[fic] Pirates of the Cassiopeia 1/7
Title: Pirates of the Cassiopeia
Pairings: YunJae
Rating: NC-17
Genre: adventure, romance, smut
Chapters: 1/7
Summary: Jaejoong rescues Yunho from a sinking ship, planning to turn him into a pirate but gets wrapped up in an adventure filled with secrets, inhuman power and a little bit of love.
A/N: I've been working on writing this fic for ages and finally it's finished! I'm very excited to share this with you guys. At first the title of this story was a bit of a joke but I decided to leave it as this story was very much inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean.
A chapter with art will be posted weekly. Hope you enjoy! Comments are much appreciated ;) First part includes a prologue as well.
Prologue
The waves were unusually strong the morning Yunho woke up to the sound of canons. The ship creaked and shook, rocking fiercely, as Yunho sat up in bed instantly wide awake and reached for the night stand to grab his sword from the table - but it wasn't there. Feeling a light sting of panic tug at his heart strings being unarmed, he got up to his feet, buckled up his pants and stuffed his feet into his grandfather's old boots Yunho still wore to this day. From the window of his cabin he could clearly see the shape of another ship casting a shadow to the sea. It was huge, with giant red flags and sails larger than Yunho had ever seen before, several masts so high they almost reached the cloudless sky.
"Pirates," he hissed under his breath, almost losing his balance as the floor beneath his feet trembled with another blow. The smell of smoke and gunpowder reached his nostrils, adding to the gradually growing sense of panic - there were horrified screams and shouts coming from the deck now.
He reached for the door knob only to find out that it had been locked from the outside. With all the strenght in his body, Yunho slammed the door with his shoulder, hoping the wood would give in under his efforts. The ship made another cracking sound, like the wood was crying out loud in pain from being under attack but the door simply wouldn't budge.
"Let me out!" Yunho shouted in despair, now banging the door with both of his fists. He wasn't going to go down with the ship, he'd rather break the window and jump out and into the ocean to avoid the fate of drowning with it. Maybe he could find a piece of wood or something to use as a float, or maybe even swim to the nearest shore if they weren't too far from the closest blotch of land.
Forgetting about the door, Yunho feverishly started looking around in his room to find something to use as tool to break the tiny window. He was skinny enough to squeeze himself through even though his shoulders had widened considerably during the last couple years his body had gone through the changes to become a man. It was worth the risk. There were sounds of clashing swords, violent screams and banging coming from the corridor outside Yunho's room - there was no time to waste now - but just as Yunho was about to use a copper candle holder to smash it to pieces, the door to his cabin opened with a loud bang.
He turned around, eyes wide open in shock and saw a very pretty girl dressed in men's clothing standing there with a sword covered in blood. She had short, dirty blonde hair and brown eyes so large it made her look more like an animal than a person. She was thin, probably around Yunho's age, but much shorter than Yunho was. Nevertheless she looked dangerous - especially with a sword that sharp in her hand.
"Why are you locked up in here?" she demanded - her voice was much deeper than Yunho had expected - and swung the sword right before Yunho's face to threaten him.
"I'm not sure," Yunho lied, taking a few steps back to get out of the girl's reach and hid the candle holder behind his back in case he needed to use it to smack her in the head. He wouldn't hesitate even though his attacker happened to be female.
There were voices coming from the aisle again, running footsteps and a member of the crew appeared to come to Yunho's rescue. The girl was so fast Yunho barely saw what had happened before the man was on the floor with his throat slid open, blood pouring out, dead as a door nail. She shook her weapon a couple times to get rid of the blood dripping from the blade and pointed the sharp object at Yunho's face once more.
"Why is a cargo ship carrying a prisoner? Or are you someone they need to protect?" she asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion, as if evaluating Yunho from head to toe.
"I swear I don't know, you have to help me get out of here," Yunho pleaded, seeing the opportunity and taking it. The hand pointing a sword at his face trembled a little in hesitation.
"We were told not to leave any survivors. Dead men tell no tales," she told, looking indecisive, "I'm not going to hand you a weapon."
"That's fine," Yunho assured, "Just help me out of here."
The ship shook again with enough force for the both of them to lose their footing. The pirate girl regained her balance first, finally lowering the sword and coming to a decision.
"Fine, just follow me and be quiet!"
"The ship's going to go down any minute."
"Then hurry and make no sound or I'll slit your throat," she said before turning around and running off with Yunho following close behind. There was no time for Yunho to grab a pistol from the floor or to try and tackle the other to the ground - he had a hard enough time jumping over bodies of both the crew and the attackers to get out of the sinking ship. The floor beneath their feet was starting to tilt, the other side of the ship most likely already submerged in water, but the pirate girl was quick on her feet.
They climbed up the ladder to get to the deck and finally, Yunho saw the true state of the ship. One of the masts had collapsed, the forecastle was wrecked, the sails were on fire, parts of the floor had been completely destroyed by the canon balls. The magnificent pirate ship with marvellous red flags was completely intact beside it, looking very much intimidating in all it's glory. Yunho could have spent hours just admiring the sight if the ship hadn't been about to go down.
"Come on," came a frustrated voice from next to him - Yunho had stopped for only a couple seconds from sheer shock - and then he turned his gaze to the girl again. Except that it wasn't a girl at all. In the light of the day he could see clearly - it was a boy just like him, with pale, beautiful skin and a face fitting for a prince, round, soft features and a slender figure. The wooden deck beneath his feet trembled again but this time Yunho barely noticed.
"Come on!" the pirate repeated, offering a hand to Yunho who took it without a second thought. He pulled Yunho along and they jumped together, landing on a lifeboat attached to the side of the main ship. Yunho turned to look back and saw that the ship he'd been on was now almost entirely submerged in water - waves crashing around it and sucking it in without mercy. They were both out of breath, watching the ship sink and with a loud bang, another one of the masts fell apart and disappeared into the depths like into the mouth of a beast.
Yunho glanced to his side and saw that the boy was smiling, wind tousling his hair, cheeks rosy like all the life inside him was about to burst out of him. There were voices coming from the main deck now - someone was clearly giving orders to the crew - and the sails were lifted as the ship started to move.
"Welcome aboard the Cassiopeia," the boy grinned, turning to face Yunho with his face glowing from excitement.
Chapter 1
Jaejoong had learnt to both love and fear the sea since the day he had been born. He couldn't even remember a time he hadn't smelled salt in the air, heard the sound of waves or the cry of a seagull. He had grown used to sleeping in damp bed sheets, either eating seafood every single day or starving and never having completely dry shoes - not to mention clothes. Whenever he stepped on land he felt like he didn't belong. The sunlight had drained all the color from his hair making it light as sand but his skin had remained pale - it didn't matter if Jaejoong spend hours sitting in the sun staring at the horizon, the only mark days spend out in the sun had left on his skin were the freckles on his shoulders and cheeks.
Cassiopeia had been his home for the last ten years. Jaejoong knew every nook and cranny of the ship like his own pockets, knew where to hide his most beloved possessions and where to go whenever he wanted to be alone. He knew just what the ship was capable of, just like he knew himself, for it had become something closer to a family member than a mere ship during the years Jaejoong had spent there. He'd been taught to use a sword, to shoot a pistol and to jab a knife to the skull of his enemies, as well as to read a map and navigate the endless waters. He had been born to the life of a pirate but the truth was - Jaejoong was worth much more than your average buccaneer.
Jaejoong had been there to raid dozens of ships, discover treasures so great a simple landlubber couldn't even imagine but he had never smuggled a prisoner into the ship - at least not without permission. As he sat there in the lifeboat with another boy next to him, watching the ship they had scuttled go down and disappear into the black waters, Jaejoong thought about what he had done. The sun was up high on the sky, the weather was perfect for sailing, but the worry in his heart was growing with every breath the boy next to him took. What if he'd turn out to be dangerous? Had he just jeopardized the entire crew and the ship?
