Work Text:
“It isn’t much of a threat.” The slam of a mead-filled mug against the wooden table was drowned out by the mindless chattering and boisterous laughter of the plethora of drunkards of the alehouse. “A wee ship like that? Her captain must be mad if he thinks his ship is anything to fear. A sloop with a crew of 30? He must be mad. What could a lad like that hope to gain with such a tiny crew? Bah, Treasure … I’ll take her for myself, show her captain what a real pirate is like.”
“Oi, haven’t you heard? The Treasure never loses. Her captain is a fearsome little lad, no more than 25 years of age. Been sailing since he was a boy, started out as cabin boy when he was just 8 years of age. Rarely sets foot on land unless it’s to replenish goods. Awfully observant, that one. Knew how to rig a sail by the time he was 9, was navigating by the time he was 10. Never made it to quartermaster before he jumped ship, oddly enough. Some say he refused to become another captain’s quartermaster, some say his previous captain wanted to keep him as his bitch. Lad left before he turned 18.”
“Are you implying the Treasure’s captain is a genius of some sort?”
“Aye, he is. He took to sailing faster than anyone else, rumor has it. Knows his ship inside and out, enough to restore her to her true glory. They say he haggled for the price of his ship with all the coin he had, meager wages for the 9 years he had been with his former crew. She was headed to the graveyard, spare parts an’ all. But he saved her, made her his. Fixed her up himself, day in and day out for hours on end until he collapsed on the beaches, letting the waves kiss him awake. Aye, he was just a boy as he worked on her, but his work paid off. Created a crew of his own, a small crew of 8 to begin with. Eight became twelve, became twenty. But he decided he didn’t need more than 30 men, and if he had it his way, he wouldn’t have had more than him and his original 7 crewmates.”
“Awfully confident, isn’t he? For someone as supposedly fearsome as he, wouldn’t he want a bigger crew?” Snorting, another swig of mead went down the hatch, a satisfied groan followed by a clearing of his throat. “Cocky, I’d say. He won’t last another year with just 30 men. Aye, your story makes me want to take the Treasure for myself, you know. See what her wee captain has to show me.”
“It’s not her captain you need t’worry about.” There was a scoff, followed by a shake of a head. “The rumors about her captain ring quite true. But there is someone far more fearsome on the Treasure; the captain’s wife. They say his wife is a pretty little thing that could put a siren to shame, more entrancing than the sea herself. They say his wife is far more merciless than the captain himself, and is surely a death wish if you meet ‘er eye. The captain is a death wish by all means, but if you’re to meet his wife, you’ll wish the captain had dealt with you himself.”
“Oh? And what does this wife of his look like? Maybe I’ll take her for myself.” The sloshing of mead followed a bellowing cackle, before the mug clattered to the table. “Don’t skimp on the details, now. I need to know what to be aware of when capturing my bride to be.”
“If you can get past her husband, that is. They say her hair is a soft pink - lightened with whatever she can get her hands on at port, whether it be honey, lemons, or chamomile, and stained pink when she can get her hands on beets. Her eyes are said to see through your very soul, to see through all your intentions, darker than the depths of the ocean. Her skin tanned, but far more fair than it should be for living on the sea. She looks sunkissed, they say, with pretty plump lips that hold a smirk more dangerous than that of a serpent. Dainty hands with a vice grip, she’s tall and willowy. Not much of a chest on her, but it isn’t a bother, her delicate features and tiny waist make up for it. She’s known to be terribly stunning and deadly - you best not cross her.”
“What can a lass do against a real pirate? Come on now, 29 men and 1 woman against a crew of 160? Piece of cake - the Treasure and that pretty wife of the captain’s will be mine when I find her.”
A sigh, “Aye, well don’t say I didn’t warn you. They say the Treasure’s captain is on his way to becoming a pirate king, and she his queen. She’s stronger than he, could easily overthrow him, but chooses not to. And you really wish to cross a couple like that? You truly wish for a burial at sea, don’t you?”
“If that’s the death I get, then so be it.”
━ ◦ ❖ ◦━
Gentle fingers ran through pink strands, the color faded and far less vibrant than a fresh application of beet juice. Seonghwa was an absolute vision as he stood on the deck to the fo’c’sle, sunlight bouncing off of sun kissed skin that seemed to glitter with the reflection of the ocean. Despite the heat of the sun beating down on him, Seonghwa seemed unaffected, staring out into the sparkling sea with a soft smile on his lips.
And Hongjoong… Hongjoong stood on the main deck, looking at Seonghwa with all the love and adoration in his eyes that he felt. His wife was truly a vision to behold, a deadly grace under the mask of weak-willed and pliant. He liked that his wife was as deadly as he was gorgeous, that the moment Seonghwa stepped into battle, it was over. Because Seonghwa had never lost in a fight once, strong-willed and quick-witted.
Seonghwa was danger and demise wrapped up in beauty, identical to the unsuspecting oleanders he so desperately loved working with. Stunning to look at, a beautiful bloom painted in shades of pink, holding death with a gentle touch. Unsuspecting from the outside, fragile in appearance, Seonghwa loved to keep their enemies guessing, loved to toy with them and feed into the rumors about him that ran rampant through each port the Treasure docked in.
Gentle steps led from the main deck to the fo’c’sle, a small grunt and a sigh leaving Hongjoong’s lips as he stepped beside Seonghwa, head tilted just so, enough to take in the delicate feature of his wife, a title Seonghwa had given himself the moment Hongjoong slipped the delicate bands of gold around Seonghwa’s upper arm years prior. He never tired of looking at Seonghwa - his wife was the most stunning creature he had ever laid eyes on, even 8 years before when Seonghwa’s hair was inky as the darkest depths of the seas.
“Are you ready to set foot on land once more, love?” Hongjoong questioned, chin hooking onto Seonghwa’s shoulder as arms slid around a lithe waist. Leaning back into his captain’s arms, Hongjoong knew there was a gentle smile that teased at Seonghwa’s lips, even as Hongjoong ghosted kisses along his neck, lips barely hovering over the surface of Seonghwa’s skin.
“Aye, we’ve been at sea too long this time. We’re returning to Port de Roses, correct? Minho promised he would have everything I needed in a year’s time, and that was roughly a year ago.” Laughing, Seonghwa could feel the way Hongjoong’s expression twisted against his neck. “I won’t kill anyone, you know that. You have an immunity as well as the others, from ingesting a little at a time.”
“I know,” The response was petulant, a whine carried from the depths of Hongjoong’s chest. Seonghwa’s little experiments always put him on edge - because the wrong dose could be, would be, catastrophic. And Hongjoong simply couldn’t do that to his crew, even with the assurance from Seonghwa that he wouldn’t let anything go wrong, that the stores of activated charcoal were for emergency only. “You’ve run out of foxglove, haven’t you?”
“Oh, my love, I’m out of many of my ingredients, and Minho is risking everything for me to get his hands on them.” With a dramatic sigh, Seonghwa shook his head. “The oleander, nightshade, and snakeroot are the most important for me to get my hands on; they’re the bases of everything.”
“You and your poisons,” Hongjoong sighed, fond and very in love with how Seonghwa chose to deal with his enemies. “Tell me, love, what possessed you to come up with all of these deadly ideas in the first place, hm? You’re already terrifying with a blade and a barrel, why must you add another way to kill a man to your already impressive repertoire?”
Twisting in Hongjoong’s hold, Seonghwa hummed as his arms draped over his captain’s shoulders, head tilted to the side teasingly, innocently, but Hongjoong knew the truth. Smiling, Seonghwa leaned in, ghosting his lips over Hongjoong’s.
“If my blade doesn’t kill your enemies, my poisons will, you know that, darling.” His voice was no more than a whisper, a tease on the wind as Seonghwa’s smile turned dark. “My love, you’ve been aware of this since the very beginning, haven’t you? That I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”
Stealing another kiss from Hongjoong, a real one this time, nothing as childish as ghosting their lips over one another in a foolish guise of a kiss, Seonghwa’s fingers twisted into Hongjoong’s hair, the braids Hongjoong insisted on keeping in pressing against his palm. It wasn’t gentle, but didn’t linger, with Seonghwa breaking the kiss just as quickly as he had initiated it.
“You’re going to be a tease today, aren’t you?” Hongjoong’s voice held a pout as Seonghwa stepped away from him, the playful smile pulling at soft lips. “What’s the reason, hm?”
“Well, it’s possibly our last voyage on the Treasure, isn’t it? She’s becoming too hard to maintain with how old she is, and last time we docked, you sent a letter to Maddox, didn’t you? Asking for him to secure you a new ship the size of a brigantine or larger? I need to make sure the kids have gotten everything packed and secured for an easier swap.”
“Well, yes, but there’s no guarantee-”
“Hongjoong, darling, Maddox has never failed you in the past 10 years you’d known him. He was the one who found you this ship, isn’t he, after you told him your dreams of owning your own ship and setting sail? Come now, do you really have such little faith in him now to think he could possibly fail you?” Clicking his tongue, Seonghwa stepped around Hongjoong, heels tapping against the wood of the Treasure’s deck, his hands laced behind his back as he hopped down from the fo'c'sle. “I’d be more surprised if Maddox hadn’t been able to secure a brigantine for you.”
Snorting, Hongjoong hoisted himself onto a barrel by the edge of the Treasure on top of the fo’c’sle, looking down at Seonghwa as he turned to face Hongjoong once more, letting the winds ruffle his hair beautifully, delicately. “Maddox isn’t a miracle worker, Seonghwa. He’s human like you and I. If he can get me a new ship… then we’ll board our new ship and set sail on another adventure.”
“And what new adventures await us this time, captain?”
As Hongjoong parted his lips to respond, a startled yelp cut through the air, a resigned sigh of drop anchor from Jongho, followed by two consecutive splashes. There was silence for a moment, and then…
“Kang Yeosang!”
Hongjoong and Seonghwa both turned to look at the source of the call that came from San - who was nowhere to be found. Instead, Yeosang could be seen leaning against the edge of the Treasure, his chin resting in his hand and a smile teasing at his lips as the wind tousled soft black hair. They watched as Yeosang lifted his other hand, waving too-sweetly in the direction of the water.
“Oh look, you’re a mermaid now.” Yeosang teased, and it became abundantly clear what had happened; Yeosang had taken something San said personally, or was annoyed by something he said, and chose to push his partner overboard rather than walk away. It wasn’t the first time by any means, but it was no less exhausting than the first sixteen times.
Hongjoong sighed, sliding off the barrel until his feet touched the floorboards, brushing the invisible dust from his clothes as he moved to cross the deck to where Yeosang was staring down at San, questionable love in his eyes.
“Am I at least a pretty mermaid? Pretty enough to bring on deck?” San called from the water, pouting up at his partner as he treaded the water, the Treasure halted in its movement as Yeosang watched San.
Yeosang shrugged, “Passably cute. I guess we can bring you on deck.” Hongjoong sighed as Yeosang waved for Mingi to lower the pirogue for San to hoist himself into. Yeosang laughed in amusement as San pulled himself into the pirogue, attempting to wring the water out of his shirt with a petulant whine as Mingi raised the boat back to the main deck. Seonghwa clicked his tongue with a shake of his head - he had figured that, after years together, Yeosang would have found a different method of shutting San up that didn’t involve pushing him overboard.
“Babe, as much as I love seeing you display your strength,” San sighed as he pulled himself back onto the deck, stripping himself of his water-logged shirt, pouting gently at Yeosang. “It really isn’t nice to push me overboard.”
“Weigh anchor.” Jongho called, an affirmative from Yunho echoing in response.
“Neither are unsolicited comments about my body and the things you’d like to do to it, so I suppose we’ll call it even.” Yeosang shrugged, rolling his eyes before his fingers wrapped around San’s wrist, leading the younger to the crew’s quarters. It was questionable what Yeosang was planning, the navigator harder to read than the sky on a cloudy night. Both Hongjoong and Seonghwa, however, hoped that Yeosang was just going to collect San’s wet clothing to hang to dry.
Seonghwa sighed softly as the remainder of their original crew scattered, shaking his head in mild disappointment. Though the crew of the Treasure were competent beyond belief, incredibly skilled beyond words, that didn’t mean they didn’t have playful streaks, and working on the ship sometimes felt more like playing babysitter.
“Our next adventure will be wherever the sea takes us, Seonghwa.” Hongjoong answers, sighing softly, knowing it wasn’t the answer Seonghwa wanted. “We dock in three days time. Make sure the kids are all packed up. You’re right; Maddox has never failed me before.”
━ ◦ ❖ ◦━
Seonghwa’s fingers trailed delicately over the wares being offered at one of the stalls along the merchant’s strip. Nothing particularly caught his eye, but he had a knack for being able to tell when a merchant was hiding something in their wares, disguised or strategically placed under another item, easy to overlook, but never escaping Seonghwa’s keen eye. This time, a compass, easily mistaken for a tin with the way it was overturned. There was likely nothing special about the compass, but the deliberate way the merchant had placed it so perfectly, face down to not catch anyone’s eye, had Seonghwa stopping, lips pressed together in a thin line.
Wooyoung, who had been no more than a few feet in front of Seonghwa before he realized he had lost the other, quickly returned to his side. “Seonghwa?”
