Sleeping Beauty (5/5)
Title: Sleeping Beauty
Fandom: Hornblower.
Characters/Pairing: Archie/Horatio
Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to CS Forrester, and possibly A&E/Meridian.
Summary: A slightly odd version of Sleeping Beauty based on Hornblower. Or a very odd version of Hornblower based on Sleeping Beauty.
Rating: PG-13 for swearing
Notes:This is so fluffy I'm almost ashamed of myself. Almost.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Chapter 5
In which the prince wakes up.
Archie woke the next morning with the feeling that something terrible and wonderful had happened. After a few moments, the events of the day before came flooding back and he groaned. What the hell had been in that fruit? Had it all fermented and they just hadn’t noticed? On reflection, however, he had to admit there was nothing wrong with the fruit and the most likely explanation was that he was a complete and utter idiot. At least Horatio hadn’t run away, and now that everything was out in the open, almost everything anyway, they could deal with it and it would all be alright.
He lay in bed for a while, staring at the wall and putting off the inevitable. Unfortunately, the inevitable, by definition, can’t be put off for ever and eventually Archie had to get up. He turned over and nearly fell out of the bed in shock. Horatio, looking incredibly uncomfortable, was asleep in the chair by Archie’s bed. A cup of cold tea sat on the bedside table, skin forming on the surface. Archie thought he might cry. Again. What the hell was wrong with him? His heart ached; how many nights had Horatio spent in that chair? He had tended to him for weeks; he had stayed here for months, taking care of him and putting up with his moods. And Archie had repaid him with hysteria and accusations, casting doubt on his motives when, in the clear light of day, there could really only be one motive. Archie felt sick with shame.
He got up and dressed as quickly and quietly as he could, anxious not to wake Horatio. He wondered if perhaps he should, if only so he could sleep in a bed and not wake up stiff and sore. But Archie needed time to think so, adding another bit of guilt to the store he already had built up, he left him in the chair.
He was on his way to his usual spot in the garden when he stopped short. What was he doing hiding in the garden? All this time he’d been kidding himself, telling himself that he was doing fine, when in truth he’d just been avoiding going outside. He may have left the villa but he was still locking himself away. He’d created a nice little world for himself and Horatio and shied away from anything that might upset it. Like reality. Unfortunately, reality can’t be kept at bay, as last night had shown. He went back into the house and scribbled a quick note for Horatio: ‘Going for a walk’.
There were two paths leading away from the house. One led towards the village and the other led to cliff-tops. He had not realised they were so close to the sea until Horatio had told him. It was early and still relatively cool, so Archie set out towards the cliffs at as brisk a pace as he could manage. He was surprised how easy it was. There was some anxiety, but he had grown so used to that he barely noticed it. Mostly he felt the freedom that comes from making a decision, even a difficult decision.
For he had made a decision. He would not live in fear of Jack and what he had done to him. He had thought again last night that Jack had won but Horatio had proven him wrong. He had come to him and held him despite his own reservations. Horatio had cried for him. Horatio was his friend and Horatio loved him and Jack Simpson could put that in his pipe and, well, do whatever he wanted with it really.
He reached the cliffs sooner than he expected and stood for a long time, looking at the endless expanse of sea before him. There was a whole world out there, and he had been hiding from it for so long. He walked along the cliff-top for a while, but he was not used to so much exercise and he had not walked far before he needed to sit down and catch his breath. He thought about last night and winced at some of the things he had said. He remembered the sadness in Horatio’s face. ‘You don’t think very much of me, do you?’ He had been stunned at the time that Horatio could think such a thing but now he understood. All this time he had thought it must be obvious how he felt but what had he really done to show it? Mooning over him and occasionally forgetting how to speak when he took his top off was hardly a show of devotion on the scale of what Horatio had done. Archie had done nothing but conceal and evade and distrust.
