Who: Rowan Fricks & Five What: Hanging out on the cruise. Where: On the deck When: Day Two Warnings: Lowish Status: Completed Gdoc
Rowan planned to make the most of the cruise, even if she could’ve done without the whole awkward wake up the first day. Even though she liked Liam and the two were starting to see one another, she had not enjoyed the surprise of finding herself in bed with someone, even if it was someone she knew. The list of activities onboard the ship, along with what could be done at the planned stops, more than made up for the awkward wake-up. A little disappointed with how it wasn’t somewhere warm, Rowan was still excited to see everything and anything she could make time for. After spending some of the early afternoon on the jogging track, Rowan was heading back to her room for a shower and to see what else was going on.
Dressed in shorts and a tank top with her dark hair up in a ponytail, she stopped short when she spotted Five doing whatever the heck he was up to right now. With Five, she never tried to guess, but Rowan was still going to go see and spend some time with him. He was one of her favorite people around here, and Rowan was hoping he was enjoying himself, especially when she felt he and his family deserved a little fun vacation. "You better be trying to enjoy yourself and have some fun or else I’m going to stalk you and make sure it happens," the smile told him she was joking. Rowan wouldn’t actually do that, but she would try to convince him to check some things out, if he wasn’t doing it on his own.
—
Five had never had a proper vacation before. Despite waking up in a room with one of his brother’s numerous admirers, he decided that he was going to make the most of the opportunity and do some sightseeing. Today that meant he was sitting on one of the many decks, reading a newspaper with a cup of coffee in front of him. He was dressed more casually than usual, wearing a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and a hat. There were a few other people doing the same, dressed similarly, but they were all clearly over seventy.
“I am having fun,” he said, setting the paper down and giving his friend a withering look. He genuinely liked Rowan, which was rare since he only tolerated most people, including some of his siblings. “What are you up to?”
*
On approaching and seeing his outfit, Rowan couldn’t help the amused look on her face. It definitely wasn’t a look anyone would see on someone who was actually the age that Five looked, but she knew he was much older than how he looked. "Don’t you look cute," she said with a smile, taking the empty seat next to him. She had a lot of respect for Five, and while he looked younger than her, she never treated him that way unless she was messing around with him.
"Good, because I'd say, after everything, you've earned yourself some relaxation and chilling out," she said as she pulled her legs up on the chair, so she was still looking at him but now sitting cross-legged. "I was using the jogging track to get some laps in and was heading to the shower when I saw you. You should join me for one of the activities offered either on the ship or off of it." She could spend some time with Liam, but she also planned to hang out with some of her friends while on the cruise, and that included Five. Though she had no idea whether he’d be difficult or not when it came to convincing him to join her for one of the many possible activities being offered.
*
‘Cute’ was a word that Five had come to despise since getting stuck in his adolescent body because typically it was used in a condescending or dismissive manner. He knew that wasn’t how Rowan meant it though and he rolled his eyes in response to the quip, choosing not to dignify it with a response.
“Was there anything in particular you wanted to do?” Five asked. He had studied the itinerary and there were some historical places he was considering visiting. The outdoor sports didn’t appeal to him and he knew that no one would serve him alcohol so that severely limited his options.
*
Insulting Five was the last thing she would ever do, but in his outfit, it was amusing since anyone who didn’t know him would find the whole situation weird. Rowan couldn’t even imagine how frustrating it had to be for Five when he was so much older than he looked, and he had people thinking nothing on comments or telling him no on things. She could only imagine the whole messiness and awkwardness that might come when people started to crush on him from his age bracket. If they hadn’t already that is.
“There are plenty of options,” she said, thinking it over in her head some of the activities she had seen on the itinerary. “We could do some exploring of the ports, and see what we may come across. It’s what I did on the last cruise the dome had sent us on, and you can end up in some places you may not have found without some wandering. Or do some of the sightseeing activities.” She offered up to him, tossing some ideas out on the table. Rowan wasn’t the type to hit up parties for a long list of reasons, and she didn’t drink. No, she was more for putting her camera to use and exploring places that she may never get to see whether she survived or not back home. “Unless you’d rather chill right where you are and take in the sun.”
*
“I could explore,” Five said. Most of his ‘travel’ experience was in service of his job with the Temps Commission which meant sight seeing hadn’t exactly been high on the priority list. “I haven’t looked at any of the options. Anything in particular you were thinking about doing?”
He vaguely remembered something about excursions that were available that he hadn’t paid much attention to since he was too busy trying to get away from Vex. The dome had a sick sense of humor and he was largely trying to avoid his cabin for fear of what he might walk in on.
