TEN

Once Christmas has passed, the cold and snow always changes from enjoyable to unbearable, even if the temperature hadn't changed in the slightest. Will whole-heartedly believed in this philosophy. They were still on break for another week, and he was dreading the beginning of classes. The break had been perfect and he wasn't ready for it to end.

As usual, he was up, dressed, and had the coffee on before Nico managed to drag himself out of bed, still in sweats and whatever shirt or hoodie was lying on the floor closest to him. His hair was more of an unruly mess than usual, and it was impossible to get five words out of him before he had his coffee, unless he was issuing one of his death threats. "Good morning Nico." He called out as he entered sleepily into the kitchen.

"Buongiorno." He mumbled. Will enjoyed how Nico would slip into his native tongue when he was really tired. He assumed that phrase meant good morning, but he wouldn't put it past Nico to actually be saying 'go to hell' or something like that.

There was always a noticeable shift after Nico's first few sips of coffee. He would sit up straighter, move quicker, and run his fingers through his hair to tame his bedhead. It was like this every morning between them, not including the three weeks after Thanksgiving when they could hardly be in the same room without one of them throwing an insult.

"Seeing how the Boxing Day crowds should be gone, I was going to run to the mall to pick up some books, if you felt like getting out of the house." Will offered as Nico began to mix up some chocolate chip pancake batter.

"Gods yes. The shop just opened again so I still don't have my freakin car. Please, get me out of this flat before I lose my mind."

Will tried to be as quick as possible in the bookstore, but it was hard. Nico didn't seem to be complaining. They had left their flat shortly after breakfast. He picked a book off the shelf, but the title was in extra loopy cursive, and he couldn't get his brain to focus on what it was saying. He handed it to Nico. "What's this called? The font sucks." He asked, swallowing his pride.

Luckily, Nico seemed to have problems with it too. "Either 'The Moony Eyed Man' or 'The Loony Thighed Can' but it might also be 'The Crooney Rayed Pam'."

Will put it back on the shelf, not sure if any of those titles were accurate or not, but none sounding all too interesting. Whoever designed that cover should have been fired.

Will ended up spending all his Christmas money in the store, leaving with four new novels. He didn't mean for it to happen, it just kind of...did. Neither of them felt like walking around the rest of the mall, so they left. Nico wanted to go to Art 'n Soul, so Will drove, following Nico's very poor directions. It took them ten minutes to get there when it should have only taken three, but Nico kept forgetting to point out the turns until after they had passes them which made for a lot of back tracking.

"When do you start working again?" Will asked as he parked the truck. He unbuckled, wanting to come in with Nico this time and check it out.

"Same day school starts." He replied. Nico held open the door for Will, letting him enter first.

Will was in awe. The outside and inside of the building were complete opposites. Everything looked incredible sterile, and all the shelves of supplies and books and paints were organized to perfection. "See?" Nico nudged Will's shoulder. "Not a mafia front." Definitely not, Will agreed.

A short, elderly lady with bright purple hair, piercings covering her ears, and tattoo sleeves on both arms came up to them. "Nico, dear! How lovely to see you again. I was hoping you would drop by. I have a little something for you." She said.

Nico held out a package and a container that Will hadn't paid attention to. "I have something for you, too Winona." He turned to Will. "This is the roommate I told you about." Winona turned and looked Will up and down.

"You treating my boy right?" She asked sternly. Will nodded, and she smiled. "Good. Now," She turned back to Nico "please tell me that is a slice of pie. I was disappointed when you didn't pop by after Thanksgiving with one, you did promise, you know."

"I know, I'm sorry. Hazel ended up ditching me last minute so I spent the weekend with Will's family. Hazel baked a pie the other week so I made sure to save you a slice." He handed it over, along with the wrapped object. She placed the pie on the counter behind her and opened the present.

Inside was the warmest looking blanket Will had ever laid eyes on. It was, of course, black. "Thank you so much, honey. Now I don't have to fight with Alice over who gets the good blanket, because now I've got the best one." She smiled and leaned over the counter, producing a small box wrapped with a bow.

Nico pulled out a new set of brushes and some paints. "I know you've been eyeing this set for a while, so I set one aside before we ran out. Now I expect you to show me what you paint with them, I haven't seen your work in ages." She scolded. "This boy has more talent in his pinkie than I in my entire body." This comment was directed at Will. Nico looked uncomfortable with the praise.

"I believe it." Will added. "I've only seen one or two of his drawings, but compared to my stick men, I was thoroughly impressed."

"Anyways," Nico interrupted "I just came to drop these off and clarify scheduling for next week." Winona handed him a paper with dates and times on it. Nico looked it over. "I can make most of these work, but I'll have to move some that interfere with lectures."

