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Will couldn't make the first move.
From the outside, it seemed like a non-problem. Lion and Will had become rather close over the past few weeks. To help them sleep better at night with so many nightmares plaguing them, Lion had become used to sleeping in Will's room—in his bed next to him, to be precise—so from sun up to sun down they spent most of their time together. Lion had no belongings aside from their red equestrian outfit—everything they owned now was either bought by Will or borrowed from him, including his t-shirts that were several sizes too big for their body but they slept in regardless, much to the detriment of Will's heart. Their banter was extremely on the nose at times, to the point where both were secretly surprised it had never spilled over. Surely, the next time they had a pointed back and forth it would. Or maybe the time after that...
From the outside, if you ignored Will's aching heart at how irresistibly close they were, it seemed like a non-problem. But with them in such close quarters, it arguably made it even worse on Will.
Will shouldn't make the first move.
It had been several months—maybe over a year? Time was difficult to calculate when comparing Heaven to fragments—since they had met and Lion had come to live with him. Since then, Lion had grown accustomed to Heaven and made some acquaintances, but the pain in their heart was one that wouldn't fill in just a few months. They would always be welcome in the Golden Land. But that wasn't home for them. They had no home—no, it'd be callous to not realize that Will's home was their home now. How could Will impose on them, someone who didn't have hardly anything at all? Everything they had was under that roof. —Will's roof. Will had total control.
If Will, the person owning the home Lion resided in, who paid for their food and clothes and everything they wanted, made the first move on Lion, wouldn't they feel the need to reciprocate it regardless? If they shrugged him off, wouldn't that be detrimental to their position as roommates, as partners? Even if Lion was willing, if Will set the tempo of the relationship then Lion was still the one with little control over everything.
Will knew all too well he could not and should not make the first move.
Although it rarely came up in their daily life, the fact of the matter was that Will was older. Aging in Heaven and aging in fragments were two very different things, but even with time conversions, Will was still several years their senior. Not enough to make their relationship inappropriate, but just enough to make things more complicated. It was just another barrier preventing him from crossing that line.
Yes, if he wanted, it wouldn't take much to finally fall over that line the pair had been dancing next to for weeks. Will knew for a fact that, unless his detective skills had truly rusted over, Lion liked him as more than just a roommate.
But Will couldn't make the first move.
"What're you reading?"
Lion walked into Will's reading nook, a somewhat isolated room in Will's home that was floor-to-ceiling bookcases and ample lighting. They wore a slightly wrinkled white button-down shirt with lounge pants—a sight that surely would've given Natsuhi a chronic migraine. With no family to be the successor of, Will had successfully pulled Lion closer and closer towards being comfortable with themself at home rather than a prim and proper display doll all of the time (which absolutely would've sent poor Natsuhi over the edge).
"Just a collection of essays."
Lion sat next to him on the loveseat—no, the couch with only 2 sections to it, Will corrected himself. It's a short couch. A couch short enough that, because I was lounging, only has enough room for them if they lean against me, Will thought.
And of course, that's just what Lion did.
"I'm surprised you haven't ran out of books to read yet."
Will shrugged. "Eh, I've already read everything here a few times over."
"Really...?!"
Will's library was a nice size—not a large room, but still big enough to fit several bookcases with every inch of the shelves filled. More books laid haphazardly on the ground in stacks. Lion had attempted to clean them up when they moved in. The book's position at the moment spoke otherwise.
"I've had a long time to read them."
"You're not that old."
"It feels like just yesterday I saw them inventing papyrus...."
Lion playfully hit his chest. Will just smiled back.
"Didn't you pick up a new book the other day at the outdoor market?"
"Yeah, but it's got a pretty slow start to it. I'll get back to it eventually."
Will threw a bookmark into his book and set it aside. That left his sole attention to...
"What are you thinking about for dinner?" Lion asked.
"Did you come in here because you were hungry? Sorry I'm not Gohda."
A small pout formed on their face. "You always put your books away when I walk in. Are you secretly reading...explicit things?"
"Wouldn't you like to know!" Will laughed—a rather short lived moment, as he was quickly pinched.
"Hmph.... I like to read too, you know."
Lion knew Will couldn't make the first move.
Lion was under his care & protection. It was only because of Will that they were even alive, let alone with somewhere to live and necessities taken care of. Will had a certain sense of duty he felt tied to and refused to renege on a promise. No matter what, Lion was sure Will would always be there for them.
Lion knew Will wouldn't make the first move.
