Hot Summer Nights, Mid-July
The group sat at the beach. It was Saturday, and Friday wore them out. All the unpacking, sorting, sleeping arrangements, and cooking tired them all out. Everyone was hard at work, surprisingly. So today? Beach day. No work whatsoever. Kinda.
“EEK! DON’T GET ME WET ATSUSHI-KUNN!” Dazai dramatically whined as the white haired boy shot him with a water gun.
Chuuya rolled his eyes as he plopped himself down beside Dazai, “Well maybe you wouldn’t get wet if you went into the water. Then they’ll stop targeting you.”
“No thanks. I don’t want my bandages to get all wet and sandy. Bleugh. Worst feeling.” He dramatically wiped his bandages, getting any sand off of them.
Chuuya scanned his friend over, taking a mental note of the bandages in new spots from last time he’s seen him shirtless. Which is not often. “Well, not my problem. That’s a you problem.”
“Hey-“
“Wanna play some beach volleyball? Me and Ryuu against you two!” Chuuya looked up and made eye contact with Gin, holding a volleyball out to the two males in front of her.
“Oh, it’s on Gin-chan.” Dazai stood up and made his way to the net that poor Ryunosuke was stuck putting together alone. At least now he was.
“Siblings verses the..gays? No, that doesn’t work. Hmm..Siblings verses the…the..” Gin stopped speaking as she took some time to think of a suitable team name for Dazai and him. They finally decided on the team name “Shorty and Giant.” (More like Dazai shouted it out without Chuuya’s permission.)
It ended with Chuuya losing all because Dazai decided half way through he was done, and quite literally flopped down into the sand. So, it was one versus two. Sure he was athletic, but so was Gin and Ryunosuke, which made it a pretty interesting game. It wouldn’t of ended so quickly of Dazai wasn’t laying the in middle of the playing area, where Chuuya stepped on him, and tripped over him more than once. “You made me lose you asshole!”
Dazai rolled his eyes as he laid down on his towel on his back, staring into the pale blue sky. “I can’t help it. You wore me out.”
He was taken aback and slightly annoyed at the brunettes words. “Hah? How did I ware you out? You touched the ball once you fucki-“
“You blabbered too much, I felt like my brain was going to combust!” He dramatically threw a hand over his forehead as he closed his eyes. “Kaboom…” using his hands he showed an explosion.
“You suck ass.”
“I’d only suck yours.”
“THE HELL?”
<~>
Chuuya sat on a barstool at the island, eating his dinner while partaking in the current conversation going on around him.
“Did you guys know Sakunosuke-senpai takes care of orphans?” Dazai pitched in as he moved his food around his plate, not exactly eating a lot of it.
Kunikida hummed as he swallowed his current bite. “No, I didn’t. But that’s very nice of him. We need more people like that.”
“My mom is kinda like that!” Atsushi exclaimed with a wide smile on his face, as he imagined his adoptive mother. “She adopted both me and Kyouka!”
Ranpo chuckled as he took a sip out of his soda. “My adopted dad is way better than your guys.”
“Fukuzawa-senpai? I forgot he was your adopted dad.” Higuchi looked at Ranpo. “He seems like a cool dad! Very protective and nice.”
“Probably better than mine. How did you guys get so lucky..” Dazai whined in a high pitched whiny voice.
“Holy shit. I forgot Ivan-sensei is having a test once we get back to school..” Ranpo blurted out of the blue.
Poe shifted uncomfortably in his seat, “Ranpo, dear..he told us that yesterday..how could you forget..?”
Chuuya burst out laughing at the name. “I love how you call him Ranpo dear. It always catches me off guard.”
Yosano nodded her head in agreement. “Agreed. It’s a very gay nickname, if you ask me.”
Poe turned red at the comments, very red. “I-it’s a habit…!”
Yosano shook her head and chuckled slightly, “Don’t worry Poe-kun, we’re teasing.”
>~<
Chuuya curled up into himself, the bed was so comfortable. Way better than the dorm mattresses. “Mmm..”
“Comfortable Chuuya?”
“Shut up Mackerel. You’re ruining my comfort.”
“I’m just talking! Jeez. You need a nap.”
There was a beat of silence before Chuuya snapped and Dazai burst out into giggles. “I’m trying to sleep, bastard! So I could sleep if you shut your fucking trap for once!”
“My my~ someones a bit vicious~”
“I’m going to shoot my brains out.”
“Ooo! Do me first!”
Chuuya decided not to respond, but instead flopped over onto his side, his back facing the other bed on the opposite side of the room where the brunette currently resided. “Did you just turn away from me?! How. Rude.”
With that, Dazai very dramatically threw himself the other way so his back was facing Chuuya. “Two can play at that game, Slug.”
Chuuya groaned into the blanket. “Hush. I’m trying to sleep asshole.”
“I am too! Unfortunately, my dog won’t stop barking!”
“WHAT?! I’M NOT YOUR DOG YOU FUCKING BASTARD”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP. I’M TRYING TO SLEEP” A very pissed Gin yelled from her room a few doors down.
