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Chapter Text

Milo Thatch has been rejected for the last time. He was young on his field, but he knew he could change history itself! Those scholars who only researched better ways of kissing their own asses were going to see.

See what?

They will see his giant portrait in Whitmore manor in Mr Whitemore's announcement of his new heir. Those same scholars were kissing Mr Whitemore's boots for MONTHS! But Milo's grandfather and friendship with Mr Whitemore secured the spot.

He arrived to the gala on his best frac, and everyone's faces went pale as they saw the giant portrait of Milo being uncovered on the party.

Milo walked down the main stair smirking devilishly and humming to himself his favorite song:

Sun when it shines!
You know how i feel?
Scent of the pine!
You know how i feel!

Freedom is mine!
And that is how i feel
It's a new world
It's a new way
It's a new life

For me...
And i'm feeling good.

As Milo sat next to Mr Whitemore for the picture he looked down at all of the other scholars, and smirked.

------- FIVE MONTHS LATER -------

The long awaited trip was ready. Milo Thatch ellegantly walked to the Ulysses and breathed in the sea breeze smiling. He felt glorious... Empowered... He felt...

His breath was cut short when he saw *him*.

-Beautyful.

Lyle Rourke walked into the main bridge. It has been a long time since he worked under the orders of a Thatch.

After old Thaddeus's death what he mostly did was guide some rich fuck trough a safari or searching for old pottery (which was what they mostly found).

But now he had the key to his freedom. Before he gave the Shepherd's journal to Preston Whitemore, he read the book, unlocked Atlantean language, and stole one particular page.

THE HEART OF ATLANTIS.

The book said it gave Atlantis it's life, but in the rigth (or wrong) hands, it could be a neverending source of power for many things.

It must be worth a fortune!

He almost regretted killing Helga for it... Almost.

When she discovered the stolen page she tried to blackmail him, but he quickly got rid of her.

No one in Weimar Republic suspected a thing when the heiress of Sinclair appeared dead of an "opioid overdose"... Many people were dying because of that already...

As he walked into the ship he met Milo Thatch. He saw the scholar walk down the main scale ellegantly and smirked.

A young man, eager for adventure? He would be so easy to manipulate...

-Lyle Rourke i presume? I'm Milo James Thatch...

-Yes... I am commander Rourke...

-Pleasure to make your acquitance, Lyle...

Milo walked past him and Rourke saw how this young man manipulated everyone in the room with his "quirky scholar" act.

Maybe not. Milo Thatch won't be easy to manipulate at all.

Neat!

Chapter Text

Milo was in. The group ate up his act of quirky scholar, and he was already receiving the fruits of it. But he felt how Rourke's eyes were glued to his back.

Maybe Rourke could see rigth trough him? Maybe the stern Commander could read the scholar's intentions as if they were war books?

This man was smarter of what Milo tougth. Perhaps Rourke was smarter than what the others tougth.

During the presentation about the dangers of the expedition, Milo decided to tell everyone the Leviathan was just a landmark, and when he did, he could see Rourke's eye twitch.

That made Milo suspicious. Could Rourke know more about the Leviathan than everyone else?

Maybe Rourke... Had read the journal before?

-Commander Rourke!

Milo's quirky voice chirped.

-Come! I need help with something...

Rourke followed Milo and Milo took him to an empty room

-What do you need Thatch?

Milo walked around him, scanning Rourke with his sharp eyes

-Look... I didn't wanted to make you worry but... The Ulysses could be attacked on our way to the tunnels we're trying to reach...

-Attacked? By what?

Milo gave him the Shepherd's journal, on the page that spoke about the Leviathan, and glared at Rourke.

Rourke understood rigth away it was a test, so he feigned an annoyed sigh.

-Thatch i don't understand this mumbo-jumbo. Tell me what is this.

Milo smirked

-It speaks about the Leviathan. A dangerous beast that haunts this waters.

-Didn't you told us it was just a landmark?

-In a certain way it is... He protects the gates of the tunnels that take to Atlantis... So if we find it, let's hope to get out alive to find the gates.

Rourke narrowed his eyes. He had read the diary before, so he knew about the beast. In the presentation he could call Thatch's bluff rigth away, but that would have alerted everyone that he had read the book and he probably understood Atlantean.

-So let's hope we don't run into it, Thatch.

-Let's hope so, Rourke.

Thatch and Rourke tested each other around the Ulysess all the underwater trip. Well placed questions, small tests, attempts of probing into each other's past, even spionage.

Milo had inspected Rourke's room.

Rourke had inspected Milo's luggage and bunk.

Both had an itch to scratch about the other. A feeling of "something doesn't set rigth with this guy".

Untill that day. Inevitably the Leviathan attacked the Ulysses. Of five deattached escape pods, only two survived.

Rourke organized the trucks and transports, made sure everyone was on it's respective places, and gave the signal to depart.

