Archive of Our Own

Will leaned out a bit over the gauntlet runner's railing and took a deep breath- as deep as his lungs would allow before he risked choking on, uh... nothing. The rocking of the searunner was definitely something he’d have to get used to, since they’d be on the water for a few days, but the air. The saltiness of the air over the ocean was so fascinating. He’d never traveled over the sea before, so it was understandable, but seriously. It was gorgeous out here.

“Pretty nice, huh?” The comment was accompanied by a lightweight landing on his shoulder. “I’ve never been on any ocean vehicles before, but this is nice! ...Except for the smell, maybe.”

Will chuckled a bit. The smell of the fish was kind of less than ideal, yeah, but he could overlook that for just the view alone.

“It’s really pretty.” He said while crossing one of his legs over the other. “The ocean’s really blue.”

The breeze wasn’t so bad, either. Junah had been complaining about it messing up her hair, which he totally understood, but it also felt really nice too, if he tried to think past the fact that his hair was likely getting knottier by the minute. It was just nice, to feel the wind in his hair like this. Couldn’t really do that properly in Grand Trad or Martira.

It would be nice to read a book out here, actually. To sit on the deck and let the breeze blow the pages around... It’d probably be a bit annoying, but he couldn’t say he really minded. It was so peaceful out here, after all.

“I’m gonna get a book.” He said, turning his head just slightly to look at Gallica. “Wanna come?”

“Oh, yeah, sure!” She fluttered off his shoulder and moved in front of him. “Though, reading out here might be a bit troubling with the wind...”

“I’m sure it'll be fine.”

She shrugged. “Well, if you say so! Just don’t say I didn’t warn you when your book goes flying.”

Will just sighed and shook his head before he headed back inside the runner. He’d gotten really accustomed to sliding down the ladder by now, so it was a rather quick trip, all things considered. To his left, Hulkenberg and Junah were chatting in the map room, and he caught them saying something about knots- But they were inside, so surely they weren’t talking about the wind?

He left that mystery for later though, and made his way to the bookshelf in one of the other rooms. After just a quick glance over, he opted to read Pride and Persuasion again, even though he’d read it so many times he could almost recount it word for word. This way, at least, if he got disturbed in the middle of it, it wouldn’t really matter much.

While on his way back to the deck though, he looked up and spotted something that made him frown. Next to where Junah and Hulkenberg were chatting, Strohl was practically hanging over the map table like he was on the verge of hurling.

...Was he okay? Will knew Strohl kind of struggled a bit with the runner’s rocking when they had first boarded, but wasn’t he used to it by now? Or was it the waves that were causing it, this time?

“Strohl.” He walked over and knelt down next to his friend. “Are you okay...? You look hungover.”

“I... can assure you, I’ve not been drinking anything hard.” The look on Strohl’s face said otherwise, though. “I’m much too young for it, regardless.”

“That’s... not really what I meant.” He supposed he should’ve been a bit more direct with his wording, in that case. “Is the rocking affecting you that much?”

“Quite.” Strohl’s words were more of a mumble than anything, which... Yeah, he definitely wasn’t okay. “Ground running is one thing, but over the sea... I’m afraid I’m not used to ocean travel.”

Will chuckled a bit. “Neither am I, really.”

“Well, you’re certainly taking it better than I am.”

“You’re not really made for traveling, are you?”

Strohl just kind of grumbled and breathed out a rather shaky breath. “N-Not... really.”

Will hummed quietly. He couldn’t just go back outside knowing that Strohl was suffering like this... They were friends, after all. He needed to at least try to help, right?

“You look like you could use some rest.”

“Hard to rest when the bloody runner’s rocking about like there’s no tomorrow, aye?”

“...Guess so.” He smiled a bit. “But maybe there’s something stable you can lean on.”

Strohl lifted his head just a bit. “If such a thing exists, I’d love to find it.”

...So would he, Will thought privately. He kind of said that as some sort of wishful thinking, but he kind of... wanted to find something like that, now. It would give Strohl some solace, if nothing else, and he wanted nothing more.

“Well...”

As his mind wandered, he could only think back to one thing; the training Heismay had given him the other day on stealth, and standing so still you become practically invisible. He was still working on honing that skill, obviously, but maybe...