Dazai huffed as he adjusted his position again. “Hmph. You’re in luck I don’t like pissing off Gin-chan.”
Chuuya rolled his eyes then let out a breath, deflating into the mattress. “Goodnight Dazai.”
“Night Chuuya.”
<~>
Chuuya woke up and checked his phone screen for the time. 2 am. “Great.” he mumbled as he rolled out of bed. He needed water. His throat was drier than a desert.
When he got to the kitchen, there sat a figure at the island, in a stool turned away from the entrance of the kitchen. The figures back was hunched over, and it made no noise.
Everyone in their group sometimes struggled to sleep, as they were all plagued by nightmares from traumatic events that has happened in their life at one point or another. It wasn’t a surprise to see one of them having problems, since it was far from a rare occurrence.
Ignoring the figure, Chuuya softly made his way to the cupboard that held the cups. He must’ve made enough noise to stur the figure. It proceeded to sit up and turn to see who entered the room. “Oh, it’s just Chuuya.”
Ah. It was Dazai. “Mhm. Unfortunate for you.” He grabbed a cup and filled it with water. He felt Dazai’s eyes on him as he drank it until there was none left. “So, why are you up?”
“The usual. You?”
“Parched.”
“Ah.”
The duo sat in awkward silence for a minute or two before Chuuya decided to head back to bed. “You coming, Dazai?”
“Not right now. I will in a few.” Liar.
“Okay. Goodnight, again.”
He softly made his way back to the bed he was occupying for this weekend, allowing his body to relax in the comfort of both the mattress and the warm blankets, still slightly heated from his body heat.
<~>
When he next woke up, it was 9:00 am. A perfect time to wake up. Upon sitting up he noticed that a certain brunette was still missing from his bed. Wouldn’t be surprised if he just didn’t even come back, but instead spent his night looking at the stars from out on the deck.
The redhead got out of bed and disappeared into the living area of the house. Atsushi sat half asleep on the end up the couch, looking ready to drift off again. Kunikida was busy in the kitchen doing god knows what, either cooking, making coffee or rearranging the fridge. Ryunosuke and Gin sat together at the island munching on some random cereal they found in the pantry. Poe was sitting at the table, quietly writing away at his most recent writing piece. Higuchi was sitting beside Atsushi, watching some National Geographic documentary on some animal Chuuya has never heard of before. Yosano was awake, but in the bathroom having a shower. Ranpo was probably still passed out, and Dazai was god knows where.
“Morning Chuuya,” Higuchi greeted him as he made his way deeper into the living room section. “How did you sleep?”
“Pretty good. You?” Yeah. He’s never heard of a ‘Pangolin’. It looks like an anteater fucked a fucking armadillo and out popped that.
She hummed in response. “It was okay. Thanks for asking!” No because what the hell is a Pangolin?
“There’s some cereal in the pantry and eggs in the fridge. Go as wild with breakfast as you want.” Gin spoke turned her head over her shoulder to face Chuuya, who nodded.
He made his way to the pantry and grabbed the cereal box that was sitting on the middle shelve. “Hm. Has anyone seen Dazai?”
“Nope. I heard him last night though. The both of you, actually.” Atsushi complained, and if Chuuya was being 100% honest, he forgot the kid was sleeping on the couch.
Gin groaned as she ran a hand through her unkempt hair. “Yeah, arguing at 11 at night. Who even decided to give you guys the same room?”
“Ichiyo.”
“Well, if you guys fight again tonight, someone is going to take MY bed, so you two are apart.” Gin sighed in annoyance.
Chuuya hummed as he finished making his cereal and made his way to the island to sit with the siblings. “That’s fine by me.”
Suddenly, a sopping wet Dazai appeared in the doorway of the house. “It’s wavy.”
Everyone stared at him in pure confusion. “Pardon?” Kunikida asked, annoyance seeping into his tone.
Dazai rolled his eyes, “You heard me. It’s wavy. I went out for a walk along the beach, since there’s no better way than to watch the sunrise over the water, listening to the waves crash on shore as you feel the cool sand on your feet. But anyways, a wave knocked me over! It dragged me into the ocean with it. Then, I had to try and get back to shore, but the waves were too strong!” the brunette exclaimed dramatically.
“Then let me guess, a mermaid helped you?” Chuuya added on, because you know, at the rate the idiots story is going..
“No? Be real, Chuuya. Mermaids don’t exist.”
Yosano scoffed as she entered the room making her presence known. “Somebody obviously didn’t spend their days playing mermaids every chance they got.”
“I never really went swimming..and if I did I wouldn’t play mermaids..”
“Loser.”
“Agreed. Playing mermaids was my childhood! Best moments were from that pool.” Higuchi added on.
Ryunosuke coughed into his hands before clearing his throat. “Gin forced me to play with her. I must admit, as a child we could spend hours at a time pretending to be mer..people.”
“Why the fuck did I wake up to hear you guys talking about mermaids?” A very tired sounding, and looking, Ranpo questioned from the doorway.
