Empyrian Post 20

As stated in the last post, this will take place after Posts 3 and 6.

Chapter 19: Rescue Time

“Kavo! Hawk!”

With a tired groan, Kavo woke sluggishly. Beside him, he felt Hawk slowly stir to life.

“Hawk!” The voice continued to shout. “Kavo!”

Kavo groaned again and resisted the urge to bury his head and shy away from the loud noises. Hawk, using the only useful limb he had left, managed to sit up and then push his hair out of his face.

“Did you hear that as well?” he asked in a long-suffering tone.

“Yeah,” Kavo replied, “I think so.”

They both winced as the voice called for them again. Now that Kavo was awake, he was reasonably sure that he recognized that voice as a certain amiable youth. Had Aizel found them already?

“We are alive,” Hawk shouted back, making Kavo’s ears ring.

“Fuck, Chayton, warn me next time before you try to scream off my ears.”

“I apologize,” he said with a look that clearly said he didn’t.

Foliage outside rustled. Kavo heard Aizel mumbling something to himself, probably in search for wherever his friends were hiding. Kavo was working on standing when Aizel finally ducked into the cave.

“I can’t believe you two are alive!” he breathed excitedly. Relief flooded Kavo; now that they’d been found, he could relax a little. “We were all so worried. Even Zeric and Belle were scared something had happened to you.”

“Well,” Kavo said, “Hawk’s not exactly in the best of states. He’ll need someone to take good care of him.”

Hawk gave him another look, one that said that if it weren’t Kavo, he didn’t want anyone near him. Kavo could understand; he could tell how much Hawk hated being viewed as weak, and such injuries were definitely weaknesses. He also knew that Hawk didn’t particularly like anyone looking at his scars. The fact that he’d let Kavo trace over them was surprise enough.

Aizel just smiled at them brightly. Kavo realized that he must have known what was going on then. How long had he known? The whole time? Or did he only just figure it out?

“Are you guys ready to head back to the ship?”

“I think so.” Kavo finally stood and held out a hand for Hawk, who took it gratefully. It took him a moment to stand with only that useful hand. “I don’t suppose you have any replacement hands for him onboard, do you?” he half-joked.

“Not any good ones. We have the first one he used to use, but anything like the one he had takes hours to attach or detach, so we didn’t think it would ever need replaced…”

“I didn’t know he ever used a different one,” Kavo remarked.

“Oh, it was a long time ago. Two years or so.”

Kavo sighed. If he hadn’t let Hawk run away on his own, he would still have that high-quality hand that he deserved.

“Is there any way to get another one?” Kavo asked.

“Maybe if we head back to Sol,” Aizel said. “Anyway, Mum’s going to be getting impatient soon. The ship’s just outside; I’ll go tell her you’re both okay.”

As Aizel jogged off, Kavo stared at the ground. He should have been there for Hawk to prevent this sort of injury.

“Kavo, do not blame yourself. I was the one who disappeared before the sunrise.”

“I know, but… I shouldn’t have agreed to let you leave.”

“I would have regardless of whether you wanted me to go or not.”

Kavo rested his head on Hawk’s shoulder lightly. “Don’t do this again, Chayton. It hurts.”

“I will be okay; I promise. We will steal another prosthetic for me, and I will teach you how to attach it. There is no need for such theatrics.”

“I know…”

“Let us make our way to the airship, my tackila. I do believe Aizel said that his mother was growing impatient in wait.”

Kavo smiled, unsure. “Right.” He wrapped his arm back around Hawk’s waist and started leading him back out of the mouth of the cave. He tried to comfort himself with the thoughts that at least they were both alive and well, but it didn’t work. He still felt guilty that Hawk was injured and that the mechanical hand he wore had been ruined. Now, all that remained was the metal ring on his arm that they likely used to attach it.

“You are still blaming yourself.”

“No I’m not,” Kavo argued.

“You are. I can tell. Kavo, you know that I would have done this regardless of whether you even existed. Why do you blame yourself? If anything you have saved my life. I would have died without you.”

“I just feel like you rushed to do this because of me. You had been perfectly content to live on the airship until two nights ago.”

“And why do you think that was?”

“I don’t know,” Kavo groaned, frustrated.

“Kavo, you gave me a reason to live. I had thought that when I attempted this, I would be killed; I had known that my life would not continue for long. Yet when I kissed you, that changed. That first time we kissed, Kavo, my world was perfect. I was so afraid I would lose you and so afraid that I did not deserve you that I let those fears keep me from happiness. When we made love, I was determined that I would not be restrained by my fears any longer. I knew that I could fight.”

“So it is my fault,” Kavo murmured.

“If you want to see it that way, yes, it is your fault that I feel happier than I have been for years. Even injured, I am happy. Before you, I was never happy. Would you prefer me uninjured and apathetic or injured and pleased?”

“I like you happy,” Kavo said, “But I don’t want you hurt, ever. I wanted to protect you from the world.”

“Kavo, I do not need your protection. I need your love and your commitment, and I need your support, but I do not need your protection.”

“I know you don’t need it. Tell me this, though: do you want to protect me?”

“Of course I do.”

“I don’t need it, either.”

Hawk gave a wry smile. “I suppose you may have this victory. I can see your point.”

Finally at least slightly pleased, Kavo led the way outside into the glaring sun. Luckily, their destination was not too far away; Kavo was starting to get fatigued from carting around a man who was practically twice his weight.

“Hawk! Kavo!” Surprisingly, it was Torian’s voice which broke the silence. “Do you need help?”

Hawk opened his mouth to protest someone else’s hands on him, but Kavo replied with a grateful, “Please.”

Soon, Torian’s arm was wound around Hawk’s midsection as well. Hawk looked much less than happy with the situation, but they made it onboard in record time and quickly escorted Hawk to his cabin to lie down. Torian bustled off to do something else, leaving Kavo to look over him.

He remembered the same sort of circumstances but with quite a different role.

“We’ve been this way before,” he noted. “This is my first time watching over you, though.”

“I have to admit that I have not been cared for since my arrival on this ship.”

“Why not?”

“I was never injured.”

Kavo’s eyes widened. “Never?” He’d been a great captain and soldier, but even he had sustained many injuries in battle. Hawk was an enormous target and he stood in plain sight on top of the lookout post, yet he’d never been injured. How was that?

“Never,” he confirmed.

“How? I mean, you’re not exactly an easy person to miss.”

“I always injured them first.”

Kavo laughed. “You are unbelievable.”

“Am I?”

“You are.” He leaned forward and kissed Hawk’s cheek. “If you need anything, you can call, but I think I’m going to go fill in your job. Aizel should be nearby in case of emergencies.” He headed for the door, his mood lifted slightly by Hawk’s good mood. At least if he could chat, his health wasn’t in too poor a condition.

“Kavo.”

“Hm?”

“…thank you.”

Kavo smiled over his shoulder. “Anything for you, Chay.”

“Do not call me that.”

Kavo laughed. “Hey, you have a nickname for me.”

“That is different. It is a pet name. Chayton is my real name; call me that if you must.”

Kavo rolled his eyes, still smiling. “Fine then, Chayton, if you insist.”

“I do.”

Kavo’s smile didn’t fade on his way out. Hawk was hilarious sometimes.

Empyrian Post 19

Note: Takes place directly before Empyrian Posts 3 and 6. (So the next Post will be after them.)

Chapter 16: Bullets Kill

It took a while for Kavo to find his way back to the deck after he’d gotten lost again. By the time he finally emerged, the crew was already working into a battle-ready position; Hawk must have seen it, as well. Kavo made sure he still had the knife Aizel had given him, and then he began loading cannons with the rest of them.

“Kavo.”

Kavo turned. Esryn was behind him, looking extremely worried.

“What is it?”

“Kavo, that’s Laed’s ship.”

Kavo’s eyes widened. “What do you mean that’s Laed’s ship?” He looked to it. “That’s the commander’s ship! Since when—”

“Laed’s on it. They said that he was the best shot they’ve seen, but now I’m thinking maybe they just wanted someone who couldn’t talk.”

Kavo cursed. “We’ve got to do something. Let’s… let’s talk to Gwendolyn, and maybe…”

“You know that won’t work. The commander won’t back off just because the two of us are on this ship. After all, we were both failures.”

Kavo sighed. “Okay, how about… fuck, I don’t know…” He had to do something, though. He knew that if anything at all happened to Laed, Esryn would never recover. Together or not, Kavo had never seen two people more smitten with each other. He’d make sure this worked out somehow.

Slowly, a plan began to form in his mind. He could make it work, and make it look like they’d lost. All he’d need was Laed’s cooperation, and with Esryn onboard, that wouldn’t be difficult. This would work.

“Esryn, I have an idea.”

Five minutes later and Esryn declared that his idea was doomed to failure.

“It’s just… it’s ludicrous, Kavo! There’s no way. We’d have to get Laed to know, and you know it’s hard to explain things to people who can’t ask questions.”

“Es, you know he trusts you more than anyone. We’ll just get you over onboard, and it’ll be fine.”

Esryn bit his lip. “Yeah, but then you’d be alone here.”

“Hey, I’ve survived this long. I’ll live.”

“You’re sure about this?”

“Positive. Just one thing: don’t let him shoot me too badly.”

Esryn laughed. “No promises, but I’ll try. Should we… tell them?”

Kavo shook his head. “No. They won’t like the idea of surrender; they don’t believe in accepting defeat. Besides, they still don’t like you. They’ll think you’re just trying to get back with the government.”

“I guess you have a point there… but I just want to save Laed. Who knows what they’ve made him do over there?”

There it was. That glimmer of love that told Kavo that there was something else to life than just existing shone brightly, like it always had when Esryn had talked of Laed. He’d forgotten how compelling that look was; he couldn’t tell Esryn no when he wanted to help Laed.

“I know. But we’ll be fine. Laed needs you more than we do; I’m sure of it.”

A soft smile spread across Esryn’s face. “Thanks, Kavo. I don’t know how to repay you.”

“Just make sure Laed’s safe. He was my friend, too.”

“Of course.”

The ship began to come into view, and Kavo pushed Esryn toward the edge. “Get ready. I don’t want them too close for long.”

Esryn grinned over his shoulder. “Yes, sir, Captain Dula.”

Cannons began to fire as the ship grew closer. The familiar smell of gunpowder filled the air as cannonballs soared, but both Esryn and Kavo ignored the chaos that erupted; they had a plan to execute, and it needed to be executed nigh perfectly.

The moment they were close, Esryn leapt like a gymnast. He soared through the air and landed with a perfect somersault on the other ship’s deck. Kavo let out a shaky breath; at least part of their plan had already worked.

Kavo could see a smaller blonde stop in his tracks at the sight of Esryn, and he smiled. They already had Laed’s attention, luckily enough. Now all Esryn had to do was convince him to shoot Kavo and not make it a fatally wounding blow.

