WHO: Daniel Collins, Sarah Collins [NPC] Michael, Will Scarlet, Robin Hood, Friar Tuck WHEN: Friday WHERE: A park and then hospital WHAT: A confession WARNINGS: Bigots
Daniel was in place, waiting on the park bench. He had messaged his mother a few hours previous, telling her that he needed to speak with her. He had insinuated he was scared of his father, and that he wanted to speak to her about it. Which was a vast change from anything he had ever said previously, but Sarah wanted to believe Tuck was the bad guy so badly, she had bought it. So Daniel sat, trying not to sweat too obviously. Good thing it was still warm out so he could pass it off as that.
In the van, Michael and Robin waited with Will. Robin was clearly a bit bristly about being in a police van, even if it was for a good cause, so he was being curt with everyone. And Michael was trying to push past it but he was so bad at reading cues. “Good thing this will be over soon, hey?” Michael said, trying to be cheerful.
Will sat closest to the door, ready to spring out at the first hint that Sarah might have come packing weapons. He wanted to be closer, honestly, because he didn’t trust Sarah as far as he could throw her. And Robin’s snippiness wasn’t helping. “Sure, good thing,” he agreed, eyes on the monitor from the security camera on the roof that was trained on Dan, waiting awkwardly on the bench. “Hope he’s doing OK. Don’t want him to flake.”
“Don’t reckon he’ll flake,” Robin said because even though he was feeling snippy, he had faith in the kid. “He knows how important it is.”
Dan looked up and saw his mother approaching, and he had to school his face into a smile. He rose from the bench and leaned in to hug her. “I brought croissants,” he said, pulling out a bag of baked goods. “How have you been?” He couldn’t just jump right in and talk about his dad. She might know something was up. He was impressed with how well he was managing to not make his voice shake.
“Missing you,” Sarah said, affection in her voice which was absent when she spoke to pretty much anyone else. “I’m glad you called, Danny. I’ve been so worried about you, surrounded by- Surrounded by such foul beings.”
“I’ve been fine, Mom,” he said, managing to sound exasperated instead of pissed off.
“Oh, we’re foul beings now?” Robin asked Will.
Will rolled his eyes. “That’s really not the worst thing I’ve been called,” he replied with a smirk and a laugh. “By you, even!” At least Sarah was being calm. She wasn’t suspecting anything yet, and Daniel was holding himself together quite well. He wasn’t about to let his guard down yet though. That woman could snap any time.
“Only when you were being a gobshite,” Robin said, and Michael looked at them warily. But it looked like Robin was joking with that one, so he relaxed.
“I think my father has been trying to call me,” Daniel continued, starting the lie. “For a few days now. Not sure why. I’ve been- sort of avoiding him. What did he do that made you take us and hide, Mom? I’ve sort of been feeling uneasy. Was there anything he did?” Daniel knew there was nothing, but he had to start here, make Sarah feel like he was glad for the past, before he could ask about the present.
“Don’t worry too much about it,” Sarah said, waving her hands around. “He lied, and I found out and I got us somewhere safe. So he…he contacted you recently, did he?”
“Yes, all this week. I haven’t answered.”
“Hmmm,” Sarah said, and Robin looked at Will.
“She sound surprised to you, blood? Sort of like she didn’t expect him to be making calls at all, at least not so soon?”
“She’s a worse poker face than Alan.” Will leaned on his hand. He wasn’t particularly impressed with Sarah’s vague evasions, or her questionable life choices in general really. “Dan’s doing well though. He’s keeping the front up.” He didn’t want to miss anything though, so he stopped talking to keep paying attention to what was said.
“I think,” Daniel was continuing the charade, “that I- I think I’m afraid of him. He’s said a few things lately and- Bee and I have been scaling back. Not letting him see the girls.” Daniel would never do so, of course, but he knew Sarah would jump on it. And she did.
“You can’t let him see them,” Sarah said quickly. “He’s a tool of the devil, Danny! Promise me,”
“Okay, Mom. I promise.” Daniel gave Sarah a weak, worried smile, glad he’d taken those acting classes because god were they coming in handy. “I just don’t know what to do long term. He knows where we live, I- There’s got to be something we can do. I don’t want to disappear again, I can’t leave my job, but-”
“Danny,” Sarah interrupted him, “can you tell me where he is? You don’t have to talk to him, can you text him? See where he is, son. I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay,” Daniel pulled out his phone and he shot a text to Will, though he was careful to make sure it said ‘Hi, Dad’ in case Sarah saw it. In it he asked where Tuck was, and he hoped Will would get the message to answer literally anything and pretend he was Tuck. They were close now, pulling her in.
