P R I N C E

How could he have been so foolish? To think that what had happened between them had actually meant something? Foolish enough to hold a flame for the prince for years – Ellis’s entire life, even. Despite all the years when he had doubted that they would ever see each other once more he had still loved him, loved him to this day, but had only grown distant after their kiss, had only found the warmth of a prostitute instead of talking to Ellis. It was enough to let the side of Ellis, the darker side that had strengthened over the years, to come out in full force, directed towards a man he never thought would feel the brunt of it. 

And yet … 

William had always been his weakness. Always, ever since they were children, ever since they had parted. Day in and day out the man had been his weakness even when they were oceans apart, and he was still his weakness as the man now stood before him, only managing to bring Ellis out of his thoughts when he heard a roar that couldn’t have possibly come from the boy he once knew. Despite the fire in his eyes Ellis blinked quickly, lips opening, but no scream came out. All he could do was stare dumbly at William, fighting through the conflicted feelings of rage and confusion that were now overwhelming him.

Ellis was still breathing heavily, like he had run miles without stopping for once. He wanted nothing more than to scream over him, to tell him to run off – damn the ransom, damn everything that ever could have been between them once they saw each other again. His fists closed then opened, repeatedly, as he tried to comprehend what exactly it was that William was saying. His head was screaming at him to not listen – the prostitute, the distance. Ellis was right, William was wrong, that was the end of it. But what had he said? That he had came for him? Left for him? 

Ellis shook his head, jaw tight and gaze hard as he looked past William, unable to look at the man. The apologies, they were threatening to grip his heart again when he should have been mad. That somehow hearing how he had been with others was bad when Ellis had admitted that despite everything William had always been the one he thought about every night and every morning? And now William was saying that had felt the exact same way – the longing thoughts, the lingering heart. But Ellis was stubborn, always had been, keeping his anger festering despite a voice in his head desperately telling him not to be the bastard he could be – William did not deserve the kind of anger that Ellis was capable of. He hadn’t even scratched the surface, but he remained angry, and he didn’t know whether he could listen to what William was saying until –

The words came back to haunt him. I came for you. I left for you. 

“What are you talking about?” That was all he could manage to say as he once more looked to William, unbelieving as he eyed him warily, though the red blur William had been was starting to take a normal shape. “You came for me, you left for me. What the hell does that mean?”

The anger of William’s own continued to rise like stormy sea levels when Ellis refused to look at him. He’d gone from depressive and completely unaware of what was going on, to shocked out of it and into being terrified -- of what he’d done and of Ellis… and subsequently how he’d made Ellis feel, -- to solemn over the reminder of what could have been, while also growing more irritated. And through all of that, still drunk, just aware. He had no clue how his brain was keeping up with the emotions that had tunneled through him on full power, but he felt like he could faint at this point. He grabbed onto the nearest stable object to keep himself standing, maybe stop his head from spinning so fast it’d fall off of his body. 

William sighed loudly, bringing his hands up to shield his eyes for a few moments as he recovered his steadiness. His heart ached as he dropped his hand and planted his eyes back on Ellis’s face. He wished Ellis could know everything without having to explain it. How he’d tried to leave with him, all of his feelings throughout these years without him. Not only was talking about it difficult, but words couldn’t even describe it all. He could tell him the basics, that he’d snuck out as soon as he was able to get away, but not about how his heart shattered into a million pieces when he got there and Ellis was gone. He couldn’t cover the pain he felt. 

“You asked me to leave with you. I did.” His eyes burned in an attempt to hold back tears. If he let even one fall, he may begin sobbing, he was almost sure of it. But he was trying to stand firm, match Ellis’s level here. “I tried to. I couldn’t leave, I couldn’t sneak out. Not until it was too late. When I got there, you were gone.” He bit his lip, hard enough to draw his mind’s attention away from the sting in his eyes. “It means I came to meet you, I left the grounds for you, to leave with you. I was just… too late.” He couldn’t stop sweeping his eyes across Ellis’s face, looking for any change of emotion, but all it served to do was finally let a tear fall from his eye as he soaked in the face of the man he’d loved endlessly all this time.

“We should have sex.” His words were mumbled against William’s, in the midst of a heated kiss. They laid together beached in the sand, the waves coming up regularly to meet their midsections, partially intertwined as they groped and grabbed at each other. 

