#and Alex gets to go to LFHS... which I just realize didn't actually come up in this fic

[legolasghosty]

I Belong in Your Arms

Happy JATP Feb Fan Fest day!!!! This is my gift for @interestinglittlerelationship! Hope you enjoy! (Also sorry I'm a bit late!)

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Relationship - Willex Rating - Teen Additional Tags - Foster Care AU, Friends to lovers (mainly friends at this point), hurt/comfort, heavy on the comfort!

Summary -

Alex takes a right at the prompting of his phone and spots the hanging sign for Bohemia Roast. A grin spreads across his face when he spots a familiar figure lounging on a table just outside the cafe. He debates trying to sneak up on them for a second, but decides against it. The accidental elbow he got to the ribs last time he tried makes a solid case against it. “Willie!” he calls out instead, tucking his phone into his pocket. Willie looks up and Alex can see the exact moment he spots him, because his whole face lights up. Alex is still a good ten feet away when Willie rushes him, nearly bowling them both over onto the sidewalk with the force of his hug. Alex squeezes them back just as tightly. It’s been way too long since they’ve actually seen each other in person. 

Read Here on AO3, or read the whole fic below the cut!

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Alex hurries to the front of the bus, shooting a quick smile and a “Thank you” to the driver before stepping off onto the sidewalk. He’s 99% sure this is the right stop. Well. Okay, more like 64% sure, but that’s just the anxiety talking. His phone buzzes in his hand, telling him to go left. If Google can be trusted, his destination is only a five-minute walk away.

He turns and starts down the sidewalk. The sun is bright above him, even though it’s the middle of October. He ducks around a young couple taking pictures with some celebrity impersonator with a flashy white wig. Seriously? He hadn’t realized that was still a thing that happened outside of theme parks. Though maybe Hollywood is a bit like a theme park. It would explain a thing or two.

Alex takes a right at the prompting of his phone and spots the hanging sign for Bohemia Roast. A grin spreads across his face when he spots a familiar figure lounging on a table just outside the cafe. He debates trying to sneak up on them for a second, but decides against it. The accidental elbow he got to the ribs last time he tried makes a solid case against it. 

“Willie!” he calls out instead, tucking his phone into his pocket.

Willie looks up and Alex can see the exact moment he spots him, because his whole face lights up. Alex is still a good ten feet away when Willie rushes him, nearly bowling them both over onto the sidewalk with the force of his hug. Alex squeezes them back just as tightly. It’s been way too long since they’ve actually seen each other in person. 

“Your hair’s longer,” Alex mumbles without letting go, those same strands tickling his nose.

“You still have this hoodie,” Willie responds, his fingers tugging on the pink fabric.

“Someone told me pink was my color,” Alex snarks.

“That person must be a genius,” Willie says, chuckling. “I missed you,” he adds a moment later.

“I missed you too.”

Alex doesn’t bother saying more than that, not yet. Right now, he can just soak up Willie’s warmth and familiar presence. Sure, Willie’s hair is a bit longer, and Alex is taller than him now, but they’re still the same people they were a few years ago when they met. And even though they haven’t seen each other all that often since Alex got moved out of the group home after a couple of weeks, they’ve still been in each others’ corners ever since that first night.

Eventually, Willie relaxes a bit and Alex pulls back. “So,” Willie starts with a smirk, “what brings you to Hollywood?”

“Oh, all the famous people,” Alex jokes. “I think I even saw Marilyn Monroe back there.”

“Wow, de-aging technology has gotten so fancy,” Willie retorts with a laugh. “Hasn’t she been dead for like… a while?”

Alex shrugs, faining innocence. “I’m just telling you what I saw.”

Willie stares at him for a second before they both burst into giggles. It feels good, laughing with Willie again. In person, not over the phone.

“Come on, you have got to try this place’s iced teas,” Willie declares.

Alex just grins as Willie grabs his hand and pulls him into the little cafe. The interior is warm and cozy, lit largely by the sunlight that streams in through the front windows. Shelves along one wall hold a mix of plants and in-house coffee blends. The rest of the space is taken up by stools and tables, along with a couple of couches. The place is just the right level of loud, enough that Alex can feel the life flowing around him but not enough that he feels the need to shout. 

“Okay I know I said tea,” Willie says as they approach the counter, “but no pressure there. What do you want?”

Alex inhales the scent of fresh coffee. It smells great… for another time. “No I think I’m with you in the tea club today,” he responds. “Dan and Judy are nice and all, but I swear coffee is the only thing they drink. Period. I haven’t had a decent iced tea in like six months.”

