XIV
WILL
Some might think that after all the mutual and suppressed feelings were now out in the open, it was going to be unicorns and rainbows and happily ever after. But not for Will, especially when a death angel was involved. The road they decided to walk on together wasn't going to be easy. So if Will was going to give a piece of advice to the people out there who have plans on dating a death angel, all he could say was pack a lot of patience because death angels could be infuriating. They could get on your nerves sometimes.
"Doc, you've got 7 surgeries in a row since Doc Yew took a sudden leave to take care of his sick wife," Lou said as soon as she saw Will came to the station.
"Okay." Will opened his patient's medical chart on the counter
"And you're first one is going to start in half an hour . . ." Lou added. She frowned at Will.
"Okay." Will continued looking at the chart. "Who's the first patient I am going to open up?"
"Ben Miller, bypass surgery." Then Lou added uncertainly. "If you want, we can give the other surgeries to other doctors, Dr. Knowles isn't fully loaded yet..."
Will closed the chart. He looked up at Lou impassively. "No, it's fine. I can handle that. I should get going and prepare for the surgery then." He turned around to walk away.
"Hey!" Lou called out. Will paused and half turned to her. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" Will said in a monotone voice. "It's not like I am pissed off just because a certain someone suddenly left without any warning and never came back right after you'd established mutual feelings."
Lou stared at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Nothing." Will waved his hand dismissively and walked away.
"Yo, Willie!" Kayla greeted cheerfully when she bumped into Will. "How's your visit to Naomi's?"
"Great." That was Will's only answer and he left.
Kayla raised an eyebrow questioningly at Lou. She reached the station and leaned her elbow on the counter. "What on earth happened to him?"
Lou shrugged. "All I know is, he's pissed off with whomever." She paused and her eyes widened when something had dawned on her. "Wait, he was with Nico when he went to Naomi's, right?"
"As far as I know yes, why?" Kayla asked.
Lou smirked. "Ohh, I see. Love quarrel already huh?"
Will removed his scrub cap from his head as he headed out of the operating room. He released a long deep breath. Even though it was a minor surgery, it could get a little bit harder when complications started to arise. He almost lost the patient.
And speaking of complication, a complication was staring at Will from a distance, a complication that goes with the name of Nico di Angelo.
"Oh, now you decided to show up," Will said to him shoving both of his hands in the pockets of his scrub shirt.
Nico vanished then he reappeared in front of him. Will was unfazed.
"Are you mad at me?" Nico frowned.
"Why would I be mad at you? It's not like you suddenly disappeared without telling anything and you never came back. So here I was being a little bit paranoid that maybe, you changed your mind about us," Will said. "Wait, what are we even? Are we official now, like in a relationship? I didn't get a chance to ask since the moment I came back from my room, you were gone."
"Ah, that. . ." Nico bit his lip rubbing his neck.
"You are hesitating," Will stated. He walked past Nico.
"It's not like that." Nico protested following him. "We just need to keep about us a secret. . ."
Will stopped walking and regarded him. "Secret? Why?"
"It's because it can be a little bit difficult . . . since you're you and I am me . . . and we literally exist in different worlds and it might get really really complicated . . ." Nico tried to explain but Will was half-listening when his eyes caught something over Nico's shoulder. A man and a woman in late fifties walking past behind Nico.
The man was hunched over while the woman was trying her best to support him.
". . . but I'll do my best to work whatever it is going on with us right now . . ." Nico paused when he had realized that Will's attention wasn't on his anymore. He turned around just in time to see the man collapsed to the floor unconscious.
Instantly Will was on their side and in doctor mode. He calmly helped the woman lay the man on the floor. He tried to feel the pulse of the man on his neck.
"Shit. . ." Will murmured and looked around for help but unfortunately, no one was around. There was no pulse. He started doing CPR on man's chest.
"What's happening?" The old woman was started to panic. "We were just going to get a chest x-ray as the doctor said. . ."
Will did not answer, his focus was on reviving the patient.
"The aura of death around him is getting strong . . ." Nico said.
"Why are you going to get a chest x-ray?" Will asked the woman as he continued doing the CPR.
"My husband was having trouble breathing since yesterday. He complained about chest pain and back pain too so we decided to come here. . ."
"Damn it! Why isn't anyone out in here?" Will looked around and also noticed that Nico vanished. For one panicky second, he thought that Nico might have gotten already the soul of the man.