A curious look crossed his face as William pulled back to look at him. “Here? Now? Really?” His voice held disbelief, and a little amusement. He looked over in the direction of the ship, and the crew hanging about and sitting around a bonfire. They were quite far off, but visible enough. If he could see them, even just as small blobs, they could see the couple as well. Making out was one thing, but sex another.

“Yes,” he insisted, nudging his nose against William’s jaw, before going in for hot kisses against his neck, “here, now, really.” 

Breathless from the tingling Ellis’s mouth gave his skin, his fingers tightened on the man’s skin, “We can be seen.” 

“Hardly,” he argued, “the sun’s beginning to set, they’re all drunk.” 

He wanted to disagree, he wanted to disagree so badly. Turn him down, tell him no. It was a stupid idea, was it something they potentially needed witnessed? They’d been near-caught and walked in on a million times but going at it in the open was something else entirely. He needed to tell him not here -- but his lips were playing against William’s skin, his hands working to send shivers down his spine, every touch of him so fucking tantalizing, making it impossible to say no. 

“Fuck, Ellis,” he damn near moaned, but his voice was but a broken whisper. 

Ellis pulled away from him and looked down, that stupid cocky grin on his face. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m proposing.” He kissed William’s lips chastely. “Fuck me.”

William couldn’t help but laugh, turning his face to the side and covering his eyes with the back of his knuckles. “You’re ridiculous. Too much, really.” 

“Is that a yes?” His eyes were entirely too mischievous, and his hands were playing with the waistband of William’s pants. 

 “You are awful,” William said with a grin, a laugh on the edge of his lips. He pressed his hands against the skin of Ellis’s chest and leaned in for a kiss. 

The ferocity, however, was making its return, the building and conflicting emotions that had present since he had first laid eyes on William culminating in an anger that may have been partly influenced by the rum. Alcohol in his veins or not, however, he knew that the anger would have come at seeing the current state he had found his captive. There wasn’t enough time for Ellis to think about why the sight had angered him so – maybe on the march back to the ship he would ponder why exactly seeing a woman on top of William, her breasts nearly spilling out of her bodice, clearly about to give him what he had paid for, made him want to burn down the entire tavern. It was made all the worse, watching how seemingly disappointed William was that Ellis had interrupted, having the nerve to smile as he paid the woman then proceed to taunt him. Ellis didn’t even take a moment to catch a breath, the woman long forgotten as he grabbed William by the arm, grip like a vice and tightening still as he dragged him from the room. 

Ellis ignored any stares they may have earned. He didn’t care if people wondered why the captain was dragging this man from the tavern and through the streets, all while looking like he was on the verge of committing murder. There were plenty of reasons why Ellis may have been acting as such despite William actually being the prince everyone was talking about – a member of his crew could have disobeyed him, could have done something stupid, and, coincidentally, that was exactly what had happened. No one had to know that there were underlying reasons, such as finding the man who had stuck up a wall following their odd night where Ellis had confessed how he’d longed for him, how William had kissed him and held him close, only to stay mum after the shift that was painfully clear to Ellis’s eye. Now he found him wanting to fuck someone else? He doubted William understood how dangerous this game he was playing, but it only solidified what Ellis had known during all of these years, that he should have hardened his heart to him that day on the beach when he never showed.

Ellis’s ears were ringing, closed off to the sound of drinking and rowdiness and even anything that William may have been saying while he dragged him back to the ship – he tuned out all of it. He didn’t even look at any of the lookouts left behind on his ship, men playing cards and drinking on the deck stopping and turning once they saw the captain roughly tugging William along. He didn’t have to explain anything to any of them, not even William who he pushed into his quarters after tearing the door open, the only time he had let go of the man the entire way back. Ellis swung his door closed, slamming with a bang as he finally whirled upon William with all of the anger that had accumulated with each step he had taken toward his ship. Hands balled into fists he took a step closer to William, eyes dark and devoid of the emotion he had spared toward William each time they had been together. This was no look of love – this was a look of fury.

