Darkness was just beginning to settle across the horizon – not quite day, not quite night – when the man came to stand at the prow of the Orpheus.His wide shoulders were dark against the fading crimson of the sunset, and the last rays of light spilled across his sun-bronzed features. Thick raven hair swept loosely across his brow, nearly hiding his piercing jetty gaze, and his shapely lips were drawn into a tight frown. He shifted his weight onto one foot, muscles rippling beneath the soft linen of his shirt and his fitted wool breeches. Years of being on the ocean had hardened his body, carving inexperienced flesh into a weapon. From the golden hoops in his ears to the crimson waistcoat he wore, the man was every bit the pirate captain one might to expect in a romantic ladies novel or find in a vivid oil painting. And yet, there was a restrained grief written in every syllable of his posture that was so unlike the bravado such a man was expected to swagger about with.

Ravi sighed, and the romantic illusion of untouchable roguishness shattering as he leaned his hands on the railing. He looked defeated – tired, even. Not like a man about to claim a stunning reward, one bountiful enough to restock his entire ship. The faint sound of footsteps, leather boots against the hardwood deck, signaled to the pirate captain that he was not alone. But he did not turn. He already knew who was behind him. “Are your preparations complete, then?” he asked, his low voice sounding like the grumblings of a volcano about to erupt. The line of his shoulders had drawn uncomfortably taut.

“Yes,” came the soft but no less masculine reply. Stepping up to the prow, Leo joined the captain in looking out over the ocean. “We will be ready to leave at dawn.”

The steady thump of the waves against the boat kept a pace their racing hearts could not hope to match. Ravi, for the first time in twenty years, felt sickly as the ship swayed on the choppy waters; but, it was not seasickness that caused his body to revolt. Suddenly turning, the man took in the figure of his compatriot, whose fine form was lit by the twilight tinge of dusk. Tall, broad shouldered, but slim – the lean muscles of the nobleman so different from the pirate’s powerful shape. Not even the time Leo had spent aboard the Orpheus were enough to bulk him up; the crew had loved to joke that the man’s nature was simply too delicate for a life at sea. But there was no doubt in Ravi’s mind that the man, with his softly waved hair and pouty lips was utterly ethereal. He was like the darkness of the night – starlight and all the spaces in between – give human form. Not even the strange starched collar or restrictive coat, so different from the simpler garments he had sported while among the crew, could ruin the pirate’s opinion of Leo’s beauty.

Slowly, hesitantly, his hand slid along the railing and stopped just shy of where Leo’s fine, long- hand rested. “Must you go?” Fingertips at last brushed against warmed flesh in a tentative, hopeful contact.

A shiver tremored through the leaner man’s body at the raw despair in the captain’s voice. “You know I must, Ravi. I am to be wed.” And yet, he stepped closer to the pirate, his frame nearly folding under the urge to press close to the other man. “I wish…”

“You could stay,” Ravi murmured. “You could make a life here. We – I –”

“I know,” Leo all but breathed the words out, they were so gently spoken. “But my family, Ravi. They need this alliance to survive. I cannot abandon my mother and sisters to destitution. No matter what I should want for myself. I will bury my dreams and wishes for my family.”

Taking a single step closer, Ravi reached out to take the other man into his arms. His hold was crushing, driven by the deepest throes of desperation, as he clung to the nobleman. “How will we go on without you?” he said, nearly choking on the words. “You’ve become a part of us. Ever since we pulled you from that deserted island, you’ve fit in as though you were made for this life.”

Hunching his shoulders, Leo buried his face in Ravi’s neck. “The same way I will. One day at a time.” Even though his words were strong, his voice quaked with emotion. “And perhaps, someday, we will … we will be just another fond memory.”

“Another fond memory?” Ravi’s hand trembled as it came to rest on the curve of Leo’s jaw. “Would you condemn us to that? Condemn everything we were together, were to each other, to mere shadows?”

For a moment, the two men simply shared breaths as their hearts crumbled. And then, slowly, Leo lifted his gaze to meet Ravi’s tearstruck eyes. “Yes,” he said simply. “Because I must. When I return to London and marry Hayi, I will do everything in my power to forget what happened after I left Montserrat. If I think of you and all I have left behind, I will go mad from grief.” Reaching up, Leo curled his fingers around Ravi’s wrist and removed the pirate’s hand from his jaw. “I am sorry, Ravi. I.. I cannot be who you need to me to be.”

Hand falling limply to his side, Ravi watched as his precious Leo seemed to vanish, being replaced instead by Lord Taekwoon. The man stood taller, posture as perfect as a ruler, and all of the agony in his soulful eyes was shuttered away behind cold indifference. It was as though he was standing before a stranger, one who could scarcely recall his name let alone the passion wrought between them. “I see,” he said, his voice echoing hollowly between them. “Then… I will bid you farewell. I will not see you ashore tomorrow, as I will have many obligations to attend to.” He executed a stiff bow before turning and trudging towards his cabin.

Once in the safety of the enclosed space, Ravi peeled away the layers of his clothing just as his heart shed the layers of hopeful protection that had been keeping it whole. Tears poured thick and silent down his cheeks as he neatly folded his sash, put away his boots, and stripped off his shirt. His breathing only stuttered as he slid into bed, the warmth of N heavy against his back. The other man turned over with a sleepy little sigh and threw a careless arm across the captain’s waist, pinning him as effectively as Leo’s duties had ensnared him.

Hayi was the bright sun waiting to rise in Taekwoon’s life, pulling his family from disgrace and into an era of prosperity. The man would undoubtedly thrive and have more kids and dogs than he knew what to do with. And Ravi… Ravi would remain on the Orpheus with his N, who was the moon of his life – the soft light he radiated would perhaps eventually heal the wounds the captain had so carelessly dealt to himself. But no matter how many oceans divided them nor the obligations that parted them, Ravi knew that Leo would take his heart with him wherever he went. Their love was like the vespertine minutes where night kissed day: beautiful in its brevity.