"... That's what... I've been trying to do," he whined a little, "But I... Can't just suddenly change, Blaze."

---

"You're the better catch," he delivered smoothly.

"I get that," Blaze reassured him. "It's the effort that matters."

--

Yue tried to react as smoothly as James delivered, but it didn't quite work. She liked it too much to be able to cover it all up.

Kale was silent, letting that sink in before he slowly reached back, trying to find Blaze.

--

James laughed again, "Should we go snorkeling? It's getting kinda hot." He winked at her

Blaze hadn't moved since he closed his eyes.

--

Yue raised an eyebrow. She hadn't brought a swimsuit, but that was probably the point.

So Kale's hand found her leg and rested on it.

--

"c'mon!" James encouraged, grabbing snorkeling sets.

Blaze let him, but didn't say anything.

--

Yue sighed a little, still debating.

"Sorry for causing you distress yesterday," he whispered.

--

"The water's really warm," James tempted.

Blaze remained silent.

--

"That swordfish is in it and who knows what else..." Yue replied.

James raised an eyebrow, "You're tooscared?" he asked, amused.

After a long while, Blaze whispered, "... I don't know how to say this."

--

"So what if I am?" Yue snapped back.

"... Say?" Kale whispered back.

--

James chuckled, "You're not afraid of gunfights but the ocean terrifies you?" he clarified with a shake of his head.

Blaze waited a minute more before trying to explain. "... I was really upset after we talked.... And I thought you had dumped me... So..." She paused for a long moment.

--

"No one typically wants to make a meal of you in a gunfight," Yue noted.

Kale visibly tensed a little.

--

"it'll be fine, most of the sharks are peaceful around here."

That made Blaze hesitate a little longer. But then she sighed, it wasn't fair to leave Kale tense like this. It was what it was. "When we went to the island... I slept with someone," she confessed quietly.

--

Yue paused for another minute, debating whether or not to trust James.

Kale seemed to freeze.

--

"Oh seriously?" James demanded, "Even if you don't trust me that much, at least know I'm not going to feed you to a shark!"

Blaze sighed again, not saying anything more.

--

Yue gave James a sour look. "Maybe it's not the sharks on my mind," she replied.