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Her nose scrunched, and she looked up at Shinra incredulously. “You sure?” Her heart clunked around unevenly when he said they’d make it worth it. When had he decided to become so reassuring? Months ago, obviously. But Blue still wasn’t sure sometimes why. It was a relief to be special, but she didn’t exactly understand it either.[break][break]
She was clumsy with it, “Well…” she grumbled, eyes cutting away, “if you change your mind, just say so.”[break][break]
At least he’d mercifully spared her from the details of the game that lingered in the back of his mind. Blue remained blissfully in the dark. Though, even if she had known, she probably wouldn’t have been caught dead in the sort of attire her digital version had been adorned in.[break][break]
No, she was safely covered up with athletic shorts and a baggy tank top that hung on her narrow frame. And under that was the sportiest, least provocative two-piece she could find. Blue and black stripes. Arguably boring.[break][break]
But when she’d stood in the store staring at the rows of string-y bikinis, she’d suddenly become self-aware to a degree that made her skin itch. She’d wanted to turn around and book it out of the shop. And the idea of wearing one (and in front of Shinra, no less,) made her face flare with furious color.[break][break]
This was much more tolerable.[break][break]
Still, she tugged awkwardly at the hem of her tank, and silently wondered again why she’d picked this. Sand slipped up between the soles of her feet and her sandals, and there was an instinct to lift each foot and shake them like a meowth forced to walk through a puddle.[break][break]
Blue snorted, “Of course you burn, mister ice-type specialist. Why am I not surprised?” Her mightyena had loped after his milotic, kicking up puffs of sand eagerly with her hind feet. Leaving them both in the dust. “Do you want me to, uh…” Do what? “...hold the umbrella?” She wasn’t short, not really, but next to him…well, she might poke his eye out with it.


[breaK][break]

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Blue wasn’t too sure that she’d really thought this through.[break][break]
In her desire to be away from the grit and grime of Slateport, and the effort to distance herself from Theo’s determination to keep her tethered to Rocket, she’d scrambled to come up with something to do with Shinra.[break][break]
Why she’d landed on beach vacation was beyond her. She didn’t even really like the beach. But maybe that was part of it–it was something so contrary to herself. So different from what she typically gravitated toward, and the kind of setting she avoided inhabiting. What did she expect to do? Build fuckin’ sand castles with Shinra?? The interpol agent averse to literally anything dirty?[break][break]
Sand was literally a kind of dirt.[break][break]
Sighing to herself, Blue fidgeted, the toes of her sandals scuffing on the pavement where it caved to a stretch of beach. It was pretty, she supposed. Too sunny, but her eyes were shielded by a baseball cap slapped on her head. Suddenly, her hand itched to curl around Shinra’s, to anchor herself in his typical, cool presence.[break][break]
Instead, her fingers wrung around the straps of a tote bag hung over her shoulder, awkward and uncertain with herself. She chewed at her bottom lip, ruby eyes squinting up at him. “Was this a stupid idea?”[break][break]
Why was she even asking? Of course it was a stupid idea. Why hadn’t Shinra said like why don’t we go to the mountains instead? Why hadn’t she thought of that in the first place?

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