Work Text:
Inigo stepped out onto the deck of The Revenge and let out a discontented sigh through his nose. The sky above was clear and blue, not even the faintest wisp of a white cloud marred the beautiful weather. It seemed almost unfair that even the weather should be seemingly so joyous when he had such a baleful impatience simmering in his chest.
Two weeks. Two weeks it had taken them to obtain their cargo and an additional eternity to offload it after Inigo’s usual contact had turned up dead after crossing the wrong people. Inigo had never liked the obsequious rat of a man but nobody deserved to have that many appendages removed before being given the courtesy of a sword to the neck. Such things were part and parcel of being The Dread Pirate Roberts but all these delays kept him separated from Fezzik that much longer.
As his mind strayed to his husband, Inigo's hand strayed to the spot where the locket hung beneath the fabric of his shirt. Keeping such a trinket was an insane risk, something that gave him an identity outside of the one he wore as a mask, but on journeys such as this keeping Fezzik’s image with him was as necessary as the barrels of water in the hold.
At least on journeys such as this one. It wasn’t often that the Frenchman wasn’t able to join Inigio on his adventures as Roberts but sometimes circumstance, in this case an injury from the job prior, dictated that the two had to spend some time apart. Inigo sighed once more, this time the breath bringing with it a growl of frustration. Finally they were on their way home but unless a storm picked up they weren’t going to be getting there any faster.
After the privation of closeness even the knowledge that soon his husband would be in his arms was enough to fill Inigo with a visceral sort of longing. It rose in his chest with an almost manic fervor, driving him to stride the length of the ship as if doing so would bring Inigo closer to the man who had somehow managed to make falling feel like flying.
Inigo blinked and found his feet had carried him all the way to the bow of the Revenge. He glanced back and bit back a smirk as his all quickly turned their heads back to their work, studiously avoiding eye contact with their captain. All aboard knew better than to trifle with the Dread Pirate Roberts when he was in one of his moods. As convenient as the facade was there were times when it chafed at Inigo, times like this when he wished Westley were still aboard to confide in.
“Excuse me? Captain Roberts?”
Inigo shook his head and turned to find his first mate, Marsh Paterson standing beside him, worrying the hem of his shirt with his fingers. Marsh was a stout man, prone to fits of poetry and polite to a fault even when wielding the large knife on his hip. Of all the members of his crew Marsh knew the closest to the truth about Inigo.
“What is it my friend?” Inigo tucked his frustration neatly behind a warm smile and his hands into his pockets.
“I’ve had a word with the navigator and it looks like we should be–” Marsh began only to be cut off by a strident announcement of land in sight from the crows nest above. The cry of “land ho!” was echoed by the rest of the crew as they sprung into action to prepare the ship to be brought into port. Inigo wasn’t the only one longing for the land, all aboard were ready to work together to wring every centimeter of movement from the wind if it meant that they would be dropping anchor sooner.
Though his longing did not abate, the frustration simmering at the base of his chest melted across his torso into a fizzing excitement. Soon! Soon he would be back in Guilder and beside Fezzik in the house that they had built together. With a spring in his step Inigo cast one last glimpse toward the unmistakable shadow of the cliffs and strode through the crew barking orders.
Marsh’s interrupted prediction of land being nearby was soon fulfilled and Inigo left his first mate sitting at a table in favor of practically sprinting down the gangplank and into the treeline of the hidden bay where the Revenge was hidden. He would likely have to return the next day to finish up business but his patience had reached its end such that Inigo feared he might burst with the contained energy of it all.
As soon as the treeline obscured him from even the view of the crows nest Inigo stepped out of the casual gait of the Dread Pirate and walked at a pace just below running. Even with the note that had hopefully made it to their small cottage Fezzik was probably worried. And as much as it tickled Inigo to tease his husband for worrying like an old woman, Inigo did not wish to cause his beloved undue sadness.
The road home seemed always to be so much longer on the return journey. The streams and gullies that were familiar to him as the lines of his palm went from pleasant sights to irritating impediments that made the full hearty idea of building a path seem like an almost reasonable proposition. I would of course be so much quicker to take the main road but too much with writing on nobody knowing where his ship was hidden so through the woods it was.
The journey took the better part of the morning and the good portion of the afternoon so by the time Inigo reached the grove that ran along the edge of the small parcel of land he and Fezzik owned, the day was beginning to cool. Inigo stepped from the treeline the weight that had held a steady line of tension across his shoulders lifted and he took what felt like his first full breath in weeks. Inigo hesitated in the few seconds before Fezzik looked up from his work, savoring the sight of his dearest friend. Just then the statuesque Frenchman looked up and as soon as his blue eyes met Inigo’s, Fezzik’s eyes almost disappeared amongst his smile lines and he closed the distance between them and scooped Inigo into his arms.
The two embraced for a few moments that could just as well have been hours, gentle kisses that had only the barn cat, lounging disinterestedly nearby, as their witness. When at last the need for air became too great Inigo drew back slightly, "Hello my love,” he murmured, gently stroking the side of Fezzik’s face, “I hope you haven't missed me too much."
Fezzik shook his head helplessly, "I missed you terribly, when I got the letter saying you were delayed…I was so worried I didn't know what to do with myself." he gently cupped the side of Inigo’s face in return, tracing the scar there with his thumb, the now fading concern still present in Fezzik’s eyes.
Inigo turned his head and gently pressed a kiss to Fezzik's palm, "I am so sorry my love, is there any way I can make it up to you?"
The taller man sighed and kissed Inigo in lieu of an immediate response, "Next time take me with you? I promise I'll make myself useful."
Inigo let out a small huff of amusement and smiled up at his husband, "How could I refuse such a request?" rocked up on his tiptoes to steal another kiss, "Come, let's go inside, I have many stories to tell you."