This is based on NFWMB by Hozier, so if you haven't heard it I'll put the video up top because it's an amazing song and I've been wanting to write this for a while. Also, a quick warning that there's gonna be language and also talk about pressured sex. I'm not sure what you guys are comfortable with, so I thought I'd put this in. Anyway, hope you like it!

Will's POV

When he looks out the window the sky around him is pitch black, not like that's out of the norm for a Saturday night. Nico closes up the bar on Saturday nights, slipping quietly back into their cramped apartment around one in the morning. He always insists that Will should go to sleep instead of waiting for him but Will likes to wait up, reading a book and sipping tea to keep him awake, just in case. 

He's at the bottom of his teacup, the final grains of sugar that never dissolved draining into his mouth when he hears the front door creak open, the sound of Nico slipping off his shoes and heaving a long sigh. He glances at the clock on the wall; one thirty-five, a few minutes later than normal but still, Will isn't too worried. The lamp beside him is flickering from hours of being used to light his pages and it's dim, casting the room around him in muted gold. He stands up when Nico enters the room, his face shadowed and he presses a kiss to Nico's cheek, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's face. That's when he starts to worry. 

The skin underneath his lips is wet and ragged, and when he listens closely he can hear that Nico's breathing is slightly heavier than normal, as if he's still trying to catch his breath. "Hey, Neeks," Will says, frowning as he examines Nico's face. It's hard to see in the darkness, the abrasions subtle but he can just barely make out the cuts across his cheeks, the split in his lip,  the bruise already forming around his eye like a target. Nico's gaze darts to the floor and he draws in his lip, wincing as he hits the cut part. 

"Hey, Will," he mumbles. He makes a move to go to their room but Will grabs him back, pulling him in for a hug and pressing a soft kiss to Nico's forehead. His lips come back dirty but he doesn't focus on that; the only thing he can pay attention to is Nico's trembling body in his grasp. 

"You wanna tell me what happened?" He feels Nico shrug. 

"You know, you work at a gay bar right in the middle of San Francisco, people get weird at night. People get horny and desperate and when you turn them down they get pissed, and when they're drunk they get even more pissed." Will sighs, running his hands through Nico's hair. 

"Come on," he says, his voice soft. He's staring off into the distance, out the window at the sparkling lights of the city but he still can't get that first image of Nico out of his mind, the one with the thin stream of blood running down his cheeks and the fear flashing in his eyes. "Let's go to the bedroom. I need light to be able to see those cuts better." 

Nico sits down heavily on the edge of the bed when they get inside, staring at his clasped hands in his lap as Will runs to the bathroom, grabbing water and bandaids and Neosporin and anything else he can think of that might help. Maybe the thousands of dollars his parents had paid for him to be pre-med really had come in handy. 

When he gets back into the bedroom Nico is still sitting on the edge of the bed, a deep frown on his face as his foot taps at the floor. His uniform, the tight black tee shirt, and black jeans are dirty and bloodstained and his hair is a rat's nest on top of his head. The bruise underneath his eye looks like a bag. "Maybe you should change into something more comfortable," Will says, flicking on the light. Nico's injuries look worse in the brightness, standing out against his pale skin. "You want me to grab your pajamas?" 

"Sure." Nico's voice sounds like it's about to crack so Will doesn't ask any further questions as he grabs Nico's sweats from the corner of the room, tossing them over as he spreads out the medical supplies on the duvet. 

"You good?" Will asks once Nico's changed, the heap of fabric making him look even smaller. 

"Yeah," Nico says, a sad smile unconvincing on his face. "Just a little shaken up, I think." Will rests his hand over Nico's giving it a light squeeze as he presses some of the Neosporin onto another finger, dotting it across Nico's cheek. He winces but stays still and silent, his eyes trained on Will. 

"You think you can tell me what happened? I need a little bit of detail, you know." He smiles in an effort to mask the worry that he's feeling, to try and make light of the situation. Nico seems to be trying even harder as he nods, another tight smile on his face. 

"There was this guy," he says, wincing as Will smooths the Neosporin across his cheek. "Drunk out of his mind, hitting on me the whole night. I didn't really think anything of it. Happens all the time." 

"That's why I told you it was a bad idea to work in a bar in the middle of the city," Will says. 

"Shut up, Mom. Do you wanna hear the story or not?" 

"Yeah, sorry. Keep going." Nico heaves a shaky sigh, his eyes darting to the floor before continuing. 

