Mark feels the adrenaline running through his body. He isn’t sure if it’s from Lucas’s words or the fight they just had, presumably a combination of both. He hears a low rumbling sound and he turns to look behind him where Jisung is standing. “That’s what you get when you interrupt my breakfast’ Jisung says. “By now it’s practically time for lunch” Haechan complains. “I’m on it” Jaehyun shouts before walking away to the galley “we can’t let the children starve after all”. With a nod from the captain, everybody goes back to whatever tasks they should be doing. “Lucas can we…” Mark is interrupted by a finger on his lips. “Not now Markie, I need to have a meeting with Taeyong.” “Okay” Mark says to Lucas’s disappearing figure. It must be very urgent if he doesn’t even have three seconds to wait for his response. “Watch out’ he hears behind him and he’s thankful for what years of training have done to his reflexes. He barely manages to dodge the piece of wood that Winwin drops. “Aye, Winnie watch out will you, cap will probably make you dance the hempen jig if you hurt his precious Markie” he hears Yuta shout. “Well somebody said they were going to help me but didn’t!” Winwin shouts back still struggling to hold all the pieces of wood in his arms. “I was just getting the other equipment” Yuta defends but Winwin is already walking further. “Wait let me help” Mark says taking some of the wood from Winwin. And that is how Mark spends an hour with the quarreling couple fixing all the holes in the ship. “You know, despite that it looks like they’re always fighting, they’re magnificent at working together” he hears the captain say. “Mmmh” Mark murmurs “now that you mention the word ‘together’ maybe we can finally talk about…” “LUNCH IS READYYYYY” Haechan screams, completely unaware of the death glares Mark is giving him.

Lunch is fine, maybe good even considering that nobody blew holes into the ship. But of course just when Mark (again) thinks that he can talk to Lucas, the other has to plan out the direction of the ship and study the map. Which leaves him to play some weird pirate games with Haechan and Jisung. “Hand it in, you should have moved it to the left” Jisung shouts happily as Mark has to hand in one of his gold pieces. He’s not really giving him gold, they just use it to play some self-made piracy game that Mark doesn’t understand yet. “You two have the same brain capacity as a seadog” Haecan tells them as it’s his turn “yo ho ho I won” he says doing some weird move which causes him to get all of the pieces. According to Jisung’s groans of annoyance, the move is legit though. Anc he isn’t the only one who is annoyed. Not being able to get a hang of the game plus Lucas postponing their meetup doesn’t work in favor of Mark’s mood. Mark stands up from the deck, dusting off his clothes. “You wanna play another round?” Jisung asks him, wanting to be the winner this time. “No thanks I have some business to discuss with the captain” Mark answers, voice low and his mood sour. As he walks away the two make sure to whistle and he’s sure he hears Haechan sing-song “Have fun”.

Mark barged into the captain's office not caring about the loud slamming sound of the doors. He finds the man seated at his desk. Lucas looks up from whatever stupid map he’s looking at. Yes stupid, it’s unfair that a map: something that’s lifeless, and soulless, get’s more priority from the man than he does. And yes, it’s important to know in which direction they should be going but it’s just as important to know in which direction the two of them are going. “What is it Markie?” Lucas asks while going further with marking things on his map. “Well, I believe somebody told me we should have a conversation” Mark states. “Mark I told you I don't’ have time r..” Mark barely listened to the words that came out of the captain's mouth. He was so done with waiting that he walked over to the captain and sat himself down on the map. “Then you can make some” Mark tells him “you can’t just suggest things like that, tell me that we’ll talk about it and then expect me to be calm and wait for the next three years”. Okay, maybe that was a little bit too exaggerated but at least it felt like it. The captain just stares at Mark, completely speechless. While normally he is the one in control, he now had Mark looking down at him. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and a questioning look on his face.

