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His eyes locked onto the ball as it flew over the net.
The trajectory seemed a bit far, but it was nothing Uruha couldn't catch up to and return. The sand was left in his wake as he dashed backward along the beach, relying on hand-eye coordination to lead him to the right spot.
Even with the sun shining bright in his eyes, he would still hit the ball back across that net, and finally score a point against the relentless Reita. Oh, how satisfying it would be to watch-
Uruha let out a yelp as he tripped, went airborne, and hit the ground with a soft thud.
Before he could process what the hell just happened, he was splayed out on the sand. Quickly sitting up, he coughed up some sand and shook even more sand out of his hair. Despite the distance, he could hear Reita's boisterous laughter mocking him from behind the net. This was supposed to be his movie moment- the buzzer-beater 3-pointer, but now he was dusting sand off of his body with a slightly sore ass. How annoying and of course, he just had to trip over some random beachgoer-
"Hey, are you okay?"
A deep voice and the subsequent laugh interrupted Uruha's internal ranting. His gaze shot upwards.
"No one has ever fallen so hard for me before. I had no clue I was such a charmer."
The stranger smiled at him, sticking out a hand gladly accepted by Uruha. Only when he was back on his feet, did he finally get a solid look at who just helped him up.
His breath hitched.
It wasn't just a random stranger he had tripped over, but an incredibly hot stranger. Uruha blinked a few times before he managed to communicate like the functional adult he was.
"I'm fine- if anything I should be asking you if you're okay seeing as I...well fell over you." An awkward chuckle escaped Uruha's lips as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Sorry about that, I should have been paying more attention, but you know how volleyball is...hitting the ball...uh- across the net and stuff."
He cringed at himself when he realized he was rambling, but the all-too-handsome stranger didn't seem to mind. In fact, it earned him another smile he watched a bit too intently. Not his fault that a lip ring, full lips, and a slightly gapped smile were a damn good combo. He needed to stop gawking, hopefully he wasn't being obvious. Maybe he should focus on the puka shells around the guy's neck instead.
"Oh, I'm more than okay," the stranger dragged a hand through his hair, a black shag that cascaded to his shoulders. "You did kinda interrupt my story right as it was getting to the good part though," he jokingly tsk-ed a few times, shaking his head in faux disapproval.
Uruha glanced at the book currently laid out on the stranger's towel.
"Also I believe this is yours."
The volleyball was handed back to him.
"Thanks, ah- once again, sorry for running into you and for the book." Uruha tossed the ball up, wiggled his toes in the sand, played with his hair- anything to distract himself from the guy in front of him.
"No worries, I shouldn't have set up camp so close to the nets- I was kinda asking for it," the stranger shrugged. "Also, you have uh- here wait," he reached over and plucked a small stick out of Uruha's hair, tossing it once it was freed.
"Thanks...again." Uruha flashed him a crooked smile. He needed to get out of there before more of his brain could short-circuit. For self-preservation's sake, he waved off the stranger and ran back down to where he and Reita had been playing. When he finally returned to the net, the smug expression on Reita's face made it clear that his jests were already locked and loaded.
"I don't want to hear it." Uruha wasted no time serving the ball and smacking it across the net.
"I didn't even say anything!" Reita dashed over to return the ball.
"You were going to." Uruha jumped up in a failed attempt to spike.
Reita simply let out a laugh as he dove to deflect the spike.
Even after a few more games, Uruha couldn't get the stranger out of his head. He knew better than to attach himself to a random guy at the beach, but how the hell was he supposed to just forget about someone so handsome? When he and Reita had begun to pack up their things, Uruha couldn't help but look back in hopes of seeing that guy again.
To his disappointment, the stranger was nowhere to be found. Uruha wanted to kick himself for not even asking for his name. Now his mind was plagued with a face he couldn't even put a name to.
"Can you stop sulking in my car please, it's depressing me." Reita briefly glanced at Uruha before focusing on the road. "I'm sure you'll get to see your little beach babe again."
Uruha rolled his eyes at the nickname.
"Hey, don't you start that surfing class thing tomorrow? Maybe the guy's into surfing."
"I doubt it and I don't want to get my hopes up." Uruha sighed and watched the beach blur past the window. "But if I do ever see him again, I'm definitely saying something."
