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Mike’s jaw is basically on the floor. Did he hear his mom correctly? Does she know what she just said?
Mike is cooking dinner in his apartment for himself and his boyfriend, his parents on speakerphone while he putters around the kitchen. Will is out walking Gandalf, Mike’s dog, but it’s getting dark, so he knows he will be back soon.
He was just having a casual conversation with his parents when they brought up their plans for the family Christmas get-together. Christmas is about two weeks out, and Mike expected it would be the same-old dinner-presents-movie on Christmas Eve as every other year.
That’s why he nearly drops the two glass plates he was holding when his mom casually says, “Why don’t you bring Will with you this year?”
Mike just blinks for a moment and sets the plates down on the countertop. His mouth hangs open, and he manages, “What?”
This time his dad speaks up, saying, “We want you to bring Will to family Christmas this year. If he doesn’t have other plans with his own family, of course.” Mike hears the gentle edge in his dad’s voice, urging him not to freak out. Mike’s sure his dad can sense his quiet distress, even through the phone.
“Really? You’re being serious?” Mike is torn between elation and disbelief.
This was going to be Mike and Will’s fourth Christmas together, and never once had Will been invited to any of Mike’s family’s gatherings. Not Christmas, Thanksgiving, or any of the other random parties hosted by his parents in his childhood home.
Mike is stunned, and he has to force his attention back to the food on the stove so he doesn’t burn it because he loves Will for walking his dog, and just in general, so he would like to be able to feed him.
There’s a pause on the other side of the line, and Mike isn’t sure if it’s a guilty pause or if his mom needs to compose herself, but then she’s answering, “Yes, really. We would like it if he could come.”
Mike can hear the silent plea in his mom’s tone. Please don’t bring up the fact that we’ve never wanted him over before ! But Mike doesn’t want to avoid the topic anymore. Not now that it’s out in the open.
Mike came out to his parents when he was an awkward and too-tall 15 year-old, and they hadn’t taken it well. His mom cried, and things were a bit frosty between them for a while afterwards. Mike had expected his dad to be the one to freak out, but, shockingly, Mike isn’t sure that his dad has ever really cared that he’s gay. He does, however, always support his wife, so it was clear where he stood. Mike thinks it could have been a lot worse if not for the immediate support of his sisters.
That was a decade ago now, and Mike had had his share of boyfriends, his parents warming up to exactly none of them, before Will came into his life. Now he’s been dating Will for going on four years, which is his longest relationship by far. Mike is also pretty confident he had never actually been in love before he met Will.
And, oh my God, is he in love now. Mike could see himself spending the rest of his life with Will, and he’s only 25, so that’s a pretty big deal.
That being said, his parents have never made an effort to get to know or spend time with Will, and that’s been a painful thing for Mike to deal with the past few years, and he’s sure it is for Will, too.
When he replies to his mom, he tries to not be rude because, despite everything, Mike is overwhelmed with a warm and happy feeling at the fact that his parents are maybe finally willing to welcome in the person he loves the most. “I—I would really like it if he could come, too. But… but why? Why now? What changed?”
Another pause. “We… we figured it was time we got to know this boy that you rave about,” is all his mom says. It’s not really an answer, but it’s something. It’s true, too—Mike does rave about Will. His parents probably know as much about Will as they do about their own son, considering how often he brings him up during their calls.
“Okay,” is all he says. He figures he should probably be receiving some sort of apology, and Will should be too, but he means it when he adds, “Thank you.” This is a big step for them, no matter how overdue, and Mike is ecstatic for his two worlds to finally come together.
There’s not much else to talk about after his parents tell him to bring Will, so they tell him to enjoy his dinner before they hang up.
Mike’s chest is full of static as he turns down the heat on the stove to keep their food warm until Will gets home. He has no idea what Will will think when he tells him. He hopes he will be excited, but Mike wouldn’t blame him if he was angry or nervous.
Mike is so worked up that he does all the dishes he used in preparing the meal while he waits for Will, which is something he never does. It’s an effort to get Mike to wash even one dish, most days.
