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Mark wakes up to Lucas leaving kisses along his back. “Finally, took you long enough” the captain grins as he sees Mark turning around. “What did I deserve that for?” Mark asks. “Mmh can a man not do that to his boyfriend?” Lucas asks smirk on his face. “Yah, you better take me on a date first.” Mark responds throwing his pillow at the captain. “Well I would if your colleagues would let us, but I don’t think that’s the case now is it?” the taller responds. “Nope, but that doesn’t give you a free pass” Mark tells him “You lead a whole ship, I’m sure you can think of something.” The captain rolls his eyes “Jaehyung just called, breakfast is ready” Lucas tells him placing one last kiss on Mark’s mouth before he leaves the bed and gets dressed. Mark tries to roll himself into a blanket burrito, hoping to get a few more minutes of sleep. He jolts awake again at the sound of the cabin’s door closing. He groans and rubs his eyes. Slowly, he gets out of bed and puts on his clothes.

He comes to a stop when he hears two people whispering in the hallway. “We are almost out” “Does the cap know?”. Know what? Mark thinks. “Yes and no, he probably has a feeling but we really should not pressure him about it” “Blimey we’re so screwed” Mark waits for them to continue their conversation but they don’t. What are they out of? Food, cannonballs, or new swords maybe? But then again Ten could deliver all of those if they would need them. He walks further only to see that the two had disappeared already. The growling of his stomach replaces his curiosity and he wanders further following the smell of fresh food.

Mark spends the rest of his day working on the ship, helping the crew out where he can. It seems like they have understood that Mark won’t be leaving soon so they started learning him things. But when he finally thinks he gets to rest after a day of work Lucas tries to take him with him. He hasn’t seen the other the whole day. It isn’t that he doesn’t want to spend time with him, but he rather does that while partially drifting off to sleep in whilst he lays in bed. “Markie please” Lucas tries but Mark makes absolutely no efforts to move. So once again his spoiled is lifted up by the strong arm of the captain. “Are you kidnapping me again? This is kidnapping in a kidnap, so does that make me double kidnapped? I mean I would report this to the captain but he doesn’t seem to mind it” Mark complains. “Hush Markie, I’ve never had somebody complain so much when they were going on a date with me” the captain says as he puts Mark on his feet. They’re in the hall that leads to the deck. Mark looks the other in the eye as he mumbles “Date?”. “Yeah you wanted one, you get one” the captain explains. “If you had said that 15 minutes ago I would’ve walked here” Mark says. “Next time” Lucas says as he pulls off his head to reveal his blond hair. “I couldn't find a blindfold so this will have to do” the taller one explains as he puts his head on Mark’s head. It’s too big and covers Mark’s eyes completely. The captain grabs his hand and pulls him with him. Mark hears the door creaking and a few seconds later cold air meets his body. It immediately gets rid of his sleepiness. They come to a stop on what Mark assumes is the middle of the deck. “You can take it off now” Lucas tells him. He obeys, eyes slowly adjusting to the dark outside. Before him are some blankets and snacks sprawled out.

“Wow” Mark says looking up at the neverending sky filled with stars above him. “You know, there are a lot of bad consequences from being a pirate but this just makes it all worth it” Lucas tells him. The taller one sits down on the blankets. “So you’re trying to say all pirates are just secret star enthusiasts?” Mark says in a mocking tone. “Nope, just me I guess” the cap answers with a grin on his face. A soft breeze hits his body and Mark shivers. “Come here” Lucas says patting the spot next to him. Mark wouldn’t have been Mark if he didn’t manage to trip over some bunched up blankets and fall exactly into the captain's lap. “You know you could have just sat there, didn't have to pull a whole stunt” Lucas says trying to contain his laughter. Mark slaps him on his thigh. ‘Bold of you to assume I want to sit in the lap of a nerd” he responds. “Say that again and I’ll slit your throat Markie” the blonde one says to the brunet. “As if you’d slit your boyfriend's throat” Mark says, words spilling out before he even thinks them trough. The shock on Lucas's face is soon replaced by a teasing smile. “Boyfriend hm and the date isn’t even over”. “Oh shut up and look at some stars will you” Mark spits back trying to regain his composure. “Sure boyfriend” the captain says as he lays the two of them down.

