The Sand and the Sea 2/5
Title: The Sand and the Sea
Author:lavenderpisha09
Pairings: Ian/Anthony
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Angst, AU, Smut
Summary: It’s funny, how two people can affect each other in so many ways in so little time.
Author's Notes: For teamfreefuckery, who requested an AU where Anthony was raised in the Philippines and meets Ian when Ian goes to the Philippines for a vacation. I hope you enjoy this fic from your resident Filipino nerds. This fic is very AU, so beware. Teamfreefuckery, I hope you like this fic as well, and I hope I managed to write what you were expecting. I probably didn’t write it very well, but I think I did my best.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Smosh. I don’t make money from this.
Part one here.
Day 3
Ian wakes up to the sound of knocking.
Groaning, Ian opens his eyes with a herculean amount of effort, his brain not yet fully awake. The curtains separating his balcony from the rest of the room is closed, yet Ian can tell that the sun is already up in the sky.
Sighing, Ian turns, looking at the clock on the nightstand. Nine o’clock.
Another knock.
“I’m up,” Ian says, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he slowly gets up. “Come in.”
The door opens, revealing Anthony in another tank top and another pair of shorts, a bright smile on his face. “Good morning po, sir.”
Ian groans, standing up and stretching, sighing when he feels his joints pop into place. “I thought we were on a first-name basis?”
Anthony grins, taking Ian’s words as permission for him to go inside the room. He walks to the balcony, pushing the curtains to the sides to allow sunlight to enter the room. “You’re going to miss breakfast.”
Yawning, Ian walks to his suitcase and rummages inside for a change of clothes. It’s surprising, he thinks, how comfortable he and Anthony are with each other when they just met yesterday. They’re not close enough to talk about deep stuff, but they’re apparently close enough to be able to joke with each other and let the other into their own space to some degree, and really, that’s something Ian hadn’t even dared hope for.
He really does want a friend. He’s just thankful that Anthony’s willing to overlook the possible awkwardness he’s feeling to keep Ian company.
The fact that Ian’s only one of the few guests in this resort doesn’t help matters either-Ian thinks that if he had chosen to go here during peak season instead of in fucking August, he would have had better chances of befriending someone who wouldn’t feel forced to hang out with him.
“Since you’re the only guest who hasn’t eaten by this time, you’re going to be eating with us,” Anthony says as he looks out Ian’s balcony.
“That’s okay,” Ian says. “I’ll be out in a few, okay?”
Anthony nods, and Ian watches him exit the cottage, softly closing the door behind him, before going inside the bathroom and changing into decent clothes.
He can only hope that Anthony’s friends aren’t going to be awkward about having a guest eat with them.
-.-.-.-The thing is, Anthony’s friends aren’t at all awkward. Instead, it is Ian who is awkward the whole time, watching with a polite smile as Anthony’s friends talk loudly in a language he doesn’t understand. Though he knows they aren’t talking about him-they hadn’t mentioned his name, and he hasn’t been subjected to odd looks-he still feels weird, trying to fit in with Anthony’s group of friends when he doesn’t even understand what they’re saying or why they’re laughing.
He does, however, make friends with Diana. He considers that a point in his favor.
“I know you felt awkward. I’m sorry.”
Ian looks up, raising one hand to shield his eyes from the sun. He smiles when he sees Anthony, patting the space beside him to let Anthony know he can sit. Ian is hit with a sense of déjà vu, and he looks around, smiling when he sees that he managed to sit in the exact same spot he was in last night.
Anthony sits down, and for a moment, they’re both content to sit in the silence.
“You don’t have to continue keeping me company, you know,” Ian finally says after a moment.
Anthony shrugs. “I know that. I do want to be your friend, though. You look so out of place here, and I figure that if I help you fit in, maybe you’d be able to tell me stories from places you’ve been.”
“That’s a good deal,” Ian says, turning to look at Anthony. “I’m up for it.”
Anthony smiles. “I knew you would be.”
Ian turns to look once more at the sea. Under the sun, the blue waters glimmer like gemstones, and the coconut trees look just that much greener.
“So what are you going to do to help me fit in?” Ian asks, intrigued.
Anthony shrugs. “I’m going to help you have fun on this island,” he says, standing up. “You’re going to be here for eleven more days, right?”
Ian looks up at him, his eyebrows furrowed. “How do you know that?”
“I’m in charge of your cottage, remember?” Anthony asks, a smile on his face. He holds out a hand for Ian to take. “Are you coming with me or what?”
Ian smiles and takes his hand. Anthony’s palm is rough, but Ian pays it no mind, instead choosing to focus on the way Anthony’s hand is just slightly larger than his, how it’s warm and comfortable surrounding his own hand. Anthony helps him up, and Ian immediately lets go of his hand, not wanting to make everything even more awkward.
Yes, he does have a crush on the guy, and yes, normally he would be acting like an ecstatic teenager as he touches his crush’s hand, but this is different. For one, he’s not exactly a teenager anymore no matter what Mari might say, and for another, he actually does want to have a friend for the days that he’s here, actually does want to be liked by the crew and not avoided like the plague, thank you very much.
Besides, Ian doesn’t want Anthony to feel more awkward that he already is.
“Where are we going?” Ian eventually asks, squinting his eyes to see Anthony better against the sunlight.
“I’m going to take you for a walk around the beach, since I haven’t given you your tour yesterday,” Anthony says, smiling as he walks away from Ian, towards the stone steps.
