Prince of Shells

2. A Bottle o' Rum

Seonghwa peeked into the kitchen, testing the waters first. As expected, Mingi was alone. The dark-haired man was seated at the little table Yunho usually prepared his ingredients on, his face buried in his hands. He looked small like this, his big shoulders sunken in to the point of him resembling a helpless boy.

Gently, Seonghwa rapped his knuckles against the rough wood of the doorframe, making Mingi turn to him with blood-shot eyes. For a long pregnant second, they stared at each other wordlessly. Then Seonghwa lifted his fist to wiggle the bottle in his hand invitingly. The liquor inside swapped against the brownish and dusty glass. Seonghwa thought it quite fitting to their general color. Brown seemed to be their thing.

"I got it from Joong's secret stash. Wanna be three sheets into the wind?" Seonghwa tried his best smile, stepping in slowly. He approached Mingi with deliberate movements, not wanting to startle the man now. Mingi merely turned his face away then, not minding Seonghwa any longer.

That was a win too.

Seonghwa went and sat down next to their resident pacifist, unstopping the bottle with a forceful jerk of his hand. He sniffed at the strong rum first, feeling his senses get clouded with the fruity alcohol inside before he offered the bottle to Mingi. The man took it without looking up, taking a big gulp. With a satisfied groan, he swallowed it all down. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before handing the bottle back, finally taking his hands down.

With a triumphant smirk, Seonghwa took the bottle back, sharing it.

"Ye be such a precious gem. Ye make a jolly quartermaster," Mingi mumbled with his deep voice scratchy from the alcohol. Seonghwa responded with a thoughtful hum.

"I would call it being a good friend. Why did you come running like that? You knew we were not finished yet." He did not mean to sound reprimanding but Mingi's scoff told him that try was in vain. Again, they passed the bottle between them, Seonghwa already feeling the warmth of the drink settle in his limbs, buttering him up.

"Aye, I been aware. But I found a bottle with a treasure map inside while ye was busy. I wanted to take it to Cap'n as soon as possible."

That piqued Seonghwa's interest. He had been part of this crew for two months now, fighting with them and earning his name to be worth getting hunted. Hongjoong was an expert in teaching him how to be a man the public feared and a bad enough influence that Seonghwa went with it all too willingly. However, in those two months, there had been fights and raids, soldiers and pirates who needed a beating. All this time, they had not once gone treasure hunting though. Saying Seonghwa was curious was an understatement.

"What did he say? Will we go for it?"

Mingi gave a throaty chuckle at that, taking another sip.

"What kind o' pirate doesn't go after treasure when 'e sees some? Be ready fer yer first treasure 'unt, Princess Swab. I bet Hongjoong will show ye off again."

Seonghwa cheerfully patted the man's shoulder, sinking into a peaceful silence. He would go ask Hongjoong about the hunt later and conceal his excitement for now. After all, he came here to spend some time with Mingi. So he did exactly that, sitting with him on that bench while the ship gently swayed them up and down. Seonghwa had grown accustomed to it by now, his body usually moving with the waves without him even noticing.

By the time they had finished the bottle, Mingi was pleasantly intoxicated and asleep on the table. Seonghwa wished him gore-free dreams and then left him for Yunho to deal with. With staggering steps, Seonghwa crossed the deck to go back to Hongjoong. He had drunken much less than Mingi but he also could hold his liquor not as well. He was still warming up to that.