For some odd reason, the morning sunlight felt a lot warmer than it did back in Star City. Oliver slowly woke up when he felt the warm light break through the windows of the more modern bungalow he and Nyssa were staying in.
Oliver turned his head towards the other side of the bed and saw Nyssa was still fast asleep next to him. Oliver couldn't help but smile as he flipped on his other side so he could see Nyssa, who was facing the opposite direction. Oliver put his head back down on the pillow and buried his head into the side of Nyssa's neck and tried to fall asleep
"I can feel you breathing on my neck…" Nyssa muttered with her eyes still closed
"Is that a bad thing?" Oliver asked without moving
"It doesn't have to be"
"That's good to hear" Oliver said from the same position "Are you comfortable?"
"Quite"
"Do you know what day it is?"
"Why do you ask so many questions?" Nyssa groaned with a small laugh "I think it's Tuesday"
"And do you know what that means?"
"No…and I don't have any intention of find out at the moment…."
"Okay" Oliver said with a small laugh "It means that later tonight, we're going to be heading out to the Australian coast. Are you going to be alright taking us there?"
"I don't know…too tired right now" Nyssa muttered "What time is it?"
"A little past six in the morning"
"No wonder….go back to bed beloved"
Oliver smiled down at his wife as he wrapped his arm around her chest. Before lying still again, Oliver intertwined his legs with hers then buried his head further into her neck. From how he was positioned, he could almost hear Nyssa's heart beating as he tried to fall back asleep and it was soothing for him. Eventually, Oliver fell back asleep to the sound of the waves outside the home
-(=+=)-
"Nys? You out here?" Oliver asked as he stepped out on the sand outside the bungalow
"Over here beloved!" Nyssa called over to him
Oliver walked over to the area where he heard Nyssa's voice and just saw a large friendship oak growing a few yards away from the house.
"Up here beloved!" Nyssa laughed from above him
Oliver looked up into the high branches of the tree and saw Nyssa sitting down on a large, curved branch with her feet dangling down.
"What are you doing up there?" Oliver chuckled as he looked up
"Not sure, just saw this while you were in the shower and decided to climb it. There is a beautiful view of the ocean from up here!" Nyssa called "C'mon up! You'll love it!"
Oliver couldn't help but laugh as he walked over to the trunk of the tree. Since he was the green arrow, and this was a friendship oak, he didn't have a problem climbing up to one of the top branches and sitting down next to his wife.
Once he was seated, he looked over to Nyssa who was pointing out in front of them. Oliver looked out and saw the beautiful, tropical ocean waves crashing down on each other. There was a perfect reflection of the sunlight on the water and not a cloud in the sky to cover it.
"Wow, this is stunning" Oliver smiled as he looked out
"Yeah, I found this last night and I thought it would make the perfect view after a morning walk" Nyssa replied
"You couldn't be more right" Oliver chuckled "By the way, I have a surprise for you"
"Oh really? What could possibly make this trip anymore perfect?"
"When we were wandering the markets the other day, I found this" Oliver said as he pulled out a small jar from the pocket in his shorts "This is genuine Thai red curry. It's supposedly the best in the city so I bought some and thought that tonight once we get to the Australian coast, we could go down on the beach and make curry over a fire"
"That sounds amazing, but can you even cook curry over a campfire?"
"The man at the stand shared a few tricks with me and I think I'll be able to pull it off"
"Alright, I'm in!" Nyssa laughed "I suppose I'm in charge of the fire?"
"You're the best at it" Oliver chuckled as he wrapped his arm around Nyssa's shoulders "This has been the best vacation I've ever been on"
"Don't jinx it now, we still have a week to go!"
