It's been three days since the storm happened and Hongjoong and Yunho have worked to make sure everything was getting back on track. There was still the problem of being a couple days behind but they should be able to make the food last that long, or they live without a lot of food for a day or two. They were able to relax now and go back to what they would normally do now that they're back on track and the mast was holding strong. Which means Hongjoong can finally organise things with Seonghwa. They two of them had been sleeping in one of the spare rooms of the ship, the one that they put Seonghwa in for now. Seonghwa was on the bed and Hongjoong on an old mattress he dragged in from storage. Hongjoong walked to the room and knocked before opening the door. Seonghwa was sitting on the bed, tying up his shoelaces.

"Hey," he said, glancing up and smiling when he saw Hongjoong walk in.

"Hi," Hongjoong said, moving over and sitting on the edge of the bed next to Seonghwa.

"Is there something you want to talk about," Seonghwa asked slowly when Hongjoong didn't say anything.

"Oh, yeah actually. I wanted to know if you wanted me to get the tattoo now? I've got the equipment in my quarters and it should only take about half an hour," Hongjoong said.

"Really," Seonghwa asked his eyes lighting up in excitement.

"Yeah, really. You wanna do it," Hongjoong asked. Seonghwa nodded immediately and stood up quickly. Hongjoong chuckled and got up as well, grabbing Seonghwa's hand and tugging him out the door.

"I'm so excited. I didn't think I would get it for a while," Seonghwa said happily, squeezing Hongjoong's hand and bouncing up and down.

"Hongjoong, this is so exciting," he added. Hongjoong chuckled fondly as he tugged him up the stairs, trying to calm him down.

"It's a tattoo Seongie. I don't know why you're so excited, it's probably going to hurt," Hongjoong pointed out.

"I know, but I have a very high pain tolerance so I should be fine," Seonghwa said with a shrug. Hongjoong frowned and, moved his hand slightly, linking their fingers as he remembered all the bruises on his body. Seonghwa noticed the change in Hongjoong's demeanour and giggled softly, gently bumping his head against the youngers.

"I'm fine Hongjoong," he said softly. Hongjoong just stayed quiet and pulled him into his quarters.

"Sit on the bed, it's the most comfortable," Hongjoong said, gesturing over to the bed. Seonghwa walked over quickly and sat down as asked. Hongjoong went to the bookshelf and grabbed the box sitting on the bottom shelf, moving it over to the bed and placing it down before opening it and rummaging through.

"What colours do you want for your tattoo," Hongjoong asked Seonghwa. Seonghwa thought about it for a few seconds before grabbing Hongjoong's arm and pulling his sleeve down, looking at his tattoo. He used red and orange, like a sunset almost, or fire. Hongjoong paused what he was doing as Seonghwa held his arm, just waiting patiently for him to let go.

"Do you have pink and purple," Seonghwa asked eventually.

"I do. Is that what you want me to use," Hongjoong asked.

"Do you think they would look nice together," Seonghwa asked worriedly, wanting Hongjoong's opinion as he knows tattoos better.

"I think they'll look beautiful," Hongjoong said with a nod. Seonghwa smiled happily an nodded.

"Then pink and purple it is," he said. Hongjoong nodded and knelt down in front of Seonghwa.

"What wrist do you want it on," Hongjoong asked him.

"Can I have it on my right wrist like you. I want something I can see often whenever I go to do things, to remind me I have somewhere I belong," Seonghwa said quietly. Hongjoong placed his hand on Seonghwa's thigh, squeezing it in reassurance.

"You sure you want this," Hongjoong asked one last time. He needs to make sure this is something the other definitely wants because it's permanent. Once it's there, there's no getting rid of it.

"Positive," Seonghwa said with a firm nod. Can't get any better consent than that.

"Alright, let's do this then," Hongjoong said with a soft smile. Seonghwa nodded and shuffled back, crossing his legs where he sat. Hongjoong grabbed his right arm and unbuttoned his sleeve, rolling it up so it wouldn't fall down.

"Have you done many tattoos before? I don't really know how they work," Seonghwa said.

