Nico's POV

The words of his roommate were still ringing in his head as he watched the ground get smaller and smaller underneath him, the rumble of the engines sending a tremor through his feet. "You've barely been away for a few months," Trevor had said. "He hasn't changed, and he hasn't stopped liking you. You need to stop worrying." Despite the comforting words of his friend Nico still found himself chewing on his thumbnail as he rested his head on the cool window pane, using the puffy white clouds and blue skies of California to distract him from the problem at hand. He would miss the mild weather of California, and he knew that the harsh winters of New York would be a shock to his system. But New York was where Will would be waiting and Nico was willing to brave the harshest of conditions to see his boyfriend again.

"Anything to eat or drink, sir?" He glanced up and found himself staring into the kind face of the stewardess, a drink cart pushed out in front of her, filled with travel sized soda bottles and mini bags of pretzels. A flip of his stomach told him that the pretzels wouldn't be a good choice but a bottle of ginger ale caught his eyes and he smiled, hoping that it would help to fix the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. 

"I'll have the ginger ale," he said. 

"Enjoy the remainder of your flight," she said, handing him the bottle. It was tepid when he took a swig, doing nothing to distract him from the nerves collecting inside of his body. It had dawned on him several times that, despite their years of knowing each other and obvious connection they had only spent one real night together until they were ripped away from one another for months. Sure, there had been texting and calling and FaceTiming but somehow it wasn't the same. The all too familiar worry that the connection would be gone when he got back began to sneak up on him again and he took another sip, the bubbles washing down his throat. If they could only wash away his worries, he would be set. 

Will's POV

It felt strange to be back with his high school friends. It felt strange to have Jessica sitting across from him, obviously batting her eyelids and to have Michael's arm slung around his shoulders, just like old times. It felt strange to have the laughter surrounding him, high school memories rushing back. It felt strange because there he was with his friends, when the only person he wanted to be with was the boy they had bullied and harassed for years. His fingers twisted in his lap, drawing back from the conversation. There was something about being back with them that made him uncomfortable, as if his entire friendship had been made on a mountain of lies. He sighed, tugging his phone out of his pocket to check for a nonexistent text."You got a girlfriend down there in Boston?" Michael laughed, glancing down as Will clicked on his phone for the umpteenth time that afternoon. He was waiting for the familiar ding, for Nico's text to pop up on screen but nothing appeared, and it was making him nervous. 

"No, actually," Will mumbled, slipping it back into his pocket. Nico wouldn't be back until late that night, and it wasn't going to do him any good to worry for all that time. "Boyfriend, actually." He glanced away as he said it, the words slipping out of his mouth effortlessly, as if he had meant to say it. He squeezed his eyes shut, glancing up to see his friends gaping. 

"Boyfriend, really?" Michael's tone was that of shock, but not the bad type of shock. He seemed neutral to the fact, surprised but all together unfazed. "I hope he's hot, at least. Only the best for my Will." There were light-hearted chuckles and Will felt himself sigh in relief as the heavy feeling that had settled over the table lightened. They might have been terrible to his boyfriend, but at least they could help him pass the time until he could see Nico again.

Nico's POV

Nico woke with a start, his face smushed into his seat and his arm flung across his stomach. He groaned, sitting up and rubbing at his face. The plane was splitting through a dark sky, the clouds far beneath them. The plane was quiet, the only sound the quiet hum of the engine and the occasional snore. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep once he got back but that would prove to be a good thing. The more time he got with Will, the better. 

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, the screen showing him a text from Will. Hey, babe, missing you! You're going to be back around ten, right? We need to hang out- I need to see you. Can we go to our place? It's so nice there, so many memories. Text me when you see this, love you! Nico felt a smile coming onto his face as he scanned over the text, Will's voice filling his head as he read. It had been too long since he had heard Will's voice, too long since he had wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and kissed him. He longed to see Will again but soon enough, he would be back in the arms of his boyfriend.

His fingers paused on the keyboard as he wracked his brain for what to write- it had to be special, after all. He was seeing his boyfriend after months of being thousands of miles apart, it had to be special. Finally he typed out a weak love you too, pausing once more after he hit the comma. Finally his fingers began moving again and he smiled as he wrote. He was still hours away from his boyfriend but somehow he could still see Will's smile when he got the text.

Will's POV

When he heard a ding he whipped his phone out of his pocket, swiping to open up iMessage once saw that the text was too long to view on screen. He could fee a smile coming to his face as he read Nico's words, full of heart. Love you, too, and I miss you, too. I miss the way your voice sounds in person, the way your arms feel around my waist, the way your lips feel on my cheek. I miss your laugh, and you smile, and the way your hand feels in mine and the feeling of you being     physically next to me. I miss everything about you, Will Solace, and I don't think I've been more excited to see someone in my life. I'll meet you there, 'kay? Love you so much. 

