Sean shuffled his feet nervously, mumbling out. "I know how to defend myself without..." Sean couldn't bring himself to finish. He didn't want to offend Nate and come off as pretentious. He just didn't like the idea of kissing strangers. Nate took a sip from his mug, his eyes narrowing on Sean over the top. Sean looked away at the wall to avoid Nate's accusing stare. Watching him from his peripheral vision as Nate lowered his mug and told him bluntly. "You may not like it, but when faced with life or death. It could be the one thing that saves your life." Sean gave him a simple shrug in response. Nate cleared his throat, beckoning Sean closer with his hand. Sean inhaled deeply, dragging his feet as he approached. Nate touched his cheek with his fingers, whispering to him in a warm voice. "Sean, you need to know this stuff. If you don't know how it works... you won't be able to counter it when it's used on you. Sirens use this skill more than any other of our kin. Since were heading into their territory... I'm not asking. I'm telling you. You need to learn this."

Sean swallowed timidly, feeling a shiver run down his back. The crew was all watching them with curious eyes. Nate glanced around to see what was clearly making Sean uneasy. Felix was sitting with Ken on another bench, drinking from a mug with a smug grin. On the other side, Arin and Danny tried to look like they weren't watching... but they looked over on occasion from playing cards. Even Bob and Wade were leaning against the rum barrel watching them with neutral expressions. Nate cleared his throat to draw Sean's attention back to him, telling him coolly. "Don't worry about them. Humans are like that. You'll get used to it." Robin snorted, taking a swig from his mug. Nate ignored him, pulling Sean closer by his gun holster. Sean felt a blush burn his cheeks and he found himself leaning back as Nate's lips moved closer to his. Right over his lips, Nate whispered to him softly. "Try it on me. Focus on trying to control me through my own emotions. Use your pheromones to bring up my attraction and then control them without a word. Use contact alone."

Sean nervously cleared his throat, mumbling out. "I... I can't do that. I only learned how to control through verbal commands..." Nate didn't pull away. He stayed close, whispering over Sean's lips. "Picture the command in your mind and project it into the kiss." Sean swallowed, closing his eyes a minute to collect himself. Picturing a command in his mind, he closed the small gap to press his lips to Nate's. Sean tried to project the command through the kiss, when Nate broke the kiss to chuckle. Sean blushed from embarrassment, mumbling under his breath with disappointment. "That was wrong... wasn't it?" Nate composed himself, straightening up a bit as he answered in a gentle voice. "It was a good effort... but there was no passion in it. Remember you're trying to control my emotions. You want to draw me in. It feels more like you're trying to push me away. Calm down and try again. Take your time." Sean took a shaky breath, feeling like he was the worst Merman.

Robin tapped Sean's arm, handing him his drink. Sean accepted it with shaking hands, while Robin told Nate bluntly. "You've got him as scared as a nun in a brothel." Nate rolled his eyes, stating back simply. "He's not a virgin..." Nate's expression suddenly changed to one of slight concern as he looked away from Robin to ask Sean suspiciously. "Are you?" Sean took a large swig from the mug to try and hide the fact that his blush was expanding to the tips of his ears. Robin scuffed a boot over the floorboards, muttering discreetly over Nate's shoulder. "That's debatable. See, I saw him with Mark... but I'm pretty sure he was drunk at the time... So...?" Nate reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, groaning out under his breath. "Oh, sweet shining sea..." Wade piped up from where he stood in a pleasant voice. "Is that a bad thing?" Nate lowered his hand, answering softly. "Yes. It mostly means that what I'm trying to teach him is physically impossible, because until he has better control over his own emotions... It's just a hurricane of feelings that he's trying to control from both sides. Which is why young merfolk are the easiest to capture... They can be reckless and naïve. Driven by their powerful emotions."