Kavo nearly groaned when Esryn grabbed Laed. They really didn’t have time for that sort of greeting. He really did groan when Esryn decided to kiss Laed. Had Esryn entirely forgotten about their plan? If he didn’t remember it soon, one of them was going down at the very least.

Finally, Esryn pulled away and whispered something to Laed. Laed’s eyes widened in shock, but he nodded. His crystal eyes searched the ship until they landed on Kavo. With what was probably as close to an apology as Laed could manage, Laed raised his revolver, aimed, and fired.

The bullet pierced Kavo’s chest, far too close to his heart for comfort. Still, Laed had the skill that it wouldn’t kill him as long as he received treatment. That was what Kavo had been counting on.

Unfortunately, Kavo couldn’t quite communicate that it was a job well done. A mixture of shock and blood loss was already doing him in. He choked on air as his knees began to buckle. Slowly, he crumpled to the ground.

Around him, he heard the chaos come to a head. Maybe his plan hadn’t worked as well as he had thought.

Then, he felt their ship begin to land; it was fast enough that he was all but free-falling. Maybe it had worked; maybe his life was important enough to them to forestall the battle for now.

“Kavo!” a deep voice shouted. That voice should have been much farther away if they were still fighting. It had worked.

Kavo smiled dreamily. He’d done it. Esryn and Laed could have their happy ending.

“Kavo, this is no time for napping. Open your eyes.” When Kavo didn’t obey Hawk’s orders, he felt his shirt being ripped open. “How dare they…”

Kavo gripped Hawk’s arm. “Don’t. I asked them to. It was… the only way… I’m sorry…” His voice trailed off into a coughing fit.

“Do not apologize. Stay awake.”

A shaky smile came over Kavo’s face. “You’re panicking,” he whispered.

“It does not matter if I am panicking,” Hawk hissed. “Please, do not leave me…”

“I’m sorry,” Kavo managed.

Those were the last words Kavo could even think before the demon that was unconsciousness took him into its claws. He didn’t feel Hawk gripping onto him desperately. He didn’t hear Aizel’s yells. He didn’t feel it when he was lifted and carried away from sight.

He only felt peace.

Empyrian Post 18

Chapter 15: Incredibly Short Filler

Nearly a whole month passed during which Esryn did everything asked of him and Kavo and Hawk did their best to avoid each other despite sharing a room. It sometimes went so far that Hawk wouldn’t even return to the cabin at night. No one was entirely sure where he went elsewhere; all they knew was that he didn’t sleep on those nights, because the next day clouds of exhaustion would show deep in his eyes.

And Kavo took it upon himself to stare desperately at those clouds every chance he got. He missed the glint of Hawk’s eyes; he missed their golden glimmer, their amber sheen. He longed for the smouldering look that they had sent him once. Once and only once, he thought to himself wryly.

Atop Kavo’s shoulder, Rafael fiddled with the beads around his so-called owner’s neck while Kavo wound through the maze below deck. He’d been told to give some sort of weird blueprints to Torian, but it was mind-numbingly hard to find him behind all the equipment. Still, it was the only duty Kavo had been given outside of, “Watch Esryn and make sure he doesn’t try to murder everyone,” as if the man had a back-up crew hiding in the floorboards. Really, he wished that they could have trusted his judgment. Esryn was a good, just man.

Kavo finally gave up on finding Torian through sheer dumb luck, and he shouted, “Torian, are you down here?”

Torian’s dark head peeked out from behind what Kavo guessed to be some sort of water heater.

“Did you bring those papers?” he asked. As always, Torian didn’t seem one to make idle chit-chat, but his tone had finally grown less hateful and much friendlier. Still, the only person Kavo had ever seen him simply talk to was Aizel; it made sense, seeing as they’d apparently known each other forever. After all, the person Kavo wanted to talk to the most was Esryn, who he’d known since their boyhood days in school.

“Yeah,” Kavo said eventually, handing over the papers in question.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

They stood in awkward silence for a moment longer, not sure how to properly end the conversation. Luckily enough for them, they didn’t have to, because Rafael decided that it hadn’t been recently enough that he’d acted out of line.

The beads around Kavo’s neck suddenly came off, clasped tightly in Rafael’s tiny hands. With a mischievous laugh, Rafael skittered off.

“Raf! You get back here, you stupid— you ass!” Groaning, Kavo sprinted after him, completely forgetting that he’d even been speaking to anyone. Those beads were important to him; they were the ones Helaku had given him.

Kavo raced after the monkey, winding through the maze without thought as he tried to keep up. Metal whizzed past him. A small voice in the back of his mind told him that perhaps he should pay attention to where he was running, but he didn’t care; he was only thinking of the gift from Helaku, that memoir that had made him remember why life was worth living.

At long last, Rafael paused at the top of a set of stairs. Kavo stopped, too, at the bottom to catch his breath. Mindlessly running after him might only end in losing the beads for good once they were back on the weather deck; Rafael could be tricky and sneaky when he wanted to be, and Kavo was sensing that he quite wanted to be that day.

Eventually, Kavo was sure he had gathered the necessary strength. He took a deep, steadying breath for preparation. Then he vaulted himself forward, over the stairs, and latched onto Rafael.

The two of them tumbled over the landing and fell off a low ledge, Rafael screeching and shrieking the whole way until they landed on a cold cement floor. Kavo clutched Rafael tightly to his chest.

“You little twat, give me those.”

Whining pathetically, Rafael released the beads. Kavo snatched them up and then let Rafael go; the monkey scampered away back the way they had come.

Kavo, on the other hand, looked up.

“Whoa,” he breathed. He’d read of these places, but he hadn’t even thought that this airship was old enough to have one; his own hadn’t been, and he knew Esryn’s hadn’t either. He hadn’t imagined that something as simple as an aged observatory would look so beautiful. He could stay out there all day.

The sun had never seemed so bright.

And then, from afar, Kavo saw another airship. It seemed it was time to fight again.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm broken.

No, really. I think I'm broken.

Today I discovered a few things about myself.

1.) When faced with adversity, I abandon all logic. Now, I pride myself on my skills in solving riddles and puzzles and all sorts of logical type things; hell, I passed the AP Physics exam. But in real-life scenarios, I never resort to common sense.

For example. I have had a migraine for five hours straight. I tried watching a movie. I tried eating ice cream. I consumed copious amounts of caffeine and chocolate. All this accomplished was transforming me from a mildly irritated migraine victim to a migraine victim who was so awake she could feel the earth vibrating.

So what did I do? I walked in circles. I fucking PACED. I paced like I was a professional pacer in the Pacing Olympics. Needless to say, migraines trump pacing.

When pacing failed, I flopped on my floor. I lay there in agonizing misery. No more attempts to quell my headache from hell were made.

Then, of all things, my brother set off the house alarm. Instead of doing anything, I cradled my head and sobbed uncontrollably. I win at life.



2.) I have a crippling, all-consuming fear of finishing anything. Now, I had never really noticed this before today. But after 45,000 words out of 50,000 for the NaNo novel, I physically COULD NOT do anything more. I stared at it. I pounded helplessly at the keys. Nothing worked. That was when I realized it.

I've never finished anything in my life. Not really. Things that should be over, that normal people would consider over, they're just not. And I can't help it. I've tried to, but it doesn't work, and I don't really know where I'm going with this, but I feel like if I just complain enough, if I address the problem, maybe it will go away.

It isn't.



3.) I'm incapable of expressing the right emotions.

When I'm sad, I smile and laugh. When I should be unbelievably ecstatic, I'm overcome with depression. Even right now, when everything in my life is turning out, I just want to get out. I don't even know what I want to get out of, but I feel trapped. And why the hell should I? I'm trapped in a perfect fucking world, and I can't escape.

Normal people would be happy with this life. At least, I imagine they would. I don't have cancer and my house isn't haunted and I don't think I have any untreatable genetic disorders and I'm not starving or freezing to death, so why aren't I happy?

I think I'm broken.

Empyrian Post 17

Chapter 14: Trial and Error

“You know, when you said you had a monkey, I thought you were making a racist joke,” Esryn said, his voice muffled and his face hidden behind Rafael.

“I’d wondered why you laughed…”

Esryn slowly peeled the monkey off his face, but he couldn’t seem to detach Rafael’s hands from the rings that were strung through his brow. “Kavo,” Esryn whined, “Get him off.”

“Alright,” Kavo groaned. He leaned over to pry Rafael’s tiny fingers off, but he seemed quite determined to hold on; his screeching alone was enough to attest to that. “Ugh, c’mon, just… Raf, please…”

Finally, with one last screech, Rafael released Esryn’s face, slipped through both men’s hands, and scampered off. The damage was done, though: Esryn and Kavo sat staring into each other’s eyes, faces mere inches apart.

“Kavo,” Esryn whispered. “We really… shouldn’t…” The words were cut off as Kavo kissed him so adamantly that Esryn fell back against the bed. Kavo felt the familiar warm metal rings against his lips; he’d once stared at the sterling silver piercings with trepidation and distaste, but that had long faded. Even so, he’d never imagined that he’d have them pressed against any part of his body the way they were now. More importantly, he’d never imagined that he would initiate such contact.

The door slammed.

Kavo jolted and sprang off of Esryn, touching his fingers to his lips. Had he really just done that? And who had seen them?

“I’m sorry, Esryn,” Kavo muttered. “I still can’t be with you. I don’t know what I was thinking; it’s just… sexual frustration.”

“I figured,” Esryn breathed. A moment passed before he said, “Damn, you do know how to kiss, though.”

Kavo wanted to thank him for the compliment, but he was too lost in thought. Someone had seen them. Would they worry that Kavo was a traitor? No one knew what Esryn was really like, and no one knew the strong bond between them. They wouldn’t understand how Kavo’s say-so could alter anyone’s perception, let alone the perception of the captain of a government airship. They wouldn’t see that Esryn was different than the others.

“Kavo,” Esryn breathed.

“Yeah?”

“You know that if you want a fling…”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know,” he said. “I don’t. It’s not that I’m afraid of things changing, Es, but it’s just… you’re you, y’know? I’ve known you since we were twelve. Sleeping with you would be weird.”

Esryn grinned, still lying on the bed. His dark blue hair was strewn across the bed, shining under the lamplight. Kavo knew it to be softer than it looked. He knew that if he wanted to get back into things, Esryn wouldn’t stop him; he knew that Esryn would likely encourage it.

But the thing was, Kavo didn’t want to get back into things. Esryn was nice, exotic, sweet, and had the best abs that Kavo had ever seen, but Kavo wanted someone else. He wanted Hawk. He wouldn’t settle for anything less.

“I’m sorry. I should go explain things to whoever saw us…”

“It’s okay. I understand, Kavo; you’ve got another man. Doesn’t hurt my feelings any.”