“That tin there,” Seonghwa spoke coolly to the merchant, holding up a hand to Wooyoung, signaling for him to wait. The merchant met Seonghwa’s gaze, his expression giving nothing away even as Seonghwa pointed at the upturned compass. “How much for it?”
“That ol’ thing?” His voice, gruff and gravelly, seemed disbelieving that Seonghwa was interested in such a thing. “I can’t see why you’d want to waste your coin on somethin’ like this. No more than a mere paperweight at best.”
“Then, you shouldn’t mind if I take it off your hands for free, then?” Seonghwa reached for the compass, brow raised impassively as he leveled with the merchant. Beside him, Wooyoung fidgeted - they would be late to the meeting with Minho, and both Minho and Seonghwa hated being late by any account. “If it’s something so useless, of course.”
“Hold your horses there, lad.” The merchant gripped Seonghwa’s wrist, a sneer on his face, and Wooyoung could hear the way Seonghwa lightly sucked on his teeth, looking at the way his wrist was entirely encircled by the merchant’s hand. If it wasn’t for the fact Seonghwa had to behave to keep from drawing attention to himself, Wooyoung knew the merchant would be dead already. “Did I give you permission to touch my wares?”
“It’s a mere paperweight at best, is it not?” Seonghwa mocked, pulling his wrist from the merchant’s grip, grabbing the compass without fear, making note of the way the merchant didn’t make an attempt at taking it back, not yet. “So I ask you again - though if you refuse to give me a price, I’ll take it for free and be on my merry way.”
“Seonghwa…”
“Quiet, Wooyoung.” Pocketing the compass, Seonghwa held up a small, velvet pouch filled with coin, pulled from the leather pouch on his belt. Bouncing it once, twice, three times, he let the merchant hear the coins rattle against each other, a soft metallic chime as the pieces of gold and silver collided. “A price, chandler . I won’t ask again.”
Money was, at least, something that Seonghwa had no issues using to his advantage. Not with the way the merchant eyed the small pouch greedily, before sneering at Seonghwa. “Six gold coin.”
“ Gold ? For a piece of shit like that?” Wooyoung gaped at the merchant, looking at Seonghwa as the quartermaster pulled six gold coins out of the bag, dropping them into the merchant’s hand. “Seonghwa, you really paid him six gold for that?”
“Come, Wooyoung, we’re done here.” Turning on his heel, Seonghwa tucked the pouch of coin back into the pocket on his belt as he walked, smirking to himself as he thumbed over the broken compass in his pocket. To anyone else, the trinket would be just that - a trinket. But for Hongjoong, it would mean so much more. It was, after all, his . Hongjoong had lost it years ago during a trip to port, the compass haven fallen from his pocket as he evaded the port marshals.
Seonghwa would recognize it anywhere, as Hongjoong had been torn apart with despair when he realized he had lost it. A gift from his previous captain, it has been the last thing Hongjoong had from his previous life at sea. He had been so proud of it, the gilded moons that covered the outside of the compass, stained the darkest shade of silver possible. It was handcrafted, specifically for Hongjoong, and though it had lost some of its beauty with the merchant, likely haven been shifted from hand to hand over the years, he knew he would be able to have it restored easily.
“Seonghwa, six gold ?” Wooyoung sighed in disbelief, hanging his head in defeat. “For that broken thing?”
“It’s worth far more than six gold, Wooyoung.” Seonghwa hummed, a small laugh on his lips as the duo turned down another path, a familiar trip to Minho’s shop. “It’s worth at least fifty, and I honestly should have taken it for nothing.”
“Fifty? What makes it so special?”
“Our beloved captain is its true owner, gifted to him by Eden after he left the Madness before he turned 18. It was meant to be his 18th birthday gift from Eden, but because Hongjoong left sooner, Eden gifted it to him early. It was his greatest treasure, and now I’ve gotten it back for him.” Seonghwa was cocky about his find, smirk fading only as he pushed his way into Minho’s shop, seeing his friend lightly stroking along the back of the sleepy orange tabby. Soonie, if Seonghwa remembered right. “Minho, sorry to keep you waiting.”
Minho sighed, standing up, apologizing quietly to Soonie as he disturbed the poor cat’s sleep. “I’d ask what kind of trouble you got into this time, but something tells me I won’t really care.” Waving for Seonghwa and Wooyoung to follow him, Minho disappeared into what appeared to be the back room of his little shop, off limits to customers that aren’t part of Hongjoong’s immediate crew, or himself and Jisung. “Jisung is finishing putting everything together for you.”
“I knew I could count on you, Minho.” Seonghwa cooed, lightly scratching Soonie under the chin as he passed by, following Minho into the room. The room was, in all actuality, just the hiding place of the trap door that led to the basement of the shop, where Minho’s did most of his illegal dealings. The stairs leading to the basement were steep, the stairwell narrow, and Seonghwa had to press both his hands to the walls on either side of him to keep himself from tumbling after Minho as Wooyoung elected to remain upstairs, a lookout in case Minho was needed.
“Seonghwa finally show up?” Jisung’s voice carried, and Seonghwa resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he stepped in behind Minho. It was only when Jisung looked up, a cheeky smile on his lips, did Seonghwa allow his expression to twist in annoyance. “So he did.”
“Everything you asked for, I was able to get my hands on.” Minho ignored his partner, fingers trailing over a multitude of vials kept in a case. “More than anticipated, actually. I was able to get the most of the venom from the blue ringed octopus, amazingly. Normally it’s next to impossible for me to get ahold of, but there seemed to be a mass influx of them landing ashore this past year. The venom was extracted by hand thanks to Felix, so be sure to stop by and thank him. Fearless, that one.”
“I’ll be sure to. The venom is usually what I have to make last the longest, too. What else did you get?”
“I told you, I managed to get everything. The poison glands from the golden poison dart frogs is a little light, but not by much. Good haul of the pufferfish toxins as well as the venom from the tiger snake. Please don’t ask how I managed to get all of these within a year; it wasn’t easy. You owe me.”
“I always owe you, Minho.” Seonghwa shook his head, picking up a vial labeled clearly with the octopus venom. “What about the plants?”
“Delivered to your ship, along with the rest of the venoms - the new one. Word from Maddox says he was able to secure a new ship for the likes of your crew. Fresh from the yard, she hasn’t had a captain yet. Hongjoong’ll be the first to sail her into open waters. The first to name her.” Jisung provided, an impish grin on his lips as he leaned forward, sliding the rest of the vials of poison towards Seonghwa. “A little birdy has told me it’s another gift from Eden, because soon’ll mark 18 years since Eden and Hongjoong met, and Eden took him under his wing. Eden loves to spoil Hongjoong, after all. Had the ship custom made over the past few years and she’s finally ready.”
“Eden did? Does Hongjoong know?” Seonghwa quirked a brow at Jisung, pocketing the vial in his hand, letting it rest next to the compass. “Is this give Hongjoong gifts week?”
Minho snorted, “Giving yourself to him doesn’t count as a gift, Seonghwa. You swore fealty to him years upon years ago, not to mention gave him your life in marriage vows.”
“Funny, Minho.” Seonghwa rolled his eyes, something he did more often with Minho and Jisung than with his own crew, finally picking up the case of venoms. “I found the compass Eden gifted him when he left the Madness. I plan to pick up some things to restore it and return it to him. It’s broken beyond current use, but it’s nothing that I can’t fix, and if not me, then Mingi.”
“You found his compass?” Jisung gasped, wide-eyed and in disbelief. He had known about the lost compass - all of Minho’s ragtag group knew, as they were practically crew, despite being landlocked. Hongjoong liked to joke that they were crewmen who lost their sea legs and held the fort down on land, and it would have been true if any of Minho’s group had ever stepped foot on a boat for longer than 2 hours to load up supplies. “Where’d you find it?”
Gesturing towards the general direction of the merchant strip with his head, Seonghwa clicked his tongue, “One of the merchants had it. Was supposedly selling it, but didn’t want to give it up, despite calling it worthless. If only he knew how much that supposedly worthless tin was actually worth, he wouldn’t have sold it - especially not for 6 gold.”
Jisung whistled under his breath, “That compass is worth way more. And some merchant just had it?”
“My guess is it was found and picked up, and exchanged hands for years. She’s broken, but easily fixed up.” Seonghwa shrugged, crossing his arms. “It’s a new slate for him. A new ship, and his compass returned. He’ll be overjoyed.”
━ ◦ ❖ ◦━
Stepping foot onto the new ship was a strange experience for Seonghwa. The decks were glossy, freshly sealed to protect from the harshness of the elements. There were no scuffs or scratches that marred the wood, no signs of a long passed fight. The deck was far bigger than Seonghwa was used to as well, spanning wider than the Treasure had, with more storage for weaponry and the like.
“It’s beautiful.” He breathed, stepping aside to let Wooyoung aboard. Following behind Wooyoung were Minho and Jisung, toting a few extra supplies for a new journey. Supplies that Mingi had requested, allegedly. Wooyoung, however, snorted.
“It’s just a new ship, Seonghwa.” he chirped, shoving his way past the quartermaster to inspect anything he possibly could, as if he would find something wrong with a ship that Eden had made for Hongjoong specifically. “But I gotta say, it’s impressive for Maddox to secure a ship like this.”
“There was nothing to secure.” Maddox’s voice chimed as he came from the fo’c’sle, San and Yeosang behind him. “This ship has been in the works for years, actually. It just happened to be ready in the time frame Hongjoong asked me to secure a new one. You really thought Eden would just let Hongjoong sail and make a name for himself with nothing but a shitty sloop? Come on, now. That was just to get him started; this is the real deal.”
“Oh yeah? What’s the name of the real deal, then?” Wooyoung snorted, leaning against the edge of the ship; it wasn’t unusual for him to give Maddox a hard time when docked. “Does it even have a name?”
“Aye, she does.” Stepping out of the captain’s cabin, Hongjoong glanced over the few members of his crew above deck. “Welcome aboard the Destiny Ship. Maddox is also joining us aboard from here on, so keep your bickering to a minimum, Wooyoung.”
Wooyoung huffed, crossing his arms and turning his body towards Hongjoong, “Bigger ship, bigger crew, right? Are the landlocked brats finally getting their sea legs?” Gesturing over his shoulder at Minho and Jisung, Wooyoung quirked a brow. From where Minho and Jisung were placing supplies down on the fo’c’sle deck, Minho snorted.
“Absolutely not. If we come aboard, there’ll be no one to collect your supplies. What a stupid notion. If I were to give you anyone, it’d be Changbin, but unfortunately for you I still need him.”
“Boo, I was hoping for someone more fun.” Wooyoung huffed, pushing away from the side of the ship to move around San, Maddox, and Yeosang, dipping into the below decks of the fo’c’sle.
“…What’s his problem?” San asked, looking between where Wooyoung disappeared below decks and Seonghwa. Sighing, Seonghwa shrugged in response.
“I couldn’t tell you, Sannie. He was fine all day until we came to the ship. It might be the change of a new ship. The Treasure has been his home for so long now, after all.” Seonghwa mused, crossing his arms. “Leaving behind your home isn’t easy. It’ll take time for him to adjust to a new ship.”
“He wasn’t like this when we joined the crew for the Treasure.” San grumbled, hooking his chin onto Yeosang’s shoulder, arms winding around the navigator’s waist, and Seonghwa refrained from cooing at the pair as Yeosang let himself sink into San’s hold. “He was excited about that.”
“Well, yes, but people change as they grow. Wooyoung wanted to see the world and Hongjoong needing a crew was a good chance. But the Treasure has been all he’s known for years. Now he has to adjust to a new everything. Give him a week after we set sail, he’ll be just fine.”
San sighed, grumbling quietly into Yeosang’s neck. Seonghwa couldn’t quite make out the words, but he knew it was some thinly veiled complaint about Wooyoung’s attitude, even if he knew Seonghwa was right. Seonghwa watched as San took a step back from Yeosang, taking the navigator’s hand in his own. “Come on, Yeosang. I want to visit the ale house.”
“Make sure he makes it back to the ship, Yeosang.” Hongjoong spoke up, approaching where Seonghwa stood. Yeosang snorted, squeezing San’s hand, and it went unnoticed as Minho and Jisung pardoned themselves from the ship to return to their shop.
“I’d say aye, but I think San and I will be renting a room at the inn for the night, so don’t expect us back until the morning at the earliest.”
“Stay out of trouble, then.” Seonghwa laughed quietly, waving Yeosang and San off of the ship, shaking his head fondly. He nodded slightly as Maddox excused himself to another part of the ship, raising a brow as Hongjoong’s hands found their way to his hips. “And you’re looking for trouble, I assume?”
“I was going to suggest we follow San and Yeosang’s lead, actually, and retire to an inn room for the night. Everyone else is here and can watch the ship. When was the last time you and I were able to enjoy ourselves on land, hm?”
“You already want me off the ship, captain?” Seonghwa teased, leaning back into Hongjoong’s hold similarly to the way Yeosang had with San. “But I just got here. Won’t even let me explore the quarters, hm?”
“There’ll be plenty of time to explore the quarters, love, but none too often are we on land and can enjoy the privacy of an inn room.” Hongjoong mused, voice low as fingers gently pulled down the collar of Seonghwa’s shirt, ghosting his lips over his partner’s neck. Seonghwa, in return, hummed, his head tilting to the side just enough to allow Hongjoong more room.
