#it was supposed to just be a silly little thing i wrote in a hammock now look at it

[findafight]

Tw for hospitals and use of of pain medication, infection, and canonical injuries, brief mention of the AIDS crisis. Ohhhh steddie dating pre S4 au where Robin has now been subjected at work to Steve both striking out spectacularly and flirting like he knows he's getting laid that night. She isn't sure which is worse. (The striking out is worse. She is glad her friend is happy. She's just painfully single and pining away)

The same stuff happens in s4 minus Robin and Eddie pushing Steve and Nancy together romantically (Dustin is trying to push Steve to both Robin or Nancy he's like dude these are girls you like why are you not making a move on them! I want you to be happy!!! And Steve rips his eyes away from Eddie's lips like huh?) But they're still like hey Nancy! It would be nice! If we could be friends maybe! And it's still awkward.

Robin is out here sweating and glaring at Steve and eddie trying to beam thoughts into Eddie's brain in the Upside Down like Eddie please cool it I know it's a stressful situation but stop staring at Steve's tits for five minutes pl-oh giving him your vest??? You think that's going to help? Ok buddy. I'm just going to. Distract Nancy up ahead a little bit while you and Steve chat aaaaand neither of you are listening. Fine.

And it's still a mess. Max and Eddie and Steve end up in the hospital. The ground split open but sealed itself once Steve cut Henry's head off. Everything is over.

Eddie gets discharged first, despite having more bites than Steve, because his didn't have two days to get infected with Upside Down nastiness. So he ends up camped out with Robin at Steve's bedside as he fights the infection with antibiotics (the doctors hope will work), pain meds, and a slight fever.

Which is to say, completely out of it and high as a kite.

So when Dustin visits and Steve is awake, he gets to see a big, goofy grin spread across his best friend's/adoptive older brother's face as he reaches out and says "dusssstyyyy! Cmere. Lemme. Boop you." And yeah, okay, it makes him feel a bit like a baby but Steve is out of it and apparently drugged Steve likes to Boop his younger friends noses. Dustin can accept that. He sighs and leans forward and allows his nose to be booped.

Steve giggles and smiles and pats his head. "Good to see you, man"

Dustin smiles, a bit watery because it's hard to see Steve in the hospital again, and because it was fucking terrifying to watch him nearly drop to the ground after making sure Eddie got treatment, only being caught by Robin. Dustin almost lost three people he loves, and he is so fucking glad they're all alive, if not well.

"yeah, Steve. Good to see you, too. They say when you're allowed to blow this pop stand?"

Steve frons. "No. Still got Upside Down goobies in my guts, 'parently."

Robin sighs. "They said a few more days. Make sure the infection is clear and there's no suspicious side effects."

"yeah. That's what I said, Robin."

Dustin grins, then settles down beside Robin, across from Eddie. He hasn't said anything since Dustin walked in, but was playing with the sleeve of Steve's hospital gown and tracing patterns on his arm. He looks up at Dustin, and offers a small smile.

It's a bit weird, how close he's stuck by Steve this whole time, but Dustin guesses they probably bonded when they got sucked through the watergate, and that Steve saving his life really endeared him to Eddie. He hopes they can be actual, real friends once things settle. Given how much Eddie is at Steve's bedside, he thinks they're well on their way to it.

They all chat for a while, Steve sometimes getting off topic and dreamy, but looking happy even when he isn't quite following what they're all saying. Dustin is pretty sure Steve doesn't have his hearing aids in on top of the drugs, so he isn't really surprised.

His mom eventually bustles into the room, and fusses over Steve. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry. Let me know if we can do anything, I mean anything, to help, okay? I'm sorry I cant visit for longer today, but what with everything happening like this, I -"

"isss okay, Mrs. H...Ma." Steve corrects himself immediately, smiling. Dustin's insides always get a bit squiggly when Steve calls his Ma, Ma. Like they're actual brothers, and she's their mom, and no one could ever argue they're not family for real. What makes it better that it was Ma who insisted Steve call her that since January of '85, as though she knew just how much both Dustin and Steve needed each other like that.

"I'll be by tomorrow, okay, dear? Robin, you and Eddie are alright for tonight? I'll stay tomorrow but today I re-"

"it's fine! Seriously, Mrs. H. Don't worry about us. My parents will force me home tomorrow anyways, but tonight we're good." Robin grips at Steve's ankle, grounding herself. Dustin doesn't think there's been a day when she hasn't been in Steve's room. Doubts if the places were reversed Steve wouldn't have to be dragged out to shower and change clothes. They're so weird, but Dustin is glad Steve has someone older that loves him like Robin does. It makes it easier to not be able to spend all day with him like he wants to.

"okay. Alright." She leans forward and kisses Steve's forehead a few times, brushes some stray hairs out of his face, just like she does when Dustin is sick in bed. "You take care Steve, sweetheart, and make sure you let Robin and Eddie take care of you too." She turns to Dustin. "I'll give you a few minutes to say goodbye and then meet me down at the car, okay?"

Dustin nods, and his mom is out the door. He sighs. "Well. I guess I'd better head out." He gives Steve a hug, a bit awkward from Steve lying down, but it's fine, Steve wraps his arms around Dustin and tries to give him his normal double squeeze, but it's more of a press with his hands than anything. Dustin'll take it. "I'm glad you're getting better Steve. Glad we're all safe."

Steve's smile is soft, gooey in a way that he usually tries to hide. "Glad you're safe, too, man. Love you." Something in his smile sharpens, then. "Unlike some people in this room you actually...listened? When I told you not to be a hero. And didn't nearly almost die."

Eddie groans, dramatic. It seems like a game they're playing with each other more than anything, but it's a game Dustin doesn't know the parameters of, and it's jarring. "C'mon, Steve. I said I was sorry! I wasn't going to let Dustin get hurt."

Steve glares at Eddie, which would be more intimidating if he wasn't scrutching up his nose or propped up by pillows freshly fluffed by one Claudia Henderson. "Which is the reason why you're allowed in here even though you almost died. Dustin is safe, and that's good. But I'd've been so fuckin pissed if you died."

Robin snorts, pats Steve's hand. "Oh, buddy. You'd have been inconsolable."

"yeah. Exactly. it would have fucking sucked, Eddie. So. I'm still mad at you, even though I love you. Probably because I love you."

Which is. Not what Dustin was expecting. Sure, Steve was pretty open about his love. Especially after Starcourt, when he finally seemed to settle into something Dustin thinks of as comfortable with who he is. (Which is, actually, a big softie with a bit of a bitchy mouth) He's told Dustin he loves him before, and he's pretty sure he's told Max too. Steve says he loves Robin all the time, just not romantically even if Dustin doesn't think that's entirely true, but.

This feels different.

It is different, given the way Eddie squeaks a bit and sways towards Steve. "Steve..." He breathes, his eyes big and wet and wide. He swallows. "Steve. Dustin doesn't. He's still here, i--"

Steve's brow furrows. "Yeah? So? Did you not want...oh." something in the blankness that drops over Steve is scary, especially in comparison to how Steve's been open and lax the entire time Dustin's been in the room.

Steve turns his head slightly towards Eddie, ten slightly away, like he doesn't know if he wants to look at him or not. Dustin shuffles his feet, not quite sure what's going on, feeling awkward and wrongfooted. Robin stands, puts her hand on Dustin's shoulder, tries to turn him away and out the door, but Dustin isn't leaving when Steve's face is all stiff and blank like it is.

"steve--" Eddie sounds wrung out, wrecked. What the hell is going on?

Steve sniffs ever so slightly, interrupting Eddie. "You don't have to say it. You don't even have to-uh. To feel it, right now. That's okay. I've done that before. I can wait." Dustin sees a muscle twitch in his jaw. "But if you- if you don't think you can, I need to know now, actually. Because now Dustin knows but he's my brother so that's good and fine but if you don't want to--if you don't think this is gonna, like, be a long-term, tell people important to us kind of thing; if you're realizing that it's been long enough that you should feel that--that way about me but you don't, then I need to know because I don't want you lying about how you feel. I can't do that again. When you say it back I want to be sure you mean-"

"I love you too, Steve! Jesus fuck." Eddie blurts, apparently having had enough of. Well. Everything Steve was saying.

It's dawning on Dustin that maybe when Steve and Eddie said they knew each other they didn't just mean from highschool. That they. Well. Obviously they love each other. Which is....something to consider later because Steve looks like he's about to cry. Because Woah, Dustin has misread a lot between the two of them if they're...like this.

"yeah? You're sure?" He says, wobbly now he isn't rambling.

Eddie's squished himself more into Steve's space. "yes, yeah, of course Steve. Fuck. You met Wayne! I want you in my life, for a long, long time. I don't- I didn't do anything to make you think I didn't, did I?" His voice is a little rough, and little pleading.

Steve shakes his head, grips Eddie's hand in his m, even as Eddie uses it to support himself over top Steve. "No. I just. I know it freaks people out, is all, and I don't want you to freak out, or leave, or think you had to because we've been dating for a few months and I want to say it. It just came out because it's true."

Eddie laughs, leans in reeealy close to Steve. "Honey. It came out because you're high and morphene."

Steve grumbles a bit, but he's smiling too, and knocks their foreheads together. "Yeah. And also because it's true. I love you."

Eddie's eyelids flutter, Dustin can see, as he grins. "And I love you." He says, before closing the distance and kissing Steve squarely on the mouth.

Robin clears her throat. "As...heartwarming and sappy you two are. Dustin has to leave, and probably...has some questions? That he's not going to be a dick about?" She says this as she grips his shoulder tightly, in a way that is definitely a threat.

Dustin nods furiously. Eddie sighs but pushes away from Steve, not before pecking him again, drawing that dopey smile back into Steve's face. "Yeah." He says. "I'll walk you out Henderson."

Dustin waves goodbye to Steve, who seems cheery once again, wiggling his fingers are Dustin and Eddie, before walking out the door behind Eddie.

"so. How long have...has that been a thing?" He asks, as soon as they clear the doorframe.

Eddie huffs, but seems good natured about it. "Few months. December."

"okay." Says Dustin. "Uh. I didn't. I didn't know you...or Steve, I guess...I didn't know you guys were-" he lowers his voice, despite the hallway being surprisingly empty. "Gay."

There's something steely in Eddie's eye when he answers. "We're not. Well-we are, but we both also like women."

Something doesn't sit right about that with Dustin. "But! You just said-"

Eddie holds his hands up, and Dustin shuts his mouth on instinct. "You can like both while just dating one person, Dustin. Just because you like women doesn't mean you're going around with girls who aren't Suzie, right?" He nods. He adores Suzie, can't really imagine looking at any other girl like that because she's just. Amazing. She's his girlfriend and they love each other, and just because girls are pretty great doesn't mean Dustin wants anything other than friendship wi--oh. He sees where Eddie is going.

