gothangelz⋆.˚✮

Michael took a deep, shaky breath, his throat had a huge knot on it, he wanted desperately to cry. His hand held a man's arm as he walked down the village's main street, who didn't fight against his pulling, he had accepted his fate. His hands were tied with thick rope that was burning his wrists from how tight it was, brushing harshly against his soft skin on his wrists. That's why he hated his job sometimes, he wanted to help the king, to help his kingdom, that's why he became a knight, but from time to time he had to take care of the executions.

He never looked when it happened. His job was to take the prisoner to their death, and that's what he did, he did his job as he swore he would do when he got knighted.

The prisoner looked at the wooden steps in front of him with a blank expression on. He had a bruised lip and a punched eye from when he got abducted from his house to be taken to prison. His left eye barely opened from how swollen it got, and he looked like that even though he didn't fight the arrest, if he did, he would probably have lost his eye.

He went upstairs as some people cheered for his demise. An executioner brought him to the middle of the stage, behind a noose. The prisoner looked at it, his feet over a trapdoor. The executioner went behind him with a burlap sack on his hand to put over his face.

Michael's back was turned to the stage, his eyes filled with tears that wanted so bad to go down his face, for a brief moment he glanced back as the people cheered for the death of another witch. A sorcerer for that matter.

William's green eyes met Michael's seconds before the sack was placed over his head. Michael turned back to face forward as the rope was placed on William's neck, his body tensed when he heard the trapdoor opening and the body falling.

A single tear ran down his face, but, like god was listening to him, it started to rain so the tears blended with the rain drops, so he allowed himself to cry quietly for a bit.

And that was it. William Byers was dead.

…

Michael was downtown that day, walking through the town's market. He was looking at the different stands made out of dark wood covered with white or yellowish cloth with different produces and baked goods harvested and made by the citizens.

Finally the winter had ended and the spring bloomed marvelously once again at the king Brenner's kingdom. The peasants were happy that they could finally sell more things to pay their duties to the king. Things got rough during winter, but now it would be better, at least, they hoped it would.

Michael had his hand over the handle of his sword that was sheathed gracefully at his waist. His sword was prettier than a regular knight one, since he became commander, he got a more showy sword, to show people that he was to be respected even more.

Michael still didn't know the difference between respect and fear. One day, he would figure it out.

People would move so he could pass through them. Moms would pull their children out of the way so he could walk. It was nice to be respected.

When he smelled fresh bread his feet simply followed the scent for him, without even having him realize what he was doing, he was simply drawn to it. He got in front of a little stand with a few loaves of bread with a golden top that seemed to be so fluffy to the touch, one of them was cut and steaming, probably that one that got Michael's attention. They were placed in little weaved baskets with white clothes on them. Some of them had patterns on top that looked like leaves.

There was also bigger soda bread that looked like they would tear the roof of your mouth, but it would be worth it.

Also there were two honey cakes, one of them cut in thin slices so people could try. One banana bread and carrot cake stranded side by side, near the soda bread. And, finally, there was a plate filled with nuts biscuits.

The person who was taking care of the stand had their back to their things, they were kneeling facing an alley way that was near the stand, they seemed to be talking with someone.

"Here, take it… it's fine… take it", he said softly.

Michael moved his head a bit and saw that he was holding a carrot, a small one but it was girthy. He noticed that by his side, there was a small wheelbarrow that was what he probably used to carry all those goods to sell that day. There was a big white cloth covering it, but one corner was pulled back, revealing that there were a few products in baskets inside it still. There were a few carrots and, on top of them, he could see there was a little weaved bowl with what seemed to be blueberries.

Something moved in front of the knelt man and Michael saw who he was talking to. Better saying what he was talking to. A little red fox was looking at the man, with curious eyes, their nose moved frantically as it smelled the carrot.

Slowly the man brought the carrot closer to the little fox and smiled wide when the animal opened its mouth slowly and bit the carrot, running back to the alley to the forest behind it at a fast pace.

The man chuckled and got up dusting off his pants and hands, turning to Michael finally.

Michael had a small smile on his face as he watched the man interact with the fox, but as soon as he saw his face, his smile dropped, his eyebrows went up and his lips slightly parted. The man looked like a statue, like a dream. His eyebrows were thick, his nose was long and his cupid's bow was very prominent. Above his lip, there was a small freckle making it hard not to bring attention to his pinkish lips. And his thick eyelashes framed his beautiful and shiny green eyes.

"May I help you with something, commander?", he asked, getting Michael to leave his trance.

"Oh… hm… yes!"

When Michael opened his mouth to try to speak something with a little more syllables, a little girl started running towards them, "William! William!", she called getting beside Michael, panting because she ran too fast to get there, "Do you have blueberries today?"

William smiled and turned his back to them again to get the little bowl Michael saw minutes before. The little girl offered her hand to him, "I'm not gonna give you all of them today, because I have a few friends that would also like them, so you will have to share, ok?"

"It's fine", she complied, nodding. He placed a few blueberries on one of her hands and asked for the other one to put a bit more since the hands of a seven year old were too small and he thought it wasn't enough, "Thank you, William!"

"You welcome, sweetie", she started to run like the fox, "Don't forget to share!", he screamed at her.

"Okay!", she screamed back as she vanished between the crowd.

"Would you like a blueberry?", William offered the other man the bow.

"No… I-", the words got stuck in his throat as the other took one little fruit and brought it to his lips, eating it. William noticed that the other seemed stuck and moved the bowl, offering once again, "No, it's fine… Thank you."

William frowned for a second. Commanders knew how to say "thank you"? That was brand new information. If he managed to say "please", William would flip. The baker smiled and placed the bowl back in its place

"Do your friends prefer the blueberries over the bread?"

William chuckled, "Yes, they like the fruits more."

"Oh… are they foxes too?"

He chuckled again, making Michael smile, "Actually, they are crows."

Michael's eyebrows went up in surprise, "That's nice. Do you have any human friends or only animals?"

"Mostly animals, if I'm going to be honest", Michael chuckled softly, "But the human ones like the blueberries too."

"I saw that", Michael smiled and looked at the table, "You made all of these?"

William nodded, "Yes…", and he got a piece of the sliced bread that was still steaming from how hot it was, "Would you like to try?"

"That one I will not pass on", he got the bread from the other's hand, brushing his fingers against it just to feel if his skin was as soft as it looked, and it was, it felt like he was brushing his hand against silk. He took a bite and hummed, getting a happy smile from William, "This is incredible."

"I'm glad you like it!", he chirped, "I'm sorry for not having butter today… When it's warm like this, it tastes even better."

Michael took a deep breath and gave the bread another bite, the soft dough would tear easily under his teeth, almost melting in his mouth from how soft it was. For a second, he questioned why he was alone in that stand, why no one was there too getting a piece of bread. He didn't realize that people didn't want to get near a commander, they could wait until he was gone to talk to William.

"When will you have butter again?", Michael asked, brushing one hand against the other to clean them.

"Probably tomorrow…"

"So can I be back tomorrow to try it?"

"Of course, commander."

Michael offered his hand to William, "Call me Michael."

William grabbed his hand firmly and gave a small shake, "William."

Their hands slid against one another as they separated the handshake. William noticed that Michael's hand was a bit rougher than his, even though he did a lot of manual labor, he had the luck of not showing it that much. Michael's hands were a bit more strong as he had to wield a sword. He was very pretty and polite for a commander, William thought. He was being so nice, because Michael was nice first. Usually commanders demand attention, demand things to eat, other commanders would punch his stand to get his attention and scare away the fox, but Michael waited patiently as he was feeding the little animal. He waited patiently as the little girl came to get her blueberries. He joked a bit and even asked him to use his first name, not "sir", not "commander", not "my lord", just "Michael".

He had long and dark eyebrows, his hair was a bit long and curly, and so dark, shining beautifully under the morning light. His nose was long and had an adorable curve on the tip. His lips were plump and pink, and naturally they seemed to glisten under the sun. His neck was long like his whole body was. His shoulders were broad and his cheek bones were sharp. One day, when he would get close enough, he would notice the freckles over his face.

"So, how much for the loaf of bread, William?"

William couldn't help but frown, he wanted to pay for his own food? Commanders would usually take it. They would arrest peasants for stealing and would still do so on a regular basis, which William always found very ironic.

"Two gold coins", he answered, waiting for a scream, an angry face, a complaint, but Michael reached for the pocket in his pants and got two gold coins, giving them to William.

"Here", he smiled.

"You can choose which you want."

William placed the coins inside his own pocket as Michael touched the top of one the loaves that seemed to be the fluffiest and liked how it bounced back from his touch.

"I will take this one, please."

And again, William frowned. So, he knew how to say "please" also. This was the most insane interaction he had with a commander in his whole life. Last encounter he got a purple eye trying to defend a young woman who was a friend and was just trying to sell some oranges, but they kept trying to touch her in an inappropriate manner.

William got a brown paper he had stacked under the biscuit plate and wrapped the bread, closing it with a thin sisal rope, "Here you go", he smiled, giving the bread to Michael.

He didn't have to touch William to get the bread, there were more than enough places to touch the wrap and get it, but he chose to place one of his hands over William's and the other on the other side to feel one more time his soft skin under his.

"Thank you, William", he smiled, "See you tomorrow?"

William nodded, with a big smile on, "Yes, I will be on the stand next to the foxes and little kids."

Michael laughed, "And the crowns."

William chuckled, "Yes, and the crows."

"Goodbye", Michael whispered, trying to move away, but his feet wouldn't budge.

"Goodbye", William waved.

With a deep breath, Michael finally started moving away, going through the crowd that opened space from him to pass. Before he could lose William from sight, he glanced back, seeing him greeting new clients, smiling and talking to them.

Noticing he was being watched, William looked at the commander's direction, their eyes meeting for one more time for that day. The green on the brown. A soft glance. A very curious one also, for that matter.

…

On the next day, Michael showed up like he said he would. First thing in the morning he was going around the town's market to find William's stand. It didn't take long for him to start to smell the fresh bread and his legs did the job of helping him follow it. This time, he got to the stand and William was finishing cutting a fresh loaf on top of a wooden cutting board. The smoke was even more visible this time since it was just being cut.

William had shorter sleeves that day, and the sleeves were too small for his biceps sake. With his movements, Micheal could see them stretch a bit and start to squeeze the big and strong biceps.

"Hello, Michael", William said smiling when he saw Michael.

Michael got scared for a second, he was being caught staring with a lot of attention, "Hi, William!", he tried to smile, giving an awkward one, trying to not show how much he was staring at those clearly very hard and strong biceps.

William placed the bread on its little basket with a white cloth on it, "You really came."

"You said that would be butter", he chirped, smiling.

William chuckled, shaking his head, "I truly did", he turned to his wheelbarrow and got a white butter bell and a butter knife, putting over the table, "Please, chose a slice", William wondered for a bit if he should do what he wanted to do, he looked at his wheelbarrow once again, on a corner, under the white cloth there was a smaller glass of milk he had separated thinking of Michael. He looked back at the pretty commander and watched him choose the slice he wanted, "Would you like some strawberry milk?"

Michael looked at him with his brow furrowed, "Can you milk a strawberry?"

William laughed at the sincere question, "No… It's when you mix milk with strawberry jam… It's delightful. Would you like to try?"

"That would be nice, thank you."

William nodded with a soft smile and turned his back to him, getting the smaller milk bottle, the jar of homemade strawberry jam and a spoon. He placed the bottle over his table and opened it, getting two spoons full of jam and put it in the bottle before closing it back again and shaking it to mix the jam with the milk.

Michael watched William with the slice of warm bread in his hand, he just wanted to watch him for a bit.

"Would you like to sit down to eat?", William suggested, "Or you have to leave?"

He had to, but he could stay for a bit, "I would love to stay."

"Good!", he looked around and next to them there was a stand and the person taking care of it had a small stool.

Michael saw the stool as well and he got close to the woman taking care of the stand with different fruits to sell, "It's okay if I take this stool for a bit?"

The woman frowned at him, not understanding why a man wielding a commander's sword, clearly a commander, was being so polite. She looked at William, getting a small nod from him, "Yes… of course…"

"Thank you", he smiled and pulled the stool and placed it next to the wheelbarrow.

He sat down with the slice of bread in one hand and the knife and butter bell on another and he looked around, not wanting to put anything on the dirty ground. William, noticing what he was thinking about, got the wooden cutting board and got close to Michael's lap, waiting for approval to continue. When he understood, his legs closed together and he smiled, thinking it was a great idea. The cutting board was placed over his thighs, William couldn't help but notice that they were thick, they looked meaty pressed against one another, pressing against the black pants.

Michael placed the butter bell, the butter knife and the fresh warm bread over the cutting board and the bottle with the lovely pink drink was placed next to his shiny boots by William.

