Baewatch
Tanaka Ryuunosuke leans over the railing of the lifeguard tower, looking out at the ocean before him. It stretches out as far as the eye can see, and the only difference between the blue of the sky and the blue of the water is the rippling sunlight that glitters across the ocean's surface. Any number of mysteries and creatures hide within the deep blue water, lost in the depths beneath the waves that roll and crash onto the shore.
It's supposed to be beautiful. Tanaka finds it horrifying.
"Ryuu? Ryuu, are you listening?"
"Hah?" Tanaka startles, chin sliding off his hand where it was resting, and he straightens up to look at Kanoka. "Ah, yeah, sorry. Don't let them dig holes that are too deep or people can fall in and drown, got it."
She squints suspiciously at him, which is valid because he really had only been half-listening, but she continues talking about rules and expectations for beachgoers.
Tanaka still can't believe he let himself be convinced by his sister Saeko to take this job, but he needed to do something to earn money after the gym he'd been working at shut down. It's decent work, pretty physically demanding, but it's better than some of the temp office jobs that he'd been considering. Saeko correctly pointed out to him that he'd lose his mind if he was stuck in a cubicle, then slapped the lifeguard application down in front of him.
Pretty much everyone in town becomes a beach lifeguard at some point, anyway, unless they're more into surfing or other water activities. Tourist season brings boatloads of people to town, and it's always all hands on deck for the majority of summer. Only the truly serious people like his sister and his two best friends Asahi and Kanoka—who's training him right now—remain lifeguards throughout the year.
It's only temporary, he tells himself, until he gets another job, and he has to admit it's pretty fun to run across the beach and pretend he's being filmed in slow motion like in that one old American show. Plus he gets to spend more time with Asahi, Kanoka, and Saeko, which is good, so he should enjoy it while it lasts.
But there's a reason that Tanaka was so resistant to the job for so long, and it's not because being literally responsible for saving people's lives is a really big burden. It's because he's fucking terrified of the ocean.
It's somewhat ridiculous considering he was born and raised in this beach town and spent his childhood in the water just like everyone else he knows. He's made fun of for it constantly, but he maintains that it's a perfectly valid fear. All sorts of things lurk in the water, ready to slide along your leg or bite you or swim up your suit, and there's parts of the ocean that haven't even been explored yet, so who knew what sort of monsters could be waiting in the darkest parts.
Not to mention how truly gross the ocean is. It's filled with fish poop and dead organisms and sadly a lot of human debris too. The beach itself isn't much better, littered with seaweed and bugs and bones and shit. So even though he gets teased, he holds strong in his belief that the ocean is kind of a terrible place.
Plus he got sick after swallowing a bunch of water when snorkeling as a kid, so that put a bit of a damper on his childhood enthusiasm for the sea.
But here he is, a lifeguard for the next several months, so he's just gotta suck it up.
"Is he gonna make it?" Kanoka murmurs suddenly, and he sees her focus is directed out toward a surfer near them.
Tanaka lifts his binoculars to his face and focuses on the surfer. It isn't hard to find him between the black and yellow wetsuit and the board painted up with gaudy flames. The surfer rides parallel to the shore, following along the body of the wave as the crest crashes down just behind him.
Then he angles his board up to the lip of the wave and, to Tanaka's amazement, flies up into the air. Both hands grip either side of the board, holding himself in a crouch to the surface as he flips up and spins one and a half times through the air. He lands facing backwards from the shore, and Tanaka thinks he's about to fall, but he waves his arms and maneuvers the board, riding smoothly down the rest of the curl to where the ocean is flat again.
Kanoka lets out a little whoop of excitement, and Tanaka keeps watching as the guy thrusts both fists in the air until he loses all momentum and comes to a standstill in the ocean. Then he falls over sideways into the water before the board capsizes him. Tanaka's concerned for a moment, but Kanoka just snorts, and a second later the surfer's head pops back up. He climbs back onto his board and paddles over to two other surfers chilling on the sand, and they appear to converse excitedly with each other.
"He's been working on that for weeks, hasn't been able to land it before," Kanoka tells Tanaka.
"Impressive," Tanaka murmurs, trying to see if he can focus the lenses of his binoculars to afford him a better view of the surfer's face.
Tanaka spends the next two hours watching the trio of surfers whenever he can. They're all talented, each taking turns to go out to claim waves and attempt tricks of their own, but the one with the flame board is by far the riskiest surfer. It's exhilarating to watch the guy throw himself at the waves, especially since he seems pretty short and the ocean is very large. Tanaka wonders if there's even an ounce of fear in this guy's body.
They pack it in around three when the ocean calms down and doesn't appear to be giving them any significant waves for the time being. Tanaka's just wondering how he can sneakily zoom in on the daring surfer's face without being super obvious when he realizes the three are aiming to walk right past the lifeguard tower he and Kanoka are in.
"Way to stick the landing, Noya!" Kanoka calls when they get close enough.
"Thanks, Kanoka!" the guy with the flame board yells, waving enthusiastically up at them. "Toldja I'd nail it this week!"
"You did!" Kanoka agrees, then waves goodbye as they pass the tower.
Noya, Tanaka thinks, twisting around so he can watch the surfer walk away. He is pretty short, like Tanaka thought, but he's also surprisingly built. He'd have to be to navigate the waves like that, Tanaka supposes, and he wonders how long the guy's been surfing.
Tanaka watches as Noya hits his friend with his surfboard and then unexpectedly turns around to look back up at the lifeguard tower. He catches Tanaka's eyes and his face goes tense with shock, then he immediately turns forward and hunches his shoulders in embarrassment. Tanaka narrows his eyes and glances at Kanoka beside him, then once again at the surfers' retreating forms.
The guy's got talent, that's for sure. But he's also got a fairly obvious crush on Kanoka.
/ / /
"Did you guys see that new lifeguard?" Noya hisses once they're past the tower.
"Oh, yeah, Asahi said he's Saeko's little brother," Daichi replies, adjusting his grip on his longboard. "Just started this week."
"Who knew Saeko had a little brother?" Noya asks. "And why is he so fucking hot?"
"I think you mispronounced scary. Or mean-looking," Daichi replies derisively.
"Shut the fuck up," Noya growls, offended, and swings his board up to hit Daichi on the back of the head. "That is an exquisite specimen of a man. You just have no taste."
He turns around to get one more look at said hot brother of the coolest lifeguard on the beach when he realizes that the guy is looking right at him. Noya flushes with embarrassment and twists back around, ducking his head. His heart pounds in his chest, and he grips the front of his wetsuit as if doing so will calm it.
Holy shit he's hot, why is he so fucking hot, how is that even fair—
"Stop that," Daichi says sternly.
"Stop what?" Noya asks, offended.
"We can't all have crushes on lifeguards. That's pathetic."
"I don't have a crush on him," Noya snaps, even though he can feel the beginnings of one in the blush of his cheeks.
"Yet," Yachi chimes in like a traitor.
"Okay, well, I bet I can bag my lifeguard before either of you," Noya says.
"That sounds like a terrible idea," Daichi replies.
Noya waggles his eyebrows. "Sounds to me like you're chicken. Must be why you haven't asked Asahi out yet."
Daichi glares at him. "I told you, it's complicated."
In Daichi's defense, it is a little complicated. He has a weird flirting-competition going on with Kuroo Tetsurou, another regular surfer on the beach, while also having a crush on the tall beefy lifeguard Azumane Asahi. Noya's pretty sure Kuroo also likes Asahi, but it's not his place to sort out his friend's polyamorous love life for him.
"Nah, I think you're chicken," Noya says instead of all that.
He marches on ahead, pleased with having totally owned Daichi when suddenly Daichi says, "You're on."
