#baiqui

These hands... they didn’t feel familiar at all. The person that these hands belonged to hadn’t spoken a word either. 

The room was dark, so Jacqui couldn’t tell what was what. Only that his partner’s hair fell down his back in soft, slight waves. 

The stranger kissed Jacqui. Every part of him. The pirate held the man’s hair out of the way the further south he traveled. He felt the smooth surface of a bead, and then something more curved, followed by the man’s breath. Piercings, if Jacqui would have to guess. He wondered what color they were. He wondered if they made his partner look handsome or beautiful. Or more strange.

“Tell me your name,” Jacqui said when he was deep inside the man, blushing unnecessarily in the dark with every meaningful thrust. The sounds escaping his partner were too satisfied, far too comfortable and content. He never asked for anything. He just took what Jacqui gave him with unspoken gratitude. He took and let himself be taken.

“If you’re not going to talk,” Jacqui said, finding the man’s ear, “then let me do this…this one thing for you. Like you’ve done for me.”

Jacqui felt some hesitation. He was about to pull away when the stranger drew him back in, bringing his face to his neck. Jacqui swept the long hair to the side, but still held on to those glossy waves as he so gently walked his lips along a shoulder. Shudders rippled over the skin as Jacqui navigated to everywhere and nowhere. The man gave him no map of where he wanted Jacqui to go, and yet… that didn’t really matter.

Jacqui was satisfied to hear his partner trying to swallow his own anticipated breaths the further Jacqui took his slow worship. He dropped kisses into a fine set of abdominal muscles, then went north to drag the ring in his lip deliberately over what he knew were the man’s nipples. Right before giving each of them an easy suck. 

As Jacqui’s palms slid up the sides of a ribcage, the quickness of his own reactions surprised even himself, catching the man in a kiss during a sharp intake of breath. There was thrill in whatever act this stranger was committed to – he was very good at making Jacqui believe that he’d never been touched like this before. And that Jacqui’s touch might be something more powerful than he realized. Something the man needed as much as he needed air to breathe.

Jacqui eventually submitted to the silence and became one with the shadows. Soon he could hear his own pulse resonating in his mind. He could feel the wordless excitement rolling off of the other masquerader. They held out as long as they could, restlessly taking each other on. Panting hard into warm muscle, loose hair strands and damp skin. Fucking, grounding themselves in the other as easily as Jacqui sank his strong hands in the man’s long, silken hair.

His eyes had adjusted enough to only catch glimpses of the white streaking out of him, along the man’s spine this time.

“S-sorry. I’ll clean you up.”

[Wait... Leave it.]

Only a whisper. So fast that Jacqui wondered where it came from.

Too late now. Bodies had shifted. The night was just beginning.

Fingers tangled themselves in Jacqui’s locs, forcing his head to tilt back. A tongue slid past his own as his partner weighed him down. A stretch of grass somehow became his pillow in the infinite darkness of this palace hall.

Grass for his pillow. How odd.

When the bounty hunter finally got the lock to click, he headed towards the lumpy seats near the fireplace at the very back of the hall. He was more annoyed now than he was before he walked inside. Especially since there was no fire going.

But thankfully, there was no one else occupying the couches there either.

Another hard job.

Bai flopped down on the stiff middle cushion.

“Another piece of shit inn,” he groaned under his breath, annoyed by the lack of upkeep and warmth in the place. He leaned back and stared at the cold dark hearth. He could figure out how to get it going.

Or he could stay put and just scowl. He could freeze his ass off until it was time to go to bed.

There was no moon tonight. Bai’s glasses were long gone. Not to mention, the job he had taken had fallen through. He wasn’t getting paid any time soon and the only money he had would pay for exactly one night at this inn.

He didn’t know how he was going to make it back to headquarters in the middle of a blizzard–

“Oi! Close that rutting door!”

The wind from outside roared over what was apparently the innkeeper’s normal greeting.

It was a while before the entrance was sealed. This was due to the amount of people filing into the drafty inn. A seafaring crew, Sun Bai realized. The kind that looked as if they didn’t pay taxes judging by their rough speech and general lack of uniform clothing.

Bai squinted his eyes, wishing he could make out the individuals better. The group split into three smaller clusters. One made their way over to a booth near the fireplace.

“Jacqui, didn’t I tell you never to book a stay at this dump again?” The speaker swaggered around in a spotted fur coat. “You know I fucking hate it here.” He slumped into the booth and swung his feet onto the table.

Several more scooted onto the wooden benches, exhausted and unruffled by their comrade’s complaining. Bai decided that could only mean one thing. The one in the fur coat had to be their captain.

“In case you weren’t paying attention, there’s a snowstorm outside. I didn’t have a choice.”

The new voice came from the only crew member who was still standing. He was close enough that Bai could make out the detail in his dark clothing, along with the definition in his arms and back underneath the layers of fabric.

“Whatever. Just get me something to eat.” The captain snapped, but his heart wasn’t in it. He sounded just as tired as the rest of his crew looked.

The pirate who was standing still hadn’t relaxed. He folded his arms and turned slightly away from the booth, revealing a profile that made Bai suddenly aware of the soreness in his own neck and shoulders. Even so, he didn’t stop craning them to keep the pirate in his sight.

Bai’s dark gray gaze lingered on the one called Jacqui. He followed every subtle shift in his body language. He took note of the way the light from the lanterns bounced off the smooth metal in his lip…

The pain in Bai’s neck forced him to turn back around in order to ease it. He rolled his head in an attempt to work out some of the tension in his shoulders.

