#no thoughts head empty just willex

[invisibleraven]

For the Fluff + Angst prompts:

8. "Wake up dammit!" (for Willex pls, if that's okay)

Alex blinked open his bleary eyes and smiled to himself as he noticed Willie slumbering beside him. Not that he thought he would up and leave Alex in the middle of the night, but it was still a relief.

They had snuck out the night before, after another fight with his parents about all the young ladies he should be spending time with instead of playing with the band or watching Willie skate. How maybe the Christian camp that healed people like him might be a good idea for his summer.

Never mind that he was legally an adult and they couldn't force him. Nor that Sunset Curve had a tour booked throughout California come July, ending with their Orpheum showcase.

Either way, he had texted WIllie, slipped out his window and the two of them took off. Finding a club that took their shitty fakes to dance the night away. They didn't even drink, but it was worth it to sneak in so they could dance together without getting the stink eye for being two men.

After that Willie took them to a little outcropping looking over downtown-his secret spot that he went to when his foster dad was getting on his case about giving up the skating to work at his club. Or applying his art skills to more than graffiti and designing boards.

They might have fooled around a little-a thrill even though they were alone for miles, they were still outside. But Alex had loved it, letting himself give himself over to a bit of wild and crazy.

Afterwards they had mapped the stars, and apparently, fell asleep.

Which would be fine if Alex's parents didn't do bed checks at five in the goddamn morning-an hour soon approaching if the lightening of the sky was anything to go by. Also confirmed by his watch as the hands turned closer and closer to the hour. Meaning Alex had to get home and get home now!

He shook WIllie frantically. "Wake up dammit!"

Willie shot up, eyes flitting from side to side, finally settling on Alex and gave him an easy going smile that melted away to concern when he could see the anxiety painting Alex's features. He then took in the oncoming sunrise and swore. "Fuck, we fell asleep."

"Yup, and if I am not in my bed by the time five hits my parents may murder me!" Alex exclaimed, looking about to make sure they had everything. Secure they did, they raced down the hill, jumping on their bikes and pedalling like crazy.

The wind whipped through their hair as they biked through the relatively empty streets, heading towards the Mercer house as the time clicked closer and closer to five.

Alex could barely breathe as his legs pumped overtime. But he wasn't sure how much of that was his anxiety ramping up and how much of it was how hard he was working to make his bike go as fast as humanly possible. He glanced at his watch, hissing as it ticked over to 4:58 as his house came into sight.

He tossed his bike into the shed, climbing his trellis, and looked down to where Willie was watching. "See you later?"

Willie nodded, then waved him onwards, tapping his watch. Alex blew him a kiss-fuck the time.

He rolled into his window, and under his covers just as the door opened. He hoped he wasn't breathing too hard to make his mother suspicious. Though he heard her little harrumph as she stalked over, shutting and locking his window. She never approved of him sleeping with it open, even though he ran hot and she refused to let the AC run.

With that she stalked out again, not bothering to close the door behind her-she never did. She expected Alex up at six, regardless of the day so they could attend the early church service before he got on with his day. He took micro naps during the sermons-having perfected not looking like he was sleeping long ago.

It wasn't until he heard her go down to the kitchen that Alex let himself relax. They had cut it too close this time. Which meant no more midnight sneak outs any time soon. He reached over and popped his Ativan, letting himself bask in the memories of this time, since they would have to last him.

It was just until graduation anyways-they he and Reggie were going to leave their awful families behind and join Luke in living in Bobby's garage. Then they were off on tour, and after that he and Willie would have enough to get some place of their own.

A place they could be themselves, no sneaking out or secrecy involved. A place where they could be finally free.

[legolasghosty]

“How come you always end up under my blanket?” and “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” for willex 🥺

HI HELLO PLEASE IGNORE THE FACT THAT THIS ASK IS FROM NEARLY 6 MONTHS AGO! ENJOY!

Alex hesitates for a moment, then uses his key to let himself into his dorm room. He's been keeping his distance for the last couple of days, since his roommate has the flu. Willie had offered to let Alex have their dorm when he first threw up the other day, but Alex had immediately refused. No way was he going to make his roommate move while they were running a 101-degree fever. So he's crashed at Reggie and Bobby's place the last two nights.

However, he's starting to worry about his roommate. Well, his friend. Maybe his best friend. Or second best, Reggie is hard to beat in that department. And... okay yes, he definitely has a crush on Willie. But that isn't the point. The point is that he cares about Willie and wants to make sure he's okay. At first, Willie had been responding to his texts and repeating that he should stay away. They didn't want Alex to catch the flu too. But Willie hasn't responded in like 8 hours. Alex is done waiting around.

Alex takes a deep breath and turns the key in the lock. The dorm room is dark, the lights off and the curtains drawn over the window. At first, Alex isn't sure that Willie is even there. Their bed is a mess of blankets and twisted sheets, but seems to be empty. The whole room smells sick. Alex heads for the window, figuring he might as well air the room out while Willie is... somewhere else. But a groan distracts him before he gets there.

He turns around to find his roommate curled up in his own bed. Willie's dark hair, usually shiny and wild, is splayed limply over Alex's light grey pillowcase. Their broad shoulders are bare except for the corner of Alex's light pink comforter. Half of the blanket hangs off the side of the bed. His legs are sweaty and twisted up in the top sheet.

In short, Willie looks awful. And also happens to be in Alex's bed.

"Who's'ere?" Willie mumbles, shifting in what looks like an attempt to sit up.

"It's just me," Alex says quickly. He shoves aside the thoughts of Willie being in his bed in... a different situation. Oh gosh no, NOT like that. Just, like... curling into Alex's side, falling asleep in each other's arms, waking up to their breath against his cheek. Ugh, Alex seriously had to do something about those daydreams, this was getting ridiculous.

"'lex?" Willie slurs, blinking. "What're you doing here? You're gonna get sick."

"I mean, you're the one in my bed," Alex points out before he can stop himself. Oh gosh, really? That's what he said?

To Alex's surprise, Willie giggles. "Your bed? This is my bed."

"Uhhh, pretty sure it's not," Alex says slowly. "I've definitely been sleeping there since we moved in."

"Well how come you always end up under my blankets then?" Willie retorts. "My blankets wouldn't be on your bed, so this is my bed."

Alex stares at his roommate for a second. Do they really not realize they're on Alex's bed? Under his blankets? "Um, what was your fever last time you checked?" he asks.

"Like 103, why?" Willie responds, swaying back and forth a bit as he tries to sit up.

"Okay no, lay back down." Alex hurried to Willie's side and helped him settle on the pillows. His pillows. He rests the back of his hand against Willie's forehead. "Willie, you're burning up," he says softly. "You need to keep resting."

Willie sighs. "I know. I just don't wanna. Don't like being cooped up."

They roll onto their side, pulling the blankets up around his shoulders. Alex wants to hug him, hold him close till he feels better. But that would kind of defeat the whole quarantine idea, cause he would definitely get sick if he did that.

"You didn't answer my question," Willie adds after a moment. "Or... I don't think you did? What are you doing here?"

Alex hesitates, then goes with the truth. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

The tired little smile Willie gives him melts his heart a bit. "You're really sweet, Lexi, you know that?" Willie mumbles. "The sweetest. Probably taste better than ice cream if I kiss you."

Their eyelids are already drooping as the words escape their mouth. That's probably for the best since Alex's face is turning bright red. Kissing Willie... wouldn't that be the dream. But Willie is running a crazy fever right now. It probably doesn't mean anything... right?

He tucks the blankets in around his roommate and takes out some of the dirty dishes to wash. Regardless of his crush, he cares about Willie. And he's gonna take care of him as best he can.

Within reason. Alex refuses to get the flu for the fourth year in a row.

(Thank you for the Ask, Shelly. I'm so sorry it took so long!!!!)