Kavo snorted. “Your feelings don’t make me feel any less guilty.” He leaned over and brushed his lips against Esryn’s again. Esryn sighed and kissed him back, but it remained light and chaste; it was hardly romantic at all. “Sorry.”

“No problem.”

Kavo kissed his hand. “Thanks for always sticking with me.”

“Really, Kavo,” Esryn said, “This isn’t necessary. Now go and sweep your man off his feet, would you?”

“I knew you were my favourite for a reason.” Kavo kissed his cheek. “Tell you what, when we finally go home, I’ll make damn sure Laed finally gives you a chance.”

“Thanks. It means a lot, Kavo.”

“Hey, it’s the least I could do.” Kavo squeezed Esryn’s shoulder as he stood. “Wish me luck. Hopefully I’ll return with all my major organs intact.”

Kavo headed out. He hoped that Esryn was okay with everything because he really liked having a true, long-term friend onboard, but he knew how hard rejection could be. Even if Esryn had no romantic feelings for him— which he was sure was the case, seeing as Esryn and Laed had loved each other for as long as he could remember—he had led Esryn on without even realizing it.

He wondered if Esryn felt anything like he had felt when Hawk had done much the same thing.

Hawk. Was it Hawk who had walked in on them? That was the only person who made sense; anyone else would have knocked before walking into a room that didn’t belong to them.

Well, fuck.

Kavo spotted Hawk sitting against a wall. He had another stone out, and he was muttering something to himself. The pathetic sight did very little to make Kavo feel better about his actions.

“Hey, Hawk.”

Hawk stopped his mumbling, but he didn’t look up. “I had thought that you were a different sort of person, Kavo.”

“I am.”

“No, you are not. You do not care who you love, do you? People like you… it is sickening.”

“Hawk, you don’t get it. Esryn and I have known each other forever. That kiss, it was just a kiss. It didn’t mean anything.”

“That is your problem. Kissing should be much more personal than that.”

“And it usually is!”

“You kissed me,” Hawk reminded.

“Yeah, and I loved every fucking second of it.”

“…whatever. I do not care for your excuses.” Hawk stood and brushed past Kavo, bumping against his shoulder. Kavo closed his eyes and tried not to shudder at the electricity that coursed through him at what should have been considered a rather inane and unexciting touch.

Kavo knew then. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was in deep. He was in love with Hawk.

What to do about it was the bigger question.

Sighing, Kavo guessed he’d go back to Esryn. Maybe a night’s sleep would clear up whatever sickness he’d contracted. He had to cure it somehow, because it was glaringly obvious that Hawk was far from considering him as a partner in anything, let alone love.

Becoming Esryn’s next fling was beginning to sound more and more like a good idea. There would be no strings attached. There would be no feelings involved.
It would be a huge, fake lie.

Kavo couldn’t do that. He knew that Esryn was used to it, and that oftentimes Esryn preferred it, but he couldn’t do that to him; Esryn had been his best friend at one point in time, and Kavo loved him like a brother.

Even so, it was hard to deny that he was lonely. His hand had been forced to suffice for far too long. He wasn’t sure what it was, but something that Hawk had done to him had made it hard for that to be enough. He’d never cared so much for physical affection at all, except for maybe when he was young in the Academy, when he’d gone through puberty. But other than those couple of years, Kavo had never been so desperate.

Hawk had far too much power over him. If only Kavo could make him see for a moment what he wanted and how much he meant it. Then things would be okay. If only Hawk would take a moment to understand, then everything else would fall into place; he was sure of it.

For the first time in his life, Kavo found himself overcome with envy toward Esryn. Esryn could touch and kiss and fuck anyone he wanted, and still Laed loved him without a doubt. Kavo, on the other hand, couldn’t get Hawk’s attention for anything.

He heaved a heavy sigh and turned back. Might as well tell Esryn that he was a horrible, miserable failure.

The second he entered the cabin, Esryn bolted up in the bed and asked excitedly, “How did it go?”

Kavo shook his head. “It didn’t. I think he fucking hates me.”

Esryn tilted his head sympathetically. “That can’t be true, Kavo.”

“He said that people like me sicken him.”

“…okay, so maybe he does hate you, but it ain’t the end of the world! C’mon, there are other fish in the sea.” Esryn grabbed his hands and pulled him onto the bed. “One of you will come around.”

Kavo cuddled into his friend. He hated this sort of thing; he hated how Esryn made him vulnerable and cuddly and like a child’s toy, but he never had been able to stop it. Something about Esryn tore down all his walls.

“Es, what about you and Laed? Neither of you have come around yet. You’re both still in love with each other, but you act like you’ll never get together. Hell, last I knew, he was pretending to hate your guts.”

“That’s not true,” Esryn murmured. “Sometimes he says hello to me now.”

“That’s my point. What if we end up like the two of you? Es, I don’t want to be another bad example.”

“Thanks. Really. You know how to warm a man’s heart.”

“I’m just saying! Maybe I’m not cut out for romance. It’s not like I was ever really good at it back in the day.”

“Yeah, you were pretty hopeless… that’s not the point, though. Kavo, you have to chill. Don’t worry about everything so goddamn much.”

“I can’t help it, Esryn! Fuck. He’s gotten to me. I mean, he’s gotten to me bad.”

“What are you saying?” Esryn asked slowly.

“I’m saying I think I’m in love now.”

“Wow. Kavo Dula, in love. I never thought I’d see the day. Since when are you even capable of emotions?”

Kavo hit him, managing a shaky laugh. “Don’t be an asshole.”

Esryn hugged him tightly. “It’s okay. You and I, lonely losers forever, right?”

“Right,” Kavo murmured. He tucked his face in the crook of Esryn’s neck and closed his eyes tightly. A nice long sleep was what he needed now. Esryn seemed to understand, and he only let Kavo snuggle with him as needed.

Empyrian Post 16

Chapter 13: Introducing the Awesome Esryn

While Gwendolyn ran to get everyone into position and Torian stumbled to the deck to join Aizel in readying the cannons and Hawk already began to string his arrows, Kavo stood motionless. The world around him bustled about, but only one thought was on his mind: he was going to lose everything again.

More importantly, he was going to lose Hawk.

That thought was enough to spur him into action. He had to help, but he didn’t have any weapons on him anymore; after all, most organizations didn’t tend to arm their prisoners. But Kavo was going to do what had to be done, even if he had to fight with a kitchen knife.

“Aizel,” Kavo said, “I need one of your knives.”

“You know I can’t give you one,” Aizel said sympathetically. “My mum would kill me.”

“If you don’t let me help you guys, you’re going to die.”

Aizel’s eyes widened. Suddenly, a strong voice called, “Give him whatever he may need.” Aizel and Kavo looked up to the lookout post, where Hawk stood tall, gazing down upon them. “I trust him to fight for us. If I am wrong, Gwendolyn may punish me instead.”

Aizel still looked hesitant, and probably with good reason, but he unsheathed the knife against his hip and held the hilt out to Kavo. “I really shouldn’t do this, but if Hawk says it’s okay…”

“I know I’m not easy to trust,” Kavo conceded, “But you have to believe me. The government’s soldiers are very well-trained. We have to be careful.”

Aizel pressed his lips together and nodded in compliance. While he busied himself bodily shoving heavy lead balls into cannons with Torian’s help, Kavo sprinted to the stern. He could barely see a flag through the white fog, trumpeting the government’s arrival.

Kavo couldn’t wait to show them that they couldn’t quash this rebellion quite so easily.

The airship began to turn, approaching Kavo’s left. Above and behind him, Hawk called, “They are approaching starboard!”

Gwendolyn’s first reaction was to get away. Kavo wasn’t about to let up without a fight, and he was not going to let Gwendolyn do the same.

“No,” he shouted, “Pull up to them. If you don’t, they’re still going to follow.”

She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind, and perhaps he had, but he was determined to win this battle. For the vengeance of Helaku’s and Yoki’s deaths, he would ensure that they emerged victorious. Otherwise he would be a failure.

The Academy had taught him never to accept defeat or failure. If only they knew that that very philosophy was going to lead to their beloved country’s downfall. Kavo couldn’t let the corruption continue; anarchy would be better.

“Kavo.” Kavo turned at the sound of his name. He hadn’t expected to see Torian’s dark eyes gazing at his face. “Are you sure you want to do this? There is no turning back once you have taken this step.”

Kavo nodded. “I know. But this is my choice. They should have thought twice before killing innocent children.”

Laden with a cannonball, Torian brushed past him. “Glad to have you onboard, Kavo.”

Kavo only allowed for the smallest grin before he turned and readied himself. This would not be an easy feat, defeating a fully armed and fully equipped government airship. But the pirates had done it before, and without his help. Still, they had had a larger crew and an experienced captain. It would take all the focus and concentration they had to accomplish this.

As the airships sidled up to each other, the first cannonball went flying, deployed by the government. This allowed for no ambivalence when it came to what they wanted, easing some of Kavo’s nerves. At least he wouldn’t be killing anyone too innocent today.

The moment they were close enough, Kavo climbed over the bulwark and leapt onto the other ship, pulling himself over the ledge.

“Kavo. What a… nice surprise.”

Kavo growled, his eyes narrowed at a familiar face. “Esryn.”

“I must say, when I heard that the esteemed Captain Dula had been captured, I hadn’t imagined that he would still be alive.”

“Yes, well, I suppose every day is a new surprise.”

Esryn’s almond eyes tightened in his face. “It would seem so.”

Without warning, the clank of metal signalled the start of their match. Cold steel clashed between them as each fought to gain bearing. Neither was willing to risk an opening in his defence, and neither could find an opening. Until someone took that risk, they found themselves at a stalemate.

“You’re rusty,” Esryn remarked between the clattering of metal. “I remember a time when the great Kavo Dula never lost a single match.”

“The Academy was quite a different time,” Kavo managed. “You’ve gotten better, too.”
Esryn smirked. “Thanks.”

Smirking as well, Kavo swept Esryn’s leg out from under him. Esryn had time to pull him along, but Kavo was still in the dominant position, and it was obvious that Esryn wasn’t going to be making a comeback.

“Not good enough, though,” Kavo breathed.

Esryn chuckled. “I missed your spark.”

“I missed you too.” Kavo nuzzled Esryn’s long, dark blue hair. “You have no idea what I’ve been through.”

“It better be a really good story if you’re on their side now.”

“Trust me; it is. Can you call off your goons before they kill my friends now?”

Esryn smiled and said, “Long enough for story time, of course. Get off me.”

Kavo climbed off his long-lost friend as an arrow whizzed overhead. Wincing, he said, “Let me tell them to calm down, too.”

Once all was said and done, Esryn sat across from Kavo on a crate. The piercings on his pointed ears glinted in the dim light. Beneath his wispy blue bangs, more rings twinkled along his brow. Dark veins of a tattoo trailed up his long, muscular arms, disappearing beneath his open vest, which revealed his tanned skin, toned physique, and more piercings and tattoos.

