Simone looked at Lewis with wide eyes as he spoke. The blush quickly followed as it registered what he said, “Thank you… I tried really hard…” She looked away from him shyly before taking one of his hands and weaving their fingers together. “Let’s… go for a walk? I want to walk in the water…” Finally, her eyes met his and she held onto his hand before pulling him along.

The water came up to her ankles and she let her toes feel the wet sand beneath them. “I don’t know what I thought it was going to feel like but it wasn’t this.” She blushed once more and gave a shy smile. “It’s nice.” She kicked the water a bit with her feet and let out a deep breath.

She was absolutely clueless what to do but once her eyes laid on the sky she was lost in a few different thoughts. “Lewis?” She managed to turn her face towards his for the time being. “Thank you for bringing me here. This is my favorite place… I decided. Because it is pretty… and you are here right now.” She blushed and rubbed her neck nervously. “I li–”

She paused and her face became more nervous as she looked away. “I really do like you. Even when you are being a jerk… You aren’t always one. And you let me get away with a lot even if I am being sorta bratty… I appreciate it.”

It was Simone who finally decided what they should do, and Lewis agreed with her suggestion to walk. The girl led him into the sea, where she happily walked through the cool water. Lewis had never really experienced the water in this way, and he was quite surprised how comforting it felt. Still, he knew the horrors of what the water could do, and he shivered on instinct from the memories of the dream dive.

Lewis wondered if Simone knew, even subconsciously, at the nightmares that she had endured. When he looked over to her, he noticed that she was lost in thought. After a moment, she glanced over, meeting his eyes.

“Your…favorite place?” Lewis asked. He wondered if this was her favorite place because it was the only other place she had been other than the tower, or her previous prison of a home Her next words, though, were harder for Lewis to process.

The assassin stared at her, the words running through his mind. Lewis liked her as well, but it was something that he couldn’t admit to her. The true Simone, the one locked away inside her mind, wanted nothing more than to die. That meant that this Simone would disappear as well, and that meant…

[it]It doesn’t matter if I like her or not. This will never last. It was all temporary. For some reason, Lewis was disappointed with that outlook, despite logically understanding that it would make his life go back to a semblance of ‘normal.’

Before his reaction could be read, though, Lewis knelt down in the water, and splashed some up at Simone. “You’re thinking quite a bit too much. Just enjoy this moment while it lasts. You never know when it can end…” He smiled, one that was an actual smile versus his crazy smile. He splashed her again, this time with quite more force.

Simone squealed as he got her wet, “It’s cold! It’s cold!” She laughed now as she began to splash at Lewis. “You always say I think too much. Or talk too much. I think you actually like it.” They played in the water a bit more and before long Simone had taken off down the beach. She would turn around once in a while and kick the water up at him. “I would say you can’t catch me but we all know you can,” she let out a fit of laughter as she kicked more water at him before running more.

Once she realized how far she had run she flopped over in the sand and looked up at Lewis with heaving breaths. “I decided I can’t walk anymore.” She stuck her tongue out. “I think you have to carry me now. You know like a princess,” she chuckled a bit. She held her arms up at him. “I’ll tell you a secret if you do.”

It was awkward as Lewis picked her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I approve,” she spoke with a nod as he struggled only a little. Thankfully she was small and barely weighed anything. Once she could see the lavender colored towels she smirked a bit and looked up at Lewis layering a few kisses on his chin.

“Do you want to know my secret?” She tilted her head at him. “I… like being in the tower with you. It feels like home.” Even if she couldn’t leave and she was being kept there. “I’ll… Like it until I have to go.” She didn’t know what possessed her to say it but she felt like it was important. “So… Cherish me until I’m gone. Alright?” She thought it was just being dramatic but she didn’t know her feelings were leaking through. The true Simone finding Lewis.

The little water fight they had ended up with a chase down the beach. FInally, Simone called a truce, stating that she was exhausted, demanding Lewis carry her. The assassin sighed, and even before she sweetened the deal with a ‘secret’, he was already walking over to help her up. He knelt down, and Simone hopped onto his back, holding on tight.

As he walked, it was hard to think of anything else other than Simone. She was so light, but the weight of her fate was heavy. He knew that this was one of the last things she may be able to do before her death, and for some reason, it almost seemed as though she did too. After all, when they got back to their little set up, she admitted her deep, dark secret.

Lewis stared at her as she spoke of her adoration of the tower, and her enjoyment of living with Lewis. It was almost painful to hear her say that he needed to cherish her while she was still around. The true Simone was watching after all, and her feelings were quite direct, shining through the young Simone and her own emotions.

“I will,” Lewis said as he looked into Simone’s eyes. “You know I will.” He walked over to her, and put his fingers under her chin, leaning down to kiss her. “Whatever time we have left…”

Her skin almost immediately goosebumped when Lewis lifted her skin. She offered a smile as she received his kiss and returned one of her own. She lifted her hand up and ran her fingers through his hair. “You cut your hair… It looks good.” Her voice was soft and quiet as the words left her lips.

She wrapped her arms around neck and gave him another smile. “Come with me,” she kept her arms around him as she walked a bit backwards to the blanket. “Do you trust me?” It was going to happen no matter what but… She might as well ask him. “I’ll show you some fun things.” She was instantly bribing him but it was all part of the fun.

Once they were down on the towels she laid there with him and pushed her head up under his chin. “Mmm…” Her eyes closed and she enjoyed being in his arms, “I want to lay like this for a while…” She snuggled close to him and laid there silently. All she could hear was the area, their breaths, and she could really hear Lewis’s heart.

She kissed his neck before pulling her head back up and kissing his lips now. “I love every moment with you… So help me remember the beach well okay?” She teased him lightly. She couldn’t help but feel like soon they wouldn’t be together… Where was she going?

Laying with Simone was very calming, and combined with the sounds of the ocean and waves was something that he would soon not forget. At her suggestion for more, to make a memory that she could never forget, Lewis smirked. For once, Lewis was able to pick up on what she as asking for. “You can show me some things?” The assassin smirked, and kissed her. “I can show you some things as well…”

Lewis had taken care to find a section of the beach he knew would be vacant. So, he knew there would be no way they could be seen, nor interrupted. For the rest of the day, they had each other and the sounds of the ocean. As promised, each had something to teach the other, and the night flew by as they took turns taking control. By the time the sun was setting across the horizon, Lewis and Simone had exhausted each other.

Simone was laying on top of Lewis, her eyes drifting shut as Lewis held her in his arms. “Don’t fall asleep…we need to get back to the tower…: He smiled as he petted her hair. This is…fun.