The more time Jaejoong spent looking at the other young man, the more he tried to convince himself it had been the right thing to do. He had no problem with killing sailors or even other pirates, but this person was so close to his own age and had been unarmed, not to mention locked inside a cabin, doomed to die unless Jaejoong had saved him from that inevitable fate. Besides, it had been a while since the last time Jaejoong had even spoken to anyone his own age. Every single member of the crew was a grown man, way past the age of having similar interests to Jaejoong.
"What's your name?" he asked with a quiet voice, not wanting any of the other pirates to notice them sitting there.
"I'm Yunho," he replied, and much to Jaejoong's surprise, didn't look too bothered by what had happened to the ship. Only wooden junk and empty barrels were now floating on the water - everything that was left of the ship.
"Why were you locked inside your room?" Jaejoong asked again, but Yunho didn't seem to want to reply honestly.
"Told you, I don't know."
"Liar."
"You haven't even told me your name," Yunho turned to look at him, eyes shaped like almonds giving him a piercing leer, "Why would I tell you anything?"
"Does saving your life count for nothing?" At this point Jaejoong could no longer surpress a smile. He already liked Yunho. "I'm Jaejoong."
"You're a pirate," Yunho said judgementally, "You were the ones that sank the ship, I wouldn't call that exactly saving my life."
"Point taken," Jaejoong turned his gaze back to the horizon, "But I could have left you there to die. I take it you're not one of us then."
"Nope," Yunho answered - Jaejoong could feel his eyes still glued to him, "Am I going to have to become one now if I want to stay alive?"
"Umm..." Jaejoong mumbled, momentarily losing all confidence, "It would be better for you to stay hidden for now unless you want to get thrown in the ocean. I wouldn't want you to walk the plank."
"Great," the other boy sighed, "Well... At least I'm not fish food yet."
"Come on, I know just where to hide you," Jaejoong tried to sound encouraging as he stood up and took a hold of the ropes forming a net on the side of the ship to start climbing. Yunho stood up as well and suddenly Jaejoong was very much aware of the height difference between them. He looked up at the other boy who took a firm hold of the thick ropes and hoisted himself up, biceps flexing, and then paused to wait for Jaejoong who had been momentarily distracted.
"This way," Jaejoong muttered while climbing the side of the hull, constantly looking back to make sure Yunho was tagging along. Yunho looked strong - probably strong enough to easily knock Jaejoong over - but if he fell into the water Jaejoong wouldn't be able to haul him up without anyone noticing what he was doing. The ship had picked up some speed now, the wind was getting stronger and the waves high enough for the salty splatters of sea water to drench their boots as they moved without sound.
Near the tiller flat, towards the rear of the ship, Jaejoong stopped for a moment to speak again to let Yunho in on his plan.
"The great cabin of the Captain is almost above us," he whispered, "But I know a perfect place, there's a cabin no-one uses right below mine. I can take you there but we'll have to crawl though a window to get inside."
Yunho nodded, there was no need for words, and followed close behind until they reached the window in question. Jaejoong grabbed the handle on the hatch, yanked it with all his strenght and pulled it open with so much force his foot almost slipped on the slippery ropes. He felt the other boy's fingers wrap around his fairly thin wrist, taking a firm hold of him, and the unnerving warmth of Yunho's body close to his.
"Don't fall now or we're both dead," Yunho warned before letting go of Jaejoong's wrist and watching as the smaller young man climbed through the window and into the room.
As expected, the room was completely empty. There was a shaggy bed, a couple of candles and a golden oil lantern, some empty bottles and moldy looking books scattered around the space with a thick layer of dust covering every possible surface. Yunho climbed into the room in Jaejoong's footsteps and looked around, looking pleasantly surprised to find out it wasn't a trap.
"This belonged to one of the crew members who disappeared at sea," Jaejoong started to explain as a reply to Yunho's puzzled expression, "At first we thought he would return but he never did, and then everyone kind of forgot about where he used to sleep. This ship is pretty huge."
"Why the red flags?" asked Yunho as he took a seat from the bed without bothering to wipe off the dust. He seemed to be exhausted even though the look in his eyes was bright, now slightly warmer than before.
"It's the trademark of our ship - we aren't just any pirates," Jaejoong explained, leaning against the wall opposite of where Yunho was seated, "We've never lost a battle, not as long as I've been on the ship. Others know to fear us, they run away when they see the red flags."
"You're pretty skilled with that sword of yours," Yunho grinned, "I wonder if you could beat me."
"I'm not going to give you a sword so you can try," the other shook his head, also grinning, "I'm not taking any risks before I know whether I can trust you or not."
"How about a pistol?"
"In your dreams, landlubber."
They were quiet for a moment, only observing each other in the little light the open window let into the dusty old room. Yunho's skin was much darker than his, golden and healthy looking, his eyes were brown like cocoa and the shape of his body was visible even through the stained fabric of the shirt he wore. His hair was dark too - Yunho had pushed it up to keep it out of his field of vision, revealing thick eyebrows and a thin scar underneath his right eye. He had a mole above his upper lip, a strong jaw, a mouth shaped like a crossbow and sharp collarbones that stuck out above the wide curve of his toned chest. Jaejoong swallowed thickly and tried to turn away, not to seem like he was staring.
"You don't look like a pirate," said Yunho, breaking the slightly tense silence with a calm voice, "You still have all your teeth."
"I'm still young," Jaejoong smiled a little, "And I actually take care of mine. I don't want to grow up to only be able to eat mushed food and drink rum to stay alive."
"How old are you exactly?"
"Seventeen."
Yunho grinned at that, leaning back and probably unintentionally, looking at the other boy from head to toe as if evaluating the goods. "Me too."
"I have to go," interrupted Jaejoong for Yunho had just opened his mouth to continue speaking, "I have to make sure everything's alright and show my face so that they know I'm not dead or anything. I'll bring you food."
"I'll be right here, I'm not going anywhere," Yunho raised both of his hands in the air as a gesture of surrender, showing his open palms to the other boy.
Jaejoong turned around to leave the room, heart beating in his chest faster than it had before when he had swung his sword around at people and cut open their throats.
"Jaejoong," Yunho said softly, took a deep breath and continued, "Thank you."
"It's nothing," he brushed off Yunho's words and hurried out of the room, not daring to turn around and face the expression on Yunho's handsome, prince-like features just yet.
Everything up on the deck was a total mess when Jaejoong climbed up the ladder to join the others. Every single member of the crew seemed to be looking for something, some injured from the battle but most appearing to be just fine - maybe a bit high on adrenaline after another victory in acquiring a fairly decent amount of loot. Jaejoong walked over to a pile of boxes they had stolen to look at them closer when one of the other pirates spotted him there.
"He's here!" he shouted with a raspy voice, "Captain, I found him!"
Jaejoong turned around to face the pirate who had called him out, both confused and annoyed about all the ruckus that followed. Why did it always have to be like this?
"He's alive!"
"We found him, Captain!"
"He's still here!"
"What's going on?" Jaejoong asked, eyes going back and forth the faces that approached him from all directions, trying his very best not to seem suspicious.
"Were you fighting again, young Master? The Captain told you weren't allowed," the bearded pirate closest to him said sternly.
"I swear I wasn't, I was just taking a nap downstairs," he tried to lie but even the dumbest faces of the crew of pirates looked like they didn't quite believe him. "Don't tell the Captain-"
But it was too late. The Captain of the ship was now coming down the steps to the main deck to see what all the noise was about. He was a tall, strict looking man with a face so beaten by the weather it looked like it was made of wood. With a few long strides he was there, grabbing Jaejoong by the arm and shaking it as if to make sure it was really him. The man's eyebrows were angry but the look on his weary face was more relieved than furious.
