RP Log: Mizuki and Yuuta

[twistandspin]

Rating: PG
When: A short time after Mizuki arrived on the island.
Where: Bathing Pool then Yuuta's shelter.
Summary: Mizuki is dirty and burnt and calls on Yuuta for help.


Yuuta dug through the bag he’d brought trying to find something that would fit Mizuki best. Really, nothing of this seemed like it would suit Mizuki’s tastes, sure it was more about being comfortable but Yuuta knew he had his...style preference.

Finally he settled on a pair of Khaki cargo pants that he knew Mizuki would probably fuss over and a lilac colored t-shirt. It might not have been the right blend of materials but at least it was a good color. He took the two items he had and stuffed them under his arm as he made his way out of the cabin he’d been storing his things in.

“Mizuki-san...” He rapped lightly on the edge of the door frame of the cabin he’d said he’d be in. “I have some things for you to try.”

Mizuki, who had been irritably flicking his salt-crusted fringe out of his face, immediately sprang to the door. “Yuuta!” he greeted with a smile. “Thank goodness.” He pursed his lips at Yuuta’s selection of clothing, but accepted them graciously. Beggars couldn’t be choosers. His clothes were all stiff with the sea salt and starting to smell like seaweed.

“Please tell me that there is a place to wash, with fresh water?” he asked almost pleadingly.

Yuuta sighed, not missing that momentary purse of lips that told him Mizuki was less then satisfied with what he had to offer. “There is.” He assured him scratching at his arm. “I’ll give you some privacy while you change.” His brow furrowed and he turned toward the shelter door.

Mizuki frowned. “I’m not changing into clean clothes while I’m still all sticky and covered in salt crystals,” he pointed out with a sniff. “Where do you bathe? Take me there. Ah, I should have asked you to bring soap as well...you did bring soap to the island, didn’t you?” Well, and there was the question of why Yuuta was on this island as well, but that could wait till Mizuki was clean.

Of course. Yuuta shook his head with a sigh and held up a small bag of toiletries that he’d brought along with his backpack. Sure it wasn’t anything flowery but he did know it had some kind of moisturizer or something in it and that had to count for something.

“I guess I should bathe too.” He scratched at his arm and then brought his nails up noticing the grime under them. It had been a couple of days since he’d taken one. “That is if you don’t mind, Mizuki-san?”

“When was the last time you cleaned your nails?” Mizuki shook his head at Yuuta, horrified. “Yes, you should take a bath-- and of course I don’t mind, I’ve seen it all before, after all.” He smirked at Yuuta, waiting for the inevitable blush.

And blush Yuuta did. “You shouldn’t really be looking, Mizuki-san.” He frowned a little, digging some of the dirt out from under his nails. He guessed he shouldn’t have really been surprised, Mizuki observed everything, took notes on everything and...yeah, that was really creepy when Mizuki over thought it.

Shaking his head Yuuta wished his blush away as he stepped out of the cabin, figuring Mizuki would be quick to follow.

Sweet, naive Yuuta was so predictable sometimes. “Well, one can’t help seeing things in the locker and shower rooms,” Mizuki replied with a light shrug. He followed Yuuta through the vegetation, gingerly stepping over tree roots and clumps of unknown plant matter. He was soon also scratching at his arms and legs as blood-sucking insects of all kinds decided to home in on this juicy new target.

“Still, Mizuki-san...” Yuuta argued as they cut through the foliage back towards the bathing pool. It didn't take long to reach the spot and even just looking at the cool water made Yuuta feel refreshed. Hopefully it was up to Mizuki’s standards.

“This is it.” He started to pull of his shirt once he’d set the toiletries he’d been toting aside.

Mizuki took the opportunity to stare. Yuuta had always been lean, but his stay on the island seemed to have given him more muscle definition and a rather nice tan. “My, have you been doing menial labour out in the sun?” he commented as he gingerly peeled his stiff clothing off himself and tested the water with a toe. He hoped there were no leeches.

Yuuta snuck his own glance at Mizuki without really realizing what he was doing until he saw lavender eyes on him. He sputtered a bit and made some excuse as he made quick work of his shorts and slipped quickly into the cool water.

