Archive of Our Own ^beta

How Class 78th had convinced Byakuya to invite them all to one of his family's private beaches would likely remain a mystery to everyone but the people involved, but when Sonia heard about it, she seized on the invitation eagerly. The waters in Novoselic were so rarely warm enough to swim in, to say nothing of what might be hidden by the surf. This sounded much less stressful.

For Sonia, at least. Someone in Class 78th had had the bright idea of having a water gun fight, and the results were both predictable and rather grim to watch. Sonia couldn't look away. Mukuro was currently dual-wielding, and a quick scan revealed that she'd managed to steal the second gun from Mondo, who was now fending off Kiyotaka's pleas to take his. As Sonia watched, Mukuro shot both guns at once. One blast was aimed right at Sakura, only for Aoi to jump in at the last second to intercept it before landing in the water with a loud splash. The other water stream hit Byakuya squarely in the face. He took a step back, sputtering, and promptly ran into Leon, who for reasons unclear was swinging his gun around like a bat.

"A true banquet of chaos is taking place on this eve," Gundham commented.

So maybe Sonia also had ulterior motives about coming to the beach. It was possible she'd intentionally failed to mention the possibility to any of her other classmates. And theoretically, if she'd done that, it may have been to get to exactly the situation they were in, where they were sitting side by side on the beach without anyone else trying to get their attention. Hypothetically speaking.

Oh, but it was so much fun to go about wooing someone in the fashion of her dramas! Subterfuge and happenstance were so much more romantic than simply asking someone out directly.

It was in that spirit that she said, "It does look fun, but I don't think I want to get wet right now." There would be time for bonding with her peers via military training exercise another day.

Gundham nodded solemnly. "Never fear, my lady. We can simply fortify ourselves within a palace of iniquity. My wards shall not permit any moisture to encroach upon your person."

"Oh!" Sonia clapped her hands delightedly. "I have always wanted to build a sand castle!"

Gundham looked rightfully pleased with himself. "Excellent. Allow me to obtain the implements for the ritual."

He seemed to know what he was doing, so Sonia let him go alone. She hardly knew where you'd store such a thing. As he left, there was a loud scream from the direction of Class 78th, followed moments later by what seemed to be the same voice laughing maniacally. Sonia could just barely hear Gundham muttering to himself, "Fine form, though leaning heavily towards a cackle. More fitting for a witch than an overlord of ice."

He really was far too cute.

While he was gone, Sonia began developing the plans for their castle. While of course it would be too small to function as a proper military outpost, that was no reason to be sloppy. Her imaginary sand citizens would not be caught unawares!

By the time Gundham had returned with a bucket and two plastic shovels, Sonia had arranged the outer walls to her satisfaction and had begun designing the interior. It would hardly do to have their arsenal too close to the main gate, as she explained to Gundham when he dropped down to look at her blueprints in the sand.

"These plans are most impressive," Gundham said slowly. "I would expect nothing less from a mind of your caliber. However, I must confess that as mighty as my magics are, they do not encompass a summoning of such intricacy."

"Ah, but hamsters are skilled burrowers, are they not?" Sonia asked. "I was hoping we could call upon the powers of the Dark Devas of Destruction to assist us."

Delightfully, Gundham went pink. He went to draw his scarf over his face, the way he often did, but he hadn't worn it to the beach, so Sonia got to see the way he ducked his head as if that would make the blush less obvious. Sonia thought she could see that expression every day for the rest of her life and not get tired of it. She would spend thousands more hours researching hamsters if that was what it took.

Without a way to hide it, Gundham settled for pretending that he wasn't at all flushed. He cleared his throat. "I would... I would have to ask them, of course."

Sonia nodded and hoped she wasn't grinning too widely. "Of course."

The Devas, resting on a towel under a parasol so they wouldn't get sunburnt, jumped into formation at the sound of their master's order. He sealed the pact by offering them a sunflower seed each, with more to come once their work was complete, and construction on the sandcastle began.

Most of Sonia's attention was on the Devas, of course, but she caught glimpses of the melee going on in the distance. Sakura had picked Aoi up in a princess carry and was headed for one of the stalls along the boardwalk. Mukuro had gotten up to four water guns, and everyone else seemed to have joined forces against her. It appeared to be a wasted effort; she was effortlessly dodging all twelve streams and still managing to get water directly into the spout of Yasuhiro's snorkel. Junko lay face down in the ocean. No one seemed concerned by this, so Sonia would assume she wasn't actually in danger of drowning. Besides, it would be a shame to ruin her hard-won date with a 119 call.

Eventually, the Devas disappeared far enough into the building that it was no longer possible to watch their progress. While no longer being able to see their adorable faces was a shame, it wasn't all bad, as it meant that Sonia could move on to the next part of her plan: gathering shells and other debris with which to decorate the walls. Some sea glass would make fine windows, for instance.

"Excellent idea," Gundham agreed. "A people's morale cannot be maintained through safety of form alone."

"Precisely!" Sonia got to her feet and dusted off her legs. In a show of daring rebellion, she offered her arm to Gundham, who took it with his customary gravity.

As they walked along the water's edge, Gundham explained some of the species whose shells they found. "There are hundreds of species of cone snails, often with unique and intricate patterns on their shells. Though small in stature, they are all possessed of venom which can be dangerous even to humans. This venom serves to paralyze their prey before its untimely demise."

Sonia would be honest: she hadn't known that cone snails existed until now, and she still didn't think she could tell any of them apart. But Gundham could, and he was happy to explain them to her, and so she would never forget them. Besides, their shells made excellent tops for the spires of their towers.

Sonia didn't have anything near that interesting to offer in return, but she did tell Gundham about the importance of choosing a recognizable crest for your kingdom. The people needed a symbol to rally under! Together, they came to the conclusion that their sand kingdom was best represented by the noble crab, a creature which carried both armor and armament.

As they set to decorating their castle, Sonia spared another glance at her unruly underclassmen. Most of the class seemed to have gathered around Mukuro at this point, guns set aside. Sayaka seemed to have woven a seaweed crown that she was offering to Mukuro, and while she seemed reluctant to take it, the collective force of her classmates' will would almost certainly overcome her hesitation. It was an honor fairly won, in Sonia's opinion.

Further down the beach, Sakura and Aoi sat together, Aoi's legs kicking idly in the surf. Aoi had a snow cone in each hand, while Sakura seemed content with just one. As Sonia watched, Aoi leaned her head against Sakura's shoulder. Sonia looked away hastily. She got the sense this was something she shouldn't intrude on.

Besides, she was perfectly happy with her own situation. Gundham had just gotten a shell to sit at exactly the right angle, judging by the way he was chuckling to himself. The Devas were back under their umbrella, enjoying a well earned feast of sunflower seeds. Sonia smiled and drew a few more occult sigils around the moat, the better to reinforce its protection. Then, seized by a sudden burst of courage, she extended the pattern further, until she was sitting beside Gundham. Casually, carefully, she rested a hand on top of Gundham's.

She could feel it flex under hers, could imagine the way Gundham had stiffened beside her, but she just kept drawing like nothing had happened. It wasn't long until his hand relaxed, though when she snuck a peek at him out of the corner of her eye, he was still bright red.

The dramas had been right, it turned out. The beach was an excellent setting for romance.