A/N: Prompt: Mac is made at Will and makes him sleep on the couch.. But she ends up missing him so much thats she join him on the couch by climbing him like a tree.
in other words YAY I'm writing again! (which means yes Lesson's will be very soon! promise x)
He's fucking glad the couch is comfortable.
It's nearing 2 am and the apartment is quiet save for the soft rattle of cars on the street below that the glass windows never seem to be able to completely muffle. Will's been staring at the same spot on the ceiling for almost an hour and his eyes are watery and ache in their sockets and he knows he'll have a headache in the morning.
But at least the firm leather couch is padded by soft blankets and provides enough comfort that his back won't be a bitch.
He can't turn on his side without almost falling off the edge and he misses his pillows and the heavy blankets of his own bed – he also misses the steady warmth of Mackenzie cuddling into his side throughout the night and threatening to suffocate him in the morning as her limbs steadily creep up and over his chest, but Mackenzie is currently spread out like a starfish across the mattress and he's stuck out in the middle of the cold, dark apartment, trying to fall asleep on the couch, all because he'd dared ignore her for a good three minutes during a broadcast.
In hindsight, it's his own fault.
He was angry about a piece in The New Yorker and Mackenzie was stressed about the state of Syria and Libya and whether or not they were going to be able to fit in a minutes worth of commentary on the economic crisis in Greece. Somewhere amongst that mess of feelings they'd both snapped and Will had ignored her the entire way through an interview with their European correspondent. By the time he'd finally answered with a tired, "Yes, Mackenzie?" she'd greeted him with silence.
Seconds later she'd barked, "Just finish the fucking show Billy."
So he did.
And then they went home.
And Will ended up sleeping on the couch.
ooo
Once upon a time they would have dealt with this in silence.
The highlight of not living together and falling asleep wrapped around each other at night was that the shit that went down at work stayed at work, it never strayed home.
Will would have had a few drinks and stared through the glass windows of his apartment, feeling shitty about his decisions, and Mackenzie would have collapsed into a bath and drunk her way through a bottle of red before fumbling with her phone and leaving a few choice messages for Will to wake up to.
There would have been heavy looks of anger passed across their respective desks and throughout the rundown meetings the next day; Mackenzie would have been short and snippy over the headset during the next few broadcasts, and then a couple of days later the world would have righted itself and Will would have been granted forgiveness.
Alternatively Mackenzie might have dumped a drink in his lap or smacked him over the back of the head and Will's still not sure if he prefers her physical forms of vengeance or her silent ones.
Now, however, and he's gone and proposed to her meaning they actually have to sort through their problems.
The car ride home consists of Mackenzie curling her body as far away from Will's as possible and when they arrive at the apartment she disappears into the shower.
Will grabs a bottle of whisky from the bar and sets himself up on the couch and when Mackenzie shuffles out of the bathroom with her head half hidden beneath a towel and her cheeks red from the steam, she frowns at him decisively and then states without suggestion, "You should stay there."
It takes Will a good minute and the sound of the bedroom door slamming to realise she means stay the night.
ooo
It's a stupid situation.
To start with the argument is one they have at least once a month and it always ends with the two of them calling a truce. Secondly, they both still have their own apartments so Will can't quite understand why he's ended up with his elbows stuck in the leather creases of his couch when Mackenzie has a perfectly good bed in midtown.
(Though a small part of his heart is warm and full at the thought that even through her anger she never thought about leaving. He still has nightmares about her leaving and he knows that when his back is a little less uncomfortable and Mackenzie is a little less hostile he'll take comfort in the fact that she still wants to stay)
There's a shuffle through the quiet and Will freezes on the couch. The room is dark and he can't see anything beyond the blinking light on the television, but there's a definite shuffle of bare feet on the floorboards and Will feels something expand in his chest. He bites his top lip to stop his smile and then curls himself further under the flimsy blanket covering him; Mackenzie is tiptoeing closer and closer to the couch and he's determined to not let her realise he's awake.
"Will?"
Her voice is sleep rough and whispered and he almost responds, but then she shuffles closer again and now he can just make out the tips of her fingers as she rests them over the back of the couch.
She leans in closer, and whispers a little louder, "Will? Come on, wake up."
There's a pause, and for a second he thinks she might be about to go back to bed, but then she huffs to herself and steps around the back of the couch and Will smiles to himself as her legs collide with the side of his knees. She hovers over him a second and then carefully lowers herself until she's curled up across his chest and Will can't help but wheeze out a breath as her body moulds into his and she drapes another blanket over them both.
He wants to wrap an arm around her, but she solves his problem by tugging his arm around her waist. Then she burrows into his chest and neck and breathes out across his collarbone. Everything is wonderfully warm and comfortable and Mackenzie, and Will can't be bothered to be angry anymore; this is a much better punishment than the silent treatment.
He risks digging his fingers into her skin and she responds with a muffled, appreciative sound, and then seconds later they're breathing heavily.
Will's halfway through congratulating himself on his stealth when a drowsy, half asleep Mackenzie, whispers, "I know you're awake you bastard. Go back to sleep."
Will chuckles and curls his other arm around her and presses a kiss to the crown of her head.
ooo
Half an hour later and Will tries to shuffle in his sleep and then his elbow hits the leather and Mackenzie grumbles above him as he moves and Will wakes completely to the realization that they have a perfectly good, comfortable, large bed in the other room so why the fuck are they both suffering through sleeping on the couch?
He wakes Mackenzie up and half carries her into the bedroom and Mackenzie wraps her arms around him like an octopus and Will whispers a quick apology into her hair.
The next morning he wakes to the smell of coffee and Mackenzie's bright smile in the bathroom as they get ready and Will realizes that one of the perks of getting married is that apparently Mackenzie is quicker to forgive him.
He hopes.