(Teo) Once Upon A Time...

[Patrick 'Pit' Icarus]

thinking...talking...listening...

Pit's thick, sand-covered hands work slowly as he smooths the soft, fine sand. He bites his lip in concentration. So far, his castle isn't very big. It's more of a large box at the moment. But it's a very nice box. Sure, it's a bit more rounded than a box usually is... Doesn't matter.

Partick's going to make a sand castle fit for a king. And the king's family, too! A smile breaks across his face as he imagines it. A wise, old king with his kind, generous queen. Don't forget their beautiful princess. With golden hair and big, beautiful eyes. She's the jewel of the sandy kingdom.

Little does anyone know that it's all a lie.

The princess is, in fact, a prince. A beautifully feminine boy. He's all that they would want a princess to be anyway. Why are all the stories about the princesses? Why does nobody care about the prince? Pit scowls at his castle for a moment. Yes. It's a good castle. Nobody would care about the cross-dressing princess anyway.

In his bit of anger, his hands slips across the sand and his castle's left flank loses a large amount of itself. The small sand grains tumble down. Pit sighs. It doesn't matter that much -- after all, he's got all day. Nobody's helping him, but he enjoys his solitude. It gives him time to think. About anything that he wants, without being judged. Obviously, the first thing that comes to his mind is his own Prince Charming.

Teo.

Simply the name causes the smile to return to Pit's lips as he drags some sand to the fallen wall. His heart races a bit faster as he remembers the last time he saw Teo -- at his own home. It was quite a time. His skin tingles around his neck as it remembers the soft touch of lips. After the movie, he had let Teo go home. Though he loves spending time with Teo, Pit did have to go to work. Being a cashier isn't glamourous, but it's his only source of income. Really, Pit wants to write a book someday. A book for teenagers. Something romantic, with a gay protangonist. Of course, first the boy had to save up money and purchase a laptop so he could type. He's started a few mini stories that he has in a notebook, but he's never gotten very far. Now, however, he's gotten quite a bit of experience with love. Or at least what he thought was love.

After Teo had left his home, he had gone to the library and used a computer to, very sneakily, look up techniques that he could use on him. He didn't want to be the one was unknowing. He's the older boy -- he should at least appear to be the more experienced.

Soon enough, his castle is back to a nice box-ish shape and the brunette starts on a large tower for one of the corners. Where his little princess would be, obviously. He assumes that it doesn't get more cliche than that, but, when he tries to think back, he can't really remember listening to any actual princess stories. He has the main thoughts of what would happen, but he cannot seem to recall much of the details. Oh well. It doesn't matter -- his princess can have his own story.

It'll start with 'once upon a time...'

Template made by Fantasy
Lyrics inspiration by Bruno Mars
Notes - none

[Teo Long]

Teo had headed out of his home a while ago, deciding to take advantage of the nice day. It wasn't often that he really felt in the mood to be out and about, whether the weather was fair or quite the opposite. He didn't know what had caused the mood, but he decided that it couldn't do much harm to walk about.

He'd walked to the Nickelodeon Park, he'd passed all of the shops up in town such as the tinkering shop, the library, the theatre, and all of the restaurants. However, that much of a walk hadn't satisfied Teo's quest - whatever it happened to be.

It hadn't been long before Teo's thoughts wandered to a certain elder boy as he let himself get lost in the familiar town the younger boy had grown up in.

Teo couldn't believe his luck, of finding Pit and that things were going okay between them. He grew a bit sheepish and inwardly embarrassed when he considered the fact that they might be considered...together, and his embarrassed emotions were because he grew so giddy at the thought. 'I am such a female...' He thought, amused. He was becoming like a stereotypical school girl over the boy he fancied, who he's kissed, who he's gotten interesting noises out of...

His cheeks heated, and he hastily glanced around to see if anyone had seen him. He breathed a shaky sigh of relief when he saw that there was no one to see his reaction to his thoughts. He ducked his head, and power walked to the beach, wanting to walk in the cool water to keep himself at ease.

When Teo finally felt the uneven, constantly moving surface of sand under his shoes, he knew he had made it to his desired location. He looked up, an easy smile coming to his lips at the familiar sight, but it didn't escape his notice that he wasn't alone.

His eyes widened, and before he could stop himself, he called out.

"Pit?"

[Patrick 'Pit' Icarus]

thinking...talking...listening...

Pit looks in in surprise at the sound of his name being called. There's a bit of anxiety that stirs around in his belly before he realizes that it's Teo. He smiles and waves a hand, covered in dark, damp sand.

