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Home for the Holidays - Will Poulter x Reader

God you guys have no idea how long I was working on this, writer's block and depression are a bitch.

Anyway finally getting my shit together and really wanted to finish this before moving on to something else.

Hope you like it

Warnings: Some swearing, a tiny bit of angst but mostly fluff

Word Count: 3,304

Summary: You take your boyfriend home to meet your family for the first time and it takes an unexpected turn.

Under the cut for length.

Introducing your boyfriend to the family was never an easy thing to do. Especially around the holidays.

You haven't seen your parents in a while and they've been itching to meet the new beau since you first made it official two summers ago.

This is huge.

What if they don't like him? What if he doesn't like them?

Anxiety flushes over your arrival at the airport. A million thoughts race through your mind on how this can end so horribly.

"Hey" a voice snaps you from your trance.

You look over at your boyfriend, concern on his face. Reaching over to grab your hand before giving it a gentle squeeze.

"It'll be fine I promise. They'll love me" he says matter of factly.

You hear them calling your boarding group and before you have a second to contemplate it any further you're making your way toward the gate.

Here goes nothing.

Driving through your hometown is always so weird. The nostalgia that flows can be overwhelming, relieving memories so vividly as you pass through certain areas.

You miss it you do. But you left and that part of your life is behind you now.

Walking up the steps to your family home the nerves set in again. Go away, you tell yourself as you try to shake them off before ringing the bell.

They'll love him.

They'll love him…

"Y/n! Oh, honey, we're so glad you're home!" Your mom says pulling you into a bear hug. "We've missed you so much"

She pulls away briefly looking around before meeting your face again. "Y/n, where is he? Your bae" she says teasingly, "You said he was coming to meet us"

"He's just getting the bags from the trunk I'm sure he's-"

Your mom all but screams when she sees your boyfriend finally.

"Hey Mrs. Y/L/N! It's so nice to finally meet you" he says holding his hand to meet your moms for a handshake.

"Mom, this is Michael"

"It's so wonderful to meet you too! Oh my gosh y/n isn't he just the cutest"

She likes him. That's good?

"Let's get you both inside"

You're home.

Walking through your childhood home sent so many memories flooding through your brain. Walking up the stairs, looking at all the photos that line the walls.

Nostalgia hits you like a brick wall as soon as you enter your old bedroom.

Michael lets out an audible laugh when he sees some of your childhood photos.

"It was a phase okay? Don't laugh" You playfully scold.

"I don't know I'm kinda digging this look more. Maybe you need to bring this back" he teases as he draws closer to you. His hands raking up your hips.

You press your lips to his chest, "maybe if your lucky I'll dig that shirt out later"

But before Michael can answer your mom hollered from downstairs.

"Y/n your father's home! Come on downstairs"

Mom's no big deal compared to Dad.

You feel the worry and anxiety wash over you again but before you can get lost in your thoughts Michael squeezes your sides tight.

"Hey, it'll be fine, alright?"

You nod and make your way downstairs with Michael in tote.

As you turn the corner wrapping around the stairs you meet your father's eyesight.

"There's my girl" your dad shouts from the bottom.

"Dad!"

You make your way down the stairs to meet your father's warm embrace.

"I've missed you so much sweetheart," he says squeezing you tighter.

"I missed you too dad"

He holds you just a moment longer before letting go and finally laying his eyes on Michael standing behind you.

"Ah, this must be Michael. Put her there son" he says holding his hand out for a handshake

"Pleasure to meet you, Sir"

So polite.

"Pleasures all mine"

Going well so far.

"Whaddya say about a beer son? I'll show you the man cave in the basement."

Michael looks towards you briefly for a moment before your father speaks up, "I'm sure y/n and her mother have some catching up to do so it'll give us a chance to get to know each other"

"Yes sir"

"Alright y/n, we'll see you later. If your mom asks where I am tell her I'm in the basement"

And with that, they were gone. He whisked your boyfriend away to the "man cave".

Fingers crossed they get along. God, you hope they get along.

Walking into the kitchen brings back old memories of rushing out of the house to get to school.

Those random bake sales you did with your girlfriends. And you can't forget the late nights spent hanging out with friends.

You've kept in contact with most of your old friends, and a few you've grown apart. Life just gets in the way and it's understandable.

No one stays in your life forever.

