It was a seemingly good idea—in the beginning—both Toni and Tino wanted some good 'ol quality time together and Toni's idea was this:

"Hey! Why don't you and I get some of the guys together and go to like, oh, I dunno, the beach or somethin' for two weeks!"

And so Tino agreed, because what harm could come from going with Toni to the beach? Just because the guy had a bit of a masochistic complex and was a little too into just how "young and vibrant" he was didn't mean anything. Or so Tino thought.

Thus started their, along with a good few other people's, adventures at the beach.

Day 1

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Tino muttered, feet firmly planted a solid two feet from where the waves were lapping against the shore. He shot a glare at the grinning Spaniard who was up to his waist in the surf. "I'm not going out in this. You're crazy." He pushed his sunglasses farther up his nose in finality and grabbed the brim of his sun hat with both hands and pulled it down near his ears. Another sharp look at Toni and Tino was gone, trekking his way back to their homestead further up the beach.

With an undignified yelp followed shortly after with a dramatic, "But Tino, y'can't!" Toni sprinted up the sand, hissing and cursing to himself in muttered Spanish as shells stabbed at his bare feet. He caught up with his stubborn Finnish friend before snagging Tino's wrist, puppy-dog look plastered on his face. "Tino, please?"

A dirty glare was his reply. "There is no way that you're getting me," a point to himself, "in that." He made a strange waving motion toward the choppy water. "Especially when it's like that. I'd drown, or something, and what are you going to do when you are singlehandedly responsible for the collapse of the Republic of Finland? Fuck all, that's what."

"Tino you're a god damned wimp." Toni spat, puppy dog face still plastered on his face. He stuck his bottom lip out, letting it tremble just ever so slightly before playing his last card. "You're worse than Lovi—no wait, 'scuse me, more boring. Lovino just sits on the beach with an umbrella and his iPhone and just…sleeps. It's so boring. Don't become one of the damned boring people." He gave a small tug to Tino's wrist. "Look. I promise you're not going to drown. Trust me, please? Would I ever purposely let any harm come to you?"

"Yes, yes you would."

Toni gave a pretend hurt look before pouting, which, by the way, is extremely manly. "Alright, well, maybe, but I swear to God, and you know how religion and I are, that I won't this time. Puh-leasssse?"

Tino sighed, knowing he had lost. "Fine. Fucking fine. But if I die, it's your fault." He made his way back to the homestead (complete with umbrella for poor Tino), and grabbed the extra ball cap Toni had brought, exchanging it for his sun hat. He marched back, grabbing Toni's arm as he passed. "If we're going to do this, we're doing it now, and if I die, it's your fault."

A few steps from the water though, he froze, and the grip on Toni's arm got tighter. "Just… don't go too far, okei?"

"You're not going to die." Antonio chirped, forcibly dragging Tino with every ounce of most probably inhuman strength that he could muster. He adjusted the baseball cap on his head, pushing his, as he called them (because God be damned if he lost his Ray Bans in the ocean), sacrificial sunglasses up his nose. "Trust me, it's gonna be just fine ya damn wimp."

Toni tried not to smile as Tino tightened his grip on Toni's arm, the Spaniard flinging a smile back at his significant other who sat on the beach and gave a roll of his eyes at the antics of the Finnish man and his sadistic best friend Spaniard. "I won't go too far Tino, I promise." Toni's definition and Tino's definition of too far were on complete opposite ends, not to Tino's knowledge.

"Berwald will kill you if you let me die," he warned, stepping into the surf tentatively, hand still a vice on Toni's arm. He waded out, refusing to let go, until a breaker forced them apart. "Vittu – " he managed to curse before the breaker knocked him down and he was forced underwater.

He came up a minute later, coughing and sputtering, and distantly heard Berwald calling out in Swedish if he was all right. A few more coughs, and he managed to stand completely upright, steadier against the waves this time. He waved off his husband's concern, with a dismissive gesture and rounded on Toni. "You fucker! You did that on purpose!"

"Pshht, wimpy Finn, you're gonna be fineeee. Leave it to me. I was born to be in the water." He gave a wicked grin, one that spelt trouble. "Anywho…" Toni was cut off as a wave separated them and he dove under the water before surfacing again, hand on his hat to keep it in place. "Tino? Tino, where'd ya go?"