Willie nods. “Makes sense, they sound like coffee people.” They glance up at the menu board. “I was going to try the passion fruit one this time, but the strawberry citrus I had last time was sick.”

“I’ll trust your judgment,” Alex agrees, swinging their still joined hands back and forth a bit. “Hasn’t steered me wrong yet.” He pauses, thinking. “Well, okay, except for that sushi thing. And Thor whatever number the last one was. And that dog that-”

“Hey, that last one is Google’s doing,” Willie protests, cutting him off. “I just gave you what the top search result was.”

“Yeah and then I got bit by a freaking lapdog,” Alex retorts, a laugh bubbling up behind his words.

“Wow, ‘freaking’?” Willie teases back. “Someone’s working on their language.”

Alex groans and drops his forehead down on their shoulder. “Dan and Judy blow a gasket whenever I say anything even remotely connected to a swear word,” he explains. “Like, come on, if you’re gonna be foster parents, you’ve got to be able to manage kids that come from homes where swearing is a thing.”

Willie winces sympathetically. “That’s rough, dude. You should leave them a nasty review on Rate My Foster Parent.”

“That’s not a real site,” Alex mumbles, but a smile is starting to pull at his lips again.

“But it could be,” Willie counters.

Alex rolls his eyes, then smirks. “Oh but how would lovely individuals like Ms. Hannigan ever stay in business then?” he retorts.

Willie shudders. “All the more reason for it to be a thing,” they decide. “I had to watch the 2014 Annie way too many times with Lydia while I was with the Bennets.”

“You have a point,” Alex concedes as the person in front of them finishes ordering and steps away.

“What can I get for y’all?” the woman behind the counter asks with a friendly smile.

“I think we’re in the market for iced tea,” Willie responds. 

He mirrors the barista’s grin, but it’s not the same as the easy one he’d been wearing a moment ago. It’s a bit tighter around the edges, lips closer together and fewer crinkles around his eyes. Alex is familiar with having different smiles for different situations of course, he probably has half a dozen himself. And Willie’s “I’m being polite” smile isn’t nearly as distinctive as it was three years ago when they met, which is a good sign. But still, Alex wishes he could lift some of the weight that pulls at their face when they’re pretending to be happy, but not sure if they’re allowed to exist. 

“And you said the strawberry citrus, right?”

Alex starts, realizing he zoned out for a second. “Yeah, that one,” he tells Willie. He gets a glimpse of the real smile again at that. It makes him feel all light inside, just like it always has.

Willie finishes ordering and reaches for his wallet.

“No it’s cool, I got it,” Alex says, hand slipping into his own pocket.

“Nah, Caleb gave me an allowance for this kind of stuff,” Willie responds, pulling out a $10 bill. “I think he’s trying to teach me financial responsibility or something.”

Alex shoots him a questioning glance. Willie’s eyes say, talk about it later. So Alex lets it go and just drops a $1 in the tip jar. The woman tells them it will be right out, so they head over to the other end of the counter. Alex leans back against one of the tall tables to wait. 

He’s a bit startled a moment later by a warm arm pressing against his own. He glances over to see Willie almost leaning on him, arms folded protectively and eyes fixed on the people behind the counter. Alex can’t help but remember all the times Willie grabbed his hand or pressed their feet together under the table or wrapped him in a hug back when they were in the same foster home. It had been nice back then, but 13-year-old Alex hadn’t considered why that was Willie’s first instinct for helping him. Heck, he hadn’t even heard of love languages till around a year ago.

Alex hesitates, then wraps his arm loosely around Willie’s shoulders. They don’t pull away, to Alex’s relief. Instead, Willie edges a bit closer, shoulders relaxing a little. Alex fights the urge to brush his lips against their cheek, just to see if that would make the real smile come back faster.

Neither of them stirs for a few minutes. The cafe continues to move around them but it doesn’t touch them. They just stay in their little bubble as they wait for their teas. They could be talking, but it’s nice to be quiet every once in a while with someone you love.

Eventually someone calls Willie’s name and slides their drinks across the counter. Willie darts forward, grabs the cups, and is back in front of Alex within moments. “Inside or outside?” he asks, grinning.

Alex glances out the window. “It’s still warm enough for outside,” he decides, taking his cup and grabbing Willie’s now-free hand.

“I don’t know, you might catch a chill, white boy,” Willie teases, following him out to the table where he’d been waiting earlier. 

“Eh maybe I won’t get yelled at for not going to church on Sunday then,” Alex jokes.

Willie frowns and Alex regrets his words. “They shouldn’t be yelling at you,” Willie points out softly. “Especially not for that.”

Alex shrugs. “Yeah, they shouldn’t,” he agrees. “But there’s not much I can do about it.”

