Lost boy || Prince Caspian

5

Caspian stood at the top of the stairs watching him. Mouth parted lightly and an unreadable expression on his face. Otto straightened and turned to face him fully. The moon casting shadows on their skin. Caspian's hair and eyes as dark as the night sky above them. Black orbs piercing as they stared silently at Otto. He had pulled on his boots and his long brown coat over shoulders. The slight of it made Otto aware of the goose bumps on his arms from the chill.

"Caspian", Otto tilted his head. "I thought you were asleep. Did I wake you?"

Caspian blinked as if he was coming from a dream. Mind clearing and becoming focused on the present. "No", he walked over to the wooden rail at Otto's side. "I woke up to find you gone so I thought I'd come and find you. What has disturbed you so?" His accent was thick in the midnight hour and it settled over Otto like a warm blanket. Any residual fear and panic from his nightmare now fading.

"I had a nightmare. What scared me, I cannot remember. So I came to find space to breathe".

Caspian hummed. He reached out and gently took one of Otto's hands in his. "I woke up and found you gone", he repeated. "Edmund was there. Lucy was in my cabin where I had left her but you were gone. For a minute I thought that I had dreamed your return. And I feared for a moment that you were still gone".

"Oh". Otto felt his chest constrict. He threw his arms around Caspian the drew the dark haired man close, gripping him tightly. "I'm right here Caspian". The words were soft in the king's ear.

Caspian chuckled wetly as he hugged Otto back. Emotions audibly clogging his throat and his hands clutching at his shirt almost desperately. "I know. I missed you so much. I thought you dead. The kingdom thought you dead. I lost you and now that I have you back, I can scarcely believe it. It seemed too good to be true".

"I know". Otto did know. He completely understood. Being in Narnia again was euphoric but the fear that he would wake up at any minute back in his little rented room in London was too much to bare. He wasn't sure what he would do if he left Caspian again. "I feel that if I'll go back to sleep, I'll wake up in England again. I don't want that". His voice warbled slightly at the end and he buried his face into Caspian's neck. They stayed there for a long time. Just simply hugging each toner and feeling their reassuring solidness of each other's body and the warmth in their skin.

A breeze picked up and Otto shivered. "You're cold", Caspian murmured. He pulled his coat round Otto's form as much as he could but stopped with a yawn.

"You're tired. Let's go back to bed".

"No", Caspian tightened his grip. "Let's just stay here a moment longer. I don't wish to let you go just yet".

So they stayed there. Otto relaxing in Caspian's hold. The two of them leaning against each other for support as the night went on. It was only when Otto let out a yawn of his own did Caspian relax. "Let's go back to bed", he relented, reluctantly dropping his grip. Otto rubbed at his eyes and linked their hands together as they made the journey back below deck. As they drew closer to the crew quarters, the noises of snoring grew louder. None of the other crew awake to watch them renter the room.

Otto paused at next to his hammock. The blanket and pillow were in disarray. All of a sudden, he didn't want to crawl back into it. Caspian stopped and squeezed his hand. "Are you okay?" His voice was low so not to wake anyone else.

"I don't want to let go". The words were a nervous whisper.

"Then don't".

Otto let a small smile spread across his face although it would have been hard to see in the gloom. In silence, with their hands still locked, the two of them took off their boots. Caspian lined them up neatly together under his hammock. The blanket was pushed back and Otto grasped his own blanket from his bed. It was slightly awkward, with their hands still clasped, but they managed to move themselves onto the canvas hammock. Their bodies curling up together so that they didn't fall off. Otto half lying on Caspian's chest with their intertwined hands trapped between them. He rested his head on Caspian's shoulder. The wide neck of his shirt allowing his cheek to touch skin of collarbones.

The hammock swung slowly with the rocking of the ship. The snores melding into the background as Otto listened to Caspian's breathing. The man's long dark hair tickled his forehead as he hugged him closer. Caspian shifted and pressed his lips to Otto's forehead. His light stubble another reminder that he was there. "What are you thinking?" The question are barely a murmur.

Otto hummed slightly, letting Caspian feel the vibration of his throat. "I'm thinking of what we were before I disappeared. Could we return to that? It feels like a dream".

Caspian tilted his head to that it was resting on top of Otto's, flattening his hair. Their hammock rocked and someone snuffled loudly in the background. The ship creaked. "I don't know". The reply was honest but still made Otto's gut clench. "For you it's been a year. For me it's been three. I have changed from the boy you met in the forest".

"So have I". It was true. The relief at being back had faded into stomach rolling anxiety. So much had changed and Otto was scared of what it would mean. Caspian was three, almost four, years older than him. When they had met it had only been one year difference. Even then, with all the differences, Otto still wanted to kiss him.

Caspian sighed softly, hand squeezing Otto's gently. "That doesn't mean that we can't begin again". Otto hummed in agreement and nuzzle further into Caspian's embrace. The man pressed another kiss to his forehead.

"So more courting?" Otto smiled against his skin.

Caspian let out a amused breath. "More courting. We will take things slow".

"We weren't taking it fast to begin with".

"Even though", Caspian smiled. "I want to learn you again". The words made Otto's chest feel light and bubbly.

"Aww", he cooed. Caspian chuckled.

"Get some sleep Otto. Neither of us will be going anywhere". Otto hugged Caspian and closed his eyes. He let the sounds of breathing and the creaking of the ship wash over him. The sounds drowning out into a soothing background noise. He felt it when Caspian fell asleep. The man's heartbeat slowing into a deep rhythm in his ears. Otto concentrated on slowing down his breathing until he felt sleep.

There were no more nightmares. His fear and anxiety a memory in the warmth of the hammock.

Unedited