*
Rowan smiled on hearing how he could explore. While she never minded doing things on her own, considering for the longest time back home she was always on her own, it was fun to do some things with her friends. "I know I plan on hitting up the art galleries and a few of the cultural museums in Ketchikan. Then in Juneau, I’m thinking of hitting up the museums and maybe doing some more of the physical activities, though I haven’t quite decided yet." Rowan still had plenty of time to decide, but she was leaning towards giving it a shot. She worked out a bit, though it was more running. However, she was up for trying something new depending on her mood. "Though I’m very open to ideas since I can budget my time to hit up a bunch of different things." She hadn’t made a lot of plans, just playing it by ear. Rowan knew she wanted to make some plans with Liam, and she’d check on what he may want to do when she got back to the room, if he was still there. *
When he was stuck in the future, museums were one of the few forms of entertainment he had and he’d learned to appreciate them. “I’m good with visiting some museums,” Five said. “Never got out this way during my time with the Commission.” Surprisingly, there weren’t many people who needed to be assassinated in the Alaska frontier at any point in the timeline.
He supposed he should also spend some time with his siblings while they were here. Or at least make an attempt to. They all had people in their lives that they might prefer to do things with.
*
“Then museums it is,” she confirmed, nodding firmly as if that settled it on how they’d check a few out. Five bringing up the Commission did have her curious, and she felt her and Five were close enough it was okay for her to ask about that whole thing. “Where did you go for them? I’ve only traveled within my home state. Then after the divorce, traveling was not really a thing in our family.” Her ability to travel to places she might never see back in her world was one of the perks to being stuck under the dome.
“So other than enjoying some quiet time until I came and ruined it for you, how’s the cruise treating you?” She was hoping he didn’t end up rooming with someone who was going to get on his nerves. Rowan knew she had no reason to worry about Five, knowing she had to worry about the other individual more if he was stuck sharing a room with someone who would get on his nerves.
*
Five snorted at the question. “Wherever and whenever they needed me to go,” he said. “They sent people like me anywhere that there was a risk of someone doing something that would”screw up the intended timeline.” To be eliminated. Not something Five was proud of having done.
“Oh, wonderful,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m sharing a room with one of the men who is enamoured with my brother, Klaus.”
* Rowan wasn’t an idiot and pretty much could fill in the blanks of what he had to do when going around trying to fix a timeline. Still, she didn’t need him to confirm because she didn’t want to know for sure unless he ever wanted to talk about it. Then she’d listen, but that was the only way she would ever be okay with having the confirmation of what he did. "At least, you were able to see the world for the most part?" She offered up a positive side to the whole thing. "Even though you didn’t get much sightseeing on the job, did you have any favorite places that you got to go?" Wrinkling her nose at who he was sharing a room with, Rowan figured that had to be awkward as hell. "Sounds like that is going super well," she added with a sigh, knowing if this trip was like the last one, then he was going to have a very long trip. "What has that been like? I’d say you’re welcome to come crash on the couch in the room I have anytime you need it since I doubt my roommate would care, but if the cruise is anything like last time, it would do no good." She was sure Liam wouldn’t mind, and it wasn’t like her or Liam were going to be doing anything most likely, but there was no point in offering if the cruise was going to do the same thing as before by sending people back to their rooms. *
“I may take you up on that if Vex decides to invite Klaus over some night,” Five said. Even if he would wake up in the other room, at least he wouldn’t have to be there while his brother was. If he had to see anything that involved Klaus being even partially nude, he would gouge out his own eyes.
He almost ignored Rowan’s question. Talking about his time with the Commission wasn’t something he enjoyed. Still, he did like the girl and he actually trusted her. “Honestly, I spent so much time alone that I didn’t care where I was as long as there were people there,” he admitted. Sure, he didn’t have much patience for those people, but it was nice to have them around.
* Rowan was happy for Klaus, but very awkward for the roommate, especially one who knew Klaus like Five. “Hit me a text and the couch is yours. I’m pretty sure Liam won’t really mind me allowing a friend to crash on it to avoid scarring themselves with what they could possibly end up seeing.” It wasn’t even Five being dramatic because most siblings would be the same way. Might be some who didn’t give a damn, but if this was her sister, Rowan knew without having to think about it that she’d be sleeping up on deck or in a friend’s room if her sister brought someone over.
A tilt of her head with a frown, she was glad he had people around cause that sounded depressing. Even with all the tormenting and lack of friends, she still had people who she could talk with back home and even here. “I’m glad you don’t have to deal with the being alone all the time anymore,” she told him before moving to put her feet back on the floor. “I should let you get back to chilling and I’ll be messaging you about checking out the museums, okay?
*
It was rare for Five to be so open about his feelings and he was grateful that Rowan didn’t make a big deal out of his admission. “Yes, go, be young and free,” he said. “You can hang out with this old man later.” He favored her with a rare, genuine smile as he waved her off.