Carter's Duty - 2. Chapter 2

Will was hot.

He wasn't hot in the kind of way that made screaming girls beat down his door and faint when he looked at them. No, unfortunately for him he was hot because the air-conditioning in his stylish split-levelled town house had decided that afternoon it would meet oblivion. Typically it would decide that Saturday was the perfect day to commit mechanical suicide, and despite the landlord's claims to the contrary, the device refused to be resurrected no matter how many times Will invoked God's name in reference to it.

Not that Will was unattractive, quite the contrary he was tall, dark and handsome, with careless hair and a pair of those deep hazel `Irish eyes' that drew people to trust him on instinct. But he was not hot. He had been told repeatedly that he looked distinguished in that classic Englishman manner that brimmed with raw charisma, but without it he was simply... normal. Now Tom Cruise was hot, but Will was more a James Dean, dark and brooding

He rested on the rail that separated the kitchen from the lounge, and sweated profusely in a thin cotton shirt as he tried to drink the cold coffee from a mug he held in his loose hand. Below him the eclectic mix of people seated on his couches to watch movies on his television sweated as well. He didn't object, he had invited each of them to what had become a ritual every Saturday night since he had moved back to Ottawa the year before, a mixture of his old high school friends and their current love interests; it was a way for each of them to stay close when their lives conspired so hard to pull them apart.

He loved each of them after a fashion, knowing how much they loved him. Too many years together, too many laughs. He flushed a small smile as he thought about some of the memories they'd shared together. But that was also the nature of friendship, to love each other no matter what.

They were all friends, if such a strange group of individuals from such a wide set of varied backgrounds could be friends. And Will smiled at them fondly as he enjoyed watching them for a while. He couldn't help but wonder what had kept them all so close over the years. But that was friendship for you, it took the most unlikely people threw them together and sat back to watch what happened.

His eyes drifted to the first couple. Lisa and Jeff were curled up on one of the couches together and shared a large bowl of pistachio nuts. He had often tried to work out what the attraction was between the two of them; she was a beautiful, intelligent woman with a keen eye and a sharp tongue. Jeff was an average guy who was a bright guy but no match for her intelligent wit. He had a tendency to allow himself to be pushed around by her. She was a public relations lawyer, an ultra-feminist, a vegetarian and an on-again-off-again lesbian (she really couldn't decide). He was a construction worker with a taste for sexual experimentation and a flare for art.

Will wasn't sure exactly what they saw in each other, but they were undoubtedly in love. You just had to look at how she looked at him to see that, and there was no question that Jeff adored her in return.

He had watched Jeff stand in the blistering cold for three hours just to walk her home. And he had watched Lisa devour an entire tub of rocky road ice cream and wail that she would never see him again when they had broken up. Will had weathered all the storms of their relationship, an unwilling passenger on their love boat. He grinned wondering if they would give him a captain's hat and call him Skipper. Come to think of it Jeff did look like a beefed up Gilligan...

Will turned as Andrew tapped his arm and gestured with the coffee pot to offer a refill on the stone-cold liquid in Will's mug. Andrew eyes sparkled as he realized that Will had been studying the party guests. He was bright: anyone who studied law at the University of Ottawa would have to be, and he knew Will too well.

"Having fun?" Andrew asked, glancing down at the guests and back at the man he loved.

"Yes," Will replied as he let him refill his mug with a smile of gratitude, "Thanks."

"Oh, come on, that was terrible!" Rafik bellowed standing from his couch and pointing to the screen, "I could do better..."

"Sit down and be quiet, I'm trying to watch the movie," Farah admonished as she pulled him back down beside her.

The two men up in the kitchen both glanced at the couple seated across from Jeff and Lisa. Rafik and Farah detested one another. Years of berating, aggravating and annoying one another had bred a relationship that festered on mutual hatred. They had to be in their third year of marriage by that point, and Will truly believed that the only blissful time between them was their time apart. In some strange way they persisted with the marriage. It probably had more to do with her need to control everything around her, and his bull stubbornness. Love had long ago vanished from their relationship and they resisted all attempts to reconcile them to each other.

