Chapter Text
This isn’t right.
They shouldn’t have left the docks. Darius and Ben must have been nearby. They should have stayed to pick them up, Scorpius Rex or no.
No no no. It was the right call at the time. It wouldn't have been right to risk the lives of the others for the chance the two of them were nearby.
He just doesn’t want to think that he left the two other boys to their dooms.
He doesn’t want Ben to think he abandoned him again.
Who’s he kidding? They might be the smallest out of the six of them, but between Darius’ dino-knowledge and Ben’s jungle-boy experience, they’ll definitely be fine until they return to pick them up.
That doesn’t stop him from worrying.
So far, Captain Kenji’s track record of escaping from dinosaurs has been spotless.
Ha, take that Tiff.
Oh, that was messed up for him to think, wasn’t it? Whatever, she tried to get them killed. Dark humor aside, his track record is spotless. Granted, it was a single incident, but the proof is in the apple sauce or whatever. The boat is intact, it sails, and no one’s died. Yet. Sorry, dark humor over.
Speaking of Captain Kenji…
“Aw, man. I left my captain’s hat in the limo.” Strike that spotless record, there’s been a casualty. Despite everything going on and how worried he is, he can’t help but feel bummed about the loss of his very cool hat.
“Uh, Kenji? I think we have slightly bigger problems.” Yaz pipes up from behind him.
“I know, I know. We’re heading back to the dock.” He looks out toward the island. “Hopefully, the Scorpius has cleared out by now.”
For Ben and Darius’ sake, he sure hopes it has.
It is there, on the bridge of the camper’s scavenged yacht, Kenji decides on something that will change the course of his life.
Too many times their lives have been in peril. Too many times has he thought it will be the last time he’ll see the others, the last time he’ll see Ben. Too many times has he not taken the opportunity to say anything. Too many times has Ben never known Kenji likes him back.
When they find them, Kenji is going to confess to Ben.
It’s all going to work out.
---
Okay, so, bit of a monkey wrench in Kenji’s plan.
The good news is the Scorpius is no longer at the docks.
The bad news is that Ben and Darius aren’t at the docks either.
Sammy finds what’s left of the limo, the wreckage of which leans vertically against a tree. There’s human footprints so they know that the missing two escaped and that they’re alive. Kenji can’t say the same about his hat, which is nowhere to be found.
They follow the footprints, a trail of destruction all around them. Nothing too unusual.
What is unusual is the baby brachiosaurus that’s separated from its herd. Yes, Kenji learned the difference between brachios and brontosauruses. Blame Darius.
Oh great, the girls are hugging it. He can’t believe they're getting distracted. They’re supposed to be looking for the others! What are they even thinking, hugging some random dinosaur?
“Guys! In and out, remember?”
Brooklynn thinks they should try and help the thing find its herd. Because life, or something.
If Kenji is honest, he could scream right now. He kind of does. What about their herd-- er, friends? Helping a genetically engineered monster shouldn’t be their priority or their responsibility.
“We need to focus on finding Darius and Ben. In and out. And then finally, we escape this nightmare island!”
He must have been very loud, because the next thing he knows, the baby dino starts crying. Literally crying out, and in the saddest dino-voice you’ve ever heard. Aw, heck. It’s frickin’ adorable. This must be how Ben felt when he first held Bumpy.
Thinking of the other teen, Kenji acts how he thinks Ben would if he were here.
He moans like a dinosaur. Then the girls join in. It’s so ridiculous.
But, lo and behold, it works. Here comes the herd.
Heh. Better than his cow impression.
As Kenji watches the little dino reunite with it’s family, he can’t help the warm feeling in his chest. He also can’t help the gnawing worry either. Their friends are out there in the jungle alone, too.
It’s then that Kenji notices what Yaz is picking up off the ground.
“Whoa! My captain’s hat.” Ha! Spotless record, once again. If they could find his hat, they’ll definitely find Darius and Ben.
His konfidence wanes when Yaz points out that their footprints are joined by the Scorpius’ tracks.
---
Kenji’s Konfidence soars through the roof when the group finds Darius and Ben alive, no Scorpius in sight. It may have been a bit of a slog through the jungle, but they finally find the smaller teens by the jeep they almost died in the other day. Fun times.
His sigh of relief and the laughter that followed was joined by everyone else’s, the six of them piling into one big hug.
Kenji hopes that they’ll never separate again.
“What are you doing here? We thought you left.”
Oh, no. We can’t have that.
“What? No! Camp Fam for life, right? We’d never leave someone behind.” Since Sammy started to call them that, it’s really grown on everyone. Though it’s rarely said out loud, it’s honestly how they see each other at this point.
Family.
“We just had to get away from that stupid Scorpius. It was on the dock.”
