Chapter Text
The rocking motion of the yacht would normally be soothing to Kenji, but the building storm is starting to make the waves choppy. He’s been up here all morning but thankfully he hasn't lost his lunch. Well, how can he, since he hasn't eaten since the day before.
Kenji isn’t sure how this yacht is even staying afloat, if he’s honest. The patch job on the hull has so far stayed intact despite the subpar materials they used, but the irregular waves seemed determined to prove his worth as a helmsman. He would never tell this to the others, but he’s sure they’d have taken on water if he wasn’t really good at getting creative with what little he’s got.
It needs to be said that he is by no means an expert of navigation, or manning a helm, or fixing any of the perpetually broken instruments at conn. Whether he has great luck or he’s even better than he thinks, he’s not sure, but for some reason, they aren’t sunk to the bottom of the ocean yet.
A win in his book.
He’s been manning this station constantly. The only times he gets reprieve are when they eat or when he sleeps at night. Sammy volunteered for night duty, thus freeing up his evenings. She was enthusiastic to learn, so he taught her the basics and so far, she's handled everything well. Kenji has told her to wake him if anything unexpected should happen during her shift, but so far, he’s been able to get a good night’s sleep for the two days they’ve been out at sea.
Still, he’s up there more times than not.
The worst part about this arrangement is that it’s cutting into what time left he has with Ben before they reach Costa Rica. He has every intention of making sure he doesn't lose the other again, in any capacity, but that may prove to be a pipe dream and these precious few days they have left together are all he’s going to get.
Ben’s kept him company up here several times since they set sail. They talk for hours and because of it, he's gotten to know the other better, all while Kenji is making course corrections and stealthily fixing things as they go. But out of guilt he sends him away after a while each time, wanting the other teen to hang out with the others as well before they part. He shouldn't be monopolizing all of Ben's time, he reasons. In an ideal world, he'd spend this time hanging out with all of them, the boat driving itself to the mainland.
That's just not how it played out. He has the most experience sailing, so it makes sense he’s the one up here the most.
It’s up to him now to get them all home.
He’s looking through his spy glass to see if land is at all near, when the door opens behind him. He half expected it to be Ben, who had been keeping him company until an hour ago, but is surprised to see it’s Brooklynn instead.
“Hey Captain. Lunchtime.” The pink haired girl chirps.
“Sorry, I'm gonna pass. Don’t want to leave my post until we’re in Costa Rica. Shouldn’t be too far away now.”
“You can stop for lunch. And I know for a fact you didn't have breakfast. Ben told me.”
“I’m the only one of us who’s ever sailed before. I gotta do this.” He says as if it explains why he should skip another meal.
“How hard can it be? Besides, that’s a lie. Sammy takes night duty.” Brooklynn casually strolls up to the helm and takes control. Kenji lets her.
“Iceberg! Iceberg!” She yells jokingly. Normally he’d laugh at that, but he’s in not in much of a laughing mood.
“Look, I’m not leaving. You should go eat.”
“C’mon, Kenji, just cut the engine.” She starts as she tugs on his arm. He stands firm at the helm. “Ten minutes won’t kill you. Or the rest of us, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
"Whenever we think we're safe, something always happens." He nearly whispers. Flashes of Ben falling off the monorail surge to the front of his mind.
"Not this time." She tries assuring him.
When he doesn’t budge, the tone in her voice changes.
“It might be our last meal all together.” She says simply. He glances at her, seeing almost sadness in her expression.
How can he say no to that?
--
Maybe he should have said ‘no’, because seeing Darius sets him right back on edge.
Yeah, that isn’t resolved by the way.
He takes the seat across from him and glares at the younger teen, who looks at him with a quirked brow as he eats the berries on his own plate.
Thankfully, Ben’s voice cuts through the growing tension he’s feeling. He looks downright hilarious as he struts over, holding a plate high in his hands, and Kenji can’t help the small smile the sight pulls out of him. It’s immediately replaced by a grimace of disgust when Ben reveals the plate he’s carrying to be nothing but grubs.
