Title: The Food Network Is Dangerous
For xelloss_poo, who asked for Charlie and Will at Thanksgiving.

Summary: Set after the events of Play It Again, Charlie and before the events of Somebody Named Will. Total fluff.





"We could just stop here. We don't have to go in." Charlie didn't mean it but he said it anyway. He had to go in. He'd promised and he never broke promises he'd made to his sisters, especially the ones he made to Anita who had always seemed to need them a little more. He was going to get out of the car and head into Anita's apartment if it killed him, and it just might. He sighed and made himself say the rest without looking at Will. "I will. You don't have to. I can tell her anything you want."

Will shifted next to him, wriggling a bit. Charlie hadn't turned the car off, so when Will disconnected his seatbelt, something on the dashboard started to beep in warning. Will instantly reconnected it then looked over at him. Charlie could actually feel his stare, it was serious and uncertain despite how Will was smiling.

"You keep saying it like it's going to be a nightmare. How bad can it be? So the food might suck. We can always eat again tomorrow at my sister's."

Charlie swallowed, trying to think of an answer that wasn't too disloyal to Ann but which would let Will know exactly what he was in for if he stayed.

"Last year she said we'd eat at three and we didn't eat up eating until eight." Charlie tightened his hands on the steering wheel. Will made a confused sound, obviously trying to think up reasons it would have taken that long to eat.

"Well it isn't like I can get picky when I can't make French Toast," he said at last, with his eyes still on Charlie. His tone was light despite how miserable he'd been at his soggy French Toast attempt. Charlie had eaten it anyway but Will hadn't been fooled. In a lot of ways, Will was his own harshest critic. Cooking wasn't something Charlie expected from him, no matter how sweet the idea of breakfast in bed had been.

"If you hadn't watched the Food Network... I don't need fancy syrup or brioche," Charlie had told him at the time while cleaning his plate, or trying to. Will had snatched the plate away and declared it unfit for Charlie to eat. He'd ended up sighing dejectedly while doing the dishes until Charlie had come up behind him and kissed the back of his neck. It was like magic how Will's tension had melted away. Charlie still didn't fully understand how such a little thing could have such an effect on Will, but then he didn't understand why Will was still trying to impress him either. They'd been together for months and Charlie thought he was so obviously gone for Will that the blind could see it.

He risked a glance over to Will at the thought. Will was studying him with a worried expression on his pretty face. Will had shaved and moisturized and tweezed--"tweezed, not plucked, Charlie" in the bathroom for a solid hour that morning, obviously nervous. For once he hadn't said a word about the lack of space for all his products and it had resolved Charlie more than ever to either find a cabinet he liked or to remodel the bathroom to better fit the both of them. He didn't think that it would be too much after a few months of living together, that it wouldn't seem too desperate, but he wasn't entirely certain of Will's reaction.

He was reasonably certain that he could play it off as a practical need if Will tried to fuss over it. Maybe he could wait until Will was up visiting his sister for a few days and have it done before Will returned.

"Charlie?" Will called him back to the moment and put a hand over Charlie's on the steering wheel. Both of Will's hands had been wrapped around his seatbelt like a lifeline. His hand was warm and soft, strong without seeming to be as he pulled Charlie's hand loose from the steering wheel and tugged it down to his knee. He kept their fingers laced together.

Charlie let out a breath and leaned back in his seat. He turned to look at the windshield wipers sweeping back and forth. The heater was still on and the interior smelled like wet, drying fabric and Will's hair product. He would have to put his face to Will's skin to inhale the subtle hints of aftershave and cologne. He suddenly wanted to more than anything.

"One year she made a pumpkin pie from scratch. The filling was green and runny," he confessed quietly. "That same year she made some sort of sweet potato mousse. All I could taste for days was the ginger she put into it. We eat late every year because she never starts on time and something always goes wrong. If she's brined the turkey at least it won't be dry, but everything else will have a metallic, salty edge to it. Once I dropped a biscuit and I swear it cracked the floor tiles. There was the time with the cheesy brussel sprouts. Or the year she decided to make Nana's tamales and rice instead and I didn't eat until almost ten. Will" Charlie sucked in a breath "Will you should get out while you can."

