Hidden in the sand

(𝟑)𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲?

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Standing by the foot of the dock his eyes trailed across the poorly fixed up third step, the same plywood from earlier was nailed across the planks providing it some extra stability despite its rough appearance.

Sighing through his nose he made his way up trailing down the length of the dock, his eyes instantly landed among (H/C) hair seeing the same girl from the past few days. Legs hanging over the side of the dock while a convenient store bag rested against her side.

Taking his usual seat he could see her munching contently on a small sandwich, a little pink milk carton was also balanced delicately along the fabric of her shorts.

Releasing a soft breath she shifted the sandwich into one hand digging through the bag to her side for a second or two eventually pulling out an odd looking treat, wrapped up in a clear bag.

Without a thought she leaned out placing it beside the white haired man, no words were uttered as she continued eating her sandwich.

Blinking a few times while looking at the small item his eyes trailed back up to her almost as though he was expecting an explanation.

There was really no reason she needed to give him anything, so why?

Almost as though she could read his thoughts she paused finishing the bite taken, "Try it, it's like sweet bread." It wasn't exactly the answer he wanted but it was enough to tell him that she'd definitely brought it for him.

Taking the small bag in hand and looking over the odd looking bread he hesitantly removed the packaging sliding it out. Almost instantly there was a subtle sweet vanilla smell, the top of the bread now being identified as a firmer texture.

"It's called Melonpan, sweetbread with a cookie-like layer on top." Giving a quick description of what it was she finished up her sandwich, moving to pull out another melonpan from her bag, quickly unwrapping it.

Watching her take a bite he took one of his own, it wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do considering his line of work but there were no red flags going off in his mind.

Right away the sweet flavour hit his tongue, there was a faint crunch from the cookie like shell on top followed by the soft sweet texture of the bread.

Looking over to gauge his reaction she smiled softly watching him move to take a few more bites, the baked good quickly gone in a few seconds.

It made her happy to see that he'd accepted her small gesture, feeling like the man's been weighed down by too many things.

His aura the first time she'd dropped by was hostile, yet sad in a sense. As though the hostility was just a cover up for something else.

"Say. . " Beginning with that she paused waiting for the man to look over, "How come you come out here everyday?" The words danced around in the air for a moment, like flowers in a spring breeze before whoever they were asked to had respond.

Releasing a deep sigh his eyes glazed over returning towards the ocean, "Why do you care?"

"Because you look lonely."

A silence ensued after that. Only the calmness of waves ahead kept things from becoming still, the salty smell within the air tingled both their noses.

Neither of them spoke after this, just settling into a silence.

Maybe he was lonely.

But he wasn't about to admit that to someone he barely knew, let alone even someone he did know.

"That's not something a stranger typically points out." Clicking his tongue while responding with that he could see her throw her arms back, eyes turned towards the sky instead of the horizon.

There were too many things she wanted to say at that point in time but remained quiet, she hadn't exactly interacted with this man enough to understand the complexities of his personality, but there was something about him that made her want to understand.

"Then let's not be strangers," Openly stated that her head turned to the side meeting his somewhat curious yet hard gaze.

"Why?"

Blinking at the word her lips stretched out into a small reassuring smile, the action of which seemed to ease the tense man.

"Because you seem like someone who needs a friend."