Work Text:
"Vince."
Will is standing at the doorway to Ben's room, clutching a baby monitor in his hand tightly. His lips are pursed and his eyes are fixed in a stormy glare.
"...Yeah?" Vince is halfway up a step ladder, painting the walls. He waits for a response, before looking down at his husband. "What is it? ...And what are you doing with that old baby monitor?"
Will laughs sarcastically.
"What am I doing with it? What was it doing in the trash, would be a more apt question." He puts one hand on his hip and maintains his glare up at Vince, trying not to get distracted by the rustic carpenter look that was strangely working for him.
Vince sighs. "We don't need it anymore. Ben is three years old, Will. I like to think that he'd come talk to us if he had a problem."
"Oh, come on, that's a joke. He's my son, remember?" Will snaps. "We're Connecticut WASPS, we don't talk about our problems. We let them fester until they consume and emotionally cripple us. When I was a kid, I had nightmares that Freddy Krueger was living under my bed for years, but I never told a soul."
"Will, that movie came out in 1984."
"That's...besides the point!" Will folds his arms obstinately. "The point is, we are keeping this baby monitor until...until…"
"Until?" Vince says, amused.
"Until Ben is old enough to regulate his own sleeping patterns." Will cocks his head stiffly. "Or, ideally, until he gets a girlfriend and forces us to get rid of it out of sheer embarrassment."
"You know, those things just provide a false sense of security. My folks never used any of those baby monitors on us and we all turned out just fine." Vince steps down from the ladder and smiles at his handiwork. "You think the walls look okay?"
"Don't deflect," Will says, stepping into the room and maintaining his fiery expression. "I had a cold, distant upbringing and it's contributed to a ton of my phobias and insecurities. I don't want Ben to be that sad, portly kid who hangs out alone during recess, who...who sits in corners crinkling candy bar wrappers and pretending it's applause for validation!"
"That is...weirdly specific," Vince says. "And nothing to do with baby monitors."
Will sighs, sinking into a defeated posture.
"Ben's a tough kid, Will," he goes on. "Have you thought that maybe you might be just a little overbearing?"
Will lets his mouth hang open, shocked and offended.
"I am not-"
"When you dropped him off at Rob and Ellen's the other day, you gave them an entire care package of six kinds of medication, a week's' worth of outfits, five emergency contacts, a framed photograph of us just in case he misses us, and oh, what was it, a Melissa Manchester CD?"
"...It helps him sleep." Will says defensively.
Vince gives him a soft but accusatory look, and Will sighs in concession, stepping towards his husband and burying his head into the crook of his neck.
"Am I smothering him?" he mumbles into Vince's shoulder. Vince wraps his arms around Will and holds him close, laughing.
"No. You just want him to have a safe and secure childhood. I get it. But Will, you don't have to try so hard. He's strong, and smart." He pokes Will in the arm. "Like you."
"I guess so," Will lets himself smile, before turning his head against Vince's shoulder and catching sight of the walls. He tenses up. "...Vince."
"Uh-huh?"
"This paint is navy blue," Will enunciates stiffly.
"Yeah?"
"I thought we agreed on powder blue!" He springs back, turning to scan the room in disapproval. "Remember, we settled on light pastel colors!"
"Yeah, they were all out at the store, so they suggested this color. I thought it looked nice."
"Vince! It throws off the atmosphere of the entire room! It doesn't match any of the furniture I bought online. Remember, we wanted to create a serene, calming atmosphere and the color of the walls is a huge part of that!"
Vince throws his hands up defensively. "I asked Ben the other day, and he seemed to like it."
"Oh, he's a three year old child, what does he know?" Will snaps. "Great, now I'm going to have to cancel all my online orders. I guess maybe we could make it work. We could...turn it into some kind of outer space theme."
"Under the sea," Vince corrects him.
Will turns, caught off guard.
"What?"
"Yeah, he's really into the whole underwater thing. He's made us sit through Finding Nemo like, a dozen times, remember?"
Will pauses, cogs turning in his head.
"...My god, you're right. You really think he'd prefer it to the pastel theme?...Oh, who am I kidding, of course he would. I'm an idiot." Will smacks a hand to his forehead.
"See, I care about our son, too," Vince says.
"You're amazing. I love you." Will dives forward and plants a grateful kiss on his lips, before tearing apart hastily. "Oh, my god. We're going to have to go on a huge shopping spree now. You know, to accommodate this whole...deep sea theme."
"Right."
"I'm talking plush toys, portlights, port windows, maybe one of those boat-beds and…" He steps back, marveling at his own imagination, "a HUGE underwater mural right there." He makes a picture frame with his hands. "I can see it now. Ben is going to love this."
"And to think," Vince says, "all I did was paint his room a slightly darker shade of blue."
"Shall we get started?" Will enthuses, turning to Vince excitedly.
"Maybe we can start tomorrow," Vince says. "Tonight, maybe we could just...appreciate the fact that we have the place to ourselves?"
Will stops, then raises one eyebrow suggestively."Why, that's the second best idea you've had all day," he answers wryly.
Vince grins a little and throws his paintbrush aside onto the newspaper-laded floor, reaching for Will's hand instead. Will allows himself to be pulled against him languidly. As Vince captures his lips in a lazy kiss, Will smiles into it and snakes two arms around his husband, feeling himself relax from his previously tense posture. His eyes drift shut and he deepens the kiss, two hands tenderly clasped on his back. It's stressful; being a father, Will had come to learn, especially when you're the designated "overbearing" parent. But these stolen extra moments with Vince, fleeting as they were, had come to mean a whole lot more. Just the feeling of the world slowing down for just a few moments so they can revel in the feeling of lips gratefully sliding together
Vince grazes his teeth lightly against Will's lower lip as he breaks away, before moving wickedly to his neck, peppering slow and firm kisses there. Will hums in appreciation, craning to give him better access.
"Mmm. It's been way too long," he breathes.
"Yeah, it has."
"Oh, god, Vince."
"I know."
"No, I mean, Vince," he points at the ceiling enthusiastically. "We could order one those glass bubble chandeliers I saw on Pinterest the other week!"
Vince sighs.
"Sorry. I'm just really in decorating mode right now."
"That's okay," Vince relents. "I'll go get the laptop."
Will claps excitedly.