TM Prompt 228: 3am
Sometimes, in the small hours of the morning, Will wakes up to the sensation of rats crawling over him, tiny claws digging into his legs through the fabric of his pyjamas. Usually it's nothing, just the remnants of a dream. Sometimes he finds Socrates down there, happily exploring the cushions of the couch in search of cookie crumbs or bits of lost mac & cheese.
Doug's apartment isn't a bad place to live, even if he has to sleep on the couch, and he's really too tall to do that. It's big, and roomy, and quiet, and Doug never has loud parties. He never has people over, either, which Will was a little afraid of - afraid that Doug's boyfriend would show up far too often, and he'd have to spend the night in the bathroom. But Doug's boyfriend has been dead for a couple of weeks, now, and even if Will's not exactly relieved, well... yes, yes he is. He needs somewhere to sleep, after all.
Now that he has a job with the Center, he should maybe start looking for his own place, particularly if he ever wants to have any guests over of his own. He can't imagine asking anyone back to his place, when all that amounts to is a couch Doug uses part-time for playing video games. Besides, Doug says it isn't good for either of them to be alone, now, and Will mostly understands what that means, or at least what Doug thinks it means:
Don't be alone, Will, or you might start collecting rats again. You might go a little bit more crazy than usual and start killing people again.
But that's not it at all. It really isn't. Because Will knows he's out there, somewhere, even if it's thousands of miles away. And, one night, those tiny claws on his legs might just be for real.
Doug's apartment isn't a bad place to live, even if he has to sleep on the couch, and he's really too tall to do that. It's big, and roomy, and quiet, and Doug never has loud parties. He never has people over, either, which Will was a little afraid of - afraid that Doug's boyfriend would show up far too often, and he'd have to spend the night in the bathroom. But Doug's boyfriend has been dead for a couple of weeks, now, and even if Will's not exactly relieved, well... yes, yes he is. He needs somewhere to sleep, after all.
Now that he has a job with the Center, he should maybe start looking for his own place, particularly if he ever wants to have any guests over of his own. He can't imagine asking anyone back to his place, when all that amounts to is a couch Doug uses part-time for playing video games. Besides, Doug says it isn't good for either of them to be alone, now, and Will mostly understands what that means, or at least what Doug thinks it means:
Don't be alone, Will, or you might start collecting rats again. You might go a little bit more crazy than usual and start killing people again.
But that's not it at all. It really isn't. Because Will knows he's out there, somewhere, even if it's thousands of miles away. And, one night, those tiny claws on his legs might just be for real.