( Eduardo's POV )

                It was the last event for the pirate games, and me and Penelope were headed towards another ship, to steal their treasure. She had offered to take Thomas with before we left, and had somehow nudged me into offering as well. She was the first, well, the only person that has gotten away with something like that...getting me to do something that I normally wouldn't do. She certainly had a way about her, that was for sure. He had declined anyway, so I suppose it really didn't matter. It was an amazing yet terrifying feeling, caring for someone. It was something I wasn't used to, just like I wasn't used to expressing how I feel. 

                I glance over at her, as we walk to the ship, quietly. Part of me had started to worry that I didn't express how I felt well enough, for it was something I had never tried before her, and I wasn't sure if I was clear enough, though I thought I did well enough. Considering I had never done this sort of thing before. I mean sure I had flirted before, and enjoyed a woman, but it was never something I took seriously, not until now, at least. 

                 Damn woman, making me feel things that I had always avoided...it was too late now though, much too late. I cared for her too much now, to try and back out. Hell, if I was honest, I didn't ever want to let her get away from me. No other woman had intrigued me as much as she did, and no other woman had been able to really stand being around me. At least with my constant sarcasm, among other things. Penelope though, was different in that aspect. She dealt with me well, while keeping me interested in her, and trying to figure her out. 

                "Awful quiet over there cyclops." she teased, with mischief dancing in her emerald green eyes.

                "Yea well...this is a stealth mission after all." I say, shooting her a smirk as I meet her gaze.

                "True enough, but we're not even on the ship yet." she answers laughing, as she nudges me in the side. 

                 I smile at her, as we finally reach the ship. We quietly get on the ship, sneaking past the lone crew member on the deck, before heading towards the rooms, down the hall from the deck. It was quiet, almost too quiet as we made our way through their ship. We finally reach the Captain's room, which is the normal place that the treasure is usually hidden almost every year.

                 "It's almost too quiet. Too easy as well. Where is everyone?" Penelope asks, as she starts digging through a dresser by the Captain's bed.

                 "They are probably going to try and get another ship's treasure. They left only one behind, thinking that would be enough for a guard." I answer simply, as I start going through the shelves in the room carefully,trying not to knock anything off the shelf. 

                "Shit, did we leave anybody behind except for Thomas?" She exclaims, sounding slightly worried at the thought of Thomas being our only guard.

                 I chuckle, shaking my head. "Of course we did. Arabella and Nathan are there. They agreed to go after we all get back. They'll be fine. They can fight, or Arabella will start blowing shit up, if anyone goes near the ship." I add, laughing at the thought.

                 "I've heard you guys talk about that, but I don't think me or the girls have actually seen her do it." She replies, as she continues her search, moving to a box on the floor, not that far away from the dresser she originally searched in.

                  I shrug."We've seen it often enough. Especially when she first joined. She developed a dislike for Captain Alan of the Rika, and tried to blow him up frequently at first." I add, laughing quietly.

                  "Yea. By the way, I've been meaning to ask, did I do something? Are you okay? You've been more quiet than normal lately, and I wasn't sure why, or if maybe I did anything..."She trails off quietly. 

                 I could almost slap myself, after hearing what she just said. There was no way I could be mad at her, and the fact that she thought that makes my chest tighten. "Penelope." I say her name, as I walk over to her, pulling her into an embrace. A look of surprise crosses her features, as she meets my gaze, her emerald green eyes searching my brown one. "Penelope, you've done nothing wrong. In fact, I was thinking about how maybe I don't express myself well enough. That's why I've been so quiet. I'm very sorry you thought that. Please don't ever think that again." 

                 She nods, visibly relaxing as she sighs in relief. "Okay, just making sure. You've been really quiet lately, not even making fun of everyone as much as you normally do..I thought there might be something bothering you, or that maybe I  had done something." she says softly.

                I shake my head."I was starting to worry that I don't express myself very well, and was starting to get lost in my thoughts, over thinking everything. I'm sorry." I answer quietly. 

                 She nods, pulling out of the embrace. "Alright. Let's find what we came for then, before their crew comes back, or someone realizes that we're here." She says smiling, as we both begin our search once again. 

                 We keep searching, and though I come across a few treasures, none have the red string around it, like the one we need. Though I do come across a beautiful necklace, that has a teardrop shaped blue jewel hanging from a gold chain, with a heart shape just above the teardrop. I glance over at Penelope, who appears to be absorbed in the search, and I pocket the necklace, without her noticing. I know technically it's against the rules, but I highly doubt they would notice it missing, and I also recognize it as a piece of jewelry from my homeland, and it was most likely stolen to begin with.

               Plus, I really wanted to give it to Penelope. "I found it!" Penelope exclaims suddenly, not too long after I had pocketed the necklace. She holds up a large intricate bracelet, made up of many chains, with rubies sparkling throughout the many chains.

              "Nicely done." I tell her, giving her a soft smile. "Now let's get out of here." I add, as I quietly take her hand, as we leave the room.

               We carefully make our way down the hallway, not seeing anyone. It seems as though their crew hasn't made it back yet, though the one lonely guard is still there, closer than last time. He's right by the exit, right where we need to go. We stop close to the end of the hallway, watching him, as we debate what to do. "Well now what." I mutter quietly.