What a pleasant surprise, pit thinks to himself. He wonders if he should get up, but decides that it would probably be smarter to just stay in the little nook that his bum's been creating.

Pit's glad to see Teo. It just seems like they must've been meant to see each other-- to be with each other. It couldn't be a coincidence in the boy's mind. He waves his friend over to his castle ... Er, box. Castle in progress.

"Hi Teo!" Patrick calls gleefully, not seeing enough people to make him embarrassed to show his true self. The closest people are far along the beach -- he hadn't wanted to risk people destroying his sandy masterpiece. "Fancy seeing you here! How are you?"

[Teo Long]

Teo lets himself ease into the wear of a grin when Pit smiles and waves at him, and the younger boy takes this as an invitation to head over, which he does cheerfully. What were the chances of finding Pit here? Teo wasn't even aware that the elder boy liked to come to the beach - it only made the 18 year old like his companion even more.

As Teo drew closer, he noticed that Pit seemed to be trying to build a...sand castle? However, at the moment, the sand structure looked like a box more than a castle. Oh well, though, because castles could be all shapes and sizes and it would still be adorable no matter what, since Pit had constructed it. It was way better than Teo would ever be able to do, considering he wasn't much of a sand sculpture prodigy, or an artist in the slightest, really.

"Hey Pit!" He called back cheerfully as he came closer to the object of his affections. "I'm pretty good! How about you?"

The sand wasn't helping the limp that Teo had, but he fought through it, ignoring the little pangs of pain that bothered him, telling him that the sand was bad terrain for his leg. He knew that. It wasn't like he was going to go running along the beach, just for the hell of it. He knew his limitations by now.

Carefully, easing himself down, he took a seat by Pit, giving him an easy grin. He shifted a bit, leaning over to kiss Pit on the cheek in greeting before leaning back, studying his sand box shape that was likely a castle with interest in his brown eyes.

[Patrick 'Pit' Icarus]

Pit smiles cheekily as his friend walks over and sits down, noticing with confusion the small totter that he seems to have as he walks. Teo seems to observe his sand castle and Pit's cheeks burn lightly. It's not his best work... Or good at all, to be completely honest.

"Hey Pit! I'm pretty good! How about you?"

Teo sits beside him, kissing his cheek. It burns ever the more, but also tingles in a nice way.

Continuing to pull sand up to his castle, he answers. "I'm well - thanks for asking." He contemplates looking up, but is embarrassed, remembering what they had done. How can he even look him the eye? Eyes are too expressive. It'd be far too obvious where his mind is. So, instead, he rakes at the dark sand with his filthy hands, starting the area for a turret.

The turret with the tower for his princess.

"So what brings you to the beach, Teo?" He asks, sound light and upbeat. If he can't show his expressions with his face he at least owed it to Teo to be flamboyant with his voice.

[Teo Long]

Teo gave a little grin when he noticed that Pit blushed when he kissed the elder boy's cheek. It seemed like Pit's cheeks were always pink around him though, so, it just made Teo more at ease seeing the inviting tint of Pit's cheeks. The 18 year old's eyes shifted to Pit's hands as they began to pull at the sand, bringing it in toward Pit, before his hands began rake at the ground.

However, it seems like Pit is trying not to look at Teo, and a shred of worry comes to him before he lets the feeling tamper off. Pit is busy, working on a sand castle - he doesn't have to keep his attention on Teo every minute they're together. Heck, if they aren't officially together with consent from both, then Teo has no reason to get offended in the slightest.

His warm smile stays on his lips, and he continues to watch Pit work. "Was just taking a walk. Then I decided to head to the beach, maybe walk in the water a bit." Teo's lips tugged up into a wider smile before he spoke again. "It's just a bonus that you're here too."

[Patrick 'Pit' Icarus]

"Was just taking a walk. Then I decided to head to the beach, maybe walk in the water a bit. It's just a bonus that you're here too."

Pit's cheeks darken even more, and he smiles almost involuntarily. Teo's too cute. It's so weird that Teo was deciding to spend his time talking to boring little Pit. He could be seeing the world ... Okay, maybe not the world. But a good nice chunk of Diznae for sure.

Pit flips his hair out of his eyes, not wanting to touch his face with his dirty sandy hands. His sand castle still needs a lot of work, but he really wants to talk to Teo.

"I don't want to be a bother..."

Patrick's voice trails off and be looks up towards the water. It sparkles in the bright sun. Surely Teo wants to go in the water instead of talking. Besides, Pit didnt really doll himself up... He wants to look cute for Teo. In his little graphic T-shirt saying something about swag or yolo -- he didn't want to wear a nice shirt to get all dirty at the beach -- and some ugly green swimming shorts. Not exactly something he wants to be seen in by his crush. He just kind of something boyish that he figured people wouldn't find too easily on their gay-dar. Wouldn't want to be attacked. Verbally or physically.