Sean lowered the mug from his lips, asking timidly. "So... How do I fix that?" Felix let out a hearty laugh, before boldly stating aloud. "That's easy. You've got to get laid." The color drained from Sean's face. Nate shot a scowl at Felix, then intervened quickly with a softer tone. "You don't have to do that. You can't control emotions that you've never truly experienced. So, to fix that. You'd have to feel them. Right now, you fear intimacy. Which is why you can't control them. They overwhelm you. They make you feel like you don't know yourself. Since our emotions are stronger than humans... We fall victim to our own pheromones. Which is part of the reason that we tend to have multiple partners. We are very social creatures and express affection in a lot of ways. It's why are family ties are so strong... we develop relationships for almost everything. It's how we grow and thrive." Robin huffed grimly, taking the cup from Sean to refill it as he retorted sourly. "Don't your kind get jealous when sharing the same partner as someone else?"

Nate glared at Robin, shooting back just as sourly. "You couldn't possibly understand. You humans are so obsessed with possessing everything you touch. While we learned to share. It's healthier." Sean eased himself into the conversation to keep tensions low, upon asking curiously. "So, how do you recommend that I experience these... emotions." Nate leaned back on his elbows across the bench, answering casually. "Easy. Just do something intimate." Sean's shoulders dropped in defeat. He had hoped there was a much different solution. Closing his eyes, Sean reluctantly mumbled out. "What do you suggest?" Nate looked him over with a neutral expression, before answering lightly. "Leaving sex out of it. You'd just have to 'explore' the body of someone you like. I assume you've done that before?" Sean sighed heavily, turning slightly to look at the stairs as he grumbled out. "It's been done to me... but I've never..." Bob let out a low whistle, telling Wade casually. "Ten coins says it was Mark."

Sean shot a glanced back at the crew, defensively stating aloud. "So, what if it was?! Why is that any of your business? Don't you have other places to be!" Ken gave him a shrug, being the first to answer casually. "Nope." The others answered the same and Sean scoffed his feet over the floor. He wanted to run, but where would he go? Mark was in a bad mood and there was really no place to hide from them. Nate reached out to carefully take Sean's arm, pulling him close as he told him in a warm voice. "Sean, it's fine. Focus on me." Sean hugged his arms defensively over his chest, turning to face Nate. Nate rubbed his arms soothingly, saying comfortingly to him. "Don't let them rattle you. Trust me. You're the scariest thing on this ship and they know that." Felix stretched himself out across Ken's lap, chuckling out. "As scary as a baby shark." A few of the crew laughed, causing Sean's self-esteem to sink lower. Nate cupped Sean's face, locking their eyes together as he told him in a discreet whisper. "Don't let anyone make you feel less than what you are. You are a son of the sea. A prince. You were born to lead."

Sean nodded, feeling more confidant as Nate smiled proudly at him. After a few seconds of silence past between them, Nate asked him respectfully. "Sean... I know you love Mark and I won't stand in your way... but would you consider being my paramour?" Sean tensed up, asking shyly. "What does that mean?" Nate chuckled very softly, then answered casually. "It's what our kind refers to a type of lover. Someone you go to when you don't want to be alone. Can be sexual or not. Boils down to someone you can relay on." The crew around them let out cat calls and smug giggles, while Sean nervously told Nate. "Why would you want that with me? You barely know me..." Nate's eyes observed the crew with guarded eyes. Sean could almost see his answer in his eyes. Nate had been used by pirates. Was this his way of protecting himself from them? Nate's eyes locked back with his, his voice a bit of a pained whisper when he replied seriously. "Out of everyone on this ship... I trust you and only you. You helped me. This is what I can give to you. Peace of mind that I'll watch your back."

Sean licked his dry lips, shyly mumbling discreetly to him. "Does that mean that you'll be able to... Call on me whenever you..." Sean's cheeks flushed so red that he wanted to hide in his shirt. Nate smirked back at him, lowering his hands from Sean's face to his shoulders, before answering sweetly. "Like any relationship, you have the right to say no. You won't hurt my feelings. Besides... I'm not needy. You won't have to worry about that. However, it will make having intimate feeling much easier. You'd be able to experiment with me, before... taking things to Mark. Which I only mention because he's human. You wouldn't want to hurt him in the heat of the moment." Sean gave him a shy shrug as a response. Nate tapped a finger under his chin, sweetly telling him. "Tell you what. I'll give you a taste of what it's like and you can get back to me on it." Sean's eyes widened, watching Nate suddenly start unbuttoning his purple vest. Pulling it open to reveal his bare chest, Sean averted his eyes to the ceiling.

