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“Will?” Cecil called through the crowded infirmary. There was no way this many people were injured so badly as to need medical attention. Or anything above a band-aid and a condolence, really. Cecil was literally having to push past people and brush others’ elbows just to make it to the middle of the room. Some people seemed to be just standing there and… talking? The infirmary is not the place for that, people, he wanted to fuss in their faces. Of course, though, he was caught up in his search for the invisible Will Solace, so he refrained.

“Will~” He called again, this time in that flirtatious tone that Will hated. If blondie was capable of hearing him right now, he’d probably be storming over to grab Cecil by the ear and tell him to shut up. 

“Oh, William Solace, I am dying over here and will succumb to my peril if you do not attend to my immediate need!” He shouted dramatically, flopping a hand over his forehead. Still no response. He groaned and began to elbow his way past even more people, trying to move to the front of the room. He could probably get a better view from there. 

Usually, he wouldn’t be this frantic with searching for Will. The dude always turned up eventually. However, he hadn’t seen Will in 3 fucking days. For two boys who spent almost every waking moment that Will wasn’t working together, that was absurd.

Orange, orange, orange, yellow. In a sea of orange t-shirts, that smudged yellow flannel was all that caught his eye when he pushed past another kid. Tied around the waist of a limber blond, a boy made of a faint glow and shaking limbs. He hovered trembling fingers over the bloodied knee of a girl Cecil recognized as one of the Hypnos kids. He had bags under his eyes and an unlying quiver in his knees that screamed ‘I'm dying to give out beneath this weight’. 

As soon as Will was done working on the girl’s knee and she scurried off, he leaned down and braced his forearms against the cot she had been sitting on like it was the only thing holding him up. Cecil came up behind him.

A couple beats of silence passed, but when Will tried to grasp at his bearings and move on to the next person with a boo-boo, Cecil shoved a hand a little-too-roughly between his shoulder blades and pushed him back down to where he hunched over the cot.

“If you aren’t dying, get out!” He called to the rest of the infirmary. When nobody moved, he yelled again, this time louder. “Well? I said get!”

At that, people seemed to come to their goddamn senses and realize that the infirmary wasn't for a paper cut, and a line grew as people filed out. Will sighed.

“You don’t need to do that.” He murmured weakly. “I’m alright.”

“You’ll have to do better than that.” Cecil rubbed the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. Did he ever know when to quit? “You’re shaking. Sit down.”

Will gave Cecil a glare of protest but could hardly muster up the energy to actually object, just sinking to the ground with his knees against his chest. Cecil sat down beside him.

“You alright?” He asked gently, easing a hand onto Will’s shoulder. He looked like he was about to cry.

“‘M tired.” He murmured weakly. 

“Yeah, I would assume. When was the last time you slept? Or ate?” 

Will hesitated, and that in and of itself was an issue. He stared blankly at the floor and thought for a moment, frowning like it was a horribly daunting task.

“Think I ate yesterday. Maybe. I don’ remember the last time I slept.”

Cecil ruffled his hair affectionately. “That’s an issue. You gotta take better care of yourself. You’re runnin’ yourself into the ground.”

“I know, I just–” Will brought his shaking hands to his head, tangling trembling fingers in golden curls. “People keep coming to me over the smallest of things, and I don’t know how to say no. How are you supposed to say no when somebody’s askin’ you for help?” 

“I don’t know, man. But you’ve got to figure it out. Have you looked into a mirror? You look like a ghost, dude. You are not okay. This can’t keep up.”

Will said nothing, and Cecil didn’t fill the silence. 

“I don't know what to do.” Will murmured after a few minutes, tugging on his hair. “I-I don't. I can't keep doing this. I want to, but I can't. I don't-” He choked on a sound torn between a breath and a sob. His shoulders hunched forward abruptly.

“Will? You alright?” Cecil cocked his head, hovering a hand over Will’s back. What the fuck was he supposed to do? “Will?”

Silence. Will squeezed his eyes shut. Deft fingers, no longer glowing, curled closer into his hair.

“Will, man, you’re freaking me out. You-”

“I don’t fucking know!”

For the first time in a very long time, Cecil heard William Solace scream. It was a nasty noise, in a way Cecil hadn’t heard from him before. It sounded like he was tearing a vocal cord with the harshness of it.

