AN: This, for sure, is the final chapter. I could NOT pass this up. Humerous crew response, probably a little OOCness... and I MIGHT be pushing the boundaries of the 'T' rating, just a tad. But, a more satisfying ending, no? Sorry it's taken so long, but... well... I'm out of excuses by now.

Thanks for reading!

Kaizoku Sentai: Gokaiger

The Hardest Thing – Part V

The night had been a long one. They all knew it was going to be. But it was something that had to happen, and they had to see it through. Everyone knew that Marvelous was in love with Ahim, especially after her recent injury. And if they didn't, they were an idiot. Though Luka couldn't accept that as an excuse, either… Gai was an idiot and even HE saw it. The problem was that Marvelous had tried to hide it. And that was unacceptable… And it was clear they all had the same idea when they followed Marvelous to her quarters.

Shutting him in was the easy part, as distracted as he was, sneaking close enough behind him to shut the door was a snap. Now, keeping him in took a group effort. Something all of them were more than happy to help with. She didn't even mind when she felt someone's hand where it shouldn't have been. Well, she minded, but considering they were all so clustered together she couldn't tell whose hand it was. They'd all be fined later, but they had a job to do at that moment.

She hadn't intended on falling asleep there, sitting on the floor, her back against the door. She cursed the sun that was shining in her eyes through the porthole from the wall opposite of her, yawning and stretching, attempting to work a kink out of her back.

She needed to stand, but her legs felt a little heavier than normal. She finally forced her eyes open to look. Curled up on one side was Gai, fast asleep, his head resting on her thigh. And on the other side was Hakase, in the same position. It probably would have been cute was it not for Gai's snoring, but it was still unacceptable!

Not to mention, it finally hit her that it was freaking morning! As if the sun hadn't been a clue before. She grabbed each of them by the ear, tugging them upward.

"Double the fine! Get off me!"

"Luka… shh…" Joe's voice was quiet, but firm as he nodded towards the door they'd been piled against. He'd been the smart one. He'd known that Marvelous and Ahim would take care of things on their own. They just needed that initial push. So after about half an hour, he'd gone on about his business the night before, sleeping in his own quarters. Plus, he figured that would knock him off as a suspect for the offending hand that had touched Luka's rear end. Though he totally did it, and would do it again if he had the opportunity.

She shot a glare at him as she dropped Gai and Hakase, finally getting up on her feet. She stumbled a bit until the feeling could return to her legs, leaning against the wall for support. She opened her mouth, but didn't get a chance to tell him off when the door was thrown open, knocking Gai and Hakase both down to the floor before they could even get to their feet the first time.

Her jaw dropped, and it went quiet in the hallway as all eyes fell upon their captain, or more notably, upon his lack of clothing from the waist up. His brow rose as he looked at each of his crew members.

"What?" he asked, arms folded across his bare chest as he stood there in the doorway. He stared down to Hakase and Gai where they had paused in mid-scramble to try to get to their feet. "Breakfast ready yet? I'm starving."

Gai had been busy trying to look around Marvelous to see if he could get a glimpse of Ahim, but he was pushed back down to the floor by Hakase as he got to his feet.

"AH!" Hakase looked at his watch, exclaiming out loud as he finally realized how late in the morning it was, completely forgetting his captain's current state of undress and what could have possibly gone on the night before.

"Do we have melons? I want melons. Nice, big, fleshy melons." Marvelous stood in the doorway, his hands held out in emphasis. "Not too firm, but not too squishy either…" He glanced over his shoulder. "What about you, Ahim?"

She gave him a very sly smile, not even looking up from her sewing as she responded. "I would like sausage, please Hakase-san…" She was far too much a lady to proceed into a more graphic detail as Marvelous had done, but it didn't seem as if she had to.

Her point was clearly taken when Luka barged through the door, shoving Gai and Hakase back down to the floor, grabbing Marvelous by the ear. Had he been wearing a top, she'd have grabbed him by the shirt, but no, he was freaking naked from the waist up! Naked! As in, without clothes. Never mind the fact that it was ONLY the waist up, NAKED was the key word here!

"You didn't…!"

She shot a glance over to Ahim who kept her attention on her sewing. She studied the woman who was like a little sister, searching, analyzing the situation completely, her grip tightening on Marvelous' ear. She couldn't read the woman at all. Certainly Ahim didn't do what she thought she did, but she wouldn't have let Marvelous joke about it, either, much less contribute to the joke. What the hell?

"Good morning, Luka-san. Would you please release Marvelous-san?" Ahim finally looked up, her usual warm smile greeting Luka. There was something a little off about her smile, but Luka couldn't interpret it, other than saying it was a little devilish. That certainly wasn't Ahim, nor was the comment that followed.

"I would prefer that Marvelous-san remain undamaged… for the moment…"

"Ahim!" Luka's eyes went wide as she regarded the woman, who went back to her sewing as if this was everyday conversation. Silence followed from both the captain and the princess as Luka looked between them expectantly. She glared at the knowing smiles they shared between themselves.

"Luka… we'll all be executed before you get an answer out of them… come on…" Joe glanced between Marvelous and Ahim for a moment before giving them a half-cocked smile, laying a hand on Luka's shoulder. Oh, he knew nothing had happened. He knew his captain better than that. But he wasn't one to spoil the fun by speaking up. And since the princess was playing along so perfectly, he was interested to see which of them would give themselves away, first. He knew his captain loved a good joke and would ride it out as long as possible, but the pink princess-pirate was full of surprises. She might very well last longer than him.

Joe managed to succeed in wrestling Luka's fingers free from Marvelous' ear, but not before giving himself away as the culprit that had touched Luka's rear in the hallway the night before. The only reason he did was that he did it again in order to get her attention. That was his excuse and he was sticking to it.

Luka stormed off down the corridor and Joe gave the captain and the princess a small grin.

"Ten to one Hakase doesn't look either of you in the eye during breakfast… And Gai will want details…"

Ahim smiled as Joe pulled the door closed behind him. She walked over to Marvelous holding his shirt out so he could slip into it easily. "Gai-san will have to learn that there is disappointment in life…"

"And, what did or did not go on last night is no one's business but ours." Marvelous couldn't help but smile down to Ahim as she pulled his shirt closed, deliberately taking her time in fastening the buttons. What he wouldn't give to have a little more alone time with her before they had to join the others. But Ahim deserved something better for their first time together. Hell, she deserved something better than him, but he was allowed to be a little selfish, wasn't he?

He reached up, his fingers tracing along the side of her face. He knew she had soft skin, you could see that by looking at her, but he was still amazed just how soft it was under his fingertips. And the glow that was missing the night before returned seeming almost brighter than it had been. He began to wonder why this had all be so difficult before, when it was really very simple.

"I love you…"

The hardest thing in the world wasn't so hard after all.