"I would kick your ass if you didn't." Reita laughed, turning up the radio. He then pressed the buttons controlling the car windows, the warm, mid-summer air now whipped through the vehicle.
Even if he never saw his stranger ever again, at least he still had Reita. Reita was pretty cool. Obnoxiously singing along to their favorite songs while driving just a little too fast was pretty cool too. Surfing was also pretty cool and he couldn't wait to finally do what he had spent so long admiring from afar.
Uruha decided to focus on all the cool things instead of the hot beach guy and his stupid puka shells and his beautiful black hair and his dumb lip ring and his cute, gapped smile and his deep laugh and his-
————
Uruha wasn't sure what he was thinking when he signed up for early morning surfing classes. Now here he was standing on the beach, the sun barely awake, and his body still half asleep. Hopefully, he'll get used to it these next few weeks.
It wouldn't have been as bad if the others were as sluggish as him, but it seemed that wasn't the case. A yawn was let out as he waited for the rest of the instructors to show up. His eyes surveyed the other members of the class. It seemed like a good mix of kids, young adults, and a slightly older crowd. As for the instructors, they all seemed young, beachy, and entirely too bubbly for 7 am.
However, Uruha's eyes shot wide open when the last instructor ran down to join the group...
There was no way...
"Who's ready to learn how to surf this morning!"
It was him- his stranger.
Uruha almost killed himself on the spot when they briefly made eye contact and the guy shot a smile his way. He was tempted to pinch himself to ensure he wasn't dreaming. Surely he was hallucinating from the sleep deprivation. Even after he squeezed his eyes shut a few times, the guy was still there and just as hot as he was the day before.
"I'm Aoi and I'll be your head instructor!"
So his name is Aoi. Now Uruha had a name for a face.
As the other instructors introduced themselves, Uruha was far too distracted to pay them any mind. Aoi was definitely into surfing alright, so into it that he was running a whole class for it. Reita was going to get a kick out of this shocking turn of events.
Eventually, they ended up being split into smaller groups, and it seemed that the universe was rooting for him as Aoi assigned him to his group. Uruha didn't want to delude himself into believing there was an ounce of romantic intentionality in it.
The first portion of class involved learning how to properly stand on a board- easy enough. Of course, to ensure that he was doing things right, he intently watched Aoi as he instructed. Uruha was such a perfectionist, he just had to keep his eyes on Aoi the whole time. His thoughts were all on surfing and definitely not on how good Aoi looked with his hair partially in his face or how perfect his rash guard made his arms look. None of that nonsense, he only cared about the surfing and the board and the waves or whatever.
Uruha glanced over when he saw Aoi assisting one of the other group members with their form. All of a sudden, his legs were now too close together and his arms were going slack.
Of course, being the good instructor he was, it didn't take Aoi long to notice the subpar form and rush over to Uruha.
"With your legs like that, you'll lose balance," Aoi pointed at Uruha's stance and gestured for him to spread it out. "You'll fall into the water, and unlike me, the water isn't always so forgiving." His lips were curled into a smirk as his eyes trailed up Uruha's form.
"Hah hah." Uruha deadpanned, playfully rolling his eyes. Thank god he gained some composure back from yesterday, at least he wasn't a total mess now. "What about my arms? Are they in proper form?"
"Almost, you just need to lift them a bit more."
Aoi slightly dragged out his words and his hands found their way to Uruha's arms, carefully moving them into the proper position.
"You look perfect," Aoi spoke softly, eyes right on Uruha. He smiled just wide enough for that gap to peek through. "Your form does too."
By the time Uruha processed what was said to him, Aoi was already onto the next group member, giving them the same attention and instruction.
Uruha also didn't want to delude himself into thinking that was blatant flirtation, but there's no way it wasn't, right? Regardless, he was feeling a bit too warm for his comfort. Aoi had been so close, just as close as he was yesterday. His touch, all gentle and attentive, made Uruha's heart beat out of his chest. He felt more like a tweenaged girl with her first crush than the 21-year-old man that he was- get a grip Uruha.
Yet, these childish feelings didn't stop him from eagerly volunteering to help put the surfboards away after class. An action he obviously did because he wanted to be helpful, not because Aoi had asked. Aoi being there was simply a reward for his generosity.
"I see you aren't rocking the stick today." Aoi's free hand pushed through his hair as he carried some boards back to the shed. "I'm kinda disappointed, it was such a great fashion statement."
