Sad day today…  and I decided to drown my sorrows in writing :’((   couldn’t really concentrate on editing this so sorry for any inconsistencies.
uri leadernim, triples will miss you  TT_TT  BWAAAAAAAHHHH   TT_TT TT_TT

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“Aargh… this won’t do-” Minwoo practically screamed as he threw the grease covered spanner across the room. It bounced off the wall in the far end of the small room with a resounding bang. Eric cringed at the sound and stopped his work to look at the visibly agitated man. “-Eric we can’t be stuck here like this. We just… can’t. There’s got to be a way out”

Eric sighed to what felt like the umpteenth time that day. He’d been stuck with this… ‘agitated/frustrated’ version of Minwoo whole morning and it was starting to eat away at his patience.

After reconciling the previous night they’ve taken time to sit down and discuss in depth about what to do to up their current situation.  They would eventually run out of food and the chances of coming across another ship or a boat seemed little. They had no life raft or any other means of getting to dry land. With what meager options they had, the only thing doable was to try and fix the boat- although that proved to be a problem in itself, with them not know what went wrong in the first place or recognize the parts for that matter. However, individually considering their mechanical skills may not be up to par. But untied- who would know what they’d be able to do? Maybe they’d be able to fix the boat and get a move on. If anything it’d make them feel a little bit better, having known that they’ve tried something without lying around like sitting ducks- waiting to be rescued or die- whichever came first.

But now, after hours of back breaking work, covered in grease from head to toe- their chances of fixing it seemed really really low. And by the way Minwoo kept losing his patience Eric knew he was close to giving up hope. He, on the other hand was used to persevering long torturous hours of business dealings, trying to get a contract or trying to recruit a new client. And the experience he’d gained helped him at the moment.

He knew that having Minwoo by his side played a small part as well. If he was alone, he would’ve fallen apart pretty quickly. But now he had Minwoo’s fate in his hands as well. It was only because of that burden he managed to face the situation in a calm way.

“Minwoo-yah ”

“If we can’t get help in time we are going to die”

“Don’t think like that Minwoo. Come on. Let’s take a break.” He said with a soothing squeeze on the smaller man’s shoulder. Minwoo however, was not up to any pleasantries it seemed.

He shrugged off Eric’s hand with an annoyed huff, glaring at the man with disdain.

And the old Minwoo was back.

“-You know, this is almost your fault, this.”

He thought they were past that conversation.

“I mean… I just can’t figure out if you’re this much of an idiot or if you’re just… plain suicidal. What sort of an idiot are you running away in a boat if you have no freaking idea –“

He blocked away the rest of Minwoo’s scolding only paying attention to the way his mouth moved with each syllable…

Damn… how can someone that cute be this annoying…???

Maybe it was an impulse or maybe he’s just plain stupid and suicidal like Minwoo stated- but whatever it was- Eric only saw one possible way to cut off Minwoo’s rant.

He kissed him.

                    ~~~~~~

One second he was giving Eric a piece of his mind and the next he was being kissed within an inch of his life.

His hands fumbled for purchase as his confused brain tried to catch on to the situation- and before long he could feel his hands grabbing onto Eric’s thin cotton shirt tightly, fingers clenching around the sweat soaked fabric. Eric’s lips felt warm against his with a hint of that bitter tang of dried salt cutting through his palate. An involuntary moan escaped him as Eric’s tongue brushed against his slightly parted lips.

What the hell was wrong with him???

Clearly encouraged by his moans, Eric’s body pushed up against him- all firm muscles and hot skin pressing against him from head to toe- desperate and urgent. Surprisingly it was the jolt he needed to get back to the reality.

His grip on Eric’s shirt changed from pulling closer to forcibly pushing away. He scrambled away from the man, wiping his lips as he stalked past him without so much as a glance at the confused face.

                    ~~~~~~

That night the weather decided to hit them hard.

When Eric found the will to move out of the engine room they’ve been crammed up in all morning, the sight that greeted him was not nice- or maybe it was in some old postcard but certainly not in reality; especially not when they were on board some rickety old boat that could- and would- break apart in an instant.

Billowy dark clouds hung low in the sky overhead. An eerie darkness surrounded them, imposing and daunting. Even the air smelled different- a pungent ozonic smell that usually promised heavy rain. And now that he was paying attention to it, he could feel the sea getting rougher and rougher with the passing minutes.

