Work Text:
Mike shifted the car into park as he turned the wheel away from the curb. He moved to look out the window of the car door, trying to see if Will had found a good spot yet.
When he caught sight of his new boyfriend, Mike couldn’t help but smile. Will was walking around awkwardly and aimlessly, a large and cliché red and white gingham blanket overflowing in his hands. He kept wandering between four different spots, before stopping and combing the whole area again. Mike shook his head with a slight smile, getting out of the car and walking over.
“Hey,” he called out to Will, stopping at the curb of the road, looking down the hill of the park and onto the lawn Will was surveying. The sun glared in his eyes, causing him to have to put up a hand to shield his vision. “Find a spot yet?”
Will gave a huff when he saw Mike looking down at him with his hands on his hips. “No,” he replied curtly before going back to searching.
If Mike was being honest, it was adorably irritating how much Will cared about where they sat during something as simple as a picnic, even if he would never admit it. Sighing, Mike walked down to Will, making sure not to fall on the way. “It all looks the same to me,” he shrugged, “it’s just grass.”
Will rolled his eyes, trying to move his hands but failing after he realized he’d drop the blanket if he let go for even a second. “It’s not ‘ just grass ’,” he started. “I mean, yeah, sure. We can sit anywhere and probably have a fine picnic. But I want to have the perfect first date picnic. And that means picking just the right place to sit,” he added, almost upset at the dilemma.
The fact that Will wanted to have a ‘perfect’ picnic with Mike made him blush, but he tried to push it down. Seeing the bothered look on Will’s face made him instantly need to fix Will’s problem.
“What about under a tree or something?” Mike asked, looking over at a small but shady tree that looked fine to him. Anything to solve Will’s problem.
“I just don't want it to be wet,” Will muttered. “It rained last night so…” He moved his shoe on the ground a bit to demonstrate, the grass making a gross squelching sound.
Mike backed up, instantly seeing Will’s point. “Ew.”
Turning around again, Will continued his survey of the land. “I think a spot over there would be okay,” he started walking towards away from Mike before turning to look back at him.
God , Mike suddenly felt weak in the knees. The way Will looked back at him, the way the sunlight hit his face and made his brown hair turn a honey gold—Mike could have passed out from the sheer beauty of his boyfriend. The longer he stared, the more details he noticed that made him never want to look away.
“Can you please go get the food?” Will requested, a slight and cheeky smirk on his face. “Boyfriend? Please?” He pouted.
Mike groaned—that would never not work on him. “Fine,” he huffed, turning around. “Anything for you, boyfriend.” Mike didn't need to hear Will giggling quietly to know what his boyfriend was doing behind his back.
Slowly, he trudged back up the hill and retrieved the keys from his pocket as he opened the trunk of the car. Of course, he fumbled with them once before finally opening the door. He went to grab the wicker basket, another very cliché thing that Will had insisted on, when he felt his hand close into a fist. Looking back down at the trunk more closely, Mike made a horrifying discovery: they left the food at home. Fuuucccckkkk .
Mike turned back to look at Will, who had (of course) finally found his perfect spot for their little picnic. His beautiful, angelic boyfriend was setting down the blanket he had bought specifically for this trip, waiting for Mike to bring back the food so they could have a lovely moment alone together.
To be fair, the food that they were missing out on were PB&Js, two cans of Dr Pepper, and a piece of cake that was left over from Mike’s own birthday. But still, even though the food was so mundane, his heart was broken. He couldn’t even imagine Will’s face when he broke the news.
He shut the trunk quickly, trying to figure out what to do. It felt like he had to tell Will his dog had died or something to that degree, and the longer he procrastinated, the more stressed he got.
“Everything good?”
Mike was a little startled when he abruptly heard Will’s voice from behind him. He jolted around, almost shoving Will in the process, which only made the situation worse.
Will looked so happy right now, Mike could barely take it. He tried to speak, but couldn’t get anything out.
Jesus Christ man, it’s just some fucking sandwiches and soda. It’s not that serious .
But it was that serious, especially considering this would be their official first date.
“Mike?” Will’s brow furrowed, immediately sensing Mike’s discomfort.
Hearing his own name snapped Mike out of his trance. “Sorry,” he stuttered. He felt like a child being caught red-handed in a huge, life ruining lie. “I think we—I think I forgot the food.”
Will’s smiled faded, and Mike felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.
“I’m so sorry, I guess it just like, it slipped my mind or something—”
Then Will laughed. He looked at Mike again with that smile, the one that made Mike absolutely melt. It was unfair how pretty he was.
“Dude, it’s fine.” Will reassured him, putting a hand on Mike’s arm. “Seriously. You look like you’re about to throw up or something.”
Mike could feel a warmth when he felt Will touching his arm soothingly, which helped slightly with the shock he was feeling. “You’re not like, super upset?” He asked, eyes still fixed on Will. “Like, this didn’t ruin our picnic?”
“Hey, come with me,” Will said, sliding his hand into Mike’s, giving him a little squeeze.
The two walked quietly to the spot that Will had picked while Mike was having the anxiety attack of the century over some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And, god-damn it, it was perfect, just like Will had wanted. It was under a tree, but the ground wasn’t mushy. They had a perfect view of the park, on top of another hill. It wasn’t secluded but it wasn’t out in the open either, it was just perfect.
Will sat Mike down on the blanket, then settled himself down directly across from him so they were facing each other. He gestured to the view, urging Mike to look.
Mike was still unable to get himself to say anything. Caring this much about something so little, being in love and being aware of it, was such an overwhelmingly foreign feeling to him. He looked at Will, wanting him to say something, anything.
“No, I’m not super upset,” Will said, tilting his head. It was like he could read Mike’s mind sometimes, but after all these years, Mike was used to it.
“Really?” He frowned, trying to get a good look into Will’s eyes to see if he was lying. “You don’t have to lie, it’s okay…”
“I’m not lying,” Will replied, grabbing Mike’s hands and holding them in his own. He gave a gentle squeeze once again, just like when they were just kids. “I’m at the park with a nice view, on a date with my best friend.” He brought Mike’s hands to his mouth and gently kissed them. “There’s no way you could ever, ever mess this up.”
Mike didn’t even care that he was red as a tomato at just Will’s actions, all he did was lean forward and hug Will as tight as he could after freeing his hands. What had he done to deserve such a kind, loving, understanding, loyal, pretty, beautiful, (he had to cut himself off here, or he’d keep listing adjectives for hours,) boyfriend?
“Ahh! Mike,” Will squealed, hugging Mike back, but not nearly as hard. He moved his hands to Mike’s face, which was buried in his neck, and lifted Mike’s face to give him a gentle kiss on the lips.
As soon as Mike felt Will’s lips on his, his tight hug immediately faltered as he felt his entire body almost shut down. If he had any control over himself, he would have wrapped his arms back around Will, but he was too paralyzed with absolute love that he couldn’t move.
Will pulled back after a few moments, looking around subtly to make sure nobody saw their short but affectionate moment. Once he saw the coast was clear, his eyes moved back to Mike’s face with a small, giddy smile. “I love doing that.”
Their fifth kiss—Mike felt a mental tally mark cross in his mind. It was something he did unconsciously, cherishing every kiss with Will like it would be his last. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that,” Mike said breathlessly.
“Good,” Will grinned, kissing him again shortly before whispering into Mike’s ear. “Just know you’re lucky that there’s a grocery store within walking distance.”