[sunsetsandcurves]

I'm bored in class so I guess it's time to ramble about my favorite Willex scene:

I know we've talked a lot about this scene and the whole thing lasts like 2 minutes (I've seen it a bunch of times okay?) and there are SO MANY THINGS to anaylise so dhbfiwrbiu here we go:

First, the fact that Alex's no longer even close to angry. In episode seven Alex says "why should we listen to a word you say?" and then Willie says he can't do anything, you know, you can practically see his anger dying out. And now he's not angry, he understands and he knows the whole stamps deal is not Willie's fault in any kind of way.

"It's like you said, you didn't have a choice."

I mean look at his shrug and his gentle eyes, he's the one comforting Willie. He's had time to process the whole thing and he wants to make sure Willie knows he's no longer upset.

Second, it always breaks my heart how upset Willie's over the whole thing- it wasn't his fault but he still feels so guilty and that's when Alex says it. "I would've still followed you" that's always been my favorite part of the scene because it finally clears both of their feelings- Willie's already said he cares about Alex and now Alex's kind of saying it back as best as he can. He doesn't care what happened, he's willing to let Willie know that no matter what, he also cares about him. It doesn't matter anymore- Alex's always trusted Willie and he's never going to stop.

See that little smile after he says it? He means it and I personally think he's glad he said it- now they both know.

Third, after that, Willie keeps apologizing, which breaks my heart even more. He just- looks so so sorry and he says it and I just think someone should give that boy a hug and tell him that he's never done nothing wrong and he just deserves love. Alex's love, okay?

And then they talk about the whole unfinished business thing, and Willie says "you guys were going to be legends," and Alex just nods and looks down, which, guess what, also breaks my heart. "Yeah we were." I like to think they talked a little after that, you know, about the stuff Alex wanted to do with his music and his life and that maybe he doesn't want to crossover so soon, not when he's started to get used to the afterlife and all of that. It's just- unfair, honestly.

I also think he doesn't want to leave Willie? I mean, he's obviously scared and being manipulated and he totally wishes he could help him somehow- but he can't. It's a sad scene I guess but it's also so good and I love it.

Ok that's it I'll stop rambling now.

[willexx]

yeah my comfort characters are alex mercer and bucky barnes yeah i have anxiety and probably need therapy WHAT ABOUT IT

[supergraphicultramoderngirl]

no thoughts just catradora!willex finale scene

@mermistahawk what have you done to me

[sclangelc]

ghost bfs... yeah

[innytoes]

For the soft and sweet sentence starters: "Aw, did you miss me?" + Willex please? <3

Sometimes, Alex thought his boyfriend was kind of like a feral cat. He was beautiful and wild and graceful. He could appear out of seemingly nowhere. But he was incredibly food motivated and skittish around other people. The amount of times Alex had bought a snack for himself while out and about and just turned around to Willie snagging half and giving him a kiss were... more than he wanted to think about, lest it get kind of creepy.

It kind of felt like being Chosen by a cat. Alex still remembered the time they'd visited Reggie's great aunt, and Luke pouted for a solid ten minutes because her cat walked right over his lap to go curl up on Alex'. Being chosen by Willie was like that, but better.

Alex didn’t know exactly what was in Willie’s past. From what little Willie had told him, plus his reaction to certain things, he was pretty sure he could guess, though, and it wasn’t pretty. And Willie was so sweet and considerate about his anxiety that Alex would never push him to do something that made him uncomfortable.

Even though the guys were starting to joke that they didn't think Willie was real. Well, Luke and Bobby didn't think he was real. Reggie thought perhaps Willie was a ghost. Reggie should probably stop reading all those paranormal romance paperbacks from the Little Free Library down the street.

It was just that Willie didn’t seem to like loud music, so he didn’t come to gigs, or rehearsals. He got kind of squirrely around large groups of people in general, or anywhere where he felt closed in. A lot of their dates were outside, on the beach, on rooftops, or sometimes in empty museums.

So when Alex came home from his late shift to find Willie sleeping in his bed, he was a little surprised. Especially because Reggie hadn’t mentioned anything when he came home, so apparently the guys didn’t even know. Alex’ window was open, and he poked his head out. When he’d picked the bedroom that had the fire escape, he’d mostly been thinking about going down it in an emergency. He hadn’t considered people climbing up.

Still, Willie was here now, buried under a pile of blankets. Only his nose and eyes visible. He looked relaxed and at peace, dozing comfortably. Alex couldn’t be too mad about it. He just looked so cute.

“Aw,” Alex whispered, as he gently closed the door. Immediately, the eyes flew open. When Willie saw it was him, he relaxed, squirming a little so more of his face was visible, smiling a sleepy little smile at him.

“Did you miss me?” Alex asked, going over and pressing a kiss to Willie’s forehead. It earned him a little happy sigh, before Willie stretched.

“Forgot you had the late shift,” he mumbled, making little grabby hands from the blanket-pile until Alex took off his fanny pack and hoodie and joined him on the bed. He was immediately swallowed by blankets, Willie snuggling in close until his head was was under Alex’ chin. “Didn’t want to go back to...” He cut off his sentence abruptly, which just did more to confirm Alex’ suspicions that Willie didn’t exactly have a place of his own to stay. 

“Is it okay that I came here?” Willie asked instead of finishing his sentence.

He looked kind of nervous. Alex understood why. Willie had walked him home before, had picked him up here, but every time Alex invited him in, he’d get kind of nervous and shifty, asking if Alex’ roommates were home or not, or coming up with an excuse.

"You’re always welcome here,” Alex told him. He felt more than heard Willie’s sigh of relief. He ran his hand through Willie’s hair, scratching at his scalp gently, just to feel Willie go boneless against him. He had to tread carefully now. He didn’t want to scare him away.

“Maybe, and I mean only if you want, you don’t have to, maybe you’d like to... spend the night?” Given that Willie was already half asleep on his chest, it didn’t seem like pushing too far. Willie gave a happy little hum, curling one fist in Alex’ t-shirt. “And maybe, again, no pressure, you’d like to meet my friends? They’re usually really quiet in the morning.”

He stilled, wondering if Willie could hear the nervous, too-fast thumping of his heart. Willie was quiet for a long while, and Alex wondered if maybe he’d fallen back asleep already, when the heard the quiet whisper.

“Okay.”

Maybe his boyfriend was a little like a feral cat, but that just meant that the trust he put in Alex felt all the more special.

[saladbroth]

i'm just here to announce that anyone who thinks willie has the braincell in the relationship is dead wrong. willie is a whole idiot and here's why:

(with contributions from @sunset-bobby)

runs alex over, first thing he worries about is his board

takes 5 whole seconds to realize where alex is going with the 'i wouldn't really call it magic'. they just sit there smiling and being pretty, no thoughts, head empty

caleb possesses the willex braincell (might be stored with willie's soul)

is exceptionally bad at sneaking around when keeping an eye on alex and the boys

thinks skating away will be faster than alex proofing in

in conclusion: willie is just as much of an idiot as alex (and the boys) he just hides it better and knows stuff about being a ghost, making them look more competent. and i love him for it💜

[michelangelinden]

boggie awkward flirting? congrats on 100 followers!!!

hmmm yes, good prompt. I had a lot of fun writing this, thank you!!

Also thanks to @a-tomb-with-a-view for beta reading <3

Boggie (+ Willex). 1k. Rated G. No Warnings.

  "Morning," Bobby muttered when he slid into his seat next to Alex. The chair made an awkward screeching sound when Bobby wobbled closer to the table.

  "Morning," Alex muttered back. He was slumped over his table, head on his arms, and he had his hat pulled low over his blond hair, bits sticking out through the hole at the back of his head.

  "You're in a mood today," Bobby commented.

  Alex just grumbled. "Yeah, I dunno. Just tired, I guess."

