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“Ow…”
“Sorry, sorry.” Conner winced. “I'm trying to be careful.”
“Maybe next time, we set an alarm.” Bernard tried to joke.
He, Tim, and Conner had had three days off from work and school at the same time and decided to make the most of it by heading down to the beach.
Not just any beach, though.
Tim had flown them down to a safe house in Florida.
A safe house with a private beach.
It hadn't taken very long to unpack, they really hadn't brought much, but by the time they finished and got changed into their swim trunks, Tim had fallen asleep on a living room couch.
Conner had found a blanket to lay over him while Bernard wrote a note that the two of them would be sunbathing and to come join them when he woke up, and then they'd headed down to the beach.
The hot sand, bright sun, and soft waves had lulled them to sleep in minutes.
Conner, of course, had slept on the blanket they'd laid out with no issue.
He was half Kryptonian, which meant that when he woke up hours later to the sound of Tim's footsteps as he finally joined them, he felt rested, rejuvenated, and all around relaxed.
Bernard, on the other hand, was human.
While he had originally taken that into account and made sure to lay down beneath their large beach umbrella, they had slept for so long that the sun had moved, resulting in their current predicament of getting a medium rare Bernard back to the house.
“Here, hold my hand and watch your step.” Tim directed, leading the three of them back up the short trail.
Bernard grabbed Tim's hand and used it to help him balance as he stepped over a large, knotted root poking out of the ground.
On their way down, Bernard had jumped off that root while holding the blanket they were about to nap on.
Now, his back was the only thing that wasn't beet red, everything hurt, and he was both dehydrated and dizzy.
“I've got the branch.” Conner carefully held a low tree branch up out of Bernard's way so he could get past without touching it.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” Conner really just wanted to pick Bernard up and fly him up to the house so he didn't have to try and walk the whole way back, but there unfortunately wasn't any way to lift him without causing him more pain.
“Well, this vacation’s off to a…”
Bernard’s voice was soft and pained already, thanks to the full body sunburn, but then he trailed off.
Tim was just quick enough to spin and catch his hand as Bernard's knees gave out, and he and Conner carefully lowered him to the ground so he could sit.
“M'okay. S’rry.”
“Shh, shh. Just breathe. Conner,” Tim pointed towards the house. “There are some bottled waters in the fridge.”
“On it.”
Conner hurried off while Tim directed Bernard to sit still and try not to pass out.
“I was gonna say…” Bernard swallowed and pressed a hand to his forehead, eyes screwed shut. “Vacation’s off to a great start.”
“How about you focus more on breathing than being sarcastic. Are you still dizzy?” Tim took a cold water bottle from Conner and cracked the top open.
“Y-yea. A little. And sarcasm helps. Deal with it.”
Tim handed the bottle over to Bernard. “Okay, fair enough. Now here. Small sips.”
Bernard nodded and sipped the water.
“Thanks.” He sighed in relief. “Help me up? I think I can make it back up to the house.”