[ He tenses—in his shoulders, stomach muscles going taut as John slides the piece of plastic into his waistband.
It's fucking cold.
William's fingers still. He gives John a look, a flat stare about the length of a prison sentence, and resists the urge to take a step back. ] You need to rest. [ With gentle deliberation, he unhitches the other man's finger from his pants and guides his arm back to the bed, giving his hand a pat.
The mockery in his voice just as gentle: ] Must take a lot out of you, being this charming.
[ William shrugs the rest of the way out of the shirt, as if to shuck John's attention along with it. He folds the shirt lengthwise, drapes it over the back of the chair.
He turns so John can see it better: the tattoo branching like lightning, like a network of roots or nerves, across the left side of his back. Reaching, it almost seems, for his neck. William admires it himself, glancing over his shoulder, absently tracing a tendril with his finger.
He smiles. Somewhere along the way, he's settled into his skin. ] It's something, huh.
YOU LEAVE THE WATER BOTTLES OUT OF THIS
It's fucking cold.
William's fingers still. He gives John a look, a flat stare about the length of a prison sentence, and resists the urge to take a step back. ] You need to rest. [ With gentle deliberation, he unhitches the other man's finger from his pants and guides his arm back to the bed, giving his hand a pat.
The mockery in his voice just as gentle: ] Must take a lot out of you, being this charming.
[ William shrugs the rest of the way out of the shirt, as if to shuck John's attention along with it. He folds the shirt lengthwise, drapes it over the back of the chair.
He turns so John can see it better: the tattoo branching like lightning, like a network of roots or nerves, across the left side of his back. Reaching, it almost seems, for his neck. William admires it himself, glancing over his shoulder, absently tracing a tendril with his finger.
He smiles. Somewhere along the way, he's settled into his skin. ] It's something, huh.