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Gladion was never really one for the beach.
There’s the sand; the damnably fine grains are more than enough to turn Gladion away--getting in his shoes, his trunks, his hair, and his eyes, especially when the wind is blowing. And it isn’t a nice, summer breeze. No, this is a hot, wet, dreary wind. Wind that makes his hair get all frizzled.
There’s the tourists, too. Tourists are the worst. Always asking you to take their pictures as they strike ridiculous poses, and asking where the best place to get malasada is, and they always enunciate every single syllable of malasada, as if they don’t speak the same exact language as Gladion. It’s stupid. They’re stupid. And Gladion isn’t very fond of the places at which they tend to congregate.
Even the water isn’t that great. There are tons of Pokémon that can catch you off guard. Schools of Wishiwashi can take down a boat. Rogue Sharpedos can easily get away from inexperienced trainers. And if you step on a Toxapex, you’re done for. Game over.
And so, for the most part, Gladion tends to walk right by the beach whenever he’s headed into Hau’oli City. He’s not missing out on much as far as he’s concerned.
There’s a bunch of reasons that Gladion hates the beach.
But mainly, it’s because he doesn’t know how to swim.
Minding his own business is Gladion’s prerogative. If he wants peace and quiet, then you can be damn sure that he’ll get it. But sometimes, it takes a little bit of effort to get there.
Especially if people slam into you while you’re walking to the docks.
As Gladion falls to the ground, he catches a glimpse of the green haired bastard that knocked him down. He’s shirtless, of course--one of those assholes that try to show off at the beach, probably. The sweat that’s trailing down his toned abs is noxious, and it reflects the sun’s blinding light right into Gladion’s eyes. His face is nice enough--tanned skin, dimpled cheeks, maybe even a look of concern--Gladion can’t tell, he’s about to fall ass first onto the concrete.
Why do all the cute ones have to be assho--
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” the boy blurts, squatting so he can extend a hand to Gladion.
A-Assholes…?
“I can’t believe I just walked into you like that,” he continues, rubbing the back of his neck. “I promise I’m not always this clumsy.” He tilts his head and gives Gladion the goofiest, most lopsided grin he’s ever seen.
And Gladion might even blush a little, but he’s staring at the concrete, and he certainly has zero intentions of letting this boy see.
“Do you have a name?” he inquires, leaning down in an attempt to see Gladion’s face.
“Of course I have a name!” Gladion harrumphs. “Why are you so nosy?!”
The boy holds his hands up. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” To his right, there’s a surfboard leaning against the guard rail, with orange flowers on a whitewash base. “I’m Hau, if you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t.”
Hau smiles. “You surf?”
Gladion snorts. “It seems like you do.”
“Surprised?” he replies with a cheeky grin.
“Hardly. You seem like the type.”
Hau giggles, tucking a loose strand of emerald behind his ear. Usually, Gladion finds giggles to be obnoxious and annoying. For some reason though, Hau giggling just sounds right to him. He doesn’t plan on making a habit of hearing it, though.
“I didn’t realize we surfers had a type,” Hau inputs after calming down. “Besides, do you really think I fit whatever mold you’re thinking up right now? Because I’m imagining some really bulky people right now, and then I look at myself and, well.” He gestures to his abs.
Yeah. Your abs that were fucking sculpted by the gods.
“You’re definitely more in shape than me,” Gladion responds, not daring to vocalize a single thought about his abs.
Hau laughs again, and Gladion decides that, even though he’ll probably never see this boy again, he should try and make him laugh all the time. “Alright, I’ll give you that, at least. But hey, nothing the beach can’t change!”
Gladion clicks his tongue, looking away from Hau. “I wasn’t heading to the beach.”
“Well, lucky for you, I was!” Hau teases, picking up his surfboard. “You want to come with?”
“Can’t. Too busy.”
“Too busy for the beach?”
“I hate the beach,” Gladion says in the most serious tone he can muster, and he makes sure to look Hau in the eye when he does it.
Good. Now Adonis will stop pestering me and I can continue on my walk.
But Hau doesn’t seem perturbed at all--in fact, judging from his curved lips and his crinkled eyes, he’s rather amused. “We’ll have to change that, won’t we?”
