Inspired by a sudden and crack rp by none other than takahoe. You're welcome and happy birthday! It all started because I said 'And this is why you need a first mate'. I'm nervous that this isn't too well written due to how quickly I had to write it, but please enjoy!
It was unusually quiet in the main room of the Galleon when Joe walked in. Of course it was also late at night and many of the crew would have been in bed. Far past dinnertime, only Luka and Joe had been awake to his knowledge, sparring late into the night to practice their techniques. While the thief headed up to the crow's nest, he in turn descended below deck to take a shower before he retired for the night.
A small groan nearly startled Joe as he began to cross the room, eyes suddenly darting around to catch the source of the sound. His body immediately went into high alert, having it recognized the voice until his gaze alighted on a figure curled up on the couch.
Marvelous?
It was always jarring to see him without his signature red coat, or the black undervest. At the moment he was simply in his white shirt and pants. Joe had nearly dismissed it as clothes that had been haphazardly thrown upon the furniture – Don would have had a fit upon seeing it, him and Gai both.
His captain curled up on himself again with that same soft groan, eyebrows drawn taunt. Did something happen to Marvelous? Carefully he made his way to him, senses on high alert in case something was hiding in the room before his eyes were drawn to a large bucket on the table. It was a bucket of raw cookie dough that was nearly empty. The soldier stopped in his tracks, his eyes hardening into a glare.
Cookie dough?
Joe slowly turned back to look at Marvelous, one eye twitching. The other had given himself a stomachache, hadn't he? It was hard to resist the temptation to grab his captain and wake him up and berate him for consuming enough cookie dough to send anyone into a comatose stupor. Anyone except for Marvelous apparently, however it seemed to have given him an enormous stomachache to compensate.
The smell of the cookie dough was overwhelmingly sweet, and it did cross Joe's mind, who loved to bake sweets, to swipe some for himself before he realized that consuming sugar before bed was not a smart idea, especially with the threatening cloud of exhaustion looming over him. Still, the sweet dough had to be put away before Marvelous woke up and attempted to eat the rest of it. He reached out to pick the bucket up.
"Oi!" The rough voice did little to stop Joe as he gripped one edge of the bucket. A strong hand grasped his wrist and he looked directly into the face of a grumpy captain.
"My cookie dough." It was grumbled out, the other gritting his teeth as he fought hard to not sink back into the couch. Normally one did not come between Marvelous and his food – honestly that's what happened with the Zangyack and look how that turned out – yet this was Joe. Only Joe could snatch food away and not get chewed out…. Most of the time anyway.
Before the other could react, Joe pulled his wrist out of Marvelous' grip, dodging the other's attempt to reach out for him. A satisfied smirk climbed its way onto the soldier's lips as he made a beeline for the kitchen, and more importantly the refrigerator. A sound of Marvelous cursing floated towards him, knowing that in his condition, he wouldn't have followed.
"Joe!" The smirk grew. Shutting the refrigerator, Joe returned to the main room, bypassing the couch and grabbing a blanket that had been left near the table and tossed it onto Marvelous' head without any regard to how he would react. If a fight broke out, he knew it wouldn't be too hard to wrestle his captain to the ground in his situation. Just the thought of it made Joe grin.
"Go to sleep."
"No." The response was immediate, Marvelous struggling to pull the blanket off his head, glowering at his first mate as soon as he clawed it off. He cringed, one hand fluttering down to his stomach. The first mate sighed, glancing away towards the sleeping quarters, debating on which one of them to wake up.
"If you don't sleep, then I will go get either Ahim or Doc to look after you." Honestly Ahim would have been the best person to go to for her tea - Joe wasn't one to enjoy making it - yet Don would have set Marvelous straight on what he had consumed… Though then again, the pirate captain never listened to anyone and would have intimidated Don into giving him the cookie dough back.
"Don't you dare tell Doc." The captain's eyes were wide, hand clenching further on his stomach and he glanced away. His slight threat surprisingly had worked. Both Ahim and Don could be very persuasive and stubborn when it came to the well-being of their crewmates. Joe's lips twitched upwards, only furthering when the other sank back into the couch, sending him a glare.
"I'm going to take a shower. Go to bed." The ex-soldier nearly regretted saying that when Marvelous' eyes locked back onto his with a very familiar grin. Joe bit his bottom lip as his captain wiggled his eyebrows in an almost comical fashion. That damned pirate... He ignored the burning of his cheeks and decide to simply glare at the other. Slowly, Marvelous' eyes trailed down the other's sweat-covered body before it returned to Joe's flushed face. He quickly said something before the other could think of inviting himself along.
"I can't believe I am going to say this… The faster you sleep, the faster you can eat more food without having a stomachache." The way Marvelous' eyes simply shone with happiness was… Joe stopped his mind right there, sighing again. He swore that Marvelous was more than obsessed with food, and if that wide and cheeky smile that was plastered on his face didn't show it, he was unsure what would.
"And this is why you're my favorite, Joe. Oh, and make sure that Gai has that ice cream stuff tomorrow." Of course, Marvelous was always happy when food was involved.
"You are insatiable…" Joe deadpanned, rubbing his forehead to ease the oncoming signs of a headache. He missed Marvelous's wicked smirk as he shut his eyes. The exhaustion was still on the edge of his senses, ready to creep up on him once his guard was let down. A hot shower would prevent such a thing until he made it to his bed.
"In more ways than one, yes, yes I am." Marvelous laid back, sinking into the couch's soft cushions as he grinned at his first mate, enjoying how his cheeks reddened yet again once his eyes snapped over to him. The way he sprawled out was to entice him to come closer, yet while Joe considered it, Marvelous would be too distracted by his stomach pains.
"Go to sleep Marvelous." The frown that spread across Marvelous' lips was distracting. The captain curled in on himself as he grumbled. Eating outweighed sleep.
"Don't forget about that ice cream." Joe glanced away, folding his arms over his chest, a small smile on his face. His captain drank in the rare sight. Joe mumbled an agreement on making sure he would have his ice cream.
"You know, saving you was the best decision I ever made… And no, I'm not just saying that because of the ice cream." Marvelous acted quickly, catching his first mate's fist with a catlike smirk. The captain enjoyed the annoyance in those dark eyes, knowing the only did it because of the last sentence. Before Joe could pull away, Marvelous pulled him closer by the fist, uncurling those calloused fingers and brushing his lips against Joe's knuckles. As quick as it happened, Joe's eyes softened, not moving as Marvelous looked back up at him.
"Sleep." It was hard for the soldier to keep his voice steady, still feeling the ghostly sensations of the captain's lips over his skin.
"Not unless you're on this couch with me." Marvelous shot back. It was obvious the captain would win this argument, otherwise he'd holler for Joe until the other would have to leave the confines of the shower to answer him. Sighing, the first mate settled down next to him, trying to get comfortable despite all of the sweat still clinging to his skin.
Almost immediately the other pushed Joe down and promptly laid on top of him, pulling the blanket over them both.
"Marvelous!" There was only a grunt, a muffled 'shut up', and a swift kiss to his lips that answered Joe.
