ooc log: messages in a bottle
The frost on the windows gives Gokudera the impression that the temperature outside is relatively colder than he knows it to be. He'd been to the bridge a few minutes ago with a cup of hot chocolate for his boss, and after discovering it to be lacking the small don, headed out to search for him. The silver-haired teen steps out onto the deck, a thermas keeping his pale hands warm in the chilly air.
On the edge of the deck sits the missing Vongola Captain. He's curled into a tight ball, wrapped in jackets of various thickness with a scarf wrapped just so around his neck so no air can seep into his shell of fabric. Tsuna's scratching away on a pad of paper and he's so deep in his thoughts of what to write that he doesn't notice he has company.
"Tenth!" Gokudera chirps and rushes over to his boss on deck. Sure he's wound up tighter than a worm in a cocoon, but he can recognize that mess of hair anywhere. He kneals down beside him and smiles, holding out the thermas. "For you! It's cold, you know?"
"Haa?" He turns towards the other boy in surprise, eyes watery and face flushed from the chill of the winter air. Tsuna smiles and sets the paper and pen down to take the thermas from Gokudera. "Ahh~" The brunette sighs as the warm container makes him shiver. "Thanks!"
Gokudera grins at the smaller teen for a moment before looking down curiously at the paper. "What are you doing out here?" He picks at one of the notes Tsuna was writing on.
"Oh, writing letters to mom and everyone back home." Tsuna replies, taking a sip from the mug, being careful not to burn himself.
"Mm." He leaves the paper alone, thinking it must be something a bit personal. Gokudera looks at him, green eyes warm and thoughtful. The teen's never thought much about what the holidays would be like without all their friends. He's missed sharing it for the past few years. The Tenth is the only family he'd known in Japan (discounting the perverted doctor who had influence over some part of his childhood), and it was hard for him to relate to that loneliness. "...Boss." He can't imagine how his boss must feel. Gokudera sits beside him and pulls out a cigarette, facing the railing, "They probably really miss you."
"Yeah... I hope Lambo isn't causing too much trouble for mom." The Don says thoughtfully.He kind of misses the rambunctious children they were stuck with back home. "I thought that if I could write each of them a letter I might be able to send it some how. I don't know, it's a dumb idea!" He laughs nervously.
"It's not dumb, Tenth!" Gokudera says loudly, as though the volume of his voice will help to inspire confidence in the slighter teen. "Ah! Please wait for me." He gets up and runs off the deck quickly, "I'll be right back!!"
Tsuna blinks at the retreating back of his storm guardian in a mixture of curiousity and fear. He holds the paper down with the tip of his foot so it won't flutter away.
'Right back' was an understatement. Gokudera is back with two large paper bags in each arm. He comes to a skidding halt before Tsuna and bends down to set them down. The sound of glass knocking is heard when the bags touch the deck and he reaches in, pulling out a bottle and a cork. "We can send the messages in these!"
WHA-?! Where did he get all those?! Well, the chances of his friends finding these were slim; Namimori isn't close to a beach and if the weather is anything like it is here he highly doubts his mother will take the kids out to one. However, he wouldn't put it past Nii-san to go for a run on the beach in this chilly weather. "Messages in bottles?" Tsuna thinks outloud, picking one up from out of the bag and staring at it with a small smile growing on his round face. It's a crazy idea, but it's the thought that counts and who knows, maybe if his friends show up in this world they'll find the messages. "Okay! Do you want to write some letters too?"
Gokudera sits down with him and grabs the message Tsuna had just been working on, "Sure. I can help put them in here, too." He rolls the paper tightly and slides it into the neck of the long, tinted bottle until it's completely inside. With a quick shove and flick of his wrist, the cork is inserted and screwed in tightly.
"I'll write one letter for each person and if you want to add something from you go ahead." Tsuna says, picking the pad back up and scribbling a short note to the Bovino family's little hitman.
"Alright!" Gokudera nods, knowing that most people would rather hear from Tsuna than him. "I don't think any of them would believe that we're here..." He says thoughtfully, cigarette hanging from his lips.
"Me neither." Tsuna sweat drops as he finishes the letter and rips it off the notepad. "This one is to Lambo."
The teen takes the note and reads it over before adding his own message and carelessly stuffing the paper in the bottle.
