Bryn stood by and watched with good-humour as Maeve wrangled Doubar and took him under the comb under his loud protests.
"Bryn save me! The witch is trying to kill me!" He hollered.
"Don't call me a witch!" Maeve said, tugging sharply on his braid before undoing it. "Now sit down and be quiet, I've had five-year-olds sit through this with more patience!"
"You're in good hands Doubar," Bryn patted him on the shoulder and left the two of them alone on the steps, opting to vacate to the prow where she could do her thinking unhindered by the argument that was purposely being put on to affirm their family-status as much as any conversation could.
At the prow her eyes swept over the deck, taking in her home and her new-found family. When she'd woken up, washed ashore on some beach with only her name to hold on to, she'd thought she would never be whole again without remembering her past. She had something better now: she had a future. She would still love to learn more about who she had been but the absence of her past didn't define her anymore. Without realizing it she had grown whole again.
"You look deep in thought," Sinbad said joining her at the railing.
She could tell by the look in his eye and the lack of a quip that he was in one of his contemplative moods. She enjoyed him like this, when their conversations could actually go somewhere and he let his own vulnerabilities show a little bit more, appearing much stronger for it.
"I have decided I am not going to ask you what's going on between you and Maeve anymore," she lightly informed him.
"But you were having so much fun prying," Sinbad said, the playful smile not negating his open mood.
"When we first met," Bryn told him. "I had a really big crush on you."
She studied him for his reaction and watched him squirm as he tried to figure out how to tell her that he'd known about it and had taken advantage of it and that he was sorry. She saved him from having to respond by speaking herself: "You were the first person I saw after waking up alone in every way imaginable who was being nice to me. For that alone I would have followed you to the moon and back and then you gave me a home and a purpose… You can't imagine how grateful I was, how much I wanted to repay you," Bryn said, trying to put in words the confusing jumble of feelings she had been carrying alone for far too long before Doubar offered to take some of the load.
"Why are you telling me this?" Sinbad asked, not defensive but genuinely curious.
Bryn was grateful he didn't try to tell her that she didn't owe him anything because that was beside the point. "Do you know when I let go of that crush?" Bryn asked him, instead of answering.
"When you got tired of my behaviour?" Sinbad asked, hanging his head a little, scared of her judgement.
"After your run-in with Scratch and meeting Mala you seemed much more at peace with yourself. That night you and the boys were swapping stories about the old times and you started telling a story about Maeve- something about her getting turned into a statue for a little bit- and the look in your eyes when you were thinking about her… That's when I knew I could never give you what you needed most. I've seen you trying to live with regret Sinbad. Don't allow your fear to rule you. Life is short and full of dangers. You never know if you're going to get another chance to tell the one you love that you love her," Bryn concluded.
He seemed deep in thought, unable to formulate an appropriate response just then so she squeezed his bicep affectionately and decided to see if she could get some reading done. She hadn't gone too steps when Sinbad came rushing by her.
He grabbed Maeve's wrists and tugged her up onto her feet. Unsure what he wanted she complied, looking a little bewildered until he slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him and kissing her. Right there on deck, in front of his whole crew he kissed the girl he loved, deeply and thoroughly.
When the kiss had run its course Maeve didn't seem to know how to act or what to say while Sinbad just looked kind of shy: a look Bryn had never seen on him before.
"I love you Maeve and I don't care who knows it," Sinbad stated boldly.