XLIII

NICO

Nico slowly opened his eyes. There was a ray of sunlight coming from the window on his side that made him winced. He shielded his eyes with his hand from the light. Then he saw that something was taped on the back of his left hand. He realized that it was an IV needle connected to an IV bag. He sat up. The blanket covering him fell on his lap. He looked around and saw that he was in a small room with bare walls. He wore a pair of hospital long sleeves and pants. Last night's events came flooding on him. He glanced at the door, briefly wondering if a certain blond doctor would come. He also checked his arms, the rashes were gone and he felt better now.

There was a knock on the door. His heartbeat spiked up on the thought that it was Will. The door opened. Nico swallowed. A nurse came in. He recognized her. It was Lou Ellen. She was a friend of Will. They had been introduced to each other a few weeks ago, courtesy of Will. Nico didn't know if he would be disappointed or not because it wasn't Will who had come in.

"Hi, Nico, glad to see you awake. Feeling better now?" Lou greeted. She held a sphygmomanometer, an instrument used on measuring blood pressure, and a small rectangular stainless tray with a syringe on it.

"Yes, feeling better. Thank you." Nico answered.

"You almost gave Will a heart attack last night." Lou recounted as she put down the tray and the sphygmomanometer on the bedside table. She reached for the lever under Nico's bed. The upper part of the bed raised. Lou gently pushed Nico back into the bed. "You've got a severe allergy that you almost stopped breathing. . ."

"Right." Nico looked down at his hands on his lap. He remembered wondering how he was still alive when his lungs had stopped functioning last night.

"But of course, Will saved the day and you're awake now," Lou said cheerily. "Any pain or discomfort?"

Nico shook his head.

"See, Will knows how to care of you." Lou winked at him.

Nico's face was hot all of a sudden.

"Now let's check your BP. Arm please." Lou continued as Nico lifted his right arm. Lou wrapped the inflatable rubber cuff around his upper arm. She put the earbuds of the stethoscope in her ear. Then she pressed the bell of the stethoscope on the edge of the cuff. She started pumping the bulb of a sphygmomanometer as she stared at the meter gauge.

Then Lou removed the earbuds from her ear and removed the cuff from Nico's arm. She spoke. "110 over 80 normal. I'll give you another shot of antihistamine, okay?"

Nico just nodded again. "Uh, when am I going to be discharged?"

"That, you'll have to talk to your doctor." Lou injected the syringe through the IV line "Doc Solace will be here in a moment. He's just taking rounds with his other patients."

Nico bit his lip but made no further comment.

"Okay. My job's done here. Take care, Nico," Lou said. She gathered her things and left.

A few moments had passed that felt like an hour to Nico, another knock came. Then the door opened as Will Solace stepped in. Will looked so tired and needed plenty of sleep, yet he managed to smile brightly at Nico. He closed the door behind.

Will didn't say anything as he walked towards him. Nico just watched him quietly.

"Is your rashes gone?" Will asked almost rhetorically as he lifted Nico's arm and pushed up the sleeve. Nico noticed how warm Will's hands were. A soothing kind of warm, calming his nerves.

Will hummed approvingly and checked Nico's other arm. Then the blond started to check for the heart rate with his stethoscope.

Nico knew that it was probably the right time to say something. With all the things he had wanted to ask and say to Will, he should probably start talking now. He was even surprised that he was not making any outburst yet.

Will nodded as he pulled out the stethoscope from his ear and put it on the pocket of his lab coat. He dragged a nearby chair as Nico buttoned up his clothes from the chest up where the stethoscope had gone into. Will sat next to Nico's bed.

Will crossed his thighs as he leaned back on the chair. He drummed his fingers on his thigh. "Hazel is on her way here. She wanted to come here last midnight as soon as I gave her a call but I advised that she should just come in the morning. Meanwhile, Reyna dropped your things to me last night, she wanted to stay long but she said she has urgent business in New Jersey. I'll give your things to you later."

Nico nodded. He gazed down and played with a frayed spot of the blanket on his lap. Actually, Nico didn't know what to say. His thoughts were rushing to him all at once that it was hard to pick what to ask first.

