“So,” Jason begins, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin on his joined hands. His eyes narrow at the two men sitting on the opposite side of the booth. It’s hard to know what he’s thinking and William braves himself for the worst. He takes a deep breath, feeling Oliver doing the same beside him. Despite their laced fingers underneath the table and Oliver’s careful and gentle rubs on the back of his hand, William can barely breath with how Jason keeps glaring at them and wonders if this was what Oliver went through when he told the redhead the news.

Despite being in a bar that’s almost at capacity even though it’s 4 in the afternoon on a weekday, William feels chills crawling up his body and pulls the sleeves of his sweater over his hands. It’s not that William thinks Jason’s gonna ice him out, —okay to be fair, he is being iced out but that’s not the point —he really didn’t think he’ll feel so small before the man that he’s clearly two inches taller than. Jason’s gaze alone is enough to make William sink back into the booth and hold onto Oliver’s arm tighter for good measure. It also doesn’t help that the bar they’re at is the place that started the events which led to William and Oliver becoming boyfriends in the first place.

“How did this happen?”

William glances at Oliver. I thought you told him rings through his mind and Oliver gets the memo when he shrugs, which, A for being telepathic boyfriends but also, why is Jason asking about it again? William breathes in and turns his attention to the redhead. “Remember when you fell asleep in my apartment?”

The man nods. “Yeah, I know about that and how it started, but how did it get to that point?” he questions and it is then that William realizes that he and Jason were still kinda in touch by this point in time and there had been no clear indication on his part that his interests had moved to Jason’s roommate.

“Oh.” His hands curve tightly around the coffee mug, the white cup still filled to the brim with its content. William suddenly wishes he had ordered that beer Oliver suggested because there’s no way he’s getting through this conversation without a bit of alcohol in him. How does he tell Jason that he and Oliver went on a “not date” date and that he happened to like Oliver a lot more than he thought he would? While it sounded so simple in William’s mind, it wasn’t as easy to bring it out in words.

And now that he thought about, his and Oliver’s relationship started off severely unconventional because he absolutely hated the man’s guts from the moment he accused him of stealing his hoodie. And though that was technically true —from Oliver’s perspective— he hadn’t expected to fall in love with him. Despite Oliver being annoying as fuck, he was also so freaking hot that he basically became the only thing in William’s mind every damn day. As the memories flood in, William cringes inwardly at how obvious he was with his crush on Ollie. There was no way the latter didn’t know how exceptionally down bad William was for him and he makes a mental note to ask about that later.

“Honestly, I kinda hated him when he accused me of stealing his hoodie,” Williams starts after taking another deep breath. Suddenly, the words describing his crush and the beginning of an adventure with Oliver flow out of him seamlessly like a stream. It’s almost as if once he starts talking about Oliver, there’s no way to stop running his mouth. Not that he minds, frankly, because when you’re in love and infatuated, all you want to do is talk about how much you adore your boyfriend and how happy he makes you. “I’m not even joking, I brought the hoodie back like three times and pretended I forgot it at home,” William cringes with tears in his eyes.

Oliver chuckles at his boyfriend and wraps his arm around the man’s shoulder, kissing his temple. “You’re adorable,” he whispers. “I did see it in your bag that one time we ordered pizza but let it go.”

“You saw it?” William gasps, and a reddened Oliver nods, as if he’s the one who should be shy at getting caught. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

He shrugs. “I wanted to keep talking with you.”

A shiver runs through William when he meets Oliver’s gaze. It’s not the kind of uncomfortable shiver or butterflies that mean your body’s warning against unpleasant feelings. This is the kind of shivers and tingles that run through you when your body realizes that yes, this man means the world to me and I cannot imagine a life without him. And it’s exactly that thought that runs through William’s mind when Oliver leans in and captures his lips in a chaste kiss. A chaste kiss that comes severely close to turning unchaste until the reason they’re even discussing their first encounters clears his throat.

“I’m still here,” Jason says pointedly, eyes narrowed and shaking his head at the two. “I mean, I get that y’all are in love and shit, but let’s get back on track. I’m still mad at you two.”

The two men chuckle, their hands finding each other again underneath the table as warm fingers lace together. It’s become a reflex action at this point and it makes William feel safe. It’s a small gesture, but it feels so much more than that.

“Were you ever gonna tell me?” Jason continues his round of interrogation.

“Of course,” Oliver answers this time, his voice full of reassurance which goes unnoticed to the intended target.

“When? When you guys got married?”

“We’re not getting married.” - “Yes we are.”

Time pauses. The two men turn to look at each other slowly, eyes widening in comedic fashion.

“Oliver.”

“William.”

“We’re getting married?”

