To Rip Your Mask Off

by L. Monster

After being exposed to Covid, Nico goes to get tested. He is treated by a male nurse with the most gorgeous eyes Nico's ever seen. As the weeks go by, Nico starts coming up with increasingly creative (desperate) excuses to visit the Delphi Family Clinic, hoping to get a good look at his handsome nurse. Only problem is - William A. Solace NEVER takes his mask off!

1. Chapter 1

To Rip Your Mask Off

Nico woke up feeling like he'd been hit by a truck.

He'd gone to bed early the night before, after taking a hot shower and making sure to properly blow-dry his hair before getting into bed. He had taken two ibuprofens, and silently prayed to all the deities in the universe, hoping he'd be fine when he woke up.

Alas, as he checked his temperature and an ugly little 101° F looked back at him from his thermometer. He stifled a groan and rolled onto his back, pulling his duvet over his nose. His head was pounding so hard he could practically hear it, his entire body ached and shivers kept running down his back.

Oh, no.

I have Covid, he thought numbly.

Nico could have simply murdered his brother-in-law at that point. He'd been the one who insisted on dragging Nico out three days before, mid-pandemic, to a hypermarket on the outskirts of town, managed by one of their mutual friends, whohad offered to let them in a full hour before opening time so they could get their month's supplies before anyone else did.

Nico hadn't wanted to go, he'd utterly refused to be dragged outside of the safety of his apartment, but Frank had picked him up as easily as if he had been a kitten, and unceremoniously thrown him into the back of his SUV.

This is kidnapping! His scream had fallen on deaf ears time and time again, as Frank drove them towards Leo's Club, a membership-only Sam's Club rip-off located a 45-minute drive away from Nico's apartment.

You'll thank me when you see the size of his avocados, he sent me a picture this morning, look!

And now, as Nico groaned amidst used tissues, hot water bottles and empty packets of cough drops, he knew very well whose avocados he would squash to a pulp next time he had an opportunity.

Then a whole other terrifying thought hit him like a punch to the gut. He outright sat up in bed, which he regretted instantly as his head throbbed harder than ever, and reached for his phone. Laying back down, he scrolled through his messages until he found the person he was looking for.

Frank Zhang, the bane of his current existence.

Fingers fumbling over the keyboard, he typed out a message.

Jackass, you're not feeling bad? Fver? Anything?

Frank replied right away.

Sup Sunshine! Nope, all good here. Y?

Nico sighed in relief. It was a pain he was sick, and yes, he probably had gotten Covid, what with the sea of people he came into contact with, some of whom weren't even wearing a mask! But it would have been a whole different scenario, a scary scenario, if Frank had gotten sick too, because if he'd gotten sick, that would have put his sister Hazel in a lot more danger than Nico would have been able to cope with, especially since she was seven months pregnant.

Then he received another message from Frank.

Now you mention it, I guess I gotta let you know, Leo msgd me this morning, apparently he's not feeling well, says he's got a cough, chills, mild fever

Then another one, which only added to the dread that had started to build up in Nico's stomach.

He's a big drama queen, says he got covid, but nah, right?

New message from Frank.

Not possible right? He wore a mask and everything!

New message from Frank.

well, almost all the time anyway, he's going down to the clinic just to make sure

New message from Frank.

they have a station there where you can get tested and get results in 20 minutes

At this point, Nico passed out, his phone in his hand. When he came back to himself, he realized an entire hour had elapsed, and he had several missed calls and received over thirty messages from Frank.

Why you ask?

Nico?

Hey, you there man?

Talking to you

You're ignoring me again

You know how I feel about being ignored

Man, you know about my abandonment issues!

Cruel

Cruelty personified

Hey now, seriously, it's been like, ten minutes

Are you there?

I'm calling you

Why aren't you picking up

Pick up Nicholas

Nico-dawg

Son of Hades? Remembered they used to call you that in highschool?

And Death boy, they called you that too

Your sister's asking about you

I don't wanna tell her but you're kinda forcing my hand here man

Fine, I'm telling Hazel

Okay, so I didn't tell Hazel

You want me to come over?

You feeling down?

Depressed?

Feverish?

You haven't been dumped, have you?

Oh, right, your ass single

For over TWO YEARS NOW

Nicholas Alexander Di Angilo

That's how you spell that, right?

Hey, I didn't freak you out with the whole Leo thing right

I've a feeling there's something you're not telling me

Look, if you're not feeling well, I can come pick you up you know?

I was thinking about driving down the clinic myself, since we've been exposed and all

I've been keeping away from Hazel

Your dad called and he scares me, you know that

Been hiding down in the basement actually, you know Haze's not allowed to come downstairs cause she's getting huge man huge huge don't tell her I said that

I still got my scuba-diving gear

I'm coming over

And on that particularly disturbing note, Frank's side had gone silent.

Nico perched himself on his elbow and sat up slightly, reaching out for the thermometer to check his temperature again, groaning as an even uglier 102° F stared back at him.

Suddenly, a heavy knock on the door resonated inside his head so loudly he would have jumped out of his skin had he not been too weak to have appropriate muscle reflexes.

"Yo, Neeeecoooo!" came a deep, muffled voice from outside the door. "I'm coming in, I know the code!"

Nico's eyes widened and the action hurt him beyond words. He dug his palms into his eyeballs and massaged the area.

Please don't be Frank. Please let this be a hallucination. Please let me be hallucinating and dying from Covid.

But the sound of the lock and the slamming of the door as it was practically kicked in told Nico all he needed to know. He burrowed himself lower into his duvet, hoping he wouldn't be spotted. When his bedroom door opened with another slam, he grudgingly turned his face and was met with Frank in full scuba-diving gear, complete with wetsuit, gloves and full-face dive mask.

At this point, Nico really thought he was hallucinating.

"Shit," said Frank, his voice muffled by the mask. "You don't look good."

Nico wanted to reply something snarky, something like No shit, you bum, but he couldn't find his voice, and whatever his retort would have been, ended up sounding like a toad moaning.

Frank moved in closer and walked around the bed, reaching for the thermometer. Nico couldn't see his eyes very well, but he could imagine a grimace on his brother-in-law's face.

"We need to get you to the clinic, buddy, I've already booked us online, they're waiting for us," he said gently.

"No," Nico groaned, pulling the duvet over his head.

He felt a gentle dip on the bed as Frank took a seat next to him.

"I didn't tell Hazel anything, she'd be worried sick, but you know as well as I do that we need to get tested, just in case man. Because if I turn out positive, she's going to be freaking out about you too."

Nico knew this to be true, and with a mighty effort, he pulled the duvet down and peeked over at Frank.

He committed the ridiculous image of him and his wet suit to memory for later use, and sat up in bed with a groan.

"Fine," he said. "But you drive."

Frank jumped up from the bed and headed to Nico's closet with a bit too much of a spring to his steps.

"What –"

"You need to cover up. Layers, young master Di Angelo, layers," Frank retorted, pulling out a handful of shirts and hoodies from the closet and tossing them on the bed.

With difficulty, Nico stood up and pulled on the first thing he could reach – a black long-sleeve Ramones T-shirt which he pulled over his pajamas and a Cradle of Filth hoodie with a picture of two nuns licking blood off each other. He stood up on wobbly legs and began walking to the door when he glanced up at Frank, who stood by the closet shaking his head.

. "What?" Nico asked, defiantly.

"Nothing," said Frank, his eyes on Nico's hoodie. "You've got some seriously weird taste in music, that's all."

Nico scowled and flipped him off, walking out of his bedroom.

"Make sure to bring your ID, Prince of Darkness," said Frank, opening Nico's fridge and pulling out a juice box, sticking the straw beneath his dive mask.

"The Prince of Darkness –" said Nico wheezing as he reached for his wallet and placed it in his hoodie's front pocket, "Is Ozzy Osbourne. Where is my face mask?" he asked to no one in particular as he looked around.

"Who?"

"My face mask!"

"No, who's the Prince of Darkness?"

Nico began coughing in outrage so loudly he couldn't reply, making Frank stare at him in concern.

"Man, we need to get you to the clinic asap," Frank said, opening the door for Nico and making sure his scuba mask was properly on. "Don't worry about the mask, I got something in the car you can wear."

"Fine. Jackass," Nico managed between coughs.

The drive to the testing clinic was uneventful and short, but to Nico, who sat on the back seat wearing a motorcycle helmet that Frank had forced over his head, it had felt like an eternity.

A few minutes into the drive, he'd laid down on the backseat and wrapped himself up with the blanket Frank had insisted they brought along. He wouldn't admit it, but he was glad they did, because he was shivering non-stop.

Oh, right, your ass single

For over TWO YEARS NOW

Nico frowned as he recalled Frank's messages.

So, yeah. He had been single for a while, but there had been no need to rub that in. He still felt a bit sore about how things had ended with his ex. Especially since he now seemed perfectly happy with his new girlfriend. Two years of dating and he suddenly realized he was straight and in love with his childhood best friend. Another Jackass.

He'd had terrible taste in music anyway.

A few rays of sunlight drifted in through the backdoor window, warming a sliver of Nico's neck, the only bit of skin still left exposed between the helmet and his hoodie. It felt nice. Sunshine was good. Sunshine was warm. Nico liked sunshine.

"Hang in there, buddy!" Frank bellowed dramatically, making Nico groan. "Just stay with me, Di Angelo! Don't you dare walk into the light!"

"Okay," Nico mumbled back, enjoying the sunshine and wondering if the light at the end of the tunnel would be warm as well. If he survived this, he'd make a point to spend more time at the beach, once restrictions were lifted. Until then, he'd stay right here, warm under the rays of the sun, in the backseat of Frank's SUV.

His fucking SUV that had gotten him in trouble in the first place.

Frank drove over a nasty bump and the car jumped a mile into the air, or what felt like a mile to Nico, who rolled onto the floor and landed face-first over a few candy wrappers. His nose hit the helmet's visor and it was all he could do to shift his face so the weight of his head could rest on his cheek instead.

"Ow," Nico groaned, but Frank either did not hear him or didn't care. Nico could feel the car driving on, as if nothing had happened.

He tried to free his arms to push himself back onto the seat, but they were tangled inside the blanket. Wiggling desperately, he tried to call out to Frank but his voice came out too weak he could barely hear himself, and now he also had the feeling he was wearing a straitjacket.

Wearing a motorcycle helmet and a straitjacket.

Trapped in the space between the front and back seats of Frank's SUV from hell.

Amongst candy wrappers.

And he had Covid.

Just fucking fantastic.

At least he was warm.

A few minutes later, he felt Frank slow to a stop and heard the windows slide down.

"Have you made an appointment, sir?" a voice asked from the outside.

"Yep," said Frank, and he must have shown the person something on his phone because his next words were, "Hang on a sec. I can't unlock my phone with these damn gloves on. That's better. Frank Zhang and Nico di Angelo, might have been exposed to Covid in the last few days. The reservation number is – uh, I can't see with the mask on, hang on –"

"No need to remove your mask, sir, I can see the number on your phone," the voice replied slightly panicky. "It says here you've made a reservation for two, where is the second person?"

"What? Nico, he's –"

"Could you please open the backdoor window, sir? I believe there is a person on the floor of your car."

Embarrassing, Nico thought as he felt a strong hand grab onto the back of his jeans and pull him up onto the backseat as if he had been nothing but a purse.

"Hey, buddy! What you doing down there?" Frank asked, and Nico glared back at him, as Frank handled him back onto a sitting position, realizing a bit too late that he couldn't see him underneath the helmet.

"Please proceed to parking space 24, a health care provider will come find you," the man said. Nico could see him now, he was wearing gloves, scrubs and a face mask. So, just he and Frank were the ridiculous ones around here. Great.

"Thanks!" Frank replied and began driving. "Hey, look! That's Leo's van!" Frank added enthusiastically and began honking. "Yo, Valdez!" he yelled.

"If it isn't Elephrank Zhang! What up, amigo?" Leo yelled back from the front seat of his van. Nico could distinguish his curly brown hair and ridiculous smile as he waved frantically at them. "Getting tested?"

