Serenade
Author: mideltone_one
Title: Serenade
Words: 1483
Genre: Slash
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer:The Robin Hood characters written about here belong to Tiger Aspect and the British Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended nor is any money being made. I don't own them - if I did I'd be too busy drooling to write! All mistakes are mine.
Summary: Will has a treat.
Warnings: None.
Characters/Pairings: Allan/Will
Will pushed his dish away from him and relaxed back against the seat. "That was fantastic", he said to the elderly woman who had served him.
"Eh, deary?" she said looking straight at him. He shook his head. This was the third time he'd forgotten how deaf his host and hostess were. He smiled to himself and pointed to his empty dish, before shouting "lovely."
"Yes dear, it is spicy, but you seem to like it." He wondered if it was wise to have a practically deaf couple let people stay in their home, and if that explained why he was the only person staying here.
That was the least of his questions. Here he was, one day after his birthday, staying in an expensive manor house, being served hand and foot, at least when he could make himself heard. A boy had brought a message to him while he was in Nottingham town. It had all been a bit odd; he'd had no idea how the boy had been able to identify him so easily. The message itself hadn't clarified anything. 'Go to the manor house at the east edge of town tomorrow,' it had said, 'and tell the owners Tom sent you.' Who the hell was Tom, he wondered, and why was he sending him to a manor house? Not that he minded. Being made to sleep indoors in a big comfortable bed, after a warm bath and a hot meal was no hardship, just a little unexpected.
"Are you away to your bed, young sir?" asked the man of the house, as he bolted the main door and joined his wife by the stairs.
Will nodded, realising there was no point in speaking, then rose and mounted the stairs to his room. A large bed, chest, and wardrobe, albeit locked, stood proudly in the chamber, with a small stand holding a bowl, jug, and chamber pot under the window. This was luxury enough, but the fact that the window had glass in it was even more impressive. As an added luxury, and a sign of wealth, a night cap had been placed on his bed. He was unsure about sleeping naked until he put his hand under the eiderdown and discovered that the bed had been heated for him. Just as well, he thought, given the sudden cold turn the weather had taken. Together with a bucket of hot stones at the foot of the bed, there was no chance of him being cold tonight. The heat would allow him to leave the beautiful curtains open, giving him a view of the stars outside; that would comfort him as it would remind him of the forest, as he played the rich young merchant, even if only for one night. He undressed quickly, placing his clothes on the chest and donned the nightcap. As he got into the warm bed, he noticed a length of rope with knots in it coiled up by the side of the window; evidently his hosts were up to date with fire safety equipment. Taking one last look around the room he very nearly pinched himself to ensure it wasn’t all a dream, before blowing out the candle and falling asleep.
His time in the forest had taught him to be a light sleeper, always alert to approaching enemies. He wasn’t surprised, therefore, to wake some time later. Something, at first he thought it was heavy rain, was hitting the window glass. The room was still warm, and judging that he would not be out of bed for long, he decided there was no need to get dressed before investigating what he now thought was something being thrown at the window. It was a few days after the full moon, and a cloudless sky to boot, which ensured Will a clear view as he looked out of the window.
Nothing could have prepared him for the scene that he saw. Down on the grass behind the house stood Allan a Dale, in one hand a fistful of gravel; that was what had made the sound against the window. More surprising was the lute slung around his neck, its own neck in his other hand. However neither of these could compete in terms of surprise with the fact that Allan was apparently stark naked. A beaming smile from below encouraged Will to open the window. "What ... what are you doing?" he asked, still in shock.
Allan let the gravel drop to the ground and cleared his throat before answering in a clear voice, "I've come to serenade you, to win your heart." Before the young carpenter could reply, Allan took hold of the lute firmly at the neck, and strummed its strings, pausing only a moment before singing. “Will Will it's such a thrill, My heart will not be still,” - there was a pause while he adjusted his fingers on the lute’s neck, followed by another strum of the strings producing a note which, whilst different, was no closer to that which he was singing - “until you say you will be mine.”
There was another key change, and associated delay before the singing continued. “This lute I’ll pluck, and then we’ll f-.”
“Stop,” hissed Will, his face full of concern.
“I was gonna say “find ourselves alone’” replied Allan with a grin.
“It doesn’t matter what you were going to say. If you carry on you’ll get yourself hanged.”
“There’s only the old couple here, and they won't 'ear me even if I stand next to 'em.”
"How do you know they're deaf?"
"'Cos I 'ad to shout when I was arrangin' for you to stay 'ere."
"You did all this ... for me? Why?"
"'Cos I wanted to give you a day to remember for your birthday. 'Cos you deserve a night in a warm bed. And 'cos I think you're the most amazing person I've ever met and ... I'm making a fool of meself, ain't I?"