Hopefully Mizuki wouldn’t tease him too badly, or even better -- Hopefully he hadn’t actually caught him staring. Given it was Mizuki, that wasn’t likely.

Crusted with salt, sand, and sunburnt in some areas, Mizuki felt oddly self-conscious , sinking iinto the water with just a half-hearted wink at Yuuta and no further comment. The water was cooler than he expected, and he shivered a little before starting to slowly and meticulously wash himself.

Yuuta turned away with a light flush at the wink Mizuki had thrown his way and busied himself scrubbing hard at the dirt and sweat that had managed to collect itself on him throughout the day. “Did you want some of my soap, Mizkui-san?” Bathing together really wasn’t that big a deal. They were both men after all, Yuuta quickly reminded himself as he scrubbed harder at his chest waiting for Mizuki’s reply.

“Yes please,” Mizuki said, watching with disgust as the clear water around him turned turbid with the sand and dirt coming off his body. He waded towards Yuuta, noting with some amusement that the water was clear and still enough to not hide anything at all. “What kind of soap?”

Yuuta looked down to the soap bar in his hand with a small frown. “Just soap, Mizuki-san.” Yuuta had never been to keen on caring what type, smell or level of moisturizer soap had. What he did know is that it did its job, hopefully that would be enough for Mizuki. He held the slippery bar out to the other man, eyes lifting to meet violet pools that were looking him over. Yuuta didn’t really notice, or if he did, he pretended he didn’t and instead gave a small nod towards the bar in his hand.

“It will have to do, I suppose,” Mizuki sniffed, taking the soap and lathering it up in the cool water before spreading it over his body, rubbing hard to get every speck of dirt loose. “Help me wash my back, Yuuta.”

Yuuta frowned a little at the way he flushed. “Sure, Mizuki-san.” He waded over in the water, hands reaching to take the soap back. “Turn around, alright?” He motioned with a nod of his head as he rolled the soap between his palms and took another step closer.

“In return, I’ll need you to wash mine.” He cleared his throat and reached up to scratch at his temple not realizing that he was spreading soap all over himself. Yuuta wasn’t usually that scatterbrained and he told himself it had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with helping Mizuki wash.

“Of course,” Mizuki agreed easily. It would be nice to wash Yuuta’s back. Especially if he could sneak a grope or two in and make Yuuta blush again in that adorable manner. He turned so his back was facing Yuuta. “Be gentle-- I got a bit sun burnt there while I was floating in the sea.”

Yuuta nodded a few times before he realized Mizuki had turned his back to him and couldn’t hear a nod. “I’ll try.” He took a few steps forward in the cool water, rubbing the soap between his palms to lather then before reaching over to put the bar on a near by ledge. “Tell me if the pressure is too much.”

Mizuki’s skin was as soft as silk, just as Yuuta had expected it to bed. “Is this alright?” Calloused palms from years of tennis practice ran as gently as they could over his sempai’s back. St. Rudolph’s newly appointed captain wasn’t the best at back washing or being gentle, but he made an effort and hopefully it was good enough for the former manager and player.

“Um, so you said you’d help me with training?” Yuuta started making small talk in an effort to take the focus off of how close he was standing to a very naked Mizuki.

“Mmm, it’s good,” Mizuki replied, enjoying the gentle treatment of his back. He stretched and shifted a little under Yuuta’s hands. His calluses were very...exfoliating. Mizuki shivered just a little as Yuuta moved down his back, before remembering that Yuuta had asked another question.

“Mm? Of course I’ll help you with training,” he said. “Can’t have you falling behind now, can we? I’m sure there are lots of places here we can train.”

“No, Mizuki-san.” He smiled a little to himself as he scooped water in his hands to rinse the soap off of his senpai’s back. “Does that feel better?” Yuuta wiped at his own brow and turned to grab the soap again so that he could finish washing himself up, not really expecting Mizuki to return the favor.

Helping him with training was enough.