“Yeah, we saw them up close and personal.”
So apparently, according to Darius, there are two of them. TWO.
“How is that even possible??” Okay, they need to get the heck off this island pronto.
“Well, some animals reproduce asexually.” Ben, bless him, gives Darius a look, and the younger teen immediately backtracks. “Doesn’t matter. What does matter is that unless we take them out, they’re going to destroy everything and everyone.”
Hold up. Darius wants them to hunt down that freaky dino? No, sorry, TWO FREAKY DINOS? Kenji loves the kid like a brother, but Darius is crazy if he thinks they should be hunting down those things.
Kenji has to speak up.
“I don’t want to be on this island a second longer than I have to be.”
They all look at him, judgingly.
Ugh. They’re going to have to hunt down two freaky dinos, aren’t they?
“But, uh, it’s like I always say: Life is worth protecting.” He mimes what Brooklynn and Sammy said earlier, but he guesses they're rubbing off on him. He almost believes what he’s saying. Almost.
“Whatever your plan is, we’re in.”
They all give Darius an assuring look. They all know the dino-nerd wouldn’t have suggested they do this unless he knew they could.
Whatever he has in mind, it can’t possibly go wrong.
---
To be fair, it didn’t technically go wrong.
They did end up defeating the two Scorpiuses.
It’s just the two freaky dinos immediately attacked after the group decided they were going to go after them. Then the group was chased inside the old visitor center and Darius dropped the gun after missing a shot. Then, they were almost caught in the kitchens. Then, the blue raptor showed up. Then--
Doesn’t matter. The campers dealt with them and they won’t be bothering anyone anymore.
The walk back to the boat is beautiful. The setting sun leaves a blazing orange hue on everything. The dinosaurs they pass are like a trip down memory lane; the glowing Parasaurolophus from the cave, a herd of Sinoceratops, a herd of Brachiosauruses. It’s dumb, considering how much he hated being stuck here, but Kenji can’t help but feel the tiniest bit sad that they’re leaving. It really can be majestic here.
Under different circumstances, this would be pretty romantic.
Screw it. He’s going to do it now.
Kenji falls back to where Ben is, who for some reason is looking sadly at the ground while barely keeping pace with the group. Kenji guesses it's about Bumpy. She's going to have to remain here, and he knows the other teen had a strong bond with her. Maybe he should distract him.
“So… that sunset, huh?” Kenji tries to be suave, but he’s pretty sure that came out awkwardly.
“Huh? What was that?” Definitely distracted already. At least he didn’t hear his not-so-smooth line. Hmm, maybe he should go for 'shoulder to lean on?'
“Uh, it’s nothing. Anyway, what’s up? You’re looking pretty bummed out.”
Ben stops in his tracks.
Oh. That’s probably not good.
The smaller of the two clenches his fists, his brows furrow, mouth in a tight line. At first, Kenji thought he was angry. Ben has been a bit touchy with him lately, but after their hug when Sammy was sick, Kenji thought they were good again. Maybe not?
When Ben lifted his head, though, he didn’t see anger in his eyes. Kenji saw determination.
“Kenji. There’s something I gotta tell you.” Oh, this is different.
Wait. Is he…?
Nope. Not before Kenji.
“Funny, there’s something I wanted to tell you, too.” Ben opens his mouth, but Kenji cuts him off. “Nonono, let me go first.”
He saw the briefest crack in Ben’s apparent resolve, but it returned immediately. Kenji pushes on, but he looks down at the ground, afraid he’ll backtrack if he looks at him- that he won't say anything like he did with Darius on the boat.
“I’ve wanted to tell you for a while now, but… I don’t know, all kinds of things started to happen and it never seemed like the right time. This kind of thing is hard for me to talk about. I don’t think I’ve even said it out loud before.”
He chances a look at the other. Ben’s eyes sparkle in the sunlight, cheeks red, hands slightly shaking, but the determined look still on his adorable face.
Kenji steps closer, until they’re only a foot apart. It makes Ben have to tilt his head up to look at him. Kenji doesn’t know what it is, but he loves it when he looks at him like this. He grabs the smaller teen’s trembling hands, steadying them with his own. Kenji rubs small circles in the other’s palms soothingly. It takes all of a minute for his hands to stop trembling.
Since the moment he stepped closer, he hasn't broken eye contact with Ben. They’re always looking at each other, always observing and watching.
It’s their love language.
It feels only right that he says this while staring into Ben’s beautiful blue eyes.
“I love you.”
After years of barely hearing those three words from his father, never from his step mother or anyone else who mattered to him, Kenji became jaded when it comes to the topic of love. He didn’t feel loved at home. He isn’t sure he knows what it feels like to be loved. He thinks it must feel the way the others care about him, but those feelings are all new as well. Despite him not knowing what it feels like to be loved, when he thinks of Ben, Kenji's sure he knows what it feels like to love someone.
