Archive of Our Own

Rafayel gently blew out the candles that had been delicately placed on the edge of the cake. With the sea breeze gently wafting in through the towering windows, you had been afraid the flame would have blown out long before Rafayel’s breath kissed it. However, luck was on your side, and for the duration of your singular voice singing for him, the candle managed to pull through.

“C’mon, won’t you try it?” You insisted, plucking the candles out before the melting wax could touch the delicate pink frosting. “What’re you waiting for?”

Chuckling lazily, Rafayel leaned back against the pillows lining his sofa. The little party hat you had put on his head despite his protests sat lopsided on his ruffled hair. The setting sun behind his back bathed his skin in a warm light, making the beads on his purple dress jacket wink at you. Beside the overly fancy clothes, the cake shaped hat seemed utterly out of place. On anyone else, it would have looked absolutely ridiculous, but Rafayel infuriatingly seemed to pull off anything. 

“Waiting for you, Miss Bodyguard. Won’t you feed it to me?”

Not wasting words you arch your brow, giving him a look which only makes him smile wider.

“Can’t say no to me today, it’s my birthday after all.”

“You aren’t even celebrating!”

“Of course I am.” He insisted. “There’s cake, and I look spectacular. I don’t waste these good looks for mediocre occasions.”

“I was the one who brought the cake.” You pointed out, rolling your eyes as you grabbed the dessert spoons placed on the side. “Besides, you like to dress up, so don’t pretend like you were forced to do it.”

From the thin slice Rafayel had coaxed out of the fishtail shaped cake, you scooped a substantial bite on the small spoon. Cradling your hand beneath it, you brought it closer to him as he leaned forward. Eyes sparkling with mischief, he smiled in the self satisfied way that made you want to punch and kiss him at the same time. His arm that had been draped over the back of the couch snaked around your waist as you playfully shoved the spoon in his mouth.

Gleaming with pride, he gloated as he took his time savouring the cake. All the while, you watched him carefully, hoping to gauge his reaction which he knew far too well. It only made him chew slower.   

“Whateeever you say, sweetie.” He teased, his thumb drawing small circles over the fabric of your dress. “Tastes as beautiful as it looks. Did you make it yourself?”

“Of course!” You huffed, pouting as you scooped up another bite and brought it to his lips. “I put a lot of love into it.”

Plucking the spoon out of your fingers, he brought it to your mouth instead, beckoning you to taste it.

“C’mon your turn, don’t wanna be eating this all by myself when you’re right here.”

Before obliging, you stick your tongue out at him, forcing him to do the same as he insistently pressed the spoon to your lips. Immediately the taste of salted buttercream and the vanilla sponge cake danced across your tastebuds, and you couldn’t help but release a sigh of relief.

Rafayel would never have to know how the initial attempts tasted. A secret you would take to the grave. 

“Want some more?” He asked, waving a spoonful of cake before your face.

“Are you tryna fatten me up?” You ask jokingly, but open your mouth nonetheless. “You should be eating more of it, it’s for you not me. Besides, if I eat any more frosting I think I’m gonna get sick.”

“Oh no no, can’t have that.” He tutted, pulling the cake towards himself as if you were prying it away from him. “Who’s gonna protect me if my bodyguard can’t even stand up? Absolutely not.”

“Of cooourse.” You agree sardonically, smiling sweetly at him. “Can't have anything hurt a single hair on your head.”
“Hey this hair’s insured. You couldn’t afford it.” Scoffed Rafayel, pursing his lips. “I don’t pay you to hurt my feelings.”
“You don’t pay me at all!” 

“Of course I do! My time’s expensive.”

Gawking at him, you tried to weigh the pros and cons of smacking him before eventually deciding against it. Hitting people on their birthday was not something you wanted in your repertoire. 

“I’m handing in my two weeks notice.”

Switching up immediately, Rafayel dropped the spoon beside the cake and the hand on your waist tightened, even as you tried to turn away from him. But, before you even got a chance to, you felt the slightly rough tips of his fingers on your chin, gently but firmly holding you in place. Slipping into your line of sight, you saw the playful glint from his eyes disappear to leave the soft glow that always melted your resolve. Each time he looked at you that way, with his eyes pleading wordlessly, you would always forget why he was begging for forgiveness in the first place.