No, we're here for the free donuts, jackass, Nico thought.

"You know it!" Frank replied, making Nico roll his eyes. "Seriously, I wear an elephant disguise for Halloween once and I'm forever branded the Elephant Man," Frank complained to Nico, who tried to glare daggers at him from beneath the helmet.

"Well, fingers crossed! Lypso's thrown me out of the house until my results come clean, can you believe it?" Leo yelled.

"Yes," Nico mumbled to himself.

"No!" Frank added, sounding honestly surprised. "Gonna be alright, you'll see!"

"Text me later!" Leo yelled.

"You betcha!" Frank yelled back.

"Kill me!" Nico yelled into his helmet, which came out muffled.

"What's that, buddy?" Frank asked, turning on his seat and lifting Nico's visor.

"I said –" Nico began, but Frank unceremoniously snapped the visor back down.

"Sorry, forgot. Can't risk it. Just in case. You understand," Frank added apologetically.

Nico would have throttled him under different circumstances, but he found his arms were still trapped inside the blanket, and he honestly couldn't be bothered to move. His eyelids were heavy, his head throbbed worse than ever. He wanted to sleep so badly. Tiny little elephants began dancing under his eyelids.

A minute or so later, a man spoke from outside the car.

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Dee Angel?" he said unsurely. Nico couldn't open his eyes.

"I'm Frank Zhang," said Frank. "The Angel of Darkness is that dude in the back."

Nico's right eye twitched in annoyance, but he found himself unable to reply.

"Very well, Mr. Zhang, I will need you to step outside of the car. You can take a seat over there and my colleague will take your sample. I will attend to Mr. uh –" the man stopped talking and Nico could hear the rustle of paper, as if he were checking his notes. "Di Angelo," he finished. Nico wondered if he had been tempted to call him an Angel of Darkness. It obviously wouldn't have been the first time.

"See you later buddy, good luck!" said Frank, and Nico felt the car dip momentarily as Frank got out, then the door clicked shut and Nico was left in blessed silence.

For two seconds.

"Mr. Di Angelo?" said the same voice from outside Nico's window. "I'm gonna need you to remove your helmet."

When he was done talking, Nico relished in the silence.

"Mr. Di Angelo?" the voice spoke again, sounding a little concerned. "Are you alright in there?"

I'm fine, Nico thought. Can't you see I'm wearing a straitjacket? I'm completely fine!

"Mr. Di Angelo, can you hear me in there?" asked the voice, and Nico felt a small knock over the helmet's visor.

Stop calling it in there. Maybe help me out of this straitjacket first.

"Mr. Di Angelo, I'm going to remove your helmet, please stay still," said the man, and Nico wondered why it was so dark in here.

He felt a gentle pull over his ears and his neck felt blissfully light all of a sudden.

"Mr. Di Angelo?" the man asked hesitantly. "Can you open your eyes for me?"

Nico hadn't realized his eyes were closed, and he frowned with the effort of opening them. He blinked a few times and grimaced as sunlight drifted past his eyelashes, attacking his irises with the power of a thousand laser beams.

Sunlight, bad! Sunlight, bad! he thought.

"Hey, it's okay," said the voice, and Nico felt more than saw a shadow being cast over his eyes. "I'm shielding the light from your eyes, you can open them now," he added gently.

Nico opened his eyes.

And an apparition of otherworldly beauty glanced back at him through deep, electric blue eyes.

Nico blinked hard, wondering if he was hallucinating for the second time that day. He had never seen eyes of that hue before. No one could have such beautiful eyes. Maybe it was the Covid?

"That's better," said the man, and Nico glanced down towards his mouth, which he couldn't see as half of the man's face was shielded by his very normal N-95 mask. "Oh dear, you don't look all that well now, do you? Are you experiencing any symptoms?" he asked.

Nico closed his mouth, mentally kicking himself at realizing he had been gaping at the medical attendant. He tried to speak but his voice came out too throaty.

"Please stay still for a second," said the man as he pointed a small object to his forehead that looked too much like a Taser to Nico. He flinched back but the man pulled him gently by the shoulder. "Just taking your temperature," he said kindly, and Nico decided he liked the man's voice. "Oh boy," he said, "We've got a fever. I'm going to ask you to step out of the car, slowly, and head towards that tent over there. I'll be with you along the way," he added, pointing to a small series of tents on the side of the ample parking lot, individually sized and sealed at the front.

"I'm fine," Nico groaned, and was taken aback at how broken his voice sounded, as if he'd yelled himself hoarse during a concert.

"I'm sure you are," the man said. "Now, if you please," and with that, he opened the door and reached in, grabbing Nico by the arm and gently prying him out of the backseat.

Nico complied with difficulty – his arms and legs felt like they were made out of lead, his knees buckled as both his feet reached the floor and he felt himself being pulled up by the stranger with the beautiful eyes.

"That's right," he said, practically holding Nico up by the arm. "Easy does it."

Nico usually hated being touched, let alone by a complete stranger, but at this particular moment, as Dr. Beautiful-eyes held him firmly over his elbow, he wanted to lean in and let himself be carried off into a dark corner.

"Please, take a seat," said the man, pulling down a zipper on the front of the tent and revealing a single chair in the minuscule space. "I'll be right back," he said, and once Nico had sat down on the chair, the attendant pulled the zipper of the tent back up, leaving Nico alone in complete silence, broken but by the hurried steps the man took as he practically ran away from the tent.

Yeah, you better run, Nico thought. Before I jump you and your stupid eyes.

With some difficulty, Nico looked around, taking in as much as he could from within the confines of his immediate periphery, as he couldn't very well move his head around, not with his neck feeling as if it were made of rubber.

There wasn't a single object to look at, so Nico stared at the gravel beneath his feet instead. With a mental groan, he realized he was still wearing his home slippers. Frank was going to pay for that later.

It had all been going so well. He'd been a good citizen, a good neighbor, staying indoors and refusing to come in close contact with anyone – even with his beloved half-sister, which whom he held a special relationship. It had been difficult, no, it had been intolerable, not being able to visit her, not even when he'd heard the news that she was expecting. But the situation around town wasn't ideal – very much the opposite, cases were multiplying by the day during the first few months, and people were dying. A lot of people were dying. Nico frowned as he recalled the seriousness of the situation. How scared they'd all been, facing the unknown.

The only silver lining in the whole situation had been the fact that Nico could very well work from home. As a music producer, he'd been able to set up his gear in the spare bedroom in his apartment – it really hadn't affected his everyday life at all, as he originally was a bit of an outcast himself. And business was, surprisingly and fortunately, thriving.

The same couldn't be said for Frank, who managed a CrossFit gym downtown, and who'd been forced to shut down for months now. He'd apparently got the hang of it, doing online tutorials and going back to working from home at the call-center owned by Jason, another one of their mutual friends – but still, he'd been stupid to believe that a year into the pandemic, they'd be able to return to a certain level of normality.

In a way, it was hard to stay mad at Frank. He'd been under a lot of stress the last few months, especially since his wife had gotten pregnant. Frank had been on the brink of losing his entire livelihood, and with Frank being ever the social-butterfly, Nico could understand his enthusiasm at hearing Leo's Club had been allowed to open, under certain restrictions.

Seriously, it was a testimony to the age how they now got excited at the idea of going to the supermarket.

The real question was, why had Frank been so insistent on Nico tagging along?

He'd have to ask him later, after he killed him.

Nico's ears suddenly picked up the sound of hurried footsteps making their way towards him. The tent split open down the middle, and sunlight mercilessly drifted in, casting a golden glow around a silhouette that looked vaguely familiar to him. The first thing he noticed was the mop of blonde hair that bobbed in his direction, then the pair of unearthly blue eyes, then the gentle, caring voice. Nico hadn't realized his handsome doctor was blonde. He'd never dated a blonde before.

"Hello again," the man said, setting a small tray on the floor, its contents clinking pleasantly. The man squatted before Nico and began fussing about his equipment.

"Hello," Nico said stupidly, his voice so hoarse it surprised him.

The man's eyes narrowed as if he'd been displeased, but Nico couldn't be sure as he was still wearing his face mask.

"I'm afraid I can't offer you any water just yet," he said, pulling out a long, very long, cotton swab, and grabbing onto Nico's left arm, he poised the tip of the swab against Nico's chin. "I need you to cough into your elbow a few times, please."

Nico frowned but complied, and once he started to cough, he found it a little difficult to stop. He felt a gentle hand pat him on the back, and as he looked up, his eyes found a name tag directly in front of him.

W. Solace

W for Walter? Wade? Watson? Wilhelm? After a few extremely loud and painful coughs, his fit slowly came to a stop, and W. Solace squatted back down before him.

"You might have to stay for observation. No, not here," said W. Solace, in response to Nico's bewildered look, his eyes taking in the confines of the tiny tent. "You'd be given a bed inside the facilities, but we'll need to get confirmation from the test first."

With that, he poised the cotton swab against Nico's lower lip, making Nico's eyebrows raise.

There were barely a few inches between them, Nico realized, and he suddenly felt an irresistible need to rip W. Solace's mask off and see if the lower half of his face was as good looking as his upper half. But W. Solace cut him short.

"Open your mouth, please."

No one's said that to me in a while, he thought. Let alone said please.

Nico complied, remembering he hadn't had time to brush his teeth before they left the apartment. He was glad W. Solace was wearing a face mask.

The attractive man swiped the swab across the inside of Nico's cheeks and upper and lower gums, finally taking a few swabs over and under his tongue. It felt strangely invasive, and opening his mouth that wide made his gag reflex begin to kick in – he felt a cough starting to build up in the center of his chest but he managed to control himself. He would not be coughing onto the face of handsome W. Solace today. Not today.

"I'm very sorry, your mouth is really dry, I need to get a good sample here, so please bear with me another moment, I'm almost done," he said, rolling the cotton swab across Nico's tongue.

Nico shut his eyes and concentrated on things to distract himself. Anything to keep himself from withering into ashes and spilling his germs onto W-handsome Solace's face.

He thought of Hazel and her child.

He thought of how Hazel wanted to name her unborn child after him.

He thought of elephants, stupidly.

He thought of avocados, and how he'd squash his recent purchase into guacamole with his bare hands as soon as he got home.

He thought of a pair of beautiful blue eyes.

He thought of names that started with W.

He thought of how long it'd been since he'd last gotten laid.

If he didn't stop thinking about that he'd find himself hard and with a fever.

He thought of how ironic it would be to poke the handsome doctor back with his own nether regions.

He almost laughed into the sample swab.

"Done," W. Solace said, removing the swab from Nico's mouth.

Nico took a long, deep breath and began coughing into his sleeve. When he looked up, W. Solace was offering him a tiny bottle of water, which Nico took gladly. The first few gulp-fulls felt like the breath of life.

"Thank you," he said, wiping off droplets that ran down his chin with his sleeve.

W. Solace's eyes' tiny squint let Nico know he was smiling at him. Or he wanted to think so anyway.

"My pleasure, Nico," he said, his eyes widening at the realization that he had used Nico's first name. "Sorry, Mr. Di Angelo. I-I'll be right back with your test results. I mean, I'll take them to the lab, you'll have to wait here for about half an hour, unless you're feeling too weak? I can summon a bed to take you into the facilities, but I strongly recommend you stay put to avoid further exposure. Or –"

"It's fine," Nico said, glad to hear his voice was somewhat back to normal. "I'll wait."

"O-Okay!" stammered the young man, stepping out of the tent as he maneuvered the tray between the open folds of the plastic tent.

As W. Solace set the tray down on the floor and began zipping the front of the tent closed again, Nico was awarded a glimpse of his handsome doctor bathed in sunlight – his golden hair and eyelashes, his magnificent blue eyes and his stupid, stupid N-95 mask, before the tent was zipped closed again and darkness engulfed him.

And now, he was going to die.

Handsome Doctor would return with his test results and Nico would take one final glimpse of the sunlight before he was taken into the clinic.

He'd be bedridden for a few days, if not weeks, surely.

He'd always had a rather strong constitution albeit being on the skinny side.