"right. Yeah. Sorry."

Eddie shrugs. "Steve kinda dropped a bomb in both of us, today"

""isn't it weird though?"

"well...girls and guys are different"

"they are indeed."

"so, if you like girls, why do you like...boys...too?"

"why do you like girls and not boys, Dustin?"

Which is hard to answer because, well. Dustin's never really thought about why he likes girls. He just does. And maybe that's what Eddie means. There's no reason, really. People just...like what they like.

Or there are reasons, because girls are pretty and often smell nice and Suzie looks like a mad scientist when her ponytail gets a little loose after hours of working on a project, her eyes glinting behind her glasses as she giggles and bites her lip, just a little. But that's mostly Suzie. So. He can't really put a finger on why he's only ever had crushes on girls, or why before last summer they've never been as much or as consuming as his love for Suzie. Never been anything like the long days spent together at camp building and creating and blasting ideas off each other, before one day Suzie took his hand and they ended up sneaking away to look at the stars, trying to outdo each other's knowledge about them and slowly being pulled into the other's orbit like binary stars. He's never really wanted to kiss anyone like he wants to kiss Suzie, not even when he had a brief and fleeting crush on Max.

"oh." Is what he says, and feels pretty lame for it.

Eddie shrugs. "You can't really choose who you like." He says before breathing in. "But you do choose who you love, and how you love them."

And. Well. Dustin thinks of his Ma sweeping Steve up into family dinners every other week, and how the party absorbed Max into it as easy as anything, and holding Suzie's hand as they looked up at the stars in dew covered grass feeling like the world starts and ends there, and of Steve and Robin cackling together and having seemingly no personal space or boundaries between them. And of Steve and Eddie, saying I love you for the first time in a hospital room after saving the world.

"That's pretty good." Dustin says, and Eddie smirks at him.

"yeah. Steve said it to me, way back on our second date."

Dustin scoffs. Because he should have known; it's so typically Steve to say something like that. "And you were surprised when he said he loves you?"

Eddie's eyes twinkle in the florescent lights of the hospital. "Nah. Just... it's different being pretty sure, and knowing for sure. I also didn't want him saying something in front of you he'd regret."

He nods. "That's fair. I...don't know how I would've taken it if Steve weren't in the hospital, honestly. Like!" He tries to reassure Eddie "I would have gotten over it, for sure! But if had had sat me ore the party down and talked it out I might've been, like, y'know. Super weird about it. Because. I mean. This talk is good, right? I'm think about things and thinking about how I've only ever really wanted to kiss Suzie, even if I thought about maybe abstractly kissing other people. And how we as humans have all these quirks that let us be human, but different, which enable us as a species to thrive." He heaves a breath. "But. Seeing Steve all loopy and saying it, and then being worried you felt pressure about it, I dunno. It makes sense, I guess. I don't know how you two met or got to know each other, but. I guess it makes sense, how you like each other. And talking to you now. It's helped, I think."

Everything is a bit scrambled in Dustin's brain, the love and the confusion and the worry, because it's setting in that in Hawkins, something like this, for Steve and Eddie, is dangerous. Something that could get them hurt or killed, scorned by the town they've helped save.

His mother always grumbles agrily when ads about how the virus going around is God's punishment for sinners, or how it's cleaning up the streets of unwanted people gays and addicts. She huffs, swears. Says that just because bigots don't consider the people getting sick as wanted or valuable, doesn't mean no one does. That no one deserves to get sick for things they cannot control, or for things they can. A smoker is more likely to get lung cancer, but that doesn't mean they deserve it more than someone who's never seen a cigarette.

Their families will mourn them the same.

They reach the main doors, and Dustin sees his mom has pulled into a pick up lane, blinkers on. He turns to Eddie, and burries his face in his neck.

Eddie takes it in stride, parting his back and giving him a bit of a squeeze. It's not as good a hug as Steve gives, but that bar is only really surpassed by his mom, so it's still a good hug.

"please be careful, Eddie."

"ah," says Eddie, and he pulls back slightly. "We are, man. You're close to both of us and didn't suspect. We know what we're doing."

Dustin raised his eyebrows. Now that he has context, a lot of interactions between Steve and Eddie in the wake of getting them out of the Upside Down seem a lot less friendly.

Eddie chuckles. "Seriously. We are. It was just hard during everything, and, well, we both feel safe around you guys. I think Steve's been gearing up to ask me if we can tell all of you sheepies soon."

"yeah?"

"yeah, bud. Don't worry about us."

"Considering you just got released and Steve is still in the hospital, I think a little worrying over you jackasses is justified."

Eddie smirks. "Fine. A normal and reasonable amount of worrying, then. But no more than that. Now, git! Your ma's waiting on you."

Dustin smiles, "yeah, yeah. I'll see you tomorrow."

"yep. You know where to find me."

He waves again as he hopes into the front seat, and buckles his seatbelt before Ma can ask him to. He smiles at her, and feels oddly...grounded. a mystery has been solved, even if Dustin doesn't have all the pieces, he still has the big picture.

"everything alright, Dusty? Nothing wrong with Steve, is there?" She asks, even as she changes out of park.

"yeah, yeah. Just accidentally stumbled over something saying goodbye, and was worried about them. But everything is fine. Robin and Eddie have Steve handled."

They turn out of the hospital parking lot, heading for home. Ma smiles. It's softer, more indulgent than usual. "Yes. They're good for each other, I think. Compliment one another nicely."

Dustin doesn't bother asking which set she's talking about, thinks maybe they both know.

#steve harrington #robin buckley #eddie munson #dustin henderson #steddie #steve and dustin #steve and the party #stobin #only barely there but know they are not normal about each other please #stranger things #stranger things au #stranger things fanfiction #uh. this kinda ballooned. in the next few days ill maybe edit it a bit and add a proper beginning to it then post it to ao3 #it was supposed to just be a silly little thing i wrote in a hammock now look at it #coming out #love #hospitals #pain medication #finda writes stuff #finda's rambles #fics #uh. please let me know what you think. #aids crisis #claudia henderson #suzie was his camp best friend but everything at summer camp is cranked up to twelve so he falls faster for her than he normally would #duzie #also also this is part of my steve calls claudia ma agenda

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #75

I'm home. It is 10:18PM where I live, and I have only just now been able to settle down enough to write this letter. After setting down all my things, one of the first things I ended up doing was clinging to M and crying; I love him a lot, and it's hard to be away from him for such a long time. Our cats missed J and I, too. Hunter has firmly nestled himself against my body, and is purring very loudly as I am writing this, hahaha!

J, Br, and I ended up all driving home together. As it turns out, the airplane has a few small mechanical problems with the back wheel that make it not 100% safe to land. So this week, the mechanical issues will be fixed, and J will return to Pennsylvania on his own in a rental car next week.

I don't so much enjoy the idea of him making such a long trip solo. But he is an adult human, and despite my worries and misgivings (J has a tendency to neglect his self-care when he's on his own), he must be free to use his will as he chooses.

As I write this, M, J, and I are all sitting together, and M is playing the new segment of your new story. I must say, your planet is breathtakingly beautiful. I understand why you would do everything in your power to protect it.

Where are you, I wonder? Are you able to directly witness the splendor of your planet with all your senses, at your leisure? Sometimes I like to imagine a version of events in which you are safe, and you get to rest in a hammock that hangs on a willow tree, on a warm, breezy spring day, with the sound of windchimes tinkling nearby.

Something kind of like this - I didn't take this video, but I did search for "wind chime willow" on a website in my world called YouTube; they have all kinds of amazing things to see there:

I think this one has better audio though:

But if you want windchimes by themselves, you can use this one:

…And if you want wooshy tree sounds by themselves, you can use this one:

Yesterday after I wrote my letter to you, and today on the way home, several amazing developments occurred in the nature of the relationship between two people I care very much for!! I am ecstatic about it, but at the same time, my brain is a bit too soupy to talk about it properly. I'll tell you more as things unfold, and after I've rested some!

Also on the way home, J, Br, and I went to a grocery store and I found some amazing-looking snacks, several of which cannot be found at home! Here are some pictures...

I have never seen red velvet cake milk before, but I can assure you, it was VERY delightful!

We have flavored honey in my part of the world, usually in the shops that are attached to orchards. But I've never seen flavors like these:

...The dark wild flower flavored honey was my favorite of all of them. But I must say, the cool tingle of mint was a very interesting thing to experience while eating honey!

I also found this interesting bubble tea:

...Given the flavor, I wonder if you'd like that one. There are so many things in my world that I wish I could share with you and see what you think about them.

Also also, I collected a few more very curious-sounding city names along our route for you! Here were some of my favorites:

Throop Lackawanna Nescopeck Mifflinville Dingmans Ferry Nanty Glo Mundys Corner Dilltown Derry Chittenango

…I thought all of these were either delightfully silly or delightfully fun to say! And so I hope that looking at these and trying to say them might offer you just enough amusement for you to smile, if only a little. Truth be told, I'd do just about anything if it would give you a wholesome, healthy, and joyful reason to smile and laugh.

Well anyway. Suppose I'll end today's letter here. I'm pretty tired.

Hey, Sephiroth? Please stay safe out there, won't you? Your existence is one of the main things that inspires me to really live, so… please don't make choices that will result in your erasure.

I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

#sephiroth #ThankYouFFVIIDevs #ThankYouFF7Devs #ThankYouSephiroth #final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7 #ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy vii crisis core #final fantasy 7 crisis core #final fantasy crisis core #ffvii crisis core #ff7 crisis core #crisis core #ff7r #final fantasy vii remake #final fantasy 7 remake #ffvii remake #ff7 remake #final fantasy vii rebirth #final fantasy 7 rebirth #ffvii rebirth #ff7 rebirth #final fantasy 7 ever crisis #ffvii ever crisis #ff7 ever crisis #ffvii first soldier #windchimes #road trip snacks #wholesome

[neshabeingchildish]

Share a Char

This turned out longer than I expected. I wrote it in two long sittings, before and after I banged my head hard enough to leave a freakin’ knot on it. There’s some domestic kinda stuff here, but there is also a little angst. I’m sorry. I just got it in me, friends. I go back to work tomorrow, so I had to push out whatever I could get to my loves. @chenoahchantel @adorkable-blackgirl @kiddangers @henryhearts I have no idea if y’all will get your notifications or why you haven’t been. Sorry and hope that eventually y’all find it. I still only got one review and a a one sentence message about the last PW chapter. I don’t know what’s being read and what’s not until y’all tell me.

Share-a-Lair 7

Henry shook his head slowly, his arms folded and hair pulled into a small little curly tail. Jasper licked his lips, nodded in appreciation, and took a sip of water. Charlotte approached them and asked, “What are you two doing?”