He has to look away when Ben eats one in front of them all.
How he kisses that mouth, he doesn’t know.
Ben, nonplussed at everyone’s reaction, takes his seat next to Kenji, an adorable pout on his lips. Kenji playfully nudges him as he eats more of his own plate of berries. The pout is replaced by a genuine smile when Sammy starts hyping them up, talking about how amazing it is they made it this far and how they’ll all stay in contact when they reach the mainland.
‘Soulmates’ is a word she throws out.
He admits to having not-so-subtly look at Ben when Sammy said the word.
It really does feel that way. All of them, after everything they’ve been through together. Nothing could tear them apart. Not pteranadons who nearly took Ben away from him- them. He meant them. The group. Not Tiff and Mitch, the soulless hunters. Not the Scorpius Rexes, the scary dinos that almost got Sammy. Not Wu and his goons, who nearly got Brooklynn. No matter how far apart they may be later, they are destined to remain in each other's lives.
He looks down at his plate again and notices it empty.
“Hey, who took my food? I had a plate of berries sitting right there.” His eyes wander to Darius, the younger teen looking at him innocently.
“It wasn’t me.” He says.
Before Kenji can say anything else, Yaz and Sammy start talking about how maybe the yacht is haunted.
Kenji is seriously confused. What the heck happened to his lunch?
“Aww man, who ate all the grubs?” Ben pipes up next to him.
It seems he’s not the only one who’s food decided to make an exit.
Then they hear it. Clicking. They all look for the source, hesitant to find that maybe they have a dangerous stowaway on board. A vision of a third Scorpius Rex flashes in his mind, pulling a shudder out of him.
It’s a Compy.
Unimpressed, Kenji watches as Ben, Yaz and Sammy chase after the thing. Since he no longer has food and Ben isn’t around, he decides to go back up. He pointedly avoids making eye contact with Darius as he does so.
Darius , however, decides he’s tired of Kenji’s treatment of him and he follows.
“Listen, man. About what happened--” Kenji internally sighs. He doesn’t want to deal with this right now.
“I should be at the controls.” He states matter-of-factly. He knows Darius doesn’t deserve this, but he’s itching for a fight. He turns around and finally looks at him again. “I’m trying to get us all home.”
He doesn’t miss the hurt or desperation in Darius’ face before he turns back away. The younger teen doesn’t take that lying down, though.
“Seriously? I only did what Brooklynn asked me to do. What’s your problem?” He almost begs Kenji for the answer.
“For once, when you have to do the right thing, I’d like to see you put this group first. Just once!” He steps into Darius' space and gets all up in his face as he says this.
This, he feels, isn’t actually him being a jerk. They may all agree in the end, but let’s be honest. Every time Darius, their de-facto leader, decides between a way home for them and saving dinosaurs, he always chooses the dinosaurs. Always.
Placing the blame on him for Brooklynn’s earlier situation isn’t fair, though. That much he knows. He only throws this at Darius because he knows it will hurt him.
Yeah, maybe he is being a jerk.
Dazed at his outburst, Darius just stares at him. He hears Brooklynn chastising him from behind Darius, but he barely gives her a glance before he stomps his way back up to the conn. He can hear the two talk even as he’s climbing the ladder up, but he pays the conversation no mind.
When he gets back to the helm, the SONAR and radio have gone on the fritz again. Grumbling, he grabs the toolbox and gets to work on fixing it. At least, he hopes he can fix it.
“Stupid dinosaurs busted everything. What are they, anti-technology or something?”
“Hey, bro, stop stressing.” Brooklynn is here again, sporting a very forced dude-bro accent. The honestly baffling comment makes him stop working and look at her. She leans against the window as she continues. “Check it, smooth sailing to Costa Rica, ka-ching!”
