Bound to the ship’s mast, Fin hung his head low. Blood streamed from his forehead after the abuse the navymen had inflicted on him. His breath was heavy, and his throat felt like it was about to burn.
If he were not forcefully propped up, he would have fallen unconscious on the ground long ago. But alas, he had to stay awake to live with his decision. His head swayed side to side as the recon boat had taken off from the public port.
Having captured their target, there was no need for the navy to wait for the battleships to arrive, instead opting to meet in the middle. Though the waters were calm now, it would only be a matter of time before his body would start jerking violently. He knew these waters all too well and dreaded the rest of the trip.
(“At least I was able to help her escape.”)
In the young pirate’s mind, he had done the best he could. If Maria wanted to continue being a pirate, then all he needed to do was help her secure that dream. There was no other way of escaping the island, especially not with the threat of an entire battalion arriving soon.
Of course, the option of staying longer was still on the table, but if the Velion Navy were to find the wreckage of their ships near the island, they would no doubt wait until the pirates would resurface again. Then, they wouldn’t be able to travel to the city, and would be stuck at the Yuzu Estate.
That was no way of living, especially not for pirates.
Bruised and bloodied, Fin smiled weakly, imagining Maria’s cheerful personality. Sighing in resignation, he whispered to himself, “At least… I was… able to… save you… this… time…”
He had finally protected her at least once. Deep down, he knew that even this was a selfish act from him. But if he were to have consulted Maria in his plan, then she wouldn’t have let him perform such an act.
She still had a dream to follow. Now that she discovered that he was fine, there was no reason for her to be tied down any longer. Upon finding her during their battle, his life goal had been fulfilled. But there was no reason for him to tie her down with his own desires. In the young captain’s mind, this was the best outcome.
But for some reason… he shed tears.
Was it because he made a mistake? Did he regret his decisions? Or perhaps, it was the fact that their final conversation had been an argument? His mind raced at incredible speeds, trying to comprehend his own emotions. But no matter how much he searched, the answer wouldn’t come.
Only when he opened his eyes did the truth reveal itself to him. Clattering his teeth, he watched the fading island in the distance. He was crying because despite his noble sacrifice, despite his desire to keep her safe, the result and conclusion led to one thing.
If he were to be taken away to prison, then he would never be able to see Maria again. Yes, she would be safe and would be able to live out her pirate dreams. But it still meant that he would never be able to see her face. Never see her smile, or touch her hand.
It was the end of their rivalry, but also their relationship.
His head dropped once again, as the tears slowly painted the wooden floorboards. No matter how much he sniffled, his nose refused to clear up, and with how loud the waves were, the navymen couldn’t hear his final moments of despair.
There was regret, and nothing but it. He should have stayed behind, they should have stayed on the island longer, hidden away at the estate. It wouldn’t be living, and it certainly wouldn’t mean freedom, but at least they would be together.
“I want to… see you…”
His heart felt like it had gained the weight of a hundred cannonballs. What once filled his mind with relief and assurance was now clouded with regret and self-hatred. He wanted to break free and go back, and yet, his bindings acted like the manifestation of his determination. The reason why he had asked Yuna to help with turning himself in was precisely because he was a hesitant man.
He knew this would happen, which is why he had to get help.
As his mind started to slip away into slumber, the final fog clouding his mind cleared up.
“Yeah… this was for the better…” he had come to terms with his own decisions, and was prepared to pay the price for his sacrifice, even if it meant never seeing the love of his life ever again.
“BETTER MY ASS!!!” a familiar voice shouted from above. Fin’s eyes snapped open, peering through the cracks in between his hair.
The ship shook violently as a mysterious silhouette crash-landed in front of him, before blitzing away to take down the two navymen who were standing near the steering of the ship. Despite being trained professionals, the silhouette took care of the navymen with such ease that there wasn’t even much of a fight.
After throwing them overboard, the smoke started to clear. In a blink of an eye, the ropes keeping him tied to the mast were undone. As his body fell, he felt a pair of slender arms stopping his fall. Then, grabbing his face, were the hands of one loud, boisterous, and hot-headed woman.
“YOU IDIOT!” she shouted. She seemed out of breath, and her legs trembled like she was about to collapse at any time. It was obvious, even to the barely conscious Fin, that she was at her wit’s end.
“You just can’t help yourself, can you?!”
“I yelled at you, got mad at you for being selfish, and what do you do next?”
