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Today Wilbur is tired. He didn’t have any work to do today, so it's good that today is the day that he’s not motivated to do anything at all. Wil has little energy, but just enough to drag himself out of bed, change into a new sweater, some joggers, and make some tea before plopping himself on the couch for what he hopes is the rest of the day. something about today was just perfect for exactly this; it was mid-December and there was rain in the forecast (though he’d prefer that it was snow), his flat was warm, and Wil’s fluffy cat had decided to come down from the cat tree and nuzzle up on Wilbur’s stomach. Maybe he would decide to make some bread on his chest too. He turned on the tv, putting on some random series and bringing his blanket up to his legs so he could still sit up properly. just as he was setting his hand down on the ball of fluff in front of him, his phone started to vibrate on the table in front of him. Wil lets out a heaving sigh, who in their right mind dares try and contact him while he tries to relax?
Oh.
It's Schlatt.
Never mind... This was the one exception he'd make today.
Wil had been best friends with Schlatt for a pretty long time if he must say. they met a few years back but since then Wilbur had moved to NYC, he wanted to get out of the UK but neither was ready to move to LA quite yet. Schlatt had family here after all. Since Moving here though, schlatt's had the opportunity to spend more time with Wilbur and show him around the city and where he grew up. Seeing that side of him, so eager to share more about his life just made Wilbur’s heart swell. but like- not in that way, in a friendly-platonic way.
okay, maybe not in a friendly-platonic way but there was nothing he could ever do about it, he valued that relationship too much to risk ruining it and making things awkward. but back to his ringing phone, Wilbur leaned himself over the table to reach his phone, nearly falling off the couch in the process and answering the phone with a groan.
“WILBUUUR!” schlatt yelled into the phone, making Wil instinctively bringing the phone away from his ear, cringing at the sudden noise. Wil’s cracked voice rang through the phone, “heyyy man, what’s up? you call for any reason?” he tried to sound at least a little bit energetic, but his cat had already started purring, making him even more sleepy. on the other line, schlatt had noticed the mellow tone and lowered his to match. “... you sound tired, wil, did I wake you up or something?” he shifted in his seat, schlatt was also pretty lethargic but he didn’t want to admit that. the reason he really called wil was to keep himself awake, but now hearing him like this it just wanted to make him snuggle up and hold him close... but like, what’re the chances, yknow?
“no, but I just sat myself on the couch to watch some tele or something, I think the weather’s got me like this but I’m not complaining, I think I need a day to just chill out”
“I heard it’s ‘supposed to get bad out later, but those reporters don’t know what they’re on about. this was all supposed to be snow after all, we haven’t had a single inch this season!”
“yes well, there’s nothing we can do about it now. little kitty here-“
“-you mean the love of my life”
“...yes, sure if that’s what you want to call him, has been running his bakery on my torso here for the past hour. I don’t know whether to ‘awww’ or cringe at his claws pushing straight into my chest.”
“an hour! sounds like he’s behind on orders, maybe I should come and help before our little man gets an angry phone call for some late bread.”
Wilbur thought on that for a second. our? he didn’t want to dwell on it too much, but he did consider taking up schlatt’s offer to come over, he just hoped he wasn’t joking. wil took a glance around his semi-tidy apartment and hummed out a response after a bit, breaking the silence. “I mean... you could just hop on the metro if you wanted, it’s only about a 10-minute ride, yeah?” Schlatt sat there, wide-eyed. He didn’t actually expect wil to take him up on his offer, not that he was complaining, of course. Any opportunity to spend time with wil was a win in schlatt’s book, so he quickly accepted the offer. “I- yeah! I guess I’ll be on my way as soon as I can, but like do you want me to bring you anything? Food? Enormous sums of cash…?” Wilbur made a chuckle at the last comment, which totally did not make schlatt a little more flustered than he already was. “No, you don’t have to bring anything like that. This isn’t a party you know, I kinda just wanna chill but I’ll let you pick out a movie to watch when you get here.” Wilbur looked around the room to see what movies he had on the shelves, saying a quick goodbye in return to schlatt.