"I've done every single Cromer tattoo on this ship and a few of the others. There's basically just this, it's called a tattoo gun. I put the ink in it and then I turn it on and I start tracing and colouring," Hongjoong explained as he pulled out the tool.

"Ok, let's go then," Seonghwa said with a nod.

"I know you said you have a high pain tolerance but it's still going to hurt," Hongjoong warned him quietly as he put ink in.

"Then talk to me, distract me," Seonghwa said.

"Talk to you about what," Hongjoong asked.

"How did you meet everyone? I wanna know your oh so great beginnings," Seonghwa said, making Hongjoong chuckle.

"Um, ok. Do you want me to start from the beginning," Hongjoong asked.

"Tell me everything," Seonghwa nodded.

"Ok, I will go from the first person I met and that was San," Hongjoong said as he begun the tattoo. Seonghwa winced slightly and he reached his other arm out instinctively, grabbing Hongjoong's shoulder. Hongjoong paused and glanced over, noticing the slight tightness in Seonghwa's face.

"Just squeeze when you need to," Hongjoong said softly and Seonghwa nodded.

"So San, how'd you meet him," he asked.

"I met him when I was 17, about 6 months after my parents died. When my parents died, they left me the illusion. I decided I wasn't going to take it out until I was 18, I wouldn't look for a crew until I turned 18 because I wouldn't be mature enough," Hongjoong said.

"I'd say that's pretty mature," Seonghwa said quietly. Hongjoong glanced up and gave him a small smile before continuing on.

"I ran into San, quite literally. He was running away from a group of boys that were chasing him to try and rob him. He was scared so I protected him. After that, he came to me a lot. I can't tell you everything but his parents were also gone and he didn't have a home so on bad nights, I'd let him stay with me so he wouldn't get hurt. He always talked about his two friends, which I later found out was Wooyoung and Yeosang. One of those friends, I won't say who because it's up to them to disclose this but their parents were very abusive. The other was their next door neighbour and they grew up together. I met the two of them when Sannie came to me bloody and bruised and said he needs to leave, that his friends were in trouble and they needed out of the town," Hongjoong said quietly, pausing to take a breath. Seonghwa was sad and his heart broke at the thought of one of his friends going through something like that.

"I ran with him to find Yeosang and Wooyoung in an alley, one a lot worse off. I didn't know what to do but I couldn't let the three of them suffer like that so I took them to the illusion. I told them that if they wanted to, they could come with me, join my crew and we would leave that town behind. We left later that night and none of us looked back," Hongjoong said.

"That's, a lot. But you're all ok now right," Seonghwa asked quietly.

"Never been better. I wouldn't change what I did for anything. I've been looking after those three since I was 17, but they've been looking after each other years before that," Hongjoong said.

"Where was it, the place you stayed," Seonghwa asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, when we weren't travelling around, I grew up in Port Westford," Hongjoong said. Seonghwa's eyes widened in surprise and he gasped, making Hongjoong stop what he was doing again.

"What's wrong," he asked in confusion.

"Nothing, it's just, I grew up there as well," Seonghwa said. Hongjoong raised an eyebrow in surprise and smiled.

"Well look at that, maybe we ran into each other at some point," Hongjoong said with a grin.

"When did you become a pirate," Seonghwa asked quickly, memories of when he was younger coming back to him.

"I've always been one. My parents were pirates, my dad a Captain, so I grew up as a pirate," Hongjoong said with a soft smile as he continued. Seonghwa's eyes went wide and his heart started racing.

"Did you, did you ever go around town and um, talk to people about being a pirate," he asked quickly.

"Yeah, I did. We used to come home ever six months and stay for a few weeks. I'd go around and talk to the kids, tell them all my stories about being on the seas, although I may have exaggerated them a bit," he said with a giggle, watching closely as he tattooed onto Seonghwa's wrist.

"There was always this one boy who would be so invested in my stories. He'd wait for me to arrive and then we'd go and sit down and I'd tell him the new stories from my adventures. His eyes always lit up, it was cute," Hongjoong chuckled.

"Um, what, what happened to him," Seonghwa asked quietly.