"He stayed my whole shift, gave me a ton of tips, kept ordering drinks until I swore he'd pass out, right on the floor. His friends kept laughing at him. He had a few friends, two more I think. But I was busy so I didn't pay much attention to them until I left the bar after closing up and they were waiting outside, just right out of the doorway. So I gave them a little smile but just 'cause they were customers technically, and I had to be nice to them. And then I started to walk home and the guy who had been hitting on me grabbed me by the shoulder, called me hot and said he wanted my number. Or he said we could just go at it right there, he didn't care. So I told him I had a boyfriend, and that I wasn't interested." 

"Glad to know you're not cheating with some drunk idiot at the bar," Will says as he places a band-aid over the cut, watching Nico flinch. 

"Yeah, me too." Nico leans forward, pressing a quick kiss to Will's lips. He's still shaking, still pale but at least he's getting better, Will thinks to himself. "Then he got pissed, you know? And he threw a punch and he missed, just barely but I still punched back because my boss always tells me that if some dumbass is super drunk and gets violent, the best thing to do is always fight back because usually, you'll win. But then his friends joined in and before I knew it I was on the ground and they were running away after beating the shit out of me." He shakes his head, wincing as the cut on his lip lets out a drop of blood. Will presses a cool washcloth to his cheek, mopping up some of the blood and dirt streaked across his skin. 

"What did they look like?" Will asks quietly. Nico's eyelids are beginning to droop and he's as clean as Will is going to get him but he needs one last answer before Nico can sleep. 

"Didn't get a good look at his friends but the main guy was tall, muscular, brunette," Nico says, resting his head on Will's shoulder. He inches closer and Will wraps his arms around Nico's waist, pulling him close. 

"Any special characteristics?" 

"He has a scar on his left cheek, I think," Nico says after hesitating for a split second. "This kind of stuff must happen a lot." He laughs softly before it trails off and he frowns, glancing up at Will. "Why?" 

"No reason," Will says, pressing a long kiss to Nico's lips. He can taste the blood but he doesn't mind and he pulls away, his eyes sweeping over Nico's face. "You should get some sleep. And maybe call out of work tomorrow." 

"I really don't think that's necessary," Nico says, slipping underneath the covers. He flips over, watching as Will changes into his pajamas. "Why did you want to know what they looked like?" 

"No reason," Will repeats, putting a hint of force behind his words. 

"You're not going to do anything stupid, are you? Because you're shit at fighting." 

"Hey, that's not true," Will says, sliding underneath the covers and pulling Nico close. Nico lets out a shaky sigh, burrowing his face in Will's chest. "And no, I'm not. I was just curious." He runs his fingers through Nico's hair, kissing the top of his head softly. "Are you going to call out tomorrow?" 

"Yeah, I guess," Nico says, his voice already thick with sleep. "It might be nice to have a rest day, anyway." 

"Good," Will says. "Night, Nico. I love you." 

"Love you, too." Within minutes Will can feel Nico's back rising and falling, hear his slow, steady breaths. They're warm against his chest and Will feels affection flood his body every time he looks down at his boyfriend. But even so he doesn't sleep for hours more, his brain rushing too fast for him to rest. 

------

Nico goes to bed early the next night, after he and Will watch movies and eat popcorn and curl up on the couch as they listen to rain pound down on the window panes. It's still warm when Will steps outside, a light breeze making the hairs on his bare arms stand up. He's aware of every step he's taking, his senses heightened as he draws closer and closer to Nico's bar. He's going almost on a whim, a faint hope that the man will be back that night. Because ever since last night there's a strange mixture rushing through his veins in place of blood, a combination of raw hatred and adrenaline, and he only knows one thing that will make him feel better. 

He orders a beer so it won't look weird that he's sitting drinkless and alone in a bar and takes a sip as he scans his surroundings, keeping his eye out for one face in particular. Brown-haired, tall, muscular; that describes half the guys there. But the scar down the left cheek could be helpful. The scar down the left cheek could be the only thing making his search possible. 

His eyes glance over every single head in the bar and for a split second he feels hopeless until a man towards the way back turns his head and Will sees it; a jagged scar cutting it's way down his left cheek. He has brown hair, his biceps ripple underneath his tight tee shirt and based on the way his legs seem to cramp underneath the table, Will can tell that he's tall. And the two other men sitting next to him give him the sense that he's found the right guy. Will's never been that lucky in his life. He considers walking up to the table, punching the man square in the jaw and letting his friends jump to his defense, but the thought of starting a fight right in the bar makes him nervous so when he walks up to the table he puts on his most enticing smile and taps the man on the shoulder. "Hey," he says, his smile getting wider. "You wanna step outside for a second?" The man's eyes sweep him up and down, and he grins at his friends. 

