boywhoflew | (no subject)

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With school out of session and July in full swing, the boardwalk was alive with summer.

In a weird way, even having grown up in California, it felt more west coast that east coast in his opinion. The number of bodies wandering in shorts and tank-tops or even dressed down to their swimwear was so quintessentially standard that for a second he could almost picture it being more from a television show than real life. But for as many people were wandering the boardwalk, the beach proper was almost bare but for a few wandering families.

It was crowded up on the strip, but the water looked quiet. Almost private, if not for a few kids squealing as they splashed in the shallows.

He'd packed a duffle bag. Towels, sunblock, and a few bags of chips. Nothing but the basics when they had shops and food carts barely out of sight. But if he was honest, nothing seemed like much of a necessity when the apartment was a bus ride away and he had Dee to distract him.

With whatever black magic she somehow managed to use on him that left him with itchy palms and the impulse to smile like an idiot.

"In a few days when I'm peeling, I get to blame it on you." He said pointedly, raising an eyebrow and then giving Dee a wry grin.

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"I wasn't fishing for that, but I'll take it." Carson said in amusement. Even after a good month of dating it still threw him off guard when she did that, jumped to defend him even if most of the time it was from himself.

Tugging at her hand, they walked the last sand squishy steps to the water. He may have only ever been to the beach back in California once, but there was still a difference that he couldn't quite put his finger one. Maybe it was the color of the water, or just knowing that it was what he guessed was the Atlantic compared to the Pacific. But it wasn't cold but not warm either, and he pulled her along as he started wading out into the water.

The water feels amazing, lapping over her bare skin, but Girl keeps a tight hold on his hand. She isn't scared, just a little bit nervous. She trust's Carson not to let anything happen to her. She stays close to him, though. A wave rocks her onto her toes and she makes a soft, surprised sound.

"Ah!"

He couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't mean spirited or mocking, just a reflex when her hand squeezed at his and the small gasp she made. It made sense if anything, she was shorter and lighter than him, so the waves pushing at her stood to get her more off balance than they did with him. At least until they got a little further out.

"Okay?" He asked, grinning as he kept tugging her further into the water.

"Just keep hold of me, okay?" says Girl, laughing when a wave hits her. She presses closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, holding on tight. "I've never seen this much water in my life. There isn't this much water in the world where I'm from."

"Do you seriously think I'm going to let you get washed out to sea?" Carson snickered, dropping her hand to grab her by the shoulders. They were only thigh deep, but the waves came in with surprising strength, and he assumed it was only the advantage of his additional height that helped him keep his balance as the water sloshed around their legs.

"Can you float?" He asked, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

"I don't know," says Girl, keeping a tight hold on him, looking up at him doubtfully. "Can I?" She doesn't even really like the bathtub, and here she is, in the ocean. It feels kind of amazing, and being here with Carson? That's perfect. But she can't help but be nervous about all of this water. The ocean in the Zones - it was something to scare children with, eradiated and poison as far as the eye could see.

"Probably?" Carson guessed, wondering if maybe they should have gone to a pool before literally jumping into the ocean first. The waves were steady but non-aggressive and the water was neither cold nor warm, so he figured if they were going to try, it was probably the best time for it.

"Just a little further and we'll try. C'mon, let's just get in up to our hips and we should be good."

"You're taller than I am," points out Girl, still holding onto him as they move deeper into the water. "Your hips are higher up than mine, remember." She grins up at him. "Just...you know...remember that you don't want to go through the stress of getting another girlfriend if I drown. And you definitely don't want to have to explain to P."

"I'd make a crack about ulterior motives, but this probably isn't the time for that." Carson grinned, but paid attention to the water level on her as opposed to himself. Even if he wasn't a particularly strong swimmer he at least had the advantage of knowing how to swim at all, and it was probably smart to keep her to the shallows until she had her bearings. Or at the very least until she wasn't as nervous.

