Chapter Text
For as long as Michael could remember, he had loved William.
Their families had been close when they were young, and so they had grown up tangled in each other’s lives. He could not remember a time before William, only a time with him. They had met at three years old. Now, they were nineteen, and nothing about that had changed.
Michael stood at his bedroom window, gazing out over the busy town below. The streets were alive with motion: merchants rolling heavy carts, villagers browsing stalls, travelers weaving through the stone roads with dust on their boots.
His town was always like this. Loud, crowded, endlessly moving. William’s town, not far away, was smaller and quieter, rarely visited by outsiders.
Michael turned away from the window and crossed to his closet. He shifted through his clothes until he found a loose blue cloth top and a pair of black leather pants that hung slightly too big on his frame. He liked them that way.
He pulled on his boots, slung his satchel over his shoulder, then reached for his sword, fastening its sheath and harness into place. After checking that he had everything, he tied his long hair back.
It had always been long, but since he turned seventeen, he had let it grow even further.
William liked it long.
Michael stepped outside and moved quickly through the streets, slipping past crowds and down narrow alleyways before emerging onto a main road. The town’s sounds followed him, chatter, wagon wheels against stone, and the distant music of a bard’s performance.
When he reached the town’s edge, he did not bother with his map. He knew the road to William’s town by heart.
The forest stretched between them, tall and thick with life. Animals stirred in the undergrowth as Michael passed, though he kept his distance. He had never trusted them much.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting shifting shadows over the dirt-and-gravel path beneath his boots. Each step made a quiet crunch.
Soon, the smaller town came into view, only a few hundred people lived there, tucked safely among the trees.
Michael quickened his pace toward the gate.
That was when he heard it.
A soft, familiar humming.
William.
He followed the sound, heart already lifting, until he spotted him sitting at the base of a wide tree. A thick sheet of paper rested in William’s lap, his brush moving carefully across it.
He wore his lavender cloak scattered with white stars, his hat drooping slightly over his face. Even so, Michael could see the small mole near his cheek.
“Will,” Michael said gently, not wanting to startle him.
“Hello.”
William looked up, eyes bright, and rose to his feet with a smile. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Michael’s neck.
Michael’s hands settled at William’s hips. The world always seemed to slow when William was this close.
They leaned in, pressing their lips together for a few quiet seconds. William pulled away first, though Michael could have stayed there forever if allowed.
“How are you doing, my love?” Michael asked, his voice softer than it ever was with anyone else.
They sat together beneath the tree, talking until time slipped past unnoticed.
Then William asked, “Are you ready for tonight?”
They had planned to venture into the deeper woods. Their friends had declined — which left only the two of them.
Michael preferred it that way. He cared for their friends, but things were different with Will.
The sky began to darken, the sun sinking low beyond the trees. Michael rose with a quiet sigh.
“I need to go put on my armor,” he said.
“I will see you soon, my love.”