"So that's what you wanted to think about," he said softly, his voice still slightly hoarse from the past hour or so. His hand slowly moved from her bare shoulders up to her hair, running his fingers gently though it again. "Must say, I prefer your train of thought over mine."
She grinned and looked up at him, head tilting back just a bit to do so. Her eyes fluttered as he played with her hair once again, though she managed to keep them open partially. "Oh? And what did you want to think about?" she asked, voice a soft murmur as she absentmindedly ran her fingers up and down one of his arms.
"I don't remember," Anthony confessed, giving her a small smile. "My memory has been a bit distorted after the previous events."
He lowered his head when she looked up again and planted a kiss on her lips. He hadn't expected her to go so far as to actually sleep with him, seeing that she was flustered by simple compliments only yesterday.
If she was honest with herself, even Rosia hadn't expected to go this far with Anthony. But there was a certain hidden connection between then that compelled her to seek him out when she desired company—even if she didn't think she wanted any—or to lie next to him. The compliments and everything else might still fluster her, but it was the trust she had in the man next to her that drove her recent actions. Trust, and perhaps something more.
She returned his kiss with a soft smile, one hand coming up to cup his cheek as she did so. "A shame," she whispered after breaking it, though she didn't pull too far away.
"Eh? Not really," he responded with a shrug. "It could not have been that important. Otherwise I would have remembered."
He honestly couldn't have been happier. Never in his life would he have expected to find love on a pirate ship. Or be a pirate. Or even be on a ship. His life had flipped on its head when he was younger, leaving his distraught and consumed with fear. But now, with this woman, he was happy again. Everything happens for a reason, he thought, pulling Rosia closer to him. If it was even possible.
She rolled over so she was facing him, smiling to herself when he pulled her closer, even though they were probably as close as they could get. She knew that this prince of hers was the only one she'd allow to hold her like this, to see her more vulnerable side. Her palms lightly pressed against his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath her fingertips.
"You know, I think I am just gonna come out and say it," he said, making eye contact with Rosia and holding it. His heart rate rose once again as he hesitated.
What if it's too soon? that insecure part of his brain told him. You could mess up the best thing in your life.
Well, we just had sex, he responded, quieting those fears. Fairly certain that a better time doesn't really exist
"I love you," he finally said. "Maybe it's a bit soon, maybe I am on a high after what we just did, but it is true. True for a while, actually."
She opened her mouth, but to say what? She didn't know what she wanted to say, or how she felt. This was the hard part—emotions. She could interact with Anthony, cuddle with him or even sleep with him without worrying about how she felt besides how happy she was when she was around him. She had never experienced love before, but perhaps this happiness was a side effect?
Her brows furrowed in confusion of her own train of thought, but she made herself relax some as she slid a hand up to wrap it around his neck, pulling him closer so she could kiss him. "I–" she whispered, fingers messing with the hair around the back of his neck, "I think I might love you too," she finally got out.
"I have a feeling that is the best I am going to get," he said, a smile growing on his lips.
He understood her problems with her emotions. A life of piracy doesn't really teach you how to properly show a wide range of emotions or show them effectively. The fact that she even thinks that she does made him so happy it was hard to breathe.
She playfully scowled at him and lightly tugged at his hair before burying her fingers in it, keeping his head down by hers as she pressed her lips to his again. "For now," she murmured against his lips. She had a little thought in the back of her mind that she would most definitely know how she felt in the future, so she decided to trust that thought.
"I will take what I can get," he said, returning the kiss for as long as he could manage.
Knock knock knock.
"Ay!" White shouted into the door. "Ye two in dere?"
Anthony let out a loud groan of frustration, confirming White's question.
"Capt'n got invited to a captain's meetin' with a few other ships. He wanted you two to come with him. Yer leavin' in 6 minutes," White continued, then walked away.
"Fucking bastard," Anthony growled grumpily, a frown replacing his happy smile.
Rosia clicked her tongue and released his hair to grab his cheeks, lightly squeezing. "Easy tiger. Work is still a thing." She was also miffed about the call of work, but she was more amused by Anthony's reaction to White's interruption. She let go of his cheeks to tap his nose, then rolled over so she could work up the motivation to get off of the bed.
He slowly sat up with a groan when she rolled away, scratching the top of his head and looking down at the floor.
"Do you mind throwing my pants over?" he asked, gesturing over to the pair of linen draws.
She reached over the side of the bed, fingers outstretched in search of the article of clothing. It took a few tries, and she ended up half hanging off the side of the bed, but she eventually grabbed it and tossed it over to him. She gathered up a blanket and wrapped it around her body before getting off the bed and walking over to her drawer of clothing, bare feet padding silently over the wooden floor.
He slid his pants on under the covers, then threw the other blankets still on the bed off of him. Then he sscooted over the the edge of the bed and got to his feet, groaning slightly.
"Damn these knees," he grumbled, bending over and picking his shirt up off the ground. "Probably wasn't the best thing to do when I am supposed to be resting."
"You sound like an old man," she said over her shoulder, searching through her wardrobe for a decent outfit for a captains' meeting. "And no, it probably wasn't. Yet here we are, you doing what you're not supposed to do." She hummed when she found something, pulling out an outfit she thought was decent enough for the meeting.
"Know anyone that has anything nicer than this for me to wear?" he asked, pulling his shirt over his head and adjusting his collar. "I feel like this might be a bit inadequate."
"Ty," she said, pulling on the clothes first before the shoes. Those would need some time and attention, what with all the straps going up her legs. "He's got a pretty good stash of clothes, some purely to lend to others because they don't fit him."
"Eh, I doubt I would be able to get down there, pick out an outfit, and change in 5 minutes." He had taken the time to take out his earring before they had began, so he searched of the floor for it. A ray of light flashed against it, and he made a little "Aha!" sound as he picked it up and put it into his ear again.
"You and Parris will have enough style between you two to cover for me," he said, turning to her and raising an eyebrow. "How do you even find boots like that?"
(He's wearing the outfit on the left)
She sat down on the floor, pulled up both boots, then began the process of buckling all of the straps. "I know of a tailor that was easily persuaded to keep silent in exchange for pricey business with me. She got these shipped in from out of the country and saved them for me."
He sat down on the bed again to button up his shirt, glancing around at the small room with a frown. "Where did I put my vest…..?"
Anthony caught glimpse of the clue coloring on her bed, so when he finished buttoning his shirt he walked over and fished it out of the sea of blankets on her bed.
"Do they typically take weapons to these pirate meetings?" he asked, picking up the necklace from the far left corner of the room and slipped it on.
She finished strapping one leg and swapped her attention to the other. Her calloused fingers were slightly sore from working with all of the straps and buckles, but she barely paid it any mind. "Pirates might pride themselves in honoring some sort of code, but when it comes down to honor, they have none. Bring a weapon, or you just might find yourself down on the ground with a blade sticking out of your back. These things can turn nasty in just a second." She finished with the smaller number of straps and frowned, sitting back and using her hands to hold her up from behind. "Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure about 80% of pirates aren't mentally sound."
"Knives it is," he said with a nod, sitting down on the bed again to pull his boots on.
It was a painful process, since his knees were hurting and his entire body felt sore, but it was done in barely a minute
"Need any help with the straps?" Anthony asked, raising his eyebrow over at the shoes.
She hit her heels against the floor, almost child-like in the action. "I think I'm good." The one boot went further up her leg, thus containing more straps, while the other only went up to her knee. Both were fully strapped, though there were some loops in the straps where hidden weapons could go.