Ah, this whole chapter is just one big fluffy mess. X3

Warning: Lemon, TurCan, FrUK, fluff.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA. I have fun manipulating their characters, though

Only the Prologue

Sadiq was unrolling his sleeping bag and sensed someone watching him. He turned and saw Matthew staring at him.

"Is something worrying you?"

Matthew didn't answer, only looked around before crawling over to him. He pressed his lips to his ear. Sadiq shivered. "Tonight."

"Tonight…?"

"I'm ready," Matthew told him. The truth was he couldn't wait any longer. "Tonight."

Sadiq licked his lips and drew back to look the Canadian in the eyes. "Are you sure?" It had only been a couple of days since they had gotten together. It seemed too fast to him.

Matthew chewed his lip, and Sadiq frowned. "You are worried about something."

"No," Matthew lied. How could he tell Sadiq that he had bad feeling? It was such a stupid thing. It was probably nothing. He peered up at the indigo sky between the jutting rock faces. The stars were scattered like so many faraway torches. That, at least, gave him comfort.

"Tonight?" Sadiq's question brought Matthew's focus back to him again.

Matthew nodded. "Tonight." And he pecked him on the lips before retreating to tend to his own sleeping bag.

Alfred watched the exchange a yard or so away down the ravine. Ivan had found a spot on a smooth slab of rock that dipped to join with the little, pebbly stream that flowed through the cleft, and seeing his brother kiss Sadiq had reminded Alfred of something. He grabbed his pack.

"What are you looking for?" Ivan asked, giving Alfred a curious glance as he smoothed out the sleeping bag.

"Something," Alfred said vaguely, and Ivan grunted in annoyance, snatching up a can and opening it with the can opener.

Alfred found what he was looking for and got to his feet, throwing out his arms for balance as he jumped from rock to slippery rock across the chilled stream and arrived before Francis and Arthur.

Arthur looked up at him and sighed. "Alfred, I've already told you, I'm not going to tell you a happy story so you can sleep."

Alfred blushed. "That… wasn't what I came over here for." Arthur was about to ask why he was there, when Alfred said, "Francis." The Frenchman looked up just as Alfred tossed a small sack to him. He caught it.

"What is this, cher?"

Alfred smiled. "A gift. I don't need it anymore." Then, shifting his gaze to Arthur, he said. "And I'm sorry." Alfred didn't need to elaborate; both of them knew what he referring to. And before Arthur could say anything, Alfred turned around and bounded away.

Arthur stared after him for a while, feeling content, before leaning over to have a look at the small sack in Francis's hand. "What is it?"

"Uh," Francis hid the sack in his pocket. "Nothing to worry about."

Arthur frowned. "Give it here."

"Non, it is mine."

"I'll give it back. Now give it to me."

"No."

"Give it, frog."

"Non, cher, stop being nosy."

"I'm not being bloody nosy, you're being sneaky!"

"I am not!"

Arthur huffed and lunged forward, wrestling with Francis for a bit before finally snatching the sack from his pocket. He held it in his palm and chuckled.

"The aphrodisiac? Why would he give this back to you?"

Francis shrugged. "He said he didn't need it anymore. He never used it. It's still as full as when I gave it to him."

Arthur smirked. "You were going to use this on me. That's why you were trying to hide it."

Francis smirked back. "Maybe I was."

Arthur snorted and tossed the sack into Francis's pack, reminding himself to watch his food from then on, and opened the sleeping bag, motioning to it. "Get in, wanker."

Sadiq wasn't so sure about this. They were in a sheltered ravine that trapped and amplified any sound, and if someone were to wake up they would surely see them wrestling around in their sleeping bag. But Matthew was insistent. The Canadian had volunteered to take the first watch, so they had an hour. After everyone was asleep, Matthew slipped out of his clothes and into the sleeping bag where Sadiq laid unclothed as well.

"It's time," Matthew told him when he heard the last person to fall asleep—Yao—start snoring.

Sadiq looked at him through his black bandana mask, feeling like some sort of thief with it on. But a sudden apprehension gripped him, and it wasn't just for fear of someone hearing them. It was the fact that his mask was going to come off.

