InsaneJournal

Gar went about his morning routine, running for a few miles to make up for the fact that his gym time would be a little bit different today. Taking a shower before hitting the gym was an odd sensation but he definitely didn’t want to meet up with Will, all nasty and sweaty. So Gar may have taken a little bit more time to get ready. It was after all their first date and he didn’t want to start it off with some bad B.O.. Had he gone out to buy cologne? Maybe. Did he make sure to style his hair? Yes. Yes he did. With some pomade Gar swept his green hair casually over his forehead. A few strands disobeyed him and fell forward but it looked good. And with a cheeky grin at his reflection, Gar abounded his way with the full intention of meeting Will at his room.

Upon opening his door though, it seemed Will had the same idea. He was standing in front of his door, hand poised as if he were about to knock. “Damn. You beat me. I wanted to get you from your room.” Grinning at Will, Gar reached forward to snatch his hand, squeezing it briefly before guiding him to the MIST Center where their date would start. His other hand carried a bag. “Don’t worry, I won’t make you do too much here.”

As their morning progressed, Gar had shown Will some of his moves with the punching bag, but not before discarding his shirt, because he was definitely not in the mood to foul up his shirt on their date. Luckily in their favor, they had the gym to themselves. Did Gar want to show-off? Kind of. He did a couple roundhouse kicks to the bag and a few hooks to it before coming over to Will and once again grabbed his hand.

Stationing the two of them in front of the bag, Gar guided Will’s fingers to curl into his palm and chuckled when he started to hide his thumb underneath the rest. “Actually, you do not want to do that. You want your thumb here.” Moving Will’s thumb to rest between the knuckles of his index and middle finger. “You want to make sure you plant your feet, and swing slightly before hitting your target. And if you want a wider open cut, you can twist your whole arm and not just your wrist into the punch. It’ll have a bigger impact on your opponent.” Slowly, Gar pulled himself away from Will and put himself behind the bag to keep it steady for him. “Go ahead.”

---

Will had spent the day in absolute agony. What was he supposed to wear, what was he supposed to do, was his hair okay? He'd never been on a date before. Was he going to make a total idiot of himself? Probably.

His nerves had sort of dissipated when Gar answered his door before he even knocked though, because they were thinking the same thing, because he looked good, because being with Gar just made him feel better. He breathed a laugh and nodded quickly. His fingers twined through Gar's and they were off.

Will had spent so much time thinking about what he was going to wear that he didn't think about what Gar was going to wear. Or not wear. He was so muscular. Flustered didn't begin to describe what he felt and he had to remind himself a million times not to be a total idiot.

He watched him, admiring the kicks and the punches. His cheeks were already pink and it was not from any kind of exercise. Will tried to learn how to make a fist, following Gar's direction. He liked the contact; he didn't know what to do with himself when Gar pulled back to hold the bag.

Punch it, probably.

"Okay," he smiled brightly and he tried, he really did, but he wasn't a very strong guy. He'd never thrown a punch before. He winced a little when he did. "Ow," he laughed. "Okay, I'm trying again."

He punched it again, looking up at Gar. "So how long have you been doing this?" he asked him. It was probably years, he told himself. He shouldn't feel that bad.

---

Gar was not expecting Will to be excellent on his first attempt with a punching bag. The fact that he laughed after his first punch lightened the air around them. In turn, Gar laughed alongside Will. “It’s alright. The first one isn’t always the greatest.” Staying behind the bag, Gar kept it stationary while Will went a couple more times against it.

“Oh, well I’ve had about 4 years under my belt with one of these.” Pulling away from the bag, Gar approached Will, taking up a stance behind him. “May I?” He didn’t want Will to feel like he was pressuring him into anything, but Gar clearly wanted to cover Will’s fist with his own fingers to give Will a better cushion against the bag for Will’s next punch.

---

"Yeah," Will confirmed, smiling back over his shoulder at him. He forced himself to think about punching and where his thumb was supposed to go and everything Gar was teaching him and not the very bare arms wrapped around him or the very bare chest against his back. He still had on a t-shirt. He didn't know his heart could've handled it otherwise.

