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"The weather at our destination is showing clear skies and hot temperatures. We want to take this time to thank you again for flying with us, and we'll be landing in approximately twenty minutes."
Tendo lets out a deep breath, his eyes slowly fluttering shut as he feels the plane dip a little lower in the sky, the land visible outside of the small window again. His fingers can't help but grip the armrests tightly, his stomach in knots as they begin their descent.
He's always hated flying, always preferred to drive and be in control himself. But to get to his beach getaway in the short amount of time he had off from work, there weren't a lot of options. So he sucks it up and takes the plane. It is, afterall, summer vacation for /everyone/. Just what did he expect coming down here at one of the busiest parts of the year?
The plane ride hasn't been all bad, though, despite the screaming children all around him and the mild turbulence. The guy sitting in the seat next to him had offered him a piece of chewing gum for his ears when they first took off and didn't mind when Tendo accidentally gripped his hand during the entirety of take off.
And honestly, once they were in the air, it was no big deal. Tendo was fine. He was totally FINE. He wasn’t mentally going over his will and hoping his family knew he wanted to be cremated.
"You okay?" The guy next to him asks, his tone light and amused pulling Tendo from his spiraling thoughts. Tendo wants to glare, but they hit a bit of turbulence and he lets out a squawk of fear covering his face and bracing for his demise.
That's when Tendo notices the guy holding his hand out, palm facing up, offering him a lifeline. Tendo takes it, gripping his hand tightly as he closes his eyes and prays for the landing to be done quickly and smoothly.
Twenty minutes later, when they land, Tendo removes his hand from the kind and very attractive stranger's with a quiet thank you. The other just smiles and takes his carry on bag on his way off the plane.
That should have been the end of their meeting, and the start of the first vacation Tendo has had in years, but fate, the meddling bitch that she is has other plans.
*****
Tendo spends his first day checking into his room, showering to get rid of the last of the plane aura from his body, and then decides to head down to the beach. Dressed in swim shorts and a tropical print shirt that he bought at the hotel gift shop, he can't help but grin at the sight of the sea before him, breathing in the fresh air. It's the first vacation he's had in so long, and it feels so good not to be chained to his email, to his phone, running errands for his very persistent boss back home.
This is exactly what he needed.
"Heads up!" someone shouts, and Tendo turns to see what's happening, only for a volleyball to slam right into his face, knocking him back onto his ass in the sand. "Oh shit, oh fuck—"
Okay… this isn't exactly what he needed. Damn.
"Are you okay?" Tendo nods, wincing as he opens his eyes, hands coming up to cup his sore nose. His eyes widen, though, when he takes in the sight of the guy from the plane earlier that had let him hold his hand. "Oh, hey."
"Hi?" Tendo answers, glaring slightly as tears well up in his eyes.
"Sorry about that," the nameless man mumbles sheepishly, helping Tendo back up to his feet and holding his arms to keep him steady. "I’m sorry. We're playing volleyball and the ball just kinda got away from us."
Tendo pulls his hands back, groaning when he sees blood on his fingers.
"Oh, hang on" the guy says and Tendo watches in horror as this ridiculously attractive stranger takes his shirt off of his back and uses it to gently dab away the blood from Tendo’s nose. His face goes up in flames, turning bright red as he averts his gaze from how wonderfully sculpted the man's body is. "There, that’s better. I feel like I should make sure you know your name but I don’t even know it. So you could be concussed and I wouldn’t know."
“Tendo," he answers hesitantly, gently taking the shirt when the guy motions for him to. It smells nice — like something natural and musky but also light and gentle. Kind of like freshly washed linens.
"Tendo," the guy says then smiles. "I'm Ushijima. Nice to officially meet you.”
"Ushijima, Is he good?" someone calls from the net area, waving their arms over their head. Good grief everyone in this group is attractive. Ushijima’s friend has wonderfully wind swept hair and hes /clearly/ an athlete because HELLO!
Tendo hands the ball back to Ushijima and nods. "Well, thanks, for uh, the shirt? I'll let you get back to your game."
"Sure, sorry again!" Ushijima says, hands clasping in front of him as he bows politely. "Um, you know, if you wanna join, you're welcome to."
Tendo glances at the other guys at the net and then shakes his head. "No, I think I’m going to go somewhere to soothe my ego and my nose inside. Thank you for the offer, though."
Ushijima just smiles and nods, tucking the ball against his hip, under one of his arms. "Well, hopefully I'll see you around again, then."
