Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The wooden beams of the ship creaked with every wave, the scent of salt thick in the air. Normally, the steady rocking of the vessel was second nature, but today, it only made Gale feel worse.

Curled up in his bed, wrapped in a blanket that barely fought off the ocean’s chill, he let out a tired sigh. His fever hadn’t broken, and while the crew checked in when they could, they never stayed long—always pulled away by duty or adventures.

'This is so stupid! I'm the Captain, yet I'm just laying here!' 

The door to the cabin creaked open, and Gale lazily cracked one eye open to see Cass stepping inside.

“Still breathin’?” Cass teased, but his voice was softer than usual.

“Unfortunately,” Gale muttered, voice hoarse.

The other chuckled breezily and handed him a small cup, "Well, here's your medicine. Hurry up and get better so we get our Captain back."

Gale nonchalantly took the cup and drank it in one gulp. He's normal with medicine, just not...vegetables.

But that's besides the point.

Gale set the empty cup on the bedstand, expecting to see Cass leave.

Instead of leaving after the usual check-in, Cass kicked off his sandals and climbed into the bed beside him, shifting carefully to keep him comfy-snuggy.

"I wanna rest. Move over."

Gale blinked, too exhausted to argue, and let him settle in. The warmth was immediate, steady against the cabin’s ever-present chill. Cass's silk robe quickly meshed with the once-dry blanket, giving Gale's skin a pleasant, smooth feel.

"Why are you suddenly here?"

"Can't a guy go visit his ill Captain without being questioned?"

Cass looked up, his cheeks slightly flushed as he scoffed.

Gale gapes.

"Are you tipsy?!"

"What- no!!!"

"The crew was drinking, though."

"I only took one shot. It was too loud, and I had a headache. So I seeked the only quiet room."

"Oh!!!"

"Yeahhhh," Cass laid down completely on the bed—pulling Gale down with him—and snuggled into his side.

"Eepy elf."

"Shut up."

"You're being weirdly cute, bro. This damned guy."

"Mmm.... You're so stupid."

As Gale's fingers ran through Cass's long silky strands, Cass was already dozing off.

Zanny was missing his drinking buddy.

Of course, the charming incubus was enjoying the company of all these crew members, but he was missing his vibe. Gale.

Out of all five men, he and Gale were the only ones who actually drank. 

And they were monsters at it.

The crew members were already long gone, some were babbling incoherent shit to each other, some straight up dropped dead on the table.

Zanny wasn't even the slightest bit affected yet.

He sighed and stood up, drifting over to the cabin area.

'Hmmm...Luci's out there for supplies. Rosco's probably stealing food from the storage room again. I'll go see Gale. Cass delivered him medicine earlier, too, didn't he?'

He strode leisurely towards the Captain's door and gently opened it without hesitation.

Inside was probably the most endearing sight he'd seen in his 126 years of existence. Cass was laying there, curled up and snuggled into Gale's side. Gale was facing Cass, one arm around his waist and a hand tousling the silky, white hair. 

Gale half-consciously mumbled into the ceiling.

"Hey Zanny."

Without a word, Zanny approached the two men and joined the cuddling session. He slipped beside Gale, nuzzled his head into the broad shoulders and swung his arm over the Captain's chest.

"Who would forget to invite an incubus to a cuddle party?"

"I thought you were drinking."

"Oh Gale, your men are heavy drinkers, I admit, but I'm not even the least bit affected before they had rolled over."

"Uh huh."

"Mmm...if it was going to be a cuddling session, shouldn't we invite Rosco and Luci too?"

"Luci's out for supplies. I doubt Rosco would actually want to join in anyway."

"Nah."

"Just call 'em." 

As Zanny was contacting the two other men, Gale had fallen into slumber.

Chapter Text

The door creaked open, and a certain vampire entered, carrying an extra blanket.

“What’s this? A sleepover?” Luci whispered, tossing the blanket over both of them before settling into the bed, adjacent to Cass.

Zanny gestures to Cass and Gale.

"Became one. These two are already asleep, though."

Luci untied his bangs before leaning back, making himself comfortable. He then sighed exasperatedly.

"Ugh...it's so annoying to gather supplies, I swear. Why are those villagers so cranky? And their prices are high as heck! Like- who in the world sells lamb for 60 gold??"

"Shush. Don't wake them up. But I agree. That is definitely over-the-top."

