Ahh, don't look at me. Well, Sora requested that I post one of the Harlock/Daiba fics that I'd written, but...they're all so old and bad. I just couldn't do it. Plus most of them are really dark and angsty, so I tried to write a fluff fic. I cannot write romance, and I especially cannot write fluff, but here you go, Sora. I hope you like it, dear. Maybe I'll try again sometime and it won't turn out so nonsensical and silly.


Daiba was acting strange. Harlock did not like for his crewmen to act strange, at least not more so than usual. It put him on edge.

"Now we've been over this before, and unless you start learning from your mistakes and stop running off on your own, especially when I tell you not to…" he stopped, realizing his audience was no longer listening. The teen had taken to staring at him, his eyes glazed over by some other thought. "Daiba," the captain snapped.

"Yes sir!" the blond responded automatically, blinking himself into the present and straightening his back at attention.

"What did I just say?"

"Um…I was being stupid, and I need to stop."

Well, he wasn't exactly wrong, Harlock thought. "You could at least bother to look like you're paying attention," he scolded lazily.

"I was paying attention!" He wasn't lying. He had been paying attention. He'd just…kind of stopped. It was just hard to stay focused around the captain was all. Not his fault.

It was especially difficult this time because Harlock had taken off his cape and gloves, draped them across the back of his desk chair. The captain was rarely seen without his cape outside of a space suit, and Daiba just found it strangely distracting. He liked to study the man's hands when he occasionally gestured, probably while scolding the younger pirate about something.

And once again, the short blond had zoned out. Without prompting, he began to pout. "You're too tall."

"What?" the captain frowned in confusion.

A white-gloved hand shot to the teen's mouth. He'd said that out loud?

As if to save him, there came a knock at the massive oak doors leading into the captain's chambers. "Come in," Harlock called.

Kei pushed her way in, looking a bit worse for wear. "Captain, could you come check over some calibrations for me?"

"What for? Can't do that yourself?"

The girl had apparently been working at it for some time and was mildly irritated. "The numbers aren't adding up, Captain," she hissed through gritted teeth. "Now I know this is a difficult concept, but could you come help me with something?"

"I…can," he blinked. He really hadn't meant any offense, and as he walked toward her, he attempted an uncomfortable apology.

Daiba was left forgotten in the room as the two shut the door behind them.

He rocked back on his heels, staring around curiously. He'd rarely been in the captain's room before, and certainly never alone in it. Miime must have been up at the bridge, so he had the area to himself.

It was a dim room, much like the rest of the ship, but it had a much larger window to the outside than his own. The bed was way nicer too. He wondered if it was more comfortable.

Then his eye caught the accessories still hanging over the captain's chair. He sure had nice chairs. Feeling a bit like a curious cat, Daiba crept toward the desk on the balls of his feet, glanced back over his shoulder to make sure no one was coming, and snatched up one of the gloves.

Of course, it was much too big for his hand, actually fitting over his own glove. The fingers were way too long, and it would have fallen off if he'd dropped his arm. Still, he grabbed the other glove and pulled it on as well.

The captain's gloves were way better than his own, he decided. Maroon was cooler, and all the burns and wear from their use made them obviously of a higher standard. The captain wouldn't mind if he wore them for a minute.

And while he was comparing his wardrobe, he saw no reason not to try on the cape too. He whipped it around himself, latching it in the front. Like the gloves, the thing swallowed him and dragged against the floor. He cursed his small stature, but he liked the cape. It made him feel bigger. He needed one. He was much too small, and it seemed he'd stopped growing. He'd always look like a child at this rate. Definitely needed a cape.

The chair too – he needed to test that out. After all, what if he needed to take over the ship at some point? He needed to be accustomed to all the amenities.

Instead of simply sitting down, he pushed himself backwards over one armrest and plopped down across the seat, almost lying back with his legs hanging over the side. Yes, he decided, he rather liked the chair.

He liked the smell of the captain's cape too. Pulling up the front, he buried his nose in it – red wine, a hint of ash and a bit of the captain's own husky scent. The teen felt himself blushing into the fabric. What was he even doing?

Of course the captain would tell him he was being weird and certainly would not approve of his behavior, so the small pirate needed to make himself scarce.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the door opened. Oh shit, there was the captain now.

The man stood in the doorway, blinking. He considered stepping back out, because surely he was imagining things and if he came back in a second time Daiba would not be lying across his chair…or wearing his gloves and cape.

The blond blinked back. Alright…maybe he should have thought this through more. He quickly pulled himself from the seat, but found that putting all of his weight against the armrest was another thing he should have thought through as the entire chair tipped over, and he landed in an ungraceful heap.

From there, he jumped up, one of his gloves falling to the floor.

"Daiba," Harlock greeted.

A scarlet blush consumed the teen's features. He refused to acknowledge the call in any way simply because he couldn't. He was too damn embarrassed to form a coherent thought. He just needed to leave. Yes, that was a good idea.

The captain, for all his confusion, found himself thinking something he didn't want to. And no matter how much he mentally pushed against it, the thought remained. Daiba, in his cape with one glove barely hanging on and a stunning blush, was…very cute.

This thought concerned him greatly.

The poor flustered teen was struggling to remove the cape, his hands shaking too much to allow him the simple movement. So Harlock stepped forward and undid it for him. As soon as it was off, he found the small pirate ducking under his arm and running in a sprint out the door.

