"Men, make haste!" The command sounded throughout the woods, pointed by the pounding of the horse's hooves against the dirt and fallen leaves as a small gathering of men rode into the forest - The trotting of the frightened boar got closer and closer and the anticipation of the kill made the blood pulse wildly in Prince Harry's veins and a large grin spread across his face as he tapped his heels against his horse, putting distance between himself and his men.

Hunting was one of the few pleasures the Prince could indulge in without feeding his father's spite too greatly.

As the wild animal's sounds lead into a nearby clearing, Hal made a point to dismount and settle his horse's reins, grip firm on his hunting bow, and to run a couple of miles on foot before stopping on his tracks to listen - the silence positioning his men far behind and the boar at a slower pace, now somewhere among the surrounding vegetation.

Smiling, Hal brought the bow forward and reached for an arrow, steadying it between his fingers as he slowly rotated on himself, following the muffled clutter before him. In a split second he turned sharply and fired an arrow at mid-ground, grinning at the whine the animal let out. For a second, Hal was paralyzed in place, listening - to his surprise the shot had not been fatal, as he could hear the boar approaching at an impressive pace. Resilient beast, he thought, moving to place a second arrow on the bow.

Suddenly, the wild boar burst from the vegetation, its eyes unfocused by instinct and his mouth dripping with blood which was also vivid on the animal's back, where the first arrow had scraped.

Hal had only time to cross his bow and his free arm in front of himself in defence before the sharp sound of metal cut the air and he felt the beast tumble violently against his leg, a hunting axe carved firmly on his scalp.

The approaching sound of his men's horses finally snapped Hal back into awareness and he kicked at the dead boar in disgust before looking around in bewilderment. "Reveal yourself!" He yelled at the wilderness around him.

A soft rustling of the leaves was the only sound heard before an unknown man came into sight, his expression grim and his steps silent.

"Who are you?" The man ignored Hal in favour of continuing to advance on him at a steady pace. "The future King demands your identity, stranger!"

The stranger simply spared Hal an unimpressed glance before approaching the boar's carcass, working the axe loose from the animal's flesh and proceeding to wipe the dark blood against his trousers, "Thy royal liege should not face the outside dangers. The Crown needs its heir."

The axeman's tone rang as mockery upon Hal's ears, "Mind your tongue, fellow, as you know who you are addressing you'd do well to show me due respect."

The other man scoffed as he put the axe back on the belt by his waist. Hal's men had begun to join them, one by one dismounting their horses and gathering alongside the Prince in a defensive stance; one of them pulled out his sword and pointed it at the stranger, looking sideways at Hal, awaiting command. Hal waved him down, "The man saved what I might gather might have been my life, put your sword away." He took a step closer to where the axeman was still standing next to the dead boar "I shall ask one final time. Your name."

"Tis the huntsman, my Prince", one of his hunt companions replied "May he not be known for his manners he is spoken as skilful in battle. The fellows down at the alehouse tell of him often."

"Strange," Hal frowned, "I have never seen you around town."

"Perhaps, my liege has seen but has not taken notice." Came the huntsman's reply.

"And your real name?"

"Not for ears such as yours or yours fellow scoundrels," the Huntsman spat. Immediately all four of Hal's men circled him, the Huntsman held his hands up with a smile "Ah, the truth stings but bitterly."

Hal shook his head, "Be it as you may, I still owe you a debt of gratitude, I will have you follow us back to the castle where you shall be properly rewarded."

"I wish for no reward, Prince Harry. Save your father's gold, for you will surely have need of it once you are king."

The Prince's eyebrows rose up in amused surprise "Your reputation as a reckless speaker perceives you, I see. And what are you implying, pray tell."

The Huntsman made to turn away but had his path blocked. "I spoke enough, keep your reward for I have no need of it and let me be."

After pondering for a moment, Hal nodded to the man blocking the Huntsman's way and he was free to walk, disappearing among the woods in a matter of seconds. Hal let out a loud laugh "Such spirit! Why have I never heard of this huntsman before?"