Mike is fidgeting with the spices in the spice cabinet when Will and Gandalf finally come through the door. The front door of his apartment opens up into the kitchen, so Mike catches Will’s eye right when he walks in. His cheeks are flushed from the cold, his hair slightly wild, and he’s wrapped up in a big scarf. Mike thinks he looks positively adorable, and Will flashes him a smile as he unclips Gandalf’s leash and starts to unwrap his scarf from around his neck.
Mike is thankful that he doesn’t have to play with spice canisters to keep his hands busy anymore and walks straight over to Will, who looks confused as Mike cups his face in his hands. His face is cold and Mike’s hands are warm, maybe even sweaty, but he knows Will won’t mind.
Will’s hands move to hang off of Mike’s elbows, and he says uncertainly, eyebrows drawn over his pretty eyes, “Hi baby.”
“Hi.” Mike is smiling.
“Is everything okay?” Will asks, lifting one hand to tuck a piece of hair behind Mike’s ear.
Mike nods. “My parents called.” Will nods, still confused. Mike talks to his parents on the phone all the time, so he’s not really sure what he’s getting at. “They told me to bring you with me when I go home for Christmas. You’ve officially been invited to family Christmas.”
Will’s eyes go big, mouth hanging just slightly open, and Mike imagines this is exactly what he looked like when his mom had originally told him over the phone. Mike can’t contain his excitement, smiling and leaning forward to press a kiss to Will’s cold nose.
When Mike looks at him again, Will looks shocked but happy. Will moves his hands again to rest over Mike’s, which still rest on his cheeks. “Did they really?” he asks quietly. Mike nods and leans forward again but places a kiss on Will’s mouth this time, pressing together for a few moments. Will stands, still wearing his coat and holding Mike’s hands on his face, readily accepting the kiss.
When Mike pulls away, Will takes Mike’s hands off his cheeks, instead lacing their fingers together and dropping them in between them. “I’m so shocked. What… What changed?” Will asks hesitantly.
Mike’s smile drops only slightly, and he sucks his top lip in between his teeth. “I don’t know,” he answers honestly. “I tried to ask, but I didn’t get any real answer. I-I still want to talk to them about it, but I’m honestly just so happy right now that I kind of want to ignore that part for a moment.” Will is looking at him with his kind eyes and kind smile and rosy cheeks, and he nods.
“Are you happy?” Mike adds after a beat.
“How could I not be when you’re so happy?”
Mike gives him a look, “It’s okay if you’re not as excited as I am. I would totally understand if you were pissed off.” Will looks like he wants to butt in, but Mike cuts him off, “After all, they should accept you as family, especially after all this time, and they’ve sort of kicked you to the curb.”
Will pouts slightly, and says, “I am happy. I promise.” Mike looks skeptical still, so Will adds, “Can we talk about it after dinner? Whatever you’ve cooked smells really good and I am hungry from that long and strenuous walk.” Mike laughs, and nods.
Mike unzips Will’s coat for him, even though Will can do that himself, and hangs it up once he’s out of it. Will rubs his hands together, still cold from the walk, and goes to peek at the food on the stove while Mike fills Gandalf’s food bowl.
***
After eating their dinner and washing their dishes, Mike and Will migrate to the living room sofa where they sit cuddled up, some random Netflix movie playing on the TV. Mike takes this as his opportunity to broach the subject of his parents with Will.
“Can we talk about my family and Christmas now?” he asks. Will glances down at where Mike’s head rests against his thigh, their position for cuddling odd, yet comfortable. He nods.
Mike continues, “Are you going to admit to me that some part of you is at least a little upset about this being your first ever invite to the Wheeler family Christmas?” Will rolls his eyes, and Mike pinches his side. “Stop that. I’m being serious. I’m upset about it too. It’s okay if you are. I want you to tell me because things are only ever worse when you don’t tell me how you really feel about things.”
Will bites his lip and nods again, threading his hand through Mike’s hair. “I’m not lying to you when I say I’m more happy than I am anything else. All I’ve ever wanted is for your parents to come around to the fact of us dating, so this is a huge step for us.”
That comment makes Mike feel warm, but he remains silent, urging Will to continue with a look. Will sighs a bit dramatically, and Mike pinches him again. “Okay. You’re right that some part of me is a little upset. It’s hard to not feel upset about being rejected, but it’s not about me. I’ve never felt like it’s about me. It’s about you and your parents, and I’ve always prioritized that, because, regardless of if I have a relationship with them, I have you.”
