When Jongin made it to the top deck, he was immediately accosted by Minseok, who pushed a barrel into his hands and seemed to be making a point of standing in his way. Over Minseok’s shoulder, Jongin could see the rest of the crew gathered around, some on their knees. Captain Kyungsoo’s face was like nothing Jongin had ever seen on his captain before; white and panicked. Most of the crew appeared stricken with fear, save for Baekhyun, who was in tears.

Baekhyun was one of the calmest, quietest men on board. To see him in such hysterics was frankly alarming, the way he wept and whispered the same inaudible mantra over and over again. Tall as Jongin might have been, he couldn’t quite see what everyone was actually gathered around, but Minseok seemed keen to keep it that way.

“Help me carry this to the galley.”

“But what ha-”

“Galley.” And he pushed Jongin back through the door, picking up a barrel of his own and following close behind the younger boy to ensure he went where he wanted him to go. The wooden halls seemed longer than ever, their footsteps too loud as they moved further and further away from the havoc on deck. When they arrived in the galley, setting down their barrels, Minseok took Jongin’s forearms. The intense eye contact wasn’t something Jongin was used to, and any questions he may have had before died in his throat.

“Chanyeol’s lost a leg.”

“What?!”

“A leg. It was cut off during the raid – they had some kind of ceremonial axe in the hold and got to it before we could.”

Jongin’s mind was reeling. He couldn’t imagine it and didn’t want to. “Is he…?”

“Alive? Yes, but in shock. I didn’t want you to see him like this, at least not until they’ve patched him up a little. He’s not quite himself.”

“Of course he’s not!” Jongin wanted to scream, but found he simply lacked the energy to do so, his voice coming out strained. “He’s lost a leg!”

“We have to get him to land, and soon.” Minseok sighed, letting go of Jongin’s arms and going to lean against one of the food barrels. It held carrots, and Minseok removed one from the barrel before snapping it in half with a grimace. “This has never happened before.”

Jongin was silent as they returned to the top deck, being led by Minseok pulling on his sleeve. His hand gently touched the chain around his neck – he’d forgotten to take off his necklace.

The crowd had dispersed slightly when they arrived, giving Chanyeol and the two medics some space. Although Baekhyun was known to be the more skilled medic, it was mostly Jongdae at work now, Baekhyun holding Chanyeol tightly and whispering to him through tears. Now he was closer, Jongin could just about hear.

“It’s going to be alright, I’ve got you, hold on, you’re going to be fine. I’m here, it’ll be okay, please, just hold on.” Chanyeol’s face was scarily pale, eyes blown wide in shock. A few tears dotted his cheeks, though he didn’t even seem aware that he was shedding them. Baekhyun kissed each tear away, whispering between kisses.

It was horrible up close – blood covered the deck and stained the floorboards, but at least Chanyeol’s wound no longer gushed blood quite as much as Jongin imagined it had in the beginning. His left leg, from below the knee, was wrapped in dozens and dozens of cloths, secured with bandages and strings around the knee and, though spotted with blood, appeared to be soaked in the contents of several bottles that were now scattered across the deck. The gentle sea breeze felt like an icy whip lashing on Jongin’s skin.

He wondered if the others felt it too.

“I know it hurts, but please, keep breathing. We have to keep the wound clean until we get to land. Yixing will be able to fix you, I know he will. Just hang in there, Chanyeol.”

“Luhan.” Kyungsoo’s voice lacked its usual authority, instead coming out quite weak and shaky. There was still an underlying firmness, however. “How far are we from the Opal Coast?”

“We’re already in the right direction, captain. If the wind stays in our favour we’ll be there in a couple of days.”

“It’s too long.” Jongdae frowned as he tied some more strings around Chanyeol’s left knee to secure the cloths. “We can’t save the leg. It’ll die before we get there. We have no choice but to be rid of it.”