Henry said, “Training,” but Jasper said, “Looking at Max,” which Charlotte now saw was the more honest answer, and she looked and understood why. He had on a VR helmet and was apparently either training or playing a very intense fighting game. Either way, the drool about to drop from Jasper’s mouth - relatable. Charlotte blinked out of it though. “Umm, are you going to train today?”

“Just got finished running around the track,” Henry said. “Waiting on Max to finish up here.”

“I thought you two had very different training schedules as to not overlap,” she said.

“Char. Shh! What if you distract him?” Jasper said. “We want him to be able to get all of the training he needs to keep the world safe!” Then, after a little while, more to himself, he said softly, “Look at that… bulge…”

“GROSS!” Char practically squealed. Max turned in that direction at the sound of her voice and lifted his helmet. He checked his watch and realized that he had run over his time. He deactivated the training helmet, summoned his bag, water and towel to himself and began to walk in their direction. 

“You’re lucky,” Jasper said to her.

“For what?” She asked.

Henry laughed, “That bulge!” 

She cringed and shook her head and hands, “I have nothing to do with that!” She accidentally glanced at it, though, thanks to Jasper mentioning it in the first place! “Stop pointing it out!” Her voice was high pitched and anxious. 

Max practically vacuumed a jug of water into his mouth, but paused to say, “Didn’t mean to go over. There’s a button on the post for when that happens, or you can just get Charlotte to yelp. That worked too.” Jasper looked at the post in front of him and pressed the button.

“Alert. You have succeeded your training time. Please be courteous and vacate the training field.” Max narrowed his eyes at him. 

“I wanted to see how it worked,” Jasper explained. 

Max wiped his face and hung the towel around his neck, “Hello, Miss Page.” He was twinkling with perspiration and breathing kind of hard, but was… still everything and that smile always tripped her up.

“Are we… doing last names, now, Mr. Thunderman? No. I hate it. That didn’t feel right.” They started walking away while Jasper watched and Henry went onto the training field.

“Jasper! Come on, Dude. He’s not THAT good looking.”

“First off, he definitely IS. Second off, where is Charlotte going? I thought she was helping with training.”

“I’m coming back!” she called over her shoulder and shook her head. “Nosy..” Max smiled. Charlotte huffed and said, “Okay, SO - I am here, as, I guess a liaison.”

“What’s Henry’s problem now?” He asked.

“He’s really feeling like you treat him like an outsider, in what is supposed to feel like his own home. He’s ready to file a request for a new placement.” Charlotte said. Max furrowed his eyebrows, scoffed, and shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, yeah. I know. You don’t like Henry. You don’t care about him.”

“It’s not even that. I don’t dislike him and, well, yeah, I don’t care about him. Honestly, I feel like I don’t do anything to make Henry uncomfortable.”

“The snide comments? The nasty looks? The house rules reminders?” 

Max rolled his eyes, “He should man up.”

“Maybe. Or maybe you could give him a little break?” She rubbed his arm and for that reason, he began to consider it. He didn’t feel like he gave Henry a hard time, but maybe he could put just a little more effort into it. Charlotte was tracing his muscles and got a little bit lost in the definition of them. He watched her eyes follow the tracks her fingers made and stopped walking. She stopped too and looked at him. He was… amused. She realized that she was being kind of touchy. 

“Should I flex them for you?” He teased. 

“Don’t be silly,” she said, laughing and folded her arms, then thought for a moment and said, “I mean, go ahead, if you want, but that’s not important.What’s important is…” 

He smiled and flexed his arms, “I’m getting more solid!” he practically cheered. She rubbed on his arm, squeezed the bicep, nodded in agreement. He was slightly bigger than he had been when they moved in, but only someone who was paying extremely close attention might notice that. She pulled her hand back and snapped out of it, “Focus, Charlotte!”

“It is perfectly fine if you focus on these. This is my DREAM, having a really hot girl openly fawn over my muscles. It’s what I deserve.”

Back on task, and ignoring all of what he said, she resumed her concerns, with her hands clasped together to keep from touching him again, “If he files for a new placement, it’ll be paperwork, interviews, and all of that, and a bunch of bull… and if they grant it to him, who knows where we’ll wind up next…”

“We,” he said, dropping his flexed arms to his sides and slumping his shoulders, like he had just realized that Charlotte would definitely be part of an exit made by Henry. She was one third of the Henry Hart package. “Ugh. Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“Well, I was thinking that we could start with a little morale booster. He wanted to do the video game tournament, but I told him that you’ve already got the living room for that… What if you let our friends come too, and hang out with your friends for a night?”

Max looked very not pleased with that idea. She thought out loud, “Of course, I’ll have less than a week to Ray and Schwoz proof the house, but I’ve done more in less time, before.”

“If either of them gets out of line, I will freeze the entire room, I swear to God.”

She smiled and threw her arms around his neck, “Thank you! Henry’s gonna feel a lot better knowing that you’re gonna do this for him.”

His hands held her waist and he looked down at her, “Not doing it for him.” They stared at each other for a while. Charlotte felt… like she was in some type of trance. She was tempted to kiss him again, and that was what broke it! 

She smiled and removed his hands and said, “Well, thank you anyway, I mean. Thank you… Just thank you, please. Not please. JUST thank you. Okay, bye.” She wrung her hands and practically ran back to the training field.

.

Ray and Schwoz arrived earlier than any of Max’s friends. Charlotte told them to come through the tower entrance, but Ray decided that to establish dominance, he needed to barge in through the front door. So, he tried it and got zapped. Max first heard “Alert, Dumbest Hero Alive and his unfortunate science slave approaching,” from his monitor watch. His parents had a big one in their home. He had a small one in his chambers and he connected a system to the front entrance, but instead of a monitor, he simply programmed it to his watch. He was about to disarm the alarms when he heard the zapping noise and Ray scream. He laughed and disarmed them before the poor little science guy got hurt. 

Max opened the door and Schwoz looked absolutely terrified, but also intrigued. What might happen next? Max said, “So, you guys must be Henry’s friends. Charlotte said you’d be coming in through the tower, and also, you’re like 2 hours early. This is how you wound up electrocuted.”

“What type of security system is this?’ Schwoz asked curiously. 

“Kidding me? So that you can hack into it? No. You’ll have to work hard like Charlotte did,” Max said, with a smile as he texted her to let her know that they were here, in case she didn’t already. He resumed setting up the living room to accommodate everyone. 

“Is… is that a pit couch?” Ray asked. 

“Yeah. Had it transported it from my T Force office for tonight. Trying to organize our sectionals around it. There’s gonna be quite a few people here tonight. Exceeding my 9 person maximum for comfort, but… morale.”

“This is something that Charlotte forced on you, isn’t it?” Ray asked.

“Charlotte asked me to allow Henry’s friends to partake tonight.”

“She’s the worst,” Ray said, shaking his head. Max paused and looked at him with the most disdainful expression that he could muster. Ray stared back at him, confused, then glanced at Schwoz to see if he saw it too. Schwoz was inspecting different things in the room, though. Trying to determine what was simply furniture and what served as one of Max’s things. 

“You realize that she’s the only reason that you’re here tonight, right?” Max asked.

Ray scoffed, “I was comin’ whether or not you wanted me to. I’m indestructible. Nothing scares me. Least of all some kid… with… hair that I have to admit is very nice.”

Max smiled, “Nothing scares you. Cool. Tonight’s not about fear. It’s about respecting others. Umm… Everybody is gonna respect Charlotte tonight. That’s a house rule. Non-negotiable.”

“You have a house rule that everyone has to respect everyone on the night of a video game tournament?” Schwoz asked, from near Max’s hammock. 

“I have an everybody respect Charlotte house rule on every night.”

Ray laughed, “What is she like… your girlfriend or something?”

“Just. Heed the rule. Thanks,” Max said. He didn’t add for your own benefit. He wasn’t going to explain himself to this man, especially after saying something mean about his… friend… less than 10 minutes of being here. 

She came into the living room and shook her head, “Sorry. Max. Hope they haven’t been bothering you.” Then, to the two of them, “Umm, why aren’t you in the tower? We’re pregaming up there. Come on. Max has a lot to do here.”

“He’s just rearranging furniture!” Ray pouted and she took him by the elbow and waved Schwoz along too. 

Schwoz cheered to Max, “See you soon!” Then, whenever he followed Charlotte, he said, “Good job, Charlotte. He’s very skilled with technology.”

“What do you mean, ‘good job’?” she asked. Max smirked. He knew what he meant. He always knew what they meant. Every single friend that she had now had tried to let her in on the facts. She was still in denial obviously, and he wouldn’t make it difficult for her. But… That was his lady. He knew it. They knew it. She was the only person who didn’t know it yet. He’d had a similar sort of ignorance whenever he first fell into feelings with his first serious girlfriend. Technically, no… they weren’t “together.” Nobody had officially made any declaration or asked the other for a title or anything like that, but… he knew how he felt and he was pretty sure she was somewhere along the same lines. It was nice to not have to really acknowledge it, though. It made it easy to avoid the deeper topics and to bond through interests and stuff while she figured out her emotions on her own. No pressure. As for him… He was taken and he knew that, and he wasn’t necessarily patient, but smart enough to know that rushing someone as reserved as she was would be a terrible route to winning her over.

.

Max had Oyster, Gideon, Wolfgang, someone named Angus, who Charlotte hadn’t met before, Billy and Nora (who she had only sort of met), and he was unsure if girlfriends were going to be stopping by sporadically. Henry had his usual - Jasper, Ray, Schwoz, and Char, but said that Piper might stop by. Max got in front of everyone and said, “Okay, listen up! This tournament goes on for the entire weekend. You all know those deets, I’m sure. What you will have to understand about this gaming site - Henry and I live here, but our chambers are off limits, unless permission is given. I will be giving none, so bathrooms this weekend are,” he pointed, “The one in the laundry room, or if Henry lets you into the tower.” Henry scoffed. But… his guests were welcome to go to his bathroom, though.

“Charlotte has been gracious and kind enough to make sure that there are little hygiene favors for everyone and set us up a nacho bar.”

“Charlotte’s the best!” Oyster roared in excitement. 

“Awww,” she said with her hand over her heart. Ray rolled his eyes and laughed a little. Max heard it and turned very suddenly to glare at him. 

“I cannot stress this enough - Charlotte gets respect in this house. I expect everyone to respect her, whether or not I’m there to see it.”

“What kind of a MONSTER would disrespect Charlotte?” Gideon wondered. She crossed both hands over her chest and let out a little squeal. 

Ray asked, “Is this one of your pranks that I hear tell of?”

“I… don’t play about that. Charlotte is a valued member of this house’s wellbeing. She works hard and takes care of a lot. We respect her here, and you will too. Invitations will be rescinded if I catch on to any disrespect.” 

She stood up and walked over to him, with her finger raised, “If I might… Say something?”

“Of course.”

