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They'd all left for the beach early in the morning. Haiji'd woken all of them up at an ungodly hour and dragged them to his van. After forcefully feeding them breakfast, of course. "No swimming on an empty stomach" He'd said cheerfully, much to the annoyance of the others. Prince and Yuki had been especially grumpy as they entered the vehicle looking like zombies.
Of course the ride over had been hell as well. Kakeru'd been sitting in the passenger seat, anxiously grasping his seat belt as Haiji drove them through the dark morning.
Haiji'd glanced to the side every couple of minutes. Sometimes his and Kakeru's eyes would meet and Kakeru would quickly look away, pretend he hadn't been looking at Haiji too. It made Haiji smile every time.
Most of the time, however, Kakeru'd been unaware of Haiji's secret glances. Haiji could comfortably look at Kakeru's face. His soft hair, his nose, his (slightly dry looking) lips, his eyes. Kakeru's eyes had to be one of Haiji's favorite things in the world. Those blue eyes, always focused on what was ahead.
Which in that case had been a car in front of them, Haiji realized after Kakeru started yelling at him to hit the brakes.
They managed to get to the beach safely. Somehow. And now half a day had passed. They'd played beach volleyball, eaten ice cream and swum in the ocean.
"We're going in again," Joji yelled as he dragged his brother by the arm. "Anyone else coming?" Prince just shook his head as he flipped to the next page of the manga he'd brought with him. Yuki was listening to music in the shade and Shindo'd fallen asleep with his head on Yuki's lap. King and Nico-chan were building a giant sandcastle, Musa was reading a book and Kakeru was sitting next to Haiji as he played a game on his phone. He gently moved his hand from Nira's head to his back every few seconds while he slept on Haiji's lap.
"We'll be there in a second." Musa said when no one else replied. Haiji took another sip of his drink as he stared at the back of Kakeru's head. The boy was currently sitting with his back against Haiji's beach chair, phone in one hand, Nira's ear in the other. Haiji could honestly stay right there forever. With Kakeru by his side.
Especially now that he was wearing a loose tank top.
Not that Haiji was staring at him. Or his abs. Not at all.
Nira raised his head when Kakeru suddenly stopped petting him to stretch his arms. He leaned back a little and accidentally pressed the back of his head into Haiji's thigh. The blush that crept onto Kakeru's face made Haiji smile to himself. He was about to ruffle his black hair when the twins came running back from the water, both of them carrying a bucket.
"I'll literally kill you!" Yuki yelled at them before they even got to him. Jota changed course and dumped the water on King and Nico-chan instead. They both sat defeated next to their castle, clothes completely drenched in salty seawater. They'd all changed into lighter clothes, so luckily it would dry quickly. Jota laughed shamelessly as Joji dumped the water over Yuki's head. Shindo immediately woke up as Yuki hurled his headphone at Joji. "You're dead!"
Haiji laughed loudly, which made Nira finally jump off his lap. He barked and tried to get to Yuki, but the leash that was tied to Haiji's chair made it impossible for him to escape.
The twins sprinted back to the water with Yuki and Shindo on their heels. Haiji jumped up to follow them. He tapped Kakeru's shoulder and nodded towards the sea. Kakeru hesitated for a split second, but got up when Haiji started walking away. He turned around, walked backwards for a few steps and smiled at Kakeru as the boy started running too. He caught up to Haiji in no time and their feet ended up in the water at the same time. Kakeru's dark blue shorts got wet with the splashes they made.
And then there was his white tank top. Haiji should've known that thing was going to kill him one day. It was wide and loose. All throughout the day, every time Kakeru'd leaned forward, Haiji was tortured with the sight of Kakeru's stomach, his abs and his nipples.
And now the thing was drenched. Which meant it was see-through as it stuck to Kakeru's skin, leaving little to the imagination. Haiji was positive he was staring, but he couldn't care less. Kakeru was oblivious to Haiji's burning gaze and no one else was paying them any attention, so Haiji just let himself admire the other's body. Kakeru's abs and nipples were visible through the wet, white fabric. And as he moved a hand through his black hair, his tank top rose a little, showing off his perfect v-cut abs. Haiji had to hold back an actual groan.
