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William Wisp looked at the clock for what must have been the billionth time that hour and almost sobbed when he saw that it was finally, at long last, seven pm. His knees felt like jello—jello that had been stabbed with hundreds of very sharp needles—after his six hour shift. Picking his old job at Rusty’s back up had been one of the worst decisions he’d ever made, but they needed money, and Vyncent had the issue of…well…no proper documents, or address, or record of existing a year ago.
Seven pm. He’d be able to go home soon. The thought of home made him bite the inside of his cheek. He didn’t have much of a home right now. His home was, well, Vync- no. No. Vyncent was his friend, not someone deserving of his desperate attachment issues.
There were no customers in his line at the moment, so he picked at his nails and waited for someone to come over and dismiss him for the evening. He spent a lot of time looking at his hands. He didn’t like them very much before. His fingers were short and, well, girly. After, they did get longer (if you counted their new, spindly, other-worldly look as “longer”). But now, something else was happening. Because of course. They’d begun turning…purple. A deep, bruised purple, almost black. Just at his fingertips, for now, but he’d poked and prodded enough to realize that it wasn’t going away. The black nail he picked at, which disguised from the purple hue of his skin, was nearly gone by now, and-
“-Willow,” a voice interrupted. He tried not to whip his head around too fast, and saw his coworker was standing next to his station with a small smile. Mandy, her name was. Most days she had a shift after him and she was nearly ten years his senior, but the times they’d spoken had been…nice. She had a kind, reassuring voice. Not pitiful, not patronizing. He appreciated that.
“You’re good to go, kid. Have a nice night,” she told him in that voice.
He blinked, needing a moment to register what she was saying. “Um- right, thank you…have a good shift…”
He trailed off as he walked away, immediately distracted by the pain in his every step. Everything hurt. He headed towards the back, shrugging his vest off if he went. He hung it on its designated hook and caught a glimpse of the mandated name-tag he tried to avoid looking at.
It was shiny, and he could see his ragged reflection in tandem with the name: “Willow Wisp”. It felt uncomfortably warm as tears pricked his eyes and he dug his nails and sharp, sharp fingers into his palms until the bite of pain replaced the shame of seeing the name that was supposed to be his.
He stared at the name-tag for a moment longer than he felt was healthy, then pried his nails from his palms and wiped his eyes. He began to gnaw at the inside of his cheek again as he moved towards the locker that held his few belongings, and fumbled with the lock until it clicked open.
William retrieved his tote bag, adorned with pins (gifts from friends and fa- no, actually, just friends) and patches. His favorite was a huge Wink-182 patch Ashe had given him before…and he bit down on his cheek. Hard.
He slammed his locker shut, probably more violently than necessary, and headed for the back exit. He fished through his bag as he walked. Phone, wallet, keys to his parents’ house. He peeked outside and grabbed the item he was searching for: a half-empty pack of cigarettes with his lucky lighter tucked inside.
He took a seat on the stoop and flipped the box around in his hand a few times. He had, at one time or another, taken the liberty to scribble all over the cardboard. Even the label was covered in ink. His lighter, on the other hand, was plain black with a single carving that read “PD”.
He lit the spark wheel and thought about Vyncent. Vyncent who had stolen the lighter for him, even though he didn’t like to see William smoke, Vyncent who had engraved the initials of their team name into it while William slept. Vyncent.
Stop, that voice in the back of his head chided.
His cigarette was well lit by now, and he took a long inhale. He blew out an intricate smoke ring, something that had taken years of practice and many fake IDs to learn. He repeated the pattern easily. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.
It didn’t make him feel all that different, but it loosened the knot in his chest and quelled the shaking in his hand. It made him feel warm.
I miss having blood, he thought.
William didn’t know how long he was inhaling and exhaling for, but eventually his cigarette was half gone and his phone was buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out with one hand, using the other to extinguish the cigarette, and saw that it was Vyncent calling him.
He pursed his lips and held the phone up to his ear.
“-ill? Will?” He heard. Shit, Vyncent sounded really concerned.
“Hi, hi, Vynce. Is everything okay?”
“Are you okay?” Vyncent asked. “You should be home by now.”
There it was again. Home. The base, or what was left of it, was technically their home. It was more of a home to William than his parents’ house had ever been. But was it really home without Ashe, without Tide, without Dakota?
“William?”
He snapped back into reality. “Sorry, V. I’m here.” He moved his phone to check the time. It was nearly seven forty-five. No wonder Vyncent was worried, he should be back by now.
“I’m here too,” Vyncent hummed.
William cocked his head. “What?”
“I’m here, at Rusty’s? I’m by the front doors. I was gonna come in and ask someone if they’d seen you.”
He shot up, instantly regretting it as he was reminded of the pain in his legs. “No, no, that’s okay, let’s not do that. I’m on my way, sorry.”
The phone beeped as he hung up and hurried back through the store as fast as he could, which wasn’t very fast. It was probably a bad look, stumbling around his workplace while smelling like smoke. At least he wasn’t in uniform.
