Disclaimer: Kapu brought something up in the Elderburnin' NSFW channel and, though I didn't actually go that route, I was mighty tempted. Just wanted to get this scene out of my head.
Yang swallowed hard, doing her best to keep her composure as her crew hauled Winter onto the deck of the ship. She looked horrible with her naval uniform torn to shreds from two months stranded on an island, a slight tremor in her legs from lack of food and water, and a few cuts that hadn't yet healed from who knew what- but she was alive, and that mattered so much more to the Captain just then.
However… she couldn't exactly say that.
"Looks like we've found quite the castaway, haven't we?" Her voice, loud enough to be heard over the waves crashing against the side of the ship, was met with jeering laughter from her crew. "And what should we do with her, hmmm? This naval officer without the Crown to protect her?"
She began to pace, hoping it appeared to her crew like she was enjoying this. After almost a year of playing cat and mouse with one of Her Majesty's finest, one would think the renowned pirate Captain Yang Xiao Long would be absolutely glowing with mirth at having found the one who'd chased her so tirelessly now weak and bereft of any manner with which to defend herself.
But in truth, Yang didn't enjoy this, not in the slightest. Because while the rest of the world might think them mortal enemies, the reality couldn't be further from that idea. The whole series of events started with a chance meeting in a port- a night where they fell into bed together, driven more by passion than sense. Or, well, that was true for her, seeing as she rather enjoyed spending a night with a beautiful woman or two before heading back out to sea whenever they made port. It just happened that one night, the woman she decided to indulge with happened to be none other than the Sea Wolf- Captain Winter Schnee, a naval officer in Her Majesty's employ who excelled at running down and capturing pirates and bounties alike. Yang managed to escape by the skin of her teeth that night- after they'd gone a few rounds because, apparently, the naval woman happened to be in rather dire straights at the time when it came to releasing pent up urges- and gave Winter the slip shortly after. The next time her ship- the feared and famed Longwang- pulled into port, however, she came across the naval Captain again, and for a second time Winter opted to postpone collecting the bounty in favor of rolling through the sheets.
"Part of me says we should make her walk the plank." She forced a chuckle, throwing her arms wide. "But another says we should repay the favor shown to our kind and let her dance a gallows' jig. I think she'd dance rather pretty, what say you?"
Her crew roared back with laughter, showing their clear favor for irony, but it made her blood run cold.
After their second meeting, they reached an agreement: on the open seas, they were mortal enemies, but behind closed doors, they were free to indulge in each other without worrying about bounties or reputations or anything else. For a while, it worked for both of them. Yang's cleverness and crew kept her one step ahead of the naval officer and Winter's efforts only grew in response, doubling down on her vow to capture the pirate. Meanwhile, their secret rendezvous at ports allowed both of them to find sweet release, enough that the pirate found herself without want for any other company. Then Yang noticed that… well, perhaps things weren't working out- at least, it wasn't enough for her anymore. During the nights they spent together, when they lay panting beside each other with sweat cooling on their skin, they'd begun talking- and pillow talk didn't surprise her. It was the cravings that began to eat at the back of her mind when they were apart that did- the little questions she wanted to ask when next they found themselves naked and spent, when such answers might fall from her lover's lips.
"Ah, but it'd be a shame for that, really, without your crew here to see." She tried to sound snide and cruel, and perhaps the edge to her voice carried that well enough to hide her fury. "But there's a bit of irony in that, aye? Pirates we may be but we take care o' our own while the imperious Navy loses one of their finest officers in a storm and don't even turn back to look for her."
Because she'd stopped seeing Winter as the naval officer hellbent on arresting her with whom she enjoyed a few dalliances with, no. She'd started seeing Winter as something much more, though she hesitated to put a name to it, lest she lose everything in the process.
"And we're the ones who get labeled traitors." Venom dripped from that last line as she mentally cursed the scheming underling who'd effectively staged a mutiny, taking control of Winter's ship and ordering they sail for port rather than double back for their captain. Cowards, the lot of them. "But we already dealt with them, now didn't we?"
Another chorus of cheers went up as Winter began to cough, the chilly night air likely biting her down to the bone with how damaged her uniform was. Yang had to make this quick.
