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Having a pen pal was not unusual. Hoshiumi Asa thought it was great, actually, that her weird little kid had something to care about other than biting his brother on their vacation.
No, the unusual part of this whole thing was... well... the method of delivery.
It was her fault, really. She couldn't exactly blame herself for her own actions. At the time, it had been a fun little art project, a way to get Kourai to practice his hiragana. Write a letter, put it in a bottle, and send it out to sea! Who knows, you might get a response!
Only, next week, when they were back in Joetsu... he really did get a response.
It was written in as much of a child's hand as Kourai's, in blue crayon a little darker than the marker they'd used last week. Kourai had been ecstatic, almost too excited to actually calm down and read the thing. Turns out, some kid named Sacchan was the one to respond, and he was here with his family for the weekend, too.
Huh.
She let Kourai write a new note, of course, put it right back in the bottle and sent it off. Kourai, never one to stand still for any reason, took off to go play in the sand... but Asa kept watching.
Sure enough, there was a woman in a big floppy sunhat, who caught the bottle as it crept close to one of the docks. She looked up, right at Asa—and waved.
Since then, Asa's become pretty good friends with Hirugami Yukiko. They both live in Nagano, both take their family to the seaside most weekends during the summer. Yukiko has three children, but it's her youngest that found the bottle, more excited about that than he'd been all weekend.
"Otherwise he just likes sticking his hands in the sand all day," she says with something like a sigh. "He's such a handful."
Asa's brow furrows. A child that sits still all day, playing quietly by himself? A handful? Not to mention that sand was a sensory delight and should be savored at all times. Asa herself would love to just stick herself in the sand all day, if she wouldn't get bored immediately.
They plan their visits, watch the bottles, make sure they don't get swept away or picked up by someone else. When Kourai stops showing them off, Asa stops reading them, and lets him enjoy his pen pal. You're only young once, and this kind of writing practice can only be a good thing. Right?
💌
"Damnit," Kourai mutters.
Sachirou raises an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"
"My family's going to the beach this weekend! I haven't been in forever, what if the seagulls don't love me anymore??"
His friend lets out a soft snort, resting his head on one elbow. "Seagulls are highly intelligent, with excellent face recognition. There's no way they could forget their own kind."
Kourai sticks his tongue out at him. "Watch it, buddy. No more Animal Planet for you." A bald faced lie, they're probably going to watch an animal show the second they finish their homework, for that matter.
Sachirou simply hums, dragging his highlighter over... well, the entire paragraph. "What's so great about the beach anyway?"
"Uh, everything? One: beach volleyball. Fun, obviously. Two: getting mobbed by seagulls. Extremely fun. Three: sand."
"Sand?"
"Sand! It's hot and scritchy and heavy and feels good in between your toes, right?"
Sachirou has that blank look on his face that means he's thinking a lot, actually. Maybe re-evaluating his whole life. That was fair; sand was pretty great.
"And last but definitely best: I get to talk to my pen pal."
It's right about then that Sachirou's phone lights up with a message, and he checks it, idly. His eyes widen a little.
"I mean, I say pen pal, but it's sort of... look, do you believe in fate?"
Sachirou swallows as he puts his phone face-down on the table. Kourai's eyes immediately narrow, but. First things first.
"Let's just say I do," Sachirou says, something wary in his tone. Kourai rolls his eyes.
"Never mind. Look, I've had the same pen pal since I was a kid, and we... talk by putting letters in a bottle and chucking it in the ocean. That's insane, right? Like, improbable in every way possible. But it's true, and we've kept it up for years, and I really..."
"Kourai-kun."
"I really kind of like him? Like, he's funny and sweet and we talk about our deepest darkest fears but not what we do in real life, and—"
"Kourai-kun."
"And he's the first one I came out to, he knows my type, I think we've been flirting? But he knows I'm in l—"
"KOURAI!"
Finally, he stops, turning to look at Sachirou... who, for some reason, has bright red ears. "...Kourai. It's me. I'm your pen pal."
Blink. Blink, blink.
"I'm Sacchan. And you're Kou."
Kourai's mouth drops open.
"You!" He grabs the front of Sachirou's shirt. "How long have you known!!"
And Sacchan, the bastard, actually laughs. "I just figured it out right now, stupid." His big hands come up to cover Kourai's, warm and solid and squeezing gently. "My mom sent a text saying the family was going up to Joetsu again. Right after your mom did the same thing."
Kourai's eyes narrow. "...You think they're the masterminds?"
"That would make the most sense."
Sighing, Kourai finally lets go. Or tries to, but Sachirou's circling his hands and holding on, rubbing a thumb over Kourai's knuckles. "Hey, what gives?"
"Kourai." He's dropped the honorific, and it shouldn't be a big deal but somehow it is. Sachirou's always been unfailingly polite. "You told Sacchan that you had a crush on your best friend."
"Well, yeah," and Kourai squirms, trying to get free but Sachirou hangs on tight. "I kind of had a crush on him, too, if that wasn't obvious..."
"I guess that makes you the lucky one, huh?" Sachirou tugs, and Kourai leans in closer, practically falling out of his chair now but it's fine. It's totally fine. Nowhere he'd rather be.
"...Okay are you going to leave me hanging or do something about it because I—"
And Sacchan—Sachirou—kisses him. Just leans right in and seals their lips together, right over Kourai's yappy mouth.
"Don't fall for anyone else, okay?" he murmurs, planting another kiss right at the corner of Kourai's mouth, then his jaw. "You're mine now."
He never says 'will you go out with me' and Kourai never says 'yes', but he thinks he might like this way better.
After all, when they're ready to have a wedding some day, Kourai knows exactly how to ask.