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They’d been on the flying ship for quite some time. The days sort of blurred together, which was normal but somehow it felt different now. Somehow he felt like he was supposed to lose track of time, unlike his time in the military where doing such could get him in trouble. Heracles was getting bored. Now, the only thing he knew was that the sun was set and the stars were out. He yawned and prepared to take a nap against the edge of the ship, but he saw the first mate walking towards him so instead of actually doing it, he just made it look like he was sleeping.
This was the best way he could get Kiku’s attention these days. Kiku was always so busy, arguably busier than when he was a Sergeant. Heracles’ light-brown cat ear twitched when he heard footsteps nearing him. So it was working.
“Heracles, what are you doing?” Got him.
The older catrek yawned again, making a show of it and responded to the youngers question without opening his eyes. “Taking a nap.”
He heard a sigh. “When are you not taking a nap?”
Heracles hummed and feigned interest in the question. Instead of answering, he patted the spot next to him in silence.
He could hear Kiku start to step away. Crap. It didn’t work like he wanted it to. So Heracles supposed it was best to open his eyes and sit up straighter. “You’re not going to sit with me?” He was genuinely surprised. Kiku always sat with him in moments like these.
Kiku shook his head, now turned away from Heracles. “No. I have work to do.”
Heracles frowned. “You always have work to do but you always manage to find time to sit with me.”
“Ah - um - that is… That’s not really true, is it?” He was flustered. Heracles would’ve thought about how cute that was if he wasn’t concerned with why things weren’t going as normal.
“Something wrong?”
The first mate sighed and turned to face Heracles now, eyes surprisingly hard. It made Heracles wince and when he did Kiku seemed to relax. Okay, so Kiku was still stuck in old habits from the military. That’s all that look was for, right?
“You’re what’s wrong, Heracles.” Oh. Okay, that hurt somehow. He was confused, yes, but a larger part of him was upset by such a claim. What was wrong? Was all his time loafing around and not working as hard as the rest of the crew finally catching up to him? After a long time of just staring into Kiku’s eyes searching for answers, the younger catrek turned his head away with a blush. Again, that was something Heracles would have found cute if he wasn’t more concerned with more pressing matters at the moment. Without verbally asking for an answer to his question, Kiku continued. “I don’t know what our relationship is, but the rest of the crew is taking note of the ambiguity. Even the captain has questioned me.”
The captain? Heracles had to think hard on that. Toni was usually the last person to notice things that weren’t purposefully brought to his attention. If he was talking about it to Kiku, then it must have been obvious. No good. It’s not that Heracles had a problem with anyone knowing how he felt about Kiku, and it’s not that he didn’t want Kiku to know, either. It was that if everyone on the ship knew, then Kiku was less likely to approve of the relationship.
Which brings them back to where they stand right now. Heracles broke the silence first. “Sit with me.” It was all he could think to say. The truth was, they needed to talk about this. To set everything in stone of what their relationship really was. He doubted that the captain, or anyone else for that matter but most especially the captain, was against the idea but it was definitely something Kiku wasn’t quite comfortable with. At least not yet.
Kiku refused to sit. Instead looking around to see who all was noticing their conversing. Yeah, this was a bad spot to be in. Heracles had to think his actions over carefully. This could make or break whatever possible relationship they had. Heracles spoke again. “It’s okay. I know you’re scared.”
“I’m not scared.” That was a quick answer. Heracles raised an eyebrow at the first mate and said first mate just went back to looking away. “I’m just not used to such advances and I’m not sure what to do with them.”
Heracles sighed. “You are scared. I can see it written on your face.” Regardless of popular belief, Heracles wasn’t as dense as the captain. Sure, the only one he could read was Kiku but that was still more than Toni could claim to be able to do. “You’re scared of losing the crew’s respect because of how you go easy on me while giving strict orders to everyone else.”
Kiku tensed, his tail fluffing up just a tad bit. Looks like Heracles hit the nail right on the head. Before he could say anything else, Captain Antonio arrived on the scene.
He stood in front of them with his hands on his hips and his usual grin on his face. “I don’t think there’s anything to be afraid of.” His own bright red tail waved behind him. He was in a good mood.
