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“It’s so freaking hot…!”
“Every time you mention it it gets worse, Aki.”
“R—right. My bad…”
For the fifth time this afternoon, Akito Shinonome stuck his head into the freezer, relishing that feeling of being frozen, which Akito usually did not wish for. It was mid-summer, with all of their friends and the entire city going out for things to do— festivals, sharing ice cream, and lots more. They once had popsicles in their freezer, but obviously Ena had to take the last one, which left Akito in utter dismay.
Toya Aoyagi fanned his face as he scrolled on his phone. Even Toya, who was usually composed, was melting because of the heat. He uncomfortably sat on the couch as he murmured, “Everyone is doing things. Hey, maybe we should get ice cream.”
“I don’t wanna walk there in the heat.” Akito slumped next to Toya, giving him a quick kiss.
“That’s true.” His boyfriend replied thoughtfully. “Oh, you know what? Do you have clothes for the beach?”
Akito perked up, albeit a little nervously: “Um— well I think I’ve grown out of my old ones.”
Toya smiled, tilting his head, “Aw. Come on, let’s go to the store near the beach and grab a pair. Afterwards, we can go swimming… The waves do look really relaxing today.” He said, awing softly as he looked back down again. “What do you say?”
Akito blinked at examined Toya in a flash— ever since being in a relationship with Toya Aoyagi, he taught himself how to easily read his thoughts with only one quick glance. How his eyelids would flutter weakly after being disappointed or saddened, or how his eyes would crease and the corners of his mouth would creep up whenever he was excited about something. That was exactly what his expression was at the moment… and Akito was awfully weak at saying no to him in the first place.
“Sure, then.” Akito sighed, “Just make sure we aren’t in the sun for too much.”
Toya beamed. “Great, I promise you’ll love it!”
“Yup.”
Crap, this was bad.
As Toya pulled him along, Akito mentally sweated, thinking about what he was going to do.
Truthfully, Akito did not like the ocean… or swimming. There were many things that concerned him, but his childhood had created his phobia— one time, when his soccer team when out for the beach, they ended up playing around too much and one of them had ventured too far out. In the end, someone had ended up saving his teammate— but it still scarred him.
And also… it was so unknown. Who knows whats in the water? Akito blinked rapidly and he clutched his bag tighter as Toya led them both into the shop. It was kind of embarrassing, to be honest, so he never told anyone. Not even Toya.
He plastered on a smile as Toya told him, “You can go find one you like. I’ll be around.”
“Oh, right…”
Akito stared blankly as he was left to try and find things for himself.
I guess this is one part I like about the beach, he thought distantly. At least he could look fashionable while drowning. Maybe then heaven could take it easy on him since he was so pretty. Hm, this one looked kind of nice…
He grabbed a couple, along with a loose shirt he found endearing. He went over to Toya and tapped his shoulder. “I’m gonna go try these on.”
“Oh, okay. Before you go though,” Toya turned, holding a piece of clothing in his hands, “do you think this would look nice on me? Actually, I think I know what you’re gonna say.”
“No you’re not.” Akito frowned.
“ ‘Everything looks good on you, Toya.’”
“…Well it’s true!” Akito argued.
Toya pushed him gently in the other direction, “Go put on your clothes, Aki.”
He huffed as he went into the fitting room— pretty spacious with a large wall mirror— and tried them on.
Akito then realized what he was really getting into. Right there he slid his back against the wall and crumpled to the floor. It was pathetic, since he really was scared.
He felt like a little kid— what happens if nobody saves him if he went too far? Would there be something in the water? The feeling of being too light in the water disturbed him.
He took a deep breath and stood up. Well I don’t look bad. Akito thought uselessly.
He stumbled out then, wearily and worriedly, went back to Toya, who had already seemed all set. “Did it look good?” Toya asked, then mumbled with a smile, “Oh, I already know the answer…”
“Oh, stop it.”
“Haha…”
They paid, and as they got out, they made their way to the beach. All the way through Akito got more and more worried, itching to grab onto Toya’s hand. As the vast ocean began revealing itself to him, glimmering in the stunning sun, Akito could only think about the unknown and whatever the hell was in those waters.
So embarrassing. Akito thought. I’d rather eat two pounds of carrots than swim in the ocean. Or swim in general.
They quickly got dressed and began looking.
“There’s a good spot over there.” Toya pointed nearing to the end sides of the beach. He dragged Akito along with a twinkle of eyes. “Come on, let’s go!”
“How do you seem so excited?” Akito asked curiously. He tried to seem reasonable about his question and not because he was scared: “Have you done this a lot?”
“Not really, actually,” Toya admitted as their feet hit the sand. It was fine, smooth, and blew over easily, “I think I started appreciating how beautiful it was. I love going in it that way.”
I started appreciating how beautiful it was.
Akito let out an exhale. “Oh, I see…”
Toya smiled warmly at him, the sun behind the back of his head. Akito’s muscles relaxed at the pretty sight. “See? It’s so nice…” His boyfriend’s voice seemed to be echoing.
They approached the water. Immediately, Akito’s skin tingled. His fingers got antsy as he stepped deeper into the water, feeling his feet lose weight and soon, his ankles to his thighs, and Akito stopped right there, looking down.
