Chapter Text
"What're you thinking about, Number Two?"
The referenced pirate sighed, his head drooping and adding weight to his arms as he leaned against the windowsill. "Nothing of importance, Captain."
Scarf could tell the Captain wasn't buying it as he heard the taller man stand up behind him, only to feel arms wrap gently around his waist and a chin on his shoulder. "Now, Number Two... " he mumbled, giving Scarf's shoulder a gentle kiss, "you know I don't like when you keep those troubling thoughts to yourself. How's a ship supposed to operate if the best man on the crew is down in a slump?" he chuckled, moving his arms to Scarf's shoulders, and his matelot couldn't help but chuckle back.
Sighing, Scarf gently kissed the bigger man's arms as he thought of what to say. "...I just... You didn't... I-I don't know. I've had... bigger things on my mind since the engagement."
At this, the Captain raised an eyebrow but didn't make any movement or indication of suspicion. "...go on. "
"I just, well... You've always been so wonderful to me. To anyone you've fallen for, really," Scarf chuckled, turning around to face his husband. "A-And I could listen all day about the life you dream of. Really, I could. It's just..."
"Just what?"
"Well, there's some things you speak of that I simply can't provide!" Scarf spit out, his voice raising in pitch ever so slightly. "I-I mean, it's not that I don't want to! If I could, you know I'd stop at nothing to do so, but--"
"But what!?" Captain interjected, holding his lover's face. "What could you possibly give besides everything you've ever given me to love!?"
"Well, I'm not a woman, Captain!" The brief silence that followed after felt louder than what he'd just said, until he gulped and broke the silence.
"I-I'm not... A woman," he repeated. "A-And women possess some traits and abilities that I..." At this, he looked down, his hands moving to his face to hold the Captain's and move them between their chests. "Well, I'm simply incapable of."
"Oh, nonsense, Number Two," Captain scoffed, his eyes squinting slightly in disbelief. "What could any woman in the world have to offer that you don't have double and better?"
With a slightly frustrated sigh, Scarf looked up at him firmly. "A family." And there was that oh-so-loud silence again. "Alright? I can't. I can't give you those little ones you dream of, those-- those ones that'll run around the deck with my mess of hair or your beautiful eyes. I can't. And I hate it," Scarf stressed through his teeth, letting go of the Captain's hands to grip at his own hair. "I-I hate it. I hate that you, you beautiful, beautiful man, had the right to anyone's heart, and I hate that after finding such a wonderful man, I can't..."
He stepped away and paused to take a breath, collecting himself and holding back tears as he continued. "I just, I know you love me. I know. And I know you knew what marrying a man meant for you. But sometimes, I... I don't know. Sometimes I feel it would have just been...easier. For you. For both of us, even. If I'd just been a woman."
Scarf faced away from his partner as he fought back tears of distress, unaware of the heartbroken look Captain had upon seeing his husband this distraught.
"Why, Number Two!" The Captain cried in disbelief, rushing to face Scarf. "You can't possibly believe any of that to be true!" He spoke with a slight undirected anger in his voice as he grabbed Scarf's hand. "I couldn't care less about anything as meager as blood ties, you know I don't A-At least, I had assumed you didnt!" He turned Scarf to face the door to their quarters, where a ruckus of laughter and roaring could be heard from the other side. "What do you hear out there? What goes on every day here, on this ship? You don't think that's already a family as it is? Maybe our blood doesn't come from the same streams, but eventually it all flows into the same sea! And that's why any of us are here in the first place, that's what matters!" At this, he turned then back towards each other and trapped Scarf in a large, comforting hug.
