[fic] Operation Sea Biscuits - Chapter 3
Title: Operation Sea Biscuits
Author: AbsoluteHYMN007
Recipient: reddwarfer
Pairing: Sanada/Yukimura
Ratings/Warnings: PG-13+ or T (rum drinking, a few swearwords, mentions of adult concepts, implied but not described sex).
Word Count: 13,276
Summary: Yukimura Seiichi escapes from his cruel life of being someone else's property and treated like an object with no feelings. Fate leads him to finding himself aboard Captain Sanada Genichirou's ship and his crew of extremely skilled pirates. A turn of luck and Yukimura finds himself working as a deckhand while traveling towards their next destination, but feelings start to form between the stowaway and the Captain, and the crew decides to get involved. Lots of crew shenanigans and rum drinking!
Notes: Please excuse the limited usage of stereotypical pirate speak and my vague explanation of boat rigging. I did my absolute best to try to fulfill your prompt (AUs are very new to me) and I hope you enjoy the result of my efforts! ^^
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2
Chapter 3 - Treasure Map to the Heart
Sanada slowly opened his eyes, blinking back the urge to go back to sleep. His cabin felt uncomfortably hot despite not having the blinds open and he dreaded the fact that he would be wearing his coat in the heat. The boat wasn't really rocking either, which meant they were stuck in the doldrums. It was going to be a long day, but nothing other than an unpredictable windy day ever stopped Sanada from making sure the crew did their usual routine effectively and without complaint.
He sighed and sat up, quickly running his hands through his hair to put it back into place. The sweat that clung to his fingers and stuck his shirt to his body made him feel highly uncomfortable, and he wiped his hands on the shirt before taking it off. Sanada then stood up and walked over to his window and pulled down a part of the blinds so he could take a peek at the deck. He saw that the crew had unanimously decided to go shirtless and were moving at a faster pace than usual to get things done before the sun would be fully up.
Stepping away from the window, he walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of pants. He decided to dress slowly so that he would have some time to think to himself, which Yanagi insisted that he do since he had seemed a bit preoccupied the other day. Sanada really didn't understand why he had to because there wasn't anything they were trying to obtain or any pirate adversaries to be on the lookout for. The only thing that was quite different in his life was the addition of Yukimura to his crew.
The belt that he had in his hands slipped out of his grasp when he thought of the blue-haired ex-stowaway and how much of an affect he had on everyone on board the ship. He frowned, bending over to pick up his belt and worked on slipping it through the loops around his waist. A few seconds later, he had a realization that this was what Yanagi wanted him to think about coupled with a sickening feeling that Yanagi was able to read him as well as he could.
Sanada knew that Yukimura had constantly occupied the back of his mind since that day he was caught as a stowaway, but with each passing day, he found that Yukimura was making his way easily towards the front. He could never figure why he was so intrigued by him - he wasn't sure if it was how easily he picked up tasks, how friendly he was towards the crew, how strict he could be with people who weren't performing to standard, and how much skill he had buried inside of him. As Kirihara phrased it once, Yukimura had his hand wrapped around the crew tighter than Sanada ever would, but he didn't need to command them to do anything for him yet.
Sanada's loss against him in a sabre battle when Yukimura had only a week's worth of training incited an absurd amount determination in him to become better and to reclaim his title as the strongest on the ship. However, no matter how hard and arduously he trained, he could not best Yukimura who seemed to be growing exponentially by the day. Their relationship quickly became a one-sided rivalry, but it also became so much more than that.
He started finding himself near him quite a bit in all sorts of situations, and the more he thought about it, the more it became apparent to him that some of them may have been set-ups. Smacking his head, he was annoyed that he didn't suspect anything sooner, but he had to give it to the crew for being really stealthy about it. It wasn't like he didn't want to be in his company - in fact, he found that he was thirsting for more.
Plus, he felt unusually open and at ease the first time they talked together at night, standing in the bow of ship and looking at the stars. The next time they talked, which was in the evening and Sanada was at the helm, he felt even more comfortable in Yukimura's presence, listening him talk about what he looked forward to in the future and how happy he was that he was allowed to become a pirate. As the days went on, their conversations became even deeper - reflections about their past, secrets they didn't dare tell anyone else, and a few words of comfort when he knew that's what Yukimura needed.
He also found himself doing rather unusual things around him too. Whenever they stopped by an island and bathed in a body of water, he would excuse himself to a private part because he was self-conscious about Yukimura seeing his body and he felt like he was violating something by seeing Yukimura's body. He never really enjoyed sleeping with women much because the satisfaction was only temporary whereas Yukimura's company made him feel more complete so he stop partaking in that activity as well, claiming that he was too fatigued most nights. He knew that his behavior went against the unwritten pirate code and probably aroused some suspicion within the crew, but no one spoke out against him.
On one tropical island, he saw Yukimura really admiring the flowers in an inwardly overjoyed way that touched his heart deeply. When they departed the island, he brought a bouquet of flowers to Yukimura's hammock in the sleeping quarters and left there for him to find after work. It was anonymous and so the crew became obsessed with trying to discover who Yukimura's secret admire was. He shut that nonsense down when it was starting to get out of hand and out of fear that he was going to be found out.
They managed to scope out a small treasure chest on another island, and he let Yukimura have first pick at the booty even though Niou and Yanagi always got it first to sort out on the ship for the winners of various races and contests to claim first. He had to swear to Marui and Kirihara they would get first priority on the next one since they were the winners of the latest Barrel Rolling Relay Race. Yukimura was very happy with the gold necklace that had a beautiful sapphire and ruby charm.
Some days when they were running low on food supplies, Sanada would offer the rest of his meal to him with the reasoning being that Yukimura needed to get more meat on his bones. Marui was the first to protest because he liked having a lot to eat, but after a threat to tie him to a mast for the day, he let it go. Yukimura tried to resist a few of the offerings since it wasn't fair and Sanada needed to eat as well, but then he would order him to take it and leave it to him to decide if he wanted to actually eat it. His concern for his health was maybe a bit obsessive.
Sanada scratched his head a bit out of irritation before walking over to the chair his coat was on and grabbing it to put on without a shirt underneath. For a while, he thought what he was feeling were feelings of admiration and contentment at having a great friendship. However, the more he contemplated the weeks that had passed, he started to come to the conclusion that he was possibly in love with him. It was a weird and unknown concept to him considering how a pirate's life was rather lonesome and he naturally kept to himself anyways, but after paying more attention to Yagyuu's relationship with Niou, he started seeing similarities.
He shook his head before walking out - it was ridiculous to think that he was in love much less with someone that he didn't think would like him in that way.
-----
Taking time to think helped, but only a tiny bit unfortunately. It was his turn to be at the helm, which happened to be during the hottest part of the day, and the heat was smothering and made everything look hazy. There really wasn't a point for him to be at the helm considering there was no wind, but he would suffer through the heat like everyone else.
Scoffing, he looked to see who was left on deck and saw that there were a few on the starboard side finishing up shining the railing. He noticed, as he scanned the ship, that his crew of pirates did an exemplary job while getting things done in a record amount of time. He owed them each an extra bottle of rum for their work and hoped that he had enough for everyone. It had been a while since their last port stop.
He heard soft footsteps from the direction of the stairs that led below deck and he looked to see a shirtless Yukimura carrying a bucket of water and a mop towards the center of the deck. The sun made his pale skin almost glow and made the beads of sweat already covering his thin body appear to sparkle. His pants were set very low on his hips, revealing prominent hip bones in a rather sinful way. Suddenly he wished there was a breeze to cool his mind into something more controlled.
