graceless heart

Under the clash of Maddox’s hand playing with his ass, Aaron strung himself out like spun sugar. Unabashedly eating up everything the pirate gave to him and begging for more. With mewls and curses, the way his body moved in a slow frenzy demanding the gunner to keep going. People unashamed to ask what they wanted had always been a turn-on. To be free within four walls with another person. 

I like–to be easy for you. Slate wiped clean tonight between the two. Without the promise of being on the ocean not much mattered to Maddox. Music, drink, sex. Not necessarily in that order. Herzog had been one of the few remedies to months and months of mostly nothingness. The man bent over the pirate with a slicked forehead pressed to his own making it easier to finger deeper. His cock throbbed in anticipation every time Aaron’s mouth opened or muscles tensed around his fingers. I love when you do whatever you want to me. The longing to kiss, to taste what they’d already done, with all the pirate’s stupid and primal grunting need.

Maddox gave in to all the overpowering urges. Aaron was lightning striking sudden and bright, sparking a sense of wonder and taking his breath away. No matter where his free hand settled it wasn’t content to stay long and only stirred the hedonistic movements of their bodies together. 

Out of the men and women he’d been with on the island, the prince never disappointed. Not like this. He remembered the first time. One of the few pleasurable memories he would take when the time came to board the ship and leave the god forsaken island. He nipped at swollen lips. “I haven’t forgotten. But tonight, Aaron.” The thought wasn’t completed. It should be remembered. Maybe supersede everything. Fuck predictions or guesses, just.. remember. 

After a breathy swear Aaron did as he was told. With that look over a shoulder, always. Flirtation in the eyes and a face colored with arousal instantly altered Maddox’s idea of bringing the man back on his lap. The permanent swagger held a secret he dared Maddox to discover. Finding the last one he had in him– at least in this go, because there were many hours left in the night. 

Maddox wrestled strong arms behind Aaron’s back and pushed forward to bend the prince over, face down and ass up. With the man’s cheek to the mattress he raked through his hair once from bottom to top, and gave the back of his head a little shove. “Stay there.” He then guided his cock in quick. They’d already gone above and beyond preparing for the inevitable, so why delay further. 

The loudest, deepest groan was forced out of Maddox yet. On his knees behind the German he began to buck his hips in a fast build, ramming as hard as possible. His fingers bit into Aaron’s wrists holding them tight and high up on the back. “Oh.. fuck you are tight and good for me like this.” Maddox’s turn to curse again had arrived, handling a thigh to spread him wider and steady himself. 

Aaron only resisted with a grunt when Maddox yanked his arms behind him and bound them in his hands. A sharp intake of air when his head was pushed down onto the bed, leaving him more than a little exposed for the gunner. Aaron didn’t struggle--well, only to look over his shoulder as he arched his back to give Maddox even better access. And to watch the beautiful unspooling of an equally beautiful man lining himself to finally finally fuck him. A strong hand pressed his head down, pulled his hair, told him to stay, and the prince knew for the duration he belonged to Maddox.

“Fuck,” Aaron whined as Maddox buried his cock deep inside him. Not a moment to feel each slow and careful inch of him as Maddox took off to the races with a pace that made Aaron feel like he was going to explode. And the sound from the gunner when his touch-starved dick found much needed friction caused a low hum from the prince. He found Maddox incredibly attractive, a polar opposite presence, a man that was measured and calculating. A fixed point. Aaron needed that. But Maddox could be unpredictable, too, and recent events proved the pirate would keep Aaron guessing for a while. The man clasped already sore wrists tight while Aaron’s own hands clenched and unclenched pinned by strong fingers. Maddox fucked him into the bed and he couldn’t do anything but press his hips back as a bit of resistance, until Maddox spread him wider. And he was completely at Maddox’s mercy.

Open-mouthed panting was punctuated with pitchy moans with every deep thrust inside him. His legs felt numb, a quiver in his abdomen rattled him and for a solid few seconds Aaron thought he’d shatter. Eyes squeezed shut forced out tears onto his temples and yet he couldn’t keep himself from grinning. He liked being handled. No--he liked being handled by Maddox Keyes. Maddox wasn’t gentle and he wasn’t selfish. Tonight he took every reaction from the pleasure he gave Aaron like it was his own. And when Aaron summoned a moan or grunt of pleasure out of the gunner, it sent his heart into overdrive. Maddox picked up on the small counter moves Aaron tried--being a prince meant he didn’t give up control that easily--and then the pirate put him in place in a way no other man could.