“Yeah, of course!” Oliver scoffs. “I mean, not today, and obviously not soon but I suppose in the future, maybe?”

Tears well up in William’s eyes at this point and he’s not sure just how much more sweetness he can take from the man before him. The fact that Oliver said yes to spending the rest of his life with him without a second thought fills William with such warmth and joy. Lips quivering, he wraps his arms around the tall man and pulls him down for a kiss. It’s more than enough to convey the many thoughts in his mind and the overwhelming feelings he cannot even begin to express in words. To think he had not only given up on love but was close to making a decision to not even engage in casual hookups and then met someone so great, so kind, so warm, so lovely, and with such a beautiful heart as Oliver. William could not bring himself to even believe that the man before him was his and that said man was willing to give him his heart and share the rest of their lives together, yet here he is, in the flesh and not in a dream.

“I’m still here,” Jason groans again at the two, rolling his eyes at their very public display of affection. It’s not that he doesn’t want them to be as free and as comfortable as they can be in his presence, it’s just… read the room dudes!

With tear-filled eyes, crimson cheeks and ears, William pulls away from Oliver, licking his lips and wishing for nothing but to drag his man home and show him what their future together would look like. “Sorry,” he says sheepishly, but it’s quite clear that he’s very not sorry.

“And, sorry we didn’t tell you about our relationship before, really,” Oliver adds.

Jason nods, and William can tell in his eyes and overall demeanour that the man isn’t actually angry anymore, but it still doesn’t come as a surprise to him when Jason asks, “Is there a reason why you kept it from me? I understand why he did,” he points to William. “But you?” Brown eyes meet green ones as the question falls off his lips.

Oliver purses his lips. “Frankly, I thought you were gonna be pissed at me for stealing your man.”

It’s as simple as that, and Jason scoffs, wondering if his friend really sees him as the type to hold a grudge over something like this. It wasn’t as though he and William were together, even though it was public knowledge that he did find William attractive. If anything, he feels bad for making his friend hide something so important from him. He sighs, biting his lip. “Well now that just makes me look bad,” he says, half-joking.

“That’s really not what I’m trying to do, J,” Oliver assures him.

Jason knows that, of course he knows that. Oliver is his best friend for goodness sake. It still doesn’t make it hurt less though. “It’s whatever. Just… tell me next time. William’s kinda important to you and as your best friend, I want to be part of everything important in your life.”

Three weeks later, after finals week, William makes a decision he never thought he’d make. Since he began living on his own, the thought had crossed his mind few times but the man never made it a reality, not until now. He and Oliver are at his apartment, both of them in bed with the latter reading a book silently as William swirls a key in his hand as thoughts form in his mind. He purses his lips, wondering if he’s only having those thoughts because of the wild night he’d woken up from merely an hour ago, or if his heart was really in tune with Oliver’s.

He wants to get a second opinion, but his body does not allow him to make the walk to the living room to call Alyssa. It’s almost as his entire being is pushing him into the direction his mind wants him to take. He ponders over it for a few more minutes before sighing. As soon as the sigh leaves him, a hand gently massages his shoulder and Oliver’s whispering at his ear.

“You okay?”

William nods instantly, his hand covering Oliver’s. He breathes in slowly and turns to face him. Green eyes watch him expectantly, wide and so full of love that William berates himself inwardly for even doubting his decision. There’s not an ounce of distrust in those eyes and it makes William wonder what he did to deserve a man who loves him so outwardly, so wholly, with every part of his being.

“I was thinking,” he begins with a whisper and takes Oliver’s hand from his shoulder, placing the key in his palm. “What do you think about moving in with me?” Is it possible for a person’s eyes to grow so wide that they seem to almost pop out of their sockets? William wonders as he watches Oliver’s mouth drop in awe and the shock in his face so evident that there’s no point in hiding it.

“You’re serious?” Oliver questions when he finds his voice. He says it in a whisper, as if saying it out loud would wake him from a dream and he’ll be back in a world where this was never even a possibility. And when William nods in the affirmative, Oliver smiles widely and throws his arms around him, clutching both him and key for dear life. “Oh William,” he sobs, his voice breaks and tears well up in his eyes. He pulls back and watches William for a while, eyes scanning the latter’s face, as if looking for any evidence of a prank, or a lie, and when he finds none, his face softens even further and he pulls William back into a hug tighter than the previous. “You’re really serious?”

William chuckles as Oliver loosens his hold on him. He cups the blond’s face in his hands, forcing their eyes to meet. “I’ve never been more sure of anything,” he whispers. “I want to wake up every morning with you by my side, I want to go to bed with your arms around me each night. I love you, Oliver.”

Oliver’s lips quiver as he takes in his boyfriend’s words. “I love you, too. So much.”