So Archie would tell Horatio everything. He would tell him all about Jack and about how he felt and about his loneliness and his fear. He would tell him everything and hope, and trust, that Horatio would stay. And if he didn’t, well, he would survive. Probably.
A shadow fell over him; a long, lanky shadow with messy hair. He turned and smiled up at Horatio.
“Archie, for god’s sake. I’ve been worried sick.”
The smile fell from Archie’s face. “What on earth for?”
“You can’t just write a note like that and leave.” Horatio sat down on the grass beside him with a thump.
“A note like what? ‘Going for a walk’? What’s wrong with that? How did you know which way I’d gone anyway?”
“Well, I thought that if you were going to throw yourself off a cliff then walking to the village would be counter-productive.”
“Throw myself off a cliff? Did you think I was going to kill myself?” Archie started to laugh but stopped when he saw Horatio’s face. “Was I really that bad last night?”
Horatio studied Archie’s face briefly. When he spoke, he seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “Archie, you’ve been bad for a long time. Last night was just… when it all came out, I suppose.”
“Oh,” said Archie, not knowing what else to say. They sat for a while, watching the seagulls as they swooped and darted over the water, while Archie gathered together his courage. It was all very well to decide to do something; it was harder to carry it out. “I’m sorry, Horatio,” he said at last. “I’ve been a self-absorbed little shit.” Horatio chuckled beside him but said nothing, which Archie took to be agreement. “I just couldn’t believe I was good enough for you.”
Out of the corner of his eye Archie saw Horatio turn to look at him and he forced himself to look back. “Why would you think that?” Something about the way he said it made Archie think he already knew and was prompting him rather than asking him. He found this disconcerting. Horatio had many admirable qualities but human insight was not really one of them. The thought that, of the two of them, Horatio was the one who had been the least clueless showed Archie just how off the rails he had gone. Feeling another stab of self-recrimination, he began his story. As he spoke, it became clear that Horatio had not known: he looked horrified. Archie ploughed on. It was too late to stop; he must stick it out to the end.
There was silence when he finished. Then Horatio stood and walked down the path. Archie watched him go. Horatio stopped after a few paces, turned and came back. He repeated this several times. Finally he stopped before Archie and pulled him to his feet. He tilted his chin up and studied his face. “This is really true,” he said.
“Of course it’s true,” Archie said pulling his head back. “You think I would make something like this up?”
“Of course not. Sorry. Of course not.” He resumed his pacing. It’s just- It’s unbelievable. That he would do that to you. I knew he was a nasty piece of work, I knew there was something-”. He stopped again in front of Archie. “Was this going on while I was working there?”
“It was less after you arrived, but, sometimes, yes.”
“God, Archie, I am so sorry. I should have known there was something wrong. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”
“Still, I should have known. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Archie took a deep breath. “I didn’t want you to hate me for it.”
“You really don’t think very much of me do you?” Horatio said with a sad smile. “Do you really think I’d hate you for what someone else did to you?”
“I thought you might hate me for being weak and a coward. And for running away.”
“You’re the bravest person I know, Archie. I could never have gone through all that alone. I would have slit my wrists or thrown myself under a train ages ago.” Archie thought about this. It was an angle he had not considered before. An angry shout from Horatio made him jump. “God, how dare he. How dare he do this to you? How dare he think he’s good enough to even lay a finger on you, let alone-”. He began pacing again. Archie, exhaustion getting the better of him, collapsed back onto his spot on the ground and watched as Horatio stalked around the cliff-top, swearing and kicking at stones. At one point he hit a tree-trunk with the side of his fist, which looked like it must have hurt. Alarming as this sudden outburst was, Horatio’s indignation on his behalf was heart-warming. Not to mention the fact that he was still here.
After a while Horatio’s anger wore itself out and he resumed his place beside Archie. “Feel better?” Archie said with a grin.