When next he looked, he saw Jacqui striding in his direction. The pirate’s features came more and more into focus as he approached.

Oh. Fuck me.

Bai wore his sneer like a suit of armor, fighting the urge to squint and give away more than he was willing to in the moment.

“Whatever beef you have with my captain,” Jacqui said as he helped himself next to Bai on the couch, “let’s settle it now. So nobody has to die.” He sounded bored yet entirely serious in his intentions.

Bai swallowed a lump in his throat, but held the pirate’s gaze as the latter leaned forward, eclipsing Bai’s view of the rest of the tavern.

Clearly Jacqui had come over here to intimidate him. Still, Bai found himself appreciating the close-up view of the pirate’s golden irises. They left Bai breathless for much longer than he expected.

“Whatever act this is,” Jacqui said, narrowing his eyes, “you can drop it. I saw you watch us come in. The crew broke up, but you kept a close eye on Rodrigo the whole time.”

Bai shrugged. “Was I?” Without even thinking, he dragged an unsteady hand through his ghostly bangs. “How can you be so sure it’s him I’m interested in?”

The bounty hunter had no idea what to do with his face in situations like this, so he simply turned his head and stared at the wall, hoping that Jacqui would get the message.

Bai counted his own heartbeats while he waited for Jacqui to make a move. Five terrifying seconds later, the couch squeaked as the pirate rose to his feet and knelt before the dark fireplace.

“Is there a reason why you’re sitting here by yourself in the cold?” Jacqui asked, his attention on kindling a flame. “Why didn’t you light the fire?”

Because I can’t see for shit.

“Something tells me that even if I had, it wouldn’t do much in a place like this.”

The hearth was crackling now. Jacqui came back to the couch, this time sitting much closer to Bai than before. He made himself comfortable, stretching his arm along the backrest and letting his legs fall open just enough to graze the bounty hunter’s thigh.

Mantis fought against the involuntary flutter of his eyelashes as the light contact. He rolled his shoulders again and whispered, “Thank you.”

Jacqui, who was once again leaning towards Bai, didn’t respond right away. In his periphery, Bai could sense where the pirate’s gaze had fallen. There was a dark mark that lived high on his cheekbone. The mark only attracted attention when his glasses weren’t in the way.

Bai’s skin shivered as Jacqui tucked some hair behind his ear with the same gentleness that one would turn a page in a book.

The pirate withdrew, but only a little.

“What’s your name?”

In Bai’s line of work, one didn’t simply give out their name. Especially to pirates.

“I…”

He met Jacqui’s gaze because even though he didn’t trust him, he wanted to share something with this handsome stranger.

“You can’t say.” Jacqui sighed.

Bai shook his head and corrected him. “It doesn’t matter.”

Then he shifted the conversation to the things that did – where Jacqui and his crew were headed when this blizzard had passed.

Bai didn’t know if anything that Jacqui told him was the truth, but that didn’t seem to matter to him or the pirate. Jacqui, who had crew members he could be talking to, was willing to share his company with a complete stranger instead.

He didn’t have to, but he wanted to, Sun Bai realized.

Little by little, the bounty hunter felt himself relax and draw closer to the pirate. His fingers itched to trace the surface of Jacqui’s intricate locs. The part of his leg that was touching Jacqui’s longed for a deeper touch. He found himself drawn towards his own reflection in Jacqui’s piercing.

For a moment, Bai thought that maybe, just maybe Jacqui wanted the same thing.

This time Bai let his eyelids fall heavy as he parted his lips for the pirate.

“Oi!”

The door to the inn suddenly flew open. New customers entered, dragging in another gust of unnatural wind. The air was so strong that it knocked the fire right out of the hearth.

“This place really is a shithole,” Jacqui said, pointedly eyeing the pathetic lump of cinders.

Bai would have laughed if he wasn’t completely annoyed by the fact that whatever was about to happen between him and Jacqui was spoiled now.

And just as fast as the fire blew out, the pirate was called back to his crew.

Sun Bai didn’t break his cover and give up his name. Jacqui left no way for them to get in touch. Bai didn’t blame him. Jacqui was a pirate after all.

With a groan, he pulled himself from the extremely warm bed he was lying in, and walked to the window of the inn’s bedroom, stretching his arms over his head. The window was fogged over, and he wiped a section clean, peering outside hesitantly.

The ground outside was completely covered in snow, he guessed at least two feet high. Which meant that the ship was most likely frozen in place, but he wasn’t going to brave leaving the warmth of the inn to check. But that also meant that he, and the rest of the crew, were going to be stuck for the day.

“Shit,” Jacqui murmured. He sighed and his breath fogged up the glass even more, covering the patch he had just wiped away. Resting his head against the cold window for a moment, he closed his eyes, but not a second later felt warm arms wrap around his chest, a chin propped on his shoulder.

“What is it?” Bai asked, and Jacqui could feel the fur blanket he was covered by press into his back, soft, comforting, and familiar. Jacqui didn’t need to look at him to know Bai was squinting in the light, not having put his glasses on yet.

Jacqui leaned back into Bai slightly, his hands covering the ones on his chest. “It snowed a lot more than I expected last night. I don’t think we’ll be able to get out there today.”

