Collection Title: In Any World||Title: Pirate
Romance: Yubel x Juudai/Juudai x Yubel (technically Yubel x Juudai x Johan)
Word Count: 5,802||Collection Count: 3/5
Genre: Romance, Adventure||Rated: PG-13
Challenges: Diversity Writing Challenge, J21, one-shot collection where the oneshots are not in 100% agreement with each other (can't exist in the same canon); One Pairing Boot Camp, #27, memory; Another AU Challenge; Advent 2016, day #9, Another AU Challenge; YGOTP month, week #3, prompt: into the dark; Word Count Set Boot Camp, #48, 5,802
Notes: This takes place in an AU. Each fic of this collection will take place in a different AU. Also, I use 'they/them' pronouns for Yubel. I think I gave them a happy ending? They're happy, anyway. Also, the major characters are about in their early 20s or so.
Summary: Taken by a pirate captain, Juudai's memories turn things from what could've been a nightmare to a dream come true.
Prince Juudai stared up into the darkness over his head. At least it would be darkness if he were anyone but himself. Since he was himself, he knew it was dark, but he could see as clearly as if it were daylight anyway.
He was supposed to be asleep. It was night; most of the crew were in their beds anyway, with just enough people to keep the ship going safely. Captain Samejima insisted on treating his sailors fairly, which meant unless it was some kind of emergency, people got to sleep regular hours.
Juudai guessed he should just stay in bed and keep his eyes closed until he fell asleep. What else was he going to do around here?
He didn't. He wriggled to his feet and padded up to the deck, silent as a cat in his bare feet, and so very glad that there weren't any splinters in this floor. Again, Samejima kept his ship as clean and perfect as one would expect from a vessel in the royal fleet, one carrying the royal prince at that.
Silence held everything up there on deck in a peaceful embrace. Stars spread across the night sky, tiny twinkles of diamonds against the velvet shadows. No pearl for the moon, not tonight: it was the dark of the moon.
Juudai loved it. It couldn't have been more perfect for him if he'd set out to create this night himself. Maybe he had, once. If he had, he didn't remember it, and wasn't bothered by that fact.
He ghosted his way over to the railings and stared out into the deep night. It lacked hours until sunrise but for all most people could've told, sunrise might never come. Every deep and dark and quiet…
And then not so quiet. The sound of booted feet hitting the deck, the scrape of metal on metal...but no voices. No voices at all, and that sent a fell chill down Juudai's back.
He opened his mouth to sound an alarm, but before he could, a firm hand laid itself across his mouth and a blade as sharp as the bite of the north wind rested against his throat.
"You really don't want to say anything, your Highness," a male voice spoke. Juudai could feel the press of a body against him, warm even through leather armor, and full of hard muscle. "Please be very co operative and we won't kill more of your people than we need to."
There were plenty of people who would've been a great deal more subdued by those words than Juudai was. He made no sudden moves, but he closed his eyes and began to focus his power, feeling the shadows stir to his call.
He wasn't as good at this as he wanted to be, as people told him that he would have to be in order to protect others. If he'd studied more, trained more, then perhaps all that happened afterward might not have.
Or perhaps it would. No one knows every twist and turn that the world may take.
But he hadn't and the shadows did not move fast enough to his will and there were other footsteps in front of him but he ignored those, focusing on what he needed to do…
Until something closed around his neck and the shadows weren't there anymore!
Juudai's eyes flashed open to see a face that he could not have said he recognized, but which still sent a jolt of surprise familiarity all through him. He could not have placed it as male or female, as whoever's face it was seemed to partake of both. They wore dark armor, black leather and chased with gold, not enough to interfere with fighting, but enough so that anyone who saw this person could know they didn't face an ordinary fighter.
"That should keep you under control, Your Highness," the stranger said, a satisfied tilt to their lips and tone in their voice. "Johan, take him back to the ship. I'll be along shortly after I get the rest of the treasure."
The guy behind Juudai – apparently Johan – bent his head. "Got it, Captain. Up or down?"
