Chapter 9

From then on, Quote and Curly both shared one bed. They had contemplated moving the two beds together, however, they found it was more practical just to leave it as it was, in case they needed to lend it to a guest. In reality, they had never had guests, however they chose to disregard this fact. Quote and Curly worked in the garden often, even when Balrog got bored and decided to fly around. Often, they would find themselves finished with everything they could do in the garden, so they would rest together, or play mildly. Curly would stand by the fence, looking to the sky. Quote would look up from where he was weeding and see her form, a devious plan forming in his head. Out of nowhere, two arms sieze Curly from behind, lifting into the air. She yells and laughs, and Quote laughs with her, spinning her around, watching her golden hair flash in the sun. It had always been Curly who had been the playful one, but now it seemed that Quote had found a new side to himself. They both liked this side better.

A few days passed before Quote suggested they visit the beach again. Curly, of course, was in total favor. Balrog seemed to be quite excited too, however, became slightly dismayed when Quote explained that it was only Curly and himself that would be going this time. He nodded, however, and said that he would visit the Mimiga Village in their absence. Quote smiled, glad their friend had taken the suggestion well.

Quote and Curly walked directly to the beach, so the walk only lasted about three hours They were both excited about a day by themselves at the beach. Quote thought that perhaps he might even try swimming. Or... As he thought about it, he decided that swimming might be a little over the top. Perhaps he would... splash in the bay. Yes, that was much more manageable.

As he walked, Quote couldn't help but think about how calm the past few days had been. It felt great to rest and relax. However, as he thought about it, he became a bit worried. The last few days had been calm... Almost too calm. Was he worrying too much, or was he not worrying enough? Would the tall figure return? Would it attempt to pursue him this time? Quote wasn't sure, but now that he'd started worrying, he was having a hard time stopping. 'Maybe the beach will take my mind off it,' he thought to himself.

As they neared the dunes, Curly turned to Quote. "Hey," she said, smiling. "I have something to show you when we get to the beach."

Quote tilted his head to the side. "You do?" Curly nodded excitedly, her cheeks turning red.

"I want you to be the first person to see it!" They crossed over a few dunes and stopped before the last dune. Well, Curly stopped, which forced Quote to stop. He was quite confused, but before he could say anything, Curly told him to wait there. He did so for about five minutes until Curly called over, telling him to join her.

When Quote climbed over the dune, the first thing he noticed was Curly's clothes. They were not on her body, rather, they were lying in a pile near the base of the dune. This caused Quote's eyes to get wide, his face turning red. "Hey," said Curly. "What are you looking at? I'm over here!"

Hesitantly, Quote looked up at Curly, who was wearing a bright red bikini. "What do you think?" She twirled around a bit, her golden hair spinning behind her. Quote smiled, and then laughed. Curly stopped spinning. "What's so funny," she asked, sounding annoyed.

"Nothing," said Quote, walking down from the dune. "It's great! I love it!"

Curly smiled. "Thanks! I got you one too," she said, holding out a pair of red swimtrunks.

Quote took the swimtrunks, still smiling. "You didn't make these yourself?"

Curly laughed. "No, of course not! I may be deadly accurate with a machine gun, but when it comes to handcrafts, I'm next to useless."

"Oh, come on," said Quote. "You can't be that bad." Curly leaned back on her heels and looked up.

"Haha, well... Let's just say I need some more practice..."

"Whatever you say," said Quote, who had begun to remove his clothing. At this, Curly looked down, and was shocked.

"Quote! W-what are you doing?"

Quote looked up. "Putting these on," he said, reaching to undo his belt. Curly grabbed his arm.

"Well, stop! O-or, at least do it when I'm not looking..." Quote was confused, until he realized that he would have to remove all his clothing to put this on, undergarnments included.

"O-oh! Right, sorry," he said, climbing back over the dune. When he came back, he had changed, and he put his clothes down next to Curly's. They both smiled and took hold of each other's hand. Quote spoke first. "You ready?"

"Yea," said Curly, as she ran with Quote to the water. For the first time in a long time, they both found the sensation of water to be a pleasant one. They splashed about in the water for hours, playing, chasing, laughing. They were unaware, however, that they were being watched. A few dunes over, a tall, dark figure with red glowing eyes stood like a sentinel, his head just barely reaching over the top of the dune. He stood there, unseen and unknown, simply watching.

Notes From the Author;

Hey there readers. Welcome to Tuesday. I'm tired. Here's the rest of the chapter. That tall figure sure is creepy, isn't he? Tune in next week for...

...

Tune in next week for some action. (There wasn't any in this chapter.) Next week's action is debatable. It may be action-ey action, or it may be... the other kind of action-ey action. The hot kind. Maybe. I dunno. Screw this, I'm off for the week. See you next time!

(As always, thanks for reading. Support and feedback are greatly appreciated.)