“Okay… He’s not talking about if we’re playing against each other. That’s understandable trash talk and I dish it out, too. He’s talking… rolling your eyes and laughing if someone pays me a compliment when you can just shut your old head ass up.” 

“WAIT! Does SHE get to talk to us like that?” Ray asked.

Max said, “I think she was just giving an example,” very innocently, pretending not to realize that was directed, rightfully at Ray.

Ray pouted and said, “Can we get on with the games?”

“Last few rules and concerns,” Max said, then saw two bunnies walking to the couch and made a gesture at them to Charlotte, then mouthed Thank You when she went to collect Colosso and Balfour. “Um, last few things - My 19 year old brother and 17 year old sister are here. Neither of them can have alcohol, because this is mixed company. If you have given them alcohol in the past. Don’t try that this weekend. Oyster… no matter WHAT Nora says, give her zero alcohol.” Oyster nodded his head. “You know what… if Nora asks you for anything, check with me, to see if it’s okay.”

“COME ON!” Nora cried out. 

Henry noticed that Charlotte had vanished, but as Max was wrapping up, she came out of his restricted area. Oh. So he WAS allowing access, just to her. She came to sit in between Jasper and Schwoz and Henry asked, “Hey, where did you go?”

“The rabbits were loose,” she said.

“What… rabbits?” He asked. There were rabbits in this house??? Max was done talking, so his friends rushed to the nacho bar while Nora and Billy made sure they staked their claim on the pit couch and Charlotte got up to talk to Max. Henry let out a frustrated groan and threw his head back. “She acts like I don’t even exist anymore,” he said, shaking his head. 

“Hey. So… Balfour really wanted to watch the game tournament. He was like crying. So, I told him that I’d ask you about some way that could possibly happen?”

Max folded his arms and said, “I guess we could link a signal into Penelope and let her put it on her projector in real time? They can’t come up here, though. They’ll start trouble.” 

“I really wanted Penelope here with me tonight. What if ONLY Balfour comes up and…”

“No. He’s the worse one.” Max said, chuckling. “Char, these are supervillains. They aren’t innocent bystanders who became bunnies.”

“He loved video games and he can’t play anymore. He just wants to watch. I believe him,” she said, playing with his pocket. Henry watched them. 

Max sighed and pointed at her nose, “Anything that goes wrong as a result of him being up here will be on you.”

“I accept,” she said and bit at his finger, “Get that out of my face!” She laughed. He moved it around her face until she swatted it away and took hold of his hand, playing with his fingers. “I’ll go get him.” Max watched her disappear through his chamber door again and Henry narrowed his eyes at the entire thing. Whenever Charlotte returned carrying a white bunny with glasses, he was confused. She sat him next to Penelope as she took her seat again.

.

Charlotte began the night cozied with her friends, but wound up by Max, with the bunnies and Billy… closer to where Max’s friends were. Billy and Max were the only ones currently awake. Oyster was in a nacho eating food coma. Angus and Gideon were resting until their next matches, and Gideon had already been eliminated. Ray and Nora had somehow began a rivalry and were trash talking as they played against each other. Henry and Jasper were watching in entertainment that this was the second teenaged girl that he couldn’t beat in a video game. Henry was going to point this out to Char, but whenever he looked over, she was talking to Max again. Their faces were close together and he was looking all soft at her like he often did. She looked exhausted. “Hey, Char!” Henry called. She jumped. Max frowned as she pulled her face away from him to turn to Henry. “This girl’s giving your old records quite a run!”

“I never even played this game,” Charlotte said, shaking her head. 

“FINISH HIM!” Jasper yelled and then moments later Nora jumped up and got into Ray’s face, “That’s what I’m talking about, MAGGOTCHESTER!” A few of the sleeping ones stirred, but remained sleeping. They either had ear muffs or plugs, for such scenarios.

Charlotte began talking to Max while Nora was screaming, so that whenever she stopped everyone heard her say, “So, I’m just gonna be in your bed…” Her eyes grew wide and she looked around the room. Billy, Nora, Henry, Jasper and Ray all turned and looked right back at her. “Not like that!” She said and shook her head. 

“Where’s Balfour?” Max wondered. She gasped and began to frantically look around.

“Where’s Schwoz?” Ray wondered. Schwoz came from the bathroom, holding Balfour. 

“Schwoz! What were you doing with him?” Charlotte asked and took the bunny off of his hands. 

“He needed to go to the bathroom and you hadn’t brought any of his papers out,” Schwoz explained. 

Max collected him and told Charlotte, “I’ve got him. Go on and get some rest. I’ll bring him whenever I come down.”

“Okay. Thanks.” She wanted to give him a kiss on the cheek, but the others were already watching them kinda closely. He didn’t care about that obviously, because he gave her one and told her goodnight. She was all fluttery inside as she headed for his chambers. 

She was asleep when he did retire for the evening. Billy and Nora came down to wash up and took their sleeping bags to the landing mat. Max climbed into bed and figured he could stay on one side with Charlotte on the other. She definitely woke up wrapped completely around him from behind. 

Charlotte gasped and sat up. Of course, he needed to sleep in his own bed tonight. He had two siblings staying over and friends sprawled all over the couch. She went into the bathroom to wash up and get ready for today, then crept out to get started on at least ordering breakfast to be delivered. 

Jasper and Henry had retired to the tower, while Ray and Schwoz camped out in the van. Angus was the only person awake whenever Char surfaced. “Hi… Angus, right?”

“Right,” he said, with a smile. He was doing some stretches.

“I’m gonna order a bunch of breakfast stuff. I’m more familiar with Max and my friends’ stuff, but do you know about those guys?” She pointed to the sleeping men on the couch.

“Haven’t been around them a huge amount recently, but I’m almost certain that Oyster still will eat just about anything,” he laughed. 

“Bless him. He’s such a sweetheart.” She began to make an online order and also to start on fruit prep, for juice and/or smoothies. 

Henry came, groggily through the double doors, being pushed from behind by Jasper and yawning. Charlotte hoped that they had brushed their teeth. “I’ve got breakfast on the way and at least one of you needs a smoothie, doesn’t he?” She smiled at Henry. 

“Is she speaking to me? Does Charlotte Page see Henry Hart standing here?” He asked, sarcastically. She looked confused as she threw in the ingredients for a wake up smoothie into the blender for him. “Oh, right… Max isn’t around. So, I’m visible. Cool!” She turned off the blender, rolled her eyes and poured his smoothie. “Wonder how much time I have before my nemesis appears and my best friend loses knowledge of my existence.”

Angus asked Jasper, “Is… this awkward for you, as well?”

“It is,” Jasper said.

“Wanna go for a walk with me?”

“No, but I surely don’t wanna stay here for this,” Jasper said and they both headed out of the front door.

“Got it out of your system?” Charlotte asked, handing Henry the smoothie.

“He’s not even that good looking,” he said and nodded once, “Now, it’s out of my system.”

“Okay. Now that it is, let me say this… Whenever you don’t want to have to hang out with me, you think Max is the perfect candidate to take up my time. Whenever you don’t want to listen to me, I have to talk to Max. Whenever you can’t help me out with something, Max does. But, the moment that you have a want or a need and I’m occupied with Max, then you feel a way. Henry, I don’t know how else to tell you this, but Max and I get each other. I know you and me have been friends a long time, but those parts that didn’t make sense, they never started to. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t friends anymore, or that I don’t care about you, hence the reason you are drinking a smoothie from my heart. Thank you for giving me the push that I needed to find another friend. Max was a great choice. You did this, and you did well. Now, appreciate and respect that.”

“It’s not just Max, Dude. I mean, he’s your… cool half or whatever…”

“Wow…”

“But, like… You’re not even hardly chilling with us at this thing. You’re hanging out with his friends and his siblings. You slept in his bed? And.. that didn’t sound like the first time.”

“Probably like the 4th time these past couple of weeks. Usually, he sleeps elsewhere, but his siblings took that, so my options were out here on this super couch with those strangers or in a bed that I’m welcome and comfortable in.”

“You are comfortable in my bed? Me, you and Jasp used to do this all the time.”

“Henry!” She said it snappier than she intended. “You started this year out wanting a little bit less of me, and that’s what you’ve gotten. I would’ve thought you’d be relieved to be able to escape me.” She didn’t want to bring up NYE, because it still hurt, but she had been less engaging with him since then, with both he and Jasper, quite frankly.

“Nobody wanted to escape you, Charlotte. One night, was all it was and I’m sorry we handled it the way that we did. But, we got karma, remember? We got deserted.”

“And I rescued you. Henry, maybe the reason that it’s hard for you to share your friend is because your friend has always been a major resource to you. And maybe the reason it hasn’t been as hard for me to branch out is because my friend hasn’t always been a major resource.”

“You think I… don’t deserve your friendship?”

“I didn’t say that. I think that our friendship has positively impacted your day to day a little more vigorously than mine.”

“So, really it’s you escaping me.”

She frowned and sighed. “This is me getting comfortable with another friend, Henry. I’m still here for you. You only feel like I’m not because I was giving you WAY too much energy before now. I’ve been really happy,” she said, with a guilty look in her eyes, “And I thought that you had been too. This… event is supposed to bring us together. That’s why I was talking to other friends. You can try it too. You and Max should be trying it, because you live together. You share this space, and your both my friend. I’m not… picking. I don’t have to, because I know that I enrich both your lives, so I don’t believe either of you are cutting me off.”

Max came into the room, strutting, shirtless, carrying a shirt in his hands and preparing to put it on. Charlotte was relieved to see him. She thought she’d be awkward after how she woke up, but this talk with Henry had just rocked her and fortunately, as unpredictable as he was, Max was a calming presence for her. “Morning, Max,” she said, with a smile. He threw the shirt on, noticed her eyes, looked at a moping Henry and moved closer to Charlotte to give her a hug.

“Good morning. You okay?” he asked softly. She nodded, with her head against his chest. “What about you, Henry? You alright?” Max asked. Henry shrugged his shoulders. He hated seeing them… like that. She keeps insisting that they’re friends, but they keep doing… this kind of stuff. The doorbell rang and Charlotte went to go answer it. Probably the breakfast. “How are your friends enjoying the tournament?”

“Pretty good. I think you and me are up against each other tonight.”

“That should be fun for me… embarrassing for you.”

“You can’t beat me in everything,” Henry declared.

Max laughed. “That’s absolutely false. Of course I can.”

#Share a Lair #henry danger #the thundermans #crossover #crossover fanfic #Nesha Crossover #Thundanger #Thunderbolt

[freebooter4ever]

The pirate battle and young idiots falling in love bit that I wrote for the AMAZING sledgefu pirate au @persipneiwrites started!!! I channeled all my silly loneliness into pirate fanfic just for you all...

Waking up to Captain Merriel "Snafu" Shelton - the most feared pirate in the Americas who once sacked an island fort in under an hour leaving no survivors - drooling on his pillow, his face slack with sleep, and a single curl sticking up straight off his forehead, is a bit disingenuous.