“Since when have you cared about the privacy of an inn room, darling?” He teased, tongue darting out to wet his lips briefly as he his eyes slipped shut, enjoying the attention Hongjoong was lavishing him in. “It’s never bothered you before.”
“Oh, the minimal privacy my quarters gives us doesn’t bother me in the least - but as I said, we so very rarely have a chance to be together on land, we may as well make it worth it, hm? San and Yeosang had the proper idea.”
“Your idea of proper is rather skewed, love, but why are you still standing here with me talking? If you want me in your bed so badly, you should have spirited me away to the inn long ago.” Seonghwa’s voice was light, teasing, even as he stepped away from Hongjoong’s hold. “If you want to take me to the inn, darling, you best get moving. I wait for no man, captain and husband or not.”
Seonghwa heard Hongjoong click his tongue, following after him as his quartermaster took delicate steps down the ramp of the ship, hands laced behind his back. Seonghwa had the patience of a saint for most things, though with Hongjoong it was situational at best. Hongjoong’s teasing could only get him so far, but that was fine - Seonghwa liked the game they played, anyway.
The silence between them was comfortable, but heavy, filled with implications and promises. The thinly veiled lust between them was practically tangible as they moved through the port, merchants packing up the last of their wares for their night, barely sparing Hongjoong and Seonghwa a glance as the quartermaster led his captain along dirt and loose stone roads. Gravel crunched beneath their feet as they walked, and Seonghwa could feel Hongjoong’s patience wearing thin - which made their game even more fun for Seonghwa.
The innkeep barely spared them a glance, simply passing Seonghwa a key as he passed her a gold coin - Siyeon had better things to do than show Seonghwa and Hongjoong to their usual room - kept empty when it known that Hongjoong would be docking for any period of time. A small smirk tugged at Seonghwa’s lips as he noticed the way Siyeon’s eyes never left Bora’s form as she moved through the dining room of the inn. In the back of his mind, he wondered if she had finally gathered the courage to confess her feelings.
Turning down a familiar hall, Seonghwa’s fingers were already slipping the buttons of his coat through their holes, loosening the fabric from his frame, knowing the moment the door shut behind them, Hongjoong wouldn’t be able to keep his hands to himself. Clicking his tongue with a low hum, Seonghwa made sure the broken compass was secure in the interior pocket of his jacket before sliding the key into the lock, pushing open their door, Hongjoong trailing after him with as much patience as an untrained pup. The lock clicked into place, and Hongjoong’s hands were on Seonghwa as predicted, fingers curling into the fabric of Seonghwa’s coat and shoving it off the quartermaster’s lithe frame, letting it hit the floor without much of a care in the world.
There was no care in the world as Hongjoong’s lips found his again, there was no care as Hongjoong shoved off his own coat, unable to part from Seonghwa, acting like a man starved, like he hadn’t just had Seonghwa in his bed nights prior. Under any other circumstances, it would have been an embarrassing display of how desperate Hongjoong was for Seonghwa, how Hongjoong couldn’t seem to go more than a few days without seeking his lover out with the way the kiss was more tongue than anything, with the way Hongjoong made sure to map the familiar plane of Seonghwa’s mouth all over again, as if he had somehow missed a spot in the years past.
Insatiable, is the word Seonghwa would use to describe Hongjoong.
Irresistible, is the word Hongjoong would use to describe Seonghwa.
Seonghwa ignored the way buttons clattered to the floor as Hongjoong tore open his quartermaster’s shirt, exposing his chest to his captain. He ignored the way Hongjoong seemed to tear his own shirt off as he guided, pushed , Seonghwa towards the bed that was so familiar to them. He made sure that his arm wound around Hongjoong’s neck, tugging him down as the back of his knees hit the bed, their kiss finally breaking as Seonghwa’s back hit the bed, and Hongjoong caught himself before he collided with Seonghwa.
Seonghwa giggled softly, a hand pulling away from Hongjoong’s neck to run a thumb over his own bottom lip, eyes half lidded as he gazed up at his captain, “Eager, aren’t you? It’s like you’re eighteen all over again and laying with another for the first time.”
“Oh, shut up.” Hongjoong huffed out a laugh, kicking off his boots with a practiced ease before removing Seonghwa’s heeled ones, tossing them to the side, abandoned until the sun rose the next day. “There is a difference, love, between taking you on land and taking you on the sea.”
“Ah, yes, the sea can throw you off balance, isn’t that it?” The teasing was just that - teasing , good natured as Seonghwa’s hands came to Hongjoong’s belt, unfastening it with familiar movements, loosening it enough to reach the button of Hongjoong’s trousers and flick it open, amusement thinly veiled as his hand brushed over Hongjoong’s cock. “Half mast already - you really are eager.”
“So funny.” Hongjoong sneered, mirroring Seonghwa’s movements, the belt around Seonghwa’s narrow hips falling away from its buckle, his own pants quickly unbuttoned and pulled off, discarded along with the further missing pieces of their clothing. “But I could say the same for you, love. You’ve no room to talk the way you are when you’re just as worked up as I am.”
“Oh, darling, I never denied I was,” Cooing softly, Seonghwa discarded his own shirt - he’d find the buttons later to reattach after nabbing the sewing kit from Siyeon - before his hands pressed lightly to Hongjoong’s chest, scarred from years upon years of battle and general recklessness. Delicate fingers slid gently from Hongjoong’s pectorals up to his shoulders, sliding under the fabric of Hongjoong’s equally damaged shirt, sliding it away from Hongjoong’s much broader frame. “You just make yourself far more obvious.”
“Do you really expect me to be able to help it, Seonghwa? Have you seen yourself? You’re absolutely stunning.” Hongjoong spoke lightly, longingly , as he helped Seonghwa remove his shirt, his hand catching the quartermaster’s and placing it above his heart, letting Seonghwa feel the way it was practically racing. “Don’t you feel what you do to me, love? It never stops when I get to have you like this - it’s like setting sail on a new adventure each and every time you allow me to take you to bed.”
“How romantic of you,” Seonghwa commented, ignoring the way his own heart fluttered at Hongjoong’s commentary, the way Hongjoong wasn’t even phased by what he had said, so used to the feelings that he associated with Seonghwa and the way they loved. No matter how many times Hongjoong waxed poetic about Seonghwa, the quartermaster would never tire of it. “Well you have me in your bed, darling; what do you plan to do with me?”
Seonghwa spoke as if he didn’t already know how their encounters went, how Hongjoong would tease until Seonghwa decided he was taking too long, because while Seonghwa had the patience of a saint, Hongjoong had the ability to be frustratingly slow and deliberate when he wanted to pick apart Seonghwa to where Seonghwa’s patience would wear thin. It was a push and pull, because Hongjoong was, at best, a brat who wanted to see how long it took for Seonghwa to break.
The knowledge of how their games worked didn’t stop the soft hiss of anticipation from Seonghwa as Hongjoong’s lips fastened to a weak spot on Seonghwa’s neck, just under his ear, teeth digging into too-soft skin to where Seonghwa knew the mark Hongjoong planned on leaving would linger for days. Seonghwa didn’t mind, though - not when Hongjoong would end up with plenty of marks himself.
Seonghwa’s head tilted back and to the side as Hongjoong littered marks over his neck, ranging from light and barely there, to dark and prominent. The attention Hongjoong paid to Seonghwa’s neck was always deliberate, tracing out a map with his tongue and teeth. Seonghwa’s fingers danced up the back of Hongjoong’s neck until they slid into the captain’s inky locks, twisting the short strands between his fingers the slightest amount.
“You know I fully intend on enjoying every second of you, love.” Hongjoong spoke against Seonghwa’s neck, and the quartermaster couldn’t help the small tremble that ran down his spine, an unconscious reaction to Hongjoong’s breath ghosting over kiss-slicked skin. “There isn’t a moment that I tire of being with you.”
“I think you don’t tire of marring my skin with your teeth.” Seonghwa’s voice was quiet, though to him, far too loud in the otherwise silent room. At the same time, it was almost impossible for him to hear himself with the way he could hear the blood rush in his ears between the way Hongjoong was relentless with the way he reddened Seonghwa’s neck, and the way their hips pressed together.
The slight pressure of Hongjoong’s hips to his was almost maddening - too much for Seonghwa to not be aroused, but not enough for him to derive any real pleasure from. Each kiss, each bite, that Hongjoong placed to Seonghwa’s neck rocked their hips against one another far too softly, frustrating Seonghwa to where he almost wanted to tell Hongjoong to get on with it.
One of Hongjoong’s hands left the bed, moving to press against Seonghwa’s waist, fingers pressing into the soft skin - Seonghwa swore that Hongjoong had the exact spot he held constantly tattooed into his memory, his hands never failing to hold the exact same place on Seonghwa’s waist. Hongjoong’s fingertips slipped beneath the fabric of Seonghwa’s underwear, just enough to tease, thumb rubbing against the bone of Seonghwa’s hip - a further tease, because if Hongjoong was anything, it was a tease. At the very least, he had the decency to slip the fabric from Seonghwa’s hips, leaving him bare and beneath Hongjoong.
“Of course I don’t,” Hongjoong finally acknowledged, motioning with his chin for Seonghwa to scoot further back on the bed, to get more comfortable, because Hongjoong wasn’t nearly anywhere done with him. Using the way Hongjoong’s hand guided him, Seonghwa moved further up the bed until his head hit one of the pillows - his, judging by the way he laid askew across the covers. “You’re always stunning, but you look even better with my mark on you.”
“You’re possessive.”
“And you’re ethereal.”
Seonghwa snorted at the praise, using the hold Hongjoong had on him to roll them over - he was tired of Hongjoong dragging it out already, feeling far more impatient than he normally would. Because normally, he’d let Hongjoong have a little more fun than he has, would normally let Hongjoong cover him in more marks. There was a smirk on Hongjoong’s lips as Seonghwa peered down at him, cocky and knowing, as if he had been deliberate in provoking Seonghwa.
(He had been - and Seonghwa knew it.)
“You’re a brat.” Seonghwa scoffed, rolling his eyes, though the fondness in his voice couldn’t be missed, not even a little bit. Leaning forward, Seonghwa dipped his head down, lips pressing to Hongjoong’s clavicle, suckling lightly on the skin to leave a faint mark of his own. Next to the mark sat the end of a scar, one that Hongjoong had gained early on as captain when he had dashed in front of a blade coming down on San, who had been protecting Yeosang. It was a memory Seonghwa was not soon to forget, because it was on that day he had taken a life for the first time in his eighteen years.
The memory was pushed back as Seonghwa pressed his lips to the hollow of Hongjoong’s throat, smiling as he felt the hum of appreciation more than he heard it, as he felt Hongjoong’s hand move to card through soft pink-blonde strands. It could be ignored, would be ignored in favor of mapping out a trail of marks of his own along Hongjoong’s tanned skin, ensuring each one was darker than the last.
The constellation of kiss marks left along Hongjoong’s neck and collarbones was a stunning sight to Seonghwa, his handiwork glaring back at him in bright reds and forming purples. Shifting his way down Hongjoong’s body, Seonghwa hummed against his skin, pressing his lips to every scar he knew existed, hands pressing against his captain’s chest, thumbs brushing over Hongjoong’s nipples, chuckling as the action caused a jolt to run down Hongjoong’s spine, back arching up and off the bed the slightest amount. With a huff of amusement, Seonghwa repeated the action, tweaking both nipples between his fingers as he pressed a kiss to the center of Hongjoong’s chest.
“Sensitive today, aren’t you, sweetheart?” Seonghwa’s voice was warm as he glanced up at Hongjoong, a twinkle of mirth in his eyes as Hongjoong nearly pouted down at him. The nudge to his side from Hongjoong’s knee had Seonghwa snickering to himself, his fingers hooking into the waistband of Hongjoong’s trousers as his lips traced over the captain’s hip bones. In a fluid movement as he sat up, Seonghwa pulled Hongjoong’s trousers down and off, only raising a brow at his husband’s lack of underwear. “Letting it breathe, hm?”
“I planned to lay with you tonight. You think I didn’t? I was one step ahead of you, starlight.” The grin Hongjoong wore was impish, bratty, and Seonghwa clicked his tongue in response, shaking his head. “What? Don’t tell me you’re complaining - you’ve never complained about my going without underwear before.”
“I don’t know why I’m surprised at this point.” Seonghwa agreed, fingers ghosting along Hongjoong’s half-hard cock, watching as Hongjoong shivered at the touch. “I think in all the years I’ve known you, I can count on both hands the amount of times I’ve stripped you of undergarments.” A personal preference, really, one tha Seonghwa didn’t understand very well at all. But, if it didn’t bother Hongjoong, it didn’t bother him much, either.
“Probably,” Hongjoong agreed, shifting himself to tug the second pillow above the other, propping himself up a tad more - he liked to watch Seonghwa, no matter what he did, and Seonghwa was sure the way Hongjoong swallowed as he looked down at Seonghwa between his legs was audible, reinforced by the way Hongjoong’s teeth sank into his bottom lip. “Unless it’s too cold to be above deck, I’d rather not wear any.”