Mizuki sighed in satisfaction. “I actually feel clean now,” he declared, turning around to face Yuuta. He took the soap from Yuuta’s hand. “Didn’t I say I would help you wash your back, too?” He worked the soap into a generous lather and rubbed it onto Yuuta’s back, starting from the back of his neck all the way down to his buttocks.

“Good.” Yuuta left off the thought of saying ’I know how you can be about being clean.’ and decided to keep it simple, he wouldn’t have wanted to offend his friend. “And you did, but you really don’t--” The words stopped the moment Mizuki placed gentle pressure against his back, hands working to scrub away at a few days worth of sweat and grime that had accumulated as he built his shelter on the other end of the island.

Stormy grey eyes slipped shut as Mizuki’s fingertips worked down his back but his relaxed posture didn't last long. He was supposed to wash his back, not anything else. “I-I think I can reach there, Mizuki-san.” He moved a few steps away a furious blush covering his cheeks.

The edges of Mizuki’s mouth curled up into a devious smile. Yuuta was still so shy, after so many years. “Don’t be such a prude, Yuuta. I’m just helping you with spots you can’t see,” he coaxed. “Did you know you have mud on your back?” It was true, a few clods of dirt had rolled off Yuuta’s back as Mizuki worked. This whole jungle business was rather unhygienic.

“Really?” Still with a blush covering his cheeks Yuuta turned, trying to look over his shoulder. “I suppose if that’s the reason...” The younger Fuji was so trusting when it came to Mizuki, sometimes against better judgment but he truly did believe that his senior did have his best interest in mind.

He’d called him Yuuta and disconnected him from the brother he so hated to be compared to and because of that he’d earned his trust and respect. What happened after that had just built on the foundation Mizuki had so neatly laid.

“Help me then?” He requested, lips pulling into a tight line because he actually liked the gentle touch Mizuki provided. It’s just a bath... he reminded himself with a deep intake of breath.

“Alright. I promise not to touch unnecessary places too much,” Mizuki said with a wink. He cupped his hands and scooped up some water, pouring it down Yuuta’s back to rinse off some of the suds and dirt, rubbing a little with his fingertips to dislodge the more stubborn smears of dirt.

Mizuki clucked his tongue. “What were you doing? Rolling in mud?” Dirt all gone, Mizuki proceeded to give Yuuta a soothing neck massage. Wasn’t he building some sort of shelter? Poor Yuuta must be tired after all that hard work.

“No, I was making my shelter.” Yuuta had to admit the fingers that worked so skilfully against his neck were a relief against achy muscles. “Though, I guess it was about the equivalent.” His shoulders dropped as he spoke, and without really realizing it he leaned back against Mizuki’s hands.

“That feels really nice, Mizuki-san, thank you.” Yuuta spoke softly, a feeling of relaxation taking over his exhausted body. Normally he wouldn’t admit something like that outside of a stiff thanks followed by a brush off but Mizuki had a way of taming Yuuta’s gruff streak.

“Are you done with the shelter?” Mizuki asked, wearing a little smug smile at Yuuta’s thanks. “And you are welcome. We can’t have stiff muscles affecting your training, after all.” Thus encouraged, his fingers worked their way from Yuuta’s neck to his shoulder blades, easing out the knots.

“Nearly, if you want to you can come see it.” He was okay with Mizuki visiting he just didn’t really feel like socializing with the rest of the island at leasieur, mainly his brother. It still stung that he’d come to the island with the intent to take care of Fuji and get him off the island and somehow that had even turned on him. Being in his brother’s care for those two weeks had been the last thing he wanted. He groaned half from the though, half from Mizuki hitting a particularly sore spot on his back and let his head lull forward.

“I’ll help you decorate,” Mizuki suggested, perking up at the thought of something he could do. Entertainment of non-data-gathering sort was sorely lacking. The island seemed like it had a lot of flowers. Too bad there wasn’t any paint...

He chuckled at Yuuta’s groan as he dug his fingers into Yuuta’s back. “Does that feel good?” He repeated the action again, using his knuckles for extra pressure.