"Aye, and I think it's high time we send a message back to Her Majesty and her naval dogs." Quickly, she went and grabbed Winter's arm, roughly squeezing her bicep to prompt a stifled whimper of pain as she hauled the woman closer. "And in the meantime, I'll be showing the lost Captain my… hospitality." The entire crew began to whistle at that, jeers coming from all around, before she snapped off her orders. "Make for Agave Port! Full speed! And if anyone even thinks about disturbing me, I'll personally shove a cannonball up that person's ass and toss 'em overboard. Savvy?"
"Aye aye, Captain!" The crew then launched into a flurry of activity while Yang roughly escorted her prisoner to the cabin, shoving her inside and slamming the door behind her.
"Winter." The moment they were behind closed doors, she dropped the facade, stepping forward to wrap her arms around the woman and hold her, giving her something solid and warm to lean against. "Thank the Maidens we found you in time. I thought-"
"I didn't think you'd speak to them like that."
"What?"
Winter sagged against her, eventually turning her head so they could properly look at each other, and only then did she notice the dullness in normally striking blue eyes and how much the past two months had worn on her. "Your crew. I sometimes imagined how you'd speak to them. It was never like that."
"I just- I have a part to play. You're a naval officer and I'm a pirate; I'm supposed to act like that around you." She gave a helpless shrug, trying to brush formerly white bangs turned almost brown thanks to dirt and grime behind her ear. "I just had to make it convincing. If I did what I wanted to do… I don't know how they'd react."
Apparently summoning her strength, Winter drew herself to her full height, trying to calm the shaking from cold and fatigue through sheer force of will as she offered a small smile. "And what did you want to do?"
Immediately, she popped up on her toes, the differences in their height not so great that she needed to do so but it put the force behind the gesture that she wanted, using one hand clutching at the back of Winter's head and the other at the small of her back to steady her as they kissed, the urge to cry tears of joy almost overpowering.
How close had they come to the last time they'd been in each other's arms being the the last time? It pained her heart to even consider it, scared her worse than anything she'd faced in over twenty-five years.
Maybe it was the two months as a castaway or just melting into the familiar embrace, but Winter went nearly boneless against her, fingers carding through her hair, knocking off her hat in the process. It didn't matter- nothing mattered, outside of the weak embrace.
When they parted, her lover chuckled. "I can see why you would be concerned how they might react."
"They're an unpredictable bunch," she replied with a smile, cupping the woman's face.
"Much like their Captain." Winter sighed, resting against her. "I would've never guessed missing our night in Onyx Cove would've prompted a rescue… but I'm afraid I must insist on a bath before we make up for lost time."
It stung but she kept her smile in place, if only to steady her voice. "Right. This way."
Tucked away in the corner of the cabin, she kept a bathing basin, more so she could clean her hair than her body, as she could hardly fit in it. Winter, however, didn't have the breadth of her shoulders to consider, and she'd grown far more lean in the past two months, though it likely wouldn't be the comfortable sort of indulgence she'd known. Still, Yang fetched some rainwater they'd collected during the last storm and poured it in, adding oil to the tray beneath it and igniting a flame that it might warm a little. Then, she turned her attention to Winter, whose fingers fumbled with the damaged clasps remaining on her coat.
Wordlessly, she took over, noting that there would be no salvaging the uniform and hoping that some of the extra clothes she'd acquired over the years might fit her lover's taller frame. Although she'd much rather take her time, Yang hurried as much as she could, not wanting to prolong the woman's exposure to the cool air in the cabin, but she did allow herself little, reassuring touches here and there. To the wounds yet to heal, to the prominent ribs formerly hidden beneath healthy layers of fat and muscle, to the hollow of her hip where a new scar showed pink in the flickering light of the lanterns- most damning of all, she couldn't resist pressing a soft kiss to her shoulder, nevermind the lack of bathing, simply because she could.
How close had she come to being too late?
"I must insist-"
"I know," she replied, soft. Though the door to the cabin was closed, their agreement only ever involved satisfying… physical demands. An arrangement, an accord- not a relationship. And to Winter's mind, this wasn't Yang fretting over her lover; it was just a woman impatient to collect a debt. "I'll help you in." Once the naval Captain settled in the basin, the water just barely reaching the tops of her breasts, knees bent to allow herself to submerge at all, Yang shrugged off her coat and rolled up the sleeves of her shirt. Normally, she wouldn't be buried under so many layers, but she always hated the cold and the northern wind brought with it the sort that bit too deep for her to bear easily. "Let me get your back."
