. * & nancy. 

  ‘ you’re probably right . – and , he’s got a big brother like you . i’m guessing he’ll be okay . ’ a playful nudge of his shoulder & a soft , whisper-like laugh follow her words . ‘ i think we all need a little time, you know ? can’t pretend this didn’t happen.’ the words come out before she gets much of a chance to consider them. it’s been a long time since she’s experienced this amount of candor regarding the events of weeks ago – apparently , she’ll seize the moment for all it’s worth , speaking thoughts she’s long since kept bottled up . no matter now – she’s BEGUN the sharing process . might as well go ALL IN. — ‘ not like it can go back to normal. ’ it’s both a statement and a question , occupying a newly familiar middleground of curiosity  —-  things she doesn’t want to know tend to exist alongside the things she does want to know. it’s , truthfully , a HEADACHE . one which she wishes none of them had to deal with.

                                                                   ^{☆ ⁞     he stares at her, mulling over her words. he knows she’s right. he’s just overthinking the tiniest things when they all seem to be symptoms of the what Will went through. can anyone really blame him, though? losing Will for that week really put into perspective how dependent he is on him; how much he needs him around because without having Will to take care of what does he really have? it’s so ingrained in his bones that he doesn’t think he knows how to do anything anymore but raise his baby brother. it’s not like it bothers him, he loves Will more than anything— would do anything for him. ❛ I don’t want it to go completely back to normal. ❜ a pause, an inhale. ❛ I’m glad this happened —  I mean I’m not GLAD but… who says we would’ve become friends without this, you know ? ❜ he decides to move on from the gloomy tension that has their shoulders tensed. it’s that parental need to keep other’s happy kicking in, and he’s not too fond of the furrow between Nancy’s eyebrows.}