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“Okay… there!” Sam grinned over at Vincent, having finally carved the perfect roof for their large sandcastle. “Go ahead and add the flag now. Be careful!”
Vincent suddenly became very serious, nodding as he slowly raised the flag to the top of the castle. He stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, something Sam too often does when concentrating. Sam had to hold back a small laugh at the realization. I guess we both picked that up from Mom.
“Easy, easy…” Vincent muttered to himself as he gently stuck the flag into the sandcastle. He slowly pulled his hand away, jumping up excitedly at their finished sculpture. “We did it! We did it! Our biggest sandcastle yet!”
“Heck yeah we did!” Sam stood up himself, leaning down a little bit so he could easily high five his little brother. He looked at the masterpiece before him, appreciating the details he had carved along the castle walls. Not too shabby if I say so myself! Maybe I should take up sculpting with Leah if the whole band thing doesn't work out.
Vincent came over to Sam’s side, gently slipping his small hand into Sam’s larger one. He suddenly grew quiet, frowning as he looked up at the ocean. “Sammy?”
“Yeah bud?”
“... Is… Is Dad ever coming back?”
The question had Sam’s head whipping around to look at Vincent with wide eyes, the look on his face softening at the worried little frown on the boy’s face. “Where is this coming from Vin?”
Vincent gave a little shrug, silent as he continued to stare out onto the horizon. When Sam crouched down and gently turned him by his shoulders, his eyes immediately welled with tears.
“Oh Vincent…” Sam wrapped his arms around his brother, feeling his little arms fling around his neck as he began to sob. He gently sat back on his heels, allowing Vincent to collapse into him. “It’s okay buddy. Let it out. I’m here, I’ve got you.”
Soon, Vincent’s cries slowed to quiet sniffles, curling up into Sam’s chest as they sat in the sand beside their castle.
“I heard some grownups talking. They-They said that our troops are getting shot to pieces!” Vincent’s voice broke as he began to cry again, burying his face in Sam’s neck. “That our troops might not come home! What if Dad never comes home?! What if he’s dead?!”
“Vincent.” Sam said sternly, suddenly becoming serious. “Vincent, look at me.” He locked eyes with the little boy, gently holding him by his shoulders. “Don’t believe everything you hear. Sometimes… Sometimes grown ups just say things when they’re worried.”
“Do you remember how strong Dad is?” Sam asked softly, giving Vincent a small smile when he just shrugged. “You remember when he’d pick you up on his back and you’d pretend to fly like an airplane?”
Vincent brightened a little bit, nodding as he wiped his eyes, careful of his sand covered hands. “Yeah, I remember.”
“Good. Then you remember he’s super strong! He’s not gonna let some pathetic Gotoro grunt get him!” Sam hugged Vincent tight, making a mental note to tell his mom to not talk about those things when Vincent is around. He doesn’t need to hear about stuff like that so young…
“Okay.” Vincent squeezed his brother tight, then pulled back with a smile.
Sam stood, picking up their bucket and shovels and the sunscreen he thankfully remembered to put on Vincent. He would bet money on his skin looking pretty crispy right now. “Come on. Let’s get home so we can get cleaned up and eat dinner, yeah? I’ll take pictures of our sandcastle so we can show Mom.”
Vincent brightened even more, seeming to forget about how anxious he was about their dad. “Yeah, okay! Mom’s gonna love our sandcastle!”
“She definitely is, dude!"
After Sam took lots of pictures of the sandcastle, pictures of Vincent with the castle, and pictures of him and Vincent together, he slipped his shoes on and started making his way back home with his little brother at his side.
“Sammy?”
“What’s up Vin?” Sam looked down at his brother who suddenly stopped walking, shyly looking at his water shoes.
“Could… Could you carry me home like an airplane? Like how dad did?” Vincent’s voice was soft, almost hesitant as he asked. It made Sam’s chest squeeze.
“Sure bud. I can carry you home like an airplane.” Sam tried not to laugh at the way Vincent looked up at him and smiled so big, he worried for his cheeks.
Sam crouched down so Vincent could crawl onto his back, ignoring the stinging pain he felt. Yup. Definitely sunburnt. He held onto his legs tightly, adjusting his grip on the bucket’s handle in his hand, standing only when he felt comfortable with his hold on his brother. “Okay, put your arms out like a plane.”
Vincent stuck his arms out, his grin wide, bursting into a fit of giggles as Sam took off running, making airplane noises as they ran up the beach.
Sam continued to make the silly sounds, veering around the streets to make his brother laugh even more. He carefully set the boy down on his feet once they got to the front door.
“Alright. Shoes off and shake out the sand. We want to bring as little of the outside in as possible.” Sam took off his sneakers and shook the sand out, Vincent following suit and doing the same.
Once they were inside, Sam shooed his brother off to the bathroom. “Go get ready for the bath, okay?”
“M’kay!” Vincent hurried off, leaving Sam alone in the living room. He contemplated talking to his mom about what Vincent said about their dad, but decided to do that another time.
Vincent came home happy and excited. It was a successful beach day, all things considered. He deserved to end the day on a high note too.
And he desperately needed some aloe on his back.