Pulling you from your thoughts is the sound of clinking dishes. Helping mom, right.

"Hey need help with anything?"

"Yeah hun if you wouldn't mind pulling the leaf out from the garage, we'll need it for dinner on Wednesday."

"Why the leaf? I thought it was just us for Christmas"

"Oh gosh I didn't tell you did I? Your father and I have been doing a joint Christmas dinner with the neighbors, it's too quiet with all the kids gone so it's nice having a full house again."

"You.. you guy's never mentioned that. Mom, I would have come home more for Christmas if I knew you were lonely."

"Oh, sweetie!" your mom exclaims, "It's no problem! You are an adult with your own life and career sweetie we understand. It's actually been great! It's like a potluck and we switch off houses each year and we happened to be hosting this year."

"Well that sounds fun I guess"

Now you kinda feel like a jerk for leaving your parents all alone.

"It's a lot of fun. You forget how to live for yourself when you have kids, and after you leave us we as parents all feel lost. But I've found new hobbies and made new friends of which Linda from pilates and her husband are coming so you'll get to meet them."

"Well that's good I'm excited to meet them. I'm happy for you mom."

"Now go get the leaf and you can help me start prepping dessert."

You nod and make your way toward the garage.

After some digging around in the garage you finally found the damn leaf hiding behind a heavy box you can't lift.

And you think to yourself that this is a perfect excuse to go steal your boyfriend back from your father.

But as your walking back into the house you hear indistinct talking. Your mom. And someone else?

You can't make out who it is, but they sound eerily familiar?

As you make your way back inside, walking through the mudroom into the hallway you hear the voice more clearly.

That's not...

Rounding the corner you're sent into a tailspin.

Why is he here?

You're not even paying attention to the words your moms saying to you, you're too distracted by him.

You clear your throat awkwardly as you realize you've been silent for too long and their both now just staring at you.

"Sorry, Mom what?"

"Y/n, honey, I said did you find the leaf?"

"Oh right, sorry. Yeah I was coming in to get Michael because it's behind some heavy boxes I couldn't move on my own"

Stop staring at him.

Why are you staring at him like that?

"Well, what perfect timing, look who stopped by? I'm sure he won't mind helping now won't you, Will?"

"Of course not. It's lovely to see you y/n! It's been too long"

"Same, uh, to you. What, um are you doing here?"

You couldn't be more uncomfortable right now.

"I'm in town visiting my parents and your mom had asked for a few eggs so I'm just dropping them off."

"Greaaat. It's fine though I don't need your help, I was just gonna get my boyfriend to help. You can go home."

"Nonsense y/n, I'm sure he doesn't mind", your mom interjects.

With awkward silence that's only awkward to you, Will finally speaks.

"Right, well lovely speaking with you Mrs. Y/L/N, mum's looking forward to your pot roast on Wednesday."

"How sweet, tell her I look forward to her famous toffee pudding!"

"I'll make sure to tell her," he said before walking toward you.

"This Way" you lead.

"So love, how have you been?"

Will tries to fight the silence.

You don't hate him. You just dislike him.

"Been good Will."

Okay, maybe you do hate him.

Growing up you were two were close. And now you're not and no amount of pretending is going to make things normal.

"Boxes are there" you spit more bitterly than intended

"Right let's get these buggers moved shall we."

The truth is you did like him at one point. But that's long since passed, he's an ass. Conceited and only cares about himself.

You were good friends with his sisters, that's how you two met. But he's an ass and abandoned you.

"All set, do you want me to carry this in for you? It's quite heavy"

"No Will I got it."

"Are you sure?", Will tries to insist, "It's really not a bother"

"I said I got it."

"Alright... I do mean it, it was lovely seeing you again. Don't be such a stranger."

Psh. Me? He's the stranger.

Besides. You both are different people now. And you don't need him in your life.

Will holds his hand out for a handshake and you turn to grab the leaf with both hands instead.

Will retracts his hand taking the hint, "See you around love."

----

Even though you hadn't been home for long you cannot count down the days until you were back home in your own bed back to your normal life and routine.

It's definitely comforting to at least have Michael here by your side when you wake up.

Staying with your family has gone smoothly so far.

You couldn't have been happier that Michael and your family were getting along.

Making breakfast the day before for your mom and dad was certainly the cherry on top for them with Michael.

