Notes & Disclaimer: I own nothing, just having fun with the characters, etc, etc. Thank you everyone who took the time to read, particularly Bonnie and Titanicspaz for reviewing it! You are really so kind, it's super encouraging! I'm still trying to get the character's voices right, so they may be a little OoC. In my headcanon, Esther is a bit older than she looks so, even if she's naive and all near Oliver, when it's just her and Swaine, she is not so sweet all the time. I usually read lots of fanfiction for inspiration, but alas, since I'm still playing the game, I'm mostly avoiding the ones here for fear of spoilers. I already have the next two chapters ready, but I'm going to be away for a few days, so next update is probably just on monday. Sorry 'bout that. Nice weekend everybody!

2.

- What are you doing? Turn around, I can't change with you standing there watching me! – Esther spat out when she realized Swaine was really going to change in front of her.

- Oh, sorry, I didn't notice what I was doing. – he responded and immediately turned her back on her. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then decided to add – Not that there was much to see anyway!

- Because I want this to be a relaxing day and not having to explain to Oliver why I murdered you, I'll pretend I didn't hear that. – she commented while changing.

- Can I turn around now? I'm done here. – he asked and waited for her response.

The truth was, the thief didn't know what to do with himself. The whole idea of being alone for a day with Esther, and on a beach, of all places!, was just too much for his head right now. And all orchestrated by the fairy. I suppose when the day ends, I'll know if I just whack him good or thank him a lot., he thought. He could still hear Esther ruffling with her clothes and he could feel every little bit of his skin sweating.

Why are you nervous? It's not like you haven't seen her in the damn swimsuit before!, he tried to get a hold of himself. He was a 25 years old, for god's sake, it's not like he was a teenager brimming with hormones and all. He could handle himself. And she'll probably be in the ocean the whole time, I won't even be looking at her much. The thought of it made him feel a little better.

- OK, I'm proper decent now, you can turn around. – Esther announced and even with all the preparations, Swaine still got a little bit taken aback. She wasn't all that different from before: hair still braided and her clothes were always a bit on the loose side, but still, the thought of all this new skin showing and that they would be alone for a good while made his blood boil a bit. She stood there, giving him a funny look.

She looks a bit surprised, though., he added to himself and then the realization came to him. He suddenly became self conscious of all the scars and his general bad state. His ribs must've been showing, as he was just skin and bones. And sleeping on the streets, your body gets some bruises, it's kind of natural. And also… well, let's say prisons weren't that nice and comfy. Sometimes even good thieves get caught., he imagined himself trying to explain but nothing came out of his mouth. He'd only been whipped once, but that was more than enough for him.

He coughed to get her attention elsewhere and she looked abashed. They decided to get going and he was surprised to see her leading them away from Castaway Cove.

- There's a nice beach just round here and it must be a lot less crowded. – she said. – I don't want anyone making fun of me because I don't know how to swim.

He stopped dead on his tracks.

- What do you mean, you can't swim? I can't let you out into the ocean if you can't swim! You have no idea how dangerous… - he started ranting and she visibly yawned.

- Will you calm down? – she interrupted him

- Calm down?!

- Yes! Relax, will you? I have Grimmie here to keep me company. It's not like I'm going to die. – and with that she released the familiar Grimray she kept with her at all times.

It's pointless, he told himself after that. If anything happens, you'll just have to help her, that's all.

A tiny voice inside him told him to stop the wishful thinking. It's not like rescuing her will bring out the prince in you and you'll get married and live happily ever after., he added darkly. Stop daydreaming and enjoy your day off the best you can.

- Sometimes I think someone must've hit your head really hard. – Esther cocked her head to the side and gave him a weird look. – You just space out and leave other people hanging without any idea what are you thinking.

- Now I can't even think in peace?

They arrived at the beach soon enough. It was, as Esther predicted, significantly less crowded than the one in Castaway Cove – it was empty except for the two of them.

- We got lucky! We'll have the whole beach just for us! – Esther excitedly pointed out.

Swaine decided to think of it as some sort of ordeal or penance he had to do. Shadar took away my restraint, now it's time to prove I really got it back, he said to himself.

It was easy deciding how to handle things: Esther wanted to go swim straight away and Swaine wanted to stay dry, so he agreed to look after their things. (If I ever decide to join you, I'll just have Burly take care of our stuff, relax, he offered her when she wouldn't stop bugging him about missing out the fun). She ran off pretty quickly and left Swaine alone with his thoughts.

It actually was a nice day to be out on the beach, he thought to himself. It wasn't like in the desert, unbearably hot, but it gave him a warm feeling of calm, like he hadn't felt in a very long time. He didn't intend to sleep, but as soon as he laid his head on the sand, it was sort of inevitable.

Also sort of inevitable was that eventually Esther would come out of the water and find his sleeping self snoring on the sand. At first, she laughed loudly, but then, when he didn't wake up, she took the moment to observe him a little.

It's so strange to think he's the same little prince we saw not a week ago. He doesn't seem very royal to me now. She squinted her eyes. Well, looking at him like this, and maybe with a good shave and some nice clothes I can see maybe a tiny bit. But can you imagine Swaine sitting on palace? He'd be bored to death. She couldn't imagine him anywhere else but with their group. Somehow, even if his former profession was still a recent past, she just didn't picture him anymore as a thief. It was rather something she liked to tease him about than any real image she had of him. They were just friends.

"And friends don't sleep over friend's clothes. I'll wake him up good now.", and she took out Grimmie again.