"Okay," he said. "Show me how it's done," he requested, going for another punch. He was absolutely sure there was some secret to it that he was missing.

"My arms are wet noodles, I knew it," he laughed again.

---

Gar chuckled. “Your arms are not wet noodles. You’re just too loose with your throw.” Letting his fingers encompass Will’s fist, Gar’s other hand pulled his opposite shoulder back, opening up his core. “I want you to tighten your stomach and put as much strength as you can into your next punch, Okay?” Feeling Will shift inside of his arms, Gar smiled. “Yeah. That’s it. Now you’re going to want to keep that arm tense but not completely rigid, if that makes sense.” Bringing both of their arms back Gar let Will throw the punch but with Gar’s hand still covering his so Will’s knuckles wouldn’t bruise. Because it was inevitable especially since it was his first experience with a punching bag. Those fuckers could feel like hitting stone sometimes.

“You’re getting it. How’d that one feel? Better?”

---

Will was absolutely sure that he was ascended into some kind of heaven or something. He was going to listen, he told himself, but his heart was skipping beats so much it was making up some new rhythm.

"Okay, yeah," he agreed, a little dreamy as he did what Gar instructed him to do, shifted his posture and tensed but not all the way. He used the muscle in his arm much better and the punch felt a lot more solid.

"I think better, yeah!" he agreed, smiling back at him. "One more," he said, shifting back and getting ready again.

---

“Alright. We can do one more.” Again Gar fixed Will’s posture once more before letting him throw another punch at the bag. “We’ll save the kicking for another day. Better to split them up and let your muscles strengthen before coming back to the bag.” With Gar’s hand over Will’s still, he gave it a squeeze before releasing it and putting a little bit of space between the two.

“Looks like you’re a quick learner. You’ll get it in no time.” Moving over the bag that he had brought with them, Gar kneeled down, back to Will and rummaged through his stuff. Reaching for his deodorant he quickly reapplied and turned to look at Will over his shoulder, “You need any?” He wasn’t going to throw it at him, Gar wasn’t going to be that rude, but he placed it down next to him for Will to grab, if he wanted. They hadn’t worked up too much of a sweat but Gar, again, didn't want to continue the day without making some preemptive measures.

Rising to his feet, he pulled his shirt back over his head. “What’d you think? Would you want to do it again?” Clearly he was insinuating the punching bag. “It wasn’t too terrible was it?”

---

Will was surprised at how much better it felt with a little direction, like maybe one day he could throw a punch on his own and how that made him feel a little bit safer, more secure. If he needed to fight, maybe he could fight.

"Thanks," he said, his smile a little bashful as he glanced down. He did grab the deodorant, wanted to be fresh for the next part of their date even if he hadn't exactly worked up too much of a sweat.

"Yeah, I think I'd do it again," he agreed. "I wasn't as bad as I thought I'd be." Maybe he'd expected to break his wrist or something, trying to throw a punch. He should've known better. Gar wouldn't let him get hurt.

"But I had a great teacher," he added brightly.

---

“I knew you wouldn’t be.” Gar gave him a knowing glance before shrugging the bag over his shoulder and turning to Will. “Honestly, I never thought I’d be the one teaching anything. I didn’t think I’d be that great of a teacher.” Gar sidled up next to Will, palm reaching out to take his hand.

“Your turn now to take the lead because I have no idea where this painting thing is happening.” As the two meandered through the town, Gar’s grip on Will’s hand tightened, stopping them briefly in front of Atomic Comics, with Gar giving him a slow grin. “Maybe we can hit this place up afterwards? My comic collection here is non-existent and I want to fix that problem.”

“What d’ya say?”

---

"You're a great teacher," Will told him brightly. "One day when I'm winning kickboxing medals or trophies or whatever," he laughed softly more at his own ignorance about the sport, "it'll be because I have a great teacher."

