Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There wasn’t a cloud in sight when the boys finally got everything set up on the beach – a bunch of towels in varying colours, parasols to provide some shade, a ridiculously massive volleyball net and a pretty impressive contraption to act as a cool box. Most of them had retreated to the bathroom block to change into swim shorts, but Kurt stayed behind with Reed in favour of keeping an eye on their belongings.

Kurt was so busy fussing over Reed to make sure he was wearing enough sunscreen that he almost missed Wes and David return, followed by Shane, the three of them trying (and failing) to contain their giggling. He eyed them suspiciously but didn’t ask any questions, his years at Dalton having taught him that sometimes it was better not to ask. Reed wriggled out of Kurt’s fussing hands and skipped over to Shane, who beamed at him and pulled the smaller boy into his arms.

“Mm, you smell like sunscreen.” Shane commented, nuzzling his nose against Reed’s neck.

 “I’m not surprised - Kurt all but used a paint brush to plaster it on me!” Reed huffed, still feeling like he had an extra inch of skin with the amount he was wearing. “He’s just made me look extra pale!” He made a face in Kurt’s direction.

Shane laughed and wrapped an arm around Reed’s shoulders, “If it keeps your perfect skin perfect, then I’m all for it.” He peppered Reed’s cheek with kisses until the frown turned into a smile, “Do you want to go for a walk? I saw you brought your camera, I figured we could take some pictures.”

Reed nodded and reached for his bag to dig through it for his camera, “I want to collect some shells too. I’d like to try using them with my paintings.”

“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. You point them out and I’ll collect them.” Shane stood and held out a hand for Reed and said to Kurt that they were going for a walk.

“Take your sunscreen with you! You’ll need to apply it regularly!” Kurt yelled after them, pointedly ignoring the rude gesture Reed made in response. He watched them fondly; thankful that even after everything they had been through, Shane and Reed still had each other. He only slightly noticed the way Shane’s walk sped up a little as Blaine’s voice thundered from the changing block behind them.

“WES! DAVID!”

Twenty minutes later, after some serious threatening from Blaine and reassuring from Kurt, Blaine finally emerged from the changing rooms and sat with the rest of his friends. The offending duo still snickered as Blaine arrived, but a silent warning from Kurt shut them up promptly.

Somehow, without his knowing, Wes and David had switched Blaine’s swim trunks in favour of a very small pair of bright pink speedos which didn’t leave much to the imagination. Blaine had refused to go outside at first, far too embarrassed and not nearly as confident as one should be to wear something like this. But some light flirting from Kurt made Blaine feel a little better, and he decided he could at least walk to his towel, where he could then wrap it around himself in an attempt to preserve at least a little dignity.

“Honestly, I think they do wonders for your ass. And think how good your tan will look afterwards…your skin will be glowing. And you’re definitely not hard to look at while wearing them.” Kurt had commented on their way over, shamelessly hanging back to admire the view one last time. It wasn’t often he got to admire his boyfriend’s body in this way, so he wanted to enjoy it while he could.

“What you mean to say is, you think I should keep them and wear them more often, don’t you? “Blaine said, eyebrow raised as he caught Kurt staring again.

“No not at all. What I’m saying is that, for a change, I am not 100% opposed to this prank. Now come on, with that much exposed skin you are definitely wearing sunscreen.” Kurt wrapped an arm securely around Blaine’s waist and pulled them under a parasol where he could thoroughly enjoy rubbing his hands over Blaine’s body with a little privacy.

Chapter Text

“Ethan! I’m not ready! Please don’t let go of me oh god what am I doing why did I let you talk me into this David no stop what are you doin- HELP!” Wes screamed as he splashed into the water (again) and pulled Ethan down with him (again). Evan and David hauled both of them back to their feet as they gasped for air, laughing as Ethan shoved Wes away from him.

“Dammit Wes, this shouldn’t be this hard!” Ethan said, slowly losing his patience with Wes.

