Nick looked straight into Jeff's eyes. "Mmm. That was...nice."

Jeff laughed softly. "It was nice, wasn't it?" He slid his arm around from behind Nick's back, bringing it to rest on his waist. Movement over Nick's shoulder caught his attention, and Jeff looked up to see they were alone on the floor, all the other couples standing to the side.

He smiled at Nick. "It seems we've drawn a bit of attention to ourselves."

Nick looked around, blushing and ducking his head when he realised how many sets of eyes were on them.

Jeff noticed the pointed looks they were getting and slid his hand down to Nick's, intertwining their fingers. "Come on." As they made their way back to the table, he noticed how silent the room was, with only the band still playing in the background.

They were greeted with the sight of Sebastian smirking at them, leaning back in his seat with his hands clasped behind his head. As they sat back in their seats at the table, Jeff kept his hand in Nick's as they gripped each other's fingers tightly.

Sebastian cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak.

"Don't!" Nick held up a hand at him. "Not a word from you, ok?"

His cousin just raised his eyebrows and held up his hands in front of him. Sam and Finn snickered.

"So...what was that you guys?" Sam spoke, and Nick raised his eyebrows at him. "What? You just told Sebastian not to talk; you didn't say anything about us."

Finn smirked. "I think you frightened all the other poor couples. Look, they're only just heading back out to dance now." As the others turned to look, he continued. "I don't think they would have seen anything that shocking in quite a while. It's probably the highlight of their trip."

Jeff turned around. There were still quite a few eyes on them, even after they'd retreated to their table. It probably had been shocking; such passionate public displays of affection were often frowned upon, even if the couples were of the opposite sex. He and Nick had probably just sent their heads spinning with their little performance. He smiled, thinking of how his mother would react if she had witnessed it.

Nick squeezed his hand. "What are you thinking about?"

"Only what my mother would say if she could see us." Jeff smirked. "She'd probably have a heart attack on the spot."

Nick laughed, looking around the room. "Hey," he whispered, "You want to get out of here?"

Jeff nodded, standing as he pulled Nick up by their joined hands. He turned to address the other three. "Alright, you guys, we'll see you later."

"And where do you think you're going? The party's only just beginning." Sebastian smiled knowingly at them.

Nick snorted. "Please, the main entertainment's over for the evening already." He shook his head. "We're just going to get some fresh air or something; we'll see you back at the cabin later."

He and Jeff headed towards the door, hand in hand, many glances still upon them as they moved out of the room. The man who greeted them only met their eyes for a second this time around, giving them a small, awkward smile. They passed through the corridors, eventually stepping out into the harsh night wind. As he felt Jeff shiver, Nick wrapped his arm around his waist, drawing them closer to each other. They stopped in a dark corner of the deck, looking out over the black ocean.

"Oh gosh, we should have grabbed some jackets before coming up here; it's freezing." Jeff looked down at his clothes – a simple pair of black trousers and a long-sleeved, white button-down shirt. Nick was dressed almost the same, with the addition of the bowtie.

They gazed out over the dark sea in silence for a few minutes before Nick decided to stop beating around the bush.

He turned to Jeff, his pulse starting to quicken. "So, what does this" he gestured between them "mean for us? What happens now?"

Jeff was silent for a moment before taking in a deep breath. "I'm not really sure what comes next, Nick." He blushed, clearly noticeable in the dim light. "I think it's fairly obvious by now how I feel about you, and I'm hoping you feel the same way, if what happened in there was any indication."

The brown haired boy nodded. "Jeff...you make me feel things I've never felt before, in my entire life. It's strange; it's like when I see you I feel happier, more complete somehow. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, it does." Jeff nodded, his eyes full of unshed tears. "I feel exactly the same way."

Nick looked at Jeff closely. He could see the emotion in his eyes, behind the unfallen tears. He knew Jeff was telling the truth, and that thought sent a wave of passion through him. Although neither of them were yet eighteen years old, Nick knew that this was love. It wasn't some small liking, or even his teenage hormones looking for some attention. This was love, in the purest form.

Nick placed his hand in one of Jeff's and turned to face him. "Jeff?"

The blond smiled at him. "Yeah?"

His heart beat faster in his chest as he looked straight into Jeff's eyes. "I love you."

As a smile started to break out on the other's face, Nick continued talking. "I mean, I know we've only known each other for just a few days, but I've come to know you so well, and we've slept in the same bed and stuff, and..." He stopped, noticing the look on Jeff's face. "What?"