"You don't have to wait on me."

He finishes, looking up at Teo and, blinking, smiles really widely. He has to squint in the bright sunlight, but doesn't want to shade his eyes with his hands. They're still dirty and he's had sand in his eye before. It is not a pleasant experience.

[Teo Long]

Teo couldn't bite back his grin when he saw Pit's cheeks turn a shade darker than they already had been. He tried to tone down his grin though, and managed to just get it to a normal smile as he watched him. However, he raised an eyebrow at Pit when he spoke, his voice trailing off. The younger boy lets his gaze follow the elder's, and he bit his lips before looking back at Pit.

"You aren't being a bother..." he murmured, watching Pit with a studious gaze. Teo wrinkled his nose a little when Pit spoke again. "I'm also not waiting on you...I'm sitting here because I want to."

A moment of light thought also brought something else out of Teo's mouth. "And it's nice seeing how cute you are when you're building a sand castle."

[Patrick 'Pit' Icarus]

Pit's heart flutters in his chest at the younger boy's words. Teo thinks he's cute? He wants to giggle and flail his arms all around with glee, but bites the action back. He looks up at Teo with his signature little smile.

"Aww, thanks! You're cute too!"

Not wanting to seem too outrageously childlike, he gives Teo a little wink. He would've blown a kiss, but he didn't really want to get sand in his mouth. It's not pleasant-- taste or texture. He glances at his sand-caked hands for a moment. His gaze rests there as a little bit of disgust pulls at his lip. Nasty.

"You were going to walk in the water a bit, right? Mind if I join you?"

Pi asks, batting his eyelashes at the boy. He tries not to make his admiration of the boy too obvious, but he can't help but gawk in his head. How lucky is he? Getting to hang out with a cute, nice boy that seems to like him for who he is. He'd love to go walk in the ocean with Teo. How romantic it would be! Plus, he could probably use a little bit of water to wash his sandy hands off.

[Teo Long]

Teo couldn't bite back a grin when he saw Pit's little smile, the one that just made it impossible to not smile in return. He rolled his eyes at Patrick's response, but a warm chuckle still slipped past his lips. "Whatever you say, Pit." He said, shaking his head a little as he watched him.

A faint tint came to the younger boy's cheeks at his elder's wink. He almost wished that he could hide his reactions to Pit's flirting better, but then it wouldn't be very fun, now would it?

Teo raised a brow when Pit made a face at his hands, and he was rapt with attention by the time the other boy spoke. His smile easily returned to his lips at Pit's question, and he shrugged.

"I wouldn't mind at all.," he said lightly, before starting to head toward the water, shucking his shoes off where the sand was dry, but making sure to not fling them too far away. He glanced back at Pit, making a beckoning motion with his shoulder, a faint smile on his lips. "C'mon, Pit."

After his invitation, he walked - faint limp still in his step - toward the water. He was glad he had thought to wear cargo shorts; they made everything so much easier and made it less likely for him to embarrass himself in front of Pit.

[Patrick 'Pit' Icarus]

thinking...talking...listening...

"I wouldn't mind at all. C'mon, Pit."

Pit smiles broadly as he pulls himself up. He teeters a bit on his feet for a moment, getting used to standing up. Maybe next time he should take breaks from sitting, he thinks to himself a bit woozily. He gives a few rapid blinks before parading to the water after his friend. Sand flies around as he stomps and skips, making quite a mess, but Pit doesn't really mind. He's there to have fun -- plus, the sand is already everywhere. How can one really make that much of a mess?

He comes to a bit of a halt at the water's edge. His eyes follow the gentle lapping wearily. Standing right at the edge, he's unsure whether or not to go. Pit gives an almost sheepish smile to Teo.

"Do you like to swim?"

He asks, giving an curious look to the dark haired boy. Honestly, he's not a fan himself. It's not that he doesn't like it, it's just that he never really learned to swim. His parents had always thought swimming was bad -- mostly because of the lack of clothes that were worn. His own trunks and shirt flash through his mind. Isn't that normal beach attire? He's not completely sure.

The girls in bikinis never really bothered Pit that much. He wasn't amused or impressed or whatever he probably should've been. The boys had always interested him more, which had scared him a lot. Pit just wanted to be normal...

He shakes his head a bit, stepping slowly into the water. He bites back a squeal. It's cold. Not cold enough to make him withdraw, but enough that he's sure he makes some sort of face.

