Spoilers for "Before the Storm"

CW: Brief allusion to child abuse and exploitation; light descriptions of consensual sexual acts between adults

Born to the infamous pirate captains, Nakoa and Zyanya, Kaiaka "Kai" Natua had a fairly relaxed upbringing. For a pirate, at least. Her first years of life were on solid ground, her parents not willing to risk the life of their beloved daughter out in the Stormtide Reach. However, Kai quickly proved she very much took after both of her parents when it came to the sea. The water called for Kai just as strongly as it did for her parents. But knowing how dangerous the sea, especially the Stormtide Reach, could be, her parents were careful. They eased Kai's calling with short sails around the island. Nowhere near enough to fully sate Kai's thirst, but enough to placate her. Her parents refused to rush Kai into their dangerous world unprepared.

So instead, Zyanya and Nakoa taught and trained their daughter, with the help of their crew, The Lighting Dancers. By the time Kai was 5, she knew the ins and outs of a ship. At age 6, she could read the winds to know when a storm was forming. By the time she was 7, Kai could defend herself well enough with a sword and daggers. Finally, when Kai turned 8, her parents felt she was ready for more than just a sail around their home island. It was good timing, as the Lightning Dancers were also growing restless. They adored their captains and their captains' child, and were more than willing to live a quiet life as familial roles for a short time. But they were pirates at heart. A quiet, settled life was not for them (at least not at that moment).

The trips started slowly. A couple of days here and there turned into a few weeks. Which then gradually turned into a few months. Soon enough, Kai's feet were more often on the ship than her home island and she couldn't be more happy.

There were, of course, bumps in the road. Kai had her role within the crew as a cabin girl, one which she never complained about. The issue wasn't with her job, but with the change in how to address her parents. There was a balance between Zyanya and Nakoa being "Captains" and "Mama and Papa", one that not only did Kai struggle with at the time but Zyanya and Nakoa did as well. However, the rest of the crew maintained this balance, bringing Kai closer to her parents and the rest of the crew.

Life was good for Kaiaka. Then, when she was 15 years old, The Lightning Dancers docked at Port Scarrow and Kai's life changed. Despite her parents telling her to stay at the docks, Kai was curious. She had heard the crew whispering about the darker sides of the port when they didn't think she was listening. And she wanted to see if those rumors were true. It was while walking down one of those dark allies that she met Itotia for the first time, cowering and clutching a burned loaf of bread as a baker yelled at him for 'stealing' from the baker's trash.

Kai wouldn't remember what pushed her, but she would remember storming over and getting in the baker's face. She'd remember half of the things she had yelled back at the man, most of those words being curses and swears that would have made even her mother blush, but she remembered shoving half the cost of a loaf into the man's hands with a snarled "Now you have the cost of the loaf, so fuck off."

Only when Kai was sure the man had left did she turn to the cowering boy. He had been barely more than skin and bones and the look in his eyes...the hallowed look would haunt her dreams for months. The worst part was his first words to her. "Do you want me to pleasure you? A-As payment?" That was the moment Kai knew that the rumors the crew had whispered were even worse than they knew.

She didn't know how long it took to convince him that no, she didn't want or need any repayment and to tell her his name. As they talked, her need to remove him from this place and life intensified. After a bit of convincing, Itotia agreed to meet at the edge of the docks with his mother and their meager belongings the next night, Kai promising the boy she'd help them get far away and settled into a better life. She didn't admit it then, but she wasn't sure how she would convince her parents to help. She just knew she'd do everything she could.

When Kai returned to the ship, she had instantly pulled her parents aside to talk. Her father was mad she had strayed from the docks, starting to lecture her about the dangers when she (for possibly the first time) cut him off, telling about Itotia. The moment she told them about Itotia's response to her paying for the burned loaf of bread, she could see the flip in her parents' eyes. They didn't even put up a token argument. Her mother just asked, "when are you meeting them again?" The next night, as both Itotia and Kai had promised, they met at the edge of the docks. Itotia and his mother had brought the paltry amount of items they had owned. Zyanya and Nakoa briefly introduced themselves before "officially" welcoming Noelani and Itotia onto the ship.