Ian’s eyebrows rise, and he hesitates for only a second before hurrying to catch up with Anthony. “Does that mean we’re going to be walking up those steps again?”
Anthony laughs. Already, Ian has come to love the sound of it, so different from the calmness that is offered by the sound of the ocean waves returning to the shore. “Yep.”
Ian groans.
-.-.-.-“Whatcha been up to?”
Ian smiles, watching as Mari stifles a yawn. Her hair is in complete disarray once again, which is completely understandable given the fact that it is currently one in the morning in Los Angeles. Ian hears Sohinki grumble in the background, and his grin widens even further.
Yeah, he’s a shit friend, but Mari really wouldn’t have him any other way.
“Nothing much,” Ian says, truthful. “I haven’t done much writing yet, but I have been trying to have fun.”
Mari smiles at him, though it is soon hidden behind a hand as she tries to repress yet another yawn. “Sorry,” she says, the video on Ian’s laptop shifting, indicating that Mari’s walking-probably to the kitchen to get some coffee.
“I could always call another time, you know,” Ian says, watching with an amusement evident on his face as Mari stumbles. Mari has never been a morning person, and Ian sincerely doubts she has become one in the few days he has been gone.
“Yeah, well you already called,” Mari says, letting just a little bit of her frustration seep into her tone of voice. Ian doesn’t take it to heart-he knows Mari will let this slide. “What do you mean trying to have fun?”
Ian leans back on his chair. “Well, I met this guy-”
Mari groans. “Oh no, please don’t fuck this guy. You’ll be there for two weeks! You don’t want those two weeks to be awkward and stuff, right?”
Ian watches with amusement as Mari gets her mug from the cupboard. “Relax, Mari. I wasn’t finished. And besides, I don’t have that reputation.”
Mari gives him a look. “Yeah well you don’t have us grown-ups to watch over you. Don’t blame me if I’m worried.”
“I’d hardly call you a grown-up,” Ian says, laughing when Mari sputters in response. “Anyway, I’ve met this guy, and he’s actually the one who’s in charge of the cottage I’m in.”
“Don’t fuck the service,” Mari says, one hand reaching to tiredly rub her face.
Despite the fact that there is no one here but him, Ian is pretty thankful that he remembered to plug his earphones in, knowing that Mari’s language would be unfiltered this early in the morning. “I’m not fucking the service, Mari, Jesus,” Ian says, his voice becoming progressively softer as he reaches the end of his sentence. “We’re friends.”
“That’s nice,” Mari says, a small smile on her face. Ian hears the gentle whirr that indicates that Mari has turned the coffee maker on, and, unbidden, a smile forms on his lips. He gave her that coffee maker when she and Sohinki decided to move in together.
“What’s his name?” Mari asks. She raises one hand to comb through her hair in an attempt to make her hair somewhat presentable.
Ian shakes his head, clearing his head of his previous thoughts. “Anthony Padilla,” he says quietly, looking around to make sure that Anthony’s not near.
Ian’s in the resort’s café-a small, open hut that only has a roof but no walls, allowing the people seated inside to see the swimming pools on either side of the hut. He’s seated on a rattan chair placed beside the railing where he can see the pool more clearly.
“That’s nice,” she says. “Did you guys do anything fun?”
“He took me for a walk around the beach resort,” Ian says, and though he shrugs as he says it, he knows Mari will understand that the fact that Anthony took Ian for a walk means a great deal more to him than he will let himself express. “It was nice.”
“How do you like the beach so far?” Mari asks, stifling a yawn. “Is it nicer than the beach here?”
Ian looks around him, at the crystal blue swimming pools that surround him, at the gently-swaying coconut trees in the distance, at the sparkling blue waters of the sea under the beautiful cloudless sky. He thinks of the laughter coming from the crew when they hang out and eat dinner, thinks of the exquisite view outside his own cottage, thinks of stars spilling in the sky when light turns to dark, and smiles.
It’s already a home away from home.
-.-.-.-“So. What’s that po thing you guys seem to always say?”
Anthony grins, turning his head to look at Ian. “It’s a respect thing. Normally, you say it to elders and people of authority, and I guess guests have authority, so we say it when we address you.”
Ian and Anthony are, once again, lying with their hands planted behind them by the very same coconut tree where they first had an evening conversation. Ian would be bothered by how they seem to be constantly pulled by some invisible force to this place, but he’s too pleased by the thought that they have a spot for themselves to really think about the entire thing.
It’s night time, and the stars are beautiful white dots on a dark backdrop. The smell of the ocean is in the air, and Ian eagerly breathes it in, his eyes closing.
“Tell me about yourself,” Anthony says as he lowers himself to the ground, putting his arms behind his head.
“I’m Ian,” Ian says, looking out over the sea. “I’m 27 years old, and I like video games. I live in Los Angeles, I have a dog named Daisy, and I vlog for a living. What about you?”
“Well,” Anthony says, as if he isn’t sure where to begin. “I’m Anthony, I’m 27 years old, and I like video games too.”
Ian abruptly stops from slowly lying down, before continuing to do so. There’s something there, a story behind how the hell Anthony can afford video games when he works and lives on this island, so far away from the capital of the country, but Ian doesn’t ask. He knows when something is off limits.
“So,” Ian says, turning his head to look at Anthony. “Got anything planned for tomorrow?”
Anthony grins, looking at Ian. “We’re going snorkeling at nine. Wake up early, eat breakfast, and we’ll meet here.”
Ian grins. “That’s awesome.”
It is.
