When the Time Has Come to Fly - Chapter Three: Heart of Gold
Title: When the Time Has Come to Fly - Chapter Three: Heart of Gold
Pairing: Rould/Myde
Written For: samurai_usagi, FIGHTING!!!
Type: everything
Rating: PG-...R? dunno how it'll be in later chapters.
A/N: please to download Celtic Prayer and Greensleeves for your listening pleasure :D (you will find out why.)
Rould groaned. Oh god, if he didn't have the worst headache in the...
"Feeling better?"
His eyes snapped open at the sound of THAT voice. "Zidane?!"
"Bingo." Zidane smiled and held out a Potion. "Drink, you look like hell."
"I feel like hell." He winced and downed the Potion, then sighed appreciatively. "What did I do?"
Bright smile still firmly in place, Zidane answered, "Well sir, you drunk yourself silly, broke a few tables, and oh - you tried to get Myde to have sex with you."
Rould's face went dead white. "I what?!"
"Yup. I walked in just as you were trying to kiss him."
"OH GOD." Rould let his head fall into his hands. "I didn't. Please tell me I didn't."
"Nope, I knocked you out just in time. It was a close one, though." Zidane grinned. "You've got good taste, though - he sure is a looker." He shook his head. "Why were you drinking, anyway? You never drink like that, not out here." On the ocean, he meant.
"Well..." Rould sighed heavily. "Therein lies the problem, you see."
"What?" Zidane raised an eyebrow.
"...Myde."
It was like pulling teeth, for crying out loud. "What about Myde?"
"I... drank so I could forget him." Rould was glaring at a spot on the wall. "But obviously that didn't work."
"Obviously." Zidane shook his head. Was Rould seriously that... serious about some kid they'd picked up in Tortuga? "Rould, snap out of it. Just seduce him and be done with it, you're good at that, right?"
The look the Captain gave him was a look that Zidane had never seen before... and him and Rould had practically grown up together.
It was... honesty.
"Zidane... I can't do that. Not with him." Rould shook his head. "You spend some time with him. You'll see."
"I guess I'll have to." Zidane chuckled. "So~ aren't you gonna ask me - "
"SHIT!" Rould sat up fast. "You're right! I didn't expect you back so - "
"Oh, now you're interested, huh?" he smirked. "Well, the truth is better than you're going to believe..."
"Try me." Rould returned the smirk, and crossed his arms.
"Jack Sparrow..." Zidane leaned forward, to draw out the moment. "Is going after the Black Pearl."
His eyes widened, and he almost fell forward. "He what?!"
"And that's not all... Jack Sparrow is no ordinary pirate. Not only did he have his sights set on the mysterious ghost ship..." A wicked smile curled onto the blond's face. "...but he used to be its captain."
Rould sat back, his face white. "I don't believe you."
"Believe it or not, it's true." Zidane crossed his arms. "Heard it with my own honest ears."
Rould rolled his eyes. "All right. Tell me the whole story."
"Well, I left you in Tortuga..."
~~~
He tried to get Myde alone, so he could apologize... but as much as he'd stood out for Rould in the past week, it suddenly seemed like the little sitarist was never alone. As if magically, amazingly, he was best friends with the entire crew.
Not that he wasn't likeable enough, not at all! It's just, most of them had never given him a second glance before.
Actually, the truth was - after the little Rould-drunk-off-his-ass episode, everyone did take a sudden interest in Myde, and they liked what they saw. He was cheerful, polite, friendly, hardworking, and rather adorably stupid. It was a winning combination, that's for sure, and while at first they all befriended him out of guilt and sympathy... as the days went on, they really began to like him.
For his part, Myde was just as keen to avoid Rould as he was to make new friends on the Alexandros. He'd been worried about fitting in when Zidane, his supposed-replace-ee, had mysteriously shown up - but no one seemed to even notice the change. In fact, it seemed as if Zidane had always been there, joking with Blank, climbing up ropes like he was born a monkey, and translating the captain's ridiculousness into honest piratespeak.
