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Cove Holden looked best when he was blushing. You had decided this long ago, back when you both were children. You'd had a crush on him instantly.
He was precious, albeit a little spoiled. He cried often, and you took every given chance to swipe the tears away for him, slowly drawing close his anxious heart like a wave grasping for a particular shell lodged in the sand. He was an ocean spirit, finicky and easily frightened. You did your best to comfort him always.
Your efforts had paid off in immeasurable ways, you thought, soft eyes trained on his face as you sat across from him at the small kitchen table. The apartment you shared together was as cozy as could be, set up in the familiar ways you both had been living your entire lives. Sand trailed in from the front door from ever constant beach trips, and the light from Cove's fish tank glittered across the far wall, sparkling blue in the sun.
Cove attempted to ignore your stare, but the flush that crept across his cheeks proved the struggle futile. His smile wobbled over the rim of his mug - filled with juice, not coffee - and the gulp he took of the liquid nearly caught in his throat. You both had been living together as partners for quite some time, a few years into your respective career paths, yet to be engaged, married. But Cove was still as easily flustered as ever.
"What?" he croaked, setting his mug down as delicately as possible, his hand trembling a little. He could barely meet your gaze. "What is it?"
"You are the cutest thing," you answered sincerely, though you knew what it would do to him.
"Mmph," Cove stammered, ducking his head as his face warmed further. He attempted to get out a response, a cheeky flirtation to match your own, but ended up only recanting old material. "Paradise fish."
"Sunrise guppy."
"Agh." Cove dropped his head down onto the table, cushioning the blow with his arm. His response was giggly, if still flustered. "You got me."
You chuckled at him, feeling a rush in your chest as you both remembered the aquarium date. It had definitely been the best out of all three of Cove's special "surprise" dates.
Standing from your chair, you sidestepped the two-person table and came to hover over Cove's hunched frame. He flinched and let out a squeak as you settled your hand on the top of his head, running your fingers through the green, wavy strands. His body slowly relaxed as you continued to pet him, and he eventually lifted his head to look at you, leaning into your touch. You caught the glimmer in his eyes and soon began to use both hands, caressing him thoroughly.
Cove's lashes fluttered as you turned your attention to his ears, one of his more sensitive places. His mouth hung open a bit as you smoothed your fingers over the thin flesh, brushing over his cartilage and lobe piercings. He made a low noise, his expression growing heavier, and all at once he stood up and bent down to kiss you fervently.
Your hands rested at his waist, pulling in a fistful of his shirt at both sides as his lips met yours again and again. Cove's usual bashfulness was tossed aside, replaced now by an anxious need, and you did your best to fulfill his wish. You nipped at his lower lip and made him tremble, you pulled his waist toward yours and made him moan at contact. Suddenly he scooped his hands beneath your thighs and lifted you upwards with ease, carrying you deeper into your shared apartment as your arms made their familiar wrap around his neck.
Cove sat on the bed and slowly laid down against it, leaving you on top of him as usual. You both took off his shirt together and removed your own just as fast, a mess of writhing bodies and wandering hands. A kiss to his mouth, his neck, his nipple. His cry. A rush to get fully naked. A hot and sexy affair.
You went back to the shell of his ear and nibbled, sucked. His hands jolted against your skin and grabbed hold for dear life. Ecstasy, together. Forever and always.