He's a Pirate - ATEEZ Reader-Inserts

Kissed by the Sea - Mingi

The thrashing waves and murky water that surrounded us made it all the more apparent that the storm wasn't going to let up any time soon. The violent sea was making it harder to keep the limp body of the boy in my arms above the surface.

l have to get him to the cove. I have to get him to land.

After fighting the ocean to get through the small entrance of the secluded bay, I managed to get his lifeless body to the flat rocks surrounding the calm inlet of water. Humans are a mystery to me, but I'm hoping some of this comes as instinct. I pulled myself as close to him as I could without leaving the water.

I grabbed his face, desperate to feel his breath against my cheek: nothing. My hand ran down to his neck to check for a pulse: nothing.

He doesn't feel dead. His body is warm and limp, not cold and stiff.

He looks too young to die.

I haven't exactly been trained in the art of saving drowning pirates. We stopped helping humans when they started killing us off. Kissing him before he drowned would've kept him safe from the water filling his lungs, but if it's already happened, does that mean it's too late?

I gently held his face and planted the softest kiss I could manage on his pale lips before immediately retreating back to the water. I stayed close enough to watch him for a brief moment as the silence of the cove rang through my ears, indicating the lack of life accompanying me.

As I was getting ready to sink back into the water to try and forget about today, the boy's face scrunched up and he winced at the small hints of sun shining through the clouds and trees above him. He gasped for air as his hands darted around the rock he was on, grappling for anything that could anchor him to reality. His breathing was ragged, he was choking on every breath that filled his lungs, but he was definitely alive.

After he coughed for what seemed like an eternity, he relaxed against the rock and took a few short, but clean breaths. The sky had cleared by now. The water was still. The sun was drying the land. He's awake.

I hadn't thought about this part.

My body refused to move, overwhelmed with the fear of what may become of me if he saw me. What was I thinking, bringing a man here? There's no doubt he's a pirate. He'll kill me, or worse. Even if I were to retreat under the surface, the water in the cove is crystal clear down to the shallow ocean floor. Even if he doesn't touch me, he'd know where to find me.

He sat up and allowed his feet to fall off the edge of the rock and into the water. He rubbed his head, and then his eyes, before his gaze traced along the surface, stopping when he saw me.

Suddenly I'm very grateful I've chosen to wear clothing.

Only my eyes and the top of my head were above the surface, but I'd never felt so vulnerable. He didn't move, and neither did I. By now I was struggling to control my own breathing as his eyes remained listlessly fixed on me. There was no obvious shock or fear on his face, simply the senseless remnants of his near-death experience.

I thought about darting away, about sinking below the surface, but even as the fear controlling my movements dwindled, I stayed.

Men, especially pirates, are so quick to cause harm. I've seen it before. Even when they're on the brink of death, they seem to have an eternal desire to kill or steal. Have I become so naive that I don't feel threatened?

Some of the pigment in his skin had started to return as blood and oxygen continued to restore his body. His eyes radiate kindness, despite being scrunched up and irritated from the saltwater. His lips aren't as bluish as they were when I kissed him back to life. The fluffy tufts of hair covering his head are drying to reveal a brilliant shade of ashy silver. The very nature of his existence radiates gentleness, like nothing he could ever do would cause harm.