Archive of Our Own ^beta

Why didn’t Keiji get kidnapped at the height of summer so Tetsurou wouldn’t be stuck in the middle of fucking nowhere with a blizzard raging just outside of this tiny tent? The fat, gray, feathery reminder sat right in his lap as Tetsurou took a slow sip of his canteen, this was going to be a long, chilly night, but hopefully he’d make it into town tomorrow and this mountainous hike would be over with.

It would not be, by the way, Keiji was apparently being held in a castle that was nestled deeper in the majestic range and Tetsurou hadn’t gotten a decent look at all due to the inches of snow and constant cloud cover. See, this is exactly why he should’ve stayed at sea and he wouldn’t be suffering from his bitter cold that dampened the pyromancy magic that flowed through his veins.

The frustration of feeling himself grow weaker as he traveled further north and the temperatures dropping into the negatives, even summoning a small flame to keep himself from becoming an icicle was an active task for him. The spell that school children could easily cast turned into a daunting affair much like hailing a meteor hower down on his worst enemy.

... alright in reality it took fifteen seconds for the flame to spawn in the palm of his hand versus like, three in normal circumstances, but this was life or death, Tetsurou could be buried under all this snow pact and die. He glared back at the owl still sitting in his lap that let out a low hoot and blinked back up at him, this was all his fault and the knight this owl was tethered to.

He hadn’t seen either since he was banished from Fukurodani as a teenager, but he couldn’t miss that distinctive pattern and face in a crowd. There was only a small scroll attached to his leg, minimal details on where to meet Koutarou and the urgency of needing to save Keiji from his captor.

Keiji...

Tetsurou was popping out from his tent as the sun was rising, a jet flame spilled from his fingertips as he cleared the snow that piled up around him, revealing the dirt ground. The gray owl soared into the blue sky to stretch out his wings as Tetsurou went to go check on the horse and that big fella was alright, Tetsurou stacked a couple blankets onto him that were enchanted with a warming seal. He packed up his tent and other belongings, then mounted the horse to head off in the direction that Koutarou’s owl was flying off in.

Even when he was growing up in Fukurodani, he never went this far north with his family and had no desire to if only because of all the scary stories and rumors about the beasts, monsters, and demons that roam. His own journey had been fairly uneventful thus far, but he did keep his distance away from creatures that may seek to cause him harm and he had to conserve his mana for his final destination.

His mood perked up considerably when he was above to see the spotting of houses and shops in the small valley below, nestled in this cater of the mountains that served to protect them from the worst of the blizzard. He followed the snow covered dirt road that led into the sleepy town, giving silent greetings to the few merchants who were up early and leaving with their goods, possibly to head into whichever trading post was nearby.

Tetsurou’s sharp, searching gaze picked out the local guards too, marking them largely unthreatening in his head and there was very little chance anyone in this region would know of his true identity. He got a few curious glances as he rode into the town itself, still following that fat owl who must’ve been leading him to Koutarou’s home, according to his letters the knight had been residing for about a year and a half here.

Tetsurou got a decent feel for the town as he passed on through, possibly filled with law abiding, normal folk who sought no trouble and focused on their crops, sending their kids to the little school house every morning, gossiping about small town drama. A refresher from the chaos and brash behavior that comes with constantly porting in dock towns that were infested with pirates and other criminals. 

Tetsurou possibly wouldn’t have to watch his back... but he’d still need to keep a hold on his snarky tongue lest he give himself away.

The owl was making an entire fuss as he puffed up and flapped his wings in front of a two story home that presumably belonged to his human. There was a white picket fence surrounding it with a flower patch by the porch and... a calico cat staring right at Tetsurou from the window.

It disappeared as soon as their eyes locked, cute.

Tetsurou dismounted the horse and tied up the lead to the fence for the time being, he gave a quick glance around to see if any of Koutarou’s neighbors were out, but everyone must’ve still been asleep this early in the morning. It was a good spot for the knight to live, certainly far more relaxed and quieter than the busy capital, Tetsurou was sure he’d wind up getting too restless here in time.

Black boots made their way across the stone path and up the stairs to give a knock on the wooden door, the chill lingering in the winter air, however Tetsurou could feel his magic thawing from within. There were low chances that he’d reach his full power potential here, but with the grace of the gods they could hope Keiji’s situation hadn’t deteriorated quite that much.

“Tetsu, you made it!”

Koutarou was fast to wrap his arm around Tetsurou’s waist and pull him in for a near crushing hug, despite the thick coat and underclothing that Tetsurou was wearing, this man’s inhuman strength simply never quit. Tetsurou threw his own arms around Koutarou’s shoulders, wanting to savor this long overdue reunion between the two, they had way too much to catch up on.

“Fuck man, how long has it been since I last saw you?”

“Ten... eleven years, maybe?” Tetsurou answered, Koutarou’s grin was so damn bright , it briefly transported him back to their childhood. Back to when they were terribly carefree and running amok with the adults barely taking notice... or so Tetsurou thought.