"I don't know, he stopped coming after he turned 10," Hongjoong said with a shrug. Seonghwa's heart stopped and he gripped Hongjoong's shoulder tightly. Hongjoong quickly stopped what he was doing and glanced up, worried he had hurt him but Seonghwa's eyes were wide and his face was pale.

"Hey, what's wrong," Hongjoong asked worriedly.

"What did you guys call each other," Seonghwa asked.

"What," Hongjoong said in confusion.

"What did you and the boy call each other," Seonghwa repeated.

"Oh, he called me his little Pirate and I called him my little town boy, it was an in joke," Hongjoong said with a chuckle.

"Hey, little pirate, you're late."

"Sorry town boy, I've been busy on my adventures."

"Can you tell me about them?"

"Of course. Why don't I tell you about the monster from below."

"Seongie. You ok? What's wrong, did I hurt you," Hongjoong asked worriedly, seeing a tear slip down Seonghwa's face. Seonghwa sniffled and lunged forwards, wrapping his arms around Hongjoong tightly, having enough of a mind to not rub the tattoo against anything.

"Seonghwa? You ok," Hongjoong asked, hugging him back gently. Seonghwa sniffled and tucked his head into Hongjoong's neck, breathing deeply for a few seconds before moving back slightly to rest his head on his shoulder.

"Long time no see my little pirate," he whispered. Hongjoong froze and stiffened in shock before lifting Seonghwa's head and moving back quickly.

"You're kidding me right?! You're joking," he asked quickly. Seonghwa chuckled wetly, shaking his head quickly. Hongjoong covered his mouth with his hand, his mind reeling.

"You're the little boy I used to talk to all the time when I was at the port? You were like my only friend Seonghwa," Hongjoong gasped.

"I must say, you told me the wildest stories," Seonghwa said. Hongjoong quickly moved the tattoo equipment to the side and sat on the bed, wrapping his arms around Seonghwa's waist and resting his head on his shoulder.

"I told you, they were a bit exaggerated," Hongjoong said. Seonghwa giggled and rested his head on top of Hongjoong's.

"You told me a Kraken ate you and you killed it from the inside," Seonghwa remembered.

"Oh my god, how can you remember that," Hongjoong said in embarrassment.

"I have a good memory. Did you really see a Kraken," Seonghwa asked.

"Nah, it was just a giant squid. We caught it and ate it," Hongjoong admitted making Seonghwa giggle.

"I was a child, I liked feeling cool," Hongjoong said with a pout.

"You were a cute child," Seonghwa said with a nod and Hongjoong groaned.

"God, I can't believe I almost threw you off the ship and left you to die," Hongjoong sighed. Seonghwa winced at the memory and frowned.

"Let's forget about that. That was in the past and we know you were just protecting the others. Hearing what some of them have been through, I can understand it even better," Seonghwa assured him. Hongjoong sighed but nodded, patting Seonghwa's knee in comfort.

"You know, you're the reason why I wanted to become a pirate, my little pirate boy," Seonghwa said, patting his head.

"Wait, really," Hongjoong asked, pulling back to look at him.

"Yeah. Your stories intrigued me and I grew up looking into pirates," Seonghwa said.

"Why did you never come back though, you stopped coming," Hongjoong asked softly.

"My parents stopped me. They didn't like the idea of their good little boy going anywhere near a filthy little pirate. I never believed that though, I promise. They just wouldn't let me come out," Seonghwa said.

"That's ok, I know. Most people hate pirates anyway. Our only friends are generally each other," Hongjoong said.

"At least they're good friends," Seonghwa said with a shrug.

"True," Hongjoong hummed in agreement.

"You wanna continue the tattoo? I've still got quite a bit to go," Hongjoong said and Seonghwa nodded. Hongjoong quickly knelt back down and grabbed his equipment, continuing the tattooing process.

"So how did you meet the others," Seonghwa asked.

"I met Mingi next, about a year later. We had stopped somewhere and he was looking for work and I still needed more of a crew. He was great at working the masts and everything, so I asked him onto the crew. There were other better ships, but he chose us because he thought we were nice and we were close to his age," Hongjoong said, making them both chuckle.

"He made a good choice though," Seonghwa said, receiving a nod from Hongjoong.

