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It is sweltering. Even with the air-condition working at full blast, and an assortment of fans being placed around the house, Shigeo finds himself slowly melting away in the brutal summer heat. It has been the warmest summer on record for as long as he has been alive, and while he does enjoy nice weather and a chance to laze around for a bit, this is starting to get ridiculous.
Clearly, he isn’t the only one of that opinion, as Ritsu groans where he is sprawled out on the living room floor, trying desperately to cool down. Shigeo blinks sleepily, adjusting himself on his own spot on the floor in front of the fan.
Ritsu had insisted that he take it, although judging from how he’s been rolling around groaning for the past twenty minutes, Shigeo suspects he might have his regrets.
With the sun not going down in at least a couple of hours, they’ll have to suffer for a good while longer. Shigeo worries that he might have trouble sleeping if the heat keeps up.
They’re startled from their dazed relaxations by a knock to the patio’s sliding door. Shigeo blinks his eyes open, sitting up from his position on the floor. He crawls over to the door in surprise, opening it to greet Teru.
He is wearing a white t shirt which he has shoved the sleeves up so they no longer cover his shoulders and a bright green short. Judging from the red tone of his skin and the sweat running down the sides of his face, he isn’t handling the warmth any better than himself or Ritsu.
“Hey! I was in the area,” he explains, entering the living room. His entire body relaxes once the cold air of the air-conditioned hits him. “I was headed out for ice cream and was wondering if you wanted to come along.”
The mere thought of ice cream makes Shigeo’s overheated body sigh in relief. “Ice cream sounds great,” he agrees.
Shigeo glances over at Ritsu, who’s sat up when he noticed Teruki’s arrival. A wordless exchange transpires between the two of them, leaving Ritsu wrinkling his nose. “I think I’ll pass.”
“Great! I mean, do as you please. You ready to go Kageyama?”
“I’ll go get my money.”
Ritsu has crawled his way over to Shigeo’s previous spot by the fan, for once ignoring the fact that Teru is present, and spreading out shamelessly before the electric device. Teru is talking animatedly, though at this point it is more a monologue than anything.
Teru scrambles to his legs the moment Shigeo enters, grinning excitedly.
“You sure you don’t want to come?”
Ritsu makes a noise halfway between a groan and a cough. “I’m fine, you two have fun.”
Shigeo sends one last concerned glance over at his brother who has taking to fanning himself with his hands, then nods. Teru’s face lights up as they leave the house, filling the walk over to the ice cream shop at the centre of Salt shopping district with mindless chatter.
He only stops when they walk up to the storefront, Teru ordering a chocolate ice cream while Shigeo settles for vanilla. They find a bench in the shadow of the surrounding buildings to settle down on.
The ice cream is delicious, though it melts in its cone faster than Shigeo is able to eat it. Teru devoured his only a couple of minutes after buying it. He’s back to wiping sweat off his brow as he watches Shigeo trying to salvage the runny remains of his own frosty treat.
Over the horizon, the sun is starting to set, but it does little to dissipate the warmth and humidity. Teru groans, leaning back on the wooden bench outside the little shopping district. “I wish we could go for a swim. Even my clothes feel like they’re melting off my body.”
Shigeo glances over at Teru. His clothes look fine to him, though he supposes the way his t-shirt sticks tightly to his sides, and the hint of sweat rings forming underneath his arm pits is an indication of how he is feeling. It is rare to see Teru anything short of impeccable. Shigeo decides he kind of likes the slightly ruffled look Teru is currently sporting.
He shifts on the bench. His own shorts cling to his body in uncomfortable ways as well, driving Teru’s point home. The only problem is that there is no pool within walking distance, and it’s bound to be closed by now anyway. He finishes his ice cream with a sigh.
“I guess we’ll have to wait for the pool to open again tomorrow,” Shigeo mutters.
Teru perks up, a mischievous smile pulling on his lips. “Who says it has to be open. We’re espers, aren’t we?”
He bounces up from the bench, suddenly full of energy. Shigeo allows himself to be dragged up and practically pulled down the street as Teru breaks into a run. Shigeo huffs, but does his best to keep up even though it is still way too warm to do anything as exerting as running in his opinion.
“Where are we going?” Shigeo manages to get out between breaths. His hand starting to feel clammy in Teru’s. He desperately hopes the other doesn’t mind too much. Teru turns his head around with a huge grin.
“You’ll see soon!
Teru takes them through a serious of narrow streets and alleys, claiming to know a shortcut, though Shigeo suspects he just wants to be spared from the last rays of the sun by sticking close to the old buildings around them.
They eventually arrive at the great park in the middle of the city, Shigeo gasping for breath as Teru comes to a stop under the shadows of the park’s trees. To Mob’s relief he’s breathing heavily himself, though the manic energy that came over him by the ice shop still hasn’t completely disappeared.
