I rolled out from under him and we went again.
Llewellyn came at me with Air. I expanded into the Magic Field, caught it, and flung it at him. He dodged, summoning Fire, and I threw up a Water wall.
While the steam was still hovering between us, I lunged through it, cupped his head, and kissed him.
Llewellyn laughed against my mouth. I felt a burst of delight so strong come through the bond, it almost knocked me off balance on its own.
I used that moment to summon Water and splash him completely from head to toe.
A second later, I'd already backed up out of range, grinning like an idiot.
"You started it!" I called.
The pirates cheered.
"THE LAD KISSED HIM MID-FIGHT!"
"Did that count as a hit?!"
"Captain looked entirely too happy about it!"
"Fair enough," Llewellyn said, mouth curving up. "Let's see if you can do it twice."
He attacked, using Air and Water together this time—and fast. Damn.
I dove, caught his Water and redirected it at his legs.
He jumped over it, closed the gap in two steps, and swept my legs out from under me. I hit the deck and he was on top of me before I could blink, pinning my wrists.
"That's one," he said, and kissed me.
"..."
Goddamnit. Also this was not the time to get… uh… inappropriate physical reactions!
That said… Nobody said I couldn't use that too.
I hooked my leg around his, rolled us over, and pressed down.
Llewellyn's breath hitched.
"I see," he said, eyes lighting up with amusement. "It looks like this really does it for you."
"Shut up," I said, stealing another kiss. "And that's one for me too."
...And I splashed him again.
Llewellyn snorted, grinning up at me. His shirt was completely plastered to him and his eyes were bright. I was... having trouble remembering what we were doing.
"THE LAD FLIPPED THE CAPTAIN!"
"Captain got distracted by his own tactics! Bet he regrets teachin' the lad flirtin' maneuvers!"
"Nah, look at his face—he absolutely does not!"
Llewellyn threw me off and attacked again.
For the next... I don't know how long, Llewellyn attacked, I caught his Elements, one of us pinned the other, we kissed, we both ended up on the deck. Then we'd get up and go again.
The pirates were having a blast and… so was I.
And judging from the bond, Llewellyn was too.
Llewellyn was incredible, switching between Elements mid-attack. Not that I was expecting anything less.
He wasn't holding back either and, through the bond, I could actually feel how much power he was putting out, which was an insane amount.
He was right, he seemed fine. Completely fine. Whatever had happened with the destabilization seemed to have settled for now, which was a relief, but also… damn. What had that been?
Anyway, I couldn't get distracted here.
I caught Llewellyn's Water Magic, redirected it wide, and used the opening to tackle him. We crashed into a pile of rope, both laughing, completely soaked.
"Using Water was a tactical mistake," I said, hovering close, grinning. "You know I can wield it better than you."
"You wish," Llewellyn said, amused, then grabbed me by the front of my shirt and kissed me... uh... surprisingly gently, before I could pin him down properly. I felt his satisfaction through the bond and my arms gave out, which meant I collapsed onto him—which... meant he rolled us and pinned me again.
"That doesn't count!" I said immediately.
"It absolutely counts," Llewellyn said resuming the kiss, and lowered himself onto me.
Uh. Damn. Okay. I could feel how it was. Also this slow kiss was killing me; I felt like even my hair was on fire.
But we couldn't just… here! Right???
…Or could we?
"CAPTAIN'S WON AGAIN!"
"RECKON THEY'VE FORGOTTEN WE'RE HERE!"
"WOULDN'T MIND WATCHING!"
I was breathing hard.
I cupped his head, deepening the kiss for a few moments, before shoving him off and going at him again.
Llewellyn met me halfway. He feinted with Air and switched to Fire mid-attack.
!!!
I barely caught it in time.
The redirected flames singed a barrel, and three pirates dove out of the way.
"OI! KEEP THE FIRE AWAY FROM THE RUM!"
"They're one kiss away from detonatin' the ship!"
"Apologies," Llewellyn called out, not sounding sorry at all.
I sent a wave at him while he was talking. He responded with Air and sent it back at me twice as fast. I dodged, then used the flooded deck to slide across it, straight into him.
We went down hard. I landed on top, pinned his wrists, and kissed him.
Llewellyn's whole body reacted. The spike that came through the bond was so intense my vision blurred for a second.
"That's a point," I said against his lips, grinning.
Llewellyn stared at me, breathing hard. His gaze lowered to my lips. A moment later, he freed his wrists, flipped us, and had me on my back with my arms above my head.
"That's a point," he said back, smug, and kissed down my throat, teeth and all, sucking a mark there.
Uuhhh.
I made a noise that I hoped the pirates didn't hear.
…They did.
"Sweet mercy, I've gone red as a sunset!"
"Crew's gettin' flustered over here!"
"The lad made one noise and the captain turned predatory!"
He did, and… I wasn't doing much better. I could barely remember what was up or down anymore.
No wait, this was down because I was the one pinned!
I could roll us over or—
I reached for the hem of Llewellyn's shirt. I slid my hand under it, lifted it up, and took it off.
Llewellyn seemed startled for a moment, but… let me.
"…"
We stared at each other. Then my eyes moved down.
…Damn.
Maybe this hadn't been a great idea. I was the one looking at him, so… I was the one distracted by the view.
"THEY'RE STRIPPIN' EACH OTHER DURIN' TRAINING NOW!"
"Captain looked way too pleased losin' that shirt!"
"Aye, take the lad's off too! Fair's fair!"
"They're right," Llewellyn said, hovering closer, reaching for my shirt. "Yours should be off too."
...Ha!
I managed to take him by surprise, throw him off and get away.
"You'll have to catch me first!" I said, grinning.
"Fine," Llewellyn said, amused, and… did so almost immediately. I was sprawled on the deck again.
Goddamnit.
Llewellyn kissed me, went for my shirt, and lifted it all the way off.
Then, instead of taking it off completely, he... left it tangled around my wrists, tying them together.
...Uh.
Fuck.