Roy plopped down unceremoniously on his blue and white striped beach towel. The warm sand shifted uncomfortably beneath him and he shifted his body to accommodate it. When he was satisfied he reached for the object her desperately sought: an orange bottle of waterproof sunscreen.
The sunscreen felt wonderfully cool against his overheated skin. He applied the lotion liberally to both his shins and calves before that smooth voice he knew all too well interrupted him.
"Seriously? You're putting more of that stuff on already?" Garth's velvety voice was laced with unmistakeable incredulity. His deep purple eyes glittered with laughter as Roy turned and met them with his of vibrant blue.
"I burn easily," the archer dryly replied. He turned back to his task and began lathering up his left forearm, wishing vainly that Garth would leave him alone. Naturally, that didn't happen. Garth nearly roared with laughter.
"You 'burn easily'? Really? Ha! Who knew the great Roy Harper had such sensitive skin!"
"Oh, hahaha. In case you haven't noticed, Fishstick, I'm a redhead. We usually come with unpleasantly pale skin. Which doesn't get along with the sun real well."
Roy slapped a blob of sunscreen onto his right bicep and began to rub it in. Of course, Garth wouldn't understand. By some grace of the Atlantean gods, that stupid Fishstick never got sunburned. It drove Roy nuts. Garth, however, was oblivious to his friend's irritation. He was far too mesmerized by Roy's slightly flexed arm muscles. After a few awkward moments he regained his playful composure.
"Oh, I noticed," he replied. If Roy noticed the double meaning behind the words, he didn't show it. "You gingers do tend to get a bit pink in the sunlight. Especially," he paused to gently place his fingers on the back of Roy's neck, "right here."
Roy jumped at the sudden touch. Although, it did remind him that he needed to get that spot again. And his back. That was the most difficult part of the body to reach when applying sunscreen by one self. Roy decided to take advantage of the situation.
"True," he smirked. "Maybe you could help me out and put some more sunscreen back there?"
The cocky tone in his voice was delightfully familiar to Garth's ears. He knew he shouldn't give in to Roy's game, but the temptation was strong. He rolled his eyes and let out what he hoped sounded like an exasperated sigh.
"Hand me the bottle."
Roy straightened up and grinned. As he handed the orange bottle over his right shoulder, he felt Garth grow closer to him from behind.
"We wouldn't want our favorite ginger to get burned, now, would we?" Garth's smooth voice was suddenly right next to his ear. For some reason Roy felt oddly delighted by this. He smirked playfully.
"Nah. Unless you want lobster for dinner?"
Garth snatched the sunscreen from Roy's hand. "Tch. Very funny."
"I know," Roy was arrogant as ever. All thoughts of sea related humor fled his mind, however, as Garth gently rubbed the sunscreen onto his back. The chill of the lotion combined with Garth's cool fingertips as he massaged Roy's skin. The sensation brought about delicious pleasure on Roy's part.
He snapped back to reality when the lid on the bottle snapped shut.
"There you go. Now, are you gonna come back out in the water or not?"
Roy looked up the Atlantean, who had pulled himself up quickly after finishing his work. "Yeah. Yeah I'll be there in a sec."
Garth nodded with a small smile and rushed back to the ocean water. Roy was left behind to momentarily reflect. That pleasure he felt...that wasn't normal. Was it? Garth was just his friend, he shouldn't have felt like...
No. The sun must be getting to him more than he thought.