By the time he got outside, he could see Vyncent fidgeting with the fluff on his tail. The sliding doors opened and the elf whirled around. William could see that his shoulders immediately relaxed upon seeing him, which made him feel…something. Nice? Cared for? Something.
“Glad you’re okay, man,” Vyncent said, patting him on the shoulder. He took a closer look at William’s expression and squinted. “Are…you okay?”
By this point, William’s legs hurt so bad that he could hardly breathe.
“It hurts,” he managed to get out, sounding quite pathetic as he did.
Vyncent frowned. “Do you want help?” He reached out, but William shooed him away.
“No- no need, I’m…fine.” As a demonstration of how fine he was, he attempted to summon his go-to mode of transportation home from work, a golf-cart made of will-o'-wisps. He saw them begin to take shape for a split second before disappearing into nothing, and his knees buckled.
Before he could hit the ground, which would probably hurt his knees even more, Vyncent grabbed him by the waist (which totally didn’t make William bite his lip…not at all) and heaved him back to a standing position.
“Dude, you are not okay,” Vyncent admonished.
“Well, I’ll have to be okay,” William snapped. “I still have to walk home, and last time I checked, you didn’t have a motorcycle.”
Vyncent blinked. Once, twice, then a third time, before his eyes widened just slightly enough that William, who had spent five months living with Vyncent and Vyncent alone, could notice.
“No.” William shook his head fervently. “No. No. I refuse. My dignity-”
“Oh, to hell with your dignity.” And with that, Vyncent swept him up and into a bridal carry.
William immediately protested, swinging his exhausted limbs and rocking side to side, but Vyncent did not relent. The elf began walking, almost striding, away from the store and in the direction of the rubble that was Prime Defenders HQ.
Somewhere along the walk home, William had fallen asleep. Vyncent noticed that his face was so much more relaxed when he slept, which had become less and less frequent in recent months. When he was awake, his eyebrows were always furrowed and his jaw always clenched. But now, in Vyncent’s arms, he looked peaceful. He almost looked as if he were an angel, like one of the statues at the old church in Rockfall.
“Will,” he whispered, feeling guilty about deserving his friend’s much-needed rest. He shifted, tapping him on the cheek with the hand that had been cradling his back.
William blinked, eyes opening groggily. After a moment of stiffly looking at their surroundings—that being the land where their headquarters had once been—he stared up at Vyncent with the look.
Vyncent tried to be observant, especially around William. The boy was such an enigma, so…mysterious. He wanted to learn everything about him, his mannerism, the meaning behind each facial expression. Because that’s what friends did, right?
He’d come to recognize the look, but he still didn’t know what it meant. Was it adoration? Awe? He couldn’t tell. One day, he hoped he would. But for now, he’d relish in its unknown meaning and the warm feeling it gave him to see it.
“You…carried me home?” William asked in something of an incredulous tone. Vyncent set William down gently, keeping an arm around his shoulder when his knees buckled and he winced.
“Yeah, of course,” Vyncent replied easily. William had clearly been, and probably was, exhausted and hurt, obviously he was going to help.
William blinked rapidly. “Vynce, it’s…it’s a thirty minute walk…”
Vyncent shrugged. “I’m strong.” To demonstrate, he flexed the bicep that wasn’t supporting William.
“I- uh- y- yeah, you- you are…” William’s eyes bugged for a split second before he cleared his throat. “I mean, yeah, you are, man,” he said in a noticeably deeper voice. It made Vyncent laugh.
“Sorry I woke you up,” Vyncent said sheepishly. “I don’t think I could have carried you through…” he gestured towards the rubble in front of them.
William sighed. “Yep. Forgot about that.”
With that, they made their way through and under the debris to what remained of their base. Once inside, William instinctively flicked the nearest light switch and sighed when nothing happened. They’d been without power for a few months, since, well, the building was totally wrecked and the responsible adult in their lives was- Vyncent clenched his jaw and cut the thought off.
William continued into the dark, then yawned and stretched his arms. “I feel like death.” He paused. Neither of them laughed. “I’m gonna go to bed, g’night Vynce.”
He turned towards the hallway that held their old rooms. Room, technically. Vyncent’s, somehow, was the one that survived the explosion and destabilization of the building. His mattress, most importantly, survived as well.
William was first appalled by the idea of sharing a bed with Vyncent. It hurt his feelings a little, but maybe it wasn’t a Prime custom like it was on Fauna? He couldn’t be mad at that. When he suggested that he would sleep on the floor instead of William—his back was much more sturdy, since he’d had a childhood of camping during trips with his father—he finally relented.
Vyncent caught William by the shoulder. “You haven’t had dinner,” he pointed out. William had been eating less and less, and Vyncent felt it was his duty to keep his friend as healthy as possible, and well, not alive, but…however alive William would be, if he wasn’t going to do it himself. He couldn’t blame him, really.