Not that the captain was doing much of his usual bantering and teasing... in fact, he was downright surly. Zidane knew that talking to Myde would probably only make it worse; the best chance he had was to stew about it until he finally came to his senses and let the poor boy go.
Rould smoldered quietly, and waited for his chance.
~~~
"Rould!" The speaker was one of the few female sailors on the Alexandros, generally considered back luck - but if you said anything like that about this one around Zidane, it was highly likely that he'd bite yer head off. Arrr. So no one said a word.
He looked up, he'd been staring off into the night sky. "What is it, Dagger?"
"There's been a distinct lack of music on this journey so far, and I demand to know why!"
Blink. Rould's eyebrows went up. "Hey there... you're right! What the bloody hell am I thinking? Cinna, get out your drums! Marcus, gitar! And someone get me my pipes..."
Zidane was fishing under a pile of sacking on the deck. "Do you still have my fiddle, or did that get tossed out to make room for your ego?" More like angst puddle, you great prick.
"My ego is quite large indeed, but it's a nice bastard. The fiddle was spared." Rould grinned; he couldn't believe they hadn't played yet.
Myde had been edging around the edge of the crowd, but looked up suddenly at the word 'music'. As he saw everyone getting out their instruments, he felt a stab of... jealousy? Envy? He wanted to play with them, but he'd been avoiding Rould all week.
The instrument he lifted out of its case was slim and dark, with silver fittings and a strangely shaped mouthpiece... Myde frowned, he didn't think he'd ever seen anything like it.
"Celtic Prayer, my friends?" Rould deliberately ignored Myde, and let his familiar old smile shine out again. It was perfect. He would come, like a moth to a flame. It was inevitable.
Zidane grinned. Good one, Dagger! Music... he should have thought of it himself. The perfect way to snap Rould out of his silly Myde-obsession. He ran his bow over the fiddle strings, twiddled the fine tuners. It was in remarkably good shape, having been ignored for weeks.
All the musicians ready - they turned to Dagger, who smiled. She began the tune, her voice sweetly rising over the sound of the waves... then Marcus and Cinna struck up a beat, and Rould began to play the strange pipe.
Myde moved forward in the crowd, entranced. The pipe... had the most beautiful, charming tone; and Rould played it masterfully, fingers dancing and eyes sparkling as the melody leaped and capered over the cheerful accompaniment. It was a lighthearted tune, full of laughter and joy and dancing.
Then Zidane winked, and drew his bows across the strings. A soulful fiddle sound echoed the pipes, and they warred back and forth, teasing, playing, toying with each other, until finally they joined in a blissful harmony, dancing together to the finish.
Myde didn't realize he was standing in front of the crowd until Rould's eyes met his, and he felt an almost electric connection jolt him to his toes. He stood there, frozen, unable to move or speak or even think.
Rould grinned then, and gestured to the space beside him. "Grab your sitar, boy, we have room for one more."
Zidane tried to control the shocked expression on his face, but Dagger laughed quietly to herself as she watched the struggle play out easily. "He tricked you," she murmured, grinning.
"That bastard," he muttered, shaking his head. "Tricks and games, always!"
"Do you know Greensleeves?" He took out a different pipe this time, a simple wooden flute.
"'Course." It was a bardic standard. Myde tuned his sitar, oblivious to the world outside of him, his Nocturne, and Rould.
"Good." Rould turned to Dagger. "Fair lady, will you sing for us?"
She laughed. "If you promise never to call me that again, I might!"
"I promise - on my honor!"
~~~
The moon was high in the sky when the musicians finally gave in to exhaustion, and faded away into the hull of the ship.
Myde lingered, putting his sitar away as slow as possible, trying to savor the magnetic, electric feeling of passionate music - and, at the same time, trying to forget it. But either way, he knew he couldn't escape Rould any longer.
Finally, after he'd delayed as much as he could... he turned to face him.
"Myde..." Rould began, then stopped, unable to be suave and charming like he'd intended.
"You've been looking for me."
"You've been avoiding me."
They stared each other down for a long moment, or perhaps it was more like getting lost.
"...I have been looking for you. Because I wanted to apologize."
Myde nodded, if a little stiffly. "Go on, then."