Kiku blushed again. This time it covered his whole face and he turned to the captain with wide eyes. “C-Captain!” He stood up straighter, almost as if standing at attention. Scratch that. It was exactly like standing at attention. Once more, Heracles noticed that old habits die hard.
Toni shook his head. “You won’t bond with me but you also won’t sit with Heracles?”
Both of them were confused at that comment. What did Kiku not wanting to bond with the captain have to do with their relationship?
Toni just grinned more. “I know you just don’t want to do the ceremony with me ‘cause you have another samurai on your mind.” His grin dropped then. Not to a frown, just to a more neutral, more confused expression. “So why don’t you sit with that samurai?”
Kiku hissed between his teeth. “Captain, can we speak of this in private?”
Toni smiled again and spoke with a song in his voice. “Nope~ It’s about time you faced your feelings head on. I already told you how I feel about vague relationships.”
Ah. So that’s what all that talk of ambiguity was about. Antonio must have commented about it to Kiku and he took it the wrong way. He must have thought Antonio didn’t want him in a relationship of any kind.
“Captain…” Kiku said, blush still clear on his face. It really was adorable, Heracles thought to himself.
“This is an order from captain to first mate. Sit down and talk with Heracles about your feelings and while you’re at it, take a nap. Preferably with him.” Heracles would have to remember to thank his captain someday. It wasn’t the proper way to handle the situation but it was probably the only way to get Kiku to face things head on. He was a catrek that followed orders. He would be a great bonded samurai for any mage, Heracles thought, which was what made him sort of jealous of the captain.
Speaking of the captain, he was already gone, walking on somewhere else to handle some other part of the ship. Heracles looked up at the former military leader and simply stated the obvious. “That was an order.”
Kiku let out a small noise that sounded like a groan before finally sitting down next to him. He was still blushing and he didn’t look directly at Heracles. “I know it was an order.” was all he said. And so, that sat in silence for a few moments.
Finally, Kiku broke said silence. “I was taught to not rush into relationships by my mother.”
“I was taught to not let them pass you by.”
Kiku looked up at the sky, not commenting on that answer. He pointed up. “Is it that one?”
Heracles followed his finger and then shook his head. “No. You can’t see her star right now.” Again, Heracles wasn’t as dense as usual when it came to Kiku. He knew what he was talking about. While on the military base together, they shared a moment on a roof where Heracles mentioned to Kiku about his mother. It wasn’t much because Kiku didn’t ask for more. He had other priorities at the time.
Kiku hummed and put his arm down. “What was she like?”
Heracles sighed. Talking about himself was boring. He’d much rather talk about Kiku. Still, this was the first time Kiku showed interest in his past so Heracles figured he deserved some answers. “She died just before I was drafted. On her death bed she told me ‘don’t waste any time.’ She had managed to find love and hold on to it tight so she just wanted the same for all my siblings and I.”
Kiku looked down. “Don’t waste time…” he quoted before sighing. “My mother rushed into a relationship. She was left alone with me. Luckily, I was an only child so she managed alright.” Heracles was stuck in wide-eyed amazement. The last thing he expected was for Kiku to open up to him like this. Still, he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth so he forced himself to relax and respond.
“Is that why you’re hesitant to have one with me?”
Kiku blushed but instead of answering, he made an obvious statement. “And your mother is why you’re so insistent on starting one with me.”
Heracles nodded.
Kiku sighed and stood up. “I won’t avoid you, but I won’t be in a relationship with you. Not yet at least.” he still blushed. “And I… I won’t stop you from trying. Show me why I should be with you. I’ll be watching.” and with that, he walked off to his cabin to take a nap. Sure, the captain said it was preferable that he take one with Heracles, but it was probably too soon for that.
This was a good step in the right direction, though. It would take more time to break down Kiku’s walls but at least now their relationship wasn’t so ambiguous. Suddenly, the two catrek were in a voluntary game of cat and mouse.
Heracles shut his eyes and went back to that nap he was planning earlier.
Kiku still didn’t give him anything to do.