Noya turns back around, staring at Daichi in shock. "You serious?"
"Let's do it," Daichi says, parking his board in the sand and folding his arms as he grins wickedly at Noya. "Let's see who dates their lifeguard first. Unless, of course, you're the chicken one."
"You're gonna regret this," Noya says dangerously.
"Guys, wait—" Yachi starts.
"Uh-uh, you're part of this too, Yacchan," Noya tells her, because she's been daydreaming about Amanai Kanoka for even longer than Daichi's liked Asahi.
"What?!" she squeaks. "B-but I—it's—"
"So it's agreed," Daichi says with a smug confidence. "Operation Seduce the Lifeguards is a go."
/ / /
In hindsight, agreeing to this competition was absolutely a terrible idea. Daichi has an advantage of already being friends with his lifeguard, which includes having his number so they can text and hang out outside of beach time. Noya, meanwhile, can't figure out how to approach Tanaka Ryuunosuke without the guy being on the job, and Noya can't distract him because he's a fucking lifeguard and he has a very important duty of making sure nobody dies.
He'd be in last place right now if it weren't for Yachi. There's a reason she's liked Kanoka for so long without it going anywhere, and it's because Yachi gets too flustered to even talk to Kanoka whenever they're around each other. Noya's not sure they've ever exchanged more than like five words.
"So," Daichi says smugly a week later when they meet up for Friday night drinks, "how's it going?"
Noya glowers at Daichi over the rim of his margarita. He hasn't been able to talk to Tanaka at all this week and has only been able to wave enthusiastically at him every chance he gets, and for some reason he's only been getting glares as responses. He doesn't mind too much, though, as the guy's sharp eyes give him a kind of thrill, and anyway Kanoka waves back every time so it's not like he's left hanging.
"Not good, I take it." Daichi grins as he takes a sip of his beer, and Noya kind of wants to throw the drink in his face, but he also doesn't want to get them banned from another bar. The town only has so many.
"Oh fuck off," he says instead. "It's not like you've gotten anywhere with Asahi."
"I'm laying the groundwork," Daichi says.
"Uh-huh. You've been 'laying groundwork' for months now, what makes this any different?" Noya retorts.
Daichi opens his mouth to respond when the door to the bar opens and there's a sudden influx of loud voices. They turn and see four other surfers walking into the bar. One of them is Kuroo, made recognizable by his perpetually windblown hair, and he's accompanied as usual by his friends Bokuto Koutarou, Terushima Yuuji, and Oikawa Tooru. They spot Daichi immediately despite Daichi's attempt to hide behind the drink menu on their table, and immediately they're crowded by the four tall men.
They're good surfers, and Noya likes trading tricks with them, but they also keep trying to kidnap Daichi into their group. Terushima also once implied that Noya and Yachi weren't able to handle the waves because of their short stature, which Daichi didn't take too kindly to. Noya and Yachi are perfectly able to prove themselves on the waves, but Daichi—always the big brother character after growing up with four younger siblings—is always ready to jump in and defend them if necessary.
They also in explicably call themselves the Captains for absolutely no apparent reason, which Noya thinks is cool but Daichi thinks is the height of douchebaggery. It's another reason he refuses to surf with them more than occasionally despite his crush on Kuroo.
"Oh captain, my captain!" Kuroo calls. "How are you this fine evening?"
"It was fine before y'all showed up," Daichi responds coolly.
Bokuto and Terushima crow with laughter, but neither Kuroo nor Daichi notice. They're too busy staring each other down with enough heat to light a fire.
"Heard you landed the rodeo flip," Oikawa says to Noya.
"Sure did," Noya says proudly. "One and a half rotations."
They all make an impressed noise, and Bokuto reaches out to enthusiastically pat Noya on the shoulder. Noya winces cause the guy's fucking strong but smiles appreciatively. Bokuto's usual move is to ruffle someone's hair, but he quickly learned the first time after crushing Noya's carefully gelled spikes not to ever do that again. Being in the water so much, he doesn't get to style his hair that often, so when he does it's no-touchy.
"Let's go get drinks," Terushima says, tugging on Bokuto's arm.
"Wanna join tables?" Kuroo asks.
"I think we're fine," Daichi replies.
Kuroo quirks an eyebrow. "Then I guess you're not gonna take shots with us?"
"And here I was gonna let you take a body shot off me, Dai-chan," Oikawa whines, but while Oikawa flirts with pretty much everything that moves, they all know he's got eyes for nobody but his boyfriends Sugawara and Iwaizumi—the latter of whom also happens to be a lifeguard.
Huh, Noya thinks, wondering if they're all becoming some kind of stereotype.
Daichi glances at Noya and Yachi sitting across from him, and Noya narrows his eyes. Then Daichi looks back and Kuroo and licks his bottom lip. "Sure, I'll take a shot with you."
"Oh my god," Noya hisses once Daichi and the so-called Captains are out of earshot. "We have to crush him. I don't care about winning anymore as long as he loses."
"But how are we gonna do that?" Yachi despairs. "I can't even talk to Kanoka. It's like as soon as she looks at me all the words I know fly out of my brain."
"I know the feeling," Noya says with a sigh, then perks up. "What if we sabotage him?"
Yachi gives him a stern look. "Don't you dare. I actually want this to work out for him. For all of them. And you do too."
"Yeah, yeah," Noya grumbles, slumping despondently over the table as Yachi takes the last sip of her wine. "Want another?"
"Sure," she replies and slides her phone out of her purse to scroll through social media while she waits for his return.
"What kind?" the bartender asks when Noya gets up to the bar, taking the empty glass and setting it aside to be washed.
He blinks. "Uh…white?"
She raises an eyebrow.
"It's for her," he says, pointing to where Yachi's still sitting at their table.
"Gotcha," she replies, then moves away.
Noya slides onto the nearest barstool and looks around. He easily spots Daichi sitting with the Captains like the two-timer he is, and when Daichi notices Noya looking he winks and puts an arm over the back of the booth he's in—which happens to be behind Kuroo. Kuroo smiles and leans into Daichi a little more, and Noya curses and looks away. If Daichi can successfully woo Kuroo and the two of them turn their powers of seduction toward Asahi, he and Yachi are sunk.
"Here you go," the bartender says, sliding a new glass of white wine to Noya. She turns her attention to someone who's appeared beside him, and asks, "What'll it be?"
"Two tequila shots and a sunrise for me, and…"
"Whiskey sour," adds a rough baritone, and Noya turns his head to see none other than Tanaka Ryuunosuke and his older sister Saeko.
"Y-you!" he exclaims in surprise.
"Me?" he says.
"Yuu!" Saeko greets. "Hey, man, heard you landed the rodeo flip."
"Hell yeah, working on two rotations now," he replies with a grin.
"Oh, you're that surfer," Tanaka says, and Noya tries not to blush as the man's steely grey eyes roam over his face.
"That's me," Noya says, pointing at himself with a thumb. He cringes inwardly. "Nishinoya Yuu. You, uh…you're Ryuu, right? New lifeguard."
"That's me," Tanaka echoes.
Noya's brain goes into overdrive trying to think of what to say next. Tanaka's right next to him, not working, and yet Noya can't think of a single flirty pickup line. Plus his sister's right there, and while Saeko is one of the coolest people on the planet he feels a little weird hitting on her brother right in front of her.
Tanaka's still looking at him though, and shit he's really attractive. He's wearing a tank top with open sides rather than the lifeguard shirt Noya's only ever seen him in before, and it affords Noya a fantastic peek at his obliques and makes him look forward to when the hot weather comes and Tanaka will hopefully shed his shirt when on duty. The tank top also shows off his arms and shoulders, which are exquisitely toned. That's all not mentioning the guy's face, which is unfairly perfect from the stern eyes and high set cheekbones down to the sturdy nose and full lips.