Mike can’t help but smile a little. Will has always prioritized Mike’s relationship with his parents. When Mike had to tell Will that first Christmas that his parents told him he couldn’t bring him with, Mike had cried and expected Will to lash out at him, to fight with him, to blame him for not standing up to them.
He didn’t want to lose Will over this, and he felt like the worst boyfriend in existence for not standing up for him, but he didn’t know what he was supposed to say to them.
Mike had always just let them reject his boyfriends and refuse to acknowledge his gayness because he was afraid they would disown him, or something. But none of those boyfriends meant anything close to what Will means to him now, so it wasn’t as difficult to accept it then.
But, Will didn’t lash out, or blame him, or yell at him, or walk out on him, or any of the things that Mike was afraid of. He did the exact opposite, actually, grabbing Mike’s shoulders and running his fingers through his hair and over his cheeks, wiping away his frantic tears. He told him that it was okay, that he wasn’t mad, and that he didn’t have a right to be. Mike wanted to argue that point, and still does, but Will was insistent that Mike’s relationship with his parents was still sacred, regardless of if he was dating Will or not. Will never wanted to get in the way of that.
Mike figures that was a sign of a healthy relationship, that Will wasn’t mad at Mike for something he couldn’t really control. Will also knew that he took his family’s acceptance of his sexuality for granted, at times, and he couldn’t have the same expectations for Mike given that his parents were far from accepting of his sexuality. Still, Mike felt like the toxic partner, not standing up against his homophobic parents.
So, Will just spent time with his own family on those holidays that Mike went home. It tore Mike up to have to spend those days away from Will, but they made it work. Mike would go home on Christmas Eve, spend the night, and then join Will at his family home for Christmas, spending time with Will and his family.
Mike can say that he isn’t proud of it, but he has often felt intense jealousy over Will’s open and accepting family. He always kept this quiet, knowing it’s no one’s fault but his parents’, but he couldn’t help it. Especially during their first Christmas together.
On that day, he had had to come from his home where everyone either acted like they didn’t know that Mike had a boyfriend, or genuinely didn’t know, except for Nancy and Holly—they had loved Will from the beginning, thankfully—to a home full of unconditional love. Mike was welcomed with open arms at Will’s house.
It was quite the change, to have Will falling asleep on his shoulder in front of his brother and mom after having to eat dinner surrounded by his own sisters and cousins and their partners. It was a bitter pill to swallow, knowing he was the only person who wasn’t allowed to have his lover over because he was the only gay one.
Mike had snapped at his mom and dad late that same night, crying and yelling at them in the kitchen after everyone else had left. He missed Will and felt so angry, images of his cousins kissing their boyfriends and girlfriends and standing next to each other, arms wrapped around one another, seared into his brain. His yelling had made his mom cry, and his dad had told him with a tired voice to go to bed. The next morning, they both acted like nothing had happened, and Mike was just too tired to press it any further.
The thought of showing Will off to all his family members, and kissing him in front of the Christmas tree and in the kitchen by the hot chocolate and on the sofa and anywhere else he can manage brings him back to the conversation.
“Thank you for being honest with me. And I know you’ve always prioritized me and my parents, and I love you for that. I also love you too much to let you keep saying that it’s not about you. You’re the most important person in my life, even more so than my parents. Even they don’t love me as fully and as much as you do.” Will smiles softly and continues to brush Mike’s hair back with his fingers. “And, as much as I love them, they have been homophobic assholes to not only me, but to the person I love the absolute most. Which is you. This has everything to do with you.”
Gandalf snuffles at the end of the couch.
After a moment, Will says, unprompted, “I always thought that it would get easier after the first year, not being welcome to come home with you, but it honestly never did. I think the longer we’ve dated, the harder it’s been to reconcile with the fact that they don’t want to know me.”
Mike listens, nodding, a sad expression on his face. Will continues, “But now I can come with. Now things can be different, and that’s what matters to me.”
Will bends down to press a short kiss to Mike’s lips.
Mike nestles his head against Will’s stomach, facing the movie, but not watching it, Will still running his hands through Mike’s hair. After another moment, Mike speaks up. “I’m sorry that you’ve had to deal with this at all. You’re too perfect, cool, and sexy to have to deal with it.”
