Corsair
Jackson x Reader
Chapter Two
Word Count: 2933
Warnings: Violence, mentions of blood and death, nothing in great detail.
I wrote 85% of this in like an hour and a half and I’m actually kind of okay with how it turned out so...yea...I have a few requests in my inbox that I’m working on, I’m not sure when they’ll be out, I’m hoping for some good inspiration! Hope you enjoy!
Ch 1
It only took the crew a few days to treat you as one of their own. Bambam and Mark were the friendliest. Mark took to you quickly because he was glad he didn’t have to stab his fingers anymore. Bambam had picked out the fabric he wanted for you to use to make him a shirt. It was a beautiful teal colored silk, you had started on it immediately, along with a few shirts of your own and for the rest of your new family.
A sail ripped on your third day and according to Mark, who watched diligently, you finished it in half the time it usually took him. The stitches were way more perfect also. It made you proud but when Mark told you they won’t rip as often now you had a twinge of doubt. There wouldn’t be any need for you on the ship if the sails were in perfect condition all the time.
When you voiced your worries to Bambam he assured you that no one would be kicking you off the ship. “The only way you’d escape this ship is if you left yourself. Jackson wouldn’t do that to you. I was an orphan at 12 years old and Jackson took care of me for four years until I was old enough to start helping with everything. By then this was all I knew so I just asked to stay. He said he already thought I planned on it. He might seem cold but he really is a nice guy. He just wants to help people, he’s just afraid to be taken advantage of.”
You wondered why he would feel that way., but thinking back to what Yoyo said before about their reputation being important made sense. He did have a certain image to uphold. Bambam did make you feel better though.
Your interactions with Jackson were short and curt. Bambam and Yoyo made him out to be a kind person, but he seemed to be the exact opposite. You had started making it a point to avoid him unless it was absolutely necessary to speak to him. That wasn’t often, but the rest of the crew started to notice pretty quickly.
Mark, who had quickly taken on the roll of a big brother, was the one who confronted you about it. The reason he came to you surprised you though.
“So, Jackson thinks you hate him.” Mark had been sitting in your bunk next to you reading a book while you sewed. You stopped what you were doing and just stared at him in shock.
“No, I’m pretty sure Jackson hates me. He’s always so short with me and I just feel like he doesn’t want me here so I just started avoiding him. The rest of you are fine with me I just don’t know why he doesn’t treat me the same way you guys do.” You shook your head and went back to sewing Bambam’s shirt.
“He doesn’t have an issue with you, we’re just not used to women on the boat. Jackson grew up on the sea, he didn’t set foot on dry land until he was 11. His mom was really the only woman he interacted with. That’s a little different than having girl friends. He just doesn’t know how to act around you so he just hides himself behind the Jackson persona. It’s really not how he acts all the time, I swear to you it’s not. I’ll talk to him. Jackson’s favorite color is black, maybe make him a shirt and that could be a conversation starter.” He pointed to a bolt of black silk lying on the pile.
“Thanks Mark, I’ll try that. I just didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t want to say something wrong and piss him off, I don’t have anywhere else to go if he kicks me off the ship.” Thinking about it made you upset, you did throw away a life that was at least stable to join a pirate crew you knew little of. It wasn’t a great situation but at least you had a roof over your head. Now you had nothing but this little sack of silver pieces and your sewing skills, not enough for anything really.
“Don’t worry about it, if he did try to kick you off the rest of us would revolt. Especially Bambam, he might make him walk the plank. You’re the only ‘sophisticated’ one here.” He chuckled and you laughed along with him.
Bambam had quickly become a dear friend to you in a short period of time. Your personalities couldn’t have been more different, but he had a good heart. He had come to you for fashion advice more than once, and a few times even asked you to mend a favorite shirt of his. This small crew felt like the family you never thought you’d have. Each of them had taken you under their wing, teaching you whatever you asked to learn, and they never expected any less from you than one of the guys.
The cohesiveness of the crew is what really surprised you. When the ship was in action, even Bambam and Yugyeom quick their bickering. They all worked together so well, it was almost like they could read each other’s minds. While one lets a rope down the other ties it and lets the other rope up.
You hoped after long enough you would be able to function like that also. Until then though, you did need to figure things out with Jackson. Walking around on eggshells wasn’t going to work for very long. You looked at the bolt of black silk again, taking Mark’s suggestion to heart. You could have Bambam’s shirt done by dinner if you kept at it. Then you’d start on Jackson’s and work as quickly as you could to get it done. Maybe that won’t totally fix everything, but at least it would be a start.
