Colors bleed into the horizon, tinging it with the palest shades of pink and yellow. Izumi has her chin nestled onto her crossed arms, leaning on the railing of the roof and witnessing the sun wake up. Her short blonde locks flutter in the wind, the smell of the sea clinging to her; she doesn't know how they all managed to make it to Okinawa despite the million hurdles that they’ve had to face but she is here, in her denim shorts and lavender sweatshirt, sleepy and content on the roof of a resort that has an excellent view of the infinite expanse of the blue water. It feels like one of those achingly picturesque moments that you capture and frame in your heart because everything really is so perfect except her hands; her accursed hands remain cold even in the middle of summer.
“Who gets up so early when on vacation?”
Izumi turns around to see izeckeil walking towards her, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. In his other hand is a cup of tea- cinnamon, which is his preferred flavor- and steam curls up in a delicate pattern over the rim. He comes to stand next to her, still in his worn out white cotton shirt and sweatpants. Their shoulders brush, and not even a tsunami can compare to the riot of emotions that one innocent touch starts within her. He looks rumpled in a way that is unfairly adorable, like he belongs in romance books and not in real life.
“You’re up too-“ izumi mumbles, turning her face back to the horizon. The sea waves and flows in tandem, filling up their pocket of silence with a lullaby of waves. Izeckeil leans on the railing like her, the tips of his purple hair lie against his forehead; she tucks her fingers tighter inside the long sleeves of her sweatshirt, lest she does something absolutely, irreversibly stupid like brush his hair away.
Frustration bubbles within her, and she wants to nose dive right off the roof at times like this. These urges- to touch him, to bottle up his carefree laughter, to snuggle closer to him on colder days- started surfacing a few months ago and now she does not know how to deny them anymore. They pull and push at her at all times, making it impossible to be around him sometimes. But not being around him- lose their bubble of secrets and quiet affection- seems an impossible feat too.
They stay silent for a few beats, listening to the wind whistle between them; Izeckeil sips on his tea and stares straight ahead. Izumi tries to do the same but fails so miserably that a blush creeps across her cheeks and it takes everything in her not to hide her face inside her crossed arms. She peeks at his profile through her lashes- the razor sharp edge of his jaw, the corded muscles of his forearms, the slant of his elegant nose. Her heart thumps unevenly in her chest and she wants to close the distance so bad that the desire feels all encompassing, something bigger than herself. So she retreats within, pulls back her arms and wraps them around her torso.
She would rather izeckeil hold her but that is a dream yet to be true.
Izeckeil feels like he is aware of every inch of space between them, like every millimeter is electrocuted with something that is almost tangible. He looks at izumi when she looks at the sea, a childlike fascination lighting up her heart-shaped face as she watches the infinite blues. The sun has risen fully and shafts of light catch at her golden hair, making her look angelic in a way that seems a little surreal. The corners of her mouth are slightly turned up, sapphire eyes wistful and content, and he feels his own lips mimic her smile. That is how it has been with them for months now, maybe for over a year; she moves and so does he. She laughs and he jokes a little harder. She cries and his hurt doubles in his chest.
A blush blooms across her cheeks and it eats him alive that he cannot reach out and trace that delicate color or tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He wonders, again and again and again, if that blush is for some other guy. Every time her phone pings and she smiles at it, he wants to rip his hair out in fistfuls because he cannot bring himself to ask if she’s falling in love with someone else when he falls for her a little harder every day.