He snorted, shaking his head at Tino. "No, I didn't. Don't pin the waves on me. I have nothing to do with them." He quickly dove under another wave, head breaking the surface of the water again. "Damn it's choppy…" He glanced over at Tino momentarily. "Okay, you wimp, literally all you have to do is tread water a little when the swell of a wave comes. Can your wimpy Finnish blood handle that?" He cocked his head to side.

After a minute to catch his breath, he slowly made his way over to Toni again. "Um…. Okei? So I just have to float? Like float over the waves?" He made a waving motion with his hands.

(Meanwhile, back on the shore…

"Those two are fucking idiots," Lovino commented, sitting on a beach chair, book in hand.

"Mm," Berwald agreed, hiding under the umbrella.)

"Exactly!" Toni smiled warmly at Tino, letting a wave take him for a moment before swimming backwards to Tino. "You're a strong swimmer, right?" His eyes trailed over to a girl on a surfboard near the shore and he made a bit of a disgusted noise in the back of his throat.

Tino grinned back just as widely, pushing off of the ocean floor to float over the incoming wave. "Juu, I am. I taught Berwald to swim, after all." He grinned again. "And what's your deal with that girl?"

Toni quickly shook his head waving the girl off. "Oh, nothin', she's just too close to shore and looks ridiculously stupid." He floated over another wave, humming quietly, green eyes glancing over at Tino. "You actually taught Berwald to swim? The fuck's up with that?"

He ducked under another wave, surfacing with a gasp of air as another wave crashed on them. "Literally though, man, that girl is gonna get herself killed on that surfboard. See, she's too close to shore and she's up too far on her board." Toni kept making critical comments on the girl's "surfing" ability before rolling his eyes and swimming over to Tino. "See, told ya you weren't gonna die." He grinned at Tino.

"Mhm! I thought you knew that I taught him how?" He commented, swimming up a little bit so he could float over another wave. No way in hell was he going to duck under a wave. Nope.

Well, Tino sure didn't know anything about surfing, so he just nodded along while Toni spoke. Even he could tell she looked stupid, though. And that was sad.

"I almost did, though!" he spluttered, splashing Toni in the face a bit. He couldn't hide the grin on his face, though. "I won't make it back to Finland in one piece."

"I know all sorts of things but there's a shit ton of stuff that ya tell me that I forget in like two minutes, honest to God. No offense of course. " Toni laid on his back, kicking his feet to keep himself above the water, tilting his head back, one hand still on his head to keep his hat in place.

"You so did not almost die. You're nuts." Toni grinned back at Tino, sitting up properly in the water, rolling his shoulders a bit in the water. He noticed the slightly stupefied look on the Finn's face, but at least Tino understood that the girl was a kook. "I promise I'll send your remains back to the Finnish government."

"Wow, kiitos, friend. That means so much to me." Tino rolled his eyes and laughed, not daring to lift his feet like Toni had. "It warms my heart to know that you listen to me so attentively."

So, in retaliation, he did what any good best friend would do. He went and grabbed Toni's foot and pulled him underwater with a feral smile.

Toni gave a snort to Tino. "Aww—I'm glad that you see my genuine care for you." He gave a roll of his eyes, continuing to float along with the waves, kicking his feet and swimming backwards as the current dragged them a little. "I do, I do,, honest to God you just tell me so much shit I dunno what's important anymore." He gave a shit-eating grin before Tino snagged his foot, a yelp loud enough for the entire beach to hear leaving Toni's mouth.

The Spaniard flailed under the water for a moment before breaking for air, coughing and sputtering, giving the nastiest death glare he could muster at Tino, spitting water out of his mouth. "Dude, that shit's not okay."

Tino gave Toni's shit eating grin right back and fluttered his eyelashes, his nose already turning a bit pink from the exposure to the hot sun. "But Toni! I'm just having fun in the ocean! Isn't that what you wanted me to do?"

Toni pouted at Tino splashing him with water. "You're not supposed to drag me under!" He had a teasing tone to his voice, obviously already over the incident. "Hey, Tino? You're starting to turn into a lobster."

Tino pouted and glanced to his arms. "My arms don't look that bad!" But, when Tino turned around, his back was already a light pink, promising a harsh sunburn later. "We haven't even been out here that long. …Have we?"

"No you look like a damned steamed lobster," He winced as Tino turned around. "Ouch…" Toni gave a thoughtful look. "A good four hours. I think to spare you from the harsh sun we ought to head back…."