His companions made haste in gathering around him "He deserved to be punished, not rewarded, my liege, addressing royalty in such fashion is-"

Hal cut him off with a dismissive wave "Leave him be, the man might have ruined the hunt but he saved my life; let the commoners speak, for words shed no blood."

And so I believe this is not the last time we shall cross paths, my spiteful friend, he thought with a smile.

A couple of days had passed since the incident in the clearing and Hal had made a point to keep an alert eye for a sulky fellow with a sharp axe on his belt and a sharper tongue between his teeth but soon his attentions were mellowed by the heady mixture of ale and loud words, laughter and drunken stuttering.

The poke to the ribs came out of nowhere, jolting him awake from his sitting position at one of the tavern's tables. Hal turned to leer at Poins "What was the purpose of that?"

"Tis him, Harry, the hunter fellow you have been searching for. Right over there, by the fire."

Hal's gaze followed his friend's until he finally saw him - the Huntsman was sitting alone in a table by the fireplace, his hands around a large pint of ale and his eyes staring into nothingness - he seemed mostly absent to the flurry of movement around him, save for when the ale girl passed by, when he would draw attention to the pint with a short movement of his head so as to see it refilled. A grin spread through Hal's face and he stopped the tavern wench with a barely firm grip on her arm, motioning her to come closer "That fellow over there," he directed her eyes to the Huntsman "What do you know of him?"

"Comes here every so often, my liege," the woman replied with a nervous smile "Doesn't talk much he does but generous tipper."

"I see..." Hal let go of her wrist and turned back to Poins "Does my royal father not lack good men by his side? I am sure I could use someone like him. I mean..." his voice slurred, "The King might use someone like him."

"I do not think it a good idea. From what you said he did not seem keen on accepting anything from you, eh?"

Hal laughed "We shall see, we shall see. Every man has a price." He gestured to the tavern girl again, his limbs as loose as his tongue. As she approached the table, Hal held a gold piece in front of her widening eyes and giggled "Keep the Huntsman's pint full, my flower, but be sure to only tell him of this by the time he's leavin'." He dropped the coin on the floor, quickly turning his attention back to Poins as the girl scurried to catch the gold.

"Bad idea, my liege." Poins said "He will not be amused by this."

"Did I by any means claim I wanted him to be amused?" Hal spread his arms on the table and hid his grinning face between them. "The man has spark, my friend, meddling with his gloomy stance is exactly what I intend."

A couple of hours dragged by - The Huntsman continued to drink slowly but steadily, while Hal and his friends had grown too burdened with drunkenness and sleep to keep up their loud conversations, instead falling into silence pointed by whomever happened to come to awareness at the moment and then fall into a light slumber again.

Finally, the Huntsman held his hand in front of his pint to let the girl know he'd had enough, and as he was beginning to search through his belt pocket for payment, the girl interrupted him in a nervously hasty tone "No need, sir, courtesy of the Prince, sir."

The Huntsman raised his head to meet her eyes "What did you say?"

"Prince Harry, sir, over there" She pointed to Hal's table, where Hal was making a poor display of bored interest in the scene taking place at the Huntsman's table. "Paid for the lot of your service he did."

The Huntsman stood still for a moment before standing up and marching straight towards Hal, who tried to stand up with a provocative smile but was instead yanked by the lapels of his coat and pushed against the nearest wall. "And he does not disappoint," he grinned.

"I do not need my expenses paid by another. Must you insist on plaguing me?" the Huntsman hissed at Hal, who held his hands up in surrender.

"Tis but a gesture of good faith, my friend. Consider it a small payment for saving my life on that day past."

The Huntsman seemed to consider this for a moment before shaking Hal once more "I said it before, I do not require gratitude from you, o Harry Prince of Wales. To be absent of your existence is what I most desire." He observed with mild curiosity as something like hurt flashed through Hal's face, but quickly discarded it as part of the Prince's drunken state.

