The warm breeze wafting in from the ocean flutters the folds in Jongdae’s loose linen shirt. He leans over the deck railing of the Unicorn to wave at the people below as the anchors are raised for embarkation. Cries of farewell are lost to the wind, and the coastline shrinks slowly in the distance.

The ship lists to the right, and Jongdae takes a few staggering steps to regain his balance. He slams into a stack of crates and slides down to the deck of the ship.

"Hey! You!" a man shouts, jogging towards him. It's Minseok, the respectable boatswain of the Unicorn. "Boy! You a cabin boy?"

"No sir," Jongdae says, slowly climbing to his feet.

"I was gonna say, you don't belong out here with the cargo. What are you then? I haven't seen your face before."

"I'm just a passenger, sir."

"A passenger, huh? And no need to sir me, not even Captain Yixing likes to be called sir on this ship. Just call me Minseok."

He offers Jongdae a hand and helps him up to his feet.

"Thanks Minseok!"

"So, um, since you're a passenger and all, I can't really tell you what to do," Minseok says awkwardly. "We don't get many passengers since we just move cargo from port to port, so there really isn't much to, you know, keep you entertained..."

"That's okay! Can I help you?"

"Help me with what?"

"You know," Jongdae says, gesturing at the ship's sails and rigging, "with stuff."

"Do you know how to tie a knot?"

"Sure do!"

"Show me."

Minseok tosses a coil of rope to Jongdae and waits while Jongdae fiddles with it, pulling and tugging the rope into a loopy, convoluted bow. He proudly holds up his decorative-looking knot for Minseok to appreciate.

"What do you think?"

"That's...not really the kind of knot I was looking for."

"Oh," Jongdae says, his hopeful expression deflating visibly.

"Well, um, it's a very pretty bow you made," Minseok ventures.

"Thanks! Is there any other way I can help you out?"

"There's plenty of crew members who are commissioned to help me on the hull, but I appreciate your offer, kid. And I'll tell you what. If you want to make yourself useful, our kitchen department could use an extra hand."

"Got it! I'll head to the kitchen right away!"

"By the way kid, our ship's making a lot of stops in the next few weeks. Just out of curiosity, where's your voyage on the Unicorn taking you?"

Jongdae thinks seriously for a moment before answering, "Anywhere but home."

The kitchen is located below deck, but Jongdae can't seem to find the cook anywhere. He bumps into a frazzled looking man who is unreasonably offended when Jongdae asks him if he's the cook. It turns out that the man is Luhan, the captain's first mate.

"There's no cook on this ship, boy. If you want something to eat, grab a plate and some jerky."

"Is jerky all you have?" Jongdae asks incredulously.

"Biscuits, oatmeal, and lime juice to keep scurvy at bay. You might find other odds and ends around the kitchen, but nobody knows how to make anything of them."

Jongdae takes it as a challenge. He rummages through the kitchen for cheese, sausages, dried fish, canned cabbage, and anything that he might be able to throw together into a meal. He sings as he stirs and chops, and soon other sailors follow the sound of his rich, reverberant voice down to the kitchen where he's preparing a hot meal for the entire crew.

After finding out that Jongdae is on the run from his mother's new husband, Yixing offers Jongdae a permanent position as the Unicorn's new cook.

"What happened to the old cook?"

"He was captured by pirates."

The answer comes so casually that Jongdae laughs on instinct.

“No, but what really happened?”

Yixing smiles, small and mysterious, like he knows something Jongdae doesn’t.

When they reach the next port, Jongdae helps the crew unload the cargo off the ship, and Yixing tosses him a pouch of gold to buy fresh produce on the harbor. They have an afternoon of freedom onshore before Minseok and his men are raising the sails again for the next voyage.

Jongdae’s days on board the Unicorn follow an ever-changing rhythm like the ocean and its attendant rise and fall. Everyday is a new day that Jongdae approaches with new eyes. Freedom is a novelty whose charm will never wear off.

It’s the middle of the night on Jongdae’s seventh voyage when he’s dragged roughly out of his cot.

“What’s going on?” he mumbles sleepily, staggering to his feet.

“Quiet, or you’ll be feeding the sharks,” a man snaps.

His voice doesn’t belong to Yixing, Minseok, Luhan or any of the crew members. In the dimness, Jongdae can faintly make out his silhouette. He’s tall, taller even than Tao, the tallest sailor on the ship. Jongdae’s thoughts are thrown into a disarray, and the questions rush out of him like air.

“Who are you? I’ve never seen you before. Are you a stowaway? Where are we going? Where’s the rest of the crew?”

“I said, quiet,” the man growls in annoyance.

The glow of moonlight illuminates his face when they reach the deck of the ship, where dusky figures are gathered. Jongdae notices long, jagged scars on his bare arms and that another ship is now adjacent to the Unicorn. It’s a slim galley with a black flag flying high above its mast. The flag flutters in the wind, and Jongdae sees the briefest flash of a white skull and crossbones.

“Here’s the last one, captain,” the man says suddenly, addressing a man whose back is turned to Jongdae.

“Thank you, Chanyeol. Tie him up with the rest,” a smooth, clipped voice instructs.

Captain? The questions rise up again in Jongdae’s chest, bubbling with fear and dread. He’s always been a nervous talker, but when he catches sight of the crew, Jongdae’s tongue swells in his mouth, making him unable to talk or even breathe.

Yixing and the other sailors are kneeling on the deck of the ship with their wrists knotted behind their backs with rope and sharp blades against their throats. Jongdae recognizes the look of desperate defiance in their eyes: like they’re afraid for their lives, but know better than to let it show. Only Yixing’s face is placid as he addresses the shadows looming over them.

“Joonmyun.”

Though Yixing’s expression is calm, Jongdae can hear the unsaid in his voice, boiling slowly beneath the surface.

