(Lucca)
The sun soon falls and the torches and bonfire on our ship end up being the only things helping us see. Drinks are being passed out along with plates of food due to the arrival of the new members of our crew.
It's no secret that my father loves to show off. Especially for new people. We have parties at least every week, but they're not typically this large and celebratory.
While everyone celebrates outside, I find myself at the bow of the ship, watching as we float in the direction of the Bhalaosc. This has always been my favorite part of the ship. You can look out at the sea and there's no light over here so the stars in the sky are as clear as day.
I'm not exactly sure what my father is going to do with the rock if we even find it. He's living his life, and now he's old and weak. Sure the rock grants wishes and has been said to bring even the poorest of people to the top, but my father has practically already lived his life.
There were so many other things we could hunt for and yet it had to be a rock that hasn't been seen for centuries. It probably doesn't even exist, and if it does, who's to say that we won't die attempting to get it?
With a loud sigh I climb onto the bowsprit and hold out my arms, making sure to balance myself so I don't go tumbling into the ocean. I let my eyes fall closed, and just as I'm at the tip of the bowsprit I hear my name being yelled out.
He must've taken a dip in some water, otherwise he wouldn't be able to yell like that. It's weird, but I do like the way my name sounds rolling off his tongue. I'm not sure if it's the slight accent he has from only knowing English for a few years or if it's just the sound of his voice, but somehow he makes 'Lucca' sound much more exotic.
I huff and turn my body around to face him, keeping my arms out and straight. "I always thought you'd be screaming my name in a scenario much different than this one."
"Lucca." He huffs. His cheeks flush as he crosses his arms over his chest. "Stop saying that stuff. It makes me uncomfortable."
I hum softly and carefully make my way back to the deck, jumping down so I'm only a few inches away from him. "Uncomfortable? Please elaborate."
"You just… You make me feel weird." He stutters.
I grab his wrist and twirl him around, only to back him into the front corner of the ship. "Yeah? Weird how? What about me makes you feel weird?"
"I-I don't know. Just the way you act I guess." He responds, staring at me with his big blue eyes. He makes a certain face when I flirt with him. It's like he's shocked and flattered at the same time, but there's always this look in his eyes. This look that tells me that he doesn't want to like me the way he does.
I glance around behind us and grin when I see no one around. Everyone was too busy drinking, stuffing their faces, or dancing out on the main deck.
I place my hands on either side of Tristan and lean down to his level, our faces inches apart. "Much different from Leonel, huh?"
He seems speechless for a moment before confessing. "He's… he's not as bold as you. I like how forward you are."
I let out a small laugh and push myself away from him. "There must be some things you don't like about me though. I have no idea what's going through you head but I will tell you one thing. Leonel has always been indecisive. He's a doormat and even when he dies know what he wants, he never goes for it the way I do."
He goes to speak, but I put my finger over his lips and continue.
"That's why he's shy. He flirts without meaning to, but I'll be honest. I think he likes you. You guys seem to be moving pretty fast. I wonder why you're not with him." I say as I wink at him and hop on the edge of the ship once more. I put one foot in front of the other, balancing in the thin bowsprit.
"Lucca. It's dangerous out there. You should get off." He warns, ignoring my comments about Leonel.
I don't really want them to be together. I just want Tristan to know both sides before he makes a choice. Leo likes him, and I think I do to. I'm pretty confident that he'd chose me though. Leonel is boring and stuck up and quiet. Tristan should be with someone who will take him on adventures where he'll never have a dull moment. Too bad it's not my choice to make.
I look down at the water to see the waves roughly hitting against the ship. I'm not scared. In fact, the thought of fighting the current excites me. A human conquering Mother Nature herself. Who wouldn't long for that?
I turn to Tristan and hold out my hand with a smirk. "Wanna go for a swim?"
He looks over into the water with a facial expression that says that he wants to, but he still hesitates. "The waves are rough. Are you sure you can swim in it?"
I shrug and face my body towards him. "Guess we'll just have to find out won't we?"
I smirk at him before allowing myself to fall backwards, letting my body hit the waves harshly. It wasn't the smartest idea, but despite all the water up my nose and in my ears and eyes, it was an exciting thing to do.
I swim close to the ship, and hold onto the ladder at the side of the ship so I don't stray too far away, and look up to see if Tristan is anywhere in sight. I get as close to the ship as I can, trying to hide myself away from his vision just so I can make his heart race the slightest bit.
He calls out for me a few times, and eventually, he jumps over the side of the ship, splashing into the water. When his scales come through his skin, it leaves a bit of red that mixes in with the sea water.
"Lucca?" He calls out, looking in the wrong direction.
This allows me to jump off the ladder and practically tackle him from behind, but he, being the Merman he is, dives underwater to avoid my sneak attack. I end up face planting in the water and surfacing with a stinging sensation on my face which makes me groan in pain. It's like the water slapped me.