-.-.-.-Day 4
The sun is hot and bright in the sky when Ian walks to the sand barefoot, his slippers in one hand. He’s wearing a simple white and blue striped tank top and a pair of blue shorts, his trusty white Ray-Bans allowing him not to be blinded by the sun as he looks at the horizon.
It’s not long before he finds Anthony standing on the very edge of the shore, the water lapping at his toes with every wave. He has his back turned to Ian, his eyes focused on something far away, one hand above his eyes to shield them from the sun.
Ian’s mouth goes dry when he realizes that Anthony is topless, the smooth curve of his spine visible and too arousing, his shoulders broad and muscled. The brown shorts he’s wearing hangs low on his hips, and Ian blinks, momentarily disoriented.
God, but Anthony looks so gorgeous. His skin, light brown from being constantly under the sun, looks smooth, and Ian is quickly swallowed by a desire to touch and see for himself just how smooth Anthony’s skin is.
When Ian has more or less regulated his breathing, he smiles a bit unsteadily. “Anthony!” he says, raising his hand for an awkward little wave before putting it back to his side. Fuck, he’s 27 years old and he feels like a kid who just got asked to prom. It’s embarrassing.
Anthony turns around, smiling when he sees Ian, and Ian swears he can feel his knees shake and turn to jelly. If Anthony’s back looks gorgeous, his front is even more so. Ian can see the lines defining his abs, can see a prominent v line that Ian aches to touch and hold onto.
Ian feels his cheeks reddening. Thank God he can blame the heat for those.
“Hey,” Anthony says, walking towards him, oblivious to Ian’s current thought process. “Ready to go?”
Ian smiles. “Yeah.”
Anthony looks at the camera Ian has in one hand and raises an eyebrow. “You sure you want to bring that?”
Ian shrugs. “I might as well take videos now,” he says, walking towards Anthony. “After all, who knows when I’ll be here next? Actually,” he says, raising the hand that’s holding his camera, “I might as well start now. What do you say?”
Anthony’s eyes are wide with surprise, and for a moment, Ian finds it hard to breathe.
There are no other people on the beach but the two of them, and their solitude, combined with the relaxing sounds of the ocean, makes the entire thing seem intimate. For a few seconds, both of them are silent as they stand still in each other’s space, their breaths mingling, and Ian finds that he doesn’t want this kind of intimacy, especially when he doesn’t even know if Anthony is attracted to guys.
“Your eyes look like wet sand,” Ian blurts out. When he realizes just what he said, his eyes widen briefly, and he resists the urge to plant his hand on his face. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
“Nah, don’t be,” Anthony says, smiling kindly at Ian. “Your eyes look like the sea,” he says, walking back towards the sea where a small boat is waiting for them.
Ian watches Anthony walk away for a few moments, his mouth agape, before shaking his head and following him to the boat. “What a pair we make, huh?” he eventually says in an effort to make it seem like he doesn’t feel awkward at all. “We’re the sand and the sea.”
Anthony grins as he holds out a hand. “The sand and the sea. Catchy,” he remarks as he helps Ian balance himself on the narrow wood plank that’s being used as some sort of staircase.
Ian immediately lets go of Anthony’s hand the moment he steps onto the small boat, choosing to drop his slippers and turn his camera on. “Ready for some video taking, sand?” he asks with a shaky smile, eager to forget about how Anthony’s hand felt in his.
Anthony smiles as he grabs a long wooden stick and pushes the boat away from the shore with it. “Go for it, sea.”
Ian grins, turning on his camera.
“Hey guys, and welcome to Ian is bored!”
-.-.-.-There are, in Ian’s opinion, pros and cons to every situation. This is not an exception.
Sighing, Ian looks at the ceiling, uncaring that his outstretched limbs are hanging by the edge of the mattress. Despite the breeze that’s entering his cottage through the window and the balcony, Ian can still feel sweat dripping down the sides of his body, can feel his shirt sticking to his skin.
Where was he? Right. Pros and cons.
The pros to being friends with Anthony include, well, having a friend while he’s here, thousands of miles away from Mari, Sohinki, and his other friends. The pros also include having someone to actually hang out with on this island so Ian won’t feel so alone.
Ian sighs, closing his eyes.
The cons include having a constant case of blue balls. It’s not that he doesn’t try not seeing Anthony in such a way-no matter what Mari may say, he’s not actually a pervert, thank you very much-it’s just that no matter how hard he tries, the attraction is still there, slow and simmering under the surface. Normally, he wouldn’t be bothered by such a thing-after all, it’s just a small attraction that won’t really harm anyone-but being constantly close to Anthony, being able to see his muscled back and his arms and his brown eyes that always seem to be filled with genuine delight, well. It’s enough to make a man go mindless with lust.
It doesn’t matter though. He’s not going to do anything to make Anthony feel awkward about their tentative friendship.
His eyes open when he hears three short raps on the door. “Just a second,” he calls out as he gets up from the bed, his hands quick as they smoothen out the creases on his shirt. When he realizes that he’s absently making himself look presentable, he shakes his head and forces his arms to return to his sides before walking to the door.
“Hey,” he says as he opens the door, unsurprised to find Anthony smiling at him. “What’s up?”
“We’re getting lunch,” he says, grinning. “Come on, let’s go.”
Ian smiles as he walks out of the cottage and closes the door softly behind him. “So we’re eating together?” he asks as he follows Anthony down the stone steps.
“Diana’s joining us,” Anthony says, turning briefly around to shoot Ian a dazzling grin.
