White Wedding 1/?
Title: White Wedding, 1/?
Rating: PG13
Warning: Nothing yet.
Summary: Will has been invited to an old friend's wedding, and she wants to meet his boyfriend. Just one problem: he hasn't got one. Written in response to a prompt from the Winn Meme.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Notes: Kinda-sorta-not really a sequel to my other fic, Pizza and Movies. It may or may not get referenced somewhere down the line, but for those of you who wanted a sequel, you can pretend that this is it. XD
Will paced back and forth, alternating between wringing his hands and running them through his hair. On his third circuit of the room, he stopped at the mini-bar and retrieved a tiny bottle of Jack Daniels, downing the whole thing in one gulp. Then he sunk onto the couch.
‘I’m so pathetic.’ He glared at the cordless phone sitting on the coffee table.
‘Men of Manhattan escort services, Doris speaking.’ The receptionist’s nasally voice reminded Will of Fran Drescher.
‘Uh, hi. I need an escort for a wedding, tomorrow night.’
‘Any preferences? I got tall ones, short ones, blonds, brunettes, redheads, black, white, smart, dumb, scrawny, brawny, blue eyes, brown eyes, you name it.’
‘It doesn’t matter, but the reception will have karaoke, so a decent singer would be helpful.’
‘Yeah, okay, I got a singer. He’ll run you about fifteen-hundred dollars an hour.’
‘That’s fine.’
‘Okay, name?’
‘Will Schuester.’
‘And where shall we have your date meet you, Mr. Schuester?’
‘I’m staying at the Hudson Hotel, room 214.’
‘And the time?’
‘Around 7:30 would be good.’
And so here he was, waiting for his “date” and feeling like just about the biggest loser in the world. So the invitation said “plus one”, so what? Nobody would’ve cared if he’d shown up alone, especially not Emma, and she was the only one who really mattered, since it was her wedding. Honestly, what was he trying to prove? He should just man up and admit that he’d made up a relationship so she would stop feeling sorry for him.
His watch ticked over to 7:35, and just as Will was beginning to think he’d be able to go to the wedding alone after all, there was a sharp rap on the door. He leapt to his feet.
‘W-who is it?’
‘Will Schuester?’ The voice was muffled by the door. ‘I’m your date, from Men of Manhattan.’
‘Just a minute!’ Will raced into the bathroom, nearly tripping over his suitcase on the way. He snatched up the bottle of mouthwash on the sink and nearly broke the cap off trying to open it, before pouring more than twice the necessary amount into his mouth. Swish, swill, gargle, spit. His mouth felt like it was on fire, but at least now he wouldn’t reek of alcohol. On his way out he grabbed his dinner jacket, shrugged it on, and scooped his gift from its place at the foot of the bed.
He stopped to take a deep breath and calm down before opening the door to his date.
‘Surprise!’
He slammed it shut again. His heart was thumping so fast, he thought it might actually explode. This was disastrous, catastrophic, horrifying. There weren’t enough words in English or Spanish to convey just how many different kinds of bad this was.
There was another, more tentative rap on the door.
‘Mr. Schue? Can I come in? Please?’
He opened the door again, slowly this time. It had to be a momentary hallucination, brought on by stress. He was going to look again, and there’d be someone else behind the door. Or better yet, nobody at all.
‘Hi.’
Nope, still him.
‘Finn,’ Will croaked ‘it’s good to see you.’ He looked down. ‘You brought flowers.’
‘Yup!’ Finn held up the bouquet of red roses, shaking them gently as if to emphasize their presence. ‘I figured you’re the kind of guy who likes a little bit of romance. But, just in case you don’t, I got you…’ he pulled his other hand out from behind his back ‘a copy of Die Hard!’
‘Wow. You, uh…’ Will took the flowers and the movie and placed them on the coffee table. ‘You really thought this through, huh.’
‘Of course.’ Finn grinned ‘I’m a professional. So, uh, where’s the wedding?’
‘Plaza Hotel.’ Will looked at his watch. ‘Which reminds me, we should get going. Listen, if this is gonna be awkward for you, you don’t have to…’
‘Awkward?’ Finn wrapped an arm around Will’s waist as he led him down the corridor, to the elevator. ‘This isn’t awkward. Awkward was being the cowboy stripper at Jesse St. James’ opening-night-of-Oklahoma-revival after-party.’
