(When your roommate babysits your dog and she cuddles, but she doesn't like to cuddle with you ever lol.) 

No!

His mind didn't waste time thinking as he threw the coat out of his way and lunged. He just barely managed to snag Alexandre's ankle but they were already falling... thirty feet. The floor came up in a blur, but he wasn't focusing on how he was going to land, just on how his human was going to survive. 

As they dropped, he clawed his way up Alexandre's body and got him tucked in his arms just in time to break their fall with his with own legs. The landing jarred his entire body, but the worst pain came from his snapping left leg.

"Fuck!"

"Capt'n!" 

They dropped to the floor after he lost his balance, but when Alexandre shakily got himself to a sitting position, he sighed with relief. His human wasn't dead. The man did look completely bewildered as he stared down at him, though, panting heavily from the fall and shock of the situation.

"I'm fine, Desden."

Reaching down, the blood captain quickly gave his broken leg a yank, setting the bone, though he hissed from the pain that radiated up into his rib cage from the abrupt movement. He stayed on the floor for about ten minutes as he felt his body heal the injury. Alexandre was smart and remained right where he was. If he had tried to run, he would have told Desden to just knock him out. He was already extremely mad that he had tried to run, but then add to that that he had tried to kill himself? If Alexandre had been just another human, he would have taken him back to the ship just to make him walk the plank and drown in the icy ocean waters.

"Why did you save me?"

Eh?

The blood captain looked up at him with an annoyed glare.

"Because you're mine. Why would I let you kill yourself just to get away from me? I will be the one to end your life, not you."

With a grunt, he slowly got himself sitting, then continued, "and that young boy you are so fond of will be your punishment. When we return, you will slit his throat."

He couldn't be serious!

Alexandre couldn't manage to shake himself free of the horrible images running around his head at the man's words. The blood captain wouldn't really kill the boy because of him, would he? His thoughts trailed back to what Desden had said about them not getting food... He would feed them to each other. Then he'd definitely punish him by using someone he cared about. He would do it.

"Captain...."

"No, I will not change my mind. Now get up. We're going back to the ship."

Alexandre realized that the captain was already standing above him with an impatient look on his face. He had just gotten injured only minutes ago, but he knew that they healed incredibly fast. He had stabbed him before, after all, and little good it had done. 

With a defeated sigh, Alexandre got himself up and began following the captain while Desden trailed a few feet behind them. As they got to the peer, he stepped a little closer and tried again, "captain... please?"

A deep growl was his response.

"Please, I'll do anything!"

When they stepped onto the docks the man spun around and snarled right in his face.

"You'll do anything whether you wish to or not! You. Belong. To. Me. I can feed from you, have sex with you, kill you, and you will have no say in any of it! You have nothing to offer that can even begin to change my mind!"

There were several people around them who stopped when he began screaming, but when he finished they just assumed that he was the man's slave and thus, the blood captain was just a simple master. Realizing that he was waiting for a response, Alexandre hesitantly tucked his chin and whispered, "yes captain."

They walked with Desden to the edge of the planks where the massive ship had docked, then he was promptly scooped up into strong arms as the captain jumped aboard.

"All hands on deck! I want us out of this port, now!"

Vampires appeared from every direction and were instantly at work.

"Desden."

The younger looking vampire straightened and replied with a partial shout to be heard over the bustle.

"Yes, Capt'n?"

"Go get the boy."

Alexandre could tell that Desden was upset about it, but he quickly nodded and ran off to get Ari. His stomach churned like the ocean beneath the ship as the man appeared moments later with a the sickly boy. The captain walked over to him, tilting his head in question.

"What is wrong with him?"

"Capt'n, I was told he gets sea sick."

The captain stared back at Alexandre, but he was too focused on Ari's feverish face to answer whatever silent question he might have been asking. His chest rose and fell as stress built up painfully. There was no way that he could bring himself to kill the boy. He'd only known him for their current short voyage, but the boy had so much life in him. He wanted to see the world, even with his sea sickness making him bed-ridden most mornings.

"Come here, Alexandre."

Alexandre didn't want to, but his feet moved automatically until he was standing beside the captain. The man handed him a small dagger that looked to be embroidered in gold and quite decoratively crafted. It was a ceremonial dagger... just sharp enough for cutting throats.

He nodded to Desden, who shifted Ari in his arms as the boy began to stir. The captain walked around to his first mate's side and yanked Ari's head back by his soft, light brown hair.

"Cut it. Now."

Did he honestly think that he could? The boy looked terrified, even being half asleep, and he was sick for god's sake!

"No."

He stepped closer in a blur, the blood captain's right hand grasping his own, forcing it to tightly hold the dagger as he yanked it forward. The blade was brought to Ari's neck, even though he was struggling his hardest to pull it away. Everyone had stopped working to watch the public execution, the only sound now coming to his ears was the rush of blood in his body from what he was about to do.

"No..."

Right as the blade began to press into Ari's flesh, Desden turned. The captain instantly growled but released the boy's hair as his first mate hunched protectively over the young man in his arms.

"Desden," he warned angrily. 

"I am sorry, Capt'n James. I c'not do it!" 

"He is a human, Desden, and he is a punishment to one far more important to keep under my command."

The conversation seemed to continue mentally, because it stopped abruptly, then continued after a few moments.

"You have killed younger. We all have."

Desden hunched over the boy farther, nearly kneeling on the deck to try and keep Ari from the captain. They seemed to go back to speaking mentally, and after another minute the captain growled but replied verbally again. 

"You will be punished at a later time for interfering... be gone."

"Understood, sir!"

Alexandre watched as Desden stood up and vanished, taking Ari with him. A huge sigh of relief had him feeling almost light-headed as sound returned to join his other senses.

"Strip."

Eh?