“That’s Captain to you,” one of the shadows barks.

“It’s fine, Baekhyun,” that same voice says, smooth and transparent like he has nothing to hide, like water. “As one captain to another, we may address each other by name.”

A shaft of pale misty light falls on Joonmyun as he steps forward. He’s dressed in an immaculate royal blue jacket with a slim bodice, adorned with ribbons and medallions either earned or taken as trophies. His thighs are clad in tight black leather pants, and his high boots click softly with every step as he approaches the Unicorn’s captured crew. Joonmyun’s dark eyes are gentle as calm water, but quietly menacing like Jongdae would drown before reaching their depths.

Joonmyun crouches until he’s on eye level with the Unicorn’s captain.

“Yixing, I believe you have something of mine.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Where is it?” he asks patiently. “Is it in one of these crates?”

“We checked them all, sir,” Baekhyun informs him. “Just boxes and boxes of silk.”

“Thank you, Baekhyun. Well, captain? You can tell me where the notebook is, or we can tear your ship apart.”

“I’m telling you, we don’t have it!” Yixing insists. His voice rises for the first time as he finally comprehends the situation. “Whatever your men told you...none of my men have ever laid a hand on your belongings.”

The men standing behind Joonmyun bristle and snarl at Yixing, but Joonmyun frowns thoughtfully as he weighs Yixing’s words. He stands up and announces, “You have always been an unbearably honest man, Yixing.”

“Thank you for believing me,” Yixing murmurs respectfully.

“Take the silks,” Joonmyun commands his men. “We can sell them onshore.”

A few grunts of “yes sir” in compliance, and they begin loading the crates onto Joonmyun’s ship, the Lady Luck.

Almost as an afterthought, Joonmyun adds, “Kill the crew, too.”

It takes one sidelong glance at Yixing’s blanched face for Jongdae to realize that Joonmyun isn’t kidding. In his nineteen years, Jongdae has never met anyone with such little regard for human life.

“Stop!” Jongdae cries out. His heart hammers in his chest when Joonmyun’s eyes fall on him. Jongdae lowers his gaze automatically.

“What did you say, boy?” Joonmyun demands in a dangerously soft voice.

“There’s no reason for you to kill everyone,” Jongdae explains, swallowing his fear. “You’d have to be a monster to kill this many people on a whim.”

“Is that so?” Amusement flickers briefly in the captain’s eyes, and he asks, “Do I look like a monster to you, boy?”

And suddenly Joonmyun’s face is just inches away. Jongdae feels an electrifying thrill of fear when he sees the dark, burning wildness in the man’s eyes. Joonmyun isn’t just terrifying, but also so gorgeous that Jongdae forgets to breathe for a few seconds.

“No,” Jongdae answers. “You don’t look like a monster to me.”

“Would you bet your life on it?”

“Only if you release the rest of my crew.”

“Are you trying to bargain with me, boy?”

“Yes,” Jongdae says, trying to sound more confident than he feels. “You can do whatever you want with me if you let everyone else go.”

For a moment, Joonmyun falls into amazed silence as he wonders if this boy is stupidly brave or just plain stupid. His crew watches on apprehensively, waiting for Joonmyun to make a decision.

“Untie them,” he finally says. “Except for you, boy. You’re coming with me.”

Jongdae doesn’t even get a chance to say goodbye before he’s being dragged by the elbow towards the Lady Luck. He tries to dig his heels into the deck for traction. Sensing resistance, the captain pauses to demand, "Well, boy? Are you coming or not?"

"You'll really let them go, right? Your word of honor?"

"Why are you so concerned about them anyways?" Joonmyun scoffs. "Shouldn't you be more concerned about yourself?"

"It doesn't matter what happens to me," Jongdae says with a sad smile, eyes lowered.

A swell of anger surges up in Joonmyun's chest at Jongdae's foolish words.

"You would die for that useless crew of Yixing's?"

“As long as my friends are safe, I would be happy."

A momentary pause, and then Joonmyun says quietly, "Don't be silly, boy."

“So...you’re not going to kill me?”

“I'm taking you as my cabin boy.”

Joonmyun is light on his feet, gracefully climbing down the rope ladder connecting the two ships. Jongdae wavers at the top of the ladder, watching Joonmyun as he climbs down to the Lady Luck.

"Well, boy? Are you coming or not?" the pirate captain barks up at Jongdae.

His feet are like lead as he grasps onto a rung and eases himself down onto the next. It's sinking in slowly, the realization that life as Jongdae knows it is slipping through his fingers like fine grains of sand.

The moon is high in the sky, but the pirate crew shows no sign of sleepiness. The men are busy piling crates, cleaning the deck, and untangling endless coils of rigging.

"You can help Kyungsoo in the kitchen for now," Joonmyun tells him. "Don't cause any trouble, or I'll be the first to know."

He doesn't wait for an answer. Jongdae is left standing alone on the deck as Joonmyun strides away, royal blue coattails billowing behind him. Jongdae flinches when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry I scared you," a voice murmurs from behind him. "I'm Kyungsoo. If you'll come with me, please."

Jongdae glances over his shoulder and sees a soft shouldered man with full, shapely lips tilted up in a gentle smile. He looks kinder, somehow, than the other pirates. Kyungsoo leads Jongdae to the galley, past sidelong leers and lecherous hoots.

"Don't worry, they won't lay a hand on you since you're the captain's property."

"What do you mean...I'm the captain's property?"

"The captain is scary sometimes, but he's a good man," Kyungsoo assures him, though Jongdae still isn't sure what he means by "property."

"The men on this ship, they'd do anything he asked," Kyungsoo continues.

"He has that much power over them?"

"Yes, but it's not just because he could easily kill any of them in a duel."

"Then why?"

"He treats us fairly, which is more than what most of us can ask for."

"Why is that?"