The threat of a brewing storm loomed in the horizon.

Out of all the days they were stuck in the boat …

Nice…

He wondered for a moment if Minwoo had seen this. If he had- then why didn’t he call Eric? Has he been that blinded by rage he decided to ignore it instead of trying to take action?

Not like there was much action to take though. They had no lifeboat or life jackets. He had no idea about what to do if the boat was to sink. If the storm got the better of them they were as good as dead.

Shaking his head to get rid of the negative thoughts he hurried inside to inform Minwoo about this newest development.

                    ~~~~~~

They had to ‘endure’ the afternoon inside in each other’s presence, being too scared to go into their rooms in case something happened. They sat silently staring off in to space as the outside world riled with thunder and rain and the storm raging on without a hint of stopping. Occasionally the room was illuminated by electric blues and purples as bolts of lightning streaked through the sky. Minwoo kept flinching with every loud roll of thunder and Eric could see the thin sheen of sweat that covered the smaller man’s face. The boat rocked as huge waves crashed against it, tilting them unceremoniously this way and that. So much so that he was starting to feel queasy.  

It was chaotic.

Eric had never feared death- the thought had never crossed his mind to be honest. He grew up in luxury, was surrounded by the comforts that came with it. Every small illness got treated as soon as they came, had never had to suffer from something for long. His life was busy and he had no room to think or worry about that type of thing. But now, when he was sitting inside that small room- stuck and helpless like a newborn- he felt it.

The fear of dying… of losing everything.

What possessed him to hijack a boat at the time- he didn’t know. But then again he couldn’t deny that he didn’t regret a single second of the past couple of days. Sure he was stuck with a man that probably loathed his very existence, sure he was gambling with his life as well as Minwoo’s, sure he’d caused limitless grief to his parents, and yet he still didn’t regret the time he spent on the boat.

As ridiculous as it may sound, he was more afraid of losing what he had managed to build up within the period on the boat than anything else.

                    ~~~~~~

After keeping vigil for long hours it seemed as if the weather was starting to listen to their prayers. The heavy rain ceased leaving only a slight drizzle. And although the sea was still rough and the occasional lightning flooded the room- the storm was wearing off. They both released breaths they were not even aware of holding. 

Minwoo was the first to disappear into his room, calling it an early night due to the ‘emotional strain’. Eric hanged around looking out into the ocean through the portholes until his heart settled down enough to go to sleep.

He thought he would be gone the moment his head hit the pillow but it seemed like sleep wanted to evade him that night. Half an hour later he was still tossing and turning in his beddings. Giving up on sleeping he got out of bed wanting to check whether Minwoo was faring any better.

 And to his ultimate joy he wasn’t.

The smaller man was lying in his bunk covered to his nose with the sheets. The room was dark and he didn’t make any acknowledgement to Eric’s presence but Eric could see him blinking from time to time.

“you can’t sleep?” his question went unanswered.

“I can’t sleep either…“

“Minwoo…” he tailed off. “… can I sleep here tonight???”

The sharp turn of the head was all the answer he needed, but he decided to push some more.

“swear I’m not going to try anything else-“

Minwoo just kept staring at him and just as Eric was about to give up hope he finally, finally nodded. Eric all but barged into the room.  

The bunk was small. Normally Eric found it hard to fit himself into the bed but today, with his enthusiasm he somehow managed tuck all his limbs in alongside Minwoo.

He was stuck between the cold metal wall on one side and an equally cold Minwoo on the other and it was not at all comfortable. The invisible wall Minwoo had put up was not helping the situation either. But there was not much Eric could do about that. He was grateful Minwoo allowed him to be in the same bed as him. But despite the uncomfortableness he was slowly starting to drift away.

His eyes were just about to close when a wave crashed against the boat. The sudden jolt and Minwoo’s hand found Eric’s- his smaller fingers warm and smooth against his; a small comfort in this dire situation. Without a second’s hesitation Eric entwined their fingers, feeling ecstatic when he felt Minwoo do the same. Tightening his hold on Minwoo’s hand he closed his eyes, ready to reap out whatever sleep the night would provide.

He was scared for their lives. He was scared about their future. And he couldn’t help the shivers that ran through his body every time he thought about it.

But still he didn’t regret getting on that boat, nor did he regret those feelings he was slowly starting to grow towards the man beside him.