Will’s phone went off and Michael, usually so stoic, jumped a mile.
Will looked at Michael for a long moment, the sudden startle drawing his bemused attention, before he opened his phone. “Hello Son, I am hiding in a bush, don’t tell her I’m a tool of the devil,” he dictated, and looked at Rob with a grin. Hey, he had to do what he could to lighten the mood. “No, no no. Son of mine- I am watching you. Always… watching…” He actually wrote something generic about being in church and definitely not worshipping Satan, so if Sarah saw it, she might assume he was still loopy on morphine. “The call is coming from inside the house…”
Robin shook his head at his nephew’s antics, but he did appear to be lightening up a little, which was something.
When his phone pinged, Daniel checked the message and then he locked the screen. “Oh my god, Dad’s in the hospital!” he said, sounding shocked. Then he named an incredibly incorrect hospital he knew was across the city from where Tuck actually was, “he’s at Saint Joseph’s! He- No wonder he’s been calling me, I feel awful.”
“Don’t,” Sarah said soothingly, and Daniel looked up at her, his expression questioning. “Danny, he’s not human. He’s probably trying to get you to go there and get him before the doctors find out.” She had pulled out her own phone and he could see that she was googling the hospital and he was glad he had gone with a real one. “Just let me see where that is.”
“Why, Mom? I thought you wanted me to stay away from him?” Daniel hoped this was it, he was sick of all the lying already.
Sarah took a moment, and then she clicked her phone off, and she looked up at her son. “Danny, I want you to go home, okay? Listen to me, don’t tell anyone you saw me today.”
“What? Why?”
“I’m going to take care of this,” she continued. “I’m going to make sure he goes away.”
She sounded so sure, and Daniel kept pushing, “Mom- He hunted us down twice. He’ll find us, there’s nothing you can say that will make him stop. And we can’t leave anyway, so there’s- There’s nothing you can do and we’re just going to have to live with- My kids- I’m so scared-”
“Daniel, listen.” Sarah reached out for his face and she held it gently in her hands, “I am going to make sure he goes away for good. Would you like that?” When Daniel nodded, she continued. “I know how to do it. I’ve been researching. I- I tried once before, but I must have-” She trailed off, and inwardly, Daniel swore. So close.
“Mom, what do you mean you tried? What did you do? What have you been researching!?”
Sarah clearly felt comfortable enough to continue, “holy water can kill him for good,” she said, and Daniel had to actively work to not show his incredulity on his face. It was so ridiculous. Inside the van, Michael snorted. “And so I- I have a gun, Daniel, and bullets with holy water-”
“Mum!” Daniel yelled, “you can’t bring a gun into a hospital!” Daniel yelped, pretending he was panicking. “You did this before? You shot him?” Oh god, just admit it already!
“I did. I tried, I must not have done it well enough,” Sarah admitted. “I can try again. If the bullets didn’t do it, I can use a knife. Holy water can go on a knife just as well. I’ll make sure he stays dead. Please, Danny, just go home. I’ll get this done and you’ll be safe.”
“But what about you?” Daniel asked, now hoping they had what they needed so this could end. “You’re going to be- You’ll be arrested!”
“It doesn’t matter what happens to me, dearest,” Sarah said magnanimously. “I’ll be alright. Happy just knowing you and your brother are safe.”
Daniel bristled and said nothing, and Robin jumped up, “right, she misgendered Michaela, and Daniel is likely about to blow, we get enough Michael?”
“We did,” Michael nodded.
“Fuckin hell yeah, lets get the bitch,” Will exclaimed, springing to his feet. Holy water? The woman was a few sandwiches short of a picnic and that was the truth. As if the bullet and knife part of damp weaponry wasn’t going to do enough of a job. “Don’t let her get away! Lock her up, Mike!” He exited the van and looked around for where Dan was with Sarah. He and Robin would approach at opposite angles to cover her escape routes if she tried to make a break for it.
With Robin and Will in a pincer manoeuvre, Michael approached from the front, his badge drawn. “That’s enough, Daniel,” he said gently, and Daniel sighed, leaning back on the park bench warily.