The four of them had been in the water for what felt like hours. The Twins were determined to finally teach Wes and David how to surf, but things weren’t going as smoothly as they had predicted. David had grasped the concept fairly easily, and was able to at least stay standing unaccompanied. Wes however…was terrified. He could manage to crouch on his board while one twin held it steady, and the other twin held him steady, but the second they even mentioned letting go he would panic and end up in the water.

“Sure, because standing on a piece of plastic over moving water is easy Ethan. I’m not Jesus! I can’t walk on water! I can’t do it.” Wes shouted as he shoved the board away. He was also becoming increasingly frustrated and slightly embarrassed, very aware that the boys on the beach were watching them interestedly.

“Sure you can, Wessie. You can do anything!” David tried to encourage his friend from where he was lying on his stomach on his own board, but the nickname only annoyed Wes more. He glowered at David and in one swift movement, flipped up the other boys’ board and sent him crashing into the water.

“I’m going back to the sand. Which isn’t difficult to balance on.”

Chapter Text

The varsity boys had set up their volleyball net relatively close to the group: partly so that they didn’t have to go as far for drinks during the game, but mostly so that Merril, Laura and Katherine could be ‘referees’ without having to move from their sunbathing spots.

“Do you even know how this game works?” Derek had questioned the judgement.

“Sort of. But we’re the least biased people here so it’s the best option available.” Merril had responded, not needing to open her eyes to see the disbelieving look on Derek’s face.

Derek, Justin and Spencer were on one team, with Charlie, Logan and Danny on the other and the game had gotten intense very quickly. Considering they hadn’t split themselves by house, the girls didn’t know where the competitiveness had come from, but it was there nonetheless. They thoroughly enjoyed watching them play however, with Merril shamelessly catcalling to Spencer whenever his body flexed in a particular way.

Justin was having none of it however, delivering a harsh slap to the back of Spencer’s head when he missed the ball because he was too busy winking at her. “Get it together Spencer! We’re losing!”

“Are we though? I mean, out of the six of us here our team has the best looking girl on its side.” Spencer said in response to Justin, blowing kisses to the three girls on the side, making them pretend to swoon.

“Shut up and throw the ball Spencer!” Logan hollered over the net, sweeping his sweaty hair out of his face.

When the game resumed, it had one extra spectator. Julian propped himself on his elbows and discretely watched his friends play, paying particular attention to the tall blonde furthest from him. Hidden behind his ridiculously massive sunglasses, Julian could appreciate Logan in ways he never usually allowed himself (“You look like a bug, Julian.” Derek had retorted when Julian slid them on, intent on blocking out the madness around him while he sunbathed. Julian simply flipped him off and lay back on the sand.).

Logan’s torso was shining with sweat, the sun practically making his skin glow. His blonde hair stuck to his forehead and neck in strands and his green eyes blazed, but not with rage, with competitiveness and maybe even a little joy. Julian hoped he was having fun – it certainly looked like it.

Logan bent over to pick up the ball and Julian slid his glasses down his nose a little, enjoying the way his wet shorts clung to his thighs and yes, even his ass. He unknowingly sighed a little as Logan’s muscles flexed when he threw the ball again, which attracted the attention of the three girls sitting to his right.

“Oh Julian, you really need to decide if you are trying to be discrete or obvious about your ogling. My advice? Stop trying to hide it, because it’s pretty obvious and you’re wasting your efforts.” Katherine commented, smiling playfully at him.

Julian flustered, pushing his sunglasses back up and turning away from the game, “What? I wasn’t ogling anything. I was refereeing the game seeing as you lot are clearly terrible at it.”

The girls responded with a chorus of “Mm-hmms”, making Julian blush. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m going for a swim.” He stood and stretched his arms over his head, and pretended not to notice how Logan froze and missed the ball when he did so.

“Logan! Get it together man!”

Chapter Text

Huddling further into the middle of the parasol, Dwight pulled his hat tighter around his head and crossed his arms over his chest. He hated the beach. Hated how the sand got everywhere and he would be finding it in things he hadn’t even taken to the beach for weeks afterward. Hated the sun and how it brought out his child-like freckles. So how he had gotten dragged along today he didn’t know, but he was definitely not leaving the safety of his shaded fort.