There was that deep chuckle again.
"Oh, how could I forget," Uruha tossed his hand up, feigning exasperation. Then he paused, bending down to pick up a chipped scallop shell, "I think this is a better look though, no?" He proceeded to tangle the shell into his hair.
He definitely looked like an idiot, but Aoi was still showing off that beautiful smile of his, so Uruha considered it a fair trade-off.
"Both are pretty stylish."
Aoi's gaze was directed toward him, but Uruha couldn't tell if he was more focused on the shell or him.
"You think I could pull that off too?" Aoi tilted his head.
To Uruha, Aoi could probably pull off anything he wanted to. Maybe Aoi should try pulling off his surf shirt or something, that'd be funny. Uruha totally didn't want to see that. Absolutely not.
"If I can, you definitely could. There's a beach-themed hair accessory for everyone," Uruha started to slide the boards into the shed. "I feel like you'd be a starfish kinda guy or maybe an angel wing shell- it'd contrast nicely with your hair, I think a tellin could also suit you." Uruha kept going on and on about shells, and with the amount he ended up listing, he would have been better off just suggesting them all.
The fact that Aoi hadn't stopped his insanely dorky shell talk was absolutely beyond Uruha.
"You know, I'm not too familiar with like half of those, you might have to point them out to me one day." Aoi slid the last board into the shed before locking it and facing Uruha.
"Oh, well only if you really want me to," Uruha twirled the drawstring of his trunks around his finger. He chose to glance at everything around Aoi rather than the guy himself.
"I mean you seem passionate about it, why not?" Aoi shrugged his shoulders, full lips curving into yet another breath-catching smile. "Anyway, thanks for your help uh-"
"Uruha." Uruha quickly spoke up.
"Thanks for your help, Uruha," Aoi shook his hair out of his face, the same action Uruha had watched him do a handful of times these past two hours. "I didn't take you for the surfing type, but you have a lot of potential."
Well, it was easy to try hard when someone as hot as Aoi was watching him. The compliment still caught him off guard though.
"You think so?" Uruha smiled at Aoi, an actual one, not the awkward, crooked one from yesterday.
"Absolutely- also sorry I have to cut this conversation short, I got a swim class to teach at 10:30." Aoi held his hands up apologetically, his tone rushed.
What a busy guy he was. Back-to-back instructing all before noon? Uruha could never.
"It's okay, I understand- go go!" Uruha shooed off the handsome not-so-stranger.
"I better see you at the next class Uruha or I'll drag you down to the beach myself!" Aoi started to run backward, keeping his eyes on Uruha as he pointed at him.
"You will- now go!" Uruha yelled back, still shooing him off. Although, he wouldn't mind being dragged to the beach if Aoi was the one doing it. Aoi could drag him across those jagged rocks further down the shore and he'd still be content.
Was that an odd thing to think about a guy he hasn't even known for 24 hours yet?
Uruha brushed the concern aside. He didn't need 24 hours to know that Aoi was certainly his type and that he was too attracted to the puka-shell-wearing prince for his own good...
————
The next few weeks of classes had been all water, all the time. Swimming, treading, paddling, balancing, take-offs, reading waves, and riding smaller ones. Although his muscles were screaming for mercy, Uruha was thoroughly enjoying himself even when he wiped out and swallowed mouthfuls of ocean water.
However, watching Aoi was even more fun.
He was incredible, effortlessly hitting tricks Uruha couldn't even dream of doing. His board gracefully ripped through the waves as he twisted, turned, and occasionally launched himself into the air. Even when he wiped out, the water never held him down for long, and he'd be back on his board catching more waves in mere moments.
Uruha simply couldn't look away from such perfection.
His entire surfing group was cheering when Aoi finally swam back to shore- Uruha cheering a few decibels louder than the others of course.
One thing that Uruha quickly learned about Aoi was that he was just as good-looking drenched in water as he was completely dry. He wasn't sure what to do when he first saw Aoi with his hair all glossy and slicked against his neck. It was a devilish combination that Uruha also couldn't look away from while Aoi was speaking to the group.
Eventually, the class had concluded, and Uruha was helping Aoi with the boards as routine. He mentally pat himself on the back for offering to help because with how busy Aoi always seemed to be, clean-up was the only chance they had to speak one-on-one. It was never enough time for Uruha though.
