Chapter Text
"Did you hear? In Magden, there was some mighty pirate found!"
"Horrible, these criminals! Are they that close again? What is the navy doing?!"
"He did not attack or anything! Rather I think he was attacked! They say he fled the town before they could capture him, but he seemed quite weak."
"Are you sure? So he is still out there without being restrained? That's even worse!"
"Good evening, ladies. What's the commotion about? Can I get you something?"
"Oh, sure, yes. The three-grain one, please, yes, that one. We were talking about that pirate who has been found in Magden. Rumour has it that it's the Pirate King."
"The Pirate King, huh? How far is it to Magden by horse?"
"About a day's journey, my dear. But fear not, they will capture him before he can hurt anybody."
"I'm sure of that, yes. Here you go. Well then, if you'll excuse me? Something just came up."
-
Hongjoong awoke to the indignant squawk of some crow, the noise of busy wings fluttering through the air filling his ears. He groaned, blearily blinking open his eyes against the dull grey of the cloudy sky.
Where was he?
He remembered running from the navy and getting attacked by robbers on the way. They had been strong... There had been pain. It was still throbbing all through his body, reminding him of his dilemma.
The Precious had sunken.
Hongjoong groaned, lifting his muddy hands to rub at his eyes, feeling them ache like everything else too.
He had to move. It was only a matter of time until the navy would find him again, or some vultures decided to feast on him.
He rolled around, looking down at the soft earthy field he had been laying on and giving an inward apology for not staying. Its strong earthy scent was oddly calming right now, and even the potato digging into his elbow could become a friend with time.
Hongjoong froze in the middle of his slow movements when he heard steps getting closer, trying to regain his senses enough to focus on them.
Where were his weapons?
Ah, right. Stolen, sunken, lost. Could he even stand right now? They had hit his head pretty badly.
Hongjoong gave a low grunt when he managed to get up on his hands and knees, getting all nauseous again. Gods, how he hated being on land.
The tickle of something sharp on his neck made him stop, and all pain was forgotten immediately. His muscles locked up, his head clearing considerably within seconds. Coolly he stared down at the earth, waiting.
"Not the pirate I expected. But no disappointment either."
Hongjoong felt his hackles rise when the low chuckle reached his ears, getting ready to try a useless attempt of an attack. It appeared the man had come alone, so he had a slim chance of taking him down and stealing that sword.
When Hongjoong lunged, the other person was not prepared at all. He put all his desperation into it, the cold, hunger, and frustration gnawing away at him coming together in one push. Hongjoong nearly yelped when the other man went down far too easily, worrying about having cut himself immediately. What kind of idiot-
Hongjoong's eyes found the sword wedged between them, thankfully not having cut anybody, but it looked oddly familiar. The sleek blade and the ornate hilt that had some protective swirls of metal resembling thorned tendrils wrapping around the hand of its bearer. He marvelled over the noble red roses that climbed over the guard in intricate detail to wrap around the bottom of the blade and damn; he would steal that sword all over again.
Just how he did once, many years ago in those chambers of that wealthy merchant before he had slit his throat with it. He knew precisely of the singing noise it made when it cut through the air, of how easily it impaled bodies.
It was a gorgeous piece.
"That sword." Hongjoong tried to swallow the sharp pain errupting in his throat, gingerly picking up the blade to pull it away from their bodies. His eyes were still fixated on it, marvelling at the details. "Where did you get it from?"
A wry chuckle sounded from the body beneath him, and Hongjoong felt his heart skip a beat, the sound oddly familiar all of a sudden.
"You left it in my kitchen two years ago, idiot."
And then, only then, Hongjoong finally lifted his head.
For a long moment, he could just stare. Stare and fall all over again for the man sprawled out beneath him. It was no doubt the same man from two years ago as he had not changed, time not having touched him.
Park Seonghwa.
Just like all that time ago, the man was drop-dead gorgeous, his beauty devastating. Hongjoong had often asked himself whether the man even knew, whether he was aware of how handsome he was, of how he turned people's heads when he walked through the streets.
Hongjoong took his moment to stare at him in awe, not caring about the dirt and grime stuck to his own body.
Seonghwa's hair was still black. He had redyed it even after it turned blond again, and it suited him far too well. He wore it pushed out of his forehead now, showing off strong eyebrows that made him seem more mature. His skin was sun-kissed, its pretty hue making Hongjoong want to worship it forever and see it contrast with the white sheets of his bed.
And his features, the slope of that straight nose, the soft and caring eyes and these lips Hongjoong had missed so much, rosy and pillowy soft, they were all still the same. It was all Seonghwa.
Hongjoong wanted to run his hands over the scars on the corners of his mouth, wanted to touch him to make sure he could trust his own eyes, but he hesitated. His hands were dirty.
Seonghwa, however, did not care.
He dropped the sword in order to lift his hands to Hongjoong's face, brushing some crumbs of earth away with those slender fingers of his. Hongjoong could see the same disbelief he also felt on his face, let himself be scrutinised.
No words were spoken when Seonghwa took his time, his eyes suspiciously wet while he stared at him, and Hongjoong let him, weakly holding himself upright over the other's body.
How did he live without this warmth, without Seonghwa's calming smell of soap and bread? He felt as if he could finally breathe again after a long time of being unable to.