You were helping your mom clean the house and move furniture around to make room for all the tables.

Michael is even helping hang some decorations.

Everything was picture-perfect… until he showed up.

"Will! I'm so glad you could come help." Your mom all but cheered for him.

"Of course Mrs. Y/L/N, I'm always happy to help"

"We have some decorations that need to be hung and I cannot for the life of me find our ladder, but your nice and tall so I figured you should be able to reach them"

Will let off a soft chuckle.

A sweet sound you haven't heard in a while. No, you hate him remember?

"I will do my best," he said simply.

"Great Michaels in the dining room he'll show you where you put them"

Fuck.

Should you be nervous that your boyfriend and Will are in the same room? Any sane person would say no.

The thing is, Will has never liked a single one of your boyfriends growing up. Not one.

He always had something to say and always thought you deserved better no matter who you were dating.

Seeing them making small talk has you nervous he'll try to sabotage another relationship.

It's one of the reasons why you started to drift apart. There was no winning with him and after graduating, he just up and left.

"Alright, mom what's next?" You say in an attempt to clear your mind.

"Besides setting the tables and putting up a few more string lights I think we're good. Let's go check on the boys."

Godsend. Get Will out of here.

As you make your way toward the dining room you can't help but feel anxious.

What have they been talking about? Are they talking about you?

Was Will just being a dick again, trying to run Michael off.

"Wow, it looks good boys!" Your mom says looking around the room

"Yeah it looks really good guys," you say checking out all the hanging decorations.

"Thanks, love" Will responds.

Your boyfriend shoots you a look of discomfort at your seemly newfound nickname.

Will was a part of your past that you never got into with Michael. It never felt like something important that needed to be discussed.

Besides every celebrity has an asshole story about them from their past friendships.

and to be completely honest, you never thought you'd ever see him again. One big role and suddenly Will's too good to call you anymore.

What a dick.

It didn't help to see all those girls hanging on him like arm candy.

Deep down you couldn't blame the girls. He was incredibly attractive and his accent. God. It's like heaven.

But you knew the real Will. You wouldn't fall for this fake sweet person he suddenly is.

Pulling you from your thoughts, your mother remarks, how nice it is to have everyone together again.

"You should have seen how inseparable these two used to be Michael. We couldn't keep them apart!", your mother jokes lightly nudging both you and Will.

"You know we all used to think you'd get married someday, how silly is that?" Your mom further explained and laughed.

Earning a blush and a chuckle from Will.

Meanwhile, Michael couldn't look more uncomfortable. Clearing his throat he excuses himself.

Taking his queue you follow your boyfriend and as you're heading up the stairs you can faintly hear your mom ask Will,

"What? What did I say?"

…

You find Michael up in your old room, pacing which is never a good sign.

You make your way into the room and plop down on the bed, watching Michael angrily pace, you try to grab his hand to bring him close to you but he pulls away.

Upset he asks, "Were you just never going to tell me, y/n? Cause I think that's pretty shitty of you"

"Woah, tell you what? I have no idea what you're talking about. Calm down baby come sit, talk to me" you pat the empty spot on the bed next to you.

"Calm down?" Michael begins to raise his voice

"Hey", you say firmly interrupting him, "please don't shout with my parents downstairs"

"Y/n, I'm going to shout if I want to shout because I am angry! How could you not tell me your history with him?"

You don't even get a chance to respond as Michael interrupts,

"You really think I want to spend my Christmas with my girlfriend's family and her ex-boyfriend." if your parents didn't hear him shouting before they certainly did now.

"Oh my God no, we never dated! What on earth would give you that ide-" before you could finish your sentence you realized the implications of what your mother said. "That's not what my mom meant Michael"

You stand up and grab his arm trying to bring him closer to you but he pulls away, shoving your hand away.

"No", he shouts, "don't lie to me. I see the way he looks at you."

"Michael, baby please listen to me" you plead

"Damn it, y/n, no I'm leaving!" he says before opening your bedroom door and storming out slamming it behind him.

You had tried to catch your door from slamming but you were too late, it sent a violent shiver throughout your bedroom. And the whole house if you're being honest.

Whipping the door open as fast as you can to try and catch up, chasing him down the stairs desperately pleading with him to stay and talk with you.