Ian doesn’t answer, settling instead for a bright grin. He hasn’t talked to Diana since that slightly awkward breakfast yesterday, and to be honest, he could use more friends.
He starts to regret thinking that later, once he and Anthony are walking away from the restaurant. Eating with only Diana and Anthony has made Ian realize just how talkative and excitable Diana can be. He had made the mistake of sitting beside Diana instead of beside Anthony, and so he had to nod along as Diana talked to him in rapid English and Filipino, had to smile even though he didn’t understand more than half of what she was saying.
Don’t get him wrong, Diana’s a perfectly nice person. It’s just that she’s a little too excited for his tastes-and coming from him, that means a lot.
“Is she that excited all the time?” Ian asks as he and Anthony walk by silent agreement to the beach despite the sun hanging directly overhead.
Anthony laughs, glancing at Ian for a moment before shaking his head, looking impossibly fond. “Yeah,” he says, smiling. “She is. She’s like a little sister to me.”
Ian smiles. “She can’t be that much younger than you.”
“She isn’t,” Anthony says, shaking his head. “I’m only younger than her by two months, actually.”
“Ahh,” Ian says, nodding in understanding. When they’ve reached the shore, the sunlight hot against their skins, Ian raises a hand to cover his eyes from the blinding light. “So, do you have any more plans for today?”
“I thought we could go coconut bowling,” Anthony says, and Ian’s eyes widen in surprise. He turns his head to look at Anthony, his eyes widening even more when he sees that Anthony’s completely serious.
“Coconut bowling? That’s a thing?”
Anthony laughs. “What, you don’t know about coconut bowling? I thought you live in Los Angeles? Don’t you have beaches there?”
Ian shrugs, walking further until the waters are ankle-deep. “We do, but I don’t think we have that kind of thing, or at least I’ve never heard about it.”
Anthony shoots him a grin, and it’s happy and it’s genuine and it’s just that little bit devious.
Ian smiles back shakily.
He knows he’s fucked.
-.-.-.-It’s four in the afternoon, and Ian is watching Anthony arrange bottles filled with water in a triangular formation in one of the resort’s many gardens. There are two coconuts lying nearby, and to be honest, Ian doesn’t think this will end well.
It’s not that he’s bad at bowling-no, he’s actually kind of good at it-it’s just that the coconuts that Anthony picked don’t look circular enough for this to work.
“Okay,” Anthony says, standing up and looking at the bottles with a pleased look on his face. He walks back to where Ian is with a bright smile. “Do you go bowling?”
“Yeah, sometimes,” Ian says, looking at the bottles across them. “I don’t think this will work, though.”
“It will. Trust me,” Anthony says, before grabbing one of the coconuts and swinging his arm back. Ian watches, his mouth dry, as Anthony’s arm muscles shift when he finally lets the coconut go.
The coconut rolls, which is surprising. What is even more surprising is that all the bottles go down.
Anthony must have seen the look on Ian’s face because he laughs good-naturedly. “Coconut bowling is something I’ve been doing since I was young,” he says by way of explanation.
That explains a lot.
“Have you gone bowling? As in the real thing?” Ian asks as he grabs the other coconut, watching as Anthony rearranges the bottles.
“Nope,” Anthony says. “I’d like to try though.”
There’s a touch of wistfulness in his tone, and it makes Ian still, the coconut a forgotten weight in his hands. There’s longing in Anthony’s tone of voice, and hearing that concerning bowling of all things, makes Ian feel just that bit sadder.
Because here Anthony is, someone who wants to experience various things and go various places yet is stuck in an island, lonely enough to want to talk to a stranger like Ian, and here Ian is, someone who’s getting more and more tired of the big city, taking things that people like Anthony would want to have the chance to experience for granted.
They’re both lonely, he thinks. That night at the sea, it wasn’t just him who wanted company.
Ian shakes his head, realizing that Anthony’s nearly done with rearranging the bottles. “It’s not much different than this. I think,” he says, not wanting to make Anthony feel like he’s missing something.
Anthony smiles, and it’s grateful. He knows why Ian said what he did. “Yeah, well let’s see,” he says, indicating the bottles at the other end.
Ian swings his arm back and lets go of the coconut at just the right angle, but, unsurprisingly, he misses. Despite having the coconut in his hands for a few seconds, he severely miscalculated the weight of it and put too much force into his throw.
Anthony watches as the coconut sails over the bottles, resisting the urge to grin. Ian turns around to see Anthony struggling to keep his laughter in, and he rolls his eyes, a smile on his face. “I said it’s not much different. I didn’t say they were the same.”
“Uhhuh,” Anthony says, an affectionate smile on his face. “Do you need any help?”
Ian knows what Anthony means. He knows it means Anthony behind him, helping him handle a coconut, their bodies too close for comfort. He knows it’s going to be like one of those scenes from the romcoms Sohinki likes so much.
He can’t have that, no.
“I’m fine!” Ian says a bit too loudly to be considered casual. Anthony raises his arms in a placating gesture, and Ian shakes his head, forcing himself to calm down. “I’m fine,” he says again, much calmer than before, smiling to ease Anthony’s worry.
“Okay,” Anthony says, walking away.
Ian focuses on the bottles at the other end, and lets go of the coconut at just the right time. When all the bottles topple over, he grins, turning to Anthony with a pleased look in his eyes. He probably shouldn’t feel this good for accomplishing something so small, but he does and he doesn’t care that he does.
Anthony chuckles when he sees the look on Ian’s face. “You did it!”
Ian grins.
