The man made dock at the beach had been destroyed years ago. Debris of old weathered stone would forever be inlaid in the earth below, wood from the docks floated around for a while before it too became one with the sandy beach.

Levi still didn't particularly like the beach. He didn't swim, or couldn't even if he tried, but that was besides the point. The sand was a terrible nuisance, it got everywhere. The ocean itself was a separate story, filled with life beyond their comprehension, and the salt content made quick work of any leather or metal outfit component.

But they liked it, so he partook if only to make them happy, plus it helped to not make him seem like such a buzzkill on what would be a fun afternoon. Still, he stayed planted on the sand, watching from a distance.

Zoe had little to no self control when it came to harnessing her curiosity, a usually endearing trait of hers but sometimes it left him just a little on edge, especially when he could see it leeching to their daughter. Safety sometimes wasn't her strong suit – leaning forward near the clamping jaws of a tied down titan would be a prime example of this, but those days were over now. Now her curiosity could be found in her fascination of the aquatic variety, taking a keen liking to the plethora of critters found near the shore. Their daughter didn't know better, she was young enough to not be naturally fearful of things she didn't understand, and with Zoe prompting her to poke and prod an assortment of weird things Levi found himself having to be the voice of reason on almost every trip.

He had his arms crossed over his chest. The sun overhead was bright and warm so he had to squint to even see their silhouettes in the water. They'd finished splashing around in the water by now, he couldn't hear the giddy laughter and screeches from the young one. Something had caught their interest.

"….what is it?" He heard their child say curiously, her small arm pointing downwards toward the water.

"Hm? I'm not sure what any of these things are, my dear. Pick it up and tell me what it looks like!"

His brow twitched. "Don't even touch it!" He called out in annoyance. They didn't even check over their shoulders toward him in reference to what he said. "Honestly.." He muttered almost in defeat, letting a huff of air out from between his lips.

Both Levi and Zoe watched as the little one knelt down, her knees below the water level and her arm disappearing even further. She grunted as she reached, her face nearly in the water itself, eyes squeezed shut so her eyes wouldn't get saltwater in them like last time.

Maybe she'd pick up a pebble, or a bit of old driftwood, at least he hoped.

She stood up pin straight, holding a cone shaped item with a long pointed tip. "Whoa!" She cheered triumphantly at her find, clasping it in both hands as she stared down at it, her Auburn locks framing her face, and just to his luck shielding whatever she was holding away from his gaze. "It's purple!"

"I think it must be a shell!" Zoe confirmed, slightly leaning forward to get a better look. "Little creatures use them as homes, remember the similar one we found last time?"

"Ew yeah, it was slimy."

He remembered last time, she tricked him into thinking she was giving him a rock. He opened his palm to the supposed gift but she placed a small shell in his hand instead with a slimy grey creature flopping it's bare ass on his skin. He retracted his hand lightning quick while she laughed, but he swore he was a second away from a heart attack.

"Eek! I feel something inside!" She exclaimed, snapping her gaze up to her mother for further instruction. What happened to his instruction of not touching the damn thing? He scoffed inwardly.

"Wait and see what comes out!" Typical response from her, he supposed.

They waited anxiously, both sets of eyes trained to the opening of the shell.

"Ah!" She yelped, her feet jumping in the water. "There's feet and hands!"

Zoe laughed. "I think the words are legs and claws."

"Its so colorful…" She piped up, ogling the creature in awe. "I like him."

Levi sighed a sigh of comfort. He supposed if she liked it there was nothing to worry about-

She shrieked, startling him right out of his skin. "It's pinching me!" She shrieked again, waving her hand around to free her finger from the monster.

He was stomping into the water in a split second.

She attempted to hide her yelp from him but it was too late, he hovered over her ominously. "You're done." He stated bluntly, scooping her up from her armpits, her bare feet dangling above the water aimlessly.

"Levi, it's fine." Zoe interjected with a grin. "She's fine. Right sweetheart, you're fine right?"

"Well, it did hurt." She whimpered embarrassedly and in defeat, letting herself hang lifelessly from her father's grasp on her. She knew by then it was too late, once he intervened there would be no changing his mind.

Levi made quick work of returning back to the dry sandy beach, plopping her to her feet where she scrambled to catch her balance with a huff. He knelt down to face her directly, holding his palm out in such a way that beckoned her own hand. She laid her open hand into his and with her free hand she pointed to the small red mark on her finger.

He inspected her finger carefully. It was in truth just a small irritation to her skin, nothing more. Still, he couldn't help the nagging over-protective demeanor he had over her. "You're okay?"

She puffed her lips out with a nod. "Mm'yeah." She liked being babied, at least by him, and he guessed he played into it too much but he couldn't help it.

"Come on." He gestured with his head toward his back, a cue she knew all too well. As if her traumatic experience of being clawed by a crab hadn't happened, a large wide smile spread across her face. Eagerly she climbed onto his back, wrapping her wet sandy arms around his neck.

"What are we leaving already?" Zoe called out with an exasperated sigh, but regardless her smile never faded. "I haven't even collected any specimens for the new tank!"

"I can feel my face burning already." Levi called out, standing up and hefting her light body higher up on his back. "I'm going to take her back."

Zoe waved to the two of them. "Alright, I'll catch up, just need to grab a few!"

Levi paced up the sandy dune that separated the beach from the grassy plains back towards the city. His boots sloshed awkwardly, and soon enough he felt her wet clothes seep into his button up shirt.