He had to drive a truck next to Milo.

Milo was looking at a map of landmarks he designed, and Rourke was focused on the way.

The silence between them was packed with suspicion and lack of trust, but that nigth, when everyone slept, Rourke will corner Milo and make sure this boy spat out the truth. Milo Thatch will have to, unless he wanted everyone to know he was aware that the Leviathan was a beast. Rourke had two options. Play along and act coy, walking on eggshels around thatch, or go straigth to the point and make Thatch speak.

Milo knew he unadvertedly gave Rourke a support to blackmail him to speak. He was so busy trying to get this guy to speak that he lost his cool and slipped that he knew there was a beast and decided to conceal it from the rest. Milo had two options. Tell the truth, or keep his façade and let Rourke spill the beans.

They were both looking foward to that nigth.

Chapter Text

Milo was up after dinner, expecting Rourke to show up. He could feel Rourke getting closer, but he wAited for Rourke to take the "iniciative".

He didn't had to wait much. Rourke pinned him to the stone wall with a gun.

-Shh. Quiet Thatch. I need answers.

-I was hoping so, Rourke.

-Who are you really.

Rourke's gun went to the side of his head and Milo smirked.

-I'm someone who is tired of being the last candy on the jar and wants to be the main course. I watched, waited, plotted, breaked in, etc. I want to be the one with a name.

Rourke smirked.

-And who are you Lyle Rourke?

Milo's fingers grazed Rourke's powerful chest, as Rourke's gun went up Milo's leg

-I'm a mercyless abomination, hungry for power, that has to follow old fucks to find old pottery in Egypt. I want a better cut of what i've ever recieved. This time, i'll be the one to win.

Milo wrapped his arms around Rourke's neck

-We can't both win, Rourke.

-I know we can't. But you'll have your Atlantis, and i'll have something better.

-And what would that be?

Rourke gets close, his gun leading Milo's leg slowly to his waist.

-I'm not telling you shit.

-Good.

Milo said getting closer too.

-Because i don't bloody care.

Rourke kissed Milo with a certain desire that was unusual for him. Back when he dated Helga it was just a quickie here and there, but it never meant shit for him. It got the job done, but it was dull. But this? This was so much better.

Milo kissed back with the excitement of a forbidden affair. Kissing a man was so different! With a woman he could have a thrill of sneaking out of the party, but nothing much. It olways ended on dull, boring sex with a boring woman. This? This felt like heaven.

Rourke's powerful hand tangled in Milo's hair, and Milo's hands traveled trough Rourke's back.

They were both getting hotter and hotter, and it got even better when Rourke started kissing and biting Milo's neck and shoulders. They could have kept going if it wasn't because they could have been caugth so easily by someone who went to the bathroom, or a ligth sleeper, so they stopped it there and walked away from each other as if Rourke didn't had his tongue deep into Milo's mouth a minute ago.

The next morning the crew STARED at the hickies on Milo's neck as they had breakfast. Milo made up something about a local bug, but no one else had the strange "bug bites"

Audrey chuckled

-Well whoever this "bug" is, must be careful of leaving hickies somewhere you can hide them...

Milo blushed a lot and the team laughed their asses off.

Rourke looked at the team from a distance and smirked. So he was a local bug now hm? Well he was a damn lucky local bug.

As Rourke drove the truck with Milo next to him, he didn't missed a chance to tease Milo.

-So i'm a local bug?

-Yes. A very bothersome one.

-I'm such a lucky bug then...

-They could have caugth on!

-You weren't complaining about it last nigth...

Milo looked away angrily

-Mmph!

-Oh don't give me the cold shoulder! I migth bite it and make it feel real warm...

Milo tried to hold back a chuckle.

-I can make it so warm you migth do again those beautyful noises from last nigth...

Milo chuckled embarassed.

-Lyle stop!

Rourke stared at him in shock.

-How did you called me?

-Isn't your name Lyle?

-It... It is... But no one has called me Lyle since...

Rourke stopped talking thinking about Helga.

-Since?

-You're the only one allowed to call me that.

Milo smiled and scooted closer, extending Rourke's seatbelt to him and put his head in Rourke's shoulder.

Rourke looked at him and smiled softly, putting his arm around Milo's shoulders.

It migth have started as a deep rivalry and mistrust, but to at least one of them, it was shifting.

Kida looked at the parade of strange vehicles from the safety of a concealing heigth of rocks. Those strangers were headed to Atlantis, and she had to stop them, but how?

Chapter Text

All the crew was trying to find the person who made out with Milo last nigth, and that EXHAUSTED Milo. He had Audrey following him around every time he went a little further than the rest, every time he wanted alone time, whatever.

Rourke was driving with Milo next to him and niticed Milo's annoyed expression.

-What is it Milo?

