Chapter Text
“Captain, what were you thinking?!”
A hard punch landed on Jun’s shoulder and he turned around sheepishly, “Ah, Woozi.”
“Don’t ‘ah, Woozi’ me. You just let go of seventeen barrels of spices and who knows what else!” Growling, his first mate thrust a finger towards the crew on the deck below. “What sort of pirate ship lets go of its plunder? Haven’t you heard the talks of mutiny? It’s only been a month! I swear, if you goddamn do this again-”
Casting an eye over his crew, Jun’s gaze rested on their most recent addition leaning a bit too comfortably against the mast. Tall, dark-haired with piercing eyes and a commanding voice - definitely mutiny material. Introduced himself as S. Coups, or so Jun had heard from the cook. “Don’t worry, Jihoonie, I know the crew. Besides, letting the ship go got us safe passage with the Dutch.” It wasn't true in the slightest but he winked for the added effect.
Jihoon frowned suspiciously, but Jun waved him away. It was getting dark and he needed to figure out his heading for their next stop at a port. Besides, Jihoon was so much shorter than him that from the deck, it probably looked like Jun was talking to the air. He couldn’t have that be his image as the captain, now could he? As Jun closed the heavy oak doors to his quarters behind him, he heard the boisterous talking below resume. Apparently, his crew didn’t feel the need to share whatever the newest story about someone drinking too much and getting deck duty was while he was in earshot. Whatever. Grimacing now that he was alone, he mumbled under his breath, “What a great captain. Can’t negotiate with prisoners, lying to your own first mate! Now a mutiny, too…”
He sighed and slumped at his desk. Mindlessly switching from one instrument to the next as he set a heading for the nearest pirate port, he at least patted himself on the back for being talented at navigating. In fact, Jun had originally wanted to join the Queen’s Navy- “But then life! Who wants to wash the deck for those asshats anyways? And wait two hundred thousand years to be promoted? No thank you. Being captain here is so much better.” At least it would be, if he had any pirate-like tendencies. Unfortunately, he just wanted to be able to sail freely with a loyal crew that respected him. He hadn’t really realized how much smuggling, drinking, stealing, womanizing, and general immorality was involved.
He still remembered the first time he went to port as a pirate. With a naive smile, he had asked for beer. That was the night his entire first crew resigned, citing the want to sail under a real pirate and not a kid playing Captain Hook. Of course, they voiced their dissent in much more violent means, but that was a story for another day. After that, Jun learned to only drink hard spirits like tequila or rum.
“But,” Jun reminded himself with a practiced smirk at the mirror, “at least you look cool in pirate clothes. Such a sharp black tux, not to mention the stunning red cape, and best of all the hat-”
“Are you talking to yourself again, Captain?”
Scrambling out of his chair, Jun called towards the door, “Not any more than you do, Jeonghan!
“Touché.” Tied-back blonde locks and the smell of perfume wafted into Jun’s room. Quite unusual for a pirate ship and its varying degrees of sanitation, but who was Jun to care about that if Jeonghan made such good food?
“What’s for dinner?” The young captain licked his lips in anticipation as Jeonghan set down a covered plate in front of him.
“Oh, you know. This and that.” Grinning devilishly, the cook bid farewell quickly, on his way to where the crew was waiting. With just a whiff of perfume the sole evidence that Jeonghan had even been in his room, it seemed that the cook had some very special news to tell the crew that night. If he was first-rate in cuisine, Jeonghan no-doubt had to be at least second-rate at spreading rumors, a third of them made up about the crew, a third about himself, and a third true. At times, Jun wondered if Jeonghan knew that Jun heard each and every rumor through Jihoon, and at other times, he wondered if the man would even care. No matter, he was sure the rumor today would be about the captain and his dealings with the Dutch captain, whether Jeonghan worded it as the brilliant captain tricking the Dutch into giving pirates right of way or as the naive boy who hides away in his quarters making the blunder of the century.
Laughing softly to himself, Jun uncovered his dinner and dug in. A warm meal sure did make him feel better after his failed attempt at piracy that day. Thinking back to how the captain of the ship he had taken had changed his story from having a wife to provide for to a wife, two kids, several sisters, and a dog, Jun really felt like a fool for believing him and he was sure others would agree. “But what if he actually did? The poor kids would be orphaned and-” Looking in the mirror, he blinked twice and almost slapped himself. Having to put together a second crew after the unfortunate incident with the beer was hard enough, Jun doubted he would be able to escape a mutiny with his ship still intact, despite his firm belief that Jihoon would somehow end up unscathed. No, he had better hope the rumor tonight wasn’t mutiny related. Putting on his best pep talk face, he stabbed a finger at his reflection. “Stop being so soft-hearted, for heaven’s sake! Tomorrow, you’re going to go capture a ship, sell your spoils at port, go out drinking, get yourself a few girls, and then your crew is going to adore you and the Queen’s Navy will know you’re a real pirate!”
He winced at the last few ideas. Maybe it’d be better to just stick to finding a ship to capture first and worry about the looting and drinking later. And the girls even later. Groaning, Jun traced his fingers over the rim of his beloved captain’s hat. It was going to be a long night.