HIRAETH // Captain Puffy X Reader

23

Gemma was not to happy when she came back from the hold with a barrel full of enchanted respiration helmets and underwater breathing potions only to find that you'd caught sight of land and that Puffy had just been too anxious. Still, she just flicked the brim of Puffy's hat and called her paranoid. It was clear that she was just as happy as anyone else that land had been spotted. 

There was still that other problem on the horizon though - the navy ship had now also caught sight of the island as you got closer to it, and had seemingly increased their speed to hopefully catch you before you reached the land.

It was a race to the end now, and you weren't entirely sure who was going to win. Judging by the way that Puffy kept looking behind you towards the navy ship and clutching the helm, she wasn't either. 

In an effort to be helpful, you had kept Tubbo out of her hair, playing checkers with him and working on his reading. It felt too normal almost, like you were pretending that the navy wasn't hot on your tail. Tubbo didn't seem to realize the anxious energy aboard though - he was just excited that there was an island in sight. 

You kept a hand on his waist so that he didn't lean too far over the edge trying to get a closer look. "Careful, Tubs."

Tubbo was too busy mapping out the lay of the land to care much, his little hands curled around the railing to lift himself over the edge somewhat. "Where do you think the buried treasure is?" He asked. "I bet it's in that weird looking cliff."

As you had gotten closer to the island, the layout of the place had become more clear. A beach stretched out for a while, a few trees scattered around. The forest grew thicker as the island stretched on, and rising out of the tops of the trees, there was an odd rock formation. Upon first glance, you'd thought it might be a volcano, but there was no sign of volcanic activity. If it was a volcano, it had been dormant for a while. 

"We won't know until we get there Tubbo." You said. 

Tubbo rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. "I bet there's a cave or something that has the treasure in it. And I bet its a huge pile of gold and jewels and cool stuff." He paused, eyes scanning over the island again. "Can we go up to the nest?" 

"You know very well your mum doesn't want you up there." You said. 

"But I bet we could see so much more of the island from up there!" Tubbo said. "And if I'm going to go get the treasure, I need to know what the island looks like!"

You couldn't help but smile at that, ruffling a hand through Tubbo's curls. "What's this about you going and getting the treasure now? Don't you think that's better left to your mum or Aunt Gemma, maybe?"

Tubbo puffed out his little chest. "I could do it! I lifted up a whole barrel of wheat the other day, and mum said I was getting really strong! Plus, I've been practicing with my wood sword, and I'm getting pretty good! I could probably kill at least three zombies."

The look of determination in his eyes reminded you so much of Puffy in that moment. You glanced behind you to see her and Gemma deep in conversation at the helm of the ship, but there was still that steely glint in Puffy's eyes now - she was no about to go down without a fight one way or another. It was admirable really - though there were a lot of things about Puffy that you found admirable. Her fierce loyalty, her drive, the way she cared so deeply and truly about her crew and her son - the list was long in your mind. It was sort of funny - in the beginning of your stay on this ship you had been listing all the things you disliked about her, and now it was things you admired. 

Crazy how the times changed. 

"I'm sure you could." You said to Tubbo, eyes drifting back to him from the helm. "You'll be quite the warrior one day."

Tubbo beamed at the compliment. "I want to be a leader like mum." He said. "I'll have my own pirate ship, and I'll be the captain and you can come be on my crew and we can go treasure hunting all the time."

You grinned down at him. "What if I want to stay on your mum's crew?"

Tubbo looked away from the island to pout at you. "No fair." He said. "I had you first - she didn't even like you until I told her how awesome you were."

You laughed at that, and the little pout on Tubbo's face. "I guess that's true." You said. 

"So you'll join my crew?" Tubbo asked again. 

"Sure, Tubs." You said, stroking his curls again as his eyes turned to the island again. Your own gaze went back to Puffy, who was still on the helm, fists clutched around the wooden wheel. Her eyes caught yours, and you smiled, heart fluttering as she smiled back. It had taken to doing that lately - when Puffy would smile at you, or bump against you in that rough friendly sort of companionship she had - you would always get a rush of feeling. 

You just chalked it up to finally being part of the crew for real. 

You leaned against the railing, keeping on hand on Tubbo so that he didn't tip over the front of the ship. In the distance behind the ship, you could see the blue and cyan flag of the navy ship fluttering in the wind, closer than they had been this morning. 

Dread settled in your stomach as you looked back to Puffy. She would get you to the island before they caught up. She would.