Smut in the second half of the chapter, the last sentence is important though!

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Seonghwa would deny the sudden wave of panic he felt when he awoke in a foreign bed. What he would deny even more though, was how the soft laughter of Hongjoong sounding not far from him made him calm down immediately and even got his heart to beating a bit faster.

How was he supposed to teach his heart that no, there was no time to be going all mushy inside right now? This was the harsh reality of life, of pirates and fights. There was no time for him to question his feelings.

Seonghwa sat up slowly, grimacing when his back cracked warningly. Even more deliberate than before he pushed back the thin blanket resting above his body, searching the room for Hongjoong.

There he sat, next to that stranger at his make-shift desk (a flat piece of driftwood on a rock) and smiling at his companion brightly.

Seonghwa never saw Hongjoong smile like that and he took a moment to stare.

Hongjoong's smile was radiant, making him seem much more younger and much more bright. His eyes seemed affectionate and his nose did a little scrunch that Seonghwa hoped did not hurt his injury further. He smiled with a lot of teeth, blinding Seonghwa with their odd cleanliness (he already noticed Hongjoong having interests in particular topics such as keeping himself clean, what Seonghwa appreciated).

Even if that smile was not directed at him, Seonghwa felt oddly struck by it. He wanted to make him smile like that too, his brutal captain who finally showed his soft side.

The other man had been laughing too, the deep timbre of his voice mixing with Hongjoong's. Now though, he turned around as if he had felt Seonghwa sitting up, locking their gazes with a polite curiosity.

Hongjoong lifted his eyes then too, his smile not quite dying down fully when he saw Seonghwa.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. How do you feel?"

Seonghwa clumsily ruffled his hair, getting up to stumble over to them. Hongjoong patted his lap invitingly and Seonghwa only threw a quick glance at their desinterested host, then he sunk down on the captain's warm thighs. Hongjoong lifted his hands then, one coming to settle around Seonghwa's hips and the other carefully touching his lips.

"How's it feel? It looks nasty but should not hurt much. Bbang gave you some numbing medicine over it."

Seonghwa blinked at him, not quite sure what he was talking about. Thankfully the other man at the table did however. They had not really talked yesterday, Seonghwa just wolfing down some food and then falling asleep so he did not quite catch his name.

"You were hurt while on the ship. Hongjoong and I assume your counterparts did those to each other and they projected on you. Tell me if it starts hurting again." Seonghwa scrutinized that man with his tanned skin and generally dark aura again, the same kind of unsettling energy radiating off of him as when they first met. It was different from the clones but Seonghwa could not put a finger on it at all.

"What did they do?"

Hongjoong carefully kept caressing Seonghwa's jaw, looking worriedly between his eyes and his mouth.

"Those cuts... We will show it to you after it healed a bit. Right now it looks pretty bad."

Seonghwa could only imagine.

He nodded weakly, not able to keep himself from carefully probing them with his tongue. The corners of his mouth felt strange indeed, the cut open flesh not smooth at all and he carefully retracted his tongue again before the feeling ingrained itself too much in his brain.

"Now, shall I leave you two alone for a bit? I will get some new herbs and see how the other two are doing on the way." The man opposite of them rose, nodding at them curtly before stepping out, leaving Seonghwa alone with Hongjoong.

"Who is he?"

"A warlock. His name is Yongguk. He can help you go home within a day or two."

Seonghwa's brain short-circuited.

He blinked once, twice, then found Hongjoong's straying eyes with his own. The pirate looked mildly uncomfortable, the hand holding Seonghwa's hip more tight than before.

"Go... home?"

Hongjoong was sending him home? Why? Why so suddenly?

Seonghwa felt himself start to shiver in Hongjoong's hold, the other one automatically pressing him closer. It did not help, the sudden yearning for home pulling at Seonghwa's heart too strong. His brain could not catch up with the idea of finally being able to leave.

"Why?"

Hongjoong cleared his throat roughly, trying to seem more composed.

"You- You are not of any value of us, not being a prince. I would have killed you if not for your courage. But as you are- are as honorable as any respectable pirate, I shall let you go."

That hit home.

Seonghwa barely felt the painful stab right through his heart, his breathing faltering. He could go home. He could live.

"I-" Hongjoong coughed again, looking anywhere but to Seonghwa and Seonghwa did not notice his hands shaking, gripping tight at him as if he did not truly want to let go.

"Yongguk gave me a poison with which I can probably get rid of those doubles. You don't have to fear for your life."

It was so much to take, so overwhelming to Seonghwa. His heart felt as if it would combust in pure joy any second now and he could barely sit still.

He could not utter a word but he was still listening to Hongjoong attentively, watching him swallow harshly. His eyes seemed a bit more closed off then, more like usual.

"Allow me your time for today? I would like to embrace you that one last time before you go."

Seonghwa had to chuckle incredulously. He leaned down to press a gentle kiss to Hongjoong's lips, feeling brave. His happy heart did a little dance when Hongjoong immediately responded to him, pulling him close to kiss him carefully.

"Tell me if I hurt you.", Hongjoong whispered after another shy brush of their mouths, pulling back to look at Seonghwa's wounds again worriedly. Only ever with doubt but never with disgust.

"What happened to you? You asked me once whether I had you wrapped around my fingers that much already... Do I really?"