  Reggie appeared in the doorway to the classroom, his gaze immediately turned towards the two of his best friends sitting at the end of the room. He waved at them before he started stalking over to them. Bobby waved back a little.

  Reggie had gotten a growth spurt recently and was now taller than all of them. Alex, the smallest at that point, was still convinced he was gonna overtake them all one day. Luke hoped he wouldn't, he didn't want to be the shortest if even Alex grew taller than him.

  Bobby didn't care. He knew he was gonna grow some more, he was only fourteen, but even if he didn't, it wouldn't matter much to be honest.

  Reggie slipped into his chair next to Bobby, grin bright on his face as he greeted him and Alex much more enthusiastically than either of them did. Alex grumped in response.

  "What happened to him?" Reggie asked quietly.

  Bobby shrugged. "Just tired, I guess," he repeated what Alex told him.

  Reggie turned his gaze away from Alex and back to Bobby and went to say something when their teacher walked into the room and started talking.

  "Welcome back to the new term, kids," she started, dumping her bags next to the front desk. A boy stumbled in after her, stopping a foot or two away from the table, looking around curiously. "I hope the holidays have been nice for you. I brought a guest today, well, less of a guest, he's a new student joining you, why don't you introduce yourself?"

  She looked at the boy and he looked back at her. Then he turned to the class, scanning their faces.

  He introduced himself as Willie, from San Francisco, he'd just turned 15, making him the oldest in the class. He was kinda short, wore a green-ish hoodie and had long brown hair and a backpack with patches sewn onto them.

  He seemed pretty cool, Bobby thought. When he turned to Reggie he felt confirmed, judging by the smirk on his face. He then turned to Alex, to check his reaction, but it was a totally different one than he expected.

  Alex had perked up, sitting upright, his hands clenched into fists on the table and a blush spreading on his nose and cheeks. Bobby would’ve laughed if it didn't remind him of himself so much.

  "Thank you, Willie," their teacher interrupted Bobby's thought process. "Please, take a seat."

  Alex and Bobby's eyes immediately landed on the empty chair and table next to Alex, and so did Willie's. He fastened his grip on his bag and walked over to him.

  "Hey," he said and Bobby watched Alex's blush grow a little redder.

  "Hi," Alex pressed out.

  Willie looked almost amused by this. "Mind if I sit here?"

  Alex nodded. "Yes. I mean no, I don't. Please, uh, sit." 

  Willie sat.

  Reggie snorted behind Bobby. "Look at them, it's ridiculous," he commented.

  Bobby turned around, his eyes meeting Reggie's for only a second before he had to turn away. "Yeah," he agreed, "ridiculous."

  When he dared to look up again after a moment he would almost say that Reggie looked flustered too.

  The teacher began the class, a lot of listening at first, then she gave them a task to complete in pairs.

  Reggie and Bobby, being the smartasses they were in math class, finished the exercise quicker than the others. Bobby allowed himself a minute of watching Alex struggle and Willie try to help him, it was a hilarious sight.

  "I want what they have," Reggie commented and when Bobby turned to him, he saw him leaning onto the table with his head in his palm.

  You could, Bobby thought and felt his face growing hot immediately.

  "Hey," he started instead, purposefully steering his brain in a different direction. "What, uh, what are you doing on the weekend?"

  Reggie looked at him for a second. "Nothing so far. Are you -" he paused, dropping his hands into his lap, "are you suggesting we do something?"

  Bobby was sure his cheeks grew a little hotter at that. He and Reggie didn't really do a lot together, just the two of them. Alex was much closer to both Luke and Reggie, Bobby only really tagged along when they were at least three. He wasn't intending to suggest anything, but now that he thought of it ...  

  "There's this music fair happening at the city hall on Sunday," he explained. "Do you -" he stretched out the last word, "maybe wanna go?"

  Reggie opened his mouth and closed it again. “With you?” he asked eventually and for a moment Bobby regretted everything he has ever said in his life.

  “Uh, yeah?” Did Reggie not want to go to the fair with him? Or did he just not want to go alone? “We don’t have to, if you don’t want to.” They could ask Luke, but Luke always got way too excited at fairs, it’d be exhausting. Or they could ask Alex, but if things were going the way Bobby expected them to, then he wouldn’t be free that Sunday, instead awkwardly spending time with Willie.

  “No, no, I want to go,” Reggie interrupted. “Is – is anyone else going?”

  “No, not so far,” Bobby answered, hoping it would stay that way and Reggie would be okay with that.

  “Oh, okay cool. That’s cool.”

  “Is – that okay?” Bobby asked, wringing his hands together in his lap.

  Reggie nodded immediately. “Yeah, for sure. I’d love to go.” He smiled. “With you,” he added, a patchy blush spreading on his cheeks.

  Bobby cleared his throat. “Okay cool. I’m, uh, looking forward to it.”

  Reggie looked away, but his smile didn’t leave his face. “Me too.”

[legolasghosty]

AU ask game thingy: "i work at a movie theater and i’m trying to clean up but you’re still here ugly crying" for willex?

Hiiiii!!!! Thanks for the ask!!!

Okay, theater employee!Alex.

So the theater where Alex works is doing this thing where they do big, late-night screenings of old classics. It's a cash grab and everyone knows it, but people come so...

Alex hates cleaning duty, cause people always leave a giant mess and there's usually at least one gum-related mess per movie. The sweeping and stuff isn't too bad though.

He heads in after the midnight showing of Old Yeller. He thinks the theater is empty, so he starts sweeping up popcorn as the credits finish rolling. It's like 2 am, he's exhausted. But he has to finish this before he can go home.

As the movie turns off and the theater goes quiet, Alex hears someone sobbing. He wants to feel bad for them, but it's late and he just wants to go home, so unless this person is seriously injured or something, he's kicking them out.

And finds this guy sitting on the floor in the back row, sobbing. Is he pretty? Yes. Is Alex too tired to care? ....mostly.

So he's like, "Hey dude please leave." And Willie is just like, "Wow, heartless much? Have you even seen Old Yeller?" /t while still sniffling.

And Alex is like, "Uhhh no?"

To which Willie responds by informing him that he had to come over to their apartment to watch it. Like right now. Alex points out that he's working and Willie agrees that it can wait till after his shift, But he's not getting out of this.

They're both kinda flirting by this point.

Alex is pretty sure it's a terrible idea, but he finishes up his shift and follows Willie home.

They watch Old Yeller again and both fall asleep on Willie's couch about 20 minutes in. When Alex leaves the next morning, he gives Willie his number so they can set up a proper date sometime.

(Send me an AU and I'll give you 5+ thoughts/headcanons about it!)

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 1 - Ribbit

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, THE meetcute of meetcutes. 2.1k

Edit: thank you so much @trevor-wilson-covington for the pretty edit!! I'm in love with it!

Alex drummed his fingers on the armrest of his seat in the van. The drive from Los Angeles to Vegas was just short of four hours, but it had been an early morning and it was going to be a long day. He was feeling the carsickness sit just under the threshold of dangerous and rolled down the window.

“Whoo! Twenty miles boys!” Luke called out as they passed a sign on the freeway, clapping Bobby on the shoulder from behind.

“Woohoo!” Bobby responded in excitement.

“Think you’re gonna make it, buddy?” Reggie looked over at Alex. Alex turned only a fraction of the way toward his friend and gave a half-hearted nod.

“Hey man, let us know if we gotta pull over,” Luke said.

He simply nodded. Next time he wasn’t going to sit in the back.

The other three were jamming to whatever Luke was riffing on his guitar. Bobby thankfully drove at a slower pace as they approached the final stretch toward their destination. The ache in his stomach didn’t get better, but it also didn’t get worse so he was banking on it calming down once they stopped.

“Hey, guys, we wanna stop somewhere and get breakfast first?” Bobby called out to the rest of them.

“Oh yeah!” Reggie said. “I think I could go for some pancakes.”

“Oh, pancakes sound real good right now.” Luke echoed.

