A/N: The majority of this chapter is based around the events of 5/5 'Hitting The Fan' – Will visits Angela in between leaving the Lockhart/Gardner and arriving in court. It is a short visit.
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Chicago, March 2016
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After finishing her phone call, Angela made her apologies and left Alicia in the diner. On the drive to her Dad's house, her old childhood home, her mind flitted back to the day nearly three years earlier when Alicia and her peers had left Lockhart/Gardner to form their own firm. It was a day that had brought Will to tears, but it had also been the day Diane had been married. It seemed that Alicia's most dramatic moments had bookended her friend's marriage.
Flashback:
Chicago, October 2013
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Need You Now (Lady Antebellum)
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"I took you in."
"No one wanted you."
"I hired you - I pushed for you."
"You were poison! This firm got you back on your feet."
"And this is how you show it? By stealing our clients?"
"God, you're awful, and you don't even know how awful you are."
Just home from work, Angela wasn't expecting any visitors so was tempted to ignore the knock on her door, but then there was another, more insistent banging and she heard a familiar voice, "I forgot my key," on the other side of the door. She put her glass of water down on the counter and went to open the door.
Will was leaning against the wall and had one hand raised to his head, rubbing his temple. The sight of him concerned Angela; he looked angry and distraught at the same time, she hadn't seen him in that state for a long time. He pushed himself off the architrave and moved his hand from his face, extending his arm to grab her around the waist. Pulling Angela towards him with his embrace, he pushed the door with his free hand and closed it firmly with a backward thrust of his foot. Looking her in the eyes, he brought his other arm around to caress the side of her face, "I love you," he said quietly before kissing her forcefully, yet passionately. She felt herself kiss him back and ran her hand up his neck and into his hair. Feeling her respond, Will gently began to walk them backwards into her bedroom.
He had an immediate need for closeness, for affection, to know that somebody honestly cared for him. He also needed an outlet for the rage that had built up in him since Diane told him that Alicia was leaving Lockhart/Gardner with Cary and the fourth years. Yes, he'd shouted at Alicia and swept the contents of her desk onto the floor, but that just created more tension in his body. He couldn't believe that Alicia would do that to the firm, to Diane and to him: they had saved her when she needed rescue and she had thrown it back in their faces. But, most of all, she had disregarded his love for her. She had thrown his love away and he was surprised how quickly his affection for her could sour.
He knew it was morally wrong to throw himself at Angela because he was livid at Alicia; he hoped his anger didn't come through too strongly. He would never do anything to hurt her, physically or emotionally, but he hadn't felt in control of himself. His mind was a blur and Alicia's face kept filling his thoughts, however much he tried to block her from his mind. Sex was not the answer, but for a few moments, it felt good. It was a release and he was ashamed that he had treated Angela that way.
Will knew he hadn't been as gentle as he should have been, nor did he have time for foreplay or for explaining his sudden need for her. This wasn't a fun booty call like the kind they often shared late at night; this was different. He knew it and, sadly, he knew Angela was aware of it too. He had to apologise but felt anything now might feel more like a platitude. He would make it up to her later. Unlike anyone else in his life, Angela would understand his pain and his reaction. After all, she was aware he had loved Alicia for most of his adult life: Alicia had been the one he'd put on a pedestal and now he had to suffer through her betrayal. Alicia and Cary leaving had different meanings to Will and Diane, both felt betrayed, but Will took it personally.
They lay on the end of the bed, on top of the sheets. Angela's silk robe, pushed aside, but still tied at the waist in Will's eagerness. He had loosened his tie and unzipped his pants, but neither had cast aside their clothes.
"She left," he said, tears welling in his eyes as he lay next to Angela.
"Who?"
"Alicia," he confirmed and Angela took a deep breath, reaching out to grab his hand. "Alicia betrayed me. She is leaving to start her own firm. I mean nothing to her," he sobbed, his body shaking with anger and self-pity. He moved to rest his head on her bare chest and she ran her hand through his hair. After he finished sobbing, he explained what happened while Angela listened and attempted to soothe him.
Finally, he said, "I hurt my hand," lifting it up to Angela's face. She touched it as she sat up and he grimaced in pain. "How?" she questioned as she felt it to check for fractures. "When I found out, I lost it with her, I threw all her things off her desk – hence my hand, " he looked at Angela, a little downcast, "I called her poison," he added, a tear forming in his eye before he buried his head in Angela's shoulder. She kissed the top of his hand, "Your hand is fine, bit of swelling, maybe some bruising later, put some ice on it." She felt his hot breath on her skin as he mumbled, "Thanks."