“Hey cutie, you got some frosting riiiight here.” He pointed out softly, leaning in towards you and kissing the corner of your mouth. Whatever annoyance your heart held for him just a few moments ago melted away as he lingered, pressing his forehead to your temple. The tip of his nose brushed against your cheek each time he breathed and you leaned into the touch, pressing your sides together and leaving no space for anything else. His hand fell from your face to your lap, his fingers twining themselves between yours. The beads and sequins from his jacket were initially cool against the bare skin of your arms, but they grew to match your temperature in seconds. 

“I hate when you do this.” You say softly, and you feel his warm breath tickle your neck as he chuckles. “You can’t get out of everything like this.”
“I think I’m good for quite a while.”

He spoke in a silken whisper, making a chill go down your spine, despite the warmth of his body beside yours. Had he not been pressed against you, those words may not have reached you at all over the sound of the waves brushing against the sand right outside his bay windows. It might have just been your imagination, but the rhythm of the ways seemed to match the beat of Rafayel’s heart. A silent calling, beckoning him into its silken arms and into a heavy peace that could only be found in the solitude of the underwater world.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you see the sunset light growing darker with each passing second, creeping closer to twilight. Sitting here, just a few steps away from the sea Rafayel loved so much, felt utterly wrong. 

“Rafayel…”

“Hm?”
“Take me for a walk on the beach?” You ask softly, cupping his face in your hands. His hand that had sought yours curled around your forearm, holding you in place as he gazed at you with a fondness that made everything else in the world disappear. “I wanna watch the sunset with you.”

“We have countless sunsets together, sweetheart.” 

“Of course we do. But this one’s special, it’s not your birthday every day after all.”

“What if I say I wanna stay right here?

“We do this every day, Raf. C’mon, let’s go walk in the water, you love doing that.”

“What if I say I love being here with you just a little more?”

“I wanna see the sunset with you.” You insist, earning a deep exhale of defeat.

Reluctantly, Rafayel pried himself off you before kneeling down in front of you, catching you off guard. Without a word, he tugged your foot to rest on top of his thigh, carefully unwinding the straps of the delicate heels off your calf and ankle before putting them aside. However, he didn’t immediately relinquish his hold, letting the warmth from his fire evol warm up your feet, which had just begun to ache.

“Rafayel…”

“Not the best shoes for a walk out on the beach, cutie. Just taking care of that for you.”

After doing the same for your other foot, he took off his own socks and shoes before offering you his arm. Already he stood far taller than you, but from where you sat, you had to crane your neck just to see his face. The soft smile that always graced his features always put you at ease. If that smile left his lips, you knew you had your work cut out for you. But on the days that smile greeted you before everything else, somehow nothing bad could ever happen. 

Slipping your hand into his, you let him pull you off the cushioned seat, making his smile grow a little wider as you bumped into him. For a moment, he did nothing but stare at you, to the point where the tips of your ears began heating up. With a chuckle, he tucked your hair behind your ear, letting his fingers brush against the reddening skin, as you gave him a playful push.

“My contract doesn’t cover staring.”

“This is just an added bonus.” He winked, attempting to cross his arms, but you grabbed his wrist before he could. 

Impatiently, you began tugging him along towards the open windows. The white curtains he always had pushed back billowed in the wind, flowing like ocean waves that somehow found themselves trapped in mid air.

A mere few steps beyond the warm wood flooring of his home, your feet sunk into the soft sand of the beach.

The walls of his room no longer shielded you, and you felt the full effect of the strong breeze. Although it was no longer cold, it held a chill that made you shiver involuntarily. Regretting the thin dress that did nothing to warm you, you hoped walking might make it better. 

As uncomfortable as it was, you would have suffered worse if it meant a view like this.

You’d walked together on this stretch of the beach a hundred times. The only footprints left for the waves to erase had been yours and Rafayel’s, and no one else.

Benefits of a private beach. 