“A little,” Horatio said. “Except not really. I’ve never been so angry in my life. I never thought I’d be glad a person was dead, but I’m glad Jack Simpson’s dead. The only reason I might wish him back would be so I could kill him myself. Never thought I’d say that.” He looked thoughtful. “I should probably feel bad about it. But I don’t.”
“I don’t either, and I’ve had a lot longer to think about it than you have. So don’t worry about it.” Archie steeled himself. The hard part was over and it had been fine. He could do this, no problem. He was 97% certain he wasn’t going to be rejected. So why was his stomach tied in knots? He took hold of Horatio’s hand. Horatio looked at where their fingers were entwined as if he’d never seen them before. “I know I’ve been a complete arse,” he began, “and I thought it was obvious, and maybe it was to others. I mean, I’m pretty sure Clayton knew, and probably Hether and Cleveland. But maybe it wasn’t to you and I thought, you know, maybe I should tell you.” Horatio looked baffled at this rambling pronouncement. He should just say it. “I love you. I’ve been in love with you since you first walked into that bloody shop, and well, there it is. I love you and I’m pretty sure you love me and I know I’m a nightmare and an idiot and I really don’t deserve you at all but I’m kind of hoping you’ll be willing to overlook all that.”
“You’re pretty sure I love you?” Horatio said, which was not quite what Archie had wanted to hear, but Horatio hadn’t looked disgusted and he still had hold of his hand so Archie didn’t mind too much. “How?”
“Well, I was stupid about it at first. I’ve been so absorbed in worrying about what you would think of me and assuming you would hate me that I missed it. But you left your home to come and find me and then you stayed to look after me when you didn’t need to. Last night made it pretty obvious, though I didn’t cotton on until this morning when I realised you’d spent the whole night in that chair. And I’ve been remembering bits and pieces from when I was ill. Nothing you could put your finger on but… you get so intense and I thought it was just the way you are, and maybe it is, but sometimes- what are you laughing at?”
“I’m sorry. I’m laughing at myself. You’re not the only idiot.” He placed his free hand tentatively on top of Archie’s. “I know I’m what Hether so tactfully calls ‘pretty dense’ about some things. Would you believe it was only yesterday that I realised how I felt?”
Archie laughed, unable to believe it. And yet, it was Horatio through and through. “Actually, yes I would.”
“I didn’t understand why I was so devastated when you left. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Nothing was the same. I kept turning to tell you things and I’d find you weren’t there. I felt like, oh I don’t know, words are your thing not mine. It felt like I’d been cut adrift. Like I said, I didn’t really know why. I didn’t even think to question it. It’s the natural reaction isn’t it? What other response could there be to you not being there?” He paused and looked away, biting his lip. Archie mentally urged him to continue.“I’m not the same without you, Archie. I need you to laugh at me and make me not take myself so seriously and to, to just be you. And be there. I didn’t think it needed a name. Maybe it doesn’t.”Archie didn’t dare move. He had never, in his wildest dreams, imagined he would hear Horatio say something like this. “Anyway, I found you and you were, God, you were so ill. I’ve never been so scared. I thought even if you lived you’d be out of your mind forever. I didn’t think you’d ever be yourself again. You slowly got better though, and I began to hope I’d get my friend back. You weren’t doing as well as you seemed to think you were, but you were getting there. And then last night you went and scared the hell out of me.”
Archie winced. “I thought I had. Sorry about that.”
Horatio waved a hand at him and shook his head. “It was probably a good thing. Catalina said it wasn’t good for you to bottle everything up. She said I should get you to talk about it ‘cause it would all come out eventually anyway and the longer it took the worse it would be.”
“Oh, she did, did she? Well maybe Catalina should just mind her own business.”
“Archie,” said Horatio, shocked. “That’s completely unfair. If she’d minded her own business you’d probably have starved to death before I even got here. Besides, she was right.” Archie had to admit Horatio had a point on both counts. “It was what you said last night that made me realise. What you said about not being able to be too close, about it being too much.” Horatio looked down at his hands and took a deep breath. Archie waited for him to look up again; it seemed like an eternity before he did so. “I don’t know how to say it. Archie, when I’m with you, when I’m close to you, it’s like, it feels like-” he was interrupted by Archie leaning forward, as he had wanted to do countless times before, and kissing him.
