Dune

“Going off that face, I’m going to guess you’re texting your mom or Luke.” Cassie sat cross-legged on the bed and stared critically at Dune. He was lounging back, laptop resting against his thighs with his phone held up to his face.

He frowned at her. “Why do you have to make that comparison?” He grumbled.

Cassie cackled, apparently delighted with herself. College work was strewn around her on the bed, and she hadn’t touched a sheet of it since coming in, only quizzed him endlessly about Luke. Dune kept his cards close to his chest. Cassie wanted to know how their date went. Dune didn’t want her to know they’d kissed.

“Dune and Luke sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g.” Cassie started to sing.

“Are you four?” Dune muttered, feeling heat rise to his cheeks.

“First comes love, then comes—” her phone pinged, and she hopped up. “Will’s outside, I’ll go let him in.”

Dune heard her singing to herself all the way down the stairs.

Luke: There’s showings of The Tempest on next week. Would you like to go with me to see it?

Dune replied in the affirmative as he heard laughter coming up the stairs and then entering the bedroom.

“We were thinking either Sinister or Home Alone.” Cassie trotted over to her things and cleared them away.

“Neither.” Will kicked his shoes off, letting out a yawn. “Pick a show that we can binge, something none of us have seen before.”

Dune put his phone over to the bedside table and went to the tv shows. “There’s the new season of Jessica Jones out?” Dune suggested.

Will snorted. “And no Kilgrave to admire anymore? No thank you. Stranger Things season two. You see the pool boy?”

“You’re basing the decision on eye candy?” Cassie raised an eyebrow at him.

Will returned her look and lay out next to Dune. “Is there anyone here who objects to seeing a cute boy? I didn’t think so.”

“We could watch Magic Mike.” Dune said.

Will laughed.

“No!” Cassie flopped down on Dune’s other side. “I want romance, not…”

“Who doesn’t like strippers?” Will looked at her like she was crazy. Dune saw him trying to repress a smile.

“Dune’s mom probably doesn’t.” Cassie sniped back.

Dune coughed. “Why bring my mom into it?”

“Mommy’s boy.” Will and Cassie said in union. They laughed together, and Dune huffed.

“You two can sit on the floor.” Dune told them.

“Don’t be so grumpy.” Will chuckled. He put his head onto the pillow close to Dune, mirroring Cassie’s action on the other side. His breath tickled Dune’s neck. Dune steadied himself. And he felt good about remaining unaffected.

Will shifted closer as Dune put Stranger Things into the search engine. Will’s nose brushed against his neck, making his hairs stand on end. Maybe this was too close for him still?

“Are we really watching this?” Cassie groaned.

Dune thought about his date with Luke. He thought about the kiss. And he reached for the arm slung over his waist, ready to subtly move it away. Ready to finally put down boundaries that he, for the moment, needed.

“Oh.” Cassie sighed. “Oh baby.”

Dune’s hackles rose. He looked to her, feeling as if he’d been caught red-handed, but found her staring at Will.

“He’s asleep.” Cassie said. “He must be exhausted to fall asleep that fast.”

Dune couldn’t turn enough to see Will’s face, but the slow, steady breaths against his neck were enough of a giveaway. Will was out.

“Will?”

Cassie lightly hit his stomach, “Leave him be.” She looked down at Will, concern written all over her face. “Have you… noticed?”

Dune’s mind jumped to Gabriel. “Noticed what?” He repeated with a poker face.

“He’s joined like, ten sports clubs, he’s doing extreme exercise seven days a week, and I don’t think he’s eating the right amount to make up for that amount of work. Not to mention the volleyball sessions…” Cassie’s expression was grave. “I’m worried. You saw how he was with Stephen the other day. That was so weird for him.”