“Are you fucking mad?” Ellis spit the question in William’s direction, voice raised and booming as he glared the man down as if he was ready to grab him by the neck and strangle him. It was a side to the captain that had became a part of him over the years, one that William had certainly never seen, one that he doubted would ever be subjected to, and yet there he was, front and center. He was fairly certain the vein in his neck was throbbing and his face had gone red but he didn’t care. All of his frustrations, his anger, William was going to hear it all. “I only let you off the ship so you could sit there and do nothing and raise no suspicion, but instead I find you wandering off to fuck some whore?” He spat the word, eyes turning venomous as he took another step closer. “I have every goddamn right to chain you to this fucking ship and leave you to starve, then, when I ask you to do one fucking thing I find you with your pants down.” Figuratively, thank god. Ellis didn’t know what he would have done if he had found William in mid-act with the woman. 

“You’ve been avoiding me, ever since that night, not telling me something that I know has been on your mind and here I had thought, foolishly, there was some semblance of feeling or consideration that you had held but no!” Ellis yelled, jaw clenching as he tried, and failed, to calm himself. “Instead you’re off bedding some woman – I should have known, that you never cared, that you never fucking would. Christ, I should have left you at the bottom of the fucking ship.” He scoffed, turning away only momentarily as he tore a hand through his curls, wishing to hit something or throw something just to get out all of the anger. “Or better yet I never should have went back for you in the first place. It would have saved me the fucking headache.” Heartache was the better word, but he didn’t dare give William the satisfaction.

Maybe… just maybe… drinking as much as he had hadn’t been a good idea. He certainly wouldn’t have made this mistake, wound up where he was, and continuing to make poor and childish decisions. Well, possibly some childish decisions but nothing amounting to this severity, mocking Ellis in such an intense moment. But it didn’t matter, because it was too late. He’d drunk half his weight, made foolish decisions, and now he could barely see straight let alone think about what he’d really just done, or what he could have done -- if you could consider it an action of his own at that point, being led up to the bedroom as intoxicated as he was. 

“Ah,” he complained as Ellis grabbed his arm. His heart suddenly beat much faster than it was before, the substance clouded part of his brain finally comprehending how bad this was, but genuinely not even sure of what had led them there now. Glassy, bloodshot eyes frantically searched his surroundings as Ellis pulled him down the stairs, taking in the scene and feeling as if he was reliving the last ten minutes. How could you forget what had just happened, just as you were taken out of it? What had he done? Considering where he was coming from… Fuck.

But Ellis’s grip only got tighter, footsteps heavier as he pulled him along. William was hit with waves of nausea, from the drunkenness or the situation he couldn’t discern, but likely both. “I’m sorry,” he pleaded. The buildings passed quickly and William could hardly keep up. Ellis didn’t care that William was tripping over himself as he tugged him, didn’t stop when William fell onto his knees, stumbling to his feet as quickly as he could before he was to be dragged face down. Didn’t take notice that he definitely threw up when he’d fallen down, but William didn’t have much time to either, only grateful it all went to the ground rather than himself, and thank fuck not on the other man. No, he didn’t care. Instead, he ensured that if he were to fall his hold wouldn’t let up, hand tightening like a steel trap. God, he was strong, and if this were any other moment that would be something William may have melted over. As it was, this was not one of those moments, and he felt like his heart was about to give out. 

Were there onlookers? He wasn’t even sure, he was so dizzy, and the only thing he was aware of was the anger emanating from Ellis, anger directed at him. “Ellis,” he cried, “please.” He was hurting him in more ways than one, though clearly William had hurt Ellis as well. His head was spinning but he could however see they were nearly to the ship, and William was almost certain he’d rather be locked in Ellis’s death grip than thrown back into the brig alone and hated by the only person he cared about on the entire earth. 

William winced once Ellis let go of him, the release somehow more painful than the grip. He winced again at the sound of the door slamming behind him. Was it possible to be scared sober? No, the alcohol hadn’t left his bloodstream, his peripherals still hazy and his reactions slowed, but the whole situation shocked his brain into being alert. Fear tore through him like a knife down his chest, his anger unlike anything he’d seen before, made intensely worse by the fact that it was from him.

Seeing Ellis’s face nearly ripped his chest in two, terrified and heartbroken all at once. He’d never seen anything like this from the man before. He knew he had a temper, always getting worked up even as kids, but it seemed the smallest reassurance from William and he was fine again, perhaps even if it was for show -- but that temper was never really directed at him, at least not to any significant degree. He had only ever known Ellis through the softest eyes, and this was an Ellis he wasn’t even aware existed. These were eyes lit with fire and smoking, and all because of, and toward William. “I’m sorry,” he whispered barely audible, eyes wide and heart beating in his ears. Maybe he was mad. 