It was not the most elegant of kisses. Neither of them was very experienced and they were both nervous and one of them at least was taken by surprise. But it was everything Archie had ever wanted it to be. It was Horatio.
It ended with Horatio overbalancing and Archie sprawling on top of him. “Does it feel like that?” Archie said, laughing.
“Yeah, a bit like that,” Horatio said. He seemed to have had the wind knocked out of him. Archie rolled off him reluctantly.
“Sorry. Are you alright?”
“Alright? I’ve never been so alright. I don’t think anyone’s ever been so alright,” Horatio said with a grin. Archie pulled him upright and they sat and watched the seagulls as they had earlier. This time, though, Horatio had his arm around Archie and Archie leaned his head against Horatio’s shoulder.
“You really love me then?” Horatio said after a while. Archie lifted his head and looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Huh.”
Archie laughed. “That’s all you’ve got to say on the matter?”
“Well, it’s just, the way I feel about you. It’s so…” Horatio waved his hands in front of him in a gesture that seemed to indicate something very big. And possibly swirly, Archie wasn’t sure. “It’s hard to imagine anyone feeling that way about me. It’ll take some getting used to that’s all.”
“Well, you’d better get used to it, because you’re stuck with me.”
“I can live with that,” Horatio said, kissing him. Archie sank into the kiss, slow and thorough. Horatio pulled back and smiled at him. Then something seemed to occur to him. “Um, Archie?”
“Mmmm?”
“When we get back to the villa, do you think maybe you ought to ring your parents?”
“Oh, bugger,” Archie said.
*****
And they all lived happily ever after. Except for Jack Simpson, obviously, because he was dead. And Hether, who lost all his frilly shirts in a mysterious house fire.
Fandom: Hornblower.
Characters/Pairing: Archie/Horatio
Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to CS Forrester, and possibly A&E/Meridian.
Summary: A slightly odd version of Sleeping Beauty based on Hornblower. Or a very odd version of Hornblower based on Sleeping Beauty.
Rating: PG-13 for swearing
Notes:This is so fluffy I'm almost ashamed of myself. Almost.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Chapter 5
In which the prince wakes up.
Archie woke the next morning with the feeling that something terrible and wonderful had happened. After a few moments, the events of the day before came flooding back and he groaned. What the hell had been in that fruit? Had it all fermented and they just hadn’t noticed? On reflection, however, he had to admit there was nothing wrong with the fruit and the most likely explanation was that he was a complete and utter idiot. At least Horatio hadn’t run away, and now that everything was out in the open, almost everything anyway, they could deal with it and it would all be alright.
He lay in bed for a while, staring at the wall and putting off the inevitable. Unfortunately, the inevitable, by definition, can’t be put off for ever and eventually Archie had to get up. He turned over and nearly fell out of the bed in shock. Horatio, looking incredibly uncomfortable, was asleep in the chair by Archie’s bed. A cup of cold tea sat on the bedside table, skin forming on the surface. Archie thought he might cry. Again. What the hell was wrong with him? His heart ached; how many nights had Horatio spent in that chair? He had tended to him for weeks; he had stayed here for months, taking care of him and putting up with his moods. And Archie had repaid him with hysteria and accusations, casting doubt on his motives when, in the clear light of day, there could really only be one motive. Archie felt sick with shame.
He got up and dressed as quickly and quietly as he could, anxious not to wake Horatio. He wondered if perhaps he should, if only so he could sleep in a bed and not wake up stiff and sore. But Archie needed time to think so, adding another bit of guilt to the store he already had built up, he left him in the chair.
