Almost a year had passed since the Pirate Captain and his beloved first mate, the Pirate with a Scarf had admitted their feelings for each other, and even longer still since the two had met, became friends and the younger pirate had agreed to join the crew. Indeed, that year had been the happiest the Pirate Captain had even known, even if he and the first mate did hide their relationship from the crew for several months before deciding between themselves that it was time to tell them. And from all the times the Pirate Captain had spent with the Pirate with a Scarf, platonically or romantically, he definitely felt safe to say without a doubt that the younger pirate was definitely the one for him. He really was a loyal first mate, a trustworthy companion, a true friend and most definitely a fantastic lover. Sensitive, intelligent and incredibly supportive, there was absolutely no reason whatsoever why the Pirate with a Scarf shouldn't be the one the Pirate Captain would want to spend, not just the rest of his piratical career, but the rest of his life with.
Due to all of this, the Pirate Captain felt it was time to propose to his beloved first mate. Though exactly how he was going to do it, he had no idea. Every time the very thought entered his mind, butterflies would begin to flutter in his stomach, as would his heart. Though not in his stomach of course, that would just be very strange. In fact, he would probably worry if he felt his heart starting to flutter in his stomach. It would most likely be a symptom of some strange, yet very serious heart condition, more dangerous than gout or scurvy. But no, much to his relief, his heart remained where it should be whenever it would start fluttering along with the butterflies in his stomach at the thought of proposing to the Pirate with a Scarf.
Anyway, another thing the Pirate Captain feared about the whole thing would be that, when the time came, he'd probably get very nervous, causing his words to not come out the way he wanted them to. Indeed, he had this whole romantic speech thought up in his head for the occasion, but whether he'd be able to get it out right, he couldn't tell. He really wanted to remain manly and confident during it, and he knew how much the Pirate with a Scarf loved him dearly, but would he refuse him if the captain slipped up during his speech, even slightly? He had spent weeks forming the perfect plan for the occasion. He had ordered for the ship to be sailed towards some beautiful tropical island somewhere in the Caribbean, the setting for the proposal. The diamond ring he had bought from a jewellers shoppe on Blood Island, the most expensive ring in the whole shoppe in fact, with several chests full of gold he had plundered from quite a few boats belonging to the Bank of England. He would just absolutely hate it if all his fine work went to waste if the Pirate with a Scarf thought him a fool if he couldn't even ask such a simple question due to his nervousness.
However, he decided not to think like that. He knew he had to stay positive and not let any of these unpleasant thoughts to continue going through his head. He remembered all the times when the Pirate with a Scarf told him, during times of anxiety, that if he kept a level head, then he would never go wrong. Indeed, any piece of advise his beloved first mate given had given him had always been rather good and helpful. So he thought to keep that very thought in mind for now to help him get through it. Whether he'd be able to hold himself together when the big moment came, only time would tell, he told himself.
~
Soon, the morning came when the pirate ship had finally sailed into the Caribbean. The pirates were all sunbathing out on the boat deck, as it was much too hot to be doing any of their usual activities. Such activities usually involved shanty singing or target practising using knives, pistols and a less than artistic depiction that Pirate Captain had painted of Queen Victoria on several barrels. They didn't even feel like having one of their discussions that would normally get out of hand and end in them fighting with each other, usually quite violently. The only one who wasn't taking part in such relaxation was the Pirate Who Likes Sunsets and Kittens. As the ship's lookout, he was standing up at the crow's nest, holding his telescope to his eye, as he scanned the pale blue ocean spreading out in all directions in front of the ship, in search of any islands which should hopefully soon appear in the horizon. Though thankfully, it wasn't an unpleasant job, as he got a very nice breeze from up where he was, so he didn't get very hot. Also, he didn't have to stay up there, looking at a vast, blue ocean for very long, for he soon spotted a small shape, which could only have been an island, on the horizon.
"Land hoooooo!" he shouted, alerting the sunbathing pirates below, who all sat up in surprise and relief. They were running low on water and were getting very thirsty from the heat, so imagine how glad they must've been to hear that they'd soon be docking at an island where they'd no doubt find plenty of fresh water to cure them of that thirst. In the stifling heat, some of them had forgotten the very reason why their Captain had ordered to have them sailed into this dreaded hot Caribbean in the first place. Then they'd quickly remember he told them he always thought a beautiful tropical island would be the ideal spot for him to make a proposal to the one he loved.
Upon hearing the call from the burly pirate above, the Pirate Captain took out his own telescope and scanned the wide ocean out in front of him until he spotted the very island his friend had just spotted.
"Ah, at last..." he whispered to himself as the excited crew all bustled up to the bow of the boat and watched as the distant island slowly but surely floated closer and closer.