"Will!" A voice of a woman called out. Will turned his head in the direction of the voice and saw Lou and Kayla were running towards Will. Lou pushed the cart with a defibrillator on it and Nico trailed behind them.
"How did you-" Will tried to say.
"Nico told us." Kayla knelt down on the other side of the man and flashed the small flashlight in the eyes of the man. She also listened to the heartbeat with the stethoscope while Lou was preparing the defibrillator.
"How long he's out?" Kayla asked.
Will was staring at Nico. For one moment, Will couldn't grasp the idea that Nico had shown up to them just to help to save the man. It was quite ironic that a death angel was doing this. This wasn't on Nico's job description.
"Will!" Kayla snapped him out.
"N-Not long ago." Will immediately picked up the paddles of the defibrillator while Kayla tore open the man's shirt and put electrodes on the man's bare chest.
"1,2,3. Shoot." Will put the paddles on the chest. The body just shot up.
"Again. Set on 200 joules," Will commanded. "1,2,3. Shoot."
There was still no response. The wife was crying. Will briefly looked up at Nico.
"Keep going," He mouthed. Will nodded in determination.
"Again. 300," Will said. "1,2,3. Shoot."
The lines on the heart monitor started to rise and fall indicating a heartbeat. All of them sighed in relief.
"Lou, prepare an operating room. Another heart attack and he won't make it. I am going to operate on him." Will said. Lou nodded and ran away.
"Can you do it?" You have surgery in two hours." Kayla said.
"Yep. This man needs help and I can't just turn my back on him, can I?" Will smiled a little bit.
"I am going to assist you," Kayla said.
"Thanks." Will smiled again. He looked at Nico who was still there and standing awkwardly."Thanks to you too, Neeks. You saved his life."
"Uh, yeah..." That was Nico's only answer
Soon, the man was wheeled in the operating room. Will was in the adjacent room washing his arms and hands on the sink.
"I suggest you use your glowing trick."
Will paused and turned his head to the right. Nico was standing next to him.
"You are not allowed in here," Will said. He briefly looked up through the glass window where the operating room could be seen. The man he was going to operate was already lying on the table. Meanwhile, the medical staff was bustling around preparing for the surgery.
"They can't kick me out. They can't see me." Nico shrugged.
"Okay," Will said slowly and resumed on washing. He pushed with his knee the panel that was attached to the sink to activate the soap dispenser.
"The man was on the edge so your trick might be needed." Nico pressed.
"I won't use that glowing trick anymore." Will declared. He continued to rub his hands together spreading more soap all the way to his arms.
Silence.
"D-did I hear you right?" Nico was taken aback. "You have your mask on so maybe-"
"You heard me right." Will cut in, not even bothering to look at Nico.
"If you're doing this because of me, stop it," Nico said quietly.
Will did not answer and pushed the other panel with his knee so the water would come out of the faucet.
"Seriously. Stop it." Nico said again.
"Don't you trust me that I am capable of saving someone without that trick?" Will asked.
"It's not like that. But that power has become a part of you. You can't just give it up!" Nico argued.
"But you are a part of me too!" Will finally looked at him.
Another silence.
"Huh?" Nico said after a moment of trying to process what Will had just said.
The doctor resumed rinsing. "I realized that I can't have both so I need to give up one of them. I can't stand the thought that you might get punished again because I use it. You are right, I couldn't cheat death for a long time. I couldn't do it continuously..."
"But still-"
"Oh for Pete's sake!" Will pulled his arms away from the faucet. The water automatically stopped coming out. With his arms raised, the blond faced Nico. Water dripped down to his elbow. "I'm doing this because I love you okay! I can't stand that you might get hurt again!"
Nico stared at Will.
"I am going inside, excuse me." Will walked past Nico. He went for the steel door. The door automatically slid open and closed.
Nico remained rooted in his spot for another minute or so.
After Will's shift had ended, he was beyond exhausted. But he was happy that no one died in all eight surgeries he had performed. That gave him enough energy to go home instead of collapsing and sleeping in the locker room right there and then. He changed into an orange t-shirt and faded jeans. He was ready and eager to go home and sleep like the dead. He was already in the lobby of the hospital when he stopped dead in his tracks. Not from afar, near the exit door, Kayla, Lou, and Cecil were talking to none other than Nico who seemed a little bit flustered. Will hurriedly walked towards them.
"Hey," Will called to them. They all turned in his direction.
