Will spent the morning observing the Windy City. He looked at the little things; the color of the benches, the scarf a young girl was wearing, the hue of the sky. He had some time to kill before meeting Piper at Knick Knacks, so he lived with the flow of the city.
He tried to remember it all, how the hot dog stands smelled early in the morning, the number of steps it took to cross the street, the laugh of the cafe's cashier. Who had, by the way, been pretty cute. Will didn't have the energy to actively flirt with the man though, he found himself considering how the man's hair had just been a little too… blonde. And short.
Will blushed furiously as his brain subconsciously thought of a different color. A dark, long texture that could be pulled into a ponytail. He sighed.
There was no doubting that Nico was good-looking, it was just a type he had never really thought to look towards. He normally stayed far away from black, so this new development surprised him. He never would've pictured being so attracted to Nico's lip ring, he thought of how that must feel while kissing him. And God, those tattoos. He wanted to run his fingers down them, tracing their contours. He wondered how far down they went past his shirt's neckline…
Will squeaked, cutting off his thoughts. He tried to chastise himself for being so inappropriate, but he couldn't quite find the heart to do it. No harm in thinking, right? Besides, the "straight-edge" life teachers seemed to advise so didn't quite seem to be doing anything for him recently. Maybe it was time for a change.
With that in mind, he checked his watch and started to head over to Knick Knacks.
Knick Knacks had been pretty uneventful today. Nico had only needed to restock a few shelves and check out some customers. Otherwise, he had the time to cuddle up on one of the armchairs with an espresso and the cats. He jolted up at the sound of the door opening, narrowly avoiding spilling espresso on himself and Herbert.
"Hello?" Nico called out, a little grumpy.
"Uh," the customer peeked around the corner, revealing himself to be Will. "Hey Nico!"
Nico squinted his eyes, observing the other boy. Will had on a scarf, and his sunshine blonde hair was messy from the wind. He got the strange urge to reach out and fix it. Of course, being Nico, he ignored it. "You again," he said, curling back down into his chair.
Will warily walked into the room, padding over to sit criss-cross on the floor by Nico's spot. Herbert betrayed him, jumping off to test out the sunny boys open arms.
"Pretty quiet today?" Will asked, motioning to the empty store.
"A bit, I guess." Nico responded. "The afternoons aren't super popular on weekdays due to our customers working and stuff."
Will hummed, nodding. Nico tried to drift back into his comfortable nap, but he couldn't. He could feel Wills presence, encompassing the aura like a warm hug. It was a new feeling for the icy boy.
After ten minutes of trying to relax in silence, Nico finally felt too bad. He looked over at the sunny boy playing with Herbert, before giving off an exasperated sigh and getting off the couch. He stretched and yawned before murmuring, "How much milk?"
Will got up and started to follow the other boy towards the desk, confused. "What?"
"Milk. You know, the dairy substance from cows. How much do you want in your espresso?"
Will almost choked. Nico was trying to be friendly? "Whatever works?" He cautiously responded.
Nico nodded, turning to grab Will a mug. "Not much goes on around here. The store really offers four things; espressos, adventure, music, and naps."
"It could be a worse four things," Will ventured. "Taxes, long lines, death, and eternal damnation."
Nico let out a short laugh, a sound that seemed to surprise them both. "I suppose you're right. The four of those seemed awfully similar to me."
The espresso machine beeped, and Nico poured it like a pro. Will supposed he had a lot of experience "So, young grasshopper, here is the first. One espresso to combat that sleep you should've gotten."
Will sipped it, nodding his head at the subtle taste of hazelnut. "Not entirely bad." He commented. "Almost like I paid half of my salary for it!"
Nico rolled his eyes. "Smartass. That's a whole quarter of the appeal of this job. The adventure part is right over here, that whole stack of comics."
The two wandered over and settled down to read. Nico chose Batman, and Will grabbed Spider Man. They read in a peaceful calm, only occasionally interrupted by Will squealing or Nico calling over a cat. The two read their comics and had little conversations for twenty minutes before Piper walked in.
"You were only around an hour late." Will dryly remarked.
"It's the thought that counts!" Piper retorted, sitting down. "But actually, I kind of lost track of time with my last appointment and ended up closing the shop up late."
"Speaking of," Nico said, "We have about another hour here before I have to close up."
"Oh God," Piper exclaimed. "What are we wasting time talking for than? Pop in the pink vinyl, Nico! No time to delay, boys!"
Will liked what Piper had played, but everything started to blend together after the first three songs. He spent more time considering how neat the shop was, the speakers alone were very clear and powerful.
But all too soon it had been time to leave. Piper insisted upon dragging him along to a boxing match that was happening downtown, apparently it was a gym she went to sometimes. And, Nico was in the match.
Will wasn't very surprised after hearing the boy was into boxing. Where his skinny frame didn't quite scream it, the boys aura was perfect for boxing. Will wouldn't have been surprised if some people just walked out of the ring after Nico looked at them.