Luci suddenly grinned.

"At least I got some biscuits."

Zanny smirked and they both shared biscuits. They were careful not to drop crumbs onto Gale's bed; not because they were afraid Gale might get mad, but because they knew Gale would never clean the stuff up for eternity.

The Captain isn't exactly the cleanest person.

For a while, the vampire and the incubus continued talking and bonding, finally having a chill discussion after long adventures searching for Avallum.

"Yeah! It was so chaotic that day. Rosco stuck his arm into Gale's grape wine barrel and the stitches fell out. The wine had a dead flesh smell after that, and Gale was practically bawling his balls out when he had to dump it away."

"Hahaha right! It was very funny. Speaking of which, where's Rosco?"

A certain undead was rummaging through the storage rooms, searching for more food. He knew "dinner", "breakfast" and "lunch" were existent times, but he wanted to eat.

It wasn't that it was off-schedule. 

He also had schedules for "pre-breakfast", "post-breakfast", "pre-lunch", "post-lunch", etc.

Plus, he was dead. He could eat as much as he wants.

After searching for quite a long while, he was dejected after finding only several barrels of wine here, the other foods nowhere to be seen. 

'Where are all the foods?! I'm so hungry uwahhhhh'

He let out a big huff as he stomped out of the storage room.

(A/N: Should we tell him that the food and supplies Luci gathered is being transported into the storage right after he leaves?)

Rosco marched through the cabin area hallway. He planned to throw a fit, cry in a pillow or sulk in a corner of his room because Costco doesn't exist- there was no food in the storage room.

As he passed through the doors, he heard conversation going on through the Captain's quarters. It was Luci and Zanny's voices.

'What are those guys doing in Gale's room? Are they having a homiesexual moment without me??? Did they forget Cass too???'

Rosco then barged straight inside the room, the door slammed open.

"YO GUYS!!! ARE YOU GUYS KISSING EACH OTHER WITHOUT ME???"

He halted.

Zanny and Luci looked at him—first alarmed—then incredulously.

"Hahhh? What do you mean?"

"Oh- sorry. Oops, goofy!"

Gale was still sleeping like he was dead, but Cass starting stirring and shifting uncomfortably after hearing the noise. He subconsciously buried his head and ears into Gale's side even more, as if he was trying to block out all the noises disturbing him.

Luci noticed this and turned back, gently and affectionately stroking Cass's long hair, lurring him back to sleep.

Rosco was just standing there awkwardly, while Zanny was still dumbfounded.

"W-what? What do you mean 'kissing each other without me'? Are you crazy?"

"Hahaha..."

The zombie laughed it off and plopped onto the bed besides Zanny. 

"Woah... Someone's actually staying here with us here today. Normally you're such a tsun-tsun."

Rosco scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Might as well join you all. Didn't wanna be left out. Plus, storage had no food, so I'm eating y'all next."

"Haha!"

Zanny chuckled as he pulled the blanket over to cover Rosco also. The blanket was just big and satiable enough to cover all five men.

"Mmm...I'm out."

"Sleepy vampire?"

"Mhmm."

"Let's all just get some rest."

The ship drifted across the darkened sea, its sails whispering as the wind guided it forward. The ship creaked and groaned in its usual way, a lullaby only familiar to those who had spent their lives upon its deck. The gentle sway of the waves rocked the vessel, steady and constant, a rhythm in tune with the quiet breathing of the crew nestled together in the small cabin.

The small and brittle bed, meant for one, now held too many. Limbs were tangled, bodies pressed close, a pile of warmth and exhaustion.

On the floor, where the wood still carried the lingering heat of the day’s sun, the rest of them had collapsed. A blanket had been shared—then another by the crew members, then another, then another, until the entire group was swallowed in soft fabric and steady warmth. The soft rise and fall of their chests matched the slow lull of the waves outside, breaths merging with the creaks and groans of the ship, as if the vessel itself had settled into slumber alongside them.

The lantern hanging from the ceiling flickered, its flame shrinking lower, casting long, sleepy shadows that swayed with the movement of the ship. Beyond the cabin, the ocean stretched endlessly under the watchful gaze of dawn, but within these walls, there was only warmth.

No voices, no shifting, no lingering wakefulness. Just the quiet hum of sleep, deep and dreamless, wrapped in the comfort of each other’s presence.