Morvain is now living in Seaglass Bay, working with Marina at their little coffee stand by the beach. He's still a mysterious softie in black, and she's still disappearing now and then to "stop bad guys."
"Operation: Seaglass Smoothie Disaster"
(Told by Morvain)
It was a regular sunny day in Seaglass Bay. Birds were singing. People were jogging. I was...burning toast. Again.
"Morvain!" Marina shouted from the back, laughter in her voice. "How do you mess up toast in a toaster?"
"It attacked first," I muttered, waving the smoking bread like it had betrayed me.
She peeked out from behind the curtain with her sunglasses pushed up into her messy bun, sipping her morning mango smoothie like the queen of chaos. "You look like a vampire who's losing a battle with breakfast."
"I am," I said grimly. "But I'll win the war."
She rolled her eyes and walked over, patting my shoulder. "I love your tragic backstory. Now please don't set the café on fire again."
*Trouble Arrives...in Flip-Flops*
A guy named Leo strolled in, wearing gold chains, open shirt, and flip-flops that squeaked with every step. He ordered something ridiculous.
"Can I get the Volcano Berry Power Burst Fusion Shot?" he said with a straight face.
I blinked. "We sell coffee."
"It's for my muscles," he explained, flexing at Marina.
She smiled sweetly. "Of course. One Berry Power Whatever Explosion, coming right up."
I watched her walk away, then looked at him.
I didn't like him.
I didn't like his shiny sunglasses or how he tried to impress Marina by saying he once fought a shark.
"Sounds fake," I muttered.
"What was that?" he said.
"I said great! Very brave of you to fight seafood."
*Smoothie War*
Marina came back holding a tall smoothie covered in whipped cream, sprinkles, and a tiny umbrella.
"Here you go," she chirped. "On the house."
Leo beamed. "Thanks, gorgeous!"
Then he sipped it.
Then he spat it.
"Is this...is this soy sauce?"
Marina blinked innocently. "Oh no. Must've mixed up the bottles."
He stormed out yelling, "You'll regret this!"
I leaned closer to Marina. "That was on purpose."
She sipped from the same smoothie. "Maybe."
I looked at her with wide eyes. "You are dangerous."
She winked. "Takes one to know one."
*A Soft Moment...Kinda*
Later that evening, we sat outside the café. The sky turned orange-pink, the ocean waves soft like flower petals.
I looked at her. "Why do you keep disappearing?"
She shrugged. "Sometimes I need to remind bad people they can't do whatever they want."
I raised an eyebrow. "Like...the soy sauce incident?"
She smirked. "Exactly."
I pulled out something from my coat—a tiny rock I'd found shaped like a heart.
"Here," I said, handing it to her. "It reminded me of you."
She stared at it. Then she laughed. "Because it's rough on the outside but oddly adorable?"
I looked away. "No, because I found it under a crab and it pinched me."
She chuckled again.
*a date...sort off?*
It started with Marina saying, "Let's go on a real date for once. Just us. No explosions. No weird customers. No soy sauce smoothies."
I nodded. "I can do that. I'm very normal."
That was a lie.
*The Setup*
We spread out a blanket on a quiet part of the beach at sunset. Marina brought snacks—like actual good ones. Fruit, sandwiches, little cookies shaped like stars. I brought a thermos of Mystery Stew.
"What's in this?" she asked, peering into the thermos.
I shrugged. "I blacked out while cooking. But it smells...brave."
She took a small sip. Her eye twitched. "You trying to poison me?"
"No, maybe after this date."
She almost choked laughing.
*Soft, Silly Moments*
We sat there listening to the waves, her ukulele lying beside her. She started plucking random notes while I tried not to look like I was melting inside from the sound of her voice.
"So what did you want to be before trying to be a villain?" she asked, eyes curious.
I thought about it.
"A cloud," I said.
She blinked. "A...cloud?"
"Yeah. Just floating around. Being mysterious. Blocking the sun sometimes."
She giggled. "You're so weird."
"You're one to talk," I said. "You carry five fake passports and a smoke bomb in your purse."
"Wrong. Six passports."
*Then Trouble Walked In*
Just when the mood was nice and peaceful, someone yelled from the other side of the beach, "MARINA!!"
We both turned. A tall man in a black suit ran toward us, wearing sunglasses at night.
"Uh-oh," Marina muttered, standing up quickly. "That's Agent Adam. He's not supposed to know where I am."
"Ex-boyfriend?" I asked, standing beside her.
"Worse. Co-worker."
Agent Adam stopped a few feet away, panting. "We have a situation. The target escaped. We need your help."
"I'm on a date," she said flatly, gesturing to me. "You see this sad, pale man? I'm trying to give him joy."
I waved. "Hello. I brought stew."
Adam looked at me like I was a bug. "You brought him?"
"Morvain's my sidekick," Marina said proudly.
I beamed.
Adam squinted. "You mean the guy who tried to hypnotize seagulls into stealing chips?"
"I said that was a phase!" I snapped.
*The Chase*
Turns out, the "target" was a thief with a jet ski. Marina didn't want to go.
But five minutes later, we were both on a stolen lifeguard paddle boat, chasing a criminal under the stars.
"THIS ISN'T EVEN FAST!" I yelled as I paddled furiously with one leg cramping.
"I KNOW!" Marina shouted, aiming a foam life ring at the thief's head.
It hit.
He fell off the jet ski with a splash.
We both sat there in stunned silence as the waves bobbed us gently.
"…Did we just win?" I asked.
"Yep," she said, wiping her hands. "Date complete."
*Back at the Café*
That night, we sat on the steps of our café, wrapped in a towel, wet and tired.
"I wanted a soft, cute date," Marina mumbled.
"Hey, we had romance," I said. "We shared stew."
"That stew was illegal, Morvain."
"Still counts."
She rested her head on my shoulder.
"I like you, Marshmallow."
I smiled. "I like you too, Agent Sparkle Punch."
She groaned. "We are never telling anyone about this date."
"Too late. I'm writing a novel."