Beach
The road to recovery is long.
She makes it so easier.
They start out small, healing him on the outside. He says no, he won't wash his hair or spend more time in the sun or drink more water, and she says you have to, otherwise you'll get sick, and he refuses still, saying that no one cares if he's sick or not, and then she just looks him in the eye, and says,
"I care, Nico. I care."
The sincerity in her eyes startles him, and so he agrees grudgingly to wash his hair and drink more water and spend more time in the sun, and so he heals slowly on the outside, and one day he wakes up, looks at his reflection, and notices he doesn't look quite so frightening anymore.
He tells her that, and she says, "I don't think you're cute yet, though, Corpse Boy."
But that has nothing to do with how they ended up going to the beach, he's sure.
The first time they went to the beach, it was the beginning of summer. He shadow traveled them to California, because she said she always wanted to go there. Although it's the beach, and they're wearing swimsuits, he refuses to go swimming-"Are you KIDDING me? Poseidon will blast me into a pile of sea salt!" so she decides not to swim either, to keep him company. So they sit on the beach, talking about anything that comes to mind, and he realizes for the first time in years, he feels happy. Whole.
They talk about their deepest fears, their greatest desires, their most humiliating moments. They laugh together, and Nico suddenly feels that the shadow looming over his mind has retreated. Not completely gone, but it's still improvement. And they watch the sunset together, and it's not until some worried parent shouts, "Dolores! Where are you?" and she asks who names their kid Dolores, anyway? does he realize he doesn't know what her name is yet.
So he asks her, and she glances around warily before asking him to promise not to laugh. He agrees, and she whispers softly in his ear,
"Sanare."
Sanare. It's a beautiful name, and it sounds familiar somehow, but he can't quite place it just yet. He asks, why would you think I would laugh at that? It's a beautiful name! She blushes, the red of her cheeks standing out against her pale skin, saying she knows it's a ridiculous name, and he says no, it sounds just right. Sanare. He likes how it feels when he says it. He says it a few more times just to annoy her, and she swats at him playfully, and he coughs out sand and she apologizes, and he grins mischievously, and tosses some sand back at her. And that's how Nico di Angelo had his first sand fight.
"We have to do that again sometime," Sanare says.
"Yeah. Yeah, we do." Nico agrees.
And that is how they started the tradition of going to the beach every Friday night.
A/N: Like it? Hate it? Keep in mind I'm only 12, and that this is my second story. Don't flame me too hard, or else I'll end up killing my teeth eating too many marshmallows. Critique is welcome! Compliments are more welcome!
~DarkAngel