Now it was schlatt’s time to panic. Wil said they were just gonna hang out, and it’s not like they don’t usually do this literally every week, but this time just felt… different, for some reason. With their alternating schedules, it had been a while since the last time they got together. Schlatt felt like he was out of practice because of that, he felt like he needed to put more effort in this time for wil. Which, obviously, he deserved, but right now he needed to get ready to leave. Schlatt put on his favorite sweater, the home improvement one, (how could you blame him? You know how soft that shit is?) and some random fleece-lined sweatpants. He started to pack a bag, grabbing the largest, fluffiest blanket he could find and stuffing it in there. Hopefully it’s big enough for both of us. Schlatt shook out his head, those thoughts are for LATER, not when he’s actively trying to get to the residence of the person plaguing his mind basically 24/7. He paused for a second while he was packing some other stuff. Maybe when I get there I’ll pick out the shittiest rom-com and convince him to lay in my arms… schlatt really needs to get going.
The trip was fairly normal, just a quick ride on the subway with a transfer. Although, in the heat of trying to get out of his house on time and distract himself, Schlatt forgot an umbrella. The rain wasn’t pelting down thank god, but the added mix of wind and just general winter bitterness just made it all the more miserable for him. But the prospect of being warm with Wilbur at his house in just a few minutes overpowered the feeling of freezing water seeping through his crewneck. As Wil’s stop approached, he got out of there as soon as possible and made the trek to his building, a familiar sense of anticipation coursing through him as he rang the intercom.
Just as Wilbur was getting drowsy again, he heard the obnoxious buzz of the intercom letting him know schlatt was downstairs waiting to be let inside his building. He threw the blanket off himself and trudged to the front door, pressing the button to let him in the front as always. It’s actually been a strange amount of time since schlatt’s last been here Wilbur thinks, usually he comes over or vise versa at least once a week but it’s been like a month since they’ve hung out. Hopefully it’s not awkward but with how close they are he doubts it, but the strange tugging anticipation still surrounds Wilbur as he waits for the other to come up to his apartment.
As he waits, he hoists himself onto his kitchen counter and takes a glance out the window by his couch where he was just lounging before. The rain is still going hard, but the sky is more grey than it is dark, which hopefully means it’s either going to lighten up soon or turn into ice rain, which is a pain in the ass to deal with. Wilbur scowls at this but is quickly brought out of his thoughts as he hears a light knock at the door signifying schlatt was there. The brit jumped off his counter a little too quick, almost slipping in the process but reaching the door nonetheless with a sudden giddy look on his face.
“Hi!” Wil’s smile was refreshing to schlatt, seeing it in person was so much better than just over discord, and the thought put a soft look on his face and made him forget all about the wet chill that was currently seeping into his bones. Schlatt spoke in an almost hushed tone, matching his expression. “Hey wil, it’s been a while hasn’t it? Standing here just made me realize how busy we’ve both been lately.” the other gave a chuckle and tilted his head at that, he was just thinking the same thing… Schlatt walked past Wilbur, setting his backpack down on the counter and started pulling out all the stuff he brought to be as comfy as possible today. Wil followed behind him but stopped when he saw him unpacking. “Schlatt… did you seriously bring a mug with you?” Wil could barely keep himself from letting out a laugh, but it just made schlatt go red-faced and scratch his neck. “Well- like- yeah, it’s my favorite mug and I just thought like- I don’t know since we were gonna watch a movie and stuff-” Wilbur just peered at the man in front of him as he continued to ramble, cute… he went up to the shorter, cupping his cheek making him stop mid-sentence and look him in the eyes, the flush on schlatt’s face only becoming more intense. “Schlatt, I don’t care that you brought your favorite mug, If that’s what makes you happy then that’s what makes me happy.” Wilbur let go of his face, grabbed the mug, and turned to walk over to his stove. “I’ll make you some tea, don’t think I didn’t notice how absolutely soaked your sweater is.” Still stunned from the action before, Schlatt can’t help but stare as Wilbur casually takes the mug from his hand and fill his kettle. To him, everything Wilbur does is just… extraordinary. The way he presents himself, the way he talks, his looks, schlatt just hopes Wilbur doesn’t catch him eying his ass from across the kitchen. Before he can, though, he snatches up the heavy blanket he stuffed in his bag and wraps it around his shoulders, walking over to the cat tree by the window as it trails behind him on the floor like it’s trying to weigh him down. Just as he was saying hi to his favorite little buddy (if you asked schlatt he would call him his son) Wilbur spoke up from his place at the stove.
