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"I'm still not so sure about this, Wil. What if we get caught?" Quackity asks, his voice still filled with uncertainty and slight worry as he and Wilbur carefully make their way down the side of a rocky hill.
"Oh, come on Quackity! Live a little! Besides, I've done this dozens of times and haven't gotten caught yet! Just leave it to me!" Wilbur replies over his shoulder as he continues to the shore down below.
Wilbur had suggested to Quackity morning that they should just skip training today and head down to the beach. It's not that Quackity really minded hanging out on the beach with his friend (apart from his fear of the water and inability to swim), but they were risking their very chances of becoming part of the Navy by skipping training. If they get caught, they'll be in BIG trouble. Wilbur doesn't seem to care about that though as he lands onto the soft sand below.
Quackity lands on the sand as well, approaching Wilbur who was already standing at the edge of the shore. "Just because we haven't been caught yet doesn't mean we'll never get caught." He points out.
Wilbur waves him off with a flap of his hand, already taking off his brown boots and socks and placing them a little further up the shore. "It'll be fine, Q! Stop worrying! I bet the drill Sargents are too busy yelling at the newbies to even notice we're gone."
Quackity lets out a huff but doesn't argue since he knows Wilbur is most likely right. He takes off his own boots and socks and hesitates just for a moment, staring at the water that ebbs and flows before he carefully steps in. He shivers as the cold water hits his bare feet, but he quickly adjusts and steps further in, just about ankle deep. Wilbur was already a little further than him, his white undergarments already rolled up as he stands in knee-deep water.
Wilbur turns his head up towards the sky and closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath, allowing the salty air to fill his lungs, before he lets out a content sigh. Quackity stares at him as he keeps his eyes closed, simply taking in the sounds and environment around him. He always looked at peace whenever he was near the ocean. Quackity never quite understood it. He's terrified of the ocean. It's unpredictable, unforgiving, and can easily end a life with a chance of no one even hearing you as your lungs fill with water. He doesn't quite know how he was able to fake knowing how to swim to get into basic training, but he did.
But Wilbur, seemingly thrived near and in the water. He loved it. He loved how vast and open it was, the rush you'd get from getting over a big wave or through a rough storm. It's probably one of the only reasons he wants to become a Navy officer as it's the easiest way to get a ship and set sail on the ocean.
He's a free spirit. Quackity knows this. He has known this since they were kids. He doesn't think he'll ever understand it, but he would be lying if he said he didn't it admire it.
"Take a picture. It'll last longer!" Wilbur's voice suddenly snapped Quackity out from his thoughts.
He sees Wilbur staring over at him with a smirk on his face. Quackity just realizes that he's been staring at Wilbur for way longer than he should have.
His face heats up a bit, and it isn't from the heat of the sun. "Shut up! I was just... thinking," He quickly says.
Wilbur hums. "Mmhm, I'm sure. It's alright, I know I'm incredibly attractive. You can admit it." He continues while running his hand through his curly bangs.
Quackity's cheeks flush some and he looks away with an annoyed huff and an eye roll. "You're so full of yourself."
Wilbur laughs brightly, leaning forward a bit from the force of it. "Relax, Quackity! I'm just joking!"
"Haha, very funny," Quackity mutters before he composes himself again and Wilbur's laughter dies down.
He goes a little bit deeper, just enough to cause a small part of his undergarments to touch the water. He's long since stopped trying to get Quackity to go any deeper than ankle deep. He also stopped teasing him about it after Quackity got genuinely upset one time and refused to talk to him for a whole week. He just figures it's cuz Quackity doesn't want to accidentally get his clothes wet and give himself away as to where they were during training.
It's probably the main reason why he finds it hard to not sneak away with him (and totally not for any other reason he tells himself).
They play in the water for a little longer (and by that, it's actually just Wilbur splashing around by himself while the two of them tease each other) until they take to beach combing instead, digging around for any of the good looking seashells that the ocean brought in.
"Ooh, look at this one!"
Quackity turns his head to look back at Wilbur who was crouched a few feet away, holding up a small seashell. It was formed like an unfurled fan with salmon colored stripes on a white base. it was certainly pretty, but nothing like what they've seen before on this beach.