“...I’m pretty good at sitting still.”

Strohl raised an eyebrow. “...What?”

“Heismay taught me.” He continued on, but turned his attention down to the book in his hand instead. “It’s probably why I’m not getting seasick.”

“Lucky you.” Strohl practically grumbled his response, and then dropped his head back onto his arms. “Reckon I’ll have to ask Heismay to teach me sometime.”

“Sure, maybe when we dock in a few hours.” Will had to hold back a laugh when he heard the way Strohl groaned at ‘a few hours’. “But in the meantime... We could go sit down in the lounge, and you could rest on me.”

...Why did suggesting that make him feel so nervous?

Strohl’s head lifted again, and he blinked a few times at Will. “...What?”

“So you can rest without the runner rocking.” He said, all while staring at the very interesting back cover of his book. “At least until we stop later.”

“You needn’t bother, really.” He waved his hand just a tad. “I can last a few more hours, I’m sure.”

Will looked back at him. “You look... really hungover, Strohl."

“I can assure you, I’m...” Strohl trailed off for just a moment, and exhaled shakily again. “...Fine.”

“No, you’re not.” And he said that firmly, too. Strohl was clearly suffering, and he wouldn’t stand for that. “You’ll feel better after a rest, I promise.”

Strohl seemed to give it some thought at least, which was honestly better than nothing. At least he was thinking it over, rather than just continuously denying it. Will would rather Strohl think about it at the very least, and then decide. He wouldn’t force him to pick either which way.

“...I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.” Strohl kind of mumbled his response. “Better than sitting here for another few hours, at least.”

“Great!” Maybe he got a bit too excited that time, but who really cared? He honestly just wanted Strohl to feel better, above all else. “Um, can you stand?”

Strohl groaned, but lifted himself upright anyway. “I... believe so...”

“Do you need help?”

In response, Strohl breathed out a laugh. “Come on, do I really look that bad, Captain?”

“...Do you want the honest answer?”

Strohl scoffed. “Oi, shove off, will you?”

Will just laughed as he stepped back and put his book under his arm. He didn’t realize it while he was talking with Strohl just now, but he looked a bit green in the face, and likely not the envy kind. Yikes... Clearly he was a little worse than he thought... Hopefully he didn’t throw up. Neuras would have their heads off for it, and then make them clean it up after chewing them out for it!

But despite being so very obviously nauseous beyond nauseous, Strohl still shared small quips with him as they made the rather short trek to the lounge. It wasn’t occupied, thankfully, so they had the entire room to themselves- save for Gallica, who was apparently sitting on the other table trying to brush the knots out of her hair. But she seemed like she was too busy with her own tasks. 

“Say, what’s that book you've got there?” Strohl asked while he sat down at the unoccupied table. “It’s not your fantasy novel, is it?”

“No, it’s a different book.” Will followed after him, and considered showing the book to Strohl, but... reading oftentimes made motion sickness worse, didn’t it? “It’s about conversation tactics, and stuff.”

“Like speeches?”

“Kind of, yeah.”

“Mm.” Strohl leaned back and stretched. He looked kind of tired. “I suppose, ah... if you're going to succeed in the Tournament, you’ll need that sort of stuff, won't you?”

“Yeah.”

Then, some kind of silence fell between them while Will opened the book in his hands and tried to find where he’d left off last time. He could still get some reading done while Strohl rested with him, right? Or, well, rested on him- Actually, had they even specified how he’d be resting? Like, would he be laying on him? And if so, how? Would he be laying on his shoulder? Or maybe his lap?

...It wouldn’t be that second one... right? Not that he’d be really opposed to it, whatever helped Strohl get over his seasickness, but...

“So, where-”

“May I-”

Will and Strohl stared at each other for a second, and then laughed a second later.

“Sorry, sorry.” Will said between chuckles. “You first.”

“I was just wondering if I might lay on your shoulder.” He said, with all the casualty in all of Euchronia. Maybe Will was hallucinating, but he almost thought he saw a bit of color cross Strohl's face- not green, though, but red perhaps. “Somehow, the rocking feels a bit worse on this side of the runner.”

