Work Text:
When Seonghwa heard there was someone looking for him, he made a point to stay as far away from them as possible. It’s not like he hated people, in fact his job had him hanging around people of every type, mostly pirates but a fair share of women and wealthy men. He just didn’t like when people actively sought him out.
It could be a survivor from a sunken ship (although as far as he knew, there weren’t any), a merchant who didn’t get their order because of him, or even just another pirate who wanted to prove something by killing someone who had sunk so many ships.
Not that he was the one who had sunk them. Or even contributed to a mutiny or something, honestly with the number of pirates and murderer’s-for-hire sent after him you’d think that he was some sort of master of destroying ships.
Needless to say, he’s fallen into traps before and has had far too many assassination attempts to be comfortable. And even if it wasn’t murder on the mind of whoever was looking for him, it could be a variety of other things, and Seonghwa has dealt with his fair share of drunken pirates with wandering hands and eyes.
So he ignored the summons, the written letter his employer had given him thrown into the trash, and he continued to work, dodging around sailors as he brought tray after tray of ale around gambling tables and pretending that the hand he felt on his waist was his own imagination, even as he twisted away and the table erupted in laughter, going back to the counter as quickly as he could, attempting to sneak behind the bar to refill the mugs and do the same thing all over again.
Before he could slip through the half door, a hand grabbed his arm, tightly, stopping Seonghwa in his tracks. He turned, ready to wrench his arm free, only to be interrupted by the pirate speaking.
“What’s a pretty thing like you doing in a trashy place like this?” he asked, and Seonghwa could smell the liquor on his breath.
“Oh you know, working; hard to find other work around here,” Seonghwa said as casually as he could while the man squeezed a bit tighter. He tried to pull his arm closer to his body, but the pirate’s grip held strong, and he didn’t want to tug too hard, didn’t want to seem too ill-mannered and have the man beat him up.
“You could come with me instead,” the pirate offered, as though it was an offer Seonghwa wouldn’t be able to refuse. There was a cruel smirk on his lips, a raise of his eyebrows that spoke volumes to his intentions.
“And why would I want to do that?” Seonghwa asked, barely holding down his revulsion.
“Why wouldn’t you? C’mon. Come back to my ship and I’ll show you a good time,” the pirate said, winking “seductively” tightening his grip even more and leaning so close to Seonghwa that they were breathing the same air.
“And what ship would that be?” Seonghwa asked, leaning back as far as he could without alerting the drunken pirate, his hands shaking as he tried to balance the tray of empty glasses while his hands shook.
“The Aurora- it’s out- it’s on the dock,” he said, his other hand beginning to creep around Seonghwa’s waist, feeling along the baleen boning of his corset. “My captain is an ass, but you won’t have to worry about him, we’ll take care of him soon enough.”
“A mutiny?” Seonghwa asked, eager to switch the man’s thought process.
“Yeah, me and some other guys. You wouldn’t tell our captain, right, pretty thing?” he asked and Seonghwa’s eyes flicked to the door, the man catching the look.
“You want to head out? I bet we can make it back to the ship soon enough to have the storage room all to ourselves,” he said seductively, and Seonghwa swallowed roughly.
“Found any treasure recently?” he asked weakly, another attempt at derailing the man.
“You a thief?” the pirate asked, eyes narrowing, and Seonghwa’s eyes widened.
“No! No-” the pirate interrupted his frantic stammering.
“It doesn’t matter anyway. The only treasure I’ve found is you,” he said. Seonghwa wanted to gag, hide away in some corner of the earth and never come back to this filthy bar.
“Well, I’m afraid that I must get back to work,” Seonghwa said, and the pirate’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh really?” he asked. “I think you can spend a bit more time with me if you really wanted to. Are you trying to get away?”
“Oh no, of course not. You see- I just want to get back to work,” Seonghwa tried, but the pirate just scoffed a little.
“No need, Angel, I’ll pay for the night,” he said, pulling Seonghwa closer.
