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While Felix had been excited to go to the beach, he hadn’t expected to do much of anything except exhaust his bubble supply as per usual. Watching them race and see which one popped first and getting dizzy spinning them out of the wand practically ate up any summer afternoon…
But today was different.
Because, while in the middle of making a third bubble to race the other two, sand flicked up from a decently sized hole in the ground a few paces away, and popped all three in one fell swoop.
Felix pouted, puffing his cheeks and sulking as Uncle Niko sat next to him with a cup of lemon ice cream.
“How’s the bubble race tournament going?” Niko asked, handing him a spoon.
“The sand ruined it!” Felix exclaimed through a mouthful of the treat, capping the bubbles and setting them down before kicking at the stupid beach with all his might.
“Ah!!” A voice from within the hole squeaked, and Felix narrowed his eyes. Huh…?
Felix walked over to the object of his distaste, and poked his head over it to see a girl maybe a year younger than he was, in a white shirt and pink shorts picking away at the sand with a plastic shovel. There were bits of sand in her hair, and Felix’s eyes fell to the ground from guilt… oops.
The girl turned her head and stuck her tongue out at him, before pointing the tool at him like a sword. “Did you kick the sand?” She asked, her tone accusatory.
He gulped. Felix only knew that tone from Father, and he was usually very mad at him when he spoke like that… and more often than not, Father had a good reason to be angry with him. “Uh huh…” He admitted sheepishly. “Sorry… I didn’t see you.”
“It’s okay! I’m Marinette, what’s your name?”
“Felix. Nice to meet you.”
Marinette scruffed up her hair in trying to get the sand out, wriggling up and out of the hole with a step she’d fashioned from a broken pail. “Were you the one blowing bubbles?” She asked, now sounding curious.
Oh! She was interested? “Yeah! I like making them race! Whichever one pops last is the winner.” He replied, crossing his arms with pride. “How come you dug this big hole…?”
“I’m making a sand castle.” She ran over to a spot beside her work station of sorts, marked by several other non broken pails, molds in the shape of stars and shells, and at least two other shovels. “Wanna join me?”
He thought for a moment, placing a finger under his chin as he mulled it over… he hadn’t been able to keep score in the bubble races, and it got kinda hard to see them if they floated too far, so… why not?
“Sure!”
They’d sat in the sand nearby, chipping away at the top layer of it with plastic molds and shovels until a decently sized pile laid between them.
“So, what’re you making the castle for?” Felix asked, patting the sand he scooped up into a pail.
“Crabs!” Marinette replied, digging through the dunes to find something. “I heard they live in shells!”
“So you’re making them a castle?” Felix asked, confused. “This isn’t a shell castle.”
“I know, but I wanna give them more room!”
“More room?”
“They get cramped in those tiny shells, don’t you think?”
Hmmm… she did have a point…
“We’d better make more room for the crabs, then!” To be honest, Felix had always thought crabs were weird, like spiders of the sea type weird…. But he had to admit, building a castle for them was kinda fun!
They’d have way more room with a home like this instead of shells!!
Soon enough, their sand castle was like two times taller than he was! Perfect!
“Woahhh!!!” Marinette gasped, circling their finished product at a distance so she wouldn’t hit it. “You’re amazing at making sandcastles, Felix!!”
“Thanks! You are too. I didn’t know we could make it this high!!”
“What’s the biggest thing you think we could make?”
“Like… a sand mansion?”
“Yeah!!” Marinette nodded excitedly as she gasped imagining it. “A sand mansion…!”
“Will you… come back?” Felix asked, his voice brimming with hope. “So we can build it?”
“Of course I will! What about you?”
“I—”
Before Felix was about to answer, he heard Uncle Niko call his name. “Felix!!! Come on! We have to get back to your father!!”
He smiled at her, quickly picking up a nearby pink shell they’d dug up and handed it to her. “I hope so.”
Marinette smiled at the gift and returned the sentiment, handing him a light yellow shell from their pile of treasure. “Here. Bring it back and put it high in the air like this!” She stood up on her tiptoes and waved the shell about. “So I can see you!”
“Felix!!!” His uncle’s voice rang out again, this time with more urgency.
“Got it!! Bye, Marinette!!” They shared an excited wave as they parted ways. Sprinting back to Niko, Felix spun around in circles with his bubble wand as he rambled on and on about sand mansions and the home of fancy crabs, holding carefully within his pocket a pretty cream yellow shell that matched his hair…
A shell that, unbeknownst to the little boy, would eventually become a tiny but sweet decoration in his seaside themed kitchen, right next to a familiar pink one from his wife, Marinette…