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The sudden sensation of liquid on skin in the darkness was always scary to him, whether he expected it or not.
Lucas trembled slightly where he stood on the ocean's edge. Shoes and socks abandoned behind him, he had stepped into the dark waters voluntarily alongside the red-haired boy, who had agreed to accompany him here. Currently said boy mirrored his actions, slipping his boots off gingerly before stepping rather casually into the tide. He did not so much as flinch when he came into contact with the water, instead slowly sloshing up to Lucas' side without a word.
It was rather silly, he supposed. Water wasn't exactly the most common fear in the world. Try as he might to convince himself he was at peace, thoughts of being tossed around mercilessly by the river current that night long ago pervaded his mind. Memories of being forced to engage in liplocking with the mermen under the sea prior to their arrival at Tanetane did nothing to help his state of mind. Cold water had never been a good experience for him.
The presence at his side had been nearly forgotten. "Are you feeling well?"
Lucas blinked away the apparitions in his eyes. "Yes, I'm fine."
After a moment of silence Lucas glanced over to gauge the red-haired boy's condition, face close enough to be seen in the dimness of their surroundings. Instead of the blank canvas he'd expected, the blonde saw eyebrows pulled a tad forward, eyes trained on something far beyond his sight. "I…" He seemed to decide against his next words.
"What?" Lucas could hardly believe it; he was already showing signs, however small they may have been, of humanity. Perhaps they had always been there, and it was only now that anyone took the time to notice them. "I told you, anything you want to say you can say."
The look on the red-haired boy's face showed he still had his doubts. "It is just…you say that you want me to relay any and all feelings to you posthaste, but when it comes to the matter of me asking the same of you, you resist," he noted, voice calm. "I can understand the root of this distrust, but—"
"No," the blond interjected quickly, horrified. He was right; Lucas was nothing more than a self-righteous hypocrite, expecting trust without giving any in return. "You're right. I'm sorry."
The red-head turned his head to look at him. "The same provisions extend to you, as well."
"…hm?"
"If you do not want to talk, I understand."
Lucas found himself feeling happy. A part of him shook its head and reprimanded him for it—this was not that boy, not anymore!—but another, bigger part understood that and was happy all the same. Even if he only said that because it was expected of him, he was learning. "I don't want to, not particularly," he admitted, "but I think you deserve to know."
So he told him of his fears, of his misgivings and vaguely of his brother's—that boy that he wasn't—part in it. Told him more than he'd told anyone before. Though the memories haunted him still, it was refreshing to get it off of his chest for once.
"That is troubling," was his response to Lucas' tale. He stared ahead a moment more before turning towards the blonde. "Perhaps we should leave then?"
Lucas shook his head. "No, it's alright." He paused a few moments before going on. "It isn't healthy to avoid the things you fear forever. You have to learn to cope."
They were both silent then, for a while. The moon had risen in the time since they had arrived, and the black waves reflected its light in glossy ovals as they rose and fell. A slight breeze flitted across Lucas' skin, making the hairs on his arm stand on end.
"What if," the red-haired boy said, voice unusually quiet, "you are afraid of being alone?"
When Lucas turned to look at him, eyes wide, he stared back, emotionless mask betrayed by a sort of bareness in his crimson gaze. He had bared himself just as Lucas had.
"…then you surround yourself with people. People who care."
What if there are none of those? He could hear the question clearly in his mind, and it upset him. There are some of those, he thought. I am one of those.
"Do you know what you do when you need to clear your head?"
The red-head blinked. "What is that?"
Lucas' response was not one of words; instead, he took the boy by the arm and pulled him as hard as he could forward, along with himself, and they both tumbled head-first unceremoniously into the ocean's cold embrace.
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