HoloPirates: A Tale of Adventure

SSSSSSSSMOKIN'!

SCRAAATCH!!
He struck the match against the wood of the desk, igniting the sulphur and letting the tip of the match burn, giving off a pretty orange glow. He marveled in the beauty of the plasmatic fire for just a moment before he lifted the match and held it to the cigar in his other hand, lighting the end of the cigar and letting the scent of the cherry flavored tobacco wash over his senses. He wasn't too particularly crazy about the flavor of the cigar, but since tobacco was pretty hard to come by, it was the only thing available for purchase in the city of Wake. However, he knew just how much trouble Marine would put him through if she found out he was smoking again, let alone on her ship.
He held the cigar to his lips and took in a large breath of the cherry-flavored, tobacco-polluted air as he ran over some of the crew manifests. As he let the flavor of the tobacco wash over him, he found that he wasn't really paying much attention to the crew manifests, having grown tired of reading them all day.
He leaned back in the chair, running his scaly hand through his hair as he took in another breath of the cigar. At the second breath of the tobacco, the effect started to kick in, and he felt his mind finally relax after the stressful day. Truthfully, he had no idea what tobacco was like on Micheal's world, 9r if they even had it there, but he knew that there was no way that it could ever measure up to the calming power of their tobacco. He took another hit of the cigar, then leaned his head backward and blew the smoke into the air, letting the slightly noxious cloud rise to the top of his cabin as his eyes wandered over the ceiling.
As he was sitting there and contemplating what he should do with the rest of his day, he heard a sudden gasp from the door of his room, and he sat up in the chair suddenly, his mind racing at the possibility of Marine finding out about him smoking, but when he looked in the doorway, he saw Noel, peering at him from the cracked open door, her green eyes nearly piercing right through his soul. As he looked at her, her jaw dropped, and he lunged for the door, leaping out of the chair and reaching out for her, trying to grab her before she could get away, and thankfully, he felt his hand grasp her shoulder as he yanked her into the room with him, slamming the door to keep her inside. He stayed laying against the door, listening to hear if Marine was coming up to his room, but when he heard nothing, he sighed, slumping against the door in relief. But, after just a few minutes of calming himself back down, he turned around to Noel, who was sitting at the bed, fidgeting nervously as she snuck glances at him, trying to keep her eyes fixated on the wall in front of her.
"Sorry about that." He said, his voice slightly quivering. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
She stayed silent, and he stood up, grabbing the cigar and turning it over in his hands.
"I just don't want her to find out that I've been smoking again."
As he looked at her, she nodded, then finally looked over at him.
"I won't tell her." She said.
He gave her a nod, then he sat back down in the chair, put the cigar to his mouth, and took in a massive breath, hearing the cigar crackling as he burned up the end of it. He pulled it away, then let another of the slightly noxious clouds out of his mouth, blowing the smoky air towards the ceiling.
"You ever smoked?" He asked, wondering why she was still in the room with him.
"No, uhm, we were forbidden as knights." She said.
"Well, you ain't a knight anymore, huh?"
She gave him a smile, then got up from the edge of the bed, circled around, and sat at the side of the bed, facing him as he turned to her in his chair. She heaved out a sigh, and finally, she held out her hand to him, and he smiled as he grabbed another of the cigars from the pack, this one being mango flavored, which he didn't know if it was even good or not. But, despite that, he handed it to her, and she took it gingerly, turning it over and over in her hands as her green eyes scanned it. She opened her mouth slightly, then hesitated, before just giving in and putting the cigar to her lips, testing the texture of it.
"Here. Now all you gotta do is breathe once I light it."
She gave him a nod, then, he struck another of the matches, giving off a flash of orange light as it slowly died down to the normal orange glow of the flickering flame. He leaned over to Noel, then slowly lit the end of the cigar, and she took in a deep breath. However, the moment that she filled her lungs with the cigar smoke, she began to cough, her chest undergoing a rough spasm to get the noxious smoke out. She coughed over and over again, holding her elbow in front of her face, but finally, she stopped and calmed down, looking at the cigar in her hand.
"That was nasty." She said, breaking the silence.
"Aye, they usually are." He said. "I've just grown used to it. Its a good stress relief."
She turned the cigar over, reading the crumpled side of it, then, she pulled it back to her mouth and took in a small breath, attempting to ween herself to the cigar smoke, and thankfully, to Jansen, she seemed to be holding up pretty well as she lightly breathed out the smoke.
"There ya go!" He said, taking in a big breath of fresh smoke. "After a few puffs, the effect will kick in, trust me."
She stopped mid smoke and gave him a wide eyed glare.
"'Effect'?" She asked. "What kind of effect?"
He gave her a smile.
"Just take another breath, and I'll be here to steady you, okay?"
She gave him a smile, then took another breath of the cigar, and this time, around mid puff, she leaned back in the bed as her eyes widened, and Jansen watched as they rolled back in her head as she slumped forward.
"Noel?" He said, gaining no response. "NOEL??"
He grabbed her shoulders and forced her back into the sitting position, his mind racing with worry, but it all evaporated the moment he heard her giggling. She sat up on the bed by herself, looked him straight in the eyes with a big, goofy expression, and took another breath of the cigar, right in front of him.
"Oh fuck off." He said, turning away so she couldn't see him laughing.
"Aww, you care!" She replied, getting up from her seat.
"Knock it off, Noel." He said, trying to suppress his grin.
She fell silent, but he heard her boots tapping the floor as she strode over to him, until finally, she planted herself right in front of him, refusing to let him look anywhere else. He gave in slightly, glancing at her face, and he saw that her green eyes were fixated right on him, searching right through his soul.
"Jansen, are you afraid to care about someone?"
That one line, those eight words alone, struck him deep down to the core. All his life, it had been drinking, smoking, plundering, and prostitutes. Besides Marine, he never really had anybody that he genuinely looked after, and now, here was Noel, someone that, since the fight that Micheal had with Botan, he cared about. But, he had no way of telling her that wouldn't just sound plain stupid.
"Noel, I, I uhhh."
"Shh."
He looked up at her, and she took another hit of the cigar, a light one this time, and she very, very gently blew the calming smoke near his face, letting him smell it as it calmed his nerves down. As the smoke slowly rose to the ceiling, they stared right into each other's eyes, searching them, and slowly, very slowly, Jansen began to lean forward, and Noel picked up on the cue, parting her lips and closing her eyes, ready for the inevitable kiss that would grace her lips as Jansen leaned closer and closer.
DING DING DING DING!!!!!
"All hands on deck!" Amelia's voice shouted from the bow of the ship.
You've gotta be kidding me. Jansen thought.