"Reyna said that you're aware of your allergy with the nuts, so what happened? Will asked.

"I got distracted for a while and didn't notice that I was eating something with nuts... " Nico murmured.

Will exhaled. "If the cab driver, who rushed you here, was a little bit too late, you could have died."

"How did you know that I was allergic to nuts?" Nico started as he found the courage to glance up at Will.

Will looked confused. "Of course, I would know, I am a doctor. I know when an allergy strikes to a person."

"No. How did you know that I was allergic to nuts in particular? I could be allergic to a lot of things but how did you know that it was nuts in particular? Can doctors detect that now? I never told you about my allergies."

"Oh. . ."

There was silence again.

"Why aren't you asking me?" Will said quietly.

Nico just stared at him.

Will continued. "Reyna told me that you already knew. Go ahead, ask what you've been dying to ask for."

"Will you tell me the truth now? Or will you just lie to me again?" Nico spat the last part.

Will pursed his lips then he spoke. "I gave up. . ."

"What?" Nico's brows furrowed.

Will looked down at his hands on his lap. "I thought that you already left me and you're not coming back anymore. Heck, I didn't even know that you got into a hit and run. And then when I coincidentally saw you at that café after a long time and realized that you have amnesia, it felt like that your amnesia just solidified the fact that I am no longer part of your life. Because in the end, there's still the fact that, we broke up. So I simply gave up and lied to you instead."

Nico swallowed, his heart drummed in his chest. "Who are you Will Solace?"

Will gazed up at him. His pale blue eyes seemed to be brighter under the sunlight streaming through the window. Nico knew at that moment, that it was the same blue eyes that had hunted his dreams before.

"I. . ." Will began. "I was that someone who used to be the most important person to you in this world. . ."

Nico sucked in a breath. He closed his eyes savoring the feeling of truth lingering in the air. As if he could taste it, it was like honey and it was the sweetest thing of all. After all, Will Solace was the period who would put a stop to the series of question marks in Nico di Angelo's life. Will was the truth and statement that Nico had been searching for a long time.

"I'm sorry that I lied. . ."

Nico opened his eyes and looked at Will. Will was looking at him bashfully – no, he seemed more afraid as the blond bit his lip. Nico realized that Will was afraid that he was mad at him.

Nico raised an eyebrow at Will.

"I-I get it that you're mad, you have every right to be. I know it sounds like I was just making excuses. I'm so sorry . . . " Will rambled and he looked like he wanted to shrink away.

Nico spoke. "You know how much it was frustrating to me that I couldn't remember. You could have helped me despite everything. You could have made everything a lot easier. . ."

Will flinched guiltily and bowed his head. He quietly said. "It's fine if you couldn't forgive me easily-"

"So was I the ex-boyfriend who had forgotten about you?"

Will snapped his head at Nico, his bright blue eyes were wide. "What?"

"I said if I was the ex-boyfriend who had forgotten about you?"

"Uh, yes,"

"Was I the guy whom you had missed every day and the one you couldn't forget no matter how hard you tried?"

Will's ears reddened. "Yes."

"Was I the one who had told you to find a new love and who had told you not to wait for me anymore?"

"Yes."

"So I was a jerk."

"Yes."

And just like that, they were laughing. Everything was brilliant and clear like how the sun was shining outside.

"So, I take it that you're not mad at me?" Will beamed.

Nico snorted. "Don't push your luck, buddy."

Will smiles faltered.

This time Nico was the one who beamed at him. "Kidding."

"Oh my gods." Will uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. He covered his face with his hands. His elbows propped on his thighs. With a muffled voice, he spoke. "I thought that you're mad. . . "

Yes, maybe he was mad at first but he couldn't stay mad for long when the happiness of knowing the truth dominated that anger. Nico shrugged. "A little bit of revenge sounds fun."

Will put down his hands and gaped at him. "Revenge?" Then the blond sighed as he raised his hands in defeat. "All right, I know I deserve that. I lied. I made things harder for you. I get it."

