Will's POV

He dragged himself onto the subway with his scrubs hanging off of his shoulders and his eyelids threatening to close any second. The strong scent of hand sanitizer wafting from his hands made him sick, the sound of impatient patients buzzing him into their rooms every second for a new pillow or a cup of water still ringing in his ears. He pushed himself through the people packed into the subway like sardines, managing to find his usual seat next to the door, the one with the burning hot air blowing directly on his face, the one that no one but he would take. The black haired boy was there again, music that only he could hear playing through earbuds. His fingers were wrapped around the same hot coffee as always, the paper cup plain and brown, but still beautiful in its simplicity. Will cast a glance at him, furrowing his brows as the boy next to him quietly tapped his fingertips on his knees, staring at an insignificant spot on the wall. Will looked at the same spot, but there was nothing different about that specific space of white than any of the other spaces of white that made up the dome shape of the subway. 

There was a small part of him that wanted to continue to observe the boy, to see if he would make any action that would bring him out of his normal routine but he could feel exhaustion creeping in on him even as he sat still, threatening to overtake his body at any minute. Besides, the boy next to him wouldn't do anything differently than he did any day. He never did. Will's gaze flickered back to the spot that the boy was staring at and he found it beginning to blur, as if someone was smudging fresh paint and before he knew it the soft rumble of the train was lulling him to sleep.

A gentle tap on the shoulder quickly brought him out of his sleeping state and when he opened his eyes the black haired boy was staring at him, one earbud hanging at his side. "This is your stop, right?" he asked. "Pelham Bay Park?" Will shot up, rubbing his eyes and staring around. 

"Yeah, it is," he said, standing up and smoothing out the wrinkles in his scrubs. "Thank you so much. I would have missed it." He shrugged. 

"It's no big deal, really. I noticed you always got off here, and I thought I'd do you a favor."

"Well, thank you." Will began to step off of the subway before turning around, a small grin on his face. "Hey, and just wondering, what's your name? It's just, we sit next to each other on the subway and you just did that favor for me, and I don't even know your name."

"I'm Nico." Nico smiled and it lit up his eyes like stars in the night sky. 

"I'm Will. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Nico said. "See you tomorrow." Will stepped off of the train, standing just past the yellow line as he watched the train shoot back into the blackness. When he could no longer see it he turned around, hiking up the stairs into the cool night air. The trees sticking out of the concrete city waved their newly orange leaves at him as he walked down the street, finally walking into his apartment building and unlocking his small studio. His medical textbook stared up at him menacingly from his kitchen table but he pushed it off, brushing his teeth after showering and changing into his pajamas and collapsing into his bed. He pulled the covers over his body, burying his face in his pillow as he ran over his schedule for the next day. 

Classes in the morning, he reminded himself. Work in the afternoon. Study at night. Go to bed. It sounded dull in his head, but he knew it would be worse in real life. When he found himself drifting off, he expected his dreams to be plagued with medical formulas and wrong answers on test. Instead it was the first pleasant dream he had had in a while, in a dim subway hurtling towards nowhere with a black haired boy by his side. 

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His textbook weighed heavy in his backpack as he stepped onto the train, claiming his seat next to the hot air duct with Nico in his seat, two coffees clutched in his hands. "Here," he said, handing Will one of them. "I got you this, you seem like you could use a pick me up. And I got you cream and sugar on the side, I don't know how much you like." He pulled a small plastic bag out of the pocket of his jacket, stuffed full with sugars and creamer packets. 

"You got me coffee?" Will blushed. "You didn't have to do that." Nico shrugged.

"I go there every day, and I thought why not do something nice?"

"Do you want me to pay you back? I can, I have money in my pocket."

"You're all good," Nico assured him. "If you want, though, we can maybe talk more? Just because, you seem cool and I want to get to know you better. I don't have that many friends."

"That makes two of us," Will grinned before gesturing to Nico's phone. "What are you listening to?"

"Only the best album of all time," he replied, offering him an earbud. "Do you want to listen?"

"Sure," Will said, slipping it in. The melodic sounds of the piano calmed him and although there was no conversation he could still feel a bond being formed, the music flowing through their minds bringing hopes of a new friendship along with it. Any other day Will would have leapt up once the subway reached his stop, walking off without looking back. But he found that when the conductor called out that they had arrived at Pelham Bay Park, he found that he wanted nothing more than to stay on the subway for hours on end, next to someone who had exploded into his life.

