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First truth: Martyn didn’t usually drink.
Alcohol dulled his senses, it made him more vulnerable. It wasn’t really worth the effort anyways, any gratification he would have that night was trumped by the stinging headache the next morning. When he went out with his friends he’d settle for a pint and then act like he’d drunk more.
Second truth: He couldn’t say no to Ren.
As soon as the two rats had found a dry place to hole up after their sea travels the captain had found where the humans stash their liquors and various other alcohol. He took a splash of red wine, a dash of brandy and got Martyn to get an orange from the tree across the road and made the pair two glasses of sangria… Or more like half a glass for Martyn and three plus whatever was left in the Lieutenant’s glass for Jaque.
This became habit, almost every night a glass of sangria would be mixed up for Jaque and Martyn, and only one of them would be walking back to the quarters steady.
When Martyn was there for the Captain making up his nightly glass, Jaque would offer him a drink, Martyn wouldn’t reply, Jaque would insist and pour him a glass that the Captain would end up drinking himself later that night, and Martyn would help him back into his bed. Sometimes Jaque would try and pull him into the bed with him, and then mumble a few incoherent words and fall into a quick sleep before he could prod Martyn about not following.
Tonight started the same as usual. The Captain decided it was time for Sangria and the pair headed back to their quarters to grab the ingredients, stashed under the captains desk. This time, on the way back they ran into a group of rats and got stuck in conversation, much to Martyn’s dismay. Somehow the Captain managed to convince Ratman, Bek, Water and even whiny little Apo to join their drinking.
Martyn carried the brandy and red wine out while Jaque tossed two oranges between his hands, telling some long story to Martyn of learning juggling in his youth to impress a lady, which Martyn managed to squirm his way out of by going and sitting next to Apo.
The two rats sat in silence watching Jaque begin to pour the drinks, the larger rat talking loudly to their other company. Martyn’s eyes followed the red bow in the Captain’s hair, beginning to slip out from the long day. It bad been uneven all of today, he noted, he needed to make sure to tie it with more care tomorrow. He spent a couple more minutes studying his Captain, looking at how his ponytail fell over his shoulder, how his teeth poked out of his lips when he smiled, how his fingers moved as he cut up the oranges, how—
“You got a staring problem or something?”
Martyn got dragged out of his trance by the small rat next to him, Apo looked up at him with an unimpressed face.
“What’s it to you?” He answered, the two falling back into silence before Apo broke eye contact, running her tongue along her bottom lip as she looked over at Jaque finish the near empty bottle of Red wine, beginning to serve the drinks around.
“I don’t know why you let him do this every night, it’s not good for him I’m sure.”
Martyn huffed in reply, his nose scrunching up.
“If you’re so concerned, why don’t you look after him, hm?” He spat, crossing his arms and turning his head back to face the front, they didn’t continue their conversation after that.
Jaque came around and gave Martyn and Apo their glasses, raising his glass in cheers before beginning to make work on his drink. As per usual, Martyn sat his glass down on the table in front of him and just focused on trying to have a nice time with his friends, but this caused Jaque to break from the script.
The rat turned his head towards Martyn, looking at the full glass and then up at his lieutenant with slightly upturned eyebrows, turning his whole body to the rat.
“Lieutenant, you haven’t touched your drink! Have a sip, will you?” The rat asked him with a smile on his face, raising his glass towards Martyn to try and get a cheers. Martyn grimaced, reaching down slowly to grab the sangria.
“Fine, just a sip though.” He met Jaque’s glass, their fingers brushing against each other before he lifted it to his mouth.
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Once he’d finished his second glass the voice in the back of his head that nagged him about responsibility had been deafened out by the thrum in his fingers and the floating feeling in his skull. He didn’t even bat an eye when Jaque leant over, hand against Martyn’s thigh for balance as he filled up the Lieutenant’s glass again. They’d run out of orange slices by this point, and their brandy supply was running low so it was pretty much just red wine with a splash of sweetness.
The part of Martyn’s normal inhibitions that would tell him not to do this had been overruled, and he reached a paw out to twist his finger around the baby hairs at the nape of Jaque neck, feeling a sense of gratification when Jaque let out a warm hum, leaning into the sensation for a moment before moving to fill up Ratman’s glass.