"I'm... extremely, incredibly, terribly sorry." Rould shook his head. "I shouldn't've - I was drunk, and that's never an excuse, but the fact of the matter is - "
"CAPTAIN!"
The call came from high up in the crow's nest. Rould ran closer to the main mast immediately. "What is it?"
"There's a ship... she's gaining on our tail, sir! And she looks like a navy ship!"
"Bloody hell!" He fished at his waist for the spyglass he always kept with him. "Damn it all, we're just a theater ship! What could they want with us?"
Zidane appeared at his elbow, and yanked the spyglass away. "As I thought. It's not the navy - it's Jack Sparrow." He held it back out for the captain, and raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were supposed to lie low?"
"Well, I might have bet him out of a few things..."
"A few things?"
"A compass and some rum..."
Zidane groaned. "Rould, you've doomed us all!"
"Hardly! That's one filthy stinking pirate against twenty! LET'S GET HER!"
The crew, which had massed on the deck in the growing ardor, suddenly let out a chorus of rebel yells fit to wake the dead - all except Myde, who was skittering along the cabin wall, wide-eyed, trying to be inconspicuous. If they thought he was going to be any good in fight - well, they were dead wrong.
"Load the cannons! I want Marcus at the wheel, turn a hard left! Zidane, below deck, on the count of three!"
Suddenly in the midst of all the excitement, Rould felt a vicious tug on the back of his shirt, and he whipped around to see who it was, but he felt soft hands sliding over the back of his neck, and who's hands would be -
And
Myde
kissed
him.
It was clumsy and awkward but still somehow passionate and sweet at the same time, and Rould clung to him because if he didn't, surely he'd fall over... His lips were softer than anything he ever could have imagined, it was the perfect mix of innocence and bravery, fit to melt hearts.
They broke apart and Rould gasped for breath, staring down at him with wide eyes.
Myde stared back, honesty and faith and all those things Rould thought he'd forgotten pouring from his eyes. "Didn't you ever once think that the reason I was angry was because I wanted it to be real?"
{ + }
A/N: I have no words. ^_^. Only that I am looking forward to writing chapter four very, very, VERY much.
Pairing: Rould/Myde
Written For: samurai_usagi, FIGHTING!!!
Type: everything
Rating: PG-...R? dunno how it'll be in later chapters.
A/N: please to download Celtic Prayer and Greensleeves for your listening pleasure :D (you will find out why.)
Rould groaned. Oh god, if he didn't have the worst headache in the...
"Feeling better?"
His eyes snapped open at the sound of THAT voice. "Zidane?!"
"Bingo." Zidane smiled and held out a Potion. "Drink, you look like hell."
"I feel like hell." He winced and downed the Potion, then sighed appreciatively. "What did I do?"
Bright smile still firmly in place, Zidane answered, "Well sir, you drunk yourself silly, broke a few tables, and oh - you tried to get Myde to have sex with you."
Rould's face went dead white. "I what?!"
"Yup. I walked in just as you were trying to kiss him."
"OH GOD." Rould let his head fall into his hands. "I didn't. Please tell me I didn't."
"Nope, I knocked you out just in time. It was a close one, though." Zidane grinned. "You've got good taste, though - he sure is a looker." He shook his head. "Why were you drinking, anyway? You never drink like that, not out here." On the ocean, he meant.
"Well..." Rould sighed heavily. "Therein lies the problem, you see."
"What?" Zidane raised an eyebrow.
"...Myde."
It was like pulling teeth, for crying out loud. "What about Myde?"
"I... drank so I could forget him." Rould was glaring at a spot on the wall. "But obviously that didn't work."
"Obviously." Zidane shook his head. Was Rould seriously that... serious about some kid they'd picked up in Tortuga? "Rould, snap out of it. Just seduce him and be done with it, you're good at that, right?"
The look the Captain gave him was a look that Zidane had never seen before... and him and Rould had practically grown up together.
It was... honesty.
"Zidane... I can't do that. Not with him." Rould shook his head. "You spend some time with him. You'll see."
