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Roman Mercadante had met his soulmate once. He'd been careless and stupid and would have been dead if his soulmate hadn't been stupider. Ever since that day, Roman made sure to keep his compass pointing behind him as often as possible. Captain Mercadante had a reputation as a suave negotiator- practically charming his way through any situation- and an exceptional leader with a nearly animalistic right-hand man in the shadows and by his side who savagely enforced the captain's whims. Roman’s crew knew better than to call Remus an animal, but on the sea reputation meant everything.
Which was the reason Roman was constantly outrunning his soulmate. No one would trust a pirate who's soulmate was a private in the Royal Navy.
Patton had sworn to uphold the law of the kingdom in her majesty's waters. Only once had he broken that oath and the look in his soulmate’s eyes still haunted his nightmares.
The captain of the guard had assigned the rookie private to guard the prisoners set for morning execution. Patton was far too nervous. Real Pirates! Not the kind in storybooks that always made for charming villains, but real men who had chosen a life of crime over any respectable occupation. His orders were to watch the prisoners so they stood for trial and execution in the morning rather than cheating law-abiding citizens out of the spectacle that would be their death. It would have been a simple and sobering night if Patton hadn't noticed his compass pointing directly at one of the dirty young men in the cell.
The two pirates had been drunk and bragging in the town square while trying to pick pockets. Absolutely idiotic and humiliating as they sobered up behind bars, half the guards laughing and spitting at the pair and the other half shaking their heads in pity.
Patton looked from the man in a stained red bandana who wouldn't meet his eyes down to his wrist. He tried to test that this truly was his soulmate without attracting obvious attention, but the other man with a piercing gaze noticed him twisting his wrist and jabbed the other in his side before whispering frantically. The other nodded and looked at his own wrist, the compass soul mark nearly lost among other tattoos. He crawled as far forward as his shackles would allow and hissed at Patton as though to get his attention.
"You come here often, sailor?" the prisoner tried to smile at him and Patton could see he was handsome beneath the grime. His voice was musical and made Patton's heart flutter. He couldn’t let himself be bewitched by a petty thief.
"Shut up, pirate," Patton intoned, trying to not let his conflicted thoughts come through his voice, "I have nothing to say to you."
"They're going to kill us in the morning. They would kill you too if they knew," the prisoner reached for the bars of the cell and his partner stared at them both unrelentingly.
"No one needs to know anything more than you broke the law and will hang as reward for your deeds. I'm not like you," Patton's voice quavered, betraying his uncertainty. To his soulmate’s credit, he didn’t celebrate the crack in the armor.
"What did we do? Tried to grab a purse or two- unsuccessfully I might add- and make claims to be pirates? Haven't you heard a drunk man tell wild lies before? We're going to die for nothing and your mark will forever point to wherever they string us up to rot. You know this isn't justice," the note of pleading in his voice struck Patton hard. The man was technically right, but his job was only to guard, not judge.
"Come on, Ro, he's not going to listen. Heartless as the rest, sending his own soulmate to the scaffold," the dark one spoke up, eyes never leaving Patton.
"Ro?"
"Roman," his soulmate smiled up at him, "my name is Roman, soulmate."
Before he could stop himself Patton whispered, "Patton," and quickly slapped a hand to his mouth. That was stupid. He shouldn't be talking to these liars. Much less tell them his name.
"Patton," the name sounded magical on Roman’s lips, "please, give me a chance. Help me out of here!"
Patton bit his lip. It was the dead of night and no other officers would be around for hours. It was worth the risk, right?
As Roman and his partner climbed out through the window of the prison, Roman looked back and met Patton's eyes one last time. Instead of gratitude, Patton was met with pity as Roman smirked and disappeared into the night.
Patton became a model officer, known for being hard on captured pirates but kind with fellow crewmates. He lived by a simple motto:
Never Trust a Pirate.
Remus was acting squirrely after their last job, and only a day out from port he was still staring wistfully over the side of the ship back towards the island they'd left behind. It was getting on Roman’s nerves because the man would not admit what had happened, even when his distraction was costing the ship careless mistakes.
"Remus, get your ass down here!" Roman watched impatiently as his brother scurried down the riggings, "what the ever-loving fuck has gotten into you? You haven't been focused since yesterday morning and this is the fifth time you missed a signal or haven't been where I asked you to be."
"Look, R- Captain, I can explain-"
"Start explaining before I toss you overboard. Just because you're my brother doesn't mean you're not accountable," Roman stared his brother down hard. The rumors about them really only failed in that they didn't acknowledge how frightening Roman could be on his own.
"Ro, he was my soulmate. I swear I'm trying to focus, I just- maybe you should just throw me overboard. Hell knows I've been considering it since we left…" Remus stared down at the deck of the ship, unable to meet his captain's eyes.
Roman’s face instantly softened, "and he's…?"
"A pirate," Remus fingered the ring on his pinky.
"Rem, I would have poached him from that ship if you'd just asked," Roman placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I know. He didn't want to abandon ship and I couldn't ask him to. I'll do better I-" Remus was interrupted by a long loud whistle from the crow's nest.