The Captain considered Juudai, a sort of look in their eyes that he wasn't sure if he like – and in all truth he wasn't sure if he didn't like it at the same time – before answering.
"Up. But chained. I don't trust him even with the collar on."
Again Johan bent his head. "Got it." Then his tone changed ever so slightly, far more mischievous in a way that Juudai knew he liked and told himself he shouldn't because he was getting kidnapped by pirates, even if they were unfairly attractive pirates. At least their captain was; he couldn't get a good look at the one holding him. But his voice sounded attractive anyway, especially when he spoke this time.
"Two or three?"
The Captain considered one more time and a spark that sent Juudai's insides whirling threw itself all through him. "Three. And the good oil." Another pause that didn't do anything at all to soothe Juudai's confusion and worried. "And make sure he has a good bath first."
Juudai had no idea of how to process any of that before he was dragged off of the ship and across a plank he hadn't seen before. Two sailors he didn't recognize – probably from the pirate crew – stood on his own ship, weapons at the ready, but moving aside when Johan pulled him closer. Both of them smirked at him, and Juudai held his head up high and glared at them. Prisoner or no prisoner, he wasn't just a prince, he was Darkness incarnate and he wouldn't bend his head for anyone.
Johan's fingers brushed against the back of his neck. "Be nice, boys. If the Captain likes him as much as I think, you shouldn't get on his bad side. And I know you have one, don't you, Your Highness?"
The tone could've been mocking, but it wasn't. Johan genuinely sounded as if he knew what Juudai was capable of.
Juudai didn't give an answer, though. Johan chuckled and kept on pushing him until they were on the ship. His grip on Juudai was a lot stronger than Juudai would've thought a pirate's would be, rendering struggling and escape far more difficult. The collar didn't help either; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't touch the shadows, nor did they respond to him in any fashion. To someone who'd been able to whisper to the dark from the moment he'd achieved consciousness, it was like losing a part of himself.
"Where'd you get this thing?" He wanted to know as Johan moved him further onto the ship. "How does it do that?" As far as he knew, it shouldn't have even been possible. How could something tie him down? At least something that wasn't…
No, that couldn't be. He knew the taint of the Light when he encountered it. This was something else altogether.
Johan only laughed. "Come on, do you really think I'm going to tell you that? We're pirates. That doesn't make us stupid, Your Highness."
Juudai rolled his eyes, going along as he was directed. He didn't care what they had in mind, because whatever they did, he'd survive it, and get back home sooner or later. Killing him wouldn't do any good. He'd just reincarnate a little farther down the line, and if he remembered them – he couldn't be sure if he would or not, reincarnation and memories could get tricky – then he'd come for revenge if he thought he needed to.
He found himself being pushed into what could only be the Captain's personal quarters. Rows of books lined one wall, along with various instruments fairly similar to some he'd seen in Samejima's quarters when he'd visited him there. But what caught his attention the most turned out to be the large, soft bed, spread in sheets and blankets at least as good as the ones on his bed back in the palace. Maybe even slightly better.
It caught his attention not just for how rich and pleasant it was, but because that was where Johan pushed him.
"What do you think you're doing?" Juudai wanted to know, now starting to pull back and not having a lot of luck. He'd attended his sword-training regularly, but Johan still was stronger than he was. Maybe the collar had something to do with it.
"Just what my Captain wanted me to do," Johan said. Now Juudai twisted around enough to get a good look at his captor. Words failed him almost at once.
Johan and the Captain looked enough alike one another that he wouldn't have been surprised to find out they were kin. Stranger to tell, they both resembled one of the sailors on Juudai's own ship. Rune, he thought the other's name was. But Johan's features were slightly more masculine, unlike the Captain's perfect balance, and he was smiling, in a way that made Juudai even more unbalanced than he'd been before.
"Like what you see?" Johan teased before he shoved Juudai closer to the bed. "I know that the Captain and I do."
Juudai's mouth worked, sliding down onto the bed as much from Johan's push as from his sudden inability to remain on his feet. "What?"
