So this was sort of inspired by lilmissmaya's The Wall of Thorns via the poison aspect. (Little promotion here, go and read it!). I needed something else to write about these two considering I read everything on them pretty much now.

"You idiot, you unbelievable reckless idiot!" Joe's heart was pounding painfully against his ribcage, the room blurring together except for the single occupant resting on the bed. The red and black figure was the only thing that mattered to him right now. His head swam for a moment, leaving him stumbling against the dresser next to him. A few select curses were mumbled underneath his breath, but he forced his body to cooperate with him. Screw his own body's condition, the captain was his priority and had taken the worse of the attacks.

Seriously, how was it the damn pirate hadn't heard of the Zangyack Needlers? They were far worse than Space Rats. Large in size, barbed tails with poison-filled teeth and claws, they were specifically trained to guard bases on remote planets and ships where treasures were held. The latter was one such place they had stumbled upon; they had been tracking down rogue Zangyack platoons and had somehow found treasure with their enemies. It was a good find until… well…

Until the Needlers were set lose. Joe only had a small amount of time to warn them all about keeping them at a distance when their captain and Luka rushed in for an assault. Joe had been forced to yell a quick warning to the remaining three before he darted in after the two. Marvelous had gotten the worse of it. Luka managed well with using her sabers, but Joe had gotten two barbs straight to the back due to a miscalculated step. Don and Ahim managed to get away unscathed, Gai covering them.

The soldier's eyes landed back on the captain, who had been scoffing at him and trying to curl inwards to stop the nausea that was rising. Disorientation, agitation, loss of motor skills, nausea, it was all because of the poison, it made it easier for the intruders to be captured. They were lucky to have killed them all and the remaining Zangyack without reinforcements – which wouldn't have come anyways – otherwise they would have been in a sticky situation.

But Marvelous… Joe's eyes hardened and he stalked back over to the bed, grabbing a hold of his shoulder. The idiot always darted in, and sometimes forgot that Joe would cover his back… if he knew what the hell Marvelous was doing in the first place. Honestly, how could he do his job when Marvelous was everywhere at once?

"Don't you dare fall asleep on me!" There was a grunt of annoyance and Marvelous shoved his hand off with a roll of his shoulder. The glare sent towards the first mate was a pathetic attempt, barely even making Joe raise an eyebrow.

"You're not the captain here." A cool hand descended on Marvelous' cheek, gentle yet firm in grip. Joe almost balked. Marvelous was burning up, much warmer than Joe himself. His head swam when he swore, turning his head to yell for Don. A resulting muted explosion and a whine echoed through the ship. It would have been easier nabbing the antidote directly from the storage room at the base, yet a quick raid of it led to them finding nothing. Don had to make do with the sample of undiluted poison directly from one of the Needlers.

"I'm almost done! Don't let him fall asleep!"

Shit. The soldier cursed, he had to buy time and keep the captain awake. Normally an argument, or food, was enough to keep the man's attention… The former was the best bet.

"You insufferable idiot," The words began to pour out as Marvelous' eyes began to close, the barrier Joe kept up for his cool indifferent façade breaking down, "you rush into situations without a plan because, and I quote, 'that's what pirates do'. You will get killed that way, and one of these days your luck will run out and I may not be there to bail you out!" The last word killed him to admit it. He wasn't even sure if his captain even heard it; one day he may not make it to his side, he'd be too slow to watch his captain's back and… Marvelous growled, and the feeble shrug was pitiful and half-hearted, the other's head descending into sweet darkness that diminished the nausea and pain. Joe's heart left into his throat when he realized the cold hard truth; it wasn't working.

"Don't fall asleep, damnit Marvelous!" Those eyes were almost closed, the dark depths underneath swimming with pain and semi-conscious. He had to do something, anything to keep him awake… Joe couldn't even stop a thought from crossing his mind, nor the action that followed. He was unsure if he even wanted to.

'Don't leave me like Sid did. Don't leave before I can tell you what you mean to me. Not again.'

