Arrow Inferno
Chapter 52: Stanley ‘STAN’ Norris vs. Ian ‘WILL’ Williams ~ Nourishment!

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"Where from all this?" Will's eyes shifted around. He didn't remember having all the stuff he was seeing in his kitchen at that moment.

"I shopped whilst you slept." Stan put a skillet on fire and added a little oil.

"How?" he went to open the fridge and gasped. It was fully stocked. "I was lying on top of you the entire time, Stan. How did you manage to pull this off?"

"I have friends." He threw in the pancetta to fry.

"You mean people came in here whilst I was sleeping?" Will looked surprised.

"That should tell you how deep that sleep was. Aren't you happy?"

But Will was more touched than happy. After all, he didn't even want any food. "Stan you need to stop doing this." He said quietly. It felt good to be cared for but it was a bit disconcerting how Stan used so much money on him all the time. "If by stop doing this you mean stop cooking, I promise to stop immediately after it's cooked." He tossed in the pre-cooked shrimps to fry in the juices of the nicely done pancetta.

"Stan..." Will groaned. "How much did it cost? Need to pay."

"If you needed all this you could have bought it yourself. It's obvious you didn't." He took out the shrimps and pancetta and then began to fry some chopped onions, ginger, and garlic. The aroma that filled that kitchen was amazing. "I needed them to prepare something to eat. I'm famished. And you had nothing. What a shitty host!"

"I wasn't expecting company." Will gritted his teeth. Stan was so annoying.

"I understand." Stan added his seasoning and then threw in some sliced green, red, and yellow bell peppers. He didn't add his usual hot pepper because he didn't want the food to be spicy for Will's sake. "But I need to eat." He turned around to look at Will. "So do you." He took the spaghetti off the fire and drained it.

Will didn't know what to say so he just watched Stan. When the instructor added the pancetta and shrimps to the sauce, it smelt so heavenly Will felt his stomach growl. And when he poured in the spaghetti and mixed it in, it looked so good he felt his mouth water. Will was pleasantly surprised. Hopefully, he could finally eat something. After adding a little soy sauce and some chopped green onions, Stan turned off the heat and then opened the drawer that held the plates and cutlery. It was almost as if he'd been using that kitchen all his life.

Stan dished out the food onto two plates and held one out to Will. "Please."

"Thanks." Will took both plates from Stan and left the kitchen.

He hadn't eaten in the dining area since he came to the house a week earlier but it was clean thanks to the cleaners who had cleaned up after the funeral reception. Sharon had made them clean inside the house too. When Stan joined him, he had a bottle of apple juice, two glasses, and cutlery. He gave Will a set of cutlery and then poured some juice into his glass.

"If you want wine, I think my mother has..."

"No, this is okay." Stan said. "They brought some wine but I didn't open it because alcohol is not the best option seeing as you haven't taken in anything solid in days."

"That's true." Will pushed the food around on his plate.

"Eat, Will." Stan encouraged gently and watched as Will took his first bite. "Is it okay?"

"It's delicious. Thanks."

"When are you supposed to resume?"

"I haven't decided yet," Will said. "I will resume when I'm ready."

"Don't you think working will rather help?"

"Not this time," Will exhaled audibly. "I feel like there's something I need to do. I just don't know what it is."

"You're not eating, Will." Stan observed. "Maybe if you get some food into your system, you'll have more strength to see what it is you're meant to do more easily," he grinned. "Are you planning on living here permanently?" "No. But for now, I need to be here."

"What's the plan for the house?"

Will shrugged. "Sell it."

"It's a beautiful house."

"Yeah, but we can't maintain it so we'll have to sell it." A sad smile flitted across Will's face. "I can't eat anymore," he announced.

"For real?" Stan raised an eyebrow in surprise. Will had taken just about five forkfuls. "Drink your juice then."

Later that evening, both men were in the living room watching television when Will excused himself and went to his room. Not long after, Stan heard the distant sounds of retching. He rushed into the room to find Will kneeling in front of the water closet in the ensuite bathroom, struggling with dry heaves that sounded very painful.

"Oh fuck, Will." Stan groaned as he knelt behind Will and wrapped his arms around him.

"You shouldn't be in here," Will said weakly as Stan slipped a hand beneath his t-shirt and gently rubbed his stomach. He hated that Stan had to see him like that.

"You should know by now that I don't usually do what's expected."

"You remind me of Jean. You don't know when to take a hint." Will's breath came out harshly. "Ge the hell out, Stan." But his actions belied his words as he allowed his head to fall back on Stan's shoulder.

"I'm not going anywhere." Stan turned his head and kissed his mate's cheek.

"You're a stubborn cat." He murmured just before another bout of dry heaves hit him. This time was even worse.

Stan held him throughout. Even though nothing came out, his stomach clenched painfully as it tried to force something out. Tears streamed down the soldier's face which broke Stan's heart. When the heaving eventually stopped, both men just sat there in silence, Will with his eyes closed, relaxing against Stan, and Stan gently rubbing Will's stomach.

"What did I get?" Will croaked. "A boy or a girl?"

"Twins. A boy and a girl."

Both laughed softly. "Fuck, that was painful." Will groaned, his eyes still closed.

"Think it was the food?"

"Nope. Nothing came out." He sat up. "I think what my body was trying to reject was the thought of the food and not the food itself." He chuckled.

When both men got back on their feet, Will brushed his teeth and then started to strip. He put his clothes into the laundry basket and then stepped into the shower. Stan stood there watching Will the entire time. He didn't want to leave him alone.

"You know I'm okay now, right?" Will mumbled as he washed himself.

"Let me be the judge of that."

Stan handed Will a towel when he stepped out of the shower and then left for the bedroom. Will entered with a towel wrapped low on his hips and went to the closet for boxer briefs and a wife beater. After putting them on, he took his towel back to the bathroom and then came back in to find Stan standing by the bed.

"Get in." Stan gestured at the bed.

Will looked amused for a moment, then he walked up to Stan and just hugged him. The werewolf was surprised but hugged Will back. They stood that way for some time. It was almost as if Will was drawing strength from Stan. "Thank you," Will murmured after a while and then got into bed.