"Hey Uruha, you free later tonight?"
Uruha almost let the boards slip out of his arm.
"Uh- yeah totally, why?" Uruha felt himself tense up a bit at the question, but he kept his face neutral as looked at Aoi. He had to play it cool.
"So, I found this spot a few days ago- the waves there are like amazing," Aoi played with the shells around his neck. "You've really been getting the hang of things, so I was wondering if you'd wanna come with- get some extra practice in." Aoi met Uruha's gaze with crinkled eyes, that damn smile plastered on his face as always.
Surfing?
Alone?
In the sunset?
With Aoi?
"I mean if you don't want to, that's okay obviously- I just would like to spend time with you outside of walking to the shed." Aoi tapped his fingers against the boards he was carrying, tone subtly uneasy from Uruha's lack of response.
Uruha really did need to respond, but the little Uruhas inside his head were too busy shooting off fireworks and flailing around excitedly.
"No!" Uruha interjected, "Sorry, I meant like no to your other statement, but yes to the other other question..." he trailed off with a slight inflection. He was confusing even himself.
He exhaled before starting over. Aoi was laughing at him once again.
"Yes, I'll come surfing with you later."
If only he said that the first time.
"Great. How about we meet at the board shed at like 8?" Aoi unlocked the shed in question and they both started sliding the boards inside.
"8 sounds perfect." Uruha nodded, six timers and nine alarms were now set in his brain.
"Perfect." Aoi clicked his tongue and, as usual, pushed a hand through his semi-dry hair. "Also the waves aren't too big or anything, I would never throw you into that."
Uruha appreciated the consideration. As cheesy as it sounded, he'd much rather drown in Aoi's eyes than the ocean.
They finished putting the boards back and the shed was locked back up. As normal, Aoi had to rush off to teach his other class, and Uruha was left trying to piece together everything that just happened.
Was he just asked on a date or was this hang-out merely platonic- something instructional? Aoi did say it was practice so maybe he wanted to show him some tricks or something. Sure, they've flirted a little these past few weeks, but Aoi seemed to be like that with everyone. The guy was naturally charming.
Uruha could go back and forth with himself all day, but all that mattered was that Aoi liked him enough to invite him surfing...
Alone...
In the sunset...
He'd very much take that win. Thank you universe.
————
Uruha arrived at the board shed early, but apparently not as early as Aoi. The surfer had already been waiting, sitting comfortably on the sand with his back against the shed. It was special to see him so idle, and Uruha watched him chew at his lip ring and play with his puka shells again.
Perhaps Aoi was as nervous as he was.
But someone as cool as Aoi? Nervous? Uruha didn't want to believe it.
"You're early." Once Uruha's presence became noticeable, Aoi turned to him before eagerly pushing himself off the ground.
"You're earlier." Uruha smiled, trying to ignore how good Aoi looked with his hair up. This task proved difficult, especially when Aoi swept away his fringe, and Uruha got an eyeful of his gorgeous face.
"Hey, that just means we have more time together," Aoi started walking and Uruha followed. "I already brought the boards to the spot by the way, so no need to carry anything over."
Well, that explained to Uruha why Aoi had been so early. The thought of him preparing for their hang-out was quite endearing.
The conversation flowed as they continued the walk. Uruha wasn't sure where this 'spot' even was, but he didn't mind walking forever if it meant being with Aoi like this. Although he kept his hands pocketed in his trunks, Uruha could only imagine his and Aoi's hands nicely fitted together like two little puzzle pieces. Even if their hands never did touch, Uruha could still savor the little moments when Aoi would nudge his side, bump shoulders, or they would playfully kick sand at each other like children.
Once they had arrived at the unknown location, Uruha immediately noticed that there were more than just boards resting on the sand. Interesting.
"Since we'll be surfing and all that- I brought some snacks for later and like some water too." Aoi gave his cooler a few pats. "I brought the blanket for if we get cold, and then I brought the guitar 'cause I sometimes practice on the beach." He lifted both the blanket and his encased guitar.
Okay, so this was definitely a date, right? The effort Aoi put in was not going unnoticed. The guy had brought snacks for them to eat, a single blanket, and he also wanted to play guitar for him on top of that. Uruha hoped he wasn't reading things wrong.
