Chapter Text
“Here’s how it going to work,” Keith smiled and held the cargo ships captain at gunpoint. “We are going to confiscate any and all weapons, food, booze, and money you have.” He gave a sly smile and tapped the heel of his boot against the floorboard of the deck.
“If anyone gets in your way- shoot. Put everyone in a raft afterwards, and burn this mother fucker!” He cried out, and a chorus of cheers could be heard. Followed by the cries of sailors. Keith closed his eyes and sighed, trying not to let the guilt fester inside of him.
“Captain!” Shiro beckoned him over to a small office. As Keith walked through the threshold his breath caught in his throat. Standing before him was the most beautiful man he ever laid eyes on. His hands were in the air and he was shamelessly flirting with Allura and Romelle. The two girls exchanged a knowing glance and rolled their eyes.
Keith stepped closer to him, and as lance shot him a heart stopping smile, he faltered. He cleared his throat and looked at Lance, while having a conversation with Shiro.
“What seems to be the problem?” Keith asked Shiro, all while getting lost in Lance’s eyes.
“He seems to think he could be useful to us.” Shiro looked towards the others and they slowly moved forward.
"Please-" The Cuban clasped his hands and gave Captain Kogane a fake, pleading look. Keith froze, holding his hand up to halt the surrounding men. Something about this boy was different- he didn't seem scared of the Fearful Kogane, King of The Seas. In fact, he seemed to be making a game of the situation.
"I mean, I'm obviously a necessary asset." He gave a sly smile and flexed. "Look at these guns-" Keith couldn't help the laugh that escaped him at the sight of the young man flexing his lanky arms. The boy took a step closer, Keith could feel his breath grazing his neck.
"I'm Lance." Keith turned on his heel and shook his head. For once, he didn’t know what to do.
“Put him in the cell for for the night,” Keith grumbled. “I’ll decide what to do with him tomorrow.”
———
Keith walked back into his office after securing Lance in the cell below deck. He sighed as Shiro stormed into his office.
“What the hell?” He seethed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “A hostage?”
“Prisoner.” Keith corrected and sipped the quality rum they recently obtained from the cargo ship.
“Does it matter?” Shiro yelled and starting pacing the room.
“Rum?” Keith offered his first mate a glass of the golden, burning liquid. Instead of accepting, Shiro slammed his hands on the desk.
“He could be trouble!” Shiro growled through clenched teeth.
“He’s not,” Keith replied. He tilted his head back and let the golden liquid burn his throat. “He’s... different.”
“Why would he rather be held prisoner on a pirate ship?” Shiro collapses in the luxurious seat across from Keiths desk.
“Would you rather be in a cage, with three meals a day, clean water, and out of the ocean?” Keith countered. “Or would you rather be in an overstuffed, dinky lifeboat with no food, water, and surrounded by dangerous animals with no way of protection.”
Shiro looked up and wrinkled his eyebrows. “Are- are you saying him being imprisoned was on purpose?“
“Basically, yes.” Keith stood up and walked to the door. “I’m going to check on the others. Dinner should be in five- you should eat something.”
“So should you,” Shiro said. He walked over and patted Keith on the shoulder, both of the standing at the top of the stairs. “I’ve seen how you’ve been skipping meals in order for your crew to have enough to eat.” He cast a glance out towards the deck. Keith could see the bumbling of smiles and happy spirits around him. He light a ghost of a smile embrace his face as he stared out towards the high moral.
He missed this.
He missed his crew.
He smiled at Shiro as the two headed their separate ways. He walked down into the cot room, looking for the ingenious pidge. He had requested she modify his compas to locate any and all hell metal.
“Gah! Ladies!” Keith cried as he covered his eyes, having accidentally walked in on Allura and Romelle in a very... compromising position. He cast his gaze downwards, but was instead met with Romelle and Allura’s clothes in a pile below his feet. The two girls laughed as the scrambled to cover themselves with the small blanket in Allura’s cot.
“It’s okay,” Allura laughed at Keith as she nodded her head towards the blanket. “You can look, prude.”
“Sometimes I wonder why we keep you two around.” He playfully rolled his eyes before sitting at the foot of the cot, glancing up at the two girls.
“I just don’t get why you’re so scared to look,” Romelle giggles and looked around. “You told us you preferred men-“ Keith shot up to cover Romelle’s mouth and hastily look around.
“Can you not?” He seethed before returning to his previous, more relaxed position on the foot of the cot.
He glanced out towards the sea of those strange, hanging clothes deemed beds and cots, searching for anyone who might have heard.
“Hey,” Allura placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a small smile. “People aren’t like they use to be. It’s okay.” She turned to look at Romelle as she grasped at her girlfriend’s hand. “Before I met my Dear, I was in love with another.”
Now this, was news to Keith. When he rescued Allura from a cell on Lotor’s ship, she was already dating Romelle. She was the whole reason they went back on the ship to rescue the Sea Princess.
“We were young, and love,” she sighed as she reminisced. Romelle gave a sad, knowing look and stoked her lovers knuckles with her thumb. “We decided to start our own crew- our ship. We each loved the adventure and the adrenaline.” She bit her lip and looked down to the blankets. “When I revealed to him I loved not only men, but women as well... he didn’t like all that much. Life at sea had... changed him. He wasn’t the man I fell in love with.” She looked up and gazed at Romelle. “And then I met Her, my other half.” Allura brought her hand up the caress Romelle’s cheek. “By god- we were in love. She was a powder monkey*, and I the first mate. We would sneak around at the peak of night. It was pure bliss compared to my loveless marriage.” She heaved a sigh. “He was a very violent man, and a drunk at that. I remember most of our nights were spent with Romelle treating my wounds. One day he found us.”
