Ocean Eyes, Storm Cloud Minds

Chapter Twelve

Lancelot's eyes snapped open, his body drenched in cold sweat as he suddenly sat up, panting softly and feeling tears in his eyes again. A thought occurred that he'd get used to crying, but he pushed it out. What had he dreamt of that was so traumatic it'd woken him up in a state like this? He sighed and slowly got to his feet, wiping some of the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and silently leaving the cabin. Everyone was there now, and the sun was peeking through the windows of the ship, so he could tell that it was morning - early morning - and realised he probably shouldn't be awake at this moment. But he didn't want to sleep- What if another nightmare like that came back?

Making his way to the upper deck, Lancelot sighed and focused on the day ahead of him, wondering what he would have to do in a much more relaxed and passive manner than he had the night before. Thanks to how little alcohol he'd had, though, he only had a small pulsing in the back of his head rather than a full headache, but he was almost entirely sure that the captain and most others on board would be suffering with exactly that. And he didn't mind that they were experiencing it.

He sat on deck and sighed to himself, closing his eyes and relaxing a little while the scent of salt water swarmed him. He smiled slightly, the warmth of the sun on his cold, sweaty skin being noticeably relaxing and quite a nice sensation- especially when compared to the stuffiness and humidity of the crews quarters. He sighed softly to himself, almost being asleep again when a loud thud and a curse from nearby made his eyes snap open as he stood up, eyes wide before they landed on the captains cabin and he immediately lost all interest, knowing it was just that Elric had woken up and was not enjoying the hangover he was experiencing.

BAM! A loud noise rang through the deck and Lancelot jumped, falling off of the crate he was sat on out of surprise but quickly getting to his feet. He went to the captains cabin, knocking on the door.

"S-Sorry, sir- Captain- but I was wondering if you needed help?" He called through the door, mentally cursing himself for being so considerate. Oh, the joys that came with being an older brother. It was a few long moments before anything happened on the other side, and Lancelot had expected the captain to tell him to 'f**k off', or something similar, but instead he heard a couple locks click and the familiar voice told him to come in.

Pushing the door open, Lancelot was incredibly hesitant to step inside. There was always the chance that the captain had mistaken his voice for someone else's, wasn't there?

"Blue. I thought it was you." He muttered, leaning heavily against the desk with one hand to his forehead. That answered his question. Lancelot let the door swing shut behind him and walked a little further inside, keeping his eyes on the captain purely out of fear of what could happen if he took his eyes off of him. Why had the captain let him in, anyway?

"I assume I told you that you're staying last night?" He asked, and Lancelot nodded. Was he only brought in here to be assured that the captain had meant it? He felt part of him wash over with relief but forced himself to stay focused on the captain.

He took a small step forward, pressing the palm of his hand against the captains hot forehead but being shoved off instantly. He stumbled back and into the door, looked at the handsome, hungover captain with confusion and hints of fear in his eyes.

"What was that for?" He asked, standing up straight and brushing himself off, looking a little pissed off over that. Elric just shot him a glare and stood up straight again.

"I'm fine. I've had worse headaches even without having had alcohol the night before." He said, taking a flask of weak alcohol and having a long drink from it, Lancelot just standing there awkwardly while his eyes scanned over the captains features. He had to admit it, the man was unnaturally handsome and he found himself blushing as he thought that.

Lancelot didn't avert his eyes for even a second as he watched the male pull the flask away and fix on the cap, putting it back on the shelf he'd gotten it from. He made a noise in irritation and turned to Lancelot, looking suddenly a lot more pissed off than he had been seconds ago.

"What the hell are you staring at?" He asked, a threatening undertone in his voice as he glared at Lancelot, his eyes fixing on the suddenly surprised expression on the brunet, stormy grey finding ocean blue as they made eye contact. The brunet looked away after a half-second of that, though, blushing darker and shaking his head.

"Nothing, C-Captain, I swear." He said quickly, glancing around the cabin that suddenly seemed a lot more interesting than it had been seconds ago.

He'd expected the captain to interrogate him - even if only questioning him once more- but the man didn't, instead turning and gazing at the view from his cabin. He walked around to his desk again, slumping into his chair with a soft sigh, Lancelot taking the moments of silence to calm himself and remind himself that whatever he was thinking, he shouldn't be. He'd reluctantly come to terms with his sexuality a few years back, so it wasn't the idea that he found another man handsome that plagued him- instead it was the idea that the man he found handsome was a murderer- a pirate.

He ignored his thoughts - he was just being honest, after all- and sighed before turning back to the captain.

"Is there any other reason you let me in? Apart from to ensure that you meant what you'd said last night, I mean." He stuttered a little, trying hard not to slip up on his words too badly. The last thing he wanted was more humiliation - especially in front of Captain Kogane,

"Actually," He began, his eyes fixing themselves on the gorgeous blue iris' of the brunet as he spoke, one hand still resting on his head to soothe the pounding headache he had. "There is."