Yeah we laid down in the sand
You took my clothes off with your hands
I gotta say you look real pretty
All the way from New York City

'Blaine. I hate the beach.' Kurt sighs, Blaine has not stopped talking about the beach since the beginning of the heat wave sometime last week, no matter how much Kurt tries to talk him out of it. Blaine just pouts up at Kurt from his place on their shared bed, his hair un-gelled and his eyes pleading as he watches his boyfriend moisturize in front of their mirror.

'Please.'

'I'm serious. I hate the beach.'

'But no one really hates the beach.'

'I do. It's hot and it's smothering and sand gets in your hair and in between your toes and it doesn't come out for days and people think it's perfectly okay to-'

'But it's warm and you can have picnics and eat ice cream and I might even take my shirt off.' Blaine cuts Kurt off mid rant, sitting up on their bed and grinning slyly at Kurt through their reflections in the mirror.

'You could take your shirt off here.' Kurt's refusing to give in. One of the very few perks of growing up in Ohio was that he was never dragged on outings to the seaside, he's just never understood the allure of getting sunburnt or stepping on questionable pieces of "seaweed" or having sand find its way into every single crevice on your body.

'You've been to the beach maybe twice in your life. I promise you it's fun. We can bring sandwiches and blankets and find ourselves a secluded spot where no one will play games or let their children run wild, and we can swim or read or just relax together, and then at lunch time I'll buy us ice creams and in the afternoon we can nap together and then we can stay and watch the sun set over the ocean and I swear it will be fun and you'll love me ten times more than you already do.'

'I don't think that's possible.' Kurt smiles affectionately at Blaine as he moves to settle himself down on the bed next to him.

'Maybe five times more then.'

Blaine grins and leans up to kiss Kurt softly on the lips. Kurt will give in, he always gives in when Blaine brings out the pleading face, and besides he owes Blaine for last week when they had to break into their savings because Kurt so desperately needed that white faux fur throw for their living room.

Kurt sighs resignedly.

'I get to pick the music in the car-'

'Yes! Kurt, honey you are the best!' Blaine bounces excitedly in his spot on the bed and leans forward again to give Kurt a sloppier, slightly more forceful kiss. He can't keep the grin off of his face as Kurt just shakes his head at him.

'I also get to pick where we sit on the beach, and you're buying me two ice creams to make up for this.'

'I will buy you all the ice creams you want so long as you agree to come with me, we will have so much fun I promise you.'

'I also expect you to be shirtless for the entire time we are there.'

'Anything for you my love.' Blaine jumps up off the bed, giving Kurt one final kiss- this time on the forehead- and setting about packing a bag for them both. Kurt wanders into the kitchen to make their picnic, smiling fondly to himself as he hears Blaine whistling from their bedroom.

The drive doesn't take long. The hot air is thick and sticky between them despite the fact that both the windows are rolled down. Sun streams through ahead and around them, glinting off of Blaine's sunglasses as he drives, and warming Kurt's skin, making it tingle as he shifts in his seat. They hold hands for the entire drive and sing along to every song that comes onto Kurt's iPod because they're that couple. They're sickeningly sweet and they're in love and they're still buzzing with happiness because they only moved in together three months ago.

There were petty fights at first of course, sometimes they gave too much and sometimes they gave too little and both of them found it harder than they had expected to share something so entirely with another person. But every fight ended with whispered words in the dead of night and desperate kisses between their apologies.

It didn't take them long to adjust to each other's patterns, their quirks and habits that they'd already known about- obviously- but hadn't quite gotten used to living with yet. Now they have an entire weekend stretched out ahead of them, no work, no stress, just sun and each other and the happy, hazy atmosphere that summer always seems to bring.

When they arrive Kurt keeps to his promise and insists on choosing their spot. Blaine wants to sit near the rocks, just behind where a group of young children are making sand castles, but Kurt knows that if they sit there Blaine will only end up helping them make the sandcastles and then he won't get any time to have his boyfriend to himself. Instead, he drags Blaine a little further along the shore, to a secluded little spot just to the right of some rocks pools.

