"Hey, Metalbeard." Benny asked, hovering in his usual spot about the mast. "Why do you wear that eye patch all the time?" Metalbeard responded with a grunt, returning the question. "An' why are ye' wearin' that Spacesuit all the time? Yer a Spaceman. It's yer thing, kid. Same fer me." It's the answer he expected, but the way Metalbeard glanced away at its mention planted a seed of doubt in Benny, and he felt a familiar knot form uncomfortably in his stomach. He sank a little in the air, expression brimming with light concern. "What, seriously? Like, it's just for the aesthetic?All the time?" Metalbeard let out a hearty laugh, reassuring him somewhat.
"Aye lad, though y'don't have t'be throwin' around such fancy lingo. What's a Pirate Captain without his Patch and Peg Leg?"
"I've seen you sleep with the thing, man. Not to mention depth perception seems kinda' neat."
Metalbeard turned to flash a dry, sarcastic grin. "Har dee har." He muttered, grumbling something under his breath about 'smalllandlubbers not appreciating a pirate's way/small'. He probably should have left the conversation there, but Benny wasn't satisfied, and didn't plan on quitting yet.
"You know, I used to have this friend who wore an eye patch." He began, hovering ever so slightly nearer to his friend. "More of a bandage, really, but he treated it like an eye patch. Nobody really knew how he got whatever injury it was hiding, 'cause the story'd change every time he told it. It was a pretty famous myth between the other Astronauts. Up in the Space Station we used to call him 'Pirate Pete', 'cause like you said, it's kinda' a Pirate thing." Benny glanced at Metalbeard, who returned a skeptical look, one eyebrow raised. "So this guy, Pete, right. One day we're prepping for a spacewalk, and someone makes a jab at his bandage, and he flips. Lucky I was there, it could've got real nasty, the guy was biting, shouting, clawing, and-"
"Benny, does this tale o'yours have an ending any time soon?"
"Right, sorry." He muttered, sheepishly rubbing the back of his helmet. Though admittedly he'd digressed, those were big words coming from the 'best teller o'tales on the Seven Seas', a title Metalbeard had so lovingly awarded to himself. "My point is, the whole 'eye thing', it really bothered him, but he played it off for laughs so nobody would think he was soft or anything."
Metalbeard's expression had hardened now, and Benny suddenly felt a welling sense of guilt. He briefly wondered if the Captain would ever 'flip' on him. Having seen him in action against the Micro Managers in the midst of the famed 'T.A.K.O.S. Tuesday', that was an outcome he would feverishly avoid if even remotely possible.
"What're ye insinuatin' here, lad?" Was the eventual, albeit begrudging response, and Benny realised Metalbeard was once more avoiding his gaze. "Nothin'." He replied, nonchalant. "But y'know, you can trust me. I don't care if it's weird or anything."
A short, somewhat awkward silence followed, in which Benny couldn't help but stare at his friend in concern. In a flash, he realised just how close he'd actually hovered. Feeling a compelling need to remedy the distance between them, he backed off, giving Metalbeard some space. He fruitlessly tried to ignore the blush rising in his cheeks. Benny couldn't help but note that even in resting, Metalbeard's mechanical behemoth of a body was constantly in motion. It sustained a hypnotic rhythm, steaming and ticking away of its own accord. Benny honestly couldn't imagine him otherwise, but was painfully aware that where Metalbeard could once fall asleep to the soft rise and fall of the waves, now he dozed to the whirs and creaks of his Frankenstein-esque frame.
A cough from Metalbeard jolted him back to reality. Though he was still frowning, the patch lay loose in his palm, strings hanging over the edge and swaying delicately in the wind. Daring to hover closer, Benny fumbled with his hands, awkwardly unaware of what else he could do as he looked Metalbeard in both eyes for the first time.
"An' there be yer great mystery, boyo." Metalbeard mumbled, "Plain as day."
"... You're blind?" Benny whispered, entranced by the milky haze shrouding Metalbeard's eye.
"Aye, born wi'one eye cursed. Fittin' for a man o'my profession." A dark chuckle broke up his speech, and Benny could see the shame in his expression.
"Whaddaya mean, cursed?" He spluttered, closing the remaining distance between them and waving his arms in a mad motion. Metalbeard stared on, confused. "Come on, man! If you'd got this fighting you'd be proud as anything!"
"An' I didn't get it fightin', so watch yer' tongue or-"
"I'm not done!" Benny snapped, fuming. "Just because some wackjob didn't hack it out doesn't make you any less of a man! It's like... You fought against Mother Nature, which is tons more impressive than some dumb pirate battle or whatever." Calming down some, Benny lowered his arms, "I mean, have you even seen yourself? You look awesome." He paused, reflecting on his choice of words. "Awe inspiring, I mean. An' look over there! You got those clouds in your eye, from that-" (cue frustrated point to the expanse of sea behind them) "- amazing horizon you're always talkin' about. That's not a curse, it's..." His voice trailed off, as he searched for the right word.
"It be a fine look for a Pirate Captain." Metalbeard finished, grinning fondly and displaying all of what teeth he had left. Gold ones and all.
"Yeah." Benny finished, crossing his arms and huffing. "You shouldn't put yourself down, Metalbeard. You're like the coolest guy I know, and that's -" Cut short of breath, Benny sprawled forward as Metalbeard's massive hand smacked him on the back, his deep, booming laughter following suit.
"-An' that be sayin' somethin', right?" He yelled through his mirth, tears welling at the edges of his eyes. Pretending not to notice, Benny cracked a smile, wholly unable to resist Metalbeard's contagious laughter.
Some good time later, when both had talked themselves hoarse sharing stories of Space and of the Sea, a quiet (yet no less noticed) "thank you" broke the silence. Benny grinned, holding the patch tightly in the palm of his glove.
"No problem."