Tendo hopes not. He's certain that he's been more embarrassed in front of this handsome stranger than he is willing to admit. He doesn't want anything else to happen like this on the trip. He's going to spend the rest of his week soaking up the sun, relaxing, and reading the manga he bought months ago and has been meaning to finish.
So as Ushijima goes back to his game, Tendo finds himself a nice, quiet spot to lay out his towel and get to reading.
The third time they run into each other, Tendo is starting to think that Ushijima is following him.
"Hey," Ushijima says, smiling as he passes by him to sit down at the counter of the brunch restaurant they're both at. Ushijima leaves one spot between them as he sits down. "How's your nose?"
"Just peachy," Tendo scowls, grateful that it didn’t bruise even though it still hurts like a bitch.
"Did you come alone?" Ushijima asks, eyes focused on the menu in front of him, deciding what to order. "I haven't seen you with anyone."
Tendo narrows his eyes slightly, raising an eyebrow. "You following me or something?" he says jokingly, but Ushijima just goes red in the face and immediately starts denying."
"Small island," Ushijima says with a light laugh. "I'm here by myself. Sort of, anyway. Some of my friends are here, but they're on their anniversary, so they're doing their own thing. They rarely get to see each other since they live in different countries."
"Ah," Tendo replies, even though he didn't ask. "I'm alone. Finally got some time off of work and just wanted to get away from the city."
They spend their brunch talking together, making easy and light conversation. Ushijima says he came because he intends to do some hiking, while Tendo prefers to relax and barely move his body, if he can get away with it.
By the time the lunch rush is starting, Tendo is paying his bill and saying his goodbyes.
“It’s unlikely we’ll see each other again,” he says, reaching over to shake his hand. “It was nice meeting you, Ushijima. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.”
Ushijima smiles, gently squeezing Tendo’s hand. “You too, Tendo.”
As they part as unlikely friends, Tendo finds himself smiling as he heads for his rental car, ready to go enjoy his time at the beach, relaxing in the sun.
Despite their very different ideas of vacation, Tendo and Ushijima do continue to run into each other over and over again.
At a gift shop while they each try to find something for their friends back home and their hands end up brushing as they reach for the same magnet. Tendo definitely doesn’t spend an exorbitant amount of time thinking about that simple brush of fingers. At a tiki bar that Ushijima’s friends joined him at and yelled for Tendo to join them. And again at a gas station, when Ushijima pulled up to refill the tank and spotted Tendo doing the same.
Without really meaning to, Tendo and Ushijima start to expect to see each other nearly every day of their vacation. It becomes second nature for them to spend meals together.
“Have a good hike this morning?” Tendo asks as he settles into the seat across the table from Ushijima. “You’re all sweaty.”
Ushijima laughs, glancing down at himself. “Yeah, we hiked to see the sunrise,” he explains, waving a waiter over so they can order. “It was incredible. I took some pictures!”
Tendo can’t help but smile fondly as Ushijima shows him all the pictures from his hike earlier in the morning. He can’t help but feel a little giddy that they’re at a table together and that Ushijima waited for a table so they could talk more easily instead of at the busy counter.
“What’re your plans for the day?” Ushijima asks when he finishes, leveling Tendo with soft eyes.
Tendo pulls out the manga he’d brought with him, which sadly, he’s barely managed to make a dent in during this week despite his goal of wanting to finish it.
“Thinking about going to read in a park,” he answers,“I really wanted to finish this book this week… but it’s taking me forever to get through.”
Ushijima takes the manga to look at it, reading the summary on the back. “Is it good?”
“It’s okay,” Tendo replies. “A little predictable.”
“Maybe you’re having a hard time reading it because it’s not engaging you,” Ushijima suggests, handing the manga back over.
“It was a gift from my friend, so I feel bad not finishing it,” Tendo sighs, setting it back down. “But I think you’re right. Plus, you have been very distracting.”
Ushijima just offers a wolfish grin. “Who? Me?”
Tendo laughs, tossing a blueberry at him. “I see you everywhere! It’s like we’re basically vacationing together at this point.”
“Well, why not?” Ushijima suggests, tilting his head slightly. “Come to dinner with me later. We can get drinks and shit talk about our jobs back home. It’ll be fun.”
Tendo tries to hide his smile, but it shows through, anyway. “Alright,” he agrees. “But only because you mentioned drinks.”
Ushijima laughs, going back to eating his breakfast as they make their first actual plans together.
*****
When Tendo arrives at the bar they agreed to meet at for dinner, he checks over his appearance one last time before heading in. With his fiery red hair pushed back from his face, dressed in fitted jeans and light shirt that accentuates his vacation tan. That he’s honestly more proud of then he should be and it’s not that he’s trying to impress Ushijima. They’re just two solo vacationers that have sort of become friends.