“You go ahead and be selfish again!”
Upon lifting her head, Fin saw clearly the stream of tears pouring endlessly out of her eyes.
“I don’t understand you one bit! You keep doing things on your own without consulting me! How much longer do you want to make me suffer?”
“Do you know what I would have done if I woke up and found out you were gone?! Do you know what I would have done if I found out about what you did too late?”
“I would have scoured every single navy base for you! You idiot!”
“How can you say that to Yuna, and not me?!”
She slammed her fists against Fin’s chest, crying her heart out, her voice cracking with every other word.
“YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU!”
“SO WHY? WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THINGS TO HURT ME?!”
“I want to be with you as long as I can, I would have been happy staying behind and spending more time with you!”
“I was mad at you, so I said I was going to leave in the morning, but you didn’t have to go ahead and sacrifice yourself!”
“I’ll quit being a pirate! I’ll do whatever you want.”
“So whatever you do, please…”
“DON’T LEAVE ME AGAIN!!!”
“I can’t stand it. I can’t stand it. I can’t stand it.”
“I don’t want to be left behind searching for you again.”
“For ten years, I always wondered if I did something wrong, wondered if I did something to upset you to react that way.”
“I loved you so… so much… that I couldn’t bear each and every single day that passed by. I wanted to tell you about my day, I wanted to tell you how much I’ve progressed in my life.”
“I wanted you to tell me how proud you were!”
“Because the only person I ever cared for in this horrible, cruel world was you!”
“I had no parents to run to, no other friends to comfort me. I wanted you by my side for the rest of my life!”
“Why couldn’t you understand that?! Can’t you see, this is the absolute opposite of what I want!”
“You’re so, so, selfish!!!”
Only a few minutes ago, Fin didn’t even have the strength to keep himself awake. But for some reason, he was able to embrace Maria easily. He pulled her head down to his chest, brushing his fingers through the back of her head.
This wasn’t the first time they had embraced, but the last time, when they first washed ashore, his back had been facing her. This time, he was able to fully bring her in, holding her close.
For the longest time, he felt like he wasn’t worthy of embracing her. After all that he had done, it only felt appropriate that he didn’t get a reward. From his perspective, the biggest sin he had committed was leaving her behind, knowing full well that she would get hurt in the process. For ten years, he regretted his decision, but never made the choice to go back until he had discovered himself to the fullest.
And so he studied under the best magician in the world. He met various nobility and people of power. He went on a personal journey to discover his true self. The reason why he had left his hometown was not simply because he wanted to get stronger, but because he lacked an identity that was worthy of being around Maria.
He had become a pirate so he could meet people from various backgrounds and personalities, so that one day, he could be someone worthy to stand beside someone as strong as her.
So that one day, he could embrace her to the fullest.
As Maria wailed in tears under his embrace, everything Fin had been worrying about, everything he had been doubtful about, finally cleared up. She was right, his sacrifice was just a poor excuse to finally become someone useful to her. There were many alternatives he could have taken, and the regrets he had just before Maria rescued him were clear evidence of that.
He was so focused on making her happy that he never once considered that he himself would be the key to helping her achieve that.
“I am selfish,” he admitted with a depressed look.
“I hope you can forgive me for that.”
“But I promise you that I’ll do the absolute best I can to make you happy.”
“You were right. My journey was always going to end when I found you, but that doesn’t have to be the same for you.”
“I was wrong to think that I was being strong by letting you live my life. I’m sorry.”
“I was being selfish, and I don’t think any amount of apology can make up for my mistakes. I kept telling myself that I would make you happy, but all I ended up doing was leave you behind all over again.”
“From now on, I want to become a better person, someone worthy of standing by your side after all the sacrifices you’ve made.”
Maria pulled back, making eye contact with him. For the first time in a long time, Fin spoke with full emotion in his voice. The endless stream of tears coming from his eyes was enough to tell her that his feelings and words were genuine. After all, he wasn’t the kind to lie.
“Y-You mean that?!” she asked.
“You won’t leave me again?! Do you promise?!” There was still anxiety scattered across her tone. Her hands shook, clearly out of fear of losing him again.
She knew Fin was being honest, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to fully accept it. Words were things she had heard before, promises that were once made to her had been broken as well. At this point, even though she knew Fin told no lies, it was extremely hard for her to believe him completely.
Smiling, Fin replied, “I do.”
