𝓢𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓷'𝓼 𝓒𝓪𝓵𝓵

⏳Journey To The Mountain⏳

    It was the week of their journey to San. That Monday, Hwa woke up and got dressed quickly. He wanted to make breakfast for the crew, hoping it might raise their spirits a little. He got up and left his room, heading to the kitchen where he found Woo asleep. He smiled softly, walking over and gently rubbing Woo's back. It woke him up and he tiredly looked up at Hwa. "Morning, sleepy head" Hwa said with a little giggle. "Mm...what time is it.." "It's time for you to get to bed" He said, helping Woo up and sending him off to his room.
    Once Woo had left, Hwa noticed a note on the table. Woo had been writing to San. It wasn't like he could send it to him but it was cute that he still had hope after all of this. Hwa grabbed the note and gently folded it, taking it and the ink to Woo's room and setting it on his desk. He returned to the kitchen and started making the crew breakfast, hoping they'd be awake in time to eat.
    After Hwa finished breakfast, he laid everything out in the kitchen like he usually did. Once he'd sat everything out, he went and woke everyone up but he brought Woo breakfast in bed. He figured he'd need it. He gently set the plate on Woo's nightstand before petting his hair and kissing his forehead. "Come see me if you need anything, bud" Hwa said before returning back to the rest of the crew.
    When he got back, Yunho and Mingi were talking to each other. "Yuyu...you really should rest. You're overwhelmed...and stressed.." "I'm not stressed, Mingi. I'm fine. Stop worrying so much" Yunho said, walking into the kitchen to get his food. Hwa came up to Mingi, gently rubbing his shoulder. "It'll be ok. He'll come to his senses soon" He said, placing his head against Mingi's briefly before heading into the kitchen himself.
That afternoon a big storm swept through, leaving Hwa stuck in the infirmary with Hong. "I thought the weather was supposed to be clear today!" Hwa yelled to Yunho from the bottom of the stairs. Yunho was on deck with the others, closing the sails and trying to keep everything tied down. "Hey, I thought it'd be clear too! You can't leave it to me to do this, San usually does it!" Yunho yelled back, the rain pouring down loudly. Hwa sighed and walked back into the infirmary, sitting beside Hong. "Looks like you'll be stuck with me tonight" Hwa said with a faint smile. "Wouldn't trade a night with you for the world" Hong replied, laughing a little as he caressed Hwa's cheek. They stared into each other's eyes for a while before Hwa cleared his throat, getting up and giving Hong a quick kiss. "Ok time for bed" Hwa said quickly before getting into bed. "Flustered, my love?" Hong said, smiling at Hwa. "Shut up. I need to hear none of your teasing. Now go to bed" He said, blowing out the candle and turning over.
Tuesday morning, the storm was still raging but it had calmed down to a certain extent. When everyone woke up and the storm died down, they'd have to spend all day cleaning up the mess on the deck. The storm didn't stop until it was around lunch time. Hwa came out of the infirmary once he was sure the rain had stopped. He went into the kitchen and made lunch for the crew before they had to start cleaning.
When Wednesday came, Hwa decided to get Yunho to train with him so he could take his mind off of his stress and so that Hwa himself could get a little more training. They were dueling when all of a sudden Hongjoong came up on deck by himself. Yunho noticed, lowering his sword and stopping Hwa. Hwa turned around and saw Hong holding his chest while walking. He ran over to him, gently grabbing Hong's wrists. "You- You should be lying down- Why are you up" Hwa said quickly. "Hwa, I'm fine. Plus there's just too much to do and I've left you to tend to the boys by yourself for way too long. I'm getting tired of lying in that bed all day. You know that this was bound to happen" "Well yes but.." "No buts Hwa. I'm getting up and moving around again. My ribs are fine. If anything it's just a little sore" Hwa sighed "Fine...but I don't want to hear you bitching if you have to stay in bed for a month because you were too impatient" Hongjoong kissed Hwa gently. "I promise I'll be careful, my love" "Well you better because" "Babe, there's no need to worry. I'll be fine" He said with a little laugh. "Well...I suppose we'll be moving you back to our bedroom now" "Yes please...I've grown so tired of not being able to love up on you all night" After dinner they both went to bed exhausted. They were glad to finally sleep in the same bed again.
Thursday morning, Hongjoong woke up with someone pushing against him. He turned over, thinking it was Hwa but he was met with the back of Wooyoung's head. He groaned and sat up in bed, gently pushing Woo. "Bro what are you doing here" Woo turned over and glared at Joong. "I didn't wanna sleep alone" Hwa woke up, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. "What's all the noise about.."
