Work Text:
Soonyoung uncovered Jihoon’s eyes, stepping back and letting the man see what was displayed in front of him. Jihoon’s eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light, settling on the letters written before him in the sand
JIHOON
He looked down at the letters for a moment, looked back up at Soonyoung, then down at the letters again, eyes never looking past Soonyoung at the ocean, tide slowly coming in to soak into the sand just behind Soonyoung’s feet.
“Happy birthday Jihoon!” Soonyoung’s grin was almost contagious, had Jihoon not been nearly shaking in his shoes.
“I can’t swim.”
Soonyoung’s grin froze on his face, slowly fading as he took in Jihoon’s tense posture and the way that his fingers twiddled with each other nervously.
“You can’t swim?”
Jihoon’s cheeks burned a rosy red as he shook his head, dropping his eyes to stare at the sand beneath his feet.
“Well then let's get going, I’ll teach you! Come on, I bought you new swim trunks, I figured I just didn’t know where they were, but I’m glad I bought new ones! They’re in the car, you can get changed and then we can go in!” Soonyoung rushed forwards to grab Jihoon’s hand and tug him towards the car but Jihoon shook him off as quick as he could, shaking his head fervently.
“No, no, it’s fine, you don’t have to teach me. I’ll be fine, we can just sit in the sand, we can eat down here! We’ll get ice cream and eat on the sand.” Jihoon rushed his words, pointing towards his name still spelled out on the sand as a spot for them to sit.
“Wait, Jihoon, are you scared of the ocean?” Soonyoung took Jihoon’s hand back, internally squealing when the man looked down again, cheeks blushing even brighter.
“You don’t have to be scared! We’ll go slow, I’ll be there with you the whole time.” Soonyoung pulled Jihoon towards the car once more, letting the man stumble around in the trunk to get changed and blocking the windows so that no one else saw. Jihoon stepped out only a few minutes later, still wearing his t-shirt but now in swim trunks and flip flops.
Soonyoung grinned, grabbing Jihoon’s hand and tugging him to rest in the sand, just beyond the reach of the tide. Soonyoung saw the tide coming in and gently pulled Jihoon forwards, letting the cold water wash over their feet. Jihoon grimaced, squirming slightly as the sand beneath his feet ran out from under him as the tide went out. Soonyoung kept them stationed there for a few cycles of the tide, finally pulling them both forwards so that the next time the tide came in, it would be at their knees.
The water began rushing towards them and Soonyoung felt Jihoon squeeze his hand tighter, so the older man tugged Jihoon towards him, squeezing him tight in a hug and letting Jihoon bury his face in his chest so that he didn’t have to watch the water hit them. When the tide went out Jihoon peeked his eyes open, frowning and looking down at their drying feet.
“That was quick.”
Soonyoung giggled, once again waiting a few more times before pulling them out to waist level. Jihoon didn’t quite realize how far up it would hit until it was happening, stumbling backwards as he was nearly enveloped in icy ocean water. Soonyoung leaned backwards to try and get Jihoon back beside him but lost his balance, slipping and sliding down into the cold water and consequently letting go of Jihoon’s hand in the process. The tide was already receding and it took Soonyoung with it, whisking him out to where he couldn’t even stand. Jihoon gasped, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of the other man anywhere in the water and frantically calling his name when he saw nothing.
Soonyoung was holding his breath for as long as he could, still being tumbled around in the icy salt water and feeling his leg hit something sharp. He let out a soft cry of pain, trying to figure out which direction was up from his position on the ocean floor.
Jihoon saw a flash of peach and recognized it as Soonyoung’s hand, not hesitating at all before clumsily diving into the water and propelling himself as best he could towards the spot that he’d seen. He groped around in the water with his hand and felt someone else’s hand, praying that it was Soonyoung’s as he gripped it tight and tugged upwards.
They both surfaced, Jihoon gasping for breath and treading water as best he could, and Soonyoung coughing, desperately trying to get air into his lungs. Jihoon finally was able to breathe, grabbing Soonyoung’s arm before the tide could come in again and floating them both back to the sand. Soonyoung, still coughing softly, flopped back on the sand, eyes wide and hair completely soaked in salt water. Jihoon stood over him, eyes just as wide and breathing heavy. They both scooted backwards onto their blanket, sitting cross-legged without saying a word.
Soonyoung broke the silence first, “Jihoon?”
“Yeah?”
“You learned how to swim.”