"He did. Yunho came next, about a week later. Mingi made us stop at another port where an old friend of his went and he convinced Yunho to join us, though it didn't really take much," Hongjoong said with a chuckle.

"I didn't realise they were friends before they joined the crew," Seonghwa said, wincing at a jab from the machine.

"Sorry," Hongjoong mumbled.

"Yeah, they were childhood friends but Yunho moved away a year or two before we found him," Hongjoong said.

"And when did Jongho join," Seonghwa asked him.

"Jongho came about 2 months after. He was stuck on a crew that was bad, not as bad as yours but still not great. He was their gunner and he got forced to do a few things he didn't want to do but luckily it wasn't killing people, just robbing them. We took down that crew, gave them a chance to surrender and he was the only one that did. They tried to kill him but San and Yunho kept him safe and he joined us. It took a while for us to all warm up to each other but he's an integral part of our crew now," Hongjoong explained.

"And since then, you've been sailing the seas together," Seonghwa said quietly.

"Yeah. We travel around and we try to make sure the seas are safe, get rid of people who are dangerous and harm the innocent. Like Vixon," Hongjoong explained. Seonghwa flexed slightly and Hongjoong glanced up at him but he seemed alright so he continued on with the tattoo.

"How many crews have you taken out in the past five years," Seonghwa asked.

"We didn't get too well established until a year in, after everyone gelled together and learnt how to fight properly. Most of them already knew bits and pieces, Wooyoung and San especially but the others picked it up pretty quickly, except Yeosang. Well he learnt but he isn't much into the fighting," Hongjoong said.

"Ok, so how many since then," Seonghwa asked.

"5 big crews that we researched and looked into beforehand and then another 3 smaller ones that were quick and easy to take out," Hongjoong said. Seonghwa was quite at that and Hongjoong got a little nervous.

"Do you think that's bad? That it makes us bad people," Hongjoong asked quietly.

"No, not at all. You guys go around and get rid of those who hurt the innocent. You defend the people who can't defend themselves. I think that's very noble," Seonghwa said softly.

"Noble? A pirate," Hongjoong asked with a chuckle.

"Yep, my noble little pirate," Seonghwa said, making Hongjoong smile softly.

"I've never seen you this soft before," Seonghwa said, his eyes running over Hongjoong's form. He was just wearing a pair of pants and a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, his brown hair not spiked or gelled, just laying flat so some of it was laying over his eyes.

"I am so not soft," Hongjoong said with a frown making Seonghwa grin.

"Oh, you so are," Seonghwa said with a chuckle. Hongjoong rolled his eyes and focused back on the tattoo to finish it off.

It ended up taking close to an hour for him to finish, the two of them just talking and getting to know each other better. They were comfortable together and when Hongjoong finally finished, he wiped Seonghwa's arm down and placed a special lotion on it so it wouldn't get infected. He went to stand up but Seonghwa grabbed his hand and slid down to kneel next to him. He grabbed Hongjoong's right hand and flipped it so their tattoos were placed next to each other.

"They're beautiful," he said, moving a little closer. Hongjoong nodded softly, his head bumping lightly against Seonghwa from how close he was.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's ok," Seonghwa replied softly. Hongjoong glanced up and his breath caught in his throat as his Seonghwa looked up at the same time and he realised how close they were, their noses almost brushing.

"I um, I think, they look r-really good," Hongjoong stuttered out. Seonghwa smiled softly and nodded slightly.

"You're a very talented artist Joong. Can I call you that," Seonghwa asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Y-Yeah. Yeah, of course," Hongjoong replied quickly. Seonghwa continued to smile and moved closer, their foreheads pressed together and noses touching slightly. Hongjoong squeaked and his eyes went wide, making Seonghwa chuckle.

"You're cute," he whispered.

"Th-Thanks," Hongjoong stuttered out. Seonghwa giggled and pulled back, shuffling over and leaning back against the bed. Hongjoong finally let out the breath he hadn't realised he had been holding in, his hand moving to clutch at his chest.

"You're good at fighting right? I mean obviously. You're a pirate and you sliced someone's hand off in like three seconds. That was really impressive by the way. Like you must be really strong," Seonghwa said, thinking back to the tavern incident.