~
About an hour later, though that very hour seemed more like a day to the impatient and thirsty pirates, the ship had finally docked at the shore of the tropical island. Upon climbing down from the boat, some of them were so glad to feel their feet going to the wonderfully cool water that they immediately began to frolic about in it to cool themselves off. The rest of them either went and found shade under some of the huge palm trees or went off into the jungle, to find streams to collect fresh water and food from.
"So, when are you gonna pop the question to the Pirate with a Scarf then, Captain?" the Albino Pirate eventually asked the Pirate Captain excitedly, though keeping his voice down so that the first mate who was still close by wouldn't hear him.
At this, the Pirate Captain looked in the direction of the Pirate with a Scarf, who was on the beach attempting to light a fire with flints he had found and collected around the beach in order to cook any catches his friends might make in the sea for breakfast. He looked up to catch the elder pirate looking at him and give him a sweet smile before returning to his work. The Captain felt his legs turn to jelly as the fresh memory of that smile burned itself into his mind. Sweet Neptune, how beautiful the first mate was, especially when he smiled that lovely smile of his. It was at this moment that his anxiety about that evening's mission began to be replaced with excitement.
The Pirate Captain just chuckled. "Patience, Albino Pirate," he said to the youngest member of the crew, with a teasing smile. "It shall be done this evening."
~
Time seemed to drag until the sun had finally begun to set. It was the Pirate Captain's queue to ask the Pirate with a Scarf if he fancied taking a stroll around the island with him. The Pirate with a Scarf quite happily agreed and they left the ship, the Pirate Captain leading his beloved first mate by the hand, their fingers interlocked, around the beach until they had both on the other side of the island. Once there, they took a seat together on the slowly cooling sand and, for what seemed like hours, just enjoyed the view in front of them. And what a beautiful view it was indeed. The gradually setting sun had caused the previously bright blue sky to take colours of violet, pink, red, orange and yellow, the reflection of said sun also sparkling against the steel blue ocean like scattered gold coins. The pleasant, comfortable silence both pirates shared was broken only by the soft lapping of the waves as they slowly swayed back and forth on the shore.
"It's not every day a captain gets to share a beautiful view like this first mate, eh, Number Two?" the Pirate Captain eventually commented to the Pirate with a Scarf, smiling from ear to ear.
The Pirate with a Scarf returned the smile. "No, indeed it isn't, sir," he answered happily, leaning his head on his beloved captain's shoulder. "I'm very glad you brought us here."
The Pirate Captain chuckled as he wrapped his arm around the younger pirate. "So am I, Number Two."
"Incidentally, Captain," the first mate began, looking up at his lover. "Why did you bring us here anyway?"
The Pirate Captain turned to face the Pirate with a Scarf. Although the younger pirate was still smiling, the Captain still detected a look of mock suspicion in his beautiful blue eyes, which gleamed like two well-polished sapphires in the slowly diminishing sunlight. It was then that the elder pirate began to feel his nervousness returning to him. Now was the moment for him to make the proposal. He had just taken him round the opposite side of the island from where their ship had been docked, so it was pretty much too late to turn back now. So he just summoned up all the courage he had, willing himself to ignore the butterflies in his stomach and the rapid beating of his heart, and cleared his throat.
"Er, the fact is, Number Two," he began. "The reason I brought you here was because I have a very important question to ask you, but before I do, there are some things I think you should know."
"Oh?" The Pirate with a Scarf raised one of his eyebrows as his curiosity increased.
"Well..." the Pirate Captain continued, trying to remember the list of things he had jotted down to say to his first mate whilst on their journey to the island. "To start with, Number Two, I think you should know that these past several years that we've known each other have been the happiest of my life."
"Yes, indeed, they have been wonderful, sir," agreed the Pirate with a Scarf, nodding his head.
"Yes, but see," the Pirate Captain continued, now starting to feel his confidence returning to him, though the butterflies and the pounding of his heart were refusing to stop at this point. "Even before I realised my feelings for you, you were my best friend, and still remained so of course after I had discovered said feelings."
~
"I think he's gonna do it, guys!" whispered the Albino Pirate excitedly. Very much like his friends to who he was talking, he had quietly followed the two lovers to the opposite side of the island, despite the Pirate Captain's strict orders to remain on the ship after they had gone. They were all watching from in amongst the trees, just at the edge of the jungle behind them.
"C'mon, lads," whispered the Pirate with Gout, motioning for them all to make their way back to the ship as he turned to do so himself. "Let's give 'em some privacy, eh?"
"Sshhh!" hissed the Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate. "We're gonna miss the good part!"
The Pirate with Gout rolled his eyes, seeing now that his fellow pirates weren't going to move an inch until the "good part" to which his somewhat effeminate friend was referring had come, so he reluctantly decided to stay put and continue to watch the romantic scene in front of them.
