Summary: Another Field Day outing brings Yukiya and Clara back to the beach, and to their dreams for the future.
"You two are sure looking cozy this morning."
That tone and comment could come from no other than Luca. From her position perched on Yukiya's lap, Clara blushed and started to scoot away, but Yukiya's arm suddenly came around her waist to hold her in place. "It's okay," he murmured into her ear.
"Everyone's looking," she whispered back, casting her gaze at the ground bashfully.
"Then let them look." His normally expressionless face softened into a subtle smile, the kind that Clara had learned would have been an impish grin on anyone else. "Besides, I have nothing to hide."
They were sitting on the edge of a fountain in the town square, Yukiya having put Clara on his lap to avoid getting her skirt wet in the water's spray. Instead his cloak took the brunt of it, growing damp in the time that passed as they waited for Professor Merkulova's go-ahead. It was another Field Day, and students milled around them, standing in loose groups of four – something that Clara now knew from experience wouldn't last long.
Indeed, by the time her blush had disappeared, they were set free. With a cheerful wave to Elias and Luca, they set off alone.
When they reached the park, Yukiya sniffed, and they followed his nose towards the water. Clara was always amazed at how keen Yukiya's senses were, as if his curse had affected and enhanced even his human body. He could hear sounds from seemingly miles away, and his sense of smell was almost embarrassingly accurate. Sometimes he'd make an observation that made her swear he could smell her very thoughts.
Her expression brightened as she caught sight of the glinting shimmer of the ocean, and she giggled, suddenly breaking into a run. Rushing past him, she made a playful, taunting motion. "Come on, Yukiya! Let's race!"
Of course, he caught up quickly, his longer legs giving him an advantage she couldn't match. To her surprise, he grabbed her by the waist and effortlessly scooped her up mid-stride. Then suddenly their feet hit the sand, and suddenly unsteady, they collapsed together, laughing hard even as sand flew into their faces.
"Caught you," Yukiya said belatedly, his husky voice suddenly sending a tremor down her spine. Clara flushed as he gave her a sandy kiss on her forehead, and she had the desire to hug him, very tightly, so she did. Once her arms were around him he wouldn't let her go, of course, and as their kisses turned hotter and deeper, Clara soon found herself lying on top of him.
Her fingers traced his face, and she gently slide them under the band of his eyepatch, hesitating. At his nod, she lifted, and then gave his newly revealed marked eye a kiss. Then he tugged her back down to his lips.
She was never, ever going to get tired of kissing him.
They finally broke apart, both of them gasping, and blushing hard even as their hands remained clasped. Wordlessly, they stood, gathering up their backpacks, and walked more sedately towards the shore.
When they were near the line where the sand was wet, they set down their belongings. "Are you hungry?" Yukiya asked. Clara shook her head. "We'll wait, then." He drew close. "What would you like to do?"
Clara smiled, taking in the long stretch of shoreline that they had all to themselves. "I read in a book once that you can build castles from the wet sand."
Yukiya reached out his hand and she took it, and together they walked to where the sand was damp enough to mold. She crouched down, detaching a lump of wet sand and attempting to shape it into the likeness of a turret.
Beside her, Yukiya had done the same, except he was molding his sand into something a little more square. As Clara watched, Yukiya's deft hands worked to smooth the sand into the outline of walls and doors. Inspired, she began to reshape her own lump of sand into a vaguely animalistic form. A little canine head emerged, and a tail, and four legs.
When she looked up, Yukiya had created a house. He'd traced the outlines of windows, and even added a sloped roof with a chimney. She caught sight of his expression and suddenly couldn't take her eyes off of him. He worked as if under a spell, a distant, enraptured look in his eyes.
Suddenly he looked back up at her, gaze so intense that she almost fell back, nearly dropping the sloppy little sand wolf she'd created. His eyes were drawn to it, and then narrowed in mirth. "Is that…"
Clara groaned. "I'm not as good as you, but yeah." She gingerly placed the sand wolf in front of the house, where it promptly toppled over. "Ugh!"
"I'm glad Wolfy's not here," Yukiya commented, with a hint of humor in his voice, as he righted the fallen creature. Clara flushed.
"Don't tell him! He'll hate me even more."
"He doesn't hate you." Yukiya's gaze was warm with amusement. "He just…tolerates you. Like he tolerates everyone else."
Clara smiled back, looking down at Yukiya's creation. "You made such a nice house."
"It's our house."
