#william's voice clip preview and the focus on his hands makes me go feral

[alittlerobin]

William/Kate

tags: William's manicure word count: 1.4k

“Well, well, isn’t it the robin herself, home so soon. I take it the mission went well?”

Kate turned her focus from bidding goodnight to Harrison and Liam after their return to the castle, instead looking toward Alfons. Whereas they had just gotten home, he was shrugging on his coat, no doubt heading out for yet another night on the town. He said “so soon” but the sun had long set and it wouldn’t be an hour before the clocks chimed midnight. 

She cast him an easy smile. “Yes, thank you. Take care of yourself tonight too.”

“You’re as foolishly kind as ever. As a show of my utmost gratitude, may I advise that you pay a visit to the lounge before you tuck in for the night? You might find your beloved William partaking in something most amusing. Tata for now.”

With that, he swept past her and out of the castle, his coat billowing behind him like raven’s wings. She narrowed her eyes, given that any and all of Alfons’s “amusing” suggestions needed to be taken with a grain of salt and a mountain of caution. However, if Will was there… 

As she’d learned from Liam, it rarely did her good to stifle her curiosity. Besides, there was nothing in the castle that could do her harm, right? …Aside from Roger’s lab and Alfons’s gloveless hands and Jude’s sharp tongue—well, nothing that she hadn’t learned to handle. 

Smoothing down her skirt, she headed to the lounge and indeed found William there. Except he wasn’t alone. 

William sat relaxed in an armchair, a glass of red wine beside him, with his hand stretched out as if in offer. And Ellis, perched on a stool beside him, was holding William’s hand in both of his. He also was slightly hunched over, leaning into William, and—for a split second—it looked as if Ellis was kissing William like a knight paying tribute to a king. But that couldn’t possibly be right. 

For one, Ellis didn’t pull away, maintaining his position as he did something to William’s hand. And two, William’s attention wasn’t even on the younger man, instead shifting to pick up his wine glass and bring it to his regal lips for a long and savoring sip. 

His gaze flickered over to her and the corners of his lips curled over the rim of his wine glass. “Welcome back, my robin.” 

She crossed the room without waiting, as if following a command bidding her to him, and the only thing that kept her from kissing his wine-darkened lips was Ellis muttering a greeting to her as well. 

“What are you doing?” She leaned over and caught a glimpse of a bloodred compact. Ellis was buffing William’s nails, causing a matte red to turn shiny. “Oh, is this how…?”

“My manicure needed a touch-up.” William’s voice was as musical as always. “Ellis noticed and volunteered to help.”

“I thought it’d make him happy,” Ellis explained, as if there were any other reason for why he did things. 

“Indeed. He’s doing a fantastic job. Don’t you think so, Kate?”

Nodding, she grabbed another stool from nearby and sat down next to them so she could watch. Ellis had buffed William’s nails to shiny perfection, then gently turned William’s hand so he could do the same to his thumb. And, for the first time ever, she saw the natural pink of William’s nails. 

“Wow…” Somehow, the actual color felt unreal. 

She’d heard from Liam that some French theatre actors he’d met had colored nails, and apparently there was a growing trend among noblewomen of using powders to pinken their nail beds to achieve the perfect manicured look, but she had never witnessed it herself. Of course, outside of William. She’d noticed his red nails, just as she’d noticed his eyes, the evening they’d met and yet they seemed to be such a natural part of him that she never gave it much thought. A dark part of her had simply assumed that his hands had been stained by blood so often and for so long that the color had engrained itself in him as a permanent reminder of his sins. Seeing it actually being done was fascinating. 

William set his wine glass down on a small table beside his chair and there Kate noticed the manicure kit. It was standard, with cuticle pushers, snips, and a nail file amongst other things. Next to it were two compacts—one containing a bloodred powder and the other that resembled a cuticle cream. 

“Is this always how you color them?” Kate asked, watching in fascination as Ellis started the process by nimbly rubbing a very thin layer of cream onto William’s nail. 

“Yes.” William nodded. “Sometimes my maid will do it, sometimes I’ll do it myself. Victor is actually quite skilled at it himself, but our darling Reaper has been a tad too busy of late to indulge me. I was thinking to do them myself tonight, but Ellis beat me to it.”

“I don’t mind,” Ellis reassured, working with steadfast dedication. He dabbed the red powder over the top of the cream, building up the color until it was dark and foreboding. Cleaning the bit of excess traces off William’s skin, he then went over the nail with a strip of buffer leather until it set and shone. Now that she thought about it, Jude also had perfectly manicured nails which she’d considered a bit odd before, but perhaps this was the reason why: Ellis. “There, all done.”

William took his hand back from Ellis, curling his fingers into his palm as he inspected them with a hum. “Stunning. Don’t you think so, Kate?”

She did, nodding her compliments to Ellis who was wiping his hands clean on a small towel. 

“Hey, Will… How happy are you right now?”

“What do you think, my dear boy?”

“Hmmm… Very happy, but not quite enough.” Ellis’s words formed a statement rather than a question. Kate couldn’t stop her gaze from flickering to the sheathed knife strapped to Ellis’s thigh. Ever since William had explained to her the contract between Ellis and Jude, she had the sense that the right—or the wrong—answer to that particular question would result in a happy ending only for one person. 

William chuckled in confirmation. “You did a fantastic job. Thank you, Ellis.”

“Anytime.” Ellis shuffled off with a small smile, quietly wishing them both goodnight before he disappeared down the hall.  

With him gone, Kate moved her stool closer to William and took his hand. She skimmed her fingertips over his newly recolored nails, but her skin came back clean without any transfer. The color really was the perfect red, deep and haunting. “You know, Alfons told me I’d find you in here.”

“Is that so?”

“I wonder if he thought seeing this would make me jealous…” 

“Did it?”

She paused, considering her feelings. William was so loved, so adored by so many she often felt it a wonder that of everyone who passed through his world, he’d chosen her. And in return, she always wanted to do whatever she could to make herself feel like she deserved it. “Would you mind it if I learned how to do this for you? I… I’d like to be the one you ask from now on.”

“Of course, I’d be honored.”

The sweetness in his voice made her chest warm, affection bubbling up inside her. Maybe she could practice on herself, surprise him with a matching set on their next date. Normally, something like a red manicure would draw far too much attention for her to be comfortable, but if it were for William… There was nothing she wouldn’t do for him. 

“Ah, but what if you’re not around when I’d like them touched up? Will you make me wait?”

“I don’t mind if you ask someone else then. Like Ellis, or Victor. But I’d like to be the one to do this for you when I can.”

William chuckled, slipping his hand out of hers to cup her cheek. He stroked his thumb over it, his long red nail just brushing her skin. “My robin is always so very greedy.”

“And who made me that way?” she asked with a smile, tipping her face into his touch.

“Hmm, I wonder… A man just as selfish, no doubt.” 

She laughed and leaned in, catching his lips with her, just as greedily as he'd taught her to be.