"Afternoon, Captain," he greeted without pausing in his stride.
"Good afternoon, Yukimura," he answered back. "Don't uh… overexert yourself. It's sweltering out." He felt very hot in the face from the lameness of his comment, but then more so when Yukimura chucked lightly.
"Of course, Captain. I thank you for your concern," he responded, flashing a pleasant smile before starting his work.
Time passed by slowly and Sanada was sure that he didn't take his eyes off of Yukimura once. He didn't really need to considering that the boat was hardly moving anywhere and the other crew members had retreated into the shade below deck to shine the canons and cannonballs or to gamble and drink rum. It was just the two of them and a giant stream of thoughts trying to rush through Sanada's mind - his uncertainty about being in love, fascination with how beautiful he was, and curiosity to if Yukimura was feeling the same way.
"Captain," a voice softly spoke up and he jolted straight up out of shock. He had absentmindedly slumped down a bit on the helm and felt embarrassed about his poor posture.
"Yanagi!" Sanada hissed and a shirtless, but non-sweaty, Yanagi smirked at him. "What… what is it?"
"You do realize that the wind has picked up a little and if you continue steering the course that you are, we're going to end up 20 degrees off of where we want to go. And we'll crash into a large rock too," he said smoothly and Sanada frowned at him. "Don't blame me. You'e the one at the helm and staring at a certain deckhand."
"He's not a deckhand anymore," Sanada said, making the necessary adjustments with the wheel. "He's a pirate. Like all of us."
"I thought you were going to say that he was a stowaway."
"You knew I wasn't going to say that."
"I know."
Sanada glared at him furiously, taking his hands off of the wheel so that he could cross his arms. The rest of the crew would have been wanting to flee for their lives, but Yanagi was his best friend and was not intimidated in the least bit.
Before he could say anything else, he noticed that Yukimura was finished and was heading towards the stairs with the mop and the bucket of water. He gave him an approving nod for his work and then Yukimura smiled so brightly that he was suspicious that part of it was on purpose to get a reaction out of him.
"You're welcome, Captain," he said politely. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to change into a new pair of pants so that I can help get dinner ready."
"Thanks for your hard work."
"Mmmhmmm…"
"And for wanting to stay onboard even though the original deal was to drop you off at the first port town," Sanada said in a rush before he could stop himself. He was felt mortified.
"Well Captain Sanada, I really like your crew," he responded genuinely. "The thought of being a part of a group that accepts me and is kind to me for a while is much better than starting off on my own in an unknown town. I just can't the hang of talking pirate yet."
"Don't worry about it. I don't use it."
"Of course. See you at dinner. See you too, Yanagi."
"Have a pleasant day, Seiichi."
Sanada watched him retreat down the stairs and waited a while before turning to Yanagi, who was smiling in that all-knowing way.
"What?!" he spat venomously at him.
"You might as well have offered to do him in your cabin tonight after that confession," he said, clapping a hand on Sanada's back. "I mean, he wouldn't say no to this no-shirt-under-a-nice coat, rugged look of man."
"Yanagi!"
"I know, you're not out for sex, but you know, I think you really do like him. You could confess fully in your cabin."
"It doesn't matter how I feel," he said, grabbing the helm again and staring off towards the front of the boat. "You heard him… he's here because he likes being a part of the group."
"He wouldn't dare confess his feelings at the helm of the ship and especially with me there too."
Sanada sighed and Yanagi pulled him closer in a one-armed hug.
"I think that Yukimura feels the same way for many reasons. He's just really good at hiding it from you and you're also not very observant of those type of signals."
"I'll take the reassurance, but I don't know about the honest truth about my lack of observation skills," Sanada said and they both laughed a little.
"Well, I'll leave you until dinner, Captain," Yanagi said, starting to walk away. "Have to make sure your shipmates are resuming work after lunch and I'll send someone to replace you at the helm."
"Thanks again, Yanagi."
"Not at all, best friend. Just, you know, be open to the possibility that he could be the one to complete your life."
-----
"Ahoooooooy!" Marui said from the crow's nest in the late afternoon the next day. Sanada could only make out his red hair, which was partly covered by a blue bandana, from where he was. "Hey mateys! I see our next destination!"
"Ahoooooooy!" his parrot echoed from his perch near the helm. Yanagi stroked him on the head fondly and the parrot closed his eyes happily.
"No one else except Bunta says 'ahoy' all drawn out and cheery like that," Yanagi noted with a slight chuckle.
"Quiet, landlubber," the parrot said in response, which elicited another laugh. "Ahoooooooooy! Pieces of cake!"
"Alright lads, adjust the sails a bit towards port and let's get there as soon as possible," Sanada ordered and several members of his crew nodded before climbing the rigging or making necessary adjustments to catch the wind just right.
"I'm going to turn the boat a bit as well," Jackal said from the helm and Sanada signaled that he was okay with the idea.
"What do you want us to do on the island, Cap'n?" Kirihara asked as he walked by with a stack of empty crates.
"The usual. Gather food and wood and put them in the crates. A group of us will find the treasure hidden on the island. Another group will fish for dinner and start the bonfire."
"Aye aye Captain!"
"Arrrrrgh!!!"
"You alright, mate?"
"Arrr! Me peg leg got tangled in some rope."
"How'd you get down from the mast so fast?"
"Used my hand hook to slide down."
"Convenient. Although I'm sure I don't want to get my hand cut off for one of those."
"Hey Yukimura, can ya give me a hand with some of this canvas?"
Sanada's attention immediately snapped in the direction of Niou's voice and saw that he was trying to fold up canvas that they used for tents. Yukimura set down the crates he had and rushed over to help him with his task. He saw that Yukimura's sapphire blue eyes were brimming with excitement to be on land again and to explore, and that simple sight made his heart beat faster in response.
"Captain Sanada, how should be divide the groups?" Yagyuu asked and Sanada turned to face the ex-merchant dressed in a fine navy blue long coat and gray pants. No matter what, he always looked as refined as Yanagi and Sanada always was.
"We'll go with the same numbers we always do and let's have the fastest times of the rigging climbing challenge decide where they want to go first."
"Okay, it will be done, Captain. What will you be doing?"
"Getting the treasure. Should be a good haul this time," Sanada said, thinking about the instruction sheet that he had looked over the day before. "Lots of gold and valuables considering how you had to decipher the code on the directions first. They weren't nice enough to leave a map."
"What about rum?" Niou asked when he ran up to them and Yagyuu sighed at him.
"There happens to be a stash on this island according to this map," Yanagi said, holding a piece of parchment out in his hand. "Is that what you want to do?"
"Hell ya."
"As long as you don't drink any before we have dinner."
"Promise," he responded with a salute and then a wink towards Yagyuu.
"Should be a great day, Captain," Yukimura said with a bright smile. "There is a lot to do and explore."
"As long as you're not all slacking, I'll be happy too," he said seriously, crossing his arms. "Work before play. No nonsense."
"Hey, don't forget about me!" Marui called down from where he was in the crow's nest and they all waved to him with a laugh. "We're going to live it up pirate style tonight!"
-----
The treasure chests they found were indeed stuffed full of gold coins, goblets, gems, shields, and all sorts of other valuable stuff. They hauled it back to a large area of beach where tents were being set up and a pile of wood was being formed. The pirates that took the longboats to go fishing were immensely successful and brought back many kinds of fish to start scaling. The group that went into the jungle had armfuls of tropical fruit and a basket of edible flowers to add to their collection.