We?
Before he knows it, Hau’s taken his hand and is dragging him down towards the boardwalk. “Come on!” he says, and it’s so genuine and so happy that Gladion has trouble protesting, even with all the sand in his shoes and the tourists in his face.
This is ridiculous. I could easily slip out of his grasp and get the hell away. So why am I letting him drag me along?
He doesn’t have much time to contemplate it though, because they’re approaching the water, and suddenly the very hot air feels very cold on Gladion’s skin. With all the grace he can muster, Gladion tears his arm away from Hau’s grip before he can step in.
Hau pauses, frowning. “You really weren’t lying about the beach, were you?”
Gladion shakes his head.
“Well, I won’t pressure you to do something you don’t wanna do. But I think you’re missing out!” With that, he dives headfirst into the dangerously shallow waters, and Gladion cries out. But soon after, Hau pokes his head back up, smirking. “Aw, you were concerned about me!”
You little shit.
“Oh my gosh, I still don’t know your name!” he calls out, slapping his forehead. He paddles back towards the shore, ever so slightly. When he reaches a point where he can safely lay down with his head still above the water, he stops, bringing his hands to his cheeks and smiling.
He’s waiting for my answer.
Gladion groans, looking out over the water. “What if I don’t want to give it to you?”
“Even after we’ve bonded so much?” Hau whines, although Gladion suspects he’s toying with him.
After a few more moments of silence, Gladion sighs. “It’s Gladion.”
Hau grins. “It’s nice to meet ya, Glad!”
“It’s Gladion!”
“You’re really not gonna go in the water, are you?”
“Gee, what was your first clue?”
Someway, somehow, Gladion ran into Hau again. And now he’s at the beach. Again. A place he’s never been very fond of. Of course he isn’t going to go in the water.
I can’t fucking swim.
Hau walks back onto the beach, running a hand through his thoroughly soaked hair. “I just don’t get it. What’s the point of the beach if you don’t go in the water even once?”
Gladion grunts his response. “Some people just don’t like the water as much as you, Hau.”
“That’s ridiculous; everyone loves the water!”
Not true, Gladion thinks inwardly. He takes a moment to scan the rest of the beach, having probably been here enough times to start to recognize some of the regulars. Unfortunately, about every single person he recognized had gone in the water at some point. That leaves him as the sole person that avoids it.
“If I can find one person who doesn’t go in the water when they go to the beach, will you get off my case?” Gladion asks with a sigh.
Hau smiles that radiant smile of his, and Gladion’s grateful that he burns easily because it’s less evident that he’s blushing that way. “I’ll accept that it’s not completely weird for you to want to stay dry. But I won’t stop trying to get you in!”
“It’s a start,” Gladion huffs. “Go surf or whatever. I’m gonna go find this person.”
“Can do! Just make sure you’re watching me, too,” Hau finishes with a wink before running back into the water.
Gladion slaps his face. Stop it! He’s just a stupid boy that’s stupidly cute and stupidly insistent.
He sighs. Time to do some searching.
The way he sees it, if you’re at the beach and not wearing a swimsuit, you’re probably not planning to go in the water. So that’s the first thing he looks for--beachgoers that don’t look like beachgoers. But he has little success--apparently swimsuits are the “hot topic” at beaches. Makes sense. But that doesn’t mean he’s giving up.
And give Hau the satisfaction? Hell no.
When Hau pops into his mind, however, Gladion quickly turns and scans the ocean for the boy. He spots him easily, his green hair and annoyingly bright smile standing out above all the waves. But seeing him smile makes Gladion smiles too (for some ungodly reason). He shakes his head. Now’s not the time.
So his search continues.
It’s not long after starting that he comes across someone who meets his requirements--that is, not wearing a swimsuit. In fact, he looks rather warm underneath his sweaty t-shirt and shorts, and a Pikachu scarf to boot.
Easy pickings.
Gladion stops to the side of the boy. “Hey, would you mind if I asked you a question?”
The boy doesn’t react, instead opting to stare out over the water. At what, Gladion isn’t sure. But he’s a little upset that he’s getting ignored.