Closing his eyes, Joe's lips pressed against Marvelous' parted ones, a fierce hard kiss to prevent him from sleeping, from drifting away.

From leaving Joe.

There was no reaction for a split second, but he didn't pull away, one hand trailing up to thread its way into Marvelous' hair. It was only when he opened his eyes that Joe realized that his captain was staring wide-eyed at him. The blood in his veins froze at the emotions that raced across his face. Pain blossomed on his shoulder-blade as he found himself shoved into the dresser, grunting as he fought to right himself and stop his head from spinning. Even though he felt agitation begin to overtake him from being shoved away, his heart was twisting in his chest. There had been fear on Marvelous face.

"Try and hold him still! Since you kept him awake, I think the agitation aspect you mentioned is beginning to kick in. I'll have to give him some sedatives." Don? Since when had he gotten here? Joe simply nodded, lunging back at his captain and pinning his lower half with one leg while using his hands to trap his flailing arms. The pulse underneath his fingers was erratic and frantic, Marvelous' eyes locked onto his own. It all slowed done when Don injected two vials into their captain.

"Will he be…?" Joe was hesitant in finishing his question. He waited until the captain had fallen into a deep sleep before he decided to slide back off the bed. Don caught him as he stumbled, sharing a small and tired smile.

"He should, I may have had only a little bit of time, but I think I succeeded in the antidote. I'll need to give you and Luka some as well, Gai only got a few scratches, but it wasn't enough to really harm him." Focusing his thoughts on putting one foot in front of the other, Joe followed, or rather was escorted, by Don to his lab, where Luka was waiting.

…

It was night, yet even with the antidote, his mind was still swimming. There was no way he could sleep. Stepping as silently as he could, Joe paused near the captain's quarters, listening for any sign that he was awake. Nothing. It was difficult to tell if he was feeling relieved or worried. Perhaps a time out among the stars could clear his mind. The wood creaked loudly underneath his bare feet and he bit back a curse.

"Joe!" Said soldier flinched at the sudden roar of his name. Marvelous was out of bed… Joe turned slightly, watching as the captain stormed out of his quarters; there was a slight stumble in his stride. The look of annoyance was easily seen and wisely he decided to pause before heading up the stairs, turning to face his agitated captain in the near-darkness. Strange, the sedatives should have still confined him to bed and gotten rid of such agitation… Joe's lips parted to question what Marvelous wanted when the captain grabbed him.

Joe was slammed into the nearest wall, Marvelous gripping his wrists tightly and pinning them overhead. The soldier grunted from the unexpected force, narrowing his eyes down at him before testing the other's grip. His arm barely moved, surprising him. It was shocking, yet also relieving, that the other had recovered from the almost fatal amount of poison in such a short amount of time. Maybe his immune system was better than he thought, or Don's antidote was more effective then he gave credit to. But then there was the fact Marvelous was apparently fighting off the last of the sedatives he had unknowingly been given and that he still had trace amounts of poison in his system.

However… Joe's eyes flickered away from him. The only other reason why Marvelous could be standing like this was his hot temper. Even though he could be injured, his stubbornness and temper could vanquish the pain if only for a short time.

"Look at me." Anger laced the words along with the captain's infamous impatience, leaving Joe to purse his lips as he obeyed, leaning his head against the wall to await whatever the captain was going to say – or do. A moment of silence passed by them.

"Why?" Despite Joe's steel resolve, he found his gaze wavering, eyes inching away before he snapped them back to Marvelous'. The one word cut into him, and he knew exactly what he was asking about. However, Joe was hesitant on responding until Marvelous leaned closer. There was no way he could talk his way out of this, and he was highly reluctant to try and wrestle the other to the ground and throw him back into his room.

Silence hung heavy in the air once again, weighing both of them down. Marvelous wavered on his feet and upon seeing that, Joe bit down on his lip. His voice came out quietly so as to not rouse their sleeping crewmates, if they hadn't heard the racket already. Honestly Joe would be surprised if they hadn't.

