꧁𝙴𝚅𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚄𝙰𝙻𝙻𝚈☆ - AN AUL FIC (REWRITE)

TWO || BEGINNINGS

AN: This chapter's really long, lol. Dare I say it's worth it? I'll let you decide that for yourselves. Good luck and thanks for reading!

Word Count: 4591

THIRD PERSON CAPTAIN POV

As Captain woke slowly from his deep slumber, the memory of the last four days made him almost want to go back to sleep.

It was all fine now, Captain reminded himself, as he yawned widely and clicked off his alarm. They were at the Mira HQ! They were safe here! That parasite had been nothing but a pre-mission nightmare. Really, if he thought about it, the first day was today, and first days had a way of being interesting.

"Rise and shine, Mr. Cheese!" Captain called. "It's time for another busy, busy day!"

Mr. Cheese, his assigned roommate, simply rolled over in bed and kept snoring. When Captain nudged him for the second time, he heard a muffled, "I don't wanna!"

"Well, you gotta!" Captain said. "If you don't mind, I'll be using the shower first. You can sleep until then."

Captain took off to the bathroom when Mr. Cheese grumbled an agreement. He didn't usually take too long in getting ready, but that day he spent much longer than necessary in brushing his hair, which was unusual for him. All that stuff about first impressions his dad had rambled on about in Captain's childhood had had an effect, he supposed.

Before getting on with his day, Captain took a good, long look at his reflection in the mirror. That guy looked a bit disappointed with what he saw, insecure, maybe not someone you'd rely on.

Captain sighed and tried for his signature smile. Instantly the image changed. This was a leader! He was confident! He was your good buddy!

"There you go, handsome!" he said to his reflection, beaming. "Stay cool, stay upbeat. This impostor thing—" his smile wavered a bit before he corrected it again— "was not your fault! You couldn't have prepared for it! You gotta go out there and take the world by storm!"

He stood in the mirror for a little longer, straightening his cap. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if others liked what they saw, then blushed as he squashed down the thought. Like he wanted anyone to look at him that way.

Well...

"Captain!" came Mr. Cheese's cry, making him jump. "What's taking so long? You know the Gentleman will yell at me if I'm late!"

He'll yell at you, either way, Captain almost said, then stopped. It wasn't any of his business how the Gentleman treated his... associates.

"Good talk," he said to his reflection, quieter now. "Let's get to work!"

"I'm ready!" he said, as he flung open the bathroom door. Mr. Cheese tumbled in as if he'd been leaning on the door.

"Morning," he told Captain brightly. Then he shut the door behind him. Not that Captain could blame him. He had taken longer than he should have that morning,

"Should I wait for you?" Captain asked as he heard the shower being turned on. "I think I should get an early start on the day."

Mr. Cheese's muffled voice was a little anxious, but cheerful nonetheless. "Go ahead, Captain. I'll catch up."

With a final glance at the table mirror on his desk, Captain stepped out of his room, pleased to see that nobody was up yet. He'd planned to wake up an hour before the rest, so he had enough time to assign tasks, but the delay meant he only had half an hour before the crew was up and ready.