"I have told you repeatedly not to fight - you stay in the ship while the crew takes care of the work," he scolded, still shaking Jaejoong around like a bag of feathers, "If you die this ship doesn't have a future and I promised your mother you'd be safe here. Don't make me lock you in the dungeons."
"I'm more than capable of taking care of myself," he argued back - Jaejoong wasn't afraid of the Captain, "I'm a member of the crew and I can't just leave it all to the others, I have responsibilities to fulfill!"
"Your assignment on this ship has nothing to do with fighting," the Captain's voice was now starting to shake with anger, "You have to save your strenght for when we truly need it."
Biting his lip, Jaejoong lowered his gaze and decided to let it go for now. He nodded in defeat, trying to look as if filled with regret and sighed heavily. It was probably for the best not to go around looking for trouble when the biggest problem he currently had was the other young man he had smuggled inside the ship without the Captain's consent.
"I won't do it again, I swear," he muttered, causing the Captain to let go of his arm.
"You better," said the Captain, giving one more severe look at the kid in front of him before turning around and starting to shout orders to the crew, "Take the loot to the ballast! Clear the deck! Straight ahead at full speed!"
Jaejoong stood there for a long moment, watching the crew get back to their usual work before heading to the kitchen of the ship to grab enough food to feed both him and Yunho. He gathered as much as he could without raising suspicion - not that anyone at the kitchen was paying any attention to him - and stuffed his pockets with fried fish and dried pieces of bread hard enough to break one's teeth. He poured water into two small bottles and headed back to where he had left Yunho.
On his way there Jaejoong realized he hadn't even locked the door to the cabin that held his biggest secret in his flustered state of trying to run away. His steps grew faster the nearer he got to the said room, he was almost running, but when he finally opened the door to find out whether the other young man had in fact escaped, a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Yunho was sound asleep on the bed, mouth open, clearly in deep slumber. Jaejoong approached the bed and placed the food items on the wobbly nightstand before lighting one of the oil lamps in case Yunho didn't like the dark. The wind outside was howling - night would fall soon - and Jaejoong was starting to get a bit worried Yunho would want to leave as the room wasn't exactly paradise.
He sat on the floor and pulled his knees to his chest, hoping Yunho would wake up soon and chat with him a bit more. Having conversations with no-one else but old, drunken pirates wasn't exactly enlightening when all they usually liked to talk about was either booze, prostitutes or what gold could buy them next time they made a stop at a pirate harbor - that was if they weren't spending their energy in fighting each other or gambling. When Jaejoong really thought about it, one couldn't blame him for wanting someone his age to talk to. He didn't care about prostitutes or treasure and in Jaejoong's opinion, rum tasted and smelled like shit. Unable to stand it any longer and totally lacking self control, he reached out a hand to poke Yunho's cheek with the tip of his forefinger.
The other young man opened his eyes immediately and jumped up to sit on the bed as if he hadn't been sleeping at all. He adjusted the shirt he was wearing and pushed the hair back from his face, looking like sleeping was something incredibly embarrassing to be caught doing.
"What'd you do that for?" Yunho asked suspiciously before spotting the food Jaejoong had placed on the table.
"Eat," Jaejoong encouraged convincingly, instantly feeling more cheerful now that Yunho was awake again. "Tell me something about where you're from. I have to decide if you're worth keeping alive."
"Well..." Yunho started with his mouth full of fish, "You're a pirate, I'm sure you've been everywhere in the world."
"We can't exactly sail into big cities unless we want to get hanged," Jaejoong grinned, "Piracy is illegal almost everywhere."
"It's illegal where I'm from," Yunho nodded, "The city is so heavily guarded I've never even seen a pirate ship before - but I've seen you guys get hanged in front of great audiences. People want to see it, no-one likes pirates."
"Of course not - we kill your men and take your treasures from under your noses."
"It's so hypocritical, it's not like our people have never killed anyone," Yunho huffed, obviously angry about something he wasn't saying out loud, "Going into war over such stupid things, trade agreements and childish disputes.."
"You don't sound like you like the place where you're from very much," Jaejoong snatched a piece of bread from the table and started to nibble on it just to have something to do with his hands. He felt strangely out of control with the other young man in his company.
"I don't," Yunho admitted, "How about you? Have you always been a pirate?"
"Pretty much. I was born into this, I never had any other choice."
"You don't want this?"
"I love the sea and I love the ship," Jaejoong looked out of the cabin window but it was now so dark outside he couldn't exactly see, "I'm not unhappy here, that's not the case at all. The fighting, the feeling of being alive... It's great but I'm not exactly free, I can't leave the ship."
"I can't even imagine having the sort of freedom you have."
"How did you end up locked up in that cabin?"
"I ran away from home," Yunho told him before taking a huge gulp of water but didn't explain any further. Now it felt like Yunho was avoiding his eyes.
"It seems like we both have secrets," said Jaejoong, flashing Yunho a lazy smile and getting one in return.
They spent hours talking, well into the early hours of the next morning before finally falling asleep around sunrise. Jaejoong was curled up on the floor while Yunho slept with his long limbs sprawled across the bed, both out like a pair of lights for a good couple hours. Yunho was the one to wake up first. Without bothering to get up yet, Yunho rolled over to his side and watched Jaejoong sleeping on the floor next to the bed. It didn't look like the most comfortable position - Yunho felt a bit sorry for him - but Jaejoong wasn't exactly a princess and was probably used to this sort of thing.
Since he was already wide awake, Yunho took the moth eaten blanket from his bed and used it to cover the smaller boy's body. Jaejoong shifted in his sleep, getting more comfortable and pressed his nose into the fabric. Yunho couldn't beat himself up about mistaking him as a girl - he had never seen a guy with such long, black eyelashes or a mouth naturally quite as cherry colored. Wondering what Jaejoong would look like with a clean face and clothes that weren't dirty and filled with holes, Yunho grabbed a piece of leftover bread from last night and started eating. All his life Yunho had grown up thinking pirates were simple minded, bad mannered and greedy people - but none of those things applied to Jaejoong. He had so many interesting things to say Yunho had rarely enjoyed such lively conversations - Jaejoong wasn't rude and on top of everything, didn't seem to care that much about treasure.
No matter how much Yunho did already like Jaejoong, he couldn't tell him the truth about who he was and where he had come from. Jaejoong might have been more than a decent person, but it would be simply naive to assume all of the crew would be like him. They were both young, they understood each other, but given the fact that the pirates had just killed and robbed an entire group of sailors, he couldn't just assume they wouldn't use the truth to their advantage. He would be happy to say hidden inside the cabin until they arrived at a shore and Jaejoong could help him out without anyone noticing. Yunho didn't exactly want to go back home either - maybe he could start a life polishing shoes for pirates at some far-away town and live there for the rest of his life.
Jaejoong rolled over to his back and scratched his nose in his sleep. Yunho watched as Jaejoong made a face, scratched his nose again and then opened his eyes. They looked a bit puffy from staying up all night. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and turned to look at Yunho, looking slightly surprised to find the other awake already.
"What time is it?" he asked, sounding sleepy.
"No clue," Yunho said while popping another piece of bread into his mouth, "But the sun is shining already. Don't you have things you need to do on this ship?"
"Not today," Jaejoong sounded pleased, "They won't be needing me today."
"What exactly do you do on this ship? Why would they even hire a kid?"
"I can't say," Jaejoong gave the most infuriating answer and grinned at Yunho as he pushed himself up to a sitting position, and grabbed one of his boots from the floor from where he had placed them last night next to Yunho's shoes.
"Are you like a pirate prince or something?" Yunho asked - honestly it wouldn't have surprised him even if it was true because Jaejoong simply didn't look like a pirate at all. Yunho could see the light splatters of freckles on Jaejoong's skin from the open neckline of the shirt he was wearing, decorating his collarbones and his chest, as well as the chain of a necklace around his neck that disappeared under his top. He had an aura of a nobleman even if he was wearing clothes appropriate for a pirate.