"Here, floating should be easy." He said, stopping and letting the water rock into them. "Salt water has a higher buoyancy because it's denser. Do you wanna just go for it, or would you feel better doing it like a trust-fall? I can stand behind you incase you eat shit and go under."

"Yeah, stand behind me," says Girl, turning around, her hand still in his. She looks up at him dubiously. "Now what?"

Biting back a laugh Carson settled his hands loosely on her waist, backing up just large enough of a step that they had room between them. "Okay," he began. "You're going to drop your weight and lean back. If the water somehow doesn't hold you up, I'll do it myself. Ready?"

"Yeah," says Girl, but she doesn't really sound it. Still, she's a Killjoy, and she survived out in the Zones for twelve years on her own, and she's not going to let a little saltwater beat her. "Just make sure you're there if I need you, okay."

She leans back, carefully, ignoring the way her stomach dips and lifts her feet off the floor.

"Just relax," he warned, keeping a loose hold on her waist. Her body sunk down into the water and he stayed ready to grab her if her head breached the surface and went under.

Girl tips her head back, trying to keep her face out of the water, letting the water and Carson take her weight. It actually feels kind of nice.

Part of him had actually been expecting the worst case scenario and that she'd dunk straight under, but even with the steady rock of the waves washing in she stayed afloat. With a grin, and some weird grip in his chest that might have been pride of all things, he slowly pulled his hands away and watched her buoy in the shallows.

"I think you've got this," he said, grinning down at her.

The minute that he says that, though, she moves or something, disrupts the line of her body in the water and starts to sink. She squeaks in panic.

He should have expected that, but somehow he hadn't. Reaching for her quickly he caught her before her head could go under, the water splashing when his hands caught her under her arms and lifted. "Don't freak out," he warned, holding her upper body high enough for the tops of her shoulders to stay above the water line.

Carson catches her and Girl trusts him not to let her sink. She flails a little bit, splashing water and turns so that she can cling to him. "I'm not sure I like it," she says.

Taking a steadying breath and counting to five in his head, Carson decided to try a different approach.

"Okay, new plan." He decided, chewing his cheek for a second as he thought. "Alright, stand up and c'mere. Maybe you'll like this better."

It isn't that she doesn't trust him. The ocean is just so far outside the realm of her experience. It's just so big. She does as he's asked though, her head tipped back so that she can look up at him.

"Okay."

"Don't worry, this should be a lot easier." He assured her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her back snug up against his chest. It was still a bit hot outside to be pressed close together like that, but the water helped, and he had a vague memory of swimming lessons as a little kid where this had helped.

"Okay," he started, shuffling his feet in the sand. "I'm going to slowly drop back into the water and take you with me. Just... relax, and don't flail around."

She's a little scared by how much she trusts him. It feels like trembling on the edge of something else, something huger than anything she's prepared for right now. She takes a deep breath and nods, leaning back against him.

"Okay," she says. "I trust you."

There was no reason for her to not trust him, but it still felt weighted to know that he had her trust. Even then though, it wasn't as if he was asking her to dive off a cliff with him. It was just them at a well populated beach, literally splashing in the shallows, and short of a sea monster attack he doubted they had much to worry about beyond getting their hair wet.

There was still something about it though.

"This part is easy," he told her, hugging her around the waist from behind. "We'll be heavier so we won't really float, but we shouldn't sink either. Ready?"

Girl takes a deep, slightly shaky breath and then nods, relaxing a little in his arms. She leans her head back against him.

"Yeah, okay," she says, nodding. "I'm ready."

"Okay, here we go." He warned her, slowly bending his knees so she could get the idea and follow along with him. When he was sure they were on the same page he dropped his weight backwards as if taking a slow seat, and while they immediately sunk down to their shoulders, he sprawled out his legs and let the water keep them suspended in the splashing water.

Waiting a second to make sure they didn't sink any further, he grinned into her hair. "Nice. I wasn't even sure that would work."