Eugene is discovering that the only time Snafu actually looks his age is when he's asleep. A sight which Eugene is becoming weirdly accustomed to seeing, now that he's started sleeping in the Captain's quarters. Especially considering it conversely means that he rarely sees Shelton otherwise. Avoiding someone on a ship is nearly impossible and takes an intimate knowledge of the schooner's inner workings that borders on anal retentive. Snafu is apparently an expert.

Sleeping with the Captain hasn't done much to improve Eugene's standing amongst the crew either. The small torments, like his hammock being destroyed or his clothes being swapped with worse and worse cast offs from other men, stop. But they've been replaced with a new level of suspicion and distrust. For starters, everyone assumes that the two of them are also sleeping together which is a rumor that Eugene doesn't know how to dissuade even if he wanted to. His new small amount of protection against snide remarks and rudeness seems to be solely based on the fact that everyone thinks he is the Captain's favorite.

A Captain who Eugene hasn't actually said more than two words to in three days. Eugene almost misses the sexual innuendos, he is so desperate for someone to talk to. Luckily he only has to survive this for another five days before they reach Mobile.

As a result, Eugene spends a lot of time alone in the cabin, even when not sleeping.

He is surprised by how interesting the cabin is. The level of detail in the maps is astounding. Some of Shelton's notes hold a finesse that Eugene has never seen before. It's impressive. Eugene corrects a few of Shelton's corrections, but otherwise everything is accurate.

What is also impressive is how quick Eugene learns that fiddling with Shelton's papers was a mistake. The first clue is that it finally forces Snafu to seek Eugene out. The second clue is how angry Snafu looks as he storms towards Eugene on the deck.

"Keep your hands off my maps!" Shelton growls.

"I was only editing a few spelling mistakes," Eugene argues.

"I don't care how it's spelled, I only care how I hear it, cause that's all that matters," Shelton snaps.

"Spelling is spelling, it's either right or it isn't," Eugene retorts.

"They're my words on my maps from my memory. I will spell them how I want!"

"I was trying to help!"

"You are as helpful as a diseased monkey!"

"Fuck off, Shelton!"

"Fuck you, Sledge!"

"Shut up!"

"You first!"

"Fuck you Shelton!"

A sudden clang from a dropped cannonball interrupts their argument. They both stop and look. The entire crew is arrayed around them, watching like they're the latest gossip fodder.

Shelton straightens, his face still as mean as a snake. He silently grabs Eugene's wrist and drags him to the front of the ship. He throws Eugene against the large front pole thing, and says coldly, "Touch my things again and I will lock you in the cabin until Mobile. And how many times do I have to say - don't argue with me in front of the crew."

"Wouldn't locking me in the cabin have the opposite effect? I could scribble all over your maps to my heart's content," Eugene refuses to be intimidated.

"Do that and you'll die."

"The maps would still be scribbled on."

"Sledge…"

"I suppose you could take away all the writing utensils. But if I was vengeful enough I could just shred everything."

"Don't."

"Where would you even sleep? Can't say I wouldn't mind having that big bed all to myself but it'd get awful lonely…"

"I slept in a hammock for the first sixteen years of life, I can certainly do it again."

"Your mama kept you in a hammock as a baby, cause that seems a little impractical?"

"My mama was already dead when I was a baby."

"Oh," Eugene pulls up short in the conversation. And makes a new discovery. Shelton looks like the wide eyed young man he truly is during two times: when he is asleep, and when he is vulnerable.

"This boat's the only family I got left," Shelton brushes Eugene's concern off casually.

"Why do you call it that?" Eugene asks, changing topics deliberately.

"What?" Shelton looks confused.

"Boat. Why do you call your ship a boat?"

Snafu shrugs, "Cause that's it's name."

"You can't be serious," Eugene says flatly. Just when he thinks this pirate can't be any more of a farce, Shelton manages to surprise him.

"Look over the side, see for yourself," Shelton smirks proudly.

Eugene does. He gets a wolf whistle from the Captain as Eugene bends over the rail that he chooses to ignore. But sure enough, painted on the side of the ship is a single word, "Boat". It's such a dumb shock, Eugene's hand slips.

Strong hands immediately grab his hips to hold him in place and keep him from falling overboard.

"Shelton!" Eugene yelps.

"Just trying to keep you from dying before I can kill you," Shelton replies.

Eugene hastily clambers back down to the deck and turns around. Shelton has a lascivious grin on his face, and his eyes slowly travel up from the general vicinity of Eugene's ass. Eugene can feel his face burn, and he curses his red hair and pale skin that gives away everything.

He also notices how large Shelton's hands are proportionally to the rest of his body. It's not something he wants to dwell on. So he continues the conversation.

"Who in their right mind names a schooner 'Boat'?" Eugene asks.

Shelton crosses his arms and takes a step away from Eugene to lean against the opposite rail. "Had to paint over the old name, so the original owner wouldn't come calling," Shelton says defensively as he stares at his feet, "Had to pick something." The captain adds a little shrug to punctuate the end of his sentence that makes him look so blase it's almost comical.

The fondness that surges through Eugene's chest makes him almost want to laugh again. "Snafu," he says, "You are ridiculous."

Shelton's head snaps up, and it's interesting to note that he's gone all wide-eyed again. Which is how Eugene realizes he's slipped up and referred to the Captain by his crew nickname aloud for the first time.

Snafu studies Eugene quietly for a minute, as if he's trying to gauge what's changed, and then says in that damned laissez-faire drawl of his, "Can't go getting attached to things. It's dangerous. You name something, it'll only hurt more when it's gone." He stares at Eugene like it's an accusation.

Shelton stops avoiding him after their public fight. Even the crew members warm up to Eugene a little bit. Eugene starts tracking Snafu down, first pointing out a spelling error on a map, and then fixing it under the Captain's supervision rather than doing so unasked. Shelton, in turn, starts relying on Eugene for checking his memory. The Captain is planning a trip to asia, by way of south america, and he is very eager to discover Eugene has sailed the length of the Americas a few times when he was younger and his father in the Navy as a doctor. Eugene has a natural talent for observing coastlines and an even more natural talent for memory.

And Eugene starts to admit that he might be the one getting attached on the day Eugene wakes to find he's drifted across the bed in his sleep, with his arm wrapped snug around Snafu's waist and his face buried in Snafu's curls.

And as he comes out of his pleasant dream, he forgets he isn't home.

That morning happens when they're two days out from Mobile. And it also happens on the only day the quartermaster barges through the unlocked cabin door to wake the captain.

Snafu sits bolt upright immediately.

"British Navy ship sighted, Captain," Burgie says formally, trying deliberately to not look at Eugene.

"Tonnage?"

"120 gunner, Captain," Burgie says, which is answer enough.

"Shit," Snafu curses, "Slow us down, give us time."

"Aye," Burgie disappears and the door shuts, but his voice carries and they can hear him barking orders at the crew.

"Eugene…" Snafu says, his voice strangely tight.

It takes a second before he realizes, but Eugene quickly releases his grip around the Captain's waist. Snafu immediately springs to action, putting a shirt on for the first time since Eugene met him, and covering every square inch of his body with belts and weapons. He grabs a goofy green bucket hat off a hook on the wall and crams the hat over the soft curls that Eugene had been admiring only minutes before. The strange hat shadows Snafu's face, making his eyes big and luminous. Snafu notices him looking and smirks, "Lucky hat." The smile is wide but it doesn't meet his eyes. It makes Eugene wonder about the dark irregular stains patterning the hat's brim.

"Stay here," Shelton orders, pointing directly at Eugene before he slams the door shut.

Eugene crawls out of bed and throws on the nearest shirt. "Here" is a very relative term, he thinks, as he picks through Snafu's leftover weapons to find ones he can recognize and use. Technically, this entire ship could be considered "here". Especially if one is judging based on the typical nautical longitude and latitude positioning.

When Eugene carefully sneaks out of the Captain's cabin no one notices. The deck is organized chaos. Every single soul aboard is running around like chickens with their heads cut off. And in the midst of it all Eugene sees Snafu at the wheel, standing calm and collected. The pirate captain's entire focus is on the white spec of sails in the distance.

Eugene lurches over to the side of the Boat. The deck seems to be jumping underfoot more than usual, and when Eugene glances over the rail at the water he realizes they're moving at a speed he wouldn't have thought physically possible.

The Boat is practically flying. The pirates have wind advantage over the ship they're going up against.

Of all the preparations for the battle they are speeding towards at such a steady clip, the most commotion is happening at the back of the ship. When Eugene goes to check it out, he is suddenly shoved into an empty place at the rope.

"Grab and pull," one of the sailors orders, "Steady."

Eugene does as instructed. He gets told to do a number of other tasks afterwards, and he hopes desperately he got them right. What a time for the crew to finally decide to educate him.

For some reason the sailors seem to be lowering a complicated rig off the back of the Boat. Tied between the rig is a medium sized skiff, of a kind Eugene has never seen before. The skiff can carry maybe twenty five people max, and it seems odd to mobilize it for a fight against a massive warship holding at least five hundred men.

But then again, the stories about Captain Snafu always did say he was insane.

When the order comes for the crew to man the cannons, Eugene finds himself alone once more. He makes his way back to the main deck and then ascends the stairs to stand by Snafu's side. Snafu spares him a brief glance, and then ignores him. He's got his elegant long pipe perched between his lips and both hands on the wheel. And he looks as relaxed and carefree as Eugene has ever seen him.

Unexpectedly, it's Snafu who breaks the tense silence between them.

"That's a known press gang ship. If they board us, they'll get half our crew for desertion from the Royal Navy no matter what their current nationality is," Snafu says, "Penalty for that's worse than death."

"Desertion?" Eugene asks.

"After impressment, a navy sailor's got two choices: to stay and take the fifty percent chance he dies of scurvy… or run and accept the one hundred percent chance of hanging for desertion," Snafu's smirk suddenly turns feral, "But only if they catch him."

"And you?" Eugene asks, "Did you desert?"

"Do I sound British?" Snafu puts on his heaviest Cajun accent, "It was the Louisiana navy for me. Volunteered."

"Then you're safe. Why instigate a fight against a warship three times your manpower? Why not just hand the deserters over to the Royal Navy?" Eugene asks.

Snafu stares at him like he's seeing Eugene for the first time, and it makes Eugene's skin crawl.

"Were you born in Britain?" Snafu asks him.

"Yes…"

"Then they'd take you too..."

"But I've never deserted the Royal Navy…"

"Don't matter," Snafu shakes his head.

"My father and I are naturalized Amercian Citizens…."

"Don't matter," Snafu repeats.

"They can't do that," Eugene protests.

"You see anyone out here 'sides me who is going to stop them?" Snafu gestures beyond the ship rail, into the wide open ocean.

