Tainted Tides

Chapter 26

*Ant's POV*

Through the calming sound of waves crashing on the beach and the warmth of Dec curled up against my skin, with his fingers strung through the hair on my chest, I was awoken by the clop of wood against the base of the rock I was on. On my shoulder, I felt Dec stir slightly at the sound.

"Come on love birds. We've got work to do!" Stephen called out from the sand. I let out a long, pained sigh of frustration, noticing how Dec giggled and curled tighter against me before giving me a quick peck on the cheek.

"I'm going to kill him," I groaned."I swear to God I'm going to kill him."

Dec laughed out loud, pulling on his shirt then grabbing mine and handing it to me while kissing my nose softly. "Oh come on, grumpy. We can continue this later!" Dec responded, pulling me to sit up. Pulling my shirt over my head, I looked out to the horizon, Dec sitting beside me, pressed against my side. We paused for a moment, watching as the pale yellow of the sunrise bathed the blues of the ocean with a streak of yellow and orange. Dec leaned his head on my shoulder while we watched. For a moment, we forgot about the world. Nothing mattered except appreciating the beauty before us, and beside us.

CLOP CLOP

"Oi, I'm still here you arseholes! Come on!" Stephen called from the sand.

"If we come down now, Stevie, I will be murdering you," I called back, earning more giggles from Dec. I turned to look at him, wanting to see him laugh, the joy on his face could feed my soul for decades, but he quickly pressed his lips to mine, and his hand firmly gripped on the nape of my neck.

"Let's go Anth," he said pulling away just barely.

"Hmm.... Fine..." I replied, searching for his lips once again, trying to steal a final kiss before returning to reality.

We hopped to the sand, shoes in hand, and I turned to Stephen, giving him the dirtiest look I could muster that early in the morning.

"Oh get over it Ant. Robbie's waiting for us." He replied.

With a wordless aggravated grumble, I grabbed Dec's hand and started walking towards the ship. It wasn't a long walk but I'll be damned if I didn't take my time. Stephen picked up his pace and walked several feet ahead of us, trying to give us some sort of privacy if we wanted it. After a few moments, Dec raised our hands to his face, and placed a kiss on the back of my hand, before letting go and quickening his pace to match Stevie's.

"So how was your night Stevie?" Dec asked.

I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with love. The softness of his lips against my hand lingered in a way I could never forget. The boy walking several feet in front of me, chatting away with my childhood friend, had somehow managed to steal my heart, and my mind. This boy had me hanging off his every breath like autumnal leaves clinging to their branches, never wanting to let go.

He glanced back to check on me, soft green eyes glimmering in the morning sun, slightly ajar lips pink in the cool morning air and his soft brown hair sticking up in the places where he'd rested his head against me. I melted at the sight, and couldn't help but grin back at him, wordlessly telling him that I was all fine. He smiled back, and continued his conversation, laughing loudly when Stephen mentioned something about his lady friend last night not being too appreciative of the strings...

I'm rather glad I wasn't paying attention enough to listen to that story...

As they chattered away like excited school children, I followed them to the ship, heading straight for my quarters, knowing we'd find Robbie waiting for us in there. As we all entered the room, I noticed Robbie sitting at my desk, maps were strewn across the wooden table, eyepatch flipped onto his forehead. Stephen skirted to the side of the room, leaning against the wall, waiting for information with crossed arms, eyes trained on Dec's movements. To my other side, Dec leisurely made his way to my bed, popping himself down on the edge of the mattress waiting for Robbie to speak. I began walking to join Dec in sitting on my bed when Stephen spoke, "you guys spend enough time on there together don't you think?"