'Here we go. Now shirt off mister, you made a promise.' Kurt spreads the towels out on the sand and plonks himself down on top of them, reaching a hand up lazily to pull Blaine down with him.

'Okay but you too. I'm not missing out.' Blaine goes easily, falling into place right next to Kurt and reaching up to pull his T-Shirt off eagerly. He tugs at the hem of Kurt's when he doesn't move quickly enough. 'Do you want me to put sun cream on you?'

'Mmm yes please.' Kurt hums. Tugging his own shirt off lazily, he moves to position himself between Blaine's legs, leaning back and closing his eyes as Blaine's warm hands begin to rub over his back.

'See the beach isn't so bad after all is it?'

'Not when you have an extremely hot and shirtless boyfriend giving you a massage.'

'It's okay I'm sure you can return the favour in a minute.'

'I'm too tired, the sun makes me sleepy.' Kurt leans further back against Blaine, his words becoming softer and slower as the sun beats down on them and seems to put everything into slow motion.

'I can't put sun cream on you if you're lying with your back against me, you know.' Gently Blaine leans Kurt forward, rubbing slow circles into his boyfriend's shoulders and running his fingers over the silky white skin.

When he's done they switch places, Blaine leaning forward slightly and Kurt rubbing at him, playing with the tufts of hair at the back of his neck and pressing kisses against Blaine's skin after he rubs the cream in.

'So I guess you're not exactly in the mood for a swim then?' Blaine asks, scooting back so they're sat side by side when Kurt announces he's done.

'Maybe later, for now I want to cuddle.' Kurt stretches back against the blanket with his sunglasses still perched on the bridge of his nose and his T-Shirt folded neatly at his side. He pulls Blaine down with him, so they're lying side to side, with Blaine's head resting on his chest, one hand carding through the (thankfully) gel-less hair tickling his chest, and the other wrapped loosely around Blaine's torso. Blaine throws an arm over Kurt himself and snuggles down against the smooth skin of his boyfriend's chest, feeling the faint outline of the toned muscles underneath and the steady beat of Kurt's heart beneath his ear.

'I think I can manage that.'

They laze in the sun for a while, sharing soft kisses in the heat and reading aloud to each other every now and then. The sun beats down, burning their skin and relaxing their muscles and a couple of hours drift by like minutes where they don't want to do anything but doze and hold each other.

After a while Blaine sits up dazedly, his head feeling fuzzy and his arms sluggish. Kurt grumbles next to him, reaching an arm out to try and pull Blaine back down with him. Blaine smiles and bats his hand away.

'Come for a swim with me?'

'The sea's too far away.'

'Come on just a quick swim and then we can have lunch.'

'Will you carry me to the water?'

'I'll give you a piggyback if you want.'

'Ha! Yeah, like you could lift me.'

'Of course I could.'

'Please Blaine you're tiny.'

'And you're not exactly a giant.'

'There is no way you can lift me.'

'Right that's it get up.' Blaine jumps to his feet, leaning down to try and drag Kurt with him. 'I'm giving you a piggyback.'

'I'm going to crush you.' Kurt sighs as Blaine pulls him to his feet, grabbing a hold of his waist just in time as he wobbles slightly on the spot.

'You underestimate me Kurt Hummel, remember that time I held you up against that wall.'

'Ssh!' Kurt looks about quickly to make sure no passers-by overheard. 'That was different, that was- you were fueled by arousal.'

'I'm always aroused by you.'

'Dork.'

'Get on my back.'

'No.'

'Get on my back.'

'No.'

'You are getting on my back whether you like it or not.' Blaine springs forward suddenly, grabbing Kurt by the waist and tickling him as he drags him closer. Kurt giggles, thrashing and trying to get away but Blaine is stronger than he looks and just pulls him tighter, tickling relentlessly at the soft skin just above his boyfriend's hips.

'Okay, okay, okay. I'll get on your back.' Kurt laughs breathlessly and pushes Blaine away. Blaine gives him a triumphant smirk and turns, crouching slightly so Kurt can get on. 'But when you end up face down in the sand with a broken back don't blame me.'

'Oh hush.'

