Chapter Text
Six sat crouched underneath the dining room table, taking calm and controlled breaths as her heart hammered in her chest. Anxiety and fear were stifled thanks to years of perseverance and experience. A set of legs marched past her hiding spot, allowing her to breathe a little easier as she slowly creeped out of her hiding spot. Her pursuer was busy putting wrapped packages of food into a small container, stuffing drinks inside with a light grunt. She glanced at the door to her right, the one that would lead her back to the safety and comfort of her room.
She just had to reach it without alerting the only other living thing in the room.
Six slowly crept out of her hiding spot, her footfalls silenced by the small rug beneath her. She narrowed her eyes at the small gap between the rug she was walking on and the next, quickly hopping over it with a small grunt. She looked over at the one hunting her, still dutifully packing the container while glancing out the window occasionally. She continued her slow march, slowly grinning as she got closer and closer to the door. She could make it out without being seen, she was home free the moment she crossed that doorway!
A soft creak beneath her quickly killed her excitement, making her look down in horror to see her feet touching wood. She looked up at the adult with a slowly paling face.
He was looking right at her, a small grin slowly spreading over his face.
"There you are..."
Six turned to sprint for the door, her body in a state of panic as the adult reached her in two quick strides. Her fingers had just brushed over the doorway when she was yanked off the floor by a large hand. She struggled fruitlessly against the hand that had her trapped, squirming in it's grip as she was lifted up. She lamented her terrible fate as she was brought face to face with her pursuer, glaring at the single eye that looked at her with a tired and slightly amused gleam.
"Are you done running and hiding around? We're almost ready to leave for the beach." The Architect said as he carried her over to the kitchen counter. Six propped her head up with an arm as she leaned onto his palm, closing her eyes and turning away from him as she replied. "Nope, I told you that I didn't want to go to some stupid beach." She stubbornly said, making the man sigh as he set her down slowly. Eve had come to him earlier this morning, excitedly talking about how nice and sunny it was and how a trip to the beach would be lovely. The Architect couldn't help but agree with her, there was hardly a cloud in the sky and the heat was perfect for lounging about or swimming.
RK wasn't too thrilled until he assured him that the beach was shallow, he even offered to stay with the boy at all times if he wanted to swim with everyone else. A little coaxing and assurance from Mono made the boy reluctantly agree to come along. Mono had gone and told Six about their plans for the day.
He returned to The Architect and told him that Six would be joining them once she was ready, that was roughly fifteen minutes ago. He caught her hiding under her bed with her music box, which she quickly abandoned to flee from the unamused man. She obviously didn't like the idea of spending time at the beach, probably because she would have to wear something other than her precious yellow raincoat.
The Architect had spent a good deal of time making the children swimsuits and trunks, along with floaties for those who weren't so confident in their swimming abilities. He was grateful that he still knew how to make the things he's gazed at with his missing eye, he probably would have lost more sleep if he had to figure out how to make them again from scratch. Seth was a great help, he was sure to let his little apprentice know how grateful and proud he was of him.
Seth had a large grin on his face for the rest of the day, losing a few hours of sleep suddenly didn't seem too horrible anymore.
"So you want to stay here all day?" The Architect asked.
"Yes." Six responded quickly.
"What would you even do? Listen to your music box all day?"
A slow nod was his answer, making him sigh once more as he rubbed his face.
"Six, you can't stay cooped up in here all day by yourself."
"Why not? You do the same thing when you work on a project!"
"Except I come out when someone needs something or wants to do something fun, like go to the beach." His response made her pout and cross her arms, he decided to continue. "We're just going to spend a couple of hours there anyway, you don't have to go into the water. I made sure to make a few umbrellas for some shade." She hardly seemed moved, until she heard his next words. "We'll also have a picnic with plenty of food for everyone, Eve and I made it earlier."
Six made an effort to appear as nonchalant as possible while internally drooling at the thought of The Architect's and Eve's cooking, pretending to think about it before caving in with a shrug. "Fine... but I still think I'll look stupid in a swimsuit..." She said with a huff, making The Architect smirk slightly as he replied. "Perfect, and I don't think you'll hate your swimsuit. I made it the same shade of yellow as your raincoat." The smile he gave her made her temporarily forget why she was so adamant about staying home in the first place, he seemed so delighted to see her joining them. It was incredibly endearing to see him so excited about giving her something he specifically made for her.
It was hard to stay stubborn with such a warm look directed towards her.
She was gingerly placed on his shoulder as he carried the cooler and container filled with food. Perhaps this trip wouldn't be as bad as she thought...