A chill runs down Eugene's spine. "I'd take it to the courts. As soon as we landed in the nearest port. Surely the law would recognize my rights."

"Fifty percent chance of scurvy on every voyage, Boot," Snafu says, "You'd probably be dead before you even made it to your first port."

Eugene's heart is racing. He feels trapped and he's not even in this hypothetical situation yet. He gives the white sails of the warship a second look. The recognizable, beautiful snap of the British flag blowing in the wind is a bit dulled to his senses now.

And a second flag is being jerkingly hoisted underneath.

Snafu snaps open his telescope and puts it to his eye. Eugene can't make out the signia on the second, smaller flag except that it's red.

"What's on it?" Eugene demands.

Snafu wordlessly passes the telescope over. Eugene expertly focuses it on the flags and waits for the wind to blow the red one straight.

It's blank.

"I won't let them take anyone," Snaf promises quietly as he closes the telescope and slips it into his coat. He refuses to look at Eugene, instead maintaining his determined blank stare at the opposing ship's flags.

Eugene tightens the belt of his borrowed sword. He pulls the pistol out, loads it, and returns it to the holster.

Snafu watches him as he does this. The captain's face is devoid of emotion. When Eugene finishes, their eyes meet, and Snafu nods, once.

Eugene takes that as permission to remain on deck.

They are approaching the British warship at an alarming speed. The captain might be calm, but Eugene's heart is unsteady as the sides of the two ships narrowly miss colliding into each other.

All worries aside, Snafu's steady hand guides them in. And the pirate ship slides in neatly alongside the warship. And then all calm is destroyed.

The last thing Eugene remembers in the minute of smooth sailing before the battle starts is the look of grim determination on Snafu's face and wild fear around his eyes.

The pirates let loose their cannons first, before the royal navy ship can react. Snafu's cannonshot does more damage - if only because his crew were better able to predict the opportune moment to fire.

By the time the 120 guns on the warship respond in kind, Snafu's ship is already halfway gone, sailed straight past like a ghost.

"NOW!" Snafu yells over the din.

A volley of heavily weapon laden pirates, at least half of Snafu's sailors, swing from their ship to board the other. Snafu produces a rope from out of nowhere, hands another to Eugene, gives him a challenging look, and then follows his crew.

Eugene doesn't have much time to make a decision. Another few minutes and the pirate ship will be beyond the reach of boarding the warship. As it is, Eugene still times his jump wrong and he misses the top deck, instead landing somewhere around the second.

He hits the side of the wooden planks painfully hard. Snafu is long gone already, probably in the middle of the battle on deck judging from the noise above Eugene's head. Eugene takes a minute to cling to the decorative wood siding on the ship, and hangs over the water desperately. All the fancy lessons in military history and swordplay throughout Eugene's childhood seem too theoretical to be of any use in this situation.

One deep breath, two.

He scrabbles to take hold of the nearest porthole and starts climbing. When he swings over the deck rail and draws his sword, the battle is already a mess.

Instinct and the years of formal military training kick in, and Eugene finds himself fighting for his life. The sword he picked is light, and quick, and Eugene always was the best in his class at the academy.

But it's one thing to spar with peers.

It's another to be facing down men wearing a uniform that Eugene was drilled to respect. He fights defensively, warding off blows instead of dealing them, and incapacitating soldiers where he can. Carefully placed cuts to the extremities, or in one case knocking a particularly tenacious fighter out cold.

Eugene hesitates once, against a cabin boy not much younger than himself, and he is nearly killed for it. Snafu saves Eugene's life. Appears out of nowhere and cuts down the man behind Eugene who had been about to gut him while Eugene was distracted. Eugene hadn't even noticed because he was too busy staring in shock at the child - so young and already fighting against pirates.

Snafu kills the boy too. The cut is clean, expertly done and relatively painless compared to the hacking and slashing going on around them. It still nearly makes Eugene sick. He falls back against the wall of the deck cabin and sags for a brief minute.

Snafu's eyes are condemning. He turns his back on Eugene and immediately reenters the fray.

Eugene looks down at the man who almost killed him, and the boy who had been about to try before Snafu stopped him too.

Eugene knows what the solid red flag under the Union Jack means. He knows these men on the warship are fighting with no quarter given. They mean to kill every pirate in Snafu's crew. No surrender possible.

And, if Snafu is correct, it'd be impressment for Eugene until he got a message to his father. At best.

At worst, they'd kill him alongside all the other pirates, with no one to recognize him or his father's status, and he'd end up with a nameless watery grave.

No mercy for pirates and pirate associates.

After that Eugene stops paying attention to who he kills and who he doesn't. He fights his way to Snafu's side and sticks there, like a stubborn burr.

Fighting alongside Snafu comes second nature to him. The connection is immediate and somehow - Eugene isn't sure how - they anticipate each other's moves wordlessly. Snafu's swordplay is militaristic: clean, and crisp, and regimented. It's also absolutely, unrelentingly ruthless.

Gradually Eugene notices Snafu is maneuvering them in a certain direction. And when he looks up and sees the warship's Captain standing above them yelling orders, Eugene knows why. The pirate captain is going to engage the naval commander in a duel.

Eugene briefly assesses the way the naval commander holds his sword, his stance, and he decides Snafu will not be fighting this man. All the ruthlessness in the world cannot make up for the finesse of a gentleman's sword training. His mind made up, Eugene pushes his way through the crowd, scales the balcony, and lands in front of the commander.

He hears Snafu yell his name, but he ignores it. He has one goal in mind.

The commander judges Eugene with a sneer, but Eugene settles into his firmest fighting stance, and waits, putting on as much a regal air as he can muster. The two men circle each other.

"Captain Shelton," the commander addresses Eugene with the wrong name, "Given the stories, I expected you to be shorter."

Eugene says nothing. He waits.

The commander attacks first, hasty, and in return Eugene draws the first blood.

It's a subtle battle. It always is, when two opponents are closely matched in skill and training.

Fed up with the endless battle, Eugene fakes a slip up and gets his arm sliced from shoulder to elbow, but flips his swordhand, steps into an attack, and primly ends the commander's life.

When he withdraws his sword and cleans it on the dead man's jacket, Eugene is somewhat surprised at how little emotion he feels in the act.

"Sledge!" a hand grabs his arm and pulls him backwards. Snafu has taken off his shirt and starts quickly wrapping it around Eugene's gaping wound.

"Snafu!" Bergie appears out of the chaos.

Snafu switches gears immediately, grabbing Burgie's hand and yanking him up onto the relatively quiet wheel deck with them.

"Hamm is dead," Burgie says, "He never made it to the brig."

Snafu eyes widen. Eugene thought he had seen Shelton scared before, but now the man is truly terrified. He glances at Eugene, stares at him blankly for a moment then says, "I'll get it done." Snafu tosses something to Burgie and Burgie tosses him a bundle in return. Snafu starts down the deck stairs, but glances back one final time at Burgie, "Make sure the crew get off okay." and flicks his eyes over to Eugene meaningfully.

Then he drops down the open hatch into the depths of the ship.

"Eugene…" Burgie breaks his concentration, "Help me get the crew organized."

Seeing Snafu scared scares the shit out of Eugene.

"No," Eugene says calmly, "Don't think I will," and leaps down to follow his captain.

He finds Snaf at the very bottom of the brig. The man is clicking a mysterious package into place, stringing up several others. The captain spends a few minutes finishing his task, and then moves over to a huddled mass in the darkest corner of the ship. It takes Eugene a second glance to realize the shadow is a person.

"Hey," Snafu calls over to the corner, "Kid." He crouches down a few feet in front of the hidden man - a royal navy sailor maybe a few years older than the pirate - and stares at him unblinkingly. Snafu's posture is not exactly intimidating, but it isn't kind either. The sailor shrinks back, despite being physically bigger and undoubtedly stronger.

Snafu looks almost delicate in comparison, so slight and lean in muscle. An illusion of innocence only broken by the blood covering his clothes and his cache of heavily used weapons. Underneath Snafu's cheekbone there is a streak of what Eugene desperately hopes is dirt. And clutched in his hand is a cruel looking knife Snafu had been using to cut and tie strings. It too is covered in dried blood.

The man on the ground looks terrified.

"Do you want a better life, Boot?" Snafu asks coldly, without emotion.

The man takes a few breaths to consider, and then nods.

Snafu stands, takes a step back but maintains eye contact. "Then get up," he orders, harsh, "and follow me."

And with that he turns around.

And sees Eugene.

Immediately his face goes from impassive to surprised. And then fury. He storms over, grabs Eugene's wrist. Shakes him. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demands, "I told you to get off this ship."

"No, you told Burgie to get the crew off the ship," Eugene counters.

"That includes you!" Snafu snarls.

"No, it doesn't," Eugene says simply, "and you know it."

"Fuck, we don't have time for this," Snafu runs a hand through his hair and glances at the strange device he set up earlier. He gives Eugene one last glare and then starts up the ladder to the deck, "C'mon," he pauses and turns back one more time, "both of you!"

Slightly cowed, Eugene and the nameless sailor follow the captain. They pass through each level of deck and go completely unnoticed. No one questions sailors passively coming up from below, and neither Snafu nor Eugene stand out as pirates. The royal navy is fairly distracted, anyway. Every man is working to move the dead and hastily fix the damage to the ship.

The top deck is a graveyard.

A single naval officer barking orders spares them no second glance.

Snafu shoves the nameless sailor forward toward the rail and grabs Eugene's arm. "Into the water. Now!"

The sailor follows orders and he's overboard in seconds.

Eugene and Snafu are still running across the deck when the explosion goes off. Eugene gets one leg up on the rail before the blast hits him. Somehow in the madness Snafu grabs Eugene's hand. It doesn't help.

They lose contact with each other before they even hit the water. Snafu's hand goes slack and slips out of Eugene's grasp.

Eugene tries to scream the captain's name but he can't because his mouth is full of water. He kicks his way to the surface, grateful to the careful swimming instruction his mother gave him during the long hot summer days at the dike.

When he breaks free and takes his first breath, his immediate reaction is to look for a familiar hat. At first he thinks a black cloud of night stole the afternoon away, until he realizes it's smoke. Behind him, far above his head, every deck of the warship is spewing flames. The heat is intense, nearly burning his exposes face and neck. But even more unbearable are the screams.

He slips back under the water to drown out the noise. And remembers the captain.

The next time he breaks the surface he screams Snafu's name, his voice barely discernible even to his own ears.

No answer.

He didn't expect one. How many sailors of Snafu's harsh upbringing know how to swim? The probability is slim. Immediately Eugene dives back down. Debris falling off the ship and getting tossed around in the waves make it nearly impossible to see.

He surfaces and dives again, over and over.