Winona nodded and they took a minute to cross out and write new times in. Nico and Will headed out the door shortly afterwards. "You and Winona must get along well if you give each other Christmas gifts." Will said, trying to get some more information about Nico's past. He learned that Nico wasn't going to open up on his own any time soon, but when Will asked questions, he would answer if it wasn't too personal.

"I moved in with her when I turned twenty-three, moved out last year when I could afford my own place. She's the reason I didn't get into drugs or anything, well, not any hard ones anyways and none now, and am actually going to uni. I owe her a lot, it's the least I can do." Nico shrugged and hopped into Will's truck.

They climbed the steps up to their home wordlessly and retreated into their separate rooms. Nico didn't see Will again until he came out to start supper. "So, New Year's is in two days." Will said as he entered the kitchen, joining Nico.

"And?" Nico asked, already knowing where this was going.

"And, there is this really cool party happening at this club downtown. I'll even be designated driver, or we can call a cab, cause you didn't drink last time."
"I don't drink." Nico stated. At Will's incredulous face, he added. "Is it really that weird for me to not drink? I just don't enjoy not being in control of my filter."

"Fair enough." Will responded. "So, can we go?"

"You can go without me, you know. You don't always have to drag me everywhere you go." Nico stirred the soup that was heating up on the stove.

"I know, but it's no fun going places alone, and you're a fun person. So will you go?" He pleaded. He didn't care if he sounded desperate. He knew he could always ask Kayla or Percy to go with him, but he would much rather go with Nico.

"I don't think anyone has ever told me I'm a fun person before. Usually more along brooding, mysterious, never fun. Fine." Nico said as if it was the last thing on Earth he wanted to do, but Will saw the smile on his face, returning it with one of his own before dishing up his supper.

- - - - -

Nico finally had his car back and a significantly lighter wallet that afternoon. He stopped by a Starbucks to get a coffee, and while their coffee wasn't great, it would suffice. He wasn't in the mood to go to a party tonight, but he was hoping his morale would improve in the few hours he had before they left.

"Nico, you shouldn't have!" Will exclaimed, grabbing the drink from Nico's hand. Nico decided to keep his mouth shut and let Will take a sip. Will spat out the brown liquid and his face scrunched up in disgust, couching. "That's coffee!"

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Because it's my drink. If you want one go and buy one yourself, I'm broke." Will grabbed himself a glass of milk to try and get the bitter taste out of his mouth.

"How much was the repair?" Will asked. "I can cover groceries this month if you need." He offered.

"I'll let you know once I start work again, thanks though. What time were you wanting to leave tonight?"

"Eleven?" Will asked, hoping that wasn't too late for Nico. Neither of them had classes or work in the morning, so they could both sleep in.

"Yeah, that's fine. Can we just order pizza tonight? I don't feel like cooking."

Will smiled, picked up the phone and dialled the number. "You have the pizza place's number memorized?" Nico asked, astonished.

"Well when you can't cook, you order in a lot. Now shush." He ordered the pizza for delivery.

Both boys sat on their phones, waiting for their food to arrive. Neither felt like doing much else. Nico appreciated how their friendship had evolved enough for them to just sit and ignore each other, as true friends usually did.

When the doorbell rang, Will got up to pay. Nico smelt the pizza before it was even in the kitchen and his mouth was watering. He hadn't had pizza in so long, and while he would always prefer the ones he and Bianca would share in the pizzerias in Italy, this was good enough for him.

"All right." Will dropped the pizza boxes on the counter and opened them up. "Dig in." And they did.

- - - - -

"Nico!" Will called out from the bathroom. "Does this shirt look okay?" He stepped out as Nico came out to check.

"Yeah, it looks fine."

"Better than your shirt." Will teased, but Nico just rolled his eyes, going back to his bedroom to cover his bare torso.

"Are you ready?" Will called out after a few minutes. Nico came out of his room and grabbed his keys.

"Yeah, do you have the address?" Nico asked and Will handed him a piece of paper with a map printed out. They headed down the stairs together, stepping out into the cool night.

The club was already in full swing by the time they got there; just the way Will liked it. He went straight to the bar and ordered some shots, while Nico just got a coke. After downing a few, Will dragged Nico to the dance floor.

Nico wasn't a great dancer, but nobody paid attention to anyone but themselves, and Will would never judge him so he just let loose and had fun. The lights flashed purple, blue, green, red, orange all around them. Elbows and legs were constantly knocking into other people but nobody minded as they were all just having fun.

