Blake and Lucius didn’t usually do this kind of thing, but…. Well, Blake had won those tickets and Luce had commented on how it would be good for both of them to take a vacation. Luce had always been big on mental health, especially when it came to Blake’s.

So here they are, boarding the large ship for a week long cruise. Maybe it won’t be all bad, Blake thinks as they search for their cabin. He can spend the extra free time working on his writing. Luce is going to insist he doesn’t spend the cruise holed up in their cabin, but maybe he can still find somewhere quiet on the ship to write in peace. Yeah, a whole week not worrying about work, just spending time with his twin brother and mentally recharging.

As soon as they finish unpacking, the two head to the buffet style restaurant for dinner. It’s the most cost effective option so they had already paid for the unrestricted pass for it, one each, and would be able to get in free whenever the buffet was open with their scannable passes.

They have to wait in line due to it being so popular since it was the only food location open until tomorrow. It doesn't matter too much to them. The brothers aren't in any rush, their only plans for the night being settling in. Not everyone seems so patient.

A couple around the brothers' age comes in and, seeing the line, the boy goes straight to the hostess seating people. He keeps glancing worriedly at his companion as he tries to convince the hostess to seat them faster. Unfortunately for him, the employee only points out the line of people waiting and says they don’t have any seating for two available yet.

Blake and Luce are already almost at the front of the line by this point so Luce, trying to be the helpful cinnamon roll that he is, speaks up. “Excuse me. I don’t mean to interfere, but I thought… Well, if those two don’t mind sharing, you’ll probably have a four top open up sooner than a two top. They can join us and it’ll be one less table you need to accommodate for.” The boy seems a bit relieved when the hostess says she doesn’t have any problem doing that, though he still looks nervous.

“Thanks. This cruise is supposed to be a six month anniversary present for my girlfriend, but I didn’t realize that the other restaurants didn’t open until tomorrow. She’s really not happy about having to settle for the buffet… or having to wait.” His girlfriend doesn’t look happy after he goes over to tell her what’s going on, but she follows him back towards the brothers. As they stand there, waiting for a table, there’s an awkward silence. The boy decides to break it. “Thanks again. Oh, I’m Dewi, by the way. And this is my girlfriend, Kate.” Kate gives a forced smile at the word ‘girlfriend’.

“Oh, well, I’m Luce and this is Blake. We're glad we could help. Isn't that right, Blake?" The dark haired man nods.

The hostess has a table available for them ten minutes later. When they are shown to their seats, it is decided that Dewi and Kate will sit on one side while the twins take the other. With that figured out, they all go to grab some food from the buffet.

Throughout the dinner, Luce and Dewi both try to encourage some light conversation, with Kate contributing sometimes, but every topic seems to die after one or two minutes. Blake doesn’t say a single word the whole time. Not that it stops Dewi from trying to engage with him, but everytime he asks him a question, Luce ends up answering for him after giving him a chance to respond. Even when Luce gets up for more food, Dewi can’t get Blake to talk with him.

After they’re all done eating, they go their separate ways. Once they are back in their room, Luce still hasn’t mentioned Blake’s voluntary mutism. Blake’s always been like that. Still, he’s worried. “Was that all too much for you? Sorry, you’ve been getting better around people so I thought it would be okay. Next time, let me know if I’m pushing you too much.”

“It’s not that… Had girlfriend… We were crashing date in a way…” The older one seems satisfied with this answer so he drops the topic as they head to bed.