Every day Haiji wondered why he hadn't made a move on Kakeru yet.
He had to stop his yearning horny thoughts when Musa approached the water. "Where are the twins?" He asked as he looked around. Haiji chuckled as he put his hands on his sides. "Getting murdered over there." He nodded towards four small dots in the distance. Kakeru and Musa followed his gaze.
Yuki was trying to push the twins under water while Shindo tried to hold him back. Musa facepalmed.
"Will those two be okay?" Nico-chan asked as he approached Haiji. His shorts were rolled up so the water wouldn't touch them, and his flower patterned blouse was open. The sun already dried most of the damage Jota had done to his clothes.
"Probably. Let's do something fun!" Haiji said cheerfully, totally ignoring the possible death of his teammates. Kakeru laughed softly, which made Haiji grin at him. "Kakeru, any ideas?" He asked as he poked his side. He could hear Kakeru inhale sharply at the touch.
"A competition maybe? A race?" He offered. Prince'd finally put down his manga to join the others. Right on time to turn down Kakeru's idea. "I'm not running here. The sand is too hot and the sun is too hot and it's just too hot."
"He makes some compelling arguments" Haiji deadpanned. Kakeru seemed a little bit disappointed. No surprise of course, he was always ready to run. Didn't matter if it was raining and thundering, or scorching hot outside, Kakeru would run.
Another thing Haiji liked about him. How Kakeru could love things so fiercely.
"We don't have to run, we could do something else. Like see who can build the highest sand cas-" Musa got interrupted by a loud yelp from Kakeru.
Kakeru jumped up and grabbed Haiji's arm in his panic. Haiji immediately took a hold of his wrist to steady him, reassure him. Then a laughing Jota emerged from the water, still holding Kakeru's ankle. Kakeru relaxed when he realized he wasn't in great danger. He didn't let go of Haiji's arm though.
Not that Haiji was complaining. He wasn't sure why Kakeru hadn't let go yet. Maybe he hadn't realized he was still holding onto him, or maybe he just didn't want to let him go.
It wasn't until a few minutes later, when Haiji noticed Jota was glancing at their arms, that Kakeru let go, his face a bit red.
Kakeru liked Haiji. Haiji was almost a hundred percent sure now. Probably. No, he was sure. Maybe. Well, he would find out soon enough. Haiji had about enough of his own endless pining, he'd think of something soon to find out where he stood.
He thought this as he studied Kakeru's face. Then Kakeru locked eyes with him, face still a bit pink, and smiled at him.
Now. He'd think of something now.
Yuki finally had enough of trying to murder Joji and Shindo dragged him back to where Haiji and the others were standing. A breathless Joji followed close behind them. "I can't believe you left your wombmate to die" He said dramatically. Jota shrugged with a big grin on his face. "I would've slaughtered him. A horrible revenge plot."
Shindo scratched his neck as he smiled awkwardly. "Okay!" Haiji started, "Something fun! Any suggestions?" Prince opened his mouth, but Haiji answered his own question before anyone could get a word in. "How about a competition to see who can hold their breath the longest?" Everyone stared at him for a few seconds.
"No? Come on, it'll be fun!"
"What if I drown" Prince said.
"You won't. King will rescue you" Haiji pointed at King as he walked up to the group. His clothes had dried completely and it looked like he'd laid in the sun for too long.
"I'm in," He sighed, "It's way too hot to not be in the water."
Haiji smiled. "Anyone else? Or are you afraid I'll beat you?"
He was pretty sure that trick wouldn't work on them, but after Kakeru and the twins decided to join, the others followed pretty quickly.
"Are there any rules?" Nico-chan asked.
"Yes! The rules are, and I'm definitely not making them up this very second, one! You have to hold your breath as long as possible while being under water."
"Obviously" Yuki retorted.
"Two! You're not allowed to die! You will be disqualified if you do!" Kakeru laughed softly at that. It made Haiji's chest feel warm.
"Three! The winner gets a popsicle!" It stayed quiet for a few seconds after that. "Was that it?" Joji asked. Haiji nodded enthusiastically. They all sighed before agreeing to the rules. Haiji suggested they go to a deeper part of the sea, and once they were all floating in the water, he started his countdown. They all took a deep breath and filled their lungs with as much air as possible.
