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There is no such thing as a bad afternoon at the beach, Topanga likes to say and so far Shawn can’t say he disagrees.
It feels over-the-top luxurious to be able to sit down on the sand, waves lapping at his feet and legs, afternoon sun on his back, and watch his partners playing in the water from the top of his sunglasses. For a long time, he thought he didn’t deserve something like this- a peaceful, pleasant moment with them and with himself- and though he is trying to do better about that, it’s still a feeling hard to shake. When you haven’t had something you longed for the longest time, having it can feel like it’s a bubble waiting to be popped. There is no way to be disillusioned if you don’t have illusions in the first place, isn’t he right?
Cory and Topanga are- have always been- good at tearing down those forlorn glasses Shawn likes to put on. Cory with his constant words of affirmation and love, and Topanga by dragging him around to do the things that make him feel and be better instead of always feeling sorry for himself. To make him realize that his past might have been lonely and grim, but now, in the present, he can choose to put on dark-tinted glasses because of the sun and not because life is a tragedy. It’s only fitting that they are here with him in his sunny time off, both literal and metaphorical.
“Shawnie!” Cory is waving his arm in the air, and Shawn would be worried about him possibly drowning if it weren’t that he always manages to sound so... giddy when he says his name. Shawn wonders sometimes if his parents thought about that before naming him, how his name would roll sweet and complete off the mouth of a lover. They probably didn’t, the way they didn’t care enough to anticipate much of his life, and this time Shawn is somewhat glad for that bit. “Come swim with us!”
‘Swim’ is a generous term for what Cory and Topanga are doing in the sea, but Shawn can’t say that he blames them. For a long while, Topanga was just laying afloat belly up while Cory- whose feet still touch the bottom- was undulating her one way and the other by holding her shoulders. Shawn was very entertained watching the way she would splash him on the face in retaliation every time he wasn’t careful or fast enough to prevent a wave flooding her face. But now, water a bit higher, they have left all pretense of swimming and with Topanga perched on Cory’s side, they have been making out for quite a bit- with the subsequent rise in Shawn’s distraction.
Shawn pushes his sunglasses down his nose- Topanga loves that move, and he knows it- to look at them over the rm.
“You look very… swimmy all by yourselves, Cor,” he teases him, and Topanga tips her head back to let out a hearty laugh.
Cory- holding his girlfriend above water in the middle of the waves, glowing red with how the sun has kissed his delicate skin all day- has the audacity to pout at him. Shawn wiggles his toes in delight, but he is careful to keep them hidden under the waves.
“Don’t be afraid of the water, Shawnie! I do have another arm, you know.”
Shawn looks to the sides, first, to check if there is still someone around that would gasp and throw a tantrum at the implications on what Cory just said. Second, because it’s embarrassing how easy it’s for his boyfriend to hit the nail on the head of what Shawn is feeling. Sure, he does love the sun on his skin, the taste of salt on his lips and most than anything the luxurious time to just be together. But. He knows how to swim, but without the healthy habit of family vacations at the beach on his back, Shawn is… wary of the ocean. You don’t just submerge yourself in a force of nature without being prepared to let it drown you- he has expertise on the matter: he is dating Topanga Lawrence after all.
“I’m not afraid,” he yells back, “I’m respectful!” The excuse sounds lame even to his own ears, and Topanga rolls her eyes at him.
“Shawn Patrick Hunter, drag your respectful butt over here!”
Between the two of them, he and Cory agree that they need to start telling Topanga no every now and then if only so she can start getting used to the fact that she can’t always have her way. But one thing is what they think rationally in private, and a very different thing is how they act, emotionally, when they are in front of her and are faced with the real possibility of having to see her face fall. Sometime in the near future that will become a serious issue, but for now her ordering him around is just a good excuse to do what he secretly was wanting to do himself.
He pushes his sunglasses atop of his head, and shakes the sand from his shorts- Cory tried to dare him to get one of those really small and tight swimsuits, but dropped the dare quickly when Topanga pointed out that people stare at Shawn enough as it is, and Cory wouldn’t cope well with something that would exacerbate that. He is glad because he can’t say no to a dare, and those suits looked really uncomfortable.
