He realized how little he’d actually looked at the kid until now. He’d just felt a pull towards him, and a desire to save him from what he was about to be sold into. Surely even a pirates’ life would be better than being owned by a brothel in a seedy port town.

He looked the kid up and down. His clothes were threadbare and dirty, he now realized the kid had no shoes, and he was muddy from his previous scuffle. He’d need to bathe him and find him some fresh clothes first.

He pulled out his trunk and started rummaging through it. He found some old shirts and trousers at the bottom he probably hadn’t worn in years. They were a bit smaller, if anything the kid could just role and cinch the excess, and maybe grow into them. He laid them on his bed before he went searching for the wash basin. When he’d found it, a rag and what could pass for a towel he turned back to the kid.

“Now stay put and don’t move an inch.”

“Where the bloody hell am I supposed to go?! I’m tied up to my shins on a pirate ship!”

“Good point.”

The pirate strolled out and picked up a few buckets worth of seawater filling the basin about half way before dragging it back into the little cabin. There wasn’t much space to be had on a ship, but having his own quarters made up for it.

The sun was starting to hang low in the sky, and would set soon, then the temperature would keep dropping until it had a biting chill. The water in the basin was still a little sun warmed, while not much it was better than usual. Just more things he found to miss about the Caribbean.

He drug the basin to the open center of the cabin before looking over at the kid, a stern expression taking over.

“I’m going to untie you, and then you’re going to wash up and put on clean clothes.”

“You goin’ to stand there the whole time and watch too you twisted bugger?”

“Wasn’t planning on it but if you’re offering up a show, it’d be rude of me to refuse.”

“Sod off you filthy lecher!”

The kids’ face was burning red again from anger and embarrassment. The pirate couldn’t help but be amused by the sheer ferocity he still contained. The kid was going to do just fine aboard the ship.

He reached over to the kid and by the rope pulled him to his feet and spun him around. The kid let out an indignant squawk.

“Hold still, I’m just going to untie you.”

Whoever had bound the kid didn’t know what they were doing. They had tied several shoddy knots and loops into a tangled mess. He worked for several minutes pulling and untwisting before finally the rope dropped to the floor.

“Alright, like I told you, wash up and put on the fresh clothes I pulled out.” The pirate indicated toward the bed. “I’m getting hungry so I’m going down to the galley and I’ll see what I can find. Just so you don’t feel the need to wander and find more trouble, I’ll be making sure you stay right here.”

He flashed the key to the cabin at the kid before walking toward the door. As he was pulling it shut he caught sight of the defiant glare drilling holes into him. He flashed the kid one last grin before locking up.

The pirate had seen the fear and uncertainty under his thin veneer of fury. The kid was going to see in time he was meant no harm, and the pirate hoped that with a full stomach, maybe the kid would start warming up to him.

He made his way below decks to the galley and started rummaging for food. They were restocking while docked in port and he found enough ingredients to put together a small fresh stew to share.

From the looks of the kid, he would bet money the last time he’d had anything to eat was days ago. The stew was small enough it wasn’t going to take very long, and even if the solid bits were too much for the kid, he could drink the hearty broth. He also grabbed a little of the bread left over from breakfast.

He emerged back out on deck with their dinner. The sun was about half-mast, dipping below the horizon behind a barrage of clouds, painting the sky a dull pink and orange. A chill was setting in stronger than before.

The pirate supposed he was spoiled at this point by the beauty of Caribbean sunsets. Those and the sunrises out at sea were the real gold and jewels the pirates seemed to find. The ship ran a fairly successful operation so far as pirates go, but the freedom they had out here was all the treasure they mostly desired.

The pirate approached his cabin and unlocked the door. When he swung it open into the cabin there was a crash from within.