‘Wow. That… that would certainly be awkward.’ Will agreed as the elevator doors slid shut behind them.
‘But not nearly as awkward as waking up next to him.’ Finn pressed the button for the ground floor.
‘D-did that actually happen?’
Finn simply cocked an eyebrow in his direction.
They stepped out of the elevator together, striding across the lobby and out into the brisk night air. Finn immediately waved down a taxi and held the door open for Will, sliding in after him.
‘Plaza Hotel, please.’ He told the driver.
They sat in silence for a good ten minutes.
‘So are you still teaching at McKinley?’
‘Uh… yeah, yeah. Still living in Lima.’
‘And how’s the Glee Club doing? Last time I called home, Mom said you made it all the way to nationals.’
‘Good, good. It’s doing really… good. We’ve got twice as many members as we used to have.’ Will paused. ‘You ask your mom about me?’
‘Well, you know…’ Finn scratched his head. ‘You were always my favourite teacher. I like to know how you’re doing.’
‘Oh. So how long have you been a… you know…?’
‘Escort?’
‘Yeah, that.’
‘About six months. I took a gig at a strip club to pay my way through college, and after a couple years there, this guy approached me after a performance, said he could offer me twice what I was earning and I wouldn’t have to take my clothes off if I didn’t want to. So I went for it. Not that I mind taking my clothes off, but this way I get fed first.’
‘What does your mom think about it?’
‘She thinks I’m working at a library.’
‘A library?!’ Will’s shoulder’s shook with silent laughter, he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes.
‘You won’t tell her, will you?’ Finn’s eyes were suddenly wide with panic. ‘I-it’s not a permanent thing, it’s just until I can land a part. I go to auditions all the time, but nobody ever… just promise you won’t tell her, okay?’
‘I won’t tell.’
‘Promise?’
‘Promise. It’s not my place to interfere. Besides, you think I’m gonna tell your mom that I hired her son from an escort agency? I like my face the way it is.’
It was Finn’s turn to laugh.
* * *
‘So, it was a really beautiful wedding.’ Will said as he moved along the buffet table.
‘Mmff.’ Finn’s agreement was muffled by a mouthful of mini-quiche. ‘Vewy cleam.’ Crumbs sprayed across the table.
‘Doesn’t Men of Manhattan teach you not to talk with your mouth full?’
Finn swallowed hastily and shot Will a sheepish grin by way of apology. ‘I’ll go grab us some drinks.’ He shot off to the other end of the room before Will could reply, leaving him alone amid a sea of strangers.
‘Will!’
He turned.
‘Emma! Hi!’ They embraced energetically as Will gave her a light peck on the cheek. ‘It’s so good to see you again, how’s the practice?’
‘Oh, it’s fantastic! Kids in New York have so many problems! Not that that’s a good thing… but you know… it feels good to, um, help.’ She glanced around the room. ‘So where’s this mysterious boyfriend of yours? I’ve been dying to meet him.’
‘Right, yeah… about that…’
‘Hey snake-hips.’
Will found a champagne flute pressed into his hand as Finn’s arm wrapped possessively around him from behind. His lips traced the shell of Will’s right ear, which was now bright pink with embarrassment. Just like the rest of him.
‘Finn, honey.’ He squeezed through gritted teeth as he wriggled away from the wandering hands. ‘You remember Emma.’
‘Miss Pillsbury! Hi!’ He picked her up in an overenthusiastic bear hug and spun her around before letting her down on the ground. ‘Although I guess I should call you Mrs. Pillsbury now.’
‘Finn Hudson, oh my gosh!’ Emma clapped her hands together. ‘I wanted to invite you, but I had no idea where you were! I tried Rachel but she told me you were the only member of New Directions that she lost contact with.’
Will nearly spat his champagne all over Emma’s dress.
‘Are you saying that-that they’re all here?!’
‘Yes! Isn’t it exciting? The old band is back together! And even better…’ she pointed them over in the direction of the seating plan hanging on the far wall. ‘You’re all at the same table!’
Will’s eye began to twitch. He was fairly sure his jaw had hit the floor, but the conversation just buzzed on without him, all he could hear was white noise.
‘Anyway, I have to go mingle! Have fun, you two!’ Emma turned and glided away, disappearing into the crowd.
‘Come on, let’s go find our table.’ Finn grabbed Will’s waist and steered him across the floor. ‘This is gonna be so much fun!’