Cecil stayed silent. Will did not. His voice lowered, but the anguish in it stayed the same.

“I don’t- I don’t know if I’m okay! I don’t know how to say no! I don’t know how to do anything except sit in this god damn infirmary and fuss over people who don’t need it because I can’t say no and I don’t know how to do anything better!”

Silence. On Cecil’s part, of course, because Will was anything but silent in the weight of his breathing and the quiet, almost choking noise that came when his lips parted. Like he was trying to say something, but couldn’t quite get the words out.

His mouth opened again, just barely, but shut itself after a moment.

The next time? All that came out was an “I-” before he cut himself off. He groaned loudly in frustration, slamming his forehead (a little too aggressively for Cecil’s liking) into his knees. Those disheveled golden locks twisted as Will dug his fingers tighter into his hair. Cecil still wasn’t quite sure what to do.

“Will?”

Tighter, those fingers curled, until his knuckles turned white and Cecil was genuinely scared that Will was going to pull out his hair.

The second Will’s wrist began to move outwards, though, extending to try and offer a tug to the hair trapped in that white-knuckled grip, Cecil stopped sitting still. He reached out and closed a hand around Will’s wrist.

“Dude. Let go.” He offered a light squeeze. “You’re going to hurt yourself. C’mon. Quit pulling your hair.”

A beat of inaction, a breath, before those fingers gradually slackened their grip, and Will’s arm fell limp in Cecil’s hold.

“Good.” Cecil said quietly, going to pull away, when Will’s hand shot out faster than he had seen any parts of his sluggish form move since Cecil found him. A hand caught his, pulled it forward, and as Will lifted his head ever so slightly, Cecil had no chance to move away as Will pulled his hand close to his forehead and essentially just used it to cushion his head between his knees.

It wasn’t as if he actually wanted to pull away, though. He had a feeling that it wasn’t very much about Will wanting Cecil’s hand as a cushion rather than just… wanting touch.

That was fine. That was okay. Progress, or whatever.

Cecil let it be for a couple of minutes.

“Will?” He asked after what could have very well been anywhere between 5 minutes and an eternity.

“Hm?”

“Do you want a hug?”

At that, the head buried in scraped knees moved. Ever so slightly, sure, but movement as he rose his head by just an inch or so. Just enough so he could peer over his knees at Cecil.

Cecil tried to offer a welcoming look, but he wasn’t very sure how it came out. He wasn’t-

“I’m not-” He breathed. “-good at this. I’m not good at this. I dunno. The whole, like, comforting thing. But, I mean, I’m here. And Kayla says I give good hugs, if that’s worth-”

Shit! Cecil nearly fell back with the force that Will launched himself into him with. Tackling him in a gordian embrace that Cecil simply returned. One arm wrapped around Will’s back, one came to rest on the back of his neck.

“This okay?” Cecil murmured. Will just nodded frantically from where he had buried himself in the crook of his friend’s neck.

“Okay. Okay.”

Slowly, like he was trying not to frighten off a wounded dog, Cecil twisted a finger through the hair at the nape of Will’s neck, and for fuck’s sake, Will whimpered. A soft noise that sort of made Cecil want to punch a wall. It was stupid. All of it. It was stupid that such a kindhearted, loving person should have to hurt this damn badly. It was ridiculous. 

Will just trembled within his hold while Cecil rubbed his back, finger still curling into those soft hairs near the top of Will’s neck. He could feel hands clenching and unclenching within the back of his shirt, and to be completely honest, Cecil had no idea where to go from here. Will was calming down (at least, he seemed to be), and the shaking was easing up. That was good. 

After a few minutes of this, Will’s breath evened out against Cecil’s skin, and Cecil was half convinced the guy was about to fall asleep. 

“Will.” He whispered, tapping against Will’s neck with his nail, and Will jolted a bit. 

“Hm?” He asked sleepily, and that answered Cecil’s question for him. 

“You’re about to fall asleep. Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to nap in your bed?” 

“‘M not falling asleep. I have work to do.” Will huffed, and Cecil just laughed and pulled away. 

“Yeah, you are, and we’re both gonna have back pain when you wake up, so let’s nip that in the bud and go to your bed, ‘kay? No more work.” 

Will gave a discontented noise at the lack of contact and started to rub the sleep from his eyes, but he brought his hands away from his face to take Cecil’s when they were offered, like he needed the contact back as soon as he could get it.

