#summer fluff

💙 Isagi Yoichi

When you take off your cover-up: You’re standing near the cooler talking about which drink you want when you casually pull your cover-up over your head. Just a towel and a breath of wind, and suddenly you’re standing there in the kind of swimsuit that truly has him at a loss for words. Isagi looks up mid-sentence… and forgets what he was going to say all together. His mouth stays half open. A water bottle slips from his hand and thuds softly into the sand.

You turn around. “You okay?”

He blinks. Slowly. Then swallows hard. “Y-Yeah,” he says. But his voice cracks, and his face goes red. “I mean, yeah, I just—uh. You look really… really good.”

You stare for a moment before a laugh escapes your lips, already walking toward the umbrella like it’s nothing. He’s frozen in place, replaying the image in his head. You in a swimsuit? That swimsuit? He was not expecting.

Under the umbrella, when you ask him to put on sunscreen: You flop down on your towel and undo your bikini top like it’s no big deal. “Can you get my back?” you ask, chin in your arms.

“Wha—now?” You tilt your head. “Yeah, now. It’s the sunniest part of the day.”

He hesitates like he’s preparing for a high-stakes penalty kick. Then finally kneels next to you, unscrews the bottle, and gently squirts some into his hand. Way too much btw.

You don’t say anything. You’re just waiting.

He starts rubbing it in, and it’s barely a touch. His hands are soft, hesitant, staying high up on your shoulders and only daring to smooth along your back when you exhale a little laugh. “Relax,” you tease. "I'm not that fragile."

He mutters something under his breath. Quiet. Almost too soft to hear. “T-That’s not what I’m worried about…”

When he ties your top back up, his hands fumble with the knot. You can feel his fingers shaking.

In the water, when guys start staring: You’re waist-deep, hair wet, laughing as you splash him. He’s smiling, until his eyes shift over your shoulder. Two guys standing farther down the shore. Staring. His expression changes instantly. He moves closer. One arm around your waist. Then the other. Pulls you back into him, your back against his chest.

You blink. “Yoichi?”

He doesn’t answer. Just rests his chin on your shoulder like he’s relaxing, but he’s definitely watching. When one guy won’t stop looking, Isagi narrows his eyes and mouths something that makes the guy look away real quick.

You giggle. “You’re being clingy.”

He exhales slowly and hugs you tighter. “Sorry."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🌺 Chigiri Hyoma

When you take off your cover-up: He sees it happen out of the corner of his eye, just a quick movement as you pull the fabric off your shoulders. He turns his head without thinking, then stops. Doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t react right away. Just goes quiet. You glance over, and he’s standing there with a hand on his hip, blinking slowly, mouth pressed in a tight line. “…What?” you ask, smirking.

“Nothing,” he says. His voice is calm, but his ears are pink. “You look good.” He says bluntly.

He clears his throat, looks off toward the water, and pretends he’s totally unfazed. But when you walk past him to grab sunscreen, he definitely takes another look.

Under the umbrella, when you ask him to put on sunscreen: You stretch out on your towel and untie your top like it’s normal, and for you, it is. But for him? He hesitates for a second when you hand him the bottle.

“Seriously?” “Seriously.” You raise an eyebrow. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He doesn’t answer. Just kneels beside you, pours a little lotion into his hand, and starts rubbing it in. His hands are warm. Careful. But not shy. He keeps his touch steady as well as focused, and quiet.

You glance back and see the small crease between his brows. “Are you concentrating?”

He exhales. “Trying not to mess it up.”

When he finishes, he ties the top back without making a show of it. Doesn’t say anything extra. But you catch him stealing a look at your shoulder as you sit up, biting the inside of his cheek like he’s keeping something to himself.

In the water, when guys start staring: At first, he doesn’t notice. He’s busy watching the waves, wiping water from his eyes, squeezing water out of his hair. But when he does catch one guy looking a little too long, and then another...He doesn’t say anything, just swims closer. His hand settles lightly on your waist. Then he moves behind you, stays close, almost casual.

You raise an eyebrow. “Everything okay?”

He nods. “Yeah. Just staying close.”

Another guy looks again. Chigiri meets his eyes once, and doesn’t look away until the guy does. You smile, nudging his foot underwater. “You’re not subtle.”

