in which derry kind of bullies will except not really
(there's background to this fic that i never wrote, and that you can't tell from the two previous bits, snapshot 1 and snapshot 2. so i read them all together and they don't seem to fit, but they're supposed to. also derry is now slightly more familiar with joy's neighborhood than the way i wrote him two years ago. as always, i apologize for essentially dropping you into the middle.)
Sunlight coming through the uncurtained windows wakes Derry up. He's still kind of surprised Will hasn't bothered to nail a sheet over them or something, anything to keep out the morning sun. But then, Will's still asleep, so clearly it doesn't bother him.
But it should. He's been sleeping a long time, and he should be awake.
Derry shakes Will's shoulder. "Hey, Will, wake up," he says. "You've been asleep like a whole day."
Will mumbles something. It's a sign. Derry shakes him again.
"Come on, wake up," he says again. "I had to talk to Joy while you were asleep."
"Stoppit." The mumble resolves into a word.
"No."
"Fine, fine, I'm up." Will flops onto his back, rubs his eyes, and yawns. "What time is it? How long was I out?"
"A long time. Since yesterday afternoon." Derry props himself up on one arm. "You wanna tell me where you've been the last week, and why no one could find you?"
"No."
"You wanna tell me why I couldn't get a hold of you?"
"No."
"What were you doing? Did you go to Providence?" That last question comes out more accusatory than Derry is intending.
There's no answer. Derry reminds himself that Will has never been a particularly sharey individual, and there's a pretty big chance Derry will never know where he went, what he did, or why he decided to up and vanish in the first place.
"It was a week, dude," Will says, sounding like he's still tired. "It's not like I ran off to Mexico for six months."
"Still." Derry changes tacks. "Are you hungry? Because I am."
"Yeah, I guess. Maybe."
"I'll take that as a yes." He sits up, puts on his shoes, and grabs the strap of his shoulder bag as he stands. "I'll go get food. If you're asleep when I get back, I'm just gonna wake you up."
"Whatever makes you happy," Will says, opening his eyes long enough to roll them. Derry chooses not to answer, although he thinks Will deserves a smack upside the head, and instead he just leaves the room.
There are a couple of people sacked out on the couch in the living room and a couple more sacked out on the floor. Derry doesn't try to make enough noise to wake them up, but he doesn't make any special effort to be quiet, either. It doesn't matter - no one moves.
He's pretty sure there's a McDonald's if he walks about fifteen minutes towards (and then past) the bus stop. It's a nice morning, good for a walk, and now that Will's up and grumpily back to normal, Derry doesn't have to worry about where he went. It's not that he and Will want to be in each other's pockets, and he doesn't have to know where the guy is every second of every day, but a week in which not one single person seemed to know where Will was - and Derry knew a number of people who could have at least guessed - that was weird.
But now Will's back, and Derry doesn't have to think about it any more. He just has to get breakfast and hope it's still reasonably hot by the time he returns to the squat.
A McDonald's does indeed appear after fifteen or so minutes. Derry mentally congratulates himself on his excellent visual memory. He drinks one of the coffees on the walk back, and the other one is only lukewarm by the time he nudges Will awake again and hands it to him.
"I got Egg McMuffins," he says. "Some hashbrowns, a sausage biscuit - I know you like them - and they were already making apple pies. Weird, huh? I got one of those too."
"Gimme," is Will's answer. He flaps his hand in the direction of the McDonald's bag. Derry digs out a McMuffin for himself before passing the bag over. Will pulls out the apple pie, shakes it out of its little cardboard container, and bites into it. "Fuckthat'sgood," he says, around a mouthful of apple filling and pastry.
"Don't talk with your mouth full." Will flips Derry off. Derry just grins.
"I feel almost human," Will says about ten minutes later, after he's finished stuffing his face. "Where're you keeping your stuff?" He tries and fails to look innocent, like he's not really asking which of Derry's friends he can sponge off of.
He doesn't have to hedge. Derry slept next to him all night and he's fully aware of how badly Will reeks. He would've mentioned it if Will hadn't brought it up first. But there might be a problem.
"Sil won't let you use her shower."
"Mike home?"
"Dude, Mike works. Leland might be around, though." A quick phone call reveals that yes, Leland is home, and yes, Will can use their shower, and no, he can't hang around after Leland leaves.
"I'm here until eleven," Leland says. "And then you gotta be gone."
"You don't like us?" Derry asks, feigning hurt.
"I don't trust you. Ok, I don't trust Will."
Derry opts not to repeat that. Leland's not the only one, anyway.
Will changes his clothes - at Derry's prodding - and they head out. The couple of people crashed out on the couch are still asleep, as are the folks on the floor. Will prods the closest floor-sleeper with his foot, but all the guy does is roll over.
"Don't," Derry says, and when Will looks at him questioningly, he adds "It's rude."
"You woke me up."
"I know you. And you'd been asleep for sixteen hours or something and it was time for you to be awake." And I wanted to know where you fucked off to, and I couldn't ask while you were still asleep, he doesn't add. He'll never know the answer to that.
He doesn't ask again, but he wants to.
Leland doesn't give them too much grief about using Dave's towels. Will spends a long time in the shower, and after he's all squeaky clean he manages to convince Derry that a blowjob would really make him feel like a normal person again. Derry is nothing if not obliging, although he does make Will promise to reciprocate first.
