She was changing into her bathing suit in the public restrooms by the beach. Because she thought tryouts were today instead of tomorrow, she had packed her swim team one-piece, the one she used for practices. Her mom said it made her eyes stand out. She hoped it did. Reya stood in front of the dirty mirror, trying to tie her hair back. She knew she was taking a long time. She knew Lo'ak didn't even have to change. Since he didn't bring a bathing suit, he decided to just swim in his gym shorts. She knew he was probably wondering where she was. She gave up on braiding her hair, deciding to just leave it down until she absolutely had to tie it up. She exited the bathroom, tote bag in hand, expecting to see Lo'ak standing a few feet away, looking at his phone. She was wrong. He was nowhere to be seen. Tsireya blinked in surprise. "Lo'ak?" she shouted. No response. Reya walked down the path to the beach, looking for his familiar lanky shape. She spotted him a few yards down the beach, sitting on the ground with his back to her. "Lo'ak?" she called hesitantly. His head snapped to face her. He was holding a pink floaty tube in his hands. Tsireya watched it deflate slightly. She laughed at the little smirk on his face. "Where did you get that?" she asked as she approached. "Don't worry about it," he grinned, turning his head to continue blowing it up. Tsireya scoffed, setting her stuff down in the sand. She sat down beside him, tucking her knees to her chest. "I like your beads," she said, pointing at the aquamarine colored ornaments in his braids. "Look," said, turning his head to the side. "There's a dolphin on this side," he said, holding up a braid for her to look at. "Dolphins are my favorite," she whispered excitedly, gently touching it with her fingertips. "I know," Lo'ak whispered, grinning at her. She smiled back at him, glancing from his hair up to his eyes. They were trained on her. In the sun, they looked like they were made of amber. "So," she said, blinking and looking down at the sand. "What do you wanna do?" "Whatever you want," he said instantly, voice soft. She leaned forward, drawing in the sand with her fingertips, so he wouldn't see her blush. "We could go swimming," she said. "Well, yeah," Lo'ak laughed. "Hush," she said, grinning. "We could look for cool shells. For Iolana," she added. "The shells on her crib were collected by us. Me, my brothers, and my parents. My dad started building it when Mama found out she was pregnant. He puts the shells on it with a type of putty, I think. When she outgrows it, he chips off the shells and she gets to keep them. That's why there are so many in my room." She paused, looking back at Lo'ak to see if he thought she was talking too much. He was leaning forward slightly, as if to hear her better. He blinked when their eyes met. "That's really sweet," he murmured, a slight smile on his face. She nodded.
"Come on," she said, jumping to her feet and grabbing his hand. His eyes flicked up and down from her face to her hand. "Let's go do something," she urged, trying to tug him to his feet. He grinned, eyes sparkling. His hand wrapped around hers and he tugged back. Tsireya's eyes widened as she felt herself tip towards the ground. Lo'ak's grin widened as her knees hit the ground. She landed hard on him, shoving him back into the sand. He grunted as the air was knocked from his lungs. This quickly turned into laughter. Tsireya's legs were sprawled across the sand beside him, with her arms propped up on either side of his head. Her surprised expression morphed into a wide-mouthed grin. He raised himself up onto one elbow, brushing the sand from the back of his hair with his free hand. She blinked. The tip of his nose was just a few inches from hers. His eyes, upturned at the corners with a smile, looked into hers. She snorted and shoved him back into the sand. Tsireya rolled off him, shaking the sand out of her hair onto his face. He grunted in protest, sitting up instantly and rubbing his eyes with his hands. "That was unnecessary," she laughed, getting to her feet. "Now you're all sandy." Lo'ak scoffed, standing and dusting himself off. "Getting sand in my eyes was unnecessary as well," he retorted, glaring at her with an angry expression that did not match the happiness in his eyes. "Whatever," Tsireya called over her shoulder, sprinting for the water's edge. She heard Lo'ak shout her name and run after her. She smiled to herself.
When she reached the water, Tsireya glanced over her shoulder. All she saw was Lo'ak's wide smile and broad shoulders before she felt his arms wrap around her torso. She let out a shout of laughter and surprise as the both of them went tumbling into the waves, sending up splashes of water. "You are like a child!" she laughed, regaining her balance and splashing him in the face. He opened his mouth to reply but instead was met with a mouthful of saltwater. He turned away from her as he spit it out. Tsireya took advantage of this distraction and ran at him, this time knocking him to the ground. She grinned excitedly, waiting for him to instantly shoot back up and say something sarcastic. When he didn't, Reya felt a chill run down her spine. "Lo'ak?" she called softly, momentarily forgetting that he couldn't hear her underwater. "Lo'ak," she shouted, louder. She quickly lunged forward, hands reaching blindly. She felt her fist close around Lo'ak's bicep and pulled him upwards, propping her leg up against her other knee and resting his shoulders on her thigh. She cradled his head with her free hand. His eyes were closed and his face was completely relaxed, with his mouth slightly open. "Lo'ak?" she shouted, gently pinching his chin with her hand. Her heart was pounding so hard she could see her chest moving with each beat. She watched his open mouth twitch into a smile. The laughter built in his throat, escaping his mouth with a loud shout. His eyes flew open as he laughed, completely unphased. Reya's jaw dropped as she realized he had been pretending the entire time. "Oh my god," she huffed, shoving him off into the waves. He stood immediately, resting his hands on his knees so they were eye level. "Got you," he laughed, jumping back to dodge her swatting hands.
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tsireya's swim suit!!!
also u guys i'm writing a little headcannon thing for these guys if u wanna go look :p
