oooh those are neat! If you're feeling any of these...I'm supposed to pick 3?! Pirates AU, psychic conection AU, prison AU (hopefully that's not *too* tough!) with Otayuri or Sebklaine! I love them both so much you can choose :)
A/N: Oooh, it’s been a long time since I last wrote Sebklaine - thanks for the awesome prompt! (Sorry if the psychic connection part is a bit hand-wavy!)[Read on AO3]
Blaine arrived at the gaol just before sunrise, humming a tune under his breath and carrying a bag of hot pastries which he’d picked up from a street vendor on his way over.
“Morning Sam,” he said to the guard he’d been sent to relieve, throwing the other man a pastry as recompense for for him taking the night shift.
“Mornin’,” Sam replied, his voice already muffled by food, causing Blaine to laugh as he took off his cloak and hat.
“Anything to report?” Blaine asked, fully expecting the same boring response he usually got - a few drunkards brought in, maybe an unlucky pickpocket or two. Instead Sam’s eyes lit up, his expression delighted as he leaned forwards conspiratorially.
“You’ll never guess who the night guard brought in last night….” Sam paused briefly for dramatic effect, grinning when Blaine’s eyes widened in anticipation. “Dread Pirate Hummel and his consort, Sebastian Smythe!”
“Dread Pirate…oh come on Sam,” Blaine replied with a huff. “He’s a ghost story designed to frighten small children, nothing more.”
“A ghost story who’s currently behind bars ten feet below us,” Sam replied adamantly, looking a little put out that Blaine didn’t believe him. When Blaine continued to look unimpressed Sam huffed out a sigh, standing up up to put on his own cloak. “If you don’t believe me, go find out for yourself,” he said, nodding towards the keychain hanging on the wall. “But be careful, you know what they say about his powers.”
“Ah yes, his ability to bend unwilling minds to do his bidding. How on earth could I have forgotten?” Blaine said fondly, wondering if his friend really was as gullible as he currently sounded.
“Laugh all you want Anderson,” Sam said as he finally made to leave, “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
It took all of twenty minutes for Blaine’s resolve to crack, for him to pluck the keys off the wall and unlock the door that led underground to the cells.
He could feel the air getting colder as he descended, the lack of light and heat noticeable almost immediately. He plucked a torch from its bracket on the wall, waiting for the light from the flame to settle before continuing onward. He didn’t often come here alone; a minimum of two guards were required when transporting prisoners in and out of the cells, and the unusual solitude set his nerves on edge.
His feet hit flat ground unexpectedly and he stumbled forwards a step, cursing the lack of light for his fumble. He hoped that his misstep hadn’t been noticed - it didn’t do to seem incompetent in front of the prisoners.
“Don’t worry, nobody saw. Well, apart from me of course.”
So much for that then. Blaine swore under his breath as he slowly raised the torch to get a better look at the figure sidling up to the bars on the other side of the room. The man was tall and slender, dusty brown hair and glittering green eyes. His garments were simple but expertly tailored - far too expertly for your average scoundrel, Blaine couldn’t help thinking - but what really caught Blaine’s attention was how young the man looked.
Young, and incredibly attractive, Blaine acknowledged with a self-recriminating sigh. His libido really had no taste sometimes.
The pirate reached the bars and smirked at Blaine. “Tell me, is it your first day on the job, or does the law recruit awfully young around these parts?”
“Watch your tone,” Blaine spluttered indignantly, straightening his back and squaring his shoulders to seem more intimidating.
“Oh, aren’t you adorable,” the pirate responded with another wide smirk, seemingly completely unconcerned by his current predicament.
“I should have you flogged for your insolence,” Blaine replied, hardening his voice in warning. It was an empty threat - the gaol didn’t even have a flogging post as far as Blaine was aware - but immediately the pirate’s eyes shuttered, all joviality gone from his expression.
