A/N: I don't own GAP the Series nor the characters within.

Hi all!

I wrote this story in nine or ten hours straight (no joke!) while on muscle relaxers. Then the next day, I edited it and wrote more (of course) for another three hours straight, also on muscle relaxers. And now I am tidying up and posting while still on those same muscle relaxers. So... I'm sure that's influenced this fic a lot.

Still, I gotta trust in my writing, so I am now handing this off to you because I am so excited that I wrote so much for so long, and found a lot of joy in doing so. (I haven't been able to keep so focused in at least a decade, maybe two! Was it the muscle relaxers? I'm betting it's the muscle relaxers. *inserts something profound about being able to write for so long like she hasn't in years due to being loose and not as wound tight as she usually is* :D)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Oh! Also! I made up a private beach resort that was big enough for Sam and Singha to be alone. It's not Cherrisa, but like it. Only bigger and more private. For plot reasons.

Sam made sure to attach Singha's leash before she let him down from her car. He had been a pretty good passenger, better than she had expected, quiet and happy to stay on the blanket Teacher Pohn had loaned her so Duanpen's seats didn't get dirty. And though he hadn't been the passenger Sam had wanted to be driving that day, he had still made her smile whenever she glanced over to check on him, even through the aching hole that clawed bigger and wider in her chest with each inhale.

Unable to stop from giving Singha a few strokes around his face before reaching over for the Singha 'day pack' Aon had put together for her, Sam grunted a little at how heavy it turned out to be. Having transferred it to the Chanel bag Kade had gifted her for her birthday - and having to push through the spike of pain that speared through her at the reminder of what happened later at the party - Sam slipped it over her shoulder, pushed her sunglasses further over her eyes, and tightened her grip on Singha's leash.

"Ready, Singha?" she looked down to ask him. When he only continued snuffling at Duanpen's wheel, she felt her lips twitch, but fought it down. "Yes, then."

Only then acknowledging the valet patiently waiting for her keys, she directed the uniformed baggage porter who stepped up after to retrieve the small suitcase she had brought before turning on her heel to start towards the entrance to the beach resort in front of her. After a short delay, Singha happily fell into a trot beside her, and Sam couldn't help but give herself a smug smile and an accomplished nod.

"Let's go."

Walking Singha was both easier and harder than Sam expected. He was happy to stay with her pace without fighting the leash, but stopped at every interesting looking or smelling thing, and it seemed to the small dog that everything was interesting. Pieces of dried kelp, driftwood, shells, and other, unknown things that Sam immediately pulled him away from weren't safe from his inquisitive nose. At first pausing each time to stand and wait with her arms crossed, Sam had quickly gotten tired of it, starting to pull him away sooner as they got closer and closer to the damp, firm sand the ocean waves lapped at.

Having observed how easily Singha's paws had slipped in the deep sand, as well as aware of how sun-warmed it was as she felt it every so often through her sandals, Sam hoped the darker, packed sand would be easier on him. She remembered how heavy Sua had been, and, as the spitting image of his father, she did not fancy walking back to her room carrying him the whole way if he got too exhausted. While she didn't want to deal with a soaking wet dog, she hoped he would be content with walking along the waves, not in them.

Thankfully, perhaps because of his smaller size, Singha kept away from the ocean, settling in for the slowest walk Sam could muster around the private beach, her body fighting with her to jerk in sharp angles and speed up as her mind ran in circles, constantly fighting with herself to stop from pulling out her phone or turning on her heel to race back to Mon's house. To... Mon.

Sam inhaled and stopped, closing her eyes tightly. Refusing to let the tears burning under her eyelashes free, she tilted her head up towards the sun, bright even through her sunglasses, and forced herself to drink in everything around her instead.

There was a slight cool wind that prickled along her exposed skin, the sun's rays warm enough to keep her from shivering and enjoy it instead. Her feet were colder and damp from kicked up sand, and Sam almost laughed when she realized Singha had sat down next to her, leaning a little against her leg and on her toes. Shifting to ease her foot back, she tightened her loosely crossed arms at her elbows and inhaled. The beach always smelled like salt and sand and brack, even at this private resort, but it was comforting, and Sam took her time before switching her attention to what she was hearing.

