Swimming Lessons

[Meryasek Moriarty]

Yaz listened to her perspective of the stars. He closed his eyes momentarily and then reopened them, looking at the stars with Eilis’s description in mind. He couldn’t see it. It didn’t look like the sun had exploded. It looked like someone had shattered glass, causing the glass to break into thousands upon thousands of tiny shards that glittered across the universe. Maybe it was because the sun seemed so close and the stars so far that he thought this way. But he supposed it really didn’t matter. Eilis’s idea was interesting and he found her imagination, her view of the world, intriguing.

Yaz nodded at her question. “Yes, pirates and sailors—all seafarers—use the stars to navigate the seas,” he confirmed, trying to remain a little detached. Pirates weren’t exactly Yaz’s favorite topic. He knew that much of the world considered them to be romantic, and not all pirates were terrible people; they were simply trying to get rich the quick and easy way. But some pirates, like Yaz’s father, weren’t admirable men, at least in Yaz’s opinion.

He couldn’t stop himself from chortling at her musings, but when she said that he looked like a pirate he fell silent. He knew that Eilis meant it as a compliment, but it was a little too close to home for the man.

He knew he was his father’s son, but he never wanted to be like him. The love for the sea was in his blood; Yaz learned long ago that there was no escaping that. He was a Moriarty after all. But he did all that he could to not be his father. He was honest to a fault (except when he was evading questions) and he hadn’t kidnapped and forced a woman to marry him, making her mother 3 children. He didn’t want to be like that.

“Women have never really been successful pirates,” Yaz stated.

“I know Anne Bonny and Mary Read are famous examples, but you have to consider: Anne Bonny only became a pirate through being Calico Jack’s lover, and Mary Read would have never been successful had the rest of the crew known she was a woman at the start. Men, seafarers especially, can be exceptionally greedy for women when they’re made available.”

  

[Eilis Hooligan]

At Yaz's answer to her question, Eilis took a moment to try and see how they did that. "Do you do that? How is it done?" She asked curiously, trying to figure out how the stars could be used for navigation. He didn't seem to keen to speak about it though but she couldn't help her curiosity.

Eilis looked at Yaz as he fell silent, tilting her head to the side slightly as she wondered what she had done or said wrong. Lightly biting her bottom lip, she kept her eyes on him as he continued to speak.

Considering his words, Eilis retreated slightly into herself as she thought on them. "I suppose you're right. I would still be expendable," she mused with a sigh. "And that's the same almost anywhere, especially in the slums of London or Hogsmeade. Dangerous for my gender but I survived this long," she said in response to his statement about men being greedy for women.

Eilis couldn't help breaking into a smile again as she climbed onto a boulder to make herself taller than him. "I could be the first great female pirate, you never know. But talk of pirates bothers you for some reason so I shall desist. I'm curious though, are you greedy for women?" Eilis had a feeling he wasn't so she was mostly teasing, or maybe that was her wishful thinking. Then again, he had bedded her the first time he had met her but still, she didn't get the same vibes from him as she got from the more sleazier men in her acquaintance.

  

[Meryasek Moriarty]

Eilis asking about the stars and how to navigate with them didn’t bother Yaz. “Well, there are 3 major constellations that every seafarer should know: Cassiopeia, Crux, and Orion. Crux is only important if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere; otherwise, don’t mind it.

“Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are good ones to know, too.

“The most important star—in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway—is Polaris.” His eyes searched the skies momentarily before spotting the star, nestled betwixt Ursa Major and Cassiopeia. He pointed to it. “If you can find Polaris, you can figure which direction you’re sailing, but Ursa Major and Cassiopeia work as support for that,” he added, pointing to the two constellations, Ursa Major first, then Cassiopeia.

He wanted to keep it simple. Stars shifted just like the sun, but it was too complicated to explain. After all, he didn’t think that Eilis would need all the complex details of how to navigate on the ocean.

Her comment on being expendable caused him to sigh, too. He hated the mentality of today and how it affected others.

“You’re not expendable,” he whispered, hardly audible. The words scared him, but it was true. Eilis wasn’t expendable. Even if whatever they had ended, no woman would be able to replace her. Eilis was Eilis and what Yaz shared with her was special and unique simply because it was her whom he shared it with.

He let go of his hold on her when she moved and watched as she scrambled up a boulder nearby. Her comment made him smirk. She was so petite; it seemed funny to try to imagine her as a pirate. She looked more like a cabin boy. The smirk only grew and at her question, broke into a laughing smile.

He knew she was teasing, but he seriously considered the question. His looks turned thoughtful.

“No,” he answered after a moment or two. “I’d say women are greedier for me than I am for them.” Every woman he had ever been with had instigated their relations with him, even Eilis. Yaz hadn’t turned them down, but he never was the first one to say anything. Maybe it was just his way of things, but Yaz rarely ever thought of taking a woman to bed unless the woman brought it up. He didn’t know whether to feel sad about this realization or flattered.