With his heart pounding as hard as it was, his ears began ringing. “I’m, -- I wasn’t, --.” He shook his head, barely blinking as he took all of Ellis’s anger. Tears welled in his eyes, he couldn’t help it. He stopped trying to speak, he didn’t even know what to say to make any of this right. He just stood and took the yelling, petrified. 

That was, until, he spoke of William never caring. Those words awakened an anger of his own. A solemn one, but anger nonetheless. “Never cared?!” His voice got even louder than Ellis’s with those words. “I came for you! I left... for you!” And as he yelled the words, they seemed to echo through the room. He came for him. He came to be stolen away by the boy he’d forbiddenly fallen in love with. How desperately he wished he could have stolen him then rather than now, being told Ellis wished he hadn’t even gotten him at all. Yeah, that stung badly. Tears had started pouring from his eyes at that point, but he had no attention for them. 

William sighed when Ellis commanded they stop, a quiet breath coming out in the space between them, which was greater now that Ellis had pulled away. As soon as he had parted, though, a small relief entered William’s chest, indicating that perhaps it would be better this way, anyway. Apart from the mood partially being squashed for him, maybe he also just wasn’t ready for this right now. “No,” William said softly, moving one hand to Ellis’s chest, warmth transferring from his skin to his palm, “I’m just.... I’ve just suddenly become so tired, is all.” He nodded as if to solidify his words, that even if they weren’t the exact truth, that’s close enough. 

He knew that the moment would break, the tension too thick that some solution was imminent, and it was when he felt William begin to shift that his heart leapt in his chest. Breath caught in his throat, Ellis’s eyes not daring to stray from William’s as they came face-to-face, anticipation making it difficult not to grab William and kiss him right there. The touch of his hand on his neck made Ellis lean into the touch, own palm automatically resting atop of William’s once the man’s hand moved to his cheek. A part of him would have been happy like this, just to hold him and watch him and never let him go again. Eyes briefly fell to William’s lips, watching how the sound of his name formed upon them, wanting to hear him say his name over and over again. He leaned forward, forehead to William’s, feeling the little self-control he held shatter all at once the moment that William kissed him. Every cell in his body was crying out in relief as lips opened underneath his and deepened their kiss, tongue hungry to taste him like he had been for years. Strong hands found the man’s waist, wrapping tight around his middle, body craving to feel the lines of his curves against his own. It was then he felt caution fly to the wind, Ellis guiding William onto the bed, pinning his back to the mattress as hands slid up the man’s chest, up his arms, lacing fingers with his own and leaving no part of their bodies unaligned as he squeezed them tight and kissed William feverishly with an urgency unknown. 

Their kiss picked up quickly, and William obliged as Ellis parted his lips and deepened their kiss. His vision went white for a matter of seconds, his lips, his taste more exquisite than any dessert he’d ever had. His stomach fluttered at the touch of Ellis’s grip on his waist, his heart almost beating out of his of his chest as Ellis moved the two of them with ease, pinning William underneath him. He couldn’t get enough as his touch made its way up William’s torso and down his arms, never wanting the feeling of his hands on his body to end. He squeezed his own fists back against Ellis’s, knuckles white as if they didn’t hold on tight enough someone was going to rip them away again. And with the way he was feeling now, he’d kill before he let that happen again. His heart rate seemed to pick up each moment the intensity of their kiss increased. With Ellis above him, he moved his leg up, foot on the bed and leg hitched against the man’s side. He matched Ellis’s urgency with that of his own, unable to get enough of him at once and needing to drink him in while he could. Every cell in his body shook after being untouched for so long, and now being given what he was starving for by the one person who affected him more intensely than anyone else ever had or could. His chest arched up against Ellis’s, needing to feel him even more, and that touch moved its way down into his hips as he used his bent leg to push himself against Ellis further, his body carefully rolling against the man from chest to hip, a wave of his own under Ellis’s discretion.