So, that's how he ended up getting shuffled into his creaky chair. The place was slightly shady, the entrance to the ring was through a small staircase down an alley. Once down the stairs the room opened up to a room smelling of sweat, and the walls had dents in places. Will didn't need to use much of his brain to imagine how the walls got into the shape they were in. The ring was the crowning glory of the room, roped off in red for the contestants. It seemed like the perfect place for some borderline-illegal gambling.
Wills pulse was racing. He had wanted to explore the facility and the connecting practice gym, but Piper made him sit down. Apparently the match was close to starting. He also got the feeling that she didn't want him running into trouble or accidentally gambling a lot of money away on a match.
Nevertheless, it wasn't too long until the first match started; it was some girl named Reyna against a guy whose name he didn't catch. Will was astonished at how fast she took her opponent down, and he heard the crowd murmuring about how it wasn't even close to a fair opponent for her. Apparently she was one of the boxing legends around here.
Three more matches passed by, and Will was amazed watching them. The air of the arena seemed to have life to it, the crowds mood was tangible as the matches unfolded. There was so much raw emotion it was like a live concert, but even ten times more receptive. Will had to admit, he absolutely loved it. The grime, the sweat, the tears; it all felt so lucrative and raw. It was a sort of adrenaline rush that was totally new to Will.
Nico was the last match of the gig. It seemed like the whole night had been leading up to this, and the crowd was teeming with energy. Nico was very famous in here, the crowd referred to him as the Ghost King in regards to his tendency to beat any sort of opponent and the condition he left them in. Tonight he was pit against a monster of a guy, brimming with weight and sheer size. Will thought that it must be unfair, they weren't even close to being in the same weight class. Yet, he supposed, so must be the way of a slightly-illegal street fighting place.
The match started, and the two began circling each other. The whole stadium seemed to be whispering, and Will could hear paper shuffling as the last bets were placed. All that was left for the boys to make a move.
Nico stared at his opponent, somebody called El Cuchillo or something. He figured it was Spanish, but it sounded like the Italian word for spoon, so the effect wasn't very intimidating. Cuchillo moved first, aiming a shot towards his head. Nico sidestepped it pretty easily, but he could tell that the man's fists would be dangerous. It would only take a few clear shots from these mammoth fists to take a guy of his stature down.
Nico went on the defense, dodging the man and only allowing really light hits. He was either new to this gym or from a different part of town, Nico had never seen him around. Because of that he started by tracking the man's every move; cataloging weaknesses and strengths. While he had a massive amount of brute strength, he was lacking in swiftness.
A few seconds later his opponent threw a sloppy punch, giving Nico a chance to slam a well-timed punch to his exposed stomach. This disorientated the man, giving Nico a chance to go on the offense and get in two more solid punches before safely retreating and going on the defense. He was able to successfully execute this move a second time, too. It made Cuchillo angry, and he started getting more spontaneous and unpredictable.
The third time Nico tried his move it didn't work as well. He didn't get out of the way fast enough, choosing to aim another punch instead. The man used that time to grab his ponytail, kneeing him in the gut. Nico coughed, tasting blood and backing away. A few hits like that could knock him out.
Nico shook his head and spit. Sure, the guy was massive, but strategy could beat him. He didn't detect patterns until the third time around, so Nico would have to cause enough damage by two repetitions at most.
Nico smiled. Piece of cake. At that moment Cuchillo charged, and Nico ducked under, aiming a punch at his sternum and rib cage that left left his opponent gasping for air. He swept his foot under the tipsy mans legs, knocking him down. The crowd started their countdown, and Nico grinned.
Three seconds in the man groaned and got to his knees. "No more Mr. Nice guy, little boy." He growled. "It's time for you to find out why they call me El Cuchillo."
The man surged to his feet with a speed Nico wasn't expecting, and he saw the man's hand coming up. Nico tried to move to the side, hoping to divert the blow away from his sternum.
Except, it wasn't a punch the man threw. He had a small pocketknife in his hand, and made a gash down Nicos arm. He followed with a succession of jabs that Nico scrambled to divert, taking them to the skin instead of organs. Cuchillo stepped back, satisfied. He figured Nico was out for the count.
Nico groaned, feeling blood run down his skin. Dio cane! Hell right no more Mr. Nice Guy, it was time to take him down. The blood loss was going to start affecting him soon, and his lungs still weren't feeling great from the other guys knee. It was time for something big.
Nico charged the man, aiming a punch at his face. He felt the man's nose crunch, a tell-tale sign that it broke. He carried the punch through a spin that gave him momentum to snap a flying kick at the mans head.
Cuchillo's head snapped back, and Nico put all of his strength into three more moves; kneeing the man in the gut, kicking the side of his rib cage, and a final punch to the sternum.
El Cuchillo fell, hitting the floor with a large thud. He was definitely out cold. Nico finally looked out of the ring, squinting at the bright light and registering the crowds roar of approval. It didn't last for long, seeing as though Nico promptly fell to his knees.
A/N- i got nothing for you guys; just a vague, encompassing sense of unease.