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When I say I love the ocean, I don't mess around. I would spend my whole life here if I could, sitting on these old wooden docks. But it's so cold, I almost can't wait to get back into our cozy little cabin and sit by the fireplace. But for now, at least while I'm alone, I gaze at the scenery. The waves ripple lightly against the poles of the dock and brush up against my bare feet, sending a shiver down my spine. It's insane how amazing it can look even as it's half-dark and pretty foggy. The sun will probably be rising soon, and that makes me grateful to have stayed up, even if Kastor hasn’t returned yet. Stone cold clouds gather over the aegean sea, dark and oddly calm. I can still hear the waves crashing against rocks in the distance. The sound resonates in my ears and I take it in, this feeling nostalgic and comforting. It feels as if I belong to the sea. I close my eyes and take a deep whiff of the salty fumes, finally feeling at peace.
In fact, I’m so at peace, I hardly hear the gentle footsteps knocking on the wood of the dock behind me.
Kastor half plops down next to me with a little “hey!” and his signature smile.
“I found a pretzel.” He says, handing it over to me.
“Found it?” I ask, praying in my head that it’s not from the trash.
“Well, hey, I bought it!” He reassures in a defensive sort of manner.
"Yeah, yeah, okay." I (playfully) roll my eyes and tear a piece off of the soft bread, popping it into my mouth. A surprised noise escapes me as I realize the fresh warmness to it, and after chewing and swallowing, I make a remark- “Where’d ya buy a fresh pretzel at this time??”
“I’m friends with the guy who owns the bakery! I never told ya?!” Kastor replies, energetically exasperated. “Yeah, he’s just startin’ to make his batches for the day... He gives me stuff for cheap when he makes too much.”
“Shoot, this early?” He nods at me and I sigh. “That’s a shocker.”
- - -
Before we know it, the sky glows orange over the horizon, and we both are now standing to at least stretch our legs (plus I had to throw away the little paper wrapper thingy from the pretzel we shared).
As he tells me the story of when he and our sort-of-friend Berwald managed to catch fish with their bare hands in a stream, I catch another glimpse of the near-blinding sunrise. The sky is streaked with pink and fluorescent orange, and I’m sure my face is just as pink because of the cold.
My gaze then goes from the sky, to Kastor, to the ocean, and then back to Kastor. Surely he should’ve seen the light bulb pop above my head at those last two glances, but his head’s so thick I’m sure he didn’t get it.
“Hey, Kas, c’mere.” I stop him in his tracks and he leans in slightly. I lean in, too, and give him a peck on the corner of his mouth. He pulls back, aghast (it’s not like I’ve never done this, we’ve kissed several times before), but the look on his face is so priceless I nearly forgot why I did it... (besides affection, but shhhhh!) His expression melts to his puppy love look, and while he gawks lovingly I push him back into the water, earning a yelp.
Splash!
A few moments later, the sopping Dane bobs up and spits out salt water at me (and misses). “Asløv!” He pouts and sticks his tongue out. I can’t help but smile at this and return the favor.
“I wasn’t really expectin’ to go for a swim today, but...” He huffs like a little kid, swimming closer so he’s right next to me. “Neither did you!”
Before I can even process what he meant, he grabs my ankle and yanks me into the water with him. Like an idiot, I gulp up the saltwater the second I’m fully submerged, and soon I come back up, coughing and with stinging eyes. I rub them and when I can form a sentence again, I chuckle a little. I’m not even angry. “You know, I deserved that.”