The rocking of the ship was terrible, Connor thought to himself as he squirmed uncomfortably about his hammock in a useless attempt to get back to sleep...

It's been a week since their victory over Itagaki, a week since Malkov started holing himself up in his room, fastidiously studying the technique he got from Sephrates, and a week since Mariya started being awfully quiet, no doubt affected by the death of her 'senpai' even if she doesn't show it.

So here he was, in the crew's sleeping quarters, alone... and bored to high hell. He'd considered going out, stretch his muscles or something, but getting the ship on course and out of trouble had taken a lot out of him, so he was just content to sleep... until that inevitably got boring too.

"..." He tossed and turned for a bit longer, and when he found no success then, he thought to himself, 'Screw it all! I'm getting up, and no one's gonna stop me!' And tumbled ungracefully off his makeshift bed before leaving for the door.

"Sssss..." He hissed to himself, wincing from the oddly bright glow of the sun despite it being noon. Still, he sucked it up and waded off to the captain's stateroom.

On his way there, he walked by a few of the crewmates playing poker. One of them was Geno. He'd heard what happened to him and his pet rodent, and although he felt sorry for the man, that's as far as their relationship went.

Figuring it was at least polite to greet them, he stopped and turned around, "Yo, guys. Whatcha playin?"

They all visibly flinched. Weird.

"Um... guys?" They began to sweat. Really weird.

"U-Uh Poker!" Finally, one of them answered, though it was weirdly curt, like he was answered just cause it'd get him out of their hair faster.

Connor raised an eyebrow; it was the crew's surgeon after all, and for a man of medicine, he'd expect at least a minimum amount of decorum, no matter how little they liked the person in question.

Seemingly recognising his suspicions, Geno quickly supplemented the doctor, "S-Sorry about Tim, he's been losing a few games, and we're playing pretty high stakes..." He took out a sizeable wad of cash from his pocket, "J-Just won this the last game, hehe..."

'Ah,' Connor nodded, his face transforming into an apologetic one, "I'm sorry for interrupting. Have a good day anyway, you guys,"

"You too!" They chorused cheerily, but Connor didn't miss the sighs of relief they let out as he left.

'What's their problem?' He wondered as he walked, but he soon let it go, 'Whatever; not like I care...'

In a bit, he was standing in front of Adammus's office, the door the only thing left to separate the older man from him.

Knocking the door, he waited for a 'come in' before entering. He found Adammus sitting on his desk, cleared of all its documents and replaced with an enviously exquisite porcelain tea set.

"Ah, Connor, my boy! Welcome," Adammus smiled and pointed at a spare chair, "Come, sit down,"

He complied, putting his cloak on the coat rack beside the shelf and sat down. When he made himself comfortable, a cup of tea greeted him. Looking up from the piece of fine china, Connor's inquiring gaze was met with the gentle smiles of Adammus.

"Please," He insisted, the sincere smile on his face still ever-present. Seeing no reason to refuse, Connor nodded and picked up the saucer.

Sampling the drink, he was surprised by its vanilla-like quality and involuntarily took another sip, 'Delectable,' He thought as his face practically lit up in satisfaction.

"Good?" Adammus offered, to which Connor replied contently, "Good."

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The two sank into a comfortable silence after that, where the only sounds made were the sipping of tea and the soft sounds of the ocean waves gently brushing at the sea vessel.

Eventually, Adammus started some conversation, "So Connor, what brings you here?"

"I'm just a bit lonely," He confessed, "Y'know, the ship's steady sailing and my companions are... busy. Plus, I don't really think the crew likes me much..."

"Oh?" Adammus set his cup down; its contents emptied, "What makes you think that?"

Connor hesitated, but decided to fess up after seeing the reassuring look in Adammus's eyes, "Well... I walked by Geno and his friends; they were playing poker and—"

"Damn those rascals! I ask them for lunch, and they go off playing cards!" Connor chuckled at the faux-rage Adammus displayed, grateful for lightening the tension, "Anyways, please continue,"

"So, I greeted them, and they also said hi, but they seemed really weird and nervous... like they didn't actually want to talk to me," He recounted, "I thought nothing of it before, but now that I say it out loud, I really don't think they like me,"

"I see," Adammus sighed, refilling his cup while thinking of something to say, "Well... I suppose hesitance can be construed as hostility,"

Connor blushed, and he abruptly felt an onset of embarrassment hit him after, "You know what, I'm sorry for telling on the crew, just forget what I—"

Adammus put down the kettle with a heavy thump, interrupting Connor mid-sentence, "You've nothing to worry about, Connor. They don't hate you. In fact, most of them adore you and your friends,"

He grinned at Connor, the warm glow of the sun giving him the illusion of a saint, "You guys saved their captain, after all!" At this, Connor also found himself smiling along.

'Yeah... maybe I am just overthinking things...'

Suddenly, Adammus clapped his hands together, startling him from his thoughts.

"I think that's enough tea for today! It's time for dinner!" He said, rubbing his palms in anticipation, "C'mon, let's grab a bite,"

"Mn," He agreed, feeling hungry himself...

***

The journey to the mess hall was oddly quiet. Why? Because as far as he's seen, there wasn't anybody above board, which was strange. He knew there was supposed to be at least one person watching in case of bad weather or pirates(though that was a non-factor, which pirate is crazy enough to come here?).

'Maybe they got really hungry or something,' He shrugged and waved it off, continuing to follow Adammus.

To his confusion, even the usually rowdy and populated entrance to the mess hall was silent; that's when he knew something was wrong.

"Um... I think there's something wrong, captain," He cautiously spoke, his brain switching to 'There could be a monster on the other, it's either piss your pants or make them piss theirs' mode' and finding his arm brushing past his sheathe more than once.

Adammus frowned too, "Yes, I noticed it too," He turned to Connor, "Stay here and be ready; I'll go in first. And If I don't come out in a minute, do not try to rescue me, understood?"

Connor nodded, and nervously saw Adammus off...

He waited, counting the seconds in his mind, the uneasiness in his heart ratcheting higher and higher.

Soon, a minute passed, and when he still saw no sign of the captain, he began to worry.

'W-Was there another attack?!' He stared at the closed door, '...Do I try it?'

Ultimately, he chose to investigate.

His breathing quieted, and he tried to walk as silently as possible, inching closer and closer to the door...

-Creak!-

"Happy Birthday Connor!"

A loud cheer rang out inside the mess hall, shocking Connor to his core.

Everyone was there: Mariya, Malkov, Geno, his fellow crewmates and even Adammus! And in the middle of the group was... a wonderful birthday cake!

"Ah...?" Before he could even formulate a response, he was tackled to the ground by his friends, their arms wrapped around his neck while their heads were on both sides of his shoulder in— what he could confidently say was, the most powerful hug in his life ever.

"How'd you like it, Connor?" Malkov beamed, his smile more radiant than any star.

"H-How...?" He sniffled, trying his hardest for his voice not to crack.

"Remember when we were travelling to Waterfront city? You told me about how you couldn't celebrate your birthday," Mariya answered, a sorry look on her face that was hastily replaced with a cheerier one.

All Connor could do was whimper, feeling his tear-ducts activating.

Then, he noticed Adammus standing above them, his arms folded in cool smugness, "See? I told you there was nothing to worry about,"

That was the moment he could feel his last barrier broke, and the tears fell in droves, 'I guess... I really was overthinking it...'

Slowly, the three got up, still stuck to each other.

"C'mon, we have a birthday party to celebrate," Adammus pointed at the cake.

With one last sniffle, Connor nodded as hard as he could, "Y-Yeah!"

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