“Dwight! Come quick! We think we’ve found a skeleton buried in the sand!” Evan called to him from the other side of his parasol, piquing his interest. But no, he wouldn’t leave - wouldn’t risk being burnt or having his hair bleached lighter.

Ethan’s head popped inside, grinning at him mischievously. “You’ve got to come see this!”

Dwight narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously, “Have you touched anything? It could be anything, you know…Ugh, fine. I’ll come check it out. But I’m coming straight back. And I’m bringing my hat!”

Emerging from his fort, Dwight was unceremoniously grabbed and lifted off his feet by four sets of hands, all of which began carrying him at some speed toward – shit toward the water! “Holy shit what are you doing stop you guys this isn’t funny!”

“Don’t worry little Knight, it’s full of salt, you’ve got nothing to worry about!” Ethan said, making Evan cackle in response.

When Dwight realised that yup, they definitely weren’t stopping he fought frantically against their hold but to no avail. He was unceremoniously dumped into the water and dragged further in by Wes and David, while the Twins snapped pictures and struggled to contain their laughter.

Well, Dwight thought, if I’m going down I’m taking you all with me. He leapt to his feet and attacked David, shoving him down and into the water. David however, seemed to have predicted such retaliation and recovered quickly. He hoisted Dwight onto his shoulders and held him high, causing Dwight to squawk in surprise and cling onto his head. Wes ran to David’s side and helped Dwight balance until he was sitting atop David’s shoulders, albeit a little wobbly.

The Twins were practically screaming in delight, Ethan scrambling to climb onto Evan’s shoulders to mirror their movements. “Let’s play chicken! Wes, you can catch Dwight when he falls!”

“When I what?!”

Chapter Text

Kurt and Blaine winced as the four crazies crashed into each other and disappeared under the waves, emerging in fits of laughter as they tried to stand up. The two boys were waist deep in the water, enjoying the warm waves and watching the madness around them.

“Sometimes I wonder how we even manage to make it out of Dalton grounds with this crazy lot.” Blaine commented, shaking his head as Evan clambered back onto his brothers’ shoulders for another round of whatever ridiculous ‘game’ they were playing.

“I’m just surprised we’re still allowed out in public. There are only so many spontaneous performances the public of Ohio can handle.” Kurt said in response, “At least everyone is having fun.” He wrapped his arms around Blaine from behind and propped his head on his shoulder, sighing happily when Blaine leaned back. He nodded at Kurt’s words and they were silent for a moment before Blaine spoke again.

“I still can’t believe I’m wearing these ridiculous…shorts. If you can call them that.” Blaine shifted his feet awkwardly, still aware of the amount of skin on show even with half his body underwater.

“Stop worrying. No one cares. And if they do, it’s because they think you look amazing. But they better not be looking too much – you’re taken.” Kurt squeezed Blaine’s hips, fingers dancing on the waistband of his speedos.

Blaine turned around and threaded his fingers into Kurt’s damp hair, “Definitely taken. You are the only person who could possibly make me feel comfortable in these things.” He leaned in for a lingering kiss, resting their foreheads together when they finally parted. “I love you.”

Kurt smiled, “I love you too. What do you say we get some ice cream and disappear for a little while?”

Before Blaine could respond however, Kurt screamed at leapt into Blaine’s arms, feet held high out of the water, “SOMETHING JUST SWAM AGAINST MY LEG! GET ME OUT OF HERE BLAINE!”

Blaine threw his head back and laughed loudly but held Kurt tightly and headed back to the shore, ignoring the comments from the boys in the water behind him. He held his head high and carried his screaming boyfriend out of the water like the strong man he was – bright pink speedos and all.

Chapter Text

Upon their return to the group, Reed had gone to put his camera away while Shane checked in to see who was winning the game of volleyball. No one was really sure, but they kept playing anyway. Reed hung back by their set up, debating whether to relax on his towel or go for a swim, when Kurt wandered over and handed him a cold drink.