The sunsets were always beautiful. Barely a day went by where you didn’t insist on walking on the wet sand with his hand in yours. But today it seemed even the sunset was determined to outperform itself.

Painting the sky and the ocean in a rich amber glow, the sun glowed like a hearth embedding itself into the water. The moments in which even the deep blue of the oceans could not fight off the glow of the setting sun, the sea itself looked like it was made of inextinguishable flames.

As your feet touched the cool water, you finally stopped, drawing in a breath as you watched the sun nestle into the calm waves. The initial chill of the sea dissipated as your skin grew accustomed to it. However you no longer had to worry about the cold after Rafayel draped himself on you like a heated blanket. Arms wrapped snugly around your waist, he rested his cheek on the side of your head. Instantly blocking out the cold, he swayed gently as he held you, humming a Lemurian lullaby as he watched the sun settle for its long nap.

Leaning against him, you placed your hands over the sleeves of his jacket. He supported you as if you weighed nothing to him, keeping you steady as he danced to his own rhythm. 

There was something about the melody that made the sound of the waves grow louder, as if joining the chorus to match Rafayel’s voice. Even the gulls, which usually never bothered to spare you any silence, sat peacefully, not a single sound leaving their beaks. 

When Rafayel sang in his mother tongue, it was not just you who stopped to listen. Even nature seemed to hold its breath, listening to a melody that once shaped the world.

“It’s beautiful.” You whispered, feeling him grow still, but the song still continued. “Your song. The sunset. Everything looks so beautiful.”

Leaning down, Rafayel brushed the hair away from your neck, his fingers running through the freshly washed strands. His lips pressed a light kiss to your cheek before he whispered in your ear. 

“In Lemuria, my birthdays were quite similar. Except…” He tucked the hair behind your ear, tracing the curve of the lobe with the lightest touch. “The fish, the whales, all the sharks, even the crustaceans and plankton. They’d all gather with no fear or hunger for each other. And then, they’d dance. All those colours, mixing and pulsing together, looking like gemstones sparkling under the columns of sunlight. They’d dance, and they’d sing, and the quiet sea would be filled with countless voices. The voices of my friends, and all the life in the sea that could give me their time.”

There was something enchanting about the way Rafayel could paint the most vivid images using nothing more than a few words. It was a memory you had never witnessed, but played on the back of your eyelids as you shut your eyes, as if you had been there all along.

“All singing for you.”

“All singing for me.”

“Puts just me to shame, doesn’t it.” You said jokingly, only to have the playful humour in Rafayel’s voice be washed away in the receding waves. 

“Your voice is the only one I want to hear, sweetheart. I don’t need a choir.” He pointed out, his fingers still trailing through your hair. “Besides, you’re much cuter than a shark.”

Playfully elbowing him, you turned to see him clutching his side. Face contorted in pain, his eyes still sparkled as he fell to his knees in the damp sand. Groaning, he faked a few coughs, taking enough time to look at you in between to see if you were watching him. 

“Miss Bodyguard… to think I trusted you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Today of all days, you chose to betray me.”

“Sure.”

“After I gave you everything, this is how you stab me in the back?”

Rolling your eyes, you offer him your hand to help him back to his feet. However, as soon as his calloused hand slipped into yours, you found yourself yanked forward, making you stumble into Rafayel’s arms instead.

Your hand instinctively found the ground so that you could brace yourself. However instead of solid ground, your fingers and knees sunk into the sand, the ruffles of the sleeve of your dress brushed against the grains.

As soon as you attempted to get up, you found a hand on your back holding you in place. With his soft, delicate features, sometimes you forgot Rafayel was far stronger than he seemed. Even now, stopping you from getting up took nothing more than a little pressure, with him grinning all the while.

“Hey! My dress will get dirty!” You pouted, having spent significant time picking out the perfect outfit.

“I’ll buy you another, sweetie.” He brushed off, as if it cost next to nothing. “Besides, is that really more important than me right now?”

Giving him a look, he immediately pursed his lips together into a line, avoiding eye contact as he looked out towards the sea.

