"Man, I'm beat." Tom announced. He lay on his back to enjoy the softness of his bed on his worn-out body. Well, the little softness the bed had to give. He turned to his right to see a red-faced Allan, equally tired but satisfied.

"That…was…amazing!" Allan stated between huffs and puffs of exhaustion. They stared at each other for awhile, then Tom leaned in and kissed Allan's forehead. He went lower and lower, trailing down Allan's long flat nose bridge with little love pecks. Their lips blissfully and barely touched, soft and elegant. Tom always loved this part, it brought out the softer side of Allan. His partner, on the other hand, preferred it differently. Allan was getting bored of "bliss" and "elegant" and especially "barely". He bravely slid his hand up Tom's arm, reaching his shoulder. He then swiftly made his way to the neck. Holding Tom in place with a firm grip, he slowly inserted his tongue into Tom's mouth. Wet, hot, and messy was way better then bliss, elegant, and soft in Allan's opinion. This made Tom's eyes open in sudden shock. To slow things down a bit, he closed his teeth together to make a barrier for his tongue. Allan wasn't going to give up that easily. He made his grip around Tom's neck harder, almost forming bruises, and also grabbed Tom's waist to make his hold more secure. Tom started to make little whimpering noises to notify Allan that this wasn't something he enjoyed. But instead of stopping, Allan leaned all his body weight atop of Tom and forcibly pushed him under his body. Tom didn't like at all where this was going. He pushed Allan off of him and sat up. Allan glared at him, confused and …angry?

"Um… It's gettin' late ya know…and I've worked, no, we've worked hard today, very hard. I just don't think I'll be able to shag twice tonight." Tom said sheepishly. Allan till had that angrily confused face on his mug, but it eased into a slightly less irritated frown. He turned around and pressed his back to Tom's chest, waiting for two arms to embrace him.

"What are you doin'?" Tom asked.

"Goin' to sleep, what's it look like?" Allan growled. 'He had to ask a question right when I was gettin' comfy" Allan thought.

"In my bed" Tom asked, head slightly turned.

'Yes! Now go to sleep!" Allan yelled back, but low enough to not alert any of the crew members.

"Al, we talked bout' this. Hell, you were the one who denied it. You said it yourself. 'If anyone saw me comin' out of your room it would-"

"Ruin my reputation.' I know, I know." Allan finished. He was staring to regret his position of being the captain. Allan put in his clothes, buttoned his jacket, and walked towards the door.

"Goodnight..." Tom said. Allan had no response. He was too pissed off at Tom to acknowledge his peace-offering. "I love you."

SLAM!

Allan mumbled to himself as he walked down the hall. The one time, the ONLY time, Allan felt romantic Tom had to turn it down for one bloody rule, the rule that he made HIMSELF!

"Captain Allan! Captain Allan!" a voice suddenly yelled out. Allan turned to his left, it was only Pedro.

"Are you feeling well Captain?" Pedro asked. He placed the hand on Allan's check and felt the very hot and red flesh under his palm.

"I'm fine! Leave me alone! Go...work on something! Now!" Allan shouted as Pedro scurried away. Was his face really that red? He knew he had sensitive skin but this was ridiculous! Was it really obvious he just had sex with someone? Apparently it was. All he heard down the halls he past were whispers and gossip from the crew. How dare they talk about their captain like!? He had high authority, but yet it was him who they were belittling. He heard all of the whispers. All of them.

"Look at how flustered he is." one sailor stated.

"Like a school girl." another crew member commented.

"Or a lobster." a random worker added.

"Yeah, yeah. He looks like a lobster school girl." the sailor re-stated. The three men chuckled, but stopped once Allan looked back at them.

"Look at those hickies." a voice said.

"Damn. I shagged a snake once and got less bites." Mr. Gitch said. Allan knew it was him once the words came out of his mouth. With that, he flipped his collar up to hide little 'souvenirs'.

"What do you think? Top or bottom?" Jumbo asked someone. Allan knew he should kill his crew for all of this back talk, but he couldn't help but find it amusing. He wanted to see how they really thought of him. He heard some 'Lucky, at least he's getting laid's and a few 'I don't blame him. Tom is kinda hot. If I were gay I'd hit that too's, so they couldn't all be that bad.

