by Jools Louise
“I did nothing bad. I was working at a hotel there. I was accused of something that I did not do. Another waiter wanted to get me into trouble. He told someone I stole from one of the hotel rooms. I didn’t. I was invited there by the woman there, and when I rebuffed her advances, she complained to the management. The other waiter went there the next night…he didn’t deny her. The day after, when she was getting ready to leave, she found money and some jewels missing. The things were not found, but both me and the other guy were accused. He lied, and I was sacked.” Kadil’s voice reflected his anger.
“You didn’t fight the accusation?” Aaron was angry on Kadil’s behalf, stroking Kadil’s hair gently. He believed Kadil was telling the truth, that hard edge in his gaze gone completely now.
“He was Jordanian,” Kadil said simply, as though that explained everything. Aaron figured it probably did. A local boy against a Syrian national? Not much of a contest really. He had a sudden urge to go after the Jordanian waiter, and punch the guy into oblivion. A ridiculous notion, but he really hated dishonest people.
Kadil yawned suddenly, then laughed a little in embarrassment. His gaze met Aaron’s and they shared an amused smile, the gaze intensifying as remembered passion asserted itself.
“I don’t want this to end either,” Kadil said huskily, kissing Aaron on the lips, moaning as Aaron opened for him instantly.
“Damn, if we carry on like this, we’ll never get to sleep.” Aaron laughed, tugging on Kadil’s hand as he made for the small bathroom.
“If we shower together, we’ll never get clean, either.” Kadil laughed, tugging free of Aaron’s grip. “You shower first, then I’ll go.” He grinned as Aaron snorted, then nodded.
The shower came on, and within a few minutes Aaron was done, coming out nice and clean again.
“Top or bottom?” Aaron asked, and Kadil gave him a startled look. Aaron grinned widely, chuckling at Kadil’s expression. “Bunk beds, naughty man. Do you want top or bottom bunk?” He darted away from Kadil’s slap to his towel-covered ass, laughing still.
“I don’t mind.” Kadil replied, shaking his head in amusement before retreating to the shower himself.
Aaron leapt up onto the top bunk, deciding to do the decent thing. He’d really like it if the beds were bigger, so they could share. Then he decided that if either of the children entered the room, it would be better if they didn’t walk in on him and Kadil in the throes of sexual intercourse. Not the kind of education Zada and Akeem really needed. They’d been through enough trauma for one lifetime. Aaron knew, without a doubt, that if he shared the bottom bunk, sex was a given.
Kadil was getting under his skin, in more ways than one. He was like a drug, his body and his scent and his flavor all combining into an addiction that Aaron wasn’t sure he wanted to be cured of. He hadn’t been lying when he told Kadil he wanted to continue exploring their relationship. Maybe it would be a fling and nothing more. But in over two decades of living, this was the first time he wanted more than just a quick fuck.
His eyes drooped as he heard the sound of the shower flipped on, the soporific effect shutting his tired brain down in stages. He vaguely heard the water stop, then the soft sounds of Kadil returning. He was asleep before the light went off.
Chapter Six
A shrill scream sounded a few hours later, and Kadil leapt from his bed in a hurry. It took a moment to get his bearings, then he flicked on the light and headed across the hall to the children’s room.
Akeem was wide awake, tears streaming down his little face, his brown eyes awash with terror. Zada was trying to comfort the little boy, but he was shaking like a leaf, still feeling the after effects of the nightmare.
“Hey, Akeem, don’t be afraid,” Kadil spoke in his native language, soothing Akeem as he moved quietly to sit on the bunk. The little boy dove into his arms, wrapping his small arms around Kadil’s waist as he burrowed his head against Kadil’s chest. His heart beat fast and hard, his tears moistening Kadil’s bare, hair-strewn chest.
Kadil’s heart clenched at the heartbroken sobs wracking Akeem’s small body, and he held on tightly, rocking the boy gently, stroking his hand down Akeem’s back soothingly.
