Author's Notes: This was supposed to be part of a much larger series called "Southern Comfort" but... uh... I never got around to writing the rest. So instead enjoy this one shot that may or may not have more written about it. Also, I need to stop naming my characters Shane.
Rating: PG
Pairing: Will/Shane
Written: 2005
The best way to describe Will's apartment before Shane started moving his stuff in was "sparse." For instance, there were six things total in Will's living room. A large TV, two milk crates that supported the TV, a Playstation 2 that doubled as a DVD player, a fairly nice leather couch, and a lamp.
That was it. No pictures. No rug. No additional seating. Will had admitted, after a series of pointed questions, that the only reason he had a nice couch was because his mom had bought it for him when he graduated college. The lamp didn't have a light bulb in it.
Shane kind of expected Will to notice what was going on sooner. There was no furniture fairy: it didn't appear out of nowhere. Months went by. Hell, Will even helped him move in the two side tables up the stairs and never figured it out. Shane was beginning to think that Will wouldn't say anything until he realized that Shane never left to return to his dorm.
He was moving in with Will, one piece at a time. He was just waiting for Will to realize it. Strangely enough, it was a plant that did it.
"What is that?" Shane had been in the kitchen, raiding the freezer for ice cream. He came into the living room to see Will pointing accusingly at a new houseplant.
"It's ivy."
"I know its ivy," Will said.
"Then why did you ask what it is?" Shane said.
"What is it doing in my house?"
"Apartment." The correction was automatic. It seemed to only infuriate Will more.
"THERE IS A PLANT IN A POT AND IT MATCHES THE DECOR. WHEN DID MY APARTMENT GET DECOR?"
"When I started moving in." One thing Shane had learned about Will was that the other man hated confrontation. Loathed it. It wasn't that Will wouldn't stick up for himself. When cornered, he would. It was just that Will had a habit of letting life take him where it wanted to. The trick was to make sure life directed Will exactly where Shane wanted him to go.
"YOU... you're moving in?" All of Will's anger drained out of him. "When? Do you parent's know?"
"After the end of the semester, I'll be out of the dorm completely. Finals are in a week. Everything but enough clothes and some other junk is here already." Shane ate a spoonful of ice cream straight from the carton, letting what he'd just said sink in. "As for my parent's... who do you think bought the end tables? Or the pictures? Mom came over and helped me decorate some today since my classes were cancelled."
"And they're okay with this?" Will asked.
"I'm adult. Besides, they think you're responsible. Or something." Shane ate some more ice cream. "Next time we go shopping, I'm so getting chocolate."
"Fine," Will said. Shane covered his grin by sticking the spoon in his mouth. He'd won. "You can get chocolate ice cream. But if there are any geese in my kitchen I'm going to kick you out."
His mom's kitchen was covered in white geese. They were everywhere. Shane looked sheepish as Will closed his eyes. "There's geese in my kitchen. Your mom put up geese in my kitchen."
"Not so much geese as a goose. Singular. Just one." Shane considered blocking Will's view. In the end he moved out of the way. Will was going to notice it eventually. The goose was hard to miss.
"A cookie jar? A GIANT GOOSE SHAPED COOKIE JAR?"
"It's my Mom's," Shane explained.
"I don't care if it's the Pope's!" Will grabbed the jar off the counter and headed towards the trashcan. Shane didn't bother trying to stop him. The sooner Will worked through his frustration at the whole being manipulated thing, the sooner he'd agree to let him stay.
Still, he had to put up a token effort. "By the way, that's not mine. It's my Mom's."
"I'll buy her a new one." Will threw the cookie jar into the trashcan. Shane winced at the sound of breaking pottery. "NO GEESE."
"But I can stay?" Shane asked. He was glad his voice sounded so even, almost unconcerned. It helped him think past the sudden knots in his stomach.
"You can stay," Will said. He walked towards Shane, leaned forward and kissed his lightly on the forehead. Shane grinned like a kid let loose in the world's biggest candy store. "But I mean it, no geese."
"It's a deal," Shane said. He stuck the spoon back into the ice cream and gave Will a long, tongue filled kiss on the lips. Because he could.
Because he was home.