The rest of the crew looked over at a small cloth bundle by the wall. Jongin realised, with a sickening turn of his stomach, that it must be the rest of Chanyeol’s leg that the others had somehow been able to salvage. He felt a little dizzy and leaned on Minseok for support. The quartermaster chewed his bottom lip, patting Jongin’s shoulder.

“Give it a while, until Chanyeol is back in his right mind. A least let the man say a conscious farewell to his own leg.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and fell silent. The captain had a hand on Chanyeol’s arm and the crew quietly watched as Chanyeol’s chest rose and fell raggedly, Baekhyun’s desperate whispers lost to the ocean wind.

-

Dinner that evening was a quiet affair. Chanyeol’s shock had worn off gradually as the sun set, and instead intense pain took over. He was making a terrible racket, shouting and groaning, especially when the dressings on what was left of his leg needed to be changed. Minseok had made food for the crew, but he and Kyungsoo had taken their meals to the crew’s quarters, where Baekhyun was watching over Chanyeol. This left Jongin, Sehun, Luhan and Jongdae alone together, gathered around a table made for far more than four, eating their dinner quietly.

It tasted good, as Minseok’s cooking often did, but Jongin still found it difficult to swallow.

“This is awful.” Jongdae sighed, stirring his stew. He wasn’t talking about the food. “And it’s hit the captain hard. It’s hit them all hard. Those four are the original crew, you know.”

Jongin didn’t know, so just shrugged. Luhan nodded. “We all came along after they did – those four got the Siren onto the ocean by themselves, and for something like this to happen…”

The four men around the table just sighed into their stew.

“It’s about time we went back anyway, considering we’ve been at sea for what, two or three months?” Sehun looked thoughtful, but Jongin wasn’t really listening. How long had he been on board? A month? “It’s just so bad that we have to go back like this.”

“Where exactly is the Opal Coast?” Jongin asked, realising that he’d never actually heard of the place.

“Birthplace of the Siren. It’s a safe haven for pirates, and we have a lot of friends there. Most of us are actually from there ourselves, aside from the captain, Luhan, and you.”

The conversation turned to each pirate’s stories, before they found their way to the Calling Siren. Jongdae had been working for his family’s business making barrels, apparently, and been incredibly bored until he met Kyungsoo by chance at the harbour. Rather than be trapped in one place making barrels for the rest of his life, he didn’t need to be asked twice to join the crew. Luhan, meanwhile, had come from the far off Amethyst Kingdom, which reflected in the strange accent he possessed than the other pirates did not.

“Wait, isn’t the Amethyst Kingdom really wealthy?”

“It is.” Jongdae chuckled through a mouthful of bread before Luhan could answer. “So was Luhan.”

“You could say I grew up pampered.” He cringed. “But I was to be married, so I left. I came to our kingdom’s major port town just as the Siren landed there, and the captain let me on board. Fortunately my father had often taken me sailing, and I was already experienced in navigating from the stars.”

Luhan was keen to tell Jongin all about his kingdom and its riches, with Amethyst ships making good targets when supplies and morale were low. Now that Jongin knew his background, the way Luhan spoke compared to the rest of the crew really was interesting – the soft lilting in his voice Jongin supposed was telltale of his homeland while his careful pronunciation a clear indicator of his upbringing. It was quite pleasant to listen to next to the rough way Jongdae, Sehun, the rest of the pirates and even Jongin himself would speak.

“Captain is hesitant to attack any ships that aren’t from Sapphire Country, but sometimes a boost to our supplies is what we need to keep going. We have to work for it though – Amethyst ships tend to be more heavily guarded.”

“But the treasures are fantastic!”

Sehun had been the last to come aboard before Jongin. He had only been very young, but was quick to join the crew after meeting Luhan, apparently. Sehun hid his face in his bowl as Luhan and Jongdae just smirked in his direction.

“Sehun has always had quite the fancy for me.” Luhan’s grin was so wide it threatened to break off from the rest of his face. Sehun grumbled from his bowl.

“No I don’t.”