Maddox’s words splintered any ongoing thoughts into incoherent babble in his head. Being good and tight, that was all for Maddox. Aaron didn’t bottom for just anyone but he craved the thrill of satisfying the gunner. He expected Maddox to take from him whatever he wanted. Be it a pirate enjoying the show of a prince on his knees or a man that needed to get laid. Aaron just wanted to get him off and he wanted to watch but, well, he wasn’t exactly in control of that.

On the daily. Malle smiled, glancing at him. It was an odd turn of phrase.

The first mention of the bonfire stole it away, and she tensed a little before nodding, all too eagerly. Yes, the bonfire. Of course. “Oh, I’m sorry.” It would have been better, perhaps, to sit with Aaron and Lecia. She didn’t see them as often as she should. They’d been on the island together longer than most of the royals, and it wore on them. Wore them down. 

“Cookies?”

The room seemed to go in and out of focus, she was in the moment for one second, out of it the next. Malle blushed. Terrible conversationalist.

“Oh, of course.” She nodded once, then glanced at the bowl, then dumped its contents unceremoniously into the rubbish bin. “Not those, though.” Obviously. “I– did it wrong.”

Malle looked up, dark eyes meeting his. “I’m sorry. It’s just – I’m awful company tonight.” She reached out, a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry you’re hurting.”

“I’m not--” Hurting? Aaron knew that was a lie. He did hurt, a lot, but somewhat less with each passing day. Hurting for different reasons buried deep beneath whatever he could find to do on the island. A prince and a pirate. And, mostly, drinking. Watching Malle, Aaron could tell the facade of being okay was slowly breaking down before his eyes. And he didn’t know what to do. He had no answers for how to cope except for, well, the aforementioned things that kept him busy.

“Don’t worry about it.” Aaron went to the pantry and retrieved a bag of flour and sugar, noticing when he came back the way Malle seemed to fade right before his eyes like a ghost. He set the things down on the counter and moved closer to the princess, caught a little off guard by another apology and the touch on his arm. He didn’t deserve any of that, or to feel the way he did. 

Aaron put a loose arm around Malle’s shoulders and gave her a brief hug, not letting go as he looked at her with a knitted brow. Was it something specific that made her drift away from moment to moment? Or just the weight of the island being too much for her tonight? “Malle. Are you all right?”

   Biting down on his lower lip, hard, despite the explosion of pleasure within him, took it all as Aaron continued fucking him hard and fast, thrusts shorter but still managing to reach the throbbing depths of his ass. Inside of him, Nael felt Aaron’s cock give a violent series of jerks, knowing that bliss was closer for the German as well. 

   When all was done, Nael’s head and legs fell against the bed, at a complete loss of energy after having received such a vigorous fucking. The sheet they lay on was wet with sweat and cum, evidence of their laborous movements. Argentinian features were flushed with blood, dark locks ruined to a mess of a look. On his dirty, sweaty chest, Aaron remained, their chests rising and falling as the pair panted to catch air. Staring at the ceiling with a dazed look, it was quite easy to tell that it was one of the most pleasurable fuckings of his life. 

   Tired arms wrapped around the German’s bod, hungry for touch. Their lips reconnected once more, albeit reduced to broken pecks. They were both absolutely, completely spent. “Well,” licking his lips amidst exhausted breathing, “that was beyond amazing.” Lying on the bed with Aaron, oh, what Nael would give for it to be permanent. “We should definitely do it again.” he chuckled, grabbing a handful of Aaron’s ass for a squeeze.

Aaron could barely move, even though he was lying on top of Nael with his entire body weight as he used the other prince as a very attractive pillow. Short kisses gave way to a desperate need to catch his own breath, to remember that he needed air, too, and not just Nael. Slowly, Aaron shifted off of Nael, but not too far, still pressed up against him in their mix of heat and sweat and cum. He grazed his fingertips along Nael’s chest as he watched the rapid breaths slowly normalize.

His eyes flickered up when Nael spoke and Aaron shifted up so he was looking down at the prince. The grab to his ass caused him to grin, letting the firm grip hold him against Nael’s hip. “Do it again? You mean in a couple of hours?” Aaron was very serious about taking up Nael’s time today. And tonight. As long as he would have him. 