“Do you…” you began hesitantly, immediately gaining his attention as he awaited your question. His eyes gazed at you so softly, the thought of asking him seemed to carve out a piece of your heart. “Do you miss it? Your old world?”

You couldn’t help but hold your breath as you waited for him. In place of an answer, he simply relinquished his hold on you, making you turn until your back was pressed against his chest. Even then, he took his time, which felt even longer since you couldn’t see his face. All you could feel was the rhythmic beat of his heart, and the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

“Yes.” He whispered, with a voice so heavy it carried with it a mourning you could never understand. “Because the ocean calls to me. Even when I'm deaf to the melodies of this land, I feel the voice of the sea in my bones. No matter how far away I am.”

Rendered silent, you could not find any words that might give him any comfort. Instead, you leaned to the side, just enough to twist and be able to drink in the sight of his face in the twilight.

“But… I don’t mind missing it. Not when I get to be with you.” He admitted softly, twining his fingers with yours as he brought your hand up to press a kiss to your knuckle. “And now, I’m where I belong. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Not in this world, or my old one.”

With your other hand, you cupped his face, making him look at you. Craning your neck, you press a kiss to his cheek, feeling his lips stretch into a smile. However, instead of backing away, you stayed in place, resting your forehead against his cheekbone. 

“I.. I want to see it.” You asked, your whisper barely audible over the waves, which stopped for no one. “Your world. Everything you’ve ever loved.”

“You’re my world, sweetheart.” He replied coyly, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. Just those four words made the serious air about the two of you dissipate as if it had never been there to begin with. “You’re all I’ve needed, and all I want.”

“Shut up.” You gently pushed him away, trying to crawl out of his arms, but his grip on you just tightened. Feeling your ears heat up, you tried to look at anything but his eyes. The slight blue tint of his purple hair. The creases in his forehead as he furrowed his brows, trying to catch your gaze. His stubbornness eventually came out on top, and you couldn’t help yourself but look. 

“You’re my world.” He declared, with conviction he rarely ever showed. “And I don’t regret anything that got me to you.”

Rafayel was always soft smiles and teasing looks. However when those teasing looks melted down into pure adoration, his words had a way to crawl right into your heart and make it their home.

Ceasing your struggle, you stay in place, too afraid to shatter the moment before you even had a chance to drink it in. He had a way of playing with your emotions the way the tides receded each time you reached out to touch them. Rafayel danced to his own rhythm, a time even the seas could not hope to match.

But you wanted to try it anyway.

“Raf…” You pouted, immediately making his playful demeanour disappear. It may not be very often, but you could make him dance to your tune too. 

“Are you sure?”

“Don’t you want to show it to me?” You ask, half teasing, hoping you weren’t stepping over a line. If he was so hesitant, was there something he didn’t want you to see? “I won’t insist if-”

“Do you still remember how to breathe underwater?”

“Huh? What d-”

Before you could even finish your sentence, he cut off your words with a deep kiss, leaving you no room to breathe. But… breathing be damned. The taste of the icing from the cake made the kiss even sweeter. Even as your lungs screamed, you held the lapel of his jacket, keeping him in place until you really couldn’t stand it anymore.

Pulling away, you gasped for fresh air, watching as the blush across Rafayel’s face deepened. Both of you were breathless, but you knew if he kissed you again you would not be the first one to pull away. 

“C’mon cutie.” He beckoned towards the dancing waves. “I wanna show you the sunset too, except this one’s gonna be even prettier.”

Untangling yourself from him, you let him stand as you straightened the folds in your dress. He waited patiently, his gaze not faltering for even a moment. No matter how often you caught his eyes trained onto you, it would never fail to make your heart skip a beat. After all, he was an artist, his attention only captured by the promise of inspiration.

You had no idea what you did to earn that attention, but you’d be damned before you let it slip away from you.

Reaching out with your hand, you looked at him with feigned helplessness, wordlessly asking him to help you up. He knew you were more than capable of doing it yourself. However that had never stopped him before, and it would not stop him now. 

With a firm grip, he grasped your hand, pulling you up. For a second your feet wobbled in the sand, and he wasted no time in steadying you in his arms.

