Smut warning!

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Hongjoong's hands smoothed over the words by Seonghwa's side, the bird of freedom taking flight on his shoulder. He nuzzled into the man's neck, covering him with kisses that bloomed like flowers across the tan of his skin.

Though sadness consumed Seonghwa and he didn't dare seek comfort in Hongjoong's embrace while grief held him in an iron fist, their bodies knew each other and their needs. Seonghwa's thighs parted for Hongjoong to sink in between readily. The world was right when their bodies slotted together, a perfect match. Plush lips dropped open in a pleased sigh when Hongjoong grasped him by his waist, pinning his body in place to grind their crotches into each other. The heat stirring in their stomachs made them forget.

Hongjoong's hair fell over his shoulder to tickle at Seonghwa's chest, marred by countless small scars from past battles.

"Sugar... Sin' me a son' o' what ye need. To 'ave all thought scuttled from yer brain? Or to ravage until none be left? I will give ye anythin'."

Hongjoong usually chose the former when overwhelmed by emotions. It helped him to stop thinking, and Seonghwa only put force in those gentle hands when he was asked to. To Hongjoong, it was the highest form of trust, his ultimate weakness. No one but Seonghwa got to handle him in that state.

But Seonghwa never lost someone so important to him before. Not with Hongjoong as a witness, at least. Even as Tikki's giggles sounded from the deck outside, no smile quirked his lips.

Hongjoong saw all light gone from his eyes once. There was nothing he wouldn't do to rekindle it.

"Ye. I just need ye," Seonghwa pleaded. His arms came up to wrap around Hongjoong's nape, tugging him down toward him.

After stifling a cough that bubbled up in his throat, Hongjoong got out a fond smile. He kissed his beautiful husband as his fingers dipped below the waistband of his breeches. He skimmed taut, trained skin, the softness of the hair Seonghwa insisted on trimming precariously with a knife every so often. Need for Hongjoong bucked Seonghwa's hips on instinct when Hongjoong found his warm, stiffened flesh and wrapped his hand around it.

As so often when they came to this point, Seonghwa stifled a snicker. The feeling of Hongjoong's small hands on him never failed to amuse him.

In fond retaliation, Hongjoong tugged at the skin of Seonghwa's neck with his teeth. A moan tilted Seonghwa's chin back to allow the pirate access. In mindless bliss, his head dropped into the pillows.

"What be there to smirk about, precious? Ye feelin' cold?" Hongjoong growled against his throat. A breathy chuckle answered him when the pleasure of his tugs below knitted Seonghwa's brows together. His lax, pleased expression charmed Hongjoong time and time again.

"Hngh- I can nay 'elp but find ye e'er so endearin'," Seonghwa panted, but a grin played around his lips. His smug words stuttered when Hongjoong ducked his lips to his chest, finding a greedy nub with his teeth to tug on it.

Seonghwa arched into the touch, chest expanding. His dark hair spread over their furs like spilt ink and he leaked wetness over Hongjoong's fingers. Ever so hungry for his husband, Hongjoong ground into his thigh, chasing the tingling heat. His desire wasn't explosive, wasn't greedy and possessive and on the high of a near-death experience where they so often encountered each other. Though he ached to have Seonghwa, his body was as patient as his mind. Only what Seonghwa wanted he would get.

"Endearin'? Ye must mistake me fer someone else. An' I would 'ate to learn ye be thinkin' o' anyone but me when I 'ave ye pinned," Hongjoong indulged Seonghwa's babbles. He shoved the man's breeches down so Seonghwa could kick them off. As soon as he had access, Hongjoong's hands slipped over the heated curve of Seonghwa's behind to find the entrance he worshipped with the same fervour as on the first day.

Since they didn't play these days, Seonghwa wore no toy inside to keep him open for their insatiable lust for each other. Yet, his body was soft and gave easily to the welcome intrusion of Hongjoong's fingers. Seonghwa rocked into him with a pleased sigh.