The rollout had gone slow bringing Aaron back, dreaming up what he wanted for them both. Carrying it out as he pleased with no rush or haste. But Maddox’s frame was roped tight by the heat of all the nips and kisses on his skin. And the easy way Aaron followed his whims but tried to insert his own. It made for a graceful dance between the more frantic hands on pleads. A lead-up so finessed it made Maddox shiver and moan as the prince began to grind in his lap causing it to writhe beneath. The gunner found himself succumbing to the merciless response of Aaron’s body fast again, caught in a wide kiss that wanted it all, all at once. 

Aaron coming into contact with his cock and balls caused a slight lurch forward for a second, pulled at the chest and by the beam of a soft blue gaze. Light kisses traveled right through his fingertips to the ache of his cock before he pushed into Aaron’s mouth. Wet, watering, the tongue like velvet. 

His other hand massaged the back of Aaron’s neck, holding him in the grip tense fingers and the darkest eyes. Talking was quickly becoming a struggle for the gunner. “You’re so hot like this. Pure sex.” Maddeningly hot, creating a heavy haze in the air between them. The hold on the neck told Aaron to get comfortable in another kiss, wanting to taste every sound which was about to come out of his mouth. 

He reached back with saliva coated fingers and swatted over a tight ass before finding a taut hole, spending a few laden moments circling. Toying with the man but ultimately growing impatient and pushing in. Crooked fingers began to pump, slow and careful, letting the body on top tell Maddox when to curl inside him, when to sink deep to the next knuckle. Gauging too with a forceful kiss that eventually broke, the hand keeping Aaron close finally leaving to give the man space and for Maddox to roam around his body. 

Soon his fingers pushed and pulled inside Aaron stronger, firmer. With Maddox reasserting that, even under Aaron, he could dominate the man. As much as he enjoyed the lazy, seductive tug of war between them of who wanted what, and how and when– it was coming to an end. Maddox’s lips fell to the man’s ear to speak low. “Tell me how it feels to be controlled like this, by your body. By me. Let me hear it.” He still only used two fingers on Aaron, but they began to take wider shapes, the skin stretching around them as he worked rougher on the prince. 

Maddox wasn’t unaffected by it all. He could barely catch a breath watching Aaron. When Aaron moaned it triggered an echo coming out of the gunner’s mouth. His cock twitched now and then in need, his heart fluttered and beat so fast it seemed to want to escape his chest. 

It was sublime, and strange too. Just how much the German trusted him in that instant. In the sparse little room with touches of a man he’d come to know without saying much between them. His hand left the rapid action at Aaron’s ass to reach for his own cock, guiding the head with a teasing few slaps to Aaron’s hole. Giving him a chance to adjust to the next sensation waiting in line to hit hard. “When you’re ready.. sit up and turn around.” Maddox would be waiting to bend a muscled arm behind Aaron’s back and bring him down, finally handling the man into the rough, hard fuck they both craved.

Selfishly, Aaron felt like he could stay like this for hours. He’d gotten hard again almost instantly after Maddox sucked him off, deeply satisfied by an orgasm pulled out of him by a mouth that always got Aaron’s attention. A mouth that was demanding, acerbic, flirtatious, teasing, or as Maddox was now--just this side of wrecked. Aaron sucked down Maddox’s fingers with a look on his face that he enjoyed it, a hand still clasped around Maddox’s wrist as he let Maddox feel his tongue along the length of fingers. Then the hand dropped away as Maddox held the back of his neck, praising words causing an appreciative moan and for his eyes to shut until Maddox took his fingers away.

The slap on his ass garnered a surprised gasp and whine. Like a switch going off in his head. He was done taking bits and pieces where he could, challenging Maddox with a look and wandering hands, improvising on well laid plans to get what he wanted. What Aaron wanted now was to surrender. Let Maddox show him what he would do to him with all the control. It was a strange paradox of letting Maddox have what he wanted while being selfishly satisfied all at once. At the moment that felt like the only thing keeping his heart beating.

