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Something's wrong, Lion thinks.
They've been getting ready for bed, brushing their teeth in their bathroom, when the thought hits them. Night is the only time that Lion spends an extended period without Will in the same room.
Being attached at the hip was never on purpose, but a necessary evil Lion's still getting used to. They understand that it doesn't make them weak, but when Lion still crumbles from nightmares, failure isn't a strong enough word to describe how they feel.
Lion's working on it and making real progress. Being alone at night for ten minutes wasn't possible a few weeks ago, or what Lion thinks was a few weeks ago. The fragment of heaven that keeps Will's home makes the perception of time useless, even with a normal day and night cycle.
In between taking the many mystery cases Will accepts to alleviate his boredom in 'retirement', they spend their days casually in a domestic dream. Reading, watching movies, and taking turns cooking. Lion likes their new 'life' a lot more than being turned into minced meat by a witch.
But their simple life is exactly why Lion knows something's wrong with Will. He was spacing out all day and barely ate. Even Diana sensed something too and was following him closely, laying on him every chance she got. Lion asked Will, but of course he said, "Nothing's wrong". They had taken Will's word because overall he acted like normal. Still Lion can’t let it go.
It's not Lion's place to force Will to tell them, but that won't keep them from speculating. If the issue is emotionally painful, Lion doesn't want to force Will to confess his traumas. And even if he did, Lion’s not sure how they could help. But if Lion finds the root problem, they'd at least have a place to start. Lion sighs, wishing that Diana could speak. In the meantime, Lion stays prepared to support Will however they can. Will’s done so much for Lion, it’s the least they can do.
Lion finishes in the bathroom and changes into gray pajamas. They roll up the sleeves and are careful not to trip on the loose fabric bunched up at their feet as they head back to Will and Diana.
There are orange, dim lights that illuminate all the hallways and rooms at nighttime. It's an easy detail for Lion's solitary brain to latch on to and it keeps it from wandering off in the dolor.
Lion gently pushes the bedroom door next to theirs. Will is sitting in bed, listlessly flipping through a file with Diana on his lap. Lion wants to tell him to stop working in bed or it'll interrupt his sleep cycle, but they learned quickly that scolding Will rarely made him change his habits. And while Will doesn't react harshly to Lion's nagging, they’re tired of hearing their own voice say the same words every night.
But the desk is right there too, Lion thinks.
"New assignment?" Lion asks instead, crawling into their prepared spot in the bed. Diana stays put, instead of moving between them, like most nights.
"Yeah, it's in Greenland."
"Sounds nice."
Visiting places Lion never had the chance to in life is one of the best perks of traveling through different fragments solving mysteries.
Will moves the open file in front of Lion to take a look. Their hands touch as he passes it to them.
He’s cold.
And Will runs hot.
Lion observes Will's face, hoping to find a new clue and work out their own mystery in front of them. But no, other than Will cocking an eyebrow at them, everything seems normal.
"What?"
"Nothing." For now.
Will studies Lion's face too, though he only leans back, staying quiet.
Lion reads through the papers. Another locked room murder in a small but affluent town.
Easy enough. The two of them will have it finished by lunchtime, unless Will's figured it out already.
"What's your initial thoughts?" Lion asks, browsing photos of the known suspects.
However, the only answer Lion receives is Diana's purring.
"Will?" Lion looks over. He’s lying on his back and his eyes are shut.
"Hmm?" He hums, eyes still closed.
"I asked, if you had any thoughts about the case," but Lion puts the file down on the side table. Sleepy Will wasn't going to solve this tonight.
"A few." Will answers. "Mostly about how cold it's going to be."
"It'll be around Christmas time though, so I'm sure the decorations will be nice," Lion reminds him.
Will doesn't respond and Lion's not sure if he even heard them.
Lion reaches to turn off the lamp, pulling on the short chain one too many times and making the room brighter. They say sorry and take one more look at Will's face.
That’s when they notice how atypically pale he is.
"Are you sick?"
And while that barely gets a raise out of Will, he does make the effort to make eye contact and tell Lion, “No."
The one-word reply is irritating enough that Lion abandons their original plan. Now that Lion's on to something, they have no choice but to force a real answer out of Will.
"I don't believe you."
"We can't get sick Lion. We're not alive."
To be fair, there's a lot of things the two of them do as not-alive people, so why would that be limited to being sick.
"Yes, but you're not feeling well. Diana knows too."
Will doesn't protest after that. Because he IS sick, Lion thinks.
"You might not be regular sick, but you're whatever our version of sick is," Lion asserts.
Will mutters something to himself before he addresses Lion clearly.
"I'm not sick, I'm just feeling a little under the weather."
Thank god he's less stubborn than usual. Lion may have a lot of patience, but worrying about Will all day has worn them down.
"Would it be better if you slept by yourself?" Lion offers. One terrible night would be worth it if Will could recover quickly.
"No, no. Really I'm not sick, it’s not contagious. It's-" Will pauses to sigh and turns on his side, away from Lion. "It's stupid. I've just been overworking myself."
"Really? Why?"
The consistent overtime is why Will retired in the first place.
"I didn't want you to get bored."
Oh.
That makes sense why they were only taking short breaks in-between cases. Lion would have bet all the gold in the world that Will was the bored one.
"Did you think I was going to leave you if we had some lazy days every now and then?"
"Well...I thought you might regret me taking you here. Instead of where you're supposed to be."