“Hm.” Bai started playing with Jacqui’s fingers gently, and Jacqui felt his lips brush the nape of his neck. “You don’t sound too disappointed.”

“I’m a bit annoyed, there were things we planned to do—” Jacqui shook his head, cutting himself off. “But you’re right. I’m not disappointed.” He twisted around in Bai’s hold to face him, placing his hands on Bai’s hips, pulling them closer together. “You’re here.”

[I am.]

At the feeling of Bai’s voice in his mind, Jacqui captured his lips in a soft kiss, feeling Bai’s hands run up his back to hold onto Jacqui’s shoulders, fingertips pressing into his skin. Bai’s body was still very warm from being wrapped up in bed, and Jacqui bent towards him even more, his skin craving that warmth, the feeling of their skin against each other.

He kissed Bai again, slowly starting to walk them both back towards the bed, where in the bundle of blankets and sheets an imprint of their bodies still lay, as if they had left a part of them in the bed behind. They fit back into those pieces, fit back into each other, and Jacqui kept kissing him as one of Bai’s hands wove through his locs, the other running over his chest, both of them starting to breathe heavily.

I want this, he thought, not even intending for Bai to hear it, but he still did.

[What do you mean?]

Jacqui sighed, resting back on his knees to look over Bai on the bed, moon-white hair spread out across the sheets, face flushing darker the longer Jacqui stared. He brought the back of Bai’s hand to his lips, kissing it once, holding his gaze the entire time. This. Us. “You,” he whispered. “I want you.”

The blush on Bai’s face deepened, and he squirmed under Jacqui but didn’t pull away.

[I want you too.]

He wanted more, but wasn’t sure how to say it, or even think it, so he settled for kissing up Bai’s arm to his shoulder, across his chest, up his neck, until their lips met again, drinking in every soft moan that left Bai’s mouth, every shiver his body ran against him. As they moved, they only built up more heat between them, forgetting about the cold outside their blankets, outside the window.

In no time at all, Jacqui had forgotten that it had even snowed, focusing on nothing else but Bai, and the way they lost and found themselves in each other.

~

Take me back to the moon white snow-covered day we spent, bodies entwined, heat like the sun between our skin but warmer, arms enveloping holding, caressing, touching, loving and the world was no bigger than us.

~

As much as Jacqui couldn’t get enough of Sun Bai’s telepathic kisses, this was the one time he could pass on them. Especially if it meant he could catch up to the slippery mantis as he took Jacqui on a maddening journey through the Palace corridors.

Though Jacqui was able to keep Bai in his sights – thanks to both of their heights, none of them had a problem getting lost in the sea of people – Bai was always just out of Jacqui’s reach. Yet the pirate continued to taunt and poke the quartermaster with those psychic touches that felt eerily similar to Bai’s lips walking down his spine.

Eventually, the halls grew darker and less crowded.

Bai, Jacqui called out in his own head, knowing that the other could hear him, where the hell are you taking us?

A kiss ghosted across Jacqui’s pressure point, followed by some quiet snickering.

[You’ll see.]

Finally, Bai went still before a pair of tall, metal doors. Jacqui caught up to him and, with breathtaking control, steered him against the wall. This close to Bai’s lean body, barely covered by a dark silk robe, Jacqui could hardly hold back from burying his face in the pirate’s neck. And so he didn’t.

Bai hissed and trembled in what Jacqui knew to be pleasure as he walked his lips up and down Sun Bai’s throat, taking in his scent of rain and whatever herbal tea he last had to drink.

Jacqui reached for the opening in Bai’s robe and slowly dragged the pad of his finger down his chest. “Is it good when I touch you here?” He pulled the edge of Bai’s robe off his shoulder “Or maybe here?” Jacqui whispered as he lowered his head and dropped a kiss to the exposed skin.

To Jacqui’s surprise, it was Bai who eliminated the space between them. “I need you closer.” The pirate sounded desperate, almost whiny.

Jacqui rocked his hips forward and once again rolled his face against his partner’s neck.

“I’m here. Take as much of me as you want.”

Jacqui sensed some of the internal battle taking place in Bai. He didn’t miss a single shiver or shudder from the former bounty hunter. Bai dragged his palms up and down Jacqui’s bare chest and keened his hips forward so his erection rubbed insistently against the quartermaster’s.

[Goddamnit Jacqui, I want all of you.]

He sounded more frustrated with himself more than anything. Jacqui didn’t know if it would ever be the right time to ask Bai how he got this way. Sometimes in the rare quiet hours on the Bleeding Heart, he wondered about Bai’s behaviors. He had seen him without clothes and knew that he didn’t have any scars or brands to speak of. So what was the source of all his avoidance?

There were other peculiarities as well. In the bedroom, Bai had an aversion to being bent over solid surfaces. He preferred to stretch out on the bed or even the floor. He was also content with being on his hands and knees. These aversions weren’t something Bai ever came out and spoke to Jacqui about. The observant quartermaster simply happened to pick up on things over time.

For now, however, his curiosity would have to wait. He wanted Bai just as much as he felt wanted by him. Jacqui used a fraction of his strength to line his entire body up with Bai’s, pinning him firmly to the wall. He fed a hand inside his robe, relishing in the way Bai’s smooth skin rippled as Jacqui’s palm traveled down to his waist where he firmly gripped. Jacqui wanted to feel more of Bai between his legs so he spread his own a little, encouraging Bai to press his thigh in between them.