Will huffs out a laugh, and says, “Yeah, sure.”
Mike looks up at Will again. “I mean it! God, as upsetting as this all is, I cannot wait to flaunt you to all of my family members.” Will blushes and rolls his eyes. “I can’t wait to kiss you under the mistletoe and make everyone jealous with my hot and smart boyfriend.”
Mike crawls higher and starts kissing Will’s neck, and adds, “I also can’t wait to make out with you in my old bed.” Will laughs, but tilts his head back so Mike can kiss under his chin. “It’ll be like you’re my high school boyfriend, and I’ve snuck you in my window for a sleepover.”
Will laughs again and scoffs, “Yeah, the twin bed you grew up in sounds super sexy,” but still accepts when Mike presses a hot kiss to his mouth.
They kiss lazily on the couch for a few minutes, Gandalf still snoring away at the other end, before Will breaks it to say, “I love you.”
“I love you, too. This is going to be our best Christmas yet.”
***
Will is sitting up in his own bed the night before Christmas Eve, about two weeks later, trying to work on the rough sketches he has for his most recent commission when Mike comes into the room, two glasses of white wine in hand.
Mike and Gandalf are spending the night at Will’s apartment for the first time in a while. Will and Mike have been talking about moving in together for months now, but Will thought they should wait.
If Mike had been able to decide, Will would’ve moved in with him three years ago, but Will was always more practical. He hadn’t wanted to ruin anything in their relationship by rushing into living together, so they’ve been putting it off. Now, though, it’s rare that they spend a night apart, and even rarer for the two of them to stay at Will’s.
Will basically already lives over at Mike’s apartment, but he hasn’t wanted to officially move in until he has somewhat established himself as a career artist. It wasn’t that he didn’t think he could establish himself if he lived with Mike, but he wanted it to be a kind of reward. It would feel so much better to take that step with Mike once he felt like he was really on the path to being successful.
That being said, Will hasn’t been able to focus on his art the past few days, too occupied with nervous thoughts about meeting Mike’s family.
It’s not that he hasn’t met Mike’s family before. He’s met them quite a few times, actually, but it was never formal in the way this Christmas is going to be. He’s only really spoken with Mike’s parents a few times—short, awkward conversations, despite having seen them on quite a few random occasions over the years. Mike’s sisters, on the other hand, feel like family to Will.
The first time Will had met Mike’s family was at the wedding of one of Mike’s cousins, actually. Mike was one of the groomsmen, but he had a plus-one, and naturally wanted to bring Will. The two of them had only been dating for about two months at the time, and Mike hadn’t mentioned his relationship with Will to his parents at that point, but he figured the wedding was as good a time as ever to test out his new boyfriend with his family.
His parents hadn’t even thought to ask Mike if he was bringing someone as his plus-one, despite knowing he had one, because they had no reason to believe Mike was seeing someone. It had been a while since his last relationship, and he hadn’t mentioned anyone new, so everyone was shocked when Mike showed up with a new boyfriend on his arm.
Will felt super awkward, not being aware that Mike hadn’t told anyone he was bringing Will along, but his nerves were soothed once he met Mike’s sisters. They were ecstatic that Mike had found a new man, and immediately welcomed Will with open arms.
His meeting with Mike’s parents was less smooth—tense, to say it in a word—but it was civil given that they were there to celebrate the groom and his new wife. Will forgot all about that awkward conversation, though, once Mike pulled him onto the dance floor for a slow dance to some cheesy wedding love song, not caring for a second what his parents thought.
Will thinks of that day fondly, and it makes him laugh to think that he had really no idea how silly and clueless Mike could be.
Will is so anxious about this year’s Christmas celebration that it almost makes him dizzy. He’s tried to play it off as if it’s no big deal in front of Mike, not wanting to make him feel bad, but he feels like he’s meeting Mike’s parents for the first time all over again. Not only that, but he’s going to be meeting extended family, aunts and uncles and cousins that he has never met before.
Will doesn’t like to be nervous, doesn’t like to seem like he needs reassurance, so it freaks him out that his brain feels so clammy.
He’s probably erased and redrew about two lines on his sketches over the past couple days, despite having dedicated several hours to working on it, because his brain has no thoughts except for the impending Wheeler family Christmas.