Nate chuckled, taking Sean's jaw in hand to lower his head back down. Sean couldn't help lowering his eyes to admire Nate's smooth tanned chest. Nate removed his hand, shrugging off his vest as he leaned in close to Sean's ear to whisper. "You've been around Mark too long. You don't have to look away. I'm not shy." Sean felt frozen to the spot. Nate's lips brushed lightly over his cheekbone, then trailed down to his neck. The sensation made Sean's heart race. Nate pressed his lips to his throat and Sean let out a tiny whine of pleasure and shock. Nate's lingering kiss was tingling his skin and it tickled. Goosebumps ran down Sean's arms as Nate moved his tingling lips down his throat. When Nate leaned back, he licked his lips, telling Sean huskily. "See? I told you I was exotic." Sean grinned, giving Nate a brief kiss to encourage him to do that again. Nate accepted the kiss, causing Sean's lips to tingle. When Sean broke the kiss, he spotted the tiny purple sparks of static rippling over his soft pale lips.

Felix hoped off Ken's lap, purring out playfully. "Fuck... I want in on this." Sean paused, thinking Nate would zap Felix. Instead, Nate extended a careless hand out for Felix to take, but kept his focus on kissing Sean. Sean let Nate kiss his neck, but watched Felix closely. Felix took Nate's hand, leaning in cautiously to kiss his wrist. Sean blinked in awe, watching Nate's skin ripple in soft tiny sparks. Felix jerked back from the shock, but grinned as he told the others softly. "That is so weird. Guy's you've got to try this." Felix handed Nate's hand off to Bob as he moved closer. Nate's lips found Sean's ear, whispering to him sweetly. "It's alright. I won't hurt them. Unless they hurt me." Sean relaxed a little but couldn't help thinking about how normal this seemed to be to Nate. What had the pirate king made Nate do in his time with him? Bob playfully dipped one of Nate's fingers into his glass, before sliding Nate's finger into his mouth. Bob closed his eyes, humming pleasantly to himself. Sean stepped up closer to Nate's chest, feeling uneasy. He couldn't help wondering to himself if the crew might have done stuff like this to him when he was drunk.

Bob pulled Nate's finger slowly from his mouth, telling Wade excitedly. "Wade, you've got to try this. His skin makes the alcohol bubble in your mouth. It's amazing." Wade took Nate's hand, turning the palm up and pouring some of his drink onto his palm. Wade cradled Nate's hand carefully so that he didn't spill it, then leaned in to lick it. After a tender lick, Wade pressed his lips to Nate's palm to suck it all up. Sean shivered, turning his head into Nate's neck as he asked cautiously. "Doesn't that bother you?" Nate stopped kissed Sean's neck to whisper against his ear. "I've gone through worse. Don't worry about what they're doing. Focus on me. Let me worry about them." Sean shook his head defiantly. He couldn't believe what they were doing. Nate leaned back a bit to kiss his lips, whispering over them afterward in a sincere voice. "Sean. I can handle it. Just keep your attention on me." Felix moved around Nate, telling Sean playfully. "Sean, try this." Nate smirked, tilting his head away from his shoulder and leaning back a bit. Felix set his mug on Nate's shoulder, trying to gesture for Sean to lean in and try it.

Sean shook his head, until Nate told him in a warm convincing voice. "You can if you want too. I wouldn't mind you trying it." Sean took a deep breath, leaning over Nate until his hands had to brace against the table by his hips. Nate's pulled his hand back away from the crew to lean back on his elbows better, his eyes staring only at Sean. Sean exhaled his worries. If Nate wasn't afraid, then that somehow made it better for him to do this with him. Felix tilted the mug to leak the contents down Nate's shoulder, causing the dark liquid to run down the center of Nate's chest. Quickly leaning in, Sean licked up some of the liquid before Felix poured more. With the added amount, Sean had to press his lips to Nate's chest to catch it all. They were right. Nate's skin did seem to make the alcohol bubble in your mouth. It was weird only at first. Then it became strangely addictive. Lifting his head, he locked eyes with Nate. Nate grinned brightly, asking him playfully. "You like it? You want more?" Sean licked his tingling lips with a nod. Nate chuckled innocently, happily telling him. "Alright, then. Let's have a little fun." To Be Continued...