He could feel a nagging stare on his right, and turned his head to look at Apo, the small rat giving him a raised eyebrow. Martyn just smiled and raised his glass to his lips, beginning to down his third drink of the night.
It was Bek that ended up calling it quits first, dropping Water off at the post office. Then Ratman stumbled off towards his manor, giving Jaque a large clap on the back as thanks, the only rats remaining being Martyn, their Captain and Apo.
Jaque reached to the last half empty bottle, but was stopped by a small hand grabbing onto his wrist.
“Hm?” He asked, more surprise than anything else as Apo pulled him away from the wine.
“That’s enough. I think it’s time you get home, Captain.” Apo looked over at Martyn with a tilted head, even drunk the lieutenant was meant to be the reasonable one apparently.
Martyn groaned and leant forward in his chair, ignoring the lick of nausea beginning to work its way into his brain.
“Oh Apo, indulge me this once! It would be a waste to leave such a small—“
“Alright.. Up you pop.” Martyn forced himself to his feet, hooking one of his hands under Jaque’s armpit and pulling him up. Once he was standing Martyn hooked Jaque’s arm over his shoulder, steadying the large rat’s warm body against him, barely resisting leaning into the touch.
“See you later, Apo.” Martyn told the little rat, turning to manoeuvre him and Jaque out of the door, sticking his foot out to hold it open, trying to ignore the Captain saying loud goodbyes to their fellow crew member, but was pushed aside by Apo, who moved to hold the door open for them.
“No way. Look at you, you’re about to fall over.”
Martyn huffed at this, readjusting his feet so that he was standing properly upright, raising both his eyebrows.
“I am not. Drunk,” he said, slurring his words.
“Yeah, alright.” Apo moved to the Captain’s other side, lifting the heavy weight off Martyn.
“Apo—“
“You told me to look after him, I’m looking after him.” She said pointedly, beginning the trek back to their quarters with or without Martyn.
Martyn spent the entire walk in silence, listening to the background noise of Jaque rambling about something or other, an old story about his sailing, a comment about his wife, his child. Martyn often wondered what they look like. He had heard that his wife has blonde fur, like him, that she has blue eyes, like him, the Captain even directly compared her to Martyn when he mentioned that she has bite. Martyn hadn’t asked about the child though, does it have blonde fur like its mother? Or brown, like Jaque’s?
All of this thinking was making Martyn’s stomach uneasy, and he didn’t need any more of that so he just tried to focus in on whatever the two ahead of him were talking about as they climbed onto the boardwalk.
“Oh Apo, you’re such a big help for me, have I— hic— have I ever told you that?”
“No, Captain,” the reply was simple but Martyn thought he heard joy in the young rat’s voice.
“Well I should be!— telling you that! You’re good help whenever I can’t get Martyn to aid me.
For some reason, the nice words soured Martyn, causing him to surge forwards and link his arm back under Jaque’s shoulder.
“Thanks Apo, I’ll take it from here.”
“But—“
“I’ll take it from here,” Martyn spoke with a tone like he was telling a child off, and while Apo was distracted by looking up at him with an attacked look, he yanked Jaque from her grip, turning to enter their quarters.
Once they were inside Jaque slipped from his grip, leaning idly against the front of the desk, following Martyn with his eyes as the lieutenant put the empty bottles aside in a barrel, he’d clean them up tomorrow.
“Thank you Lieutenant, we’ll have to go and refill those soon… Could you fetch some oranges from the tree tomorrow?” He asked with a sickly sweet tone, tilting his head.
“Yes Cap’n..” Martyn suddenly realised how slurred his words were coming out, God, he was drunk.
“Oh I’m so grateful Lieutenant, you’re so helpful, and hard working!”
“And handsome?” Martyn grinned in his cocky way, turning back to Jaque to help him upstairs to his bed when Jaque put a large hand around his wrist.
“And handsome.” This caused Martyn to freeze a little. Jaque’s voice had changed from lighthearted and loopy to something deeper, with a different intent. The larger rat looked down at him from his perch on the edge of the desk, and it made Martyn realise how they looked right now. Martyn felt exceptionally small with the captain wrapping his fingers all the way around his arm, and Martyn’s left hand being sat on the desk next to Jaque’s hip boxed the man in.