He feels so, so alive.
Part three here.
Author:lavenderpisha09
Pairings: Ian/Anthony
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Angst, AU, Smut
Summary: It’s funny, how two people can affect each other in so many ways in so little time.
Author's Notes: For teamfreefuckery, who requested an AU where Anthony was raised in the Philippines and meets Ian when Ian goes to the Philippines for a vacation. I hope you enjoy this fic from your resident Filipino nerds. This fic is very AU, so beware. Teamfreefuckery, I hope you like this fic as well, and I hope I managed to write what you were expecting. I probably didn’t write it very well, but I think I did my best.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Smosh. I don’t make money from this.
Part one here.
Day 3
Ian wakes up to the sound of knocking.
Groaning, Ian opens his eyes with a herculean amount of effort, his brain not yet fully awake. The curtains separating his balcony from the rest of the room is closed, yet Ian can tell that the sun is already up in the sky.
Sighing, Ian turns, looking at the clock on the nightstand. Nine o’clock.
Another knock.
“I’m up,” Ian says, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he slowly gets up. “Come in.”
The door opens, revealing Anthony in another tank top and another pair of shorts, a bright smile on his face. “Good morning po, sir.”
Ian groans, standing up and stretching, sighing when he feels his joints pop into place. “I thought we were on a first-name basis?”
Anthony grins, taking Ian’s words as permission for him to go inside the room. He walks to the balcony, pushing the curtains to the sides to allow sunlight to enter the room. “You’re going to miss breakfast.”
Yawning, Ian walks to his suitcase and rummages inside for a change of clothes. It’s surprising, he thinks, how comfortable he and Anthony are with each other when they just met yesterday. They’re not close enough to talk about deep stuff, but they’re apparently close enough to be able to joke with each other and let the other into their own space to some degree, and really, that’s something Ian hadn’t even dared hope for.
He really does want a friend. He’s just thankful that Anthony’s willing to overlook the possible awkwardness he’s feeling to keep Ian company.
The fact that Ian’s only one of the few guests in this resort doesn’t help matters either-Ian thinks that if he had chosen to go here during peak season instead of in fucking August, he would have had better chances of befriending someone who wouldn’t feel forced to hang out with him.
“Since you’re the only guest who hasn’t eaten by this time, you’re going to be eating with us,” Anthony says as he looks out Ian’s balcony.
“That’s okay,” Ian says. “I’ll be out in a few, okay?”
Anthony nods, and Ian watches him exit the cottage, softly closing the door behind him, before going inside the bathroom and changing into decent clothes.
He can only hope that Anthony’s friends aren’t going to be awkward about having a guest eat with them.
-.-.-.-The thing is, Anthony’s friends aren’t at all awkward. Instead, it is Ian who is awkward the whole time, watching with a polite smile as Anthony’s friends talk loudly in a language he doesn’t understand. Though he knows they aren’t talking about him-they hadn’t mentioned his name, and he hasn’t been subjected to odd looks-he still feels weird, trying to fit in with Anthony’s group of friends when he doesn’t even understand what they’re saying or why they’re laughing.
He does, however, make friends with Diana. He considers that a point in his favor.
“I know you felt awkward. I’m sorry.”
Ian looks up, raising one hand to shield his eyes from the sun. He smiles when he sees Anthony, patting the space beside him to let Anthony know he can sit. Ian is hit with a sense of déjà vu, and he looks around, smiling when he sees that he managed to sit in the exact same spot he was in last night.
Anthony sits down, and for a moment, they’re both content to sit in the silence.
“You don’t have to continue keeping me company, you know,” Ian finally says after a moment.
Anthony shrugs. “I know that. I do want to be your friend, though. You look so out of place here, and I figure that if I help you fit in, maybe you’d be able to tell me stories from places you’ve been.”
“That’s a good deal,” Ian says, turning to look at Anthony. “I’m up for it.”
Anthony smiles. “I knew you would be.”
Ian turns to look once more at the sea. Under the sun, the blue waters glimmer like gemstones, and the coconut trees look just that much greener.
“So what are you going to do to help me fit in?” Ian asks, intrigued.
Anthony shrugs. “I’m going to help you have fun on this island,” he says, standing up. “You’re going to be here for eleven more days, right?”
Ian looks up at him, his eyebrows furrowed. “How do you know that?”
“I’m in charge of your cottage, remember?” Anthony asks, a smile on his face. He holds out a hand for Ian to take. “Are you coming with me or what?”
Ian smiles and takes his hand. Anthony’s palm is rough, but Ian pays it no mind, instead choosing to focus on the way Anthony’s hand is just slightly larger than his, how it’s warm and comfortable surrounding his own hand. Anthony helps him up, and Ian immediately lets go of his hand, not wanting to make everything even more awkward.
Yes, he does have a crush on the guy, and yes, normally he would be acting like an ecstatic teenager as he touches his crush’s hand, but this is different. For one, he’s not exactly a teenager anymore no matter what Mari might say, and for another, he actually does want to have a friend for the days that he’s here, actually does want to be liked by the crew and not avoided like the plague, thank you very much.
Besides, Ian doesn’t want Anthony to feel more awkward that he already is.
“Where are we going?” Ian eventually asks, squinting his eyes to see Anthony better against the sunlight.
“I’m going to take you for a walk around the beach, since I haven’t given you your tour yesterday,” Anthony says, smiling as he walks away from Ian, towards the stone steps.
Ian’s eyebrows rise, and he hesitates for only a second before hurrying to catch up with Anthony. “Does that mean we’re going to be walking up those steps again?”