“You probably have noticed that I like you right?” the captain starts sounding nervous instead of confident for once. “Yes, yes I did…” Mark responds leaving such a long silence that he captain is ready to start talking further only to stop when he hears Mark continue “and not only have I, the crew is constantly teasing me with it, sometimes I almost think the ship is even screaming it at me and even your freaking enemies seem to notice as well which makes me question if they’re all just mocking me or if you are seriously looking at me in such a way that makes them directly assume we’re in love”. Yes, Mark dropped that term. That somehow seems to cause more panic in the eyes of the captain than a cannonball flying through the ship did. “They’re not mocking you Markie” Lucas speaks slowly. “I’m not sure if I love you yet, but I definitely like you in more than just a friendly way. You see, I normally don’t just kidnap anyone so I can spend more time with them”.  Although he was noticeably blushing Mark couldn’t help but say “Are you trying to make kidnapping sound romantic?” It finally resulted in a laugh from the captain who was feeling more comfortable now. “Is it working?”. “No” Mark responds trying to pretend that he’s still mad. “Then do you know what the last time was that I kidnapped somebody because they sparked my interest that much?” Lucas asks him. “No, how would I know that?” Mark answers. “You are or were the officer on my case, so tell me did I ever kidnap someone before?” the man says. “Not that we know of” Mark says not leaving out any options just yet. “Well then I’ll confirm it for you, I haven’t” Lucas tells him. “Normally when you like somebody you talk to them instead of going for kidnapping” Mark speaks up. “Then tell me, would you have even as much as considered getting to know me, if I did?” the captain says. “Of course not you’re a pirate” the shorter one says without any doubt. “See that’s why I had to kidnap you, you would only come near me if I would be behind bars. Surprisingly that’s not my cup of tea. But what am I now Mark? Am I still a disgusting pirate of have I proved that I’m more than that” the captain asks seriously. Mark knows he’s right. But the rest of the question makes him think; so far they haven’t been all that bad. Actually every law-breaking thing - expect from being pirates themselves - they had done had been a form of self-defense. Based on that Mark gave him an answer: “You did, if you didn’t I don’t actually think I would have caught feelings for you”. Mark states it likes it’s something obvious -and to him it is- but it seems to quite a shock the man looking up at him. “Really?” he asks a small smile appearing on his face. “You’re the only reason I didn’t jump into the sea yet” Mark says. The captain smiles “I’d never let you do that”. “Well be glad it isn’t on the schedule anymore then” the shorter one says. “And that’s great because now this can be on the schedule” Lucas says as he moves forward and kisses Mark.

-

What in the meantime happened on the deck

“Hendery how many times do I have to tell you that the Crowsnest isn’t for sleeping” Hendery hears Taeyong shout at him, waking him from his peaceful slumber. He shouts some type of apology back down but the quartermaster has already moved on the next person. He stretches his limbs and grabs his telescope. He looks around, no land in sight. He sees the ship that they fought with this morning way behind them, trying to sail away as fast as possible. On the left, there are some dolphins and that really reminds him of why he chose this job in the first place. He keeps watching the dolphins come up and go down. “Blimey!” he shouts as he sees something that definitely not a dolphin coming towards them at a surprisingly high speed. The black dot moves forward quickly and it doesn’t take long before Hendery can take a closer look. It’s a small speed boat, one that Hendery knows all too well being steered by a person wearing a large, black, hooded cloak and a mask. But to Hendery the boat more than gives away who’s coming their way. And an unannounced visit never means any good news.

“Avast ye! Code 10 Code 10!” he shouts hoping to reach the crewmember's ears. He jumps out of the Crowsnest and slides down via one of the shrouds. He curses at the burns from sliding down the rope so quickly, but he didn’t really have any other option. The surprised sounds of the crew soften fast as he bolts away to the captain's cabin. He pushes his manners aside as he throws the door open and breathes heavily trying to get as much oxygen in his lungs as possible. The two look surprised at him. “What is it Hendery?” Lucas says. “I *breathes* I * breathes* I wait,” Hendry says as he takes a big breath and pushes the following words out: “code 10”. Mark sees the shock on Lucas’s face. “Sink me” the captain shouts out before running towards the deck, Hendery and Mark on his heels.

In the meantime, the speedboat was only a few kilometers away. “Taeyong” the captain shouts as he pulls the said man aside. Mark and Hendery join the rest of the crew at the side, looking over the railing towards the unplanned visitor. Mark looks back and manages to hear tiny bits of the conversation between the quartermaster and the captain. “No idea” “I wouldn’t know” and “Everything was alright last time I checked” are the only things Mark fully understands. “Hendery are you sure it’s him?” the captain asks rhetorically knowing fairly well that there is no other option. “Aye, one hundred percent cap” Hendery replies. “In that case, we better stop the ship” Lucas says, making everybody get on their feet and get to work.