"There's no way this could get so bad when you're here with me"
"Aww, that's sweet" Nyssa said right before leaning over and kissing Oliver "By the way, there's bigger tree down the coast if you want to walk down there"
"That sounds nice, let's do it" Oliver smiled as he started sliding towards the trunk of the tree to get down
Nyssa watched him slid down, but she stayed on the branch until he had a good grip around the trunk. Once Nyssa saw he had a safe way down, she slid off the side of the branch and fell down towards the warm sand. Nyssa landed perfectly in the sand, then looked up towards Oliver
"It's completely fine to jump. I'll catch you if you want" Nyssa laughed
"Nah, I don't want to risk hurting you" Oliver chuckled as he jumped down towards the sand, landing next to Nyssa "So show me where this other tree was, because climbing this is actually quite fun"
"I knew you would think so" Nyssa smiled as she started walking away from the tree and towards the warmer, golden sand "I can't think of another word to describe this place except for beautiful, especially with the turquoise waters"
"It's kind of like Anse Lazio, but so much better" Oliver smiled
"Maybe we should bring William here one day"
"I think he would have to develop of love of curries and a lot of other traditional Thai food before he comes. After all, we've been eating curry all week" Oliver laughed
"No regrets!" Nyssa laughed along "You're curry is amazing"
"Thanks Nys"
"Man, it's been so long since I've heard that nickname"
"Well you call me husband every chance you get so I'll stick with calling you Nys"
"Is this to get back at me for that promise I made after the plane crash?"
"Maaaybe?" Oliver smirked
"Like I said, no regrets" Nyssa said, then looked down at her feet "Why do we still both have our sandals on? For crying out loud, this is the beach! The sand and water are both warm!"
Nyssa stopped for a moment and slipped off the sandals she was wearing, then ran back up to Oliver, who had just done the same
"Ahhh, the sand feels so good!" Oliver laughed as he wiggled his toes deeper into the millions of golden specs
"You know, I just had a fantastic idea!" Nyssa started, grabbing her beloved's attention "The tree we're walking to is located on a cliff that hangs right above the ocean and there may be something like a coral reef below. Would you want to take a jump down and see?"
"We're both wearing shorts and a tee shirt. Are you sure?"
"Do you really think I care if I get wet while wearing this?" Nyssa laughed "C'mon, there's no harm in trying"
"Alright, let's do it!"
"You up for running up to the cliff?"
"Sure, I'll beat you there!" Oliver said right before running off
"You don't even know where it is!" Nyssa laughed as she ran after her beloved.
The two of them ran straight towards the cliff that Nyssa was talking about. When they had arrived, both of them were side by side, meaning there was no clear winner
"Draw?" Oliver asked with a laugh while trying to get his breath back
"Draw!" Nyssa questioned "You got a head start"
"But you caught up"
"Dang it….draw" Nyssa replied "Just set your sandals up here while we dive. It's easy to come back up and get them"
Oliver did as Nyssa instructed and put his sandals down by a pile of rocks. While Oliver was emptying his pockets, Nyssa was pulling her hair back in a French braid so it wouldn't get in the way while she swam
"You know, you look great with your hair pulled back like that" Oliver commented
"Aww, thanks beloved, but I'm only doing this for convenience" Nyssa smiled as she tied the braid off. "Alright, have you been cliff diving before?"
"Once when I was fourteen. I did a belly flop and it hurt….bad" Oliver said while cringing at the memories "Are you going to teach me?"
"You know how to do a front flip, right?"
"Yeah, I'm the Green Arrow"
"Fantastic! All you have to do is jump and do a front flip to speed your descent. Be sure to land with you arms extended in a stream like manner so you get go deeper" Nyssa said as she walked to the cliff "Want to do it together?"
"Sure, all do anything with you" Oliver said as he walked over to Nyssa, who was already standing at the edge of the cliff. "You sure we only need to do a front flip? This seems like a two hundred foot drop"
"Don't worry, it's only around a hundred twenty…I think" Nyssa said as she also looked down "You'll be fine"
Nyssa and Oliver both curled their toes over the edge of the jagged cliff and got ready to jump
"On my count" Nyssa said with a smile "Three, two….one!"
Right when Nyssa called one, both she and Oliver pushed themselves off the cliff and fell down towards the water. Oliver did as he was instructed with the front flip to slow the descent, then positioned his arms in stream line. He looked over towards Nyssa and saw that she had done the same thing.
The two of them hit the water in perfect sync and were pushed down towards the bottom. The water was surprisingly warm for the morning, and quite clear as well. Because it was saltwater, Oliver was able to open his eyes and looked around at where he was floating. He glanced down and saw a sandy valley filled with bright pops of color coming from the coral.
