It was a peaceful evening on the beach planet. It was getting closer to the end of the year, though they tried not to think about it too much. They wanted to savour every moment they had there.

The sun was settling into the bright, blue, beautiful ocean, with Taako and Barry sitting on the warm sand of the shore. They were sitting in comfortable silence, just soaking in the fleeting sun.

After a moment, Barry broke the silence, turning to his friend, “Boy, Taako, I appreciate everything you’ve done.”

Before this year, Barry had no clue how to swim. He had never tried because of how susceptible his ears were to infection, especially in water. But, Taako made Barry a pair of magic earplugs for swimming that seemed to fix the issue, and for the past year, had been teaching Barry how to swim. It had started out rough, but eventually, Barry got to a level that both he and Taako were proud of. Barry was no olympic swimmer, but he could swim, dammit.

“I feel like I’ve…There have been times where I haven’t been able to hang out with everybody ‘cause y’all go swimmin’ and there are times where there’s people I, like, you know, want to hang out with and I just haven’t been able to do it and that’s not a good look and it makes me look like a big nerd and I um…” He trailed off.

Taako hummed in understanding.

Barry continued, “It’s just that— I just, like— I don’t know. It’s…”

He paused and thought.

“Nevermind, it’s stupid. Thanks for teaching me how to swim!” Barry sputtered as he shifted to stand up and away from this conversation.

Taako didn’t let him.

Before Barry could lift himself off the sand, Taako questioned, “Wh— Well, what? I mean, you…You coulda just come out with this. I mean what are you…Who are you afraid of looking silly in front of?”

Barry knew exactly who. He’s never spoken about it the whole time he’s known, but he knew. He’s known for two damn decades.

“It’s— Don’t worry about it. It’s nothin’. I, uh… I—“

Barry tried leaving a second time. Taako, again, wouldn’t let him go, grabbing onto his arm. Not hard, but enough.

“Barrrry!” He teased.

“We should get back to the ship-“

“Barrrryy, I rolled an 11!” He laughed, “You gotta tell me, Barry!”

He had no idea what Taako meant by ‘rolled an 11’ but he knew enough about Taako to know that he wasn’t going to stop until Barry told him. Especially not when he was as visibly reluctant to do so as he was.

“I just think, you know, it’s like all of you…I don’t wanna be— I don’t wanna embarrass myself in front of and, like…For example, just like…For example, like…Like…”

His heart raced.

“…Lup.”

Taako’s face lit up. It definitely didn’t help Barry’s anxiety.

“I— look… I—“

“Okay…” Taako smirked.

“Yeah, I look up to Lup a lot. You know, I don’t wanna be out there, flounderin’ about, splashin’ around like some sort of goobus so, um…Just thank— Just—“

Barry tried leaving a third time. Once again, Taako wasn’t going to let that happen. This time, when he was yanked back by Taako, he saw a new expression on his face. It was soft, and heeding concern.

Taako loosened his grip on Barry’s arm, letting it fall to his side.

“Uh, I see where you’re going with this, Barry. You— Listen, this is not a surprise to me,” Taako started, “…You’ve ever heard the term ‘locked in’? It’s when a wave crashes and the surfer is inside. Um, so…Barry, you’re locked in and this wave’s crashin’ all around you, my man, and I— I don’t begrudge you anything. You know, we’ve lost a lot, uh, and there’s a lot more we might lose but the one thing we do have is the thing that people in love rarely ever have enough of. Time.”

“Oh, I— I don’t know about…” Barry blurted out, “You know, I don’t know about in love. It’s only been twe— Um…twenty-one years…”

Taako’s expression was still soft, but not as concerned as before, “Sure. Sure.”

Barry was frozen for a moment.

“Sh— Shit.”

“Barry—“ The sustain in his voice was there, but barely noticeable, only detectable by people who had known him long enough.

“Um…”

“Barry, I—“ He paused. Taako rarely paused. Most days, none of them could get Taako to shut up. Though, in that moment, he actually took time to think about his words.

He finally decided on what to say. He smiled, and said, “You got all the time in the world, my man.”

Barry smiled back. It was exactly what he needed to hear.