Cory starts cheering when he sees Shawn walking seaward; Topanga winks at him, and though he really wants to take it one step at a time, they really make it difficult to not want to be by their side now. The sea is calm, and Shawn feels safe enough with both his feet on the ground, despite a few slippery slopes and some unexpected movement around his ankles. They are both smiling when he arrives close to them, and he focuses on those smiles to not panic with the fact that water is getting up to his chin when waves are high. Topanga having both her legs around Cory’s hips, only his firm hand on her back tethering her in the middle of the ebb and flow of the sea is, for Shawn, the ultimate show of trust.
Cory, true to his word, stretches an arm towards him.
“Want a hand, buddy?”
If he had said need instead of want, Shawn would have felt obliged to say no. But as it is a matter of subjective wanting and not of objective needing, he can say yes, please without guilt.
“Come on top of the Cory Matthews Espresso, chu chu,” says, surprisingly, Topanga and Shawn can’t help but smile. Now that the sun doesn’t shine so bright on top of their heads it’s starting to get a bit cold on the parts of his body that are wet and get temporarily uncovered by the waves. He could use both the body warmth and the strong stance to hold onto.
He takes a step closer and allows Cory to drape an arm around his waist. Shawn’s arms go around the side of Cory’s arm, one hand on his back and one on his chest and his feet prefer to leave the sea ground to tangle around Cory’s ankles. He can understand why Topanga would let herself be held without caring that she is at the mercy of the elements but relying only on Cory’s stance. When they were kids, he was always taller and bigger than Cory, and Shawn has not completely shaken that image of themselves from his mind, even though the situation reversed quickly after they hit puberty. The difference is not much in height, but Shawn has always been a scrawny kid while Cory is sturdier and stronger, and if his arm holding him tight and safe is not attractive as all hell, Shawn doesn’t know what is.
He looks around, and there is no one else in the water with them, and the remaining people on the beach don’t seem to be paying them any attention, so Shawn risks a quick kiss against Cory’s temple, that earns him an appreciative humming from his boyfriend. Topanga’s hand meets his on Cory’s back, and she tangles their fingers together. She is looking at him with a smile brighter than the sun, and though he didn’t swallow any seawater, he is choking on them.
“I’m glad I can be of service,” Cory says in a mock-voice while he does a small jump to be in rhythm with the tides. Both him and Topanga knows Cory loves this, so the pretend-offended tone is lost on them.
Topanga pokes him on the cheek.
“I might be short, but I can swim like nobody’s business.” Cory makes a small affronted noise, and Topanga pokes him again. “Besides, I’m sure Shawn could hold me.”
“No can’t do, babe.” She pouts at him for contradicting her, and they seriously need to get on that business of telling her no. “I’m just this scrawny kid. I can’t hold anyone.” Topanga is opening her mouth to retort, and he knows she is going to bring up that time he lifted her and held up against a door for quite a considerable period of time, but they are not talking about that here, so he rushes to make his point. “I mean, what do we have these nice shoulders for, if not to keep us safe at sea?”
He was trying to make an objectifying jab but he came up short with too much affection and somehow that makes the statement heavier than he can manage. Cory’s eyes are bright and Shawn is afraid he might use this moment as one of those Big Romantics Moments he loves so much- Shawn and Topanga also love them, but they won’t be caught dead saying that-, but he behaves graciously and pretends it was actually a joke. He let’s go of Shawn’s waist, and he misses the warmth and the touch immediately, but at least Cory had the good sense to not drop Topanga, who can’t actually reach the sea ground, though he holds her at arm's length.
“Let’s see if you can get another boyfriend willing to pick you both up, you jerks. ”
Shawn laughs and Topanga deadpans, “If I get another boyfriend I will catch a testosterone poisoning.”
Shawn lets a wave push him back to Cory again- that’s a law of nature almost as reliable as the tides themselves-, and he drinks the fake-gasp out of Cory’s mouth itself. Topanga takes the sunglasses off his head and puts it on while she makes kissy-faces at them, and the sea might be scary and life might be a tragedy, but as long as he has them, Shawn believes he will be okay.