They watch the stars for a while, Lucas occasionally pointing out some constellations and sharing some facts. Mark isn’t necessarily very interested in the stars, but it’s weird seeing such a ‘normal’ side of Lucas. On top of that seeing, the stars reflect in the captain's eyes was truly a beautiful thing. “You want another one?” Lucas doesn’t really ask him but instead already tries to shove another piece of chocolate in Mark's mouth. “Thanks” Mark just mumbles. “Is Jaehyun actually okay with you taking all of this?” he asks mentioning all the candy wrappers around them. He definitely hasn’t forgotten the way Jaehyun had looked at him when he tried to sneak away with a cookie. “Yep, I’m pretty sure he doesn't mind, plus I’m the captain I can do whatever the hell I want” Lucas answers with a sly smile. Mark scoffs “How on earth did you ever get the rest to agree to you being the captain?” “I didn’t” Lucas answers. Mark raises an eyebrow but the look on the tallers face tells him he isn’t going to tell him the whole story. “I didn’t want to be the captain. Never did actually…I joined a crew years ago as the helmsman and navigator. Steering a ship at night while looking at the thousands of stars above you, as the moonlight reflects into the water is truly something.” the captain explains. “But you became the cap.” Mark ads. “Yes, that I did” Lucas confirms as he pulls Mark closer to him, his eyes focusing on the sky again.

Mark hadn’t realized the two of them had drifted off to sleep until they’re rudely awakened by a singing Haechan. “Ahoy cap, ahoy Mark, I see you two had a nice night here” he sing-songs. “Haechan you son of a biscuit eater!” Lucas groans. Mark finally gets himself into a sitting position and looks around. He sees some of the crew members minding their own business as if seeing the captain and his whatever he was sleeping on the deck was super normal. “Is breakfast ready?” the captain asks rubbing his eyes. “Breakfast, you’re seriously asking me about breakfast. Are you trying to run a rig on me? It’s almost three pm you lovebirds.” Haechan yells. Mark makes a mental note to never get a hangover when Haechan is around because that will be hell. They hear Taeyong chuckling from the side. “You two better eat soon, we’ve almost reached the land.” “By almost he means thirty minutes so you need to hurry up and get your asses ready.” Hendery shouts from the crow’s nest.

After freshening up their appearances they find Jaehyun in the galley. “Ah, there you are” Jaehyun says as he spots them “I left you two some food, not that much since it seems like you guys already had a midnight snack.” Mark doesn’t even dare to react. From the tone of Jaehyun’s voice, he has no idea whether he’s made or whether he doesn’t really care. “I suppose your boyfriend spilled the tea to you didn’t he” the captain adds with a grin. “Yes he did, but I’ll let it slide this time. It’s not like we never get a snack for our dates.” the cook responds in a mocking tone. He lets out a chuckle once he sees the redness that has appeared on Mark’s cheeks. “Don’t be ashamed Mark we all know” Jaehyun says bluntly and Mark doesn’t think that really makes him feel better.

They go back to the deck after their lunch. Mark can now clearly see the shore. The crew docks the boat (Mark tries to help but honestly it’s his first time so he isn’t that much of a help). He walks off the ship and is met with the familiar feeling of the ground under his feet. “So are you guys like coming with me?” Mark asks Winwin and Yuta who are strictly walking next to him. “Yep, the cap wants us to make sure you stay safe.” Yuta tells him. Mark scoffs “You know I’m meeting up with the police right? On top of that Ten is literally there why the hell would you two need to come.” “Hey, he just doesn't want you hurt okay?” Winwin responds. Something in Mark's brain snaps at that. Yes, he is glad his boyfriend cares about him enough that he’s willing to protect him but he doesn’t need two people guarding him like that. What is he a baby? He’s a trained police officer for 's sake. He’s perfectly capable of taking care of his own, especially since there on land now. So when he gets the chance he sprints away into a small alley. He hears the surprised screams of Winwin and Yuta. Mark keeps running from alley to alley, sprinting across bridges and hallways until he’s sure the other two have no clue where he is anymore. Luckily for Mark, he knows the city like the back of his hand and he quickly makes his way over to the police station.

