The older one spoke with hopes to lighten up the mood, "Am I allowed to have a second chance?" teasing tone, blood rushing up to his limbs giving him enough strength to sit down, straightening his back.
The blonde jumped on his feet almost running away, "I didn't say that, stay in your lane. Anyway, you promise to lend me your phone to call my mates"
Joseph searched for his mobile in his clock pocket which was right under his belt.
Teo's face was as bright as a traffic light, switching from one color to another in the span of seconds, "What are you doing?" He screamed, horrified.
He stared up when he pulled his device out of his pocket, "Fetching my mobile. Don't you want it or not?" Showing his device to the freeting boy.
"Yeah, gimme that" snatching it, his face stained in a deep shade of red velvet.
He leaned backwards, seeing how the young male fidgeted with mobile in hand, "I thought that much"
Teo dialed his brother's number as it was one of the two he knew by memory, "How come this still works after getting wet?" He muttered, waiting for someone to pick up on the other side.
The dark haired grinned when he spoke, "I told ya I'm a marine, a waterproof device is required for emergencies."
"Oh right… you said that." Teo scrunched his nose, dialing again,"Why is he not picking up?"
Josh scratched his nose, looking up on the boys direction, "The signal may be weak, try another number"
After noticing he had no luck with his brother's number he took the older's advice "Right… I will", dialing his best friend's number.
He waited for a little while until it connected "What's it now dude?" The slurred words barely made sense, but he could make out some of them at least, recognizing the voice at the other end, but it wasn't his best friend, at least now he knew his crush wasn't badly injured from the fall.
"Hey, bae, tell our boss, Mr. Robbins, I am safe. I didn't drown in the sea. Also tell him the man who jumped after me–" he aimed at the laidback man for his name with signals.
"Joseph Johnson, known as Captain Johnson"
"Yeah, Captain Johnson is fine too, we are by the shore now so he doesn't need to worry about a thing" He smiled hoping it worked.
"Captain?, I'll tell him you're on a date with a capt—" Teo almost snapped hearing this nonsense, but didn't get time as his crush spoke real fast, "No-! Bae, you don't–" a soft snore was heard before he could correct him, a thud followed, ending up the call, "Bae, you there?" He asked in panic, yet trying to keep his composure on the outside.
The elder closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, enjoying the gentle seabreeze, shoeless by now as his shoes were wet.
"Are you just gonna lay there?" he questioned, sitting down with phone in hand, not sure if his brother would get the message or if something else happened to his crush.
The man replied, eyes closed, "This was my original plan on my day off, so yeah. I will"
Teo fidgeted with the mobile, uneasiness filling his body, "You can sleep then, umm, do you happen to have some games in here?" Trying to distract his brain from overthinking not wishing to have a breakdown in the middle of nowhere.
"I do, just tap anywhere, the blue folder contains a lot of them, you might find one appeals to your taste" he opened an eye as he spoke, covering his mouth with a hand as a yawn escaped his cavernous lips.
Teo noticed how tired the older was, kicking out his shoes he sighed, "Fine, sweet dreams, pal".
He laid on his side, tapping on the device, playing for a while, although the battery was 75% it still lasted long enough to calm his restless self playing multiple games.
He curled up by the brunette's side, yawning, holding the device in hand, his eyelids heavy.
Luckily, the side where they decided to rest up was sheltered from the wind so it didn't feel so cold as the waves met the shore.
Teo kept tapping on the mobile, this time opening random apps to keep himself awake, his eyelids refused to listen to his command as they slowed down their movement.
The man was sprawled on the sand, yet his arm moved on his own when the boy nuzzled on his chest when sleep claimed his exhausted body.
The device fell on the sand, by Josh's side, whilst Teo wrapped his leg around the elder thinking it was his body pillow.
Joseph did the same, for the same reasons, chest rising up slowly, lulling the younger.
That's how they ended up entangled up, curling into each other seeking some warmth until dawn.
~~~●~~~●~~~
"It's my fault" the shorter blonde sobbed, guilty, as his hands stopped paddling.
"Yeah, it is, but crying won't solve anything. Let's get back to the ship, maybe they are inland by now" the red haired said, letting out a sigh.
The guilty male nodded, whilst they paddled back to the cruise ship.
On board the stiff elder woman frowned, staring at Ramon without hiding her fury.
"Calm down, love. They're looking for him, he'll be back soon" the fine gentleman held her wife's balled fist.
"My child is out there, missing, it's that twink's fault! I knew he would cause trouble the moment I saw him. He is responsible for such mishap." she sputtered out venomously, eyes glimmering with hatred.
Ramon defended his brother even though he didn't know what happened, but he knew his brother wouldn't do this on purpose, "With all due respect, Mrs. Johnson, he's a crew member and he deserves respect–"
The bunny-like boy interjected as a witness, besides getting triggered by the woman's derisive words, "It wasn't his fault! I saw him flying off the rails because he was defending your son, Mrs."
He swallowed a sob before continuing, "He also was a victim, so you can't throw the blame on him just because you have a problem with his preferences."
"Jake, hush!" His father commanded yet the boy shook his head, standing his ground, tired of judgy people insulting one's preferences and taking them out of context to fit their narrative.
"She's blaming an innocent person for things that were out of our control. I won't let that happen whilst I'm here." He yelled, tear-stained-cheeks, glaring at the woman.
Ramon stared at him, taken aback at how passionate he was defending his younger brother, impressed yet ashamed of himself as he should be the one doing son guilt seeping within his being as his last words towards his younger brother were harsh.
The elder man held his wife to control her as she lifted her hand to slap the young male, "I hope you can understand, this is our son who is out there missing too, I know it doesn't excuse my wife's behavior but I hope you can put yourself in our shoes too."
He was thankful at least the elder understood the situation, "I do, Mr. Johnson, this is my little brother who is out there missing along with your son. Fighting is not gonna solve anything. We must stay calm and hope for the best."
The bunny-like boy glanced at the sea, his heart beating painfully, pitying the males missing in the sea, praying for their well being.
A short male dashed in out of breath followed closely by a sad blonde, "Boss, we must go back to port, our guests need to disembark before dawn." Taking a deep intake of air before speaking up again, standing in front of the ashamed blonde almost hiding him behind himself unconsciously.
Ramon nodded, "I'll lead our guests to the staterooms, please, lift the anchor. '' He commanded his worker and friend, making his way up towards the lido deck whilst the shorter males made their way to the starboard.
The young boy ran after the tall elegant male, feeling sorry for him, however a strong grip around his wrist stopped him from doing so.
His, usually, gentle doe-like eyes, shifting to serious ones, glancing to sister who tightened her grip, her nails digging on his smooth skin.
He shook her hand quietly, whilst his father spoke to the Johnson's, his wrist turning red and the marks where her nails dug in evident around it.
"What do you want?" He gritted his teeth staring at his twin, trying to be as quiet as possible.
She smiled, bowing to her father and his friends as they walked to their suit in the staterooms area.
So did Jake when his father turned towards him, muttering: 'no fights, stay safe big boy'.
Once the elders were out of sight she spoke viciously, throwing away her fake facade, "If my fiancé goes missing I'll blame you for it", her behaviour changing drastically.
Jake stared at her perplexed, /What happened with my sister? Who is this person in front of me right now?/ he pondered, not believing this was ghe same person he grew up with