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legolasghosty · 2 years

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Omg omg pls do 'drive-in movie date, dinner at a fast-food place at one a.m.' from the prompts for willex!!!!

I... am so so sorry this took so long. Writer brain just... not working much lately. Anyways, this got a bit out of hand. I hope you like it!

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“What do you mean, you haven’t seen Jurassic Park?!” Willie demands one day as they’re curled up on the couch at their parent’s house, enjoying the comfort while Willie’s parents are still at work.

“Uhhh, I just… never saw it?” Alex answers nervously, looking up at his boyfriend from where he’s laying across his lap. “My parents aren’t exactly movie people, if you hadn’t guessed.”

“Neither are mine but I still have some culture,” Willie points out, poking Alex’s shoulder. “It’s like one of the best movies of the 90s, it’s basically a requirement to have seen it.”

“The parental guardians decided it was too scary for us,” Alex responds with a shrug and a sad smile.

Willie frowns and bites his lower lip, thinking hard. Alex watches their thoughts fly across their face, marveling in how well he can read them even though it’s only been a year and a half since Willie’s family moved to Los Feliz and they became friends. And next month, in April, they’ll only be celebrating the six month mark of being partners. Despite the fact that it hasn’t really been that long in the big picture, Alex feels like he’s known them his entire life. He’s not entirely sure what he believes about immortal souls and all that stuff his dad preaches about every Sunday, but Willie feels like he just fits with Alex, like a soulmate or something cheesy like that.

“Okay, give me my laptop,” Willie decides after a long minute.

Alex’s brow furrows in confusion and he glances at his phone. “What? We don’t have time to watch it right now, my mom basically threatened murder if I’m not home for dinner with the Pratts.”

Willie makes that same face they always make when Alex mentions something rude his parents did, but then grins. “I’m not gonna pull up the movie right now,” they promise. “I wanna look something up.”

Alex shoots him a suspicious look, but rolls over to grab the laptop off the coffee table. He sits up as he passes it to his partner so they can set it in their lap without it being on his face. Willie takes the opportunity to press a quick kiss to his cheek and curl into his side as they open the laptop and open a new tab.

“So this sweet butch couple at the skatepark told me about this place a few months ago,” Willie explains as they navigate to a website Alex has never seen before. “Apparently they show a ton of classics and stuff, so I was looking at the schedule a while ago and… YES!” they yell, bouncing in his seat in excitement. “They’re doing Jurassic Park next week.”

Alex grins at their enthusiasm and reaches over to check the place’s calendar. “What about Friday night, so we don’t have to worry about school?” he proposes.

“Awww, you asking me out, drummer boy?” Willie teases, giving Alex an innocent look.

“Nah, we’re just bros,” Alex deadpans. Then he breaks, wrapping his arm comfortably around Willie’s shoulders to pull him close. “Yes, I’m asking you out. Or you’re asking me out? I don’t know.”

Willie laughs and Alex wants to kiss him so bad but holds back. It’s a big step, actually kissing on the mouth. And he doesn’t know if Willie would be okay with it. So he doesn’t.

Which is how they end up in Alex’s dark green station wagon a week later, showing their ticket to the attendant and pulling into a spot near the center of the drive-in movie theater. Willie rambles about the movie and watching it with his parents when he was 12 as Alex parks the car and finds the right station on the radio, listening happily as his partner says whatever comes into their beautiful mind.

“I swear, we better have enough popcorn this time, it sucked when we ran out last movie night,” Willie comments, reaching for the black cloth grocery bag in the backseat.

They rifle through the snack options while Alex hops out of the car to get the blankets he’d stashed in the trunk. It isn’t really cold enough that they need blankets, but it’ll make the experience more cozy and fun. He rejoins Willie in the front seat and grins at the selection of M&Ms, popcorn, mint Oreos, and chips laid out over the dashboard.

“You do realize Luke isn’t here, right?” Alex jokes as he settles into his seat. “It’s just us, we aren’t going to eat enough for an army.”

“Maybe you aren’t,” Willie smirks, grabbing the popcorn. “And it’s basically a requirement to have a million snacks at a drive-in movie.”