It had been the same with Heracles. His anxiety about it had been growing by the day ever since Matthew had expressed his desire to take it off. Before the Greek had taken the mask off, he had expected some sort of… rejection. All his life he had worn a mask. But for what reason? He knew now as he looked at Matthew who had moved on top of him, their warm skin touching. He was afraid to show himself because without his mask he was a different person. With his mask, he was the powerful and feared former empire, Turkey. But without his mask…

Who was he?

No one, because he had only ever shown that part of himself to a special few.

His mind was brought back to the situation at hand. Matthew's lips were on his, begging entrance. Sadiq gladly opened up for him, welcoming the Canadian's tongue inside. The kiss seemed to last forever in Sadiq's mind, and when they finally parted they were gasping for breath.

"Sadiq…" Matthew whispered, insistent fingers tugging at the knot of the mask at the back of Sadiq's head.

Sadiq opened his mouth to respond, but his words caught in his throat. He began to get nervous, and he felt like a fool just laying there and staring with wide eyes and a tied tongue.

Matthew, on the other hand, was worried. "Sadiq?"

Sadiq finally found his voice, but it wasn't as strong as he wanted it to be. "I-I… Mattie—"

Matthew brushed a soft thumb over Sadiq's lips, silencing him. "I won't judge."

Sadiq was so shocked Matthew had found him out that he couldn't say or do anything. He just lay still, feeling Matthew's fingers tug at the bandana until he got it loose. They just stared at each other then, holding their breaths. Both their hearts were pounding and Matthew's hands trembled as they came up to slip off the mask.

And just like that, he could see Sadiq's face. All of it. Matthew stared, his breath catching and his heart fluttering like a caged bird in his chest.

Oh my God, Matthew thought. He's beautiful.

The most beautiful man Matthew had ever seen. Why would he ever want to hide himself behind a mask?

Below him, Sadiq shifted nervously. He couldn't tell what Matthew was thinking, though he would like to take the younger nation's growing blush as a good sign. "Mattie?"

Matthew could feel his face heating up and for good reason. Sadiq had said that Matthew was beautiful, but how could he even compare…?

"Mattie?"

Sadiq's voice brought him back, and Matthew was afraid to blink or the lovely sight before him might disappear. He leaned down and kissed him again. Kissed him breathless.

"You're beautiful, Sadiq," Matthew told him, kissing a line down the man's jaw.

Sadiq's anxiety slowly faded and he smiled. "Not the Phantom?"

Matthew giggled and looked at him again, raising himself on his elbows to do so. "The farthest from him."

"Will you stay with me, though?"

"As long as you stop quoting Phantom of the Opera, yes."

Sadiq chuckled and wrapped his arms around Matthew. "All right… I guess I'm not a natural born romantic."

"You don't need to be. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? Ever? You're gorgeous, Sadiq. I suppose I should be lucky that you never took off your mask or surely I would have never had a chance amid all the other nations who would want your attention."

Sadiq was blushing—hardly anyone could do that to him. Sadiq stroked his lover's hair. Despite their traveling, it smelled of fresh air and pine. "Yok, I wouldn't have cared about anyone else. I would have wanted you."

"No," Matthew said somberly. "You would never have noticed me. Just like everyone else."

Sadiq lifted Matthew's head from his shoulder with both hands on his soft, rosy cheeks so that he could look at him, into those sweet indigo eyes. "I would have found you."

"Why didn't you?" Matthew's question was barely a whisper. There were tears in his eyes. It was hard to think that because of the Uprising—and only that—he began to be noticed. It was hard for him to be grateful for the Uprising for that purpose. It wasn't right.

Sadiq sighed and pressed their foreheads together. "You have heard of the One Thousand and One Nights?"

"Yes."

"Do you know the reason why they exist?"

Matthew shook his head.

"Many many years ago, a Persian king by the name of Shahryar, caught his wife along with his brother's wife being unfaithful. Enraged, he executed his wife and remarried. But the betrayal haunted him and he decided that all women were this way. In his paranoia, he took a nearly endless stream of young brides, marrying them only to execute them the next morning." Sadiq's eyes lit up with the storytelling, and Matthew very much felt like a child again, sitting on Francis's lap as he read to him… though at the moment he was currently naked and lying on top of another man. Still, the situation was somewhat the same.

"Soon his adviser informed him that there were no more eligible women left for him to marry, but then the adviser's daughter, Scheherazade, offered herself as the next bride.