'He's not nice to the note at all!' Tsuna cries in his mind as he yet again begins to scratch another letter along the white sheet in front of him. There's a small smile peeking onto his face again as he writes. "To Fuuta." The note is passed over to Gokudera.
Gokudera doesn't add anything, but he doesn't manhandle the paper like he did with Lambo's. Instead, it's rolled and set in the next bottle. The small pile behind him is steadily growing with every message.
Tsuna continues to write note after note, passing them off to the silver haired boy.
"Is that the last one?" The larger teen asks as he corks another bottle, fingers feeling very cold and slightly numb from the work outside. One paper bag is empty, and the stuffed bottles form a neat line at Gokudera's side.
"Yeah, that’s it." Tsuna chirps. The thermos is long past warm and he's almost out of paper. "When do you think we should put these out to sea?" He asks, rubbing his hands together to create friction.
"We can do it tonight, if you want." Gokudera puts out his cigarette and looks behind him over the railing. "There's no telling if all of the people we know are still back in Japan. They could be on other parts of the Grand Line, too."
"You think?" He humors the idea for a second before telling himself, 'Yeah... I wish.' "That would be pretty cool." Really it depends on who shows up. "Tonight works."
“Alright." Gokudera picks up the bottle with Lambo's note in it, and throws it as hard as he can off the side of the ship.
"What are you doing?! I didn't think you meant now!" Tsuna's eyes bulge as he watches the tinted bottle splash against the water and bob up and down against the waves.
"Why not?" Gokudera asks and pauses before he picks up another bottle. He blinks at his boss, a grin still on his face despite Tsuna's obvious alarm.
"Well...... now is fine... I guess." He admits in a low exasperated tone and picks up one of the contained notes and joins it with the other one in the ocean.
"We could wait..." He says as he watches the smaller teen throw a bottle. Gokudera shrugs and there's a small bit of excitement as he winds his arm and throws the next one with as much force as he can muster.
"Well, we're already throwing them aren't we?" Tsuna shrugs and picks up another bottle.
"Right!" Gokudera agrees and picks another bottle up, tossing it with an underhanded swing. It arches nicely before landing in the water with a loud “plunk”
They probably look ridiculous, throwing glass bottles out at the foaming waves below them, but it's kind of fun in its own way. He actually laughs at the thought of Yamamoto chucking one of the bottles and wonders if it would break from impact. He wouldn't put it past the baseball player.
The silver-haired teen shares a genuinely happy look with his boss before taking eight bottles by their necks. He steps up to the railing, “These will go far, Tenth!” arms cross over his chest, and flings them all out simultaneously in the same manner he would throw dynamite.
Tsuna laughs at the other boy's unique way of throwing the glass. They each make a splash as they strike the water's surface and he imagines the splash would be a lot more extreme if he was flinging his explosives instead.
"Here. We'll throw the last two at the same time." Gokudera says and hands one to his boss as he approaches the railing once again.
"Okay." Tsuna holds the bottle by its neck and joins the other boy at the railing.
"Alright! On the count of three! One!" Gokudera pulls his arm back, and as he counts, his breath lingers in a cloud before him.
"Two!" He raises his arm above his head and tenses his muscles.
"Three!!" Gokudera throws it as hard as he can, and the grin on his face only seems to grow as he catches Tsuna’s movement from his peripheral.
And he shouts the final number along with his storm guardian and watches as his bottle leaves his fingers and spins before landing.
He leans over the railing and watches the bottles float off. "I hope they get there quickly." Gokudera says and picks up the cold thermos sitting behind them on the deck.
"Yeah." He wishes them a safe journey on the open ocean and begins to walk back toward the door leading inside. "Okay. I'm done out here.Too cold."
"Alright." Gokudera smiles warmly at him as he lights a new cigarette. He won't head in for a while, content to just watch their messages drift away. "I'll stay out here for a bit. Please don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything, boss!"
"Alright." Tsuna chirps over his shoulder before walking into the heat of his ship. He can watch the bottles from the Bridge and be much more comfortable.
Although the air is harsh as it nips his exposed ears, Gokudera can't stop that warmth that pumps through his chest. He's glad Miranda invited them to the Christmas party, as he knows that the Tenth will enjoy the company. He can anticipate his smile and the feelings that the holiday is supposed to inspire. With a sigh, the teen looks up at the stars.