“Oh- Yeah, go ahead.” Will hadn’t even felt the rocking, if he was being honest. Heismay’s training was just that good, he supposed.

Strohl stretched his arms up again, and with a bit of an exhausted sounding sigh, leaned and placed his head on Will’s shoulder. No bravo, though Will supposed he shouldn’t have really expected any. It just kind of felt a bit weird, for it to just... happen. Was he wrong to kind of expect something to happen?

“Hope my shoulder’s comfy.” He said, as a way to lighten the air a bit (or maybe that was just him).

“Not the worst one I’ve ever laid on.”

“What does that mean?”

Strohl only chuckled in response, and his head rolled around a bit. Trying to get comfortable, Will supposed- Though maybe that was a bit hard when he had horns, and there was a slight threat that he’d poke him with them. He couldn’t feel anything besides hair, though, so maybe he was leaned more upwards? But that just made him wonder how the horns of a clemar even felt. Not just to the touch, but to the person as well. Did it hurt, to rest them against a hard surface?

“Mmm, this is quite nice.” Strohl’s words broke the silence. “You do sit remarkably still.”

“I owe it all to Heismay.”

“He’s a real genius, that one.”

“Guess that makes sense, though.” Will replied. “He’s the oldest one here, next to Neuras.”

Strohl just scoffed. “I wouldn’t exactly call Neuras a genius, though. Kooky, perhaps.”

“His knowledge of gauntlet runners is second to none, though.”

“True that, I suppose.”

Will heard Strohl yawn again, and couldn’t help but smile. He seemed a little better already, which was beyond good to know. He hated seeing a friend suffer like that, especially when it was someone like Strohl, who he'd known for so long.

He didn’t say anything in response that time, since Strohl sounded kind of tired with how he was yawning so much. If he wanted to sleep, then far be it from him to stop him. It was even kind of nice, to know that he was apparently that comfortable to lay on. Or maybe Strohl was just that tired. He didn't know.

Strohl hummed. “...Bit of a weird question here.”

“What’s up?”

“Could you read to me, perhaps?” It was spoken as a mumble, oddly soft-spoken, especially coming from someone like Strohl, who was usually a bit louder. “Not like I’m too particularly interested in conversational tactics, but it may drown out the whirring a tad.”

“Yeah, sure.” Even though Will never really read aloud, much, unless he was reading with Gallica. “And... I could get a different book, if you want. There’s a pretty good one on the shelf about a traveling boy.”

“It’s alright.”

And Will honestly couldn’t help but wonder if that was Strohl honestly not caring about what was being read to him, or if it was because he was comfortable. 

“In that case... Do you care if I restart?”

He felt Strohl shrug. “I wouldn’t mind some context, at the very least.”

So Will turned to the first page and began rereading it... again. He couldn't say the book’s contents in and of itself were really all that great, at least in his opinion, but his friend Alonzo seemed to like it when he used some of the tactics found in the book during their conversations. He could see right through him whenever he lied, but it had become some sort of a joke between the two of them at this point. 

As he read on, Strohl gave some comments here and there, mainly about how unorthodox some of the methods in the book were; and honestly, Will couldn’t help but agree. It even sparked a conversation or two, about how they would handle the situations portrayed in the book, and how some parts of it seemed a bit immoral in some places. It was nice, and Will could feel a bit of the Warrior shining between the two of them the more they chatted.

“Whoever wrote this book sounds rather mad.” Strohl said, at some point. “I mean- breaking down someone’s walls by continually pleading with them? That's absolutely mental!”

“It’s definitely... a tactic, that’s for sure.” Will spoke with a bit of a chuckle between his words. “Not one I would use, personally.”

“Exactly! I can understand trying to get them to back down and all that, but endless pleading sounds a bit extreme.”

He chuckled again. “Yeah...”

...And Strohl said he wouldn’t be interested in a book about argumentative tactics.

Eventually, Will kind of let himself get carried away in reading (so much so that Fidelio came in and asked if he could quiet down), and when he was finally done with the fifth chapter, he couldn't help but notice how... quiet the room had gotten. A glance told him that Gallica had eventually left them alone after brushing her hair, so that sort of explained it.

...The sudden snoring right in his ear also explained it. He couldn’t help but sigh gently at the sound. Had Strohl really fallen asleep to the sound of his voice? Should he feel complimented or insulted over that?

