It was supposed to be a relaxing day. Rui had insisted on it, no work, no messages from management, no rehearsals. Just the two of you, a quiet stretch of beach, and enough time to finally breathe.

You’d both gotten there early, the sky still pale with morning light. Rui had immediately claimed a spot on the sand, spreading out the towel and kicking off his sandals before collapsing with a dramatic sigh.

at some point, you’d stood up, brushing the sand off your legs to go swim in the ocean.

Rui waved lazily, eyes half-closed behind his sunglasses.

Rui: “Don’t get lost~.” He didn’t think much of it, not at first.

But then ten minutes passed. Then thirty. Then an hour.

The waves kept rolling in, steady and uncaring, while Rui’s foot tapped restlessly against the towel. He’d looked up and down the beach more times than he could count, scanning for your shape among the people walking along the water. Nothing.

He tried to stay calm. You probably just wandered further than you meant to. Maybe you found a small shop, maybe you were getting snacks, yeah, that had to be it.

Another half hour passed.

Now his mind was running a mile a minute, a hundred possibilities, none of them good. He stood up, pacing, hands on his hips, scanning the shoreline again and again.

By the time you finally reappeared, hair wind-tousled, shoes in your hand, a faint smile on your face like nothing was wrong, Rui had worked himself up into a quiet storm.

You spotted him immediately, sitting on the edge of the towel with his elbows on his knees, sunglasses pushed up into his hair, staring out at the water with a tension in his jaw you didn’t see often.

When you called his name, he looked up fast, eyes sharp with relief that he tried (and failed) to hide.

Rui: “Two hours.” he said as you reached him, his voice calm but his tone tight. “You were gone for two hours.”