How Will and Nico Met.

ITALY - 14 June 1907…

Eight-year-old Nicolaus di Angelo, or "Nico" to his family, was in a rotten mood. He wore a dejected frown as he sat, knees to his chest, on the wide flagstone steps that led from his family home to the street, where a car waited to be packed with the luggage that was found on the ground next to it. They were leaving the only home Nico had ever known—of course he was upset. They were to be trading the bright blue skies and seas of the Italian coastline for the grey and smog-polluted air of London, England.

Nico didn't know who he was upset with more—his mother or his father. Both were the combined reason of why they were leaving. His military career father had received notice that he would be stationed in the intelligence community within the English government. Nico didn't really understand why this was necessary. Why send someone to spy on your allies? He knew from listening to his parents conversations that Anglo-Italian relations were fine, so why bother moving?

Nico's mother, Maria, was another reason he was upset. An Italian diplomat, Maria had asked for the transfer to the Italian Embassy. She had chosen to follow his father to England, which made it all the worse because if anyone in the family was to listen to him and take his side, it was his mother. If he really thought about it, moving from their cottage by the ocean wasn't what troubled him. In actuality, it was that his opinion had come in last, as always. Nico knew he wasn't the favorite child, at least in his father's eyes. His sister, Bianca, lived up to their family name: she was like an angel, perfect in their parents eyes. It was Bianca that had convinced their mother to move across Europe.

Nico knew that his sister wasn't always the golden child that she pretended to be. The only reason she wanted to go the England was because their Women's Suffrage movement was further ahead than that of their Italian counterparts. While the di Angelo parents thought Bianca was studying to become a "well-read society woman", she was actually organizing rallies and the distribution of pamphlets to other women around their city. Nico knew about all of this, knew how much trouble he could get her in by outing her out of retribution, but he didn't. He was smarter than that. It would only hurt him in the long run.

If there was one good thing that could be said about Nico, it was that he was very, very clever. He possessed a rational mind that very few could boast at his age. He got top marks in school, made decisions only after giving sensible thought to them, and had been able to best his father at chess since he was six—which was the reason they didn't play the game anymore. Like most gifted children, he was exceptionally snarky; a trait that had gotten him into trouble more times than he would like to count. It wasn't his fault that others weren't as smart as him! In fact, that's what he had said to his maths teacher when he asked why none of the older children in the class would talk to him. Nico lived in solidarity outside of his family. Bianca's bright wit and charming personality scored her plenty of friends. Nico, on the other hand, preferred people he conversed with to be at the same level of intelligence as him, which meant he had no friends, not that he cared all that much to begin with.

Relationships weren't well-exemplified in his household. Though his parents were married and put on the front of a "happy family", he knew that they were anything but. Scholarly discussions often faded into political debates, leading to an overtly dysfunctional feeling within the di Angelo ménage. His parents disagreed about most things, making it clear to him that their marriage was not a love match. Their families had arranged it, forcing young Maria and Pluton di Angelo into a marital affair without any affection. If Nico had understood anything about their relationship, it was that he never wanted to be forced alongside a woman into marriage—though there were several reasons for his objection to it.

As Nico waited for the last of everyone's belongings to be loaded into the car, he took one last look at the beautiful property he had called home for the entirety of his life, committing the image of the building and its climbing vines to memory. They weren't selling the house, so he knew they would one day return to it. But none of them knew when that would be. Before he knew it, the family was squeezed into the small car together, and he was watching his home disappear from sight out of the window.

ENGLAND - 20 February 1908…

Nico stood in the snow, arms crossed around himself, with a tense, annoyed look on his face. He was cold and the car had broken down, making for a rough night. Nico and his mother had taken a trip outside of London for the winter months, but now they were returning. It had just been the two of them—Bianca and his father had stayed in the city. Nico couldn't understand why they would want to. But as he waited, shivering in the snow, as his mother lifted up the hood of their vehicle, he would have given anything to be in their warm, London home.

They were in a desolate part of the countryside. Only a few homes could be made out in the gloom of the setting sun. It was getting colder every minute, and Nico just wanted to get warm. He decided to see if there was anything he could do to help. His mother was rubbish at mechanics, and proudly, Nico thought he could do better than she could, even if he was only nine.

Maria pursed her lips and held up the flashlight she had procured from underneath the seat of the car. Nico was now standing on his tip toes on the frontal crossbeam of the car's frame, leaning over the engine as he examined it. He was short for his age, shorter than most of the boys in his school. What he lacked in height he made up for in aptitude and sarcastic humor, much to the chagrin of his teachers.

"I think the spark plug wires are the issue." Nico observed, taking the flashlight from his mother. "Try starting the engine so I can test my theory?"

