He Bleeds Flame ✔️

33. full hearts

thirty-three
"Aere perennius."

FULL HEARTS

———

As William watched snow gently fall into the courtyard, coating the branches and bench and hedges in glittering white, Roy slid into the spot next to him. The window sill was thick enough and wide enough the two boys could rest their heads against the wall, legs outstretched and facing each other with still enough room for another person to sit in between. The corridor was empty, the rest of the students either in class or still in bed. It was first period, and William's class was a free one. After last semester, he knew his schedule needed major rearranging.

This semester, instead of one, he had two classes with Lucien: English II and Physics II, coincidentally the two he had tutored him for. Two weeks of the second semester had passed, and they already had an exam, which William passed with flying colors after studying alone in the library for hours.  Mary would be proud.

"You know," said Roy, facing him with an arched brow. "I don't think I've ever seen you so well rested. Normally, there's a purple tint below your eyes and—"

"You flatter me, really."

He laughed, watching the snow. They let the silence hang between them for a moment, as if reflecting on all that they had been through the past few months. It seemed like forever ago when they had sat together in detention. Eventually, though, Roy spoke up. "I still have that blessing of yours, right?"

William rolled his eyes. "Like I said, it wasn't mine to give."

"Well," said Roy, "it's a good thing lover boy is so infatuated with me then."

William arched his brow. They both knew it was the other way around (with him and Lucien, too). It reminded him of the trip to the London Museum, when him and Roy had been partnered together. They had a similar conversation to this one; only, at the time, they had been yearning for the reciprocation of Lucien and Henry.

"You know. I think we would've been great friends."

William placed a hand over his heart. "You're saying we aren't now?"

"I think we could've stirred up a lot of trouble."

"A lot of fun," said William.

"Never too late for that, Brown."

The bell rang, and hallway doors flung open as students poured from the classrooms. William stood, saluting Roy with his lips slightly quirked upward as Henry took his spot. He winked at him, and Henry rolled his eyes. With his eyes snagged on Ashton, he snuck up on him from behind.

"Bloody hell—"

"Surprise," said William. "It's your favorite person in the entire world."

Ashton rolled his eyes. "I think Elijah and Henry have you beat, mate."

"Please," he said, sharing a look with him. "You and I both know you have a favorite, Ash."

He pushed his arm playfully. "You know," he said, "I don't think I've gotten to tell you this yet, but I'm proud of you, idiot. You did good."

William's heart seemed to swell. "I couldn't have done it without you, you know. You guys really saved me at the beginning of the year, helped me hold my ground." He paused, facing Ashton. "I'm sorry if I haven't been around as much. I've just been—"

"None of that," he said.

"None of what?"

"Apologizing for something so incredibly stupid—"

"I have been more absent," said William. "You can't even deny that. I've been a terrible friend, incredibly self-centered."

Ashton smiled. "You were running out of energy, Will, and we didn't know how to fill you back up. Sometimes it's okay to spend time apart, to refill. Sometimes you have to love people from a distance before they're ready to come back."

William eyed him. "When did you become so smart?"

He laughed, throwing an arm around his shoulders. "You should see Elijah now."

———

William knocked on Lucien's door—once, then twice—before stepping into the room after hearing a faint, "Come in."

Lucien glanced up from his pile of homework as he stepped through the threshold, lips tugging into a smile. "Look who it is."

He smiled that infamous smile of his, the one he knew sent butterflies down Lucien's stomach. "Only your favorite person in the entire world."

He rolled his eyes.

William flopped onto the bed, stretching his legs and groaning. He glanced at the book cradled between Lucien's arms, and said, with a smirk, "I didn't know you could read, Harding."

"Says the boy who needed my help with English," Lucien replied, looking back at the novel. "Without me, your grade would have plummeted."

He lifted his chin. "Not true."

Lucien glanced up from the book with a teasing smile. "Whatever makes you feel better about yourself, love."

"Oh, darling," he said. "I think you and I both know—"

"You would've been lost without me."

William wrapped his arms around Lucien's waist, tugging him forward. "You are the center of my world, golden boy."

A soft pink rose on Lucien's cheeks. "William."

"Lucy."

He groaned. "Please," he said. "Anything but that nickname."

William glanced at his lips, smiling. "Anything for you, darling."

Lucien wrapped his hands around his neck, fingers curling into William's hair. "I love you," he said.

He smiled, memorizing the curve of Lucien's face, his star-freckles nose, his honey, hazel eyes, and messy blond hair. He lifted his hand and ran his finger down his jaw. "I love you, too."

When their lips met, William Brown was staring at the face of love, and he had come to learn over the past few months at the Academy of Oakwood for Boys that love came in the form of Lucien Harding—with him, he could get through anything. Again and again, if faced with the choice, William Brown would choose him. He chose Lucien Harding, and Lucien Harding chose him. And he had never felt more happy.

Because this love set him on fire, and it burned steady and bright and full of life. And nothing could put it out.

THE END

———

tears. i am tears.
anyways, keep reading for an end note!