“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” You ask, eyeing your Captain with worry. His back turned to you, he could see the way you swallowed, fingers twisting together as your nerves got the better of you. “Kaido is-”
“Dangerous. Yes, I know.” He said, straightening from packing his rucksack and turning to face you again. “I’ve thought about this longer than you might think. I’m not going in without a plan.”
You say nothing, just eyeing him with hesitation. This sudden desire to ally himself to the King of the Beasts had you wondering what he possibly hoped to gain. Especially since he refused to bring you or the rest of the crew along for the first meeting. As he described it, it would present ’less risk.’ To you or him, you couldn’t be certain.
He sighed at your continued silence, stepping up to place his hands on your shoulders in a comforting gesture. “The crew will listen to you while I’m gone. Keep them from doing anything stupid, alright? I know how they can get sometimes.”
“How long will you be away?”
“Not sure. Not long, hopefully.” His mouth lifted in a little smile, trying to alleviate your worries, but it fell away again when you didn’t return the gesture. “I know what I’m doing, Y/N. Trust me, ok?”
That was something you could do, trust him, but it wouldn’t help the pain in your chest at the thought of him leaving.
Perhaps your concern was more than what a typical bosun would display. He was your captain and you had no desire to see him willingly walk into his own death, of course. You’d been a loyal member of the crew for so long. But…it truly was more than that.
The stubborn captain had meandered his way into your heart too, and now he expected you to sit idly by as he launched himself head-first into such danger. Ridiculous.
His hands lifted from your shoulders, but before he could turn away from you, your body moves on it’s own accord. Your hands reached up and fisted the fabric of his fur-trimmed jacket, and mustering as much courage as you could you lifted yourself up on your toes and brought your lips together in a crushing kiss.
He tensed, caught off guard by the kiss, but you refused to let go unless he outright pushed you away. If this were to be the last time you saw him, if Kaido’s infamous rage and anger proved to be the reason the stubborn fool was killed, you wanted to be able to savor this one moment, this one memory that you’d shared together.
It was inherently desperate, but once Drake’s mind caught up with what was happening and his hands wrapped their way around your waist to pull you closer, lips following and then even beginning to guide yours, it slowed and softened.
You both pulled away, the silence heavy in his cabin. Your eyes met, yours trying to glean any sort of emotion from Drake’s. The obvious blush on his cheeks at least eased your mind somewhat.
“Promise me you’ll be ok.” You say in a whisper, tempted to lean back in to feel his lips on yours again. But you resisted. “Promise me you’ll come back.”
He gave a tiny nod, eyes still searching your face with wonder. He now knew your feelings for him without you ever needing to say a word. “I will. I swear it.”
ns 15.158.61.16da2
