What are men to rocks and mountains

The other man

There was only one week left to the party, and the pressure had started building at Button house. The house was now nearly all decorated- and the past week had been uneventful for them, a fact that Alison couldn't be more grateful for. There weren't a lot of uneventful days at Button house, but the ghosts now had William to entertain them alongside her, and she'd made it very clear she didn't want to be bothered while planning this event. Luckily they'd listened for one, which meant they would only bother her when William was at work or if they needed her specifically for something. It was simply blissful, having some time for herself- and Mike. They'd finally gotten to have a movie night a few nights ago, just the two of them, and Alison had slept through the entire week without being disturbed at 9 AM by over enthusiastic Kitty's or Poetry-reading Thomas's.

Julian had been dreading the event, probably more than anyone. The fact that a big company had chosen to rent out the entire house to throw an extravagant party was something that was all too familiar to him, so much so that he'd brought it up during one of Pat's clubs. It was good that the others had managed to calm him down somewhat, but he still felt more uncomfortable as the day of the event drew nearer. Kitty on the other hand, couldn't be more excited. They'd spent the last few days all collectively sighing at the hyper girl's imaginings of the party, and what she would wear if she could, and what food there was going to be.

It was a good time for everyone, but most of all for William and Teddy- who had been spending most of their time in the garden together. Though the cold December winds could be a bit mean sometimes, the sun was out most days, which was unusual for England this time of year- but neither of them had complained about it. The weak sunrays gave off just enough warmth for them to sit comfortably on a little bench with a cup of tea on the backside of the house, facing the garden where William's flowers had now fully started to bloom.

"The garden really does look lovely, William." Theodore commented, taking a look at the black tulips that had started to peek their heads above the surface of the cold dirt. William gleamed at the compliment, a blush forming on his cheeks- which were already rosy from the cold wind. He gently leaned in a little closer to the man, letting his head fall onto his shoulder and brushing his hand against the Captain's. His hands were cold, and strangely felt a little too smooth, texture less. But William didn't mind, and after a second he wound his fingers through Theo's- whose breath hitched a little at the action. For one, blissful moment it was just them, enjoying the sunrise together in a world where nobody else existed. Theodore never wanted it to end. But then William replied;

"Thank you, Teddy. But without Dave's advice I don't think I would have got them to grow as they have." He replied- to which the Captain frowned and looked at him.

"Dave?" He asked, confused. He'd never heard that name before, at least not that he knew of. He released William's hand, putting it firmly back on his swagger stick.

"Oh, haven't I told you about Dave yet? He's my co-worker at the flower shop. But he's become a very close friend to me." He said. The Captain watched as a fond smile grew on William's face, and his heart dropped a bit. "You know," William began again, looking back at the Captain. "He's like us. You know..." He faltered, unsure of the best way to say it. He was still kind of uncomfortable saying it out loud, but he also wasn't sure what word to use. Homosexual? – Too old fashioned... Gay? – Meant something completely different in his time...

"He isn't interested in women." He eventually settled on. The Captain's figurative heart jumped at that. A hint of jealously instantly wormed its way into his head, planting a seed that wouldn't go away, no matter how much he convinced himself there was probably nothing going on between the two men. Havers had confessed his feelings towards him just a few days before. He wouldn't have done that if he'd been interested in this Dave.