"Bottom, definitely. You can tell by the way we walks. Man, maybe we should make Tom captain, seeing that he does do more damage then certain a person, if you know what I mean." the man replied as Jumbo started to chuckle. 'WHAT DID THEY JUST SAY ABOUT ME!?'

"Do you find something FUNNY Mr. Jumbo?!" Allan asked as he pinned Jumbo to the nearest wall.

"N-no, sir." Jumbo replied shockingly. Allan pushed him aside, almost hard enough to make him fall. Finally, he arrived at his cabin. He shut and locked his door. The nightmare was finally over. Allan reached for his hat to throw it in frustration, but it wasn't on his head. Nothing He patted his pockets. Nope. He checked the floor to see if it fell. Zero

"DAMN IT!" Allan screamed. Not only would he have to deal with those disrespectful rats and their words, but he would have to face...Tom.

Allan ran, well speed-walked, back to Tom's room, hearing laughter and comments with every step he took. He reached the door to the cabin, but some how couldn't open it. Was it locked? Probably not. Was it stuck? Nah, if so he could just jiggle it a bit. The reason Allan couldn't open the door was the one he feared the most, he didn't have the balls to. Allan was so nervous of what would happen he couldn't even move. The many possibilities of what Tom would do, good and bad, popped into his head all at once.

'*sniff* *sniff* Just take your hat and leave me alone!' No. Tom isn't that sensitive. Well, at least Allan thought he wasn't.

'...That's it? You're just here for your hat?! Nothing else!? God Allan, its like your fucking blind!' Never. Tom is too nice to raise his voice. Hell, Tom is to nice to even talk back

'Hey big boy, came back for round two?" Nuh-uh. Even though Allan wished this was what Tom would say, it was very unlikely.

'Do you love me too?' Allan almost lost his breathe. This was most likely what Tom was going to ask, and he hated to admit that. Tom is saying those 3 little words more often, and it started to scare Allan. He didn't even know the answer himself. Well, he did, he just didn't want to feel that way. Ever since Archibald Haddock, the man who ruined Allan's life forever, left him alone and heartbroken on this hunk of rusty metal, Allan's view on the whole 'love' thing turned from the best thing in the world to nothing but trouble. Of course this would kill Tom if he ever told him.

Allan erased all of these thoughts from his mind as he turned the handle. Once he stepped into the room the thoughts came pouring back into his mind, making him sweaty and clammy. He kept his head down, full of uncertainty and regret that he didn't just come back in the morning

"Um...I...um..." Allan started off."...I was...I forgot my ha-" Allan said, but was interrupted by the image in front of him.

It was Tom, of course, wearing Allan's hat on his head...and absolutely nothing else.

"Well, Mr. Allan, you're gonna have to earn it back, now won't you?" Tom replied with a smirk o his face. Allan turned red again. His shocked expression turned into a playfully lust-filled one.

"Well, then, Captain Tom, how should I start?" Allan asked, even though he already knew the answer. He walked towards Tom, taking his clothes off slowly.

'The 'I love you' thing could be solved after the sex...right?' Allan thought right before he pounced at Tom.

Fifteen minutes later, Allan slowly and gently trailed his finger along Tom's bare chest.

"I guess I was able to shag twice tonight, eh?" Tom stated, waiting to hear Allan's response. Instead, he felt Allan pull his arm closer, wrapping it around his waist like blanket.

"Um, Tom…I know I've been tough on ya, but I mean it…when I say…that I…I" With each word Allan said, his face came closer and closer to Tom's. "I love you." Stunned by his words, Allan didn't know what to do and just froze on the spot. Tom couldn't help but smile like a fool even if he tried.

"Wow. I…" Tom started, but couldn't finish. Neither one knew what to say. But, they didn't need words. They could both sense the butterflies in the other's stomachs. Tom leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to Allan's. This time their kiss wasn't full of lust or urgency, but it was soft and comforting and lovely. "I love you too." Tom said, looking straight into Allan's eyes. These four little words meant so much to Allan then he thought. It was Tom telling him that 'I'll always be here for you' and 'I'll never hurt you' and 'I'll be committed to you and no one else' and so many other things all at the same time. "So, do you think you can break your rule for one little night?" Allan thought the question over in his mind for a second or two, then decided his action. He turned around and pressed his back to Tom's chest, waiting for two arms to embrace him. And this time, two arms were there to hold him closely. Allan gently shut his eyes and sighed from happiness.

"Goodnight Al, I love ya."

"Love ya too, Tom."