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Baelfire was startled from his slumber when he felt something on his arm. A hook. Killian was pulling him up out of his bunk, shushing him with his free hand and looking around to the sleeping crew. The boy reached to rub his eyes, wondering why Hook was waking him up in the middle of the night. The captain motioned for him to follow, and left the cabin to go back up to the deck.
Bae followed, yawning while he walked and bumping into a wall or two as he made his way up on deck. He rubbed his face again and blinked a few times. “What are we doing?” He asked, still sounding sleepy as he walked across the deck to follow Hook up to the wheel. Smee was in the corner sitting on a barrel, sound asleep. The moon was full and bright, bathing the ship in it’s light and making it easy to see everything even in the dead of night.
The captain had decided Baelfire needed another lesson. Bae knew how to swordfight, he knew how to steer the ship, and he knew almost every part of the ship’s name. Now he needed to know where he was going. And Hook was going to teach him just as he had learned. Stars first, maps later. “It’s time for you to learn something new.” Hook said.
“Learn something new? At this time of night?” Bae questioned as he got to Hook’s side, looking at the captain skeptically. “Yes.” Hook answered. “Now is the perfect time. It’s quiet, the sky is clear and the stars are bright.” He said as he pulled Baelfire closer. “Look up.” He commanded. Baelfire followed his order and looked up to the sky. He saw the moon and the stars, just like any other night. Hook had him point out the brightest star in the sky. “That’s the North Star. It will always show you true north. Using that star will be the easiest way to determine which direction you are going, and which direction you need to go.”
Hook picked up an instrument and held it out in front of him to show Bae. “This is a more technical tool. It’s usually a lot more accurate than just looking at the stars because it uses the sun or the moon, which are much easier to point out. Especially since the stars are only visible at night. This will show you distance between two things. Whether that’s two objects, or the sun or moon and the horizon.” Baelfire looked over the device as Hook held it out to him. He took it and examined it. He was sure he’d seen Hook use it a time or two in his past year on the ship, but he never thought to ask about it.
“It’s called a sextant.” Hook explained. And Baelfire couldn’t stop the giggle that came from hearing the name of the object, earning him an elbow to the ribs from Killian. “Look through here.” Hook said, pointing to the telescope. Baelfire did, and held it up to the sky. “Find Neverland Island.” Hook instructed. Bae turned around until he faced the island and saw it in the scope. The captain went on to explain a few facts about how the sextant worked while Bae looked around through it. Then Hook took it again and started explaining more details about the device.
Bae listened, watching as Hook pointed out different parts of the instrument and told him what they did and how they worked. He really was interested in learning these things. It was all new and exciting, nothing like what he learned at home with his father. Hook pointed to the moon, telling Bae to look up again while he demonstrated.
Instead of looking up that time, Baelfire’s gaze faltered half way and landed on the captain as he spoke. Hook was so unlike anyone Bae had ever met in his life. Back in their village, the bravest men were the ones that had gone off to fight in the war, and none of them had returned. Even after the war, there weren’t any that wanted to come back. His father had scared them all off, just as he had many other people, including any friends Baelfire was able to make. All he had to do was tell the other kids his name and they were clearing out and heading home. The village was essentially full of women, children, and his father. None of which were known to be brave or honorable.
Baelfire had always thought he was destined for a life of boredom. Even as the Dark One, his father didn’t venture far from their home. He didn’t work, because he could create whatever they needed from thin air. He had a maid that cooked and cleaned and took care of Bae. All Rumple had left to do was play with his potions, learning all he could about his new abilities. Bae had no one to play with, rarely anyone to talk to, and when his father wasn’t teaching him boring things, he was holed up doing things he didn’t want Bae to be involved in. That’s why Bae wanted so much to find a cure to his father’s curse. He missed his old life. He missed being normal.
Life on the Jolly Roger was so different. Even when he’d been living on the streets, most of his time had been spent trying not to get snatched. That’s what the street children called it. If they strayed too far from their group, they were easy pickings for any number of people looking to acquire a young boy or girl for a number of reasons, some more nefarious than others. Most of the time they would be put to work, slaves for little to no money and living in conditions worse than the streets. There had been little fun in that part of his life.
But the life of a pirate, well that was exciting. Even a Neverland pirate. And Hook was so… strange. Wonderfully strange. He knew so much about so many things. He’d seen so many parts of so many worlds. He would tell Bae stories of those worlds sometimes, and it was always so fascinating. Hook was also very distinguished for a pirate captain. He had manners, and spoke proper and was polite as long as he wasn’t in a mood. And being the captain of a pirate ship, moods happened sometimes. He had an air about him that was just irresistible. Baelfire always sought out to be in his company when he could.
There were many layers to the captain as well, Baelfire had noticed. He could be sincere and meaningful, like when he told Bae about his father and how he’d grown up without parents. He could be clever and cavalier like when he was telling off one of the crew members for doing something silly. Hook knew the most intelligent ways to tell someone when they were being a fool. It was always amusing to watch.
Hook himself was something to watch, even when he wasn’t doing anything. Baelfire found himself staring, like he was now, a lot. Killian also didn’t look like anyone he’d ever seen before. Sure, he’d run into attractive people now and then, mostly in his time in London since he’d just barely started finding people attractive before he left home. Wendy had been the most beautiful person he’d ever seen, until he met Hook. Wendy had girlish charm and good looks where the captain was just striking.
“Baelfire!” The captain repeated, having said so three times now. Bae blinked, looking around, then back at the captain. “How long have I been talking to myself?” Hook asked, sounding a bit agitated. Baelfire thought for a second. “Not long. Sorry, I got distracted.” He explained as he tried to remember the last thing Hook had said before Bae had gotten lost in his thoughts. “You were showing me how to use it with the moon.” He said finally, and Hook sighed. “A good while then…” The captain nodded. Bae just smiled sheepishly.
It was those times that reminded Bae just why he shouldn’t get so caught up in how amazing Killian was. As handsome and smart and debonair as he was, he could never find someone like Baelfire the peasant even a tiny bit interesting. He was just a kid, after all, though he would never admit that out loud. Hook certainly wouldn’t feel the same way about him. So Bae straightened up and looked back at the sextant, and Killian started the lesson over, keeping a better eye on Baelfire so he would learn a thing or two that time around.