  

[Eilis Hooligan]

Eilis had not fully expected him to go into such detail though she could tell that he was barely scratching the surface of things. Looking at the stars as he spoke, she tilted her head to the side slightly as she considered them. It would probably be a useful thing to attempt to learn despite the fact she doubted she would ever end up on the sea. Maybe.

Who the hell knew what would happen in the future? She sure didn't. Besides, she could probably also use the stars as a map in forests or something. She decided to think more in depth about it later. Perhaps pick up a book or two on it. Maybe she would even use this new information to come up with a new story for Bride.

Eilis smiled as Yaz whispered that she wasn't expendable though she didn't comment on it. She couldn't help but smile in return to the smirk she was getting. Was he still underestimating her? She hoped so! Eilis enjoyed being underestimated because it always gave her the element of surprise. It was made her so handy.

Watching him as he turned thoughtful at her teasing question, she wondered what his answer would be. Unable to help lightly frowning at his statement about women being greedier for him than he was them, she couldn't help also feeling guilty for some reason.

"Well, you can be greedy for me, if you want. I won't mind," she said with a flirtatious smile before jumping off the boulder so that she was back on the ground. "I'm sorry to say that I can't regret initiating this affair of sorts with you, though, even if that makes me a 'greedy for you' woman," she informed him before pressing her lips to his cheek. No matter what happened, Eilis was fairly sure she wouldn't regret any of it.

  

[Meryasek Moriarty]

“You can be greedy for me…” Yaz felt his heart tighten in his chest at those words. He didn’t understand why; he knew she meant it playfully, but it made him afraid, too. What if he did allow himself to be greedy about her? Where would that lead? They’d already lost their heads (for him, more than just one). What would happen if they lost their hearts? Had Eilis already fallen for him? No. No, it was too soon for that. People didn’t fall in love that quickly. Or did they?

Yaz decided that he was overanalyzing the whole situation and decided it was best to just breathe before his brain exploded with thoughts he wasn’t ready to deal with just yet. Yaz had never been in love and he wasn’t ready to fall in love—not yet. Pulling himself back to reality, he rationalized: (1) what he had with Eilis was just for fun; (2) neither were expecting anything more than just sex; and (3) they hardly knew each other to begin with. How could either of them fall in love with the other without really knowing each other?

Feeling like he had a much better handle, emotionally, on the situation, he felt more like himself again. Besides, it was hard to ignore Eilis’s flirty smile. The way she could curl her lips made her absolutely irresistible.

He smiled at her final statement as she kissed his cheek. “I don’t mind you being greedy for me,” he said softly, feeling a nervous tug in his heart.

  

[Eilis Hooligan]

For once in her life, Eilis wished she was less perceptive but it couldn't be helped since she was standing quite close to the man. She wasn't sure what he was thinking but it seemed to be causing him unease. If she had known, she probably would have felt mildly rejected, possibly even hurt (was she that horrible?), but she did not so she was merely concerned.

"Good," she responded, a small smirk on her face. "Because you are rather addicting. Then again, you're the only man I've known sexually so what do I know?" Shrugging at it since she had no plans to change that or anyone else in her life that she felt any sort of yen to bed, Eilis put it out of her mind for now.

"I guess we should go back to sleep. I'd check the time but my pocketwatch is in my bag and I don't feel like rooting around for it." Stifling a yawn, Eilis looked at the stars one last time and briefly wondered when she would get to see such a sight again, or if this was going to be the last time she would get to see the stars so bright.

After a moment, she supposed, just like with everything else in her life, she would wait and see.

  

[Meryasek Moriarty]

Yaz pushed aside his nervous feelings. There was no reason to fret about love or any of that just yet. Eilis and he hardly knew each other, and love was never part of the original equation. Why worry about it? Anyway, if things started to get serious, their affair could easily be put to an end. No sense in fretting about it.

With that in mind, he allowed her teasing to be just that: teasing. There was no sense in looking for a deeper meaning. Although the words hadn’t been spoken, it had been implied that their relationship was strictly physical and nothing more.

“Well,” he began with a smirk to match her own. “I think you’re well on your way of knowing quite a lot,” he teased back. It was true, too; Eilis was a talented lover and quick to pick up on signals and desires. She could make a man very happy in bed.

Yaz hated that yawns were so contagious. As Eilis stifled hers, he had to stifle his. “I suppose you’re right,” he concluded.

“Come on. Let’s get some sleep.” With that, he put his hands on her shoulders and steered her back to the cave. He hoped that a good night’s sleep would put all these thoughts and confusion to rest. He didn’t want to wake up feeling anxious about anything. He enjoyed Eilis’s company and warmth and didn’t want to let go of her just yet, especially since things just barely got started.