It's the bucket hat that catches Eugene's eye. The broad brim is flapped up, revealing Snafu's unconscious face, oddly peaceful amongst the fire and raining detritus. A darker stream of water circles around the back of his head as he sinks.

Without hesitation Eugene grabs Snafu underneath his arms and hauls him upward.

This time when they break the surface there are other bodies in the water, some floating silently, some yelling. One man tries to grab hold of Eugene's back in his drowning panic. Eugene loses Snafu briefly, but he pulls out his knife and cuts himself free.

Eugene drags Snafu back to the surface, and starts treading water. He knows his endurance won't sustain them both for long. He avoids the floating broken mast of the ruined ship, knowing the ropes will entangle them and pull them down to the depths when it finally sinks. However, a chunk of deck railing bobs nearby. And Eugene quickly heaves Snafu's surprisingly heavy limp body across it.

Eugene grabs hold of an edge and starts trying to kick them away from the ship, to avoid the suction.

The warship is sinking steadily. Soon the screams will stop entirely. The relief Eugene feels at that thought is guilty. He can't continue to think on it. So he focuses on waking Snafu instead.

The man is still and cold. Enough so that Eugene knows he should assume the worst. Resuscitation is probably pointless.

He tries anyway.

Rolling Snafu on his side atop the decking is difficult while Eugene himself is still in the water, but he manages. He holds the planks as steady as he can while kicking to keep himself afloat and sweeps his fingers around Snafu's mouth to check if he swallowed any debris. Water trickles out but thankfully nothing else. Eugene squeezes Snafu's nose shut, seals his own lips to the captain's, and breathes. He checks Snafu's pulse, and almost cries in relief when it's there - faint, but there.

Another three breaths against Snafu's lips and the man spasms.

Vomit spews from his mouth onto Eugene's hands and face, and after it a deluge of water. Snafu's eyes open wide. He coughs and rolls over onto his stomach.

"Gene?" the captain's voice is hoarse. His eyes stay out of focus until they settle on one detail, "Your arm. It's bleeding again." He starts to wiggle, reaching out like he wants to fix it somehow. Eugene grabs his hand and holds him still.

"Don't worry about it, Snaf," Eugene orders.

Snafu coughs again and his eyes roll back into his head. He can still hold his neck up, and his relative lucidity is comforting, but Eugene can't forget about the blood mixing with the water around him when Eugene first found Snafu drowning. He's injured somewhere, and Eugene desperately hopes it wasn't the man's head.

He's still shocked the hat stayed on.

Snafu opens his eyes again and tips his head back to look at the burning hulk of the warship. The screams are quiet now. The only noise comes from those floating in the water - mostly wordless yells, or cries for help. Snafu continues in the same direction, looking up into the smokey sky above them. Which is when Eugene finally notices the strap attached to the bucket hat and tied securely underneath Snafu's pointy chin.

Eugene almost laughs. "Lucky hat, indeed," Eugene mumbles.

Snafu turns his face back to Eugene and coughs before repeating, "Gene?". He still sounds desperate.

"You're okay," Eugene tells him, "You're okay."

Snafu still looks disoriented and lost, but he nods. His eyelids close and his head droops.

"Snafu!" Eugene says sharply.

No answer.

"Damn it you dirty old pirate," he cups the side of Snafu's neck, "You can't die on me now." When there is no answer, Eugene kicks himself forward out of the water and briefly knocks their lips together. Snafu's eyes snap open like he's a goddamn frog become a prince in a fairytale.

Eugene sighs in relief.

"'m younger than you," Snafu slurs, "and cleaner."

"I know…" Eugene says, leaning his forehead gently against Snafu's, "I know."

Snafu doesn't close his eyes again. His stare is almost unnerving, in how unwavering it is.

They're eventually picked up by the small skiff, which had been floating nearby out of cannon range. When Eugene is pulled aboard after Snafu, he sees the skiff is half full of ammo crates and cannonballs. All with the royal navy stamp. The other half holds nearly every pirate who boarded the warship in the initial attack. Hamm is among the notable missing. There are a few unfamiliar faces, including the nameless sailor Snafu talked out of the hold.

"Ammunition?" Eugene asks, incredulous, "Ammunition is why we attacked that ship?"

Burgie nods curtly, brushing Eugene's concerns aside. The quartermaster's focus is on the captain. He quickly and expertly tends to the wound on Snafu's head.

"He nearly drowned?" Burgie asks Eugene.

"Yes," Eugene admits, at a loss for what to do next other than wait.

"Get the wet clothes off him," Bergie tosses a blanket at Eugene, "Get him warm. We'll reach the ship soon."

Eugene uses his knife to cut and then peel Snafu's clothes off him. Halfway through this process the captain wakes up and starts shivering. Eugene hastily gets his pants off him and throws the blanket around his naked body. He guides Snaf into his lap and wraps his arms around the man's shaking bones.

Gradually the shaking stops and Snafu presses his face into Eugene's wet chest.

They sit together for the entire time it takes the skiff to reach the pirate ship. The crew who remained behind to sail the pirate ship during the battle hoist the skiff up the rig till they're level with the deck.

Both Eugene and Burgie carry the Captain into his cabin. They lay him on his bed and Eugene layers blanket after blanket on top of him. Every few minutes another crew member appears at the door with an extra blanket to offer.

Eventually Burgie has to turn the generous offers away for fear of losing Snafu underneath all that cloth. The quartermaster leaves as well, closing the door silently behind him.

And suddenly Eugene is alone with a very quiet, possibly asleep, shallowly breathing pirate captain.

Eugene is prepared to sit by Snafu's bedside the entire night. He anxiously runs his hands over his face, and then folds his arms on the bedspread to form a pillow. His eyes close involuntarily, they are tired to the point of pain and still stinging from all the smoke.

At some point Eugene finally falls asleep.

He doesn't know for how long, but eventually the bed shifts under his head and he realizes Snaf is awake. It's too much energy to lift his head, so Eugene merely peaks out from above his folded arms.

"Hiya," Snafu says weakly with a goofy grin.

Eugene tries to prevent the exasperated smile that spreads across his face but he doesn't do a very good job of it.

"I'm Merriel Shelton," Snafu continues, his voice growing stronger as he talks, "My flag's flying at half mast right now, but for you I bet I could get it up to full."

Eugene lifts his head a tiny bit so he can talk without being muffled. "I can leave…" he threatens teasingly.

"Don't," Snafu's eyes go serious and he takes Eugene's hand, "I'm sorry. Please. Stay."

Eugene threads their fingers together and rests his head on both their hands.

Snafu's face glows. The color is returning to his cheeks.

"That blow to your head must've been serious," Eugene says with mock concern, "If you can't remember that we've already been introduced."

Snafu squeezes Eugene's hand. "Don't matter, as long as I remember this moment," Snafu says, as flippant and casually sensual as ever.

Eugene huffs, amused. He quietly observes Snafu for a moment, looking for any sign. Not seeing one, he takes a deep breath.

"Do you remember I kissed you?" Eugene asks in a rush. He clings to the pirate captain's hand like a lifeline.

"Don't care about memory loss as long as I remember that moment too," Snafu adds. He gives a single nod.

They stare at each other for a long while. If Shelton's heart is beating even half as hard as Eugene's, the sound must be commanding most of Shelton's attention too. Eugene is aware of nothing but his own breathing, Snafu's cold firm grip, and the captain's eyes. He doesn't know what they might've just started, by finally admitting to this thing between them out loud, but Eugene wants to find out.

A knock on the cabin door breaks the spell.

"Come in," Snafu calls.

Burgie pokes his head in, "Glad you're awake, Captain." The quartermaster then turns to Eugene, "Any signs of brain damage?"

Eugene shakes his head. Snafu meanwhile bristles. "You could ask me."

"Begging your pardon, Captain," Burgie acquiesces without sounding genuine at all, "We'll be in Mobile by tomorrow evening. The crew has been instructed to take our usual berth."

Snafu looks conflicted but he nods, "Good. Thank you."

Once the door closes behind Burgie silence settles over the two of them again.

"Guess it's our last night together, Sledge," Snafu says with a smirk.

His words send a sinking, horrible ache deep through Eugene's gut.

Eugene stands. He turns around, drags his blood stained shirt out of his pants and starts unbuttoning it. "You need to learn how to swim," Eugene orders Snafu. He strips the wet, ruined shirt off, tosses it onto the floor, and unbuckles his belt. His tattered pants fall to the floor as well, leaving him standing in front of the bed, facing Snafu, in nothing but his drawers.

Snafu blatantly refuses to take his eyes off Eugene's crotch, "You know, if you ever decide to take up piracy, you won't be able to wear that fancy underwear no more. Too expensive to ruin 'em every time a navy ship gets uppity."

"Snafu…" Eugene says, heavily laden with implications of 'be serious'.

Snafu sighs, casting his eyes to the ceiling. He hoists himself into a sitting position and leans over to fish around on the table nearby. "No point in learning to swim," he says as he fills his tobacco pipe, "If the sea takes you, it takes you."

"No," Eugene leans over, splays his hand flat against Snafu's chest, and shoves him down onto the bed, hard, "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard you say."

"I'm not learning to swim, Sledge."

"Yes. You are," Eugene says regally, still holding him down, "I'm going to teach you how to swim, even if it's the last thing I do."

"Why?" Snafu asks, eyes half closed, suspicious. His tobacco is dropped on the blanket next to him, completely forgotten.

A beat or two of anxious silence.

And then, instead of an answer, Eugene bends down and simply kisses him.

The kiss becomes heated quickly. Eugene's fingers tangle in Snafu's curls, getting to feel firsthand how soft they are. He is utterly caught up. Until a minute into it, he realizes what he is doing and breaks away abruptly. Eugene sits back on the bed.

"Gene…" Snafu groans. He follows Eugene's retreat, putting his hands around Eugene's waist and pulling him closer, so their chests are flush against each other.

And damned if Eugene's name in Shelton's mouth don't make him feel weak.

Snafu is running a hand up and down Eugene's back. There's a small smile on his face as he looks up into Eugene's eyes with a kind of emotion Eugene's never seen before.

"Gene." he repeats, more self-assured this time.

The self assurance and cockiness is what throws a cold bucket of water over Eugene. He licks his lips, tries not to think…but... "Guess you're finally getting what you want," he quips.

Snafu jerks back, insulted. "What is it you think I want?" the pirate's eyes are alert again.

"Me, in your bed. With you. Falling for all your," Eugene waves his hand in the air, "seductive tomfoolery." He shoves Snaf hard again, this time to push him away. And Snafu falls flat on his back, bouncing on the pillows.

Snafu holds his hands out limply, not touching Eugene, and watches him silently. With those big eyes that Eugene is only beginning to be able to read.

On their last night together.

The pirate is no longer putting any effort into seduction, not giving Eugene some cheesy line or winking at him. He is simply looking at him. But in a way Eugene doesn't recognize. It's an honest look, to say the least.