“Tell me boy, do you know who I am?” he replied, voice suddenly as cold as the air surrounding them, and it took everything Blaine had not to take a step backward.
“Of course,” he forced himself to say, thanking the gods that his voice held steady. “You’re the Dread Pirate Hummel, scourge of the high seas, and soon for the noose.”
A long pause followed his declaration, then he heard a splutter of indignation from the back of the cell.
“Excuse you!”
Blaine could only look on in shock as a second man strode forwards, slightly shorter than his cellmate but carrying himself with such an air of assuredness that Blaine found himself struggling to remember how to breathe.
It didn’t help that he was also somehow more attractive than his companion. Blaine and his libido were definitely going to be having words when this was all over.
The first man fixed Blaine with a grin that was all teeth. “Might I introduce you to Dread Pirate Hummel, Captain of the McKinley and scourge of the high seas…and my bed chambers.”
“Sebastian,” the second man admonished, frowning at his companion as he cackled delightedly. “Please excuse my consort here,” he said, turning to address Blaine directly, “He’s never been much one for manners.”
Blaine, who was still struggling to catch up with the turn of events, could only nod mute as Dread Pirate Hummel nodded genially at him, then swatted his consort on the back of the head.
“Behave,” Hummel warned, accompanying his command with a perfectly raised eyebrow.
“Yes, Sir,” Sebastian replied, tone dripping honey in a way that had Blaine surreptitiously adjusting his breeches.
“And your name is?” Hummel asked, attention once more fixed on Blaine.
“Anderson, Blaine Anderson,” Blaine’s tongue had tripped over the words before his brain could even think about objecting. Is this what Sam had meant about the pirate captain’s powers? Because Blaine was pretty sure this was just a case of old-fashioned lust.
Maybe Dread Pirate Hummel was just so attractive that he could manipulate men and women across the globe. At this point it really wouldn’t have surprised Blaine if that was actually the case.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Blaine,” Hummel’s words were sweet and seductive, and Blaine thought he heard Troy’s defenses falling somewhere in the distance. “Now, what do you say about letting us out of this cell?”
Blaine’s hands were already fumbling through the keys on his keychain when he came to his senses. “Absolutely not!” he replied indignantly. “I am a man of the law, and I will not be swayed by your wiles!”
Hummel stared at him for a long while, gaze appraising. “You’re right Sebastian,” he finally said with a small smile, “He is adorable.”
Blaine opened his mouth to object, but Hummel’s expression had already hardened. “I really didn’t want to do this, but I seems you leave me no choice.”
Open the door. Blaine could hear the words in his head as loud as if they’d been shouted. Open the door and let us go free.
Once again he found his hands moving of their own volition, but this time but he found that this time he didn’t want to stop them. He wanted to listen to the voice in his head; oh so sweet and oh so seductive.
The gaol door unlocked with a heavy thunk, and Sebastian pushed open the gate immediately. He strode past Blaine with a smirk, then turned to wait for his partner to join him.
Hummel emerged from the cell at a much more sedate pace, his eyes locked on Blaine’s as he walked past. “I really am sorry about this,’ he said, stroking Blaine’s cheek fondly, and he sounded so sincere that Blaine almost believed him.
“We could take him with us?” Sebastian suggested from the foot of the stairs, and Blaine felt his heart jump in his chest - from fear or anticipation he had no idea any more.
Hummel simply sighed and patted Blaine’s cheek lightly. “You know we’re not in the business of kidnapping, Sebastian,” he chided, eyes still not leaving Blaine’s. “Besides, this one is going to be joining us willingly before too long anyway.”
Then Dread Pirate Hummel and his consort were gone in a swirl of cloaks and the thunder of rapid footfall, and Blaine was left alone in the middle of a dark underground cell, wondering what the hell just happened.
“No I won’t!” he finally declared, voice ringing off the walls and bouncing back at him mockingly, as if the very air knew what a lie that truly was.