Will smiled to himself as he realised just how much effort his friend had put into this. Such dedication was definitely admirable, and deserving of some sort of recognition. There was, however, one other question that needed answering first. "Why are you naked?"
Allan smiled up at him again. "'Cos I want you to know you can trust me, that I ain't hiding nothin'."
The younger man was now coming to terms with the situation, more confident. "You could have anything behind that lute" he replied. With a gracious bow, Allan slipped the strap of the lute over his head, threw his hands out to either side, and stood up, revealing himself in all his nakedness. "As promised," he announced, "nothing to hide."
"I can see it's cold" said Will, his eyes flicking down to his friend's groin.
"Nice to know you're interested," came the reply, quickly followed by a shivered continuation, "Only thing I didn't plan for was a cold snap. Not bein' funny, but if I stay out 'ere much longer somethin' valuable is gonna fall off."
"You're not much of a singer are you?" said Will, vanishing from the window. Allan wondered if all his trials had been in vain.
Hoping the battle was not yet lost, he replied "I gave it a go. I ain't really minstrel material."
"Do you promise not to sing again?", asked Will, reappearing at the window.
“If it gets me out of the cold, then yes” he replied hopefully.
Without further delay the knotted rope dropped out of the window and down to the ground. “Come on then” said Will, before retreating to the bed again.
Once Allan had appeared at the window there was a short delay as he climbed into the room. The window was closed smartly. Lowering the lute to the floor he lifted the key which was now hanging around his neck over his head and used it to open the wardrobe. Routing around inside it, he retrieved a nightcap of his own, and placed it on his head. He looked over at Will and grinned widely. Will shook his head. “Before you get in here,” he said seriously, “let me make it clear that we’re not, to quote your song, going to ‘find ourselves alone’, least ways not tonight.
“Your bed, your rules” said Allan quietly.
“Now that that’s understood,” replied the younger man, “hurry up and get in here. I don’t want you freezing to death.”
Will woke the next morning with a broad smile on his face. Warm breath regularly landed on his neck, and strong arms were wrapped around his waist. Even though his hosts were deaf he was surprised they hadn’t heard his yelps as the ‘man of ice’ had snuggled up against him. Any hint of that ice had long since vanished. Even though he would be sleeping outside again from tonight, he guessed his bed would never be cold again.
Title: Serenade
Words: 1483
Genre: Slash
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer:The Robin Hood characters written about here belong to Tiger Aspect and the British Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended nor is any money being made. I don't own them - if I did I'd be too busy drooling to write! All mistakes are mine.
Summary: Will has a treat.
Warnings: None.
Characters/Pairings: Allan/Will
Will pushed his dish away from him and relaxed back against the seat. "That was fantastic", he said to the elderly woman who had served him.
"Eh, deary?" she said looking straight at him. He shook his head. This was the third time he'd forgotten how deaf his host and hostess were. He smiled to himself and pointed to his empty dish, before shouting "lovely."
"Yes dear, it is spicy, but you seem to like it." He wondered if it was wise to have a practically deaf couple let people stay in their home, and if that explained why he was the only person staying here.
That was the least of his questions. Here he was, one day after his birthday, staying in an expensive manor house, being served hand and foot, at least when he could make himself heard. A boy had brought a message to him while he was in Nottingham town. It had all been a bit odd; he'd had no idea how the boy had been able to identify him so easily. The message itself hadn't clarified anything. 'Go to the manor house at the east edge of town tomorrow,' it had said, 'and tell the owners Tom sent you.' Who the hell was Tom, he wondered, and why was he sending him to a manor house? Not that he minded. Being made to sleep indoors in a big comfortable bed, after a warm bath and a hot meal was no hardship, just a little unexpected.
"Are you away to your bed, young sir?" asked the man of the house, as he bolted the main door and joined his wife by the stairs.
Will nodded, realising there was no point in speaking, then rose and mounted the stairs to his room. A large bed, chest, and wardrobe, albeit locked, stood proudly in the chamber, with a small stand holding a bowl, jug, and chamber pot under the window. This was luxury enough, but the fact that the window had glass in it was even more impressive. As an added luxury, and a sign of wealth, a night cap had been placed on his bed. He was unsure about sleeping naked until he put his hand under the eiderdown and discovered that the bed had been heated for him. Just as well, he thought, given the sudden cold turn the weather had taken. Together with a bucket of hot stones at the foot of the bed, there was no chance of him being cold tonight. The heat would allow him to leave the beautiful curtains open, giving him a view of the stars outside; that would comfort him as it would remind him of the forest, as he played the rich young merchant, even if only for one night. He undressed quickly, placing his clothes on the chest and donned the nightcap. As he got into the warm bed, he noticed a length of rope with knots in it coiled up by the side of the window; evidently his hosts were up to date with fire safety equipment. Taking one last look around the room he very nearly pinched himself to ensure it wasn’t all a dream, before blowing out the candle and falling asleep.
