(no subject)

[allthelifethereis]

To start with, the town-house had been more of a convenience than anything - somewhere with enough bedrooms, enough living space, the whole top floor to call his own so that Stan and Richie could have their own space. Now, he'd actually come to like it - his cramped office space between the bedroom and the ensuite; the weird, terraced garden, the kitchen. How lived in it felt. How his life had crept into the cracks. He likes looking around and seeing Neil's things there, mingled with his own. Even if they spend as much time at Neil's place as they do at the townhouse, he likes feeling like they're sharing space.

Letting himself in, he drops his keys on the console in the hallway.

"Hello?" he calls, picking up his post and leafing through it. "Anyone home?"

Comments

[myfavoritedream]

"In the kitchen," I called, trying and failing to stamp down the smile that had broken out of my face just from the sound of his keys dropping into the dish by the door.

"I was makin' some coffee. You want?"

[allthelifethereis]

Still flicking through his mail, Bill wanders through to the back of the house. When he gets to the kitchen, he leans his shoulder against the doorframe and just watches Neil for a moment, taking in the domesticity of it all, how beautiful his boyfriend really is.

"Always," he says, with a grin. "That meeting was a total waste of my fuckin' time."

[myfavoritedream]

Getting a mug down for him, I leaned back against the counter while the pot finished brewing, reaching out a hand and beckoning him closer.

"Which one was this?"

[allthelifethereis]

"Agent," says Bill, setting his bag down on the kitchen table and then wandering closer, reaching out to take his hand, twining their fingers together and lift, brushing his lips across his knuckles. "They're still trying to option the book but," he shrugs.

[myfavoritedream]

"Jesus. I hate all these fuckin' suits. Remind me why I'm trying to publish, again," I said, tugging him closer and leaning over to kiss his cheek. It was slow going, mostly because I didn't really like anyone I'd spoken with. They all wanted me to make changes to it that I wasn't really into.

But we weren't talkin' about me.

"If they could actually make a decent fuckin' movie in this town, that'd be pretty cook, though."

[allthelifethereis]

"Becuase you wrote a really fucking good book?" says Bill, turning his head to catch Neil's mouth in a kiss. He huffs a laugh. "I've told you about the problem with turning my books into movies, man. Can't stick the landing."

[myfavoritedream]

"I know I wrote a fuckin' good book, that doesn't mean I want to deal with slimy assholes in suits trying to tell me how much it's worth to them," I pointed out, one finger hooking in his belt loop, our coffee mostly forgotten.

"Yeah, but... It seems like you were kinda working with one hand tied behind your back. That's what Derry did to you, you know? Maybe that's not true anymore."

[allthelifethereis]

"Well, that's true," says Bill, his hips swaying forward when Neil tugs at his belt-loop like that. He nods at Neil's pretty fucking astute observation. "Yeah. I guess now I know how that ends." He shrugs. He hasn't actually finished writing anything in Darrow, yet. He's getting pretty close with what he's working on, but he keeps putting it off.

[myfavoritedream]

"Sure," I murmured, not wanting to push it, if he didn't want me to. He worked at his own pace, and did what he wanted, and I just wanted him to be happy. Or, if not happy, content enough with where we were.

"Where are the Lost Boys tonight?" I asked. The place had been quiet when I came in, and while they both usually came in eventually, Bill had a pretty long leash on both of them. None of them, including Bill, seemed interested in him playing dad for them.

[allthelifethereis]

"I...have no fucking idea," says Bill, staying close to Neil, taking a weird comfort just from closeness, even though he didn't think there was anything wrong, persay. There was something about the other man that just always seemed to settle him when he needed it. "Stan at least left a note on the fridge, but Richie?" He shrugs.

[myfavoritedream]

"At least Stan's not moping around so much," I said, thinking back to those weeks after that weird blonde kid disappeared.

"You think Richie'll move out when he turns eighteen?"

[allthelifethereis]

"Yeah, he's doing pretty well," says Bill, thinking back to the conversation that they'd had in Pride - about when Bill had figured something out about himself, about when he'd realised about Neil. He shrugs. "I haven't been able to predict what Richie Tozier's going to do since we were both in elementary school. Don't ask me to start now, man."

[myfavoritedream]

"I was just wondering when you were gonna ask me to move in, is all. Thought maybe you were waiting for the nest to empty out," I said, casually teasing him, even though it was something that had been on my mind. I leaned back, hands braced behind me against the countertop, and waited to see how he'd react.

[allthelifethereis]

Bill freezes, for just a beat. It isn't that he hasn't thought about living with Neil - he has, in pretty exhaustive detail. It just hadn't been something he'd actually thought would happen, weirdly.

"...You want to move in?"

[myfavoritedream]

"Man, I love you, but you're fucking dense as hell," I said, giving him a disbelieving look.

"David's apartment's nice and all, but." I shrugged. The fact that I still called it David's apartment said enough.

[allthelifethereis]

"This place is kind of a dump, though." Which isn't true. The townhouse has it's quirks, but it was expensive for a reason, with the tiered garden, and the huge kitchen, and all the room Bill has up in the roof. "Not sure I get the appeal." He does smile. "I love you too."

[myfavoritedream]

"It is not," I laughed, rolling my eyes at him. It was older, sure, but it was nicer than just about anywhere I'd ever lived. Or maybe that was just because it felt so much like a home.

"Yeah, I know. I love you. I'm not like, gonna make a thing of it. I know space is cramped. I just like the idea of being here."

[allthelifethereis]

"I like the idea of you being here too," says Bill, leaning in a little, one hand coming up to tuck Neil's dark hair behind his ear. "You practically live here anyway."

[myfavoritedream]

"Yeah, I do," I agreed, curling a hand loosely around his wrist. "You gotta be serious about it, though. I'd be sellin' the apartment. Also, bringing in like three fuckin' cats. And how much you wanna bet that Stan's allergic?"

[allthelifethereis]

Held, Bill cradles the side of Neil's face, thumb smoothing against his cheekbone. "You're thinking of Eddie," He says, a smile flickering at the corner of her mouth. "Stan just thinks they're going to piss on his stuff." He tilts his head. "Don't think I could be more serious about you."

[myfavoritedream]

"I wasn't," I laughed, "That kid doesn't live here, I don't give a shit if he's gonna be histrionic about my cats. But if it's Richie, I don't think that kid'd even realize it until he needed a fuckin' hospital. Stan, though? We'd never hear the end of it."

I liked the kid, though. He was uptight as hell, but there was something about him. Just like there was something about all of them, really.

"Yeah, well, likewise. I can put it on the market, I guess. I need to move on with the cabin, too. It's just sittin' out there, rotting. I don't want that."

[allthelifethereis]

"I get that," says Bill, knowing that all of these assets are tied up with more than just money in Neil's head. He makes sure that he stays close, still touching Neil gently, his thumb against his cheek, his fingers in his hair. "But you can move in here while we figure it out?"