“Hoping Shane joins the game? You certainly wouldn’t be the only one ogling.” Kurt said, loud enough for the girls (and Julian) to hear, all of whom just shrugged innocently.

Reed laughed and took the drink from Kurt gratefully, “As much as that would be enjoyable, I don’t think Shane could keep up with that lot even if he wanted to. They’re pretty competitive.”

Kurt nodded in agreement, “Sit with me? I should probably apply more sunscreen to your back anyway.” Reed rolled his eyes but obliged regardless.

Julian perked up from under a parasol, “You reapply mine next Kurt!”

As if to prove Reed’s point, Derek hollered to Shane, “Anderson! You’re in or you’re out, but either way hurry up so I can get back to kicking Logan’s ass!” he smirked as Logan glared at him and tossed the ball into his hands with some force. Derek caught it easily.

“I’ll join in later. Need to cool off first. Then I can kick your ass, Siegerson.” Shane taunted, but turned to head toward Reed instead. As he turned however, he was forcefully knocked to the ground as something crashed into his chest. He landed on his back with a rather undignified oof, and had very little time to process what had happened before something large and furry was on top of him, licking his face.

Shane tried to recoil but the licks followed him, and as he realised what was going on, couldn’t stop the laughs falling from his lips. A large, wet and yet still fluffy dog had pinned Shane to the ground and was very excitedly dancing over him as it covered Shane’s face in slobbers.

“Hey there, buddy! Hi! Alright, let me up and we can play.” Shane struggled out from underneath the dog, talking to it as he went. Once he was on his knees he began petting it, and realised just how adorable it – he - was. The dog bounced around him excitedly, barking as Shane played with him.

“Harvey! Come here! Harvey!” A voice shouted from beside Shane, which made the dog perk up and run off. Shane watched him as he ran toward a boy with long blonde hair which stuck to a well sculpted face, shiny with sweat. The boy crouched to apprehend the dog, but it dodged out of his grasp and ran back toward Shane. Shane stood as he approached, still playing with the dog who bounced around him excitedly. “Oh my god, I am so sorry. He is so excitable at the beach.” the boy said sheepishly as he reached Shane.

Shane grinned at him, entertained by the dog, “No need to apologise, he just caught me off guard. I love dogs. Always wanted to have one but my brother is allergic.” He glanced over to the group but couldn’t see said brother, although was vaguely aware of Reed and Kurt staring very intensely in his direction. He didn’t think much of it and turned back to the boy, who smiled charmingly.

“Still, he never usually runs off like that. Guess he must have found you interesting.” He held eye contact with Shane even as they fell into silence. It was a little intense.

Shane broke the eye contact and cleared his throat, glancing back down toward the dog. He ruffled his head as he spoke, “Harvey, huh? That’s a good name.” he smiled fondly as Harvey’s tail began to wag ferociously.

“Are you asking about his name or mine?” the boy said casually, effortlessly sweeping his hair off his face.

Shane glanced up and laughed a little awkwardly, “Sorry. Of course.” He offered his hand, “I’m Shane.”

The boy grasped it in a firm shake, “Alex. It’s nice to meet you, Shane. Isn’t it Harvey?” Harvey barked in response, making both boys laugh. Alex reluctantly let go of Shane’s hand before he spoke again, “So, Shane, what’s an attractive man like you doing at the beach alone?”

Shane’s eyebrows shot up as Alex shamelessly raked his eyes over Shane’s exposed torso, making him cross his arms self-consciously. “I, um…” He cleared his throat to shake his embarrassment, “I’m not alone. I came with some friends from school. In fact, I was just about to join them in a game of volleyball, if you…I don’t know if you fancy joining?” he weakly gestured to the varsity boys, engrossed in the game.

Alex looked surprised for a moment, but easily composed himself and gave Shane a winning smile, “Only if you play for my team.” He even went as far as to wink and Shane felt himself blush, and just as he was about to put a stop to this before it went any further, Reed and Kurt materialised at his side.

