Work Text:
Will wakes up, seeing the bedroom bathed in unusual light. It sends a shock of fear through his system, waking him up. He untangles himself from Mike’s arms and turns to see snow falling out the window in thick, heavy flakes. He sighs–nothing unnatural, just snow, standard for the time of year.
Will gets out of bed, thankful for the thick wool socks he wore to bed, and pads out to the living room. He turns the news on, mutes it, and watches the running tab along the bottom of the screen. It feels like half an hour before he sees the name of the school he works at–CLOSED.
He sighs, looking at the clock. It’s nearly five am–he certainly could go back to sleep, but the cold has worked its way into his body, waking him up. He heads to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.
Mike shuffles into the kitchen, bed-headed and half awake, drawn like a magnet to wrap his arms around Will’s waist. Will jumps as Mike nuzzles his cold nose into Will’s neck. “Morning” Mike mumbles.
“Hey” Will says, covering Mike’s hands with his own. Mike’s fingers are chilled.
“Is your work closed?” Mike mumbles. Will nods. “Lucky” Mike says.
“Do you need to go in?” Will asks. Mike groans, and Will can feel the rumble in his chest. “We have a deadline on Wednesday” Mike says. “I think Dexter would kill me if I didn’t show up”
“Sure” Will says, reaching up to pull two mugs out of the cabinet. Mike stays glued to his back as he sets the mugs down and pours coffee in each. “Can you grab the creamer?” Will asks. Mike groans again, presses a light kiss on Will’s jawline, and pulls away from him, opening the fridge. Will starts to stir sugar into Mike’s coffee, and Mike leans over to pour half and half in each of the mugs.
“It’s really coming down out there” Will says. “Traffic’s gonna be awful”
Mike shrugs, picking up his coffee. “It’ll be fine. But if I show up late, I might have to stay late”
“Then you should get going” Will says, looking up at his boyfriend. “I’ll worry if you get home late in this weather”
Mike shrugs. “It’s not that urgent. Let’s go sit for a bit”
Mike pulls Will’s hand towards the couch, and they settle into nearly the same space, holding steaming mugs of coffee. Mike pulls a blanket over the both of them and wraps an arm tightly around Will’s shoulder. They both stare out the window at the snow falling.
“What are you going to get up to today?” Mike asks. Will shrugs. “I’ve been meaning to wash all of the bedding for a while. And maybe I’ll draw, or work on lesson plans”
Mike nods. “I wish I could just stay home with you”
Will snuggles closer to him. “Me too”
They finish their cups of coffee, and as Mike heads back to the bedroom to get ready for work, Will pours himself another cup. He sits back down on the couch, staring at the snow falling.
Mike comes out of the bedroom, adjusting a patterned sweater. “Have you seen my glasses?”
“Bathroom counter?” Will guesses. Mike heads back into the bathroom, “Got them, thanks”
“Wait” Will says, standing up, meeting Mike at the door. “Can I pack you a lunch?”
Making lunches is usually Mike’s job in the morning. He shakes his head. “I’ll just get some of whatever the guys at the office order for lunch”
Will finds the collar of Mike’s shirt, unfolding it from under his sweater. He runs a hand through Mike’s curls, looking just slightly more tame than his bedhead.
“Are you going to be okay alone here?” Mike asks. Will nods, “It’s just one day”
“You can call me, if you need” Mike says. “Or just if you want to”
“Thanks” Will says, and leans in to kiss Mike good-bye. He hands Mike his coat and scarf, and Mike grabs his work bag.
“Drive safe” Will says. “I will” Mike smiles, leaning in to press another kiss to Will’s cheek before he opens the door and heads out into the snow.
Will clicks the lock closed, and immediately decides that the silence of the apartment will not work for much longer. He picks a record and puts it on, then changes out of his pajamas into a thick wool sweater and a comfortable pair of jeans. He brushes his teeth, then returns immediately to his second cup of coffee.
Determined to do something productive, he sifts through the clutter on the living room table. He moves the paint and minis from the night before to Mike’s desk in the dining room, cleans up old coffee mugs, and thumbs through last month’s edition of Geek Monthly, finding the Editor’s Note from one Michael Wheeler. He stares at Mike’s picture accompanying the article for a moment, Mike holding a D20 die next to his face and looking with a quizzical, comical expression into the camera. Mike loves the job, and Will loves that Mike loves his job. It’s the main reason they live in Chicago now, so Mike can work in the Geek Monthly office, instead of working as a freelance contributor like he did while they were in college.
Will likes his job enough too, teaching art at an elementary school. He would be lying to say he wasn’t relieved for the day off, though. It was nice to be needed at work, but he wasn’t too sad to not hear a hundred different kids say his name over the course of the day.
Will busies himself with more chores around the house, stripping all of the bedding and starting to wash it. He waters the plants, unloads the dishes, and vacuums the apartment. By the time he’s done with chores, it’s only about 9:00, and Will crashes on the couch. He should probably eat something, but his appetite isn’t usually good in the mornings.
He picks up the book Mike left on the table and starts to read it, immediately confused by the magic system introduced. Knowing that he can ask Mike about it later, Will stays buried in the book until his stomach begins to rumble. He gets up, seeing that it could be lunch time. He looks in the fridge, and is dismayed to find the makings for maybe one sandwich, and nothing else. He picks up the phone, dialing Mike’s office’s number. It rings a few times before someone picks up.
“Geek Monthly offices” says a gruff voice, “How can we help you?”
“Hey Zack” Will says, recognizing one of Mike’s coworkers. “It’s Will, is Mike available?”
“Hey Will!” Zack’s voice brightens. “School closed today?”
“Yeah” Will says.
“WHEELER!” Zack yells, making Will jump. “Phone’s for you”
There’s a moment of shuffling, grumbling, before Will hears Mike’s voice.