“You’re the expert,” Alex relents with a laugh, popping an Oreo into his mouth.

An ad for some local surf shop starts playing on the screen as they divide the blankets and open the drinks they brought, a lemonade for Willie and a decaf iced tea for Alex. Alex kicks off his shoes and tucks his blanket around his shoulders, while Willie opts to create a kind of nest around themselves. Alex distracts himself from how soft and cuddly they look by checking his phone.

His throat closes as he sees a text from his mom, who definitely thinks he’s just spending the night at Willie’s with Luke and Reggie and don’t know about the movie. Or the fact that he’s on a date. With his boyfriend. If he’s being totally honest, he didn’t really lie when he told her that he was going to go home with Willie after school and spend the night there. He just… let her assume that they wouldn’t be going anywhere else, and that the other boys would be there as well. What she and his dad didn’t know couldn’t hurt them, right?

Mom - Having fun with your friends?

Alex swallows, then responds to the text.

Alex - Yup, about to start watching this old movie Willie’s obsessed with!

Mom - Oooo, you boys have fun! Don’t stay up too late though, you have worship practice in the morning.

Alex sighs at the reminder.

Alex - I know, love you!

Mom - Love you too <3

“All good on the home front?” Willie asks quietly, startling Alex.

“Yeah, yeah, she was just checking in,” Alex answers, giving Willie a tight smile. “All good.”

Willie nods and offers him the bag of potato chips. Alex relaxes a bit as he takes a handful, glad that Willie knows when not to push. It isn’t that there’s anything wrong with his relationship with his parents, it’s just… Well, he knows they would blow a gasket if they knew he was gay. And they’re very protective, always making sure they know where he’ll be and with whom. It’s because they love him, he knows that, but it means that all dates with Willie need a decent cover story. He’ll probably have to tell them someday, but he’d prefer it not be while he’s still living under their roof. At least Willie gets it. Their parents are more open minded than Alex’s, but that’s not saying much. Neither of them are out at home for good reasons. So Willie’s parents might think the two of them are at a worship night half an hour away, and that’s why they’ll be out super late and will go straight up to Willie’s room to crash when they get home.

“You’re thinking really loud again,” Willie murmurs, setting aside the food to rest a hand on the center console, palm up.

Alex takes his hand and squeezes it gratefully, using the warmth of Willie’s skin and the butterflies in his stomach to ground himself in the moment. Because, regardless of their home lives, they are here. Together. About to watch some dinosaur movie that Willie regards as a rite of passage. In Alex’s car. Eating snacks Willie bought and curling up in blankets from Alex’s bedroom.

Alex decides he likes the word ‘Together’ and that he’s going to embrace it tonight.

“Ooo, here we go,” Willie giggles as the lights around the parking lot fade and the opening logos start to play across the giant screen. “Hope you’re ready for this,” they add, giving Alex a mile wide grin.

“Me too,” Alex chuckles, leaning back in his seat as the movie begins.

It’s a wild ride. Alex is pretty sure he screams a few times when the dinosaurs jump out at people, but Willie is always laughing and turning up the volume and holding his hand, so he’d say it was a pretty positive experience. He finishes his drink just after the halfway mark and switches over to the water bottle he has stashed in the backseat. Willie spills M&Ms all over himself at one point, and they both lose track of the movie for a minute as they laugh and try to pick them up. And towards the end of the movie, Willie shifts to lay half over the center console, and Alex adjusts his own position so they can use his shoulder as a pillow.

By the time the final credits roll, Willie is perched on the console, which probably isn’t safe, but they’re wrapped around Alex and rested their chin on his head as the characters were escaping the island, so Alex didn’t really mind. He just tightened his arms around their waist and pulled them a bit closer, shifting his blanket to cover the legs thrown over his lap.

“What’dja think?” Willie asks sleepily as the credits roll.

“Oh the popcorn was the best part, hands down,” Alex jokes, turning his head just a bit to look up at his boyfriend. Willie narrows his eyes and Alex chuckles. “I’m kidding, I loved it,” he assures him.

“You better have,” Willie responds, pretending to sulk as they slide over into their own seat. “I gave you the whole drive-in movie date experience here, drummer boy.”