Confused, he sits up some to look at her better. Also, he doesn't know why, but he feels like he should be slightly insulted.
“There’s nothing out here that could be worse than Dino Island. You should just chillax.”
Ah. That’s what she’s trying to do.
“Chillax? What about sharks, or storms, or the lunch tray covering the hole in the boat falling off? Lots of things could happen, Brooklynn, and without SONAR or a radio, both of which aren’t working again, I’m not chillaxing.” Her brows stay furrowed in concern as he finishes his rant.
“So… you freaked out on Darius because you’re worried?”
“What? No! He…”
Since they’ve set sail, he’s had a lot of time to think alone up here, and the conclusion he reached about why he’s so mad at Darius isn’t one he’s comfortable sharing with present company. He doesn't think she'd get it- or worse, she'd hold it against him.
So he goes with a true but unforthcoming answer.
“You could have been killed, B.”
“He did what I told him to.” She says defensively. “If there’s anyone you should be mad at, it’s me.” He looks away from her at that. He knows she’s right. He’s just decided to take it out on Darius.
Not wanting to deal with this anymore, he focuses again on working on the conn.
“I need to get all this working, and captaining is kind of a solo job, so if you don’t mind.” He says dismissively.
She watches him work for a moment, then steps in.
“If you’re looking for the reset switch for the comm panel, you may want to use the panel that’s actually attached to the comm system.”
Oh.
He knew that.
Suddenly the boat jerks forward, catching him and Brooklynn off guard.
“Did you guys feel that?” Kenji searches for the source of the voice and sees Ben on the lower deck, hanging on to a railing. He looks at him with an unreadable expression and something in Kenji worries. He instinctively tries to assure the shorter teen.
“It’s probably just a swell or something. Captain K’s got it under control!” He salutes and winks at the other, hoping it assuages any fears. Ben looks up at him like he’s got something to say, but he just smiles and moseys along.
Good. No reason for him to be concerned if Kenji can figure out what actually happened.
He mutters to himself as he gets back to work. Brooklynn hasn’t left. In fact, she takes the tool out of his hand and looks up at him.
“Why don’t I help you fix the SONAR, too, bro.” She tacks that bro on effortlessly, pulling a genuine smile from him. They continue to work, and soon it becomes apparent that she knows way more than he does when it comes to repairing these systems. Heck, he couldn’t even hand her the correct tools.
Like he said, it's a miracle they aren't at the bottom of the sea right now.
Watching her work, he’s impressed by what he sees.
“So, uh, how do you know so much about this stuff? Did you unbox the Titanic or something?” He playfully asks. She rolls her eyes and looks at him.
“Har-har. My dads taught me, actually.” She supplies.
Dads. As in two dads. Plural.
Huh.
He was never conscious about what liking Ben meant, but it certainly is different from the normal people he pursues. Heck, Brooklynn right here was one of them, once upon a time. Still, being with Ben means he isn’t exactly straight, doesn’t it?
They aren’t hiding the fact they’re together by any means, but they haven’t discussed whether or not they’d tell the others. He’s sure none of them would be against it or anything like that, but still, that kind of prejudice isn’t exactly gone from this world. He’s relieved to hear that Brooklynn wouldn’t have a problem with them.
“Really?”
“Yep. Hand me the tape?” He does and she continues her tinkering and her story. “When we moved to London, I had a hard time making friends, so I spent a lot of Saturdays helping them in the garage.”
He knows that she’s similar to him in several ways, but hearing that she struggled with friends fills Kenji with a sense of camaraderie, as sad as that may sound.
“I get it. Kids my age were super judgey about how rich I- I mostly hung out with adults, too. Not my dad so much but…” His words trail off as he thinks of his father. Daniel Kon, one of the richest men in the country. At one point of his life, it brought him great pride to be acknowledged as his father’s son. That changed when his father stopped acknowledging Kenji himself. Before Kenji left on his ill-fated trip to Isla Nublar, his father's goodbye was a note the butler wrote down from a phone call. Yeah, the guy didn't even call Kenji himself. Now when Kenji thinks of him, he feels nothing but resentment.