The bartender slides the Tanakas' drinks onto the counter, and Noya belatedly realizes he's been staring without saying anything, and he lets out an awkward laugh.
Tanaka continues to squint at him while Saeko takes the first of her shots. And speaking of shots, this is his shot and he's completely blowing it.
"C-come here often?" he manages, and then wishes he could drown himself in Yachi's wine.
"…yeah," Tanaka replies with an amused twitch of his lips.
"Right, cool, me too," Noya says, nodding way too quickly. "Um…where's Kanoka?" he asks, thinking of Yachi sitting at their table. If they could both talk to their lifeguards tonight then that might give them an edge over Daichi since Asahi's nowhere in sight.
Tanaka purses his lips. "Not here."
"Ah, dang," he says.
"Right," Tanaka says, then looks at his sister. "I'm gonna go to the toilet."
"Don't fall in," she tells him, then takes her second shot.
Once Tanaka is out of sight, Noya slams his forehead down on the bar and groans.
"Ya tryin' to hit on my brother?" Saeko asks, and he can hear the grin in her voice.
"More like failing to hit on your brother," Noya replies, turning his head so he can look despairingly up at her from where he's still slumped on the bar. "I totally fucked that up."
"Yup," she agrees.
"This is the first time I've seen him not working and I just…didn't know what to say," he complains, and he suddenly feels ten times more sympathy for Yachi and how flustered she gets around Kanoka.
"Well, if you want to catch him when he's not working, he takes lunch around eleven at the sandwich shop near Tower B. His usual days are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday," Saeko says, then takes a sip of her tequila sunrise. "But you didn't hear that from me, because that would be an HR violation."
"Right, of course," Noya says, sitting up and committing the schedule to memory. "You're the best, Saeko. I won't let you down."
"You better not," she says with a laugh, and that's when Tanaka comes back.
"What's funny?" he asks.
"Your face," she replies, pinching his cheek, and he swats her hand away.
"It was nice meeting you, Ryuu," Noya says eagerly, hopping off his stool. "See you again soon!"
"Right," Tanaka says, eyeing him skeptically, but Noya doesn't mind.
He grabs Yachi's wine and heads back to their table, and upon arrival he sees that Daichi managed to extricate himself from the Captains' clutches.
"You look happy," Daichi says suspiciously when Noya slides into the booth next to Yachi again.
"I am," Noya replies with a smug tone. "I just chatted up Ryuu at the bar."
"Oh did you?" Daichi asks, raising his eyebrows and turning to locate the Tanaka siblings where they're still sitting at the bar and talking. "Must not've gone well if you're back here with us."
"I was laying groundwork," Noya says, throwing Daichi's earlier words back at him. "You're going down."
/ / /
The sun is bright overhead the next day, and the beach is filled with tourists and surfers and kids building sandcastles. Tanaka leans over the railing, his very own official whistle dangling around his neck, and observes for any dangers. He's with Asahi today since Kanoka has the day off. He notices, though, that Asahi hasn't moved in a little while.
He turns to see that Asahi's peering through his binoculars in a particular direction, and when he looks he's unsurprised to see the group of surfers that Asahi's locked on to. He's heard Asahi whine about his crush on the two surfers Kuroo and Daichi so many times that he could probably recite Asahi's spiel word for word about how they're both so handsome and charming and talented and clearly meant for each other so why would either one of them ever go for Asahi, and blah blah blah.
"Ya watching the surfers?" he asks.
Asahi jolts and lowers the binoculars. "I don't know what you're talking about," he says primly.
"Uh-huh," Tanaka says in a voice that clearly displays his disbelief. "Well, I'm gonna take my lunch. You be sure to pay attention to everyone on the beach while I'm gone, ya hear? Not just your favorites."
"I'm supposed to be telling you what to do," Asahi grumbles, and Tanaka just laughs.
He departs the lifeguard tower and heads across the beach toward his favorite sandwich shop, already fantasizing about what sub he's going to order today. He decides on a loaded meatball sandwich with all the add-ons one would normally find on a pizza, one of his favorite delicacies. He's just sitting down to enjoy it when someone walks in and sours his good mood.
"Ryuu, hey!" says Noya, the surfer with eyes for Kanoka. "Fancy seeing you here!"
"How about that," Tanaka says, then ignores him in favor of digging into his sandwich.
Noya goes to order his own sandwich, and Tanaka hopes that'll be the end of it, but then Noya sits down across from him at the same table.
"Mind if I join you?" Noya asks like he hasn't already made himself at home.
"'s fine," Tanaka replies around a mouthful of food.
Noya takes a bite of his own sandwich, and Tanaka uses the time to observe him. He looks different than he had at the bar last night. His hair had been spiked up then but was now down and curling at the ends from air drying after being in the ocean, probably, and Tanaka once again notices the few locks of blonde hair that fall across his forehead. He's got a double helix piercing in his left ear and slightly gauged lobes, and around his neck is a stereotypical shark tooth necklace. He looks like a hooligan, Tanaka decides, and he's definitely not good enough for Kanoka.
"So, lifeguarding, huh?" Noya says. "What's that like?"
"A lot of standing around, mostly," Tanaka replies. "But that's good. Means people aren't dying."
"Right." Noya nods.
"It's only temporary, anyway," Tanaka continues. "I just needed a job."
"Where'd you work before?"
"Crow's Nest, the gym that closed. I was a personal trainer."
Noya drops his gaze to trace over Tanaka's arms. "Makes sense," he mumbles.
Tanaka blushes and clears his throat. "Y-yeah, so…Saeko suggested it, so here I am."
"Did you grow up here?"
Tanaka nods. "Born and raised. Me and Kanoka both," he says, making his voice a little sterner. "We grew up together, so she's like another sister to me."
"That's cool," Noya replies.
"Yeah, so if anyone were to ever, I dunno, hurt her, I'd probably kill them," Tanaka says, putting a little snarl in his lip. It's an expression that terrified younger kids when he was growing up, but Noya simply blinks innocently back at him.
"Makes sense," he says with a nod.
This guy's good, Tanaka thinks, narrowing his eyes.
The conversation continues, much to Tanaka's dismay, and he learns that Noya moved here three years ago after graduating from high school, seeking new experiences and a change of scenery. He met Daichi and Yachi, who introduced him to surfing, and he turned out to be a natural at it. That topic turns to swapping war stories of the shenanigans they each got up to in high school, and before Tanaka knows it he's relaxed and genuinely enjoying himself. He almost can't remember why he'd wanted to be standoffish toward Noya in the first place.
Bzzt bzzt!
Tanaka startles, looking down at his phone to see a text from Asahi: You coming back?
"Oh shit," Tanaka says, noticing the clock say it's past noon. His lunch break was only supposed to be an hour, but where had the time gone? "I've gotta get back."
"I'll walk with you," Noya replies, and Tanaka smiles. They bus their trays and then head back out to the beach. True to his word, Noya walks him all the way back to Tower E.
"Gonna hit the waves again?" Tanaka asks.
Noya sheds his shirt and drapes it over the back of his neck. "You know it."
Tanaka grins and subtly observes Noya's physique. He isn't wearing a wetsuit today, just board shorts, and Tanaka observes the well-toned muscles of his chest and shoulders as well as the two simple horizontal scars just under Noya's pectorals. He's unfairly attractive, Tanaka decides, as he rubs the back of his neck and hopes he isn't blushing.
"Well, I'll see ya," Noya says, taking a few steps backwards.
"Yeah, see you," Tanaka replies.
Noya turns around to walk away, and Tanaka's just started to notice the flex of the guy's back muscles when he turns back to face Tanaka.