“Let go of me,” he said with as much strength as he could muster, yanking at his arm, but the pirate was surprisingly strong, and he held firm.
“Ah, a bit of feistiness?” the pirate said, the hand on Seonghwa’s waist creeping lower and lower and Seonghwa tried to yank away again, laughter erupted along the bar, and Seonghwa was suddenly aware that he had an audience. An audience that was doing nothing to help him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” came a voice, and suddenly there was a knife in Seonghwa’s view, pressed against the hand of the pirate. The man holding the knife was obviously in some sort of command, as the man who was groping Seonghwa immediately loosened his grip, moving away from the man with the knife.
“I- well, you see-” he stammered, suddenly sober, and Seonghwa took a small step back, the man’s hand looser but still on his arm, seemingly unwilling to let go.
“He’s mine,” the new man claimed, and the pirate behind Seonghwa immediately let him go, allowing Seonghwa to fully slip behind the bar, holding the tray in front of him like a shield, slowly shuffling backwards, wary. The pirate who groped him scoffed.
“He’s all yours. Probably isn’t even that good of a lay anyway,” he said, stepping away. But before Seonghwa could breathe a sigh of relief, the man with the knife aimed it at Seonghwa.
“You’re coming with me,” he declared, and Seonghwa scowled.
“Like hell,” and with that, he ducked around barrels and shelves, racing as fast as he could to the back door of the tavern, hoping that nobody was going to follow him.
The back door opened, the knife glinting in the faint light over the door, and Seonghwa stopped abruptly, almost tripping over himself.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” the man called, still brandishing his knife as he slipped into the tavern.
“Like I’d believe that,” Seonghwa said, attempting to turn around, but the man with the knife quickly grabbed him, dragging him out of the tavern, holding Seonghwa in a headlock. The second they were outside, Seonghwa drew his pistol from his hip, spinning out of the man’s grip and aiming the gun at him.
“Why didn’t you do that in the tavern?” the man asked, raising his hands, knife held in the air.
“No weapon policy,” Seonghwa said simply, and the man’s brows furrowed.
“But- what?”
“Look, you brought a knife into the bar that has a no-weapons policy. You saw what was happening, I would be dumb if I didn’t have a gun,” Seonghwa said, and the man nodded.
“Fair enough. Do you know how to use it?” he asked. Seonghwa rolled his eyes.
“Of course I do, what kind of idiot do you think I am? Just because I have to work in this hell hole doesn’t mean I don’t have a brain.”
“I didn’t mean to insinuate anything,” the man said, still sounding like he was trying to put him at ease. Seonghwa just squinted at him.
“Who the hell are you anyway?” he asked, and the man smiled a little.
“I’m the one who asked to see you.”
“Figures,” Seonghwa cocked his pistol. “What do you want with me?” he asked, and the man blinked twice, silent for a long moment, looking between the gun and Seonghwa.
“My name is Hongjoong. I’m the captain of the Aurora, we’re-”
“You're docked in the port. I’ve been dealing with your handsy men all evening. Now, why did you ask for me? Did you think I’d give up myself for you?” he asked, and Hongjoong glanced at the gun again.
“Are you going to put that down at any time?” he asked and Seonghwa rolled his eyes.
“Maybe if you answer my question. We’ll see.”
“I want you on my ship,” Hongjoong said, and Seonghwa shook his head, huffing a laugh.
“I find that hard to believe.”
“I’m sure you do,” Hongjoong said, toeing at the ground a little bit.
“You’ve heard the rumors about me,” Seonghwa said, and Hongjoong grinned, nodding.
“Of course.”
“And then you know that every ship I’ve been on has sunk.”
“Obviously.”
“Then why?” Seonghwa asked, finally decocking his gun. Hongjoong tilted his head a little, settling his hands into the large pockets of his leather coat.
“I like a challenge.”
“I’m going to need more convincing than that,” Seonghwa said and Hongjoong nodded.
