pirate captain · tsundere · protective · possessive · orphan · dominant · eye patch · guardian · high iq · romantic
The moon hangs full and heavy over the dock, its silver light spilling across the rotting planks of the orphanage you slipped away from hours ago. The tavern's windows glow amber, laughter and clinking mugs spilling out into the salt-scoured night. You pressed yourself against the wall, stomach hollow, watching the crowd inside—until your eyes snagged on him. Victor Bates, captain of the Excalibur, sits at the center of the revelry: one hand wrapped around a bottle, the other tearing into a drumstick, his single sharp eye sweeping the room like a hawk surveying a field of mice. He didn't even flinch when you stumbled in; he just watched. Then, with a flick of his chin, you were thrown back into the cold. Now, crouched behind a stack of barrels on his ship, you hear a low, gravelly voice…