“B-But, how do I know?! It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that…” she tried to say that she didn’t trust him, but for some reason, the words refused to leave her lips. Was it because she knew it would be too cruel to say after his confession?
Snapping away from her thoughts, she felt her back be pushed forward by Fin’s left arm, and her face was drawn closer by his right. She wanted to pull away, as she was mentally and emotionally unprepared for such a leap in their relationship. But her heart and mind refused to budge. So instead, she closed her eyes.
Then…
Their lips met, sharing a passionate kiss that had been building up for ten years. With one act of physical contact, all the tension and stress within Maria steamed out, her body deflating. It was unclear who would be the first to pull away, as with each passing second, they tried to feel each other’s presence more closely.
Everything about each other, their breaths, their lips, their touch, it was all too charming for either of them to even attempt to pull away. With one act, they had multiplied their love for each other a thousandfold.
As if in sync, the two once rival pirates gently parted, slowly sliding their eyes back open. Their tears had completely stopped, as if the kiss they shared was the key to turning the lock on their leaking hearts.
Still brushing his hand on her hair, Fin stared at the love of his life with extreme passion. His breath was steady, but his heartbeat was anything but. If it were up to him, he would rather stay in this position for at least another few hours, kissing until they both passed out. The feeling, of course, was mutual for Maria as well.
“Maria…” he spoke softly, as if any volume would break the person in front of him.
“Yes?” replied Maria, her eyes locked onto Fin’s.
“I love you.” he was the first to finally say it. They were words he wanted to exclaim ever since he was a young boy, but now it felt like the perfect time to do so. After all, the man was supposed to take the initiative.
Maria’s already red face turned even redder. She averted her gaze shyly, “I love you too.”
Despite exclaiming it so loudly earlier, saying it in a romantic context felt far too embarrassing for her. It was definitely something she had to get used to.
“No, I love you way more.” said Fin, before leaning in for round two.
This kiss lasted twice as long, only stopping after the ship they were on rocked uncontrollably due to nobody steering it. As their bodies slammed against the side of the ship, they couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the absurdity of what they’d done.
“Hey, Maria.”
Upon hearing those words again, Maria’s body jolted, leaning forward for a third kiss. It was like she had already grown accustomed to his advances, or perhaps these were one of her daydreams come true.
However, the third kiss never came. When she opened her eyes, she saw Fin trying to hold back his laughter.
“Hey! What gives!” she blurted out with a pout.
Her words were the final nail in the coffin, as it sent Fin into an explosive laughing fit. He wheezed and clutched his stomach, as if it was the funniest thing that had ever occurred to him. Meanwhile, Maria stared with a heavy blush on her face.
As he slowed down his laughter, he said, “No, it’s just, I’ll give you a kiss again later.”
“I just had a question for you.”
Maria nodded.
“What do you want to do now? Do you still want to be a pirate?”
“Um…” there was hesitation and uncertainty in her voice, “I do… but…”
A familiar roar bellowed in the distance. It was an all-too-familiar sound that both pirates had grown used to.
Turning their heads toward the front of the ship, they saw the silhouettes of five navy vessels closing in. From the captains’ estimate, it would only be a matter of minutes before they were caught. They could turn their ship now, but the scout vessel wouldn’t be fast enough to outrun the armada.
Grunting, Fin stood up, gathering every bit of strength in his body, the kiss rejuvenating strength he didn’t know he had. As his shoes tapped against the wooden floorboards and his legs limped, Maria stayed still on the ground.
“What are you doing?!” she asked worryingly.
After taking a breath of fresh air, he bent down and grabbed one of the navymen’s pistols that had flown off when Maria had fought them. It was a single-shot weapon, which, to Fin, was more than enough.
He could have absolutely borrowed Maria’s, but he didn’t want to destroy her most precious treasure with what came next.
“You gave me the offer to join your crew, right?”
Turning with a smile, he happily stated, “Well, I have to protect my captain now.”
“Let me help!” Maria tried to stand up, but was immediately humbled by her sleeping legs.
“Then, can you help me turn the ship around? We’re going to sail away as fast as possible.”
“We can try, but you know our ship isn’t fast enough to outrun them,” said Maria.
“Don’t worry. It’s my turn to keep you safe now.”
“And this time, I’m not going anywhere.”
“You will never be alone again.”
It was time to finally unleash his greatest treasure.