Farah was a care worker, and as such should have presented an image of a warm person who cared and was able to listen with boundless patience to the world's problems. Will had learned quickly that Farah possessed none of those traits. The only thing, in Will's mind, Farah cared about was herself and she went to great lengths to prove that fact. But she could fake compassion well. According to Lisa, Farah faked a lot of things, not that Will particularly wanted to know. There was a bet on how long it would be until Rafik woke up and threw her out on her pristine ass. But Will had lost that bet two weeks after the wedding.

Not that Rafik was stupid; more that he truly believed Farah to be the right woman for him. She was a corporate wife who looked good on his arm at business functions. She complemented him well. Many of his co-workers wondered how a man with so few social graces and so little tact could convince a girl like Farah to marry him. Will knew all too well: Rafik's inheritance, once his parents passed away, would be enough to make anyone ignore his failings. That and Rafik had another fatal flaw, he was too nice to Farah, and she kept him tightly wrapped around her little finger.

Will supposed everyone settled in one fashion or another. Rafik, for Farah, was just one example. Not that Will had a right to criticize; he didn't exactly have a stunning track record for relationships. He'd been in one for years, somehow managing to stay together despite all the pitfalls that normally came with modern love. Partly due to the fact that Andrew was just as stubborn as Will was.

He was lucky for that, his friends had all gone through relationships were nothing short of monumental disasters, his friend Jared's last one had been on par with the kind of natural disaster that levelled cities. He was sure that somewhere someone had erected a memorial dedicated solely to man's fallen pride. Maybe one day he would get a chance to lay a wreath there and say a silent prayer; for the moment he was just glad he had never had to go through it. But that wasn't his doing; he'd somehow lucked into the kind of relationship that endured, the kind that grew stronger with time.

Andrew returned the smile as he leaned in close to whisper in Will's ear, "Why aren't you watching the movie?" he asked, as his lips brushed Will's earlobe.

"It was on TBS recently," Will replied as he wrapped his arms around Andrew and drew him closer, "and I didn't want to disturb the others."

Andrew had been a natural addition to Will's life. Sure there were unexpected complications with being all but married to a guy for the better part of five years. Will wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that. Part of him wished that he knew exactly where they were going, and another part of him enjoyed the thrill of not knowing. He supposed that was the way it was with love. They had been dating for the better part of five years and there was no question in his mind that he loved Andrew, but what did that mean? They lived together, loved together, best friends and so much more, but were they ever going to move beyond that? Suddenly he felt a moment of insecurity and doubt, would they ever admit this was more than just a casual relationship? After all the history they had shared he should know, but that was part of the problem.

Will wanted more.

Andrew was tall, built for hockey in that typical Canadian way, and to Will he was definitely handsome in an Old Navy commercial kind of way. It made Andrew appear young, wholesome and clean cut, the kind of boy you took home to your mother if it wasn't for the fact that he was a boy and Will's step-mother still existed in a world of denial. His sandy-blond hair parted in the middle almost carelessly only served to add to the image of a typical wholesome youth. But it was Andrew's sharp blue eyes that gave Will a way to see past the stereotype to the intelligent and determined man beyond. Those powerful eyes that shone every time they looked at him.

Andrew lifted the coffee pot and grinned, "Are you gonna let me go put this back or what?" he asked but he seemed in no hurry to escape Will's embrace.

Will nodded as he bit his lip and reluctantly let Andrew go, following him into the main part of the kitchen as he took a draught from the mug. He immediately regretted it as he winced at the bitter watery taste. Andrew was in the top five honour students at his university, but somehow the art of how to make a decent pot of coffee eluded him completely. No matter how many times he had been shown, Andrew's coffee retained an abysmal taste. Will quickly found the sugar pot and added heaped teaspoons to the liquid to hide the flavour, hoping that Andrew wouldn't notice and be offended.

Will still remembered the first time he had been subjected to a pot of Andrew's coffee. They had been at Lisa's cottage in the Gatineau's earlier that year. It had been a great weekend, the eight of them and Brody, who was notably absent from the night's get-together, a chance to relax and forget the world for a while.