At least he was able to get some rest, though. That was his main concern, what with how Strohl looked ready to hurl and pass out straight after. He looked so much better now- at least, from what little Will could see of him out of the corner of his eye. He sounded like he was sleeping peacefully, so that was definitely a few steps up on how he was earlier... Say, how long had it been, anyways? Couldn't have been more than an hour or something, right?

He... couldn’t exactly check, because getting up would mean waking up Strohl, and waking up Strohl meant ruining his tranquility. And Will wasn't heartless enough to do that, so he’d probably be stuck sitting here for the foreseeable future until his friend woke up.

Which... also meant that he’d be stuck rereading Pride and Persuasion until Strohl woke up, which wasn’t exactly the greatest thing in the world, but... who knows, maybe he’d find something in the writing he hadn’t seen before?

Only... one way to find out, he supposed?

And “find out”, he sure did. He wasn’t tired of the book by any means, but it was a bit tiring, trying to reread something he’d already read so many times. There were interesting parts, and parts he liked, but beyond that... He kind of just... wished he could get up and get something else.

Not that he was blaming Strohl in any way though, of course. He was glad he was able to relax from the constant rocking of the waves, but he was kind of cursing himself for having not picked a better book.

Speaking of Strohl, Will looked over at him again only to find him smiling. Snoring too, but smiling between that. Must be a good dream he was having then, huh? Too bad he couldn’t mind read, or anything like that... He was almost kind of curious what he was dreaming about. He looked so peaceful, after all.

And with that thought, came the... odd urge that was wanting to reach out toward his friend. Just wanting to reach out, maybe move Strohl’s hair out of his eyes, get a proper feel for his hair... Just something like that. Harmless, in the long run.

But... wouldn’t that be kind of... weird? Even without all the implications, what if Strohl woke up because of it? How would he even begin to explain himself over it? “Oh, sorry, your hair looked really soft and I wanted to touch it”? That would come off as strange, surely?

So... Yeah, he wasn’t going to do that, even if the thought was starting to feel entertaining and he was truly starting to wonder just how soft Strohl’s hair really was. He wouldn’t do it. Friends didn't really do that anyway, now did they? Not like he thought Strohl would really blame him for doing it anyways (...probably), but...

It was just weird. So he wouldn’t be doing it. 

Even if he... really wanted to. Like, really really wanted to... No. He needed to restrain himself. This was as good an opportunity to practice self-restraint, so he’d do just that. He’d just sit here, despite his urge, and hopefully make his self-restraint a little more refined. 

But, those traitorous thoughts of his whispered at him, Strohl’s hair looked so soft... Like, really soft... And it looked like it was starting to get in his eyes... Even if it wouldn’t exactly help, because Strohl’s hair wasn’t long enough to really tuck anywhere, but maybe moving it would make him sleep a bit more peacefully.

But, if someone happened to walk in-

“Hmmm- Oh, there you are, Will.”

Exactly his point!

Will took in a slow breath before he turned to face Junah, who was standing on his opposite side. “Hi, Junah.” He said, in as calm of a voice he could muster. He didn’t know why he was so nervous- It wasn’t like he was doing anything incriminating, after all. “What’s up?”

“Hi, there.” She smiled at him. “And, well... I was going to ask if you might want to join me on the deck... But I see you’re busy. Another time, perhaps.”

“Uh, yeah.” Will had to resist the urge to glance over at Strohl. Hopefully, this didn’t seem as bad as he thought it did. “Maybe later, if you’re free.”

“I’ll have to see.” Junah replied, all while cocking her head to the side. “It takes me quite the time to brush all the knots out of my hair... You know how it is.”

“Right, of course.” He tried his best to smile at her. Maybe he was doing too much, though. “I could help you with that, if you want.”

“I’ll see about it.” She nodded, but then smiled again... A bit of a different smile than before, though. “For now, I’ll leave you to your... reading.”

Will tried, honestly tried to keep his face from heating up at the comment, but it was a rather fruitless attempt. He looked down at his lap while Junah walked off, and- well, he supposed he wouldn’t be too bothered if the gauntlet runner’s floor suddenly opened up and he was swallowed whole. Not like he really thought Junah would say anything to anyone (and it was fine anyway), but he wouldn’t be too upset if that happened.