Lion's been back a few times to the Golden Land to see their family. It's nice to visit, but it feels more like its own fragment that Lion's vacationing in. Not like a home.
Apparently trying to be the favorite in Lion's two afterlives, caused all this.
Lion giggles.
"This is the happiest I've felt and that's including in life." Lion handled the stress of university and maintaining the relationships of their friends and family well enough, but Lion can't lie that their future as the successor of the Ushiromiya family weighed heavy on their mind.
But now, Lion has a type of peace they've never had before. The nightmares were only a fading side effect that’s well worth the type of freedom they’re living in now.
"So, you don't need to worry about that."
The "Okay” that Will responds with is not convincing.
When Will's in full health, they'll need to talk about this again.
"In the meantime, sleep and stay in bed tomorrow. All day, not just sleeping in."
Will turns to face Lion again.
"Really? I told you I'm not sick."
"You need rest Will. And no more back-to-back missions," Lion tells him. "If we get bored, we can watch a movie or learn a new hobby. You know, I've always wanted to get into badminton."
Will frowns but stays silent.
And Lion smiles big enough for the both of them.
They turn off the lamp and lay on their side next to Will.
Awaiting Will to make his next practiced move, Lion stares at him in the pitch-black room. But nothing happens. Lion knows he's not asleep, even if he is sick. The two of them have the same needs.
"Will?"
"What Lion?"
They can hear the smirk in his voice. Lion rolls their eyes, but at least he's well enough to tease them.
"Are you going to sleep?" Lion plays coy too.
"Yes, are you?"
"Yes, but I don't understand your motive here."
"I'm sick, remember. I don't want you to catch what I have."
"You said you weren't contagious, remember." Lion mocks him.
Will hums in agreement but doesn't move. So, it's up to Lion to take things into their own hands (or arms).
Lion searches blindly under the warm blanket. When their fingertips find Will's shoulders, they embrace him, mirroring what Will's done for Lion countless times.
Will chokes.
"What? I told you before, teasing me doesn't work," Lion reminds him.
"Yeah, well. I'm working on it." Will adjusts himself, pressing his cheek against Lion's shoulder. "One of these days I'll get you to blush."
Lion feels the soft strands of Will’s hair brush their neck and their heart skips a beat. They want to ask what Will means by that. If it's just as suggestive as it sounds or if it's just a poor choice of words.
"I'm looking forward to you succeeding," Lion says, giving sleepy Will the benefit of the doubt.
Will starts snoring softly and Lion wonders if he heard them.
Oh well, Lion thinks. And they let Will’s and Diana's snores lull them into a peaceful dream.
Lion wakes up early to take care of Will. Despite both of their difficulties falling asleep, Will had no trouble staying asleep. On a normal day, Lion would be displeased with him staying in bed for so long, but today Lion's happy Will's resting as they instructed.
After Lion carefully pries themselves from Will's arm, they tiptoe out of the room while Will and Diana stay put.
In the kitchen, Lion starts with brewing decaf coffee and making breakfast. Just a simple omelet that Lion plans on eating if Will doesn't.
The daylight shines through the window curtains. It clears the little intrusive thoughts that threaten to break Lion's peace of mind.
When Lion returns, Will and Diana are exactly where they left them.
"Good morning," Lion says cheerfully.
Will barely stirs and keeps his eyes closed, but the furrow in his eyebrows gives him away.
"I'll put this here," Lion continues to speak and sets the coffee and food down. "And don't worry, I have something for you too Diana."
She silently meows at them when she sees the treat in Lion's hand. Diana devours the treat immediately.
Will, without a word, sluggishly rises from his pillows, picks up the plate, and inhales the omelet and chugs the coffee.
"Hey," Lion stares daggers. Will's lucky he’s sick because a pinch would've been more than appropriate.
"Thanks, it was really good," Will ignores Lion's irritation.
Lion relaxes their expression. The color in Will's face is back, so there's no way they can stay mad.
"I'm going to work in the garden, but let me know if you need anything," Lion tells Will. Last time Lion saw the tomatoes, they were looking very sad for plants growing in heaven.
"You should stay," Will whispers.
Lion pauses, surprised that Will asked. He normally spent his late morning nap in solitude or with Diana if she insisted on joining him.
"Alright," Lion smiles, more than happy to abandon their plans. Warmth rushes to their face and through their body as they get back into bed. "Are we going to keep cuddling too?"
"Only if you want to."
"I want to," Lion says with no hesitation. And they gently guide Will's head back to their chest.
Lion’s heart feels full being able to take care of Will like this. Especially after all he’s done for them. With him in their arms, Lion finally feels like an equal instead of Will's ward.
Will exhales where Lion expects him to make a quip. And Will’s body pressed against theirs, go slack. His arm slowly drags their shirt up and exposes the skin above their waist. It’s innocent and unintentional, but Lion finds themselves at the edge of an unfamiliar hunger.
That’s when the creeping intoxication makes Lion’s head spin.
And hot shame has their mind soaking.
"Lion," Will mutters.
Lion's heart beats so fast, it becomes one continuous sound.
"You're thinking too loud, again," Will scolds them. Probably believing it’s normal anxiety.
"Ahaha, sorry." The tension releases from Lion's body and they can properly breathe again when they know they haven't been found out having such indecent thoughts.
"Sleep or I'm kicking you out," Will rudely states, but this time Lion finds it fair.
Following Will's order, they close their eyes and concentrate on two facts.
One, Lion is happily in heaven. Two, they’re a moment away from everyone they care about.
And that’s all that really matters.