In true Mark fashion, he just walks into the police station like he didn’t disappear for at least a month. He feels the stares from some employees as he makes his way over to his department. The first thing he’s met with when he walks through the doors is Johnny. “Mark you genius. I didn’t think you had it in you to go undercover but that truly is an amazing plan” Mark just nods and he sees Ten snickering in the back. What else was he supposed to do say: ‘Oh yeah thanks but actually I was kidnapped and then kind of fell for the captain so yeah that really’. Nope, no way on earth he would do that. It would be an immediate reason for imprisonment. At the shouting of Johnny, all the guys come running towards the noise. “Mark Lee you’re back. You little brat, couldn’t you have at least told me about your plan” Taeil screams in his ear as he pulls him into a hug. Mark doesn’t really respond to that. “So what are you waiting for” Taeil says “tell us everything.” Mark nods like he will, but he actually ends up telling the story minus the kidnapping and the falling in love part. When Johnny asks how and when they could attack them, Mark has to stop himself to not blurt out “Well starting with the man on your right is a good idea.” He doesn’t want to expose Ten so he just says “I don’t know yet”. It’s not even that much of a lie, because there are still hundreds of things going on on the ship that he doesn’t have a clue about. He tells the others that he would have to stay on with the crew for some time to find out. The officer's al immediately agree. This is the only good shot they’ve had so far.
Mark ends up spending the rest of the afternoon with his (or what used to be his) team discussing strategies and making plans. This makes Mark add a mental note to punish Ten for making all of those hours he spent investigating useless. When they’re done Taeil orders food for the celebration of a great plan. After they’ve finished Mark gets a round of hugs and Doyoung adds in a “Please don’t get killed or you’ll give me more work” and Ten just had to shout “Make sure you don’t fall in love with a pirate. That comment makes all the other police officers laugh. Only if they knew. So Mark gets ready to leave and almost makes the mistake of walking out of the front doors. If by any chance Yuta and Winwin are still around the entrance is probably where they would be. So Mark turns around and leaves through one of the back doors. He makes his way to the metro station and takes the line closest to his house. He gets off and gets home. His home that now is dusty and smells weird because nobody has been living there for a whole month. His home that slowly starts to feel less like his home but more like a house. But Mark doesn’t take much time to process that fact and just grabs some more clothes and other necessities that he might be needing. With his backpack strapped to his back, he is ready to leave.

When he is close to the ship he is greeted by Hendery who shouts “Ahoy” and gives him a smile. “Cap he’s back” Hendery shouts so loudly that some seagulls fly away to protect their ears. Mark wonders why Hendery is even in the Crowsnest to begin with. The ship isn’t even sailing. As Mark walks further it hits him that this too is probably the captain's work. Hendery must be instructed to keep an eye out for when he comes back. And that thought also irritates Mark. He boards the ship says hi to everyone that he sees before Yuta pulls him aside and whispers a “Good luck mate” in his ear. Mark is about to apologize for his behavior from the afternoon (it wasn’t directed at Yuto or Winwin after all) but he doesn’t get the chance. The door to the deck loudly swings loose and a furious captain walks through it. Lucas doesn’t waste time and starts to drag Mark with him. He doesn’t stop until they’ve reached the captain's cabin and Mark doesn’t stop trying to free himself for just as long. The captain pushes him inside and the door shuts with a loud bang. “Okay guys we better stay away from that for the next three hours” Jaemin says as the crew makes sure the ship is ready to sail once again.