Seagulls called as they swooped through the wind, entwining with the slow, rhythmic rolling of the waves, but it was the soft panting of Singha that made her finally open her eyes and look down at him. "You thirsty?"

She crouched, smiling as Singha excitedly stood up and pushed into her hands. "Good idea," she stroked his back, "Let's head back to that big piece of driftwood and sit for a while."

Slipping off her sunglasses and taking out an empty food bowl provided by Mon's parents, Sam laughed as she had to nudge Singha away from the bag she'd set down, trying to nose his way to the food inside he could smell. "Not yet, not yet. Water first."

Truthfully, Sam didn't know why she was bothering to speak as much to him as she did, but she didn't want to stop doing it, either. Talking out loud helped to keep her thoughts away from where she was trying to keep them from going.

To keep them from...

The angry roaring burn of jealousy that had made its home deep inside her chest, tearing its way so ferociously up to her brain and mouth, making her so panicked and so sure of betrayal that she had once again spat out the first thing that had come to her. The ensuing slicing words echoing in the air and in her own ears. Mon's devastated face, tear streaked and staring at her with so much hurt Sam had barely been able to breathe even as she continued spitting out things she knew would hurt Mon more. Mon's expression breaking even further as her eyes shattered, before finally turning and leaving Sam to sink down and break down herself. The long drive to her lonely and empty house where she barely slept on the sofa in the early morning because she couldn't bear how empty her bed felt without Mon curled up next to her. Mon turning her away when she came to beg for a second chance, meaning they were truly ov...

A wet tongue slipped along her fingers. Shrieking as fear instinctively flared up inside her, then laughing so she didn't end up crying, Sam closed the water bottle she was still holding. Putting it away before scratching along the innocently grinning dog's ears, she settled back against the driftwood, resting her arms on her knees as she looked out over the ocean.

Mon would have loved this view, she was sure. She had even been thinking about taking Mon to a place just like this. Or someplace overseas.

Sighing, then squeezing her eyes shut against the burn of tears again, Sam shook her head and looked seriously at Singha, who perked up from cleaning his chin from the water he'd messily lapped up. "I am going to let you off the leash, Singha." Firming her voice, she cocked her head at him, raising her eyebrows, "But you are not going to run away. I am your owner for today, and you will do what I say. Hm?" Waiting for some kind of answer, and choosing the twitch of his ears at her as one, she made the OK sign at him before unlatching the leash from his collar.

Immediately shaking his fur before starting to slowly pad off with his nose to the sand, Sam watched the small dog explore to his heart's content before finally reaching for her phone. Fingers tightening around it until she was able to shake herself away from the thought of calling Mon, she instead tapped open the camera app. Looking out over the beach and seeing that Singha was still close, she sighed, pressed her hand to the ache still clawed deep in her heart, and started filming.

Mon stared at the wall. The water she had gone downstairs to get unopened on her bedside table behind her, she closed her eyes as more tears leaked out.

She had made her way downstairs just after Lady Sam had left, Singha in Duanpen flying down the road like Mon couldn't stop herself from thinking should have been her. That thought had been so quickly pushed away and followed by the one that Lady Sam had taken Singha away from them, just like she had taken away her love, that she had barely been able to gasp out a panicked question through her closing throat.

Her parents, trying to be as supportive and understanding as best as they could while also deeply disappointed in her for refusing to see Lady Sam, hurriedly explained that they had offered to let her take Singha for a day... And Lady Sam had surprisingly agreed.

Listening to them through a fog that she had missed Lady Sam completely after working up the courage to let herself at least set eyes on her, Mon could only nod. Retrieving the bottle of water she'd had as an excuse to come downstairs for, she'd barely made it back into her room before the overwhelming pressure behind her eyes and swallowing up her insides and twisting them made her stagger to her bed, to sobbing again, to where she was now.

Lady Sam hadn't stayed for her.