"What?" Johan looked back at him. "You couldn't tell?"
Juudai rolled his eyes at once. "I met both of you about ten minutes ago, nothing you've said made a bit of sense, and you're kidnapping me. That isn't exactly what I'd call 'liking what you see'."
"You need to get out more," Johan deadpanned before he stuck his head out the door. "Captain wants a bath set up in here! Fast, they'll be back from looting soon enough."
Juudai could hear people scrambling around, but didn't get a chance to figure out what they were doing before Johan turned back to him.
"Get out of those clothes." He didn't move an inch but kept his arms folded over his chest. For all of his amused tones, there wasn't a hint of backing down either. "And do it fast. The bath'll be ready soon and the Captain wants you ready by then."
"Ready for what?" Juudai didn't so much as move a muscle. He saw no reason to. He wasn't going to give them what they wanted, no matter what they did to them.
Johan smiled before he set one finger under Juudai's chin and tilted his head up. "Captain would be furious with me if I stole your first kiss. Or your first anything. Captain's wanted that for a long, long time. As long as I've known them. Probably longer."
"What's that got to do with anything?" Juudai demanded. Johan stared at him, hints of anger flickering in his jewel-bright eyes before they faded away to amusement.
"You really don't know, do you?" He shook his head. "Captain Yubel's in love with you, Prince Juudai. Told me that you two knew each other when you were kids, but -" He stopped and shook his head again. "Can't say it. It's for them to tell you. But the Captain's been after you for a long time and now that we've got you… I wouldn't expect to see Kuragari for a long time if I were you. Maybe not ever."
Juudai wasn't certain if he properly heard anything Johan said after 'Yubel'. The name rocketed through his mind, sending shivers and thrills and chills all at the same time through him. He swallowed and shuddered.
"Yubel?" The whisper was barely loud enough to be heard. "Yubel is the Captain?"
The pirate Captain who'd ordered him kidnapped, who loved him, who wanted his first kiss and his first everything…
As he'd promised, so long ago…
Before Johan could form a reply, the door opened. At first Juudai wondered if it were Yubel, but it was only a half-dozen sailors there with a large bathtub, which they rapidly filled with steaming hot water, then all hurried out, no one giving a look to Juudai or Johan.
"Take the clothes off, get in," Johan ordered, and this time, Juudai was too dazed and amazed to really protest. He slipped into the hot water, still trying to get all of this new information wrapped around his brain in a way that made sense.
Yubel was a pirate. Yubel was a pirate captain.
Yubel was alive.
Yubel remembered their promise from long ago.
Every memory surged back, sharp-edged and bright.
Yubel, wanting to go on a voyage to have adventures and prove worthy of Juudai.
Juudai, telling them over and over that it wasn't necessary at all, that he didn't care what anyone said, he'd vowed once to love only Yubel and he meant it now and then and forever.
Yubel insisting; they came from a poor family line, only just qualifying for knighthood by the slimmest of conventions, and no one would allow their marriage if Yubel didn't prove worthy and Yubel wouldn't let people bother him by insisting that he should choose someone else.
Yubel promising that they would return one day and they would be together forever, then.
Juudai promising that he would kiss no one who wasn't Yubel, let alone marry them.
Every kiss was for Yubel, for now and forever and for all time to come. No one could stop him there. No one could take that from him.
Yubel waving from the ship they'd hired, spending the last of what remained of the family money to staff it with sailors and a few soldiers.
A few letters exchanged, not nearly as much as Juudai would've liked.
Then...the last letter, not from Yubel but from a messenger in a far-off city.
A storm, they said, a storm that no one could have predicted, that sank a dozen ships from a dozen nations, and from Kuragari, it sank the one upon which Yubel sailed.
No survivors. Nothing salvaged.
Juudai didn't break his vow, then or ever. His uncle, ruling the kingdom since the untimely death years earlier of Juudai's parents, tried to insist that he move on, get over it, find someone new, he would be king one day, so he would need to marry someone.