“Thank fuck.” He turned to his mother, who looked shocked and confused, and said, “Michaela is my sister. And I was wearing a wire,” and he pulled his shirt up to reveal it.
Sarah immediately jumped up and was about to run, but Will and Robin closed in from the sides, and Michael was faster, jumping forward. He grabbed Sarah and flicked out his cuffs, reading her her rights.
Pleased that she looked contained, Robin went to pat Daniel’s shoulder. “You did good, son.”
“Then why do I feel like shit?” Daniel asked, scowling.
Will sighed and shrugged. “The whole situation is shit. Ain’t just you, kid. Must be hard to have a parent who is so… disappointing.” He was sympathetic to him, despite barely remembering his father, and his mother not at all, and Robin as the closest thing to an authority figure Will had, had never utterly failed that hard. Like, a bit fail, but not like… trying to murder loved ones. He stood in front of Sarah, looking into her face, trying to see if he could spot something that gave away what a total villain she was.
“Daniel, why?!” Sarah was crying out, as Michael led her to the van. It was a surveillance van, and not really made for arrests, but he hoped the presence of Will and Robin would keep her calm while he drove. Or at the very least, not destructive.
“You tried to kill my dad,” Daniel hissed back at her. “We would have left you alone, but you forced your way in. He was glad Will seemed sympathetic, but he felt sick and angry. “I’ll take the subway home. I’ll call later,” he said, turning to leave.
“Hey,” Robin whispered to Will, “go tell him he did a good job, hmm? Before he gets too far away?”
“Me? Why can’t you- yeah, yeah.” Sometimes it was hard to turn off the sass when it came to Robin, but Will managed it. In his opinion a well done would mean more coming from Robin, but then Robin wasn’t dating his father. Breaking into a jog, he caught up with Dan, reaching out to touch his shoulder and get his attention. “Hey. Good work back there anyway. You did the right thing, you know, even if it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. You did good.” He nodded and smiled encouragingly, patting Dan on the back of the shoulder.
Dan turned back and he hesitated a moment, before reaching out to hug Will in a moment of desperation. He pulled back pretty quickly, and shuffled his feet, “heh, sorry. Thanks. I just want Dad to be safe.”
“Hey, same here.” Will nodded to Dan, and took a breath. “It’s rough. Maybe for slightly different complications… but for sure. And you as well. Tuck would flip if I put you in danger. Honestly, you did a good job. You sure you wanna head home alone?”
Daniel nodded, but really it was only because he didn’t want to be anywhere near the mother he had just betrayed. “I don’t want to hear anything she has to say,” he explained. “I’ll come visit Dad really soon though. Thanks, Will.”
As Daniel made his exit, Robin loped over, “Michael’s got her in the van. Says he wants to show her his wings. Put the fear of god into her.”
Will’s brows shot up. “Fuck me, I gotta see this,” he said, turning back to the van with a last glance at Dan. Just as well he wasn’t hanging around then, honestly. He went with Robin, jogging back to the van and getting a good vantage point. He reeeeally wanted to hear Sarah’s squeals of shock.
Michael waited until both Robin and Will were back, before he sat down opposite Sarah. Sarah was seething, handcuffed in her chair, but she seemed to realise anything she said was going to further incriminate her, so she hadn’t said anything else. Michael leaned forward and said, “I hear you think my friend Tuck is some sort of agent of the devil,” he said, his voice cold and imperious. Robin shivered and glanced over at Will. Every time he had been around Michael, the angel always seemed a little…goofy. This was chilling.
Michael continued, “you took his children away from him, and raised them without love because of what you believed. God would never condone such a thing.” At that, bright white wings sprouted from his back, and Sarah screamed. She lifted her hands to try to block her eyes, but Michael was glowing.
Even though Will had seen Michael’s wings before, it was still an awesome sight, and he meant that both biblically and colloquially. And hearing Sarah whoop in horror just gave him the most satisfied feeling. He smirked and he didn’t care if she saw it, although dragging her eyes away from the glowing archangel was going to be tough. “Oh lord!” he exclaimed, just for dramatic effect, shielding his own eyes from the brightness too.
Robin snorted as Will hammed it up, and then he said, “and you actually believe shooting someone immortal with holy water bullets is going to matter? Where’d you do your research, old episodes of Supernatural?” It was ridiculous.
