A Captain's Deal (BillDip)

Chapter 6

I dash up to the door of the navigation room and swing it open. Will is hunched over a map, his brow furrowed in concentration. I grin mischievously. "Hey, Blueberry."  Will looked up from the maps, a playful glint in his eye. "Oh, not this again, Dip," he groaned, shaking his head exasperation. "Can't you come up with something new?"

I plopped down beside him, chuckling. "Nah, this one's too cute," I replied, nudging him with my elbow. He rolls his eyes and pushes me away.

We continue messing with each other for a few minutes, then spend the next few hours poring over the maps, discussing different options and debating the pros and cons of each location. Will has so much knowledge of navigation and I hope my perspective helps some. 

We are both leaning over the map sitting on a wooden bench, tracing our route with our fingers and continue our playful banter, I notice a subtle shift in Will's demeanor as we decide on a town they previously visited. Will's usual easygoing attitude seems to falter slightly, his expression growing tense as he avoids meeting my gaze. I furrow my brows and bite my lip. 'Is Will okay? Is it the town?'

I look at Will for a few seconds, then sigh. "Hey, is everything okay?" I ask, concern clear in my voice as I sense his discomfort.

Will hesitates for a moment, his gaze flickering to the map before he finally meets my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine," he replies, forcing a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. I frown. 'What is he hiding? Something is clearly off with him.' 

From what I know about Will, he is very open with his emotions, and right now, he is really trying to cover up being upset.

Before I can press him further, Bill walks in. "Well, well, what do we have here?" he says this as he walks in. Will and I just look at each other with furrowed brows. I can't help but chuckle. 'Bill is way too playful to be a pirate captain.'

Bill then walks over and wraps his arms around me and leans down into my ear. "Hey, baby," he whispers in a very deep voice. My face flushes a deep red. "H-Hey, Bill," I stamper out . 

Bill chuckles then leans back up. He moves his hands up to my shoulders and chills run down my spine. Bill looks at Will.  "What location did y'all decide on?" 

Will hesitates for a moment, which throws us off, before speaking up. "We were thinking we could revisit that hidden town we stumbled upon a few years ago," he said, his voice shaking with uncertainty.

Bill frowns then exchanged a glance with...... Tad?! 'When the heck did he get here?' Tad stands by the door with a cup of tea in hand. "Are you sure about that, Will?" Tad chimed in, his tone gentle yet cautious. "You know how... attached their ruler was to you." I look between all of them confused. The leader was attached? What do they mean by that? If Will is going to be upset, I don't want us to go there. I frown, "What do you mean by attached?" 

Will looks at me and presses his lips together, and Tad clears his throat. "Well, let's just say the ruler of that town took a particular liking to Will," Tad takes a sip of his tea. 

Bill squeezes my shoulders. "Are you sure you are okay with this Will?"

Will frowns in though, but nods, his discomfort very clear on his face. "I'm sure. It's such a beautiful place, and Dip hasn't seen it. I want him to experience it."

We all stay there in silence. Before the tension could escalate, I decided to lighten the mood. "Ah, I see. So, Blueberry here had a secret admirer, huh?" I joked, nudging Will with my elbow.

"Pfft! Blueberry?!" Bill can't help but laugh at the nickname. Tad just chuckles and takes a sip of his tea. 

The tension in Will's body relaxes and he rolls his eyes. A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips. "Yeah, something like that," he replied playing along.