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“So… why did you want to take me on a picnic to the beach, again?” Hinata asks, his eyes going from their connected hands to Komaeda’s face. Komaeda continues to practically drag him along, smile bright and eager.
“Um…I thought it’d be fun,” comes his simple response. Komaeda’s grip tightens on their basket as he feels Hinata scrutinize him. Though, he supposes it’s better Hinata focuses on him than their surroundings.
See, a few days ago, Koizumi had come to Komaeda, demanding he help her with taking some photos.
“Ah…forgive me if I’m misunderstanding, but shouldn’t your talent as the Ultimate Photographer be plenty enough to help you achieve your goal?” he had asked, to which Koizumi huffed and shook her head.
“Not at all. It’s not just any pictures, it’s pictures of Hinata. That guy is, like, the most un-photogenic person I have ever met! Even for a boy!” She pinched the bridge of her nose as she spoke, and before Komaeda could get a word in, she continued, “It’s not like he’s not…you know…”
“Handsome? Beautiful? Stunning? Absolutely—” Komaeda’s mouth audibly shut as Koizumi put her hand up.
“Sure, yeah. That,” she replied, cheeks flushing. “You, uh…came up with those really fast.”
“Ahaha…sorry,” Komaeda apologized, not really sounding all too apologetic. “If it’s any consolation, I think the same about you. Though, I guess ‘handsome’ isn’t very apt. Maybe pretty, or gorgeous, or…”
“Th-That’s not the point!” Koizumi dismissed, and the way her cheeks became even more red made Komaeda’s smile grow.
“Ah, you’re right. My apologies. What were we talking about?”
“Hinata,” Koizumi reminded. “He, like, never smiles, especially when I try to take a picture of him. Even when I try to get candid shots, it’s like he’s got a sixth sense for it—I bet it’s all those stupid talents, or whatever—and he starts scowling like he’s mad at me! He doesn’t even realize he’s doing it!” She crossed her arms. “And he can’t just force himself to smile, because when he does, it looks really stiff and kind of creepy. I just can’t win!”
“I see…that is quite the conundrum,” Komaeda concluded. “It must be especially frustrating for you, given your talent.”
“It is! Seriously, you’d think with all his talents he’d have, like, some talent that makes him good at having his picture taken, or something.” Koizumi groans, shaking her head. “Anyway, this is where you come in to help me. I was thinking that maybe, if I could get something to distract him and make him smile, it’d be easier to get a candid shot.” She put a hand on her hip, pointing at Komaeda. “You were my first idea, since you’re good at distracting and making Hinata smile.”
In the back of his mind, old demons whispered objections, but Komaeda had long since learned to laugh it off. “I’m flattered, Koizumi-san, but…are you sure you want me to help? Something could go terribly wrong. Don’t you remember when your camera ran out of battery right before you could take that perfect shot at Hinata-kun’s birthday party?”
“I do, and that was pretty annoying,” Koizumi conceded, “but that’s why I keep a fresh batch of batteries on me, now. And, even if something goes wrong, we can try again.”
“What if Hinata-kun notices?”
Koizumi shrugged. “Then…we’ll just have to be more sneaky. Come on. We have to at least try. Besides,” she smiled at him, “if you and Hinata are together…that means I can take pictures of both of you, and those are, um…always some of my favorites.”
Just like that, Komaeda’s walls were broken down, and he put his hands up in defeat. “Ahaha…alright. If you really want my help…I guess I can’t refuse.”
Koizumi’s expression soured into a bit of a pout. “Geez, you could stand to sound a bit more enthusiastic.”
“Sorry…” Komaeda smiled sheepishly. “I really would love nothing more than to help you achieve your hopeful goal, Koizumi-san.”
“That’s…better.”
So, now all Komaeda has to do is make Hinata smile. It should be simple enough, right? As they pick a good spot on the beach far away from the water to lay down their blanket, Komaeda wants to look around to see if he can spot Koizumi with her camera. However, he resists the urge. That would be a dead giveaway, and he can’t be that hopelessly incompetent that quickly.
“It sucks that Koizumi couldn’t come,” Hinata remarks. “What was she up to, again?”
“Oh, um…she just said she was busy. I didn’t press,” Komaeda answers. “She probably would have said it’s rude to pry into a woman’s business, or something.”
