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April 15, 1912, 11:40 PM.
One of the times Toris was thankful that Feliks’s hobby was cross-dressing, and he insisted on bringing two trunks of some of his finer dresses. The two were one of the few thousand aboard the H.M.S. Titanic as she made her maiden voyage across the sea. Alfred, proud of the ship, had given them two first class fares, and they decided “Why not?” and took the opportunity. It also one of the times where he was thankful that he’d spilt wine on his bedclothes, had to borrow a pair of frillier ones from Feliks.
They had awoken to a knock on their door, a crewman holding out two life jackets. He left saying that they should bundle up, put the life jackets on, and come out on deck. Toris helped Feliks bundle up, and regretting that he hardly brought any heavy clothing, pulled one of Feliks’ lighter dresses over his whole outfit. They made their way to the deck, laughing at seeing each other’s breath. There were chunks of ice on the deck and they kicked the pieces around until more people came up on deck. Looking around, they saw the lifeboats being uncovered, and they tried their best not to panic.
When word went out that the ship was sinking and women and children were to go first, Toris stayed rooted to his spot as Feliks tried to pull him along.
“What are you doing, you idiot?” Feliks said, turning to look at him.
“Feliks, we can’t…” he looked at the blonde, smiling sadly. “We’re not-”
“Goddamnit, Toris, don’t say it.” He replied, walking closer to him. “We can’t stay here.”
“No, you can’t stay here.” Toris said, slowly walking over to one of the life boats. “You go, Feliks.” he grabbed the attention of one of the crewmen, who took Feliks’ arm and guided him to the life boat.
“Toris!” he yelled, reaching for his friend. “No, don’t leave me!” Feliks nearly scrambled out of the life boat, but he was restrained by a few of the women on board as it started to inch down. “Toris!”
Toris ignored Feliks’ cries, giving a small wave before going to see if he could help. He was passing by one of the life boats that was full, a crew man loudly stating that it was full. He stopped for a moment to help an old woman get in the boat when he stopped.
“Are you Toris Laurinaitis, the Lithuanian delegate?” she asked, looking up at him.
He blinked, smiling at her. “I am.”
“I hardly recognized you in that dress… Gentlemen, hold the boat, please.” She stood up, and with some help from the people around, stepped out of the boat. “Who am I to let an important man stay on the ship?”
“But you have a family, ma’am. And grandchildren, and-”
She held up a hand, cutting him off. “My time should have come long ago. My husband’s left my life, and I already have a will. Besides, I’m sure that cute little fiancée of yours would appreciate it if you made it off. Where is she, anyway?”
“Already off the boat… Are you giving up your seat for me?”
She nodded, gesturing towards the life boat. “You’re still young, Toris. You have a future. Go live it.” With those words, she turned and walked away from the boat.
Stunned, Toris stood there for a few moments before getting shoved into the boat, hanging his head as it descended into the water. He flinched at the splash, realizing that he hadn’t paid attention to the number on the boat Feliks was in. He’d be unable to track the life boats (there were at least four out already), but at least he knew that eventually they’d get back together.
Eventually couldn’t come soon enough. Toris had managed to keep his eyes on the other life boats, trying to keep up with the ones that had gone out first. He estimated it had been six hours before he saw the ship steaming to the rescue. He watched as the ship reached the other life boats first, eventually making its way to his boat. As soon as he set foot on the deck, he started looking for Feliks. Despair started to settle deep in his bones after an hour, at which he accepted a scratchy blanket from one of the crewmen of the ship (the Carpathia, he found out later), and sat away from the rest of the people.
Feliks was cold, and rather unhappy at being surrounded by so many chatty, complaining women. After an hour, he’d had enough and taken charged, getting them to row. Two hours after that, he heard the sickening sound of metal breaking apart and watched as the Titanic started to officially sink, a tear sliding down his cheek. He knew some basics of how the ocean and ships sinking worked, so he estimated that they had less than ten minutes to get as far away as they could to prevent getting swamped with water. So, he convinced the women to start rowing faster, joining in so he wouldn’t seem like a hypocrite. He painstakingly ignored the fact that Toris had stayed on the boat, trying his best not to cry as they moved further away from the Titanic. By the time the Carpathia came around, he was exhausted from pent-up emotions, and helping the furious rowing that was going on. He noticed that they were the first ones to actually reach the ship, helping the other women out before shakily getting out of the life boat. Feliks silently took a blanket from one of the crew members, sat against something solid (what, he didn’t know, nor did he care), pulled the blanket close around his upper body, and cried.
Neither man moved until the Carpathia docked in New York. When they were off the ship, both found some place to sit (they didn’t feel like fighting the crowd), and stayed there. Both were in shock, but Feliks was more in shock than Toris, having the knowledge that ‘Toris might not have made it’ blaze through his mind at random intervals through the whole time he was sitting out on the dock.
Toris didn’t even pick his head up when Alfred’s voice drifted his way, or when the larger man lifted him up from his seat. He didn’t respond to anything until he saw it. A flash of straw blonde hair, disheveled, but still recognizable. “Feliks?” he called out, looking in the direction of where he saw the hair. He saw some movement, and a blonde head perked up, looking every way for the sound that made it move in the first place. “Feliks!” Toris called again, a smile creeping on his face.
Feliks heard his name being called, and he looked around to find the source. He heard it again, louder, and when he looked to his left, he saw a familiar brunette. Blinking, he stood up, letting the blanket fall to the ground. He ran over to Toris, wrapping him in a hug. “You idiot!”
Toris held Feliks tight, lifting the smaller man a few inches off the ground. He set the blonde back down, leaning some so he could kiss the top of his head. “Feliks? What’s wrong? You’re shaking..”
“I thought I lost you for good, Toris!” he replied, looking up at the brunette. Feliks noticed Alfred nearby and glared at the younger man who, in response, backed a few feet away and turned around. “Seriously!”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that now, Feliks.” Toris smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “What we do have to worry about is getting in contact with our bosses so they know we’re okay.”
“I hate you sometimes, you know that?”
Toris chuckled and let him god so he could take Feliks’ hand. “I know.” He replied, walking over to Alfred, brushing off his questions as the younger man brought them to his car. The two sat in the backseat, Feliks leaning on Toris, half-asleep, quiet the whole way from New York to the capital.