I was hardly the youngest to ever be a pirate, but I was the youngest on his ship by far. As it was, I was the only child onboard.

That was until a young boy called Thomas with matted auburn hair that he struggled to keep out of his eyes ran up to the captain one day and…asserted himself.

By that I mean he refused to leave until he was given a job.

I was still the youngest, unfortunately. 11 vs 13. He was even a good bit taller than me.

He was standoffish, not the type to trust or rely on others easily.

We got along well enough however. It didn’t seem like he was used to having a friend his age. Maybe he wasn’t used to having a friend at all. I could relate to either one.

After about a year, it felt like we were really warming up to each other.

And then I walked in on her changing.

It was an accident. I hadn’t meant to.

My face went red and my mouth went dry at her bare, chest.

“I-“

Before I could say anything more, she had dashed across the room and gotten a tight grip on my fingers. She bent them back and I had no doubts that she planned to break them if I didn’t play my cards right.

“If you tell anyone,” she said threateningly “so help me…”

“I won’t! I won’t!” I cried “Just let go of me!”

“Swear!”

“What?!”

“Swear you won’t tell.” I could feel the pressure on my fingers increasing as she gave the order.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I swear.”

Thomas finally let go of my hand and went back to wrapping her chest in stolen bandages.

“Does that hurt?” I asked.

She didn’t answer.

“I’m guessing your name isn’t actually Thomas.”

Again, she didn’t answer. .

“You don’t have to tell me-“

“It’s Rose. Don’t use it in public if you know what’s good for you.”

I nodded. “Mine’s James.” I said.

She finally turned back to face me. “I thought your name was Darcy.”

“It’s my last name, I go by it…I figured I owed you…”

It took a while to build back trust after that incident, her always on edge that I would tell, but once we did, we only became closer. I think she needed someone she didn’t have to hide from.

We would stay up for hours laughing and talking about our plans for the future. About catching the captain’s eye and rising through the ranks, maybe being given our own ship in his fleet.

And sometimes, when no one was looking, I’d hold her hand.

As we grew older, I caught up to her in height and handholding became stolen kisses which then became awkward attempts at necking wherever we could find privacy as we began to reach adulthood.

Eventually she started to catch the captain’s eye. But it wasn’t the kind of attention she wanted.

Disgusted, our talks of the future turned to talks of mutiny.

To this day I still can’t believe we pulled it off.

In the end though, we got our ships.

The two of us have been sailing ever since. Sometimes together, sometimes apart, but always with each other in spirit. Always loyal partners.

Even now with her not far off from reaching her forties and me not far behind, laying beside each other in an inn on the bed we shared.

Rose caught me daydreaming “What are you thinking about, you old fool.”

“The past.” I admitted, smiling wistfully.

“Like what?” she rolled so she was laying on top of me, chest pressing against mine.

“Just thinking about the first time I saw you naked.” I smirked.

Rose slapped me playfully