"You really thought of everything didn't you?" Uruha amusingly looked at the display in front of him.
"I'd be a bad instructor if I didn't. I care about my students, Uruha."
Their eyes locked briefly as Aoi strolled over to where Uruha was standing. Aoi then folded his arms and Uruha could catch onto the subtle not-so-subtle way his gaze was wandering.
"You couldn't be a bad instructor if you tried."
Aoi raised an eyebrow at that, their eyes meeting again, "You think so?"
"I mean it's only been a few classes and I'm already somewhat decent- that's all from you." In an action that he would consider bold, for his standards at least, he poked his index right at the shells centered between Aoi's collarbones.
Aoi glanced down at his finger, a smirk pulling at his lips. "Don't downplay yourself, you're a fast learner," he leaned in slightly, eyes narrowing, "but I guess that's to be expected since you've been watching me so intently."
Uruha, mirroring Aoi, also leaned in a bit. "Exactly, if you were a bad instructor, I wouldn't be doing that, would I?"
"You know, I think you still would Uruha, but that's neither here nor there," Aoi backed up and went to go grab the boards. "I say we go surf," he picked up his board and began slowly walking toward the shore. Every so often, he would glance back at Uruha as if he were trying to reel him in with his eyes.
Uruha was absolutely being reeled in and didn't waste any time grabbing the other board and running after Aoi. Soon enough, they were both in the water, paddling further and further away from shore.
It was absolutely beautiful, both the sunset and Aoi. Uruha wasn't sure which one he wanted to look at, so he switched back and forth between the two. The setting sun reflected against the sea, leaving a golden streak for the two of them to follow. Uruha was fully aware that Aoi was the superior paddler, yet Aoi still kept in sync with him as they pushed through the waters.
When they finally hit the waves, Aoi chose to play show-off while Uruha tried his best to cheaply imitate. However, with each wipeout, he grew more determined to do at least one of the tricks Aoi did so effortlessly. Of course, being the good instructor he is, Aoi kept yelling words of encouragement and pushing Uruha to get back up and keep going.
The sound of their laughter mixed with the crashing waves as they took full advantage of their time in the water. While they were surfing, Uruha could only admire how passionate Aoi was. When Aoi was on the water, it was like a bunch of photons all amalgamating, creating a burst of brilliance whenever he'd shoot above the waves. Uruha tried his best to keep up with Aoi's rambunctiousness, but he could barely catch up whenever Aoi decided to playfully speed past him. It was all in good fun.
Once the sun had fully dipped, they resorted to sitting on their boards, enjoying the soft motion of the waves under them. Uruha simply couldn't look away this time and he refused to deprive his eyes from the sight next to him. It's like he became hyperaware of everything. Uruha watched Aoi roll his shells against his fingers and he watched the way his chest would move with each relaxed breath. His gaze trailed down the slope of Aoi's nose, he admired how the moonlight hit his face and the way he'd push the wet hair out of the way.
Uruha also watched the way Aoi turned towards him. He watched his eyes as Aoi's eyes watched his own. He watched the way Aoi smiled at him with those perfect, full lips. Then he watched how Aoi turned back to look at the moon.
He wanted this guy so bad it hurt.
"You never take that necklace off do you?" Uruha spoke up after a few moments of silence.
"Never, it's probably imprinted on my neck by now." Aoi lightly pulled at the shells around his neck, "It's a part of me, I will be buried in these."
"You don't even take them off in the shower?" Uruha tilted his head and looked over at Aoi again.
"You wanna find out?"
Their eyes met again.
Another brief silence.
"I'm kidding," Aoi let out a frisky laugh, splashing a bit of water at Uruha who quickly splashed him back. "But should I take that surprised expression as a yes?"
"Take this instead," Uruha hit Aoi with the biggest wave he could create and desperately tried to paddle away as Aoi fired back with a wave just as big.
This led to them competitively paddling after each other, splashing water, and playing dirty wherever they could. By the time they hit the sand, all that time spent drying off while sitting on their boards was well undone.
"You brought all of this but you forgot to bring towels of all things?" Uruha laughed in disbelief as he wrung his hair out. For once, he finally got to laugh at Aoi instead of it being the other way around.
"Okay well I brought the blanket, that's totally sufficient!"