“Mm, yes, I’m aware.” Seonghwa mused, brushing the tip of his nose against Hongjoong’s cock, eyes fluttering in mock innocence as he tilted his head, pressing a gentle kiss to the shaft, relishing in the sharp intake of breath through Hongjoong’s nose. To have Seonghwa lavish his cock in any form was already a treat on it’s own, and Hongjoong knew it, eyes trained on his wife as Seonghwa trailed kisses slowly over his length until he was fully hard - which, admittedly, didn’t take very long at all with the sight Hongjoong had been presented with.
There was a hum of curiosity on Seonghwa’s lips as he moved back up Hongjoong’s body, ignoring the indignant whine that was accompanied by a pout from the captain as Seonghwa reached into the drawer by the nightstand - undoubtedly, Siyeon had restocked their room with anything and everything they would need, particularly the oil Seonghwa liked to use when he and Hongjoong came to the inn - because there was never a reason to visit the inn unless they planned to sleep together.
“I still am curious as to how Siyeon knows your oil preference. It isn’t like you told her.” Hongjoong grumbled, fully aware that he’s also the only person Seonghwa had ever slept with. A huff of laughter bubbled past Seonghwa’s lips as he pulled out the oil in victory, dangling it just above Hongjoong’s nose, forcing him crosseyed for a moment before he sat back, Hongjoong’s cock brushing against the cleft of his ass.
“Deduction, darling. It isn’t hard to figure out when only one of the oil stock was used up after our visits to where she simply started stocking only that one for me. I didn’t need to tell her anything.” Letting the vial drop onto Hongjoong’s chest, Seonghwa hummed, mirthful, as he looked down at his captain. “Siyeon and I don’t need to gossip about our relationships or intimacy at all, not that we have the time before we set sail.”
“Ah, I see.” Hongjoong nodded, swallowing a little as he looked up at Seonghwa, and for a moment, his breath caught in his throat. Seonghwa was, truly, the most radiant thing Hongjoong could have ever hoped to lay his eyes on. Like this, with the way he straddled Hongjoong, back arched to push his chest out the slightest amount, one hand on Hongjoong’s chest, the other running through his own hair, Hongjoong was able to admire every little curve and indent on his lover’s body, every little freckle and mole that disrupted the planes of his skin. And there, on his upper left arm, sat a golden coil, embedded with the finest cuts of topaz and diamond - the single piece of jewelry Seonghwa refused to take off as it marked his marriage with Hongjoong. “You’re beautiful.”
“So you’ve told me, sweetheart.” Seonghwa chuckled, fingers curling around the vial on Hongjoong’s chest as he pressed forward, his hand with the vial leaving where it had been resting against him, catching Hongjoong’s lips with his own briefly. A distraction, more than anything, and Seonghwa knew very well that Hongjoong wouldn’t be suspecting anything - not until his wrists were bound above his head to the wooden bed frame with a silk ribbon abandoned during their last rendezvous at the inn. Smirking against Hongjoong’s lips, Seonghwa relished in the click of annoyance his captain made. “And now you’re mine to do with as I please.”
“I’ve always been yours, my star, but is there a particular reason you’ve bound me?” Tugging pathetically at his binds, binds that Seonghwa knew the captain could easily break due to the nature of the material, Hongjoong was practically pouting as he looked up at Seonghwa, watching the way his quartermaster resumed his earlier position, this time with more amusement in his expression. “Seonghwa-”
“You were taking far too long, Hongjoong, so now you get to watch me.” Seonghwa’s tongue darted out briefly to wet his lips, watching carefully as Hongjoong watched the movement, watching the way his eyes followed the path Seonghwa’s tongue took. “Eyes on me, captain.” It was a taunt, to get Hongjoong to focus where Seonghwa wanted him to, a pleased purr rumbling in his chest as he noted Hongjoong watching as he popped open the vial of oil, watched as the oil coated his middle finger, eyes following the oil that dripped down towards Seonghwa’s wrist, leaving a sheening trail in its wake, even as Seonghwa spread the oil to his index and ring fingers, mesmerized by the droplet.
“You plan to torture me?”
“No, darling, I would never.” Seonghwa hummed, reaching behind himself to slide a finger past his rim, sighing softly at the feeling. “If you had bothered to speed things up, I wouldn’t have to do everything myself, now would I?” He cooed, mocking as the slickness from the oil allowed him to easily slip his finger out of himself, only to push back inside, another soft sigh escaping him. “You’re too slow sometimes, my love. Being slow has consequences, I thought you had learned that by now.”
“Oh, that’s hardly fair-” Hongjoong huffed, arms going slack, brow pinched together in frustration. Because though Hongjoong knew he could break his binds, if he chose to do so without Seonghwa’s explicit permission, he was at risk of annoying his wife, and upsetting the balance of their game. “I was getting there-”
“Getting there and actually doing it are two different things, captain.” Seonghwa mused, pressing a second finger into himself as he spoke, head tilting back as he groaned softly. Too often was Seonghwa at the mercy of his own fingers, whether it was in Hongjoong’s company or alone, his own minitrations familiar. His fingers were longer than Hongjoong’s, able to reach farther, but Hongjoong’s were slightly thicker, though the end result was always the same.
“But to make it so I can’t even touch you? This is cruel.”
Seonghwa clicked his tongue as he worked his fingers in and out of himself, soft moans spilling from his lips as he did. “Cruel? I think not. It was far more cruel for you to tease me the way you had been, without any indication of moving forward. I’d think you shy if I didn’t know you as well as I do. Skittish and too afraid to touch his own spouse.” Seonghwa’s words would have been borderline mean if they both didn’t know the truth - that Hongjoong was anything but shy when it came to Seonghwa, and he was the only person on the planet that could break the quartermaster’s patience.
“Are you implying that I find you delicate? You’re far from it, despite the way you look like a doll. You’re far more fearsome than anyone I’ve met.”
“If you’re trying to, ah , butter me up, it isn’t working.” Seonghwa choked on his breath of laughter as a third finger joined the others, willfully ignoring the way Hongjoong’s cock twitched in interest against him as his eyes fluttered shut entirely, his body adjusting further to the stretch of three fingers from two. He ignored the way his thighs trembled on either side of Hongjoong’s waist as he worked himself with his fingers, ignored the way his own cock was fully hard, because it was far easier to focus on the way Hongjoong already seemed desperate to get his hands on Seonghwa - despite that being the very reason his hands had been removed from Seonghwa.
Hongjoong was truly a sight to behold, in Seonghwa’s opinion, as he gazed down at his captain. With his wrists bound above his head and to the rickety frame, Seonghwa was given a delectable view of his husband’s chest, muscles taut from the way his arms were positioned, emphasizing his pectorals and all the muscles in his upper arms. Seonghwa’s free hand moved to rest on Hongjoong’s chest, tweaking at one of the nipples playfully as his hips rocked backwards against his own fingers, teeth pressing into his lower lip with a barely concealed groan.
It was easy to admire the red flush that caressed Hongjoong’s chest and crept up towards his neck, easy to admire the freckles that decorated Hongjoong’s nose and cheeks with a constellation the common man would be unable to see. For Seonghwa, to be able to look down at Hongjoong at times like this, where their intimacy was behind a locked door, where they were safe, able to avoid the threat of their ship being boarded against their will, it was a rare treat to be able to witness his captain in such a vulnerable state.
Seonghwa’s fingers slid out of himself, a groan that was more of a whine than anything being pulled from partially parted lips as he did so, deeming himself more than thoroughly prepared to take Hongjoong. Vial of oil in his hand once more, having been placed off to the side on top of the bedside table, Seonghwa let the liquid drip into the palm of his hand, Hongjoong’s eyes following the liquid that dropped from the vial.
The control Seonghwa had over Hongjoong was immeasurable - because Hongjoong followed every action from Seonghwa with a trained eye, unable to look away from the quartermaster as he watched Seonghwa’s hand tilt until the oil slid from one palm to the other, an amused expression painting his features as he reached behind him. Seonghwa’s hand wrapped around Hongjoong’s cock with familiarity, stroking upwards lightly to spread the oil along the shaft, the action pulling a groan from Hongjoong.
“You tease, love.”
“I’m thorough, actually.” Seonghwa countered, wrist twisting on the downstroke to actually tease, cooing sweetly as Hongjoong’s head tilted back with a pathetic moan, practically begging for more from Seonghwa. After stroking his hand along Hongjoong’s cock a few more times, his excuse being he had to make sure his cock was well coated in the oil, Seonghwa’s hand stilled at the base, keeping his captain’s cock steady as he teased his hole with the head of Hongjoong’s cock.
They groaned in unison as Seonghwa sank down slowly, accommodating his body for the way Hongjoong’s cock stretched him out. Hand leaving his captain’s cock, Seonghwa moved both his hands to Hongjoong’s chest, wiping off the excess oil as he bottomed out with a sated sigh, a whimper pulled out of Hongjoong as Seonghwa peered down at him, a flush building high on his cheeks.
“For someone with such a terrifying reputation,” Seonghwa paused, shifting his hips to drag another whine out of his captain. “You really aren’t all that intimidating, are you? Barely begun and you’re already whimpering like you’re wet behind your ears, still.”
“Hah, so you say, however,” Groaning, Hongjoong pouted as Seonghwa shifted again, an experimental roll of his hips to test his limits. “There is a difference between our bedroom and our enemies. In private, I’m at your mercy. When they board my ship, they’re at mine.”
“Oh, how scary of you.” Seonghwa teased, deciding that it was the perfect time to lift his hips until Hongjoong was half sheathed inside of him, before dropping down slowly, earning another groan from Hongjoong - because Seonghwa liked to tease, liked to set a slow and deliberate pace that allowed Hongjoong to feel every little bit of Seonghwa, and allowed Seonghwa to feel every inch of Hongjoong. “They’re only at your mercy so they don’t have to be at mine.”
“Right you are,” Hongjoong confirmed, groaning in mild irritation as he attempted to move his arms, clearly wanting to take hold of Seonghwa’s hips but unable to until Seonghwa freed him. “And your mercy is quite cruel, love. Untie me, won’t you?”
With a smile, a small laugh on his lips as his hips lifted once again, this time as Seonghwa leaned forward, a hand leaving Hongjoong’s chest to cradle his cheek, a smear of oil transferring to tanned skin, the quartermaster cooed, “You haven’t earned it, darling.” His words were too sweet to the point they were sickly, and Hongjoong’s breath caught on yet another whimper.
Seonghwa truly knew how to reduce a man to nothing.
With a stolen kiss, back arched beautifully to allow him to bounce his hips at a maddeningly slow pace, Seonghwa’s thumb pressed against the soft point in Hongjoong’s jaw, coaxing his mouth open for Seonghwa to slip his tongue past pouty lips. Seonghwa’s kiss was more tongue than anything else, the way he brushed his against Hongjoong’s, urging it to twist with his own, muffling the breathy little moans from Seonghwa as he fucked himself on Hongjoong’s cock.
The kiss breaking, Seonghwa pulled himself into a sitting position, the hand on Hongjoong’s jaw trailing down to his neck, feeling the way Hongjoong’s pulse seemed to speed up at the implication. The barely there pressure of Seonghwa’s hand against his neck was more than enough for Hongjoong’s eyes to go wide, hopeful, and it was enough to make Seonghwa smirk in amusement.
Hongjoong was truly too predictable sometimes.
With a deliberate roll of his hips, one that tore a gasp from Hongjoong’s lips, Seonghwa applied just slightly more pressure to Hongjoong’s throat, feeling the way his breath caught and stuttered as Seonghwa increased his pace, the oil between them allowing for ease of movement. It was exhilarating for both of them, to tease and toy with one another like this, with Seonghwa’s hand lingering for only a moment longer before it moved to Hongjoong’s chest.
“Tease.” Hongjoong breathed out, hips snapping up in retaliation, one of the minimal things he could do as Seonghwa sank down, a breathy moan being forced out of the quartermaster. He should have expected it, he really should have - Hongjoong was always a little testy when teased for too long, and Seonghwa knew it. And yet he still provoked the other, because it was easy, because he had complete and utter control over the captain.
Hongjoong was nothing more than a puppet, and Seonghwa was pulling the strings.
“Just a little.” Seonghwa was cheeky as he spoke, but it didn’t change anything - that Hongjoong was at Seonghwa’s mercy and whims, and that was just how Seonghwa liked it. He relished in the way Hongjoong writhed pathetically beneath him as he tweaked and lightly tugged at Hongjoong’s nipples, knowing they were incredibly sensitive. The little breathy gasps and moans as Hongjoong’s back arched, chest pressing up into Seonghwa’s hands all came together to make an entrancing sight. Captivating, in fact, and Seonghwa couldn’t look away.
“Beautiful,” Seonghwa breathed out, the rise and fall of his hips causing his breath to hitch, particularly as he shifted just so , the head of Hongjoong’s cock pressing against his prostate. Seonghwa’s head tilted back, baring his throat, and Hongjoong’s eyes were trained on his quartermaster’s adam’s apple as he let out a moan more beautiful than any siren song, breathy with the barest hint of a whine hidden beneath velvet baritone. “ Ah -”
“You are.” Hongjoong confirmed, breathy and enthralled, tongue darting out to wet his lips as his eyes trailed down, watching the way the muscles in Seonghwa’s stomach tensed and relaxed with every roll of his hips, enraptured by the way he watched Seonghwa’s hips move on every down thrust. He groaned softly, seeing the way Seonghwa’s cock leaked precum, droplets trailing down the shaft.