Carefully, mindful of bruises and cuts, Yang ran a cloth across her skin, clearing away dirt to reveal uneven tans where the sun had burned through the tatters of the woman's uniform. She could count every rib, see the jut of her shoulder blades, and noted the pain that jolted through her body when the cloth passed over a specific part of her back.
"After I went overboard, I was lost on the waves until I crashed against a rock. It probably saved my life… but the bruise still hasn't healed." She winced, shifting in the basin. "I haven't much time to let it rest." A chuckle. "So be gentle tonight."
It felt like a knife in her heart, hearing those words. "… right…" When she finished washing Winter's back, she stood up and dried her hands on her trousers. "There's some dried meat and rum on the desk. I'll go find you some more food."
Yang left the cabin, not bothering with her coat or hat- for the moment, she wanted the bracing chill of the night air to snap her out of it, to help put things into perspective. Her feet carried her to the starboard side, stepping up on the railing and wrapping her leg through a shroud, leaning against the creaking ropes and staring at the sea and sky beyond.
She'd gone into pirating all those years ago to rebel against the corrupt naval officers who killed her mom and, up until recently, she'd never thought- even for a moment- that she'd ever have any qualms with it. Harassing the navy, stealing their supplies, she'd never questioned it.
But now?
"Yang?" Lilac eyes turned to find Ruby watching her, having climbed down from the crow's nest. "Everything okay?"
"No," she replied, always a bit too honest with her sister than was probably wise. "I… don't have a heading. I don't know where I'm going."
"I thought you said that was the best part of being at sea? Sailing for the sake of sailing?" Ruby hopped onto the railing beside her and sat down. "Living for the sake of living?"
"Maybe I was wrong." A shake of her head. "Maybe that's how you end up running aground."
"I thought you'd be really happy." Her sister frowned, the red cape she wore billowing around her and slapping against the wood. "We found Captain Schnee. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"She- she has nothing to do with this." Yang cleared her throat. "It's something different-"
"Hey." She looked down to find silver eyes watching her closely. "You know you can't lie to me, right?"
Her shoulders fell, a frown claiming her lips. "Does the crew know?"
"You haven't exactly been subtle." She started ticking things off on her fingers. "You come back bragging about how you escaped arrest but refused to name who almost got you, after that we start getting chased by Captain Schnee, at the next port you disappear like you do but none of the brothels had seen you, then Captain Schnee's there again, and then you have us fire around Captain Schnee's ship instead of at it-"
"Okay, alright, I get it." She slapped a hand to her face and sighed. "So everyone knows…"
"That you have a soft spot for Captain Schnee." Ruby shrugged. "You wouldn't have us come all the way out here looking for her if you really just wanted to kill her when we get back to Agave. So, what's the problem?"
"It's not a soft spot, Rubes." She looked down, at the waves lapping against the side of the ship. When she spoke again, her voice had turned soft, almost as if she feared the words leaving her mouth- which she did. "I love her."
"I- uh, alright, so that's… wait, how is that bad?"
Tears stung at her eyes. "Because she doesn't love me back."
"What? I don't- are you sure?" Ruby shifted. "I mean, love, romantic love, isn't something I, uh, get or anything, but I just- I'm not connecting the dots here, Sis. How could she not love you back?"
"Because this was just sex to her." She sagged against the shroud. "That's how it started for both of us. But for me, it changed, and it didn't for her." They were both silent for a moment as tears slipped down her cheeks. "I don't know what to do."
Tentatively, her sister offered her suggestion. "Tell her?"
"I can't." She scrubbed at her cheeks. "She's a naval officer on board a pirate ship."
"Oh, if she turns you down, you could…" Ruby put her hands up. "But you wouldn't!"
"It doesn't matter, Sis. There's a chance and I won't take it." Another sigh left her lips.
"Yang, I'm not trying to play devil's advocate here but… are you sure you love her?"
"I'd go ashore if she asked me to," she replied, her tone steady and even. She meant it, with every fiber of her being. If asked, she'd go ashore and never set sail again. She'd run her ship aground and set it aflame. She'd steal the crown from Her Majesty's head.
If Winter asked it of her, she'd turn herself in and face the gallows.
"Dad always said that, for all the pain that comes with love, it's always worth it in the end," Ruby said, swinging her legs back over the railing and landing on the deck. "As soon as we make port, you should tell her. If not for her, then for you."
"I'll think about it," she replied, staring off into the distance for a while longer. Finally, she came to a decision; in the end, she could only be one of two people.
