It was strange how quickly the crew warmed up to Jinyoung. Maybe it was his gentle smile, or how softly he spoke, or the air of comfort they felt in his presence. Despite being a completely different species, they were one and the same, a child of the sea. At first it was definitely weird, sharing the bathroom with a mermaid. Jinyoung swore he ducked under the water anytime one of them came in, they didn't doubt him, but it was still awkward going about their business with another being in the room. After a while, Jackson complained about some of them starting smell since no one had a proper bath for weeks. He didn't say it with the intention of hurting their mermaid, but they could only go so long with sponges.

Jinyoung had apologized for being an inconvenience, and suggested he could go back to the sea if it made things easier for the crew. His downcast tone created a wave of guilt that washed over the six pirates. Of course they wanted him to stay, and it wasn't Jinyoung's fault they only had a tub to place him in. Hygiene was of course a priority, but gold, adventure, and riches were higher on the list. Just after a while without the latter three within their reach, the former became the top by default. (No one wants to catch a disease that could be easily avoided just by being clean.)

It came as a surprise when it wasn't Mark that protested, but Yugyeom. The youngest rejected the idea of Jinyoung leaving as soon as the words left his mouth, and firmly told Jinyoung that he was no inconvenience at all. The eldest on the ship wasn't the only one that talked to Jinyoung, Yugyeom often went to him when the rest of the crew was busy and listened to the mermaid's many stories about the sea and all that lurked in its waters. No one knew how, but by some chance he cornered Jaebum and later that day they saw their captain come back with a small hinoki tub to place in the other corner of the bathroom.

Mark was pleasantly surprised with Yugyeom, and even more surprised when he saw Jaebum and Jackson hauling that new tub onto the ship.

“Jinyoung's staying in your room from now on,” the captain told Yugyeom. “Your room's the biggest.”

Kunpimook groaned, dropping the mop in his hands. They youngest three shared a room, for no reason other than the fact that they were the youngest. It was one of the larger rooms on the ship, bigger than the captain's own, but that didn't mean Jaebum could throw in a fourth person into their space.

“Can't we vote? Can't he stay in Mark's room? Or even Jackson's, since he's always in your roo—”

Jaebum cut him off before he could say any more, declaring that his decision was final. Youngjae didn't have a problem with it, he slept like the dead anyway, regardless of how many occupants in the room.

“The more the merrier! I look forward to sleeping beside you both, Jinyoung and Mark,” the gunslinger remarked, laughing at Kunpimook's incredulous face. The thought of another person, another person with a room already, joining them was going to send him into another rant.

Yugyeom suggested they could lay some blankets out on the floor by Jinyoung for when Mark stayed late. They all poked a little fun at how often Mark stayed cooped up in the bathroom with their mermaid, often times until the late hours of night. He of course, brushed it off saying that it had simply been a while since he could have an intelligent conversation with someone, so he can’t be blamed if he ends up staying all night in the bathroom. Mark spoke with the straightest face he could manage, any color rising to his cheeks would ruin his credibility.

(The entire crew knew of his affection for their newest addition, whether Mark knew they knew is a different story.)

“I feel like I should apologize,” Mark starts off, scratching the back of his neck, looking at the floor. Youngjae's taking a small nap on his bed, but they often joked that not even the Kraken could wake him up from sleep, so Mark figures it's fine to pay Jinyoung a visit. The mermaid draws small patterns in the water, watching the tiny ripples before he looks over at the pirate.

“Why?” Jinyoung asks, confused, blinking up at Mark.

“Cause you're still stuck in the tub,” he responds, pulling up a stool so he can sit eye-level with Jinyoung. “In a bigger room, but still a tub no less.” He feels bad, that with all that their crew has achieved in the years they've been at sea and all the riches they reaped, they couldn't find anything better than an old, aging tub to keep their “guest.” And Mark can't imagine it being too comfortable, the tub's not even big enough for Jinyoung to lie in completely. His tail still hangs off the side, swaying to and fro.

“Well, it is a little small, considering you know,” Jinyoung laughs, eyes crinkling into little moons, and gestures at his tail, “but I forget when you guys come visit me. Takes my mind off all the aches and sores I have!”

“Wait, aches and sor—”

“Mark are you listening to me?” Jinyoung lets out a laugh, light and tinkling. He pushes himself to sit up, the water sloshing a little bit from the movement. Behind them Youngjae lets out a low whine, but goes silent just as quickly, still fast asleep. “You guys coming to talk with me and not making me feel lonely is all I need, I forget how small this tub is and nothing aches,” he says, voice dropping to a whisper when he grabs Mark's face to touch their foreheads together. “I'm happy here.”

