Author's Note
Hi, this is a prucan pirate fic. There will most likely be dialogue in various languages (including: French, German and occasional others), the translations for these will always be at the bottom of each chapter. Please note that this fic is rated M for a reason. Also, I love suggestion for pairings or even ideas for plot. There will also be mentions of other pairings.
Please favorite,follow and review ! It is always greatly appreciated !(Really you have no idea how happy reviews make me)
Enjoy,
ThePirateChick484
Chapter One
Nearly four months after Matthew had treated the thirteen year old girl on the slave trader boat he found himself aboard The Black Mirage, a pirate ship.
Matthew sat on the stool, fighting the lethargy he felt. It had been close to forty-eight hours since he'd had any sleep—or even a moment's reprieve—and his body just couldn't give him any more.
"Looks like that was our last patient," Elizaveta told him as she walked back into the medical bay. The woman still bounced with energy, despite the fact that she'd been dealing with patients alongside Matthew for the last two days. "You look like hell," she said with a smile on her face.
"Well, thank you, that makes me feel so much better." Matthew laughed tiredly. Elizaveta was married to the ship's captain Roderich and had been able to help with the influx of seriously wounded patients. They'd come across the freighter after a vicious attack and most of its crew had been left seriously injured.
Elizaveta's first aid skills had saved a lot of lives today and Matthew felt very grateful for the help. He didn't know where Elizaveta's knowledge of medicine came from, but considering they were all currently crew on a pirate ship, it was probably better that she remain in the dark.
"Go get some sleep," Elizaveta said, smiling.
"I'll wake you if something comes up that I can't handle."
"What about you? You haven't slept either," Matthew said, concern for the woman's health overriding his own needs.
"Yeah, well I've learned a few tricks over the years," she said, smiling.
"But I can guarantee that I will sleep for a very long time once I stand down. Go, before I make my husband order you to bed."
Matthew laughed then. Despite the fact that Elizaveta's husband, Roderich, was the captain of this pirate ship and was kinda acted like he had a stick shoved up his ass sometimes, he was the most honorable and generous man he'd ever met.
He had never given Matthew an order in the two months since his crew rescued him and many other people from the slave ship. Many of the captives stayed and joined his crew and now he ran his ship like a family. Everyone had a function and a purpose and he'd somehow blended a myriad of skills into a workable team.
"Okay, Elizaveta," he conceded, despite the empty threat.
"I'll grab a few hours' sleep and then I expect you to do the same. That, my friend, is an order from your doctor."
Elizaveta grinned and saluted him cheekily before she turned to leave the room.
Suddenly tired beyond anything he'd ever felt before, Matthew climbed onto one of the unoccupied medical beds and fell quickly asleep.
Gilbert sauntered into the medical bay, hoping to run into his favorite doctor. His brother, Ludwig, followed not far behind. The good doctor had been on the ship for less than two months, but he felt an irresistible attraction to the petite man and for the life of him, he couldn't explain why.
"Gilbert, what's going on?" Ludwig whispered softly as he saw Matthew's sleeping figure. Curled up on one of the medical beds, he looked small, tired, and very, very beautiful. Dark smudges showed clearly against his pale face, testament to how hard he'd worked over the last two days.
Every instinct Gilbert owned clawed at him to protect Matthew, to gather him in his arms and never let him go. He barely managed to hold himself back.
Oh, what was wrong with him? He didn't get it. Why he felt this odd sort of connection to Matthew was odd, because other than Francis and Antonio, Gilbert didn't really have many male friends, the rest were all girls and that was mostly to get into their pants.
Ludwig glanced up from his perusal of the doctor's sleeping form. Gilbert knew what he was thinking. He had enough skill in empathy to sense his brother's deep disquiet.
Ludwig glared at Matthew. He hesitated a moment and then he spun on his heel and left the room, his back rigid, walking stiffly. It seemed that there was nothing going on so Ludwig did not feel the need to stay.
Gilbert was about to leave when Matthew's eyes fluttered open.
"Gilbert?" Matthew asked tiredly as he struggled to sit up.
"Is everything okay? Does someone need me?"
He shook his head and smiled at Matthew and encouraged him to return to his rest.
"I'm sorry I woke you. I just wanted to make sure that you have enough medical supplies."
"I'm running low on antibiotics," he said quietly,
"but otherwise I'm still fairly well stocked from the last delivery you gave me."
