Pretend everything is okay.

Will sort of made that his motto throughout the next few weeks. Now that his mom knew about his secret life, she was constantly trying to pretend like she wasn't on edge. She was really terrible at it. Will caught all of her small grimaces, her worry lines, the darker circles under her eyes. Whenever some report about a crime came on the tv, followed by the caption "Spider-Man Saves the Day!", she shook her head and quietly changed the channel.

Will didn't want to blame her. It was probably terrifying to her that every night her son was going out and putting himself in that type of danger. Which had been why he didn't want to tell her...didn't matter. It was too late now.

And anyway, not that his mom would know, recently there hadn't been nearly as much crime as usual. Will wanted to see this as a positive thing, but in his gut he knew that it was bad. His brain flashed back to that stupid message. Big things are coming. Maybe the crime rates were receding to throw Will off his game, just to yank out any stability from under him with a full scale attack from the dumb Mansion of Night.

The Mansion of Night. He still knew little about the organization. He had obtained tiny bits of information from his research (googling on his phone when he remembered) and from passing remarks Nico made to him.

And at the mere thought of Nico, Will snapped out of his worries. Because right now he was sitting on the roof of Nico's apartment building, waiting for him to show up.

They had continued their little late night meetings for the past few weeks. Somehow, every time Will struggled to sleep, Nico was right there, ready to talk to him. Will still hadn't told Nico who he really was. Nico hadn't asked yet, so he didn't exactly feel pressured. And he worried that it might make it weird. If Nico knew that the superhero he made casual chat with most nights was the weird guy at his school who blushed every time he talked to him. Okay, that probably wasn't what Nico thought of him, Nico liked him, at least as a friend, but Will could still worry.

The squeaking of the rooftop access door shook Will out of his thoughts. Unlike a few weeks ago, though, he no longer ran and tried to hide behind a table. Instead he stayed seated and waited until Nico di Angelo settled himself beside him on the roof.

"I thought you might be up here tonight." Nico said. He had blankets piled in his arms. "I brought extra."

Will smiled under his mask. "Well, I knew YOU'D be up here tonight. Spider-Sense." He squinted at the blankets. "So we're not trusting my amazing warming powers anymore?"

Nico nudged him with his shoulder. "Shut up. These aren't for warmth. They're for comfort. You can't tell me you seriously enjoy sitting on cold concrete."

Will laughed lightly. "Guess not."

They spread out the blankets on the roof (Nico had brought a LOT) then sat back down on top of them. After a minute, Nico flopped back with a sigh. "I miss the stars."

"Whaddya mean?" Will asked.

"Back in Italy. That's where I used to live. It wasn't...great, but some of my best memories are me, my mom, and my sister watching the stars. My sister loved that stuff. Knew a bunch of constellations. But here..." Nico gestured at the polluted night sky.

"Huh." Will looked up at the hardly visible specks of what he could maybe call stars coming through the smog that covered New York. He leaned back next to Nico. "I used to love the stars too. Back when I was little, in Texas."

"You lived in Texas?"

"Yeah. We moved here when I was six."

"Huh."

"We lived in the country, so at night, I would look at the stars through my window and they would be so...clear. No air pollution at all. Now that you remind me...I kind of miss it, too."

"Huh." Nico said again, almost a bit absently. He was laying down, propped up on his elbow, and he was looking at Will with a funny expression on his face. "You know what's weird?"

"Hm?"

"We know all this random stuff about each other. Where we're from, favorite color, favorite food, celebrity crush- still can't believe you're into Lin Manuel Miranda, by the way-"

"Shut up! It's my- it's a vision. You have to see the vision."

"Sure." Nico laughed and shook his head. "Anyway. I know all that about you. But...I still don't even know who you ARE. What you look like. Your name."

Will tensed. Was this the big moment? Nico had never inquired about his identity before. Not that this was necessarily inquiring. But it seemed like he was at least curious. Was it really a bad idea to tell him? Nico had told him (as Will, at least) so many personal things. He could at least tell Nico his identity.

Will's mind went back to his former worry that Nico would no longer want to hang out with him if he knew the truth. Even despite what his friends had reassured him a few weeks earlier, Will couldn't help but have a sliver of self-doubt.

Will quickly realized he had been sitting in silence for far too long. He cleared his throat, but wasn't sure what to say.

Nico fortunately sensed his predicament. "You don't have to tell me." Nico said quickly. "I just- I was just saying." He shifted uncomfortably.

Will nodded. "That's okay. I get it."

They laid there quietly for a few minutes, just looking up at the sky (albeit a bit uncomfortably). Finally, Nico let out a nervous giggle.

"You know the only reason I said anything about it? Me not knowing who you are?"

"Hm?"

"Because I kind of really want to kiss you. And I thought it might be a bit funny if I didn't know who you were then."

Will felt like time stood still. He almost thought he had misheard Nico, because there was no way he had said that. No way that Nico wanted to kiss...him. Well, Nico didn't want to kiss him. Nico wanted to kiss Spider-Man. Wait...that could work.

Spider-Man was confident. Spider-Man was chill. Spider-Man didn't panic every time he was near Nico di Angelo. So there was no reason that Spider-Man couldn't kiss Nico. Technically, there was no reason Will Solace shouldn't kiss Nico either, but Nico didn't like Will, he liked Spider-Man, but Will was Spider-Man, but also he wasn't, and this was all so confusing he should definitely just kiss the guy.

Will once again realized he'd been quiet for too long. "I, uh. I don't think it's weird."

"Even though I don't know who you are?" Nico asked, sitting up. He pulled his knees to his chest.

"Well," Will said slowly. "You might not know like, my name. Or how I look. But...you know me, right?" This sounded oddly smart coming from his mouth. Will figured that his brain was in such an overdrive that he had actually managed to reach the point of some intelligence.

