TITLE: The Pirate Lord: A Love Too Proud
AUTHOR: Spittle is Unclean
DISCLAIMER: We do not own the rights to the Hornblower books or miniseries.
NOTES/WARNINGS: This story, set at an indiscriminate point in time between the first two seasons of the Horatio Hornblower miniseries, deals with serious issues. The world of illness is filled with gritty hardships and night sweats, and the sailor sex is hurried and fraught with the danger of discovery. Please do not read this fic if you do not feel fit to deal with the emotional repercussions.

CHAPTER FOUR:

Later, Horatio Hornblower would remember very little of the hours that followed, because he had spent much of them in a dead faint.

He had a quick flashback. Flashback: Horatio's P.O.V.

It was over. Jack Simpson...

End of Flashback

Archie awoke the following morning with the uncanny feeling that his life had changed forever. Which was because it had. He stood up stiffly and looked down at his urine-stained trousers.

Oh dear, I must have had a fit, he murmured to the air around him.

He was feeling mighty hungry and was about to leave the sickbed and find some breakfast when his sparkling eye fell upon Horatio's wan visage.

The youth was passed out in a hammock, his wrist bandaged rather sloppily with a stocking and some bits of twine.

Archie ejaculated forcefully, before he could stop himself. Horatio's eyes sprang open.

Archibald, hush! he cried, pulling Archie into the hammock beside him. I must tell you, he murmured between feverish kisses, that Jack Simpson has returned!

Archie, who had been undoing his mullet in anticipation, paused. His face grew white. His left shoulder twitched solemnly, and he drew back from Horatio, who was eagerly fumbling with Archie's trousers.

Do you not see, Horatio? He is back! All things will be as they were...you understand?

I don't see why anything should --

Horatio was interrupted by a bang as Dr. Hepplewhite threw open the door and strode into the room.

Archie quickly tumbled out of the hammock and landed, with a crack, on the floor. Horatio covered his nakedness with a piece of handy flannel.

Well, boys,Dr. Hepplewhite grunted, stumping over to Archie and examining the blood which was rapidly pouring from his ivory temple. Has Mr. Kennedy had another fit?

I-I couldn't say, Horatio replied, attempting to put on his pants in a somewhat subtle manner. I was asleep, you see...

I do see, said Dr. Hepplewhite. Asleep while your fellow lieutenant was gushing blood all over my cabin floor! You ought to be ashamed!

Horatio rolled over and pretended to be asleep. But his mind was busy, for he was having another flashback.

Flashback: Horatio's P.O.V.

...was dead. My arm was filled with excruciating pain as I squinted up towards the glamorous silhouette of Captain Pellew with his gun in hand. I turned to look with relish on Jack's dead body, but the corpse had already been cleared away. Only a pool of blood remained.

Gone so soon? I mumbled before fainting away. And all was very dark.

End of Flashback

FUCK ME HORATIO, Archie said into his acquaintance's ear, and Horatio awoke with a jolt.

Wha-wha-Archie? Why hello. It seemed that some hours had passed since Dr. Hepplewhite's appearance in the infirmary. It also seemed that Archie's hair was dow in its wild mullet, which could only mean one thing.

It was time for lots of sex.

Horatio grinned and pulled his elfin lover into his hammock by the ears. All right, darling! He grinned even wider when Archie undid his trousers and took his massive manhood into his little, pretty mouth and employed a variety of techniques.

Exemplary work, as always, Horatio crooned moments later, his passion sated.

If you'll remember my original request -- Archie said, a little put out.

Horatio smirked, turned over, and pretended to be asleep.

Archie snarled, and stalked off to find Oldroyd.

*

It was awful, Jack Simpson was crowing, fingering his stump of a leg self-consciously. When I saw that my cunningly makeshift life-raft was in sight of the Indy, I could have cried for joy.

In response, Captain Pellew coughed disapprovingly into his doily.

said Lieutenant Bush admiringly, I seem to have appeared on this boat, which is totally cool with me. And yours is a heroic tale, to be sure. I hope that Captain Pellew will join with me in congratulating you on your safe return.

Captain Pellew tried to roar, I most certainly will not, you fool, but his speech was obscured by a series of rather moist hacks.

Very good, sir, Lieutenant Bush said, tousling his captain's hair with vigorous fondness,, I'll help Midshipman Simpson out of these rags, then.

Jack Simpson cackled inwardly. This was working out far better than he had ever hoped for.

Far better, indeed.

*

Archie lay shivering for hours that night. It was not particularly cold, and Oldroyd's boyish arms were wrapped comfortingly about Archie's neck, but the strawberry-haired lieutenant had troubling stuff on his mind.

Had Horatio been telling the truth about Jack? he wondered. Or had it been yet another cruel ruse to get into Archie's skivvies? He was in the habit of employing tricky techniques. Blah, blah.

A solitary tear trickled down Archie's cheek and dripped into his nostril. He sniffed miserably. He had always loved Horatio, but why was it that the boy always unmanned him so?

And speaking of unmanning, Archie had never been so disappointed in his own abilities as this evening. Oldroyd had been very understanding, of course, and had tried his best to calm Archie, but Archie knew perfectly well that it did not happen to everyone. He had flushed with shame and given Oldroyd more coin than usual, begging him not to bring it to the ship's attention that Epileptic Kennedy couldn't get it up for even a quick romp in the store closet. It soothed him to realize that most of the sailors couldn't understand Oldroyd's thick accent anyway.

Slipping out of the slumbering seaman's arms, Archie moved shadow-like into the passageway. He wondered briefly who would be on watch at this hour of the night.

Above decks, the moon shone bright on Horatio's curly head. He was whistling tunelessly and massaging his wrist as he watched the waves. Archie would have liked to convince himself that there was the glint of a tear on his love's cheek, but he knew it was naught but a wishful thought.

he ventured, finally. Hornblower twirled around, his eyes wide.

Oh, Archie, it's only silly you, he replied. How's tricks?

Archie felt a lump rising in his throat and swallowed bitterly. Horatio, we really must rethink our relationship. Without you, I feel...pratically useless. Impotent, one might even say!

Horatio had been trying to pretend to be asleep, but as Archie drew nearer, he gave up on that course of action. Archie, I do care for you. I just feel so...lost, sometimes. Lost in the wildness of these terrible waves. Lost without any horizon in sight. Lost without any harbor to come home to. Lost without any anchor to hold me down. Lost without--

You're not lost anymore, Archie cried, embracing Horatio tightly. I've found you, dearest! We shall be found together!

Well, someone's certainly found you together, came the snarling voice of Jack Simpson as he stepped out of the shadows, grinning madly.