“I’ve missed you, getting your letters just isn’t the same,” Koutarou pulled him in for another hug, “I’m sorry I couldn’t summon you under better circumstances.”

“It’s alright, I came as soon as I saw the big man perched on my ship, I knew it must’ve been serious,” Tetsurou said as the aforementioned owl went to go headbutt Koutarou and the knight cackled with joy, “have you gotten into contact with Keiji at all since then?”

“Nope,” Koutarou let out a small sigh, “but, I have faith that he’s still with us in some capacity... I just need to see him with my own two eyes.”

“Of course,” Tetsurou nodded as Koutarou stepped back and to the side, Tetsurou’s eyes landed on... two shorter people who had been watching their reunion, “... did you neglect to tell me that you have spawn?”

Koutarou snorted with a shake of his head, “no, no they’re coming with us to help with Keiji, I’ll get your things and such, then we can talk.”

“Alright...” Tetsurou leveled at glance between the two, one was a redhead with pointed ears and a very excited smile on his face, the other had dark roots with blond hair and two little cat ears on top of his head. 

An elf and a neko... interesting.

“I’m-”

“Captain Kuroo Tetsurou, the legendary hellcat of the seas!” the redhead instantly blurted out as he zipped over to Tetsurou, “you single handedly burned down Prince Daishou’s entire fleet and got away without a scratch! You’re like, the coolest fucking pirate ever! I always wanted to travel the seas, but my mom said I’d get eaten by the kraken- OH MY GOD, is the kraken real?”

“Yeah, I have a few stories about my run-ins with that slimy, tentacle fuck,” Tetsurou smirked as he could see the stars shining in the redhead big eyes, “I almost lost my girl to her last time we danced, but as you can see, I came out on top.”

“Uwaaah, I want to hear them all! And wait- who's in charge of your ship now if you’re here?”

“First mate Iwaizumi Hajime,” Tetsurou said with pride in his voice that had the redhead squealing even more, “I would trust him with my life , he’s the closest thing I have to a brother.”

“Hey, hey, hey what about me?” Koutarou said as he was coming in Tetsurou’s bags.

“You have best friend forever privileges, that’s like, top of my list,” Tetsurou said, “Hajime and Tooru are right behind ya.”

“Good!” Koutarou set the bags on the ground and closed the door behind him, “Shouyou, fetch us the drink, we need to talk about our objective.”

“Yes sir!”

“Chibi is quite the firecracker,” Tetsurou murmured as the ginger dashed off into the kitchen, “kitty is pretty quiet though.”

“Ah, yeah, Kenma is shy! But he’s really good at strategies and he’s a great little healer,” Koutarou said as Tetsurou followed his adoring gaze to the mage that was staring down in his book. The spotted tail behind him was flickering from side to side, but his ears were turned in their direction, picking up their entire conversation.

“And you trust these two with Keiji?” 

“I do, I’ve been mentoring Shouyou for... about three years now, it was kind of an accident at first, but he kept sticking around and Kenken was always with him,” Koutarou said, “they’re both good, kind, and loyal... honestly a little too pure for this world.”

“I’ll take you at your word then,” Tetsurou patted Koutarou’s back, quietly noting that Kenma hadn’t flipped a single page in his book.

The chibi made his return with drinks and food, then finally remembered to introduce himself as Hinata Shouyou, a rogue that hailed from Karasuno. Tetsurou had to wonder how that pipsqueak made it all the way out here and from his own assumption, Kenma was likely from Nekoma. 

Two nations that were currently at odds with each other... and hopefully this kid hadn’t heard of Tetsurou’s assistance on Nekoma’s side. Not that it mattered... he just didn’t want to disappoint the little guy within five minutes of meeting him.

“So, let’s get down to business,” Koutarou’s serious tone was rather new to Tetsurou, “first, I have to be honest about this ‘capture’ of Keiji. He’s... not a hostage, he went with Master Tendou of his own volition.” 

“Is that so...?” Tetsurou commented, he was sitting on the opposite end of the couch of Koutarou. Kenma was curled up in the bigger chair and Hinata posted up on the wall, probably had too much energy to sit down.

“Yes, I was with him when he snuck out of the palace and went to see Tendou at his shop... then well, they left together and I only stayed in contact with my prince through letters,” Koutarou said, “I tried to keep others off of their trail and it was working rather successfully until this summer, someone saw the prince and the king increased the bounty to rescue him, so there’s been all these people going after him.”

“So he was seeking freedom...? Adventure?”

“I don’t know... he always kept his true reason hidden,” Koutarou let his glance linger on Tetsurou for just a moment, “but I do know that he trusted his master and he was very content in his travels, despite Tendou’s reputation... I was doubtful for a moment about his decision, but no one was going to talk him out of it.”

“Are you sure he wasn’t under mind control or like, thralled?” Hinata spoke up, “Tendou seems like the type of vampire to do that...”

“He wasn’t, I know my prince well enough to know if his mind had been altered or hexed,” Koutarou firmly said, “to be honest, his letters were the happiest I’ve seen him since Tetsurou was banished, he was but a mere shell of himself beforehand.”

