Disclaimer: Still not mine... sadly.

Chapter Four

The phone was ringing. Will didn't open his eyes, just groped for the handset and answered.

"Hello, Jack?"

"No," Will muttered, "This is Will." He rolled over onto his stomach and found himself suddenly face-down on the hardwood floor, wondering where the other half of the bed had gone.

"Oh, well, that would explain why you weren't picking up the phone in your apartment," Joe continued cheerfully.

Will cracked one eye open and looked around. He was lying next to Jack's couch, amid a suspicious lack of clutter.

"What time is it?" Will groaned, sitting up.

"Eight-thirty," Joe replied.

And I've spent the whole of my first day as Michael's boyfriend cleaning Jack's apartment? Why the hell would I – oh.

"Will, are you okay?" Joe asked after a few seconds of mutual silence.

"Yeah," Will replied. "Fell asleep on the couch, is all. Tiring night," he explained, unable to keep a small smile off of his face.

"Uh-huh," Joe said, not really listening. "Say, Will, do you and Jack want to come over to our place this weekend?"

Will opened his mouth with no idea of what he was going to say.

"'Cause," Joe went on without waiting for Will's reply, "Hannah's gone to camp this week for the first time and Larry's really freaking out about it, and I figured if the four of us got together for a couple of days it might take his mind off of the fact that our little girl's wellbeing is in the hands of a group of strangers."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Will assured him.

"Well, I'm not really worried," Joe went on quickly. "I mean I am worried… Any parent would be worried… But I'm not really worried because I know that they're paid professionals and can be relied on to take good care of her. But you know what Larry's like."

"Yeah," Will agreed.

"So, anyway, if you guys could please just come over – just for the day, if you're too busy to stay the whole weekend…" Joe begged.

Will sighed. Making plans to go anywhere with Jack right now would undoubtedly be a bad idea. But Joe sounded truly desperate, and Larry probably needed the company if he intended to get through the week without killing his husband. Joe and Larry had been their best friends for nearly twenty years – surely that merited at least a temporary truce?

"We'll be there tomorrow," Will promised impulsively. "I'll have to ask Jack, but I'm sure he'll be fine with it." I hope.

"Thanks, Will," Joe said, and hung up.

It wasn't until a couple of minutes later that Will realised he was probably expected to do something with Michael this weekend, it being their first as a happily re-united item. He sighed, knowing all that he could do was pray his boyfriend would be understanding. After all, Michael loved him – what was one weekend apart if they had the rest of their lives to be together?

For some reason the thought didn't reassure him the way it ought to have done.