"It's um, it's my sword. It was made by the Japanese. It's like a Katana, just slightly adjusted," Hongjoong explained, moving and sitting beside Seonghwa, their shoulders touching.

"Ah, that makes sense," Seonghwa said with a nod, reaching down and slipping his hand into Hongjoong's. Hongjoong glanced down but didn't say anything, just remaining quiet.

"But you're still a good fighter," Seonghwa pointed out.

"I'm a very good fighter," Hongjoong said with a nod. He didn't want to be cocky, but it's true. He's been trained since he was four.

"I used to be able to fight. I mean I still probably can but it's been three years," Seonghwa said.

"You could probably pick it back up rather quickly with a bit of practice," Hongjoong said.

"I know. I was kind of hoping you would help me train a bit," Seonghwa said hopefully. What better way to learn more, than to do it with the best, the Captain. Hongjoong frowned worriedly and clenched his unoccupied hand.

"I don't think that's a very good idea," he said quietly. Seonghwa blinked in surprise, glancing to the side before looking away quickly. He didn't expect Hongjoong to say no to him. He thought they were getting better together, that Hongjoong was liking him more. He gave him the tattoo. But, maybe he did that for the others, because they wanted it. Maybe Seonghwa was mistaken and Hongjoong's only tolerating him.

"O-Oh. I was just, I was hoping you'd be able to teach me more. I thought you'd want to help me," Seonghwa said, his voice small. Hongjoong cursed himself internally as he noticed Seonghwa draw in on himself a little more. He didn't mean to upset him, he just doesn't want to hurt him. He can go a little hard when practicing and he doesn't want to accidentally hurt Seonghwa because he isn't up to standard. He didn't want Seonghwa to feel unwanted.

"Ok. I'll do it. We'll practice with sticks first though, not swords," Hongjoong said quickly. Seonghwa glanced up and frowned.

"I don't want to force you to do something you aren't keen on doing Hongjoong," Seonghwa said sadly.

"Hey, hey, it's not that. I just don't want to accidentally hurt you. I'm just worried is all. I'm more than happy to help you," Hongjoong said quickly.

"You sure," Seonghwa asked.

"I'm positive. Starting from tomorrow, I'll start training you ok," Hongjoong said firmly. Seonghwa smiled softly and nodded before Hongjoong pulled him into a gentle hug.

"Now stop being so down and cheer up," he said, tickling Seonghwa's side softly, making him giggle softly.

"Come on, let's go back out. I need to double check what we have in storage," Hongjoong said. He stood up before pulling Seonghwa up as well, pulling the olders sleeves back down and buttoning them up.

"Ok, I'm going to go see what the others are doing," Seonghwa said. Hongjoong nodded and they left the room quickly.

"I'll see you later," Hongjoong said, walking off towards the stairs below deck. Seonghwa smiled happily to himself and hurried off to find the others. The first person he found was Mingi.

"Mingi," he called out, hurrying over to the boy who was standing beside the edge of the ship. Mingi turned around and smiled as Seonghwa bounded over.

"Hey Hwa, what's up," Mingi asked.

"I got my first tattoo," Seonghwa said with a grin.

"Oh really? Show me," Mingi said with a smile. It was cute seeing Seonghwa so excited.

"It's a cromer, like you guys," Seonghwa grinned, quickly rolling down his sleeve and showing his wrist to Mingi. The smile slowly slipped from Mingi's face as he saw what the tattoo was, or more specifically, where. Seonghwa's face falls as sees Mingi's expression. He doesn't seem happy about this. He doesn't seem excited. Is he not happy that Seonghwa got the tattoo?

"It's um, it's really nice," Mingi said slowly.

"Oh, yeah. I thought so too. I'm going to go finish what I was doing earlier. I just thought you might like it," Seonghwa said before turning around and leaving quickly. Mingi watched him leave, his mind reeling. This was a very interesting development.

Seonghwa hurried off quickly, feeling a bit off put from his interaction with Mingi. He was expecting some excitement now that he was finally an official member of the crew but Mingi seemed anything but happy. As he was walking, he noticed Wooyoung cooking in the kitchen with Yunho helping him out. Maybe they will have a better reaction.

