Solangelo Oneshots

Letters

Dear Nico

Nico groaned, reaching around for the alarm to turn it off. He rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. He spared a glance at the empty space behind him. The bed was cold. Never mind, he was going to visit Will at lunch anyway.

I love you. I love you so much. I realise that’s kind of an ominous way to start a letter so I’ll try and keep it lighter.

The radio was playing country songs, which made Nico think of his husband. He rolled his eyes as he stepped on the stool Will had bought him so he could reach the top shelves. He’d decided he deserved pancakes today.

I miss you. I know I’ve said that so many times but it’ll never stop being true. I think of you all the time. A lot of the folks here have photos of their loved ones. I keep one of you in my pocket with me and the other in my office.

Nico spread an amount of chocolate spread on his first pancake that Will would definitely disapprove of but Will’s pancakes were so much better that he didn’t need to use copious amounts of chocolate spread to cover up the taste. He stuffed his face as quickly as possible so he wouldn’t be late to meet Hazel in the park. She was driving over especially. Nico wished Frank good luck with dealing with their son, Sammy, by himself.

What’s going on with you? I would tell you something about me but they’re kind of picky about what they let you write and it’s not all good either. Hospitals tend to be a bit gruesome. I did meet another one of us, though. He says his fiancé lives in New Rome too. Maybe you’ll run into him. I can’t give you his name but he’s a roman so maybe Reyna knows him.

He tugged on his shoes, grabbed his coat and practically flew out the door. The park was a good half an hour away but he could hear Will scolding him in his head when he thought about shadow travelling so he ran instead. Running in skinny jeans was not something Nico enjoyed.

I miss your smile. You could light up a room and the gods know the people here need it. You get why I had to sign up, right? I can really help people here. I’ve met a lot of people with the same ancestry here. They come to help too. They’ve lost a lot of people. Thank the gods I haven’t lost you no matter how hard you’ve tried, you stubborn bastard.

Hazel was already waiting for him at the ice cream shop. She looked nervous, her foot bouncing on the ground. Her eyes lit up when she saw Nico and she smiled a little sadly.

“How are you holding up?” she asked.

“Alright. I’ve been better.”

I’ll be home before long and I can finally teach you how to make pancakes properly. I can kiss you too. I’m going to kiss you a lot.

“Chocolate?” Hazel questioned. Nico nodded. As she walked away, his attention was caught by a small kid coming over dressed in an army costume. Nico’s breath caught in his throat.

“Hello, sir. Do you like my uniform?” she asked excitedly. “My dad’s in the army.”

“I do like your uniform,” Nico assured her, turning his head to see if Hazel was nearly finished. “My husband’s in the army too.”

“Is he away?” the girl asked. Nico shook his head.

“No. I get to see him in a few hours.”

“Good luck, mister!” The girl beamed and ran back to join her waiting mother.

I can’t tell you much about travel except we do occasionally have to go overseas. You know how badly I get travel sick. It’s a nightmare honestly. A few of the nurses help me out. It’s not the same as you though. Obviously, it would be very inappropriate if they hugged me from behind and kissed my shoulder to help calm me down. Thanks for doing that by the way. I don’t know what I’d do without you.

He talked with Hazel for a while but was constantly checking his watch. Her eyes held sympathy he didn’t want to see.

“I have to go,” he said, kissing Hazel’s forehead. “Will’s waiting.”

She nodded. “I love you. Stay safe.”

Nico stood and looked over his shoulder with a reassuring smile.

“I will.”

You’re so beautiful. You forget that far too often. I’ve seen many faces but none of them are as handsome as yours. I still remember it clear as ever. You have that mole above your left eyebrow and that tiny snort at the end of one of your genuine laughs. Anyway, I’ll get to see you again soon. I can’t wait. I love you!

Yours, Will

Nico drove, keeping a stony expression although his fingers tapped on the steering wheel. He arrived at the coast not to soon after and got out of the car. He headed towards the cliff. The sounds of children and families chatting on the beach around the corner mingled with seagulls and the lapping of the waves.

Dear Will

Nico pulled his letter out of his rucksack and breathed in the salty air. He read it aloud to the waves with a quivering voice.

You’ll never read this letter. You’ll never do a lot of things. I could go on and on about how it’s not fair, about how I hate that this happened to us. We were supposed to stay together forever.

I know at the start of this you said that if worst comes to worst then you want me to be happy. I think I am happier. I see more of Hazel and Frank and the others. Sammy’s getting so big now but he misses his Uncle Will. I miss you too.

I did end up running into that fiancé of the guy in the hospital. It turns out that Reyna did know him. His name’s Nolan. He says he’s eternally gratefully for you. You’re the reason his fiancé came home.

My pancakes are still terrible. I can imagine you standing over me telling me how to do it right and laughing when I do it wrong anyway. Then we’d have a flour fight and you’d kiss the flour off my nose. It’s not the same without you.

Were you travel sick that night? I hope you weren’t. It’s your refusal to take the tablets that make your sicker. I know they don’t taste nice but maybe then I could be sure you didn’t leave with a sick feeling in your mouth. Is it selfish to hope you went down thinking of me?

You’re ten times more beautiful than me. I can’t believe you can wear the most hideous clothes and still look like the most gorgeous being on the planet. It used to be embarrassing how much time I spent thinking about how you look in the sun. I’m not embarrassed by thinking about it now. I love every second I spend thinking of you. I can pretend you’re still here. That’s probably not healthy, I know.

I can’t believe it’s been a year. I love you. I’ll never stop loving you.

Yours, Nico

He could barely speak by the end. His voice kept cracking. He wiped his tears and took a deep breath before tossing the letter into the sea.

Maybe, if he prayed hard enough, it could find Will for him.

-

A/N

Hey, loves! This is a bit of a filler whilst I work on requests. I'll have at least one of those done as soon as possible.

Also, fun life update! I asked my friends about calling me my chosen name today and they were all very supportive so that makes me happy. That and my friend, Charlie, sent me a Pride flag and Mum and I hung it up on the wall above my bed!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed.

Ash x