Poins took a brave step forward but kept his distance in fear of the Huntsman's rage "Mind your actions, fellow, you are addressing the royal Prince."

"I know well enough whom I am addressing," replied the Huntsman, not taking his eyes off Hal "And I owe allegiance to the King, not to his disgrace of a spawn. Not yet." He finally let go of Hal and made to leave, briefly stopping on his tracks to throw a number of small coins at the serving girl before turning and leaving the tavern.

The sound of Hal letting himself drag down against the wall to sit on the floor broke the heavy silence that had fallen on the tavern, followed by Hal's string of nearly demented chuckling. Poins ran to help him up, patting him in the back "I warned thee such provocation would end poorly."

Hal let himself be pulled back to his feet, still laughing, "That is where you are wrong... this was nothing but perfect. Allegiance to mine royal father he says? So we shall prove soon enough." And he dismissed his friend's confused look with another laugh.

The beating upon his front door woke the Huntsman up early the next morning. He sat up on the bed immediately, taking a moment to look around in confusion. Visitors were extremely rare, much less at such an hour.

As the knocking continued, the Huntsman moved to open the door, behind which stood a pair of guards whose garments made it clear they belonged to no mere patrols but to the King's service. Last night's incident at the tavern flashed briefly through the Huntsman's mind and he wondered briefly if the Prince had took such a low stance as to send for his imprisonment. He found the thought to be bitter and hilarious in equal measures.

"Thou art here summoned to the Royal King's presence, Henry IV, and are to follow us at once."

The Huntsman kept calm and offered a small smile "Upon what charges am I being dragged out of mine own house?"

The guard who had spoken frowned in polite surprise, "No charges."

Upon entering the Great Hall of the Royal Castle, the Huntsman was greeted by a fairly large number of Court members crowding the way to the throne, where the King sat, flanked by his son who was close by his left shoulder. The Huntsman moved forward, briefly sparing a glance at Hal, who gave a smile in return; he stood in front of the King and kneeled "Thou hast summoned my presence, my King?"

Henry commanded him to rise with an impatient gesture of his hand "Stand, stand, thou art here for noble cause." At the Huntsman look of vague confusion, he sighed "Only recently have tales of thy... bravery reached mine ears. Be it as it may, reward is due to those paying free service to the crown. I am told you saved my son a number of days past?"

The Huntsman flinched in irritation but kept a passive composure "It was nothing of importance, I did but my duty, Your Grace."

"Aye, aye." The King looked sideways at Hal with what could only be described as disdain. "I care not for details, be it true, as well as rumours of your quality in battle I have called upon thee to offer you a place at the guard, may it be just reward."

"I thank thee most humbly Your Grace but I do not-"

"Excellent, be it done." He interrupted "What is your name?"

The Huntsman let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and tried very hard to avoid catching a glimpse of the expression on the Prince's face "Eric, Your Grace."

Hal's smile of triumph was impossible to ignore and Eric gritted his teeth as the King dictated another handful of formalities with little attention and commanded his dismiss. It was clear Henry cared little for such petty affairs, and if the relationship between him and his son was as sour as the people said, Hal must have either given him golden arguments or bothered him to no end to see such travesty of a title poised upon the Huntsman.

Eric was to enter the Palace's service as soon as he was made presentable and trained by the respective elements of the King's men. Still, he made directly for home, where he sat heavily on the chair by the dying fire and slowly rationalized his anger - a life of duty had been common to him for many years and a position in the royal guard was considered both comfortable and handsomely paid by a man of his status. The prospect of being under direct command of the Prince for what might well be his entire life... not so much.

Giving up the illusion of being able to calm himself, Eric made for the tavern - it was still early after sundown but he was in no mood for sobriety. Luckily, his evening went undisturbed and the idea of initiating service the following morning was becoming more and more of a reality as the hours dragged by.