Dune was filled with an unpleasant sensation of being blind-sided. And doubly blindsided because since when did Cassie know more about Will than him? Dune had been distancing himself little by little. Luke had picked up on something between them, something that came from his side, and Dune had been… well, he was interested in Luke. And he didn’t want him being close to Will to scare him away. He hadn’t even followed Cassie and Will when they left the lunch table together because he didn’t want Luke to see him doing it. He hadn’t wanted him to misread it.

“He took good care of himself all summer.” Dune said gently, consciously resisting the idea that Will needed someone while he’d been purposefully not looking in his direction.

“He hasn’t been home once since college started.” Cassie replied.

Dune grimaced, aware who Will was spending his weekends with. He forced himself past his inherent dislike to acknowledge the facts. “He probably likes spending his time up here more. He’s self-conscious about people back home knowing about him.”

Cassie watched Will’s sleeping face not looking satisfied. Eventually she got up from the bed as quietly as he she could and got her things. “I don’t want to wake him up, so how about we do this another day? And Dune maybe… talk to him when he wakes up? Or just see if he wants to talk about anything. I think he’s more comfortable talking to you than he is me.”

“I will.”

Cassie closed the door softly and disappeared quiet as a mouse. Dune closed the laptop and reached to put it on the bedside table. Will didn’t stir.

“Will?” Dune moved enough that he could see Will’s face. He frowned at how pale he was and immediately changed his mind about waking him. Will spent a lot of time outdoors, but it was as if that tan had been sapped away completely, and no colour was left. Even his lips had a grey tinge, lacking their usual rosy lustre. Dune should have pinched himself for staring. He didn’t. He reached and loosed the strings on his hood and really did pinch himself over the thought of doing the same for his sweatpants.

Dune slipped out from Will’s arm and went to door to switch off the lights. He sat out on the stairwell tapping away at his phone. He asked Cassie for more details. He had a short conversation with Luke that his heart wasn’t in. He tried to read a few chapters of his book, and slowly the worry crept up on him, and Will was all he was thinking about.

Dune went back into the room later than normal, at a time when he’d usually be asleep, and circled the bed. The last time they’d slept together in this bed, Dune hadn’t kept his distance. But he wouldn’t close any space between them with Will completely unconscious. It wouldn’t be fair to do that when Will couldn’t tell him to stop. When Will couldn’t do what Dune always hoped for, and let him.

In the dark, Dune faced him. “Are you really having a hard time?” He whispered.

Will’s steady breaths answered him.

“Shouldn’t your boyfriend be taking better care of you?” Dune asked. “Are things not going well between you two? Does Gabriel…”

Will moved.

Dune went silent.

Will’s sighed a few times, then mumbled, “Dune?”

“I’m here. You fell asleep.”

“Mhm. Sorry.” Will didn’t sound fully awake. He rolled onto his stomach, and his breathing levelled out again.

Twice more, just as Dune was drifting off to sleep, Will would wake up. He’d mumble a few words and then go back to sleep. Dune was barely awake when he heard Will calling for him. He didn’t answer right away, unsure if he was dreaming or not, and Will repeated his name, louder, more panicked.

“I’m here,” Dune told him.

Will asked him three or four times where they were. Why it was dark? Where were the lights? Where was Cassie? Why was it dark? Where were the lights?

Dune was fully awake again.

“Don’t get a boyfriend.”

Dune lifted his weight onto an elbow, seeking out Will’s face in the dark. “What?”

“Luke can go fuck himself.” Will muttered darkly. Unpleasantly.

Dune’s heart lifted into his throat. Shock battled with anger. Will didn’t even know Luke. Dune got out from under the covers, and Will, still clearly half-asleep, started calling for him. Dune didn’t answer.

Will’s voice got small. “Is someone there? Anyone?”

The anger melted away, broken by Will’s confusion. Dune couldn’t bear to listen to it for even a second longer.

“I’m here Will, it’s okay.” Dune reassured him.

Will was breathing hard. Dune went to his side of the bed and sat next to him. He touched Will’s shoulder. “You’re okay. I’m here.”

