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Jay’s hair flowed in the cool wind as she stepped out on the deck. The boat rocked peacefully despite the breeze. The night sky almost seemed to melt into the sea, the only difference between the two being the bright stars and scenic full moon only being a reflection on the ocean. Jay silently wished she could have experienced the almost painterly scenery through better circumstances. Her hands shook slightly as she held onto the railing gently, enjoying the view for a moment.
“What’s keeping ya’ up sunshine?”
Captain Lizzie’s voice rang out from her respective ship, the crescent moon. The captain strode across her main deck, her figure missing the iconic red jacket and hat. Her tone was enticing, Jay was known for being weirdly open about her past. However she didn’t feel particularly inclined to trama dump on the woman whose first interaction with her was to hold her at gunpoint, no matter how attractive she was. The two ships had been tethered for the time being as two boats were headed in the same direction. They sat maybe five feet apart, connected by a plank of wood that hooked onto both boat’s railings.
“Nothing. Just wasn’t tired.” Jay replied defensively, not bothering to turn towards Lizzie. It might’ve been more convincing if her voice was less shaky and soft but she attempted to dodge the question regardless. “Why are you up anyways? Waiting for me or something?”
“We’ll since I'm not a liar I guess I can share..” Lizzie started before walking across the connector between boats. She joined Jay at the port side of the albatross’s main deck and leaned against the railing. “Couldn’t sleep. General stress, nothing new or interesting. I was getting some alcohol to ease my mind before I saw you out here.”
Jay sighed, looking out at the ocean. Her eyes were sagged with general sleep deprivation, and her hair was messy, not tied up in her usual ponytail.
“Sorry..” Jay mumbled as if she had caused Lizzie’s stress. “I just get night terrors. ‘Got bored of seeing everyone I love die to my hands so I thought I'd come up here.” Lizzie nodded as she talked, sparing a sympathetic glance for a moment.
“Well, y’know what I hear helps with night terrors?”
“Hm?”
“Keeping your favorite pirate captain company while she can’t sleep. I’ve even got alcohol if you need to calm your nerves” Lizzie smirked. The woman reached into her jacket to pull out a whisky bottle and shook it, a sloshing coming from the bottle.
Jay hesitated before answering, the offer hung in the air as she thought. “Fine-“ She replied in a faux cold tone, “No booze though, I'll by accident tell you my whole life story and die of either you or embarrassment.” She grabbed at Lizzie’s bottle of liquor, shoving it in her pocket in an attempt to stop the both of them drinking it. She knew both of them were plenty traumatized and Jay was not prepared for whatever they might do drunk, alone and sad. Lizzie sighed as she let Jay take the bottle. She started off across the bridge between boats again Jay following in toe.
The two walked across the main deck and up to the captain’s quarters before entering. The room was decently sized, the dark wood walls only illuminated by a lantern attached to the right side wall. Lizzie’s bed sat in a small alcove; the mattress being messy and unmade, the covers were a dark crimson. The only other noticeable thing in the room being a desk against the far wall, a map opened on it, and the general messy clutter that sat in piles around the room. “Your ship is so much more tricked out than ours.” Jay mumbled, her eyes wandering across the room.
“That’s just ‘cuz it’s the captain’s quarters. The rest of the ship is pretty basic.” Lizzie spoke as she walked further into the room and collapsed onto her bed. Jay followed, opting to sit on the floor left of the bed, her back leaned against the bedside. She sighed, letting her head rest up on the bed.
“Y’know, you can sit on the bed if you want.” Lizzie said, her voice now sounding much more tired than it had when the two were outside. Jay turned her head a little to look at her friend.
Lizzie had always intimidated her. Jay knew she wasn’t exactly menacing or anything, especially in comparison to Liz. Jay’s build wasn’t particularly filled out making her look much more frail and delicate than she was. It’s not like she was upset about it or anything, she presented the way she wanted to, it was just that Lizzie was practically the exact opposite. Everything about her seemed experienced and scarred. Lizzie’s arms were incredibly defined, not that Jay would look out for it, she’d just happened to notice and it was impressive. Of course, Lizzie had been a pirate for much longer than her, not to mention she was a captain so it made sense. Sure, the riptide pirates had their co-captain system but it was mostly because the other people on board were practically civilians.
“Jay?” Lizzie snapped her back into reality, realizing that she had completely zoned out staring at her. “You good?” Lizzie asked suspiciously, as she rolled over to look at her.
Jay felt her face heat up, ducking her face into her hands in embarrassment. “Sorry!” She squeaked. “I just zoned out, I guess I'm still kind of out of it from my nightmare.” Not entirely a lie..
Lizzie looked at her sympathetically. “You wanna talk about it? I mean- I don’t know shit about comforting someone but I can listen if you need.” She said, a little more earnestly than even Lizzie herself had expected.
Jay groaned with embarrassment into her hands for a moment. “I’m okay.. Sorry for bothering you with all this.”