“Reed! Hi! I was just talking to Derek when I ran into this cute little guy and…” Shane faltered as Reed blanched and Kurt covered his face with his hand, “And he was all over me…the dog I mean! Harvey – that’s the dog, he knocked me over and…yeah…” he trailed off hopelessly as Reed glared at Alex, who was watching the whole interaction curiously.

Reed plastered on a smile and stepped toward Alex, hand extended “Hi. I’m Reed Van Kamp. Shane’s boyfriend.”

Shane watched in shock as Alex’s face tensed and he worked out the situation. He shook Reed’s hand nonetheless. “Right…hi. I’m Alex. I think I’ve overstepped here so I’ll just…” he glanced at Shane again, “Unless the offer for a game is still available?”

Reed stood by Shane and wrapped an arm around his waist protectively, squeezing Shane close against his side. “Actually, Shane and I were going for a swim. Right babe?” his head turned toward Shane but his eyes never left Alex, burning with such intensity that Kurt worried he would set the poor boy on fire.

Alex lowered his gaze and shifted awkwardly. “Alright, well it was nice to-“

“Likewise.” Reed quipped and swept past him, dragging Shane along as he went. Shane wanted to turn and send an apologetic look to Alex but Reed squeezed him harder when he did, making him think better of trying.

“Reed…that wasn’t…he just…I don’t…” Shane stumbled over his words as Reed dragged him along, sensing the rage burning under his boyfriends’ skin.

“Hush.” Reed said, coming to a stop once they were an acceptable distance from Alex and Kurt. He wound his arms around Shane’s neck to play with his hair, “You’re just mine. That’s all.” Stretching up on his toes he pulled Shane down for a passionate kiss, making the older boy yelp in surprise that turned into a moan when their kiss deepened.

Kurt watched in awe as Shane pulled Reed into a hug after their kiss, and Reed held a steady gaze toward Alex and actually smirked at him. Both boys stood in a stunned silence until Harvey barked again, causing Alex to stir.

“Well, I think that’s me put in my place. I guess I’ll…go.” Alex gestured lamely in the opposite direction to Reed and Shane.

Kurt nodded in response, “I think that would be a good idea.”

With a final lingering glance at Shane’s back, Alex turned to leave, feeling thoroughly embarrassed and very aware of six varsity boys snickering as he did.

Chapter Text

Julian sighed dramatically as Kurt chased after Reed after that little…interaction.

“Thanks for the help, Kurt! I didn’t need you to help reach my back or anything anyway.” He muttered uselessly and reached for the bottle of sunscreen to at least attempt to reapply it himself.

“Need a hand?” a very familiar voice came from his side, casting a long shadow over his body. Julian turned to see Logan smiling down at him, hands on his hips and his body still shimmering with sweat. He huffed and passed the bottle to Logan. He did need help after all.

However, when Logan sat down behind him and placed a leg on either side of his own, Julian’s stomach twisted into a tight knot. They had talked about their feelings after the…incident…but everything was still very up in the air as neither boy knew how to take the first step. Since then Julian had had to endure cautious flirting and tentative touches from Logan, but nothing ever came of them. It looked like he was about to suffer another one.

“Just all over, yeah? Wouldn’t want you to burn.” Logan rubbed the lotion between his hands so it wasn’t too cold when he applied it to Julian’s skin.

The actor didn’t trust his voice so only nodded in response, silently cursing himself when he heard Logan chuckle softly. Logan began rubbing the sunscreen in circles over Julian’s back, enjoying the way Julian shivered in response – but not because of the cold of the lotion. They both sat in silence as Logan worked along his shoulders, lightly massaging as he went. Julian sighed and relaxed back into the sensation, enjoying the moment.

“Are you having a good time? It’s hard to read you behind those shades.” Logan whispered gently behind Julian, hands still working over his skin.

Julian laughed and took his sunglasses of, turning his head to the side so he could sort of see Logan, “I am. The sun is shining, your friends are thoroughly entertaining me and I watched you…win the game of volleyball.” He corrected himself suddenly at the last minute.

