#sparrowsace

"Ye gon’ to keep laughing or are ye gon’ to help?" Seamus asked him, using one arm to try to force the other farther down his back, then realized what he'd just asked and what the result would be if Dean complied.

He blushed at the thought of Dean's hands on his back, but didn't have much time to think about it since Dean was now jogging over to him.

"Here," Seamus mumbled, turning around so Dean wouldn't see his blush.

He twiddled his thumbs, waiting, and he heard Dean flip the cap of the bottle open.  Then, he felt Dean's fingers swipe some onto his shoulders, and then...nothing?  Was Dean embarrassed to have to touch Seamus' back?  Was this too intimate for them or something?

Seamus turned his head to look at Dean, but what he saw wasn't disgust or discomfort, but nervousness.

"Ye have to rub it in, mate," Seamus said teasingly.

"I-I know.  I was just marveling at how translucent you are is all," Dean retorted, but Seamus could see through him.  He was definitely nervous.

Still, Seamus laughed and turned his head back. "Shut up and keep going."

Dean used the palms of his hands spread it over Seamus' shoulders, then squeezed more out and went over Seamus' back, but he was still being nervous about it.  He wasn't so much rubbing it in as he was just brushing it over his body.

Seamus felt Dean's hands still as they approached his lower back, and despite the butterflies emerging in his stomach, he said, "Quite being so hesitant.  Just rub it in."

He waited, wondering if Dean would actually do it or if he'd pass the job on to Lavender or Parvati.  But then he felt Dean's hands press into his back and Seamus' breath caught in his throat.  He felt Dean's fingers - his long, thin artist's fingers - press and pull across his skin.  He'd seen Dean's fingers in action before, holding quills as he sketched, finger painting on a canvas, smudging lines in a drawing, and he wondered if Dean was subconsciously pressing designs into Seamus' back as his fingers traveled over his skin.

Dean was working on his lower back now, and he suppressed a gasp as Dean's thumbs dipped under the hem of his swim shorts and rubbed along the skin there.  Dean's hands then disappeared, then reappeared on Seamus' hips.  They dragged forward across the skin, tickling his belly some, and then they were in a half-embrace and Seamus' heart was beating out of his chest.

He'd realized his feelings for Dean at the Quidditch World Cup last year, when, after Ireland won, his first instinct was to grab Dean's face and kiss the bloody hell out of him.  Needless to say, he resisted and simply hugged the bloody hell out of Dean instead, but that left him with a pretty clear indication of where his true feelings lie.

But he'd always been doubtful of whether Dean could ever feel the same.  Dean talked about how gorgeous Fleur was, or how Parvati and Padma were the prettiest girls in their year.  He'd expressed some interest in Ginny once, but that never came to fruition.  But now, with Dean's hands roaming up his sides, pressing into the gaps between his ribs, Seamus was pretty confident Dean felt the same - or at least could in the future.

Dean was now rubbing sunscreen into his shoulders again, and even though he'd now gotten everywhere that Seamus hadn't been able to reach, he didn't tell Dean to stop.  He didn't ever want to have Dean stop touching him like this.  Dean's fingers traveled up Seamus' neck and tickled the hairs at the base of his neck, then stroked down his arms.

If things continued like this much longer, Seamus would be sporting a stiffy.  So he tried to think of things like McGonagall's underwear or the giant squid, but he couldn't focus on anything other than Dean's hands on his skin.

Dean stepped closer and Seamus leaned back a little so his shoulders were resting on Dean's chest.  He felt Dean's breath on his shoulder as his hands went up and down Seamus' arms.  There wasn't even any sunscreen on them now, he was just touching him.

Seamus turned his head a bit, looking into Dean's eyes.  He could kiss him, Seamus thought.  He could kiss Dean right here right now, and maybe Dean would reciprocate, maybe they would hold hands as they went into the lake, maybe they would spend the summer -

"Say, Lavender, how much sunscreen do white people really need?" Parvati's voice cut through the air, slicing their perfect bubble as they hurriedly took a couple steps apart, Dean's hands falling from Seamus' shoulders.

Lavender looked over and laughed, and Seamus wondered yet again why he was friends with her, the traitor. "Not that much, that’s for sure.  Although Seamus is really pale.”

"Shut up," he mumbled, rubbing his neck as he felt his face heat up.

"Oh, looks like you missed your face,” Parvati exclaimed. “Your cheeks are already red!"

Seamus groaned with frustration - he'd been so close to Dean and they had to ruin it - and instinctively grabbed Dean's hand and began dragging him over to the lake.  Dean caught up to his side in just a few strides, but as an experiment Seamus didn't let go of his hand, and Dean didn't bother to pull away.  Seamus felt a little hope bloom in his chest.

They stopped at the edge of the water, still hand in hand, and Seamus turned his head to look up at Dean.  The sun was just behind Dean's head, so it was a little hard to look at him, but it illuminated his curly hair and made his eyes sparkle.  Seamus really hoped that Dean felt the same way as he did.  He didn't know what he would do if Dean rejected him, if these feelings ruined their friendship.

But then Dean smiled at him and shifted his hands so their fingers were now interlaced, and Seamus felt almost like crying.  And just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, to ask if this was real, Ron and Harry let out great roars of excitement and suddenly they were being pelted with water blasts and knocked over into the water.

Dean remembered last summer when he stayed with the Finnigans before and after the World Cup, and how Mrs. Finnigan wouldn’t let Seamus take even a step outside without being slathered in sunscreen, and one day he found out why.

