"On life's vast ocean diversely we sail, reason the card, but passion is the gail."
Alexander Pope

It's after midnight when Kieran finds Tom on the upper deck, leaning against the rails. His younger brother stares out at the ocean, dark and mysterious and so Kieran sneaks up beside him.

"Been looking for you," Kieran says. "Thought you might like me now. Still not talking to me? I can take a hint." He lets out a sigh and pats his brother on the back, prepared to leave when Tom says to him, "Stay, you clown."

Tom smiles softly at him and Kieran returns the affection, pleased to finally be on his brother's good side. "Besides," Tom begins, "you won't believe the day I had."

As Kieran listens intently, Tom recounts his day, astonished by his own story as he describes meeting Sybil again…

"Oo, she's a fine looking bird, that one, Tommy."

"Kieran."

"I'm just saying. You don't say many of them on this ship. Half the women in third class have moustaches. I had a man come up to me at dinner, asking me for a dance. Turns out she was a woman but boy, she was a great dancer."

…to getting a job with Mr Andrews…

"Maybe I should ask him for a job. What you reckon?"

"I don't think they have anything onboard for idiots."

"So, waiter would be out of the question, then?

"They only hire the good looking ones for that."

"You're lucky you're working for Mr Andrews then, Tommy."

…to the disaster with Larry Grey.

"What a fucking piece of shite," Kieran drops, slamming his hand on the metal rails. "Trust, them rich Englishmen thinking they can do whatever they want. Too right, you hit him. I'd clobber his face had it been me."

Tom nods, appreciative that his brother shares his feelings. "It's just not that, though." He pauses, unsure whether to continue. When he closes his eyes, he can picture Sybil in his arms once more. How her arms felt warm wrapped around his chest and how her head had fit perfectly in the nook of his neck. He tries to inhale the salty, ocean scent but all he can smell was lavender and lily. "Something else happened, Kieran."

Kieran furrows his eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

"I got invited to dinner."

"To dinner?"

"Yes, to dinner. Sybil asked me to join tomorrow."

Kieran frowns. "You said no, right? She's pretty, Tommy, but you know better."

When Tom stays silent, Kieran shakes his head and grasps at the bars, questioning his brother's sanity. "Is this what you want? To be sitting with those kind of people? We don't belong with them and if you think for a second they'll welcome you, you're wrong."

"She's different," Tom mutters.

"But are they? You don't even know her."

"So, are you saying I'm not good enough for her," Tom raises his voice, but Kieran replies, "I'm not saying that."

"It's beginning to sound like you are."

Kieran takes a deep breath and faces the ocean rather than his brother's disappointed face. He knows that look. He sees it every time he does something wrong to his brother. He remembers when they were younger and Tom used to look at him like he was a hero, the big brother who he could always be proud of, but now…now he's just Kieran, the man who would always let his baby brother down.

"Tom," Kieran starts, his tone stern and honest, "You'll always be better them, I have no doubt about that, but you have to be realistic. Life's not like the fairytales Ma told us when we were young. Lady Sybil is just that. A lady. And ladies don't marry men like us, Tommy. They just don't. The world may be changing, but things like that – they stay the same. You'd have to wait years before that could ever happen."

Tom lowers his head, letting his brother's words sink in, but deep down, he knows that whatever this is – whatever feeling it may be – it's strong.

"I'd wait forever," Tom finally says, ignoring the quick chuckle that Kieran gives. "If I truly did love someone with all my heart and they loved me back, then regardless of what class she may be, I'd wait forever to be with her."

"That's why you're a dreamer," Kieran replies. "Even when you were young, you were always wanting things you couldn't have or believing in things that couldn't be true. Remember that time you climbed that tree and you nearly broke your arm? You can believe it was 'cause I coaxed you, but it was 'cause you wanted that last apple on the highest branch. That's what you do and that's what you're doing right now. You're chasing after a dream with Lady Sybil and if you're not careful, it'll be easy for this to fall into a right nightmare before the end of this trip." Kieran stops talking and whilst he knows that Tom can hear exactly what he's saying, he wonders if his brother is truly listening, though. If there's one thing Tom is, that is stubborn and when it comes to seeking out advice, Kieran has never been Tom's choice person.

However, when Tom opens his mouth, it's the question that falls out of his lips that surprises Kieran.

"Have you ever been in love, Kieran?" Tom questions. He knows that Kieran has had his fair share of women over the years, women that have never stayed more than a month, but now that he thinks about it truly, he wonders if there's more to his brother than meets the eye.

Kieran shrugs his shoulders. "Love's a tricky word, Tommy. I may have been. A long, long, time ago but things change. Who knows, maybe in America, I'll find myself a nice bird to bring home to Ma. After all, the accent drives them crazy over there."

Together they share a laugh. The wind begins to pick up and Tom pulls his jacket closer to his body.

"Listen," Kieran says, "if you want, you can sleep in the cabin. I'll take the floor."

Tom is grateful for the gesture but shakes his head, "I'll be fine out here. What's better for a dreamer than sleeping under the stars?"

His brother nods, although a bit displeased and so he does the next best thing for Tom. "Here, take this," Kieran says as he takes off his jacket and hands it to Tom. "It'll keep you warm."

The jacket is made of thick tweed and Tom is touched, knowing that it's Kieran's favourite having bought it for less than what it was worth from a flea market in London. Tom tries to hand it back, but Kieran refuses, holding his hands up in the air.

"Take it but if anything happens to it, you'll have me to answer to," Kieran jokes as he begins to walk off. He stops and turns around when Tom calls out his name.

"What about the dinner?" Tom asks, "Should I go?"

Kieran sinks his hands into the pocket and answers, "It's your decision, Tommy. I can try telling you all I want what I believe you should do, but you'll never listen to me. I just want you to be careful. You may be a grown man, but you're still my little brother."

Tom smiles softly. "You're still an old man, Kieran," he banters and Kieran laughs, calling out as he leaves, "At least, I'm still better looking."

With Kieran gone, Tom puts on his brother's jacket over his, taking in the scent of whiskey. Already, he feels warmer against the night breeze and as he moves to one of the benches, lying down on the wood, he closes his eyes and finds himself surprised that when he dreams that night, it isn't of a girl with the prettiest blue eyes but of two young boys climbing trees in Ireland.


AN: First off, A BIG THANKOFF to everyone who sent me songs! I loved listening to all of them and they're on my new Star-Crossed Lovers playlist! If you guys have any more songs, I'd love to hear them. Okay, so this chapter was unexpected and that's why it's a bit shorter, but I realised I really wanted this scene because Kieran will play an important role later and so the Sybil/Tom confrontation that I promised some readers will come next! And just to let everyone know, Sybil's death aired in Australia today and so I'm still bawling my eyes out. But as YankeeCountess says ROCK THE AU and I actually think I may have a new Sybil/Tom AU coming, but I'm still considering it. We shall see! Night y'all.