Kyungsoo makes a sweeping gesture with a wooden spoon.

"All the men you see on this ship are convicts or bastards. The broken and the damned. The captain gave us a home. Makes us work for our gold, but always gives us a fair share. It doesn't hurt that the captain is the most feared man on the high seas. Some of us joined his ship for the plunder, some just wanted protection."

"And what about you?"

"I'm just like you, Jongdae."

"You were kidnapped too?"

"Well, kind of."

Kyungsoo explains that he had once been a crew member of a merchant vessel that was carrying precious cargo before it was raided by a pirate ship.

"You want to guess what the ships were?"

"I have no clue..."

"Think, Jongdae."

At first glance, Jongdae had thought Kyungsoo's lips were curled in a smile. Looking closer, he suddenly realizes that Kyungsoo isn't smiling at all. Scars at the corners of his mouth are pulling his lips into a ghastly perpetual grin.

"Wait," Jongdae gasps, remembering what Yixing mentioned to him. "Were you the cook captured by pirates?"

Kyungsoo smiles, for real this time. The effect it has on his face is scary, though his intent is sincere.

"I was the cook on the Unicorn, and Joonmyun was my captain."

"The Unicorn? But that's..."

"Yixing's ship now, yes."

"What happened?"

Joonmyun, as it turns out, hadn't always been a pirate. He was once the captain of a merchant vessel, the Unicorn. Joonmyun had been defending his ship from a pirate raid when his vicious streak revealed itself like a crack of lightning illuminating the night.

Jongdae sees vividly in his mind's eye the metallic slashing of swords in duel, smoky black gunpowder, and a determined grimace on Joonmyun's face.

"When the pirate captain was killed, the other pirates surrendered to Captain Joonmyun because they knew they would be no match."

Daggers and cutlasses clattering onto the deck are what Jongdae sees now. His romantic notions of the past conjure up the image of knees bending in submission to Joonmyun.

“And then what happened?”

“The captain decided that it would better suit him to be a pirate, so he took over the Lady Luck. A few of his men remained on the Unicorn under Yixing’s leadership, but most of them stayed loyal to Captain Joonmyun. Out of fear, maybe. But also like I said, because he’s a good man.”

“Didn’t Captain Joonmyun just threaten to kill Yixing’s crew?”

“That was, well…” Kyungsoo pauses to think. “I’m not entirely certain, but that might have been his idea of a joke.”

“A joke?! He seemed pretty serious to me.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to tell with the captain sometimes. We always take him seriously, just to be safe.”

Jongdae suddenly feels a wave of nausea. “You mean to say that they would have killed them even if it was a joke?”

“That’s the kind of men who are on this ship. But to me, the scariest man of them all is still Captain Joonmyun.”

“Really?” Jongdae asks incredulously. The captain is certainly intimidating, and he has a strange sense of humor, but Jongdae can’t fathom how this lethal bunch of men could genuinely fear him.

“Yes, but hopefully you won’t ever have a reason to be afraid of him.”

Jongdae nods absently without really letting Kyungsoo’s words sink in. There are still so many questions on his mind, but for now they need to focus on the task at hand: feeding a shipful of hungry pirates.

"We're running low on meat," Kyungsoo groans. "The crew isn't going to be happy."

"What do you want me to do?" Jongdae asks, trying to be helpful any way he can.

"Could you keep them entertained while I figure something out?"

The pirates are squeezed together onto a long, rectangular wooden table in the dining hall. The captain is missing, but a respectful hush falls over the room as Joonmyun enters and strides to his place at the head of the table. He gives them an impassive nod and observes silently as the men return to their boisterous bantering and laughter.

"Excuse me," Jongdae announces, raising his voice uncertainly. His voice is drowned in the noise, but Joonmyun's sharp gaze flicks to him immediately. Joonmyun claps once, and the room falls silent once more.

"I know we're all starving, but I'm afraid that dinner is going to take just a little while longer." His words are met with impatient grumbles. "Until then, please allow me to entertain you while Kyungsoo continues to prepare your meal."

Before there's time for a riot to break out, Jongdae finds strength deep within his chest to sing a melody his mother used to croon every night before he fell asleep. The nervous quaver of his voice is hidden by his rich vibrato that resonates even after the last note tapers away.

The pirates sit in dumbfounded silence until someone starts clapping—Joonmyun. When the other men notice, they quickly join in with applause. Jongdae beams and casts a sidelong glance at Joonmyun. Their eyes meet, and Jongdae grins shyly at him, but Joonmyun doesn't return his smile. The captain only nods stoically in acknowledgement.

After Kyungsoo manages to finagle his way through a passable meal, Jongdae waits anxiously in the captain's cabin for further instructions.

"I was a musician once too, you know."

"Pardon?" Jongdae asks, startling at the sudden appearance of Joonmyun in the doorway.

“I composed my own music. Used to, at least. I lost the notebook where I wrote them all down.”

“Wait, was that the notebook you thought Yixing’s crew stole from you?”

“Yes.”

“Why would any of them steal that from you? And why did you do all that just to try to get it back?”

“Because it’s the most precious thing in the world to me.”

Jongdae waits quietly in hope of an explanation, but the captain doesn't say anything, just sheds his royal blue jacket to hang it on a peg by the door. Without realizing what he’s doing, Jongdae ogles shamelessly at Joonmyun’s defined muscles as the captain unbuttons his shirt with his back turned to him. He startles when Joonmyun suddenly says, "Were you going to go to bed or are you just going to stand there, boy?”

Right. Being the captain's cabin boy means sharing a room with Kim Joonmyun, the most dangerous man on the high seas. Jongdae's fingers tremble as he unfastens his own boots and slips his shirt off. For some reason, what makes him nervous isn't the knowledge that Joonmyun has killed men with his own hands. It's the fact that Joonmyun is handsome and older and experienced in ways Jongdae can only fantasize about.