Yuuta was really glad that there was a serious lack of purple on the island. Mizuki had always had a...interesting way of decorating his dorms back at Saint Rudolph. He didn’t have too much time to dwell on how bad or not an idea it was to give Mizuki free reign over shelter because his hands were much too distracting.

“That feels really good, Mizuki-san, thank you.” He groaned in a good way and swallowed as hands sunk a litter more down the curve of his back.

“I’ll give you a full-body massage next time,” Mizuki promised, resisting the temptation to let his hands wander further down. It wouldn’t do to startle Yuuta early on. Such things had to be taken slowly, one step at a time. Besides, Fuji would kill him.

“Hopefully I won’t be so sore that I need one.” Yuuta commented thinking it actually might be nice either way. “Did you want to see it after our ba--the bath?” The younger boy cleared his throat and shifted in the water and turned to look over his shoulder at Mizuki.

“See--?” Mizuki’s mind had gradually been drifting towards naughtier places, and actually dropped into the gutter for a brief moment. “Oh-- the shelter,” he said finally, blinking. “Of course, Yuuta. Is it clean?”

“There isn’t a lot in to really get dirty.” Yuuta turned to face Mizuki fully, not bothering to move away from how close they were both standing. “At least I don’t think it’s dirty.” Mizuki might have had different idea of clean then Yuuta had...well, actually it was more likely that he had a higher standard of clean.

“I will certainly tell you if it is not acceptable,” Mizuki said with a small laugh, shaking a few loose drops of water from his fringe. “I look forward to seeing it. Your own little nest away from Fuji-kun, isn’t it? He must be unhappy about it.”

“I have no doubt you will.” Yuuta shook his head and brought his hands up, deciding he was wrinkled enough to warrant getting out of the pool. He dipped himself in the cool water, fully submerging himself before walking over to the edge of the pool.

It was when Mizuki mentioned his brother that Yuuta faltered, hands slipping on the edge of the pool from where he was about to hoist himself up. “W-who cares what he thinks.” Yuuta neatly covered his hiccup and steeled his face as he finally lifted himself out of the water. He didn’t, or so he said.

“Mm, that’s right, you are your own person, who minds what Fuji-kun thinks, after all...” Mizuki trailed off distractedly as he followed Yuuta’s exit with undisguised interest. Yuuta had very well toned gluteal muscles. He belatedly realised that he was probably supposed to follow and waded after Yuuta. To Mizuki’s great chagrin, he discovered that he couldn’t quite lift himself out. Not without the possibility of scraping his elbows and knees on the stone lining the banks.

“Yuuta, give me a hand,” Mizuki said, forgetting for a moment that they were both completely naked and that Yuuta giving him a hand now would be rather awkward, given that Mizuki’s eye-level would be conveniently at Yuuta’s crotch.

Yuuta was just about to reach for his shorts when Mizuki called for him. “Oh sure.” He didn’t realize what Mizuki was really up to even as he padded over and reached down offering both his hands to hoist St. Rudolph’s manger out of the water giving him a tug up when he grabbed on.

Mizuki stared, unblinking, for a good few seconds before pointedly looking away and pulling himself up with Yuuta’s help. So focused was he on avoiding temptation that he failed to see the loose rock right under his foot. What ensued was a sterotypical soap opera scene where Mizuki lost his footing and fell right on top of Yuuta, knocking them both to the ground.

It all happened in slow motion for Yuuta and yet he still hardly realized what was going on until his back was flat against the ground and Mizuki was sprawled out over him. He stuttered a little, at a loss for words. “Mi-Mizuki-san...” Yuuta was probably the reddest he’d ever been in his life, but he was making no moves. Moving meant he’d feel something, but staying where he was meant Mizuki’s body remained against his (which he supposed part of him was okay with). Grey eyes shut immediately with that thought, hoping somehow he’d wake up and be back at home and there would be no such thing as the ship crashing and he could just go to practice in the morning and hope Mizuki would stop by to feed him any sort of tips he had for managing the team in his charge and hopefully not be naked while he was doing it.