“Listen hun,” Lizzie started, sliding off the bed to sit beside the other. Jay watched her as she moved but retreated into her hands when she recognized the sensation of herself blushing again. “We’re all fucked here. You don’t become a pirate because you had a great life before becoming one. The least we can do is take care of each other, right?” Lizzie turned to Jay as she spoke the last sentence. Jay peaked out from the cover of her hands to gaze into Lizzie's eyes. For a moment the two didn’t speak, just looking at each other, until they both snapped back to reality, quickly turning away.
“Seems like we didn’t need alcohol to get too personal, huh?” Jay asked, chuckling a little bit as she spoke.
“I still wouldn’t mind some…” Lizzie trailed off, turning back to Jay and eyeing the bottle in her pocket.
Jay hesitated for a moment, questioning the intelligence in letting whatever was happening happen but then shrugging. “Sure, why not.” Her voice still soft. Lizzie immediately swiped the bottle from Jay’s pocket and popped it open, taking a swig and tilting it towards Jay. The ginger carefully took the bottle and drank a sip before putting it between the two. Lizzie scoffed at the lack of alcohol the other had drank.
“What? Worried something’s gonna happen between us if you drink more?” Lizzie said mischievously, smirking as she spoke.
“The hell-” Jay said, feeling her cheeks heat up more. “I'm not. I’m just a lightweight an’ I fucking hate hang overs. Plus if I pass out in your room I don’t think you or chip would let me live it down.”
“I’d be fine by me.” Lizzie replied, sliding her hand over to Jay’s and taking it, intertwining their fingers. Lizzie’s hands were calloused with time, her palm a slightly lighter color than the rest of her skin. If Jay could see her own face, it would be bright red; she could feel the heat through her cheeks. Lizzie lifted Jay’s hand gently, removing her own hand from the grasp and started to inspect the younger’s for a moment.
“Why are your hands so scarred?” She asked, carefully holding Jay’s hands on top of hers, running her thumb over the ragged patches of scar tissue that covered her hand.
“Ah.. it’s from a spell.”
“Which one?”
“Absorb element. I mostly use it on fire and it scars my hand a bit before I can actually absorb it.”
Lizzie hummed thoughtfully, still observing the other’s scars. Her face was scrunched up in thought, as if trying to come up with a solution for a problem that didn’t exist. Lizzie’s face was beautiful, it was something that had distracted Jay more often than she would admit. The way her dark curls framed her scared and freckle covered face was something Jay could study for hours. For a moment, Jay held back, before giving up, carefully planting a kiss on the top of the other’s head.
“You gotta be kidding me.” Lizzie’s face was flushed, as she raised her head to make eye contact with Jay. The ginger’s face looked taken back, obviously not expecting this reaction. “I set up all these pons, I take you on a pretend platonic date, I call you pet names, I bring you into my quarters to finally make myself do something and you get to kiss me?”
“It was only a forehead kiss, there’s sti—“
Lizzie cut Jay off by placing her hand on the side of Jay’s cheeks and pulling the two faces together and connecting their lips. Lizzie was gentle with the way she kissed the other, something that had surprised Jay. The moment felt like it lasted hours before Lizzie separated them. Jay breathed heavily, trying to regain the air that Lizzie had stolen.
“I’ve never done that before..” Jay mumbled staring into the intricate eyes of Captain Lizzie.
“Kissed anyone or kissed a girl?”
“Neither.” Jay answered bluntly.
“You’re missing out.” Lizzie hummed, now having shifted herself in front of Jay for easier access.
“Shut up- It wasn’t without trying! Just couldn’t land anyone really. Not enough people were into me back home.” Jay said, stumbling over her words as she spoke. There was about half a foot between them, so maybe she should stop being so nervous about the proximity to Lizze, the two did just make out, the awkward pining phase was over, but she still felt heat flow through her face.
“I’m surprised, ‘didn't think a woman as pretty as you would save herself for me.” Jay’s face did not even have time to stop blushing until the next wave of warmth filled her cheeks. She tried again and again to bring back some amount of power to herself but Lizzie’s ensessent flirting hindered her ability to.
“Shut up- shut up..” Jay complained with a smile, hiding flushed cheeks behind her hands again. Lizzie giggled before layering her hands on top of Jay’s and pulling her closer to kiss her forehead. The ginger melted into the touch, letting herself lean against the woman and ducking her head into her shoulder. Jay couldn’t help but feel as if she was in a warm bubble of giddiness. She’s never felt anything like this, she felt so loved and taken care of.. Jay moved her hands from her face to around Lizzie's waist, feeling her lips curl into a smile on the crook of the other’s neck.
Lizzie leaned her head onto Jay’s, holding the smaller close to her like some kind of comfort stuffed animal. Lizzie’s eyes fluttered closed, having never felt the amount of safety and comfort that she felt in this moment since being a child.
The two latched onto each other as if the embrace was a lifeline, reviling in the warmth emanating from each other’s bodies. The outside world seemed to freeze around them, the only thing important being the comforting moment. They both had deserved a break from the struggles of their lives and for a brief amount of time they had found one in each other.