Author: Fyre Rating: PG Warning: Nothing really. Slash, yes. Fandom/Pairing: Robin Wood .. the pairing will become obvious, I promise. Feedback: please? Disclaimer: I don't own Robin Hood, the Sheriff of Nottingham or any of the related characters. Notes: I've actually had this bunny hopping around my head since President's Vacation, when we drove through Loxley while I thought about how I can find slash in anything. *snicker* There might actually be more of this .. this is just the first part. We'll see how people respond to this. A rustle and slight sigh in the woods. A crack of a branch and a curse, muffled by a sound of a gloved hand slapping over a mouth. Another curse. Then silence. Robin Hood chuckled inaudibly as he perched on a branch above the other man. The intruder was obviously trying to be silent and not doing a very good job of it. He wasn't a woodsman and had definitely never wandered even the outskirts of the forest at night. Robin wondered what a man like this was doing so deep in Sherwood Forest. Climbing ape-like down the branches of the tree, Robin decided to get a closer look. There was no other activity in his part of the forest, so he might as well give into his curiosity. Bending down, swinging from the branch, Robin dangled right in front of the man's face for a second. The forest was so dark the other man didn't even notice, which Robin was quite happy about. Especially after he learned the identity of the other man. The Sheriff of Nottingham seemed to be taking a stroll in the middle of the Outlaw's Forest with no regard for his own safety. Instead, the Sheriff was walking along calmly and seemed to be looking for something--or someone. Following through the trees, Robin was perplexed to see the Sheriff sit down on a fallen tree trunk with no obvious care about his safety or the cleanliness of his clothes. Crawling down the tree until he was at ground level, Robin softly walked toward the sitting Sheriff; not stepping on any leaves or branches. He stood there for a few minutes, breathing through his mouth so as to not alert the Sheriff to his presence. In a soft, deep voice that almost blended right in with the night about him, Robin Hood said, "You're lucky I'm the one who found you. Or you'd already be dead." To Robin's disappointment, the Sheriff neither jumped nor sounded surprised when he answered, "I know. You're the only one who patrols this area this time of night, this time of week." Suddenly happy he was behind the Sheriff so the other man couldn't see his own look of surprise, Robin responded, "Why are you here?" With no warning--the Sheriff was learning--the sitting man spun around to face Robin. They were less then two inches apart, with the Sheriff's face level with Robin's stomach. The Sheriff looked up, Robin down. The Sheriff's blue eyes glittered in the sparse moonlight trickling down through the trees and Robin suddenly noticed the new blazes of gray in his hair and new wrinkles about his eyes. Robin knew the Sheriff was staring at him, much as he was gazing at the older man, yet he did nothing to stop it. Robin only hoped the faint light wouldn't give away the pain and regret he felt was surely showing on his face. The Sheriff answered late, late enough that Robin had almost forgotten his question. His voice was rich and rough at the same time, a tone that Robin had known well before but hadn't heard in a very long time. "I don't think I should really have to answer that question, Robin." Suddenly overcome, Robin walked backwards, away from the man on the tree trunk, yet never breaking their gaze. He didn't want to be that close to the Sheriff, not right now and in these circumstances. "I think you do need to answer, Sheriff," Robin answered. He saw the clear shot of pain in the Sheriff's eyes when Robin coldly called him by his title. "This is my territory and if you don't state your reasoning for being here, I will do what I have to." Robin tried desperately to keep all emotion out of his voice so the Sheriff would understand. A cloud moved above them and moonlight flooded through the branches. It was the waning full moon, so both could easily see each other for a short time. The pain and longing was obvious in both pairs of eyes, the distance affecting both men in the worst way. The Sheriff stood and took a few steps toward Robin. Right before the cloud moved back over the light, Robin shook his head once. The Sheriff stopped in his tracks, staring at where Robin last was. Trusting in his own night vision and being the only one with decent night vision, Robin took his own few steps toward the Sheriff in the midnight black. He remembered the older man was standing here. He put out a hand to touch and found cloth stretched over a taut chest. The chest pulled in from a quick breath at the touch and then relaxed. Robin moved closer, glancing to either side. Seeing no one, Robin leaned in and up briefly and touched his lips to the Sheriff's. To the Sheriff's lips, his nose, temple, Adam's apple. It was all quick, brief and barely there. Grazing the Sheriff's lips to his own once more, Robin leaned in, not touching the Sheriff, just to whisper almost mutely, "My men are all around us. They know you're here, but they don't see me. Be still and sit back down. Mutter something, sound sad, defeated. Then I'll pop out from the forest and save you from harm. Don't worry." He started to pull away, then felt the warm puff of breath on his bare neck. Kissing the Sheriff's ear, Robin told him, "I love you, William. I'm sorry." Then he was gone. The next part went so fast, Robin didn't remember much of it ten minutes later. He dodged out of the area and then flew back, bursting in and making jokes. He ridiculed the Sheriff and jested with his men. Once they were satisfied, Robin sent the Sheriff on his way, tailed by two small boys who worshipped Robin but would be too scared to try to shoot or kill the Sheriff out of pure hate. Robin sent the Sheriff away and returned to his patrol, attempting to immerse himself in the sounds of the Forest, the Sherwood Forest, again. A rustle in the woods. Two bunnies hopped across his path. |