#summertime softness

jay laid flat on the bed, arms and legs spread out like a starfish in attempts to keep cool, one arm draped over the side. tim was sat on the floor next to him, humming as jay ran his fingers through his hair. “you’re not gonna die, you big baby,” tim responded, chuckling, “we should get out, it’s a really nice day.”

jay shot him a side eye. “tim. tim, outside is where the sun is, the heat is—no way in hell am i going out there.”

“you’re so dramatic.” tim took his hand and kissed the knuckles gently before standing up. “c’mon, just for a little bit, i promise it won’t be that bad.”

jay curled up on his side, refusing to move. “jay, i will literally carry you to the car if you don’t get up,” tim warned.

“ugh, fine,” jay conceded, “but if i get a sunburn, i’ll be so pissed.”

tim rolled his eyes, but started packing a little bag nonetheless.

the car ride went seamlessly, save for jay complaining that he was boiling alive despite the AC being on at full strength. soon, they were at the park and making their way through the woods to the little clearing they had gone to before, walking hand in hand.

they settled in the grass beneath the shade of a willow tree, jay’s head resting in tim’s lap as he stroked his hair soothingly. there was a nice breeze keeping them cool, so jay saved his complaints about the heat for the time being. jay’s eyes drifted open and closed, relaxed by the feeling of his boyfriend’s hands in his hair, humming slightly.

“you’re so pretty, y’know that right?” tim said idly, smiling down at jay.

jay scrunched up his face, pretending to think. “i think you may have mentioned it once or twice, but i’m not opposed to hearing it again.”

tim snorted, mumbling a quiet “dork,” and kept petting jay’s hair. he stared out at the small lake, watching water skater bugs dance across the surface, and an idea popped into his head.

“jay.” he shook his boyfriend a little bit, rousing him from his somewhat-sleepy state. “we should go swimming!”

“swimming?” jay raised an eyebrow. “since when did you like to swim?”

tim shushed him, “it’s perfect weather to do it, it’ll help cool us down. c’mon please, jay?”

sighing, jay sat up. “alright, alright—but only because you asked nicely.”

tim kissed jay’s cheek, beaming at him. they both kicked off their shoes, before jay piped up, “wait we don’t have anything to swim in—i’m not gonna get my clothes soaked.”

“it’s fine, no one else is around so you can just ditch your clothes altogether,” tim replied, stripping down.

jay followed his lead, folding his clothes into a little pile, and wading into the water. the cool water helped beat the sun’s heat, and jay sighed contentedly. “ok, you were right—this was a good idea.”

“hah, i told you.” tim swam over, splashing him a little.

“oh it is on,” jay said determinedly, “i’m gonna splash you so hard.”

tim smiled, teasing jay, “oh yeah? bring it, merrick!”

jay slapped his hand into the water, sending a large splash of water directly into tim’s face. in retaliation, tim dunked jay’s head under the water, getting his hair all wet. the two of them laughed, continuing to splash each other with bigger and bigger amounts of water. they fought like this for a few minutes before jay finally succeeded in splashing tim out of his smugness.

“oh no, you got me!” tim declared dramatically, laying back in the water, “i’m defeated!”

jay laughed at him, smiling wide. “no one beats jay merrick in a splash fight!”

tim smiled back. “so humble,” he muttered, sitting up and pulling jay close by his waist. he kissed him sweetly before resting their foreheads together. “this was nice,” he said.

jay nodded in agreement and brought their lips together again. “i’m starting to get tired though, we should get out.”

with that, the two of them made their way back to the shore to dry off on the grass. the sun helped them dry off quickly, and they laid together chatting idly until they were completely dry. soon after, they made their way back to the car, the sun starting to set.

“thank you for convincing me that this was a good idea,” jay said as tim started the car, “i really enjoyed this.”

tim smiled at him, taking his hand over the dash. “no problem, i really enjoyed this too.”

jay nodded, and rested his head against the window, starting to feel his eyelids grow heavy. the last thing he felt before drifting off to sleep was tim pressing a kiss to his knuckles.