"Ooh, is that your boyfriend?" Michael crooned as he popped a french fry slathered in ketchup into his mouth. 

"None of your business," Will said, pushing Michael away from him. "I should get going, though. My parents want me home for dinner, I think." His parents didn't care about him being home for dinner. He just needed to get to his and Nico's spot. He didn't think he could wait any longer.

"You sure you can't stay any longer?" Michael pouted. 

"Sorry," Will said, inching out of the booth. "Another time, okay? See you later." He was already out the door when Michael's goodbye reached him.

------

He was too excited to do anything else so he found himself turning down the long, winding road that would lead him to the playground. It was dusted in snowflakes, lit by the flickering streetlamp and when he looked up he found flakes drifting lazily down from the clouds to meet him. He shoved his hands into his pockets, walking further down the road. As he walked it seemed to change from the mushy, slushy kind of winter to the kind of winter with the quiet dances in the snow and the hot cocoa on cold nights. Will loved that kind of winter. He associated that kind of winter with happy thoughts and happy memories and maybe it was just the joy but somehow, he associated it with Nico, too.

It was snowing harder by the time he reached the playground, snowflakes brushing against his shoulders and the top of his head. He swept the snow from a swing, sitting down and wrapping his hands around the chain. It was cold underneath his hands so he pulled his sleeves to cover his hands, pumping his legs and moving higher into the air with every second. Soon he was soaring, amid the snowflakes and the stars with his feet touching the sky. It wasn't anything compared to being with Nico but it would distract him until they were together at long last.

Nico's POV

He was chewing on his nails as he moved down the winding road leading to the playground, every inch of road and tree waving in the light wind bringing back memories of elementary school and, more importantly, Will. He could still remember the sound of Will's laugh that night as he pulled him down the street, the feeling of his hand in Will's. He sped up, eager to reach him. After months of waiting he would be there, grinning his happy grin with his arms flung wide. Their fingers would intertwine and Will would wrap his arms around Nico's waist, resting his head on top of Nico's. I missed you he would whisper, and those three words would breathe life into Nico's soul. He walked faster.

When he reached the playground there was someone on the swings, his legs high in the air. He was a shadow against the dark sky but even so, Nico could make out the image of a mop of hair flying up, long legs brushing the top of the stars. He approached Will slowly, watching him swing without a single word. He looked angelic as he flew higher in the sky, as if he belonged there. It wasn't until Will saw him standing on the ground he began to slow down, his feet brushing against the wood chips as he came to a gentle halt. He was speechless as he walked up to Will, their fingers intertwining before Will broke it off, throwing his arms around Nico's waist. He set his head on top of Nico's, his I missed you tickling Nico's hair. Nico felt a smile coming to his face as he squeezed his boyfriend as tight as he could, letting out months of cooped up love. 

"I missed you, too."

------

With their bodies bouncing heat back and forth it was easy to stay warm even with their backs pressed into the snow so they stayed on the ground, bodies pressing up against each other and fingers laced together as they let the snow flakes dust their faces. "I missed you so much," Will repeated for the umpteenth time that night. No matter how many times he said it, Nico would never tire of hearing it. "I missed you so much my heart physically hurt."

"I missed you, too," Nico smiled, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I missed you so much I had to focus on your voice every day just so I wouldn't impulse buy a ticket back here to come see you."

"I missed you so much I thought about that night together every single night before I went to sleep," Will said. He smiled softly, a smile that sent shivers running up Nico's spine. "I missed you."

"Yeah, I got that."Nico inched closer to Will, pushing his face into Will's neck with his legs curled up into his chest. "Will?" 

"Yeah?" 

"What happens when break is over?" There was a significant tone of fear in Nico's voice and he could tell that Will could hear it, too, because he began running his fingers gently through Nico's hair. 

"We'll text," he said. "And we'll call, and we'll FaceTime. It won't be so bad. And then we'll come back for the summer and we'll have months together before we have to go back." 

"We're going to be okay though, right?" he asked. "We've had two nights together so far, we don't even know if we're going to work out."

"We will," Will assured him. "I promise. We have our memories, our memories of wood chips and cardboard swords. And we have the memories of the other night, and tonight, and tomorrow night, and the next night. And then we'll make more, and we'll have those. We'll make so many memories that you can't even hold them all in your brain." 

"That sounds perfect," Nico grinned. "You know I love you, right?"

"I love you, too." Their bodies were intertwined as they let the snow flakes spiral down on top of them, their eyes shut as they listened to their breathing, the only sound in the quiet world. For some, it wasn't much, lying in the snow with their bodies pressing together. But for them it was perfect, with a new memory made with each breath that passed through their lips. Memories that would make them smile, warm their hearts and bind them together, even though they were thousands of miles apart.

Hi guys! I'm so sorry this is a day late, but I hope it was okay. I formatted it a little differently for the benefit of the story, with a lot more POV switches than normal just to give the feel. Anyway, I hope you liked it!

Nina