"Hey, uh, where does Kanoka go for lunch?"
The question hits him like a punch to the gut as he thinks, Oh, right. That's why I don't like him.
"She packs her own," Tanaka replies.
"Gotcha. Thanks!" Noya waves, then jogs down toward the shoreline where his board and his friends are probably waiting for him. Tanaka kicks the sand and then climbs the stairs up to the tower, scolding himself for getting his hopes up.
/ / /
Tanaka fully expects to eat lunch alone like usual when Monday rolls around, but to his surprise Noya's already there when he walks in, seated at the same table they'd eaten at on Saturday.
He sits with the surfer again, a little bewildered and suspicious about why Noya's here eating lunch with him now instead of scoping out Tower E for when Kanoka goes to her lunch. He figured that Noya had gotten all he'd wanted from Tanaka on Saturday and that he'd be done with him now. But Noya just sits and eats and talks with him about surfing and childhood memories and favorite foods and overall acts like he wants to get to know Tanaka, which just makes Tanaka very confused.
He's even more confused when Noya eats lunch with him every day for the next two weeks, and at some point during that time they exchanged numbers and now Noya texts him throughout the day. They tell jokes and exchange memes and it almost feels like they're friends or maybe something more, but that just can't be right. Can it?
"I just don't get it," Tanaka complains one morning to his sister while eating breakfast before work.
"What don't you get?" she asks.
"Noya!" he exclaims, stabbing his chopsticks through the yolk of his egg to let it run over his rice.
"Ohhh, your little lunch date buddy," she says with a mischievous smile.
"They're not lunch dates," he mutters.
"Sure, bud," she says in a patronizing tone that makes him grind his teeth. "What's got your swim trunks in a twist about him?"
"If he wants to get with Kanoka he's going about it in a really weird way," Tanaka says. He'd asked Kanoka, and apparently Noya hasn't come around once when she's been on her lunch. The surfer girl Yachi has, though, for some reason. "He keeps hanging out with me and not her."
Saeko raises an eyebrow. "And that's a problem because…?"
"I just feel like he's up to something," Tanaka says. "He looks like a punk, like he's up to no good."
"You look like a punk."
He glares at her. "This isn't about me."
She snorts and reaches out to fondly rub at the peach fuzz covering his head. He shovels more food in his mouth, trying to think through his feelings and suspicions.
"I think he's trying to butter me up so he can get to Kanoka better," Tanaka says after swallowing and brandishes his chopsticks at her to emphasize his point. "He's, like, gonna get my guard down and take me out when I least expect it."
Saeko mutters something under her breath that Tanaka doesn't catch.
"What was that?" he asks.
"Nothing," she says too quickly, and he glares at her. "Maybe you should ask him about his dastardly evil plan on your next lunch date."
"They're not lunch dates," he insists, because they're not.
Sometimes it almost feels like they are, though. It almost feels like Noya is there to see him and spend time with him because he likes him, but just when Tanaka's about to let himself think that maybe—just maybe—Noya's interested in him, Noya goes and asks what Kanoka's favorite color is or if she wants to see any of the movies that are currently playing in the theaters, causing Tanaka to come crashing back to reality, and it sucks every time.
He pokes moodily at his food. "And anyway he doesn't like me, he likes Kanoka."
"So you've said," Saeko says tiredly, and Tanaka can't help but feel like she knows something he doesn't.
They finish their breakfast and head out of the small house they share, then begin their morning jog down to the beach. It turns into a race because it always does, and Saeko beats him because despite her shorter legs she's always been a better runner than he is.
"Say hi to Yuu on your lunch date!" Saeko calls after he leaves her at Tower B.
"They're not lunch dates!" he yells back, then jogs away
He could ask Noya about his intentions toward Kanoka. Probably should, really, just to get everything out on the table so Tanaka can stop breaking his own damn heart every other day. He doesn't though because, despite his protectiveness over Kanoka, it's really not any of his business if Noya's interested in her. If Noya goes for it and she says yes, Tanaka can disapprove all he wants, but it's ultimately between them. But really, a bigger part of him doesn't want to know because he doesn't want to give up the fantasy of Noya possibly being interested in him, despite all signs to the contrary.
When he gets to Tower E, his phone buzzes right as he's about to lock his stuff up. He pulls it out and glances at the notification: rollinnngthunder now follows you on Instagram! He opens up the profile and sees that it's Noya. It's filled mostly with photos people have taken of him surfing, but there's some selfies in there too. Tanaka doesn't scroll too far for fear of accidentally liking an old photo, but—after a beat of hesitation—he does follow back.
"Hey," he says to Kanoka once he gets to the observation deck, "does Noya follow you on Instagram?"
"Huh?" She looks away from watching Yachi tear it up on the early morning waves. "Oh, uh, I don't think so. Why?"
"Weird," he mutters in response, ignoring her questioning look.
/ / /
"So, how's it going with Asahi?" Noya asks.
Daichi glowers at him. "Fine."
"Just fine?" Yachi asks sympathetically, resting her chin in her hand.
"Fuck off," Dachi snaps and takes a swig of his beer. "He just doesn't seem to get that we're both interested in him."
"Too bad, so sad," Noya replies.
"Oh like you two are doing any better," Daichi retorts.
"I have lunch with Ryuu every day, and we text all the time," Noya replies. "We even have an eleven-day streak on Snapchat now."
"And Kanoka and I are going to the movies after her shift tomorrow," Yachi adds.
It's been just over a month since they first made the bet to see who could get with their lifeguard first, and things are going pretty well. Or at least they would be if Noya could nail down how Tanaka feels about him, but every time he feels them take one step forward Tanaka ends up taking two steps back and he doesn't understand why.
But he's not about to tell Daichi that.
"Sure, sure, but are either of you actually dating?" Daichi asks. "Or kissed, even?"
They're silent.
"That's what I thought," Daichi says. "We're all in the same boat now, so don't get cocky. It's still anyone's race."
Noya dimly realizes that they never set what winning the challenge would look like—if it was a kiss or going official on social media or what—and there's nothing at stake except their pride, but if he's being honest Noya doesn't even really care about the competition anymore. He just wants Tanaka, which honestly kind of surprises him since he started this whole thing without even really having a crush on the guy. He just thought Tanaka was hot and wanted to put Daichi in his place.
But now that he's gotten to know Tanaka, Noya doesn't know how he ever lived without the guy. He's witty and wild and caring and funny, and Noya likes him more and more with every fact he learns about him.
"Crushes suck," Noya announces, and they all toast their glasses to that.
/ / /
"No way, no way," Noya says the next day at lunch, shaking his head. "You mean to tell me you grew up in this town and haven't gone surfing even once?"
"Not a single time," Tanaka replies.
"Wind sailing?"
"Nope."
"Boogeyboarding?"
"Nah."
"What's wrong with you?" Noya asks.
"Depends on who you ask," Tanaka replies cheekily.
Noya laughs, loud enough to draw dirty looks from the tourist family seated at the front of the shop. The baby in the high chair starts laughing too, though, and the parents are immediately swept up by the infant's joy. Tanaka thinks maybe Noya's laugh is one of his favorite things about him, but every time he thinks he lands on his favorite thing about the guy something else crops up, like his easygoing attitude or the light in his eyes when he talks about surfing or how diehard supportive he is of his friends.
"You think you know a guy," Noya says with a dramatic sigh. "Can you even swim?"
"Of course I can swim, I'm a fucking lifeguard," Tanaka retorts.
"Okay, okay, just making sure," Noya replies, lifting his hands in defense. "Have you done anything in the ocean?"
"I went snorkeling as a kid," Tanaka says.
"Well that must've been fun, right?"