He shrugs. “Wasn’t trying to be.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🐠 Rin Itoshi

When you take off your cover-up:

He glances up once. Then again. Slower the second time. You look over and catch the crease in his brow. The subtle sigh through his nose.

“That’s not the one you said you were bringing.”

You shrug. “Changed my mind.”

He looks away fast. Shakes his head.

“Tch. You could’ve said something.”

You walk past him, and he mutters something under his breath, too quiet to catch. But his ears are red, and he won’t look at you directly for a full minute.

Under the umbrella, when you ask him to put on sunscreen:

You lie down on your towel, reach behind your neck, and untie your top without warning.

“Can you do my back?”

He sits up fast.

“Y/N, what the hell are you doing? We’re in public.”

You just glance over your shoulder. “I’m laying on my stomach. No one can see anything.”

“That’s not the point.”

He looks around like someone’s already staring, then shifts to kneel beside you, blocking the view out of instinct. You hand him the sunscreen. He takes it, muttering under his breath.

“I swear to god…”

Still, he starts rubbing it in. Quiet. Focused. His touch is a little rushed at first, like he wants this over fast, but then slows down when you relax.

You peek back at him. “You’re doing a lot for someone who just complained.”

“Yeah, well,” he mutters. “Don’t untie your top in public next time.”

When he finishes, he ties it back tight. No lingering. No teasing. Just a quick knot and then he’s tossing your towel higher over your shoulders like he’s shielding you from the world. You roll your eyes, smiling into your arms. He sits beside you, arms crossed. Still annoyed. Still red.

In the water, when guys start staring:

You’re laughing, relaxed, floating near him and he’s too busy watching the shore. He sees it happen. One guy. Then another. Next thing you know, Rin’s behind you. Hands on your hips. Calm grip, firm enough to make a point.

You turn your head. “What’s up with you?”

“Nothing.” He glances at the guy again. “You’re fine right here.”

Another look. A longer one. Rin mouths something, low, short, and not even a little friendly.

You laugh under your breath. “You’re not jealous, are you?”

“No,” he says flatly. Then squeezes your waist just a little tighter.

“I just don’t like people staring at you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🐝 Bachira Meguru

When you take off your cover-up:

He’s mid-frisbee throw when he glances over, just in time to catch you slipping the cover-up off your shoulders. The disc falls straight to the sand. He stares for a second too long. Eyes wide. Mouth slightly open.

“Whoa.”

You turn around. “What?”

He grins, trying to play it cool, but the flush on his face says otherwise.

“You didn’t say it was that kind of swimsuit.”

You smirk. “Does it matter?”

“No, not at all~” he says, grabbing the frisbee without breaking eye contact, still smiling and eying you down.

Under the umbrella, when you ask him to put on sunscreen:

You lie down, untie your top, and hand him the bottle with a casual, “Get my back?”

He blinks. Tilts his head like he didn’t hear you right.

“…Who, me?”

You raise an eyebrow.

“Okay, okay,” he grins, taking the bottle.

He kneels beside you, rubs the sunscreen into his palms, and gets to work. His touch is steady but light, not awkward, just careful. You can tell he’s being respectful, even if he keeps sneaking little glances at your expression like he’s waiting for you to call him out.

Once he’s done, he ties your top back with a gentle tug and sits back with a little nod of approval.

“Nice teamwork,” he says, brushing sand off his legs. “Next time, I get the towel spot though.”

You just smile and nudge his foot. He bumps yours right back.

In the water, when guys start staring:

At first, he doesn’t notice. He’s too busy splashing you, making dumb faces. But then he sees one guy looking for a little too long. He swims behind you fast, hands on your hips, grinning against your ear. You laugh, trying to shake him off, but he just tightens his grip. Then he looks right past you, catches the guy’s eye, and gives him the kind of smile that doesn’t look very friendly. Still soft, but sharp enough to mean something.

You shake your head. “You’re ridiculous.”

He shrugs. “Yeah. But I’m yours.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🧡 Kunigami Rensuke

When you take off your cover-up:

He’s setting up your beach chairs when he hears the soft rustle behind him. Turns around, and stops. You’re standing there, casual as ever, now in just your swimsuit. He blinks. Then quickly looks away like he didn’t just stare.

