Chapter 16: Ruined
"CAPTAIN! GOOD NEWS!"
The door, which had been left slightly ajar, was kicked open with a bang that rivaled Lux’s entrance. Smith burst into the room, his face beaming with a wide, drunken grin, holding a half-eaten leg of ham in one hand and a bottle of rum in the other.
"We found another crate of those fancy biscuits Lux missed!" Smith announced with a boisterous cheer, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just interrupted a moment of cosmic significance. "And Blood Beard says the weather's clearing! We'll be at the coordinates by dawn! Isn't that grand?"
Kai snapped back as if he’d been burned, clearing his throat and stepping away from Elena so quickly he nearly tripped over a footstool. He ran a hand through his hair, his face flushing a deep, embarrassed red.
"That’s... that’s wonderful, Smith," Kai said, his voice straining for its usual authority. "G-great work. Now get out."
"Don't you want a biscuit, sir? They've got the little sugar bits on 'em!" Smith insisted, swaying slightly as he offered the invisible biscuits.
"Out! Now!" Kai barked, pointing toward the hallway.
Smith shrugged, unfazed by the outburst. "Suit yourself! More for us! Sleep well, miss! Don't let the rats bite!" He gave a clumsy salute and stumbled back into the hallway, his cheerful whistling echoing down the corridor.
The silence that returned was entirely different—heavy with awkwardness and the lingering ghost of what almost happened. Elena bit her lip, trying to suppress a laugh at the absurdity of it all, while Kai looked everywhere but at her.
"Right," Kai muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well. As I was saying. Sleep well, Elena."
"Sleep well, Kai," she whispered, her heart still racing, but for a very different reason now.