Porcelain Waters

His Keeper

"Thanks Bepo!" You cheer appreciatively and take the resized jumper from white paws. "Glad it was a quick fix. I didn't wanna be walking around in that oversized suit for much longer."

"It was easy. Captain says I'm pretty good with a needle and thread. I guess detailed work just suits me."

"Well, you're our navigator. I'm not surprised that you would take to busy work like that so naturally."

Bepo glowed from your praise and scratched his cheek nervously. "Oh well when you put it that way, I guess it makes sense." He sat in the helmsman's seat and frowned vaguely at the suit. "Just in case though, you better try it on and make sure it fits."

"In...here?"

"Well, only if you want-" Bepo stopped himself and blinked. "Wait no! Someone could walk in and see! And then I'll get in trouble and Penguin and Shachi will pick on me."

You chuckled. "I'm just teasing. I wouldn't change in front of a boy anyway. Well, at least not one I just met. Too many perverts."

"Not me. I only like girl bears." Bepo stared at you rather blankly.

A little surprising, but now that you gave it some consideration, that made sense. Maybe Minks only found interest in each other, although far be it for you to assume. "Hmm well in that case, would you stand guard at the door while I change? Then you can see right away if any touch ups are needed."

"Here?! I-I mean, I guess so." Letting out a little sigh, Bepo stood and stepped over to the bridge door. He kept himself facing it, peering out the little door window to make sure no one was coming and to give you a little privacy. "Just don't take long. If Captain comes back, he won't be happy being made to wait outside."

'Hmm...the captain, huh?' You mulled over your thoughts while undoing the buttons on the oversized jumper. "Bepo, tell me about Law. What's he like?"

"The captain? He's uh..." Bepo hummed and rubbed his chin pensively. "Captain is pretty stern and he keeps to himself a lot. He doesn't like to talk about his problems much at all- Well, none of us do, I think."

"Sounds like he's a bit of a hard ass."

Bepo shook his head wildly. "No, not at all! ...Maybe a little, but he means well." There is the mild shuffle of boots against the metal flooring while the Mink searches for the words fitting his dearest friend. "You know though, something I'm sure of is that Law is kind. He cares about us and he listens- he listened to me when no one else would, so I think he's a good guy."

'He's kind. Even with eyes like that?' You felt skeptical about it, especially after the way he'd already barely tolerated your intrusion (though maybe his reaction was fair). "Have you guys known each other for a long time? Maybe he seems kind because you guys are friends-"

"It's not like that!" Bepo blurts out and almost turns on his heel because the young Mink just cannot fathom how someone would doubt his captain like that. And, as usual, he bows his head meagerly knowing how abrupt and out of line he'd spoken when he catches the look on your face in the reflection of the glass. "Sorry..."

You sigh, your look of surprise melting to something empathetic. "You can tell me. I'm listening."

White paws fumble against his belly, a little timid. "Captain is slow to warm up, but he already cares about you. Even if he says otherwise, I can tell." Bepo shrugged and his voice stayed quiet. "If he didn't, he would've taken you back to your island. Your dream means a lot to him cause that's his dream too. We all want to know what freedom is like, that's why we became pirates."

"And you to find your brother as well, right?"

"Right!" Bepo turned, excitement filling sparkling black eyes. He flinched and immediately made to apologize as he realized he invaded your privacy, but found you already fully clothed and greeting him with a bright smile. "Oh it fits."

You held your arms out to either side and swayed on your feet, showing off the sides before doing a small spin. "Perfectly too. You did really well, Bepo. You'll have to help me better my own sewing so I can start helping out with stuff like this."

"Yeah, I can do that."

With the small dappling of silence that fell over the both of you, you found yourself tentatively looking to sate your curiosity further. "So...if I were looking to get closer to Law, how would I go about it?"

Bepo tilted his head. "Closer? Do you like Captain?"

"Hah whether I do or not, you think I would tell you?" You teased and squinted, holding your hands up to wiggle your fingers at him.

"O-Oh sorry..."

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" Sighing again at him, you could only imagine how you were going to have to be careful with your taunting until he grew to understand you better. "I just want to know what's going on in his head. He's my captain, sure, but I want to be his friend, you know? I wanna know the things he likes."

Black eyes lit up with intrigue. "Captain loves Sora, Warrior of the Sea! He always stops to look for comic books when we land on populated islands."

A shared laugh filled the space between you, your eyes lit up just as bright. "Is Captain from the North Blue too? It wouldn't be too much of a surprise if he is; all the kids in the North love those comics."

"Oh, you too? Captain really loved Sora, you could talk to him about it maybe."

You clasped your hands behind you in embarrassment. "Actually, I liked Germa 66 the best. I thought they were fun and their outfits were cool." Shoulders lifted and fell briefly with a shrug. "First Germa 66, now pirates. Maybe I just have a thing for the bad guys, huh?"

"We're not bad guys." Bepo frowned and it made you chuckle.

"Penguin said the same thing. Something about you not attacking towns and burning down villages. Kinda makes me wonder why you guys did become pirates. Can't you just travel the world without being notorious?"

Bepo's head was shaking in disagreement before you even finished your question. "Captain hates the Marines. He would never agree to their terms unless he had to. Even then, he'd be reluctant; he'll always hate them."

You hummed. "Captain seems to have a problem with authority, huh? How come?"

The silence that pervaded the conversation suddenly tilted it into an awkward setting, making you frown and Bepo bow his head. "I can't tell you." He mumbled. "Sorry..."

Even with his apology, you could tell he was serious. Far serious than usual and even more reluctant to speak further. From what you could tell, the four boys were exceptionally close with one another but more than the other two, Bepo seemed to be Law's keeper. Far be it for the Mink, so loyal and devoted to his captain and friend, to speak on things he had no right giving volume to.

You remembered a time when you and Isha were younger; a time when the two of you would squirrel yourselves away in little secret nooks the both of you had found and confided in one another. You would talk about things big and small, you'd gossip to him about the other annoying kids and he'd roll his eyes, maybe snicker and add his own thoughts to it all. But overall, more than anything, the two of you would discuss that which you held closest to your hearts: your dreams, your fears, things that seemed so out of reach to two little kids at the time, but now were things laid at the end of the long road ahead of you. The first steps were taken, the rest was just a matter of time.

"Don't be sorry." You shook your head and smiled. "I'll just have to learn that on my own. Mm should we go have something to snack on before we arrive at Wylenna?"

"Mhm! I'll make us something good."