11. Sleep Talking

"Hey, Will! Wait up!"

Will sighed and turned around, his towel slung low around his hips. Ash hurried towards him, grinning and running a hand through his dark hair, sending water droplets everywhere.

"What," Will demanded flatly.

"Nothing," Ash said happily, catching up with him and walking alongside him as they headed back up to their room. "I just wanted to walk with you."

Will snorted. "Why?"

Ash twisted his mouth to the side, and Will recognized it as his thinking face.

How can he be so perfect without even trying?

Riley had been that way, too.

Will realized he'd been staring at Ash as they walked and quickly looked away, clearing his throat. Ash glanced up at him, and as they turned another corner Ash's fingers brushed against Will's."

Will looked down sharply to find Ash's cheeks a flaming red, but the smaller boy didn't look up at him, instead talking about how a random kid had splashed him in the face when they'd been swimming and if Will had seen his epic cannonball.

"I did," Will said quietly, grabbing Ash's hand and lacing his fingers with his.

Ash looked up in surprise, and it was Will's turn not to make eye contact. Frick frick frick frick frick frick frick frick frick DON'T LOOK DOWN WILL DON'T DO IT

He glanced down.

Ash was looking down at their interlaced fingers, looking vaguely surprised. Slowly, he lifted his gaze that was so blue and so perfect and so--

Will redirected his thoughts and quickly looked down the hallway. Their room was in sight, adn Will released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"Will?"

Will swallowed and closed his eyes. "Hmm."

"Why are you blushing?"

"Why are you?"

"I don't know."

Will knew perfectly well why he himself was blushing, but it didn't make any sense for Ash to be as well. But the small boy's cheeks were a bright cherry red, and Will squeezed Ash's hand slightly.

Ash squeezed back, and then they reached their room and let go of each other.

~ ~ ~

"What do you usually do to get ready for bed?"

The question seemed to come out of nowhere, and Will looked up from where he was sitting cross-legged on his bed, scrolling through Instagram.

"What?"

"I don't really do anything except brush my teeth and get in bed," Ash said absently, raking his fingers through his hair and scrolling through something on his own phone. "But it used to be different when my mom was alive. I can't really remember what she did, but..." He looked up from his phone. "You live with your parents, right? What's it like?"

Will blinked. "Um. Okay, first off, I lived with my dad until this summer, adn he wasn't exactly what you'd call a parent. He was more of a drunk addict who threw things at me and hit me whenever I got home too late or did something I wasn't supposed to do. Then he ran over my boyfriend, and he said it was an accident, but I know it wasn't." Will took a shaking breath. he hadn't meant to let that all spill out, but--

Ash blinked. "Boyfriend?"

Will froze. "Wh-what?"

"You said...your dad ran over your boyfriend."

Will stared at Ash for a second, then grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes. "I swear," he said slowly, "that if you tell anyone--"

"That you're gay?"

Will choked. "I--yes."

"Oh, I don't care," Ash said, cocking his head.  "It explains a few things, like why you're reactions to Tristan are so strong, or why you said you didn't care if girls noticed you earlier. Doesn't matter to me, just never tell my dad. He's more homophobic than anyone I've ever known in my entire life."

Will didn't say anything for a moment. "And...you aren't?"

Ash snorted. "Please. It's 2020. He can deal with it."

Will swallowed again. "Don't tell anyone."

"I won't," Ash said, grinning and holding out his hand. He stuck out his pinkie. "I swear." Will arched a brow, and Ash waggled his finger. "Come on," he said, grinning wider. "I know you want to."

Will finally sighed and hooked his pinkie with Ash's, studying the boy to make sure he wasn't lying like he had been earlier about his bruise.  Ash met his gaze, his silver-flecked blue eyes bright and deep and honest, but for the first time, Will detected a bit of brokenness in those endless, beautiful pools of sapphire.

"I talk in my sleep," Ash said suddenly. "So just...be aware. I might say some pretty crazy stuff." He laughed. "Don't pay any attention to it, though, 'kay?"

"Alright," Will said, his voice barely above a whisper. "But...you really don't care?"

"Nope."

"Oh...when my dad found out, he put Riley in a box six feet under."

Ash didn't say anything for a moment, then said, "My mom...she died. Committed suicide. Dad thinks it's because of me, but I don't believe that." Ash's lower lip trembled. "I know she loved me, but..." Ash heaved a shuddering breath and sank his fists into his pillows, obviously trying not to cry as he punched the pillows. "If she loved me, why did she kill herself?"

"Hey," Will said gently, rising off his bed and crossing to Ash's, grabbing his wrists and pushing him back against the bed so his back was against the blankets and Will was leaning over him. "Don't think like that. You'll turn into me."

Ash squeezed his eyes shut, and a single tear escaped his eye and ran down his temple into his hair. He took a breath that sounded like a sob, then forced a laugh. "As if."

Will grinned. He couldn't help it. A strange feeling coiled inside him, just behind his navel, deep in his core.

Ash froze, staring at him. "Whoa," he breathed.

"What?" Will asked, releasing Ash's wrists. His grin faded.

"No, no! Do that again!" Ash said frantically, grabbing for Will's shoulder's. "I've never seen you smile before!"

Will blinked, then tilted his head. "What?"

"Smile."

Will drew his brows together. "Um. Why?"