For all of his outlandish talk, Will was a truly heroic and outstanding guy at heart. That heroism made their heart flutter at times—but it was also partly why they were in this stalemate to begin with. Was it so much to ask to be swept off their feet—as they already had been, multiple times—but finally kissed at the end of it?
Leadership and taking charge was one of the key roles that was hammered into Lion on their journey to becoming successor. But, if their time here had taught them anything, it was that romance was just a little too new for Lion. As an Ushiromiya, they had no time for romance. Their parents had brought them to parties and events in the hopes of meeting an upper class young lady, but that clearly was a lost cause. Lion had always secretly been fearful they'd be put into an arranged marriage like their parents, but possibly by luck (or possibly by Kinzo's interference, being his golden child) the idea was never even brought up for them.
In Heaven, though, there was no shortage of chances for their relationship to bloom into a romance. Every time they were doing things together, when he was getting dangerously flirty or too close for a "friend" to be, Lion had a chance—but couldn't go through with it. It definitely wasn't for a lack of enthusiasm. They just couldn't push themself to take that last step, that one step closer...to love.
Lion knew all too well that they had to make the first move.
They wore Will's oversized shirts to bed, blissfully waking up next to him every morning. Their nightmares had eased since they started sleeping next to him—they were still there, but the severity and regularity became liveable. The closeness of sleeping in the same bed while being "friends", though, only further highlighted how restrained Will acted around them now, such as what happened a few nights prior.
...
Naturally, their banter wasn't exclusive to the living room.
"How did you forget you left the radio on?"
Will climbed into bed, shrugging, "I'm sleepy. It's just background noise."
"So you can turn your hearing off. Explains a lot."
"Who's the one who suddenly gets hard at hearing when I say you missed a spot while cleaning?"
"Diana spreads dirt everywhere so fast, it's hard to keep things clean around here."
"Yeah, blame the cat."
He covered himself up, getting ready to turn off his nightstand and lay down, when he looked over at what Lion was doing—or, more accurately, what they were holding.
"What's that?"
Lion realized a moment too late and tried to hide the book in their nightstand. "Just light reading."
"What is it?"
"Just one of your books."
Such a vague answer was about the worst you could give to an Inquisitor—they just had to know more. And for Will, he could tell 2 and 2 weren't adding up.
"Which book is it?" He asked while leaning closer. He didn't really have to ask, though—once he leaned far enough across Lion, he could spot it instantly.
"Is that Wuthering Heights?"
"Yes."
Will's library was Lion's. He wasn't the type to keep knowledge or stories from others. So why was Lion so secret—
"Are my notes still in it?"
Lion didn't answer.
"Lion? Did you remove my notes?"
"....How do you expect someone to read a book with sticky notes everywhere?"
Will had to see.
"Give it here."
"You'll make me lose my spot."
"Remember the page number."
"Mmm, but I'm in the middle of a good part—"
Will jumped. Lion knew it'd be an immediate loss if they tried to hold it away from him—Will was larger, which meant he'd easily be able to snatch it. So instead, they kept it close to their chest and curled up into a ball. Will tried to pull their arms away, but it was clear he'd have to play rougher if he wanted to get anywhere.
"Doesn't this mean you'll get to make brand new notes?"
Will's eye twitched. "I make new notes when I have new thoughts, not when I want to start from scratch."
"So picky—hahah!"
As soon as they opened their mouth, Will pounced. He put Lion into a hold as he tried to pry the book out of their hands. But, in essence—he had his arms completely wrapped around Lion, holding onto them from behind.
Lion was the first to realize it and couldn't stop laughing, both at the situation and sudden intimacy. Will's embrace was always comforting when Lion had nightmares. Of course it'd still be warm even when they're play fighting. Maybe I should manufacture more situations like this if it means being in his arms, Lion thought.
Seeing the prideful Lion act a bit childish for once must've eased any anger he had, but Will didn't want to lose (how dare you mess with his books!). He grabbed their thin wrists—and stopped. For just a moment he paused before letting go, moving away from them. Lion stopped laughing as soon as he let go of them and pouted. But for Will, he refused to even look at them. He moved back to his side of the bed and held one hand out.
A small pit grew in Lion's chest. We were just having fun. Why can't he even let himself have that? Why does he think he has to restrain himself so much around me?