Jacqui’s other hand came up last to Bai’s head. Soon he was lost in his ghostly white waves, careful not to disturb his glasses as he moved in with deep and tender kisses. By now, Bai no longer struggled with matching Jacqui’s rhythm. His body might have been shivering and losing its grip every time Jacqui flexed his muscles, but that wasn’t the case with his mouth. Bai’s jaw went slack for Jacqui as his tongue came alive and eager to tease the ring in the pirate’s lip.

“We need to find a room,” Jacqui groaned as he drew back just enough to look into Bai’s eyes. Bai was clearly in a giving mood and he didn’t want to be in a place open enough to risk getting interrupted by any of the crew.

Jacqui suddenly had a thought. It made him smirk as he drew Bai’s face up by his chin. “And then maybe we can put that mouth to better use, hm?” He gave him a soft kiss, but immediately regretted his words when he pulled back and saw the look on Bai’s face.

Jacqui wished he could kick himself. If there was one thing Bai had come clean about in the past, it was his vulnerabilities around any oral affection below the waist.

Jacqui stepped back and hid his face in his palm. “I’m sorry. It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. I totally forgot–”

Bai’s hand came up to rest on Jacqui’s arm. He gently pried Jacqui’s palm from his face. “No. That’s actually something I wanted to…” He swallowed and adjusted his lenses. “Just follow me.”

The room that Bai led Jacqui inside of was almost completely dark except for a spot in the center that was lit up by a single beam of light. There was a cushion on the floor, resting under the spotlight.

Jacqui stopped Bai from going any further. “Wait. Before I forget.” He pulled out something he had carried with from the ship. “This is for you.”

Bai didn’t look at the gift until both of them were under the light. He quietly observed a simple solid black case. Once he figured out how it opened, he discovered the rich velvety interior. It came in a nostalgic shade of green much like the jade stones occupying the piercings in Bai’s septum and bridge.

“For my glasses?” The psychic whispered.

Jacqui smiled as he carefully removed the blue-tinted frames from Bai’s face and set them inside the case. “Yes. So you don’t have to keep replacing them so often. Besides, I figured it would come in handy tonight.” He set the case on the ground out of the light.

“Now.” Jacqui faced Bai again. “What was it that you wanted to show me?”

Bai looked a little lost for words. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting the gift. Jacqui reassured him by brushing his thumb over the mole close to Bai’s eye.

“You can talk to me with your mind if that’s easier.”

Bai turned his eyes up under the light, which illuminated the true gray in them.

[It is easier this way.]

Jacqui wasn’t sure at first, but he thought he heard the space suddenly fill up with the sound of a violin.

[You asked me earlier if I wanted to put my mouth to better use.]

The darkness in the room began to lift.

[The truth is I do. I have. I always have.]

It didn’t take long for Jacqui to realize that they were not alone.

[These sort of things take a little longer for me. But I think I’m ready now, Jacqui. I wanted to make tonight special for that reason.]

Jacqui scanned the room to see that they were surrounded by chairs, which were all occupied. There were two rows. The second row belonged to the orchestra. The first row closest to Jacqui and Bai was full of guests barely clothed and touching themselves in ways that were meant to bring pleasure.

[It’s going to be special because we get to have a witness. Quite a few actually.]

The party guests’ limbs were positioned at odd angles. That’s when Jacqui noticed that they all seemed to be controlled by strings at their joints. He followed the threads up and and up and up until…

[Puppet masters and their “marionettes,”] Bai explained. [It’s some sort of kink magic. I don’t know. All the parties involved are consenting, I promise.]

Jacqui’s heart was causing a lump to form at the base of his throat. He looked back at Bai.

“They’re going to watch us while you–”

Bai collided messily with Jacqui’s mouth. Hot and breathy, he whispered, “While I suck you off – yes, yes. Yes.”

[If you’re not into it, just say the word. I’ll make them go away.]

Jacqui steadied his breath against Bai’s already swollen lips. He cleared his throat and said with calm confidence, “Let them watch.”

Sun Bai didn’t waste any more time talking. He dipped his face against Jacqui’s neck, working kisses down his collarbone and over his chest. His fingers came to Jacqui’s crotch to unlace the drawstrings on his tight, leather pants.

Meanwhile, the orchestra and the masturbating marionettes carried on in the background.

[Do you want to know why I don’t get jealous when I see Rodrigo all over you? Or lose my cool whenever he catches wind of me and chases me off? It’s because I know and more importantly I know that you know: you’re mine. Just mine.]

Bai was on his knees now, dragging his open mouth over Jacqui’s tight bulge. His breath was unsteady under the musical whine of the strings playing in the background. Bai dug his fingers behind the leather and seesawed the fabric down just enough to free Jacqui's cock.

The psychic looked up at the quartermaster as he formed a ring with his index and thumb that he then slid from Jacqui’s base and up until he gently pinched the head. Bai maintained eye contact as he brought his face forward and dabbed the crease of his lower lip with Jacqui’s small spell of precum.

Jacqui’s face burned at the sight. He knew he had no control over the muscles in his jaw. Was he wetting or biting his lip? Was he arching his eyebrow in curious fascination? He had no clue.

Bai was tonguing his slit now, his eyes closed in tranquil concentration. He dug his fingers deeper past the lip of Jacqui’s pants and gave a slow tug, filling his mouth up with Jacqui’s impressive length. Bai took his time salivating over every centimeter of Jacqui’s cock, savoring each ridge, each hidden dimple that he would have otherwise missed if he had simply tried to swallow him whole.

