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[shavedaway]

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[shavedaway]

[ thomas just smiles to himself, taking his time to wash the dishes, and to think. His intention here, to ask Billy to stay in a more intimate fashion, is something he has never done in his thirty two years of being alive. How many times has anyone actually shared a bed with him, really? He can count that on less than one hand, and all of his encounters with men have been more clandestine than that. But it's not a matter of deciphering code anymore, on that much they have both been very clear. It's not the what that's eluding him, so much as the how.

So he takes his time, dries his hands, joins Billy where the drinks are, and takes his own up. What are you Thomas, a man or a mouse? ]

I think the toast for a Monday's supposed to be, To our ships at sea, but that hardly seems appropriate.

[adherency]

( billy chuckles a bit but nods, looking down at his glass. )

To...newly found friends?

( maybe it's a bit trite and cliché but it's true. there are a lot of terrible things about this place but it does allow you to meet people that you might not otherwise meet.

like thomas. )

[shavedaway]

[ Trite and cliché has a time and a place, and it feels right, here. ]

To newly found friends.

[ He raises his glass in a toast, pours half of it down, sets it down. Are you a man or a mouse, Thomas? Without an ounce more hesitation, both hands reach up to clasp the sides of Billy's head, tugging him down to close the distance he needs to catch Billy's lips with his. ]

[adherency]

( he tastes like whiskey. that's the first thing that pops into billy's head once thomas has kissed him. he tastes like whiskey. and then everything else seems to come to him at once and he realizes he's kissing thomas and responds, opening up to the other man and reaching for him, snagging his fingers against the front of his shirt and bringing them closer together. )

[shavedaway]

[ oh thank God. When Billy responds, Thomas relaxes into it, like a dams been opened. He goes where he's pulled, leans in, let's his hands drop as they kiss down to Billy's neck, to his shoulders. He only pulls away because the angle is awful--Christ, Billy is tall. ]

Hell of a birthday present, you are.

[adherency]

Is that what I am? A birthday present for you?

( he doesn't sound at all put out about that. in fact, he sounds amused and maybe a touch shy. he laughs, giving his head a quick shake. )

Let me tell you you could have found something far better than me but I'm also very fine with you deciding I am the gift.

[shavedaway]

[ all jokes being as they are, Thomas doesn't find Billy's reaction particularly funny. ]

Hey.

[ his hand jumps up to Billy's again, placed with intention to keep Billy from shyly looking away again. ]

I've not been here long, but you are over and above the best man I've met in this place. And I'll not have you speaking so poorly of any friend of mine, is that understood?

[adherency]

You sure you weren't a captain in some other life? You're not bad at giving orders.

( yes, that's going to be his answer to things because he doesn't want to get too vulnerable. )

You should do it again.

[shavedaway]

[ Well, he understands and recognizing not wanting to be too vulnerable, but at least he thinks he's gotten through. He cracks a smile, his eyebrows quirking upwards at the suggestion. ]

Closer to a valet than a captain I'm afraid, but a firm hand is certainly needed in both.

[ There's a softness to the way his thumb strokes over Billy's sideburn, that is suddenly very lacking in Thomas's tone. Because if he is anything at all he is keen, and Billy's suggestion in itself is, well, a bit thrilling. ]

So I should order you to have me, then. Is that what you had in mind? Being told exactly how I want to be had?

[adherency]

( when the words had slipped out, he hadn't known what kind of response he'd get. but thomas' agreeable response and easy touch eases his mind.

he swallows. )

Yes, that's what I had in mind. Tell me.

[shavedaway]

[ He considers. For all that he doesn't telegraph exactly what he thinks, he wears the thought process on his face.

What sort of captain would he be? What sort of valet? Being in charge has only ever appealed to him in the sense of making sure the instructions of others are carried out effectively. To be in control, rather than in command. For all the good and bad examples alike of Captains he's heard of, has experienced, Crozier's example stands out the clearest. One should aspire to be the sort of commander who sees potential and grants opportunity, within the constraints of rank, to those who do as they're told, and only doles out punishment when the chain of command is threatened. Respected, rather than feared.

Well, he has an example to work from, anyway, alongside his instincts. But an idea is just an idea, when experience is lacking. ]


I think you're going to find what I want very boring, considering how things are where we are now. I've not done this very often.

[adherency]

Why don't you let me be the judge of if it's boring or not.

( he knows that it's not going to be boring. thomas might see it that way but billy's not. he smiles and leans closer, snagging thomas' shirt and bringing their lips together for another kiss.

he stays close when he pulls back and murmurs: )

Tell me.

[shavedaway]

[ thomas leans into the kiss when it happens, and it's over all too quickly. He feels like he should chase it, but this is what he really wants. This push and pull, standing on a tight rope, perfectly balanced. It's all very sexy, actually.