“You got another piercing, I see,” Kavo remarked.

“Oh, you mean this?” Esryn flicked the barbell through his belly button. “This is Laed’s doing.”

Kavo grinned. “Has Laed got you settled down yet?”

“Not quite,” Esryn laughed. “I have to admit that I like fooling around a little too much.”

“I remember.”

“It’s a shame you never let me in your pants.”

“Esryn…”

“Right, sorry. Anyway, what’s up with all this? Why are you with the pirates? Of all people, you were the last I had ever expected…”

“If you’d seen it, Esryn…” Kavo took a deep breath. “We were visiting Lucia Island, and… gods, there were children there, but… one of the government ships bombed it.”
Esryn’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean, bombed it?”

Kavo exhaled. “I’m glad you were in the dark about this, too. They’d been bombing villages on the Islands. One of the men I’ve been staying with had his village destroyed, too.”

“Well, we have to stop them. It’s only a matter of time before they move to Laetant. For all I know, maybe they think I need exterminated.”

“I know. That’s why I haven’t been trying to escape.” Kavo shook his head. “This is ridiculous. I never thought that I’d say this, but I think the pirates are right.”

“Are you positive?”

“One hundred percent. I saw it.”

Esryn bit his lip. “Then I have a favour to ask. Capture me.”

“What?”

“Take me with you. I joined the Academy to protect my family and my land; I came to Gaea because of the Alliance, and if that Alliance is being ignored, I have to do something. Teaka and Saylee still live in Laetant. A war could kill them.”

“Your kid. Right. I’d forgotten about her.” Kavo sighed. Esryn’s affairs had gotten Teaka pregnant almost three years ago; his daughter Saylee had been born six months later. “Are you sure you want to do that, though? That’s a big risk.”

“I know. But really, what all am I leaving? Teaka doesn’t even want me near Saylee, and Laed and I are far from exclusive. I don’t have a home; my parents died years ago. Kavo, this is my chance to make a difference. You can’t tell me no.”

Kavo’s eyes softened. “You know I could never tell you no.”

Esryn grinned widely. “So am I in?”

“You’ll have to convince the captain, of course, but I’m not going to stop you.”

“Thanks.” Esryn wrapped his arms around Kavo tightly, burying his face in Kavo’s neck. “You always were the only person to care.”

Kavo closed his eyes. He’d missed Esryn more than he’d even known. Embraces like this used to be the only thing getting him through the Academy, when they were young. Esryn had had a knack for getting him to open up in ways that no one else ever could.

When they’d been assigned to different sectors, Kavo had thought that the friendship between them would perish. Seeing Esryn had proved that to be a lie at best.

“I’m glad to have you back,” Esryn whispered.

“Yeah.”

Esryn nipped his ear lightly, pulling back. “Now, how about you introduce me to your friends.”

“Right.” Kavo headed back up to the weather deck; Esryn followed closely. “You’ll adore Aizel.”

“Hm, really?”

“He’s seventeen,” Kavo said over his shoulder, “And he looks even younger.”

“And here I was hoping for some companionship on the scary pirate ship.”

Kavo scoffed. “Your best bet would be Gwendolyn, and she’s thirty-five.”

Esryn made a face. “I’ve sworn off girls by now. I don’t want any more children.”

“Well, in that case, you’re out of luck.” Kavo smiled. “And yes, I’m still off-limits.”

“Sorry to hear it.” Kavo could feel Esryn’s eyes on him, quite specifically his ass. “I think your butt’s different.”

“What?” Kavo laughed.

“You lost weight or something.”

“You remember what my ass used to look like?”

Esryn raised a metal-laden eyebrow. “You had a nice ass. Can you blame me?”

“What do you mean, had?”

“I don’t think you’ve been eating enough, Kavo.”

“Well, I’ve spent half my time aboard the ship unconscious or incapacitated. You can’t blame me for not eating all the time.”

“Such a shame…”

Kavo rolled his eyes. “Do you want to meet the others or not?”

“I’m sorry. You know I love fucking with you,” Esryn said. Glimmers of humour danced in his violet eyes. Kavo had forgotten the way Esryn always had him wrapped around a finger.

The moment the sun glared at them, someone was at their side. “Kavo, what are you doing, bringing him onto our ship?” Gwendolyn hissed.

“It’s not like that. Esryn is different, I promise. He had no idea what was going on. We went to the Academy together. Hell, he’s from Laetant; he’s not exactly high on the government’s list of favourite people.”

“How the hell am I supposed to believe that? My son is on this ship.”

“Ma’am,” Esryn interrupted, “I know I’m not exactly the trustworthy type, but I know. I have a daughter. That’s why I’m here; if I don’t help you, the violence might get worse. I won’t let my daughter die.”

“And you expect me just to trust you like that?”

“No, not really. But whatever trial you want to put me through, go ahead.”
Gwendolyn crossed her arms. “Fine. You’re staying with Hawk and Kavo, then.” She looked over to Kavo. “I’m moving Aizel back to his old cabin with Torian.”

“That’s fine. Whatever you see fit.”

She stared at him for a long time. Eventually, she said, “Kavo, you had better not be wrong.”

“I’m not.”

“For your sake, I hope so.” That said, she turned and stalked off, the heels of her boots clicking against the wood.

“I take it that was Gwendolyn.”

“Yeah.”

“She’s definitely not my type,” Esryn laughed, clapping a hand on Kavo’s shoulder. “How ‘bout you? Anyone attract your interest yet?”

“Well…” Kavo paused. “There is one person. But uh, it’s not going to work out.”

“What? Why not? I mean, for a Gaean, it’s not like you’re unattractive or anything.”

“He’s holding on to his old life. He was an Islander chief, and I’m not his old wife, blah blah blah.”

“Wait, he?”

Kavo blushed. “Special circumstances.”

Esryn shook his head. “We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

Empyrian Post 15

The Horribly Written Chapter 12

“Put down the knife, Kavo,” Gwendolyn said. The doors swung behind her. “You’re being replaced in here.”

“I’m… being replaced? What the he—”

“We have two more people joining us, remember? We don’t need you cooking anymore.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?”

“What do I care? Keep Hawk company or something.”

Jaleber and a couple who must have been the newly recruited pirates chose that moment to interrupt with their entrance. Upon seeing Gwendolyn and Hawk, they paused.

“I thought you would have him out by now.”

“He’s surprisingly dedicated to his job,” she explained.

“Well, we don’t need two cooks. Kavo, you’re going to have to find something else. Belle ain’t got any other skills,” Jaleber said. Kavo looked to the girl. She didn’t look old enough to have any other skills, either, or else he probably would have argued. She probably wasn’t much older than Aizel actually; Kavo guessed she’d be about nineteen.

The man next to her, the one who must have been her boyfriend, was possibly a little older, but not by much. If he was even Kavo’s age, it would have been a surprise.

Rafael swooped down from the ceiling, crying his primate war cry. Kavo hoped he’d maybe land on Jaleber’s face, but he simply dropped to Kavo’s shoulder and began playing with his hair, as he was wont to do. Clearly he wasn’t going to be of much help, either.

“What about him?” Kavo asked, nodding to the man.

“That’s Zeric. He’ll be working with Aizel.”

Kavo snorted. “So you’re telling me he has even less skills than his girlfriend, and I’m being replaced for them. Wonderful.” Kavo crossed his arms and headed for the door. He hoped they all slipped and fell on the floors that Zeric would be washing.

He wondered just what they expected him to do. Gwendolyn had suggest he keep Hawk companies, but she knew that he and Hawk had been enemies since the day he had woken back up; she knew that they’d been avoiding each other like dead rats. Was this another of her plans to get them back on companionable terms? It wasn’t working so far. Kavo didn’t in the least want to join Hawk anywhere, much less a hundred feet above the deck in cramped conditions.

He would rather settle for accompanying Jaleber everywhere, and the man detested him. Even Torian, who would only ever speak to Kavo while Aizel was near, would have been better company than Hawk. It sounded ridiculous, but it was true. Kavo didn’t know how he was going to look at Hawk without either hitting him or kissing him. Things were growing out of hand.

He didn’t want to kiss Hawk. He didn’t want to be with him romantically in the least. His wants and needs didn’t seem to matter to his hormones, which had determined for him that Hawk was the perfect person for lighting his fire. It didn’t even seem to matter that Kavo had never had an interest in any men at all; his body said that Hawk was the exception, the intriguingly beautiful exception, and he should just relax and let things take their course.

On the other hand, he didn’t particularly want to hit Hawk, either. But every time Hawk tried to hurt him, tried to push him away even farther, Kavo defaulted to a violent rage, and he had to hit something; that something simply always happened to be Hawk. And really, who could blame him? It wasn’t easy to be insulted and rejected at every turn. Kavo simply didn’t take it the way others may have in the past.

Despite not truly wanting either of the outcomes that had been probable as of late, Kavo still did nothing to change the results. He firmly believed that he wasn’t in the wrong in defending himself. If Hawk wanted to be an ass because of a misunderstanding that he had caused, he deserved a punch to the face and more. Kavo wasn’t about to apologize, let alone make a difference. That was stupid and weak.

And whatever anyone wanted to say, let it never be said that Kavo was weak. He fought for what he wanted and he fought against what he didn’t want. He knew that people would have problems with that, as any two people with opinions of any sort were likely to disagree at some point in time, but he still did it. Hawk’s displeasure was far from Kavo’s breaking point.

Kavo walked across the deck, Rafael still perched on his shoulder. Kavo could feel the monkey’s furry tail resting lightly on the nape of his neck, curled harmlessly. He hoped the Raf didn’t decide to actually wrap it around his neck for no good reason, seeing as he’d already tried to pull out half his hair.

“Oh, Kavo! Favour to ask,” Aizel said. “Do you think you can run this up to Hawk?” Kavo hardly glanced at the rock extended to him before Aizel tacked on a pleading, “Please.”

“Why can’t you do it? Or Torian, even?”

“Well… I’m… I’m sort of afraid of heights,” Aizel admitted, “And Torian’s busy with some repairs downstairs, so I really shouldn’t stall him. It would only take a minute. Besides, you’ve already been up there and everything.”

“Aizel, you really don’t want Hawk and I in the same room, let alone the same cramped basket.”

“Yeah, I know you two haven’t been getting along, but he dropped this and—”

“If he dropped it, it’s his own fault. I don’t care.”

“Well, technically, it’s my fault because he dropped it when I bumped into him and I feel really bad and you should take it to him.”

Kavo glared. “If I didn’t know better, I would say that this is a plan of your mother’s to get Hawk and I back on speaking terms.” Aizel smiled at him unsurely. It was hard to turn down a seventeen-year-old boy who looked like he was twelve, so Kavo took the gem. “This isn’t going to work, but I’ll do it.”

And he did. He had nothing else to do, anyway. A fight was at least entertainment, and if he was lucky, no one would be thrown off ledges today.