Then, he'd be hooked to a ventilator, which he would refuse until imminently necessary, as he knew there were other people, older people who required ventilators more than he – a 27-year-old nobody did.

Then he'd make a round of phone calls. Teary phone calls no doubt.

He'd call Hazel and apologize, and tell her he loved her dearly.

He'd call Frank and blame him for everything.

He'd call Jason to make sure he fired Frank.

Then he'd call Jason again to make sure he didn't fire Frank.

Then he'd call Frank again to make sure there were no hard feelings, and threaten him with coming back as a ghost and haunt him if he didn't do a good job as a dad.

He'd call Leo and tell him his avocados gave him Covid.

He'd call his father and yes, yes, he would, he would thank him for mostly being there for him.

Then he'd call his father again and honestly thank him for always being there for him.

He might even call Percy and tell him they were okay, after all.

And then he would die.

He would die and he would finally be reunited with his late sister, Bianca.

Who Nico craved to see more than anyone, ever, and it was a scary thought indeed, as it seemed to coat the idea of death with an abstract, yet thick layer of honey.

And as a fever-induced bout of nostalgia engulfed him, Nico thought of all the things he would have liked to do with his life, certain that the name Di Angelo, given to him by his late mother, was finally coming to an irreversible end.

He wished he would have spent more time at the beach.

He wished he would have had a second helping of fish-tacos the last time he visited Hazel's house during Franks' birthday before the pandemic hit.

He wished he'd agreed to go cave-exploring with his dad all those months ago, that last time he'd offered and Nico had been too depressed to accept.

He wished he'd sought out professional help to deal with his depression.

He wished he'd joined a gym.

He wished he'd vetoed Charon's ridiculous latest album name 'The Son of Hades Part II – The Prince Is At It Again" and insisted on just keeping it sans hyphen.

He wished he'd finished college.

He wished he'd never broken quarantine for stupid avocados.

He wished he'd traveled the world.

He wished he'd found a meaningful relationship and settled down, maybe even had kids?

He wished he'd lived his life to the fullest.

And gotten laid at least a thousand times.

He wished he'd given doing a porno a chance, too. Maybe.

And as he listed his regrets, Nico closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

He'd been dreaming of himself crossing into the other world on a ridiculous boat manned by none other than Charon, the most successful one-man-band he managed, when he was suddenly jerked awake by the sound of an excruciatingly loud zipper being pulled about a mile down. Nico's eyes fluttered as sunlight drifted into the tent, and was surprised to see that, one, he was alive, and two, W. Solace stepped into the tent and continued to unzip the entire plastic front of the tent down the bottom and up the sides, taking the entire front of the tent off and pushing it out onto the pavement as if it had been a giant, disgusting Tupperware lid.

"Your results are negative," said the medical attendant, turning to Nico with a satisfied stance – his fists on his hips like a superhero.

"What?" Nico deadpanned, shielding his eyes from the sunlight but taking in as much of the handsome attendant as he could.

"You don't have Covid!" the man practically yelled, making Nico wince. "Sorry," he added, lowering his voice to an almost whisper and pointing a Taser gun to Nico's forehead. "I mean, you're good to go! Healthy as a horse! Well, you have a cold, obviously, and I recommend you head back home, take loads of fluids and rest for a few days, but overall, congratulations!" he said, sounding extremely cheerful for a man who was whispering. "Your fever's still a tad too high for my taste, we need to get you home fast!"

Nico frowned and shook his head, taking his time to soak in the information overload.

And suddenly, he could see himself holding his newborn nephew.

He could see himself exploring caves with his eccentric father.

He could see himself smashing every single avocado in Frank's kitchen.

He could see himself sunbathing at the beach.

Maybe not going back to college but.

Acting in a porno?

He could see himself traveling to Norway and visiting fjords.

His sister and brother-in-law and nephew and father and step-mother by his side.

"So, I'm not going to die?" he asked, in all seriousness, feeling as if another, unsubstantial helmet had been lifted off his shoulders.

W. Solace's eyes widened. "What? No! No, of course not, what –" he squatted in front of Nico and began fussing about Nico's eyelids, pulling them open and summoning a small flashlight out of thin air to inspect Nico's eyes.

"Oh, boy," he said warily. "You're dehydrated, we need to get you an IV for dehydration, now. I'm so sorry, Nico. I should have realized earlier. It's only my first day here, I –" he stammered, but was cut short as Nico put his hand over the attendant's mask directly over his mouth, effectively stopping him from speaking further.

"I'm not dying?" Nico asked again, as if he hadn't heard a word W. Solace had said.

"Nn!" W. Solace mumbled back, muffled by his mask and Nico's hand.

"I'm not going to die? I don't have Covid?" he asked again, requiring confirmation.

"NN!" W. Solace mumbled forcefully and shook his head vigorously.

Then Nico did the most impulsive thing he'd ever done and pulled the attendant towards himself, smashing his lips over W. Solace's mask, directly over where his lips would have been. Distantly, Nico felt the bumps of the young attendant's lips barely make contact with his own through the hard, thick fabric of his face mask.

Blue eyes widened to such extent his eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets.

"I love you," Nico said as he pulled them apart, his eyes unfocused.

W. Solace's hands wrapped around Nico's wrists, prying the latter's hands off his face. "Uh," he mumbled. "T-Thank you?"

"You're welcome," Nico said, pulling up his hoodie more out of habit than anything else and closed his eyes, a satisfied grin on his face. "I'm not going to die." He crossed his legs and leaned back on the chair as if it had been a throne.

W. Solace must have found that funny, because he started to laugh light-heartedly, an airy chuckle that Nico couldn't resist to join in.

"Nope, you're going to live," he said, and Nico felt a hand squeeze his knee.

"I might be okay with that," Nico said.

"I'm definitely okay with that," W. Solace said, squeezing Nico's knee a bit harder.

"I'm going to kill Frank and all his avocados," said Nico, and he felt the hand on his knee come to a halt.

"What?"

Nico opened his eyes "Sorry, what?" he asked, unable to recall what they were talking about.

"Shit," the attendant said, getting to his feet and fidgeting about. "You need an IV. Don't move!" he said helplessly, running out of the open tent and leaving Nico to his own thoughts.

Which weren't many to begin with.

The rest of the day was a blur to Nico.

He vaguely remembered being put onto a wheelchair, and a dull pinprick on his forearm.

He vaguely remembered a syringe and a tube connected to a bag of saline solution as he sat on the wheelchair, and Frank's stupid comments on whether or not Covid might be genetic.

He vaguely remembered a beautiful pair of blue eyes glancing down at him in concern, and gentle hands fumbling about his forearm, his forehead, his eyelids.

He vaguely remembered being driven back home, being put down to bed and force-fed a bowl of chicken-noodle soup.

He barely remembered having kissed someone, but no. That must have been a hallucination. Unless he had kissed Frank for some reason. He would have liked to see his face.

When he woke up the next morning, feeling about a thousand times better than the day before, it all came crashing back down on him like a pile of bricks.

And as he shuffled over page after page of his test results, he finally came across the two hand-written lines he'd been looking for.

William A. Solace, RN

Delphi Family Clinic

Over the next few days, Nico began to recover his old pace of life.

A few days' rest and he'd returned to work, busying himself over his company's newest upcoming release, The Titan War by Hecate's Daughters, an all-female black metal band they'd recently signed into their company. He'd also been busy with managing their website and podcasts content, and texting back and forth with his sister, who'd apparently almost gone into premature labor (she exaggerates) when she'd learned that Frank and he had been exposed to Covid.

Leo had tested negative as well, but he was, according to Nico's unwavering conclusion, completely to blame for Nico's most traumatic cold ever.

And secretly, he'd been WebMD-ing untraceable symptoms so he could make an excuse to visit the Delphi Family Clinic just so he could get another glimpse of his mask-clad favorite Registered Nurse.

At one point, Nico had pegged the handsome stranger with the beautiful blue eyes for a doctor. He'd been mildly surprised to find out he was actually a nurse, but as the days dragged along, he realized he was glad he wasn't a doctor.

Nurses had better schedules? Maybe? He'd googled that and had come up with a series of contradicting answers.

Which led Nico to his next prioritized dilemma.

Stomach ache? No, too intestinal.

Head ache? No, too normal.

Subcutaneous skin condition? No, too weird?

But, maybe a hernia?

Joint pain? Back problems? High Blood Pressure? Trouble Breathing?

The list went on and on and Nico couldn't simply decide on a single fake condition that would merit a visit to the clinic.

I mean, seriously. Had he been that good looking? Nico hadn't even seen the whole of his face.

Yes, duh. He was drop dead gorgeous, he kept arguing back every time he asked himself the same question.

And yet, he had only seen half of his face.

But that had been enough, his other half argued back.

But Nico was also perfectly healthy, he couldn't fathom waywardly claiming medical assistance mid-pandemic, when there were hundreds if not thousands of people in his community who merited the attention far more than he did.

But those eyes.

But he had a lot of work to do, the release was approaching and the band had a month's worth of interview ahead of them and –

But those eyes.

Nico kicked his feet off the desk and his office chair rolled back towards the small sofa that by the door of his makeshift home office. With a languid, snake-like movement, he slid off his chair and spilled onto the L-shaped Ikea sofa, his right arm and leg dribbling down the side and grazing the carpeted floor.

"I need to get laid," Nico yelled into the fabric of the cushion against which his face was pressed.

The next morning, Nico found himself standing before the reception desk of the Delphi Family Clinic, wearing his own black face mask and his finest rags – aviator jacket over an Anathema The Optimist t-shirt, black skinny jeans and leather boots. He'd spent almost an entire hour fixing his hair so it looked effortlessly, naturally crumpled. And he'd brushed his teeth about a hundred times before leaving his apartment.

"Name?" the female nurse asked without looking up at him.

"Nico Di Angelo," Nico retorted. "I've made a follow-up appointment. I was tested for Covid about a week ago and I just wanted to check I was still negative."

The nurse looked up at him alarmingly, as if he'd just announced he wanted to be tested for Ebola.

"You suspect you may have acquired the virus post-testing?" she whimpered, covering her mouth over her face mask and taking a dramatic step back from Nico.

"No! That's not what I – listen," he added calmly, pulling out his test results from last time, a thin pink slip that slammed on the desk. "I don't have any symptoms, but my uh – sister is pregnant and I just wanted to make sure that I am perfectly healthy before I attempt to visit or even – "

"Sir, you need to make an appointment, you can't just walk in –"

"I do have an appointment, I'm in for a full physical, my yearly check up –"

"Is this the clinic where you usually do your physical? Because you don't have a history here," she retorted, furiously typing over her computer.

"No," Nico admitted, beginning to lose his patience, "but since I was tested here last week, I figured that must be taken into consideration when –"

"Sir, your medical history also needs to be taken into consideration –"

"Will you listen to me?" Nico hissed emphatically, perching his hands on the reception desk, making the nurse flinch back.

"Did someone say my name?" said a man from a door behind the reception desk that Nico hadn't noticed. His head had popped back as if he'd been leaning back on a chair directly by the door.

"Will, will you kindly tell this man here –" said the nurse, but she was rudely interrupted by a loud bang as the chair rolled from underneath the man's weight and he landed on the floor.

"Will!" the receptionist yelled, rushing to his side and helping him back up. "Honestly, you're too old to be playing with your chair like that!" she chided.

Nico's heart began fluttering in his chest as the man searched his face in recognition, taking two enormous lunges in his direction.

Yep, Nico thought to himself. Definitely hot, definitely worth it. As Nico shamelessly checked him out, head to toes, he took in his broad shoulders, which he hadn't noticed before, his long, muscular legs that medical scrubs could not hide, and his stupid N-95 mask.

"Mr. Di Angelo?" said William A. Solace as he reached the reception desk. "Is – is everything okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I mean, I'm here for a physical, and uh, a follow-up?" Nico explained, running a hand through his hair and rumpling the back, a nervous tic he'd had since he was a child.

"Oh," William A. Solace replied.