Juudai never did. Not once.
The door slammed open and Juudai jerked out of his memories, head snapping around to see a figure he could've sworn he would never see again standing in the doorway. Now he knew why he'd felt that way when he first saw the Captain. He'd not let himself think about Yubel for years, moving on in his own way. He would meet Yubel again, he'd told himself many times. He knew he'd be reborn one day and so would Yubel, and they'd meet again then, somehow. They always did.
He hadn't expected it to be like this.
Yubel didn't wear the armor now, but there wasn't a hint of softness in how they moved toward him. Instead, Yubel looked ready to pull out a weapon and behead him on the spot. He didn't think he would've tried to stop it if that happened.
"Juudai." Yubel's hand reached out to him and caught him by the chin. He didn't move, still sunk to his shoulders in cooling off water. "You're taller."
"So are you," he murmured, or tried to. Speaking wasn't easy with his chin held like that. Yubel snorted.
"Get out of there. And don't give us any trouble."
Juudai wanted to say so much, to try to explain so much, to ask what had happened and why wasn't Yubel dead… not that he wanted Yubel to be dead at all, but he wanted to know why it hadn't happened.
What he did was get out of the tub and present himself to Johan, who looked more like he wanted to start laughing than anything else. Instead, he tugged Juudai back to the bed and raised his arms over his head, fastening them into manacles set in there.
Juudai decided that while he really wanted to know what happened to Yubel, he didn't want to know why their bed included manacles. If that was the sort of thing Yubel was into these days, then he thought he could cope. He just wasn't certain if he wanted to find out how that kind of thing happened.
Yubel settled on the bed next to him. They wore a simple tunic, much like what they usually wore in Kuragari back in the old days, but instead of the gentle expression of friendship and love they'd borne back then, rage still burned bright in those fondly remembered eyes.
Johan rested a hand on Yubel's shoulder from where he also sat on the bed. "He doesn't know," he murmured, his words setting some of the rage at ease. "He's not going to know, until you tell him. I don't think he even properly remembered you until I said your name."
"I didn't!" Juudai declared, taking a chance to get things explained in a way that made sense. "Yubel, we got word about the storm and how it sank the ship with all of you on it. What happened? Did you get shipwrecked somewhere?"
For a few seconds no one said anything at all, least of all Yubel. What Juudai heard when Yubel did speak wasn't at all what he expected.
"Storm? Shipwreck?" A broken, bitter laugh. "Juudai, that ship was packed with people loyal to your uncle. He wanted to get rid of me so he could use you to make an advantageous marriage: one that would suit his purposes. He knew as long as I was around, you'd never do that, so when I wanted to leave, it was like handing him a prize on a golden platter. He paid off everyone that I thought I hired, and the ship practically sailed right to Slaver's Bay."
Juudai's mouth worked, but nothing intelligent at all came out of it. He'd heard of Slaver's Bay before. No one knew where it was; magicians kept it hidden from the law-enforcers who wanted to clear it out. But it was the center of the slave trade in this part of the world.
"I thought it was going to be a grand adventure. We would clean out the whole mess." Yubel's head shook slowly. "I didn't even get breakfast that morning before the captain had me chained up and on the block."
Juudai's first reaction was to try to leap forward and hold Yubel. The very idea of anyone, let alone Yubel, being treated like that sickened him. And for it to have gone on for who knew how long…
Yubel's grip tightened on him before he could do more than shift his weight. "It took three years before I could get away. It would've taken longer if I didn't find Johan and Rune."
Rune? Juudai blinked; that was the guy who looked like Johan. His gaze shifted over to Johan, who remained in touching distance of Yubel all this time.
"Rune is my twin brother," Johan said. "A cousin of ours died and left us Yubel in their will. Neither one of us really wanted a slave, so we asked what Yubel wanted to do and how we could help."
