What Happens Now? Part 1
Disclaimer: The Characters of the BBCs Robin Hood do not belong to me in any which way, I am just borrowing them to satisfy my inner Will/Djaq shipper.
Summary: Events from mostly Djaq and some Will POV during events from "Peace? Off" to "A Clue: No". It starts during these episodes and then takes off from there.
Djaq sat to the side of the cave and watched as Robin and the others reacted in various ways to the news of the crusader kings return.
She attempted to keep her face as blank as possible, to conceal the tempest of emotions whirling within her. She refused to admit how scared she was by this new turn of events.
The return of this King Richard, of whom Robin spoke of with such passion and devotion, the man who had lead the crusade which had destroyed her life and her family, would now do so again.
Robin, Will, Allan, John and Much had all become her family over the few months in which they had been together. They were some of the only men who, although they knew she was a woman, treated her more or less as an equal, not as a weakling or a possession.
Djaq snuck a glance over at Wills soaked form, who wore a cautious look on his face. Her eyes drifted from his face, down along his torso, admiring how the wet shirt clung tightly to his thin, yet muscular form.
Will turned towards her suddenly, catching her eyes with his. The intensity of his gaze warmed her and scared her, so Djaq tore her gaze from his; blushing under the weight of his stare.
Things had changed between the two of them lately. They were still friends, as they had become close since Djaq joined the group of outlaws, but the level of their connection had changed. Something indescribable had been altered and now she was acutely aware of his presence at all times. She no longed just valued him as a friend and comrade in arms; her heart raced whenever their eyes met and she had to consciously control her more feminine instincts when she was around him.
No matter how she felt, no matter how she valued his quiet understanding and keen intellect or his skill as a carpenter, his wielding of an axe in battle, or his kind and loving heart, she must control her herself. She had to pretend not to be a woman on the inside as well as the outside, to protect herself.
A large part of her wanted to trust her heart to Will, to allow someone else to watch after her, even though she would never admit to allowing any such thing. She did not need a man, but she wanted one just the same.
She had always thought of Will as handsome, but she would never allow herself to think of him as anything other than a friend. For how could a man want her when she looked like a boy?
Djaq shook her head, she must stop thinking such things. She was Djaq now and not Soffia. She was a warrior, not a soft woman. She had made that choice a long time ago. Djaq had known that no man would accept a woman warrior, so she had taken her brothers name and become a man; on the outside.
Djaq never thought that anyone would see the woman underneath the warrior.
Will did.
She was not sure how, but he did.
She had known that he saw her as a warrior, as all the men of Robins gang did, but lately…it seemed as if he might also see her as a woman.
Which was ridiculous…right?
Djaq lifted her head again and found Will gazing at her, his expression thoughtful. He had obviously stopped talking with Robin about the situation with Marian, but why was he looking at her?
He seemed to look at her a lot, she noticed; not that she minded. She looked at him as well. She just chose times when she knew he would not catch her doing so, such as when he was asleep. It was a guilty pleasure. His handsome face was so at peace when he slept, as if he did not keenly feel the pain of those in need.
She could not allow him to see her watch him while awake, otherwise he would know. He would know that she cared for him.
Will, apparently, did not seem to feel the same need to hide his feelings; he rarely ever did. His gazes had become more intense and more frequent lately. They still talked, as they always had, but there was something hanging between them now and it made things somewhat awkward. Djaq longed for the time when they could say anything to one another.
When had things changed between them?
Robins voice broke through Djaqs thoughts then, as he declared "I'm going to talk to Marian. She won't marry Gisborne, I know it."
Much piped in with his usual and somewhat annoying insight "Then why do you need to talk to her then?"
Robin scowled at Much, "Because, I want to find out what she knows about King Richards return. And I might ask her about Gisborne while I'm there, find out how she is going to tell him that she will not marry him."
Much sighed dramatically, "Of course you are, master."
Robins scowl deepened, "I am. I'll be back before sundown. You all stay here."
Much turned, grabbed his things, and said "WE will be back before sundown."
Robin gave Much a look, to which Much replied "Someone's got to make sure you don't do anything stupid, like get yourself hanged before you can finish saving the world or before dinner…"
Robin simply turned around and walked out of the cave.
Much turned to the group before following Robin out to say "Speaking of dinner, I was thinking of venison, or stew. It would be lovely if it were ready when we got back!"
The group left in the cave collectively rolled their eyes at his antics.
The four left sat for a moment in silence, before Allan jumped to his feet "Right, so 'hoo wants to go for a nice visit to Nottingham, eh?"
Will gave him an irritated look, like an older brother at his younger brother, "Calm down, Allan. We'll do as Robin says and wait until he and Much return."
