William Holloway

I'm a devil in disguise

Of all the things that William had imagined might be happening to his childhood friend in his years of captivity, the reality was certainly worse and far crazier. As William shared at that shining signet ring, all he could think about was how he had certainly lost Sebastian in a way he had never anticipated. Even though he was right in front of him, William could note the changes in his usually carefree friend. He could see the way that he'd grown more serious, a direct result of the title that he was proving to the Duke. But it wasn't the title that William was afraid of, not really. They'd always been aristocrats, even if neither of them had ever expected to rise to this level of authority. It was the other thing, that unspoken elephant in the room that had been the direct cause of this shift in position. The someone who had been entirely taboo to the duo before, someone whose existence William could no longer ignore. He had known, before, that Sebastian's heart belonged to another. But Sebastian had never offered for him to meet his partner, and William had certainly not wanted to. Now, it seemed, it was something neither of them could pretend wasn't happening. Those words of his were met with the confirmation that made his heart sink into his stomach. That Sebastian truly and forever belonged to another, and now to an entire country before he would belong to William.

Sebastian knew him well, however. He knew the way that this would quickly make the Duke despondent, to ruin the happiness of their reunion. And while his rational, practical mind might have internally shouted that nothing would ever be the same, William was still the lovesick teenager when it came to the man across from him. How he wanted to believe Sebastian that their relationship might have some hope of staying as it was. Could it really be that simple? Could they continue those same flirtations that they'd partaken in for their centuries old relationship? Could he really be allowed that closeness? He barely had time to begin to voice those very thoughts before Sebastian's breath was hot against William's ear with those promises that he would still hear the sound of the Duke's moans. His body betrayed that rational side of his mind that promised that he couldn't do that any longer, the man entirely willing to believe his companion that their relationship might exist in the same way it had before. That, perhaps, this marriage was not the death sentence to William's heart that it so seemed.

William allowed himself to relax, reaching confidently for the touch that he'd craved most in the last four years of his captivity. He was relieved, then, that Sebastian didn't remove his hand. Even if that touch was only allowed out of pity, Sebastian seemed to understand exactly how much the Duke needed to touch him. That teased phrase met with the snort that he'd expected out of the Ea- Prince. God, would that title take some getting used to. "You know I'd protect you for free, right?" William commented, though he couldn't deny that it would be nice to see his own bank account grow for a change. He'd been living on the remains of his maker's fortune for the past two hundred years, and with his inability to keep a job due to needing to flee a city once a month, it wouldn't last forever. Still, how odd it was to have that need for a job pointed out by his companion. While Sebastian might have been studious at university, William had never been serious about it. Why would he? His title, his role, his job had always been clearly outlined for him from the moment it was clear that he was a male.

"I'm not sure about that," William replied, his skepticism clear as he considered that he might be free from running, at least temporarily. "But if I get to be with you and under some sort of protection from their wrath, I'll do it." William lifted the vampire's hand then, easily declaring his loyalty to Sebastian, to his protection, to Italy of all places. And while that rational part of William might have screamed for him to stop talking, William continued nonetheless to declare exactly how much affection he had for the Italian Prince. He'd had to have known already, right? It wasn't as if William had hidden his affections for Sebastian. Even if he had never acted upon them, William had been clearly in love with the man since their fateful meeting in those English courts. And though it would have been amazing to finally, finally, hear those words in return, William was entirely unsurprised when they didn't come in return.

"Since when do you call me William? You usually only do that when you're cross with me," William teased in an attempt to brush the awkwardness of the moment aside. The Duke released his companions hand, watching as he moved to lay comfortably back upon the mattress. William moved then to easily lay beside him, his own arm going to become a makeshift pillow as he relaxed, speaking quietly of what his father would have said if he knew the positions of the two men now. "He thought marrying you to Georgiana would tame you," William commented. It was a different pang of hurt now, to think of his younger sister. "You would have been happy with her, I think. Even if I hated the idea of it, the two people I loved most would have found happiness with each other." How he wished he could go back to that young William, to insist that his closest friend marrying his sister was not the worst thing that could possibly happen.

William hardly expected that his musings of the Queen of Italy would result in such confusion from the man at his side. For a moment, the words that he was presented with failed to spark any understanding from him. My King? William's smile fell entirely as those words grasped at him, their full meaning hitting William harder than anything else that could have been said. William had always, perhaps rightfully so, thought that their gender was the sole reason that they had never had a chance together. After all, given their time, their stations, their upbringings, they had never a real hope for a life together in England. He'd assumed those ideals had continued into the modern world, at least for Sebastian. He'd never assumed that Sebastian would fall for another... another male.

William didn't process the rest of his words, though he heard them. Pandemic? That seemed like the worst of his problems in light of the knowledge that his eternal heartbreak seemed to be only due to the fact that he hadn't reunited with Sebastian early enough. He had to know, he had to ask. He had to know even if the truth would wreck him so entirely. "Sebastian," William said, staring at the ceiling, completely unable to look in the direction of his companion. "If I had shown up a year earlier than I did... five years earlier than I did... Would... would things have been different between us?" Truly, William wasn't sure which answer would break him more, but he had to know. He had to know if, if only he had shown up earlier, if he would be the one to share Sebastian's bed and to hold his heart, or if the closeness he'd imagined had only been that: imaginary.