“That’s fair, I wouldn’t expect anything less of you,” he said, before turning and retreating into the alleyway. Seonghwa huffed out a little air, something like a smile creeping onto his face.
“That alley leads to a dead-end,” he called, and Hongjoong turned on his heel, quickly slipping out.
“I knew that,” he said, and Seonghwa nodded.
“Obviously.”
“Have a nice night Seonghwa,” Hongjoong said, tipping his hat, and Seonghwa hummed. It was the nicest exchange he had ever had with a pirate, and Seonghwa didn’t think he was ever going to see him again.
So when he came to work the next day and saw him at the bar, Seonghwa made a point of switching sections with his coworker, limiting as much interaction as he could with the captain. He seemed genuinely nice, and Seonghwa didn’t want to get him killed like he had so many others.
Seonghwa could see him out of the corner of his eyes, always trying to get Seonghwa’s attention whenever he so much as glanced at him, but Seonghwa was pointedly ignoring him.
He had just grabbed another full tray of glasses, hiking it up onto his shoulder to make it through the half-door, when one of the patrons grasped his arm gently, almost causing Seonghwa to drop the whole tray.
“Can I help you?” Seonghwa asked as pleasantly as he was able to.
“Depends. What are you doing tonight?” he asked, words slurred.
“I’m busy,” Seonghwa said quickly, and the man released his arm, only to sling an arm around Seonghwa’s waist, collapsing to his knees and rubbing his face against Seonghwa’s corset. “What- get off me!” Seonghwa said, trying to take a step away, but it only caused the man to lean more weight on him.
“C’mon- just a little- you look so nice in a corset but I’d rather see it off,” the man said, and Seonghwa scowled, trying to dislodge the man by taking another step back.
“I’m going to keep it on. Not really interested in men twice my age, personally,” he said, beginning to move back to the counter to try and leave out the other half-door, when the man stood and stepped closer, pressing up behind him, grabbing at Seonghwa’s hips.
“I’ll pay extra,” he said, as “sweetly” as a drunken man with slurred words could.
“No,” Seonghwa said, once again trying to pull away, but the man didn’t let him. Seonghwa sighed, and dumped the entire tray of ale on him.
Finally the man pulled away, spluttering, and the entire tavern lit up in cheers, laughing at the man and at Seonghwa’s misfortune.
Seonghwa placed the tray on the counter, smoothing out his clothes. Someone wolf-whistled in the crowd, and the cheers only got louder, more whistles breaking through the sound as Seonghwa grit his teeth.
“Park!” his manager yelled over the noise, and Seonghwa turned eyes widening. “Get out!” he yelled, and Seonghwa nodded, scurrying away to grab his things.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hongjoong stand up and gather his things.
Sitting out behind the tavern, head in his hands, he didn’t really know what to do next. Hongjoong plopped down next to him.
“Well. I guess I’m out of the job,” Seonghwa said, massaging his temple gently.
“I suppose it’s a good thing you have another job offer then, huh?” Hongjoong said, and Seonghwa turned sharply to look at him.
“I swear…” he groaned and Hongjoong blinked a few times.
“I’m here, if that's what you mean?” he asked and Seonghwa shook his head, letting out a long sigh.
“You’re sure you want me on your ship?” Seonghwa asked, and Hongjoong just smiled.
“Absolutely.”
“Then you’ve got yourself a pirate,” Seonghwa said carefully, and Hongjoong beamed.
“Welcome aboard.”
“Where’s your ship?” Seonghwa asked, and Hongjoong stood, offering a hand to Seonghwa, which he took gratefully.
“Before you ask or worry about it, the asshole who was feeling you up the other night was killed and left in the back of an alleyway,” Hongjoong said, and Seonghwa swallowed, unusually touched.
“Thank you,” he said quietly, and Hongjoong nodded, smiling.
“The Aurora is docked about… a half mile down.”
“Let’s get on our way then?”