Then all their heads went under at the same time. Haiji opened his eyes immediately so he could see everyone. The water was a bit gross, but they could all see each other well enough. Kakeru was on Haiji's right side and Prince on his left. The twins were on Prince's other side, then Nico-chan, then King, Musa, Shindo and then Yuki, who had Kakeru on his left side.
Haiji realized they probably should have taken their clothes off, but that was too late now. Whatever, it wasn't like his blouse was going to make him lose. The thing was light and barely had any fabric. It was short sleeved and unbuttoned at the front, showing off his stomach.
Haiji was going to win this.
Well, almost win.
It didn't take long for Prince to leave the game. He'd definitely gotten in better shape over the last couple of weeks, but holding your breath while trying not to drown was definitely not easy on your lungs.
King followed after that. He didn't seem upset about it and just floated on the water above them.
It wasn't hard for Haiji to stay under. All he had to do was hold his breath as long as Kakeru did. He knew the boy wouldn't quit until the very end, just like how he'd refused to budge when the two of them held their competition in the baths. They'd both stayed in the hot water until their skin was burning. Haiji was counting on Kakeru's determination in this competition as well.
And judging by the look on Kakeru's face, he definitely wasn't planning on giving up soon. He was frowning a bit and his eyes were focused on his own feet.
Nico-chan, Musa and Yuki followed after King, leaving only Shindo, the twins and Haiji and Kakeru in the race. Yuki and King dove back down after they'd refilled their lungs.
Shindo went up next and Yuki followed him. Probably to make sure he was okay, Haiji figured. Then there were only four left. Haiji was sure that they could beat the twins, so he turned his attention to Kakeru. He shifted slightly so that he was facing him and Kakeru did the same when he noticed what Haiji was doing.
Haiji smiled at him. They were close enough to make out each other's expressions despite being under water. Kakeru raised his eyebrows. Haiji winked. Kakeru widened his eyes.
For a split second, Haiji was scared his flirting might have made Kakeru so flustered he would swim back up, but all he did was avert his eyes. Haiji sighed out of relief (mentally, of course. He couldn't waste any air).
How long had they been holding their breaths now? It was starting to feel like quite a while. Haiji knew he could hold out, he just had to convince his body.
Luckily, the next second he could see the twins dramatically kick to resurface. Which meant the only two left were Kakeru and him. Just as he'd predicted. All that was left now was for Haiji to make sure that Kakeru would win.
Haiji liked doing things according to plan. He liked to calculate all possible outcomes and pick the option that had the highest chance of success. So for him to do what he was about to do... it wasn't without risk. He was definitely almost sure that it would go well, just... not a hundred percent sure.
See, the thing was that Haiji liked Kakeru. A lot. And anyone with eyes had probably figured out that Kakeru, in fact, liked Haiji back. It was just rather hard for Haiji to actually do something about it. Actually do something, not just the endless flirting and joking around. Sure, it got nice reactions out of Kakeru, but it wasn't enough. Not anymore.
Haiji looked at Kakeru's face. Nothing in his expression was giving the impression that he was about to give up. And Haiji couldn't help but remember their debacle in the baths again, how little they knew about each other back then,
how quickly he'd grown fond of Kakeru.
So before Haiji could change his mind about this stupid idea he came up with about ten minutes ago, he carefully approached Kakeru. His lungs were about to give out, but he still moved closer, slowly, so Kakeru could swim away from him at any moment.
All Kakeru did was stare into Haiji's eyes, frowning a little in confusion. Haiji placed his hand on Kakeru's cheek, stroking it softly as he smiled at him. Kakeru widened his eyes, but still didn't swim away. Haiji leaned in closer until their noses were almost touching as he moved his other hand to the back of Kakeru's neck. And then he pressed their mouths together. His eyes were half closed while Kakeru's were blown wide open.
Haiji carefully moved his lips against Kakeru's until he opened his mouth a little.
(What was Kakeru expecting?)
Then Haiji gently blew his last air into Kakeru's lungs, until there was nothing left. Kakeru could have it all.
