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He hadn’t known it was Shiemi’s first time going to the beach after their Kyoto trip. Maybe if he had, he would’ve tried harder to make it go smoothly, make it unforgettable, but not in the ‘we almost got eaten by a kraken’ way.
So that had ended up being a wash. But now he’s determined to make the second time the best ever. It’s his job now as her boyfriend.
Boyfriend.
He can feel his lips twitching against his will. He’s had that title for a while now and it still hasn’t quite sunk in yet. He’s Shiemi’s boyfriend.
“Rin?”
Shiemi likes him. And not just in his imagination, either, she actually told him that.
“Rin?”
He’s never been good with details, but he remembers exactly where they were standing and what he was wearing when that happened.
“Rin!”
He blinks to attention, Shiemi waving her hand in front of her face.
“Are you okay? You seemed deep in thought.”
Her long hair is piled up in a bun. She had to get a new swimsuit since apparently her time away caused her to outgrow the other one. He’s trying not to get too caught up in thinking about that.
He gives a crooked grin. “Just thinking about how cute you are in that new swimsuit.”
She squeaks, face immediately flushing a deep red. Maybe it’s unfair of him, but once he learned how easily he could make her embarrassed, he started going out of his way to do it. It’s just so cute. And a nice boost to his self-esteem.
“Y-you’re not playing fair,” she mumbles.
“My bad. So what’d you need?”
Her arms go out to a big gesture, expression proud. “Look!”
What she’s pointing to is…a pile of sand in some sort of sculpted shape.
“Awesome!” He scratches his head. “What is it, though?”
She double-takes. “It’s a sand castle!” She furrows her brow, putting a hand to her chin. “Isn’t it?”
He isn’t really sure what it’s supposed to be, but a ‘castle’ is not the first word to come to mind.
“Uhh-”
Shiemi pouts. “I did it wrong, didn’t I?”
Well, it’s not like Rin was ever any good at it either. He shrugs. “No idea. Looks fine to me. It’s just missing something.”
“Oh, you think?”
He tilts his head, the tip of his tongue poking out, his hands out like there’s an invisible camera in front of him. “I got it!”
He grabs a nearby stick and sticks it on the top of the mound. “And one final touch.”
He closes his eyes, concentrating. He had learned completely by accident in a training session with Boobs McGee that his flames could harden sand into a type of dark glass.
He just needs to be able to do it on purpose now. His control is way better than it was last time he came to the beach, but sometimes that little demon (who he calls Rinka in honor of his mother) has a little too much fun and goes wild.
He takes a breath as a small flame engulfs each of his hands, the warmth licking against his skin in an almost soothing motion.
He sets his hands up against the sand, watching as it starts to change color and harden. Shiemi takes in a breath from next to him, but he puts all his focus on the task at hand.
“Wow,” Shiemi breathes out sweetly, “How pretty!” Her head is practically on his shoulder she’s so close. “When did you learn how to do that?”
He flushes under the praise, but tries to play it off. “I can do all kinds of things with my flames now. Pretty cool, right?”
She nods furiously, grabbing onto his arm. “Very cool! You’re amazing, Rin!”
Her smile is so bright and genuine. He feels like he has to squint. “Glad you like it,” he mumbles in embarrassment.
“Hey, guys!” Shima calls out from a few feet away, breaking them out of their little bubble, the rest of the group next to him. He honestly forgot that their friends left. “We got the watermelon!”
Shiemi’s eyes light up. “Watermelon? Is eating watermelon another summer tradition?”
Rin grins wryly. “Kinda.” He brushes off his trunks, offering his hand for her to stand. “We gotta do something else first.”
She looks a little confused, but he starts dragging her along to their friends before she can ask questions.
“What were you two even doing over there?” Izumo asks.
Shiemi answers before he can. “Sand castles!”
Izumo gives a skeptical look to the glass mound, an unimpressed eyebrow raised, which Rin has learned by now to not be offended by. That’s just how she always looks. The small girl shrugs. “If you say so.” Then she snaps at him. “You, Rin Okumura. Grab these! They’re heavy!”
“Got it.” He carries the one in her arms on top of his shoulder, with another one tucked under his arm. “How many did you guys get?”
Suguro answers this time. “Like 8.”
“Wow, so many!” Shiemi gasps. “Are we really eating all of these?”
Shima smirks. “Not all of them.” He tosses a stick at Rin, which he catches with his tail. “Here, you’ll need that.”
Shiemi’s practically vibrating with questions, but he just gives her a little smile in response. He finds a good spot to place his melon when she bursts. “Rin, what’s going on?”
“Another summer tradition.” He hands the stick to her. “Before we eat the watermelon, we’re gonna break it.”