“Alex?” Bobby peeked into the rearview mirror at him.

Looking up from the view outside, he just shrugged. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t sure he could handle food no matter what it was.

Eventually they pulled off the freeway and kept their eyes peeled for an open restaurant.

“I see pancakes!” Reggie cried, pointing at his target.

“They’ve got an arcade next door, I second that vote!” Bobby said.

As they parked and clambered out of the van, the boys stretched and shook their limbs. They entered the diner and found a booth, practically collapsing together on the table. Alex placed his face in his hands and tried taking in deep breaths to calm his stomach. A sudden voice was heard beside the table.

“Good morning starshines, the earth says hello! How are we doing today?” Sounded like a waiter. Alex felt rude, but didn’t bother to look up. He felt Luke nudge a menu under his elbow.

“Oh, we’re hungry!” Reggie responded.

“Awesome, guys,” the waiter said. “Anything I can get started for you?”

“We’ll go with water,” Luke spoke for everyone at the table. “And, sorry about him, he’s not feeling good.” Alex assumed this was about him and sighed.

“Okay, so water for everybody? Alright, I’ll just grab those for you while you prepare your orders.”

As the waiter left, Luke tapped Alex’s shoulder.

“How you doin’, Alex?”

“Not blowing chunks, I guess,” he groaned.

“Hey, guys,” Bobby started saying. “How about we pick what we wanna eat, and then I want to check out the arcade while we wait for our food.”

“That’s a good idea,” Reggie said, perking up. “I hope they have Galaga.”

“I’m down,” Luke said. “Alex, you wanna wait here for us? You can give the guy our orders and then just chill.”

“Maybe that stomach will settle down,” Reggie added.

Alex lowered his hands and rested them on the table.

“Yeah,” he replied. “I need the space anyway. Thanks.”

“Cool,” Luke hopped up from his seat. “Uh, I’ll just do the buttermilk pancakes.”

“Make that two buttermilk pancakes!” Reggie said, holding up his fingers.

“Eggs and sausage,” Bobby told him. “And buttermilk pancakes.” He patted Alex on the back as the three of them ventured next door.

At least they were easy to remember. Alex looked around the restaurant as he kept breathing in and out slowly. He was the only person there. That was surprising for a diner just outside of Vegas around ten in the morning. He didn’t mind the quiet, though. Having all this space to himself was already helping him feel better.

A guy with long dark hair approached him with a tray carrying glasses of water. Alex gulped as he watched, his breath catching in his throat. He took in the tie-dye shirt, the ripped jeans, and puka shell necklace and guessed he was probably from California as well.

“Whoa, where’d they all go?” the waiter asked, smiling a little in confusion.

Alex blinked.

“They, uh, they went to the arcade,” he managed to get out. He couldn’t help it, this guy had a nice smile.

“Ah,” the guy raised his eyebrows and began placing the water on the table. “And they left you behind? That sucks.”

“I’m okay,” Alex said. “We’ve just been on the road for a bit and I got kinda carsick, so I needed some space anyway.”

“I’m sorry, man,” the waiter said. “Did they decide what to eat before they bailed?”

“Uh, yeah,” Alex shifted to face him better. “They all want buttermilk pancakes and then one guy also wants eggs and sausage.”

“Three buttermilks…” the guy muttered as he wrote them down. “Eggs and sausage. And do you know what you want?”

He looked directly into Alex’s eyes as he rested the tray under his arm and it took everything Alex had not to melt right there. Don’t look at his lips, he thought. He was pretty sure his eyes had betrayed him but he forced his gaze downward as a cover.

“I’m sorry,” he said, flustered. “I actually forgot to look at the menu.”

“Right, ‘cuz you were carsick, sorry” the waiter chuckled, running a hand through his hair. Alex bit his tongue.

“I should probably get some food still,” he managed to say. “We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

“Right on. I could recommend some toast - that’s always easy on the stomach. That comes with eggs, and I could add in some banana for you.”

“That actually sounds great,” Alex told him. “I’ll just do that, then.”

The waiter smiled and bit his lip.

“‘Kay!” He lifted the tray from under his arm and headed back toward the kitchen, doing a little skip before disappearing inside.

Alex felt his hands shaking and he sat on them for a minute. Looking around the empty diner, a thought occurred that somehow with just him and the waiter it had seemed full. The strange feeling crept all over him, like a new exhilarating energy, and he moved his hands back up. The waiter popped back out of the kitchen and came back toward Alex in a cavalier fashion.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked. “I don’t exactly have other people to help and I feel bad leaving you all by yourself in here.”

“Make yourself at home,” Alex said, gesturing to the seat across from him. Make yourself at home? What is that? he berated himself.

The guy extended a hand for him to shake. “I’m Willie, by the way.”

“Alex.” As he took it, Alex returned the firm grip he received and they both chuckled a bit at noticing each other’s strength. Willie sat down and immediately grabbed a napkin from the dispenser.

“So you said you and your friends have a long day ahead of you?” he asked.

“Oh right,” Alex couldn’t believe he had forgotten about the guys for a minute. “We’re a band, so we’ve got a gig opening for Julie Molina tonight.”

“Wicked,” Willie smiled and nodded, folding the napkin into something Alex wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be. “Who’s Julie Molina?”

“Oh, she’s just a good solo artist - does a little bit of everything. My buddy Luke is really into her.”

Willie nodded some more, continuing to fold the napkin.

“And who are you guys?”

“We’re Sunset Curve,” Alex said. “I’m the drummer.”

“Right on! You guys just becoming a thing?” Willie raised his eyebrows.

“I mean, I guess so,” Alex hadn’t exactly thought about it. “Opening for Julie is a big step for us.”

He watched Willie’s hands work until he finished. It turned out to be an origami frog.

“Ribbit,” Willie said, pressing on the top to make it look like it was moving. The napkin material didn’t exactly lend to bouncing up and down, which made them both giggle. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be distracting.”

“I don’t mind,” Alex said. “It’s entertaining.”

He realized how widely he was smiling and laughed to himself.

“What about you?” he asked.

Willie straightened his posture and ran a hand through his hair again. He flailed his arms and blew out his cheeks before holding one arm with the other and leaning on the table.

“Making it on my own for now. I just do whatever feels good, you know? Make a few bucks, get out and enjoy what I find. Don’t need a whole lot to be happy.”

Wow, Alex wanted that kind of chill. He picked up the origami frog.

“What do you do when you’re not here? Besides these, of course.”

Willie shrugged.

“Skate. Be free.” He smiled, but sighed heavily. Alex saw a distant look in his eyes, but knew now wasn’t a time to address it. “I see Vegas in all its glory. You should see the lights at night.”

“Won’t I see them tonight?”

Willie shook his head.

“Not the right way,” he told him. “Not at the right angle. I would show you, but you’ve got your gig and everything.”

Alex opened his mouth to reply, but a head stuck out of the kitchen door. A man with dark hair and chiseled features looked at Willie and all he did was glare authoritatively.

“I’m - coming,” Willie stammered, rising from his seat.

Alex realized his mouth was still open and he shut it, unhappily swallowing what he’d wanted to say.

“That was my boss,” Willie said, already in a hurry. “I’m sorry, I’ll be back when your food’s ready.” He rushed off and the diner felt empty and cold again.

As if on cue, Luke, Bobby and Reggie burst back through the door. Luke and Reggie were celebrating while Bobby seemed a little less enthusiastic.

“Dun-geon slay-er!” Reggie proclaimed in a mock deep voice. “Too bad we can’t stay longer and go for that tournament today; I would have whooped everyone.”

They all sat and immediately gulped down their waters. Bobby remained quiet.

“How was the arcade?” Alex asked.

“It was sweet,” Luke reported. “Bobby’s mad because Reggie mopped the floor with him.”

“The joystick wasn’t working right, it wasn’t a fair outcome,” Bobby defended.