Nyssa opened her eyes as well and saw Oliver starting to swim down towards the coral reef. With a small boost, Nyssa shot down towards Oliver and joined him at his side. Oliver glanced over and shot Nyssa a quick smile before turning his head back down the coral
Both of them could easily hold their breath for around three minutes with all the training they have had over the years, so they had plenty of time to see the coral in their first trip.
Oliver and Nyssa both reached the bottom and swam towards a large group of bright pink and orange coral. When they approached it, a school of colorful fish swam out of the coral and in all different directions. Oliver was trying real hard not to laugh when he saw the fish, but he let it slip slightly. Thankfully, he was still able to hold his breath but a small laugh escaped from Nyssa when she saw Oliver trying to hold it back.
Nyssa realized what she just did and held up one finger towards Oliver, then pushed herself up towards the surface of the water. Oliver followed close behind and when they broke the surface, both of them just started laughing
"Beloved, you should have seen the look on your face when those fish shot out!" Nyssa laughed "It was amazing!"
"You have no idea how bad that scared me when one started swimming towards my face! I thought it was a barracuda!" Oliver laughed as he slapped the surface of the water
"Do you want to keep going? It gets a bit deeper further down"
"Sure, let's go find some more fish and this time, I won't get scared" Oliver laughed as he did a quick surface dive back down into the water
Nyssa followed him and they both swam further into the reef. It didn't look like something you would normally see online, but instead, it was even more bright and beautiful, like something out of a dream.
Nyssa and Oliver were still swimming further down into the reef and were going to surface again until Nyssa glanced over to her side and her eyes widened. She gave Oliver a quick slap on the forearm and pointed over towards a cluster of coral.
Oliver had to squint his eyes a bit before he saw what Nyssa was pointing towards; a reef shark. Oliver looked back over to her and she pointed up towards the surface.
"Holy crap that was a silvertip shark! We should go see it!" Nyssa said excitedly when they both broke the surface
"Wait a minute, you want to tame a shark?!" Oliver asked in shock "Are you absolutely sure that's safe?!"
"It's a reef shark, which means that it's no bigger than three meters. Because of their size, they prey on larger fish and eagle rays so you shouldn't worry about death by shark" Nyssa laughed "Besides, if something goes wrong, I know how to escape"
"Are you absolutely sure about this? Have you even been near a shark before?"
"A couple times in the Caribbean when I was younger, but this would be the largest one yet!" Nyssa said excitedly as she prepared to dive back down
"Nyssa, please don't do anything stupid" Oliver said right before diving back down "I don't want you to have a scar like mine"
"Don't worry, I'll be fine and this could be a lot of fun" Nyssa smiled as she dove back down
Nyssa was the first to dive back down, so she had a head start on Oliver. She swam down back towards the cluster of coral and found where the reef shark was. The shark was hiding itself against the cluster and was trying to settle down, which meant it was a perfect opportunity to approach it
Oliver watched from a few feet away as Nyssa swam down to the back of the shark. Nyssa slowly swam down to the shark's tail and lightly placed her pointer finger on the tip. From the back of its tail, Nyssa slowly swam along the right side of the shark with her finger moving up its back, letting the beast know of her presence. The shark seemed resistant at first, but as Nyssa's finger moved along its back, the shark seemed to calm down.
Nyssa soon traced her way all the way to the shark's forehead. She swung her body up over it and ran her finger right down the front of its face until she was floating right in front of it. Once Nyssa had positioned herself in front of the shark, she slowly and gently placed her palm on the shark's snout.
Everything was going well until a school of fish swam right in between Nyssa and the shark. The sudden movement from the fish caused the shark to jump and it smacked Nyssa's hand out of the way. Before the shark could get any angrier, Nyssa jumped up and started swimming away, but the shark was quicker. The beast grabbed the end of her shirt and pulled her back, but Nyssa pushed herself out of its grasp with a quick push off its snout. It wasn't enough to hurt it, because Nyssa still had to calm it down if she and Oliver wanted to get out of the reef without any scratches.
Nyssa kept swimming forward and the shark followed, then Nyssa remembered something her father once mentioned at a dinner when she was only nine years old. One of the men joining them for dinner was a retired scuba diver and he was telling his tales of taming sharks and other beasts of the reefs.
