Here's a part 2 to last week's one shot that someone requested!

Nico's POV

"You're sure you're okay closing up the shop?" Tana asked as she grabbed her keys and one of the remaining white-wrapped sandwiches from the cooler. 

"Yes, Tana," Nico grinned, brushing crumbs off of one of the tables with a well worn white cloth. "I'm fine. Go home, get some sleep."

"Just remember that the chip guy is coming in half an hour," Tana reminded him. "It's already been payed, but you're going to have to unpack and then you're done. Got all of that?"

"Yes, Tana," Nico laughed, giving her a light shove. "Bye. Have a good night. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." The bell above the door chimed as Tana slipped out into the midnight air, swallowed by the darkness. Nico was alone.

The deli sign buzzed with electricity as he wiped down the tables, ketchup and mustard splotches coming off with ease and the crumbs that had fallen to the floor swept away by the broom. He packed away the remaining subs into the cooler, mopping down the bathroom stalls and shutting off the lights in preparation for the chip delivery that would end the night. When the deli sparkled Nico sighed, wiping the dirt smudges from his hands. When he was positive that there was nothing else to do he slid into the booth closest to the door, pulling out his phone and clicking on his email. His breath caught in his throat as he saw an email from the Dayton Tribune sitting in his inbox and as he slid it open as a feeling of happiness bubbled up into his throat. Congratulations! it read. You are this year's winner of the Dayton Tribune writing contest! This award comes with publication in next week's issue, permanent publication on our website, a complimentary subscription to the Dayton Tribune and a five hundred dollar check. Please come to our offices on 31 high street to collect your check. Nico punched the air, the smile straining his cheeks. 

"Yes!" he yelled. "Yes, yes yes, yes!" He danced in the deli alone, covered by the darkness that swallowed the building whole. The glow from his phone still sitting on the table spat happiness into the room. He was still dancing when the bell above the door chimed and a person hidden by boxes stumbled in, a swatch of blonde hair showing over the top. "Oh, sorry, let me help you with those," Nico gasped, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment as he hopped over to the man and reaching for the two boxes on the top.

"Thanks." The voice sparked some sort of recognition in the back of Nico's mind but he couldn't quite place a finger on it until he grabbed the boxes and two familiar sky blue eyes were staring at him and Nico's voice caught in his throat. 

It was difficult to push out his strangled whisper in his shocked state, the words sticking to the roof of his mouth until he was finally able to push them from the tip of his tongue. "Hi, Will."

------

The boxes were left abandoned on the ground, two bags of chips missing from the top box as Nico and Will faced each other in the booth next to the door, the crunch of the chips filling the deli. "I never thought I'd see you again," Will said quietly, smiling softly.

"Is that a good thing?" Nico laughed. 

"No, no, of course not," Will said hastily, his face flushing until he saw Nico's smile. "You were joking." 

"Of course," Nico grinned. "I never thought I'd see you again, either. But I'm glad I did."

"So, what have you been doing?" Will asked, grabbing a chip from his bag. "How's the writing going?"

"Really well, actually," Nico said, blushing. "I just won my first contest." Will's face lit up.

"That's amazing!" Will laughed. "I'm so happy for you!" He squeezed Nico's arms, his hand lingering before it dropped to the table, his other hand rustling the chip bag.

"How have you been?" Nico asked. "Met that perfect person?"

"Not yet," Will sighed. "It feels like there's something wrong with all of the people I meet. None of them are right."

"No one?" Will shook his head and Nico felt a small pang in his chest, one that he brushed away immediately. "It doesn't help that you're always on the road. Can't be easy for relationships."

"It sucks for relationships," Will responded. "It feels like I haven't talked to anyone- like really talked to them-for years."

"Well, you can talk to me," Nico promised. "You'll be on the road but I'll be here. You'll always know where to find me."

"You won't be here forever," Will said. "You'll move to New York or San Francisco to become a famous writer, I'm sure of it." Nico let out a quiet laugh. 

"Doubt it," he said, smiling sadly. "I'm not nearly that good, trust me."

"Really?" Will challenged. "This one that won you the contest, what was it about?" Nico felt his face flush and his eyes flitted down as he picked at a place in the table where the yellow paint had chipped away to reveal the original light brown that lay just underneath.

"It was about a truck driver," he responded. "A truck driver who meets a writer in a small town and can't decide whether to leave or go." His heart was pounding as he looked up and he was shocked to see a smile spreading across Will's face, warm and bright like the sun.

"I love it," he said. "Like us, almost. When I met you that first time I wanted to stay, I really did but I had a job to get back to and money to earn. But meeting you this second time, talking to you in the middle of the night like this- part of me thinks it might not just be chance." Nico's hand dropped over the chipping in the paint so that only the bright yellow was visible.

"Chance of what?"

"Of maybe settling down," Will responded. "I'd get a good job, and make some friends. I could make some actual relationships, and you would be my first."

"You can help me write a sequel to my story," Nico said. "About how the truck driver manages to finally quit his job and start doing something he enjoys." Will laughed. 

"That sounds nice."

