The privateer and his tracker

Chapter 2

"Are you sure you're merely a tracker? Judging by the speed with which you made the sword, I would've sworn that you're a Durast." The king said playfully while he walked into the barn, where Mal was already waiting for him.

The other man laughs at his words, lifting his head so that their eyes met. "I'm terribly sorry to disappoint, but I fear I am just a tracker," he replied, not sounding sorry at all.

"Good news is that it makes me an easier target." The tracker went on, standing up from where he was sitting on some hay and making his way to Nikolai.

"Not that you can win against me either way," and suddenly he was right in front of Nikolai, faster than a blink of an eye. He pulled out his sword while Mal got his, from saints know where already scoring some points with too-good attacks on the king.

If you ever asked him the king would deny it, but he knew that Mal was a bit better than him at sword fighting, as Nikolai usually stuck to guns and other weapons that he designed.

His heartbeat started going up, and while it was mostly because of the intense workout this training was providing him, it wasn't just because of that. It was also because of the realisation of how close to the tracker he gets to be during the time they spend together and how good Mal looks when he's all sweaty and his muscles are tense.

Not to mention all the images this was providing for his fantasies and how Mal was all he could think about now when he was horny or doing anything that was even slightly Mal-related.

With the realisation that his train of thought was distracting him, he shook his head and got it back in the game. He scored some points against Mal but was somehow still losing.

Mal smirked and somehow scored some more points, leading by quite a lot. Too much, if he was honest. This meant that the king had to use an emergency exit, scoring just enough points for today.

"Are you up for a short break?" He panted now, hearing how messed up his voice got when he was pleasantly tired from an intense fight.

"Aw, is our king getting tired?" Mal shot right back, standing a couple of feet away from him and the privateer saw it as a perfect opportunity for what he was about to do, planning it out in his head to detail.

However, Mal ruined it a bit, by nodding and already passing him his water bottle. Because of course Nikolai just had to be stupid enough to forget his and now had to drink out of Mal's. He would've found it quite disgusting if it was from anyone but the tracker. Or well, he would be quite alright from drinking out of Genya's.

The said man sat down on the hay that he previously occupied, wiping the sweat off of his skin with a towel he brought. Nikolai found it interesting how the tracker always seemed to have the stuff. Like, the physical stuff that you'd need for something.

Apparently, his mind found it even more interesting how licking the sweat off of the tracker would be like and he choked on the water he was drinking, leaning over and coughing.

"Are you alright?" Was the question the tracker asked with a decent dose of concern in his voice. The second the king nodded, he started laughing and Nikolai joined him after a moment.

He genuinely enjoyed Mal's company a lot and he wished he could experience it more.

"I'm so alright," he chuckled to himself realising his sentence made less sense than he imagined it would: "that I'm ready to get back. Are you ready to lose?" He added his "boyish smile", as some would say, winking at Mal while walking backwards stepping back into their fighting area.

The tracker joined him after a second, moving his head from left to right: "I'm not if I'm honest." He waited a tense second before he continued: "But I am ready to win.

With that, he surged forward scoring yet another point and the privateer knew it was time for the grand finale. He made sure the tracker stood a couple of feet away from him but still close enough to reach him with his sword.

The next time Mal's sword came close to his skin he hissed loudly, clutching the side that the word would've touched if they were in an actual battle. He dropped his sword in favour of making the act more realistic and convincing, scrunching his face in fake pain.

Which Mal found quite adorable before his brain caught up and he clearly saw that his opponent was in pain, hurrying over to help him and apologise dearly.

"Fuck, Nikolai, I'm so terribly sorry. I didn't realise that the sword will actually touch you. Saints I'm terrible at estimating distance." While he was hurrying over, guilt written all over his face, Nikolai felt a bit sorry that he was only playing him.

However, the win he got was worth it. When the tracker got closer, he kicked the sword back into his hand in a matter of seconds, pressing it up to his opponent's neck, disarming the said man.

"I wouldn't expect you to fall for such an old trick or care enough to come and check for injuries but saints, am I glad you did." He wasn't completely sure if Mal was going to get angry at him or if he will take the joke.

Luckily, he went for the latter, lifting his arms in mock surrender and stepping away. "That was a good one, I must admit."

As they were leaving the barn, after drinking some more of the water Mal has brought, Nikolai decided to mutter an honest: "Thank you for the gift, I like it a lot," he hoped it didn't sound too desperate or fond, ignoring the growing crush he was having.

"I'm glad it did," The tracker looked him straight (not so) in the eyes, giving him a smile worth everything Nikolai possessed. He'd gladly sell the Hummingbird just for more moments like this.

--- le time skip ---

In the next couple of months, the pair was becoming closer and closer with each passing day. They regularly had their training and after a while Nikolai let Mal give him some advice, leading him through his attacks.

Which was especially fun when the tracker was showing him how he should move his body, most of the time with his hands nestled on the king's hips. One time Nikolai's dick paid a bit too much attention to that particular skin contact and he had to think about the council and his dead dad quite a lot.

After a month or so, they started hanging out outside of their usual afternoons in the barn too. Nikolai could see Alina teasing Mal quite a lot before he went out with him or after when they were saying their goodbyes, which usually ended up being right before they went to sleep.

One time, they fell asleep outside, watching the stars on a cold winter night with way too many blankets on top of them. That year the king spent his Christmas and New Year's Eve with the close friends he got in the past few months.

Another time, when it was getting warmer, spring on the front door of Ravka, they went out for a spontaneous picnic kind of thing. Nikolai was carrying some fruit he picked in a decorated basket when he spotted the tracker, with a book in his hand.

As he walked up to him, Mal greeted him with fond eyes and a warm smile, asking him about his day. As they talked and laughed they found a tree to sit under. The tracker opened his book and started reading out loud when their conversation stopped for a bit.

Nikolai fondly remembers that day and it quickly became one of his favourites, bringing butterflies to his stomach whenever he thought about it.

And the best thing was, that it was only one of many many happy memories he made with Mal. Each time they said goodbye he couldn't wait to hang out with the tracker again.

He was happy to learn from Genya, who heard it from Zoya, who heard from Alina, that Mal felt quite the same about hanging out with him.