As Hazel began to pepper Nico with lots of worried questions, he could see Will sniggering at the corner of his eye. He shot a half embarrassed death glare at him, hoping that it would wipe that look off. It didn't.
"As I was saying- Nico are you listening to me?" Hazel frowned. "You do know that this is serious right? You fainted during a roller coaster ride. Was it those flashbacks again? You have to tell us if you aren't feeling well you know."
Nico cut her off while standing up." Look, Im fine- woah!" A sudden wave of exhaustion hit him, making him wobble and would have fallen flat on his face if not for Will who had caught him. Will's arms were strong and easily propped Nico up, and he found himself leaning on him for support.
"It would be best if he got going home now. The effects of him passing out would probably show in the form of fatigue," Will told Hazel.
Hazel frowned." Sorry, but you are Mr...?"
"Oh, just call me Will! Im a friend of Nico's," He replied, winking at said person.
He rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the blonde. "Hazel, I really am fine! We can continue-"
"No." Will and Hazel ordered him in unison.
"Im going to take you home, Brother. Whether you like it or not." Her tone was final.
Will's eyes scanned Nico and he saw the disappointment in his slumped posture. He remembered how eager the boy was to have fun with his sister, even if it meant facing his worst fear. He knew that he was feeling weak but even so, he would rather see his sister happy than ruin the whole day. Especially when she had come all the way from Canada. Having many siblings himself, Will could sympathize. He sighed.
"How about this? I'll take di Angelo here back to his house and you should continue to enjoy the amusement park with your boyfriend." Nico's head shot up and he glanced gratefully at Will: Thank you for understanding.
Hazel tried to refuse."Oh no, Will, we couldn't possibly trouble you with that-"
"It's fine! It's really no problem at all!" He grinned.
Nico was about to agree when a sudden realization hit him."But, what about your friends?" He momentarily cursed himself for being so selfish and not thinking of others.
Right on cue, a green haired woman and a man with brown hair strolled in hand in hand. Nico recognized them as Lou Ellen and Cecil from the ride.
"Ah, Will! There you are."
"Hey guys! Im sorry 'bout this, but I gotta escort my friend Nico here back to his house. Go ahead without me and enjoy yourselves you lovebirds!" He flashed them a sheepish grin and a thumbs up.
The couple exchanged looks with each other and a smirk formed on their faces. "Oho~~~ could say the same for you blondie!" Cecil whacked Will across the back good naturedly.
"Well then Cecil, It looks like we shouldn't interrupt them anymore! We better get going. Bye Will!" Lou Ellen giggled and waved.
As the couple took off, Will blushed, sighed and turned back to the siblings. "Sorry 'bout them. Anyway, glad we got that settled!"
Hazel looked like she was still unsure about the whole situation. Nico tried to reassure her, saying,"It really will be fine. Don't worry. Besides, where's Frank?"
Hazel flushed, her skin tone darkening to a dark brown as she fanned herself, a habit that showed when she was embarrassed. "Oh um, about that, we may have gone on one ride too many. He's in the toilet doing- uhm you know..."
Nico almost chuckled despite himself. That poor guy. "Then you should go check on him and enjoy yourselves some more after that. Meanwhile, I'll be heading home with Will first, alright?"
She reluctantly gave in. After giving him a hug, handing him his phone and telling him to call her if he needed anything, she finally left to get Frank after thanking Will one last time.
He turned to Nico. "Guess it's just you and me now Death boy! Let's get going. "
In an old Honda, Nico buckled up next to Will as he revved the engines. After typing in his house address in his GPS, they set off in comfortable silence.
Surprisingly, Nico was the first to break it. He cleared his throat. "Uhm... Sorry to trouble you."
"Hey its no problem at all! Besides, if I had to stick around to see Lou and Cecil lock lips one more time, frankly, I would be the one running for the toilets."
He gave a small smile. "Did you just-"
"Pun? Yes. Oh and we have more important matters to talk about Gay-briel. You're not exactly the straightest arrow out there, are you, Nico di Angelo."
It was more of a statement than a question. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, knowing full well that the cat was out of the bag. "...yes."
"Good." He glanced up in surprise at Will. He had half expected him to give that ostracizing glare which most people would but it never came.
They stopped at a red light.
Will took that opportunity to lean down next to Nico's ear and murmured,"For the record, Im about as straight as a rainbow." He pulled back and winked before he resumed driving.
Nico felt his heart stop beating at the same moment when he felt wonderfully glad to be alive. He could still feel his spine tingling in excitement. A red flush adorned his cheeks.
"W-w-w-whatever Solace! Im going to take a nap. Wake me up when we reach." He turned over and tried to hide his full blown smile in his brown aviator jacket as he closed his eyes. Unbeknownst to him, Will saw everything from his reflection and smiled.
The rest of the drive continued in silence as Nico dosed off to the gentle rocking movement of the vehicle, the fatigue finally getting to him. It wasn't long before they reached his apartment, and he was sound asleep.
Will gently shook the young man. "C'mon Nico, we've reached!"
He didn't budge.
Will shook some more.
Still not budging.
Will switched on the radio and sang along(tune-deaf, mind you) loudly to "You are my Sunshine".
He still didn't move.
Damn! He could really sleep like the dead, he thought. He exclaimed dramatically,"You leave me no choice Death Boy!" He got out of the car and went over to Nico's side where he was curled up adorably like a cat with a peaceful look on his face. He chuckled and gently picked him up princess style and carried him to his apartment.
Amazingly, he didn't even stir but instead cuddled up closer to Will to which Will had to restrain himself from losing his shit over the cute dark ball of fluff in his arms. Of course, searching his pockets for the key Hazel had trusted him with proved to be difficult but he managed it without dropping him. He opened the door to reveal the home of Nico di Angelo.
Not stopping to check the house out, he headed straight for the the room at his right and voila! It was definitely Nico's room, with all the walls painted as black as the clothes he was wearing. He set him carefully down on the bed and frowned. Sleeping in that attire was definitely going to be uncomfortable. Hoped Nico didn't mind.
He quickly stripped Nico of his shoes, skinny jeans and jacket, leaving him with his shirt, boxers and socks. Will frowned worriedly. With less clothing, Nico looked even skinnier than before. He really needs to eat up, Will thought, pulling the covers up so that they covered the dark haired man and brushing the soft hair out of his eyes. But we'll settle that another day.
" Sweet dreams, Death Boy." He whispered softly.
Just as he turned to leave, a small hand grabbed his shirt and a voice murmured,"Thanks..." Then the hand relaxed, a fingertip barely brushing his shirt.
He turned back to see Nico sound asleep, a small smile on his face. He couldn't resist giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead before turning to leave.
"Sleep well, Nico."