A slice of a terrifying smile across Yubel's features sent chills all through Juudai. "I wanted revenge. I wanted to take something away from your uncle that he valued as much as what he had me taken away from: you. And the only way I could do it was to be a pirate: to steal little treasures until I worked my way up to the big one." Again that grip tightened and there was more than a hint of madness in Yubel's eyes. "To you."
Juudai wasn't sure of how much of that he understood, but he thought he had the basics down: his uncle lied to him, his uncle enslaved Yubel – and probably profited off of that as well – and now Yubel was back in his life and probably wasn't nearly as well put together as they had been when they'd been growing up in Kuragari together.
"Do you remember our promise, Juudai?" Yubel murmured, staring down at him. Their hand moved from holding his chin to caressing the side of his cheek. "I haven't let anyone else touch me all this time." Another slash of a smile, one richer and prouder than before. "They tried. I killed them with my bare hands."
"I kept my promise," Juudai said, looking up to meet those glorious eyes. "I only want you, Yubel. I always have." He shook his head. "Uncle tried to convince me otherwise, but I never let him. I knew I'd find you again, sooner or later." His gaze flicked to Johan for a second, who appeared to be watching this with great amusement.
"I think you'll like him, too," Yubel murmured, drawing his attention back to them. "I told him everything about you. We've planned to share you for over a year now."
Juudai blinked a few more times at that. "Share me?" That wasn't in the promise. That one would take some adjustment. A lot of it.
"Yes. We can go into details on it later. But I approve of him. He helped me learn about being a pirate and he's supported me no matter what." Yubel turned toward Johan, a kind of smile on those lips that Juudai hadn't ever seen before. "He's my best friend."
Johan leaned closer. "Likewise."
Juudai thought he wanted to know a lot more about this, but Yubel looked back at him and traced his lips with one finger. That made a lot of his thoughts shut down almost at once.
It had been a long, long time since he'd been in a bed with anyone. He and Yubel hadn't done more than hold each other in those days anyway. But now he didn't have a stitch on and Yubel's tunic would be gone soon enough, he knew, and though Johan had armor on… no, no, he didn't. When had that happened?
"You're mine, Juudai," Yubel murmured. "Sworn and promised, in blood and by the darkness you are. Your uncle may have tried to keep us apart, but our love is stronger than his greed. Isn't it?"
Even if Juudai wanted to deny that, he couldn't. He nodded instead. Then he glanced up at the manacles. "Do we need these?"
He'd been separated from Yubel for a long time, but he could still read some of those expressions, he thought. Yubel was considering leaving them!?
Then Yubel's hand reached up and undid the bindings. "I had those because I didn't know if you'd truly remember me or not, or how you'd react." Then their hand reached down to unfasten the collar. "You still need to learn to move faster. You're not much better at using your power than you were when I left."
Juudai could not help but give Yubel a very annoyed look. "I've had other things on my mind!"
"Such as?"
He opened his mouth, tried to remember what he'd done, and nothing that seemed as important as learning to use his power because it would make Yubel happy and because he would need to do it came to mind. They'd all seemed important at the time: trying to forget the pain of Yubel no longer in his life, the way that his uncle kept urging him to be like 'other boys' and how he'd gone out of his way to avoid doing that…
He ducked his head. "Missing you, mostly."
Yubel drew him closer and this time didn't stop him when Juudai wrapped his arms tight around the one he loved and brought their lips together.
It was everything that he'd ever imagined it would be and more besides. He'd dreamed so many times about Yubel being lost and waiting for him, wanting him to come and he hadn't, wanting to get to him and not being able to. Now he wondered how much of those dreams had been dreams and how much could be said to spawn from the ties that wove them together even now.
Then he let all of that slide out of his mind, shifted closer, and drank in Yubel's lips as Yubel drank in his own.
Yubel finally moved back a little, only enough so that they could speak clearly. "I'm the captain of this ship, Juudai. I can marry us if you want."
Juudai was still trying to get his head around that sweetest of kisses. He rubbed his forehead a little, then brightened as the sense of it sank in.
"Married? You still want to?"