~
"Not only are you a fantastic lover, Number Two," the Pirate Captain went on, taking the Pirate with a Scarf hand into his own, as the two pirates were now standing, facing each other. "You are also the best first mate any pirate could have, as well as the best friend anyone could have. You've always been there for me, even through my toughest times. You've seen past my various flaws and focused only on the best parts of me. Indeed, it is because of those flaws that sometimes I feel as though I really don't deserve another pirate as brilliant as you. But whenever I look at you, I always end up thinking to myself, 'There is a pirate I want to spend the rest of my life with'. It's true. Not only is that a want, it's also a need as well. If ever you were to leave me for a another pirate, for whatever reason, or if you were to fall overboard and drown during a storm or be run through by another pirate or one of those damn sailors from the Royal Navy, I honestly do not think I could cope. In fact, I would very likely die then myself. I know all of that may sound very selfish, but I am very grateful for all the love, devotion and loyalty you've shown me over these years, Number Two, and I do not have any intention whatsoever to lose or give any of that up. So, with that being said..."
As he began that last sentence, the Pirate Captain knelt down to the sand on one knee, put his hand into his luxuriant beard and pulled out a small, gold engagement ring adorned by a huge diamond which sparkled radiantly in what little light there was left now that the sun was starting to sink below the horizon. Unable to take his eyes away from the piece of jewellery his beloved captain was held out in front of him, the Pirate with a Scarf just stood completely still with his eyes wide and his mouth agape. He could hardly believe what was happening. Was the Pirate Captain actually proposing to him!? Really wanting to be sure, he looked back up at the elder pirate, who was now looking at him with hope in his dark oaken brown eyes.
"Pirate with a Scarf," the Pirate Captain began. "Will you marry me and make me the happiest captain ever to sail the seven seas?"
For a split second, the Pirate with a Scarf felt his heart lifting with sheer happiness and was about to give an immediate reply of "Yes," which he was sure the elder pirate must've been expecting. Though that was until he remembered the circumstances which came with living in a time period in which the majority of people were totally against marriage between two people of the same gender. Then the happiness that had started to fill his heart was now being replaced with sorrow.
"Oh, Captain..." he said sadly. "I'd love to, but I can't."
"Why not?" asked the Pirate Captain, feeling his heart beginning to break at the first mate's answer.
"Well, you know what it says in the Bible, sir," the younger pirate answered solemnly. "About marriage being between a man and a woman."
"The Bible? Oh, pah!" scoffed the Captain. "It also said in the Bible that it's a sin for two men to fall in love with each other, but that didn't stop us now, did it?" As he said that last sentence, the Pirate Captain gave his lover a cheeky wink.
The Pirate with a Scarf hesitated, but then had to let out a small chuckle. "Good point, sir," he smiled.
"I should think so too," replied the Captain. "So, a yes this time, is it?"
The Pirate with a Scarf smiled again. "Sure, why not," he answered as he held his hand out in front of him.
The Pirate Captain's cheeky grin then melted into a warm smile. "Oh, Number Two, you have no idea how happy you have just made me," he said as he slipped the ring onto the first mate's finger.
"I can only make a rough speculation, sir," answered the Pirate with a Scarf as he watched the elder pirate stand up in front of him.
"Yes, well, let's not bother trying any of that now, shall we?" said the Pirate Captain, putting a callused hand to the Pirate with a Scarf's soft cheek. "All that will do is give you a terrible headache, which will put a bit of a damper on this beautiful moment."
"Oh, dear, we wouldn't want that now, would we sir?" said the Pirate with a Scarf, his smile getting wider.
"No, indeed we would not," replied the Pirate Captain, his voice had now gotten lower from all the love and passion he was feeling.
For a moment, both pirates just stared deeply into each other's eyes, seeing all the love they felt for one another burning within. Slowly, their faces leaned and their lips were just inches apart when they suddenly heard a slow, romantic tune being played on an accordion, coming from in amongst the trees beside them. The Pirate Captain sighed irritably and shook his head, as he knew that the source of such a sound could only have been the Pirate with an Accordion, which meant that the crew had completely disobeyed his order and followed them to this very spot.
"I told the lads to stay at the boat until we came back," he grumbled.
The Pirate with a Scarf just chuckled. "Oh, let them enjoy themselves, Captain," he smiled, reaching a hand up and stroking his fiancé's beard. "It's not as if they weren't going to find out anyway."
At that, the Pirate Captain's scowl was replaced with a grin. "Very true, Number Two," he said, wrapping his arms around his fiancé's waist. "Very true."
Then, just before the Pirate with a Scarf could register what was happening, the Pirate Captain immediately dipped him and pressed his lips against his own. The younger pirate then wrapped his arms around the Captain's neck as he returned the kiss, causing it to deepen and become more passionate. Soon, they both became completely lost in the most romantic moment they had shared yet. So lost in fact, that they had totally forgetting about the other pirates, who now all had wide grins plastered to their faces as they watched said romantic moment from within the trees.