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Craig never really seemed to care about the rising tides. Octavio didn’t really either until his father told him recently that a war might break out. When he said that, the prince’s hearts were beating at a thousand miles per minute. What would happen to him and Craig? They were the opposite species, after all. It was only a matter of time before they would have to fight against each other.
After the news, he promptly locked himself in his room, and after a few hours of sobbing into his pillow, Octavio snuck out to visit Craig. Each step he took seemed to add more anxiety to his body. Eventually, he arrived at Craig's treehouse and the inkling greeted him with a smile and let him in.
Octavio felt uneasy, his body shaking above the creaky floorboards of Craig’s treehouse that he sat on. The inkling next to him carelessly talked about things that didn’t seem to matter. If only he knew what was happening in the world around him.
The octoling looked at Craig's face as he talked. It was beautiful, but he might not ever be able to see it again. Octavio looked down, saddened at the thought.
"So me and Ammoses were- Tavi?" Craig looked at Octavio, concerned.
"What?" The prince's head shot up, being met with the same beautiful face, but with a more worried look.
"You okay?"
"Yeah." Octavio smiled awkwardly before it quickly faded away.
"No, you're not." Craig put his hand on the octoling's shoulder. Octavio flinched slightly at the contact, but didn't mind.
The prince sighed. He had to tell him.
He opened his mouth to speak, but almost nothing came out. "Shit..." A tear ran down his cheek as he finally spoke. "My father said that a war might break out 'cause of the rising tides."
Silence.
Then embrace.
"Tavi… what's gonna happen to us?"
Octavio's eyes widened. "I- I don't know."
Craig wiped the tears off the octoling's face. "Promise no matter what happens, we'll still be together?"
Octavio knew he couldn't promise anything to him. But still, he did.
"I… promise." He smiled.
The inkling smiled back. "Me too."
They both sat there, hugging and kissing their tears away. They were blissfully unaware that they would later have many, many tears without the other's embrace.