All supplies were to be collected at the Castle's armoury, under supervision of one of the King's Guard chiefs but instead of making directly to the armoury the following day, Eric let himself pace the corridors for long minutes, a luxury he had never been allowed before. He was a man of nature, he belonged in the woods, not in a stone fortress; the entire place, with its longs arches and never-ending hallways made him feel trapped in a place little larger than his own body.

Suddenly, the figure of Prince Hal was visible at the end of the corridor, his usual nonchalant posture becoming even more obnoxious upon catching sight of the Huntsman. They kept walking towards each other, Eric intent on ignoring him at all costs or, if he were unlucky in his patience, punching the Prince in the face.

As they finally met in the middle of the corridor, Hal swiftly slipped a hand between them to give Eric's belt a sharp tug, making him turn around with an already furious expression. "Is not kindness due?" Hal asked with a small laugh.

"Due for what cause? For making a fool out of me by manipulating your father into this?"

Hal smiled wider "I did no such thing, tis common practice to reward such actions as yours handsomely."

"I do not wish for this, and you very well know it. But let it be known, I still serve the King, and you are not my King."

"Tsk tsk," Hal shook his head "That attitude will not support your cause here, I could have you hanged for treason just for looking at me the way you do." The Huntsman clenched his fists by his side and Hal laughed. "You really are a most fascinating character. Why do you hate me so, Eric?"

"You are not your father's son. You live as a commoner of the lowest pride and you have no honour. If God be just you shall never ascend the throne."

Hal's eyebrows shot up with genuine surprise, "I enjoy your reckless nature but do mind your words before I change my mind." Suddenly he was smiling again and patting Eric on the shoulder, already turning to leave "Ah, but what am I to make of mine own eyes when they see nothing but good in people." And with that he was gone, leaving Eric to fume silently in the middle of the corridor for a long couple of minutes.

As soon as the day began to darken, it honestly came to no surprise for Eric to be summoned to the Prince's chambers. The only real surprise was to imagine Hal in his castle chambers and not passed out in some nearby tavern.

The place was poorly lit, the only sources of light a dozen candles spread through the chambers, most of them by the writing table, were Hal sat fumbling with a handful of papers. Eric waited for no reply as he knocked on the door once and entered right after, standing rigidly by the door in wait of whatever provocation the Prince had in store for him this time. Hal spared him a quick glance before gesturing him hither and returning his attention to his papers. Eric was largely surprised to see him demonstrate any sort of duty keeping, but waited in silence, a defiant look on his face.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hal put the papers in a neat pile on top of the desk and stood, approaching the Huntsman with a bright smile. "Good of you to come in such short notice, I have important news." When Eric failed to reply, Hal gave a dramatic sigh of despair. "Thou might as well talk, we are friends after all."

"We are no friends, I am your father's guard, no more, no less."

"Were my royal father's guard. I would have you named mine very own guard. I heard the King of France is quite fond of private guards."

Eric's nostrils flared with anger, "And what purpose would that serve?"

Hal took a couple of steady steps towards him until they were standing mere inches apart, "I need someone like you by my side." His smile fell "A prince is, we might say, victim of many dangers in dark times such as these. Besides, I already told you I happen to be quite fond of you."

"I despise everything you represent." Eric took a step forward, forcing Hal to take one back.

"I know."

"You are insufferable and have been nothing but a thorn on my side ever since I saved your miserable life."

"I know." Hal took another step back, his hand feeling for the wall behind his back.

Eric closed the distance between them again. "And yet you insist in torturing me by inflicting your presence on me."

"Yes."

"Why is that?"

Hal's back was completely against the wall now, "I enjoy your company."

"Why?"

Hal made no reply, simply tilting his chin up in a smug smile which caused Eric's blood to boil in his brain.

Faster than thought, Eric erased that unnerving smile by covering it with his own mouth, barely registering how Hal mimicked the motion which caused their lips to part under the pressure.