Allan rolled his eyes heavenward, "Right, and who knows how long that will take, look I say we go into Nottingham and see what we can find out for ourselves. You know how long Robin usually takes on his visits to Marian. Come on, Will. We can even take some of the leftover money from yesterdays gains and give 'em to the poor n' 'ungry, eh?"
Djaq rolled her eyes at Allans needling, but smiled a little at how he steered the conversation and how he manipulated the situation to get what he wanted. He knew that Will would soften to the idea of giving to those in need.
Allan certainly had a gift for the gab, as they say.
Will turned his gaze onto Djaq again, and she waved her hand at him saying "Go, feed the people and take him with you. John and I will wait here."
Will furrowed his brows, still debating the sanity of listening to Allan, "Are you sure?...because…"
Djaq interrupted him, "Go…go, make Allan happy, we will not hear the end of it if you do not."
Allan grinned like a cat about to get his canary as he watched the exchange "Come on, Will…"
Will groaned, "Alright, alright, fine. We're going, but not for long, mind you."
Allan raised his hands as if in defeat, but the grin on his face betrayed him. "Aye, aye Capn'"
John let out a chuckle at Allan's antics and decided to put in his two cents "Take him out o' here and let Djaq and I have some peace and quiet before everything goes to pot."
That sobered the group up somewhat and the two young men gathered their things quickly and made their way towards the entrance of the cave. They had all forgotten for a moment that big things were about to happen.
Djaq suddenly thought of something and sprang up, running after them, "Will…wait"
Will turned around and Djaq had to stop herself from colliding with him head on, as it was her hand came to rest on his chest, "Would you please buy me some cloth for bandages."
It took Will a moment to respond, his heart having almost jumped out of his chest when she put her hand there. The warmth of her fingers against his shirt made his mouth suddenly dry and he had the greatest urge to grab her hand and press it to his lips.
When her words made it past the fog clouding his thoughts, Wills brows furrowed as he responded, "Any particular reason?"
Djaq smiled, but her eyes were more serious, "Robin has a habit of getting himself knocked on the head."
Will let out a laugh, Allan snorted and John let out a loud "HA, right you are, lass. Given 'im some meself!"
Djaq, having asked her favour, suddenly became aware of exactly where she had placed her hand. She felt her cheeks become hot and went to pull back, when Will grabbed her hand.
He couldn't deny his urge any longer. Ever since the events following "Harold"s attack against Djaq, Will found it harder and harder to control his emotions around her.
She was an amazing woman and he could not help but love her. He knew that she would never look at him that way, that she was far too cautious about appearing 'soft' to allow herself to care for a man, least of all him.
But, she was so beautiful. She had deep brown eyes, and lips that seemed to call out to him whenever he dared look at them. And although she kept her figure hidden, his brief glimpse of her in the woods that day when they first met had given him an all too vivid idea of just how much of a woman she really was.
The pad of his thumb caressed the back of her hand and Djaq was mesmerized by it. Seemingly of their own will, her eyes moved higher, until they met Wills, who had also been staring at their joined hands.
There was something strong in Wills eyes that Djaq could not identify, but it intrigued her. As a scientist she was curious about many things, and this was one thing that both exited and terrified her.
Will could not tear himself away from her. He knew he should, but he could not think of one good reason to. He wanted to pull her closer, he wanted to feel her pressed up against him and he wanted to taste those lips of hers.
A cough pulled them out of their trance.
Will reluctantly let Djaqs hand go, but he didn't not do it quickly. He smiled at her shyly and when she returned his smile, his heart soared.
Turning quickly, to avoid any unwanted commentary from Allan, who had a wicked grin plastered onto his face, Will shoved his friend out of the entrance to the cave. With one last backwards glance at Djaq, who was still standing where he had left her, he exited the cave.
It took several moments for Djaq to come back to herself. She blinked rapidly in an attempt to understand what had just happened.
With a shake of her head, she turned back around towards the inside of the cave and sat back down beside the fire.
Her gaze became fixed on the flames. Her mind whirling furiously. What was going on? Something had happened just then, with Will, something which made butterflies dance in her stomach.
The look in his eyes…what was that? Everything seemed to be changing.
Djaq felt eyes on her and turned her gaze to John, who was watching her with a knowing look on his face and a small smile on his lips.
Djaq frowned and shook her head, in an attempt to clear it.
That didn't work. With a sigh of frustration Djaq rose to her feet again and spoke, without looking at John "I'm going for a walk."
As she made her way out of the cave she swore she could hear a soft laugh echo behind her.
What do you think? Should I continue…I have many ideas floating around in my head. I thought that since there wasn't too much Djaq/Will fic out there I would try my hand at some.