“Yuuta--” Faced with the stuff of his dirtiest wet dreams, Mizuki lay there dazed for a few moments before realising with horror that his nether regions were starting to react to the arrangement. He hurriedly rolled off and faced away, moving towards the pile of clothing that Yuuta was lending him. “You’re so clumsy, Yuuta,” he laughed, trying to dispel the awkwardness.

Eyes cracked open when he felt the weight of the other man lift off of him as quickly as it had fallen on him. Him...clumsy? Yuuta balled his fists and moved to sit up, at a loss for how to react to the comment much less the laughter. “Sorry.” He supposed he shouldn’t have tugged so hard, Mizuki was pretty feather light if he thought about it. Fingers reached to brush at his own back, sighing when he realized it was dirty again. So much for that bath. “You’re not hurt, are you?” The flush was still apparent on his face as he sat an tried not to over think what had just happen and how his mind had dumped itself neatly in the gutter.

“I’m fine, Yuuta,” Mizuki replied, turning back to him now that he had managed to wriggle into a shirt. It was much too big and hung off his shoulders down to the tops of his thighs. “I’ll help you wipe your back down later, if you have a handkerchief.” He thought wistfully of his lavender silk handkerchiefs at home and wondered if he’d ever see them again. Picking up Yuuta’s clothes, Mizuki handed them to him. There would be other opportunities to see Yuuta’s body, he told himself.

Yuuta make quick work of his clothing after wiping what dirt he could off of his back. “It’ll fall off as I dry.” The prospect of having an excuse to make Mizuki touch him did have its merits, but unfortunately the acting captain lacked the handkerchief requested. Perhaps there would be another opportunity, one that wasn’t quite as mortifying as what had just happened. In fact, the more Yuuta thought about the sort of thoughts he was having the more mortified he became.

Mizuki was his friend and mentor...not...someone he should be having unholy thoughts about.

With a firm shake of his head he steeled himself once more, the perpetual frown finding its way to his features once once. “My cabin is this way, if you still wanted to see it.” He motioned with his hand before setting off in that direction silently as a battle waged war under his spiky brown hair.

“We can’t have that, Yuuta. I’ll think of something.” While Yuuta looked rather good all rugged and covered in dirt, Mizuki preferred for the people close to him to maintain a certain standard of hygiene.

He caught sight of Yuuta’s frown and frowned himself. Was Yuuta disgusted or uncomfortable with the contact? Mizuki hoped not, and decided to wait and see. “Of course I’ll come, Yuuta,” he said warmly, following him. “Didn’t I say I would?”

“Yeah, but I thought--” Well, what Yuuta thought was that after whatever awkwardness had just happened, Mizuki might not have been too keen on the idea of spending any time with him in close proximity. It probably was best that he not make a big deal about it or over think it. “Well, never mind. We can heat up some of the pumpkin curry I have if you want.” In times like these, changing the subject was probably the best idea. He wouldn’t want Mizuki to over analyze him and fiugre anything out.

Not that Yuuta himself had exactly figured anything out other then that he was slightly confused by his own reaction to the shorter manager.

The small cabin Yuuta had managed to throw together with left over wreckage was in view now, and Yuuta was thankful for yet another distraction from his thoughts. “Well, here it is. Go ahead and laugh now.” The frown melted into a crooked smile only for a moment.

Mizuki entered the shelter, full of curiosity. It was surprisingly well-built and cozy. “I’m impressed,” he told Yuuta, peering around. “It’s rather well made. And it suits you, Yuuta. It’s straightforward and comfortable.” He gave Yuuta a wink, hoping to distract him from his obvious brooding about something. If Yuuta’s mood continued Mizuki would prod him for answers, but for now Mizuki decided to let Yuuta be.

“Straightforward?” Yuuta repeated, a little thrown off by the wink that was sent his way. In fact, that very wink had sent scarlet to his cheeks again. Something that seemed to be happening more often then not around Mizuki and Yuuta really wasn’t sure what to make of it. “So, you don’t want to make any changes to it then, Mizuki-san?” The taller of the two men was now bent over his bed digging for his bag so that he could pull out the last of the pumpkin curry his mother had sent him off with.

