Dave Miller x Reader 【BlueyCapsules】

Chapter 10

You pulled it out, holding it in front of you to admire it. It looked like one that would've belonged to a hermit crab, spiral-shaped and white with tinges of orange and pink. You gasped in childlike wonder as you looked closer.

"Ah, look, Dave!" You whispered, as if your voice would would disturb it, "there's a little man inside!"

He waded closer and leaned in, peering over your shoulder at the shell. Sure enough, a little crab was inside, his legs peeking out only slightly as he hid from you. You smiled, gently placing him in Dave's outstretched palm. You watched his face scrunch up as he observed the creature, turning him around in his fingers with a delicacy he didn't usually exhibit.

"Should probably put him back now," you said softly, pulling him out of his little trance. He nodded and set the animal down, letting it scurry away under the waves. You smiled, peering up at him through the wet strands of your hair. He looked sort of flustered as he realized how close you two were, with him practically breathing down your neck. He broke the eye contact to shuffle backwards and plunge his own hands in the water, muttering something about finding another one "without any critters in it."

As he busied himself with that, you took a brief second to really study his scars. They were symmetrical, with a collage of lines and dots and circles all meshing together to form a maze across his body. You desperately wanted to ask about them but bit your tongue in fear of it being a touchy subject.

"Seein' something ya like?" He snorted sarcastically, and you snapped your head up. Shit, you really aren't slick.

"Sorry..."

"Don't worry about it. 'M used to it. Y'know, with these things."

You pressed your lips together and nodded, not brave enough to make eye contact.

"Ya aren't gonna ask about 'em?"

"...I didn't wanna be rude," you admitted sheepishly, gaze flitting up to him. A wistful smile was on his face.

"They're just from an accident back on the farm in Texas."

Okay, that raised more questions than answers. The hell kind of machinery were they using?

"What kind of accident?"

"Cattle related."

What? You gaped at him a second before he cracked a shit-eating grin and you knew you'd been got. "Oh, bullshit!" You laughed. "Was it really something that happened on the farm?"

"...Nah," he said simply, twirling a light pink shell in between his fingers. A dark look passed over his face, so despite your growing questions you decided to drop the subject. Story for another day, maybe? A silence fell over the two of you, Dave still continuing to sweep his hands along the seafloor in search of shells. You noticed he had started tucking some of the prettier ones away in the pockets of his trunks. Cute.

You just sat still for a bit, closing your eyes and basking in the feeling of the waves gently rocking you. When you opened them back up, the blond was staring at you, and you blinked a few times in surprise. You could barely see his face now, the sun having fully set below the horizon and leaving only the dim twinkle of stars in its wake, which reflected in his silvery eyes. Despite your embarrassment, you didn't look away, instead opting to softly ask, "you think we should go back now?"

"...I don't really want to," he responded, an odd tone to his voice. You sighed and brought your hand out of the water to point at the sky.

"It's pretty dark now. Might be getting time to leave."

He opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by a cry of, "there you two are!" You looked over to see Jeremy and Mr. Guy, the latter looking worried sick.

"Oh, hi guys," you croaked out, cringing at the waver in your voice. "Have, uh--have we been gone for long?" It didn't feel like you had.

"I don't know, but I was scared to death! We couldn't find you anywhere," Mr. Guy fretted, hands on his hips. "Why did you just run off like that?"

"We were bored out of our minds, Philerp," Dave replied nonchalantly. "'Sides, we're both capable adults. What had ya so tore up?"

"...I don't know, okay?" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, the convention's over now, anyway. We have less than an hour before the bus leaves, so hurry up and get out."

Mr. Guy turned around and left after that, grumbling a little under his breath. You suddenly felt a pang of guilt--you hadn't imagined it would worry him that bad, though!

"Sooo," Jeremy began, narrowed eyes flickering between the two of you. "What've you guys been up to this whole time?"

"Just enjoying the ocean, I guess," you shrugged, trying not to let your embarrassment show. You could practically see the gears turning in the teen's head.

"...Uh-huh. Well, I'll meet you guys out front, I guess." He cast you one last questioning look before he was off, following Mr. Guy's footprints in the sand. You grimaced. He wasn't mad at you, right?

Dave suddenly stood up in the water, splashing you. You glared up at him before noticing that his pockets were absolutely filled with shells, looking like two tumors on the sides of his legs. You giggled as he offered you a hand.

"What're you gonna do with all those?" You quizzed, shivering as you were left at the mercy of the chill breeze. "Ah, shit, we don't have a towel, do we? It's freezing."

The man hesitated before he wrapped his arm around your shoulder, bringing you in flush against his side. You froze at the contact, and he chuckled, "we'll live, darlin'," before guiding you out of the water and back onto the shore. Bending over and collecting both your clothes without breaking stride, he led you back over to the convention site, the heat radiating off his body keeping you warmer than you would've been otherwise. It honestly felt... nice.

He pulled away from you as you got closer to the site, where some workers were busy cleaning up. Despite what he'd said, Mr. Guy was waiting for you two with some towels. You prayed that he didn't see.

"You're a lifesaver, Mr. Guy," you chirped, hoping your face wasn't too red as you graciously took the towels and passed one to Dave. You started to work at drying yourself off, trying to get as much water and sand off as you could so you wouldn't be uncomfortable the whole way back.

"No problem," he gave a tired smile, "but hurry, now, so we aren't pushing it!"

After pulling your clothes back on and retrieving your things from the lobby, you got back on the bus. Jeremy was already on, yawning as he peered out the window. Remembering your promise from yesterday, you slipped in beside him and smiled.

"Tired?" You asked, and he looked at you in surprise.

"Oh, yeah, I guess," he punctuated the response with another yawn before quirking a brow at you, leaning in really close to whisper:

"Say, (y/n)... is something going on between you and Dave?"
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damn shawty we rlly movin along now huh