Together they began walking down, side by side, silently.
“There it is,” Hongjoong said pointing, Seonghwa following his finger until he saw the ship.
“Where will I sleep?” he asked quietly, and Hongjoong hummed.
“There’s a spare hammock in the cargo room. We’ll get you set up there, okay?” he offered, and Seonghwa nodded.
“Thank you.”
They climbed up the gangplank, and set up the hammock together, a comfortable silence in the dead of night hanging over them. Just as Hongjoong was about to leave, he spoke up again.
“Let's make a wager.”
“What kind of wager?” Seonghwa asked, tilting his head to the side as the pirate smiled.
“If my ship, the Aurora, doesn’t sink after- what’s the record?”
“3 days.”
“After 3 days, you’ll become my quartermaster,” Hongjoong said, and Seonghwa sighed, weighing the options briefly before deciding he had nothing better to do.
“You know what? Deal,” he said and Hongjoong blinked.
“You don’t want something in return?”
“If your ship sinks, I’ll already have your life. I don’t think I have a need for anything else,” he said, if only to watch as Hongjoong’s eyes widened a bit.
“Deal then,” Hongjoong said, and Seonghwa turned in for the night, lying in his hammock, somehow knowing that the ship wouldn’t make it through this.
Like clockwork, a storm rolled in early on the second day, Hongjoong eyeing the dark clouds as he paced along the deck.
“Is this your curse Seonghwa?” he asked.
“Could be. It manifests in whichever form is most efficient to destroy the vessel I’m on,” Seonghwa said, peering at the clouds.
“I see. Well. The Aurora has weathered worse, we’ll make it through this storm,” Hongjoong said, and Seonghwa glanced at him.
“You’re not throwing me over then?”
“No,” Hongjoong said, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. “I don’t bet often. But when I do, it’s when I know I can win. And this is a bet I can win.”
As if on cue, the sky opened up, rain and hail pelting down onto the ship, crewmen running for cover, likely regretting their decision to join Hongjoong on this mission. Hongjoong however stayed put on deck, and Seonghwa was a little bit startled by it.
The Aurora creaked harshly in the wind, sounding like all of her boards were about to be ripped up, tilting dangerously in the waves as they kicked up, Hongjoong and Seonghwa clutching the railing side by side, soaked in icy water, Hongjoong looking suddenly unsure as the mast creaked and split up the center.
“Hongjoong you should get off!” Seonghwa yelled over the winds, and Hongjoong shook his head, his long leather coat whipping in the wind.
“I trust the Aurora!” he yelled back, and Seonghwa rolled his eyes.
“It’s going to get you killed,” he said lowly, mostly to himself, shaking his head sadly. He was beginning to like Hongjoong, oddly enough.
Hongjoong’s head whipped around just in time to see the mast collapse on the boat, crashing through the deck and part of the side. Water sloshed across the deck, soaking Seonghwa’s shoes and clothes, the mast throwing off the little bit of balance that remained in the boat as the mast rolled and began tipping into the ocean, dragging the side of the boat in with it, Hongjoong running towards something on the boat as Seonghwa jumped into the water, swimming to try and avoid the falling debris and sinking ship.
Seonghwa broke through the water faster than he thought he would, thunder booming as he did, attaching himself to a piece of driftwood as the waves ripped the Aurora to splinters, leaving next to nothing behind, and no sign of Hongjoong.
After the Aurora had sunk completely, the sky lightened almost immediately, the sun peeking out behind the clouds, the ocean calming to a gentle rock.
Seonghwa was looking around a little, trying to see if he could spot any survivors, but as he should’ve expected, there didn’t appear to be any. He was about to give up and begin paddling back to shore, when he heard the familiar slosh of a rowboat behind him.
“It appears that you won our bet. A shame you didn’t put anything in,” came a familiar voice behind him, and Seonghwa whipped his head around, shifting the driftwood.
