Chapter Text
"I promise you, it's not that bad! It'll be fun!"
Is something that everyone says when it is, in fact something bad.
The current situation? Derek is currently slouching in the passenger seat, staring blankly at the road feeling carsick and sweaty and the AC is definitely not helping him cool down at all. They've just reached the coastline, and he is immediately hit with a whiff of the salty sea air.
"This is already terrible," he complains dramatically.
"We haven't even arrived yet!" Avery exclaims, taking a quick glance at Derek. "Well, we're almost there though. Hopefully parking isn't going to be a pain to find."
Derek can feel his stomach turning over. "Can't we turn back?"
Avery gives a cheeky grin. "Nope. Too late for that!"
Derek desperately wants to let out a sound of despair.
The end of summer was drawing near, and the start of the school semester was on horizon again. To celebrate the end of summer vacation, Avery had decided to drag Derek (out of all people) to the beach.
He knows how much Avery loves the beach. The one place he hates. He could immediately come up with a list of reasons why he despises the beach.
Firstly, he already hates the summer season; it's always blazing hot, and the feeling of sweat makes him feel clammy, it's gross. Speaking of the heat, he hates how bright the sun is and he really does not want to risk getting a sunburn. He'd fight the sun if he ever got the opportunity to.
Another reason, is, well— what the hell is he supposed to do at a beach? Sit in the sand, make a poor attempt of building a sandcastle for hours like he's twelve, collect some pebbles or shells, and get hit by stray balls from children?
"Oh, but Derek, most of the fun at the beach is in the water! Why don't you go into the ocean?" See, this is the most important reason why Derek despises the beach: he refuses to go anywhere near the seawater. Making contact with washed up, slimy seaweed and potentially stepping on clams and crabs? Yeah, no thanks. The sea is gross, and Derek will stand by that belief until the day he dies.
(The real reason? Derek doesn't know how to swim. Obviously he has no plans to admit that to Avery though.)
The only reason why he's ended up by the coastlines of California on a Friday afternoon is because Avery is endearingly stubborn. Despite all protests and telling Avery to pick someone else who enjoys the summer beaches, his resolve immediately crumbles when Avery looked at him with a bright smile and says:
"But I want to spend time with you."
And somehow, that one statement almost outweighted the negatives of going to the beach.
The memory sends a prickly flush down the back of his neck, and he immediately tries to think of something else.
Derek realizes the car is no longer moving, and the thrum of the engine is completely silent as the only sound is Avery letting out a sound of excitement.
"Good parking spot, and this area isn't crowded yet," he points out, turning to smile at Derek. "Aren't we lucky?"
"Yep," he drawls. "Very lucky."
The smile on Avery's face falters. "Do… do you actually hate being here this much? I was joking when I said we couldn't turn back, it's only a one hour drive, we still can if you—"
Avery's expression makes Derek heart twist. Yes, he does hate the beach, but he finds the words "No," coming out sharply, cutting off Avery. "It's not the worse. I'll be fine. I know that you've been looking forward for a beach trip for a long time, it's not fair if we turn back because of me."
"I mean, yeah, I have been looking forward to the beach but…"
"But?"
"Nevermind," he says, almost too quickly. "Are you sure you won't be bored? There's other activities around this area. I think," he says with uncertainty. "We don't have to go to the beach specifically."
Derek shakes his head. "I'll figure something out." By that, he means he'll most likely just lounge in the shade, reading a book until he gets bored and decides to take a nap. Yeah, that actually doesn't sound too bad. But there's also another thing he's slightly curious about. "Besides, I haven't gotten to see you surf yet."
"Oh?" Avery muses, lips tugging into a smirk. "So your beach plans are to just watch me the whole time?"
The heat suddenly pools at Derek's cheeks. "Uh. Um. Well—" is all he manages to stutter out before Avery starts laughing.
"I'm messing around. Though, I don't mind if you stare at me," he teases. "I've been told my surfing is very captivating to look at."
"Wouldn't doubt that at all," Derek replies almost breathlessly.
Avery gives him a stunned look for a second, before clapping his hands together, averting his gaze to the sea. "Anyways! Enough sitting in this car, it's getting hot in here. Let's go enjoy the sea breeze!"
"Right," he says as he reaches for the handle and exits the car.
Derek is immediately flashed by the glare of the afternoon sun, and the ambience of the seaside fills his ears. After he adjusts his vision to this newfound brightness, he turns to face Avery, who is practically overflowing with excitement at the view ahead.
Derek's never noticed how the summer-soothed sea sparkles beneath the light of summer, and the fact the sound of waves nudging gently at the shoreline, dulling the cry of seagulls is oddly soothing.
Maybe being here really isn't so bad, after all.
It's bad. Terrible. Dire. There's an endless list of synonyms that could describe the predicament Derek had now found himself in.
What could have possibly happened in the past fifteen or so minutes?
Well.
Derek was finally beginning to adjust to the fact that he was really at a beach. They've settled on a spot not too far away from the car, but also quite isolated from everyone else. There wasn't really too much to set up other than the beach umbrella and towels.
