The house was dark when they finally returned. That meant their parents were already asleep. Will got out of the car, walked around to the passenger seat and opened the door for Nico. He pulled his brother out of the car and leaned him back against the car while he fished out his keys.

Nico was blinking from the cool night air but he didn't seem currently in danger of falling over so long as he was stationary. Will didn't trust him not to make a sound while they were inside though, so he hoisted him back up over his shoulder and entered the dark house quietly.

Will carried Nico up the stairs and entered the boy's room where he finally put him down.

"Think you can shower by yourself?"

Nico stumbled once he was back on his own feet and blinked slow, processing the words. "I'm sleepy," he mumbled.

Will ran a hand through his hair, thinking. His calculating gaze swept Nico up and down. "Nico did you eat anything at the party?" he asked, already guessing the answer.

"Never," the boy replied.

"Great," the blonde muttered. He sighed. "Okay, come with me." He dragged the boy into the bathroom where he ran a hot bath, then turned around to strip Nico of his clothes. Will hesitated when he got to his boxers but a quick glance at Nico's face showed the boy wasn't even paying attention, staring off somewhere to the side instead. So Will took a deep breath and quickly discarded the garment, trying not to look. He then ushered the boy into the steaming bath and got out the soap.

Nico moaned once his body was submerged in the heated water, tilting his head back and closing his eyes as he reclined.

Will bit his lip as he sat on the edge of the tub. He knew how this looked. He knew it wasn't technically appropriate but it wasn't like he could leave Nico alone to shower when he was already so unsteady on his feet. Nor could he trust him to bathe alone- as evidenced by the fact that Nico had currently completely submerged his head below the water. Will quickly hoisted him back up.

"Don't do that." Nico simply pushed his black hair out of his eyes and Will sighed again and started scrubbing him down. Nico needed a shower too. His body was covered in several sticky substances that Will really didn't want to identify.

Will made Nico stand so he could scrub his torso and hesitated again once he reached his waist. It wasn't like he hadn't seen Nico naked before when they were kids but…. He glanced up and Nico wasn't making it easy this time. He was staring right at him with a hooded look in his eye. It was a look he hadn't seen before nor could he identify the emotion behind those eyes. Will wasn't really sure he wanted to. Something about it made his stomach tighten and caused adrenaline to enter his veins.

Will swallowed and got back to the task at hand, doing a cursory job of scrubbing over his genitals and backside while his cheeks flamed. He supposed it was good practice for when he would become a doctor.

Will moved down to his legs and glanced up again but Nico was no longer staring at him. He had his eyes closed and was biting his lip, head tilted towards the ceiling. His chest rose and fell.

Finally Will washed his hair and rinsed him down. He wrapped the boy in a large fluffy towel once he stepped out of the tub and made quick work of drying him down. He pushed Nico back into his bedroom and dressed him in pajamas. The boy moved towards the bed but Will took his hand and pulled him out of the room instead, Nico uttering a soft protest. Will lead him downstairs towards the kitchen and sat him down on a stool before heating some soup in a bowl and setting it down in front of him.

He took the boy by the chin and stared intensely into his eyes. "I want all this gone by the time I get back here, okay?" He held his gaze firmly, trying to ensure Nico would understand and remember his words.

Nico's wide eyes stared back at him as he nodded. Good.

Then Will left to take his own quick shower, hoping Nico wouldn't move or do anything to wake their parents while he was away. Once he changed and returned to the kitchen, however, he was relieved to find a still Nico sitting at the counter in front of a now empty bowl of soup. Will dumped the bowl in the sink, grabbed his brother's hand and led him back upstairs. He pushed Nico into bed and the boy was out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Will, however, stayed up for longer. He sat against the headboard and mulled over his options.

Should he tell his parents what happened? Undoubtedly he should, said the good, rule abiding part of himself. But then his parents would ground him and be angry and when people were angry with him, Nico got distant and the last thing his brother needed right now was to be distant. Also Nico had been grounded plenty of times in the past but it never did anything. What if his parents decided grounding wasn't enough this time and they sent him away? Will knew his brother wasn't actually an addict but what if Nico was sent to rehab? Would he get the help he needed? Or what if he was overestimating his parents and they just got mad and yelled? He knew his brother needed to be punished but he also knew he had to make sure this kind of thing didn't happen again.

He decided he needed to make Nico talk. Make him explain why what happened tonight happened, what his decision making process was. What pushed him over the edge. And if he wouldn't talk then Will would go to his parents and tell them Nico needed to see a therapist. Because either way, his brother had to talk to someone and Will suspected that he would just be more open and willing to speak to him. In the meantime, Will would have to keep a close eye on him. Keep him from going anywhere alone and getting into more trouble.

Resolved, Will laid down and pulled the covers over him, turning to face his brother where he was breathing evenly, face relaxed in sleep.

"Good night," Will whispered.