“Don’t you settle down just yet! I know you have the ‘parental need’ to see your child ‘n shit but I don’t want you to get a cold from being out in the rain.” Wil walks over to schlatt with fresh, hot tea in the same mug that was taken from schlatt moments ago and hands it to the nearly shivering shorter. “Lose the blanket and follow me, I’ll lend you a sweater and put that one in the dryer.” Schlatt just nods as he shrugs the thick blanket off onto the couch and follows Wilbur down the hall to his bedroom, where Wilbur starts rifling through his drawers looking for a sweater that will fit the other. Schlatt stood in the doorway watching Wilbur basically tear apart his dressers, just so he wouldn’t be cold. He tilts his head at this, yeah they’ve been best friends for years but never has schlatt seen this amount of determination for something so trivial from the musician, specifically for him.
“Wil if you can’t find one it’s oka-”
“No. you need a sweater, so I’ll get you a sweater.” even Wilbur is shocked at the sharp response. He didn’t know why he felt it was so necessary for schlatt to have a new sweater, maybe he just needed to show him that he really cared, or maybe he just wanted to see schlatt wearing his clothes. The prospect of that thought makes Wilbur flush, focusing more on what was in the drawer in front of him like it was the most important thing in the world (I mean, right now it kinda was). Finally he found one that would fit the broad man, so he pulled it out and shoved his drawers shut as much as he could, and walked over to the door where schlatt was standing, eyes glued to the spot where Wilbur was just before but he quickly looked up as wil began to speak. “I know this one looks a little worn, but it’s for a good reason. It’s one of the warmest I’ve got and one of the only ones that will probably fit over those ridiculously large shoulders of yours.” Schlatt takes the crewneck from his hands, it’s a dark grey and the collar is loose from years of wear. He takes a step into the room and sets his tea down on wil’s nightstand, casually slipping off the wet article with no warning and his back faced to Wilbur. He figures they’re still friends regardless of his attraction towards the other, so he should still act like it to keep things as normal as possible.
Wilbur can’t help but freeze in his tracks at schlatt’s choice of actions. Without a single word, he takes the sweater, faces the wall, and just strips out of his upper layer exposing his entire back to Wilbur’s direct line of view. He knows he should just act natural, try to fight the ever-increasing redness flooding to his face, but he can’t help but ogle at schlatt’s toned back muscles. The way they flex as he reaches his sturdy arms over his head to take off the wet sweater, all the little moles scattered across his pale skin… it’s captivating, to say the least.
The moment is fleeting, Wilbur feels like just as he’s starting to get a good look it’s gone. Schlatt slips on the new sweater, his sweater, and turns around like he didn’t just put half his body on display for the other who was now no longer in denial about his feeling whatsoever. He tries not to stare anymore than he already has, but the sight of schlatt in his worn jumper pulls him back in like the call of a siren. He wonders if the other is thinking the same thing, if he’d noticed how it most definitely smelled just like him, what did Wilbur smell like to schlatt? Schlatt ran his hands over the sweater to smooth it out and looked up at wil.
“Y’know Wilbur, I’d honestly thought you’d be the one wearing my clothes in this relationship, but I guess I thought wrong.” Wilbur raised his eyebrows at this, giving a look that said really? You really wanna say that? Schlatt only chuckled at his dramatic remark and walked out of the bedroom with his tea leaving Wilbur to put the wet sweater in the dryer.
As he was walking down the hall, schlatt lifted the collar of the sweater up to his nose and did a quick, but deep inhale as he closed his eyes. The homey smell instantly put a soft smile on the normally cold-hearted man and made his chest all fuzzy. It smelled just like Wilbur, like sweet herbs and rich coffee. Schlatt felt like he could drown in the smell as he threw himself down on the couch and wrapped his arms around his chest. He wondered if he would ever get to wear Wilbur’s clothes again after this, the comment he made before was supposed to be a joke to ease the tension, but schlatt found himself pondering the idea of being able to wear his clothes and vise versa all the time, the thought made his ears red all over again.
Wilbur came back into the living room not shortly after, and as he walked in he saw a sight that made his heart swell. Schlatt was laying on his couch with his head propped up on the armrest, and his eyes were closed as he was softly petting Wil’s cat who was laying on his chest with the rain quietly falling in the back. It took all of his willpower not to pull out his phone and take a picture, but he stayed resilient and made his way over to the couch picking up the blanket schlatt brought with him on the way.
