Isabel_Peculier shakily handed the 9th glass of her home-made pint of grog to Honeydew as promised. The two gulped them down as if they were water and pounded down their glasses with difficulty. Isabel almost missed the table with her wooden mug, but managed it anyways.
"*Hic!* Give up yet?" he asked in a slurred voice.
"Nev- *Hic!* -ER!" She exclaimed. The two laughed at their competition they had created. Honeydew fell out of his chair and Isabel almost died laughing. She reached down to help him up and stumbled, ending up on hands and knees above him. Honeydew grinned toothily at her. He sat wobbly up and kissed Isabel, pulling her back down to the wood floor of the ship. When the two stood up, Honeydew took Isabel's hand, leading her towards her room on deck.
Isabel slid her shirt over her head, covering her bare chest. Honeydew watched her put on the clothes he had taken off her not long before. He lay on the bed, propping himself up with his arm, watching.
Isabel walked to the wooden door of her sleeping quarters, she glanced back and smiled at the dwarf, before walking through the door and up onto the wheel deck. She attempted to stretch but was interrupted by a sharp pain in a muscle near her shoulder.
"Ow, dammit, Honeydew, you're too strong!"
"Lemme have a go at that." said a metallic voice.
She felt a cold steel hand on her shoulder which began too massage her aching arm. She tipped her head back to see her first mate, Pirate_Tinman, the owner of the hand that was on her shoulder. Within minutes, her sore muscle was relaxed and knot-free.
Isabel heard a faint beeping coming from the room below her feet. She heard heavy footsteps racing about and Honeydew burst through the door, fastening his belt.
"Xephos messaged me, it's urgent, I'll be back as soon as I can!" He called out to her. He vaulted over the rails of the Black Pimple into the cold water below.
Isabel felt her eyes begin to water as she thought about the night before. For a while, she had given her heart to someone who isn't the kind who would settle down and have a family. The rest of the day was uneventful.
Isabel stood in front of her bed and sighed. There was a depression where the hairy lug, Honeydew, had been before. Her senses perked when she heard the faint creek of floorboards. She heard the gentle *clink* of metal being gently placed down.
Before Isabel could react, she was tackle-hugged into her bed by Honeydew.
"You came back!" she whispered between kisses.
He grinned and pulled her closer, and they made love once more.
When daylight came, the dread pirate found herself naked and alone. A note scrawled on the back of a crinkled piece of paper said,
"The world needs me... Again! ~HD"
Isabel let out a small cry and then broke down in tears. She put her clothes back on and lay back down in bed. Tinman walked in silently despite the fact he was metal. He sat down on the edge of the bed and watched Isabel cry. He waited until she could cry no more and then helped her into a sitting position. He put his arm around her and said plainly, "I was human, once." Isabel looked up at his looming figure and imagined he beat face of a young man behind the metal shell. The two sat in a hushed silence for hours.
Honeydew walked in to see Isabel curled up next to Tinman.
Tinman glanced at Honeydew and whispered in Isabel's ear. She immediately woke up and raced off to Honeydew with an explanation in hand.
Tinman left the room and was glad he couldn't cry. He stood by the wheel and thought. He had no wish to deprive the two of their happiness, but he wanted Isabel. He walked to the rail and stared at the frothy waves below him. For a moment he considered jumping in, and plunging to the bottom, being crushed in an instant.
Honeydew held his sea faring lover in his arms, but something was bothering him.
"Isabel, something's wrong, you're not into it today." He said. She looked at him and her eyes began to tear up.
"You're just always leaving! Someday you might not come back, you can be killed, or- or you find someone else..." she whimpered.
"What if YOU find someone else?" he asked. She didn't answer, she merely kissed him. He didn't think much about it; it was he that had begun the relationship on the first place.
Isabel dreamt about Honeydew and herself, they would have sex and then he would leave, like normal. But this time, she had a letter delivered to her by Xephos, a funeral invitation.
She woke up crying, she felt a heavy body next to her, and she rolled into it, still reeling over the thought of Honeydew being killed. She felt the cold of metal on her skin and looked up to see Tinman looking at her. She looked him over for a second and then continued soaking herself with tears. He wrapped his arms around her and said,
"I'M here for you, captain." Isabel looked up at him with her tear stained eyes, she realized that Tinman had always been there for her. He brushed her hair behind her ear and watched her dry off her tears. Tinman reached out and held Isabel in his arms, she snuggled up into his arms and played with his soft, cotton shirt and fell asleep.
Honeydew softly walked in that night and saw the two, Isabel had been crying and seemed to be sleeping. Tinman was stroking her hair until he heard footsteps; he turned around and saw Honeydew. Tinman stared him down and Honeydew eventually left, understanding what he meant.
Isabel had chosen Tinman.