The pit in their chest was a mixture of emotions: fear that their relationship would never leave this awkward stage they found themselves in; anxiety that, somehow, they had caused this new rift; and...a hint of resentment and anger. What made Will act like this? Was it his chivalrous nature because Lion was his guest, or was it because Lion was someone he had to treat specially , that needed careful consideration? Was Lion more akin to an expensive glass treasure than a partner to him? Lion knew it was most likely his own take of heroism, but there was still a taste of resentment in their mouth. While growing up, when Lion made it clear they didn't want to be treated as a man, it led people to treat them with kid gloves. If you're not a man, then you're fragile. It was something they thought was behind them.
Lion didn't say anything, instead handing him his book back. Will quickly flipped through it and then slowed down.
"You ass."
Lion shrugged. "What? I didn't say I threw your notes away, I just had to move them in order to read. I tried to put them back in the same spots. Really, did you think I would just trash them?" A devious glint sparkled in their eyes.
"Tch...." Will admitted defeat and handed the book back to Lion. Normally, that'd be a "victory" for Lion. But after Will's abrupt stop, they couldn't help but feel like they were the one losing here....
...
Lion was afraid this stalemate would continue on until it reached an uncomfortable point where Will's inability to meet Lion even halfway resulted in... Well, they didn't even want to think about it.
Will just shrugged. "We don't read the same kinds of books, though. Most of my mysteries would bore you."
LIon rubbed their arm. Never once in their life had they ever felt subconscious about not reading mysteries, but that had quickly changed when their life turned into one. To start living with someone who's entire job was mystery novels, to learn that in other worlds they became completely enamored with murder mysteries...it was like suddenly finding out you'd been tying your shoes completely different from everyone else your entire life. Not exactly something that needed changing, but something that made you question things regardless.
"...I want to try more of them, though." Lion spoke softly. Will didn't have any arguments—he couldn't figure out from which angle Lion was approaching this from (did they want to learn more about Will? About Beatrice?) but realized they weren't saying this on a whim, so he didn't pry.
Instead, Lion continued.
"In her world, Kumasawa took pity on her and introduced her to them at a young age. By the time she was 12, she was already an avid reader. ...But, for me, I was reading textbooks and nonfiction every day. She took pity on me by sneaking me snacks during study hours."
The rest was obvious. Because they were growing up as an Ushiromiya rather than a servant, Kumasawa never lent them books, so they never fostered that same love for murder mysteries as their counterpart did.
Will shook his head, as if stopping them. "What's mine is yours. If you start reading and want to hit me with your own theories, then just ask."
"So...everything?"
"Eh?"
Lion absentmindedly twirled their hair in their fingers (except for the fact that the heir never did anything "absentmindedly"). "I suppose I am already borrowing your bed...and your clothes..."
"Heh. What aren't you borrowing, at this point?"
Lion hit his chest not-so-playfully. He just chuckled and went back to his book. Lion lounged further against him, stretching out like a cat. Just how far could they get away with before he pulled away...? With his arm against the back of the couch, Will practically had his arm around Lion, especially as they leaned against his shoulder and chest...
An inaudible sigh left them. His chest was so warm. It didn't matter what fragments they traveled to or what perils might await them—as long as Lion could stay in his arms, they knew they'd be alright. A couple of years ago they'd been taking entrance exam tests to universities, trying to get into a prestigious one on the mainland. They were sure they'd have to live near campus, away from home and on their own for the first time. And now, here they are in Heaven, never having to take another exam for the rest of their life if they so pleased....
Their parents would be ashamed, surely. Lion could only imagine their poor mother fainting if she saw her child now, snuggling up to an ambiguously older man. But this was their future, their happiness that they chose.
Much to their relief, Will didn't immediately move or push them away, but they felt this setup could only be temporary....and so, they spoke.
"Tell me about it."
Will glanced down at them. "The book? It's a collection of essays by an American author, Henry Thoreau. Mostly about philosophy and the way he perceived nature."
"You read a lot of American novelists, don't you?"
"I guess. I do like writings from the Victorian era, especially from countries outside of Britain and France. It was an interesting era for the entire world."
He went on to explain the differences between British Victorian life and American Victorian life, how their literary industries were in different stages, how the cultural differences affected their storytelling, and more, all to a bemused Lion. They wormed their way close to his chest, laying their hand against his other shoulder. At some point, he put down the book, instead (actually) absentmindedly playing with Lion's hair.
Lion closed their eyes. If only this is how every day could be...
"At the time a lot of critics hated his ideas on the nature of life, but he's recognized now as a pioneer of the naturalist movement."
Once you started Will on a literary topic, he was impossible to stop. Lion found it incredibly endearing.
"I don't agree with all of his philosophies, but if I ignore one's outside my own view then I'd be missing the heart of others."