“Bai,” Jacqui breathed, “I want you in my head too. Talk to me.”

Bai’s eyes fluttered open. He gave the softest of smirks, his mouth still full of cock.

[What’s wrong? Don’t like the orchestra that I’ve prepared for you? And here I thought you were a man who could appreciate the more alternative art forms.]

Before Jacqui could respond, Bai’s presence was back.

[Is it getting to be too much? The crowds? The lights? I can turn them off if that’s better.]

Jacqui didn’t know how Bai controlled it, but the room went completely dark. The music was still going and the audience was still getting off on themselves.

[There. Sounds like they’ve seen enough to take care of themselves. Now it’s just you and me.]

The sounds of the marionettes groaning and cycling through their orgasms were only amplified in Jacqui’s ears. That and Bai’s wet, deliberate sucking.

[Show me you’re mine, Jacqui.]

Jacqui bit back a groan. “What do you mean?”

[I know you won’t ever say it outright. Out of respect for your captain. I understand that, but I know you to be a man of action rather than words. So show me.]

The lights came back on. Bai hollowed out his mouth and came to a stop.

Jacqui shook his head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Bai came off his cock and took a moment to swallow his spit. Then he stood up and kissed Jacqui with such tenderness, the quartermaster felt his heart actually skip a beat.

“You don’t want to hurt me?”

Jacqui shook his head again, his silver ring lightly brushing along Bai’s lower lip. Bai steadied Jacqui’s head by reaching up and tightening his hand in the roots of his locs.

“Then don’t.” He steadied Jacqui’s lips with a kiss. “You know I trust you.”

Bai drifted back down to kneel on the cushion. This time Jacqui was ready. Eager even. He fumbled at his leather still constricting his waist and peeled it down to his knees so his legs could breathe and spread a little wider.

Stay with me, Jacqui called out when he felt Bai trying to fade from his head. The cool feel of wet grass stayed as he worked his cock past Bai’s lips and over his tongue.

[–mmk!]

Jacqui sensed the ebb and flow of Bai’s reactions as he held his face and found his rhythm in it, his own groans barely a whisper despite all of the charged blood that had rushed straight to his extremities.

Bai’s lashes fluttered out of his control. His gunmetal eyes lolled behind them. And then the lights began to flicker, like a strobe, dancing to the music of the marionettes and the violins and Bai’s patient gagging.

Jacqui began to feel Bai’s presence in a new way in the form of a firm, uneven pulse. He realized it was the beat of his own cock every time it kissed the back of Bai’s throat. The sensation was so hypnotic, Jacqui let go of a shuddering breath and leaned into it.

The strobe lights danced for them, Bai’s reactions registering in Jacqui’s vision only as flickers and flashes. The steady, constant beat of his hips took both of them by storm.

“Bai, I’m coming.”

[Yeah, I know.]

Jacqui was seeing stars. His fingers became tangled up in Bai’s ghostly waves. His hips managed not to jerk too hard, but he couldn’t help anchoring Bai’s face downward so his cock could take advantage of the natural curve of his throat. He opened his hips some more as he emptied out his excitement. Jacqui groaned unexpectedly at the sensation of Bai’s esophagus gently nipping the tip of his cock with each desperate swallow.

Despite his efforts, Bai hadn’t been able to get it all down. While the orchestra was wrapping up and the puppet magicians were packing their things and filing out, Sun Bai was still trying to catch his breath against Jacqui’s leg. Jacqui stroked his hair while Bai leaned his cheek against the quartermaster’s damp thigh and waited until his chest stopped heaving.

Jacqui expected that when Bai was ready, he would tuck Jacqui’s cock back in his pants and go about the rest of his night. But Bai stayed, leaving breathy, half-hearted kisses along his partner’s inner thigh.

This went on for some time, to the point where Jacqui’s already damp skin tingled under the tenderness of Bai’s lips and the light brushing of the soft, dark hair from his chin. All the other guests had left the dark hall.

Jacqui, who wasn’t used to this sort of attention, especially from Bai, called out to him. “Babe, you don’t have to do that.”

“I know that.” Bai shot Jacqui a look before he went back to kissing and sighing against him. Jacqui’s face burned under the prolonged affection. He returned to massaging his fingers against Bai’s scalp, which only earned him more delayed reactions that walked a fine line between an exhale and a whimper.

Finally, Bai helped Jacqui adjust his pants before getting back to his feet. Jacqui walked over to where he had set down the glasses case and handed them off to Bai.

“Thank you. I…” Bai hesitated. “I got a room for us. But if you want to go back to yours–”

“I’m staying with you tonight.”

Bai turned around before Jacqui could catch his reaction. “Alright then. It’s this way.”

Sun Bai’s chambers were sleek and free of the usual masquerade decorations. Without many words, Jacqui and Bai helped each other out of the more restrictive components of their costumes until Bai was just in his silk robe. He brought another robe out of the closet for Jacqui, so he wouldn’t get cold. This one was dark blue, almost black. The swirls of gold painted in the fabric were only visible when they caught the light at certain angles.

“You can keep that,” Bai said just as Jacqui was in the middle of calculating the fortune something like this must have been worth.