“Stop worrying so much, okay?” The pirate doesn't know when he's closed his eyes, but they are and all he can feel is Jinyoung's wet hands holding his face, the little puffs of air against his lips, the water from Jinyoung's hair dripping between both their faces, all his senses are consumed with Jinyoung.

Jinyoung, Jinyoung, Jinyoung. He's happy. He's really happy with them.

“Hey, what are you smiling about?” The warmth around Mark's face suddenly disappears, replaced with cool sprinkles of water. His eyes shoot open when he feels the water splash into his face, Jinyoung laughing behind his hand.

“Oh nothing,” Mark says, a grin creeping up onto his face while he slowly dips his hand into the tub. “But has anyone told you you're a little rude?” And then he slaps the water across the top, sending a small wave to splash the mermaid in the face.

“Ah!” Jinyoung yelps, bringing his hands up to shield his face, laughing all the while; soft and melodic. “Splashing water on a mermaid, how unheard of! It's absolutely killing me!” He shouts, throwing his arms up in the air, making sure to bring as much water as he could with him. And if it got on Mark as a result, well it couldn't have been helped.

“Ha, ha, very funny,” the pirate says dryly, shaking the droplets off his arms and slicking his now damp hair back.

“Lighten up,” another flick of water, “smile more!” Jinyoung says, leaning over the tub to poke Mark square on the nose.

“Are all mermaids this peppy?” He asks, swatting the other's hand away. He laughs when Jinyoung sticks his tongue out.

“Wouldn't you like to know?”

Youngjae wakes up to the sound of laughter and splashing, and wetness on his face. He groans and turns his face into his pillow, eager to slip back into dreamland and away from whatever's going on in his bedroom. But it seems falling back asleep today is a chore, rather than the usual effortless task it is. More wetness accumulates on his face, almost like it was raining...

When Youngjae rolls off his bed tangled in his blankets kicking and flailing, Mark feels a little bad for disturbing their gunman. He quickly wipes his hand dry on his trousers, moving closer to help the still sleepy Youngjae out from the trap he put himself if. It was his fault the boy was so rudely awakened, so the least he could do was try to help. Behind him, he can hear Jinyoung's quiet giggles.

“Wha—what's going on?” Youngjae splutters, pulling down the blanket covering his eyes, head going from left to right, blinking the sleep from his eyes. He's sitting on the floor, Mark kneeling next to him and lifting his leg to untangle his blanket from the limb. The older boy just shakes his head and helps Youngjae to his feet, holding his blanket in his other hand.

“Bad dream?” the mermaid asks from the tub, teasing smile adorning his lips. Youngjae only has the capacity to grunt in response, quickly grabbing his pillow and shuffling over to the tub. He plops down on the floor, nearly eye-level with Jinyoung, and leans to rest his head on the edge of the tub with his pillow clutched tightly to his chest.

Jinyoung laughs, perching his chin up on the spot next to where Youngjae's leaning against. Mark watches from the bed the younger boy just vacated, watching Jinyoung smile and smooth down Youngjae's hair, watching Youngjae swat at Jinyoung's hand because of the water droplets that keep falling on his face, watching Jinyoung laugh and poke the boy on the nose like he did earlier with himself.

It's when Mark settles down next to Youngjae, on the other side of where Jinyoung's propped up, the mermaid starts humming. It starts quietly and gradually gets louder until; Mark finds himself becoming more and more relaxed, and his eyelids getting more and more heavy. The humming fills the room, bouncing off the walls and resounding through every crack and hole. Mark thinks it's enchanting, almost as enchanting as the way Jinyoung looks; eyes closed and the way the sunlight is hitting the side of his face makes it look like he's glowing, the water droplets that cling to his skin shine like jewels and Mark wishes he could capture the image and hold it with him forever.

Jinyoung's smile is that last thing he sees before his eyes close and he slips into slumber.

“So this is where my entire crew has been sneaking off to,” Jaebum says as he steps into the room, his light steps betraying how heavy his boots look. His coat and hat were shucked off and thrown haphazardly in his room somewhere, leaving the man in a loose white shirt and dark trousers. He looked nothing like a captain, instead as ordinary as a cabin boy.

“Captain,” Jinyoung greets, sitting up to see the man better, smile never leaving his face. “I'll have you know I had nothing to do with all of this, they all just appeared,” he defends, laughing into his fist when Kunpimook groans from the floor.

“If I didn't know any better,” the captain begins to say, lightly toeing at Jackson's foot, “I'd say you were siren-born come to ruin this crew and send us all to our watery graves.”

“Well, I'm glad you know better then,” the mermaid replies, absentmindedly brushing the hair from Youngjae's face. The boy sighs, shrugging his shoulders and shifting a little in his position. Jaebum takes in his crew from his place at the end of tub, glancing at them with a fond expression in his eyes.