"My other glove…" the captain said to the empty air. Well, he had extras.

Kei, who'd been a short ways behind him, peered curiously into the room. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," Harlock shrugged.

"He looked panicked."

"Well he's been acting strangely for the past few days. Maybe he's sick or something."

A spark of realization ignited in the girl's mind. She really didn't need to be meddling. It wasn't her business, but ooh she just had to do something.

"I'll bet I know what it is," she hummed, biting back a grin as she stepped into the room.

The captain righted his chair and picked up his unpaired glove. "You do?"

"Sure, name something weird he's done."

Not truly concerned about the matter, Harlock simply began to fold his cape. "Well…he told me I was too tall for some reason."

The blonde's eyes shone with glee. "Now come on, Captain, think about it. When someone's too much taller than you, you can't kiss them, now can you?"

The newly-folded cape fell to the floor. "Don't joke about things like that," he wheezed.

"Oh, he's obviously got a crush on you, Captain. It's cute."

"It's not cute!" Harlock bristled.

"Yes it is. You're probably one of his first little crushes."

"People with crushes do not put on your clothes!"

"Aww, he did? He must be crushing hard then. But of course he would. Closest thing to cuddling he can get."

A blush from the captain was rare, as was his current expression of shock and terror. Daiba could not have a crush on him. Daiba was still only…no wait, he'd told Daiba to be a man and that would entail adult relationships. Wait, why was he even considering this? He did not have relationships with any of his crewmen, no matter the circumstances. Not that there were any circumstances here. This was Daiba he was talking about. Why was he getting so flustered over this? Just go turn the boy's affections down gently – no, don't bring them up at all.

Yes, that would solve everything. They would simply never speak of any of this again.

"Captain," Kei frowned, as though she could read his thoughts. "Go talk to him."

"Why?" That went completely against his solution.

"Because when he ran out of here, he looked really upset, and he had one of your gloves. You can use the excuse that you're going to get it back."

This was true. Excuses were good… No, he scolded himself, excuses were not good.

But in this one case they were.

So he put on his cape and his one glove, and he followed his youngest crewman to his room. All he needed to do was go in, take the glove, and tell the blond that crushes were not allowed. That would have been simple had Daiba not been crying when he stepped into the room.

He should have knocked.

"What's wrong?" he attempted.

"Nothing," the teen huffed, wiping at his tears in frustration. He sat on his bed, the glove beside him.

"Why are you crying then?"

"I'm not!"

"I see." If the boy was crying, then that was his business. The captain just needed to get his glove and leave him alone. It was obviously what he wanted. "I just came to retrieve my glove."

"Sorry," Daiba muttered, tossing it to him.

That wasn't what he'd come for though. It was just an excuse. He needed to be polite about this, and he'd easily turned down dozens of girls before. It was just strange with his youngest crewman.

"Kei said she thinks you have a crush on me," he attempted. "That's a bit ridiculous, isn't it?"

"Yeah," the blond sighed, his chin dropping. "It's just stupid."

Oh, no no no, that hadn't been what he'd meant. "I mean," he backtracked, "I would be greatly flattered, but…I don't have relationships with my crewmen. It's just better that way."

"Mm." The teen wrung his hands, his chest aching. Today was not his day. It hadn't been his day in a long time.

"You…deserve someone much better than me anyway," the captain shrugged.

"There's no one better than you," Daiba countered, mumbling as his cheeks heated up again.

"Well I'm useless with relationships." Harlock diverted his eyes. There it was again – that thought. He cursed the teen's fair skin.

"I've never been in one."

"Then just take it from me. I'm not worth your time." Giving in, he strode forward and knelt down in front of the blond. "And I'm certainly not worth your tears."

"I'm sorry," the teen hiccupped, fresh tears welling up in his eyes anyway. "I'm so stupid. I didn't want to like you."

Harlock was slowly tearing down the boundaries he'd put up, and he allowed himself to reach up, placing his hand against his youngest crewman's cheek. "It's not stupid, and neither are you. You shouldn't be sorry. I don't ever want to be in a relationship, because I'd be so scared to lose you." His voice faded to a whisper. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Daiba leaned against his captain's hand, happy to feel the worn leather of the glove. Nothing made him happier, and nothing hurt more than being near his captain. And as the man stood, he felt the touch against his cheek slipping away. He wanted to apologize for not being good enough or strong enough, but he knew if he tried to speak, he'd only end up crying again. He really wasn't strong enough. Just a child with a crush was all he was.

Harlock would never want to get close to someone when it could so easily fall apart, but seeing the blond so defeated was causing him pain by itself. So he reached down and took the teen's hand, yanking him to his feet.

Daiba fell against his captain, finding that scent again, the scent of wine and the captain. But now it surround him in a warm embrace. He wasn't sure what it all meant, but for now Harlock was holding him, and he put his arms around him in return because he was happy. He at least knew he was cared for. As long as he had that much, it wasn't so bad.

"Sorry I'm so tall," the captain murmured. But he liked how small Daiba was. That petite frame was so easy to hold, and damnit, his Daiba was cute.

"It's okay," the blond smiled. He could always stand on his tip-toes.


I feel bad because there are no boys kissing. Maybe I'll write another one and there will be boys kissing. Hahaha, oh gosh, I'm so embrassed.