Time to Think

"Shaad," Raine questioned sleepily, surprised for her captain to be knocking on her door this late at night.

"You're okay," Shaad exclaimed, grabbing Raine in a fierce hug. "Thank G-"

"Me," Raine responded indignantly, brushing Shaad's hand from her shoulder when he pulled them apart. "You're the one that's been missing for almost two weeks. . . Ugh, just get in here before someone sees you," she huffed in frustration. "Or me," she added soon after, recalling how she was dressed: a sheer, satin robe, matching her hair, of near negligible length tied loosely at the waist and draped over her ample breasts.

Shaad stumbled briefly, still feeling weak and unsteady, but recovered quickly enough, setting himself on the bed while Raine silently closed the door. Like a magnet, his eyes were drawn to the wondrous curves of her ass visible through the robe's thin material. His gaze, enraptured by the tantalizing trail of her physique, broke when, desperate for respite, his hands groped a handful of sheets. The bedding was disheveled and in disarray. Surveying the room, Shaad looked and listened. But, he didn't hear the one person actually speaking.

"So, -

"Why are you wearing that," Shaad interrupted. The pirate captain hadn't heard a word of what Raine had said as he looked around, much to his navigator's obvious irritation.

"I like it. Now, -"

"What about the Celestial Dragon? How'd you get away from him?"

Raine audibly groaned. The beautiful woman clamped Shaad's cheeks tightly in her soft fingers, finely manicured nails scratching at his jaws as she focused his eyes to hers. "You have questions. I have questions." She spoke firmly, in a low voice Shaad knew better than to interrupt. "But, you've been gone for 12 days; you're going to answer mine first. Understood?" Shaad couldn't answer with Raine's grip keeping his mouth shut. "I said, understood," she asked again, eliciting a vigorous head nod in answer.

"Good," Raine declared, a faux smile flashing across her face as she released Shaad. While Shaad massaged his jaw, Raine secured her robe more thoroughly before sitting down on the couch with a huff, though it brought a genuine smirk to her lips the way Shaad struggled to keep from eyeing the way her already short robe rode up her creamy thighs as the navigator crossed her legs. It inspired her to exaggerate the amount her breasts jutted out as she stretched her arms across the seat before beginning her questions.

"What happened to you?"

At Raine's prompting, Shaad detailed what he'd been through since they parted, leaving out details he deemed superfluous - e.g. his interactions with Marie - and stressing that which was important to him.

"And?"

". . . And? That Rozzeg asshole knows who I am, who I really am, not just that I'm not some Braddock tool."

"No," Raine voiced, her face twisted in some mix of disgust and bewilderment as she waved away Shaad's elaboration like some annoying fly. "The fight. What happened with the fight?"

"I - I steeled myself. I'd lost. . . But, that pompous asshole would remember me. That drove me; I gathered every bit of energy I had. I could feel it - more power than I've ever summoned - thrumming just beneath the surface. Who was I kidding? My body was already broken: muscles atrophied, skeletal fractures across every limb." Shaad gave a half-hearted, self-deprecating smirk as he recalled how pathetically he'd been beaten. "I didn't think much of it when blots began appearing in my vision, but then the double vision came and things got hazy. Everything went black after that. It didn't last long, though I was already staring up at the ceiling." Shaad shook his head, looking like he was still trying to shake some things back into place, before rubbing his temples, a throbbing building in his head. "I went in and out of consciousness after that. But, I remember Valentino holding a gourd bowl to my lips after that. I don't know what was in it. The liquid was a thick, viscous. . .black? That was probably just me," Shaad finished, his eyes fading to unconsciousness while his voice took on a sleepy, fading quality.

Raine moved from the couch to Shaad's side on the bed, affectionately wrapping his head in a warm embrace against her bosom. "I still have questions, but I can tell you're out of answers," Raine spoke, her voice soft and soothing. "Still wanna hear my story?"

"Yea; I jus' need ta res' a lil' bit," the captain slurred, fading completely against the warmth of Raine's lap.

"That's fine," Raine comforted, a hint of worry tinging her voice. "Rest now. . . But, you better wake up."

Twenty-four hours had passed without a sound, and now it pushed on forty-eight with barely a stirring from Shaad. Raine, though, had to remain herself - confident, graceful, flirty, and just a little flighty - just as she had before her captain suddenly reappeared. Trying to relax under the starry sky on the vacant top deck, Raine calmed herself through the nothingness, the empty squawk of the occasional lost bird. Most of the passengers had either gone to sleep or simply moved indoors, only the rhythmic and easily timed clomp of the ship's security breaking the woman's solitude.

