When Olu finally found Zheng, she was sitting on deck and staring straight at Jim's ass.
He had gotten up extra early this morning, wanting to surprise her with breakfast in bed to celebrate their first month as a couple, but by the time he had finished preparing all her favorite foods and arranging them nicely on a little tray, she was already gone.
Thankfully, Auntie seemed to like–or, well, at least tolerate Olu a lot more than she used to, and when she saw the nice breakfast he had made for Zheng, she reluctantly agreed to help him look for her–in exchange for one of the crullers, of course.
“Morning, babe,“ Olu said, sitting down next to Zheng, and she jumped, quickly looking away from Jim.
“Fuck, you scared me.”
“Sorry,” Olu said sheepishly. “I brought you breakfast, though!” He handed her a bowl of congee, and Zheng beamed at him. “Thank you, sweetie.”
They ate in silence, quietly enjoying each other's company, and when Olu slowly reached out his hand, Zheng immediately intertwined her pinky with his. Olu smiled. He could get used to this.
“So, what's the plan for today?” he asked after a while.
Zheng didn't react, and when Olu turned to look at her, she was staring at Jim again. He couldn't blame her—Jim, as always, looked incredible, climbing the rigging and wearing nothing but leather pants and their binder. Olu still couldn't quite believe he got lucky enough to be their boyfriend.
He couldn't believe he got lucky enough to be Zheng's boyfriend, either. The break in her day, she had called him once, and she had become the sunshine of his. It was clear how much lighter and more relaxed Zheng was now that she could share her captaining responsibilities with Frenchie, and Olu loved spending time with her, getting to know her better and better with every day.
Apparently, their taste in food was not the only thing they had in common.
“They're hot, huh?” Olu asked after a few minutes when Zheng still couldn't tear her gaze away from Jim.
“What?” Zheng muttered distractedly before blushing and hurriedly looking away from Jim. “Oh, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to–”
“It's cool. I like looking at them, too, believe me.” He winked, and Zheng relaxed a little.
“Yeah, I can see why, holy shit,” she muttered under her breath, and Olu chuckled softly when she couldn't stop herself from watching Jim again. He had been worried, at first, that his partners wouldn't get along, that he would have to choose between his best friend and his new love, but to his surprise, their mutual admiration for each other had quickly begun to turn into friendship.
“I don't know,” Zheng said after a while, and Olu looked at her in confusion.
“You don't know what?”
Zheng sighed. “I don't know if they're hot. I'm not really… attracted to people in that way unless I know them really well.”
Olu stared at her, open-mouthed and then began to laugh. What were the odds of that?
“I know, it's weird,” Zheng muttered, staring at her lap, and the look of embarrassment on her face was enough to break Olu out of his surprised laughter.
“No, that's not–,” he sputtered, barely able to contain his excitement, ”I mean, you too? I always thought I was the only one!”
Now it was Zheng's turn to stare at him in surprise.
“I–What? You're also not…” She made a vague gesture, and Olu grinned.
“Sexually attracted to strangers?”
Zheng nodded, blushing, and Olu couldn't help but give her a little peck on the cheek with how cute she looked. Who could've thought the fucking Pirate Queen of China could be so adorable?
“Nope,” he said. “Never have been. The only people I ever got close enough with to get those kinds of feelings are Jim and, um, you.”
He smiled shyly, and to his delight, Zheng grinned. “So we're special, huh?”
“Very special,” Olu agreed, and suddenly, Zheng was leaning towards him, close enough for their noses to brush together.
“Guess what?” she whispered. “You're special to me, too.”
Olu reached out to cup Zheng’s cheek with his hand, but they both jumped when they heard someone clearing their throat above them.
“Am I interrupting something?” Jim asked, eyebrows raised.
“Well, actually–”
“No,” Zheng blurted out, and smirked at Olu. “Come join us.”
Jim raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be the third wheel if you’d rather be–”
“Third wheel? Oh, no,” Zheng smiled conspiratorially and took Jim’s hand, pulling them towards her, “you’re no third wheel. You're special.”