From then on, Itotia and Kai became nearly inseparable. Kai was at Itotia's side as he began to heal, both physically and mentally. She was the first to defend Itotia whenever anyone commented on how jumpy he was. She was the one to coax snacks into Itotia throughout the day to help him regain weight. She willingly stayed on her home island as Itotia and Noelani settled into their small cottage next to the Natua home, staying even when her parents and crew set sail again.

Over the months, she ended up spending more time at the Kwan cottage than her own home. Over time, she even began sleeping over. Neither Itotia nor Kai remembered when it started, but Kai had taken to sleeping on the floor in Itotia's room. Itotia didn't need to tell Kai he didn't have as many nightmares when she did. She knew.

Kai wasn't sure when her feelings for Itotia turned romantic. Maybe they were always romantic, maybe they had developed over the months. It didn't much matter in truth. By the time she was 18 and Itotia was 17, she knew she loved him. But she said nothing. Her parents had taught her that trauma ran deep and Kai was determined to never make Itotia feel like he had to do anything for her out of the misplaced idea of repaying her.

That was why when, one evening, Neolani playfully asked Kai and Itotia when they would date. Kai saw the way Itotia had tensed up, fear and panic in his eyes, but she took the chance. Finishing her bite of food (her parents didn't raise her to talk with food in her mouth, after all), Kai bluntly said, "I'd love to go on a date with him but I've been waiting to make sure he'll say yes because he actually wants to date and not because he feels indebted to me." Kai will always remember turning her head to look at Itotia, his eyes wide and the fear replaced with hope, and smiling at him. The way his face lit up is a memory she'll always treasure.

It was the next day they went on their first date, a small picnic in a secluded spot on the shore only a few people knew about. That same day, they shared their first kiss.

From the start, Kai knew hers and Itotia's relationship would have its bumps. Trauma ran deep, after all, and a few kisses and dates didn't just magically erase the nightmares that she knew haunted her love. But they made it work.

When it came to their sex life, Kai was (for the first time in a long time) nervous to talk to Itotia. She knew his drive was normally low, and she knew hers was far above average, but she was willing to find other ways to sate herself if Itotia wanted pure monogamy. To her relief, Itotia and Kai were more compatible than even she had thought before. Itotia found something...powerful in knowing no matter who Kai laid with, she'd always come back to him.

Of course, it was only after several long conversations, of both of them making sure they were alright and what the rules were, before Kai felt alright to scratch the itches when Itotia couldn't. And if Itotia even hinted he was uncomfortable with one of Kai's bedmates, she didn't hesitate to distance herself and never lay with that bedmate again. In truth, Kai found herself drawn towards people Itotia found comfortable and confident with. If her love was uncomfortable with a person she was planning to lay with, Kai could feel her attraction towards that person fleeing from her in a moment.

It also certainly helped that Kai developed what her crew would later call her "Itotia Kink". Whenever they were intimate, Kai's sole focus would be on Itotia's pleasure. It never mattered if he released more than her or if she went an entire session without releasing. Her pleasure came from Itotia's pleasure. She always got a thrill of satisfaction whenever she made sure she stayed within his boundaries and limits while sating her love until he was boneless. She loves Itotia with her very being.

The year passed between Itotia and Kai in somehow a whirlwind and a snail's pace. When Kai was 19, she felt ready to form her own crew and, with the money she saved from working with her parents, she bought her own ship. The Tempest.

Kai knew Itotia knew what his role on the ship would be. Just as she was his anchor, he was hers and the only right place was at her side as her First Mate. It was so right that it was simply...unspoken. That was until Cillian O'Brien, one of the other founding members of the crew, brought up the fact that Kai never "officially" named Itotia her First Mate. Upon Cillian O'Brien raising the issue, Kai recalled pausing, glancing at Itotia, and then saying, "huh, I guess I never said it aloud. Well, saying it now, Itotia is my First Mate and y'all better keep respecting him as you have before. Otherwise, I'll throw you off the ship myself." The chuckles of the crew told her everything she needed to know about who she had picked.