Soon they were under the sheets, Jacqui’s back resting against the pillows and the headrest while Bai chose to lay his head on the quartermaster’s chest. With one leg draped over Jacqui’s thigh and his arm resting along his abdomen, Bai encouraged him to let down his bun and massage his darker roots. While Jacqui happily went about doing so, running his fingers through the psychic’s pale locks, Bai spoke quietly about his travels since they had last seen each other.

“We got a cat. He’s gray and likes to ride on my shoulders sometimes.”

“He sounds a lot sweeter than Mr. Pickles,” Jacqui mused. “What’s his name?”

Bai offhandedly flexed his wrist. “Gatsby... Don’t ask me what it means. Sascha named him. Probably has something to do with guns.”

The pirates kept chatting until Jacqui started to yawn.

Bai shifted a little. “Hey. Stay up with me. Don’t let me fall asleep either.”

Jacqui arched an eyebrow. “Why not?”

In all the time they had known each other, Bai had never spent the night. This was also the longest he and Jacqui had spent in a position like this. Cuddling seemed a strange word to use, but Jacqui honestly didn’t know what else to call it.

Bai hesitated. “Because…”

Jacqui held his breath. A few beats later, Bai’s confession came out honest and straightforward.

“Because the last time I fell asleep in someone’s arms, I woke up in a pit of dead bodies.”

Jacqui stiffened ever so slightly, hoping Bai hadn’t noticed.

Bai didn’t turn his head to look back at Jacqui. In fact, he didn’t move at all.

“I was nineteen.”

Jacqui closed his eyes as he dipped his face towards Bai’s crown.

“I won’t let you fall asleep.” He wrapped both arms around Bai and held him as tightly as he could. “I promise.”

Sun Bai let out a very small breath.

Now fully focused on Bai, Jacqui wove his fingers through his white hair, massaging gently as he continued to kiss him, tongue slipping past his lips. Bai kissed him back, following their rhythm, slowly grinding his hips into Jacqui’s. Tuning out the sounds of the inn, Jacqui could hear the steady lapping of the water of the strait on the shore, the ships creaking from their places at the docks, the last of the birds flying above to their nighttime roosts.

He thought none of it compared to the soft sounds Bai made as they moved together, almost as if he was unaware of the noises he made. Jacqui didn’t want to comment on them, in case Bai stopped completely, so he just catalogued them away in his mind, to return to later, when he was back on his ship, in his quarters alone, missing the moment he was in now.

Which he did often, all things considered. Miss the moments he had with Bai when he was gone. It was strange to him, to think so much about anyone else when he had spent so many years only thinking about the ship, the crew, Rodrigo. But thinking about Bai came as easily as kissing him, even as they both pulled away from each other, the need to breathe finally overshadowing everything else.

When he caught his breath, Jacqui felt a small smile tug at his lips. “Hi,” he whispered, watching as his exhale stirred the dark strands framing Bai’s face. “It’s... It’s good to see you.”

Bai’s dark eyes glittered in the dying sun. “Just good?” He didn’t let Jacqui answer before leaning in give him a light kiss, pulling a bit at the ring in Jacqui’s bottom lip. Bai’s voice entered Jacqui’s mind, and he shuddered on instinct, a sigh leaving his mouth.

[I’m glad you’re here.]

Jacqui’s hands came to rest on Bai’s waist, gripping gently. “Me too.”

Eventually, they snuck away to Bai’s room in a different inn, as there was no sneaking back into the inn where Rodrigo and his crew was. Jacqui didn’t mind, not when he got to lay with Bai for a moment, the two of them catching the other up on what had happened since they last saw each other.

In the middle of one story, Bai paused, and sat up, his head lifting from Jacqui’s chest. He tilted his head, putting his glasses back on to properly look at Jacqui.

“You promised me a poem.”

Jacqui would have loved to pretend to not know what Bai was talking about, but as heat rose to his face, he knew his expression gave him away. He had, indeed, promised the other man a poem once Jacqui let it slip that he wrote them in his free time.

“The subject doesn't matter. I just want to hear something you wrote,” Bai had said. And Jacqui had agreed, more than a bit distracted by the way they were touching each other at the time.

And he had written something in that time between. It sat nestled in the pages of his leather notebook, the one he kept on him at all times, tucked into the pocket of his pants currently lying on the floor. Written in that ancient language only Saoirse knew and spoke, something small but meaningful, a piece of Jacqui that he hadn’t shared with anyone but the other quartermaster before.

Still, he nodded. “I did.”

Thoughts wandering, Jacqui started when he felt a familiar sensation of lips pressing between his shoulder blades. He tried to ignore it at first, but when he felt it again, further down his spine, he couldn’t. Face warm, he looked over his shoulder, searching the bar over again, this time looking for the only person who could possibly be responsible for those fleeting kisses.

It took longer than he thought it would, but eventually his eyes locked on a familiar head of mostly white hair, a few strands of black framing his face. Sun Bai—no, just Bai, Jacqui reminded himself—the bounty hunter. When Rodrigo had dropped him off at the Sea Palace, Jacqui figured that would be the last time they would see each other, but luckily, he had been wrong.

They had run into each other at various ports and cities well over a handful of times now, and each time they had gotten closer and closer, both of them skirting around and behind Rodrigo’s back. The last time they were together, Bai had introduced Jacqui to another aspect of his psychic abilities; that he could project kisses into the other man’s mind. It was a skill that had captivated Jacqui, and it was a skill which Bai was making full use of now, as he sat across the bar from him, almost completely hidden in the shadows.