-
The beach wasn't too far from where they first made landfall when they arrived. It had a good deal of space and the waters were shallow, The Architect didn't have to worry about one of the children getting swept away. The sun hung high above their heads, it's warm rays made the man sigh in content as he set down the coolers. The children watched their guardian as he worked, all dressed in swimsuits and trunks. Eve and Seth were wearing green swimsuits, Seth himself looked incredibly proud in his attire while Eve got used to the feeling of warm sand between her toes. RK was wearing the same trunks he used when The Architect was helping him with his fear of swimming, two floaties sat on his arm as he stared at the water like a resigned inmate heading to the gallows.
Mono's swim trunks were a dark brown, much like his trench coat. RB had orange swim trunks, designed after his precious cloak. HG still had her hood and was quick to lounge under the shade of an umbrella. The Architect wanted to help the girl feel more comfortable with her appearance, but trying to do so now would most likely do harm than good. He would have to set her aside at some point and address the topic.
It would be an uncomfortable and tense talk, but one that must be had.
Six lagged behind the group slightly, wearing a vibrant yellow swimsuit with a sun hat gifted to her by Eva. She claimed that the outfit would look spectacular with the hat, happily gifting it to the timid girl who couldn't refuse the thoughtful gift. It was nice to have something to ward off the sun from getting in her eyes. The Architect himself was wearing a snow-white colored swim trunk as he set up a few chairs for their convenience. Six frowned slightly at the sight of his old wounds, his shoulder and side has long since healed from his fight with The Hunter. Scars remained as a permanent reminder of his struggle, as well as his carelessness when overcome with anger.
She shook her head to rid it of such dreary thoughts, he hardly seemed bothered by them, so why should she?
The Architect reclined on a chair and sighed as he reached into one of his bags, taking out a small bottle of sunscreen as he spoke. "Alright, let's get you guys protected from the sun. I don't need a bunch of tomato children coming back home with me." The children lined up with little laughs, allowing him to apply the sunscreen with a smile. Six shivered slightly as the cold sunblock was applied to her skin. The man leaned back with a satisfied smile and reached into the cooler for a drink as he spoke once more. "Go ahead and have fun, remember to stay in the shallow water where I can see you. I doubt any of you want to go swimming off in the deep end. We'll have lunch once everyone has their fill of the beach." He said calmly, smiling widely as the children quickly spread out along the beach.
A few of them began to construct little sandcastles while others gleefully ran into the water, giggling and laughing loudly as they swam and splashed water on one another. The Architect watched for a moment before leaning back, drinking from a small bottle of water before he felt someone poke his leg. He looked down to see RK and Mono grinning up at him, making him raise a brow slightly. "What's up?" He asked, prompting Mono to speak quickly. "We wanted to bury you in the sand with RB, he says it feels weird but warm." The man looked up to see a smiling RB buried in the sand with only his head sticking out, Eve and Seth were staring at him while Six tilted her head while lightly poking the buried boy. The Architect stared at them for a moment before looking back down at the excited faces of the two boys. He shook his head slightly and stood up. "Alright fine, I'm not sure how long it'll take you two to dig up a hole big enough but why not?"
They cheered and quickly dragged him along. They would probably tire themselves out while digging, he didn't expect them to bury him anytime soon.
-
The Architect had forgotten that Seth was among them.
His apprentice had the foresight to make a deep enough hole in preparation for when The Architect would inevitably join them. He was swiftly buried by the giggling children, staring at the calm waters with a straight face as Mono and Six carefully patted the sand around his neck. The children admired their handiwork would clear pride while The Architect stared at them with an unamused face. They were all quick to climb onto his head and settle there. "I think we did a pretty good job." Eve said while leisurely kicking her feet into the air. Mono and RK nodded in agreement while Seth and Six played around with his hair. The man fought the urge to stand as they toyed with his hair.
"Yes, it was truly impressive how fast you were able to make this hole Seth. I guess we can improve the difficulty of our projects, don't want you getting rusty now." The Architect said happily despite having a straight face, Seth was the only one who understood the underlying promise in his words. The poor boy mentally prepared himself for the headaches and sleepless nights to come as his friends said similar words of praise, oblivious to his plight. RB squirmed slightly from his spot in the sand, pouting slightly as he called out. "Can someone dig me out already? This is starting to get uncomfortable." His plea was answered as Seth quickly jumped off The Architect's head, eager to get away from the slightly irritated man.
Six decided to ask. "How does it feel dad?"
He answered without missing a beat. "It feels like I have sand on almost every part of my body."
Six nodded thoughtfully for a moment as she rubbed her chin with a slight smirk. "Are you regretting this little trip yet?" She asked.
