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arklaycounty2022-12-26 07:21 pm
retroviridae) wrote in arklaycounty2022-12-26 07:21 pm
i want to ruin our friendship / we should be lovers instead
[ Everything felt brighter, a little louder, blended at the edges, but not in a way the seventeen-year-old William Birkin minded. It was just nice. He wasn't even one for drinking—people had had parties at the executive training school, obviously; most of them were a handful of years older than himself and Al were, more than half of their classmates legally able to drink. But wine imbibed at a research conference was decidedly different in tone and dignity than jungle juice consumed on the floor of someone's dorm room in the middle of the Colorado woods. The latter Will had no interest in; the prior, he took part in now.
He'd spent most of the evening playing nice, interacting with people whose names he needed to know. People whom he wanted to know his name. William Birkin, child prodigy, Umbrella's youngest hire. Hours of this, the kind of thing he usually had no interest in, though he was at least able to spend a good portion of the time discussing their work.
Eventually things began to wind down; people started heading back up to their rooms or to the outside hotels they were staying at by way of the parking lot. They, fortunately, had a room on the third floor, neighboring that of Dr. Marcus and a few others. Umbrella had spared no expense. William looked around, finally caught sight of the slightly taller figure of Al Wesker, friend, colleague, temporary roommate for the duration of the trip. He waved a hand to catch his attention, trotted over.
Al looked... nice tonight, even moreso than usual. He couldn't say he'd ever seen him looking anything other than good, save for back when every little thing he did was infuriating, but he looked especially charming and clean-cut when he put more than the usual effort in, as he apparently had this evening. Formalwear suited him, as did the fluorescent-bulb chandelier lighting in the ballroom they were holding this event in. There wasn't much that didn't suit him, William had quickly learned.
The warmth of the usual inconvenient nervous energy blossomed in his chest as they regrouped, but he brushed it off, for the most part. It was easier, he found, in a vaguely intoxicated state. ]
Ready to go back up to the room?
He'd spent most of the evening playing nice, interacting with people whose names he needed to know. People whom he wanted to know his name. William Birkin, child prodigy, Umbrella's youngest hire. Hours of this, the kind of thing he usually had no interest in, though he was at least able to spend a good portion of the time discussing their work.
Eventually things began to wind down; people started heading back up to their rooms or to the outside hotels they were staying at by way of the parking lot. They, fortunately, had a room on the third floor, neighboring that of Dr. Marcus and a few others. Umbrella had spared no expense. William looked around, finally caught sight of the slightly taller figure of Al Wesker, friend, colleague, temporary roommate for the duration of the trip. He waved a hand to catch his attention, trotted over.
Al looked... nice tonight, even moreso than usual. He couldn't say he'd ever seen him looking anything other than good, save for back when every little thing he did was infuriating, but he looked especially charming and clean-cut when he put more than the usual effort in, as he apparently had this evening. Formalwear suited him, as did the fluorescent-bulb chandelier lighting in the ballroom they were holding this event in. There wasn't much that didn't suit him, William had quickly learned.
The warmth of the usual inconvenient nervous energy blossomed in his chest as they regrouped, but he brushed it off, for the most part. It was easier, he found, in a vaguely intoxicated state. ]
Ready to go back up to the room?
no subject
[ To his surprise—but also relief—Al was normal about getting changed. Good. He wasn't sure he could take it if his own best friend didn't feel comfortable changing in front of him any more.
—God, he looked good with his hair hanging in his face like this. William was struck by the sudden intense urge to brush the strands away from his eyes, but he shelved it, because what the fuck else was he going to do, repeat the events of last night apropos of nothing? ]
no subject
[ Dr. Marcus probably carried several pain relievers with him, along with god only knew what else. Some people were like walking pharmacies as they got older.
Wesker glanced up as he was buttoning his shirt and noticed Will looking at him. It didn't make him feel awkward, really, but he found himself wondering what his friend was thinking about. Something related to the previous night? He knew better than to askβfor now, anyway. Maybe later, when they didn't have a full day of human interaction ahead of them.
He brushed a lock of hair away from his face, but once he was finished dressing, Albert went straight to the bathroom to sweep it back with a comb. There wasn't enough time to do anything else with it. ]
Comb your hair, Will.
[ Normally he wouldn't bother with the reminder, but William looked very nice with his hair neatly combed. Though he was just attractive in general...
No. File that away for some other time. ]
no subject
[ William rolled his eyes with a quiet huff, but he still slipped past his friend to join him in standing in front of the mirror and ran his own comb through his hair. It was important enough that he look professional, especially here—most of these people were older than himself, even the college students.
It took Albert longer to finish with his own preening, mostly because he cared more. William canted his head in the direction of the door to the hallway when he set his comb back down. ]
Ready to head downstairs?
[ God, he was so good-looking. It wasn't fair—though William would be damned if he was going to let that distract him today. ]
no subject
Of course, Wesker was always meticulous about his own appearance. William was the only one who ever got to see him when he wasn't put together these days. Having Will see him completely disheveled first thing in the morning didn't bother him in the least.
Best not to run with that thought. ]
Yes, though I'm not particularly hungry.
[ He made a few last adjustments to his hair and made sure to slip their room key in his pocket. ]
The coffee is nice. Infinitely better than the motor oil we're used to choking down every day.
no subject
I don't mind it that much.
[ It was gross, yes, but it generally got the job done, at least. A hell of a lot stronger than the way his parents had made their coffee, but then again, they hailed from Rochester and Burlington, respectively. ]
Not that you're not right. It's better here, probably because they aren't cheaping out.
[ Whether or not Al was truly already at ease again or just... feigning it really well remained unclear, but William realized, as difficult as the thought was, that it'd only get it worse if he let it fester. He anxiously arranged and rearranged the words in his mind as they walked to the elevator, only speaking once the heavy steel doors had closed completely. ]
About last night. I didn't... mean anything. I think we were both pretty wasted.
[ Not really. Emboldened, yes, but hardly plastered. ]
no subject
This isn't a good time, Will. [ They needed to be able to maintain their focus through the day, and that was less likely to happen if they got into this now. ] We can discuss it tonight.
[ When they were back in the privacy of their room and were more likely to examine what had happened honestly. Not to mention more likely to speak honestly.
But Wesker recognized that his friend might be feeling anxious about it. He looked at him, then reached out to rest his hand on William's shoulder with the hope that the gesture would be at least a little reassuring. ]
Everything's fine.