“Hongjoong? You survived?” he asked and the disgruntled captain gestured to his body, rocking slightly in the slightly dented dinghy. He looked a bit worse for wear, soaking wet, shivering a bit, missing his long leather coat and a few of his earrings, but he was alive.
“Obviously. And now I’m a captain without a ship-“ he looked down, seemingly pondering his words for a short moment. “Strike that- a very small ship and still no quartermaster,” he said, in a half-joking tone.
“I’m sorry,” Seonghwa said and Hongjoong shook his head.
“I lived, didn’t I? That means I’ve escaped part of your curse, my next ship will be luckier, and I want you on my boat.” Hongjoong gestured to the dinghy again.
“You want- your boat capsized! I’ll be honest I don’t know how you lived, let alone managed to save a boat,” Seonghwa said, a little in awe of the captain.
“I’m a good swimmer,” Hongjoong said simply and Seonghwa huffed.
“Whatever, I’ll get on your new boat. Does this one have a name?”
“The Wonderland.”
“That’s tacky.”
“Hey, who out of the two of us is in a boat?” a moment of silence passed between them as they stared at each other, and then Hongjoong grinned. “Exactly.”
“Just help me up,” Seonghwa said, and Hongjoong offered him a hand, hefting him into the dinghy (that rocked dangerously under the weight of the two of them). “This boat is next, I hope you realize that,” he warned, and Hongjoong just beamed, shading his eyes from the sun.
"Nothing bad can happen when the sun is shining!" Hongjoong declared brightly, smiling at Seonghwa.
"That is in no way true, plenty of things can happen," Seonghwa said, rolling his eyes, sinking to the floor of the boat.
“Like what? Your curse sent a storm!” Hongjoong said, settling down next to Seonghwa, the boat tipping to one side dangerously before rocking gently.
“A shark once ate a boat I was on,” Seonghwa said, and Hongjoong shifted, looking at him.
“A shark?”
“Yeah. That one wasn’t very fun. Lots of blood in the water.”
“That’s concerning.”
“Don’t doubt the ocean, it’ll figure out some way to destroy you, whether it’s by storm, by shark, or by kraken,” Seonghwa said, and Hongjoong’s eyebrows shot up.
“A kraken destroyed your ship?” he asked, and Seonghwa chuckled, leaning against the side of the boat.
“Not yet. This could be the first though,” Seonghwa said, and Hongjoong leaned against the other side, the two pirates falling into a peaceful silence for a short while before they began rowing towards shore together.
The Wonderland lasted all of a day and a half, just long enough for them to get within sight of the shore before Hongjoong’s foot went through the bottom and they were sinking into the water, the boat filling rapidly until they were both treading water, Seonghwa staring at Hongjoong in an “I told you so” way and Hongjoong refusing to look at him.
“I survived through a second ship sinking, that must count for something,” Hongjoong, shaking out his head, spraying water droplets, looking oddly like a wet rat.
“If you insist,” Seonghwa said, already beginning to swim towards the shore, Hongjoong quickly following after him.
When they made it to the shore, Hongjoong promised that he’d see him again, and walked off down the beach, while Seonghwa walked towards the town, wondering if he’d be able to figure out where he was, and maybe even pick up some work before he had to try and go home. To be honest, Seonghwa thought he was done. That Hongjoong had finally given up and that he would stop assaulting Seonghwa with his good attitude and hope about Seonghwa’s curse being broken. Seonghwa almost hoped that he would never see Hongjoong again.
Keyword being “almost” as the pirate had grown on him like a barnacle on a ship. Part of him wanted to see Hongjoong come through the doorway of the bar he was working at, (the manager was desperate for anyone and everything, what with one of her barmaids having a child), the same unwavering optimism and asking for Seonghwa to join him again.
Seonghwa just didn’t want to be given up so quickly, and for the first time, someone wasn’t… and it felt nice.
Seonghwa was pouring more ale, and someone slammed a hand on the counter in front of him. Seonghwa jumped a little, ale spilling over the side and onto his hand, before looking up, and seeing Hongjoong.