The three youngest are sprawled on top of each other; Youngjae leaning against the tub and a pillow in his hold, with his mouth slightly agape, and the other two leaning on him. Kunpimook can barely be seen save for the tuft of copper colored hair peeking out from behind Youngjae's shoulder as the younger boy naps against the gunman's back. Their youngest, Yugyeom, is half curled on Youngjae's lap, his long legs stretched out before him.

Resting on the youngest's thighs is Jackson, surprisingly not causing a ruckus nor snoring, just sleeping peacefully with an arm thrown out next to him while the other lays over his stomach. Jaebum notices the vest and boots thrown off to the side as belonging to the sleeping pirate, and rolls his eyes. His sock clad feet are thrown across Jaebum's first mate, Mark's lap. The captain doesn't have to guess to know Jackson was the last one to join in on the naptime festivities, Mark would've never let the younger man place his feet on his lap. And Mark, unsurprisingly is also leaned up against the tub, asleep. It's a rare sight, to see them all together like this, at peace. Jaebum smiles.

“Though I'm flattered you consider my voice to be as good as those of my cousins' of saltier waters,” Jinyoung's voice brings his attention back to the only other conscious being in the room. There's no malice or sarcasm in his voice, just a hint of amusement behind that smile. “There's always room for the captain, you know.”

“There better be, I'm the one that let these kids on my ship,” he grumbles, rolling his shoulders before settling next to his first mate, moving Jackson's feet so they were propped up on his lap. Jaebum leans to rest his neck against the cool porcelain, his head lolling back. The ends of his hair barely tickle the water's surface and Jinyoung is tempted to tug at them.

The mermaid hoists himself up, moving slowly to avoid causing noise and splashing the water everywhere as he pulls his tail in to fold underneath him so he can switch sides. He manages to keep all of himself in the tub, and he comes to rest his chin on his folded arms over the other end by Jaebum's head.

“Is it alright to have no one on deck?” he speaks in a low voice, nearly muffled behind his arms.

“Mhmm,” Jaebum hums, letting his eyes fall shut. “It's late if you haven't noticed, no need to do anything or go anywhere.”

“Ah,” Jinyoung says, reaching a hand to tug at the strands he wanted to before. Jaebum just grunts in response. “Are you heading towards anything?”

“No, or at least no where in particular yet. Maybe a town if there's one nearby,” the captain says, letting out a heavy sigh. “I was going to ask our navigator, but, well. You can see what happened.”

Jinyoung stifles a giggle and breathes out an apology.

“I think he needs the nap anyway, I'm sure you've caught that empty bed of his more than once.”

“You're a sharp one, captain,” Jinyoung grins, eyeing the way the edge of Jaebum's mouth quirks up in a smirk.

“All part of the job,” he laughs, patting Jackson's leg when he feels the other shift.

“And you're doing so well,” Jinyoung whispers. Jaebum smiles.

“I used to be in choir,” Jaebum says. Jinyoung pauses in the patterns he's drawing on the edge of the tub. He thought the other would've fallen asleep by now like the rest of the crew, so Jinyoung is just a little more than surprised to hear his voice. “When I was a child.”

“Yeah?” Jinyoung moves closer to the captain of the ship, to hear the hushed words coming from his mouth.

“Yeah,” Jaebum laughs quietly, remembering his childhood. “My mother, she used to force me into these clothes that were too tight, too stuffy, more aristocratic than I would ever be, and make me attend lessons. I absolutely despised it.”

Jinyoung tries not to laugh, imagining his intimidating captain as a cute, petulant child dressed in fancy clothing. “I'm sure you did,” he cheerfully comments. Even though Jaebum's eyes are closed, Jnyoung's sure he's rolling them.

“But singing, my mother loved it,” He continues, the fondness in his voice makes Jinyoung wonder what he was like in his younger years. “She couldn't hold a note at all, and I unfortunately was reminded of that every morning. But she loved it when I sang to her, it made her so happy.”

“Even though I was a child and barely knew anything about songs and just memorized text in a book, knowing it made my mother happy was good enough for me. Even if I had to wear the ugliest coats I've ever seen in my entire life.”

Jinyoung can't help but laugh at that, Jaebum joining in not long after the mermaid starts.

“You sounded like a wonderful child. Your mother must've been proud,” Jinyoung says when they manage to tone down their amusement.

“She was,” Jaebum smiles, a small one that speaks of fondness and nostalgia, but also sorrow. The mermaid catches it, and frowns. He didn't wish to pry further.

“Will you sing for me?”

“What?” Jaebum breathes out, turning to face Jinyoung, eyes more awake than the mermaid expected.

“Sing for me,” he repeats. “Please.”

“It's been a long time,” Jaebum counters, breaking their eye contact. He hasn't sung since he was a child. “I don't think I can remember any of the songs, either.”

