"Fine... I'll go." Souichi grumbled.

"Great Nii-san! This is going to be great! You'll see!" The young teenager was beaming. With a radiant smile, her eyes gleamed, overflowing with excitement.

"Oh! And be sure to invite Morinaga-san too!" She added cheerfully.

"Huh?! What for? I thought you said this was a family thing." The tall blond stared quizzically at his little sister. Wouldn't it be strange to invite his friend - and kouhai - to a family members only event?

"But Morinaga-san is practically like family, isn't he?" A genuine, yet innocent, confused look crossed her face.

"Wha-! What the hell are you spouting now!? Don't say such things!" Sometimes, he really couldn't understand his sister's way of thinking. Where did she come up with such things? She made way too many assumptions.

"What do you mean, Nii-san? It's true!"

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Souichi sat glaring at the man beside him. They were side by side on cushioned chairs in the train headed out of town. They weren't going far. It was a relatively short train ride not too far into the outskirts of Nagoya. Morinaga sat next to the window staring out, his gleeful eyes observing their surroundings. He seemed completely oblivious to Souichi's silent glare, content and happy to be here, tagging along with his senpai.

Watching Morinaga's profile as the idiot scanned the landscape, Souichi let out a silent sigh. He did not regret inviting his kouhai to tag along. In fact, if he had to tell him that he was leaving for a few days on a family trip while the other had to stay home, alone, he didn't think he could endure that heartbroken look in those deep green eyes.

"Look, Senpai!" The dark haired man gently spoke up, gesturing to something beyond the window.

Coming out of his reverie, Souichi followed his kouhai's line of sight. His eyes scanned the landscape, zoning in on the blue expanse in the distance, visible in between the gaps through the trees. The ocean was a glimmering deep blue that day, sunlight reflecting off of gentle waves.

At the next stop, they got off. Bags slung over their shoulder, they set out side by side, heading towards the water's edge. They still had a nice walk ahead of them, however. They had a good half hour, or more, before reaching the ocean's edge, especially if they were going to walk at Morinaga's usual pace. For a tall man with slightly longer legs, he sure liked to take his time.

Their shoes thudded against the pavement. Most of the way was spent in a comfortable silence. A hot breeze blew through the trees, sending the leaves in a fluttering frenzy. It was a going to be a warm day.

"Thanks Senpai, for inviting me." Souichi glanced up at his kouhai. A soft smile graced Morinaga's lips. Adoration and joy shone through those gentle dark green eyes. He really did seem genuinely grateful... and happy.

"It's nothing, Baka." The blond looked away, trying his best to dismiss his embarrassment, and to quell the warm fuzziness he felt rising up his chest after staring at those lips... and into those eyes for what must have been... much too long.

Lost in his self-reproach, Souichi noticed only too late when Morinaga stepped closer, slipping his hand into his own, entwining their fingers.

"Uh? ... Oi! Wha-" Souichi stopped in his tracks, standing on the side of the road, trying to pry his hand away. Morinaga's face was suddenly much too close.

"Really. Thank you." Souichi could feel the other's breath on his temple.

And that was his mistake: he looked up. That's when he felt soft warm lips meet his own. The kiss was short and sweet, but just enough to make the shorter man blush. Feeling the taller man pull away, the blond opened his eyes.

"Wha- what the hell do you think you're doing? We're outside!" His cheeks a nice shade of dark pink, Souichi regained some of his senses, looking up at his kouhai in irritation.

"Yes we are." Morinaga stated blissfully, his eyes clouding dangerously with lust. Souichi's eyes narrowed into slits.

He really doesn't get it, does he? The blond yanked his hand out of the taller man's hold, his mood dark and sour.

"I'll hit you if you ever try that again. You got it?" His countenance turned dark. His hands balled into fists, Souichi gave his kouhai a murderous glare.

Morinaga's smile faltered. The cozy ambiance they had had changed completely. Dark green eyes widened for a second, before his face relaxed, a kind smile resurfacing. Even with his senpai's irritation, Morinaga couldn't help his sunny disposition from shining through.

"Ah. Sorry Senpai. I understand." He gave an apologetic smile, his right hand scratching the back of his neck.

"I got... a little carried away, didn't I? Sorry 'bout that." He took a few steps away.

"We should keep going. We'll probably be the last ones there!" He started off, jogging ahead, the ambiance changing again, Souichi's irritation defused.

"Yah? And who's fault is that?!" Souichi shouted back, accelerating his pace to catch up.

Rounding up a short hill, the two men came up to their destination. Ahead of them laid a large expanse of deep blue ocean water, preceded by some massive rocks jutting out from soft warm sand.

Today, Souichi would get to spend some quality time with his family – and friend – at the beach. Sure, he wasn't that fond of spending a whole day out under the hot sun, especially since a day at the beach usually entitled large crowds and sunburns. The blond didn't quite understand how that would equal to a fun filled day. Regardless, he still agreed to come since lately he hadn't been able to spend much time with his siblings.

It also helped that this particular beach tended to be relatively quiet and empty. It was so much better than any other overcrowded ocean front, no matter how beautiful it was. The Tatsumi's discovered this secret secluded beach while Hana was still alive. Since then, they'd come visit from time to time, especially when Kanako and Tomoe were still really young.

Walking down the narrow trail from the road to the sandy beach, they spotted Kanako and Matsuda-san a little ways away amongst their beach gear. Bags, towels and a large blanket were strewn around a parasol. They obviously had arrived much earlier.