Tetsurou bit down his cheek as the memory of that night flashed through his head, the teenaged knight was full of desperation as he came for Tetsurou and told him that he needed to run before the other royal guards came to kill him. Tetsurou was stuck with the clothes on his back and a neighbor's stolen horse as he quickly ran out of the city with his sister and headed to the docks to stow themselves on the first boat out.

“I haven’t heard from him since August and... I needed people by my side who I knew wouldn’t hurt him or have materialistic greed on their mind,” Koutarou said.

“Why would we hurt him? Why would anyone?” Hinata asked.

“He’s also a vampire, whether he asked for it is up for debate,” Koutarou replied, “as his knight, I have the duty to stay by his side no matter the circumstance. I... I do not think he’d willingly hurt anyone, but others would think elsewise.”

“Well fuck, Keiji what did you get yourself into?” Tetsurou groaned, “alright, what’s up with this castle?”

Koutarou rolled out a map of the castle and the surrounding area, apparently his two kouhais had been scouting and keeping tabs for the past month, in waiting for Tetsurou to arrive. They knew that Keiji was inside, there was no sign of Master Tendou, and the last party that tried to retrieve the prince had failed... but they were physically uninjured as they returned to the town.

Their memories were altered however, they didn’t know why or how they’d gotten there.

This gave Koutarou hope that Keiji was still retaining his human soul and hadn’t completely transformed into a brainless bloodsucking machine. Tetsurou was happy to ride that hope, if only because that man never left his thoughts... or his heart after years apart.

They made plans to move out tomorrow night even though Tetsurou could go right now, but Koutarou insisted that he take a day to rest and they still had preparations to make. Hinata went out to shop for supplies and obtain horses while Kenma slipped away elsewhere, leaving the pirate and knight alone.

“You know I have to ask, what’ll you do if Keiji has transformed into a monster?” Tetsurou was calm as he asked, it’s not something he wanted to seriously contemplate.

“It’ll be my sworn duty to send him to the afterlife and make sure the gods forgive him of any ill will so he may rest,” Koutarou said, “... I’ll then join him.”

“Ugh, you guys have always been so hardcore,” Tetsurou rolled his eyes, getting a small smile from Koutarou, “we’ll get him out of there and cure him, or whatever. Death is a last resort.”

“You won’t be dying on my watch.”

Both older men looked to the staircase behind them to see Kenma lingering, “... I’ll find a way to save him... so you won’t have to sacrifice yourself.”

He disappeared up the stairs before either of the two could say anything in response.

“... see? We’re all in this together.”

~

Tetsurou took up the flank as Hinata, Kenma, and Koutarou treaded ahead of him on this darkened road that led through the snow covered forest and towards the castle. The pyromancer conjured multiple fire sprites to light their small caravan and ward off creatures that sought to sneak up on them.

The snow fell lightly around them as Tetsurou kept his wits about him, he was confident enough in his abilities that he could take down anything they tried to attack, but those tales from his childhood re-emerged. Walking through a spooky forest in the dead of night was a recipe for disaster, same as sailing into a violent storm in Tetsurou’s eyes, however he needed to be brave for his apparent number one fan.

On the day that Tetsurou had to rest, he learned that Hinata went off on his own to truly chase after that heroic glory, he didn’t want to be stuck in his village for the rest of his life. There was an entire world out there and Hinata would explore it all while going on super cool adventures along the way, Kenma just so happened to be someone that he helped escape from a slaver early on in his journey.

They then signed up for the hunter’s guild, met Koutarou a few months later, and the knight was happy to take them both under his wing so they could be trained into proper heroes. It was so grossly innocent that Tetsurou wanted to defenestrate himself, he despised the types who ran around with those lofty goals because once reality smacked them in the face, they were too scared to act.

Or they wound up sitting on piles of gold while bards sang of their past achievements and left their peasant onlookers to starve. Tetsurou was honest about who he was, a pirate who took no prisoners and found glee in raiding however many ships he could get his greedy hands on.

Yet, Koutarou seemed to be raising this little hero well... seeing as he was beaming when Tetsurou told him about a few of the shenanigans he got into. Kenma was still on the quiet side, but there was clear interest as he was drawn in by Tetsurou’s grandiose storytelling skills.

“We’re almost there.”

Tetsurou could see the iron black gates at the end of the road, behind them was a long, winding stone staircase that led up the decrepit castle and he couldn’t sense anyone else that was around. Their horses would have to be left down here since Master Tendou couldn’t pick a more convenient castle to camp out in, but if numerous adventurers were coming to take Tetsurou’s head... well, maybe he’d consider doing the same.

“They aren’t patrolling,” Kenma noted as they’d all dismounted their horses, “there are usually bats in the sky and wolves on the ground, or at least taking positions up on the stairs... but there’s nothing.”

“What if someone else came to kill them already?” Hinata asked, “though... I don’t really see any signs of a fight either.”