With those thoughts of comfort, as depressing as they may have been, Kavo started climbing. Rafael soon decided he didn’t trust Kavo’s climbing ability when his own was so incredibly superior, and he skittered off. All for the better, in Kavo’s opinion; he didn’t want any further annoyances or distractions.

Hawk looked irritated at best to see him. Kavo shared the sentiment.

“Trust me; I didn’t come up here of my own free will. Aizel said you had dropped this.” Kavo held out the stone he’d been handed. It was green and orange, the same colours of the one Hawk had been holding preceding their fight in the mess hall. Kavo wondered if it was the same one altogether.

“He would be correct.” Hawk took the stone, squeezing it lightly between his thumb and forefinger. “I suppose I should thank you for climbing up here in his place.”

“Why’s that?”

“He hates the lookout post. He says that when he is this far away from the ground, he would prefer not to be any farther.”

“I see,” Kavo said awkwardly, although he didn’t. Sure, at first there was some trepidation. However, they were already hurtling through the air at dangerously rapid speeds at a dangerously high altitude; another hundred feet wasn’t going to increase the risk of death much more.

Kavo didn’t see how a stupid stone was important enough for him to be required to climb all that way. It was just a stone. Hawk held onto it like it had magical properties of some sort, but Kavo didn’t see how. He had held it, and he didn’t feel any differently than he had earlier.

“Why’s that stone so important to you?”

“It is not a stone.” The way Hawk bristled was quite amusing to Kavo, who was taking great delight in his displeasure. “It is a gem. I understand the people of Gaea do not believe in the earth and its powers, but my people do. Unakite is meant to release pain and strengthen courage. I use it for meditation.”

Kavo snorted. “You would be the meditation type.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“In my experience, the best hypocrites are religious.”

“Now you are claiming that I am hypocritical.”

“You can’t say you aren’t. You blame me for causing fights when you’re the one constantly insulting me. It upsets you that I profile Islanders, but you’ve been profiling us Gaeans all along. You’re just as bad as the rest of us, but you just won’t admit it.”

“I never claimed to be better than you are, Kavo.”

“You didn’t have to. I can see it.” Superiority glimmered in Hawk’s eyes. Kavo turned, wanting to get away before he lost all self-control. “Anyway, I did what I was asked. Hope you didn’t miss your stupid stone too long.”

As Kavo swung his leg over the edge, Hawk said, “Do you remember when Ryk said that I was always cold?”

Kavo paused. “Yes,” he answered slowly.

“I take it you also heard his remark that I had not been quite so cold the previous night.” Kavo nodded. “I had not slept. I stayed awake to repent for the deaths of your crew. I had not wished to kill any innocent people.”

Kavo closed his eyes. “It doesn’t matter what you want to do. You still killed them.”

“I know. I am sorry, regardless, although apologies do nothing to ease the guilt.”

“Apologies won’t return them to their families, either.” Kavo slipped down the rope without looking back.

Aizel was at the bottom, smiling hopefully. When Kavo stared at him and looked far from happy, his smile slowly fell. “Did it work?” Every word was laced with hope for the better. Aizel’s concern, although touching, was in vain.

Kavo shook his head. “He was right. Things between us aren’t normal anymore.” Even Kavo was beginning to think that it was better if they stayed as far away from each other as possible.

“I’m sorry…”

“There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s fine. I’m a grown man; I can cope.”

“Yeah. I just wish tha— ahh!”

Kavo and Aizel were suddenly flung to the floor roughly as the airship jolted to a stop. Kavo shakily rose from his hands and knees, which he could feel bruising already, while Aizel sat up and rubbed at his head.

“What do you think that was about?” Aizel asked.

Before Kavo could hazard a guess, Gwendolyn was running toward them and looking quite panicked.

“Mum, what is it?” Aizel question as he stood, straightening his clothing.

“We’re being followed.”

Aizel’s clear eyes widened. “What?”

“There’s a government airship right behind that cloud,” she said, gesturing to the cloud at the back of the airship.

Kavo felt his world crumble. There was no way they could win against a government airship unless the soldiers were fresh out of the Academy. The pirates’ victory had been partly a fluke and partly due to Ryk’s skills. Kavo didn’t think they could win now.

They were all going to die.

Empyrian Post 14

Notes: I think I was high. Really. I'm sorry. Blame the YWP Dare Machine. Also, I'm blaming all cheese grater remarks on the Dare Machine, as well.

The Preposterously Short Preposterous Chapter 11

It didn’t hurt that much, all considered. Normally having a monkey fall on one’s face was a bad thing, and while it wasn’t specifically good in this case, Kavo was just glad he still had a face.

While Kavo sat, alarmed, in his bed, the small monkey scampered over to a corner of the bedroom guiltily, whimpering pathetically. Confused, Kavo only stared at it. He’d just had a small primate fall on his face while he was sleeping; he felt he was rather obligated to feel confused and quite alarmed, and he did.

“What the hell are you…” he muttered to himself. He seemed to suddenly realize that he wasn’t alone in the room, even aside from the monkey, and his eyes darted about to make sure no one had overheard his seemingly insane babble. Hawk, the uncaring and unhelpful bastard that he was, didn’t stir at all; Aizel continued to slumber peacefully beside him. Clearly they needed to brush up on their awareness skills.

Slowly, the monkey lowered its tiny hands from its face. Kavo blinked at it. Should he wake someone? Should he run? Should he hit it with a large stick? Where would he find a large stick? Kavo wasn’t sure. He had never encountered much wildlife before, and there wasn’t a list of how to deal with monkeys in the Academy’s handbook of bad scenarios.

Hesitantly, the monkey shuffled toward Kavo. Upon deciding or realizing that he wasn’t much of a force to be reckoned with, the monkey all but screeched and leapt onto the bed. It hopped onto Kavo’s shoulder and tugged quite forcefully on a fistful of his hair.

This clamour caused Aizel to stir; he shifted and mumbled something about quieting the overzealous squirrels in the attic. Kavo raised an eyebrow at him. Overzealous squirrels, here? And in what attic? The monkey didn’t give him much time to dwell on those admittedly trivial questions; it yanked impatiently on his hair again.

“Okay, you little bugger,” Kavo growled. He reached up and clasped his hands around the thing’s torso. “You’re going to regret stowing away on this ship.” He tried to remove the monkey from his shoulder and head, but it only clenched its thin fingers around his hair and screeched loudly.

A book from who knows where soared through the air. It missed Kavo and collided with the wall, but the point was made clear: stop making so much noise.

As if knowing he had won the battle, the monkey grinned widely at him and tugged on his hair again, albeit lighter this time. Kavo glared darkly, as if to say, “You may have won this battle, but the war is far from over.”

Still grinning widely, the monkey let go and squirmed out of Kavo’s hands to plop on the mattress in front of him. It blinked innocently. Kavo’s glare didn’t falter. Its grin widened, contrary to what Kavo may have believed about physical impossibilities.

“You’re a cheeky little bastard, aren’t you?” Kavo asked it. It made a noise quite like the delighted squeal of a child. It inched closer, stepping along his calf, and grabbed onto his shirt. Much to Kavo’s chagrin, it seemed to have taken a liking to him.

“Kavo, would you shut up?” Hawk’s sleep-thick voice finally demanded, scaring Kavo half to death. Hawk was so quiet sometimes that Kavo not only forgot he was there, but he could sometimes hardly tell that he was.

Seeing as how Hawk had decided that he couldn’t care less about Kavo, however, Kavo was in a less than gracious mood, so he ignored Hawk’s demand. Besides, he had more pressing matters to deal with than Hawk’s ability to sleep at night; a monkey had just landed on his face. Hawk hadn’t even cared about all the shrieking and screeching that the creature had been doing, so Kavo decided that he didn’t need to care whether he inconvenienced Hawk. If Aizel was disturbed, that was only collateral damage.

“Looks like you’re sticking around, huh?” Kavo grumbled. He doubted that the monkey understood him in the least, but it seemed to agree quite enthusiastically nonetheless. “Well then, I guess you’ll need a name. ‘Stupid twat’ won’t work for long. I’ll call you Rafael.”
~*~*~*~
“You can’t keep a monkey on this ship!” Jaleber, old sourpuss he was, exclaimed. “That’s just preposterous!”

“What’s preposterous about it?” Kavo asked. Rafael seemed to share the sentiment; he huffed and blew a raspberry at Jaleber from his perch on Kavo’s shoulder.

“Well, it’s— it’s a monkey!”

Kavo shot a glare toward Hawk, who stood a few yards off. “Seems to me you already keep a gorilla onboard.”

“So this is about Hawk,” Jaleber said, chuckling. His sense of humour (or lack thereof) grated on Kavo’s nerves like a rusty, ancient cheese grater: annoying, painful, and at best likely to give one tetanus.

“I never said this was about Hawk,” Kavo protested. “It’s about the monkey. Stop changing the subject.”

“You’ve lost your mind.”

“It’s possible.”

Jaleber rolled his eyes. “I don’t care about that stupid monkey; just keep him confined, will ya?”

“Trust me; I want him about as much as you do,” Kavo mumbled. It just seemed that Kavo was stuck with Rafael; trying to get rid of him had only resulted in a missing clump of hair and a very sore bald patch on Kavo’s scalp.

Rafael squeaked and circled up Kavo’s neck to climb on top of his head, already beginning to sift through his hair.

“There aren’t any bugs in there,” Kavo muttered. He was already beginning to give up on scolding the monkey; Raf seemed quite content to ignore everything he did or said regardless.

“I didn’t peg you for the cuddly type,” Aizel remarked as he swooped by, his arms full with a bucket.

“I’m not. He’s not giving me a choice.”

Trailing behind Aizel, Torian laughed in passing. “I know the feeling.”

Kavo stared after the two of them for a moment before deciding he didn’t care what they’d been smoking all day. Resigning, he headed to the kitchens. It was almost lunch time, after all, and he was sure everyone was growing hungry.

Empyrian Post 13

Notes: I'm aware it's getting a little rushed now. I'll fix it for the rewrite. Too write'd out to care...

Chapter 10: Denial Isn't Just a River in Egypt

Kavo faked a smile as he sat down with Aizel and Torian for dinner. Hawk was a few seats down, removed from everyone, staring blankly at his plate with tight lips. In his left hand, he held a mossy green and sienna stone, which he would occasionally clench his fingers around.

Aizel saw where Kavo’s eyes were trained, and asked, “Are you worried about him?”

“Of course I am. Doesn’t he worry you sometimes?”

Aizel bit his lip. “Not usually. We’ve only seen him like this once, when we first met him. Lately, he’s been better, but… I don’t know. I guess the attack on Lucia got to him. Makes sense, though; it’s a lot like what happened to him.”

“Does he, er… always resort to holding onto stones like lifelines?”