"She and the king married, but she knew that she had little time before the king's temper flared and she would be gone from the world. A clever woman, she told the king the night, just after their wedding, that she was going to tell him a story. Intrigued, the king listened and she told. By the time the sun came up, the king was entranced with the tale, but Scheherazade would stop and say 'If you wish to hear the rest, you must wait until tonight.'

"And so the king waited, and Scheherazade lived on, weaving tales of genies, and the undead, and magic, adventure, gore, erotica. For one thousand and one nights she did this, and by the end of her tales, which numbered in the hundreds, the king had fallen in love with her and decided to spare her life." Sadiq's eyes took on a warmth now, making his handsome face glow all the brighter. "For most of my life I thought everyone feared me, and because of this I distrusted them. Some would try to get close to me for the wealth. Some for the power. But I pushed them away. I found you after so many years of searching. You, Mattie, you have gotten close to me in a way I never knew. Scheherazade got closer to the king by tapping into his emotions through storytelling. But you got through to me by staying by my side and wanting nothing from me but for me to do the same. And I gladly will." He paused, then went on, "Perhaps when our one thousand and one nights are over, we will be able to be happily in love. Until then, our story will continue and we will have to leave it to Fate to decide if it is a happy ending or a sad one."

"Scheherazade made her own stories, right?" Matthew said, his voice sweet yet firm. "We can make our own. These are our lives, and we deserve the right to make it how we wish. We can do something."

Sadiq took Matthew's hands in his. "Yes," he said. "We can."

Their lips met again and everything happened very fast. Hands roamed, Matthew spread his legs, saliva-slicked fingers prodded at his entrance. He was busy making love to Sadiq's neck, riddling it with bites and licks and kisses. The Turk, meanwhile, penetrated him with his finger. Matthew gasped and drew back to look at Sadiq again. He couldn't believe that this beautiful man wanted him and only him. It was too good to be true.

He kissed Sadiq's lips and the man pushed his finger further in. Matthew kissed Sadiq's nose, his cheeks, his jaw, his eyes, his brow. All of him was perfect, and Matthew wanted to appreciate every bit of him. Matthew felt like they were rushing through this, but he wanted Sadiq so badly. It seemed right, it seemed like it had to happen now.

The intensity of the situation took Matthew's breath away. Another finger was worked into him, scissoring, stretching. Matthew bit his lip to keep in a pained cry, and Sadiq's hand snaked down between their bodies to stroke the Canadian's swelling cock.

"Oh, Sadiq~" Matthew moaned softly, burying his face in the Turk's neck. Sadiq continued to stretch him, inserting another finger. This time, the pain was but little when compared to the pleasure. When the fingers began thrusting, it was all Matthew could do to keep in groans.

Sadiq had one hand stretched beneath Matthew, stroking his cock, the other wrapped around his backside, thrusting his fingers. He pushed deep, searching for that one spot. When Matthew gasped and rolled his hips into the fingers penetrating him, Sadiq knew he had found it. He picked up his pace, being sure to strike the little bundle of nerves every time.

Within minutes, Matthew was shivering with barely contained arousal. He was practically drooling. "Sadiq," he whined, lips brushing his lover's neck. "Please."

Sadiq took his fingers from Matthew's ass, lifting his head to kiss him again. After, he turned them over so that Matthew lay below him. He loved the startled look Matthew gave him, how he looked up at him with wide eyes. He was so cute, really, it should be illegal.

Sadiq kissed him again, lips dipping down to ravage Matthew's neck. The Canadian squirmed beneath him, mewling, clinging, gasping. Sadiq moved lower, sucking at Matthew's collarbone, running a tongue around a pink areola, slowly going inward until he was nibbling on the nipple. Matthew's nails dug into Sadiq's shoulders and he rolled his hips until he could feel Sadiq's hardness against his own.

"Sadiq, I can't…" Matthew panted, too sensitive from months of going without to last, and Sadiq immediately pulled back from him. Matthew looked up at him as Sadiq examined his body, and a deep blush found its way to his cheeks. To have such an attractive man looking at him was…

Well, it was incredibly hot.

Sadiq pulled his eyes from Matthew—though it was certainly hard—to look around the ravine. No one was awake. Good.

He looked back down at Matthew, his sweet lover. Matthew watched him with those wide, innocent eyes. Sadiq hooked his hands behind Matthew's knees and lifted up, pushed apart. He moved up until his cock was settled in the cleft of Matthew's ass.