The rum stash that Niou had went to investigate was immense and had a few different types of alcohol as well - Sanada had to send a few more crew members to help him roll the barrels and carry the bottles to their campsite. Sanada also had to firmly remind them not to get carried away with the fact that there was so much alcohol now in their possession and they said they would save quite a bit to be prizes for their gambling. As civilized as he had them trained to be, they were still pirates, and they were fueled by alcohol and adventure.
Dinner was very enjoyable - full of lively chatter and humorous jokes around the roaring bonfire. There was plenty of delicious fish for everyone to cook over the fire on a stick, and for dessert, Sanada was given a fair share of mangoes and pineapple. They all partook in their traditional ritual of smashing coconuts apart with their sabers (first one to get ten open won an extra bottle of rum and a day off from work). Sanada always won so the day off went to the runner-up, but Yukimura beat him by a fraction of a second, which caused Sanada to scowl and stomp off for a while until Yanagi dragged him back. He really was tired of losing by a little bit in most things, but Yanagi reassured him that the crew didn't look down on him for it.
Treasure was then sorted amongst the pirates - this time first picks were based on the latest Barrel Roll Relay Race as promised. Half of it were for use in port towns and with merchant ships they would run into for buying supplies or getting rooms in an inn, but the rest was for them to keep for themselves. They were the ones to find it and they didn't mind showing it off when they could. The women definitely were into well-decorated pirates with the hopes of leaving with a small prize after the night.
Then, the rum came out and the festivities were all ramped up. Conversations got random or more erratic, people attempted to do a 3-legged race across the beach, some ended up going for a swim, and others were content with sitting and drinking the night away. The highest ranking crew members lingered with Sanada and started a truth or dare game where they spun a bottle to determine who would be the asker each time. The receiver would not get to choose between a truth or a dare, and if they refused to do anything or answer anything that was given to them, then they had to take a swig of rum. Sanada knew that the game spelled disaster for him right away, but he couldn't walk away from the challenge. Especially if Yukimura was playing.
-----
"Cap'n, why don't you bathe with us anymore?" Kirihara asked with a wicked grin. "Violation of pirate code that is."
"It's an unwritten part of pirate code," Sanada said, taking a mighty swig from his bottle. "Next."
Kirihara spun the bottle that was resting on a wooden plank and it pointed at Yanagi.
"Hiroshi… tell me your favorite place to have Masaharu make love to you," he asked politely and Yagyuu picked up his bottle and drank from it. "Darn…" He spun the bottle and it landed on him again, which he probably knew how to do on purpose. "Masaharu, what is your favorite place to make love to Hiroshi?"
"Mmm… Kitchen…" Niou said, slurring as he slumped onto Yagyuu. "On the… table…"
"You have no self-control when you're drunk," Yagyuu said hotly, trying to shove him off of his body. "Don't answer things about the intimate parts of our relationship."
"Wha-? Yagyuu… I'm sorry, sorry," he said, trying to put his arms around him, but missing when Yagyuu moved out of annoyance. "I just want everyone know that… that we love each other… I'm not afraid… to say..."
"Awwww, how cute!" Marui said, giggling as held his bottle out in front of him. "Spin the bottle, Yanagi! We have more rum to go!"
"Hmmm…" Jackal said when he saw that the bottle was pointing towards him. "Captain, I dare you to remove your pants."
Sanada's angry response was to drink more rum. It was also an added rule for them to all drink whenever Sanada turned down a dare. The game was definitely a cover up for trying to get drunk and for having the rare opportunity to torture Sanada without the consequence of him punishing them.
"Oh, it's me!" Marui said brightly, swaying as he hummed a song in thought. "Captain, if Yanagi and Kirihara were a couple, what would you say?"
"Congratulate them and then I'd leave them be. It's their business."
"What happens if they were having sex in your cabin?"
"You can't ask more than one question!"
"I can't even imagine kissing Yanagi! Yuck!" Kirihara said loudly, taking a swig to rid his mind of such thoughts. Yanagi laughed to himself before crawling over and planting a firm kiss right on the lips of an unaware Kirihara.
"Why imagine if it just became a reality?" he whispered seductively and then was tackled into the sand by a suddenly irate Marui.
"Ah, I had been wondering about those two," Yukimura spoke up, eyes twinkling, and they all turned their attention to them. "Marui had been coming out of the same places Kirihara was in less than a minute after."
"I think you two have been busted," Jackal said and Marui sat up from where he had pinned Yanagi.
"Shut up. It's not like we do it all the time like Niou and Yagyuu do."
"Excuse me, we do not do it often," Yagyuu said stiffly, pushing up his glasses. "Only when all of our work has been done and there isn't anyone else around. We're courteous to others."
The bottle was spun again after everyone nodded in acknowledgement to Yagyuu's explanation and it landed on Sanada. They all leaned forward in anticipation of what he was going to say and his head started throbbing when he tried to think of something. He was already fairly dizzy from how much alcohol he had had.
"Errr… Kirihara," he said, looking towards him. "What would you give Marui to make a bad day better?"
"Something sweet like a cake or strawberries or something'!" he said. "And I would team up with his parrot and make him laugh!"
"That's nice of you," he said, trying to ignore how light-headed he was. He reached forward to spin the bottle, which ended up pointing at Yanagi again.
"Jackal, I dare you to find take Marui with you to find more firewood."
"What? What kind of?" Marui started and Jackal nudged him with his elbow.
"Come on, it will be fun," he insisted, standing up and taking a gulp from his bottle. "And then we'll take it back here before going to bed."
"Maybe my parrot is hungry too? We can find some more fruit," he said, also standing up. "This plan sounds genius, mate."
Yanagi waited until the they the area before setting the bottle into motion again. This time pointed at Niou, who suddenly grinned mischievously.
"Yagyuu, I dare ya to strip out of yar clothing here," he said, struggling to his feet and trying to remind himself that the ground wasn't moving. "If ya do it, I'll do whatever ya want for the night."
"This will get too out-of-hand here," Yagyuu said as Niou helped him up. "Please excuse us, Captain. We'll retreat to our tent and I'll get him some water to sober up."
"You're excused."
Niou winked in Yukimura's direction and Sanada found himself very confused. Then the bottle was spun, landing on Kirihara who jumped up in excitement and promptly fell over.
"Are you alright, Kirihara?"
"I'm fine, mate," he said, spitting out sand loudly. "I dare you Yanagi to dare me to go with you to find Marui and Jackal and help them."
"Wait, how is that fair?" Sanada asked as they too stood up to depart. He couldn't summon the energy to move quickly from the spot, so he settled for looking up at them.
"Unwritten rule. It was always possible to dare someone else to dare you back. Now you know it exists," Yanagi said with a bright, half-glazed smile at Sanada. He reached down and spun the bottle with an expert touch, and Sanada was sure that it was going to land on Yukimura, which it did. There was nothing innocent about Yanagi and Sanada knew that he was setting them up to be alone. They waited until everyone was out of the clear before speaking.
"It's just us, isn't it?" Yukimura observed and Sanada felt his heart jolt at the confirmation of the fact that they were quite alone.
"Yeah…" Sanada said, clutching his bottle in one hand tightly. "Anyways, your truth or dare?"
"Hmmm… I dare you to see if you can finish that bottle of rum before I finish mine," he said, taking a playful sip out of his. "Either way, your'e still going to have to drink something."