- UGH, WHAT HAPPENED? WHY DID YOU DO THIS? – Swaine yelled in surprise. A bubble jet had hit him and it was cold! – You little monster, you. I'll get you when you're sleeping too.

- I came here to make sure you didn't want to swim a little with me and found you sleeping! You were supposed to watch out our stuff, not take a nap! I had to wake you. – she excused herself, still laughing at him.

- Excuse me for enjoying my vacation day the way I wanted! – he said while making a big deal of drying himself. – Ugh, now I might as well swim too, seeing how I am all wet. This was all a plan, wasn't it? Just because I told you I hated cold water.

- Awn, don't be like that, Swaine. The water in the ocean is fine. Who knows, you may even enjoy yourself.

He summoned Burly with a grump and followed her lead to the sea. Somehow, he thought this was going to be more eventful than it ended up being. They played a little game he taught her, raced each other to various points, argued about who had really won for a few hours and that was it. No monster attack, no uncontrollable need to kiss her. Esther seemed to have fun and she certainly smiled a lot, which in turn made him smile a bit too. When she complained about being hungry, something that Swaine had never even noticed he was until she mentioned, the sun was starting to go down.

Be proud of yourself. You did it. You managed not ruin everything like you always do. He mentally congratulated himself while they were drying off and she searched the purse for a fishburger.

- Here, we have a fishburger and a sandwich. We can share it 50-50. – she said and without waiting for his reply she parted the two.

They munched the food silently for a few minutes and every time Swaine would steal a glance at her, she seemed to be working up the courage to say something.

- OK, I give up. What's with you? – he finally asked. – You seem to have something on your mind. Spit.

- It's nothing. – she defended herself quickly, having been caught surprised. She recomposed herself and added. – I mean, it's just I don't know if it's okay to ask.

Oh boy, here it comes. This is going to be a heartfelt talk, I'm feeling in my bones. He sighed.

- Whatever you want to ask, ask away. I promise I won't be upset. – he declared and looked at her squarely in the eyes. C'mon I'm giving you a free pass.

- OK, but if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to, I'll just forget everything and won't bother you again. - she assured him.

- You're going to ask about my past, aren't you? – he said defeated.

- How do you know? – He gave her a "it-was-obvious" look and she just looked away - Well, I was, but you don't have to talk about it! I just… thought.. It must have felt strange, revisiting your past? What did you feel?

Weirdly jealous. Strange. Wanting to hit myself repeatedly. Really embarrassed. In love with you. He decided to go with the first part.

- It's hard to tell you. – he scratched his head. – I don't really… uh… see myself in that kid anymore. And it was sort of fuzzy, you know? I knew that this had happened, but I never actually thought about it after it happened, until we did it. Also I never knew I were such a bratty kid.

She seemed sort of satisfied with the answer and Swaine gave her a quick glance.

- Well, you were a prince. It makes sense you were bratty, being spoiled and all. – she told him.

So she didn't think of him as a prince anymore. He felt a mix of resentment and relief flooding him.

- Technically, I think I still am a prince. – he said and she couldn't keep herself from laughing a little. He sniffed. – And Marcassin was never spoiled. It's strange, he should have been, being the favorite son and all, but I guess after… the king died… he was all on his own too.

He paused a bit. It felt surreal talking about something so personal with another human being. He didn't had anyone he could figure out his feelings with when he was growing up and it just felt bizarre to start sharing a deep wound with someone right now. But it was Esther and she was always going to feel different to him.

- Like you then. – she remarked, looking at him and he didn't understand. – You were all on your own too.

If she was going to start pitying him, he thought it was best to end this talk right now.

- Yeah, but I was alone because I wanted to be. I took off, remember? – he said. – Marcassin was just a kid and he had to go through everything alone. He didn't have a choice on the matter.

- I guess you have a point. He did a fine job growing up, though.

- Except for being brokenhearted, I guess he did. – Swaine conceded, scratching his beard. The sand in his feet was starting to get colder and he shifted positions to avoid his leg going numb.

- No, but I mean seriously. He grew up to be a handsome and wise King and Sage. He really developed all the potential you said he had. – she said, thinking about the young man they met in Hamelin. – Even the Cowlipha thinks he's cute.

Swaine started to get uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going but couldn't help himself asking.

- You think he's cute too?

Esther gave him one of her grins.

- Of course I do, I have eyes, don't I? – she got up and all the warm feeling he'd been having the whole day on the beach seemed to be sucked out of his heart. – We should start changing. The sun is almost down and I really want to get to Castaway Cove and take a good bath at the inn.

He got up automatically and started preparing without putting much heart into it. His mind was elsewhere.

Of course she thinks he's cute, stupid. He's still a Prince, ain't he? And a Sage too. And he never had to sleep one day on the street and he doesn't have stupid marks on his back and his hair is not scruffy. He's a lot younger than you and you're an idiot to think any girl wouldn't find him cute. You're lucky she doesn't think you're disgusting.

Esther noticed that Swaine got awfully quiet. She felt the need to ask if he was alright, but she had a feeling she was just going to irritate him if she bothered him now. I shouldn't have asked him about his past. I guess talking about their feelings is not for everyone. She glanced at him again. He was with his old battered shirt again. She imagined a little Gascon having to get new clothes every time he grew up a bit. Swaine was considerably taller than Gascon, even if he slouched a little. He was still a lot taller than her. If they kissed, she would probably have to stand on the tips of her toes.

She blushed at the thought of them kissing and shook her head. This whole day was nice and all, but he's still Swaine, Esther. Tomorrow they would go back to arguing and he was going to be the big coward jerk he always was and she was going to regret ever thinking of kissing him.

Even if he was kind of cute.