Marco woke up first, no one quite knew why but he did. He usually started the coffee, though, so no one complained. He lounged acoss Whitebeard's plush chair, sipping a large mug of coffee while the night crew shuffled off to bed and to wake up the others.
He lounged comfortably on the cushion and yawned widely, ruffling his hair into place. He finished off his coffee and stetched out, relaxing back as Seraphina shuffled out. He smiled softly and helped her up, straightening up.
She yawned and stretched out, smiling slightly as she stretched out. "Good morning."
He smiled and patted her back. "Good morning. Sleep well?"
She nodded and carefully braided her hair back. "Yeah, slept very warm as usual."
He chuckled softly and hopped down. "Well, Ace is a cuddler."
She smiled and stretched out, climbing up to sit on the arm of the chair. She relaxed as pops made his way over, a large cup of coffee in hand. He sat down and settled back, yawning widely.
She ducked as he stretched out his arms and chuckled softly. "Good morning to you too, pops."
He lazily smirked and pattted her head, drinking some coffee. "Morning, runt. How's Ace enjoying the new position?"
She lightly swung her feet and watched as the sun slowly rose. "He's enjoying it surprisingly. Gives him something to do outside of chores and he gets to boss others around."
He chuckled and rested his cheek in his hand. "That's good. Thatch and the morning crew are starting breakfast, better get it while it's hot."
She nodded and hopped down, easily landing on her feet. "Want anything?"
He started to shake his head and softly sighed at her look. "I'll take anything, runt. Just make it hot."
She grinned and turned on her heel, making her way to the galley. Softly humming a tune, she slipped into the kitchen and inhaled at the variety of smells. Eggs, sausage, and toast with different jams were always served regardless of hangover status. Today, though, they added grits and hashbrowns.
Hopefully, she wondered as she stepped aside a scurrying cook, they've got all the toppings too. She made her way over to Thatch calling out orders and grinned at the thick slices of ham in the pan. Licking her lips, she reached for a piece of ham on a platter and squeaked when a wooden spoon met the back of her hand.
Thatch smiled teasingly and pointed his spoon at her. "Watch those hands, Sera. I'll have it ready for you in a minute. Mind getting a plate down for pops?"
She stuck out her tongue and opened a cabinet, pulling out the large platter-sized plate. "Didn't have to swat me, ya know."
He gave her a look and rolled his eyes, flipping the ham slices. "You know better. It's been oh how many years?"
She smiled and flicked his ear. "You make it sound like you're an old man already. It's only been fifteen years and if memory serves correct, you were only in your teens when I came along."
Thatch laughed and slid the ham onto a cutting board, slicing it up. "You were so tiny!"
She rolled her eyes and turned pink, holding out the platter for him to load up with food. He smiled and took a tray of hashbrowns, dumping most of them onto the platter before fixing a plate. She helped him when commanded and smiled slightly, carefully balancing the plates in her hands before walking off.
She handed pops his food and gave him a look when he scrunched up his nose. "Hey, you need your veggies, doesn't he girls?"
The nurses around him nodded and one pointed at him. "No feeding them to Marco, we're watching you captain."
He sighed and started eating. Seraphina nodded firmly and sat down on the step, eating as the sails were unfurled. She smiled slightly at the jolly roger on the main sail and set her plate aside once she finished.
Leaning back on her hands, she smiled softly and inhaled deeply. Mornings were the best, the crew was still half-asleep, the air was crisp with the morning dew, and the wind seemed to slowly awake, only gently coaxing the sails. Every morning was great, bringing a new day full of romance; both in adventure and love. A lazy, average morning on the Moby Dick was the best morning, peaceful and calm.