He took his hand, and his heart skipped a beat every single time. He wondered if it still would after a few more times, or a dozen, or more. Would it skip every single time?

"It's downtown," he told him with a smile as they walked and he stopped with him in front of the comic book shop. "Yeah, of course! You need some here. I haven't really got very many here, either, maybe I'll grab a few."

He tried not to get carried away with himself but Gar really was the best of all the worlds. Athletic, nerdy, sweet. Couldn't blame a boy for having a huge crush.

---

“Definitely need to get our shelves stocked then, don’t we?” He peered at the window display of the comic shop before nudging Will’s shoulder with his own, leaning into him with a smile across his face. “ And I’m definitely no professional, but thanks.” The closer proximity of the two of them made Gar’s heart stutter as he brushed against Will; it had brought their faces somewhat closer than he anticipated and it made him glance across Will’s face, Gar eyes resting on Will’s lips before doing a soft clearing of his throat before letting his eyes met Will’s once more.

“I don’t think I said this yet, but I’m diggin’ the new hair. It looks good.” Gar asked, slowly pulling away from him but still not relinquishing Will’s hand. “Don’t forget, you’re not allowed to laugh at my inability to paint, okay?”

---

Will tucked his chin in toward his chest a little, looking down bashfully when Gar complimented his hair, a big smile tugging at his lips. "Thanks," he told him softly, squeezing his hand. Gar was amazing, and Will didn't know what to do with himself about it.

"I'd never laugh," he promised him brightly, and once they were finished looking into the window at the comic book store he led the way down toward the little studio that did the Paint and Snack sessions.

He added, giving Gar's hand a little squeeze, "besides, I think you're going to be better than you think. Like me with punching, right?" He smiled over at him. "Besides, art isn't always about what looks the best. It's about how you feel."

---

“Okay then. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Gar took in the building that they were going to paint at and it felt like he took a gulp of air. He really wasn’t good at painting and he disliked the notion of Will seeing how terrible he truly was. But Gar eventually had to give up Will’s hand when they had to get to their table. Snacks were present and as Gar looked them over, he did notice that there were some vegan options available for him.

Eyes widening, he turned to Will. “Thank you.” He said softly, leaning toward him. “It’s rare that you find a place that accommodates my lifestyle.” He eyed the paints on the palette and took in the different colors.

“What exactly are we painting tonight?”

---

Will smiled as he got himself a little plate of snacks, mostly some veggies and some hummus, which he'd never had before he'd gotten to Dunwich but found he kind of liked. He wasn't sure if it had been invented yet in the 80s but Hawkins didn't have any.

"I want to make sure you're always included," he told Gar warmly. "I was going to keep calling places until I found one."

He turned to look at the front of the room. "I saw it on the website for this place, it's a nice sky with stars and trees and stuff. I thought it looked nice and it reminded me of that night we were stargazing," he told him.

"I'm going to paint a tiger in mine," he added with a conspiratorial grin over at Gar. "Don't tell the teacher I'm going off the lesson plan."

---

Will was just too considerate for his own good that it made Gar’s heartbeat stutter pleasantly and when he noticed that Will had gone for the hummus and some veggie sticks, another smile stretched across his face before snatching a carrot and some hummus off Will’s plate, grinning at him as he popped it into his mouth cheekily before saying, “I had to do it.”

Gar wanted to give Will’s hand a squeeze for wanting him to feel included. “And I appreciate it. I do. More than you know.” And it was something that Gar would not forget. Hearing Will tell him that they would be painting a sky amongst shadowed trees and stars did indeed make him think of their time on the roof. “It does, doesn’t it?” Glancing to what he supposed was the piece that they were going to try and mimic onto their canvases, Gar was tentative as he reached for the paint brush as the instructor started their spiel of what they’d be doing tonight.

Appreciating the pressure of Will leaning over to him, Gar too tilted his head towards Will’s as he confided his plan to add some improv to his painting, making Gar smile once more. “A green tiger?” Was he eventually going to grinning from ear to ear whenever Will was around him. It didn’t seem like such a bad idea to him.

