Solangelo Oneshots

8 (s)

By orphan_account

Trigger warnings: contains smut (only in the envy part)

Wrath

Will Solace dabbed gently at the side of Nico di Angelo's mouth with a damp wash cloth, eyebrows drawn together in an upset crease as he gazed at the bloated, unnatural swollen bump in the corner of Nico's mouth and the dark shadow that streaked his right cheekbone. It was comfortingly quiet in Will's dormitory, the only sound being the distant laughter of other private school students a few doors down.

Will sighed, putting down the cloth. "That's the best I can do without a first- aid kit. It's stopped bleeding, at least," He tried to offer to stem his own guilt and not being able to help any more than he already had.

Nico's lips quirked up into a whisper of a smile before dropping back into his usual half- scowl. His dark eyes were no longer shining with that furious, hectic glow that Will had seen earlier when he had found Nico battered and bruised, but were rather filled with an uncharacteristic warmth that made him look as kind as he truly was.

"It's fine," He said, brushing a hand along his discoloured cheekbone, before absently tucking a tress of his dark hair away from his olive-toned face. "Thanks for helping, I guess. You didn't need to."

Will's expression morphed into a concerned glare. "If you stopped getting into fights than I wouldn't need to patch you up," He chastised, though there was no real strength behind his words. Nico never listened to Will's advice, not once in all their years of knowing one another.

"If people stopped being jerks I wouldn't need to get into fights," Nico countered his frown prominent and making his face seem like it was made of hard marble.

Will sat down next to Nico cautiously, inwardly sighing as he felt Nico's shoulders tense beside him. "What was the fight over?" He asked gently, pleading with his voice for Nico to open up and speak to him.

Nico turned to look at him, eyes hard and jaw clenched. Will looked back at him expectantly; gaze open as he tried to silently put Nico at ease. Slowly, the tension left Nico's frame and his expression softened.

"It was a matter of pride," He mumbled ambiguously, his expression blank "They deserved my wrath". Will tilted his head to the side, his own downy locks of blond hair falling into azure eyes as he surveyed Nico with disapproval.

"Pride?" He asked, irritation growing his voice as he spoke. "You were being prideful and were beaten for it?" When Nico didn't say anything, Will sighed in exasperation. "Nico!"

He ran a hand through his hair, looking heavenwards. Nico mumbled, too soft for Will to hear, making Will look at him. He was surprised to see Nico staring down at his lap, eyebrows furrowed. Will nudged him gently with his shoulder, speaking softly so Nico would know he wasn't too mad at him.

"What was that?"

Nico looked up at him, and Will felt frozen to the spot by the intensity of his dark eyes. Nico's jaw clenched again and he leaned forward slightly so that they were closer to one another.

"I said," He murmured, "That it wasn't my pride I was protecting," There was something fierce in his gaze as his eyes raked over Will's face that made it hard for him to breath. He swallowed, hard, feeling warmth creep up slowly from his chest to his cheeks.

"O-oh," Will said back, wincing at the sound of his too- loud, higher than normal pitched voice in the quiet dormitory room. Despite knowing the answer, he asked his desperate question anyways. "Whose pride were you protecting then?"

That ghost of a smile flickered across Nico's face again, and he gently reached up, smoothing his hand along Will's jaw and resting it on his cheek. He leaned forward, until Will could see the faint golden freckles that dusted Nico's nose and under his eyes.