Mark hung around for another few hours until it was time for him to go up and help with dinner. You kept working on Bambam’s shirt, just finishing up a few stitches here and there until you were finally happy with the results.
You wrapped it up in some left over fabric and stuffed it under your bunk until after dinner. Bambam would be so excited, he hadn’t stopped asking when it would be done.
Dinner went well, Jackson still as quiet as ever at the head of the table. The rest of the crew were making a fuss and being loud as usual. Bambam was once again arguing with Yugyeom over wine being healthy. Bambam insisted is was and Yugyeom firmly believed it wasn’t. You just laughed at them and continued eating until Bambam paused for a minute to catch his breath.
“Hey Bam, come down to my bunk later, I have something for you.” He cracked a smile, figuring it was his new shirt that he’d been so excited to try on. You were too involved in discussing which pants he should wear with it that you missed Jackson’s scrutinizing gaze flitting back and forth between Bambam and yourself. Mark however notices everything, making a mental note to ask Jackson about it later.
When everyone was finally finished eating, you rushed below deck with Bambam so you could give him his shirt. You pulled it out from under your bed and unfolded it, holding it up for him to see.
“I made it to be a little loose but hopefully I got all the measurements right!” He made you turn around so he could change.
“This is amazing Y/n! I don’t think I’ve ever owned a shirt this nice. This is even better than that merchant at the last port we were in! The stitching is perfect and it fits perfectly! You have a gift my friend, a real gift!” He pulled you towards him and kissed your forehead in thanks.
Not used to the contact you blushed, but you were glad that Bambam loved the shirt so much. You just hoped to have the same success with Jackson. Once Bambam decided he was done modeling, you started on a shirt for Jackson. The measurements you would have to guess on, you hadn’t really been close enough to Jackson to get anything accurate enough that you felt comfortable. Jaebum had broad shoulders, maybe he could help you get a basic size. You’ll ask him tomorrow after breakfast.
Sleeping on a rocking ship took some getting used to. Some nights it was just a gentle, barely there motion. Other nights, like tonight, it was tossing the ship around pretty roughly. The more violent rocking kept you awake, not yet knowing the limitations of the ship, you were afraid of capsizing. Probably a ridiculous thought, but something had to go wrong soon, your life was actually looking up or once.
Sleep was impossible for now, so you decided to take a walk up on deck. Maybe if you see how small the waves actually are it will calm your mind. Wrapping your thick blanket around your shoulders you walked as quietly as possible through the cargo hold and up the steps to the top deck. The boards felt rough on your bare feet, but it’s not uncomfortable. You used to run around the cobblestone streets at home barefoot all the time.
Moonlight illuminated the deck just enough for you to see where you were going, the wind catching your blanket and whipping it around your legs. Over the side of the ship you could see the waves, which were much smaller than the rocking ship would have you believe.
From the deck the water looked black, not the beautiful blue it is during the day. Sometimes you wondered if mermaids and sea monsters actually existed in the murky darkness below that beautiful blue layer.
“It’s a different kind of beautiful at night isn’t it?” The deep voice came from beside you, making you jump and let out a surprised yelp. You hadn’t even noticed him walking up behind you. Jackson leaned on the railing next to you, staring down at the dark waters below.
“I didn’t mean to scare you, I thought you would have heard my footsteps. The water is mesmerizing. That’s why so many men die at sea, the water just seems to pull you in and it never lets go once it has you. It doesn’t look so terrible in the daylight, but at night, you make one wrong step and go overboard? That’s it, you’re gone.” Not sure what to make of his speech you just told him you’d be careful to stay away from the edge.
He turned to look at you, wrapped in your blanket, “Can’t sleep?”
“I still haven’t quite gotten used to the rocking. I feel like the ship is going to sink even though the waves aren’t that big.” You wrapped the blanket tighter around your shoulders, trying to get the image of drowning in freezing water out of your head.
“You don’t have to worry about that. This ship is sturdy enough to handle even the roughest waters. Bambam’s been through enough storms to tell you that. The shirt you made for him was really well done by the way. You have a talent. When you decide to settle down somewhere Bam thinks you could make it as a clothes designer. Some big port city somewhere, you’d make a lot of money.”
