Where the sea sleeps [HoonHao] ✔

12

Hoshi looks down at them from the watchtower. Despite the distance, he can see the smile that crosses his face.

"What brings you guys here?" Hoshi asks when he's caught up to Woozi, Vernon and Dino on the ground. The three had decided to take a little walk. Originally it was just the two, but Woozi wanted to get as far away from Minghao as possibly. Dino, whether he noticed or not, had kindly invited him and he wasn't going to pass up such an opportunity.

"Thought we'd come and check how everything's going," Vernon informs, taking a once over at the boat before he looks to Hoshi and smiles. He looks really nice when he smiles, so much so that he's almost tempted to encourage Vernon to smile more. Of course, that's not his place, so instead he bites back saying anything and turns to Hoshi.

"And the real reason?" Hoshi prods, grinning when he catches the surprise on Woozi's face. He nods at Woozi, prompting him to respond instead of the other two.

"We are hungry and are unable to spend anything more than what we already have," he deadpans. He doesn't know what it is, but it's something in his response that elicits a burst of laughter out of Hoshi. With a wide-armed gesture, he heads on up to the deck, turning around swiftly and holding out an arm to help the three of them up.

"Mingyu's in the kitchen," he informs them when Woozi has both feet firmly on deck, already making his way down to the lower deck.

After sleeping out somewhere else, he feels as though the ship seems different. Unlike other days, there's a lot more silence due to the lack of crew. He vaguely makes out a soft hammering sound and every now and again, grunts to follow, catching Woozi by surprise. Hoshi, who walks a little ways in front of him, quirks a brow though he's still smiling. "Those are the people working on the ship," he informs. As he pushes the door to the kitchen (and eating room, from what Woozi can remember) open, he adds, "Nothing to worry about."

Mingyu is standing near the little sink, back pressed into the counter as he leans against it, paging through a book.

"Good, you haven't started yet."

"I can't decide what to make—Hey, it's you guys!" The book is abandoned near the sink as he walks over. Vernon and Dino have already ducked away behind Hoshi, and he's not sure why until he's engulfed by Mingyu's large frame. His arms wrap around him and he's squeezing tightly; one of his hands lifts to rest atop Woozi's head, ruffling his hair. "I missed you guys!"

"It has barely been twenty-four hours," Woozi points out softly against his chest. Though he's not returning this unexpected embrace, he's not entirely against the embrace. It's surprisingly comfortable and he liked that it made him feel somewhat safe, being embraced by someone heads taller than himself. It was as though he were being shielded from the rest of the world. Woozi nudges his chin up so he's able to get a proper look at Mingyu.

"Which is far longer than I like," Mingyu informs, his lips pulling into a pout as he pulls Woozi closer (which he hadn't realized was possible until it was being done.) The hug is soon broken as Mingyu's arms are tugged off of him and, not even a second later, he's tugged backward.

"He gets really touchy when we're apart for longer than three hours," Vernon informs from beside him. He drops his hands to his sides as he walks over to the table and takes a seat.

"Is there a specific reason?" Woozi queries, plopping himself down beside Vernon and eyeing Mingyu as he walks back over to the sink. With every movement his arms and hands make, his shoulders respond—from stiffening to rolling back to flexing; it's swift movements too and it's clear as he watches from where he's seated that Mingyu knows his way around a kitchen. He's not just a cook because they needed one, he definitely would have become one regardless of whether he were on this ship now or not.

"Anything can happen," Mingyu states. "So when it hits a three hour mark and we haven't regrouped, I usually start worrying." There's a soft chuckle, his shoulders bouncing. "I know that right now it can't be helped, but I still worry." There's a rawness to his tone that is unmatched. He's being so honest about it that Woozi loses himself. He completely forgets the conversation and the fact that he was the one who answered the question; he completely freezes as he stares at Mingyu, processing his words and wondering (as he seems to do every so often around them.) Wondering the reason behind those thoughts of his.

"Yet we tell you not to worry," Dino comments. He and Hoshi sit across from them, his head turned back so that he's looking at Mingyu. "We always promise to come back, don't we?"

"Yeah," Mingyu says. There's a 'but' that goes unsaid and it's clear in the way his shoulders pull and how he shifts his stance that there's something else he wants to say.

"But even with such promises, there is always the possibility of us not returning," Woozi utters into the silence, picking out the exact words he feels Mingyu wanted to say and, with the look Mingyu gives him, he knows he's hit it right on the nose. His lips quirk upward, if only slightly and he starts tapping his finger against the table absentmindedly. The conversation dies down shortly after as they wait for Mingyu to finish up the food. He's ears lift slightly when he smiles upon turning around, carrying over the plates of food. They continue in silence, eating away at the food in front of them and occasionally sharing glances in between.

When they're done, Woozi stands and takes the plates over to be washed. There's soft murmur of conversation between Mingyu and Hoshi while Dino comes over to assist him in washing up. A series of thank yous echo through the room when they decide it's time to start heading back. They're almost off the boat when Vernon stops and calls out to Mingyu. Mingyu quirks a brow as he waits to hear what Vernon has to say and it's safe to say that the smile that forms in response to the words spoken were only half of Mingyu's relief.

"We promise we'll come back," Vernon says firmly, lifting a hand to the air and showing his pinky. "All of us. Okay?"

Mingyu nods. "Okay."

As they start their trek away from the boat, the words linger and Woozi hopes that that will be the case; that they'll all return to the ship together.