"You could, you know," Nico whispered, so quietly that he was surprised Will could hear him. Somehow the buzzing of the deli sign had disappeared so the sound of breathing was all too apparent and Nico was sure Will could hear his heartbeats. "Quit your job, move here. It would be nice to have you. We have an opening here that you could take, or there's an office near my house that's hiring. I could help you get settled, if you really did want to move." Will chewed on his lip, picking at the paint with his hand pressed into his lap. A blonde curl fell over his face and Nico fought the urge to push it back so he could see the clear blue sky that was Will's eye. But now they seemed cloudy, as if a storm was coming.

"I don't know," Will murmured finally. "It seems amazing but I have a stable job, and a stable life. I can't just leave it on a whim."

"It's stable," Nico admitted. "But is it sustainable?" They fell silent with only the sound of the fan whirring overhead to fill the restaurant.

"No." Will whispered. "I hate the thought of doing this for the rest of my life."

"Let me show you around," Nico said. "It won't take long- there's a spot we can go. You can just see the town and decide for yourself."

"Where?" Will asked, his tone brightening. Nico stood up, offering Will his hand. 

"You'll see," he promised. "If you come with me." Will's gaze returned to the table, his fingernails digging underneath each other as he considered Nico's offer. 

"Fine," he said at last, taking Nico's hand. "Show me the town." With happiness bubbling up in Nico's body he led Will past the boxes, locking the door after them. The unpacked boxes of chips still sat in the lobby but there was still time. Nico would get the task done but first, there was Will to attend to.

------

"Where are we going?" Will laughed as Nico pulled him up a grassy hill a hundred yards from the deli, the moon giving the blades of grass a hazy white glow. 

"You'll see," Nico responded, his head tilted toward the sky. "But this way you can see the whole town. Maybe this way, you'll choose to stay."

"Nico," Will sighed. "You know I'm not just going to choose to stay because of some beautiful view. I like you a lot but I can't just leave my job."

"Just see," Nico begged. "Come on, we're almost here." They were standing at the top of the hill, the moon's light like the beam from an alien ship from the movies. Nico watched as Will stared around, his brows furrowed. "We're not done yet," Nico said, pointing to the left. "We have to go up here." Will turned his head to face the staircase, winding up an imaginary pole and tapering off at a small tower made out of crumbling cobblestone. 

"Is that safe?" Will frowned. "It looks like it's gonna fall over at any second."

"It'll be fine," Nico promised. "Come on, I want to show you the view." A handful of pebbles fell from the staircase as they walked up but the steps stayed steady under their feet. 

"Why is this even here?" Will asked, staring at the town as they climbed higher and higher into the sky. 

"No one knows," Nico shrugged. "I've asked everyone, and it's always just been here. The important thing is that it's here." They reached the top of the staircase, the inside of the tiny tower beckoning them inside. "Well," he said. "You first." Nico watched as Will stepped inside, his head swiveling around as Nico followed him in. "Look out the window," he prompted, pointing at the oval hole in the wall. Will turned around, his mouth dropping open. 

"Woah." Nico glanced in the direction of Will's gaze, smiling as he watched the lights of his tiny town twinkle underneath them. 

"See that building over there?" Nico asked, pointing to the low topped brown square to the left of them. "That was my middle school. It was where I started writing, and where I made my first friend." He chuckled softly. "I wasn't the best at making friends, but the friends I did have, we had some good times." He pointed to the right. "That's the Round Cup coffee shop. My friends and I went there after school and got a small coffee-because it was the only thing we could afford- and pretended we were fancy and sophisticated and we put off doing our homework. When I got older I took my journal there and got a large coffee and I wrote." He stood on his tiptoes to point to the next place. "That's the head office of the Dayton Tribune. They gave me hope that I could actually be something, and do something special. And right down there-" he pointed underneath them, at the deli still spitting light into the one a.m. town-"that's where I met you for the second time, out of complete chance. Where I realized that maybe we can be something more than two strange coincidences." 

"And what about here?" Will asked, turning his attention fully to Nico. "What memories do you have here?" 

"Playing games with my sister," Nico said. "Hide and seek, tag, the works. I'm not exactly sure how we managed to play hide and seek here, but we did. I'd come up here to write sometimes, with my coffee and my journal as I watched the town from up high and tried to come up with story ideas. And this is where I brought you, when I tried to convince you to stay." Nico stepped closer, nothing but an inch of air between their bodies. "So? Do you want to take a risk, stay?" The world held its breath.

"You know what?" Will declared. "Yes. Yes, I am. I'm staying right here." Happiness bubbled up in Nico's chest and without even thinking about it he was throwing his arms around Will's neck, pressing his lips into Will's and Will kissed him back. When they broke apart there was a gleam in Will's eye as he turned away from Nico, sticking his head out of the small window. 

"What are you doing?" Nico laughed. 

"I'm telling the world," Will said. "I'm staying!" his voice rang out into the night, clear as the sky and bright as the moon. When he was facing Nico there was a crazed hunger in his eyes, a longing that yearned to be filled. "I'm staying," he whispered, his voice directed solely at Nico, so quiet that even the cobblestone bricks that surrounded them couldn't hear. They had met two times out of complete coincidence but when Will kissed Nico, it felt like Nico had known Will his entire life.

Hi guys, I hope you liked that one! Just wondering, would you like it if I did one more part to this, just to tie everything in together? I have some ideas, I just wasn't sure if you'd get tired of this mini series. Let me know!

Nina