"How studious. You make it sound like you're preparing for an inquisition."
"There's this witch I can't seem to get out of my life...or my bed...."
"Rude! I don't know the first thing about magic."
"Why'd you think I was talking about you?"
"As if you're sleeping with anyone else."
"........."
Will didn't retort back. If anything, to Lion who laid on his chest, it felt like he stopped breathing for a moment.
How sensitive, they thought.
"Say, Will..." A smile curled up on their face. Despite their heart rate increasing, they pushed through it.
"You said I could bounce any kind of theory or idea against you, right?"
There was a special kind of cadence to their voice whenever they talked so slyly, so precisely as if every word was the tug of rope pulling you closer into their trap, whatever that may be. It was something Will had learned to pick up on—but it didn't mean he could do anything about it.
"Yeah?" Quite late to the party, Will became aware of how close Lion was. With their head nestled into the divot in his shoulder and their hand against his chest, it would be an understatement to say they weren't completely laying on him. His cheeks turned a slight shade pinker—not that Lion could see that from their position.
"There's this mystery I was watching. I saw all of the components for it, but I can't figure out how it resolved itself."
It sounded perfectly normal, except for the fact that Lion's tone of voice was more akin to someone talking at you rather than to you. After all, they'd sharpened this tone of voice while talking to their father's "business" ""partners"".
"...What was it about?"
"Hmm... There were two people."
"Just two? It's hard to have a mystery with just two characters."
"There's plenty of other characters, but they're not important for the heart of it, if you will. —Well, they are, but not the part I'm trying to figure out."
"Go on."
"The two people are at a standstill."
"Over what? A weapon? Do they both end up dead at the end?"
Well, Lion thought, we are in Heaven...
"Dead? Possibly. They're not fighting over a weapon."
"What's the motive?"
"They won't tell the other."
"Miscommunication is definitely a motive. A frustrating one, at that."
Lion had half a mind to pinch him for that. But, they continued.
"How would they resolve such an impasse?"
"Miscommunications exist for one of two reasons—either the person willfully doesn't want to share information, typically because they're scared of repercussions, changes in their life, embarrassment, et cetera, or because the person honestly doesn't realize the other person isn't privy to the same information. ...Is this the first case?"
"Yes."
"Honestly, the second kind is more frustrating... If both people are ignorant that the other is ignorant, then it can go on forever until luck has it that they're made aware of it. You don't know what you don't know, after all. Some people go on like that for years...or their whole life."
"We're not talking about that."
There was a pause, just long enough for Will to give a somewhat exasperated sigh.
"Then what are we talking about?"
"A standstill."
"...There has to be a tipping point, to resolve that kind of mess."
"A tipping point would only work if it'd affect both people."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Saying that a 'tipping point' would fix things doesn't solve anything if one of the people would never be pushed over the edge."
"Everyone has a breaking point."
"Do they?"
Before he could reply, Lion pinned him down, holding onto his arm and shoulder. It wasn't hard since they were already on top of him. Will just chuckled, playing it cool.
"My breaking point is pretty high."
"And why is that?"
"Years of being an Inquisitor will do that to you."
"Did you look down on people back then too?"
"I was young—wait, what do you mean 'too'?"
Lion didn't look him in the eyes. If anything, that was worse.
"When have I ever looked down on you? Yeah, I might've thought you were a spoiled brat when we first met, but that changed almost immediately. Hey—"
When Lion didn't answer, he shifted his weight to pull Lion back against the couch. No, if anything, it was now Will that was pinning them down.
"Do you really think I look down on you?"
"You're doing it right now."
"I'm above you."
"You said it yourself, you don't have a tipping point. A human like myself clearly isn't worth it."
"What do you want, Lion?"
"It doesn't matter, I'm clearly too fragile for it anyway. Aren't you afraid my arms will shatter if you grip them any tighter?"
As expected, Will loosened his grip. Lion scoffed.
"I'm just a glass doll to you. Can't be too rough or I'll break. ...Only look, don't touch."
"Since– Since when? When have I ever acted like that?"
The initial bravado in his voice fell to the wayside as he finished the sentence. Thoughts of how he had pushed Lion away or kept his distance from them recently came to his mind.
"When you retired, did you decide to ignore the heart again? Or is that easy to do if it's me?"
—That was just a step too far.
Will squinted at them instead of saying anything. They definitely went a step too far—and made it obvious.
Lion opened their mouth to try some deflection, but Will grabbed their face. He pinched both of their cheeks within his fingers, pushing against their mouth to make them look ridiculous.