The female receptionist stood by William's side, her arms folded across her chest. "As I was explaining to this gentleman," she said disdainfully, "if he hasn't had his check-ups here before, there is little point in us –"

"Lou Ellen, could I speak to you in private for a second?" Will interrupted, pulling the receptionist by the elbow and practically dragging her towards the room from which he'd originally tumbled out.

Nico couldn't overhear what they were saying, and he definitely tried to listen in, but when they'd walked out, Will's eyes glinted pleasantly and Nico guessed he was smiling. The woman called Lou Ellen frowned, and Nico had no trouble whatsoever discerning her annoyance.

"I'll need you to fill in this form," said the handsome RN, sliding a blue slip towards Nico and handing him a pen. Then he summoned a temperature gun from his pocket and pointed at Nico's forehead. Nico flinched back, which made Will's eyes squint with what Nico guessed was amusement. "Just checking your temperature. You'll need to write that down, it's a healthy 97.5. We'll need to build up a chart for you, basic information as well as social security, etc. I'll print out the information you've typed on your online form, and I'll take you to the next available doctor as soon as possible."

Nico nodded along as he spoke, but raised a single eyebrow at the end.

"What doctor?" he asked, mentally kicking himself.

"Not sure yet, but Dr. D. was only just finishing up with a patient, my guess is with him," Will replied, his eyes twinkling.

"No, I mean –" Nico began, but cut himself short. I'm here for a check-up, not to see a doctor, you idiot he wanted to yell, but decided best not to say anything. He shrugged and began filling in his information.

"You're lucky we're taking appointments today," Will said conversationally, resting his elbow on the reception desk, he had to scoot over slightly, and Nico realized he was tall, very tall. He liked a tall man.

"Why?" he asked, grabbing the pen with such force he could have snapped it in half.

Don't be nervous, stupid.

"Well," Will said with a laugh. "Covid, of course."

"Oh, right," Nico added in a haste.

"We've got a few stations around the area, and the staff used to rotate between here and there, but the upper levels decided it was best not to risk bringing in the staff after being in contact with people who might have been exposed. So now, we're here, and they're there. Can't say I'm not relieved. We're a family clinic, mostly pregnant women and young children, so –"

"You get pregnant women here?" Nico asked, looking up from his form.

Will raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah," he said, matter-of-factly. "I mean, most families aren't risking coming in person lately, not unless it's an emergency, and they need to take one of those at-home kit tests before getting their appointment, but seeing as you've already been tested, the system must have recognized you, because they granted you the appointment after all."

"Lucky me," said Nico, signing his name at the bottom and handing the form back to Will.

"Yeah," Will agreed, and Nico could have sworn he heard a hint of enthusiasm in his voice. Will took the form and scanned it quickly. Nico stared at the way his eyes moved across the page and felt tempted to begin counting his eyelashes. "All looks good, I'll go check of Dr. D can see you now." And with that, he disappeared behind the door.

Nico exhaled and realized he had been holding his breath.

Honestly, he's probably deformed underneath that mask.

A few minutes later, William A. Solace returned, the corners of his eyes showed the tiny wrinkles of a young man who loved to laugh.

"The doctor will see you now, please follow me," he said, walking around the reception desk and motioning with his hand towards a hallway to the right.

Nico followed with a shrug, as if he couldn't care less in the world, but secretly, he tried to calculate how much taller William A. Solace was than him, and how they'd look if they stood side by side in front of a mirror.

Will stopped by a door at the end of the hallway, knocked twice and waited for a deep voice to call Enter.

"I'll see you when you get out, good luck," he whispered conspiratorially at Nico, a bit of a glint in his eyes, and pushed the door open for him.

Nico walked in and held out his hand towards the bulky, red-faced man who sat behind a large mahogany desk. He was also wearing an N-95, but Nico wasn't too eager to see his face – he could imagine precisely what he looked like underneath it. The man had bushy black eyebrows, curly black hair that behind his receding hairline, and the grumpiest pair of eyes Nico had ever seen in his life – and that included his own father.

"Thank you for seeing me, Doctor," said Nico, never forgetting his manners when formally meeting a stranger.

The doctor waved him off, "no handshakes, kid," he said in a deep, throaty voice, and Nico guessed he was both a heavy drinker and smoker, like most doctors he knew.

"Right," Nico said, putting his hand in his jacket's pocket.

"Have a seat," the Doctor offered. "I see here," he said, pointing at Nico's chart and holding it up against the light as if it had been an X-Ray, "you're here for a full physical! How thoughtful of you, coming to see us for this, mid-pandemic."

Nico frowned at being called out so directly, but held his gaze regardless. "My sister is pregnant, and we're very close, we're thinking about getting together before the baby is due, so –"

"How very touching," the Doctor ignored him, taking a few boxes on his chart. "I see here your insurance is good, we'll be doing a number of tests, just to be sure. You're lucky you're all covered, most people aren't able to afford such excellent insurance." Dr. D. looked Nico up and down, as if trying to guess how much his clothes cost. "What is it you do, if I may ask?"

"I'm a music producer," Nico deadpanned.

"And it pays well?" the Doctor asked seriously.

"Yes," Nico replied a tad too quickly.

"What kind of music? No, don't tell me. I don't want to know. We'll be doing some blood tests, complete Haemogram, Glucose, of course, KFT, LFT, TSH, we'll need a urine sample, and," he scanned Nico up and down, "what do you say, kid? Prostate exam?"

Nico's eyes widened and Dr. D stifled a laugh, which came out like a throaty cough.

"Just kidding, you're too young I suspect, unless you're having some trouble down there?"

"N-No!" Nico replied, his voice an octave higher.

"Hernia, perhaps?" Dr. D asked sounding amused. "The infamous 'turn your head and cough'"?

"No! I'm, fine! I don't have any symptoms of… of anything!" Nico hissed back, not wanting to find out if it would be Dr. D or William A. Solace who would be doing the tests and shaking his head at the prospect of either of those possibilities.

"Just kidding, a little bit of medical humor, payback for taking up medical resources at a time like this," Dr. D said, getting up from his chair with difficulty and opening the door. "Solace! Tests!" he yelled into the hallway.

Will appeared instantly, as if he'd been standing outside the door. "Right away, Doctor," he said politely. He took the chart from Dr. D. and motioned to Nico to follow.

They walked down the hall and into a brightly-lit room with a cot and a few shelves full of medical supplies.

"Right," said Will. "Have a seat. I'll need to draw some blood. I trust you haven't eaten anything today?"

"Nothing," Nico said. "Just some water?"

"That's fine, you'll need to drink loads later for the urine sample," Will said, putting on his gloves and prepping his equipment. He explained the procedure and the reasons for the blood draw to Nico, and he thought he did a mighty good job pretending to listen, while silently counting the freckles beneath William A. Solace's left eye and wishing he could come up with an excuse to rip his mask off. Maybe if he tripped? And what? Held on to his mask for support? Idiot.

He asked Nico to take off his jacket, which Nico found slightly promising. He wondered if William A. Solace would sound just as polite if he asked him to remove his pants and underwear as well.

He'd been watching way too much porn lately.

He put the thought out of his mind.

For about twenty seconds.

"This might hurt at first, take a deep breath and try to relax," said the RN, as he tapped a finger over Nico's vein.

"Yeah, okay," Nico complied, trying very hard not to smile.

It didn't hurt one bit. Nico had had blood drawn before, and it always hurt, he'd always ended up bruised for weeks. But William A. Solace worked with surgical precision, his strong fingers held on to Nico's arm with comforting pressure. He had a yellow thread bracelet on his left wrist and a mole on his right forearm. Nico found himself leaning in closer, trying to take a whiff, unable to resist his curiosity as to what William A. Solace smelled like. But he could only smell his own minty breath from underneath his mask.

Then he heard a chuckle and he looked up. The handsome nurse looked at him through crinkled eyes, and Nico imagined a row of perfectly white teeth smiling beneath his mask.

"Most people look away when they're having blood drawn," he said conversationally.

"I like blood," said Nico, looking away.

"I know," he said, making Nico glance up. "I noticed your hoodie last time," he added in explanation.

"Oh," said Nico. "Right."

"You're into, metal?" he asked unsurely. "I'm sorry, I'm not very familiar. My dad is a professional harpist. I grew up listening to classical music almost exclusively."

"I like classical music," Nico retorted.

"Do you? I wouldn't have guessed."

"I listen to all kinds of music, I'm a music producer," he said, hypnotized at the way Will maneuvered the small blood vials while keeping pressure on his vein. "So I can pretty much tell what's good and what's not."

"That's so cool!" Will said. "That explains much."

"What do you mean?" Nico asked.

"Well, the other day, you were yelling at your friend about how musically ignorant he was, how techno isn't technically music, and how Ozzy Osbourne was his, um, daddy."

"I didn't say that!" said Nico outraged.

Will chuckled. "You sure did!"

"Well," said Nico, trying to control a bubbling fit of laughter. "In my defense, he is."

"His daddy?" Will asked sounding amused.

"Totally," Nico replied. "He's a daddy to all of us."

Will laughed, an outright bubbly laughter that had Nico joining in, albeit with measured chuckles.

"I'll have to go home and check him out then."

"Well," Nico said, bracing himself and feeling slightly light-headed which he knew had nothing to do with any missing blood. "I can't guarantee he'll be your daddy, too."

"Oh? And why is that?" asked Will Solace, removing the needle and pressing down on Nico's arm with a cotton ball. He looked up at Nico and their eyes met.

Because I'll be your daddy, as soon as you take off that goddamn mask!

"Because you're into classical, you'll most likely find your daddy in bands like Therion or Epica," Nico said instead.

"Therion or Epica," Will repeated. "I'll be sure to check them out?"

"You do that, Solace," Nico said with a grin that he knew Will couldn't see.

"You remember my name?" The handsome nurse stared at him for a second, his fingers firmly pressed over Nico's arm. There was a certain gleam in his eyes that Nico couldn't place, as if he were deciding if Nico were human or not. But before Nico could reply, Will spoke.

"Right," he suddenly said, removing his hands and playfully slapping a yellow Band-Aid on Nico's forearm. "I'll need you to remove your mask now, we'll be doing another Covid swab as you requested, just to be sure."

When Nico took off his mask, he took a deep breath, enjoying the unrestrained feeling of not wearing a mask, a feat he hadn't been able to get used to just yet, as he spent most of his time at home on his own. He rubbed the sides of his face and the back of his ears, which he now realized had been sore all along. When he looked up, he half expected Will to take off his own mask, but he knew better, and newborn sympathy for the medical staff filled his chest.

Because his own little discomfort couldn't probably compare to Will's own, having to spend days on end wearing a face mask. He wanted to reach out and tell him everything was going to be alright, when Solace spoke.

"You know what to do," he said, holding a long swab over Nico's mouth.

Nico opened wide. As Will swabbed the inside of his mouth, Nico balled his fists over the fabric of his jeans. The discomfort wasn't as pronounced as last time, which was understandable, considering he didn't have a fever at the moment.

When Will was done, he didn't step back. He bagged the sample from where he'd been sitting, directly in front of Nico, who stared at his face, imagining the shape of his nose.

He'd kissed his mask last time. Nico wondered if he'd be able to get away with it if he tried again, of would he be kicked out of the clinic for harassment. Would he even notice if he lifted up his mask just the tiniest bit and sucked on his lower lip? Surely not.

As his series of tests elapsed throughout the morning, and after drinking outrageous amounts of water and peed in a cup (which Will took without a moment's hesitation) Nico considered the amount of information he had learned a lot about William A. Solace.

He liked to go by Will, not William, and insisted Nico called him so.

He grew up in Texas, but spent his summers at some band camp in Long Island, where his father was a founding member.

He'd gone to medical school, and had planned on specializing in pediatrics, until he decided to switch to nursing instead. He didn't explain why.

He loved Star Wars, and berated Nico for not sharing his enthusiasm.

His favorite food was blueberry muffins.

He believed in aliens.