“Concerning, keep your eyes open boys,” Tetsurou made us way up the gates first, easily pushing them open and lit up the surrounding darkness with a pool of flames that ascended up the stairs.

“Why would you do that?! You’ll just draw attention to us,” Kenma immediately blurted out.

“Correction, to me, and don’t worry, I got enough firepower to burn this forest to ash,” Tetsurou said, “it seems like all our usual night lurkers took the evening off or they’re sleeping through their shift.”

“I sense them inside of the castle, but there’s no urgency in their movements,” Koutarou said, his abilities as a holy knight meant he could detect the undead, ghouls, vampires, “perhaps this is my prince’s doing.”

“How nice of him,” Tetsurou said, “let’s get going then, eh?”

Koutarou removed his armored hand from the hilt of his sword, instead going to glance over at Kenma, “it’ll be faster if I carry you up.”

“Uh...” the mages ears turned back on their head as his tail flickered behind him, “n-no it’s okay.”

“No way, you’re the slowest here! We should race!” Hinata grinned, “first one up to the top wins.”

That tiny rogue teleported himself up the stairs and Tetsurou let out a soft sigh, did he even know just how much danger he was waltzing into? A shared glance with Koutarou had Tetsurou chasing after the chibi, his flames licking at the soles of his feet as he shot forward.

“Oh my god, you can fly?!” Hinata exclaimed as Tetsurou glided past him, “that’s so awesome!” 

“It’s quite convenient for traveling, I’d say,” Tetsurou propelled himself forward as the rogue sped up the stairs, Koutarou wasn’t too far behind with Kenma on his back. The ‘winner’ turned out to be Hinata said he touched the giant double doors first even though Tetsurou landed just outside of them.

But, okay.

“Inside we go...”

Tetsurou and Koutarou walked in first, the former letting out another ball of flame to brighten their surroundings and Koutarou was indeed right about this place being infested with all kinds of vampiric creatures. Their eyes were a dull red, bodies a pallid gray with their features transformed into ugly beings, some with horns protruding from their temples and wings sprouting on their backs.

They didn’t instantly attack.

Some ran away from the display of flames, others let out a low growl of irritation, but they remained in their places or wandered off into the shadows. This was a good sign... assuming they didn’t decide to ambush their party at random, but then where was Keiji?

It was after about ten minutes of determining they appeared to be safe enough, Tetsurou called for the younger two to come in and stick close by them. Hinata was obviously itching for a fight by how bouncy he was on his light feet meanwhile Kenma lurked behind the massive knight.

They weren’t going to search every room in this castle because that would take hours, plus they didn’t know when someone else would come running up here to avenge prince Akaashi, or whatever. The throne room took a bit of searching to figure out just what path led into it, it didn’t help that this castle was one strong gust of wind away from crumbling into dust.

The faint sound of a hoot instantly caught Hinata’s attention, the half elf had superior hearing in comparison to a human, further enhanced by his rogue training. He quickly alerted them and they followed him down a corridor with half the wall blown out to give them a spiffy view of the forest below them. 

“I guess the owl is here?”

There were two stone giants guarding the door, as in, they were massive and the hammer in one of their hands was as big as all of Koutarou. The knight stepped forward with Tetsurou ushering Hinata and Kenma to stand behind him, this would definitely be a tougher fight if they happened to attack.

“I’m prince Akaashi’s knight, Bokuto Koutarou, and I wish to seek him out. I will not harm him, I just need to make sure he’s safe.”

Koutarou had to really crane his neck to see into the giant’s eyes, they were terribly silent as the seconds passed on. Koutarou took one heck of a chance as he went to push open the doors between them, leading into the coveted throne room.

“Woah...” Hinata said.

Koutarou gestured for them to come with him and they scurried inside, past the giants to see that the throne wasn’t empty... there was a little brown owl on the seat. Tetsurou knew that owl, she was glued to Keiji’s side when they were children and that must mean the prince was near.

“Hey there girlie,” Koutarou was cheery as he approached the bird, his own owl was stationed out in the forest to keep an eye, “do you know where your dad is?”

She flew up to nuzzle Koutarou’s cheek for a moment, then her eye caught on the pyromancer and she damn near tackled him to the ground. Her excited chirps and wings flapping had Tetsurou laughing, she was still so adorable even at her elderly age.

“I’ll take this as more good news,” Tetsurou kissed the top of her head, “you wanna show us where he is?”

The smaller owl flew off towards a hatch that was behind one of the standing pillars in the throne room, it was currently unlocked and wide open, revealing a set of stairs leading somewhere. Tetsurou took the first steps as the others trailed and oh , there was an entire library contained underneath this heap of a castle, eh, sounds like Keiji’s personal paradise.

“Think I found out why he wasn’t answering your letters, Kou,” Tetsurou snickered as they made it to the bottom of the stairs, there were dozens, maybe hundreds of shelves filled with books that surrounded them,

“This is the ‘Kaashi I know,” Koutarou grinned, relief was clear on his face, “we still have to find him in this... maze of books.”