A somewhat amused huff leaves Hinata. “Hmph…yeah, you’re right.” If Hinata’s suspicious, it’s not immediately obvious. Thankfully, he ends up changing the subject. “You usually pick the beach when we spend time like this,” he notes as he sits down. Komaeda sits across from him with a huff, setting down their basket afterward.
“Is that bad?” Komaeda asks.
“No,” Hinata pulls out their food—two sandwiches he made, and two bottles of water because Komaeda won’t be hydrated otherwise, ”it’s just something I noticed.”
“Well, um…this beach, in a way, is where a lot of things started,” Komaeda replies. “It’s where we met.”
“We technically met before that,” Hinata points out, unwrapping their sandwiches for both of them.
“It’s where we truly got to meet, outside of despair,” Komaeda corrects, thanking Hinata as he picks up his sandwich. “It’s when I first felt that connection between you and me—when I realized we had the, uh, the same sort of scent to us.”
“You’ve…said something like that before, yeah.” Hinata takes a bite. Komaeda frowns a bit.
“Oh, have I? I’m sorry. It must get boring, hearing me repeat myself—”
“No, no, it’s…it’s fine, Komaeda,” Hinata assures after quickly swallowing. “I…like hearing what you have to say, even if I’ve heard it before.”
Komaeda fixes Hinata with a wide gaze. “You do?”
“Yeah. I just…like hearing you talk.” Hinata’s voice gets quieter toward the end, and it makes Komaeda smile despite his confusion. “Even if it’s stuff you’ve already said, it’s just…nice to hear you talk, okay?”
“...uh, okay,” Komaeda accepts with a laugh. “I guess some things don’t change, huh? You’re as much of a tsundere as you were the day I met you.”
“H-Hey…” Hinata’s face starts to flush. “I’m not a tsundere.”
“Sure you aren’t.”
“I’m not!”
“Sure you aren’t.”
“I’m not!”
Komaeda laughs, and Hinata scowls at him. “Hey, what’s so funny?”
“You are,” Komaeda simply answers, making Hinata sputter.
“Y-You…!” He glares off at the sand. “Damn it, Komaeda, was this all just to screw with me?”
“Of course not,” Komaeda assures, relaxing back and using a hand to hold himself up. “I love spending time with you, Hinata-kun. You’re wonderful company.” He glances up at the sky, breathing in the fresh air with a twinge of salt. It smells like home. “It’s like, um...when I’m with you…I feel at peace in ways I’ve never felt before. You put my mind at ease.”
The more genuine words made Hinata’s expression soften. “I’ve…heard you say stuff like that before, so…I guess I have to believe it if you say it that many times.”
“You have…?” Komaeda throws his head back and groans. “Ahhh, how embarrassing! I can’t say anything new! I’m like one of those toys that only has, like, five prerecorded voice lines!”
Hinata scoffs, and the corners of his lips twitch up. It’s not quite a smile, but it’s on the brink of one. That’s…good. Just a bit more, and Koizumi can get her picture. Easy, right? “That’s…a pretty specific comparison,” Hinata ends up replying.
“Ah…but it’s pretty accurate.” Komaeda tries to think of more to say—something entertaining, something captivating, something funny—but his mouth stays shut. It’s like they’re in the simulation all over again: there’s a beautiful boy across from him, and Komaeda’s trying to think of every topic he could use could entertain him, and he comes up with nothing. They end up lapsing into silence, only broken by the sound of chewing and drinking. Normally, Komaeda would be content like this, but he could feel his heart racing.
Koizumi’s watching them. Komaeda knows this. Koizumi’s watching them, and Hinata’s still not laughing yet. She’s probably thinking about how she should have asked someone else to do this—someone naturally entertaining. Someone who doesn’t clam up the moment he has to actually think about what he’s saying. Someone who’s not so totally, utterly incompetent like him.
Komaeda’s mouth opens. “So, um, I think I forgot to ask…how was your last trip to Future Foundation’s headquarters?” He asks, desperate to drown out the noise in his own brain.
“Oh, you…asked me that when I got home,” Hinata reminds him, and Komaeda feels himself wilt a bit on the inside, “but…it was fine. Naegi and his friends were all nice enough. I got a lot of work done—I even got visited by Munakata for it.”
Without realizing, Komaeda’s face scrunches like he’s bit into a lemon. “Ugh, Munakata-kun.”
