aliens are real * oneshots

1) Home | Will x Stephen

wc: 1184

warnings: abuse

info: will & stephen are both 18, this is very personal to me so thts why its how it is 😐

//

stephen <3, 8:56pm

it's bad again

what happened?

are you okay?

i got kicked out

okay, i've got you, it's okay

go to our spot, okay?

i'll be there as soon as i can

okay

i adore you, sweetheart

bring your bag, grab as
much as you can

we can take the money out
after i get you

okay, i'll wait f you

okay<3

//

Stephen put his bags in the backseat and got in the car, trembling, hands gone red from how cold the winter night's air was. Will turned the heat all the way up, reaching over and grabbing Stephen's hands, looking him over. It was then when he noticed something on his face; a red mark -- a handprint -- and a small bruise. He gasped.

"Stephen, sweetheart," he whispered, still gripping onto the boy's hands, hoping to warm them up. "What--what happened? What's goin' on?"

When Stephen didn't respond, Will gently grabbed his chin, forcing Stephen to look at him, to say something. When that didn't work, he carefully grabbed the sides of his face and pressed their foreheads together. Stephen winced as Will's hand pressed against the marks.

"Please, baby, tell me what happened," Will begged. "I can't help you if I don't know, please..."

Stephen let out a sigh, one that Will felt against his face. Stephen's breath smelled like cigarettes. Will grimaced.

"Just drive," Stephen eventually said, voice weak and torn, "I'll tell you while we leave. I--I don't want to stay around here."

Will nodded, kissing the tip of his nose before he turned towards the steering wheel, reversing the car and turning onto the long, barren road. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Stephen pull a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it with the lighter he had in his jacket. Will frowned but rolled the window down a bit for him.

"I thought you had quit those," Will mumbled, just loud enough for Stephen to hear. Stephen laughed quietly.

"I did. This is my last one. Kept three last ones for a few months. Forgot about them, if I'm honest, but I needed something to keep me from--from spiralling while I waited f'you. Found them while I was packing. Smoked one while I walked t'our spot, one while I waited."

Will nodded in understanding. He wasn't angry at him at all. He was far from angry, really. If anything, he was kind of proud of him. It wasn't a healthy way for him to cope, sure, but at least he tried, and Will trusted that this was the last one. It had been ten months to the day that Stephen had last smoked, and yes, Will was keeping track. He kept track of these small sorts of things.

Will drove for a while, not hearing a word out of Stephen until he was done with his cigarette. He put it out in the small ashtray Will had forgotten to throw out. He let the bud stay there, not wanting to litter. Stephen may pollute the air, yeah, but he wasn't a litterer. He had some morals.

"My mum hit me," he said nonchalantly while he rolled the window up. Will nearly crashed the car. "Screamed at me for an hour straight. I finally snapped and told her to shove off and--and she just fuckin' slapped me, hard enough t'bruise me."

"Oh, Stephen," Will whispered, hand reaching out to hold Stephen's as they came to a red light. "I'm so sorry, love, m'so sorry..."

Stephen just looked down, picking at his thumb with his middle finger on his free hand. "I should've expected it," he murmured, throat tight, choked up. Will ran his thumb across Stephen's knuckles as the light turned green. "She--she didn't apologize. My dad wasn't home, he wasn't there t'step in. My brother just watched. She told me to...to 'get the fuck out 'n never come back'."

"Surely she can't do that, especially since your father wasn't--"

"I'm 18, Will, almost 19. I should've moved out the day I turned 18. I'm a legal adult, it doesn't matter."

Will looked over at Stephen for a split second as traffic crawled to a stop. In the illumination of the streetlights, he could see the tears steadily slipping down Stephen's face, dripping onto his shirt. Will squeezed his hand.

"Well," he whispered, "once traffic picks up, we'll be about 30 minutes to m'flat. I'll transfer th'money into my actual account 'n tomorrow we can go 'n get groceries 'n a few general things. Does that sound good, baby?"

Stephen sniffled and nodded, staring out of the window. "Yeah, yeah, that sounds good."

Will squeezed his hand again as traffic sped up.

"I love you," he said, "so much."

"I love you too," Stephen said, yawning, head falling against the window. "M'so sleepy."

"I know you are, sweetheart. Take a small nap, okay? I'll wake you up when we're home."

Home. The word reverberated in Stephen's mind, replaying over and over until it was lost. Home. Will was his home. Being next to Will was safe, comfortable, enjoyable, happy; everything his actual -- old -- home wasn't.

Stephen smiled and fell asleep just moments later.

//

Stephen woke up in Will's bed, curled up against Will's side. He felt fatigued, gross, mouth dry and body buzzing. Will laughed softly.

"How'd I get in here?" Stephen asked, yawning soon after.

"Carried you inside," Will said, running a hand through Stephen's hair. "You woke up just long enough t'let me pick you up. Woke up again once I came back inside with your bags. Cuddled up next t'me and passed back out. I fell asleep eventually 'n I woke up, like, an hour ago. You've been out for at least twelve hours, love."

"Fuck's sake," he breathed, hand reaching up to gently press against his face. It stung like hell and he knew there had to be a massive bruise. "How bad does it look?"

"It's pretty bad," Will mumbled, moving so that he was facing Stephen. "Does it hurt? Do you need ice? Are you alright?"

Stephen shut him up with a kiss, feeling his eyes burn with tears again. "I'll be alright, 'specially since m'here with you. I--I know I got kicked out but--fuck, Will, I've never felt better. M'free. M'finally fuckin' free, I don't have t'go back there again. I'm free."

Will wrapped his arms around Stephen, pulling him close. "I want you t'live with me," he said, biting his lip. "We'll use th'money to go 'n get you new clothes 'n stuff, we can make ourselves a little life here, I'll get a better job so we can sustain ourselves, we can make things better--"

Stephen shut him up with a kiss again, crying properly now. "Shut up," he whispered. "I want to live with you, wanna stay with you forever. We c'n worry 'bout everything later."

"Okay," Will said, rubbing Stephen's back. "Okay."

Will wiped the tears from Stephen's eyes, tilting his chin up and kissing him again, heart aching for the boy.

They were home.