Uruha watched Aoi unfold the big blanket. Although it was hard to see in the night, there were little kittens patterned all over it. What an adorable item to own. Uruha caught the blanket in his arms as Aoi tossed it to him and then made himself comfortable on the sand.
Aoi then tossed a water bottle at him, grabbing one for himself as well.
"I'm still learning, so keep this in mind when I'm playing, okay?"
Uruha then turned his head to see Aoi pull his guitar out of the case. If it were anyone but Aoi, he'd normally roll his eyes at such displays. Even as a guy he couldn't escape being serenaded by a dude who wanted to play guitar- sometimes very poorly, at him instead of for him. Guys would play a few shitty chords at him, expecting his clothes to just magically fly off. He took "guitarist" off of his dating profile after such incidents.
However, he'd be willing to hear out Aoi though...
Uruha listened to Aoi explain that he had been composing a new song and wanted a second, more experienced opinion to ensure it sounded decent so far. Uruha could get behind that reasoning, he was a little flattered if anything.
Somewhere during this conversation, Aoi got comfortable next to Uruha, taking the other half of the blanket and wrapping it around his shoulders. The kitten blanket now draped over the both of them, a short distance keeping their thighs from touching as they sat.
Aoi took a few breaths before he started playing. He began singing a few measures into the song, and Uruha's attention was immediately hooked. Aoi's singing voice was mellow and melodic, perfectly matching the feel of his composition. Fingers carefully moved across the fretboard and each chord, each note came out clean- well until they didn't. But even when they didn't, the two laughed it off, and as Aoi did to him in the water, Uruha encouraged him to keep going.
Aoi ended up showing off a few more of his songs, all carrying the same dark and mellow vibe, except for one where Aoi obnoxiously sang about maple leaf-shaped cakes. Uruha liked that one the most, especially when Aoi would dramatically lean on him while playing his heart out. How could someone be so hot yet so cute at the same time? Uruha was afraid that the mystery would forever go unsolved.
In another turn of events, Aoi shoved his acoustic into Uruha's hands, insisting that he play something too. Now, he finally had the chance to play show-off, so he happily did. He ran through some of his compositions, not daring to sing as he was no Aoi. Singing wasn't his strong suit, but he could definitely play, and Aoi loved it.
And sure, he almost messed up a few times, but how could he not with Aoi gazing at him the way he was? Even after the guitar had been put away, and they resorted to blanketed, moonlight chatting, Uruha could still feel Aoi's eyes on him.
Uruha was sure Aoi felt the same thing. Not like he wasn't looking either. He was looking even closer now that the space between them seemed to have dissolved.
"You know, I'm really glad we crossed paths again," Uruha spoke up softly, gaze shifting between the crashing waves and the man next to him.
"I can say the same. Uruha, I felt like an idiot that day, like- I had a beautiful guy basically fall into my lap and I didn't even ask for his name." Aoi rolled his eyes and shook his head as he laughed.
"To be fair, I sorta ran off before you could. I took one look at you and my brain just kinda—," Uruha blew a raspberry and gave his temple a few smacks. "All I have to say is thank god I was given a second chance to speak to you."
"Yeah?" Aoi turned toward him, clearly entertained by what he had said. "Well then I'm glad you wanted to talk to me as badly as I wanted to talk to you." He lightly kicked some sand at Uruha's toes, causing Uruha to look his way.
Uruha kicked the sand right back before he perked up, "Wait- I just remembered we never picked out a shell for you!" He leaned into Aoi.
"Oh shit- yeah!" A smile spread across Aoi's face as he also leaned into Uruha. "Wait how about this- we each find some for each other and then we can both look stupid."
They both nodded at each other before splitting up and searching around the sand for the perfect hair accessory. While digging around for shells with the only light source being 384,400 km away wasn't the most ideal, they both ended up bringing back some things to stick in each other's hair.
"Okay so first, I picked up a stick," Aoi held it up and he pulled his half of the blanket back over his shoulder, "You can't go wrong with the original."
Uruha nodded. Good choice, good choice.
"Then, I picked up this uh- I don't know what shell it is, but this," Aoi held up the shell, "I just thought it looked pretty, and the brownish-yellow reminded me of like your hair." He put both items back onto the sand between him and Uruha.
It was, in fact, a pectin shell, but Uruha didn't feel like being dorkier than he already was.
