I Am The Sea || Choi San

attack

San is in Theo's cabin, sitting on her bed.
Theo is kneeling in front of him, dunking a clean wash cloth into a bowl filled with milky white water. It smells of herbs and honey.
She carefully wrings out the excess water before dabbing the cloth onto the cut on San's cheek.
San winces but Theo places a gentle hand on his chin to keep his face straight.
"Steady," she says quietly, "I need to clean this before it gets infected."

San watches her work.
"You called the sirens," he says.
Theo smiles.
"I did," she says, "And they came."
"Who else did you call for?"
Theo meets San's eyes and cocks her head.
"You'll see," she answers, "Let me take care of you first, and then I'll explain it all."

She puts the used cloth away and takes a new one, wetting it thoroughly. Then she raises it to his chest and starts wiping away at the scratches. She carefully picks out small splinters. The cloth starts turning pinkish and dirty.
"I hate him for hurting you like this," Theo whispers.
"I've had worse," San touches his head to Theo's, carefully joining their foreheads together, "I've been impaled before, you know? I almost died."

Theo rolls her eyes, but the light tone of San's voice drives a smile to her lips.
As Theo continues to clean out San's wounds, he raises a hand to her hair and takes a strand of it between his fingers.
Theo starts turning fresh herbs into a paste with the stone mortar and applies it to the chest wounds, before carefully putting bandages over them.
Then finally, she takes out a cream from one of her shelves and sits on the bed next to San. He pulls her legs over his lap and leans back against the wall as Theo nestles closer.

"This might sting a little," she says as she dips her finger into the ointment, "But I have to do this."
She applies the cream onto the cut on his cheek. It does sting, and San takes a sharp breath, squeezing his eyes shut for a second.
"I'm sorry," Theo bends forward and places a small kiss on his lips, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
A kiss on his chin follows, then one on the tip of his nose. Then one on his forehead. Lastly one on his bare shoulder.

San pulls Theo even closer and she wraps her arms around him, careful not to hurt him.
He rests his cheek against the top of her head.
"Now, tell me about this brilliant plan of yours," he says.
Theo does.

She explains it all in detail, answering every question. The plan itself had only really taken shape during the siren attack on the Pirate King's ship. It was the perfect distraction. And it had worked, giving Theo the confidence to unmask the rest of her ideas to Captain Hongjoong and the crew.

The Captain was reluctant at first, but soon he had seen the brilliance and clarity of it all. It was simple. It was easy. If all went well, everything would be different by the end of the night. They had gotten to work right away.

"There is one last thing," Theo says then.
She takes a deep breath and takes his hand in hers, gently tracing the blue veins beneath his skin, encircling his wrist.
"Should it all go wrong," she starts, "I need you to stop me."
San tenses.
"What do you-..."
"You know what I mean," she interrupts him, "There's a chance I am endangering this entire crew. And it's not a small one. If this goes wrong and I can't control it anymore, I need you to stop me. Do anything it takes."

San stares into Theo's eyes for a long moment. The desperation in his eyes almost makes Theo want to take back her words, but she can't. He swallows thickly, slightly shaking his head.
"I'm not going to kill you," he says then, "How could you ask that of me?"
"I'm not asking you to kill me, San," Theo places a hand onto his cheek, "I would never ask that of you. But you're my anchor. If I lose control, you'll be the one to hold me back from unraveling. You'll be the one grounding me."
"I'm your anchor?"
Theo nods and smiles up at him, almost sheepishly.