The baker turned his back to the man so he could talk with clients, Michael opened the butter bell just to get distracted by the other's back. It was broad like his shoulders, making his waist look small by comparison. When Michael's eyes looked at the other's ass, he averted the gaze quickly, getting shy with his behavior. But the quick glance was memorized in his brain already, it was plump and round, looking like it was amazing to squeeze.

"Fucking damn it, Wheeler", he whispered to himself.

William turned to him, "Did you say something?"

"No…", he nodded quickly, "Sorry for interrupting."

Another word that he never thought a commander would say. Byers smiled, "It's okay", and turned back to the client.

Michael spread the butter over the bread, watching it melt over the corner of the bread. He took a bite and hummed in happiness, it was so good. William turned to him when the client went away, smiling at his positive reaction.

"Good, huh?"

Michael nodded eagerly, "Amazing", and he got the strawberry milk bottle, "Now, let me see this one", he opened the bottle and took a sip, humming once again, "Goodness grace, this is too good. Milking strawberries sure is worth it."

William scoffed with a smile, "You're so dumb", his eyes grew wide in fear with his harsh words, he was joking, but maybe that could upset Michael, but it didn't, he just smiled widely.

"My older sister says the same."

They looked at each other smiling, just holding each other's gaze, when a tiny noise made caught their attention. It was a tiny squeak that came from a tiny orange furrowed fox. It's nose sniffing up, pointing at Michael, who looked at his bread, back to the fox and finally to William.

"Is it okay to give it bread?", Michael asked.

"I guess so, I would just not give it with butter."

Michael nodded, tore a piece of his loaf in half and offered it to the small animal. The fox sniffed around the bread and opened its mouth slowly just to close it quickly to snatch the bread and run back to the forest. The taller man chuckled softly watching the fluffy tail vanish between the bushes.

"I understand why you like to be friends with them, they are very cute", Michael commented looking back at William, who smiled.

"They sure are. And their fur is super soft", and he got another slice of bread, offering it to Michael.

"Oh, no!", he waved his hand in front of him, denying the piece of bread, with his brows up, not wanting to bother, "There is no need to worry."

"You just lost half of your bread to a little fox, please, take it. And I made the butter just so you could eat with the bread, you have to accept", he insisted. Hesitantly, Michael got the other piece, it was too good to deny it.

"You made the butter just for me?"

William got nervous in the same second, "N-no… I mean… I wasn't going to make it yesterday…"

"You said that maybe you would have it for today, so it wasn't the plan?"

William took a deep breath, "No", and he chuckled, "I have to make the clients happy."

Michael crooked one eyebrow, "You just want my money, huh?"

"I have taxes to pay, Michael", he remembered like it was obvious, making him laugh.

"You are right", he nodded and sighed, "Thank you for the other piece of breath."

"You're welcome, I hope you enjoy it."

Michael nodded and continued to eat his bread as the other kept selling his baked goods. He didn't want to leave, but he had nothing to do at the market that could justify missing his morning shift as a commander in the castle. Other commanders would miss their whole work day and don't care about it, but Michael worked very hard and was very proud of his position, so he needed to be good at it.

He got two gold coins and placed them over William's cutting board with the butter bell and the dirty butter knife. He placed the cutting board over the table, on the corner, placing the empty glass bottle inside William's wheelbarrow. Finally, he got the stool and took it back to its owner, thanking her for landing it for him for a bit.

When the commander got close again to say goodbye, William noticed the coins over his cutting board, "There is no need for that, Michael", he said, getting the coins in his hand and offering them back to the taller man.

"Please, take them, it's only fair, I ate one piece and a half", he emphasized, making the other smile adorably, smiling too, "of your bread, you made butter and spent milk and strawberry jam with me. Maybe it's not even enough for everything that I had. Just accept it, please."

"But the bread that I brought and cut, it's free. I made the butter because I wanted to and the strawberry milk was just a treat. I can't take your money", he once again pushed his closed fist with the coins back to Michael.

"No", he said with a smile and just started walking away.

"Michael!", he called for him, watching him go through people, wanting him to stop.

"Bye, William! See you tomorrow", he said looking back briefly to smile and wave.

William took a deep breath and looked at the coins in his hand before placing them inside his own pocket. He started to put away the cutting board and the things on top of it as the woman in the stand next to him got close, smiling like she knew a huge and amazing secret.

"He is polite", she commented.

William looked at her with a cocked brow, "Yes, he is", he agreed, thinking he knew where she wanted to go.

"And he is very handsome…"

He rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Are you interested, Robin? I can introduce you both."

"You know I'm not interested in that", she whispered.

He looked at her with a scared look on, "Be quiet, Robin", and he looked around.

"I never understood why I would go to jail with thieves and killers just because I like to lick pussy."

William's eyes almost popped out of their socket, he got close to her and grabbed her arms, turning them so he covered her body with his, "Shut up", he said through his teeth. She spoke very quietly, the market was very noisy, so no one heard her, but he got scared nonetheless. 

"Sorry", she whispered, "But you have to agree that he is handsome", she insisted.

"Well… objectively, he is", he agreed, "But what's your point if not to be introduced to him properly?"

He got back to organizing his things as she watched, "I think you know, William."

"I have no idea what you mean", he grumbled through the corner of his mouth getting a bigger and full bottle of milk and placed it over the table.

"Oh… so you didn't trade milk for my strawberries yesterday so you could make strawberry jam for him?", she pointed out smiling victoriously when he looked at her a little bit angry.

"I didn't make it for him, the jar is still here", he retorted, like that was better for his case.

"And the small bottle of milk just happened to be here?"

"I'm just trying to get on a commander's good side, Robin."

"Is the good side underneath?"

She laughed when he looked at her mortified, his cheeks getting red right away, "You need to learn to shut up", he said through his teeth.

She shrugged, "I will leave you alone…", and she started walking back to her stand, stopping briefly to look at him again, "If you want more strawberries, just let me know", she smiled, "But the peaches are for Victoria, okay?"

He chuckled, "Okay, Robin, okay."

And she finally got back to her stand. Victoria was a woman that worked at a little pharmacy down the road from the market and she and Robin were close. Close like she was trying to convey that William wanted to be with Michael. But he wouldn't admit that, especially not in a market full of people.

…

The weeks passed. Michael would go every day to the market to check on William. One day he even brought some new white cloths for him to put over his baked goods. Robin would watch from a far with a little smile on her face, it was cute. Even though William would never admit that he enjoyed the company of the other man way too much, more than a friend would enjoy a friend's company, she knew what he felt. It was what she felt for Victoria.

William would always place his stand next to Robin, the woman Michael got the stool from, that they were friends. He was worried for a moment that Robin and William had some kind of romance going on between them. Michael didn't want to meddle, didn't want to seem nosy, but he had to ask about it.

"Robin is a pretty young woman", Michael commented one breezy spring day, eating a slice of banana cake with blueberries on them, his back resting against the wall of a random building, one of his legs bent and resting against it.

William looked at Robin as she talked to a client all happy, "She is."

"You… do you…", Michael cleared his throat, "Do you ha-have something?", he hated that he was so nervous, but it was stronger than him. He just hoped that the blush in his cheeks weren't that noticeable and his face was just feeling that hot because the cold air was presenting a very harsh temperature difference.

Unfortunately it was very noticeable. Which made William a bit sour, thinking that he was blushing thinking about her being compromised with him and not being single.

"No", he said in a dry tone as he moved his products from the wagon to the table.

Michael smiled so wide that it hurted his cheeks a little, "Really?"

William still was a bit sour, "Yes. We are just friends", he nodded, "But… she is not available if is that what you want to know", he didn't want to say the truth, that Robin had already established that she didn't feel any sort of attraction to men, she found some of them attractive, but wasn't attracted to them. So he said only enough.

"No… I was just curious", he cleared his throat again, "You seemed close, so I wondered if it was something more to it…"

The smaller man got a little more relieved, smiling small as he shook his head, "Oh, no, there is nothing more to it, just good friends. She already has someone."

"And you, William? Do you have someone?"

He looked at the other for a moment, his voice stuck in his throat, "No… Just me, my cows, my orchard and my garden."

"And the crows and foxes."

William laughed, nodding his head, "And the crows and the foxes", he repeated, agreeing happily, "And a few stray cats as well", he took a deep breath getting a pretty red-pinkish apple with green markings from a basket in the wagon and threw it at Michael.

"Thank you", he said leaning to his boot, getting a knife hiding on the side inside it.

"And you, Michael? Do you have anyone?"

Michael cut a piece of the apple and offered first to the other, who got it, eating it as the other shook his head, "Just me and the king's horses."

"The king has stunning horses", William commented.

"You really like animals, huh?"

William smiled brightly, "I love them. And luckily they love me too."

The taller man couldn't help but smile adorably, cutting a piece of the apple for himself, "Really lucky."

Michael loved his little time at William's stand during his mornings. He would eat something marvelous and talk with the sweetest and most adorable person he ever met in his life, William.

One day, the farmer didn't go to the market. Which worried Michael right at the second that he noticed that he wasn't finding him anywhere. He walked around two times trying to find him, only not to find him anywhere. He got worried, his forehead hurted from how deep the worry wrinkle between his eyebrows were.

When he saw Robin, he got a little more relieved, going through the people to get to her, William had to have his stand next to hers, they were always next to each other. When he was close enough to see who was at her sides, his face dropped seeing that none of them were him. One of them even was a baker, but wasn't his baker.

"Robin", Michael said softly, getting close, "hi."

"Hello, Michael. Looking for William?", she smiled, he didn't even have to ask.

His eyes went to the stands next to hers and smiled awkwardly, "Hm… How are you?", he tried to be polite.

She laughed, "It's okay if you just came to talk to him to know about him, I don't mind, silly. He wasn't feeling good this morning, so he stayed at home for the day."

Michael's brows went up, worried, his big brown eyes made him look like a lost puppy, "What does he have?"

"He said he had a fever…"

"He lives alone, doesn't he?", William talked about him being alone, but he wanted to make sure.

"Yes."

"Does he have any medication with him? Do you know that?"

She shook her head, "I don't think so… At the end of the day, I was going to the pharmacy to get some medication for him."

"I can get that and take it to him", Robin smiled, she couldn't contain herself, "It's okay to ask where he lives?"

"Of course", she wanted to pinch his cheek like he was a little kid, "At south of the village, you will find this dirt trail with tall trees surrounding it, you will find his farm down the road to the left", she explained, "It's really easy to find, you will see a little house covered with vines and a lot of animals running around."

He chuckled, "Okay, I think I got it. Thank you, Robin."

"You're welcome, Michael."

And Michael went to the local pharmacy. A woman with short red hair helped him out, who he figured out her name was Victoria, because her father called her for a brief moment. She gave him a little flask with fever medication and for the flu, and she asked him to make sure that his friend ate before taking the medication. Michael went to the king's stables and borrowed a black horse with a long black mane with white stripes, and more black fur grew over its hooves.

The commander followed Robin's instructions, the whole way to the Byers farm looked like a painting. The trees had beautiful colorful flowers all over them, the petals covered the dirt path. A few minutes after riding he could see a white picket fence with vines all over them, a few flowers also were growing on the top of them, at the bottom, the flower had been eaten by small animals. Micheal knew that William loved that they found food in his house.

William's house was an adorable cottage, it was small, but big enough if it was only him, and like Robin said, it was covered in vines. There were a few big animals walking around, there were two cows and one goat. He could hear chickens, but he didn't see them, because the animals were in a chicken coop behind the house. From where he was standing, on top of the black horse, he could see the different fruit trees William had, it was the most beautiful cottage he had ever seen. He just thought how hard it must be for William to take his things from his house to sell at the village. Even with the wagon, it could be very challenging.

He stopped the horse in front of the fence and tied his rein on it. He got off the horse and went to the gate of the farm. It wasn't locked, he could just push it open and get in, but he felt that it would be rude to just come in like that.

"William!", he called for him, "William! It's Michael!", since he wasn't answering, Michael took a deep breath and opened the gate, "I'm sorry to intrude, but I'm coming in!"

And he got inside the fence, holding a brown paper bag with the medication in his hand, closing the gate behind him. There was a little rock path from the gate to the door of the cottage and grass on each side, which was being eaten by the cows and goat.

He heard a loud caw as he approached the door, looking up, he saw a crow looking at him from the edge of the roof. Michael smiled at the crow, that moved his head from side to side looking at him and cawing. He held his hand up to knock on the door and he smiled again seeing three little silver buttons left near it, he knew that the little crow brought them to his friend. He knew that they liked shiny things and would bring them to their friends.

He finally knocked on the door, "William, please, open up. It's Michael."

He knocked one more time before the door swung open. William was wearing pajamas that were covered under the blanket he had over his shoulders. He was feeling awful, so cold, his body was hurting so much.

"Michael? What are you doing here?", he asked in a hushed voice, his eyes were small, he was clearly sleeping when Michael woke him up.

"I'm so sorry for showing up without being invited", Michael started, looking guilty, "But I went to the market and Robin told me that you had a fever, so I took the liberty of coming here", he took a deep breath, "She explained to me how to get here", and he lifted the little bag, "And I brought medicine."