He tries again. “Excuse me, but--”
“Oh, you’re talking to me!” the other boy interrupts, finally turning to face Gladion. From the front, Gladion sees he’s a bit bigger, and his orange hair is just as messy in the front as it is in the back. “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting anyone to approach me while I was here.” He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.
Gladion pauses, not sure how to react. “Uh. No worries, I guess. I just wanted to ask you something?”
But once again, he’s distracted, staring at the blue tides, or more likely, someone in those blue tides. It’s the same reason Gladion’s here after all.
Gladion sighs. Guess I’ll be more direct. “Who are you looking for?”
“Hm? Oh, yes,” the boy responds, not really answering the question. “I’m uh… looking for my boyfriend, I guess.” There’s a hint of red that makes its way onto the boy’s cheeks, and it’s not from the sun. He turns to look at Gladion. “You’re not wearing a swimsuit either. Did you come here to watch your boyfriend too?”
There’s an immediate pinkish hue that settles on Gladion’s ears and his cheekbones. “Hau is not my boyfriend,” he vehemently protests.
The boy smirks. “Oh, so you’re pining after Hau? He’s a good friend of mine actually.” Finally, he extends his hand. “Name’s Sophocles.” Hesitantly, Gladion shakes it. “My boyfriend is the super hot surfer with red in his hair. Dark skin, amazing abs, and all around a really kind guy.”
In the distance, Gladion thinks he can spot the boy. And wait, is that…
“Do Hau and your boyfriend know each other as well?”
Sophocles gives a little chuckle. “Hau and Kiawe? Of course. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hau is friends with every single person on this beach. And I guess he’s more than friendly with some of us,” Sophocles teases, giving Gladion a short nudge.
“We’re not dating!” Gladion yells, although the blush that he’s constantly wearing makes Sophocles think otherwise.
“Well, I bet both of you wish you were,” he replies simply. “I mean, come on. Why the hell would you go to the beach and not swim unless you’re going with someone you’re in love with?”
Gladion groans. He groans because he knows Sophocles is right. Even though he doesn’t want to believe him. Even though Hau is basically the nicest and most beautiful person he’s ever met.
“Don’t worry, buddy. You two will get there soon,” Sophocles assures him, patting him on the back.
“What the hell is there? Where the hell are we going?” Gladion is fuming, and even though Sophocles is a little intimidated, he can’t help but find the whole situation rather amusing.
Sophocles’ next response is just as cryptic. “You’ll see.”
“Seriously, what the hell are you talking about?!”
“That’s your boyfriend?”
Hau scratches his head, sitting forward a little bit on his board. “I don’t know. He’s cute though, and he keeps coming to the beach with me. Even though he refuses to get in the water.”
Kiawe hums. “Just like Soph.”
Hau hums back.
“So it seems you and Sophocles were acquainted the other day.”
Gladion nods, stretching a little from his prone position on the sand. “He was the one I found not wearing a swimsuit on the beach. Nice kid.”
Hau laughs. “You guys are the same age. It’s weird to hear you call him a kid.”
“Whatever. He doesn’t look like he’s as old as me,” Gladion says with a shrug. “In any case, his existence means that you have to stop pestering me about getting in the water.”
“But why? Why don’t you want to get in the water?” Hau inquires, tugging on Gladion’s arm. “Like, I don’t think you understand how weird that sounds to me!”
“That’s because you lack perspective,” Gladion notes, closing his eyes.
“Ouch,” Hau chuckles, laying down on the sand next to Gladion. “I’ll have you know, I’m a completely three dimensional person. I’ve got length, width, and depth.”
Gladion breathes in and then sighs it out. “Mm, I question the depth sometimes.”
The comments earns a flick in the arm from Hau. “Rude.”
“Hey, I thought trust was built on honesty!” Gladion complains, raising his hands up, although the sarcasm is clearly evident in his tone.
“Fine.” Hau gets up to whisper in Gladion’s ear. “Full disclosure; you’re an ass.”
Gladion’s about to flick Hau in the nose, but the time he opens his eyes, the boy’s already running off towards the water. And Gladion’s about to follow, but he realizes it’s futile, because Hau’s already past the point where the water reaches his waist.