Logan made a face at Julian, calling him out on his lame attempt at a cover up. “Yeah, cause you know how sports work.” He smirked at Julian’s pout. “I don’t mind you looking, you know. I actually kind of…want you to.”

“You want me to objectify you?” Julian asked incredulously, earning a light shove from Logan in response.

“You know what I mean.” They both fell into comfortable silence again, Logan still rubbing Julian’s shoulders and back, until Julian interrupted his movements. He stopped Logan’s hands on his shoulders with his own, but held them in place.

“I think…I think I’m sufficiently protected now.” Julian said quietly, sneaking a glance at Logan and squeezing his hands as he did.

Logan’s lips twitched, holding onto Julian’s hands too. “Right. Well, I think I’ll stay here just in case you need someone to apply it again later. If that’s ok, I mean.”

Julian nodded and shuffled back a little, resting his back against Logan’s chest and pulling his arms around him. “Just in case.” He said, turning his head to face Logan with a smile.

Logan’s smile stretched across his whole face in response, and he tried to ignore the way his heart thudded hard when Julian held a steady gaze with him, eyes full of adoration. He turned away after a moment and pressed his lips to Julian’s shoulder, placing two small kisses before he sat up and snuggled Julian closer to him. Both boys sat content in their position as they watched their friends’ madness continue around them, utterly oblivious to the sound of Derek snapping a picture from beside them.

Chapter Text

The boys had ended their volleyball marathon session a while ago, and most of them were now relaxing in the shade with cool drinks and smiles on their faces. Everyone except Charlie. The Windsor prefect was preoccupied with staring at Justin and Derek who were chatting with a group of girls clad in bikinis so small they rivalled Blaine’s speedos. Derek wasn’t the issue, Charlie was used to seeing girls hanging from Derek, what he wasn’t used to was seeing girls all over Justin. And he didn’t like it.

The girls had been watching them play volleyball, and afterwards had wandered over to compliment them. They were full of twirling ponytails and fluttering eyelashes, touching Justin’s shoulders and flirting all over him. Charlie swallowed around the thick lump in his throat, and when one particular tall blonde girl stretched up and pecked Justin on the cheek, Charlie saw red.

“Hey, Tweedles.” he leaned back and gestured for Evan and Ethan to come over, “I’ll give you ten bucks each if you go dump the water from the cool box on Justin’s head.”

Evan and Ethan glanced to where Justin stood and back to Charlie, curious expressions on their faces. “Oh please, Charles, you know money gives us no incentive.” Ethan said, followed by Evan, “Besides, why are you so opposed to the White Queen getting attention from talking flowers?”

Charlie scoffed at them, but avoided eye contact, “I’m not. He just hasn’t cooled off after playing the game. He looks hot.” The Twins raised identical eyebrows at their prefect. “I mean…warm!” They eyebrows didn’t lower. Charlie sighed, wondering how to escape this embarrassment, “You can have one full day’s free reign in the house if you do it.”

The brothers considered Charlie carefully for a moment. “Including the garden?” Charlie nodded. “And the radio system?”

Charlie sighed heavily, already regretting this, “Yes.”

The Twins leapt to their feet, “Deal.” They grabbed an end of the cool box each and ran toward the varsity boys, determination etched on their faces. “Ready?” Evan whispered as they approached Justin, and Ethan nodded. “On three…”

“THREE!”

Justin yelped as he was drenched in ice cold water, making the girls around him scream and jump back. Derek cursed loudly as he was hit with the splashback, although he was mostly spared compared to Justin. The Hanover prefect stood frozen to the spot, struggling to catch his breath from the shock, as the Twins tried to hold each other up as cackles wracked their bodies. The girls stared at the manic pair and slowly backed away.

Justin turned to face the Twins, rage burning in his eyes “I’m going to give you a three second head start before I kick your asses simultaneously!”

Evan and Ethan scrambled to run away from Justin, as Derek gave chase screaming “I’m not even going to give you a head start! Get your asses back here!”