He was on his way to his usual spot in the garden when he stopped short. What was he doing hiding in the garden? All this time he’d been kidding himself, telling himself that he was doing fine, when in truth he’d just been avoiding going outside. He may have left the villa but he was still locking himself away. He’d created a nice little world for himself and Horatio and shied away from anything that might upset it. Like reality. Unfortunately, reality can’t be kept at bay, as last night had shown. He went back into the house and scribbled a quick note for Horatio: ‘Going for a walk’.
There were two paths leading away from the house. One led towards the village and the other led to cliff-tops. He had not realised they were so close to the sea until Horatio had told him. It was early and still relatively cool, so Archie set out towards the cliffs at as brisk a pace as he could manage. He was surprised how easy it was. There was some anxiety, but he had grown so used to that he barely noticed it. Mostly he felt the freedom that comes from making a decision, even a difficult decision.
For he had made a decision. He would not live in fear of Jack and what he had done to him. He had thought again last night that Jack had won but Horatio had proven him wrong. He had come to him and held him despite his own reservations. Horatio had cried for him. Horatio was his friend and Horatio loved him and Jack Simpson could put that in his pipe and, well, do whatever he wanted with it really.
He reached the cliffs sooner than he expected and stood for a long time, looking at the endless expanse of sea before him. There was a whole world out there, and he had been hiding from it for so long. He walked along the cliff-top for a while, but he was not used to so much exercise and he had not walked far before he needed to sit down and catch his breath. He thought about last night and winced at some of the things he had said. He remembered the sadness in Horatio’s face. ‘You don’t think very much of me, do you?’ He had been stunned at the time that Horatio could think such a thing but now he understood. All this time he had thought it must be obvious how he felt but what had he really done to show it? Mooning over him and occasionally forgetting how to speak when he took his top off was hardly a show of devotion on the scale of what Horatio had done. Archie had done nothing but conceal and evade and distrust.
So Archie would tell Horatio everything. He would tell him all about Jack and about how he felt and about his loneliness and his fear. He would tell him everything and hope, and trust, that Horatio would stay. And if he didn’t, well, he would survive. Probably.
A shadow fell over him; a long, lanky shadow with messy hair. He turned and smiled up at Horatio.
“Archie, for god’s sake. I’ve been worried sick.”
The smile fell from Archie’s face. “What on earth for?”
“You can’t just write a note like that and leave.” Horatio sat down on the grass beside him with a thump.
“A note like what? ‘Going for a walk’? What’s wrong with that? How did you know which way I’d gone anyway?”
“Well, I thought that if you were going to throw yourself off a cliff then walking to the village would be counter-productive.”
“Throw myself off a cliff? Did you think I was going to kill myself?” Archie started to laugh but stopped when he saw Horatio’s face. “Was I really that bad last night?”
Horatio studied Archie’s face briefly. When he spoke, he seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “Archie, you’ve been bad for a long time. Last night was just… when it all came out, I suppose.”
“Oh,” said Archie, not knowing what else to say. They sat for a while, watching the seagulls as they swooped and darted over the water, while Archie gathered together his courage. It was all very well to decide to do something; it was harder to carry it out. “I’m sorry, Horatio,” he said at last. “I’ve been a self-absorbed little shit.” Horatio chuckled beside him but said nothing, which Archie took to be agreement. “I just couldn’t believe I was good enough for you.”
Out of the corner of his eye Archie saw Horatio turn to look at him and he forced himself to look back. “Why would you think that?” Something about the way he said it made Archie think he already knew and was prompting him rather than asking him. He found this disconcerting. Horatio had many admirable qualities but human insight was not really one of them. The thought that, of the two of them, Horatio was the one who had been the least clueless showed Archie just how off the rails he had gone. Feeling another stab of self-recrimination, he began his story. As he spoke, it became clear that Horatio had not known: he looked horrified. Archie ploughed on. It was too late to stop; he must stick it out to the end.