"Yeah it was, at first, except I kept dunking my head under and accidentally swallowing water that came in my breathing tube. Ended up puking in a trashcan outside of this very shop," he elaborates. "Since then the ocean and I haven't really been friends."
Noya narrows his eyes at him. "Are you telling me you don't even like the ocean?"
"Pretty much," Tanaka says. "People tell me it's my worst quality."
"I mean, fucking duh!" Noya exclaims, earning another glare from the family. "Dude, it's the ocean! There's so much to like about it!"
"And so much to dislike," Tanaka says. "Dead fish bodies, fish poo, monsters waiting in the depths, rip tides that want to kill you—"
"Phytoplankton that make our oxygen, ecological diversity, the world's biggest playground," Noya counters. "Dude, you've gotta let me take you surfing."
Tanaka cringes and rubs the back of his neck with his hand. "I…I dunno, man, it's—"
Noya reaches across the table suddenly and covers Tanaka's other hand with his. His hand is rough, likely caused by repeated exposure to the saltwater and sunshine that comes from surfing regularly. But Tanaka likes it, and before he realizes what he's doing he's turned his hand palm up, and then their fingers are curled around each other right there on the table in Tanaka's favorite sandwich shop.
"You don't have to," Noya says, and he's speaking softer than Tanaka's ever heard him before. "And if you end up hating it, that's okay, but…I just—I wanna show you my world."
Tanaka's heart aches so hard that for a second he's scared he might pass out, but he doesn't. He just squeezes Noya's fingers and nods.
"Okay, but…does it have to be at this beach?" he asks.
"Nah," Noya says with a grin. "I know a place."
/ / /
Usually on his days off Tanaka tries his hardest to avoid the beach. He spends too much time there anyway, and even when he's not working it's become hard for him to turn the lifeguard part of his brain off if he's by the shore. But here he is on a Sunday morning, waiting outside his house for Noya to come pick him up and take him to another beach so they can go surfing.
What have I gotten myself into? Tanaka asks himself for the fiftieth time since yesterday afternoon.
He doesn't get long to think about the answer, though, because a moped with a surfboard stuck to the side of it has just turned down his street.
"You too short to drive a real car?" Tanaka asks once Noya comes to a stop and idles in front of him. "Couldn't reach the pedals, huh?"
"Ohoho, big man with a big mouth!" Noya crows, shoving a spare helmet into his stomach. "We'll see how tough you are once I've got you on a board."
"No I'm serious," he says and obligingly takes the helmet, sticking it on his head and adjusting the straps. "Did you get this with a Barbie dreamhouse?"
"I can't hear you over the sound of my great fuel efficiency, you dick," Noya retorts.
Tanaka throws his head back and laughs the way he only does with Noya lately. He can't believe how quickly they've clicked, how seamlessly Noya entered his life to the point that Tanaka can't imagine it without him. But he supposes, once Noya eventually asks Kanoka out, that they'll have less time to spend together. It makes him cut his laughter off short.
Noya's fiddling with the straps that secure the board to his moped, then glances over at him. "Get on! Unless you're planning on walking?"
"I don't even know where we're going," Tanaka grumbles, then realizes how exactly he's supposed to ride the moped with Noya and blushes.
Swallowing his nerves, he throws a leg over the back of the scooter and settles carefully behind Noya. There's not much room on the single-person vehicle, but he tries to leave a few centimeters between them. He fits his feet beside Noya's on the footboard, then realizes the back of the moped doesn't have any handles so he settles for gripping the plastic hull for dear life.
"You tryna fall off the back?" Noya asks, glancing over his shoulder at him. "Hold on to me, dummy."
"Please, like this thing goes more than ten kilometers an hour," Tanaka jokes, but he accordingly moves his hands forward and places them on Noya's waist. He's very glad Noya has to look forward and can't see how red his face is right now.
"Here we go!" Noya shouts, and then they're zipping down the street at a surprisingly quick pace. Startled, Tanaka slides his hands forward so he's practically hugging Noya around the middle now. Tanaka's about to pull back, but Noya doesn't seem to mind. He's smiling and laughing as the wind whips their faces, so Tanaka thinks, Fuck it, and wraps his arms fully around Noya.
Noya drives them down past the lengthy stretch of beach that Tanaka and his fellow lifeguards patrol until the town becomes pretty sparse. The morning sun reflects off the ocean beside them, and Tanaka thinks he could get used to a life like this, then scolds himself because Noya isn't his, no matter how much he wants him.
They go for about ten more minutes, and then Noya's turning off the main road into a parking lot for a walking path. After disembarking, they carry the board and their bags down the walking path, but Noya leads them off down a shortcut to the coastline. When they break out of the trees, Tanaka sees a beautiful stretch of shore with not a single other person in sight.
"This is my favorite spot," Noya tells Tanaka as they trudge through the sand.
"Why're you at our beach so much, then?" Tanaka asks. "This place looks perfect."
"Oh it's the best, but I'm not about to be practicing dangerous tricks and shit without someone around to save my drowning ass," Noya says with a grin. "Plus your beach has a better view."
Tanaka looks around at the secluded spot and the uninterrupted sand and sea and sun. "You sure about that?"
"Better view of hot lifeguards, I mean," Noya replies with a wink.
"Oh, right," he says and forces a chuckle as he looks away. One hot lifeguard in particular, he thinks, reminding himself of Kanoka. "This isn't your usual board," he says suddenly, noticing the length and the lack of flames.
"Yeah, it's a longboard. Learned how to surf on this baby," Noya says, patting it proudly as he waxes the surface. "They're harder to do tricks on, but they float easier and are good starter boards. Plus it'll fit the both of us."
"Both of us?" Tanaka repeats.
"Yeah, I said I was gonna show you how to surf," Noya says. "What better way to learn than up close and personal?"
Tanaka swallows and wonders yet again how he'd let himself get dragged into this, but then he meets Noya's eager hazel eyes and is swiftly reminded.
It takes all of two minutes for Tanaka to learn what Noya really meant by up close and personal. Since Noya's the smaller of the two, he lays toward the front of the board with his legs out on either side of it. Tanaka then has to lay between them and half on top of Noya with his feet dragging in the water. He wonders if Noya can feel the pounding of his heart where it's pressed up against Noya's ass, then decides he doesn't want to know the answer.
With a beat of trepidation, they paddle out away from the shore, and at first it's just like swimming. Tanaka likes swimming, likes the rhythm of it, and he likes being supported by the board even more. But he likes swimming in a pool, where the water isn't fighting against his every movement. He also likes being able to see to the bottom of the pool, but out here in the ocean he can barely see half a meter down. Suppressing a shudder, he keeps his eyes trained on Noya's back and keeps paddling.
"Okay, hold up," Noya says when they're only about five meters from the shore. "We'll start here."
Noya lifts himself up and shifts around on the board so he's straddling it backwards and facing Tanaka. Tanaka's still laying like a corpse on the board, and he can feel his limbs shaking from adrenaline and stress, but he somehow manages to scoot up and haul himself into a sitting position.
"How you feeling?" Noya asks.
"Scared shitless, honestly," Tanaka admits.
"I get that," Noya says. "Right now we're just gonna practice riding a wave. No standing or surfing, we'll just catch it and let it carry us to shore. Sounds good?"
"I guess so," Tanaka replies. The water shifts around them, bobbing them up and down as they sit there together. A breeze comes by and sweeps goosebumps over his arms despite the sun beating down over their shoulders.
"D'you feel that?" Noya asks.
Tanaka blinks. "Feel what?"
"The ocean."
"Uh, yeah, we're kinda sitting in it," he replies with a laugh.
"No, no, no," Noya says wryly.