“Ask Dazai.” Gin shrugged as she turned her attention back to Akiko.
“Well, I’m going to shower now. I’m already soaked anyway..” Dazai grumbled to himself, dragging his feet towards the bathroom. Truth be told, he fell asleep on the beach. The tide came in. But he wouldn’t admit to that, ever.
<~>
“Ow! Why is the sand so much hotter today?!” Kunikida yelped, quickly going back to his towel to cool his feet off.
Ranpo smirked as he popped a chip into his mouth. He opened his eyes and sent a daring gaze to the blonde. “Well, guess we’ll have to race to the water.”
Yosano chuckled under her breath and made her way over to her friend, “Oh Edogawa, you’re so on.”
“I want to join in too!” Higuchi called out, making her way to the duo.
“Me too!” Atsushi exclaimed.
“Oh boy.” Kunikida mumbled.
“Poe, join us! Do something fun~!” Ranpo grabbed the American off of the ground, making him drop his book in the process.
“Ranpo, dear..!”
“No. Shush. Okay! On the count of three! On-“
“Ah, no. Gin can count us down or else you’ll cheat.” Yosano interrupted. Ranpo made a pouty face at her. “That doesn’t work on me, idiot.”
Gin chuckled and eyed all of the contestants. Ranpo, Yosano, Higuchi, Poe, Atsushi (who dragged Ryunosuke into it.), and a very displeased looking Kunikida. “Three..two..one!”
The group quickly disbanded as they all rushed to the water, most of them yelling out about how hot the sand was. Chuuya was behind her snickering as he watched them all. “Fucking idiots.”
She rolled her eyes and looked at the ginger, “I would love to see you out there then, Nakahara.” She teased.
“I could so beat their scores. Keep count.” Then he ran out onto the sand. “FUCK, OW!” According to Gin, it took him eight seconds. Not bad in his book. Gin ran after him shortly after he reached the water.
The group all stood around the same area. As Dazai claimed, it was wavy. Very wavy. The group was jumping into the waves, or trying to dodge them.
“BLEGH!” Ranpo called from shore after a wave brought him back. “THE WATER AND THE SAND COMBINED ARE NOT A GOOD MATCH.”
“No shit, it’s fucking salt water and sand.” Chuuya laughed out. He was having a grand time. As was everyone else. Although, he was questioning this sudden disappearance of a certain beanpole. Not like he would’ve joined in on the action, he refuses to get his bandages too wet, but also refuses to take them off around anyone.
“Aw, look at the fish!” Higuchi pointed to a fish swimming around them. It was a nice looking fish, reminded Chuuya of Dazai.
“Looks like Dazai.”
“What?” Ichiyo looked at Chuuya with a confused look. She didn’t see how a fish looked like Dazai. No matter what angle she thought of, Dazai was just…not a fish.
“Nevermind.”
Chuuya made his way over to Ranpo and Poe. Ranpo was trying to drag Poe out further, to the deeper area, but Poe was resisting. “R-Ranpo..I’m perfectly deep enough here.”
Ranpo quirked an eyebrow up and inspected his boyfriend. “Uh-huh..and let me guess, you can still touch?”
“What does that have to do with anything?!”
Ranpo tugged once more at the arm he was currently holding. “Come on! It’s just water! You’ll be fine!”
Poe sighed and finally allowed Ranpo to yank him further into the water, giving up. There was no way he was going to win that, so might as well make it easier on himself.
Chuuya snorted when a huge wave came through and knocked Poe down. He came up spluttering and coughing, cursing the water. Which only made the next wave, an even bigger one, funnier when it too, knocked Poe down.
“Don’t drown! We have to go back in tact y’know!” Yosano yelled out to the two males who were decently out into the water.
“I’d rather drown then go back to school.” Gin remarked as she tossed water at Ryunosuke, who hissed at his sister.
“I’ll make you drown at this rate!” Ryunosuke growled as he splashed even more water at his sister than she did to him.
“Hey! I never did that much water! Jerk!”
<~>
The group sat around a campfire that was burning late into the night. Some were wrapped in blankets, as the cold wind off the water cut through the teens like a sharp knife. Others were goofing off further down the beach, throwing sand at one another. A few were sitting around the fire making small talk.
“I can’t believe we go back to school tomorrow..this weekend went by way too quick.” Higuchi huffed into her blanket that was wrapped around her like a burrito.
Ryunosuke nodded slowly in agreement, “Yeah. It was relaxing, however.”
“We should get out like this way more often. It’ll be beneficial for all of us mentally.” Kunikida added on as he tossed another stick into the fire. Sparks flew up and burnt out just as quick, some landed in the sand by the feet of those surrounding it.
Chuuya hummed as he stared at the crackling fire. It was warm, heating his cooled off body. “Yeah.” This really was nice. It was relaxing, and fun. Two things you barley get in school, which made it even better.
Roughly an hour later, the group all headed in for the night. Thankfully it didn’t have much arguing between Dazai and Chuuya for once. It should’ve been the first indicator, but nobody noticed too much.