Suddenly pulling apart, Eric's gaze unfocused with shock for a moment while Hal seemed barely surprised. "Will you work with me for the benefit of both or will you insist on acting like a bitter brute?" The Prince asked.

Blinking back into consciousness, Eric looked at Hal with a mix of confusion and irritation in his face, "I... won't. 'Tis not rational."

Hal tilted his chin up once more, bringing their faces near each other again "Those who live their lives only on reason often live no life at all."

"Your logic is twisted and senseless…"

"That is why 'tis no logic at all. I find nothingness to be greatly underrated."

"Yet nothing will come of nothing." Eric whispered with no real spark before meeting Hal half-way into another kiss, this time allowing his hands to come between them and tug at Hal's jacket.

The sensation of the kiss was alarming to both - Eric's unshaven cheeks were a vivid reminder of what was happening, and Hal groaned against the Huntsman's mouth, placing his own hands around Eric's wrists and guiding them to slide his jacket down his shoulders and unto the ground.

When he felt Hal run out of breath, Eric broke the kiss and locked his lips under Hal's jaw, trying to push thoughts of self-judgment away from his mind as Hal gripped his shoulders tightly and pressed against him more firmly, grinding his crotch slowly against Eric's hip.

They pulled apart, Hal's hands still on Eric's shoulders. Hal searched the Huntsman's eyes for any signs of regret or even disgust but all he found was the same kind of annoyed confusion from before. "Stay for tonight."

"Tell me the purpose of this." Eric caught Hal's hand as it started to wander through his chest "Are you so set on making a mockery of me that you would go to such lengths?"

Hal smiled, "I imagine spirit such as yours has enchanted me." He worked his hand free of Eric's with little effort and splayed it across his chest, briefly thankful that the man was not yet wearing the traditional royal armour.

Unable to work his way past the Prince's words into real mischief, Eric sighed and let Hal nudge him into tilting his head back so Hal could press a kiss against his neck, "You are still hateful to me."

"Uh hum…"

"I do not know why this is to happen, but I assure you it means nothing and I am not to be made your puppet."

"Hum," Hal licked across Eric's neck to his earlobe, catching it between his teeth with a playful grin. "I would not have it any other way."

"Very well." Eric's hands joined Hal's into getting rid of his own tunic, which joined the jacket on the floor.

Keeping his mouth on Eric's neck, Hal looped two fingers on his belt and tugged, slowly guiding them towards the large bed by the fireplace. Eric let out a broken gasp as Hal bit down on his neck with reasonable strength, kissing the mark immediately afterwards, "Do not allow me to do anything which displeases you, this is not a show of power," Hal murmured. Eric nodded but made no reply, only turning them around so he could sit on the bed, Hal crawling on top of him to bring their lips together and to run his hands through the sides of Eric's torso.

To see Hal pull away slightly, his bottom lip still caught between Eric's teeth was a dangerously alluring sight, and Eric wondered briefly how a future king could look as enticing as he did in that moment. It was hardly fair.

Hal worked briefly on setting his belt free, throwing it to the side and moving to unlace his shirt but was interrupted as Eric covered his hands with his own and gave a sharp pull, tearing the fabric with little effort. Hal raised his eyebrows at him in amusement and shook his arms behind his back, the ruined shirt falling off with ease. Eric's face remained composed and that was something Hal could not decide was due to self-control or unnecessary acting. He kissed the side of Eric's mouth softly, coaxing him to smile involuntarily and pulling away just quickly enough to catch sigh of said smile "I think I like you better like this."

To his surprise, Eric kept the smile, thought forced at it looked and laced his hands around Hal's waist, pulling him closer "Thou must forgive me for having no reason to smile."