“Oooohhh,” Reggie made a silly face and wiggled his fingers. “Bobby only loses when the game doesn’t work, ooohhh!”

Alex shook his head and laughed mildly. He only noticed then that his stomach had stopped bothering him completely. He hadn’t even felt it when he’d been talking with Willie. He finished his own water, and was happy not to feel anything as it went down. The origami frog was still on the table.

“Hey, Alex,” Reggie said, picking it up. “Did you make this?”

“Oh, no, Willie did,” he told him.

“Who’s Willie?” Luke asked.

Speak of the devil - the kitchen door opened and Willie came out carrying their plates.

“Alright, we got pancakes, pancakes, more pancakes,” he said, placing them where they belonged. He glanced at Alex quickly, but it was too quick to read. “Who had the eggs and sausage?”

“That was me,” Bobby said, raising his hand.

“Okay,” Willie passed it over to him. “And toast and eggs with a banana.” He smiled as he set it down before Alex. “And it looks like you all need more water, I’ll be right back!” He was gone too quickly again.

The change in his mood unsettled Alex, but maybe it was because Willie was working. As he saw Willie returning with the water pitcher he had an idea.

“Hey Luke,” he said. Luke turned to him expectantly as Willie silently poured water in their glasses.

“Where are we playing again?”

Luke looked confused. Willie was listening intently.

“The Pearl, why? How could you forget?”

“And what time do we play?”

“Eight o’ clock. You sure you’re feeling better?”

“Yeah. I was… I was just testing you, cuz sometimes you don’t remember.”

Luke looked around the table defensively.

Reggie shrugged. “He’s right. But you remembered this time!”

Alex felt bad about starting Luke in an argument as he listened to them continue, but he knew it would blow over quickly. He caught Willie looking back at him and nodding as he walked away. As he returned to his food, Bobby smirked at him and shook his head. Heat rose in his cheeks and he focused on his toast.

[sunsetsandcurves]

So, in the script Alex meets Willie just after seeing Caleb AGAIN and realizing he has a star-thingie in Hollywood. Which, okay, fine, means that Caleb probably sent Willie to meet Alex but the thing that catches my attention is the fact that Caleb is kind of specifically focused on Alex.

Both times it's Alex who sees Caleb and apparently Caleb wants to get to the boys using Alex and that's just ahdudhdudd. I think it's interesting and could be a really cool plot point for a season 2.

I JUST WANT MORE JATP.

Also, the "is it a moment?" Ahsidhdidhdjd

[tangledstarlight]

Prompt #37 (not realizing they’re holding hands till someone points it out) for Willex? 🧡

omg i didn't realise how long this had gotten djgh there's defo some weird pacing? and i'm not sure about the tone, also lets completely ignore whatever tense im writing it because i forgot half way through i think 😬 Anyway!! enjoy my friend!!

#37 not realizing they’re holding hands till someone points it out

hand holding prompts!

Luke keeps staring at them, eyebrows wagging and an annoying smirk on his face and Alex is thirty seconds away from throwing a drumstick at his friend's head. Alex and Willie had walked back into the garage to the sounds of a riff he hadn’t heard before while Reggie shouted out adjustments.

None of them had commented, had made a big deal out of it. And Alex loved his friends for that, for how they sometimes just knew when to not make a big deal out of things. There would be time for explanations later, maybe after he’d thrown something at Luke because why was he looking at him like that?

When Willie had rushed out of the garage it had left them all confused. They’d been laughing, joking around about new lyrics and the time Ray had had to come pick them up from the beach because they’d forgotten they couldn’t just magically poof around anymore.

And then Willie had gone still next to him on the sofa, body tense and muttered something about ‘air’ and ‘late’ before getting up and hurrying out. It had left the four of them looking confused at the door and Julie opening her mouth to say something. But Alex hadn’t waited to hear what it might have been. He’d simply gotten up too, said he’d go find out and left.

Willie couldn’t get very far anymore now he was alive again, and Alex knows he hasn’t gone far because his skateboard is still where he’d left it outside the garage and Willie trusted them all, but not enough to leave without his board. So he had to be somewhere nearby.

Alex had found him sitting on the steps half hidden behind bushes and flowers, head in his hands and fingers tangled between his hair. It’s not until Alex is standing almost in front of him that he notices the way Willie was breathing heavily, shoulders shaking and the urge to reach out and hug him had been at the tips of his fingers. The only thing that had held him back was knowing that sometimes Willie needed a little space. That he needed to be the one to bridge the gap first sometimes.

“Hey,” he’d said quietly, slowing his steps and shoving his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie to stop himself from reaching out to detangle Willie’s fingers from his hair.

“I—“ Willie started, not even looking up at first as he sucked in a stuttering breath and Alex had watched his fingers flex against his scalp before they’d relaxed slightly, sliding down until his fingers were around the back of his neck, eyes glancing up at him, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to just— to just run out. God I bet they hate me now.”

Alex had frowned a little, brows drawing together as he’d rocked a little on his feet and the only thing he could think to say was, “Huh?”

Because Alex knew for a fact that his friends thought a lot of things, mostly about music and food and who would win the coin toss on Friday for which film they watched next and in Reggie’s case about when Ray would be home. But thinking anything bad about Willie? He doubted a single thought like that had ever crossed any of their minds.

“Why would they hate you?”

Willie really looks up at him now, eyes wide and it was so easy to see the tears waiting in them that Alex had finally caved, hands tugging out of his pocket so when he sat down in the empty space next to the skater he could easily slip one arm around his shoulders.

“Because they’re all being so nice and I can’t even keep it together enough to pretend that I’m fine,” Willie had leaned into him then and Alex had relaxed slightly, glad he’d made the right move, but while his body had been relaxing his mind had tensed, rolling his words over and over again to try and make it them make sense.

“You don't have to pretend to be fine,” was the only thing he could think to say and had pulled back a little to be able to look into the other boy's eyes, “You don’t. Do you know how many times one of us has walked out of that garage when things aren’t okay? Way too many times to count.”

Alex himself had walked out only last week when he’d been having a bad day, and had walked until he’d found Willie at the park down the street where he’d spent the rest of his afternoon trying (and failing) to learn how to jump over something on a skateboard. And it had been months since they’d all come back to life and gotten re-accustomed to things. For Willie it had only been weeks. He was more then allowed to have a bad day.

“I don't want them to think I’m not— not grateful,” Willie said with a shrug, hands fall from around his neck to rest on his knees, only for him to start twisting his fingers together as he spoke, “You guys are all so tight and I’m in the one who caused you all these problems and then you had to save me and I— I know I’m not worth all that trouble and Caleb always used to say I could be too much, and I don't want to be too much for you. Or for them.”

And now Alex really has no idea what to say. He’d thought that maybe Willie had just been having a bad day, that he’d need to go scream in an empty parking lot or hide out in Julie’s room for a while. He had never even thought that Willie might think he wasn’t worth, well anything they’d done for him. Alex doesn’t know if he’s ever hated Caleb Covington more.

“Willie, hey, you’re never too much,” he moves his arm from around his shoulders to reach out and place one hand over Willie’s twisting fingers, stilling them and carefully pulling them up so he can take both, one in each hand. “Caleb was a lot of things, and a fucking liar is pretty high on that list.”

That startled a laugh out of Willie, fingers flexing against Alex’s before settling linked together.

“He did lie a lot,” he agreed, eyes on their linked fingers as he blew out a breath.

“I’d do it all again, save you, no matter what trouble it might have been,” Alex said, and Willie had looked up at him again, lips slightly parted and if Alex had known where they really stood in their relationship right now he might have leaned forwards to kiss him. Instead he just smiles, head nodding towards the garage, “And they would too. You’re part of the gang now and memberships are very hard to cancel.”