"Wow, Charlie. I…" Will was clearly at a loss for words. His hand had tightened at the words "brussel sprouts" but he hadn’t let go. Charlie tried to focus on that. "It's… That bad?" he asked in disbelief. "Why does she keep trying?"

"Because Missy and Katia have families to eat with, in-laws, Alicia's dad's house, and Ann and I have never had anyone." They could have headed out to Nana's where a few people would be eating, but Ann had been determined to prove she could do it. A few times Charlie had wondered if Ann was worried no one would carry on the traditions if there was no one to cook. Then he'd realized that Ann was more worried about Charlie being fed if he didn't have Nana around. "This is the first year where I won't be alone." He wet his lips and stared out at the grey landscape. "It is going to be difficult for her."

Will's palm was hot beneath his. He still wasn’t letting go. Charlie wasn't sure whether to be grateful or terrified. He felt that way a lot around Will. So far if Will had noticed he hadn't said anything.

"So you don't want me here to make her feel better?" Will spoke slowly, like he was hiding hurt. Charlie turned back to him, already shaking his head.

"No. No I want you here." He couldn't breathe at the thought of spending another year here by himself, experiencing this all alone and knowing no one else would understand. "I want you here, Will, but trust me, you aren't going to want to be here."

"Oh my god." Will interrupted him with a snort. "Oh my god, you are protecting me. From your sister's cooking. That is… that is just… Charlie that is just honestly adorable." He frowned however, and tugged on Charlie's hand again, bringing it to his chest. "But don't do that. I can't tell with you when you mean something or if…" He didn't finish, but Charlie assumed he meant if Charlie was trying to get rid of him.

Charlie let Will keep his hand for another second before he pulled it free so he could switch off the car. He set his jaw in determination and then turned back to Will, who, judging from his wide-eyed look, picked up on Charlie's mood.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Charlie told him seriously, hot in new ways that had nothing to do with the lingering heat from the heater when Will's lips parted.

"Yes, Charlie," Will agreed instantly, maybe a little fast and eager for someone about to sit through hours of an empty stomach and bad food. But he got out of the car and straightened his coat. Charlie got out too and headed to the trunk. Will had wondered what he'd been stowing in here while he'd been getting ready. When he came around to look now he let out a small laugh.

The pricey bottle of tequila was for Charlie. The wine was for Ann, or Will if he wanted it. Lots and lots of wine. There was also a box of crackers, for emergencies. On more than one occasion, Charlie had pretended to take a call and come out to stuff his face with crackers.

"Lovely," Will breathed in apparent awe. "The way you plan ahead is one of the things I love about you, Charlie," he said it easily and not at all like someone who had been thinking about saying it for a while now. But he was tense as he leaned in to press a kiss to Charlie's cheek and Charlie reached out for him without thinking, stopping Will when he tried to dash away. Will didn't look up, not until Charlie bent his head to kiss him back, right on the back of his neck above the collar of his coat. There was rain falling softly around them, getting them both wet, but he didn't think that was why Will fell against him.

"Do you want to go in now?" Charlie kept his mouth where it was, his nose in Will's hair, his lips making Will shiver.

"No but let's do it anyway." Will was all agreement and then a long, beautiful sigh. "I kind of thought so," he said nonsensically, "but I can never be sure with you, Charlie."

"Let me know how I can be more clear." Charlie smiled so Will could feel it even if he couldn’t see it, and then pulled away to grab the bottles. With only a small pause, Will joined him, taking the bottles from Charlie's hands and giving Charlie a mock-stern look.

"After all this booze on an empty stomach?" he asked archly as he turned and headed toward the sidewalk and Ann's apartment, "Don't think I won't. Now come on or we'll be late."