Shigeo takes in the scenery in front of them, located at the very edge of the park, the area leads into a great open space with various fountains and a huge, domed building looming over it all. The seasoning city aquarium.
“I don’t think that will be open either,” Shigeo says, settling on the edge of one of the fountains. He lets his hand run through the lukewarm water. Even though it is not the ice-cold refreshment he had been hoping for, it is still a nice feeling.
Teru cocks his hip, gesturing towards the building. “It closed a couple of hours ago, but with a couple of tricks I picked up during our fight with claw, I think I can get us in.”
Shigeo glances off towards the building. “Wouldn’t that be illegal though?”
Teru sputters. “It’s not like we’ll be stealing from their gift shop or something. And we’ll just be going in for a quick dive. They won’t notice anything. ”
Shigeo hesitates for a moment. The sun is still beating down on them, though it won’t be long until it will have disappeared under the horizon. His skin is beginning to crawl from sweat again. “Alright.”
Teru beams, taking his hands in his, closing his eyes.
“Just hold still for a moment.”
Shigeo sucks in a breath, his entire body feeling light as Teru’s aura envelops them, and they teleport to the inside of the building. They stumble a bit as they materialize in the lobby, Shigeo gripping onto Teru’s shoulders to steady himself.
The room is dark, except for the illuminated path leading into the aquarium itself. Teru glances around them, focusing his aura yet again to take out the security cameras. They spark a bit as he shuts them down, but then goes completely still.
“Shall we go?”
Shigeo lets Teru take his hand again, leading the way into the aquarium.
The last time Shigeo visited the place he was eight years old, his parents trailing behind as he and Ritsu gawked at the fish swimming around them. Now as he walks down the underwater glass tunnel with Teru, he can feel that same awe he felt back them settling in his chest. He stares at colourful fish swim past above their heads, great sting rays and sharks following them as they journey through the hallway.
The tank is showering them in a blue light, making Teru’s hair seem almost green. The cool air almost makes Shigeo forget he was sweating his ass of only moments ago. He walks, slowly, drawing the moment out.
He is surprised when he glances over at Teru, only to find him staring at him rather than the fish. He hastily looks away, tugging lightly at Shigeo’s hand to get them moving again.
Teru has obviously been there before, because he walks resolutely with a specific goal in his mind: a raised platform surrounding a vast area of water. Shigeo stares down into the water, trying to discern what may exist in its depths.
Teru strips of his t-shirt, turning to Shigeo hesitantly. “So, swimming?”
Shigeo glances down into the water again, hoping they won’t disturb its inhabitants too much. He carefully peels of his own shirt, discarding it on the platform beside Teru’s.
Teru smiles at him, turning to dive into the water. He cuts the surface elegantly, barely leaving a splash. Shigeo can see him disappear into the deep, his yellow aura shimmering around him to protect him from the water pressure.
Shigeo readies himself, taking a deep breath before following after Teru.
His first thought is that is is surprisingly dark. He pushes ahead, guided only by the faint light of Teru’s aura. The first sign of other life in the little pool darts past him, almost making Shigeo lose his grip on his powers as he comes face to face with a seal.
It slips past him unbothered, its cute face seemingly happy. Teru is near the bottom of the pool, his body moving elegantly as he and another seal circles each other. It scatters as Shigeo approaches, Teru shooting him a huge grin and an enthusiastic thumbs up, which Shigeo returns, albeit more placid.
They spend a good few minutes playing around with the seals, their psychic powers allowing them to store air around them, but eventually, they have to swim up to get some air. Shigeo gasps as he breaks the surface, clambering up onto the platform. Teru follows not soon after. He shakes his head to get rid of the worst of the excess water, plumping down beside Shigeo, their legs still hanging into the pool.
“How was it?”
Shigeo gazes into the pool. The seals are still swimming around in the depths, though some have moved to the rocks in the neighbouring room to rest.
“It was good,” he decides eventually. Teru beams, kicking his legs so that they cause ripples in the water. His hair is dripping all over his shoulders. Shigeo notes that it is starting to get long again.
“We should head back before any of us catches a cold.”
Shigeo nods. Neither of them makes any move to leave. Teru is staring at Shigeo, his lip quivering slightly, and Shigeo has to wonder if maybe something is wrong, but then he proceeds to lean in to peck at Shigeo’s lips quickly. It is faster than Shigeo has the chance to register, a light touch of lips, there only a millisecond before it is gone.
By the time Shigeo has the time to process what just happened, Teru is already getting dressed his eears burning red at the edges. Shigeo reaches for his own shirt, pulling it over his head. They’re still soaking wet, but he supposes they’ll dry fast once they get out.
On their way out, Shigeo grabs hold of Teru’s hand, his eyes focused on the fish swimming above them as they pass through the tunnel, but his mind is paying close attention to the way Teru’s hand fit in his, and how it clings tightly to his own.
Despite his promises, in the end, Teru does steal a whale shark plushie key chain for him.