If she hadn't hated her before, she surely must now because Mon had ignored her. Because Mon had been selfish and childish and thrown her overtures of reconciliation back into her face.

It was her fault. As much as it hurt that Lady Sam hadn't tried harder, Mon didn't, couldn't blame her.

But... Mon hadn't been ready to see her. Lady Sam's words still cut through her every time she thought them, and Mon couldn't just let them go - no matter how much her heart ached and felt like it ripped itself further and further open as it screamed for her to run back into her arms.

Mon had been so confused how she could feel both hurt, waiting for Lady Sam to apologize, and guilty for being the one to end them, because how could Lady Sam still love her with all the lying she had been doing?

But now, Mon inhaled to stop herself from closing her eyes and drowning, she wasn't confused anymore.

They were over. Lady Sam didn't love her anymore. Lady Sam hated her.

And it was all her fault. If she had just gone downstairs sooner! If she had said yes when her mum had tried to get her up!

...If she had just told Lady Sam from the beginning what was going on, she would be with Lady Sam now.

She would be with her, curled up on the couch together - their couch - as Lady Sam held her tight and pressed kiss after kiss to her hair as Mon giggled and pretended to squirm just so she'd pull her closer into her, Lady Sam's heartbreakingly affectionate voice chiding her that if she continued, they would fall off the couch altogether, and Mon surely didn't want that, did she?

But Mon did want that.

And it was never going to happen again.

A text notification sounded, and Mon thought about ignoring it. She wasn't in the mood for Yuki's reassurances, or Nop's heavy handed censure of Lady Sam that Mon couldn't deal with yet, or anyone in the Fuzzy Gossip Room.

Still, the hope that it was Lady Sam made her roll over and retrieve her phone, it almost slipping from numb fingers as she registered that it was.

It was.

Holding her phone over her face, she drew in a staggered breath, having to blink tears away that were already crowding at the fear that it was going to be a message that further proved they were over.

It was the swelling hope bursting hot in her chest and out through her arms and legs that followed that made her click it open.

Staring at her phone, Mon choked out a sob and slapped her hand to her mouth. Through tears, she took in the playing video of Singha happily trundling around on a beach, the camera clumsily trying to zoom in and focus on him as Lady Sam no doubt pushed random things as she tried to figure it out. There was wind blowing through the speaker, and Mon moved her hand down from her mouth as she moved the phone closer so it was the only thing in her field of vision, as if if she focused on the sight and sound hard enough, she'd be there.

When Lady Sam called out, "Singha!", apparently wanting the dog to look towards the camera, Mon let out a watery laugh, her heart squeezing at the sound of her voice. "Lady Sam..."

There was a huff recognizable even against the wind, and Mon blinked back more tears to see that her dog was happily ignoring Lady Sam, walking further away to follow what appeared to be an enticing scent. Laughing softly again, Mon watched as the camera wavered, then, firming, unzoomed itself and started slowly sweeping around as if Lady Sam was turning in a circle, trying to give her a good view of where she was.

Her smile tugging harder at her lips, Mon knew Lady Sam wasn't doing it, showing her where she was, to be cruel or to spitefully show off what she was missing. Instead, it was a surprisingly gentle way of telling her that she wanted to include her. That she wished she was there with her and Singha.

...That Lady Sam wished Mon was with her.

And suddenly, Mon ached to be there. There, on that beach with the sky so blue it was lost in the ocean, the sand looking so warm and inviting that Mon knew it would tell her the water was warmer than it was and she'd regret jumping in but do it anyway. There, where Lady Sam was.

The video wavered again, Mon barely catching a muttered, "How long does this record for?" before being utterly unprepared for the camera to switch to showing the top of Lady Sam's head, eyebrows furrowed as she peered at the screen to adjust it, continuing to frown as she tilted the phone back and forth.

She was obviously trying to find the perfect angle to show her face, and Mon giggled as more tears dripped from her eyes, her love for this absolutely adorable human being clashing with the hurt still twisting her insides.

Finally satisfied, Lady Sam briefly closed her eyes before drawing in a deep breath, having to push her hair back from her face as the wind blew it in the way, and looked directly at the camera.

