After a late morning the next day, Nana and Zane escaped the group's wholesome plans and hired a rowboat to row across the nearby inlet behind the farms.
Zane regained control of the oars and rowed to a desolate, breeze of a spot.
It was quiet, but not silent with the sounds of the distant waves and squawking birds, it was calm but comfortable.
"Wanna try the grapes?" Nana asked, holding up the picnic basket.
"As long as I don't fall in," He warned, receiving a soft squeal from the girl in return. The meif~wa opened the translucent white container, revealing a branch of communal green grapes.
"Ready?"
"I guess so." That was all he said.
"Good enough," Nana said, with a grin. She lazily threw a grape and Zane proceeded to try and catch it in his mouth. Due to the girl's lazy hand-eye coordination, the grape bounded from his nose and landed in the water beside them.
"Gimme a try," Zane urged, and Nana handed him the Tupperware container.
He picked up three grapes and threw them at Nana who had her mouth open. They bounced on each of her faces, none of which landed in her open trap.
After unrecognisable sounds of frustration, Nana grabbed herself a handful and chucked them at Zane.
The raven-haired man smirked, returning the throw and beginning an intense food fight.
Two of which landed in Zane's mouth and sent him choking.
Between a protective laugh, Nana scrambled over to Zane, giving his back a hard shove to dislodge the menacing grape.
The outcome caused both Zane and Nana to potentially erupt in a fit of laughter, which shook the boat.
"You know, as it turns out I'm not the only one who choked on a grape," Zane said between laughs, "Garroth did too. I was about nine and he was throwing the grapes into his mouth, he'd done most of them successfully but the last made him choke. Mum panicked and then did what you did."
"Must be a Ro'Meave trait then. Perhaps we should begin cutting the grapes, then throw them in our mouths," Nana considered as seriously as she could. "Kids have actually died from choking. ...Zane... what if- w-what i-if w-we weren't p-paying att-attention a-and-"
Zane rocked the boat furiously as he moved up closer to Nana's spot. "Nana. Calm down. We'll be okay. Even though kids don't come with instructions, we can find out as much as we can before the baby comes. Seriously. We'll be the greatest parents we can be for the baby. Have you seen when Beca freaks out, every time the word baby is mentioned? Although she can hide it pretty well, she's barely managing herself. Few of us can properly read someone. I can read you. As well as I can. You're one of the most resilient people I know. Say, you can do it, then you can. Accepting yourself optimises everyone around you, and that's a good thing. I'll always believe in you, the question is whether you can believe in yourself."
Nana smiled and put her hand on Zane's knee, "Thank you, Zane. Now are we going to have our cupcakes or not?"
"Always."