As the two of them proceeded to create their masterpieces, Gar found himself staring intently at the canvas, tongue poking out the corner of his lips, as he tried to imitate the darkened tree against the night sky, but failing miserably because it literally looked like thin lines were scratched against the navy background. Grimacing, he leaned back to try and peer at Will’s.

“I suck.” He shook his head, not happy at all with how his painting was coming out.

---

Will spent a long time just mixing the perfect shade of green for his tiger. He caught up with the class by the end though, and had a little green tiger prowling down at the base of the trees, looking up at the sky.

He looked over at Gar, frowning a bit and setting his brush down. "You don't suck," he told him firmly, moving over to get a good look at his painting.

"I really like it," he told him. "I like it because you painted it, and I can see you in every brush stroke. Don't be that hard on yourself," he told him gently, and he curled his arm around Gar's shoulders to give him a little squeeze.

"Can we trade so I can hang yours up at my place?" he asked.

---

The silhouettes of Will and him that Gar added underneath the stars ended up as an additional two black smears on the canvas. He knew that it was subpar at best, but the compliment from Will did assuage some of the doubt that entered into Gar’s head. The feeling of Will wrapping his arm around him helped too. He felt his shoulders sag, the stress that had collected in his shoulders releasing so that he could bask in the affection.

“Well, aren’t you the charmer?” Gar looked over at Will’s painting with a smile. “Damn, yours is good.” Leaning his weight back into Will, Gar reached up and wrapped his fingers around the other boy’s arm. Clearly they weren’t paying attention to any of the other people who decided to attend the activity and remained embraced peering at each other’s artwork.

“We can trade, if you want. I’m surprised you were able to get that color from what we were given. I wonder where I should put yours?” He was already trying to picture where it would look best.

---

"Am I?" Will's eyebrows lifted, a little smile on his lips. A charmer! Him? "Does that mean you're charmed?" he had to ask. He smiled a little broader. He liked the thought of being charming to Gar.

He couldn't pinpoint if that was what made him feel warm all over or if it was the affection. He tipped his head toward his.

"I spent a long time mixing that green. It had to be perfect," he told him. "I think I'm going to put yours over the TV," he decided. That way he could look at it a lot, it'd be front and center.

---

“Yes. You are.” Gar smiled at him, fingers still curled around Will’s forearm, pulling slightly so that he could tip his forehead against Will’s. “You’ve been charming me since we’ve been on the roof.” The affectionate way Gar’s voice lilted very much indicated that Gar always found himself having fun whenever Will was around.

“It is perfect. You truly are an art cookie, Will. ” Gar smiled. “Above the TV? Really? You sure?”
He eyed Will’s painting once more before making his decision. “I think I’ve figured out where I’m going to put yours.” A beat of silence fell between the two of them. “It feels like a great piece like this needs to be on display. So I’m going to place it in the kitchen. I’m always meal prepping so I think I want it close so that I can see it a lot.” He wouldn’t tell Will that had initially thought of placing it at the head of his bed.

Finally taking in the fact that the others had started leaving was their first indication that it was time to wrap things up. Then the staff was moving around cleaning up. “You were right. It was fun. It looks like all good things come to a blend.”

On that pun, Gar laughed and let their eyes meet.

---

"I'm sure," Will confirmed warmly, his head tipped against Gar's, leaning close. "I want to see it and think about you. Not that I need to see anything to think about you," he added quickly. He thought about Gar a lot. It was a little bit embarrassing to admit how much.

He groaned out loud at that pun, rolling his eyes just a little before he looked over at him, catching his eye.

His heart started to pound very, very fast and loud.

"They're not going to get rid of us that easel-y," he murmured, the best pun he could think of. Gar deserved one back, after all. Will didn't think about it but his eyes did drift down to Gar's lips once or twice, stealing glances. Wondering. Hoping.

