On the ship, headed to Bison Village, Emma and Kobe exchanged a shy glance. Kobe stood next to Emma at the wheel, all of his might focused on not sliding his arm around her waist, not taking her hand in his.

Ever since they'd kissed, things had been… not strained, but… sort of awkward.

When Barnabus had caught them, he'd given them a perplexed look akin to a child walking in on Mommy and Daddy "wrestling".

"What are you doing?" he'd asked, the bottle of medicine hanging loosely at his side.

"N-nothing!" Kobe had jumped to his feet, his heart pounding. "We were just-"

"Talking." Emma said firmly, kicking her legs over the side of the cot. "Just talking."

"But he was-" Emma cut Barnabus off.

"Whispering into my mouth." She got to her feet, her ankles wobbling slightly. "Helps the words get to my brain quicker."

"Oh." Barnabus blinked. "Okay." He held the medicine out proudly. Smiling, Emma took it from him.

"Thank you, Barnabus. You're a good Sloth."

Barnabus grinned, pleased.

After he'd left, Kobe had taken Emma into his arms. She lightly pushed him away.

"Kobe…" She'd winced at the pained look he'd given her.

"I thought…" He trailed off, lowering his eyes.

"Kobe, I just… I don't want to lead you on."

"You just kissed me!"

"I know! And I… I wanted to." She touched his arm. "I just… I don't want to hurt you."

"How could you hurt me?"

"Your feelings for me are kind of more, well, intense than mine are for you."

"Meaning?"

"I… I'm attracted to you, but I'm not… I don't think I'm in love with you. And I'm still sort of wary about getting too deeply involved with anyone. Not to mention I have no idea where things stand with Captain Avery…"

"Emma." Kobe rested his hands on her shoulders, his voice soft but firm. "I love you. I've loved you ever since you rescued me from the brig on that Armada ship five years ago." He squeezed her shoulders. "I've waited five years to discover how you feel about me. I'd wait five thousand years to have you as my own." He leaned down, pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek. "I know you are still confused about all of this. You have denied yourself happiness for so long, you are still getting used to it."

He rested his forehead on hers, his warm breath tickling her face.

"It pains me," he continued, "To know about you and Avery. It's all I can do not to go and tear that man limb from limb for daring to touch you. But I know, unfortunately, that he can teach you things about your body, about your own desires, that I cannot."

"What do you mean?" Emma looked up at him, touching his cheek. He leaned into her hand.

"I've never been with a woman, Emma. I've dreamt of it, of course, of being with you, and I know… the basics on how it works. But I am just as much of a virgin as you once were."

"Kobe," she whispered, wide-eyed. "I had no idea."

"Nobody else knows this." He kissed her gently. "I beg you to keep it between us, for… for my pride's sake."

She smiled up at him.

"I won't tell."

"Thank you." A sad ghost of a smile played at his lips. "Emma, I think… I think it would be best if you were to keep up a relationship with Avery, at least sexually."

Emma blinked.

"Come again?"

"I don't know much about… pleasing a woman, as much as I'd like to. If you continue to be… physical with him, you'll soon grow to learn and understand what you like. And maybe… maybe you could teach me."

"Teach you?"

"How to pleasure you. How to be what you need."

"Kobe…"

"I would still very much like to kiss you now and then, though."

"You… you really want me to be with Avery?"

"I want you all to myself. I want to make you my wife, give you my seed to bear, and to protect you and love you for the rest of my life." He kissed her. "But I also want you to be happy, and I know that what I want would not make you happy."

"Kobe, I don't understand. What is it you want me to do?"

Kobe stared down at her sadly.

"Share Avery's bed. Let him… violate your perfect body with his disgusting flesh. Let him teach you about the carnal pleasures you've denied yourself." His hands slid down her arms, resting on her hips. "But let me give you the love I've held inside for you for so long. Let me worship you. Let me kiss you and hold you, keep you safe."

"So, be with both of you?"

He nodded.

"With no expectations. No commitments. Or… how do they say it… No Strings Attached." He kissed her nose. "The only thing I want you to promise me is that you'll someday show me what Avery has taught you, so that I can learn and, perhaps, replace him for those things."

"You'd… you'd really be alright with me being with both of you?"

"If it would make you happy, I would be alright with anything."

Emma gave him a soft, wry smile.

"Kobe Yojimbo, you are full of surprises."

She'd kissed him, then, gently. He'd wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her in his warm embrace.

And now, here they were pretending like nothing had happened. They'd agreed that the crew should probably not know about their… arrangement, most of them (Anne included) feeling that Kobe and Emma were unfit for each other. (Contrary to Kobe's belief, his admiration of their Captain was not as subtle as he thought. The whole crew knew about his love for her, and had their own opinions on the matter.)

At the wheel, Emma shot Kobe a glance from the corner of her eye. He gave her a tender smile, his dark eyes full of warmth. She felt her cheeks heat up, and bit back a smile as she looked away, forcing herself to focus on guiding the ship safely to Bison Village.