"You're sadistic."
"I know."
"I hope you know what you're doing," Sanada said as he held his bottle up, focusing on the task at hand rather than how elated he felt from the alcohol and from being alone with Yukimura. "I can hold my alcohol, but you haven't had much experience…"
"We'll see, Captain," he said slyly, putting his mouth on the neck of the bottle and starting to drink.
Nothing else was said as they drank on in silence, watching the fire dwindle down a little. The other members never showed back up so Sanada assumed that they had gone to bed. As for him, he felt more intoxicated than he had ever felt in his life and lost his normal inhibitions in the process. Yukimura sprawled out on the beach, propped up by his elbows and his shirt pulled up a little to reveal an inch of his waist, wasn't really helping any.
"Mmm… How are you feeling, Captain?" he said pleasantly, also quite drunk himself. Or at least he appeared that way with the cheery smile and sing-song teasing.
"Wasted thanks to your dare," he said, tossing the empty bottle away from him. "Glad no one is around to witness this."
"They're afraid of walking the plank when you remember in the morning," he explained as rolled over and then crawled closer to Sanada. "If you remember, that is."
"Nonsense, I'll remember," he said gruffly although he was feeling something stir in his lower regions when Yukimura came closer. It must have been the predatory gaze that he was giving him unless he was imagining it.
"Argh!" he suddenly cried when he suddenly couldn't hold himself up and collapsed face first into Sanada's lap. "Sorry Captain, this is the most I've ever had too…" he said, muffled by Sanada's thighs. The vibration of his voice in that area was very overwhelming for Sanada who now felt a primal urge to push him against a tree and have his way with him.
"You should have not overdone it," he said, trying to pull him up, which resulted in him steadying a bemused Yukimura with his arms on his shoulder. "I can't ever beat you no matter how hard I try."
"I like pushing you to higher heights," he said, causing Sanada's heart to pound faster. "And in turn, your determination encourages me to grow."
"Yu-Yukimura…"
"Now tell me what you've been wanting to say for quite some time now. I won't take no for an answer."
"What… what are you talking about?"
"You know. You can't hide anything from me," he said, looking into his eyes seriously. "I just want to know. Please."
"I… I think I like you. A lot," Sanada mumbled, trying hard not to show his embarrassment. "Well, maybe more than a lot." Suddenly, he felt shy, open, and afraid he was going to scare Yukimura off. He wondered if all confessions came with that much nervousness. "I can't seem… seem to ever get you off my mind."
"Like love?" he whispered with a smile.
"I… I don't know… I'm not sure what that is…"
His lips were sealed with a kiss - a deeply passionate one that tasted of rum and another pleasing sweetness. Yukimura's soft lips felt incredible against his own, parted slightly for Sanada to explore with his tongue. He found himself hungry for more when Yukimura pulled apart so he grabbed the back of his head and pulled him close again to continue kissing him. Fiery hot heat surged through his veins as Yukimura climbed on top of him and started working the buttons off of Sanada's inner shirt, revealing strong muscles and a few large but faint scars.
"Love it is, my dear Captain," he noted, tracing the scars with his finger. "Needed quite a bit of rum in you to get you to confess."
"You set me up," Sanada said, looking away to see that Yukimura's rum bottle still had a quarter of it left. A light chuckle issued out of Yukimura in response.
"It was a gamble because I didn't know if you really felt that way. We're both good at hiding our feelings."
"Do you think the crew knew?"
"Ever heard of Operation Sea Biscuits?"
"Yeah, I've heard them mention it once in a while. Never bothered to ask because I thought they were being ridiculous like they do on occasion…" Then it occurred to him that he was right that the crew was involved and he felt stupid that he had played right into their game unsuspectingly. "Damn it. Did you know?"
"I figured it out and then played along."
"Why do I always end up being targeted?" Sanada said exasperatedly and Yukimura smiled warmly.
"You're Captain. Who doesn't like seeing how much they can get away with when it comes to their superiors? Also, they really do want you to be happy," Yukimura explained as he unbuttoned his own shirt, revealing his exquisite skin, unmarred by any blemishes. "You're still going to punish them, aren't you?"
"Of course. Running laps, walking the plank, shining all of the canons… they'll pay for making a fool out of me."
"And I'm included in that, am I right?"
"You participated. Just because you are now my lover doesn't mean you get out of things."
"Darn. Well, at least think of it like this - they were creating a treasure map to my heart for you," he said sweetly, putting his hand on Sanada's heart and pausing to feel it beat.
"I guess that's true - they're meddling worked in the end," Sanada accepted. "Anyways, when did you know that I liked you?" Sanada asked, carefully pressing his hands on his chest and watching it tinge pink upon contact. He knew he needed to treat him right after all of the hardships and abuse he had been through and was so appreciative that Yukimura would give him that chance.
"I suspected you released me because you had an unknown interest in me that grew by the day. I knew after you left me such pretty flowers in my hammock."
"When did you first fall for me?"
"The moment you came down in the brig. You really are a hot man, but then you turned out to be such a caring person and I really… needed that in my life. Desperately," he said, voice quavering slightly towards the end of his answer. He took a breath to compose himself.
"Well, stowaway, you have me all riled up," he said, brushing a lock of hair out of Yukimura's eyes, tucking it behind his ear before kissing him lightly on the cheek. "What say you and me head into my cabin and take care of some business?"
"Won't the other crew members get suspicious if they see the boat rocking?" Yukimura teased as he got off of Sanada and held out a hand to get him up. A moment later, he scooped him up in his arms and slowly carried to the boat in a sort of zigzag path that Yukimura chuckling merrily at how much he was struggling with his feet.
"They're pirates. They might just think it's one of their… absurd ghost stories come true," Sanada said breathlessly, now sizing up the ramp to the boat. If he fell off walking up, then he would never be able to face the crew again.
"I know you're really drunk right now," Yukimura said, positioning his head into the nook of his neck. "But do you honestly love me? I don't want this to be a dream that will be broken in the morning."
"I'd swear my life to you forever," he answered with a rare smile down at Yukimura and Yukimura lit up right in his arms. "You're a beautiful person - inside and out."
"Oh Sanada," he said, kissing him deeply again. "Now hurry your ass up this ramp so I can drown you in pleasure and you can assert your claim over me." Sanada immediately quickened his pace in response - the feelings that Yukimura was stirring in him were ridiculously sinful. Suddenly he felt that he could conquer anything and that included an incline over water onto a boat.
"As you wish. But why am I taking orders if I'm the Captain?" he asked seriously as he approached the door to his cabin, inwardly relieved to be somewhere safe, and Yukimura laughed.
"Because, Captain Sanada, Absolute Ruler of the Pirates and the Sea, I really do wear the pants of this relationship and I'm not giving that up."
"Manipulative sadist," he growled, opening the door and going in. Once he shut the door, he covered the room in a few large strides before throwing Yukimura onto the bed and climbing on top of him to ravish his body with his touch. The way that his body kept pressing into his and the verbal responses meant he was doing what Yukimura wanted him to do.
"You like it… more… than you let on," he said happily between content sighs and he smiled again. The ex-stowaway had claimed his heart from the very start and he found himself looking forward to all of the adventures that they were going to have together. There wasn't any other treasure in the world that was more valuable to him than Yukimura, and after a good look into his sapphire eyes, he could tell that Yukimura felt the very same.
What happened that night was special, beautiful, pure, and complete - leaving them lying in bed, arms wrapped around each other, and simply breathing in each other's wonderful existence.