Hal pressed a finger against his lips to silence him and got a hold of his neck, rubbing it briefly and feeling the nods of tension lying just under Eric's skin. Hal decided to ignore it, he had given Eric plenty of chances to hold back and stand aside, if he had to work around some hesitancy to get the Huntsman to be fully cooperative... he was fine with that. He pressed one of his knees against Eric's crotch, feeling the way friction slowly made the matching pressure more and more insistent. As Eric let out a soft groan, Hal ceased his movements and stood, looking pointedly at Eric's belt while starting to unlace his own breeches. Eric opened his eyes at the lost of contact and took off his belt, moving further towards the end of the bed so he could pull Hal into it again, his hands grabbing Hal by his lower back as the breeches were finally discarded and Hal was left to stand in front of Eric in his undergarments.

Letting himself be pulled back into Eric's lap, Hal kneeled between his open legs and moved a hand between them, feeling their matching erections barely touching through the layers of clothing; he gave the waist of Eric's trousers an impatient tug, rolling to the side and lying on his back, waiting. Eric took a brief moment to admire the scene before him: Hal's hair was dishevelled and shone golden under the feeble light of the candles by the bedside - his ridiculously white skin seemed almost touched by the sun in such light.

After removing his trousers and setting them aside, Eric crawled naked next to Hal, running a tentative hand up his inner leg and resting it briefly on his half-hard cock, giving it an experimental circling motion, vaguely registering the way Hal threw his head back into the pillow with a soft gasp. When Eric's hand ceased moving, Hal's breath was already irregular and his erection pressed firmly against his pants; Hal pulled himself up by his elbows and grabbed Eric's wrist, urgently pulling him close.

Ignoring how much Eric's emotionless face still bothered him, Hal kissed him open-mouthed, using the leverage of Eric's larger frame to pull himself back into a sitting position and climbing on his lap once more, spreading his legs on either side of Eric's tights. Hal placed an arm over Eric's shoulders for support and moved closer, grinding their crotches together and allowing himself a small private smile as he heard Eric's breath catch in his throat - he was fully hard between them and had been, as far as Hal had noticed, for quite sometime now, Hal did not know if he was supposed to feel flattered or to simply admire Eric's capacity. He brought a hand between them to curls his fingers around Eric and give a few slow strokes before raising his hips to allow his pants to be unlaced and shown little more ceremony than his shirt had earlier; he rolled his eyes and was delighted as what appeared to be the smallest, but genuine smile, threatened to force the corners of Eric's mouth up. Not wanting to press the facial expression subject while more urgent matters were at hand, Hall resumed his handwork, interrupting it only to take hold of them both and stroking in unison, causing a fresh wave of thrilling pleasure to shake their already fickle composure.

By the time Hal pulled back from Eric's neck to look at his face again, he finally met something other that feigned boredom - Eric's mouth was half-open as he panted softly and his cheeks were dark with heat, a single droplet of sweat shinning on his hairline. Hal ran his fingers through Eric's hair and kissed his neck once more before moving to speak in his ear, "Lay down, I need to reach something from the bedside table."

Eric obeyed with no protest and Hal followed his motion, lying on top of him and extending his arm towards the bedside table, opening the first drawer and feeling around for a moment to find the small vial of scented oil he was searching for. He pulled himself back up and Eric followed, resting a hand on Hal's lower back and looking at the vial in his hand with a raised eyebrow.

Hal met his eyes and snorted "You might hate me but do not fool yourself in thinking you'd get to express it in such a way, this is supposed to make it easier for the both of us."

Ignoring Hal's jab, Eric took the flask from his hand and, working the small cork loose with his teeth, poured a string of liquid between them, the suddenly cold sensation making them both squirm slightly. The vial was placed on the further side of the bed and Eric took them both in hand, the now warm oil making the motions fluid and fast. Suddenly, Hal's grip on his shoulder became painful and Eric stopped moving his hand, "Do it now, do it now or I will not last much longer." Hal panted against his neck.

Feeling almost blindly for the oil again, Eric dislodged himself from Hal, who took the chance to lie on his stomach, slightly perched on his shoulders and his forehead buried in the pillow. When a longer moment than he expected passed, Hal turned his head to look at Eric, who was sitting by Hal's feet, flask in hand and a pensive look on his face.

