Horatio Hornblower, Hornblower/Bush, "It has been an honour to serve with you."
This was the sort of thing a career officer in His Majesty’s Navy dreamed of. It meant a better command, more money to send home, and being acknowledged for fine service. However, the drawback was that it also meant being separated from the command and crews he had grown to know.
“It’s going to feel quite strange, shipping off without you.” Captain Bush told Commodore Hornblower, as the two men walked down the stairs to the small captain’s cabin on the HMS Nonsuch.
Hornblower could not help but notice the sparseness of the cabin under its new inhabitant, and remembered when Bush and the other senior officers decorated his cabin so many years ago and so many ships ago. The memory of the simple gesture and comfort it had brought still warmed Hornblower’s heart immensely, though a few gruff noises was all he might muster to express these feelings.
Bush was dear and special to him, but had earned and deserved where he was now. “I would not have chosen you were I not confident in your abilities, my friend.” He reached out and stroked a spot on a smooth, wooden wall. “She is lucky to have you.” His tired eyes sparkled as he looked at Bush. “I was lucky to have you, William.”
At the sound of his first name and at the tenderness in the hard man’s voice, Bush took off his hat. He set it down on the small, scrubbed wooden table that doubled for writing and dining. “It has been an honour to serve with you… Horatio.” Though their orders would part them, and they might not see each other again for years, it still felt strange to be so informal. Immediately, his craggy face flushed with embarrassment.
Hornblower smiled at the man he would have chosen as his own Lieutenant above any other had he not known what the position of Captain meant to Bush. He had intended this inspection to be a fine farewell, but it was turning sentimental and such emotions were as foreign to Hornblower as the ways of the land. He suddenly felt so awkward, unfocused, and inadequate that it was only the gentle kiss on his cheek from Bush that brought him back.
Exhaling deeply, as though making room for confidence in his chest, Hornblower returned the kiss. He cupped the older man’s cheek in his own aged hand, but this familiar, strong sensation of their mouths meeting made him feel as young again as if they were once again both young Lieutenants on the HMS Renown, stealing away for a heavy snog and to have it off, hidden from the eyes of that crazy captain. And even though Bush had been the one to initiate it now, the man had no problem giving way to Hornblower’s movements and motions, letting his superior take him to bed.