The air around the boy thrummed with energy, he could feel the eyes watching him, drawn as if by a magnetic force to his body. The room was dark and smoky, save for the candles that burned brightly all around, giving the room a romantic and intoxicating feel. He moved about the crowd with practiced grace, moving his hips rhythmically to the flow of the music. Pausing in front of a man in the back row he lifted him arms above his head and rolled his hips forward, thrusting so as to appear highly suggestive. The man reached forward and gripped the boy's waist with rough hands, the other men in the meyhane shouted and crowded around pushing and punching to get the boy's attention. In a very practiced and fluid movement the boy rolled his body and the man's fingers released to allow him to move, as the man let go the boy danced away. This sensuous dance continued and the boy seemed to grow more and more popular as the night wore on, the men grew more rowdy as they argued over who was worthy of the boy's attentions.

Nagisa was a köçek, a young boy who was hired to dance for the pleasures of men. Because of his size and his feminine attributes he was well known in the underworld of those who bought the virtues of young and beautiful boys. Nagisa had not always lived this way, when he was much younger he had lived in Greece with his family, he had been taken away at the age of six as a part of the Turkish blood tax. His looks had earned him training in dance and music for the purpose of becoming a köçek. Thus when he reached the age of fourteen his training was considered over and his life as a köçek began.

When at last his performance was over the floor was littered with broken glasses and the air was full of cries, calling out prices. The owner of the meyhane walked in front of the crowd, he was a coarse man with black hair and a matching beard. Nagisa stood at his side and did his best to look innocent and attractive, though it wasn't hard with his years of training. The man beside him smiled gruffly and called out.

"This is obviously the moment you've been waiting for all night, when we decide what lucky man will be taking this-" He gestured to Nagisa, "-home tonight!"

The crowd roared, and the bidding began, Nagisa's ears went deaf to the shouts of men calling out sums. In truth he had only been bought twice before since he had been a fairly new sight in the meyhanes of the city, it took around a month for him to become popular, though that was considered a feat in itself. The gleaming capital city of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople had always provided numerous job opportunities for any köçek and it wasn't hard to find a meyhane that wanted to hire him. Now he worked at night and rested during the day, being as young as he was the owner of the meyhane had allowed him to simply dance as that certainly paid well enough for both Nagisa and the owner, however as Nagaisa's popularity grew, the owner of the meyhane had found that the virtues of a young boy can be sold for a fortune.

"One hundred ashrafi!" The shout broke through Nagisa's revere, one hundred? He does know he's not paying for kızlık. Nagisa thought loftily, what some of these men are willing to pay for pleasure!

"Sold, sold for one hundred ashrafi!" The owner of the meyhane looked incredibly pleased with himself. Because Nagisa was working at his meyhane and living there, he would glean fifty percent of whatever Nagisa made. One hundred gold ashrafi was certainly a price for one night's pleasure!

Nagisa smiled shyly at the man, who had just finished handing over the money to the owner of the meyhane. The man was tall and well built his skin was tanned and rippling with muscle. He took Nagisa's arm roughly and pulled him to his chest whereupon he took hold of the boy's waist and lead him firmly away.

Dinner was always a tense affair in the home of the Sultan. Rin, the firstborn son of the Sultan and the rightful heir to the empire watched his half brother, Haruka with agitation. Haruka was only related through their father the Sultan and his mother was of a lower standing in the Imperial Harem only an ikbal while Rin's own mother was a kadın, the highest rank below the Vailde Sultan. This fact rarely seemed to have an effect on their father however and Rin constantly felt as though Haruka was gaining the upper hand, although Rin was rightful heir their father could still deem him unfit and give the throne to Haruka. Because of this the two had cultivated a terrible rivalry.

At last the meal was over and Rin excused himself to bathe. The cool water was a blessing though it did nothing to ease the anger he felt towards his brother, he was so lost in his own thoughts that he failed to notice when the curtain in the doorway was lifted and someone else entered the room. In fact he didn't notice until that person climbed into the bath with him.

"Damn it Haruka! What are you doing?" Rin sat up straight and glared at his brother.

"My bath is too small," was the monotonous reply.

"I don't care! Get out!" Rin's anger clouded his vision. Haruka sighed and closed his eyes, losing himself in the cool water.

Rin stood, water streaming off his body, "I'm going to bed." He stormed out of the room. Haruka remained in the bath, his expression was a little sad.

Back in his room Rin fumed, even his small moment alone had been ruined by his stupid brother! He decided then and there that he would go out the following evening to avoid his brother and forget about him for a few hours. There were always new meyhanes opening even if his father didn't approve it was better than being here with his brother.

He flopped onto his bed, too exhausted to dress in his night clothes he wrapped himself in a silk sheet and closed his eyes. The last thing he saw before he went to sleep was Haruka's face, burned into his mind.

As night came on so came a coolness that spread like a glass of cool water over the city. Rei blinked rapidly, the duty of night guard was never a very interesting affair and he found it difficult to stay awake.

Sighing he stood up straighter and watched as the night grew darker and darker. On the village street in front of him he saw a figure coming up the road illuminated by the candle they held. It appeared to be a large man accompanied by the tiny fragile shape of a girl. As they approached from his left he noticed the girl's lovely golden hair and milky white skin that shone beneath the candle, though the skin beneath her collarbones was hidden in darkness. He also noticed the girl of the man's hand upon her waist and tensed, ready to jump forward and save the girl from whoever held her captive, but as he looked more closely he saw that she was walking along willingly, holding the man's arm with her gentle hands.

When they passed he caught the scent of exotic flowers and he closed his eyes for a moment after they'd passed savoring the smell. He watched the girl's back wistfully, knowing he would likely never see her again.

Translations/Cultural notes

*Meyhane was the name for the Turkish taverns during the Ottoman Empire

*Constantinople was the name of the capital of Turkey during this part of the Ottoman Empire (the 18th century) the city is currently known as Istanbul

*Ashrafi is the term for the gold coins used as common currency during the Ottoman Empire

*When Nagisa says kızlık he is referring to a virgin, or someone who has not yet been sold to anyone for the night, the literal translation is virginity, or cherry

A/N: I feel the need to explain the story a little, after watching the ending theme song for Free! I decided that there just had to be an AU based on it, and I found one! The writing was incredible but it was only one chapter and didn't have the type of character development that I wanted so I thought I'd write one myself! So here it is and I hope at least some people like it, I know I enjoy writing it! (I did do a lot of research for this fic, but if you find some horrible inaccuracy please let me know)