Alex feels his cheeks flush as he fumbles with his blanket. He thinks about movie dates in books he’s read, snacks, holding hands in the dark, whispering about something only they know while the movie plays on, soft, stolen kisses in the flickering lights of the silver screen. “Just about everything,” he agrees, glancing up at Willie and trying to push aside that last thought.

“Did I miss anything?” Willie asks, brows drawing together as he holds Alex’s gaze.

Alex wants to look away, wants to hide his hot face, wants to break the sudden tension he can feel between them, but something in Willie’s eyes stops him. Instead, he carefully leans forward a bit, taking Willie’s hand from where it had been resting on their thigh. “Um, you can totally say no to this,” he starts, caught in the dark galaxies of Willie’s eyes apart from a quick flick down to their mouth when they bite their lower lip, “but… can I kiss you?”

Willie’s breath hitches and Alex almost pulls back, but then their free hand is reaching forward and cupping Alex’s cheek, warm and solid and lined with scars from various skating accidents over the years.

“Yeah, please,” Willie whispers.

Alex shifts a bit in his seat to get closer, brushing a loose strand of Willie’s hair off his face as they both lean in.

“I haven’t done this before,” he murmurs into the inch of air between them.

“It’s okay, me either,” Willie breathes.

“Okay.”

The word barely escapes Alex’s mouth before he presses it very carefully against Willie’s. It’s short and hesitant and soft and nervous and perfect. Willie’s lips are soft and warm and alive against his. Alex leans back an inch after a moment, breathing into the tiny space between them for a moment. His gaze darts between Willie’s mouth and his eyes.

“You okay?” he asks softly.

“Yeah,” Willie responds, the word little more than a breath as they carefully close the space between them again.

Alex feels the tension leaking out of his body when Willie’s lips brush against his again. He can feel his hand shaking as he slides it around to cup the back of Willie’s neck, but it steadies as he guides Willie a bit closer, savoring the feeling of Willie’s dry, soft, gentle mouth against his own. He smells cherries, probably from their chapstick, and lemonade and the coconut of their shampoo.

They separate again after a few moments, both of their cheeks flushed. Alex licks his lower lip, tasting salt and chocolate and something else he couldn’t put his finger on. Something that is just Willie. Then Willie giggles and then Alex is giggling and neither of them can stop, overwhelmed by giddiness and joy.

“We should probably get out of here,” Alex heaves when he gets his breath back.

“Good point,” Willie chuckles, reaching back to buckle his seatbelt.

Alex carefully backs out of his parking spot and joins the line of cars leaving the lot, glad that they aren’t the last ones out. Willie packs away the remains of their snacks as they leave the theater. He tosses the bag into the backseat just as Alex takes a right onto the main road. They change the radio over to Bluetooth and connect their phone, turning on the playlist they’d made together shortly after they started going out. Alex grinned and rolled the windows as they sang along to the old One Direction songs they both loved.

“If I tried, I know it would feel like infinityyyyyy,” they sing, not caring if it sounds good or not.

Alex takes in a deep breath of the chilly night air as the song changes. He wants to stay here forever, the music blasting, Willie’s hand warm in his between them, the cool wind taking away some of the heat in his cheeks.

“Do we have to go home just yet?” Willie asks as they stop at a red light.

Alex chuckles at how they seem to be sharing a brainwave, and glances at the clock. “I mean… it’s only 1 am…” he says slowly, flipping on his turn signal to take a left instead of going straight toward Willie’s house. He’ll probably regret this when his alarm goes off for practice in the morning, but he can’t bring himself to care.

“I’m kinda in the mood for some ice cream,” Willie muses, grinning.

“Anything for my beautiful partner,” Alex responds, shooting them a teasing wink as the light turns green.

Willie laughs, then jumps back into singing as Alex navigates his way to a nearby Wendy’s.

“Everybody wanna steal my girl, everybody wanna take her heart away,” they belt together, dancing in their seats.

As the song ends, Alex leans over and pauses the music as he pulls into the drive through window. After a five second conversation, he orders two medium frosties, one chocolate and one vanilla, along with a large fry, then (after a longer conversation) accepts the cash Willie hands him to pay for the food. Once they get out of the drive through, he finds a parking spot and rolls up the windows.

