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July, 1951. North Ostania.
Yor inhaled deeply as she crested the hill, breathing in the warm, salty aroma of the beach. She was standing on the edge of a wide strip of sand that sloped gently downward towards the water, which bled blue into the horizon for as far as she could see. Holding her hat down on her head so that the breeze wouldn’t steal it, she smiled appreciatively. “What a beautiful day,” she murmured.
“OCEAN!” Yuri shrieked, racing past Yor with his arms outstretched as if to embrace the wind. Loid followed in hot pursuit, the two of them kicking up enough sand to cause a small dust storm as they sprinted towards the edge of the water. Even though he had all their belongings tucked under his arms, he kept up with the younger boy easily. Yor was glad that Loid seemed to have recovered after the hell that was the past wrestling season, plus the passing of his mother. He had put on weight over the summer, with the muscles in his back clearly defined even as his frame became smaller in the distance.
Yor covered her mouth with a hand and giggled. “Idiots,” she said to herself.
An elderly couple strolled by on the boardwalk behind her. “You’d best catch up to your boys,” the woman said, her eyes twinkling in a friendly manner.
Yor tilted the brim of her hat in acknowledgement. “You’re right about that. They might drown without me there.”
Your boys. The phrase on its own was unremarkable, but it was such an affectionate way to think of her boyfriend and little brother. They really were her boys, weren’t they?
Loid had just finished setting up when Yor arrived, placing a lawn chair underneath a wide umbrella he’d stuck in the sand. Three towels were laid out haphazardly around the umbrella, courtesy of Yuri, who wanted to help. He had just finished applying sunscreen on himself, and had a white strip covering the length of his nose.
“Here’s some sunscreen so you don’t get burnt,” Loid handed Yor the bottle, with some of it smeared unevenly over his exposed skin. He smoothed it out, rubbing the substance in. Yor and Yuri had swimsuits, but Loid only had a pair of black boxers on, and they were just short enough to show off his thighs, which had grown considerably since the last time Yor had seen him in his underwear.
“Let’s go in the water!” Yuri said impatiently, yanking Yor from her thoughts. She must be getting sunburnt already, from how red her face felt.
“I’m ready when you are.” Although much calmer, Loid’s face split into an excited grin. He turned back to Yor. “Are you coming with us?”
“I think I’ll sit here and read for a bit,” Yor applied the strong-smelling cream, although she knew she’d be spending most of the day sitting in the shade. “Keep the birds off our food.” She would have loved to join them, but a previous client from her job had left a small but deep wound on her hip, and the last thing she wanted was an infection from the seawater.
“Suit yourself,” Loid shrugged. “Alright. Last one to the water’s a rotten egg!”
Yor watched them battle the waves, with her book open to a random page but left unread. She found herself reminiscing while Yuri’s shrieks of laughter and the caw of nearby seagulls faded into background noise. Loid had such a good impact on Yuri, easily taking on the roles that Yor couldn’t fulfill for him. Even now, although Yuri was a strong swimmer, Loid waded close by in case the smaller boy was overwhelmed by a wave. They jumped and whooped, and Loid hoisted Yuri over his head every time a particularly tall wave crashed down on them. Her brother was about to enter his fourth year, but Loid still lifted him up as easily as if he were a baby.
Yor pulled out her Kodak camera, snapping a few photos. They might not come out great, but she would cherish the memory anyway.
After some time had passed, they regrouped for lunch. Loid passed around cucumber sandwiches and sodas. As they ate, he sketched out an outline in the sand with a stick.
“Bondman’s castle is not that small,” Yuri said, clearly unimpressed.
“We won’t finish this today if we make it any bigger,” Loid insisted logically. Together, they began crafting the architecture from sand, even digging a moat around the castle as an “added protection measure.”
A smile flickered across Yor’s face as she attempted to catnap. The reason as to why her boys were so obsessed with building and digging eluded her.
Yor felt a hand nudge her shoulder. “Come help us look for shells to decorate!” Yuri said eagerly.
How could she say no to that face? “I could stretch my legs,” Yor mused, rising from her lounge. Loid was already down by the waterfront, doubled over as he searched intently.
He’s so cute when he’s focused like that, Yor found herself thinking as she perused the dry upper bank. Maybe she could take something home as a souvenir. After collecting a few sizable shells in her arms, something caught her eye.
It was a small pockmarked rock, technically gray but the different minerals in it reflected blue in the sunlight. The color reminded her of Loid’s eyes. This one, she would keep.