Maria nodded and slid into the front seat, then cranked the hand lever. The engine gave a hopeful sputtering before giving out again. She came around the front of the car, saying, "Alright darling, can it be fixed?"

"Not unless you can suddenly make it spring again." Nico shrugged, still looking about at the parts of the engine. "I think the cold weather has deteriorated the—"

"Excuse me?" A new voice called out from a few meters away. Nico, surprised, slid off of the bumper he had precariously balanced on and fell to the ground. He winced, having scraped his leg in the process, at the freezing snow that he was now sitting in. He threw a disgruntled look in the newcomers direction, then did a double take.

A boy, probably just a little older than him, stood awkwardly in the middle of the road. He had a messenger bag draped across his chest and unkempt hair that stuck out of the knitted cap he wore. And he was talking to him.

"Are you alright?" The boy had stepped forward to help as Nico's mother helped raise him to his feet. "I didn't mean to startle you—"

"I'm fine." Nico was quick to answer. He didn't miss how brazenly the boy stared at him. Nico brushed off his clothes, which were now soaked. He shivered violently and bit his tongue as his mother introduced them. It was dark now, and not even the moon could lighten the area, as it was hidden behind a thick ceiling of clouds.

"I'm William Solace." The boy, William, shot his hand out to shake. "I heard your car give out and my mother sent me to invite you in. Our house is just up the road. I'm not sure there's anywhere close that you can stay for the night, so—"

"Thank you so much." Maria smiled, shaking the boy's hand. "We accept."

Nico looked skeptical but shook William's gloved hand anyway. He wasn't used to blatant shows of kindness unless they came from his mother, who was now nudging him to acknowledge his own thanks.

He relented, "Thanks, William."

"Will."

"Will what?"

"Will Solace." The cheeky boy corrected. "I usually go by Will. It's less formal."

"Oh." Nico blushed, embarrassed that he hadn't understood right away. He shoved his hands into his coat pockets. "Sorry."

"No worries." Will had already moved on to collect a few materials that Maria had gotten out of the car. Together, the three of them hauled the di Angelo's luggage down the road. Nico grimaced as he took each step. His leg hurt more the more he put weight on it. Finally, they were climbing the steps up to the front door of the farmhouse, when Nico's foot caught the boards of the last step, making him trip.

He felt himself slipping through the air towards the floor, but he never made it there. Will, who had already set down the bag he had carried, had caught him before he could injure himself further.

"Take it easy, mate." Will told him.

Nico found himself blushing as he made his way into the house, where his mother was already conversing with Will's mother, a blonde woman who introduced herself as Naomi. As Naomi directed Maria to the telephone, Will led Nico to the kitchen. Soon, a steaming cup of tea was set in front of him and Nico felt himself start to defrost.

"Is your leg alright?" Will asked. "I noticed that you hit it pretty hard."

Nico bit back saying something along the lines of "no thanks to you", and instead said, "Yeah. I think I scraped it."

After burning his tongue on the tea, Nico set it aside so that he could roll up his soaked pantleg. He flinched as the shift in the fabric irritated his skin. In half a moment, Will was there with a bottle of Witch Hazel and a roll of bandages. There was only one scrape, not too deep with only a little blood, and Nico didn't protest as Will tended to him, knowing better than to argue.

From the doorway, Maria called out her thanks as she had taken up watching the two boys without them noticing. It was odd, almost out of character really, the way that Nico interacted with Will. Normally her son was more standoffish, but something about Will made him relax. Perhaps it was because of how open and unassuming the blond boy was, coupled with the fact that he seemed to genuinely care about helping them. Maria smiled encouragingly, "You have very steady hands, Will. Have you ever considered becoming a doctor?"

Will brightened at the praise. "I haven't really considered anything. But my father is a doctor, so it might just run in the family."

Will happened to possess a brilliant smile that made the room light up. Nico felt himself start to smile too, before he stopped himself. Will had mentioned his father, who seemed to be missing from the home. It wasn't like the man simply wasn't home; it was like he didn't even live there. Nico noticed that there were only two places set at the dinner table. He didn't ask. Everyone had skeletons in their closet.

The night progressed as could be expected when two strangers were welcomed into a small household. Luckily, they didn't feel like strangers by the time everyone traipsed off to bed. The two families got on well, like old friends who just fall back into instant conversation even after being apart for a long while.

Sleeping arrangements were made as it grew later. There was a small guest bedroom with a twin bed for Maria, and Nico was to be lodging in the loft, which happened to be Will's bedroom. Nico changed into his dry pajamas and slid into the sleeping bag on the floor next to the small cot where Will sat. It was in the next few hours that Nico became certain that he had made his first ever friend. The two boys talked in quiet whispers in the dark until they grew too tired. And while Nico contemplated his first friend, Will contemplated his first crush, not really knowing what it meant.