I have written some of part two, but is needs work. So I have decided to cut it up in parts.
(This was beta read by @Cloudless_Sky )
If You had asked Edward twelve months ago where he saw himself in a year, he would have not said: ‘sailing on a boat to the Nimbus Sea’. It was a bit of an odd feeling. He had abandoned the Grand Navy; and stranded himself on a lone island far enough away from Silverhold or anywhere else.
He remembers watching the boat - the same one he was on now - draw closer to the place he called home, Elm island. Of course He would definitely not ever tell his Captain the happiness he felt when he was asked to join their crew. Captain had saved him from a life of misery, and he would never forget that.
Admittedly the Captain wasn’t the best - running off to throw themselves into fight after fight, they took a lot of risks. When Edward had asked the Captain why they wouldn’t just take a break they replied with “If I don’t, no one else will.” He could understand that.
He glanced out at the sea, the rain fell out of the sky in an oddly graceful manner - earlier the rain had poured down and It was as if he and the boat were submerged under water. Edward was thankful the rain had slowed down.
He didn’t mind the rain, it’s annoying when it gets you wet. Then he gets in your socks - which is just a whole nother level of annoying.
Anyways, he was currently on watch duty.
Making sure the ship didn’t run aground, making sure there are no pirates. Stuff like that. Player and Edward had bounty on their heads, so it was best to keep look out for Grand Navy ships.
A hand on his shoulder broke his train of thought. “I can take over.”
The person’s voice sounded tired, and weary. It was his Captain. Edward could have picked that voice out on a battlefield. It wasn’t battle-hardened like his own, but soft despite all they’d been through. There was just something different about their voice.
“Did you sleep well?” The question was honest, but he knew what the Player would say to that. “G–“ They stopped. “As well as I could I guess” Player’s keep their eyes to the floor; Not wanting to make eye contact.
“Is there something bothering you-?” Edward inquired.
“Yeah, kind of – I feel scared.” Player’s face seemed to grow more tired as they spoke.
“About what?”
“Everything- I guess, it’s-” Player took a deep breath. “The fight with king Calvus, I barely made it out alive…” They now looked up at Edward, making eye contact.
“It’s okay to feel scared, you don’t need to be tough all the time…” Edward thought for a moment about what to say next. “Would you like a hug Captain?” It was probably a dumb question - but he hoped it would make them feel better.
He knows if the Captain asked him if he wanted a hug when he felt scared or unsure or anything really - it would make him feel better.
“I-” Player stared at him -they’re only slightly shorter than Edward, just by an inch or two.
They looked confused, a bit of red dusting and made its way up Player’s neck and onto their face.
“Y-yes.” Player opened up their arms. A warm smile had painted itself on Edward’s face when they said this.
He walked over to Player and wrapped his arms around their waist and pulled their body close to his. Player had hid their face into Edward’s shoulder.
He let out a content sigh, it was nice having his Captain so close to him wrapped in a comforting hug, he hoped that this would make player less scared. Or at the very least a little calmer.
“This is nice,” Player mumbled into his armor. Edward was pretty sure Player didn’t intend for him to hear that. But he’s glad he did, it’s nice to know that someone likes being so close to him. They stayed like that for a while enjoying the warm embrace of each other. Not saying a word. It did its job well to calm down player.
And maybe it helped Edward relax too, of course he would most likely never tell player this. “You should go back to rest-” his voice was quite. Barely above a whisper. He would rather not have disturbed the quiet, he felt like something needed to be said.
Player pulled their head away from Edward’s shoulder, and looked up at him. Now If you were standing from afar it looked like they were about to kiss. Which they just might’ve done if the two of them weren’t being cowardly.
“I’m not tired, I’ll be fine.” It was an obvious lie. They had dark bags under their eyes, which would only grow darker if they didn’t get any sleep, they also seemed to barley have the energy to stand, swaying softly on their feet.
“Don’t lie to me, you need to go back to sleep.” His voice turned more stern, it was an unconscious decision. Picked up from his time in the Grand Navy or Gravy as some people mockingly called it. Although Edward didn’t like that - as much as he didn’t trust the Grand Navy. He didn’t think people should mock the name. He had some respect for them, not a lot - but it was there.
Player tilted their head, Edward thought it was a rather cute action. “You’re not going to let me stay out here are you?”
Edward let out a small laugh “No, no I am not,” He shook his head as he spoke “As your Quartermaster it’s part of my job to make sure that you’re well rested.”
Honestly he was probably right - they should go rest, I mean player would go to sleep. But that’s where the problem lies, they just seemed not to be able to. Their body begged for sleep - but their mind declined. Every time they tried to fall asleep they’re mind would just not shut up. The thoughts of what would have happened If player died fighting Calvus. That’s not what all they thought about, it was most of it though.
Player hid their face back into Edward’s shoulder. Their breathing become more shaky with each exhale.
“What would you do if I died?” Edward frowned slightly, a part of him hadn’t been prepared to answer that question. He stopped at Player’s words - his body locked itself in place. Some weird defense mechanism his body did.
It was an interesting question, Edward isn’t overly sure what he would do if player died. They gave his life meaning - and if they were to die that would all go away, he’d gone so long without much purpose other than to survive, from the structured and strict life of the Grand Navy to meaninglessness on Elm island, and then to joining Player as their Quartermaster, he wasn’t sure he could go back to a world without much meaning.
“I thought you were dead,” What an odd thing to say, to a question like that. “Well- kind of,”
He stopped trying to gather his thoughts. It took a moment of silence before he spoke again. “I’m not sure,” not a complete lie- part of it was though.
Player made a sound of acknowledgement. Nothing more was said that night - they just stayed in each other’s arms. Until Edward convinced player to go to bed.