Michael let his wings shimmer there a moment later, and then they disappeared. “I’m an angel of the Lord,” he explained, just in case she hadn’t gotten that, “and I am here to tell you you’re wrong. Tuck is a good man. One of the best. He has nothing to do with the devil. And now you’re going to go to prison because you tried to kill an innocent man who happens to be a pillar of the community.”
Sarah didn’t say anything, she just stayed behind her hands, and Michael figured that was probably enough. “Right. I’ll take you in for booking. Where should I drop you off?” he asked Robin and Will. He was fairly sure they wouldn’t want to come to the station with him.
“Should go back and share the good news,” Will said, casting a disparaging glance at Sarah. “Thanks for all this, mate. Always a reassurance to have an archangel along for the ride. Certainly helps get the point across.” Then he looked at Robin, and shared the satisfied nod of a job well done.
Robin agreed, and they were both dropped off at the hospital before Michael continued on to the station with Sarah. As they walked, Robin looped his arm around Will. “You did good, nephew. I can’t fuckin believe it. Holy water bullets.”
Will chuckled. “Fucking hell. Yeah. What next, she throws salt in our faces?” He was looking forward to sharing the good news with Tuck. “How ’bout that PI? Did you end up finding anything on him? I forgot to ask,” he said as they headed in. Tuck would be relieved if he knew the innocent man was okay.
“I did,” Robin nodded, “he’s alright. Still in hospital too, but he’ll live. He weren’t found for ages, so his brain swelled.” It sounded like it had gotten pretty dicey, but the poor PI was on the mend. And he was glad there was good news to tell Tuck.
Tuck was having a chat with the doctor when Robin and Will arrived, and his face lit up to see them. He had graduated from the breathing mask to just a nasal cannula, which meant his smile was much easier to see now, and it was easier for him to speak too. “My love!” he called out, effectively ending his conversation with the doctor.
Robin smirked a little, “what am I, chopped liver?”
“Hi, Robin,” Tuck said, sounding almost as enthused, but he was still only reaching for Will.
Will poked his tongue out at Robin. “Ha ha!” He went over to Tuck to greet him and give him a kiss. “Feeling alright? Told you I’d be back soon. Anything new? Nice accessory you got there.” He touched the tube, and looked to the doctor to see if there was anything new he needed to be told. “On the mend, eh? Bit less poorly?”
Tuck nodded and he reached out to sort of ball his fist in Will’s shirt to keep him close, almost like it was a subconscious thing.
“He’s doing very well,” the doctor said, “we think we can schedule him for surgery in two days, and then we can look at what kind of in-home support we can offer, so he can go home.”
“They’re being very generous,” Tuck explained. “And my insurance is stepping up too, so we should be able to get a nurse in there every day.” Which was good because they would never be able to afford that themselves, and without it, Tuck would worry about being a burden to Will. “So I won’t be too much work for you.”
“Ahh you’re never too much work for me.” Will smiled fondly. He’d take the nurse, but it’d be a challenge to keep parishioners like Ruby out of the house, insisting on dropping off a casserole or pie and just running a cloth across the countertop because they just want to help out while they’re there anyway. “Two more days of being waited on hand and foot. How will you manage?”
“I’ll manage well enough, knowing I get to go home soon,” Tuck said, smiling up at Will for being so sweet. “The surgery is to put pins in my leg, so it can heal right.” Apparently the bone was shattered so that was distressing.
The doctor took his leave, and Robin pulled up a chair to sit closeby. “Glad you’re on the mend, Friar. We’ve got some good news for you. First, the PI who was there with you is fine. He were injured, but he’s recovering.”
“Oh thank god for that,” Tuck breathed, incredibly relieved. He had been very worried about the man’s fate. “Thank you for finding out for me.”
“Yeah, knew you’d wanna know.” Will nodded to Robin. Then he turned back to Tuck and sat down on the chair next to the bed, to bring himself down to better meet Tuck’s eye level, and gave him a serious look. “The other thing is that Sarah is taken care of. She won’t be bothering you again.”
The smile slowly drained from Tuck’s face, because visions of just how Will knew that were flying through his brain a mile a minute. He reached out and gripped Will’s hand as tightly as he could when he asked, “oh honey…what did you do?”