And if "reciprocate" means "fuck Derry into the mattress", he's ok with that.
Sunlight coming through the uncurtained windows wakes Derry up. He's still kind of surprised Will hasn't bothered to nail a sheet over them or something, anything to keep out the morning sun. But then, Will's still asleep, so clearly it doesn't bother him.
But it should. He's been sleeping a long time, and he should be awake.
Derry shakes Will's shoulder. "Hey, Will, wake up," he says. "You've been asleep like a whole day."
Will mumbles something. It's a sign. Derry shakes him again.
"Come on, wake up," he says again. "I had to talk to Joy while you were asleep."
"Stoppit." The mumble resolves into a word.
"No."
"Fine, fine, I'm up." Will flops onto his back, rubs his eyes, and yawns. "What time is it? How long was I out?"
"A long time. Since yesterday afternoon." Derry props himself up on one arm. "You wanna tell me where you've been the last week, and why no one could find you?"
"No."
"You wanna tell me why I couldn't get a hold of you?"
"No."
"What were you doing? Did you go to Providence?" That last question comes out more accusatory than Derry is intending.
There's no answer. Derry reminds himself that Will has never been a particularly sharey individual, and there's a pretty big chance Derry will never know where he went, what he did, or why he decided to up and vanish in the first place.
"It was a week, dude," Will says, sounding like he's still tired. "It's not like I ran off to Mexico for six months."
"Still." Derry changes tacks. "Are you hungry? Because I am."
"Yeah, I guess. Maybe."
"I'll take that as a yes." He sits up, puts on his shoes, and grabs the strap of his shoulder bag as he stands. "I'll go get food. If you're asleep when I get back, I'm just gonna wake you up."
"Whatever makes you happy," Will says, opening his eyes long enough to roll them. Derry chooses not to answer, although he thinks Will deserves a smack upside the head, and instead he just leaves the room.
There are a couple of people sacked out on the couch in the living room and a couple more sacked out on the floor. Derry doesn't try to make enough noise to wake them up, but he doesn't make any special effort to be quiet, either. It doesn't matter - no one moves.
He's pretty sure there's a McDonald's if he walks about fifteen minutes towards (and then past) the bus stop. It's a nice morning, good for a walk, and now that Will's up and grumpily back to normal, Derry doesn't have to worry about where he went. It's not that he and Will want to be in each other's pockets, and he doesn't have to know where the guy is every second of every day, but a week in which not one single person seemed to know where Will was - and Derry knew a number of people who could have at least guessed - that was weird.
But now Will's back, and Derry doesn't have to think about it any more. He just has to get breakfast and hope it's still reasonably hot by the time he returns to the squat.
A McDonald's does indeed appear after fifteen or so minutes. Derry mentally congratulates himself on his excellent visual memory. He drinks one of the coffees on the walk back, and the other one is only lukewarm by the time he nudges Will awake again and hands it to him.
"I got Egg McMuffins," he says. "Some hashbrowns, a sausage biscuit - I know you like them - and they were already making apple pies. Weird, huh? I got one of those too."
"Gimme," is Will's answer. He flaps his hand in the direction of the McDonald's bag. Derry digs out a McMuffin for himself before passing the bag over. Will pulls out the apple pie, shakes it out of its little cardboard container, and bites into it. "Fuckthat'sgood," he says, around a mouthful of apple filling and pastry.
"Don't talk with your mouth full." Will flips Derry off. Derry just grins.
"I feel almost human," Will says about ten minutes later, after he's finished stuffing his face. "Where're you keeping your stuff?" He tries and fails to look innocent, like he's not really asking which of Derry's friends he can sponge off of.
He doesn't have to hedge. Derry slept next to him all night and he's fully aware of how badly Will reeks. He would've mentioned it if Will hadn't brought it up first. But there might be a problem.
"Sil won't let you use her shower."
"Mike home?"
"Dude, Mike works. Leland might be around, though." A quick phone call reveals that yes, Leland is home, and yes, Will can use their shower, and no, he can't hang around after Leland leaves.
"I'm here until eleven," Leland says. "And then you gotta be gone."
"You don't like us?" Derry asks, feigning hurt.
"I don't trust you. Ok, I don't trust Will."
Derry opts not to repeat that. Leland's not the only one, anyway.
Will changes his clothes - at Derry's prodding - and they head out. The couple of people crashed out on the couch are still asleep, as are the folks on the floor. Will prods the closest floor-sleeper with his foot, but all the guy does is roll over.
"Don't," Derry says, and when Will looks at him questioningly, he adds "It's rude."
"You woke me up."
"I know you. And you'd been asleep for sixteen hours or something and it was time for you to be awake." And I wanted to know where you fucked off to, and I couldn't ask while you were still asleep, he doesn't add. He'll never know the answer to that.
He doesn't ask again, but he wants to.
Leland doesn't give them too much grief about using Dave's towels. Will spends a long time in the shower, and after he's all squeaky clean he manages to convince Derry that a blowjob would really make him feel like a normal person again. Derry is nothing if not obliging, although he does make Will promise to reciprocate first.
And if "reciprocate" means "fuck Derry into the mattress", he's ok with that.