"One more time," Hongjoong said, placing a hand down on the counter. Seonghwa stared at him for a moment, pondering his overconfident and eager eyes before he nodded, grateful for another opportunity, but worried that this would be the one to kill Hongjoong.
"Fine. One more time,” he said, shoving his worries away.
The second Seonghwa’s shift was over, Hongjoong practically dragged him out, leading him to the docks and to the ship that he must’ve just recently bought.
“She’s beautiful,” Seonghwa said absently, staring at the ship before him, and Hongjoong grinned.
“Custom built, she’s been in the works for awhile,” he said proudly, and Seonghwa turned.
“Just how much money did you invest in this?”
“Do you mean the boat or the coat or both?” Hongjoong asked, and that was when Seonghwa realized that he was wearing a brand new fur coat, around the same length that his leather one had been before.
“You bought- both I guess,” Seonghwa said quietly, concerned.
“Too much,” Hongjoong said. “So I better be right about this time.” Seonghwa rolled his eyes before approaching the ship.
“What’s her name?” Seonghwa asked, and Hongjoong gently patted the hull.
“Ateez.”
“Eventually you’re going to run out of cool names for your boats.”
“Ah, so you admit that I have good names!” Hongjoong proclaimed, and Seonghwa was about to protest before he huffed.
“Yeah. I guess. You’re pretty creative for a pirate,” he said and Hongjoong had a look in his eyes.
“You’re coming right?”
Seonghwa hesitated before he stepped onto the boat.
“You’re sure? You spent a lot of money on this,” he said quietly, and Hongjoong smiled, confident.
“I’m sure. Now come on,” he said, and Seonghwa climbed up onto the boat.
Together they pulled the boat away from the docks, continuing to work on the ship until late in the night, and then basically collapsed on the deck, side by side, just lying next to each other for a long moment under the stars, in a comfortable silence.
“We’ll have a lot of work to do tomorrow,” Hongjoong said, and Seonghwa hummed.
“We could probably drop anchor tomorrow though,” he said, and Hongjoong nodded.
Silence fell over them again.
“Why did you buy a new coat?” Seonghwa asked, sitting up a little, and Hongjoong beamed.
“New boat.”
“That’s not a reason to get a new coat though,” he said, confused. Hongjoong winced.
“Well… my old coat is kind of at the bottom of the ocean,” he said, and then Seonghwa coughed a little, choking on his spit.
“I forgot about that. How did it come off? Or did you just take it off?” he asked, and Hongjoong sat up a little, shoulder slumped and relaxed as he stared out at the ocean.
“Something hooked onto it when we submerged, and I was more focused on getting into the Wonderland to worry about saving the coat.”
“Right,” Seonghwa said quietly.
“Anyway, we should probably get some rest, right?” Hongjoong asked, and Seonghwa nodded.
“Yeah. Let’s rest,” he said.
He woke up in the middle of the night, the boat creaking around him, the slosh of the waves against the hull filling up the silence that would’ve permeated the air otherwise.
He stood up, getting his shoes on as quietly as he could, stalking across the ship to the rail, looking over the ocean.
“Please,” he murmured, without thinking. He didn’t even really know what he was asking for, just knowing that this ship, and its captain were something like a dream come true.
He spent the rest of the night at the rail, keeping the ocean company.
The next day went similarly as the first, lots of chores, trying to do the work of a full crew with just two people, but they made it though, leaning against the rail side by side.
Seonghwa sighed softly, and Hongjoong sat up a little to look at Seonghwa.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, and Seonghwa hummed.
“Why do you keep putting yourself through this? Maybe I’m just not meant to sail,” Seonghwa said and Hongjoong shook his head.
“See, I think you are,” he said, and Seonghwa looked down, fiddling with his fingers.
“The sea destroys every boat I’ve been on in one way or another. It obviously doesn’t want me.”
“But it’s never hurt you.”