Anthony laughs. Already, Ian has come to love the sound of it, so different from the calmness that is offered by the sound of the ocean waves returning to the shore. “Yep.”
Ian groans.
-.-.-.-“Whatcha been up to?”
Ian smiles, watching as Mari stifles a yawn. Her hair is in complete disarray once again, which is completely understandable given the fact that it is currently one in the morning in Los Angeles. Ian hears Sohinki grumble in the background, and his grin widens even further.
Yeah, he’s a shit friend, but Mari really wouldn’t have him any other way.
“Nothing much,” Ian says, truthful. “I haven’t done much writing yet, but I have been trying to have fun.”
Mari smiles at him, though it is soon hidden behind a hand as she tries to repress yet another yawn. “Sorry,” she says, the video on Ian’s laptop shifting, indicating that Mari’s walking-probably to the kitchen to get some coffee.
“I could always call another time, you know,” Ian says, watching with an amusement evident on his face as Mari stumbles. Mari has never been a morning person, and Ian sincerely doubts she has become one in the few days he has been gone.
“Yeah, well you already called,” Mari says, letting just a little bit of her frustration seep into her tone of voice. Ian doesn’t take it to heart-he knows Mari will let this slide. “What do you mean trying to have fun?”
Ian leans back on his chair. “Well, I met this guy-”
Mari groans. “Oh no, please don’t fuck this guy. You’ll be there for two weeks! You don’t want those two weeks to be awkward and stuff, right?”
Ian watches with amusement as Mari gets her mug from the cupboard. “Relax, Mari. I wasn’t finished. And besides, I don’t have that reputation.”
Mari gives him a look. “Yeah well you don’t have us grown-ups to watch over you. Don’t blame me if I’m worried.”
“I’d hardly call you a grown-up,” Ian says, laughing when Mari sputters in response. “Anyway, I’ve met this guy, and he’s actually the one who’s in charge of the cottage I’m in.”
“Don’t fuck the service,” Mari says, one hand reaching to tiredly rub her face.
Despite the fact that there is no one here but him, Ian is pretty thankful that he remembered to plug his earphones in, knowing that Mari’s language would be unfiltered this early in the morning. “I’m not fucking the service, Mari, Jesus,” Ian says, his voice becoming progressively softer as he reaches the end of his sentence. “We’re friends.”
“That’s nice,” Mari says, a small smile on her face. Ian hears the gentle whirr that indicates that Mari has turned the coffee maker on, and, unbidden, a smile forms on his lips. He gave her that coffee maker when she and Sohinki decided to move in together.
“What’s his name?” Mari asks. She raises one hand to comb through her hair in an attempt to make her hair somewhat presentable.
Ian shakes his head, clearing his head of his previous thoughts. “Anthony Padilla,” he says quietly, looking around to make sure that Anthony’s not near.
Ian’s in the resort’s café-a small, open hut that only has a roof but no walls, allowing the people seated inside to see the swimming pools on either side of the hut. He’s seated on a rattan chair placed beside the railing where he can see the pool more clearly.
“That’s nice,” she says. “Did you guys do anything fun?”
“He took me for a walk around the beach resort,” Ian says, and though he shrugs as he says it, he knows Mari will understand that the fact that Anthony took Ian for a walk means a great deal more to him than he will let himself express. “It was nice.”
“How do you like the beach so far?” Mari asks, stifling a yawn. “Is it nicer than the beach here?”
Ian looks around him, at the crystal blue swimming pools that surround him, at the gently-swaying coconut trees in the distance, at the sparkling blue waters of the sea under the beautiful cloudless sky. He thinks of the laughter coming from the crew when they hang out and eat dinner, thinks of the exquisite view outside his own cottage, thinks of stars spilling in the sky when light turns to dark, and smiles.
It’s already a home away from home.
-.-.-.-“So. What’s that po thing you guys seem to always say?”
Anthony grins, turning his head to look at Ian. “It’s a respect thing. Normally, you say it to elders and people of authority, and I guess guests have authority, so we say it when we address you.”
Ian and Anthony are, once again, lying with their hands planted behind them by the very same coconut tree where they first had an evening conversation. Ian would be bothered by how they seem to be constantly pulled by some invisible force to this place, but he’s too pleased by the thought that they have a spot for themselves to really think about the entire thing.
It’s night time, and the stars are beautiful white dots on a dark backdrop. The smell of the ocean is in the air, and Ian eagerly breathes it in, his eyes closing.
“Tell me about yourself,” Anthony says as he lowers himself to the ground, putting his arms behind his head.
“I’m Ian,” Ian says, looking out over the sea. “I’m 27 years old, and I like video games. I live in Los Angeles, I have a dog named Daisy, and I vlog for a living. What about you?”
“Well,” Anthony says, as if he isn’t sure where to begin. “I’m Anthony, I’m 27 years old, and I like video games too.”
Ian abruptly stops from slowly lying down, before continuing to do so. There’s something there, a story behind how the hell Anthony can afford video games when he works and lives on this island, so far away from the capital of the country, but Ian doesn’t ask. He knows when something is off limits.
“So,” Ian says, turning his head to look at Anthony. “Got anything planned for tomorrow?”
Anthony grins, looking at Ian. “We’re going snorkeling at nine. Wake up early, eat breakfast, and we’ll meet here.”
Ian grins. “That’s awesome.”
It is.