Kurt wraps his arms around Blaine's neck securely and then jumps and wraps his legs around Blaine's waist too. Blaine stands slowly and turns to smile at Kurt over his back.

'See I told you I could lift you.' Blaine smiles delightedly and Kurt can't help but press a kiss to his cheek, giving Blaine's shoulders a quick squeeze with both arms before encouraging him to walk forward.

Blaine walks them both into the sea until he barely even feels the weight of Kurt's body pressed against him as the water holds them up. The water is just the right temperature, warm enough so that Kurt doesn't complain when Blaine drops him unceremoniously into it, but cool enough to wipe the lingering beads of sweat from their heated skin.

'I really love you.' Blaine turns around in the water to face Kurt, a smile playing at his lips. He has a peculiar look on his face, almost as if he's confused by the words he's saying.

'And I really love you too.' Kurt frowns back at him, grinning because he honestly doesn't think he can contain his smile when he looks at Blaine, wonderful, darling, idiot Blaine who looks so perplexed right now it would be cute if Kurt weren't so confused by his expression.

'No, no, but, I love you, and I never tell you enough.' Blaine smiles up at Kurt, blinking like it's the first time he's seen him in a long time and then grinning when Kurt just rolls his eyes.

'Blaine, I'm pretty sure you tell me every day when we wake up, and every night when we go to sleep, and then again several times throughout the day- although the number varies depending on how many baked goods I feed you.'

'Yeah well I should still tell you more often.'

Kurt just laughs at him, moving a little closer in the water so their bodies are practically touching and reaching his arms out to drag Blaine closer to him.

'Well that is more than okay by me.' Kurt wraps his arms fully around Blaine's shoulders, their torsos sliding against each other in the water and pressing them closer together. After a few moments of just smiling down at his ridiculous boyfriend, he presses their lips together, soft and sweet and a little salty from the sea air around them.

They float in the water a little longer, Kurt making sure not to get his hair wet and Blaine trying his hardest to get it wet anyway because he knows he's the only person Kurt would ever forgive for doing so. They don't even really swim, Blaine treads water and Kurt wraps himself around him like a koala, nipping at Blaine's jaw and the barely there stubble from where he hasn't shaved. Their wet bodies slide together under the cool water and Blaine only needs to kick his legs every now and then to keep them afloat.

There's hardly anyone around in this part of the sea, all the families with children are congregated further up the shore, closer to the little row of shops, and most of the couples are still lazing in the sand. They don't have to worry about anyone getting in their way, it's just the two of them and the blue expanse of ocean surrounding them.

'We're not really swimming you know, you're just sort of clinging to me.' Blaine laughs softly, nuzzling his face against Kurt's jaw and shifting him so they're closer still.

'Yeah well you're the one who kept going on about how you could lift me.' Kurt's eyes are closed. He'd left his sunglasses with their towels so they wouldn't get ruined, and yet the sun is still shining through his eyelids, leaving a burst of orange in front of his eyes. He smiles softly and leans his head closer to Blaine to shade himself from the glare of the sun.

'Do you want to go eat? I don't think you're getting much out of this whole "swimming" thing.'

'Yeah okay, but only if you carry me back so I don't get sand all over my feet.'

'I knew proving that I could lift you would turn out to be a bad thing.'

'Oh I don't know, you were pretty excited about it earlier.'

'There is no way I'm carrying you back, if anything you should return the favour and carry me.'

'Please Blaine.' Kurt puts on his sweetest voice, looking up at Blaine from beneath his dark eyelashes and fluttering them in the most over exaggeratedly way possible.

'No way!' Blaine lets go of Kurt and jogs the rest of the way up to the shore before turning around and shooting his boyfriend and smile and a wink. Then he's off, racing his way along the beach and back to their towels. Kurt's not far behind him, running along the sand in chase of Blaine, and stretching out his arms in a futile attempt to grab him.

They reach their spot, breathless and laughing with sand sticking to their wet legs. Kurt's only a few seconds behind Blaine and he rushes to a stop, stumbling and clutching at the shorter man. His arms lock around Blaine's waist and he gives him a playful peck on the cheek.

