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The waves crashed solely against the sand, white sea foam curling itself around the tan souls of Valeria’s feet. She watched as the sun slowly peaked above the horizon, orange mixing with the blue against the surface of the ocean, and blinked back the tiredness that she felt.
She waited patiently, honey eyes wandering across the smooth waters, searching for any sign of movement beneath the surface. She bit the corner of her lip, fingers tapping against her thigh impatiently.
“Always keeps me waiting,” she huffed, a fondness mixed between her words.
She shuffled forward and plopped down right where sand met ocean, shivering when the cool water brushed against her legs. Her fingers played with the wet sand, drawing patterns in the golden grains.
She was seated for no more than five minutes before a sudden movement caught her eye. She watched as a black shape emerged, wet hair clinging to a pale forehead gracelessly. A rare strand of white hair appeared between ebony locks, having lost the artificial shine of purple that Valeria had helped apply all those weeks ago.
They flopped on their back next to where she sat on the shore, a long black tail that was dotted with deep purple scales stretched before them, looking out of place and awkward on land, though no less pretty. White teeth that were a little too sharp to be human grinned up at her from a face scattered with small scales, scales that looked like freckles if you squinted hard enough.
“Hallo, flower,” Reif said, blue eyes undeniably fond.
“Hi, seaweed,” She lifted a finger to brush away a wayward strand of hair. He sat up, catching her hand with their own before it could withdraw completely and slipping his fingers between hers, the movement practised and familiar.
“Did you bring it?” He couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice, tail twitching with energy. She huffed fondly and let go of their hand to dig into the pocket of her shorts.
“Sometimes I think you only visit me for candy.” She laughed, pulling out a small chocolate bar. They trilled happily and reached for their own gift, a vibrantly coloured shell that was about half the size of their palm.
He deposited it into her hand and gently took the coloured wrapper, opening it and slipping a brown square into his mouth immediately.
“Thank you,” he smiled, watching closely as she studied the shell.
“Thank you,” She whispered back, thumb brushing against the grooved surface of the shell gently. It was cream coloured with stripes of bright red running across it in sections. Water beaded against the surface and small scratch marks from its previous owner dotted the inside. “Where did you find this one?”
They shifted, pulling themself up so they could sit next to her more comfortably. His tail slapped loudly against the wet sand and without thought she reached out with her other hand to feel the smooth scales, cold to the touch. He shivered in response, but didn’t move to brush off her hand.
“It was close to shore,” He smiled down at her, now the taller of the two. “A cone snail, I think. You see the-“ he pointed towards a patch of black that appeared on the corner of the shell, creeping across the surface of it. “It’s- well I don’t know what it is. You probably have a name for it. But I know that it means the shell is sick, and that the snail that was inside of it had to leave.” They nodded to themself, gaze lifting to find her’s. “So it’s not one I took from another animal.” He said proudly.
“Thank you,” she said again.
“I can’t tell if all humans are as picky as you or if you’re just special,” Reif muttered, looking down at the shell again.
A laugh was startled out of Valeria and she couldn’t stop the way it consumed her entire chest. She knew they meant no offence, so the comment was amusing more than anything.
“I’m not picky,” she said as her laugh tapered off, speaking through giggles. “I just don’t want to take a shell from an animal that might need it. Besides, these shells are just as pretty.”
“There are plenty of shells in the ocean,” He muttered. “Why won’t you accept the good ones?” The distress he was feeling was surface deep. He knew why she did it, because her heart was far too large for her own good. Still, it frustrated him to think that he was giving her anything but the best.
The skin between Valeria’s eyebrows crinkled and she nudged him with her shoulder, watching as he almost toppled over, not so graceful out of water.
“I like these ones,” she grinned widely. “And I like them even better because you give them to me.”
A bright red flush spread its way across his cheeks and he turned his head sharply away in an attempt to hide it.
“Okay,” he said, voice strangled. He supposed finding shells that wouldn’t be used again was fun anyway. They’d always liked a challenge.
Valeria watched as the flush continued to spread, going as far as the tips of their ears before stopping. She leaned forward, braced her hands against his shoulder and kissed the red skin gently, laughing when the blush deepened even further. Her hands slipped down and gripped one of his between two of hers, thumbing at the skin gently.
They sat for a moment in silence, only the crash of small waves to interrupt them.
Valeria was quick to break it, not wanting to waste a single second.
“So, what have you been up to?”
-
They talked until the sun was sitting high in the sky, neither wanting to be the first one to leave. They swapped stories and jokes, moved closer to the water so Reif could sumerge his tail in the salty water and whispered so they couldn’t be heard over the rush of wind and squark of the occasional seagull.
As the day wore on, however, their time together came closer to an end.
“When can you come next?” Reif said, arm curled around Valeria’s midsection, bracing her from where she laid on top of him.
“In two days, but I'm visiting my family in the afternoon so only half a day.” She rested her chin against his collarbone, looking up at his face with a sad wanting.
“Alright,” he whispered, “I can’t wait to see you again.”
“Will you bring me another shell?” She asked hopefully.
“Anything for you.” He leaned down, letting his lips brush against her forehead, a barely there kiss.
She huffed frustratedly and surged forward, lips crashing against his with force, tasting sweet chocolate on her tongue.
“I’ll see you soon then, seaweed.”