Blinking, he looked up at the captain, only to feel his fist connect with his jaw. The hit reverberated through his bones, but was just light enough to not break them as he staggered backwards, bracing himself on the old wooden railing.

The blood captain took a step toward him, the sound of his heavy boots snapping him out of his painful daze.

"Strip!"

The command was barked again, this time with a harsh warning in its tone. He didn't dare think to disobey or stall. Even with nearly the entire blood pirate crew watching him, Alexandre quickly yanked his faded white long sleeved shirt off, then got his pants untied and down around his ankles, leaving him in just his undergarments. He knew that his face was burning, but if it kept Ari safe, he would gladly suffer some humiliation.

"All of it."

"huh?"

The other captain took another step forward and Alexandre quickly yanked his underwear off.

"Good boy."

Boy...

Biting his tongue, he straightened but kept his head bowed in respect.

"Come."

He bit his lower lip and followed him to the mast of the ship.

"Back against it."

Alexandre did as told and quickly felt a rope being wound around his bare waist and chest. The man wasn't being frugal with the amount or tightness. When he was finished, he returned to stand in front of him, examining his work with a nod.

"You will stay here for three days. No food, water, or shade."

Alexandre's body tensed at the order, but he knew that it was better than killing Ari. With a shaky breath, he nodded.

"Understood, captain."

He had trouble with his heart when he got too exhausted and didn't eat enough, but he wasn't going to risk angering him further by telling him that he couldn't take such a simple punishment. Well, it was simple, but still rather punishing. Standing beneath the sun, without moving, for three days and nights was extremely taxing on one's body and mind.

"Capt'n?"

Hearing the call and knock on his door, James looked up to see Desden walk in. He seemed afraid to speak, no doubt because he had been given his own punishment for disobeying him in front of his crew... he couldn't feed for three days. It was only a severe punishment because he had not touched the boy previously, so he had gone more than two weeks without a meal, and now three days will be added to that.

"Yes, Desden?"

"Um, Capt'n, is' been two days a'ready and I noticed that your human is not doing well..."

He raised a brow and smirked.

"Is that not what that specific punishment causes?"

"Yes, Capt'n, but he... his heart is starting to sound odd."

Hmm?

James quickly got up and followed Desden out into the waning sun. It was misting from a storm they had previously sailed through, but his crew had already changed out of their soaked clothing. However, Alexandre remained tied to the mast completely absent of clothes, right where he had left him.

As they got closer, he focused on the man's heartbeat and nearly tripped over his own boots when he could barely hear it. He's dying? The punishment was not even over and he had been sure to test it several times before. It had never killed a human before!

"Untie him."

Desden ran to do as told while James caught the unconscious man's body as the ropes loosened. He was freezing to the touch and barely breathing. With a growl he hefted him up into his arms and ran back to his quarters.

"Do not bother me under any circumstance! Desden, you're in charge!"

"Aye, Capt'n!"

Once he had Alexandre on his bed James slammed the door shut and quickly began piling blankets atop his still body.

Alexandre?

Alexandre, answer me!

There was no reply, even as he continued to nudge his mind with his own. He was about to begin rubbing his arms to try and warm him up when Desden ran inside, trying to stop the kid who shoved open the door a second before him. 

James nearly mauled the human boy, but when he began to speak he reigned in his temper and listened.

"He has a heart condition!"

What? Why hadn't he told me that before?

He probably didn't so that he had a way to die if things went bad, replied Desden. 

Shit. He hadn't meant to broadcast that, but whatever.

"How do I fix him?"

The young human boy was already tossing the blankets off of Alexandre. Thankfully, Desden had James' right arm in his hand or he would have killed the little human for touching something that didn't belong to him. 

A growl slipped from his lips when the boy began pushing down on Alexandre's chest. With each press he could hear his human's heart trying to restart, but the kid was definitely getting tired quickly, no doubt because of his sickness.

"Move."

The boy didn't listen, but Desden quickly grabbed him and yanked him away as James climbed into the bed and began pushing on Alexandre's chest. At first his movements were too hard and nearly damaging, but as he got the hang of the action he began to steadily force the man's heart to pump. It seemed to be fighting him, dying back down whenever he began to slow, but he stubbornly kept up his pace until he finally heard a strangled gasp and breathless coughing.

 With an exhale of his own James shifted to get more comfortable as he sat beside him, lazily running his thumb along his slightly parted lips. Desden and his boy had slipped out while he'd been busy, so they were alone now.

"You won't get away from me that easily, love."

His voice was only a whisper and his human was panting quite loudly, but he knew that he had heard him just fine. When those pretty little eyes opened for him a few minutes later he couldn't help but smile. Alexandre looked exhausted, but at least his human was still alive... although he would have to be careful with future punishments. 

His breathing slowly began to even out and James noticed his shivering beginning to get worse, forcing his teeth to click together from the chill running through his body. With a quiet grunt he yanked the blankets back over him and made sure that he was completely tucked in, then laid himself down to get some much needed sleep.

Alexandre was going nowhere anytime soon, so just a brief rest for his eyes would do.

He began to awaken about half a day later, feeling oddly... uncomfortable. 

Warm...

It took a lot of effort to make his eyes open, but when they did, he saw a gorgeous face and a cute nose just barely brushing against his own. Alexandre... He was still deeply asleep, but James had somehow found his way beneath the blankets and, err...

He gave a slight shift to try and move away, but strong arms responded automatically and gently pulled him back against the mans warm naked body. It had been so long since he had felt any kind of heat, even while using a human for certain, purposes. It was unsettling that his body almost wanted to remain right where it was, but that wasn't acceptable.

This isn't acceptable.

With a deep growl he mentally shook himself out of his stupor and brought his knee up to land a solid hit right between his legs.