“Is that why you freaked out on Darius? You don’t want to go home?”
Hammer to the head. It's by no means the entire reason, but he'd be lying if he said it isn't also something that gets him riled up when thinks about it.
She doesn't need to know any of that, though.
“What? No. I was just trying to say I can relate. You learned how to fix stuff, I learned how to look awesome and drive a boat.” He adds a flick of his wrist for flare as he finishes, getting a chuckle out of the other.
She kind of just stares at him for a bit and he’s suddenly concerned.
“What?”
“When I first met you, you did not make a good impression. I was like, ‘that guy and I will never be friends.’” Ouch. He knows that was the case, but being reminded of it isn’t exactly pleasant. He doesn’t interrupt her, though. “But now, out of all of us, I think you and I might be the most alike.”
The words touch his heart. This is the longest conversation they’ve had since the time they went snooping around Hap's yurt, but he can’t argue with what she’s said. He almost knew instinctively since day one that they were similar, at least in standing and upbringing, but talking with her now, it’s more apparent that she’s right. Six months stuck with people really let you get to know them.
Kenji’s heart soars at the thought. With all of his friends, he feels a connection. With Sammy, he can be the most playful and they have a lot of fun. With Yaz, the snark and sarcasm, along with the competitiveness come out, but also the best chill-seshes. With Brooklynn, they're on the same wavelength because of way they were raised, as he's just now learning. With Ben, he feels both needed and free to just exist, not having to do anything to impress him in the least. With Darius, even with their current tiff, he’s the one who can see through him the easiest and is the one he can turn to for help, the one he wouldn't hesitate to call a true friend.
Which really puts into perspective what an ass he’s been until now.
“I’m going to miss you, Kenj.” Brooklynn pulls him out of his thoughts.
It’s once again in the forefront of his mind that they’re all going to part ways soon. Doesn’t matter though. What Sammy said earlier was true.
They’re soulmates, and all of them are going to remain together, even if it’s just in spirit.
--
Some time later, Brooklynn is able to get the SONAR working again. She and Kenji share a shout and a hi-five in celebration.
“I can’t believe you got it to work. You’re amazing, B.” He smiles down at her and offers a small hug. She returns it, laughing as she does so.
“Hey, Kenji?” She starts. ”We’re all going to go our separate ways soon. This is kind of hard for me to admit, but," she pauses and looks down. "this is probably the first group of friends you and I ever had, and the thought of saying goodbye to someone you’re not ready to is scary.”
Blue eyes and a dorky laugh flash in his mind. She’s right, he is terrified of the thought of losing any of them, but the thought of losing Ben specifically chills him.
Why is she saying this though? Oh, don’t tell him she’s figured out they’re together…
“Maybe that’s why you’re so upset with Darius.” She steps closer and takes his hands, he guesses in comfort. “You’re going to miss him.”
Once again, she’s trying to figure out what’s up with him and Darius. She’s not wrong in that he’s going to miss him, that's for sure. It's like she's getting the pieces of the puzzle but not seeing the whole picture.
And he is not he’s going to help her see it.
Still, she’s looking at him expectantly, eyes hopeful.
“You’re right. That’s-- That’s why I’ve been weird.”
“I knew it! Brooklynn unboxes Kenji, my greatest challenge yet!” She says smugly, pleased with herself.
Kenji hasn’t even told Ben what the reason he’s been hard on Darius is. While they certainly have grown closer, he for sure isn’t going to tell Brooklynn today.
“Promise me you’ll talk to him before we leave?” She asks.
He considers her request. He doesn’t answer.
But he does feel his resolve for maintaining his spat with the younger teen weaken.
It’s a start.