There are two cots in the captain's cabin: Joonmyun takes the one closest to the door, while Jongdae curls up in a cot tucked in the corner of the room. He falls asleep chasing thoughts in circles around his head, wondering if who had slept in this bed before his arrival and what Joonmyun had done to Jongdae's predecessor.

He doesn't know that the captain never lets anyone else sleep in his room and only instructed his crew to move another cot into his cabin when Jongdae was brought onto the ship.

In the daytime, Jongdae continues to work closely with Kyungsoo in the ship's kitchen. It keeps Jongdae out of trouble, and it also allows Joonmyun to monitor him through Kyungsoo.

The cook's reports are generally positive for Jongdae's first few days. But after awhile he starts to notice that Jongdae doesn't smile as widely anymore and that he no longer hums or whistles as he's preparing meals.

When he isn't in the kitchen, Jongdae helps to keep the deck clean. Baekhyun and Chanyeol are Joonmyun's eyes and ears on the deck—respectively, for obvious reasons according to Baekhyun. They report to Joonmyun when they notice that Jongdae is leaning on his mop and sighing more than usual.

There's something wrong with Jongdae, and Joonmyun is determined to figure out what it is.

"You never paid that much attention to me," Baekhyun pouts when Joonmyun convenes a meeting in the kitchen with his informants.

The captain ignores him and asks, "What can we do to make Jongdae less unhappy?"

"Why should we care?" Chanyeol scoffs. "Why do you even care?"

Joonmyun ignores him too, and turns to Kyungsoo.

"What do you think, Kyungsoo?"

"Are all his needs being met, captain?" he offers.

Joonmyun pauses to consider. "Thank you, Kyungsoo," he says with a curt nod before turning on his heel to stride out of the kitchen.

The three of them glance at each other wordlessly, all with the same thing on their minds. Joonmyun always has his crew's best interest in mind, but this amount of interest is unusual. They're almost scared for Jongdae.

Joonmyun finds Jongdae swabbing the deck as usual. He pulls him aside, attracting curious looks from the other sailors. They quickly avert their stares when Joonmyun glares at them.

"Are you hungry, boy?" Joonmyun demands.

"No, captain," Jongdae says, startled.

"Cold?"

"No, captain."

"Tired?"

"Not more than anyone else."

Joonmyun is quiet for a few seconds as he ponders the other possibilities. A lightbulb flickers on in his mind as he thinks of another fundamental need that might not be met.

"We don't allow women on the ship, boy."

"I figured as much, captain."

"So if you ever need to..." his voice trails off, hoping that Jongdae will figure out the rest.

But Jongdae just stares at him blankly and asks, "Captain?"

"You know," Joonmyun mutters, "what men do in the bath."

"Sing?"

The answer is so unexpectedly idiotic that Joonmyun bursts into laughter for the first time in his recent memory. It starts as a quiet chuckle, and then he buckles over, peals of laughter shaking his body.

Jongdae watches in confusion, but the other sailors on the deck are totally, utterly astounded. The captain rarely even smiles, so seeing him laugh is nothing short of a revelation. They also break into an uproar of laughter, because if the captain is happy then they should be happy, too.

"Shut up!" Joonmyun growls in the direction of the sailors, and an immediate hush falls over them.

But Joonmyun is still laughing, tears starting to squeeze out of his crescent eyes, and Jongdae realizes that seeing him like this might be the best thing in the world. And when his bubbling laughter begins ebbing away, Joonmyun is wiping his eyes and sniffling.

Jongdae is awestruck.

"Are you okay, captain?"

"Yeah," Joonmyun answers, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

And then it hits him, why Joonmyun was laughing at his answer.

"What men do in the bath..." Jongdae whispers, looking up at Joonmyun in horror. "You mean..."

He blushes furiously at his own stupidly naive answer, and Joonmyun smirks.

"Yeah, singing," the captain snorts. "How old are you, boy?"

"Nineteen, sir."

"When I was your age, I had to ‘sing’ every day or else I would go crazy," Joonmyun chuckles. "Sometimes more than once a day."

Jongdae is suddenly too flustered to answer or to even meet Joonmyun's eyes.

"H-how old are you, captain?" he eventually stammers just to change the subject.

"Twenty-six."

"That's my hyung's age!" Jongdae exclaims, cheering up. "Can I call you hyung?"

It's suddenly Joonmyun's turn to get flustered. "Only when we're alone," he agrees reluctantly. "You still have to call me captain when we're around the others."

"Okay, hyung!" Jongdae chirps. He beams at Joonmyun, who scowls in embarrassment.

"Anyways, singing," Joonmyun continues. "Everybody does it, so we just turn a blind eye to it since there's really no privacy on this ship. So I don't mind if, you know..."

"Oh? ...Oh."

Jongdae's mind is suddenly saturated with the image of Joonmyun in his bed, reaching below his blanket to touch himself. Rubbing, whisking with strong hands and calloused fingertips until he's coming in his own palm, knowing all the while that Jongdae is sleeping blissfully unaware just feet away.

"Got it, boy?" Joonmyun asks, interrupting Jongdae's fantasy.

"Yes, captain," Jongdae whispers, mortified.

"I think that's the end of this conversation."

"Wait, captain!"

"Yes, boy?"

"Just so you know, captain," Jongdae begins shyly, "when I'm...singing, I get kind of loud when I reach the highest note."

Joonmyun's mouth opens involuntarily in shock, and then he's stomping away with warm cheeks and butterflies in his stomach.

Jerking off while sharing a room with Joonmyun was not something that had ever crossed Jongdae's mind. But Jongdae isn't sure how he planned to hold it in for any longer, so he waits until he's sure that Joonmyun is asleep before slipping a hand beneath his sheets.

