These are 3 separate drabbles relating to the Ciela/Linebeck pairing. This ship is incredible, kind of like the S.S. Linebeck.
What Hurting Feels Like
It's been years since Ciela last had this feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She doesn't know where it comes from.
It was all jokes at first. A poke in the ribs to see him giggle, because when he giggled, it was funny. Like a girl laughing. And for one second, he would let his guard down and just laugh, and just be regular, stupid, Linebeck. That professional ass-hat.
And then all of a sudden he would straighten up and straighten out. His face would harden into a frown and he would ignore her.
She was the only one who could break him like that.
It was good, though, when he broke. It meant he was smiling, and that—sometimes—was all she really wanted.
It's not like she ever expected him to feel that same way. Because—let's face it—she's a fairy. She could fit in the palm of his hand, or on his shoulder. And half the time, he didn't even want her there. He didn't like it when she stuck around for too long because then he lost his train of thought and got distracted. And distractions just made him screw up, and then everyone was disappointed.
So Ciela decided to tone it down a bit, and slowly, the cheeky remarks came to pass and—as would be expected—so did the laughter.
The quiet was nice at first.
Until it was too quiet.
Kind of like it is now.
The fog is closing up, she can still see his face.
She can see his nose—his stupid, red nose—and his eyes—terribly sunken but kind of wonderful… like a puppy. And she wonders all of a sudden what it would take for her to fly through that window and join him. She still could. It's literally a window of opportunity, as they would say.
And for a second she considers it.
But no—that would be too much—maybe she can stop it—
"Wait!" she screams, and she sees Linebeck glance up. They lock eyes for a moment through the foggy window, and she's about to say something when the window fades.
And he's gone.
Completely, utterly gone.
"I'll miss you…" she says quietly, because—hey—it's true. And then, even quieter yet. I love you.
Goddesses, that kills.
There are Different Types of Bravery
She sits on his stomach and watches him sleep.
Stupid Linebeck. Stupid, wonderful Linebeck, sailing the seas in his stupid, stupid boat. Stupid Linebeck, being stupid all the time just because he can.
She loves him.
She wasn't going to admit it, but hey, she's done it now. At least to herself, anyway.
There's a lantern swinging above the hammock, casting long shadows across Linebeck's face. He is very calm when he sleeps. It's very innocent. She takes a few steps closer to his chin and sits on his chest, now. A few more seconds, and she has taken flight, hovering a few feet above his face.
He looks a lot younger when he sleeps. So do a lot of people, she assumes. Link looks like a baby on the other side of the ship.
It's about four in the morning. The captain will be waking up soon, which gives the fairy a few more minutes to admire him. She's been doing this every night for awhile now, because the journey is coming to a close, and once they reach that point—well, she won't be able to do it anymore. So she makes the most of it now.
She rests her chin in her tiny hands and takes a deep breath, admiring the captain one last time. He's handsome for a worn out sailor. He's been to one end of the Great Sea and back and for some reason, when he's sleeping, he barely even looks it.
He may not have the bravery to traverse dungeons and caverns, or to fight off monsters, or to save damsels in distress…
…But he's at least had the bravery to try.
And to Ciela, that says a lot.
Because, despite his obvious flaws, he's been trying so hard to prove himself. He's the oldest, here, and she can tell that all he wants is to at least appear responsible. He wants to be able to protect Link and Ciela and the other fairies, but he obviously doesn't have the skills or the experience. But he's looked after them anyway, and Ciela is moved by it.
Because he obviously loves them all, no matter what he says.
Jolene's Lucky to be Human
Linebeck has a thing for Jolene. Sometimes it makes Ciela laugh, and other times, it makes her cry.
It's so obvious, the thing between them. There's this sexual tension between the captain and the she-pirate that makes every crew member of the SS Linebeck want to explode.
Because every time Linebeck and Jolene get near each other they act like they could just abort everything and make out somewhere.
They have this great mysterious past that they like to keep secret. Ciela kind of wants to know what it is, just so she can know exactly what Jolene did to win Linebeck over the way she did.
Maybe, if Ciela was a human, she could seduce the sea captain, too.
But she's not human. Jolene is, though. Jolene doesn't realize how lucky she is to be human, to be able to use her body in the ways that she can. She doesn't realize how incredibly blessed she is to have Linebeck.
And Ciela wishes—although she knows it's a terribly sinful wish—that, for just a few minutes, she could be human, too. She wishes she could be tall and beautiful and strong like Jolene is, so that—just for a few minutes—she could swim in the ocean or man a ship or maybe even kiss Linebeck.
It's a stupid wish, and it will never happen, but as Ciela sits here—watching Jolene and Linebeck argue about yet another stupid thing—she wonders why they don't just kiss already.
Because the sexual tension is too much to bear, especially when these two can actually take advantage of it.
Icearrows, this isn't over. I promise I'll write a real Cielinebeck one-shot later. But maybe this will hold you over for a bit? :)