"W-What are you doing here?" Will asked Nico. Will's vision might be doing some tricks on him since he was dead tired, but Nico seemed to be blushing. It was cute.
"Duh, obviously, he's waiting for you." Kayla rolled her eyes.
"Really?" Will was surprised.
Nico only shrugged in response.
"Now, Nico, get Will's butt to his apartment. We know that he's dead tired, he barely left the operating room," Lou said looking at Nico and nudging her head in Will's direction.
"Roger that." Nico switched side and was now standing next to Will.
"Aww, they're cute aren't they?" Lou said hugging Cecil's arm. Cecil just shook his head smiling.
"Shut up," Will mumbled. He held Nico's hand and started to drag him away. "We're going. Bye!"
When they were out in the street, Will released Nico's hand and faced him. "What did they tell you? Did they threaten you or something?"
To Will's surprise again, Nico laughed. "How did you know?"
Will sighed, scratching his head. "They are my friends so I will know. Just don't mind them." Then another sighed. "Now get me home, jeez, I can barely walk..."
Nico smiled and held his hand. "We'll get there fast." He pulled Will in the corner out of the sight of the people, then they were gone leaving a trail of black smoke.
Will had found himself face-planted on his pillows and laying flat on his stomach on his own bed. Then he moved his head to the side, cheek pressing on the pillow. He looked up at Nico who was standing next to the bed. The latter was gazing back down at him. The blond spoke. "I will never get used to that disappearing-whatever but it's quite convenient. Can we do that every morning so I won't have to walk home?"
"Don't abuse my powers," Nico said. "Now sleep, you're tired."
"Nope not yet, we're going to talk right?" Will sat up. He leaned back on the wall.
"But-" Nico paused then sighed. "-Of course, you're going to be stubborn and would insist on talking." Nico sat beside him.
"Right." Will grinned at him.
For a moment, no one spoke. They just listened to the honk of cars outside.
"You have to know that I am not used to all of this . . ." Nico began as he gazed down at his lap. "I really don't remember being with someone in my mortal life so this was like a first to me, all of this... After all the nothingness in me, I don't even know that I am capable of feeling like this. I knew nothing about . . . love…" Then he shyly glanced up at Will who was staring at him with bright blue eyes.
"Tell me, why did you call Kayla and Lou when the man earlier collapsed on the floor?" Will asked.
"He obviously needed help."
"But it's not your responsibility to save him. You are a death angel for goodness' sake."
Nico frowned. "I don't know. But all I know is, you're going to be really frustrated if you weren't able to save that man. I don't like that you're getting frustrated…"
Will smiled and clasped Nico's hand. "So maybe, you are learning a thing or two about love…"
Nico stared up at Will's smiling face and whispered. "What are you doing to me…"
"Just loving you..." Will winked and pecked Nico's lips. Nico couldn't help but smile.
"I am sorry if I just suddenly left last night," Nico said. "The truth was, I got a little bit overwhelmed with what's happening to us, then there's my job. . ."
"It's fine, but just don't do it next time, I don't like it when you're suddenly disappearing without warning." Will squeezed Nico's hand.
"Yeah, and we need to keep this relationship a secret. I can't show up to your friends always, other death angels might see me and..."
"Tell me, are you going to be in trouble because of us?"
"Not entirely, it's just going to be a hell lot complicated if this reached my side, in the Underworld I mean..."
"Okay, but are we really official now?"
"If that's what you want." Nico shrugged.
"It also involved what you want."
"All, right, let's do this. I just want to be with you. End of discussion."
Will smiled playfully. "So what do you prefer, boyfriend? Partner? Significant other?"
"Significant annoyance in your case" Nico grumbled, blushing.
Will hummed. "Is there anything else I need to know when I am in a relationship with a death angel? Rules and precautions that sort of things. . . "
"We can talk about the others later but for now, sleep," Nico ordered.
"Okay." Will yawned and put his head on Nico's shoulder.
"You're going to be more comfortable in the bed, idiot," Nico said looking down at Will.
"More comfortable here. ..." Will mumbled drifting off to sleep.
"Sweet dreams, Will," Nico whispered.
So maybe, dating a death angel wouldn't be as smooth as Will had imagined it would be, but that was fine. All relationships had its bumpy roads, dating a death angel or not. The only perk was happiness. That was all Will felt and his last thought before dreaming about a brown-eyed guy with wings.