“Please, Jaebum,” Jinyoung begs, “I'm sure your mother would love to hear it too.” That catches his attention, and Jinyoung hears his breath hitch.

“I, alright,” he concedes. Jaebum tries to recall the words of a particular song, one where his mother would convince him with sweets if he did, whenever they went out by the pier after purchasing some bread for their dinner. He sings of a man who goes out to sea, leaving behind a lover and a shell. The shell the sailor had found on a beach far, far away, blessed by the guardians of the sea to keep one safe. He had told his lover to hold it close and to hold it up to her ear when she longed for him. For through the shell he would reassure her, would ensure his safety, would whisper words of love from him to her. But the sea is cruel, and keeps the man in her clutches for weeks, months, years. And all the lover had was a shell, and that shell she still held. And for the remainder of her life, she would listen to the shell while standing on the shore, waiting and hoping for the man to come back. The song ends with her disappearing into the sea, swept in by the waves and reunited with the man in the waters, and the shell lays deep down on the seafloor.

Jaebum didn't think he could remember all of it, but he does, remembering his mother humming along and pulling on his hands to spin in slow circles along the shore. He stares forward as the last note dies on his lips, remembering the familiar tugs on his vocal chords.

Jinyoung lets a breath he doesn't realize he's holding.

“Are you sure you're not the siren here?”

“Even if I was, I wouldn't be half as beautiful as you.”

The sound of laughter rings through the silence of the night, gay and bright; the happiness of finding something that was once thought to be lost.

“I think I heard angels singing in my dreams, it was the most wondrous sound I've heard in a while.”

“Oh, I think I heard something similar in my dreams too....I slept so well.....”

“All of you get up, we have things to do.”

“Aye, aye, captain.”

“Are you sure the size of the tu—”

“Are you still on that?” Jinyoung huffs, torn between laughing at how nervous Mark looks or rolling his eyes at how predictable their conversations have become. The first mate found himself with a lot more time on his hands after their captain set his gaze on the next port city, having a lot less to say to Mark and a lot more to Yugyeom. So it isn't a surprise that his thoughts all revolved around a mermaid that was confined to a small tub, not suitable for the fair creature.

“Here I thought you would trust my word..” Jinyoung mumbles, his eyes downcast as he drags his finger across the water, watching the ripples he created. The pout on the mermaid makes Mark flounder, he didn't mean to nag, he was the one that nagged the least on board, but he couldn't help but be worried about Jinyoung's conditions.

“I do,” he blurts out, sighing when he sits down by the tub. None of the younger members are in their room at the moment, having been assigned duties around the ship, save for Yugyeom who was with their captain. “It's just...this crew has come so far and done so much, yet we can't even afford to provide something better than a porcelain tub for you.” He sighs in defeat, running a hand through his unruly hair.

Jinyoung just stares at him.

“I'm sure you've noticed, we haven't come back with gold in a long while, and,” he pauses to laugh, “I'm tempted to turn myself in just for the bounty. I don't even know what happened.”

“Jaebum would kill you himself if you ever did that,” Jinyoung comments. He reaches out to lay a hand on Mark's arm. “And I would be quite sad, I wouldn't even be able to you go and Jaebum drag you back to beat you silly. Unless he drags you back to this room, of course.” He laughs behind his hand, amusement dancing in his eyes and Mark smiles too. Hope flares up in his heart when Jinyoung says he would be sad if he was gone. Oh, how his heart would ache as well.

“You just want to see my get handed to me,” he teases back, laughing at Jinyoung's offended expression.

“Why I'd never,” the mermaid gasps. “Who would want to see their knight in shining armor be defeated?”

“You jester,” Mark laughs, throwing his head back. He ignores the warmth in his cheeks when he corrects himself, and sees Jinyoung smiling at him above his folded arms.

“All I wish, is that we had enough to provide for you better,” he says, smiling bitterly as he plays with a loose thread on one of the fabrics they lay down. “All these fancy things on board and not a single coin for a bigger tub.”

“I told you, it's not a huge deal,” Jinyoung tries to reassure him. He really didn't mind, and he didn't want to intrude anymore than he already has.

“I don't even think some of the things would fetch a high price either,” Mark continues, looking around the room.

“You mean the things the crew would be willing to give up,” Jinyoung begins to tease, laughing at the way Mark's ears turn red. It's true, there are more than a number of luxury goods on the ship, from silken bed sheets to the silver and steel each of them wore. Jinyoung would even be willing to bet their clothes were made of some fine cloth as well.

“All I'm saying is that I wish for gold!” Mark cuts Jinyoung off before he can bring up anything else about their rather lush lifestyle.

“How about selling gems then, would that fetch a decent sum?”