Charlie wore a satisfied smirk as he watched Justin chase after the Twins, secretly glad that they didn’t pry into why he didn’t want Justin talking to those girls. As Derek wrestled a blonde head to the ground Charlie lay down on his towel and tried desperately to get the image of Justin’s flexing torso out of his mind.

Chapter Text

By the time the sun was low in the sky, energy levels had similarly dropped. The boys had sprawled over their towels and were either simply too tired to do anything else, or were soaking up what little sunshine was left in the day. Logan was feeling thoroughly relaxed, lying on his back and staring up at the sky. Next to him Julian was curling his fingers and toes in the sand, enjoying the grainy texture against his smooth skin. They didn’t need to say much, just enjoyed the others’ presence and pointed out odd shaped clouds every now and then – only loud enough for the other to hear. Soft smiles graced their faces, both boys extremely content in the moment.

Logan watched a flock of birds dance across the sky above him, moving as a single unit back and forth until they shrunk off into the distance. He watched them intently for a moment before Julian’s voice brought him back to the moment. It was like Julian had read his mind.

“What do you think it’s like? Flying, I mean. Look at them. They just…fly. It looks so effortless.” Julian’s voice sounded distant, but still directed to Logan.

Logan chuckled quietly, considered Julian’s question before responding, “I think it would be very freeing. Like nothing or no one could keep you down. You get to just…fly. Nothing but sky around you. Be free.” Julian seemed to approve of his answer and they were silent for a moment, but Logan added an extra thought with a smirk, knowing Julian would find it amusing, “Plus it would allow for some very dramatic exits. Someone pisses you off? Just fly the hell out of there.”

Julian did laugh, and the sound made Logan’s heart swell.

“There would be holes in the ceilings all over Dalton with the number of dramatic exits you would make then.” Julian quipped, making Logan nudge him playfully, feigning offense. Julian nudged him back, but neither of them moved away when their shoulders rested closer together, barely touching but close enough to make the hairs stand on end.

“Alright, answer me this.” Logan began, turning on his side to face Julian, “If you could pick a superpower, any one, what would you choose?” Julian frowned a little, amused by the question, but the pair were interrupted before he could answer.

“Well personally, we would love the ability to multiply ourselves.” Someone said, followed by an identical voice.

“Always wanted younger siblings, would have formed an army if we had them.” Evan stated after his brother.

“Think of the things we could do with more of us…”  Ethan said dreamily.

From slightly further away, Charlie audibly groaned, “Please God no, two of you is more enough. Any more and I’d have to have a permanent immunity to harm. That would be my power.”

“Force fields would be useful.” Blaine said thoughtfully, “Ability to protect myself and others. Useful in cases like multiplying twins.”

“I think time travel would be pretty cool.” Kurt mused, “Get to go back and meet all the people I idolise. Spend some more time with my mom…”

 “Teleportation. Without a doubt.” Shane said confidently, “Wouldn’t have to take a plane any time I wanted to see you.” He grinned at Reed, who turned a shade of pink which rivalled Blaine’s speedos.

“I guess…I’d like to be more agile. Strong, maybe. Anything to stop having to rely on you so much.” Reed said quietly.

Wes spoke next, “Please, you guys are taking this far too seriously. Super speed is what it’s all about. Late for class? Not a problem. Need some food but don’t have the time to make it? Super speed!” he declared, flailing his arms by his side as if to prove his point.

“I can’t choose one, so I guess something that means I can just copy whatever you guys have would be cool. You know, like mimicking or something.” David commented, earning a chorus of approving oohs in response.

“Mind control would certainly make life as a prefect easier.” Justin muttered as he was packing things away, “At least it would mean I could convince you lot to actually do something.” Charlie shushed him and tried to pull him down to sit next to him, but Justin resisted and pulled an umbrella from the sand. He was met by a very disgruntled Dwight, who had his input before he yanked the umbrella back.

Spencer let out a loud yawn from where he lay on his stomach, eyes heavy as Merril played with his hair, “Energy. Constant, non-depleting energy…”

 “I don’t need a superpower. My skills are already impeccable.” Dwight announced from his umbrella fortress, fighting off Justin as he tried to dismantle it.