"Well, I brought you a conch shell and a horn shell," mirroring Aoi, he held both shells up. "They're supposed to be horns because you're devilishly handsome." Uruha could barely get the overly cheesy line out without cringing at himself and breaking into laughter. He waved the two shells above his head before picking up the next shell.
"Then I was lucky enough to find an angel wing, it's a bit chipped though," Uruha presented the shell, "It'll clash nicely with the devil horns."
And as if their current activities weren't stupid enough, Aoi went and suggested they both crown one another with their respective shells. Now Uruha's fingers were in Aoi's hair trying to get the conch shell to stay up while Aoi couldn't keep his head still to save his life.
"I told you it's not gonna stay!" Aoi was laughing, moving his head whenever Uruha would pull too hard.
"Stop moving- I'm trying to like wrap the hair around it—," Just as Uruha spoke, the shell fell out again. The hair around it unraveled and fell right over Aoi's face.
"See, what did I say?" Aoi glanced up at Uruha, a smug expression on his face. "Let me just try doing yours.”
Uruha gave up in defeat, hesitantly freeing his fingers from Aoi's hair, and sat back against the sand. He watched Aoi go for the pectin before scooching closer to reach his hair. Aoi's eyes surveyed his hair, looking for the best spot to put the shell before taking a strand from the side.
"I'll actually be gentle unlike you," Aoi smiled softly, wrapping the Uruha's hair around the base of the shell.
Uruha rolled his eyes at that.
Akin to that one day of class, Aoi’s touch was gentle and attentive, and the shell did manage to stay in place until Aoi decided to tuck the same side of Uruha’s hair behind his ear. Even as they watched the shell tumble back to the sand, Aoi still kept his hand against Uruha's jaw.
And just like that, Uruha knew exactly where this was going, he'd been here plenty of times before. He has seen 'the look,' he has experienced the lingering touches, the uneasy silences- yet that didn't stop his heart from slamming against his ribcage. He wanted this guy too damn bad to prolong the inevitable, to keep dancing around their mutual attraction.
He was an adult, and adults do adult things such as putting those puka shells to good use, pulling the hot surfer guy on top of him, and kissing him breathless. Their lips crashed together, and Uruha's hands roamed everywhere he'd been craving to touch. Weeks worth of pent-up frustration finally being released and reciprocated. Uruha couldn't care less that they were all tangled up in a kitten blanket, all he could focus on was the feeling of lips against his neck and teeth on his collarbone.
It was all too good, intoxicatingly so.
Uruha's fingers found their way back to Aoi's hair and he felt a hand trail up the side of his torso- gentle and attentive as always. Thank god this place was isolated because things were quickly getting heated, and Uruha was not in the mood to get caught and have his magical evening ruined by a public indecency charge.
Uruha was sure Aoi wasn't in the mood for that either, but Aoi seemed too busy with his tongue in Uruha’s mouth and playing body exploration with his free hand to probably worry about such matters.
Soft whines, flushed cheeks, tangled limbs, swollen lips- it truly was all too good and Uruha didn't want the night the end. At least this meant the hot surfer guy was finally his- well he hoped Aoi would want to be. Seemed like a conversation better suited for a time when there wasn't a leg between his own and marks weren't currently being sucked onto his neck.
And they didn't even need to go all the way for Uruha to be satisfied. He was just as content when things had cooled down and Aoi rested his head against his chest. He was content watching the waves crash against the shore with him while brushing away all the sand in his dark hair. He was also content lying on the kitten blanket in a comfortable silence.
He could get used to all of this.
Uruha felt around for the angel wing shell and placed it right on top of Aoi's head. At least that one stayed, but that was more of Aoi keeping his head still for once.
"What time is it?" Aoi's voice was slightly muffled, cheek smushed against Uruha.
"I dunno. You wanna head back?" Uruha responded softly, now focusing on combing the sand out of his hair.
"Not really. Wanna pass out here and get breakfast in the morning?"
"I'm not opposed." Uruha nodded against the blanket.
"Perfect," Aoi clicked his tongue and Uruha could feel him smile against his chest.
They both watched the waves again. Aoi lazily traced shapes onto Uruha's skin with his fingers. Uruha lazily massaged his fingers against Aoi's scalp.
He definitely could get used to all of this.
He’d take this win and all the wins sure to come. Thank you universe.