coming clean | dylan

Ember Lynn's heart was beating loudly in her chest. She felt like he could probably hear it over the rushing sound so waves crashing against the shore. Despite this, she couldn't get the grin off of her face. She knew the moment she stepped foot in the smooth sand of Concordia beach that she made the right decision. Ember Lynn kicked out of her high heels and held them in her free hand, making sure not to move too far from Dylan. She loved him so much and couldn't believe this wasn't just another day dream she was having over paperwork.

The way the salty air surrounded her and the sand trickled between her toes made her feel at home. There was just something about being near the ocean. Of course, that isn't surprised given her lineage. Speak of...Ember Lynn's smile turned mischievous as they drew nearer to the water. With a flick of her finger the water jumped up and splashed Dylan in the face. Only the face. She made sure everything else stayed perfect dry. She looked toward the sky, trying to act like she had had nothing to do with it.

Dylan spluttered for a moment, as the salty water hit him in the face with his mouth open. He hadn't quite been expecting that, but it wasn't the first time it had happened. Retaliation wasn't a possibility, as the hydrokenetic would simply have caught anything he managed to splash in her direction and throw it back at him. At least she had narrowed her target this time instead of completely drenching him. That could've made for a long walk home. Instead, he chose to smile and laugh, reaching out for her hand and giving it a light squeeze.

"Now was that really necessary?" Dylan teased as he began walking purposefully down the beach. The moon was high and the wind was cool, so inevitably they would need to find their way inside. He almost cursed his decision to walk as soon as he remembered that Ember Lynn was in a dress and not slacks, almost ensuring her discomfort. Which is what lead him to taking off his long jacket and placing it around her shoulders. Thank goodness he had worked that day and was wearing a long sleeved shirt.

Ember Lynn was almost doubled over laughing. She tilted her head to one side and smiled, "Sorry, hun. It's our first time on the beach! It's like...a rite of passage." She laughed and caught up with him, putting her hand on his cheek and then pulling away to carry the water droplets with it. The water that had lingered on his face and the collar of his shirt was now floating in a small ball just over the palm of her hand. She sent it flying to the ground and watched as it explode across a dry patch of sand which immediately darkened.

She smiled at him, "So you live on the beach? I might need to rethink this if sand is going to be our bed." Ember Lynn joked, holding her hair in place so the cool wind didn't whip it in front of her face. Suddenly the cold that handle settle on her shoulders was gone when his coat was wrapped around her. She wrapped her arms around her torso, hugging herself tightly. It smelled like him and made her feel like he was cuddling with her, "Mmmmm."

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Dylan chuckled to himself. Of course she didn't know where they were going. He only knew where she lived because, well, she was the the Chancellor and everyone knew where Ember Lynn her home was. "No Love, as much as I know you would enjoy sleeping on the beach, this is not my humble abode. That would be a little ways up the path." He explained. "I assure you that the bed will involve very little sand unless we managed to take it with us."

The closer they got to the house, the more nervous Dylan became. Would she even like it? Were they doing the right thing? It was too late to go back now. Surely someone had seen them by now. Plus, it was just a house. He would redecorate it if she didn't find it appealing. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and slowed down just a little, wanting the moment to last just a little while longer.

Judging by the slight shake in his arms as the wrapped around her shoulder, he was nervous. She wondered what could possibly so wrong with his place that he wouldn't know if she would like it. Maybe it was filthy? No, that's not like Dylan. She could picture cluttered with papers and books, but not messy. Maybe it's a dump? Suddenly she was curious and wanted to speed up, but he slowed down making her feel even more curious, "You live on the beach? I spent forever trying to find a place on the beach, but they were all taken!" She smiled brightly, trying to show him how excited she was to maybe help calm him down.

"I know you did." He recounted with a bright smile. "I was living in the apartments when it became available a while back, so I took the opportunity and moved in. That was about two years ago." That move had been a pain. The beach side homes were in heavy demand, mostly due to the privacy they allowed. However, the place had needed some work and not many of the young people of Concordia could appreciate the original owner's vision, so the place wasn't as hard to acquire as it should have been. Dylan had plenty of time to spend on it after work, so he hadn't minded. The place was perfect in his opinion, and the close proximity to the water could only be a plus when you were dating Poseidon's daughter. Then again, he did sometimes have nightmares about the God of the Ocean drowning him in his sleep after particularly bad fights, but that was neither here nor there.

Ember Lynn eyed him. She couldn't help wondering if he had chosen this particular beach front house because if it's proximity to her work. It explained how he could show up so quickly after a simple text from her alerting him of the all clear. She sighed and stopped to turn to the ocean. She took in a deep, cold breathe and closed her eyes, looking up to the sky. Something about the air seemed sweeter than it ever had before, "How long have we been waiting for this moment?" She wondered aloud, reaching for his warmth, "It feels like it's been...my entire life." When she finally took his face in her hands, she planted a kiss on each cheek with a giggle, "It's just...perfect."

"It's been an eternity Love, but it was worth the wait." He replied, leaning in to kiss her sweetly before leading her away towards the house again. They weren't far away, and in fact if if weren't for the trees shielding it from public view, she would be able to see it from where they stood. He turned to face her again and smiled. She was right, everything was absolutely perfect. They couldn't have planned this any better had they tried. Well, maybe he would've brought flowers or something else that they occasion would have deemed necessary, but that was all he could think of at the time. Either way, they would be able to see the house within the next few steps, and all he could think of was how surreal the whole situation felt. This was happening tonight, right here and right now, and nothing had felt more terrifying or more certain in his entire life.

She suddenly felt a sense of urgency. Her legs were freezing from the ocean spray and she felt like she had been walking forever, even though it had only been a few moments. Ember Lynn took in a deep breathe and started forward a little ahead of him, "Hurry up! I want to see this amazing house!" She laughed as she ran, not realizing she had run right into the edge of the ocean. The shore line curved slightly meaning that a normal person would have walked around. She shivered and jumped letting the balls of her feet land on the surface of the water. She pushed her hands with the palms down to keep herself from sinking below the surface, "Whoa." She said, looking down at the ocean, "That was cold." She started laughing and spinning around on the surface of the water, the moonlight glistening off of it and hitting her hair just in the right way to make it sparkle. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. This really was the perfect night.