And good graces, Cecil had said it to nearly everyone at camp, but that didn’t make it any less true— Will was gorgeous. Especially when he was tired. The way his eyes sat, half lidded, and his hair sprawled about every which way? It was beautiful. Cecil could go blind the rest of his life at this moment and die a happy man, knowing the last thing he laid his eyes on was William Solace. 

Will shook his head a bit like a dog trying to shake away a layer of water, and the frankly adorable movement drew Cecil out of his marveling and brought him back to the present. He had an eternity to stare at Will. Right now, it was time to get the guy to his damn bed. 

Cecil tugged lightly on Will’s hand, pulling him towards the infirmary door. “C’mon. To bed.” 

Will let himself be pulled along, fingers hooked in Cecil’s, out the door and towards the cabins. 

Cecil still wasn’t over his oggling. The sun was setting, and Will looked even prettier in the evening glow. It cast a warm, orange light across the expanse of his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, and he was so beautiful it hurt. He was so pretty all the damn time, it felt impossible not to comment on it every time Cecil saw him. 

He had to press his lips together as tightly as possible to refrain from voicing his thoughts aloud. “You’re so pretty that it hurts my chest to even look at you in the evening sun, let alone right after you nearly fell asleep in my arms” doesn’t really seem like it’d go down well right after, y’know, a mental breakdown and all. 

He might’ve pushed the door a little too hard, Cecil noted, when he opened the door to the Apollo cabin with such force that it hit the door with a loud bang! The only thing that really mattered to him, though, was the way Will winced at the noise, causing him to murmur a quiet sorry under his breath as he closed the door (quietly) behind him. 

It felt a bit strange to say that the inside of this cabin was absolutely no surprise to Cecil. He knew the building from the rafters among the ceiling (the ones Will would always fuss at him for climbing) to the hyacinths in a pot beside the window. This was closer to his home than his own cabin, for fucks sake. Most nights were spent curled up on the floor next to Will’s bunk, so many that the floor practically had a darkened spot where Cecil would assume the same sprawled-out position every night.

Nobody was there to greet them as they entered— none of the Apollo kids tended to come home before the sun went down completely. They stuck to his rays like a plant to the same.

He brought Will to his bunk and gently pushed him down, lingering to marvel at the man for a minute before sinking down to the floor, back against the wood of the bed. Will, however, had other plans, as he caught Cecil’s hand by the index finger alone. 

“Stay.” Will muttered, sitting back against the headboard, and Cecil cocked his head. 

“I am staying. I’m sittin’ right here.” 

“You know what I mean.” Will pulled on his finger a little, turning away to try and hide the flush blooming across his cheeks. “Just for today. Please?” 

Cecil sighed and ruffled Will’s hair with his free hand. Really, who was he to refuse? 

“Fine, fine,” he gave, “since you asked so nicely…”

Will didn’t let go of his hand even as Cecil climbed into bed with him, settling beside him against the headboard, and Will was ever so quick to lean his head against Cecil’s shoulder. He was acting like he’d die from a lack of contact.

It was adorable, honestly, and it made Cecil laugh a little. 

“What’s funny?” Will mumbled. Cecil shook his head. 

“Nothing. Dude, it can not be comfortable to nap sitting up.” 

Will huffed something under his breath, but Cecil was not having it and laid down. 

“C’mon, then.” He poked Will’s ankle. “I’m tired, too, so we can both take a nap. Go to sleep, asshole.”

“Language.” Will gave, but he wiggled around until he was able to curl up onto his side, grabbing Cecil’s hand to cradle it to his chest. 

“…I wanna say g’night, but it’s not actually night. It’s, like, 6.”

“Good evening.”

Cecil laughed quietly. “That makes you sound like a Victorian gentleman.”

“Maybe I am. Secretly. ‘M a time traveller.”

Cecil laughed even harder. “Continue time traveling when you wake up. Go to sleep.”

With that, Will shut his eyes, warm breath slowing as it fanned over Cecil’s wrist. G’night was murmured so quietly that Cecil could hardly make it out, and it took a second to be able to muster a reply with how enchanted Cecil was by the sight of Will, so peaceful looking.

“G’night, man. Get some sleep.” Cecil gave in return, but he was pretty sure Will was already fast asleep and didn’t hear what he said.