You tilt your head. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah.”

But his voice is tight, and he’s suddenly a little too focused on adjusting the umbrella. You walk past him toward the towel and he glances again, just once. His ears are pink. His hands go straight into his pockets. He clears his throat.

“You look… really good.”

You look over as a smile appears on your lips.

"Thank you baby."

Under the umbrella, when you ask him to put on sunscreen:

You stretch out and untie your top, tossing him the bottle like you’ve done this a hundred times.

“Can you do my back?”

He catches it awkwardly.

“Right now?”

You nod. He’s already kneeling beside you before you can say anything else, trying his best to act normal. He squirts the sunscreen into his hand and rubs it in gently, quiet, calm, and way more careful than usual. You can feel him holding his breath a little.

“You okay back there?”

“Yeah,” he says quickly. “Just… being careful.”

He finishes and ties your top back with a firm tug, not letting himself say anything else. His hands linger for a second longer than needed, then he sits back, wiping his palms off.

In the water, when guys start staring:

He notices fast. You’re laughing, arms out in the waves, and he’s standing nearby until he sees a guy across the water very clearly not watching the tide. He doesn’t say anything. Just moves next to you. An arm slips around your waist. Then both. Pulls you in gently.

You blink. “Something wrong?”

“Nope,” he says, staring straight ahead. “Just stay close.”

You look around and realize what’s happening.

“Are you jealous?”

“No.”

But his grip doesn’t loosen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

💜 Mikage Reo

When you take off your cover-up:

He’s fixing the speaker, already relaxing with his sunglasses on when you call his name and toss your cover-up aside. He turns. Pauses. Smiles, slow and obvious.

“Well damn,” he says, eyes flicking up and down. “You’ve been holding out on me.”

You roll your eyes and keep walking, but he’s still looking with a giant grin, hands on his hips now, head tilted slightly.

“You wore that on purpose, huh?”

You throw him a grin over your shoulder. He just laughs and shakes his head. “Unreal.”

Under the umbrella, when you ask him to put on sunscreen:

You stretch out, untie your top, and hand him the bottle.

“Help me out?”

He raises an eyebrow. “You sure you trust me with this?”

“You gonna mess it up?”

“No. I’m gonna take my time.”

He kneels beside you, warms the sunscreen in his hands, and smooths it over your back with practiced ease. His fingers glide slow, not inappropriate, just confident. Like he knows what he’s doing and knows you know it, too. When he finishes, he ties your top without rushing, then leans down to whisper near your ear:

“Let me know if you ever want more help"

He teased before standing up and dusting the sand off his knees, his sunglasses still on his face. You scoff and swat at him, and he just laughs, smug, satisfied.

In the water, when guys start staring:

He’s got one arm around your waist already, pulling you in after a wave when his gaze flicks toward the shore. He sees it. That guy. Now because he has his sunglasses on, the pervert staring at you had yet to notice that Reo was staring daggers into him. He doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak. Just shifts his stance, hand firm on your hip now.

You glance up. “What’s wrong?”

He nods toward the guy. “He’s been staring for a looong time." He said it playfully, but his gaze was still on the man, his body more stiff.

You raise an eyebrow. “You’re mad?"

Reo leans in, his voice low, his sunglasses falling down on his nose just enough so that you could see his eyes.

“I’ll buy the whole beach if it means they stop looking.”

You laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Rich and ridiculous,” he says, tugging you closer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🤍 Nagi Seishiro

When you take off your cover-up:

He’s laying flat under the umbrella, half-asleep, arm over his eyes.

Then you say, “Hey, toss me that towel?”

He lifts his head, and sees you standing there in your swimsuit. He blinks once. Then again.

“…Huh?”

You laugh. “What?”

He doesn’t answer. Just stares for a second longer than normal, then groans and throws the towel without aiming. It lands half on your foot.

“You said it was that one pink swimsuit." He mumbles.

You shrug. “It is.”

He sits up slowly, one hand still shielding his eyes.

“It’s not. " He groans staring at you in your blue two-piece,

"You look… crazy good. Not fair.”