If you ever have come across an angered reef shark, start swimming in a slow circle. The shark will follow you and start swimming along your side, which will give you the opportunity to calm it back down with a gentle touch on the snout, and you might be able to stun it if you get it to flip upside down on its back
Knowing this was her best shot, Nyssa made a slow turn in a circle and started swimming on her side so she could watch the shark beside her. Like the man said, the shark followed her, but was forced to slow down because of the curve they were swimming in.
After swimming in a few full rotations, Nyssa and the shark were face to face with each other. The assassin took that opportunity to tame the shark once more. She reached her hand out and slowly placed her palm on the shark's snout. Nyssa could feel the shark relax at her touch, so she decided to give the stun trick a try.
Nyssa kept her right hand on the shark's snout, then snuck her left underneath it's belly and started giving it a gentle push on its back. She had already earned the shark's trust so it willingly followed her guidance and was soon floating on its back. Nyssa slowly removed both her hands from the shark and watched as the beast peacefully floated on its back.
After about thirty seconds of watching the shark float in the water, Nyssa could feel the last bits of air escape her lungs, meaning she would have to surface quickly. She gently flipped the shark back on it's stomach and gave it a final goodbye. The shark looked at her, then swam back to its place among the coral.
Nyssa looked over to Oliver and saw him swimming over to her. Before he could do something, Nyssa pointed up towards the surface and started swimming up. Oliver followed close behind and soon, they both broke the surface
"That….was….amazing!" Nyssa said excitedly while gasping for air
"You have no idea how bad you scared me when that shark went after you. I thought I was going to have to fight it off with a piece of sharpened coral" Oliver said after catching his breath
"Are you kidding me?!" Nyssa laughed "That's the last thing you'd want to do! The smell of one shark's blood is enough to lure others to its location in hopes of finding their next meal. We would have been toast if that happened"
"Well….glad you had if handled" Oliver laughed "Why don't we head back to the beach?"
"Sounds like a plan" Nyssa said as they both started to swim towards the sandy beach.
-(=+=)-
Nyssa and Oliver had just finished gathering all their things from the bungalow so they could leave for the Australian coast. The sun was just starting to set and the warm colors were dancing across the water in a perfect reflection.
"Nys? You ready to go?" Oliver asked as he zipped up his own bag
"Yeah, are you husband?" Nyssa asked with a smirk
"I suppose so. I've got a small bag with what we can use down on the beach tonight"
"Nice, I'll can just find some wood when we get there" Nyssa said as she threw her bag over her shoulders "Why don't we go outside and I can call Nuriel"
"Sounds like a plan" Oliver smiled as he walked out of the bungalow with Nyssa
"You're lucky you've got such short hair that dries quickly. Mine still smells like saltwater from the dive" Nyssa laughed as they walked out on the sand
"Please don't cut your hair off, it's so pretty like it is now" Oliver chuckled "Besides, I'd trade with you in a heartbeat"
"Sorry beloved, but I'm not that desperate" Nyssa said as she set her bag down on the sand "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, let's get going! We've got a week on the Australian beaches to look forward to!" Oliver said as Nyssa lit a small flame in her hand
Nyssa smiled back at Oliver, then threw her hand out in front of her, letting the flames escape it and travel freely. It slowly started to take the form of a phoenix, who stared back at Nyssa, then started to circle around the couple while slowly growing in size. As the phoenix sped up, the blinding light and warm rush of air passed over the couple until the smell of salt water reached their noses.
Nyssa opened her eyes first and saw that they were safely on the bioluminescent beach. They had jumped an extra hour and a half so it was already dark outside, making the water seem to glow brighter
"Beloved! Look at this!" Nyssa said excitedly as she pointed out towards the water
Oliver glanced in the direction where Nyssa was pointing and saw the dark waters that were glowing a bright blue every time they were disturbed.
"Wow, that's even more amazing in person!" Oliver said in awe "The place we're staying at shouldn't be far from here. Why don't we walk down there, drop out stuff off, and then come back out and make dinner?"
"Sounds good to me. Is the home on the beach like the one in Thailand?"
