A surge of appreciation for Hazel welled up inside Will. He couldn't stop himself from leaning on her. He had never been able to do this with anyone else. Just her.
"Ah, Hazel. I've missed you more than I can say. Talking online just wasn't the same," he understated.
"You really missed me that much?" she asked quietly.
What sort of stupid question was that?! Will had missed Hazel every second of every day they were apart, desperately waiting to meet her again. The thought of doing that was the only thing that kept him going.
But it was better to show his feelings than tell them. Since he couldn't explain exactly why she meant so much to him.
He ended up showing her the precious drawing he saved from the fire. He had brought it in case she doubted his claim that he was her old friend Billy. This was irrefutable proof.
"Does this answer your question? It's my most prized possession."
"You still have that?"
"Of course. It was the only thing I was able to bring with me when the fire broke out. I wasn't about to let go of the first gift I ever received. I usually keep it on my desk, but I figured I should bring it as proof in case you didn't believe who I was."
Will could tell Hazel that much. It being the first gift he ever received didn't give away anything concrete about his life before the mental hospital.
"I didn't know it meant so much to you," she said in surprise.
It meant everything to him. Before she made social media accounts, it was all he had of her. The one physical reminder that someone who loved him existed.
Will put it away carefully so it wouldn't get damaged. "Like I said, it's my most prized possession. It means the world to me because you do."
"Do you…still love me?"
Another incredibly stupid question. As if he could ever not love Hazel! She was the only person he ever had loved. His proof that he wasn't like Charlie. He couldn't love anything or anyone. Will could.
He sighed and sat down next to her again, caressing her perfectly soft cheek. "What kind of stupid question is that? I've always loved you, Hazel Dixon, and I always will."
He may not be able to say exactly how yet. They only met up again today. He was being very liberal with his affection, but didn't want to freak her out too much. She might not want to marry him yet. He had time to make that change.
Hazel hugged Will tightly, her face in his neck. "I love you too."
He knew that. She made it pretty obvious back in the mental hospital. Their last night together, she kissed him on the cheek. She wouldn't have done that if she didn't love him. Even if she couldn't physically say the words at the time.
He pulled away enough to kiss her forehead. He wouldn't do anything she didn't want, but still needed to leave as many hints as possible so she wouldn't doubt his intentions so much. Plus he was weak after waiting for this long. His willpower had all but snapped.
"Come on. We need to return my rental car and get to the airport. We have a flight to catch."
It ended up being the best flight of Will's life, since Hazel fell asleep on his shoulder. He was so relieved to have her there that he fell asleep leaning against her too. He never slept on planes. Or anywhere other people were around. It was a hazard.
She was different though. He felt safer with her than he ever had with anyone else. She was the one person he didn't have to completely keep his guard up around. Only enough to protect his secrets.
She was pretty out of it when they arrived, likely thrown off by the time change. He still hadn't recovered from flying out there the day before her graduation, but he was used to not getting much sleep. He still woke up several hours before her.
Hazel was an adorable little sleepyhead when she finally stumbled upstairs in her pajamas. It made Will's heart skip a beat. "Morning, Sleeping Beauty! Or I guess I should say evening."
She groaned before asking, "How long have you been awake?"
"A few hours. How are you feeling?"
"Like one of the undead. But I'll get used to the time change eventually. Once I do, I need to get things sorted with the nearest community college."
"Good idea. We can take care of getting your parents graves too."
Will found out about that being important to Hazel when she needed to make arrangements to bring their ashes on the plane. It was weird to think of her parents being in those urns. They had been real people once. People Charlie destroyed.
Helping her with this would make her happy but would also sort of make up for what he did, right? Will wouldn't have felt responsible in any way if they weren't her parents specifically. She had obviously loved them.
"Thank you. Really," she said gratefully.
Hazel didn't need to thank him for that. Not when he hadn't been able to save them in the first place.
Since Will couldn't say that, he replied nonchalantly. "Of course."
He had a lot of things to take care of now that she was here. This was only one of them. He needed to get her a car and anything else she might need before she started at the community college she planned to enroll in. He had already given her the fake lottery story and she bought it. She wouldn't question where the money was coming from.
He ended up picking a car the current color of Hazel's hair. It was too fitting.
She called him out on it too, and he had to confess what he had done. "You think you're real funny, don't you?"
Only when it came to her. The rest of the time, no one could ever describe him as funny or lighthearted in any way. Including himself.
"Yes. Yes, I do," Will said with a grin.
"I guess you're allowed to laugh at my expense since you bought me a whole car."
"I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you."
"It sure feels like you're laughing at me."