Under the umbrella, when you ask him to put on sunscreen:

You lie down on your towel, untie your top, and roll the bottle over to him.

“Can you get my back?”

He sits up straighter. “Ugh… you sure?”

“You’re already awake.”

“Barely.”

Still, he drags himself over, sits beside you, and squirts the sunscreen into his palms. His touch is lazy but gentle, slow and careful, like he’s focusing way harder than he wants to admit.

“You’re so warm,” you mumble.

He mutters back, “Yeah, ’cause you’re stressing me out.”

When he finishes, he ties your top back with a loose, almost sleepy knot. Then flops onto his own towel face-down like he just ran a marathon.

In the water, when guys start staring:

You’re waist-deep, smiling, and floating next to him when he glances toward the beach and sees someone watching. He doesn’t say anything. Just moves behind you and places both hands lightly on your hips.

You turn your head. “What are you doing?”

“Gettin’ comfortable,” he mutters. But his eyes flick back to the guy, and they don’t look tired anymore.

When the guy doesn’t stop, Nagi lets out a sigh. Tightens his grip.

“Tell me when I can punch someone.”

You laugh. “You’re not punching anyone.”

“Then let me stand here.”

He stays locked on you like an anchor the rest of the swim.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The war might be over but the nightmares never stopped. Even here, with the steady sound of waves lapping against the lakeshore filling the air—possibly the most at peace she’d ever been—they still haunted her.

She sighed, bracing her forearms against the cool stone railing. Padme’s lake house—though Ahsoka thought it looked more like a castle than anything—was far enough away from the city that no light pollution marred her view of the stars. Years of astronav classes and the flashcards she’d memorized had her reciting the visible planets and star systems. Almost rotely, she picked them out: Geonosis, Ryloth, Eriadu, Corellia; Naboo’s three moons; the other planets of the Chommell Sector.

They were just pinpoints of light to other people, worlds that maybe their favorite food came from, or that they heard about on the holonews. But Ahsoka had a history with each one. And each memory was steeped in blood.

“You told me the nightmares had gotten better.”

Ahsoka didn’t turn at Anakin’s approach, simply continuing to stare at the spot on the horizon where dark water turned into the amorphous black of nighttime.

“You told me the same thing.” With the twins consuming nearly his every waking moment, he was usually passing out the moment they were asleep. There were few other reasons that he’d be awake too.

He came to stand by her side, glancing down at her out of the corner of his eye. “Guess we’re both liars, then.”

She huffed a laugh, putting aside her now-cold tea.

Anakin nudged her shoulder with his own, drawing her attention back to him. His long hair—now long enough to braid, much to her own enjoyment—was sticking up in random places, and she was pretty sure he’d been wearing the same shirt for three days. But there was a lightness to his eyes and a soft set to his shoulders that she had not seen in far too long. If she’d ever seen it. She liked to think that there were moments during the war when she had been able to remove the weight for just a little while with dumb jokes and pranks, but it always came back in the end.

He was carrying his trauma a lot better than she was these days.

“You wanna talk about it?”

She shook her head.

His gaze softened and he settled his arm around her shoulders, tucking her into his side. “You’re home now, Snips. Don’t forget that.”

They stood in silence for a little while, the fear and weariness leftover from her nightmare steadily leaking out of her in the face of Anakin’s all consuming warmth.

“I stayed here with Padme for a couple weeks right before the war started,” he said. When she looked up at him, he was watching the waves lap against the sandy shore. “She tried so hard to get me to go swim with her but I didn’t want to cross the sand.” He chuckled. “First and last time I ever thought I could win an argument with her. I was in the water within the hour.”

Ahsoka shook her head. “I can’t believe you used to be a bigger idiot than you are now.”

“Hey!”

The combination of his affronted expression and his bedhead had her doubling over in laughter. He looked like a startled bantha.

Suddenly an impish grin overtook his face. Then he was grabbing her wrist and dragging her behind him with what she was sure was Force-assisted effort, and heading toward the elegant stairs that led down to the water.

“Oh no, no, no, no. Skyguy, it's too cold!”

“Never thought I’d see the day when you were the one saying that instead of me.”

