The water splashed around them as both surfaced almost at the same time.
Henry pushed wet hair back from his face while Bela came up beside him coughing once, completely soaked, her carefully styled appearance ruined in seconds.
"Bloody hell!" Bela snapped, glaring at him while trying to stay afloat. "You pulled me in!"
Henry looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "I pulled you in?" he said. "You grabbed me!"
Water dripped from both of them as small waves rolled against the dock supports nearby.
Bela shoved wet blonde hair away from her face with clear annoyance. "Well, forgive me for not wanting to smash my head against the pier."
Henry floated back slightly, still holding onto the edge of the dock with one hand. "Normal people say thank you after getting saved," he muttered. "Not drag the other person into the ocean."
"That was not dragging," Bela shot back immediately. "At worst it was… shared falling."
Henry stared at her for a second.
"…shared falling?"
Bela lifted her chin slightly despite being soaked head to toe. "Yes."
Henry looked at her for a second, then the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. "You know," he said, "it's actually kind of amusing watching you flap around in the water like a fish."
Bela blinked once.
"Amusing?" she repeated slowly.
Henry was still smiling when she suddenly grabbed a fistful of his wet hair.
"Wait—"
She shoved him straight back under the water.
Henry disappeared beneath the surface with a loud splash as Bela finally looked mildly satisfied with herself. A second later he came back up coughing, hair completely covering his face now.
"Oh, you little—"
Bela was already smirking again, floating backward slightly before he could grab her. "Careful," she said smoothly. "You're ruining our bonding moment."
Henry wiped the water from his face with one hand, still glaring at her. "I take back saving you from falling."
He grabbed the edge of the dock and pulled himself up, water dripping from his clothes as he climbed onto the platform. After a second, he sat down near the edge, looking down at Bela still floating in the water below.
"Now this," he said, finally sounding entertained, "is enjoyable."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, clearly intending to capture the moment.
The screen flickered once—
then died with a faint pop and the smell of burnt electronics.
Henry stared at it for a second. "…you've got to be kidding me."
Bela looked up at him from the water, blonde hair wet and sticking to her shoulders, expression full of exaggerated disbelief. "Are you not ashamed?" she asked. "A beautiful woman in distress and you won't even lend her a hand?"
Henry looked down at her completely unimpressed. "All I see is a thieving cat flapping around in the water," he said. "And honestly? It's a pretty good sight."
Bela narrowed her eyes at him. "You are unbelievably rude."
"And you steal cursed objects for money," Henry shot back. "I think we both have flaws."
Bela let out an annoyed breath and moved closer to the dock, placing both hands against the edge. "Fine," she muttered. "At least help me up before somebody sees this."
Henry leaned back slightly, considering it with far too much amusement.
"You know," he said, "I think I'm starting to understand why Dean enjoys annoying people."
Two minutes later, after listening to Bela complain the entire time, Henry finally sighed and extended his hand toward her.
"Alright," he said. "Before you drown from dramatic suffering."
Bela grabbed his hand immediately, expecting a normal pull.
Instead, Henry lifted her out of the water with almost no effort at all.
Her feet left the surface cleanly, and a second later she landed beside him on the dock.
That made her pause.
Bela looked at him more carefully now. "Are you hiding something inside that body?" she asked, eyes narrowing slightly.
Henry let go of her hand and shrugged casually. "I'm hiding a lot of things," he said. "And I can tell you are too." His expression stayed calm. "So maybe we don't go poking around each other's privacy."
Bela watched him for another second before smoothing wet hair back over her shoulder.
"And speaking of privacy," Henry continued, "stop bothering Madison. She already told me about you trying to sell her overpriced junk."
Bela blinked once. "Wait," she said, looking genuinely surprised now, "how do you know her?"
Henry stepped back slightly from the edge of the dock. "She's kind of my wife," he replied. "So yeah, I notice when people try scamming her."
Bela stared at him.
"…your wife?"
The confusion on her face was immediate.
The image didn't fit in her head at all. Henry looked like the kind of man who slept in motels, got into fights, and carried weapons under his coat. Madison, from what she'd seen, carried herself like someone used to wealth and stability.
The combination made no sense.
"So you're rich?" Bela asked slowly.
Henry gave a loose shrug. "Yeah. Kinda."
That only made her more confused.
"Then why?" Bella asked, gesturing vaguely at him, "do you drive around in that junk car and hunt monsters instead of enjoying life like a normal rich person?"
Henry looked at her for a second before giving a small smile.
"Because normal life is boring," he said.
"And I've pissed off way too many demons to live peacefully," Henry said. "Kinda hard to enjoy luxury when half of Hell wants to cave your skull in."
Bela gave a faint hum at that, but before she could respond, Henry's expression shifted slightly.
"Speaking of demons," he said casually, though his eyes stayed on her now, "you should be more familiar with them than most people, shouldn't you, Bela?"
The atmosphere changed immediately.
*****
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