Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third and fourth cycle. Now here comes cycle 5!

Found this list I had a while back, of colors and connotations, and I decided to make a series around it! So...
Colors of Glee: 12 of 12: Gray: Subtlety & Humility

"Gray: Subtlety & Humility"
Will/Emma

He wanted to be… frenetic. He wanted to go around and tell any and all that would so kindly listen, that he was now going out with Emma. The road from their first kiss to this day, the first where the circumstance was in effect, was one he had not seen coming. He'd kept any idea that he might like Emma locked up in his head for so long, now being able to claim it, to bask in it… he couldn't ask for more.

'The circumstance…' Well, that was the moment they'd both known would come, the moment where their relationship would become known to more than just the two of them… particularly, to Ken.

It had been easy to keep it isolated before. It taken a few weeks, and the prompt sacking of Emma's replacement, who had been nothing but a problem, for her to decide to return to McKinley High. The day before she was set to return, they had come to the realization that they needed to decide ahead of time how they would handle Ken.

Will wanted to be the one to tell him, certain he didn't want Ken to find out from someone else. He also wanted to save Emma from having to do it. But Emma had insisted that she could do it and, not only that, if it was to come from anyone, it should be her… she owed him. So the plan was that they would not make any overt 'couple' things until Ken knew.

The next morning, Will was the first to arrive, the first to find out: Ken would be out on vacation for the next two weeks. The way he figured, he probably knew this was the day she'd return, and he wanted to put off seeing her just a little while longer.

When Emma arrived, Will caught up with her, rewarded with that bright smile of hers. Then he told her about Ken's absence, and the smile faded.

"So I guess we need to keep this to ourselves just a little while longer," she spoke with some disappointment in her voice.

"Yeah," he sounded the same. She looked back at him, her optimism kicking back in.

"It won't be so bad. I mean, secrets can be fun," she smiled. Thinking suddenly how he'd been a victim to secrets before, she retracted. "W-well… good secrets though, you… you know? Not the… not the bad…" Will smirked, stopping her.

"I know." She smiled, breathed out before looking back at him.

"Oh, by the way, I went by the mailboxes in the teachers' lounge, I think you got mail," she spoke innocently.

"Yeah?" he grinned.

"I don't know, but uh… you should go see for yourself," she carried on the coy act. He nodded, with the smile still on his face. Looking at one another, it took everything they had not to bridge the gap in between. They had to keep telling themselves they'd promised they wouldn't let anyone know until Ken knew. Emma bowed her head, pointing down the hall. "Shoo, Schue."

"Yes, Miss Pillsbury," he chuckled before walking off. Emma watched him go, breathing out with a flutter in her heart.

She'd carried her torch for Will Schuester, burning bright, since the day they'd met. All this time though, she'd been forced to keep it hidden. She was starting to burn her fingers… She had no idea how it would feel to allow it to burn as bright as she wanted to. She still had to wait to run it Olympic-flame-style out in the open.

She had to be the one to tell him. As much as she knew it was going to upset him, how much he might lash out… She'd just have to deal with it. As much as their relationship had felt like a mismatch to a lot of people… to them as much as anyone… Ken had been good to her, for her… He'd allowed her to live a little, to live outside that bubble of unrequited love with Will… at least, as far as their being able to be with one another. No matter how it had ended, it didn't make her any less thankful to him.

As they days started to pass though, she was starting to get antsy. It was driving her good and crazy to be able to kiss him, be able to feel him take her hand just because he could… and then to come to work and have to pretend as though they hadn't just driven in together before she dropped him off at the corner and drove on.

A promise was a promise.

Will could see the wait was getting to her… He wasn't exactly sitting ever patiently either, waiting for Ken to return. But it was all going to be worth it in the end… for her.

So that was how he'd gotten the idea… he'd just have to find a way to help make the days go by faster for her… for them both. How he'd do that, well… she'd given him the idea.

It was about more than the secrecy to him… this joy. He hadn't been in a relationship like this in a long time… all his life. It was new, different… exhilarating.

As he kicked off operation 'time flies,' he took a seat in the teachers' lounge, coffee in hand, with a perfect line of sight at the mailboxes. When Emma came in, he watched her… she looked like someone expecting to find just ordinary mail. When she looked into the slot inscribed with her name though, she paused. There was a small box. Her lips raised into a small smile as she looked to the side, finding Will sitting across the room. When he saw her looking, he took a sip of his coffee. Emma turned back with a smile, picked up the box and carried it solemnly out of the lounge.

For each of the days which followed, Emma found another box waiting for her. And with each box she would go off to open the mystery gift in the comfort and privacy of her office. The next time he would see her, Will would see her face filled with new joy to see her through the day… and she was good to go.

The two weeks had finally run their course. Ken would be returning that day. Just as on that first day Emma had returned to McKinley, expecting to get her shot at speaking to her former fiancé, to tell him she'd moved on, she felt the anxiety, and so did Will.

She'd gone into her office, preparing herself for what she was about to do. When she heard a knock, she startled. Seeing Will, she relaxed.

"He's here, in the teachers' lounge."

"Okay… okay…" she spoke softly, breathing nervously.

"Hey…" he stepped up and took her hand. She let out a breath, looking up at him, nodding.

"I can do this," she assured him.

"I know you can," she smiled. "Dinner? Tonight?" She nodded, heading off to find Ken.

THE END