Afton Random Books

Soft AU: Cross paths

[Henry E. x William A.]

-HW-

William hummed happily as he drank his cocktail, his legs swinging in the air considered he was sitting at the tall bar counter. Then he put the cocktail glass on the table before taking the small bowl of ice cream that had been neglected. The man's eyebrows intertwined briefly with the corners of his lips drooping realizing that the ice cream had melted, so he decided to drink the ice cream until it was all finished. After that, he jumped down and stepped towards the exit.

The sound of disco music still overpowering the bar, William whistled softly past the lifeless bodies lying on the floor. His hand playing with his flip phone. Suddenly his ankle was grabbed tightly, William flinched slightly in surprise and glanced over. A man covered in blood stared at him viciously, seemingly about to speak but no voice came out at all. William raised his eyebrows, pulled his gun, pulled the trigger, and a lead bullet went through the man's head. His smile back again, William exited the bar happily.

He opened his flip phone and looked for a contact, he didn't wait long to brought the phone to his ear while waiting for someone to pick up his call.

["Hello, darling."]

"HenHen! Hi!" William greeted excitedly. "What are you cooking today? I am hungry."

["Hmm I haven't cooked yet, what do you want to eat?"]

William tapped the tips of his index finger against his lips while looking up at the night sky. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "But I'm hungry. Can we eat meat? I want meat." William's grin formed on his face.

Could be heard his lover chuckling on the other end of the phone. ["Of course, honey."]

"Yay." William pranced a little with pleasure as he walked. "I'll be home in a bit." He ended the call, a big smile plastered on his face as he ran towards his house.

Although after turning into the alley on the right, his steps soon stopped to find several people in the distance walking. It was his ex-wife and the twins. William pursed his lips, he took a step back and was thankful they didn't notice him. They seemed to have just returned from shopping, as can be seen from the several bags they carried—containing clothes, he guessed. William stood awkwardly in place, then glanced left and right. Again he confirmed that they hadn't seen him.

Soon, William closed his eyes and tried to focus, looking for Henry's energy, then a glitch enveloped him and he teleported from there.

Henry was in the kitchen when he finished changing places, his sudden appearance was immediately noticed by the man. William stared at Henry and said nothing, only heard Henry say that he came back sooner than he expected. His mind was still focused on what he saw just a moment ago.

"Will? William? What is it?"

He flickered his eyes at Henry who was looking at him worriedly. "Nothing," he answered quietly, looking away again.

"You know you're a terrible liar, William." Henry folded his arms across his chest for a moment before leaning closer to his lover who was now looking down. "What happened?" he asked again gently, one hand holding William's shoulder while the other cupped the side of the shorter man's face to look at him. "Something happened? Are you okay?"

Henry let William run into his arms, he held William tightly to himself while gently stroking the Afton's brown hair. "I saw Clara with Lizzy and Chris." William's voice was slightly muffled since William buried his face into Henry's chest.

"Then? What did they do to you?"

William shook his head. "Nothing." He puffed out his cheeks. "They didn't see me, but I feel like a total jerk."

"Oh, dear." Henry gave a meaningful smile, he cupped both sides of William's face and met their eyes for the umpteenth time. "You're not like that, believe me." He kissed William's forehead briefly. "You always wish the best for them, you are amazing." Henry stared earnestly at William who seemed doubtful, William nodded slowly and said nothing more. Henry kissed William's forehead for a second time before hugging him again. "Don't sweat it too much," he said.

William murmured. "Okay ...."

"Let's just start cooking. Do you want to help me? We can cook barbecue this time, sounds like fun, right?" Henry said calmly, slowly William start to smile.

"Can we drink tea together after that?"

"While watching your favorite show, of course."

William's smile now wide, he hugged Henry tightly for a moment. "Thanks, 'Enry! Can we invite Charlotte too?" he asked excitedly, Henry nodded in response. William jumped in joy and immediately took an apron and put it on. "Come on quickly, 'Enry! Let's cook!"

Henry chuckled. "Fine, fine, I'll tell Charlie first."

"Yay!"