☆Genre: Fluff
"I might untie you if you stop being so violent towards me." Luke said as he pouted. "I'd rather you throw me overboard and put me out of my misery instead." Zander huffed. Luke sighed as he sat down on the bed next to him, still a little cautious. He already had a few cuts and bruises from the prince, and it hurt. "So, are you happy now?" Zander spoke up, his head still hung low. He sat on the bed with both his hands tied, as well as his ankles. He looked up and shifted his gaze towards the pirate next to him. He blinked slowly as he waited for an answer. "What do you mean?" The pirate asked. "With the scandal you just caused, are you happy now?" He repeated himself, clearly angry. "Oh! Totally!" Luke replied enthusiastically. "For once in my life, I get to be petty." He added, a sly smirk on his face. "Petty?" Zander questioned as he cocked a brow. "Mhm. Your father has hated my guts ever since I stepped into that kingdom, and now I wanted some kind of payback." He replied, facing the prince entirely.
"You do realize, the knights saw your face. They're aware you're the one who took me, once my father finds out I'm sure he'll do everything in his power to track you down and slaughter you.." Zander explained. Luke only slouched and hummed. "I'll gladly watch that. In fact, I can't wait until you get slaughtered." The prince stated, a wide smile on his face. The captain inched closer to him, Zander subtly backed away. "Then I'll make sure I look really good if you're watching." He winked. The prince furrowed his brows, "Pardon me..?" He questioned as he tilted his head to the side. "Oh come on, I was just trying to lighten up the mood." He chuckled. Zander frowned and only pushed him back, "I don't like you." - "You're lucky I'm nice." The captain said as he rolled his eyes.
Luke looked at him and observed all his features, it was the first time he fully saw him. Usually he'd just see him from afar, or in the dark. He was very handsome in the captain's eyes, he cupped his face and turned it side to side to really note his features. "Let go." Zander spat. "You know, you have a really nice face structure. You mind if I ever paint you?" He asked as he finally let go of Zander's face. "Find someone else. I hate standing there for what feels like forever." He replied as he furrowed his brows. "Alright..alright."
"Anyways, what were you doing out in the snow so late at night?" Luke asked, leaning his head into his hand. Zander scoffed, "Why do you care?" Luke only sighed. "I'm trying to make a conversation with you, and I noticed you look really tired and distraught." He added. The prince stayed silent as he looked down at the ground and pondered. "I..couldn't sleep, so I decided to get some fresh air. Today was tiring." He answered as he shut his eyes. He looked like he could fall asleep at any moment. The captain pitied him, were young royals usually this overworked? "I can tell. You're much slower now, and you haven't tried to attack me in a good while." Luke smiled. Zander opened his eyes and only tiredly looked at him, "Trust me..I'll kill you in your sleep." He threatened, looking to the side and slouching.
He spoke slowly, it was clear to the captain he was barely staying awake. He scooted closer to him and placed his hands on his shoulders. His shoulders were firm, the material of his clothing was soft too. Luke could feel a thick layer of gauze underneath his shirt. "What are you doing?" Zander asked as he looked up. "Giving you a massage. You need it." Luke replied, softly massaging his shoulders. Zander stayed quiet, instead he leaned into the touch. It felt quite nice, his shoulders were basically sore from all the training and horse riding almost every other day. And his left shoulder hurt the most, it was tightly wrapped in white gauze after getting injured during a duel a few days ago. He realized this was the first time in years that he had sat down and properly relaxed. To think a pirate was the one who made him realize, he felt slightly embarrassed.
Zander was touch starved in a way, he always kept to himself, he didn't have anyone so close to him that he could hug them or do anything. He yearned for anyone's touch, he felt alone. That loneliness was slowly killing him, and now, he didn't feel so alone. He acknowledged someone was near him, someone was willingly talking to him, someone gently touched him, it made his feelings spark like fireworks.
He was always doing something, there was rarely ever a time where he sat down and did nothing. He almost never had any time to himself, he was always busy training, fighting, meeting people he didn't want to, horse riding, and visiting events. He didn't feel human, he felt like some kind of shiny and perfect trophy for his parents to show off. "See? Isn't that much better?" The captain softly spoke. Zander blinked slowly, at this point, he was entirely leaning on Luke. He was sleepy, the massage made him tired. Luke's touch was gentle and soft, it was lulling him to sleep. "Mhm.." he hummed. Zander was puzzled, how come he didn't kill him by now? Right now would be the perfect moment to do so. "How come you aren't trying to kill me..?" Zander asked with a frown. The captain sighed softly, "Why would I kill you? I have no interest in doing that." The captain said, he reached down and took a hold of Zander's hands. He untied them and threw the rope on the ground, he still tried to keep his distance, he didn't doubt that Zander could easily kill him whenever.
He felt bad, his wrists were red from the rope. "You're..untying me?" The prince asked, slightly surprised. "Yeah, I guess I feel bad." He replied, he crouched down in front of him and untied the rope between his ankles. He got up again and sat down next to Zander. "You're being so nice..why?" He asked as he looked up at Luke. "How about you just go to sleep? I'm sure you can barely even process what I'm saying right now." Luke said as he patted his head. Zander nodded, he climbed into bed and immediately passed out. Luke only chuckled, he covered him with a warm blanket. He placed a hand on his cheek, he was freezing cold. Luke sat down by him, he only observed him. He knew the prince was already 22, he was quite surprised when he found out he was still not wed. Luke found him very attractive, even after he saw him in the kingdom for the first time.
For Luke, this was exciting. He just caused a whole scandal for kidnapping the kingdom's precious prince, maybe it won't be so bad to get to know him. Though, he would go anxiously in bed. He was sure Zander was capable of killing him in his sleep, he just prayed he would be way too tired to do that. Luke had to admit, he was definitely surprised. At first, he thought he would absolutely hate his guts. He thought he was going to act and behave like an average spoiled young royal. But no, he was different. He was independent, he was up for a fight, he defended himself. Those kinds of royals were rare, really rare. This man was special, and Luke couldn't wait to know more about him. He only smiled as he imagined how angry his father would be once he found out his son made friends with a pirate.
