Chapter Text
Felix and Chris were both working at the tower today, eyes fixed on the water as they exchanged some light banter. It was a bit different from usual though, as ever since the near drowning of the Korean boys two days before, the lifeguards had been a bit distracted, thoughts of how the foreigners were faring constantly invading their minds. For some reason, that rescue stuck with them even after the hospital called to tell them they would make a full recovery. Chris was currently seriously considering asking their boss for some time off for the two of them, just so they could get a change of scenery.
A knock on the door snapped the two Aussies back to reality.
“I’ll get it” offered Chris, already out of his chair and going to the door. Opening it, he was absolutely not ready for the vision that met him on the other side. It certainly wasn’t a distressed or injured beachgoer as he was expecting, but instead a group of six boys with big smiles on their faces and one of them holding a bouquet of flowers.
“Oh… hello again?” Chris’ brain took a moment to catch up to the situation, flabbergasted, but he quickly smiled widely back at them, his chest feeling immensely lighter now that he saw all of them in front of him again. “Come on in guys, I’m so happy you came back to see us! Lix, come see who it is!” he shouted to his friend as he let the boys pass by him and into the office.
Felix’s pink hair peaked curiously from his desk, and his eyes widened comically when he saw who was there.
“Oh my god it’s you guys!” he shoved his chair back carelessly as he stumbled to the group. “How are you guys doing? Is everyone good?” a touch of worry painted his voice as he specifically looked over the two brunettes who were, just two days ago, half-passed out in front of him.
They now looked marginally better, all of the boys actually sporting some kind of sunburn, probably from their time on the beach, and they all looked happy to be here. The boy with the round cheeks, Jisung, offered Felix the bouquet of roses that he was holding with a cute blush on his face.
“Yes, we’re doing very good, because of you and your friend. We wanted to say thank you” he offered in an accented but still really nice English, biting his lip nervously.
Shocked, Felix could only take the flowers and hold them to his chest, dumbfounded. Chris came to his rescue, laughing and wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
“That’s really nice of you guys. Not a lot of people come by after a rescue, and even less with flowers! It’s really just nice for us to know that we did our job well and that you’re doing good” he said in his warm tone, looking over the little group gratefully.
“Really? People don’t come to thank you?” asked the long-haired one (Chris hadn’t gotten his name yet) with wide, unbelieving eyes.
“Tchh... Ungrateful” mumbled the shortest one of them all, crossing his muscular arms over his chest.
“Nah, people usually just wanna forget about the bad memory that comes with needing to be rescued” Felix explains, having finally found his voice back. “But it’s really nice of you guys to wanna come back here and gift us with this” he points to the flowers, giving Jisung a charming smile and making the poor boy blush.
“You saved us. This is…. not enough thank you” Minho struggled a little to get the sentence out as he pointed to the flowers, but his eyes were determined to make the lifeguards understand just how grateful he was to them to have saved his and his friend’s lives.
So, he settled with the universal language that is physical touch and leaned forward to give Chris a kiss on the cheek. The blond blushed furiously, ears going red as he stammered some half-assed “you’re welcome” back to him.
“Well… we should probably leave you guys to your job” Seungmin said coyly, looking at the exchange in front of him. “You’ve probably got some more people to go save out there. Just to let you know though, we’re gonna stay in Sydney for at least the next two weeks and… well, we wouldn’t mind having local guides show us around the place?”
Jeongin giggled next to him, knowing exactly what his friend was doing, and he pulled out of his pocket a card of the hotel they were staying at, since he had oh so conveniently placed one there that morning.
“This is our hotel. Come and see us?” asked the youngest, pulling out his best puppy eye as Felix took the card from his hand. Damn, the room number was even written on it!
Those boys are smooth, thought the pink-haired lifeguard as he couldn’t help but smile back at the sweet boy in front of him. “Well… I’m free after my shift and you were thinking of asking the boss for some time off, weren’t you Chris?” he asked his friend in a half teasing, half pleading voice.
Huffing, the oldest brushed his curls out of his face, already knowing this was gonna be a tiring but fun new adventure. “Sure, why the hell not!”
“Awesome! See you tonight!” yelled the long-haired one happily, jumping up and down and blowing them a kiss before tugging the nearest boy by the wrist and out of the tower. That boy ended up being a slightly grumpy Minho, who did not want to leave that quickly but still managed to wink at the two Aussies before disappearing out of the door.
The next pair to exit were Jeongin and Seungmin, the tallest one thanking them once more and telling them how exited he was to see them again, while the youngest waved cutely, making the lifeguards coo at him and wave back.
The last two boys had stayed back purposefully, and the smallest of the group approached them. “I’m Changbin” he started by presenting himself, which made the Aussies realize that they still didn’t know all the names of the boys that had literally just erupted in their lives.
Chris nodded at him in acknowledgment, allowing the boy to continue. “I… want to thank you. From the bottom of my soul? … Heart?” he hesitated a bit, but the sentiment was clear. “You two are heroes. You saved our friends, and because of you, they can come here today and have fun and… and keep being alive”
Despite the earlier happy mood, the accident had still shocked the boys deeply and the fact that one of them trusted Chris and Felix enough to show that emotional vulnerability meant a lot to the two friends. Changbin looked at them straight in the eyes, his low voice full of gratitude.
“So thank you. I know it is not a lot, to say that after you saved Jisung and Minho’s lives, but we are all very very thankful”
Chris couldn’t help but put his hand over Changbin’s shoulder and squeeze it reassuringly. “Don’t worry, it’s our job and we’re just very happy that nothing too severe happened. You have very resilient friends, and I know you guys are taking care of them well. The best thank you that you can give us is by just all being happy and healthy again, and having fun for the rest of your time here”
Felix groaned on the side, rolling his eyes but still clutching the flowers to his chest delicately. “Here he goes again, with his big words and deep speeches. Don’t mind him too much Changbin” he teased his friend, sticking his tongue out at him while the blond let out an affronted gasp.
“But he is right when he says that the best thing for us is to see you guys walking and healthy again” the freckled boy agreed, smiling at the two Koreans, his eyes lingering a little longer on Jisung. “And I can’t wait to see you guys again tonight so we can show you many great places” he gives them his sunshine smile, wanting to bring back a lighter mood.
“We… should get going” a timid Jisung stated. “But… we’ll see you tonight” he added hopefully towards the lifeguards, before staring at Felix. “Also, you gave me something and now I owe you so… I’ll give it back to you” the squirrel-like boy now sounded slightly more confident, walking closer to Felix who could only stare with wide curious eyes. He could not predict the kiss that followed though, this one on his mouth, as Jisung pulled back as quick as he leaned in.
“There, a kiss for a kiss” the Korean seemed satisfied as he takes Changbin’s hand and pulled him out of the tower. “See you tonight!” he called out, a blush on his cheeks but happiness in his voice, and Chris and Felix could hear him and Changbin start to squabble as soon as they exited the office, trudging on the sand to meet back with the rest of their group.
The blond turned back to his friend, worried at his silence but started laughing as soon as he saw the starstruck expression on Felix’s face, and the redness that covered his freckled cheekbones, almost as vivid as the color of the roses that were clutched to his chest.
“Well, that was an interesting meeting, don’t you think so?” he called out in a sing-song voice, snapping his friend back to reality.
“Tell me about it… I can’t wait for tonight” the pink-haired one whispered, almost melting to the ground in a puddle of mush as Chris laughed out loud at his enamored expression.