"Hey guys," he said as he walked into the still half broken kitchen.

"Hey Seonghwa," Wooyoung said, glancing up from the pot he was cooking in.

"Hi," Yunho said, pausing from where he was cutting up the vegetables.

"Guess what," Seonghwa said, getting excited again. Surely, they will be happy, Wooyoung at least.

"What," Wooyoung asked quickly, excited to see what surprise Seonghwa had.

"I got a tattoo," Seonghwa said happily.

"Oh, awesome. Let us have a look," Yunho said as he walked over. Wooyoung paused what he was doing and paid attention. Seonghwa smiled happily and turned his wrist, holding it out to both of them. Just like with Mingi, their faces dropped when they saw it and Seonghwa's stomach dropped.

"Uh, Hongjoong did this," Wooyoung asked slowly, glancing at Yunho to see that the older seemed to be thinking the same thing as him.

"Y-Yeah. He just tattooed it," Seonghwa said nervously.

"Well, it looks great," Yunho said, Wooyoung nodding quickly. They both smiled but Seonghwa could tell they were forced. Do none of them want him a part of the crew? Were they only being nice so they could help him get better and then drop him off the first chance they get?

"Um, thanks. I have some stuff I need to do, so I gotta go," Seonghwa said, turning around and leaving quickly. Yunho immediately turned to Wooyoung.

"You're thinking what I'm thinking, right," he asked quickly.

"Yeah. Joong tattooed it, which means he knew," Wooyoung said with a nod.

"Well that was a change of events I did not see happening," Yunho said quietly, going back to the vegetables. Wooyoung hummed in affirmation before going back to the pot again.

Seonghwa was feeling worse than he had ever felt since he came onto the ship. He was so excited to show everyone, thinking they'd be excited but the minute they see it's the Cromer tattoo, they all seemed upset. They really don't want him on the crew? Maybe he should see Yeosang. He gets along with Yeosang the best, he'd surely want him to stay. Right? He hurried downstairs and over to the medics room, stepping inside to see Yeosang bandaging a small cut Jongho got when he dropped a sword earlier.

"Yeosang," Seonghwa said quietly. Yeosang looked over quickly, frowning slightly when he noticed Seonghwa seemed upset.

"Hwa. You ok? Are you hurt," he asked quickly.

"No, I'm not. Just, can I show you my tattoo and see what you think," Seonghwa asked quietly.

"You got a tattoo? Of course you can show me," Yeosang said quickly, giving him a small smile. Seonghwa quickly held out his arm and Yeosang held the half bandaged arm tightly before leaning over to look. His eyes went wide as he saw it.

"It's a Cromer tattoo. On your wrist," he said, nodding slowly. Jongho's head snapped over and his eyebrows furrowed and Seonghwa felt like he'd been stabbed in the heart. They really didn't want him, none of them want him.

"You guys don't like it either," Seonghwa said, sniffling sadly. He spun around quickly and rushed out of the room, missing the way Yeosang's eyes widened.

"Wait! Seonghwa," Yeosang called out, going to rush after him but being stopped as he remembered he was still bandaging Jongho's arm. Seonghwa was already gone before he could stop him.

"Ah, great. He thinks we hate the tattoo," he said with a sigh.

"It's fine. We'll find him later and tell him he caught us off guard," Jongho said. Yeosang sighed but nodded.

When Seonghwa left the room, he needed to be alone. So he went to the one place he knew not many of them went. He climbed up the mast quickly and settled into the crows nest, sitting down and leaning back against the side, bringing his knees to his chest. He's been up there a few times since the incident and he's gotten used to it, gotten used to the height and the water, though he usually doesn't look out at the water if he can avoid it. It's just a good way to sit somewhere quiet and think. He curled in on himself and sniffled, letting his quiet tears fall. He thought they all liked him, that they wanted him there. But they really don't want him in the crew, they hate him having the tattoo. He never should have gotten it without asking all of them. He just thought if Hongjoong said it was ok, the others would be fine with it. His head snapped up as another body joined him in the crows nest, looking up to see San sit beside him.