“What?” Seonghwa said, and Hongjoong nodded, seemingly to himself, thoughtful.
“You’ve escaped every shipwreck that you’ve been in, not only alive but unharmed. I think the ocean wants you, but wants you safe, with a good crew.”
“That’s so dumb.”
“Hey, that’s part of the reason why I wanted you,” Hongjoong said, and Seonghwa.
“You wanted me because the ocean wanted me?” he asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow, and Hongjoong smiled a little.
“Well, yes and no. I wanted a challenge, yes, but I was up late on the Aurora, and I thought- how lucky would my ship be if I managed to get someone the ocean wanted so desperately? That’s when I decided to find you.”
“But I sank the Aurora.”
“Yes, and the Wonderland too. But they weren’t the right ships for you. I think-“ Hongjoong paused for a minute. “I think the Ateez suits you.”
“Well, we’ve made it to the third day safely. That’s gotta mean something,” Seonghwa said, shifting a little to stare at Hongjoong, whose eyes were reflecting the stars.
“Once the fourth day comes, I think we can safely say that the ocean likes the Ateez,” he said.
“Sounds like a safe bet to me.”
“And then you’ll be my quartermaster, yeah?” Hongjoong asked and Seonghwa smiled.
“I suppose you would’ve won our bet at that point,” he said, and Hongjoong turned to him.
“Excellent. I’m going to need to find a crew for you to watch over though,” Hongjoong said, and Seonghwa hummed softly.
After a moment of silence, Hongjoong spoke up again.
“You do want to be the quartermaster, right?” Hongjoong asked, a little softer, barely heard over the creaking of the boat and sloshing of waves.
“Yes? Have I given you a reason to think that I don’t?” Seonghwa said, and Hongjoong glanced at him briefly.
“I just don’t want you to think that I’m forcing you into this. If you want to go back to your job, you can, I’ll drop you off on the shore and won’t ever bother you again,” he explained, and Seonghwa chuckled.
“You know, you’re awfully nice for a pirate,” Seonghwa said, and Hongjoong furrowed his eyebrows, appearing very confused.
“Where did that come from?” he asked incredulously, smiling as he fully turned to look at Seonghwa.
“Most pirates wouldn’t drop you off on the shore if you changed your mind and said that you didn’t want to work with them after you made a deal,” Seonghwa said, and Hongjoong nodded a little.
“I suppose you’re right. But I don’t really want to be ruthless or mean. Not on the Ateez. Not with you,” Hongjoong said, and Seonghwa relaxed into the deck a little bit.
“You shouldn’t have to be. We’ll find a crew for you, one that you won’t have to be mean to all the time,” he said, and Hongjoong smiled, turning back to the stars.
“I would like that very much,” he whispered, eyes slipping closed. Seonghwa admired him for a little while longer in the moonlight, a gentle sea breeze whisking at his hair occasionally.
Hongjoong belonged to the sea. And Seonghwa would do his absolute best to make sure he stays there.
Underneath all the stars, Seonghwa drifted off to sleep.
When he woke up, it was to the sun beaming down on him, far too bright and not at all welcomed. He groaned, raising an arm to cover his eyes, planning to attempt to go back to sleep, when his shoulder was shaken.
“Seonghwa.”
“What do you want?” he grumbled, and Hongjoong shoved Seonghwa's arm until he moved it.
“We made it.”
“We made it? Where?” Seonghwa asked and Hongjoong shook his head, smiling stupidly.
“Not where. When. We made it to the fourth day,” he said, and that got through Seonghwa’s sleep hazy brain. He sat up quickly, staring at the clear blue skies and calm waves surrounding them.
“We made it,” Seonghwa whispered, and Hongjoong nodded quickly.
“So. Quartermaster. Wanna go find a crew?” Hongjoong asked, leaning towards him, beaming, gently grabbing Seonghwa’s arm. Seonghwa smiled back.
“Absolutely, Captain.”