Tanaka expects him to elaborate, but suddenly he's reaching for Tanaka's hands and taking one in his before Tanaka even realizes what's happening. Noya cradles Tanaka's hand in both of his and presses his thumb to one of the veins, and Tanaka flushes with the knowledge that Noya must feel his racing heartbeat there.
"There's a pulse to the ocean, a rhythm, like with everything in life," Noya says softly. "Push, pull. Thump-thump. Tick, tock. We've gotta tap into the ocean's pulse, and that's what's gonna connect us to the waves. Once you feel that, I guarantee you're gonna be hooked."
Tanaka's already hooked, but not on the ocean.
"Got it?" Noya asks, looking up from Tanaka's hand.
"Y-yeah," he says, and the word comes out strangled, but he chalks that up to nerves about surfing, not about the very cute boy holding his hand for the second time in two days.
"Cool. Now, I'm sorry about this, but—"
Without warning, Noya shoves Tanaka backwards off the end of the board. He's suddenly plunged into the water, and his lifeguard training triggers instantly as he rights himself and kicks up to the surface. He breaks through with a gasp and a splutter, then grabs on to the board which stayed near him cause of the leash around his ankle. Noya pops up a second later, having capsized himself with his actions too, and to his dismay Noya's grinning at him.
"The fuck was that for?!" he snaps.
"That's what it's gonna feel like when you fall," Noya replies happily like he didn't do anything wrong. "Don't be scared of it. If you're gonna fall, you're gonna fall, but the water's there to catch you. And then you get back up. Yeah?"
Tanaka stares at him, flabbergasted and a little peeved, but he catches that fire in Noya's eyes and feels it light another in his gut, and he's grinning back before he'd given his mouth permission to move.
"Yeah," he agrees.
"And no more swallowing seawater, kay?"
"You couldn't pay me enough," Tanaka replies.
"Really?" Noya asks. "I think I'd do it for like five thousand yen."
"How about for free?" Tanaka offers, then reaches over and dunks Noya below the surface.
Noya comes up a second later, spluttering in outrage, and Tanaka just laughs.
They clamber back up on to the board and Noya angles them to prep for a wave. He watches over his shoulder, letting several pass them by because he deems them too big, and Tanaka has to admire Noya's dedication to being a good teacher because he knows it probably kills him to let decent waves pass him by.
"Paddle, paddle, paddle," Noya says suddenly whipping around to face the front as his arms start carving through the water. Tanaka's heart kicks into gear as adrenaline suddenly pulses through him. He quickly settles into a rhythm with Noya, and the water swells gently around them.
Just as the water begins to turn to foam against his legs, Noya calls, "Hold!" and they stop.
Noya tucks his arms underneath him and lifts his chest up, whooping as the water carries them swiftly to shore. It's faster than Tanaka had expected, and a rush of power and freedom sweeps over him as they surrender all control to the ocean beneath them. Water and wind spray his face, and his heart pounds in his chest and he thinks, Oh, this is why they do this.
Too soon, they're running aground on the sand, and Noya rolls off the board to sit in the shallows.
"So," he says, "what'd ya think?"
"I think we should do that again," Tanaka replies.
/ / /
They do go again, and again, and again, and again. Then Noya makes them take a water, snack, and sunscreen break, and after that Noya has him practice the movement of popping up on a board. Tanaka's committed to this now, and he recognizes the purposeful tug in his gut that comes whenever he's bound and determined to overcome an obstacle that's placed itself before him.
He can't even believe he started this day with a distrust bordering on hatred for the ocean. Now, as he falls in time and time again after every failed pop up, he finds comfort and familiarity in the water rushing up around him. Noya would probably like to attribute his newfound ease in the water to Tanaka realizing that the ocean isn't all that bad after all. And while there is a modicum of truth to that, really the transformation is due to Noya himself.
Noya interacts with the ocean like it's an old friend of his. He cuts through the water with ease, manipulates the surfboard with cool confidence, and basically acts more comfortable in the sea than he does on the land. He'd said he wanted to show Tanaka his world, and now that Tanaka's seen it, he doesn't ever want to leave.
"Okay, man," Noya says, flopping down on to the sand beside Tanaka. "Wanna pack it in, get some lunch?"
They've been surfing—or attempting to—for well over five hours now. The sun is high overhead and Tanaka's already feeling a soreness in places he never knew could get sore, but he doesn't want to give up just yet. He also doesn't want to leave this place and the strange kind of spell it's put over them. Here, where it's just the two of them and the water with not a single other soul in sight, Tanaka can almost pretend…
"One more," he says desperately. "Let's try one more time."
Noya grins. "Bet."
They paddle out toward the horizon again, and Tanaka doesn't worry about the fish lurking somewhere beneath the depths. He doesn't think about particles of fish poop or fish guts floating around him. All he thinks about—cares about—is Noya.
Laying on this board, pressed against Noya's back, rocking with the motion of the water with sunlight cascading all around them, Tanaka thinks he can feel it, that pulse Noya was talking about earlier. It thrums through him where he's connected to both the water and the boy next to him, and he never wants to stop feeling it.
"This might be it," Noya says, breaking Tanaka from his daze. "Ready, and…go, go, go!"
They start paddling hard, trying to get enough momentum before the wave scoops them up. Noya glances over his shoulder with every other stroke, and Tanaka is astounded by the sheer concentration in his face. The determination in Tanaka's gut turns to steel, and he rips his hands through the water in an attempt to match the visceral power of the ocean around them.
"Now!" Noya calls.
Tanaka stops paddling and presses his hands to the board underneath him. He lifts his chest up and then quickly jumps his feet underneath him just like he's practiced. Noya does the same in front of him, and then he's standing while Tanaka's practically sitting at the back end of the board like a coward as they hurtle toward the shore.
"Come on!" Noya shouts, and carefully extends a hand back to Tanaka without overbalancing them.
Tanaka doesn't even feel a beat of hesitation. He takes Noya's hand in his and rises to a bent crouch, and Noya adjusts so that they're standing back-to-chest Noya's feet pressed against Tanaka's.
"Do what I do!" Noya shouts, then Tanaka feels him put weight on the foot that's at the back of the board. Tanaka mimics him, and then the board turns and they're riding along the wave parallel to the shore. Tanaka lets out a delighted whoop of triumph while gripping Noya's waist in absolute terror. Noya's laughter on the wind is like music to Tanaka's ears, and he decides it's the best thing he's ever heard.
Noya steers them along the wave until it peters out and they begin to lose momentum. Before the board sinks them, Tanaka wraps his arms around Noya's waist and tips them sideways into the water. They come up laughing a second later with Noya scooping wet hair out of his eyes.
"You did it man!" Noya crows, giving Tanaka an excited punch to the arm once he grabs onto the board.
"Only cause of you," Tanaka replies as he rests an arm on the board. "I…I never knew it was like that. That I could feel so…so—"
"Powerful and powerless at the same time?" Noya guesses.
"Yeah," Tanaka breathes, and Noya scoots his arm forward on the board so his hand is resting on Tanaka's.
Tanaka looks at him, at the wild exhilarated eyes and the incredible soul behind them, and he wants to kiss him. He wants to kiss him right here in the ocean while they tread water, wants to taste the saltwater on his lips, wants to hold him by the waist when they're not on a board or a moped.
Noya's eyes drop down to his lips for a moment and treads closer, and Tanaka suddenly realizes he may not be as alone in his crush as he'd thought.
But just before he could explore that hint of reciprocated feelings, they hear shouting coming from the shoreline. They turn toward the noise and see Yachi standing on the beach. Noya waves happily, but she doesn't wave back, just frantically gestures them toward her.
"Something's wrong," Noya says, and they quickly slide back on the board to paddle to shore.
