Davian and Lake finally got to the beach hours after breakfast, the Alpha held a large picnic basket in hand and his mate’s hand in the other as they leisurely made their way across the white sand.
He had slathered them both down in sunscreen, Lake wearing a hat and sunglasses and a light outer robe. It was late in the morning but the sun was already pretty warm, the frothing white waves lapping at their feet.
"I want to take my shoes off," Lake announced, the Omega was walking ahead, and if Davian wasn’t holding onto his hand, he would have run off the moment they got to the beach.
"It’s too dangerous," Davian dissuaded, glancing down at the sharp glinting sand with disapproval.
Lake was hardly listening, abruptly dropping down to pick up something that caught his eye. "It’s a seashell," He announced his find, holding it up to Davian.
After walking for a decent distance, Davian decided that they had gotten to the perfect spot. He reluctantly let go of Lake to lay out the blankets and put down umbrellas, a wry smile on his face when his mate immediately wandered off.
He could still see Lake out of the corners of his eyes and the Omega was still wearing his flip-flops so there was no immediate cause for concern as Davian got things ready for their day at the beach.
Lake pattered back when he was rounding up, his arms filled with sun-bleached seashells of various sizes and colors. Davian was supposed to be focusing on the haul but he couldn’t seem to see past Lake’s rounded stomach.
"Don’t you want to take a break? You’ve been picking up seashells this entire time." He tried to coerce the Omega to sit down after safely keeping his seashells. If Lake kept his foraging up, they might need an extra car just to take back all the shells.
Lake’s eyes were bright, loud-colored plastic hairpins in his hair because he didn’t want to lose the more expensive ones to the sea. Davian hadn’t cared but he couldn’t dissuade his mate so he went along.
Lake was usually reserved and in charge, while he ran their Mafia House, but out here the Omega was unrestrained, there was a seashell in his hair, and the sea was reflected in his eyes. It was like getting a glimpse of the child Lake never got to be, it softened Davian’s steel gray eyes.
"Let’s take a dip in the ocean, we even brought inflatables." Lake said enthusiastically, brimming with energy.
Davian’s first instinct was to try to get his Omega to take a short break first but his resolve crumbled instantly, and in the next few minutes, he was inflating a round tube and armbands. They were all in bright orange, the inflatable tube a slice of orange.
Lake was crouched in front of him curiously, the cool ocean breeze blowing through his dark hair as he watched Davian pump up the floaties. He dutifully put them on when they were filled with air, his smile bright enough to rival the blinding orange of the floaties.
Lake waited until Davian put his on as well, the Alpha only had a tube around his muscled waist, it was a chocolate-covered donut, his expression indulgent.
Lake lost his plastic slippers before Davian could protest, taking a running start to the edge of the sea, his laughter ringing out, the sun in his hair.
Davian was frozen for a moment, he forgot to scold Lake, watching stunned as the Omega waded into the shallow end of the water, the waves pushing him back out to the beach.
He got to his side in quick strides, helping him up only for Lake to go running and jump into the water. The waves were weak, and they came few and far between so he wasn’t worried about Lake getting pulled into the deep end.
The water was comfortably warm, the sun’s rays making it more comfortable to be submerged than out on the reflective beach. Davian was pulled out of his thoughts by a splash of water to his face, it got into his mouth, the salty water making him grimace.
Lake froze a short distance from him, looking like a piece of cheese with all of the bright orange he wore, he caught Davian’s change of expression and immediately turned around, darting down the shallow edge where the water met sand.
Davian didn’t approve of his mate running around barefoot where there might be sharp stones or pieces of sea glass so he took off his tube for better aerodynamics and sped up, catching Lake with ease.
The Omega’s laughter pierced the clean air, his arms and legs waving around as he was caught. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry... don’t splash me."
Davian had no plans of doing that, carrying the laughing Omega over to where the umbrellas were. Lake had gone quiet after he took off the inflatable armbands and the tube off, the Omega had clearly worn himself out.
After picking up shells, swimming, and then running around, there was a happy exhaustion in those light brown eyes.
Davian was just content that he had finally gotten his pregnant mate off his feet, offering him a bottle of cold water.
Lake drank heartily, getting to his feet to rinse the sea water and sand off his face. Davian had a close eye on him the entire time, his expression wary like he expected Lake to dart off again.
The Omega just walked right back to him, a knowing expression on his face. "I’m too tired to run around," He admitted honestly, joining him on the large blanket and resting his head on his shoulder.
Davian let out a silent sigh of relief, watching Lake close his eyes blissfully and lean more of his weight on him, his sigh of relief however, got stuck in his throat at Lake’s next words.
"Fuck me when we get back to the beach house."