“Oh yeah? Do you leave people on hold with terrible music for hours?” There’s a slight smile playing at the edges of his lips again, and Alex almost sighs in relief.

“Nah worse,” he says, nudging his elbow into Willie’s side, “You have to tell Reggie you no longer want to be friends.”

“Oh that’s mean,” and Willie had giggled, eyes crinkling at the corner and Alex had known he was okay, they’d got through the worst of the Bad Day and was just glad he’d been able to help.

They’d sat in silence for a while, Willie playing with their linked fingers and Alex just watching him, and he could have sat like that for hours and been perfectly content. Something about Willie made his mind feel calm and life (after and more) feel better. The silence is broken by the sound of one of his cymbals crashing and Alex can’t stop the flinch that rocks through his body or the way his brows had cinched together as he pictured Reggie or Luke sitting at his stool and trying to work something out with the song they’d been working on. On his drums. Without him.

“Alright hotdog, let's go save your drums,” Willie says with a chuckle and Alex had tried to speak, to deny it, to say he was fine, but there was clearly something in his eyes that had Willie shaking his head and standing up first, easily tugging at their joint hands to pull Alex to his feet too.

And then they’d walked back into the garage, Julie had been sat his drums, gently tapping away while Reggie hovered over her shoulder and scribbling something down. She shot them a quick smile and Alex had found it hard to hold the same annoyance at her being at his drums that he would have had for Luke or Reggie. And then Luke had looked at them, a small kind smile growing into a wider grin that Alex didn’t understand. Until Willie had started walking towards Julie and Reggie, and he’d been tugged along too. Because they were still holding hands. Heat had quickly filled his cheeks as he’d looked down and then back up, but Luke was still grinning, head bobbing a little as he’d held up a thumbs up before turning back into the conversation happening around them.

And well, Willie doesn’t seem to notice or mind that they’re still holding hands, and Alex isn’t about to ruin the moment either.

[supergraphicultramoderngirl]

sweet like the thunder on my tongue

pairing: willex

word count: 2786

tw for light swearing

It tumbles out of his mouth before he could even think about it: “But I don’t have any powers.”

Caleb smirks. “And who told you that?”

or, in which willie realizes his true strength.

taglist is in the reblogs, fic is under the cut!

—————

“Willie?”

The skater’s head pops up, cutting off the conversation he was having to look over at his boss.

“Can I see you for a moment? In my office?” Caleb gestures toward the stairwell.

Wordlessly, Willie follows him, only growing concerned when they walk right past the office and towards another room at the end of the hall which he’d never paid any mind to before. Was that door even there before? “Caleb, what’s going on?”

Caleb opened the door to the room and ushered him inside-- well, more shoved, but who is Willie to talk back to him right now-- while all Willie could do was look around and wait for Caleb to say something. The room was dark-- pitch black, actually, and he couldn’t see anything inside. He could now barely see his own hands, if not for the single hanging light above Caleb’s head as he stood in the hallway still, blocking the doorframe. With a wave of his fingers, Caleb pushed Willie down into some kind of, apparently, vantablack chair, metal clamps fastening around his wrists as soon as he reached the seat. Caleb leaned against the doorframe, seemingly inspecting his nails. “You’ve betrayed me, William.”

Willie steels himself, squeezing his eyelids shut, and replies, “I, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His efforts to cover his tracks were pitiful, to be completely honest. He wasn’t sure how much energy he had left at that point; before he’d met the band— before he’d met Alex— he thought that the best thing about the afterlife was that he could do what he wanted for as long as he wanted, day in and day out, as long as he came back to the club to do the shows. But now, his entire perspective has been shaken up, and he’s honestly gotten sick of doing the same things every single day. Why should he go see the same sights he’s seen since 1983 when he could be screaming in a museum, or stealing an entire fucking bus, or anything that can actually make a connection between him and another person?

Except, now he can’t even do that anymore. His connections are gone. They all crossed over (except for Julie, who never saw him in the first place), and he was left to his own devices, again. Willie isn’t sure what else there is for him to do, and in all transparency, if he hasn’t figured out his unfinished business yet, he doubts he ever will. Caleb putting him out of his misery now would probably just save him a lot of trouble.

“Don’t be coy,” Caleb jabs at him, standing up straight. “After all I’ve done for you? I gave you a place to stay, food to eat, things to do, and this is how you repay me? You help my recruits escape?”

Willie sighs, the helplessness beginning to overwhelm him. “What does it matter, anyway? They’ve crossed over, you don’t have competition anymore, right?”

“William, the boys are still out there. And they’ve lost their stamps.” Willie freezes. They lost their stamps? Alex is alive— or, at least, as alive as he can be? “Regardless, I have never been worried about competition. Those boys have power, power that could rival my own. I can’t just have that out there in the world, where it could fall into the wrong hands, now, can I?” Caleb sneers, a sickenly sweet smirk on his face.

Furrowing his brows, Willie rushes out in reply, “They’re playing in a pop rock band, they’re practically harmless, what could they even—”

“You don’t get it, do you?” Caleb interrupts, his icy eyes boring into Willie’s own.

Willie shuts his mouth and swallows his nerves. And maybe his pride.

Caleb leans forward, his hands gripping the arms of the chair. “I can’t have anyone’s power rival my own. That would steal away my precious audience, my empire that I’ve built over the last hundred years. Every ghost in my club would otherwise be a threat to me, had they not signed away their powers when they sold me their souls. With their powers under my possession, I have full reign over any paranormal capabilities that this world could possibly hold.” He stands back up. “I’ve kept my enemies close, you could say.”

It tumbles out of his mouth before he could even think about it: “But I don’t have any powers.”

Caleb smirks. “And who told you that?”

Willie was looking right at him. He feels no need to answer, and even if he wanted to, his mouth is going dry and there’s a lump in his throat preventing him from doing anything other than remaining still.

“Don’t get your hopes up about the boys still being here, William,” Caleb says after a moment. “They won’t be when you get out.” He slams the door, leaving Willie in the room, with nothing but dark, dark, dark, alone.

***

“Alright, where’s our first stop?” Luke asks as Julie shrugs her backpack over her shoulder and takes a sip from her water bottle. She and the boys were walking down Sunset Boulevard, her with Airpods in so she could talk to the boys without getting odd looks from others. Julie was planning a sleepover with Flynn for the following night, and the boys jumped at the chance to help her run errands, since hanging out in the studio was getting a little boring.

“Can we stop for pizza? I know we can’t eat it, but at least I can smell it!” Reggie pleads, using his puppy dog eyes.

“Reg, that face only works on Luke and Alex. You can smell it tomorrow night when she’s over, yeah?” Julie jokes. “I was thinking—”

A dark, purple smoke appears in front of them, causing them to stumble and still themselves, the boys’ faces all paling once they realize who’s in front of them.

Caleb smiles, sickeningly sweet. “Hello, boys. And you must be Julie.”

***

He has powers.

Willie has powers, and he hadn’t known this entire fucking time.

This guy, who was supposed to be Willie’s mentor for the past, who knows, thirty-ish years now, who he had once looked up to, who had taken him in has his own, who had given him a way to keep track of time again, who somehow knew he had powers that he couldn’t manage on his own, did all of it for his own advantage. He used him to gain more power and control, while making Willie think he cared. Thirty fucking years.

Right now, he’s trapped in this room, yeah, but Willie feels more suffocated by the hurt and confusion surrounding him more than anything else. He can’t stand that Alex and the boys are probably out there right now, about to be destroyed by Caleb, because of him, again. He hates that nearly all of his afterlife has just been a giant fucking lie. And with these stupid new-but-not-really powers, he doesn’t even know where to start. So, he does what he knows best.

Willie screams.

He cries a bit too, but mostly he screams until his voice grows hoarse.

Ever since he passed away, he’s always loved the feeling that grows in his chest when he screams, knowing that he can just take up so much space without anyone (or at least, anyone important) hearing. It hurts sometimes, obviously, but really it just feels like lightning forming in his veins, sparking against his the walls of his skin, ready to burst through.