"I guess I'll have to." Zidane chuckled. "So~ aren't you gonna ask me - "
"SHIT!" Rould sat up fast. "You're right! I didn't expect you back so - "
"Oh, now you're interested, huh?" he smirked. "Well, the truth is better than you're going to believe..."
"Try me." Rould returned the smirk, and crossed his arms.
"Jack Sparrow..." Zidane leaned forward, to draw out the moment. "Is going after the Black Pearl."
His eyes widened, and he almost fell forward. "He what?!"
"And that's not all... Jack Sparrow is no ordinary pirate. Not only did he have his sights set on the mysterious ghost ship..." A wicked smile curled onto the blond's face. "...but he used to be its captain."
Rould sat back, his face white. "I don't believe you."
"Believe it or not, it's true." Zidane crossed his arms. "Heard it with my own honest ears."
Rould rolled his eyes. "All right. Tell me the whole story."
"Well, I left you in Tortuga..."
~~~
He tried to get Myde alone, so he could apologize... but as much as he'd stood out for Rould in the past week, it suddenly seemed like the little sitarist was never alone. As if magically, amazingly, he was best friends with the entire crew.
Not that he wasn't likeable enough, not at all! It's just, most of them had never given him a second glance before.
Actually, the truth was - after the little Rould-drunk-off-his-ass episode, everyone did take a sudden interest in Myde, and they liked what they saw. He was cheerful, polite, friendly, hardworking, and rather adorably stupid. It was a winning combination, that's for sure, and while at first they all befriended him out of guilt and sympathy... as the days went on, they really began to like him.
For his part, Myde was just as keen to avoid Rould as he was to make new friends on the Alexandros. He'd been worried about fitting in when Zidane, his supposed-replace-ee, had mysteriously shown up - but no one seemed to even notice the change. In fact, it seemed as if Zidane had always been there, joking with Blank, climbing up ropes like he was born a monkey, and translating the captain's ridiculousness into honest piratespeak.
Not that the captain was doing much of his usual bantering and teasing... in fact, he was downright surly. Zidane knew that talking to Myde would probably only make it worse; the best chance he had was to stew about it until he finally came to his senses and let the poor boy go.
Rould smoldered quietly, and waited for his chance.
~~~
"Rould!" The speaker was one of the few female sailors on the Alexandros, generally considered back luck - but if you said anything like that about this one around Zidane, it was highly likely that he'd bite yer head off. Arrr. So no one said a word.
He looked up, he'd been staring off into the night sky. "What is it, Dagger?"
"There's been a distinct lack of music on this journey so far, and I demand to know why!"
Blink. Rould's eyebrows went up. "Hey there... you're right! What the bloody hell am I thinking? Cinna, get out your drums! Marcus, gitar! And someone get me my pipes..."
Zidane was fishing under a pile of sacking on the deck. "Do you still have my fiddle, or did that get tossed out to make room for your ego?" More like angst puddle, you great prick.
"My ego is quite large indeed, but it's a nice bastard. The fiddle was spared." Rould grinned; he couldn't believe they hadn't played yet.
Myde had been edging around the edge of the crowd, but looked up suddenly at the word 'music'. As he saw everyone getting out their instruments, he felt a stab of... jealousy? Envy? He wanted to play with them, but he'd been avoiding Rould all week.
The instrument he lifted out of its case was slim and dark, with silver fittings and a strangely shaped mouthpiece... Myde frowned, he didn't think he'd ever seen anything like it.
"Celtic Prayer, my friends?" Rould deliberately ignored Myde, and let his familiar old smile shine out again. It was perfect. He would come, like a moth to a flame. It was inevitable.
Zidane grinned. Good one, Dagger! Music... he should have thought of it himself. The perfect way to snap Rould out of his silly Myde-obsession. He ran his bow over the fiddle strings, twiddled the fine tuners. It was in remarkably good shape, having been ignored for weeks.
All the musicians ready - they turned to Dagger, who smiled. She began the tune, her voice sweetly rising over the sound of the waves... then Marcus and Cinna struck up a beat, and Rould began to play the strange pipe.
