It took Phoebus just one second after waking up to remember the events of the night before. He'd only had two beers last night, and had taken them down without haste and chased the drinks with glasses of water. He hadn't gotten drunk. Everything had been crystal-clear.

He sighed quietly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes before turning over to see Meg sitting up in the space next to him, with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs, the linens draped langorously over her nude form. She turned absent-mindedly to look down at him after he'd moved, and her eyes quickly lit up with some mysterious, unrecognizable- but vaguely positive- emotion as she saw him looking up at her.

She smirked and said lowly, "I told you. It's never just one drink."

Meanwhile, Adam was experiencing a much ruder awakening after a night he hardly remembered. When had he even fallen asleep? And how long had he been out? He felt exhausted...and his face hurt. His head felt like it was being repeatedly stuck with a hammer, and the light that had been left on in his empty room suddenly seemed way too bright. Adam groaned as he slowly sat up and immediately regretted moving when he felt his stomach lurch. He sighed and ran a hand over his face, taking a few deep breaths to steady himself. He hadn't been this hungover in awhile... What happened last night? He shook his head a little and began the painful process of getting dressed and cleaned up for the day's work. Then, he took his sweet time getting to the galley to have some breakfast.

When he finally got there, his two brothers were waiting for him with knowing smirks on their faces. He glared shortly at them before sitting in a seat opposite them at their table. Almost immediately, Tiana arrived to place a big plate of eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit in front of him. Then, without skipping a beat, she poured him a fresh cup of coffee and placed it- alongside a glass of water- next to his plate. She gave him a quick wink and a smile before leaving without saying a word. Adam stared down at the hefty breakfast in front of him, then up at his grinning brothers. He turned to look around the near-empty galley and sighed.

"I guess you guys have been expecting me..." He mumbled as he began to dig into his breakfast.

Tarzan nodded. "Yup."

Jim chuckled. "Oh, yeah..."

"Was last night pretty bad?" Adam grumbled.

"Not one of your worst... But yeah, still bad." Tarzan smirked and sipped at his own coffee.

"Mostly just kinda embarrassing..." Jim added smugly.

Adam rolled his eyes and groaned as he scarfed down his breakfast. "Ugh. What happened?"

"You got into a drinking contest with that crazy Scottish girl from engineering...and she beat you." Tarzan explained.

Adam's mouth hung open, giving them both a plain view of his half-chewed eggs. "She did?"

Jim made a face of disgust and looked away as he answered, "Uh-huh." Tarzan looked mildly grossed out as well, but didn't react to the extent that Jim did.

"Ugh!" Adam slammed a fist on the table after carelessly dropping his fork on his plate. "That kid out-drank me?!"

"She's 22." Jim and Tarzan said in unison.

"Whatever! God, I'm gonna be the laughingstock of the whole ship now! How could she have beaten me?!" Adam cried belligerently.

"Adam, you were drunk before you even started goading Merida into that contest. You weren't gonna win any way." Tarzan said reasonably.

"Yeah, you were a real mess last night, man... And, any way, she did warn you that she could really hold her liquor." Jim said.

Adam groaned and miserably hung his head as he finished eating, focusing only on the food in front of him until there was nothing left. Then, he gulped down his glass of water. Feeling a bit more human now, he took a swig of his coffee and sighed.

"Did... Did Belle see what happened last night?" Adam asked without looking up at his brothers, his cheeks burning red in embarrassment.

Tarzan and Jim were both caught off-guard by this, because Adam rarely got embarrassed. And when he did, it was typically not about what other people thought of him. Adam was too self-involved to think of other people's opinions.

"Well... Yeah, I mean... Everyone saw, Adam." Tarzan replied quietly, suddenly feeling bad for Adam as he remembered how Belle and Jane had talked about the contest last night and then left before it was even halfway through.

Adam scoffed and shook his head. "She must think I'm such an idiot..."

"Wait... Adam. Do you actually like Belle? I mean, pardon my disbelief, but you've never really liked anyone." Jim joked half-heartedly.

"Well, she's not just 'anyone', okay?" Adam snapped quietly, mocking Jim on the quoted word. He sighed. "She's smart. She's beautiful. She's genuine... She's too good for me, and I probably never had a chance with her any way, but... Well, I guess now that I've made an ass of myself, there's no hope."