She could continue being the pirate captain, being chased by the same woman she would welcome into her bed whenever the chance arose.
Or she could leave the sea, lest she lead her crew to ruin by following her heart rather than her head.
With a sigh, she turned to jump back onto the deck, heading below to collect up some more dried meat, fresh water, another bottle of rum, and a few biscuits before returning her quarters. There, she found Winter had finished her bath and pulled on one of Yang's long shirts and crawled into the bed she used on the rare times she brought someone back to the ship from port. It hadn't borne any weight in it since… well, before the naval officer began her pursuit.
"Trouble?" Her voice came out thick, as if she was staving off sleep by the barest margins, and the bottle of rum in her hand gave clear indication why. Clean with a full belly and a comfortable spot to rest- no wonder she felt sleep calling to her.
But Yang merely sat on the edge of the bed and offered her a biscuit. "You should try eating a little more. You've got a lot of strength to recover."
"Might as well put it off for the morning," Winter said, a frown touching her lips. "Anything I gain now will be burned off tonight."
Pressing her lips into a thin line, she resolved not to push tonight. In the weeks until they made port, she could bully the woman into accepting nutrition, but right now, rest would be just as good. Standing up, she went to set the food on the desk and took a swig of the rum herself to ease the pain in her chest- or rather, replace it with fire, as the alcohol burned down her throat. She didn't feel like drinking tonight but might need it to calm her mind enough so she could sleep.
"Rest for tonight." Yang set the bottle down and started dimming the lanterns, intending to sleep in the hammock strung up beside the bed. "You need it."
"Why Agave?"
"What?"
"You've never shown much interest in Agave Port." Although still weak, Winter pushed herself up, looking almost like a ghoul in the low light. But she still carried herself as she always did, shoulders straight and chin tilted up proudly- despite all that had been stripped away from her, she remained Captain Winter Schnee, the woman Yang loved. "And if memory serves, there are closer ports."
"Agave is where your ship pulled in for repairs," she replied, sitting on the edge of the bed so she could pull off her boots. "We'll find them there."
"Is that so." A noise like a contemplative hum but softer. "I realize I'm in no position to ask… but may I beg a favor of you?"
Pausing, she looked back over her shoulder, afraid of what might be asked of her. Normally, she'd fulfill any request Winter had, when they were behind closed doors, and they'd yet to find an idea the woman entertained that Yang didn't like just as much. However, something about the way Winter needed another pull from the rum worried her, sent her heart racing in her chest. "Anything."
"Rather than head west to Agave… head east." Brows furrowed, Yang turned to look at the woman, who'd decidedly turned her gaze away, focusing on the liquid sloshing within the bottle in her hand. "For weeks, I begged the Maidens to send me visions of you at night. I didn't have so much faith to think asking for rescue would be possible, so I asked for comfort instead. And I realized that… were I given such a chance to see you again… I'd rather it not be in chains or ropes."
"What are you saying?" Hope ran rampant, nearly impossible to contain, but she managed to keep her voice even and calm, tempering the thoughts that perhaps she was wrong, that she wasn't alone in wanting more, because Winter was still weak and possibly delirious. Did she understand what she was saying?
"I don't want to return to my post." She reached up and ran a hand through her hair, damp moonlight spilling over her shoulders. "Some of the crew, I'll miss. But when I needed them most, the Navy sailed off and left me. You… a pirate, you came and found me. The treasure you prized, forgotten amidst the waves." She chuckled dryly. "You don't have to say anything. We have our parts to play, and I can play mine just fine without the title. Leave me in a port of your choosing and my bed will be open whenever you come to call. But Captain Schnee died two months ago, lost at sea. She will chase you no more."
Yang swallowed thickly, looking away for a moment before steeling her nerves, turning her back to the woman. "We won't go to Agave if that's what you want. But it's funny that you call me the pirate when you're the one who stole my heart." A soft gasp behind her but she couldn't tell if that boded well or ill. So, she continued. "If your bed is the only place you'll have me, then that's where I'll be. But… truth be told, I'd rather be in your heart than your bed." She took a deep breath. "I love you, Winter."