Author: AbsoluteHYMN007
Recipient: reddwarfer
Pairing: Sanada/Yukimura
Ratings/Warnings: PG-13+ or T (rum drinking, a few swearwords, mentions of adult concepts, implied but not described sex).
Word Count: 13,276
Summary: Yukimura Seiichi escapes from his cruel life of being someone else's property and treated like an object with no feelings. Fate leads him to finding himself aboard Captain Sanada Genichirou's ship and his crew of extremely skilled pirates. A turn of luck and Yukimura finds himself working as a deckhand while traveling towards their next destination, but feelings start to form between the stowaway and the Captain, and the crew decides to get involved. Lots of crew shenanigans and rum drinking!
Notes: Please excuse the limited usage of stereotypical pirate speak and my vague explanation of boat rigging. I did my absolute best to try to fulfill your prompt (AUs are very new to me) and I hope you enjoy the result of my efforts! ^^
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2
Chapter 3 - Treasure Map to the Heart
Sanada slowly opened his eyes, blinking back the urge to go back to sleep. His cabin felt uncomfortably hot despite not having the blinds open and he dreaded the fact that he would be wearing his coat in the heat. The boat wasn't really rocking either, which meant they were stuck in the doldrums. It was going to be a long day, but nothing other than an unpredictable windy day ever stopped Sanada from making sure the crew did their usual routine effectively and without complaint.
He sighed and sat up, quickly running his hands through his hair to put it back into place. The sweat that clung to his fingers and stuck his shirt to his body made him feel highly uncomfortable, and he wiped his hands on the shirt before taking it off. Sanada then stood up and walked over to his window and pulled down a part of the blinds so he could take a peek at the deck. He saw that the crew had unanimously decided to go shirtless and were moving at a faster pace than usual to get things done before the sun would be fully up.
Stepping away from the window, he walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of pants. He decided to dress slowly so that he would have some time to think to himself, which Yanagi insisted that he do since he had seemed a bit preoccupied the other day. Sanada really didn't understand why he had to because there wasn't anything they were trying to obtain or any pirate adversaries to be on the lookout for. The only thing that was quite different in his life was the addition of Yukimura to his crew.
The belt that he had in his hands slipped out of his grasp when he thought of the blue-haired ex-stowaway and how much of an affect he had on everyone on board the ship. He frowned, bending over to pick up his belt and worked on slipping it through the loops around his waist. A few seconds later, he had a realization that this was what Yanagi wanted him to think about coupled with a sickening feeling that Yanagi was able to read him as well as he could.
Sanada knew that Yukimura had constantly occupied the back of his mind since that day he was caught as a stowaway, but with each passing day, he found that Yukimura was making his way easily towards the front. He could never figure why he was so intrigued by him - he wasn't sure if it was how easily he picked up tasks, how friendly he was towards the crew, how strict he could be with people who weren't performing to standard, and how much skill he had buried inside of him. As Kirihara phrased it once, Yukimura had his hand wrapped around the crew tighter than Sanada ever would, but he didn't need to command them to do anything for him yet.
Sanada's loss against him in a sabre battle when Yukimura had only a week's worth of training incited an absurd amount determination in him to become better and to reclaim his title as the strongest on the ship. However, no matter how hard and arduously he trained, he could not best Yukimura who seemed to be growing exponentially by the day. Their relationship quickly became a one-sided rivalry, but it also became so much more than that.
He started finding himself near him quite a bit in all sorts of situations, and the more he thought about it, the more it became apparent to him that some of them may have been set-ups. Smacking his head, he was annoyed that he didn't suspect anything sooner, but he had to give it to the crew for being really stealthy about it. It wasn't like he didn't want to be in his company - in fact, he found that he was thirsting for more.
Plus, he felt unusually open and at ease the first time they talked together at night, standing in the bow of ship and looking at the stars. The next time they talked, which was in the evening and Sanada was at the helm, he felt even more comfortable in Yukimura's presence, listening him talk about what he looked forward to in the future and how happy he was that he was allowed to become a pirate. As the days went on, their conversations became even deeper - reflections about their past, secrets they didn't dare tell anyone else, and a few words of comfort when he knew that's what Yukimura needed.
He also found himself doing rather unusual things around him too. Whenever they stopped by an island and bathed in a body of water, he would excuse himself to a private part because he was self-conscious about Yukimura seeing his body and he felt like he was violating something by seeing Yukimura's body. He never really enjoyed sleeping with women much because the satisfaction was only temporary whereas Yukimura's company made him feel more complete so he stop partaking in that activity as well, claiming that he was too fatigued most nights. He knew that his behavior went against the unwritten pirate code and probably aroused some suspicion within the crew, but no one spoke out against him.
On one tropical island, he saw Yukimura really admiring the flowers in an inwardly overjoyed way that touched his heart deeply. When they departed the island, he brought a bouquet of flowers to Yukimura's hammock in the sleeping quarters and left there for him to find after work. It was anonymous and so the crew became obsessed with trying to discover who Yukimura's secret admire was. He shut that nonsense down when it was starting to get out of hand and out of fear that he was going to be found out.
They managed to scope out a small treasure chest on another island, and he let Yukimura have first pick at the booty even though Niou and Yanagi always got it first to sort out on the ship for the winners of various races and contests to claim first. He had to swear to Marui and Kirihara they would get first priority on the next one since they were the winners of the latest Barrel Rolling Relay Race. Yukimura was very happy with the gold necklace that had a beautiful sapphire and ruby charm.
Some days when they were running low on food supplies, Sanada would offer the rest of his meal to him with the reasoning being that Yukimura needed to get more meat on his bones. Marui was the first to protest because he liked having a lot to eat, but after a threat to tie him to a mast for the day, he let it go. Yukimura tried to resist a few of the offerings since it wasn't fair and Sanada needed to eat as well, but then he would order him to take it and leave it to him to decide if he wanted to actually eat it. His concern for his health was maybe a bit obsessive.
Sanada scratched his head a bit out of irritation before walking over to the chair his coat was on and grabbing it to put on without a shirt underneath. For a while, he thought what he was feeling were feelings of admiration and contentment at having a great friendship. However, the more he contemplated the weeks that had passed, he started to come to the conclusion that he was possibly in love with him. It was a weird and unknown concept to him considering how a pirate's life was rather lonesome and he naturally kept to himself anyways, but after paying more attention to Yagyuu's relationship with Niou, he started seeing similarities.
He shook his head before walking out - it was ridiculous to think that he was in love much less with someone that he didn't think would like him in that way.
-----
Taking time to think helped, but only a tiny bit unfortunately. It was his turn to be at the helm, which happened to be during the hottest part of the day, and the heat was smothering and made everything look hazy. There really wasn't a point for him to be at the helm considering there was no wind, but he would suffer through the heat like everyone else.
Scoffing, he looked to see who was left on deck and saw that there were a few on the starboard side finishing up shining the railing. He noticed, as he scanned the ship, that his crew of pirates did an exemplary job while getting things done in a record amount of time. He owed them each an extra bottle of rum for their work and hoped that he had enough for everyone. It had been a while since their last port stop.
He heard soft footsteps from the direction of the stairs that led below deck and he looked to see a shirtless Yukimura carrying a bucket of water and a mop towards the center of the deck. The sun made his pale skin almost glow and made the beads of sweat already covering his thin body appear to sparkle. His pants were set very low on his hips, revealing prominent hip bones in a rather sinful way. Suddenly he wished there was a breeze to cool his mind into something more controlled.