Adam would never admit this, but he had met Belle- kind of- before joining this crew. He had taken notice of Belle back on Montressor. They'd gone to school together, and he'd always admired her from afar. But she never noticed him. After graduating, Adam began following Tarzan's lead and traveling on trade ships and exploration vessels, at once trying to distance himself from Belle and forget about her, but also obsessively trying to become the man she would love; someone adventurous and exciting. It drove him nearly crazy and attributed heavily to his moodiness. And then, he would come home and see her shopping in the market or working in the local bookstore, and it just made him feel right at home knowing she was around. But he never gathered the courage to talk to her until the day before on this ship, when he realized instantaneously that he could be a new man here with this group of strangers.

Apparently he'd already botched that plan.

Adam abruptly stood up from the table and stormed out of the galley, leaving his brothers alone with his dishes. Tarzan and Jim shared a concerned look as he left.

Adam stalked up to the deck to take a look around and clear his head, but the idea was quickly swept aside when a group of three giggling girls were headed his way. Belle was deep in conversation with Jane and Wendy, her wide hazel eyes alight with interest, before she almost walked right into Adam as he rushed up to the deck. Adam and the three girls all abruptly halted just before colliding, and there was an awkward pause as the girls' conversation was interrupted and Adam just stood there stupidly and blocked their path.

"Uh... Hey, Belle." He greeted her, trying to force a smile. He reached up to nervously scratch at the back of his neck.

She nodded and politely smiled back. "Hello, Adam."

He was temporarily calmed and stunned by the sight of her smile, but the feeling melted away when she looked past him and asked, "Could we get by, please?"

"Oh... Oh! Yeah, sure, of course..." He ducked his head and stepped to the side, giving them a clear path to the stairs.

Belle smiled at him as she lead Jane and Wendy below deck. "Thank you."

"Nice seeing you..." Adam called meekly after her retreating form. When there was no reply, (Belle hadn't heard him and was now getting back to her talk with the two hybrid sisters), he groaned and stomped over to the side of the ship to stare out into the void in search for answers that wouldn't come. He slumped onto the railing in defeat, squeezing his eyes shut to assuage his headache.

"Well...that was sad." A sickeningly familiar voice chimed from beside him.

Adam's eyes shot open and he suddenly reared up to his full height and turned to glare down at the prideful Merida.

"You..." He narrowed his stormy eyes at her. "You. You! This is all your fault!"

"I'll take the undue blame for yer headache, lad, but I'm not accepting any credit for those damn terrible people skills of yours." She quipped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No, no, no, no, no! Don't you joke around with me right now. It's your fault that I embarrassed myself in front of Belle last night, and now she thinks I'm some dumb brute that she shouldn't waste he time with!"

"It's my fault that the lass is an incredibly good judge of character? It's my fault that you decided to get tipsy last night and harass me?! It's my fault that you just had to feel like a big man and have yer little drinking contest?" Merida snickered. "Give me a damn break, boy-o! All this unnecessary anger and embarrassment is on your head, and yours alone. I won't take credit where credit isn't due."

Adam shook his head and turned to glower out at the stars. "Whatever. I know I messed up, but... Ugh, nevermind! Just leave me alone!"

Merida rolled her eyes and turned to walk away, but paused as she felt a wave of sympathy roll over her unexpectedly. She turned back slowly to stare at the back of Adam's head. While he couldn't see her, she allowed a bit of sadness- and slight guilt- to show in her expression. Then, she groaned quietly and walked up next to him again, looking up at him with an irritated expression.

"Look. Ya' really like this girl?" She asked him.

Adam refused to look at her as he grunted and said, "You don't care."

"Actually, I do. Because I've got a brilliant idea that can help us both out." She said smugly.

He gave her a doubtful side-long glance. "Really?"

"Yeah. Now, even though I think she's way to good for ya', I'm gonna help you impress that girl. And I'm gonna help ya' get her."

Adam looked surprised in spite of himself, but he quickly adjusted his expression so that he looked mockingly down at her. "Really? "

She nodded confidently, then looked serious and raised a finger. "But only on one condition. After we get Belle to fall for ya', I never wanna hear another word from ya', and I never wanna see yer ugly mug again. We just ignore each other from then on, ya' got it?"