"It's nice, but we've found a million of those already." He points out.
Wilbur presses his hand against his heart, as if he were in pain. "I get it. You just hate beauty."
Quackity rolls his eyes with a smile before he goes back to searching. As he slowly made his way up the beach, he sees something glint out of the corner of his eye. He turns his head to see the glint once again as a wave of water rolls back and forth over it. His eyebrows lightly furrow in curiosity. Seashells don't normally glint like that. He thinks to himself.
He picks it up and looks at it, his eyes widening and a smile forming once he realizes what it is.
"Wilbur! Look at this!"
He feels the brunette next to him in a matter of seconds. He turns his head towards his friend who reaches out and takes the pale green stone from his hand.
"Holy crap, Q! You found sea glass!" Wilbur exlcaims while roating it between his fingers.
Quackity nods excitedly, like a child who found a treasure. "Yeah! And isn't that color pretty uncommon?"
"Pretty sure, yeah!" Wilbur confirms with a soft nod. He stares at it for a moment longer before handing it back to Quackity. "That's awesome, man!"
Quackity clenches his fingers around the stone. His smile forms into a smirk. "Better than any of the seashells you found."
Wilbur sighs dramatically. "Unfortunately."
They both laugh for a moment and stare at the stone for a little longer before Wilbur looks up and sees where the sun is in the sky. He sucked in a through his teeth.
"Yikes! We better get back before it's too late!"
Quackity nods in agreement and quickly tucks the sea glass into his pocket before the two of them slip their socks and shoes back on and scramble back up the cliff.
-
They slightly poke their heads out from behind the barrels they were hiding behind and look across the stronghold clearing to see the other recruits currently cleaning up. Training is over for now.
Wilbur gestures for Quackity to follow him and they try to sneak around the clearing. Unfortunately, the keen sight of their drill Sargent caught them from a mile away.
"Soot! Alexis! Over here, NOW!"
They both wince at being caught and approach the tall, bulky man glaring daggers at them. If looks could kill, they would've been dead before they ever reached him. Quackity glanced over at Wilbur to see he didn't seem that nervous at all. Why wasn't he nervous??
"Where were you two?? You missed ALL of the training! Are you not taking this seriously?!" The man asks, still shouting in their faces. Quackity stood tall at attention, entire body tense as he awaits his punishment. But before he could open his mouth to say something, Wilbur beat him to it.
"It's all my fault, sir!"
The man and Quackity both turn their heads to Wilbur who was looking directly at the Sargent.
"What did you say, Soot??"
"I said it's my fault sir! Quackity didn't want to sneak out of training but I forced him! If anyone should be blamed, it's me!"
Wilbur, what are you doing?? Quackity says in his head, trying to convey that to Wilbur with his desperate expression, but Wilbur wasn't looking at him at all. He was too busy with a staring contest with the man in front of him.
The Sargent huffs. "Are you saying you take full responsibilty for everything? That Alexis had nothing to do with it??"
"Yes, sir. That's correct." Wilbur replies calmly.
The man takes a step back. "Fine then! You'll be on cleaning duty for two weeks! Hopefully that'll straighten you out!" He turns his head to Quackity. "You're off the hook. For now. I'll be keeping an eye on both of you though."
Quackity nods his head almost immediately. "Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!"
The man nods his head and storms off. Only then does Quackity let out a sigh of relief, allowing his body to relax. Then he looks at Wilbur with furrowed eyebrows.
"What is wrong with you?? Why did you take the blame for everything??"
Wilbur shrugs. "I mean, it kind of is true. I just drag you along with me. It didn't seem right for you to get in trouble with me."
"I literally agreed to go with you!"
"Yeah, but I know that your training means way more to you than it does for me," Wilbur explains. Then, he smiles. "Besides, it's not like it's the first time I've been in trouble! I'll be fine! Cleaning is kind of relaxing! Even if the bathrooms are gross."
Quackity scrunches his face up at the thought but lightly laughs anyway.
He shakes his head. "You're stupid."
"Takes one to know one." Wilbur grins.
The two of them laugh as they walk off together.