Disclaimer: Uhhhh… I don't own it? Hey, maybe the people who do own it write Fanfiction about it too! They wouldn't have to write disclaimers, would they? But then could they sue themselves?

(That was basically the best warning I could give you that it's three o'clock in the morning, so this may be very… early morning/late night-ish. Beware)

Skin Deep

It was hard to say, then. Because then, he hadn't understood.

Not all things were skin deep, and beauty was one of those things.

Maybe it was Chaucer who had finally made him understand, with his stories and words and poems. Or it could have been Jocelyn, a pretty thing on the outside, but in the end, she was just using him as a tool against her father. It could have been Kate, beautiful in her own right, but even more so was her powerful soul, one that drew everyone to it. It could have been Wat, incredibly short tempered and judgmental, but also so naïve and sweet. Or maybe Roland, with his deep thoughts and deeper meanings.

But somehow, it was not them he thought of in the rain that night.

Instead, he found himself seeing again a harder time, one that he didn't like to relive. He saw the angry faces in the crowd. He felt the impact of the first thrown object. The tears welled up in his eyes as his friends stood before him, defending him.

And a figure, almost blurred into the crowd, cloaked and hidden. But something about him was fascinating Will, even in his circumstances. Something about the way the figure carried himself, something comfortable and familiar.

That feeling still came to him whenever he was near his prince.

Something that had been sleeping in his soul awakened in that moment, when Edward stepped forward and revealed himself in his defense for William. Something warm and happy.

It had taken him days afterwards to place it. And when he did, it terrified him. Because to be in love with the Black Prince felt like no sin he had ever committed.

And it felt worse to know he could never have him.

That night, with the drivel of water against his head, he wandered, both in mind and body.

Prince Edward was a noble. Or at least he looked it.

Restrained, clear and focused. His every step seemingly planned before it was taken. His clean state. His demanding presence.

But there, below the surface, was something more. A wild spirit waiting, wanting, to be set free. It was expressed in the way he would look at small boys playing night in the street, a look filled with an envy that William had to laugh at. The way he would disguise himself just to be able to enter a jousting tournament. The way he would help an imposter peasant, just because the peasant had once charged against him instead of surrendering.

It was a spirit that William loved, and one that William wanted more then anything, but it was also a spirit that William could not have.

As he walked along the path, the rain began to let up, revealing a hooded figure on a dark horse coming up the road, towards him. A warm feeling crept through William and he smiled.

He would just have to be content to gaze at the beauty from a distance, the beauty that wasn't only skin deep.

~end~

A/N Ahhhh! Don't kill me! I know this was just… stupid sentimental drivel. Was it even angst? I couldn't tell. Damn me *smacks herself over the head several times* Damn me!!!