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"Come on, Arthur!" Kayne cloys. Arthur often feels the wind whip by as Kayne's dramatic gestures get a bit too close. He probably does it on purpose just to put Arthur and John on edge. "The fun, the longing, the volleyball! Everyone loves a beach episode!"
"What are you-" A wave of vertigo hits Arthur before he can finish.
"Arthur!" John yelps.
"Have fun!" Kayne's voice, suddenly distant and murky, barely registers.
"Everything's disappeared, Arthur! The world has blurred together, becoming a mix of indistinct colors, continuously blending into each other like paint."
"We're falling, John!"
"That's not what it looks like."
"That's certainly what it feels like!" Arthur's legs flail in emphasis.
"I don't know what to-"
"Umf!" The ground meets Arthur's feet mid-flail, immediately sending him onto his back.
"Arthur! Are you alright?" John's hand comes up to feel the back of their head. For a moment, Arthur doesn't respond, taking in breaths that are trying to be measured and debatably succeeding.
"I-I'm fine, John. We're fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, yes." Arthur takes a deep breath, "We're okay." Slowly, Arthur props himself up on his elbows, "Where are we?"
"Nowhere I recognize. It's a beach."
"A beach?"
"Yes, it's small. Large rock cliffs form a semicircle around us, cutting into the empty sky, blocking every way out except for the ocean. No one else is here."
"Shit! You're kidding! Damn it!" Arthur rises to his feet, "Why would Kayne send us here?"
John imitates a drawn out, long-suffering sigh, "I have no idea. He said something about a beach episode."
"What the fuck is a beach episode?"
"I don't know."
"Fuck!" Arthur wipes a hand down his face. Except for the crashing waves, there is silence as Arthur tries to collect himself. John gives him the time to do so.
After a minute, John calmly says, "We should try to get out of here."
"I know. You said we're surrounded by cliffs, so the ocean, then?"
"It's our only option."
"Great," Arthur says like a curse, "Just fantastic." As he walks to the shore, he can already feel sand in his shoes. "Fully clothed and everything." At least the water is warm.
"I'm sure it won't be that bad."
"You're not the one who has to walk in wet clothes afterward." The water reaches his waist, "Left or right?"
"Hmm, left."
"Why?"
"No reason, both sides look the same."
"Well alright then."
"You'll have to swim out a little." For John's benefit, mainly, Arthur tries to keep their head above water, making his swimming less of a butterfly stroke and more of a doggy paddle. "Perfect, you can start going left now." The swim is made slightly arduous by John learning how to correctly move his arm as they go. But overall, it's boring. Arthur hasn't felt bored in a long time, not since he met John. It's kind of nice. "The rock wall is larger than I thought, but I can see more shore up ahead."
Suddenly, the space to Arthur's left seems to distill. Curling in on itself, before rapidly expanding. Something from it hits Arthur's cheek. He yells, much more out of surprise than fear, and punches wildly in it's direction, fist hitting something light with a hollow thwunk sound.
John says, "It's Kayne!" at the same time Kayne says, "You're cheating."
Arthur's "What?" serves as a reply to both.
John continues, "He's sitting on a strange pink circle that seems to float on the water?"
"It's a flamingo floatie." Kayne cuts in, "And no matter how innocent John acts, you can't get out of this one, boys." He takes on a tone like a cartoonishly stern father, "Now get back to your room this instant!" Arthur feels the air push in on him, and in a blink, his feet are back on sand. The sudden change in position makes him stumble slightly. "And if you sneak out again, I'll- I'll-!" Kayne's sentence abruptly cuts off into a cackle.
"Why are you doing this?" Arthur asks angrily, taking a few steps away from Kayne's voice.
"I told you, it's a beach episode!"
"What does that mean?"
"It means..." In the back of Arthur's mind, John makes an incensed sound right before Arthur feels Kayne's hand lands on his shoulder, "Relax! Have fun, go for a swim, wear less clothes. You've already got 1 out of 3." Then mumbles, "Even if it was the worst one."
John replies, "No."
"No?"
Before things can go south, Arthur says, "You have to be doing this for a reason."
"Of course I am! I like you, Arthur. I want you to thrive. What I do not want is for you to, say," Again, Arthur can feel the wind whipping as Kayne gestures, "Have a stress-induced breakdown and get yourself killed."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about chilling out, taking a load off, getting a day to yourselves." He says the last part slowly, like he's not sure they'll understand. "If you can get the concept through that overworked little head of yours, this would go a lot smoother."
Baffled, John chimes in with a simple, "What?"
"I don't understand."
"Oooof courseyoudon't!" Kayne laughs again, the underlying anger apparent, "You work so hard you don't understand how to rest! It's sad, really. Let me explain, nothing will hurt you here." He says it so slowly that it's grating, "You two are safe here. You both deserve a day off, and I, in all my graciousness, am giving it to you."
"Oh."
"You're welcome!"
"What about-"
"Stubborn as always! I'll put you two back right where you were, not a second late, I promise."
"You're promises haven't turned out so well in the past."
Kayne's laugh makes Arthur jump, "You know me so well! But you don't have any other options!"
Grudgingly, John admits, "We don't."
"Exactly! Listen to that voice in your head, Arty. It's right for once."
"Fine. Fine. If you won't let us out then, fine."
"Great!" Then, faux-lovingly, "I'm glad we're on the same page," The tone disappears, "Have fun!" The air contracts again, and Kayne is gone. Arthur sighs.
"He's..." Arthur trails off.
"A pain." John finishes.
"Yes." The sand feels coarse under Arthur's palm as he sits. He tries to face the ocean, but he lost his bearings after Kayne's teleportation.
"So, how do you relax?" Asks John.
