By the time Josh got out of the shower, Will was sitting outside on the balcony with a whiskey in hand. The light padding of Josh’s feet reverberated around the room as he approached the soon-to-be-wed man. 

“I thought you didn’t like whiskey,” Josh slid the glass door open and slipped through. Swirling the drink around, Will shyly smiled and shrugged.

“It was a gift from Ethan. Was getting the jitters, so I’m hoping that the alcohol will calm me down.”

“Like you haven’t had enough to drink?” Josh set himself into the creaky lawn chair and sat back. Will ignored Josh and swirled the liquid around some more before holding it up.

“Wanna sip?” There’s an emotion in his eyes that Josh can’t read. But it elicits the same emotions he felt the night of Will’s Junior recital. 

“Yeah, why not.” Fingertips grazed each other in the exchange, Josh promptly ignored the spike in his gut. The scent of hard alcohol filled his nostrils as he slowly brought the glass closer to him. His eyes flicked over to Will’s which held a childish glint. 

“Did you do something to this drink?”

“What? No! Of course not! I would never!” Will’s voice was filled with hurt and betrayal. Josh raised an eyebrow.

“Ok, here’s the real glass,” a smile cracked across their faces as Will reached behind himself. The glass was once again passed to Josh. This time, he brought the rim up to his lips and tilted the glass. As expected, the liquid burned as it went down. A bright laugh rang from Will’s voice as a cough escaped his lungs. 

“You tastin’ those notes of honey and lavender?” Will’s cheek squished against his hand as he leaned on the rail. 

“I’m tastin’... something,” a second cough escaped Josh before he passed the glass back. Will deftly swung the drink into his throat in the same beat. Dark oak eyes scanned the red-strained face of Will.

“I know you’re holding back,” the monotone ease of Josh’s voice compelled a wheezing cough out of Will. For a moment, Josh reached out, but the ache in his heart stopped his motions. Instead, he sat back and patiently waited for the choking spell to pass. The coughing ceased, and Will settled back into the chair. 

The air was warm and humid, layering the two with a sheen of sweat. Josh could see the vivacious and voracious nightlife reflected in Will’s eyes. His fingers itched to map the valley and hills of the face before him, to trace the curvature of his mile-long grin. He could imagine the ghost of a warm cheek against his palms, leaning into his touch. 

“Something on my face?” if Josh reacted, then he didn’t let Will notice. 

“Nah, just thinking,” Josh groaned as he stretched his arms behind his head. Will hummed as he leaned closer. 

“About what?” the lights in Will’s eyes grew stronger. Josh swallowed. 

“Hummus.” He looked away as a strong guffaw punched its way out of Will. 

“Hummus, huh?” Will leaned over the railing with a wistful look in his eye. Josh swallowed again, but shifted his eyes to the streets below. 

“Hummus,” Josh repeated while pushing down the nausea he felt. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~10 Years Ago~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The low groan to Josh’s left made him turn his head. Jamie slouched in her seat, ponytail flopped over her face. The theater lights were slowly rising to full brightness for intermission. 

“This concert,” she paused to blow a chunk of hair out her face, “Is so boring.” A small sigh escaped from his lungs as he nodded. Said concert was a small wind quintet who strictly played harmonically experimental pieces that lasted about twenty minutes long each. In layman’s terms, it was sleep inducing. 

Snnnnoooooorrrreeee.

Speaking of sleep inducing, Will was slumped over, his heading gently resting on Josh’s shoulder. Josh could feel the subtle vibrations of Will’s snoozing. The whole group quietly leaned over to observe the dreamer. 

“Aw, he fell asleep,” Marty cooed. Ethan rolled his eyes and fell back in his seat.

“Dr.Garcia will throw a fit if he sees that one of us fell asleep,” he remarked. 

“Shit. Someone wake him up.”

“Not it,” Jamie readjusted her position, her face neutral.

“He fell asleep on you,” Marty gently nudged Josh, “You do it.”

“Sigh. Fine. Hey, Will,” he said with more affection than he intended. Josh pinched Will’s nose, murmuring careless nothings until Will stirred with a moan. 

“Ugh,” Will nosed further into Josh’s body, cradling himself into his neck, “Is it over yet?” A second later, Will came to his senses and popped up. Everyone burst into giggles as pink dusted his ears. 

“Nah, we’re at intermission,” Jamie called from her end. 

“Damn. Hey, sorry about using you as a pillow,” Will knocked Josh’s shoulder with his own.

“You’re good, I didn’t really care.”