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Jay was up working late again.
Chip knew better than to bother Jay when she was up tinkering, especially late at night. He and Gillion had learned that the hard way. Gillion had once gotten grazed with a bullet from Jay’s gun when he snuck into her workspace on a night when she was up late tinkering. Chip had gotten hit with a wrench on more than one occasion.
Still, Chip was drawn to her. It was nearing one in the morning and he was just coming off his watch, handing Alphonze the helm, Jay wasn’t in her bed when he went down to change out of his dirty clothes from that day. He peeked into Jay’s workshop, careful not to make too much noise. He would rather not be on the receiving end of a wrench again.
Jay was slumped over her workbench, her curls cascading down her back in a ponytail, jacket slipping off of one shoulder. Chip slipped further into the room. He could see ink smeared across her face. Or was it grease? Making sure no potential weapons were in range, Chip made his presence known.
“Jay?” Nothing. “Jay?” Chip tried again, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. She stirred slightly. “Jay, it’s late. Alphonze is on watch, let’s head down to bed.”
Jay leaned into the warmth that she felt on her shoulder. She had been working since dawn on new advancements in black sand technology. Blueprints lay strewn about the desk, some notes were scribbled hastily and others were scratched out, rejected. Chip couldn’t make any sense of any of it, but he was sure that Jay knew what it meant. Jay’s back ached and her shoulders were tense. Chip could feel the tightness in her shoulders. She leaned further into his touch, the heat releasing some of the tension.
“Come on, Jay,” Chip urged softly, “Time for bed. You’ve been down here all day.”
“Hmm?” Jay rubbed at her eye and pulled out the ribbon holding her hair back. “What?”
“It’s late. You’ve been working all day and nobody’s seen you. It’s time to get to sleep,” Chip said, helping Jay to her feet. “You’re dirty. Let’s get you cleaned up and into bed.”
As Jay took a step, she stumbled. She was too tired to walk at this point. Chip reached out and grabbed onto her, picking her up. “Okay, Jay Bird, up you go.” Much like she would have when she was a small child, Jay wrapped her arms around Chip’s shoulders, her legs around his middle, and tucked her head into his shoulder.
This wasn’t the first time Chip had carried Jay to bed like this. Sometimes she fell asleep after her watch or when the crew would hang around at night and Chip or Gillion would carry her back to her bed. Still, Chip couldn’t help but blush at Jay so easily finding comfort in his arms every time. He knew just how high she kept up her walls, and to see her let them down around him even a little bit made his heart skip a beat, not that he would ever admit it.
Chip carried Jay over to the room they all shared as co-captains. Jay’s grip tightened around him as Chip walked down the stairs. He froze as she nuzzled her head deeper into the crook of his neck. Jay let out a tired sigh.
Chip walked down the stairs as quietly as he could to not wake Gill, which didn’t matter because he was dead asleep in his barrel with the lid on. He got to the edge of Jay’s bed and tried to set her down, but Jay didn’t move.
“Jay, I need to put you down. Grab some pajamas so you can go to bed,” Chip whispered to her. Jay let out a disappointed hum as she loosened her grip around Chip and allowed him to sit her on the edge of her bed. Chip set her down and went to grab some water and a rag for her face. He used a bit of his burning hands to warm the water slightly.
As Chip returned to Jay, he noticed she had changed into one of his old shirts and a pair of cotton shorts. She was trying to brush out her hair, her eyes drooping as she struggled to stay awake. Chip set down the bucket of water and took the brush from her hand.
“Can I?” Chip asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He knew how particular Jay was about her hair. But she nodded and turned her back to him.
Chip brushed her hair as gently as he could, trying not to pull too hard. He started at the ends, working his way up to the roots. Jay’s hair was surprisingly soft considering how much salt had to be in it. After he brushed through her hair, Chip set down the brush and divided Jay’s hair into three sections, braiding it down her back.