There was silence when he finished. Then Horatio stood and walked down the path. Archie watched him go. Horatio stopped after a few paces, turned and came back. He repeated this several times. Finally he stopped before Archie and pulled him to his feet. He tilted his chin up and studied his face. “This is really true,” he said.
“Of course it’s true,” Archie said pulling his head back. “You think I would make something like this up?”
“Of course not. Sorry. Of course not.” He resumed his pacing. It’s just- It’s unbelievable. That he would do that to you. I knew he was a nasty piece of work, I knew there was something-”. He stopped again in front of Archie. “Was this going on while I was working there?”
“It was less after you arrived, but, sometimes, yes.”
“God, Archie, I am so sorry. I should have known there was something wrong. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”
“Still, I should have known. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Archie took a deep breath. “I didn’t want you to hate me for it.”
“You really don’t think very much of me do you?” Horatio said with a sad smile. “Do you really think I’d hate you for what someone else did to you?”
“I thought you might hate me for being weak and a coward. And for running away.”
“You’re the bravest person I know, Archie. I could never have gone through all that alone. I would have slit my wrists or thrown myself under a train ages ago.” Archie thought about this. It was an angle he had not considered before. An angry shout from Horatio made him jump. “God, how dare he. How dare he do this to you? How dare he think he’s good enough to even lay a finger on you, let alone-”. He began pacing again. Archie, exhaustion getting the better of him, collapsed back onto his spot on the ground and watched as Horatio stalked around the cliff-top, swearing and kicking at stones. At one point he hit a tree-trunk with the side of his fist, which looked like it must have hurt. Alarming as this sudden outburst was, Horatio’s indignation on his behalf was heart-warming. Not to mention the fact that he was still here.
After a while Horatio’s anger wore itself out and he resumed his place beside Archie. “Feel better?” Archie said with a grin.
“A little,” Horatio said. “Except not really. I’ve never been so angry in my life. I never thought I’d be glad a person was dead, but I’m glad Jack Simpson’s dead. The only reason I might wish him back would be so I could kill him myself. Never thought I’d say that.” He looked thoughtful. “I should probably feel bad about it. But I don’t.”
“I don’t either, and I’ve had a lot longer to think about it than you have. So don’t worry about it.” Archie steeled himself. The hard part was over and it had been fine. He could do this, no problem. He was 97% certain he wasn’t going to be rejected. So why was his stomach tied in knots? He took hold of Horatio’s hand. Horatio looked at where their fingers were entwined as if he’d never seen them before. “I know I’ve been a complete arse,” he began, “and I thought it was obvious, and maybe it was to others. I mean, I’m pretty sure Clayton knew, and probably Hether and Cleveland. But maybe it wasn’t to you and I thought, you know, maybe I should tell you.” Horatio looked baffled at this rambling pronouncement. He should just say it. “I love you. I’ve been in love with you since you first walked into that bloody shop, and well, there it is. I love you and I’m pretty sure you love me and I know I’m a nightmare and an idiot and I really don’t deserve you at all but I’m kind of hoping you’ll be willing to overlook all that.”
“You’re pretty sure I love you?” Horatio said, which was not quite what Archie had wanted to hear, but Horatio hadn’t looked disgusted and he still had hold of his hand so Archie didn’t mind too much. “How?”
“Well, I was stupid about it at first. I’ve been so absorbed in worrying about what you would think of me and assuming you would hate me that I missed it. But you left your home to come and find me and then you stayed to look after me when you didn’t need to. Last night made it pretty obvious, though I didn’t cotton on until this morning when I realised you’d spent the whole night in that chair. And I’ve been remembering bits and pieces from when I was ill. Nothing you could put your finger on but… you get so intense and I thought it was just the way you are, and maybe it is, but sometimes- what are you laughing at?”
“I’m sorry. I’m laughing at myself. You’re not the only idiot.” He placed his free hand tentatively on top of Archie’s. “I know I’m what Hether so tactfully calls ‘pretty dense’ about some things. Would you believe it was only yesterday that I realised how I felt?”