William narrowed his eyes at the look Ellis took up, suggestive yet completely untelling at the same time. It was truly a talent, one that was unrivaled by anyone William had met. William had to have a world class facade in any given situation, but totally hiding an expression is one thing, and what Ellis managed to do was another. So mischievous, so mysterious, without even trying. It was exactly what William had learned to read, however. To find the silent words in his untelling expressions, sometimes playful with lying eyes, or angry with a softness underneath it and a mind William tried to penetrate to read his thoughts, and with each passing day it began to come more and more effortlessly. 

His eyes lit up and he smiled, happy about Ellis returning to his place closer to William… but then he got even closer. A breath left William’s lips as Ellis moved over him, and he moved his eyes down the other boy’s face. “Mutual understanding,” William muttered, not even really paying attention to what Ellis had said, distracted by him in his entirety. He was mesmerized by his warm eyes, the hard line of his silhouette in front of the sun, and before he really took into account what he was doing, he was lifting his head off the grass and planting a kiss straight onto Ellis’s mouth, eyes shut tight. If their position wasn’t compromising enough, this certainly was, but apparently the repercussions of someone (unlikely) happening to find them right now had been lost on him. He pulled back, quickly ending the abrupt chaste kiss he’d given Ellis. He opened his eyes, a little out of breath just from the adrenaline of it and the swarms of butterflies raging in his abdomen. His nerves tingled, alive with what just happened. “I…” he breathed, his hand moving to Ellis’s shoulder and eyes frantically searching the boy’s features. He thought about trying to sit up, scoot away from Ellis in fear of what may happen after what he’d just done, but he was frozen.

Butterflies filled his insides upon the feeling of Ellis simply moving the neck of his shirt, and when he felt his lips on his skin, the familiar stubble he’d become acquainted with just a few nights earlier, his entire body tensed. Frozen, with the air stuck in his lungs, he could feel everything around him, the tiniest of touches. William could barely breathe, throat closing in the intensity of the moment. The man’s mouth against his flesh felt so good, better than anything he could ever dream of. He swiped his tongue across his lower lip, mouth parted as he mindlessly tilted his head to the side. His fists closed tighter, knuckles white as a fire suddenly lit up his chest, heating his skin with a feeling he’d genuinely never felt before. There was perhaps a more mild version of it felt in their times before, but whether it was their maturity now or the passion deep in his chest from the time spent apart, it was much more intense this time around. A small burning in him before was a wildfire now, Ellis’s workings making his heart beat harder and sent the blood in his veins spiraling.

The sensation of Ellis’s breath against his skin unfroze him, sending a sharp shiver down his spine, and an almost silent breathless moan left his lips. His touches made him dizzy, even with his eyes shut. He swallowed a lump in his throat, his lust growing every second. It was the bite at his skin that had undone him, inciting a reaction in him he didn’t even give a half a second’s thought about; he turned around on the bed in a second, kneeling in front of him, now face to face with Ellis. His eyes looked the man over, glinting with a look of desire in the low light. He reached a hand up, fingers slowly wrapping themselves against Ellis’s neck before moving up to hold his face. William could hear his heart beat in his ear as he leaned in, and as he got close enough for their noses to touch, he finally felt like he could breathe. Fuck, he finally felt like he could breathe, and it was his first breath ever, taking in the familiar scent of Ellis and his essence as he breathed out himself. God, was it good. “Ellis,” he whispered, just to taste the word. William’s skin was hot to the touch, and Ellis was both the cause and the relief, and he wanted more of both. He wanted the heat, the fire, and he wanted it to be put out all at once. Without another moment’s thought, he crashed his lips against Ellis’s, determined to get what he wanted.

“Looking at you like what?”  William asked innocently, a small smile on his face as he gazed at the other boy.  That smile quickly turned down into a frown, however, as Ellis rolled over, William apparently unable to hide his disappointment at the sudden lack of closeness.  He narrowed his eyes, the sun shining suddenly blinding him now with the disappearance of Ellis’s silhouette.  His hand hung in the air where Ellis’s head previously was, and he dropped it onto his chest with a sigh.  “What kind of activity?” he asked curiously, wondering if any of those ideas were more desirable than his current plan to bathe in the sun and dream he was much farther away than this.

Which is why his sudden attempt to leave the bed had William’s alarm systems blaring. “No,” William whined, cold knuckles white with the grip he held on Ellis’s arm. “Where are you going? It’s so cold.”