...Actually, if he did get swallowed whole, that would disturb Strohl’s sleep. So maybe he would be bothered, just a bit.

And speaking of Strohl, Will found himself returning to looking at him as soon as he started to cool down. Was staring at his friend really more entertaining than reading a book right now? He didn’t even look disturbed by the conversation with Junah just now, was that because he just couldn’t hear them, or because he was used to the sound? He had asked Will to read to him, after all. 

Though, now that Will was looking at him again, he couldn’t help but stare at his hair again. It still looked so soft, and he really wanted to touch it. He felt almost like a kid in an igniter shop, with how badly he wanted to touch Strohl’s hair. But he wouldn’t. He didn’t want to run the chance of waking him up or anything.

But... if he just pushed Strohl’s hair aside and out of his face... That wouldn’t wake him up, would it? If anything, leaving his hair in his face like that might wake him up, because it might tickle him or... something... That made sense, right? He wasn’t just trying to justify wanting to get a feel for Strohl’s hair, right?

...Okay, maybe that was totally what he was doing. But could you really blame him? Like, really?

Yet, despite how much he wanted to, his hand shook when he raised it. Maybe it was because his heart was still racing from Junah’s little comment, but it was shaking all the same, and he didn’t really think a deep breath would help with it.

Still, he reached and tried his best to be as subtle as possible while he brushed Strohl’s bangs aside and- Oh, wow, his hair really was pretty soft. Like, really soft... He was almost a bit jealous, in that regard.

Surely... Strohl wouldn’t mind if he just... touched around a bit more, right? It’s not like he had to know, anyway... No one was around to tell him, besides Will himself.

And, well... Also Strohl himself, if he happened to wake up, but that... probably wouldn’t happen. 

Will’s hand honestly seemed to move upward of its own volition, just nearby one of Strohl’s horns to gently brush his fingers through his hair. Nothing fancy, really, just like when he’d first wake up and pat down his hair and try to run any knots out with his fingers. 

Maybe he was imagining it, but Strohl seemed to even kind of relax while he continued on. At least, then, he wasn’t disturbing his sleep by doing this... That was good to know. Helped him feel a little less guilty about it.

But... maybe that was enough, for now. He didn’t need someone else walking in here and seeing this, especially because this was... probably a lot worse than just having Strohl sleeping on him. He was already still jittery over what Junah said, he really didn’t need someone else saying something worse.

Yet, as Will pulled his hand away, maybe while contemplating how long it would be until someone came along into the room again so he could ask them to grab him a different book, it seemed almost like... Strohl was... following him? Which was... 

It made him chuckle, at the very least. Was he still dreaming? Or did he just like how it felt, or something? Either way... As nice as it was, and as soft as his friend’s hair was, Will wasn’t so sure he should keep at it. If Strohl happened to wake up, or if someone walked in and saw this... 

Yeah, keeping this up wasn’t a good idea. If Strohl woke up, then it would be bad and he’d much rather die than explain what he was doing, even if it wasn’t really that bad. And if someone walked in, that ran the risk of everyone else knowing, and then that ran the risk of someone eventually telling Strohl about it, and-

Yeah, no. Just- Just no. He just- No.

Will took his hand away with that, and drew in a breath. Why did this feel like he was committing a crime? He was just touching his friend’s hair for a minute, and Strohl didn’t even seem to mind. It wasn’t really a big deal, even if he was making it out to be in his head. He wasn’t doing anything wrong, was he?

...Why was the weight on his shoulder feeling less and less heavy?

A look over told him that Strohl was starting to slip off his shoulder, which was-

Wait, what?

Before he had enough time to properly fall (though, he wouldn’t be falling very far. Will wasn’t very tall), Will reached to catch him and... Well, that was basically it. He just... caught Strohl, just before he could fall off his shoulder, and tried his best to lift him back up when he really only had one working hand. Kind of hard to lift someone as heavy as Strohl with just one hand. Not to even mention without waking him up, either?

He just needed to go slow, and try to avoid tiring out his arm. He could do this, he could-

“Ngh...”