“Promised you I’d take care of it, didn’t I?” Will squeezed Tuck’s hand. “Dan was the real VIP though. Set her up to confess on tape, and then Michael almost literally swooped in and got her bang to rights. Real team effort. She’s gonna be locked up for a long time.” He gave Tuck a nod, wanting to see relief on Tuck’s face. A bit of gratitude that Will held back on his hatred to do things by the books. Mostly. “She’s a real piece of work, eh?”
Tuck’s insides swooped, as Tuck moved from fear to relief, to disbelief. “Dan?” Tuck asked, incredulous, “my Dan?”
“He’s got his father’s instincts,” Robin nodded. “He were brilliant. It were his idea, wearing a wire and all. No fighting at all, just a conversation and bam, she’s arrested.”
Tuck looked back and forth between them, and he wanted to be relieved, but he had to ask first, “is Dan okay?!”
Will wavered slightly. “Physically, yeah. He’s a bit twisted up about having to get his mum put away, but he knows it was the right thing to do. He’ll come see you soon. You can have a little chat, reassure him.” He patted Tuck’s hand. “We told him he’s done good. He’d feel better hearing it from you, I’m certain.”
Robin was worried, for a brief moment, that Tuck would be angry with them. But the man went and proved why he was often their moral compass when he directed the anger at the correct person. “Fuck Sarah for putting him in that goddamn position in the first place,” Tuck hissed. His heart rate monitor started beeping faster as he grew more and more angry. “To save his father- Fuck.”
“Alright, Friar, take a breath,” Robin said, glancing at Will.
“My poor boy,” he lamented. “He really thought of it on his own? Oh, Dan.”
“He knows well as we do that her next step would be trying to get into the grandkids’ lives, and who knows what lengths she’d go to. I reckon it’s about as much about nipping that in the bud as it is about preventing her trying to finish the job with you. We were right there with him, we weren’t gonna let anything bad happen to him. Tuck, he’s okay. He just needs time to process. Everything is under control.” Will patted his hand some more, trying to soothe him to calm down.
Tuck took several deep breaths, because the heart monitor was loud and he didn’t want it to alert any of the medical personnel. Then he looked over at Will and he nodded, “he didn’t deserve that,” Tuck said, “she put that on his shoulders. She’s really gone?” He didn’t want to admit how scared he’d been, but somehow she terrified him nearly as much as the sheriff. And she was just a mortal. “You promise?” His eyes practically begged Will to promise.
“In as far as the arm of the law can reach,” Will promised, kissing the back of Tuck’s hand. “Michael’s getting the wheels of bureaucracy turning. It’s pretty unarguable evidence. Who knows how soon the trial will be. You’re safe.” He wondered for a moment if anyone would be willing to pay her bail, or if she’d even be granted it, considering she was a further risk if left unchecked. He wouldn’t bring that up now, though.
Tuck let out a deep sigh, and then there was the relief Will had been hoping for. “I can actually go home,” he said, smiling. He had been so worried Sarah would still be out there, and they’d have to go to the Fox or somewhere else. All he wanted was to be home with his family. “Thank you. For taking care of it. For taking care of me.”
“Ahhh, if you two are going to get smoochy, I’ll absent myself,” Robin laughed. “I’ll get you both some food, hmm? Be back soon.” He left so that Will and Tuck could have some time to themselves.
“Thanks boss,” Will said, waving a hand at Robin as he left. He kept his eyes on Tuck. “Yeah. You can go home. Once the doctors okay it. It’s- it’s been pretty quiet without you.” He gave Tuck a little smile and relaxed slightly with a sigh, glad to have the big news portion out of the way. “Flora likes Elijah but he’s not the same, she misses her scritches from you.”
“Oh my dearest Flora,” Tuck cooed, his eyes getting a little moist as he thought about her. It felt like it had been ages since he’d seen his dog and he missed her so much. “Will, can I see Evie? I know it might be scary for her, but I miss her so much. At least I don’t have the mask any more?” Though Evie liked scary things so maybe she wouldn’t be fazed. “I’ve seen Dan and Michaela, but I miss our girl.”
Will considered a moment. He’d kept Addy and Evie away because they didn’t know what Sarah was going to do, but now she was safely locked up, there was no reason to prevent it. “Tomorrow?” he asked, checking the time on his phone. Organising a toddler at short notice was a challenge. “I could run it by Addy. I’m sure she’d be happy to. Honestly, I haven’t seen a lot of her the last few days either. I’ve been too worried about you.”