Jeff grinned. "Nick, stop talking." He stepped closer to him. "I love you too."

As he said the words, Jeff felt such relief course through him. It was an amazing feeling to be able to not only think them, but to say them too.

And the look on Nick's face...nothing would ever be able to match it. His eyes sparkled in the dim light of the deck, his cheeks flushed from the cold. In the cool air, he could see each breath that came out of his mouth. His brown hair was falling softly into his eyes. He was beautiful.

Jeff placed his hand on the side of Nick's neck, pulling them together as he kissed him. Nick's arms wrapped around Jeff's middle, pressing their warm torsos together in the cold night.

There could have been anyone watching them, but neither of them cared. They'd finally found each other, and nothing was going to stop them from being together.

Nick would never get used to the feeling of kissing Jeff. The warmth of his lips over his was indescribable. As they stood there in the cold sea breeze, he had a thought. He broke off the kiss, leaving his lips less than a centimetre from Jeff's.

His voice was low, barely above a whisper. "Jeff...will you be my boyfriend?"

The blond smiled against Nick's face. "Only if you'll be mine."

"Deal." Nick chuckled, rubbing his nose against Jeff's in an effort to warm it.

Jeff nodded. "Good. Now how about we take this somewhere warmer?"

Placing his lips upon Nick's once again, he inhaled deeply through his nose, not once removing himself from the other boy. He placed his left hand on the spot where Nick's neck met his shoulder, and his right slid from his waist around his lower back, effectively holding him in place.

Nick pulled back slightly, smiling against him. "Come on, let's go inside. Too cold out here."

Kissing Nick once more, Jeff grabbed his hand and began to lead him off the deck. They walked through the empty corridors back to steerage, holding hands the entire way, occasionally looking over at each other and smiling. When they reached the door of their cabin, Jeff paused, looking at Nick with a smile on his face.

"What?" Nick whispered at him.

"Come here." Jeff put one of his hands on Nick's waist as he pulled his head towards him with the other, kissing him. The brown haired boy responded by placing his own arms around Jeff's waist, laughing as he kissed him back.

Still joined together, Jeff opened the door to the cabin and pushed them into the dark room, closing it behind them. He pressed Nick's back lightly against the door, holding his own body against the slim boy.

Nick pulled back, puffing slightly. "Hang on, I want to try something."

Jeff nodded in the darkness as Nick jumped slightly, wrapping his legs around him and leaning down to kiss him. "There. Much better."

The tall blond laughed softly, placing his hands under the back of Nick's legs to keep him up before leaning up to kiss him again.

A snort of laughter came out of the darkness. "Ok, enough! I can't lie here and listen to this any longer. Some of us are trying to sleep."

Nick and Jeff broke apart at the sound, shocked, as two distinct laughs sounded from the opposite side of the room.

"What...?" Jeff was confused. "What are you all doing here? You're supposed to be at the party still!"

Sebastian laughed.

"We only left not even half an hour ago!" Nick spoke up, heat flooding to his cheeks.

"Eh, that party blowed. We kept waiting for all the single ladies to show up, but they never did. We decided we'd be better off getting some sleep." He snorted again. "Not that we've been able to get any of that."

Sam and Finn laughed.

There was a moment's silence as the two boys stood there, shocked.

"Nicky, aren't you going to get down from there? I'm not sure how long Jeff can hold you up for." Sebastian snickered.

Nick looked around, confused. "What? The room's pitch black! You can't even see me."

"Oh, little cousin. You might not be able to see anything, but we can. The light from the corridor's coming in through the cracks in the door, which you are so conveniently up against. Your little silhouettes? Clear as day."

Nick groaned, his face hot with embarrassment as he slowly slid down from his position, Jeff's hand coming to rest on his back. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Imagine if I hadn't have said anything. At least you've still got your clothes on this way."

"Sebastian!"

Jeff wrapped his arms around Nick's waist, placing a small kiss on his lips. "Come on, let's go to bed."

Sam laughed from his bed. "Oh man, this is priceless!"

Nick groaned again as he and Jeff slid into their bed, kicking off their shoes. He was hoping this was just a dream, or else he'd never live it down. But then again, the feeling of being wrapped around Jeff...it was all worth it.

As the laughter died down in the room around them, Nick wrapped his arms around Jeff from behind, their bodies fitting together perfectly.

He placed a kiss on the side of Jeff's face. "I love you."

The blond turned his head to the side, capturing Nick's lips with his.

"I love you too."