"Please do not tell me that-"

"This will not do, you must turn around." Eric interrupted.

Hal frowned briefly before obeying, turning around and spreading his legs to allow Eric room to come closer, lifting Hal's legs on top of his own and running a hand through his back, pulling him closer. Hal lay down again and Eric placed the vial precariously on Hal's flat chest to free his hands, taking a light hold of Hal's buttocks and spreading them apart, pressing his erection against the line of Hal's bottom and rocking back and forward slowly, the oil still slick between them. Hal made a grab for the vial which threatened to fall from his chest and pressed his arse down, urging Eric to move on and extending his hand blindly for him to make use of the lubricant again. Eric took the vial and poured its remaining content on his free hand before taking himself in hand and applying a generous coat of oil; he lined himself up and slowly started to push inside, at the same time reaching for one of Hal's arms and prompting him into sitting up gradually.

The process took some time, Hal's small gasps of discomfort made Eric stop his movements a couple of times before he was completely inside him, Hal now in a semi-sitting position on Eric's lap. When he felt Hal's muscles relax around him, Eric placed his hands on Hal's hips, urging him into starting a tentative rhythm, his waist rolling slowly but steadily and Eric concentrated on the sensation alone, burying his face in Hal's hair and squeezing his hips tightly - Hal panted softly in his ear and his legs came to warp around Eric's lower-back, his hands on his shoulders and his movements becoming more and more desperate.

Eric raised a hand to Hal's neck, turning it to get a look of his face - Hal's pupils were huge in the half-light, his cockiness gone to give way to an expression of supplication. Eric kissed him, beginning to move in and out of his body with increasing speed before Hal was forced to break the kiss to steady his breathing, his hand coming down between them to work his own erection which stood leaking between their stomachs. Eric's hand joined his and they worked Hal into orgasm together, Hal throwing his head back to give a silent cry and Eric lunging forward to mouth at his neck and wiping his hand on the sheets with little ceremony so he could catch a handful of Hal's messy hair. Eric's trusting grew insistent, Hal's body still pliant on top of his, until Eric felt himself near as well and made to pull out but was stopped by Hal's legs which laced harder behind him, keeping him inside as he came with a violent shudder, his grip on Hal's hair turning tighter before his muscles began to relax once more as a pleasant buzzing sensation washed through him.

Hal let himself fall into his back, Eric pulling out of him and turning around to fall next to Hal with a dry thump, his mind working itself back into awareness and his breathing returning to its normal silent state. Beside him, Hal had a hand on his own chest, his heartbeat still echoing loudly in his ears when suddenly a vaguely unpleasant thought came crashing through his mind.

"Do you… have anyone?" Hal asked

The question caught Eric by surprise, who was pondering on the merits of giving in to weariness and falling asleep - still, he saw no reason to begrudge Hal for asking, although his timing was seriously misplaced. "No." A moment of tense silence dragged between them until Eric broke it again "Not anymore."

"I am sorry."

"You are not."

"I do not know your story but loss is always something to regret, I can comprehend that much."

"It matters not, what is in the past there should remain, this is no business of yours."

Hal raised himself, putting most of his weight on his shoulder to look at Eric who was still on his back, his gaze fixed on some invisible point above him. "I did not lie to you."

Surprisingly, Eric believed him, if only for that moment, even if the possibility of self-hatred seemed possible enough to come the next morning, "I believe you."

"...I will not change," Hal's tone was light.

"Perhaps not. Perhaps I will not either."

Hal had to smile at that. "Be it as it may, if by some jest of the gods change does come we shall be present to witness it." He felt Eric tense briefly next to him before relaxing and turning his head to look at Hal, who fell against the pillows and stood still for a moment before grinning at the ceiling. "And certainly make a point of it to each other."

The sound of genuine laughter was the last thing Hal heard before he finally allowed himself to close his eyes, sleep claiming him in a matter of minutes.