— he sees him the way no one else does
he loves him the way no one else loves
together whether in the future or in the past
together, they will forever last —
The sea was calm. Gently kissing Kim's skin and singing a soothing melody, making him feel like everything was right. His life was at peace and he felt like there was nothing to worry about. He was happy. It was like the purest form of happiness was growing inside of him and there was nothing that could change that. Ever. But then the waters turned savage, the waves were throwing Kim from one side to the other, trying to pull him down under the water and never let him go again. And then, he heard it, that voice so warm and gentle. Kim hadn't heard that voice in years. His mother.
'You will come back, my son. But beware the danger is waiting for you. The danger won't let you escape. Let the boy help. Let him guide you. He knows. Even if he isn't aware. He knows.'
Kim couldn't breathe. His lungs were burning, as if full of water, they didn't let him take a breath. Caughting, he woke up, his body shooting into a sitting position. It was dark. Middle of the night. And he wasn't at the ocean. He was in Chay's room. He was safe. They were safe. He took a couple of deep breaths, realising that he could breathe just fine all this time. He could breathe all along; it was all just a dream. But his mother's voice. It sounded so real. Kim missed his mother's voice. Badly. Hearing it after so long... it was like something cracked inside of him and a broken sob left his body before he could stop it. He turned around. He didn't want to wake Chay up. Didn't want Chay to see him like that.
But it was too late. Chay was already up, slowly sneaking his arms around Kim's waist. Placing his chin on Kim's shoulder, he sniff-kissed Kim's cheek, "what's wrong, captain? Bad dream?"
"I'm not a child. I don't cry because of a bad dream," Kim scoffed through his tears.
"It's okay, you can tell me. I won't judge. I promise," Chay whispered.
Kim shook his head, "go back to sleep. I don't want you to see me like that."
Chay placed a kiss on Kim's shoulder and moved a little to be able to see into Kim's face, "nothing's gonna change between us if I'll see you like this, Kim. You aren't just a pirate to me. First and foremost you are my partner. The man I love. I won't love you less if I see your vulnerable side. If anything, I'll love you more."
"I don't deserve you," Kim sighed.
"Oh yes, you do," Chay smiled and pecked Kim's lips. Not pulling away, he asked, "want to tell me what happened?"
"Do you believe in... I don't know... warnings in the form of dreams?" Kim asked.
"Well," Chay pouted, "my boyfriend is a pirate from the 18th century sitting, on my bed in the 21st century. Yeah, I don't really have a reason not to believe other weird things. Why? What did you dream about?"
"I heard my mother's voice. I hadn't heard her voice for so long, but I swear that it was her, Chay." Kim looked right into Chay's eyes, "I swear it was her!"
Chay cupped Kim's cheek and nodded, "I believe you. What did she say?"
"In short?" Kim took a deep breath. "That we'll find the way back, but there's a danger waiting for me, and I should follow you because you know... she didn't say what, but you know. But you don't know that you know..."
Chay raised his eyebrow, "Kim..."
"I know. I know that it sounds ridiculous," Kim shook his head. "And that's not the reason I... cried.." Kim wiped away his tears. They were slowly drying on his skin. "I just haven't heard her for so long..."
"That's okay," Chay pulled Kim into his arms and kissed his forehead. "That's okay; I like my captain soft, emotional, and pliant in my arms."
Kim laughed and said, "you can't tell this to anyone!"
"Of course, not. I don't share," Chay pulled Kim into the kiss, tongue teasingly flicking over Kim's lips and moaning when Kim deepened the kiss pushing him back to the sheets.
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
In the morning, Kim was sitting on the bed, looking at his reflection in a small round mirror that he found lying on Chay's desk while Chay was getting ready for their date at the museum.