“Ooo, let’s race!”

And off the chibi went onto the second floor.

“Yeah I’ll... cover the east wing,” Tetsurou jerked a thumb to their right.

“Let’s check the west, Kenken,” Koutarou said as Kenma was already headed in that way, although from the look in his eye he was probably more interested in what books were contained here.

Ah well, Tetsurou just had to beat Hinata to it.

It was difficult for him to remember when he’d been in a library of this scale, it rivaled even the royal library back at the palace. When Keiji would drag him off to their secret spot so they could read in peace without his parents nagging, some of the best times they definitely had together.

Along with... other, special memories that were granted in the library... maybe that’s why Tetsurou tended to avoid them like the plague. It was also the last place he saw Keiji and it was so stupid too because he didn’t speak to Keiji, he was angry about something he doesn’t even remember now.

So many days and nights he wished he could’ve went back to say anything to him, to tell him just one more time that he-

“Ah...”

Tetsurou instantly straightened up at that noise that came from behind one of the shelves, was that... no, it couldn’t be . Tetsurou’s steps were quiet, stealthy as he peered around the shelf to see a small sitting area with couches, pillows, and a little table that sat low to the ground.

And there was Keiji, laid out on his throne of pillows.

“Mmm... yes...”

Tetsurou almost couldn’t believe what he was witnessing, the prince Akaashi had an open book in one hand and his cock in the other and boy he was having a great time. Tetsurou cupped a hand over his mouth as puffs of steam escaped his ears and nostrils, no no no, this hasn’t happened since he was fucking teenager, get your shit together.

He was quick to turn on his heel and speedwalked his ass out, out of all the ways he thought he’d see Keiji... well, that was nowhere on the damn list. He conjured two fire sprites to seek out his party members and waited in the main room of the library for them to reconvene.

“Did you find him?” Koutarou asked as Kenma was still trailing behind him.

“Yes, he is perfectly fine,” Tetsurou blurted out, “a bit busy though.”

“What do you mean?” Koutarou replied as he stepped forward, “is he in trouble-”

“No, no... I mean...” Tetsurou pinched the bridge of his nose, “he’s having some alone time.”

Koutarou tilted his head, the two shorter ones were also mildly confused.

“As in he hasn’t noticed that we’re here yet because he’s...” Tetsurou sighed, “ pleasuring himself.”

“... oh,” Koutarou said, “... oh my god , ‘Kaashi.”

“Sssh, we should wait until he... finishes.”

Hinata and Kenma looked to be on the verge of laughter, as they were both probably preparing for the worst, or some epic battle to take place... but no, the prince was just masturbating the night away.

~

Tetsurou idly watched the small fireball bounce back and forth between his hands as his legs were kicked up on the table, boots left on the floor of course, Tetsurou isn’t a total pig. He kept his ‘focus’ on maintaining this fireball so his mind won’t wander to lewder thoughts of Keiji touching himself several shelves away, it’s worked thus far since there hasn’t been any additional excess steam puffing out of his ears.

Kenma was on the opposite end of the table, books stacked high that were brought to him by Koutarou and from what Tetsurou could gather from the titles on the thick spines, they centered around healing arts and a few autobiographies. Hinata and the knight found a large book filled with all kinds of weaponry and armor to gush over, Koutarou did have a decent collection of swords, maces, javelins, shields in his basement.

Tetsurou was just a little tempted to do his own digging outside of the library to see if Master Tendou had any interesting treasures about, but he erred on the side of not pissing off the lurking creatures in the castle. This place was centuries old and changed hands many times, yet it was discreet enough that Tetsurou would choose it as a location to store his treasures, so just where could they be hidden...

His own treasures were split between his beloved pirate ship and a manor that resided on the rocky eastern coast of Nekoma, not exactly hidden , but most had no clue of the true owner while his older sister kept watch over it. He’d often wished to himself that he could take Keiji there, if only to show him the beautiful view of the ocean from his bedroom that he so rarely slept in.

Perhaps that could be a reality now...

“Kou- Koutarou , what are you doing here? Who are these-”

“My prince!”

The knight bolted out of his chair to meet the befuddled royal and instantly knelt at his feet as Tetsurou waved the fireball away, pulling his socked feet off of the table. Hinata and Kenma were all eyes and ears, disregarding anything they’d been doing as their attention was drawn to the prince.

“I came to check on you as you haven’t been answering my letters, I am relieved to see that you’re safe and would prefer that you let me stay by your side instead of sending me away.”

“Oh... I apologize for that, I fear after two of my letters were almost intercepted, I didn’t want to put her in any more danger,” Keiji said as his hands went to button up his dress shirt, “along with intruders who insist on coming to save me, distracting me from my work... I didn’t mean to worry you, Koutarou.”

“Ah it’s quite alright! I came ready to do your bidding,” Koutarou beamed up at his highness as Tetsurou’s eye caught on the necklace hanging around his neck. The amber gem connected to the gold chain had a tiny, bright flame raging within that sent his heart racing.

