Sorry it's been forever. I have not been in a Ranger's Apprentice mood lately until my mom bought me books eleven and twelve. Can't wait to read! No spoilers please! Anyway, enjoy the second chapter of More than Friends?

…

"So, you and Horace seemed to have a good time last night," Halt commented lightly on the way to the Ranger meeting ground. Will turned in the saddle and peered at his mentor closely. Halt was never one to break a stretch of silence himself, and in truth the apprentice ranger had been awfully quiet on the ride, but that was because he could still feel the tingle Horace's lips left when he'd brushed them against his. Tug nickered a soft agreement with his mentor, and Will had a feeling he was being set up.

"It was pleasant," he replied carefully, taking a great interest in his mottled cloak. The grizzled older ranger snorted in a very un-Halt like fashion and turned to glance at his apprentice.

"I would say it was more than pleasant," he remarked. "I open your door to hush you both and you'd already fallen asleep against the warrior's chest and he himself is drifting off into slumber. I take it you slept well?" Halt would never admit this to Will, but he was worried about his apprentice's sleeping patterns these days. With the test growing closer, and the anxiety gnawing at his stomach, he knew the boy got very little sleep the last couple of weeks. He would mumble in his sleep at all hours of the night and would toss and turn until his blankets hung off his small bed. Scowling at the intrusion of his privacy, Will hunched in his saddle and peered straight ahead for a while.

"Yeah," he said at last. "I think it was the best sleep I've gotten in a few weeks…" He trailed off, thinking for a moment or two. "Yes, definitely better than the night before." He'd slept like the dead, which was good because he knew the taller youth snored when he was deep in sleep. He remained quiet and thoughtful for a full ten minutes, finally breaking the silence by adding, "But we're only friends, nothing more. Besides, rangers and knights wouldn't make a good pair."

"Why not?" Halt asked quizzically. He thought the scene from the previous night was actually quite cute, in a rather curious way. If the boy wished to explore his sexuality, the grizzled ranger wouldn't mind in the slightest. He himself might not be gay, but he certainly wasn't going to belittle his apprentice if that was the case. "You and Horace get along great. Mind you, if anything happens between you two, you would both need to keep your heads in your studies." Will felt a splash of red surfacing on his cheeks as his mentor talked about his apparent relationship with the battle school apprentice.

"We're just friends Halt!" the boy insisted, urging his horse faster, more out of embarrassment than trying to get away from the relentless gentle teasing's of his mentor. Hiding a smile deep within the folds of his cloak, Halt urged Abelard after Tug.

…

"Here we are!" Halt said with mock flourish as the quickly galloped into the training grounds. Will noted all the rangers from the other fiefs, as well as some other apprentices, much like himself. There seemed to be only three of them right now, Will himself, and two apprenticed to much older rangers from fiefs farther away than Redmont. Will gulped. He knew the training would be an intense affair, but coupled with the fact he wasn't the only apprentice, this just made the whole damn thing much worse.

"I'm going to go practice," Will commented lightly, signaling the targets set up for practice shots. Halt nodded shortly as Will dismounted, slung his bow over his shoulders, and picked his way over to the series of five targets. Each was a little farther than the last, and every other was elevated. And to make matters worse, they appeared to be spread out and random. Sighing, Will set the string in his bow and nocked an arrow, sighing and firing. As soon as it leapt away from the string, he knew he miscalculated. The arrow sailed high, missing not one, but two targets as it passed. The apprentice ranger groaned in dismay as he realized he'd have to find that arrow later. The tall, muscular, battle school apprentice was still in his head, and would most likely remain there for the time they were away from Redmont and the surrounding woods.

"Sharp shooting there," one of the other apprentices remarked sarcastically. "If you keep that up, you may make average in no time. Have you only been training a week?" Will felt the beginnings of red on his cheeks again at the apprentices close scrutiny of his shooting ability.

"Oh now leave him alone," Gilan said, striding up silently behind them. The other apprentice boy whirled around, eyes widening in shock. "Will here probably has a lot on his mind. After all, being Halt's apprentice is not an easy task." The older ranger laid a little extra stress on Halt's name, and both apprentices now turned to look at Will both admirably and fearfully. "Come on Will, I'll give you some pointers on silent sneaking if you want." Gilan lay his hand gently on the small boy's back, guiding him away from the other boys.

"I shot awful Gilan!" the boy protested before they'd gone five meters. "There was no reason for me to miss that shot." Gilan smiled easily at the dismayed boy. Halt clued him in on Will's current predicament, and they both knew that the little piece of news might affect the boy's ability ever so slightly.

"Is it because you're too busy thinking about Horace?" the older ranger asked gently. Will gaped at him in amazement. He was unaware of Halt's and Gilan's meeting, and it appeared to him his mentors former apprentice seemed to have read his mind.

"How'd you know?" he asked, mouth agape. Gilan just smiled and winked at him.

"I have my ways," he replied easily. "So what is up with you and Horace? You really enjoyed your time with him in Celtica. You guys became awfully close during that trip, did you not?" Will looked sharply away from the older ranger. It was true. Horace was a strong, comforting presence during their long, hard trip in foreign lands, and he quickly became the boy's best friend.

"Yes," he replied softly. "We did. But we're only friends. Nothing more. I really want to be more than friends with him, but…" He trailed off, and Gilan patted his back reassuring.

…

Will tossed and turned in his tent, unable to fall asleep for very long. His thoughts were plagued by Horace, and the muscular youth's easy smile and quick wit. He emerged from inside the tent, blinking at the relative quiet and peace of the rangers' meeting ground, broken only by the occasional snore or mumble. Gilan's tent was set up next door, and the older ranger occasionally mumbled and tossed in his sleep. Will sighed. It was going to be a long few days.

…

Horace found he was having trouble sleeping without the warmth of a small body next to him. He lay on his back for hours, staring at the barracks ceiling. Sighing, he rolled onto his side and was surprised to find wetness on his pillow. He guessed he never realized how lonely he would be without the apprentice ranger. But they would never be anything more than friends, right?

…

Well, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! R&R!