“You didn’t have to bring this you know, I own my own blankets” Wilbur sat on the couch, the movement making schlatt lift his head and subsequently making his cat hop off the couch and return to his tree. “I know... but this one is super huge so I thought it would be easy for both of us to use it.” Schlatt laid his head back onto the armrest and put his arm over his face, avoiding eye contact with Wilbur. Wil thought for a moment as he stared at schlatt and then stared back at the blanket, finally, he just thought fuck it, this fucker deserves payback for changing in front of me like that before . “Okay, well I don’t wanna make you move from your comfy looking spot so I’ll just- work around you.” Wilbur took the oversized blanket and put it around his shoulders while shifting his body so it was directly facing the other.
“What’re you do-” before schlatt got to finish his thought, the taller basically flopped himself on top of him and adjusted the blanket so that it was comfortably laying over the both of them. Wilbur scooted himself up a little further so that his head was snugly fit right on schlatt’s chest, just as his cat was a few moments before. He gestured for schlatt to hand him the TV remote, and then to lay his hands on the small of Wil’s back, hugging him in place. Wilbur shifted his head so that he was looking at schlatt’s face, his extremely awestruck face, and asked him, “So what movie do you wanna watch?”
Schlatt didn’t even register what wilbur had just said to him. He probably responded with something generic, like “I don’t care” or “whatever you want” because his mind was currently not putting its energy towards something as mundane as speaking coherent sentences. What is was focused on, however, was the intense weight on his chest that was making his heartrate increase at an alarming speed. Wilbur just kept trying to get comfy, shifting everywhere and intertwining their legs as he flipped through movies on the TV. Schlatt kept his hands firm on wilbur’s back where they had been placed before, but he couldn’t help but fidget loosely on the hem of the sweater that was riding up wil’s back. God, he has to know what he’s doing right now, right? He’s gotta… Schlatt’s thoughts trailed off as he zoned out. Jut as he was staring into space, wilbur shifted his arm and pointed out the window infront if him. “Schlatt! It’s snowing! Look, isn’t it pretty?” wil rolled his shoulder so he was vaguely facing the man behind him, tilting his head up as much as he could.
The sudden call of his name brought schlatt back with a start, and it took him a second to process what the other had just said as he was looking up at him, maintaining eye contact. As he was looking down at the man situated on his torso, he coudln’t help but just keep staring at him, not even glancing at the snow out the window. As schlatt’s brows furrowed in thought, Wilbur tilted his head in confusion. The american, in the spur of the moment, softened his expression and decided to combat this by saying “Yeah, it is pretty...” he tilted his head down to lean in closer to wilbur’s ear. “...but not as gorgeous as you though.” he didn’t pull back. The hesitation from wilbur was apparent on his face, but he instantly flushed from the comment (and the warmth from the man practically laying on his neck…). Wilbur brought his hand up to try and hide his growing blush, and pushed schlatt’s face away. “You’re such an idiot, y’know that?” With a hand still pressed against his cheek, a smug grin formed on schlatt’s face as he kept looking at the brit. In a sing-song voice, he began, “Wilbur~ I’m being serious here, your looks keep me up at night, for more than a few reasons if i’m being honest.” Wil whipped his head around, eyes wide. He quickly repositioned himself so he was facing schlatt, straddling his legs. His expression faltering a bit as he made eye contact with the man, who just practically confessed to him, in front of him.
He began to speak, hands fidgeting and voice uneasy. “Schlatt… I- I know we’ve been good friends for like- a while? I guess- “ Schlatt stared at him with a confused smile. “and ever since i moved over here I’ve felt like, like I want it to be more than that… And now that you’re doing this It’s ju-” grabbing him by the chin, schlatt quickly pulled their faces together connecting them in a soft kiss. Shocked by the sudden movement, wil sat frozen in place until the american moved his hand upwards, stroking his cheek. Only then did he relax and lean into the kiss, savoring the moment. Schlatt slowly pulled away, still keeping their, now extremely red, faces close as he spoke in a hushed, smug tone. “you were going to ruin the moment.” Wilbur let out a quiet laugh, leaning back and pulling his hands up once again to cover his face as the realization of what just happened started to sink in. “You are truly unbelievable , you know that schlatt?” the other also began to laugh, gingerly pulling down wil’s hands as he takes in the face before him. “I can only be so self aware, loverboy.” Wilbur let out an exasperated groan, flopping down onto schlatt’s chest and nuzzling close. Wrapping his arms around the lanky man in front of him, he finally brought his head up to look out the window, watching the snow fall onto the crowded streets.