“That’s because we could go sunbathing on Jakku and you’d bring a blanket.”

Anakin just glared at her over his shoulder.

Well, if he was going to be like that… “Race you!”

Anakin spluttered as Ahsoka leapt down the stairs, rolling into a crouch at the bottom.

He tore after her, gaining on her with every step. Their laughter floated across the lake, and before Ahsoka could dive in, a massive wave crested, drenching her from head to toe.

She gasped at the icy shock, then turned around to see Anakin a few yards behind her with his arms still raised.

Ahsoka bared her fangs in a playful growl, and then Anakin was landing in the water with a splash. She waded in, up to her waist, waiting for him to surface. A few moments passed and he hadn’t come up. She scanned the water, but it had gone still once more, and even with her superior night vision, there was no sign of him.

“Skyguy?” she called. “Anakin?!”

Ahsoka sucked in a breath as something grabbed her around the waist, dragging her under the water.

She broke the surface, gasping for air, only to be met with Anakin’s unapologetic grin.

“You nerfherder!”

“Language, Snips.” But the reprimand was broken up by laughter. Ahsoka rolled her eyes as her own grin broke out across her face, soon turning into a full blown smile at their combined ridiculousness. She hadn’t felt this young in a long time, just playing in the water with her older brother.

Anakin had gone quiet, and when she looked over, he was treading water with a gentle expression on his face. It was the same one she saw when he was holding Leia; watching her babble incoherently up at him like he would move mountains to make her smile. Like he would for you, a voice in her head whispered. “There she is,” he murmured.

He maneuvered to float on his back, and after a moment Ahsoka joined him. She was looking at the stars again. But instead of her bloody history and the deaths that hung heavily on her heart, she just saw pinpricks of light forming a tapestry of kyber across the sky. Worlds full of people who were hurting just like she was, and healing all the same.

“It still hurts,” she mumbled.

“I know,” Anakin replied. Soft ripples bumped against her from the steady movement of his arms. “I think it maybe always will. But I promise you Ahsoka, I’m always going to be here for you when it gets hard.”

She smiled back at him, pushing her gratitude across their bond. “Same here, Master.”

“Do I even want to know what you two are doing?”

Pushing herself upright, Ahsoka saw Rex standing at the edge of the lake. He was shirtless, with a towel thrown over his shoulder and a bottle of water in his hand. Probably ready for a morning run. There was no telling what time it was, but the sky was beginning to lighten. They had yet to break Rex of the soldier’s habit of waking before dawn.

Ahsoka slid her eyes to Anakin at her side, her sly, mischievous gaze mirrored in his own blue eyes.

In sync, they raised their hands. Their poor Captain had no time to react before he was being flung high through the air and landing in the lake.

They dissolved into giggling fits even before Rex came up, face red. “How many times do I have to tell you to stop throwing me?!”

A couple hours later they had dragged themselves up onto the beach, the Force glowing in contentment around them. Even Anakin didn’t complain about the grains of sand sticking to their wet skin.

Ahsoka leaned against Anakin’s shoulder, prompting him to rest his head on top of hers. She wrapped an arm around Rex, giving him a squeeze.

Shuichi stood under a palm tree close to the water at Nirai Beach, looking down at his watch.

What’s taking Kokichi so long, he asked himself.

The 79th class had gone on a field trip to Okinawa for the summer. The trip had been interesting so far, but Kokichi insisted that they weren’t getting to spend a lot of time together. So, after a lot of convincing and a little bit of temptation, Shuichi decided to give in and sneak away from the group with Kokichi so that they could have a date on the beach. Ditching the group was something that a goody-two-shoe like Shuichi wouldn’t ever dream of doing, but with him being wrapped around Kokichi’s finger as much as he was, he wound up doing the craziest of things sometimes.

A warm breeze tickled his skin as he looked out at the ocean, the pristine water sparkling like rare gems. He could taste the salt in the air as a familiar voice was carried along the wind.

“Shuu-chan!”

Shuichi looked over and immediately, his cheeks flushed red.

Kokichi had pulled his hair back into a small ponytail, a pair of gold-rimmed aviator sunglasses perched atop his head. He wore a sleeveless white hoodie that was unzipped to reveal his bare chest along with a pair of checkered swim trunks and black sandals. A seashell anklet was tied around his left ankle and a dog tag necklace dangled from his neck.