The two girls held each other close as Allura bit her lip, the fear and memories suddenly returning. Keith didn’t know what to do- he was never good with sentiments and emotions.
“He threw me into a cell, and forced my precious Romelle to walk the plank. I believe you found her a while after that, the poor thing must’ve been freezing.”
Keith nodded at the memory. He remembered pulling Romelle’s body up onto the ship from where she had been flailing moments earlier. She quickly adapted to the crew, and nestled a place into everyone’s heart.
“My own crew and husband turned against me.” She whispered and took a deep breath. “I was the Sea Princess- a mighty ruler of the seas. Yet, I was helpless.” She looked up at Keith. “Until all of you came to rescue me, you offered me safety and love and acceptance. My husband, Lotor, and our crew, turned against me like that.”
“It’s different here.” Romelle whispered, giving a smile. “I can be me, I can grow my hair out and wear dresses and love /my girlfriend/.” The blonde smiled at Allura. “I can be be me, I don’t have to be a boy and I don’t have to worry about being hurt from lack of existence.”
“You’ve created a heaven on earth,” Allura said as she reached out to grasp Keiths hand. “No one on this ship would /ever/ deny you the right to be /you/“ Keith purses his lips and shook his head.
“What if that’s not the problem?” His voice was barely a whisper, Allura and Romelle strained their ears to listen to his voice.
“Then what-“ Romelle was interrupted by Coran’s booming voice.
“Princess,” he called out, attempting not to fall over as the boat rocked. “Princess!” Allura’s eyes widened as she hid under the blankets.
“Princess- my word! The Captain’s here! Where is your decency!” Allura gave a small smile to Romelle before the two started to giggle. Coran had been like a father to Allura after hers passed away due to scurvy. Keith was almost jealous she had someone like coran.
But Keith would choose Shiro any day, the two of them were like brothers. Shiro and his family took Keith in when he had no where to go.
Keith loved Shiro.
Although he’d never admit to it.
“What’s with the soup?” Allura pointed to the tempting bowl of- what smelled like- food heaven.
“Hunk made it for Captain,” Coran gave Keith a small smile and gently handed him the bowl. As if on cue, Keiths stomache growled so loud he thought it would rock the boat. “We know you haven’t been eating for the past week or so in order to allow the crew to have more food, and we wanted to say thank you.” Keith graciously accepted the steaming hot bowl of soup, and quickly downed the whole thing in one go.
“Thank you,” Keith heaved as he attempted to catch his breath after chugging his dinner. Coran gave a smile and nodded before grabbing the bowl and bringing it out to the kitchen.
“I’ve got to find pidge.” Keith groaned as he stood up, waving at the two girls tucked underneath the blanket. “Be careful, the other’s I’ll be down soon.” He laughed as he heard the shuffling of the girls hastily putting their clothes back on.
———
It was almost nightfall when he found pidge. The petite girl was working away at some sort of contraption.
“Did you finish it?” He asked. She turned around and tossed him the small, metal device.
“Like I said, hell metal isn’t real. But I read some old mythology books on it, and that compas should be able to track it.” Keith thanked her and started to walk away. He froze at the sound of her icy cold voice.
“Keith?”
“Yes.” He didn’t dare turn around in fear that her eyes would turn him to stone.
“I don’t know what the hell we’re looking for and why. But a lot of good people have sacrificed a lot. So it better be worth it.” Keith didn’t say anything, instead, he walked away.
And that spoke volumes to pidge.
———
Keith pulled out his pocket watch for the fourth time in two minutes. He couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking of his Lance problem.
Was it really worth the risk?
His mind knew it was bad, he knew it was bad.
But some microscopic part of him, a small voice from the depths of his mind, begged him to give Lance a chance.
He sighed and stood up, deciding to pay the prisoner a little walk.
The salt water and cold air recalling got his heart beating, he was just thankful there were no crashing waves or raging winds.
“Go take a nap.” He put a hand on Regris’s shoulder a gentle smile. “I’ve got it from her.” Regros let out a monsterous yawn and thanked Keith.
What was he doing?
Why was he sitting outside the prisoners cell so late into the night.
“I just wanted to help my family.” Lance spoke up from inside the cell. “But I barely see them.” He let out a defeated sigh. “If you’re going to kill me, do it quickly. And please let my family know I don’t-“
“I’m not.” Keith murmured.
“Pardon?” Lance sat up, hands grasping at the bars as he cast his gaze to the crumpled figure of Keith, who sat on the cold, hard ground. Right next to the chair.
“You can’t do that to them, you have to fight to live.” Keith said as he closed his eyes and threw his head back. “I kept you alive this long because you’ve got spunk in you.”
Lance stared, amazed at the words that this stranger was using to motivate him.
“It was a fire.” He whispered. “My mom and dad were inside, I had been out doing errands. I came back, the whole building was in flames.” He grit his teeth and clenched his fists at the painful memory that embraced him like an old friend.
“And as I watched my world burn to pieces, I decided then and there that I wanted to live. Not just survive, but live. I was terrified of the future and of what would happen to me, but I still wanted to experience life.” He glanced over at Lance, looking into the boys wide and curious eyes, with a tinge of sympathy. “You still have a family out there. So fight for them.”
The two boys let those final words hang in the air till morning, neither sleeping. Until Keith stood up, and unlocked the cell door.
“Hunk will show you around.”
———
*powder monkey
noun
historical
-
a boy employed on a sailing warship to carry powder to the guns.