No, no, no- Ugh! He was really starting to think that people were right when they said misfortune followed eldas- or at least maybe him specifically. First the Junah thing and now this- Strohl, just go back to sleep, go back to-

“Mmm... Will...?”

When Strohl lifted his head properly, Will was suddenly made very aware of just how close they were. Like, sharing breaths kind of close. It made him freeze, initially, and he quickly pulled his hand away from Strohl’s cheek. How bad did this look from Strohl’s perspective? Really, how bad?

They were so close, they were so close, they were so close-

“I- I, um...” Despite his face getting redder and redder by the second, Will couldn’t bring himself to look away. They were so close, he could move not even an inch forward and kiss Strohl- No, no, no- Stop thinking about that! “You... You- You f-fell, and I- I, um...”

His hands were shaking on his lap, and he was trying so badly to breathe as little as he could. Did his breath smell bad, actually? He was sure he’d brushed his teeth that morning, so it couldn’t have been that bad... right? 

...What if someone walked in right now? And they saw... this? What would they think?

“Oh...” Strohl’s voice was little more than a rumble, that time. “I see...”

Despite trying to hold his breath, Will could feel himself on the verge of hyperventilation. He just- He just needed to calm down. He was fine. He was just... He just... Uh... Yeah. He just needed to take a few steps back from the situation and take a few deep breaths. And maybe go back to hoping the floor of the gauntlet runner would swallow him whole so he’d never have to look Strohl in the face ever again. 

But he couldn’t do anything like that when he was still so close to Strohl.

“...Um-” He swallowed between shaky breaths. “I... I need to go.”

And without another word, Will turned and bolted out of the room. He damn nearly tripped on the way too, but- but it was fine. He just needed to be anywhere but the lounge right now. Literally anywhere but. 

“Wh- Will!”

Ignore it, ignore it, don’t look back, don’t look back-

In all honesty, he didn’t really run very far. The hallway of the gauntlet runner wasn’t really a long hallway, all things considered, but with how bad his focus was, it felt like a whole damn mile. Hell, he probably didn’t even run, he probably just walked really fast or something. Didn’t stop it from feeling like an eternity before he reached the washroom, though. The door slammed behind him, and then locked in the next second, and... 

And... 

Will stood there for a long moment, just leaned against the back of the door with his knees shaking. His hands were shaking too. Actually, maybe all of him was shaking in some way. His heart was racing, his breathing was erratic, and his heart was racing- Not to even mention the music in his head was starting to sound a bit more like battle music than simple relaxing beats.

He began to slowly make his way toward the sink, and stared at himself in the mirror while he took a few deep breaths. Right, okay... Just... calm down. It wasn’t that big of a deal, was it? It was just a little mishap, is all. Nothing to scream about, or anything, really. 

And... And it was probably really confusing for Strohl, especially after just waking up. He probably shouldn’t have run away like he did, honestly, but... But he just... He needed some space. Especially from... all of that. His chest fluttered at just the thought alone, like there were butterflies all over his insides, so maybe it was a good thing that he took off.

...Was he really getting butterflies over Strohl? One of his closest friends? The guy who had been with him the longest, besides Gallica?

He took a very, very slow breath. Oh, William, you’ve really done it this time. Was he really in love with one of his friends? Someone he hadn’t even known for a whole year, yet? And over something as simple as being a bit too close to him? That was hardly even anything!

...How was he supposed to go out there now? Strohl was bound to be looking for him, and then he’d want to talk... Or maybe someone else would ask about it. He wasn’t sure if he could handle either, honestly.

Why did he have to be a good friend and offer Strohl to sleep on his shoulder? Seriously, why? None of this would have happened if he had just kept his mouth shut about it. 

Will sighed whilst he carted a hand through his hair. His fingers still had that buzz under them, the memory of holding Strohl that closely, and if he really focused, he could still perfectly recall how soft Strohl’s skin was. First his hair, now his skin- Was that just something about nobles, that they had perfect hair and perfect skin? Strohl still carried that underlay of elegance you’d imagine from a noble, despite being able to shift his body at will and having gone through so much, both within battle and outside of it.