-.-.-.-Day 4
The sun is hot and bright in the sky when Ian walks to the sand barefoot, his slippers in one hand. He’s wearing a simple white and blue striped tank top and a pair of blue shorts, his trusty white Ray-Bans allowing him not to be blinded by the sun as he looks at the horizon.
It’s not long before he finds Anthony standing on the very edge of the shore, the water lapping at his toes with every wave. He has his back turned to Ian, his eyes focused on something far away, one hand above his eyes to shield them from the sun.
Ian’s mouth goes dry when he realizes that Anthony is topless, the smooth curve of his spine visible and too arousing, his shoulders broad and muscled. The brown shorts he’s wearing hangs low on his hips, and Ian blinks, momentarily disoriented.
God, but Anthony looks so gorgeous. His skin, light brown from being constantly under the sun, looks smooth, and Ian is quickly swallowed by a desire to touch and see for himself just how smooth Anthony’s skin is.
When Ian has more or less regulated his breathing, he smiles a bit unsteadily. “Anthony!” he says, raising his hand for an awkward little wave before putting it back to his side. Fuck, he’s 27 years old and he feels like a kid who just got asked to prom. It’s embarrassing.
Anthony turns around, smiling when he sees Ian, and Ian swears he can feel his knees shake and turn to jelly. If Anthony’s back looks gorgeous, his front is even more so. Ian can see the lines defining his abs, can see a prominent v line that Ian aches to touch and hold onto.
Ian feels his cheeks reddening. Thank God he can blame the heat for those.
“Hey,” Anthony says, walking towards him, oblivious to Ian’s current thought process. “Ready to go?”
Ian smiles. “Yeah.”
Anthony looks at the camera Ian has in one hand and raises an eyebrow. “You sure you want to bring that?”
Ian shrugs. “I might as well take videos now,” he says, walking towards Anthony. “After all, who knows when I’ll be here next? Actually,” he says, raising the hand that’s holding his camera, “I might as well start now. What do you say?”
Anthony’s eyes are wide with surprise, and for a moment, Ian finds it hard to breathe.
There are no other people on the beach but the two of them, and their solitude, combined with the relaxing sounds of the ocean, makes the entire thing seem intimate. For a few seconds, both of them are silent as they stand still in each other’s space, their breaths mingling, and Ian finds that he doesn’t want this kind of intimacy, especially when he doesn’t even know if Anthony is attracted to guys.
“Your eyes look like wet sand,” Ian blurts out. When he realizes just what he said, his eyes widen briefly, and he resists the urge to plant his hand on his face. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
“Nah, don’t be,” Anthony says, smiling kindly at Ian. “Your eyes look like the sea,” he says, walking back towards the sea where a small boat is waiting for them.
Ian watches Anthony walk away for a few moments, his mouth agape, before shaking his head and following him to the boat. “What a pair we make, huh?” he eventually says in an effort to make it seem like he doesn’t feel awkward at all. “We’re the sand and the sea.”
Anthony grins as he holds out a hand. “The sand and the sea. Catchy,” he remarks as he helps Ian balance himself on the narrow wood plank that’s being used as some sort of staircase.
Ian immediately lets go of Anthony’s hand the moment he steps onto the small boat, choosing to drop his slippers and turn his camera on. “Ready for some video taking, sand?” he asks with a shaky smile, eager to forget about how Anthony’s hand felt in his.
Anthony smiles as he grabs a long wooden stick and pushes the boat away from the shore with it. “Go for it, sea.”
Ian grins, turning on his camera.
“Hey guys, and welcome to Ian is bored!”
-.-.-.-There are, in Ian’s opinion, pros and cons to every situation. This is not an exception.
Sighing, Ian looks at the ceiling, uncaring that his outstretched limbs are hanging by the edge of the mattress. Despite the breeze that’s entering his cottage through the window and the balcony, Ian can still feel sweat dripping down the sides of his body, can feel his shirt sticking to his skin.
Where was he? Right. Pros and cons.
The pros to being friends with Anthony include, well, having a friend while he’s here, thousands of miles away from Mari, Sohinki, and his other friends. The pros also include having someone to actually hang out with on this island so Ian won’t feel so alone.
Ian sighs, closing his eyes.
The cons include having a constant case of blue balls. It’s not that he doesn’t try not seeing Anthony in such a way-no matter what Mari may say, he’s not actually a pervert, thank you very much-it’s just that no matter how hard he tries, the attraction is still there, slow and simmering under the surface. Normally, he wouldn’t be bothered by such a thing-after all, it’s just a small attraction that won’t really harm anyone-but being constantly close to Anthony, being able to see his muscled back and his arms and his brown eyes that always seem to be filled with genuine delight, well. It’s enough to make a man go mindless with lust.
It doesn’t matter though. He’s not going to do anything to make Anthony feel awkward about their tentative friendship.
His eyes open when he hears three short raps on the door. “Just a second,” he calls out as he gets up from the bed, his hands quick as they smoothen out the creases on his shirt. When he realizes that he’s absently making himself look presentable, he shakes his head and forces his arms to return to his sides before walking to the door.
“Hey,” he says as he opens the door, unsurprised to find Anthony smiling at him. “What’s up?”
“We’re getting lunch,” he says, grinning. “Come on, let’s go.”
Ian smiles as he walks out of the cottage and closes the door softly behind him. “So we’re eating together?” he asks as he follows Anthony down the stone steps.
“Diana’s joining us,” Anthony says, turning briefly around to shoot Ian a dazzling grin.