Jongdae tries not to make a sound, clamping a hand around his own mouth as his other wrist speeds up below. Most of all, he tries not to think of Joonmyun. He can't let himself fantasize about Joonmyun's rough, capable hand on Jongdae's cock, bringing him close and then retreating just enough to make him desperate.

It's too late. He imagines vividly Joonmyun kissing his neck, biting his shoulder. Jongdae groans, pressing his face into his pillow to stifle the sound as he pinches and rolls a nipple between his fingertips. The pillow isn't enough to muffle his whimpers, but he's too far gone to care anymore.

His back arches off the mattress at the sudden thought of Joonmyun sinking into him from behind. "Captain!" Jongdae gasps as a toe-curling climax rips through his body.

The room is quiet, deafeningly silent. Jongdae's face burns in the darkness as his labored breathing calms down. His heart jumps to his throat when he hears Joonmyun grunt softly, "Go to sleep, boy."

As usual, Joonmyun is gone in the morning. Probably for the better, since Jongdae doesn’t know how he could bear facing Joonmyun in the sober light of day. It was unmistakable, what Jongdae was doing as he cried out Joonmyun’s name the night before.

All morning Jongdae braces himself for the confrontation. He isn't sure how he's going to explain the fact that he cried out for the captain, but it's better than letting Joonmyun assume the worst. Not that the "worst" could be any worse than what actually happened.

Somehow, it's not a relief when Jongdae doesn't run into the captain while running his morning errands. In fact, his uneasiness turns into dread when Joonmyun is nowhere to be seen at meals. If the prospect of confronting Joonmyun was painful, the idea of being avoided by him is even worse, Jongdae concludes.

All his doubts are confirmed when Baekhyun pulls him aside after dinner.

"Captain wanted me to tell you that you're sleeping with the crew from tonight onwards."

"Oh. Okay."

"You know where our sleeping quarters are?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, there's gonna be a hammock with your name on it right by the door."

"Really?"

"No, of course not," Baekhyun laughs. He slaps Jongdae fondly on the shoulder and says, "Welcome to the crew, buddy."

Maybe it's a good thing that Jongdae is now seen officially as a crew member, and not just the captain's pet. But getting kicked out of Joonmyun's room feels almost like a demotion, if not worse. Jongdae feels as though he's been cut off at the knees, just when he learned how to stand.

Definitely a demotion, Jongdae thinks grumpily to himself when he crawls into a knobbly rope hammock that night.

He's torn between terror and discomfort when the hammock sways with every tilt and careen of the ship. Definitely a step down from the comfort of the captain's cabin.

Since there's no telling when or even if Jongdae will fall asleep tonight, he climbs out of the hammock, careful to step over the sailors that elected to sleep on the floor. Might not have been a bad idea to take the floor, Jongdae muses ruefully as he shuffles around Chanyeol's slumbering body.

Jongdae steps outside to a wall of beautiful darkness: a black sky melting into a black sea. Only high above are pinholes of twinkling white light.

"The moon's over here, boy."

His heart leaps at the sound of the captain's voice, and he glances across the deck to find bare shoulders naked against a starry night.

"Captain?" he asks breathlessly.

"Look."

Joonmyun points his lit cigarette to the sky. Jongdae's eyes follow the orange glow of his cigarette end upwards to a sliver of a crescent moon. It's not much, but it's there.

While Joonmyun watches the moon in silence, Jongdae looks down at the sea. In the daytime, the water is shreds of silver shimmering in the sunlight, but at night it's just darkness. It could be nothing, it could be everything.

A flake of orange ember drifts into the periphery of his vision, and Jongdae asks, "Isn't smoking prohibited on the ship?"

Joonmyun looks at him out of the corner of his eye and says, "I'm the captain."

"What's your point?"

The response comes automatically before Jongdae can stop himself. He's about to apologize when he hears a quick, short exhale, like a muted snort of laughter. He turns and sees that the corner of Joonmyun's mouth is tilted up in a smirk.

It reminds him of how he, Jongdae, had once made Joonmyun laugh. How Joonmyun's voice cracked when he laughed and something inside Jongdae broke too, something that will take days to set right.

He feels that something right now, aching beneath each rib as he watches Joonmyun's elegant silhouette in the darkness. He wonders if Joonmyun is aware of how much Jongdae wants to kiss him. How much he wants to feel Joonmyun's lips against his own, to know what he tastes like, to feel Joonmyun's tongue in his mouth.

Jongdae could kiss him right now. There's nothing stopping him. His heart is pounding as he realizes he could do anything, but Joonmyun leans back and steps away from the deck railing, and the moment closes.

"Jongdae, why are you here?"

"I couldn't sleep, captain."

A few seconds too late, it registers in Jongdae's mind that Joonmyun called him by his name.

"Neither could I," Joonmyun sighs, looking back up at the moon.

He's quiet again, but Jongdae is suddenly too impatient and fretful to let another long silence settle over them.

"Captain, why did you kick me out of your cabin?"

"Kick you out?" Joonmyun repeats, alarmed. "I didn't–"

"Yes you did! I know that what I did was gross and wrong, but was it really so disgusting that you had to avoid me and kick me out of your room without even talking to me about it?"

Joonmyun's eyes widen in realization, or maybe fear. He steps closer to Jongdae, his hands hovering uncertainly before settling gently on Jongdae's shoulders.

"Jongdae. Jongdae, look at me. I moved you to the crew's quarters because I knew that if you stayed another night in my room, I wouldn't be able to stop myself."

"What are you...what do you mean?"

"Godammit, boy, are you going to make me say it out loud?"

"Captain?"

"What I mean to say is," Joonmyun scowls, "if you were alone with me in my cabin for another night, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from wanting to touch you."

And suddenly Joonmyun's neck is shot red as he pretends to have urgent business with the toes of his boots.