"Sure," he says, standing up and stretching his arms so that his shirt pulls tight against his muscles. Will does his best to look sexy but when the man puts his hand on Will's lower back, pressing closer to his body, Will knows that he doesn't even have to try. 

The air outside has cooled and the wind is stronger, but Will isn't cold. The street is quiet for once, the light outside of the bar casting a glowing circle onto the ground. Will pulls the man into it, gripping his shirt and pulling him in close. "So, what are we gonna-" the man doesn't have time to finish his sentence before Will punches him square in the face and the man stumbles back, cupping his hand to his cheek. 

"What the fuck!" 

"You're a real piece of shit, you know that?" The man comes at Will with his fists raised but he's already a little tipsy and he misses Will so that Will can come in with another punch, this time on the other cheek. "You can't fucking hit on someone and then get so pissed when they reject you because they have a boyfriend that you beat them up. That's a shitty move." The man's eyes widen and his face turns white. 

"You're that dude's boyfriend? The one from last night? Did he send you?" He stumbles back, fear filling his expression as he puts his hands up in front of him. 

"No, he didn't send me. I'm gonna defend my boyfriend if someone hurts him because I love him." Will throws another punch and this time the man throws one back. It connects with Will's upper lip and he stumbles back, and when he touches his lips his fingertips come back bloody. The man is coming in for another punch but white-hot rage fills Will's body and he swings before the man even gets close; he already hurt Nico, and he won't get Will, too. Suddenly he's a machine, throwing punches left and right and at some point the man's body almost sags and he slumps against the wall, panting heavily as a thin stream of blood trickles down his face. Will stands over him, his fists still balled as his chest rises and falls with his heavy breaths. 

"You fucking finished?" the man asks, his voice hoarse. "Or you wanna go for a second round?" 

"No, I'm done." Part of Will is impressed that he managed to beat up this man, who's probably roughly six four and two hundred or more pounds. He stoops down and he knows he must look absolutely deranged, but he doesn't care. "But don't come near me or my boyfriend ever again, you hear me? Because if you do I'll fuck you up even more than I already did. Got it?" 

"Jesus fuck, yeah I got it," the man says. 

"Good." Will isn't exactly sure what to do; he's filled with adrenaline and he's shaky. He knows he's going to crash soon so he stands up, turning his back and walking away as fast as he can. He's growing shakier by the minute and as soon as he's rounded a corner he starts running when he's sure he's out of the man's sight. After about a minute of full sprinting, he stops, bracing himself on his knees and panting heavily. When he's caught his breath he straightens up, closing his eyes and grinning crazily at the moon high above in the sky. 

------

When he opens the door to their bedroom Nico stirs, his head poking out from his cocoon of blankets. "Hey," he says, grinning sleepily. "Where were you?" His grin slides off of his face when he catches a glimpse of Will's face in the harsh lighting spilling in from the other room. "Why is your lip bleeding?" 

"Don't worry about it," Will says, wiping the blood off of his lips before kissing Nico softly on the forehead. "Just go back to bed, babe. I'll tell you in the morning." 

"Are you sure?" Nico asks, yawning as Will changes into his pajamas. 

"Of course I'm sure, Neeks, just go back to sleep." He slides into bed next to Nico, wrapping his hand around Nico's and giving it a light squeeze. "I love you." 

"I love you, too." Nico still sounds worried but Will can tell in the way that his words are slurred that he's too tired to press the subject and he's proven right when he hears Nico's light snores next to him. Will knows that he should sleep soon but he's still shaky, still pumped up on adrenaline and he's content with simply lying on his back with the stars twinkling in his peripheral vision. "Nothing," he whispers to anything and anyone that can hear him as he squeezes Nico's hand again. "Absolutely nothing fucks with my baby." 

Hey guys, I really hope you liked that one! Also, I know that I'm still 30k away but that's still close enough that I was wondering what you guys would like to see for 300k? It's literally only been a few months since we hit 200k so I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who reads this book, you have no idea how much it means to me. And if you have any ideas on anything you'd like to see for 300k, like a special series on a different day of the week for a month or like a contest, please let me know!

Nina