Chapter Text
One month had passed since the events with the compass - which Maxx always kept safely in his pocket. Frank finally seemed to have calmed down. Mostly. He was no longer constantly voicing his wishes to leave, and even making an effort to interact with Cody's crew. Not Zach, though. He still held some issue with him. Maxx hoped he would come round, but had given up trying.
During this time, Cody had taken Maxx up on an offer to teach him fighting skills. He was willing to admit he knew next to nothing about combat, and who better to learn from than the pirate he most admired?
The rest of the crew was below deck, likely asleep - which meant they had the night to themselves. Sparring in peace under the light of the moon was fast becoming a daily ritual, and Cody’s favourite part of the day. He hoped it was Maxx’s too.
Cody stood still, lowering his sword to his side, catching his breath for a moment, watching as Maxx threw down his weapon.
“You’re improving fast. I think it’s time you learned a more advanced skill.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“You’ve learned how to deflect a sword hit, but now you should learn how to take one.”
“What?”
His eyes widened in confusion as Maxx tugged at his trousers, lowering them from high on his waist, to hang low on his hips, exposing a lot more of his stomach. Cody swallowed hard, trying his best not to stare. “Maxx, what are - what are you doing?”
Maxx locked eyes with him, kicked his sword away and spread his arms wide. “Stab me.”
“What?!”
“Come on, Cody. Stab me!”
“No!”
“Getting impaled is an art - one which has been done to me countless times. You want to learn how to fight? This is how you do it. You’re not gonna be able to defend yourself from every hit. You need to learn how to get stabbed and survive. Take your sword, run me through.”
“There’s gotta be another way, I’m not stabbing you!”
“This is it, Cody. This is the life!” He pulled his gun from his belt. “Stab me. Or I’ll shoot you.”
“Don’t fucking shoot me! Are you insane?”
“Maybe I am! Stab me!”
Cody ran at him, sword out ready. Maxx shifted himself a little before it pierced his skin. When he was at a close enough distance, he put his hands on Cody’s shoulders, pulling him and his sword closer. He sucked in a sharp breath as the felt the blade all the way through him.
He rested his head on Cody’s shoulder, breathing heavily.
“Are you okay? Happy now? I’ve stabbed you, you fucking idiot!”
Maxx let out a breathy laugh and lifted his head. "Yeah. You did so good." He panted, smiling, and planted a soft kiss on Cody's lips.
His face flushed very red at Maxx's words, wishing his heart would stop pounding so much.
"The trick to getting stabbed," He began, wincing a little as Cody's gaze followed his down to where the metal entered him and unintentionally moved the sword. "Is to direct it to where it does the least damage. Your sword missed all the important bits."
Around the place Cody had stabbed him, there was a bunch of scars, indicating he really has been stabbed there many times. He tried to count them, and got to seven before Maxx interrupted.
"Alright. Time to take this thing outta me, you ready?"
Cody nodded.
"Just tug it gently, but not too quick."
Cody began to slowly pull it out of him, causing Maxx to groan loudly.
"Ah! Fuck, Cody! Little faster than that!"
"Sorry!"
Once his sword was fully out of Maxx, he dropped it to the floor, the sound of it hitting the deck almost drowned out by Maxx's heavy panting. He watched as blood started to spill out. "Shit." He breathed.
Maxx winced as he put a hand over the entrance wound to slow the bleeding a little - completely ignoring the exit wound.
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up. You alright to walk, or do you need help?"
"Uhm..." He took a couple steps to test, whimpering a little at the pain. "Help?"
Cody responded with a smile and put an arm round Maxx, taking his weight as he walked with him to retrieve bandages.
---
On the other side of the closed door leading below deck, Frank was stood with a look of horror on his face. He just wanted to get some fresh air, but froze abruptly upon hearing the captains. The sounds they made, the things they said, he couldn't believe it. Disgust settled within as it dawned on him what they were doing. The two captains were having sex on the deck of the ship. This had gone too far now, he needed to confront Carson about it. He clearly hadn't listened enough before, which meant he just needed to use more force this time...