One Remarkable Mistake [USUK]

Chapter 6

The sun threatened to mar his skin, on his way back to the deck after one the more arduous chores, squinting as the sun now stood in level of the eye, giving him the hour. He let out a small sigh, realizing that even the thinner material of his shirt did little to waver the extent of the rays as he trudged through, exhausted from a long night of paperwork and pulling the Captain away from overworking himself and another glass, true to his word Arthur had gotten them back out into the oceans depths the next day, which was four weeks ago, but he was rather reluctant to rest and therefore had resulted in ripping a few of the stitches in the earlier days. Lines that laid under his eyes now filled to the brim with lead that pulled down on the skin, barely hearing the commotion surrounding him from those who stood out near the mast, working on adjusting the sails as rain clouds neared in the distance.

"Sounded like Kirkland did a number on him", "Doubt he slept-", "I couldn't sleep with all that racket", "You ever heard such a thing?"

Mutters and whistles drowned out after so many days it remained unaltered, though time didn't erase the effects as heat rose to his cheeks, the door to the captain's quarters pushed ajar as Alfred slipped in, leaning back against the door once it shut to prevent the entrance of anyone who would see him in such a sorry state as he took a breath in to ease his mind; thoughts saturated at the false prospect of interest, heart strings strummed and chalked up with memories. Each individual touch rematerialized, a warm breath on his neck during the night when Arthur would find refuge bundled into his side, face burrowed into Alfred's neck, the reality causing a sense of excitement with those thick and nauseating feelings of longing, wanting it to be so much more than that. 

The sound was nothing to be alarmed by, acclimated after the door being slammed so many times. He huffed, ready to reprimand who had done so until he caught sight of who now stood in-front of him, a laugh suppressed as he rolled the pen between his fingers. "Alfred,"

What had ensued had been nothing short of deranged the night prior, after a few too many drinks Arthur had made the honest attempt to step onto deck around two in the morning, which had clearly been misinterpreted - more likely than not by whoever stood on night watch. Though, there was that manner, the way that he silently told him that he would not be judged. Given a thoughtful look in return for his own perturbed before it was adverted to focus on the wall behind the other, a small mechanism to occupy whatever remained of such weakening hanker. Arm outstretched to seize a few papers from the stack, an attempt to pass over the shadow that swooped across the desk to linger over his own. If he were to ignore it Arthur would disappear, pen placed upon paper would ensure that he no longer stood beside him, that the scent of roses that filled and pulled apart his lungs would simply fade back to the less glamorous that lay back in his study. That was the false psychology he was trying to spoon feed himself.

Did he dare turn to face him? No, not when he still wanted those touches to be more, when he wanted to be something more for someone who didn't seem interested from where Alfred stood.

Despite how close the two had grown he doubted if there was anything more than an unspoken congressional agreement, which had started the afternoon after Arthur had awoken after that fatal accidental, an invite extended out to join him in bed under means of reassurance. Only now seemingly attached as he claimed to be restless without him there, thus giving more than a few disapproving looks from the crew and the endless amount of time's he realized that he radiated enough heat to keep him warm throughout the night.

Stiff at the presence of a hand on his shoulder he turned back, eased to realize it was simply the other's means to garner his attention. "Alfred, are you alright? It looks like you were laid out in the sun for hours." A calm manner present as he addressed him, fingers being brushed across his cheek.