A shiver ran down Jacqui’s back as he felt lips press over his shoulders, and he gripped the handle of his tankard tightly in his hand.

[Fancy seeing you here.]

He rolled his eyes slightly but couldn’t hide the twitch of his lips as Bai’s voice entered his mind. He glanced over at Rodrigo, then back at Bai, hoping that was enough for Bai to understand that they had to be careful. Neither of them wanted to risk getting caught by the captain, not that they cared what he thought, it was more that he would never shut up if he found out, and he was insufferable enough as it was.

[Leave him.]

Judging from the way Rodrigo was pressed up against the same woman he had been chatting up for the past hour, Jacqui felt comfortable assuming he wouldn’t be returning to their shared room for a while, at least. He pushed away from the bar, leaving his tankard, but as he started to turn, heard Rodrigo’s voice over his shoulder.

“Where are you off to this early?” Rodrigo was staring at him, curiosity lacing his tone.

“Bed,” Jacqui said, meeting his gaze. “I’m tired.”

Rodrigo hummed, his dark eyes narrowing slightly. “Lame. Whatever, just don’t lock me out this time, got it?”

Jacqui resisted rolling his eyes, though it was hard. “Knock louder. I’m deaf, remember.”

Snorting, Rodrigo waved him off. “Shut the hell up. You’re only half deaf, asshole.”

Before Jacqui could say anything else, Rodrigo turned back to the woman in front of him and proceeded with whatever conversation he was having earlier that involved his hand traveling up her leg.

Shaking his head, Jacqui turned away to leave the bar and head upstairs, but as he did so, he felt another kiss against the nape of his neck, and shivered. He looked back over his shoulder and met Bai’s dark eyes again.

He gave him a look and a jerk of his head to say, are you coming? Not waiting for an answer, psychic or otherwise, he turned back and started heading up the stairs. Before he had reached the top step, he heard the stairs creaking behind him, felt Bai’s familiar presence as they made their way to his room. He didn’t look back at him until they were in his room and the door was closed—and locked—behind them.

He wasted no time in leading Bai up against the wall—not pressing, not yet, just leading, their eyes roaming each other’s bodies as if they weren’t still fully clothed. They were close enough that when he spoke, his breath disturbed the dark strands of hair around Bai’s face.

“Don’t tease me, Bai.” He said, voice low. “That’s not fair.”

“Was I?”

“You know you were.”

Bai’s hands clenched at his side. “If I was, what are you going to do about it?”

Jacqui exhaled through his nose, finally closing the gap between the two of them like they had done before, their lips finding each other. He planted his hands on the wall on either side of Bai, focusing as much as he could on kissing him. They were still working on finding their rhythm, but they were getting better, each time they met up finding their way back into that rhythm faster and faster. Bai’s quick, chaste kisses had started to slow, and he was more comfortable with pushing against Jacqui, who bit back a moan as Bai nipped cautiously at the ring in his bottom lip.

[Does that feel good?]

Jacqui nodded, moving his hands to start undoing Bai’s layers, still kissing him. “Yeah.” He let his eyes slide closed as he felt Bai start to pull his clothes off, going button by button down his tunic.

They both stepped out of their clothes, leaving them tossed haphazardly on the floor as they made their way to the bed, Jacqui’s lips slowly making their way down Bai’s neck. He waited for any sign that Bai was uncomfortable, knowing that touch was still such a sensitive thing for him, even if they were leaps and bounds beyond where they used to be.

Bai didn’t resist, though Jacqui felt his heartbeat quicken against his lips as they reached the bed. Before they got too comfortable, Jacqui pulled away, and grabbed one of the inn’s towels to lay out on the bed underneath them.

Bai raised an eyebrow. “Is that necessary?”

“I still have to sleep on this bed tonight, you know.” Jacqui was uncomfortably familiar with sleeping in cum-soaked sheets, and he liked avoiding it as much as possible, especially in beds that didn’t belong to him.

He didn’t feel Bai in his mind like he had before, but he still seemed to understand as he nodded. “Got it.”

As Bai laid back on the bed, Jacqui went over to his bag and grabbed the vial of lubricant he had learned long ago to keep on him. He could feel Bai’s eyes on him as he made his way back to the bed, gunmetal gaze trailing over his bare chest and further down, between his legs.

Jacqui sat down on the bed and took Bai’s glasses off, ignoring a small noise of protest. He studied the lenses, cracked in a few places, before setting them on the bed’s nightstand. “You sure break those things a lot, don’t you?”

“You would too, I’m sure.” Jacqui could feel Bai’s impatience grow, and almost predicted the next words out of his mouth. “Are you going to comment on the state of my glasses all night, or are we going to do this?”

Jacqui huffed, leaning over Bai on the bed, his locs falling over his shoulder. “You started this with those damn kisses of yours, remember?” His hand crept between Bai’s legs, fingers wrapping around his cock, and he watched a blush spread across Bai’s face. His thumb teased Bai’s slit, stroking him frustratingly slow. “How does that feel?”

Bai held his gaze, though his cheeks were burning. [Good, but it could be better.]

“Oh?” Jacqui pressed a finger against Bai’s asshole, and felt his lips quirk when Bai’s cock twitched in his hand. “Would this be better?”

[Gods, yes.]