Tino frowned and rested his hand on his back, and winced when he felt how warm the skin was. "I guess you're right… Maybe I should stay under the umbrella tomorrow. Just so I can heal up a bit, you know?" He commented as they made their way back to shore. "I'll go back out with you again the day after."

"You're ridiculous…" the Spaniard murmured under his breath, quietly hoping that Tino didn't hear him at all. Toni dragged himself back onshore, pulling his hat off, shaking his now slightly bleached hair out, wiping the water droplets from his eyes. "Owwww—salt water and contacts don't mix at all… yeesh."

Tino bent down and grabbed his towel, drying his hair and trying to shake off some of the sand. He helped pack up the umbrella and hefted everything up, allowing Berwald to take some of it. "My hair is white. I think it was the stress you caused me." He laughed as they made their way over the dunes back to the house.

"Shut the fuck up you weren't under any damned stress." Toni took a bag from Lovino, resting his forehead on the Italian's shoulder for a moment, nuzzling him and murmuring in Spanish before placing a tender kiss to his shoulder.

"But seriously, Tino, you're a fucking lobster." Toni snagged his flip flops hissing as the sand burned his feet. He dashed up the dunes, yelping, calls of "Aye!, Caliente, caliente!" leaving his lips as he ran to the beach house they were staying at.

Tino laughed and followed along, hand in hand with Berwald. Why didn't Toni just put on his flipflops?

Hours later, after a good shower, an afternoon nap, some ice cream, and mass quantities of aloe vera for Tino, the two sat on the porch outside, drinks in hand. They couldn't see the water, but they could hear the waves crashing against the shore just beyond the dunes, and sat there in silence.

"You know, as much as I gave you hell about it, I really am glad that you asked me to come here with you," Tino said with a grin to his best friend. "It's been great fun, even though I'm burned to all hell on day one."

A small smiled crossed Toni's face, head tilted back against the back of the bench they were sitting on. He swirled the remainder of his Smirnoff in the bottle before polishing it off and setting the empty bottle aside. "I know you are—you're just not sure how to properly express it. A good "Thanks, Toni!" and a million euros would be a great way of expressing your gratitude, just fyi."

Toni finally cracked an eye open, wincing as he saw Tino. "Jesus Christ, man…you look like you went through Hell and back."

"Well, now that I'm out of the sun, it really, really, fucking hurts." Tino shifted and leaned back, wincing when his sunburned back met the wood of the bench. "But I'm glad we get to hang out. I haven't seen you in months."

"You're going to run us dry of Aloe Vera, you know that right?" Toni cracked his neck, flinching a bit, his muscles almost screaming in protest at the movement, his body sore from the day spent in the ocean fighting currents and waves. "I know right? I was so excited when you said you were able to get those two weeks of work off." The Spaniard broke into a huge yawn, rubbing at his eyes. "Well," He stood, stretching a bit. "I need sleep. I hope you can get some semblance of sleep tonight with that nasty ass sunburn."

Tino chuckled and polished off his own glass of vodka. Straight, of course – none of those pansy-ass drinks that Toni liked. "I know. We're going to go have to stock up soon." He smiled again and stood, stretching himself. "Juu, me too. I'm exhausted." He held a hand out to give Toni some help off the bench. "Need a hand?"

Toni would argue that straight vodka still made him sicker than a dog, even when he was sober as could be, he would drink his fruity drinks until the day that he rolled over in his grave, Smirnoff or Hippie Juice in hand. "You can buy it, 'cause I bought our entire supply and you just kinda blew through it you little shit."

A smile creeped up on Toni's face and he took the hand offered to him, muttering a quiet thank you, running a hand over his stubbly face. "You're gonna hate life. If you need more Aloe Vera I have some in mine and Lovino's bathroom—just fyi." He gave the Finnish man a quick hug before stumbling, not walking because who walks straight after they've had more than a few, back to his bedroom, opening the sliding glass door to Lovino's and his room—trying his hardest to make sure he didn't wake Lovino up. "Buenos noches, amigote."

Tino hugged him back tightly and waved with a small laugh, ducking into his own room that he was sharing with Berwald for the time being. "Hyvää yötä, Toni. See you in the morning."

And with that, the two went to sleep, ready for the day ahead.