A Date on the Beach

"No, Casque." Casque sighed softly as he perched on top of the desk in front of Montresor who had a small scowl on his face while trying to focus on his paperwork.

"You have been cooped up a lot in here lately with your paperwork" The Envy pointed out while reaching out to grasp Montresor's hand with his own; effectively stopping his writing motions "They are piling up and you could afford to delegate those to your employees-- No don't give me that look. I know you and your employees. You have plenty that are capable." Casque rolled his eyes at the way the Pride was trying to protest,
"Besides, if you don't agree to what I'm asking, we both know Aletheia will eventually show up and somehow drag us into a double date with her and Amaryllis. Yes she has been trying to hint at that during our last few conversations and it has been very lovely outside lately. The fact you have been barely outside last few days is fucking criminal especially since you love the warm weather." Casque pointed out, ignoring the subtle wince from Montresor at the swear just uttered.

"I do not like being on the beach and you are well aware of that" Montresor sighed and Casque squeezed his hand with a huff "Because of the sand in your joints. I know that and I would happily help you do maintenance on those but I am not asking you to go on the beach with me." Casque continued with a small smile at the way Montresor's cheeks tinted slightly pink at the mention of maintenance on his joints. "There are plenty of things to do along the strip, including this restaurant I would like to try. It has a lovely patio..." Casque paused as he was being pulled off the desk and into the taller doll's lap. He could feel Montresor's long wavy hair brushing against his skin as the Pride nuzzled against his neck causing Casque to let out soft content sigh.

"Very well then since you appear to be quite insistent" Montresor murmured into Casque's skin causing him to shiver softly from the sensation on his neck. Casque did have to smile at getting his way. "Good. I made reservations for tomorrow evening."
"Casque!" Casque smirked at the fondly exasperated tone in the older doll's voice as he was pulled closer into Montresor's chest for some snuggles. It wasn't often that the pair ventured out of their wineries on a date as they often preferred to spend their time together at either of their residences but Casque had heard about the restaurant and had been itching to get off of his property for a while. If he got to spend some time with.... Whatever it was he called this thing--Okay, feelings are complicated! --with Montresor, it was all the even better.

The next evening, Casque was leaning on the railing on Montresor's residence patio; waiting patiently for him to come outside as he had texted ahead of time informing the taller doll of his arrival. He was distracted by his phone, scrolling through Bunsgram when he felt strong arms reaching around him, and the warmth of a body caging him against the railing. Casque tilted his head up slightly from his phone to look into burgundy eyes and chuckled quietly as he was pulled into a loose hug.

"You're being affectionate" he teased, eliciting a soft huff into his hair from the Pride. "Only with you" was the response as Casque tilted his head upwards to swipe a kiss from him which had Montresor chasing for more kisses. It was a bit before Casque managed to push him off with a quiet laugh so they could head to the Forneus Sea.

The beach was actually rather bustling with several buns and dolls flocking to the Forneus Sea for a fantastic day out. There were a couple of beach volleyball games going on and Casque recognized a few dolls playing. There were several dolls catching some waves. Or trying to. Out of the corner of his amethyst eyes, he saw Montresor wince at a bad wipe out.

"The restaurant's just down this strip. However we have plenty of time. Do you want to walk on the beach a little or explore the shops?" Casque asked as he glanced up before sighing with an eye roll
"We're not going to venture too far on the sands where it'll get stuck in those ankle joints of yours! Look, there are paved paths with some sand on those. We can explore the stores later...." Casque moved around to face Montresor, looking directly into his burgundy eyes "I'll clean your joints out tonight. Besides you can always use today as an excuse to wave that persistent woman off when she do swing by to pester you for an outing!" He pointed out, causing the taller Pride to sigh softly.

"...How much time do we have until dinner?" Montresor eventually responded and Casque offered a small smile "Couple of hours...."
".....No water" The Pride relented and Casque shook his head

"We won't go that far on the beach. Sand and water are not a good mix. We can just watch the games going on. There are several around here. After that we can go explore the stores...."
"Lead the way then" Montresor gestured as Casque moved to lead them onto the beach, being rather mindful to stick to the mostly paced paths for Montresor's Marionette Joints. Casque did not mind helping clean them out but they could be time consuming.....and intimate.

They strolled down the path to find a good beach volleyball game to watch, eventually finding one between buns both recognized as patrons of their wineries. It was not long before Casque got dragged into refereeing the game as Montresor leaned back on the stone railing to observe the younger winery owner being a referee. After a round or two, they soon moved on further down on the beach because Casque had seen few stalls on the beach itself that seemed to be selling some accessories and decorations made from seashells themselves.

Montresor stood back as Casque browsed the wares before they both moved on further down the beach with Casque easily enjoying the sensation of sand beneath his feet as he carried his sandals in his hand while Montresor was watching his footing as to avoid kicking up too much sand into the air. They were careful to keep distance from the sea as they wandered the beach while enjoying the sights, bun-watching and the warm air brushing against their skin.

Montresor was quick to turn Casque around to start heading back where they came from because he had spotted few familiar eyes and was not in the mood to deal with them.
"Aletheia, Amaryllis, Panacea and Baduhennia are on the beach." He quickly murmured into Casque's ears causing the Envy to pick up his pace as they hurried away from the three Pride buns and one Greed bun. It was far better for them to avoid teasing and just have the time on the beach to themselves before heading back to the restaurant for the dinner. Soon, Montresor voiced that he has had his fill of the sandy beach and Casque relented as they set a route for the boardwalk strip.

When they finally got back onto the boardwalk strip with some time to spare, Casque leaned onto Montresor for support as he picked up a foot to wipe sand off before slipping sandal on and repeated with his other foot. Then Casque spotted a store and pointed out to Montresor in rather excited tone "Look, this shop sells olive oils and vinegars! I've been meaning to add more to my kitchen..." Montresor had to follow Casque while shaking his head fondly as the Envy beelined for the speciality shop. The Pride followed the Envy around as Casque grabbed a basket to shop with. Few bottles of extra virgin olive oil were set into basket gently as Casque browsed the infused offerings.

"Ooh? Chipotle Olive Oil? I've been wanting to experiment--" Montresor's lips curved slightly as he listened to Casque ramble about using the olive oils and vinegars in his cooking both as finishing touches and during the cooking process itself. Soon the basket were quite full and Montresor was carrying a second basket halfway filled as they went to the register to make the purchases. He was shaking his head in amusement as the shorter doll once again chatted up the cashier about uses of products in cooking.

"OH shit it's almost time for our reservation!" Casque swore when he checked his phone once they were outside the shop "Come on!" The pair hurried to the beautiful restaurant with the patio set on a cliff overlooking the beach. The fresh air carried the scent of the sea over the patio with ease. As they settled into their table and the bag full of purchases at Casque's feet, Casque let out a soft content sigh.

"Now shall we enjoy our evening over good food?"