“Gems would be wonderful,” Mark sighs. “If we had any.” He opens his mouth to say something about finding something on the next “excursion” they go on, but stops himself when he notices the thoughtful look on Jinyoung's face.

“Is something the matter?” he asks, concern creeping up in his body.

“Nothing, just...” the mermaid begins to say before he reaches out to grab Mark's hand. He places it against his cheek, one hand over the pirate's while the other held his wrist, keeping his hand to his cheek.

“Wha—” the pirate barely manages to get out; Jinyoung's cheek was smooth and cool against his palm, a contrast to how warm his face was becoming. Jinyoung doesn't say anything, instead he closes his eyes and leans slightly into the pirates hand.

Mark doesn't say anything, nor does he make an effort to pull his hand away. He's confused as to what Jinyoung is doing, and is about to question him after seconds passing by and neither of them moving. He only gets as far as opening his mouth when he sees tears begin to slip out under Jinyoung's eyelashes, and he begins to panick.

“Jinyoung, what, are you—” He barely gets a coherent sentence out while he squirms in his seat, unintentionally tugging his arm free from Jinyoung's grip. But the mermaid is stronger than he looks and keeps him in place, hissing a strict “Stay still,” with his eyes still closed.

Mark can only watch in anguish as tears continue to roll down the mermaids face, only for the anguish to turn to pure shock when the tears begin to grow in size and change in color.

Soon he has a handful of rubies and sapphires and pearls, more continue to fall into his hand, into the tub sinking to the bottom. Only when Jinyoung feels the gems begin to poke into his side he opens his eyes, to meet Mark's bright ones.

“Jinyoung,” he breathes, the gems in his hand forgotten and left to fall into the water. He smiles so wide he can feel his cheeks hurt, surging forward to hold Jinyoung's face in his hands and press their foreheads together.

“You're wonderful, you're amazing, unbelievable,” words of praise continue to tumble from his lips, dissolving into laughter when he feels Jinyoung's hands on his, holding their position.

“You're absolutely amazing,” he whispers, staring at those eyes not even inches away from his. Their noses are touching, and Mark wishes he had the courage to eliminate the distance between their lips.

Jinyoung just smiles, teeth showing and eyes crinkled up into little moons. The absolute image of beauty, more precious than any of the gems born from the stars that are his eyes.

When Mark had barged into Jaebum's study that day, neither the captain nor navigator were prepared to have rubies and sapphires shoved into their faces. The look of surprise on their faces made kicking down the door worth it, even though Jaebum would make him fix it later.

He excitedly told them how the legends and stories were true, mermaids did cry tears of precious stones—well, gems in this case, but there was truth in those old fishermen's tales after all! He told them how they had more than enough to purchase supplies for a month, that they could finally purchase what they had been putting off for weeks and more. Mark however, did leave out how he had practically lifted their mermaid out of the tub and spun him around, and how he had to change his clothes before going to meet show Jaebum. His captain didn't need to know that, and their navigator didn't need to hear such stories.

Jaebum had then followed Mark back to the youngests' room, to find Jinyoung perched on the edge of the tub, and as his first mate said, enough gems lying at the base of the tub for supplies and more. Which led him to promptly declare he could kiss their mermaid at the moment, a declaration Mark didn't care much for, but Jinyoung laughed at.

After that, they set said for the nearest town, intentions of getting what they needed and more importantly what they wanted. Jaebum had distributed small satchels to each of the crew, enough gems for them to sell and bargain with for whatever they needed. He himself declared to stay on the ship with Jinyoung in case something happened, and that the rest of them were responsible for the necessities. All else, would be on them. That was surprisingly it for their captains directions, but Mark figured he could only hold Jackson's and Kunpimook's attention for so long while they were excited, chattering with Youngjae about all that they could finally buy.

Which leads to where the crew sans captain and mermaid are now. Lockport Town, according to Yugyeom before they docked. Minimal government regulation for the sake of trade, so they wouldn't run into trouble unless they were looking for it. Their captain had warned them to behave, or it was a month of deck and artillery duty.

Mark is combing through stalls and peeking into shops with Yugyeom trailing behind him, the younger boy curiously looking are wares here and there. The other three were grouped together, leaving as soon as their boots had hit the ground. Mark vaguely remembers hearing Jackson yell about barbecued meat and hollering from the younger two in the background. He's relieved he's paired with their makeshift merchant when Jaebum doesn't accompany them to towns. (Their captain trained their youngest quite well, it seems.)

Speaking of their captain, he hopes he and Jinyoung are alright faring by themselves on the ship. Not that there was a need to be concerned, no one would dare step foot on their ship knowing Captain Im was on board. So he continues to browse through stores, looking for what he needed. There are pieces of jewelry that catch his eye, plain bands of silver and earrings encrusted with diamond, but his goal is not personal needs—not until he finds what he needs first. Of course, he'll have to attend to the ships stock of dried meats and every and all fruits he can find, but it can wait. Knowing how easily Youngjae gets talked into things by Jackson and Kunpimook, separately and together, Mark knows they'll stay in the town for at least a few hours.

