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Squeak!
“Ugh, Destiny, you woke me up early again, this better be good…” said Bailey, a tired, “injured” beluga whale at the Marine Life Institute in California. Betwen him are bars separating him from his tank neighbor, Destiny, a whale shark.
Squeak!
“Destiny.”
Squeak!
“Destiny, I know you hear me.”
“Okay! Okay! I hear you! What is it?” Destiny turned to… Where she thinks Bailey is. She can’t see very well.
“…”
“…Well?” Said Destiny, exasperated from swimming into her enclosure’s walls so much.
“Why’d you wake me up, Destiny?” Said Bailey, in that tired, emotionless tone of his.
”Because… Because we’re gonna have visitors!” Cried Destiny.
“…We have lots of visitors Destiny. Every day, Destiny.” Said Bailey.
“But—But… It’s a Saturday! It’s gonna be… It’s gonna be busy!”
“So?” Asked Bailey.
“U-Uh… Um… uhh…” Destiny glanced around quickly, trying to think of a reasonable excuse. “Uhh…. Uhhh…”
“You done?” Asked Bailey. “Yes, please…” Said Destiny, exasperated. “Ugh… It’s just… I need to make a good impression for the guests, you know?”
“You run into walls even when the guests are here, though. Right?”
“Um… yeah… maybe I’m worrying about this too much…” Said Destiny, glancing away from Bailey in embarrassment.
Bailey couldn’t help but chuckle. “Ah… That’s why I love you, Destiny.”
“What?!”
“…What?” Bailey said, once in again in his classic emotionless voice.
“Y-You… You said—!”
Destiny sputtered.
“I didn’t say anything.” Interrupted Bailey.
Destiny pouted. This was an important moment, and he tries to shut her down? “Bailey… I know you said something…” Teased Destiny in a sing-song tone.
“Do you…?”
“Yep… I know exactly what you said, too!” Teased Destiny, again.
“Oh, really…?” Bailey said, somehow keeping his unbothered demeanor intact.
“Yep! You said, quote, ‘That’s why I love you,’ end quote!” Destiny gave Bailey a playful little smile.
“…I didn’t say that.” Said Bailey.
”Wha—? Yes you did!” Said Destiny. No way he was being defensive now, not to mention being somewhat convincing too!
”No I didn’t.”
“Yes you did!”
“No I didn’t.”
“YES YOU DID!”
“No I didn’t.”
”Ugh! Why do I even—?… Bailey, I know what you said, stop trying to hide it.” Said Destiny, giving Bailey a semi-seductive smirk.
“…I still didn’t say anything.” Said Bailey.
Destiny sighed, contemplating swimming away from the gate separating them, but, before she could do that, she looked at Bailey again.
“Love you too, Bailey.” She giggled, swimming back near the glass that gave visitors a peek into her enclosure.
Bailey stayed floating near the gate, eyes following Destiny as she swam away. He couldn’t find the right words for a response, but he was at least able to say something that he was keeping in his mind for a long while now.
“Love you too, Destiny.”