Archie laughed, unable to believe it. And yet, it was Horatio through and through. “Actually, yes I would.”
“I didn’t understand why I was so devastated when you left. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Nothing was the same. I kept turning to tell you things and I’d find you weren’t there. I felt like, oh I don’t know, words are your thing not mine. It felt like I’d been cut adrift. Like I said, I didn’t really know why. I didn’t even think to question it. It’s the natural reaction isn’t it? What other response could there be to you not being there?” He paused and looked away, biting his lip. Archie mentally urged him to continue.“I’m not the same without you, Archie. I need you to laugh at me and make me not take myself so seriously and to, to just be you. And be there. I didn’t think it needed a name. Maybe it doesn’t.”Archie didn’t dare move. He had never, in his wildest dreams, imagined he would hear Horatio say something like this. “Anyway, I found you and you were, God, you were so ill. I’ve never been so scared. I thought even if you lived you’d be out of your mind forever. I didn’t think you’d ever be yourself again. You slowly got better though, and I began to hope I’d get my friend back. You weren’t doing as well as you seemed to think you were, but you were getting there. And then last night you went and scared the hell out of me.”
Archie winced. “I thought I had. Sorry about that.”
Horatio waved a hand at him and shook his head. “It was probably a good thing. Catalina said it wasn’t good for you to bottle everything up. She said I should get you to talk about it ‘cause it would all come out eventually anyway and the longer it took the worse it would be.”
“Oh, she did, did she? Well maybe Catalina should just mind her own business.”
“Archie,” said Horatio, shocked. “That’s completely unfair. If she’d minded her own business you’d probably have starved to death before I even got here. Besides, she was right.” Archie had to admit Horatio had a point on both counts. “It was what you said last night that made me realise. What you said about not being able to be too close, about it being too much.” Horatio looked down at his hands and took a deep breath. Archie waited for him to look up again; it seemed like an eternity before he did so. “I don’t know how to say it. Archie, when I’m with you, when I’m close to you, it’s like, it feels like-” he was interrupted by Archie leaning forward, as he had wanted to do countless times before, and kissing him.
It was not the most elegant of kisses. Neither of them was very experienced and they were both nervous and one of them at least was taken by surprise. But it was everything Archie had ever wanted it to be. It was Horatio.
It ended with Horatio overbalancing and Archie sprawling on top of him. “Does it feel like that?” Archie said, laughing.
“Yeah, a bit like that,” Horatio said. He seemed to have had the wind knocked out of him. Archie rolled off him reluctantly.
“Sorry. Are you alright?”
“Alright? I’ve never been so alright. I don’t think anyone’s ever been so alright,” Horatio said with a grin. Archie pulled him upright and they sat and watched the seagulls as they had earlier. This time, though, Horatio had his arm around Archie and Archie leaned his head against Horatio’s shoulder.
“You really love me then?” Horatio said after a while. Archie lifted his head and looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Huh.”
Archie laughed. “That’s all you’ve got to say on the matter?”
“Well, it’s just, the way I feel about you. It’s so…” Horatio waved his hands in front of him in a gesture that seemed to indicate something very big. And possibly swirly, Archie wasn’t sure. “It’s hard to imagine anyone feeling that way about me. It’ll take some getting used to that’s all.”
“Well, you’d better get used to it, because you’re stuck with me.”
“I can live with that,” Horatio said, kissing him. Archie sank into the kiss, slow and thorough. Horatio pulled back and smiled at him. Then something seemed to occur to him. “Um, Archie?”
“Mmmm?”
“When we get back to the villa, do you think maybe you ought to ring your parents?”
“Oh, bugger,” Archie said.
*****
And they all lived happily ever after. Except for Jack Simpson, obviously, because he was dead. And Hether, who lost all his frilly shirts in a mysterious house fire.