Chapter Text
-- The 'date' was to be that very next night.
Tsumugi finished taking inventory of the library catalogue just two minutes before Sora poked his head in. The usual “Senpai~” trailed off all the way until he had picked up the bag of his date-relevant things. Towel, sandals, water bottle, a couple snacks, etc. Why were all of these things important for a date?
Their walk to the beach wasn’t eventful, nor was it far from the school in the first place. Only a little noise was left, people chatting while heading back to their cars while the setting sun spat pink and purple across all the clouds in the sky. It was all purple by the time Sora stopped him and laughed, tugging Tsumugi wordlessly off further on the boardwalk. If he wasn’t being forced, he would have tripped -- between the glasses and the growing darkness, his eyes couldn’t adjust fast enough to see properly.
Sora slowed to a stop, and Tsumugi did trip, but instead of landing on the wood panels, he had landed on someone’s side. Two arms curled around him to keep him upright, and he didn’t need to open his eyes to know who it was.
“Good evening, Rei-kun,” he panted, lingering there for a few more breaths.
“Aoba-kun.” Met with a smile, until Tsumugi pulled himself off and accepted a different water bottle.
Surprisingly few words were exchanged between the five. All three of their associated first-years had carefully arranged this once they had set up their senpais, and since their work was done, Hinata winked while pulling Yuuta off with Sora close behind. “Weeeeell! Enjoy your time, see you tomorrow!”
And they were off before Tsumugi had even caught his breath. That was it, apparently.
He turned to face Rei, handing the water bottle back. “They seem so eager... I’m almost envious of their enthusiasm.”
“The first years possess so much vitality... what a lovely bunch.”
Humming his agreement, Tsumugi smiled.
-- There was a brief silence, while they stood with the waves splashing loudly in the near distance, past the strip of shops closing for the night. It’s interesting, he noted, that he’s not the awkward one this time. Rei was silent, contemplating something, unusually quiet.
“Rei-kun?”
“Yes?” That got his attention. Tsumugi watched him adjust the strap of his own beach bag. “What can I do for you, Aoba-kun?”
In watching the beach bag adjustment, Tsumugi’s attention got caught on Rei’s sleeve, to his open shirt, to his smooth chest, stomach with a little definition... “-- Tsk, tsk.” Rei grinned. “Just because we’re on a date doesn’t mean you should be staring so soon.” He wasn’t doing anything to change that, though.
There was really nothing to reply with besides a subtle giggle. “Well, my date is Rei-kun, so you can’t blame me for being a little giddy, you know?”
“That’s fair, I suppose!” Rei’s soft snort was not discreet enough to miss, especially not with his smug grin.
He leaned his back over the rails, resting his elbows against the top edge. The curve of his back really did seem like an old man... and he was back to being silent. Tsumugi wondered what he was really thinking in there, so he turned to face the ocean, too.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been out at night with you before.” Tsumugi commented despite it being pointless.
“Indeed... if we were, my memory is somewhat lacking.” Rei’s statement was personally relatable. “What would you like to do?”
Hum. “That’s a question I don’t have an answer to. I’ve never been on a date like this one, and barely come here in the first place.” Tsumugi tapped his finger to his lower lip. “We have free reign over the beach at this hour, don’t we?”
Rei said nothing, smirking with a sideways glance.
“... What is there to do? The water’s much too cold for anything, especially right now.” Tsumugi received nothing more than a closed-mouth chuckle, but that answered the question. He turned his head back to face the ocean before his grin was too wide to hide.
“It’s very thoughtful of them to bring us out where we won’t be recognized.” One strand of blue hair snagged itself around his finger instead of twirling normally. The salty air must have affected it already. Even though Rei never replied, Tsumugi didn’t feel that worried -- it was a comfortable silence, filled with waves and splashes. Whatever was on his mind, Rei would say it sooner or later.
Reaching the end of the boardwalk, Tsumugi watched as Rei took two more steps, pulled off one sandal, then the other. He plucked his own sandals off and hung them between his fingers, taking Rei’s outstretched hand without thinking too much about it. It wasn’t soft or smooth, but it was warm and it was Rei’s hand, so that was more than enough to leave Tsumugi’s cheeks heating.
He didn’t directly hold Rei’s hand, but he didn’t pull his hand out, either. Tsumugi left it there, in his grip, until Rei’s fingers spread apart and his own slid out.
Tsumugi glanced over once his hand fell to his side, but his curious ‘Rrm?’ was only met with a sideways smirk. He smiled back, but the silence was showing an inkling of nervousness in Tsumugi’s mind... what was Rei thinking about?
The sand squished between their toes with every step. When they stepped through the moist sand along the shore, it was their toes that squished into the sand. The remaining footprints fascinated Tsumugi until the tide brushed their ankles and washed the footprints away. One thing of note that he learned from watching their feet was the surprising size difference.
“Aoba-kun?” Rei asked, turning his head to face Tsumugi, who had stopped three strides away. “Is something the matter?”
Tsumugi’s initial reply wasn’t much besides a chuckle. He bounced two steps past Rei, then swiveled on one foot to face him. “Your feet are small.” To illustrate the point, he stepped firmly in the sand next to Rei, pulled his foot back off. And waited.
One blink, two blinks. Then Rei stepped partly behind Tsumugi, lightly bumping his side against Tsumugi’s back until he’d lost his balance and tilted forward. Before the resulting squeak finished, Rei snaked his arms under Tsumugi’s and held fast to catch him. He plopped his chin firmly on one of Tsumugi’s shoulders after hoisting him back upright. “There are times and places to say such strange things, but do you truly think a first date is one of them?”
Sighing, Tsumugi relaxed into his grip. “That’s true, but you aren’t one to talk, Rei-kun. You haven’t spoken much the whole time, anyway.”
“Huhu. I’ll tell you later.”
So there was something.
They walked for a long time, talking about anything and everything. Family, friends, life, clubs, lives, what their personal favorite color was, what they wanted to be as children, “Why does Ritsu-kun despise you?” to “What’s your family like, Aoba-kun?”, all the way to “How many instruments do you play?” and even “Have you ever played any yourself?”
It had been nearly an hour since they began walking, but Tsumugi didn’t notice and Rei didn’t care. The position of the moon made approximating the time easy, but Tsumugi didn’t stop babbling or asking Rei questions long enough to guess.
It was about eleven-thirty when they reached the end of the beach, where the sand thinned out between rocks and a dune to the side rose from there. Tsumugi caught Rei’s wrist before he headed up, who looked back curiously.
“Rei-kun, are you sure about that? It’s very high up... can you truly handle that?”
“Oh, you forget that I am a creature of the night. The moonlight restores my energy, you know -- I haven’t lost all my vitality yet.”
Tsumugi let go of his wrist, but opened his bag and yanked out a water bottle to hand over. “At least take a sip.”
He took more than a sip. Tsumugi watched him down a third of his water bottle, and watched a small drop slip past his lips and chin. With the way Rei’s head tilted back a bit, his throat moved with every gulp. Tsumugi wasn’t sure why he was staring until the water bottle returned to his hand.
“Thank you, Aoba-kun.” Rei grinned, grateful. “Shall we?”