red hands || james & you
The skies brooded ominously in the firmament, and a streak of light flashed across the sky in opposition to what dark deeds were being carried out aboard the Jolly Roger. In the lowest part of the ship, the brig, the Captain was uncharacteristically standing ankle deep in rolling saltwater. He was taking a break from giving a stranger on his ship a severe beating, bringing a cigarette to his lips to light, knuckles covered in the other man’s blood. While the sight of his own blood made him slightly ill, Hook rather relished in the sight of someone else’s. Since he and Queenie had separated, James wasn’t quite as forgiving as he had been, which is why when he found a stowaway aboard his ship from a return trip to Neverland from Japan, he decided to carry out the punishment himself. The beatings had begun two nights ago, and were anything but gentle. The captain had to hand it to this fellow, any man worthy of being aboard his ship would have fainted away long ago. The poor souls breathed heavily, grateful for the brief rest; James puffed smoke out into the man’s general direction before removing a flask of whisky from his back pocket. He’d shed his long, red jacket a while ago, and rolled his bloodied sleeves up to the elbow due to the sweat caused by the excursion.
“Please…sir…” The man started to beg. The captain answered his plea by pouring whisky on the man’s back wounds.
“Not many are stupid enough to sneak aboard my ship. And there are consequences for such stupidity.” Hook spoke over the man writhing in pain. “Now, if you survive this,” he started, and there was a glimmer of hope in the stowaway’s eyes. “Which you will. You may have the great opportunity to work aboard this ship.” James pulled a basin of water toward the man, cut the ties binding him to a chair, and watched as he hit the brig floor with a resounding SPLACK. “Clean yourself up and enjoy a bit of respite. We’ll talk again in a week.” And with that, James left the prisoner, locking the cell behind him, and picking his coat off of a hook on the wall.
Captain Hook hoisted the jacket over his shoulder and brought the cigarette to his lips again, leaving a few marks of blood across his chin to recreate with the splatters from earlier. His boots made resounding thumps against the wooden floor ways, and he reached his room in a leisurely fashion. Smee was standing guard at his room, and began to ask if he wanted tea; Hook shut the door before Smee could even begin to structure the sentence. James sighed into his chair and picked his feet up to rest on the desk, puffing away on his cigarette, completely unaware of the presence of another in his quarters. For a moment. James peered at the door to his sleeping cabin, noting it was slightly ajar. There was a faint breathing coming from the other room, and James glared, already annoyed with one break in. "Come out slowly and I won't kill you." He offered generously to the unknown.
