Halt heard the familiar steps outside on the porch, Will was back. He also heard that his apprentice steps were heavier than normal. Halt guessed that Will had something on his mind, that he most definitely would get involved with, for better or for worse.
Will opened the door but Halt didn't lift his head from the reports he was writing. He had to finish since Crowley needed them.
"There is coffee in the pot" Halt said. He heard Will walk over to the pot and pour himself a cup, before he walked towards him. Halt lifted his cup and Will filled it up before he sat down. Halt mentally prepared himself for the questions that Will would ask. His apprentice asked more questions than anyone he knew, and sometimes it could drive him mad, but secretly he wouldn't want it any other way. But when Will didn't start the questioning Halt got a bit suspicious. If he asked Will now he would probably get a 'nothing' and a smile, then Halt would have to ask him again until Will finally opened up. No, Halt would wait for the young man to talk to him out of free will.

Halt had almost finished the last report to Crowley when Will spoke.
"Halt, can I ask a question?" he said.
"You already did" Halt answered him and nowadays Will would answer something sarcastic back. He had grown so much the years he had been his apprentice, in the beginning he barely dared to look at him, and now. Halt didn't say or show anything to the man but he was proud of him for standing up for himself. When Will didn't say anything Halt decided to speak. "You can ask another question Will"
"Oh, right" Will said. "Halt…how do you know when you like someone?"
Halt was actually taken by surprise, but Will was nearing that age, and it was only natural that he would start to become interested in people in that way, and Halt was almost sure that it was the blonde courier that had Will thinking.
"Why do you ask me about this? Why not your friends?" Halt looked at Will, actually wondering, he didn't feel like he was the right person to help Will with this. He knew that the young man saw him as his father, or the closest thing he had to a father, but he wasn't any good at romance. And Halt wasn't sure that his advice wouldn't make it any worse for Will.
"Because George would just give me a book, and that wouldn't help me. Jenny, she is a girl…"
Halt raised an eyebrow at Will, and was on his way to say something sarcastic about it when Will interrupted him.
"Horace is as clueless at this as I am, and Gilian, he feels too, too… I don't know, too old"
"And I'm not?" Halt said and Will looked at his mentor.
"No. You are old, but well…I don't know…sure Gilian is younger than you, but you have an old man's wisdom" Will tried to explain. Will looked up to Halt, he was the person who always had an answer to his questions, and could guide him, and right now he really needed it.
"An old man's wisdom?" Halt said bitterly and Will looked down. Halt didn't say anything in a while, making Will nervous, just because he could. "If you can't ask any of those friends, why don't you ask Alyss?"
"No!" Will almost shouted and shook his head. "I can't ask her if she knows how you know if you like someone, when she is the someone I don't know if I like. What if I figure out that I don't like her, that would just be rude. And I don't want to hurt her! If I figure out that I like her after I hurt her I don't think she would like me back and…"
"Will!" Halt said and the young man looked at him. "Stop talking, you are giving me a headache"
"Sorry"
"Why do you think you like her?" Halt asked and Will thought for a while.
"She makes me smile, I am happy when I am with her. We can talk about everything, when I am with her I am just Will, not the hero everyone thinks I am" Will said and Halt nodded.
"I would say that's some of the basic things that point towards that you like her" Halt said.
"Really?" Will said. "But what if you are wrong?"
"Am I ever wrong?" Halt said. "I would say that you ask her out and see how you feel, how both of you feel"
"What if she says no?" Will said terrified, he would rather meet one of his enemies than have Alyss reject him.
"Then she will say no" Halt said, not giving any comfort to Will, but then he added. "She can also say yes"
That made Will feel a little better and he stood up.
"I will ask her out for Valentine's day" Will said with new courage and Halt nodded.
"Thank you Halt" Will said a lot happier while he almost ran to the door. Halt followed him with his glance when he got his horse, Tug and went to find Alyss.
"You are welcome son" Halt said with a smile to himself when Will was nowhere near to hear that.