Myde moved forward in the crowd, entranced. The pipe... had the most beautiful, charming tone; and Rould played it masterfully, fingers dancing and eyes sparkling as the melody leaped and capered over the cheerful accompaniment. It was a lighthearted tune, full of laughter and joy and dancing.
Then Zidane winked, and drew his bows across the strings. A soulful fiddle sound echoed the pipes, and they warred back and forth, teasing, playing, toying with each other, until finally they joined in a blissful harmony, dancing together to the finish.
Myde didn't realize he was standing in front of the crowd until Rould's eyes met his, and he felt an almost electric connection jolt him to his toes. He stood there, frozen, unable to move or speak or even think.
Rould grinned then, and gestured to the space beside him. "Grab your sitar, boy, we have room for one more."
Zidane tried to control the shocked expression on his face, but Dagger laughed quietly to herself as she watched the struggle play out easily. "He tricked you," she murmured, grinning.
"That bastard," he muttered, shaking his head. "Tricks and games, always!"
"Do you know Greensleeves?" He took out a different pipe this time, a simple wooden flute.
"'Course." It was a bardic standard. Myde tuned his sitar, oblivious to the world outside of him, his Nocturne, and Rould.
"Good." Rould turned to Dagger. "Fair lady, will you sing for us?"
She laughed. "If you promise never to call me that again, I might!"
"I promise - on my honor!"
~~~
The moon was high in the sky when the musicians finally gave in to exhaustion, and faded away into the hull of the ship.
Myde lingered, putting his sitar away as slow as possible, trying to savor the magnetic, electric feeling of passionate music - and, at the same time, trying to forget it. But either way, he knew he couldn't escape Rould any longer.
Finally, after he'd delayed as much as he could... he turned to face him.
"Myde..." Rould began, then stopped, unable to be suave and charming like he'd intended.
"You've been looking for me."
"You've been avoiding me."
They stared each other down for a long moment, or perhaps it was more like getting lost.
"...I have been looking for you. Because I wanted to apologize."
Myde nodded, if a little stiffly. "Go on, then."
"I'm... extremely, incredibly, terribly sorry." Rould shook his head. "I shouldn't've - I was drunk, and that's never an excuse, but the fact of the matter is - "
"CAPTAIN!"
The call came from high up in the crow's nest. Rould ran closer to the main mast immediately. "What is it?"
"There's a ship... she's gaining on our tail, sir! And she looks like a navy ship!"
"Bloody hell!" He fished at his waist for the spyglass he always kept with him. "Damn it all, we're just a theater ship! What could they want with us?"
Zidane appeared at his elbow, and yanked the spyglass away. "As I thought. It's not the navy - it's Jack Sparrow." He held it back out for the captain, and raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were supposed to lie low?"
"Well, I might have bet him out of a few things..."
"A few things?"
"A compass and some rum..."
Zidane groaned. "Rould, you've doomed us all!"
"Hardly! That's one filthy stinking pirate against twenty! LET'S GET HER!"
The crew, which had massed on the deck in the growing ardor, suddenly let out a chorus of rebel yells fit to wake the dead - all except Myde, who was skittering along the cabin wall, wide-eyed, trying to be inconspicuous. If they thought he was going to be any good in fight - well, they were dead wrong.
"Load the cannons! I want Marcus at the wheel, turn a hard left! Zidane, below deck, on the count of three!"
Suddenly in the midst of all the excitement, Rould felt a vicious tug on the back of his shirt, and he whipped around to see who it was, but he felt soft hands sliding over the back of his neck, and who's hands would be -
And
Myde
kissed
him.
It was clumsy and awkward but still somehow passionate and sweet at the same time, and Rould clung to him because if he didn't, surely he'd fall over... His lips were softer than anything he ever could have imagined, it was the perfect mix of innocence and bravery, fit to melt hearts.
They broke apart and Rould gasped for breath, staring down at him with wide eyes.
Myde stared back, honesty and faith and all those things Rould thought he'd forgotten pouring from his eyes. "Didn't you ever once think that the reason I was angry was because I wanted it to be real?"
{ + }
A/N: I have no words. ^_^. Only that I am looking forward to writing chapter four very, very, VERY much.