Pieces of the Night
He had finally returned home after a particularly late night at the fort. All of his nights were becoming particularly late, it seemed. He tiredly rubbed his eyes as he entered into a quiet and empty house. He lit a few candles.
The curtains had been drawn shut for the night, save for the master bedroom upstairs. He enjoyed the light breeze from the tropical winds across the sea. The Caribbean moon and stars high in the inky blue sky, the same stars they both slept under.
He made his way upstairs, the wood creaking with the weight, and into his bedroom. Slowly, he pealed off the layers of the day. The brocaded coat hung carefully and put inside the wardrobe. The cravat untied and set in its place. The wig removed and set down beside it on its stand. The polished black shoes with their silver buckles beside the dresser.
He walked to the small bookcase that sat against the far wall, reaching up and pulling down a large tome on the history of the British Royal Navy. He flipped through it as he came to sit on the bed. He came to the center, where a small, folded piece of parchment had been pressed into the center. He pulled it out, setting the book aside, and unfolded the page.
Andrew's smiling face looked back up at him. It was a poor representation, as he wasn't capable of much more than quick sketches, at best. Though, somehow, it didn't matter. He knew who it was, all that it represented. The years of friendship, of loyalty, which had grown into something more, something deeper. He didn't know if his feelings were returned. A part of him prayed he never would.
He pressed his lips together. It was a sin. At least that's what society had told him. That's what had been impressed upon him since nearly the day he was born. He used to be ashamed of it, but as time passed, he grew more and more skeptical. Was it really a sin? Love was not considered an unnatural act, though it was rare in this world. Was it truly wrong for one to feel such compassion and understanding for another, regardless of their sex? Love was so rare, and yet it was shunned and pushed away when it was not between a man and a woman.
There were the pangs of regret, which continued to linger. He did not wish to drag Andrew down with him. Unnatural or no, he wished no ill upon his friend, his brother in arms. If the truth were to be uncovered, he would know that Andrew would be safe. Only he would have to suffer for the decisions of his heart.
He smiled softly at the smiling face looking back up at him, forever frozen, immortalized on the parchment.
He folded it carefully and placed it back inside the book, snapping it shut, pushing it back onto the shelf in its customary place.
The End
Companion fic to "Until I Fall Away"
Inspiration from honorat LJ 's lovely "Smiling Gillette"
http:// honorat. livejournal. com/ 42039. html