As Sun flicks his eyes open, he finds the other side of the bed empty and the room filled with brittle white rays.
For a moment, he thinks about trying to go back to sleep. It felt so long since he could stay in bed until he felt overenergized, and it seemed like a wasted opportunity to force himself up. But as soon as he closed his eyes again, the rest of reality sets in. The sound of Wingulls and Pelippers outside the window grated his ears, and when he rolls over to block the noise in his other ear, he notices the missing sound of his roommate's snoring. He confirmed it after he opened his eyes again and saw that the other bed was unkempt and empty.
With a weary groan, Sun rolls back over and kicks the covers off. The Rotom Dex sitting on the counter quietly, and silently watches its owner wander the room.
The bathroom turns out to be just as empty as the bed, and when he headed into the living room portion of the suite after finishing his morning routine, Hau is still nowhere to be found. It was still very early in the morning, and so it was possible Hau left just as early to get some food. When Sun had mentioned that Hano Grand Resort's continental breakfast was renowned quite well as much as its attractive golf courses, he noticed Hau's eyes had lit up with excitement.
However, there was another part of the resort that had gotten Hau equally excited, and Sun felt he should head there as soon as possible first.
Following a hunch, Sun puts on shorts safe for both outdoor walks and swimming, and then proceeded to the front entrance of the hotel, smiling at the friendly staff that he passed by. He then takes a short, relaxing trek to the beach area, and sees the shore empty of a crowd save for a single person laying down before the gentle waves.
His hunch is proven correct.
Grinning at the sight, he softens his steps to sneak up on the lone boy, synchronizing his steps with the crashing sounds of water. After only a few steps, his sandals become useless: the sand ends up jammed underneath his feet and sticks between his toes, so he kicks them off and continues barefoot, treading carefully as he initially planned.
Another few steps, and Hau was closer in sight. Pillowing his head with his arms, he laid stretched out onto the sand with his bare feet barely touching the ocean surfing the sand. His eyes are closed, and there's a soft smile on his face that only grows wider once Sun lowers to the ground beside him, knowing that it was him that just sat down.
"You're going to be itchy later," Sun comments, settling down beside his best friend.
"Probably," Hau says, eyes slowly flicking open. "But that's what the shower is for." He sits up and shakes his head vigorously, which sends more sand flying through the air.
Sun smirks as he turns his head away, trying not to let sand slap his eyes. He admired that carefree part of Hau, where he would do anything he wanted to as long as it didn't upset anyone around him. To a normal person, being smothered with sand would be irritating, but Sun found it charming in a certain way.
Hau lets his arms support him as he stares back into the ocean again. "Do you see it?"
"No, but I bet it's almost here," Sun answers, looking at the horizon. He stretched his legs out until his toes are just resting in the water. It feels a little too cold for swimming, but he's sure that come noon, when the sun is beating down, the cold will feel like a blessing.
As he sat quietly for a few more moments, he noticed it was too quiet—the atmosphere lacked the chattiness of a certain boy. He glanced over without moving his head too conspicuously, and saw that each time Hau blinked, he closed his eyes longer than usual, as if enjoying the serenity. Sun found it odd that Hau enjoyed silence. Usually, the tanned boy was the sort to yell or cheer everything out anywhere, but it seems Hau enjoyed moments of peace when possible. Perhaps he was just breathing in the peace of early morning while it still lasted. Quiet relaxation, was after all, one of the high points of their getaway trip.
They remain quiet for the next few moments as they watch the sun finally rise beyond the horizon line. Its dawn rays brought warm heat and the sounds of more people venturing out towards the beach. The two boys enjoyed being the only ones to have basked in the sunrise's full splendor. Eventually, Hau shuffles closer and drops his head onto Sun's shoulder, nuzzles his nose against the hard line of Sun's collarbone and follows it up with a kiss. As a response, Sun presses his face into Hau's hair, but immediately pulls away to bury a sneeze into his arm.
"There is so much sand in your hair," Sun says with a grin, wiping stray grains away from his face.
"Really?" Hau innocently questioned. He scratches the back of his head, as if the statement finally made him realize how much irritation there was in his hair. "Well, it is starting to itch a little," Hau responds with a frown before he brushes sand off his beach shorts. "We could wash off in the ocean."
The idea was a plan that Sun would agree on as they both were equipped with swimwear, but his stomach is protesting the lack of breakfast, and he's pretty sure that if they didn't get up soon, they wouldn't be able to take advantage of free food.
"How about this?" Sun begins, brushing a piece of sand off Hau's forehead. "We shower first, then eat breakfast, then we can swim in the ocean for as long as you want. Deal?"
"Deal." Hau pulls his arm away, jumps up to his feet and turns his back to the ocean. "Hop on."
Sun makes an astonished face, quickly wavering his eyes to spot scattered people on the beach. "Are you serious?"
Hau just chuckles, his grin spreading across his face widely. "You know how many malasadas I'm going to eat here. I gotta burn as much fat as I can."
"Fine, but if people ask on the way back, I'm staying silent." After getting to his feet and taking a few steps backwards to gain a bit of a running start, he hops onto Hau's back. Hau grunts as he feels Sun's weight jump on, but he easily stands up and laughs it off, causing the other boy to laugh along. While Sun tucks his arms around Hau's neck, Hau wraps his arms around Sun's thighs, clinging tightly to wrap himself in a gentle warmth.
"Everyone here knows we're on vacation," Hau replies as he walks forward. "Alola knows better to give the Champion and his boyfriend some well-deserved space."
Gently bouncing with each step that Hau takes, Sun leans over and presses his lips firmly against Hau's cheek, and rests his head on his shoulder afterwards. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
They're not even a full day into their week-long vacation, but they both know it's going to be one of the best weeks of their lives.