Chapter Text
Nico walked up to Will with a smirk on his face. “What’s up, Solace? You look tired.”
“I am,” he answered. “Lou and Cecil were up all night with a cold.”
Nico frowned as he clocked in and waited on Will to do the same. “Their father is a doctor, and they’re coming down with a common cold?”
Will narrowed his eyes. “It’s the flu. They caught it at school. That’s not my fault.” Nico snorted and pulled out a pen from his white coat then began clicking it incessantly. “What? You’ll understand the day you have kids of your own.”
Nico’s nose wrinkled. “Agh, no thanks. Don’t want any. Never will.” Will frowned. “I like my bachelor life. I like not being tied down. I like not having kids.”
“See, that’s pretty ironic. You’re a pediatrician that doesn’t want kids?” Nico rolled his eyes and laughed. “Come on, one day you’ll meet that special person that’s going to make you want to stop sleeping around and just… settle down. And she’ll come around without you even noticing it.”
“I doubt it,” Nico muttered. Suddenly, they heard a hysteric woman in the lobby and tensed.
“I know he’s here, he’s always here! Where is he? I need to see Dr. D’Angelo!”
“Ma’am, he’s a pediatrician, whatever you need you can get from another doctor-”
“I don’t want a checkup, you moron!” she shouted. “I want to see the son of a-”
“What the hell did you do?” Will asked as they stared at the woman while she shouted obscenities. Beside him, Nico groaned and shook his head. “I’ve got you. Go on.”
Taking a deep breath, Nico stepped forward and assured the doctors that he could handle the woman. The woman fixed him with angry eyes and Will winced as she dug her sharp manicured nails against his chest. Nico didn’t even look guilty. He just looked frustrated.
Will counted to ten in his head and then rushed forward. “Doctor! Doctor! Quick, your patient in room 312 started seizing, we need to go through procedure-”
“Looks like we’ll have to talk later, I have a child to save,” Nico said walking away from her, Will tugging at his arm. “I’ll call you!” He turned away and ran behind Will, into the elevator where both of them burst out laughing. “A seizure? Really, dude?”
“It’s a pressing matter!” Will said indignantly. “What’d you do to that one?”
Nico sucked in a breath through his teeth. “I think I slept with her sister.” Will winced. “Anyway, I owe you.”
“You’ve been owing me. At this point just give me your soul, you owe me so much.” Nico laughed and shook his head. They got off on the third floor and ducked into the lounge where they each grabbed a cup of coffee and sat to watch the television.
“I’m telling you, we need to just duck into a coma patient’s room and watch this in there. Then we won’t have to pretend to be busy or get sent to work.”
“Ooh, doctors working, God forbid,” Will said sarcastically. “I’m pretty sure we could get fired for that.” Nico shrugged. “I can’t lose this job….” Nico frowned and looked over at him. “I’m thinking about working overtime.”
“Will, you barely see your kids as it is, you can’t work overtime.”
“I need to get enough to pay the babysitter, enough to get groceries and pay the bills, and pay the costs of their school clubs, and they’re growing so fast they need new clothes again, and-.” He sighed. “I got so behind on bills, I have so many fees and late charges…. If I want to get rid of them I need to work overtime.” He rubbed his head and felt Nico’s hand rest on his shoulder, firm and supportive. “I’m struggling to change the pension beneficiaries so it’ll go to the kids. I took too long to respond.”
“How long did they give you?” Nico asked. “Your wife died, you were mourning.” Will groaned and shook his head. “Look, I’ll help you out. I told you, being single is great and it’s because all my money goes to whatever the hell I want. I’ll give you some to buy them clothes, get their flu medicine, pay off a few fees.” Will began to shake his head and Nico scowled. “It’s not a question, Will. I’m giving you money. I owe you remember?”
Slowly, Will began to smile. “Thanks, Nico.” Nico smiled at him and nodded. “You know, maybe you could go shop with the kids. They miss you. The last time they saw you was the holidays.”
Nico grimaced and rubbed his neck. “I don’t know, Will. I’m not good with kids.”
“Oh come on, they love you. You’re Uncle Nico for them. And they miss you a lot.” Will raised his eyebrows and Nico groaned.
“Fine. Just because I actually like your kids. When do I take them?”
“I have an appointment after work today about the pension, so take them then. That way they don’t have to stay with the babysitter all day.” Nico squinted at him.
“You planned this.”
“No I didn’t.”
***
“I don’t understand why it is so hard to simply change who the beneficiary is,” Will said, rubbing the temples of his head.
“You took too long for the process to be as quick as it’s supposed to be, so now you start from scratch,” the woman said, her voice dripping with condescension. Will narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth. “We sent mail, emails, we called, and you never answered, so-”
“I was mourning the death of my wife!” Will snapped. “It’s called depression, okay? You lack motivation for anything. Now I’m trying to get back on my feet and-”
“Would that by any chance include a new wife?”