"Merriel," Eugene sighs, almost giving in.

Snafu's smile lights up his entire face. He lifts his chin haughtily. It's like he's come to life again, with flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, and every bit of his old teasing self returned.

"I definitely want that," Snafu says. He waits, patiently.

And Eugene comes to him. This time when he pushes Snafu down into the pillows, it's gentle, with a smooth full body grind amidst their kiss. Snafu catches Eugene's hips between his hands and pulls him in encouragingly.

No words need to be said, after that.

Eugene wakes late the next morning, stark naked and alone. Snafu probably snuck out around dawn for ship duties of some form or another, as the captain usually does. This time, though, there is a glass of water and breakfast plate waiting for Eugene on the nightstand next to him. Sitting temptingly to the side of the plate is a pristine fresh apple. Eugene can't imagine how Snafu procured one. Them being on a ship that's been at sea for six months and all. He grins, and stretches, and spreads across the entire bed to fall back asleep.

He sleeps until the heat becomes unbearable and sticky. Snafu still hasn't shown his face. But outside the cabin door Eugene can hear laughter, and the occasional shout of lively discussion. He drags on the cleanest clothes he can find - more of Shelton's of course, and steps outside.

And there, in the middle of the deck, seated at a makeshift table with an elegant quill poised and a broad grin on his face, is the pirate captain himself, wearing a truly ridiculous feathered hat. And little else.

The entire crew is gathered around their captain, sitting on various ship parts and ropes that were never meant to be chairs.

Shelton is talking to the quartermaster who stands just off to the side, and doesn't notice Eugene at first. Until Eugene makes his way forward, drawing the attention of the crew as he passes.

Shelton's eyes turn toward Eugene then. And simultaneously his grin turns devilish. His gaze travels down the ruffled dress shirt Eugene stole from the captain's own sea chest. "Nice of you to join us."

Eugene shifts uncomfortably, well aware of the crew measuring his every move. "What's this about?" he asks.

Still grinning, Snafu pushes the scroll he's been writing on across the table towards Eugene.

Eugene steps forward, thumbs the parchment closer, and reads it over.

Eugene closes his eyes, and shakes his head. "Snaf, I can't." He slides the paper away.

Burgie's eyebrows go up at the very familiar nickname.

Snafu slides the paper back.

"It's a communal decision. You're one of us now," Snafu drawls, "A pirate."

"That my reward for fucking you?" Eugene challenges.

"Nah, that's it's own reward," Snafu's smile never falters.

Not a single crew member even so much as blinks an eye over Eugene's public declaration.

Eugene still hesitates, staring at the blank space next to his name.

"You're not signing in blood," Snafu drawls, "It ain't for life, Sledgehammer."

Eugene's eyes snap up to meet Snaf's. The fondness he sees there is as deep and unwavering as every other part of Snafu's headstrong personality. Eugene knows how uncompromising Snafu's loyalty can be when the man chooses to give it. Eugene is beginning to realize the fearless Captain Shelton might have a weakness after all, and it might be him.

Burgie chuckles at the new nickname, "Sledgehammer. I like that."

Bill groans and makes a snide comment.

Eugene ignores it. He ignores everyone. The decision may be communal but the only opinion he cares about in this moment is the one from the man looking straight at him with that wonderfully familiar gleam in his eye and devil grin.

Eugene calmly leans his hand against the table and scrawls his name at the bottom of the ledger.

The crew lets out a rousing cheer, with a lot of laughter, and Eugene can feel his face burn red. He didn't expect quite such a reaction. He tries to play it off casual, but when he turns back to Snafu and slides the contract over to his captain, Eugene smiles helplessly. It's a giant surge of thrill that could probably become addictive if he's not careful.

Snafu simply nods at him in acknowledgement.

"Hey Sledgehammer," Bill interrupts, "Come help me with this rope."

Eugene nods, and joins the crew at their work, and as easy as that something in the ship's dynamic shifts. And suddenly Eugene is included in the pirates' "us against the world" circle.

Eugene spends his last day aboard the Boat working. He is only pulled away from his duties as the sun is setting when Snafu requests his help drafting a new map. At first Eugene thinks it's merely a trick to get him alone again. But then he enters the captain's cabin and sees the disarray there. It's even worse than before, scrolls pulled out and paper everywhere. Snafu keeps Eugene up half the night checking and double checking measurements. He picks Eugene's brain for every scrap of detail Eugene can remember about the Eastern coast of South America.

And Eugene tries to pretend seeing all this careful planning and research doesn't hurt when he knows he is not going with them. He tries to pretend he doesn't achingly want to go with them.

After Snafu asks him to redraw Cape Horn for the third time, Eugene decides he's had all he can take. Instead of following orders, he grabs Snafu by his hips, drags him into his lap, and kisses him. And tries to pour all of that unspoken wishful thinking, or daydreaming, or longing, or what-have-you, into it. If this is the last time he gets to wrap his arms around Snafu, he is not going to waste the opportunity with mapmaking.

Snafu, unfortunately, has other ideas. He breaks the kiss and tilts his head up out of reach. "And which channel was it you said was the widest and best for a ship of our size?" He asks. His mind is clearly elsewhere.

Eugene groans. He stands. Snafu slides off his lap with a small frown of disappointment. Eugene throws himself backwards onto the bed, covering his eyes with his arm to block out the flickering candlelight. "I already told you the name a thousand times. And I wrote it down. Both in your journal, and on the map that you made me redraw twice."

Snafu starts flipping through his journal to check. Eugene props himself up on his elbows to watch.

"Gotta squeeze all that knowledge out of you before you're gone Sledgehammer," Snafu says.

"At the moment I'd rather you squeeze me for other reasons…" Eugene mutters.

"I found the name," Snafu announces, his finger poised on his book, "but the spelling is different than the one on the map. Which is correct?"

"The map," Eugene says tiredly, "I checked that one more."

Snafu starts blotting out the name in the book and rewrites it.

"Merriell," Eugene says.

The pirate captain looks up, eyes innocent and wide.

"If you don't get over here and fuck me in our last hours together instead of reiterating on information you know I already recorded for you...I'm never speaking to you again," Eugene threatens, trying to keep his manner teasing but also hopefully dead serious enough that Snafu drops his preocupations and comes to bed.

"Aint ever gonna speak to me again either way," Snafu smiles and shrugs, but there is a look of vulnerability in his expression that makes Eugene ache further.

"Don't do this," Eugene says.

"Do what?"

"Act like I don't matter to you. Like I'm never gonna see you again."

Snafu laughs. He saunters over to the bed, climbs across Eugene to hover over him, and holds Eugene's gaze like it's a promise.

"You're a governor's son. I'm a pirate. Ain't ever going to live in the same world," Snafu says.

And Eugene can't argue against the truth.

They lie there together, close but not touching, neither one of them willing to make the first move. Eugene doesn't know what to say.

So he turns away. He shifts on the bed, turning his back to his captain, and closes his eyes. If he can't do anything else, he desperately wants to try and sleep. His heart is beating fast and irregular in his chest, though. And every nerve in his body refuses to calm down.

Snafu doesn't touch him, still doesn't say anything either. The bed lifts as he steps away to his desk.

The captain finishes writing in his log book. Eugene hears him shuffling papers around for a bit, before Snafu douses the lights one by one, and then comes back to bed. He very carefully lies down next to Eugene, trying not to jostle him or wake him up. Eugene feels a hand snake around his waist, and Snafu's chest press against his back.

Snafu kisses the nape of Eugene's neck.

"You'll go home," he whispers into Eugene's ear, "and forget about me. And be better off for it. I ain't made for a normal life, like you."

He falls asleep against Eugene's back. Snafu's gentle breaths tickle Eugene's neck and his pointy chin digs uncomfortably into the meat of Eugene's shoulder.

Eugene doesn't sleep a wink.

Sometime in the night the ship docks in port. Snafu sleeps peacefully. Eugene hears the commotion but decides to stay in bed.

He doesn't move until dawn comes and he can feel Snafu wake up with the sun. Before the pirate can get out of bed, Eugene rolls over and looks him straight in the eye. He grabs Snafu around the waist and shuffles closer until they're nose to nose.

Snafu smiles disarmingly and he looks a little nervous, but he doesn't pull away. "You're home now," He tells Eugene, and jerks his head towards the window.

Eugene kisses him.

He kisses Snafu every chance he gets. In bed, out of bed, in between putting clothes on, after organizing the mess of papers from last night, before making plans to go into port - whenever there is a brief opening Eugene drags Snafu close, gets his hands in his curls, and presses their lips together desperately.

Every time they break apart, Snafu's smile grows wider and more confident.

And every time Eugene doesn't want to let go.

He briefly wonders how long he can convince his father to keep Captain Shelton in port for "scurvy treatment". But then he rejects that idea because he knows how much the delay would disappoint Snafu's next plans.

Which only leaves one option - Eugene has to find a way to go with them.

He keeps this new idea to himself. They still have to meet his father after all. Snafu needs to get a fake scurvy checkup, and the pirate deserves to collect the substantial reward the governor offered for Eugene's safe return. So he follows along with Snafu's plans to go into town.

Before they leave the ship, Eugene pauses on the gangplank, a sailor's bag full of gifted old clothes swung over his shoulder to remember the crew by. He turns back, to admire the ship. The Boat is beautiful, so early in the morning, the sails already providing roost to dozens of honking gulls.

Eugene has a soft spot in his heart for the annoying birds, as loud as they are. Snafu likes to brag he uses the gulls for target practice, but Eugene has never seen him actually hit one.

"Santa Alma," Snafu says, already farther down on the gangplank but waiting patiently for Eugene to catch up. The pirate is looking at his ship with pride.

"Saint what?" Eugene asks.

"Alma. That's the real name of my ship, Sledgehammer," Snafu explains with the most shit eating grin Eugene has ever seen, "'Boat's easier to say, though. So don't go spreading it around."

Snafu has that look about him - when he's smiling and happy and fully alive, exuding energy - that's irresistible.

Eugene laughs. He strides down the last few steps of the gangplank, snatches Snafu's feathered monstrosity off his head (it might've been a gull at one point), and uses the giant hat to hide their faces when he pulls Snafu into a final lingering kiss.

He's decided. This isn't him coming home, this is only a stop in a port to let his father know he is alive and well. He doesn't care about any of his old, petty responsibilities anymore. His old concerns seem shallow in the wake of everything he has been through.

He tightens his hold around Snafu's waist.

He's not going to let go. He will be leaving with Snafu. His family will understand.

Some part of this thought process must come across in their kiss, because Snafu gently pushes him away and looks up into Eugene's face curiously.

Which conveniently is also when his father's soldiers decide to converge on them both.

AND THEN PERSIPNEI’S SECOND BIT STARTS.....

#sledgefu #sledgefu pirate au #bad germs