At that, Jacqui let go of him to pour some of the lubricant on his hand, and returned to stroking Bai, pressing his finger inside just as painfully slow, watching his eyelashes flutter at the sensation. He sped up slightly, and after a moment, when he was sure Bai was ready, joined a second finger inside, both of them opening him up more.

“Fuck—” Bai gasped, cutting himself off by biting his lip. Jacqui leaned forward to kiss him, pulling out more noises from him as his mouth opened against his—though their kisses were sloppier than before.

Jacqui could feel Bai’s body tense beneath him, reaching his climax, but he wasn’t ready for him to come yet. He sat back, hand on Bai’s cock stopping completely. “No. Not yet.”

Grey eyes flashed at him in the moonlight, but Bai didn’t argue. His hands dug into the sheets, watching as Jacqui’s fingers continued to move in and out, chest rising and falling as he panted beneath him, holding back from his edge.

[I need more.]

“You’ll get it.” Jacqui’s hand moved from Bai’s cock to his own, stroking until it was completely hard against his stomach, and covered it in lubricant. He pulled his fingers out of Bai and shifted away from him. “Turn around.”

When Bai was on his knees, back to Jacqui, hands braced against the wall, Jacqui pushed inside of him, a grunt escaping both of them as he slowly filled Bai with his cock. He placed his hands just above Bai’s on the wall, thrusting forward slowly.

He was content to keep his pace slow, gentle, not wanting to go to fast and step too far. He didn’t want to push Bai before he was ready, it had taken them this long to get where they were, and he worried about giving, about being too much.

As it turned out, he didn’t really need to worry.

[Are you holding back?]

Jacqui groaned. How Bai knew that he was holding himself back—he was always holding himself back—he didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. He nodded, still moving inside of him.

A beat of silence, and then—[Don’t.]

“Okay,” he murmured. “But if I’m going to let go, I need to be able to hold onto you. Just onto your hips.” He paused, licking his lips. “Is that okay?”

Bai glanced over his shoulder at Jacqui, meeting his golden eyes. “Yes,” he said, aloud.

Jacqui’s hands left the wall to sit on Bai’s hips instead, pulling his ass flush against his skin. He felt Bai shudder underneath him, but he was rocking back against Jacqui in a moment. Holding onto his hips gave Jacqui a better angle to thrust forward, and he did, breath stuttering in his chest. “Fuck, you feel good.”

He kept up his same pace, and it didn’t take long for Bai’s voice to enter his mind again.

[You’re still holding back. Go harder. You’re not going to break me.]

Jacqui huffed out a laugh. “Cocky bastard,” he murmured, digging his fingers into Bai’s skin as he listened and jerked his hips forward harder. The bed creaked in protest with every thrust of their hips, but neither of them cared, their voices mingling with low moans and grunts. The rough, wet sound of their skin meeting over and over joined them, and as he moved Jacqui found he liked this combination of noises more than the sounds of the bar before.

At that faster pace it didn’t take long for him to feel Bai approach his climax, breathing shallow, sweat trailing down his spine. He was holding himself back, Jacqui could feel the tension gathering in his stomach, and felt a smirk tug at his mouth.

“Are you… are you afraid I’m going to say no again?”

The moan that spilled from Bai’s lips as he snapped his hips forward was all the answer Jacqui needed, and he shook his head.

“Not this time. Go ahead.”

That was all Bai needed to hear before he arched back into him. “Gods, shit—” He almost whined as he came over the towel below them, his hands clenching into fists against the wall.

Jacqui knew he wasn’t far behind with his own climax and kept moving even as he felt Bai’s legs shake against him. When his breath caught in his throat, and he felt the tension in his stomach unravel, he pulled out, his cum spilling over his stomach and Bai’s back as he rode out his orgasm

“Sh-shit,” he groaned, forehead pressed to the other man’s shoulder blades. When he finally stopped shaking, he sat back with a sigh, grabbing the towel from under them to clean their skin off. “Sorry for not warning you.”

Bai turned around, and Jacqui wiped off his stomach as well. “It’s okay.”

Not the type to hang around, Bai stood, picking his clothes up from the floor where they had left them, and started to put them back on. Jacqui watched him, not moving to put his own clothes on, as there wasn’t really a need to. He got dressed in silence, which Jacqui wasn’t used to, but appreciated all the same. He was too familiar with partners who only ever wanted to talk, when he much preferred the quiet after sex.

When Bai turned towards the door, Jacqui noticed his glasses were still sitting on the nightstand.

“Wait.” He held them out, being careful not to touch the lenses as he walked over to Bai. “Don’t you need these?”

Bai squinted for a second, then nodded, taking them from Jacqui. “Ah. Yeah.”

Before Bai could put his glasses on, Jacqui pressed a light kiss to the beauty mark that normally sat hidden under Bai’s hair and glasses. Just as quickly, he pulled back, and reached over to unlock the door and open it for him.

“Don’t let Rodrigo see you.”

With a huff, Bai put his glasses on and stepped past him. “Trust me, I won’t.”

Before he could stop himself, Jacqui murmured, “I do.”

“Hm?”

“Trust you.” It felt strange to admit, even to himself, but Jacqui meant it. Even if his face felt like it was suddenly on fire, he meant it. Before he could embarrass himself further, he stepped away. “Goodnight, Bai.”

Bai dipped his head and turned to walk down the hallway. Jacqui closed the door behind him, but before he had let go of the doorknob, felt that ghosting of lips over his cheek, traveling down his neck to his chest.

[Thank you.]