“I’m not saying it couldn’t do with a little more decoration,” Mizuki clarified, still poking his way around. Perhaps a vase of flowers here, a drape there... “Well straightforward as in functional and to the point, I suppose,” he added, turning back to Yuuta and noting his blush. Now that was familiar ground. Mizuki knew how to deal with a blushing Yuuta.

“I guess I won’t stop you.” A little color wouldn’t be such a bad thing as long as it was done in moderation. Hopefully Mizuki could manage that. He tilted his chin downward, tryng to avoid eye contact with Mizuki, at least until he could be sure his blush had faded.

“You’ll be amazed by what a little colour can do,” Mizuki promised, twirling a lock of his now clean hair. “And what’s this about pumpkin curry, Yuuta?” Clean and more relaxed, Mizuki then realised he hadn’t eaten for a while.

“Mother sent me with some, we can heat it up if you’d like.” Yuuta held up one of the tuperwears he’d pulled out as a visual for Mizuki. His stomach grumbled a little just at the thought of getting to chow down on something warm and familiar. His grey eyes followed the curl of a finger as it looped and un-looped from the other mans hair. It seemed old habits died hard, but that also might have indicated that Mizuki was up to something.

Yuuta tried not to be suspicious, but he knew better.

“You did want some, right?” There was slight hesitation in his voice as he regarded Mizuki, wondering to himself why he even tried to figure out what he could have been thinking or what possible data he was collecting at that moment.

“I would love some, Yuuta. I’m a little hungry,” Mizuki replied, perching on the smoothest available surface and crossing one leg over the other. “Do we have to make a fire?” He sensed the uncertainty in Yuuta’s voice and gave a little mental sigh. Despite his efforts Yuuta had yet to trust and open up to him completely. Mizuki wondered if he should revise his approach to the Conquest of Fuji Yuuta.

“I’ll make it, it doesn’t take that long.” Yuuta couldn’t help himself, eyes raked up slender legs to the hem of the lavender shirt that covered the tops of crossed legs. His gaze lingered far longer then it should have and he knew it. He really needed to shake this, whatever it was. Mizuki was a dear friend, and someone who (in his opinion) had his best intentions in mind. “You relax, Mizuki-san. I’ll be right back.” And with that, Yuuta was off, quickly preparing dinner before re-entering the shelter and coming to sit shoulder to shoulder with the data collecting manager.

Having busied himself by straightening and rearranging various objects in the shelter, Mizuki was even hungrier by the time Yuuta returned. “It smells wonderful,” he commented, feeling his stomach rumble. Such home-cooked food would be hard to come by now that they were stuck on a deserted island. Which reminded him... “Yuuta, you haven’t explained how you got here.”

Yuuta passed the bowl of curry to Mizuki and leaned back on his makeshift bed only to let out a heavy sigh. “I came to get my brother.” He frowned a little. “Only so that Mother and my sister would stop talking about how worried they were about him.” He needed to make sure that Mizuki (and everyone) knew that he only came for that reason, not because he was worried about the senior Fuji or anything. “I swam some of it.” That near death experience was defiantly something that Yuuta would have liked to block out, not to mention the aftermath of two weeks of being holed up in his brother’s care.

“--Swam? In the open ocean?” Mizuki blinked. “And I’m surprised your family let you go by yourself. What did you do, row a boat out into the open sea?” It did sound like something Yuuta would do... but Mizuki was surprised by his own worry at the fact that Yuuta could very well have drowned.

“I rode out as far as the coast guard would take me.” Of course, Yuuta hadn’t made his intention of jumping ship known to the crew of the particular ship at the time. “So the swim wasn’t so bad.” That was a lie. The swim had been awful but he didn’t want Mizuki to worry if he didn’t have to. “And I didn’t exactly let me family know what I was up to, you know how Oneesan can be.” He scratched at his stomach and looked over at Mizuki with a small smile.

“Hmm.” Mizuki frowned, looking thoughtful. “It sounds so dangerous,” he declared with a shake of his head. Then he thought about how he arrived on the island and supposed it wasn’t very much different after all. “It’s strange, isn’t it, how most of the people here are those from the high school tennis circuit.”