Aizel smiled lightly. “Yeah. The Islanders place a lot of power on gems. I swear, he has a different one for every occasion.” He tilted his head. “Tor, you’ve been awfully quiet. Something up?”

“No, I was just thinking about something.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Well, you were saying that Hawk’s acting this way because of the fire, but… I don’t think so. He was fine until today.”

Aizel quirked his lips. “Yeah, I guess you have a point, but what else could it be?”

Torian shrugged. “I wasn’t saying I knew what it was. I was just pointing something out.”

“I don’t suppose you know, either, do you Kavo?”

Yes, Kavo did.

“No,” he lied. What if Hawk didn’t want that sort of secret exposed? For that matter, Kavo didn’t want it exposed much. He didn’t want to let tale of his rejection get out; he wanted to pretend that it had never happened and that he was happy.

“You aren’t looking so hot, darling,” a silky, feminine voice observed. Kavo glanced up to see Gwendolyn in all her womanly glory. Maybe she could take his mind off things for a while.

“I think I’m just recovering from everything still,” he tried. She didn’t look convinced. “Really, I’m fine.”

Gwendolyn shrugged it off. “Well, never mind, then. In other news, Jaleber has told me that we may be adding two more people to our crew. Some kid and his girlfriend had their house destroyed a while ago.”

“Really?” Aizel asked. “Where?”

“Actually, they’re from Gaea.” She cast her eyes over to Kavo. “I think they might be from the same area as you.”

“Would I know them?”

“It’s possible. The man went to the same academy as you did, I believe.”

“How do you know wh—”

“You kept the certification in your jacket. It wasn’t exactly hard information to come across.”

“Well, when will we be picking them up?” Torian asked.

“Probably tomorrow. It depends. Jaleber’s been communicating with them, so we’ll know more by morning.”

“So, Jaleber’s, like… the recruit officer?” Kavo asked.

“Something like that. Aside from Aizel and Hawk, he recruited all of us that you met.”

“How does he…?”

“Basically he just finds people the government screwed over, and he offers them a place to stay with us.”

“In exchange for assistance,” Kavo clarified.

“Of course. But normally, they’re already plenty willing to aid our cause by the time Jaleber’s found them.”

Kavo looked over to Hawk. “What about him?”

“He was a special case. We were about ten miles from his village when it went up in flames. Ryk made us stop to check it out. When we landed, it was almost too smoky to see. Still, Ryk insisted that we go see. Hawk was laying on the ground, covered in burns and blisters; half his clothing was burnt off. We carefully carried him back to the ship, did the best we could with him, and now here we all are.”

“So, his village really did burn?”

“To the ground.”

Kavo sighed. “I was afraid you would say that. I owe him another apology, I guess.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it much if I were you. Hawk holds few grudges. The only one he really holds is against the government for destroying his village. Understandably, of course.”

“Right. Still, I think… I have to say it.” Kavo slipped out of his seat as Gwendolyn, Aizel, and Torian exchanged similar questioning looks. He ignored their glances and made his way over to stand across from Hawk.

“Hey,” Kavo said awkwardly. His palms were already sweating from his nerves. Hawk had a knack for getting him out of his element.

Hawk slowly raised his eyes to look at Kavo. They were darker than Kavo remembered them being, shadowed by something dark and heavy that Kavo wasn’t sure he was privy to. When his eyes landed on Kavo’s face, Hawk gripped the stone in his hand tighter. Kavo was starting to worry that he would hurt something if he wasn’t careful with his grip.

“Erm, can I sit?”

Hawk gave a slow nod, not taking his eyes off Kavo’s face. His stare was unnerving enough to make Kavo shake. As he pulled out his chair, his hand trembled; the chair gave a loud, skittering scrape of protest. It seemed that all eyes were on him as he took his seat, and that didn’t help his nervousness at all. Even so, he felt like he owed this to Hawk.

“I wanted… I thought that maybe I should tell you I’m sorry. For everything,” he clarified. “I hadn’t meant to push you into anything. Earlier, in the bathroom, I just… I don’t know; I lost it. But whatever’s bothering you, please, don’t take it out on yourself. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Kavo, you do not have the slightest clue what I am taking out on myself. You do not understand that I do deserve it very much.”

“Then tell me. Tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll help fix it. You don’t have to do this to yourself.”

“If I told you what was wrong, that would solve nothing. It would only bring you pain, as well.”

“Hawk…”

“Kavo, I wish I could let you help. If I do, things would only get worse.”

“What do you mean, I’d make things worse?”

“That is not what I said.” Hawk’s interruption went unnoticed.

“I’m such a screw-up that I can’t help anything now? I thought that I could help you, at least. I’m sorry that I’m so fucking useless.”

“Kavo, would you stop twisting my words?” Hawk demanded. “I did not once call you useless. I meant that sharing my problems will not diminish them; it would only abet their growth. I do not want you to be involved in that mess. My problems are my own, and there is no need to hurt you with them.”

“Right… I’m sorry, it’s just… I guess I’m paranoid. After… well, you know… after what happened in the bathroom, I just don’t think I can go back to normal.”

“Kavo, I do not think we can ever be normal again. It is probably better if you stay away from me.”

“I don’t want to stay away from you, Hawk. You can’t choose what’s better for me.”

“No, I cannot, but you cannot decide for me what you think is better for me. Our separation is my choice, and I am doing it for both of us. Please let me eat.”

Kavo’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t like being told what to do, and he hated when anyone was condescending, and Hawk did condescending far too well. “So you’re saying that you know better?”

“In this circumstance, yes.”

Kavo’s fist met Hawk’s face. That was when Hawk showed the first violence he’d ever shown toward Kavo: he clenched his fingers in Kavo’s shirt and yanked him across the table, throwing him to the ground. Kavo growled and latched onto Hawk’s ankle above his boot and tugged his leg out from under him, forcing the other man to the ground as well. They closed on each other in tight death grips, rolling on the floor like animals. Neither of them could gain a hold over the other, but that didn’t stop them from trying, wrestling around on the ground.

“Stop!” a voice screamed. “Both of you, just stop!” Gwendolyn stood above the two of them, stomping a heel dangerously close to Kavo’s hand. His eyes trailed up her long leg, following the boot up to her thigh, skimming over her full skirt, the revolvers slung around her hips, her flat stomach, past her angrily heaving bust, and to her narrowed gaze. She looked far from pleased.

“I am sick,” she growled, “Of the two of you fighting. You’re acting like spoiled brats! Get up.” When they didn’t move, she screeched, “Get up!” Kavo scrambled off of Hawk, who tried to stand and dust himself off with as much dignity as possible. He wasn’t very successful, but the attempt was made nonetheless. “I want both of you in your room until you work this out.”

“Gwendo—”

“Now!”

Kavo winced and looked toward Hawk. He didn’t look likely to be of any help. He tried to cast a pitiful look over Gwendolyn’s shoulder toward her son and his companion, but they were both avoiding his gaze like meeting it would kill their firstborn.

He resigned himself to this dreadful fate and marched dutifully behind Hawk to their shared room. They would not leave the room without a few more bruises gracing each of their bodies.

Gwendolyn followed behind them, and the moment they were inside, she shut the door. Kavo could hear her bolting it from outside, thus locking them in together until someone wanted to let them out.

“Great going, asshole,” Kavo muttered. “You know, even I have better things to do than be stuck in here with you.”

“Well, you are the one who wanted to spend time together. You have been granted your wish.”

“You’re right. I did want to spend time together— before I realized how much I really wanted to bash your skull in.”

“Do it, then,” Hawk dared. “You have my permission.”

“You really don’t want to tempt me today.”

“Why not?”

Because I want to kiss you senseless, Kavo thought to himself. He was still trying to figure out these new feelings, but he knew that Hawk was a really good kisser and that it felt really good to kiss him; that was apparently all his body and his subconscious needed to know before they started driving him mad with yearning.

And, really, he couldn’t figure out why Hawk was so against it. After all, in the bathroom, Hawk had definitely been the one to make the first move. If he didn’t have feelings for Kavo, he shouldn’t have embraced him and kissed him so thoroughly. If he didn’t want to be with Kavo, he shouldn’t have taken such initiative.

Now that Kavo had experienced the things that Hawk did to him, things were different. And that was Hawk’s fault, no matter how anyone looked at it. Hawk had kissed him; Hawk had held onto him; Hawk had touched him like he meant something. He shouldn’t have, but he had. Kavo couldn’t be blamed for someone else’s actions.

“Hawk, if you don’t even want to be near me, why the hell did you kiss me?” Kavo asked eventually.

Hawk sighed and ran a hand through his long hair. Kavo remembered what that hair felt like; he wanted to stroke his fingers through it again, tangle his hands in it.

“I do not know what I was thinking. That was my fault; I can take the blame for that. However, you are taking it far too seriously. It was only one kiss.”

“Only one kiss? Hawk, you practically fucking mouth-raped me!”

“Yes, and I apologize. I was not myself.”

“So you’re saying it was just a mistake,” Kavo clarified.

“I am.”

“You are the dumbest, most ignorant, most idiotic person I’ve ever met! That kiss was no fucking mistake. You wanted to kiss me.”

“Did I?”

“Of course you did. No one just kisses like that for no reason!”

“Watch me.” Hawk took deliberate strides over to him, grabbed the back of Kavo’s neck, and kissed him firmly. Kavo felt his insides promptly melt and flood his heart with joy and bliss; Hawk kissing him was fantastic. In fact, it was so fantastic that Kavo forgot what he was supposed to be doing or why he was being kissed or what they were arguing over— he even forgot that they were arguing in the first place. Then, suddenly, much too soon for Kavo’s tastes, Hawk pulled away and smirked victoriously. “I told you I could do it.”

Kavo’s chest was about to burst or collapse; he couldn’t seem to even out his breathing no matter how he tried. “You can’t tell me that didn’t mean anything.”

“I believe I can, and I am. It was nothing to me.”

“You… you’re an ass,” Kavo breathed. “It’s no wonder that the government abandoned you. In fact, I don’t have the slightest idea how even pirates could ever accept someone like you.”

“Do you really feel that way?”

“Yes. I do,” Kavo said sternly.

“Then you can stay away from me happily.” Hawk brushed past Kavo to get to the door, probably to demand that someone let them out. According to Hawk, it seemed that everything had worked out. Hawk believed quite differently; nothing was fixed. Their relationship was still in ruins because of one bad decision involving a steamy kiss in the bathroom.

Kavo looked away, unsure of where to go or what to do now. He didn’t want to be anywhere near Hawk ever again. First he’d been rejected, and then he’d been humiliated. Hawk hadn’t turned out to be the man Kavo thought he was. It seemed Kavo was never right anymore when it came to who people were inside.

Sighing heavily, Kavo stalked off to the bathroom for some much-needed solitude. He had to figure out a way to get as far away from Hawk as he could. Perhaps he and Torian could switch rooms. Kavo doubted they’d allow it, though. After all, he was still technically a captive.