"I couldn't lose you." Marvelous' breath was sucked out of his lungs with those four words. The anger dissipated from his eyes, searching Joe's face for answers. Honestly the captain was unsure how to interpret what his first mate had said. There was a reason why he had lashed out in the first place; it hadn't just been the poison. Basco had betrayed him not once but twice. He sold them out to the Zangyack, and shattered his heart alongside it.

"You will get killed that way, and one of these days your luck will run out and I may not be there to bail you out!"

It was difficult to remember through the thickness of the pain how Joe had phrased it. His rational mind told him that it was wrong to question Joe's loyalty. No matter what he did or how badly they argued, he always stuck by his side. Joe was different than Basco. Joe wouldn't leave him, which had been proven again and again.

The hesitance and confusion slowly drained from Marvelous', fingers loosening around Joe's wrists. There was no way now that he could misinterpret those four words. No one just kissed another to keep them awake, well, that he knew of anyways.

"You mean you..?" The question was left open-ended on purpose, to edge on his first mate in answering what he was getting at. There was an audible gulp and Joe forced himself to not waver. Why was it that it was difficult to say those words now that he had the chance, now that the other was figuring it out and was waiting for confirmation? It was frustrating that the words died on his lips, that he couldn't just say them and wait for Marvelous' reaction. By how closely his captain was watching him, rather patiently mind you, it was obvious he could see him struggling.

'Because I care for you, because I love you, because you made life worth living again.'

The words were twisting around in his mind, snaking away before he could reach out and grasp them. He never had a way of speaking such personal words. That was more of Ahim's ability. For once, the man of few words wished he could borrow that ability for only a few seconds. Suddenly Joe found himself having to bear the full weight of Marvelous as he lost his balance. Grunting, Joe slid down the wall to break their fall. There was no mumble of an apology, yet Marvelous laid his head against Joe's shoulder to recollect himself after losing his balance.

Of course, Joe thought, he hadn't recovered after all. Sleep was pulling at his captain.

"Marvelous…" Joe began, waiting for his captain to look up before he tried to continue. However, whatever had been on his lips died as a hand ran up his neck.

"You and your lack of words." Marvelous smirk before returning the kiss from before. They could sort everything out later, when they both had time to themselves, but for now… The smirk increased when he felt Joe's hands tighten on his shoulders.

"Well, I guess I won that bet. Ahim!" Luka's voice startled the two, resulting in Marvelous jerking back and glaring at her through his bangs. The princess peeked out of her room, a secretive smile on her lips. Damn, did everyone hear what just happened? Joe fought back a groan of annoyance. There really was no privacy on the ship.

"Actually Luka, Joe kissed Marvelous first!" Luka gaped at the barely heard whisper behind Don's door before stomping her foot on the floor while a blush crept up on Joe's neck. The captain growled at them, the sound chasing the two back into their rooms with laughter spilling from them. It seemed Don had been wise to not try and peek out even though he had been just behind his door, and it was apparent that Gai was dead to the world. Marvelous grunted, the sedatives working to pull him back to sleep when Joe moved underneath him.

"Either get up and let me help you back to your room or I'll throw you over my shoulder and do it myself." Joe's eyes and lips betrayed the mirth that he tried to hide behind his stoic expression as he stared up at Marvelous' face. The crooked grin that he found there calmed him, relief pooling within his chest, grounding him into the now.

"Even think about doing that and I'll cut off both your hands." Joe snorted, using his knees to flip the other off of him before he held a hand out. There was no hesitation clouding Marvelous' judgement as his hand slipped into Joe's. He reflected briefly on how well they fit together, and once again those words came back to him.

"… and I may not be there to bail you out!"

Marvelous bit back a snort, his eyes glancing over towards his first mate as he helped him back to his own room.

'You will always be there to bail me out. After all, it's always been you and me. It had been since we first met. And now we have our crew behind us.'

The tips of Marvelous' lips widened in a smile, shaking his head at Joe's questioning look and simply tightening his grip on his hand, a hand he knew wouldn't let go of him.

'No, I don't plan on having Lady Luck skimping out on me yet. After all I'm a pirate, and we don't go down without a fight. And it would be one hell of a fight.'