William smiled, his lips were gray, which broke Michael's heart, "You didn't have too."

"Of course, I did", he insisted, "It's okay if I come in?"

"Please", William moved to the side, letting the other in.

William's house was even cutter on the inside, everything was made of wood, a pretty brown wood that looked polished from how much it shined. The walls had a few paintings scarred around. The fireplace had a cauldron on it, over unlit wood. Vines were growing over the walls inside as well, it looked stunning. The pans and trays were made of copper and some of them were hanging under the wooden cabinets and hooks on the walls. Everything was so cozy, it was the visual representation of what it was like to be around William.

"Again, I'm sorry for showing up without being invited, I got worried about you."

"It's okay… Thank you for taking your time with me", William shivered and chuckled, "I'm sorry."

Michael looked worried and, without even thinking, he placed his hand over the baker's forehead, going under the straight brown hair, "You are burning up", he said worried, "Have you eaten today?"

He shook his head, "Not yet, I just wanted to sleep", he chuckled.

"Would it be okay if I cooked for you?", he asked, "I'm no baker like you", he smiled when the smaller man did too, "but I can make you some vegetable soup."

"I don't want to impose anything", William whispered.

"I don't mind, if it's okay if I use your things and stay here cooking for you."

"Are you sure?", Michael nodded, "Then I wouldn't mind."

"Good. Because the woman from the pharmacy told me that you have to eat before taking your medicine."

"You meet Victoria?", William smiled, his eyes getting small.

"Yes, she is lovely", Michael chuckled, "You want to go back to your room while I cook?"

"I will stay here with you", he confirmed, "I will keep you company while you cook."

"Okay!", the tall man agreed and smiled.

William sat down at the table close to the sink. Michael got two carrots and two potatoes from a basket on a corner of the sink, cleaned and peeled them. He was planning to cut them up in smaller pieces to cook faster. He got the fire on the fireplace started, the copper cauldron was placed over it in a hook to boil the water and the peels from the vegetables to give the soup more flavor and vitamins. He also chopped up an onion and minced some garlic to give even more flavor to the soup.

"Would it be okay if I put a few eggs to cook in the water? You need a bit of protein too."

"It's not gonna be hard to find them in the middle of the water to peel them? Or you want me to eat the shell? I'm sick, not insane."

Michael laughed, "No, silly, I will crack them on the boiling water. My mom used to do that when she made soup for us. It was fantastic. Would it be okay with you?"

"Oh! I see", he chuckled, "Sure."

"Nice", he got back to cutting the carrot he was finishing cutting, "Oh, your little crow friend left you a few gifts outside."

"He is so sweet", William said, "You see that self", and he pointed at the shelf on the right of them, "that box has all the little trinkets he left for me."

Michael smiled brightly, "Can I see?", when the other nodded, he went close to the shelf next to a beautiful sunset over a lake painting. He got the box and opened the lid, seeing all the little metal things there. There were nails, buttons, safety pins, lockets and pendants, earrings and little rocks. Seeing that, it made him smile, "That's adorable", William nodded as Michael got back to his activity, "And those paintings? The crow friend made them too? Or it was a little fox?"

"It was me."

Michael's eyes widened going from the painting to William, "You're so talented! William! These are amazing!"

William smiled shyly, "Thank you. I really like painting."

"You should sell these paintings too, it would make a lot of money."

"I will think about it."

Michael nodded, agreeing. They got quiet as the commander kept preparing the soup, he took out the peels that were already boiled and put the vegetables and cracked two eggs on the water. He turned around and opened his mouth to tell William that in a few minutes it would be done, but soon he closed it back up when he saw that the smaller man was sleeping on the chair. He was hugging himself with his blanket and his head was hanging to the left.

Michael smiled at that adorable scene, getting close. He caressed the brunette hair, taking a deep breath, it was so soft. He positioned himself and placed one of his arms under William's legs and the other behind his back, picking him up in his arms like he didn't weigh anything at all.

"Michael", William whispered, his eyes hardly getting open while being walked to his room.

"Shhh", he shushed the other, "Just go back to sleep", Wheeler got to the corridor and saw two doors, one was the bathroom and the other was Byers' room. William laid his head on his shoulder and that made Michael's heart pick up the pace, he didn't want to put him down anymore, but he shouldn't do that.

William was laid down on his bed and once again he got his hair caressed by the other before he got back to the kitchen. Michael looked out the window over the sink and smiled at the view, noticing that one of William's paintings was that view, he even made the window over the landscape. It was turned to the forest and he was able to see the beautiful trees and the red barn for his big animals. He could see a few bunnies running around between the cows. They were clearly wild rabbits, because William didn't mention them and since the chickens weren't loose, the rabbits wouldn't be too.

When the soup was done, Wheeler got a ceramic bowl and put a lot of the soup in it, making sure to get a lot of carrots, potatoes and the two eggs. He used a cloth to place between his hand and the bowl and got a spoon and the bag with the medication, going back to William's room.

"William?", he said softly, getting the chair next to the desk on the corner of the room, placing it close to the bed, next to the headboard, "William?", he sat down, his free hand running his finger over his cheeks, getting worried when the other woke up, even though that was the plan all along. His cheeks got hot immediately, "Hi…"

"Sorry", he said softly, "I'm very sleepy…", he sat down on the bad, his back against the headboard.

"Don't be", he assured softly, "You have to eat now", he got a bit of the soup on the spoon and offered to the other, getting the bowl under it so it wouldn't drip over the other.

"You don't have to feed it to me", William chuckled, trying to get the spoon, only to be pulled away from him.

"And let you sleep on it in your hand and spill boiling water over yourself?", the smaller man laughed, "No way. Just be a good boy and eat it."

William was too feverish to realise that being called a "good boy" made his body tingle, but once he would get better it would hit him very roughly.

Michael spoon fed the farmer with the soup he made. When William ate the first spoon, his stomach growled loudly, his body finally remembered it was very hungry. He tried to eat slowly, because after eating the second spoon with too much eagerness he burned his mouth.

When he finished the dish, he took his medication. His body's first reaction was to start shaking again, he just felt warm again after the soup, but his body also remembered he was very sick and the medication was going to start working, only after his body felt a little worse to help him sleep again.

"Are you cold?", Michael asked after getting back from getting the bowl in the sink in the kitchen.

"I'm going to be fine."

"Are you sure? Do you want more soup?"

"I think I have eaten enough", and his teeth started clanking together as he laid back down. Michael took his boots off and sat on the bed, "What are you doing?"

The black haired man simply laid down on the bed next to the other man and pulled him closer to his body, one hand going under his neck and the other over his arm, caressing his back up and down quickly, "It's just to warm you up a bit", he explained in a soft voice, "You will be better in a few hours, I just don't want you cold until then."

"Okay", he agreed quietly.

Once again on that day, William slept, but, this time, he was sleeping in Michael's arms. The commander ended up sleeping as well, holding the smaller man's body against his, smelling his soft smell of soap and fresh bread. He woke up a couple hours later, feeling a bit lost on where he was, he didn't recognize the selling and the paintings on the walls. But then he heard William's soft breathing, turning his face, he saw him sleeping in his arms and he wasn't lost anymore.

Unfortunately, he had to leave, he spent way too much time away and if anyone saw this scene, both of them could be locked up in jail for indecency, even though they didn't do anything.

"William?", he called softly.

"What?", the brunette was a bit groggy, looking around with small eyes.

"I think it's better if I go now."

William's eyes got a bit wider and he nodded, pushing himself away from the other, feeling a bit cold from the loss of the other's warmth, at least he didn't start to shake. Should he fake a shake so Michael would stay longer hugged to him?

"Sure", he said as the other got up and started to put back his socks.

"Do you feel okay to go outside with me?", Michael asked, tying his laces, "I brought one of the king's horses."

"Can I pet it?"

Michael chuckled, "Of course."

With William's smile, the other smiled too, "Then I will go."

And that's what they did. William put on his working boots and went outside with the commander, seeing the beautiful black horse tied to his fence.

Before he went close, he got the little silver buttons his crow friend left him and placed them inside his pocket, "Oh my…", he said getting closer, "You are gorgeous", Michael opened the gate staying on the other side of the fence as William caressed the horses nose, "What's his name?"

"Phillip."

"Hi, Phillip. Your hair is really pretty", he said softly, "What's your secret?"

"Your hair is pretty too", Michael said without even noticing.

"Thank you", the answer was so shy and contained, he wasn't expecting that.

Wheeler gave the other a small smile before climbing back on the horse, "I will go now."

"Can I ride him one day?", William asked, untying the knot that kept him close to the fence, throwing in the other's direction.

"Of course! One day I will bring him and he can ride in the woods, would you like that?"

William nodded, "A lot… Thank you for taking such good care of me."

"Don't need to thank me", he assured, pushing the rein making the horse start moving back.

"Wait!", William said, making the commander stop pulling the rain and the horse stopped in his tracks. He watched the smaller man walk fast back home just to come out with two apples in his hand. One, he threw at Michael, who gracefully caught it. And the other, he offered to Philip, that smelled it for a few seconds before eating it whole, "As a thank you for waiting here so long", he smiled and looked at Michael, who was smiling adorably watching him being nice to Philip, "Bye, Michael. Bye, Philip."

"Bye, William."

And the knight left with the worse, going back from here he came, leaving the horse back on its spot in the royal stable. He couldn't stop smiling as he brushed the horse's mane that got tangled, because of the wind. He felt silly for smiling so much, but he felt good. That was it, he felt good.

…

"I think I never asked if it was hard to make bread", Michael asked that morning. Summer had come, the heat was unbearable, but people were still working very hard and the market was as crowded as ever, especially because of the produce from the season. At that moment, Michael was eating a slice of corn meal loaf cake with grape jam.

"I don't think it is", William said after he waved at a customer that just bought sourdough bread, "I can teach you if you would like."

Michael smiled brightly, "I would love that!", and he took another bite of the cake.

"Would you be okay about coming to my house around five in the morning?"

"Five in the morning?", he asked with his mouth full of cake, making the other laugh, "You have to feed the chickens to make bread, is that it?"

"Fuck, you're so dumb", William wasn't the one to curse, but when he did Michael had to dissociate for a bit, because if he paid too much attention to it, his body would react hardly about it, "The dough has to rest for a while before baking. Some types of dough rests two times."

"They sure are tired", he commented, smiling as the other laughed again.

"Idiot", he said under his breath.

"Five is too early, I would have to wake at least at four to go to your house."

"You could sleep at his place", Robin said quietly as she caught a crate full of grapes from the floor and placed it closer to her stand, not even looking at them. It was like she was trying to whisper the idea in their ears through the wind.

William and Michael looked at each other, one's cheeks and the other's ears blushing, respectively, "If you would like…", Byers said, shrugging. 

"I don't want to impose", Wheeler tried to say.

"No, it's no problem. You can sleep on the couch."

"If it's not a problem, then I accept."

"Okay."

Robin smiled widely at her stand, organizing her things. She knew about the sleeping incident when William had a fever. She got so excited that the farmer saw the moment she would start bouncing around the walls of his house. She screamed so loud in excitement that he could see one of his cows getting scared through the window of his kitchen.

They even had a conversation about what could even happen between two men, sexually. He almost choked on his water when she said with the most calm voice ever: "There is one place where it can go in…". And she even completed with: "Some guys at the village's brothel talk about it, they seem to like it.". William was mortified and intrigued, if that was a thing. His cheeks would burn with the thought, especially when he pictured Michael's pretty face over his, hovering, panting as he moved his body back and forth, moaning at how good he felt. And he would blush even harder when he switched them up, his eyes on the brown eyes, pleading for more, the pretty lips falling open as he took all in.

He had to keep those thoughts for when he was alone or things would get too shameful.

"Next week", William began, "there will be the village's anniversary celebration, you can come if you want. And you can come with me to my house and we can make bread the next morning."

"We are going to get drunk and bake bread at five in the morning the next day?", Michael's face had an aversion to the idea, but he shrugged quickly and chuckled, "It could be fun."

"Just… wear normal clothes, okay? And keep your sword at home, please."

"I wasn't planning on taking the sword, but…", he looked down at his clothes, "what's wrong with my clothes?"

William pressed his pointer and middle finger over the king's coat of arms that was embroidered on his shirt over the commander's chest, "People aren't very fond of knights."

"What?", that was brand new information to Michael. He chuckled in disbelief, "What do you mean?"

"People are scared of the royal guard", he whispered, "You were so polite to me when we met that I didn't believe you were a commander."

"Sometimes we have to be a bit rougher, but that's it. We swear to always be fair and treat people kindly."

"Some people have been breaking their oaths then."

"That's just… not possible… we are respected by the people…"

"There is a huge difference between being respected and being feared, Michael."

And it was like the glass floor cracked under his feet and he started to free fall. He never saw it like that, but his vision switched and when he left the market, he noticed mothers would pull their kids out of the way not tk teach them to have matters near such important royal officers, but because they were afraid of what he would do to them or their children.