Keiji kept that?

“You may rise to your feet now, I...” Keiji’s calming gaze looked over the smiling half elf, the curious neko, and... “... Tet- Tetsurou, is that-”

Tetsurou stood from his chair just as Keiji hurried over to get a closer look at the taller pirate, his hand went to grasp the warm gem on his necklace, “it’s me in the flesh, Kou said you were in trouble and I came at soon as I-”

Keiji threw his arms around Tetsurou’s neck, burying his face right in his shoulder as Tetsurou was a little slower to react, but his arms soon encircled Keiji’s middle in a tight, long overdue hug. Just how long as it been since they’d last seen each other, since they were allowed to even touch or speak or indulge in each other’s scents, Tetsurou couldn’t let him go... not this time, not ever again.

“I... I was looking for you all this time, Tetsurou, I knew you were out there and that you weren’t dead,” Keiji pulled back to rest his hands on Tetsurou’s cheeks, “you’re the reason I left the palace, I was miserable without you... and now you’re here, this... this feels like a dream.”

“This is as real as it gets, Keiji,” Tetsurou’s voice was quiet as he looked back into those blue eyes that he’d been longing to return to for a decade now. He curled his fingers around the cold nape of Keiji’s neck and moved to press their lips together in a soft kiss that further confirmed his words.

Tetsurou hadn’t allowed his thoughts to linger on Keiji, he refused to dwell on what could’ve been if his own parents hadn’t been traitors, thus turning the royal’s ire on their children as well. His closest friends knew not to bring this subject up unless they wanted a fist to their jaw, all he knew was hurt and a deep sense of emptiness that was yet to be filled by just any wrench warming his bed.

“If I knew you were looking for me, I would’ve set sail in your direction immediately,” Tetsurou uttered after pulling away from their kiss, “did Tendou claim to have knowledge of my location?”

“Well... now that I have confirmation that you’re the hellcat of the seas, it seems we were doomed to be following your trail, yet never quite catching up...” Keiji said, “you’re quite elusive despite your reputation.”

“I do excel at the good ‘ol fashioned hit and run,” Tetsurou winked as Keiji let out a small giggle in response, “was Koutarou ignorant to your true intentions?”

“He was,” Keiji glanced back at the knight, “he delivered to me the news of your death and... I wasn’t sure if I could trust him, but I see that I was wrong.”

“Oh, no, if anything I should’ve informed my prince much sooner of Tetsurou’s whereabouts,” Koutarou quickly blurted out as he was rather surprised by Keiji’s deep bow towards him, “please, none of this lies on you. If I were honest you could’ve been reunited sooner.”

“It’s alright, we were all young and scared of what my parents would do,” Keiji said as he straightened himself out, “no one but the master knew of my objective, the only cost being that I’m no longer human... but I’ve adjusted to that and I know now that he wasn’t leading me astray.”

“Where is he, anyway?” Tetsurou asked.

“He’s had family affairs to deal with in Shiratorizawa, business I’m not exactly privy to, but he’s given me great independence since I’ve shown myself not to be a troublemaker,” Keiji replied, “if he needs me, he’ll summon for me, otherwise I’m free to do as I wish.”

“Not a bad gig...” Tetsurou remarked with Keiji going to lace their fingers together, “then I can take my princess back to my ship without pissing him off?”

Keiji sighed at the pet name as Tetsurou just smirked, “... yes, you could. I would like that, actually. I do not wish to be torn apart from you again.”

“I mirror those thoughts, my love,” Tetsurou leaned in for their lips to meet once more, sharing in a sweet kiss, “you kept my gift on you after all this time, too.”

“It was the only way that I knew you were still alive,” Keiji said as the flame within the gem was steadily burning, “I regained hope once I saw a spark that grew into a dim glow, I don’t know what triggered it, but... I knew I had to chase it.”

“When did you go to seek the master...?” Tetsurou asked.

“About... two summers ago, I’d say, the flame reignited that spring.”

“... I’ve no clue what I was doing then, but I’ll have to refer to my journal to see if I played any part,” Tetsurou squeezed their fingers, “you should know my love for you was never snuffed out, it only simmer until I lay my eyes on my beautiful prince.”

“I’m not your prince...” Keiji pursed his lips, “I’m your lover... I don’t associate with them any longer. Koutarou, you are no longer my knight, we are equals.”

“My prince-” Koutarou quickly corrected himself, “...Keiji, are you sure this is what you want? Your parents have missed you dearly.”

“I’ve thought about it long enough, I’ll send them a letter and leave it for them to deal with,” Keiji casually responded, “I’ve never held much interest in the throne, as well as all the nonsense that comes with it.”

“We’ll deliver it!” Hinata spoke as the trio remembered the existence of their two man audience, “we took on the quest of rescuing the Fukuordani prince and now we’ll get to finish it, right Kenma?”

“Sure...”

“Forgive me for my rudeness,” Keiji softly smiled at the two little heroes, “I would be grateful if you did so on my behalf, I’ll also give you any reward you choose from the castle.”