Realization and relief wash over Jongdae, lifting the heavy air from his chest. He places his hands on Joonmyun's hands still resting on his shoulders. Slipping his fingers between Joonmyun's fingers, he clasps their hands together tightly and says, "Captain, I wanted to touch you, too."

Jongdae looks up at the captain, all clear-eyed and smooth cheeked and irresistible. His gaze flicks down to Joonmyun’s lips and then back up to his eyes. Joonmyun watches as Jongdae bites his lower lip, tugging at the pink flesh and fanning Joonmyun’s flames of desire higher and higher.

"My cabin. Now," Joonmyun grunts.

A slam of a door and Jongdae is trapped, pinned between pinewood and Joonmyun's body as Joonmyun's lips graze over the dip of Jongdae's bare collarbone. The warm ghost of his breath gets Jongdae's skin buzzing. He twitches when Joonmyun's lips brush across his most sensitive spot just below his jaw, and then he's melting into a racy kiss that tastes of rough and uncaring sex.

Joonmyun's lips open and close, his tongue silky, warm and wet as he presses even closer to Jongdae, demanding and urgent.

"Stop me," he growls, tearing himself away.

"But I don't want you to," Jongdae whines.

Before he knows it, Jongdae's back is on Joonmyun's mattress and Joonmyun is on top of him. Jongdae's shirt is off now too, and they're kissing as Jongdae feverishly ruts up against him.

"God I'm so crazy about you," Joonmyun whispers into Jongdae's mouth, holding his chin.

"Me too."

"I'm going to make you come so many times."

"Wait," Jongdae says, and Joonmyun pulls back to look at him curiously.

"What's wrong?" Joonmyun asks.

"What did you just say?"

"...I'm going to make you come so many times..."

"You don't mean that you're going to make me come so many times in one night, do you?"

"Well, I could if you wanted me to," Joonmyun teases, tilting his hips against Jongdae's crotch.

"But that's physically impossible. For a guy to come more than once," Jongdae insists.

"You're wrong," Joonmyun whispers against Jongdae's neck, making him shiver. "I'll prove it to you."

"Oh?"

"But only if you want me to..."

"Well..."

Joonmyun shifts his weight as though to move away, but Jongdae grabs him by the hips to keep him close.

"Well?" Joonmyun asks, eyebrow cocked.

"I still don't think it's possible...but I want you to prove me wrong."

"Who said you could give the orders around here, boy?" Joonmyun snaps.

"Take off the rest of your clothes.”

"You're testing me, boy."

Jongdae tries to hide his grin as he watches the flex of Joonmyun's muscles while he sheds the rest of his clothing. Joonmyun turns back around, and Jongdae braces himself for the rough handling. But

Joonmyun just grasps both of Jongdae's hands, linking their fingers together as he leans in to suck lightly on the bow of Jongdae's lip. Before he knows it, Jongdae is opening his mouth for Joonmyun to give him slow languid kisses with gentle lips and an unhurried tongue.

Holding down Jongdae's wrists to the mattress above his head, Joonmyun leans in to scrape his teeth over Jongdae's neck and to nibble at his skin.

"Fuck," Jongdae hisses, embarrassed by how good it feels.

And then his whole body is trembling as Joonmyun kisses his neck, his chest, down to his stomach.

Jongdae is a sight to look at with his bottom lip sucked between his teeth and his legs spread in a beautiful surrender. Joonmyun's fingers find purchase on Jongdae's hips as he works to divest Jongdae of his remaining clothing.

Splayed out on the bed like this, Jongdae is so vulnerable and open that Joonmyun briefly considers taking him right here and now. But he exercises his self control for the sake of making Jongdae feel as good as possible.

“Oh my god,” Jongdae groans when Joonmyun slides Jongdae’s cock into his mouth.

The tight suction at the back of Joonmyun’s throat is almost too much for Jongdae to handle. He squeezes his eyes shut and grips onto Joonmyun, scraping blunt fingertips across his shoulder blades. Joonmyun slides Jongdae’s cock in and out of his mouth until Jongdae’s hips are jerking impatiently in short bucks.

“I’m so close,” Jongdae whines, but Joonmyun pulls away to smirk at him.

“Is that so?” he teases, his lips infuriatingly close to the tip of Jongdae’s cock.

Jongdae reaches down, trying to palm himself to relieve the ache building in his groin. But his hand is grabbed by Joonmyun, whose eyes are dark with desire.

“I need...nnhh...” Jongdae pants incoherently, squirming in discomfort.

“Do you now?” Joonmyun asks in a soft, but rough voice.

He curls his fist around Jongdae’s cock, slick with saliva and precum, and pumps his arm until he feels a building throb under his palm. Joonmyun pauses just long enough for Jongdae to start writhing and keening in desperation before finishing the job. He guides Jongdae’s cock into his mouth once more and lets Jongdae move his hips at his own pace until bitter liquid is spilling into Joonmyun’s mouth.

All sensations melt away from Jongdae’s awareness—the gently rocking ship, the groan of creaky floorboards, the damp bedspread chafing against his bare skin. He feels nothing but an exquisitely sweet ache resounding through his body and then Joonmyun's fingertips gently cradling his chin to kiss him.

“Breathe,” Joonmyun whispers. “Breathe with me.”

He holds Jongdae close, feeling his deep, shuddering breaths against his chest. Jongdae clings tightly to Joonmyun as his body recovers. Trailing his fingertips down the curve of Jongdae’s spine, Joonmyun asks gently, “Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah,” Jongdae mumbles into his chest. “But why did you stop when I was so close? That was so mean.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet, boy. Turn around.”

He eases Jongdae onto his stomach so that the boy’s back is to the ceiling. Jongdae inhales, filling his lungs with the evocative scent of sex on Joonmyun’s sheets. Long fingers spread wide rub at his shoulders, followed by the soft scratch of stubble as Joonmyun rests his chin on Jongdae’s back.