His wife was truly the most ethereal being in the world, and Hongjoong couldn’t be luckier to call him his.
A warbling groan escaped Seonghwa as a hand left Hongjoong’s chest, slender fingers wrapping around his own cock, stroking himself in time with each and every rise and fall of his hips. Gaze turning back to Hongjoong, eyes meeting with fire and passion behind them, Seonghwa’s gasps and moans mixed with Hongjoong’s in the otherwise silence of their room. Seonghwa’s hips began to stutter in their rhythm, pace breaking as his peak built, the coil tightening rapidly.
“You’ll cum for me first, won’t you, darling?” Seonghwa breathed out, but it wasn’t a question - it was a command, veiled as a question, a smile pulling at Seonghwa’s lips as Hongjoong nodded, eager to please his wife, to obey . Because though Hongjoong was the captain, Seonghwa was in charge. “Then cum.”
The command was all Hongjoong needed before he was spilling into Seonghwa with a broken whimper, the sound catching in his throat as he felt the way Seonghwa purposely clenched around him, milking him of everything he had, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. A sound akin to a purr rumbled in Seonghwa’s chest as he slowed the roll of his own hips to nothing more than a grind, his hand never ceasing even as he reached out with his free hand to tug on Hongjoong’s restraints, freeing him. “Good boy, captain. Now, make me cum. Go ahead, darling; touch me.”
Hongjoong didn’t hesitate before his hand wrapped around Seonghwa’s, fingers entwining as they both stroked Seonghwa’s cock, the quartermaster’s breathing picking up as the coil rapidly unwound until it was nothing more than a taut string, ready to snap at any moment. As Hongjoong’s other hand came to rest on Seonghwa’s thigh, a grind of Seonghwa’s hips in just the right way and the brush of Hongjoong’s thumb over the head of Seonghwa’s cock, the string snapped. With a choked moan of Hongjoong’s name, Seonghwa came, his cum coating the center of Hongjoong’s chest, hiding one of the scars entirely.
Trembling, Seonghwa ignored the way his body spasmed the smallest amount as Hongjoong hummed, thumb still brushing over the head of Seonghwa’s cock until the quartermaster batted his hand away, pulling off of Hongjoong with a small groan, falling to his side next to the captain. His arm draping over Hongjoong’s stomach, Seonghwa pressed his face to the crook of Hongjoong’s neck, ignoring the ache settling into his body. He’d deal with it later, deal with washing the thin layer of sweat that had built up on both of them, deal with cleaning the both of them up when he could move again.
Hongjoong’s hand, the clean one, came up to thread into Seonghwa’s hair, nails scratching lightly at his scalp, a satiated hum forming low in his throat. “How did I get so lucky to end up with someone as perfect as you, love?”
Snorting, Seonghwa pinched Hongjoong’s hip before pressing a kiss to Hongjoong’s jaw. “As fate would have it, we landed each other, and have never needed to look back. You’re perfect for me, and I for you. Fated.”
“Fated, aye.” Hongjoong agreed, nose brushing against Seonghwa’s forehead, chuckling softly as he realized his wife’s bangs were plastered to his forehead, something that normally, he hated.. “And I thank the fates every day for bringing me the love of my life on this day all those years ago.”
“You sap.” Seonghwa murmured, but Hongjoong could feel the smile on Seonghwa’s lips, could practically feel the flush on his cheeks. “I love you, too. Happy anniversary, my love.”
━ ◦ ❖ ◦━
In the dark of the night after setting sail, Seonghwa sat huddled in Mingi’s cabin, broken pieces of Hongjoong’s compass spread out before him and Mingi. Before having left the port, Seonghwa had paid a second visit to Minho and Jisung, seeking replacement parts for the compass. And Minho, of course, rather than finding parts for Seonghwa, simply handed him a fully intact compass, his expression neutral and unimpressed.
It had, of course, solved all of Seonghwa’s major problems of needing replacement parts. Putting Hongjoong’s compass back together with the parts from Minho’s, however, proved to be a bigger challenge than anticipated. Brow pulled together, Seonghwa frowned as he stared down at all of the little parts, from the magnetic needle to the rotating bezel.
“Mingi.”
“Yes, Seonghwa?”
“What are we looking at?” Sitting back with a sigh of frustration, Seonghwa ran his fingers through freshly stained locks, the pink far darker than he had anticipated, but it would fade. Next to him, Mingi groaned, picking up the disassembled compass rose, dropping it back onto the table a moment later.
“Honestly? I haven’t a clue. No, that’s a lie, I do know what I’m looking at, but I can’t begin to explain. That said, I do remember how we took apart Minho’s compass, so it shouldn’t be too hard to put the captain’s back together. In theory, at least. The problem more is that the parts are small and my fingers… aren’t .” For emphasis, Mingi wiggled his fingers at Seonghwa, pouting as the quartermaster slapped his hands away.
Seonghwa snorted, “And while I’m sure someone out there appreciates that fact, I’m not one of them.” While Seonghwa knew Mingi was good with his hands, that was more aligned with routine repairs of the ship, or putting something together quickly, and ensuring it was sturdy. Tasks like this weren’t his strong suit - but Mingi had an eye for detail, and remembering the order in which things were taken apart to put them back together.
“Don’t be so mean, Seonghwa.” Mingi huffed quietly, elbow coming down onto the table with a soft thunk . Watching as Mingi’s chin came to rest in the palm of his hand, Seonghwa eyed the younger. He watched as Mingi raised a brow, looking between the two compasses. “It might have been easier for you to just replace the shell of Minho’s compass with the captain’s and call it a day. But no, you chose to make it harder on yourself by disassembling Minho’s and the captain’s.”
“Don’t you think I would have done it if it were that easy?” Sucking on his teeth, Seonghwa picked up the rotating bezel, turning it between his fingers. “The compasses are different sizes. Hongjoong’s is the slightest bit bigger, but the liquid capsule fits perfectly in the center, and that was the primary piece I needed, aside from the magnetic needle. Why don’t you tell me the order we took apart Minho’s compass, so we can try getting this all put back together, hm?”
Sneering a little, Mingi pointed at the base of Hongjoong’s compass. “Assuming you’re going to use the original everything except what you need to replace, it should be fairly simple. As long as the inner parts of the compass were intact, you just need to put them all back the way they were. It was, what, the needle and the glass that were broken more than anything, right?”
“The glass was absolutely shattered and the needle missing. The little center bit looked damaged, though.” Using the pliers they had abandoned an hour earlier, Seonghwa poked at the small cup that sat in the center of Hongjoong’s compass, the dent in the side of it making it hard to replace any pieces that would attach. “It’s the mercury cup, right?”
“Aye, it is. So take the one from Minho’s and replace it. From there we can put the bezels and everything back into place. The rest shouldn’t be hard when the interior is taken care of. If that mercury cup isn’t fixed properly, though, it might throw off everything and the compass will be useless.” Shrugging, Mingi drummed his fingers against the table, raising a brow at Seonghwa. “Why didn’t you just take the compass to Minho? Jisung could’ve fixed it up right quick.”
“Mmh, Minho and Jisung have done enough for me for a century; the last thing I need is to have them do another favor for me, extended crew or not. Besides, it feels like it’ll mean more to him if I fix it myself. He takes these things rather personally, you know. He’s very sentimental, as much as he pretends he isn’t.” Seonghwa murmured, fiddling with removing the mercury cup from Hongjoong’s compass, a small noise of triumph escaping him as it popped free. “I’m also partially to blame for him losing it in the first place.”
“I thought he lost it when running from port marshals.” With a questioning glance, Mingi pressed his lips together, a realization dawning on him as he put two and two together - the timing of Hongjoong losing the compass, and why Seonghwa blamed himself. “It was because of that nasty illness you couldn’t shake, wasn’t it? After the endless storms that kept us from moving forward for weeks? You ended up terribly sick because you were too worried about the rest of us, as it was only our second year out as a crew, and we hadn’t encountered anything like it before. You barely slept, and were constantly drenched in rain and sea water.”
“Aye. The moment we reached the port and docked, Hongjoong was off the ship like he had seen Davy Jones himself, and went in search of medicine for me. He hadn’t much of a coin to his name at that point, as we hadn’t been able to do any plundering, nor did we have any wares to trade for coin after the summer we had. So he stole it, and got caught. Or, almost caught.” Sighing, Seonghwa placed the mercury cup from Minho’s compass into Hongjoong’s, frowning slightly. “San had been with him, and told me the story after I recovered. It was before Hongjoong and I were even together, and I had been touched he’d go through so much just for me.”
“He loved you. Still does, of course, but what other reason would he have nearly gotten himself caught by port authorities if not for love?”
“Aye, that was the reason, of course. We did get together not long after, but… San told me about how Hongjoong had been devastated as well when he realized he lost the compass Eden had gifted him. When I had asked Hongjoong about it, he told me he had made the right choice, saving me, but I knew how much this compass had meant to him. The first gift he had received in his life, and it was gone.” Shaking his head, Seonghwa pressed his lips together, setting the rotating bezel down on top of the mercury cup, testing the rotation of it. “I think he’ll like having it back, gifted to him by his wife.”
“Aye, he will.” Mingi agreed, picking up the shell of Minho’s compass, sliding the empty space where the glass would have covered the needle over his index finger, spinning the shell around in boredom, before letting it clatter back to the table. “I’ve always wondered but never bothered asking; why do you prefer to be called his wife, over his husband?”
Smiling in amusement, Seonghwa placed the needle into place, before picking up the capsule that would cover the needle. “I like to disarm our enemies. They hear the rumors of Hongjoong having a wife, and they assume I’m a woman. There is, of course, the myth that having a woman on board is bad luck as well, so they believe we’re an unlucky crew who has to protect the captain’s wife. So it’s fun, to me, to trick them, to make them believe they’ll encounter someone they think they can easily overpower. Because, really, what’s more amusing than catching them off guard by revealing the captain’s wife is actually a man?”
“You’re a cruel man, Park Seonghwa. Deceiving our enemies like that.”
Seonghwa snorted, pointing the pliers at Mingi, “I’d be no less terrifying even if I was a woman. I know what they say about me, and we all know those rumors are very, very true. But, it’s incredibly fun for me to trick them. It feels good to trick them, because it shows just how simple minded our enemies are. Thinking lesser of me only to die in the end, a shame.” With a sigh of mock pity, Seonghwa changed his mind, putting the capsule back down. Instead, he picked up the jeweled bezel, placing it in the center of the needle.
“A cruel man indeed. So, that’s it? You like being called his wife simply to trick people?” Mingi hummed, reaching over to grab the vial of oil that Seonghwa had chosen for the compass, examining it and the capsule, if the half glass could even be called a capsule.
“Well, I also like it for other reasons.” Seonghwa replied, plucking the glass from Mingi’s fingers, placing it on top of the needle. “How in the hell do they expect one to fill this with the oil? Is the oil even necessary?”
“It is if you want the needle to move freely longer.” Shrugging, Mingi handed the vial to Seonghwa. “There’s a small opening at the south point of the compass. Use the pipette on the table to slowly drop the oil in. I shouldn’t think you’d need more than 5 or 6 drops, ultimately.” Once Seonghwa took the oil from him, Mingi crossed his arms, an expectant look on his face. “So, what’s the other reason you like it?”
Carefully dropping the oil into the compass after pulling it into the pipette, Seonghwa made a small noise of surprise, seeing a small plug to seal the capsule. “It feels right. I’ve been told I have a motherly aura, and that he and I act like a husband and wife couple. I did call myself his husband for the first year of our marriage, but it never felt right. It only felt right when Jisung asked me how I liked being a wife, and I realized that’s what I wanted to be called. It doesn’t really have a deeper meaning than that.”
“No, it makes sense. You and the captain do act like a husband and wife, so I can see why you’d be called that from a third party. And if it feels right, it feels right, who am I to judge?” Shrugging once again, Mingi clicked his tongue. “I was only curious. It’s the same reason I’m curious as to why San and Yeosang don’t refer to each other as husband when they’ve been married two years less than you and the captain.”
“Ah, that?” Seonghwa hummed as he rotated the bezel, making sure everything was in working order before putting the pull-pommel back into place. “It doesn’t feel right to either of them. Not yet, at least. They love each other dearly, and they have matching bracelets to prove it, but they don’t feel comfortable acknowledging it as a true marriage despite their vows.”
“Mmh, it’s because of how the vows were exchanged, right? Married in the midst of a battle with one of our enemies, because they weren’t sure they would make it out of the fight, only for you to come in and save them.”
Seonghwa chuckled, placing the pull-pommel where it belonged. “Aye, that’s why. They didn’t have a proper marriage the way Hongjoong and I did, didn’t actually recite any vows. Just a promise to find each other in their next life should one of them not make it. So Hongjoong married them then and there. The bracelets had already been exchanged as part of Yeosang’s proposal, but… it wasn’t the way they wanted it to go. So they don’t acknowledge it, and they aren’t ready to hold a real ceremony.”
“Oh, that’s fair.” Mingi nodded in understanding - San and Yeosang were an interesting pair, with a relationship that was just as push and pull as Seonghwa and Hongjoong’s, with mildly tamed chaos. They brought far more life to the crew, which was made even more interesting by the fact they both had introverted personalities. But it worked for them, and worked for the crew. “They were thrown into a commitment they wanted but weren’t quite ready for yet.”