Crushed into a kiss, the short, desperate sounds escaping his lungs as Maddox teased around his ass were given right over to the gunner, up until his finger slid inside. At that, Aaron’s mouth dropped open and away. “Ah--ah.” He inhaled sharply, brow knitted tight. A look of consternation at first slipping into a smile hidden under white teeth biting down on his lower lip. He kept his eyes closed, honed in on Maddox’s fingers working him open, not oblivious to the fact that Maddox was watching his every look, hearing his every sound. And Aaron could perform, pretend he was an instrument played by a skilled hand. A little whine caught in his throat while his hands pressed hard against Maddox’s chest. Wanting to crush him against the wall and also never wanting that feeling of pressure and fullness in his ass to stop. And knowing damn well how thick Maddox would feel when he fucked him.

His legs tensed up as the movement in his ass got more invasive, lifting his body up a bit in resistance until he forced his hips back down onto Maddox’s fingers. “Fucking hell, Maddox.” Fingers curled and dug nails into Maddox’s chest as his hips moved again, further down, muscles clenched. Blue eyes glazed over in the throes of a touch that was barely half of what it would feel like for Maddox to fuck him properly. “I fucking love it,” Aaron said with his teeth clenched. Pleasure and a little pain all wrapped up in a package that was Maddox Keyes.

Aaron leaned down and pressed their foreheads together, unable to tear his eyes away from dark obsidian. Two endless voids he was more than happy to fall into, get lost in. “I like--to be easy for you.” The words were carefully constructed around breathy moans and interrupted when Aaron felt the need to lap desperately at Maddox’s lips with his tongue like a purring kitten. “I love when you do whatever you want to me.” 

He felt better than what a few drinks from the party provided--felt better than he did in a while, under the touch of a man he’d lusted after for weeks. A moan echoed from the gunner brought Aaron up to a place he’d never been before. All he knew were Maddox’s hands and the sheen of sweat on his chest and a big cock he needed inside of him.“Do you know how often I have thought about when you fucked me?” Once. It happened once. There was no logical reason why the gunner pervaded his thoughts and Aaron gave up on trying to fathom it. He wanted Maddox, whatever that meant. Under him, on top of him--next to him, near him.

Once Aaron stepped onboard the pirate began to free the boat from the docks, untying knots, coiling rope up, and stashing it away. He spoke while working, casting a grin over in return. “My plan has been discovered. Kidnap an already kidnapped prince to turn him over for a big reward. Hope I sucked his dick good enough he’ll show clemency and save my arse.”

The engine was started and Maddox stood at the wheel, looking over a shoulder, leaning out keep the boat from bumping back into the side of the dock while slowly floating in reverse. Maddox did a fair amount of cyberstalking on royals for reasons. But in the case mentioned… “Yes, I am that bored.” Once away from the dock and pointing out to sea, he floored the boat, hoping to throw Aaron back into his seat.

–

Once anchored with the island in the near distance, Maddox opened up the bait and began to set up a fishing pole. “So tell me about that time you ate a baby.”

Aaron watched Maddox work to free the boat from the docks, amusement evident in his eyes at the ‘plan’ to turn him over. “You will have to do hard time for making me clean the fryer in the canteen. I still smell like--” The engine kicked up and Aaron slid backwards and sideways in the slippery bench seat where he was perched, spilling a good amount of beer all over his shirt. “Scheisskopf,” he swore under his breath, laughing.

---

This was the farthest he’d been from the island in six months, and with a look at the distant land behind him, Aaron turned his back to the godforsaken place and faced the endless blue of ocean and sky. His beer-soaked shirt and cardigan were discarded and even with the sun tanned skin from months on the island, Aaron was fairly certain he’d come back burned. But he didn’t care. Letting out a contented sigh, Aaron watched how Maddox began setting bait on his fishing pole. Aaron carefully picked up a pole and a piece of bait without even blinking at how gross it smelled and looked.

“Yes. This baby,” Aaron rolled his eyes, grinning. “Donors contributed five hundred million euro to the cancer center if I ate a baby. It was worth the sacrifice.” Aaron spoke as he put the bait on his hook, then he just sat there with the pole in his hand and no certain way forward. This was all new to him--any fishing trips in his life were deep water shark hunts or something equally ridiculous that his father demanded. “I promise that baby thought I was very entertaining, it was a badly timed photo.” Aaron took the line between his fingers and tossed it into the water in front of a boat, looking at Maddox with a questioning shrug of his shoulders to see if he was doing it right. “Did you bring your speaker out here by any chance?”