He didn’t feel like a captive. He felt like he’d made connections already; he felt like he was forging a family on the airship. Especially Aizel had already grown on him, despite all of Kavo’s loathing previously.

Still, he was a captive, and he didn’t expect that a little bonding would earn him a room unsupervised. Torian didn’t seem in a hurry to trust him while Aizel wasn’t around, so staying with Torian was out of the question. If Kavo spilled the beans to Aizel, the whole ship would know, and Hawk would know exactly how much his apathy had affected Kavo, which was far from desirable. That didn’t leave many options; Jaleber still hated him, and Gwendolyn and Hawk were close companions. It seemed that Kavo would simply have to put up with the circumstances, regardless of how much he hated the thought of it.

Empyrian Post 12

Chapter You-Don't-Care-About-This-Number: Let's face It; You Expected This from Me

“Mum, I have something to tell you,” Aizel said. He swallowed around the enormous lump in his throat; he could hardly breathe around it. He cast an unsure glance to Torian, who only smiled reassuringly. After a small moment, Aizel returned the smile with what Kavo could only declare undeniable love. He didn’t know how someone so young had found a love so pure and simply, but he was happy that Aizel had, and he was happy that Torian was a part of it. They were a sweet couple, from the little that Kavo had seen, while that admittedly wasn’t much.

“What is it?”

“I, um… Torian and I… well, I… erm, I’ve chosen my life partner?”

“Your… life partner?”

“Yes,” Aizel said. “I’m with Torian. I want to marry him.”

Gwendolyn pressed a hand to her chest and gasped. “Oh my… I hadn’t even noticed…” She nearly collapsed, but she somehow stayed upright. “Are you sure?”

“Undoubtedly. I would love to spend the rest of my life with him.”

“And you, Torian?” she asked, almost as if she was trying to find some sort of objection. None came; Hawk and Kavo thought they suited each other, and they obviously weren’t going to condemn their own relationship after the work and effort and emotions which they had put into it. “Well, I suppose I haven’t much choice…”

“Mum, I wasn’t trying to give you a choice,” Aizel explained. “I thought that, as my mother, you deserved to know. When I am in love, you should know. I tell you well enough when I hate someone, too.”

“Still, Aizel… Torian… he’s eight years your elder.”

“Seven and a half,” Torian said.

“That’s not helpful,” Aizel replied.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

“In any case,” Gwendolyn interrupted, before they could start the kissing she could feel nearing, “Even if I do not find it agreeable, I am in no position to deny you.”

“So you approve?”

“I wouldn’t say I approve, but of course, Aizel, you can do as you please. I would not stop you. Just tell me this: Torian, do you love my child? Will you promise to take care of him?”

“Of course,” Torian said. “I plan to spoil him every chance I get.”

“That is all I can ask.” She smiled almost sadly and moved past them to go to her room. It must have been hard for her, Kavo realized, being the only single person on the ship. Now that the other four of them had paired off—and there was even a pair of pairs, really—she must have felt lonely and left out. But there was no way Kavo was going to share, and he was quite aware of Hawk’s capacity for jealousy. If she was out looking for love again, she wouldn’t find it on the ship any time soon.

Aizel hugged Torian tightly, pressing almost every inch of his still-small frame against Torian. “I love you,” he murmured.

“I love you, too.” He brushed Aizel’s light hair away from his face gently, his fingers lingering to graze the skin reverently. “I’m glad your mom didn’t try to kill me.”

Aizel laughed. “Me too. I’m not much for necrophilia.”

“Hm, not much? Does that mean you are somewhat?”

Laughing again, Aizel hit him lightly. “You know what I meant!”

“I know,” Torian said, “But you’re adorable when I tease you.” He leaned in for a warm, sweet kiss, and Kavo turned away; he didn’t want to intrude anymore, and he already had before. He had seen quite enough of the two of them kissing. Thinking about anything else would have been fine.

As he thought that, a flock of birds swooped past them. They were nothing close to falcons or hawks, but of course, Kavo still turned to Hawk. Even if it weren’t something so obvious, though, Kavo couldn’t have guaranteed it wouldn’t have made him think of his lover; it seemed that everything nowadays reminded him of Hawk. Even things like floor wax and spatulas would eventually lead back to the one person who was subsequently always on his mind; times he didn’t think of Hawk were rare, but not prized. Kavo loved thinking of Hawk almost as much as he loved being with him; it was certainly the next best things, and sometimes it was all he had to look forward to.

“Kavo, now that that is sorted out, would you like to return to our room?”

“Actually… I had something I wanted to show you. C’mere.”

Hawk tilted his head. “What is it?”

“You’ll see. Follow me.” He took Hawk’s large, warm hand, smiling; he felt like a little child holding on to his father’s hand, except he was much more intimate with Hawk than he would ever consider being with any of his family members, of course.

“Kavo, you know I do not appreciate your surprises. It is not anything horrible, is it?” Despite his complaints, Hawk did not once look ready to stop following him. It was rather funny, actually.

“It’s nothing bad. I think you’ll like it. It’s quite nice.”

Kavo turned a corner and went through a small tunnel to come out in a maze. After navigating through it quickly, Hawk’s hand still clasped in his, Kavo reached his destination.

They were encased in a hemispherical, transparent cover. Light reflected and refracted off of it, shining glimmering rainbows of light everywhere. The clamour— the clangs and clicks and clunks and chinks— of the ship went unnoticed in that room; they were all but inaudible. Instead, the music of the wind filled the air. Kavo loved that; it was his second-favourite song, second only to when Hawk called his name.

“Kavo, this is…”

“It’s the observation deck. They used to use it for astronomers, before they had programmed all the GPS systems. My ship hadn’t had one, so it took me a while to find this one.”

“It is beautiful up here.”

“You should see it when the stars are out.”

Hawk looked at him, and Kavo melted under the serenity, the childlike excitement buried in his amber eyes. “Can we?”

“Tonight?” Kavo grinned. “We really shouldn’t. Not with what we do at night… but I could never tell you no.”

“Then it is settled. Meet me out here tonight.”

Hawk kissed him and quickly jogged off to do whatever it was that Hawk did while he was gone. Kavo stared after him, infatuated, for a moment before he noticed.

“Hey, that was my line!” he called.

Hawk gave a cheeky smile. “I know,” he said before disappearing through the tunnel. Kavo smiled and sat down, draping an arm across his knee as he stared at the expanse of sky and glimmering rainbows.

Kavo didn’t move until Hawk returned, looking as gorgeous as ever and more. The sun was setting now, and the colours of the rainbows turned warm. Gold like liquid seemed to drench every inch of the observatory, and most particularly Hawk; it ignited something even more stunning in his amber eyes and set his skin ablaze. Kavo was finding it hard to catch his breath at the sight.

“Hey,” Kavo said nervously. He’d been trying to calm himself, to no avail; the moment he saw the beauty that was Hawk, the butterflies residing in his stomach began to stir.

Hawk smiled softly at him. That only made the awful creatures more enthusiastic.

“I am glad you found this place. It is very beautiful up here.”

“Yeah. Me too,” was all Kavo could manage. His heart had swollen and risen into his throat, feeling quite like an uncomfortable hot air balloon, preventing anything except an excruciatingly shaky voice from exiting.

Hawk clearly noticed that Kavo was acting a bit abnormally, but he didn’t seem inclined to comment just yet. Kavo knew, though, that if he acted a touch too strange for a smidge too long, Hawk would question him ceaselessly; hopefully it would not come to that, because Kavo rather wanted to propose properly and not be pressured into it, especially if he could keep Hawk none the wiser.

“So,” Kavo asked, “What did you want to stay out here for?”

“For one, it is very nice here. Other than that, however, there is actually something I have to ask of you. Honestly, I have been wanting to ask you, but I could never find the right time or place. However, I may not ever get the chance after tonight, so I am afraid that it is impossible to delay any longer. Before I begin, I have to ask that you please do not interrupt me before I have finished.

“Alright,” Kavo agreed, “What is it?” His eyes shone with concern. Hawk was worried about something, and Kavo wanted to wipe all his fears away as he always did.

“I know that we have not been together romantically long enough for either of us to have truly forged an opinion on what a life together might be like, but I think I have made up my mind nonetheless. I do not know if you feel the same way as I do, but I must still ask.”

Kavo’s heart thumped alarmingly in his chest. He could hardly think of what Hawk was going to say; surely they were about to break up. “Wait,” he said, “Hear me—”

“I told you not to interrupt. Let me finish. Kavo, I… I want to spend our lives together. I want to get married.”

Kavo blinked. Then he blinked some more. Then, suddenly, he burst into laughter. “Really?”

Hawk, understandably, looked rather insulted. “I apologize. I had not meant it as a joke.”

“No— I know that— it’s just… I had planned to ask you the same thing.” Kavo extracted the ring from his pocket. “I was going to propose to you tonight and ask you to spend whatever may be left of our lives together. Do you think you can grant my wish?”

A smile slowly spread across Hawk’s face as he took Kavo into his arms. “Only if you will grant mine, my tackila.”

Kavo smiled. “I’m yours.”

Hawk pressed their lips together firmly, leaving no room for doubt in Kavo’s mind that he was wanted and perhaps even needed. Kavo kissed back just as fervently, his hands moving to unlace Hawk’s shirt. He would consummate this new stage in their relationship before tomorrow night, just in case. It never hurt to be too cautious.

And it certainly never hurt to spend more time lavishing attention on Hawk.

“Kavo,” Hawk gasped, as if the name itself had brought him back from the very depths of hell. “It is very hard to believe that you… tell me, why would you do this for me? You could have returned to your life even still, yet you have now sworn yourself to me.”

Kavo pressed his forehead against Hawk’s, smiling broadly. “I couldn’t have. I’ve fought against the government now, betrayed them. There is no life left for me. And even if there was… I can’t leave you, you idiot. I need you. Life without you wouldn’t make any sense anymore.”

Hawk closed his shining eyes and smiled the first genuine smile Kavo had ever seen from him as tears spilled onto his elegant cheekbones. Kavo’s breath caught at the beauty of the experience; Hawk had never looked more angelic or more perfectly calm than in that one emotional moment.

“Thank you,” Hawk whispered. Each word to Kavo sounded like a glimmering hope of a sunbeam after a cold, dark and starless night; each syllable was a breath of fresh air after emerging from a six-foot-deep coffin. “I never had thought that I would… that we would… To think that I would find peace…”

Kavo’s eyes drifted closed, and he reverently brushed his lips against Hawk’s to show his understanding and agreement; he himself had never in a thousand years pictured that he could be truly happy with someone whom he could call a soul mate— and a man, no less. It had been entirely unpredictable from the beginning, but he wouldn’t have had it any other way. Hawk was the only person in the world who could make him swoon with a glance.