Clara's cheeks grew red, with mingled embarrassment and delight, and her hands reached out to trace it the edge of the structure gently. "Yukiya…"
He continued to sculpt the landscape around the little house, and it soon rested on a hill, overlooking a plain of sand. As Clara watched, Yukiya created a shallow indentation at the bottom of the hill, packing the sand firmly. When a wave rolled in far enough, it filled the hollow with water, leaving a little pond.
"There," he pronounced. "Now it's overlooking the water." He sat back, surveying the sand house, before turning to Clara. "How do you feel? Are you hungry?"
She wasn't feeling terribly hungry, but she guessed that Yukiya probably was, disguising it behind his concern for her. "Let's eat."
They walked back to where they'd dropped their things, and Yukiya laid out a blanket. Clara opened up her pack, drawing out their premade sandwiches, canteens of water, cookies, and several apple slices cut up to look like rabbits. Together, they set, watching the waves roll against the shore as they ate their lunch.
The meal was a mostly quiet affair, in a contented way. Clara studied Yukiya's little apple rabbits as she ate them. They were a tangible remnant of his past life, the part of him that had been raised smiling amongst the clamor of multiple younger siblings. She imagined him cutting up the apple slices with his strong, deft hands, speaking soothing words to a crowd of impatient little brothers and sisters. He would, Clara thought with a pang, make a wonderful father one day.
"What are you thinking about?"
He was watching her again, gazing steadily. When she had once been unnerved, she now knew this was simply how Yukiya was with her, just as he acted detached and inattentive when around strangers. "Um," she answered, grasping for something innocuous. She fidgeted, fondling the little white flower on the bracelet he'd once given her. "J-Just…I was just thinking about how nice it is to have this view, while we're eating."
Yukiya slanted her a look that said he guessed her thoughts had been elsewhere, but was merciful as always. "Yeah. We'll be able to eat outside each day in our house, looking over the sea."
Clara giggled, delighted. "Tell me more about our house."
"I'd like to build it myself."
She gasped. "Y-Yukiya…" For some reason, it touched her deeply, that he'd want to create with his own hands the shelter that would house them and their family.
He continued. "We'd have a garden, or a small patch of land for some crops. A barn, so you can continue to help with injured animals. A swing set." His mouth quirked. "We'd gather clams and swim along the shore. At night I'd make love to you on the beach."
"W-Wha – " Clara's face flamed, and suddenly her body flushed with heat. "Yukiya!" She had not been expecting that. Suddenly the vision of it was in her head and she couldn't get it out. It was unsettling, and beautiful, and frightening, and –
He stared at her, puzzled. "What?"
"You can't just say that!"
"Say what? Make – "
"Shhh!" Clara dove to clap her palm over Yukiya's mouth, face scarlet. She still couldn't believe he'd said it so casually. But that was Yukiya – either completely uncommunicative, or so unhesitatingly frank that sometimes even Luca choked in shock.
One of Yukiya's hands came to stroke at her back, and he pulled her close to him, nudging her palm away. "What's wrong, Clara? It's what couples do when they love each other." He drew her chin up so she faced him. "Do you love me?"
She found herself softening at the rare sight of his eyes, the mismatched pair so beautiful. "Yes," she murmured.
"Then there's nothing to be embarrassed about." His hand came to caress her cheek, and he peered into her eyes, expression turning more serious. "…Are you afraid?"
She blushed and then buried her face in his neck.
"Don't be," he said, hands running down her back. "I'll be with you the whole time."
"I know," she breathed, suddenly overwhelmed at how quickly their conversation had taken this very intimate turn. "I trust you more than anyone, Yukiya." As she tucked her face against his skin, she confessed. "I was thinking before that you'd make a very good father."
He didn't respond immediately but his arms tightened around her. They stood, quiet against the sound of the waves, before he looked down at her. "Do you want that?"
"Yes," she answered immediately. "I'd want a lot of kids. It was lonely to be by myself. After Mom and Dad died, I always wondered what it would have been like to have had siblings, so I wouldn't have been left alone."
"You'll never be alone again." His eyes grew dark. "And…I'll show you there's nothing to be afraid of."
He surprised her then by picking her up in his arms. Clara squeaked, but his hold was steady, and she soon calmed down. He set her down on the blanket, clearing away the remnants of their finished meal before sitting next to her and pulling her into his lap. And then he was kissing her.
It was like a spell, the feeling and the taste of him, the sight of his face wholly uncovered, as open to her as his heart, and the sound of the waves swishing gently in the background. The breezed caressed her skin but Yukiya was even more gentle, and in his arms she felt so very cherished and cared for that there was simply no more room for doubt.
She was the luckiest girl in the world.
"I'm here," he whispered. "I'll always be here."
"I know," she answered. And she kissed him again.