Title: Slipping
Fandom: Check, Please!
Rating: Teen and Up
Length: 1,014
Content notes: This is a quick one-shot that will eventually get turned into a whole universe. Written for the "basket" challenge.
Author notes: This fic (and a few lines of it directly) comes from banter popkin16 and I had over on Twitter one day discussing Nursey and Dex (hereafter known as "Oh god, those two idiots). She's amazing. And thanks to goddess47 for helping me tie this to the "basket" prompt. I'd never heard of a basket-weave sweater and now I want seven of them.
Summary: Will escaped Maine and hoped he left discrimination behind him. It didn't leave him exactly but rather was directed at others.



Will had experienced discrimination all of his life at the hands of those that never understood what it meant to be born with something he couldn't control. It started out small, with namecalling, but quickly grew into something bigger. His ribs still ached when icy breezes whipped around them, like today, the pain he'd endured from being held down on the playground at 12 years old and kicked by bullies who called him a freak. That was the last time he did anything that would out him. And as he was helped by the school nurse, who had more contempt than care when it came to people like him, he longed for a future far, far away from the small town that had imprisoned him. Far away from the classmates that bullied him, from the small-minded people who shouted at him when he was young and the adults whose whispers chased him until he left the state.

All because he'd been born with nature magic.

When the full scholarship offer from Samwell showed up in his mailbox, he was all for it. Most of the people he went to school with were destined to attend one of a small handful of Maine schools, a future Will wanted none of. He wanted to start fresh, and a small-town liberal arts college in Massachusetts was just about as far, culturally, from where he grew up.

He loved Samwell and his teammates so much, it made it hard to go home during regular school breaks. He kept his magic mostly to himself, using it and telling others of his capabilities quite sparingly. Out of all his school and teammates, only a handful knew, and none of them treated him any different. It almost made him feel normal.

But sometimes, like what he'd just witnessed, the actions of others took him back to the frustration of being subjected to the ignorance of small-town Maine. Ignorance that had no place in his new life. Except this time it was Nursey who had been the butt of the ignorant outburst.

Will and Derek walked out of their shared astronomy elective just as Will noticed a light snowfall through the gallery-sized windows. Will was bundled up in his jacket, scarf, and gloves, and Derek in his green beanie and a basket-weave sweater. It was such a hipster look on his boyfriend, but somehow Derek managed to pull it off just like every other hipster outfit from his oversized wardrobe. Still, it was chilly enough out that Will pooled some heat in the palm of his left hand and put it at Derek's back as they stepped out into the chilly winter afternoon.

They'd not been dating all that long. Still, Will had been around enough to experience the discrimination Derek felt on an almost daily basis. Mostly it was covert, in the form of microaggressions like women pulling their purses closer when Derek walked into a room or those that fetishized black men like objects. So when one of their classmates brushed past Derek, sending him careening into Will with enough force to almost pushing them both off of their feet, Will was reminded of the overt racism Derek was so often subject to. He was quick to react, except since leaving Maine, Will had learned to use his words instead of actions.

"Hey!" Will called after him.

The guy barely turned toward Will and Derek, his eyes cut to slits and a lip raised in a snarl. "Watch it, token," he said as he glared at Derek.

Will flinched, but Derek put an arm around his waist as the figure retreated. "It's not worth it," he said.

Usually, Will would listen to Derek. But disappointment filled Derek's low, broken voice, and Will knew he had to act. So Will quickly pulled his right hand from his warm jacket pocket, his magic slipping quickly from his fingertips, aided by a chilled breath. Will made each movement subtly, as not to draw attention to himself.

"Will," Derek said. But before he turned, their attention was caught by the racist, half a block ahead of them as he slipped on a sudden patch of ice. The strong gale of wind seemed to come out of nowhere, strong enough to push his feet out from under him.

Derek stopped, which made Will pause at his side. "Der?" he asked innocently. Derek just stared at him.

After another beat, Derek raised one eyebrow with his eyes half-lidded. "Seriously?"

Will's cheeks flushed. He knew what his boyfriend was implying, but there was no way he was going to cop to it. "What?" he asked as they began walking again, the snow crunching under their boots.

"Did you seriously just do that?"

Will shook his head even as the warmth of his flush crept down his neck and the tips of his ears stung. "No?" His voice rose like he was trying to convince himself.

With a fond shake of his head, Derek added, "Oh c'mon. Like he just happened to fall and bust his ass right after he called me that?"

Will pulled Derek close as they stepped around the still-flailing form on the sidewalk. "Come on, Der. Like you have any right to judge someone for being clumsy."

Derek didn't respond verbally. Instead, Will felt nimble fingers pinch through the thick material of his jeans. When they were past, both turned back to the idiot who had yet to make it back to his feet. Not only was there quite a bit of ice where he was attempting to stand, but ice covered his pants and shoes in a thin layer as well. "Man, I know I tell you to chill," Derek said with a smile, "but that," he nodded to the once again prone figure, "seems to be going overboard, Dexy."

Will increase the heat in the palm that rested on Derek's back by just a few degrees with a smile. "Don't make me set you on fire, Der," he said, pushing his palm into Derek's back, then leaned over and kissed his boyfriend.