“Yes,” Ellis grinned, “this is precisely why I must go.” He kissed William’s forehead. “There’s much to be attended to.”

“I’m to be attended to,” William smirked, moving his chest over and scooting closer to the man he clung to.

Ellis chuckled and shook his head, looking everywhere but at William, knowing that if he did he would probably fall into the stupid trap he was setting. “Oh, really, hmm?” He finally met his eyes, his smile softening at the lover before him. William nodded fervently and as he tugged on him, Ellis allowed himself to be pulled back down into their position of snuggling. “Five more minutes,” Ellis said sternly.

“Hmm,” William nodded, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around his torso, “sure.”

“William.”

“What?” William asked innocently, opening his eyes to look at Ellis. He pressed a kiss to Ellis’s lips, his hand slowly moving its way down his side. “Five minutes, I got it.” His expression said one thing as he smiled sweetly, but his eyes said another, glinting devilishly while watching Ellis’s mouth part slightly upon William’s hand making its way into Ellis’s pants.

“William,” he demanded, his voice threatening, but his face  was anything but.

There was a sudden knock at the door, and Ellis flinched. William didn’t fight him as he pulled himself out of his hold, but his expression had faded into one of disappointment. “At least they learned to knock,” William muttered, then crossed his arms like a child who didn’t get his way.

“Captain!” the voice called, muffled through the door. “The others are all awake and getting quite squirmy ain’t nothing to set work on. Is the sails to get raised yet, sir?” As the man yelled through the door, though, Ellis’s eyes remained fixed on William -- who was busy playing with a string from the heavy blanket on their bed -- and narrowed as he went on.

Ellis huffed and walked to open the door, opening it swiftly. “I don’t believe I had answered the door yet, had I?” The man on the other side said nothing in reply as Ellis stared him down, and William grinned. “You’ve spoken out of turn. I believe we’ll stay here today, you can all scrub the ship.” He slammed the door in his face and when he turned to look at William, his whole body flushed, always turned on by Ellis being… that way.

While he hadn’t been aware of his own instinctual move of getting closer to the man behind him, he was hyper aware of said man getting closer to him. He felt his skin flush, his chest growing warmer and warmer. His hand found the mattress so as to keep himself balanced, suddenly finding himself feeling a little dizzy. It was the breath against his skin as Ellis spoke that got him, his vision clouding over in a way he hadn’t ever experienced before. Fingers grasped at the sheet beneath his hand, tugging it into his fist, too overcome with feeling to even properly access his brain. He’d never felt so paralyzed before, not in fear or surprise or anything. Immobilizing sadness he was all too familiar with, but this assuredly wasn’t that. It was good. So good. His heart rate picked up just slightly after skipping a few beats, lips parting slightly. Between the closeness, the feeling of his breath on his neck, his lips touching his skin, his voice, and the absolute slightest touch of his fingers against William’s skin, his mind was just gone and there was nothing but Ellis and all of these sensations. “Uh,” he muttered in a hoarse voice, getting lost in his own train of thought. How was it that if everything else in his mind had just fled, leaving nothing but Ellis and those sensations, it was somehow too much? Paralyzed, with his mind and body buzzing with it all, unable to concentrate with clouds surrounding his thoughts. “Neck… shoulders?”

A smile painted William’s face almost instantly upon Ellis rolling over, now able to see him face to face, the two up against each other. He didn’t think anything of their more than occasional closeness, touches and cuddles and caresses. In his mind it was all innocent, totally normal, something they’d done for as long as he can remember. It was quite a feat to convince oneself of that while the truth of it laid in plain sight, the two knowing it had to be a total secret, never appearing that way in front of others, and even tiptoeing around the subject with each other as they committed these acts of intimacy yet never actively talked about it amongst each other. “Yes,” William agreed, but lost track of what he was going to add to that as he watched Ellis’s hand, disappearing into his hair. He turned his head toward the other boy and laughed as he tugged on his loose curls, reaching over and setting his own hand against Ellis’s face, giving it a playful push away from him before he dropped his hand back on his chest. His eyes looked over Ellis’s features, and his wide smile softened as he stared at him. “Mm, probably not. What would Mother say?” he joked, shaking his head. He gave his body the slightest turn, only serving to scoot against Ellis just a little bit more. “I don’t know,” he said softly, his voice airy as he looked up at Ellis, “I feel like I could just be here forever, just like this… with you.” In opposition to Ellis’s tug to William’s hair, William thoughtlessly pulled his fingers through his dark hair gently. After a few moments and he realized he’d gotten distracted, he paused his hand and smiled small at him. “Though I’m sure you’ve got a better idea.” As the mischievous brunette always does with activities.