‘This is gonna be a nightmare.’ Will hissed.
Rating: PG13
Warning: Nothing yet.
Summary: Will has been invited to an old friend's wedding, and she wants to meet his boyfriend. Just one problem: he hasn't got one. Written in response to a prompt from the Winn Meme.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Notes: Kinda-sorta-not really a sequel to my other fic, Pizza and Movies. It may or may not get referenced somewhere down the line, but for those of you who wanted a sequel, you can pretend that this is it. XD
Will paced back and forth, alternating between wringing his hands and running them through his hair. On his third circuit of the room, he stopped at the mini-bar and retrieved a tiny bottle of Jack Daniels, downing the whole thing in one gulp. Then he sunk onto the couch.
‘I’m so pathetic.’ He glared at the cordless phone sitting on the coffee table.
‘Men of Manhattan escort services, Doris speaking.’ The receptionist’s nasally voice reminded Will of Fran Drescher.
‘Uh, hi. I need an escort for a wedding, tomorrow night.’
‘Any preferences? I got tall ones, short ones, blonds, brunettes, redheads, black, white, smart, dumb, scrawny, brawny, blue eyes, brown eyes, you name it.’
‘It doesn’t matter, but the reception will have karaoke, so a decent singer would be helpful.’
‘Yeah, okay, I got a singer. He’ll run you about fifteen-hundred dollars an hour.’
‘That’s fine.’
‘Okay, name?’
‘Will Schuester.’
‘And where shall we have your date meet you, Mr. Schuester?’
‘I’m staying at the Hudson Hotel, room 214.’
‘And the time?’
‘Around 7:30 would be good.’
And so here he was, waiting for his “date” and feeling like just about the biggest loser in the world. So the invitation said “plus one”, so what? Nobody would’ve cared if he’d shown up alone, especially not Emma, and she was the only one who really mattered, since it was her wedding. Honestly, what was he trying to prove? He should just man up and admit that he’d made up a relationship so she would stop feeling sorry for him.
His watch ticked over to 7:35, and just as Will was beginning to think he’d be able to go to the wedding alone after all, there was a sharp rap on the door. He leapt to his feet.
‘W-who is it?’
‘Will Schuester?’ The voice was muffled by the door. ‘I’m your date, from Men of Manhattan.’
‘Just a minute!’ Will raced into the bathroom, nearly tripping over his suitcase on the way. He snatched up the bottle of mouthwash on the sink and nearly broke the cap off trying to open it, before pouring more than twice the necessary amount into his mouth. Swish, swill, gargle, spit. His mouth felt like it was on fire, but at least now he wouldn’t reek of alcohol. On his way out he grabbed his dinner jacket, shrugged it on, and scooped his gift from its place at the foot of the bed.
He stopped to take a deep breath and calm down before opening the door to his date.
‘Surprise!’
He slammed it shut again. His heart was thumping so fast, he thought it might actually explode. This was disastrous, catastrophic, horrifying. There weren’t enough words in English or Spanish to convey just how many different kinds of bad this was.
There was another, more tentative rap on the door.
‘Mr. Schue? Can I come in? Please?’
He opened the door again, slowly this time. It had to be a momentary hallucination, brought on by stress. He was going to look again, and there’d be someone else behind the door. Or better yet, nobody at all.
‘Hi.’
Nope, still him.
‘Finn,’ Will croaked ‘it’s good to see you.’ He looked down. ‘You brought flowers.’
‘Yup!’ Finn held up the bouquet of red roses, shaking them gently as if to emphasize their presence. ‘I figured you’re the kind of guy who likes a little bit of romance. But, just in case you don’t, I got you…’ he pulled his other hand out from behind his back ‘a copy of Die Hard!’
‘Wow. You, uh…’ Will took the flowers and the movie and placed them on the coffee table. ‘You really thought this through, huh.’
‘Of course.’ Finn grinned ‘I’m a professional. So, uh, where’s the wedding?’
‘Plaza Hotel.’ Will looked at his watch. ‘Which reminds me, we should get going. Listen, if this is gonna be awkward for you, you don’t have to…’
‘Awkward?’ Finn wrapped an arm around Will’s waist as he led him down the corridor, to the elevator. ‘This isn’t awkward. Awkward was being the cowboy stripper at Jesse St. James’ opening-night-of-Oklahoma-revival after-party.’
‘Wow. That… that would certainly be awkward.’ Will agreed as the elevator doors slid shut behind them.