"Not as much as you will if you keep testing me, Six." He said while glancing up at the girl hanging off his head. Mono and RK chuckled as they crossed their arms, smiling smugly as they joined in. "That would have sounded scarier if you weren't buried in sand." RK teased. "It doesn't sound that intimidating when we're on top of your head like this." The Architect raised a brow, Eve was quick to jump off the moment she noticed the mischievous gleam in the adult's eye. She didn't want to get caught up in whatever nonsense was about to transpire.
The three grinning children were none the wiser until the sand shook slightly, their eyes widening slightly as The Architect slowly freed his arms and shoulders from the sand. They were quick to hop off his head and run off, screaming loudly as the man slowly dug himself out and marched after them with a laugh. "Do I sound intimidating now!? Where are you running off to?!" He shouted as he chased them. Eve, Seth, and RB just watched from the sidelines while the sandy boy cleaned himself in the water. They watched as the man caught the three running children and slowly walked into the water to wash the sand off his body, he allowed Six and Mono swim around after letting them down, their pouting faces glaring up at him as they wiped wet sand off their bodies.
The Architect gently lowered an anxious RK into the water, whispering encouraging words to the slightly nervous boy. "This is no different than our other swimming exercises, I'll be right beside you the whole time. All you have to do is say the word and I'll take you back, alright?" He asked softly, making RK nod slowly before he was lowered into the water. The boy was much calmer compared to the first time they did this, The Architect was immensely proud with his progress, it took a great deal of courage and conviction to face your fears in such a way. RK had tackled each exercise like a champ, his hesitation this time had understandably stemmed from the large body of water that lied beyond this shallow little beach.
He was relieved that they were strictly restricting themselves here.
While RK slowly got used to to the cool water, Mono swam around around with a carefree smile. The Architect blinked before glancing at Six, who was simply standing in the shallow water. He tilted his head and sat down, submerging himself in the cool water as he asked. "Why aren't you swimming, Six?" He asked.
She looked up at him with a straight face. "I don't really know how to swim."
He blinked for a moment in surprise. "You knew I was helping RK with his fears, why didn't you ask me to teach you? He would have appreciated having a friend swimming around with him." Six shrugged slightly in response. "I didn't want to interrupt your sessions, thought it would mess things up for him." The Architect sighed and shook his head, gently pulling Six over to him before holding her afloat. "Well, no time like the present. Let's start with some doggy paddles, just move your arms and legs like this below you." He instructed while providing an example with his own limbs. She seemed to understand and mimic the action, allowing him to gradually release her so she could swim by herself. This went well for about ten seconds before her arms got tired and she started going under, prompting him to quickly grab her and lift her out of the water.
Six looked up at him with a tilted head as some of her hair stuck to her face. "Was I not doing it right?" She asked curiously.
"No, you probably got a little tired and started sinking. We should probably get you some floaties too..." He replied as he carried her back to the beach, he probably should have done this before allowing her to swim in the first place...
-
After a small impromptu swimming lesson (RK was thrilled about helping Six), everyone returned to the beach to have lunch. Eve and Mono helped The Architect hand out wrapped sandwiches and drinks. Most of the children were tuckered out with the exception of HG, who was happily sketching the beach into her sketch book, something The Architect managed to scrounge up from his workshop. She assured him that she was perfectly happy with enjoying the sunlight while sketching, he was a little saddened that she didn't get to swim, but he didn't make a big deal out of it.
She was content, that was enough for now.
He handed his two little helpers their meals before grabbing his own, taking a small bite out of his sandwich. The children spoke to each other as they ate, recounting their experiences while showing each other some of the things they collected. They varied from seashells to small clumps of seaweed, one of the children even managed to find a baby turtle. They proudly showed it off to everyone while the Architect bemoaned the future lessons he would have to teach involving turtles and how to care for them. He could already see how enamored they were with the little creature, he wasn't going to be able to persuade them to let it go anytime soon. Best to prepare in advance and save himself the headache.
At least it wasn't a dog or a cat, his experiences with animals weren't exactly stellar.
"So we can keep him?" An excited Mono asked as they walked back to their home, making The Architect sigh softly as he replied. "Yes, I'll teach you all about how to take care of him. He's your responsibility after that though, you all have to clean up whatever mess he leaves behind." Mono nodded quickly while the other kids behind him grinned in excitement. He hugged the confused little turtle gently as he spoke. "That's fine! We'll take good care of Don." The man raised an eyebrow at the name, he felt like he should have remembered a name like that from somewhere. His mind kept drawing blanks and he eventually gave up on trying to remember.
All in all, today was a rather relaxing Saturday, even if they were returning home with a plus one.