"Afternoon, Captain," he greeted without pausing in his stride.
"Good afternoon, Yukimura," he answered back. "Don't uh… overexert yourself. It's sweltering out." He felt very hot in the face from the lameness of his comment, but then more so when Yukimura chucked lightly.
"Of course, Captain. I thank you for your concern," he responded, flashing a pleasant smile before starting his work.
Time passed by slowly and Sanada was sure that he didn't take his eyes off of Yukimura once. He didn't really need to considering that the boat was hardly moving anywhere and the other crew members had retreated into the shade below deck to shine the canons and cannonballs or to gamble and drink rum. It was just the two of them and a giant stream of thoughts trying to rush through Sanada's mind - his uncertainty about being in love, fascination with how beautiful he was, and curiosity to if Yukimura was feeling the same way.
"Captain," a voice softly spoke up and he jolted straight up out of shock. He had absentmindedly slumped down a bit on the helm and felt embarrassed about his poor posture.
"Yanagi!" Sanada hissed and a shirtless, but non-sweaty, Yanagi smirked at him. "What… what is it?"
"You do realize that the wind has picked up a little and if you continue steering the course that you are, we're going to end up 20 degrees off of where we want to go. And we'll crash into a large rock too," he said smoothly and Sanada frowned at him. "Don't blame me. You'e the one at the helm and staring at a certain deckhand."
"He's not a deckhand anymore," Sanada said, making the necessary adjustments with the wheel. "He's a pirate. Like all of us."
"I thought you were going to say that he was a stowaway."
"You knew I wasn't going to say that."
"I know."
Sanada glared at him furiously, taking his hands off of the wheel so that he could cross his arms. The rest of the crew would have been wanting to flee for their lives, but Yanagi was his best friend and was not intimidated in the least bit.
Before he could say anything else, he noticed that Yukimura was finished and was heading towards the stairs with the mop and the bucket of water. He gave him an approving nod for his work and then Yukimura smiled so brightly that he was suspicious that part of it was on purpose to get a reaction out of him.
"You're welcome, Captain," he said politely. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to change into a new pair of pants so that I can help get dinner ready."
"Thanks for your hard work."
"Mmmhmmm…"
"And for wanting to stay onboard even though the original deal was to drop you off at the first port town," Sanada said in a rush before he could stop himself. He was felt mortified.
"Well Captain Sanada, I really like your crew," he responded genuinely. "The thought of being a part of a group that accepts me and is kind to me for a while is much better than starting off on my own in an unknown town. I just can't the hang of talking pirate yet."
"Don't worry about it. I don't use it."
"Of course. See you at dinner. See you too, Yanagi."
"Have a pleasant day, Seiichi."
Sanada watched him retreat down the stairs and waited a while before turning to Yanagi, who was smiling in that all-knowing way.
"What?!" he spat venomously at him.
"You might as well have offered to do him in your cabin tonight after that confession," he said, clapping a hand on Sanada's back. "I mean, he wouldn't say no to this no-shirt-under-a-nice coat, rugged look of man."
"Yanagi!"
"I know, you're not out for sex, but you know, I think you really do like him. You could confess fully in your cabin."
"It doesn't matter how I feel," he said, grabbing the helm again and staring off towards the front of the boat. "You heard him… he's here because he likes being a part of the group."
"He wouldn't dare confess his feelings at the helm of the ship and especially with me there too."
Sanada sighed and Yanagi pulled him closer in a one-armed hug.
"I think that Yukimura feels the same way for many reasons. He's just really good at hiding it from you and you're also not very observant of those type of signals."
"I'll take the reassurance, but I don't know about the honest truth about my lack of observation skills," Sanada said and they both laughed a little.
"Well, I'll leave you until dinner, Captain," Yanagi said, starting to walk away. "Have to make sure your shipmates are resuming work after lunch and I'll send someone to replace you at the helm."
"Thanks again, Yanagi."
"Not at all, best friend. Just, you know, be open to the possibility that he could be the one to complete your life."
-----
"Ahoooooooy!" Marui said from the crow's nest in the late afternoon the next day. Sanada could only make out his red hair, which was partly covered by a blue bandana, from where he was. "Hey mateys! I see our next destination!"
"Ahoooooooy!" his parrot echoed from his perch near the helm. Yanagi stroked him on the head fondly and the parrot closed his eyes happily.
"No one else except Bunta says 'ahoy' all drawn out and cheery like that," Yanagi noted with a slight chuckle.
"Quiet, landlubber," the parrot said in response, which elicited another laugh. "Ahoooooooooy! Pieces of cake!"
"Alright lads, adjust the sails a bit towards port and let's get there as soon as possible," Sanada ordered and several members of his crew nodded before climbing the rigging or making necessary adjustments to catch the wind just right.
"I'm going to turn the boat a bit as well," Jackal said from the helm and Sanada signaled that he was okay with the idea.
"What do you want us to do on the island, Cap'n?" Kirihara asked as he walked by with a stack of empty crates.
"The usual. Gather food and wood and put them in the crates. A group of us will find the treasure hidden on the island. Another group will fish for dinner and start the bonfire."
"Aye aye Captain!"
"Arrrrrgh!!!"
"You alright, mate?"
"Arrr! Me peg leg got tangled in some rope."
"How'd you get down from the mast so fast?"
"Used my hand hook to slide down."
"Convenient. Although I'm sure I don't want to get my hand cut off for one of those."
"Hey Yukimura, can ya give me a hand with some of this canvas?"
Sanada's attention immediately snapped in the direction of Niou's voice and saw that he was trying to fold up canvas that they used for tents. Yukimura set down the crates he had and rushed over to help him with his task. He saw that Yukimura's sapphire blue eyes were brimming with excitement to be on land again and to explore, and that simple sight made his heart beat faster in response.
"Captain Sanada, how should be divide the groups?" Yagyuu asked and Sanada turned to face the ex-merchant dressed in a fine navy blue long coat and gray pants. No matter what, he always looked as refined as Yanagi and Sanada always was.
"We'll go with the same numbers we always do and let's have the fastest times of the rigging climbing challenge decide where they want to go first."
"Okay, it will be done, Captain. What will you be doing?"
"Getting the treasure. Should be a good haul this time," Sanada said, thinking about the instruction sheet that he had looked over the day before. "Lots of gold and valuables considering how you had to decipher the code on the directions first. They weren't nice enough to leave a map."
"What about rum?" Niou asked when he ran up to them and Yagyuu sighed at him.
"There happens to be a stash on this island according to this map," Yanagi said, holding a piece of parchment out in his hand. "Is that what you want to do?"
"Hell ya."
"As long as you don't drink any before we have dinner."
"Promise," he responded with a salute and then a wink towards Yagyuu.
"Should be a great day, Captain," Yukimura said with a bright smile. "There is a lot to do and explore."
"As long as you're not all slacking, I'll be happy too," he said seriously, crossing his arms. "Work before play. No nonsense."
"Hey, don't forget about me!" Marui called down from where he was in the crow's nest and they all waved to him with a laugh. "We're going to live it up pirate style tonight!"
-----
The treasure chests they found were indeed stuffed full of gold coins, goblets, gems, shields, and all sorts of other valuable stuff. They hauled it back to a large area of beach where tents were being set up and a pile of wood was being formed. The pirates that took the longboats to go fishing were immensely successful and brought back many kinds of fish to start scaling. The group that went into the jungle had armfuls of tropical fruit and a basket of edible flowers to add to their collection.