His eyes traveled along Kokichi’s bare chest, swallowing as Kokichi approached him.

“Hi, my beloved! Did I keep you waiting?” he asked.

“Huh? Ah...” Shuichi blinked his eyes, redirecting his gaze to meet Kokichi’s. “No, I wasn’t waiting long...” he trailed off.

“Hm, are you sure? You know how I’m not fond of liars, Shuu-chan.” Kokichi said.

“I’m not lying to you, Kokichi.” Shuichi stated.

Kokichi narrowed his eyes at him, peering at him like he were trying to read in between the lines. After a couple of moments, he breathed out a sigh.

“Something tells me you’re lying, but I guess I can let you off the hook for today.” Kokichi said.

He took Shuichi’s hand in his, causing Shuichi to jump in slight surprise.

“K-Kokichi—“

“We’re on a date, aren’t we? Holding hands is essential, you know.”

“I get that...”

His heart fluttered a little as they began walking along the water, their fingers intertwined together. He prayed to whatever god that was willing to listen to him that Kokichi wouldn’t notice how sweaty his palm was (he figured that he already knew, but either chose not to say anything or was waiting for the right time to tease him about it).

It was a relatively nice day out, the sun shining above them. The waves crashing softly onto the warm sand, the warm sea breeze, and the sound of Kokichi humming put Shuichi at ease.

Maybe choosing to sneak away from the group wasn’t such a bad idea, after all.

As they walked further away from the resort they were staying at, Kokichi spotted something embedded into the sand.

“Shuu-chan, look! It’s a seashell!” he exclaimed as he began tugging Shuichi along.

“Ah! Kokichi, not so fast!” he shouted.

His words fell on deaf ears, however, as Kokichi continued to pull him along. They crouched down and Kokichi dug the seashell out of the sand.

“Look at it, Shuu-chan!” Kokichi showed him the seashell. “Doesn’t it look pretty?” he gushed.

“Yeah, it does.” Shuichi replied, running his finger along the ridges of the shell.

He looked as Kokichi found more shells nearby. He was enchanted by the way Kokichi’s eyes sparkled with excitement, his lips pulled into a smile as he picked up the seashells, examining them.

“This one has a funny shape, don’t you think?” Kokichi looked up and noticed how Shuichi’s eyes were trained on him. “Hm? Shuu-chan?” he asked.

Shuichi didn’t respond at first, still captivated by how beautiful Kokichi looked with the sun beaming down on him, making his hair gleam, his skin glow, and his eyes twinkle like amethysts.

Kokichi furrowed his brows at him.

“Heeeeey, Shuu-chan!” Kokichi tried again, waving his hand in Shuichi’s face.

Shuichi blinked, being pulled back into reality.

“Huh? What is it, Kokichi?” he asked.

Kokichi pouted.

“Geez, you weren’t even paying attention to me!” Kokichi showed Shuichi the seashell. “I was saying that this seashell has a funny shape.” he said.

“Oh...” Shuichi observed the seashell. “Yeah, it does. It’s shaped like a cat’s head.” he commented.

He watched as Kokichi continued to pick out various types of shells from the sand.

“You sure like picking seashells, don’t you?” he asked.

“Yup! It’s my favorite thing to do whenever I go to the beach.” Kokichi chirped in response.

Kokichi stood up and began to take off along the edge of the water.

“Ah! Don’t run off too far!” Shuichi called out as he stood up.

“I’m not going too far!” Kokichi called out over his shoulder.

Shuichi watched as the waves crashed onto the shore, erasing Kokichi’s footprints in the wet sand. Then, his eyes drifted to Kokichi, who had picked up a conch shell and brought it to his ear, presumably listening to the ocean.

No matter what he did, his gaze kept falling on Kokichi. Not like he was complaining, though. He could stare at Kokichi forever, watching him smile and laugh as he picked seashells and walked along the shore, the waves lapping lightly at his ankles and the sea breeze making his hair dance.

Kokichi turned, a wide smile spreading across his lips.

“Come on, Shuu-chan!” he called out.