The bigger and expensive the sword was, the bigger the fear the people had.

But he was a good man, he was polite, he was caring, he would never harm anyone just for the sake of harming, just to feel powerful. That wasn't the reason why he became a knight in the first place. He wanted to help, not to have power.

For the next week, he didn't wear a uniform or his sword to go to the village's market. People were giving him space to walk, but at their own time, they weren't in a rush, because they weren't scared. That made him want to become the change, he wanted to be respected, not feared, he wanted to be the first that people would think when they needed rescue.

On the village's anniversary, Michael didn't go to the market, because it would be a quicker stay that day. William told him they would just stay there for three hours, so he wouldn't even bother to go, it would be a lot of work to have to walk there just to come back a few hours later. So he just had a day off.

Michael felt terrible the whole morning, it was the first time in months that he didn't spend a time of his morning at the village's market eating and talking to William (and also Robin, and sometimes Victoria). He really missed William. And his smile. And his laugh. And the little fox that was his best friend.

He met Byers and Robin at the door of the village's tavern, where the party was taking place. It wasn't that big for all those people, but people didn't mind, they were all smooched together and dancing and drinking. Michael was happy seeing people happy like that, giving him beer and cheering with him and William.

"It's okay if I take her with me for a bit?", Victoria asked once she was close enough to them, having to scream the question, because it was too noisy.

Robin smiled happily, getting the other woman's hand without giving the two men the chance to answer.

"Bye, you two", William said, waving.

Michael smiled, drinking a bit of his beer, "This is nice."

"Sorry?!", the other screamed looking at him, signaling his ear, so to say that he didn't hear.

Wheeler leaned into the brunette's ear, smelling his soft soap and fresh baked bread smell once again, he almost lost his words, because he remembered how good it was sleeping holding him that afternoon, "I just said that this is nice."

William smiled happily, "Oh, right! It is!", he screamed back to be heard with the noise.

"Do you want to dance with me?", Michael asked in William's ear.

The baker looked at the people dancing on the other side of the tavern, they were all dancing in pairs, all of them had one thing in common: they were couples composed of a man and a woman.

"We can't", William answered in Michael's ear. His voice seemed a bit ashamed, a bit shy, even. He didn't say he didn't want to, only that they couldn't.

Michael looked at the people dancing and noticed what he meant, it would be a huge problem to dance together, even as just friends. He nodded, looking a bit upset, drinking more beer. He looked around and saw a flight of stairs going to the second floor, the mezzanine would lead to several rooms on the second floor that the owner of the tavern would rent for people to sleep in. On the second floor was a flight of stairs climbing the wall up to a trapdoor, that was probably the door to the roof.

Michael got William's beer and placed both their mugs over the table next to them and looked at him, "Follow me", and he started walking.

The baker followed him not knowing what he wanted to do. They ended up on the roof, both of them looking at the night sky at one of the tallest buildings in the village. It looked marvelous from up there, the stars covered them and the light breeze was a change of temperature from the warmth in the tavern.

They still could hear the music and the best part was: they were alone.

"Let's dance!", Michael exclaimed excitedly.

The happy music made them lock their opposite arms and spin around one time. They weren't even able to begin dancing when the rhythm changed. They heard a soft harp start to play and the violins and piano followed it, calming down everyone's nerves in the tavern.

"We didn't even get to dance for a bit", William chuckled, letting go of the other's arm.

"We still can dance", he shrugged. William furrowed his brow, giving the other a confused smile, while Michael gave him a courtesy bow, very smooth and millimetrically correct, he was a knight after all, he knew perfectly how to do that. He offered his hand, his face still down, "Could I have the honor to dance with you, sir?"

William gave the hand an hesitant look, his eyes going around the roof, they were alone, it was just the two of them and the music, so his hand went to the other's, who straightened his face, looking at the other with a smile on. Their hands that were together, positioned to the side as they both tried to hold each other's waist, laughing at the coincidence. They both were thought to dance like that, to hold their partner's waist and lead, but they were two leads there, so they had to share the control.

Michael waited, letting the other decide what he wanted to do, his right hand floating in the air, waiting to know where to go. William changed his hand's place and gently rested on Michael's shoulder, allowing him to take the lead first.

And they started to dance on the roof. The music led them more than anything else. Their movements worked well together, like they practiced dancing with the other from how good they worked together.

William was twirled around and brought back to the dance, but this time, Michael held his shoulder with his free hand, allowing him to lead as well. They were smiling at each other, going round and round the roof, following the harp. After doing a courtesy, they touched each other's opposite hand in their chest height as they would spin around together.

Michael laughed amused when William spun him, holding his waist when he pulled the other close, "This is fun", he said softly looking at William's eyes.

"Yes…", his voice was so hushed, there was no need to shout anymore, it was just the two of them anyway.

"I heard once that you only can 'adore' a god, but I can't believe that that's true, because I adore you", his voice was soft. That moment was soft after all, soft like a fox's fur, it was scary to touch for the first time, because you would never know what would happen, how the fox would react, but once you were able to do so, it was the most amazing thing in the world. His hand on William's shoulder went up his neck and cupped his jaw, his thumb sliding over his cheek, that was starting to heat up, "I adore everything about you. Every single last detail. From your green shiny eyes, to your smile", and his eyes went to his lips, "to the adorable little freckle over your lip, to your kindness and the ability you have to become friends with anything", he emphasised the word, getting his eyes back to the other's, "you are best friends with a crow for fuck sakes", he chuckled as the other laughed, "You are the most marvelous human being that I ever had the luck to cross paths with. I still get mesmerized by you, by your beauty, by your personality, by your kindness. I was lost today because I couldn't see you at the market", William was hearing in silence, not moving a muscle, because if he moved, maybe the fox would scare away, "I could only think about you, about how I would see you later, but the time wasn't passing fast enough. I tried to sleep the whole afternoon just to make time go by faster", Byers smiled shyly, "I got three hours from my day maybe, but it wasn't near enough", and he chuckled, making Michael smile, his thumb still caressing his cheek, "William Byers, you might as well be a god, because there is no one in the world that I adore more than you."

William felt tears burn his eyes, threatening to come down. His hand pulled Michael by the waist to be closer to him, letting go of the other's hand just to grab the nape of neck and William kissed Michael. It took Wheeler a second to correspond, but when he did, he didn't waste time. His lips moved against William's, only pressing them against them. It wasn't enough, he needed more.

He separated their lips for a brief second, his thumb going to his chin, pulling it down a bit, getting William to separate them slightly, before pressing them against his lips again. The tongue entered his mouth, making Byers whimper between the kiss, sliding his tongue against Michael's, desperate, longing for the other's touch. One of William's hands went down the curly black hair, finally feeling how soft it was, the other kept on his chest as his waist was held.

Their breaths were shaking, their foreheads touched briefly so they could breath a bit, just to get a little bit of air, before restarting the starved kiss. They felt like wild animals in the winter, desperate to find something to nourish them, and when they found it, they weren't able to let go.

"Fuck", Michael cursed pulling William even closer.

That was when he woke up from his hunger induced trance. He felt something hard on his waist, Michael's erection, as it brushed against his own erection, making his whole body burn and grab the knight even harder, his hands shaking. He couldn't do that, he shouldn't, what if someone went to the roof? There was nowhere to hide, they needed to stop.

He separated the kiss, the moon light illuminating the little string of saliva that connected their lips, "We can't…", he pushed him away, getting his waist being released.

"I'm sorry", Michael panted, taking a deep breath, taking a step back, "I'm so sorry."

"No… It's fine…", William couldn't look him in the eyes, turning his back at him, "Maybe we should go…"

"I need a moment… before we go…", he swallowed hard, looking at the volume in his pants under the moonlight.

"Me too", William nodded, getting close to the edge of the roof, hugging his own body.

"Do you prefer to be alone?"

"No… it's fine… I just need a moment, please."

"Okay… I will stay quiet."

"Thank you", he whispered, closing his eyes harshly, trying to think about anything else, but his mind couldn't. His fingers went to his own lips, touching lightly still feeling the tingly sensation of kissing the knight behind him.

Michel had his back to William, feeling so ashamed, he didn't want to shame him, he wasn't thinking much when he started talking. His lips still were warm from kissing the other, not even the cold breeze could erase that. His erection went down after a few minutes, his mind trying to concentrate on how pretty the moonlight was, because if he thought about William, it would never go away.

"Would you be okay with going now?", William asked in a hushed tone.

"Yes", Michael turned to the other who was facing him.

"Would you prefer to go to your house for the night?"

Michael shook his head, "I would prefer to take you home, I would feel better if I knew you didn't have to walk back alone."

William nodded looking at the floor, "We can go then."

They said goodbye to Robin and Victoria, both of them trying to understand why their two friends were leaving so quickly. Michael took the blame, saying he wasn't feeling that good, so he asked to go away and William was going with him, since they were going to his house. But Robin knew that at some point of tomorrow, William would tell her what truly happened.

They walked quietly, it would be faster in a horse, but William hadn't managed to buy one yet, she almost had the money to do so and he refused to allow Michael to get one of the king's horses again, especially because it would be for more than a few hours in the afternoon, he didn't want to go to prison for stealing from the king. He knew that it wouldn't matter if Michael said it was him that got it, that it was his idea, William was the peasant one, he would be the one going to jail for it. It was just about 20 minutes walking from the tavern, it was 40 from the market and William would walk carrying a wagon, so it was much simpler by comparison.

Michael was the first one to break the silence, stopping in his tracks suddenly, stopping in the middle of the forest path to the farm, getting William to stop and turn to him as he knelt down. For a second, the farmer's breath got caught in his throat.

"Sorry for stopping", he said softly, touching his right boot and messing with the lace, "My boot is untied", the man standing could have sworn that the boot was still tied and Michael untied it to tie again. He was right, the knight wanted to talk without having to look at the other, so he thought it was a good idea to have his attention to another thing, so he lied, "And… uh… I'm sorry for…", and he took a deep breath, calmly adjusting his laces to tie them, "for what happened earlier", and he switched his knees, untying the other lace to tie it again, it would be just so both of them are tied in the same way, not to give him time to keep talking, "I shouldn't have said all those things, I crossed a line", and he looked up at William, as he stood up, his height towering over the farmer's, "I'm so sorry", he managed to say looking in the green eyes.

Byers took a beat, taking a deep breath, "I-I-", he cleared his throat looking up, to the stars on the horizon over the top of the trees and back to the brown eyes, looking guilty as they looked at him with curiosity of what they wanted to say, "I was the one who… well… started", Michael smiled softly, getting a smile from William too, "I'm the one who should be sorry."

"There is no need to apologize", Michael assured with a soft voice, his eyes going to the other's lips for a second, before going back to his eyes. Noticing what he did, William did the same, "I enjoyed it…"

"You did?", the question was silent, there was no reason to talk too loudly there, it was just them, the stars, the trees and an owl hooting in the distance.

Michael nodded looking at his lips again, "I did… It's the only thing I can think about", and he finally brought his eyes to the green ones, "Everything that has to do with you, actually. You are the only thing I have in my mind. I can't-"

And he stopped himself, touching William's face and pushing him back, stopping when the other's back touched a tree trunk, the dense forest covering them. And with a deep breath, Michael kissed William.

The kiss didn't start like the last one, that was just a simple touch of the lips, with this one they already were starving for each other's taste. William's hand went to the black hair as Michael's hand held his waist. The kiss was famished, their tongues would slide over one another, not fighting for space, but for the need to be touching the other.

Without breaking the kiss, Michael's hands went to William's thighs, feeling their tenderness for a moment as he pulled him up, wrapping the legs around his waist. The baker broke the kiss just to look at him, his hands hugging his neck, pulling him closer, as if there was any space between them to be conquered. Their lips were a little bit red and glistened with saliva.

Michael captured William's lower lip in his and sucked on it before getting back to kissing. Without realizing, Byers rolled his hips, his body just worked for him, he was feeling too good, it was overwhelming and he needed to relieve himself a bit. With his movement, Michael hummed in approval, pressing the other's back even harder against the tall and big tree trunk, his own hips grinding against the other's. William whimpered between the kiss, his hips moving against Michael's even harder, his legs tightening the grip around his waist, to give him balance to keep moving.

"Fuck", William cursed, moaning softly as he felt the other's erection press against his.

They weren't thinking anymore, they were just so fucking horny that they didn't thought about the consequences of what they were doing, it just felt too good to think about anything else. Michael took a deep breath, he loved hearing the baker cursing, making his cock throb in his pants and he pushed his own erection against the brunette's and moaned with him. Their faces were so close, their noses touched each other's skin, as their parted lips tried to keep their breathing going, panting for air.