They took it slow, easing Hongjoong in bit by bit until he could feel for Seonghwa's spot and make his eyes roll back and arousal leak all over his stomach. They didn't ask anyone to join them today, occupied just with each other. However, they stilled in fear once when Tikki's voice got loud right before their door. Thankfully, Jongho dragged her off before she could ruin her eyesight.

When they settled back in their rhythm, Hongjoong lifted Seonghwa around his waist to position him higher on the bed. His husband held on to his shoulders, head slumping to listen to Hongjoong's heartbeat as he allowed himself to be thrown around. Once he settled comfortably, Hongjoong pulled back to get rid of his own clothes and stared at his beautiful treasure in marvel.

Some might argue Seonghwa lost his appeal when scars mutilated his face and body, but Hongjoong thought the opposite was the case. Each inch of Seonghwa told a story, their story. Though they were painful memories, they spoke of overcoming hardships and staying with each other through all dangers, even death.

As Hongjoong gazed upon Seonghwa's lidded eyes, parted lips, ruffled hair and the heave of his chest over his dribbling hardness, he couldn't be more captivated by the beauty of his husband.

If he wished better for Seonghwa, wished he never became like this, they never would have met. In his selfish love, Hongjoong found the Seonghwa he had become just right.

With a cough, Hongjoong flung his shirt aside. He crawled back between Seonghwa's spread thighs, but his lure got ignored in favour of a worried brow.

"Did ye catch a cold?" Seonghwa asked, hands finding Hongjoong's biceps as he wrapped Seonghwa's legs around his waist. Carefully, he guided his tip towards the melting paradise of Seonghwa's insides.

"Might be the mould. Let's swab the ship soon," Hongjoong purred as he reached for Seonghwa's shoulders. He held him in position as he breached him, filled him deep, and Seonghwa stifled a guttural moan in the pillows as he was complete.

Their hands entangled after that; rings reflecting the depths of their souls as they rolled onto the sheets. They kissed, and Seonghwa pulsated around Hongjoong, needing more.

Truly, he wasted not another thought on his grief or their concerns for Tikki. Now, everything was just about them.

Hongjoong kissed his neck, his cheek, his lips. In return, Seonghwa nibbled at Hongjoong's ear, careful not to tug too hard on the scarred fork of his lobes.

The first thrust shoved any other thought from Seonghwa's mind. He arched into his husband, begging to be held, and Hongjoong complied. He wrapped his arm around Seonghwa's midst and cradled him close. As his hips doused them in the sweetest pleasure, their arms clung to each other to feel the heat of their living, breathing partner.

The sweat on their skins was the same; they shared it that often. It eased the slide when Hongjoong pinned Seonghwa with his weight, took his breath away until the orange sunset bathing them through the windows made him appear as a creature of light. He gasped when Hongjoong guided his legs over his shoulders, folding him down the middle. The distress in his eyes melted into adoration under the gorgeous hues of the horizon.

"Me Pirate King... Me everythin'," Seonghwa brought out, lips parched around his moans so Hongjoong kissed him, breathed the heat back into his mouth. He sunk even deeper in this position, touching Seonghwa's most sacred spots that clamped to him in an embrace like home. Each time he ground into him, bulged through Seonghwa's stomach, a piece of sanity slipped away from Hongjoong.

"I be 'ere," Hongjoong vowed. He pulled back to let Seonghwa breathe, and he writhed in the sweetest throes. His fingers clutched Hongjoong's over his head, chest rising and falling with the faded ink of his tattoos. Through his hot, saccharine skin, Hongjoong could feel his pulse hammering away, reminding them they were alive, they had each other.

Grief loosened its stifling hold on them as their undying love assured them.

Hongjoong glanced at the weeping length trapped between their stomachs, bouncing with each jerk of his hips into Seonghwa's. His lidded eyes clung to it when he turned his head to sink his teeth into the soft flesh of Seonghwa's thigh.

Accompanied by Seonghwa's sweet whimper, more fluid oozed to stick to his stomach.

