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at 29, William falls in love.
One morning William steps up on the deck and sees his sisters best friend standing at the helm, illuminated by the rising sun and he looks so beautiful that his heart skips a beat.
And his first thought is 'oh fuck. oh fuck I'm so screwed', because he knows what this is. He knows what this is and of Chaos he never intended for this to happen.
Over the next week he realizes just how big of a part James has taken in his life. He always seeks out the other mans company, always finds reasons to sit next to him or spend time with him. When entering a room his gaze always seeks out the dirty blond curls and sharp lines of his face, his dark eyes like the stormy ocean- you get the point.
Somehow, without William noticing it, James has wormed his way into Will's heart and made himself home. And now that Will has realized it, he wonders how he never noticed before.
It's odd, William decides, feeling like this. Even just a smile from James can put him in a better mood. When his unruly curls escape his bandana William wants to card his hands through the mess, and don't even get him started on when James has just awoken, hair a mess and sticking up at odd angles and him squinting his eyes against the morning sun- William wants to die. James looks so unfairly attractive with his bed hair and grumpy expression and William wants to kiss his frown away and bury his hands in James' golden hair-
James catches William staring at him across the breakfast table, over the deck, sitting next to each other at the nightly card games, gazing at the blond with a soft expression. Every time James catches him William quickly adverts his eyes and avoids eye contact for a while. James never brings it up. Neither does William.
It's a few weeks after Williams realization. The whole crew is lounging around the deck, talking, singing and playing cards as usual. The stars are shining above them, the fire casting its warmth into the chilly night. James and William are sitting on a crate near the fire, drinking and watching Jean destroy Lucian and Tamara at draw four despite having drunk a whole bottle of Rhean alcohol (damn those elvish genes). Jack, Tim, Theodor and Raylan are playing their own game of seven, with Jade and Arabella watching on, nursing their shared bottle of rum. Empty and half-full bottles of various alcoholic drinks were laying around, and most of the crew were more than a little tipsy.
The warm glow of the fire cast shadows onto James' features, and illuminated his eyes. William couldn't help but stare at his mouth, slightly upturned, amused at their friends antics. James was usually beautiful, but here, in the light of the fire, clearly content with life and relaxed, he turned from beautiful to downright gorgeous.
James turned towards William, laughing at a joke someone made. Their eyes met and Williams brain went blank. The firelight reflected in James' eyes, and all William could think about was how much he wanted to kiss him. James tilted his head curiously. His lips moved, but all William could hear was the blood roaring in his ears.
"Will?"
He blinked. He tore his eyes from James' lips and abruptly stood up.
"I think- I'm tired. I'm- it's late. I- should go to sleep."
Without looking James in the eyes William briskly walked below deck and to his room. He clumsily tossed off his boots and belt, sword and scabbard carelessly clattering to the floor, and sprawled on top his bed. The moonlight filtering through the small window painted his room in a faint glow. William closed his eyes, and immediately the sight of James painted in firelight popped into his mind. Groaning, he opened his eyes, fruitlessly attempting to expel the vision from his mind. Gods above, his lips- wet with saliva and rum, red from being bitten on, trying to muffle his laughter-
William abruptly stood up and took a deep breath. He paced around the small room, trying his very best not to think about his best friends gods damned lips.
There came a small knock on his door. William stilled.
"Wil? you still up?" came James' voice.
"No."
"No?" James' voice was amused. "Can i come in?"
William took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He pushed open the door, revealing James, arms crossed against his chest and an amused uptick on his lips. James took one look at William and his eyes softened. What James saw in his posture, William didn't know, but the down-right adoring look in James' eyes made him a bit dizzy. William swayed a bit, steadying himself on the door frame.
"You okay?" James asked, glancing at his tight grip on he door frame.
"Hmmh" William couldn't drag his gaze away from the blonds eyes, dark like the depths of the sea, reflecting the moonlight trickling through the window. Without even noticing it, he had leaned forward towards James, like a moth to a flame. James' eyes gained a different glint, one that William couldn't interpret before he was being gently pushed backwards towards his bed. James barely even paused to close the door, before gently guiding William backwards to his bed. The backs of his legs hit the mattress, and William sat down, hard. He was staring up at James, eyes wide and swirling with a thousand different emotions.
James stepped closer, standing between William's legs, and cradled his face gently.
"Is this okay?" James asked quietly, searching gaze locked onto William's face. At a loss for words, William just nodded. James trailed his fingers along Williams jaw to his lips. James brushed his thumbs over Williams lips. William let out a strangled noise, and James let out a huff of laughter.