In that moment, time seemed to stop. Everything around Kokichi seemed to glow. Kokichi’s cheeks were an adorable shade of pink and his smile was so bright that it was almost blinding. Shuichi felt his breath catch in his throat, his heart nearly skipping a beat.

He’s so...cute, he thought to himself.

His cheeks flushed red as Kokichi raced up to him.

“Come on, I saw some more down this way.” he said, grabbing for Shuichi’s wrist and pulling him along.

Shuichi let himself be pulled along as they walked further away from the resort. They passed by some palm trees as Kokichi spoke.

“Sooooo, care to tell me what you were staring so intensely at?” he asked.

“Huh?” Shuichi replied dumbly.

Was I really staring at him that intensely? Oh gosh, I really hope he didn’t realize that I was staring at him, he thought to himself.

“I asked what it was that you were staring at so intensely.” the waves lapped against their ankles. “Wait, don’t answer that just yet. I think I know what you were staring at.” Kokichi said.

He shot Shuichi a mischievous smirk over his shoulder.

“It was me you were staring at, wasn’t it?” he asked.

“Geh...!” Shuichi let out a surprised squawk.

He figured me out...!

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Kokichi asked.

Shuichi’s mouth opened and closed for a few minutes before he was finally able to speak coherently.

“What?! No! I wasn’t staring...I was just looking at something behind you...!” he exclaimed.

“Hm? Really?” Kokichi came to an abrupt stop, looking around at their surroundings. “Because there is literally nothing on this beach besides myself that looks drop dead sexy.” he stated.

Shuichi’s cheeks turned even redder as Kokichi continued.

“You should know by now, my beloved,” he proceeded to pull him in the direction of a palm tree, “that I’m not quite fond of liars.” he stated as he pinned Shuichi against the tree.

“I’m...aware of that.” Shuichi replied, his heart pounding loudly in his ears.

He swallowed as Kokichi stared at him, his eyes shining with something that he couldn’t quite put a name to.

“Then, tell me.” Kokichi’s fingers danced along the hem of Shuichi’s swim trunks. “Were you staring at me?” he asked, his voice dipping into a low whisper.

The blush proceeded to spread to Shuichi’s ears as he bit down on his bottom lip.

“...So what if I was?” he lowered his gaze to the ground. “You just look so freaking cute that I can’t help myself...” he mumbled.

An awkward silence fell over them, the only sound being the waves crashing onto the shore and some seagulls flying overhead. Then, Kokichi broke the silence as his hands moved up to cup Shuichi’s cheeks.

“Sometimes you say things that make my heart race like mad.” he said as their lips mashed together in a kiss.

Shuichi’s eyes widened in shock. Kokichi’s lips were warm and tasted of grape soda as their lips melded together.

Wait...he’s kissing me? Oh my god, why did he kiss me all of a sudden, he asked himself.

Kokichi slowly pulled away after a few minutes, pressing their foreheads together. Their breaths mingled with one another as he stared up at Shuichi.

“I’m glad we get to be alone. We wouldn’t be able to do things like kissing if we were among the others.” he whispered.

Shuichi’s heart raced as he stared at Kokichi, taking in the way his eyes sparkled, his cheeks flushed a rosy red, and his lips shining with saliva. All of it made something within Shuichi snap.

Before he realized what he was doing, he turned them around so that Kokichi was trapped against the tree. Cupping his cheeks, Shuichi pulled him back in for another kiss. Kokichi grunted against Shuichi’s lips as he kissed back just as fierce.

The world seemed to dissolve around them as they lost themselves in each other. Kokichi hooked his fingers on the hem of Shuichi’s swim trunks, pulling him closer. Their bodies pressed together as Kokichi tilted his head to deepen the kiss. A few more minutes passed before they broke away from the kiss, gasping for breath.

Shuichi’s tongue darted out to lick at his lips, the taste of grape soda lingering on them as Kokichi spoke in between pants.

“What, did I spark something in you just now?” he asked.

“And if you did?” Shuichi answered.

Kokichi smirked at that.

“I have that effect on people, especially on you, my beloved.” he slid one hand up to rest on the nape of Shuichi’s neck, pulling him back towards him. “Kiss me again.” he commanded.