He doesn’t notice until he takes a gasp for air that this time, it actually has.

Willie gasps again, this time in shock. It’s a bright, brilliant green, wires of light darting across his fingertips and palms. He doesn’t know what to do with it.

Willie squeezes his eyes shut and makes two fists, willing the stinging of the lightning to go away by distracting himself with the stinging of his own fingernails. He realizes then that he’s created light, that he’s given himself a way out, so he reopens his hands and holds them out, looking for the door that Caleb had previously slammed. He spots it and moves to get up, almost forgetting about his arm braces. He curses under his breath, and begins to rack his brain for a way out of them, the green still dancing around his arms.

He screams again.

***

They’d been cornered into an alleyway, which was probably best for any bystander’s sanity, anyway, but it meant that they were trapped by Caleb. Again.

“What do you want with us?” Luke had asked when Caleb first appeared, walking in front of Julie with a guarding arm.

Caleb had sighed in reply, taking a step forward, “Oh, I’ve decided I don’t need you three anymore. You’re not of any use to me, not without your lifer by your side. Without a life source, you’re about as powerful as any other regular ghost. I just need her.”

Luke stood fully in front of Julie then, Reggie and Alex flanking him to protect her. “You will never get to her,” Alex had chimed in, ice in his tone.

“Bold statement from someone who still chooses to hide behind his friends.” Alex had looked down at his shoes in shame, face turning red. “Oh, don’t worry, we all know you’re not brave enough to take me on by yourself,” Caleb chuckled to himself. “Besides, you boys seem to have forgotten how powerful I am— or can we do without the reminder?” Caleb added, lifting his hand as a wisp of purple smoke curled around it.

Now, after putting up a decent fight, they stand against the building as dark purple webs tangle over them, effectively pinning them down. Julie strains against them as they burn into her skin, pointedly not looking at Caleb who is inches away. Caleb puts a finger to her chin, causing her to look into his eyes. Julie sucks on her teeth, willing herself not to cry any more than she already has. “Quite a shame that such talent, such heart has to go to waste,” Caleb says, before his hand begins to glow in a manner that Julie knows could only lead to her demise.

He’s interrupted, however, by a slew of car alarms going off. Caleb swivels his head to look over at the main road, now realizing that it’s… empty?

Almost moving to walk over, Caleb hesitates just enough for the webs’ strength to weaken, and the boys poof out of their hold. They immediately begin trying to pull the web of magic off of Julie, succeeding in doing so once they notice that Caleb’s attention is no longer on them. He’s in the road now, staring down the horizon line.

“He’s distracted now, let’s poof to the studio to buy some time,” Reggie says, but Luke quickly counters, “Julie can’t poof. We would have to go back down the road, anyway.”

While Luke and Reggie are trying to figure out what to do, Julie’s eyes stray over to Alex, who is now peering around the corner of the building, eyebrows furrowed. He suddenly runs over to the road, and Julie calls after him. The three run to catch up to Alex and stand in terror just a few feet behind Caleb, who is still seemingly frozen in place.

They feel it before they can see it.

The hair on their arms and the backs of their necks begin to stand on end, a quiet humming in the atmosphere causing an adrenaline rush kind of energy around them. The humming thrums into a pulse, concentrating around what Caleb must’ve been looking at; a sharp, sparking green light floating in the air down the road. It grows bigger and bigger, until a silhouette suddenly appears in its place, looking at the ground. “Hey, Caleb!”

Alex’s heart stops when he realizes who it is.

Willie looks up from the ground and begins to make his way over, thunderous step by thunderous step. His eyes shine fully in bright green, almost like the lightning inside of him was leaking out. He reaches forward and a beam of crackling light shoots forward, splitting and clasping itself around Caleb’s wrists in constraint. With rumbling intensity, Willie continues, “You lied to me. You’ve been lying to me my entire afterlife, pretending to care. Every time you stamped someone, you told me it was because they would be dangerous otherwise, that you were just ‘protecting the ghost world’, and then you turn and do it to my friends. You’ve hurt me, you’ve hurt the people I care about, and it doesn’t even matter to you. I don’t even want to know the number of other ghosts you’ve screwed over like you have us.” Willie heaves in a breath, his arm beginning to shake as Caleb tries to overpower him with his own powers. “I can’t let you do this anymore.”

Caleb grits through his teeth, “You don’t get much of a say, William, I own you.”

“Not anymore.” Willie screams again, causing the beam shooting out of his palm to reinforce itself, the sparks around Caleb’s wrists slowly crawling around his skin until it looked like his veins were filled with light. “You aren’t strong enough to beat me, William, I know you more than you know yourself. You can’t do this,” Caleb tries, but Willie just screams louder, drowning him out.

The screams nearly shake the air, causing Julie to lean on Luke for support, with Reggie resting a hand on her shoulder. Alex wants to reach out, to do something, but he knows there’s nothing he really can do to help. He knew Willie was one of a kind, it was obvious from every interaction they’d had up to that point, but he never expected him to be that powerful. It was terrifying, if he was being honest. And Alex didn’t want to be scared of him, especially while he was literally putting his life on the line for them, but it was almost as if Willie was losing control.

Wait.

A small, dwindling purple smoke emits from Caleb’s palms, encircling the cuffs on his wrists, and the green light inside of him dims. Willie is panting in between his screams, running out of energy. Inhaling sharply, Alex doesn’t think twice before bolting over to him, ignoring the protests from his friends.

Alex stands behind him and grips his hands onto Willie’s shoulders, focusing all of his energy into his fingertips, just like he had on that day in the museum. And, just like that day, he screams with Willie, hoping and praying to a god he no longer believes in that it helps, that it works.

It does.

The lightning bursts out at a rapid speed, nearly enveloping Caleb, almost as if it was tearing him apart, atom by atom. It grows brighter, and brighter, and brighter, until—

He’s gone. Small ashes lie in the spot where Caleb once stood, now dissipated into thin air.

Willie collapses to the ground in exhaustion and Alex grasps onto him, as if he’ll disappear himself if he lets go. After a brief moment, Willie takes a sharp breath, wincing in a burning, stinging type of pain, and lets out a breath of relief once it goes away. He knows exactly what that was, he could feel it; his soul was finally back in his body.

Willie looks down at his wrist. The familiar stamp from the Hollywood Ghost Club is still there, however it no longer has its signature purple sheen. It’s black and faded now, like a thirty-year-old tattoo he’s come to regret.

“Are you okay?” Alex asks, pulling away, his face the picture of worry. Willie notices then that Julie, Luke, and Reggie are knelt next to him, too, their own expressions almost as bad as Alex’s.

Willie smiles a sad smile. It’s a weak thing, but it’s genuine. “You’re still here.”

Recognition washes over Alex’s face, and he softly lifts his hand to Willie’s chin. “Of course I am. I told you, I’d follow you anywhere, yeah?”

Willie chuckles and ducks his head. “Yeah, well, somehow, you did.”

Alex lightly pulls on his chin so he can look him in the eye, a burning intensity present there that Willie hasn’t seen in, well, thirty years. “We can explain that later, okay? I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

Willie does a small nod. “I will be.”

Alex pulls him back into a tight hug, and Willie sinks into his arms. He knows they’ll both ask questions later; all that matters right now is that they’re there, that they’ve got each other.

And now, they always will.

[violetevents]

HELLO!!! Mutual pining au + locked in a room + first kiss for willex pleaseeee 💖💖💖💖💖

will i ever stop writing hospitality related fics???? probably not. anyway, alex is a chef and willie is a night audit. i hope you like it :)

It’s the end of yet another grueling shift and Alex finds himself stumbling over his own feet as he makes his way to the elevator. He has changed out of his chef’s white in the kitchen’s little backroom, and is now in a simple sweater and jeans. He looks out of place among the hotel’s guests, who are dressed up to the nines. Alex is pretty sure they don’t have an official dresscode, but no one steps into the Michelin star restaurant of a Ritz-Carlton without at least a suit or a gown on.