“We’re safe now, little one,” Kadil whispered. “I am sorry about your family, I really am.” He pressed a kiss to the dark, matted hair on Akeem’s head. “I am sorry we could not save them.”
“Akeem, you have been so brave,” Aaron’s voice penetrated Kadil’s consciousness, and Kadil raised his sorrowful gaze to Aaron’s, sharing a sad look. “Those bad men, they cannot hurt you now. The lieutenant, Tonio, he took care of them.” Akeem’s sobs began to decrease, his breath shuddering from him as his body trembled.
“Aaron is right, I took care of them.” Tonio had arrived, his gaze alert as he took in the sight of Kadil holding Akeem. “We will get you to Italy, then we will find you a nice place you can live, okay?”
“I have no one to go to,” Akeem whispered. “My papa and mama are trapped under our house. I tried to help, but I couldn’t. I disobeyed my mama and now she is dead.” He began crying again and Kadil let out a hoarse cry of distress.
“Akeem that is not your doing, my friend. It is the will of Allah that you were saved. You must believe that. The bad men hurt your family, not you. We can be your family now. We will not leave you alone, or Zada. We have not come all this way together just to leave you.” Kadil was crying himself now, feeling his heart hurt at the thought. “Aaron and I will find a way, when we get to Italy, so that we can stay together. We won’t leave you.” He clutched Akeem tighter, stroking his soft hair gently.
“No, we won’t,” Aaron agreed, kneeling beside the bunk and patting Akeem’s small back. “Kadil and I were just discussing where we might want to live. Perhaps you could help us decide. You and Zada.” Zada smiled, nodding eagerly.
“We can help?” Akeem’s little voice asked hopefully, followed by a loud, moist sniff which had them laughing softly.
“Of course. My mother is going to meet us in Naples. She will know what to do,” Aaron said, meeting Kadil’s startled gaze steadily. “My mum texted me earlier. We got a little distracted, or I would have told you.” Aaron smirked, and Kadil flushed a little.
“Your mother?” Akeem asked, lifting his tear-stained face, his nose running and his eyes swollen from so much crying.
“Yes, she’s nice, I’m sure you’ll like her.” Aaron smiled gently, grabbing a tissue that was offered by Tonio and wiping Akeem’s face. “She works as a barrister, helping people like you and Zada and Kadil to get nice homes so that they are safe. She is going to help you find a home, too.”
Akeem looked thoughtful for a moment, then a dimpled smile lit his face, his eyes glimmering with excitement.
“I would like,” he said. “Zada will live there, too,” he smiled at the older girl who giggled and nodded.
“Yes, Zada too.” She crawled forward on the bed, her long hair falling to her shoulders in a dark cloud. Kadil raised his arm, inviting her to cuddle into his side. “Akeem and Zada will get a nice new home. We will not let those bad men hurt us anymore.”
“Will you stay until I sleep?” Akeem asked Kadil, his lower lip trembling a little.
“Why don’t I get our mattresses and put them on the floor in here?” Aaron replied, smiling gently as Akeem nodded. “All these strange creaks and groans from this ship make me nervous, too.” He grinned as the children giggled. “Kadil and I can camp out down here.” He patted the floor before heading off to retrieve the two mattresses from his and Kadil’s bunk beds, helped by Tonio, and they were soon back. Placing the bedding side by side on the floor, Aaron grinned at Akeem again.
“Just don’t step on us if you need to get up for a bathroom break.” Akeem smiled back, giggling.
“I need to pee.” He sounded a little desperate and Kadil lifted him swiftly, laughing a little as he helped the little boy into the bathroom before they had an accident on the floor.
“
Will you be okay?” Aaron asked, looking at Zada with concern. She nodded, lying back on the bed and getting under the covers.
“Good night, then.” Aaron crawled onto his mattress, yawning widely.
Kadil returned, with Akeem now half asleep in his arms. Within seconds the children were back in bed, fast asleep and Kadil lay down on the floor next to Aaron.
“’Night, Kadil,” Aaron whispered as the light went out and Tonio bid them a cheery good night, closing the door quietly behind him.
