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Twisted Fate had left in a hurry that morning, nearly before Graves could fit in a word with him. He tended to be an early riser, and Graves was still yawning away sleep when he followed TF to the door.
“Makin’ a run for it, I see,” he commented. It was a statement, but a question as well. He had noticed TF taking a decent amount of their finances from where it was stashed away before buckling his boots to head out. The money wasn’t really what bothered him, it was the fact that he hadn’t invited Graves along or, at the very least, announced his plans.
“Going out for supplies,” TF said gesturing at the admittedly rather sparse living area.
The two of them generally weren’t much for furniture or other household goods. There was no telling when they’d need to leave if things got hot, which Graves figured was more or less inevitable so long as they stayed in their line of business.
“Supplies, eh?” Graves raised an eyebrow at that. He felt “Supplies” were more of a “Malcolm-thing”, with having to maintain Destiny and keep her loaded and all.
“You know what, go do whatever you want,” Graves said in an effort to sound dismissive, but struggling to keep the pout from his voice.
“I’ll be back this afternoon. You’ll still be in bed.”
——
Contrary to TF’s teasing, Graves decided to get an early start to his day, seeing as he was already up. After he had woken fully, he stepped out for a little while himself. Their last job had been surprisingly successful, hence the extra Krakens to spare, but it was nearly time to find the next pay day.
He visited Cloudy Cuddy to ask around for any word on potential work. What he heard was mostly odd jobs, although one sounded promising. A simple “guard job” for a night while a merchant ship would be “exchanging its wares”. This of course was euphemistic for “dealing in highly illegal explosives”, likely to some of the still-rebellious pirate captains who refused to bend the knee to Sarah Fortune.
All in all, the job sounded quick and boring, but lucrative. However, he’d ask TF what he thought about it before saying yes. In the past, he would’ve agreed immediately, but TF usually had a better read these days on whether it was worth getting mixed up in “business” between the captains.
As Graves made the trek back to their hideout, he continued to try and fend off his anxiety. It worried him that TF didn’t say where he was off to today. The other seemed slightly nervous, and the idea that the gambler would hide anything from him, especially if he was in trouble, grated on him.
What if he’s hiding something from me? What if he’s hiding someone from me?
The thought was like swallowing all the water in Bilgewater Bay, weighing down his stomach into a twisted mess. He wrestled the bitter jealousy away before it could turn to outright panic and despair.
Who cares what that idiot does with his share.
——
Graves burst through the door, in usual fashion. If he were to knock or approach with any hesitation, this would simply be out of character. Counterintuitively, coming in suddenly and unannounced was less likely to startle TF. His mood from earlier was particularly pronounced with heavy footfall. What he was met with however, made him freeze in his tracks.
“Tobias?” He asked hesitantly. A rich, warm, aroma permeated the small shack, and it was downright intoxicating.
“I’m in here,” came the reply. He sounded distracted.
The smell, mixing with smoke from the wood fire, was sweet but with a spice that edged on making Grave’s nose tingle. His mouth was starting to water.
“Come over here a second,” he called from behind the thin wall. As Graves rounded the corner, TF looked up from where he was crouched down, stirring a pot propped up over the fire with an iron rod. Graves didn’t recognize the pot. So that’s what he was picking up today.
Something in Tobias’s expression made Malcolm’s heart flutter. In that instant, he looked innocent, embarrassed even, like a kid caught in the act of looking through a dirty pamphlet.
“What’s the occasion?”
“I uhh… thought we could use a real meal tonight.”
Graves looked over at the small table and saw an assortment of what looked like roots and vegetables (that were not seaweed) chopped up. No wonder it was so expensive.
There was also what appeared to be fish bones, which was a surprise to Graves.
He took a seat next to Tobias on the floor and rested in silence, watching the flames and the stew bubble. Bay leaves floated to the top, then disappeared below, in cycles with the simmering heat. The moment was interrupted by an audible growl of his stomach.
TF laughed warmly, “It’s almost ready. Try some?” He took the spoon out and blew on it himself before holding up the deep red liquid in front of Graves.
He opened his mouth and allowed Tobias to feed it to him, all the while his eyes fixed on the other’s. As the flavor hit his tongue however, his eyes widened. “That’s good!”
“I’m glad you like it,” Tobias laughed with genuine delight. “It’s an old recipe my aunt used to make, alakavya . She said it was the only way she could get me to eat catfish.”
“I was wondering about that actually,” Graves chuckled. Tobias wasn’t exactly known for loving fish, but having grown up on the Serpentine Delta, he had eaten more than his fair share.
“It’s not catfish- lucky you, but I was surprised I could find so many of the other ingredients. It almost tastes like… how I remember it…” Tobias trailed off, staring into the fire with a slight, sad smile.
“Hey..” Malcolm said gently. Tobias turned his head to look at him, light from the fire glowing in his eyes.
Slowly, Malcolm raised a hand and rested it below his jaw, lightly running his thumb through a neatly trimmed beard.
Tobias closed his eyes and breathed in deeply as Malcolm leaned forward and kissed him. It was a slow, glorious kiss, speaking entire songs in its language. Tobias set down the spoon and moved his arms to wrap around Graves’ broad shoulders. The rich, complex notes of the dish mixed together with a flavor that was uniquely Tobias. There was- was that cinnamon? The spice on his tongue and the scent he breathed in was everything good in this world. Possibly nicer than anything he deserved, but all in the form of the man in his arms at the moment.
When they parted, the adoration in each other’s eyes said it all. Malcolm decided to say it anyways, elated from the kiss and the lingering taste of Tobias on his lips.
“Thanks for dinner.”
“Wait till you see desert,” Tobias winked and turned back to stirring the pot.
Without even looking, he could feel the heat radiating off Malcolm, who walked away blushing and in an effort to seem busy. He searched around for the few utensils they bothered to keep as Tobias instructed, “Up. On the right.”
Tobias smiled to himself, feeling so wholly blessed to have Malcolm in his life again. Someone he trusted. Someone to cook for.