"No!" Jaejoong let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head at Yunho's stupidity, "There are no such things as pirate royalty. All of us are the same."
"Even the Captain?"
"Well... You could say he's a bit above everyone else," the light haired boy admitted as he got up from the floor and sat next to Yunho on the bed instead, "This crew needs someone to tell them what to do or we'd never get anything done. That's the thing with pirates, they're all old drunks that just happen to know how to fight."
"You sound like you know the crew very well."
"I do know them, I've grown up around them," Jaejoong smiled now, pushing a strand of hair behind his ear - Yunho saw the glimmer of a gold ear ring - and continued, "Some have families they have to support and some just love the sea like I do."
"You pierced your ears," Yunho changed the subject, reaching a hand to brush Jaejoong's hair out of the way to take a better look at the jewelry hanging from the smaller man's earlobe. Turning his gaze down to the floor, Jaejoong let Yunho look at his ears without swatting his hand away.
"Does it hurt?" asked Yunho, running his forefinger down the lobe of Jaejoong's ear and poking one of the several golden rings gently. He leaned in closer - Yunho had never seen so many rings in one ear before - and flicked the piece of jewelry playfully.
"It doesn't," Jaejoong let out a laugh, eyes darting back and forth between Yunho's face and the floor like he wasn't sure where to look, "I can give you one if you'd like."
"A piercing?"
"Yeah," Jaejoong exhaled excitedly, letting his hair fall back over his ear as he turned to look at the other boy next to him on the bed. "I once saw a woman who had pierced her belly button, and one time a man who had a ring through his nostrils."
"Were they pirates too?"
"Uh-huh," Jaejoong hummed, still not breaking the eye contact which made Yunho feel strangely uneasy and aware of the other boy's close proximity. Jaejoong's ear had felt soft to his touch but his cheeks looked even softer.
"How scandalous," Yunho felt the corners of his lips move up involuntarily to form a lazy grin. Had Jaejoong just inched closer? The other boy was now opening and closing his mouth, obviously trying to get himself to say something.
Yunho sat there patiently and waited but Jaejoong never managed to utter another sentence. After a moment of gaping like a fish on dry land, he closed his mouth and finally turned away from the other man's expectant eyes. Jaejoong pushed his hair out of his eyes and stood up from the bed.
"I think I do have work after all," he said with a strained voice as he gathered the rest of his stuff from the floor before walking over to the door, and paused to stand there with a hand on the door knob. "Don't go anywhere, okay?"
"I promise I'll stay right here," Yunho smiled, hoping that Jaejoong would begin to trust him.
"Do you really want me to pierce your ears tonight?" Jaejoong returned the smile - the awkward tension from his posture was gone, "I think it would suit you."
"Yes," agreed Yunho eagerly, "If I'm going to stay on board Cassiopeia I'm going to have to look the part, right?"
The night had already fallen when Jaejoong made his way back to Yunho's cabin. He had lied earlier on the day - in fact he had no work to do - but things had become so uncomfortable he'd just had to get away from the other boy to be able to gather his thoughts. Jaejoong's mind felt like a tangled blob of fishing net. It had been so strange to be so close to someone - strange in a good way - and Yunho was just so nice to talk to. He wasn't exactly bad to look at either. So intelligent and handsome, well-mannered and kind... Jaejoong was beginning to think Yunho had to come from a noble family. Maybe the ship he had been on had kidnapped him for a ransom? Maybe Yunho's family was rich? There had to be reason why Yunho had been locked up in there.
Even if Jaejoong had asked about it a thousand times, he was sure Yunho wouldn't tell. It would be nice to have Yunho trust him - Jaejoong had no bad intentions even if he turned out to be a murderer running away from justice - for he wanted to know everything about who Yunho was and where he had come from. Would it be possible to make him look like a pirate and make him fit in with the rest of the crew without anyone noticing? That way Yunho could stay on the ship forever if he wanted to.
When Jaejoong knocked on Yunho's door that evening, he had filled his pockets with food and a new bottle of fresh water for Yunho. He had looked through his drawers and found an old needle he had used to pierce his own ears and had also stuffed it in his pocket. Yunho was sitting on his bed with his back against the wall, reading one of the old books the previous occupant of the room had left behind. He raised his gaze from the book when Jaejoong stepped in, looking thoroughly pleased, and gave him a little smile which made Jaejoong's insides jump unpleasantly.
"I was starting to think you wouldn't come," Yunho said sounding relieved, "Good thing I found this book or I would have been bored to death."
"Which one is it?" Jaejoong asked while once again emptying his pockets to the night stand. Yunho showed him the cover.
"Have you read this?"
"I can't read," Jaejoong admitted, taking a seat from the bed next to the other boy who looked slightly surprised now.
"Really?" Yunho asked carefully, clearly trying not to offend him, "Would you like me to read it to you?"
"Yes," Jaejoong agreed, feeling a strange warmth spread through his body, "But first lets give you an earring."
Yunho put the book away and shifted closer to Jaejoong on the bed. He didn't seem to be scared as he watched Jaejoong grab a candle from the table and then hold the needle over the flame to make sure it was disinfected. The metal of the needle turned slightly darker from the heat but Jaejoong held it there for what seemed to be the right amount of time. He then turned to Yunho, whose eyes were again focused on Jaejoong's face instead of the sharp object in his hand.
"Where do you want it?" Jaejoong asked as Yunho bent his neck to the side giving him more room to work with. Jaejoong inched a bit closer, took a hold of Yunho's ear and examined it closely. He could feel Yunho's breath tickle the side of his cheek.
"You decide," Yunho said quietly, one of his hands relaxed and resting on Jaejoong's thigh as they were sitting so close to each other. When Jaejoong raised the needle and held it closer to Yunho's ear, the fingers placed over Jaejoong's thigh squeezed it tensely.
Without hesitation, Jaejoong jabbed the needle through Yunho's left ear lobe. Yunho's breath hitched, getting caught in his throat as he tried to move his head to look at Jaejoong but the other stopped him.
"Stay still," he instructed, looking around and realising he had forgot something, "Shit... We need a ring to put through it."
He pulled the needle out of Yunho's ear and tossed it back on the table before removing one of his own ear rings to give to Yunho. Yunho hadn't followed his instructions, he had straightened his neck, and was now looking at Jaejoong with a strange expression on his face. There was a thick drop of blood glistering on his ear and Jaejoong wiped it away with his fingers.
"Don't move," Jaejoong told him again, shifting a couple more inches closer to Yunho to be able to push the piece of jewelry through the freshly made hole. He leaned in closer, a bit closer, trying to keep the golden ring in his shaking fingers when Yunho's nose brushed the side of his cheek. Right that instant Jaejoong's heart made a jump as powerful as a cannon ball. He turned to look Yunho in the eye and their lips brushed against each other accidentally, soft as a feather, both inhaling sharply and then - Yunho closed the distance between their mouths and kissed him.
The piece of jewelry fell out of Jaejoong's hand, dropped to the floor and rolled somewhere under the bed. Yunho's mouth closed around Jaejoong's upper lip, the pirate boy being frozen in shock, as the grip he had on Jaejoong's thigh tightened a bit. Jaejoong reacted by instinct as soon as Yunho had pulled back from the kiss.
He punched Yunho's jaw with all his might, causing Yunho to nearly fall out of bed - it was all happening so fast - and Yunho hit him right back until they both fell to the floor. Yunho landed on his back with Jaejoong straddling him and the wobbly night stand next to the bed fell over too with a loud bang. They were making a lot of noise. Jaejoong raised his fist to punch Yunho again even though a little voice in his head was telling him not to but then - the door to the cabin opened.
A member of the crew was standing in the doorway, looking astonished for a few long seconds before he opened his mouth and shouted;
"Intruder! All hands on deck!"