Ash rolled his eyes, then thought for a moment, chewing his lower lip. "Okay. Um, I went on a diet, and now every time I look at chocolate, it snickers."

It took him a moment, and then Will groaned, a slow grin spreading on his face. "That was awful."

"There it is!" Ash yelped, grabbing his phone and lifting it to snap a picture of Will. He laughed and swatted it away from his face.

"Ah!" Ash said, grabbing for it. Will held it out of reach, still laughing. It was an odd feeling, after so many months of frowning and scowling.

He didn't want to frown or scowl around Ash, oddly.

Still holding Ash's phone, Will looked down at him as the boy scrambled to his feet on the bed, reaching for his phone and plucking it out of Will's hand and swiping through his pictures. He gasped excitedly and held it out to him, showing him the picture.

Will blinked a few times. It was obviously him, but his dark hair streaked with blue was still wet from the pool and he had a wide, stupid grin on his face.

He scrunched his nose. "Ew."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Oh, shush. This is an important moment for me. I'm making that my wallpaper now." He paused, looking up at him. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Nope," Will said, and he didn't.

~ ~ ~

"Hey, Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Mmm-kay."

Will rolled over and checked his phone. 11:39 P.M. "We should probably try to sleep."

"Been trying," Ash said groggily. "Shhh..."

Will smiled faintly. The light from the hallway outside shone in by a tiny sliver beneath the door, not enough to really see anything aside from faint shapes.

So Will would see the shape of Ash beneath the thin hotel blankets, one arm folded beneath his head and the other resting on his stomach. His chest rose and fell rhythmically, slowly deepening and evening out.

He was asleep.

Will rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He took a deep breath in through is nose.

"What are you doing, Will?"

"Nothing," Will said, turning and grinning while hiding something behind his back. "You can't know."

Riley sighed and tried to dodge around him, but Will snorted and pushed him back with his free hand. "Not so fast," he said. "This is your birthday present. You can't ruin the surprise."

Riley made a face. "You're enough of a birthday present. This can just be a bonus..." He tried to peer around him. "Aw, c'mon," he complained when Will moved to block his view. He slipped his arms around Will's waist and rested his head on Will's chest. "Pleeeeeease?"

"No can do," Will said, grinning and planting a kiss on Riley's head. "Sorry."

Riley huffed adn pushed back from him. "Fine. What about a hint?"

Will chewed the inside of his cheek. "Ah...you'll like it."

Riley threw his hands up in the air. "So helpful," he said sarcastically.

"I know," Will said sweetly, sweeping past him, making sure to keep his gift covered.

"No, please..."

The voice snapped him out of the memory. Will blinked his eyes open, then rolled over onto his side, annoyed.

"Ash, I thought you were aslee--"

"Stop..."

I talk in my sleep.

"Oh," Will said aloud, laughing softly at his stupidity. He rolled back over.

"Will..."

Will froze.

"Will, don't go..."

He turned, his eyes wide. Ash tossed and turned, his hand flopping to the side. His brows drew together, and he looked...scared, somehow.

"Ash?" Will whispered.

"I don't want you to...don't go away..."

"Ash, wake up. It's only a dream." Will threw back his blankets and started to get up when Ash gasped and curled into a ball, his eyes flashing open. His pupils were dilated, and he looked terrified.

Then he broke down.

Tears streamed down his face, and he buried his face in the blankets, but it did little to muffle his sobs. Will stood there, unsure of what to do. Awkwardly, he stepped over and sat down on the edge of the bed, tentatively stretching his hand out and stroking Ash's hair like his mother did with him.

Ash gulped down hair, looking up at him. Then he moved closer, burying his face in Will's shirt and breathing in deeply, getting his tears under control.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, his voice muffled.

"For what?"

"For crying."

Will didn't respond for a moment, then gripped Ash's shoulders and pushed him back so he could see Ash's face. "Don't apologize," he said fiercely.

Ash hiccuped.

God...I want to kiss him so badly...

But Will held himself back. He bit his lip. "Do you want...there's..."

Ash swallowed hard. "I'm not going to be able to get back to sleep, Will. I never can."

Will let go of him and dragged a hand through his hair. "Do... God, I'm bad at this." He puffed out a breath. "There's room in these beds for two people. If you think that'll help you sleep better, I'm all for it."

Ash stared at him, his eyes wide.

"Unless it makes you uncomfortable," Will said hurriedly. "I mean, if I was straight, then I don't think I'd be comfortable sharing a bed with a gay guy. It makes no difference, I'm just saying the offer is there--"

"Thanks," Ash breathed. "That'd really help."

Will stopped, his mouth hanging open. He closed it abruptly. "Oh. Okay." He glanced over at his bed. "Um. This one or the other?"

"I don't care."

Will peered around Ash at the bed. The blankets were tangled, and he didn't have the time to fix it. He stood up and crossed to his and sat down.

Ash followed, wrapping his arms around himself. He slid into the bed, close to the middle, and Will slid in after him, pulling the blanket up to his shoulder.

It was silent for a long time, and then Ash mumbled, "Thanks."

Will didn't respond, instead pretending like he was asleep.

- - - - -

Ooooh! Lot's of stuff! I made it longer than normal. Let me know if you like it longer or shorter!

Vote and comment.

Q: What are your pronouns? They/them? She/her? He/him? Or doggo...that's always an option...

A: Female all the way. I got the boobs and everything.