The rat leaned down further, being half a whisker length away from Martyn’s face.
“Perhaps the most handsome rat I’ve ever fished out of the ocean.”
Martyn huffed, “I’m the only rat you’ve fished out of the ocean.” At this comment Jaque’s potential to be sexy quickly evaporated as he opened his mouth.
“Well Lieutenant, I must have not told you about the time back on my dear ship, Daisy the—“
Martyn surged forward, pressing their lips together with a little too much force to be comfortable if they were sober, but luckily they weren’t, so it felt like he was on fire instead. The Captain’s lips were softer than he was expecting, and the thought made him push the larger rat further forward, his left hand moving from being awkwardly tensed at Jaque’s side to the Captain’s waist, his right hand still in the unrelenting grip of the Captain.
The Captain’s breath tasted like fruit, or maybe it was Martyn’s, Martyn didn’t particularly care at this point. Jaque’s spit had began to cool on the edge of Martyn’s lips when the Captain surged forwards a final time, his hands shooting up to grab the short fur on Martyn’s cheeks, holding the two in place for a few, long seconds before he suddenly dropped Martyn.
Martyn panted with a sort of pent up desperation, wiping his wet mouth with the back of his hand as he looked up to Jaque’s eyes. To his horror, the rat was looking at the floor behind him, his eyes wide.
“Captain? What’s wrong?”
The older rat opened and closed his mouth a few times, eyes fixed to that damn spot on the floor.
“Jaque.” Martyn tilted his head into Jaque’s line of sight, pressing his eyebrows together and giving the Captain a look.
The larger rat stared at Martyn for a moment before pressing his hands into his eyes.
“My wife,” He mumbled wetly. So that wasn’t a lie? Martyn grimaced and took a step back, freeing Jaque from the restraints of the desk.
“I—“
“You just look so much like her Martyn, my dear Daisy. I thought that maybe if…” He trailed off, and Martyn was glad he didn’t continue the sentence.
“So you pretended that I was your wife, that’s why you kissed me?”
“No, Lieutenant I wanted—“
“Do you call your wife handsome?” When Jaque didn’t answer, Martyn pushed forward again.
“Huh? Do you? Because—“
“No, just you, Martyn.” They both went silent, Martyn a whisker length away from Jaque’s lips again, but this time if the Captain came closer Martyn thought he might bite instead.
“Jaque, I… I—“ Martyn was interrupted by the captain stumbling out of his grasp, b-lining towards the stairs, stumbling over the lip of them in the dim lighting and his drunken state.
“Captain,” The larger rat ignored martyn, hissing in pain instead, shaking his foot before beginning to rush up the steps.
“Jaque,” Martyn started forward after him, the sudden movement lurching his stomach.
“Ren!” He finally yelled, watching the Captain disappear upstairs, his little paw steps thumping above him in the direction of the bed.
Martyn grabbed his hair with his paws, pulling at the dry, blonde strands and grumbling to himself, why is this never simple? He stumbled over to the captain’s chair, trying to shove down the headache beginning to nag at the back of his head.
Third truth: Martyn can never be happy.
Every universe that Martyn meets Ren something has to keep them apart. In Third Life they were caught up so much in fighting that they had no time to even consider love. In Last and Double life they were too busy with their own shenanigans to do anything but a brisk kiss, in the Fantasy SMP they just completely missed each other, and in the other life games Ren’s just been straight up gone! Now Ren’s got a stupid NPC wife with a stupid NPC child and Martyn knows he’s being stupid, but cant a man ask for a little comfort in this hell hole of a Data Stream?
As he settled down in the plush velvet chair he made, he hoped that Ren would wake up without any memory of the night. Martyn could picture it; the Captain would stumble out, complaining about a headache and how he can’t remember a thing and ask Martyn what they did last night. Martyn is going to bite his lip and lie, his tall collar covering the hickey on the side of his neck. This is what would happen if this server was kind enough to give him any grace, but things like that don’t happen to Martyn.
The thought raced around his brain as the alcohol settling in his stomach dulled him into a restless sleep, head resting on the uncomfortable wood of the armrest. Tomorrow is another day.