“Why oh why do you always get vanilla?” Willie teases as he hands Alex his frostie and a spoon.

“Because it’s good, that’s why,” Alex snarks back, grabbing a fry and pointing it at him.

“Nah, you just have bad taste,” Willie declares, sticking a bite of ice cream into his mouth.

“Wow, I thought I at least had good taste in partners,” Alex muses, sticking his fry into his mouth as he pretends to be in deep thought.

“Cheater,” Willie groans, laughing.

“You know it,” Alex jokes, grabbing another fry and offering it to them.

Willie grins and opens his mouth. Alex feels his blush start to return, but he feeds it to Willie anyways. At least Willie’s cheeks seem to be flushing at the action as well, so he’s not alone in the, “Ack I’m doing cute couple things with my boyfriend, aaaaaaa,” club.

They settle into an easy silence as they eat their food, occasionally sticking fries or bites of ice cream into each other’s mouths instead of their own. Alex watches his partner eat, their playlist still flowing from the stereo and creating a little bubble around them. A bubble where it’s just him and Willie and cheap fast food and One Direction and the narrow compartment between the front seats as the only thing separating them.

Willie will always make jokes about how hot they are and things like that, but sometimes Alex thinks that he is more aware of how truly beautiful Willie is than they are. They hum along to the song playing as they swallow a bite of ice cream, a little sigh of satisfaction escaping his mouth. A few strands of hair have escaped the messy, low bun he pulled it into before they left school. He’s the most stunning thing Alex has ever seen, and he always is. Sometimes Willie will stare at his reflection or his body like there’s something wrong with it, like the hair is too long and the shoulders are too wide and the skin is too scarred. But all Alex can ever see when he looks at them is how beautiful they are. His long hair speaks of freedom, their broad shoulders support those they care about, his beaten skin telling stories of the life Willie has lived.

Maybe that’s love, he thinks. It might be a bit soon to say it aloud, but Alex thinks it’s the right word.

His eyes catch on Willie’s lips as their tongue slips out to sweep away a bit of salt. He wonders if they would be okay with him kissing him again.

Then he sees the time and the bubble around them cracks a bit. It’s nearly 2 in the morning. “We should probably…” he sighs, trailing off.

“Yeah,” Willie agrees sadly, licking the last of his ice cream off the spoon and throwing all of their trash into the bag it came in.

Alex shifts the car into gear and heads for Willie’s house, the two of them wrapped in lyrics about hands that fit together perfectly, tea before bed, and being in love with every part of someone. They sing along a bit in between bits of conversation, just enjoying each other’s presence before they have to go into Willie’s home and be more careful.

They sneak up the stairs when they get back, careful not to wake his parents as they slip into Willie’s bedroom. They change into pajamas and brush their teeth, then Willie drops down onto his bed, careful not to step on the air mattress that had been inflated earlier for Alex to sleep on. Alex plugs his phone into Willie’s spare charger and makes sure his alarm is on, but doesn’t lay down on the air mattress. Willie smiles up at him and pats the bed beside him. Alex settles himself beside him, letting the soft smell of laundry and coconut and Willie soothe his anxious mind.

“Can I kiss you goodnight?” Willie asks softly.

“Okay,” Alex nods, leaning in and brushing some of those stray hairs back behind their ear as Willie connects their mouths again.

It’s soft and short and sweet, as all goodnight kisses should be, going more by feel than by sight in the dim light coming through the bedroom window. When they part, Alex drops down onto the air mattress, laying down and gazing adoringly up at his boyfriend.

“Goodnight Willie,” Alex whispers.

“Goodnight Alex,” Willie answers, relaxing on the edge of the bed so he can link his fingers loosely with Alex’s as they drift off to sleep.

#Gosh this one was just...#very fun to write #but also much longer than I planned on #hope you were willing to stick with me through the whole mess #willex my beloved #drive in moviesssss #also they went to see Jurassic Park cause it was the first movie I ever saw at a drive in theater #the more ya know I guess?#legolas tag #julie and the phantoms #legolas ask #willex #jatp fanfic #jatp #alex mercer #willie jatp

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