"You weren't supposed to dodge that, shortcake."
"What the hell is wrong with you? I thought you were hurt! Grow up! Everything can't be a joke all the time." He shouts at me with anger written all over his face.
I run my hand through my hair and simply grin at his frustration. He moves back when I swim over, but that doesn't stop me from trying to catch him in my arms.
"Grow up? Look gorgeous, you're hanging with the pirates now. There is no such thing as growing up. We do things that risk our lives until our lives finally end. Living freely is what we're all about, baby. Why are you getting so worked up anyways? You care that much about a dirty, lying, cheating, thieving pirate like myself?"
"You're an idiot. Of course I care. You could've drowned! Just be more careful. You might not care if you live or die, but I do." He finally stops moving away from me when he speaks, so I'm finally able to grab his hand and pull him close to me.
His expression is still angry as ever, but with a cute face like his, it's far less than intimidating. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be careful and stay alive for your sake. Now calm down, I'm alive, you're alive, let's have some fun."
I move my hands down to his waist and start to gently tickle his side, trying my best to get a smile out of him. He starts laughing hysterically once I get to a certain spot on his hips. It's right above his scales and beneath his waist.
"Hah! Lucca, stop!" He pleads with teary eyes from laughing too hard.
I pull one hand out of the water and place a finger over his lips to shush him. "Hey, no need to yell. With how loud you are, you must be a screamer, right?" I laugh and stop tickling him completely, giving him a shit eating grin.
He stumbles over his words for a second before managing to say, "It's your fault I was yelling anyways-"
"Oh, how I wish I could do that more often." I cut him off, starting to rub my hands across his waist and hips.
"I… You said that you'd stop saying those kind of things to me." He complains, avoiding eye contact.
"I don't recall. You must've caught me in a lie."
To avoid further conversation, I dive under the water and open my eyes, ignoring the slight stinging sensation due to the salt. I see a few fish swim past, and for some reason it makes me smile. I reach out to touch one but jump when Tristan pops up out of nowhere.
He scares the fish away, but rushes to catch it. It seems easy for him to swim faster than it, so in no time, he's caught it, and brought it back.
For some reason I feel bad for the little guy, so I gently cup my hands and take him from Tristan. I gently run my fingers over it's purple scales before opening up my hands and letting it swim back to its group.
I go above the water to get air, and Tristan follows. He swims a little bit closer to me. "That was nice."
I shrug. "Fish have families too, if it got separated from them I would've felt bad for it."
I clear my throat before putting on a hard expression. "But you didn't hear that from me. I'm no nice guy."
"You can try to fool everyone else… but not me."
"I fooled you at first didn't I?" I grab him by the waist and pull him to my chest. "Nice guys don't tease people as much as I do."
"I knew you weren't bad guy, Lucca… and I'm hoping that I'm the only person you tease this much." He lets me hold him close, and even brings his arms up to wrap around my neck comfortably.
"And if you weren't?" I challenge, but he just gives me a smug smile.
"I am, so I don't have to worry about it."
I coo and twirl him around in the water. "You'd worry about it if you didn't know? How cute."
He rolls his eyes, but he blushes despite him trying not to. "You think I'm cute?"
"Cute, adorable, handsome, attractive, sexy, whichever you prefer." I pause. "Unfortunately, I'm not the only one who thinks so."
I slowly let go of him and swim back to the ladder, hooking my arm around the side of it.
"Wait." He says, and I pause. "Leonel really likes me? I know that we kissed but that's just because the enchantment had a side effect. I didn't know that he actually likes me."
I sigh and start to climb up the later, not in the mood to start bringing him into the conversation. Especially not if Tristan is really thinking about him like that. "I guess that's something you'll have to talk with him about then. Who knows? Maybe it'll end in another kiss."
"Maybe I wanted our conversation to end with a kiss." He admits quietly.
I stop, half my body in the water and half up the ladder. "Then why didn't it?"
"Well, I-I didn't know if you wanted it to."
I turn to face him, my gaze resting on his lips before they go up to his blue eyes. "Live like a pirate and take chances. Maybe next time, yeah? Come on, people will start getting suspicious if we don't get up there soon."
"Maybe I will." He responds, lifting himself up long enough for his tail to separate into two long legs and an adorably perky bottom.
I turn my attention back to the ladder. We climb up it, and once we get to the top, he puts his clothes back on.
Despite how much I want to stare at him while he's getting dressed, I simply turn my back to him, giving him what little privacy my action provides.
"Ah, just the guy you were looking for, right?" I mention as I see Leonel in the distance making his way towards us.
"Yeah." He mumbles in return.
"I'll see you later tonight. You better start thinking about whose bed you'll be sleeping in."
Leonel smiles once he's finally in front of us, but the look of confusion is still etched across his face. "Why are you both wet?"
I place a finger to my lips and send him a wink. "It's a secret."