“You’re a cheater,” Gladion grumbles.
“Just get in the water then,” Hau responds with a wink.
“Oh no, you’re not getting me to go in there with just a wink.”
“You know, I’m beginning to think that you just don’t know how to swim,” Hau mutters, rolling his eyes.
Gladion freezes; every last hair on his arm is sticking up, and his toes are losing feeling. There’s no way that anyone told him. I didn’t tell Sophocles, and so he couldn’t have told Hau. He’s gotta be joking with me.
Hau presses further. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t get on my case since I found someone not here to swim?” Gladion complains, looking down at the sand.
“Oh my god, you really don’t,” Hau says, covering his mouth.
“P-Please don’t talk about it anymore,” Gladion stutters.
“No, that’s not something to be embarrassed about!” Hau quickly amends, running out of the water and back towards Gladion. “It just means you weren’t taught when you were a little kid. That is not your fault, and it’s not a problem. I’ll just teach you now!”
Gladion looks at Hau with an eyebrow raised. “Have you taught anyone how to swim before?”
Hau shakes his head. “No. But it can’t be that hard, right?”
“I swear, if I drown because of you--”
“You won’t drown, silly,” Hau interrupts, patting Gladion on the shoulder with a wet hand. “Not with me around!”
Gladion’s stomach feels funny, and it’s not because of something he ate. Learning how to swim? Can you even do that when you’re as old as I am?
Hau claps his hands together, bringing Gladion out of his daze. “We could totally teach Sophocles at the same time!”
“He doesn’t know how to swim either?!”
“Why else wouldn’t he be in the water with Kiawe whenever he comes to the beach? Anyways, we could do it as a nice little double date sort of thing.”
Gladion feels his heart hold, and then stop entirely.
Double… date?!
“I, uh, don’t think I heard you right,” Gladion mumbles, rubbing his neck. “Did you say double date?”
“Yep!” Hau cheerfully responds. “I thought you knew that Kiawe and Sophocles were dating.”
And thus, Gladion finds out that not only are he and Hau currently dating, but that they’ve been each others boyfriends ever since their fifth trip to the beach together.
After just five minutes, Gladion can safely say that their double date is going, for lack of a better term, less than swimmingly.
It doesn’t help that Hau is forcing him to wear Corsola floaties on his arms while he’s learning how to swim. Frankly, they look like they’re for five-year-olds, and here Gladion is, not five years old. Still, he figures it’s not as bad as the Wailmer life jacket Kiawe is forcing Sophocles to wear. He thinks that might be just a bit overprotective, but it’s not his place to comment on it anyhow.
“Alright, we’ll try treading water for 30 seconds this time. Make sure you give me your floaties before you start, Glad. You won’t get the proper arm movement with them on,” Hau explains as he bounces in place.
As he removes them, Gladion eyes each of the boys around him. “If I drown, you’re all paying for my funeral.”
“Why do I have to contribute?” Sophocles whines from inside his ginormous life jacket. “I’m learning too!”
“You’re a bystander,” Gladion deadpans, pointing a finger at Sophocles as he starts kicking his legs.
About 15 seconds in, it gets substantially harder for him to keep his head above the waves. Hau tries to give him some encouragement. “Keep going, Glad! You’re halfway through!”
“Easy for you to say,” Gladion replies through mouthfuls of water. “You’re not the one learning how to swim.”
“Don’t talk,” Kiawe mutters, shaking his head. “It’ll be that much harder to get oxygen.”
About 25 seconds in, Gladion can’t keep his nose above the water anymore, and he wasn’t breathing that much before it happened anyway. So, reluctantly and embarrassingly, he holds up his right hand--the sign they agreed on beforehand that signaled that he wanted help.
Suddenly, Hau is behind him, and his arms are wrapped around his front helping to keep his head above the water. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ve got you. Just don’t kick me,” he quips, laughing a little. Despite being underwater, Hau’s chest feels so warm against Gladion’s back, and is he even flexing, because what the hell, his abs are rock hard!