Perhaps he'll find a new pair of boots for their captain, considering he isn't out with them.

“Mark,” Yugyeom calls out to him, standing at a storefront Mark can't identify. The navigator is staring quite thoughtfully at what's in front of him and Mark can't help but be curious. And when he finally makes his way towards the younger, weaving though hurried merchants and busy body shoppers, he realizes what's gotten Yugyeom in such deep thought.

A glassblower.

“Yugyeom,” He says, not taking his eyes off the shapes and sizes of the glass on display behind the windows. There were a few pieces of peculiar color, but that isn't what Mark is focused on.

“Do you think Jackson would be capable of such a project?”

Mark grins.

It was quite lucky for the glassblower to have most of the pieces they required, and with the offer of a more than a few gems on the table, they were guaranteed the remaining pieces to be done in a few short hours.

First mate and navigator walk out of the shop with identical grins on their face, the glassblower bidding them a jolly farewell and promises of his quickest work yet.

“Do you think he'll be happy with it?” Mark asks his companion.

“Oh he's already happy, but I'm sure he'll be absolutely ecstatic with this,” Yugyeom answers, not missing a beat, as they continue walking through the lines of shops. Mark laughs and pulls the taller boy to a food stand, using whatever coins he managed to find amongst his things to purchase two beef skewers for them.

“A treat before we begin our shopping,” he says, knocking his skewer against the one in Yugyeom's hand, grinning before he takes a bite. The navigator rolls his eyes, taking a bite himself.

Mark lets himself get pulled from shop to shop, the bags and bundles in his arms growing in number as Yugyeom bustles around here and there, negotiating and bartering. It almost makes him wish they had pulled Jackson with them, the younger man having more strength to carry heavy things than he himself did. (But if they had to measure, Yugyeom would be able to carry even less.) So he finds himself sitting atop a crate of oranges Yugyeom managed to purchase for a pearl and a few pieces coins while the other shops for meat the crew so desperately needed. Mark leans back against the stone pillar and watches people walk by, and wonders how Jinyoung and Jaebum are holding up.

Just a few hours, just a few hours and he'll see the smile that can light up the darkest of rooms.

Yugyeom is waiting for the butcher to relay the order he just placed to his associates in the back room when he hears them talk.

“Isn't that one of Im's brats?”

“What one?”

“The tall one standin' at the counter. He got a bounty but it ain't anywhere as high as that sword guy of theirs.”

“Heard they got themselves a mermaid, from that auction back in Dasolda.”

“If Im and his crew are out an' about, no one's lookin' after the ship, aye?”

“Aye, and if I can remember, mermaids don't got feet.”

There's laughter, a clink of glass, and the screech of chairs moving against the ground. Yugyeom keeps his gaze forward, but glances out of the corner of his eyes as they walk by. Two rough looking hooligans, not even worth to be called pirates, and reeking of filth and alcohol. He has half a mind to trail after them, tell Mark and show them what “Im's brat” and the “sword guy” can do. But he doesn't, he remains calm and waits for the butcher to come back with several wrapped pieces of meat before dropping a few gems in his meaty, waiting palm.

He thinks Captain Im would enjoy a little exercise.

“Hey, let's go check on the glassblower,” Yugyeom calls out to Mark, snapping him out of a daze. The older pirate groans as he has to lift everything into his arms again, following behind the navigator and his light baggage.

“Do you think the Captain will be mad we spent so much on food,” Kunpimook asks, beginning to look a little nervous at how much bread and pastries are in the basket he's holding.

“Don't worry so much, Mook,” Jackson says, slinging an arm around the younger boy. He has a chicken leg in his other hand, taking a bite when Kunpimook shoves him off. “I'll let you in on a little secret, our big scary captain has a penchant for cinnamon,” he says winking as the younger quickly ducks his head to count how many of the pastries contained cinnamon.

“Yugyeom's gonna kill us when he finds out how much we spent,” Youngjae whines, wanting to cover his face with his hands, but he can't when they're weighed down by all the bags he has.

“Just throw him one of the silk shirts you picked up and I'm sure he'll forgive and forget,” Jackson suggests, taking another large bite of his snack. “You have more than enough to spare, heck throw in necklace since he likes those much and I'm pretty sure he'll kiss ya.”

“Jackson!” Youngjae nearly yells, his face going red.

“What?” The eldest of the group says innocently.

“Forget him, Youngjae,” Kunpimook says, adjusting the basket on his arm so it's secure and gestures for the gunman to come along. “We should probably at least get some supplies and stay on Yugyeommie's good side without bribery.”

