Heronstairs: A Fluff Collection

The End Of The Day (Prompt 24)

Jem, Will had decided, was incredibly stubborn. Most people wouldn't assume that he was, what with the sweet little smile and kind voice and angelic face and all, but under all that, Jem was steel.

He would argue his point firmly and unrelenting if he cared about whatever was being debated. He was not afraid to tell Will his frank opinion where it was necessary, and he certainly didn't let people walk all over him.

Will, of course, adored these qualities. It was fun to see Jem be headstrong about something once and a while, and it was usually a good thing- it meant he was communicating whatever was going on in his head.

Today, however, Jem's stubbornness was purely self-destructive.

He was sitting on the windowsill, peering out at the cloudy gray skies. He hadn't said much of anything all day, except short answers and occasionally asking small questions now and again.

Jem had coughed more than he'd spoken today, but refused to say he wasn't feeling well. As Will glanced up from his book, he saw Jem in the same position he'd been in an hour ago. Curled up on the windowsill with his knees drawn to his chest, long arms draped around his legs, facing away from Will. He could read the sadness in every line of his posture, and hear it in his heavy sighs.

"Jem?" Will called softly, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Mmhmm. I'm fine," Jem said, turning and giving Will a weak smile.

"You seem sad," he continued, book now discarded. "Anything you need to talk about?"

"No, I'm okay, it's just... It's just kind of a bad day. There's not one specific thing that's wrong... I'm just tired..."

Will stood and crossed to the windowsill, drawing Jem into his arms and gently moving them both to the couch. "Tired of what?"

Jem didn't respond.

Will gently prodded his side. "Baby, tired of what?"

"... Tired of being sick, tired of being in and out of hospital, tired of not being able to trust my own mind anymore," he said on a quiet exhale, shrinking in on himself and suddenly feeling too small and too fragile in Will's arms. "I dunno... I'm just tired of being James Carstairs."

"Oh, honey..." Will was at a loss. What did you say in response to that? Jem was tired of the things that neither he nor Will could change- he was tired of a condition without a cure, and of being who he was.

Wordlessly, Will drew him closer and held him tight. Jem gratefully turned and rested his head on Will's chest, snuggling up to him but keeping his face turned away.

"You... You're not going to try anything stupid, are you?" Will asked quietly. A part of him was very scared that Jem would be looking for a way out, and that it'd be hard to notice. What's one more crack in a broken vase?

Jem coughed for a moment before responding. "Define stupid."

"You'll keep eating, you'll keep taking the medicines you need to be taking at the right dosage, you'll be safe." He pressed a kiss to the top of Jem's head. "You'll take care of yourself."

Jem was quiet, but he nodded into Will's shirt.

"And on days when you can't take care of yourself," Will added, "I'll take care of you."

He felt rather than saw the little smile Jem finally gave. Victorious, Will settled back against the couch and moved his laptop from the coffee table to perched on the armrest, twisting slightly to see the screen while Jem lay across his lap.

Jem looked up with a questioning eyebrow, but Will simply stroked his hair and shushed him. "I've got work to do. You hush and sleep."

Ten minutes later, Jem was completely deaf to the world as he slept. Will worked for hours, typing and retyping the same concepts again and again until he was satisfied.

The quiet was unusual in their little apartment, Will noticed. Jem, while not a loud person by any means, was typically either talking to Will, playing the violin, humming to himself, or mumbling something under his breath in Mandarin. Whatever it was, Jem was always bringing some sort of happy little background noise to their life. Will hadn't noticed until he was asleep and all he could hear was the clacking of laptop keys and the steady rise and fall of deep breathing.

Suddenly, those breaths were interrupted by a little startled gasp. He looked down quickly, but Jem appeared to still be asleep. He was curling in on himself, hands up over his head as if to ward off an attacker.

"Jem," Will murmured softly, trying to wake him.

Jem flinched away as if he'd been scalded, murmuring something pleadingly in Mandarin.

Whatever Jem was dreaming about was powerful enough to instinctively send him to his native language. To Will's horror, Jem's nervousness in the dream slowly turned into grief and intense, paralyzing fear. He was trembling and crying out in Will's lap, a shaking mess. Tears began to streak down pale cheeks, and Will's heart finally couldn't take it. He took Jem by the shoulders and gently shook him, leaning down to kiss his forehead.

"Jem. Wake up."

Jem opened his eyes with a gasp.

"You okay?"

Jem moved away from Will and sat on the edge of their sofa, elbows braced on his knees.

"Yeah... Yeah, I think I'm just going to go rest for a bit," he mumbled, slipping off to their room and closing the door behind him.

Will sighed. His baby was having a crap day, and something had to be done.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Jem emerged from their room much later, having forgone street clothes for more comfortable pajamas some time ago. Will, perched on the kitchen counter, gently slid off onto the floor and hit play on his phone.

The opening chord of their song floated through their kitchen, catching Jem's attention and causing a smile to tug at the corner of his mouth.

"It's our song," he smiled, "What's the occasion?"

When I look into your eyes, it's like watching the night skies
Or a beautiful sunrise, there's so much they hold...

"It's late and you looked sad all day, so baby please just dance with me," Will said softly, holding his hands out.

"In the kitchen?"

"Where else?"

"In our pajamas?"

"We can skip the clothes altogether, if you prefer."

Jem just shook his head with a smile and took Will's hands, allowing himself to be tugged flush against Will's chest. Thin arms looped around his neck just as Will wrapped his arms around a slender waist, swaying back and forth softly as the song played in the background.

Well I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
Still lookin' up
Still lookin' up

They danced until the song faded into silence, bodies drawn together and foreheads touching. Even after the song ended and a silence fell over the kitchen again, Will kept him close and gently tried to keep the sadness and the demons away from his beautiful, stubborn boyfriend.

A/N: This is a day late because seeing as yesterday was my actual birthday and I had plans with family, I didn't get a chance to put the finishing touches on it. Sorry! Anyways, hope you enjoyed!!