"Mattie," Sadiq said, lining himself up and pushing in.

He watched Matthew's face for any sign of discomfort, but there was none. Only pleasure. He slid until he was nestled all the way inside.

Matthew was finally full. It had seemed like years since he had felt this way. He looked up at Sadiq, eyes hooded and pleading. Sadiq caught the message and pulled out, slowly pushing back in. They both stifled groans.

Matthew was tight. It was hard for Sadiq to keep from going as fast and hard as he could. Below him, Matthew began to roll his hips upward, matching his thrusts. He pushed for his prostate, and he found it surprisingly quickly.

Sadiq was thick, and Matthew would be lying if he said that the penetration didn't hurt a little, but that pain seemed so small compared to the pleasure he was receiving. He couldn't stop looking at Sadiq as the man moved in and out of him. It was almost surreal.

Sadiq began to go deeper, faster. He took up Matthew's cock and pumped it in time to his thrusts, still not believing how big the Canadian was. Maybe later he could be on the receiving end… but for now he enjoyed the way Matthew squirmed and moaned beneath him.

When Sadiq struck Matthew's sweet spot, the Canadian had to bite down on his hand to keep his voice in check. Sadiq grabbed his wrist and brought it down so he could capture his lover's lips.

Sadiq was pulling back, but Matthew wrapped his arms around the Turk and held him close. Their foreheads tipped together, heavy breaths mingling, eyes locked. "Sadiq," Matthew moaned, lifting his hips into him. "Oh, Sadiq~"

He threw his head back, Sadiq's lips brushing his throat as he came between them. The orgasm was strong and lengthy, perpetuated by Sadiq's constant thrusts against his prostate. He tightened around Sadiq, clamping around the man's cock almost desperately.

Sadiq nibbled his lover's neck. "Mm, Mattie," Not long after, he filled Matthew.

Sadiq collapsed next to him, pulling Matthew close and kissing him again. Matthew was exhausted; after the days of walking and anxiety, the sex laid heavy on his eyes. They were silent for a few minutes, catching their breaths and staring up at the stars.

"You know," Sadiq began mischievously. "I've been wanting to do that since I saw you jerking off in the woods."

Matthew stiffened, flushed from ears to neck. "W-what? You saw that?"

Sadiq smiled. "Yeah, but don't be embarrassed—"

"How could I not be?" Matthew squeaked, moving further down into the sleeping bag. "Ah, jeez…"

"You were very cute," Sadiq assured him and kissed him again.

Matthew smiled and yawned, snuggling closer. The chill was getting to him, and he was grateful for Sadiq's warmth. Across the ravine, Gilbert was snoring and Alfred was having an incomprehensible conversation with some imaginary person in his sleep.

"Sadiq?"

"Evet, sweet?"

"Tell me a story."

Sadiq thought for a moment. Let's start at the beginning.

"There was a fisherman and he was very old and poor. Each day he cast out his net four times and only that. One day, he cast his net and caught a dead donkey. The second time he netted a pitcher of dirt. On the third try, he caught shards of pottery and glass in his net. On the fourth and last try, he cast his net while speaking the name of God. This time he pulled in an ornate copper jar with the seal of Solomon on it. Naturally, he was excited, since he could sell the jar for a high price."

This is it, the beginning of our story.

"Curious about what was inside it, the fisherman removed the cap with his knife. There was a plume of smoke and a genie appeared. The frightened fisherman told the genie that Solomon had been dead for a while and that cheered him. The genie then said that, in freeing him, he would grant the fisherman his choice of how he died (1)."

The genie was tricked. It's my choice. I can trick the genie.

The moon was high in the sky when they had both fallen asleep but the story only half finished.

Translations:

Yok-No

References:

1-"The Fisherman and the Jinni" from One Thousand and One Nights.

A Word From the Writer: Aw, our little Canada finally got laid! And you know Turkey is pure sex beneath that mask. Just one look and you're boning it all day. Then ya got the cute little Arabian Nights story thing. This is possibly one of the cutest things I've ever written, ya'll, and that's saying something since I normally take an interest in rough pr0n. I dunno, it just seems more fun to write.

Anyway... don't let this scene fool you. The next chapter is the beginning of the chaos.