/ / /
"You go on ahead," Tanaka says when he pulls to a stop outside the hospital in Yachi's Jeep. "I'll find a parking space."
"You're the best," Noya replies, and he and Yachi hop out and head for the ER doors while Tanaka drives away.
Noya doesn't think he's ever been more scared than when he and Tanaka hit the sand to find Yachi crying uncontrollably on the beach. He left Tanaka to carry the board and immediately ran up to her, grabbing her by the arms and not caring that he was soaking wet.
"Yacchan," he said. "What's happened?"
"It's D-Daichi," she cried, and his heart sank.
Apparently Daichi had been surfing as normal when some amateur kid came racing along the same wave without any control and they slammed into each other. Kanoka and Iwaizumi raced into the water, and the kid was mostly just startled and scared, but Daichi had a head wound and was half-unconscious. He'd been rushed to the hospital as soon as they reached the shore, and that was when Yachi went to get Noya from his secret spot. Noya doesn't know how she'd managed to drive from the main beach to the walking path parking lot without hitting anything from how hard she was crying, but he's grateful to whatever god was looking out for her.
They get the number for Daichi's room and rush over to find Kuroo sitting on a bench in the hallway. He must've left straight from the beach while Yachi had gone searching for Noya.
"How is he?" Noya demands.
Kuroo looks wrecked. His hair, while the same mess it always is, lacks its usual fun flair, and his eyes are bloodshot and puffy. "He's gonna be fine. Some stitches, mild concussion, fluid in the lungs. They need to keep him overnight for observation, but…he's okay."
They both slump onto the bench beside him in relief, and Yachi starts crying fresh tears. Noya rubs her back as they settle in to wait for Daichi to be allowed visitors. Tanaka finds them and squeezes onto the bench next to Noya, and Noya leans his head against his shoulder while Tanaka's hand wraps around his, and if he wasn't so worried about Daichi he'd be over the moon right now.
A nurse comes by thirty minutes later to check on Daichi and informs them he's awake and can take two visitors at a time. Kuroo cedes to Noya and Yachi, so they creep slowly into the room. Daichi's propped upright with gauze wrapped around his head. He looks exhausted, but his eyes still have their usual light.
"Hey big guy," Noya says softly.
"Who died?" Daichi asks in a lighthearted tone.
"D-don't you dare!" Yachi snaps with a frown. "I—you—it—"
"I'm sorry, Yachi," Daichi interrupts. "I know I scared you. Scared all of you. But I'm fine. It was just an accident."
"How long until you're on a board again?" Noya asks.
"Couple weeks at best, but probably longer," Daichi replies with a sigh.
"Sucks."
"Yeah."
"But you're gonna get back out there, right?" Noya asks.
Daichi grins. "Couldn't keep me from it if you tried."
"Sick," Noya replies with an equally feral grin.
Yachi's phone buzzes, and she glances down and begins texting. "It's Kanoka. She wants to know if you're okay."
"I'm okay thanks to her," Daichi says. "I don't remember much but I know she's the one who grabbed me. Probably would've been a lot worse if she hadn't gotten to me so fast."
A gentle smile transforms Yachi's features, and Noya nudges her. "You have to make your move now. Can't let a woman like that go."
She laughs and grabs part of her hair to twist it in her fingers, which Noya knows is a nervous gesture of hers. He narrows his eyes.
"Yacchan?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, um…you know we went to the movies yesterday?" Yachi starts, not meeting either of their eyes. "She—well, I—um, we…kissed?"
Their jaws drop, and she puts her hands over her face as her cheeks go red.
"No fucking way!" Noya shouts. "For real?"
She nods, hands still over her face. "She was dropping me off afterward, and then we were just talking in the car and…" She takes a deep breath and mumbles, "She kissed me."
Noya crows with delight while Daichi claps his hand together in gentle applause as she whines in embarrassment.
"Yachi," Noya says, grabbing her by the wrists and lowering her hands from her face. "You won. You fucking won!"
Her eyes widen, and then she looks at Daichi who just nods with a small smile, and then they all start laughing.
The nurse on duty kicks them out after that, and then it's Kuroo's turn. Tanaka sends Noya a questioning look when he and Yachi return to the bench still full of giggles, but Noya just shakes his head. He'll explain someday, probably. After he's landed Tanaka as his official boyfriend, he decides as he takes Tanaka's hand in his again.
"Is he okay?"
They look up to see Asahi bumbling down the hall, stuck in a weird gait halfway between running out of panic for Daichi and walking out of respect for the hospital.
"Saeko told me what happened," he pants when he gets to them, "but I was on duty at Tower A and couldn't get anybody to cover me at first, and then—"
"He's fine, he's fine," Tanaka tells him, and Asahi leans weakly against the wall in relief. "You can go in if you want. Kuroo's in there, but the nurse says he can have two visitors at a time."
"O-oh." Asahi swallows heavily and looks down at his hands, which are nervously wringing the end of his shirt. "No, I—I don't want to interrupt, it…I'll just wait."
Noya looks at Tanaka with a raised eyebrow and Tanaka sighs and subtly nods in confirmation. If Yachi hadn't just won their stupid little competition, and if Daichi hadn't almost died today, Noya probably would've enjoyed leaving the three of them dancing around each other for a while longer, but he figures they all need each other right now.
"You should go in there," Noya tells him. "They probably really want to see you."
Asahi's jaw flexes, his expression unsure. "I…I dunno."
Tanaka and Noya look at each other and nod. They rise up from the bench and each take one of Asahi's arms and begin dragging him toward the door to Daichi's room. Yachi springs up as well and goes to pull the door open for them so they can shove Asahi inside.
"W-wait, what—guys—please—" Asahi stammers.
"Special delivery for the drowning victim!" Noya calls, and then he and Tanaka force Asahi through the doorway.
Yachi speedily closes the door, and then they all three high five each other and laugh.
"Think they'll finally sort it out?" Tanaka asks.
"Fuckin' hope so," Noya replies. "I dunno how much more pining I can take."
"You're one to talk," Yachi retorts.
Noya's face goes up in flames, and he doesn't miss the way Tanaka now frowns between them, but just as Noya's considering how best to recover the situation, her phone starts buzzing.
"Oh, I gotta take this," she says, glancing at the screen.
"Gonna talk to your girlfriend?" Noya coos.
"Shut up," she hisses with a smile, holding the phone to her chest like it's something precious before skipping away down the hall toward a lobby where she can talk without disturbing anyone.
Noya turns back to Tanaka and they retreat to the bench once more. Tanaka leaves a little space between them this time, which is a little weird when they'd just been kind of cuddling and holding hands, but he supposes it makes sense since there's just the two of them right now. And also, he probably needs the clear headspace of them not touching to say what he needs to say right now.
"Hey, so, today was fun right?" Noya asks.
"Until your friend was rushed to the hospital?" Tanaka says with a wry smile. "Yeah. It, uh…it was the best, honestly."
"I think so too," Noya says, and then he decides fuck a clear headspace and reaches out to take Tanaka's hand. Tanaka lets him take it, but it almost feels a little reluctant this time. Noya holds on even tighter in response. "I…I'd really like to do it again someday. Cause I liked spending time with you. I always do. And I want—I think—I—"
He blows out an annoyed breath. He's never been good with flowery words or speeches, has always been his best when he just speaks his mind. So he sucks in a lungful of air, looks Tanaka in the eye, and says, "I really fucking like you, Ryuu. Please date me."
Tanaka's face is stunned, and Noya holds his breath so long that he starts going dizzy, and still Tanaka hasn't spoken. His hands are sweating now where he's holding Tanaka's, and he suddenly wonders if he's read everything so, so wrong. But how could he misread the lingering smiles and the lunch dates and all the flirty text banter? Not to mention their whole time on the beach today. They'd been touching and flirting all morning, and Noya could've sworn Tanaka was about to kiss him right before Yachi came around.
