Early in the morning, when the sun was just hitting the beach, it looked perfect.
These days, it looked astounding to Bummie. A lot of beautiful things were being recognized by him lately. It was like the world was finally shifting into his field of vision.
It was nice and he never wanted it to change.
He would think things like love does that to you, but that wasn't exactly right. Bummie had realized that he trapped himself in a negative routine. Actively planning things and actually doing them, tore that routine apart.
Bummie liked it.
What Bummie didn't know was that Jae felt the same. The sea creature had loved the ocean, he really did. However, he was alone with nothing. The sea had treated him nicely, but he wanted to experience everything! Now, he was.
What was Bummie planning today? Actually, what Bummie had planned would take place later that night. He was just excited and started preparing early in the morning.
Jae slept through noon as Bummie was up and at it. Jae had awoken to breakfast and hot chocolate. The two sat at the table watching tv as they ate.
The day went slowly and smoothly.
As the evening began and the sun had lightly retreated, Bummie instructed Jae to get ready. Jae had been fine with getting ready by himself. The mermaid no longer needed help. He just liked to be pampered at times. Bummie didn't mind of course, but he needed time to set up.
Bummie gave further instructions to come to the beach when he was done.
Jae put on his shoes before opening the door and walking out. The sea creature looked around the area. Jae walked up to the boardwalk.
He immediately saw it.
"Hey," Bummie motioned Jae over with a wave.
Bummie stood far back on the beach. Close to the water, but far enough that it wouldn't reach the setup. One big tent stood behind him. Bummie was bent over attempting to light huge chunks of wood. Other little items were scattered around him.
Jae was confused, but that didn't stop the thrill from coming up.
Jae walked over to Bummie and observed his movements. Bummie glanced over and gave a quick smile. A glow started to admit from underneath the wood.
"Yay," Bummie clapped.
"Yay!" Jae repeated.
Bummie laughed.
"This is something you call camping!" Bummie held out his arms while gesturing to the area around them.
Jae examined his surroundings.
"It's where humans go outside and adventure nature, but it's not always that intense. Most of the time, we do it for a change of scenery." Bummie explained.
"What's this for?" Jae poked the tent.
"That is where we will be sleeping." Bummie unzipped the tent to reveal a sleeping bag inside.
Jae let out a cute gasp.
"We'll start with the smores first." Bummie sat down.
"Smores!" Jae had heard about those.
Bummie tapped Jae's thigh and the sea creature sat down as well.
"Yup, take one of these." Bummie handed Jae a stick.
Jae took the slice of wood and inspected it.
"Take a marshmallow and stick it on the end like this-" Bummie took the sugary treat from the bag and slapped it on his stick.
"Mhm," Jae repeated Bummie's action.
"Then we let it cook." Bummie held his stick over the fire.
Jae did the same.
"Ooh!" Jae watched as his marshmallow cooked.
"Now slowly take it away and put it on the graham cracker." Bummie got out crackers for him and Jae.
Bummie proceeded to place his cooked marshmallow on the cracker.
"We add chocolate and the top, then we're done!" Bummie showed Jae his sandwich.
Jae nodded and followed the steps. It might have been the easiest thing Jae had done since land. Maybe he was just getting used to life on land. That was probably it, Jae had gotten used to trying new things. Something he desired with all his heart before.
"Yay!" Jae shoved his sandwich into the air with a proud smile.
Bummie laughed while holding his sandwich in front of him. Bummie turned to Jae and took a huge bite. Jae giggled and followed along taking a bite from his own sandwich.
The fire drowned out the sound of the two munching on their food. The wind blew, but the pair sat by their fire unbothered. The sun was setting beautifully and once again the universe aligned perfectly.
That had been happening a lot. It was supposedly an unnatural phenomenon, but when they were together it was the norm. It happened so much that the two had gotten used to it.
It was comfortable.
Jae leaned on Bummie and let out a content sigh. Bummie wrapped his arm around the mermaid, pulling Jae even closer. Jae took this chance to peck Bummie's check.
Marshmallow and chocolate smudged on Bummie's face. Jae laughed and Bummie pouted. Bummie kissed Jae messily while intentionally smearing chocolate over the mermaid's cheek.
Revenge.
Jae yelped and coughed as he choked. Bummie pat Jae's back and assured he was ok. Too much excitement, he guessed.
Jae just laughed.
The two continued to tease and mess with each other. Roasting marshmallows and giving messy kisses. They concluded the day by cuddling snuggly in their tent.
Although there was enough room for three, they didn't really care. Jae buried his head in Bummie's chest. Bummie's arms were wrapped tightly around Jae's waist. A thick blanket spread across them as they rested. It was quite a nice night.
It was calm and peaceful, but the most common feeling in the air was
warmth.