But you're too late. He's out the door and starting the rental car, your rental car, and peeling away.

You just stand there in utter shock, you can feel the tears fighting to escape as you watch him drive off into the distance.

This isn't the first time you've fought with your boyfriend.

It's not unusual for him to work himself up over nothing, only to then scream at you for 20 minutes and then apologize.

It's not healthy and you know that. But when you aren't fighting he is a nice guy who makes you laugh and you love him.

But you don't want to walk back inside and face your parents knowing they heard your fight.

There's one place you know they won't look for you, and that's your old tree house.

The place you spent most of your time hiding from the world.

As you make your way up the ladder you think to yourself how perfect this plan is because you know It won't be long before the guests start to arrive. And then your parents will be too distracted with hosting to bother you about Michael storming off.

You can wait it out.

What you weren't expecting was a knock on the tree house door.

"Y/n, I know you're up here. Can you please open the hatch?"

Of course, he would come to find you.

"No, Will go away! Can't you read the sign? No boys allowed"

You can hear him laughing from beneath the floorboards.

"Fair, but darling, I am more of a man though, so can you please let me in?"

He's the last person you want to see right now, yet here you are undoing the latch to the door.

You shimmy back to your little corner to make room for Will and you can't help but giggle at him bumping his head as he enters.

"Oh, is my pain funny to you?" he presses his hand to his chest feigns his hurt.

You try your hardest to fight the smile that tugs at the corners of your mouth.

"I mean you really should see yourself right now" now fully failing to hide your amusement

After some rustling around on Will's end, he was finally able to sit down despite looking so uncomfortable and out of place in your tiny childhood tree house.

"So…." Will breaks the silence

"Sooo…."

"Michael seems… interesting"

"Oh shut it, Will. You never have anything nice to say about anyone I've dated"

"Yeah, but that's because you always manage to date arseholes"

You huff, "I do not always date assholes, Will."

"What about Steven?" Will asks, raising his eyebrow

"Or that Chris guy… and Matt.. oh and that guy with Mohawk- you cut him off "okay okay I get your point. Alright? But you don't know what it's like."

"You have always been so critical of everyone I've ever introduced you to. It's not nice having your best friend tear apart every guy you bring around"

Will frowns. Knowing he's made you upset.

Why the fuck did you let him up here.

"I'm sorry, love. I wasn't trying to be mean on purpose I just-You mean so much to me, you deserve so much more than those losers"

"If I meant so much to you why did you leave me?"

The question you had asked yourself for years.

"Because Y/n, you deserve more."

Your eyes swell, desperate to keep the tears from spilling. You've been fighting these emotions for so long.

You are tired of fighting. Fighting yourself, fighting your feelings.

"Don't bullshit me Will, honest to God. I loved you, you were my best friend and the last person that I thought would abandon me."

"Y/n-" Will starts but stops his train of thought.

"I'm a massive wanker"

You're caught off guard by his choice of words, falling to suppress a giggle through your tears.

"Don't laugh, y/n I'm trying to be serious here"

"I'm a massive wanker- he begins again, "for not telling you how madly in love I was with you."

"What?"

"I was afraid it would ruin our friendship and then things got so busy with acting, always traveling and you didn't deserve that. You deserve someone who can be there for you always."

Will moves closer to you before continuing,

"But it's not only that, I wanted to tell you so many times, but the more I thought about it the more I thought about what people would say about me online I could only imagine what they would say about you, and I just couldn't put you through all that."

He pauses to take your hand into his for comfort.

"I'm sorry, I handled it poorly and shouldn't have left you the way I did."

"Will, I- I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, it's okay I just want my best friend back. And I will understand if you say no"

"I-yeah yeah Will I think I would really like that."

You look up at him and see how wide he's beaming.

"Would you care to join me for dinner before it gets cold?"

"Yeah Will, I'd like that."

---

Later on, in the evening you texted Michael and told him to have his shit packed and out of the house before you returned later in the week.

You then spent the rest of that night, and a few more hanging out with Will. Catching each other up on everything and anything.

You felt nostalgic, you missed this. You missed him.

Despite everything that happened between you and Will it felt like a fresh start, you felt at peace with where you two were.

And who knows where this rekindled friendship will go.

#will poulter #will poulter x reader #will poulter fluff #will poulter imagine #will poulter x you

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