Aaron’s hand reached his cock and he wanted to sigh. His smile grew wider, his mouth opened for a small huff of a laugh. A hand beautifully teased his hard-on and grazed the bead of precum over already sensitive skin. The gunner stepped back to the wall, chin tipping up, eyes colored with desire for the man leaning into him. Thinking if the German poured the wanton look deeper into the pirate’s eyes he might cum on the spot. Maddox felt too good in the other’s hand to put up any argument. 

“Mm, someone is giving me a reason to smile.” The gunner had never delayed his own gratification for this long for Aaron, suspended in air hooked on lust. Fingers sizzled over his scalp and Maddox’s eyes fell closed. “You’re beautiful, even when you aren’t pulling on my hair and begging me to fuck you.” 

A hand draped over Aaron’s slowly gliding one wanting to move it dangerously fast but letting the pace be what it was. Basking in the attention he gave to others but rarely allowed in return. Sensation sparked under Aaron’s thumb on his lips, and the tip of his tongue responded by brushing against it. 

But the touches over his jaw and lips were tender, almost uncomfortably too fucking good and natural, but as impossible to ignore as a warm fire in winter. 

Little earthquakes fired off up and down his spine and around his cock, with arousal spiking as a thermometer registering his rising temperature. His eyes opened and his hands began to skim low over steep valleys around the hips and below the waist, wanting to wake all the promises already spoken.

Aaron’s words caught him off guard as much as the drag of his tongue over his neck ignited him. The prince was the first royal Maddox met that he didn’t wish to instantly crush. Instead the pirate had brazenly seduced the man. He vouched for him after the fire. He let him live. “I’m starting to like you too, Aaron.” 

The reply sounded too simple yet overly complicated for a myriad of reasons, but it was gentle and lacking the usual bite. Thankfully a stolen obscene kiss prevented a discussion. 

Maddox pushed as much as he could into Aaron’s mouth and against his skin. He steadied himself with strong shoulders, holding on. The friction was good but fuck not enough. The rising tide of want pulled Aaron close, the thought of parting paled against any alternative. Maddox felt the quake of tectonic plates shifting again but not wanting them to stop. 

It was his turn to go for the soft curve of a neck, burying in again to add to the collection of marks. He lowered his hand to halt steady strokes that make him shudder. “I’m going to cum if you keep that up. And I want to cum in you while you’re on top of me.” 

A kiss pressed behind the ear with his own light lick on the skin before whispering. “I’m wrecked already, I can’t wait any longer.” The lube was retrieved, and he slicked himself up, keeping his eyes dead set on the prince’s. Then, the tie was hung loose around Aaron’s neck. Maddox gathered the ends to tug on as a lead back to the bed. “Let’s be ready for when that big dick is hard again.” Finding a comfortable spot to sit, he drew Aaron in with the tie and a greedy hand on a thigh, craning up to bring the heat of a kiss to his mouth again.

Teeth dug into his bottom lip while blue eyes hungrily devoured every inch of Maddox. Observing the rise and fall of his chest which caged in a rapidly beating heart, but surprisingly little else. Aaron thrived on the heavy lidded gazes, the hitch in his breath, the sounds let loose from an otherwise stoic man, wanting to pour more attention and touch into Maddox for as long as he could. His grip tightened on the man as a heavy hand guided him. Maddox had to be dangerously close and Aaron wavered between an intense desire to make him cum and the undeniable need he felt to have Maddox fuck him. But how hot it would be, he thought, to get him off like this-- with an easy hand on his cock, just to see if he could watch Maddox crumble backed up against a wall. The idea was decadent and filled his chest with heat and another thick throb to his dick so persistent it was borderline painful. 

“I will be the reason you cum, too,” Aaron assured him of the obvious, not even the least bit ashamed to be accused of begging for the pirate’s cock.

Maddox returned a kiss heated with the rest of what Aaron left unspoken. Brash thoughts about the events of the past weeks replaced by the slide of his tongue inside the gunner’s mouth and teeth digging into a plush lower lip. Aaron purred into the kiss while tracing fingertips down Maddox’s chest, over the quivering muscles of his lower stomach. What Maddox said wouldn’t have been much were it not for the man behind the words. Aaron didn’t want to dwell on the fact that Maddox liked him, but there was a funny feeling in his chest that he had no headspace to fathom while he busied himself playing with Maddox’s dick. As Maddox kissed and bit at his neck, Aaron’s mouth dropped open and he breathed hot against Maddox’s shoulder. Leaning in for more closeness. 