Offering one arm to you, he let you loop your hand around his bicep as he led you towards the open water. The water began creeping up towards you slowly as you let yourself be pulled forward. However, all you felt was a cool touch which left you just as dry as you were before. Not just your skin, but the fabric of your dress remained untarnished as the water continued to deepen its embrace.

Impressed, you glanced up at him, only to find him still watching you. As if he had been waiting to see the impressed look on your face, he winked at you with a smile that was more genuine than you could have ever expected.

“Told you, you don’t have to worry about anything while I’m around sweetie.”

“Half the time you’re the reason I’m worried.”

“No need to bring that up, I didn’t take you for someone so spiteful.”

Even though neither of you walked forward, the tides followed Rafayel’s voice as if they had been waiting for his voice. Before you knew it, the amber stained sky was replaced by a wash of azure, with the cool water encompassing you entirely. Despite knowing that you were in no real danger, you couldn’t help but tighten your grip on Rafayel as you held your breath.

Squeezing your cheek, he burst the airtight seal that was holding the precious air in your mouth. Reflexively, you gasped, sending immediate panic flying through your body as you grasped onto Rafayel’s forearms, expecting water to fill your lungs. However, you were pleasantly surprised to find that you were not in fact drowning. Despite the fact that the current was quickly carrying you out towards the deeper water, you were breathing just fine. Where saltwater should have flooded in, you inhaled oxygen as if the underwater world had never been any different from the land.

“Are you scared, Miss Bodyguard?” He tutted, his voice more melodic than before. One would have thought the water would muffle it, but Lemurians seemed to work by their own rules. The nuances of his voice danced like the countless tendrils of seaweed swaying in the unseen currents. “You've kissed me to breathe underwater before, why is it coming as such a shock to you?”

He spoke with a voice that had lost most of its initial wonder. Of course he did. Breathing underwater was his first nature, so why should it ever be a thing of wonder for him? However it was not first nature for you, and nothing could come close to describing the cool feeling of water all around you while your clothes and skin were bone dry. The lack of gravity threw any control you had over your body out the window. The weightlessness prevented you from being able to do anything more than holding onto Rafayel. Ironically, the one who belonged to the sea now acted as your solid ground, the anchor to which you clung to. 

“You know nothing in these oceans would dare to do anything to you. So what’s there to be afraid of?”

“Oxygen.”

“Or a lack thereof.” He corrected you. “Touché.”

All the while, the currents never stopped, carrying you deeper and deeper into the open water. From under the sea, the amber light of the sunset seemed to be changing to a shade closer to pink, bathing everything in a purple hue as the two colours intertwined. 

“Raf, where… where are we going?”

“You wanted to see my world, right? So that’s exactly what we’re doing.” He said calmly, only slightly perturbed by a few stray strands of his hair poking his eyes. With a huff and a small shake of the head, he pushed them away before resuming his calm smile again. “Why don’t you close your eyes and count to ten?”

Not taking no for an answer, he turned you around and placed his warm hand over your eyes, forcing them shut. 

“Is this really necessary?”

“Nice way of calling yourself a liar.”

“Ouch, little too harsh.”

Grinning, you felt the tip of his pinky finger hovering just below your nose. Faster than a snapping turtle, you bit him lightly, but enough to make him flinch. 

However, instead of letting you go, his grip just tightened. As always, he took advantage of your lack of vision, poking you in the ribs when you couldn’t defend yourself. Especially since there was no place to run to.

“I didn’t know I was dating a piranha. What was that for??”

“You poked me!”

“After you bit me!”

“That’s not important.”

Puffing out your cheeks, you pouted, which just made him laugh. The sound danced through the water, and if it had been up to you, it would have left you motionless.

Maybe all those stories about sirens weren’t all just fantastical tales. It would not take much from that voice of his to pull anyone from their boats, willingly sinking down into the depths just to hear that sound for as long as they possibly could. The kind of voice which made even drowning seem like a pleasant death 

“Can you let me go now?”

“Didn’t hear ya countin, sweetie.”