"I didn't take over a pirate ship, sail the seas of the world, and become one of the most feared pirate captains you'll ever see all because I didn't have anything better to do with my time," Yubel said, a hint of familiar dryness there. "We made a promise. I want to keep it."
He looked at Yubel then at Johan. Johan, who'd Yubel called best friend, who Yubel said would share him, and who just kept watching with a very amused expression, as if this were all some sort of entertainment just for him.
"We can bring Johan into it later, once you know him better," Yubel promised, pulling Juudai's attention back. "Though he can join in tonight if he wants."
"I'll see if anything looks interesting," Johan said.
Juudai wondered just what these two had done that made them treat each other like this was all perfectly normal. He had so much that he needed to get caught up on with Yubel.
But he still needed to answer the question. "Yes, Yubel. Yes, I want to keep our promise. All of them. I want to marry you." There'd never been a chance of anyone else for him, not since the first time they'd met. He hadn't known it then, hadn't know it for some years to come, but when Juudai fell, he fell hard and fast and forever.
"Then by my authority as the Captain of this vessel, with my First Mate as witness, I declare us married. Do you agree to this?"
It wasn't exactly the wedding that he'd expected, but Juudai hadn't ever thought his life would be like anyone else's. He nodded, still more than a little amazed at how his life changed in a handful of time.
Then Yubel's lips rested on his again and he returned the kiss with a hunger and a thirst he'd just barely managed to convince himself that he'd never feel satisfied of again and Yubel's hands moved to places no one had touched in seven years and his mouth fell open, a passionate moan falling out.
Coherent thought hadn't been Juudai's strong suit. It wasn't any better as he moved closer to Yubel, but he didn't care. Old information bubbled up from the depths of his mind and he started to kiss here and there, remembering old places and finding new ones. Yubel returned it, each touch of hands and whisper of breath sending his desires and his passion spiraling higher and higher.
Somewhere in there he forgot that Johan was there at all; or perhaps Johan left; Juudai didn't know and soon enough he didn't care, not with Yubel next to him, skin to skin, heart to heart, breath to breath, as they hadn't been and he'd never dreamed they would be again.
No matter how much he breathed, Juudai wasn't certain if he got all the air he needed, not with the way Yubel's touch made him yearn for more and arch into that embrace, hoping that his did the same for Yubel and from everything he could see it did, but he'd never been good at taking deep, personal notes, so he just had to go off of what he thought and how Yubel moved more against him.
Somewhere in there, in the middle of heat and passion and shadows and the kind of light that made him feel whole instead of wary, he cried out Yubel's name, and Yubel's voice echoed with his, and it wasn't over, it was only an intermission, punctuated by a few pieces of fresh fruit – and Yubel would only say that being a Pirate Captain had certain advantages – and water to soothe both of their throats.
Somewhere in all of that, they ended up in each other's arms, warm and content, and Juudai nuzzled against Yubel, Yubel's hands going through his hair.
He didn't want to move. He didn't want to go anywhere that wasn't here, or wherever Yubel ended up being. Nothing else meant anything to him but Yubel. Nothing else ever really had. He could pretend for a while, for years if he needed to, but now that he lay in this warm and exceedingly comfortable bed, Yubel flank to flank with him, he couldn't think of anything short of the world being destroyed that would get him up from here.
"I love you," he murmured. "I'm staying here with you."
His uncle wasn't a bad king. If they were any other family, if he were someone who wasn't him, then he probably wouldn't have minded mourning and marrying someone who wasn't Yubel. But he wasn't someone else.
I never wanted to be king, anyway. He didn't think he would be very good at it, either.
Yubel's arms held him close. "I love you, too. And I don't want you to go." They weren't done. He could still tell that cadence in their voice. "But what about Kuragari?"
He explained what he'd just thought and Yubel nodded in thought. Then he could all but feel a smile. "Would you like to be co-First Mates with Johan?"
"A pirate?" He hadn't given that much thought. He'd just sort of imagined them living somewhere that wasn't Kuragari and being… people.
