(someone give William and Adrian a room! Ohh! they're in a room already. đđ)
~
AT NIGHT
"Prince."
The two men bowed before the third prince.
"Uhm." He responded absentmindedly, rolling a small dagger between his fingers.
"We just returned. Is everything alright? Should we intervene?" one of them asked.
The prince waved a hand. "Things are fine. Any news from Father?"
"He says you must be careful. That you must outsmart the other princes."
The prince laughed softly. "That old man worries too much. He should put his mind at rest." He paused, his gaze drifting toward a particular direction. "Besides, I think I might delay the attack a little longer."
The men exchanged glances, unsure why.
"Since we're back, should we tail you?"
"Uhm. Sure. But be subtle," he said calmly. "They're sharper than they look."
The men bowed once more and disappeared into the forest within seconds.
.
.
.
Adrian walked into the room and sat on the bed. They had decided to spend the night at an inn and continue their jorney when morning came.
Barely five seconds after he sat on the bed, William strode in.
Adrian took a sharp breath. " Why are you here?"
William shrugged. " We need to
save our money. So, we need to share room. "
" My money is my money and your money is your money." Adrian replied coolly.
William didn't answer. Instead, he walked toward Adrian's luggage.
"Eh?" Adrian raised a brow. "What are you doing?"
For the second time, William didn't respond and it got on Adrian nerves a bit.. especially now that he was rummaging through his things.
Adrian watched William pick out his medicine and walked towards him.
Without asking, he sat next to him.
Too close - Adrian thought and he shifted slightly away from him.
William watched him put a bit of distance between them but only smiled.
" Time for your medicine." He simply said and brought out a pill.
He handed it to Adrian. He stood up and walked to the corner where a jar of water sat, then returned and sat beside Adrian again..
" Uhm" he stretched the water towards Adrian.
Adrian felt something unfamiliar stir in his chest. William was serious now â no teasing, no flirting. Just quiet care. It made him seem⊠different. More mature. More handsome.
Deep down Adrian hated how much he loved this side of him. It made him seem⊠different. More mature. More handsome..
Adrian took the water from his hand and swallowed the medicine. He turned to William and saw the man watching him intensely- worry written plainly all over his face.
Instantly, he choked on the water.
" What's wrong?" William asked quickly and placed his hand on Adrian's back. Rubbing slow, steady circles.
William had always been playful, always flirty â the kind of man Adrian never trusted. But moments like this made him wonder if maybe⊠maybe William truly cared.
"Easy," William murmured, his voice deeper now.
Adrian's mind registered it immediately.
It had been nearly a month since they met, and this was the first time Adrian truly noticed how deep William's voice was.
' This is bad' he thought. He is a nonchalant man and he knew what it meant when he started noticing the smallest things about someone.
" I'm fine." He spoke after he could finally breath well and gently removed William's hand away from his back.
" Are you sure this medicine is working?" William asked.
" This is the second time you're asking this question. And for the second time, yes. " Adrian replied, placing the jar gently on the floor next to the bed.
" I know you said that, it's just-" William protested.
" It's just nothing master William. I'm fine now. Can't you see?"
William lips parted to respond but Adrian beat him to it.
" I'll be resting now. Go sleep on the floor." Adrian said pointing to a part of the floor. He lay on the bed and used his legs to nudge William away.
William staggered as he tried to regain his balance. He stood few steps from Adrian.
William scoffed, placing one hand in his hip. " Temi-, you don't really expect me to sleep on the floor. Do you?"
No response
"Aiyah!! This place isn't like the inn we just left. The floor here is too cold unlike there. "
Still no response. Just Adrian positioning himself better on the bed.
" Temi-" Adrian protested
The door opened slowly and the two princes turned their heads towards the door. Ayo walked in.
" Hello, our child. " William greeted brightly.
Ayo stopped on his tracks and looked up to William. William smile widened. Ayo simply blinked and walked straight to Adrian.
" Oww!" William pouted.
" Don't call him your child. You'll become attached. " Adrian told William.
Ayo got to Adrian and stopped at the bedside.
"Come. Sleep with me," Adrian said gently, smiling as he pulled the boy into a hug.
" Yeh! I like you!" Ayo said happily.
"Kah!!" William scoffed. " You've never smiled at me that way. Also between the two of us, who's getting attached?"
Adrian shrugged and patted Ayo's hair . William watched, frowning.
" "Fine! I'll sleep on the floor. I'm always the one who gets rejected!" He stomped his feets towards the door. Closing it, he made his way to a corner, planning to sleep on the floor.
Ayo spoke "Let Master Dada sleep with us on the bed, pleaseee?" William heard Ayo ask Adrian.
Adrian glanced at William, then back at Ayo. "Oh, now you care about him? You ignored him earlier. I thought you didn't like him.""
"I like Master William," Ayo replied. "He's nice. He took me in when Grandfather was gone. I like him, But⊠I like you more."
William folded his arms. "What's with tonight's bombshells? Thanks for not saying that to my face. I'm not hurt. "
"Please come join us," Ayo said to William. "I want to sleep next to you."
William nodded toward Adrian. " Well, that's not up to me."
Ayo turned those puppy eyes on Adrian- those puppy eyes he barely had to put effort in.
"No. The bed can't fit all of us." he replied.
"We'll squeeze. Pleaseee."
Adrian groaned and glared at William.
William swallowed
"Alright, alright" Adrian he gave in.
William tried his best not to grin too happily but he failed. He walked to them and one glare from Adrian was enough to make the grin disappear. But that didn't stop him from being happy.
Adrian repositioned himself and Ayo and made room for William. William laid on the bed, Ayo in between the and Adrian felt something change in the room.
,
"I'm happy," Ayo said smiling.
William smiled and raised his hand to pat Ayo's head but he was met with Adrian's hand which had beat him to it.
Their eyes met. The two man stared at each other. William noticed his long beautiful lashes. His well trimmed brows, his perfect nose and enticing lips. The man was the most beautiful man he had ever seen. Even at night, his beauty literally glow.
"You're unreal," The words left his lips before he realized
Adrian's heart skipped. He knew what that statement meant.
Also this was the first time the man would say something like that without being playful about it.
William had never said something like that without teasing. Never this serious.
Him saying it with a serious look, coupled with their current position made Adrian heart skipped again.
William realizing what he had just said looked away. He has always, always teased and flirted with Adrian and never really took it seriously but this time, the words had left his lips and they felt real. No jokes to it- he knew that deeply within him.
The silence that followed was heavy.
" What is this?" He asked himself.
No one said anything after that comment. The room went dead silent. Only breaths were heard.
"Go-goodnight."
William heard Adrian said. He has never heard the man stutter.
He dared to look at him again but Adrian eyes were closed.
William smiled softly and closed his eyes. His hand never returned to Ayo's head.
He let Adrian have his way.