A Vast Sea

●• Chapter 2 •●

"Here it is, Gregory. This is the sea."

Freddy pointed to the long span of blue on the horizon. He held the toddlers paw gently and smiled at the boy's wonder.

Gregory suddenly broke away from his grip and skipped towards the waves, to which his other dad ran after him and grabbed his wrist.

"Be careful, honey! Never rush out into open water." He reprimanded.

Gregory glanced down as the cold, clear water crashed against his legs before being sucked back into the sea.

Something peculiar caught his eye.

"Daddy, daddy! I want that!" He tried breaking away from his dad's grip again.

"What is it, honey?"

Gregory pointed to it. The waves had brought over what looked like a pale, colorful stone.

"That! Can I have it??"

Freddy nodded and jogged over to take it before it was swept away while Bonnie waited with the boy.

He passed it to the kit to investigate it. Bonnie chuckled and knelt down to see him better.

"That's a seashell, Gregory."

The boy lifted it to his mouth and tried biting it, making both of his fathers laugh.

"You don't eat it, silly!" Bonnie pulled it away from his mouth.

Freddy lifted him up while he continued investigating the foreign object. His parents walked back towards the shore towards their hammock they had set up there.

Freddy passed the boy to Bonnie and sat down. He lay back in the hammock first, and Bonnie crawled in after, sitting on his lap while holding the kit.

"Hold the shell to your ear, Gregory." Bonnie suggested.

The boy hesitantly lifted it the wrong way. Bonnie giggled at the mistake and guided his paws to rotate it. He positioned the opening of the shell to his ear.

"You can hear the sea."

The boy's eyes lit up in excitement and he bounced on Bonnie's lap as he heard it. He pulled it away and looked up at both of his fathers in wonder.

"I hear it! I hear the sea!" He cheered. Bonnie cupped his cheeks in his paws and nuzzled his forehead affectionately. Gregory giggled as his dad's whiskers tickled him.

His parents cuddled against each other and looked on in pride at the boy as he continued listening and babbling about the shell.

The longer Gregory heard it, the more tired he was becoming.

"I'm gonna' go to the sea... right, dad...?" He leaned against Bonnie tiredly and cuddled up at his side.

Bonnie nodded and brushed his ears out of the way.

"Mhm. You'll sail the sea and be a fierce pirate... just like us." He smiled.

The boy was finally starting to drift off. He could feel the bunny's paw stroking the back of his head affectionately while Freddy held both of them close.

...

Gregory's eyes fluttered open as the dream ended. Dim sunlight was already pouring through the windows under the ship where the hammocks were. It seemed all of the adults, including his dad, had woken up already.