And as his series of tests came to an end, and after Dr. D. had declared him ridiculously healthy, but we'll let you know about your lab tests by email, Nico found himself walking out of the Delphi Family Clinic, his aviator jacket slung over his shoulder, and a dejected feeling at not having found out what he wanted to know the most.

Whether Will would want to have coffee with him some day

Whether Will was single

Whether Will was gay

Whether Will would kindly give Nico his phone number

And as he walked towards his car, Nico pulled out his phone and texted his sister Hazel.

Hey, Haze, quick question, who's your obstetrician?

"You're back!" said Will Solace behind his N-95 mask, his eyes glancing back and forth between Nico and the heavily pregnant African American lady by his side.

"Hello," said Nico, forcing his eyes to remain neutral.

A full month had elapsed since his last visit, not because of lack of trying.

Nico had tried everything to get his sister to agree to come to the Delphi Family Clinic instead of going back to her regular obstetrician. It had taken almost an entire month to convince her, but Nico had finally discovered the one thing that had seduced his sister into switching sides.

It hadn't even been his own doing – her primary care doctor had been recently exposed to Covid, and as unfortunate as the news were, Nico had jumped in at the opportunity, citing how of course Dr. Garcia would be alright, but she would most likely want to remain put for as long as possible, and what if, god forbid, Hazel went into labor before her doctor was back?

You are going to hell, but it'll all be worth it – as soon as you see what's underneath that mask! Nico had argued. His pettiness was beginning to show and Nico needed to rip that mask off before he went any further.

To top things off, the Delphi Family Clinic turned out to count within its ranks one of the most renown obstetricians in the country, and it didn't take much to convince Hazel to come in for a consultation after he'd helpfully pointed that out.

"Hello there, pleased to meet you," said Hazel in her hospitable Southern accent, which Nico couldn't get enough of. "Hazel Zhang, pleased to meet you. We have an appointment to see Dr. –"

"Wait up!" said a voice from behind them as Frank practically ran into the clinic.

Nico groaned and stopped himself from rolling his eyes with difficulty. He had specifically asked Frank to wait in the car to avoid exposure. To avoid annoying him, actually, but he hadn't said that out loud.

"Frank!" Hazel said warmly. "Weren't you supposed to –"

"Oh, I'm not missing this!" the taller man retorted, standing between Hazel and Nico, patting the latter one on the back so hard he almost buckled over. "Hey!" he said, his eyes widening as he took in Will. "You're Doctor Sunshine!"

Nico coughed and held onto his stomach.

"Doctor Sunshine?" Will asked, his eyebrows raising.

"Yeah! You remember? We were here a few weeks ago, the Covid scare? Well, we were at the testing station outside, but yeah, you gave my bro here," he patted Nico on the back as if to make sure he wouldn't be missed, "A Covid test! Remember? He was the dude with the crazy hoodie talking about blood and death and whatnot, he called you Doctor Sunshine at some point? I had completely forgotten about that, seriously! Nice to see you again, Doctor!" Frank said, offering his hand.

Will's eyes went from Frank to Nico to Frank to Hazel to Frank again, then his eyes crinkled up and he offered his elbow to Frank instead.

"I remember, well, I didn't know about the whole Doctor Sunshine thing, I must have somehow missed that, I'm actually a nurse," he said, glancing at Nico, who avoided his eyes. They bumped elbows and Frank seemed entirely too full of himself.

"Nurse Sunshine, then! Nice to see you again, man!" Frank added.

"Yeah. N-nice to see you, too. You said your name is Zhang?" Will said, his eyes scanning the computer screen. "I'm afraid –"

"You must have me as Levesque," Hazel interrupted politely, "My insurance policy is under my maiden name, must get that fixed, but as you can probably see, we've had more urgent matters to attend to." Hazel nodded at her belly, which bulked out over her abdomen. Frank placed a hand over her baby bump and kissed the top of Hazel's head.

Seriously, Nico thought, if they didn't look too goddamn adorable together, Nico would have reached out and punched Frank in the gut.

"I see," Will perked up, "You are in for an appointment with Doctor Artemis!"

"No, that can't be right, we clearly asked for –" said Hazel, but Will interrupted her, his palms held up as if acknowledging a mistake.

"We call her Doctor Artemis, you know, like the Greek goddess of childbirth? She's like a major, major movie star around here! You're so lucky to get to see her, she's honestly the best in the country!"

"Oh! How clever! Isn't that nice, dear?" Hazel asked of her husband, who frowned in what Nico knew he had no idea what they were talking about, but Frank nodded all the same.

"She's expecting you. I'll just print out your form and you'll be on your way!" said Will.

"Perfect!" Hazel added pleasantly, looking at Nico with a glint in her eyes that exuded enthusiasm, and Nico couldn't help but want to melt at the smile he could discern through her mask. "We actually wanted to see her when we found out we were expecting, but last year, when we were searching for an obstetrician, she didn't seem to be in the country?"

"She was in New York at the time, only transferred back last month, actually."

"Oh, how wonderful! What a fantastic coincidence!"

"Yeah," said Frank dramatically, glancing at Nico through the corners of his eyes. "Coincidence. You did good, buddy!" said Frank, ruffling Nico's hair and following the nurse wearing pink scrubs that seemed to have popped up out of nowhere.

"See you in a bit, Nico," said Hazel, cradling her bump and walking away towards the hallway.

"I'll be out here," said Nico, lifting up his hand and promptly placing it back into the pockets of his aviator jacket. He bobbed up and down in the balls of his feet a couple of times before he had the courage to look up.

Will was looking at him from behind the reception desk, his eyes squinting into what Nico hoped was a side effect of a smile?

"So," Will said.

"So," Nico retorted, trying to sound nonchalant.

"You found out about my aunt," the nurse added, and Nico's bobbing halted to a stop.

"Your what?"

"Aunt Artemis," Will explained. "I'm sorry I blurted it out like that, I've just called her that all my life. She's my dad's older sister. Well, they're actually twins, but she's the older sibling."

Nico snorted. "Don't tell me your dad, the harpist, is called Apollo?"

Will's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

Nico shook his head in disbelief, but before he could say anything, Will cut in.

"His name isn't actually Apollo, that's just his stage name! They had this recurring Olympian theme since they were little, you see, my granddad was super into mythology and –"

"Please stop," said Nico, bowing his head low in defeat.

One time, he had made a presentation in history class when they'd been studying Greek mythology, and it just so happened that, that one time, he had been wearing a shirt of the band Hades and he'd been forever branded as a son of Hades. The irony took too much out of him for the time being.

Jesus Christ, he's a son of Apollo, he thought to himself, and pinched the bridge of his nose. And I'm a fucking son-of-Hades, what do you make of that, universe?!

"I'm sorry," said Will, and for once, he sounded utterly dejected.

Nico looked up and saw a puzzled look on Will Solace's handsome half-covered face.

"N-No," Nico added promptly. "It's just… well, I have a history with Greek mythology, that's all, childhood nickname, nothing to worry about, just brought back memories."

"I'm sorry," Will repeated, walking around the reception desk and taking a stance directly before Nico. Out of sheer surprise, Nico took a step back. "I know what that's like, I've literally been a son of Apollo, a nephew of Artemis, you name it, I've heard it all, all my life basically," he said, his hands suddenly wrapping around Nico's forearms.

"I-It's fine," Nico stammered.

"No, it's not! I should be more careful with things like that. It's just," he said, his voice dwindling down to a whisper. "I feel like we're, I don't know… friends? Like I know you already, and I know it's crazy and it's a crazy time and everything, but –"

"Solace!" came a voice from down the hallway, and both Will and Nico jumped back.

Nico recognized the grumpy voice of Dr. D. and could have thrown a rock at him if they'd been in open air.

"Sir," Will responded automatically, straightening up and walking towards the door without a second glance at Nico, then disappeared into the Doctor's office.

Nico stood dejectedly in the reception area for what felt like an eternity. He took a seat after a while, absent-mindedly flipped through the pages of a gossip magazine, and played Candy Crush on his phone for about half an hour until Hazel and Frank walked out of a room in the end of the hallway and headed back to Nico.

He caught a glimpse of Will as the mask-clad nurse hurried out of Dr. D.'s office and headed into another door. He'd been too far to discern the look on his face.

Nico had blue balls.

Nico had blue balls and not in the medical sense that would merit a visit to the Delphi Family Clinic.

Three weeks had elapsed since his last visit to the clinic, and he couldn't come up with a plan to return to the godforsaken place where those blue eyes dwelled.

And it wasn't as if Nico didn't have other things to fill his days.

Hecate's Daughter's new album had been released to raving reviews, and the interviews had all gone smoothly. They'd even been invited to perform, along with a handful of bands that Nico also managed, to partake in an online show that would be streamed free of charge on one of the most popular online metal platforms in the world. The podcasts were making money, the downloads were bringing in the dough, and Nico found himself watching Star Wars over and over again.

Kylo Ren was hot, yes.

But Nico liked him more with his mask on than he did with his mask off – not because he didn't think Adam Driver wasn't hot, on the contrary, he was smoking. But he found himself drawn in by the idea of the mask. Which drove him a little crazy and had him scrolling mindlessly down for the umpteenth time that week.

And then, there was all the porn.

He'd literally spent hours on end watching videos of all walks of life. Blonde. Twink. Young doctor. Nurse. Freckles. Mask-on. Mask-off. And a few unsavoury clips that would have appealed to the metalhead in him, but not so much to the smitten version of Nico who scrolled down the endless supply of pornography, looking for what he knew he wouldn't be able to find – not unless his favorite nurse also dwelled in work of a more amateur nature.

And as Nico stroked his dick, coated in a thick layer of lubricant, and as he tugged at his testicles, a tiny anal bead inserted in his ass and gently vibrating in a way that made his spine tingle and the hairs on his body stand on end – he groaned as he realized what his existence had been reduced to. Fantasizing about his mask-clad favorite nurse and his electric, caring, sagacious blue eyes. And his huge dick. And his nimble tongue. And his strong fingers wrapped around Nico's own dick.

And yet, as he tugged and tugged with ever-growing despair, he couldn't bring himself to a climax.

Nico had blue balls.

"You're back!" said Will Solace behind his N-95 mask, his eyes glancing at Nico with twinkling eyes.

"Yeah, I –" Nico stammered, pulling out a pink slip from his pocket and sliding it over the reception desk.

Will glanced down at the paper and then back up at Nico.

"A Covid test?" Will asked, sounding entirely amused.

"I might have been exposed again," Nico replied, pulling his hair behind his ear and tapping on his thigh with his free hand.

"Again?" Will asked bemusedly.

"Hey," Nico said. "I'm a music producer, I get around. There was this show (lie) I had to attend, and there were about a hundred people (lie) in the audience, and some of them weren't even wearing masks (lie), so, I just wanted to make sure…"

"Okay, better safe than sorry," said Will, and Nico could have sworn he saw him wink at him. "One Covid swab, coming right up, Mr. Di Angelo."

"And my head hurts. And I've trouble breathing sometimes. I don't have asthma or anything, just sometimes it's hard to breathe. And I'm – I'm donating blood. So, yeah. That too." Nico didn't know why he kept talking, he wanted to sound like he was here for a reason other than check out the hot nurse.

Will glanced back up at Nico once he'd taken down all the notes he needed.

"Got it, thank you for that, too. We always welcome blood donors. Follow me, please," he said, motioning to the hallway, which Nico was already extremely familiar with.

By this point, Nico had also already memorized Will Solace's every physical trait from the bridge of his nose up. He knew where to look if he wanted to see a triangular freckle (directly under the corner of his right eye) and where to look if he was more in the mood for a wayward curl (behind his right ear, under the elastic of the mask). A single white hair adorned the top of his head. He also had pierced ears, but wore no earrings, probably against the dress code, but Nico didn't care. He loved the tiny blemishes on his otherwise perfectly shaped ears.

"I listened to Epica, by the way," Will said conversationally as he applied a tourniquet on Nico's arm.

"Yeah?" Nico said, his eyes widening. He didn't think Will would listen to his advice, none of his friends ever did. "And what did you think?"

