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Chu Wanning is not a beach person.
The grainy sand speckled with sharp shards of broken shells and notched rocks; the everchanging shoreline littered with clumps of seaweed and washed-up debris; the shrieking sounds of children and adults alike, splashing about and kicking up sand.
Chu Wanning finds none of it appealing.
However, it is a blistering thirty-two degrees out and nary a cloud in the sky. Back in the inner city, there is not even a hint of a breeze, as if Artemis herself were holding the winds hostage once more.
Luckily, by the coast the winds are in full effect, bringing in a pleasantly cooling sea breeze — the only redeeming quality the beach has to offer if you ask Chu Wanning.
But despite the ocean air and the ridiculously large umbrella over his head, Chu Wanning is still burning and sweltering in the summer temperatures.
How annoyingly poor his constitution is, in both the cold and the heat.
To make matters even worse, here is Mo Ran attempting to slather him in more sunscreen again .
“You need to put some on every two hours!” Mo Ran argues as Chu Wanning swats away his hand. “ Baobei, ” Mo Ran scolds. “You’re gonna get a sunburn.”
“You’re the one who made us come here,” Chu Wanning hisses.
And it’s true. Mo Ran had insisted they head to the beach, to escape the stifling city heat. It was a reasonable request but still Chu Wanning wishes he held his ground and stayed at home, shitty air conditioning and broken ceiling fan be damned.
He feels hopelessly uncomfortable, because of both the heat and the atmosphere.
They are in a generally secluded and quiet portion of the beach, with plenty of space for their towels and umbrella and cooler. But Chu Wanning can still see other beachgoers mill about: a pair of boys jumping into the water, a trio of young women walking side by side across the sandy shores, a group of young men setting up a net to play volleyball. Each and everyone of them looking happy and carefree under the bright summer sky.
Meanwhile, there’s Chu Wanning. He must look so terribly awkward, so obviously out of place. He cannot imagine parading around shirtless, the pale linen button-up he has on appropriately covering his arms and torso. He tugs his legs up to his chest, wishing his boardshorts were a few inches longer, to cover more of his sickly and pale legs. He knows he sticks out like a sore thumb, a decrepit old man who is probably offending everyone’s eyes just by sitting here.
His agedness is only amplified next to Mo Ran. Mo Ran, who looks like a summer dream: broad shoulders, pin-up worthy abdomen, tousled hair, sparkling eyes, and honey-sweet dimples.
Distracted by Mo Ran’s handsome visage, Chu Wanning forgets to dodge. Mo Ran victoriously rubs more sunscreen into Chu Wanning’s skin, fingers gliding over the bridge of his nose and down the curve of his neck.
“See, that wasn’t so bad,” Mo Ran says, rubbing the remaining sunscreen into Chu Wanning’s hands. He interlocks their fingers, golden honeyed skin against Chu Wanning’s milky parlour. Mo Ran runs a finger over the bluish veins underneath Chu Wanning’s hand, tracing it up Chu Wanning’s forearm.
Mo Ran’s other hand reaches up and brushes back Chu Wanning’s bangs, tucking a longer strand behind his ear. Their eyes meet, and for a long while Chu Wanning gets lost in the dark depths of Mo Ran’s eyes.
Their quiet moment is interrupted by the muted bang of a ball landing a short distance away from Chu Wanning. He startles, retreating away from Mo Ran. The impact of the ball against the ground sends sand flying towards Chu Wanning.
“Oh crap, I am so sorry!” A young man apologizes as he jogs up to them and retrieves the ball. “Are you guys okay?”
“Fine,” Chu Wanning snaps, extending one leg out into the air so he can dust off the sand that has sprayed over his skin. He looks up at the man with the ball, wondering why he hasn’t left yet. The man’s eyes rake over Chu Wanning’s body, a poorly concealed smile on his face. Chu Wanning bristles and retracts his leg.
He must look so ridiculous, covered in sunscreen and sand, that this man cannot even hide his amusement.