“I’ve reached 37 in my head, little slow aren’t you Raf?”

“Maybe you’re a little too impatient.”

“Raf…”

“Alright, alright if you insist…”

Before he took his hand off, you finally felt the currents around you grow still, relinquishing their inescapable hold. And then, just like that, the warmth of his skin was replaced by the cool water that took his place, almost making you miss it.

Wasting no more time, you opened your eyes to find a giant figure looming above you, nearly blocking out all the light. 

“Hey hey, don’t be like that, c’mon I got a whole thing to do..”

While there was obviously not a single other person there, you knew Rafayel was not talking to you. Instead his words were for that ginormous shadow. Was that… a blue whale…?

Instantly, goosebumps crawled across your skin, and your grip on Rafayel grew tighter yet again. 

You were accustomed to sitting behind the safety of a screen when it came to documentaries about the ocean. There was safety in knowing none of them would potentially reach out and ask you to become their dinner. Except they wouldn’t really be asking much less swallowing you entirely. 

However, you knew your racing pulse was not just out of fear. 

All those creatures you grew up reading about were right here. So close that you could reach out and touch them How often did that opportunity arise.

Snapping you out of your thoughts, the whale let out a low hum, which did not entirely hit your ears, and instead reverberated through the water, sinking into your bones as it slowly swam away.

Chuckling, Rafayel took your hand and began tugging you out of the shadow of the magnificent creature. 

“Didn’t sound familiar? Do you not remember the blue whale we rescued?”

Racking your brain, you tried to remember if you ever had the opportunity to even look at a blue whale. Before you could give him a definitive answer, he swam a little further, until the blue whale had moved away from the two of you entirely. Only then did you get the opportunity to take in the entire view.  

From above the water, rays of pink light descended into the depths like iridescent pillars. A hundred different types of fish in every colour you could possibly ever imagine swam peacefully around you, as if they had nowhere else to be. As far as the eye could see, coral decorated the sea floor, with the occasional seaweed growing amidst them. The dark strands of the deep sea plants truly set off the vibrant coral, making them look even more structured as the sea weed swayed in the water.

“Rafayel…”

As Rafayel pulled you along, a few fish swam between the two of you, and you couldn’t help but crack a smile. Hearing your voice, he let himself come to a stop, not once letting go of your hand.

“Like it?”

“It’s so beautiful… How do you ever get the heart to leave this and live above the water?”

“Because you’re there, so there’s no reason for me to be here.”

Any words you had in your throat died immediately as your heart skipped a beat. Today seemed to be the day he had been prepared to leave you speechless. Especially since he really did not give you enough time to even think of what you could possibly say after that.

Bringing your intertwined hands to his lips, he kissed the back of your hand with a smile which screamed of adoration.

Just as he pulled away, a small iridescent gold creature floated onto the back of your hand, releasing small sparkles in its wake as it danced in the water.

“I almost forgot, I can use some magic in the ocean.”

As the words left his mouth, you saw even more fish leaving the safety of their coral homes behind and join the others. Without a care in the world, they seemed utterly devoted to creating an underwater rainbow under the rosy light.

“Is your magic bringing all your little friends out to us?”

“No, I think they just know I brought the most important person in my life here.”

Feeling your face grow a little hot, you watched carefully as a few fish swam between the two of you again, this time with increased vigour. 

“Are you sure they’re not chaperoning you?”

Before Rafayel could even reply, a particularly large fish decided to cross his face, blocking his melodious voice from entering the water. You burst into laughter and Rafayel huffed, making a small current from the sound which ushered the fish away.

Annoyed, Rafayel fixed his hair and pouted as the smile continued to grace your face. 

“Now that you mention it, I’m not completely sure you’re not wrong.”

On your sides, 2 large pink jellyfish caught your eye. For a moment you thought it was a trick of the light, considering jellyfish are mostly translucent. However, the longer you looked, the more sure you grew and you gave Rafayel an incredulous look as he smiled to himself.

“Did you get this dress so I would look like a jellyfish?!”

Following your eyes, he saw the large creatures going their merry way, and his eyes danced with mischief. 

