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He wasn’t going insane. He wasn’t.
Martyn had always… noticed things, he supposed, that others evidently couldn’t, always acutely aware of the world around him.
Or, more rather, he could hear things. Things that, by all means, should be physically impossible to listen to, for a human such as himself at least. Rumors floating around a packed tavern, murmured voices hiding themselves beneath a crowd, secrets in hushed conversation, whispers invading his mind. The flap of a bird's wings so high above, the wind howling as a distant storm began to brew, waves crashing against the nearest shore, even a million miles away.
It was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because it was what had allowed him to get so far in his profession - knowing all the secrets of his rivals, where they were heading, how to ambush them, what they were looking for. Knowing the flow of the tides, what dangers lurked ahead, the best route to their destination.
And a curse, because it was all so much, all the time. Murmurs eventually all blending into one incomprehensible mess, never knowing which whispers were important, who to listen to. The ocean surrounding him day and night, even in his dreams, waves crashing in every corner of his mind. Every noise exactly the same, whether right besides him or an entire lifetime away. At times, he couldn’t even be sure which ones were real.
And then there was that song.
An eternal melody drifting on the wind, plaguing his every thought. A beautiful song, yes - angelic tones, a gentle rhythm, smooth as the sea on a summer’s day - but a constant buzz that never seemed to go away, drowning out the whole world around him.
It had gotten louder, these past few days. Repeating that same tune, over and over, rising up to a crescendo then crashing back down to but a whisper, lyrics ghosting by his ears, beckoning him closer, calling out to him from some distant world.
Nobody else could hear it, which was strange . Sure, it wasn’t unusual for Martyn to hear things his crewmates couldn’t, he was used to that, but this? He refused to believe that not a single person could hear even a sliver of the song, it made no sense! Not when Martyn could barely hear himself think sometimes over that goddamn voice.
That graceful, stunning, beautiful voice.
He hadn’t even realised that no one else could hear it until he found himself humming along one day, and the rest of his crew had looked at him as though he was insane.
He wasn’t insane. He was not.
Sure, he’d spent the last month or so desperately chasing that voice, ignoring all their duties and missions and everything they needed to do to keep this ship afloat, but that didn’t mean he was crazy. And yeah, his crew were still concerned, understandably, but Martyn needed to know. He needed to find out what exactly it was, who was calling out to him, why it made his heart flutter in the most amazing way.
And he was getting closer, he must’ve been. The voice had never seen so loud, so clear, so near.
They were also getting closer to where no ship should sail, though, and…
Well, okay. Maybe Martyn was a little insane - any other captain would’ve turned their ship right back around the moment those cliffs came into view. Jagged stone of pure black jutted out of the ocean, reaching high into the sky and blocking out the sun. The ship already felt unsteady on the rapidly rising waves as they approached the cliff side, skies ahead seeming to darken, a deep sense of dread and unease floating about the deck. No ship should be sailing here, that was for sure - if the sharp formations and wild waves weren’t enough, then the debris bobbing in and out of the water and the multitude of shipwrecks by the rocks should’ve been more than enough to ward off any captain.
Martyn wasn’t just any captain, though.
He at least had the sense to leave his crew out of it - putting himself in danger was one thing, he was well prepared for that, but he couldn’t in good faith put other lives on the line. He ordered his crew to throw down the anchor, and went to prepare a smaller boat for himself, that beautiful song still lulling him ever closer to the cliff side. The smaller boat would be easier to navigate through the dangerous canals and passageways at least, and it was only him aboard, then at least it was only himself to blame for that lost life. The rest of the crew could continue on without him, it was fine.
He just needed to know.
Despite their protests, his crew still bid him a farewell, and Martyn began to sail across the waves, continuing to follow the sound of that song.
Somehow, the journey wasn’t quite as treacherous as he’d been expecting. He wove in and out between the rocks almost effortlessly, the tides seeming to guide him along with grace, pulling him to his distinction. His ship behind him seemed but a distant memory as he headed deeper and deeper into the cove, the cliff parting ahead of him, a passage right into the heart.
It opened out into a larger pool, a few small islands dotted about, the cliffs surrounding the edge and sun, finally sun, shining down onto the pristine, calm waters.
The song was louder than ever.
And it didn’t take long for Martyn to finally identify the source.
A man, sat on a rock in the centre of the cove, his voice matching so perfectly with his beautiful form. Soft hair the colour of the sky on a warm summer's days, glittering just like the ocean under the sun. Stunning eyes like a swirling whirlpool, staring back into Martyn’s, pulling him closer and closer still.
Silence.
The man’s eyes widened, ever so slightly, as he noticed Martyn’s presence. The song had finally drawn to an end.