“Hello?”
“Hey” Will says, “It’s me”
“Hi” Mike says, a smile ringing through the phone. “How’s your day going?”
“It’s okay” Will says. “You’re going to have to explain the magic system in this book, though”
“The one I’m reading?” Mike asks. “It’s actually really cool, it’s based on like ancient medicine practices”
Will smiles to himself. “Tell me when you get home”
“Absolutely” Mike says.
“Actually, I was calling because we have next to no food” Will says. “Can you stop by the store on the way home?”
“Damn” Mike says, “I totally forgot to go yesterday. Anything special you want?”
“Whatever” Will says, “We just need something to eat, you know?”
“Got it” Mike says. “Food, preferably edible”
Will chuckles softly. “How were the roads?”
“They were okay this morning, but it’s still snowing,” Mike says. Will glances out the window to confirm what he already knows is true. He thinks about Mike’s car, shitty, secondhand, meant for city commuting. “When are you going to be home?” he asks, hearing the tone of anxiety in his voice.
“I’ll try to leave early” Mike says, his voice low and steady. “Want me to call before I head out?”
Will shakes his head “It’ll be okay”
“I’ll call” Mike says. “I have to go, we’re having a little formatting emergency here”
“Okay” Will says. “I love you”
Mike’s voice drops to a whisper. “Love you too”. His voice picks back up. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Bye” Will says, hanging up the phone. He realizes how cold his fingers are, and begins to brew a fresh pot of coffee, anxious for the warmth of a cup. He makes a sandwich with the remains of food left in the fridge and eats it, standing in the kitchen, staring out at the snow still falling.
The cold always feels wrong to Will. He tries to ignore it, but as he listens to the coffee drip into the pot he remembers the cold echo of that place.
He pours the cup and returns to the couch again, turning on the tv and skimming through channels for something calming. He finds a nature documentary and zones out listening to it, drinking coffee.
Mid afternoon, Will starts to feel antsy. He looks outside–the weather far too inclement for a walk. He could vacuum again, but it feels like it would be too much. He wishes, again, that Mike was home with him today. There’s something about passing time with Mike that makes everything feel easier.
Will settles on pulling out his sketchbook, the familiar feeling of graphite on paper providing a momentary distraction. But before long, Will isn’t sure if it’s the cloud cover or night beginning to fall, but the apartment starts to darken. He remembers Mike’s promise to call before he came home–did he get distracted with his work? Is he still there?
Will starts to pace around the apartment, fighting off the mounting anxiety. Mike’s car is shit in the snow, he knows, he’s driven it before. And he asked Mike to go to the grocery store, asked him to take another unnecessary risk. If something happens…
Will’s heart thuds in his chest. His breathing shallows. He sits with a thud on the floor, curling his legs up to his chest.
Will doesn’t know how long it is before he hears a key turning in the door. He pops up, racing to the door, and pulls it open, finding Mike, thank god, in one piece. Will pulls Mike inside, closing the door and wrapping him in a tight hug. Mike makes a noise of surprise.
Will can feel tears crawling down his face.
“Hey” Mike says, pulling back a little. Will’s hands rest on his biceps, and he looks up. Mike’s glasses have started to fog up, and snowflakes stand out against his dark hair, starting to melt. “Hey” Mike says again, softly. “Are you okay?”
Will nods, suddenly embarrassed. “You said you were going to call” he says, softly.
Mike’s eyes widen. “Shit, I’m sorry. I was so focused on getting out of there, and on what I was going to get at the grocery store, I just blanked on calling”
Will sniffles.
Mike sets down the bags he’s carrying and wraps Will in a hug. Will tucks his head under Mike’s chin, and feels a kiss pressed into his hair.
“I’m sorry” Mike says, rocking slightly. “I’m okay. We’re okay”
Will rests there until the aftershock of the fear subsides. He pulls back from Mike eventually.
“I got you something at the store” Mike says, leaning down to pick up the grocery bags. “Did you eat anything today?”
“I had a sandwich” Will says, remembering the sorry excuse for a lunch.
“And how many cups of coffee have you had?”
Will grimaces, following Mike into the kitchen. “Too many”
Mike sighs, “Maybe that’s part of the issue”
“It’s just been cold” Will shrugs, “I wanted a warm drink”
Mike pulls a small, brown box out of the grocery bag. “Maybe we can have some of this after dinner”. He hands it to Will. Will recognizes the box immediately, the same brand of hot chocolate his mom always used to buy.
Mike starts unloading the groceries and making dinner, talking about his day at the office, the magazine. Will perches on the counter, watching him, listening. Mike chatters on, and Will settles into this routine, Mike talking and him listening, Mike cooking with way too many dishes that Will will wash later. Will feels something in him, something that is usually wound far too tightly, start to unwind. They eat dinner together on the couch, plates resting on knees bumping into each other.
They curl up in bed early that night.
The next morning, Will wakes up to find Mike’s side of the bed empty. Snow is still coming down outside.
Will pads out of the bedroom, finding Mike huddled under a blanket on the couch.
“Hey” he says, leaning down to kiss the top of Mike’s head.
“Your school is closed again” Mike says. “And they’re saying it’s an ice rink out there. I’m going to call in today, if the office isn’t already closed.”
“Great” Will says, heading into the kitchen to make coffee, only to find a pot already freshly brewed. “Coffee?” he says to Mike.
“Yes please” Mike says. Will prepares two mugs, exactly how they like it, and returns to the couch. He sets the mugs on the coffee table, and as he sits on the couch, Mike lays down, resting his head in Will’s lap.
“I love the snow” Mike sighs. “And I love you”
“I love you too” Will whispers, as the snow continues to fall.