“I do want you to know that… I love you, Kavo.” Hawk’s attentive gaze touched his entire face and bore into his soul. “I only wanted revenge. Too distraught with my past, I never looked at what was really important. I owe my future to you.”

Kavo tangled a hand in Hawk’s long black hair, shaking it loose from the confines of the leather tie holding it in place. “I feel the same, you know,” Kavo replied honestly. “If it weren’t for you, I’d still be the same asshole running around, thinking he was infallible. But now I know that it’s okay not to be, and I just… you probably know the type of pressure that takes off of me. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of having you beside me.”

“My tackila…” Hawk rubbed his thumb along Kavo’s jaw while his eyes wandered over Kavo’s genuine face. “Can you accept who I am?” He seemed truly worried that Kavo would choose now to turn back, but Kavo erased his fears with a hasty kiss.

“I could never reject you. You are my one and only.” Smiling, Kavo said, “Are we through with the chick flick moments?”

Hawk chuckled, a low, deep rumble that made Kavo’s hair stand on end with energy and electricity. “I suppose we can be. What would you instead propose?”

“A few select things come to mind.” Kavo traced his fingers over Hawk’s sternum, a mischievous smile playing across his face. “After all,” he reasoned, “We technically haven’t spent our first night together.”

“You do have a point.”

“I vote,” Kavo murmured against Hawk’s unresisting lips, “That you put this monstrous body of yours to good use.”

Hawk’s firm hands ran up Kavo’s legs to rest lightly on his hips. “I imagined you might. What would you have me do?” A glint in Hawk’s eyes told that he knew exactly what Kavo wanted, every little bit of it, but he was being a tease.

“Don’t you play coy.” Kavo licked the corner of Hawk’s mouth, taking enormous delight in the shudder that racked the man’s large frame. “I mean, I could go on for hours about how much I want you buried deep inside me, but I figure that you’ve heard it enough.”

“As if I could grow tired of hearing you tell me.” Hawk held Kavo against him as he leaned in for a deep, intimate kiss. Their tongues danced, the tastes of each other’s mouths mingling. To Kavo, it was the second-best taste in the world, bested only by the unique and exotic taste of Hawk’s skin. It was as if his genes flavoured his skin, every inch drenched in the warmth and spice of the Islands. Simply thinking about it made him crave it, made him yearn for even the smallest taste. No one else had ever been so desirous to Kavo; no one except Hawk could make every sense alight.

“You are,” Kavo breathed between increasingly ardent caresses, “The most beautiful fucking man on the planet.”

“Not true,” Hawk returned, “Although I must say you cannot be too far off, because I currently have him in my arms.”

Their lips met again as clothing began to be removed, being shucked by their desperate, wanton hands. Kavo kept trying to work Hawk’s pants off him even as he shimmied out of his own; their shirts were already long forsaken in the corner. Soon their pants and undergarments joined them, tossed to be forgotten as well.

Immediately, Hawk’s hands were working on Kavo. One stroked across his flushed chest and a pert nipple while the other traced sinful patterns along even more sinful regions of his body. Kavo knew better than to return the favour; that would only end in a battle for dominance which would, in turn, end in his complete and utter surrender of all power; he knew this. He also knew that he would get his turn to explore Hawk’s body so long as he behaved while Hawk explored his, charted the unknown. But it was so hard to behave with a strong hand hovering just over his erection and being a very frustrating tease.

Kavo hadn’t pegged Hawk to be the teasing type; he had imagined that if they did finally have sex, it would be powerful and meaningful, but straight and to the point. It was quite the opposite— of to the point, because it was powerful, and it was meaningful, but Hawk loved to tease and torture and spend every possible second driving Kavo absolutely mad. He was certainly damn good at it, too.

“Gods, do you know how to do this quickly?” Kavo asked breathlessly; Hawk’s actions already had him ready to break.

“Of course not,” was Hawk’s reply. “Love is not quick. Why should I be when I make it? Love is maddening and all-consuming; I endeavour to make it the same way.”

“You’re damn good at it,” Kavo muttered. He didn’t have a chance to say anything else, though, because Hawk’s hand gripped his erection firmly and all thoughts were lost to his wanton cries. His body was already begging for release, convulsing and all but thrashing beneath Hawk. The worst part was that Hawk had hardly laid a hand on him and he was ready to give up on holding back.

“I am glad you think so.” Hawk chuckled again, sending the same electricity through Kavo as he had earlier, only it was magnified by his steadily growing arousal.

“Would you shut up and take me, you bastard?” Kavo gasped, arching into the devilish hand wrapped around him.

Hawk’s smile didn’t fade as he moved to settle between Kavo’s legs. There were no more words uttered, but their stares spoke volumes of feelings that couldn’t yet be put into words; language had no place there in that moment. Only their hearts belonged, and only to each other. Nothing else was a necessity so long as they had each other, and neither of them cared for that to change.

“Are you ready, my tackila?”

Kavo rolled his eyes but smiled. “If you’re not entering me in the next five seconds, know that I will leave you for my hand.”

Kavo could feel Hawk’s smirk as he captured his lips. “Understood,” was mumbled into his mouth, and then Kavo felt him obey.

His entire being began to tear and reform as Hawk pushed inside of him. Hawk grabbed Kavo’s hips, adjusting them and angling them up to the point that Kavo had absolutely no leverage to do anything except take it. He didn’t mind.

“My beautiful tackila,” Hawk murmured, “You will know nothing but pleasure tonight.”

“You’ve never shown me anything else, Chayton.”

“I would hope I had not.” He pulled Kavo’s hips closer to him, burying the last inch inside. “Are you settled?”

“Really, Chayton…”

“I know. I am sorry.” He kissed Kavo’s forehead. “Just do not let me harm you.” With those last words, he moved.

Kavo’s heart nearly exploded because of the overtime it went into. He wanted to either rut against Hawk or shy away from the pain, but he couldn’t; he no longer had control of his hips, as they were being held and supported by Hawk’s hands, and he didn’t have the sense to verbalize either of his desires. Instead, he lay there, panting and writhing, as Hawk slowly drew in and out of him.

Kavo threw his head back as beads of sweat coalesced on his skin. A fire was erupting and spreading inside him, devouring his core. Only he and Hawk were left, only the two of them alone in the world, and everything was perfect. Everything in life was complete.

Hawk nibbled lightly on Kavo’s Adam’s apple, sending a violent shiver through him. Kavo didn’t have to look to know that Hawk was smirking down at him as his tongue darted out to lap at Kavo’s glistening collarbone.

“You are beautiful. Do you know that? You are so perfectly beautiful.”

“Chayton,” Kavo whispered, “I love you. I love you so much.”

Kavo’s arms felt like heavy, wet noodles as he raised them to encircle Hawk’s neck. He bent to pull his body up and kiss Hawk deeply, his tongue seeking out the uniquely addicting taste of Hawk’s delicious mouth. Hawk showed his appreciation of this action with a low groan, his lips and chest vibrating against Kavo with the deep noise; it made Kavo tremble and struggle to press closer, but Hawk held firm.

“Do not tempt me to tease you more,” Hawk warned. “If you are not careful, you may never find your release tonight.”

Kavo nipped Hawk’s lip lightly. “I had better. I could always just return the favour.”

“Who says I would not want that?”

Kavo pushed on Hawk’s shoulders. “You’re the one who took the initiative.”

Hawk nuzzled Kavo’s neck. “Should I move?”

“Do you want to?”

Hawk gave a mischievous grin. Carefully, he held onto Kavo and turned until Kavo was straddling him, his back resting against the mattress.

“Have your turn, then,” Hawk said.

Kavo braced himself against Hawk’s very warm, muscular chest, panting for a moment. Every single part of his body was throbbing with arousal and desire, and he wanted to make love to Hawk in a thousand ways. He situated, stared deep into Hawk’s intense eyes, and moved.

They didn’t break eye contact once as Kavo moved, up and down on Hawk’s hips. Kavo had never been more turned on in his life by any one human being, but with Hawk’s glowing gaze trained on him, he felt devilishly flushed, and a blush spread throughout his whole body. Hawk was doing a good enough job of pleasuring him just by lying there and simply being erect. But then, his eyes flicked down— Kavo felt a special part of his anatomy twitch— and then back up… then he reached out and wrapped his hand around Kavo’s erection.

Kavo nearly exploded on the spot. Hawk was unrelenting, though, with his large hand pumping in time to Kavo’s increasingly uncoordinated motions.

Kavo was the one to finally break eye contact when he threw his head back in complete, unbridled pleasure. His whole body was alight with fire and sparks of electricity and arousal that he’d never known before Hawk. There were quite a few things, it seemed, that he’d never known before Hawk entered his life, and each of them was more amazing than the last. It amazed him to be shown true, unconditional love, to have those same feelings, to find someone who wanted to give him the world, and to not even want the world… Hawk was the world when Kavo held him in his arms.

Kavo felt Hawk lean in, and his warm tongue caressed Kavo’s chest as if it were the most delicious delicacy in the world. Given how much Kavo loved the taste of Hawk’s bare skin, it wasn’t entirely inconceivable that Hawk might think the same of his.

“Chayton, I’m about to…”

“I know. Me too.” Hawk’s husky voice sent yet more electricity coursing through Kavo. He was pretty sure he was going to be electrocuted soon.

One more squeeze of Hawk’s hand was all it took for Kavo’s world to shatter in a flash of white. His whole body went numb as neurons exploded in sparks and fire. Distantly, he could feel Hawk reacting in the same way, but he hardly took notice beyond feeling it somehow beneath his numbness.

The world began to reform slowly. Panting, Kavo lifted off of Hawk and collapsed on his back next to him.

“Wow. That was…” he started breathlessly, chest heaving. He couldn’t find a worthy adjective to describe it, though, and ended up only repeating, “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Hawk agreed, sounding like he was in the same state as Kavo. It was one of the very limited times Kavo had heard his diction imperfect, and it was beautiful.

It was another long while before either of them moved, their weary and oversensitive bodies not motivated enough to even consider shifting. Hawk was the first to find the energy, and he gingerly rolled onto his side and draped an arm across Kavo’s firm abdomen. Kavo lifted his own heavy arm and encircled Hawk’s neck, pulling him down until his head rested on Kavo’s shoulder. Hawk nuzzled Kavo’s neck in response and gently kissed his collarbone.

“Thank you for not giving up on me.”

Kavo smiled and raked his hand through Hawk’s tangled mass of black hair. “You’re welcome.” His hand trailed down, travelling along the dip where Hawk’s spine was. Hawk closed his eyes as a peaceful, sleepy silence settled over them.

Kavo could sense it the instant Hawk fell asleep; even though there was no tension to be drained from his being, there was something different, something innocent and easy about the way he held onto his lover. It made Kavo smile gently and nuzzle into the crook of his neck, truly comfortable for one of the few times in his life.

Tomorrow, they would fight. Tonight, they simply let the world fade away, content to steal the last vestiges of calm before the storm.