The rum stash that Niou had went to investigate was immense and had a few different types of alcohol as well - Sanada had to send a few more crew members to help him roll the barrels and carry the bottles to their campsite. Sanada also had to firmly remind them not to get carried away with the fact that there was so much alcohol now in their possession and they said they would save quite a bit to be prizes for their gambling. As civilized as he had them trained to be, they were still pirates, and they were fueled by alcohol and adventure.
Dinner was very enjoyable - full of lively chatter and humorous jokes around the roaring bonfire. There was plenty of delicious fish for everyone to cook over the fire on a stick, and for dessert, Sanada was given a fair share of mangoes and pineapple. They all partook in their traditional ritual of smashing coconuts apart with their sabers (first one to get ten open won an extra bottle of rum and a day off from work). Sanada always won so the day off went to the runner-up, but Yukimura beat him by a fraction of a second, which caused Sanada to scowl and stomp off for a while until Yanagi dragged him back. He really was tired of losing by a little bit in most things, but Yanagi reassured him that the crew didn't look down on him for it.
Treasure was then sorted amongst the pirates - this time first picks were based on the latest Barrel Roll Relay Race as promised. Half of it were for use in port towns and with merchant ships they would run into for buying supplies or getting rooms in an inn, but the rest was for them to keep for themselves. They were the ones to find it and they didn't mind showing it off when they could. The women definitely were into well-decorated pirates with the hopes of leaving with a small prize after the night.
Then, the rum came out and the festivities were all ramped up. Conversations got random or more erratic, people attempted to do a 3-legged race across the beach, some ended up going for a swim, and others were content with sitting and drinking the night away. The highest ranking crew members lingered with Sanada and started a truth or dare game where they spun a bottle to determine who would be the asker each time. The receiver would not get to choose between a truth or a dare, and if they refused to do anything or answer anything that was given to them, then they had to take a swig of rum. Sanada knew that the game spelled disaster for him right away, but he couldn't walk away from the challenge. Especially if Yukimura was playing.
-----
"Cap'n, why don't you bathe with us anymore?" Kirihara asked with a wicked grin. "Violation of pirate code that is."
"It's an unwritten part of pirate code," Sanada said, taking a mighty swig from his bottle. "Next."
Kirihara spun the bottle that was resting on a wooden plank and it pointed at Yanagi.
"Hiroshi… tell me your favorite place to have Masaharu make love to you," he asked politely and Yagyuu picked up his bottle and drank from it. "Darn…" He spun the bottle and it landed on him again, which he probably knew how to do on purpose. "Masaharu, what is your favorite place to make love to Hiroshi?"
"Mmm… Kitchen…" Niou said, slurring as he slumped onto Yagyuu. "On the… table…"
"You have no self-control when you're drunk," Yagyuu said hotly, trying to shove him off of his body. "Don't answer things about the intimate parts of our relationship."
"Wha-? Yagyuu… I'm sorry, sorry," he said, trying to put his arms around him, but missing when Yagyuu moved out of annoyance. "I just want everyone know that… that we love each other… I'm not afraid… to say..."
"Awwww, how cute!" Marui said, giggling as held his bottle out in front of him. "Spin the bottle, Yanagi! We have more rum to go!"
"Hmmm…" Jackal said when he saw that the bottle was pointing towards him. "Captain, I dare you to remove your pants."
Sanada's angry response was to drink more rum. It was also an added rule for them to all drink whenever Sanada turned down a dare. The game was definitely a cover up for trying to get drunk and for having the rare opportunity to torture Sanada without the consequence of him punishing them.
"Oh, it's me!" Marui said brightly, swaying as he hummed a song in thought. "Captain, if Yanagi and Kirihara were a couple, what would you say?"
"Congratulate them and then I'd leave them be. It's their business."
"What happens if they were having sex in your cabin?"
"You can't ask more than one question!"
"I can't even imagine kissing Yanagi! Yuck!" Kirihara said loudly, taking a swig to rid his mind of such thoughts. Yanagi laughed to himself before crawling over and planting a firm kiss right on the lips of an unaware Kirihara.
"Why imagine if it just became a reality?" he whispered seductively and then was tackled into the sand by a suddenly irate Marui.
"Ah, I had been wondering about those two," Yukimura spoke up, eyes twinkling, and they all turned their attention to them. "Marui had been coming out of the same places Kirihara was in less than a minute after."
"I think you two have been busted," Jackal said and Marui sat up from where he had pinned Yanagi.
"Shut up. It's not like we do it all the time like Niou and Yagyuu do."
"Excuse me, we do not do it often," Yagyuu said stiffly, pushing up his glasses. "Only when all of our work has been done and there isn't anyone else around. We're courteous to others."
The bottle was spun again after everyone nodded in acknowledgement to Yagyuu's explanation and it landed on Sanada. They all leaned forward in anticipation of what he was going to say and his head started throbbing when he tried to think of something. He was already fairly dizzy from how much alcohol he had had.
"Errr… Kirihara," he said, looking towards him. "What would you give Marui to make a bad day better?"
"Something sweet like a cake or strawberries or something'!" he said. "And I would team up with his parrot and make him laugh!"
"That's nice of you," he said, trying to ignore how light-headed he was. He reached forward to spin the bottle, which ended up pointing at Yanagi again.
"Jackal, I dare you to find take Marui with you to find more firewood."
"What? What kind of?" Marui started and Jackal nudged him with his elbow.
"Come on, it will be fun," he insisted, standing up and taking a gulp from his bottle. "And then we'll take it back here before going to bed."
"Maybe my parrot is hungry too? We can find some more fruit," he said, also standing up. "This plan sounds genius, mate."
Yanagi waited until the they the area before setting the bottle into motion again. This time pointed at Niou, who suddenly grinned mischievously.
"Yagyuu, I dare ya to strip out of yar clothing here," he said, struggling to his feet and trying to remind himself that the ground wasn't moving. "If ya do it, I'll do whatever ya want for the night."
"This will get too out-of-hand here," Yagyuu said as Niou helped him up. "Please excuse us, Captain. We'll retreat to our tent and I'll get him some water to sober up."
"You're excused."
Niou winked in Yukimura's direction and Sanada found himself very confused. Then the bottle was spun, landing on Kirihara who jumped up in excitement and promptly fell over.
"Are you alright, Kirihara?"
"I'm fine, mate," he said, spitting out sand loudly. "I dare you Yanagi to dare me to go with you to find Marui and Jackal and help them."
"Wait, how is that fair?" Sanada asked as they too stood up to depart. He couldn't summon the energy to move quickly from the spot, so he settled for looking up at them.
"Unwritten rule. It was always possible to dare someone else to dare you back. Now you know it exists," Yanagi said with a bright, half-glazed smile at Sanada. He reached down and spun the bottle with an expert touch, and Sanada was sure that it was going to land on Yukimura, which it did. There was nothing innocent about Yanagi and Sanada knew that he was setting them up to be alone. They waited until everyone was out of the clear before speaking.
"It's just us, isn't it?" Yukimura observed and Sanada felt his heart jolt at the confirmation of the fact that they were quite alone.
"Yeah…" Sanada said, clutching his bottle in one hand tightly. "Anyways, your truth or dare?"
"Hmmm… I dare you to see if you can finish that bottle of rum before I finish mine," he said, taking a playful sip out of his. "Either way, your'e still going to have to drink something."
"You're sadistic."
