Will took a deep breath, and opened the door to Nico's studio. Nico, of course, was already bustling around inside it, checking the sound levels of the mics, mixing and trying out new things with the tracks they'd already recorded, and making coffee (of course). Will sighed, smiling.
"Why're you so obsessed with coffee, anyways?" he asked. "You're always making it when I come over."
Nico stopped, headphones hanging precariously off his neck, his hands still stuck in the air, reaching out for something. Once he realized what Will had said, he tilted his head slightly. "Well, it's the only drink I know you actually like."
"I like plenty of... other drinks." Will eyed Nico's cabinet.
Nico raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "We're not getting drunk. We've got work to do."
"No, Death Boy. That's not what I was suggesting. I just want something other than coffee."
Nico rolled his eyes. "Picky, picky." Then he dropped the farce of irritation and turned to Will with a slight smile stuck on his face. "What do you want, then?"
"I dunno. Water?"
"Pssssh. Boring."
"You're boring," Will said, pouting and crossing his arms.
"You're an idiot," Nico shot back.
"Well you're- you're- ugh, I can't of anything."
Nico laughed lightly, and Will felt his heart skip a beat. Nico quickly filled up a glass of water and said: "Let's go; I'm eager to start."
The two of them made their way into the recording booth, and Nico pulled a keyboard over, playing a few chords to warm up. Will bit his tongue as he sat down, too, wondering if he should admit what was on his mind.
"Nico," Will said quickly, before he could chicken out. Nico looked up, surprised at Will using his first name. Usually it was Death Boy or Mr. Doom-and-Gloom or just Di Angelo. But neither of them usually used their first names with each other. After getting Nico's attention, Will continued.
"I know- I know we've been working to finish up this song… figuring out the instrumental and all." Will fiddled with the strings on his guitar, plucking out a scattered melody that was only slightly fainter than his voice. "And that's been great. The song. But- I mean, I was thinking. If… If I…"
"Spit it out, Solace," Nico said gently, his tone sounding out of place while saying a usually harsh phrase.
"I wrote- something. A stanza or two. I don't know. But if we- I mean, don't get me wrong, I love your songwriting, but if we were to- write something- together?" Will looked up at Nico expectantly.
Nico sat back in his chair slowly, studying Will's face. Perhaps he was trying to gage how serious Will was. Finally, he spoke.
"Let me hear what you have."
Taking that as a yes, Will sagged with relief. Still, he stumbled over his next sentences. "Well, I- I don't have a melody yet. Just some words. Lyrics. I don't- I don't know."
Nico tilted his head again. "Let me see it, then."
Will pulled the crumpled paper out of his pocket, suddenly ashamed at the state of his lyrics. It was nothing like Nico's folders packed full of lyrics and notes. Why had he decided to show Nico some stupid barely-started project, anyways?
But to Will's surprise, Nico poured over the paper intensely, as if it was the most precious piece of writing in the world.
"It's not that good-" Will started, but Nico cut him off by raising one finger.
Finally, Nico lifted his head. "I like it," he said, smoothing out the paper and handing it back to Will.
"You- You do?"
"Yeah. I'd love to write the rest with you."
"Really?!" Will couldn't contain his excitement.
"Of course, Solace."
So they were off. Writing, playing, singing.
Of course, every once in a while, one of them remembered they had the first song, Nico's song that had started this all, to work on, but after trying that for a few minutes, they would inevitably get caught up in the thrill of a new project again. That first song was almost done anyways, they only needed to polish it, and now with this whole new idea in front of them... It was impossible to resist.
As they wrote the first draft of the lyrics, Will was constantly aware of how personal they were. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't written the first few lines about Nico. But it surprised him how easily Nico seemed to be writing about their relationship, too.
Their relationship. As in, how their relations with each other were going. Friendship was a more accurate term, really. The song was about friendship. Right. Not a relationship. Because they weren't in a relationship.
But as the night wore on, it became impossible for Will to ignore that they were indeed writing a love song. A full on, head over heels love song. Lee would have a field day.
Will would never, ever say it out loud to Nico, of course. And if Nico realized it, he didn't want to admit it, either. But they were definitely writing about love. And they were definitely writing about their experiences with each other.
So, Will thought, not wanting to connect the dots, that meant that their experiences with each other were-
"Friendship," Will said out loud, beating the other word that came to mind down deep within his brain. Luckily, Nico didn't hear him.
They continued working for hours, until eventually Nico threw his pencil down, rubbing his eyes. He moved his wrist around in a circle.
"You ok?" Will asked.
"Fine. Just tired. And my hand hurts. Jeez, why did I decide to write all of the notes down by hand? I'm dumb."
"You're not dumb."
"Well, I chose the option that caused me more pain, so, objectively…"
Will rolled his eyes. "Maybe we should stop. It's getting late."
Nico stood up and made his way towards the mini kitchen, grumbling: "I need some coffee."
Will reached out and grabbed Nico's arm, pulling him back lightly. "No no no, you do not need more of that stuff. I'm sure caffeine is pumping through your veins already." He froze when he realized that he'd accidentally pulled Nico down onto the couch next to him. "S-sorry, I shouldn't have grabbed you…"
Nico waved him off. "It's fine. But I don't need a lecture on why coffee is bad for me, thanks. I get enough of your doctor-y rants already."
"Hey!" Will pouted. "I think I've been pretty self restrained with those."
"Mm-hm. Whatever you say, Sunny Boy." Nico stretched out, making himself comfortable on the couch. "So what do you want to do, then? I don't feel like leaving."
"Me neither," Will agreed quickly. "We could just watch TV or something." He gestured to the medium-sized television sitting long the opposite wall. "Why do you even have a TV in here, anyways?"
Nico grabbed the remote and switched the TV on. "I practically live here, Solace. I've spent more late nights in here than I can remember."
"Fair enough," Will conceded, and Nico started channel flipping. Finally, they found one that they could both agree on: The House Hunting Channel.
"Truly, it's mediocrity makes it suitable for everyone," Will said.
"No one likes it, but no one hates it either," Nico agreed.
They settled in, watching some bland white couple argue about whether a townhouse or standalone house would be better for them. Eventually, Will felt his eyelids getting heavy. Nico shivered next to him.
"Jeez, it's freezing in here," Nico mumbled, grabbing a nearby blanket.
"Mm," Will hummed back, too tired to form actual words.
The TV droned on, and eventually, Nico's head began to droop. Somehow, it fell onto Will's lap.
Will froze. Nico seemed half asleep already, so he probably didn't even notice what he was doing.
But Will noticed. Will definitely noticed. He stared at Nico's chest rising and falling, the TV show immediately forgotten. Will watched as Nico's hair fluttered in a breeze from the vent. Not being able to help himself, he reached out and ran his fingers through Nico's hair slowly, careful not to wake him.
Nico's hair was soft. He smelled of soap and pine trees. He shifted slightly, his fingers curling into a loose fist. Will's heart was beating so fast, he was sure it was going to wake Nico up. Will laughed nervously, shaking his head. Then he tilted his head up to look at the ceiling of his cabin.
"This boy is gonna be the death of me," he whispered, a grin stretching from ear to ear.
A/N Heyyy I'm actually trying to stick to my 2 uploads a week now, we'll see how that goes. Also this chapter was kinnnnnda filler, sorry about that. I needed to deal with some plotty stuff. But I promise, next chapter will be super exciting! So don't quit on me yet! Thank you so so much for reading!