Work Text:
The vivid light of the open sky mixed with the mist of the ocean air awoken your senses, causing the lingering spark in your veins to ignite inside you. The quiver in your bones was from more than the instead nature of a ship at sea or the smell of dead rats in that Poros and Kaiyo left to die weeks ago. No, it was a special kind of sickness, one that you would find both silly and absurd if it weren’t for that fact that she was breathtaking. A woman both of boldness and unshakeable confidence. A sure-shot and a far more lethal tongue. The beast of a woman who was more beauty than any other you’d seen before.
Jamity.
A bugbear of few words, yet those words carried so much weight and flavour. So commanding in her feminine ways, like a pint of a strong, dark rum yet oddly so vibrant. A painting of raw power, you could say. And you would. You have.
Well, said to the crate of dead rats in the low hours of the night. You were on a mission, for gods sake! To save countless lives. You couldn’t risk it all by pursuing a crew mate, even if that crew mate was as gorgeous and unafraid as Jamity. And, of course… there was the fact that Monty appeared to also be infatuated with the woman in question. And you weren’t about to steal the hand of the woman your friend admired.
“Ouch. Fuck.” You hissed as the rope slipped through your grip, sanding the skin on your hands. Quickly, you grabbed onto it again. Stopping the sail from dropped on your skull.
“Hey, you okay?” Kaiyo called from the other side of the ship. Looking over at you with concerned.
“Yeah, I’m alright.” You were lying. It stung like a bitch.
With a huff, you secured your line and moved onto the next, ignoring how your hands had angry, red marks on them. At the very least, your thoughts were preoccupied now. Or, they were until you started thinking about it again now. Dammit. You hardly looked up as you heard a set of feet approach you and Kaiyo was standing beside you. Taking the ropes from you, securing them, and taking your hands in his.
“I told you, I’m gonna be fine. Not the worse we’ve seen.” You attempted to dismiss and, although there was truth in your words, the young man grimaced at burns.
“Geez, uhh… maybe at least get Harlaw to take a look at them. Or, here, I have some bandages leftover from my wraps.”
“If they’re the ones you use for your feet, I think I’ll pass.” You frowned, watching him take the mentioned wraps out of his pouch.
“No, no, these are clean. Here.”
“Let me take care of our friend, my boy.” A gruff voice behind you says. You turn to look, it’s Monty. His mechanical axolotl chirping and looking around. “Save your bandages for another time.”
“Oh, right!” Kaiyo nodded, looking at the healing device.
“Now, go help Poros secure the ropes.”
Kaiyo gave a nodded and went over to where your giant of a friend stood, fastening ropes and hooks with hardly a strain or sweat. Monty ushered you to the side of the boat, axolotl crawling down his arm and to your hands as he held them in his massive ones. You winced as the device licked your wounds before relief quickly took over the place of pain.
“You really shouldn’t be daydreaming like that. At any given moment, we could be under attack. You need to be sharp and instead you looked miles away.” He scolded, gentle as he let the axolotl rest in your hands.
“I know, I have a scar to remember it.” You huffed, looking at the pink device. Stupid assassins.
“Now,” he began, looking down at you, over his snout. “I’ve been around for over 90 years now and I’ve had my fair share of engagements with people.”
You gave him a dubious glance, wondering what the fuck he was talking about. It was evident as he continued.
“Look, she is rather… ravishing, I agree, but… it wouldn’t be the end of the world if she was with someone else, is all I’m saying.”
Oh. Oooh. Your face flushed with colour as you understood what he was trying to say. The pain in your hands, which hardly remained thanks to the chirping device you held, barely registering with what you’ve been told.
“Oh, gods, has it been obvious?” You asked, cringing internally.
“Not quite. Well, perhaps stop talking to the crate of dead rats in the middle of the night. You’re lucky she’s usually passed out drunk by then.”
You have a sigh, stroking the metal cheek of the axolotl before handing the device back to Monty. All that remained on your hands now were faint red blotches that would fade by the end of the day.
“Well, thanks, Monty.”
“Of course, my friend. Now, go help the others. There’s land ahead and we need to prepare for port.”
“We best fuckin’ be. I’m outta fuckin’ booze again.” Jamity barked, stumbling up from below deck. You quickly looked down at your hands again, suddenly very interested in how the axolotl healed you so quickly.
The bugbear walked away, getting thing in order for docking. You jumped a bit as Monty put a hand on your shoulder, sighing.
“Goodness, we’ll need to work on your confidence first.”
“We should really do something about the dead rats.”
“Just chuck it over the side of the boat before Grunk takes them as pets.”