"Yeah, it's actually a two story built on the sand and there may be a friendship tree growing around in the area so if you wanted to, we could climb it and watch the sunrise tomorrow"
"That would be absolutely beautiful, but we could always just sit on the roof if it's higher up"
"True, but we can figure out the logistics later. Right now, we should be eating curry on the beach!" Oliver laughed as they started walking in the direction of the house they rented out
After around fifteen minutes of walking, the couple came to the house on the beach. It was quite beautiful and well kept, but the fact that it was on the beach was what sold Oliver on renting it. As they walked up the wooden porch, Oliver pulled out a key from his pocket and inserted it into the lock. With a quick turn, the door click and they both walked inside.
The overall feel that the couple got from the house was beachy, but it was updated and there wasn't a lot of clutter on the tables and counters. Oliver and Nyssa both dropped their bags in the master bedroom, then each grabbed the things they would need for the mini cookout
Nyssa was in the master bedroom grabbing one of her knives out of her bag of armor when she heard Oliver in the kitchen. Out of curiosity, she got up from the ground she was sitting on and walked into the kitchen.
"Everything alright beloved?" Nyssa asked as she walked in with her sheathed knife in hand
"I left that pan used for cooking over a campfire back in Thailand which means I'll have to make the food in here, then we go out to the beach" Oliver replied
"It's not a problem at all" Nyssa smiled as she walked around the counter and pulled Oliver's face towards hers and gave him a quick kiss "I'll go get the wood from outside and get the fire going while you start cooking. Does that work?"
"Yeah, but you don't have to do that" Oliver replied
"Nonsense, I'm fine with doing this" Nyssa smiled "Besides, I can't cook and you can so it makes sense for me to go get the wood"
"If you're going to go get the wood, you should probably take a machete or a sword with you. It would be more convenient that using a small knife"
"Alright then, all go get my sword" Nyssa said as she walked out of the room
Nyssa returned a few minutes later with her dark brown sword sheath on her back. She grabbed her phone off the counter and stuffed it in her pocket before turning back to Oliver.
"Just in case, but I'll be back in around ten minutes" Nyssa said as she gave Oliver a quick kiss over the counter
"Alright, don't do anything stupid" Oliver chuckled
"I'll do my best!" Nyssa laughed as she walked out of the glass doors to the back porch
Nyssa jumped off the wooden porch and started walking towards the area of the beach where there was some older trees that were bound to have some old and dry branches for burning.
After wandering around the small forest and gathering wood for around ten minutes, Nyssa had collected a pretty decent pile, but still needed a few larger pieces. She traveled a bit deeper into the forest and started finding small logs lying around. Nyssa started picking them up but wasn't paying attention and tripped over something. She fell to the ground face first, but then quickly looked back towards what she tripped on and saw a large, black rectangular box with a small handle on the top.
Nyssa got up from the ground and reached for the case. She undid the latches on the top and pulled the top off.
"Oh dang…Oliver's going to love this!" Nyssa said to herself excitedly as she closed the case back up and gathered the pieces of wood that she had collected earlier
-(=+=)-
Oliver was in the kitchen finishing up the last few steps to making what Nyssa deemed 'the perfect curry'. He was just about to add the last bit of salt when he heard someone calling him from the porch
"Beloved! You will never believe what I found while getting wood!" Nyssa called
Oliver dropped the salt into the food, turned the stove off, and walked out to the porch where Nyssa was waiting excitedly with her sword still on her back. Once Oliver was in front of her, she stepped aside, revealing a large, black case lying on one of the chairs on the deck.
"What is it?" Oliver asked as he looked back and forth between Nyssa and the case
"Just open it and tell me what you think" Nyssa replied
Oliver undid the latches on the case and pushed the top back. As soon as he could see what was inside, his eyes seemed to widen and his mouth drop to the deck floor.
Inside the case was a dark stained acoustic guitar that was in fairly new condition. There was a note held in between the strings which Oliver removed and opened.
To whoever finds this guitar: I lost an interest in playing and didn't want to sell this. Someone who truly wants it to play will find it and should keep it for creating memories with someone you love, like I did once
"Wow, I guess we just got a free guitar" Oliver laughed "I actually played the guitar until high school. Do you mind if I play it?"
"It's both of ours according to the note so I don't mind at all" Nyssa smiled "I'm going to go start the fire"
Nyssa grabbed a few logs that she had brought back, jumped off the porch, and walked down towards the glowing water and warm sand.
