Will collapses in on himself the moment there is a large enough crack in his wavering facade. Shoulders roll forward and it's just a little too much pressure, a little too great heartache, a back-and-forth cascade of emotion that he just bends under the pressure; his joints can no longer support himself. He is surprised to find himself collide with another body, enveloped by soft, firm arms that guide him by the neck, resting his head on one shoulder. He gets a mouthful of thick hair that smells like flowers, and lavender, and something else that he can't quite place but he holds onto the thought like a desperate thread to reality- it takes him a moment to realize that she's spoken and another moment to put everything together coherently. "It's alright, Will." quiet and reassuring, repeated in a mantra. "It's perfectly alright."
But it's very, very not alright. It's so far from alright that Will wants to sit up and tell her it's not alright; right now he doesn't think he has the strength to even pull away from her embrace, much less hold himself up in any way dignified. He settled for winding fingers through her hair, pulling lightly out and away from his face, bearing a line of skin that ran up to the soft underside of her jaw. His fingers tangled in the ends, winding around in some fascination. "I am sorry for decieving you."
"S'okay..." He mutters. His mumbling gets a laugh out of her, light and welcome in their current state. "It's not really, but thank you for your word of encouragement." He smiles against her skin and she must feel it for Will can almost taste the muscles moving under her skin. Suddenly is seems like a very good idea to kiss them. So he does. Suddenly, it doesn't feel like such a good idea anymore, the muscles stiffen and he hears her breath sharply. Silence falls between them. "Sorry." Will just wants to disappear now, to go away...
"No. No. That's fine." She gives him a reassured squeeze.
"I never want to do this again. No more secrets. No more grandiose schemes. I don't want to be your soldier. I don't want to be another one of your pawns."
"You want to be my partner."
"Yes."
She's quiet for a long while, and with his ear pressed to her, he almost believes he could hear her thinking. "New World." she considers. "New rules."
"You're my best friend, Magnus." Will lifts his head, more chastely kissing her cheek. "I want to be able to help you." for as long as I am able he leaves off, but that doesn't stop him from thinking it. Her hand falls to his cheek, stroking it with her thumb before leaning in one last time to press their lips together chastely. "Thank you, Will. That means the world to me."