William Holloway

I'm a devil in disguise

Even despite Sebastian's comment on just how horrible of a husband he would have been to his sister, William found his own thoughts far away from the topic at hand. Even as the Hunter heard Sebastian's words that his marriage was not his first, he certainly didn't focus on those words, nor give himself pause to consider that Sebastian might have, once upon a time, loved another person. Instead, William allowed himself to consider his sister, to think of how he would have felt to know Sebastian was married to her. Once, William had thought it the worst thing in the world for Georgiana to marry his best friend, and now...? Now he would have given anything to be beside Sebastian and to have the knowledge that he was married to someone he cared so deeply for. But perhaps, and it was a small perhaps, William could bring himself to care for the woman that Sebastian had chosen to marry. Maybe the Italian Queen could be someone that William, too, cherished, if only because he wanted Sebastian to be happy at his very core.

It was that line of thought that brought the next line of questioning to William's lips, that insistence that, if he were to protect Sebastian's life, he should meet the Queen of his heart. It had been an easy enough topic, or so he thought. William leaned up slightly at the confusion that danced across the pale features of his companion, his own brow wrinkling in confusion. "Seb?" He questioned, his words prompting the vampire to speak words that William certainly didn't want to hear. The idea of male heirs was hardly foreign to the Duke, and yet that thought certainly hadn't linked itself together with the person that Sebastian loved. Sebastian's words were met entirely with a blank look from William, the man hardly taking in the words that he was presented with as his brain scrambled to consider that the reason he wasn't with Sebastian had very little to do with their genders and very much to do with timing.

The quiet, timid voice that escaped his lips hardly sounded like himself, and yet he had to know the answer. He had to know if he'd have ever had a chance with Sebastian, or if those feelings that existed at the core of his being were... one sided. As soon as the words left his lips, William wanted to bring them back, to live in a world where he hadn't asked that question and he wasn't about to be presented with the answer. William's entire being seemed to tense, his gaze locked upon the ceiling even as he felt Sebastian shift and the weight of those blue eyes fall upon him. The ticking silence that continued between them only helped in solidifying that dread and self-loathing within the pit of his stomach. The sound of Sebastian's stammered voice slowly brought William's gaze to the vampire, even if those words didn't bring any comfort to the Englishman. Even if they were so carefully crafted, William saw the words for what they really were: the words you'd give when you were trying to be polite.

At the notion of finding his own soulmate, William found a soft scoff escaping his lips, his head shaking slightly. "It's fine, Sebastian," He said as he pushed himself to a sitting position. He dropped his head into his hands, sitting quietly as he pushed those feelings down, down, down. He had once lived in a world where the feelings he'd had for Sebastian had to be carefully hidden, and he was clearly stepping right back into that world. But a world with Sebastian in it was better than any world without him, even if he was merely the face that protected him, the bodyguard, the... best friend? At least, he hoped that role was one that he still held?

William pushed himself to his feet, standing a few feet away from the bed before he turned to look at Sebastian. "I accept the job," He said, his words slow as he tried to check the pain that bloomed within his chest. "I'll be your bodyguard. And... I guess I should meet your... King then." He swallowed, his eyes finally lifting to observe his friend. "Is now good?"