“I’m glad he thinks I’m that good. I still don’t feel that confident in my skills. That old witch of a seamstress would beat us just for sewing a single stitch that wasn’t perfectly even with the rest. One time I was so exhausted and stressed out that I sewed a shirt collar on backwards. I thought she would have my head for that one. She locked me in the cage for a few days but at least it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.” You shivered a little, remembering how cruel she was to the poor girls unlucky enough to work for her.
Jackson looked like he was about to say something else, but something on the horizon caught his eye. Through the dark sky you could just see the shadow of another ship sailing straight towards yours. It was coming on fast, which couldn’t mean anything good.
“Y/N, go wake up the rest of the crew, tell them I need all hands on deck. That’s not one of our ships. Go!” You threw your blanket off and raced below deck, yelling all the way. The crew sprung into action faster than you thought possible once you told them about the enemy ship.
Bambam grabbed your shoulders and spun you around towards your bunk. “Go to your bed and hide under it, keep as quiet as possible and don’t come out unless one of us comes to get you, okay?”
He didn’t give you any time to respond, running to catch up with the rest of the crew on deck. You did as he said, throwing a sheet over yourself as you crawled under your bed.
It was mostly quiet except for Jackson’s booming voice shouting commands to the other pirates. There was a moment of quiet, and then you heard a cannon fire.
It must have been from your ship, the loud bang making your ears ring. One blast after another sounded through the cargo hold. You hated not knowing what was going on and you decided it would be wise to learn how to fight. Learning how to fire a cannon would be helpful as well.
Nothing could be heard over the cannons and it was making you nervous. The cannons stopped entirely and then you heard the sound of splintering wood. A shudder ran through the ship, the creaking wooden planks singing under the stress of the impact. The impact of two ships colliding.
All was quiet for a few seconds, then a voice you had never heard before sounded over the water.
“Board the ship! Take the crew alive, bring me Jackson’s head!” You heard swords being unsheathed and boots landing on the deck above you. Worry for your new family outweighed how scared you were.
You couldn’t bear the thought of any of them being hurt while you just hid under your bed like a coward. Swords clashing on the deck fueled your frantic search for a weapon. Something, anything that you could use to protect yourself and your friends.
You stumbled into the bunk area, hoping someone left behind an extra sword. The only weapon there was a small knife, you weren’t even sure who it belonged to. Nothing else would be of any help to you there, so you made you way into the kitchen, grabbing a cast iron fry pan and a kitchen knife. It wasn’t much but maybe you could just distract them.
By the time you reached the deck, there were multiple bodies bleeding out onto the old wood. All of your friends were still fighting however, and it filled you with relief. Your relief didn’t last long however, it was clear Jackson’s crew was severely outnumbered. They were fighting for their lives but there were at least 6 enemies for each of your friends.
Having nowhere to go without the crew, you threw yourself into the fray. The heavy cast iron pan wasn’t easy to swing so you opted for one of the knives. Without any experience you would be lucky to survive but you’ll be damned if you let your friends die without helping.
Bambam finally noticed you and told you to go below deck, but the enemy had already seen you. They would just follow you and make you an easy target.
He maneuvered himself away from the pirates he was fighting to run over to you. He shoved a short sword in your hands, “Aim for the head or the stomach, swing and stab, doesn’t matter as long as they die and you we don’t, okay? I’ll watch your back if you’ll watch mine.”
Trusting you to protect his blind spot probably wasn’t a great idea, but you knew he would do anything to keep you safe, so you would do the same for him. For each pirate you took down, another two would take their place. Bambam kept turning his body to take the brunt of the attacks, leaving you to finish them off. One pirate ran straight towards you before he could spin around. You raised your sword and swung down, hoping for the best. The steel connected with flesh and bone, his sword clattering onto the deck.
By the time Bambam turned around he had already dropped to the deck, no life left in him. The darkness helped hide most of the blood that stained the deck, thankfully not much was from Jackson’s side. The others were still fighting, but the crowd of enemies was slowly dwindling.
Bambam was looking towards the other ship, waiting to see if any others were waiting to attack. Neither of you saw anything, but looking behind the ship you could see another ship speeding towards yours. Bambam had already seen it though, and a look of relief passed over his face.
He turned around and called over the deck, “The red sails are here!” The rest of the crew grinned and seemed to fight even harder.
“What does that mean, what’s the red sails? Why is it good?”
Bambam turned to you and smiled, “That ship belongs to Jackson’s mother.”