“Yeah well if ya’d shut your gob I could be done and my stubborn ways wouldn’t be your problem.”  Edward offered him the biggest toothy smile he could muster, before going back to what he had been doing.  Despite having been apart of the fight that had nearly turned their bar upside down, the owners had been decent enough to give him a kit to help him with Alexios’ wound.  Edward had noticed it the moment it had happened and had been slightly worried about it until the fight had concluded and they’d all been thrown out.  Now that they were in the back alley, given the shitty lighting from the street lamp above, he could see how bad it had gotten.  He managed to stop the bleeding and with the implements given figured out how to patch him up effectively.  Finally he sat back thumping the older man on the shoulder.  “I care about ya.  Plus who’s gonna finish bar fights with me if yer outta commission.  Not t’mention if anyone’s gonna call ya pretty boy, it’s gonna be me.”

“Well don’t do that,” Edward muttered softly, digging around in the pocket of his pants.  Finding the handkerchief that was in his pocket he removed the younger man’s hand and held the softer cloth up to his nose, making him tilt his head back down.  “It’ll only drain in yer throat an’ all that blood in yer gut’ll only make feel sick later.”  The blonde looked over Alexios carefully, looking to see if his nose was broken, but luckily it wasn’t.  “You without yer weapons?  What made ya leave without’em.  I’ve never seen ya leave the house with nothing, since I know ya’d carry yer spear on ya at all times if ya could.”  He took Alexios’ hand and led him into the kitchen and to the counter by the sink.  Moving a chair from the table he pulled at the man’s arm to let him know he could sit before turning on the cold water.  He grabbed a few paper towels and wet them before taking the dry kerchief from him and tossing it under the cold water in the sink.  Luckily for Alexios the blood from his nose had slowed to a trickle, as Edward wiped away the blood from under his nose.  He went over to the freezer and rummaged around until he found a bag labeled ‘frozen vegetable’ shrugging he figured it would work and walked back over to the younger man.  He looked around, feeling like a chair wouldn’t allow him t’get close enough, Edward settled on a seat in the older man’s lap, handing him the frozen vegetables.  “Hold that on the bridge’a yer nose.  The cold will hopefully make yer nose stop bleedin’ all together and stop ya from swellin’ up.”  Without another word Edward took another of the cold wet paper towel and began working on getting the dried blood out of Alexios’ beard and hair, not even thinking about if it was weird or uncomfortable to have him sitting in his lap like he was.

Sun kissed skin looked strange against the light colored bedspread that it lay on top of.  A soft moan drifted across the room and out of the open window, caught and carried by the wind.  Maybe he enjoyed the other’s room a little more than he was willing to admit.  The openness of it reminded him of being on deck aboard the Jackdaw with the soft breeze flowing across his face as they rocked slowly along the sea at leisurely pace.  Tattoo covered skin arched into glowing tan skin as they came together.  A slow but forceful pace was set, one that left him reeling in the moment.  Eyes that resembled a storm at sea opened to see the deepest brown he had ever witnessed, the two connecting now in a second way.  Normally his mouth was his greatest contribution, but it was too busy producing sound after delicious sound, each one being matched or carried through the window.  In the back of his mind he was surprised the younger man was allowing him to carry on, as he had come to note the small amount of discretion he placed on their times together, which didn’t bother him at all.  Calloused hands reached for anything they could find to keep him from sliding up the bed further.  His fingers gripped the sheets beneath him, messing them up and crumpling them in his clenched fist.  Finally the small amount of silencing he had been expecting came when the young warrior’s lips descended on his own, muffling any further noises.  Tongue and teeth clashed trying to find their place within the sloppy kiss, battling it out with vigor.  He felt fingers travel the length of his arm, tracing a soft pattern against his fingers pushing at them as if to pry them loose.  Weakly he complied, his fingers shaking slightly from the strength of the grip.  The blanket was replaced with something rough, that slid across his palm and then through the spaces of his fingers.  Long fingers wrapping around his own, and gripping his hand, offering him something more stable to hold on to.

The good times surrounding him, were some he needed and happily partook in.  “Aye another one down the hatch!” He called, holding up his shot of rum, to the ones surrounding him, before they all took the shot right along with him.  Here he was, turning 30, he didn’t think he’d make it past 18 but he’d made it... barely.  He turned on his stool when he saw a shadow standing over him, a large grin overtaking his features when he saw that it was Alexios.  “Aye lad, care to join in on the celebration?  Men like me don’t usually make it to this age, so I consider it a milestone and plan to get as shitefaced as possible while doing so!”

      If anyone saw them together they’d think of them as friends, brothers even with the way they acted.  No one really knew what went on in his Captain’s quarters, at least he thought so.  There was much more to him and Alexios, the man who had shown up seemingly out of nowhere but had captured his attention and his time.  He considered them more than good friends, and when the doors of his quarters closed that was more evident than ever.  Such as it were that now was one of those times.  The two sat on the bench of his quarters, and Alexios’ lips were attached to his neck.  He had been trying to look at a map to decipher their next destination but that was all lost to him now.  The map had drifted down to the wooden floor long forgotten and now his hand lay against Alexios’ thigh.  Just when he thought the younger man might leave him to hang like this he felt a large strong hand grip at his crotch, and he let out a soft sound as he lifted his hips into it, hand coming to rest gently on Alexios’ wrist.

Edward J. Kenway

He had been sitting in the middle of his bed when Alexios walked in and climbed up next to him.  This wasn’t anything new.  He was used to being joined by the younger man, by now.  So much so that he didn’t even look up from he had been doing, only acknowledging him with a quick flick of his eyes.  Evie had given him a set of large atlases from different time periods and he had been looking at the vast changes to land sizes from his own time to now.  Seemed his own neck of the woods hadn’t changed too much, though she had told him that all of the islands and places he use to port at no longer existed in the way he remembered and instead had become places for men and women to go either by themselves or with family.  He was just about to turn a page when he felt a tug on his shirt.  He didn’t even realize how close Alexios was until he looked up as his lips were covered by warm tan ones.  He pulled away, scowling at him, but with no real heat behind it.  “I was busy here y’know.” Edward said, motioning towards the books.  That didn’t seem to matter as he was pulled to turn and face the young warrior who was now occupying his space.  “Man of little words I see?” Edward teased as large strong hands wrapped around his back and pulled him in and then they were both leaning in for a kiss, Edward wrapping his arms around the younger man’s neck for support.