“Exactly. Perhaps someday they’ll be ready to face their commitment and embrace it fully, but for now, it’s far easier to simply let them exist as they are.” Holding up the repaired compass, Seonghwa’s eyes seemed to sparkle as he admired his handiwork. “It’s perfect, isn’t it?”
“Oh, looks good. Does she work, though?” Mingi questioned, leaning forward into Seonghwa’s space as he watched the needle move back and forth between north and west, before settling on north northwest. “I mean, she looks correct. Hongjoong said we’d be moving north once leaving port, but there’s a reef along a straight path he wants to avoid, according to Yeosang. So it would make sense we’d be veering away from due north.”
“Aye, I’ll have to compare it to the needle in Yeosang’s compass to make sure, but I think it’s entirely fixed. Not bad for someone who has never assembled a compass, right?” Seonghwa beamed, proud of his work before closing the lid of the compass, thumbing over the emblem etched into the front; two lines that would intersect in the middle of the horizontal line didn’t stop on either side of the vertical, connected by a broken circle, with the tips of some of the lines connecting to the circle with a swoop. The four would-be corners of the design reflected cycles of the moon; two quarter moons, a half moon, and a full moon.
A design created for Hongjoong specifically, the same one he wore on a band around his arm. His captain’s insignia.
“He won’t have words for you, Seonghwa. He’ll be too overjoyed. He might even cry.” Mingi teased, before pulling himself up from his seat, stretching his back before disposing of the extra compass pieces. “Are you going to give it to him tonight?”
“Aye, no better time than the present. I can ensure it works properly another day. I appreciate the help and the hideaway so he wouldn’t see what I was doing.” Seonghwa laughed, tucking the compass into the satchel hooked to his belt. “I’ll get out of your hair now, and leave you to whatever duties you have.”
“Inventory, mostly. New ship means I don’t need to do any repairs.” Shrugging, Mingi snorted, watching as Seonghwa moved about the cabin. “Good luck, Seonghwa.”
“I won’t need it, but the statement is appreciated.” With a playful wink, Seonghwa slipped out of Mingi’s room, looking down either way of the hall, to ensure Hongjoong wasn’t below decks. Not that Seonghwa expected him to be, when the captain’s cabin was above deck, and Hongjoong didn’t know how to sit still.
Finding him was the less difficult part; Hongjoong stood next to Yeosang at the wheel, discussing only they knew what. Their destination, Seonghwa suspected, with the way Yeosang kept shaking his head at Hongjoong, looking mildly annoyed with the captain. As he got closer, Yeosang only confirmed Seonghwa’s suspicion.
“I’m telling you, Hongjoong, it’s a mistake. There is nothing that benefits us from sailing that close to enemy waters. You just want to show off your shiny new toy, and though our crew is bigger now, that doesn’t mean we can win .” Yeosang sounded exasperated, as if he had been going back and forth with Hongjoong for hours about this route the captain wanted to take. And Hongjoong, of course, stubborn as he was, clearly wasn’t hearing it.
“ Enemy waters ,” Hongjoong scoffed, crossing his arms, and Seonghwa found himself amused at the image before him. Yeosang, leaning against the helm, lip curled up in a scowl, and Hongjoong with his arms crossed, pouting. “Water is water, it can’t belong to anyone. It’s water . The sea belongs to herself. I don’t understand why you think it’s such a terrible idea for us to-”
“If I might interrupt,” Finally making his presence known, Seonghwa drew the attention of both Yeosang and Hongjoong, to what looked like Yeosang’s relief. “While I don’t know what you’re arguing about this time, I think while the Destiny Ship is getting used to the waters, we might be better off listening to Yeosang. He is our navigator, after all, and he’s studied the seas more than any of us.”
“Thank you.” Yeosang breathed out, shoving Hongjoong away from him and towards Seonghwa, rolling his eyes. “You’ll get your fights at some point, captain. No doubt the rumors have already begun since we left; that Captain Kim Hongjoong has gotten himself a new ship. They’ll be after us in no time, wanting to seize the Destiny Ship for their own. You’ll have your fight. Be patient.”
“This isn’t about wanting a fight.”
“Hongjoong, we know how you are. You want to display your strength to others, to prove you aren’t one to be messed with. You already have a reputation amongst other crews.” Seonghwa teased, reaching out to take Hongjoong’s hand in his own. “Darling, let us have a few months of peace before you’re known as a dread pirate.”
“A dread pirate,” Hongjoong scoffed, fingers entwined with Seonghwa’s as they left Yeosang to his post. “While dread pirate Kim has a nice ring to it, that isn’t what I want. I want to be a king. Not of the court, of course, too stuffy. But I want all of the others to fear my name, to know that I am better than them. That I am their king.”
“Mm, to be a king of the pirates would mean you own the waters, would you not? The sea belongs to no one but herself, you said, but to overtake our enemies would mean the seas are yours to control.” Seonghwa mused, walking along the deck, hand in hand with Hongjoong. “You could do it, though, quite easily. They underestimate you, darling.”
“They can underestimate me all they want. I will win.” Huffing, Hongjoong scowled at the prospect of losing to another crew as Yeosang implied. Seonghwa still wasn’t sure what Hongjoong wanted to do from where they left port, but it didn’t seem to matter. “I’ll let him decide, though, since you think it’s what’s best for us. The goal was to end up intercepting trade ships in the Atlantic Ocean and stockpile weapons and the like for the future.”
“Well, there will be opportunities for that in the future. Minho has us stocked fairly well for the moment, so should we find a ship to intercept, I don’t see the problem in pillaging them. That isn’t why I pulled you away from Yeosang, though.”
“Oh? What might be the reason, then?” Hongjoong asked, sitting on the stairs leading to the fo’c’sle deck, his hand leaving Seonghwa’s. “Enlighten me, then.”
There was a moment of silence as Seonghwa reached into the satchel on his waist, hands covering the compass entirely as he looked at Hongjoong, expression unreadable. “I did my best to fix it, but I cannot guarantee perfection, or that she’s accurate. But I remember all those years ago…” Hands extended, Seonghwa uncovered the compass, holding his breath at the soft gasp Hongjoong let out. “I found it at a merchant’s stall while we were docked. He didn’t realize the importance of it, or that it was your insignia etched onto it. But I knew… I knew I had to get it back for you.”
“Seonghwa, you… you found my compass?” With shaking hands, Hongjoong reached out, gingerly taking the compass from Seonghwa, as if he held on to it too tight that it would shatter. “You found it… you fixed it.”
“Minho gave me another compass to replace all the broken pieces with. Mingi helped me, though I use the word helped very loosely. He more so supervised and told me in which order to put it back together. Theoretically… it works. You’ll have to put it against Yeosang’s compass and see how accurate it is, but… you lost it because of me. It was only right for me to get it back.”
Wiping his eyes with the edge of his sleeve, Hongjoong thumbed over the engraving, eyes never leaving the compass in his palm. “It doesn’t have to work.” He whispered, breath shaking, a tremble running through his body as he was overcome with emotions. “You could have left it broken and I still would have been overjoyed. Seonghwa, you… you found it. The compass Eden gifted me when I stepped off the Madness for the last time, and onto the Treasure for the first.” Pausing, Hongjoong finally looked up at Seonghwa, reaching for his wife once more. Hands tangled together, Hongjoong pulled Seonghwa close, before he embraced his quartermaster. “Thank you. Thank you, Seonghwa. But I would lose this compass a thousand times over if it meant I was able to keep you alive.”
Returning Hongjoong’s embrace, Seonghwa chuckled softly, “And now, you won’t lose either of us.”
━ ◦ ❖ ◦━
“Didn’t you hear the rumors? The Treasure has been sent to the ship graveyard.”
“Her captain finally give up the life of piracy?” A bellowing laugh rang through the inn, followed by the slamming of a mug. From where she sat by her desk, Siyeon grimaced. She hated how quickly rumors traveled, hated how her tavern seemed to be the hub of all the gossip among the sailors that took up temporary residence. “I knew he didn’t have it in him to lead the life. Shame he left the life before I could take that pretty wife of his. Would’ve loved to see the look on his face as I took her for myself.”
“He hasn’t given it up,” Bora provided, practically dancing around the table as she placed another mug of mead down before the man. With a knowing grin, she slid onto the table, legs crossed delicately as she leaned back. Siyeon refrained from rolling her eyes - it was Bora’s usual tactic to swindle more coin from the drunkards that wandered in, and it always seemed to work. “Last I knew, he was gifted a new ship, far bigger than the Treasure, and made just for him. Left port about six months ago, actually. Siyeon, honey, what did he name it, again?”
This time, Siyeon did roll her eyes, standing and moving from around the desk. “Have you heard the rumors of the Destiny Ship, by chance?”
“The Destiny Ship?” The pirate that sat before Bora raised his brow. “Aye, I’ve heard the rumors. It’s hard not to, when you dock. You mean to tell me…?”
“Aye, the Destiny Ship belongs to him. A gift from Captain Eden of the Madness, in fact, designed specifically for him. That ship is everything he is; strength. Speed. It’s as if the ship is tied to him through more than just the document. He is hers, and she is his.” Siyeon sighed softly, leaning against the wood of the desk, crossing her arms. “From what I hear, every crew that’s challenged him since the Destiny Ship set sail has met a very unfortunate end, as fate would have it.”
“Bah, might as well be an old wive’s tale.” Snorting, the man next to Bora downed the mead in his mug, emptying it in just a few gulps. With an exaggerated sigh, the mug hit the table, and Bora barely held back her expression of disgust. “There isn’t a captain in the world who could have a true take over like that in under a year.”
“Aye, you’re right,” Bora hummed, sliding off the table, whisking away the empty mug. “There isn’t a captain in the world that could defeat crews and sink ships the way they say he has. That’s why they’ve stopped calling him the captain. They’ve given him a new name. The Pirate King.”
A chorus of guffaws echoed from the table, clearly in disbelief of Bora’s words. “The Pirate King? A wee lad like that? Bora, you must have misheard. A wet behind the ears lad like that, the pirate king? You must be mad.”
Clicking her tongue, Bora crossed her arms. She knew what she had heard, and she knew the rumors had no other choice but to be true. “Fine, don’t believe me, but you’ll wish you had when you cross his path, Seunghyun.”
Grinning, Seunghyun let his hand rest on his palm, elbow on the table. “If Davy Jones’ Locker is what awaits me for crossing this so-called king, then so be it. Better to meet Davy Jones himself than to dance the hempen jig or be measured for my chains.”
━ ◦ ❖ ◦━
Tearing apart the pieces of the oleanders Minho had secured for him, Seonghwa let the petals fall into the mortar, carefully letting the sap from the stem drip onto the petals, avoiding getting the oleander sap on his skin - though he had a tolerance to the poisons and their compounds that he worked with and created, not even he was immune to all of their effects. Sighing softly, Seonghwa could hear the rest of the crew above him on the deck, dancing and laughing with each other as Jongho and San sang shanties with Yunho and Wooyoung.
While he would have loved to have joined them, there was work that had to be done. He had put aside mixing together his poisons the past few months, the time of peace on the Destiny Ship was growing shorter and shorter, leading to him holing himself away for the better part of the past week. With the knowledge of Hongjoong being gifted the Destiny Ship becoming more common, they had become the focus of more and more attacks. Initially, they had been more widespread, coincidental in their entanglements. But as they became more commonplace, there was more work that had to be done.
Bigger ships would be coming for them, and they were all well aware of it. Bigger ships meant bigger crews, and though their own crew had grown when gaining the Destiny Ship, there was the fear that they wouldn’t be able to withstand an attack from a more sizable crew, or a small fleet that had banded together to take them down.
Popping the cork off of the blue ringed octopus venom, Seonghwa let a few drops mix with the oleander sap in the mortar, recapping the vial a moment after. The venom was potent enough, particularly when mixed with the oleander sap, for Seonghwa to not need more than a few drops. Picking up the abandoned pestle, Seonghwa got to work grinding the petals into the sap and venom. In its purest form, the poison could kill a man instantly, and though Seonghwa was tempted to leave it as a paste, it was impractical.
To coat his blade in paste would dull the blade - at the very least, diluting such a potent poison with water would still be more than enough to kill a man.
“You truly never cease to amaze me, my star.” Hongjoong’s voice was soft, carrying from the other side of Seonghwa’s quarters in the fo’c’sle. Gaze turning away from his mortar and pestle, Seonghwa tilted his head in Hongjoong’s direction.
“How are you feeling? You’re the last to build up your immunity this time, rather than the second.” When it came to creating poison, it was a heavy request to ask their immediate crew to allow Seonghwa to intentionally poison them to ensure their tolerance, build their immunity, if they were to get scraped by his coated blade in the midst of a battle, to ensure they wouldn’t die inadvertently by Seonghwa’s hand. It was why Seonghwa requested it be done one at a time, and they rest in his cabin to allow him to monitor their state. “The oleander is potent this time, as well, and it’s sap I mixed with the octopus venom. Anyone without a major tolerance would be dead by now.”
“I feel ill, undoubtedly.” Hongjoong attempted a weak chuckle, only to cough into his elbow, sinking back into Seonghwa’s pillows with a pathetic groan. “The potency can be felt, even by me after all this time.”