Free Counters
Pairings: YunJae
Rating: NC-17
Genre: adventure, romance, smut
Chapters: 1/7
Summary: Jaejoong rescues Yunho from a sinking ship, planning to turn him into a pirate but gets wrapped up in an adventure filled with secrets, inhuman power and a little bit of love.
A/N: I've been working on writing this fic for ages and finally it's finished! I'm very excited to share this with you guys. At first the title of this story was a bit of a joke but I decided to leave it as this story was very much inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean.
A chapter with art will be posted weekly. Hope you enjoy! Comments are much appreciated ;) First part includes a prologue as well.
Prologue
The waves were unusually strong the morning Yunho woke up to the sound of canons. The ship creaked and shook, rocking fiercely, as Yunho sat up in bed instantly wide awake and reached for the night stand to grab his sword from the table - but it wasn't there. Feeling a light sting of panic tug at his heart strings being unarmed, he got up to his feet, buckled up his pants and stuffed his feet into his grandfather's old boots Yunho still wore to this day. From the window of his cabin he could clearly see the shape of another ship casting a shadow to the sea. It was huge, with giant red flags and sails larger than Yunho had ever seen before, several masts so high they almost reached the cloudless sky.
"Pirates," he hissed under his breath, almost losing his balance as the floor beneath his feet trembled with another blow. The smell of smoke and gunpowder reached his nostrils, adding to the gradually growing sense of panic - there were horrified screams and shouts coming from the deck now.
He reached for the door knob only to find out that it had been locked from the outside. With all the strenght in his body, Yunho slammed the door with his shoulder, hoping the wood would give in under his efforts. The ship made another cracking sound, like the wood was crying out loud in pain from being under attack but the door simply wouldn't budge.
"Let me out!" Yunho shouted in despair, now banging the door with both of his fists. He wasn't going to go down with the ship, he'd rather break the window and jump out and into the ocean to avoid the fate of drowning with it. Maybe he could find a piece of wood or something to use as a float, or maybe even swim to the nearest shore if they weren't too far from the closest blotch of land.
Forgetting about the door, Yunho feverishly started looking around in his room to find something to use as tool to break the tiny window. He was skinny enough to squeeze himself through even though his shoulders had widened considerably during the last couple years his body had gone through the changes to become a man. It was worth the risk. There were sounds of clashing swords, violent screams and banging coming from the corridor outside Yunho's room - there was no time to waste now - but just as Yunho was about to use a copper candle holder to smash it to pieces, the door to his cabin opened with a loud bang.
He turned around, eyes wide open in shock and saw a very pretty girl dressed in men's clothing standing there with a sword covered in blood. She had short, dirty blonde hair and brown eyes so large it made her look more like an animal than a person. She was thin, probably around Yunho's age, but much shorter than Yunho was. Nevertheless she looked dangerous - especially with a sword that sharp in her hand.
"Why are you locked up in here?" she demanded - her voice was much deeper than Yunho had expected - and swung the sword right before Yunho's face to threaten him.
"I'm not sure," Yunho lied, taking a few steps back to get out of the girl's reach and hid the candle holder behind his back in case he needed to use it to smack her in the head. He wouldn't hesitate even though his attacker happened to be female.
There were voices coming from the aisle again, running footsteps and a member of the crew appeared to come to Yunho's rescue. The girl was so fast Yunho barely saw what had happened before the man was on the floor with his throat slid open, blood pouring out, dead as a door nail. She shook her weapon a couple times to get rid of the blood dripping from the blade and pointed the sharp object at Yunho's face once more.
"Why is a cargo ship carrying a prisoner? Or are you someone they need to protect?" she asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion, as if evaluating Yunho from head to toe.
"I swear I don't know, you have to help me get out of here," Yunho pleaded, seeing the opportunity and taking it. The hand pointing a sword at his face trembled a little in hesitation.
"We were told not to leave any survivors. Dead men tell no tales," she told, looking indecisive, "I'm not going to hand you a weapon."
"That's fine," Yunho assured, "Just help me out of here."
The ship shook again with enough force for the both of them to lose their footing. The pirate girl regained her balance first, finally lowering the sword and coming to a decision.
"Fine, just follow me and be quiet!"
"The ship's going to go down any minute."
"Then hurry and make no sound or I'll slit your throat," she said before turning around and running off with Yunho following close behind. There was no time for Yunho to grab a pistol from the floor or to try and tackle the other to the ground - he had a hard enough time jumping over bodies of both the crew and the attackers to get out of the sinking ship. The floor beneath their feet was starting to tilt, the other side of the ship most likely already submerged in water, but the pirate girl was quick on her feet.
They climbed up the ladder to get to the deck and finally, Yunho saw the true state of the ship. One of the masts had collapsed, the forecastle was wrecked, the sails were on fire, parts of the floor had been completely destroyed by the canon balls. The magnificent pirate ship with marvellous red flags was completely intact beside it, looking very much intimidating in all it's glory. Yunho could have spent hours just admiring the sight if the ship hadn't been about to go down.
"Come on," came a frustrated voice from next to him - Yunho had stopped for only a couple seconds from sheer shock - and then he turned his gaze to the girl again. Except that it wasn't a girl at all. In the light of the day he could see clearly - it was a boy just like him, with pale, beautiful skin and a face fitting for a prince, round, soft features and a slender figure. The wooden deck beneath his feet trembled again but this time Yunho barely noticed.
"Come on!" the pirate repeated, offering a hand to Yunho who took it without a second thought. He pulled Yunho along and they jumped together, landing on a lifeboat attached to the side of the main ship. Yunho turned to look back and saw that the ship he'd been on was now almost entirely submerged in water - waves crashing around it and sucking it in without mercy. They were both out of breath, watching the ship sink and with a loud bang, another one of the masts fell apart and disappeared into the depths like into the mouth of a beast.
Yunho glanced to his side and saw that the boy was smiling, wind tousling his hair, cheeks rosy like all the life inside him was about to burst out of him. There were voices coming from the main deck now - someone was clearly giving orders to the crew - and the sails were lifted as the ship started to move.
"Welcome aboard the Cassiopeia," the boy grinned, turning to face Yunho with his face glowing from excitement.
Chapter 1
Jaejoong had learnt to both love and fear the sea since the day he had been born. He couldn't even remember a time he hadn't smelled salt in the air, heard the sound of waves or the cry of a seagull. He had grown used to sleeping in damp bed sheets, either eating seafood every single day or starving and never having completely dry shoes - not to mention clothes. Whenever he stepped on land he felt like he didn't belong. The sunlight had drained all the color from his hair making it light as sand but his skin had remained pale - it didn't matter if Jaejoong spend hours sitting in the sun staring at the horizon, the only mark days spend out in the sun had left on his skin were the freckles on his shoulders and cheeks.
Cassiopeia had been his home for the last ten years. Jaejoong knew every nook and cranny of the ship like his own pockets, knew where to hide his most beloved possessions and where to go whenever he wanted to be alone. He knew just what the ship was capable of, just like he knew himself, for it had become something closer to a family member than a mere ship during the years Jaejoong had spent there. He'd been taught to use a sword, to shoot a pistol and to jab a knife to the skull of his enemies, as well as to read a map and navigate the endless waters. He had been born to the life of a pirate but the truth was - Jaejoong was worth much more than your average buccaneer.
Jaejoong had been there to raid dozens of ships, discover treasures so great a simple landlubber couldn't even imagine but he had never smuggled a prisoner into the ship - at least not without permission. As he sat there in the lifeboat with another boy next to him, watching the ship they had scuttled go down and disappear into the black waters, Jaejoong thought about what he had done. The sun was up high on the sky, the weather was perfect for sailing, but the worry in his heart was growing with every breath the boy next to him took. What if he'd turn out to be dangerous? Had he just jeopardized the entire crew and the ship?
