Chapter Text
Nanook was a quiet man. He did not speak much, but when he did, it was as if the world silenced itself for him. His voice was deep, smooth, like an aged red wine slipping out of his lips and intoxicating anyone close enough to hear him.
He was intimidating, not from a volatile temper, but from his silence. His golden eyes were like tempered rays of a dying sun. Where Khaslana’s eyes shone with gentle warmth, golden wheat swaying in a sweet breeze of air, Nanook’s were intense in their indifference, an uncaring glance as if there was no one around worth his attention.
Despite his towering height and muscular physique, his steps were silent and elegant. He made no unnecessary movements, no hesitation. He walked like he knew himself and like the world knew him.
Everything about him was purposeful, intentional, the efficient way he seized power, the unyielding loyalty from his Lord Ravagers–and his deep affection for Khaslana.
No one knew what exactly drew Nanook to Khaslana, maybe Nanook himself didn’t even know, and if he did, maybe he would never say. What about a struggling brother trying to raise his two younger siblings drew the attention of one of the most powerful men in the galaxy?
They were worlds apart. One meal of Nanook’s would be enough money to keep Khaslana’s family afloat for a month. The clothes Khaslana mended for his brothers, because they couldn’t afford new ones, would be cheaper than the tissues that graced Nanook’s table.
And yet.
And yet this man, who could destroy age-old corporations with just a wave of his hand, showed a quiet devotion unlike anything Khaslana had ever experienced. He did not mock him or look down on him for struggling to feed his family, he did not sneer at him the first time Khaslana had broken down in tears in front of him, when he couldn’t afford to send Phainon and Neikos on a school trip and had to see the disappointed expressions both of them tried to hide from him.
He had simply extended his help, his wealth, and waited for Khaslana to accept it. It had taken a while, but Khaslana’s pride meant nothing in front of his little brothers’ happy smiles, when he could finally place a hearty meal in front of them, when their clothes were new and clean, their shoes unbroken, and their bedsheets stainless.
The moment Khaslana took Nanook’s hand and had given him implicit permission for his care, he swept into their lives with relentless force. They were moved into his house, though it was more an estate than anything else, Phainon and Neikos were registered under his family name and moved into a private academy, and they were shifted into a life of gentle luxury.
It made Khaslana nervous at first. He didn’t know what the catch was, didn’t know what Nanook would get out of taking in three poor boys, and when he had finally mustered up the courage to ask, Nanook had drawn him into his arms and told him one thing.
All he wanted was Khaslana. He wanted his love, his fidelity, his attention, his consent and willingness to be owned by Nanook, to belong to him.
And when what stood on the other side of his independence was the happiness of his brothers and a man devoted to him, there was never a choice.
Khaslana accepted.