helliam/willry oneshots (ft. angst)

happy wife ≠ happy life (1/2)

notes:
mary = mrs. afton
evan = c.c

set in the 1970s
(that's when the pizzeria opened)

>------<

william clenched his fists tightly, flames burning behind his eyes. it couldn't be more clear how angry he was. was it due to stress or something else? he didn't even want to think about it. instead he buried himself in work to distract himself from the rage.

a soft knock interrupted his work. his body must've twitched with how aggressively he stood up. with a few heavy steps towards the door, he swung it open. it smashed into the wall and dented the handle.

"what." william was not going to play nice.

"uh, what's wrong?" henry asked calmly, "you look about ready to kill someone".

william scoffed and rolled his eyes, "what do you want emily".

henry shifted at the use of his last name. although it wasn't unusual for william to use it, he typically only did during business meetings and alike. he was really riled up to say the least.

"it doesn't matter right now" henry stood his ground, "what's up with you?".

william massaged his nose bridge and turned around to face the wall behind him. he was definitely not in the mood for henry's intrusive questions, but it felt borderline rude to ignore him and close the door. it was either wallowing in despair for the next couple hours and hoping it would go away or dealing with emily's questions and maybe getting out what the problem was.

"i'm just angry" william replied.

"i figured" henry stepped inside the office, "do you know why?".

"no" william faced henry again, "otherwise i would have fixed it".

henry hesitated before closing the door, "maybe something has been subliminally been irritating you".

"probably" william walked himself and henry over to the couch before sitting down, "but i want to know what the problem is!".

"hm, is there anything you've been annoyed by this week?" henry calmly asked.

well of course he had been annoyed. he couldn't go a week without being annoyed by something. work, family, the list goes on. william thought back to something that might've consistently made him annoyed or ruined his mood somehow. to choose between everything that had happened to annoy him even slightly was extremely hard. while william wasn't one to show irritation and frustration, he did still feel it. he decided upon the few big ones.

"i can think of a few" william finally said after a few moments.

"what are they? be specific" henry requested, placing down the notebook he had been holding onto.

"first i'd say my kids have been annoying me. or, stressing me out rather. micheal has been somewhat bullying to evan recently" he started, "then my work. no offence, but it's been taking so long to write all of these documents and still have time for everything at home".

henry wordlessly agreed, nodding along. it was somewhat nice to get what he had on his chest gone. although the anger he felt still bubbled in the core of his body, he was picking away at it slowly. his mouth sunk into a frown when he thought about his next confession. this really was just like when he had gone to therapy way back in high school. this was no easy task. his stomach twister and churned with anxiety.

"lastly.. i guess mary has been making me somewhat anxious and irritated recently" william leaned forward and placed his arms on his knees.

henry stopped, noticeable confusion on his face, "what has mary been doing to make you feel like that?".

"i- well- uhm..." william struggled to force the words out of his throat, "it's just... she hasn't been home that much".

henry motioned silently for william to continue, "well she's been arriving home in the early hours and leaving when i leave for work".

that was it huh? he was just stressed and worried after all. the anger he felt really was just from his lack of control. he truly was the control freak everyone had told him he was. right? that's what he came to at least. his anger was from the lack of control. it wasn't the first time had had blown up because he couldn't control everything around him. out of everyone emily would know that william was prone to freak outs.

"that's understandable" henry frowned, "if you're stressing out like this i get why you'd be so upset.. the stress you felt became anger because you felt out of control, am i right?".

williams shocked expression must've spoken for itself. henry continued, "but mary being gone for so long is really worrying.. i wonder where she's going. do you know?".

"no. i asked and she ignored me" william recalled, "she's always been a secretive person even if there was no need, so i'm not surprised".

"have you told her how worried it makes you?" henry asked, "a good partner should never try to make you feel that way".

"i told her, but..." william gulped, "she told me to mind my business and how i was overreacting because of how stressed work made me".

henry looked dumbfounded, "what?".

william looked up in confusion at the response. was that wrong? mary had the right not to tell him and he didn't think it was that big of a deal. but maybe it was. william was never a relationship expert to any stretch of the imagination. he barely understood human emotions in himself, let alone other people. he had connected with henry due to how he carried his heart of his sleeve and clearly displayed what emotions he felt.

"that's... i mean, then she's just being dismissive" henry mumbled, "she's probably hiding something..".

"who isn't to be fair" william shrugged at his own question, "we all have our secrets".

"while that's true, i think she might just be using your trust to hurt you" henry explained, "we should definitely find out what she's doing".

william straightened his back, looking over at his work on the desk. he wasn't angry anymore, now he was just confused and worried. he'd much rather not have talked about it at all if he was going to feel all anxious.

"we?" he asked.

"well unless you want to go alone i'm up to join you.." henry replied while looking off towards the door.

william smiled warmly, "sure, i don't mind. just be ready to get up early".

TO BE CONTINUED >:)

>------<

a/n : yes, yes, i know.. leaving you on a cliffhanger just as i returned is a bold move. but worry not, i will update it within the next few days.

remember to hydrate! it's good for you.
- grin