So he wraps his hands around Billy's wrists, tighter than would necessarily be proper. ]

Alright. First you're going to unhand me, and if you wrinkle my clothes again this is going to be a lot harder for you, that's a promise.

[ He says that, but he doesn't let go of Billy's wrists just yet. ]

[adherency]

( for a moment, billy thinks he's overstepped but then he sees the look in thomas' eye and the way he grips his wrists.

easing back, he nods, splaying his hands to show that he surrendered. he wasn't going to be trouble.

not much trouble, at least. )

I understand. Whatever you want.

[shavedaway]

[ Good. He smiles, but it's tighter, more controlled. Control goes both ways after all. He doesn't let go of Billy's wrists. ]

What I want...[ Christ, he's never said anything like this out loud before. ] is to see what you're made of. I want you to have me, amorously, but you are going to have to wait, until you can't possibly wait any longer. I want to see where the line is where you stop doing what I tell you and start doing what you want, so that I can move the goal posts further back in the future. How does that sound?

[adherency]

( he's going to have to look at thomas in a new light after that. billy doesn't immediately answer, too busy taking that all in, swallowing and then nodding slowly because yes, that sounds like a good idea. )

That sounds good.

( he wishes he could be more eloquent but he thinks that at least agreeing is a good start. )

What do you want me to do? How do you want me to...be?

[shavedaway]

[ His expression softens then. Oh, Billy. ]

I want you to be yourself, Billy. And I want you to be happy, even if I fall short.

[ He lets go of Billy's wrists then. He's been egged on, told to give Billy orders, and he can do that. He wants to do that, the prospect is more exciting than he expected it to be. But not at the cost of intimacy. ]

Kiss me again, won't you?

[adherency]

I will.

( a smile flickers across billy's features and then he leans in, reaching to rest one hand against thomas's shoulder as he slopes his mouth against thomas'.

it's a slower kiss than the first one he'd given, taking time to map out the way thomas' lips feel and how he tastes after their food and drinks. )

[shavedaway]

[ thomas's hands clasp billy's face again, savoring the kiss for what it is: A moment of peace and of comfort, an anchor while otherwise adrift at sea. His thumbs trace Billy's hairline, around the shell of his ear. His mouth opens up easily to Billy, to meet him where he is.

He's the one to break it again though, and smiles into the small space between them. ]

Alright, come on then.

[ He pulls away, and takes Billy's hand to lead him to his very sparse bedroom, with a perfectly made bed and very little personality to speak of yet. He hasn't lived here very long at all. ]

[adherency]

( thomas doesn't need to tell him twice. billy moves to get up with him, following him easily enough. there's no resistance, no hesitation. they both want this.

so, he follows along and glances around the bedroom before his attention lands back on thomas.

so, here they were. )

[shavedaway]

[ So here they are. It's certainly the nicest bed of the very few he's shared with another person, but even as it continues to occur to him how terribly inexperienced he is, it's not the most important thing to think about. Here he has Billy all to himself, and he's been given permission to take the lead. He can do whatever the hell he damn well pleases, can't he? He lets go of Billy's hand, and runs both down the front of Billy's chest, smoothing out fabric. ]

I would like to see you undressed, Mr. Bones, but I'll do that myself. You stand at attention, let me work. If you try and assist, I'll be sure to take my time even more so than I intend to. And I do intend to.

[adherency]

( well, he's fairly certain that's something he can do. he'd been in the royal navy and he'd stood at attention plenty of times in his life.

so, he merely nods and let's his hands fall to his sides, watching thomas closely. )

I won't try and assist. You have my word.

[shavedaway]

Good lad.

[ He starts with Billy's sweater. He runs his hands back up the front of it, along Billy's broad shoulders, catches the fabric between his fingers and with a sharp arms up, gets the thing off with only a small bit of difficulty. Really, he's never undressed someone so tall before. He laughs at the ridiculousness of getting it off, as he folds it neatly and drops it, folded, onto the floor. ]

Off to a good start.

[ His hands are back on Billy then, against a chest that is certainly something, even clothed. They slide down as his eyes look up again, back at Billy's face, as he tugs Billy's shirt out from his pants and lets his hands wander against skin. Against Billy's stomach and up, feeling muscle, thumbs grazing against Billy's nipples when he finds them. ]

[adherency]

( billy definitely isn't ticklish but he can't stop gooseflesh from rising in the wake of thomas' wandering hands. he swallows, trying to keep still even if a part of him wants to nudge thomas into moving faster, touching firmer.

he doesn't because he remembers thomas' warning from before. he wiggles his fingers a bit and then nods. )

Glad to know that the sweater didn't give you too much trouble.

[shavedaway]

It wasn't the sweater, so much as you being built like a bloody tree.

[ Excuse you, Billy. And who said you could speak out of turn, hm? He pinches Billy's nipple at that. Not too hard, it's only intended as a chastisement, but he keeps his eyes firmly on Billy's face as he does it. ]

But point made. Your shirt next, then, by yourself.