“Any?” Hinata asked, “like... anything at all?”

“Mmm... actually maybe not the cursed items, but anything else is up for grabs, it’s technically my castle after all,” Keiji said.

“Is that why the monsters didn’t attack us?” Kenma said.

“That... is due to Tetsurou,” Keiji replied, “they could sense his magic was the same that resides in this necklace and that he held no ill-intent.”

“Man and here I just thought it was a pretty rock and would make for a cute courting gift,” Tetsurou said, “ended up bein’ so much more than that.”

“It also keeps me from burning in the sun, a fact that the master was jealous of,” Keiji had a cheeky smile on his lips, “but yes... I do think it’s helped in many ways, including in giving me hope that I’d see you again one day.”

“Keiji...”

~

Tetsurou and Keiji were granted their alone time once the former prince showed the trio to the guest bedrooms that he cleaned up just for those who wound up traveling here. He informed them that people who did make it past the horde of creatures were offered great loot in exchange for leaving him alone.

Most took the bribe, some insisted upon their irritating morals and Keiji would take the second step in overpowering them to erase their memories and order them back to where they came. He’d been fortunate enough not to exercise lethality in taking someone’s life, although Tendou wasn’t so kind, but the immortal being thought little of pitiful human lives. 

All other questions were to be shelved and taken at a later notice as Tetsurou pulled his lover back towards the throne room and into the library, seeking out the space that Keiji was reading in beforehand. He laid the vampire on top of the messy pile of blankets and captured his lips in a hungry, domineering kiss while his hands worked to undress him of his clothing, they both needed this so badly.

“You know... I’m the one who found you first,” Tetsurou’s lips were hot on his ear as his warm hands trailed down Keiji’s exposed, pale torso, “you were having some fun all by yourself.”

“... you saw that?” Tetsurou was sure if his boyfriend was still mortal, he’d see the blush on that embarrassed face.

“Why do you think the chibi didn’t run up on you?” a low chuckle escaped his lips, his hand descending lower tug down the band of Keiji’s trousers, “tell me about the book~”

“Well...” Keiji bit his cheek as Tetsurou began stroking him, channeling the heat down to his fingertips so the vampire could feel the warmth, “... it was a fairly... erotic novel about a master and his maid...”

“You fantasizing about Tendou?”

“No!” Keiji huffed as Tetsurou chuckled, “just... she’s his favorite maid and the only one he...”

“Fucks?” Tetsurou smirked at Keiji’s hesitance to utter the words, “want me to be your maid, Akaashi-sama?”

“I’d rather it be the other way around,” Keiji confessed, his hips soon bucking into Tetsurou’s hand, his cock beginning to drool with precum.

“You would make a pretty little slutty maid for me, get you in a cute dress and have my crew going wild over you,” Tetsurou drawled as Keiji’s sweet moan filled the air, “but your body is only for me, ain’t that right?”

“Yes, Tetsu... I’ll only serve you...”

“Maybe if I deem you good enough...” Tetsurou brought his thumb to Keiji’s lips, his mouth easily opening for the intrusion and allowing Tetsurou to run his thumb along the pronounced fangs, “I’ll let you take a drink of me.”

“No, I couldn’t,” Keiji instantly refused, but Tetsurou proceeded to press three fingers on his tongue to stop him from speaking further, he looked so gorgeous getting his mouth fucked...

“Babe, the second Kou told me you were a vampire, I was already down with being your blood bag,” Tetsurou said, pushing his fingers far enough to see that his lover’s gag reflex was absent, “don’t reject my kind offer.”

Keiji could only moan in response as the strokes on his cock increased in speed, the pirate was delighting in having this powerful vampire writhing underneath his touch. There were endless possibilities that ran through his head, the ways he wanted to fuck and tease and ruin Keiji, there were so many years to catch up on and it’d take at least a month or two for Hajime to sail this far north.

“Has anyone else fucked you in my absence?” Tetsurou asked as he withdrew his fingers, “I won’t be mad if so, I’m not exactly virginal myself.”

 “There was one... but you ruled my thoughts, I couldn’t stop comparing... nor did I want to,” Keiji replied, “I never wanted to forget you or move on... you were always my soulmate.”

“... I do wish I came sooner,” Tetsurou murmured before their lips met in another kiss, this time there was no pulling away or innocent teasing as their tongues slid against each other and Tetsurou’s hand was working Keiji to his first orgasm of the evening.

... or would it be early morning? Ugh, useless details.

He swallowed up the vampire’s moans as he spilled over Tetsurou’s fingers and onto his stomach, a lovely sight for the pirate.  He brought his dirtied hand up to Keiji’s mouth and watched in silent awe as his lover licked away the drips of semen, they definitely weren’t teenagers anymore.

Tetsurou wasted little time in ridding himself of his own clothing as Keiji dug for a brief time in the blankets to take out a half used vial of oil. They only share a silent look to know that Keiji used this on himself earlier... Tetsurou could have been there to watch... or even help him out.