‘But not nearly as awkward as waking up next to him.’ Finn pressed the button for the ground floor.
‘D-did that actually happen?’
Finn simply cocked an eyebrow in his direction.
They stepped out of the elevator together, striding across the lobby and out into the brisk night air. Finn immediately waved down a taxi and held the door open for Will, sliding in after him.
‘Plaza Hotel, please.’ He told the driver.
They sat in silence for a good ten minutes.
‘So are you still teaching at McKinley?’
‘Uh… yeah, yeah. Still living in Lima.’
‘And how’s the Glee Club doing? Last time I called home, Mom said you made it all the way to nationals.’
‘Good, good. It’s doing really… good. We’ve got twice as many members as we used to have.’ Will paused. ‘You ask your mom about me?’
‘Well, you know…’ Finn scratched his head. ‘You were always my favourite teacher. I like to know how you’re doing.’
‘Oh. So how long have you been a… you know…?’
‘Escort?’
‘Yeah, that.’
‘About six months. I took a gig at a strip club to pay my way through college, and after a couple years there, this guy approached me after a performance, said he could offer me twice what I was earning and I wouldn’t have to take my clothes off if I didn’t want to. So I went for it. Not that I mind taking my clothes off, but this way I get fed first.’
‘What does your mom think about it?’
‘She thinks I’m working at a library.’
‘A library?!’ Will’s shoulder’s shook with silent laughter, he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes.
‘You won’t tell her, will you?’ Finn’s eyes were suddenly wide with panic. ‘I-it’s not a permanent thing, it’s just until I can land a part. I go to auditions all the time, but nobody ever… just promise you won’t tell her, okay?’
‘I won’t tell.’
‘Promise?’
‘Promise. It’s not my place to interfere. Besides, you think I’m gonna tell your mom that I hired her son from an escort agency? I like my face the way it is.’
It was Finn’s turn to laugh.
* * *
‘So, it was a really beautiful wedding.’ Will said as he moved along the buffet table.
‘Mmff.’ Finn’s agreement was muffled by a mouthful of mini-quiche. ‘Vewy cleam.’ Crumbs sprayed across the table.
‘Doesn’t Men of Manhattan teach you not to talk with your mouth full?’
Finn swallowed hastily and shot Will a sheepish grin by way of apology. ‘I’ll go grab us some drinks.’ He shot off to the other end of the room before Will could reply, leaving him alone amid a sea of strangers.
‘Will!’
He turned.
‘Emma! Hi!’ They embraced energetically as Will gave her a light peck on the cheek. ‘It’s so good to see you again, how’s the practice?’
‘Oh, it’s fantastic! Kids in New York have so many problems! Not that that’s a good thing… but you know… it feels good to, um, help.’ She glanced around the room. ‘So where’s this mysterious boyfriend of yours? I’ve been dying to meet him.’
‘Right, yeah… about that…’
‘Hey snake-hips.’
Will found a champagne flute pressed into his hand as Finn’s arm wrapped possessively around him from behind. His lips traced the shell of Will’s right ear, which was now bright pink with embarrassment. Just like the rest of him.
‘Finn, honey.’ He squeezed through gritted teeth as he wriggled away from the wandering hands. ‘You remember Emma.’
‘Miss Pillsbury! Hi!’ He picked her up in an overenthusiastic bear hug and spun her around before letting her down on the ground. ‘Although I guess I should call you Mrs. Pillsbury now.’
‘Finn Hudson, oh my gosh!’ Emma clapped her hands together. ‘I wanted to invite you, but I had no idea where you were! I tried Rachel but she told me you were the only member of New Directions that she lost contact with.’
Will nearly spat his champagne all over Emma’s dress.
‘Are you saying that-that they’re all here?!’
‘Yes! Isn’t it exciting? The old band is back together! And even better…’ she pointed them over in the direction of the seating plan hanging on the far wall. ‘You’re all at the same table!’
Will’s eye began to twitch. He was fairly sure his jaw had hit the floor, but the conversation just buzzed on without him, all he could hear was white noise.
‘Anyway, I have to go mingle! Have fun, you two!’ Emma turned and glided away, disappearing into the crowd.
‘Come on, let’s go find our table.’ Finn grabbed Will’s waist and steered him across the floor. ‘This is gonna be so much fun!’
‘This is gonna be a nightmare.’ Will hissed.