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The sky was lit up by the setting sun, casting cotton candy sherbet hues over the clouds.
The wind rippled the surface of the water and teased his hair.
Derek took a deep breath, held it, and released it on a soft sigh.
It was a beautiful evening. It wasn’t too hot and not too cold. It was the perfect mix of spring turning into summer. When the humidity was just low enough that it wasn’t quite suffocating yet and the breeze carried a slight chill off the water.
He didn’t really understand his life now, but he was taking it in stride. He thought, anyway. He thought he was doing pretty good, all things considered.
Avery was off at one of the beach front bars grabbing them drinks and snacks. And if he didn’t hurry he was going to miss the sunset.
Derek cast a glance around until his gaze landed on the familiar sandy blond curls of his… partner? Boyfriend? The love of his life? That one sounded better, but it might be too soon to go throwing that around all willy nilly.
Watching from the shoreline, a small smile tugged his lips up at the corners. He watched as Avery made his way back carrying two coconut shaped cups complete with umbrella straws in them and a greasy brown paper bag under one arm.
Derek cringed a little at that. Avery was… not a slob, but also not the cleanest person he’d ever met.
“You would not believe how many times people will listen to Jimmy Buffet on repeat here.” Avery huffed as he approached. Derek simply smiled at him and nodded, not sure what to say to that.
They both settled back down into their rented beach chairs under an enormous umbrella and sat back with their drinks and fries.
The decision to take a vacation had been a spur of the moment decision. Made largely by Avery. Not that Derek was going to complain. He would go wherever his freckled little companion would go.
The delivery had just been alarming and confusing and it had taken both of them too long to realize they were shit at communicating.
“I wanna go somewhere.” Derek had hardly taken his shoes off at the door when Avery spoke, coming at him from seemingly nowhere. He blinked, his sneaker falling from his toes with a plunk.
“Huh?”
“I wanna get away. Go on vacation. Take a trip. Do something. I’m tired. I feel caged here.”
More staring.
A few confused blinks.
“Oh.” Smooth, Hutchins. You did great. Your roommate just suggested he was sick of living here and needed to get away from you and you can’t even muster a proper response.
“I was thinking beachy. Sand, sun, cool air, maybe alcohol.” Avery shouldn’t be drinking on his meds, but he wasn’t going to bring that up. He was still trying to figure out what he’d done wrong to make Avery feel this way. Just last week his friend had admitted his real name was not Avery at all. AveryTheMayo was his online handle. That admission alone had taken so much courage and trust.
So what had Derek done wrong?
He hadn’t known how to feel about that information at first. He thought Avery was Avery and Derek was Derek. Turned out his real name was Andrew. And Derek had no idea he was even going by an assumed name. Apparently he preferred Avery to his given name, though.
“Sounds good, right? I thought so.” The man went on, dragging Derek back to the present.
“Uh, yeah. Good. Nice, even.” Shit. What did he do? Did he leave the toilet seat up? Did he forget to take out the trash? Did he leave dirty dishes in the sink? Did he forget an important date on the calendar? “Did—”
“How about next week? I was thinking Florida. It’s nice this time of year. Wanna get out there before hurricane season starts. And from what I read they’re in a drought, so our plans won’t get washed out. I know it’s short notice, sorry about that. But I just really wanna get out of here for a while.”
Derek’s head came up and he raised his brows, staring at Avery with the look of a carp out of water. “Wait. Wait. Come again?”
Green eyes met his and he could see the look of confusion on his friend’s face. “Which part are you confused about? Am I talking too much? Shoot. Sorry, Derek. I know I keep doing that. I don’t mean to. I’m just excited.”
“Avery. Slow down. No. I’m not-look. Shit. I’m confused about the part where you said ‘our’.” Derek’s face heated and he absently played with the cuff of his sleeve. “I don’t understand where you’re coming from. You… want to get away but you said our.”
Avery’s expression shifted from confusion to alarm in an instant. “Oh! Oh, no. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t very clear.” He shook his head vehemently, his curls flying wildly around his head. “I meant a vacation for us.”
After several more moments of both of them realizing they were shit at communicating, Avery admitted he had wanted to surprise him with a get away. And this was that surprise. Not that he’d been trying to get away from him.
That was when he learned that this man — this adorably, frustratingly obtuse man — had feelings for him.
And Derek’s heart had soared. It had done quite a few complicated and alarming things in that moment, but it had finally settled on warm and full.
Of course he had feelings for Avery — Andrew — too. He just hadn’t known how to express them.
But here they were. In Florida. Enjoying cold drinks on a beach where the crabs and seagulls were getting too comfortable trying to steal the fries Avery had bought for them.
“Get! Shoo!” Avery tried to swat the pesky birds away while Derek pulled his feet up onto his chair, avoiding the curious crustaceans.
Then a happy accident in the form of a disaster happened.
The whole debacle involved Avery falling off his seat, Derek swooping in to save him, and both of them ending up folded in the wonky plastic lawn chair while the gulls and crabs scattered.
Needless to say, their first kiss was accidental and a mess. Pressed together in the folded up lawn furniture. But seeing the flushed, freckled cheeks and wide green eyes staring back at him made his heart skip a beat.
“Sorry.” He murmured. He wasn’t.
“Th-that’s okay.” A squeak.
They shared another kiss, on purpose this time, and decided to walk down the beach towards the bar to replace the drinks they were wearing. Avery’s hand found his.
They didn’t make it that far.
Avery got a little excited learning he actually loved kissing Derek, and Derek was too distracted to realize Avery was walking him backwards into the water.
Until they both tumbled into the surf.
Derek came up spluttering and shaking his head free of the water while Avery grinned down at him.
“What the hell?”
“Payback.”
A pause.
“Payback for—oh. Shit, Avery. Are you still sore about me pushing you off the platform? In a video game?” Derek meant to push him off. He meant to shove the offending body off himself and get up. He had sand in places sand should not be.
But he couldn’t.
His fingers tightened on Avery’s hips as the shorter man laughed down at him.
“You should see your face right now.” But he was blushing and grinning from ear to ear and his laugh sounded like wedding bells and crisp autumn mornings.
“You’re lucky I like you.” Derek groused but there was no heat in his words. Only a pout. He patted Avery’s hip but the man refused to move. Simply shook his head with a smug grin. He left Derek with no choice.
In one swift movement, he stood, scooping Avery into his arms and carrying him bridal style out of the ocean.
“I thought you couldn’t swim.” Derek said. He shook more water out of his hair. Avery squealed and laughed as the offending water droplets hit him in the face.
“I can’t.”
“Then why put yourself in a compromising position like that?”
“I knew you’d be there to save me.”
Derek’s steps faltered. He stared down at the man in his arms. “What?”
Avery looked properly exasperated. “You’re not gonna let me drown.”
Derek thought about it for a minute. No. He wouldn’t. And it wasn’t like the water was that deep, but still… “You’re a pain in my ass.”
The shorter man shrugged and wiggled out of his grip, standing on his own two feet so he could link their fingers together and lead him back up the beach.
“Yeah, but I’m your pain the ass.”
Derek couldn’t ague with that.
So no. He did not understand his life right now, but he would figure it out. So long as Avery was by his side.
“Yes. Yes you are.”