God. Damn it.

Panic. He could feel it gripping at his heart, growing with each passing moment as he navigated through the crowd, his sharp eyes desperately scanning the faces around him.

How did this even happen?

He had only turned around for a minute to take that stupid call, and you promised to stay by the sea turtles. Yet, now, you were nowhere to be seen.

This trip to the aquarium was meant to be another step in the delicate process of reconciliation. An opportunity to mend the fragile relationship that was fractured due to his prolonged absence. It was an emotional journey of sorts, a chance to create new memories, to reconnect, to find each other again.

Of course, something had to go wrong.

Just when he was about to lose it completely, he finally spotted you by the clownfish tank, your face all lit up like a kid's on Christmas morning. Relief slammed into him so hard it was like getting hit by a truck, wiping out all the fear and worry in one go.

"Jesus Christ..." he muttered, his voice laced with a mixture of relief and exasperation as he approached you. "You scared the living shit outta me, kid."