They’d sneaked out of the house early one morning so Seamus could show Dean the town without the hovering of his mam, and by the time they’d finished the ten minute walk to town, Seamus’ shoulders were a bright red and Mrs. Finnigan had a fit when they got back.

“Oi, I think I the castle has a new ghost!” Dean called out.

The trio looked over and laughed right before Ron sneaked up and knocked Hermione over in the water.  Seamus rolled his eyes.

“Ye gon’ to keep laughing or are ye gon’ to help?” Seamus asked, arms straining to reach his back.

Dean stifled another laugh; Seamus looked like a turtle struggling to get back on its feet, but his heart skipped a beat at the word help.  He’d be lying if he said that he hadn’t developed a crush on his best friend, and the idea of rubbing sunscreen into Seamus’ back had him really nervous.  Still, if nobody helped him then the poor guy would burn, and there’d be no living with him for a few weeks.  (Seamus was incredibly irritable when he was burnt.)

“Coming,” Dean said, jogging briefly over to the tree Seamus was taking shelter under.

“Here,” Seamus said, handing him the bottle of sunscreen before turning around.

Dean took a steadying breath and tried to be nonchalant as he squeezed a bit of sunscreen onto his fingers.  Experimentally, he wiped it off on the tops of Seamus’ shoulders and stared.

Seamus turned his head. “Ye have to rub it in, mate.”

“I-I know,” Dean said, trying to make excuses. “I was just marveling at how translucent you are is all.”

He laughed and turned his head back. “Shut up and keep going.”

Dean swallowed and used the palm of his hand to rub the sunscreen into Seamus’ shoulders, feeling the soft skin under his hand.  He squeezed more out and tucked the bottle up under his arm, using both hands to rub it into Seamus’ back.  His heart beat a little faster when he got to Seamus’ lower back.

“Quite being so hesitant,” Seamus told him. “Just rub it in.”

Just rub it in.  Oh Godric.

Dean nodded to himself and really started pressing with his hands.  He could feel Seamus’ wiry muscles under the skin as he pushed and pulled his fingers and palms over his friend’s back.  He made his way down to the lower back, moving his hands back and forth over the pale skin.  Then he dipped his thumbs under the hem of Seamus’ swim shorts, thinking up the excuse, Well, what if the shorts shift?  Wouldn’t want to be negligent. but Seamus didn’t comment, so he kept going.

He squeezed more sunscreen and put his hands on Seamus’ hips, pushing them forward so he was half-hugging Seamus, then pulled them back and worked up Seamus’ sides.  His fingers pressed over Seamus’ ribs and he heard Seamus let out a tiny sigh and watched as goosebumps rose on his arms.

With more sunscreen Dean rubbed his shoulders again, fingers pushing up his neck and into the hair at the base of his neck, then out and down his arms.  Dean was pretty sure Seamus had already gotten his arms, but he did want to stop touching Seamus, and Seamus wasn’t stopping him, so he kept going.

They were back to chest now, with Seamus half-leaning back into him and Dean with his chin next to Seamus’ ear, breath washing over his shoulder as he moved his hands up and down his arms.  Seamus turned his head slightly to look up at him and Dean’s hands skittered over the slick skin as he noticed how wide the Irishman’s pupils were.

“Say, Lavender, how much sunscreen do white people really need?” Parvati asked loudly.

Lavender propped herself up on her elbows and looked over at Dean and Seamus, who’d taken two quick steps away from each other.

“Not that much, that’s for sure,” Lavender said with a laugh. “Although Seamus is really pale.”

“Shut up,” Seamus muttered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Oh, looks like you missed your face,” Parvati said. “Your cheeks are already red!”

Seamus let out a loud groan and grabbed Dean’s hand began dragging him over to the lake.  Dean laughed and abandoned the sunscreen bottle in the grass, using his long legs to catch up, but even when they were side by side Seamus didn’t let go of his hand.

They walked up to the water’s edge and then Seamus looked up at him, cheeks red and eyes questioning.  Dean smiled and interlaced their fingers, and then Ron and Harry blasted them with jets of water from their wands and they fell laughing into the lake.

In Push and Pull Universe there is a hard dividing line. There are some of these that take place during the course of Push and Pull (while Toph is alive) and there are others- most of them- that take place after Push and Pull is completed (i.e. after Toph’s death).

During Push and Pull in chronological order:  Brotherly Love, Sensation, A Fight for the First,It Will Last Forever, The Noble Ladies Beifong, The Moment You Know, The Morning Routine

In Push and Pull Universe, but following the end of Push and Pull: 

Focus, Gone, Not Forgotten, Seasons, Alone and Together With You, The Rebound, Telephone, Atrophy in Three-Quarter Time, Mother Knows Best, The Lowest Point, Absolution, Might Have Missed, Old Habits Die Hard, A Lifetime of Memories, Guess Things Happen That Way, The Benefit of Friends, Looks Aren’t Everything, How the Heart Behaves, Sibling Rivalry, An Evening to Forget, Turning Tides and Revelations, The New Avatar

Outside Push and Pull Universe: 

A Challenge - this is partly the inspiration for Push and Pull, but tweaked quite a bit. 

The Cave- this one really did inspire the Tokka relationship in Push and Pull. It was my first foray into that ship. As you’ll see this insinuates Tokka happened much later in life and more casually than I ended up making it in Push and Pull. 

The Vow- may still factor into the Push and Pull universe, but will definitely be tweaked. 

Indiscretion, Confessions On Our Lips, Secrets On Our Lips, - Current Linzin hook up fic. The first chapter of Indiscretion is PROBABLE at least, but it spirals into fangirl fantasy after that.