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EggSalad and Bear cruised down the highway, making their way towards the beach in Bear’s car. The road wound between several mountains, some of their fields in bloom with orange and yellow poppies. The sky above was lightly overcast, giving the world a cooler shade.
With the windows down, EggSalad’s ears flapped in the breeze. They felt so alive here.
“Have you, uhm, ever been to the beach before?” asked EggSalad, turning to Bear.
“I haven’t actually,” said Bear. “It was one of the things on my bucket list.”
Bear then looked over to EggSalad, who had their knees pulled up to their chest in the car seat, the picnic basket delicately balanced on top of them.
Inside the basket rested a batch of freshly baked cranberry orange mini muffins, two ham-free ham and cheese sandwiches, and two glass bottles of apple juice (the fancy kind). EggSalad put together everything that morning, having baked the muffins the night just before to prepare. Bear’s heart swelled at the thought of getting to eat their beloved’s own baking while on the beach together.
“Getting the chance to experience this with you has only made it ten times better,” Bear stated.
EggSalad blushed, the end of their nose twitching shyly. They looked out the window, unable to summon the words to respond, instead watching as the landscape of poppy flower fields and mountains whizzed by.
—
“I’ve been meaning to ask something, if you don’t mind,” said Bear as the two of them strolled along the beach’s pier.
“You can ask anything you like,” said EggSalad, arms wrapped around the edges of the basket still.
The sun was out now, some of the clouds having slightly parted. The two walked in the spots of warmth cast from it. Several of the clouds glimmered with brilliant golden edges against the light. In the distance, gulls cried as they soared over the waves.
Bear paused at a section of the pier’s fence, watching the ocean, and EggSalad did the same. Bear stood, watching the sunlight sparkle off the water for a moment, then looked back to EggSalad.
“Why don’t you do more things for yourself?” Bear then asked. “You give so much to others.”
EggSalad’s ears perked, before they glanced away again. They hesitantly shifted where they stood. Bear—thinking it was from the weight of the basket—offered to take it from them, but EggSalad politely declined.
“Well.. Well, I like giving,” EggSalad replied. “It feels natural to me, you know? I like seeing the smile on someone’s face when gifting them something. It, uhm, I don’t know.. it just makes me feel right.”
Bear simply nodded, understanding. Their eyes had a gentle gaze that often caught EggSalad unexpectedly. To be stared at with the amount of fondness Bear had for them, it was overwhelming at times. Like the shell around their heart was being tenderly opened, like a soft-boiled egg. With Bear, speaking vulnerably didn’t feel as daunting.
“If I’m honest,” EggSalad continued, “being with you is the thing that makes me happiest. Every moment I’m with you feels like a gift to myself. Getting to love you has been sweeter than any treat or any cheese.”
Bear then took EggSalad up into a hug, to which EggSalad promptly squeaked bashfully.
“You make me happy too,” said Bear.
—
When the picnic blanket was set out, the pair arranged their muffins and their sandwiches and their juice, resting side by side as they ate.
“Mm!” Bear took three of the mini muffins and ate them in one bite. “These are incredible, Egg. You know, I need to introduce you to my aunt soon. She would love to have you at her bakery.”
“You really think—You really think so?” EggSalad said. They cradled a muffin happily in their paws, admiring the gleam of the cranberries on their craftsmanship, before eating it in one bite too. “She seems very nice.”
Bear then took up one of the sandwiches. It was indeed ham-free ham and cheese with extra crust, just the way they confessed they liked them on their second date together. Bear sank their teeth into it, and it tasted divine.
EggSalad relished in the sight of their partner enjoying their meal. They opened a bottle of apple juice, pouring a glass.
“You know,” said EggSalad, offering the glass up to Bear, who took it gratefully, “part of me always felt like I needed to give. And I think part of it came from not feeling like I was enough.”
Bear’s eyes softened, setting the little glass down.
“Why ever wouldn’t you be?”
“Well, being born without a tail, I guess, uhm, I never quite saw myself as whole I suppose?” They then shook their head. It was a silly thing to confide, after all. “But.. but I was grateful that on the Ratchelor no one mentioned it. The main Ratchelor didn’t either. But you.. you’ve always treated me kindly.”
“Well, of course, Egg,” said Bear, kissing them on the top of their head and setting a hand between their ears. “I mean, I’m always shy about myself too. There’s no other rats my size, and… Well, I had originally thought the lab incident would keep me from a lot of things in life. It was scary at first. But it was also what made me realize I needed to be a bit selfish if I wanted to enjoy this life I had.”
EggSalad rested their paws on Bear’s knee, resting their chin on it attentively. Bear then continued.
“But you’ve never treated me differently either. You’ve made me feel loved from day one. Now, it makes me feel happier to be a bigger rat, if having a bigger heart means I get to love you all the more. You’re a good rat, Egg. One of the best.”
EggSalad then squeaked again, blushing once more, and they quickly hid their face behind Bear’s knee. Bear then chuckled, ruffling the fur on the back of their head.
“You’re a good Egg. That’s why I’m interested in knowing if you ever give back to yourself. Or at least, I’d like to know what you want from time to time too.”
EggSalad then looked back up, eyes sparkling with both admiration and want.
What they wanted?
Bear wanted to know what they wanted? Even on their special beach day?
They thought for a moment, then glanced over to the ocean, where the waves glistened a brilliant orange under the light of the setting sun.
“I want to be held by you, Bear,” they said, eyes still fixed on the horizon.
A large pair of paws then reached down, picking up EggSalad carefully and holding them up against Bear’s chest. Bear pressed a small kiss between Egg’s ears, to which EggSalad hugged Bear’s chest tighter, and buried their head in the soft fur. After a moment, EggSalad then turned over, still cradled in Bear’s arms and lap, and saw the ocean again. They stayed that way for a moment, before finally stating,
“I want to stay like this, at least until the light is gone. Or until we get cold.”
Bear simply nodded. The two then watched as the sun turned the sky a deep pink, the waves beneath crashing against the shore. The soft shadows of night crept over the sky as the last rays of light dipped down past the waterline, the world becoming a little more grey, a little more blue. The light had faded.
But the warmth never did.