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Lyrics inspiration by Bruno Mars
Notes - none

[Teo Long]

Teo is already by the water's edge by the time that Pit got up, and the younger of the two waited for the elder, deciding to take the step with Pit. Besides, his guess was that the water was cold and he didn't want to react alone.

When Pit got to his side, Teo could tell that he was unsure whether to step into the water or not as well. He didn't know if Patrick's reason was the same as his, but he assumed it might have been around the same thing. The 18 year old was about to take a step into the water when he heard Pit's question, and that caused him to freeze before he receded from the water.

Flashes of images from when he was younger ran through his head: his mom laughing in the sunlight in her summer clothes by a lake, his mother teaching him how to swim that day before a sandwich break on the shore, a young girl's scream coming from the water, the sight of Teo's mom diving in the water without a second thought to save the drowning girl, his mother shouting for help after something caught on her foot, and his mom going under, mere bubbles where she once was. Then the after: the rescue boat fishing for his mom while his dad cried alone with Teo at his shoulder, grieving as well, his mother's body coming out and she was pale with some plants on her and a dark bruise around her ankle from whatever caught on her foot, and from there - the funeral. Avoiding swimming in that lake when invited, not swimming in the beach when his friends invited him, never going to the pool.

Teo composed himself before he answered Pit.

"Uh - I know how to swim, but I'm not a..big fan of it."

His eyes stayed on the sand as he slowly stepped into the water, the faint ache of the loss of his mother coming over him before pulsating, growing worse. Teo barely noticed the chill of the water, and he let his foot move slowly in the cold water, biting his lower lip. One of his fists clenched a little, a reminder to himself to keep calm and not think about it too much. It was years ago.

[Patrick 'Pit' Icarus]

thinking...talking...listening...

"Uh - I know how to swim, but I'm not a... big fan of it."

Pit glances over at his friend, who seems... Uneasy. He's not really sure. Pit's never been good with people, but he feels like Teo's not saying something. Then again, he doesn't talk to people very often. Maybe the water's just cold. Pit thinks it cold.

"You know how to swim? That's so cool."

He chooses to not hear the last part of Teo's words. It sounds unpleasant, and Pit it tired of unpleasant things. That's why he ran away -- to start anew. To be happy.

He watches the dark haired boy in a light haze. He want Teo to be happy too. He doesn't think he could be totally happy without Teo being happy. That's a bit melodramatic, isn't it? Probably. Pit's always been kind of dramatic though. He moves his gaze to look at the water, wiggling his toes in the water and squishing the sand between them. It amazingly soft.

Template made by Fantasy
Lyrics inspiration by Bruno Mars
Notes - none

[Teo Long]

Teo disliked himself in that moment, simply for the fact that he was having issues blocking out his mother's death. He didn't want to be like this, or worse, in front of Pit. He was sure that the last thing Pit wanted to deal with was Teo getting upset over something he couldn't change no matter what he did

However, even with these thoughts in mind, the 18 year old had issues trying to right his emotions. He dug his toes into the sand when he realized he would have to leave soon. If his memories were going to be bad today, then Teo knew he shouldn't be around people, most importantly Pit.

"I guess...it's kind of a useless skill for me since I don't swim." Teo replied weakly, trying to keep conversation.

How much longer could he go before he needed to leave was the real question he was starting to the think about.

[Patrick 'Pit' Icarus]

thinking...talking...listening...

A frown tugs at Pit's lips as he glances over at Teo, who doesn't seem to be having a good time. He returns his gaze to the sandy ground.

Maybe he's not being interesting. Maybe Teo is bored with him. No. Pit thinks to himself. He doesn't look bored. He looks genuinely unhappy. Pit's eyes widen momentarily as he thinks and he blinks a few times, trying to look normal. Did he say something? Oh, gosh. Pit must've offended him or something.

"I guess...it's kind of a useless skill for me since I don't swim."

Pit looks over at him again and forces a smile. Teo doesn't sound happy either. The older boy must be doing something wrong. He's not sure what, but that seems to be the only logical explanation. It must've been something he did recently too, because Teo seemed fine just a few minutes ago.

"It's totally useful! I don't know how to swim."

Pit admits. He searches his mind wildly for things to say. To fix whatever he said or did wrong before. Swimming seems really fun. He's not sure why Teo wouldn't like it. It seems pretty useful.

"There are lots of things I can't do because I can't. Like, waterslides!"

Patrick smiles brightly. Waterslides are fun, right? He thinks so. Waterslides could totally help him out here! Who doesn't like waterslides?

Template made by Fantasy
Lyrics inspiration by Bruno Mars
Notes – none