Hongjoong grimaced at him, pushing him away playfully.

"Bold words for some unimportant someone. Now will you let this pirate kiss you or continue spewing nonsense?"

Seonghwa kept himself from grinning too broadly, standing up in order to pull Hongjoong up and into his arms. The captain did clearly not expect that, reaching out to stabilize his little body by Seonghwa's nape.

"Hey!"

"Let me? Now that I actually know what Sex is I might put that knowledge to good use." Seonghwa's smirk had to look horrible but it was completely worth it because Hongjoong's eyes actually went wide and any tension fell from his body.

"What do you mean, now that you know? I slept with you multiple times before that."

"Yeah you did but I had no idea what we were doing. Why did my own clone have to explain that to me? Guess I gotta watch my back myself."

Seonghwa unceremoniously dropped Hongjoong on the bed, watching him roll around to look up at Seonghwa with wide eyes.

"You had no idea?"

Seonghwa just nodded, kneeling next to Hongjoong on the bed in order to gently open his legs and slip in between. The other man welcomed him easily, not complaining when Seonghwa started undressing them.

"Sink me. I really thought you had just no experience with men. Wait, you were a complete virgin?!"

Seonghwa just nodded amusedly, neatly setting their clothes aside for later use. He watched Hongjoong hide his face behind his hands with a groan, a blush peeking out prettily through his fingers.

"That's hot. It explains why everybody was so amused. They knew, huh?"

"I really thought they told you. I mean, I did not know what all of that was about so I had no expectations whatsoever. I think compared to other pirates you were actually really nice."

Seonghwa leaned over him to gently pull his hands away, wanting to see him.

He had wished to pull the sweetest sounds out of Hongjoong all this time and now he finally could and for that he needed his full attention.

"I think if they told me I would have actually tried to make you cry. You don't find many virgins out here, men go crazy over them."

Seonghwa gave a dry chuckle at that, gently wrapping one hand around Hongjoong while the other took the super convenient and totally not subtle jar of oil from the nightstand. Hongjoong's eyes followed his movements, in his eyes still the clear distraction of the earlier topic to be seen.

"Do you know how to?"

"You are late with your explanations, Captain. Trust me." Seonghwa gently reached between his legs with slick fingers, watching his captain's body curl deliciously when first penetrated. Quiet curses slipped from his lips, his warm thighs framing Seonghwa's hips smoothly.

He had less scars on his legs than on his upper body and the unmarked skin seemed like the perfect playground to bite on, Seonghwa suddenly understood the other's motivations.

"Don't call me Captain in bed I can't get hard whenever somebody calls for me on board." His voice was a bit scratchy, breaking whenever he tried to speak more composedly. He looked breathtaking like this, at Seonghwa's mercy and without any care in the world that was not honeyed desire. He let Seonghwa do his work, relaxing completely trusting.

"Oh, but wouldn't that be fun? I would love to see that." He finally found that little bundle of nerves in Hongjoong's body, pressing down on it until he saw his captain come with a strangled moan, body moving in tandem with Seonghwa's administrations.

"It would be different, right? It would get you weak, not as powerful as having a new prisoner with your whip around his throat and on your knees in front of you does." Seonghwa gently kissed his knee, pulling his fingers out to let the other man catch his breath.

"You should have seen yourself, all pretty like that. I couldn't wait to ruin you." Hongjoong threw his sweaty head back with a deep groan when Seonghwa finally slid home, watching Hongjoong squirm for a moment. He gently held onto the smaller man's hips, appreciating their noticable size difference.

"And now here we are. You ruined me into wanting the same things." Seonghwa gave a throaty chuckle, not allowing Hongjoong to curve away from him.

"Ngh I think I did well. You only became more sexy. If I ever sail past your home island, will you allow me to pay you a visit?" His eyes were clenched shut and his open mouthed to spew little sounds of pleasure when Seonghwa leaned over him, slowly starting to move.

"Of course. Let's fight each other next time. The winner gets to top."

"Bold of you to assume you could ever beat me-ah!"

Seonghwa smirked, picking up his pace and barely biting back a coo when Hongjoong's hands scrambled all over the bed, trying to find something to hold onto and settling for the pillow. His body stretched prettily like this, making Seonghwa want to paint him again.

Maybe he actually should take up painting when he got home. He had seen a lot of things he wanted to remember.

"I literally just have to call you Captain to get you all bothered, are you sure you still stand a chance?", Seonghwa teased him, laughing when Hongjoong promptly fisted a hand into his hair, pulling him down to roughly bite at his neck.

"Smug bastard. We will see then. There are still places on the ship I did not bend you over at."

Seonghwa gave a breathy laugh, concentrating on their pleasure instead of doing more talking. Their heavy breathing filled the air, the taste of Hongjoong's skin on his lips or the distinct smell of sex only further clouding Seonghwa's head.

Hongjoong actually begged him to come inside, to give him that reminder of what they had before they both collapsed over each other, Hongjoong just laughing when Seonghwa made a grimace at the slick slide of their bodies.

"You will remember my name, right?"

"I will tell every person in my hometown what a bastard you are, of course I will."

"I will pretend I forgot yours when telling the crew you ditched us like a coward."

They fell asleep with some stupid giggles, taking a late afternoon nap.

Hongjoong and the other two were gone before Seonghwa woke up.