"Don't be sorry," Phillips said gently. He wiped the new tears away as well, keeping his hand against Jackson's cheek.
"And I'm sure someday you'll find her." He removed his mask for a moment to give Jackson a comforting smile (with no teeth showing) before slipping it back on and giving Jackson a hug. He pulled away after a moment.
He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. “Thank you, Phillips. I really needed that.” He opened them and offered him a slightly sad smile.
Phillips nodded, looking over Jackson's face for a moment.
"You know… I could always talk my sister into going where ever. Maybe… there's somewhere you might think your sister is? Maybe, when the time comes… that's where we'll go our separate ways? I want to help you find her."
“I-I don’t know if that’s a wise thing to do.” He paused and sighed. “I don’t even have a lead on where she could be!” Jackson said frustrated. “Finding her could take decades and what if she doesn’t want to be found?”
"If she doesn't want to be found, she isn't worth finding. And how do you know she's not looking for you too?" Phillips tilted his head, pulling one arm lightly around Jackson again. I know I'd be looking for you.
(AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW)
. . . I-I don’t know. . “ He sighed and rubbed his head. “You’re right. She might be looking for me, it doesn’t hurt to try, right?”
"No, it won't." Phillips pulled his other arm away to give Jackson a reassuring hug before going back to holding the wheel.
"And I'll support you as long as I can."
Jackson smiled halfheartedly and looked out at the ocean. His eyes seemed to change to a light blue. “Thank you, Phillips. That’s really nice of you.”
Phillips scoffed a bit, blushing deeply this time. His entire face was turning red.
"I-It's just the right thing to do," he huffed, turning away.
He heard Phillips stammering, smirked a bit and laughed. He turned to Phillips and looked directly at him. “Hm, I wonder why you’re stammering.” He playfully jabbed a finger into Phillips chest.
Phillips blushed even deeper, his face nearly as red as his cloak.
"I-I ain't stammering," he said. "You just h-hearing me wrong."
Even though Phillips mask blocked Jackson from seeing his face, Jackson imagined how red Phillips was turning. Jackson’s finger went up Phillips chest “Ah, is that so?”
Phillips shuddered a bit.
"Tease," he mumbled under his breath, barely audible. He put one arm around Jackson again, looking down at him with soft eyes.
Jackson looked up at Phillips and tilted his head to the side. “Hm?”
"N-Nothing," Phillips said, looking anywhere but at Jackson. Oh god why did he have to have such pretty eyes?!
Jackson pouted and crossed his arms. Those black eyes looked straight at Phillips and the sun made them look even more beautiful.
Phillips dared to glance at Jackson, quickly regretting it.
"Oh wow…" he mumbled, not realizing he said it out loud.
“Oh, wow?” Jackson asked, clearly confused.
"I-I- Uh-" Phillips didn't know how to explain this one away.
"Your eyes," he admitted quietly. "They're really beautiful…"
Jackson looked at Phillips and smiled. A red tint appeared on his cheeks, but Jackson didn’t notice. “T-Thank you.”
By now, even Phillips' ears were red.
"W-Welcome," he said, unable to look away.
Jackson smiled and then squinted at a black figure that was coming their way. He quickly realized it was a cat.
Phillips saw the cat as well, mostly ignoring it as it came up to them. He was too busy trying to calm down. He gave Jackson another hug as the cat looked at them.
Jackson blushed and the cat meowed questioningly. Now that the cat was up close, He realized what type of breed it was. It was a brown Manx Cat with white stripes. It had a little bit of blood on his fur, indicating he had a bloody battle with another animal.
Phillips looked down when the cat meowed. He let go of Jackson, bending down to pick the cat up. He wiped the blood away.
"Who were you fighting?" he asked.
The cat meowed in a soft tone and Jackson tilted his head to the side. “A white cat with black stripes?” Jackson mumbled. The cat meowed again and he looked at Phillips. “Are there any white cats with black stripes on this ship?”
"There might be. I usually don't pay much attention." He scratched the top of the cat's head, looking at Jackson and tilting his head a bit.
"You understand cats?" he asked.
“Ah, I see.” Jackson smiled and nodded. “I understand a lot of animals, to be honest.” He paused. “Though, sometimes my ability to understand animals fails me.”
"Cool!" Phillips said, keeping his head tilted. "The only things I can do is summon and semi-control fire. And even then, it can get really temperamental and just not listen to me."