Simone did nothing but grin big as he found her joke. She didn’t know if he found it funny but this was all very new since the situation wasn’t dire. It made her wonder if this was how Simone had been before all the traumatic things happened to her or if this was her as a blank slate. Was she even her own person? It made her question herself but she also knew that if Simone could create her that she could also destroy her and that scared the Guide quite a bit.

“Evil birds~” The Guide cooed at them. Seemed to her they were territorial over food and it made her look at the picnic basket uneasy for a moment. Hopefully, they would stay away. Lewis had covered the food though so unless they were smart birds like her she couldn’t see them figuring it out.

“YES!” She pounced on him and smiled brightly. She got up and went to dash into the water only to stop and start to strip. “I don’t want all my clothes wet again~ I felt like I was going to catch a cold~” She sang it almost on the same pitch as Simone’s regular voice but it did sound a bit more youthful somehow. She dressed the dress on the blanket and went into the water.

Going past her ankles she had already forgotten the slight warning Lewis got her. The ocean water was cold but she got down to her hips and looked back at him waving. Her toes felt the wet sand and sea glass while her hair felt the nice breeze.

Lewis watched as the guide got excited about the ocean water, and bounced off towards it without a second thought. She got close, but remembered her dress, and stripped it off without a care in the world, sinking herself into the cold waves shortly after. It was weird, but Lewis was half tempted to cover his eyes, as it was almost like seeing a completely different person naked, but even then, they had seen a lot more of each other in the dream world.

The memories brought a blush to his face, something that rarely occurred but had been happening more often than not. He stood up and walked up to the edge of the water, watching her play about for a moment before stripping down himself, and slowly wading in to join her. At first, it was colder than he would have liked, but as he went deeper, he adjusted to the temperature, eventually finding it almost soothing.

For a moment, he leaned back and let himself be taken by the waves, floating for a few moments. Partially submerged, he could hear the water rushing from under the surface. The sounds were calming, and he closed his eyes, breathing in and out. There was something about hearing the almost silence of the ocean that was just soothing, and he couldn’t really explain it. Finally, he opened his eyes and righted himself, looking around.

“Ah, there you are…” he said as he reoriented himself. He splashed a bit of water on her. “We really do need to teach you to swim….”

Simone had been listening to the waves and had almost entered a peaceful trance that she hadn’t even noticed that Lewis had come into the water with her. She jumped once she heard him go into the water to warm up. It wasn’t too big of a jump scare but enough that it got the Guide to look at what Lewis was doing.

She tilted her head at him and smirked as he splashed her once he was ready. “Are you worried I’ll float away?” She splashed back at him with a small giggle attached to it. The splash from Lewis had gotten a shiver from her as she plunged herself into the water a bit more. The breeze was certainly helping to make her cooler but then again she hadn’t really thought that far away.

“You can teach me later~” She smirked, “Just rescue me if I need it. The waves don’t seem too bad right now and it’s pretty even here compared to the lake.” She waded closer to him and instinctively wrapped her arms around her chest as she was pretty self-conscious of herself. Even back in the dream world, she had compared herself to the others, which seemed silly now.

“This is nice… Isn’t it?” Once she was used to it she compared it to bathwater. Though she had limited knowledge of it, there were a few memories here or there from Simone’s childhood that matched it. Once more she freed one hand and splashed at Lewis to keep his attention.

“Of course I’m worried you’ll float away,” he responded almost immediately. Especially after last time. He wasn’t going to chance it, not one bit. But she was right, it did feel a lot safer here than it did when they were at the lake, and if push came to shove, he could easily rescue her. And it wasn’t like she could die. Still, he didn’t want her to have to experience drowning again.

Simone moved in a bit closer, and seemed almost self conscious as she did so, and Lewis noticed it almost right away. It was almost the polar opposite of how the true Simone acted, and Lewis wondered if she was feeling off about herself.

“You know,” he said with a half smile. “You don’t have to hide yourself here. It’s just us, and…it’s not like I haven’t seen it all before.” He moved a bit closer, holding out his arms for an inviting embrace. “You’re just as beautiful as she is, even if you don’t recognize it just yet. I promise…” Even without the resonance, the guide should have been able to feel just how sincere his words were, and how much he loved Simone and all of her forms.

His reply shocked her only a little as she nodded to him, “Then… Just stay close? I can’t float away if you are right here.” She would worry about learning to swim later. Right now it was just her, the ocean, and Lewis. It made her excited but also scared for some reason and she was slightly glad that Lewis couldn’t feel was she was feeling.

His words brought a blush to her face and she looked away for a moment as if unsure what to say. Though her feet knew what to do as she moved into his arms and her arms wrapped around his waist. “I am just unsure of what to do or say.” It was a stupid silly thing as her gray eyes looked up at him. “You’ve seen me before but the circumstances were weird wasn’t it?”

She buried her face into his chest held her grip around him but it wasn’t too tight. “I’m still~ This is weird.” Her voice was soft as she thought about it all. Her volume was barely above a whisper but she was close enough to Lewis that he could hear her. “I will try better I promise.” She didn’t know what that meant but maybe she was doubting herself a bit too much.