               "I've got an idea." She says smirking, as she points to some rope that we had passed on our way down the hall. "Let me flirt with him, see if I can get close enough to tie him up, then we can get the hell out of here." she adds, glancing at me, excitement in her eyes.

               "I'm not sure I like this idea.." I reply, hesitantly. 

               She rolls her eyes at me, grinning."Why Ed, ya jealous?"

               "Of course not." I scoff, rolling my eye at her.

                "Then let me do this then. Besides, it's not like it means anything anyway. It's just so we can get off the ship without this turning into a huge pain in the ass." she argues, narrowing her eyes at me.

                 "Whatever, do what you want." I mumble, shrugging one shoulder. I really wasn't jealous, but at the same time, it wasn't exactly something I wanted to watch. Who would want to watch their girl flirt with another man? No man in their right mind that I knew of. 

                I watch as she grabs the rope, tucking it into the back of her pants, as she saunters over to the lone crew member on the deck. He looks surprised, though that quickly changes, when he gets a good look at Penelope, who's pretty much right in front of him at this point. He looks her up and down, clearly eyeing her with interest. I can feel my fist clenching, as I try to resist the urge to go out there, trying to remain calm as I watch her do this.

                 The more rational part of me knows it's just so we can get off the ship. The other part of me wants to go beat the shit out of him for just looking at her like that. 

                  She walks up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder."They left you all alone huh?" She says causally, though she slowly moves her hand from his shoulder towards his neck. "That's too bad." She purrs, and I can practically already see the guy drooling, as she leans towards him. 

                   I stifle a laugh at the sight, because this guy is clearly inexperienced, at least that's what it looks like. Don't get me wrong, she's beautiful, and any man would see that, it's just that he seems so tongue tied, and if he had any experience he would have come up with something good to say back by now. "You must be strong huh? If they left you all alone. Strong enough to handle most of a crew huh?" She adds, her voice low and hypnotizing, as she leans in, almost like she's going to kiss him. He's entranced, not even taking his eyes off of her, as she quietly reaches behind her for the rope.

                 "Well, my lucky night, to find you here, all alone." She adds, as she continues to get the rest of the rope out. She leans even closer, acting like she was going to kiss him, as she quickly snakes the rope around him, wrapping it around him quickly.

                  "What the hell?" he asks, as she almost finishes tying him. He's wrapped up pretty good by this point, and there's nothing he can do. She quickly finishes up, grinning, as she turns back towards me, a triumphant smile on her face. 

                    "Lets go Ed." she says, smiling, and I can't help smiling back at her, as we make our way off the ship. 

                     I shake my head laughing."Well, you pulled that off."

                      "Was there ever any doubt that I wouldn't?" She asks, raising an eyebrow at me.

                       "No. Never even doubted you for a second." I answer quietly, as I take her hand in mine as we walk.

                       We finally reach the ship, and I stop her out in the hallway, on our way to the dinning room, where everyone was supposed to meet after. "Wait a minute, Penelope." I murmur quietly, as I pull her into an embrace, as we stand out in the hallway, away from everyone else. I lean back, and placing one hand underneath her chin, lift her chin up, making her look at me, as I meet her gaze. "I know I'm not very good at the whole feelings thing, or talking about it. I'm really sorry about that, it's something that has never been easy for me, but I want to try. You, make me want to try harder Penelope. I'm going to work on it, getting better at showing you, and telling you, how I care very deeply for you, more than I've ever cared for anyone else." I tell her quietly, and her eyes widen, as I lean down, taking her lips with mine, in a gentle kiss, that has a slight heat to it, as she kisses me back. 

                  She pulls back smiling."I'd never thought I would hear you admit that." she says, teasing me, as she smiles at me. "Though you kinda did once after the event we did together before. I know it's not something you say much Ed, and I care for you too. Thanks for telling me." she adds, as she takes my hand in hers.

                 "Wait, hang on, turn around and lift your hair up." I instruct, and though she raises an eyebrow in question, she does what I say. I take out the necklace, and I reach over her head and in front of her, draping the necklace on her, before fastening the clasp behind her neck.

                 "It's beautiful." she murmurs, turning around to face me, as she touches the necklace. "Where, when did you?" she asks, and I smirk.

                "It's a secret." I tell her, as I take her hand in mine once again, as we head into the dinning room to meet everyone. 

A/N: Hi!!!! well everyone... chapter 29!!! wow!!! two more chapters before we leave pirate island... then we go to one more island, before the epilogue...>_<.. speaking of, on that other island, there's going to be girl bonding of sorts, so I want you to think of either, sharing your girls backstory, like her past, or a secret, for that okay? There's still time, but I'll need that in a few chapters... and btw. soo something I never thought would happen...guys this has 1k reads!!! just wow!!! i never thought anyone would even read this at the start!! for it to have reached that!!! ahhh!!!>_< anyway.. lol..Christopher and Luna are up next, but I'm going to update the bidders first. I'm trying to keep rotating which one I update, especially since this one will be done soon. Thanks for reading!!!

-Jinx