"I know."
"I hope you know what you're doing," Sanada said as he held his bottle up, focusing on the task at hand rather than how elated he felt from the alcohol and from being alone with Yukimura. "I can hold my alcohol, but you haven't had much experience…"
"We'll see, Captain," he said slyly, putting his mouth on the neck of the bottle and starting to drink.
Nothing else was said as they drank on in silence, watching the fire dwindle down a little. The other members never showed back up so Sanada assumed that they had gone to bed. As for him, he felt more intoxicated than he had ever felt in his life and lost his normal inhibitions in the process. Yukimura sprawled out on the beach, propped up by his elbows and his shirt pulled up a little to reveal an inch of his waist, wasn't really helping any.
"Mmm… How are you feeling, Captain?" he said pleasantly, also quite drunk himself. Or at least he appeared that way with the cheery smile and sing-song teasing.
"Wasted thanks to your dare," he said, tossing the empty bottle away from him. "Glad no one is around to witness this."
"They're afraid of walking the plank when you remember in the morning," he explained as rolled over and then crawled closer to Sanada. "If you remember, that is."
"Nonsense, I'll remember," he said gruffly although he was feeling something stir in his lower regions when Yukimura came closer. It must have been the predatory gaze that he was giving him unless he was imagining it.
"Argh!" he suddenly cried when he suddenly couldn't hold himself up and collapsed face first into Sanada's lap. "Sorry Captain, this is the most I've ever had too…" he said, muffled by Sanada's thighs. The vibration of his voice in that area was very overwhelming for Sanada who now felt a primal urge to push him against a tree and have his way with him.
"You should have not overdone it," he said, trying to pull him up, which resulted in him steadying a bemused Yukimura with his arms on his shoulder. "I can't ever beat you no matter how hard I try."
"I like pushing you to higher heights," he said, causing Sanada's heart to pound faster. "And in turn, your determination encourages me to grow."
"Yu-Yukimura…"
"Now tell me what you've been wanting to say for quite some time now. I won't take no for an answer."
"What… what are you talking about?"
"You know. You can't hide anything from me," he said, looking into his eyes seriously. "I just want to know. Please."
"I… I think I like you. A lot," Sanada mumbled, trying hard not to show his embarrassment. "Well, maybe more than a lot." Suddenly, he felt shy, open, and afraid he was going to scare Yukimura off. He wondered if all confessions came with that much nervousness. "I can't seem… seem to ever get you off my mind."
"Like love?" he whispered with a smile.
"I… I don't know… I'm not sure what that is…"
His lips were sealed with a kiss - a deeply passionate one that tasted of rum and another pleasing sweetness. Yukimura's soft lips felt incredible against his own, parted slightly for Sanada to explore with his tongue. He found himself hungry for more when Yukimura pulled apart so he grabbed the back of his head and pulled him close again to continue kissing him. Fiery hot heat surged through his veins as Yukimura climbed on top of him and started working the buttons off of Sanada's inner shirt, revealing strong muscles and a few large but faint scars.
"Love it is, my dear Captain," he noted, tracing the scars with his finger. "Needed quite a bit of rum in you to get you to confess."
"You set me up," Sanada said, looking away to see that Yukimura's rum bottle still had a quarter of it left. A light chuckle issued out of Yukimura in response.
"It was a gamble because I didn't know if you really felt that way. We're both good at hiding our feelings."
"Do you think the crew knew?"
"Ever heard of Operation Sea Biscuits?"
"Yeah, I've heard them mention it once in a while. Never bothered to ask because I thought they were being ridiculous like they do on occasion…" Then it occurred to him that he was right that the crew was involved and he felt stupid that he had played right into their game unsuspectingly. "Damn it. Did you know?"
"I figured it out and then played along."
"Why do I always end up being targeted?" Sanada said exasperatedly and Yukimura smiled warmly.
"You're Captain. Who doesn't like seeing how much they can get away with when it comes to their superiors? Also, they really do want you to be happy," Yukimura explained as he unbuttoned his own shirt, revealing his exquisite skin, unmarred by any blemishes. "You're still going to punish them, aren't you?"
"Of course. Running laps, walking the plank, shining all of the canons… they'll pay for making a fool out of me."
"And I'm included in that, am I right?"
"You participated. Just because you are now my lover doesn't mean you get out of things."
"Darn. Well, at least think of it like this - they were creating a treasure map to my heart for you," he said sweetly, putting his hand on Sanada's heart and pausing to feel it beat.
"I guess that's true - they're meddling worked in the end," Sanada accepted. "Anyways, when did you know that I liked you?" Sanada asked, carefully pressing his hands on his chest and watching it tinge pink upon contact. He knew he needed to treat him right after all of the hardships and abuse he had been through and was so appreciative that Yukimura would give him that chance.
"I suspected you released me because you had an unknown interest in me that grew by the day. I knew after you left me such pretty flowers in my hammock."
"When did you first fall for me?"
"The moment you came down in the brig. You really are a hot man, but then you turned out to be such a caring person and I really… needed that in my life. Desperately," he said, voice quavering slightly towards the end of his answer. He took a breath to compose himself.
"Well, stowaway, you have me all riled up," he said, brushing a lock of hair out of Yukimura's eyes, tucking it behind his ear before kissing him lightly on the cheek. "What say you and me head into my cabin and take care of some business?"
"Won't the other crew members get suspicious if they see the boat rocking?" Yukimura teased as he got off of Sanada and held out a hand to get him up. A moment later, he scooped him up in his arms and slowly carried to the boat in a sort of zigzag path that Yukimura chuckling merrily at how much he was struggling with his feet.
"They're pirates. They might just think it's one of their… absurd ghost stories come true," Sanada said breathlessly, now sizing up the ramp to the boat. If he fell off walking up, then he would never be able to face the crew again.
"I know you're really drunk right now," Yukimura said, positioning his head into the nook of his neck. "But do you honestly love me? I don't want this to be a dream that will be broken in the morning."
"I'd swear my life to you forever," he answered with a rare smile down at Yukimura and Yukimura lit up right in his arms. "You're a beautiful person - inside and out."
"Oh Sanada," he said, kissing him deeply again. "Now hurry your ass up this ramp so I can drown you in pleasure and you can assert your claim over me." Sanada immediately quickened his pace in response - the feelings that Yukimura was stirring in him were ridiculously sinful. Suddenly he felt that he could conquer anything and that included an incline over water onto a boat.
"As you wish. But why am I taking orders if I'm the Captain?" he asked seriously as he approached the door to his cabin, inwardly relieved to be somewhere safe, and Yukimura laughed.
"Because, Captain Sanada, Absolute Ruler of the Pirates and the Sea, I really do wear the pants of this relationship and I'm not giving that up."
"Manipulative sadist," he growled, opening the door and going in. Once he shut the door, he covered the room in a few large strides before throwing Yukimura onto the bed and climbing on top of him to ravish his body with his touch. The way that his body kept pressing into his and the verbal responses meant he was doing what Yukimura wanted him to do.
"You like it… more… than you let on," he said happily between content sighs and he smiled again. The ex-stowaway had claimed his heart from the very start and he found himself looking forward to all of the adventures that they were going to have together. There wasn't any other treasure in the world that was more valuable to him than Yukimura, and after a good look into his sapphire eyes, he could tell that Yukimura felt the very same.
What happened that night was special, beautiful, pure, and complete - leaving them lying in bed, arms wrapped around each other, and simply breathing in each other's wonderful existence.