February 11
Will had travelled his fair share of the world. The actual travelling part wasn't anything new, but this time felt entirely novel. Because he wasn't just going from one place to another. He was going with Luna.
Will had kept his eyes pointed out the window, half-pretending to marvel at the vast blue sea beneath them so he didn't have to turn his face away. He feared that Luna would take one look at him and ask what was wrong. His face, he knew, was more red than her hair. He couldn't sit still to save his life, and he couldn't stop tugging on the ends of his fringe if he'd been paid to. Honestly, Will had half a mind to turn around after all, and tell her that something was wrong with him. He didn't know why he was so nervous.
Beside him, Luna was leaning on her elbow, hair falling into Will's seat as she edged closer to look out the window. She could see how fidgety he was and noticed how his sentences got shorter and shorter, but she'd just chalked it up to nerves - she used to have a terrible fear of flying, herself. She was content to look at the passing clouds, bobbing her head along to whatever song was playing in her head.
Halfway through the flight, a hostess came around with a cart of snacks and bits and bobs. Luna usually didn't indulge, but she didn't hesitate to get something from her this time. As the hostess rolled her cart away, Luna turned in her seat and tapped him on the shoulder. He'd had his eyes closed and his head leant against the window, but his eyes flew open and he sat up.
"Here," Luna said gently, and she pressed a small can of ginger ale into his hand. "It's not much, but it might help." Will accepted the can gratefully, gripping the metal and letting the smooth surface cool his warm hand.
"Thank you," He replied, voice unintentionally coming out as a whisper. Luna hummed a 'you're welcome' in return.
"Hopefully it'll help settle whatever's troubling you," Luna commented, and then she sat back in her seat and closed her own eyes. She'd hardly ever seen Will so bothered, but had a feeling he'd prefer to compose himself when she wasn't looking. And Luna was right in some ways - with her eyes closed, that allowed Will to glance over at her and not feel nerves overwhelm him all over again, but it also let him get used to the feeling and calm down a little bit.
And eventually, he did. Some of the nerves were still present as they got off the plane and retrieved their bags, and even as they went out to get a cab (her parents or sister could have come to get them, Luna explained, but she wanted to surprise them). They started to dissipate during the drive, as Luna passed the time by pointing things out and telling Will all about them. As they drove further into the countryside, past water towers she used to climb and trees she used to draw and forests that she used to play in and had mapped out top to bottom, the nerves took a firm backseat to sheer wonder in Will's head. A warm combination of unfamiliar territory and familiar company wrapped him up, and he finally took a breath as he felt the nerves leave his body altogether.
Luna had the cab drop them at the top of the road, waving as the driver drove away.
"Ready for a short walk?" Luna asked cheerfully, shouldering her bag and smiling at Will.
"I sure am," He said. His gaze was drawn to the lone house about a ways down the dirt road they were standing at the top of. It was, quite literally, like a fairy tale. The house was a cottage, a large log cabin sitting alone in the midst of a clearing. A forest encircled most of the clearing, the trees standing guard and protecting the ring that her home sat in.
"You okay?" Luna asked as they walked, drawing Will out of his head. "You haven't said much."
"I'm great, I just honestly can't believe this place is real," He marveled, voicing his thoughts. "It's incredible."
"Feels a bit magical in comparison to Brighton, doesn't it?" She agreed. "Although, cities have a magic of their own. The magic of having neighbors within the mile." Will laughed, careful not to let his voice echo across the clearing and give away their approach.
"The magic of society," Will mused. "An interesting thing indeed, but this is truly something else."
"Well," Luna said after a moment, "I'm glad you like it." And she was. Mutually, no more words were traded between them as they approached the house. As quietly as they could, Luna led the way onto their wooden porch, silently taking care to step around the creaky floorboards and plotting out the quietest path for Will. They made it to the front door with no incident, and Luna gave him a look that said,
'Are you ready?' Will gave her a nod, and she silently pulled the screen door open.
"Hey Ma," Luna called into the house, gently opening the front door. "Dad, I'm home-" Several shots of welcoming came from inside the house. Luna looked over her shoulder and chuckled as she finished her sentence.
"-And I brought a friend!" Silence reigned for just a moment, and Luna could practically feel everyone in her family collectively think, 'a friend?!'. She turned to Will, a resigned grin on her face as several sets of footsteps came thundering from within the house.
"Brace yourself," She said, taking his hand and pulling him inside.
As the screen door shut behind him, Will found himself surrounded on all sides by all things Silver. The place that Luna had talked about for ages was finally around him, and he understood where she'd gotten decorating inspiration for her home in Brighton. Now he could see that she'd practically recreated this house's cozy environment for herself- everything from the worn wooden floors and the natural colored decor to the plants spilling over every major surface reminded Will of Luna's flat. He couldn't imagine how nice it was for Luna herself, it'd remind her of home in two different ways.
"Luna!" A thick Scottish accent diverted Will's attention. To his left, a woman hurried into the room, wiping her hands on an apron and hosting a huge grin on her face.
"Ma! It's so good to see you," Luna said, letting go of Will's hand to embrace her mother. Her dad came into the room a moment later, sweeping Luna off her feet and declaring that she'd grown 'far too tall since the little plucker he'd seen last time'. Four other people came into the room, and Will's visual senses were nearly overwhelmed: two of them rushed forward and swept Luna up in a blur, talking a mile a minute and hugging and laughing. The other two hung back, looking relatively comfortable but as out of place amongst all the red hair as he did.
"This," Luna said once she'd been put down, "Is my family. Everyone, introduce yourselves."
"Well, I suppose I'll go first!" A woman who looked as if she had, quite literally, stolen her face from Luna piped up. "My name's Stella Silver, I'm Luna's twin sister and technically the oldest. Pleased to meet'cha." Stella turned around and poked the man standing behind her, and he sent Will an easy smile.
"Ahoy," He greeted, American accent standing out like the most sore of thumbs. "I'm Theo, a lucky enough man to have married Stella. Good to meet you."
"Am I next?" A younger boy stepped forward, grinning at Luna before turning his full attention to Will. "I'm Leo, the little brother."
"And I'm Charlie!" Another American accent, which Will was sure made Theo feel less out of place. He walked up behind Leo, slinging his arm around his shoulder "Leo's best friend, partner in crime, and overall excellent person."
"I'm Willis, ma of three and sometimes five," She joked, gesturing to all who had just introduced themselves. "So glad y'could join us."
"And I'm Malcolm. Good t'meet a friend of Luna's, young man." Luna's dad stepped forward and held out his hand, which Will immediately shook. Mr. Silver looked pleased.