“It’s okay, really,” Mo Ran says, shuffling closer to Chu Wanning. He drapes a towel over Chu Wanning’s legs, probably to help dust over the remaining sand. Thankfully the sand was mostly dry so it doesn’t cling to Chu Wanning’s skin.
“Sorry, again. That was pretty careless of me. Hey, did you want to join us—”
“We’re fine. You can go now, thanks,” Mo Ran says with a polite smile but a firm tone. Chu Wanning avoids both their gazes, fiddling with a towel on his lap.
The man lingers for another second or so before finally retreating.
“Ridiculous,” Chu Wanning mutters, at himself and the situation. Mo Ran hums, using his hands to brush off any lingering sand on Chu Wanning’s thigh and hip.
“There. All clean.” Mo Ran sends him a soft smile. “Now! I believe I promised a certain someone some ice cream.”
“I’m not a child, Mo Ran.” Chu Wanning rolls his eyes, ignoring the fact that he most certainly was promised ice cream, as many scoops as he wanted, if he’d so kindly accompany Mo Ran to the beach. Which he did, so some ice cream would be rather well deserved. Not that he’s going to say that out loud.
“Well, if you don’t want any then— okay, okay! ” Mo Ran laughs when Chu Wanning smacks his shoulder. “What flavour does my lovely baobei want?”
Chu Wanning, who memorized the ice cream parlour’s menu when they walked past it earlier, easily recites his order. “Birthday cake and cookies & cream. Caramel syrup and sprinkles. In a waffle cone…please.”
“Your wish is my command,” Mo Ran laughs, departing with a quick kiss to Chu Wanning’s forehead.
The promise of forthcoming ice cream improves Chu Wanning’s mood greatly. He stretches his legs out again, looking out at the vast, blue ocean. He leans back on his palms, letting the sound of the crashing waves fall over him.
While he waits for Mo Ran to return, a pair of young women walk by, their waists swathed in colourful sarongs. Their gaze is quite obvious from the way they slow down and crane their necks to stare at Chu Wanning. They bump shoulders with each other, their words inaudible but the trill of their giggling reaches Chu Wanning’s ears.
Embarrassment quickly leads to shame and anger. Chu Wanning wishes he could hide himself away, out of sight. What was he thinking coming here?
While everyone else is bright and full of life, enjoying the sun and the beach, Chu Wanning knows he is nothing short of repulsive. He is unattractive on a good day, with his sharp features and dull demeanour. Right now, he is positively unsightly he’s sure. His skin flushed an unpleasant red, his knobby joints and too-thin limbs.
“Wanning,” Mo Ran’s voice calls out. Chu Wanning looks up to his left where Mo Ran stands a few metres away holding an ice cream cone with a hefty amount of toppings.
“Mo Ran,” Chu Wanning clears away the lump in his throat, hoping his eyes don’t look as red as they feel. “You’re back. That was quick.”
“Mm,” Mo Ran hums, distracted as he looks out past Chu Wanning. Chu Wanning accepts the ice cream, licking at the melting drops that spill over the edge of the cone. Mo Ran takes a seat next to him, a pensive look on his face.
“...What is it?” Chu Wanning asks. Some ice cream has dripped onto his hand so he sucks gently at the meat of his palm to clean it up.
“Baobei,” Mo Ran whines, practically crawling into Chu Wanning’s lap.
“Get off,” Chu Wanning grumbles, twisting away to protect his frozen treat. “It’s too hot.”
Mo Ran acquiesces sliding back so he’s kneeling next to Chu Wanning.
“Hmm,” Mo Ran hums, adjusting the collar of Chu Wanning’s shirt. He does up the buttons, all the way to Chu Wanning’s neck. Chu Wanning — too busy with his ice cream, allows Mo Ran to do as he pleases.
Mo Ran rummages through their stuff before producing a baseball cap which he promptly slaps over Chu Wanning’s head. He grabs a spare beach towel and throws it over Chu Wanning’s legs.
“...What are you doing?” Chu Wanning eyes him, licking another stripe of ice cream.
“Making sure Wanning doesn’t get sun burnt.”
“You already made me put sunscreen on.”
“UV radiation is serious stuff, Wanning.”