How did he manage that? He’d gone through so much, his parents and a great majority of his people were dead... and yet he still managed to keep up that appearance. But it wasn’t just an appearance; it was real. He still managed to hold himself up, to swing at enemies and people alike with unreal amounts of strength, and to leave himself wide open on display.

The more he thought about it, the more... perfect Strohl seemed. Well- Okay, maybe not perfect. Nobody was perfect, and Strohl had his flaws all the same. But he still seemed... close to perfect, if nothing else. There was just something so incredible about him, something that Will admired despite always standing at Strohl’s side.

Yet... Could he even be sure that he’d be standing at Strohl’s side anymore?

Irrational thought, he knew that. No way Strohl would let something as simple as... whatever just happened (and there came the butterflies again) end their friendship. But he couldn’t help but think about that, despite not normally being an anxious person. He knew very surely that Strohl would never let anything like that build a wall between them, but... 

He recalled, for just a brief moment, how he’d stared at Strohl the way that he had. In such close proximity, he could see his own eyes reflected back in that of his friend’s. How Strohl had seemed so tired, yes, but... But he didn’t look upset. Rather, he just looked... confused, if anything. But nothing that signified he was upset with what was happening, or particularly angry about it. 

So, then... Did he... not care? Maybe he was just so tired that he didn’t care about it?

And, given the way he yelled after him... 

Yeah, there... there wasn’t really any reason why Strohl would particularly be upset about the whole situation. Maybe a bit upset, since he just... ran out on him like that, but nothing toward the actual thing itself... probably. 

He... should probably go apologize for that. Like, soon. Probably wasn’t too good to let it fester like that, but... 

But he was just so weirdly scared. Scared of approaching Strohl about it, scared about talking about it, scared about just... everything? Strohl wouldn’t hate him over it, he was sure, but... 

Yet there was a nagging in the back of his mind, this weird feeling of dread that made him root himself in front of the mirror. He wasn’t normally so anxious about things, but when it came to Strohl- When it came to this... 

...What if Strohl rejected him, or something? Not that he knew what he’d reject, exactly, but that question wouldn’t stop circling his mind. This was all really tiring, in all honesty- Maybe he could do with a nap to clear his mind.

If... he even could nap, when his heart was racing so fast.

Will could only really sigh (again) while he brought his hands to rest on the bathroom counter.  Why? Why was his heart racing so? Especially now, at the mere thought of Strohl? Nervousness to face him after that whole fiasco, yes, but... But did nervousness make someone’s stomach churn and flutter? Did nervousness make his fingers hold the buzz of recalling how soft someone else’s skin and hair was?

But they hadn’t even known each other that long, so how could he? They’d only known each other for, like... what, a few months? Though he couldn’t deny that they had become close in that time... Did it really make sense for something like love to bloom in just a manner of months? Or was it just infatuation? Or maybe even admiration?

“Oi there, Neuras speaking!”

Will quickly turned to look at the bathroom door. What now...?

“Enemies approaching the deck! I’d advise you hurry, before they tear the old girl to shreds!”

Of course... That just had to happen while he was in the middle of thinking, didn’t it? Not like he really had the time to complain, though... They’d be late to Virga Island if the runner got any damage, and they couldn’t really afford a detour while they were already on a tight schedule as it was. Sooo... He could think about this later. Right now, he needed to get geared up.

...But getting geared up meant leaving the bathroom, and leaving the bathroom meant a high probability of facing Strohl, and- ugh.

Too bad. What kind of king would he be, if he ran away from a situation like this? Not like he was really shooting to be king, but... No harm in using that goal for a bit of self motivation, right?

So he ran his hand through his hair again, and took a deep breath. He could do this. It was just one little fight. Nothing more than that. 

His reflection stared at him for way longer than he would have liked, and he was... oddly persistent about it. Just pure staring, like he was waiting for him to say or think something, and then he’d look away. 

And, after another few seconds of staring... Will eventually sighed so hard that he felt it in every corner of his body. This was impossible, he needed to find his sword and get out to the deck. He could deal with his overly pushy reflection later, when the threat was gone.

But, as he went to open the door, he glanced at the mirror one last time.

The best friend to the prince (and therefore future king) of Euchronia, was in love with the heir to House Haliaetus.

...Or rather, Will was... probably madly in love with Strohl.