Now, though, he isn’t sure he even said those words out loud. Ben just continues to stare at him. Suddenly his lips tremble, his eyes water, and he looks away. He wrenches his hands out of Kenji’s and backs away from Kenji.
Oh, no.
He was wrong, wasn’t he? Kenji really did make it all up in his head.
Ben didn’t feel the same. He didn’t love him.
Kenji messed up again.
“Look, man I’m sorry. I just--”
Ben immediately looks back at him, panicked.
“No, don’t be sorry. I…” A conflicted look passes over his face.
“I get it, just forget th--”
“I’m staying.”
What.
“What?”
“I’m staying on the island.”
What the heck was he saying? Kenji must be hearing him wrong. Then, Sammy barrels past him, grabs Ben by the shoulders, and demands to know what he means by ‘staying.’ The other girls join in surrounding Ben, asking him a million questions. Were they there the whole time? Did they hear everything Kenji said? Did they see him get... rejected?
But more importantly, it means he didn’t hear Ben wrong?
Kenji hears none of their questions. He doesn’t focus on anything, his eyes clouding over. Time kind of just… stops.
Suddenly, Darius is next to him, hand on his shoulder. “Kenji. Are you doing okay?”
Kenji doesn’t know. He just feels… numb.
---
Ben is going to change his mind about staying.
With every fiber of his being, Kenji knows this. When everyone stopped asking him questions, Ben explained why he decided to stay. Kenji understands where he’s coming from, he really does, but to stay here alone?
He doesn’t care how much Ben has changed. He doesn’t care how confident Ben is about his chances. He doesn’t care that Ben can take care of himself.
He just wants Ben near him, where he knows for sure he is safe.
When they said their goodbyes on the docks, Kenji tried not to look too hurt. He knows the chance that the smaller teen was actually going to remain on the island was slim and they were going to see each other soon, so Kenji didn’t want to make this goodbye any more difficult than it already was. No matter how much he wanted to drag Ben onto the boat, he knew Ben needed to rejoin them himself. It had to be his decision.
“I get that you have to do this for you, but did you ever think what it would do to us? We’ll never stop worrying about you, you jerk.” His voice went softer before he spoke up again, so soft he wonders if Ben even heard him. “I’ll never stop worrying. How am I supposed to keep you safe if you're here alone?”
“You don’t need to worry about me.” Ben didn’t even look at him when he said it.
Kenji refuses to believe that was the last conversation they’ll ever have.
When the five of them boarded the boat, Kenji lingered on the dock. They had all stopped to look at Ben one last time, but Kenji stayed there the longest. He looked right at Ben, the other looking right back. With all his might, he tried to convey his deepest wish with just his eyes.
Stay with me.
They ended up leaving without him.
Well, kind of. Kenji is making sure the boat is going the absolute slowest it’ll go. He’ll give Ben as much time as he can. Everyone else is on the deck, looking out in the pouring rain, watching as Ben and the island shrink in the distance, albeit slowly.
For the briefest of moments, Kenji thinks, ‘That was it. You’ll never see him again.’
Then, despite the howling wind, the waves crashing against the boat, the rain pattering against the roof, he hears it.
“No no no! Wait!”
Darius yells for him down below, but Kenji is already on it. He comes to a full stop. By the time Kenji makes it to the lower deck, Darius is already pulling Ben from the water.
“I guess I kind of realized that since I found myself on the island, I can take that new found self somewhere else now.” Everyone shares a knowing look. Well, except for Sammy.
Ben picks up on this. “You don’t look surprised to see me.”
“We knew you’d change your mind.” Brooklynn hugs him and chuckles. Kenji can’t help the smile on his lips as he reaches for Ben himself. At the last second, he thinks better of it, and settles on ruffling his hair.
“Yeah, man. Didn’t think you’d actually go diving in the ocean, though.”
Ben stares up at him with the biggest eyes, his shoulders slouched like a sad puppy.
“I--” The smaller teen starts to explain before Darius finishes the thought for him.
“...needed to come to it on your own, without someone telling you how to feel.” Everyone laughs, except for Sammy who is a little irked no one else told her they thought he was going to come back. She laughs it off herself, though, and hugs both Ben and Darius.
It occurs to Kenji that this is still bittersweet. Despite what he said to Ben when brought it up, the six of them are going to go their own way when they get to the mainland. Though Ben is with them again, this voyage to Costa Rica is probably going to be the last time they’ll be able to be together. It would be hard to meet up in the future.
But it doesn’t matter. They’re all together again. He’s going to enjoy being with Ben, who isn’t stuck by himself on Isla Nublar, even if it’s just for the rest of their journey.