“What are you doing?” Jongdae asks.

“Nothing.”

“You’re obviously doing something.”

Joonmyun grins. “You’re right.”

Jongdae flinches when he feels Joonmyun’s soft wet tongue gliding from the base of his neck down to the small of his back, and then lower and lower. Joonmyun kisses the backs of Jongdae's thighs as he reaches for a dark vial on his nightstand. Jongdae gasps when cool, slippery liquid dribbles onto his entrance. He feels a sudden stretch, a burning feeling that crawls up his spine.

“Are you okay?” Joonmyun asks hoarsely. “Do you want to continue?”

“What is this?”

“Just my finger...but I can stop if you want.”

“No, it’s okay. I mean. Keep going. Please.”

Joonmyun curls his finger deep inside, a delicious sting that makes Jongdae whine for more.

"You're doing great," Joonmyun murmurs in encouragement. "Ready for another one?"

"Yeah. I think."

He fits another finger into Jongdae, and then eventually a third until he's sufficiently prepared. Then he gently rolls Jongdae onto his back so that they're face to face again. Joonmyun lines his cock against Jongdae's twitching entrance, kissing the younger man softly as he enters him.

"Relax," Joonmyun whispers. "Deep breaths...ah...fuck..."

Joonmyun starts rocking his hips slowly, sensually. Their bodies slide against each other until the heat and friction are close to driving them both crazy. Jongdae is just too hot and too tight, and eventually Joonmyun's self control snaps. He grabs Jongdae by the hips to angle himself deeper inside for the last few sweet thrusts.

"Jongdae...mmhhh...Jongdae," Joonmyun mumbles, but Jongdae can't hear him over the sound of his own sharp breaths and pounding heart. Jongdae feels him start to soften, a delicious change, and suddenly everything is more sensitive. Joonmyun's limbs buckle, and he slumps against Jongdae’s body.

After kissing Jongdae tenderly on his forehead, Joonmyun pulls out and slips his fingers inside. Joonmyun crooks his fingers, reaching angles that make Jongdae whine and moan as he strokes his prostate. Jongdae wants to come so badly that he clenches his thighs around Joonmyun’s hips to rut up against him, desperately seeking friction. But just as Jongdae's about to come, a hand wraps tightly around his cock, and he’s left with an unsatisfying dry orgasm that shudders his body and leaves him wanting more.

“Not until I let you,” Joonmyun scolds him with his fist squeezed firmly around the base of Jongdae's cock.

By the soft moonlight pouring through the window, Joonmyun can see a sheen of sweat glowing on Jongdae’s skin, his knuckles clenched white on the bed sheets. Jongdae’s muscles contract visibly under his skin as Joonmyun loosens his grip and flicks his wrist to pull another orgasm from him. And there it is again—Jongdae's back arches, and every muscle bunches tight for a few long seconds as heat rips through his body in thick short bursts.

“You’re a monster, you know?” Jongdae pants with stuttering gasps.

"You’re the most precious thing in the world to me, you know?" Joonmyun breathes. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

In this moment, Jongdae feels so good that it hurts more than any pain he’s ever experienced. His thoughts are erratic, vaporizing quickly from his mind, and he grasps onto Joonmyun like he might disappear too, like fistfuls of smoke. All Jongdae can focus on is the rise and fall of their chests, two pairs of lungs expanding and contracting, expanding and contracting. Eventually, there's no sight, no sound in Jongdae's awareness: only Joonmyun.

The cabin is bathed in the muted gray light of dawn when Jongdae wakes up the next morning. His arms are still wrapped around Joonmyun like he's afraid that he will disappear at any moment.

When Jongdae tries to nuzzle against the captain’s neck, Joonmyun mutters something incomprehensible in his sleep and tries to roll away from him. And when Jongdae tries to circle his arms even more tightly around Joonmyun's waist, he receives an elbow to the face.

"Hyung!" he shrieks, sitting up in bed. "Hyung, you hit me in the face!"

But Joonmyun continues dozing, even when Jongdae tries to shake him by the shoulders. Jongdae yanks the pillow out from under Joonmyun's head and whacks him soundly with it.

Joonmyun suddenly flings himself out of bed, landing on the floor in plank position. "Get down, Jongdae, they're firing at us!" he hollers.

“Hyung,” Jongdae giggles. “Everything’s okay hyung, nobody’s firing at us.”

He reaches down to tug at Joonmyun’s arm as Joonmyun blinks, disoriented.

“Jongdae, are you okay?” he mumbles groggily. His eyes are barely open, and his hair is sticking up in tufts. Joonmyun is so sleepy and adorable that it’s unfair.

“I’m fine, hyung. I’m more worried about you.”

“Nobody’s firing at us?”

“Nobody’s firing at us,” Jongdae assures him. “Come back to bed, hyung.”

“I can’t,” Joonmyun insists, climbing to his feet. “I have to make sure the ship’s okay.”

“But there’s nothing wrong with the ship…”

“I’m the captain of this ship, so it’s my duty to make sure everything’s fine even when there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong,” Joonmyun explains apologetically. He leans in to kiss Jongdae on the forehead before tossing his shirt on.

“It’s still so early in the morning,” Jongdae whines. “Can’t you go back to being a captain at a more reasonable time?”

“Go back to sleep, boy,” Joonmyun chuckles, ruffling Jongdae’s hair fondly.

It’s midday by the time Jongdae crawls exhaustedly out of bed. He steps out onto the deck, blinking his eyes to adjust to the broad daylight. The sun feels good on Jongdae’s skin, warming his face. But he doesn’t get to enjoy the sunshine for long before Baekhyun is barrelling into him out of nowhere.

“Jongdae! Where have you been? Are you okay?” Baekhyun demands. “We couldn’t find you in the morning, we thought that the captain threw you overboard in the middle of the night or something.”