"Good," Gilbert said as he nodded.
"I'll see what I can do to get more in our next delivery." He smiled when he said it. 'Delivery' was a polite euphemism for how they actually got supplies for the ship. It was a pirate ship, after all.
Not stopping to consider his actions, Gilbert gently pushed Matthew back onto the medical bed. "Sleep now. I'll wake you if we need you." he said and Matthew closed his eyes and Gilbert reached out to smooth a lock of strawberry blonde hair from his eyes before he could tell himself not to.
Matthew blushed and smiled for a brief moment and then fell back to sleep.
He sat there watching him for several minutes, knowing that he shouldn't but unable to tear himself away. He'd been so deep in thought that the small chirp sounds from his a soft cry from afar startled him.
"Gilbert!" the distinct voice of Roderich called out.
"Yes, captain?" he called out, not to loud so as to not wake Matthew.
"Gilbert, I need you on the bridge."
"Yes, sir," he replied quietly as he hurried from the room.
Ludwig was only roused from his musings when he heard the door slide open, so quickly piling up the days documents that needed doing and went into the cabin room that he shared with his brother. Gilbert wandered in listlessly and flopped onto his own bed.
"What's going on with Matthew? You've been acting strangely when you've been around him recently." Ludwig said.
"I don't know," Gilbert said quietly.
"You never talk to anyone except Antonio and Francis. I'm just curious as to why you are being friendly with him bruder." Ludwig said.
"He's a friend I guess." Gilbert shrugged his shoulders and Ludwig decided to drop it.
Gilbert couldn't offer any plausible explanation. Ludwig sat on his own bed and turned back to his brother. Gilbert changed the topic.
"Maybe we should just hitch a ride home," he suggested.
"We haven't contacted our father since we left three years ago."
"I doubt that he would be there," Ludwig said distantly. He didn't really like their father and neither did Gilbert.
"Maybe not," he said carefully,
"but how will we ever know if he forgive us for leaving unless we go back."
"He beat you Gilbert, he tortured you, and how can you be wondering whether he forgave us when he is the one who needs to apologize!" Ludwig said hotly which was very unlike him.
Gilbert nodded slightly as the familiar pain grew in his stomach along with all the horrible memories...
Gilbert flopped back down onto his own bed. The life they had had with their father, they'd traded it for life on this pirate ship, hoping it would be better and it was. But somehow Gilbert couldn't help but feel like they had abandoned their father even if he had been exceptionally cruel.
Their mother had died in childbirth when Ludwig had been born. After that the two boys were placed in the care of their aunt for a couple of years while their father went overseas to work, but then she died.
When they finally returned home, Ludwig being four and Gilbert six, their beloved father that neither of them remembered had changed. He was an alcoholic and he blamed their mother's death on Ludwig.
A week after they had arrived back home their father had beaten Ludwig. Being the older sibling and not bearing to see Ludwig get hurt, Gilbert had stepped up, received every single beating in his little brother's place. Ludwig sat up to study his face.
"Oh, not the guilt again! Stop it. If we had stayed you would probably be dead by now. We are not going back!"
"Oh, hell, I know that," Gilbert said, rubbing his forehead tiredly,
"but still..."
"So what do you want to do bruder?" Ludwig asked.
Gilbert ground his teeth together.
"Maybe we should just return home and check to see that he hasn't died or anything like that."
"Okay, I'll think about it," Ludwig grumbled as he lay back down. He turned away from Gilbert, effectively ending the conversation. Gilbert grumbled to himself. Although he was older than Ludwig, his younger brother always made the decisions. Gilbert was too immature (according to many) to make any decisions.
'I'll think about it' Gilbert mocked softly making a mouth with his hand. He rolled his eyes and his brother's back that was covered in an impeccably pressed shirt.
Ludwig's job on the ship navigation. He charted out all the maps and took care of any sort of legal (and illegal, they were pirates after all) papers. Gilbert didn't really have a specific job per say, he just sort of did anything that needed doing.
He often the filled roles of the First Mate, Quartermaster, Boatswain, Carpenter, Pilot, Gunner, Sail Maker, and sometimes cook. When Matthew joined the crew Roderich had asked Gilbert to look after him and protect him if he needed it.
Gilbert lay back on his bunk and studied the bulkhead above him. Then rolled over and tried to sleep, the rocking waves lulling him into uneasy sleep.
