Title: Waiting in the Wings
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Will LaMontagne/Henry Martin
Fandom: Criminal Minds/666 Park Avenue
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Will LaMontagne or Henry Martin, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Will was shocked to discover that his hands were shaking as he reached into his pocket for his keys; he'd never felt like this in the past when he'd first met someone. But Henry wasn't just anyone, he told himself. This was the man he wanted to spend all of his life with.

Was it crazy to feel that way so soon after they'd just met? He was sure that everyone he knew would say that he was out of his mind, but he didn't care. All it had taken was one smile, one look into those beautiful dark eyes, and he'd been head over heels.

All he could think was that Henry was the most perfect man he'd ever met; he could hardly tear his gaze from the other man's face, and when he'd spoken for the first time, Will had thought that he would melt into a puddle of goo on the floor. Everything about this man mesmerized him.

He hadn't moved to New York with the intention of meeting anyone. He had been sure that he'd spend most of his time working; that was all that he'd planned on doing. Any kind of relationship could wait until he'd been here for a while, until he felt more comfortable with his surroundings.

But those good intentions had flown out of the window from the first moment he'd laid eyes on Henry. He had never felt such an attraction towards anyone before in his life; it was as though Henry had been made for him, that the two of them had been fated to meet.

No one else had ever captured his imagination in the way that Henry had; this man already owned his heart, even though he knew that it would be foolish to say so now, when they'd just met. But he couldn't help feeling that Henry might be thinking the very same thing.

Maybe he was wrong, but he didn't think so. The look in Henry's eyes when they had gotten up from the bar and headed for the elevator to go up to his apartment had said something to him, something that needed no words to be communicated in no uncertain terms.

All he wanted right now was to get Henry behind closed doors, so they could talk more and he could get to know this intriguing man. If he was perfectly honest with himself, though, he wanted to do much more than just talk -- and he wanted to get to know Henry intimately.

Maybe it was wrong to feel so strongly for someone he'd just met, but for once, he was throwing caution to the winds. He'd always kept firm control over his heart, refusing to let it run away with him. And he'd thought that he would live his entire life doing so.

No, he wasn't going to keep doing that, Will told himself firmly. It was past time that he let his emotions have free rein -- he'd spent too much of his life holding back, taking the road of caution instead of jumping off a cliff and letting himself fall wherever the winds of fate might take him.

He had always wanted to do that -- and he'd never had the nerve. He had always pulled back at the last minute, telling himself that it was better to err on the side of caution, to keep his heart safe. He had never let himself give in to his emotions; he'd always tried to keep them hidden away.

No more of that. This time, he was going to jump into a relationship -- or what he hoped would turn into a relationship -- with wild abandon, letting the chips fall where they might. No more holding back, no more keeping his heart under lock and key.

"You're awfully quiet," Henry said as Will fumbled for his keys. "Did I say something wrong?" He sounded nervous, unsure; Will wanted to turn to him, pull Henry into his arms, and assure him that there was no way he could possibly say or do anything he wouldn't love.

Instead, he simply shook his head and swung the door open, standing back so Henry could enter his apartment first. "No, not a thing," he said softly, closing the door as he walked into the apartment after Henry. "I was just thinking about how different you are from anyone I've ever met."

"I hope you mean different in a good way," Henry said with a soft laugh. "There've been times when people have told me I'm 'different' -- but they didn't mean it as a compliment." His voice held just a trace of a question, as though he was asking Will just what he'd meant.

"I definitely meant it in a good way," Will told him, leading the way into the living room and indicating the couch. "Have a seat and make yourself comfortable. Want a drink? I've got a six-pack of beer in the fridge, if you'd rather have that. Or we can just talk."

The look in Henry's eyes made him feel that the other man wanted to do much more than just talk as well, but he wasn't going to say anything about that. He would go slowly, get to know Henry, and let the other man make the first move. He felt that he owed that to Henry.

But why? a little voice in the back of his mind asked. Maybe Henry was waiting for him to make the first move -- and if he didn't, Henry might get tired of waiting and turn away. He couldn't keep holding back. He had told himself that he was done with that.

"I think I've had enough to drink already," Henry told him with a rueful laugh. "But if you've got a bottle of water, I'll take that. Or coffee might be better. I've got a feeling that I want to spend the rest of the night with a clear head, so I'll remember everything."

Will's heart leapt at those words; that was exactly how he felt. He didn't want to miss a moment of being with Henry, or to not remember anything that this fascinating man might say to him. He wanted to be able to catch every nuance, to know exactly what was happening between them.

He merely nodded instead of letting the words that would attempt to describe how he felt pour out; he didn't think that Henry was ready to hear those words, and he wasn't sure that he was ready to say them. But they were there, all the same, just waiting in the wings.

He headed for the kitchen to get two bottles of water from the fridge, deciding that he could make them coffee later, after they'd talked for a while. At the moment, his heart was beating too rapidly for him to settle down to such a task; he'd probably end up burning himself with scalding water.

Will paused as he let the door of the refrigerator swing shut, wondering if he was doing the right thing. For all he knew, Henry wasn't ready to jump into a relationship. He might just be looking for a night or two of fun and games, and then after that, they would go their separate ways.

That wasn't what he wanted, not at all. He hadn't thought that he would even attempt to be in a relationship for a while, but the attraction he felt for Henry was far too strong to be denied. For once, he was going to follow his heart and not his head, and see where it led him.

What would happen tonight? Would he and Henry merely sit and talk, maybe have a cup of coffee later, and that would be it? Or would they end up kissing .... or more? Will's body went taut at the thought; it took him a moment to realize that he was trembling.

That shaking wasn't from fear -- it was from desire. A desire that he hadn't felt so strongly in what seemed like a lifetime, a desire that almost made him afraid to sit down on the couch next to Henry, for fear of what he might do or say that could cause the other man to back away.

Taking a deep breath, Will stood stock-still, closing his eyes for a moment. He had to calm himself down before he went back into the living room; if Henry realized that he was shaking, he would ask if there was anything wrong, and Will didn't want to reveal the extent of his feelings just yet.

There was plenty of time for that, he told himself firmly. He had to get to know Henry a little better first if he wanted them to have any kind of a future. He was sure that this man wasn't the kind of person who would just jump into bed with him -- and he wanted more than just sex.

He wanted to have a future with Henry, a future that they would build together. He could see himself living out his life with this man, growing old with him. He didn't know why the attraction was so strong, but he wasn't going to deny it. The fact that it was there was enough for him.

Tonight he'd talk to Henry, get to know him, do his best to find out if Henry might feel the same about him. If he did, then they could proceed from there -- and if he didn't, then they would simply be friends, and he'd try to shrug away his disappointment.

But something told him that if things didn't work out with Henry, it would take him a very long time to get over the disappointment he would feel. Somehow, he couldn't help feeling that this man was his future, everything he had ever wanted in a partner.

Will took another deep breath and headed back to the living room, trying to marshal his thoughts. He had no idea what he was going to say to Henry while they sat and talked, but he had a feeling that after tonight, the future would be upon them and not merely waiting in the wings any longer.

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