It had been the first morning and Will had desperately craved a mug of coffee as he sat out on the porch wrapped in a blanket and taking in some of the fresh wilderness air he detested so much. Brody had joined him at some point during that morning and the two were idly discussing life. It had been Andrew who had kindly offered to make them coffee and vanished off to the kitchenette.

Unfortunately for Will, Andrew had spent much of his life at Tim Horten's a few doors down, and so in the morning he had been unable to find the coffee filters and, like most Canadian men, had improvised. The result had been a mug of coffee that tasted like toilet paper.

Will had didn't have the heart to complain and had grinned and bore it, keeping Andrew distracted while Brody had slipped unnoticed into the kitchen, dumped the pot, and remade it using the proper filters he found in a storage cupboard. A smooth operation that had resulted in Will stomaching only one mug of the noxious brew. But Andrew had tried, and Will wasn't about to tell the great handyman that he had failed utterly so had complimented him on that mug, and summarily doomed himself to Andrew's coffee thereafter. A sacrifice in the name of love.

"Hey," Andrew said, as if something had just struck him as important as he replaced the pot and turned back to Will, "you know, Jeff was saying earlier that he and Lisa have set a date."

Will tried his best to act surprised, but as usual he failed. Jeff and Lisa had been engaged for nearly five years and each time Jeff had settled on a date, Lisa had found a way to postpone it. It wasn't that she didn't want to marry Jeff; she simply found reasons not to go through with it. It was a familiar pattern and Will wasn't surprised that they had set another date. Jeff was an eternal optimist; he whole-heartedly believed she would go through with it eventually.

"When?" Will asked as he reached into the fridge to find the flavoured coffee cream he had invested in when it had become apparent Andrew was moving in. Will tried to be nonchalant, even though Andrew had gone to the same high school as Will and Lisa had, back when she was dating Brody; he had been a year senior to them and had never really hung out with Lisa that often, definitely not long enough to learn her relationship pattern. So the news of a wedding seemed like big news to him.

"Week Wednesday."

Will choked on a mouthful of coffee; he spat the liquid clear across the countertop.

Andrew looked at him in concern as he took the mug from Will's hand before it could be dropped onto the floor. He set it aside as he tried to straighten Will up.

"You ok?" he asked as he rubbed Will's back to help him breathe.

Will coughed again as he tried to stand upright and take a ragged breath. "Next week?" he managed to choke out.

Andrew nodded as he gave Will a look that said he wasn't sure why Will was so shocked, but he had long ago come to accept Will's peculiarities. Even though Will was only a couple of years younger than he was there were still some things he couldn't relate to. Will was a strange individual, one of those men that were eternally sarcastic, no matter what he said he typically had his customary mischievous grin on his face causing you to wonder if what he said or thought was serious or more him trying to be clever. To Andrew it was endearing, though it annoyed other people.

He gave Will a deadpan expression that said he was serious, "Yeah, they have nearly everything arranged."

"What's going on?" Little Peter asked as he wandered into the kitchen digging in the fridge for the Kool Aid as he looked in amusement at Will choking to death on his coffee. The young sixteen year old was the youngest person there that night, more of the resident mascot and little brother than anything else. He was sporting a gaudy Hawaiian shirt and a goofy grin on his face as he sipped his drink, his big blue eyes sparkling as he waited.

"I just told Will about the wedding," Andrew explained.

"Oh that," Peter said with a knowing grin, "They promised I got to be the ring bearer."

"Not in that shirt," Andrew warned nodding to the cheap polyester shirt with its bright pattern, "But anyway," he turned back to Will, "They wanted to wait till later to tell you."

Will stared at Andrew for a moment, as he tried to digest what he had just been told, before he strode over to the rail and looked down accusingly at the couple who stared back at him innocently. They acted as if they didn't know why he stared at them with such a startled look on his face. As usual Will was the last to learn about the important things, and typically he had to find out through someone else.

Not that he was upset about that; he was too shocked to realize the slight.

"Wednesday?" He demanded in a strangled tone. He was incredulous; they couldn't seriously have planned to get married with so little notice.

Jeff, as usual remained stoic, "Yes, Wednesday."