“Break it?” she repeats. She stares at the stick skeptically. “With this?”
“Yep. I’ll show you.” He then makes a strong swing with the weapon and the watermelon bursts like a balloon, pink fruit bits splashing all over them. Shiemi squeaks from the force of it. “Just like that.”
“Nii-san, you didn’t have to be so rough,” a familiar nagging tone comes from behind him. Yukio has the same flat look as usual, his lips in a tight line.
“Whoops,” Rin says flippantly in a tone that he knows will annoy his brother. “Guess I underestimated how strong I hit it.”
“More like you were just showing off,” Yukio mutters under his breath, and if Rin didn’t have super hearing, he probably wouldn’t have heard it. “And you were supposed to wear a blindfold.”
Rin raises an eyebrow. “You really want me to swing a stick around with a blindfold on?”
Yukio ignores him. “Here, Shiemi-san. I’ll show you the proper way to do it.”
“Sure, okay, Yuki-chan.” There’s a hint of amusement in her tone, as she’s almost as used to Yukio’s antics as he is. In the past, he would’ve been insecure over his brother making him look stupid in front of her, but they’ve moved past that. Both of them have different, but still just as special, places in her heart. And they’re all content with that.
He just lays down to bake in the sun, letting the chatter and the occasional burst of a watermelon lull him into a sense of calm.
Shima is trying to sweet-talk Izumo into letting him help her. And failing. Say what you will about the guy, but he sure doesn't give up, does he? Suguro and Konekomaru opted to just go ahead and start eating the melon that they broke (“We shouldn’t just waste it, Bon, and it still looks good.” “Okay fine, but I’m not eating any pieces with sand on it.”).
He thinks he might’ve nodded off when he hears a hiss of pain from Yukio that brings him to attention.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Yuki-chan!” Comes the following response. “Did I hit you?”
“Just a little,” Yukio grits out.
She must’ve hit him on accident while she was blinded. He can’t help but snicker. “Sure you still wanna use blindfolds, Yuki-chan?”
He can feel Yukio’s glare burning through his skull. Or maybe it’s just the sand.
“He’s right, Yuki-chan, maybe I should take this off. I don’t wanna hurt you.”
“I’m fine, Shiemi-san.”
“But-”
“Here, Yukio,” Rin interrupts, not wanting to listen to them argue. “Switch with me.”
“I’m fine, Nii-san.”
Rin rolls his eyes. His brother’s always so proud. “C’mon, don’t be stubborn. I have a higher pain tolerance than you. So if she hits me, it’s no big deal.”
“Rin, I don’t wanna hit you,” Shiemi tries to argue, but Rin’s only barely registering it.
Yukio doesn’t look convinced, so Rin pushes a bit more. “You want her to do it right, don’tcha? Atleast my bruises will heal in minutes.”
Yukio clicks his tongue. “Fine.”
“I’m really sorry, Yuki-chan.”
“It’s fine, Shiemi-san. It’s a testament to how strong you’ve gotten.”
She ducks her chin down bashfully. “I suppose you’re right.”
And he’s not gonna let her feel down on herself any longer than he has to. “Alright, Shiemi, let’s go.” He shifts the melon to where it’s down in front of her. “Just swing down with everything you got.” He grabs her arms and physically brings them down in a swinging motion. “Like this.”
The tips of her ears turn red, though he can’t tell if it’s the sun or him. She shudders out a breath. “I just go down?”
“Yep. Make sure to do it like you mean it.”
“Okay. Do you mind moving out of my way? I don’t wanna hit you.”
He sidesteps over by a few inches. “Ready?”
He can’t see her eyes, but her jaw tightens in that determined look he’s grown to recognize and appreciate. She gives a nod and swings the stick above her head like a club, cracking it down on the melon with an impressive amount of strength, and the melon bursts open like his own did earlier.
Damn, I should make sure not to piss her off.
He’s not the only one with supernatural demon blood and he feels a little stupid for forgetting that.
“I did it!” she cheers, engulfing him in a hug. “Rin, did you see that? I did it!”
“Y-yeah, sure did.” All that bare skin pressed against him and it suddenly feels 5 degrees hotter. Think of something not sexy, like Yukio’s glasses.
“Shiemi Moriyama!” Izumo calls out, breaking the moment. “Come eat watermelon with me!”
“Coming!” Shiemi answers, and then she turns to him. “Are you coming, Rin?”
“Yep. Be right behind you.” He needs to catch his breath. He just takes her in for a moment as she sits next to Izumo, the rest of the group intermingling. Well, he doesn’t know if he gave her the best beach experience ever, but he figures if she’s smiling like that and having fun, he clearly did something right.