...

"I thought I might find you here." Raven said as she sat down next to Murphy. She was wearing a short flowy green dress to the wedding, not neon green, but a darker, more subdued green. Her shoes, like his, were absent.

"Yeah, good job, you found me Reyes." he mumbled sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

She nudged him. "What's been up with you lately? You're acting all grumpy." She said it playfully, but when he didn't respond, she sighed. "Murphy-"

"How's your leg?" he interrupted.

They both glanced down at it, about a week ago she'd finally stopped wearing the brace, and even though she still limped, she was healing. "Better." she told him. They'd been living together only because of that, because Raven knew that she'd need help moving around and stuff, and who better to help her then her best friend?

Best friend.

Murphy hated those words. They haunted him, because he knew that was all he would ever be to her. A friend.

"Seriously though," Raven said, snapping him out of his downward mental spiral. "What's wrong?"

"I'm moving out next week, right?" he said, but it sounded more like he was snapping at her than anything. Raven recoiled a bit, which made Murphy wince in turn.

"I mean, you don't have to..." Raven said, rubbing her arm and inspecting him carefully.

"But that's the thing, I do. Because we're friends, Raven. Friends. And friends don't live together." Murphy needed her to understand.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Raven asked after a long moment. "I mean- you seemed fine living together before."

"Well now it's different."

"How???" Raven demanded, throwing her arms up into the air. "How is it different?"

"Because now you don't need me, now there's no reason for me to stay. Your leg is healing- I really could have left a week ago."

"So why didn't you?" she snapped, the anger finally evident in her tone.

Murphy wasn't at all proud of the way his voice broke when he responded. "Because you're my friend, Raven." And there it was, that word that he despised so much. He'd said it. Raven stared at him, letting the words sink in.

"What if I don't just want to be friends?" She breathed.

At first, Murphy wasn't sure he'd heard right. And then he thought- okay, maybe I did, but maybe she doesn't mean what I think she means. "I- uh-" he stuttered, and the corners of her mouth lifted.

"What do you say, cockroach?"

"I'm sorry, let's just backtrack. You want to... date me?"

She frowned. "What, no!" And when his face fell, she laughed. "Yes, of course you idiot. What else would I be saying?"

Murphy's heart skipped a beat. "Is this... are you serious?" he demanded as his hands started to shake.

"Yes. Jesus Murphy, if I'd known you were gonna be this hard to convince, I would've just-" he interrupted her with a kiss. Raven gasped against his mouth before she melted into this kiss. She wrapped her arms around his back to pull him closer and they tumbled backwards into the sand.

Murphy felt giddy- an alien emotion to him. This is really happening... he thought to himself as they broke apart for air. "Are you sure?" he panted, and Raven smirked.

She grabbed his collar and dragged him down until their noses touched. "I've never been more sure of anything in my damn life."

He offered her his own smirk. "Well great, now that we've got that out of the way..." and then they were kissing again.

Murphy set his arm on the ground and accidentally jerked away from Raven's lips when it came back wet. "The hell?" he growled, glancing towards where the wetness had come from. It was ocean water, lapping gently at their heels.

Raven splashed a bit of water into his face and he let out a sputtering laugh. "Oh it is on, Reyes." he told her standing up and offering her his hand. She took it, but instead of helping her up, he flung her into the less than ankle deep water. It splashed, getting Murphy a bit wet too, but it was worth it.

Raven shrieked, standing up dripping wet only to grab his sleeve and haul him into the water as well. Murphy landed on his back, letting out a startled breath before he scrambled to his feet again.

They circled each other for a moment before Murphy pounced, knocking them both to the ground. Another small wave hit and they both yelped.

They continued their water fight, only pausing to burst into fits of laughter and share short kisses.

The night was young, and for the moment, so were they.