Farah sighed in disgust as she snatched the remote control from her husband and paused the DVD. She glared up at Will in annoyance for his interruption. Will ignored her; it was his usual method for dealing with Rafik's wife.

"And when exactly were you planning to let me know this?" Will demanded as the shock began to wear off and he began to think again.

"Oh, Wednesday morning." Lisa replied with a matter-of-fact tone, she enjoyed Will's spluttering indignance.

"I see," he replied sternly, before he broke out into a broad grin, "I guess I should congratulate you both then."

Jared sat up and looked between them in confusion, "What's up?"

Jared and Kerry. They were the last couple who graced Will's home that night. And Will supposed they were the best example of people who had chosen to settle. He was a financial planner with a background as a used car salesman. Will loved Jared deeply in that best friend kind of way, Jared was one of those guys doomed to be everyone's friend, especially the girls he fell in love with...

"We're getting married a week Wednesday." Jeff replied completely indifferent to all the attention cantered upon him. It took a lot to get Jeff to react; a bomb could explode under his seat cushion and he would still take his time to react to it.

"That's great!" Kerry shifted as she looked up from the crook of Jared's arm where she was nestled, "It's about time!"

Kerry was a grade school teacher who always seemed to smell like poster paints. Everyone had experienced that one art teacher in school who looked like they had smoked too much pot and was just a little too far out there to relate to reality, and that was Kerry. But she loved Jared. She seemed oblivious to her own beauty; she possessed a natural beauty that shone through the obvious fatigue of running around after eight-year- olds. But she lacked confidence, which was one reason Will presumed she had become a teacher. Will had tried teaching once, and he was a shining example of someone who couldn't.

Will knew they loved each other; Jared had sex on tap and she had someone to cling to through moments of insecurity. However, Jared always bragged about the super models he dreamt about when he was alone with just the guys. There was something in this about defeat, and it seemed as though Jared had simply given up on his search for the right one and had settled for anyone. That saddened Will tremendously, he cared about both of them but they just didn't work as a couple. He wished sincerely they would figure it out eventually and either fall in love or walk away, their current status quo wasn't healthy for either of them.

The room broke out into excited conversations as the secret was finally revealed. There was talk of preparations and what had to happen before the wedding day arrived. It turned out that Jeff had everything nicely arranged; all that remained were a few of the smaller details: the guest invitations and a best man. And so movie night became an impromptu wedding shower.

Peter, Will and Andrew joined the others down in the living room, Andrew wrapping his arms around Will as he drew him up against him as he offered his advice to the soon-to-be newlyweds. And Will took a moment to watch Andrew as he interacted with his friends. It seemed that they had come to accept that Andrew was a part of Will's life technically they were the old married couple, the longest running relationship in the room, the one Lisa had confided she envied. But again it was a case of status quo... and that made Will nervous.

Lisa had commented many times that she thought Andrew was good for Will. Someone who could compete with Will and challenge him to think, unlike so many of her ex's who had more in common with a vacuum cleaner than a human being. No -- even Lisa had to admit, vacuum cleaners had a use; her ex's were simply useless.

Not that Will had ever thought that way; he'd liked some of them. It just proved he was no real judge of character. Then again he still thought it a mistake when she had broken up with Brody after high school. No one had seen that disaster coming, Lisa had been expecting white picket fences and children, Brody just hadn't been that type of man. Which was probably why she envied Will's relationship with Andrew. She'd liked Andrew back in high school, not even she had seen their getting together coming. But she had told Will that she approved of their relationship. Which was good, Will wasn't about to trade Andrew in for anything.

"Someone will have to call Brody." Jared commented as he reached out to grab a hand full of popcorn.

"Oh God, no." Farah complained, the remote still clutched in her hand, her movie forgotten by everyone but her.

Everyone continued to ignore her.

"Where is he now?" Jeff asked.

"LA at last report," Will responded. "Something to do with work."

"Brody doesn't work," Lisa commented dryly. "God knows what he does but it certainly can't be called work."

There was a chuckle around the room.

Will and Jared exchanged excited glances; Brody was coming.