She stood at the water's edge, barefoot, with her pant legs rolled up to her knees. She had been gleefully romping in the surf for almost twenty minutes already, chasing the waves as they receded and then racing back to the safety of the sand when they rolled in. Daniel stood watching on the dry sand further up the beach, a slight smile tugging at his lips.
Now she wanted him to wiggle his toes in the wet muck with her, and he sighed. Glancing down at his shoes, he looked back up at her and shook his head. "I still have my shoes on!" he called.
"So, take them off, darling!" she laughed. "What are you so afraid of?"
Sighing again, Daniel trudged down to meet her, but still didn't take off his shoes. "I don't want to get my feet all full of sand," he frowned. "It itches."
"You've got a whole ocean to wash them in!" Vala exclaimed, lifting her eyes to the sky.
"Yeah, but it's cold," he protested, his lower lip jutting out a bit in thought.
Vala caught both his hands in hers and matched his pout with a pleading one of her own. "Daniel, please! For me?"
Finally, he shook his head in disbelief and freed his hands, lifting up his foot to unlace his shoe and pull it off. As he carefully stowed the sock inside it, he began to wonder what he was doing--standing on a beach with Vala, letting her talk him in to squishing sand between his toes. That didn't stop him from pulling off the other shoe, though, and she bounced with eager delight at the sight of him standing in the wet sand.
He closed an eye, scrunching his face distastefully at the sensation, but Vala wasn't satisfied. "Now, wiggle them," she commanded.
"Aw, Vala, c'mon, this is…"
"Just a little wiggle, Daniel. No one will ever know," she winked.
Knowing there was no way out, he closed his eyes again and scrunched up his toes. The damp grit squoozed its way between them, and he wrinkled his forehead, struggling not to laugh at the vaguely ticklish feel of it. Vala stared down at his feet with an evaluating expression and looked up in surprise when he suddenly stopped.
"You call that a wiggle!" she cried, planting her fists on her hips.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do," he nodded, moving his own hands to mirror her stance.
Vala rolled her eyes, tossing her pigtails in mock-annoyance. As she did, she caught sight of the retreating waves and let out a squeal of alarm. Quickly grabbing his hand, she dashed off after the escaping sea, dragging him behind her.
"What--whatsamatter? What's goin' on?" Daniel sputtered as they ran.
"We have to catch it, Daniel!" she exclaimed.
Despite himself, he laughed and let her pull him along. A few moments later, the water whooshed back toward them, and Vala shrieked, wheeling about to jerk him back toward the shore. Now he laughed aloud, finally unable to resist her antics. They barely made it far enough up the beach to escape the icy ocean, and Vala gave a gusty sigh, falling against his chest in playful relief.
This time, though, the water didn't stay safely beyond reach, and Vala shrieked again as the cold froth rose around their ankles as the tide came in. "Oh, it's cold, it's cold!" she squealed, hopping from one foot to another.
"What are you afraid of?" Daniel taunted, springing away just in time to avoid a swat. She ran after him, determined to wipe the smug grin from his face, and took a flying leap toward his back.
"Hey!" he cried, stumbling forward as her weight crashed into him. Her arms coiled tightly around his neck, and he made an awkward grab for her knees, attempting to hook her legs and keep himself from falling. Already off balance, he crashed face first to the ground, struggling not to laugh as Vala rolled off him.
"Oops," she said apologetically.
Daniel rolled onto his side, sputtering on a mouthful of sand. Her hand moved instinctively to brush the grit from his eyes, and his breath caught at the casual intimacy of the touch. He smiled, his own hand drifting up to touch her fingers as they came to rest on his cheek. Neither spoke as he drew her hand slowly, gently down, and held it between them. Vala's throat worked convulsively as he studied the shape of her fingers. He felt her fight a shiver as his index finger lightly traced the odd bump he found on her pinky. Guiding the hand toward his lips, he wondered why he'd never noticed it before--and suddenly froze, flopping heavily onto his back.
"Oh, no!" he moaned, burying his face in his hands.
Vala bolted upright. "What's wrong?" she asked, looking around in confusion.
"My shoes!" came the muffled reply.