"Shit! Navy. Get you head back on and prepare the crew for a fight," Roman shoved Remus and quickly made his way to the stern of the ship, spyglass in hand.
The ship was gaining fast. Roman confirmed the colors with a groan. They were going to be boarded by a naval ship, goddamn it. Maybe if Remus had been more focused they wouldn't still be so close to protected waters.
They didn't have cargo yet, perhaps they could fool the ship to think they were legitimate? Remus was already prepping the crew- Roman turned and gave a quick two whistle signal and barked orders for the ship to look presentable for company. Crewmates scrambled to carry out the orders and the ship slowed to a halt.
Remus soon joined him at the stern, straightening up and trying to look as little like a pirate as possible. Roman fixed the collar of his long red overcoat and watched as the ship pulled closer.
"You sure this will work, boss?"
"No. That's why we're going to be ready for a fight."
Capturing their ships was always Patton's favorite part. The captain was pulling in to board this rogue vessel and he could feel the coming fight in his bones. Patton was selected as part of the boarding party and gleefully jumped at the opportunity.
Once on the rogue ship, Patton's captain spoke with a dashing man in a bright red coat. Patton's ears buzzed with adrenaline and self-righteousness so he did not hear their conversation, more so he kept an eye on the rogue captain's crew. Their first mate kept looking in his direction and Patton kept his hand at the hilt of his rapier.
The tense silence was broken by the unmistakable crack of a gunshot and Patton lept into action with the rest of the boarding party. He couldn’t tell who had shot at what but any truce they'd had to speak was broken. He soon found himself sword to sword with the first mate of the rogue ship and Patton couldn’t help but notice something utterly familiar.
"It's you… you didn't hang for losing two prisoners you prickless prune?" Remus snarled with a wicked grin.
Patton gasped, "wait, that must mean-" before spinning around to search for the captain in the red coat. He saw a flash of red, of Roman, before the hilt of Remus' sword connected with his skull.
As Patton lost consciousness, he heard the raucous laughter of the man, "first rule of the sea, mate: never turn your back on a pirate."
When Patton woke, he was bound and gagged in a cage made of thick wooden beams in the belly of the ship. He could only hear the high pitched ringing in his ears. His head throbbed where he'd been hit.
More than anything he cursed himself for getting distracted by the soulmate he'd tried to forget. Admitting his soulmate was a man
and a pirate
could have seriously jeopardized his career. Secondly, he cursed himself for losing his glasses sometime during the fight.
How long had he been on board this ship?
Several grungy men and women passed him by paying him no heed so Patton did not waste his effort struggling until he heard a hauntingly familiar voice.
"Remus, this better be fucking worth it. We need to get out of these waters," Patton whimpered. He couldn’t forget that voice. He didn't need to check his bound wrist to know it was him.
"Trust me, you're going to love this. I'm a fucking twink magnet this week," the first mate cackled gleefully, leading Roman to the brig.
There was a moment of relative quiet before the captain's laugh pierced the air, "oh this is a delicious twist of fate." Patton could hear rustling and turned to look at his captors only to find those same eyes that had pleaded with him years before, now filled with contempt and victory. Roman smirked and snapped at two crewmates, "you set me free, now it's my turn, Patton." Roman stood, "take him to my cabin and guard the door until I come back. I have to deal with our First Mate first."
With that Roman dragged Remus back above deck, leaving Patton with the leering pirates.
Patton had plenty of time to look around the sparsely decorated room he was being held in. Even though there was little in the room, what his soulmate did collect was extravagantly exotic. His wrists were still tied and the gag hadn't been removed, but he found his glasses had been set on the desk. He waited impatiently, praying to and cursing his god for this trial. A wicked, vengeful soulmate and no escape unless his own ship gave chase or the pirates made landfall.
The door creaked open and Patton turned as he heard Roman dismiss the guards at the door. He watched as Roman looked him over, noting every detail of his uniform, every visible scar from past encounters, and lastly the fear in his eyes. Roman smirked and drew his sword, gesturing for Patton to kneel before him. As the tip of the sword found his cheek, Patton had no choice but to comply.
"Every person on this ship knows exactly what you are to me. No one will save you if you scream," he flicked the sword and the gag fell from Patton's mouth without so much as stinging his cheek. He thought about screaming in spite, but his soulmate’s gaze caught and killed the sound in his throat. "Good boy. Do you know who I am?"
Patton coughed before answering, "my soulmate."
"Yes, and do you know what you are?"
"Your… soulmate?"
"My toy."
"Oh."
"More than that, you're a liability, Patton," Roman continued, "I can't just let you go because you'll lead an entire battalion after me and my crew. You on this ship means another bounty on my head and the certainty that your superior officers are either giving chase or setting up blockades for the Fate until they recover you, dead or alive."
Patton gulped and opened his mouth to interject but Roman quickly shushed him.
"Your presence both on my ship and returned to your own will make it near impossible to find sponsors who will tolerate the increased potential interference from her majesty's royal floating tumor. No one on this ship would work alongside you, navy rat, and I wouldn't dream of abandoning my own ship to turn myself in, even if my capture ensured their safety. Which leads me to the conclusion that there's really only one option for you."
