The water sloshed a little as she got in, and he shifted his legs closer together when it became clear how she was intending to sit.
Back on the sea. Right. This wasn’t something they were going to be doing regularly. Somehow, his mind had ventured into ‘I could get used to this’ territory, knowing he’d have a safe place to live, vaguely imagining if she came with him. But no. She was setting sail tomorrow and that was it. And he didn’t even want to spend his life with somebody, anyway! Why invite that sort of vulnerability?
The water flick made him smirk. He nudged her hip with his foot beneath the water in return. “I’m gonna have one every damn night.”
He wiggled his shoulders to get comfier, then leaned his head back against the edge of the tub, eyes closed. A long sigh escaped him as the heat eased through his body.
He looked... perfect right now. Thoroughly fucked, relaxed, imagining the possibilities of his future. A future that was wide open. As much as she'd been thinking about how much she'd be missing him, she was also genuinely so happy for him and the freedom he now how and his future, so full of potential and possibility.
She rubbed her hands slowly over her belly as she cleaned his spilled seed from her skin and wondered, oh so briefly, what it would be like to share a bath with him every day. To come home to his smile and his laugh and know she would be welcomed, not because she was a prize, but because she was a friend.
But that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted her own kind of freedom; the wind in her hair and treasure on the horizon. Ridding ships of their precious goods and freeing people who should not be considered goods at all. Their futures would be very different, and their paths weren't likely to ever cross again.
"And sleep in a warm bed," she smiled. "Never have to huddle for warmth again. A solid roof and a fire in the hearth. Good, filling food for your belly every day. No one to answer to but yourself."
That made her realize just how similar their ideas of freedom were. They both craved what the didn't have growing up. And, yes, she had to take care of her crew, but she trusted them, and they her, so they were less a responsibility and more a benefit. She was the boss on her ship, and had nothing to fear from her crew. No one could catch her or stop her from being exactly who she wanted to be.
They’d been apart for a month. Before that, before Rogue’s Landing, they’d been apart for their entire lives, bar the occasional unfriendly encounter. This would be fine. How could it hurt? When he could look forward to having everything he’d been wanting, and only losing everything he’d already decided he didn’t want?
But she was going to miss him…
No. She was going to miss this familiar but no strings attached sex they had together. Obviously. He was too. They’d be stupid not to miss this - sex this good was a rarity!
She was listing so many amazing things he had to look forward to, little luxuries that would soon be his new norm. He wondered how long it would take for him to become used to them. Would he take them for granted, just like every other person who didn’t spend their lives sailing around in the elements.
Finally, he sat up a little and opening his eyes to look at her. She wasn’t nearly so blissful as him. Cheerful, yes, but melancholy. His stomach did something weird.
“And you’ll have the sea and your ship and your crew. Different dreams for different people,” he mused with a smirk. They were both getting what they wanted, weren’t they? “And you’ll regale them with heroic tales of the old Captain Pedrosa.”









