Thunder
Disclaimer: I don't own Boys Like Girls' song "Thunder" or Fujimaki Tadatoshi's manga Kuroko no Basuke.
The sun sparkled on the water like a blue disco ball. Seagulls called in the distance. The shells were lined up oh-so-perfectly with the tide, as the waves washed on shore in a distinct rhythm. Underneath his feet, the sand felt crunch and warm, but not too hot. This was still the tidal zone. Kise's cut-off shorts and denim shirt were perfect for the morning beach weather, and in his left hand was an ice-cold beer. The condensation on the outside of the bottle was very noticeable, even through multiple lenses. Kise turned his face upward into the light, and ran a hand through his perfectly-ruffled hair. It was just like the ideal beer commercial. Funnily enough, it actually was a beer commercial.
Living in a seaside town didn't give Kise Ryouta too many options to advance his modeling and acting career. Summer was the big commercial season, and he was a fairly big name still so he commanded a decent salary. Going out to Tokyo a couple of times each in the fall and winter wasn't such a bad deal when he thought about it. But nothing could replace the feeling of living this type of beer commercial, having the experience of sand beneath your feet and light on the horizon so readily available that it was practically in your backyard.
"That's a wrap!" the director cheerfully proclaimed. It had only taken two days to do a bunch of different related scenarios, and they didn't know how many would be used. In some takes Kise turned toward the camera, and in others he held up the bottle to the light. They had taken shots at all hours of the day, and yesterday had been so crazy. But today was relaxing, the exact atmosphere that this beer supposedly created.
A company truck handed out free cases of beer to Kise and all the crewmembers, most of whom were locals hired by the advertising firm and the beer company just for this project. Kise knew some of them; they were neighbors and acquaintances and people who worked at the restaurants and book stores and other local establishments. He was the (somewhat odd) local celebrity. He cheerfully waved at everyone and walked to his car, parked on the beach. The small black sedan was perpetually covered in sand, no matter how deep in winter it got or how many times it was hosed down. But that was part of the beach life. Kise stuck the beer in the trunk and got in the front. He turned on the car, turned on the radio, and headed out.
Kise loved summer. The dark green of the trees, the sand covering everything and filling every crack, the sweat and salty air sticking to his skin, the radio blasting on high as he cruised through the familiar streets. He reached the modest, clean building, long and whitewashed with dark brown shutters on the windows. He got out of the car, walked up to the door, and went in. The receptionist greeted him cheerfully (she was quite used to seeing him by now) and he walked past the desk, passed doors on both sides of the long hallway, and stopped at the third door on the left. It was slightly ajar. Good, no patients right now.
He opened the door the rest of the way. His fiancé, Midorima Shintarou, stood leaning against the wall and reading a patient's file. He glanced up and frowned at Kise, who sidled over to his side anyway.
"Haven't you got anything better to do?"
"I got us a free case of beer!" Kise grinned.
Apparently, the smile was not contagious. "Great. You couldn't have waited until you got home tonight?"
Kise rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to share the news! Plus, I might be out on the beach when you get home, anyway."
"I have a phone. You can text me. What if a patient had been here? You're being a distraction. I should have finished with this file by now."
"Fine, whatever." Kise quickly kissed Midorima on the cheek, pulling back before Midorima could start in on another lecture about Things That Are Not To Be Done In Public, and waltzed out the door.
Midorima sighed. A beer would be good right now. He knew that as a general practitioner he had it better than a lot of doctors, but there was still a lot of shit he had to deal with, especially working for the only medical clinic other than the hospital in the small town. It was quite easy to lose patience with these people, but somehow he kept it up. Nevertheless, a drink next to Kise and the tide washing over his ankles…that was something to look forward to.
The last patient of the day took longer than expected. She was just coming in for a routine checkup, but she needed blood work and a few booster shots and an eye test. Still, Midorima was out of the office by seven, so it was a pretty good day. He walked home from the office in a decent mood. Had it been anyone else, they would have been humming or whistling. As it was, there may have been a spring in his step despite the humidity.
"I'm home," he said, taking off his shoes at the door and hanging up his doctor's coat.
"Welcome home!" Kise replied, smile still so ridiculously bright.
Ahh, it was much cooler inside than outside. "About that free beer you got…"
Kise quickly fetched bottles for them both, and they sat on the couch, drinking and talking. It was much more tame than their earlier conversation, perhaps because this was a much more private location and a time of day when they were both less distracted by work and more so by each other. Kise's hair, the split ends and the way it sort of had a mind of its own and draped itself over his head, that was what fascinated Midorima the most. Or, no, perhaps it was the slim wrists or the strong forearms? Or Kise's cat-eyes, or long model's legs. No, no, it was everything. It was all endlessly beautiful and fascinating.
Kise had draped an arm around Midorima when they sat on the couch, and now it was pulling him closer. Midorima obliged, and pressed their lips together for a quick kiss. "You are fascinating, Ryouta."
Kise blushed, a faint sheen of pink spreading to coat his cheeks.
Midorima kissed him again because that half-frightened, "What do I do now?" face was just so damn cute. Kise was so damn cute. Midorima would have taken Kise right then and there, but the couch was too small and cramped and he wasn't getting any younger (although it did feel almost surreal to realize that his thirtieth birthday was next year) so they moved to the bedroom.
Later that night, after sunset, they did walk on the beach. Most of the people, except for a few rowdy high-schoolers on vacation, were inside, and in the dark no one would disturb them anyway. They held hands and sipped their beer and sand crunched beneath their feet and it felt so fucking right. Kise never wanted to let go.