The one time he decides to be a noble gentleman instead of a brash pirate...

Nonetheless, he’s got Keiji willingly spreading his legs for him and his fingers making an easy slide into his slick hole, he was tempted to draw this out, take his time fingering his baby open. Tetsurou was a man of very little patience when there was something he wanted laid out right in front of him, he wasn’t opposed to immolating whoever stood in his way of a sacred chest filled with priceless gems, gold, and trinkets.

“Tetsurou... I want you inside... please .”

Not especially when that beauty was whining for his cock.

Tetsurou pulled out his fingers to smear more oil on himself and went to line up to Keiji’s hole, his past self hadn’t even gotten that far with him... they promised each other to wait for marriage. Keiji wasn’t betrothed to anyone, although Tetsurou’s parents were working to swing that in their favor... their house was strong, the pyromancy that ran through their veins was powerful ... and destructive.

Not many would’ve outwardly rejected their union... yet.

“Darling?”

Keiji’s soft voice pulled Tetsurou out of his thoughts, cold fingertips rest on his jaw, this wasn’t the time to wonder what could’ve been... they’d have to reforge a new path starting right here. Tetsurou moved to kiss Keiji as his hips thrusted forward, slowly, letting his lover adjust to every inch of his cock pushing inside of him, it was everything Tetsurou ever wanted.

Ever dreamed of since they first confessed to each other under the moonlight... just outside of the doors of the royal library. Koutarou told them it was getting late and he needed to escort Keiji back to his room... so Tetsurou took his chance, the young lord couldn’t hold in his feelings any longer.

“I love you so much, I’ve missed you so badly,” Tetsurou admitted, keeping his thrusts slow as his eyes landed on that flickering flame in the necklace. The warm glow contrasted beautifully with Keiji’s skin, all the proof he needed of Keiji keeping him close... never forgetting about him.

“I love you too, Tetsurou, I will always love you,” Keiji gripped Tetsurou’s biceps as he bucked harder into him, “never... fuck , never believed a word they said about you being a traitor.”

“Eh... I don’t know, I haven’t exactly been friendly whenever I run into a navy fleet that belongs to your father,” Tetsurou said, “it’s like free revenge.”

“I’ve seen the reports... heard the stories,” Keiji cursed as Tetsurou managed to find that sweet spot, “there, right there, please don’t stop.”

“Don’t worry princess, I’ve got you.”

Tetsurou took Keiji by the hips, cutting off any further conversation as he focused on pounding into his love, his body running hot from the whorish noises leaving Keiji’s lips  and how gorgeous he looked on Tetsurou’s cock. He was always so fucking pretty , so prim and proper compared to Tetsurou who didn’t care for all the noble snobbery, no matter how much his mother attempted to beat it into him.

But here they were now , in the present... connected closer than they ever have been in their lifetime, surrounded by what feels like an infinite maze of knowledge and fiction for Keiji to pour into. Or... tickle his perverted mind into touching himself, that is definitely something Tetsurou wanted to watch, this time without turning tail so he could fully enjoy the show.

Tetsurou dug his nails into Keiji’s hips as he saw Keiji bare his fangs and hiss in pleasure from Tetsurou fucking him so good , how would it feel for those to sink into him... for Keiji to get drunk off of his blood? A puff of steam exhaled from his nostrils as that thought had his head spinning, there were new parts of Keiji that he was excited to unlock and discover, as well as reintroducing himself to the one he fell for.

His name fell from Keiji’s lips as he clenched around Tetsurou’s cock and his release soon covered his stomach again, along with traces on his chest and neck. Tetsurou wasn’t too far behind, surging forward to dip his tongue into Keiji’s open mouth and driving his cock deep into his tight hole.

They were as one... and would never part if Tetsurou had any say in it.

~

Keiji was more than happy to give up the title of this castle if it meant being around civilization and people he could actually, you know, talk to instead of mindless creatures. They waited for another blizzard to pass through before they went back to the village that Koutarou stayed in, meanwhile Tetsurou penned letters for Hajime, his sister, and the prince Lev just to keep him in the loop of what the pirate was doing.

Hinata and Kenma were to go south towards the capital to deliver Keiji’s letter, although Tetsurou could sense Koutarou’s unease at them going alone. So it took a little nudge and a promise that Tetsurou and Keiji would watch over his home while they were gone on their trip.

Much to the couple’s amusement as they sent off the trio, a band of adventurers arrived in the village and sought out the mayor so they could ask about prince Akaashi being held hostage. They played coy, directing them in the path of the castle as they didn’t know who the mayor was and off that party went to perform their honorable duty of saving the man they just spoke to.

“Do you think they’ll be alright?” Tetsurou asked, his hand resting comfortably on Keiji’s waist, “we’re not sending them to their deaths, are we?”

“Since when did Captain Kuroo care about the welfare of anyone who wasn’t in his crew?”

Tetsurou grinned at that as he tugged Keiji closer, perhaps they’d spend the rest of the remaining winter here... Tetsurou could use some down time from actively being a menace to the seas.