"You just had to go there, huh? And here I thought you were actually mad."
"I am!" It was hard for Lion to protest with their face squished.
Will moved his other hand down their arm, stopping at their wrist. "About what...?"
He was close to them. Close enough to make Lion's heart skip a few beats. Far enough for plausible deniability. Just friends. Just roommates. Just partners .
"You....You ignoring me so much! It's like you don't want to look at me!" Their yell wasn't very convincing when their cheeks were still partially squished in by Will's hand.
"Huh....? Don't tell me you're begging for attention now. Isn't that a little unbecoming of the successor?"
"You're going to snap back to your senses any second now and jump off the couch, like you've got anything better to do."
"Someone has to stay here and shut you up when you get bratty, goading me into an argument."
"Maybe if you were a better Inquisitor..." Their words faded into a mumble as Will squeezed their cheeks tighter.
"What do you want?"
Lion was silent for a moment. They stared off into the corner with a cloudy look in their eyes.
"....Isn't It obvious...?"
It was obvious. It was so, so painfully obvious to both of them.
Will took his hand away from their face. A sardonic look flashed across him. What more was there to say? He'd pigeon-holed them into this situation. Now the only question was...who would get them out of it.
"Lion—"
"You're rather dense, you know that? I don't see how you've solved a single mystery."
"I'm dense?"
"Yes."
"Who's the one too stubborn to say what's really on your mind?"
"That's changing the subject!"
"Is it?"
Lion was silent. A noticeable pout rested on their face. It was unbefitting for an heir—but very cute, Will thought.
"...I'm sorry if I've pushed you away recently."
"'If'...."
He's really close, Lion thought. They tried to keep their cool, but it was getting increasingly harder by the second. In no way had they thought their attention at goading Will into an argument would lead to him on top of them. How could they have foreseen that...?!
And it wasn't just that he was directly above them—he was really close. His chest hovered barely an inch away. Their faces were close enough that Lion could feel every breath, every word. The sustained intimacy, being so close but yet so far, was enough to make their heart go haywire.
Everyone has a boiling point. But Will stood his ground. Even in a compromising position like this, he refused to budge. Lion didn't know whether to yell at him more or cry at how ridiculous it all was. Yeah, they thought, it's just...
"...It's just ridiculous."
"What?"
"Look at us. It's ridiculous."
"Who's the one who started an argument?"
"Who's the one that's pinning me down?"
"You did it first..." Will's gaze meanders across the room.
"I've never met someone that's as frustrating as you."
"I didn't know we were handing out compliments."
Lion reached up, placing a hand on the back of his neck. A small shiver ran down Will's spine as their cool fingers grazed him.
"You can't avoid acknowledging how ridiculous this is forever."
"Like I said...my breaking point is pretty high."
Lion's fingernails grazed the nape of his neck. Whether they were pulling him closer or their hand was making him push away was anyone's guess.
"So then...—"
Whatever Lion had planned to say was lost in a yelp as they were attacked. Not by Will reaching his tipping point, of course—but from an outside influence.
"D-Diana!!"
Diana landed on their chest, clearly in an ornery mood. Her fur was fluffed up and her eyes were keen on figuring out what exactly was going on here. Whatever it was, she didn't like it.
"See, she doesn't like it when people make up fake arguments." Will tried to grab her off of Lion, but she refused.
"No, she—...." Again, Diana seemingly stole Lion's words, but this time it was more accurate to say she left them speechless.
"She doesn't like us arguing. Her house, her rules. That's how she's always been."
"Mrr!"
Lion stared her down. They thought they had come to an agreement earlier on, that Diana had accepted them into her household, that Diana understood she would have to share her owner with them, but—
"—She doesn't like how close we are."
"Huh?" Will almost laughed but caught himself. A small "oh" left his lips.
"Diana.... You can't just throw yourself in between people." Lion tried unsuccessfully to move her. They just sighed.
"She's always been a jealous woman."
"What's there to be jealous of?" At this point, Lion was just trying to force a confession out of him.
"She's mad I give you so much more attention than her."
"Since when?"
Will couldn't answer that. "Since they had met" wasn't true, as Will was very much a dedicated cat parent, but he also couldn't admit to a specific time frame of when he had begun looking at Lion differently. It was gradually. It was suddenly. Maybe it was only a few months ago. Maybe it was right after they met.
"...Since we redid the living room like I said I was going to for years but never finished. Since I got used to brewing 2 cups of coffee in the morning instead of 1, even when half asleep. Since I got used to you waking up next to me."
