He wakes to her humming a rhythm so calming he almost falls back asleep, but the feeling in the back of his head informs him that they're on a clock, and he blinks his eyes open to see her looking straight ahead. He takes a moment to admire her chin, and then the curve of her lips, and then the wrinkles etched in worry on her forehead. And he's never been more in love.
Riley feels Will shift in her arms, and she glances down to see him smiling up at her with the sun dancing in his eyes. She leans down to kiss him once, twice, thrice before smiling back at him.
"Do you trust me?", Riley asks and the feeling of loyalty and love courses through their bond like a fire in the woods, uncontainable and beautiful. She reaches for Lito's gift, two beautiful engagement rings embroidered with braid-like patterns, and she looks him deep in the eyes, trying to tell him that, "hey, this is not an actual engagement, it's our cover story to save our lives', please don't hate me", all the while she can feel the cluster smiling at the thought of it happening someday in the back of her head. He takes the ring without asking what it means.
He doesn't take his eyes off of her until they reach Värtahamnen, and she doesn't take her eyes off of him. She can sense Will's worry, his fear of endangering the cluster lingering in the back of her mind like a parasite, and she suspects that's why he doesn't look around to inspect where they are. She's also pretty sure he can sense her feelings as well, but she prays not, because she's not ready yet, not for the feelings she swore a long time ago she would lock away for anyone except for her dad. Anyone who wasn't her dad, or dead, that is.
She's not afraid. She's not nervous. She's not trembling while walking the beautiful streets of Stockholm with Will in her arms, guiding the blind, deaf man all the way in to the city and back. Thanks to Nomi, Capheus and Wolfgang, turning Will into a mystery to all the onlookers in Stockholm was one easy task. With Nomi's rainbow- coloured earmuffs, Capheus bright pink boa and Wolfgang's black sleep mask, Will had been rendered helpless. Wolfgang had made Riley promise not to tell anyone that he did sleep with a mask over his eyes, he said it wasn't manly enough, but when Riley mentioned that Kala probably would have something to say about his definition of manly, he disappeared from her mind leaving a horrified expression behind, along with a string of swear words.
They hadn't gotten far however, when she realized that they hadn't changed their outfit in four days and her hair was starting to form itself into stripes of oily hair. When she realized this, Sven was on his way back to Iceland and she was stuck with her handicapped man for a boyfriend. Thankfully, Will had brought his card on his rescue mission and she didn't have to search long for his code amongst his memories.
Getting on the cruise ship was easy compared to walking Will through Stockholm. You'd think he would be happy and energetic after being unconscious for four days, but he walked slowly and drunkenly every step of the way, smiling lazily as they went. With the drugs tucked away safely in places there shouldn't be drugs, they pass safely through the terminal to the check-in center.
"Hej, hur kan jag hjälpa till?" the woman in the box asks, and Riley answers in broken Swedish.
"Vi vill checka in tack." She answers, and upon seeing the attendants confused glances towards Will, Riley grabs his hand, the one with the ring, and shows her the beautiful engagement band while grinning to her ears.
"We're getting married in two weeks, and we just needed a break from all the planning. He doesn't know though, it's a surprise" she adds the last part in a whisper, as if Will would somehow hear her.
The attendant believes her immediately and wishes them all her best before asking for their, very false, passports and Riley almost dies on the spot of anxiety before she hands them back with the parting words "Ha en trevlig resa, framtida Herr och Fru Lidenbäck." and Riley can breathe again.
The ship is amazing, with boutiques, restaurants, casinos and glass covered elevators with amazing views. She can see the water outside, drifting through the Swedish archipelago without no sense of duty or worry in the world. Together with her boyfriends' arm around her shoulder, they stagger together to the rear of the ship to find their suite, stumbling together through the narrow corridors until they reach their room and hastily swipes the key card into the lock to find the rest of the cluster gathered on the king sized bed.
"This is what you call a discreet suite?" The sound of Kala's voice carries throughout the room with astonishment, and Riley can't help but agree with her. Their room has two floors, for heaven's' sake, with a TV room upstairs and a private balcony. She doesn't even want to think about how much this would have cost had it not been for Nomi.
"You should've seen the options for this cruise, this is a medium" Nomi explains quickly, but Riley is pretty sure the rest of the cluster can feel the lie in the back of their heads.
"Okay, guys, we need to address a few things. Number one, Wolfgang where are you right now?" It's Capheus who asks, shocking everyone out of their banter.
"I was driving all day, halfway across Poland to a city called Łódź. I'll be in Riga in time, I promise. How are you guys doing Riley?" His english breaks multiple times with his german shining through, but Riley is too busy being thankful to notice.
"He's awake, as you can see, but he can't hear or see anything. I would suggest meeting up at someone else's house but we don't know if Whispers know what all of us looks like, and we don't want run some sort of face recognition program. Besides, I'm thinking of running down to get some food at this fast food- restaurant onboard." She still hasn't grasped that this is a huge enough boat for it to have a fast food- restaurant, and by the looks on their faces, neither has Capheus or Kala.
"I hate to be the one to say it, but he should be back to sleep as soon as possible.". They all glanced at the sleeping man on the bed, totally oblivious to the conversation going on around him.
"I'll just get him something to eat before I inject him again, and he needs to take a shower. I'll give him an hour, tops" Riley said, trying to give her boyfriend a little bit more time than he needs.
"How are the trips to India going?" It's Sun who says it, and the cluster start discussing different flights and hotels, and Kala talks about the culture and colours and all the various spices, and Riley tunes out of the conversation long enough to realise the ship is moving.
She doesn't mention the way Wolfgang's eyes turn sad when Kala tells everyone they can come to her wedding if they make it in time. Nobody told her about their relationship, and she can't explain it, but when Kala speaks, Riley is Wolfgang, feeling her heart pump blood at an incredible speed and her fist wanting to punch a wall 'til they bleed.
"RIley? Are you okay mi corazón? You're pale." It's Lito who brings her out of it, and she just shoots him a gentle smile before excusing herself to go downstairs and buy some sandwiches. When she comes back, two baguettes with ham and cheese along with a bottle of cheap wine in hand, the cluster is gone.
Translations:
Hej, hur kan jag hjälpa till? = Hello, how can I help you?
Vi vill checka in tack. = We would like to check in, thank you.
Ha en trevlig resa, framtida Herr och Fru Lidenbäck. = Have a nice trip, future Mr. and Mrs. Lidenbäck