“Aye, I’d expect so. But you’re still alive hours later, so not all is lost.” Seonghwa teased gently, though he pitied his captain more than anything. Seonghwa hated seeing the effects his poisons had on his crew, but it was always worse seeing the sickness completely overcome Hongjoong, rendering him useless for days until his body acclimated to the toxins. “You’re coherent for far longer than last time, as well. It’s a good thing.”
“It is, but,” Hongjoong grunted a little, uncomfortable as he shifted onto his side. “I can’t help but worry each time. We’re an incredible target now. Maybe I should have taken the first dose instead of San. I’d at least be able to fight should we be attacked.”
“If I had planned better, I would have started this while we were still docked, and let you become temporarily incapacitated while we were on land. Alas, I didn’t plan better. But should we be attacked, trust in our men, hm? San is an excellent leader when it comes to battle, and you shouldn’t need to worry. Just rest, love. You’ll be fine in a day or so, and none of us will need to boost our immunity for another six months.”
“Aye, six month intervals. A miserable handful of days every six months, but worth it in the end. What have you put together this time? You’ve been hidden away from sight for a week now, aside from when you were coming to fetch one of our crew for their dose.”
“I’ve ground oleander roots and petals along with some water hemlock, deadly nightshade, and bloodroot into a fine powder and turned it into a small array of smoke bombs. Inhaling the smoke from the burning powder will take out a good portion of our enemies, though only if we can burn them on their ship. On ours, our newer crew members won’t last. We’ll have to avoid setting them off among our numbers as much as possible, unless we’d like to have only 30 of us total again for a ship this size.”
“Best to avoid that, then. We gained a good number when the deed to the Destiny Ship was given to me. I’d hate to lose them so soon.” Sighing, Hongjoong shifted, running a hand through his hair. “What else?”
“I’ve created more poisons to coat my blades with, though I’m half tempted to mix them with some gunpowder and see what I can create from that. There’s also enough to coat the cannonballs in a thin layer of powder and liquid that when they explode on impact, more burning toxins will flood the decks of the other ships.”
“Your mind is hellish, but brilliant. You terrify me, sometimes. Have you already coated the cannonballs?”
“Not yet. I was planning to have Mingi and Wooyoung help me with that later, while you were resting and have Yunho take up my post.” Leaning back in his seat, Seonghwa rubbed the backs of his hands over his eyes, just in case anything ended up on his skin. And then, he realized the noises of merriment had stopped, and the deck was quiet - far too quiet. “...Something is happening.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing, Seonghwa. The boys probably got tired of singing and dancing and fell asleep.” Hongjoong tried to reason, though it meant nothing, ultimately. Not when Seonghwa could see the concern etched onto fae-like features, and the pull of his brow as he listened carefully. When Seonghwa was about to agree with Hongjoong, they heard it.
“Run a shot across the bow.” San’s voice carried to below the decks, clearly shouting at the lesser of the crew members. A warning shot was fired, before more silence followed. Holding his breath, wary of the silence on their ship, Seonghwa’s eyes were trained on his door, locked and secured.
“I have to see what’s happening.” Hongjoong spoke up, voice quiet and gaining Seonghwa’s attention. The quartermaster watched as Hongjoong struggled to pull himself off the bed, falling backwards a moment later. An irritated groan echoed in the small room, the pair listening for further commands from San. “Of all the times for us to possibly be attacked-”
“Calm yourself, my love.” Seonghwa sighed, moving from his table to the bed, sitting beside Hongjoong gracefully. “Our Sannie can handle the commands above deck. The crew knows he’s third in command, only after me. They will listen to him, and he will lead them to an assured victory. If our enemy is smart, they’ll avoid attempting to board the ship.”
“No enemy is smart, Seonghwa. Not with how we’re known, now.” Hongjoong closed his eyes, undoubtedly nauseous judging by the look on his face - a sure sign that the poison was taking its toll, and his body was fighting the introduced toxins. “Seonghwa, from here on, we only do immunities when docked. With a bigger target on our ship, we cannot risk any of us being incapacitated for any amount of time.”
“I agree with you.” With a hum on his breath, Seonghwa reached out, threading his fingers through Hongjoong’s hair, lips forming into a small pout at the heat radiating off of Hongjoong’s forehead. “You’ve got a fever. That’s good, though. It means your body is actively fighting the toxins. I expect you’ll be fine by morning, with how quickly your body has responded. But you cannot go to the above deck by any means. You’ll collapse.”
“Aye, so it would seem. They can handle this. They’ve been with us long enough and have been through enough to handle it.” Though Hongjoong seemed to be attempting to convince himself more than Seonghwa, the quartermaster couldn’t help but agree; San was more than capable of leading their crew in their absence.
“They’re coming about broadside.” Seonghwa sighed softly, hearing Yunho’s voice. They were gathered outside the fo’c’sle, judging from how much louder the voices were, his hand finding Hongjoong’s forearm to keep him still.
They had to trust in their crew.
“What’s your command, San?” Wooyoung asked, clearly agitated by the fact they were under attack.
“Give no quarter. If you engage with anyone, blow the man down. I don’t want to see a single survivor.” The small smile that pulled at Hongjoong’s lips was enough for Seonghwa - San had learned from the best, and the best was Hongjoong.
“Attaboy, San.” Hongjoong mumbled, bringing his arm up to cover his eyes. “They’re in good hands. Though, Seonghwa-”
“If they start to sound like they’re struggling, I’ll leave my post here and assist them.” He knew what Hongjoong was going to ask him - Seonghwa was a secret weapon in any battle, the last man their enemies saw before death. “For now, let me take care of you, hm? Let me get you a cloth and some water. You’re bound to get dehydrated at this rate.”
“My personal nurse.” Though he was joking, there was truth to the words; Seonghwa was always the one caring for the crew, always chasing them down to ensure they had the proper amount of rest, to make sure they weren’t overworking themselves. Seonghwa was always putting them before himself, no matter how many times Hongjoong scolded him for it. It was who he was, it was in his blood, and it was something that Hongjoong loved terribly about him. “I wish I knew who was boarding us. See which captain had the balls to come at us, knowing my reputation.”
“To be fair, my love, when I hear the rumors of you, you’re never mentioned by name. Dead men tell no tales, after all. You’re infamous, but nameless. The captain of the Treasure, and now of the Destiny Ship.” Wringing out a cloth from the small tub nearby, having set it aside for this purpose exactly, Seonghwa draped the cloth over Hongjoong’s forehead, smiling softly as the captain took a breath of relief. “I do wish they knew your name, though. How Captain Kim is undeniably the best pirate on the seas. How Captain Kim has never lost. Fear would be tied to your name. Maybe this is how we tie that to you, hm? Send them to port on nothing more than a rowboat with nothing more than a name.”
“You have quite the mean streak, don’t you?” Wincing at the sound of their crew deeply engaged with the enemy, Hongjoong sighed. “What good is sending one of their men to port with my name if I’m not even part of the battle? They cannot fear me if they cannot see me, Seonghwa.”
“Aye, you have a point. But a captain doesn’t always need to get his hands dirty if he has a competent crew. They can still fear you for having a crew that can do his work for him, and not overthrow him. You are someone to be feared, darling, and the world needs to know it. I will personally make your name known as the man to be feared. Dread pirate Kim. No, Pirate King Hongjoong.”
With a breathy laugh, too weak for the energy Hongjoong wished to put in, the captain shook his head. “Pirate King Kim Hongjoong. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
“That it does. Shall I make it known, then? All you have to do is say the word.” Seonghwa hummed, hand coming up to cup Hongjoong’s cheek, stroking lightly over the soft, freckled skin. “Your wish is my command, after all.”
“You’re far too eager to make my name known, aren’t you?”
Seonghwa chuckled, “After how long we’ve been around? I’m incredibly eager to make the world stop and fear you. Eden may have given you everything you needed to start your own adventure, but you’ve done everything yourself. Over the past seven years, you’ve done more than some men do in their entire lives. It’s about time the world knows your name.”
Hongjoong parted his lips to reply, though before he could, the sound of Wooyoung shrieking cut through their bubble of quiet, bringing them back to the reality of what was occurring above them. Seonghwa sighed, pulling himself away from Hongjoong’s side, crossing the room in a few brief strides.
“Wooyoung!”
“I’m alright, I’m alright. Can’t say the same for him,” A pause. “But I’m alright. Sangie, on your 9!”
“I was hoping that I’d have a few more days to at least get the gunpowder and nightshade mixture created, but alas.” Picking up his pistol from the desk, Seonghwa slid it easily into the holster, lips pulled into a frown. “Would have been a lovely chance to see what I could do with such a combination; I assume if the bullet doesn’t kill them, the nightshade’s poison would. Shame. I’ll have to try it in our next battle.”
“You’re terrifying.”
“You love it.” Seonghwa, despite the grim reality of the situation, still managed to be cheeky, raising a brow as he looked over his shoulder at Hongjoong. The smile that tugged at Hongjoong’s lips was enough encouragement for Seonghwa, a shake of his head tousling pink strands as he picked up his thigh holster, daggers lining the outer portion of the holster, each blade coated in the poison he had mixed together earlier in the day.
“That I do. My stunning and terrifying wife.” Hongjoong confirmed, the fondness unable to be kept out of his voice as he opened his eyes to watch Seonghwa weapon up, prepared to enter, and end, the battle that had been waging for some time, neither of them sure of how long as they had simply enjoyed each other’s company in quiet, ignorant to the struggles their crew could have been facing.
“Only to keep you safe.” Seonghwa mused, sliding his blade into its home on his hip, careful not to nick himself with the sharp edge. The last thing he needed was to end up in a similar state as Hongjoong before he had the chance to take out their enemy. “Whoever boarded our ship will surely regret it.”
“Captain, I see no sign of her. Think the captain and his wife abandoned their crew to save themselves?”
A laugh, disgusting and loud, “I knew it; the captain is a coward. A shame he took that pretty wife of his; I wanted to take her for myself. Take out the little one first, the loud one. And then take out the one barking out orders - a runt like him is playing captain, it seems, to make up for the fact his captain isn’t worth anything.”
Seonghwa clicked his tongue, shaking his head as the voices grew softer, moving away from the fo’c’sle to further engage in the battle. “Someone has some misguided information about us, love. I’ll return soon, don’t fret.”
Snorting, Hongjoong waved his hand dismissively, “Why don’t you show them what my pretty wife can do, hm? Make him regret wanting you for himself.”
“Don’t I always?” With a teasing kiss blown in Hongjoong’s direction, Seonghwa unlocked the door to his room, stepping out easily, softly, his heels tapping against the wood. Locking the door behind him, the key being slipped around his neck by nothing more than a long, thin chain, Seonghwa sighed. The stairs that led to the deck, didn’t so much as creak under his weight, so much as made the echoes of his steps seem that much louder.
“Seonghwa!” Yeosang called as soon as his head of pink hair became visible, expression schooled into neutrality. There seemed to be a collective sigh of relief from their crew, and with a quick scan of the deck, they had only lost a few of their newest crew members - a loss, but not a big one. “Over by the helm- San-” There was a grunt from the navigator as his blade clashed with the enemy’s. “ Seunghyun .”
Seonghwa sighed; it was only a matter of time before Seunghyun caught up to them, had set his sights on them. There had been rumors that the MOLLADO had been attempting to overtake smaller crews, with Seunghyun at its lead. But that didn’t matter - Seunghyun was just as human as any other pirate, and was just as vulnerable.
“Take care of yourself, Yeosang. I’ll deal with Seunghyun.”
“Captain!” One of Seunghyun’s men from near the helm, though closer to the mast, called out, gaining the captain’s attention. Seonghwa saw the way he gestured to him. “Didn’t they say the captain’s wife had pink hair?”
Seunghyun’s eyes met Seonghwa’s, laughter bursting out of him, “Well I’ll be. The captain’s wife is a man - one that looks weaker than a woman at that. ‘Bout as terrifying and intimidating as a newborn pup, that one. Kill them all.”
“Aye!”
Seonghwa clicked his tongue again, fingers wrapping around the hilt of one of his daggers. The goal ultimately was Seunghyun - take out the captain, and there was no doubt that the crew would abandon the fight. Without orders, it would be far easier to take them all out, as San’s command had been to spare no one - and Seonghwa fully intended to assist in making that a reality.
Narrowly dodging a blade that came towards him, Seonghwa’s lip curled in annoyance, his dagger slicing the man’s bicep - effectively forcing him to drop the blade he had been holding. “It’ll be over soon.” He cooed softly, watching as realization dawned over the man’s expression - the burning sensation that undoubtedly began rapidly spreading through his body as the toxins entered his bloodstream carrying the poison to his vital organs. “You see why they fear me, don’t you?”
“P-poison…”
“Very good. Sleep now. Davy Jones welcomes you.” A satisfied smirk crossed Seonghwa’s features as the man fell, eyes opened in disbelief as he hit the deck to take his final breaths. “Your captain will join you soon.”
No matter how many times Seonghwa heard the clanging of metal against one another, he would never tire of the rush that ran through his body as he weaved through the bodies both fighting and dead, eyes trained on Seunghyun and San. San was strong as a fighter, undoubtedly, their master of arms - but Seunghyun had more experience over him, could read San easier than a map could be read. He met every blow San aimed at him, a cruel smirk on his expression as he countered, shallow cuts littering San’s upper arms and shoulders.