Avery had gone back to the car to grab his surfboard and Derek's bag (that he forgot.) How did he manage to leave the only item he brought in the car?
In the meantime, Derek sits on the towel, knees curled to his chest as he aimlessly stares at the rolling waves in the distance, and he watches them rise as surfers disappear over the edge— eventually, the white-tipped edges of the waves slowly make its way closer to him, frothing gently against the sand.
He found himself getting lost in the back and forth motion of the waves, as if hypnotized. Derek closes his eyes as he drowns himself in the calming sounds of the water, and he doesn't notice the sound of shuffling behind him, signalling Avery's return.
"I'm back!" Avery announces, and Derek abruptly opens his eyes. "Do you want your bag now?"
"Yeah, sure. Thanks for grabbing it. You can give it to—" Dereks words get stuck in his throat as he turns his head towards Avery, who's holding out Derek's bag for him to grab.
But that's not what Derek's focusing on. There is only one thought racing in his mind as he stares at Avery and comes to a realization.
Avery is now shirtless. And he is fit. Mindblowingly fit.
And Derek knows hes ogling at the sight. Why is he ogling? This is a beach, of course being shirtless is normal. And Avery is a surfer and a skater. He knows Avery goes to the gym. He knows beneath all that clothing, Avery is built. It's logical that Avery would have some muscle for all the physical activites he participates in.
So why does he feel himself staring at Avery, dumbfounded as if a God had graced mankind with this sight for the first time, and it would be considered sacrilegious to look away?
"Um," Avery says with concern. "Do you want me to just leave the bag on the floor or…?"
"A-Ah, no," Derek stutters, and it feels like his brain is rebooting from an unexpected crash as he pries away his bag from Avery's hands. "Sorry."
Avery lifts an eyebrow. "You good?"
"Yep!" Derek exclaims, a bit too loudly. "Absolutely fantastic!"
"Are you sure?" Derek nods. "Cause for a moment you were all like…" Avery mimics Derek's expression, his jaw dropping, "For a bit."
Ah. So that's the face he was making. No wonder why his mouth felt so dry.
His oogling was so obvious, even Avery could recreate his exact expression.
He makes up a pathetic excuse. "I was…. stretching." Yeah, Derek definitely wants to die of embarassment now.
Avery stared at him, amused. "Streching."
"Yes."
"Your mouth."
"Of course."
Avery lets out a sound of disbelief. "Is— Is that even a thing?"
"Well," Derek starts, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "There's nothing wrong in developing your facial muscles. It's good for any type of muscle to develop some sort of flexibility! Did you know—"
Avery huffs out a laugh, and waves his hands dismissively. "Okay, okay. If you say so," he says, clearly not believing Derek's poor excuse. "I hope that was a very efficient jaw stretch."
"It was."
Derek feels Avery rolling his eyes before he peers towards the sea. "Are you actually going to stay here the whole time?" He asks.
Derek blinks, tilting his head. "Where else would I go?"
"The water….?" Avery points out, apparently confused by Derek's question.
Oh, right. They're at a beach. "I'm good. The water's all yours," he says as he pats down the beach towel. "I'll be right here."
Avery's eyes narrow, as if he were analyzing Derek's every move. "Okay," he shrugs as he picks up his surfboard. "Don't feel pressured to stay here to watch the stuff— nobody steals things at the beach. Come join me in the sea any time!"
Derek sits up straight. "Join you? Wouldn't I get in your way and like… disturb you?" he mumbles.
Avery laughs heartily into the breeze, as he begins to walk towards the sea. "Get in my way as much as you'd like," and Derek doesn't need to see his face to know a smile is tugging at his lips. "It's never a disturbance."
Since Avery's departure to the sea, Derek has been laying down, staring at the bottom of the umbrella, currently reciting every metabolic pathway in his mind. Anything to distract him from the defined muscles of Avery's arms, his lean torso, and the way the freckles were spotted around his back and—
Derek wants to scream. Yeaaah no. Fuck gluconeogenesis. Or was he in the middle of glycogenesis? Whatever. This isn't working.
He still doesn't understand why he's reacting like this. This isn't even the first time he's seen Avery shirtless! Why today?
The summer heat, he rationalizes. It must be making him feel loopy, or something.
With a defeated sigh, Derek sits back up and stares back out to the sea.
The sun is brighter now, the light piercing the water causing the sea to glitter. The passing afternoon has invited more people to the beach, and the waters are definitely more crowded now. It's also quite surprising of how easy it was for him to spot Avery in the distance. In a crowd of hundreds, he can effortlessly find his friend.
He's not sure what to make of that.
Either way, Avery's surfing was in fact, very captivating to look at. The way his hair flows against the sea breeze as he glides along the waves smoothly until the waves break completely. And then he repeats this again when he catches the next wave.
Derek is noticing a pattern though— the waves are definitely getting bigger now, and they are rising quite violently. These type of waves must be a surfers dream, but from Derek's perspective? This seemed like an absolute nightmare.
He's decided surfing is insane. Absolutely insane. What's with people inventing some sort of diabolical sport and willingly participate in something that seems so dangerous? Surely the adrenaline rush isn't worth it.