You could see the people who came in groups, they would all dance in a circle, laughing so hard that it made it difficult to dance. The DJ was at his booth on the small stage set to the side. The atmosphere was light even if the room was dark.

Will and Nico took breaks to go get drinks and catch their breath, but both were having so much fun that they went straight back to the floor the dance together. Nico was honestly glad that he had agreed to come, and even though he wasn't feeling it earlier today, he was happy.

Nico thought back to past New Years, and none had stood out all to significantly to him, but he knew this would be one he remembered for a long time. The music got quieter, and on a giant screen numbers started counting down from sixty. People around them began calling out along with it when it hit ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

The screams that came from that club could probably be heard from miles away, but he supposed it didn't matter, as everyone would be cheering at this moment. Everyone around them leaned over and kissed someone, and as he turned to wish Will a happy New Year, a pair of lips were on his.

It was a sloppy, drunken kiss, but it still made his insides race. It was too dark to see who it was, but Nico could smell his roommate's cologne. He knew Will never remembered anything after getting this drunk, Halloween was proof, but he still panicked. He had no idea if Will was gay, and if he knew what he did, what would he say? Did this mean he liked me? A small part of Nico thought, but he quickly squashed that thought.

Will pulled away, smiling. "I'm going to go get- to get anotherr drink." He slurred, laughing. "Want one?" Nico shook his head and Will headed off, leaving Nico to his thoughts.

- - - - -

"Shh!" Nico cried out as Will started singing very loudly to the song on the radio.

"You should sing. You have a very voice nice- nice voice." He laughed at his mix-up before rolling down his window.

"Will. It is literally freezing outside. Roll it up before I throw you out and leave you on the side of the road." Nico threatened.

"You wouldn't do that. You're much too nice. You're the nicest person I know. Well, Hazel is nicer. You're the second nicest person I know." Nico stared at the road, ignoring Will. "You cook good. And you draw good. And you look good." Will listed. The only indication Nico gave that he heard Will was the faint blush dusting his cheeks. It was too dark to really tell.

"All right." Nico said as he pulled into the parking spot. "Let's get you to bed."

Will shook his head. "Let's get you into my bed."

Nico choked in surprise. "What?" He exclaimed.

"You always look after me. You look tired. You should go to bed." Will draped his arms around Nico, pulling him close. "You always look so sad." The moment would have been nice, but Will decided to take this moment to empty the contents of his stomach. Better outside than in the stairwell at least.

"Come on, Solace." Nico helped him up and they made their way up the stairs together. As Nico unlocked the door and helped Will inside, the blond covered his mouth and gagged, so Nico walked him quickly to the bathroom.

Will spent the next few minutes throwing up into the toilet as Nico rubbed his back. "This wouldn't happen if you didn't drink so much, you know." Will only groaned in response. Nico helped him to his feet and got him a glass of water and an Advil.

After making sure Will was in bed and nodding off, Nico went to his own room, thinking on Will's words. Nico thought he had done an okay job of keeping his emotions in check, and he was no more tired than usual, but Will had noticed. Nico knew four hours of sleep a night wasn't healthy, but he wasn't going to use sleeping pills again.

When Nico entered the kitchen in the morning, Will was leaning against the cupboard, massaging his temples. Nico laughed, but Will just shushed him. "You alright there Solace?" Nico asked loudly.

"Could you be a little more quiet, please? My head is killing me."

Nico remained quiet as he banged the pot around in the door, getting it out as loudly as he could before placing it on the stove and slamming the drawer. "I hate you." Will hissed in pain.

"Nah, you could never hate me. You'd starve." Nico finally put Will out of his misery and made breakfast quietly.

"What even happened last night?" Will asked, finally starting the coffee.

Nico's mind flashed back to the kiss, their lips pressed together, and to all the things Will said. "Nothing. You danced, you got drunk, I brought you home."

"Nothing I would regret? Thank goodness. I hate not knowing what I've done." Will sighed in relief.

"You could just always stop drinking, then you wouldn't have that problem." Nico suggested as he paused to pour himself the fresh coffee.

"It was New Years, lighten up. Why do you have such a problem with drinking anyways?"

"It makes people do things they shouldn't and people get hurt. It ruins families, Will. You can do what you want, but you made the choice to drink so you can deal with the consequences." Nico slammed a plate of food down in front of Will before grabbing his keys and heading out the door, no longer hungry.

Will didn't try to stop him.

(A/N That was Winona at the top, but wrong colour hair. I have a few ideas for a tattoo for Will, so please tell me which one you like best. It was way easier choosing Nico's. Also, you guys finally get your kiss, albeit a drunken, non remembered one. All in good time)