However, as nature settled in (the gentle thrash of the water imitating the soothing hum of machinery on board the giant ship), Raine still didn't want to return to her room, return to the helplessness and solitude of her captain slumbering unceasingly beside her. Here, at least, in the open air of the open seas, she could pretend to be free.

But, another presence again broke her from the reverie of thought. Not the firm footsteps of a guard, though, but the lithe flitting of someone more familiar. Waiting for him to alight on the rail, Raine remained unreactive to his arrival a moment longer before heaving a sigh. "Been a while; find anything good," Raine pondered aloud, knowing no answer would be forthcoming. "If you're looking for our fearless leader," Raine droned sardonically, "He's busy trying to break Sleeping Beauty's record." If Vega understood the reference or found humor in it, he didn't show it so Raine continued unabated. "Our stupid captain did something stupid," she frankly summarized, her frustration with the thief turned killer's statue-like demeanor building easily on her frayed nerves. ". . . I can't believe I'm doing this," she finally sighed, looking to Vega's masked visage as she muttered, 'Tell me crazy's not contagious' with a throaty groan. "Listen, I'll have Shaad contact you when he wakes. In the meantime there's a safe on this ship; find it."

As Vega departed into the shadows, Raine pushed from the railing with a tired sigh, a wistful look to the stars drawing a distant, effortless smile before footsteps pulled her from her fantasies. 'He's. . . late,' Raine briefly mused, befuddlement hiding behind the friendly smile she flashed the broad-shouldered behemoth. 'Who are you, Shaad? And, what have you done?'

Shaad's eyes fluttered open some time before the morning sun kissed the heads of wispy clouds. The pirate, though awake, had been left feeling languished. Shaad still, however, felt at peace. No longer could he feel the strange concoction pulling at his every nerve and affecting his senses. Instead he felt a weight on one side of his bare chest accompanied by a tickling sensation running through the sparse curls that resided there.

Through tired, half-lidded eyes Shaad watched his navigator sleeping soundly beside him. Not wanting to disturb Raine, and too tired to actually do something, Shaad simply lay there, wrapping an arm around the blissful beauty snuggled against him. There, in that moment, the rest of the world didn't matter; these were the moments dreams were made of. No, these were the moments dreams dreamed of being.

But, as if timed specifically to break the utopian facade, what felt like a large wave rocked the even larger ship, causing Raine to stir but not wake, snuggling in deeper as she slept soundly within Shaad's tender embrace. That disturbance reminded Shaad of the perilous reality in which they and Vega found themselves. It also opened his eyes to one of the big lessons his dad had tried to instill in him: peace is an illusion and happiness is fleeting. To achieve a long-lasting happiness, you not only need the strength to wrench it from those who would see you hurt, but must enjoy the grind required to keep it that way. Shaad had never been one for the grind of anything, especially not anything of even moderate difficulty, but this - Raine, Vega, and the crew he'd acquire - that was something worth grinding for, something worth fighting all comers for.

"I won't let anyone take this from me."

Day broke hours later, the sun beaming through the thin curtains, casting a warm glow on the pair. The feel of Shaad's strong chest beneath her own groping fingers was to be expected, but as she looked up, sleep still in her eyes, the tender smile from Shaad's lips surprised her, not only in its presence but in the heartwarming effect it had on her as well.

"What are you smiling at," she asked affectionately, her voice the kindest and most pure Shaad had ever heard it.

"This," Shaad answered with a squeeze of Raine's shoulder.

"Haa," Raine lightly scoffed. "And, what do you think this is?"

Shaad breathed in, thinking of how best to describe it, but only one word came to mind that could adequately encompass the myriad of feelings within him. "Everything," he finally answered.

Raine tried to hide the brief blush that flushed her cheeks; she was at a loss for words. That was a first. So, she did what was almost second nature to her. Throwing a leg across Shaad's body, Raine pushed herself up and straddled her flustered captain.

A palm planted firmly on either side of his head, Raine's generous bust swayed tantalizingly overhead, the fine material encasing them grazing the hairs on Shaad's chin. There was an almost predatory glean to Raine's eyes as she smiled down at the cornered Shaad, that awkward expression she found so adorable ever-present as he tried to keep from swallowing too hard even as his eyes inevitably drifted down the valley of her cleavage presented before him.

"Everything," Raine questioned teasingly, a seductive lilt to her voice. "You really can't think of anything more."