“Lewis?” Her eyes looked up at him. “She wouldn’t get rid of me would she? She created me and let me loose… but she wouldn’t make me disappear just as fast would she?” This Simone while she was the same she was also drastically different. The Guide was clearly aware of her existence and how fragile it was. “Before I easily disappeared when you made me the key… Can it be that easy again?”

Lewis held her as the waves gently crashed against them. It was a strange, touching moment that was happening, and he wasn’t sure exactly what she was saying and why, but perhaps it had everything to do with fear. That was what he was trying to understand from her, and without the resonance it was difficult to comprehend. But what was she scared of? Was it death? Non-existence? Or was it losing him?

It took him some time to try and figure out what to say, but as he stared into her eyes he tried his best. “You know…I don’t think she’ll ever be able to erase you. Even if she wanted to, she can’t. You were a part of her, a big part…the part that kept her sane. At least…that’s what she tells me. You were her strength, and for that, she…would never get rid of you.” He slowly stroked her hair, and kissed the top of her forehead. “You disappeared, but you came back…didn’t you?”

“You’ll always come back…all of you. Simone. The three of you that I met, you’re all a part of Simone….you’ll never be erased.”

It was a weird deafening silence that came from Lewis. For whatever reason, it actually hurt that he didn’t answer her right away even though she knew what she was saying was weird. Finally, he did answer her and she blushed a bit more, “Her strength?” It was true that she was able to keep the good parts safe but could that really be considered a strength? The Guide knew she was being overly self-conscious and it had to look and sound silly.

His kiss made her freeze in place and she felt her breath-hold for several seconds. “I suppose so…” She didn’t feel invincible like Simone did. It wasn’t even really invincible but Simone was stronger than she was. Even now she had no way of knowing what Lewis was thinking without the Resonance that Simone had. He was trying though and that made her happy.

“Thank you for listening,” she pushed herself up and kissed his lips. She let it linger and felt her face flush which made her pull away. “I know why she isn’t telling me anything but it’s also hard. She wants me to discover everything for myself and not let her thoughts become mine. It’s why she puts me to sleep in between my visits. It also makes it so I don’t miss you… Cause I would miss you. And…” She looked away with an even brighter blush, “I might get a little jealous?” The older one didn’t get jealous but the Guide was filled with much youth. “Not bad jealous… but sad? I would miss you.”

The fact that she thanked him meant the world to Lewis. He had absolutely no idea how to feel what the guide was feeling, and had no idea if what he said helped her in any way. The kiss that followed was something more than he expected. It lingered, and for some reason there was more intent behind it than most kisses. It reminded him somewhat of the few that he had shared in intimate moments, not just blatant sex, but actual intimacy. This close, familiar feeling made him squeeze the guide just a little more, intended to be a show of affection and adoration for her.

“Even through all the craziness,” Lewis said after a moment. “Even with the new kids and all of it…I missed you too. You’re different…a light hearted breath of fresh air. I love Simone, and I love you. I even love the younger Simone, and miss her too. But you…you’re special. You’re the whole reason that any of this was possible.” He realized that, for a moment, he was repeating what Simone had told him. “Had it not been for you, none of this could have happened…but even after all of it, I’ve never stopped loving you. All of you…”

It really did always come back to it…Simone being Simone. All of her forms as one. He couldn’t really help but love them all.

The squeeze made her smile and relax a little more in his arms. What followed next put her in a bit of a whirlwind when it came to her emotions. She wasn’t expecting it for one and two she hadn’t known Lewis to be like this. After all, he had not only wanted to kill her at one point for the sake of it but also shouted at her for things she didn’t know. It was hard for her to separate it but also there were the tender parts she had felt. It was making her a little more than woozy.

“I… love you too.” She smiled big and felt her holding her breath again. “Maybe, she hasn’t brought back younger Simone because… with a bit of work I am her too.” Her eyes held his gaze. “I never thought I would hear you say that but things were crazy and I can’t tell how you feel like she can.” She felt a little self-conscious about that but still, she gave a tiny smile. “I didn’t think what I did held a lot of weight but I’ve looked down on myself for a long time because I didn’t have the same abilities the others had… but you saw me as strong…” Maybe not at first but eventually he did. “And that made me believe I was strong.”

He gave her confidence. Even now she had a bit more as she wiggled nervously before kissing him again. “I’m just scared you might change your mind~” She didn’t know why. This life was just too new for her. “But I do love you and I love the kids too. I just need time to adjust to everything… but you all are my whole world.” She did a little hop and moved her arms around his neck.

“I love you a lot!”

It was another tender moment, and Lewis wasn’t one-hundred percent sure how to respond to anything she had said, but he was at least confident enough to understand that she wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was he. To show that, he kissed her again, taking a moment to try and convey his feelings through his actions, and then swept her up off her feet in a surprise motion. She made a cute, shocked sound as he did so, but did nothing to fight against it, hold on to him as he carried her out of the ocean and to the picnic area they had chosen.

From there, they took their time with each other, forgetting about the food and everything else about the world. For a moment, it was just them. Lewis wasn’t about to let her go without showing a different type of appreciation.

When it was all said and done, Lewis and Simone found themselves in a half asleep haze, basing in the sun as they cuddled in each other’s embrace. “I promise that I’ll love you…all of you forever…as long as you’ll have me.” He kissed her forehead again, and smiled. “I won’t leave…”