"Hm. Well, normally I'd play some piano, but." The sea sways, gently meeting the shore only to retreat, over and over. "I don't think I have any hobbies outside of piano, actually."
"Really?"
"Well with Faroe, and then the- the drinking, then being a private investigator, I- I suppose I didn't leave much room for hobbies."
"That's..."
Arthur chuckles ruefully, "Sad?"
"Unfortunate." John hesitates, "When all of this is over, we'll find you some new ones." The waves crash. Arthur tries not to think about the likelihood that they'll survive to the end.
"That'd be nice." He takes a deep breath, "Look, we both know what Kayne is capable of, sort of... We-we know he can kill us both if he wanted to, I mean. But staying here, just..."
"I doubt we are as safe as he wants us to think."
"Exactly."
"But we can't do anything about it."
"Doesn't that make this worse?"
"I know. I don't feel good about it either."
"Well," Arthur begins taking off his jacket, which is harder than you'd think with one hand, but John catches on quickly, "As much as I hate to give in to Kayne, if we have no other option, we might as well enjoy ourselves." Next to come off are his socks and shoes; they're not going to dry anytime soon, and he's not going to deal with that torture. "Although I'd rather not go for another swim."
"There's nothing else to do here, Arthur. It's just the sand and the rocks."
"Come on, we've gotten through so much together. We can figure this out." He stands and begins aimlessly walking around, trusting John to warn him about any oncoming obstacles. He doesn't get far before remembering, "Sand castles!" Arthur laughs, "It's so obvious, I can't believe we didn't think of it first."
"Sand castles."
"I don't figure you've ever made one. Which way is the shore?"
"To your right, have you?"
"Have I what?"
"Ever made a sand castle?"
"Oh, when I was young, yes, but that was over a decade ago."
"It's been a long time."
"Sounds like we're both overdue, then."
"You're at the shore. There's wet sand directly in front of you."
"Right." The sand feels mushy, and some particles cling to his hand. Arthur starts a pile beside them, out of the tide's way. "Here, help me collect some."
John huffs, "Alright."
After a few handfuls, Arthur pats their pile to get an estimate of what they've collected, "That's good for now, I think." He only needs to try reshaping it once before realizing how difficult this will be one-handed, "Can you help me with this, John?"
"With what?" He sounds confused, even baffled.
"With making the sand castle. It can't just be a lump on the ground! We need to make it taller."
"How do we do that?"
"Hm..." Arthur shifts his hand around. The realization that he's never had to think about how to form a shape is sudden. It's weird, how many things become innate without you even realizing. He takes a guess, putting his hand near the bottom of one side of the pile, "Here, put your hand opposite mine."
"Okay?"
"Then squeeze, lightly." Just as Arthur starts to push inward, he feels the pile collapse towards John. "What'd you do?" Automatically, his hand reaches out to find out what John's done.
"Did I do it wrong?" Finally, their hands find each other. John's is clenched shut, but opens readily when they touch.
Arthur tries not to laugh, but he can't stop himself, "You're not supposed to grab it, John."
"You said to squeeze!"
"Yes, but- Okay. Put the sand back on the pile, we'll try again."
"I don't understand what you want me to do."
"I know, I know. I'll explain it better this time, just put your hand back."
"Done."
"Alright, don't squeeze. Sort of, gently push the sand towards my hand. Can you do that?"
"Sounds easy enough."
"Great, now." Their attempt goes much better this time. "Stop." Arthur delicately touches the pile, smoothing it out and shaping the top into a- probably lopsided- cone. "Great. Time for some windows, and a door, preferably."
"And how do we make windows?"
"You use your finger to make small holes." He demonstrates, "Don't push too far, or our castle will collapse again."
"That doesn't look like a window, Arthur."
"Yes, well. It's more about the intention, anyway."
"It doesn't even lead anywhere. This is a terrible window."
"Just make one."
"There."
"Good, and a door is the same but... door shaped."
"Like a rectangle?"
"Sure, yes."
"Got it."
"Great!"
"This castle isn't very pretty, Arthur. Even your office was better."
"You'll be eating your words when you see the moat."
"The moat?"
"Every castle needs a moat." Arthur sinks his hand into the sand, "Help me dig a circle around our grand estate." John grumbles, but Arthur hears him digging. The sand cakes the area underneath his nails. The first few times he picks the sand out, but Arthur eventually gives up. Their excavation project creates a hill beside the castle.
When they're done, John asks, teasingly, "How do you suggest we get water into our moat?"
"Um," Arthur reaches towards the ocean, feels the water run over his hand. He tries to cup it, but the water falls back out. John's laughter echoes in his mind. "Oh! I know." Quickly, Arthur digs a slope from where the tide comes in to their moat. "There-"
"It's working! You did it, Arthur!"
"With no help from you."
"I knew you could do it!"
"That's the story you're going with?"
"It's the truth!"
"Please, I'm not that gullible." The waves meet the shore again, and Arthur wonders exactly how close they are. He runs his hand across the ground. It's easier than he thought it would be to find the exact line where the wet sand starts. As he holds his hand there, he feels the water caress his fingertips.
"Our castle isn't so bad," John admits.
"Did the moat change your mind after all?"
"Maybe. I wouldn't mind living in it."
Arthur laughs, "One day I'll buy a big cylinder with three windows for us to live in."
"Us?"
"Or- You, I mean."
Silence lingers in the air before, "I wouldn't mind if we lived together."
"Wouldn't you?"
"It's just that I've gotten used to you after all this time."
"You," Arthur huffs, and it's almost a laugh, "That might be nice, actually."
"Really?"
"Yes. Yes, I'd quite like that."
"Oh. I'm... glad." John sounds surprised, whether at his own emotions or Arthur's words, Arthur can't tell. Arthur's smile gets slightly wider.
"I'm glad too. Now, what next?"