Look Me In The Eye [Solangelo]

Chapter 5

Will swished the bitter coffee around in his mouth while he waited for Marco Monroe to come back online. He told himself it would just be one time, he'd call and vent once and then he'd talk to his therapist, like a normal person. But then he made more progress with Marco than he'd had in weeks with Josephine. And Marco called him 'Babe' and 'hon' and maybe it was pathetic but he liked that. A lot. More that he should have, if he was telling the truth.

At the end of the day Nico didn't deserve to be tied down to someone like him. He hadn't gotten a response from him from the apology letter he had Hazel give to him. Though, in hindsight, why would he expect one? Whatever. This is what he wanted, this is what he needed. What they both needed. There were times he went a month or two without seeing Hazel in person because it was just too much—and she was his best friend. What would a boyfriend think if he did that? No. Too messy. Maybe in a few years, if Nico hadn't moved on by then, maybe he'd be good enough for them to have a functional relationship. Maybe. After all, he'd been like this for well over a decade, who knew if he would ever be normal. This was the only way.

With the latest refresh of Miss Dare's website, Marco Monroe was now online.

"Hi, Will." Marco's voice was thick with an Italian accent and an only slightly apathetic undertone. But that was just one of the things that made him easier to talk to than most people. That and he'd absolutely never have to look at him in person.

"Hey, Marco, what's up?"

A microwave hummed in the background and there was a distant popping noise.

"Popcorn."

Will sunk deeper into the couch and pulled his blanket tight around his shoulders. "Settling in for movie night?"

Marco groaned. "More like just woke up from a 20 minute nap after a 10 hour shift and this is the first time I've eaten all day."

Will wrinkled his nose. "And you chose popcorn?"

Will wasn't a fan of chewing asmr, but he would put up with it for Marco.

Marco scoffed. "More like I chose the snack with the most calories that I could consume the fastest."

Will let his eyes travel around his newly cleaned living room. Voltron was muted on the TV for the millionth time—the bonding moment.

"Are you supposed to be eating on the clock?" Will teased.

"Oh, I'm sorry—have you finally decided you want my usual services instead of me being your on-call therapist?"

Maybe. "Nah, proceed."

Crunch.

"So, Will, how was your day?"

He hummed, thinking of the best way to string together the day's events in a way that wouldn't sound too pathetic.

"uhh, okay. So I failed another anatomy test today—but only by a little bit. I got a 69%--"

Marco started choking. "You know what that means, right?"

"Yeah," Will rolled his eyes. "I don't have enough points for a passing grade—anyway, my prof is making me get a tutor or she's going to fail me."

"Well, that's not ideal."

Will shrugged and then realized Marco couldn't see him. "It's not that bad. I need the help—no idea where I'm going to find the time, but maybe I can get a grade more like what I'm used to the next to next time around.