The way she said 'more' would have any man's mind racing a mile a minute, and it spurred Shaad to turn the the tables. Bucking his hips, Shaad drew a yelp from a surprised Raine as he flipped her over and reversed their positions. "Everything is such a nebulous word," Shaad began, trailing off as he stared more deeply into Raine's beautiful blue eyes. "So ambitious. . . As more is put on the table it wants that as well. And, I meant what I said. This - you - means everything."

Raine smirked as she reached up, pulling Shaad's forehead against her own, her lips staying just out of reach of his as she spoke. "Careful," she warned softly, turning his head such that her lips brushed his ear with each word. "You just came back from the brink of death. Messing with me 'll put you right back there."

Shaad felt the smile against his cheek and felt the same split his lips. His chest pressed against that of his navigator, the pirate whispered conspiratorially into Raine's ear. "You'd be amazed how invigorated I seem to feel after these brushes with death. Who knows; maybe there's some truth to that old saying after all."

Warmth spread inside Raine before a hearty chuckle bubbled forth from pressed lips. A double tap to his cheek signaled for Shaad to roll aside as Raine propped herself up on her arms, laughter still resonating between them. "Thank you," Raine stated sincerely when her laugh was quieted, a soft smile dancing in her eyes.

"For?"

"Everything."

This time Shaad joined in Raine's laughter, waiting for them both to settle before speaking. "Really? That's a broad statement."

Raine gave Shaad a firm slap on his chest for the wry smirk he leveled at her, but before she could verbally scold him, a knock at the door drew their attention. While Raine perked up in confusion, Shaad slid out from under the covers, answering the door in naught but his boxer briefs.

Raine's confusion and the pleasant banter between herself and Shaad quickly gave way to annoyance as Vega slipped wordlessly into the room.

"Oh, I definitely have you to thank for these frequent headaches," Raine growled, her frustration directed at Shaad while the words may as well have been said in a vacuum as Shaad 'conversed' with the aloof thief and killer.

"Okay, now that you boys have caught up, why is the masked assassin coming in through my front door," Raine spat, the bedroom door slamming shut behind her while she tied a robe around her figure.

". . . Huh? Oh, either this or the balcony, and the balcony has far too many eyes this time of day," Shaad answered offhandedly before turning back to Vega. "Good work. Be ready to move on my go."

Raine didn't even say anything, just tapping her foot with impatience till Shaad turned around to answer the unasked. "I had him track the guards' routes and shift changes, get a layout of low traffic areas, and get a feel for a few special guests. Oh, he found the safe you had him looking for. Suffice to say, that egg ain't getting cracked."

Raine was incredulous, stammering out, "What? When?"

"Vega's been busy since we got here. As for the safe, he told me about that when he stopped by earlier. What was it? About two hours ago? About twenty minutes after I woke up at any rate."

"What are you planning," Raine questioned Shaad in an accusatory tone, her heated stare burning a hole in the steadfast captain.

"You show me yours, I show you mine," Shaad responded, refusing to give an inch under Raine's withering gaze.

"You've seen mine; it's no secret. I'm planning to get rich, live well, and live free."

"And, I'm planning to get revenge and live securely."

"No," Raine declared. "No," she repeated the word adamantly. "I told you not to get involved. People already think you're either dead or imprisoned for threatening him. Focus on that uncrackable safe and put your extra energy to use for something more productive.

Shaad took a step back. "Fine," he relented. You go out and serenade your adoring public. I'll stay here and make sure that black ichor is out of my system before proceeding with your bidding behind the scenes."

Raine frowned at Shaad's obvious sarcasm, but swallowed her displeasure and offered a clarification instead. "Essence of Night."

"What?"

"The black liquid you were given was likely Essence of Night, a deadly poison slash panacea that was outlawed over a century ago. Though it can allegedly heal any injury or sickness, that's only for the 1% that actually survive."

"S~o-," Shaad let the word hang in the air, an inkling of fear for his own life creeping into his mind. Poison. He'd always hated poisons.

"Don't worry. The danger period is the first

forty eight hours. You should be fine."

"Oh. Well, that. . . certainly sounds reassuring," Shaad droned evenly.

Raine crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at Shaad's melodramatic tone. "Anyway, we each have something to do. How bout we get ready and do it?"

"Of course," Shaad acquiesced, giving a mock bow as Raine shed her robe and retreated into the bathroom, earning a similarly unseen eye roll though the underlying feelings were crystal clear. With only himself and Vega left in the main room, Shaad turned to his enigmatic right hand. "Raine's right," Shaad declared, a gluttonous smirk belying his peaceable tone. "Get some rest and some food. We've got a busy night ahead."