---

“Oh really? You don’t?” Gar found himself grinning. His own heart thundering at Will’s blatant truth spilling from his lips. It wasn’t something that he had been prepared for but his words made Gar happy and then Will made his own pun and it was like an arrow to his heart that made Gar tug Will a bit closer when he noticed that Will’s eyes kept getting distracted.

“You know if it’s pigment to be, it’ll be.” Releasing Will’s arm, Gar let his own turn Will ever so slightly so that they were standing face to face before letting his fingers rest on the back of Will’s neck as Gar took one more step toward him.

With the distance between them closed, Gar bent his head slightly to brush their lips together. It was a featherlight caress allowing Will to make the final decision if he wanted it.

---

"I kind of need something to make me stop thinking about you," Will confessed, his voice soft like anything louder than a whisper was going to ruin something.

His laugh at that second horrible pun was quiet, a little breath of a giggle as Gar shifted and set his hand at the back of his neck and kissed him. Will thought maybe his brain stopped working. His first kiss.

He pressed into it, innocent but certainly wanting it. He never thought he'd experience anything this perfect, like sweet first kisses at the end of sweet first dates were things for other people but not him.

When it ended, after a lot of Will panicking and not knowing what to do with his hands and hoping he was doing this right, all Will could do was smile at Gar.

---

Gar could feel the nerves emanate from Will when their lips separated. “You okay, Will?” Calmly he let his hand fall from Will’s neck to seek out his hand to try and comfort him. “I didn’t scare you away, did I?” Their foreheads resting against each other’s, Gar’s eyes searching Will’s and watched as he smiled at him.

Then a throat was cleared making the boys put a little bit more distance between them. With their hands remaining interlocked, Gar turned to scowl at the random townie before letting his attention fall back to Will. “How about we get outta here?” Gar asked him, guiding them out of the building. Before leaving though, he made sure to reach for their artwork with his free hand.

Outside, Gar leaned against the brick of the building, looking over to Will. “Sorry about that.”

---

"No!" Will told him fast. "You didn't scare me away." That was really all he had time to say, everything happening a little fast after that. They gathered up their art and made it outside, still holding hands.

"It's okay," Will assured him and he shook his head, and he didn't think he was cool enough to lean there and look casual and carefree like that when he was a jumble of nerves. "Sorry, that was my first kiss. And it was perfect, just, I didn't know what I was doing really so I was nervous," he added with a little laugh, shaking his head.

"But I wasn't scared," he added to reassure him again.

---

“Your first?” Gar’s eyes softened and squeezed Will’s hand tenderly. “Oh.” Pushing off the wall, Gar leaned into Will. “Now I feel like I need to make it up to you since I made us kind of bolt out of there because of that git.” He shook his head for a nanosecond and brought his palm up to Will’s cheek. “You’re the first guy I’ve kissed.” And he wanted to do it again, this time without an interruption.

“Maybe we can try that again?”

---

When Gar touched his cheek, held his face in the palm of his hand like that, it made Will feel special. Treasured, maybe. Something silly like that. "You don't have to make anything up," he said and then added, "but I'd really like to do it again."

He didn't wait that time, didn't stand and stare and hope. He leaned forward too and set his hand against Gar's cheek too, and kissed him.

It felt so tender and sweet, and not rushed by people wanting to clean up the art studio. It felt like it was just for them.

---

Smiling at Will as he had moved to mirror his own actions, Gar raised a brow to him before he felt the pressure of Will’s lips against his own. The sweetness of it made Gar’s heart flutter as the moment ended when they separated. Chasing the sensation, Gar leaned once more into Will for another one, his lashes brushing against Will’s with butterfly kisses.

Letting his hand fall from Will’s cheek, Gar’s fingers trailed down his arms slowly before as he intertwined their hands together. “I can’t stop smiling.” Gar breathed out heavily as he tried to ease his heart rate, chest heaving.

“You still want to go to the comic shop?” Gar’s eyes kept darting from Will’s lips to his eyes. God. He was going to fall hard for the boy in front of him. He just knew it.