"Your uncle deserves punishment. He might not be a bad king, but he's the one who sent me out here. And you are justice. It's your job to do things like this."
That was Yubel for you. Always reminding him of his duty to the world. He sighed. Even if it annoyed him, he knew Yubel was right. It might not involve taking his uncle from power but he would have to understand that he couldn't do this kind of thing.
"So what do we do and can we talk about it later?" This was their wedding night. Juudai could think of so many other points that he wanted to refresh himself on with Yubel that weren't politics or boring. He shifted around to kiss Yubel again, hoping to encourage that line of thought.
Perhaps he succeeded, because Yubel leaned over to kiss him as well.
"I have an idea or two. But those can wait until later."
Just the words Juudai wanted to hear.
When they finally made it out of the captain's cabin, there wasn't a sailor on board who would look either of them in the eye. It took Juudai a few moments to grasp why and it was Johan who put it into words anyway.
"The Captain's cabin isn't soundproofed. And neither one of you are quiet people."
Oh. Oh. Oh.
After that, Juudai needed some effort before he could look anyone in the face himself. Thankfully most of these were pirates and he wasn't too bothered by that in the first place. But seeing Rune there meant there as at least one person he sort of knew who now knew what he sounded like… like that.
Rune, he learned, had been a spy on his ship, sending word via magical communications to his twin and his captain of when the best time to attack the ship would be. He'd come over to the pirate vessel once it was all settled.
"What about everyone else?" Juudai wanted to know. Whether or not he returned to Kuragari, he wanted them to be safe. Johan had said some very dangerous things that night…
Yubel shook their head and for a moment cold fear gripped him. "They're all right. We did take the treasure you were carrying, though." Another of those mischievous grins lit up. "You can consider it your dowry if you like."
Johan and Rune both rolled their eyes, while Juudai sputtered, trying to put things he didn't now into words. Yubel kept on going.
"I did send a message via Samejima that I had you and I wouldn't give you back." Yubel's lips quirked. "That was all right, wasn't it?"
Juudai kind of considered face palming before he sighed in a flicker of amusement. "Sure. But what else do we do about him?"
"We terrify him," Johan said without hesitation. "From what I've seen, he really wants to keep hold of the throne, which is why he wants you to marry someone else. I mean, legally speaking, you're the proper heir, until you pass it to another person. He wanted you to get married so you could have a niece or nephew, someone of his blood, to pass it to after him one day. Yubel couldn't do that."
That had always been one of his uncle's issues with Yubel: not just the lack of a high noble bloodline – which Juudai never cared about – but the fact Yubel and Juudai, for a multitude of reasons, wouldn't be able to have children together.
"So, now that you and Yubel are reunited, he's going to worry that you're going to find a way to get him off his throne: do it. But let him know that's what you've got in mind, so he can be terrified until the person you want gets there."
He toyed with his wine goblet. "He wants the throne and the kingdom but by foul means. Make him pay for it the only way that makes sense: by taking it from him legally. Choose an heir of your own. Make sure they get put into place. If he tries to stand against them, then he's a traitor and can be executed legally."
Juudai stared, jaw hanging. "How do you know all of these politics?"
Johan smiled, the image mirrored by Rune. "Remind me to tell you about our adopted father one day. Brron, the Mad King."
Juudai had heard of Brron before and how he died to mysterious circumstances. He wondered if he were looking at 'mysterious circumstances' right now.
Then Yubel took his hand and Johan took the other one, and the three smiled at one another. He didn't know Johan very well yet but he looked forward to learning more about him.
He also looked forward to dispensing royal justice, so he could get on with his happy ending.
The End
Note: Well, that's three down and two more to go. Despite how slow I've been with these, I've enjoyed writing them. Coming up with a different AU and situation each time is rather fun, if a bit stressful with even the vague time limit given by the ygotp month. At any rate, any thoughts on what kind of an AU I'll come up with next? As a teaser, I'll be using the prompts of 'sleep' and 'celebration'. Unless I change my mind on those ;)