William shrugged. “‘M not hungry.” He took a step, but Vyncent hadn’t let go.
“What did you eat today?” He asked, feeling like his mother.
William looked at the floor. “I had a candy bar at work…” His tone made it sound like he’d prepared a list, but in reality he trailed off.
“Mhm,” Vyncent nodded, pursing his lips. “Come on, let me make you something. I haven’t gone to the store in a while, but I think we have bread…hey, can you get some stuff after your next shift?”
He steered William toward the kitchen as he rambled, seating him down at their now-shoddy dining table and opening a cupboard.
“Sure, sorry I didn’t this time. I was…”
“Don’t apologize, man,” Vyncent interrupted as he grabbed a container of peanut butter. He had his back to William, but imagined that he was hunched over the table guiltily. His hair was probably falling in his face and he was probably picking at his nails…the next time he was out he was going to buy more polish. What was he talking about? Oh.
“I can tell it was a rough shift,” he continued. He didn’t mention how William had smelled like smoke.
He wasn’t a fan of his friend’s little smoking habit, Dakota was even less so, but he had to give William some grace. It was bad for him, Vyncent knew that, but he knew that it made him feel better. And in his current state, that’s all he could ask for.
He turned back to William. He was correct. His hair—still black, but the roots were growing out white…he’d need to buy box dye too, he knew William didn’t like the white—was falling over his eyes in that cute way. And he was, in fact fidgeting with his nails.
“Is peanut butter and honey okay?” He held up the ingredients in each hand.
William looked up with a small smile. “Yeah, thanks, Vynce.”
Vyncent turned back around to make William’s sandwich when the latter asked, “What are you having?”
Vyncent looked over his shoulder with a grin. “Rat.” William’s expression contorted, but he laughed. Vyncent smiled even wider.
The two of them ate in silence, William his sandwich and Vyncent his rat.
“Wanna watch a movie?” William asked, with his mouth full of sandwich. “I charged my phone at work, so…”
Vyncent perked up. “Can we watch a slasher?”
William grinned. “Absolutely.”
They hustled to Vyncent’s room and flopped onto the mattress, which was plainly laying on the floor.
While William was fumbling for his phone, Vyncent began attempting to make out his features in the darkness. He had a strong, charming nose, nearly gaunt jawline, and purple bags under his eyes. The type of purple that had painted William’s fingertips.
The two had a vastly different sleep schedule, so the chances of them both being awake in their dark bedroom was quite rare. So, it wasn’t surprising when, as he was staring at his friend, Vyncent made a discovery that could only be made with another person, no, with William, in a dark bedroom.
“Will, your eyes…?” He gestured for William to turn towards him.
His friend’s hand flew to his face. “My eyes?”
Gently, ever-so-slowly, Vyncent raised a hand to remove William’s. He lowered them to their laps but didn’t let go, and used his free fingers to brush William’s hair out of his eyes so he could confirm his discovery.
“You’re glowing.”
He was, in fact, glowing. The edges of his pupils, specifically. They were glowing a faint, brilliant blue. They were entirely alluring, and Vyncent couldn’t look away from his best friend.
Suddenly, William—Will—was jolting forward and holding his jaw and…
Oh?
Oh…
Oh.
In an instant, the last year made sense. Pieces clicked together like lightning in Vyncent’s brain, and his entire perception of William changed like that. The look made sense. The outbursts of flustered nonchalance made sense. William Wisp made sense.
And just as quickly as he’d jolted forward, William was pulling away.
“Oh my god- I- I’m so sorry,” he stammered, throwing the blanket and hurling himself off of the mattress.
“Will…” Vyncent lifted himself to his knees and reached for the shaking mess in front of him, as slowly and gently as possible.
“I- I’m gonna go on- on a walk. Um. Okay. Bye. Sorry.”
“William,” Vyncent enunciated, putting a hand on his shoulder once more.
William turned around slowly, with the expression of a kicked puppy. Vyncent grabbed his hand and delicately sat him back down.
“I’m sorry,” he tried, sounding like he was going to cry.
Vyncent smiled and wrapped William in a hug. William stiffened for a moment, then buried his head in Vyncent’s shoulder.
“Don’t be sorry. I…I didn’t know you…you know…”
“Since we met,” William said, his voice muffled. “You’re…you’re amazing, Vynce. I like you a lot.”
Vyncent pulled back, keeping his arms on William’s shoulders. “Well, I like you too.” He pressed a gentle kiss to William’s nose.
“Really?” As if he couldn’t believe him. And in his defense…
“I didn’t exactly know. Until, well, now. I…I couldn’t tell. If I admired you as a friend, or a…yeah.”
“Yeah,” William echoed.
Vyncent swiped a thumb underneath William’s eye and pulled him back into their hug.
The two of them sat like that for what may have been minutes, may have been hours. Vyncent didn’t know what was to come, but what he did know was that, in the morning, when he awoke to William’s arms wrapped around his torso, and his tail wrapped around William’s, he smiled larger than he ever had before.