Then, he freezes, and his eyes go wide as he hears Hinata laugh. A simple, blunt comment is all that it takes to make Hinata giggle—squeaky in the ways that he hates, but that Komaeda loves. It doesn’t take much longer for Komaeda to start laughing along with him, more delighted by the other’s joy than anything he himself could have said.
There’s a moment more of shared laughter before the telltale snap of Koizumi’s camera. Hinata’s face immediately falls, and he looks around, sandwich dropped and fists clenched. “Hey! Who’s there?!” He calls out, and Komaeda can’t help but chuckle at Hinata’s furrowed brows and tensed shoulders. “Show yourself!”
“Hey, hey! It’s just me!” Instantly, Hinata’s shoulders slump when he sees Koizumi trot toward them, camera in hand. His jaw drops.
“Wh—Koizumi? But Komaeda said you were busy!” Hinata quickly looks to the other boy, and he points at him. “What is this? Were you two planning something behind my back?”
Komaeda, in response, sits up and puts his hands up. “Ah…Koizumi-san needed some help with taking pictures of you. Apparently, your usual grumpy face isn’t very photogenic.”
Koizumi’s following laugh only makes Hinata’s face flush redder. “H-Hey! It’s not like I can help it!” He crosses his arms, looking between the two. “So, what, you took me out here just so that Koizumi could get a good picture of me?”
“Of both of you,” Koizumi corrects.
“And, I really do just like hanging out with you, Hinata-kun—even if there’s an additional reason for it,” Komaeda adds on.
“Geez…” Hinata puts his head down into his hands. “You guys are seriously too much.”
“I wouldn’t have had to do this if you just smiled,” Koizumi retorts, taking her own seat on the blanket next to them both. She sits on her knees, camera held on her thighs as she smiles down at it. “You look really nice when you smile, Hinata. You should do it more often.”
“I-It’s not like I can control it…” Hinata reiterates in a murmur. Komaeda, meanwhile, scoots over to look over Koizumi’s shoulder.
“Can I see?” He asks, making Koizumi briefly grumble intelligibly under her breath.
“You’re already looking…here.” She holds the camera up to Komaeda, who studies it for a moment before smiling.
“Ah! What a wonderful photo! You captured Hinata-kun’s essence perfectly—as expected of the Ultimate Photographer!” Komaeda praises. “It makes me inclined to agree with Koizumi-san, Hinata-kun: you really should smile more. Oh, and you look so radiant in the sun, too…I think this picture is making me appreciate you and this beach a lot more. If you, um, decide to make a copy of this one, Koizumi-san, can I have one, too?”
As Komaeda looks away from the photo, he sees both Koizumi and Hinata looking away from him, faces bright red. He tilts his head. “...huh? Did I say something wrong?”
“You’re so embarrassing…like, seriously embarrassing…” Koizumi mutters.
“Yeah, what she said,” Hinata agrees, also in a mutter.
“Um…forgive me,” Komaeda apologizes with a laugh, “it’s just how I feel, honestly. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable…”
“No, no, it’s not that, it’s just…” Koizumi shakes her head, bringing her camera back down. “You’re pretty good at compliments for a boy. Hinata could learn a thing or two.” She studies the picture again. “Actually, um, he could also learn a thing about smiling from you, too.”
“Hey!” Hinata’s head snaps up, looking like a kicked puppy. “Come on, haven’t I been through enough today?”
“Oh, you can handle a picture,” Koizumi dismisses. “It’s a nice one, too.”
“...whatever.”
“If it’ll make you feel better,” Komaeda starts in a laugh, “perhaps Hinata-kun could take a picture of us, if he wants to get even.”
Though it sounded like a joke, Komaeda’s words make Hinata pull a pensive look. “...you know. That’s actually not a bad idea. Give me your camera, Koizumi.”
“Ugh, can you at least say please ?” Koizumi scolds. “You should really have better manners by now, Hinata.”
“S-Sorry.” Hinata’s face flushes. “Can I please have your camera, Koizumi?”
“Yeah, here.”
The camera’s passed to Hinata, and soon, he’s snapping a picture of Koizumi with Komaeda smiling over her shoulder. This leads to Komaeda (despite his brief concern and refusal) then getting passed the camera to take a picture of Koizumi and Hinata, and soon, they’re passing the camera between each other and setting it on timers to get photos of all of them together. Without any of them even realizing, it becomes easier and easier for Hinata to constantly smile, even in the face of a camera lens.