Even if it’s just as friends.
Better together as friends than apart, wondering if the other was even alive. Kenji wouldn’t trade anything in the world for their friendship, for any of his friendships with the others.
This is enough.
And it’s not like he isn’t used to giving his love to people who don’t return it.
Kenji goes up to the bridge to get them underway, chastising himself for such an immature thought. He’s never realized until now, but it’s a bit lonely up there, not even chairs for company.
“Kenji?”
It’s Ben. Huh, he didn’t hear him come up.
“Hey, man. You don’t want to go sit with everyone down below? It’s kind of… boring up here.” He half-heartedly laughs, feeling a bit awkward. They haven’t been alone since they were walking through the jungle earlier. Thinking about Ben tearing up and pulling away from him after he confessed hurts, but Kenji can keep composed.
“Could I keep you company for a bit?” Ben asking like this reminds him of when they took watch together that one time. The smaller teen is looking at him expectantly, eyes hopeful.
“If you want to.”
Silence passes between them for all of five seconds before they both speak, overlapping one another.
“Sorry. Go ahead.”
“No, sorry, you go first.”
Neither of them say anything for what feels like minutes. Ben speaks first.
“I didn’t mean to react the way I did.” Ben taps at the fuel gauge absentmindedly. “I was ready to come clean about wanting to stay, but then you said… that.”
“By ‘that’ you mean when I said ‘I love you?’” Geez, Kenji, what happened to being composed? Why is he being raw about it? They were good not five minutes ago…
Why couldn’t Ben just forget it happened?
Kenji certainly is trying to.
“Yeah. That. Um--”
“Forget about it.”
Ben whips his head and looks at him, a panicked look in his eyes. “What? Why?”
“You obviously don’t feel the same.” Ben just stares at him with his jaw slack and brows furrowed. “Look, it’s fine. Give me a few days and I swear it’ll b--”
“I love you, too.”
Wait wait wait wait wait. Kenji knows what he heard, but he has a hard time processing it. He eventually realizes what’s happening here. Ben means it in a just friends kind of way. Right. Of course.
“Ben, I don’t think you understood what I--”
“I like your butt.”
Okay. That catches him off guard. Despite being overwhelmingly confused by this situation, Kenji bursts out laughing, and keeps laughing till his lungs hurt.
“I knew it.” He manages to wheeze out. Ben waits for him to calm down before continuing.
“I love your smile, your eyes, your dumb hair. I love how strong you are, and not just physically. I love how loyal and thoughtful you are, with everyone, not only me. I love that even if you fail, you at least try. Well, sometimes.” Kenji grimaces at that. “I love that you’re not afraid to show exactly how you’re feeling, that you never shy away from speaking your mind.”
Ben comes as close as he can without actually stepping on Kenji’s feet. He looks up at him the way Kenji likes.
“I love you, Kenji Kon. And I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner.”
Kenji remembers crying exactly six times in his life. The first time was when his mom died when he was little. The second, when his dog Rex ran away from home. The third, when his dad didn’t come to see him perform in his middle school play. The fourth was when he and Brooklynn reunited with Ben. The fifth, after Darius told him all of them like him just the way he is. The sixth was when he was hugging Ben, fearing the worst for Sammy.
Right now, losing himself in Ben’s eyes that convey nothing but affection, letting everything the other said sink in, makes lucky number seven.
Kenji decides to press that luck. He puts his hands on the other’s shoulders and leans his head down until he and Ben’s mouths are mere centimeters away from each other. He searches the other’s eyes for any hint of hesitation.
Ben closes the distance between them.
Warmth. A gentle but all encompassing warmth spreads through him- a feeling he’s never known. Ben puts his arms around his neck to get a better angle, grunting in annoyance, probably because of their height difference. Kenji smiles at that. He admits he's kissed girls before, but it never felt like this. Those kisses made his heart flutter in excitement of the act itself. With Ben, his heart soars, like he’s literally floating above the clouds, enveloped in a white light.
They pull away slowly, eyes never leaving the other's.
Then they go in for another kiss. Then another. He loses count.
Kenji straight up giggles in joy, pulling one out of Ben, too.
When he opens his eyes again, there's a white halo enveloping the two, like they really are flying above a cloud on a beautiful day.
It takes Kenji a second to realize it’s not an endorphin-induced hallucination. There is a near blinding light coming through the windows on the bridge.
Reluctantly, he pulls away from Ben to shove his head out the portside window to see where it’s coming from.
No. Way.
There’s a helicopter above the boat.
His first instinct is to look at Ben, and in his eyes he sees confusion, fear, and hope. He imagines the same could be said about himself. Though, he personally chooses to focus on the last one- hope.
Yeah. Hope sounds good.
After all, nothing could possibly go wrong now.
