Archive of Our Own ^beta

The Riptide Pirates were, in every sense of the word, scrambling.

Queen was using their magic to heal Earl the best they could after the blast that had knocked him off the ship. Alphonse was setting his course, following the Navy ship that ambushed them so they could get Gryffon back. Chip was doing his best to fix the damage done to the ship while also trying to calm down the wizard that he accidentally took prisoner. Drey was doing damage control with Jay in the barracks, trying to reassure her. Even through the multiple layers of wood, Gillion could hear her angry shouting and ugly sobs, and even the sound of shattering wood at one point.

Marshal John and Lizzie were both helping Chip, but the captain of the Crescent Moon flinched at every audible noise that came from below. Gillion figured there was something going on that would need to be discussed later.

Gillion was unsure what that left him to do. He knew himself well enough to not attempt to fix the ship, as he would only make things worse. The Ferins were handling a family matter, one that Gillion wasn’t sure Jay would want him to be involved with just yet. Queen needed no help, as they were almost finished patching the old man up, and Gillion knew next to nothing about how to navigate a ship.

He leaned against a still intact piece of the railing bitterly. He hated feeling useless.

“Mind if I join you?” a smooth voice asked from behind him.

Gillion instantly felt lighter. It was Caspian.

“Of course. Why would I ever hang out with you?”

He turned to him with a cheesy, proud grin, and Caspian chuckled. Gillion had told him all about the lessons he had been receiving in how to be sarcastic during some of their calls.

“You’ve been getting much better at that,” Caspian said, thoroughly entertained.

Then, without warning, Gillion lunged, wrapping his arms tightly around Caspian’s neck. He was nearly toppled, stumbling backwards to accommodate for Gillion’s unexpected weight. Then he laughed, a sound as stunning as the rest of him.

“It’s good to see you again,” the triton muttered softly into his shoulder.

He smiled fondly, one hand settling on Gillion’s back and the other moving to run slowly through his tangled, singed hair. “It’s good to see you, too.”

After a moment of embracing each other’s presence, Caspian continued. “Would you like to come over with me to my ship? We could get some drinks and catch up.” He added quickly with a devious whisper, “Also, I am supposed to be manning the helm right now, and there’s no one else on the ship, so we should probably move fast before it crashes into a rock or something.”

Gillion laughed loudly. “Of course! I’d love to! But, um, Caspian?”

“Yes, Gillion?”

“I don’t think I can move. I am in extreme pain.”

His joints were stiff and he had suffered multiple third degree burns that he no longer had the magic to heal. His entire body had been screaming at him since the moment he moved to hug Caspian. All he could think, though, was, worth it.

“Oh, dear— yes,” Caspian scooped him up with ease. Caspian typically wasn’t the strongest person, but without his armor Gillion was quite light. “Let’s get you fixed up.”

Gillion grinned again as he was carried towards the Crescent Moon, even as the pain started to increase to a dizzying level. Fucking worth it.

— — —

Caspian handed Gillion a bottle of whiskey, and the two of them shimmied off what was left of his undershirt so Caspian could start tending to the wounds. The Riptide Captain took a long swig.

“So what’s been going on, man? What’s been happening with the Grandberry Pirates?”

Caspian’s brows furrowed as he concentrated his magic on the worst of the burns. “Well, I got quite worried when you stopped calling, so I convinced Lizzie and John to seek out the Albatross again and make sure you all were alright. Eventually, one of our navy informants let us know that they were planning to ambush you near Canella.”

Gillion had looked away guiltily before he finished his first sentence. “I’m sorry, my conch shell, um… broke.”

Caspian finished and Gillion leaned up again, able to move with less restraint. He smiled with more ease now and offered the bottle to the other, who took it and drank eagerly. “Thank you,” he said simply.

“Any time, my friend,” Caspian replied after he finished his swig. He then glanced him up and down, taking note of the new clothes, but mostly the dozens of new scars he had acquired since they last met. “I can see you’ve been through a lot.”

The bottle was passed back, and Gillion nodded before drinking. “Yeah, there’s so many things I need to tell you about. I don’t even know where to start!”

“How about with how you got that,” Caspian said, gesturing to his most prominent scar— the three claw marks across his chest.

“Oh. My gods. Caspian, it was the craziest shit, you won’t believe it—“

They spent the next hour or so regaling Gillion’s last few months; the attack at Allport, nearly destroying the city and killing a Navy Admiral, his curse and how it nearly killed him, meeting Jay’s mom, dropping Ollie off at Zero, and claiming the island of Canella. Caspian listened intently, occasionally verbalizing his reactions or asking questions, but letting Gillion have the floor for the most part. By the end of it all, the bottle that they continued to share was nearly empty, and they both swayed with the rock of the boat a bit more than usual.

“I still can’t believe you,” Caspian paused to hiccup before continuing, “you made Canella outlaw territory! No one’s done that in years! It’s amazing.”

Gillion laughed. “Yeah, and it really pissed off the Navy.” He stopped to ponder for a moment. “I was actually a little confused by that. Jay’s dad knew about us placing Canella under our protection, but we only did that a couple of days ago. I have no idea how they found out.”

“Well, there’s a lot of people on that island, surely one or two didn’t agree and left to blab about it all.”

“Yes, I suppose so. It makes me a bit worried, though.”

“Don’t be, Gillion!” Caspian said triumphantly, slinging an arm around his shoulder. “You’ve killed one navy admiral, you’ve scared off another, and you’ve taken what was once navy territory as your own! People are gonna start seeing the things you’re doing and realize that a revolution is possible! And one day, we’re going to sail these seas together and not have to fear our crew being arrested or worry about taking down our flags.”

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe he just wanted to believe it, but Caspian spoke so surely that Gillion couldn’t find any other arguments. It would be possible, and that was the whole truth. He leaned in a little more to Caspian’s side. “Won’t lawlessness cause other issues, though?”

“Oh, of course,” he said casually, “there will be plenty of people who try to use the power vacuum made by the destruction of the Navy as an opportunity to get ahead, and plenty of other people who won’t follow the Pirate Code and use their freedom to inflict pain on others. But you know what?”

“What?”

“We’ll be there to knock ‘em down a peg.”

Gillion laughed, full bodied and warm. “Yes we will.”

Caspian’s free hand set the bottle back on the deck, choosing now to trace lightly over the fractals that covered most of Gillion’s arms. “How’d you get these? They’re new.”

He looked down to confirm which scar he was looking at, then nodded. “This one I remember telling you about. It was when we were on our way to Noctis and I got struck by lightning.”

“Oh, right. You did do that.” He laughed lazily, “That was a while ago, wasn’t it? Man, it’s been a long time since we saw each other in person.”

“Yes, it has,” Gillion said. Then, after a moment, he added, “I’m glad you’re here.”

It was silent, and after a bit too long for his liking Gillion glanced over. Caspian was leaned against his shoulder, eyes shut and breathing steadily. Gillion chuckled, remembering now just how easily whiskey could knock him out. He grabbed the bottle and downed the last of it before he settled in, resigned to his fate of falling asleep on the deck. There were certainly fates much worse, though. Gillion laid down, being careful to not move Caspian too quickly, into a position that he hoped would be comfortable for the both of them.

There was still a lot to be done, but all the stress and worries of tomorrow could wait. For now, Gillion was just happy he could talk to his friend again.