“Oh, but you did. And I never once fell for your advances.”

“Can we not talk about my advances?”

“No, let’s talk about them.”

Just as Luhan opened his mouth to speak again, they were interrupted by a pained yell from somewhere outside of the room. There was a shared sigh from the four of them, Jongin’s spoon suddenly feeling all too heavy in his hand at the realisation that it was Chanyeol.

Jongdae swallowed. “Probably having his dressings changed again. The medicines we have to apply to them hurt a lot, but it’s the only way to keep his wound from getting infected. It’s our top priority until we get to land and can give him to Yixing.”

“Yixing?”

“A doctor. Baekhyun and I studied a little under his father, but Baekhyun more than me.”

A nod of understanding, and everyone contemplated their food in silence for a while. Eventually, though, Sehun spoke up.

“What about you?” He gestured to Jongin with his spoon. “We know how you ended up here, but not before that. What got you on the water in the first place?”

Jongin just shrugged – his story wasn’t very interesting. “Nothing amazing. Turned eighteen, the orphanage couldn’t keep me anymore and I needed a way of supporting myself. Living in a port myself the only unskilled labour going was on the cargo ships, so I decided to join one. It wasn’t ideal, but a job, food and shelter in one package suited me fine. Mopped decks for a couple of days, then you know the rest.” He set about finishing his food, taking a while to feel the three pairs of eyes on him with interest.

“You lived in an orphanage?” Luhan’s eyes were large and curious. Unsurprising, really, considering his childhood had essentially been the exact opposite of Jongin’s. He left his parents by choice.

“Yeah, for quite a while. I lived with my father when I was little, but when he died I spent about six or seven years on the street before the orphanage picked me up.”

Jongdae chewed on his spoon for a moment. “Is that why you can pick locks?”

“I’m not proud.” But Jongdae’s smile of understanding was enough.

They had talked so much over dinner than Jongin’s mouth was just about exhausted of words. While Sehun, at the threat of having his history of attempting to pursue Luhan revealed to the only one on board not yet privy to this information, took over cleaning duties after the meal, Jongin was completely exhausted from an incredibly long day and decided to head to bed. It was strange to go down to Captain Kyungsoo’s quarters alone at night, rather than being led by the wrist as he usually was, but he was so tired that he was fortunate that his legs knew the way.

Just as Jongin clambered into the bed, the door opened. Captain Kyungsoo entered the room quietly, still wearing all his equipment from the raid that afternoon. In the middle of removing his excess clothes, he noticed Jongin’s presence in the room, blinking a little as though surprised to see him there.

“How’s Chanyeol?” Jongin wondered if he could sound any stupider if he tried, but if the captain was annoyed with his question he didn’t show it. He was still pale, but his face at least had a little more colour in it than it had before. If anything, he just looked very, very tired.

“A little calmer now, though still in pain. Baekhyun has done all he can to dull the pain and keep the wound clean, so hopefully he will sleep through the night.” He got into the bed beside Jongin, not meeting his eyes.

“I’m sorry this happened.”

Kyungsoo didn’t reply, instead taking a short, firm kiss from Jongin’s lips before turning away to go to sleep, extinguishing the lamp beside the bed. It only took a few moments for Jongin to fall asleep.

-

Jongin was having a very boring dream, but boring could be nice sometimes, he supposed. He was on the top deck of the Calling Siren on a glorious sunny day, the sea breeze whipping through his hair and the sun shining down on him. It was quiet save for the sound of the waves, and he could almost swear the ocean was calling his name.

“Jongin…”

The ocean spoke softly, almost luring Jongin over the edge of the boat to immerse himself in the cool waters that were singing for him. The water wasn’t black and forbidding now, but instead a bright, welcoming blue. It was almost like the ocean was smiling as it called to him, the sunlight gleaming on top of the water.

“Jongin…”

The voice with which the ocean spoke seemed almost familiar, sending an odd feeling in Jongin’s stomach that prevented him from quite relaxing. He could feel something on his cheek, but surely there couldn’t be anything, could there? He was on the deck by himself.