The more time Jaejoong spent looking at the other young man, the more he tried to convince himself it had been the right thing to do. He had no problem with killing sailors or even other pirates, but this person was so close to his own age and had been unarmed, not to mention locked inside a cabin, doomed to die unless Jaejoong had saved him from that inevitable fate. Besides, it had been a while since the last time Jaejoong had even spoken to anyone his own age. Every single member of the crew was a grown man, way past the age of having similar interests to Jaejoong.
"What's your name?" he asked with a quiet voice, not wanting any of the other pirates to notice them sitting there.
"I'm Yunho," he replied, and much to Jaejoong's surprise, didn't look too bothered by what had happened to the ship. Only wooden junk and empty barrels were now floating on the water - everything that was left of the ship.
"Why were you locked inside your room?" Jaejoong asked again, but Yunho didn't seem to want to reply honestly.
"Told you, I don't know."
"Liar."
"You haven't even told me your name," Yunho turned to look at him, eyes shaped like almonds giving him a piercing leer, "Why would I tell you anything?"
"Does saving your life count for nothing?" At this point Jaejoong could no longer surpress a smile. He already liked Yunho. "I'm Jaejoong."
"You're a pirate," Yunho said judgementally, "You were the ones that sank the ship, I wouldn't call that exactly saving my life."
"Point taken," Jaejoong turned his gaze back to the horizon, "But I could have left you there to die. I take it you're not one of us then."
"Nope," Yunho answered - Jaejoong could feel his eyes still glued to him, "Am I going to have to become one now if I want to stay alive?"
"Umm..." Jaejoong mumbled, momentarily losing all confidence, "It would be better for you to stay hidden for now unless you want to get thrown in the ocean. I wouldn't want you to walk the plank."
"Great," the other boy sighed, "Well... At least I'm not fish food yet."
"Come on, I know just where to hide you," Jaejoong tried to sound encouraging as he stood up and took a hold of the ropes forming a net on the side of the ship to start climbing. Yunho stood up as well and suddenly Jaejoong was very much aware of the height difference between them. He looked up at the other boy who took a firm hold of the thick ropes and hoisted himself up, biceps flexing, and then paused to wait for Jaejoong who had been momentarily distracted.
"This way," Jaejoong muttered while climbing the side of the hull, constantly looking back to make sure Yunho was tagging along. Yunho looked strong - probably strong enough to easily knock Jaejoong over - but if he fell into the water Jaejoong wouldn't be able to haul him up without anyone noticing what he was doing. The ship had picked up some speed now, the wind was getting stronger and the waves high enough for the salty splatters of sea water to drench their boots as they moved without sound.
Near the tiller flat, towards the rear of the ship, Jaejoong stopped for a moment to speak again to let Yunho in on his plan.
"The great cabin of the Captain is almost above us," he whispered, "But I know a perfect place, there's a cabin no-one uses right below mine. I can take you there but we'll have to crawl though a window to get inside."
Yunho nodded, there was no need for words, and followed close behind until they reached the window in question. Jaejoong grabbed the handle on the hatch, yanked it with all his strenght and pulled it open with so much force his foot almost slipped on the slippery ropes. He felt the other boy's fingers wrap around his fairly thin wrist, taking a firm hold of him, and the unnerving warmth of Yunho's body close to his.
"Don't fall now or we're both dead," Yunho warned before letting go of Jaejoong's wrist and watching as the smaller young man climbed through the window and into the room.
As expected, the room was completely empty. There was a shaggy bed, a couple of candles and a golden oil lantern, some empty bottles and moldy looking books scattered around the space with a thick layer of dust covering every possible surface. Yunho climbed into the room in Jaejoong's footsteps and looked around, looking pleasantly surprised to find out it wasn't a trap.
"This belonged to one of the crew members who disappeared at sea," Jaejoong started to explain as a reply to Yunho's puzzled expression, "At first we thought he would return but he never did, and then everyone kind of forgot about where he used to sleep. This ship is pretty huge."
"Why the red flags?" asked Yunho as he took a seat from the bed without bothering to wipe off the dust. He seemed to be exhausted even though the look in his eyes was bright, now slightly warmer than before.
"It's the trademark of our ship - we aren't just any pirates," Jaejoong explained, leaning against the wall opposite of where Yunho was seated, "We've never lost a battle, not as long as I've been on the ship. Others know to fear us, they run away when they see the red flags."
"You're pretty skilled with that sword of yours," Yunho grinned, "I wonder if you could beat me."
"I'm not going to give you a sword so you can try," the other shook his head, also grinning, "I'm not taking any risks before I know whether I can trust you or not."
"How about a pistol?"
"In your dreams, landlubber."
They were quiet for a moment, only observing each other in the little light the open window let into the dusty old room. Yunho's skin was much darker than his, golden and healthy looking, his eyes were brown like cocoa and the shape of his body was visible even through the stained fabric of the shirt he wore. His hair was dark too - Yunho had pushed it up to keep it out of his field of vision, revealing thick eyebrows and a thin scar underneath his right eye. He had a mole above his upper lip, a strong jaw, a mouth shaped like a crossbow and sharp collarbones that stuck out above the wide curve of his toned chest. Jaejoong swallowed thickly and tried to turn away, not to seem like he was staring.
"You don't look like a pirate," said Yunho, breaking the slightly tense silence with a calm voice, "You still have all your teeth."
"I'm still young," Jaejoong smiled a little, "And I actually take care of mine. I don't want to grow up to only be able to eat mushed food and drink rum to stay alive."
"How old are you exactly?"
"Seventeen."
Yunho grinned at that, leaning back and probably unintentionally, looking at the other boy from head to toe as if evaluating the goods. "Me too."
"I have to go," interrupted Jaejoong for Yunho had just opened his mouth to continue speaking, "I have to make sure everything's alright and show my face so that they know I'm not dead or anything. I'll bring you food."
"I'll be right here, I'm not going anywhere," Yunho raised both of his hands in the air as a gesture of surrender, showing his open palms to the other boy.
Jaejoong turned around to leave the room, heart beating in his chest faster than it had before when he had swung his sword around at people and cut open their throats.
"Jaejoong," Yunho said softly, took a deep breath and continued, "Thank you."
"It's nothing," he brushed off Yunho's words and hurried out of the room, not daring to turn around and face the expression on Yunho's handsome, prince-like features just yet.
Everything up on the deck was a total mess when Jaejoong climbed up the ladder to join the others. Every single member of the crew seemed to be looking for something, some injured from the battle but most appearing to be just fine - maybe a bit high on adrenaline after another victory in acquiring a fairly decent amount of loot. Jaejoong walked over to a pile of boxes they had stolen to look at them closer when one of the other pirates spotted him there.
"He's here!" he shouted with a raspy voice, "Captain, I found him!"
Jaejoong turned around to face the pirate who had called him out, both confused and annoyed about all the ruckus that followed. Why did it always have to be like this?
"He's alive!"
"We found him, Captain!"
"He's still here!"
"What's going on?" Jaejoong asked, eyes going back and forth the faces that approached him from all directions, trying his very best not to seem suspicious.
"Were you fighting again, young Master? The Captain told you weren't allowed," the bearded pirate closest to him said sternly.
"I swear I wasn't, I was just taking a nap downstairs," he tried to lie but even the dumbest faces of the crew of pirates looked like they didn't quite believe him. "Don't tell the Captain-"
But it was too late. The Captain of the ship was now coming down the steps to the main deck to see what all the noise was about. He was a tall, strict looking man with a face so beaten by the weather it looked like it was made of wood. With a few long strides he was there, grabbing Jaejoong by the arm and shaking it as if to make sure it was really him. The man's eyebrows were angry but the look on his weary face was more relieved than furious.