Kadil smiled as he heard the even breathing of his blond bed mate, moving closer and snuggling quietly against the man. Immediately a strong arm came over him, pulling him back into Aaron’s warm body, Aaron’s mouth brushing a light kiss against Kadil’s shoulder before he settled down again. Kadil didn’t think the man had even woken up once.
He smiled again, feeling more content than ever before, closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep again. He could quite happily stay like this forever.
* * * *
A small, firm body molded itself to Aaron’s chest. Even half asleep he knew it wasn’t Kadil.
He came awake slowly, opening one eye blearily to see a small face with a cherub mouth drooling onto his chest, deeply asleep. Aaron grimaced a little at the drool pool, but couldn’t find it in him to reposition Akeem. He looked so peaceful lying there. At some point Akeem must have gotten out of bed and found his way between Aaron and Kadil on the mattress, seeking the comfort and safety of his two rescuers. Aaron stroked a hand gently along the five year old’s back, feeling a paternal love for the boy. The children, both of them, had found their way into his heart. He had made a decision last night, after Akeem’s nightmare. Whatever the future held, he wasn’t leaving these two to the mercies of a welfare system or anyone else. He had money, a trust fund set up by is maternal grandfather who had left him a substantial sum in his will a couple of years ago. He got by on an allowance every year, but intended to work as soon as he finished his master’s degree. He would find a steady job and he would take care of them himself if he had to.
His mother was always on at him to find something worthwhile to do, and with a double major in medieval history and education under his belt, he thought he might like to work as a teacher, which had kind of been the plan all along until he got side-tracked by the war in Syria.
He felt Kadil sigh in his sleep, the man’s warm body snug against his side and studied the beautiful face of the man who was fast becoming everything to Aaron. Fierce and brave, Kadil had the face of an angel. His long lashes fanned his cheek, the full lips curled up at the edges, made for kissing. The beard covering his chin was dark and desperately needed trimming, his hair longer and curling waywardly against his scalp.
“Good morning,” Kadil murmured, tilting his head up and smiling sweetly. His dark eyes were shielded by thick lashes as his eyelids rose to half-mast.
“Good morning yourself,” Aaron replied, smiling back.
“I’m hungry,” Zada’s voice said plaintively from the bed, and the men grinned at each other, then looked over at the little girl who was sitting up and stretching, her mouth opened on a yawn.
“Well, I suppose we should go hunt down some breakfast, then.” Kadil replied, winking at her. She giggled, nodding. Wincing as her bare feet hit the cool floor she scuttled into the bathroom, closing the door discreetly, and the sound of water running told them she was washing the sleep away.
“Will you plait my hair?” Zada asked as she came out, wiping her face with a towel.
Kadil raised a brow at Aaron, who smirked back, his arm behind his head as he lay with Akeem clinging to his chest like a limpet.
“Of course. I’m not sure I know exactly how to plait a girl’s hair, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out.” He looked a little uncertain. “Let me use the bathroom, then we’ll play hair salon.” Zada laughed at him.
Before he’d returned Akeem was stirring, looking confused at first, and then smiling sweetly as he realized where he was.
“I’m hungry,” he said huskily, his tummy rumbling. “I need to pee, too.” They all laughed at that.
“I hear that, young man.” Aaron smiled, sitting up. “Let me go get dressed properly, then we’ll head to the mess hall for breakfast.”
Within minutes they were all ready to go, and headed out to find food.
* * * *
It set the tone for the journey through the Mediterranean. The crew were friendly and happy to teach the kids all about being on a Navy ship, teaching them terminology and pointing out the different ports they sailed past. Dolphins, flying fish and the occasional shark sighting had the children jumping about excitedly, loving the warm sun and the cooling breeze as they sailed on toward Naples.
“We will be heading past Sicily in a day or so,” Tonio said one morning, two days after leaving the coast of Cyprus. “I have radioed ahead, and your mother will be waiting for you when we arrive in Naples the day after that.”