"And what's that, scum?" Patton spat the question, hatred for his soulmate growing with every word.
"Well, you can't go back, you can't stay here. Really the only thing you can do is die, either buried at sea or flung back at your ship so they know there's no point in chasing after a dead man."
"You wouldn't-"
"You doubt me? Look, the star-crossed lovers thing really isn't all that romantic even if I were interested and I doubt you'd switch sides after being brainwashed for so long. Maybe you could have followed us the night you let us go, but now you're beyond hope," Roman sighed, examining the edge of his sword, and stepped forward, aiming for the neck, "trust me, I wish you had been anyone else. I'm sure Remus thought he was apologizing but thinking things through isn't really his specialty."
"Wait!" Patton gasped as cold steel met his skin, "you said I'm your toy, so this is just a game to you. You want me to be scared and beg for my life because you had to," Roman's eyes narrowed but Patton pressed on, holding still and not edging away from the blade, "well, I know I made the right choice back then, even if you took your chance and decided to waste it as a dishonorable criminal."
"You know nothing of who I am or what we do!" Roman slammed the sword on his desk, causing Patton to flinch, "you don't know my crew or why we sail together. These men, women, and others aren't just criminals for your kind to hang."
Patton almost thought he saw a tear in the pirate's eye but quickly dismissed the thought, "and if this crew is so innocent, why can't you follow established routes and fly colors?"
"Runaways don't do paperwork. They don't hide where you look for them. The people you want dead for no reason other than their identity are not going to draw you a map. You could have been one of us, Patton, if you had any love in your heart. But it's easy to be the aggressor, to be on the hunt against everything you hate about yourself. This is my family, and you as my soulmate are not welcome here."
Patton watched Roman’s hard face. He'd heard of the captain of the Fate before. He'd heard the stories of his charm and cruelty. He never expected to be wooed by the passion in his voice, a reminder of that nagging voice inside his head that told him he never belonged with his own crewmates. Those eyes saw through his soul and understood him better than he knew himself.
And rejected him.
His moral compass had to be pointing a lot further south than his soul compass.
"Your crew- they're people like us?" Patton asked, voice dry and halting.
"People like me, yes," Roman rolled his eyes and picked up his sword again, "you're about to die anyway so I might as well keep filibustering. Gay men like my brother who just want a chance to love or mourn their soulmates. Lesbian women, some of the bravest and sturdiest sailors I've had the pleasure of working with. Crewmates who defy sex and gender and make their life as vibrant and as beautiful as they dream. People with multiple soulmates or people like me who don't want to partner with a soulmate regardless of whether they have one or not. The Fate is crewed by those society has deemed unsightly or improper. Queer, from every corner of the seas. The very people you swore to destroy."
Patton hung his head and stared at his still bound wrists, "you're right. Go ahead. I'm ready." Roman chuckled and nudged Patton's chin up with the flat of the sword, "I wasn’t going to give you the satisfaction of begging for my life, but now I see I don't deserve a life to beg for. I'm sorry- for everything."
"Well, I'm not going to kill you in here; these are my personal belongings. Let's let Remus have some fun with you."
Roman urged Patton to his feet and led him out to the deck, whistling shrilly until Remus dropped from the ropes above them.
"Yes, captain?"
"What should we do with our guest? He's decided his own life isn't worth defending," Roman asked with a cheerful grin.
Remus smirked, "oh I could think of several things to do with a pretty little man like him."
"Perfect, he's your problem now. Just let me know if you decide to kill him because I want to watch," Roman sheathed his sword and roughly pushed Patton towards Remus. Patton began to panic as Remus took him by the shoulder and pushed him back under the deck, past the brig to an area where several hammocks were set up.
"Oh relax, I'm not going to fuck you."
"But you said-" Patton couldn't really believe he wasn't bleeding out or drowning right now.
"I give you a week. This is your bed. Do whatever I say and I'll only be your second worst nightmare," Remus grinned as he untied Patton's wrists.
Over the next week, Remus kept Patton running ragged doing tasks about the ship. Most of the crew avoided him, except for one who described themself as genderless and soulmateless. Janus was easily amused with Patton and they soon took to accompanying him during chores. Remus was delighted with the budding friendship. Roman took the barest notice but felt the smallest relief in his heart when Patton started to smile, getting along with more of the crew.
Roman and Patton stood on the deck, watching as the crew loaded cargo. Patton’s wrists were bound to the side railing but he didn't mind the discomfort. Trust was earned and he had a long way to go. He looked over to Roman, "this crew is a family. Why did you let Remus risk their lives by keeping me alive?"
"Risk? Please, your superiors have had you marked as dead since the day you came aboard," Roman laughed, "even if they did care about you, we still always have to avoid Navy ships. Families are supposed to be open arms and supportive love- too many of these people never had that. I had a feeling you would be too soft and all it would take was some time with your real people."
"Even with Rem controlling every waking moment of my life, this has been the best week on the sea I've ever had," Patton chuckled.
"Well, I'm certain you'll have many more like it if you'll join us, Patton." Roman rested a hand on Patton's shoulder and left to go speak with their contact for the job.
Patton knew exactly what his answer would be when his soulmate returned.