While Nyssa was setting up the fire, Oliver went back inside the house and poured the curry he made into a large bowl, which he brought outside towards on the beach with two smaller bowls and the guitar case. Nyssa was piling the food on top of each other when Oliver sat down in the sand next to her.
"Alright, let's get this party started!" Oliver smiled as he started dishing up the curry
"Couldn't agree more!" Nyssa replied as she lit a small flame in her hand and let the wood catch fire
"I need you to try this first, just to make sure it's good" Oliver said as he took out a small spoonful and handed it to Nyssa
"I'm never going back to America! Not when we can move to Thailand and have curry like this every night!" Nyssa said once she swallowed the bite "Good call on buying that curry at the market"
"So it's good?" Oliver chuckled
"Read my expression again and tell me if you see happiness" Nyssa said with a smile
"Alright, it passes the test!"
Oliver dished up two bowls and handed one to his wife, who had scooted closer to him when he offered it. The two of them sat by the fire and just talked while eating. It was so simple yet so memorable, but it wasn't the best part of the night.
"You know, I wasn't actually too bad at playing guitar in highschool. I want to see if that 'talent' is still there" Oliver chuckled as he reached over and grabbed the guitar out of the case
Oliver set his bowl down at his side, the set the guitar in his lap after getting in a criss cross position. He started to strum a few of the strings until he could set them all in the right tune. He started playing a few scales until he got the hang off the instrument again
"Any song requests?" Oliver asked
"Anything you want. I just want to hear you play" Nyssa smiled as she set down her bowl as well
Oliver looked back down at the guitar and started to play the basic tune to 'Hotel California' (Guitar cover by: Acoustican) which he had learned back in seventh grade with Tommy, who was also in his guitar class. The accompaniment was a bit shaky, but Oliver could play the rest of the song without hesitation. He soon brought the song to an end and got a small applause from his wife
"That was really nice. How long has it been since you last played?" Nyssa asked
"Almost eleven years. Guess I never forgot it" Oliver chuckled
"Can I give it a go?"
"You know how to play?"
"I don't have any professional lessons or skills, but I think I could pull something off"
"Be my guest" Oliver said as he passed Nyssa the guitar
After going through a similar process as Oliver, Nyssa had become comfortable with the strings and started playing something she heard Lenora practicing before the wedding when she was with them down in the bunker. Nyssa started playing 'All Falls Down' (Guitar cover by: F-Guitar Music) and before she knew it, she was silently singing the lyrics under her breath, but Oliver could still hear it and he recognized the song from Thea's playlist for when she was restocking the shelves at Verdant.
"You're the drug that I'm addicted to, and I want you so bad. Guess I'm stuck with you, and that's that…" Nyssa muttered as she kept playing the song
"'Cause when it all falls down, then whatever! When it don't work out for the better! If we just ain't right, and it's time to say goodbye. When it all falls down, when it all falls down…." Both Nyssa and Oliver sand in sync
Eventually, in song was suppose to break into a male and female solo portion, so when Oliver's part came up, he sang it happily while Nyssa smiled and played for him.
"….But I'll be fine, and that's that!" The two of them finished in sync, then looked at each other and laughed
"That was actually a lot of fun! We should to that more often" Nyssa said
"I know, and you have such a beautiful voice! Why don't you sing more often?" Oliver asked
"Stage fright I guess. You're the only one who's actually heard it" Nyssa replied while trying to hide the blush that was spread across her face
"What about Christmas when all of us gathered around the piano and sang?"
"I learned to become very convincing at lip syncing apparently"
"I suppose so" Oliver chuckled "Where did you learn to play?"
"I've been watching Lenora for awhile and like shooting a gun back with the security detail, it was just a matter of watching, then doing it correct the first time"
"Makes sense" Oliver said with a slight shrug of his shoulders
Before either of them could continue, Oliver's phone started vibrating in his pocket. He puled it out and saw that William was calling
"William's calling and wants to video chat" Oliver said "Should we show him around?"
"I think he would enjoy that" Nyssa said as she rested her arms on the guitar, which was still in her lap
Oliver clicked the 'accept' button on the call and waited a minute for it to connect. Once it did, William's face appeared on the screen as he walked into a different room where there wasn't much chaos
"Hey dad! Dig said that I should call to check in since it's already been a week" William said when he picked up "How's the trip going?"