"R…Ryuu?" Noya asks.
"You're serious?" Tanaka finally says, and…yeah, not the response Noya was looking for, but at least the guy's talking again.
"Yeah, man, dead serious," he says, then winces because he probably shouldn't say shit like that in a hospital.
Tanaka stares at him a moment longer, and Noya watches a myriad of different expressions cross over his face. He cycles through confusion to understanding to joy to embarrassment to confusion again, and now he seems to have landed on annoyance because he's currently glaring at Noya.
"What about Kanoka?" Tanaka asks in a demanding tone.
Noya blinks. "Kanoka?"
"Yeah, Kanoka," Tanaka says, and he rips his hand out of Noya's. "You couldn't get with her so you decide to settle for me? That's kinda fucked up, man. She's a great girl and I can't believe you're not even gonna put any real effort in. And…and I deserve more than being a second choice!"
Silence rings in the hospital hallway as they stare at each other, Tanaka with a miffed expression and Noya with absolute befuddlement.
He can't be serious, Noya thinks. He's messing with me, right? Deciding that has to be it, he lets out a nervous little laugh, but that's clearly the wrong response because Tanaka just curls his lip and glares even harder.
"I…I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Noya says awkwardly, and he forces the smile to stay on his face because otherwise he knows his lower lip is going to start trembling.
Tanaka rolls his eyes, and Noya feels pain stab straight through his heart. "Please. I know you have eyes for her. It's super obvious, with all the—"
"Wait, wait, wait, hold up," Noya says, then takes a deep breath as things start to click. "You think I have a crush on Kanoka?"
Now Tanaka's the one to pause. "…don't you?" he asks.
"No," Noya says with a shocked laugh. "Dude, where'd you even get that?"
"But—you—she—" Tanaka splutters, and fuck he's really cute when he blushes. "You kept asking about her! Her favorite foods and—"
"Oh my god," Noya says, and relief floods through him so sharply that he starts cackling right there in the hospital hallway while Tanaka makes flustered little sounds. "I…I was getting intel for Yachi."
"Yachi?"
"Yeah, dude, they like just became official yesterday," Noya tells him. "That's who she's on the phone with right now!"
Tanaka's mouth forms a tiny little circle and Noya can practically see the puzzle pieces falling into place behind those steel eyes.
"…oh," Tanaka says sheepishly. "So…so the stuff you said a-about hot lifeguards and pining, that was…that was me?"
"Yeah, man," Noya says, and he's not even embarrassed about the way his voice cracks. He reaches out and takes both of Tanaka's hands, noticing that they're both shaking a little. "It's always been you."
"Fuck," Tanaka gasps, and then they're both laughing. "Shit, I…I like you so much, Noya, but I-I thought—and then—but—wait, this whole time?"
"This whole time," Noya affirms, giving his hands a squeeze.
"I'm so stupid," Tanaka bemoans. "I'm so fucking stupid. I'm never gonna live this down, am I?"
"Not ever," Noya replies, then bites his lip. "So, uh…does that mean yes, then?"
"Huh?" Tanaka looks up at him, then realizes. "Oh, yeah! Fucking duh, man!"
"We're dating?" Noya asks excitedly.
"Yeah!"
"Boyfriends?"
"Fuck yeah!"
"And I can kiss you whenever I want?"
"You'd fuckin' better," Tanaka replies.
Noya grins. "Like…right now, for instance?"
"Not if I kiss you first," Tanaka replies, and then they're colliding like the crash of the waves on the beach.
Noya places his hands on either side of that handsome, chiseled face and scoots closer on the bench until he's practically in Tanaka's lap. Tanaka's hands are on his waist like they were when they were surfing, except it's so much better this time because those are his boyfriend's hands. His big, dumb, idiot of a boyfriend, but his boyfriend nonetheless.
/ / /
Tanaka rests his elbows his knees where he sits in the sand, looking out at the ocean before him. It stretches out as far as the eye can see, and the only difference between the blue of the sky and the blue of the water is the rippling sunlight that glitters across the ocean's surface. Any number of mysteries and creatures hide within the deep blue water, lost in the depths beneath the waves that roll and crash onto the shore.
It's truly beautiful, but not as beautiful as the sight of his boyfriend carving up the water on his surfboard.
He's lounging in the sand next to Yachi and Daichi, who's still banned from strenuous physical activities. Asahi had made it known that he would prefer if Daichi was banned from surfing permanently—Kuroo too for that matter, because they finally all worked out their shit in that hospital room weeks ago and became boyfriends—but apparently he had a long bonding chat with Yachi about the strength and joy of surfing outweighing the potential dangers, and he's okay with it again.
In fact, he's more than okay with it, judging by how Kuroo currently has him standing on a board in the sand to show him a good surfing stance. Kuroo's standing way closer than necessary as he guides Asahi into a proper bend of the knee, but who's Tanaka to judge?
Honestly, if Tanaka hadn't experienced the high of surfing with Noya just before Daichi's accident, Tanaka probably would've sided with Asahi and blamed Daichi's accident on the ocean being the literal devil. But now…he gets it. He understands the pull toward doing something so challenging, toward harnessing an energy that's so much bigger than yourself. And he's learned that the ocean, like everything in life, has its own risks and rewards, and that the good actually outweighs the bad more often than not.
"There he goes," Yachi murmurs.
"Is he gonna make it?" Daichi wonders aloud.
"Fuck yeah he is," Tanaka says.
They watch as Noya rips along the curl of the wave, then shoots up for the lip. Suddenly he's airborne and spinning. He flips once—Tanaka holds his breath—twice—and then he's falling back down towards the water. Noya skillfully wrenches the board all the way around to face where he'd started, and then he's on the wave and surfing along it once more.
Tanaka sticks his fingers in his mouth and whistles as loud as he possibly can while Yachi and Daichi scream and cheer with all their might. Kuroo and Asahi are also cheering, and Tanaka hears some other shouting and notices the rest of the Captains waving their arms in support where they're out floating in the water waiting for the next wave.
"Gosh," Yachi sighs once they stop cheering, watching as Kanoka runs over to scold a group of kids who are getting too rowdy with each other. "Do you ever just realize how gay you are?"
"All the time," Tanaka and Daichi reply, and they all laugh.
"Ryuu!" he hears someone call, and he looks over to see Noya charging up the sand toward them. He only gets a couple seconds' warning before he's treated to an armful of soaking wet boyfriend and a saltwater kiss. "Did you see? Did you see?" Noya demands.
"We all saw, it was fucking awesome!" Tanaka replies, mussing Noya's wet hair while ignoring Noya's groans of protest.
Noya catches his lips in another kiss, then pulls away and grabs his hand. "Hey, hey, come surf with me."
"Eh, I dunno," Tanaka says with a cringe. "I don't really like the ocean."
"Shut the fuck up," Noya replies, then darts up out of Tanaka's lap. "Last one there thought I had a crush on Kanoka!" he calls over his shoulder.
"Fucking hell," Tanaka grumbles as his so-called friends erupt into laughter at his expense.
Still, he launches himself to his feet and grabs his very own surfboard where it rests in the sand behind him, then runs toward the water and his surfer.
Returning to TanaNoya after six fics for other pairs felt so good. I love my dumb boys so much.
This AU is the brainchild of my friend Tono ( mainbird_art on Twitter) for coming up with this AU! Check out all of her art and tweets about it, it's so good. I got very invested in the story and just couldn't help myself haha. I hope I did it justice 3
Thanks for reading!
~Ki
Tumblr/Twitter: kiconwrites
Insta/TikTok: kicondraws