Will concentrated for a few seconds, but once he inserted the needle and blood began flowing down the tube, he looked up.

"I loved it," he said, his eyes widening with each word. Nico smiled under his mask and hope Will was smiling too.

"Good, they're a good band," Nico replied.

"I've been listening to it nonstop for like, days now, it's great for jogging."

"You jog?" Nico asked, trying to suppress a frown. Of course Will would be the athletic type who went for jogs at the beach.

"The occasional 3 mile every other morning, if I got enough rest. My shifts vary so I' not always up at 6 and ready to go for a run. Lou Ellen keeps telling me to get a treadmill, but I don't see how it would fit in the apartment." Will said, readying his cotton swab.

Nico's blood turned icy in his veins.

Who the fuck is Lou Ellen?

"You've met her," Will added as if he had read Nico's mind. "The nurse from the other day? She's actually really nice, you just happened to have caught her in one of her bad days. May I?" Will asked, gesturing to Nico's face mask. Nico nodded and Will removed the elastics from behind Nico's ears, revealing his face.

Will's eyes moved up and down Nico's face, and the latter felt himself blushing. If only, if only, if only Will would return the favor and rip his goddamn mask off.

"Oh, the receptionist. I remember," Nico said, desperate for something to say.

"Yeah, she's been lots of help, took over a few of my shifts so I could help Austin with his things when he moved in, open wide, please," he said, pointing the tip of the swab towards Nico's mouth.

Who the fuck is Austin!?

Nico opened his mouth and wanted to scream. So, there it was. Gay and taken. His perfect man (with his stupid mask), lived with another man. As soon as Will removed the swab from his mouth, Nico was going home.

"Yep," said Will as he rubbed the tip of the swab under Nico's tongue. "I shouldn't be complaining, since we share rent and everything, but living with your half-brother is such a pain. All done."

Nico closed his mouth and massaged his jaw. "Half-brother? Not your…" he stopped.

"My what?" Will asked, turning around and bagging the sample.

"Nothing," said Nico, looking away from Will.

"Oh, you thought – no, Austin is my half-brother from my dad's uh, let's see, third marriage. I'm single. Totally single."

"Totally single?" Nico snorted.

"W-well, as far as single goes. Yes. Uh, I'll be right back, just taking these to the lab," he wiggled the bagged sample and the bag of blood he had drawn from Nico and left the room in a hurry.

So, single, huh.

Yay.

Now, all he needed to know was if William A. Solace was also into dudes.

When the door opened Nico perked up, having made up his mind to politely ask Will if he wanted to go get a cup of coffee or something later, anything that would require him to take off his mask from hell, but an entirely new person walked in.

"Who are you? Where's Will?" Nico asked bluntly.

A man wearing scrubs identical to Will walked towards Nico, picked up his chart and scribbled a few notes. "Hello, Mr. Di Angelo, I'm afraid Will's had a family emergency and had to go back home. He's asked me to take over for him. Now, he tells me you're experiencing trouble breathing?"

Nico's frown deepened.

"What kind of family emergency?" he asked.

The other nurse shrugged. "Not sure, about the breathing?"

"I'm fine," Nico said, standing up. "I, uh, I need to go home. I left something on," and with that, Nico walked out of the Clinic, got into his car and banged his head against the steering wheel.

"You're back!" said Will Solace behind his N-95 mask, his eyes glancing back and forth between Nico and a beautiful dark-skinned woman of about thirty-years-old and a young boy of about three, his tiny hands firmly held by his mother and Nico himself.

"Hello," said Nico, pointedly looking away from the handsome nurse.

"Hello," said the little boy, glancing up at Will with a curious expression, a little bit of snot running down his upper lip.

"Hey you," said Piper, kneeling down before her son and holding a handkerchief to the boy's nose. "Blow," she commanded, and the little boy complied.

Will's eyes were drawn in such a tight squint that even Nico noticed, once he'd found the courage to look at the handsome nurse.

This must be his children smile, Nico mused, as he glanced down as his godson.

"And what seems to be the problem?" Will asked the boy, walking around the reception desk and kneeling so as to be eye-level with the kid.

"M sick," the boy replied, his tiny voice coming out nasal and wet, his little Buzz Lightyear mask sliding down his face.

Will chuckled as he fixed Jason's son's mask back up. "You look fine to me," he said kindly, grabbing his little arm and gently pressing down on his baby biceps. "Strong as an ox!" he said, and Nico's godson giggled.

"We're under Grace. He's been tested for Covid already," Piper jumped in the conversation, and Nico could practically hear her smiling under her mask, although her eyes betrayed her concern. "We've all been tested, and we're all negative, but he's got a cough and he had a fever last night. He's better now, but we just feel like we need to check for anything else? He's so little," she added, and as much as she tried to infuse her words with charm and warmth, they came out raw and sharp, as a concerned mother would sound to even the deafest ears.

Even Nico tried to force a smile under his mask as he held on tighter to his godson's little hand, trying to summon courage and transfer it into his minuscule, pudgy fingers.

Admittedly, Nico had been trying to come up with ways to revisit the Delphi Family Clinic for weeks. But this hadn't been in his list of options. Yes, he'd done his research on the facility over the last few months, and he'd become acquainted with the impressive members of the clinic's medical staff. When Jason texted him about his son being sick, Nico more than volunteered to escort Piper and his favorite (and only) godson to the clinic he knew would be right for them.

And Nico wouldn't ever admit it, more to keep everyone from worrying than anything else, but the well-being of that little kid mattered to him more than any other living being (he'd be an asshole not to consider the upcoming birth of his own nephew, but as far as he knew at the moment, Jason and Piper's son ranked at the top of the people he most cared about), and he would see to his health all the way.

William A. Solace kept his kind eyes on the little boy, and spoke with such a light-hearted tone he automatically made Nico relax.

"Good," Will said enthusiastically, "Because you're in for a treat! We've got puzzles and race cars and silly-putty, do you like silly-putty?" Will asked and the little boy nodded frantically. "That's great, because you and I are about to get silly with all that putty while mommy has a word with the doctor. Are you ready to get silly with Uncle Sunshine?" Will asked, risking a glance at Nico, who almost choked.

"Yes!" came the tiny, albeit slightly muffled voice of the three-year-old.

"Let's a-go!" said Will enthusiastically, grabbing for his hand firmly held by Nico. Will's fingers feathered over Nico's wrist, and as his godson's hand slipped out of his grasp, Nico took a deep breath.

It hadn't felt as if his life force had been sucked away, as he had originally thought it would feel like, to have his godson's tiny grasp unclasp from his own hand. As Nico watched William A. Solace walk away from him, hand in hand with Jason and Piper's son, his very first and only godson, Nico felt a bubble swell within his chest. And it wasn't entirely filled with concern.

Nope. There was a definite something else swelling well within it.

And Nico suddenly didn't care what awaited him beneath that N-95.

He just needed to complete the perfect picture that had formed in his mind, a perfect picture that had nothing to do with physical features.

He just needed a nose he could peck and a mouth he could kiss.

And he needed his godson to be okay.

Two hours elapsed before Piper walked back down the hallway, her son firmly held in the strong arms of William A. Solace.

"Oink! Oink!" his little voice filled the room, his tiny hands on Will's ears.

"We've discussed this," Will spoke, his voice strained by the effort of lifting Jason's son up and down in his arms and keeping his face away from him. "You're the little piggy who went to the market, and I'm the silly goose who belongs in the pond!"

"I'm the silly goose!" said the child.

"You can't take that away from me, it's all I've got!" Will insisted, and Nico felt his chest swell to a point of exploding.

"You're both silly geese," Piper cut in, her voice melodic to the point of sounding whimsical, letting Nico know all he needed to know.

He'd be okay. And Nico sighed in relief, holding onto his chest and running his free hand through his hair.

"You're okay!" Nico exhaled, grabbing out to his godson, who took one look at him and practically threw himself into Nico's arms.

"Uncle Neek!" the little voice giggled, his mask sliding down his nose.

"Watch it," Will cut in, pulling the tiny facemask over his nose. "We've also discussed this. Above your nose, below your chin, a mask will keep you from getting ill," Will chanted and Piper's son promptly joined in, making Nico melt in his pants.

And as Nico followed Piper out of the clinic, his godson in his arms, he glanced back at the handsome nurse in his N-95 mask, waving at them like a fucking Teletubbie in the way he stiffly stood outside the clinic's automatic doors, his eyes not on Nico, but on the little boy in his arms. The tiny creature clearly exhausted and about to fall asleep, but resilient in his efforts to say goodbye to the kind man that had accompanied him throughout a morning of invasive tests.

And Nico could have just kicked himself for not coming back for a phone number, not even as Will Solace remained on the sidewalk as Piper drove out of the parking lot.

Not having found out whether or not William A. Solace was gay

Fuck the N-95, Nico couldn't care less. Whatever the mask held within, Nico wanted all over his face.

Nico nestled into the little boy that fell asleep in his arms and vowed to return to the Delphi Family Clinic with a purpose if it was the last thing he did.

He would rip off that mask if it was the last thing he did!

A few days later, Nico found himself utterly spent and spilled across his bed, his right hand clasped around his dick, his vibrator still sending shivers up his rectum.

Sperm glistened over his abdomen.

An entirely ruined and dripping wet N-95 mask crumpled in his left hand.

After a few minutes, he wiped his hands and fumbled for his phone.

"You're back!" said Will Solace behind his N-95 mask, his eyes glancing back and forth between Nico and a grumpy-looking young man looking entirely shifty, his hands in his pockets, his eyes moving rapidly around the clinic.

"Hello," said Nico loudly, hoping he could take off his mask and display the smirk on his face. "We have an appointment to test for STDs. The name's Percy Jackson."

"Shit, Nico!" Percy hissed beside him. "You said we could keep this under wraps, no need to yell it for the world to hear!"

Nico smiled and purposely forced his eyes to widen as to discern his amusement. "You're the one who's been around the block, here," he said, reigning in his glee. "If only you'd kept it in your pants, like we all told you to, you wouldn't be in this position!"

Percy offered him a murderous look, but Nico did nothing but bob up and down on his feet, relishing in the idea of his ex finally making up for breaking his heart in the best way he could think of – by pretending he had STDs, going to the clinic to get tested, no questions asked.

"Uh," Will asked from behind the computer, busing himself to double-check the name. "Percy Jackson, yes! You're in for your appointment with Dr. D. And I see here you've specifically requested your full physical to include, ehm, a prostate and hernia test," Will cleared his throat. "Right, well, Dr. D. specializes in… that which you've requested, you'll be in good hands," Will added in unsure tones, risking a shifty look at Percy, then at Nico, who bit his lower lip in an attempt to stop himself from outright laughing.

"Yes," Percy hissed, glaring at Nico. "Yes, whatever. Let's just get this over with."

"Right this way, please," Will said politely, motioning for Percy to follow, and glancing back at Nico with a frown on his face.

What the hell was that about?

Nico took a seat in the waiting area, crossed his legs and began flipping through a magazine. He hadn't been in such a good mood in a long, long time.

To his surprise, it had all been Annabeth's idea.

What's this I've been hearing about you crushing on your doctor, Nico?

Nurse.

Right, whatever. You're dating now?

No.

Why not?

Because! We are never alone for too long, we only talk about stupid things, I can barely figure out what he's actually like in real life, for all I know he's been putting on his nurse face all this time and in reality he's a complete asshole and I'm only going to get my heart broken again and I don't even know if he's gay and he never takes his mask off, Annabeth, NEVER! I've NEVER even seen his face and I love him I don't know what to do!

Wow, wow. Neeks, hey. Percy, did you know about this?

I don't know nothing about nothing.

I just wanna rip his goddamn mask off and eat it! Then eat his face! I just wanna rip his clothes off and eat his face!

Uh, Annabeth? Is Nico having a breakdown?

You tell me, you idiot, you were the one who used to date him.

He never acted that way with me. Should I be jealous?

Shut up, both of you, you're not helping.