He opened his eyes, only to be met with a pair of wide, dark ones in the near pitch dark of the captain’s quarters.

From what he could tell, it was still the middle of the night – he couldn’t have been asleep for more than a few hours, but the captain was definitely awake, the bedside lamp flickering behind him. Jongin couldn’t be sure if it was just the poor visibility in the dark, but Captain Kyungsoo’s expression at that moment was a very unusual one. He looked almost panicked, like he’d been worrying about something.

Well, naturally, it had only been yesterday that Chanyeol was injured.

What Jongin had felt on his cheek had been Kyungsoo’s hand, gently trailing from the side of his face down his neck, up around the line of his jaw. Since realising that Jongin was awake, the captain’s eyes had held something else, perhaps a question he couldn’t ask with words. It was like he was searching for something in Jongin’s own eyes, but what he wanted to find, Jongin couldn’t be sure.

The captain moved then, hovering above Jongin. His hand stayed on Jongin’s face, his cheek, his jaw, fingertips brushing Jongin’s earlobe a little. Kyungsoo’s hands were unsteady, shaking slightly, and he looked almost…almost afraid. But the look in his eyes never left; the one of questioning.

At some point, Kyungsoo must have found his answer, as he leaned down to kiss Jongin on the mouth.

This wasn’t something that had happened before, and Jongin’s whole body tensed. Captain Kyungsoo would only ever kiss him once, before they slept, and not say a word about it. This…Kyungsoo had been quite insistent in kissing him after their first engagement with another ship, but it had been nothing like this, not at all. It had just been the once, with the light on, before they went to sleep like nothing had happened.

Jongin wasn’t sure what was happening, but it definitely wasn’t nothing. He could feel Kyungsoo hesitating a little, like he was about to pull away.

He placed a hand over Kyungsoo’s, which was currently slipping into his hair, and shifted slightly against him. He wasn’t quite used to kissing back, but clearly the captain understood Jongin granting him permission, kissing him a little deeper.

Jongin’s mind was both everywhere and nowhere – what if the others heard? What would they even be hearing? What was really going on? Jongin didn’t know and didn’t have the capacity to think about it, nervously placing his hands on Kyungsoo’s shoulders, relaxing into the feeling. It was warm, too warm, like the room had suddenly shrunk to barely fit around them.

A soft mewl as Kyungsoo’s tongue pushed past Jongin’s lips, which Jongin quickly realised had come from himself. It was too much, but not enough, but his captain was always slow, deliberate in every action as he brought Jongin closer to him. It was getting too hot to breathe, too dark to see, impossible to think any further than his mouth against Kyungsoo’s and his hands gripping the captain’s shoulders tightly now.

Kyungsoo’s hands wandered, still unsteady. Jongin’s hair or slow, leisurely trails down the younger boy’s neck, exploring new territory. A few testing kisses followed Kyungsoo’s touch across Jongin’s collarbone, but their lips met again soon enough. But not soon enough.

Jongin let out a gasp when the captain’s knee slipped between his thighs, sending a shiver up his spine – a breathy hah that caused both men to suddenly freeze. It had been too loud in the dark room; perhaps the whole ship could hear it? No, the whole ocean, the whole world. Jongin’s face burned, and Captain Kyungsoo swallowed hard, eyes wide and staring at Jongin in a way he’d never seen before.

Wordlessly, Kyungsoo moved himself off of Jongin and to the far end of the bed, pulling the blanket over him silently after putting out the lamp.

“Captain…?”

But Jongin received no answer, his words lost to the sound of the waves outside. The captain’s quarters had suddenly gone from being far too small to far too big, the bed they lay in a mile wide with Jongin at one end and Captain Kyungsoo at the other.

Heart beating fast, Jongin was eventually claimed again by sleep. But the first hint of dawn glowed through the window before the captain’s breathing finally slowed.