𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄, ERIK LEHNSHERR

𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑻𝑬𝑬𝑵

          After the two had gotten out of the car, they busied themselves with sitting in the sand, disregarding the brittle sand beneath them. The two were mainly focused on each other or the calm waves rushing into the shoreline, soaking into the sand.

Kara had her boots and socks off as she sat there, knowing she would eventually tread into the water despite Erik being there. His presence was what she had been needing lately, she noticed. It wasn't overbearing or inadequate.

Her eyes were currently trained on her mother's ring around her finger before he began speaking and drew her attention to what he pulled out from his pocket. "I wasn't sure when I wanted to give it to you today but I guess since it's almost midnight, you should have it now."

It was a small gift box, wrapped in a baby blue wrapping paper with a darker blue tie around it. She smiled and took it into her hands, slipping the tie off before removing the wrapping paper to reveal a black box.

Opening it up, her eyes lit up at the sight of the necklace placed delicately in the center of the squared box. A silver stingray pendant sat there with a blue diamond in the middle of it, attached to a silver chain.

She glanced over at Erik and noticed his smile from seeing the genuine look across her face. "It's beautiful. Thank you, Erik." She gushed, not able to remove the smile from her lips.

"You don't have to wear it if you don't want to. I just thought you might like to have it." He shrugged.

"Of course, I'm going to wear it!" She chuckled, taking it in her hands and connecting the clasp behind her neck. She turned to him and gestured to the pendant lying on her chest. "How does it look?"

"Better than it did in that box." He smirked, making her nudge her elbow into his side before giving him a serious look.

"Seriously, thank you. It's really beautiful." He nodded at her appreciation and couldn't help but continue staring at her.

After a few moments of silence, she stood up. "Would you like to see something?" Deciding to inch out of her comfort zone, she held a hand out to him.

He carefully slid his hand into hers and followed her down to the shoreline, his eyes catching her bare back and the markings planted onto her skin. He knew she found them as an insecurity but he thought they were nothing but exquisite.

She crouched down on her knees and ran a hand over the water, watching as the water glowed a bright blue from her touch. She listened as Erik gasped in shock from the bioluminescence she produced.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" She spoke up, turning to look at him as he looked at the glowing water. It looked as though veins from the anatomy of one's body were spread in the water, glowing a bright hue of blue.

She grabbed his hand in hers and eased it into the water, smiling at the glow around their hands. She wondered when she became so comfortable around him but she didn't ponder on the thought too long, deciding for the moment that she needed that certain sense of peace she had so desperately craved since the tragedy of her life transpired.

After a few minutes, she inched her body into the water, her markings glowing a bright blue across her skin. She hesitantly glanced at him again and noticed his lips had parted. She closed her eyes in shame, assuming the worst but he merely followed after her into the water, his eyes raking over her skin.

He hesitantly reached for her arm and ran his fingertips along her markings, his lips failing to fall from the adoring smile he held for her. "You're the most stunning thing in this world, Kara. Don't ever let anyone tell you differently."