“Captain Joonmyun?” Jongdae laughs. “He would never do anything like that.”

“He’s done it before,” Baekhyun informs him. “But nevermind that, what happened last night?”

Jongdae is silent for a few seconds as he weighs his words. “The captain and I got to know each other a bit better last night.”

Baekhyun stares at him with fear and reproach written all over his face. “And you made it through alive..." he whispers in awe.

"Of course I did! I don't know why you're so surprised. The captain is scary sometimes but he has a gentle heart."

The way that Baekhyun's eyebrows lift to his hairline betrays his skepticism. "Whatever you say. If you asked anyone around here, they'd find it hard to believe that Captain Joonmyun even has a heart, let alone a gentle one. But we're all glad you made it out alive. Especially since you're needed in the kitchen right now."

It doesn't occur to Jongdae just how long he had stayed in bed until he finds Kyungsoo in his daily lunchtime frenzy.

"Where have you been? Actually, I don't care, mix this for me," Kyungsoo says, shoving a bowl into Jongdae's hands.

Supplies are running low again, but Jongdae and Kyungsoo have whittled the art of making do down to a science. Though he tries not to let it bother him, nagging at the back of his mind is the memory of Joonmyun departing in the morning, leaving Jongdae alone in bed without even a second glance.

The more Jongdae tries to shut Joonmyun out of his heart, the more it hurts when he faces Joonmyun again, who nods curtly at him like they hadn’t gone at it until dawn the night before. And then Joonmyun turns away to whisper something to Baekhyun, leaving a dull ache in Jongdae’s chest, deep and dark like a bruise.

It’s definitely an accident when Jongdae dumps his pitcher of water into Joonmyun’s lap during lunch. He might have planned to let a few droplets spill on Joonmyun to gain his attention, but pouring an entire torrent of ice cold water on Joonmyun’s lap was most certainly not a part of his plan.

After a moment of shocked silence, Jongdae stutters, “S-sorry, hyung…”

A dozen stunned pairs of eyes stare at Jongdae until Baekhyun suddenly chortles, “Hyung? Did you just call the captain hyung?”

Chanyeol tries to nudge Baekhyun in warning, but he continues, “Captain, can we call you hyung too?”

Joonmyun is visibly more irked by the second, and he stands up suddenly, grabbing Jongdae by the elbow. The grin slips off Baekhyun’s face as he watches Joonmyun drag Jongdae out of the dining room and into the kitchen, slamming the door behind them.

“Was it something I said?” Baekhyun asks.

Pure defiance keeps Jongdae from quivering in fear as Joonmyun presses him against a cabinet, trapping him with his arms.

“You’re testing me, boy,” Joonmyun growls.

Even though he was the one who dumped water on Joonmyun’s lap, Jongdae demands, “Why have you been ignoring me? Did what we do mean nothing to you?”

Before Jongdae can help it, a note of vulnerability trickles into his voice, betraying his insecurity, his uncertainty. Joonmyun’s expression softens when he realizes what’s going on.

“I’m sorry,” Joonmyun apologizes, to Jongdae’s utter shock.

“What are you sorry for?”

“I didn’t realize that’s how you felt. I was—how do I say this—trying to protect you.”

“From what?” Jongdae almost laughs.

“I didn’t want the other men to think that you were my...pet. It would be best for them to see you as an equal, because I can’t be there to protect you all the time. That way they won’t try to take advantage of you.”

“They already think that I’m your property or something,” Jongdae tells him, remembering Kyungsoo’s words from his first day on board the Lady Luck.

“They do?” Joonmyun asks worriedly. “Does it bother you? Has anyone been harassing you?”

“Of course not,” Jongdae grins. “Don’t you know that your crew is terrified of you?”

“Really?” The genuine wonder in Joonmyun’s voice makes Jongdae burst into peals of laughter.

“Hyung, you’re the scariest person on this ship, why do you think you’re the captain?”

“Because these men are in need of good leadership, and I’m a damn good captain,” Joonmyun answers seriously.

Jongdae can’t argue with that, but there’s still one more question that’s been loitering at the back of his mind. “Why did you become a pirate? Why not try to reform the crew altogether?”

“Because it’s fun to be a little bad sometimes,” Joonmyun admits with a rakish grin. He wraps an arm around Jongdae’s waist and drags his tongue from the base of Jongdae’s neck to his jaw. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew is waiting anxiously in the dining room with bated breaths. They strain to overhear what’s happening on the other side of the door, both out of curiosity and concern for Jongdae’s safety. They’re jolted by a sudden crash and clattering of what sounds like pots and pans.

“Maybe someone should go check on them,” Kyungsoo suggests.

“Great idea!” Baekhyun pipes in. “Who should go?”

Every pair of eyes in the room falls on Baekhyun.

With slight trepidation, Baekhyun slowly opens the door to the kitchen as the rest of the crew hovers behind him. What they find inside is not exactly what they expected.

Jongdae and Joonmyun are entangled on the floor, Jongdae’s legs wrapped around Joonmyun’s back in a heated embrace. Between kisses, Joonmyun murmurs to Jongdae in a low voice, “You’re not going to be able to walk tomorrow…”

“I guess everything’s okay with them now,” Baekhyun announces awkwardly.

At the sound of Baekhyun’s brassy voice, Joonmyun’s head snaps up and he demands, “Did I tell you to come in?”

“Sorry...hyung…” Baekhyun apologizes in a small voice.

Joonmyun stands up coolly and grabs a nearby chair to hurl it at Baekhyun, who quickly closes the door to avoid getting hit. Without even blinking, Joonmyun lowers himself to the ground to resume making out with Jongdae, whose heart is pounding from both fear and arousal at this point.

From then on, Jongdae is the only one who calls Joonmyun “hyung.”