Author's Note: Day 4 of GinSherry week and the prompt choices were family, beach, first meeting, confession.
Monday: pining, proposal/wedding, sharing clothes, AU
Tuesday: green, date, sleeping, APTX
Wednesday: jealousy, selfie, rain, hug
Thursday: family, beach, first meeting, confession
Friday: intimate, dream/nightmare, reunion, call/text
Saturday: dancing, heartache, kimono, kiss
Sunday: festival, hurt/comfort, banter, sick day, cosplay, cooking
Prompt Chosen: Beach
Summary: Sherry and Gin on a beach vacation.
Prompt: Beach
"Finally, we're here!" Sherry exclaimed once Gin parked the car – a rental because the Porsche was too precious for a trip like this in his eyes – and she got out.
She didn't need to see the sand dunes and scrubby vegetation to know they had arrived at the beach. She could hear the waves rolling and crashing against the sand and smell the salt blowing in on the refreshing sea air. Sherry closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, enjoying the sensation of the hot summer sun and the cool wind across her skin. She had needed this vacation badly and fully intended to make the most of her entire week off work. Even better was the fact that Gin had also been allowed to take the week off to join her, though he had to be on-call at all times and ready to go back at once if something happened. She desperately hoped nothing happened. She had plans.
"Sherry," Gin called.
She opened her eyes and walked around to the trunk to help Gin unload the luggage: her two large bags, his one, the beach bag, a currently empty cooler, and the umbrella.
"Got everything?" Gin asked.
"Mhm, purse his here," she said, indicating the item in question as she pulled up the handles on her suitcases to drag them, and he picked up everything else.
"So the plan is to check in to our hotel and spend the afternoon on the beach then return to the hotel for dinner in the restaurant with no intention of leaving the hotel until morning," Gin said with a playful wiggle of his eyebrows.
Sherry blushed but nodded shyly. "That sounds about right."
They entered the hotel and checked in at the front desk then headed up to their room to drop off their luggage and change into beachwear. Sherry blushed at her own reflection in the bathroom mirror as she examined the new royal blue bikini on her body. She'd bought it at the beginning of summer, loved the way it looked on her, and wanted Gin to see her wear it. The idea of him actually seeing her wear it though; that made her heart race and her face warm.
"Sherry, you done in there?" Gin called. She'd taken the bathroom while he changed in the bedroom.
"Y-Yeah, I'll be right out," she answered.
She took one last look at herself in the mirror, slapped her face, and strode out. Gin was sitting on the edge of the queen-sized bed with his regular clothes all folded beside him. He was wearing black swim trunks with a silver stripe down the sides and a loose white button-up t-shirt. He was still wearing a hat, but it was a wide-brimmed straw hat rather than his black fedora. Sherry couldn't decide what to make of this appearance. He looked beach-ready, but he was so dressed-down, she hardly recognized him.
"That swimsuit looks good on you," Gin said, breaking her internal contemplation, and she smiled.
"Thank you. Should I be worried about you getting jealous of other men ogling me?"
Gin smirked. "Should I be worried about you so easily being seduced by sun-charred man meat?"
Sherry pouted and crossed her arms. "You could at least act like you're a little jealous," she muttered.
"Ohh?" Gin hummed. He stood up and closed the distance between them, forcing her to look up to meet his eyes. "You mean something like this where I seize you around the waist…"
His left arm slid around to the small of her back and pulled her sharply against his chest.
"…grasp your chin…"
Those deft, calloused fingers hooked beneath her chin and his thumb lingered at the corner of her mouth. His face started drawing closer as he lowered and tilted his head.
"… and steal your breath away," he whispered and planted his lips on hers in the next moment.
Sherry hummed and met his gentle coaxing with delight, one of her hands finding its way to the back of his neck while the other crawled into his hair at the back of his head. The kiss ended much too soon for her liking, and Gin chuckled then nuzzled her nose.
"I remember a certain someone wanted to enjoy the beach today before it got dark out. I'll still be here when the sun is gone," he said.
"That's true," Sherry said as she pushed herself out of his arms and added, with an attempt at an unaffected air, "But yeah, something like that will do."
Gin chuckled again and planted a quick kiss on top of her head then went out to the living room, Sherry following behind. He picked up the beach bag and the umbrella while she grabbed the towels and wrapped one around her waist. She wasn't feeling that bold walking around in just her swimsuit without the semblance of additional clothing in the hotel.
The beach was fairly crowded given that it was afternoon during the summer, though at least it wasn't a weekend. Gin found a clear enough spot far up from the high tide line and got the umbrella setup while Sherry laid out the extra towel she'd brought specifically to lay on the sand. She threw down Gin's towel and the hers that she'd used like a skirt then fished around in the beach bag for the sunscreen. She conscripted Gin's help for her back while she worked on her front half, but when she offered to return the favor, Gin smiled and shook his head.
"Thank you, Sherry, but I won't need it except on my face, arms, and legs," Gin said.
Sherry tilted her head curiously. "You're not taking off the shirt?"
Gin shook his head sharply. "Not a snowball's chance in Hell. It doesn't matter how much sunscreen I use, what spf level it is, or how often I reapply it, I burn. I don't tan, I go straight from white to red with no in-between, so unless you want me to be as miserable and lifeless as a cooked crab during our vacation, the shirt does not come off where the sun shines."
Sherry couldn't help it. She burst out laughing so long and hard that she started crying and her sides hurt while Gin watched with a resigned air.
When she managed to get some control over herself, she asked, "Is that… haha… is that why you always dress in long-sleeves? Because you burn worse than a redhead?"
"That's… one reason…" Gin said and looked very reluctant to explain further, but Sherry grinned wickedly and leaned in close.
"Is the other reason because you look good in black and are willing to suffer?" she said.
"…"
"It is, isn't it?" she pressed.
"I don't have to answer that," Gin said.
"Which is longhand for you saying 'yes'," Sherry said then gave him a quick peck on the lips before heading off to enjoy the water.