One problem at a time. You said you don't know if he's gay? But what if he was gay, would you ask him out? I mean, it took you years to ask Percy out, didn't it? Would it really matter if you knew for sure? I think what you need to figure out is, if in fact this handsome nurse likes you BACK.

And how am I supposed to figure that one? Ask him? You're suggesting I go and ask him, Annabeth?

No. I'm suggesting you TEST him.

How?

With this idiot right here.

Me?

Yes you, Seaweed Brain. You're going to help your ex. Least you can do.

How on earth am I supposed to help him with that?

I have an idea. If everything goes to planned, you'll definitely be able to tell Nico if his handsome nurse likes him.

As he flipped through the pages, Nico relived their conversation of only a few days before, and tried to conjure up the details and the instructions Annabeth had given him.

Don't go looking for him, let him come looking for you.

"Hey," said Will, standing two feet away from Nico, who glanced back as if he'd only just noticed he was there.

"Hey," said Nico, smiling under his mask and glancing back down at the magazine.

Don't start the conversation yourself. Let him ask you what he wants to know, let him talk himself hoarse. And you, short answers only.

"So, is that your uh, friend?" Will asked, taking a cautious seat next to Nico, reaching out for a magazine himself.

"You could say so," said Nico, his eyes frozen over a word he wasn't reading.

"Oh," added Will. "He's uh, he seems nice."

"He's an asshole," said Nico. "But yeah, I guess. Nice."

"You're uh, related? Family?" asked Will, flipping through his magazine.

"Nope."

"Colleagues?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Uh. Right. Well, I just wanna say, I think he's very lucky to have you accompany him here. I mean, getting tested for STDs can be a bit, I don't know, traumatic? Never been tested myself, I mean, I have but, not because I thought I had them, but you know, I'm a nurse, so, it's required to do check-ups from time to time. I'm ranting now. I feel like I'm talking too much."

"Nope, you're doing great," said Nico, his mouth curling in a satisfied smile.

Will sat silent for a moment, his eyebrows stitched together at the center. Nico hadn't seen this look on Will's face before. After a few seconds, Will took a quick breath as if about to speak, but promptly deflated. Then he did it again at least two times before he actually spoke.

"He's very good looking, your friend, isn't he?" Will asked, and Nico raised his eyebrows.

"You think?" Nico replied.

"You don't?" Will asked.

"Yeah, I guess. If that's your type," said Nico.

Will shook his head. "Not my type, I was just pointing out a fact. My type is, uh. Just, not him, I guess."

"I don't know that I have a type," Nico lied. Percy had totally been his type, and Will totally was his type. Nico was a sucker for tall dudes with beautiful eyes.

"You don't?" Will asked sounding extremely interested. "Is he not, not your type?"

When the window of opportunity opens, talk about Percy. Talk about him nonstop. The good, the bad. Just don't lie. Tell him the truth about him, let it all out. Just don't mention you aren't dating anymore.

"I mean yeah," said Nico, and glanced back at Will who stared at him in rapt attention. "He's handsome, he's got those gorgeous green eyes and he's a great kisser. At first he used to be good in bed but then he got kind of lazy about it. And really, he's an idiot. He's exhausting, and very ADHD, so he's easily distracted. He can't keep an appointment to save his life, he's always late. He's sloppy and can't take care of himself. He says he can cook but he only makes a mess and he hates to clean after. He leaves his clothes everywhere and never does laundry. He carries a bottle of blue food colorant in his pocket and adds it to everything, it's ridiculous. And he never knows when I'm upset. It takes other people telling him I'm upset. It's unnerving and frankly, quite hurtful."

As he spoke, Nico felt like a weight had been lifted of his shoulders. He removed his mask with a snap and tossed it on the chair next to him. "That's better, now, where was I?"

Will stared at Nico's mouth, a frown on his face.

"He's a great kisser," he added, his tone icy.

"Right, well. He's actually got very few redeeming qualities, that's one. He's also a good friend, so that's two. The rest is just annoying," said Nico, massaging his neck, but smiling contentedly as he let all these things out. He hadn't realized how therapeutic it would be to talk about Percy like that.

Then a voice from the end of the hall yelled, "Solace! Tests!"

Will stood up slowly, his eyes still on Nico's face. "Right," he said, "I'm going to run some tests for your friend. With the STDs. I'll be right back."

With that, Will walked towards the door of Dr. D.'s office, collected a chart and walked Percy into a separate room.

He hadn't been lying when he said Percy had been a terrible boyfriend. The both of them had driven each other up the walls throughout their entire relationship. And Nico always had had the feeling that the only reason Percy was still with him was simply because he didn't want to hurt him. Which he ended up doing anyway.

He also hadn't been lying when he said Percy was an excellent friend. After all the time they spent together, and the time they'd spent apart, he'd always manage to claw his way back into Nico's life and bring back good memories.

Nico wasn't mad at him anymore, he realized. He could speak of him and their past without remorse, without anger. And he could honestly say he was happy for Percy and Annabeth, because they really made a much better couple than he and Nico ever did.

He hadn't realized how much time had elapsed since they'd gone into the room where Will usually drew Nico's blood and did his other tests until the door suddenly slammed open and Percy stomped out.

"Percy, what the –" Nico said, standing up from his chair, the magazine dropping to the floor as Percy took a few steps in his direction, his hand over his forearm, a drop of blood trickling down his arm into his hand.

"Yeah, that dude likes you," Percy said, walking past Nico and out the sliding doors.

"What? How?"

"100%, trust me, go for it, Nico," he said, walking down the few steps into the parking lot area.

"Where are you going?"

"Home, my mission is complete," Percy began to yell form the distance. "Only person who's gonna fondle my prostate is Annabeth, see ya Nico. Good luck with your butcher nurse," and with that, he got in his car and drove away.

"Hey!" Nico yelled, "you're my ride!"

But Percy was long gone.

Will came out of the nursing station looking a little pale, and threw Nico a quizzical look.

"Where is your friend?" Will asked, holding up a sealed bag of lubricated gloves. "We're still not done here."

"Can I talk to you?" Nico asked suddenly, turning around and facing the nurse in the mask. "In private?"

Will's eyes widened. "Uh, sure? What's up?"

"No, not here, in private," said Nico. "Can we go to the room with the blood?"

"What room with the blood?" Will asked, his eyes widening.

"You know," Nico pointed, "in there."

Will rolled his eyes, then chuckled. "Okay, just don't call it that, and let's be quick, your friend still needs a few other tests."

Nico didn't say anything about Percy having already left. Together they walked into the room, Nico in the rear. He closed the door behind him as they entered, and Will ripped off his gloves with such force one of them flew to the other side of the room.

"What's up?" he asked without turning to Nico.

"Are you okay?" Nico asked, perplexed and amused.

"Perfectly," Will responded. He pulled open a drawer so hard it smacked him on the leg. Unflinching, he pulled out a few tools and began practically throwing them onto a tray as if they had offended him.

"You don't look perfectly okay, though," Nico pointed out, his back against the door.

"Just had a nice chat with your friend," said Will, pulling out a roll of gauze and cutting bits of it haphazardly. "He's a real treat." Snap, snap, snap. "Perfect gentleman." Snap, snap, snap.

"Is that so? What did you talk about?"

Will snapped a strip of gauze so close to his fingers Nico felt compelled to take the scissors away from him.

"STDs and how you get them," he said, then chuckled humorlessly. "As I explained to him the dangers of having different sexual partners, which he seemed to find amusing by the way, he answered a call from someone called 'Babe', and told this person that," he said with venom in his voice, lifting up the scissors to scratch at the edge of his mask, "And I quote: I'm still at work, yeah, I'm alone, but I'm coming to pick you up later. Yep, love you too. Nah, Nico's got no idea. I swear, Nico. I could have just stabbed him with the needle. I know where all the vital points are located, one little pinprick and that prick would have stopped breathing!"

"Oh," said Nico, trying to hide his smile. He wished he hadn't left his mask in the waiting hall. Annabeth. What a genius that girl was. She probably fed the lines to Percy and told him to repeat every word.

"It's just like you said, like, he doesn't know anything about you, or your feelings. Like he needs other people to tell him how you feel! Honestly Nico," Will said loudly, tossing the scissors into the tray and running a hand through his hair in exasperation. "What do you even see in that guy? How can you let him treat you like that? He's such a – such a –"

"Bum," Nico supplied.

"Yes!"

"Yeah, I know," Nico said.

"So why are you still with him?" Will asked, taking two steps towards Nico and holding him at arm's length. "Why is someone like you with a bum like him?"

Nico's smile began to grow. He had never seen fire in Will's eyes before, and of all things he had learned throughout the months of getting to know William A. Solace, this was the best by far. He was finally certain that his crush was reciprocated. It must be. Because Will was incandescently jealous of Percy, and Nico had him right where he wanted.

"I'm not," he explained calmly, placing his hands over Will's chest.

Will blinked. "Y-you're not?"

"Nope," said Nico, pulling him by the scrubs so their faces were mere inches from each other.

"Then…"

"We used to date, like, years ago. We're friends now. He's engaged to his girlfriend and everything."

"He…"

"How many Covid tests have I had so far?" Nico asked calmly, his fingers on the collar of Will's scrubs.

"Uh, three?"

"And how many medical procedures have I had?"

Will blinked. "Many more, like, in total, about fifteen? Plus the blood draws."

Nico nodded, having done the math himself before. "That's about right." Then his fingers reached the elastic on either side of Will's face mask. He tugged at the sturdy string, pulling Will an inch closer to his face. "And do you think I've been getting those because I'm some weird hypochondriac or something?"

Will swallowed, Nico could see his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"At first, yeah, I mean, I kinda thought you were? So, you're not?"

Nico shook his head, smirking.

"So, you've done all this because?"

"Remember this?" Nico asked, and inched forward, placing a chaste kiss on the center of Will's mask.

Will's eyes widened, his grasp on Nico's arms tightened.

"I thought – the fever, I didn't think you remembered that, I…"

"William A. Solace…" Nico whispered, as his he placed his fingers on Will's mask, tugging it down a few milimeters. Then Will pulled away and Nico stumbled forwards into thin air.

"Wait, so –" said Will, pacing around the room, his hand in his hair. "So, you're not with Percy Jackson? And you're not a hypochondriac. And you – you kissed me, twice, now. This means, I'm not crazy?" asked Will, coming to a stop and staring up at Nico from the other side of the room.

"I'm starting to think you are a little crazy now…"

"You like me, too? Like, like me?" Will asked disbelievingly.

"Well, yeah, duh," said Nico, his smile wider.

"You mean to tell me that I am the reason you keep wasting medical resources?" Will asked emphatically.

Nico hadn't thought about that. Not at the moment anyway. "Uh –"

Then Will did a very unexpected thing.

He straightened up, ran a hand through his hair and positively glared at Nico. Then he began to stomp towards him with wide, assertive steps, ripping off his mask in one swift movement so hard the elastic bands snapped as easily as if they had been made of paper, then scooped Nico into his arms and kissed him, pressing him against the door.

Nico didn't have time to react, he began to kiss Will instinctively – a wild, open-mouthed kiss that had him gasping for breath.

When they broke apart, Nico placed his hands on Will's cheeks and held him at a distance, drinking him in with hungry eyes.

Will was beautiful. No, he was gorgeous. He had a straight nose splashed with freckles, chiseled cheekbones, a perfect jawline, a strong and pointy chin. And the most magnificent set of lips Nico had ever seen in his entire life.

"Yes," Nico gasped, then pulled him in for another kiss. "You." Kiss. "Are." Kiss. "Gorgeous!" Kiss.

Will smiled against his mouth. "What are you talking about?" he asked between kisses.

Nico pushed him away, then pointed up at his face. "Your face, your stupid, stupid face, is beautiful! I hadn't seen your stupid face because you're always wearing that, that –" he pointed at the discarded N-95 on the floor, "fucking mask!"

Will frowned and looked down at the mask. "Oh," he said, his eyes widening, and Nico was delighted to see his perfect mouth shaped into an O.

Nico stepped forward and grabbed Will by the scrubs, forcefully pulling him towards him, smack against his chest. "You didn't even realize?!" he asked, smashing their lips together. "I've been dying to see your face for months!" he yelled, attacking his mouth and kissing his chin, his cheeks, his nose.

