thick as thieves || bts x mamamoo

twenty seven;

"This is the axel, though some people call it a spindle as well," Taehyung murmurs gently as he gestures to the mechanism positioned in the center of the ship's steering wheel. "It connects the barrel of the steering wheel to the pedestal and the platform and allows the wheel to turn."

"How does it make the ship turn in different directions?" Wheein asks, eyes wide with wonder and curiosity as she peers at the structure before, clinging to Taehyung's arm in fear of accidentally touching anything she shouldn't. Taehyung had all but dragged her away from the main deck as soon as Byulyi and Hoseok's duel had been over, claiming he wanted to show her something. She hadn't expected for him to bring her to the helm of all places.

Taehyung can't help but smile at her actions, a fond expression flitting across his face every time he glances over to look at her. He points to the two ropes running parallel on each side of the pedestal and connected to the wheel. "It's the tiller ropes that allow that to happen. You see how one end of each rope is wrapped along the wheel while the other end disappears into the platform?"

Wheein nods eagerly.

"It leads to down below and is connected to something called the tiller, which in turn controls the rudder with the use of a couple of pulleys and other things." Taehyung explains as best as he can in plain terms for her to understand. "That basically means when you turn the wheel in one direction, the tiller rope on the other side tightens and pulls up, turning the tiller and eventually the rudder which redirects the water down towards the back of the hull and allows us to turn either left or right."

"Ohhh," Wheein's eyes light up as she processes the information and begins to figure it out. "Then how do you know if we're going straight or left or right? What if you forget and end up going in the wrong direction?"

"See these?" Taehyung points to the short sticks sticking out of the wheel. "Those are spokes, they help you turn the wheel more easily. This one over here has some extra grooves carved along the top because it's the king spoke."

Taehyung grasps Wheein's small hand in his and guides her to feel along the wooden surface of one of the spokes. Sure enough, there's an indentation running along the top, one that doesn't appear to be visible on the other spokes on the wheel. "When the king spoke is pointed straight up towards the sky on the wheel, that's when the ship is going straight. The reason its indicator is carved into the wood instead of painted is so Hoseok hyung and I can still tell which one the king spoke is even when it's dark and we don't have a lantern for light."

Wheein turns to look back at him, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "That's so smart! I've never knew- mmph!"

Her words of praise are cut off in surprise by a pair of lips lightly brushing up against her own. Taehyung kisses her sweetly, both hands reaching up to cup her face lightly as he deepens the kiss. He takes in the sight of her dilated pupils and flushed face as he finally pulls away, grinning happily at her blushing state. "Couldn't help myself, you were too cute."

"N- No kissing on the job!" Wheein stammers, clearly flustered by his sudden actions, looking down shyly at the floorboards in an attempt to calm her frantic heartbeat.

Taehyung leans down to steal another quick peck while she's off guard, the look of mischief clear on his face. "I'm a pirate, darling. When was the last time you heard of pirates following the rules?"

Wheein puffs her cheeks out in anger. "Oh yeah? Well I'm a thief! And I- I..."

Taehyung laughs as she struggles to think of a proper comeback, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his embrace, swooping in once more for another kiss. "Yes, yes, you're the big bad thief that stole my heart away."