'I almost had you.'

'Almost being the operative word.'

They sit on their towels to eat lunch while the sun dries their wet skin. They laugh and joke and feed each other bits of food, giggling when they miss each other's mouths and going suddenly quiet when one of them is bold enough to suck the other's fingers into their mouth. It's been almost four years since they met but sometimes it still feels like they're discovering each other, sometimes they're an old married couple who can finish each other's sentences and know what the other's thinking without looking, and sometimes they're young lovers, stumbling into a new relationship where they giggle and blush and want nothing more than to bask in the other's glow. Sometimes they wonder how they could be so lucky.

Once lunch is finished Blaine heads off in search of ice creams and Kurt lies back in the sun. He's reading some book that Rachel had recommended to him, so naturally it's awful, but it's the kind of awful that he and Blaine will giggle over in bed, and re-enact just to make each other laugh. Blaine isn't gone long, and when he comes back he settles himself next to Kurt, ice cream in hand.

'I was promised two.' Kurt doesn't look up from his book, but he smiles so Blaine knows he's joking and takes the ice cream from his outstretched hand.

'Maybe later I'll buy you another, if you're good.'

'Blaine Anderson I am always good.'

'Yeah yeah.' Blaine nudges Kurt playfully with is shoulder. 'Are you having a good day?'

'I am actually.'

'I'm glad.'

'It's probably because you're here.' Kurt wraps an arm around Blaine and they sit like that for a little longer.

They talk the rest of the afternoon away, getting up a couple of times to paddle or swim in the sea but always ending back in their spot, curled up in towels or T-shirts or each other. Kurt finishes his book so Blaine puts his down too, and they talk and joke. For quite a while they just kiss in the sand, and later watch the children play on the beach. Kurt makes comments about how he'd never let his child dress like some of them and Blaine tells him their child can wear whatever makes them happy. They're not ready yet, they haven't finished being children themselves, but the unspoken agreement is there. Someday children will come, and there will probably be more days like this where Blaine pouts and Kurt pretends to be annoyed and they find themselves back here, on this beach, settled in this sand.

The time passes too quickly for them to notice, families coming and going and the two of them remaining where they have all day. They nibble at the scraps of picnic they had left over from lunchtime but the sun seems to have stolen their appetite because neither of them are particularly hungry.

It's late, almost 8 o'clock, when Blaine returns from his second trip in search of ice cream. The sun is just beginning to set in the distance, turning the sky a pretty scorched orange colour, and Kurt has curled himself up in an old hoodie Blaine didn't even know he brought, as the temperature drops.

'Room for another one in there?' Blaine jokes and sits down again next to Kurt.

There's hardly anyone on the beach now, most of the families have gone home and it's just a few couples and teenagers who are barely making enough noise for Blaine to realize they're there.

'I brought you one too.' Kurt holds up Blaine's old Dalton hoodie in response and swaps it out for his ice cream. Blaine pulls the jumper on quickly, only now realizing that it's not as warm as he thought it was anymore.

'It's getting cold, gives us an excuse to cuddle.'

'Like we need an excuse.'

They shuffle closer together, limbs wrapping around each other with practiced ease until all Blaine can smell is Kurt and the sea sweetened air that surrounds them. It's not cold, but it's not the suffocating heat it was earlier either. It's warm and it's orange and they both hum together as they look out of the shimmer of the sea and the sun setting in the distance. He sun's reflected against the glimmer of the waves, lazily making their way further up shore. The sea seems to sparkle and froth as it hits the sand and the rushes back to join the blue expanse, it stretches out and out until it hits the horizon and you can't even tell where the real sun ends and the reflected one begins. It's beautiful, Blaine thinks, although not as beautiful as the boy next to him. Almost as if he can tell what Blaine's thinking, Kurt laughs.

'What are you laughing at?'

''Nothing. I just think you're beautiful.' Blaine laughs softly to himself at that, sometimes he wonders if Kurt can tell what he's thinking, he always seems to know.

'So, do we still hate the beach?'

'It might've grown on me.'

Title and lyrics were from the song close your eyes and count to ten by Grouplove. Thank you for reading.