“Oh,” he said softly, followed by a little affirmative hum. Shit--riding cock wasn’t something he’d done much of before but the prospect of it sent the biggest pulse yet right to his dick. Aaron dropped his hand away from Maddox so as to not wreck him too much too soon. He watched as Maddox slicked himself up with intent, his head feeling somewhere high. Aaron took his own dick into his hand for an experimental stroke that issued a hiss from his lips, the touch on an overly sensitive head a little painful but still good.

“I can’t wait, either, I’m--” Aaron looked to either side as Maddox looped the tie around the back of his neck, the smirk on his face framed by a flush in his cheeks. Aaron’s legs still felt unsteady, but he marched diligently over to his bed with Maddox pulling him along. He let Maddox gather him up in his lap, climbing on top of him for another kiss. With hands on either side of Maddox’s face, Aaron bent over him and straddled his lap. He moved his hips, feeling the warmth and slickness of Maddox’s hard cock against his own with a low whine. He hadn’t really stopped being hard, hadn’t felt like he’d ever really come down from an orgasm that took him good and slow and easy inside Maddox’s mouth. If anything, Aaron felt like he’d raced up to the top once more--all ready to go again.

   Aaron’s fucking got harder, clear that he was trying hard to get the both of them off. Nael clung onto the German as soon as he leaned in; their bodies latched on ass and waist. Sweat rolled off their bodies and they both slid against one another, feeling their short, rapid breaths and the quickening beats of their hearts. Heavily locked lips in heated make-out made the pain derived from the relentless ploughing of his ass turned it into pain he enjoyed with intense satisfaction. 

   An impatient hand immediately let go from hold on Aaron’s bod in favour of pacifying his throbbing member between his thighs. Pre-cum dripped loosely onto his own stomach now. Pumping his own cock down from the base all the way to the tingling, soaking head, powerful moans and grunts continued to leave him as he pushed his ass more into Aaron’s direction, demanding to be pound even more. Fingers worked his own shaft vigorously, a his own hole clenched tightly around Aaron’s cock, squeezing the lifeout of it and causing him to moan in pain. 

  It was all too much for Nael, the overload of sensations, as his balls tightened as Aaron continued to pound into him. “Fuck, Aaron!” A huge breathe of air, and his grip tightening, and the man felt a surge of sperm encompass his entire groin. Shuddering, euphoria and cum exploded from his cock’s head, dripping down onto their sliding bodies. 

A tongue flicked over lips dry from open mouthed panting as Aaron watched Nael close his fingers around his touch starved hard cock. “Gott,” he swore, fucking Nael in time with each stroke. Each beautifully sculpted muscle on the other prince’s abdomen quivered under each touch and each thrust. And the noises he made--Aaron let out a moan of his own as each pass of his dick pistoning in and out of Nael’s tight hole dragged him closer and closer to a sweet release.

“Cum,” Aaron told him again, because he’d be damned if he let himself go first. He’d deny himself for as long as he could, but as Nael touched himself and writhed beneath Aaron it got harder and harder for Aaron to want to hold back. Then Nael shouted his name and Aaron knew he’d finished him. “Yes--yes,” he said through his teeth, his eyes opened wide to watch Nael cum all over his stomach. “Oh,” Aaron moaned again, heat flushed across his chest and down below where his dick plowed into Nael. “Scheiss, yes.” His body drew up tight, every muscle in him tensing at the very crest of pleasure, over the limit of what he could take--finally, releasing with a low and frantic moan, each final pump of his cock as he came inside Nael a lightning strike behind his eyes.

[ A folded piece of paper is slipped under Aaron’s door with this image printed and instructions in handwritten block letters beneath ] 

Found this. So many questions. Be at the docks at 8am tomorrow to explain. –MK

Early morning wasn’t his favorite time of day. But the AM hours remained the best to take out one of the smaller fishing boats. It seemed like a good excuse to get off the island for a few hours too. A cooler, bait, and fishing poles were already on board. As Aaron arrived Maddox hoisted a beer in a salute. “And I thought Valko’s Instagram was weird. Climb aboard, Aaron Herzog. I have beer. And I have snacks, because I don’t want you to eat me as you did that poor orphan in the photo. But I’d still like to hear the story.”

