Chapter Text
"Is that everything?" Varian asked. He stood on the deck of the ship, next to Rapunzel, who nodded.
"Yeah. Let's get this thing moving." She turned to smile at him, and he smiled back. She walked up to the wheel, placing her hands on it as the rest of the crew moved around on deck, putting supplies away and detaching the ship from the docks.
Varian looked up as the wind caught the mast, helping move the ship out to sea.
The mast was mostly for show, as Varian had made and installed engines and propellers in the ship, that way they could still move quickly without a wind to push them along.
Varian took a deep breath and let the salty sea air fill his lungs. He walked over to Eugene and helped him move the food down to the kitchen.
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Hugo was absolutely fucked. The ship he had snuck onto was now bustling with activity, and he could tell that it was starting to move away from the docks.
He was crouched in the bottom of a supply closet, holding his breath whenever he heard footsteps pass by. He desperately hoped that nobody would find him, but of course the universe was against him.
The door creaked open, and the person who opened it set something on one of the top shelves. He had to stand on his tiptoes to reach. When he stood flat on his feet again, Hugo noticed that he had a stripe of blue hair standing out against the rest of it, which was black. His skin was tan and covered in freckles. He started closing the door before meeting Hugo's eyes. He froze before opening the door again.
"Who are you?" Hugo glanced around, trying to find a way out of this situation before he spoke.
"Uhhhh... A closet goblin?"
"Oh, haha. Seriously, what are you doing?" Hugo sighed and stood up, realizing that he was about a head taller than the other man. Despite this, he didn't back down, glaring up at Hugo with crossed arms.
"Why should I tell you anything?"
"Because I know for a fact that you're not a part of this ship's crew, and that makes you a stowaway. Now, I'm not sure if you know what typically happens to stowaways on pirate ships, but it's not pretty. So stop being difficult and tell me who you are, or I'm making sure you're finding out firsthand what happens to stowaways on this ship."
Hugo stared at the other man for a moment. He didn't seem like he was messing around, and Hugo really didn't feel like being killed. He sighed and threw his hands up.
"Fine. You win. My name's Hugo."
"Why are you here?"
"I can't tell you that." The other man narrowed his eyes and started walking.
"Come on."
"Where are we going?"
"To see the captain." Hugo didn't move. The other man turned back and grabbed Hugo's wrist, dragging him along.
They went up to the quarterdeck, where the black-haired man pushed Hugo towards a brunette woman standing at the wheel.
"We've got a stowaway, Raps," he said. The woman turned to look at them, and raised an eyebrow when she saw Hugo.
"Eugene!" She called. "Can you take care of stearing for a few minutes?"
"Sure thing, Sunshine." A man walked up from the deck and took the wheel, glaring at Hugo.
"Who's this?" He asked.
"A stowaway," the woman said. She lead Hugo and the other man to what appeared to be the captains quarters. It was divided into two rooms by a curtain, one side a bedroom and the other an office of sorts. There was a bookshelf on one of the walls of the office, and a desk across from the door. The woman leaned up against the bookshelf, looking at Hugo. The other man joined her, leaving Hugo standing in the middle of the room.
Hugo looked around, searching for a way out. He could definitely run out the door and find some way to escape. He hadn't planned on getting caught, and had no plan for if he did.
God, he was an idiot.
"Where'd you find him?" The woman asked.
"In the hall closet near the kitchen. Honestly, it's like he wanted to be caught."
"Hey!" Hugo said. "I'm right here!" The other man shrugged. The woman spoke before either of the men could say anything else.
"I'm Rapunzel, and this is Varian. You would be...?"
"Hugo." Rapunzel paused for a moment, thinking. She looked over at Varian for a moment, a grin appearing on her face.
"Well, Hugo. How are you at engineering?"
"I'd say I'm pretty good."
"Then I've figured out what to do with you."
Varian seemed to catch on. He tore his eyes away from where he had been glaring at Hugo and stared at his captain.
"Ohhhh, no. He is not-"
"You could use an assistant! He could be helpful."
"Nope. I don't need an assistant, I like working alone." Rapunzel sighed and turned back to Hugo.
"You're going to help Varian in the engine room. He'll show you the ropes."
"We could just throw him overboard."
"Varian!" Rapunzel gently swatted at his arm as the raven-haired man shrugged. "You weren't this against Kiera and Catalina when we first found them."
Ah. So Hugo wasn't the first stowaway that they tried dragging onto the crew.
"True, but he's different."
"How so?"
Varian counted off on his fingers as he spoke.
"He's older, we aren't as far out to sea, he said he was a fucking goblin-"
"Language."
"Plus, I don't need help in the engine room."
"When was the last time you talked to someone your own age?"
"I don't see how-"
"Answer the question, Varian." He opened his mouth to respond, only to close it a moment later and shrug.
"Just give him a chance," Rapunzel said to him. Varian sighed and looked over at Hugo.
"Fine." Rapunzel smiled at him, then walked over to Hugo and stuck out her hand for him to shake.
"Welcome to the crew."