-It's Audrey. She is following me everywhere trying to find out who i made out with.

Rourke smirked.

-Oh i see... She wants to find out who i am hm?

Milo covered his face blushing.

-Milo are you embarassed about it?

-I'm not... It's just... I never had anyone to kiss...

-Hm... Girls tougth you were not enough, huh?

-Yeah... Last time i saw my ex was after i was declared the heir of Mr Whitemore, and she was all over me trying to get me on a date.

Rourke tsked.

-Women. They're up for the money or the looks.

-Luckily not all of them.

-Yeah... But on our social spheres that is the norm. They figth over the cutest or the ones with the most money.

-Tell me about it. The daugther of one of the museum's scholars fougth with all her family to date this guy from the working class because he was cute, and when she found out he couldn't pay for her stuff, she came back crying to her dad.

-Some women are awful.

-Who is Helga?

Rourke froze and almost made the vehicle crash.

-Don't talk about that woman.

Milo narrowed his eyes and Rourke understood that he migth loose the few trust Milo had for him over this.

-A woman who used to be part of the crew. She... Um...

-Vinnie told me she died in weird circumpstances.

-Nothing weird. She overdosed...

-But Packard said she never did drugs...

Rourke's face went sour.

-What else did they said?

Milo understood that Rourke was hiding something further with Helga's death. It was easy to assume.

-You killed her.

Rourke glared at him.

-Yeah, so?

Milo smiled.

-It's ok. I have my own dirty laundry myself.

Rourke raised an eyebrow.

-A professor gave me a bad grade because he "didn't liked the tone i had when i said his name". He had been failing my assignments and tests just because my family was rich and he hated "rich brats".

-What a cunt.

-Yeah. So i put venom his tea. I used a venom who causes heart attacks. He was an old man so no one ever suspected anything. And if something did, they never said shit.

Rourke chuckled.

-Should have used that with Helga.

-Why did you killed her?

-Same reason i'm here.

-Oh, then i don't care...

Milo touched Rourke's knee and his hand traveled upwards to Rourke's thigh.

-Milo. I'm driving.

Milo chuckled.

-Fine, i'll stop.

Milo stopped, but left his hand in Rourke's thigh, grazing his inner thigh, barely there.

That nigth as everyone slept, Kida left a lantern with fireflies, and left the lid open, running away.

The fireflies flew delicately to the tents, setting everything they touched on fire.

Milo was in Rourke's naked chest recovering from the amazing time they had, and he saw the fire. He quickly woke up Lyle and fixed his clotches.

-FIRE!!!

They both screamed, and the crew started to run. As they tried to cross the old bridge, it broke, making them fall to the abyss below.

Once in the bottom, Rourke made a head count and realized something that deeply worried him.

-Everyone! Thatch's missing! We have to find him!!

Chapter Text

Milo woke up with a whistle in his ears, and his vision blurry. He saw a blue glow in front of him, that hurt, but also healed. When his sigth cleared he saw a woman, holding up an amulet to his forehead. Milo slapped it off.

-Get that away from me.

Milo got up glaring at the strange woman

Kida glared back, amulet still in hand. They both glared at each other in a standoff, not trusting the other a bit.

-What are you and your people doing here?

-We're explorers from the surface.

-Are you here to hunt for richess?

-Why should i answer to you?

Lyle screamed Milo's name, making Kida run away, and Milo followed Kida to the city.

As he stood at the gates of Atlantis, the crew joined him, in awe. Vinnie approached him.

-You've come along kid.

Rourke checked Milo for injuries, relief in his eyes.

Was he... Starting to care for Milo?

They both looked into each other's eyes, the doubt lingering between them.

Can psychos fall in love? Was this more than a steamy affair?

Kida led them warily to the palace, where the ailing king laid in a bed, severly sick.

As Sweets treated the king, the crew was assigned rooms in the castle.

Milo was on his assigned room, looking out to Atlantis. He was rigth. It was real. And he was going to rub it into everyone's faces.

Milo's tougths were interrupted as Lyle pinned him to the window.

-What a glorious sigth huh?

Milo smirked.

-I am so close. I will prove them i am not wrong about Atlantis.

-And i will find what i want and take it.

Milo paused for a moment.

-Lyle. What are you looking for here?

Lyle hesitated. Should he tell Milo? He looked down to his lover as he spun him around, sitting him in the window.

-Only person who knew is dead.

-Helga.

-She tried to blackmail me.

-I see.

As Rourke explained about the Heart of Atlantis to Milo, a horrified Kida listened, covering her mouth with her hand, a crystal necklace dangling in the other.

Monsters. Those two surface men were monsters.

As the monsters committed obscene acts in the nigth, they knew something changed.

These monsters were not alone anymore.

Two monsters lurked in the nigth
Step by step
Side by side
Hit by hit
Kiss by kiss.