"I have told you repeatedly not to fight - you stay in the ship while the crew takes care of the work," he scolded, still shaking Jaejoong around like a bag of feathers, "If you die this ship doesn't have a future and I promised your mother you'd be safe here. Don't make me lock you in the dungeons."
"I'm more than capable of taking care of myself," he argued back - Jaejoong wasn't afraid of the Captain, "I'm a member of the crew and I can't just leave it all to the others, I have responsibilities to fulfill!"
"Your assignment on this ship has nothing to do with fighting," the Captain's voice was now starting to shake with anger, "You have to save your strenght for when we truly need it."
Biting his lip, Jaejoong lowered his gaze and decided to let it go for now. He nodded in defeat, trying to look as if filled with regret and sighed heavily. It was probably for the best not to go around looking for trouble when the biggest problem he currently had was the other young man he had smuggled inside the ship without the Captain's consent.
"I won't do it again, I swear," he muttered, causing the Captain to let go of his arm.
"You better," said the Captain, giving one more severe look at the kid in front of him before turning around and starting to shout orders to the crew, "Take the loot to the ballast! Clear the deck! Straight ahead at full speed!"
Jaejoong stood there for a long moment, watching the crew get back to their usual work before heading to the kitchen of the ship to grab enough food to feed both him and Yunho. He gathered as much as he could without raising suspicion - not that anyone at the kitchen was paying any attention to him - and stuffed his pockets with fried fish and dried pieces of bread hard enough to break one's teeth. He poured water into two small bottles and headed back to where he had left Yunho.
On his way there Jaejoong realized he hadn't even locked the door to the cabin that held his biggest secret in his flustered state of trying to run away. His steps grew faster the nearer he got to the said room, he was almost running, but when he finally opened the door to find out whether the other young man had in fact escaped, a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Yunho was sound asleep on the bed, mouth open, clearly in deep slumber. Jaejoong approached the bed and placed the food items on the wobbly nightstand before lighting one of the oil lamps in case Yunho didn't like the dark. The wind outside was howling - night would fall soon - and Jaejoong was starting to get a bit worried Yunho would want to leave as the room wasn't exactly paradise.
He sat on the floor and pulled his knees to his chest, hoping Yunho would wake up soon and chat with him a bit more. Having conversations with no-one else but old, drunken pirates wasn't exactly enlightening when all they usually liked to talk about was either booze, prostitutes or what gold could buy them next time they made a stop at a pirate harbor - that was if they weren't spending their energy in fighting each other or gambling. When Jaejoong really thought about it, one couldn't blame him for wanting someone his age to talk to. He didn't care about prostitutes or treasure and in Jaejoong's opinion, rum tasted and smelled like shit. Unable to stand it any longer and totally lacking self control, he reached out a hand to poke Yunho's cheek with the tip of his forefinger.
The other young man opened his eyes immediately and jumped up to sit on the bed as if he hadn't been sleeping at all. He adjusted the shirt he was wearing and pushed the hair back from his face, looking like sleeping was something incredibly embarrassing to be caught doing.
"What'd you do that for?" Yunho asked suspiciously before spotting the food Jaejoong had placed on the table.
"Eat," Jaejoong encouraged convincingly, instantly feeling more cheerful now that Yunho was awake again. "Tell me something about where you're from. I have to decide if you're worth keeping alive."
"Well..." Yunho started with his mouth full of fish, "You're a pirate, I'm sure you've been everywhere in the world."
"We can't exactly sail into big cities unless we want to get hanged," Jaejoong grinned, "Piracy is illegal almost everywhere."
"It's illegal where I'm from," Yunho nodded, "The city is so heavily guarded I've never even seen a pirate ship before - but I've seen you guys get hanged in front of great audiences. People want to see it, no-one likes pirates."
"Of course not - we kill your men and take your treasures from under your noses."
"It's so hypocritical, it's not like our people have never killed anyone," Yunho huffed, obviously angry about something he wasn't saying out loud, "Going into war over such stupid things, trade agreements and childish disputes.."
"You don't sound like you like the place where you're from very much," Jaejoong snatched a piece of bread from the table and started to nibble on it just to have something to do with his hands. He felt strangely out of control with the other young man in his company.
"I don't," Yunho admitted, "How about you? Have you always been a pirate?"
"Pretty much. I was born into this, I never had any other choice."
"You don't want this?"
"I love the sea and I love the ship," Jaejoong looked out of the cabin window but it was now so dark outside he couldn't exactly see, "I'm not unhappy here, that's not the case at all. The fighting, the feeling of being alive... It's great but I'm not exactly free, I can't leave the ship."
"I can't even imagine having the sort of freedom you have."
"How did you end up locked up in that cabin?"
"I ran away from home," Yunho told him before taking a huge gulp of water but didn't explain any further. Now it felt like Yunho was avoiding his eyes.
"It seems like we both have secrets," said Jaejoong, flashing Yunho a lazy smile and getting one in return.
They spent hours talking, well into the early hours of the next morning before finally falling asleep around sunrise. Jaejoong was curled up on the floor while Yunho slept with his long limbs sprawled across the bed, both out like a pair of lights for a good couple hours. Yunho was the one to wake up first. Without bothering to get up yet, Yunho rolled over to his side and watched Jaejoong sleeping on the floor next to the bed. It didn't look like the most comfortable position - Yunho felt a bit sorry for him - but Jaejoong wasn't exactly a princess and was probably used to this sort of thing.
Since he was already wide awake, Yunho took the moth eaten blanket from his bed and used it to cover the smaller boy's body. Jaejoong shifted in his sleep, getting more comfortable and pressed his nose into the fabric. Yunho couldn't beat himself up about mistaking him as a girl - he had never seen a guy with such long, black eyelashes or a mouth naturally quite as cherry colored. Wondering what Jaejoong would look like with a clean face and clothes that weren't dirty and filled with holes, Yunho grabbed a piece of leftover bread from last night and started eating. All his life Yunho had grown up thinking pirates were simple minded, bad mannered and greedy people - but none of those things applied to Jaejoong. He had so many interesting things to say Yunho had rarely enjoyed such lively conversations - Jaejoong wasn't rude and on top of everything, didn't seem to care that much about treasure.
No matter how much Yunho did already like Jaejoong, he couldn't tell him the truth about who he was and where he had come from. Jaejoong might have been more than a decent person, but it would be simply naive to assume all of the crew would be like him. They were both young, they understood each other, but given the fact that the pirates had just killed and robbed an entire group of sailors, he couldn't just assume they wouldn't use the truth to their advantage. He would be happy to say hidden inside the cabin until they arrived at a shore and Jaejoong could help him out without anyone noticing. Yunho didn't exactly want to go back home either - maybe he could start a life polishing shoes for pirates at some far-away town and live there for the rest of his life.
Jaejoong rolled over to his back and scratched his nose in his sleep. Yunho watched as Jaejoong made a face, scratched his nose again and then opened his eyes. They looked a bit puffy from staying up all night. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and turned to look at Yunho, looking slightly surprised to find the other awake already.
"What time is it?" he asked, sounding sleepy.
"No clue," Yunho said while popping another piece of bread into his mouth, "But the sun is shining already. Don't you have things you need to do on this ship?"
"Not today," Jaejoong sounded pleased, "They won't be needing me today."
"What exactly do you do on this ship? Why would they even hire a kid?"
"I can't say," Jaejoong gave the most infuriating answer and grinned at Yunho as he pushed himself up to a sitting position, and grabbed one of his boots from the floor from where he had placed them last night next to Yunho's shoes.
"Are you like a pirate prince or something?" Yunho asked - honestly it wouldn't have surprised him even if it was true because Jaejoong simply didn't look like a pirate at all. Yunho could see the light splatters of freckles on Jaejoong's skin from the open neckline of the shirt he was wearing, decorating his collarbones and his chest, as well as the chain of a necklace around his neck that disappeared under his top. He had an aura of a nobleman even if he was wearing clothes appropriate for a pirate.