Will jerked back. “Excuse me?” he hissed.
The woman’s eyes widened and she placed her hands on her desk in a placating manner. “I’m just saying,” she said slowly, “that a new marriage would be the quickest and easiest way to fix this problem.” She glanced around and lowered her voice. “I’m not supposed to say this, but remarrying would be the easiest shortcut. And if you and your wife had a friend close to you, or maybe your wife had a sister or cousin that was very kind, then you could work something out. They’d be the beneficiary and they’d help your kids.”
Will shut his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows. “I-I’m going to go now,” he muttered. He stood up and walked briskly down the row of desks filled with people who had lifeless eyes and patronizing voices. He shook his head and left the building trying not to let his anger cause him a headache.
How could he just find another woman to take his wife’s place? How could he just ask some stranger to fill in? And how could they actually suggest to him to do that? It was cruel and insensitive.
He got home and was surprised when he heard voices inside. “Like this?”
“There you go. Now count the thumps until the second hand goes all the way around,” came Nico’s voice. “Cecil, make sure you pick up the wrappers before your dad kills me.”
Will walked into the living room and saw his daughter checking Nico’s pulse with a paper hat on her head and his son crawling on the floor picking up candy wrappers. “How… did you get in?” Will asked. Nico looked over his shoulder and smiled.
“Hey! Lou told me you had a spare under the big fern pot.” He tapped her on the shoulder. “Go get the new clothes so you can show your dad,” he suggested.
“Okay!” She pulled Cecil up behind her and they ran to their rooms. A few moments later, as Will sat down and shrugged off his jacket, his kids returned holding bags of clothes. “Look, Daddy! I got this really awesome shirt with skulls on it!”
“And I got this one with a bunch of foods on it!” Cecil exclaimed. They began to lay out their clothes for him and Will’s eyebrows went up as he wondered how much Nico had spent. The brands varied from little preteen stores to Hollister and Abercombie for kids, which Will knew were not very cheap places. But he didn’t let it show on his face until his kids were putting their clothes back.
Then he turned to Nico and raised his eyebrows. “How much did you spend? You got them so much, I didn’t mean for you to get them an entire wardrobe.”
“That’s for me to know, and for you never to find out,” Nico said. “Don’t worry about it. They had a lot of fun. It was nice to spend on someone other than myself.” Will bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows. “How’d it go with the pension?”
Before he could answer his kids came running back to jump on the couch. “Uncle Nico are you going to pick us up from school again tomorrow?” Lou asked. “It’s super fun with you.”
“Yeah! Better than being with the babysitter. She just looks at her cellphone the whole time,” Cecil added dramatically.
“Oh, I don’t know how often I can get you guys, but I’ll try to do it more often. Deal?” The kids slumped and groaned. Nico chuckled and ruffled their hair. “Why don’t you guys go play?”
“Are you leaving already?” Cecil asked.
“Why don’t you stay for dinner?” Will offered. Nico raised an eyebrow. “What? I cook.”
“Mm, sure you do,” he laughed. “I’ll order Chinese just in case.” Will rolled his eyes and stood up. Nico followed him while the kids yelped and celebrated that they’d be able to see him a while longer. “So how did it go?” Nico asked, scrolling through his phone.
“They suggested I get remarried,” he muttered. Nico stopped scrolling and looked up at him.
“They did what?” he asked incredulously. “Why?”
“Apparently it eases the process that I complicated? I don’t know. But it’s stupid and ridiculous and horrible. You wouldn’t believe the way she told me.” He grabbed a few things from the fridge and the pantry. “I told her I was trying to get my life back together and she asks if a new wife is in the plan.” He slammed down the pot on the stove. “Then she suggests I marry a sister or a cousin of hers! God, I almost lost it! And she suggested I ask a friend I trust enough, and honestly the only person I trust beside my wife is-” He cut himself off.
He looked over at Nico who was waiting for him to continue talking, his eyebrows set into a furrow, concentrated, his eye narrowed and dark, his arms crossed as he leaned against the counter, phone gripped in one hand.
“Oh my God,” he muttered.
“What?” Nico asked, worriedly. “What happened?”
Will started to smile and bit his lip. “You! You! I only trust you!”
“W-well that’s great, Solace, I’m honored, but why are you so excited about… that?” He said the last word a bit suspiciously as though he’d caught on to what Will was thinking.
Will neared him and Nico’s eyes widened as he pressed himself further against the counter. “So remember how we agreed that you basically owed me your soul at this point?” Nico’s eyes narrowed.
“No.”
“Come on, Nico, you’re all I’ve got. You’re all my kids have got.”
“No,” he repeated.
Will clasped his hands together. “Nico, I’m begging you. I will get on my knees if I have to, but please, please, would you-”
“I am not marrying you!” he shouted hysterically. “No! No, you just said it yourself, the idea is wrong and horrible and, and, and- what the hell, Will?”