Nico tilted his head to Will, his eyes twinkled as he smiled.

Will stared at him. He cleared his throat. "S-So, are we cool now? Are we okay?"

Nico nodded.

Will sighed in total relief

"After all, I was the jerk who told you not to wait for me anymore. Honestly, why would I tell you that?" Nico said.

Something passed on Will's face, but it was long gone even before Nico could figure it out. Will reached for Nico's hand and squeezed it. "Not really, you're not a total jerk, you have your reasons for doing that. Let's talk about that some other time, okay? We all have time in this world to talk. For now, you should rest. Hazel is coming soon."

Nico frowned a little bit at Will's statement. What could be his reasons were? But he let it passed for the time being. As Will had said, they all had the time in this world to talk. "All right, so when am I going to be discharged doc?"

"This afternoon." Will stood up as he released Nico's hand.

Nico frowned again. He liked holding Will's hand, it was warm.

Will continued to speak. "I already signed your discharge paper."

The blond turned as if to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Nico asked hastily.

Will looked back at him amusedly. Nico blushed.

"I-I mean, you just got here and you're going away again," Nico mumbled.

It bruised his ego that he looked like a seven-year-old who had been robbed of candy. But who cares about that, right? Will was there with him. They had gotten back together. His life was suddenly radiant more than the sunny weather outside.

The blond doctor chuckled. "Sunshine, I'll be back. My shift is over so I will just change my clothes and be here again."

"Oh. . ." Nico bit his lip as he peered at Will. He didn't know if he would be able to admit this out loud to Will, but Will looked hot in scrubs and long white coat. It was kind of disappointing that he would be changing his clothes.

"What?" Will raised an eyebrow at him.

"Nothing." Nico squeaked. Nope. He wouldn't be able to admit it out loud. And honestly, what Will Solace had done to him to reduce him to a squeaking mess?

Will nodded. "Okay." He headed for the door.

He was only three steps away when Will made a U-turn and made two strides towards Nico. The blond held the side of Nico's head and tilted it. Will reached for Nico's lips. It was deep and Nico felt like he was a machine overheating and ready to combust. Nico gasped and before he could respond, Will pulled away.

"Gods damn it, di Angelo." Will's blue eyes were blazing at Nico. "I am breaking every patient-doctor protocol out here so stop being so irresistible." Will's lips trailed on his jaws towards his ear. He shivered.

Will breathed in Nico's ear. The blond's voice was low. "And stop coming here looking half-dead and scaring the shit out of me."

Before Nico could blink back, Will was gone. The door slammed closed leaving Nico in disarray and seeking and wanting Will's warmth and touch.

oo00oo

"Man, I told you it will take forever to get a request for this investigation!" An ear-piece was attached to Jason's ear. Percy was on the other line. They were already in New Jersey at the break of the dawn. Since New Jersey wasn't on their jurisdiction, they had to get permission to the New Jersey Police Department.

"At least, we're following a protocol. Dude, just get on with it and that's why it's good that I'm already here." Jason, gun in hand, was stealthily walking in a narrow alleyway. "Cobra might get away while the permission grant was being processed."

"Ugh fine. Just make sure that stupid cobra wouldn't get away." Percy said.

Jason chuckled. "Blond superman wouldn't let that happen."

Jason froze when he reached a corner. There was another alleyway on his right and there was a presence in there.

"Roger that," Percy said and disconnected.

Jason pressed his back on the wall. He took a deep breath and counted on three.

3, 2, 1. . .

He whipped around, gun raised. His eyes widened when he realized that he was face to face with none other than, Detective Reyna Ramirez-Arellano. The latter detective was mirroring Jason's expression, guns pointing at each other.

"W-what. . ." Jason sputtered in surprise as he lowered his gun. Reyna did the same.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Reyna asked.

"Investigation," Jason answered.

Their eyes locked for a brief moment.

"Are we perhaps investigating the same person?" Reyna asked.

"Henry Stevens," They said simultaneously.

"Damn." She cursed.

"Shit," Jason grinned. "Welcome to the club, detective."