Connor blinked the sleep out of his eyes and jolted straight up in his bed when he didn't know where he was. He felt a stirring next to him and looked down to see Grace curled up beside him. He felt bad, because he had taken nearly all the blankets, and removed them from his body and wrapped them around her. He turned his head, looking around the room, before realizing that he was in one of the rooms above Ma Kettle's pub.
The previous night came back to him; He remembered Captain Wraith being furious with the state of his ship after a brutal storm, and how the crew groaned with exhaustion when he demanded that they fix it up. Maintaining the ship in the storm had truly relieved them of their endurance, and Captain Wraith sighed before announcing that they would be staying in the inn above Ma Kettle's for the night.
Connor groaned when he realized he'd have to get to work and repair The Diablo within the next few hours, when the rest of the crew woke up, with his body still sore from the night before.
Connor recalled something else; He had been forced to share a room with Grace and someone else last night. He rubbed his eyes and glanced around the small room once more. Where was Cheng Li? Her bed against the opposite wall was empty and made neatly, as though she had never slept in it, but Connor was sure that she must have, because he remembered his embarrassment at having to share a room with another girl who was not Grace.
Connor got off the bed quietly, so has not to wake up Grace, and stretched his limbs as he walked over to the window. The sunshine was bright, with slivers of the angry red color of sunrise still not completely faded away. Connor inhaled deeply and it smelled of nature. This surprised him; why should an inn so close to the ocean smell of plants and not of salt? He looked down to see the garden that was maintained at the back of Ma Kettle's to entertain the guests staying there. He saw a familiar raven-haired figure standing beside a tree and realized it was Cheng Li. He waved to her, but she was facing the other way, and couldn't see him. He didn't want to call out to her in fear of waking up his sister, so he pulled on his sea boots and left the room.
"Hey," he greeted his deputy captain when he had gone down the stairs to the first-floor pub and out the door. He was walking across the grass to where Cheng Li was leaning against a tall tree, her almond eyes carefully regarding the plants in front of her.
"Connor?" she said, glancing over her shoulder at the sound of his voice and footsteps. "What are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "I'm a morning person, you know that."
Cheng Li nodded, seeming to accept that answer, and her gaze returned to the vines before her, which Connor realized held ripe strawberries.
"Ooh!" he exclaimed, jogging forward and plucking one of the red fruits away from its leaf. "I haven't eaten one of these in months!" He bit into it, eyes closing in pleasure at its sweet taste.
"Does it taste good?" Cheng Li asked, peering at him curiously.
He nodded enthusiastically. "Mhm," he said. "I've missed fruits a lot since I started living on The Diablo. I haven't tasted a strawberry since before dad died." He swallowed the rest of it and bent to pick another one.
"I've never had one," Cheng Li admitted, watching as Connor stuffed several more in his mouth.
He gasped, pink juice on his lips. "Are you serious?" he exclaimed. "Why not?"
She shrugged. "I've spent the majority of my life at sea or at the academy. A ship is an unfit place to hoard food which perishes easily and I only ate food that would give me sufficient energy for my studies at the academy," she explained. "I have just never had one."
Connor continued to stare at her, wide eyed, before shoving the strawberries from his hands into hers. "Eat! Now!" he commanded.
Cheng Li looked at him oddly, used to being the one to give orders to him. "Why?"
"Because they're good!"
"Maybe I will not like them."
"Come on, Cheng Li. Don't you trust me?" Connor asked, picking one of the strawberries in her hands and popping it into his mouth. "See? Yum." Seeing that Cheng Li was still unconvinced, he picked up another round fruit and held it toward her lips. "Eat."
Cheng Li, too surprised for a reaction, slowly opened her mouth and bit off the end of the strawberry Connor was feeding her. She chewed thoughtfully while Connor waited in anticipation. "It's sour," was her final verdict.
"What?!" Connor exclaimed. "You're insane. Have another bite," he insisted, holding another strawberry to her mouth.
She frowned. "You don't have to feed me like a child."
"I just want you to like it!"
"Why?"
"Because it's good!"
"I'll try again later."
"I don't believe you. Hey, Cheng Li, come back! Where you going?"
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A/N: Another Cheng Li and Connor one shot, my third in two days. Lately I have been in the one shot mood. I haven't written a cute and fluffy oneshot in so long! Most of my fics are so angsty x_x. Well, anyways, please review if you can, even though I doubt there are many other Cheng Li/Connor fans out there except me! Come on, they're so cute together.