“Ah, what an unfortunate coincidence.”

Poking him lightly, you pulled a laugh from him that made even more sea creatures gravitate towards you.

“You do look like a very cute jellyfish, if that makes you feel any better, sweetheart.”

“Is the pink light your doing too?”

Within a second, his smile grew a little wider as he glanced above the bustle of the reef and stared at his handiwork. His large eyes seemed to reflect the movement of the light as the water, sparkling with the waltzing light. 

“Hmmm, maybe just a little.” He admitted, pulling you lazily and placing your hand on his shoulder. Closing the distance, you hooked your fingers around the lapel of his jacket. On the back of your fingers, you could feel the beat of his heart even through his clothes. Just out of curiosity, you touched on the power of your evol, only a pinch, and saw the familiar red mark gleaming from behind his clothes.  

“But… I had to make it look pretty. After all, I finally brought the one I love home.”

The words had only just left his lips before the sea suddenly flooded with pink light, encapsulating every nook and cranny of the ocean in its warm embrace. You felt your face grow warm, and saw that Rafayel too had a rosy blush splayed across his face. The first time he had said that word, he hadn’t even been able to meet your eyes. Now, his eyes were glued to you as if the mesmerising beauty around you both was worth nothing in comparison.

Bringing your hand to his face, you ran your thumb softly over his cheekbone. He leaned into the touch, letting his eyelashes brush against your palm as lightly as a feather. Closing your eyes, you pressed your forehead to his, and he sighed as his arms around you tightened. 

“I love you too, little fishie.”

“Hey, I’m bigger than you.”

“And yet…”

Chuckling, he brought his hand up to tuck your hair behind your ear. Instead of dropping it back to your waist, he cradled the back of your head.

“We should do this more often.”

“Then it should take less energy to convince you.” You retorted, and he hid his face in the crook of your neck. Gently shifting your hair out of the way, he began leaving light kisses that ghosted over your skin, making you shiver as he slowly made his way up to your lips.

You always loved the way he looked before he kissed you. It was as if he was a man slowly drowning and you were the air he so desperately needed. His cheekbones were always dusted with pink, and it made you want to kiss every inch of his face before he even closed the distance between the two of you. Not to mention, his eyes were heavy with so many emotions, it made you forget how to breathe. Behind all the teasing and playful retorts, there was a man who would drop anything in his life for you, and it was still difficult to wrap your head around it. 

Leaning in, he brushed his nose against yours before placing one last kiss on it, making you giggle. 

“Can I?”

Not bothering with any more words, you just cupped his face in your hands and kissed him deeply. He always kissed you back with a kind of desperation that made you want to hold him tighter. To remind him that you’re not going anywhere. 

In his arms, you forgot the growing chill in the water as the last rays of light disappeared from the sky. 

The two of you took your time returning to the beach. Despite your earlier reservations, leaving behind the embrace of the water hurt more than you wanted it to, and you could see it on Rafayel’s face too.

“We’ll go back all the time, okay?”

You reassured him, squeezing his hand as he tilted his head to give you a playful smile. 

“You're bound to the sea now, my love. I’m not scared of not returning.” He replied simply, giving your hand a little squeeze back. “Just… did you really love it?”

“I loved everything, Raf. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”

With insincere pain on his face, he clutched his chest as he pouted at you. “One of?! What else is more beautiful than that?!”

Under the moonlight, the sequins on his jacket sparkled as if the stars themselves had embedded themselves onto him. His hair looked a little lighter, but you could easily see the tint of blue that overtook the violet whenever he spent some time in the water. Even on the corners of his eyes, a few small iridescent blue scales had formed on his skin, so small that you almost missed them. 

“You are.”

Shocked, his eyes widened as he gawked at you. Bursting into laughter, you stood on your toes and planted a kiss right on his cheekbones, just where the scales were.

“No matter when I see you, you’re still gonna be the prettiest sight.”

“When did you become so smooth, sweetheart?”

“Definitely did not pick it up from you.”

Chuckling, he kissed the back of your hand and began walking with you towards the house. 

“C’mon, I think my birthday’s far from over right now.”