Knowing he didn't need to touch Seonghwa for him to lose his mind, Hongjoong held him impossibly tighter, impossibly closer, until the only part of them that could move were his hips that hammered into Seonghwa. Trapped into place with nowhere to run, Seonghwa trashed in the pirate's powerful hold, sobbing for he felt so good.

Heart soaring as if carried by the wings of a bird, Hongjoong gritted his teeth. He held out as Seonghwa fell apart, breath hot on each other's faces. A litany of Hongjoong's name rained from his babbling lips, slurring as his wet eyes rolled back.

The heat of their entangled bodies was overwhelming, and they stuck to each other as if they weren't meant to part. When Seonghwa's come splattered up to Hongjoong's chest, he let Seonghwa's hands go to engulf his waist, holding that beloved body as he chased his high.

Seonghwa lay beneath him with glassy eyes, watching full of adoration how Hongjoong cursed and bit his lip. None felt better than Seonghwa. More right. More like home.

Hongjoong slipped on the furs when his hips stuttered, slumping over Seonghwa to keep him in place as his hot come overflowed to fill Seonghwa's insides. He panted harshly, coughing when the stifling air didn't suffice.

They stayed like that, coiled up like two snakes in their uncomfortable position. When Seonghwa could move again, he ran fond fingers through Hongjoong's sweaty hair, brushing it from his nape to cool him.

Hongjoong waited until his breathing regulated before he lifted his head. Just as ruffled, Seonghwa glowed as if Hongjoong reignited a flame inside him.

They fell into each other without a word, sharing a deep kiss that was wet from their unravelling but profound in its meaning.

"Feelin' better?" Hongjoong muttered as he caressed Seonghwa's cheek, removing himself carefully so Seonghwa wouldn't pull something. The prince groaned when his legs came back down at a normal angle. Hongjoong massaged them while he watched with a never-dying fascination how his white spill leaked from Seonghwa's red, puffy rim.

"I be so obsessed with ye. With yer mark on me, yer love," Seonghwa confessed, voice rough as he wiped his eyes of leftover tears.

Hongjoong kissed his knee.

"An' I with ye. Woe 'as no 'old on us."

They sprawled out next to each other, legs intertwining as Hongjoong held Seonghwa close. This time, Seonghwa didn't duck away or lost his attention to a hazy distance. A hungry flame glowed in the depths of his gaze.

"I think I be ready. 'Ealin' takes time, but I want to use it fer our progress. With Tikki, with the Black Bay, an' with our goals. Me mother, she... She be out there, waitin'. Once we crossed that 'orizon, I will spy 'er again."

Warmed by his perseverance, Hongjoong nuzzled his cheek. Seonghwa was so strong, possibly even stronger than him. He never gave up, always hoped. Where Hongjoong ran wild on rampages, Seonghwa knew better days would come.

"Do nay think o' crossin' those shores any time soon. She can wait an' we will think o' 'er as we rule the seas. Ye know she would be proud o' ye," he whispered. When he lost his father, there was no time for misery, no one to share his agony with. Seonghwa had someone, and Hongjoong couldn't be prouder to be the one, even if he couldn't kill anyone to fix it.

"I will nay," Seonghwa hummed with a smile. "I will stay by yer side fer a long time. So let's build the future together."

"Startin' with gettin' that brat somewhere she does nay bother us," Hongjoong finished with a glare at the door. Tikki ordered his men around outside and they spoiled her, calling her the better captain.

With a kiss to his cheek, Seonghwa pulled Hongjoong closer to share their lingering heat as their bodies recovered.

"Yongguk will take jolly care o' 'er. Do you reckon we can visit Yonghwan? I want to thank 'im."

Hongjoong settled back into their cocoon, satisfied with their embrace.

"That son o' a dog be difficult to visit in the 'eadquarters, but we will find a course. We 'ave lots to babble."

"Thank ye, Hongjoong."

Hongjoong's heart melted, easing the strain on his chest.

"Anythin' fer ye, precious."