𝓰𝓸𝓸𝓭 * / 𝙑𝙄𝘽𝙍𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉

“ okay , listen. joe is the best jonas brother and i will stand by that until i die. i had a crush on him when i was younger. my first , true pansexual awakening. they used to post youtube videos , right , and he was always the funniest. guess i’ve always had a thing for funny guys. ”

“ i think it was coldplay. i was in a phase. ”

“ iris by the goo goo dolls. ”

“ wow , this is harder than i thought it would be. for me , i guess i’d say creative, patient, and , uh , dedicated. as far as someone i value ; knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to be himself & easily one of my favorite people but he’s not allowed to know that. “ @dcytons.

“ favorite brother ? i don’t even have a brother !  ”

       there are brief moments of HESITATION where mickey wonders if his plans are too extravagant or just too much for what’s considered to be a first date between the two. those thoughts are quick to dissolve when he realizes just how long he’s been dancing around his feelings for fox and here they are. it’s refreshing to FINALLY have everything out in the open instead of pushing it to the side in fear of how fox could possibly react. dating was a concept that mickey shied away from for so long — figuring he had too high of standards and that he would be fine with hookups that meant little to him. it was a mindset he held up until meeting fox where SUDDENLY it seemed like everything started to shift for the better. his typical habit of picking apart reasons to NOT like someone soon transitioned into reasons of how could he not like fox ?? their friendship easily became one of mickey’s favorites while on the ship and it was only a few weeks in when he picked up that his feelings weren’t purely platonic. even now, mickey finds himself GRAVITATING toward the brunette and wanting to be the reason behind the smile he looks forward to seeing so often. fox was everything mickey didn’t realize his was even looking for in a partner, knocking down his built up expectations and creating his own standard. so it was only natural that he wanted to be around the other boy so often when he began to look at his days with the optimism of when he would see fox again. and it feels great knowing that these thoughts have been put to rest for good by the mere actions of the brunette in front of him. while their dinner was wrapping up, in no way did it mean their night was. consider mickey selfish but he was willing to spend as much time with fox on his birthday that he was willing to give.

       the walk outside onto the deck is almost a SERENE one, the background chatter of the restaurant slowly fading away and being replaced with the quiet blow of the wind. mickey is unable to keep himself from glancing over to fox beside him with a dumb grin when he speaks, squeezing his hand lightly as though it’s anchoring him down in the moment. a soft hue of pink flushes across his cheek, matching the warm sensation that overtakes him. ❝  if i’m being honest, being around you easily makes my day better. ❞ he replies, voice quiet but with filled with an earnestly, unabashed undertone to his words as he shoots a small smile to the brunette. fox’s presence by his side acts an amazing anchor to keep him cemented in the conversation, focused wholeheartedly on what he has to say rather than whatever else is going on around them. mickey can’t help but shake his head with a chuckle before bumping his hip lightly into fox’s. ❝ hey !! you make it sound creepy when you put it like that. you mentioned it in passing and i take all of what you say seriously. ❞ while he may be joking with fox, his words are true and he can only hope that the brunette picks up on how serious he is despite being too chicken to say it without lacing it with light humor. ❝ cute, huh ?? i must be doing something right then to earn that compliment. ❞ mickey grins, completely buzzing on the inside from the comment even if it may have just been made in passing. ❝ but i’m GLAD you think so otherwise it’d be totally awkward for me to flat out say i think you’re phenomenal. ❞ mickey briefly wonders if fox is going to be the death of him, unknowingly adorable and consistently leaving him on the tip of hie toes on what to expect when around him. at fox’s comments, mickey takes note of the sharp tug at his heartstrings and he has a SUDDEN burst of emotion where he just wants to kiss the younger boy. fondness swells up within him and chocolate hues can only stare at fox in wonderstruck before squeezing his hand again. ❝ you’re the shining star here in this relationship so it’s whatever you want, babe. ❞ the word slips out before mickey can catch himself — relationship … is that what they are now ?? his cheeks heat up and he can only be guided by the brunette up to the top deck. the mood shifts again and his embarrassment from earlier eases to contentment and mickey glances over to fox, eyes meeting one another once he feels the other’s focus on him. ❝ of course. i WANTED to and you deserve the best of birthdays so it only seemed right. ❞ mickey murmurs softly despite the two of them being the only ones on the deck. swallowing the lump in his throat, he decides to embrace the full intimacy of the moment all the while still holding eye contact with fox.. ❝ do you have any clue what you’re gonna wish for once your official birthday rolls around ?? ❞