“Ridiculous,” Chu Wanning tuts at Mo Ran and his antics. “I’m hot,” he complains, taking a bite out of his ice cream and kicking off the towel.
“You are. Very,” Mo Ran nods solemnly. Chu Wanning decides to ignore Mo Ran’s cryptic ridiculousness.
“Didn’t you get any for yourself?” he asks instead, lifting his ice cream cone in reference.
“Ah, I did… but I accidentally dropped it, haha.”
“Clumsy.”
“Mmn, I was too clumsy,” Mo Ran smiles like an idiot, curling up next to Chu Wanning. “Will Wanning share some of his?”
“...”
“Aiya, I was joking. Eat up, eat up.”
“We can go get you more after,” Chu Wanning offers, finishing up the last of his cone. And maybe he can try another flavour too…
“I’ll just take Wanning’s leftovers.”
“What leftov— Mo Ran! ” Chu Wanning hisses, his face flushing with embarrassment. He attempts to snatch his hand back but Mo Ran’s grip is unwaveringly tight as sucks on Chu Wanning’s sticky fingers, licking away any traces of melted ice cream.
Mo Ran continues to press kisses along Chu Wanning’s fingers, sucking and nibbling here and there. He peaks up at Chu Wanning through thick lashes, a falsely coy look in his dark eyes.
“That’s enough,” Chu Wanning snaps, “Don’t be gross.”
Mo Ran laughs, pressing one last kiss to the back of Chu Wanning’s hand before cozying up next to him.
“Wanning,” Mo Ran sighs, pressing his face against Chu Wanning’s hip. “Baobei, I wanna go home…”
“You’re the one who wanted to come here so bad,” Chu Wanning grumbles.
“I changed my mind,” Mo Ran declares. “The beach is no good. Let’s go home.”
Chu Wanning squints down at his boyfriend. After all that pleading and cajoling to get him to come, Mo Ran suddenly wants to go home? They’ve hardly been here for an hour.
Mo Ran rolls over onto his back, head cushioned on one of Chu Wanning’s thighs. There’s a rosy flush on his tan skin and a heady look in his eyes.
“Mo Ran, do you feel alright?” Chu Wanning frowns, pressing a palm to Mo Ran’s forehead. His skin is warm, almost hot, and when Chu Wanning’s fingers slip lower to Mo Ran’s collarbone, he feels Mo Ran’s too-fast heartbeat.
“Nope,” Mo Ran shakes his head, pressing Chu Wanning’s hand against his chest. “I’m terribly sick and can only be cured by my sexy wife— ow! ”
“Don’t be so shameless!”
“Wanning,” Mo Ran continues to whine, sitting up but still latching onto him. “Can’t we go home?”
It is distinctly difficult to refuse Mo Ran when he looks at Chu Wanning with those round, pleading eyes, when his hands dance over Chu Wanning’s waist, squeezing his hips with the gentlest of pressure.
“...We get more ice cream first,” Chu Wanning stipulates.
“Wanning, be honest. Do you really like ice cream more than you like sleeping with me?”
“I want a sorbet this time.” Chu Wanning ignores Mo Ran, shoving him off so he can begin packing their things up.
“My wife is so cruel…” Mo Ran sighs, joining Chu Wanning in cramming their belongings into their bags. Within a few minutes, they’ve cleared their stuff up and are heading back to the car to deposit their things.
Chu Wanning’s eyes trail over Mo Ran’s arms, muscles prominent as he hoists up their things. He’s grabbed the majority of everything, but still keeps one hand open so he can weave his fingers with Chu Wanning’s.
Mo Ran’s hand is as warm as the look he gives Chu Wanning and Chu Wanning is overcome with honey-sweet affection.
“You...”
“Hm?”
“...I like you best, obviously.”
Mo Ran’s face turns a pink to bright, you’d think he was the one prone to getting sunburnt.
“Stupid,” Chu Wanning tacks on. He shuffles ahead of Mo Ran, so he can’t see the pleased smile that forms on Chu Wanning’s face.
He still hates the beach. But it maybe wasn’t the worst day ever.