They started to kiss again, their hips picking up the pace. William only experienced pleasure with himself, Michael had a few encounters in the brothel, he had the means to pay for this kind of pleasure, so he knew somethings, but that was different, there was no comparison and his cock wasn't even out of his pants. William squeaked in surprise between the kiss when he felt one hand on his ass, squeezing the meat. He just kept kissing the other, rubbing his cock against the other's.

A pressure formed in their stomachs, building up, bubbling up their bodies and, if they weren't already insane enough, it boiled over. William threw his head back against the trunk, his body trembling, soft spasms taking over his body, his head went back down, his eyes met Michael's, there was so much eagerness in the brown eyes, watching him carefully. 

William laid his forehead against the broad strong knight's shoulder, trying to normalize his breathing, his body still tingling with an orgasm.

"Are we insane?", William asked quietly, unable to look at Michael, still hiding his face on his shoulder, smelling the perfume on his neck.

"I think so", Michael said, pulling the other's head by his cheek to get him to look in his eyes, "Are you okay?"

William nodded, "Yes."

And he was finally put on the ground again, "We should keep going."

"Yes", it was the only word William was able to say, it was short and simple, it was good for his brain to form.

They got back to walking in silence, William's cheeks flushed during the walk, feeling his pleasure sticking inside his underwear. He was feeling so ashamed, but, at the moment, it was so good, why did it have to be so bad? They didn't arm anyone, they just wanted to be intimate with one another, why was it that bad?

At the door of William's house, Michael watched him unlock the door, still avoiding his gaze, looking very carefully at the door lock, like it was going to escape from him.

"Goodnight, William", Michael said once the door was open, ready to leave.

"Aren't you staying?"

"I don't want to make you feel ashamed…"

"I'm not ashamed", William promised looking at the ground.

"Then say that again looking in my eyes, William."

Byers closed his eyes for a brief moment, taking a deep breath, before looking at the brown eyes, "I'm not ashamed, Michael", he whispered, "I'm just… It's new… And I'm… shy…?"

Michael had to find a lot of strength in him not to just kiss him again. His cheeks started to turn this adorable pink color that was perceivable even under the moonlight, his eyes looked like they were pleading for understanding.

"Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

"I don't know", the smaller man was honest, "I think we should just sleep… Maybe it's what we need…"

Michael nodded, "Then, I will let you sleep", and he tried to go away again, being stopped by a hand holding his bicep.

"I don't want you to leave… I would feel better if you stayed… please", the peasant let go of the knight's arm, "And you promised to help me with baking bread, I was kind of hoping that would mean having even more bread to sell tomorrow."

Michael chuckled, getting a smile from William, "Okay, I can stay."

They both cleaned themselves once they were inside the house. Michael insisted William to go first since it was his house, and waited on the couch where he was going to sleep for the night. The couch was small and a little hard, but he was happy to just be sleeping under the same roof as William. 

When Michael got in the bathroom, after taking his shirt off, William knocked on the door, "Michael?", he asked softly, he was going to continue talking, but the door swung open, getting his words stuck in his throat, interrupting the air flow with them.

Michael had no shirt on anymore, his bread chest was showing, the strong pecks and softly divided over his stomach. He had a soft happy trail going down to his open pants, showing a little bit of his underwear. Fuck.

"I-I-I…", William closed his eyes for a second and took a shark inhale, opening the eyes back up trying to focus up, and stay with his eyes locked on Michael's, "This is for you", and he offered folded clothes to the knight, "So you can sleep a little better."

"Oh", Michael smiled while getting the folded pajamas, "Thank you, William."

"You're welcome", he smiled as best as he could, his eyes desperately wanting to go down again, "I will try to sleep now, okay?"

Michael didn't even get the chance to answer, William had already gone to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. The knight looked at the clothes and took a deep breath getting ready to clean himself as well. His underwear was trash now after what happened minutes ago.

None of them were able to sleep.

William would spin around in his bed, trying to close his eyes, but he would only see Michael's face close to his. Lips parted, panting for air, his cheeks lightly flushed, the freckles showing adorably under the moonlight that managed to spill through the foliage of the trees. His brown eyes on his, his hands touching him, pulling him closer by the ass. He would turn around and close his eyes again just to see Michael's chest and how broad and strong it looked. William's face started to burn in shame when his mind thought about how it would feel to have one of his pecks in his mouth and suck on it.

"Fuck, William", he cursed, rubbing his face as he laid on his back, looking at the ceiling.

On the other hand, Michael wasn't even trying to sleep, he knew he would just get frustrated if he tried. He was hoping his own tiredness would win and he would just pass out. He was looking at the sealing, allowing his mind to think about William. About his face when he reached his orgasm, how sweet he sounded when he said he was feeling shy.

For a second he thought that he was thinking so much about Byers that his face showed up in the corner of his eye. When he gave a second glance, he noticed William was there.

"Did I wake you?", the smaller man asked, worried.

"No… I wasn't sleeping", he confessed in a hushed tone.

"I couldn't sleep either thinking about you", and he got a little desperate, his eyes wide as he continued in a hurry, "Thinking about you sleeping in here! The couch is horrible… You can come to sleep in the bed with me if you'd like", Michael opened his mouth to say he didn't want to make him uncomfortable, but the farmer didn't let him speak, "Before you say anything, I'm the one inviting you, you're not going to make me feel uncomfortable."

Michael gave a tiny smile, "Okay, then…"

And they went to William's bedroom. The smaller man laid on the left, next to the wall and Michael got comfortable on the right, both under the covers looking up.

"Goodnight", Michael whispered, still looking up, he was more comfortable now, maybe his body would pass out more easily. That could have happened, but William started talking.

"On the roof… you said you adored my kindness, but… I'm not as kind as you, in my opinion."

Michael turned his head to the other, who was looking at the ceiling, "What do you mean?"

"It's just… You don't have to be kind", Michael frowned without understanding, but William continued, "You're a commander, one of the highest ranks in the king's army, you don't have to be kind", he turned to Wheeler, "Even soldiers are rude to us most of the time. You are polite even though your pears would say you're wasting your time with peasants. Because you don't see us as less than you, you are a knight to help the kingdom, therefore, to help us too", he caressed the sharp cheekbone with the back of his finger before placing his hand over his face, "You are kind, patience and so sweet", he smiled softly when the other closed his eyes briefly to enjoy the caressing on his cheek, moving his head a little closer to the other's head, "You want to be kind, because you prefer to be respected than to be feared. And I think that's so lovely to me… Because I know a lot of good people that forgot who they were once they felt the power in their hands, but you didn't, you still remain… kind…"

Michael took a deep breath, "I'm not going to remain sane with you so near to me", he confessed in a whisper.

"I don't mind going insane too… We can keep each other company…"

Michael smiled brightly and leaned towards him, kissing him once again. Michael pushed the black from over them and got closer to him, his hips still over the bed as his chest covering the other's as they kissed. In a swift motion, Michael took his shirt out, getting one of William's hands and running his fingers on his skin. The brunette went up and down the soft warm skin, resting it over the peck, squeezing gently, getting a soft whimper from the knight.

Michael paused the kiss for a bit and, with a deep breath, he also took off William's shirt. The farmer's chest was so pretty, he was strong and looked so good under the soft moonlight that was shining from the window. Wheeler got in between the other's legs and started trail kisses through his skin. William arched his back, his hands caressing the black curly hair, his eyebrows furrowed up as he whined quietly feeling blood rushing through his body and concentrating on his cock.

Michael licked William's hip bones, his eyes went up to him, who was looking at the knight with curiosity. The farmer's toes curled and he threw his head back, moaning when his boner was palmed, the big hand covering the shaft over the pants as it was lightly pressed on.

"Michael…", and William purred, his hand going to the black hair again.

"You are so pretty", Michael whispered as he pulled the brunette's pants off.

The slapping sound of the hard cock falling against the stomach was loud on that quiet summer night. William's face got red immediately when he noticed he was naked in front of another man, especially a man he cared so deeply about.

"William", called Michael, in a soft voice, "look at me", it took all of Byers will power to do as he was told, but when he did, he blushed even deeper seeing that devilish smile on the other's face, "Good boy."

The smaller man's back arched on again and he whimpered in despair when the knight's tongue slid over his shaft, from the balls to the tip. He didn't even give the poor man time to adapt with the idea of having his cock licked, he just held the cock in his hand and after swirling his tongue around the tip before swallowing it.

"Fuck!", William choked out, it felt fucking amazing.

Michael's hair moved gracefully as he went up and down the cock, his beautiful mouth stretched around the large member that throbbed uncontrollably against his tongue. The choking and wet sounds he was making where fucking sinful, it was burning William's body even hotter. He caressed the black hair as he muttered, "Fuck…" and "Yes…" and "Michael…" from time to time, as his body squirmed around. One of the taller man's hands was over the mattress, holding himself, and the other twisted around the cock, going up and down alongside with his mouth.

Hearing William whimper and beg was so good, he sounded so good. And he got closer to his climax, he sounded even better, his moans got deeper, sounding more like his own voice. The hand on the cock let go just to go to the balls, "My fucking-", and William threw his head against the pillow, pushing it against the soft material as his testicles were massaged and his cock was swallowed as if it was nothing, "I'm going… Stop… please…"

But Michael didn't stop, he wanted to make the other cum, he wanted to taste him, to taste how good his pleasure must feel falling over his tongue. The hand that was keeping the knight in balance went to Byers' chest, his fingers trailing over the perky nipple before pinching it.

And William reached his orgasm. His body squirming and trembling, he never felt so good in his life. He has experienced that sensation before, but with himself, with his own hand, but the warmth of Michael's mouth made everything even better.

"Fuck", Michael finally let go of the cock, letting the member fall limb over the man's belly, dripping with saliva, "You taste too fucking good", his lips were red and wet, he looked gorgeous as he breathed heavy, "I need to make you cum again", he breathed.

"I… I don't know…", William looked away when Michael licked his own lips, "I don't know if I can manage to…"

Michael chuckled, "I don't mind to keep on trying", he confessed, licking a strip over William's hip bone, dangerously close to the throbbing cock, "I need to hear you cumming one more time", he pushed one of William's leg up, pressing it against his own stomach.

The barker looked at the other in confusion, "What- what are you doing?"

"You will like it, just…"

He never finished that phrase, his lips went to the thick tie that was bent and gave a playful nibble, getting a surprised moan from the man laying down. His mouth trailed kisses and licked tiny strips over the tender skin making his way down. William didn't think it was possible to be hard again, but could feel his arousal catch up to him slowly.

William moaned loudly, louder than he wished, at least he lived in a very remote area and his animals wouldn't understand what it meant, but still he covered his own lips after moaning because the soft, warm and wet tongue licked his entrance. He never thought about having that area touched, just after Robin said what she said to him about two men having sex. And he thought about it a lot, thinking about how it would feel to have Michael inside him and how it would feel to be inside Michael, if they would enjoy those different scenarios, which they would enjoy more and which would make Michael moan and beg more. One day, Michael simply kneeled in front of him jokingly to beg for a piece of orange cake and, once he was alone at home, he masturbated with such desperation he came in less than ten minutes. So he would love to watch Michael beg.

At the moment, he was the one begging. His body had goosebumps, his legs trembled uncontrollably, being held open by Michael, not letting him disturb his activity as he licked and kissed the other's entrance getting all wet with saliva. It was such a sensitive area and it felt good to have attention given to it. One of the knight's hands went to the perineum and his fingers pressed firmly against it, massaging up and down.

William's cock was hard again, he thought it wasn't humanly possible, but there it was, throbbing over his stomach, pre-ejaculation slipping from the tip and pulling over his navel.

That same hand that was massaging William's perineum went down, touching the entrance next to his tongue. The brown eyes met the green as the older man licked his finger briefly, "Would it be okay…?", he spat over the rim, his middle finger collecting a bit of the saliva, "if I…?", and he pushed the tip slowly in, "Would it be okay to continue, William?"

William nodded eagerly, his hands going to the back of his thighs, squeezing his own flesh as he opened himself more for the other to do whatever he pleased. Being this aroused was stripping away William from any shame, he just wanted to feel good and make Michael feel good.

Wheeler went slow, once the finger was all in, he started to move it. His body covered the younger man, "Are you okay?", he asked as he thrusted his finger picking up the pace.

William nodded, "I am… It's just… too good", he whispered the last word moaning adorably.

Michael smiled, "I'm glad you feel good, my angel…"

The minutes had passed and William had three fingers inside him, going in and out, opening him up. He moaned and whined, kissing the older man. The idea that Michael was opening him up so he could shove his cock balls deep inside him, gave him an urge that was on the edge of desperation, of madness.

"Michael… I need more", he whispered, stopping the kiss after such long minutes of hungry kissing, "Please… I will be good…"

He didn't know where that phrase was coming from, he just knew he wanted to be good for Michael, he wanted to be his good boy.

Wheeler smiled devilish, "You already are so fucking good for me", he whispered, kissing William briefly, his tongue licking the other's, pulling his fingers out of him, "But, of course, I would do anything for you."