Mon strained her ears to make sure she heard what she had to say clearly.

"Mon. If you are unaware, I am taking care of Singha today. I promise I will bring him back tomorrow, alive and well." Lady Sam then hesitated, her tongue darting out to wet her lower lip. However, instead of continuing, she abruptly frowned lightly and looked away, taking a few seconds to scan behind the phone. Apparently finding what she was searching for, she nodded and focused back on the camera. And blinked awkwardly. "Oh. I was looking for Singha. Even though he agreed to stay close, I'm making sure he's keeping that promise."

Mon involuntarily let out an amused sound at the thought of Lady Sam not only talking to Singha as if he could understand her, but also that she pretended that he replied in kind. For someone who remarked that Mon was childish for some of the things she did, it didn't seem fair.

But then Lady Sam continued, and Mon found her breath catching at the sudden look of almost naked vulnerability in her eyes, eyes that Mon realized were just as red as her own.

"Because you know in advance that I am coming, Mon... Mon, tomorrow, I'm not leaving until you see me."

Then, Lady Sam closed her eyes again, said something under her breath that Mon couldn't hear or read, flickered her gaze back directly at the camera, studied it, slowly nodded...

And the video stopped.

Gasping out a protest, surging halfway up from her bed, Mon stared, trembling, at where the frozen image of Lady Sam had just disappeared to show the opening shot of Singha nosing his way along the beach. Forcing herself to complete the sitting up motion, she leaned back numbly against her pillows against the headboard, brought her phone back up to her face, and started playing the video again.

The second time Mon watched the video, she cried all the way through.

The third time she watched it, she skipped forward to stare intently at Lady Sam the entire time she was onscreen, her mind locked in debate with itself even after the video ended.

The fourth time she watched it, Mon paused on the image of Lady Sam opening her mouth to start speaking. Staring at her before the tears swimming in her eyes started falling, she dropped her head back against the headboard.

She was exhausted.

...

But she knew what she was going to do.

Sending back a response text before she could cave and erase it, Mon sighed, managed a light smile to herself, and placed her phone back down onto her bedside table. She knew her message was a little petty, but she hoped that sending something at all was all that was going to matter, being the only thing she could manage at the moment.

Still thinking about it, Mon rubbed her eyes as she slowly slid off of her bed. It was time to get clean so she could join her parents downstairs. Her emotions were still jagged, raw at the edges, but her chest finally felt loose enough to let her breathe, and Mon knew she would be able to tell them that she would speak to Lady Sam tomorrow.

Looking down at her phone cupped in her hand, Sam paused, stopping Singha with a tug on his leash as she brought it up to see who had texted her.

Her eyes widening as she realized it was who she was waiting for, Sam inhaled, straightened herself, and swiped the message open.

[angry face emoji][dog emoji][wave emoji][alarm clock emoji]

Gawking at the emojis, Sam felt her brow furrow as she tried to decode them, then, realizing she was doing it, shook her head to remove the look from her face.

The angry looking emoji made her eyes burn, so she skipped over it. The dog was unmistakably Singha, and the wave the beach, so... Sam's eyes wandered back to the angry face.

Mon was... Angry she had taken Singha to the beach? Or was it that she was still angry at Sam, and acknowledging that Singha was at the beach?

Sam felt like she needed to rub her forehead. For someone who wanted things to be said plainly and honestly, this felt unfair.

Continuing to squint angrily at the silent emojis, Sam sighed and turned to the last one.

An alarm clock?

...Telling her not to be late tomorrow?

The ache and pain in her chest shifted, easing up on her heart for the first time since the night before as she felt hope start to snake through her veins. The emojis were a good thing, right? Her video had worked? Mon was talking to her, even if wasn't with words. They were still from Mon, and Mon's heart, and Sam closed her eyes as she tilted her head back to once again turn it up at the sun, allowing herself to breathe.

Mon was going to talk to her again.

