"I'm going to Diego's!" Eldora announced as she flounced through the house towards the door, twisting her hair into a messy bun. She'd inherited her mother's long black hair, but her father's curls, and it was absolutely unmanageable when it was down.

Her father, Tulio, exchanged glances with Chel, who smiled. They still looked much the same as they did when they were younger, but with gentle lines on their faces, and streaks of grey in their hair.

"You're always at Diego's," Tulio said after discovering his wife wasn't on his side. "What's going on between you two, anyway?"
"Nothing, Dad!" Eldora cried in exasperation.

"Oh, let her have some fun," Chel laughed. "She's a lot more responsible than you were at seventeen. What were you doing, anyway, gambling your life away?"
"Exactly."

"She's fine, she's got Diego to –"

"Did I hear my name?"

The family spun around to find Diego sticking his head through the door, with his father's mischievous grin plastered across his face and roguish green eyes sparkling against tanned skin.

"Diego!" Eldora yelped, her cheeks darkening.

He opened his mouth to say hello, but Eldora leapt towards him and dragged him away by his elbow before he could. For a moment, Diego let her pull him, but he broke from her grip and got back to the door just in time to wave before she had a hold of him again.

"So, where are we going today?" Diego asked when they were halfway down the hill. "Mum wants me to pick up some fish, but she forgot to give me money."

"I don't know," Eldora shrugged. She glanced over at him to study his familiar face. They'd grown up together, but he'd changed quite a bit in the last few years. His once-lanky body had gained muscle and any leftover chubbiness in his cheeks was replaced by a defined jaw. Blonde hair fell in his eyes as he concentrated on balancing along a low stone wall on the side of the road. Wow, he's gotten handsome. He was wearing one of his signature loose white shirts, which, in her opinion, showed off his tan perfectly.

"Well, I think we should go down to the harbour," Diego said. He tipped to the left and would have fallen, but Eldora automatically moved over and offered her shoulder to help her friend regain his balance. When he was walking straight again, Diego continued speaking. "My friend Alejandro, y'know, the one with the…" he forgot his words and mimed it with a series of confused hand gestures.

"The scar on his cheek? Yeah," Eldora laughed.

"That's it. Scar. Anyway, he leaves his fishing rod behind the barrels near the wall. If we're lucky we'll find it and go fishing."

"Okay," she said, "but what if he catches us?"
"Oh, he won't mind. Hopefully."

Diego's little wall came to an end, and he was forced to jump off. He fell into step beside Eldora and snuck a glance at her out of the corner of his eye. She was really getting beautiful. She had her mother's grace and long dark hair and her father's slimness and height, and these slanting chocolate eyes that –

"What are you staring at?" Eldora raised her eyebrow at him.

Diego shook his head. "What? Nothing."

"Then why did you stop walking?" Eldora put her hands on her waist and titled her head.

"I didn't," he smiled, breaking into a walk again. "Keep up, you're so slow."
Eldora rolled her eyes and followed.

By the time they reached the harbour, the sun was beginning to set over the ocean. Diego searched a while for Alejandro's fishing rod before finally giving up.

"Can't find it," he admitted. "We'll have to do something else."

"How about a swim?" Eldora suggested, glancing down at the water below them. The afternoon was warm, and the water would be refreshing.

Diego shrugged. "Sure."

Eldora only managed to get her hair wet once before shooting out of the water, gasping with cold. "It's f-freezing," she cried, wrapping her arms around herself and doubling over to conserve heat.

"Nah, it's alright," Diego ran a hand through his wet hair and flicked the water droplets at her, sending her squealing further from the water's edge.

"How are you st-still in there?" Eldora rubbed her arms and gave a violent shudder. Her skirt was sticking to her legs, and worse still, an evening breeze was starting to set in. Sneaking glances at Diego's bare chest wasn't helping, either.

Diego's grin disappeared when he realised just how cold Eldora was. Her lips were a dark blue, and her body shook with cold. He trotted out of the water and approached her. She tried to run away, thinking he was going to throw her back in the water, but to her surprise, his strong arms wrapped around her and held her close.

"Wh-what are you d-doing?" Eldora asked. She was about to continue talking, but the breath was stolen from her lungs when Diego pulled her closer and pressed her against his warm chest. She let out a little whimper of shock.

"Warming you up," Diego replied softly.

She could feel his breath against her ear when he spoke, and it sent goosebumps shooting down her spine. She tried her hardest to keep her breathing under control; her heart was beating so fast she was sure he could feel it.

In fact, Diego couldn't feel it. His own heart was beating hard enough for both of them. She was so small and delicate in his arms, but at the same time she had this strong, proud way of carrying herself that made her completely… perfect.

In time, Eldora's shivering subsided, and her lips lost their blue tinge. She glanced up at Diego. "I'm warm now," she said, "you can let go of me."

Diego shook his head and pulled her even closer, tucking her head into his neck. "Nah."
Eldora smiled and gave in, burying her face in the warmth of his neck.

Diego felt a strange wave of tenderness and glanced down at Eldora's thick, glossy curls. He hesitantly began to stroke her hair, causing her to melt into his chest with a contented sigh.

While he held her, Diego's mind ran over their childhood together. In the beginning, they had been pretty shy around each other, staying by their parents and sneaking glances at each other. Then, one day when they were about eight year olds, Diego dropped around to Eldora's place to deliver some bread his mother had made. He was on the way to the harbour to meet some friends, and Eldora had been sitting around looking so bored he invited her along. They became firm friends from that day, but Diego had always been attracted to her. He tried to stop, though. After all, what chance did he have? She could pick from the best guys in Spain.

Eldora's mind was going crazy. What was going on? Of course she'd always liked him, especially since the day when they were eleven and she fell through a splintered old wooden jetty, receiving a heap of deep gashes on her legs and arms. He'd thrown himself down to get her out, disregarding the danger of the waves. When she was out, he'd stopped the flow of blood with his favourite white shirt, completely wrecking it. But that didn't explain why he was holding her like this now. She'd always thought of him as a close friend and, yes, a crush. Seriously, though, he was hot. He could pick from the best girls in Spain.

Diego eventually let go of Eldora, a little reluctantly. She avoided his eyes and stared at the ground.

"Thanks for, uh, warming me up," she said.

He waited for her to meet his gaze. She stared at everything except him, and it was driving him crazy. When her brown eyes finally met his green ones, he felt a jolt in his chest, and his heart was doing that thing again.

"We should, uh, get home, it's getting kind of late." Eldora began to turn around, but Diego caught her hand, pulled her back into his arms and pressed his lips to hers.

Eldora gave a squeak, but Diego refused to loosen his grip on her, and eventually she allowed her eyes to close and kissed him back. She felt him smile into the kiss, and she smiled back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Diego ran his lips from hers along her jawline, creating goosebumps down her arms. His breath stirred against her ear, and she shuddered as he kissed her neck.

"It's getting late," Eldora whispered weakly, desperate not to give in completely to Diego's charm.

"Mmm," was the only reply she received, so she stayed there in his arms until the sun disappeared beneath the horizon, along with all their fears, and the sea turned black with night.