"The line between the two is incredibly hazy," he shot back, reaching out to adjust the ice once again. They were beginning to melt, making the rags that held them moist with cold water and drips of moisture were slowly trailing down his calves. He didn't want to disturb Fane, however, so he ignored it.
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"Shut up," she mumbled, then sighed and forced herself to push off of Anto's side and sit up straight. "Fine, princy—Anthony. I'll not be comfy so I don't fall asleep." She narrowed her eyes at him playfully, then glanced down at the towels. "I'll get replacements," she murmured, reaching out for the towels.
"Thank you, Rosia," he said leaning over and wiping the water from his legs. "I must say, I prefer that name much more than Fane."
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She actually curled her nose as she stood, wet towels in hand. "If you say so. It's far too girly for me, I think." She discarded the towels and grabbed the two extra that she had on hand, wrapping them around a few handfuls of ice.
"Well, obviously it would not have worked as a pirate name," he said, reaching out for the towels with both hands. "But if you had any other profession I feel like it would suited you perfectly."
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"Hm. You're just saying that." She handed him the towels and remained standing, resisting the urge to lay down and use Anthony as a pillow. She knew she'd end up sleeping if she did.
"I am not, actually," he said, returning the ice to its previous position. "Roses are beautiful, but will draw blood if you try to touch them. I feel as though that suits you perfectly."
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She opened her mouth, a very light pinkish tint to her cheeks, and shook her head and sat down on the bed. She didn't lean against Anthony this time, instead leaning her back against the wall and ducking her head. "Hm," she hummed, the only thing she could come up with.
"Aw, did I embarrass you?" he teased, reaching over and poking her side. "Big bad pirate cannot even take a compliment."
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"No," she hissed at him and batted his hand away, curling her legs up and resting her arms against her knees. "That's not true," she then mumbled.
"Oh?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. A small, somewhat mischievous smile crept onto his lips. "Then what has elicited such a response?"
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She scowled at him from beneath her curtain of hair, eyes narrowed. "I hate you," she mumbled. "Just so you know. I might like your face, but I hate you."
"I highly doubt that, considering you have put up with me for over three months now. Even I am not that attractive." His head tilted slightly, his smile growing.
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"I can put up with a lot of people I hate for extended periods of time," she said, still mumbling. She had lost. No matter what she said, the prince had won this little exchange. He had caught her off guard and now she remained unguarded.
Anto contemplated pressing on, but chose against it. His intention hadn't been to make her feel uncomfortable, so he felt a bit guilty about it. "Come here," he said softly, offering his arms out.
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She looked at him from the corner of her eye for a quick second, contemplating being difficult before sighing and letting go of her legs. She scooted closer to Anto without a word.
"I was not attempting to put you in a sour mood," he continued, wrapping her up in a hug and pulling her the rest of the way. "I thought it was just a bit of light teasing."
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"You didn't. I'm just…flustered." She closed her eyes and leaned into him as he wrapped her up into a hug. She lightly put a hand on one of his arms around her, briefly squeezing to let him know she was okay, that he hadn't done anything wrong.
"This really is your first serious relationship," he said, a surprised look on his face. "I thought you were just yanking my chain the whole time."
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She sighed and looked up at him. "I never had the time or desire to be in a relationship. I was fine on my own, and no one likes me so…" She shrugged. "I watched the entire crew practically in a frenzy to screw someone, and I knew I didn't want that."
"I was not saying it is a bad thing," he said, returning the smile. "It just became obvious at that moment. The logic behind it is sound, though. I doubt you'd get many loving and honest relationships from this crew."
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She snorted and unconsciously got even more settled against Anthony. She wasn't tired, not exactly. It was more like she was comfortable being next to him, being wrapped into his embrace. It was strange, but not exactly unwanted. She was trying to get used to it all.
"What would you do if I was found out?" he asked softly, looking down at her. "It someone figured out who I am and alerted my home country of my whereabouts?"
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She reached for his hand to intertwine her fingers through his, holding onto him with gentle firmness. "They'd have to pry me away from you before I let them take you away." She seemed to startle herself with that truth, so she covered it up by adding, "I know how important freedom is, mainly to you, especially when considering how you went to such lengths to get away from your old life."
Anto gave her a small smile, planting a kiss on the top of her head. As comforting as that sounded, he was still beyond scared of being discovered. Now that him and Fane were a well-known thing, he worried of people eavesdropping to catch a bit of tea and end up hearing the wrong thing.
"I'm scared of it, still," he mumbled into her hair, letting a bit of emotion slip into his voice.
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She lowered her eyes, hearing the emotion in his voice and letting the words he spoke sink in. She would've shifted to look up at him had he not been speaking against her hair. She settled with moving their intertwined hands close to her body. "You have every right to be," she murmured, unable to come up with a way to reassure him that it was going to be fine. Because the truth was, there was always that underlying fear imbedded within her about the very same thing. It was mostly because of the captain, but it was still there.
His mind began running through every conceivable thing that would happen if he got caught, each one worse than the last. It felt like a black hole of bad vibes was moving around in his head, sucking up all of the cheerful jokes and corny compliments he had planned on giving her. The fear threatened to consume him on the spot until one prevailing line pushed though: She will be with me for it no matter what. And that comforted him enough for the tears threatening to push through his eyes to pull back and for his breathing to pull back to a normal pace.
"Need be," he said, his voice slightly shaky still, "I can just hide behind you."
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"I'll let them meet my axes," she said, glancing up at him with a slight bit of worry when his silence had felt off. She didn't know what was going through his mind exactly, but she had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't anything good. She swallowed the hesitation as she shifted and sat up to cup his cheek and press a soft kiss to his lips. "You know I'd always be there for you, every step of the way, right? Even if I do complain every now and again."
"I do, actually," he said, giving her a small smile. "Although the reassurance is greatly appreciated. And if you did not complain, I'd be worried about your mental state."
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She couldn't help the soft snort that escaped at that last comment. "I'd be worried about my mental health as well." She slumped back down to curl up against Anthony's side, now quite comfortable with doing this with him. Kissing was still iffy, depending on how much she over-thought it, but this—cuddling—was pretty comforting and nice.