"No!" Jaejoong let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head at Yunho's stupidity, "There are no such things as pirate royalty. All of us are the same."
"Even the Captain?"
"Well... You could say he's a bit above everyone else," the light haired boy admitted as he got up from the floor and sat next to Yunho on the bed instead, "This crew needs someone to tell them what to do or we'd never get anything done. That's the thing with pirates, they're all old drunks that just happen to know how to fight."
"You sound like you know the crew very well."
"I do know them, I've grown up around them," Jaejoong smiled now, pushing a strand of hair behind his ear - Yunho saw the glimmer of a gold ear ring - and continued, "Some have families they have to support and some just love the sea like I do."
"You pierced your ears," Yunho changed the subject, reaching a hand to brush Jaejoong's hair out of the way to take a better look at the jewelry hanging from the smaller man's earlobe. Turning his gaze down to the floor, Jaejoong let Yunho look at his ears without swatting his hand away.
"Does it hurt?" asked Yunho, running his forefinger down the lobe of Jaejoong's ear and poking one of the several golden rings gently. He leaned in closer - Yunho had never seen so many rings in one ear before - and flicked the piece of jewelry playfully.
"It doesn't," Jaejoong let out a laugh, eyes darting back and forth between Yunho's face and the floor like he wasn't sure where to look, "I can give you one if you'd like."
"A piercing?"
"Yeah," Jaejoong exhaled excitedly, letting his hair fall back over his ear as he turned to look at the other boy next to him on the bed. "I once saw a woman who had pierced her belly button, and one time a man who had a ring through his nostrils."
"Were they pirates too?"
"Uh-huh," Jaejoong hummed, still not breaking the eye contact which made Yunho feel strangely uneasy and aware of the other boy's close proximity. Jaejoong's ear had felt soft to his touch but his cheeks looked even softer.
"How scandalous," Yunho felt the corners of his lips move up involuntarily to form a lazy grin. Had Jaejoong just inched closer? The other boy was now opening and closing his mouth, obviously trying to get himself to say something.
Yunho sat there patiently and waited but Jaejoong never managed to utter another sentence. After a moment of gaping like a fish on dry land, he closed his mouth and finally turned away from the other man's expectant eyes. Jaejoong pushed his hair out of his eyes and stood up from the bed.
"I think I do have work after all," he said with a strained voice as he gathered the rest of his stuff from the floor before walking over to the door, and paused to stand there with a hand on the door knob. "Don't go anywhere, okay?"
"I promise I'll stay right here," Yunho smiled, hoping that Jaejoong would begin to trust him.
"Do you really want me to pierce your ears tonight?" Jaejoong returned the smile - the awkward tension from his posture was gone, "I think it would suit you."
"Yes," agreed Yunho eagerly, "If I'm going to stay on board Cassiopeia I'm going to have to look the part, right?"
The night had already fallen when Jaejoong made his way back to Yunho's cabin. He had lied earlier on the day - in fact he had no work to do - but things had become so uncomfortable he'd just had to get away from the other boy to be able to gather his thoughts. Jaejoong's mind felt like a tangled blob of fishing net. It had been so strange to be so close to someone - strange in a good way - and Yunho was just so nice to talk to. He wasn't exactly bad to look at either. So intelligent and handsome, well-mannered and kind... Jaejoong was beginning to think Yunho had to come from a noble family. Maybe the ship he had been on had kidnapped him for a ransom? Maybe Yunho's family was rich? There had to be reason why Yunho had been locked up in there.
Even if Jaejoong had asked about it a thousand times, he was sure Yunho wouldn't tell. It would be nice to have Yunho trust him - Jaejoong had no bad intentions even if he turned out to be a murderer running away from justice - for he wanted to know everything about who Yunho was and where he had come from. Would it be possible to make him look like a pirate and make him fit in with the rest of the crew without anyone noticing? That way Yunho could stay on the ship forever if he wanted to.
When Jaejoong knocked on Yunho's door that evening, he had filled his pockets with food and a new bottle of fresh water for Yunho. He had looked through his drawers and found an old needle he had used to pierce his own ears and had also stuffed it in his pocket. Yunho was sitting on his bed with his back against the wall, reading one of the old books the previous occupant of the room had left behind. He raised his gaze from the book when Jaejoong stepped in, looking thoroughly pleased, and gave him a little smile which made Jaejoong's insides jump unpleasantly.
"I was starting to think you wouldn't come," Yunho said sounding relieved, "Good thing I found this book or I would have been bored to death."
"Which one is it?" Jaejoong asked while once again emptying his pockets to the night stand. Yunho showed him the cover.
"Have you read this?"
"I can't read," Jaejoong admitted, taking a seat from the bed next to the other boy who looked slightly surprised now.
"Really?" Yunho asked carefully, clearly trying not to offend him, "Would you like me to read it to you?"
"Yes," Jaejoong agreed, feeling a strange warmth spread through his body, "But first lets give you an earring."
Yunho put the book away and shifted closer to Jaejoong on the bed. He didn't seem to be scared as he watched Jaejoong grab a candle from the table and then hold the needle over the flame to make sure it was disinfected. The metal of the needle turned slightly darker from the heat but Jaejoong held it there for what seemed to be the right amount of time. He then turned to Yunho, whose eyes were again focused on Jaejoong's face instead of the sharp object in his hand.
"Where do you want it?" Jaejoong asked as Yunho bent his neck to the side giving him more room to work with. Jaejoong inched a bit closer, took a hold of Yunho's ear and examined it closely. He could feel Yunho's breath tickle the side of his cheek.
"You decide," Yunho said quietly, one of his hands relaxed and resting on Jaejoong's thigh as they were sitting so close to each other. When Jaejoong raised the needle and held it closer to Yunho's ear, the fingers placed over Jaejoong's thigh squeezed it tensely.
Without hesitation, Jaejoong jabbed the needle through Yunho's left ear lobe. Yunho's breath hitched, getting caught in his throat as he tried to move his head to look at Jaejoong but the other stopped him.
"Stay still," he instructed, looking around and realising he had forgot something, "Shit... We need a ring to put through it."
He pulled the needle out of Yunho's ear and tossed it back on the table before removing one of his own ear rings to give to Yunho. Yunho hadn't followed his instructions, he had straightened his neck, and was now looking at Jaejoong with a strange expression on his face. There was a thick drop of blood glistering on his ear and Jaejoong wiped it away with his fingers.
"Don't move," Jaejoong told him again, shifting a couple more inches closer to Yunho to be able to push the piece of jewelry through the freshly made hole. He leaned in closer, a bit closer, trying to keep the golden ring in his shaking fingers when Yunho's nose brushed the side of his cheek. Right that instant Jaejoong's heart made a jump as powerful as a cannon ball. He turned to look Yunho in the eye and their lips brushed against each other accidentally, soft as a feather, both inhaling sharply and then - Yunho closed the distance between their mouths and kissed him.
The piece of jewelry fell out of Jaejoong's hand, dropped to the floor and rolled somewhere under the bed. Yunho's mouth closed around Jaejoong's upper lip, the pirate boy being frozen in shock, as the grip he had on Jaejoong's thigh tightened a bit. Jaejoong reacted by instinct as soon as Yunho had pulled back from the kiss.
He punched Yunho's jaw with all his might, causing Yunho to nearly fall out of bed - it was all happening so fast - and Yunho hit him right back until they both fell to the floor. Yunho landed on his back with Jaejoong straddling him and the wobbly night stand next to the bed fell over too with a loud bang. They were making a lot of noise. Jaejoong raised his fist to punch Yunho again even though a little voice in his head was telling him not to but then - the door to the cabin opened.
A member of the crew was standing in the doorway, looking astonished for a few long seconds before he opened his mouth and shouted;
"Intruder! All hands on deck!"
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