Nico shrugged. "Guess that's true. Thought it was kinda dumb that I wanted to kiss you anyways, though."

"Why?"

"Cause I'm so...ME. And you're like, a cool superhero."

Will was almost shocked. Nico thought that Will was too cool for HIM? And he had been thinking the same thing this entire time, but in reverse...it almost put some weird clarity on the situation. Like neither of them were too cool for each other. Maybe Will wasn't as weird as he had thought.

"It's not dumb. I'm just as normal as you." Will responded quietly.

"Hm." Nico hummed in response. "So if it's so not dumb, then..."

The words "kiss me" hung unspoken in the air. Tentatively, Will shoved his mask up slightly, just exposing his mouth and a bit of his nose. He wondered if that was enough to give away who he was. Nah, it was dark, Nico wouldn't be able to tell.

Nico initiated the rest. He gently cupped Will's cheek. His fingers were freezing. Will didn't mind. Then he leaned in, just slightly, so their lips hovered over each others, their breath on each other's skin. And they closed the distance.

They didn't kiss for long, but it felt like forever. Nico's lips were soft against Will's, moving ever so slightly as they kissed. He tasted nice, like that vanilla chapstick Will always saw him using. Then they parted, Nico's cheeks pink and his lips flushed.

Will's brain still couldn't fully process what was happening, which was why he wasn't screaming right now. He had just kissed Nico. As Spider-Man. Wait, what even were the logistics of this? Don't think about that. Nico. Kiss. Nico. Kiss.

"Wow," was all Nico said softly.

"Yeah," Will agreed. A short laugh burst from him. Then more laughter bubbled over his lips, and he started shaking, doubled over in a giggling fit. Man, this was it. He was going crazy.

Fortunately, Nico joined in on his laughter, though he sounded a bit confused. "What's so funny?" He asked between nervous giggles.

"It's just..." Will leaned back, trying to steady himself from his laughing fit. "That was like. Really great. And I never thought it would happen."

"OH!" Nico said. "Yeah. I never thought it would happen either."

Will smiled at Nico, his mouth still exposed. He wondered, just for a moment, if he should pull up his mask the rest of the way. Just rip the bandaid off. Show Nico who he was. They had just KISSED. Didn't he kind of deserve to know?

At the same time, though, Will couldn't help but have that same stupid self doubt. Would Nico be disappointed that the mysterious superhero he just kissed on a roof was just Will Solace? Will mentally chided himself. Nico had thought that Will - or Spider-Man - was too cool for him. So he should just tell him, right? Did that make sense?

Fortunately, Nico spoke, cutting through Will's stupid thoughts. "That was my first kiss."

Will hummed. "Mine too, actually."

"WHAT? You've never kissed anyone?"

"You just said you hadn't either!!"

"Yeah, but you're, like, a SUPERHERO. Aren't people like, lining up to kiss you?"

Will barked a laugh. "Yeah, no. Not exactly."

"Well, then...I'm honored."

"You should be."

Nico's hand traced up Will's cheek once more. His eyes shone with confidence. "So, if it's okay with you...mind if I do the honors again?"

Will tried to hold back his shock and stuttered. "I- go ahead."

Nico leaned in to Will again, pressing their lips together once more. They held the kiss for just a bit longer this time, their lips moving against each others. Will felt a warm stirring in his stomach, and when they pulled apart, he realized the warmth wasn't just on the inside of his body. His skin was emitting a warm, bright glow.

"Huh," Nico said. "I'm not cold or anything. You don't need to do that."

"I'm not trying." Will said, his skin still bright. "I think it's just like...a reaction."

Nico's face broke into a fascinated grin. "That is SO cool. I should kiss you more often."

Will laughed. "Yeah, alright. I'm not opposed to that idea."

"And maybe, if we do that, at some point..." Nico hesitated, seemingly not wanting to ruin the moment. "You could tell me who you are?"

Will hummed. "I will," he promised. "Just...not yet." He placed his hand on top of Nico's hand that was cupping his cheek, lacing their fingers together.

Nico squeezed his hand lightly. "...Deal."

After what seemed like forever of them sitting there, quietly basking in the glow from Will's skin, Nico stood. He rubbed his eyes. "I'm getting a bit tired. You wore me out."

"So sorry." Will said dryly.

"You should be." Nico laughed. "I'll see you again? Soon?"

"Soon." Will said. "And maybe...I'll be ready then."

"Maybe." Nico said. "But don't stress about it, okay? Really. I get having secrets."

"I won't stress. Promise."

Nico bent down and pressed a kiss to Will's cheek. "Then g'night."

Will watched as Nico walked off. He hadn't even taken his blankets. That was okay. He'd probably be up here again soon.

Will's cheek was burning where Nico had kissed him, and for the first time, his brain managed to process what had just happened.

Will had kissed Nico. No, flip that. Nico freaking di Angelo had kissed Will. Nico thought Will was cool. Nico liked Will. Really liked Will.

Well, that wasn't quite right. Nico didn't like Will Solace. Nico liked Spider-Man. But what exactly was the difference? Will supposed that Spider-Man was cooler than Will Solace was. Nico didn't really care about that, though...hell, Nico had thought Spider-Man was too cool for him. So maybe Will Solace was right in his league.

Wait...but if Nico liked Spider-Man, then he wouldn't like Will. Because he liked Spider-Man. But Will was Spider-Man. So Nico liked him. But Nico didn't like him.

Will's head was starting to hurt, so he put away logic for a minute and decided to savor the lingering flavor of vanilla on his lips and the fading glow on his skin. Nico had kissed him. And nothing mattered more than that.