“Ah, and I thought kids would have a little more sense of adventure,” Jackson groans, lifting his own bags—about five or so, or maybe eight, but who's counting?

“Did you hear that?” Jaebum says, raising his head from the book he was reading.

“Hm?” Jinyoung lets out a questioning noise, not looking up from the puzzle box Jaebum let him fiddle with. The two had been in the youngests' room since the crew left to shop, the captain having dragged a chair from his study to the room to sit beside the mermaid. His feet were propped up on the edge of the tub, but Jinyoung didn't mind so much, engrossed in the colorful cube Jaebum placed in his hands almost as soon as he walked in.

“There was a noise, coming from the deck,” he says, voice a lot quieter than it had been moments before. Jinyoung tries to speak, but is silenced when Jaebum holds a finger to his lips, a look of concentration on his face and his other hand reaching towards the short sword he keeps on his person at all times. He curses to himself, of all times he decides to leave his sword in his room, it's today when it sounds like thieves were trying to sneak onto his ship.

“I'll be back,” he mouths to Jinyoung, taking slow and quiet steps out of the room and up to the deck.

The mermaid remains in the tub, placing the puzzle on the chair Jaebum just vacated. He has a thought, a sly smile creeping up his face.

“Well, I didn't think anyone was foolish enough to climb aboard this ship, but I guess a captain can't always be right,” Jaebum says, startling the two fools who looked like they were trying to get into his study. Their wide eyes were enough to tell Jaebum they weren't expecting any of the crew to be on the ship, let alone the ship's captain.

He walks towards them, steps slow and boots clicking against the wooden floor, “Now would you like to tell me what business you have, or,” he slides his short sword out of its sheath to hold in front of him, “would you rather be thrown into the ocean?”

“—into the ocean,” he hears Jaebum say from above. Jinyoung's almost impressed how cool and collected the captain sounds, a stark contrast with the way he yells at the crew to wake up in the mornings.

He clutches the edge of the tub as he nearly slips, not having done this in quite a while. He feels like a child learning how to swim for the first time all over again, laughing to himself at how silly he feels.

Jinyoung's in the middle of buttoning up one of the shirts he grabbed off of someone's bed—he's not sure who slept in which bed anymore, it seemed like the younger boys liked to just lay on whatever they pleased—when he hears the click of a gun behind him. He doesn't turn around to face the intruders, and he hears grunts and some movement on deck above him and assumes whoever came on engaged Jaebum.

Ah, a surprise attack, one on top and the other on bottom.

“Don't move or I'll spray blast yer pretty lil' head into smithereens,” a gruff voice says.

“Now tell us were the mermaid is,” another says right after. Jinyoung almost starts laughing right at that moment.

“Mermaid? I have no idea what you're talking about,” he says, trying to sound as scared and confused he possibly can. He's lucky he's still turned around or the intruders would see the large grin on his face. He looks out the window, admiring how clear the waters look. It's not such a bad day for a swim, he thinks.

“Don't lie ta' us boy, we've seen the papers. The swordsman of yers stole that mermaid and there ain't no way Im would be stupid enough ta' throw away a mermaid,” one of them speaks again.

“I'll be generous and give ya five,” and he hears the gun click again. Oh how generous, Jinyoung thinks, rolling his eyes.

“I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong shi—”

“Didn't I say don't lie ta' us?”

“There is no mermaid, you have to be mistaken,” Jinyoung says, holding a hand against his stomach. The cool surface of seastone is familiar in his hands, slowly materializing in before him, and hidden by his body from the two intruders.

“Five...” he hears one say.

Oh, his baby, his precious, it's finally back in his hands.

“One,” and the gun is pulled.

Jinyoung is met with two very surprised looking faces once he's turned around, staring at him back to the trident that appeared out of nowhere, the middle spike lodged into the mouth of the gun.

“Oh, I'm sorry!” Jinyoung exclaims, pulling the trident back, and with it the gun. He tips it out the window and the weapon falls off into the ocean. “That was an accident, I swear!” he says, bringing the trident to his chest, and takes a step back to play that scared captive role.

“Ya' played wit' the wrong men, brat,” the one that had the gun snarls, looking like he's ready to lunge at Jinyoung. His companion mirrors his actions. Jinyoung just takes another step back.

The first one looks like he's about to yell, and Jinyoung can't have him attracting any attention from anyone on deck, so he acts quickly to the trident at intruder one. He holds it in the spaces between one and two's heads, no one moving for a second.

Jinyoung watches the matching disgusting grins that spread on their faces, amusement on their faces.

“Looks like we got tha' cabin boy, huh?”

“Dumb bray can't even aim,” two laughs.

