spin the bottle// byler

iii.ii(reunity pt.2)

i crawl off of will's lap and step out of the car and extend a hand to help will out, too.

"m'lady." i offer and press a kiss to the top of his hand. he bites back a smile and his cheeks go red.

"thank you, good sir." he says and we join the rest of the group who are congregating on the other side of steve's car. i hold his hand. it's warm and a little sweaty but god, there is no better feeling in the world than this.

after a minute of us standing there, our presence having been totally ignored, the conversation stills and all eyes are on the two of us.

jonathan is the first to move toward will, followed by el, who's followed by max, then lucas and nancy.

"will!" jonathan wraps his arms around his brother and i let go of will's hands to allow him the freedom to fully greet everyone.

besides me, out of everyone, will's disappearance has taken the most toll on jonathan. he hasn't been himself since then and it's understandable. he lost his little brother, his rock, his confidant. in a way, i think he must feel a lot like me, like he failed to protect him.

and this, seeing the two of them together again, is just indescribable. it's like you can see the broken parts of jonathan piecing back together and will, well he's always glowing, but you can really tell this is an important moment for him, too.

jonathan lets him go and before will can even say anything, el engulfs him. i have to admit, i'm a little surprised, i guess i didn't realize how close they are. sure, i know they live together and all now, but they're hugging like they're really brother and sister, it's like how he and jonathan were almost. it takes me back a little.

"will, are you," el gives him another squeeze and steps back from him a little and begins examining him, "are you okay? are you hurt? when's the last time you had something to eat? have you been sleeping okay?"

and for a moment, will's face changes. his smile falls, he lowers his eyes to the ground, a sudden sadness hangs in the air. how did i miss this before? why isn't that the first thing i asked him?

but just as soon as it happened, will looks back up, a smile on his face, like the previous moment never happened.

"i'm okay."

it's obvious that el doesn't believe him and i don't believe him either, not after we saw that face.

i grab his hand and interlace our fingers, he looks at me with a sort of soft look, he knows that we know he's lying. he brings our connected hands to his chest and breathes deeply.

"i want to talk to you, both of you, about it. but, it's not a conversation i want to have in front of everyone. mike, i-"

"you don't have to say anything now, will. we'll talk later." i give his hand a squeeze 1, 4, 3: i love you.

he gives me a sad smile and whispers, "i love you, too. i'm just really glad i'm not alone anymore. that was, god, it was-" he starts choking up.

i put a hand on his shoulder and bring him into a gentle embrace, "hey, seriously, we'll talk about it later. you're not going to be alone anymore. i'm gonna be right here." i run my fingers through his hair to calm him.

he exhales deeply and wraps his arms around my waist. el and i make eye contact, what the hell did he go through?

i can see the look on her face, she's tempted to go in his head and have a look for herself, see what happened to him, what demons he's facing now. but, i shake my head and tell her not to. let him tell us himself.

she nods slightly in agreement and focuses her attention on max and billy again. i stay focused on will, who i can tell is trying hard to stay strong, trying hard not to cry.