Byers eyes widened when Michael took off his pants. He was big. Oh, so fucking big. And that gave him goosebumps again. He watched in curiosity as Wheeler positioned himself in between his legs, spitting on his own hand to get his hard, veiny cock all wet to slide easier and go deep inside him. He was going insane and it got worse when the cock started to push its way in.

He threw his head back, grabbing Michael's bicep with one hand and the black hair with the other, squeezing his finger around the flesh and the hair. Since his head was back, his neck was free, it was open for Michael's delight, and he took advantage of that, licking a long stripe over the sensitive skin before biting it. The grip of William's hand got even tighter, he was feeling so sensitive, everything was too much now.

Michael took a deep breath, letting go a quiet moan when he was completely in, testicles deep in William, who looked at him with pleading eyes, biting his bottom lip.

"Are you okay?", Michael asked, caressing his brown hair, "Can you continue? Or you want to stop?"

"No… No, please, continue", he begged.

"Okay", he whispered, caressing his hair again, "If it's too much or it hurts you, tell me to stop, please."

"Uhum", he nodded, "Just… fuck me, please", he whispered so quietly, it was just for Michael to hear.

Wheeler nodded and pushed his body back, going out slowly and pushed himself back. The thrusts began slowly, letting William get used to the feeling, but soon enough, he felt desperate for more and more, eager, hungry. His short nails dug on Michael's back, pushing him for a kiss.

The poor bed creaked, it wasn't made for that kind of animalistic movements, but they didn't care, they were too busy swallowing each other's moans, their body tight against one another, there was no atom that could go between them at that moment, from how close they were, how tight they held each other. It was like they were afraid that the other would go away.

One of Michael's hands was holding the sheets under the pillow under William's head, and the other held his waist, digging his finger in the skin, to give himself balance as his feet pressed firmly on the mattress so he could keep thrusting.

"I can't- I can't hold on any longer", Michael managed to choke out.

William was looking at his lips before going to his eyes, "Please… cum… please…"

"I…"

William's legs wrapped around Michael's waist when he tried to move back, not allowing him to pull out, "Please…"

Michael took a deep breath and kept thrusting, getting back to kissing Byers, their bodies moving at a rapid pace, insane and needy. It didn't take long for Michael to reach his orgasm, the pressure built up so high that his crash was severe, making him tremble, his semen spilling all over William's insides. When he felt it, when he felt the pulsating of the other's cock inside him and, finally, when the cum spilled, he ended up cumming too. His cum spilling between their pressed bodies, getting their stomachs and chests marked with the thick, white substance.

They looked at each other panting. That was it, William's dream, Michael on top of him, his pretty, plump, red lips parted, gasping for air. The sharp cheekbones blushing from his efforts, sweat wetting his forehead, sticking his curly hair to it, his pretty, brown eyes on William, watching his reaction.

"Was this okay?", Michael broke the silence, getting a lovely chuckle from the younger man.

"Yes, Michael, was fantastic."

He smiled, "I'm glad to know… I'm going to get a wash cloth to clean us up, would that be okay?"

The smaller man nodded, "Yes."

And that's what the knight did, he dampened a wash cloth with water and cleaned them both up, being gentle not to touch William's sensitive member too much, he didn't want to go even further than they did that day.

Once he was laying down, William snuggled on his chest and after a quiet "goodnight", they both managed to finally fall asleep after spending long minutes not being able to.

…

A rooster crowed one time. And then again. And then again, "I get it!", Michael complained still very sleepy, his eyes barely opening. He tried but it was too bright, the sunlight shining through the large window on his right. William chuckled, getting his attention and he finally noticed that he was alone in bed, sitting in front of the bed, putting his boots on, "How do you do that?", he asked, sitting in bed.

"I'm used to him", he said about the rooster, "so I know when he starts to call…"

"Can't we stay in bed for a few more minutes?", and he pouted, "Just for a little bit, please?"

William smiled and went to the bed, laying on top of Michael, his feet outside the bed so he wouldn't get the sheets dirty with his boots, "We have a lot to do, Michael…"

He groaned, unhappy, getting a laugh, "Come on. We can sleep for thirty more minutes, that's all."

"Michael."

"William", Michael retorted, and he groaned annoyedly, "Okay, fine! You win", and he kissed the younger man over him, holding his face, the kiss definitely calmer than the one from the night before. And the rooster crowed again, "I said I got it!", he complained, making the other man laugh.

"So dumb", and he got himself up, "Let's go. Come on… Get up…"

Michael complained, but obeyed. Once he was dressed, William took him to take care of the animals. For the first time, Michael caressed a cow's head and learned that their fur was so soft. He tried to milk one of the cows and the goat, but he was failing so hard that William took charge again. When Michael tried to get eggs from the chicken, he got pecked on the hands by the chickens. The poor knight didn't know how to do any kind of manual labor, but it was the funniest thing for William so he was more than happy to try to teach him.

"You need to stop laughing at my knowledge deficiencies", Michael said once they were back in the kitchen, on the rock counter with flowers, water, salt and yeast to make bread.

"I'm not laughing at your knowledge deficiencies", William explained, "it's just that the way the deficiencies present themselves are really funny."

Michael laughed, "You're such an idiot."

William smiled brightly, "Thank you. Now, let's make bread."

The knight nodded and allowed the other to teach him how to make bread, and help him out with kneading the dough. William got behind him, got his hands and showed him the right movements to proper knead it. Michael didn't process any teaching, he was too focused on the other's large chest pressing against his back, his head near his shoulder and his hand over his own. He was too afraid to ask, to make William feel shy, but he really wanted to know if, by any chance, he would like to do to him what he did to Byers last night.

While he was thinking that that would make William feel shy, the man was already thinking that. Once he got behind Michael and touched his hands he knew that he would love to make him feel good like he made him feel last night. He looked up for a brief moment, seeing that beautiful side profile paying attention to the dough as his big, veiny hands were being held by the smaller one's hands.

"And now?", Michael asked as WIlliam covered the large dough with white damp cloth so it wouldn't dry, drying his hand after washing it, "What do we do?"

"We wait."

"That's true", Michael complained, "I forgot the dough gets tired from being manhandled…"

And now, William got why the dough needed to rest, he got really tired after being manhandled by Michael the night before, "Yes…", he chuckled softly, "So… would you like to harvest some vegetables and fruits as the dough rests? Or would you prefer to rest a bit as the dough rests and harvest while it bakes?"

"How-how would we 'rest'?"

William's cheeks got pinkish, "Well… anyway you would like", he caressed the sharp cheekbones with his thumbs, holding his face in his hands, "We can rest for a bit since you woke up too early for a noble knight."

Michael chuckled, "When I was just a squire I had to wake up really early", and he held Byers' waist, "But since I became a commander, I'm allowed to sleep more, I think I got used to it."

"You need to remember your roots, Lord Wheeler."

Michael made a disgusted face, "I hate that, good god", and he took a deep breath, "I will choose to rest with the dough, but… not to rest like it… but to… unwind?", he tested the waters.

"Unwind?", William's hands went to Wheeler's neck, caressing the curls on the nape of it, "Unwind how?

The knight took a deep breath, his face lowering to the smaller man, "By your caress on my hair, I believe you know."

William smiled, "I have less knowledge deficiencies, sir."

Michael chuckled, "Fuck you."

And they kissed each other one more time. It started sweet and calm, they were less hungry than last night, they could enjoy a bit of peace with each other's kisses. But that didn't take long, it started to get too heated a little bit, as soon as their hands started to roam around and grab and feel the other's body. Even though they were lustful for one another as much as they were the night before, and before, and before since the day they met, they chose to take their time with the kiss and let their hands do some recognition. Michael wanted to memorize that body, every single, less inch of it. And William felt the same, he wanted to close his eyes and be able to count Michael's freckles.

The oldest shirt was gone after a few minutes of just kissing and caressing and William thought about what he wanted to do once he saw that beautiful chest for the first time. His green eyes looked at the brown ones that watched him with curiosity, not knowing what he wanted to do. After a deep breath, William got his face close to one of the tall man's pecks and placed his mouth around the nipple, sucking on it.

"Fuck…", Michael whispered softly, caressing the brown hair with one hand as the other supported his waist holding himself to the counter.

It felt like William's body was on fire, he was doing something so simple, but his cock started to drool inside his pants. The muscle was soft inside his mouth, his tongue would go back and forth the nipple, feeling the hard nub slide over it. He soon traveled his mouth to the other peck, giving it the same treatment as the one before, as Michael whimpered and panted feeling so fucking good.

The farmer stopped his work and started to trail kisses down the man's chest, getting on his knees before him, "Would you be okay with me doing this standing up?", he began, his eyes looking at the other's, "Or do you prefer to lay down?"

He caressed the brunette hair and took a deep breath, "Laying down would be better, but this fucking eyes", he cussed through his teeth and bit his bottom lip, looking how pretty the green eyes looked while they were in those positions.

William smiled shyly and took Michael's boots off, opening his pants soon after, letting them go down as much as they could against those thighs. The younger man gulped as he touched the cock in front of him, veiny and thick, throbbing in his hand as a drop of pre-ejaculation accumulated on the red tip.

"If I", he looked up again, "do anything wrong, please, let me know, okay?"

"Of course, my angel…"

"Okay", he whispered looking back at the cock in his hand.

His lips first kissed the tip before licking the underneath, smiling when the other whimpered softly caressing his hair. William placed the cock inside his mouth as much as he could, he wasn't used to this kind of invasion, but he felt too good feeling the pulsation over his tongue. He tried to do the same as Michael did for him the night before, holding what didn't fit with his hand as he mouth would go back and forth. He would get lost in the movements from time to time, but the other didn't mind, it was still good having those pretty lips slobbering spit all over his cock, sucking and licking.

Byers' free hand experimented with touching the older man's ass, squeezing the soft flesh, getting an even louder moan. He let go of his cock for a brief moment, getting a disapproving grunt. He stood up as he chuckled, kissing him, "Be patient, okay?"

"No", Michael pouted, being laughed at as his thighs were grabbed and he was pulled up to be walked over the table. William knew that the counter wasn't big enough for Michael to rest comfortably, so he preferred to put him against the table, bending him over it.

Wheeler just accepted anything the other wanted to do, so he pressed his cheek against the smooth wood and lifted each of his feet so his pants could be taken off. The anticipation was killing him, his heart racing as the other pulled his leg, bending it on the table. But after that, nothing was happening. When it did, his eyes rolled back so hard he could have sworn he would go blind. He never felt a tongue on his entrance, he only felt fingers on his perineum, but nothing ever got near it, and it was so fucking good. The soft tongue traced around it before licking over it.

The younger man got driven by the knight's moans and whimpers, he sounded so good while he was bent over that table. And he looked so good too, his leg that was straightened against the floor would shake adorably each time his body would push his ass more and more towards him.

"I won't last too long like this", Wheeler warned him in a sweet, whiny whisper.

William would love to make him cum only with his tongue, but he needed so badly to know how it would feel to have him cum because of his cock. So he took a deep breath and got up, offering his fingers to the oldest, "Get them wet", he didn't know what the other would think about this, but he bet he would look stunning with fingers deep in his mouth.

Michael straightened his back and grabbed to his wrist, shoving Byers' fingers in his mouth. William watched as he would suck and let saliva coat the digits. They held each other's gaze, a silence lust covering their eyes.

"Enough", Byers softly said, taking his wet fingers off the other's mouth and, with a hand on his back, he pushed him back down against the table. The beautiful profile perfectly marked against the dark wood. William had to remember every last detail of that so he could paint it.

And one by one by one, Wheeler took the youngest's fingers, his body trembling and arching everything he felt like he needed more, offering his ass to the other more and more, hoping he would take pity of him and just fuck the life out of him once and for all.

Michael gave an unsatisfied whine when the fingers abandoned him, but looking back he could watch saliva drip down William's lips and fall over his own cock, and after spitting on his own hand, he spread the saliva all over it. Once he positioned the tip on Wheeler's entrance, he chuckled when he tried to push his body back, his small waist being held.

"Don't be eager", William chuckled, leaning against the other, kissing his cheek.

"Come on, William… I need you", he whispered.

"I will give you everything you want, my kind sir… just be patient."

The knight was going to protest, but the youngest started to push himself in. Inch by inch, Michael got filled up by that amazing cock. William would go slow like he did, and would ask if he was doing okay all the time, checking it was safe to keep going. He would watch as his cock would slowly disappear inside the other. Once he was all in, he moaned, throwing his head back as Michael moaned with him.

One of William's hands positioned itself the oldest's waist and the other went to his shoulder to help him with his movements and, so, he finally started to trust. The noise of skin hitting skin was quieter now since there was more noise then during the night, but still was loud and frantic, quick and desperate.

The table was complaining even more than the bed. If the bed wasn't made for those kinds of movements, the table was even less made for them. But it would have to take it as good as Michael was taking it. Their moans were loud and breathy.

