HOLDING HANDS AND INFIRMARIES

“I’m off rest,” Nico announced to Will, a week later. Will raised his eyebrows.
“I’m not sure that’s for you to decide.”
“Well, I’ve been paying attention, and my dreams are clearer. So I’m off rest for now.”
Will began to protest, and Nico interrupted him, his heart threatening to take over his brain. If this didn’t work, if he’d just been misinterpreting the signs, if this wasn’t what Nico thought it was, he wasn’t sure what he’d do.
“I’m going down to the campfire.” He looked for expressions in Will’s face. All he could see was a little surprise. “And you should come.”
And a beat passed, and Nico looked down, and he heard Will say, “You like the campfire?”
Will was grinning. Any light that illuminated the air licked his hair and the curves of his face. Something fluttered in Nico’s chest. “No,” Nico said truthfully. “Not really, actually. But, you know. I was thinking about doing something different. Trying it out.”
“How about-” Will grabbed his navy jacket and began to pull it on. “Instead, we go down to the lake.”
“The lake.”
“Yes. The lake.”
“What’s at the lake?”
“I don’t know. Scenery. Water. Moonlight. It’s nice.”
“Huh.”
“You’d probably like it better than the campfire. Just saying.”
“Yeah, yeah. Okay. Let’s go down to the lake.”
“That’s the spirit.”

Notes