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The waves crashed onto the jagged rocks, smoothing the sharp edges as it receded back into its watery home. Seaweed decorated the edges of the beach, the strong, salty smell permeating the air and sand. Miscellaneous items laid upon the sand neatly piled like a mound of sand in front of a young boy. He was alone in his sandy world, but he didn't mind.
The sound of items clinking together was heard across the beach as he touched each piece he could without tipping the metal tower. His hands dipped into the pile of metals and other objects, grabbing an item one by one. His charcoal-like eyes glimmered under the lowering sun as he recognized himself in the small mirror held in his hands. Gently placing the small watch beside him in another pile, he takes out a pearl necklace. It was like an adventure, each item an individual island that he crossed the sea to reach. It could be an island filled with beautiful pastel colors like this soaked blue ribbon or an island that belonged to a kingdom of light like this brooch, a cartoonish sun engraved on its center.
Akaashi practically lived on the beach, spending hours on his sandy treasure trove finding and appreciating the many things that washed up onto the beach, each item different than the last. He was one of the only children here in this empty-like town, living with his grandparents in a nearby wooden cabin that happened to have this paradise waiting right in front of them. It wasn't like he was not willing to befriend the two others in this rural town. They actually were on good terms with each other, it just so happened that they lived on the other side from where he lived. Akaashi had another friend that could keep him company.
The familiar clicking sound behind him caught his attention. It was already dusk, the sky painted in a beautiful blend of purple and blues as bright amber eyes focused onto his small frame in the distance. Those two hawk-like eyes peeked out from the large rock, their hair an ivory color like pure steel. Slowly rising, the boy revealed his head as he dared not to move any closer. The owl-like boy shrunk at Akaashi's gaze, eyes darting around as he timidly tapped on the smooth rock.
Akaashi cautiously made his way to the large rock, stumbling around as the stars started to appear in the night sky. He wasn't afraid of being at the beach in the dark, he had done this multiple times before, just for his friend hiding behind the rock. It was like their little meeting spot, a place where there are no prying eyes. It wasn't because Akaashi's friend was shy like that, no.
"Bokuto," he quietly whispered, wishing to not scare them as his eyes fully adapted to the dark. Bokuto responded with a happy click of his tongue, excitedly wrapping his arms around Akaashi. It was like a 180 from what he was like minutes ago, the stark contrast from a scared puppy to winning a lottery ticket. It seemed like the boy was ignorant to Akaashi's slight discomfort.
"A... Aka...shi," Bokuto revealed a toothy grin, reverting back to his own language soon after as his throat poured out one click after another.
The dark-haired boy smiled, feeling proud of teaching them his name. "Yes, I am Akaashi." He pointed to himself, "You are Bokuto,"
"And we are friends."
Friends! Bokuto grinned in delight as small waves crashed against their lower bodies. It was freezing cold, each salted lick of the waves seemingly added another layer of ice onto their legs. The cold was nothing they both couldn’t handle, even if Akaashi’s skin was already creating goosebumps.
Before the mysterious merman could forget, Bokuto brought out a small item hidden in his webbed hand. Gently placing this present onto Akaashi’s palm, he hesitantly let go of the rather intimate skinship. The soft bumps on the dark-haired boy’s fingers seemed to call out for more from his own cold and smooth digits. Akaashi acted ignorant at the one second time frame when his friend paused, and how his senses seemed to heighten, feeling the contrasting temperatures specifically on his hand.
This wasn’t what friends are like, right?
He buried those thoughts into some deep part of his mind, and shoved them down with a large boulder on top.
Akaashi looked down onto his hand and felt something akin to his hope cracking like a broken piece of glass. A smooth metal ring laid almost perfectly, somehow blinding the already borderline-blind boy.
He placed another large boulder on top of those superficial thoughts.