His time in the forest had taught him to be a light sleeper, always alert to approaching enemies. He wasn’t surprised, therefore, to wake some time later. Something, at first he thought it was heavy rain, was hitting the window glass. The room was still warm, and judging that he would not be out of bed for long, he decided there was no need to get dressed before investigating what he now thought was something being thrown at the window. It was a few days after the full moon, and a cloudless sky to boot, which ensured Will a clear view as he looked out of the window.
Nothing could have prepared him for the scene that he saw. Down on the grass behind the house stood Allan a Dale, in one hand a fistful of gravel; that was what had made the sound against the window. More surprising was the lute slung around his neck, its own neck in his other hand. However neither of these could compete in terms of surprise with the fact that Allan was apparently stark naked. A beaming smile from below encouraged Will to open the window. "What ... what are you doing?" he asked, still in shock.
Allan let the gravel drop to the ground and cleared his throat before answering in a clear voice, "I've come to serenade you, to win your heart." Before the young carpenter could reply, Allan took hold of the lute firmly at the neck, and strummed its strings, pausing only a moment before singing. “Will Will it's such a thrill, My heart will not be still,” - there was a pause while he adjusted his fingers on the lute’s neck, followed by another strum of the strings producing a note which, whilst different, was no closer to that which he was singing - “until you say you will be mine.”
There was another key change, and associated delay before the singing continued. “This lute I’ll pluck, and then we’ll f-.”
“Stop,” hissed Will, his face full of concern.
“I was gonna say “find ourselves alone’” replied Allan with a grin.
“It doesn’t matter what you were going to say. If you carry on you’ll get yourself hanged.”
“There’s only the old couple here, and they won't 'ear me even if I stand next to 'em.”
"How do you know they're deaf?"
"'Cos I 'ad to shout when I was arrangin' for you to stay 'ere."
"You did all this ... for me? Why?"
"'Cos I wanted to give you a day to remember for your birthday. 'Cos you deserve a night in a warm bed. And 'cos I think you're the most amazing person I've ever met and ... I'm making a fool of meself, ain't I?"
Will smiled to himself as he realised just how much effort his friend had put into this. Such dedication was definitely admirable, and deserving of some sort of recognition. There was, however, one other question that needed answering first. "Why are you naked?"
Allan smiled up at him again. "'Cos I want you to know you can trust me, that I ain't hiding nothin'."
The younger man was now coming to terms with the situation, more confident. "You could have anything behind that lute" he replied. With a gracious bow, Allan slipped the strap of the lute over his head, threw his hands out to either side, and stood up, revealing himself in all his nakedness. "As promised," he announced, "nothing to hide."
"I can see it's cold" said Will, his eyes flicking down to his friend's groin.
"Nice to know you're interested," came the reply, quickly followed by a shivered continuation, "Only thing I didn't plan for was a cold snap. Not bein' funny, but if I stay out 'ere much longer somethin' valuable is gonna fall off."
"You're not much of a singer are you?" said Will, vanishing from the window. Allan wondered if all his trials had been in vain.
Hoping the battle was not yet lost, he replied "I gave it a go. I ain't really minstrel material."
"Do you promise not to sing again?", asked Will, reappearing at the window.
“If it gets me out of the cold, then yes” he replied hopefully.
Without further delay the knotted rope dropped out of the window and down to the ground. “Come on then” said Will, before retreating to the bed again.
Once Allan had appeared at the window there was a short delay as he climbed into the room. The window was closed smartly. Lowering the lute to the floor he lifted the key which was now hanging around his neck over his head and used it to open the wardrobe. Routing around inside it, he retrieved a nightcap of his own, and placed it on his head. He looked over at Will and grinned widely. Will shook his head. “Before you get in here,” he said seriously, “let me make it clear that we’re not, to quote your song, going to ‘find ourselves alone’, least ways not tonight.
“Your bed, your rules” said Allan quietly.
“Now that that’s understood,” replied the younger man, “hurry up and get in here. I don’t want you freezing to death.”
Will woke the next morning with a broad smile on his face. Warm breath regularly landed on his neck, and strong arms were wrapped around his waist. Even though his hosts were deaf he was surprised they hadn’t heard his yelps as the ‘man of ice’ had snuggled up against him. Any hint of that ice had long since vanished. Even though he would be sleeping outside again from tonight, he guessed his bed would never be cold again.