"It's going good! We just got to Australia a couple hours ago and we're actually out on the beach right now" Oliver replied "How have you been doing?"
"Really well! My friends and I went on another walk about in the LD forest and found some old junk, but it felt like we were treasure hunting!" William said excitedly as he reached over to the side and showed his dad something rusty "I have no idea what this is, but it looks really old and cool so I got to keep it"
"That's really cool William! Maybe you should go there with a metal detector and look for some more things" Oliver started "Mom and I did some treasure hunting of our own as well"
"Really?! Show me what you found!"
Oliver brought the phone down from his face and flipped the screen, the pointed it over towards Nyssa, who was still resting her arms on top of the guitar and was listening to the call.
"Mom found an almost brand new guitar in the small forest just outside of the house we're staying in. It actually works really well!"
"Woooow! That's really nice looking!" William said as he admired the instrument that was being shown on his screen "What else have you guys done?"
"Do you want to tell him?" Oliver asked Nyssa, who just smiled at him
"We went cliff diving and swam with a reef shark" Nyssa said with a smile
"No way! You guys swam with a shark?! Was it huge like the ones in 'Jaws'?" William asked in awe
"Nah, this one was only around nine feet long, which made it good for beginners to work with. It was a bit hard, but we were able to get it" Nyssa explained
"Can we all go to Thailand next summer? I want to see all the coral reefs, beaches, sharks, and food there is down there!" William asked excitedly
"It's definitely a possibility, but we'll have to see when we get further into the year" Oliver started "What time is it over in Star City?"
"Around seven thirty in the morning .Lyla's making French toast for breakfast so I should probably get going. After all, it looks like it's midnight where you guys are" William replied
"Yeah, it is almost midnight actually" Oliver chuckled "We'll let you get going so your toast doesn't get cold"
"Okay, love you guys!" William said
"Love you too, William!" Nyssa and Oliver called in sync before hanging up
"William was right. It's getting late so we should probably start heading inside" Oliver said as he got up from the ground and started cleaning up the dishes
"Okay, I'll take care of the fire" Nyssa said as she got up and put the guitar back in the case
Oliver and Nyssa both walked back towards the house to take care of the mess. While Oliver washed the dishes, Nyssa grabbed a small bucket of water and walked back to the fire. After watching the flames die out completely, Nyssa grabbed the guitar case and walked back towards the house.
"So what should we do tomorrow?" Oliver asked as he dried his hands off
"Hmmm, a morning walk up the beach perhaps?" Nyssa suggested as she set down the guitar case
"That actually does sound really nice right now" Oliver smiled "Sure, let's do it, but I can't guarantee that I won't sleep in"
"You're not the only one" Nyssa laughed as they both walked off towards the bedroom
Once they were in the room, the couple got changed out of the clothes they were wearing, which smelled of sand and saltwater, then got into some more comfortable and better smelling clothing. Oliver climbed into bed and started reading a book he had brought while Nyssa got in the shower to try and get all the saltwater smell out of her hair, which she and Oliver had been laughing about the entire day.
"I finally got it all out!" Nyssa laughed as she walked out of the bathroom while pulling her hair into a low but loose bun
"Well that's good to hear" Oliver chuckled as he set his book down "Now we have to get it out of our clothing tomorrow morning"
"Ugh, that's going to be even worse!" Nyssa laughed
"Don't worry, I'm sure it won't be that bad" Oliver smirked
"Well it if anything like what I just had to do to get all of that smell out of my hair, then it's going to suck" Nyssa replied as she started making herself comfortable next to Oliver
Eventually, the two of them ended up cuddled together with Nyssa resting her head on Oliver's chest while he rested his on top of her head. Before long, the couple started to drift to sleep with the sound of crashing waves in the distance.
What a wonderful vacation Oliver thought as he closed his eyes to end a peaceful night
Author's Note: Okay, if you're bored and looking for a good song to listen to, I suggest the 'All falls down' version I wrote down for what Nyssa played at the campfire. I somehow stumbled on that after listening to guitar covers of 'kiss the rain' and I REALLY liked it and thought it would be a good song for the couple to sing together.