How does Avery do this? On top of skateboarding, he realizes. Which is also equally scary when he recalls the type of tricks skateboarders do. Impressive, but really damn terrifying.
Derek bites his lips nervously. He watches Avery prepare for the next big wave coming, and he feels the anxiety rising in his chest as Avery leans on his board, preparing to stand, and Derek's probably worrying for nothing, right?
And then, he sees Avery fly off his board, over the wave, disappearing over the horizon, and the sight sends Derek's heart into a fearful, erratic rhythm.
Avery is too far now, and Derek can't spot him beyond the massive wave Avery went over.
What the fuck? What the fuck? Why is nobody else freaking out?
He knows Avery is a strong swimmer, and he's probably fine, but all rationale flees Derek as he doesn't realize he's gotten up and made his way towards the water.
Derek stops going any further after the water reaches his thighs. The wave Avery disappeared over had finally subsided, and Derek is desperately scanning the sea for the familiar figure.
"Avery?" Derek yells out, unsure if his voice is being drowned out by the sounds of summer. "Avery?" He repeats, a bit louder.
"Oh, hey Derek!" A voice replies cheerfully behind him, and Derek has never turned around faster in his entire life. Avery was right here, elbows rested over his surfboard. "You changed your mind after all."
Derek rounded in on him quickly, grabbing Avery's shoulders tightly, noticing how the man tensed up at Derek's touch. "What the hell was that?"
Avery glances at him, startled. "What do you mean?" He asks, weakly.
"That!" Derek exclaims, pointing at the waves furiously.
"Ohhh," he says at last, his body relaxing. "The waves? Sorry for the disappointing surfing— I guess I'm a bit washed," he rubs the back of his head as if embarrassed. "Didn't expect to fall over from that!"
Derek would ramble on how Avery should never be embarrassed about his surfing, but he sharply says, "Nothing about that was disappointing!"
Avery frowns, puzzled. "Then…?"
"Seriously?" Derek replies in disbelief. "Avery, are you okay?"
"Yeah? Why wouldn't I—" Avery pauses, as if coming to a realization. His face clears as he grins at Derek. "Oh… I see now."
Now Derek's incredibly confused by Avery's warm expression. "What," he says flatly.
And Avery's mouth twists into a wide smile. "Did you rush into the sea because you thought I was hurt?" He asks, smugly.
Derek swallows nervously, his heart leaping at the sight. He quickly averts his eyes to Avery's hair— it's easier than looking at his face.
"Derek."
"Well forgive me for freaking out when I quite literally saw you fly off your board!" Derek retorts, his voice clearly filled with stress.
And Avery bursts into laughter, his hands clenching onto Derek's arms. "Sorry. I should've warned you."
Derek scowls. "The sports you participate in are insane."
"That's the fun of it!"
"You call flying in the air fun?" Derek intones, his expression somewhere between disbelief and astonishment. "Are you a bird?"
"Maybe," Avery marvels at the thought. "One day I'll achieve it."
A moment passes, and Derek comes to a realization that they're both still holding onto each other. Derek finally meets Avery's eyes, and notices how he's watching him back, eyes alight with interest.
Avery's hair was shining from the sunlight reflecting off the drops of water clinging onto his hair. Once again, the sight of Avery manages to take Derek's breath away.
Then, finally, Derek breaks the silence. "You're not actually hurt, are you?"
"Pfft, nah. Falling like that is normal," Avery says casually. "Although…" he trails off with a breathless smile, as he leans over his board to caress Derek's face. "It is quite adorable of how concerned you are for me."
The word adorable repeats in Derek's head, and he can feel his brain short-circuiting. Avery has to be teasing him, there's no way he's serious when he calls Derek adorable. Derek falls absolutely still and he can feel his heart slamming against his chest, and he wonders if the heat flushing over his body is from the warmth of summer or Avery's alluring gaze.
It's the heat. It has to be.
Derek swallows hard. "Of course I'd be worried. You're my friend."
Avery blinks, carefully dropping his hand from Derek's face. The spot where Avery held him suddenly felt cold. "Mmmm," he hums. "Right."
"Anyways, I'll just relax in the water now. I'm getting tired of surfing," he says as he takes a tentative step away from Derek, freeing himself from Derek's grasp. "Care to join me while you're here?" He offers sheepishly.
Derek hesitates for a second or two before speaking."Uh. I— I'm…" He trails off, voice weary. As much as he wants to stay, the aching feeling in his chest still hasn't vanished, and Derek's worried he's going to collapse. "I'm going to go back, actually."
"Oh," Avery replies, voice barely above a whisper, his smile faltering. "Yeah, that's fine. See you later."
And before Derek could say anything, Avery turns around immediately and begins to paddle away on his board. Derek misses the fleeting look of sadness on Avery's face.
"I'll be waiting," Derek mumbles, as if speaking into the void.
And once again, he is left alone with the sound of the waves, and the squaking of seagulls passing. But in this instance, the silence has never felt so present.
With a heavy sigh, he turns back to the shore, pushing himself through the water. Each step he takes feels like moving through molasses.