---

"Me too," Will whispered back, and he wanted to shiver at the feeling of Gar's fingers trailing down his arms. He had goosebumps. It all felt like a dream, a really good dream. Except if it was a dream he'd never forgive his brain. This not being real would be torture.

"Yeah, let's get you some comics for here. And me too," he added. He didn't have very many of them at all.

"Or we could keep kissing until someone kicks us off the street," he added, joking but not fully, laughing softly.

---

“Don’t tempt me with a good time, Will. If I had the choice, We’d never leave this spot. I don’t want to give your mother the wrong impression of me if I were to keep you all to myself.” Instead of bending his head for another kiss, he brought their hands up between them and gave Will’s knuckles a soft caress of his lips.

“Let’s go before we let ourselves get too carried away.” Smiling, Gar squeezed Will’s hand before guiding the both of them down the street to the Comic shop. The urge to kiss Will again was strong, but he managed to pump the brakes and direct his adrenaline to finding a new graphic novel, or manga that called to him.

Leaning towards Will, Gar angled himself so that his voice carried on a breath near Will’s ear. “Anything sparking your interest?”

---

It was such a good thing that they were walking to the comic book store because something inside Will trembled and shifted when Gar kissed his knuckles, and he didn't trust himself not to cry if he had to try to explain why it touched him so much. He squeezed his hand and walked, blossoming into a bright smile as he swallowed back the emotion.

He'd never imagined anyone would treat him like that. He was so happy, he didn't know what to do with himself.

Will browsed, picking up a graphic novel with a cute art style and two schoolboys on the cover. He was flipping through the first few pages when Gar came up to him, and he smiled and showed him the cover. Heartstopper. "This looks cute," he told him, shifting closer.

"What about you?" he asked him.

---

Looking down to the book in Will’s hands, Gar nodded his head as he assessed it. “I think I’ve heard good things about that one. Haven’t read it yet myself. May I read it after you?” He asked. His thumb casually rubbing across his own fingertips, the desire once more to take Will’s hand into his own before he pulled a book off the shelf in front of them that had caught his eye. Nimona, it was moreso the synopsis that hooked his attention. When he saw that she was a shapeshifter, it had sealed his decision.

“I have to go with this one. You don’t get too many graphic novels about shapeshifters. So I think it’s a no-brainer for me, you know?” He gave Will a cheeky smile. “Definitely buying this one for sure. You want me to take care of that one too?” He insinuated toward the book in Will’s hand. “My treat this time?”

Stretching his hand out to take the book from Will, he waited to see if he’d allow Gar to pay for it as the two navigated the aisles, scanning the other merchandise. Gar was tempted with several pieces and miraculously only ended up with adding two more to his new stack.

Walking up to the cashier’s till, Gar placed his books on the counter only for the owner, he assumed, to stare at him for a solid minute before saying to Gar, “You start next week.” The statement kind of baffled him but he wasn’t going to scoff it away. And at a comic book shop of all places. “Um, okay?” He took one look over to Will and shrugged his shoulders before waiting to see if Will would join his book(s) with his own to purchase before they left.

---

"That one looks really good," Will told him, leaning over and resting his cheek against Gar's shoulder for a second, smiling over at him as he checked it out. Nimona. It looked really good. "Sure, can I read that one after you're done? We can trade."

He nodded slightly, not enough to shift his face away from Gar's shoulder. He'd let him pay this time. "Okay but next time it's my turn," he told him. It was nice how all the things he'd worried about, didn't really matter. Who would hold the doors open for who, who paid - it all just fell into place so naturally.

He let Gar lead the way to the register to pay, handing over his book and raising his eyebrows as Gar was just given a job. Dunwich was so weird like that.

After they were back out onto the sidewalk, Will took Gar's empty hand in his own, and the walk back to Pickman was happy.

Will had to limit himself to just a few goodbye kisses. They were in the hallway, after all, and anyone could come out of their doors at any second. "I had a really good time," Will told him sweetly in between them.

He had no doubt there would be a second date.