@aaronherzog

Aaron arrived on time, for once. Still not as well rested as he would have liked, but six hours of sleep was better than the whopping zero he usually got. A wry smile crossed his face when he saw Maddox lift a beer at his arrival. “Hallo, Maddox,” he said, choosing to ignore the outrageous statement at least until he was on the boat. The prince paused at the end of the dock, arms wrapped around the floral fabric adorning his frame against the wind, looking a bit wary of stepping onto the small vessel. Was this a test? He saw fishing poles and a bucket of bait and blinked in surprise, then he carefully boarded the boat. “I will tell you.” Aaron peered over the edge of the plastic sunglasses Noah gave him. “But first I would like to know if we are going on a fishing trip or sailing the fuck away from here. Because if it is the latter then I need to go back for my things.” Aaron smiled and reached into the cooler for a beer of his own.

“You were on my Instagram?” he asked as he pried open the bottle. “And Valko’s? Are you really that bored?” After settling himself onto a seat, Aaron took a quick sip and watched Maddox, delaying the inevitably boring story about a charity event he attended almost a year ago.

It was a beautiful night, marred only by the company he kept. Valko wasn’t entirely sure how he had ended up on the beach with Herzog, but it wasn’t the first time he had unexpectedly found himself lying next to someone questionable and it surely wouldn’t be the last. Whatever. He sat up as soon as he saw the bottle, and accepted the riesling without complaint. To future brothers, he thought, that hopefully wouldn’t ever have to see each other due to over-scheduling issues.

“I am sorry, Petrov.”

Valko spat wine all over his lap. Then he glared Aaron, the cause of the waste, before lifting the bottle back to his lips and taking another drink. A longer drink. He had to make up for the first mouthful that barely graced his tongue.

“… Why?”

“You know why,” Aaron said haughtily, annoyed, but not enough to fix a fully rendered glare at the other prince. Watching him spit wine everywhere was amusing enough. Having Aaron explain his apology was the opposite of amusing, though. It required admitting fault for starting a fight between them. It required acknowledging that he had been wrong about Valko. So Aaron wasn’t going to do it.

He reached over for the wine bottle and tried to steal it back as if he had not just graciously handed it over. “I do not want there to be any bad blood. That is all.” Aaron pressed his mouth into a thin line and looked away. He had bad blood with most royals on the island and he didn’t want his sister’s future husband to be one of them. What else was there to say?

“This wine is cheap.”

It had been a while since Mina had seen Aaron. She wasn’t sure why her brother was avoiding her. He usually only did that when he had something to hide. Pushing that thought out of her mind, she managed to get to the canteen in time to meet him. She rolled her eyes at his comment, grabbing the bag from him and pushing the blanket into his hands. 

“I have a few times,” she said as she started to walk towards the beach. “It’s rather nice. I used to grab the dogs and go out into the gardens when I wanted to get away. I’d get the cooks to pack me things so I didn’t have to come back for a while.” 

Aaron caught the look of annoyance on Mina’s face as she took the bag from him, accepting the exchange of the blanket. He hugged the folded fabric against his chest and grinned. Making Mina annoyed felt normal. Part of his job description. “Oh, that’s right,” he said quietly. He’d sought Mina out a few times when she retreated to the gardens. It never occurred to Aaron she did that to get away. Memories like that seemed like they were in the distant past, or in another lifetime.

“You did not check to see what I packed. For all you know it is Oreos and cake,” he said with a small grin. He hadn’t had much of an appetite lately and it seemed sweets were the only things he wanted to bother with. Aaron was determined to keep things light today. Not to dump his problems and worries on his younger sister. He had done a poor job of being there for her these past few weeks, too wrapped up in his own garbage to want to drag her into the muck. The person he relied on to get him through needed to lean on him. 

