nurse came in a little later and Nico's headache had calmed down, he caught the nurse's nametag: Will Solace. There was a little sun sticker next to it, which Nico instinctively scowled at. It was mocking him – being all sunny and happy while he was stuck inside, suffering.
Yeah, sick Nico was not a very happy one.
"Hey there, Nico!" The nurse – Will – said all peppy-like, matching his sticker. "How are you feeling?"
Nico buried himself further under his mound of pillows – he had requested more – and grumbled. It came out all muffled, but Will got the message.
"Well, not to worry, you'll be out of here before you know it!" Will smiled brightly, practically lighting up the room more than the sunlight streaming in through the blinds did. "I'm just going to check your vitals, okay?"
He moved around some of Nico's pillows so he could actually find his patient. Nico clearly did not like this, as he basically hissed at Will. "Fight me," he said as he pulled a pillow back over himself.
Will only laughed, apparently not taking Nico's threat too seriously. "Maybe later," was all he said, and then he proceeded to take Nico's vitals.
Nico glared at his nurse, then found himself just flat out staring. Will was cute. Actually, more like hot. He had a solid build, his muscular arms right in front of Nico's face as he did his job. His mop of blonde hair glistened in the sun, swaying as Will flipped his hair out of his eyes. His tan skin was covered in freckles, like he spent his days out on the beach instead of cooped up in a hospital. Nico felt like he should fundamentally dislike this guy, but instead, he felt oddly drawn to him. It must've been the painkillers.
Then, Nico noticed his eyes. They were a bright blue, not as shocking as his friend Jason's, but more like the sky on a clear day, the darker edges like the rest of the universe hiding right behind the sky. They sparkled, especially so in the light, but just on their own as well, like the sun glinting off the ocean. Nico felt like he could drown in those eyes.
It was definitely the painkillers.
At that moment, Nico realized that those eyes were staring back at him.
He blinked a few times, pulling himself out of the ocean of Will's eyes and noticing the small smirk on his lips. Nico instinctively scowled and burrowed back into his pillows, a light blush on his cheeks.
He heard Will chuckle and say, "I'll be back later," the door closing seconds later.
Nico let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He glared at his blankets, "I hate being sick."
Sometime later (Nico had no concept of time here), Will came back to check on Nico. He was sitting up in bed, head tipped back and eyes closed as he tried to push back on the hammer pounding on his skull.
"Hi," Nico winced at the greeting, the sound reverberating in his brain. He picked his head up and glared out at Will, who had pulled up a chair and picked up his clipboard.
Before Will could say anything, Nico bit out, "fight me." Or he tried to. But then he was choking on spit and coughing, and then the mucus in his chest decided it was a good time to clog his airways and attempt to crawl up his throat, causing worse coughs that wracked his aching body. He vaguely registered Will patting his back and saying something, but Nico couldn't hear it over his own coughing. When he finally stopped, he had tears in his eyes and his chest was heaving. He probably also had drool around his mouth. Ugh, Nico was grossed out by himself.
He didn't really want to look at Will, but he was forced to as Will gently grabbed his chin to face him and wiped his mouth with a towel. Nico was too tired to protest. His eyes fell closed, only to be opened in surprise when Will pressed a glass of water into his hands.
"Here, this'll help." He smiled, as he always did, and this time, Nico gave the tiniest smile back. He drank the water gratefully, then handed the empty cup back to Will.
Will gazed at him for a moment, making Nico fidget and self-consciously pull at his hair in some attempt to smooth it out. "So…"
Will blinked and straightened up, obviously caught up in his thoughts. "Right, right. Vitals." Since Nico was actually attentive this time, Will decided to strike up a little conversation. "So, are you a student?"
Nico was almost going to ask how he could tell, but then he remembered that he was Will's patient and he had all of Nico's records. "Yeah, about to graduate."
Will nodded as he scribbled on his clipboard. "Cool, I just graduated last year. Now it's full time at the hospital." He glanced up Nico and smiled for the millionth time, though this one felt more personal, if that was a thing a smile could be.
"Do you like it here?" Nico inquired. He normally wasn't one for conversations with strangers, or in general, but he had nothing better to do. Also, hey, if he wanted to talk to his hot nurse, who would really fault him.
Will's eyebrow quirked at the question. "Well, it is what I want to do. I like helping people, even in the small things like temporary illnesses." He glanced up at Nico through his bangs, which Nico definitely did not find attractive. "And I get to meet interesting people."
"Oh, 'interesting,'" hm?" Nico smirked. "Well don't I feel special." Was he flirting with Will? Nico had no idea what he was trying to do, but he found that he was too sick to care. It was a good excuse to let himself say whatever his brain came up with.
Will seemed to take it well, because he leaned back in his chair and gave Nico his full attention. "Interesting covers the array of people I've seen. Crazy people, funny people, rude people, even cute ones." Did he just wink at Nico?
He didn't have time to react to that as Will stood up and set the clipboard back on its hook by Nico's bed. "I'll be back in the morning. Get some sleep, okay?" It was nighttime? "Oh, and also," Will paused at the door, "I wouldn't fight you because I know you'd win." Nico had no idea what was going on anymore, but then Will was out the door and Nico was alone.
The end finally came.
Nico had several more baby conversations with Will, and he probably did some baby flirts here and there, but ultimately, he didn't think anything would come of it. After all, he was all sick and nasty about 90% of the time. Nico didn't even like himself.
Nico came back to his room after changing and using the bathroom to grab the rest of his stuff. Hazel had brought him flowers and he had several cards on his bedside table from his friends that visited. When Nico went to gather them up, he noticed a small cup waiting there for him. He could smell the coffee and practically melted. He hadn't had any for three days, and his body craved it so much. It was warm when he picked it up, so someone had just dropped it off. He wondered who it was for a moment before he noticed something scribbled on the sleeve.
"Fight Me?" was written in slightly sloppy handwriting with a series of numbers underneath it.
It took a second, but when Nico realized what it was, he snorted and laughed into his free hand, careful not to spill the precious coffee.
Apparently, Nico successfully seduced Will Solace with his glares and drool. Must've been a nurse thing.
He texted Will immediately upon exiting the building.