“Ugh, I was doing so well that time,” Gladion grunts, closing his eyes and lifting his head.
“Hey, you’ve made more progress in a day than a lot of people can do in a week!” Hau offers as they drift back towards the sandbar. “You should be proud!”
“Hau’s right. I’ve barely even made it out of the jacket this entire time,” Sophocles notes, sounding a little sad about it.
Kiawe crosses his arms, frowning. “Gladion almost just drowned. I don’t want that to happen to you.”
“I didn’t almost drown,” Gladion says with a snort. “Hau was there to help out.”
“Hau is an excellent swimmer. I, on the other hand, would be worried about my own prowess.”
Sophocles and Hau exchange a look before both grinning. Sophocles is the one that speaks up, though. “Kiawe, your arms are stronger than a Machamp’s. I’m pretty sure you would’ve been able to save me.”
Kiawe turns red, running a hand through his hair. “Please don’t make me blush in front of others, Soph.”
Kiawe is certainly different than what Gladion expected on the sandy shore. With hair as wild as his and muscles as rippling, he was expecting more of a hotheaded nature. Certainly not this shy, bumbling, and overprotective boyfriend.
“Oh, but your ability to be embarrassed is one of your better qualities, Kiawe!” Hau points out with a grin. “Gladion is the same way!”
“Hau,” Gladion groans, rolling his eyes.
“Whaaat?” he objects, pulling his hands back. “You’re cute when you blush!”
God, how Gladion hates the fact that his entire face turns coral whenever Hau talks. His natural body temperature is slowly elevating past the normal levels, and he attributes it entirely to Hau.
One of these days, Gladion is just gonna have to give him a piece of his damn mind.
But for now, Gladion is content laughing with the rest of them over the fact that Hau is perhaps the worst swimming instructor on the planet.
Gladion isn’t sure why the hell he agreed to it, but what’s done is done. And besides, there are some perks to sitting behind Hau on his surfboard while watching the sun fall below the horizon. Suddenly, Hau starts laughing to himself.
“Mind sharing the joke with me?” Gladion asks, peering over Hau’s shoulder.
Hau waves his hand, staving off the rest of his giggles. “No joke. Just thinking about how ridiculous our first time meeting was.”
Gladion can’t help but laugh either. “I suppose it was kinda ridiculous. Normally, I’d be ticked that someone ran into me. But I was too busy inwardly swooning to care.”
“Swooning?” Hau says incredulously through even more laughs. “I didn’t know you were capable of such behavior.”
“Only around you, unfortunately. It’s just another burden I have to take on, I guess,” Gladion sighs, leaning into Hau’s back. “Like, your back is the worst back I’ve ever laid my head on.”
“You love my back,” Hau remarks, reaching a hand back to grab one of Gladion’s.
Gladion exhales slowly, closing his eyes. “You’re right, of course. I could easily fall asleep on your slate of chiseled marble.”
For once, Hau is the one that blushes, and Gladion can feel Hau’s back get warmer too. He smirks, knowing that it’s a rare occasion that he can get the jump on Hau.
Overhead, the sky is a brilliant amber. Soft lenticulars from Wela float by, their lightly spun domes letting only a select array of reds and oranges through. The waves, though small, still roll by, lifting and letting down the board that they’re sitting on. It’s a nice rhythm, a calmness in what can sometimes be a fierce and dangerous ocean.
Gladion would like to say that he’s not afraid of the ocean anymore because he knows how to swim, but he’s knows that’s not the case. Honestly, everything else in his life is Hau’s fault anywho, so he figures that this is too.
“Hau, could you turn around for a moment?”
“Hm? Oh, sure.”
He was thinking pretty hard for him to be caught off guard like that. Maybe about the same things I’m thinking right now.
Now that they’re facing each other, Gladion lets out a deep breath. “You know, I didn’t even realize we were dating until you mentioned that double date.” Hau laughs, but he doesn’t interrupt. “But you make so much sense to me, mean so much to me. I really love you.”
Hau leans forward to rest his forehead against Gladion’s. “I love you too, Glad. So, so much.”
All it takes is a little forward movement for their lips to crash together, like waves crashing onto the shore.