Haiji would give him everything if he could.
He moved back after a few seconds, let Kakeru go, locked eyes with him for a last time, and finally swam back up. He immediately gasped for air as his head resurfaced, desperate to fill his lungs with oxygen again. He heard the others commenting on his loss, but all Haiji could focus on was the tingling feeling in his lips. He couldn't believe he actually did that.
His excitement was short lived, however, as he realized that Kakeru still hadn't come back up yet. He hadn't just killed his crush, had he? He was about to dive back down when Kakeru's finally popped out of the water. He immediately swam over to Haiji.
The others were all cheering and clapping for Kakeru but Haiji could tell he didn't hear any of it. His thoughts were elsewhere. Probably in a place pretty similar to where Haiji's thoughts were at that moment.
He was going to kiss him. Kakeru was going to kiss him right now. Haiji could tell. It was written all over his face. The way his brows were furrowed, how his mouth hang open a tiny bit, the slight panic in his eyes. Or was it excitement?
Haiji couldn't take his eyes off him.
Then King's head resurfaced. Kakeru stopped dead in his tracks. Haiji's eyes widened.
Right, King went back down after he'd lost. Haiji had been so focused on Kakeru that he completely forgot.
Oops.
The three of them were staring at each other hard. Haiji was about to speak up, say something dumb to avert everybody's attention, pull the focus away from at least Kakeru.
But then he felt a hand gripping his arm under water, followed by a pair of soft lips against his own. Haiji widened his eyes. So did everyone else.
Haiji could feel that Kakeru was nervous, so he tried to soothe him by gently stroking his side. It worked a little and Kakeru relaxed against him.
Haiji's heart was hammering in his chest.
They couldn't really start making out in front of their friends, so the kiss only lasted a couple of seconds, but it was enough to turn Kakeru into a blushy mess.
And judging by how hot Haiji's face felt, he was probably not doing much better himself.
The moment was quickly ruined by Yuki. "They kissed under water too, didn't they?" He asked with a shit-eating grin on his face. Shindo hit him on the shoulder but still turned to King to see what he would answer.
King was about to open his mouth when Prince suddenly started yelling. "Nira escaped!" He pointed at their little spot on the beach, and sure enough, Nira was running around freely.
Haiji yelped as he immediately started swimming back, the others following close behind. Nira was digging a hole in the sand castle when they made it back to the beach. He started barking when he saw Haiji and immediately ran up to him. Haiji threw himself on the ground and opened his arms so he could hug him.
"Who's a good boy?"
Kakeru chuckled as he walked up to the scene.
"Definitely not him, he literally escaped." Prince said, still breathless from the swimming. Haiji ignored him as he tied his leash back to his chair.
"You're all on dog watching duty, I'm going to buy Kakeru some ice cream." Haiji said as he took Kakeru's arm in his hand. Yuki sighed as he layed down on Haiji's chair.
"Have fun!" Nico-chan yelled when they were almost out of earshot. Laughter could be heard in the distance.
They walked in silence for a few minutes. Haiji wasn't against small talk, but the silence felt nice. It gave him time to think. To calm down a little.
The sun was starting to set and it felt like the temperature had already dropped a little. The wind ruffled Kakeru's hair, which made Haiji smile. He abruptly stopped walking to sit down in the sand. Kakeru's face softened as he sat down next to him, their knees touching.
Haiji breathed in the salty air as he turned to Kakeru, surprised to find Kakeru was already looking at him. He looked gorgeous like this, hair tangled, orange sunset glow on his face, soft smile on his lips.
"I like you, Kakeru." It was almost a whisper. Words meant for only his ears. Kakeru's cheeks reddened a little as he leaned in closer. Haiji intertwined their fingers where their hands layed in the sand and kissed Kakeru's cheek. Then his nose, then his lips. Kakeru's hand ended up in Haiji's hair as they kissed slowly.
"I like you too."
He mumbled it against Haiji's lips and they both smiled as they closed the distance between them once more.
And if Haiji accidentally killed all of them on their way back home by glancing at Kakeru too many times, well, then at least he died doing what he did best: loving Kakeru.