title: All the King's men
author: newtypeshadow
fandom: Sky High
disclaimer: Sky High and associated characters and settings are not my property. this story was written for entertainment, not for profit.
notes: while listening to Dido, 'All You Want.'
notes2: thanks so much for the reviews for the last chapter. i was really nervous about posting it. and i hope no one minds the bumped up rating. no one said anything, so i figured it was fine.
Warren hates nights like this. Nights where Will goes alone into volcano- or earthquake-decimated areas because he's the only one who can withstand the temperatures, fly over to find trapped bodies, and lift off the debris from their crumbled houses and workplaces. On nights like this Warren waits up with the news coverage, watching Will perform feat after daring feat, and hoping he'll be able to come home.
He has hot cocoa waiting in the microwave and the way to the bathroom clear. A fresh, fluffy towel—dark, not their usual white—is waiting to be used by the shower. And Warren waits, waits for Will to come home with new darkness in his eyes and sorrow sloping his shoulders, carving lines into his face.
He hates it when Will comes home so broken, but he is ready. Ready to put Will back together again. They joke that he is all the King's horses and all the King's men, but really, he is only one man, and he is afraid, on this night, as he is every night, that when Will comes in with smoke and ash on his torn uniform and a face that begs to be saved, Warren won't be enough to reconstruct his faith in humanity, one jagged piece at a time.