William leaned over Michael's body, still tightly gripping his waist, and, with his free hand, he pushed his hair aside, grabbing the back of it to pull him for a kiss. The kiss was a little bit sloppy, the position and the movements made it hard to kiss properly, but they loved all the feeling they were having.

With a strangled moan, Michael came, his insides crushing William to the point of making him tip over the edge and cum as well. The trusts kept going, slowing down by the minute as he came down from the orgasm high.

With a peck, William stopped the kiss, pulling out of Michael, both of them panting harshly, their bodies sensitive to the touch. He helped Michael put his pants back on while he stayed laid over the table.

He smiled and kissed him on the nape of Wheeler's neck, "Are you ready to cut the dough and bake it?"

"They get to rest and I don't?", he complained, getting a laugh.

"Come on, you aren't that tired", he gave the other a playful slap on the ass, "Come on we have things to do."

Michael groaned, lifting his body up, it was like his torso waited tons, "Why don't you get tired? Are you a witch?", he playfully asked as the other brought him his shirt and boots back, "You know being a witch is a crime, don't you?"

William chuckled watching Michael put his boots back on and tie the shoes, "I never understood that."

"What?"

"This law about witches", he confessed, Michael looked at him with a puzzled look on, "I know that some people have been killed in different ways for sorcery, but my question is: if they are so powerful that they impose a threat to the kingdom… why haven't they killed the king yet, for instance?"

Michael chuckled, putting his shirt back on, "It sounds like you are on their side, William."

"I'm not, I'm just saying. There are a lot of people that are killed for witchcraft and conspiring against the king. If they are so powerful and should be eradicated, how come they didn't get the king yet? Are they really that powerful?"

"I… I don't really know how to answer that…"

William laughed, "Forget it, it's dumb, let's get the bread ready to bake and harvest a few vegetables, we have to go to the market soon."

Michael nodded and accepted changing the subject, but he couldn't help but think how that made sense. Witches, sorcerers and wizards were enemies to the king and the people, they would be killed in the public square, to show that none of them were greater than the king, but the king never got even a scratch from a sorcerer.

He preferred not to think about it that much, if the king made that law, it was for a good reason, it was for the people's and his protection and he knew what he was doing.

Michael knew that Robin knew what happened to them on that same day in the market. William told him that she joked that she could smell "lust" from them and that's why she knew and she was giving them suggestive looks. And saying things like "Oh, Michael, you really know how to 'knead dough', huh?" and "William, did you make that sugar frosting? Because there is some white dry stuff on his shirt.", and, oh, how she laughed when William looked at his shirt in pure fear of having got it dirty. She was happy for them and they were happy for each other. Michael learned on that day about who Robin was involved with.

"Oh, my god!", he said excitedly, "How didn't I see that before?", he asked William once he saw Victoria interact with Robin, "Am I dumb?"

William looked at them all smiles and giggles for one another and turned back to Michael, shrugging, closing one of his eyes as he looked a bit ashamed of his answer, "You will hate it if I answer."

Michael's mouth agaped and he punched the farmer on the arm as he got his things ready, "Fuck you, William."

"No… Fuck you, Michael."

He held William's arm and whispered in his ear, "If you say that to me again I will have to take you to the forest and suck you dry, so… behave."

William shrugged once again, "It doesn't seem like a bad deal to me."

The oldest laughed, "Take care of your products, baker boy, we will discuss this later."

"Are you agreeing to fuck later?", Robin asked, who got near and they didn't even realize.

Both of them pulled her against the all were Michael was leaning against, getting in front of her, and side by side, both their bodies covering hers, "Robin, for the love of god!", William said it first, through his teeth.

"You need to shut up", Michael backed him up.

She laughed, "No one heard, you two chickens, calm down."

"You need to be more careful with what you say, Robin", William warned, seeming very worried.

"Or what? Your new boyfriend", she whispered, "will arrest me?"

"I would never do that, but I can't say that for everyone… And I can't take anyone from jail if they are there, there is nothing commanders can do", he said and finally noticed what she called him, "And there is no such thing as boyfriend", he whispered as well seeing William's blushed cheeks through his peripheral vision.

"For now", she smiled wide.

"Robin…", William began.

"I know", she gave up, "I will stop. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay", William said caressing her wild hair, "Just shut the fuck up and go back to your stand with your girlfriend."

"Do you think she would accept that?", she asked hopefully looking at Victoria, who looked around before meeting her eyes and smiling at her.

"Be more careful, Robin, please."

"Fine, dad! God!", she complained going back to her stand.

The both man looked at each other, "I can help but notice how fucking sexy you get when you curse", Michael pointed out.

The blushing creeped up from William's cheeks to his ears, "You shut the fuck up too."

Michael laughed and leaned against the wall again, holding his hands up in defeat, "Sorry, I will be quiet."

"Good."

They would discuss this subject later once they got back home.

…

The weeks continued passing and winter was right around the corner. Michael would stay more and more at William's house. He loved it there, it was so peaceful and cozy. Michael's house was a little bit dangerous for them to stay in, there were a lot of neighbors and a lot of them were from the king's guard, which wasn't a good thing. They didn't want to get caught, so they ran to William's little isolated farm.

The night before that day, Michael and William went to their own houses. It was also dangerous to just disappear every single day and show up to the market together. So, that day, Michael was going there alone, ready to meet William at his stand, next to Robin and her crazy comments.

But, that day in particular, Robin was the one that got to Michael. She was running through the crowd, in complete despair, "Michael! Michael!", she screamed when she saw him.

He got closer to her, holding her arms delicately, looking at her with so much confusion in his eyes, she looked so worried, "What's wrong?", he asked, and got even more worried about her when her eyes filled with tears.

"The guards took William, Michael", she said in a shaky voice.

"What?"

"They took William", she repeated.

He was still very confused, "But-but for what?", he was so scared that they saw them together.

"They said it was because of sorcery…"

"Sorcery?"

"It's what they said", she started crying, "They punched him and dragged him out of the market", he hugged her as she continued crying, now in his arms, "What are we going to do, Michael?"

"I don't know…"

He didn't want to say it out loud, but there was nothing that they could do. They would get all killed if they tried to do something. The cells were very protected, more even than the king's room at night, because there would always be a lot of threats inside the cells, as to get to the king's you would have to go through a lot of halls with a lot of guards and not get lost in the castle. They wouldn't be able to get him out of there, only dead.

Michael took Robin to his house for the time being, he even asked Victoria to go there as soon as possible and left the keys with her. He asked her to take care of the other woman and to help her calm down. He would be at the castle's jail, that was where the prisoners of death sentences would go before being taken to pay for their crimes against the crown.

"Guards!", Michael said in a very harsh voice, making the guards there salute.

"Sir!", they said in unison.

"I heard that there was an arrest in the market today, what happened?", he asked.

"There were two arrests, sir", one of the guards answered, "A man and a woman."

"And why for?"

The guard gave his commander a paper with the names of the prisoners, "Witchcraft, sir."

"I see…", he commented, seeing William's name under a woman's name, who didn't know. He gave the paper back, "I will check on the prisoners."

"Yes, sir!", the three guards said in unison.

They were in a little administrative area that would lead to a hall that would lead to the cells. Michael held his commander's sword hilt and walked down that hall. The smell of mold was terrible, Michael would never get used to it. In the cell close to the end of the hall there was a woman, laid on the dirty floor, clearly passed out. With a deep breath, the knight kept walking. On the last cell, sitting on the floor, it was William. When the younger man saw the commander, he got up quickly and went to the cell bars, holding them as the other got close to them as well. 

"William", Michael said, his hands going inside the bars to hold William's face, he had a purple eye and a busted lip, "what did they do to you?", he caressed his cheeks with his thumbs. William looked scared and lost, he hated seeing that look on his pretty face, "I can… I can try and talk to the king-"

"No, Michael", William interrupted him.

"But, William-"

"No, Michael", he interrupted him again, holding his hands, taking them away from his face, "You will get killed too."

"But you didn't do anything… You are not a sorcerer", he chuckled nervously, tears starting to blind his vision, "you are just a farmer… I'm sure if I get a moment with the king-"

"I would allow you to do that", he said firmly, one single tear going down his face, his pretty eyes getting watery, breaking Michael's heart, "Don't you dare to go against my wish, Michael."

"I can't just be here and do nothing."

"You can and you will", he insisted, "There is nothing you can do. You said that to Robin yourself, even as a commander you can't do anything. If you go against the king, you might get killed, and I can't allow that."

Michael sniffed, tears started to go down his face as well, "But… What will I do without you?"

William smiled, sniffing, cleaning his tears as his own got his face wet, "You will live for me… You will be happy for me", his smile dropping from his face as he sobbed quietly, "Help Robin take care of my chickens for me, okay?"

William's chickens were getting fond of Michael, they loved him more than they loved their original owner. It was adorable how they clucked around him all happy when he went to feed them in the morning.

"No…", he cried again, sniffing, "No, please… Let me do something, William, please."

"There is nothing to do, Michael", he pulled the black haired one's face and kissed him quickly, "Don't do anything stupid", his voice was so hurt, his forehead pressed against the other's, "Please, just don't do anything stupid… Just live a happy life and take care of my kids, okay?", he took a deep breath, "I love you, Michael."

Michael sobbed, "I love you, William."

Their little moment was interrupted when a guard screamed from the beginning of the hall, "Sir! William Byers' fiencé is here to see him!", they were warning him about her, because, sometimes, the commanders and sergeants would have a little "alone time" with the prisoners to have a little "fun".

"Okay!", he screamed back trying not to sound so hurt, looking back at William soon after.

"Promise me you will not do anything."

"Will-"

"Promise me", he insisted, not letting him talk, grabbing his face, caressing it one last time, "Promise me that the only thing you will do is be happy and move forward."

"I promise", he gave up, talking in a hushed tone, "I love you", he whispered in pain, he hated that this was the way he talked about his feelings with William for the first time. He could have said in bed with him, before they slept, or while they were taking care of the chickens or baking cake, not like this. But at least they knew how they felt.

"I love you too."

"I will go now…"

And they shared one last peck, cleaning their faces quickly as Michael pulled away from the cell bars, having space to leave as William stayed locked. They looked at each other one last time before Michael left the cell area and went out of the castle's prison. Even as he was leaving quickly he noticed Robin crying in front of the guards, waiting for her chance to go in. She said he was her fiencé so she would be allowed in there easily.

Once he was outside that moldy and cramped space, he looked up, breathing deeply as he tried to control himself not to keep crying.

"Michael", a soft voice called him, once he turned around he saw Victoria going out the prison's door, "She really wanted to see him… I didn't want to stop her."

He nodded, "It's fine, it's good that she sees him", his voice was still choked.

"Are you okay?", she asked, looking worried.

"I'm going home", he didn't even look at her, feeling he was going to cry again and it was dangerous to do that there, "After you finish here, you can go there as well. Bye, Victoria", and he didn't even stay to hear her say goodbye back, he just left in a hurry.

…

Michael took a deep, shaky breath, his throat had a huge knot on it, he wanted desperately to cry. His hand held a man's arm as he walked down the village's main street, who didn't fight against his pulling, he had accepted his fate. His hands were tied with thick rope that was burning his wrists from how tight it was, brushing harshly against his soft skin on his wrists. That's why he hated his job sometimes, he wanted to help the king, to help his kingdom, that's why he became a knight, but from time to time he had to take care of the executions.

He never looked when it happened. His job was to take the prisoner to their death, and that's what he did, he did his job as he swore he would do when he got knighted.

The prisoner looked at the wooden steps in front of him with a blank expression on. He had a bruised lip and a punched eye from when he got abducted from his house to be taken to prison. His left eye barely opened from how swollen it got, and he looked like that even though he didn't fight the arrest, if he did, he would probably have lost his eye.

He went upstairs as some people cheered for his demise. An executioner brought him to the middle of the stage, behind a noose. The prisoner looked at it, his feet over a trapdoor. The executioner went behind him with a burlap sack on his hand to put over his face.

Michael's back was turned to the stage, his eyes filled with tears that wanted so bad to go down his face, for a brief moment he glanced back as the people cheered for the death of another witch. A sorcerer for that matter.

William's green eyes met Michael's seconds before the sack was placed over his head. Michael turned back to face forward as the rope was placed on William's neck, his body tensed when he heard the trapdoor opening and the body falling.

A single tear ran down his face, but, like god was listening to him, it started to rain so the tears blended with the rain drops, so he allowed himself to cry quietly for a bit.

And that was it. William Byers was dead.

Michael couldn't even point out the events that followed, he didn't know what led him to where he was when William was hanged. He didn't remember doing anything, it just happened and he complied with everything he had to do as a commander. He just wished William had told him about this secret, he could have helped hide it better, but he didn't know. Even if it was against the love, their love also was and they weren't harming anyone, like William wasn't harming anyone with his sorcery. Maybe he was afraid to scare Michael, that's why he never said anything, he just wished William saw someone of trust in him, that he could lean on and tell him everything on his mind. Even so, he understood where he was coming from.