Toya was already submerged, only a bit of his chest peeking out of the water. He blinked, “Aki. Are you alright?”
Akito swallowed. “Yeah.” He muttered, feeling dizzy looking at Toya— he had this frantic urge to pull his boyfriend out, afraid something would happen.
“You’ve been antsy all day today.” Toya said, floating back over to him, “especially at the shop. Do you not—“
“N—No, it’s nothing.” Akito blurted out, but he grew quiet and stared back down. “I do want to be here with you, but…
Do I tell him?
… I’m scared.”
Toya stared. “Of the water?”
“For a while, yeah.” Akito mumbled, beginning to unravel, “I— I didn’t want to tell you and… ruin the mood, or something.”
Toya hesitated for a moment before giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder with a smile, “It’s fine, I get it. Here, let me teach you a couple things.”
Akito’s eyes widened. Toya didn’t seem to be laughing, nor did he look disappointed about the situation— he was the complete opposite— his eyes sparkled more than before in the sunlight, and his face was practically glowing. “Oh… sure.”
“So, when you’re swimming…” Toya ventured on, “It’s okay if you don’t know how to yet. I think it’s fine if you just think of it as a different situation… like taking a bath. You don’t have to be serious about it.”
Akito examined the water, and shuddered mentally, “Yeah, okay I got it.”
Toya smiled cheekily, “I just want you to know that even if the slightest hint of danger peeks through that I’m here, Akito. There’s nothing to worry about.” His words grew soft, “I promise. Here, look.”
Akito yelped as Toya completely submerged himself in the water for a couple of seconds before unexpectedly popping back up onto the surface, water splashing everywhere. “It’s fun, isn’t it?”
Toya laughed.
Akito took in a deep breath, and let himself relax. There’s nothing to worry about. Toya’s right next to you. “I’ll try it. Just a little.” He relented.
“You don’t have to push yourself so hard, Aki,” His boyfriend murmured, “If you’re still—“
Akito submerged himself, and this time it was Toya’s time to yelp. Silently, he watched. He blinked. “Wow.” He awed, “that’s a long time.”
The ginger finally broke the surface and gasped, body trembling, “It—It was so cold…!”
Toya laughed and wrapped his arms around him, “See? It’s so refreshing!”
“It’s freezing, Toya—“
“It’s summer. A couple hours ago you were whining about how hot it was.”
“Oh you little—“ Akito slipped out a laugh as he grabbed Toya and crashed them into the water.
Through the coldness, yet refreshing, and the unknown yet familiar feeling of the water he heard a muffled laugh come from Toya, and then the feeling of soft lips on his.
Akito had never experienced an underwater kiss before, but his first one was pretty great.
He went up for air and Akito shut his eyes, “Okay, I think I gotta get out…”
“Awh. Just a little more?” Toya asked.
“No…”
Akito yelped as cold splashes of water crashed onto his back. He turned back with a beady stare. “You jerk—“
“Haha!”
The two of them tumbled back into the water.
Man, Akito was starting to get addicted to these underwater kisses.
Hours later, they got dressed and ended up walking aimlessly at the shops around the beach. For some reason, after Akito had gotten into the water with determination, Toya seemed more clingy and, just slightly and silently, more happy. Akito felt an arm wrap around his torso as they walked to the vending machine.
Akito grabbed a pear soda. Toya grabbed himself a cold, canned latte. “Aki.”
Akito sat down next to the vending machine, “Yeah?”
“How’d your fear of the water start?” Toya asked, “I mean, you can tell me only if you wanna—“
“—It was a childhood thing.” Akito slipped out, taking a sip of his carbonated drink, “I think back then… I saw a lot of dangerous things happen to people at the beach, or swimming. I didn’t like how people described drowning.” He glanced up at the warm sky, the sun beginning to set as the sunlight danced against his still slightly damp skin, “It felt claustrophobic.”
“I see.” Toya murmured thoughtfully, sitting next to him.
“So, when you said we were going to the beach today, I felt anxious.” Akito muttered, “Really anxious. But I wanted to— to spend time with you, so I tried to get over it.”
Toya was silent, obviously thinking. The wind was beginning to pick up, and Toya’s hair began waving ever so slightly. “That’s sweet of you.” He replied quietly.
Akito smiled weakly, “It was kind of embarrassing, having that fear.”
“It’s not embarrassing!” Toya argued. “I mean— that time, where we went to that amusement park during the festival and we went on the rollercoaster, when I had a bad fear of heights… You helped me stay calm. Now, because of you, it's a little easier facing my fears now.”
Akito chuckled under his breath, “It was a little funny when you started screaming when it was about to drop.”
“Oh, stop it.” Toya waved him off, but continued, “Really, though. I think that if you could help me with these kinds of things… I could do the same.”
Akito’s soda was emptying. “I guess that’s reasonable.” He said slowly, “because now my heart beats a little bit slower when I see the water now. I don’t panic as much.”
Toya took a sip of his coffee before wrapping an arm around him, “Glad I could help.”
Moments later, they kissed, Toya’s head tilting.
And that— that was more refreshing than anything else.