Little Surprises

"Little Surprises" is a BOTGD 2 Act 1 thread written on June 23, 2019.
==Summary==
Siri and Will meet after their eventful night, and Siri confesses her feelings for Will, and he does the same. 
==Full Text==
William Verdile: William strolls away from the current building project with his new mission: Find Ander and get his opinion on the new defense plans. Easy enough, in theory.
Only, as he follows the vague directions, he recalls who Ander is – aside from being a council member, he’s Siri’s father. William flushes scarlet all the way to the roots of his hair. Looking the man in the eye may be–difficult. 
Don’t be a coward, he chastises himself. Just knock on the bloody door. So, when he arrives at the Haralson home, he walks straight up to the door and knocks on it.
Siri Haralson: Siri frowns when she hears a knock at the door. She’s braiding Katryn’s hair in a rather complex way, but she is much closer to the door than her mother. 
“I’ll get it!” she calls to her mother and with a promise to Katryn to be right back, she rises to open the door. She is surprised when the person on the other side is William.
Siri blushes slightly and opens her mouth to speak, but is cut off by her sister from across the room.
“Hi Will!” Katryn says brightly, holding a strand of hair as instructed. Obviously, she knows him and is comfortable or else she wouldn’t act like that. “Daddy’s not here.”
William: William’s mouth opens and closes a few times, without him saying anything. “R-right. Um, hi, Katryn.” He clears his throat, and prays to whatever might be listening that his face isn’t burning as much as it feels. “Er, do you know where he is?” he asks, his voice squeaking slightly.
Siri: Katryn shakes her head. “Nope,”
“I…I do,” Siri said, a little uncomfortably. “I can… show you?”
She did know where her father was, but didn’t need to take him. Will was fully capable of following directions and he worked on the island anyway, but she wanted to talk to him. Alone.
William: William manages to summon a weak smile. “Yeah, I’m alright with that,” he says gently. “Let’s go.”
Siri: Siri returns the hesitant smile, then turns to her sister. “Kat, I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay! I’ll go help Mama with the clothes.” Katryn said, popping off her seat.
Siri nodded at her sister’s retreating form and then walked out the door to Will, shutting the door behind her. “Before I take you to my dad, I want to talk.”
William: “Sure,” he says nervously. Looking up at Siri, he asks, “What’s up?”
Siri: Siri shifts uncomfortably on her feet before speaking. “… come with me.” She says.
She leads Will into the trees just behind her house, where a tree had fallen across a rock years ago, creating a perfect bench. She often went there to be alone growing up.
William: William looks around them. “This is a nice area,” he says. Turning back to Siri, he bites his lip, nervously waiting for her to begin.
Siri: Siri nods absently and twirls a piece of hair around her finger as she glances around for a few minutes, trying to figure out the words to say. She wasn’t usually short on words.
“Will, I…” Siri sighs. “Fuck, this is hard.”
William: He lets out a shaky laugh at that. “We’ve sat and talked for hours before,” he points out. “What’s so different now?”
William walks over to the fallen log and sits down on it, watching Siri intently.
Siri: Siri shakes her head. “I don’t know… I’ve never had to do this before.” She scuffs her toe on the ground and leans against a tree that’s still standing. She crosses her arms and looks at Will. “Stop that, you’re not making it any easier.”
William: William tilts his head to the side, deliberately widening his eyes. As a final touch, he pouts slightly. “Stop what?” he asks in a falsely innocent tone.
Siri: Siri rolls her eyes and lets out a breathy laugh. “Looking at me. Especially like that.”
He chuckles. “But I’m not doing anything,” he protests. Even still, he leans back on his hands, looking up at the sky instead. “Is this better?”
Siri: “Yes, thank you.” Siri replies, shaking her head at him again. Will was something else. “This is, this is serious.”
William: Will frowns. “What’s the matter?” he asks, all traces of laughter gone from his voice.
Siri: Siri wandered over to him. “Nothing’s the matter with anything but my emotions. I probably just sound dramatic.”
William: “A little,” he allows. “But,” William looks back at Siri, “your emotions are still important. Talk to me,” he says, putting the slightest bit of command into his voice–just enough to tell Siri that he’s not going to let her back out of this.
Siri: Siri frowned a bit and then sat next to Will. “Alright… I just… I want you to know this is kind of hard for me. I’ve never had to… tell anyone this kind of thing before, okay?”
William: “You’re making me nervous,” William says, his voice faltering. “It can’t be that bad,” he continues. “We’re friends, right?”
Siri: “That’s the problem!” She complains loudly. “We’re friends, we’re supposed to be friends, and that’s it. But I… Will, I think I… like you.”
William: William’s eyebrows draw together as he tries to make sense of that statement. When it clicks, his eyes widen. “Oh,” he says faintly. “Well. I, er,” he stammers. His voice, normally loud and attention-grabbing, is small and apprehensive now. Words fail him, so he silently reaches out to grab Siri’s hand.
Siri: Siri watches Will take her hand.
“I’m sorry,” she says, her voice soft, not looking at him. “I know that’s, I know that’s a lot…”
William: “No!” he exclaims. “No, you just… surprised me,” he says in a rush. “I, well, um, I think I might… like you too,” he mumbles, a blush spreading across his face as he speaks.
Siri: Siri looks up at Will in surprise. “Really?” she asks, feeling very shy for once in her life.
She didn’t know how this worked at all. What was she supposed to do now?
William: William’s gaze darts between Siri’s face and their joined hands. Fuck it, he thinks before leaning in to press his lips to hers. With his free hand, he reaches up and threads his fingers into her hair.
Siri: Siri is initially surprised when Will kisses her, but not in a bad way. For most of her life, she had taken the lead in things like that, she rather enjoyed having someone else kiss her first.
She leans into the kiss and her free hand travels up to his arm.
William: After a while, William pulls back, but only far enough to rest his forehead against hers. “Was that the only thing you wanted to talk about?” he asks softly.
Siri: Siri nodded, looking into his eyes. “Yeah… I didn’t think it would go quite this well.” She adds with a smirk.
William: William chuckles softly before pulling back. “Unfortunately, I really do have to get back to work,” he says quietly. He pulls his hand free from Siri’s hair with a soft sigh.
Siri: Siri sighs too, frowning. “Okay,”
William: “Believe me, I’d love to just stay here all day,” he tells her. “This was nice, though.”
Siri: “Yeah, me too.” Siri replies. “Do you… do you think you’ll be busy later tonight?”
William: “I shouldn’t be,” William says. “We could meet back here, if you want to.”
Siri: “Sounds good,” Siri says, before leaning over to give Will a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you then.”
She smirks then. “Oh yeah, the last I know, my dad should be with Brandt by the Great Hall.”
William: William laughs as he gets to his feet. “I’ll see you later, Siri. Thanks.” With that, he turns and starts back towards the town.
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Act I
Category:Events
Category:Siri Haralson
Category:William Verdile