Archive of Our Own ^beta

Despite being the last hour of a double shift in the ER, Will was far from exhausted. In fact, the closer it got to the end of his shift, the more energy he felt.

“Will, you need to take a breath and calm down,” Lou Ellen told him as he walked past her at the nursing station. “What has gotten into you today, you are never like this at the end of a double?”

Will smiled as he looked down at his hands. There on his left ring finger was his golden engagement ring, and his favorite reminder of his fiancé. “Did I forget to tell you that today is the day?” Will asked her.

“Yes, what is today Will?” Lou replied, looking at him waiting for an explanation.

“Nico gets back today,” he said breaking into a huge smile. His fiancé, Nico di Angelo, and the love of his life since they were in high school, was flying home today, and before he left, he had promised Will it would be the last time. Nico was a captain in the Army and had been deployed for the past 14 months in Iraq.

Nico was one year younger than Will, and they had gotten together just before Will’s senior prom and had stuck together since then. Will had always known he wanted to be a doctor, and Nico never knew what he wanted to do, so after a lot of discussion, crying, fighting, and kissing, he had enlisted in the Army out of high school. Will hadn’t wanted him to go but he loved Nico enough to realize that he wanted to go to find his purpose.

When Nico left on his first deployment, Will had cried every night wishing Nico could be lying in bed next to him instead of fighting a war halfway around the world. That deployment had been the toughest for both of them to adjust to their new routines. They wrote letters constantly, and got an occasional video chat, and after 12 long months they were reunited. They had six weeks of bliss to be together before Nico left again.

The second time Will cried less and worried more.

And so their routine was. Letters and videos followed be a few weeks together after months apart. Nico worked his was up the ranks while Will worked his way into med school and a residency.

The first time Nico got shot it was just a graze over his right shoulder, but he had failed to tell Will he got shot, so when he returned from that tour and Will saw the scar he looked like he was ready to kill Nico himself. After a two hour lecture, Nico had promised that he would be contacted if something happened to him again.

The second time Nico got shot was on the tour before he proposed to Will. A bullet somehow got through his vest and hit his lower abdomen. As promised, Will was contacted, but it was almost worse knowing he couldn’t do anything except sit by the phone and worry about him. Will changed his mind about wanting to know everything that was happening, he just wanted to know that after something happened, Nico was alive and safe.

Nico proposed to him during his last visit home. He had taken Will for a breakfast date following a night shift and when they got home rose peddles were arranged on the bed spelling out ‘Marry me?’ Will had turned around to see Nico down on one knee, a velvet box in his hands with a gold ring inside. With tears in his eyes, all Will could manage was nodding his head before Nico stood up and captured his lips. The same day after Will woke up Nico told him he had decided not to reenlist after the next tour. Will cried happy tears for a second time that day.

Just thinking about his fiancé coming home brought tears to the front of Wills eyes. He blinked his tears away before looking back at Lou Ellen. She smiled at him before sending him to look at another patient.

Will kept busy until the end of his shift and had managed to calm down slightly so that his hands were no longer shaking with excitement. He changed out of his scrubs before walking to his car and driving straight to the airport.

After sitting in the usual afternoon traffic Will parked at the airport and made his way inside to the arrivals bay. He double checked the status of Nico’s flight, seeing that it had landed a few minutes ago. He sat down on a bench to wait for Nico to walk out.

“Will is that you?” a voice asked. He looked up and in front of him was Annabeth and Piper. He smiled up at the girls, knowing they were there for the same reason he was. Annabeth was a childhood friend of Nico and married to Percy Jackson, Nico’s cousin, and Piper was another long time friend married to Nico’s other cousin Jason Grace.

“Hi girls, fancy meeting you here,” Will said sarcastically. He figured he would see the two of them today as Nico was the leader of their unit.

“So how is work lover boy?” Piper asked as she sat down next to him, Annabeth sitting next to her.

“Oh same old, just got off a double shift that was chaotic but its what I signed up for,” Will replied happily.

“How are you here and still awake?” Annabeth questioned.

“Annabeth,” Will said looking over to her, “There is no where on Earth I would rather be right now. I get my boy back, and for good this time.” He told her, smiling.

“For good?” Piper replied.

“He promised me that this was the last one, and if he takes it back I think I might kidnap him and lock him in the basement,” Will said seriously.

Before either of them could respond, an announcement came on in the airport. “Attention everyone, we would like to welcome back the brave hero’s who have been overseas fighting for us. Thank you for your service.”

At the announcement all three of them jumped to their feet and started scanning the crowd of people coming into the room. Will was tall enough that he could see over almost everyone, and then his eyes landed on two black haired and one blond head, and he started moving through the crowd. He could feel Annabeth and Piper behind him but all he could think about were the chocolate brown eyes and smirk he knew would be on Nico’s lips.

He swore he stopped breathing when he finally saw him walking toward him, still in his uniform. And when he knew Nico had seen him he ran. He ran and picked up his fiancé, kissing him, and kept walking until they hit a wall.

“Oww,” Nico said breaking the kiss to lean forward and rub the back of his head.

“Sorry,” Will replied breathless from the kiss.

Nico looked down at Will from where he was still pinned to the wall. “Hi sunshine,” He smiled.

“Hi future Mr. Solace,” Will retorted.

“I thought we agreed that you were going to become a di Angelo,” Nico frowned.

“Nope.”

“Why do you have to be so difficult.”

“Because I love you.”

“I love you more though,” Nico said leaning in for another kiss, this one full of love but not lasting long.

“Come on fiancé, let me take you home, I want to go to bed,” Will said before letting him down off the wall and grabbing his hand, lacing their fingers together.