The boat comes to a halt next to their ship. Winwin and Yuta roll out Jacob’s ladder so the figure can come on board. As the ladder rolls out it makes a harsh sound. “Hush, we don’t need you to speak” Winwin scolds. The figure slowly gets on board. Mark releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “It’s nice seeing you all again” the figure says. Mark freezes, he recognizes that voice. The figure takes off his hood to reveal his face. It confirms what Mark already knew, it’s ten. Ten starts laughing at the big surprise of the crew. “Why are you laughing?, since it’s an unplanned visit I assume there isn’t something to laugh about” the captain states. “That’s true but you guys should’ve seen Mark’s face” he laughs. Still that same tease, Mark thinks. What the hell was he even doing here? What if he’s here to rescue him. In that case, it would be quite awkward that he doesn’t want to go with him. It’s not like he can say “Hey dude, I’m sorry that you set up this whole rescue mission and everything but I’m lowkey falling in love with the captain so I’m staying”. But something seems off by the way the crew is talking to him. As if this isn’t the first time they met. “So what’s the problem?” Taeyong asks Ten. “Of course Mark’s disappearance didn’t go unnoticed” Ten starts “but instead of thinking he got kidnapped or whatever this is, they think he went undercover” he says laughingly as they’re missing the clue of the joke. Laughter erupts for the crew. “However, they are starting to think it’s weird that he doesn’t send any information or updates” Ten adds. “So what are you proposing?” the captain asks. “I think it’s best to let Mark reach out to meet us, so he can give us an update or something” Ten offers. Taeyong nods approvingly “How can we make sure they don’t take him with them?” he asks. “We can’t, but if Mark provides us with some vague information they'll probably get him to investigate more” the other answers.

Mark mindlessly nods, he isn’t over the shock of seeing Ten’s face yet. What is he even? Is he undercover right now? Or is he undercover at the police? Ten doesn’t seem like a pirate, but then again neither do the rest of these guys. “Mark and I can write a letter, and then I’ll put it in the mailbox on my way to ‘work’ tomorrow” Ten says. Lucas makes a sound of agreement and with that most people go off to do their work. Mark watches Ten talk to the younger ones and watches how he gives them hugs and ruffles his hair. “Surprise” Lucas whispers in his ear with a teasing tone before he too gets back to mapping out routes. When they eventually leave as well, it’s just him and his colleague. Although Mark isn’t one hundred percent sure of that anymore. “So I guess you haven't figured it out then?” Ten says. a smile appeared on his face. Mark shakes his head. “I thought the clothes might have been a hint” Ten states. They make their way to the galley. The way the other man moves around the place makes Mark sure he’s been here before. “No, not really why?” Mark asks not getting what the other was hinting at. “They’re your own clothes Mark” Ten says. Oh, they had looked familiar indeed. “What’s your position exactly?” Mark asks as he sits down at the dining table. Leaving Ten to look for some paper and a pen. “I think an informant quite covers it” he answers. “Ah” is the only thing Mark lets out as the puzzle pieces fall into place. “So you’re part of the crew then” Mark states more that he asks. “Yup always have, always will be Ten tells him. “I say you the night you gave my clothes to Taeyong” Mark says and now it’s Ten’s turn to be surprised. “Really?”. “Yeah but I didn’t recognize you though, I even told Lucas I saw something suspicious but I guess he didn’t tell you then” Mark adds. “No he didn’t, I think every secret you’ll tell the captain he’ll gladly take to davy jones’s locker” Ten responds. “Now shall we start? I need to be back for work in time” Ten jokes.

……………..

That night, long after Ten has left and the letter had been written, Mark wakes up to a ticking sound. He has heard it every night since he has been here. Now he knows that some of the crew members don’t always sleep at night. Jaemin needs to steer the boat and Taeyong sometimes has meetings with Ten. So the chances are high there are some other crew members with nightly activities he doesn’t know about, yet. But his years of police training tell him it’s something more than that. The sound is unfamiliar, he tried for hours but he just can’t place it. He could ask Lucas but his captain is sleeping so peacefully that he doesn’t want to wake him up. Tomorrow I’ll ask, Mark thinks before he slowly gets dragged into dreamland again.