Aaron found a spot on the beach where the sand wasn’t too roughed up to lay down the blanket. There was a light breeze but nothing that would blow away their picnic. When he looked up from flattening the last corner, his eyes settled on his little sister standing under bright sunlight reflecting up on white sand. On an uncharted island in the middle of nowhere captured by pirates. He was used to Mina being the brightest thing in his life in front of a backdrop of overcast skies and cold drizzles, dark meeting rooms and tinted car windows. “Igelschnäuzchen,” Aaron said with a smile, patting the spot beside him. “Get us that bottle of wine, would you?” Of course Aaron brought wine. Time was a construct on the island. He drank when he wanted to. “Do you miss home?”

“Aaron!” she scolded sharply, “Isso não seria da sua conta.” Lecia’s face seemed to have taken on a permanent shade of dark red. She did not know what it was either. A mess, mostly. Of feelings she could not quite put into words, and a deep desperation for something she had not felt in a long time, security. “You are ruining an innocent book.”

It wasn’t like her to be so uptight about these sorts of things. She was not one to be so easily embarrassed or, truthfully, self-conscious about the things that she did. But it was not what he was saying that mortified her so much as the who and the why (and the clear mis-use of a beloved children’s tale). Lecia was losing herself to this island, and the enemy that lived among them.

Pointedly avoiding his gaze, she began to collect her shells.

“Aaron?” she asked, “Do you think there is any point in trying to escape this island?”

Aaron’s only response to such scolding was to grin. He wanted to laugh but the mood hadn’t struck him. That wasn’t like him, either. “I am ruining nothing,” he maintained. “It is not any of my business who you let into your bed as long as it is not the Tulach or someone like... I don’t know, Alex Lawrence.” His two least favorite pirates. Each man seemed equally as unlikely to end up as Lecia’s Goldilocks so the truth would have to remain a mystery.

Aaron leaned back onto the bed and up against the windowsill as he considered her question. Quiet for a few moments. “I do not know. I thought... by now with the fires there would be rescuers here. Maybe the world knows we are here but are afraid the pirates will kill us if they attempt rescue. If we tried to escape... I am not sure how far we would get. The pirates would come after us and gun us down, or worse—we would get lost and starve.” Grim realities to let sink in. Things he’d thought about extensively. Perhaps he would end up dying on the island--but of old age. “All we can do is make the best of the situation... whatever that means.” Aaron arched a brow at the Portuguese princess. Surely she knew what he meant. “Who knows, perhaps we may end up getting rescued after all.” Aaron didn’t know what that would look like. A quiet negotiation and exchange of prisoners. A big battle on the island. Aaron turned toward and Lecia and focused on her. “I... do not want anyone to get hurt. Not even the pirates.”

Was it pinot grigio? Malle looked at the label, dubious. Tasted like shit. But, in fairness, wine wasn’t her forté; she was much more at home with a large cup of tea, or whiskey. Or both. 

It was too hot on the island for toddies, though.

On any other night, she would have been better at this. Any other night, she would have shut down her own thoughts, sublimated them, listened to him. Cared. He was clearly in pain and she felt empathy for that. She cared about him. But her own pain left no room for any other, so she only glanced at him for a second and then back down. The cookie dough looked like shit, too. She’d have to throw it out.

“Oh.”

It wasn’t dismissive, wasn’t cold. Wasn’t anything, really, except the expulsion of air and the gracing of a small, gentle smile. It faded fast.

“I can make you something?” She offered it a little helplessly. She felt helpless, and useless, and not worthy of being there or anywhere. Malle looked up, a little bright-eyed, nodded to the ingredients on the counter. She couldn’t talk. Couldn’t empathize. But her hands still worked, and maybe that would be enough. “What do you like?”

“Oh. No. Malle.” Aaron scoffed, mostly at himself, forcing a grin on his face. He didn’t know why he said it. Reassurance, maybe. But there were few people he trusted to lend an ear. If he was quite honest with himself, he couldn’t let himself trust anyone after what he did. Eyes darted away from the princess, down at a spot on the table, and back at the glass of wine. “You do not have to do that. Not for me. I have one of these kinds of existential crises on the daily now.” Aaron put the glass to his lips and drank a couple gulps of wine. It was kind of a joke, kind of not, just like everything on the island. The last person he wanted to bring down with his sour mood was Malle.

“I’m sorry. How are you? I saw you at the bonfire but I did not get a chance to say hi while I was with Lecia. You looked very cute.” Aaron straightened up and walked around the kitchen island with glass in hand, standing near her and looking at what was in the bowl. “I would not say no to some cookies. I could help?”