He’s grateful for the glass of wine that Mike hands him wordlessly, settling down next to Will with his own glass of wine and a copy of whatever random book he’s reading this week. Will smiles a little for two reasons.
One is that Mike doesn’t say a word, despite probably having things to say to Will (Mike always has something to say), because he is always so respectful of Will when he’s working. The second is because it always makes him smile to think about how much Mike reads now.
Mike was never a huge fan of reading before he met Will, other than the odd comic book or graphic novel, but once he started dating someone who was getting a degree in literature, he got into it. Before Will understood his potential to really make a career out of his art, he had thought that he could teach or work in publishing with a literature degree, which was another passion of his.
Mike had originally started reading to woo Will, reading several books a week just so he could pretend like they shared an interest in books. Once they started dating, and Mike stopped trying so hard to impress Will, Mike read because it’s one of the things Will loves doing the most and Mike cares about Will’s interests.
Now Mike reads like a fiend, finishing one or two books a week, and it absolutely tickles Will pink. Not only is it crazy hot, but it’s also sweet to know that Mike has a new passion in part because of his relationship with Will.
After ten more minutes and half Will’s glass of wine, he gives up on drawing for the night and closes his sketchbook. He pushes the book to the side before scooting closer to Mike, grabbing the hand that isn’t holding his book and looping Mike’s arm around his neck so he can press himself flush against Mike’s side. Mike doesn’t look up for another minute, engrossed in whatever is on the page.
Will takes a peek at the cover and sees that he’s reading Wuthering Heights . It makes Will smile again—that’s one of his favorites.
Mike finishes up the page he’s on and then closes the book and puts it down. He wraps his arm tighter around Will as he picks up his glass of wine and presses a kiss to Will’s head. Will leans into the comforting touch.
“All done working for tonight?” Mike asks, taking a sip of his wine.
“Yeah. It’s not been going well the past few days. I can’t think clearly so I’m not being very productive.”
“Aw, what’s that about?”
Will blushes a little and admits, “I’m a bit nervous about going to your parents’ tomorrow.”
Mike looks surprised, and Will blushes more, turning his body further into Mike’s. “Shut up. I get nervous about things sometimes. You know that,” Will says grumpily.
Mike laughs and puts down his glass of wine, squeezing Will with both arms. “You always say that, but it’s so hard for me to believe,” he says, and Will pinches his arm. “Okay, okay, I get it. What are you nervous about?”
Will shrugs and doesn’t say anything for a moment, instead opting to shuffle his legs over Mike’s and wrap his arms around Mike’s torso, fully burying his face in Mike’s shoulder. Mike is a bit surprised at Will’s apparent need for comfort. Will has grown into a much more confident man in the years they’ve been together. Mike kind of hates that his family is the reason Will is so nervous, but he can’t deny that he loves when Will is vulnerable with him, allowing Mike to coddle him.
Mike waits in silence, knowing that Will will say something when he’s ready, rubbing one hand up and down Will’s back and cradling the back of Will’s head with the other.
A few moments later, Will says, mostly into Mike’s neck, “I don’t really know why I’m nervous. I was just thinking about how this feels a lot like I’m meeting your parents for the first time again. I’m worried that they aren’t going to like me. Like, what if they get to know me and then decide I can’t come over again? What do we do if they hate me?”
Mike makes an unhappy sound in his throat, somehow wrapping Will tighter in his arms. “First of all, they aren’t going to hate you. There’s literally no possible way for them to hate you. You’re perfect, and I mean it. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. You’re also, like, serious boyfriend material. Like, boy-next-door level.”
Mike can tell Will is really feeling down because he doesn’t offer any response to Mike’s attempt at a joke. Mike continues, “And I promise I won’t let them pull some bullshit like that. You’re in my life, and you’re going to be in my life for as long as you’ll stick around, and they’re going to have to accept that at some point or another. Nothing changes between you and me. I’m so serious.”
Will nods his head against Mike’s shoulder and presses a kiss to his neck.
“I love you,” Mike says, pressing his lips to the messy hair on Will’s head.
Will hums happily. “I love you, too.”
“And, hey, at least they know you’re coming this time,” Mike offers.
