[ the exhaustion is palpable; thomas doesn't need the empathy bond to spot it or guess its cause.
his hand finds the name of william's neck, curling there, resting, holding on. keeping william close to him. he doesn't think william needs permission to rest against him, to breathe, but if he should need it after all, he has it.
(thomas is, at his core, solid and dutiful. it isn't obvious that that is the heart of him, not in an england that sees him and thinks posh first and foremost, but it is no less true for other people's perceptions of him.
he can be the thing keeping the world at bay long enough for others to rest.)
no subject
his hand finds the name of william's neck, curling there, resting, holding on. keeping william close to him. he doesn't think william needs permission to rest against him, to breathe, but if he should need it after all, he has it.
(thomas is, at his core, solid and dutiful. it isn't obvious that that is the heart of him, not in an england that sees him and thinks posh first and foremost, but it is no less true for other people's perceptions of him.
he can be the thing keeping the world at bay long enough for others to rest.)
eventually, softly: ] You should rest.