Kim was already dressed. And looking at himself in the mirror, he almost felt like he was wearing his usual pirate clothes. The white silk shirt that Chay gave him was gentle on his skin, his hair was falling in waves into his face, and there was also a necklace with a pearl, adorning his neck. Kim didn't know why this small reflection of him captivated him more than the reflection of himself he could see in the full-body mirror standing right on the other side of the room. Something about how close this reflection was to him. How he could see his face clearly... Somewhere in that face was the face of his father and his mother. Kim could barely remember what his father looked like. At this point, it was hard to tell for him whether he looked more like his father or his mother. Sometimes he wondered how much he even knew himself.
But this face. His face, was also what Chay saw every time he looked at him. This was the face Chay liked, right? It had to be a good face then...
"Admiring your handsome face?" Chay sat down next to Kim and wrapped one arm around Kim's shoulders.
Their eye met in the mirror when Kim asked, "you think I'm handsome?"
Laughing, Chay looked at Kim, expecting Kim to be smiling teasingly, but Kim wasn't smiling at all. He was just watching Chay, waiting for his answer. So, Chay stopped laughing and asked, "are you kidding? Kim, seriously, look at yourself. You are the most handsome man I have ever seen."
Kim chuckled, relieved, "if you say that, then I have to believe it."
Chay grinned, "you should because it's true. And now," Chay took the mirror from Kim, "time to meet you in the museum."
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
"When I looked you up on the internet all sources said that the year of your death and the place of it are unknown. It's like you disappeared into thin air," Chay said when he and Kim stood in front of the museum.
"I don't know what 'looked up on the internet' means," Kim said. He didn't even have an idea what the internet was. But what Chay just said didn't sound reassuring at all. No one knew when he died and how he died? Why?
"Ummm," Chay bit his bottom lip, thinking how to explain what he meant. "Let's say I looked at the sources from all over the world and I found nothing. Not even a weird legend or something. So... let's hope that maybe we'll find something in this museum because if not... that might mean one thing. And I don't know if you want to hear that—"
"If there's no source of when and how I died, there's a possibility that I didn't die in the 18th century, but here," Kim said, nodding his head.
"Maybe," Chay squeezed Kim's hand, "but it doesn't have to be the case. It's just a possibility. Don't dwell on it too much, okay?"
"It's weird to talk about something like this," Kim smiled, "I'm here with you, alive. And I plan to stay that way for a long time. Whether we learn something here or not, I'll just enjoy the time we have here together because my partner loves pirates and I can't wait to see him all excited."
"That's flirting. Stop that!" Chay blushed.
Kim shook his head, "no, I don't think I will..."
"Kim!"
"Yes, darlin'?"
Chay turned away from Kim, "whatever. Let's go inside."
Laughing, Kim followed Chay inside.
Not even two minutes after they went in, Kim was told by two different people that he looked like the Phantom of the Pirate—the legendary pirate captain of the 18th century.
"If they only knew," Chay whispered into Kim's ear, making them both giggle quietly.
"But how do they know how I look?" Kim frowned.
"I think it's because of this..." Chay pointed at the series of drawings that were safely kept on display in a glass cabinet on their left.
There was Kim on each of those drawings. On the deck of one of his ships. Looking at the horizon. In his cabin, looking down at his treasure map. Or just simply his face framed with his beautiful hair. And on some drawings, he wore a necklace... the same necklace he had on right now...
"That's... me," Kim breathed out. "But I never let anyone draw me."
"Not yet," Chay said, his eyes focused on the faded signature in the corner of each piece of drawing. "But you will let me..."
"You? You draw me?"
Chay looked at Kim and smiled, "I told you that you are handsome."
"Chay..." Kim didn't know what to say. Those drawings—it was like seeing himself through Chay's eyes and he liked it, he liked the way Chay saw him. He really did.
Chay gave Kim a side hug and kissed his cheek, "do you want to leave?"
"No, I'm good. You look quite obsessed with me," Kim cocked his head towards the drawings and smirked.
"That's because I am," Chay said casually and pulled Kim to another glass cabinet on the other side of the room. "Let's go, captain. Let's see what's in... here... oh god."
To be continued...
P.S. What did Chay find? 🧐