“Well, not that I’m not glad we had this learning experience,” Logan said sarcastically as he rose to his elbows, “But I was actually talking to Julian. So I would appreciate it if all you eavesdroppers could kindly butt out of our conversation.”

Logan turned his attention back to Julian with a huff, who had been surprisingly quiet during the whole conversation, just as the rest of the group descended into debate about the best possible superpower one could have. He lay back down on his side and looked to Julian expectantly. Julian turned away and looked back at the sky with a thoughtful sigh. He wasn’t wearing his sunglasses anymore, and with the sun low in the sky, half of his face was cast in shadow while the other half was illuminated by the pink and purple hues in the air.

Logan thought he looked beautiful.

“I think I’d choose invisibility.” Julian said eventually, still not looking at Logan, “It would be nice not to be noticed once in a while, I guess.”

Logan frowned and turned to face him fully, “I don’t disagree, but…if you were invisible, I wouldn’t get to see sights like these.” He raised a hand to Julian’s chin and turned his head so he could look him in the eyes, “I wouldn’t get to admire your beauty.”

Julian blushed, making Logan smile and run his fingers over Julian’s cheek, tracing the blush with his fingertips. Julian closed his eyes and nuzzled his face closer to Logan’s hand, enjoying the gentle, intimate moment – the actions so rare from Logan that Julian wanted to appreciate them while they lasted.

The moment didn’t last long.

“Ugh, I’d love the ability to block out the shameless, incessant flirting between you two!” Derek complained from Logan’s other side, one arm tossed over his eyes in an attempt to block out the squabbling around them.

Logan grabbed the nearest object to him – a bottle of sunscreen – and tossed it over his shoulder in the general direction of Derek. He felt satisfied when the thud of the bottle against Derek’s chest was followed by a pained groan, grumbles of ‘fine fine, I can take a hint…’ and then silence.

Julian shook his head at his two best friends and grabbed onto Logan’s hand before he could throw anything else at Derek. He twined their fingers together and pulled them up to his lips, kissing each of Logan’s knuckles and revelling in the moment when Logan tightened his grip. They held each other’s gaze until a small blush crept across Logan’s face, at which point Julian winked and looked away, leaving Logan to laugh and let their hands fall onto the sand between them.

They stayed like that, hands and legs tangled together; staring at the sky and the birds and the glorious sunset, until Julian started to shiver and Derek was snoring lightly behind them. Eventually, the boys had everything packed up and were clambering back into their respective cars for the journey home. Even then however, Logan and Julian commandeered the backseat of Derek’s car and snuggled together under a blanket, hands still linked and smiles lighting up their faces. Only when their conversation dwindled and Julian had dozed off on Logan’s shoulder did Derek look at Logan in the rear view mirror.

“It’s nice seeing you like this you know. Relaxed and happy. I know it’s taken you a while to get here with him, but I’m glad you did.” Derek said, the sincerity evident even though Logan couldn’t see his face.

Logan’s arm instinctively tightened around Julian, and he ducked his head for a moment before meeting Derek’s eyes again. “It’s not perfect. Far from it actually, but…all I know is that when he laughs I feel…whole. And I never want that smile to disappear from his face for too long. He means a lot to me D, you both do, and I just want to keep you both safe.” He reached forward and gave Derek’s shoulder a squeeze.

Derek grinned broadly, reaching up to grasp Logan’s hand reassuringly. “Sounds pretty perfect to me, Lo.”

Logan smiled back at Derek and settled back against the seats, puling Julian just a little closer and tucking the covers further around his shoulders. Derek pretended not to hear the happy little noises Julian made when he snuggled against Logan’s shoulder, instead turning up the radio a little to give him something else to focus on, but he couldn’t help the wholesome feeling which settled over him for the rest of their drive to Dalton. His best friends were finally happy, both of them simultaneously, and he promised himself he would do anything to keep it that way. He could get used to seeing them like this, even if it was only in private.

They looked so adorable snuggled up together under the blanket that he didn’t have the heart to tell them that was his car-sex blanket. What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them…