Will's cell phone beeped to signify a new text message. He leant forward to pick his suit jacket off the floor. Turning the jacket over in his hands, he reached into the pocket to extract his phone: "David Lee," he said, "I have to go to court."
…..
"I'm not at work, come by tonight, doesn't matter if it is midnight, two am," she smiled at him, "we'll talk."
Will took a deep breath, "I will," he said honestly, closing the gap between them. "I love you," he said again, reiterating his opening gambit.
"I know," she nodded.
…..
Later that evening, Will returned to Angela's apartment. He let himself in and found the place strangely quiet. He put down his briefcase and took off his shoes, leaving them by the door. He walked over to the drinks table in the main room and poured himself a bourbon. He chuckled to himself as he followed the scent of Molton Brown's Gingerlily, the fiery ginger and sandalwood fragrance leading the way to Angela's bathroom. He pushed open the door to find her in the bath, smiling at the sight in front of him. "Hey," she said, turning to him. He raised his glass in her direction and moved to sit down next to the tub. Resting his back against the side of the tub, he took a sip of the amber liquid, before saying, "I'm sorry." He meant it. The day had been busy and following a late-night chat with Kalinda he felt ready to deal with the mess he caused earlier.
Angela sat up, the water and bubbles sloshing forward and back, slapping into her wet body as she turned to Will, resting her arms on the side of the tub, to say, "I know. Thank you," before kissing the side of his head. He slid on the floor to reposition himself to face her, pulling his lips into a small smile. "I shouldn't have taken my anger with Alicia out on you. It was wrong to use you for my own selfish needs. You are worth more than that and I will never do it again. I am truly sorry, Janie."
Angela nodded slowly and leant forward to take the glass from his hand. After taking a drink she placed the glass on the floor, before cupping Will's face in her hands and kissing him on the lips. He felt his heart race a little and kissed her back, caressing her tongue with his, before he suddenly pulled back. Shaking his head, he said, "No, I can't do this to you again." Angela smiled, "No, sweetheart, you needed me earlier, I need you now." Looking into his eyes, she added, "I want you." Will raised his eyebrows and let a smile slip from his lips, "So, Mrs Robinson, are you coming out here, or am I coming in there?"
…..
A little while later, they lay side by side in the bath. "I know I thought this bath was stupid when you chose it, but now I see its worth," Will chuckled.
"See," she playfully slapped him on the arm, "big is always better!"
"That's what I always tell the ladies!" he joked and Angela giggled.
"I still prefer the huge claw-footed bath tub at my grandparents' house. We fit in that just fine too."
"Hmmm," Will mused, "we did more than just fit in it!"
They both laughed, before Angela said, "Come on, let's have a drink and you can tell me about your big plans for expansion and getting Dee to agree to offices in New York."
Before they moved, Will began, "Ange, I really am sorry for treating you so badly earlier. I hope you know I didn't mean to trivialize our love or cause you pain. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"I know you weren't yourself. But, yes, you did hurt me. Today was different to our usual late-night booty calls, it wasn't about needing a bit of fun, or making love. It was sex. Revenge sex. And the worst kind of revenge sex as the person you were getting back at didn't know and probably even if she did, wouldn't care. I can cope with a lot of your crap, but don't take your anger at Alicia or your need for revenge out on me."
He found her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers, "I won't," he said as he squeezed her hand. "I promise. You mean so much more to me. I respect you too much and wish I had thought of that earlier, but it was a spur of the moment thing. I didn't come here to sleep with you earlier, I came to tell you, to have you hold me, but then, then," he paused, "something took over and I just needed you."
Angela squeezed his hand back.
"I wanted you Ange, hell, I always want you," he smiled, "but, yes, my need for a physical release clouded my judgment. I promise that if I need to get laid to get over Alicia again, I'll go elsewhere."
"He he," she laughed, "yeah, go get a random. Get Alicia out of your system and in a few days come back to me. Not totally healed, but a little better."
"Thank you for being you," Will added, "I don't know what I'd do without you." He meant it. They had been through so much together that regardless of what would happen in the coming weeks, they would be OK.
"Me too. You're my bedrock too," Angela said, kissing him on the cheek before standing up, letting the cooling water slap against Will's naked body.
He smacked her playfully on the bottom, "That because I make your bed rock?" he joked. She laughed, before turning and throwing a towel over his head.
A/N: OK, this was a bit of background to give an indication of why Angela is always #TeamLockhartGardner and will stick up for Diane. We will see how she deals with the fallout from the finale in coming chapters. What do you think she will say? Why is she going to her Dad's?
