Black Hearted

Part 37

Sean grabbed Nate's arm to keep him from moving toward the cabin door. Staring into Nate's eyes, Sean seriously told him. "Don't do it, Nate... I'm begging you." Nate raised an eyebrow, asking bluntly. "Do what?" Sean glanced around the ship nervously, before whispering under his breath. "Don't do the thing where you turn into me... Please?" Nate rolled his eyes with a smirk, leaning in close to answer discreetly. "I wasn't. I meant what I said. YOU are going to play with him." Sean blinked confused. Nate patted Sean's cheek lightly, chuckling out. "You're a merman that can't bewitch sailors... That is going to end now. And to do that, you need someone that can unlock the... Siren in you." Sean narrowed his eyes on Nate, grumbling out. "Nate... No. I won't hurt him." Nate cupped Sean's face, calmly answering. "Who said anything about hurting him? I didn't. Besides, I'll be there... just in case you do." Nate patted Sean's shoulder loudly, telling him confidently. "Now follow my lead. You'll have to be slow... You move too fast and Mark will fight back. He was raped after all."

Sean shook his head, mumbling out anxiously. "Nate... I'm seriously thinking this is a bad idea." Nate raised a hand, clenching it into a fist that lit up in a soft purple light. The purple light outlined Nate's body and then he vanished from sight. Sean's keen eyes could still see a faint outline of his body. Shaking his head, he watched Nate place his hands on Sean's shoulders, telling him sweetly. "Trust me. You want me to remove the curse, don't you? Then help me. This is good for you to know." Sean rolled his eyes and raised his hand to clench it into a fist. As his body vanished too, he grumbled out. "Fine... Tell me what to do..." Mark stared out the port window next to his bed. Taking a large swig from his flask. He kept telling himself internally that he wasn't upset. He wasn't jealous. He wasn't losing control. He just needed to relax. Watching the sea always calmed the storm in his heart... but today it was taking longer. Every time he closed his eyes, his mind took him back to the beach.

Seeing Nate kiss Sean like that had brought it all back in vivid detail. Being chained to a stake inside his own tent filled with pillows that smelled of sweat. Listening to the way the crew would whistle and cheer as someone would slip inside to use him. Some days the very smell of rum and a crewmen's sweat would make him sick to his stomach. Raising his flask to take another swig, he felt his hand shake a little. Swallowing hard, he inhaled deeply and gritted his teeth. Staring down at his raised legs on the bed, his memory rippled back to the first time he saw Nate. Outside the tent had erupted in gun fire, but he felt so dead inside that he just laid there in the tent. Waiting for a stray bullet to put him down like a dog. He barely recalled Nate barking orders about raiding the naval ship, when the tent opened to shine the brutal light from the sunset on his bruised and sweaty skin. He recalled laying there, simply waiting for Nate to decide how he felt about seeing him like this.

He felt Nate's cold and blood-stained blade slide up his skin to his throat, before he had asked him seriously. "Who are you?" He answered in a dead voice and recalled Nate kneeling beside him to say almost comfortingly. "Well, Mark... You have a choice to make. Death or freedom?" Mark blinked himself out of the memory, mumbling to himself before another swig. "Freedom..." Glancing back out the port window, he laid back across the bed. He could almost see his younger self through the glass. The way Nate cut his chains and when he didn't run... He took him on his ship. The crew was against it, but Nate took him in without a second thought. Nursing him to health and helping him find his freedom. Mark lowered his eyes from the glass with a heavy sigh. Turning his eyes toward the desk, he recalled the fight he had with Robin over Nate's ring. He could have sold it to the new pirate king to become one of his pirate lords. Especially since he had sold Nate to him to settle his debt before... but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

It was true that he didn't want Nate to seek revenge on him, but that wasn't the full truth of it. Part of him still cared about him. He blamed it on Nate's merman charms, but part of his heart just belonged to Nate. Yet, he was afraid of losing Sean to him now. Mark rested the flask between his legs, turning his head on the pillow to stare out the window and up at the stars. The rum was finally starting to kick in. He was feeling relaxed and calm. At least until the door swung open. Mark turned his head to see who it was... but no one entered. The door swung closed on its own and locked, causing Mark to sit up on his elbows. He was debating about grabbing his pistol, when his flask was lifted from between his legs. Mark tried to snatch it back, only to have it move out of his reach as someone drank it down greedily. Narrowing his eyes on the invisible form, he growled out in warning. "Sean, if this is another one of your drunken pranks... I'll ban you from drinking!" Mark watched the flask drop onto his desk, before he heard rattling glass. He was going for his private stock!