William couldn’t help but frown a little, turning his head away from him and only give a glance at Ellis from the corners of his eyes. It wasn’t necessarily as far as William would have wished either, but what were they to do? He couldn’t see how they could change that situation, how that was an option with all he has to do. He sighed, “Yeah.” Feeling Ellis’s eyes turn onto him, he quickly hid his confusion and disappointment, turning his face back to Ellis again and offering a quick smile. He took a breath. “Hmm... Well, Father has some business to finish, and of course Mother will be with him,” he mused, “so The Vulture won’t even be able to inform them until then…” He shrugged. “Maybe an hour or so?”

Assuming Ellis could read William as easily and effortlessly as William could read Ellis, knowing how boastful he is, William could only imagine how full of himself Ellis felt at William’s reaction to the touches he’d been given. As they still haven’t really spoken about what had happened just days prior, William was only willing to admit that his response was because he was as sore as he was -- and that was true, actually, -- but he didn’t want to lead on that it was because of Ellis himself -- although he could probably make that out anyway.

His skin felt tingly at his touch, but on the edge and wanting more of it, wanting his hands on skin. Things he wanted to avoid before, knowing his reaction to them, now revealing themselves for what they are. Desire. He lifted his head back up slowly. “Yeah,” William said in a low voice, mindlessly tilting back toward Ellis more by accident. It was only a very small movement, but he couldn’t help it with how close they already were, and his voice in his ear as if he could lean into the beautiful sound of it. Annoying, but it was like there was a magnet in their chests, drawn to him in every way and always wanting to get closer. Something he desired to express, but no idea how, before unaware and unsure if he could, and now on the fence after their kiss. Though, clearly his subconscious instincts were going to execute those desires to be closer for him.

While the comment about being willing was true Ellis merely gave the man a half-smile, eyes falling to the spot where William touched. He still could tell that the man was reluctant, almost as if he didn’t trust Ellis behind him. “You can relax,” he said quietly, lips still twisted in a smirk, “it’s me.” Whether that put William’s mind at ease or not he did not know. However, he took the man’s actions as a positive. Ellis, settling behind the man, gently touched William’s hand, inching it from his back. In its stead he placed his own hands, Ellis touching the man as lightly as a feather would. He gently applied pressure to the spot, slowly working the tightened muscle, growing closer to William’s back as he hovered behind him and gave a curious glance to William’s profile, seeking a reaction. “How does that feel?” 

"Right,” William said in response, “sure,” though he still didn’t think he’d be able to relax, at least not right away. Exactly, he thought, it’s you. William was able to stop being so tense, his shoulders falling as he hesitantly relaxed, but he couldn’t help keeping his head turned to the side so that he could still see him. He wasn’t good at letting his guard down period, and even though in his chest he still felt an intense connection with Ellis, one that felt like they’d never parted, his brain knew otherwise, and even disregarding any bitter feelings that may linger, he still didn’t know exactly who Ellis was anymore. He could feel him, and for as strong as that feeling was telling him he was the same man he’d always known, it just wasn’t true. So much time had passed. Though he believed that Ellis never meant him harm, especially after he offered him a bed and refused to allow any pirates to hurt him, despite him being a captured prisoner, there was still a voice of precaution in the back of his mind. 

Upon Ellis’s touch, William’s heart skipped and he quickly brought his hand back around, folding it together with his other in his lap. The second Ellis began to gently work into the muscles in William’s back, he nearly let out a damn moan. His head suddenly became completely blank, focused on absolutely nothing but the relief he was feeling on his sore muscles. Only moments before, he was intensely adamant on staying guarded, but just the one touch and it suddenly vanished. His head fell forward at the feeling, a breath leaving his lips. “Um... it’s good,” he spoke carefully, trying to keep his voice even. He cleared his throat. “Here, too,” he informed him, gesturing to a bit higher up on his back.