there’s something perfect about the night around them. the soft breeze and the quiet voices around them , accompanied by the light from the moon and the places there were still open around the decks. fox’s favorite time to be walking around the ship was at night , so why not up that by adding mickey ? it really was a perfect ending to an incredible date he didn’t even know he was having. fox wasn’t always huge on surprised but god , he couldn’t even describe how weightless he felt. it had been months of dancing around how he felt about mickey and sure , they were still dancing , but they we re under the stars , holding hands , after one of the most romantic dinners he’s had in , well , forever. fox is pretty much in awe of how much mickey put into this. he was still , of course , questioning himself. he had ruined a friendship once and god , he didn’t want to do that again. he didn’t want mickey to not be around him ; to not be in his life. it had been almost two years now , and mickey had become a constant. a safe space for him. and for fox , that meant more than his words would ever be able to express. hopefully , he’d be able to make it clear how important mickey had grown to be. fox takes a few moments to really take in the night. he’s twenty-four , living out his dream , on a beautiful ship travelling the world , and he’s got this boy — beautiful , funny , everything fox could ask for in a partner , making his night about him. fox wasn’t crazy about being the focus of things. sure , he was a singer , but that was about music. not about him. but somehow , mickey made him feel like every compliment could be true , and god he just wanted to make sure mickey knew how he felt. for the first time in however long fox has had this crush on the other , he wanted him to know how he felt. it had gotten tiring , hiding it and pretending it was just good friendship. finally , he thinks as they’re looking over the railing into the dark sea , they might actually BE something.

he smiles gently at mickey’s words , looking over at him . “ one , you should always be honest with me and two , all i want is for you to have good days and to be happy. so if i can help achieve that , then i’m happy. ” it’s soft and completely genuine. he lets out a soft laugh then , his movements mimicking and then following the others , keeping their bodies close. once their hands met , it was like fox couldn’t get enough of the other. it was like a pull , and he couldn’t help but follow it. mickey’s everything felt intoxicating , especially moments like this. typically , fox was able to control himself. but when things were so gentle and quiet; romantic and alluring , fox couldn’t help the pull he felt towards mickey. which mean that all he could think about was finally not being a coward and actually kissing him. “ it’s not creepy ! it’s just ... sweet that you actually remembered. not most people pick up on things like that , you know ? the little details. ” fox notes , grinning over at mickey as he speaks. it really was endearing. “ god , you’ve gotta hit back with phenomenal , don’t you ? ” fox speaks , the blush on his cheeks doing most of the talking for him. at least , he hoped mickey could pick up that he mainly just meant that the compliments made him nervous. mickey made him nervous. in the best way possible , of course. the word relationship , when spoken , sits heavy in fox’s mind. were they dating now ? fox couldn’t bring himself to ask because what if he took mickey’s words wrong and that’s not what this is ? given the hands and the general vibe of the whole night dictate otherwise , fox’s brain just wouldn’t give it a rest. 

the dark-haired girl laughed. “movies can wait. this? this is necessary,” she exclaimed. she stopped for a minute, thinking about the options the two had. she’d been on the boat for half a year and was already sick of the same options 24/7. she sighed, nodding. “not particularly. thought it may not be the best decision to head to the dining halls,” she shrugged, laughing. 

“Ugh, I’m trying not to maybe a break is needed for a tad bit.” Returning the soft smile across her full plump pair. “There has to be some way we can get our throats to cooperate with our minds. Would a ton of sugar. lemon and honey take the taste away? I would’ve thought they’d get some good tasting tea by now.” AKIRA softly chucked. “I’m glad your doing alright though, have you played anything on the guitar today? Rest is number one on my list tonight, I can only hope.”

“ everyone needs a break everyone now and then. ” fox responds , nodding his head softly. “ i’m certain all of that would just make the tea worse. it’s not terrible , really. i think i’m just a bit picky. ” he denotes , shrugging his shoulders. if there was anything good about back home , his mother always did have the best teas. “ not yet. i just carry her around with me in case i feel the need to break into song at any given moment. ” fox is technically kidding , though it’s literally happened before. “ do you have a show tonight ? hopefully not. ”

  “eh, a guess a little bit isn’t wrong.” he shrugs his shoulders towards his brother. “i, uh, i mean, yeah, i guess.” forrest responds. he’s not entirely sure how to phrase such a thing. “i know, i really am great at my job, aren’t i?”

   “i am not rubbish.” which, is a lie, because he knows that he’s some sort of rubbish and he wears it with pride. he chuckles, looking over towards his brother. “oh, what, we’re not gonna talk about the boys that we like?” forrest questions, smirking towards the male. “i don’t know, i didn’t really read the hand guide.”

   “eh, i still believe it’s rubbish, but whatever you say!” he’s smirking for just a moment. “i don’t actually believe what you’re saying, but i’ll let it slide.” forrest shrugs. “i’m doing my job just right, thank you.”

“As much as I adore singing, I feel like my throat is about to collapse anytime soon.” AKIRA spoke softly to herself tiredly dragging her body around the deck. Tried was an understatement of what the female was feeling, she was more so drained. Taking a seat on one of the nearby chairs she sighed, turning toward the person next to her. “How are you feeling? I hope it’s better than I am.”

“ don’t wear out your voice , akira. ” fox speaks back , a soft smile appearing across his features. “ i know the feeling , though. i picked up a few extra sets last week and my throat was not happy. try something warm. unfortunately the tea on the ship is quite ... well , not very good , but it still helps with throat sores. ” his guitar is at its normal place , slung around his body as he turns to face her. “ i’m quite alright , though. not much to complain about. just get some rest and i’m sure you’ll be back in good shape soon. ”