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I swear to God, Jim. If you fuck this up again, I will take her, and you won't find her.

As if he had any right to the girl, really. As if Jim would care. As if he'd even notice. He wouldn't bat an eye if both of them just vanished.

He certainly hadn't told her school anything.

Sebastian Moran had half expected to be turned away at the gate. Not because Jim didn't trust him with Becky but out of spite. Either for the fight itself or for leaving in the middle of the night and not coming back. He'd texted Becky, though, just after he left. Made sure she knew where he was going and that she could call or text him at any time of the night if she needed him.

He couldn't be in the penthouse with Jim... not after heavy snogging (nice) and foreplay (very nice) had led to a callous remark about the time he'd spent away (mood dead). He wasn't proud of how they'd fought. He'd tried to keep quiet, but just a few things had been said by the mastermind that had him shouting. He'd even slammed Jim into a wall at one point.

Because... well. If Jim wanted to hurt him? Rip his heart out? Crucify him? Fine. He was a soldier. He could take torture. But he wasn't going to let him hurt that little girl. Even just by saying the wrong, heartless thing.

But. At the gate of her school, he'd shown his ID, been checked against a list, and let in to pick her up. Homework be damned, they weren't going straight to the penthouse. No... He knew just where to take her. Just for a few hours.

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"Didn't even think about that," he admitted, but his smile was warmer now. "We'll bring swimsuits next time. And--"

He squeezed her hand a little, kneeling.

"One Friday, we'll grab a ferry and go to France. All three of us." If he had to drag James kicking and screaming, he'd make the man go. Maybe take his laptop and mobile hostage until he came and at least pretended not to hate it. "Spend the weekend."

"Katie said it's boring."

But it's almost questioning, the way her dark eyes are fixed on his, wondering what he thinks about France.

She didn't like Katie all that much, anyway.

"And it is."

His smile shifts, gets wider, and he leans closer in.

"For someone boring. And-- I know her family. Really boring."

That got a smile, her measuring look disappearing to reveal the girl beneath. Just a ten year old girl.

Satisfied, she turned her gaze back to the ocean. "I want to make sandcastles. Mrs. Abram brought in pictures of fancy ones for an art project. With turrets. I want one of those."

...because that was going to happen.

"I've never been very good at sandcastles, but we can try, can't we?"

He laughs a little and comes out of his kneel. It'll be a bit rough, going down. This isn't the ideal spot for it. But it's just tricky, not dangerous. He'll be fine, and he can guide her, carry her if he has to. He doesn't feel like getting into the car again.

...And, as he stands up fully, he takes his mobile phone out of his pocket, taps a few keys, then replaces it.

In rain or mud and (more rarely), snow, Becky was almost feline in nature. She hated getting wet or dirty. She sought excuses not to have to do anything that might mess up her clothes or her hands. But rocks and sand? That was something else entirely.

She doesn't need his help getting down. If allowed, she could probably scramble down to beach even faster than he could, the way she was willing to clamber over the steep surfaces. By the time they'd reached the bottom, there were grass stains on her skirt and her neatly pressed shirt was half pulled from where it had been tucked in, the fabric having snagged on a jagged point as they'd passed, and she doesn't even notice.

Her eyes are already on the pounding surf, watching the way it washes the sand smooth.

Sebastian follows her. It’s amazing to see her move here. To watch her really be a kid, not complaining about maybe getting dirty or wet. When he joins her on the shore, he grins a little.

“It’s kind of amazing. Just across this, not very far at all, is another country. People swim it, you know. The Channel.”

Which she probably knows, but it’s still interesting to think about it. The wet sand should work well for trying to make a sandcastle. He can already imagine how shaky the attempt will be, but, well, that’ll be half the fun. Learning as they go.