"Then.....what am I to you?"
"Hah! After all that? You go first."
"You're my partner."
"What do you want me to be to you?"
".....My partner."
"There's different kinds of partners."
"Enlighten me."
"You're an adult. You should know by now."
"Telling me what I should and shouldn't know now— Diana, stop that!!"
Seeing as how they hadn't parted yet, Diana was getting impatient. She scratched at Lion, almost tearing through their shirt. Will refused to have her declawed, instead opting for shaving her nails every so often, but that can only fix it to an extent. Claws are still claws.
"Seriously, what's with you tonight....? You don't act like this at bedtime." Will sat up, moving to the side of the couch, and tried to pick Diana up again. Her claws clung to Lion, but with a bit of persistence he was able to move her.
You also don't try to flirt with me at bedtime, Lion thought.
Will turned away from Lion and placed her on the hardwood floor. With a swish of her tail, she pranced away with a noticeable attitude.
Leaving.......
Lion sat up, staring a hole through the back of Will's thick skull. How much more did they have to endure before he snapped? Would he ever?
"Lion."
Lion sat a bit more upright upon hearing their name with such a clear tone. Will's hand crawled over to theirs, pressing his fingers in between theirs.
"I like you, you know that?"
Any smarmy or snide remark Lion could've said stayed stuck in their throat. —Well, except for one.
"I'd hope you like your partner. You're stuck with me, you know."
"Why am I the one stuck with you?"
"You're the one that kidnapped me to Heaven."
"I don't think you understand..."
Will turned to face Lion head-on. Only a couple of inches separated them.
"You're the one stuck with me."
He closed his eyes.
"That's why I don't want to push you."
"P— Push me? You're not even looking me in the eyes anymore. I just..."
Lion took a deep breath to collect themself.
"You think you're trying to not be pushy, but you've gone too far in the opposite direction and started acting like a stranger instead. I know I'm under your roof from your hospitality, but I want to be here because you're here." As they talked, Will opened his eyes, bringing his other hand up to their cheek. "...A relationship goes two ways. You can't expect me to make all of the decisions. I can't set the tempo alone."
"So...." Will stroked their cheek. Every breath felt longer than the last. "It sounds like you're asking me to dance."
An exasperated sigh left Lion. "Please, stop beating around the bush—"
They stopped talking. Not because they didn't have anything else to say—they couldn't talk.
After weeks of dancing closer and closer to the line, they finally tipped over it together. Will kissed them. It was as warm, soft, and every bit fluster-inducing as Lion had expected their first kiss to be. Lion ran their fingers through his hair, keeping him close for just a little longer. They wanted to relish every second as if it'd be their last.
Will was the first to part, but hovered just a couple of inches away.
"...If you want something, you can't sit back and wait for it to fall in your lap." Lion tried their best to maintain eye contact with him while saying it, but their nerves were starting to fail them.
"Even though you did actually fall into my lap?"
"That's different!"
"Is it?"
"You can't expect me to make the first move every time. ...I don't want you to hold back so much around me. That's not an equal partnership."
"....."
Will looked away. In trying to make them more comfortable, he'd hurt them. He couldn't take that back—they'd just have to move forward past it.
"...I'm sorry."
"If you're sorry, then don't do it again. I happen to like you too and want to be with you. It's rather hard to do that when one half of the party acts like they want nothing to do with you."
A neutral but sophisticated look rested on their face as they regained their composure. Something like this wasn't enough to frazzle them entirely, Will realized, but—
"Was that your first kiss?"
"Eh?"
A small grin rose on Will's face. "I was just thinking...a spoiled rich kid like you probably didn't get many chances to go on dates. And you were probably such a good kid that you didn't sneak out to meet people..."
The little bit of composure they'd regained was quickly slipping away by the second. "What kind of rude question is that?"
"What's rude about it? Either you've kissed someone or you haven't. And a kiss on the cheek from your parents doesn't count."
"I— I'm not answering something so crude!"
"Aww, I was your first kiss."
"That's not important!"
"No, it's not. But it's cute."
Matched up against Will's long grin, Lion's heart was about to go into afib. For a moment, they worried if emphasizing that Will should be comfortable making moves was a bad decision...
Wait, they thought. Did he just call me cute?
"If that was your first kiss, can I have the second as well?"
"This is going to be a long lifetime."
"Yeah, it is. So...will you enjoy it with me?"
This time, for sure, any smart retorts died in their chest.
"I will."