Will snorts. “Yeah, at least. You were such a dumbass for that.”
“Hey!”
Will giggles and Mike beams at the sound. Mike would be the butt of every joke for the rest of his life if it meant he could hear that giggle forever.
***
Will takes a hot shower the next day to try to calm himself down, but ultimately it’s the sight of Mike looking ridiculously handsome in a white turtleneck that soothes his nerves. Mike grins at him.
“Ready to go?”
Will nods, and the two of them put on their shoes and coats and mittens and grab the box full of presents and Gandalf’s leash off of Will’s dining room table before heading out the door.
Mike is driving, so Will hops in the passenger seat while Gandalf gets cozy in the back and begins queuing music for their drive to occupy his mind.
The three hours to Mike’s parents’ house passes pretty quickly, and then they’re parking on the street amongst the impressive lineup of other cars outside of the Wheeler house.
Will takes in the house outside the car window, really realizing for the first time that he’s never been to Mike’s childhood home. Mike’s been to Will’s house countless times, but Will has never been to his before.
He can see the warm yellow light coming from the large window at the front, as well as a Christmas tree and what looks like fifty people milling about the living room. It makes him feel an intense, though brief, moment of sadness to think of the rejection that has led him to this point. It also makes him a bit nauseous, but he chokes it down because he knows he should be excited. He is excited, but he can’t deny that the anxiety is winning him over a bit.
Mike, being the way he is, has read Will’s mind and reaches for one of his gently shaking hands. Will glances away from the window and turns to face Mike, cheeks a bit pink at being caught wallowing. Mike lifts Will’s palm to his lips, and then he presses a kiss to Will’s dry mouth.
Mike grins, he’s always grinning, and says, “You’re perfect. It’s going to be perfect. Don’t worry for even a second.” After an intentional stare into Will’s eyes, he adds, “I love you.”
Will gives him a weak glare, but can’t help the small smile that creeps onto his face. “I love you, too.”
***
The nausea returns as Will watches Mike turn the doorknob—because obviously he would just open the door. This is his house, he doesn’t have to knock and wait for someone to answer; Will had been banking on the few seconds he would have before someone answered the door to settle his nerves once and for all, though. Will is carrying the box of presents, so he can’t reach out and grab Mike’s hand, though he desperately wants to.
Mike opens the door and the warm yellow light inside the house washes over the three of them. The front door opens to a small foyer just obscured from the living room, and Will is glad that it doesn’t open directly into the living room like at his own home. Mike unclips Gandalf’s leash, and she goes snuffling down the hall and into the kitchen. Mike takes the box of presents from Will and sets it down on a small bench before squeezing his biceps in a silent reassurance.
Mike takes Will’s hand, leading him through the house, and Will grips it like a lifeline when he sees Mike’s parents emerge from the kitchen.
This is it.
Will watches as Mike enthusiastically greets his parents, letting go of Will’s hand to hug them both. His mom fusses over his hair and the collar of his sweater before Mike reaches behind him to wrap his arm around Will’s shoulders, pulling him forward.
Will’s heart is positively racing when Karen and Ted turn their eyes to look at him, and there’s an awkward moment before Karen speaks up.
“Hi, Will.” Her voice is quiet, but her brown eyes are earnest, an exact copy of Mike’s, and then she hesitantly pulls him in for a hug. Will is surprised, and a bit rigid, but the hug is warm, the way a mother’s hug usually feels, and he hugs her back. When she pulls away, she says, “Thank you so much for coming. We’re really glad you’re here.”
Will’s head is absolutely spinning, and then Mike’s dad is shaking his hand and repeating the sentiment, tacking on a question about their drive in. He manages, “Thank you for inviting me.”
Mike can tell that that’s as much as Will is able to say, and he picks up for him, telling them their drive was perfectly ordinary.
Will feels another awkward pause approaching before Nancy and Holly appear next to Mike. The two of them are all hugs and loud greetings and Will is starting to breathe a bit easier.
He’s not done with the introductions, not even close—not judging by the subtle glances he can feel from around the room, all Mike’s other relatives interested in the stranger at their party—but he’s happy to be swept up in conversation with Mike’s sisters. Mike’s arm comes back around his shoulders, pulling him into his side, and Will all but melts into him.
