Sparks

The waves stretched out, endless and golden under the sunset. Lyra ran ahead, spinning with her arms out, laughing as if she could catch the wind. Mara stood a few steps back, camera poised. She had taken hundreds of sunset pictures before, but none as mesmerizing as the girl dancing before her.

Click.

Lyra turned, catching her in the act. “You're doing it again,” she teased, walking toward her.

Mara smirked, lowering the camera slightly. “And what exactly am I doing?”

Lyra narrowed her eyes playfully. “Stealing moments.”

Mara chuckled. “Maybe. But I only steal the ones I want to keep.”

Lyra stopped in front of her, cheeks dusted with the last golden rays of the sun. “And do you keep a lot of them?”

Mara hesitated for a moment before flipping the camera around. “See for yourself.”

Lyra leaned in, scrolling through the images. Her smile faded, replaced by something softer, something real.

There she was, laughing, running, completely lost in the moment. But Mara’s pictures weren’t just snapshots. They were something more. Every frame held a quiet admiration, a tenderness in the way the light touched her skin, the way her eyes crinkled mid-laugh.

Lyra exhaled. “Oh.”

Mara swallowed hard. “Yeah.”

The silence between them thickened, the distant crashing of waves the only sound filling the space. Then, suddenly—

Click.

Mara blinked. “Did you just—”

Lyra grinned, lowering the camera. “Now I have a picture of my favorite view, too.”

Mara let out a breathless laugh, shaking her head. “You’re impossible.”

Lyra shrugged, stepping even closer until their fingers brushed. “And yet, you keep chasing after me with that camera.”

Mara smirked, but her voice was softer when she spoke. “Yeah. I do.”

Lyra looked at her, gaze lingering just a second too long before she broke away, running towards the water. “Come on, photographer,” she called. “Let’s make this moment last.”

Mara didn’t hesitate.

For once, she let herself be part of the picture.

Later That Night…

The speaker crackled to life as Lyra scrolled through her playlist. She hummed in approval when a familiar tune filled the quiet night air.

Mara recognized it instantly.

She froze.

Someone like you makes me feel how I feel…

Mara let out a quiet breath, willing her heart to stay steady.

"You and your choice of songs," she muttered, aiming for nonchalance, but the warmth creeping up her neck betrayed her.

Lyra just grinned, lying back on the sand. "What? It’s a good song."

The mellow sound blended with the sound of the waves.

I can’t tell you, baby, what it was…

Mara swallowed hard. She knew this song. Knew exactly what it was saying.

She glanced at Lyra, but the other girl just lay there, eyes on the sky, as if she hadn’t just set the mood in a way that made Mara's chest tighten.

Mara hesitated. “You always play this one.”

“Because I like it,” Lyra said simply. Then, after a beat, she added, “And maybe because it reminds me of something.”

Mara's heart tripped over itself.

I think I like you just because…

She turned to Lyra, pulse thrumming in her ears. "Like what?"

Lyra tilted her head slightly, gaze flickering to Mara's lips before meeting her eyes again.

A beat passed. Then another.

A soft smile played on Lyra’s lips. She shrugged. "Just because."

Mara exhaled, shaking her head with a quiet laugh. "You’re impossible."

Lyra grinned. “And yet, you’re still here.”

Mara didn't reply. Didn't know how to.

Instead, she let the music say everything neither of them dared to.

And Lyra? Lyra just let it play.

The last notes of the song faded into the night, but neither of them moved. The silence between them was thick, charged, unspoken, something neither of them wanted to name.

Mara stared up at the sky, trying to steady herself. The song had said too much.

Maybe Lyra knew. Maybe she didn’t.

Either way, Marawasn’t sure what scared her more.

Then—

Soft. Barely there.

Lyra's pinky brushed against Mara’s on the sand.

Mara stiffened, breath catching.

She could pull away. Pretend it didn’t happen. Laugh it off like they always did.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she shifted just enough that their fingers finally, fully touched.

Lyra didn’t move for a moment, like she was testing the waters. Then slowly, carefully, she laced their fingers together.

Mara swallowed, pulse hammering in her ears. “You really are something else.”

Lyra smirked, voice quieter now. “Took you long enough.”

Mara huffed out a laugh, but she didn’t let go.

The waves crashed gently against the shore. The speaker had gone silent, but the melody still lingered in the air between them.

Mara turned her head slightly, watching Lyra's profile. How her eyes reflected the moonlight, how her lips parted like she was about to say something, then thought better of it.

Then, finally—

Lyra spoke.

“Mara?”

Mara’s breath hitched. “Yeah?”

A pause. Just long enough to make Mara’s chest feel too tight.

Lyra smiled, squeezing her hand. “I think I like you just because.”

Mara’s heart stopped.

For a split second, she thought she imagined it. That Lyra was just quoting the song.

But Lyra was still looking at her. Really looking at her. And Mara knew.

This wasn’t just the music. It wasn’t just the moment.

It was them.

Mara felt her lips curve into a small, breathless smile. “Yeah,” she murmured, squeezing back. “Me too.”

Lyra grinned. “Took you long enough to notice.”

Mara laughed, shaking her head. “You’re impossible.”

Lyra just hummed, shifting closer, their shoulders brushing now. “And you’re still here.”

Mara didn’t argue. She just let herself stay.

This time, she didn’t need a camera to capture the moment.

Because this? This was something she’d never forget.

The waves whispered against the shore, a quiet rhythm to something neither of them dared to name.

Lyra didn’t pull away. Neither did Mara. Their fingers stayed intertwined, a touch so light it could’ve been mistaken for an accident, if not for the way neither of them moved to let go.

For a while, they just stayed there, letting the song fade into the night. The stars stretched endlessly above them, and the sea breeze carried the warmth of something unspoken between them.

Lyra was the first to break the silence. “So…” she started, voice teasing, but there was something softer beneath it. “Now that you’ve admitted you like me, what happens next?”

Mara scoffed, playing along. “First of all, I didn’t admit anything.”

Lyra gasped dramatically, placing a hand over her heart. “Excuse me? I believe the words ‘Me too’ just left your mouth.”

Mara bit back a smile. “Maybe you misheard.”

“Oh, I misheard?” Lyra challenged, turning fully toward her, eyes glinting under the moonlight. “That’s interesting, because I could’ve sworn you were the one looking at me like you—” She stopped herself, the words lingering between them.

Like you love me.

Mara felt her breath catch, and for a split second, she thought—maybe—Lyra would finally say it.

But instead, Lyra just exhaled a laugh, shaking her head. “Never mind.”

Mara swallowed. Her fingers twitched around Lyra's.

She didn’t want to play around this time.

“Lyra.”

The way she said her name made Lyra freeze. Slowly, she met Mara’s gaze again.

No teasing now. No playful grins.

Just Mara, looking at her like she was something worth staying for.

“I don’t know what happens next,” Mara admitted quietly. “But I know I don’t want this to end.”

Lyra inhaled sharply, like the words had knocked the wind out of her.

For a moment, she looked away, staring at the ocean like it held an answer she didn’t know how to give.

Then, after what felt like forever, she smiled. Small. Real. Terrifyingly real.

“Okay,” Lyra whispered. “Then let’s stay here a little longer.”

Mara nodded, fingers still laced with hers. “Yeah. Let’s.”

And so they did.

No running. No chasing.

Just staying.