Nico's POV

He slid his earbud back in as he watched Will walk off of the subway, waving an apologetic goodbye. As soon as the train took off he buried his face in his hands, groaning. Another day gone by, another day that he hadn't asked Will out. Sad notes pumped through his ears as the subway rocketed underneath the city, making frequent stops as Nico watched the train empty around him. Soon he sat alone with music still flowing through him as easily as the regrets. Even hours later Will's smile was clear as day, the happy look of surprise when Nico had handed him the coffee. When he finally exited the subway and walked out into a dark night, he had come to a conclusion. Tomorrow would be the day. Tomorrow would be the day he asked Will on a date.

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Will was usually off work by six, seven at the latest. When eight thirty had passed and there was no floppy mop of blonde hair in sight, Nico began to worry. As nine passed over him like a dark shadow his heart sank and he came to the revelation that Will wasn't coming. Still, he sat. The music in his ears distracted him from the growing pain in his chest but when he stepped off of the subway and clicked off his music the pain sat on his heart, weighing him down. He could see the moon that night, a rare occurrence for the city. It cast a hazy white light from behind a cloud and he couldn't help but think of Will, of how beautiful the sight would be if Will had been by his side. He had come on too strong, that must have been it. The coffee had been a mistake, and regret tasted bitter in his mouth. 

He managed to push himself to his apartment, dark and empty when he arrived. When he flooded the apartment with light his eyes fell onto his queen sized bed, pillows propped up on the headboard and a small blanket covering the side next to his in preparation for a guest who would never come. He heaved a sigh as he prepared himself for bed, collapsing onto his side and burying his face in his pillow. Will hadn't come that night, the first night in what felt like ages. And Nico knew exactly why.

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He wasn't sure why he had stepped onto the subway that day. There had been a day when he had rode it over and over, listening to music without a care in the world. Now, the seat next to his stunk of failure, laughed in his face. It made him sad just thinking about it. When the subway skidded to a stop at the Columbia University Medical Center stop he watched the people flood onto the subway and when the crowds thinned Will was standing in the doorway, tired yet happy and holding two bundles of something in his hands. Nico raised his head, taking one earbud out as he watched Will walk over to him like any other day. He sat down, the heat vent by his head blowing his messy blonde hair into a frenzy. "I got you a cinnamon roll," he said, handing it to Nico. "The hospital kitchen staff make them fresh every Friday for hospital staff and they're amazing. I thought you'd like it."

"Thanks," Nico said, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice. He bit into it, the frosting mixed with cinnamon mixed with a soothing warmth combining into a comforting taste, one that melted in his mouth. "You didn't come yesterday." 

"Yeah, I was exhausted so I took the day off and went right home after classes," Will explained, biting into his cinnamon roll. "I wish I had your number, I could have called you. We could have watched a movie or something. Actually, can I have your number? It would be nice to hang out with you, not on the subway."

"Yeah, of course," Nico grinned, relief flooding his body. "Give me your hand." He scrawled his number across Will's hand, holding onto it for a split second too long before dropping it. "Actually, I kind of wanted to talk to you about that. Hanging out outside of here. Maybe we could, I mean. Like pizza and a movie, or something."

"Like a date?" Nico felt his face flush. 

"I mean, I'd like that, but we can just go as friends. I'm cool with anything."

"No, no," Will said, brushing his hand over Nico's. "I like dates. I haven't been on one in a while, but I'd like to."

"How about tomorrow night?" Nico suggested. "There's this pizza place I know, it's a stop away from where you usually get off. And we can see a movie, your pick."

"Sounds perfect," Will grinned, giving Nico's hand a squeeze. "It's a date." For a few seconds they stared into each other's eyes and it was like the rest of the world was black and white compared to the blue of his eyes. "Anyway, what are you listening to?"

"Only the best album in the entire world," Nico replied. 

"Didn't you say that about the last one?" Nico shrugged. 

"There are a lot of good artists out there, they all deserve the title. Anyway, do you want to listen?"

"I'd love to." Will took the earbud and the music flowed throughout them as people pushed past them, clinging to poles stretching above them. The subway bounced over the tracks, knocking them around and on all sides of them people stumbled or complained, but they stayed steady because they had each other to hold on to.

Hi guys, I hope you liked that one! Also, I'm not sure if anyone cares(also kinda Voltron season 7 spoiler) but I just finished the season and I was legitimately sobbing because I thought they all died but they didn't so it's all good:)

Nina