"I saw you come up here and you seemed upset, so I thought I'd come check on you," San said softly, not liking that the oldest was crying.

"I'm sorry, I'm fine," Seonghwa said, sitting up straighter quickly and wiping his eyes to calm down.

"No need to be sorry. Why're you so upset though Hwa? I don't like seeing you sad," San said with a pout.

"D-Do you um, do you want me in the cr-crew," Seonghwa asked quietly.

"What? Of course I do, we all do. You're already in this crew," San said quickly. Seonghwa chuckled heartlessly and shook his head. The tone upset San even more.

"I don't think the others do," Seonghwa said, shaking his head.

"What makes you think that," San asked in confusion. The boys all love Seonghwa, he doesn't know where he could've gotten the feeling they don't want him around.

"I got my first tattoo, a Cromer like the rest of you," Seonghwa said quietly.

"Oh my god, that's so great. I'm so happy for you," San said with a grin. Seonghwa sighed and shook his head.

"You'd be the first. The minute the others saw my tattoo, they were all seemed upset, not very happy," Seonghwa said.

"Are you sure," San asked with a frown.

"Yeah, they all frowned," Seonghwa said with a nod.

"Well why don't you show me. Maybe it looks funny," San said. Seonghwa nibbled his lip nervously, not sure if he should.

"Hey, it's ok. I've already said I'm happy. Seeing the tattoo won't change that," San said quickly. Seonghwa slowly turned his arm and held it out to San. San was confused but looked over and his eyes widened, making Seonghwa whimper.

"See," he cried out.

"Wait, wait, no. It's not like that. It's not that I don't like it, I love it, it looks great," San said quickly.

"Then what is it," Seonghwa asked sadly.

"Did you, see Hongjoong's tattoo? Did he show you," San asked and Seonghwa nodded.

"And he knew you wanted to get the tattoo on your wrist," San asked.

"Well, yeah. He tattooed it for me. I thought his looked nice and I wanted the same," Seonghwa said quietly. San chuckled and hugged Seonghwa, kissing the top of his head softly.

"What's so funny," Seonghwa asked in confusion.

"No one is upset that you got this tattoo Hwa. They're shocked at where the tattoo was placed, especially when Hongjoong was the one who placed it there," San said, pulling back.

"What's wrong with me getting it on my wrist? Hongjoong has it there," Seonghwa asked.

"There's nothing wrong with it per say but the fact that Hongjoong has it there is what makes us so surprised," San said.

"I don't get it," Seonghwa said, no longer crying but he wiped the last of his tears quickly.

"Did you ever read up about the meaning of tattoos for pirates," San asked.

"Not really. Just that they usually have some sort of meaning," Seonghwa replied.

"That's right, they do. We all have a Cromer tattoo but we have it in different places. Hongjoong has his on his wrist, Yunho on his shoulder blade, Jongho on the side of his chest. But Wooyoung, Yeosang and I all have ours on our left ankle," San explained.

"Ok, is there a reason for that," Seonghwa asked.

"Yes, there is. Pirates only get the same tattoo in the same place as another when they really care about them. Doing that is basically a commitment. That you care about this person and trust them and you would give your life to protect them. You don't do that unless you know you care about this person and you want protect them. Hongjoong has never let any of us get a tattoo with him and certainly not the same one in the same spot, not even our Cromers," San explained. Seonghwa's eyes were wide by the end of San's explanation.

"Y-You're kidding right," he asked.

"Nope. The reason why they were all confused, is because Hongjoong has that same tattoo on the same wrist. It basically means that Hongjoong cares for you, a lot. He let you put that tattoo there. He's saying he's going to protect you until the day he dies Seonghwa," San said quietly. Seonghwa was shocked. This was definitely not what he was expecting. He thought they didn't want him, but turns out the Captain decided Seonghwa's someone worth having around, worth protecting. They really need to talk!

A/N

Here is Chapter  11 everyone, I hope you enjoyed it

Let me know what you thought of this chapter, what surprised you, what you enjoyed and what you are hoping to more of. I love your long comments, so just don't be shy if you want to write something :)

Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it