“I made it, didn’t I?” He looked over at Mizuki with a small frown. He hadn’t asked Mizuki how he got there he realized. “It is a little weird. How did you get here, Mizuki-san?” He realized he might not like the answer to that, the idea of Mizuki being in any sort of danger didn’t make him feel to good.

“Is the curry any good?” He asked, noticing Mizuki hadn’t touched it yet.

“Ah.” Mizuki blinked and took a dainty bite of curry, then another. “It’s good,” he nodded, savouring the taste. Yuuta’s mother’s cooking always was. “How I got here? I was on a friend’s yacht. It capsized in a storm and I floated here on a beer cooler.” He gave a long sigh of resignation. “I still have sunburn!”

“A beer cooler?” Somehow that didn’t seem dignified enough for someone like Mizuki but then again nothing about being shipwrecked really was. “We’ll, despite your sunburn, I’m glad your safe, Mizuki-san.” Yuuta rolled to his side on the makeshift bed, the smallest of smiles falling over his features as he watched Mizuki enjoy what was left of the curry he’d packed for his failed rescue mission. “I have some aloe if you think that would help. I-I’ll help you put it on.” He felt his cheeks heat up again at the suggestion but quickly reminded himself that it wasn’t that big of deal. Lotion was lotion and that was all.

“It was a floatation device of sorts....Aloe? You have aloe?” Mizuki perked up visibly, smiling at Yuuta. “Oh, just what I needed. You’re so helpful, Yuuta.” He smirked. “And yes, you can help me put it on. It’s just on my back.”

Yuuta nodded quickly, thankful for the excuse to get up. “Finish up the curry and I’ll be right back with it.” He rose from the bed, bringing his hands to his face in an attempt to slap some sense into himself and get rid of the heat on his cheeks. The aloe was in one of the crates he’d decided to use as a storage box just outside the shelter and didn’t take long to retrieve.

“Here it is.” He held the bottle up, coaching himself internally to not over think anything.

Mizuki ate the rest of the food and set it aside, wishing there was something to freshen his breath. Then again Yuuta probably wouldn’t mind too much if his breath smelt of curry. He nodded at Yuuta when he returned with the lotion and wriggled out of his borrowed shirt.

Yuuta tried really hard not to stare and reminded himself that this was nothing to get worked up over as he sat himself behind Mizuki and squirted some of the aloe into his palm. “You are a little red.” He noted, rubbing the aloe between his palms to warm it.

“I have sunblock too, Mizuki-san so this won’t happen again.” He tried to be gentle as he pushed his hands against the flat of Mizuki’s back and rubbed light circles over the reddened skin. St. Rudolph’s newest captain swallowed trying to block out any sort of image from what had happened earlier from his mind as he leaned in closer to the smaller manager.

“Oh, you’re a lifesaver, Yuuta,” Mizuki said happily as he allowed Yuuta to apply the cooling lotion on his back. “Good thinking, bringing the aloe and sunblock.” He noticed how bashful and awkward Yuuta was being around him and chuckled quietly to himself. “What, are you still shy, Yuuta? You’ve seen my back so many times,” he teased.

Mizuki just had to point out that Yuuta was obviously feeling flushed. “I’m fine.” Yuuta quickly denied that he was anything but that. He was fine, or so he told himself. Mizuki was right, he’d see Mizuki in less plenty of times back at school.

Yuuta had flushed then too though.

Calloused hands worked their way down Mizuki’s back, spreading the cool aloe over tender red skin that had just been freshly washed. Mizuki’s skin was incredibly soft. Yuuta wasn’t sure why that surprised him any. “Does that feel better?” He asked, bending and circling his thumbs over his senior’s spine to massage the cooling gel in.

“Mmm,” Mizuki nodded. The sunburnt skin was still a little tender to the touch, but the gel helped soothe the sting. “Thank you.” Yuuta could be very sweet when he was taking care of people. Mizuki smiled to himself. Perhaps his stay on this god-forsaken island wouldn’t be too unbearable, after all.

As long as he wasn’t dead by the hands of Fuji by the end of it.