Scoundrel - Prinxiety [COMPLETED]

Chapter X

Roman exhaled as he watched the clouds move past. There were some nasty looking ones on the horizon that were concerning him. He didn't know enough about weather and ocean patterns to know if it was a dangerous thing. It was quickly evident that he didn't know enough about pirates either. 

"Virgil! There's a ship gaining on us!" he gasped, running up to him. He was sitting the back railing, clearly able to see it. "Shouldn't we be lowering sails and stuff to go faster?"

"Nope," Luis chimed in happily. "That's my ship. I left my crew in charge while I was looking for the topaz key on that island. My first mate's been handling captain's duties while I was away; helping my brother was a higher priority than looting and stuff."

The prince looked between them in surprise. "One: you two are brothers? And two: you can actually trust your first mate to give you back control when you get back? Like your crew isn't going to betray you?" he questioned, looking astonished. The two of them looked at each other and then back at him with raised eyebrows. "You're pirates! I thought you guys were always trying to beat out the other! You know? Everyone wants to be the captain or get the gold or whatever!"

Virgil and Luis laughed, the latter more than the former. The younger of the two pirates approached him, patting him on the shoulder. "We're not like the stories you've been told," he told him, nodding to the captain who was looking out at the water. He leaned in slightly to talk directly to only him. "There's proof around your neck."

"W-What?" he murmured quietly in question, looking down at the key hanging from the chord around his neck. "What do you mean-"

"My brother doesn't trust just anyone to hold onto something that precious to him," he said before smirking slightly. "But I suppose when that someone's equally as precious to him he doesn't mind."

With that, Luis walked away, leaving the prince to stare after him with flushed cheeks. Was he being serious? Roman thought as he looked at the captain still looking out at the water. I suppose we have gotten closer in a way over the past couple days, but to say I'm 'precious' to him? He has to be kidding, right?

He swallowed, moving to stand next to where the pirate was sitting. Virgil didn't acknowledge his presence with anything other than a quick glance his way. There was a couple moments of quiet that passed between them as Luis' ship grew closer. 

"Hey Virgil?" the prince said quietly to get his attention. He received a hum in response. "What's going to happen when that ship gets here? Like, what's going on?"

Virgil looked at him fully, blinking slowly. "Luis is going to go search for the sapphire key," he explained, nodding to the vessel approaching. "We know the emerald key is on the island the chest itself is on. You and I will be going there to find it while my crew meets up with Luis to find the amber key after sapphire. Once they have them, they'll sail back to the island and meet up at the location of the chest."

Roman gulped without intending to. There was one part of that plan in particular that had stuck out to him and that was the fact that he and the captain were going to search for the emerald key alone again. Last time the two of them went searching for a key he was taken by Captain Drake.

"Don't worry, I'll be keeping a better eye on you this time," the pirate reassured, getting his attention. His voice was soft and guilt ridden when he continued. "I'm really sorry about what happened with De... I should've been watching..."

"I'm- I'm okay," he said, shrugging like it was nothing. 

Virgil shook his head, avoiding his gaze. "It's just... if something were to happen to you, I'd never forgive myself," he said, voice wavering slightly. "I just can't stop thinking about what he did, what he almost did to you, because I wasn't protecting you. He almost-"

"Hey, hey," Roman breathed, reaching out to take his hand. The pirate looked up in shock as he ran his soft, smooth finger tips along his coarse palm in circles in an attempt to calm him. "I'm okay. He didn't get to do anything to me, and even if he had it wouldn't have been your fault."

"I think kidnapping you was my fault, Princey," he countered quietly, clearly calming down from his movements. He just shrugged a little in response, focusing on tracing patterns into the skin of his hand. Virgil watched him, smiling a little at the effortless look of being at ease on his face. The fact that he was so comfortable around him made him feel less... empty. He was used to people not wanting to be around him because of his intimidating nature. Apart from Luis, he'd never had someone who could be this calm about being around him. There was no tension in his shoulders, and he was taking steady breaths as he continued to trace patterns. 

Roman blinked a little, focusing more as a dark spot on the inside of the pirate's wrist caught his eye. It was mostly covered by his coat's sleeves, but his interested was immediately peaked. "What's that mark?" he asked moving to pull back the sleeves. Virgil flinched, drawing his hand back. The prince's eyes widened as he met the highly guarded gaze of the pirate. "Oh, sorry- I didn't mean to pry... sorry."

"Princey..." the captain murmured, feeling his chest constrict at the way he submissively lowered his head and backed off. He reached out, cupping his cheeks to pull him to meet his eyes. "You don't have to behave like you're my slave or something. You're  not. Some things are just... personal. They're difficult to talk about, okay?"

"O-Okay," he whispered, ignoring the twinge of disappointment in his stomach. He really wanted to find out something about his own mark, and what he saw of Virgil's looked incredibly similar. "I'm sorry."

The pirate smile a little, rubbing on of his cheeks with his thumb. "You don't have to apologize," he said before pulling his hands away. Maybe he imagined it, but it looked like Roman leaned forward to follow them, as if he didn't want him to move them. He looked small and sad, making his chest constrict. "Come here..."

He pulled him into a hug, making the prince gasp in surprise. There were then two arms pulling him close in return. "I know you've no real reason to trust me," Virgil said into his ear, sending chills down his spine. "But I want you to know you can. You can talk to me about anything you're comfortable talking about. As long as you're here with me, I'll do my best to be there for you."

Roman smiled as he buried his face into his shoulder. He smelled like the sea but with something hauntingly familiar underneath the saltiness. It was a scent he knew he recognized, but he had no idea where from. Pushing away those thoughts, he focused on savoring this moment of close contact with Virgil seeing as they didn't happen often.

"Thank you," he breathed, feeling his heart falling even deeper into the waters of love.