“But we’re best friends!” he argued. “It’d be different! With a stranger, yes, it’s awful, but I know you and you know me, and my kids know you, and you like my kids. Please, I just need to know someone will take care of them and I trust you. I know you would take care of them if something happened to me.” Nico grit his jaw and narrowed his eyes. Will took Nico’s hands in his own, and the expression melted into shock. “Nico, please. I wouldn’t ask you for this if it wasn’t important to me, okay?”
“Don’t you think people would find it weird?” Nico muttered, his eyes locked on their hands. “You had a wife. Then you’re just going to suddenly have a husband?”
“It’s called being bisexual, Neeks. I had a boyfriend in high school. Every form that’s asked me my sexuality, I’ve put that down. Yes, I married a woman, but I still identify as bisexual, so it wouldn’t be suspicious at all.”
Nico’s eyes were wide, his cheeks flushed, his breaths shallow. “You never told me that,” he whispered.
“I didn’t think it mattered.” Nico’s eyes lifted to him. “Please, Nico. I need your help. I need you.”
Nico looked at him worriedly, as though the entire idea was meant to doom them. And Will was certain he’d say no and leave. Then he took a final large breath and breathed, “Fine.”
Will’s eyebrows went up and he choked on his words. “W-what? Really?” Nico nodded, not looking him in the eyes and pulling his hands away. “Oh God, thank you, Nico!” He wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tightly. “I promise it won’t be weird or anything, okay. It’ll just be on paper and maybe if they check on us, you’d just have to live here for a few weeks, but that’s it. We’ll act like we always have.”
“I no longer owe you my soul,” Nico growled.
“Technically you’re entwining it with mine anyway.” Nico clenched his jaw and threw a banana in the fruit basket at Will’s head. “Hey! You’re supposed to love me, not hit me!”
“You’re not funny!” Nico shouted as he left the kitchen. He turned around and put his hands at his hips. “How the hell are you going to explain this to your kids?”
Will hesitated and bit his lip. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Oh my God,” Nico breathed, leaning against the counter. “I’m going to legally be a stepdad. What the fuck? What the fuck?” Will grimaced.
“If you want, we could just file for domestic partnership instead of the whole wedding thing?”
Nico frowned. “Isn’t that the same?”
Will shrugged. “The law is weird when it comes to gay couples.” Nico paled and gulped, looking away from Will. Will noticed his hands had begun to shake and his forehead was beaded with sweat. “Nico…?”
“I’m fine,” he gasped. “I just… need some air. Do you have any cigarettes?” Will shook his head. “Fuck. Okay. Let me know when dinner is ready.”
Will bit his lip guiltily. Nico didn’t smoke much. Only when he was excessively stressed and even then he wouldn’t finish a cigarette. He didn’t like the taste it left behind. Will’s offer had seriously upset him, and he was still agreeing to it. Will wondered if it was worth the anxiety it was giving him.
He set to making a homemade pizza with store bought crust and put it the oven. Then he went out onto his porch to check on Nico.
He found him fumbling with a lighter, a cigarette in his mouth, cursing each time the lighter wouldn’t light. Will frowned and steadied his hands, lighting the cigarette for him. Nico looked at him and nodded. “How long have you been trying to light that?”
“About a minute. It’s my third one.” Will’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“Nico, if you really don’t want to do this, it’s fine. I don’t-”
“Stop,” Nico said, shutting his eyes. “Look. You’ve helped me through a lot. With a lot. You’ve gotten me out of a shit ton of trouble. You helped me get through med school, you helped me with my depression and anxiety. You’ve never asked for anything in return. I owe you this. Not because you said I did, but because I know I do, okay? So just….” He put out a hand, motioning a stop. Then he took a long drag of his cigarette.
“We’ll get a partnership. If we don’t have to get married, we won’t. It’s just paperwork. It’ll be like being roommates.” Nico’s eyes drifted over to him and he nodded. His hand was still shaking as he put the cigarette to his lips, but he didn’t look so pale anymore. At least not under the moonlight. “Thank you, Neeks.”
“Yeah,” he answered. “Have you told Lou and Cecil?” Will shook his head.
“You want to help me out with that?” Will suggested. Nico shrugged and put out the cigarette. He followed Will back into the house and Will called for his kids. “Hey guys,” he said as they came into the living room, sweaty from running. “Can you sit down for a moment?” They did. Will glanced at Nico who was biting his nails. “So, what do you guys think of Uncle Nico coming to live with us for a while?”
Their eyes practically lit up. Before Nico knew it, he was tackled by the children who screamed with joy. “Yes, Uncle Nico is gonna stay!” they shrieked.
“Oh whoa, okay, looks like it’s cool!” Nico said as he tried to sit up. The two clung to him and Nico smiled at them as he patted their backs. Will smiled and raised an eyebrow at Nico. No kids, huh?