He resists the urge to rolls his eyes, but if their guard was down, the better for him, he supposes. Jinyoung takes the opportunity to quickly pull his trident back, stopping the motion almost immediately after. The blunt force of the forks effectively stun the two lowly looking men, even causing one to stumble forward.

“Cabin boy, hm?” He hums, taking a step forward, bare feet on the cool wood. “I guess that's what you can tell everyone if you manage to get out of the ocean,” he takes his trident and hooks the front of the first grunt's dirty looking coat, swinging him around until he's pressed against the window frame. “that you were taken out by a cabin boy.” And out he goes, Jinyoung smiling at the splash that follows.

“Your turn,” he says, turning back to the dazed man on the floor.

“Are you alright?” Jaebum practically rushes back down into the youngests' room to check on Jinyoung. The mermaid just blinks up at him, hands stilled in the middle of turning the cube.

“Huh?” Jinyoung says, looking at him strangely.

“Nothing was down here?”

“No...?” Jinyoung says slowly, shifting up in the tub, pulling his tail in, “Did something happen on deck?”

Jaebum lets out a sigh of relief and sits back down in his chair. “No, nothing. It was just a wild dog that managed to get on.” He wipes the sweat off his brow and makes a note to clean the blood off his blade when the others get back.

“Do you like puzzles?”

“Hm? Oh, well this is the first time I've seen anything like this...”

“Ah really? Here let me show you how....”

“We're baaaaaaaaaaack,” Jackson announces once they've all reboarded the ship. Youngjae helps carry some of the food Mark and Yugyeom bought, while Kunpimook goes back down to help bring the rest of the supplies up after setting his things down.

“Oi, Jackson how about you come and help get some of this on the ship instead of screaming?” Mark calls from the dock, a hand cupped around his mouth while the other holds onto the sheets of glass he and Yugyeom purchased earlier.

“I didn't hear a please,” the other shouts back. Youngjae “accidentally” hits him with a bag when he turns around. The gunman grins sheepishly and suggests maybe Jackson go help or he'll risk a lot more injury with all the bags and crates scattered on the deck.

Yugyeom laughs when he sees Jackson walking down the ramp, grumbling about rascals and making him work. It's a short lived laugh when the youngest finally gets on deck and sees the amount of things there are. He's about to yell for the three culprits when Jaebum appears from below, whistling at the sight of all they bought.

“I didn't,” Yugyeom starts to explain, sighing and running a hand through his hair. Jaebum just shakes his head, a small smile on his face.

“Just this once, I'll let it go.”

“But..”

“I hope you got something nice for yourself, Yugyeom.”

The navigator grins, scratching the back of his neck. “Go help the others bring the rest of the stuff up, we'll set sail as soon as everyone's back on board,” Jaebum says, making a shooing motion his with hand.

He sighs and tries to see how much is actually supplies and how much are personal purchases.

“Jinyoung,” Mark calls as soon as the mermaid comes into view while descending the stairs. Jinyoung's face brightens with a smile and Mark's heart does a flip. He smiles at him while he settles on the chair Jaebum left down there.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hello,” Jinyoung answers back. Mark doesn't say anything, he just stares at Jinyoung and smiles. “...what? Did you find something amazing in town? Were the gems not enough to get what you wanted?”

“No, I mean yes! But also no—” He stops when Jinyoung starts laughing at his mess of an answer, eventually joining in, realizing how stupid he sounded. “I mean, yes we did find something amazing, a number of things actually, and yes, yes! The gems were more than enough and I, we, can't thank you enough!” Mark says enthusiastically, the grin not leaving his face.

“Well I'm glad,” Jinyoung continues to laugh, nearly dissolving into a fit of giggles when a yelp comes from the deck, followed by “My oranges!”

“But more importantly,” Mark says when Jinyoung's attention is back on him and not the chase going on above them for spilling the crate of oranges. “We're finally getting you out of this tub.”

Jinyoung's eyes do that thing where they turn into little moons and Mark's heart is definitely doing flips in his chest at how beautiful he looks.

“Well, it's about time.”

for all the people that said they wanted a continuation of the pirate/merman/whatever au here you are! hopefully it doesn't fall below any expectations (but honestly what could you have been expecting)

it escaped me and a lil jjp even got in there how did that happen oops and lil bits of other stuff if you can tell ayyy

this has been sitting in wips for so long im surprised anyone even wanted a follow up of that au...i guess it was lucky i already had something started LMAO i hope this isn't the start of me uploading things more frequently because let me tell you it's false hope and do not believe in me

and if i do it probably won't be for this ~compilation but for something else laughs into nothingness (hint it's yugjae because i love yugjae)

also that feeling when someone writes an au that you have a draft of......well guess that ones going back into the vault xgkxgkvxdhkokmbxx