“So soon?” Aaron asked in surprise. “I thought it would take longer.”
“No, my friend, this ship is fast. We had refueled just before we found you, so we haven’t needed to stop. We will need to refuel possibly when we get to Catania tomorrow, before we head home.”
Just then an alarm sounded, loud and strident and Tonio leapt to the side, looking out to sea. A voice rang out in Italian, then in English, a warning to a small vessel overloaded with people just ahead. The island of Crete lay to the north and Libya to the south. They were miles from either shore. Desperate migrants from war-torn Libya were piled into inadequate boats by opportunistic traders, and then left to drift across the Mediterranean in search of better lives. Right now, up ahead, were what looked like two hundred of these despairing people.
The cutter drifted closer, cutting her engines to a dead slow speed as she approached the overloaded trawler. As the Italian ship neared, panic seemed to break out on the other vessel, people shouting and then moving about suddenly.
Aaron watched in horror as the whole thing suddenly tipped, not built for so many people moving to one side, and several people fell into the sea. More shouts, with it obvious that there were non-swimmers there.
Without thinking twice, Aaron dove in. He wore a life vest, mandatory aboard the ship and shouted for a life raft to be thrown over as well as whatever other buoyancy aides Tonio could find.
The water was cool, despite the warmth of the day, but Aaron thought of nothing but the people struggling to stay afloat, swimming hard.
He heard a splash from behind, turning his head to see Kadil also in the water, powering along in a strong crawl.
“You’ll have to translate, I only speak French and English. I don’t speak much Arabic,” Aaron shouted behind. “These people could be from anywhere.”
They were soon embroiled in a struggle to hold onto panicked migrants who were too terrified to know they were being helped. Presumably the sight of a warship had started a panic, and like herds everywhere, the initial alarm had set off a stampede…with nowhere to go.
The cutter moved closer, flotation rings thrown into the water to help the frightened people struggling to stay afloat. Aaron and Kadil managed to get control finally, with Kadil shouting instructions in Arabic and Aaron repeating the directions to stay calm, that the ship wasn’t there to shoot them.
From what Aaron could make out the people were a motley mix of mostly men of African origin, with several women with small children among the group. They all looked terrified, malnourished and exhausted.
Aaron’s heart went out to them. He knew that Libya was immersed in its own conflict, people who had moved there from other African countries for safety now finding themselves caught up in a power struggle that was threatening to spill over into bordering nations. The refugees then threw themselves on the mercy of unscrupulous operators who had access to boats, and took money in exchange for passage on the dangerously overcrowded vessels.
Aaron was unsure what lies were told to these people,
but he could imagine they were lured by stories of a promised land where they would be welcomed with open arms, and safe from persecution. England was a prime destination, as was Germany, Scandinavia and Italy. The recent influx of migrants desperate to get away from the uprisings in their own countries had put extreme pressure on authorities already struggling out of a global depression, and many felt too much was being done abroad, with no concern for domestic issues.
Personally Aaron thought a lot of the moaners were those who had no clue about the reality of the dangers faced in war zones, where military factions were rife, being non-discriminatory about who they harmed in their bid to spread whatever fanatical beliefs they harbored. Having just escaped from one war zone, Aaron couldn’t blame the ones who chose to move. He was just sorry that there wasn’t a better system for helping them out, or at least preventing such mass migrations.
Tonio had told them that none of the closer authorities wanted to help when asked about Zada, Akeem and Kadil. That was just three people. Aaron could just imagine what they would do to the mass of people bobbing about in the Mediterranean, coming from who knew where and landing on foreign shores not equipped to deal with large numbers of asylum seekers. Ignoring the growing crisis was doing nothing more than aggravate an already volatile situation.
A splash sounded behind him and he paddled around to see a ladder being lowered from the side of the cutter. The crew were now clad in all white jump suits, and Aaron had a fleeting thought that there had been an Ebola outbreak in Africa not too long ago. He shrugged, nothing to be done about that now. There was no way he could have watched these people drown in front of him for fear of the possibility of catching something.
