Christmas Closure A Charlie & Will Short Story #3
Will pointed at Charlie with a piece of cheese.
“Oh, no. Kairo was the only one among you who was convincing. Well, and West, but all he did was grunt. Kind of hard to poke holes in that.” Will stuffed the cheese into his mouth and groaned as he chewed.
“I swear, part of me didn’t want to know the truth.
Most of the time, I thought you were all a gang of criminals. Like mafia or drug dealers.”
“And you still dated me?” Charlie shouted in his face.
Will leaned in so that their noses almost bumped and shouted back, “I was in love with you!”
Charlie’s angry expression softened, and he straightened.
“I know. So was I. It’s why I kept putting off ending it.
I was lying to myself that it wasn’t serious.
That what we had wasn’t a big deal, because I didn’t want it to end.
I lived in terror of you finishing school.
You were dropping all these hints about jobs in Paris or returning to the States.
I knew you wanted me to say something, anything, that would give you hope we would be together after you finished school. ”
“Instead, you ended it.”
Charlie reached across the island and wrapped his fingers around Will’s wrist. Hours had passed in that kitchen, and they hadn’t bothered to turn on the lights as night fell over them.
There was only a work light on above the stove and the twinkle of Christmas lights that stretched from the living room.
They stood in the dark kitchen, rehashing old memories while drinking good wine and eating even better cheese, but it felt like they were in that tiny apartment where Will’s life had fallen apart.
“I was a coward. I didn’t want to let you go, but I also couldn’t stand to keep you in my life.
It was so dangerous. At one time or another, we’d all been shot, or worse.
Soren ended up losing the guy he’d been seeing during our last job.
Losing you sucked, but I could live with it so long as you weren’t in danger. ”
“But it was my life. You took away my chance to choose what I wanted to do with it!”
“I know, and I was wrong.”
And Charlie had learned from that mistake.
He’d helped Will in Buenos Aires rather than removing him completely from the situation.
He’d allowed Will to tag along for the craziness in Greece, Egypt, and Gaoxing.
All those times, Will could have gotten hurt, but Charlie had stepped back and allowed Will to make the choice for his life.
“I get it,” Will mumbled. He stared at where Charlie held his wrist, the heat warming his skin.
“I didn’t at the time. I don’t think I understood it even when you explained things in Argentina, because I was still holding on to that old hurt and anger.
But I get it now. If roles had been reversed, I don’t know if I would have been able to make a different decision than what you made.
” Will turned his wrist in Charlie’s hand and threaded their fingers together.
“I loved you in Paris. Hated you for a lot of years as I traveled the globe.”
“And now?”
Will smirked at Charlie, drawing out the silence just to drive the man crazy, even though Charlie knew the truth.
“Will?”
“I’m teasing. I love you. It was so easy to fall in love with you again. And if it’s at all possible, I love you more now because you’re not hiding part of yourself away from me.”
Charlie’s smile warmed all of Will and squeezed his heart. There was such bliss and relief in that gaze. How could he not love this amazing man?
Charlie closed the distance between them, capturing Will’s mouth in a sweet, tender kiss that said a thousand times over how much Will was at the center of his heart.
“I love you, baby,” he murmured against Will’s damp lips. “Do you forgive me?”
“Yes, I forgive you for everything that happened so many years ago in Paris. The old grudge and anger are gone.”
“The pain?”
“Mostly healed. I think if we spend the next few weeks visiting some of our favorite old haunts and making new memories, the last of the pain will disappear.”
Charlie reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled something out that Will couldn’t see. It looked like a small black box.
“If we’re going to make some new memories in Paris, I’d like to make them with my new fiancé.
” Charlie set the box between them and opened the lid to reveal a silver-and-gold band speckled with diamonds, arranged like a constellation across the night sky.
“I wanted to do something romantic and lavish—” Charlie broke off at Will’s choked laugh.
“But that has never been our style,” Will stated, his voice full of tears.
“Our style is eating cheese and drinking wine in the kitchen while we plan our future together. And the only future I want is one where you are by my side for the rest of my life. Will you marry me, Will Monroe, and make me the happiest man in all of Paris?”
“Fuck yes, I will.”
Will released Charlie’s hand so he could hurry around the marble island that separated them. He crashed into Charlie and seized his mouth in a brutal kiss while tears slipped down his cheeks, glinting in the soft Christmas lights as distant church bells rang out across the city.
The past was closed.
A new chapter for Charlie and Will was just beginning.