shadows and sunshine (solangelo)

olympics au part 2

this is part 2 of the olympics au by buoyantsaturn on ao3, part 1 is the chapter before this one and yes, disclaimer: these aren't my characters, this isn't something that i wrote, yea that's it enjoy!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39666582

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For four months, their relationship had to survive by texts and calls alone. Things could be worse, Nico figured, since they could've been twenty years in the past with the slowest internet possible and horrendous long-distance call charges. Or worse, forty or fifty or however many years in the past, long before the internet was widely available, and they would have had to rely on snail mail across the sea - surely it would've taken a month just to receive a response to his first letter.

Still, that didn't make the ache in Nico's heart any less sharp when he had to wave goodbye to Will through a phone or laptop screen. It didn't change the fact that Nico wanted to jump on the first plane across the Atlantic any time Will texted him a simple I miss you. Every time he got so much as a papercut, he imagined Will sealing a bandaid over the injury with a kiss, and every time Nico bit into a madeleine - which he had been buying in increasing frequency since the Olympic games, and none of which were as good as the ones he'd had that day with Will - he could almost feel the warmth of Will's arm around him.

They hadn't even had a chance to kiss before parting ways in Paris - a fact that Nico regretted almost every single day - because with the end of the games came so much chaos that they'd barely even managed an in-person goodbye, and as much as Nico had wanted to pull him in, he didn't exactly want the whole world as an audience. Now, though, Nico was already losing the memory of what Will's lips felt like against his wrist, how Will's fingers felt tangled with his own, and it was driving him crazy to think that he didn't know when he would have the chance to see Will again in person. Because what were the chances that Will was going to be in Europe again any time soon?

No, Nico would have to go to him. And since it was his father's turn to host his children for Christmas, Nico at least had an excuse to be on that side of the world for a change. How difficult would it be to find a time where Nico could visit Will, even just for a day or two?

Nico had started texting him with ideas sometime in November, and Will had sounded just as excited to see him as Nico felt, which was something of a relief - because no matter how close the two of them had gotten over a week in the summer, four months apart was a lot to handle. Will had texted him an address in Canada where he would be staying for the month of January, so Nico made arrangements for himself with a flight out of LA and a few nights booked at the hotel closest to Will's address.

He was practically buzzing as he stuffed a suitcase full of his warmest clothes. He'd never been to Canada before.

Nico spent Christmas with his father and step-mother, as well as both of his sisters, though both girls had taken off before New Year's - Hazel to spend the rest of the holiday season with Frank and his grandmother, and Bianca to head back to work, seeing as she hadn't been given more than a few days off for the holiday.

Nico counted the days before the start of January, the start of Will's stay in some remote cabin, the date of Nico's departure from America to join him in the north. He had always hated flying, but knowing that Will would be waiting for him on the other side of the journey made it all much more bearable.

It was late when he stepped off the plane, and as soon as he made sure he had a signal again, he texted Will to let him know he'd landed. His plan was to collect his suitcase from the carousel, catch a cab to his hotel, and hopefully see Will for breakfast in the morning. However, as soon as he grabbed his suitcase and started toward the door, he heard someone calling his name, and he stopped. His head snapped toward the sound of the voice seconds before he was nearly swept off the ground in a warm, tight hug. Just from the sight of the golden curls he saw out of the corner of his eye, Nico knew whose arms were holding him, even if the voice speaking softly in his ear was what really gave it all away.