“Tomorrow sounds perfect,” Tuck said, and then he reached out for Will’s hand. “The doctors say I started getting better the second they finally allowed you in. Before that I was giving them a hard time. I’m a problem patient, which I am sure you won’t find hard to believe.”
With a snort, Will gave Tuck a raised brow and a look. “Don’t I know it, mister won’t stay in bed. I am going to make you rest in bed if I have to tie you into it. Which…” He paused a moment, his gaze sliding off to the side. “It strikes me that you wouldn’t hate. But none of that, even. Gotta get well.”
Tuck snickered as Will was positively adorable. “None of that yet,” he agreed. “But no, I wouldn’t hate it.” He wanted to talk to Will - find out what the other man had been through all those days kept apart, but he also knew Will was unlikely to tell him until they were home. Will might think it much more appropriate to discuss there.
“I know it’s not my fault, but I’m sorry. For worrying you and for all you’re going to have to do to take care of me.” Of course if the situations were reversed, Tuck would be right there, doing everything he could to make sure Will was okay. But being a caretaker was part of his persona.
“Hmmm. You would do the same for me.” Would do and had done. Will shook his head. “Besides. We can think of… something, for you to make it up to me.” Wink wink.
Goddamn he was getting too horny for a hospital. He was going to have to sort himself out before Tuck got home. But would that make him an arsehole? Going out to hook up while Tuck was getting pins in his legs? He felt like it would. Looked like it would be some “alone time” for him.
Tuck chuckled again, smiling warmly. “And I definitely will, once I can. It might be awhile though. Love, you should do something for yourself, hmm? You’ve spent all this time worrying about me, I am sure you could use a release. Well.” Tuck laughed, and shook his head at himself. “Maybe call Patroclus! Or whomever, I am sure you'll figure something out. By the time I get home you’ll have your hands full in a much less appealing way.”
“I- I don’t know- while you’re still in hospital?” Will wanted to, but he didn’t want to just abandon Tuck. “You sure you’re okay with that?” Just to check, and be on the safe side. This had to be guilt-free or not at all. Things would likely be a lot less sexy when he was helping Tuck to the toilet.
“Oh my darling, look at me. I’m as well as I can be. I’m safe, you all saw to that. There’s nothing else you can do here beyond your company, and you can’t stay the entire time. You’re going to have a lot on your plate. Of course I’m okay with that, love. You go have a nice time. I’ll make Stutely and Clio come visit me, they said they have been wanting to!” He reached out to run his fingers through Will’s hair. If he needed to somehow make it about Tuck, he could frame it that he was going out now so that he wouldn’t be distracted while looking after Tuck. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” Will watched Tuck, internally determining that he wouldn’t commit to anything unless the opportunity presented itself. “It is true that I’m constantly fielding inquiries after your health. You’re a popular man.” He winked and smiled, leaning back in his chair.
“I am,” Tuck said, though he was joking. He was just put in a position where he was around a lot of people. “And you’re tired,” he said, taking in Will’s body language. There was a cot in the room of course, and Tuck would never complain about Will sleeping there, but Will deserved to sleep in a comfy bed. “You should get some sleep.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Will folded his hands behind his head and tilted his head back for a minute, and then added, “Is that you trying to get rid of me? After everything I’ve done for you??”
“You know I’m not,” Tuck said fondly. “I’d give nearly anything for you to be able to crawl up into this bed with me and curl up here. But I have a feeling about fifteen alarms will go off if we try that,” he joked. Also every single bit of him hurt and there was no way around that. “You deserve to sleep in a nice bed, but no way in hell I’m kicking you out. Of course you can sleep in the cot if you’d rather. I just don’t want you to feel guilty if you want to go home, love.”
Will stayed still for a long time, just existing in space for a while. Hospitals were balls to sleep in, and worse when you were healthy. But tearing himself away from Tuck was difficult, and he felt bad doing it.
After a bit he dropped his arms and sat upright again with a noisy sigh. “Okay. Maybe I will. I just- sucks for you having to stay here. Sorry. You’ll have to try and manage a whole night without me.” He rubbed his hand across his face. It had been a long day.
“I believe I’ll live, though I will miss you,” Tuck smiled warmly. He kissed Will goodbye, and leaned back against the pillow. He fell asleep pretty much instantly, revelling in the fact that he knew he was safe.