He was toying with San, wearing him down until San could fight no longer, and San had fallen into the trap Seunghyun had set.
Seonghwa could only hear the sound of his heels against the deck as he calmly climbed the stairs to the deck above the captain’s cabin, drawing his own blade. And if Seunghyun’s men weren’t too loyal to him, perhaps Seonghwa could have taken him out in stealth, but a cry from one of the men nearby, engaged in a blow of swords with Mingi, called for his captain’s attention.
“Captain, behind!”
Seonghwa’s blade clashed against Seunghyun’s instantly, the captain spinning on his heel to avoid being cut down by the quartermaster. Behind Seunghyun, San wiped the blood away from his mouth, chest heaving, having only a moment to spare before he was jumping off the deck to avoid a strike from one of Seunghyun’s men.
In front of him, Seunghyun sneered, “I expected more from the wife of the captain. A beautiful woman, for one, but instead I’ve been given a man with no muscle. I can only imagine how pathetic that husband of yours is; can’t even join his own men for a battle to save his ship?”
“There’s no need for the captain to do what his wife can do for him. Why bother him with such a trivial thing; he has far better things to do than waste his time on you, Seunghyun.” Seonghwa countered, pushing away from Seunghyun with a curl of his lips, eyes narrowed in annoyance. “Looks can be deceiving, captain , and you’d do well to remember that.”
“Aye, that might be true, but such isn’t the case in the likes of your sorry excuse for a crew.” Seunghyun cackled, their blades clashing again, with Seonghwa’s arm trembling under the force of Seunghyun’s blow, only to hear Seunghyun coo mockingly. “Aw, you’re shaking; never seen a real pirate before?”
“I am a real pirate, fool.” Using the ball of his foot to kick Seunghyun away, Seonghwa twisted out of the way, dodging the backswing of the captain’s blade. “Does winning the Destiny Ship mean so much to you?”
“The ship means nothing, but I’ll take her for myself when I cut you down. Show her captain that she belongs to me now when I come across him. No, I’m going to prove you lot are weak, and have only been lucky thus far in your so-called career. You’re nothing, and I’ll show the world that.”
“Are you quite done?” Seonghwa questioned, rolling his eyes. Seunghyun was like any other enemy pirate they had come across - looking down upon them for having a smaller crew, for assuming that they were weaker for it. For Hongjoong, numbers meant nothing if there was talent to outweigh that. And his crew was talented, hand selected by him aside from their newest additions, who had been chosen by Eden and Maddox themselves, making them trustworthy and talented. “What we’re going to show the world isn’t that we are nothing - it’s that we are to be feared . And you’ll soon learn why.”
“Cocky. Confident . Maybe I’ll take you for myself anyway. You may not be a woman, but you’re just as pretty, aren’t you? Give you a real man for a husband, hm?” Seonghwa sneered at the idea, sucking lightly on his teeth as his lip curled in disgust, turning the flat of his blade to the sharp edge of Seunghyun’s.
“I’ll pass.” Seonghwa replied coolly, growing bored of playing around with Seunghyun already. There were better things he could be doing, such as making sure Hongjoong would recover from the poison, rather than entertain someone like Seunghyun.
“Will you just end it already, Seonghwa?” Wooyoung screeched, his back hitting the wall of the deck Seonghwa and Seunghyun stood on, ducking at the last moment to avoid a blade to the face. “Stop toying with him and just kill him !”
“ Toying ?” Seunghyun scoffed at the notion of Seonghwa playing with him - because, apparently, it was hard to believe on its own. Because to Seunghyun, Seonghwa wasn’t anyone to take seriously, wasn’t a threat - because of his delicate appearance and status as Hongjoong’s wife. But that was exactly why Seonghwa was a threat, and Seunghyun would realize that moments before his death.
As Seonghwa’s blade met Seunghyun’s again, Seonghwa sighed, “Right, you’ve got a point, Wooyoung.” Seonghwa hummed in acknowledgement, pushing away from Seunghyun once more, hand trailing to his thigh holster and pulling out another dagger. “I won’t give you the honor of asking for your last words. You don’t deserve them.”
“You’re too confident - when I take you for myself, I’ll make sure that’s fixed. You’ll be nothing more than my pet.”
“Disgusting.” With an upwards swing, Seonghwa met Seunghyun’s blade with an intensity, keeping the force of their blades as momentum to swing the dagger at Seunghyun’s stomach, a smirk pulling at his lips seeing the way it sliced through the linen with ease, tearing into his skin just enough for the toxins to enter his system.
“What a pathetic cut - you really aren’t worth anything. Any good pirate knows how to handle a blade!”
“I know how to handle a blade - I got what I wanted out of that. One cut was all I needed.” Separating from Seunghyun, Seonghwa sighed, wiping his brow gently as he watched the captain stumble back, hand pressed to the wound. “You feel it, don’t you? A burning sensation along your skin where I cut you, rapidly spreading along your skin, feeling like a fire is eating you alive, hm? That’s what I’ve been told it feels like, but I can’t say I know for sure. I’m immune to my own poisons, after all.”
“You-”
“I’m far more feared than Hongjoong is, you know. My knowledge of poisons and how to create them is limitless. You and every other pirate we’ve defeated have all thought the same; that I’m weak, and a burden to my crew, that I’m nothing more than a pretty face and a pet for my captain when really, you’re completely wrong.” Seonghwa stepped forward, sighing softly as he sheathed his blades, standing before Seunghyun as his back pressed to the rail of the ship. “Hongjoong may be the captain of the ship, but I am the master of the captain. Say hello to Davy Jones for me, won’t you?”
Lifting his leg and pressing his heel into Seunghyun’s chest, Seonghwa pushed just so , pushing the captain overboard as he took his last breaths, shaking his head as the sound of Seunghyun’s body met the water. With Seunghyun out of the way, Seonghwa turned to look at the battle that still raged on, the way his crew were bloodied and bruised, but alive . He clicked his tongue, shaking his head - the crew of the MOLLADO were utterly useless now, left without a captain to command them, and Seonghwa couldn’t help but sigh.
“What is a crew without a captain?” He wondered aloud, moving to the stairs to lower himself back to the main deck, watching as Seunghyun’s men began to slow down at the noticeable silence from their captain, allowing for their own men to take out the enemy. He watched as they fell, one by one, to the new and old members of the crew of the Destiny Ship, with Seonghwa frowning at the amount of blood that currently stained their decks. “A crew without a captain… is useless. San, leave one alive. I have a message for him.”
San grunted in acknowledgement, pulling one of Seunghyun’s men towards him, his chest pressed to the man’s back with a blade to his throat. Around them lay the bodies of the crew of the MOLLADO, dead or dying, and Seonghwa couldn’t be more pleased. Turning to look at Mingi, Seonghwa gestured with his head. “Prepare a rowboat.”
“We’re letting him live?” Wooyoung gaped, looking between Seonghwa and their captive as Mingi nodded in Seonghwa’s direction. “Seonghwa, you can’t be serious. What reason do you have to let him live?”
“I have a message, like I said.” Stepping in front of their captive, Seonghwa examined him carefully - their captive was likely nothing more than a cabin boy who had been dragged along for the ride, unexpected to survive the battle. Expendable. A body to distract as the real fighters took care of business. A slightly wider-set nose, and fearful eyes with a rectangular jaw, his messy brown hair nearly fell into his eyes, covering thick brows. “What’s your name, lad?”
“Y-Yedam, s-sir.” The boy, Yedam, stammered out, and just by his reaction, Seonghwa knew he was right. Yedam was a cabin boy, had likely been forced into doing work and chores for Seunghyun from a young age, or had been promised a life of wealth and riches if he had joined the crew. The reasoning didn’t matter, the result was all the same - his captain and crew were dead, and Yedam was a captive. “Please don’t kill me, I- I didn’t want to attack your ship, but the captain-”
“I don’t care what your story is, Yedam. I left you alive for a reason, or were you not listening to a single word I said?” Clicking his tongue, Seonghwa sighed. Really, he wasn’t a cruel man - he pitied Yedam a little, even. Though he didn’t know the boy’s story, his heart went out to him. If he didn’t have a point to prove, he might have kept him as their own cabin boy, until Yedam proved useful. “We’re four days out from port, and you have a message to deliver, or rather, a message to spread. You seem like a decent person, so I’m giving you a chance.”
“A message? A chance?”
“Yes. You clearly want to have an adventure on the sea, or you wouldn’t have joined Seunghyun’s crew. I’ll give you a chance to join ours, but I will not make it easy for you.” Hands behind his back, Seonghwa tilted his head at Yedam, examining him further. There was a little mole that sat almost in the center of his right cheek, and an earring ran though either ear. “You will take yourself to the port on the rowboat provided, and spread the message of what you’ve seen here today; that the crew belonging to Captain Kim Hongjoong… is the most certain way to meet a watery grave. Our ship will dock in a week’s time - if you’ve done your part, you’ll be given the chance to set sail with us when we leave port. Do we have an accord?”
“A-aye, sir. Thank you, sir. I’ll spread the message, just as you wish.”
“Good. Mingi has your boat prepared with enough to last you five days, which is my being generous. San will take you to the boat, and you’ll be on your way.”
Seonghwa watched as San led Yedam off to the boats, expression falling back to neutral until Wooyoung stood before him, arms crossed, a bruise blossoming on his cheek just under his eye. Wooyoung was clearly entirely unamused with Seonghwa, and Seonghwa couldn’t blame him - he countered San’s order to kill them all, and ordered them to keep one alive.
“Really, Seonghwa? You’re going to give him a position on the Destiny Ship after he was part of the attempt to take it? You’ve finally lost it, haven’t you?” Rolling his eyes at the accusation, Seonghwa moved past Wooyoung, shaking his head as he stepped around bodies to return to the fo’c’sle. “You’re going to ignore me, is that it?”
“I’m going to check on Hongjoong, Wooyoung. Help the others clean up the deck. I want the sails furled and all anchors down immediately. We aren’t going anywhere until Hongjoong has recovered and this deck is spotless.”
“You just want to give Yedam a head start, don’t you?” Yeosang questioned, pushing aside a limp hand with the toe of his boot.
Seonghwa didn’t grace him with an answer.
He didn’t need to.
━ ◦ ❖ ◦━
“We’re going to careen the ship, aren’t we?” As a shadow cast over him, Seonghwa looked up from where he sat on the ground against the walls of the fo’c’sle. “It’s about that time we do; I can’t imagine the amount of barnacles that have collected along the keel.”
Seonghwa sighed, pulling himself up into a standing position. “Did you ask Hongjoong about this? It’s his decision, after all.”
“Boom about!” San’s call was the warning Seonghwa needed to tug Yedam to his side to avoid the swing of the boom, shooting a glare in San’s direction. “Aw, don’t give me that look, Seonghwa! It’s not my fault the wind pushed the boom! At least I gave you a warning.”
“Don’t you have something to be doing, San? Like annoying Yeosang?”
“Don’t push him onto me. I told him he’s not allowed on this deck until we’re in shallow waters. Yedam is right, you know. It’s been too long since we cleaned up the keel that the ship is starting to lose speed, even in strong winds. It wouldn’t hurt to take a few days to clean her up, and we have all the hands we need to make it quick.”
Seonghwa sighed, shaking his head, though the action was fond, a smile on his lips. “Prepare to careen, then. Good call, Yedam. I knew you would be a valuable asset to the crew. Go on, help Yeosang with whatever he needs. San, with Mingi. All the tools we’ll need to clean up the ship need to be sharpened, and it’ll go faster with the two of you.”
Watching as the members of the crew scattered, Seonghwa smiled, moving away from the wall to climb the stairs to the fo’c’sle deck, elbows resting against the railing of the ship. The breeze against his face and tousling his pink locks was endlessly familiar, as well as the too-familiar steps of Hongjoong coming up behind him, arms circling around his waist as his chin hooked onto Seonghwa’s shoulder.
“Hello, love.”
“Mm, morning. You should have woken me up earlier.”
Turning in Hongjoong’s arms, Seonghwa smiled, stealing a kiss. “You finally were sleeping peacefully instead of looking at your charts, how could I disturb that? Yeosang is leading us to shallow waters so we can clean up the keel.”
“Smart of him.” Hongjoong murmured, nosing against Seonghwa’s neck, clearly still waking up. “Yeosang always has brilliant ideas.”
“Yes, well, it was Yedam’s idea, so you should praise him. I can see what Seunghyun saw in him; he catches on fast. His talents were just poorly utilized on the MOLLADO.” Smiling softly, Seonghwa carded his fingers through Hongjoong’s hair, relaxing in his husband’s embrace.
“He’s made an excellent addition to the crew, aye. You were right to give him a chance.”
Laughing softly, Seonghwa shook his head, “I wanted to not give him the chance at first, but when I saw the fear in his eyes and the desperation to stay alive… I have a weak heart, Hongjoong. I was going to send him off in the rowboat to spread my message, and only that, but my heart told me that I had to take him in. But it was the right decision, so I can’t say I regret it too much.”
“You don’t have a weak heart, love. You just know worth when you see it.” Hongjoong hummed, tilting his head up to steal another kiss from Seonghwa, smiling against his lips. “Have I told you I love you, lately?”
“Mm, you could stand to do it a little more.” Laughing softly, Seonghwa stole another kiss. “I love you, as well. But you already knew that, of course.”
“Aye. I do.”