Hours later, Yuuri was rubbing his face and trying not to yawn, leaning against the wooden slats of the crow's nest, where he had squirreled himself away. Although he was tired, the thought of returning to his dim, claustrophobic cabin made him shudder. And even going below deck would bring back the memories of Victor…Yuuri touched his lips, and the corners of his lips twitched upwards slightly. Thinking back on it, it just seemed so normal. Like it was a thing he and Victor had been doing for years. Although thinking about it somehow managed to make his heart do strange things. In order to have some time to think over that development, he'd decided to find some secluded place on the ship. So, while the others had been discussing boarding JJ's ship, Yuuri had somehow clambered up the rigging (earning a few rope burns in the process), and curled up in the miraculously empty space. Warm noon sun shined on his face, making the thought of closing his eyes even more attractive. Yawning, he focused on the conversations he could overhear from metres below.

"Got away?" Victor's voice rang out in a shrill tone "How could you have lost an entire ship?"

"I…We were d-debating what to do with the p-prisoners!" Victor's conversation partner, who Yuuri could now recognise as Minami weakly protested, sounding almost scared out of his wits, his voice barely a squeak "And…and th-then, while we were t-t-talking, the sh-ship just…d-disappeared"

A third voice-Guang Hong- joined in, seemingly shielding Minami from Victor, and asking "Should we throw the prisoners in the brig, sir?"

"Obviously" Victor said with no hesitation "Next time we reach land to re-stock, we'll leave them there. And make them panic a bit, will you? It'll do them good to realise that they shouldn't cross anyone on the Stamni Vicino"

Yuuri found himself tuning out of the conversation. The brig. He'd spent some time in there when he was first captured, and he could safely say that it wasn't a pleasant experience. Not like it was exactly set up for rich living- it was for prisoners after all.

Hang on.

Prisoner.

Yuuri was a prisoner.

Why wasn't Yuuri in the brig? Why was he allowed to freely walk on the deck? Blinking, he sat up, and rested his head in his hands. Why was he allowed to be on his own, fully unsupervised, without the crew even batting one eyelid wondering where he was?

Wasn't he supposed to be up for ransom? Instead, he was being treated more like…

"A part of the crew!" A voice somewhere in front of him chirped.

Yuuri snapped his head up, and his eyes locked onto brown eyes, and blond hair, complete with a thick red stripe across the front.

"Minami" Yuuri smiled, his short-lived panic ebbing away slightly. The small ball of energy really didn't fit the typical pirate stereotype, instead spending his time messing around in the rigging, or being entranced by shiny things. He'd grown attached to Yuuri over his time on the ship, and sometimes took to tailing him everywhere, eyes shining. Yuuri found him similar to a young Phichit, which was both comforting and a little eerie. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

Minami beamed, his signature tooth poking out slightly at the side of his mouth, and a slight tint of red on his cheeks "You're really like a part of the crew now!" He fully swung himself into the crow's nest and tucked himself beside Yuuri, both of them uncomfortably pressed up against the wooden slats "Keeping a watch in the crow's nest and all that."

Yuuri hesitated, before asking "Minami..? How…How much was the ransom that the Captain asked for my life?"

After all, a ransom had to have been the reason he was captured. He hadn't been killed yet, or sold off as a slave. But ransom for a prince…the thought of the sheer amount of gold that would have been asked made Yuuri nauseous. He hoped his family had the common sense not to pay it.

He'd escape by himself.

Escape…

When was the last time Yuuri truly thought about escaping the ship?

"Ransom?" Minami broke Yuuri out of his swirling thoughts, blinking owlishly "I don't think Victor asked for one"

Yuuri laughed- but even to him, it sounded forced "I'm not dead yet, am I? Why else would Victor bother to capture me?"

"Maybe he forgot?" Minami proffered in an optimistic tone "Victor's very forgetful. Once he left Yurio on a deserted island for two weeks before remembering that he was there, and going to pick him up"

"I don't think you can really forget about the fact that you have a way to make a lot of gold kept on your ship."

Why was he here?

"Victor's never been all that obsessed with gold" Minami scraped his hair out of his face, and looked up, his smile becoming softer "He's just obsessed with freedom. He was an orphan, y'know, and grew up on the streets. When the chance came to get away from that life, he just took it"

Why was Victor keeping him around, if not to empty the Royal Treasuries?

Yuuri felt like all the breath had been knocked out of him "But…the stealing, and the killing and the…" Saying it out loud made it even more difficult to imagine. Most of the time, Victor was easy-going, forgetful, painfully oblivious to the world around him. He'd only seen Victor as terrifying once…but only when those around him were threatened.

"Those rumours are mostly spread by other pirates who try to attack us." Hopping up, Minami gripped the rigging behind him "Victor tends to be a tad…aggravated when people try to hurt the people he cares about. And as far as I know, he's only tried to steal once. That attempt…didn't work. Like, failed spectacularly"

Yuuri tried to smile, nod, and contribute to the rest of the conversation-God knew that boy liked to talk- but in reality, his head was spinning with this new development. Why the hell was he even here if not for a ransom? He bid good-bye to Minami after a few more minutes, descending the rigging in a dream-like state. He wandered over to the prow, and gripped it so tightly, his knuckles turned white.

Then he suddenly let go, and slumped down, resting his full body weight on the ship.

If there was nothing Victor was getting out of him being here, then there was no point keeping him. Since they were keeping him, there was no point letting him leave.

Would Yuuri ever get to see his family again?

Mari, Minako, his parents, Phichit, even Morooka.

Gritting his teeth, Yuuri swallowed. He wouldn't cry. He wouldn't grant them the satisfaction.

Slowly, yet certainly, the feelings of despair and isolation became anger. Who was Victor to keep him as his personal pet, cutting Yuuri away from his family, and everyone he loved? Who was he to take Yuuri for no reason other than the novelty of having a crown prince on board? Other than the game of who could get closest?

He was shaking now, hands crossed and gripping his arms, as if attempting to keep himself from falling to pieces.

It was as if the rug had been pulled out from under him, and he was drowning, in bottomless, chilling, inescapable, water.

How calculated had those heart-shaped smiles been? How arranged had it been for him to befriend the crew? How planned were those late night conversations? How, and all of a sudden it was hard to breathe, how far had that kiss been plotted, to take advantage of Yuuri's weak points? Afterwards, Victor had most likely been laughing with the rest of the crew, declaring how easy it was to win Yuuri's affection, how simple to manipulate a prince's heart.

He couldn't help but chuckle bitterly. How ironic, considering it was exactly what he had planned to do in the beginning. To win the trust of Victor- no, Captain Nikiforov, and use that trust for his own ends.

Breathing deeply, Yuuri released himself, and stood upright, striding across the deck as if he hadn't a care in the world. He even threw out a casual greeting to Guang Hong along the way.

The first chance he got, he'd be off this ship, and back into the company of those who truly cared for him.

Curse him, and his traitorous, traitorous heart.

…

Victor clutched his heart and sighed dreamily as Yuuri passed by his window, a somewhat off expression on his face. It was most likely the result of the lunch Minami had produced after being let loose in the kitchens while the rest of the crew discussed JJ. They should never let that boy anywhere near a stove in the indefinite future.

"Mooning after a certain someone, cherie?" Chris asked, leaning against Victor's chair with a sultry grin on his face.

"I can't help it!" Victor felt a smile overtake his face, against his will "I can't help but feel that I'm getting closer and closer to my happy ending"