***
Mike and Will had arrived not long before dinnertime, so shortly after talking to Mike’s parents and sisters, everyone files through the kitchen and fills their dinner plates with food. There’s tons of food; every possible surface is covered in various trays and bowls and dishes.
There is definitely not enough room for all of these people to sit down at the dining room table, so people have spread out across the entire first floor of the house, sitting on couches and folding chairs.
Extra chairs fill in any gaps around the table, so Mike and Will sit there with the rest of Mike’s immediate family, as well as a few aunts, cousins, and Mike’s grandma. She takes the seat right next to Will, having been enamored with him from the moment she met him.
Will is surrounded by chatter the moment he sits down, all the other people at the table interested in seemingly everything about him. They want to know where he works, where he went to school, if he and Mike live together, and Mike’s grandma is particularly interested in how they met.
He tells her about how they met almost four years ago at the public library. Mike and Will were in their last year of undergrad, and Will was working at the library.
Mike was working on his senior research project, and he needed some books from the public library that the university library didn’t have. He didn’t have a library card at this library, and he had never been inside the building before, so he found himself at the circulation desk, where he met Will.
The two of them hit it off almost immediately, and Mike quickly found reasons to keep coming back to the library to see Will.
“This went on for a few weeks before he actually asked me on a date,” Will said, giving Mike a teasing glare. “Every time he came to talk to me at the desk, it was for some obviously bullshit reason, and whenever he wasn’t at the desk, I could tell he was staring at me.”
Everyone at the table laughed, and Mike blushed a soft pink. “You’re making me sound like a stalker! You just won’t admit that you liked it when I came to the desk with some bullshit problem.”
Will smiles, “True.”
Mike’s grandma is practically beaming at the story she’s just been told, and then she’s asking, “So you two met over three years ago?” They both nod. “Why haven’t I seen you around at any of these family functions in the past?”
Will freezes, completely caught off guard by the question. He can tell that every Wheeler sitting around him has gone still, too.
If the sudden tension is obvious, grandma doesn’t seem to notice, and Will is thankful for that as he quickly recovers.
“I guess our family celebrations have always overlapped, or I’ve been unavailable for some reason or other,” he lies. He doesn’t want to have the conversation about the real reason right now, if ever. He definitely doesn’t want to have that conversation with Mike’s entire extended family.
He feels Mike squeeze his thigh.
His grandma smiles at him, places a hand on his shoulder, and says, “Oh, well, we’re glad you’re here now.”
***
The rest of the night goes really well.
Presents are exchanged and everyone drinks lots of spiked hot chocolate before people leave.
Mike makes good on his promise of kissing Will under the mistletoe before they retire to Mike’s old bedroom.
The house had been so loud and full of warmth and excitement, but now it’s quiet as he and Mike lay together in the twin size bed. It’s a tight squeeze for two fully grown men, but they make it work, tangling themselves together under the duvet. Gandalf snores away on the floor, as usual.
Will isn’t sure if he met all the people that were at the party, but he’s pretty sure he met the most important people. Mike’s grandma had given them both a big hug before she had left and insisted that they both come to her house sometime for dinner.
Karen had also given Will another hug before he and Mike went to bed. He didn’t speak much with Mike’s parents after dinner, and he credits that to the sheer amount of other people packed into their home. He was honestly a little relieved that he didn’t have to fake a great relationship with Mike’s parents in front of the rest of his family. He figures he’ll have a chance to talk to them in the morning before he and Mike leave for his family’s Christmas, anyway.
And even if he didn’t speak with them much, today at least feels like some sort of new beginning for them. That sounds about as cheesy and disgusting as it gets, but Will is genuinely so happy to be squashed in this tiny bed with the love of his life.
“Did you have a good time?” Mike asks quietly, pressing his lips against Will’s forehead.
Will hummed, “Yes, I did. Did you have a good time?”
Will could feel Mike’s smile against his temple, “The best.”
They’re quiet for a moment, listening to Gandalf’s rhythmic snoring and the sound of Mike’s hand rubbing up and down on Will’s back. He slips his hand up under Will’s shirt, resting his hand against the warm skin there. Will shudders.
After another moment, Mike says into the darkness, “Want to do that high school boyfriend roleplay now?”