When Chip had learned to braid, Jay had no idea, but he was careful with her hair. He didn’t pull too hard like Ava would have. He was even gentler than her mother would have been. It was nice. It was nice to know that she could trust Chip like this.
“Can I have your ribbon?” Chip interrupted her thoughts. Jay hummed as she handed it back to him, and Chip tied off the end of her braid. Jay turned back around to face Chip.
“Thank you,” Jay whispered, resting her head on Chip’s shoulder. Chip smiled softly.
“Your face is filthy. What is this, ink or grease?” Chip questioned, grabbing the rag from the bucket of water and wringing it out a bit.
“Probably both. Might be some black sand in there too,” Jay mumbled. Chip chuckled and lifted Jay’s head from his shoulder. He gently cupped her cheek as he started scrubbing away the grime from her face. “I can do it,” Jay said as she tried to grab the rag from Chip.
“You can’t even sit up without swaying. You’re barely awake, just let me help,” Chip insisted, holding the rag out of Jay’s reach.
“The ship is swaying, dumbass,” Jay retorted, trying to grab the rag from Chip, which caused her to fall forward into him. Chip caught her with ease and held her still.
“For once, let me help. It’ll be faster and then you can get to bed,” Chip said softly. Jay looked up at him, through her eyelashes, and sat back, allowing him to clean off her face. “The ship is barely swaying, for the record. It’s just you.”
Chip dunked the rag back into the water and scrubbed at Jay’s face once more. He tried to ignore the feeling in his stomach as Jay’s eyes fluttered shut and she leaned into his palm. As he wiped away all of the grime, he could see more of her freckles. Chip had a habit of secretly counting Jay’s freckles when he could. The repetitive nature seemed to calm the ever-raging sea that plagued his mind. The last time he counted, he got up to three-hundred and eighty-six across her face and shoulders. Jay’s freckles weren’t as pronounced tonight seeing as she had been inside tinkering for the last four days away from sunlight, and it was dark in their quarters. Now that he thought about it, Chip didn’t remember seeing Jay down in their quarters the past four days. She had occasionally come out of the workshop to eat, but that was really it.
Finally, Chip wiped away the last of whatever Jay had managed to smear across her face. He set the rag back into the bucket and pulled the pin from her hair. Jay’s eyes opened, confused. She watched as Chip silently pinned it to the collar of his shirt that she wore.
“There you go,” Chip whispered. She gave him a soft smile. “Get some sleep, Jay.”
“Thank you,” Jay said through a yawn. A bit of her bangs fell onto her face. Chip brushed it behind her ear before reluctantly pulling away from her. As he stood, a hand caught his own. Chip turned back to Jay.
“Can you stay? Please?”
Chip froze. “What?”
“Stay,” Jay repeated. She squeezed his hand gently. Chip sat back down next to her.
“Jay, when was the last time you slept?”
She thought about it for a moment. “Three days ago,” she yawned, “maybe four.” Chip frowned as Jay rested her head on his shoulder.
“Are you still having nightmares?” Chip asked. The scars of the scratches on his chest seem to throb at the thought. “Yeah,” Jay whispered. “You and Gill kept dying. Ava kept dying. Ollie kept dying. It was all at my father’s hand. I couldn’t watch it happen anymore. I didn’t want to risk seeing any of you die again. I can’t watch you die again, Chip.” The fear was evident in her voice.
Chip took a deep breath before shifting the two of them so they could lie down. He hated seeing Jay afraid. “Okay, I’ll stay.”
Jay grabbed her blanket and pulled it up around them, not that they needed it for warmth. Between their combined body heat and Chip’s tattoos generating so much heat, it would have been useless. Jay wrapped an arm around Chip’s waist and curled into him. Chip rested his chin on top of Jay’s head and wrapped his arms around her.
“Please don’t die tonight,” Jay muttered sleepily. Chip chuckled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“I won’t. Just get some sleep, Jay Bird. I’m right here.”