Will’s hard breaths started to calm down. He rolled in Dune’s direction, and Dune lightly pet his hair. The covers shifted alongside Will, curling around his form. His breaths were shaky. Dune closed his eyes and listened closely, but he knew what the sound was.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Dune threw the boundaries out the window pulled Will against his chest as he cried. “Wake up, okay? Tell me what’s wrong.”

Will clutched his shirt, his body fighting against every sob that came out. Dune felt as if the world was ending as he held Will, unable to help. He cried himself into exhaustion. Dune’s eyes burned. “Will?” He prompted, when the worst of it seemed to be over.

“I’m really hungry.” Will’s voice rasped.

“I’ll get you food right now.” Dune reached for his phone, fumbling for it on the bedside table.

“I ate. I shouldn’t still be hungry.”

“You just need to eat a little more is all.” Dune went to a takeaway app and sorted them by delivery time, picking out the fastest. “I eat tons every day. And you burn so many calories working out you need to eat a lot too.”

Will didn’t answer him. Dune pulled away and drew Will with him.

“We’ll go downstairs to the couch and wait for the food. Okay?”

“Okay.” Will mumbled. He still didn’t sound like he was full awake, and when he stood, he pitched to the side, knocking against the bedside table. Dune only just managed to catch him, but couldn’t hold his weight when Will leaned so heavily to the side.

“I’m dizzy.”

“You’re starving.” Dune said back, his voice shaking. And he didn’t mean that he was only hungry. He’d been starving himself, and now his body was giving out. Dune’s hands shook. What should he do? Should he bring Will into the hospital? If he couldn’t even manage to be coherent, then maybe that was the best thing to do?

The doorbell rang as Dune propped Will against the bed. “I’ll be right back.”

Dune raced downstairs and fumbled with notes, quickly taking the food from the delivery man and getting the door shut again. He wasn’t sure if he gave a twenty or a fifty and didn’t care enough to go back and check. He returned to Will in the room, who was waiting with his knees pulled to his chest. He blinked at Dune in a dazed manner, his eyes slipping to the box. “That smells good.” Will said.

“It’s hot,” Dune warned. He set the box next to Will and knelt in front of him. He got a slice out, double checking it wasn’t hot enough to burn, and offered it. Will silently munched on the slice. Dune watched him carefully, and then text his mom, despite knowing she’d been fast asleep. After a minute his phone started to ring. “I’m going to answer this, okay?”

Will ignored him.

“What’s going on sweetie?” His mom asked him in a whisper.

Dune stayed next to the doorway where he could see Will. “Will is having a bad night.” Dune said quietly. “I don’t know if I should take him to the hospital or not.” He knew that Will wouldn’t want to go. But did he need to?

There was rustling through the line, and Dune heard his dad’s voice in the background. She must have woken dad up. “Where are you now?” She asked him, concern saturating her tone.

“At my house. He’s eating pizza now, but he’s not coherent at all.” Dune reported. “As if he can’t wake up properly.”

“Get him water too, sweetie.” His mom told him.

Dune went down to the kitchen and filled a glass. When he got back Will had moved onto another slice. “Drink some,” Dune put it to Will’s lips. Obediently, he had a few sips, and turned his face away.

“Okay,” Dune went back to the hall. “He’s drinking too. I’m sorry for waking you guys up.”

“It’s okay. If he’s eating and drinking, maybe wait before bringing him in.” His mom spoke. “Keep an eye and see if he bounces back once the food is in him.”

“Okay.” Dune agreed.

“We’re going to leave the house now, we should be there before nine.”

Dune blinked, but the thought that they’d be here soon relieved him. At least they would know what to do. “Thanks, I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Dune put the phone away and sat down next to Will. “Are you feeling any better?” He asked gently.

Will nodded. He ate the entire pizza, refused Dune’s offer to get him another one, and climbed back into bed with Dune’s help. In seconds he was knocked out once again.