Will began to laugh, placing his hands on Nico's waist as the latter planted kiss after kiss all over his face.

"I guess I didn't, I mean, I've been able to see your face just fine."

"You are an idiot, why are you not kissing me?" Nico deadpanned, keeping the distance between then. Will chuckled and hooked his right hand on Nico's neck, tilting his chin up with his thumb.

"I've had a crush on you since the moment I took off your helmet, since the very first second I saw your face," Will whispered against Nico's mouth, then kissed him so slowly, so tenderly that Nico felt his knees go weak.

Then the kiss deepened, and Will began to explore the inside of Nico's mouth with his tongue. Stupidly, Nico thought of Covid swabs, and all the times that Will had explored his mouth with medical equipment. He moaned into the kiss and tilted his face, reaching up to hook his arms behind Will's neck.

Will's hands moved across Nico's back, then his waist, then his ass, cupping the cheeks and pulling him close. Nico gasped when he felt Will's erection through the fabric of their pants.

"Shit," Nico moaned as Will placed open-mouthed kisses on his neck. "Shit, I can't believe this is really happening. He moved to shrug his jacket off, and would have taken his pants off immediately after, had Will not stopped.

"Wait," he said, gasping for breath and running a hand through his hair. "I really wanna do this, like, really, but… I'm in the middle of my shift, I –"

"Damn you, Solace," Nico complained. "Why are you so professional?"

Will chuckled and shrugged. Then he looked around. "Maybe I'm not?" he said conspiratorially. "Maybe I'm not feeling well today?"

Nico smiled. "Don't be stupid, you work in a goddamn clinic, they'll have you take tests and rest in one of those damn wheelchairs or something."

"You're right. Oh!" he said, lifting a finger like he'd had a majestic idea. "I got it. Meet me outside in five minutes."

"Okay?" Nico said with a frown that was completely at odds with how excited he felt. "What are you going to say?"

"Leave that to me. Five minutes, Di Angelo," Will responded, and with that, he left the room.

Half an hour later, they were making out against the door outside of Nico's apartment. He'd pressed the wrong code at least three times, what with Will's hands inside his shirt, Will's lips on his neck, his own legs hooked around Will's calves.

"Wait," Nico finally said, pushing Will away and punching in the correct code. The door opened with a pleasant click and the pair stumbled in, tripping over the welcome mat and landing on the floor on top of each other.

"Bed," Nico commanded, pulling Will off the floor by the scrubs and dragging him into his bedroom.

Nico pushed Will down on the bed as he took off his jacket and shirt, then practically crawled on top of him, placing his hands on Will's face and biting his lower lip.

"Uh, Nico?" Will asked, as Nico fumbled with the knot on Will's pants.

"What?" Nico asked, taking off Will's shirt in one swift movement.

"Why is there a box of N-95s on your pillow?"

Nico caught a glimpse of the box out of the corner of his eye, then glared at Will as if it was all his fault.

"Because of you, I've developed a new kink, apparently."

Will laughed, placing an arm behind his neck and leaning back, palming his erection with his free hand. "You don't say?"

"I'm going to suck your dick now," Nico warned, and without waiting for an answer, he pulled Will's underwear down. Will didn't stop him.

It was the perfect cock, Nico realized with longing, as he pumped the shaft a few times, like a blind man would do to an object he wanted to recognize. It was the perfect length and the perfect width, and when Nico licked a strip along the shaft, he relished in the taste. Will moaned and hissed, and when Nico took it into his mouth, Will called his name and dug his nails into Nico's shoulders.

He'd always loved giving head. It was one of his favorite things to do, and now that he had Will Solace's entire manhood in his mouth, he realized he had found his one true calling, sucking Will's dick.

"Fuck," Will hissed. "You're amazing, you are."

Nico didn't feel like replying. He knew he was good. He'd been told so before, only now, it felt different. He felt different. He felt entirely liberated and so desperately horny, like he couldn't wait to be fucked into the mattress. Because this was Will, his man behind the mask. He felt like he had de-masked a superhero, and the thought that he might be the only one who knew Will's real identity sent shivers down his spine. With that thought in mind, he released Will's cock from his mouth and stood up, reaching out to his bedside table and opening a drawer. He began pulling out objects and throwing them on the bed next to will. Condoms, lubricant, a few butt plugs, Will's eyes widened as he took in Nico's kinky collection.

"I might be a little in love with you right now," Will said, making Nico smirk.

"Yeah? You just wait until I'm done with you," Nico replied, unbuttoning his pants and kicking them off alongside his underwear. He crawled back on the bed, and uncapped the lube, coating a little butt-plug with a generous amount. Then he got on his knees, his mouth directly over Will's cock, and pressed the little plug into his ass.

"Shit," he hissed, then licked a strip of skin on Will's hip. "This is going to take like, two seconds."

Will smiled with a row of perfect teeth, then placed his hands on Nico's shoulders, pushing him onto the bed and climbing on top of him.

"Let's see if we can make it one," he whispered, taking Nico's mouth in his own and licking his way down Nico's jawline, his neck, his collarbone, sucking at his nipples one at a time, making Nico shudder and curse. And as he reached down, his hands finding Nico's cock, he began to pump him and suck the tip all the while pressing a gentle finger around Nico's entrance.

"May I?" he asked, "We have all the time in the world to explore your little collection," he said, licking a circle around the tip of Nico's cock. "But I'd like to do this myself the first time."

Nico cursed and nodded, gasping a little as Will gently pulled the bead out of his ass and inserted a finger instead.

And it was a true testimony to Will's skills as a nurse, that Nico felt no pain when he entered him, and then when he inserted a second finger. As he sucked Nico into a puddle of goo, he scissored his fingers with such tenderness and exactitude that had Nico gasping in no time.

No way, Nico thought to himself. He's not – he's not giving me a prostate massage, is he, ah!

"How – how the fuck are you doing that?" Nico moaned, shivering in pleasure and running his fingers through Will's golden locks, entranced by the way Will's cheeks hollowed each time he slid Nico's cock out of his mouth.

"This might surprise you," Will said, and he did something with his fingers that had Nico whimpering. "But I know much about the human body." He reached for the lube and poured a healthy measure into his palm. "Also," he said, taking Nico's cock in his lubricated hand and giving a few deliciously slippery exploratory tugs, "I'm a fantastic kisser. And I'm always good in bed."

"Fuck," Nico hissed, bucking into Will's hand, the fingers in his ass sending jolts of electricity up his spine.

"But for you," Will said, placing an open-mouthed kiss on Nico's hip as he pumped him and scissored him at the same time. "I'm going to try extra-hard."

"Fuck!" Nico gasped and whimpered, grabbing onto the sheets as he came in Will's hand. He ejaculated with such force some of it reached his chest. He kept bucking into Will's hand until he had been milked dry, and he gasped when Will removed his fingers from his ass.

"Did you enjoy that, Mr. Di Angelo?" Will asked teasingly, straightening up and pumping his own cock, his eyes drinking Nico in from top to bottom.

Nico had a feeling like he'd been cracked open, and his body had begun to dribble outside of himself, like an egg-yolk of molten pleasure. He gasped and glared at Will with fire in his eyes, then he gazed down at Will's perfectly pink erection, and he sprang up, rolling Will onto the bed and climbing on top of him.

"My turn," he said, reaching out for a condom, which he rolled onto Will's cock, coating it with a copious amount of lube.

"Oh, my god," Will moaned, "I'm so glad you thought you had Covid."

Nico smirked and placed the tip of Will's cock over his entrance, a hand perched over Will's chest.

"Thank those stupid eyes of yours," Nico said, sliding down onto Will's cock inch by inch in until he hit the base. He hissed as he let himself get adjusted to Will's girth, but he felt no pain, only the mildest of discomforts, and he felt himself relaxing rather quickly – all too quickly. "How the fuck did you manage to stretch me this, ah, this well?"

Will's eyes were closed, he was biting his lower lip, his hands on Nico's hips, as if he, too, was trying to relax into a feeling.

"Told you," he whispered, his eyes shut tight. "I'm a sex nurse."

"I'm going to fuck myself on your dick now, you better not be a fucking dream or I'll kill you," Nico threatened, but his voice quivered with emotion.

Then Nico began riding Will, slowly at first, sliding up to the point where he felt Will's cock almost slip out of his ass, then all the way back down, setting a torturously slow pace that had Will hissing and digging his fingers into Nico's hips.

Seriously, please. Let this not be a dream.

Within minutes, Nico knew he couldn't be dreaming, because no dream could conjure up this amount of pleasure. As he quickened his pace and began slamming himself against Will in earnest, he could see sparks behind his eyelids, the hairs on his arms stood on end, and he felt a strange need to suck on Will's fingers.

"Nico," Will moaned, bucking his hips to meet Nico mid thrust, ramming into him with ferocity. He reached out a hand and began to pump Nico, who'd gotten hard once again.

"I've wanted to do this for so long," Nico moaned, "just ride you into oblivion. Even if with your stupid mask on, I've wanted you like this for months on end."

Will groaned and rolled them over, taking Nico by surprise and slipping out of his ass momentarily. He pushed Nico onto his side and raised his leg, entering him from behind with ease, as if his ass had been made to fit him perfectly.

Nico turned his head just as Will reached in to kiss him.

"I tried not getting my hopes up," he said as he slammed into him. "I thought you were way out of my league. You're so – just, so goddamn sexy Nico, I can't even. You've been in my head for months. You're all I think of –" he stopped talking and kissed Nico, holding onto him with one hand underneath him, pumping Nico's dick with his other.

"Will, Will, you're gonna make me cum again – I'm ah," Nico whimpered, reaching up to hook his hand behind Will's neck, pulling him into a kiss.

"Don't," Will commanded, sliding out of Nico and pressing him smack against the bed. He pulled Nico's legs open and knelt between them, sliding back into him in one swift, delicious thrust.

And as Will fucked Nico into the mattress, Nico took in Will's face contorted with pleasure. Will's beautifully carved face. His familiar eyebrows and eyelashes, then his freckles, his cheeks, his lips, the tip of his tongue, his bottom row of perfect teeth. When he felt his orgasm begin to build in his stomach, he thought of the gentle nurse who'd attended to his friends and family, the warm hands that drew his blood and swabbed his mouth. The perfect cock that thrust into him in just the right direction. And how jealous he'd been, how concerned he'd been on his behalf, how angry.

When Will opened his eyes, Nico realized they were a shade darker than usual, his pupils dilated.

"I'm gonna cum," Will hissed, his breath on Nico's lips. "I can't take it, Nico, you're too, ugh," he said, his hands on either side of Nico's face. Nico felt Will's fingers trace a line across his jaw, drawing a thumb over Nico's lower lip. Nico reached down and began tugging at his dick. He wouldn't last another five seconds.

"Me too," Nico moaned, and pulled Will into a kiss.

And after a few quick thrusts, Will came to a halt and moaned into Nico's mouth, riding his orgasm just as Nico reached his peak and released his essence between both their stomachs.

Will collapsed on top of Nico, his face on the crook of Nico's neck. They held each other until their breathing returned to normal.

"You're right," Will said against Nico's neck.

"About what?" asked Nico, running his fingers up and down Will's back.

"I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you now."

Nico's chest swelled like a hot-air-balloon.

"Moron," Nico said. "I've been in love with you since before I even saw your stupid face."

Nico could feel Will's smile against his clavicle.

"Would you like me to put on a mask? We could have another go in about," he looked down at his flaccid cock. "Fifteen minutes?"

"Yes, please," said Nico. "Just so I can rip it off your face myself."

"Deal. In the meantime, do you have anything to eat? I'm kind of starving right now."

"Do you like guacamole?" Nico asked, turning to his side and facing Will.

"Sure," Will said, pulling Nico's hair behind his ear.

"Good," said Nico. "Because that's about all there is in my fridge."

"What's with you and avocados, anyway?"

Nico sighed and smiled.

"I owe them so much."