"I would never change a single thing about the decisions I've made to get here. Well, except maybe my decision to trade with Queen Victoria. Or to let you run into that danger with the Bishop. Or when I let Albino drive the-- my-my POINT is," he interrupted himself, "that I would never change a thing about this. About us," he emphasized, squeezing his now overly lovestruck husband. "I don't love you any less because you're a man. Nor would I love you any more than I do already if you were a woman! All I need is you." He gently kissed Scarf's cheek, the soft scratchiness of his beard eliciting a slight smile from the first mate. "This. Everything we've created, everything that's come together on this boat. And we can still have children," the Captain added. "Blood or no blood. They will be ours. Something for us. Our children, who will look up to us and who we'll give all the love in the world! And they'll make the most terrifying, the most incredible, the most dashing pirates of the seven seas with such incredible parents as us!" He bragged, giving that proud smirk that made Scarf unable to resist a loving chuckle. He leaned into the Captain's palm as he saw it reach for his face. "Don't you think so, Number Two?"
Scarf chuckled again, raising an eyebrow playfully. "Well, they'll certainly at least believe that, with a father as proud and confident as you, Captain," he laughed, leaning in for a kiss.
The two remained in silence for a moment, kissing sweetly as the Captain gently lifted Scarf to sit on the desk while the first mate wrapped his arms around the other man's shoulders. There were no sounds in the cabin except for a few hums and sighs into kissed until Scarf thought of something and briefly broke his lips away to stare firmly at the Captain.
"You realize we're not giving any of them weapons until they're at least ten years old."
"What!?" the Captain gasped on his usual dramatic style, clearly offended. "I've been studying swordfighting since I was four and had no severe casualties!"
"Butter knives hardly count as weapons, Captain," Scarf rolled his eyes and muttered, "though I wouldn't be shocked if you found some way to make them dangerous."
With another offended noise, Captain playfully lifted Scarf up. "And what about you!?" he retorted, dropping the first mate into the hammock before crudely climbing in himself. "Didn't your father give you a sword as a young lad!?"
"Yes, and I recall my mother damn near having heart attacks every moment I held it in my grasp," Scarf spoke with exasperation and scorn towards his father, though his smirk gave away the playful nature. "I won't be dealing with anything of the sort."
"Ahhh, well, I'm sure a little persuasion is all we need for you to see it from my perspective," the Captain grinned mischievously, climbing on top of Scarf and purposefully kissing his neck, aware of how his beard tickled the sensitive spot.
Scarf immediately burst out laughing against his will. "No!" He cried, hitting the Captain's back half-heartedly. "This isn't a compromise, this is a hostage situation!" He cried, tears of laughter pricking his eyes as he clung to his husband's shoulders.
"Well, is it persuading you?" The Captain mumbled against his skin, fighting his own chuckling.
"Not in the least!" Scarf laughed, his hands scrambling to grab the Captain's head. "Now enough of that!" He cried, finally lifting the Captain's head away from the danger zone to look him in the eye with a hum of adoration. "Won't you kiss me again, Captain?"
And before he could answer, the first mate had pulled him in, their soft hums and sighs making known the contentment they shared in tht moment.
~~~
Back on land, at the Barnacle's Face, children were the last thing on his mind. In fact, at the moment, he was trying to focus on himself. That, and taking it easy on the drinks. After a slump he'd gone through recently, he'd come to think of alcohol as his new best friend. That is, until Liz (literally) beat it out of him. Between that and the fact that his ex had gotten married, he'd found that maybe it was time to close off a little. He was embarrassed to have ever been in such a weak point, especially in front of his best friends. So, he'd decided he'd rather avoid love as a whole and, only under the risk of getting his ass kicked again, cut back on his alcohol intake.
He sat there, with what was shockingly only his second mug, staring at the dim reflection of himself in the cup, trying to get his thoughts together. It was quiet in his mind, yet the thoughts were so far apart it was like trying to tie them all together in one circle underwater. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be thinking about. He had laid out the next adventure for the crew, which they planned on sailing out for tomorrow. That was the only reason he'd brought them to this Godforsaken island, so he could get them distracted enough to leave him alone for a bit.
He didn't notice that a familiar face had pulled up a stool next to him at the bar until his name was called. "Bellamy?" Eyes widening, he looked up and saw an unexpected but not unwelcome figure.
"Desdemona?"