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"what's that you're holding?"
rafayel peeks over from behind, his interest piqued. he crouches down behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder. her hunched over form was a little funny to look at, especially with how serious and concentrated she looked. when he finally got a glimpse of what she was holding, his eyebrow raised when he saw it was just a small seashell.
"trying to find another seashell for your collection?"
she nods. "yep, i think it looks cute. it'll go well with the big ones on the shelf," she adds, raising her hand up. she squints, trying to look at what was inside. rafayel snorts. she wouldn't be able to see anything from that angle— the sun wouldn't magically shine through the seashell and help her see what was inside. it was ridiculous, he thinks.
but no matter how ridiculous she looked, he loves her anyway. was he looking at her through rose colored lenses? maybe, but that's just how it was. that was how he loves her.
"do you think it's going to sound different from the other shells?" she asks, craning her neck slightly to look back at him.
a pause. a huff. he crosses his arms, looking at her as if she had asked if fish could live on land. (he was an exception. he wasn't technically a fish, but still.) "that's dumb, cutie. i don't think so."
"just try to listen!" she insists, standing up immediately. she pats her pants, trying to wipe away some of the sand that had stuck on her.
she presses the seashell by his ear. rafayel listens. it sounds the same as the others. maybe it was also because they were at the beach, but it doesn't sound any different.
"yup, the same. that's one dumb looking shell, by the way."
something pinches his ear. he taps her hand quickly, not wanting to slap her hand off. (it might hurt, and he doesn't want to hurt her even if it's just slapping her hand away.) she gets the message and brings the shell away from his ear, but a small crab had decided to hold on to his ear. it doesn't let go, pinching harder.
"ow, ow, ow! get it off my ear! miss bodyguaaard!"