To avoid the crowds of fancy dressed guests who will no doubt side eye him for his attire, he heads towards the service elevator. During the day the thing is in constant usage, mostly by the cleaning staff. But it’s eleven at night now, and when he steps inside, the elevator is blissfully empty. He leans against the wall and takes a deep breath.

Service was good today, but it’s his ninth shift in a row, and he can’t help but be exhausted. He loves his job, he really does, but sometimes he wishes he had picked a profession that values sleep and days off just a little bit more.

The doors slide open on the 12th floor, and someone hurries inside, nearly bumping into Alex.

“I am so sorry,” they say, and then glance up, their face lighting up. “Oh, hi Alex!”

“Hi, Willie,” Alex says, trying to not let his smile take over his entire face. Willie looks a vision in a suit, with his hair pulled back into a bun.

He’s smiling at Alex as he leans over and presses the ground floor button. The elevator doors shut behind him and he sighs. “How was your shift?” He asks, leaning against the wall next to Alex.

“Long,” Alex says, and Willie nods sympathetically. “How’s yours?”

Willie pulls a face. “Room 104 had a noise complaint and 117 demanded fluffier pillows. And that’s only been the first half hour.”

Willie has been the night auditor for as long as Alex has been working in the rooftop restaurant, and he guesses he’s had a crush on the guy for about as long. There’s just something ridiculously refreshing about Willie in a world full of strict rules and fancy suits. He’s a breath of fresh air, someone who never fails to make Alex smile.

They run into each other most nights, when Alex goes to leave and Willie’s shift is just starting. Alex cherishes those little moments they have, figuring that’s all he’s ever going to get.

He’s about to reply, when the elevator shudders to an unexpecting halt. They’re nowhere near the ground floor, and the doors don’t open. This can only mean-

“Not again,” Willie groans, digging around in his pocket for his phone.

Alex sighs and slowly lets himself slide down to the floor. Every once in a while the service elevator breaks down. No one seems to know why, or how, or how to fix it, but it’s always ridiculously inconvenient. Trappings can last up to an hour at times, and his was not how Alex was imagining tonight to go. He had a bath planned, for fucks sake.

Willie is talking on the phone, presumably to whoever is manning the front desk right now. He hangs up eventually, sighs frustratedly, and falls down on the floor next to Alex. “They are aware we’re in here, and they’re calling the mechanic.”

In other words: all they can do right now is wait.

“Hey, look on the bright side, at least you won’t have to deal with any more fluffy pillow complaints for awhile,” Alex says, nudging Willie’s shoulder with his own.

Willie sighs ruefully, “Yeah, or people are even more insufferable by the time I do finally get to them because they’ve had to wait.”

Alex pulls a face. “Yeah, probably.” There’s a silence, and then he ads. “I was going to have a bath.”

Willie laughs, “I’m sorry, that’s not funny, you just sound so upset.”

“Are you laughing at my pain, William?”

“A little bit, yeah,” Willie says, and his eyes are twinkling, and it’s a challenge almost, and Alex sticks out his tongue at him.

“I hope everyone demands fluffy pillows for the rest of your night,” he says, and now it’s Willie’s turn to stick out his tongue.

Alex laughs. “For two people working in one of the fanciest hotels in town we are ridiculously immature, you know that?”

“It’s what I like so much about us,” Willie says.

Us. Willie doesn’t mean it in the way Alex wants him to mean it, but god, that sounds nice, doesn’t it? Us.

A silence falls over them while Alex’s spirals down a rabbit hole full of ‘us’ and ‘we’ and ‘ours’ and Willie stares a the ceiling, seemingly deep in thought.

“How’s the boyfriend?” Willie eventually asks, and gets shaken out of his thoughts quite rudely.

“How’s who?” He asks, incredibly confused. He would know if he had a boyfriend, right?

Willie waves his hands around, but he’s pointedly not looking at Alex. “You know, that guy that comes to pick you up every now and then? Dark blond hair, no sleeves.”

Alex stares at him incredulously now. “Luke?!”

Willie looks at him now, if only to frown. “How the fuck am I supposed to know what his name is?”

It comes out kind of rude, and suddenly a lot of things are clicking into place for Alex. How Willie had always disappeared from his side the second Luke showed up. How he immediately changed the subject if the conversations steered only slightly into the love territory. How he had always denied any of Alex (albeit a bit botched) attempts at flirting.

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” he says, turning so he faces Willie. “I’m single.”

“Oh,” Willie says, sounding slightly hopeful.

“Actually, I kind of have this crush…”

“Oh,” Willie says, again. This time he’s sounding kind of sad again.

“Yeah,” Alex says, and then he surges forward and kisses Willie full on the mouth.

This is not the kind of thing he usually does, kissing people at work, being the one to initiate the kiss, but this is Willie he can’t not.

They pull back and Willie is looking at him wide eyed, and suddenly the elevator springs back to life and they find themselves scrambling to get up. Only seconds later the elevator opens on the ground floor and they’re greeted by Flynn and the mechanic.

Willie walks him to the door, and there’s a silence between them and it’s kind of awkward and Alex is just starting to regret it, is just starting to think maybe he fucked it all up, when Willie says, “When’s your next day off?”

“Uh, Friday,” Alex says. They’re standing at the employee exit now, and Alex is fiddling with the strap of his backpack.

“I, uh, know this coffee shop a few blocks from here. Really good stuff. Think you maybe want to go there with me?”

“Yeah,” Alex says, smiling widely, “yeah, I would really like that.” And then, because he’s riding this wave of courage all the way to the end, he leans forward and kisses Willie on his cheek before disappearing through the door.

He’s still absolutely exhausted, but he’s not stumbling anymore. In fact, he nearly skips the whole way home.

[adhd-disaster-willie]

“please come back. please” with Willex?

Alex was not a morning person. He lived by the philosophy that nothing existed before 8am, so therefore, neither should he. His perfect, wonderful, terrible boyfriend however? The bastard was awake by 6 every morning. And if Alex thought getting spontaneous facetime calls at 6:30 was bad, it’s nothing compared to getting his beautiful, fluffy weighted blanket yanked off of him every morning. 

“Rise and shine, hotdog,” Willie chirped. They were leaned over Alex, poking his cheek and grinning widely.

Alex grumbled incoherently and swatted at Willie’s hand. “Mmm, hate you,” he mumbled sleepily. He flipped over and buried his face in his pillow, squeezing his eyes shut to block out the light.

Willie sighed, giving in as always. They stood up and tucked Alex’s blanket back up to his chin (he’s still petty though, leaving Alex’s feet uncovered). He was halfway out of the room when Alex held his arms out, pouting.

“Please come back. Please.” Alex tried to grab at Willie’s wrist and fell back, eyes fighting to stay open. Willie giggled. He planted one hand on his hip and stood back in amusement. 

“Don’t leave,” Alex whined into his pillow. “Cold.” 

Willie threw his head back in laughter, eyes crinkling affectionately. Their giggling only intensified when Alex attempted to kick them from his spot on the bed.

Alex tilted his head in consideration for a moment, before his face broke out in a grin. “C’mere prettyboy,” he said, sticking his bottom lip out in a particularly Reggie-like manner. And see, that just wasn’t fair.

Willie internally cursed himself, then groaned in resignation and flopped back down on the bed, promptly burying his face in Alex’s shoulder. Alex hummed contentedly, lazily carding his hands through Willie’s hair. Maybe waking up early wasn’t so bad.

---

send me a ship or friendship and a really angsty sentence and i’ll do my best to write a ficlet based on that and make it not angsty at all.

Prompts are closed, I’m just emptying my inbox