Adam smirked. "I get the girl of my dreams, and I also get you out of my life forever? Sounds too good to be true." He sneered. "Why do you even wanna help me?"

"Because- even though I didn't do anythin' wrong- I still feel slightly responsible for yer very public shaming last night, and I wanna help ya' gain a bit of respect from the rest of the crew. You get a smart girl like that, you'll make a good impression for sure. And, again, I do this favor for ya', and you leave me alone forever. It's really more a matter of self-preservation than altruism."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

"Look, do ya' want help or not?" She demanded.

He stared at her for a moment, every fiber in his being screaming at him not to trust her. What was keeping this girl from sabotaging him at every turn? But, looking into her eyes, he couldn't find any trace of dishonesty or insincerity. Despite his initial hatred of her, he could tell that Merida was as trustworthy a person as he might ever find.

"Yeah, I guess..." He muttered reluctantly.

"So do we have a deal?" She pushed.

He sighed and pretended to take a moment to think about it. "Yeah. Sure."

She nodded. "Great. We start tomorrow." She turned briskly on her heel and marched away. Adam stared after her in mild disbelief as she left, shaking his head slightly.

At this moment, Meg and Phoebus were parting ways below deck because Meg had to go check in with her family and Phoebus had another meeting with Amelia and the other officers.

"Hey, uh...let's try to keep this just between us, huh? At least for now." Phoebus was whispering.

Meg smirked ruefully at him. "Do I embarrass you, sir?"

"No! No, no, no. Not at all. It's just... Well, it wouldn't seem very professional, you know? The last thing either of us need is for the rest of the crew to be gossiping..."

Meg shrugged. "I've never really cared what people think. But if it's so important to you, I'll keep my mouth shut."

Phoebus wanted to tell her that other people's opinions weren't all that mattered to him, that all he really wanted to do was protect her, and make this voyage easy for the both of them. This relationship might actually thrive with no outside intervention. But, instead of finishing on a serious note, Phoebus decided to try to lighten the mood with a joke before Meg walked away from him.

"Aside from that, your brother might kill me if he were to find out..." Phoebus chuckled lightly. But, seeing the way Meg's face changed made him abruptly stop laughing and his face fell.

She turned to him with a thoroughly unamused expression, her eyes burning him with anger, one elegant eyebrow raised.

"So... You think my brother would murder- or even just harm- his superior because he's some kind of criminal?" She deadpanned.

"What? No! Meg, I wasn't implying anything like that. I was just trying to be funny. I mean...isn't your brother a little protective?"

"No. My brother trusts me to be able to take care of myself and handle my own problems. Maybe I should learn a thing or two from him." Meg rolled her eyes and started to walk away.

"Meg, wait..." Phoebus hissed, looking around to make sure no one was watching them.

Meg turned back to him and crossed her arms in annoyance.

Phoebus sighed and took a step toward her. Obviously joking around had been the wrong move; time for honesty.

"I really do want to see you again." He said so quietly that only she could hear. "I'm not just using you, okay? I really want this to work. We just can't let this relationship be common knowledge just yet. Alright?"

Meg narrowed her eyes at him for a long moment, not replying.

Phoebus sighed. "So? Will you ignore the giant foot I just put in my mouth and give this a chance- in secret- for just a little while?"

Meg's hardened expression eventually melted into a smirk. "Yeah, I guess a secret relationship could be fun..." Her face became more serious as her self-protecting tendencies rushed back. "But, if I ever think for one second that you're lying or using me-"

"It's done." He finished for her with a sincere expression. "But, believe me, Meg, I would never do anything to hurt you."

She gave him a playful eye roll and started to walk away again.

"So I'll see you tonight?" He stage-whispered.

"Maybe!" She called back coyly as she strolled off to find her brother.

Phoebus sighed, then smiled to himself as he walked up to the deck and made his way to Amelia's office. When he walked in, Mr. Arrow, John Smith, Merlin, Dr. Doppler, and Mr. Porter were already gathered around Amelia's desk, where she sat looking over some papers. Everyone looked at Phoebus when he entered.

Amelia's face lit up and she greeted him, "Ah, Phoebus! It's about time you got here! According to Eric, we're getting ready to dock! Grannus isn't much further off..."