Willie nods and squeezes his hand. They have to let go of each other as they sit down on either side of a small, wooden table, but Alex brushes his toes against Willie’s, just to keep the contact he knows is nice for them both.

“So, tell me all about-” Alex sets down his cup to throw up some jazz hands, “-Caleb Covington?”

Willie giggles. “Yep I guess that is how I text about him, isn’t it,” they remark.

“There are sparkles around his name like every other time,” Alex confirms, laughing.

“And I stand by it,” Willie states. “This guy is very extra. But… not in a bad way? I don’t think?”

Alex leans forward, resting his elbows on the table to listen. “I mean he did give you coffee money,” he points out. “Isn’t that stuff supposed to stunt your growth or something?”

“If I didn’t already know that was a myth, I’d believe it now,” Willie responds. “I swear Caleb drinks like half a pot of the stuff with breakfast and he’s like six-three or something.”

Alex laughs. “So what you’re saying is that you need something else to blame for being shorter than me now?”

“Guess so,” Willie says, nodding. They don’t say anything else for a moment and Alex waits, knowing by now that sometimes they just need a minute to collect their thoughts. “He’s cool so far,” Willie says finally, a bit softer than before. “And he’s gay, which is nice. I haven’t met his boyfriend yet, but he sounds chill from what Caleb says.”

“That’s great, Wills,” Alex remarks, offering an encouraging smile. 

“Yeah, he’s like the chillest foster parent I’ve ever had with all that,” Willie agrees. “He even… um… he mentioned we might even be able to get the legal stuff squared away so I can start HRT if everything goes okay with the GP next month.”

Alex can’t help the surprised laugh that escapes him. “Willie, that’s awesome!” he declares, grabbing Willie’s hand again. “You’ve been wanting that for like… ever.”

Willie nods and offers a hopeful smile. “Well cross your fingers for me,” they answer. “I mean… I don’t know if I’ll last long enough for that to actually happen.”

Alex immediately reaches across the table and latches onto their other hand as well, making Willie look up at him. “Hey, no,” Alex says quietly. “No blaming yourself for any of that. It’s not on you to make yourself this perfect kid that fits with all the random expectations of stupid white people. They knew they weren’t going to get perfect kids when they registered to be foster parents. Heck, they signed up for not-perfect kids when they decided they wanted to have any kids at all. Other peoples’ bad choices and reactions aren’t your fault.”

Willie bites his lip but nods again. “Yeah. I know that,” he says. Alex isn’t fully convinced, but he doesn’t push it. “It just sucks that I’m the one who gets screwed up after.”

“Yeah, it does.” Alex squeezes Willie’s hands, then lets go of one to take a sip of his tea. “Oh dang, this is awesome,” he remarks.

Willie grins, not all the way but close enough to make Alex feel fluttery. “Right? I don’t know what kind of crack they put in these, but it’s seriously addictive.”

“Yes,” Alex responds, pointing at him before taking another swallow. “How’s yours?”

“Sick,” Willie says. He sips at his drink again, then adds, “Caleb apparently comes here a lot. It’s not that far from where he works so he’ll come here on lunch breaks or something sometimes?”

“I probably would too if I was close enough,” Alex admits.

“Same. But he brought me here like the day after I moved in, something about serious conversations requiring caffeine. But said ‘serious conversations’ were all like… what kind of breakfast food do I like? And favorite movies? And allergies, even though I’m pretty sure that’s already in my file or whatever?”

“Sounds like my level of serious conversation,” Alex says, chuckling. “But I think I’m starting to see what you meant before about him being extra…”

Willie laughs. “Yeah, he’s just like that I guess. I mean he runs this fancy club place on Sunset Boulevard, so I guess it checks out. The place kinda sounds like an old speak-easy sometimes from how he talks about it.”

“Good think alcohol isn’t illegal anymore then,” Alex jokes.

“Man, I don’t think he’d get caught even if it was,” Willie responds. “He’s like scarily good at talking people into things. These couple of missionary dudes showed up at our door last week and I’m pretty sure Caleb had them questioning their own fancy book by the time they left.”

Alex smirks. “Serves them right.” He falls silent for a moment, sipping his drink. “So you like it there?” he asks.

Willie bites his lip again and nods. “Yeah, I do. And I’m scared I’m gonna mess it up. That I’ll drive him away.”

Alex laces their fingers together a little more securely. “Well whatever happens, I’ll still follow you,” he promises, just like he has dozens of times over the last few years.

Willie smiles, a bit shaky but so real and honest that it makes Alex’s face warm in its glow. “You too,” they reply easily. “We’ll figure it out.”

“One day at a time,” Alex finishes.