“Ta-daa~!” Yuri stepped back to survey his finished work. The castle was quite impressive, nearly standing as tall as he did. There were detailed outer walls, with tower defenses and a main courtyard and everything. It looked a bit like Eden to her.
“Wow, it looks so realistic!” Yor praised, while Loid merely looked satisfied.
“Check this out,” Yor’s attention turned to Loid, who had his hand outstretched. “I found this by the shallows. I think another tourist might’ve dropped it when they were here.”
It was a small smooth gemstone, colored a deep scarlet.
“Probably a garnet or ruby from someone’s jewelry,” Yor guessed. “You could pawn that off for some money.”
Loid pondered the idea, then closed his hand around the gem, as if fearing someone would take it from him. “No, I think I’ll keep it.” He suddenly dropped his gaze, looking down shyly. “It reminds me of your eyes.”
“We have a problem.” Yuri’s suddenly grave voice disrupted their conversation. As the sun dipped lower towards the horizon, the water had slowly crept up to their location, and now lapped at the back wall of the sandcastle. As they all turned to look, that part of the castle crumbled and eroded into the sea.
Yuri fell to his knees, but before he could start throwing a tantrum, Loid scooped him upright. “We’ll rebuild the castle another day,” he said firmly. “It’s about time we start heading back.”
—
Yor and Loid were both too tired to make the multiple-hour trip back to Berlint. The trio ate dinner at a foreign food stand (“What on earth made them think of ‘chili hot dogs?’” wondered Loid) and drove around, looking for somewhere with a vacancy. They finally found a small motel, with two twin beds as the only available room.
Yuri showered first as the residual sunscreen was making him itch. Loid dropped his stuff on the ground unceremoniously, throwing himself onto the tiny couch. “I think I’ll just shower tomorrow morning,” he groaned. His long legs dangled over the armrest, and his loosely donned button-up was not doing a great job of covering his chest. Yor found it strangely difficult to keep eye contact with him.
“Is that where you’re sleeping?” Yor raised an eyebrow as she neatly rearranged Loid’s belongings so that they weren’t everywhere.
Loid lifted his head, blinking at her. “Well, yeah. I’m not gonna make Yuri sleep on the couch.”
Yor put her hand on her hips, although she couldn’t prevent the blush from spreading over her cheeks. “That’s not what I meant. I mean, we’re dating, aren’t we?” She blustered. Saying it out loud was still absurd and a little difficult for her.
Loid sat upright, scratching behind his ear, which had also mysteriously gone three shades darker. “Well, yeah…” he agreed, his eyes shifting from Yor to the admittedly small twin bed. “Are you okay with it? Yuri might get upset with me.”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t okay with it. And I think Yuri’s too tired to care.” Yor sat down on the edge of the bed, albeit a little nervously. She patted the space next to her. “Come.”
Loid closed the distance cautiously, sliding onto the right side of the bed, which was towards the door. “The sheets smell kind of weird,” he complained mildly, although it was definitely preferable to the couch. His shirt stretched taut over his back, simultaneously revealing and modestly covering the definition Yor had seen when he had been running earlier that day. She tamped down the fluttering feeling in her stomach.
Jesus, get a grip of yourself, Yor! “Well, that’s cheap for you. At least there aren’t any bed bugs.” Yor stood up as soon as he laid down. Intimacy was still kind of hard to breach between them, with how awkward she was and how spotty his past relationships were. “I think Yuri’s just about done.”
The pipes squeaked as Yor ran the water, which obviously had to be freezing because why wouldn’t it be? She washed the sunscreen off herself and scrubbed the sand out of her nails. After drying off, she cautiously applied a healing ointment to the injury on her hip. By the time she returned to the room, both Loid and Yuri were fast asleep. Yor brushed aside the hair on Yuri’s forehead to give him his customary goodnight kiss before retiring to her bed.
Loid had taken up as little space as possible, his leg and arm dangling over the side. He had discarded his shirt to the floor, probably from being too hot. Yor lifted the comforter and climbed in next to him. With two nearly-grown adults on one twin bed, she had no choice but to sleep with her body flush against his.
His sun-warmed skin quickly dispelled the chill from the icy shower water. Yor reached over him to shut off the light, and she noticed that his eyelashes and hair seemed to have bleached a more intense blond. Or maybe his face was just more tan.
Yor rested her forehead against Loid’s nape, gently wrapping one arm over his torso.
“Goodnight,” she whispered against the dip between his shoulder blades. He smelled like sunscreen and seawater.
Loid didn’t wake, but seemed to sigh deeply in response.