Tendo finds Ushijima at a table, waving him over with a grin that makes Tendo’s heart race a little bit. So he’s noticed that his new friend just so happens to be very sweet and very much his type. Big deal. Nothing is going to happen, anyway.
“I wasn’t sure what you would want to drink so I just ordered a few beers to start,” Ushijima tells him, having to yell slightly over the music. Apparently, it’s trivia night at the bar. “I signed us up for trivia.”
“What?” Tendo laughs, accepting the beer from Ushijima. “I’m horrible at trivia. Unless its manga related!”
“Me either,” he grins and it makes Tendo snort. “But thats half the fun.”
Several drinks and shots and many wrong answers later, Tendo is wheezing as Ushijima writes down something very obviously wrong on their trivia sheet, holding it up proudly.
A surprise to no one they don’t win trivia.
“I had fun tonight,” Tendo says as they both head out of the bar together, heading for the direction of their hotels. “Probably the best day of vacation so far.”
Ushijima smiles, their hands brushing accidentally as they walk. “Same,” he says. “You know, maybe we should just spend the rest of vacation together.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Tendo teases with a laugh, tripping over his own feet and nearly falling. Ushijima snorts and catches him from face planting.
“Well, I am asking, aren’t I?” he counters and it makes Tendo’s cheeks flush. “Maybe we could hang out back home too, you know. If you wanted.”
Tendo doesn’t mind that Ushijima keeps a gentle hold of his arm as they keep walking, so he won’t trip and fall again. He definitely won't dream about Ushijima’s warm and comforting hold of him.
“I’m not as fun there,” he admits shyly. “I’m usually too tired after work to do anything. I rarely go out. I cancel most of my plans with friends to stay in bed instead…”
Ushijima settles him with a warm gaze. “That’s okay, I’m a big fan of canceled plans so I can just change into my pajamas and watch Netflix in.”
Tendo smiles. “Okay,” he decides. “Let’s hang out in Seoul together, then. Maybe we can even have a night in hang out.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Ushijima helps Tendo back to his hotel, bidding him a good night and even exchanging phone numbers so they don’t forget later. And maybe it was just his imagination, or all the beers talking, but Tendo felt like Ushijima hadn’t wanted to let him go and say goodnight. He hoped because he didn’t want Ushijima to let him go.
By another twist of fate, that finicky bitch, Tendo doesn’t see Ushijima again during the rest of his vacation. He contemplates texting him to ask to hang out, but maybe this is a sign.
Tendo does finish his manga, feeling a surge of pride at having completed the goals he set for himself. And he packs it thoughtfully back into his suitcase in the morning.
As he checks out of his hotel and takes a taxi to the airport, Tendo decides to do one final thing.
****
To: Ushijima
It’s Tendo!!
Just wanted to say that I’m heading home today
Thanks for a great vacation, I had more fun than I thought I would lol
Let me know if ur ever down to have a chill night in. I know a place that delivers French toast almost as good as our brunch cafe here.
***
Tendo pockets his phone and smiles, watching the scenery fly by. When he arrives at the airport, he checks in, checks his bag and heads for security, finally pulling his phone out. And the messages he finds from Ushijima makes him smile, his heart fluttering.
***
From: Ushijima
Well
How does tonight sound?
***
To: Ushijima
You’re going home today too??? Lol should have known
Let’s do it
***
From: Ushijima
It’s a date.
***
Tendo flushes, nearly dropping his phone as he stares at the message waiting for him. It’s a date. Clutching his phone to his chest and grinning like a fool, Tendo practically skips all the way to the plane. And while the nerves usually set in right about now, he finds himself too excited to mind as he boards the plane, searching for his seat.
And when he finds it, his eyes widen as Ushijima sits in the spot beside him, grinning.
“No way,” Tendo laughs, settling into the seat next to him. “What are the odds?”
“It’s a small island,,” Ushijima laughs, his smile warm. “But it’s good, because I would have been a little jealous if you had to hold someone else’s hand during take off.”
Tendo playfully swats at Ushijima, who just laughs again before catching one of his hands.
“So what do you say?” Ushijima asks.
“About what?” Tendo asks, tilting his head slightly.
“Will you go on that date with me?”
Tendo’s cheeks flush and he smiles shyly, looking down at their clasped together hands. Slowly, he intertwines their fingers together, holding on tight.
“Yes,” he agrees. “It’s a date.”