"Eugh." He grunted, stretching his neck further back away from her slimy arms. "You're all wet and sandy." She wiped her hands on his shirt, as if that made anything better, but she did it with an evil little snicker so he'd let it slide.

He let her slide off his back when they'd returned to the horses. He had a towel packed specifically for this reason, but instead of using it on the wet patch on his back or his boots that had small oceans in them, he draped it over her head. She squealed at the sudden darkness, wrestling the fabric off her head while he watched with a slight smirk.

"Will you help?" She squinted up at him with big round pleading blue eyes, ones he simply could not say no to. She was perfectly able to dry herself off but relished being doted on, he complied every time.

He threw the towel back over her head and ruffled her hair around, she laughed incessantly, especially when he gripped her nose through the fabric and gave it a gentle shake.

When her face poked back through the fabric all flushed and rosy he began to dry her rolled up long sleeve shirt and dress that were darkened with water splashes, working the towel over the most soaked areas.

His brow twitched at the bulge from the front pocket of her dress. "What is that?" He questioned, eyes narrowing into hers.

She slowly covered the pocket with her hand. "It's nothing."

"I already saw there's something there." He stated, wiping down her wet bare legs. "So what is it."

She blinked, her face devoid of any emotion. "A rock."

He remembered all those years ago, his stupid brats in the survey corps thinking they could hide their alcohol consumption late at night from him. They'd accidentally woken him, and when he confronted them they stuttered while looking at each other. 'C-captain it's just juice!'

"Let's see it." He instructed her, staring at her trembling little hand over her pocket. She carefully retracted the same exact shell she had manhandled just ten minutes before with conflict. "Why do you still have it?"

"Because it's so cool!" She exclaimed, holding it out an inch from his face, the red shiny body of the crab inside flopping out and pointing it's red spiky legs toward him. He winced.

"It already hurt you once, why would you want it?"

She shrugged, holding it once again unsafely, where her fingers were in the danger zone.

"It belongs back in the water." He told her, eyeing it carefully. "Not in your pocket."

She stared at it disappointedly, and within seconds the tiny claw flew out from the hole it took refuge it, giving her flesh a small pinch. She gasped and withdrew her hand, letting the crab fall into the sand. "Okay it can live in the water." Her voice was shaky and sad, but he could see she learnt her lesson.

Carefully he picked up the shell and flung it behind them toward the large sand dune. "Now let's go."

Levi propped her up on the horse in front of him, the sun was battering down on his back so it was best to shield her as much as he could. Usually after a beach day she was knocked out for the duration of the ride home, and feeling her slump backwards to get comfy he knew it was coming. It was a peaceful ride for at least ten minutes until he heard the quick trot of a horse behind them.

Zoe's horse slowed to match the pace of his own, the loud sloshing of her jars filled with saltwater now ruined the tranquility of the quietness around them.

She eyed him from her horse with a delicate smile. "Hope those leather boots are water proof."

"They're not." He assured her, giving her a quick side eye and a leer. The boots were fine with deeper puddles and heavy rain but with water rising well above the limit it seeped in almost instantly.

She chuckled at the response and dropped her gaze to the little one. "Oh, sweetheart look what I found!"

Levi looked cautiously, as did their child from her towel cocoon in his lap.

"You left him on the beach!" She tapped a large glass jar, her long finger pointing toward the exact shell he just got her to surrender.

"Ugh, are you serious Zoe-"

"Yay!" She cheered excitedly, sitting up straight on the horse so Levi wrapped a cautious hand on her front. "He gets to live with us now!"

"He sure does!"

Back at their home when the sun had just dipped below the horizon, their typical routine was being squandered. He placed her little feet to the hardwood below while Zoe was carefully handling the jars toward the door to the basement. The little one began to scurry toward her but he was quick to tug at the back of her dress.

"Where do you think you're going?" He inquired, carefully dragging her back a few feet against her will. "You need a bath."

"Awee no!" She huffed, clawing behind her back to try and swat at his strong hand. "The water there is like a big bath!"

He scoffed at the insinuation. It was her main argument almost every time for why she should not receive a bath – honestly why did children not like baths?

"As if." He stated, hoisting up her resistant body and pacing toward the washroom. He made quick work of her bath, once she hit the warm water she was less resistant, splashing it around and careful not to hit him with spray.

"Why isn't the water over there like a bath?"

He raised a brow at her inquiry. "Because all those fish and creatures spawn in it, die in it, and use it as their toilets." The same could be said for their rivers and streams, but he knew even less of the ocean so it didn't get his favour.

"What does spawn mean?"

He pursed his lips. "Nothing." He reached into the water and withdrew the drainage plug. "You're done."

He made quick work of toweling her down and dressing her up into her white sleeping nighty, and once it was over her head she darted from the room.

He sighed and dried his hands on the towel, following her small wet footsteps in the wood that led him directly to her. They spiraled down the stairs into Zoe's lair, where her saltwater tanks had been set up and where she currently was ogling her collection.

"Look there he is." Zoe hefted the child onto her bent leg so she could stand and see into the clear glass, pointing toward the shell that scuttled around the bottom of the glass loudly. "Do you see him?"

"Yeah!"

"Don't get too used to them all, you know I'll be returning them soon enough."

Levi leaned against the wall, his usual tightly bound features softened at the sight of the two of them sharing their curiosities with each other. He himself had no interest in watching some wet bugs scoot around in the water, his interest instead laid with watching over them, that he could do all day.

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