It almost felt like his heart had broken in two, like the world around him had suddenly stopped. It was wrong.
“Well, don’t stop!” Martyn pleaded, desperately rowing the boat closer to this handsome stranger. “Keep singing, please, I- It’s beautiful.”
The stranger continued to stare at him. His brows furrowed. “How did you get here?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.
Martyn blinked. “I, uh-“ He glanced around for a second, soon beginning to frown as well. “By boat? What do you mean?”
“…people don’t usually make it this far.” There was a hum, an angelic hum, Martyn’s breath hitching as he thought that lovely song was about to come back, but then the noise cut itself off again, and the stranger dove into the water.
Martyn almost went to dive in after him, a spike of panic rising to his chest - who just dove into the water like that, especially in a place like this? But mere moments later, the stranger reemerged from the water, webbed hands coming to grasp the edge of Martyn’s boat, a grin spreading across his face as he looked up at the pirate captain.
“What’s your name?” he asked, eyes full of curiousity, intrigue.
His speech was just as lovely as his song, dulcet times vibrating through Martyn’s bones, a breath shuddering in his throat. He found himself moving closer still. “Martyn.”
The stranger’s grin grew wider. “I’m Scott,” he introduced. “It’s lovely to meet you. I, uh… I don’t tend to get too many visitors, to be perfectly honest.”
Martyn huffed. “Well, yeah. Navigating these cliffs is a bloody nightmare, what would you expect?”
“And yet you made it through.”
“Well… I had to,” Martyn said, and it was the truth. “Your voice, it’s- it’s beautiful. I had to know where it was coming from. Who you were.”
Again, Scott hummed, and it sent shivers down Martyn’s spine, all through his body. His heart fluttering once again, beating along to the quiet melody in a perfectly matched rhythm. “Good,” he said, eventually. “That’s good. Like I said, it’s rare to get a guest around here. I’m glad one as handsome as yourself has finally shown up.”
It usually took a lot to make Martyn blush, not exactly one to humour those sorts of conversations, but gosh. He was so, so glad for the cool breeze circling around the cove.
Scott hummed again, and then reached out, further into the boat. Cool, damp hands surrounded themselves around Martyn’s wrist.
For a split second, it was enough to pull Martyn out of a trance. “Hey!” he exclaimed, trying to pull his wrists back. Strangely, Scott let him. “What are you doing?”
Scott blinked. His hum stopped. “I… thought you’d want to stay a while?”
“I… I mean, I do, yeah,” Martyn said, “but that doesn’t explain what you’re doing.”
“You wouldn’t make it to my island in that little boat,” Scott explained. “And- And you look like you wanna be closer. Do you?”
…he did. Gosh, he did.
When Scott took hold of his wrist a second time, Martyn didn’t protest. Rather, he allowed himself to be dragged into the ocean, immediately feeling relaxed as the water collided with his skin, nice and cool underneath the blazing sun. Scott laced their fingers together beneath the waters on one hand, bringing up the other to rest on Martyn’s waist, keeping him upright in the water.
Somehow, Scott looked even prettier as Martyn drew ever closer still.
Scott giggled - yet another sound that tugged at Martyn’s heartstrings in the most wonderful way. “You like that?”
“I like you,” Martyn blurted out, without really thinking. But again, it was true. For the past whoever long, Scott was all that had been on Martyn’s mind, even if he hadn’t known it. And now that he did, everything only seemed even better.
Again, Scott laughed, starting to guide Martyn deeper into the cove, over towards his island. “I get a lot of people saying that, actually,” he said, smirking, “but not too many people like you.”
Martyn raised an eyebrow. “People like me?”
“…people I can find myself liking back.”
It was all the permission that he needed. Before he could think twice, before they could even make it to the safety of that island, Martyn found himself leaning in, even closer, and connecting his lips with Scott’s.
Immediately, everything seemed to click into place. Martyn slowly began to work Scott’s lips open, tasting the salt on his skin, feeling the wonderful softness underneath. Slowly, Scott’s hand wormed its way around Martyn’s back, beneath his now untucked shirt, still keeping him steady in the water as he pushed in deeper and deeper, hungering for this man like he’d never done before. He shut his eyes in a peaceful bliss, as Scott kissed back, humming in pleasure as each and every movement.
They still somehow ended up at the island, but Martyn didn’t try to draw away from Scott once, and Scott seemed more than happy to play along, smiling so brightly into the kiss, holding Martyn so tenderly. After spending so long searching for this wonder, Martyn simply couldn’t let go.
And as the tides rolled in and out, the world around him fading to but a quiet hum, the steady beat of his heart still drumming along to that rhythm, Martyn thought he’d be content to stay there for the rest of his days.