Ian doesn’t answer, settling instead for a bright grin. He hasn’t talked to Diana since that slightly awkward breakfast yesterday, and to be honest, he could use more friends.
He starts to regret thinking that later, once he and Anthony are walking away from the restaurant. Eating with only Diana and Anthony has made Ian realize just how talkative and excitable Diana can be. He had made the mistake of sitting beside Diana instead of beside Anthony, and so he had to nod along as Diana talked to him in rapid English and Filipino, had to smile even though he didn’t understand more than half of what she was saying.
Don’t get him wrong, Diana’s a perfectly nice person. It’s just that she’s a little too excited for his tastes-and coming from him, that means a lot.
“Is she that excited all the time?” Ian asks as he and Anthony walk by silent agreement to the beach despite the sun hanging directly overhead.
Anthony laughs, glancing at Ian for a moment before shaking his head, looking impossibly fond. “Yeah,” he says, smiling. “She is. She’s like a little sister to me.”
Ian smiles. “She can’t be that much younger than you.”
“She isn’t,” Anthony says, shaking his head. “I’m only younger than her by two months, actually.”
“Ahh,” Ian says, nodding in understanding. When they’ve reached the shore, the sunlight hot against their skins, Ian raises a hand to cover his eyes from the blinding light. “So, do you have any more plans for today?”
“I thought we could go coconut bowling,” Anthony says, and Ian’s eyes widen in surprise. He turns his head to look at Anthony, his eyes widening even more when he sees that Anthony’s completely serious.
“Coconut bowling? That’s a thing?”
Anthony laughs. “What, you don’t know about coconut bowling? I thought you live in Los Angeles? Don’t you have beaches there?”
Ian shrugs, walking further until the waters are ankle-deep. “We do, but I don’t think we have that kind of thing, or at least I’ve never heard about it.”
Anthony shoots him a grin, and it’s happy and it’s genuine and it’s just that little bit devious.
Ian smiles back shakily.
He knows he’s fucked.
-.-.-.-It’s four in the afternoon, and Ian is watching Anthony arrange bottles filled with water in a triangular formation in one of the resort’s many gardens. There are two coconuts lying nearby, and to be honest, Ian doesn’t think this will end well.
It’s not that he’s bad at bowling-no, he’s actually kind of good at it-it’s just that the coconuts that Anthony picked don’t look circular enough for this to work.
“Okay,” Anthony says, standing up and looking at the bottles with a pleased look on his face. He walks back to where Ian is with a bright smile. “Do you go bowling?”
“Yeah, sometimes,” Ian says, looking at the bottles across them. “I don’t think this will work, though.”
“It will. Trust me,” Anthony says, before grabbing one of the coconuts and swinging his arm back. Ian watches, his mouth dry, as Anthony’s arm muscles shift when he finally lets the coconut go.
The coconut rolls, which is surprising. What is even more surprising is that all the bottles go down.
Anthony must have seen the look on Ian’s face because he laughs good-naturedly. “Coconut bowling is something I’ve been doing since I was young,” he says by way of explanation.
That explains a lot.
“Have you gone bowling? As in the real thing?” Ian asks as he grabs the other coconut, watching as Anthony rearranges the bottles.
“Nope,” Anthony says. “I’d like to try though.”
There’s a touch of wistfulness in his tone, and it makes Ian still, the coconut a forgotten weight in his hands. There’s longing in Anthony’s tone of voice, and hearing that concerning bowling of all things, makes Ian feel just that bit sadder.
Because here Anthony is, someone who wants to experience various things and go various places yet is stuck in an island, lonely enough to want to talk to a stranger like Ian, and here Ian is, someone who’s getting more and more tired of the big city, taking things that people like Anthony would want to have the chance to experience for granted.
They’re both lonely, he thinks. That night at the sea, it wasn’t just him who wanted company.
Ian shakes his head, realizing that Anthony’s nearly done with rearranging the bottles. “It’s not much different than this. I think,” he says, not wanting to make Anthony feel like he’s missing something.
Anthony smiles, and it’s grateful. He knows why Ian said what he did. “Yeah, well let’s see,” he says, indicating the bottles at the other end.
Ian swings his arm back and lets go of the coconut at just the right angle, but, unsurprisingly, he misses. Despite having the coconut in his hands for a few seconds, he severely miscalculated the weight of it and put too much force into his throw.
Anthony watches as the coconut sails over the bottles, resisting the urge to grin. Ian turns around to see Anthony struggling to keep his laughter in, and he rolls his eyes, a smile on his face. “I said it’s not much different. I didn’t say they were the same.”
“Uhhuh,” Anthony says, an affectionate smile on his face. “Do you need any help?”
Ian knows what Anthony means. He knows it means Anthony behind him, helping him handle a coconut, their bodies too close for comfort. He knows it’s going to be like one of those scenes from the romcoms Sohinki likes so much.
He can’t have that, no.
“I’m fine!” Ian says a bit too loudly to be considered casual. Anthony raises his arms in a placating gesture, and Ian shakes his head, forcing himself to calm down. “I’m fine,” he says again, much calmer than before, smiling to ease Anthony’s worry.
“Okay,” Anthony says, walking away.
Ian focuses on the bottles at the other end, and lets go of the coconut at just the right time. When all the bottles topple over, he grins, turning to Anthony with a pleased look in his eyes. He probably shouldn’t feel this good for accomplishing something so small, but he does and he doesn’t care that he does.
Anthony chuckles when he sees the look on Ian’s face. “You did it!”
Ian grins.
He feels so, so alive.
Part three here.