Soap

Start writing here…“Hey, I have an idea,” Will says shyly from the floor of their bed, where Leo is lying.

“Yeah?” Leo asks, brow furrowing as he notices Will’s tone and the towel in his hand.

“I know you said you needed to shower tonight and… I do too,” he mutters.

Leo sits up and braces himself with his arms behind him. It takes Will’s breath away for a second, but he calms himself and keeps talking.

“Maybe we could shower together?” His voice shakes.

Leo smiles confidently, but his heart stops. Obviously, he wants that, but that means getting naked, which isn’t a problem. They’ve seen each other in their underwear now, so naked is just a little more, right? His thoughts race as Will looks at him nervously.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Of course. I mean, yeah. Yes,” he stumbles.

Will smiles, his hands shaking slightly with nerves as Leo speaks.

“N-nothing sexual. Just… shower,” Will clarifies.

“Yeah, ‘course,” Leo says as he stands up and clumsily drops his phone.

Will giggles as he turns around and walks toward the bathroom.

“I’m coming,” Leo calls out as he jogs to catch up.

“Are you sure?” he asks, following him into the bathroom.

“Yeah,” Will says, pretending to be confident. “I just… I want to be closer to you. But I’m not ready for…”

“I get it,” Leo reassures him gently.

“It’s not weird?”

“No,” Leo says firmly.

“Okay.”

“Are you ready?” Will asks quietly as he locks the door.

“Yeah,” Leo says as he slips off his shirt and folds it neatly on the counter.

Will stares briefly before tugging at the bottom hem of his sweater.

“You okay?”

“Nervous,” Will mutters.

“Hey, you’re safe. Forget everything you’ve been told about me. I’m not going to judge you, babe.”

“It’s not that. I trust you. I’m just… insecure, I guess.”

Leo nods as he reaches for Will’s hands.

“We don’t have to do this,” he whispers.

“I want to,” Will whispers back, sliding his fingers under his sweater and lifting it a little.

Leo watches, trying not to seem like he’s staring as Will takes a shaky breath and pulls off the sweater.

He tosses it on the counter, bare shoulders hunched as he stands there, more exposed than before.

Leo smiles, then steps over to turn on the water in the shower.

“Take your time. It’s just warming up,” he says, testing the temperature.

Will nods, looking down, nausea curling in his stomach at the thought of taking his pants off.

“Want me to first?” Leo asks, returning to stand beside him.

Will nods, and Leo proceeds, slowly unbuttoning his jeans.

“I know it’s scary. But you don’t have to worry, I promise,” he says as he slides his pants down. This is as far as they’d gone before, sleeping in their boxers together. All they had left was one more step. To Will, it was a major step.

Leo looks down, then grabs the hem of his boxers and slides them down, exposing himself.

Will looks away, trying his best to stay calm. Then he sighs, looks down at his pants, and slides both his pants and boxers down together to get it over with.

Leo smiles and ruffles his hair.

“I’m proud of you,” he whispers.

Will blushes, insecurity flaring, but he pushes it away as Leo sticks his hand under the water again.

“It’s hot,” Leo says, smiling, then notices Will’s continued hesitation.

“Hey,” he says softly, placing his finger under Will’s chin and gently tilting his head up.

“You’re gorgeous. All of you.”

A small smile grows on Will’s face as he gazes into Leo’s eyes. He’s learning that maybe he really is safe here.

“Come on, we’re going to run out of hot water,” Leo jokes, grabbing Will’s hand and pulling him into the shower.

Will steps into the water first and flinches at the heat. Leo quickly turns it down.

“Sorry,” he says softly.

Will relaxes, letting the warm water cascade over him, trying to ignore his nerves.

Leo slowly wraps his arms around Will’s waist, gauging his comfort. As Will smiles, Leo gently pulls him closer until their chests are touching.

Will rests his head on Leo’s shoulder and lets the water fall over them like a warm rainstorm as they gently sway together, the nerves starting to melt away.

Leo runs his hand up and down the center of Will’s back, sending chills through his body as the rhythm calms him.

“You’re putting me to sleep,” Will groans.

Leo smirks and reaches for the shampoo bottle.

Will opens his eyes and smiles as Leo squirts some into his hand.

“Are you going to wash my hair?” Will asks.

“I am,” Leo replies, pressing his soapy hands into Will’s wavy mess of hair, curling his fingers as he massages his scalp.

Will smiles, leaning back slightly to watch Leo’s focused expression.

The pressure of Leo’s fingertips makes him relax completely. All the nerves are gone now.

“I love you,” Will whispers as he gazes at him.

It catches Leo off guard. He freezes.

“I—I love you too,” he finally stutters.

Will smiles and leans back into the water, rinsing his hair as Leo squeezes out the soap.

“Your turn,” Will says, sliding out of the way. Leo steps into the water, wetting his hair while Will conditions his.

Leo scrubs his own hair, since Will can’t reach.

“Shorty,” Leo jokes as he looks down at him.

“Funny,” Will replies with a smirk.

“That was fun,” Will murmurs as they stand outside the shower, towels around their waists.

“It was,” Leo replies, grabbing the toothpaste with a smirk.

“I really am proud of you, though,” he adds before brushing his teeth.

Will smiles and nods to himself, acknowledging just how big a step he took.

“Want to do it again sometime?” Will asks teasingly, grabbing his toothbrush.

Leo looks at him in the mirror and rolls his eyes, obviously, he wants that.

Will chuckles and joins him at the sink to brush his teeth before bed.

Leo creaks the bathroom door open on their way to bed, only to be met with Sophie and Bella staring at them from the kitchen. Their brows furrow in amused suspicion.

“Look, it’s not what it looks like,” Leo pleads, but it doesn’t work, the girls just burst out laughing at their embarrassed faces.

“Willll,” Sophie teases as he walks out behind Leo.

“Stop,” he mutters.

Sophie raises her eyebrow as she watches him head to his room.

“What?” he asks.

“I didn’t know you were the type to shower with someone.”

“Shut up, you’re like four,” he grumbles, rolling his eyes and closing the bedroom door behind him.

And he lets their teasing words go, drifting off to sleep in Leo’s arms.