Robin didn't go to the village's square, she stayed at her cottage with Victoria while all that happened. She had gone to William's farm before she went home, she told Victoria to wait outside as she checked on the animals and put them inside their barns and coops. She said it was one of the last things William asked her, he asked her to be happy and to take care of his animals and that's what she would do.

The prisoners that were hung would have their bodies burnt at midnight on the day of their hanging.

William's body was on top of a wooden slab on the floor, near the woman's body, both of them with a sack over their heads. He was looking at them, left on the dirty floor of the prison and felt like he was going to throw up. He went out of the prison for a moment to breathe, that was when his sergeant showed up.

"Commander", he said, saluting the knight with a brief nod of the head.

"Sergeant", Michael did the same nod of the head.

"Are you going to take care of the bodies tonight, commander?", he asked, a bit confused.

"Yes, sir", he nodded, "I told the guards to stay at the village's square, you know how people get a little more violent during these types of days, and I thought it would be better if they were there to take care of the damage."

It wasn't a lie, that actually happened and it was good for the guards to be there to protect the citizens, even though Michael wasn't believing in that protection from the king's men anymore. But he told them that so he could be alone with William for one last time and take his body to be cremated by someone who cared about him.

"That's good thinking, commander", the sergeant smiled, ready to leave.

"Sergeant", he said, making the commander stop in his tracks and look at his commander, "how do we… how do we figure it out?", the sergeant looked confused, "About the sorcery I mean. How do we figure out who is a sorcerer? Or even a witch?"

"Oh", he nodded, "that's simple, son. We don't."

Michael got confused, his brow furrowing immediately, "What do you mean?"

"We never found a witch or anything like that before", he laughed, "What? You didn't know?", Michael shook his head, still confused and a little bit angry, "There isn't such a thing, Michael, we do these hangings to keep people walking straight. We need to give people common enemies or the enemy becomes us, the king himself established that", he shrugged, "And fear keeps people from being disobedient", and he smiled, "And it works!", he seemed so happy, "I will leave you to your work, I have a meeting at the brothel to go to", and he gave his commander a playful wink, "Goodbye, Michael."

"Goodbye, my sir."

Michael's blood was boiling, his teeth grinded against one another as his jaw locked shut. He looked up at the castle, as its high towers and felt anger. He tried to be good, he wanted to protect his people and that's why he became a knight, that's why he swore his loyalty to the crown, to serve and protect. Not that, not to project fear, not to kill innocent people, not to make people walk in a straight line because they didn't want to die.

The knight got in the castle and started walking the halls, his legs doing the job for him, his vision was red with anger. He only stopped walking once he got at the beginning of the hallway which led to the king's room. He got near the two guards on the door, who saluted him at the same time.

"Guards, you can leave now", he said without a shake in his voice, "The king wants me and another commander to take care of his slumber for the time being."

"Yes, sir", they said in unison, not even questioning his commander, because, first, he was their commander, so they had to obey, and, second, guarding the king's bedroom at night was boring, so every opportunity to leave, they would take it.

The knight got in the king's chambers, drawing his beautiful commander sword, getting near the king, who slept peacefully on his enormous bed.

The king woke up in a surprise when the hilt of his commander's sword hit him in the chest.

"How dare you?", Michael asked, hitting him again, he had already knocked the air out of the king's lungs, now he was feeling like he was going to die from how much his chest hurted from the broken sternum he just got, "I wanted to serve and protect you!", and he hit him on his face, "And you took everything that I cared about from me! For what? A lie? To keep people afraid?", he gritted his teeth.

"Michael", the king managed to choke out, the adrenaline running through his veins woke him right up, "I did what I thought was better for the kingdom.'

"You did what you thought was better for you", Michael corrected. 

The king started to try and got out of the bed by the other side, but his shirt was grabbed and he was pulled from the bed and obligated to get on his knees in front of his commander.

"I wanted to be respected by the people like I respected you", he said through his teeth, "I didn't want to be feared by anyone", and he gave the frightened king a crazy smile, "Until now…", he whispered, "I hope you understand that dying in fear hurts more."

And he slid the blade of his commander's sword over the king's shoulders making him cry out. The king's silver hair was grabbed and the hilt of the sword was struck on his face again and again and again.

"Did you know", Michael said in the king's ear, as blood ran down his mouth, "we get thought how to make undeadly gashed on our enemies to prolong their deaths and torture them?", he chuckled maniacally when the king wallowed in fear, before he got thrown on the floor, his head the one being pushed first.

First, Michael cut each of the king's heels, hearing him sob in pain, but he would be able to get up. And he got over the king, each of his feet at one of his sides, positioning his sword over his back.

The king started to crawl away, "Stop moving", Wheeler said, stepping on his back to make him stop and sank the sword next to his feet.

The blade passed through the king's body and got stuck between the wooden floors, locking him in place so he would bleed to death. But that wasn't enough. He looked for matches over the king's fireplace, getting the naphtha bottle next to them that was used to get the fire started faster.

"Help! Help!", the king tried to say, but it was so low that only Michael was hearing and it made him even angrier.

He kicked the king's face, "Shut up, bastard", he growled.

Michael opened the naphtha bottle and threw the liquid in the middle of the king's bed and lit up a few matches, throwing them on the wet spot, seeing the flames go up quickly. Before he left, he spat on the king, opening the doors to his room and closing them behind himself. And as the fire catched on the king's chambers, the paladin left the castle.

Michael went to the prison once again, he took the sack off his beloved's face, taking a deep breath when he saw that his eyes were open and with a white fog covering the beautiful green. With a delicate movement, he closed his eyes. And he turned to the woman's body next to William's.

"I'm sorry for leaving you", he said taking the sack from her head, brushing her black hair with his fingers, to make it look nicer, "But I have to leave as soon as possible", he sniffed, "I hope god takes care of your soul and he shows you kindness", he crossed her arms over her own stomach, "I'm really sorry", he took a deep breath trying to hold back the tears.

The paladin got his god, who he adored so much, on his arms and went to the royal stables. The walk was very short but it was long enough for him to hear the commotion over the fire and the king's situation. He looked up and could see the smoke coming from the tall towers. Some white specks started to fall down his face, it could be the ashes from the smoke, but it could also be winter announcing he was there.

"Philip", he said quietly as he opened the gate to the black horse's sleeping area. The horse walked out in a slow strut, "Kneel", and the horse did as he was told, that helped Michael get on his back. He sat down and positioned William's body against his, holding him with one of his arms, the brunette's head on his shoulder, he still smelled like soap and fresh bread. His other hand held the horse's mane, "Up, Philip", and the horse obeyed, the movement was kind of awkward, but they managed to stay on his back without any problems, "Hiya", Michael said, pulling the black mane in his fingers lightly as his boots hit the horse's sides.

Immediately the lovely animal started to gallop at a fast pace, running away with the two humans on his back. Michael didn't look back as he directed the horse to William's house, he needed to be buried there, that would be his wish, Michael knew it. Not to be cremated, but to be buried at the place he loved the most in the world.

During the minutes on the horse's back, the weather got colder and colder, the snow started to fall even faster, landing on the floor and cutting Michael's face. It didn't matter to him, as long as it didn't harm William.

At the gates of William's house, the horse stopped, kneeling at the command again so Michael could leave his back easier.

"Come, Philip, come", he called the horse when he entered the farm through the gate, the horse followed him staying inside the property as he closed the gate with William still resting in his arms.

He took his loved one's body to the back of the house, near the entrance to the forest, laying him down gracefully against the grass that started to get a little whiter with the snow that insisted on falling. Michael took off his jacket and placed it over William's body, even though he wasn't feeling anything, he didn't want him to feel cold.

He got a shovel from the little shed next to the chicken coop and placed it near them as he knelt beside William. 

He allowed himself to cry, his forehead against the man's chest. It hurted too much. And he wasn't able to do anything to help, everything he did to become who he was, didn't help him in the moment he needed the most.

"I can't see a life where you aren't in it", he said softly, straightening his back, his hand running through the straight hair, "I just don't want to… I don't even remember what my life was like before I met you. Sometimes I think about it and it's like my memories are gray, like they lack sunshine in them, but then… one day… I met a baker at the village's market and things just got sun again. Warm and inviting sun", he caressed the hair again, "Much needed sun… The sun that made me see so much…", he sniffed, "I was in the dark before you came along, you know? In a lot of ways… I didn't know anything about myself… about the world…", and he sobbed, "I know I promised to be happy without you, but I will have to break it… There is no reality where I can be happy when you're not here with me", he leaned over the other man and kissed him on the forehead, "I love you, William. More than anything."

Michael got up and started to dig a grave. The sun started to come up on the horizon as he did his work. 

He stopped for a second when he heard a caw on his right, he looked over the chicken coop and saw the crow that William befriended there, looking at him and cawing, moving his head from side to side. He couldn't help but smile, it was nice to see him.

And from the forest, with the sunlight, a fox showed up, making noises behind the fence, calling for Michael, who got up and grabbed a carrot from the garden on his left, pulling it from the ground, getting near the fence, offering it to the fox. The little fox did what it would always do, sniff around for a bit and grab before it would run to the forest.

"I appreciate that you two are here", Michael said to the crow and the fox, "I hope you come more often to keep him company once I'm gone."

He was certain he would get killed by the king's guard, the guards who were taking care of the king's chambers that night knew him. They probably already told that the last person to be in the king's chambers was Michael and the royal guard was tracking him down.

Once he turned back around, he took two steps back to the grave he was digging when he noticed a man standing up, and he knew that he would die from a heart attack. Because, under the sunlight, William had gotten up. His eyes were still white, but soon the white faded and the green eyes showed up again.

"Dear god", Michael said in fear, stumbling back, falling on his ass on the ground, he started to crawl back when William started to move in his direction, only stopping when he hit a tree.

"Please", and William touched his face, caressing his cheeks, "calm down."

For a second, the white fog covered his eyes, and Michael felt his body calm down, he still panted in fear, but he only felt calm, "How? Who? What?"

And William started to explain.

When Robin went to visit him at the prison, he made her promise to do three things for him: "Robin, please", he whispered caressing her face as she cried, "you have to promise me you will be happy, you will live your life with Victoria, and you will be happy."

"I'm going to lose you, William", she sobbed.

"No one will be lost, as long as you help me, okay?", she nodded, "I need you to take care of my animals while I'm gone, please, put them in their barn and coop, okay?", Robin nodded as he cleaned her tears, "And I know it will sound weird, but you need to do this for me as well, okay?", she nodded again, "On my kitchen shelf there is a red flask labeled 'pepper oil', I need you to get it and up it in front of my house's door with a little bowl of viburnum fruit, okay? The bowl is inside my kitchen sink, just get it and put it by the door, understand?"

"Yes", she nodded, getting back to sobbing, "I love you, William."

He took a deep breath, resting his forehead over hers, "I love you, Robin."

William waited walking from side to side in the small cell, hoping Robin did as he asked and that his plan would work. And like he planned, a caw was heard from the little window of his cell. He smiled and got near the window, getting the small bottle from his crow friend's bick.

"Thank you", he said as the crow cawed and flew away.

William drank the whole bottle once he heard the guards coming to take him to be hanged. When the trapdoor opened, William was already dead, his body shut down completely, so even if the air flow was interrupted by the rope around his neck, there was no air to go through. He cheated death and he didn't know if it would work, that's why he didn't tell anything to Michael or to Robin.

He would only know if it worked once the sunlight hit his body. And even though he could have asked Michael to bring him to the sunlight after he died, he didn't want to put this burden on him. It was already too hard, he already had to bring him to the village's square to be killed, he didn't know what would happen after. And again, he wasn't sure if it would work, he had to be lucky. And he was lucky, because he was loved by Michael and because he loved him.

He didn't like to use his powers to change people's feelings, he knew that feelings were human, they deserved to be felt naturally. But he needed to calm Michael down so he would hear his story.

He was silent as he heard everything, looking at William with curiosity. Once he stopped talking, Michael slapped himself on the face.

"No!", William said, his eyes widened, "Don't do that", he touched his face again, caressing the area he slapped.

"You are really here", Michael whispered, getting on his knees, like the man before him was.

"I am", William nodded and looked down, looking ashamed about this secret, about who he was, who he truly was, "Please… don't hate me… don't fear me…"

"I could never fear such a mesmerizing person, William?", and Michael held William close, hugging him, giving him the opportunity to cry, "I thought I lost you."

"I'm sorry", William whispered, feeling tears starting to cover his eyes, "I was… ashamed and afraid… I didn't know if it would work…"

Michael smiled, looking at William, the tears making his vision a little blurry, "I'm so glad I almost had a heart attack just now", William chuckled with him, "You're really here with me again."

William nodded, "Yes, I am."

"I love you, William."

"I love you, Michael."

And they kissed each one more time. One more kiss in thousands more to come.

Robin got to know what happened later that day and a few weeks later, Victoria got to know too. Both of them never felt happier in being lied to.