Hongjoong startled when Seonghwa suddenly pulled him down towards him, his eyes fluttering shut, and long dark lashes spread on his cheekbones. He was momentarily distracted by a sole tear escaping from his right eye. Before Hongjoong could protest that he was dirty, Seonghwa had already molded their mouths together, kissing away the pain on Hongjoong's lips.
They crashed into each other like waves.
Seonghwa's lips were desperate, searching and bordering painful in their roughness while Hongjoong soothed, reassured him. He was half aware of pulling Seonghwa closer to his body by his hips, of pressing them against each other so they would not have to let go again. Seonghwa was crying, and maybe there also slipped some tears from Hongjoong's eyes too, but nobody saw, so it did not matter. The only thing that mattered was the smooth slide of their lips against each others.
His heart was close to bursting in his chest when all of this finally caught up with him, making his blood sing and his body ache with want.
Want to hold the other close, want to see him fall apart under his fingers, want to hear his soft voice, and want never to let him go again.
Hongjoong had to bodily wrench his head away when he needed air, gasping loudly. Seonghwa's chest was heaving up and down rapidly; his lips reddened and kiss-swollen. Hongjoong immediately surged down again to kiss his desperate whine away.
"What is it, sugar, why so needy? Did you miss me that much?" he mumbled gently against the other's lips, dipping his tongue in to sweep over his smooth teeth. Seonghwa made a breathy sound of affirmative, squeezing Hongjoong's hips with his arms that had somewhen found him.
Hongjoong explored Seonghwa's mouth as if it was their first kiss all over again. He wanted to know every nook and cranny, wanted to remind himself that it was still the same. This was still Seonghwa.
Seonghwa did the same, taking Hongjoong's breath away quite quickly when he still seemed to remember exactly what to do to drive him mad.
Oh, how he had missed the sugary sweet allure of Park Seonghwa. How he had missed him.
However, his body started reminding him again how hurt he was, how his consciousness was slipping from him. He wanted to stay with Seonghwa, he really did, but the black dots dancing in front of his vision were no good sign.
"Stop, precious. I will faint on you soon."
At that, Seonghwa finally pulled back, his gaze heavy as he searched Hongjoong's face. Both still tried to catch their breath, being pressed so closely together, not helping at all. However, that was no reason to let go.
"Is it that bad? I will take you home. We can look over your injuries there." Seonghwa's voice was low and still rough from crying, and in a stupid reflex, Hongjoong surged down again to kiss the pain away as good as possible. He just wanted to snuggle close and rest, feel safe in the strong arms of his lover.
Seonghwa indulged him, giggling softly when Hongjoong's kisses grew weak against his neck.
"I will take you home, no worries. Just sleep."
And Hongjoong did.
-
When Hongjoong awoke next, it was to gentle hands sliding through his hair and big, accusing eyes staring him down.
Hongjoong blinked, first observing his surroundings.
He was sitting in a wooden tub filled with hot water. His back was leaning against a man's chest, and warm arms enveloped his shoulders that peeked out of the water, massaging his scalp gently.
And damn, were those eyes accusing.
"Stop staring at him so meanly. He won't wake up faster if you do.", Seonghwa's voice gently chided the little girl from over Hongjoong's shoulder, and she just jumped a little, tiny hands holding onto the rim of the tub.
"But he just did!" she squealed in delight, giving Seonghwa a cocky grin. The baker had to laugh, gently pulling Hongjoong closer to nose at his neck. The pirate gave a deep sigh, letting his head fall back to rest against Seonghwa's shoulder.
"Welcome back."
"How long was I out?" he groaned tiredly, wincing at his wrecked voice.
"Only long enough for mom to make you some soup and for Tikki to get her Joong and stare you down while you were sleeping.", he chuckled fondly, carefully rinsing out Hongjoong's hair. The pirate damn near melted into his touch.
"Joong?" He opened one eye to look over to Tikki, finding her still poised at the rim with only her narrowed eyes peeking over suspiciously. At her side, she was holding some stuffed animal (a rabbit he guessed) in the same fashion. Hongjoong had to smile to himself when he noticed the savage black line somebody had drawn horizontally over the cute button nose of the animal.
"This is Joong. Do not underestimate him. Brobro taught him how to fight!" Tikki readily declared, waving the rabbit dangerously, so its ears flopped around wildly. Hongjoong felt Seonghwa's body vibrate against his in silent laughter.
"I won't. But hey, is this how you greet your dad? Don't I get a kiss or a hug?" Hongjoong tried to look offended, but it was hard when he was warm and had Seonghwa wrapped around him.
"Get your kisses from Ddeonghwa!" she fired back savagely, and Hongjoong pressed a hand to his chest as if shot by the words, watching her run off with a giggle. He heard her excitedly retelling the conversation to Seonghwa's mother in the room over, the older woman just laughing kindly.
Hongjoong turned his head to Seonghwa lazily.
"You heard her, apparently you are the person responsible for kisses in this house."
Seonghwa snorted, playfully flicking a few drops of water on Hongjoong's face.
"How about telling me what happened to you first? I'm dying of curiosity here."
"And I'm dying of not being kissed. Kiss me, and I'll tell, how about that?" A smirk was tugging at his lips when Seonghwa just rolled his eyes at him before leaning in to shut him up already.
Tikki, who had just been walking in again, just screeched, turning on her heel immediately to run away while making gagging sounds. Hongjoong tried not to giggle into Seonghwa's mouth too obviously but failed when the other man smirked, pulling him closer by his waist.
He had missed him.