He mumbled. "Woo's in our bed like a child" "Just let him be.." Hwa said, turning over and closing his eyes again. Hongjoong sighed, getting out of bed and getting dressed. "Hwa if you want a kid in our bed we can just go get one for fucks sake" Hong said, shaking his head and leaving the room. A little later into the morning, Hwa woke up, turning over and gently shaking Woo awake. "C'mon bud. You need to wake up" Woo woke up, opening one of his eyes and hugging up to Hwa. Hwa sighed and gently rubbed Woo's head. "I know you miss San but you aren't gonna be able to stay in here every night" "I know...I just...I'm not used to being alone...I mean last time I was really alone was when I lived with my grandpa.." "Why were you alone Woo?" "Well...I lived with my grandpa because he needed someone to work for him...and my brother was going through school so..I was the next best thing. My parents hadn't had my younger brother at the time" "Do you miss them at all?" "Mm...not really...they're kinda just a distant memory now.." "Yea...I don't really see my brother either" Hwa said with a sigh. "You know...me and San used to do the craziest things when we were younger. I'd get him into so much trouble.." He said with a little laugh. Woo told Hwa a few stories about San and eventually Hwa sighed, rubbing Woo's head for a little longer before gently patting his back. "Alright, bud. We gotta get up. I have to make the crew breakfast" He said, getting up and going to the kitchen. Woo laid in bed a little longer before getting up and coming out on deck and sitting beside Yeosang, lying his head on Yeo's shoulder. "You sleepy Woo?" "Mm...a little.." Yeosang gently petting Woo's hair. Hongjoong came from the front of the ship and sat in front of Woo. "You know, if you're gonna sleep in our bed...at least let Hwa sleep in the middle. I wanna be able to cuddle my wife, Woo" He said, resting his arms on the table. Woo nodded before closing his eyes as he continued to lie on Yeo's shoulder. When breakfast was ready, Hwa had Mingi help him bring it out. They set the food on the table and Hwa gently woke Woo. "It's time for breakfast, Hun" He said with a small smile. After they all ate they went on to their normal things, using this free time to catch up on the sailing time they'd lost from the storm that occurred the days before. That night while Hwa and Hongjoong were lying in bed, Woo randomly came in and walked over to the bed. "Move bitch" He said before pushing Hwa to the middle of the bed and climbing in on Hwa's side. Hwa's eyes were wide and Hong started laughing. "Did you tell him to do that?!" Hwa said quickly. "I didn't think he'd actually do it" Hong said, laughing a little more before Hwa hit him. They soon went to bed. Hong was just happy he was able to cuddle his wife without a whole Wooyoung in the way.
    On Friday the whole crew was up early except Woo. Hongjoong was steering the ship and making sure they stayed on course while Woo was asleep in his and Hwa's bed. Yunho was staring off the side of the ship, watching the water. Hwa came up beside him and gently nudged him. "What's up?" He asked softly. "Mm..Has Mingi been bothering you about me or something" Yunho muttered. "Of course not. I just know something's wrong" "I've just...lost enough people. I'm just glad that at least Captain's okay.." Hwa gently rubbed Yunho's back "I know Joongie means a lot to you. You might not be blood relatives but you're definitely brothers. That's clear for anyone to see. You know I've wondered..did your ranking change when you were adopted by the Kim family?" "What?" "You know, your ranking. There's the rulers class, upper class, middle class, and lower class. The rulers class has emperors and kings and all. Upper class has soldiers, wealthy land owners, and just people with money I guess. Middle class is your average working class. What normal families would be considered. And finally lower class. Lower class is the poor. The ones that don't really have anything" Hwa explained "Oh..No I guess I've just stayed in the same class the whole time" "Yea. People from the same class usually call each other by family titles. It's kinda like considering someone on the same level as you. So..if you want..you can call me hyung" "Hwa that's a really big step" "Please, I insist" "I'll use it when necessary.." "That's more like it" Hwa said, laughing a little. "Come to me if you ever need anything. I'll be reading" Hwa said with a little smile before heading to Joong's office.
On Saturday they trained some more and Woo joined them this time. He figured he needed to get out of bed and this was a good excuse to. Hwa eventually took a break and let Yunho and Wooyoung train together. Hwa sat and watched them, smiling at how well they were bonding. Hongjoong soon came up and hugged Hwa from behind, kissing his cheek gently before sitting beside Hwa. "How are you doing, my love?" "I'm ok. Did you need something?" "Mh..Yes. I actually have a question" "Alright. Well what is it, Joongie" "So. You have the tear and it's supposed to control the ocean or whatever. How come you haven't used it?" "Ah uhm...Well...I don't know how.." "What do you mean you don't know how" "I just don't. I was never taught how to use it" Hongjoong sighed and gently rubbed Hwa's back "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it eventually babe" Hong said with a smile before getting up, gently kissing Hwa, and heading up to the helm to make sure they were still on course.
    By Sunday they had made it to an island. When they heard the "Land Ho" from above, Woo quickly ran to the side of the ship, looking at the cave just a boats trip away. Hwa came up to Woo and gently rubbed his back. "He's in there, buddy" "Can we go now. We've got to get him" "Now, now, Woo. You need to calm down. There's a pirate ship over there" Hwa said, pointing a little ways behind the island. Woo gripped onto the railing angrily "More fucking pirates! Seriously?!" "Woo calm down. We're gonna meet and go over the plan. Then we'll go after him, okay?" Woo took a few deep breaths before nodding at Hwa. The crew met on deck and Hong explained what they were going to do. Yeosang, Jongho, and Wooyoung were to get San and He, Yunho, and Seonghwa would go get the pirate. Mingi would stay on the ship and make sure no one stole it or anything on it. Everyone agreed on the plan except Hwa. "Let me go after the pirate" "Hwa you can't just" "Let me go after the pirate. Whoever they are. They hurt Woo. He's been depressed for the past two weeks Hong. I want to make them pay for what they've done" "Hwa you" Yunho cut Hongjoong off this time. "No, no, Captain. This might be a good chance for Hwa to prove his training has helped him improve" Hongjoong sighed and shook his head "Fine. But me and Yunho will be close by just in case" "I don't need you to watch after me like a child Joong. As long as water doesn't get on me I should be fine" "Can we just go get my Sannie..." Woo cut in. "Yes Woo. Yes we can" Hwa replied quickly, trying to comfort Woo the best he could. Woo would be happy soon. Hwa wanted him to be happy.