Nico sits down as gingerly as he can, but the hard metal school chairs provide no mercy for his stinging backside. He fights a wince. This is only third period and Nico really doesn't know how he's going to make it the rest of the day. His ass hurts. He can't fathom sitting for another 40 minutes in this position.

Shifting, he pulls his leg up to fold under him, trying to use it to prop himself off the seat. This position eases his burden considerably, at least until his leg inevitably falls asleep and then he's attacked by pins and needles.

Bemused, he stares as Ethan Nakamura slides into the seat next to him where his partner, Miranda, usually sits. The boy cracks his gum and smiles at him. "Hey, Nico. Could I see your notes? I missed last class."

Nico stares in disbelief. "You're asking me?"

Ethan smiles again. "Yeah, you're right," he concedes. He looks around to the blackboard then back to him, leaning forward on his forearms. "So, Jason, Michael and a bunch of us are getting food after school. You coming?"

"Right, Jason asked me…" Nico leans back, hesitating. "But, I can't. I gotta go straight home."

Ethan smirks at him. "What are you grounded?"

"…Yeah," he answers, deciding it's better to be honest. This would at least stop his friends from asking him to hang out for a while.

Ethan's smirk widens. "Did big brother ground you?" he teases.

"Hey!" Nico glares. Miranda arrives at her desk and stands impatiently, arms crossed as Ethan hoggs her seat.

"Let me guess," Ethan continues, "for wearing too much black or saying a naughty word like, 'darn.'" Nico kicks at him as he snickers and passes by.

Miranda takes her seat as the teacher calls their attention. Nico switches positions, folding his right leg under him this time. He glances at the clock and sighs.

Will takes pity on him when they meet up for lunch outside in the courtyard.

"Here," he pulls Nico down onto his lap from where he'd been loitering in front of the bench Will and Kayla had picked, not willing to endure the pain of sitting down.

"Will!" Nico sputters indignantly.

The blond leans in close to his ear. "I know it's got to hurt sitting on hard chairs all day." Nico flushes slightly and tries to remove the arms wrapped around his waist. Will squeezes him in tighter and bats Nico's protesting arms away with his other hand. "Stop being stubborn. My lap's at least more comfortable than sitting on the wooden bench." Which, was true, he supposed. Not that the hard bones and muscles of Will's thighs were entirely comfortable but they did hurt less than school desk chairs he'd been dealing with all day. But still…

Nico flushes slightly again when Austin joins them but the younger boy only stares at the brothers quizzically for a moment before sitting down with his lunch next to Kayla. Will shifts him so he's more comfortably seated sideways across his brother's lap, allowing the blond to join in on the conversation and enjoy his lunch while Nico glances around, embarrassed. The courtyard was always full of kids during the lunch hours, especially on a mildly sunny day like this. Though they were all a bit of a distance away, Nico knew the sight of a teenage boy sitting in the lap of another teenage boy would draw stares. And then the dreaded smirks once they recognized the two as Nico di Angelo and Will Solace, the brothers who had always been a touch too close.

Nico's face heats hotter when he sees Ethan Nakamura, Jason Grace and a group of his friends in the distance. Only Ethan catches his eye and his smirk blooms again as he gives a sardonic wave. Still blushing, Nico deliberately looks away. He knew there was no way he could complain to Will though, considering the punishment he was already under.

Social embarrassment aside, Nico was having difficulty relaxing as the thought that he was sitting on Will's lap kept intruding. Will's lap. It had never been a big deal before. Sure, it had always been embarrassing whenever Will had pulled him over his lap and spanked his bare ass, but he'd been doing that for so long, since he was a kid that he never thought of it much anymore. Now, with last night's revelation still wreaking havoc on his mind, he was hyperaware of the texture of their jeans separating skin from skin, of his weight pressing down on his brother's tendons and muscles, of the way he didn't show any discomfort at all as if Nico's weight was nothing, as if he'd forgotten he was there. That was really the worst part of all. Will didn't give a hint of having anything close to the same reaction. Why would he? Making his little brother sit in his lap was no big deal to him, why should he think twice about it? To him, nothing had changed since when they'd done this when they were kids. Nico felt something in his chest grow heavy at the thought. Little brother. That's all Will saw him as. Probably a responsibility and a burden. How many times had he pulled Nico out of trouble?

Selfishly, Nico was glad to have even that. To be his little brother if it meant he got a place in Will's life.

"Hey," Will's smooth voice interrupted his pity party fest. "You're not eating." He held up an apple, less of an offer than anyone watching might think. Nico took it, feeling Will's eyes on him a few moments more before turning back to his friends. His arm curled around Nico's waist though, solid and secure.