The shuffling of fabric, rustling that drew closer, until a hand on her shoulder forced her to turn, and she could see the icy fire that she'd fallen in love with return to blue eyes a moment before they slipped closed, their lips pressing together in a passionate kiss that she fell into, wholeheartedly. She clutched-gently, mindful, but desperate all the same- at the shirt, opening her mouth and giving everything she could, tears slipping from the corners of her eyes. What she would do to keep the woman in her arms scared her but liberated her as well because what regrets could she have? Only that she'd never gotten the chance to utter those words, let them fall from her lips like the rum spilling as it rolled across the floor, forgotten.
When they parted, breathless, she found herself pinned in place by the look in the woman's eyes, that forceful stare that had drawn them together at first. "I love you, Yang, and Maidens as my witness I feel a fool for not telling you that sooner."
She pulled Winter closer, buried her face in the woman's neck and held her tight, overjoyed. That she'd found her alive, that she'd found her at all, but mostly that she'd finally unleashed the words she'd kept locked inside only for the sentiments to be returned. "For what it's worth, I feel the same. I should've told you back in Mistral."
"I was an idiot back then but being without you made me wise." A soft sigh. "I just can't imagine what we'll tell your crew."
Yang chuckled, drawing back and smiling wide. "I do."
Gently, she coaxed her lover, her love, out of bed, retrieving a box she'd steadily filled in the past few months with whatever caught her fancy, though admitting as much made her blush with Winter's eyes on her.
"You bought me clothes?" Fine silks, silver embroidery, blues that matched her eyes and pristine white that couldn't be found anywhere else on the ship- Yang had poured a fair bit of her share into purchasing everything. "And when were you planning on giving these to me?"
"I… had an idea." As Winter began sifting through the available garments, she turned her back to afford some privacy while fumbling over her words. "Just, a passing daydream I liked to entertain, that one day you'd sneak aboard the ship and try to confront me here, but… not to arrest me. I thought… it would be rude if I didn't have something to replace what I'd tear off of you."
"You estimated my tastes rather well." Sneaking a peek, Yang found the woman looking herself over, trousers tucked into thigh high boots, a double breasted jacket fitting her a bit looser now than it should've, and sleeves with silver cuff links making her look more a merchant than an officer. "I think I'll fill these out rather nicely in a month. Did you take my measurements while I slept?"
"No," she replied, offering a cheeky smile and holding her hands up, wiggling her fingers. "I did it while you were awake. Just… indisposed." Then she reached out and grabbed Winter's hand. "Now, come on."
Emerging from her quarters, Yang called out, her voice booming and ordering everyone to the top deck. A few grumbled about lost sleep but did as they were bid, until every pirate aboard her ship had amassed, awaiting whatever she might say.
Ruby happened to be the only one of them smiling, though, as silver eyes darted down to their clasped hands.
"I have an announcement." She looked at Winter. "Captain Schnee is no longer a member of Her Majesty's navy. She's one of us, now." A pause. "And she's my co-captain. You'll give her the same respect you would me. Any questions?"
Silence, for a few moments, before one voice rose up. "Who's on top?"
Yang's brows furrowed. "We're co-captains, so-"
"Not that!" The man corrected. "In bed! Which one of you is on top?"
For a moment, she had a mighty urge to throw someone overboard.
And then her shoulders fell, a little smile claiming her lips; they were pirates, after all, so one couldn't fault them for poor manners. "She is."
"YEAH!" Ruby shouted, thrusting her fists into the air before snatching her hat off her head and turning to the rest of the crew. "NOW PAY UP, YOU BILGE RATS! I WON BOTH BETS!"
Curses and mutters and complaints and excuses flew, but not one ill word about their newest Captain, and Yang had to laugh at the dumbstruck expression on Winter's face.
Finally, the woman just shook her head. "Pirates. I'll never understand you lot."
"You can't say that," she said, stepping closer and teasing a kiss. "You're one of us now."
"That I am." She closed her eyes, resting against Yang for a moment before humming. "And after some rest, I think I'd like to practice my plundering skills."
Sweeping an arm under Winter's legs, she lifted her love into her arms and carried her back to the cabin. "Oh, and man the helm! We have a new heading!" She looked at Winter. "Where do you want to go?"
She smiled, reaching up to idly play with a few blonde locks. "It's been a while since we've been to Vacuo and the last trip ended with my ship almost sinking."
"Make for Vacuo! The first free port!"
"Aye aye, Captains!" The crew chorused back, launching into a flurry of activity to change their course and adjust the sails, Ruby calling out orders while holding her winnings with both hands.
Author's note: There will be a sort of prequel/sequel to this at some point. I have half of it written; just need to finish and polish.