The feeling didn't last long. The guilt inside her, as if tired of being ignored for a single second, uncoiled itself again to delightedly whisper to her how she had treated Mon and what she had thrown at her, the words and images searing through her like a lightning bolt, and Sam winced, looking back down.

No.

Sam inhaled, pushing her hair back from her face before straightening her shoulders and crossing her arms, making herself move to push the negative thoughts away.

No.

She was going to look at this as a good thing. Mon had responded, was going to give her a chance to fix up what she and her uncontrollable jealousy had broken. She was going to get her lover back to their home, and she was going to make sure Mon never had to spend a night crying alone, ever again.

No matter if it took giving Mon the control over herself she had tightly held onto for years. Because if giving that to Mon and following what she said was what needed to happen to convince Mon to forgive her, Sam would do it.

A sudden cooler gust of wind against her bare skin made her shiver, bringing her to the realization that they had been on the beach for a while now.

Looking down at Singha lying near her feet with his long tongue rolled out of his mouth as he panted, Sam made a face, put her phone away, and stooped down, scooping him up into her arms with a small grunt. Trying to ignore his happy drool and the sand he was leaving on her expensive clothing as she moved his - she was right - heavy body into a more comfortable position, a smile still couldn't help but cross her face when she glanced down at him to make sure he was comfortable as well. After seeing he was, and that the leash wasn't dragging on the ground where she might step on it, Sam exhaled, became serious again, gave a firm nod with a stated, "Let's go,", and started back towards her villa.

Quickly getting tired with her bag dragging one shoulder down and Singha in tandem pushing on the other, Sam still knew it was worth it. She'd promised to bring him back unharmed, and his exhaustion definitely counted, no matter how draining it was on her to force herself back through the deep sand she had somehow enjoyed walking through earlier.

She sighed. Not to mention she admittedly felt a little guilty for giving Singha so much exercise when she didn't know how active he usually was.

Shaking her head, Sam huffed a little as she realized she wasn't as close to her villa as she thought she was, the bath in it definitely being the first place she was going to go. Going to the beach, even without swimming, always left her feeling like she was caked in salt and sand, and she didn't enjoy that aspect of it.

Wait.

Sam frowned, slowing as she looked down at Singha again. She knew she had to get the sand and associated salt off of him as well. Was she supposed to take him into the bathroom with her and bathe him too? She hadn't thought about that before taking him with her.

...Oh. She really hadn't been prepared to care for a dog back then if she felt this useless now, had she?

Um.

Sam pressed her cheek against Singha, doing her best to ignore the smell the ocean and beach had given him. Then, having to dodge and laugh in disgust when he took her action as invitation to turn his head to snuffle at her chin, she stopped to deposit both him and her bag back down onto the sand, needing to rest her burning arms.

Fondly watching Singha take the opportunity to immediately start nosing at a dried piece of seaweed, once again seeing so much of Sua in him, Sam knew she'd find some way to reward him for helping her reach out to Mon. He deserved it.

Sam hummed. Who knew the spur-of-the-moment approved kidnapping of Mon's dog would have ended up being the right thing to do?

Stripping down in the bathroom, Mon stopped to study her reflection in the mirror.

Lady Sam had accidently left marks on her from that night before, and Mon swallowed as she traced the hickey her lover had left near her collarbone. Earlier, seeing it had made her cry, evidence of a night that had been so special ripped apart by her own actions.

But now... Mon swallowed again.

Maybe... Maybe it was a placeholder, waiting for Lady Sam to replace it.

Or...

Staring at the marks in the mirror and feeling the still raw hurt inside her, Mon closed her eyes. A little embarrassed by her own thoughts, she still couldn't unthink it. Maybe...

She exhaled.

Maybe it was a road map for Mon to leave her own marks on Lady Sam's body instead.

Thinking about how she was lucky Mon hadn't thought to send her a ghost emoji, Sam shivered, gave Singha a squeeze, and finished making her way up the walkway to her villa.

A/N 2: Did Sam really need to carry Singha all the way back? Well, she thought so, at least.

Also, Sam absolutely ended up taking Singha into the bathroom with her to wash him off. It went about as well as you'd think.