Staring into the sky as raindrops pelted him, Hayner considered precisely how the fuck he got here. After saying goodbye to Roxas for the day, he'd started to head home, passing through the Sandlot as he often did, despite the place being completely out of his way. There he found a girl from his class confessing her love to Seifer, then leaning in to kiss him. He had done an about-face and ran off toward the beach, ignoring the fact that a massive storm was predicted to hit in the next hour. And so it was he found himself sitting on a small outcropping he liked to chill out on in better weather, only about fifty feet from shore. While it remained above water even during high tide, that didn't mean he didn't run the risk of getting swept off by a wave in this storm. At the moment, he didn't really care all that much. He could swim.
The roar of the waves as they were pushed to the sand by the wind was relaxing, almost enough to draw his mind away from the image of that stupid black-haired girl kissing the guy he'd crushed on for years. Then again, Seifer never would have returned his feelings even if he did swing both ways, so in the end maybe it didn't make a difference. He was fairly certain the bully viewed him as nothing more than an annoyance.
A stray wave crashed against the rock, soaking him further than the rain had so far. Water dripped off a few strands of hair onto his lap, prompting him to sigh and wonder when he became a pathetic lovesick moron. Lightning arced from cloud to cloud on the horizon, temporarily lighting the otherwise dark landscape of roiling black water and deep gray sky. He'd always loved thunderstorms, first because they were exciting and dangerous, then later because they reminded him of the scarred blond that constantly beat the crap out of him. Beautiful, deadly, and completely untouchable.
The storm had kicked up its heels and it had gotten to the point where the rock he was sitting on was almost constantly covered in water from waves washing over it. Hayner was fairly certain he had never been quite so wet in his entire life, and also that maybe he was a little stupid to come out here. The rain was sheeting down hard enough that he couldn't see the beach clearly anymore, just faintly make out where dark met light, the water meeting the sand, and that was it. The thunder was so loud he could barely hear his own thoughts over it, flashes igniting the sky every five to ten seconds now.
With a little deliberation, during which time he was almost completely knocked off his perch by an eight-foot wave, he decided to start swimming back to shore. He may be completely self-destructive, but he wasn't so far gone he'd stick around when it would probably cost him his life. It wasn't easy, he was still fully clothed and the riptide was impressive, but within a few minutes he stumbled back onto solid ground, incredibly worn out but definitely not drowned. Wiping his soaked hair out of his face, he saw a figure in the rain when another bolt of electricity lit the sky. Freezing, he wondered who the fuck else was crazy enough to come to the beach during the middle of a thunderstorm.
Walking further onto the sand to get away from the water still circling his ankles, he recognized the other person with a sharp sinking feeling. Seifer Almasy, soaking wet, glaring at him with his fists clenched at his side. He continued to close the distance between them, knowing that after the other had seen him look it was pointless to pretend like he didn't see the scarred bully. Water traveled down the older boy's face and neck in rivulets, his short blond hair plastered to his neck and forehead under his stupid black beanie, and his jaw was clenched. Ice-colored eyes stared at him angrily.
"The fuck is wrong with you, chickenwuss? I know you're stupid, but even you should be bright enough to know that going for a swim in the ocean during the worst electrical storm of the season is a terrible idea."
"Why do you even care, asshole? Don't you have a new girlfriend to fuck or something? Leave me alone," he returned in the hostile way he typically acted around the other, brushing past him intending to head back home and dry off.
A hand latched onto the back of his vest, pulling him back, and at first he thought he was being dragged into yet another brawl. Then the blue-eyed boy fisted two hands in the front of his shirt and kissed him, mouth tasting of rain, salt, and electricity. Chocolate eyes squared off with blue as he returned the contact hesitantly, wondering if this was just some new bullying tactic. As the other's pupils dilated and he slid a tongue into Hayner's mouth, the younger of the two guessed that if it was, he was definitely okay with being bullied like this all the time. His knees felt weak and it had nothing to do with the arduous swim back to shore, suddenly thankful for the hands in his shirt holding him up.
"I love you," he blurted as soon as the scarred boy pulled away, watching him dazedly.
The well-built male pulling him into a warm embrace, nuzzling his neck before responding, "I love you too, Hayner. That chick you saw earlier? Just another stupid bitch who thought she could change me or whatever it is women fantasize about with bad boys. I pushed her off and ran after you, but since you're obnoxious as hell, you disappeared. Don't do that to me."
"Next time don't let random girls kiss you then, idiot," he returned with a glare, pulling him in for another kiss as the storm continued to rage around them.
They headed back to Seifer's apartment to dry off and he ended up passing out on the couch shortly after. By the time he left the next morning there were several dark hickeys on the older boy's neck, a few to match on Hayner's. He was sure rumors would be flying as soon as they went back to school the next day, but he didn't give a shit so long as everyone knew they were together. Seifer belonged to him, and that was that.