The shore we looked out over that day, I still remember it now
Words engraved on the sand, your silhouette
The waves, coming and going against my feet, washing everything away
In the evening's calmness, only the twilight passes through
You've been dozing more than sleeping when you hear the bedroom door open. The rhythmic crash of waves on the nearby shore filters into the room and there's the smell of the sea about you. The fan over the bed, with its mahogany blades carved into the shape of palm fronds, swirls lazily above.
"Rise and shine, [ NAME ]!" Gojo shouts. A moment later, he bounds onto your shared bed, nearly bouncing you off. "Time to wake up!"
You scream and leap up, your hair frazzled and your eyes only half open. Clutching the white sheets to your chest, you shove the hair back from your face. Then you shove him. "I'm tired, I'm sore, and I'm sleeping in."
"Oops." He says, sounding smug, and very pleased with himself. "Sorry."
You can hear the unrepentant smile in his voice. You shoot Gojo a nasty look, thinking that he could at least look a little more remorseful.
The night comes flooding back to you. The long bath with Gojo's soapy hands running through your hair and over your skin. Your own voice, bright and happy as you'd told him about all the places you wanted to travel to during your weeks off. Curling up next to Gojo and watching movies throughout the night. Your sighs and moans as you'd kissed him until your lips were sore and swollen. Muscles you don't even know you have are aching, and your limbs are strained and stiff.
"It's after nine, lazybones," Gojo's face is haloed by the light and bright with a wide grin. "Get up and get dressed! We're going sightseeing today!"
You muffle a groan, planting your face back into your pillow. The gentle, soothing motion of a hand stroking down your bare back coaxes you back out again, into the sunlight flooding the room. Gojo hides his exhaustion well, but you note the deep grooves framing his mouth, and the oversized sunglasses hiding the dark smudges under his eyes.
Strains of concern and worry filter through in your voice when you ask a question you already know the answer to. You'd caught glimpses of Gojo as you'd drifted in and out of sleep; his face had been soft in repose, but the faint frown between his brows and the hand carding through your hair told you that he wasn't sleeping. "Did you sleep at all?"
Gojo's silence speaks for itself. You have to bite your lower lip to stop it from trembling. You wish that he would share some of his burdens with you, or at the very least, let you help him. You're his backup, after all – not to mention that the three of you are supposed to be working together as a team.
"Don't scowl like that," Gojo chastises, bending down to kiss the space between your brows. "Nothing happened. We're fine."
"But –"
"I'm fine." Gojo pushes to his feet with a smile. "If you want to be mad about something, be mad at Amanai. She chose where to go, and her list is pretty packed!"
Oh boy.
You brush your teeth, throw on another bikini – a tiny dark blue one, which hugs what little it manages to cover – and follow Gojo out into the suite, a massive space with several bedrooms and a large central living area. The doors leading out to the wraparound balcony have been pushed open, and the sheer drapes flutter in the breeze, escaping the ties meant to contain them. You're the last one to make an appearance, discovering the rest of the group already seated at the kitchen island and eating heartily.
To make things worse, your lips are so red and swollen from kissing Gojo for hours that there's absolutely no way to hide what you've been up to all night.
Getou snickers into his cup of coffee, his brown eyes sparkling with amusement. "Good morning, [ NAME ]."
"Good morning, Suguru," You reply, with as much dignity as you can possibly manage. "Are we ready to go?"
The rest of the day flies by. True to Gojo's word, your schedule is packed. You spend more time at the beach, splashing in the waves with Amanai and Getou. You boat out to a fabulous waterfall. You visit the aquarium.
Gojo's far too old to be at the touch pool, but he's parked himself there, and pokes at stingrays and sharks and sea cucumbers, teasing them with a causal curiosity. His laughter makes you so happy that you feel as if you can float away. Getou is exasperated as he tries to reign Gojo back, but your gaze meets his and you have to smile at the warm amusement in his eyes. You wave at him, and he shakes his head in response.
Amanai flops down next to you on the bench. "You're such a goner."
"Huh?"
She points at Gojo. "You're such a goner for him. Your pupils are literally hearts right now."
"Shut up."
Amanai's musical laughter floats through the air. "You really like him, huh?"
You follow her gaze to the pictures on your phone.
Gojo throwing up a peace sign and goofing off with Getou in front of the camera. You and him in the sun, with him sprawled on his back and you lying atop him, your arms crossed over his abs and your chin on your hands. You're both talking, your gaze on his face as he looks at you and runs his fingers through your hair. It's evident, even in a photo, the intensity of Gojo's focus on you and the easy, comfortable familiarity between the two of you.
It hurts looking at those pictures. You want to recapture and relive every moment. You want to hoard every second you've ever shared together. You hate that time slips away so quickly and you can't bank it for the uncertain future.
"Do you love him?"
"I do." You answer honestly, feeling that she deserves it, this girl whose future is all but set in stone, who will never return to school, or fall in love, or start her own family. An ache blooms in your chest. Amanai must be thinking about it as well, feeling the loss of all these possibilities so acutely; her bottom lip trembles then, but she doesn't cry. "I love him."
You drape an arm over her shoulders in silent comfort; Amanai leans against you, dragging in a steadying breath. It's about all you can do for her in this moment. The worry in her eyes lingers and sparks restlessness. You want to fix the problems troubling her, but you don't know how.
Her face is forlorn. "Why did you choose to become a Shaman? It's dangerous, isn't it?"
"Well," You say, weighing your answer carefully. "I just thought – Since I had the power to make a difference, I might as well put that power to good use."
"Oh."
"I know it's not exactly a noble reason, and it's really simple, but –"
"No, that kind of reasoning is just like you, [ NAME ]." She stands up, visibly shaking off her melancholy. "Wanna go check out the café? I hear they have jellyfish ice cream!"
That makes you smile. Standing, you tuck your phone away into your pocket of your shorts. "I dare you to get Satoru to eat that without telling him what flavour it is."
"Oh, you're so on!"
Leaning her head against your shoulder, she giggles and leads you away.
