Nico looked around, bored. He sat at a lunch table next to Will who was currently chatting with Austin and Kayla.
Nico spotted the Stoll's and watched them with interest as it appeared they were up to something, probably another one of their pranks.
He slid a little farther from Will on the bench, wondering if he could slip away unnoticed.
Without turning around, Will reached an arm around his waist and pulled him right back to his side, not even breaking his conversation.
Nico scowled. Will always got like this after he got in trouble. He'd keep him close to him for days and an eye on him at all times. He took his hand going to places like an overprotective parent with a young child.
Finally, they got up as lunch ended and students started filing out.
"Nico," Will said sternly as the dark haired boy had started moving away from them. "Stay with me," he admonished.
Nico scowled. "I'm have to get to my own class, Will."
"Then I'll walk you."
Nico gritted his teeth in resigned silence as Will took his hand and escorted him to his next class. He walked him right up to the front of the door and even waited for Nico to sit down at his desk before heading to his own class. Nico rolled his eyes.
That night, Will and Nico sat at the dinner table with their parents as they all shared stories about their day.
"So Will," Apollo cleared his throat. "How's Nico been lately?"
Nico scowled as he was in the act of passing the salad bowl. It wasn't surprising that their parents asked Will how he'd been instead of asking him as he never shared about his day unlike the rest of them. Usually Will answered 'fine' if nothing had happened but this time he knew what his brother was going to say.
"I caught him getting high after school yesterday." Will expression turned to one of disapproval as he remembered the incident.
His parents took on similarly disapproving and stern expressions as they faced Nico.
"Son, your mother and I told you we do not tolerate drugs in this house. Remember our talk about making bad decisions? Why did you do this?
Nico shrugged. The answer was simple. "He offered."
His parents didn't like this answer. "We'll talk more about this later and we'll schedule another therapy session," Naomi Solace finished the matter then turned towards their other son. "Have you punished him already?"
Will nodded, "I did."
It was an unspoken matter but their parents knew how Will punished him. And while they didn't encourage it, they allowed Will to spank him. When Nico was younger, his parents more had the job of punishing him than Will but now they rarely did and Will was the one he mostly got spanked by. Though only occasionally still as he'd gotten punished less and less as he grew older.
"Well, alright then. I think that will be enough," Naomi reasoned. Thankfully they didn't add any more punishments on top of Will's like they usually did. Though their punishments now were only grounding him or taking away his phone. His parents had stopped taking him over the knee a long while ago which Nico was thankful for.
"Now, you look after him and tell us if he gets in any more trouble," Apollo told Will.
The words were unnecessary but Will nodded anyway.
Will acted as a chaperon for Nico while they were in school. Or as Nico sarcastically thought, his babysitter. Their parents relied on Will to look after the youngest and give them updates on how he was doing. But Nico knew full well that even if they didn't expect him to do this, Will would still play the role of his caretaker.
It was before bedtime and Nico sat on a table while Will shined a flashlight in his eyes and took his pulse.
"Show me your wrists."
Nico held his arms out, palms facing upwards as Will examined them for any fresh cuts.
"Have you taken your meds?"
"Yes."
"All of them? The iron? The anti depressants? The sleeping pi-"
"Yes, yes and yes," Nico interrupted. There was a time when Will had controlled all his medications but that was back when he'd abused his prescription pills to get high. But now Nico had earned his trust back and he didn't do that anymore.
"Good. How do you feel?"
Nico just stared at him blankly. He didn't bother to answer this question.
Will sighed. "Okay." He gave his little brother a hug then stated, "time for bed."
Nico reveled in the warmth of the embrace for a moment before sliding off the table. He got under the covers as Will hit the lights then wasn't surprised to feel the bed dip from the other side as Will got into bed next to him. The blonde had often taken to sleeping next to him to comfort him if he woke up from nightmares instead of sleeping in his own room.
In the dark, Will wrapped his arms around Nico's waist and pulled him closer to his body. Nico wasn't mad at Will for punishing him or telling their parents. He knew his brother did it because he cared about him a lot, way more than other siblings, and he knew better than to not be grateful. Yes, sometimes Will could be too overprotective and even stricter than their parents but Nico still loved him anyway. And that was why he wrapped his arms around Will and embraced him back as they fell asleep in the dark.
