With You

"Why won't you talk to me?" His back was to the sea.

"What?" The ginger-haired midshipman turned his head, wiping his nose with the back of his hand quickly.

Theodore stepped lightly to come beside him, sitting down on the sea chest. The door clicked shut behind him.

"You know you can trust me. Why don't you?" Theodore asked. He reached his arms up and set them around Andrew's smaller shoulders.

Andrew looked at his friend with shy eyes. He dropped his gaze.

Theodore gently curved his fingers beneath the other boy's chin. "Don't be ashamed." He smiled softly.

Andrew sniffed again, wiping his nose again.

"Here." Theodore handed him a small, white handkerchief.

"Thanks." Andrew gave a small, quick smile. He looked up at his friend. He pressed his lips together.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Theodore asked, tilting his head to the side.

"If only it were so easy to say." Andrew said quietly.

Theodore nodded.

They fall back into silence. Andrew stared down at the floor.

"What's worrying you?"

"What?"

"Whatever this is… it's worrying you." Theodore said. "You don't have to be afraid of talking to me. About anything… Ever."

"You don't know what it is." Andrew said darkly, almost under his breath.

Theodore's brow furrowed. What was happening with his friend? Andrew was not the type to have done something serious, which only left something that had happened to him.

"And'… has something happened?" He asked, concern growing. "Are you hurt?"

Andrew shook his head, "No, no it's nothing like that." He assured him. He paused. "It's not that I don't trust you. I do. It's just that… I can't, I couldn't… loose you, Teddy."

"You won't." Theodore told him, instantly, shaking his head. "Nothing that you say could make me turn my back on you. You're my best friend."

"What if the Articles forbid it? What if the Bible declared it a sin?" Andrew asked in a rush of words, before he had a chance to stop himself. He b it his lip, hard, swallowing as though trying to take back what he had said.

Theodore remained un-phased. "The Articles forbid a lot of things. they were also written by hypocrites. You would probably be surprised at how few men in the Navy actually follow them."

"But the Bible…"

"It says a lot of things." Theodore shrugged.

Andrew drew in a deep breath. He turned his head again, slowly, looking Theodore in the eyes.

"Trust me, And'. I would never lie to you, about anything. I mean it, when I said you could, about anything…" Theodore urged gently.

Andrew nodded. "I know. It's just… I've been told, all my life, that it… to be that way… its wrong." He paused for a moment. "I don't exactly… fancy women."

"You fancy your own type, then?"

"Yes… What else is there?"

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't fancy some of our four-legged friends."

"I'm Irish, not Scottish."

"My mistake."

"You don't think I'm… evil, then?"

"Why would I think that? Of course you're not evil…"

"It's unnatural."

"Not if it's love."

Andrew's reddish brow furrowed, "You, too?"

Theodore smiled slightly, "I'm not the most experienced, but I've had my turn behind the barn, as it were."

"But you chase anything in a skirt."

Theodore laughed at Andrew's bewildered expression. "Well I wasn't exactly about to go parading around about it."

"They call you Groves the Lady Killer."

"Just because I don't prefer them doesn't mean I haven't… indulged, on occasion. When you find one who's not completely dull and dumb they're actually quite intriguing. Perhaps you should try it sometime."

Andrew flushed.

Theodore laughed again, softly. "Perhaps you are a little too shy for that. Give it time… No one suspects, so you have some time to work up the nerve before putting on a show. And don't worry- I'll help you."

The End