Spotting the two men, the teenager waved them over enthusiastically.

"Nii-san~! Morinaga-san~! Over here!"

As the newcomers approached the excited girl, Matsuda-san got up from where she was sitting on the large light blue blanket.

"I'm glad that you were both able to make it." The older woman greeted the two men as they dropped their bags, adding to the pile of beach gear.

"Thanks Matsuda-san! Sorry we're late." Morinaga apologized with that big bright smile of his.

"Where's Tomoe?" Souichi scanned his surroundings. He'd swear everyone should have been here by now, Morinaga and himself would have been the last ones to show up.

"He said that he was going to meet us here. He should be here soon." Kanako explained, looking up at her older brother with a carefree smile. She didn't seem the least but concerned. Souichi, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. That kid could really be an airhead at times.

Another reason why Souichi decided to tag along on this little trip was so that he could see his little brother again. Since Tomoe presently resided in the States, they didn't get many opportunities to see each other. And since he was apparently in town, this would give them a good excuse to catch up. Tomoe was, in fact, going to stay in around for a few weeks, due to some work related business. Therefore, Souichi decided to allow himself some time away from the university and his experiments to at least be around his family.

"Well since the two of you are here now, Kanako and I will go get changed." Matsuda-san grabbed her bag containing her bathing suit, and ushered Kanako to the narrow path leading to a small building. Surprisingly, there was a changing facility on-site. It wasn't very big, but it did the job.

"Keep an eye on our stuff, 'kay?"

"Yah yah." Souichi dismissed his sister with a wave of his hand.

While the men waited for the other two to come back, Souichi laid out his beach towel while Morinaga organized their bags. He even readjusted the blanket and the rest of the stuff to optimize the area beneath the parasol where people could hide in the shade. Souichi just watched him from the corner of his eye as he sat on his towel. That guy could be a little too organized sometimes.

When that was done, Morinaga joined his senpai on the sand, sitting on his own towel. Dark green eyes stared out at the ocean. The young man took a deep breath, breathing in the salty air.

"The ocean looks wonderful today. It really is a perfect day to be at the beach, right Senpai?" A warm breeze gently blew past them.

"Hmmm..." It was still before noon and the air was already so hot and muggy. Gazing up, Souichi stared at the clear blue sky. The day was going to be much too hot, regardless of their location.

"The sun is going to be murderous. There are no clouds." Green eyes turned skywards.

"I brought lots of sunscreen. We'll just have to be really careful." Morinaga gave his senior an optimistic smile.

"Hmm." Thin eyebrows creased as the owner was deep in thought. Souichi wasn't the least bit convinced. That was something easy for Morinaga to say, he didn't have as light of a complexion. He probably never really worried that much about sunburns.

Soon, the women were back, allowing the two men to go change, which wasn't something to cause any concern, until they neared the building. It was only then that Souichi realized that both he and Morinaga would most likely end up entering the same communal change room since, well, they both happened to be male.

Souichi nearly stopped in his tracks. An image of his roommate undressing, stripped to his underwear, sneaked into his mind. He quickly altered his train of thought and kept walking before his kouhai noticed anything. That's when he started to feel a little anxious. There was no way that he would willingly let himself change in front of the other. He didn't need Morinaga to have any more excuses for being perverted. Another image of Morinaga wearing next to nothing popped up. He just as quickly dismissed it. He really didn't need to have that image in his mind. He tried real hard not to dwell on it.

Once they made it to the small building, Souichi breathed an internal sigh of relief. It had a few doors lining two of the walls – two doors on opposite sides. Peering inside, the blond was immensely thankful that they were individual changing stalls, all accessible from outside, instead of simply being a single large changing room for each gender. Since only one of the stalls was available on the men's side, Souichi went ahead with his bag while Morinaga awaited his turn.

Ready in no time, Souichi stepped outside in his bathing suit – navy blue shorts that nearly reached his knees – with his clothes stuffed in his bag... to see no trace of his kouhai. Not in the mood to wait, he left Morinaga behind, making his way to their beach site.

Rounding the last bend on the path, Souichi spotted a three figures standing amongst their stuff. He recognized his little sister and Matsuda-san as two of them. The third figure, he didn't recognize right away. It was male with light auburn hair... and round glasses.

Tomoe. Apparently his younger brother had just showed up while Souichi was away. He picked up his pace, happy to be able to greet his troublesome brother. Almost there, he finally noticed a fourth figure with dark hair crouched down, digging through a bag. Did Morinaga beat him here? A few meters from their spot, the blond came to an abrupt halt, his eyes narrowing.

"Kurokawa..."

A/N: Here's a little seasonally inspired story. :P

Ok... It's almost the end of summer here... I had hoped to be able to post this at the beginning of last month. Sadly, I didn't get ANY time to work on any of my stories this summer. ~.~

However, I finally got to go on my first train ride not too long ago. :3 It was a lot of fun!

I had also planned to post this whole story in one shot. Sadly, writing this ended taking more time than anticipated... And I really couldn't wait to post at least something! So stay tuned for part 2! ... And more chapters for the rest of my stories. ;)

Anyways...
Happy belated Birthday Morinaga! (July 5th)
And Happy belated Birthday Tatsumi-senpai! (August 2nd)

Until next time!

-Getsuei